KR102033625B1 - Flexible display device and method for manufacturing thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention provides a flexible display device and a method for manufacturing the same, which reduce the bezel width, and the flexible display device according to the present invention includes a first substrate including a plurality of pixels and a first substrate. A display panel comprising a second substrate opposed to each other; A support member including a support part attached to the display panel and a bending guide part extended from one side of the support part and folded; And a panel driver attached to the first substrate, wherein the first substrate may include an extension part bent along the bending guide part to overlap with the second substrate and attached to the panel driver.

Description

Flexible display device and manufacturing method therefor {FLEXIBLE DISPLAY DEVICE AND METHOD FOR MANUFACTURING THEREOF}

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a display device, and more particularly, to a flexible display device and a method of manufacturing the same, capable of reducing bezel width.

In general, a flexible display device has a merit that a pixel is embodied on a thin flexible substrate such as plastic and thus can display a desired image even when folded or rolled like paper. And R & D is in progress. Such a flexible display device may include a flexible liquid crystal display device, a flexible plasma display device, a flexible organic light emitting display device, and a flexible electrophoretic display device. flexible electrophoretic display devices, or flexible electro-wetting display devices.

1 is a cross-sectional view schematically illustrating a conventional flexible display device.

Referring to FIG. 1, a conventional flexible display apparatus includes a display panel 10 and a panel driver 20.

The display panel 10 includes an opposing lower substrate 12 and an upper substrate 14.

The lower substrate 12 is made of a thin flexible substrate such as plastic. The lower substrate 12 includes a display area including a plurality of pixels for displaying an image, a non-display area surrounding the display area, and a pad part provided at one side of the non-display area.

In the display area, a gate line and a data line defining a pixel area are intersected, a thin film transistor is formed in an area where the gate line and the data line intersect, and a pixel electrode connected to the thin film transistor is formed in the pixel area. have. The pad part is formed in one non-display area of the lower substrate 12 to be connected to the gate line and the data line, respectively, and is connected to the panel driver 20.

The upper substrate 14 is made of a thin and transparent flexible substrate such as plastic, and is formed to have a relatively smaller area than the lower substrate 12. The upper substrate 14 is bonded to the lower substrate 12 except for the pad portion of the lower substrate 12 by a bonding member (not shown) formed in the non-display area of the lower substrate 12.

An optical film (not shown) may be attached to an upper surface of the upper substrate 14, and the optical film may have an antireflection function to prevent polarization and / or reflection of external light.

The panel driver 20 is connected to the pad of the lower substrate 12 to supply a signal to the gate line and the data line. To this end, the panel driver 20 may include a flexible circuit board 21, a driver integrated circuit 23, a system board 25, and a driver circuit unit 27.

The flexible circuit board 21 is attached to the pad portion of the lower substrate 12 and bent to the bottom surface of the lower substrate 12 to surround the side surface of the lower substrate 12.

The driving integrated circuit 23 is mounted on the flexible circuit board 21. The driving integrated circuit 23 generates a data signal and a pixel driving signal for displaying an image on the display panel 10 based on the image data and the timing synchronization signal provided from the system board 25. To feed.

The system substrate 25 is attached to the flexible circuit board 21 and disposed on the bottom surface of the lower substrate 12. The system substrate 25 is connected to a system substrate (not shown) that generates image data and a timing synchronization signal corresponding to an image to be displayed on the display panel 10, and the image data and timing supplied from the system substrate. The synchronous signal is transmitted to the driving integrated circuit 23 through the flexible circuit board 21.

The driving circuit unit 27 is mounted on the system substrate 25 and generates a voltage required for driving the display panel 10 and / or the driving integrated circuit 23.

Such a conventional flexible display apparatus displays a desired image on the display panel 10 by driving each pixel of the display panel 10 according to the driving of the panel driver 20.

However, in the conventional flexible display apparatus, the panel driver 20, that is, the flexible circuit board 21 is bent to surround the side surface of the lower substrate 12, and thus, a part of the flexible circuit board 21 and the bending part 21a are caused. ) Is disposed on the side of the display panel 10, the bezel width W increases due to one side of the lower substrate 12, a part of the flexible circuit board 21, and the bending portion 21a. have.

In addition, since the conventional flexible display apparatus uses the flexible circuit board 21 and the system board 25, the production cost increases due to the increase in the number of parts, and the flexible circuit board 21 is attached to the lower substrate 12. Yield may be lowered due to a bonding defect in the bonding process and the bonding process of attaching the system substrate 25 to the flexible circuit board 21.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a flexible display device and a method of manufacturing the same, which can reduce a bezel width.

