KR102501537B1 - Cover window for electronic device and electronic device comprising the same - Google Patents

Abstract

The present application provides a cover window for an electronic device capable of losing the polarization of an incident image and an electronic device including the same. The electronic device according to the present application includes a display panel displaying an image and disposed on the display panel. A display module including a polarizing film, a window member having a first region and a second region surrounding the first region, a design layer provided in the second region of the window member, and an adhesive member. and an optical film attached to the inner edge of the design layer adjacent to the area and the first area and attached to the display module via a panel adhesive member, the optical film having optical anisotropy, and a polarizing film from the display panel It is possible to lose or reduce the polarization of an image incident through the window member so as to be transmitted through the window member.

Description

Electronic device including a cover window for an electronic device {COVER WINDOW FOR ELECTRONIC DEVICE AND ELECTRONIC DEVICE COMPRISING THE SAME}

The present application relates to a cover window for an electronic device having a design layer and an electronic device including the same.

In general, display devices are widely used as display screens for various electronic devices (or products) such as mobile communication terminals. Such a display device includes a display panel such as an organic light emitting display panel, a quantum dot light emitting display panel, a micro light emitting diode display panel, an electrophoretic display panel, or a liquid crystal display panel, and furthermore, the display panel of the display device may include a flexible display panel. can

Existing electronic devices include a display module, a housing accommodating the display module, and a cover window attached to the front surface (or display surface) of the display panel.

The display module includes a display panel displaying an image. The display panel includes a polarizing film attached to the front surface. Here, the polarizing film has a role of improving the visibility and contrast ratio of an image by changing the external light reflected by wiring of the display panel into a circularly polarized state.

The cover window may be attached to the front surface of the display panel, that is, the front surface of the polarizing film, through an optical adhesive member. The cover window includes a design layer directly formed on an edge portion facing the display panel. The design layer covers the non-display area other than the display area of the display panel. The design layer includes patterns such as logos of companies producing electronic devices, product names, openings, or icons.

Such an existing electronic device may have an improved design by a design layer disposed on a cover window, but when a user wears polarized sunglasses, an image displayed on a display panel is provided due to the sunglasses effect. will not be able to Here, the sunglasses effect may be referred to as a phenomenon in which an image displayed on a display panel is perceived as black by a user when a transmission axis of polarized sunglasses and a transmission axis of a polarizing film included in a display panel are perpendicular to each other. For example, in an electronic device to which an organic light emitting display panel is applied, an image displayed on the organic light emitting display panel is linearly polarized by a circular polarizing film for suppressing reflection of external light, and the polarization axis of the linearly polarized image is transmitted through polarized sunglasses. Since it is perpendicular to the axis, it is not transmitted through the polarized sunglasses, so a user wearing the polarized sunglasses cannot view an image displayed on the organic light emitting display panel.

Accordingly, there is a need for a method for allowing a user wearing polarized sunglasses to watch an image.

The present application provides a cover window for an electronic device capable of losing polarization of an incident image and an electronic device including the same.

An electronic device according to the present application includes a display module including a display panel displaying an image and a polarizing film disposed on the display panel, a window member having a first area and a second area surrounding the first area, and a window member. Attached to the first area of the window member and the inner edge portion of the design layer adjacent to the first area through the design layer provided in the second area of the and the adhesive member, and attached to the display module through the panel adhesive member An attached optical film may be included, and the optical film may have optical anisotropy, and may increase or decrease polarization of an image incident from the display panel via the polarizing film to be transmitted to the window member.

The second region of the window member according to the present application is provided on first to fourth edge portions of the window member, and may include a curvature portion having at least one of the first to fourth edge portions.

delete

The second region of the window member according to the present application is provided at first to fourth edge portions of the window member and at a corner portion between the first to fourth edge portions, and each of the first to fourth edge portions and corner portions is It may include a curvature.

The electronic device according to the present application may further include a housing accommodating the display panel and supporting the cover window.

The optical film according to the present application may be a polyethylene terephthalate film stretched in the longitudinal and transverse directions.

A display panel according to the present application may be a flexible light emitting display panel including a plurality of pixels having light emitting elements.

The present application may provide a cover window for an electronic device capable of losing or deteriorating the polarization of an incident image by configuring an optical film having optical anisotropy and overlapping the inner edge of the design layer.

