CN212411479U - Foldable support and flexible display device - Google Patents

Abstract

The utility model discloses a collapsible support piece and flexible display device, collapsible support piece includes: the buffer layer comprises a metal layer, a first buffer layer and a second buffer layer, wherein the first buffer layer and the second buffer layer are respectively arranged on two sides of the metal layer in the thickness direction in an overlapping mode. According to the utility model discloses foldable support piece, this foldable support piece's simple structure, can buckle the ability reinforce and fatigue bending resistance is high.

Description

Foldable support and flexible display device

Technical Field

The utility model belongs to the technical field of the flexible display technique and specifically relates to a collapsible support piece and flexible display device are related to.

Background

Organic Light Emitting Diode (OLED) Display devices are becoming the first choice of screens, and have many advantages of self-luminescence, high Light Emitting efficiency, short response time, high definition and contrast, and the like, and meanwhile, the screens can be ensured to have certain flexibility and adaptability. With the development of flexible display screens, foldable display products are favored by more and more people.

In the related art, the flexible display screen film layer can satisfy a certain folding performance, but the flexible display screen film layer has a more obvious crease problem along with the accumulation of bending time. The support structure of the flexible module generally plays a role in improving the crease and leveling the module, and when the flexible display screen film layer is repeatedly bent or is statically bent for a long time, the anti-bending performance of the support member or the original-state keeping capacity is utilized, so that the flexible display screen film layer can quickly return to the original state after being unloaded. However, the supporting structure of the flexible module in the related art has poor bending capability and is easy to break after being bent for multiple times.

SUMMERY OF THE UTILITY MODEL

The utility model discloses aim at solving one of the technical problem that exists among the prior art at least. Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a foldable support member, which has a simple structure, a strong bending capability and a high fatigue bending resistance.

The utility model discloses still provide a flexible display device who has above-mentioned collapsible support piece.

According to the utility model discloses collapsible support piece of first aspect embodiment includes: a metal layer; the buffer layer structure comprises a first buffer layer and a second buffer layer, wherein the first buffer layer and the second buffer layer are respectively arranged on two sides of the metal layer in the thickness direction in an overlapping mode.

According to the utility model discloses collapsible support piece sets up first buffer layer and second buffer layer through the both sides at the thickness direction of metal level, and a buffer layer is tensile stress when collapsible support piece bends, and another buffer layer compressive stress for the stress that the metal level that is located in the middle of received reduces, thereby reduces the rupture risk of metal level, can improve collapsible support piece's ability of buckling, and improved fatigue bending resistance simultaneously.

According to some embodiments of the invention, the metal layer is a metal sheet without a hollowed-out structure.

According to some embodiments of the invention, the first buffer layer is coated and cured on the metal layer, and/or the second buffer layer is coated and cured on the metal layer.

According to some embodiments of the invention, the first buffer layer is a resin layer, and/or the second buffer layer is a resin layer.

According to some optional embodiments of the present invention, the first buffer layer is a polyimide layer, and/or the second buffer layer is a polyimide layer.

According to some embodiments of the invention, the thickness range of the metal layer is 10-50um, the thickness range of the first buffer layer is 5-20um, and the thickness range of the second buffer layer is 5-20 um.

According to some embodiments of the present invention, the metal layer has a modulus in the range of 100-300GPa, the first buffer layer has a modulus in the range of 2-12GPa, and the second buffer layer has a modulus in the range of 2-12 GPa.

According to some embodiments of the invention, when the foldable support is in the folded state, the bending radius of the foldable support is in the range of 1-3 mm.

According to some embodiments of the invention, the metal layer comprises: a bending zone; the non-bending area is positioned on two sides of a bending axis of the bending area, and the thickness of the bending area is smaller than that of the non-bending area.

According to some optional embodiments of the present invention, a ratio of the thickness of the inflection zone to the thickness of the non-inflection zone is in a range of 1/3-2/3.

According to some optional embodiments of the utility model, the bending zone with link to each other through the transition district between the non-bending zone, by the non-bending zone extremely in the direction of bending zone, the thickness of transition district reduces gradually.