In addition to the technical task of the present invention mentioned above, other features and advantages of the present invention will be described below, or from such description and description will be clearly understood by those skilled in the art.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a flexible display device including: a display panel including a first substrate including a plurality of pixels and a second substrate opposingly bonded to the first substrate; A support member including a support part attached to the display panel and a bending guide part extended from one side of the support part and folded; And a panel driver attached to the first substrate, wherein the first substrate may include an extension part bent along the bending guide part to overlap with the second substrate and attached to the panel driver.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of manufacturing a flexible display device, the method including: preparing a display panel including a first substrate including a plurality of pixels and a second substrate opposingly bonded to the first substrate; Providing a support member including a support part supporting the display panel and a bending guide part extending from one side of the support part to be folded; Attaching a panel driver to an extension of the first substrate; Attaching a support of the support member to the display panel; Bending the bending guide part of the support member to fold it; And bending the extension part of the first substrate along the bending guide part so as to overlap the second substrate.

The bending guide part of the support member may include a first bending part extending from one side of the support part, a bending guide pattern including a hill pattern and a valley pattern formed concave on a lower surface of the first bending part, and extending from the first bending part. The bending step of bending the bending guide part of the support member is performed by including a second bending part, and bending the first bending part and the second bending part through the acid pattern and the valley pattern of the bending guide pattern to cause the second bending. A part can be attached to the lower surface of the support part.

The preparing of the display panel may include attaching a back plate to a lower surface of the first substrate except for an extension of the first substrate, and the support of the support member may be attached to the lower surface of the back plate.

According to the means for solving the above problems, the flexible display device and the manufacturing method according to the present invention has the following effects.

First, since the extension of the first substrate connected to the panel driver is bent so that the panel driver is disposed on the lower surface of the display panel, the bezel width may be reduced.

Second, since the extension portion of the first substrate is bent along the bending guide portion formed in the support member supporting the display panel, the extension portion of the first substrate may be easily bent at a constant curvature.

1 is a cross-sectional view schematically illustrating a conventional flexible display device.
2 is a diagram schematically illustrating a flexible display device according to a first embodiment of the present invention.
3 is a cross-sectional view schematically illustrating a cross section of II ′ illustrated in FIG. 2.
4 is a view for explaining the support member illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3.
5 is a cross-sectional view for describing a modification of the flexible display device according to the first embodiment of the present invention.
6 is a cross-sectional view schematically illustrating a flexible display device according to a second embodiment of the present invention.
7 is a cross-sectional view for describing a modified example of the flexible display device according to the second embodiment of the present invention.
8 is a view for explaining a modification of the bending guide pattern formed on the support member in the flexible display device according to the first and second embodiments of the present invention.
9A to 9C are cross-sectional views illustrating a method of manufacturing a flexible display device according to a first embodiment of the present invention.
10A to 10D are cross-sectional views illustrating a method of manufacturing a flexible display device according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

The meaning of the terms described herein will be understood as follows.

Singular expressions should be understood to include plural expressions unless the context clearly indicates otherwise, and the terms “first”, “second”, and the like are intended to distinguish one component from another. The scope of the rights shall not be limited by these terms.

It is to be understood that the term "comprises" or "having" does not preclude the existence or addition of one or more other features or numbers, steps, operations, components, parts or combinations thereof.

The term "at least one" should be understood to include all combinations which can be presented from one or more related items. For example, the meaning of "at least one of a first item, a second item, and a third item" means two items of the first item, the second item, and the third item, as well as two of the first item, the second item, and the third item, respectively. A combination of all items that can be presented from more than one.

The term " on " means to include not only when a configuration is formed directly on top of another configuration but also when a third configuration is interposed between these configurations.

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of a flexible display device and a method of manufacturing the same according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 2 is a schematic view of a flexible display device according to a first exemplary embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view schematically illustrating a cross-section taken along line II ′ of FIG. 2, and FIG. 4 is a view of FIGS. It is a figure for demonstrating the support member shown in FIG.

2 to 4, the flexible display device according to the first embodiment of the present invention includes a display panel 110, a support member 120, and a panel driver 130.

The display panel 110 may be a display panel of a flexible flat panel display device. In the following description, it is assumed that the display panel 110 is an organic light emitting display panel of a flexible organic light emitting display device among the flexible flat panel display devices.

The display panel 110 may include a first substrate 112 and a second substrate 114 that are opposed to each other, and an optical film 116 formed on an upper surface of the second substrate 114.

The first substrate 112 is a flexible thin film substrate, and may be made of a plastic material or a metal foil. For example, the first substrate 112 made of plastic may be made of any one of polyimide (PI), polyethyleneterephthalate (PET), polyethylenapthanate (PEN), polycarbonate (PC), polynorborneen (PNB), and polyethersulfone (PES). It may be made of. The first substrate 112 may include a display portion, a non-display portion, and an extension portion 112a.

The display unit may include a plurality of gate lines, a plurality of data lines, a plurality of driving power lines, a plurality of pixels, and a cathode power line.

Each of the plurality of gate lines is formed at regular intervals to cross each of the plurality of data lines, and each of the plurality of driving power lines is formed to be parallel to each of the plurality of gate lines or the plurality of data lines.