And, since the present application can lose or degrade polarization of an image displayed on a display panel by configuring an optical film having optical anisotropy, it is possible to provide an image displayed on a display panel to a user wearing polarized sunglasses. there is.

In addition, the present application can reduce appearance defects due to air voids between the window member and the design layer by directly forming the design layer in the region of the window member.

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

1 is a plan view illustrating a cover window for an electronic device according to an example of the present application.
FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view along the line II′ shown in FIG. 1 .
3 is a plan view illustrating a cover window for an electronic device according to an example of the present application.
FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view along the line II-II′ shown in FIG. 3 .
5 is a plan view illustrating a cover window for an electronic device according to an example of the present application.
6A and 6B are perspective views illustrating a window member and an optical film in the cover window for an electronic device shown in FIG. 5 .
7 is a diagram illustrating an electronic device according to an example of the present application.
FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view along the line III-III′ shown in FIG. 7 .
9 is a diagram illustrating an electronic device according to an example of the present application.
FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view along the line IV-IV′ shown in FIG. 9 .

Advantages and features of the present application, and methods of achieving them, will become clear with reference to examples described below in detail in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. However, the present application is not limited to the examples disclosed below and will be implemented in a variety of different forms, and only the examples of the present application make the disclosure of the present application complete, and common in the technical field to which the invention of the present application belongs. It is provided to completely inform those who have knowledge of the scope of the invention, and the invention of this application is only defined by the scope of the claims.

Since the shape, size, ratio, angle, number, etc. disclosed in the drawings for explaining an example of the present application are exemplary, the present application is not limited to the matters shown. Like reference numbers designate like elements throughout the specification. In addition, in describing examples of the present application, if it is determined that a detailed description of related known technologies may unnecessarily obscure the subject matter of the present application, the detailed description will be omitted.

When 'includes', 'has', 'consists', etc. mentioned in this specification is used, other parts may be added unless 'only' is used. In the case where a component is expressed in the singular, the case including the plural is included unless otherwise explicitly stated.

In interpreting the components, even if there is no separate explicit description, it is interpreted as including the error range.

In the case of a description of a positional relationship, for example, 'on top of', 'on top of', 'at the bottom of', 'next to', etc. Or, unless 'directly' is used, one or more other parts may be located between the two parts.

In the case of a description of a temporal relationship, for example, 'immediately' or 'directly' when a temporal precedence relationship is described in terms of 'after', 'following', 'next to', 'before', etc. It can also include non-continuous cases unless is used.

Although first, second, etc. are used to describe various components, these components are not limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish one component from another. Therefore, the first element mentioned below may be the second element within the technical spirit of the present application.

The term “at least one” should be understood to include all possible combinations from one or more related items. For example, "at least one of the first item, the second item, and the third item" means not only the first item, the second item, or the third item, respectively, but also two of the first item, the second item, and the third item. It may mean a combination of all items that can be presented from one or more.

Each feature of the various examples of the present application can be partially or entirely combined or combined with each other, technically various interlocking and driving are possible, and each example can be implemented independently of each other or can be implemented together in a related relationship. .

Hereinafter, a preferred example of a cover window for an electronic device according to the present application and an electronic device including the same will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In adding reference numerals to components of each drawing, the same components may have the same numerals as much as possible even if they are displayed on different drawings.

1 is a plan view illustrating a cover window for an electronic device according to an example of the present application, and FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line II′ in FIG. 1 .

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2 , a cover window 1 for an electronic device according to the present application includes a window member 10 , a design layer 30 , an adhesive member 50 , and an optical film 70 .

The window member 10 includes a transparent material having a shape capable of covering the front of the electronic device. The window member 10 according to an example may have a polygonal shape including a square shape or a non-polygonal shape including a circular shape. For example, the window member 10 may have a square plate shape, and each corner of the square plate may be rounded with a predetermined curvature. Also, the corner portions may be rounded with different curvatures. For example, the curvature of each corner portion may be formed to be the same as that of corners facing each other. The curvature of the corner portion in the vertical direction and the curvature of the corner portion in the left and right direction may be the same, but are not limited thereto.