Optionally, the surface of the bending region in the thickness direction is a bending surface, the surface of the transition region in the thickness direction is a transition surface, and an included angle between the bending surface and the corresponding transition surface connected to the bending surface is greater than 90 °.

Further, the included angle between the bending surface and the corresponding connected transition surface is larger than 120 degrees.

According to the utility model discloses flexible display device of second aspect embodiment includes: a flexible display panel; a foldable support member according to an embodiment of the above first aspect of the present invention, the foldable support member is disposed on one side of the flexible display panel deviating from the display surface of the flexible display panel.

According to the utility model discloses flexible display device, through setting up foretell foldable support piece, this foldable support piece's simple structure, can buckle the ability reinforce and fatigue bending resistance is high to make flexible display device's whole can buckle the ability reinforce and fatigue bending resistance is high, reduces the fracture risk that buckles many times and take place.

According to some embodiments of the invention, the foldable support member is directly connected to the display layer of the flexible display panel through the adhesive layer.

According to some embodiments of the invention, a support film is provided between the foldable support and the display layer of the flexible display panel.

Additional aspects and advantages of the invention will be set forth in part in the description which follows and, in part, will be obvious from the description, or may be learned by practice of the invention.

Drawings

The above and/or additional aspects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent and readily appreciated from the following description of the embodiments, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings of which:

fig. 1 is a schematic view of a foldable support according to some embodiments of the present invention;

fig. 2 is a partial schematic view of a flexible display device according to some embodiments of the present invention;

fig. 3 is a schematic view of a portion of a flexible display device according to further embodiments of the present invention;

fig. 4 is a partial detailed structural schematic diagram of the flexible display device in fig. 3;

fig. 5 is a schematic view of a foldable support according to further embodiments of the present invention;

fig. 6 is an enlarged schematic view at a in fig. 5.

Reference numerals:

a foldable support 100;

a metal layer 1; a bending zone 11; a bending surface 111; a non-bending region 12; a transition zone 13; a transition surface 131;

a first buffer layer 2;

a second buffer layer 3;

a flexible display panel 10; a cover plate 101; a first adhesive layer 102; a polarizer 103; a display layer 104; a substrate layer 1041; a GI blocking layer 1042; a-Si layer 1043; a Gate1 layer 1044; a Gate2 layer 1045; an intermediate layer 1046; SD conductive paths 1047; a planarization layer 1048; an anode film layer 1049; a pixel defining region 1050; spacer supports 1051; a light-emitting material organic film layer 1052; a cathode film layer 1053; a first inorganic encapsulation layer 1054; a second organic encapsulation layer 1055; a third inorganic encapsulation layer 1056; an adhesive layer 106; a support film 107; and a second adhesive layer 108.

Detailed Description

Reference will now be made in detail to embodiments of the present invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference numerals refer to the same or similar elements or elements having the same or similar function throughout. The embodiments described below with reference to the drawings are exemplary only for the purpose of explaining the present invention, and should not be construed as limiting the present invention.

A foldable support 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention is described below with reference to fig. 1-6.

Referring to fig. 1-5, a foldable support 100 according to an embodiment of the first aspect of the present invention comprises: a metal layer 1, a first buffer layer 2, and a second buffer layer 3.

The first buffer layer 2 and the second buffer layer 3 are respectively overlapped on two sides of the metal layer 1 in the thickness direction, and the structure is simple. First buffer layer 2 and second buffer layer 3 have better flexibility and the ability of buckling, and metal level 1 can regard as foldable support piece 100's bearing structure and skeleton texture, and metal level 1 has better resilience ability of buckling, can strengthen the reply of foldable support piece 100 back crease of buckling. Thus, by providing the foldable support 100 to include the metal layer 1 and the first and second buffer layers 2 and 3 located at both sides of the metal layer 1 in the thickness direction, it is possible to achieve both good folding ability and good recovery of the fold after folding.