Each of the plurality of pixels is formed in a pixel region defined by intersecting gate lines and data lines to display an image according to a gate signal from a gate line and a data signal from a data line. To this end, each of the plurality of pixels includes a pixel driving circuit connected to a gate line and a data line, and an organic light emitting element connected to a pixel driving circuit and connected to a cathode power line.

The pixel driving circuit includes a switching transistor connected to a gate line and a data line, a driving transistor connected to a switching transistor, and a capacitor connected to a gate electrode and a source electrode of the driving transistor. The pixel driving circuit supplies the data signal of the data line to the driving transistor according to the switching of the switching transistor according to the gate signal supplied to the gate line to store the gate-source voltage of the driving transistor corresponding to the data signal in the capacitor. By turning on the driving transistor with the voltage stored in the capacitor, the data current corresponding to the data signal is supplied to the organic light emitting diode. The transistor may be a thin film transistor (a-Si TFT), a poly-Si TFT, an oxide TFT, an organic TFT, or the like.

The pixel driving circuit may further include at least one compensation transistor and at least one compensation capacitor for compensating the threshold voltage of the driving transistor.

The organic light emitting element includes a pixel electrode (or an anode electrode) (not shown) connected to a driving transistor, an organic light emitting layer formed on the pixel electrode, and a cathode electrode formed on the organic light emitting layer. The organic light emitting diode emits light having a luminance corresponding to the data current toward the upper portion of the second substrate 114 by emitting light by a current flowing from the pixel electrode to the cathode by turning on the driving transistor.

The cathode power line may be formed on the entire surface of the display unit to be electrically connected to the cathode electrode of each pixel, or may be formed in a pattern form to be electrically connected to the cathode electrodes of the pixels formed on vertical or horizontal lines of the display unit. . The cathode power line may be formed to be electrically connected to the organic light emitting layer of each pixel. In this case, the cathode electrode is omitted.

The non-display unit may be defined as a peripheral region of the display unit, that is, an area overlapping an edge portion of the second substrate 114 to surround the display unit.

One side of the non-display unit includes a plurality of link lines electrically connected to each of a plurality of gate lines, a plurality of data lines, a plurality of driving power lines, and a cathode power line formed in the display unit. In addition, a gate driving circuit for supplying a gate signal to each of the plurality of gate lines may be formed on one side or both sides of the non-display part, and in this case, the gate driving circuit may be a thin film transistor manufacturing process of each pixel. Formed together and embedded in or integrated into the first substrate 112, the gate signal is generated according to the gate control signal supplied from the panel driver 130 and supplied to the corresponding gate line.

The extension part 112a extends to have a predetermined area from one side of the non-display part and is bent to overlap the lower part of one side of the second substrate 114. That is, the extension part 112a is bent to have a constant curvature by the substrate bending device (not shown) and bent to surround one side surface and one side edge portion of the support member 120. In this case, in order to minimize the bezel width W of the display device, the boundary between the extension 112a and the non-display portion is preferably overlapped or closest to one side of the second substrate 114. The extension part 112a is formed with a pad part electrically connected to each of the plurality of data link lines and the plurality of gate link lines.

The pad unit is connected to each of a plurality of data lines through a plurality of data link lines and is connected to each of a plurality of data pads to which a data signal is supplied from the panel driver 130, and a plurality of gate link lines, respectively. A plurality of gate pads to which gate signals are supplied, a driving power pad connected to a plurality of driving power lines, and a driving power pad to which driving power is supplied from the panel driving unit 130, and a cathode power line, and the panel driving unit 130. And a cathode power pad to which cathode power is supplied. Here, when the gate driving circuit is formed in the non-display portion, the gate pads are connected to the gate driving circuit and the gate control signal is supplied from the panel driver 130.

Meanwhile, although the extension part 112a is shown to be bent toward the lower side of the first substrate 112, the present invention is not limited thereto, and the display panel 110 may have a bottom emission structure, that is, light emitted from the pixel may be emitted from the first substrate 112. When having a structure that is transmitted through the 112, the extension 112a may be bent toward an upper surface of one side of the second substrate 114.

The second substrate 114 is formed to have a relatively smaller area than the first substrate 112. The second substrate 114 is the first substrate 112 except for the extension part 112a of the first substrate 112 by a bonding member formed in a closed loop shape on the non-display portion of the first substrate 112. Are opposed to each other. The second substrate 114 may be made of a transparent plastic material or glass, or when the display panel 110 has a bottom emission structure, the second substrate 114 may be made of a metal material.

The bonding member is formed between the first and second substrates 112 and 114 to oppose and bond the first and second substrates 112 and 114 and to protect the organic light emitting device from external moisture or oxygen. Seal the space.

The optical film 116 is formed to have a function such as anti-reflection to prevent reflection of polarized light and / or external light, and is attached to the upper surface of the second substrate 114. The optical film 116 may be omitted.