The window member 10 according to an example may be made of glass or a reinforced glass material. For example, the window member 10 may have any one of sapphire glass and gorilla glass, or a bonding structure thereof.

The window member 10 includes a first area A1 and a second area A2.

The first area A1 is a central portion of the window member 10 and may be a transparent area through which light passes. The first area A1 may have a planar shape.

The second area A2 is an edge portion of the window member 10 to surround the first area A1 and may be an opaque area through which light does not pass. The second area A2 may have a planar shape extending from the first area A1.

The second area A2 according to an example may be provided on the first to fourth edge portions EP1 , EP2 , EP3 , and EP4 of the window member 10 . Here, the first edge portion EP1 is a left edge portion between the one long side of the window member 10 and the first area A1, and the second edge portion EP2 is the one side short side of the window member 10 and the first area A1. The upper edge part between the area A1, the third edge part EP3 is the right edge part between the other long side of the window member 10 and the first area A1, and the fourth edge part EP4 is the window member It may be a lower edge portion between the other short side of (10) and the first area A1.

The second area A2 according to an embodiment further includes first to fourth corner parts CP1 , CP2 , CP3 , and CP4 provided between the first to fourth edge parts EP1 , EP2 , EP3 , and EP4 . . Here, the first corner part CP1 is between the first edge part EP1 and the second edge part EP2, and the second corner part CP2 is between the second edge part EP2 and the third edge part EP3. Between, the third corner portion CP3 is between the third edge portion EP3 and the fourth edge portion EP4, and the fourth corner portion CP4 is between the fourth edge portion EP4 and the first edge portion EP1. ) may be provided between each.

The design layer 30 is provided to cover the second area A2 of the window member 10 and forms an opaque area at the edge of the cover window 1 . That is, the design layer 30 is provided on the rear surface 10a of the window member 10 overlapping the second area A2 of the window member 10, so that the non-display area in the electronic device where no image is displayed can be hidden. there is.

The design layer 30 according to an example may include at least one of a light blocking pattern, a logo pattern, an opening pattern, and an icon pattern provided in the second area A2 of the window member 10 . Here, the light-shielding pattern is a transparent area (or light-transmitting area) of the cover window 1 by covering the second area A2 except for the first area A1 of the window member 10, black, white, Or it may have a color color. The logo pattern may include a logo and/or company name of a company that produces the electronic device. The opening pattern may be a sensor hole pattern overlapping each of a camera and various sensors mounted in an electronic device. The icon pattern may be a menu icon, a home icon, or an undo icon for executing an application of the electronic device. The design layer 30 may be a decoration formed to design on the window member 10 such as flat, bent, or curved.

The design layer 30 according to the present application includes first to nth (where n is a natural number equal to or greater than 2) sequentially stacked on the second area A2 of the window member 10, the printed layers 31, 33, 35, 37) may be included. For example, the design layer 30 may include first to fourth printed layers 31 , 33 , 35 , and 37 .

The first printed layer 31 is directly formed on the rear surface 10a of the window member 10 overlapping the second area A2 of the window member 10 . In this case, the first printed layer 31 may have a first thickness and a first width W1. Here, the first width W1 may be equal to the width of the second area A1.

The second printed layer 33 may be directly formed on the rear surface of the first printed layer 31 to have a second thickness and a second width W2 . The third printed layer 35 may be directly formed on the rear surface of the second printed layer 33 to have a second thickness and a second width W2. The fourth printed layer 37 may be directly formed on the rear surface of the third printed layer 35 to have a second thickness and a second width W2. That is, each of the second to fourth printed layers 33 , 35 , and 37 may be sequentially stacked on the rear surface of the first printed layer 31 . In this case, each of the second to fourth printed layers 33 , 35 , and 37 may be laminated on a portion of the first printed layer 31 except for an inner edge portion.

The second thickness of each of the second to fourth printed layers 33 , 35 , and 37 may be equal to or greater than the first thickness within a process error range.

The second width W2 of each of the second to fourth printed layers 33 , 35 , and 37 may be smaller than the first width W1 of the first printed layer 31 . For example, the second width W2 may be a distance from the outermost sidewall 10b of the window member 10 . Accordingly, the outer surface of each of the second to fourth printed layers 33, 35, and 37 is located on the outermost sidewall 10b of the window member 10, and the second to fourth printed layers 33, 35, and 37 ) is located on the back side of the first printed layer 31.