When the foldable support 100 is bent, for example, when the foldable support 100 is used in a support structure of a flexible display device, when the flexible display device is bent as a whole, one of the first buffer layer 2 and the second buffer layer 3 is subjected to tensile stress, and the other of the first buffer layer 2 and the second buffer layer 3 is subjected to compressive stress, wherein the buffer layer with a larger bending radius (for example, the second buffer layer 3) is subjected to tensile stress, and the buffer layer with a smaller bending radius (for example, the first buffer layer 2) is subjected to compressive stress. Therefore, the first buffer layer 2 and the second buffer layer 3 on the two sides can buffer a large part of stress, so that the stress applied to the metal layer 1 in the middle is reduced, the risk of breaking the metal layer 1 is reduced, and the metal layer 1 has strong bending strength.

For example, in the process of manufacturing the foldable support 100, the first buffer layer 2 may be disposed on one side of the metal coil material in the thickness direction, and the second buffer layer 3 may be disposed on the other side of the metal coil material in the thickness direction, such that the first buffer layer 2 and the second buffer layer 3 are respectively stacked on both sides of the metal layer 1 in the thickness direction, thereby forming a three-layer reinforced structure, and the first buffer layer 2 or the second buffer layer 3 is coated with glue (the coating is used for bonding the foldable support 100 to the flexible display panel 10 of the flexible display device), and finally, the foldable support 100 is cut and formed according to a set size, wherein the metal coil material is cut into the metal layer 1 as a small part.

In the process of designing the structure of the foldable supporting member 100, the inventor has performed experimental verification on the bending strength of the foldable supporting member 100, and compared the foldable supporting member 100 of the present invention with the metal supporting member in the related art, the comparative data is as follows in table 1:

TABLE 1 bending test data

The metal support part is structurally a metal sheet, and the thickness of the metal sheet is 20 mm; the foldable support 100 has a structure of a first buffer layer 2+ a metal layer 1+ a second buffer layer 3, wherein the thickness of the metal layer 1 is 20mm, and the thicknesses of the first buffer layer 2 and the second buffer layer 3 are both 8 mm.

As can be seen from the above test data, the metal supporting member in the related art and the foldable supporting member 100 of the present invention are under the same bending radius (the bending radius is 1.5mm), and the metal supporting member in the related art and the metal layer 1 of the foldable supporting member 100 of the present invention have the same thickness, and the metal supporting member is bent within 100 thousand times, that is, the metal supporting member is broken due to fatigue and bending intolerance; the foldable supporting member 100 of the present invention is still not broken after being bent 300 thousand times. It can be seen that, when the thickness of the metal layer 1 is the same, the buffer layers are provided on both sides of the metal layer 1 in the thickness direction, so that the fatigue bending resistance is significantly improved, and the risk of breakage due to multiple bending is reduced. The utility model discloses a collapsible support piece 100 not only the ability of buckling is strong to fatigue bending resistance is showing and is promoting, can be in less radial product of buckling and the wide application on the flexible piece that curls.

According to the utility model discloses foldable support piece 100 sets up first buffer layer 2 and second buffer layer 3 through the both sides at the thickness direction of metal level 1, and a buffer layer tensile stress when foldable support piece 100 bends, another buffer layer compressive stress for the stress that metal level 1 in the middle of being located received reduces, thereby reduces metal level 1's rupture risk, can improve foldable support piece 100's bendable ability, and improved fatigue bending resistance simultaneously.

Referring to fig. 1-5, according to some embodiments of the present invention, the metal layer 1 is a metal sheet without an hollowed-out structure. Because the design that patterns and punch the sheetmetal among the correlation technique is adopted, strengthen its ability of buckling, however this kind of mode can weaken the structural strength and the support intensity of sheetmetal and resilience weak, from this, design metal level 1 for the sheetmetal that does not have hollow out construction, can make metal level 1 have higher structural strength and support intensity and resilience stronger, and metal level 1 both sides are equipped with buffer layer (first buffer layer 2 and second buffer layer 3), when making collapsible support piece 100 have higher ability of buckling and fatigue bending resistance, can make collapsible support piece 100's overall structure intensity and support intensity higher.

Referring to fig. 1-5, according to some embodiments of the present invention, the first buffer layer 2 is coated and cured on the metal layer 1, so that the first buffer layer 2 can be firmly connected to the metal layer 1 after coating and curing, without using an optical adhesive for bonding, and the connection is reliable and saves resources. In addition, the overall thickness of the foldable support 100 may be reduced.