The support member 120 supports the display panel 110, that is, the first substrate 112 to maintain the shape of the flexible display panel 110, and the extension 112a of the first substrate 112 is To bend easily. The support member 120 may be made of plastic, for example, polyethylene terephthalate (PET) material.

The support member 120 may include a support part 121 attached to a portion of the lower surface of the first substrate 112, and a bending guide part 123 extending from one side of the support part 121 and folded toward the bottom surface of the support part 121. It can be made, including).

The support part 121 is attached to the lower surface of the first substrate 112 except for the extension part 112a of the first substrate 112 by an adhesive. Here, the pressure-sensitive adhesive may be made of PSA (Pressure Sensitive Adhesive) excellent in adhesion, heat resistance and moisture resistance. The support part 121 is attached to the lower surface of the first substrate 112 except for the extension part 112a of the first substrate 112 to maintain the shape of the flexible display panel 110, Foreign matters are prevented from adhering to the lower surface of the first substrate 112.

The bending guide part 123 may include a first bending part 123a, a bending guide pattern 123b, and a second bending part 123c.

The first bending part 123a forms one side of the support member 120 so that the extension part 112a of the first substrate 112 can be easily bent, and one side of the support part 121. It extends from a predetermined length from and is bent vertically by the bending guide pattern 123b.

The bending guide pattern 123b includes a mountain pattern 123b1 and a valley pattern 123b2 and 123b3 formed concave on a lower surface of the first bending part 123a so that the first bending part 123a may be bent at 90 degrees. Can be made. In this case, each of the mountain pattern 123b1 and the valley patterns 123b2 and 123b3 may be rounded with a pointed or constant curvature. The mountain pattern 123b1 and the valley patterns 123b2 and 123b3 may be formed to have an inclined surface at a predetermined angle.

The valley patterns 123b2 and 123b3 allow the first and second bending portions 123a and 123c to be bent at 90 degrees, and are formed side by side with one mountain pattern 123b1 interposed therebetween. The first and second bone patterns 123b2 and 123b3 may be formed. In this case, the first valley pattern 123b2 allows the first bending portion 123a in a horizontal state to be bent at 90 degrees, and the second valley pattern 123b3 is bent at 90 degrees. The second bending part 123c is bent in a horizontal state from 123a so as to face the lower surface of the support part 121. At this time, each of the first and second valley patterns 123b2 and 123b3 is joined to the mountain pattern 123b1 by bending the first and second bending portions 123a and 123c, respectively.

The second bending part 123c extends from one side of the first bending part 123a and is bent by 90 degrees from the first bending part 123a by the bending guide pattern 123b to support the support part 121. It is attached to the lower surface of the. In this case, the second bending portion 123c bent to the bottom surface of the support portion 121 is attached to the bottom surface of the support portion 121 by an attachment member 125 such as a double-sided tape or an adhesive and is fixed. The lower surface of the second bending portion 123c overlaps an extension portion 112a of the first substrate 112, that is, an edge portion of the extension portion 112a, which is bent toward the lower portion of the support member 120. do.

The panel driver 130 is connected to the first substrate 112, that is, the extension 112a.

The panel driver 130 according to an exemplary embodiment generates a data signal according to image data and a timing synchronization signal supplied from the outside and supplies the data signal to a data line of a corresponding pixel, and generates a gate signal according to the timing synchronization signal. Supply to the gate line of the pixel. To this end, the panel driver 130 according to an embodiment may include at least one flexible circuit board 131 and at least one driving integrated circuit 133.

The at least one flexible circuit board 131 is attached to the first substrate 112 by a tape automated bonding (TAB) process, and may be formed of a tape carrier package (TCP) or a chip on film (COF). That is, the at least one flexible circuit board 131 is attached to a pad portion formed in the extension portion 112a of the first substrate 112 bent to the lower surface of the support member 120 to provide the support member 120. It is placed on the bottom surface.

The at least one driving integrated circuit 133 is mounted on the flexible circuit board 131 to face the bottom surface of the support member 120. The at least one driving integrated circuit 133 is mounted on the flexible circuit board 131 and displays a predetermined image in each pixel according to a signal supplied from an external system board. That is, the at least one driving integrated circuit 133 converts the image data into an analog data signal according to the image data and the timing synchronization signal supplied from the system substrate and supplies the converted data signal to the data line of each pixel through the pad unit. The gate signal is generated according to the timing synchronization signal and supplied to the gate line of each pixel through the pad unit. The at least one driving integrated circuit 133 generates driving power and cathode power by using input power supplied from the system substrate, and supplies the driving power and the cathode power to the driving power line and the cathode power line of each pixel through the pad unit, respectively. do. As a result, the driver integrated circuit 133 of the panel driver 130 according to an embodiment may include one integrated circuit that generates and outputs both a data signal and a gate signal, a driving power source, and a cathode power source to be supplied to each pixel. do.