Alternatively, each of the second to fourth printed layers 33 , 35 , and 37 may be formed to have different widths from the outermost sidewall 10b of the window member 10 . For example, the width of each of the second to fourth printed layers 33 , 35 , and 37 may gradually decrease as the distance from the first printed layer 31 increases. In this case, the design layer 30 may have three stair-shaped steps on the rear surface of the first printed layer 31 due to the step difference between the second to fourth printed layers 33 , 35 , and 37 .

The first printing layer 31 according to an example may be formed to have a first thickness by at least one printing process using black ink, white ink, or color ink.

The first thickness according to an example may be set to 4 micrometers or more and 10 micrometers or less. Here, the first thickness of the first printed layer 31 may be set to less than 4 micrometers. In this case, the first printed layer 31 may have a translucent property due to its small thickness. When the first printed layer 31 has a transflective property, it cannot function as a light blocking layer or cover an overlapping area of the optical film 70 overlapping a portion of the first printed layer 31 . In addition, a color difference may occur between an area overlapping the second to fourth printed layers 33 , 35 , and 37 of the first printed layer 31 and a non-overlapping area. Accordingly, the first printed layer 31 may be set to 4 micrometers or more. And, when the first printed layer 31 exceeds 10 micrometers, the adhesive member 50 is incompletely attached to the stepped portion between the rear surface 10a of the window member 10 and the first printed layer 31 ( or close contact), and due to this, an air void is generated between the stepped portion and the adhesive member 50. Air voids can cause appearance defects, and air voids grow in a high-temperature, high-humidity environment to degrade the quality of the cover window. Accordingly, the first printed layer 31 according to the present application may be set to 10 micrometers or less. Therefore, the first printed layer 31 according to the present application can be set to 4 micrometers or more and 10 micrometers or less.

Each of the second to fourth printed layers 33, 35, and 37 according to an embodiment has a second thickness by at least one printing process using the same ink as the first printed layer 31 or an ink of a different color. can be formed

The design layer 30 according to the present application is a process of forming a light-shielding pattern including the first to fourth printed layers 31, 33, 35, and 37, and at least one of a logo pattern, an opening pattern, and an icon pattern in the light-shielding pattern. It can be formed through a process of forming a pattern of. Here, each of the first to fourth printed layers 31, 33, 35, and 37 is formed on the rear surface 10a of the window member 10 overlapping the second area A2 of the window member 10 through a print nozzle. It may be formed through a printing process of printing (or coating) ink, and a curing process of curing the printed ink. Here, the printing process may use a direct silk screen printing method, but is not limited thereto, and a known printing method may be used. And, the pattern may be formed through an exposure process using a mask and a development (or etching) process.

Alternatively, each of the first to fourth printed layers 31, 33, 35, and 37 of the design layer 30 may be formed through an inkjet printing method, and in this case, a patterning process may be omitted.

In addition, although the design layer 30 is illustrated as including the first to fourth printed layers 31, 33, 35, and 37 in FIG. 2, the design layer 30 is not limited thereto, and the design layer 30 includes at least the first printed layer. (31) and a second printed layer (33).

The adhesive member 50 is interposed between the first area A1 of the window member 10 and the optical film 70 to couple the optical film 70 to the rear surface 10a of the window member 10 . The adhesive member 50 according to an example may be a transparent adhesive film, for example, Optically Clear Adhesive (OCA) or Pressure Sensitive Adhesive (PSA).

The adhesive member 50 according to the present application is attached to the entire first area A1 of the window member 10, and the inner edge portion of the design layer 30 adjacent to the first area A1 of the window member 10 additionally attached to For example, an edge portion of the adhesive member 50 overlaps an inner edge portion of the first print layer 31 included in the design layer 30 . At this time, the outer surface of the adhesive member 50 is the boundary BP between the first area A1 and the second area A2 of the window member 10 and the second printed layer included in the design layer 30 ( 33) may be located between the sides. To this end, the adhesive member 50 according to the present application can be attached to the entire first area A1 of the window member 10 and the inner edge portion of the first printed layer 31 so that the adhesive member 50 can be attached to the first area A1 of the window member 10. It has a larger size than area 1 (A1).