Referring to fig. 1-5, according to some embodiments of the present invention, the second buffer layer 3 is coated and cured on the metal layer 1, so that the second buffer layer 3 can be firmly connected to the metal layer 1 after being coated and cured, without using an optical adhesive for bonding, and the connection is reliable and saves resources. In addition, the overall thickness of the foldable support 100 may be reduced.

Referring to fig. 1-5, according to some embodiments of the present invention, the first buffer layer 2 is coated and cured on the metal layer 1, and the second buffer layer 3 is coated and cured on the metal layer 1, so that the first buffer layer 2 and the second buffer layer 3 can be tightly connected to the metal layer 1 after being coated and cured, without using an optical adhesive for bonding, and the connection is reliable and saves resources. In addition, the overall thickness of the foldable support 100 may be reduced.

Referring to fig. 1 to 5, according to some embodiments of the present invention, the first buffer layer 2 is a resin layer, and thus, the first buffer layer 2 may have better elasticity and flexibility, and when the foldable support member 100 is bent, the first buffer layer 2 may have higher bending ability, and the first buffer layer 2 may buffer a part of stress, so that the stress received by the metal layer 1 may be reduced, and the effect of protecting the metal layer 1 is performed.

Referring to fig. 1 to 5, according to some embodiments of the present invention, the second buffer layer 3 is a resin layer, and thus, the second buffer layer 3 may have better elasticity and flexibility, and when the foldable support member 100 is bent, the second buffer layer 3 may have higher bending ability, and the second buffer layer 3 may buffer a part of stress, so that the stress received by the metal layer 1 may be reduced, and the effect of protecting the metal layer 1 is performed.

Referring to fig. 1-5, referring to fig. 1, according to some embodiments of the present invention, the first buffer layer 2 is a resin layer, and the second buffer layer 3 is a resin layer. From this, first buffer layer 2 and second buffer layer 3 all have better elasticity and flexibility, and when collapsible support piece 100 was bent, first buffer layer 2 and second buffer layer 3 all can have higher ability of buckling, and first buffer layer 2 and second buffer layer 3 all can cushion some stresses to can reduce the stress that metal level 1 received, play the effect of protection metal level 1.

Referring to fig. 1 to 5, according to some optional embodiments of the present invention, the first buffer layer 2 is a polyimide layer, and thus, the first buffer layer 2 has better elasticity, flexibility and higher tensile strength, when the foldable support 100 is bent, the first buffer layer 2 may have better bending capability, and the first buffer layer 2 may buffer a portion of stress, so that the stress applied to the metal layer 1 may be reduced, and the metal layer 1 is not easily broken.

Referring to fig. 1 to 5, according to some optional embodiments of the present invention, the second buffer layer 3 is a polyimide layer, and thus, the second buffer layer 3 has better elasticity, flexibility and higher tensile strength, when the foldable support 100 is bent, the second buffer layer 3 may have better bending capability, and the second buffer layer 3 may buffer a portion of stress, so that the stress applied to the metal layer 1 may be reduced, and the metal layer 1 is not easily broken.

Referring to fig. 1 to 5, according to some optional embodiments of the present invention, the first buffer layer 2 is a polyimide layer, and the second buffer layer 3 is a polyimide layer, so that the first buffer layer 2 and the second buffer layer 3 both have good elasticity, flexibility and high tensile strength, when the foldable support 100 is bent, the first buffer layer 2 and the second buffer layer 3 both have good bending ability, and the first buffer layer 2 and the second buffer layer 3 both can buffer a part of stress, thereby reducing the stress applied to the metal layer 1, and making the metal layer 1 not easily break.

In some embodiments of the present invention, the first buffer layer 2 and the second buffer layer 3 are both resin layers (for example, polyimide layers), and the first buffer layer 2 and the second buffer layer 3 may be formed on both sides of the metal layer 1 in the thickness direction by coating resin on both surfaces of the metal layer 1 in the thickness direction and then curing the resin, in such a manner that the first buffer layer 2 and the second buffer layer 3 have strong connection strength with the metal layer 1, the risk of the first buffer layer 2 and the second buffer layer 3 falling off from the metal layer 1 is reduced, and the use of an adhesive is avoided, so that the overall thickness of the foldable support 100 is low.