When the gate driving circuit is formed in the non-display unit, the panel driver 130 according to another embodiment generates a data signal according to image data and a data control signal supplied from the outside and supplies the data signal to a data line of a corresponding pixel. . In this case, the panel driver 130 according to another embodiment may include at least one flexible circuit board 131 and at least one driving integrated circuit 133, and the at least one driving integrated circuit 133 may be formed. The image data is converted into an analog data signal according to the image data and a data control signal supplied from a system board, and only supplied to the data line of each pixel through the pad unit. The system board is provided with a timing controller for supplying image data and data control signals to the driving integrated circuit 133 and supplying a gate control signal to the gate driving circuit through the flexible circuit board 131 and the pad unit. It is.

Meanwhile, the flexible display device according to the first embodiment of the present invention may further include a bending holding member 140.

The bending holding member 140 is adhesively bonded between the lower surface of the support member 120, that is, the lower surface of the support part 121 and the flexible circuit board 131 of the panel driver 130 to connect the flexible circuit board 131. By supporting the self-resilient restoring force of the extension portion 112a of the first substrate 112 bent to the lower surface of the support member 120 to maintain the bending shape of the extension portion 112a. Further, the bending holding member 140 is coupled to the flexible circuit board 131 adjacent to the driving integrated circuit 133 so that the driving integrated circuit 133 is in contact with the support 121 of the supporting member 120. It also serves to prevent. As such, the bending holding member 140 may be formed of a double-sided tape made of a buffer material, a sponge having an adhesive surface formed on each of the top and bottom surfaces thereof.

The bending holding member 140 is illustrated and described as being adhesively coupled between the support 121 of the support member 120 and the flexible circuit board 131, but is not limited thereto. The bottom surface of the bending part 123c and the flexible circuit board 131 may be adhesively bonded.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a modified example of the flexible display device according to the first embodiment of the present invention, which further includes a substrate protection member 150 between the bending portion and the support member of the first substrate. In the following, only different configurations will be described.

First, when the extension 112a of the first substrate 112 bent to the bottom surface of the second bending portion 123c of the support member 120 contacts the bottom surface of the second bending portion 123c, the first substrate Extension 112a of 112 may be damaged. That is, when the surface roughness of the second bending part 123c is rough, the extension part 112a of the first substrate 112 made of the flexible thin film substrate may contact the bottom surface of the second bending part 123c. In this case, the lines formed in the extension part 112a of the first substrate 112 may be disconnected or cracks may occur in the signal lines.

The substrate protection member 150 is attached to the bottom surface of the second bending portion 123c of the support member 120 so that the extension portion 112a of the first substrate 112 is the second bending portion of the support member 120. (123c) prevents contact with the lower surface, and at the same time serves to planarize the extension 112a of the first substrate 112 bent to the lower surface of the second bending portion 123c of the support member 120. . As such, the substrate protection member 150 may include a buffer pad, a sponge, a plastic thin film, and an antistatic plastic having an attachment surface attached only to a bottom surface of the second bending portion 123c of the support member 120. It may be made of a thin film, for example, may be made of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) material.

6 is a cross-sectional view schematically illustrating a flexible display device according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 6, the flexible display device according to the second embodiment of the present invention may include a display panel 110, a support member 120, and a panel driver 130.

The display panel 110 may include a first substrate 112, a second substrate 114, an optical film 116, and a back plate 118.

Since each of the first substrate 112, the second substrate 114, and the optical film 116 is the same as described above, redundant description thereof will be omitted.

First, since the first substrate 112 is a flexible thin film substrate, the support substrate is attached to the lower surface of the first substrate 112 because the thin film transistor manufacturing process is not easy, and the first substrate 112 is attached to the support glass. The thin film transistor manufacturing process is performed while attached. In addition, the support glass may be formed after the thin film transistor manufacturing process, the bonding process of the first and second substrates 112 and 114, the attaching process of the optical film 116, and the panel driver 130 are completed. To be separated from. When the support glass is separated from the first substrate 112, the lower surface of the first substrate 112 is exposed to the outside, and foreign matters such as dust are attached to each other, resulting in poor image quality. Accordingly, the back plate 118 is attached to the lower surface of the first substrate 112 from which the support glass is separated, thereby preventing various problems due to the separation of the support glass, and the first substrate 112. It serves to maintain the flatness of.

Specifically, the back plate 118 is formed to have an area corresponding to the second substrate 114, so that the back plate 118 of the first substrate 112 except for the extension portion 112a of the first substrate 112 by the pressure-sensitive adhesive It is attached to the lower surface. That is, the back plate 118 is attached to the rear surface of the first substrate 112 overlapping the display portion and the non-display portion of the first substrate 112 to support the flexible first substrate 112 and at the same time the first substrate. It serves to planarize the display portion and the non-display portion 112. The back plate 118 may be made of plastic or an antistatic plastic material. For example, the back plate 118 may be made of polyethylene terephthalate (PET). The pressure-sensitive adhesive may be made of PSA (Pressure Sensitive Adhesive) having excellent adhesion, heat resistance, and moisture resistance.