The adhesive member 50 according to an example may have a thickness greater than the first thickness of the first printed layer 31 . For example, when the thickness is the same as or smaller than the first thickness of the first printed layer 31, the adhesive member 50 is formed on the edge between the back surface 10a of the window member 10 and the first printed layer 31. It is incompletely attached to (or closely adhered to) the chin portion, and as a result, an air void is generated between the stepped chin portion and the adhesive member 50 . Air voids can cause appearance defects, and air voids grow in a high-temperature, high-humidity environment to degrade the quality of the cover window. Accordingly, the adhesive member 50 according to the present application may have a thickness at least three times greater than the first thickness of the first printed layer 31 to prevent the occurrence of air voids.

A side surface of the adhesive member 50 may be spaced apart from an inner surface of the second printed layer 33 adjacent to the first area A1 by 0.2 micrometers or more. For example, during the process of attaching the adhesive member 50 to the inner edge of the first printed layer 31, the adhesive member 50 overlaps the inner edge of the second printed layer 33 due to a process error. It can be. In this case, an air void may be generated between the stepped portion between the first printed layer 33 and the second printed layer 33 and the adhesive member 50 . Accordingly, the second printed layer 33 may be attached only to the inner edge of the first printed layer 31 without the edge of the adhesive member 50 being attached to the inner edge of the second printed layer 33. An inner surface of the adhesive member 50 may be spaced apart from the side of the adhesive member 50 by 0.2 micrometers or more.

The adhesive member 50 according to an example is attached to one surface of the optical film 70 facing the first area A1 of the window member 10, and the optical film 70 and the window member 10 are attached to each other. During the bonding process, the entire first area A1 of the window member 10 and the inner edge portion of the first printed layer 31 may be attached.

The optical film 70 is attached to the entire first area A1 of the window member 10 and the inner edge of the design layer 30 adjacent to the first area A1 via the adhesive member 50. . That is, the optical film 70 is attached to the adhesive member 50 to cover the entire first area A1 of the window member 10 and the inner edge portion of the first printed layer 31 included in the design layer 30. cover Here, when the optical film 70 is attached only to the first area A1 of the window member 10 via the adhesive member 50, the first area A1 and the second area A1 of the window member 10 Light leakage may occur at the boundary BP between the regions A2, and such light leakage may cause a sunglasses effect. Accordingly, the optical film 70 covers not only the entire first area A1 of the window member 10 but also the inner edge portion of the first printed layer 31 to prevent light leakage at the boundary portion BP, This can prevent the sunglass effect.

The edge portion of the optical film 70 overlaps the inner edge portion of the first printed layer 31, and in this case, the overlapping width W3 between the optical film 70 and the first printed layer 31 is 0.11 micrometers. can be set to For example, in the case of a process of attaching the adhesive member 50 to the window member 10, a process error of about ±0.1 micrometer may be obtained. Based on the process error of -0.1 micrometer, the optical film 70 and the first printed layer 31 are overlapped with the inner edge of the first printed layer 31 so that the adhesive member 50 and the optical film 70 overlap each other. The overlapping width W3 between (31) may be set to 0.11 micrometer or more.

The optical film 70 according to the present application may have a thickness smaller than that of the adhesive member 50 . For example, the optical film 70 may have half the thickness of the adhesive member 50, but is not limited thereto.

The optical film 70 according to the present application includes a transparent material having optical anisotropy in order to lose polarization of an incident image. The optical film 70 according to an example may have optical anisotropy having different orientation angles through a biaxial stretching process. To this end, the optical film 70 may be formed of a polyethylene terephthalate film stretched in the longitudinal and transverse directions. Polyethylene terephthalate films may have mechanically enhanced strength by biaxial stretching. In this case, the polyethylene terephthalate film has optical anisotropy in which the molecular orientation angle is different according to the optical axis direction by the biaxial stretching process in which longitudinal stretching and transverse stretching are performed in order, and thus the polarization state of the incident image can be lost. . Therefore, the light incident on the cover window 1 can pass through the polarized sunglasses as the polarization is lost or lowered by the optical film 70 having optical anisotropy, and as a result, even if the user wears the polarized sunglasses, the cover window ( 1) You can watch the video that passes through.