Referring to fig. 1-5, according to some embodiments of the present invention, the thickness of the metal layer 1 ranges from 10 to 50um, the thickness of the first buffer layer 2 ranges from 5 to 20um, and the thickness of the second buffer layer 3 ranges from 5 to 20 um. If the thicknesses of the metal layer 1, the first buffer layer 2, and the second buffer layer 3 are too small, the structural strength of the foldable support 100 is insufficient, and if the thicknesses of the metal layer 1, the first buffer layer 2, and the second buffer layer 3 are too large, the weight of the foldable support 100 may be increased, and the resilience and the bendability of the foldable support 100 may be affected. Therefore, by setting the thicknesses of the metal layer 1, the first buffer layer 2, and the second buffer layer 3 within the above ranges, the structural strength and the bendability of the foldable support 100 may be ensured, the weight of the foldable support 100 may be reduced, and the overall thickness of the foldable support 100 may be made thinner.

Referring to fig. 1-5, according to some embodiments of the present invention, the metal layer 1 has a modulus in the range of 100-300GPa, the first buffer layer 2 has a modulus in the range of 2-12GPa, and the second buffer layer 3 has a modulus in the range of 2-12 GPa. Wherein the more preferable modulus range of the metal layer 1 is 200-300GPa, the more preferable modulus range of the first buffer layer 2 is 2-4GPa, and the more preferable modulus range of the second buffer layer 3 is 2-4 GPa. Setting the modulus of the metal layer 1, the first buffer layer 2, and the second buffer layer 3 in the above range can make the foldable support 100 have high support strength and strong bendability.

Referring to fig. 1-5, according to some embodiments of the present invention, the folding radius of the foldable support 100 ranges from 1 to 3mm when the foldable support 100 is in the folded state. Therefore, the foldable support 100 can achieve a smaller bending radius without breaking, for example, in the above test data, the bending radius of the foldable support 100 is still not broken when the foldable support 100 is bent 300 thousand times at 1.5mm, so that when the foldable support 100 is used for a support structure of a flexible display device, the bending radius can be reduced, the thickness of the flexible display device after being folded is reduced, and the thickness and the volume of the flexible display device after being folded are smaller. In the related art, the thickness of the metal supporting part is selected from 20-50um, and bending tests show that the minimum bending radius which can bear the metal supporting part without breaking is 3mm when the metal supporting part is bent for 200 thousand times at the thinnest 20um thickness. It follows that, when the support structure is a simple sheet metal structure, even if the sheet metal is made thin, the smaller bending radius requirements cannot be met.

Referring to fig. 5, 6, according to some embodiments of the present invention, the metal layer 1 includes: the bending device comprises a bending area 11 and a non-bending area 12, wherein the non-bending area 12 is positioned at two sides of a bending axis F of the bending area 11, and the thickness of the bending area 11 is smaller than that of the non-bending area 12. Thus, by reducing the thickness of the inflection zone 11, the flexibility and elasticity of the inflection zone 11 can be improved, and thus the bendability and fatigue bending resistance of the inflection zone 11 can be improved. When the foldable support 100 is bent, the foldable support 100 is bent with the bending axis F of the bending region 11 as the central axis, and the bending region 11 is bent.

Referring to fig. 5 and 6, according to some alternative embodiments of the present invention, the ratio of the thickness of inflection zones 11 to the thickness of non-inflection zones 12 ranges from 1/3 to 2/3. If the ratio of the thickness of the bending area 11 to the thickness of the non-bending area 12 is small, the structural strength and the resilience of the bending area are difficult to guarantee, and if the ratio of the thickness of the bending area 11 to the thickness of the non-bending area 12 is large, the bending capability and the fatigue bending resistance of the bending area 11 are difficult to guarantee, so that the ratio of the thickness of the bending area 11 to the thickness of the non-bending area 12 is set in the above range, the structural strength of the bending area 11 is high, the bending capability is high, and the fatigue bending resistance is good.