Since the support member 120 is the same as described above with reference to FIGS. 2 to 4 except that the support member 120 is attached to the bottom surface of the display panel 110 by the pressure-sensitive adhesive, that is, the back plate 118, the same reference numerals are used. The duplicate description thereof will be omitted.

Since the panel driver 130 is the same as described above with reference to FIGS. 2 to 4, the panel driver 130 is given the same reference numeral, and redundant description thereof will be omitted.

As described above, in the flexible display device according to the second exemplary embodiment, as shown in FIG. 5, the extension part 112a of the first substrate 112 and the second bending part 123c of the support member 120 are shown. The substrate protection member 150 may be further configured between the plurality of substrate protection members 150, and the substrate protection member 150 may be the same as described above with reference to FIG. 5, and the same reference numerals are given to the same. do.

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a modified example of the flexible display device according to the second embodiment of the present invention, in which an integrated circuit insertion unit is additionally formed in a support member. In the following, only different configurations will be described.

First, the driving integrated circuit 133 of the panel driver 130 described above may be formed to have a thickness relatively thicker than that of the support member 120. In this case, the driving integrated circuit 133 may be The lower surface of the support member 120 may be contacted and damaged.

The support member 120 further includes an integrated circuit inserting portion 127 into which the driving integrated circuit 133 is inserted.

The integrated circuit insertion part 127 is formed in a hole shape to vertically penetrate the support part 121 of the support member 120, and the driving integrated circuit 133 is inserted into the integrated circuit insertion part 127. In this case, each of the width and length of the integrated circuit insertion unit 127 may be formed to be relatively larger than each of the width and length of the driving integrated circuit 133.

8 is a view for explaining a modification of the bending guide pattern formed on the support member in the flexible display device according to the first and second embodiments of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 8, the bending guide pattern 123b of the support member 120 according to the embodiment of the present invention may be configured such that the first bending part 123a may be bent at 90 degrees. It may be formed of a mountain pattern (123b1) and a valley pattern (123b2, 123b3) formed concave on the lower surface. At this time, each of the mountain pattern 123b1 and the valley patterns 123b2 and 123b3 may be rounded at a predetermined curvature. The mountain pattern 123b1 and the valley patterns 123b2 and 123b3 may be curved surfaces having a constant curvature.

The valley patterns 123b2 and 123b3 allow the first and second bending portions 123a and 123c to be bent at 90 degrees, and are formed side by side with one mountain pattern 123b1 interposed therebetween. The first and second bone patterns 123b2 and 123b3 may be formed. In this case, the first valley pattern 123b2 allows the first bending portion 123a in a horizontal state to be bent at 90 degrees, and the second valley pattern 123b3 is bent at 90 degrees. The second bending part 123c is bent in a horizontal state from 123a so as to face the lower surface of the support part 121. At this time, each of the first and second valley patterns 123b2 and 123b3 is joined to the mountain pattern 123b1 by bending the first and second bending portions 123a and 123c, respectively.

9A to 9C are cross-sectional views illustrating a method of manufacturing the flexible display device according to the first embodiment of the present invention, which relates to the method of manufacturing the flexible display device illustrated in FIGS. 2 to 5 and 8. .

A method of manufacturing the flexible display device according to the first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 9A to 9C.

First, as shown in FIG. 9A, each of the first and second substrates 112 and 114 is provided, and the first and second substrates 112 and 114 are bonded to each other using a bonding member, and the second and second substrates 112 and 114 are bonded to each other. An optical film 116 is attached to an upper surface of the substrate 114 to provide a display panel 110.

The panel driver 130 is attached to the pad part provided in the display panel 110, that is, the extension part 112a of the first substrate 112.

Thereafter, the bending guide part 123 is formed and the support part 121 of the support member 120 to which the adhesive is applied is attached to the display panel 110, that is, the lower surface of the first substrate 112. Here, the remaining support portion 121 except for one side edge portion of the support member 120 is a lower surface of the first substrate 112, that is, the extension portion 112a of the first substrate 112 by an attachment method using a roller. It is attached to the lower surface of the remaining first substrate 112.

The process of preparing the first substrate 112 may include attaching the first substrate 112 to the support glass and manufacturing a thin film transistor for the first substrate 112 attached to the support glass. The bonding process of the first substrate 112 and the second substrate 114 may be performed in a state in which the support glass is separated from the first substrate 112 and the support member is attached to the first substrate 112. . The optical film 116 may be attached to an upper surface of the second substrate 114 after the bonding process of the first substrate 112 and the second substrate 114. The support member 120 is attached to the bottom surface of the first substrate 112 from which the support glass is separated. The panel driver 130 may include the first substrate before or after the bonding process of the first substrate 112 and the second substrate 114 after the support member 120 is attached to the first substrate 112. The pad 112 may be attached to a pad part provided in the extension part 112a of the substrate 112.

Then, as shown in FIG. 9B, the bending guide part 123 of the support member 120 is bent and folded to the bottom surface of the support part 121 of the support member 120. In this case, the bending guide part 123 is bent by 90 degrees by the bending guide pattern 123b formed of a mountain pattern and a valley pattern, and the first bending part 123a is bent by 90 degrees. ) Forms one side of the support member 120, and the second bending part 123c is attached to the bottom surface of the support part 121 of the support member 120 by the attachment member 125. Here, the attachment member 125 is previously attached to the lower surface of the support part 121 of the support member 120 adjacent to the bending guide part 123.

Then, as illustrated in FIG. 9C, the extension part 112a of the first substrate 112 is bent toward the lower surface of the support member 120, and the bent toward the lower surface of the support member 120. The panel driver 130 is fixed to the lower surface of the support member 120. Here, the extension part 112a of the first substrate 112 is bent to have a constant curvature along the bending guide part 123 of the bent and folded support member 120. In addition, the panel driver 130 bent to the bottom surface of the support member 120 may be formed by the above-described bending holding member 140 to support the bottom surface of the support portion 121 or the second bending portion 123c. Attached to the bottom surface. Here, the bending holding member 140 may support the flexible circuit board 131 of the panel driver 130 or the support of the support member 120 before the extension 112a of the first substrate 112 is bent. 121) It is attached to the lower surface in advance. Accordingly, the elastic restoring force acting on the extension part 112a of the first substrate 112 bent to the lower surface of the support member 120 is constrained by the bending retaining member 140 so that the extension part 112a is provided. The bending shape of is maintained as it is.

A substrate protection member 150 may be interposed between the bottom surface of the second bending portion 123c of the support member 120 and the extension portion 112a of the first substrate 112, as shown in FIG. 5. Can be. In this case, the substrate protection member 150 is previously attached to the bottom surface of the second bending portion 123c of the support member 120 before the extension portion 112a of the first substrate 112 is bent.

10A to 10D are cross-sectional views illustrating a method of manufacturing a flexible display device according to a second embodiment of the present invention, which relates to a method of manufacturing the flexible display device illustrated in FIGS. 6 to 8.

A method of manufacturing the flexible display device according to the second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 10A to 10D as follows.

First, as shown in FIG. 10A, each of the first and second substrates 112 and 114 is provided, the back plate 118 is attached to the lower surface of the first substrate 112, and the first and second substrates 112 and 114 are attached to each other. After the first substrate 112 and the second substrate 114 are bonded together, the optical film 116 is attached to the upper surface of the second substrate 114 to prepare the display panel 110. Here, the back plate 118 is attached only to the bottom surface of the first substrate 112 overlapping the second substrate 114.

The process of preparing the first substrate 112 may include attaching the first substrate 112 to the support glass and manufacturing a thin film transistor for the first substrate 112 attached to the support glass. The bonding process of the first substrate 112 and the second substrate 114 is performed in a state in which the support glass is separated from the first substrate 112 and the back plate 118 is attached to the first substrate 112. Can be. The optical film 116 may be attached to an upper surface of the second substrate 114 after the bonding process of the first substrate 112 and the second substrate 114. The back plate 118 is attached to the bottom surface of the first substrate 112 from which the support glass is separated. The panel driver 130 may include the first substrate before or after the bonding process between the first substrate 112 and the second substrate 114 after the back plate 118 is attached to the first substrate 112. The pad 112 may be attached to a pad part provided in the extension part 112a of the substrate 112.

Then, as shown in Figure 10b, the bending guide portion 123 is formed and the support portion 121 of the support member 120, the adhesive is applied to the display panel 110, that is, the back plate 118 To the bottom of the Here, the remaining support portion 121 except for one side edge portion of the support member 120 is attached to the bottom surface of the back plate 118 in a roller-attached manner.

Then, as shown in FIG. 10C, the bending guide part 123 of the support member 120 is bent and folded to the bottom surface of the support part 121 of the support member 120. In this case, the bending guide part 123 is bent by 90 degrees by the bending guide pattern 123b formed of a mountain pattern and a valley pattern, and the first bending part 123a is bent by 90 degrees. ) Forms one side of the support member 120, and the second bending part 123c is attached to the bottom surface of the support part 121 of the support member 120 by the attachment member 125. Here, the attachment member 125 is previously attached to the lower surface of the support part 121 of the support member 120 adjacent to the bending guide part 123.

Then, as illustrated in FIG. 10D, the extension 112a of the first substrate 112 is bent in the lower surface direction of the support member 120 and the bent toward the bottom surface of the support member 120. The panel driver 130 is fixed to the lower surface of the support member 120. Here, the extension part 112a of the first substrate 112 is bent to have a constant curvature along the bending guide part 123 of the bent and folded support member 120. In addition, the panel driver 130 bent to the lower surface of the support member 120 is the lower surface of the support portion 121 or the second bending portion 123c of the support member 120 by the bending holding member 140 described above. Attached to the bottom surface. Here, the bending holding member 140 may support the flexible circuit board 131 of the panel driver 130 or the support of the support member 120 before the extension 112a of the first substrate 112 is bent. 121) It is attached to the lower surface in advance. Accordingly, the elastic restoring force acting on the extension part 112a of the first substrate 112 bent to the lower surface of the support member 120 is constrained by the bending retaining member 140 so that the extension part 112a is provided. The bending shape of is maintained as it is.