Referring to fig. 5 and 6, according to some optional embodiments of the present invention, the bending region 11 and the non-bending region 12 are connected through the transition region 13, and the thickness of the transition region 13 gradually decreases in the direction from the non-bending region 12 to the bending region 11, for example, one end of the transition region 13 is connected to the bending region 11, and the other end of the transition region 13 is connected to the non-bending region 12. Therefore, the bending area 11 can be stably transited to the non-bending area 12 through the transition area 13, and when the foldable support 100 is bent, the bending area 11 is connected with the non-bending area 12 through the transition area 13, so that the stress between the bending area 11 and the non-bending area 12 can be reduced, the stress concentration between the bending area 11 and the non-bending area 12 is avoided, and the fracture risk is reduced.

Alternatively, referring to fig. 5 and 6, the surface of bending region 11 in the thickness direction is bending plane 111, the surface of transition region 13 in the thickness direction is transition plane 131, and the included angle a between bending plane 111 and the corresponding connected transition plane 131 is greater than 90 °. Therefore, the included angle a between the bending surface 111 and the corresponding connected transition surface 131 is larger than 90 degrees, so that the angle between the bending surface 111 and the transition surface 131 is gentle, and the fracture risk caused by stress concentration between the bending area 11 and the non-bending area 12 is reduced.

Further, referring to fig. 5 and 6, the included angle a between the bending surface 111 and the corresponding connected transition surface 131 is greater than 120 °, so that the angle between the bending surface 111 and the transition surface 131 is more gradual, and the risk of fracture between the bending region 11 and the non-bending region 12 due to stress concentration is better reduced.

Referring to fig. 2 and 3, a flexible display device according to an embodiment of the present invention includes: a flexible display panel 10 and a foldable support 100, the foldable support 100 being the foldable support 100 according to the above-mentioned first aspect of the present invention, the foldable support 100 being disposed on a side of the flexible display panel 10 away from the display surface of the flexible display panel 10, the foldable support 100 supporting the flexible display panel 10.

According to the utility model discloses flexible display device, through setting up foretell foldable support piece 100, this foldable support piece 100's simple structure, can buckle the ability reinforce and fatigue bending resistance is high to make flexible display device's whole can buckle the ability reinforce and fatigue bending resistance is high, reduce the fracture risk of buckling the emergence many times.

Referring to fig. 2, according to some embodiments of the present invention, a support film 107 is provided between the foldable support 100 and the display layer 104 of the flexible display panel 10. For example, the foldable support 100 and the support film 107 may be connected by the second adhesive layer 108, and the support film 107 and the display layer 104 of the flexible display panel 10 may be connected by the adhesive layer 106. Therefore, the foldable support 100 and the support film 107 can be used together as a support structure of the flexible display panel 10, so that the support structure of the flexible display panel 10 has higher support strength and better support effect.

Referring to fig. 3 and 4, according to some embodiments of the present invention, the foldable support 100 is directly connected to the display layer 104 of the flexible display panel 10 through the adhesive layer 106. Thereby, the flexible display panel 10 of the flexible display device is supported only by the foldable support 100, the thickness of the support structure of the flexible display device can be reduced, for example, compared to the above-mentioned supporting film 107 provided between the foldable support 100 and the display layer 104 of the flexible display panel 10, the overall thickness of the flexible display device is reduced by 50-100um, and the overall flexibility and the bendability of the flexible display device are better.

For example, referring to fig. 3 and 4, the flexible display panel 10 may include a cover 101, a first adhesive layer 102, a polarizer 103, and a display layer 104 in a thickness direction of the flexible display panel 10. Referring to fig. 4, the display layer 104 may include a substrate layer 1041, a GI blocking layer 1042, an a-Si layer 1043, a Gate1 layer 1044, a Gate2 layer 1045, an intermediate layer 1046, an SD conductive channel 1047, a planarization layer 1048, an anode film layer 1049, a pixel defining region 1050, a spacer support 1051, a luminescent material organic film layer 1052, a cathode film layer 1053, a first inorganic encapsulation layer 1054, a second organic encapsulation layer 1055, and a third inorganic encapsulation layer 1056 in a thickness direction of the display layer 104.