A substrate protection member 150 may be interposed between the bottom surface of the second bending portion 123c of the support member 120 and the extension portion 112a of the first substrate 112, as shown in FIG. 5. Can be. In this case, the substrate protection member 150 is previously attached to the bottom surface of the second bending portion 123c of the support member 120 before the extension portion 112a of the first substrate 112 is bent.

As shown in FIG. 7, the integrated circuit inserting portion 127 may be formed in the supporting portion 121 of the supporting member 120. The driving integrated circuit 133 of the panel driver 130 is inserted into the integrated circuit insertion unit 127.

In the above-described flexible display device and a method of manufacturing the same, the display panel 110 is assumed to be an organic light emitting display panel. However, the present invention is not limited thereto, and the display panel 110 includes a plasma display. A self-luminous display panel such as a panel, an electrophoretic display panel, or an electrowetting display panel.

On the other hand, as described above, the flexible display device according to an embodiment of the present invention is a portable digital base (for example, digital wristwatch or digital camera), a television, It can be used for monitors, notebook computers, tablet computers, portable display devices, portable telephones, and the like.

The present invention described above is not limited to the above-described embodiments and the accompanying drawings, and it is common in the art that various substitutions, modifications, and changes can be made without departing from the technical matters of the present invention. It will be evident to those who have knowledge of.

110: display panel 112: first substrate
112a: extension portion 114: second substrate
116: optical film 118: back plate
120: support member 121: support
123: bending guide portion 123a: first bending portion
123b: bending guide pattern 123c: second bending portion
130: panel driver 131: flexible circuit board
133: drive integrated circuit 140: bending holding member

Claims (11)

A display panel including a first substrate including a plurality of pixels and a second substrate opposingly bonded to the first substrate;
A support member including a support part attached to the display panel and a bending guide part extended from one side of the support part and folded; And
A panel driver attached to the first substrate,
And the first substrate includes an extension part which is bent along the bending guide part to overlap the second substrate and to which the panel driver is attached. The method of claim 1,
The bending guide part,
A first bending part extended from one side of the support part and bent;
A bending guide pattern formed on a lower surface of the first bending part to guide bending of the first bending part; And
And a second bending portion extending from the first bending portion and bent from the first bending portion toward the lower surface of the support portion and attached to the lower surface of the support portion. The method of claim 2,
The bending guide pattern may include an acid pattern and a valley pattern formed concave on a lower surface of the first bending part. The method of claim 3, wherein
The flexible display device, characterized in that between the mountain pattern and the valley pattern made of a slope of a predetermined angle or a curved surface of a predetermined curvature. The method of claim 2,
Further comprising a bending holding member adhesively coupled between the lower surface of the support and the panel driver,
And the bending holding member maintains the bending state of the extension part bent to the lower surface of the second bending part so as to surround the first bending part. The method of claim 5,
The display panel further includes a back plate attached to a lower surface of the first substrate except for the extension of the first substrate,
The support part of the support member is attached to the lower surface of the back plate. The method of claim 6,
The panel driver includes a flexible circuit board attached to an extension of the first substrate and a driving integrated circuit mounted on the flexible circuit board.
The support member is formed with an integrated circuit inserting portion into which the driving integrated circuit is inserted. Providing a display panel comprising a first substrate including a plurality of pixels and a second substrate opposingly bonded to the first substrate;
Providing a support member including a support part supporting the display panel and a bending guide part extending from one side of the support part to be folded;
Attaching a panel driver to an extension of the first substrate;
Attaching a support of the support member to the display panel;
Bending and bending the bending guide part of the support member; And
And bending the extension part of the first substrate along the bending guide part so as to overlap with the second substrate. The method of claim 8,
The bending guide part of the support member includes a first bending part extending from one side of the supporting part, a bending guide pattern including a hill pattern and a valley pattern concave on a lower surface of the first bending part, and extending from the first bending part. Including a second bending portion,
The bending process of bending the bending guide part of the support member may be performed by bending the first bending part and the second bending part through the mountain pattern and the valley pattern of the bending guide pattern to attach the second bending part to the lower surface of the support part. The manufacturing method of the flexible display apparatus characterized by the above-mentioned. The method of claim 9,
The process of preparing the display panel includes attaching a back plate to a lower surface of the remaining first substrate except for an extension of the first substrate,
And a support part of the support member is attached to a bottom surface of the back plate. The method according to claim 9 or 10,
And bonding the panel driver, which is located on the bottom surface of the second bending part, to the bottom surface of the support part by using a bending holding member.

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