The polarizer 103 may include functional film layers such as a touch film layer, the substrate layer 1041 may include a Buffer layer, the a-Si layer 1043 may form a TFT channel, and the intermediate layer 1046 may be an inorganic film layer. The foldable support 100 may be directly connected to the substrate layer 1041 of the display layer 104 by the adhesive layer 106, reducing the overall thickness of the flexible display device.

In the description of the present invention, it is to be understood that the terms "thickness", "upper", and the like indicate orientations or positional relationships based on the orientations or positional relationships shown in the drawings, and are only for convenience of description and simplicity of description, and do not indicate or imply that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, be constructed and operated in a specific orientation, and thus, should not be construed as limiting the present invention.

In the description herein, references to the description of the term "one embodiment," "some embodiments," "an illustrative embodiment," "an example," "a specific example," or "some examples" or the like mean that a particular feature, structure, material, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment or example is included in at least one embodiment or example of the present invention. In this specification, the schematic representations of the terms used above do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment or example. Furthermore, the particular features, structures, materials, or characteristics described may be combined in any suitable manner in any one or more embodiments or examples.

While embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described, it will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that: various changes, modifications, substitutions and alterations can be made to the embodiments without departing from the principles and spirit of the invention, the scope of which is defined by the claims and their equivalents.

Claims (16)

1. A foldable support, comprising:

a metal layer;

the buffer layer structure comprises a first buffer layer and a second buffer layer, wherein the first buffer layer and the second buffer layer are respectively arranged on two sides of the metal layer in the thickness direction in an overlapping mode.

2. The foldable support as claimed in claim 1, wherein the metal layer is a metal sheet without an openwork structure.

3. The foldable support of claim 1, wherein the first buffer layer is coated and cured on the metal layer and/or the second buffer layer is coated and cured on the metal layer.

4. The foldable support of claim 1, wherein the first cushioning layer is a resin layer and/or the second cushioning layer is a resin layer.

5. The foldable support of claim 4, wherein the first buffer layer is a polyimide layer and/or the second buffer layer is a polyimide layer.

6. The foldable support of claim 1, wherein the metal layer has a thickness in the range of 10-50um, the first buffer layer has a thickness in the range of 5-20um, and the second buffer layer has a thickness in the range of 5-20 um.

7. The foldable support as recited in claim 1, wherein the metal layer has a modulus in the range of 100-300GPa, the first buffer layer has a modulus in the range of 2-12GPa, and the second buffer layer has a modulus in the range of 2-12 GPa.

8. The foldable support of claim 1, wherein a bending radius of the foldable support is in a range of 1-3mm when the foldable support is in a folded state.

9. The foldable support of any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the metal layer comprises:

a bending zone;

the non-bending area is positioned on two sides of a bending axis of the bending area, and the thickness of the bending area is smaller than that of the non-bending area.

10. The foldable support of claim 9, wherein the ratio of the thickness of the inflection region to the thickness of the non-inflection region is in the range of 1/3-2/3.

11. The foldable support as recited in claim 9, wherein the inflection zone and the non-inflection zone are connected by a transition zone, the transition zone having a thickness that decreases in a direction from the non-inflection zone to the inflection zone.

12. The foldable support as claimed in claim 11, wherein the surface of the bending region in the thickness direction is a bending plane, the surface of the transition region in the thickness direction is a transition plane, and the angle between the bending plane and the corresponding connected transition plane is greater than 90 °.

13. The foldable support as claimed in claim 12, wherein the angle between the bending face and the corresponding associated transition face is greater than 120 °.

14. A flexible display device, comprising:

a flexible display panel;

a foldable support according to any of claims 1-13, the foldable support being provided at a side of the flexible display panel facing away from a display surface of the flexible display panel.

15. The flexible display device of claim 14, wherein the foldable support is directly connected to the display layer of the flexible display panel by an adhesive layer.

16. The flexible display device of claim 14, wherein a support film is disposed between the foldable support and the display layer of the flexible display panel.

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