The cover window 1 according to the present application further includes a protective layer 90 .

The protective layer 90 protects the design layer 30 from impact by covering the design layer 30 exposed to the rear surface of the window member 10 . The protective layer 90 according to an example includes the remaining first printed layer 31, the second to fourth printed layers 33, except for the inner edge portion of the first printed layer 31 overlapping the optical film 70. 35, 37) may be formed to cover both the inner surface and the rear surface of the fourth printed layer 37, respectively. As an example, the protective layer 90 may include UV and/or thermosetting resins. As another example, the protective layer 90 may include a light absorbing material, for example, an opaque inorganic insulating material such as CrOx or MoOx, or an opaque organic insulating material such as black resin.

Also, the cover window 1 for an electronic device according to the present application may further include a front film provided on the front surface 10c of the window member 10 . The front film may include at least one of a hard coating layer, a self-healing layer, an impact diffusion layer, a self-cleaning layer, an anti-fingerprint layer, and an impact absorption layer.

As described above, the cover window 1 for an electronic device according to an example of the present application has optical anisotropy and loses polarization of an incident image through the optical film 70 overlapping the inner edge of the design layer 30. Alternatively, it is possible to view the image even if the user wears polarized sunglasses by lowering the polarization, and light leakage at the boundary between the transparent area and the opaque area can be prevented.

3 is a plan view illustrating a cover window for an electronic device according to an example of the present application, and FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line II-II′ shown in FIG. 3, which is a cover window for an electronic device according to an example of the present application. The shape of the window member was changed in Accordingly, only the window member and its related components will be described below, and redundant descriptions of the same components will be omitted or simply described.

Referring to FIGS. 3 and 4 , in the cover window 1 for an electronic device according to the present example, the window member 10 has a first area A1 and a second area A2 surrounding the first area A1. ), and first and second curvature portions 11a and 11b provided in the second region A2 to have a curvature.

The first area A1 is a central portion of the window member 10 and may be a transparent area through which light passes. The first area A1 may have a planar shape.

The second area A2 is an edge portion of the window member 10 to surround the first area A1 and may be an opaque area through which light does not pass. The second area A2 may be provided on the first to fourth edge portions EP1 , EP2 , EP3 , and EP4 and the first to fourth corner portions CP1 , CP2 , CP3 , and CP4 of the window member 10 . there is.

The first curvature part 11a is provided to have a curvature at one side of the second region A2. For example, the first curvature portion 11a is disposed to have curvature at the first edge portion EP1 , the first corner portion CP1 , and the fourth corner portion CP4 of the window member 10 . Accordingly, the first edge portion EP1 of the window member 10 may have a curved structure or a round structure due to the first curvature portion 11a.

The second curvature part 11b is provided to have a curvature on the other side of the second area A2 parallel to one side of the second area A2. That is, the second curvature portion 11b has curvatures at the third edge portion EP3 parallel to the first edge portion EP1 of the window member 10, the second corner portion CP2, and the third corner portion CP3. is prepared to have Accordingly, the third edge portion EP3 of the window member 10 may have a structure curved in a curved or round shape due to the second curvature portion 11b.

The first edge part EP1 and the third edge part EP3 of the window member 10 may have a symmetrical structure with respect to a center line parallel to the long side of the window member 10, depending on the design of the electronic device. It may have an asymmetric structure.

The design layer 30 overlapping the first edge portion EP1 of the window member 10 is curved to have the same shape as the first edge portion EP1 of the window member 10 . Similarly, the design layer 30 overlapping the third edge portion EP3 of the window member 10 is curved to have the same shape as the third edge portion EP3 of the window member 10 .

As described above, the cover window 1 for an electronic device according to the present example has a structure in which each of the first edge portion EP1 and the third edge portion EP3 of the window member 10 are curved, thereby having improved aesthetics. In addition, the horizontal or vertical bezel width of the electronic device can be reduced in plan view.

Also, the design layer 30 may not be directly formed on the window member 10 but may be provided on the design film. In this case, the design film having the design layer 30 may be attached to the second area A2 of the window member 10 including the curved structure via the optical adhesive member 50 . In this case, as the curvature of each of the first and second curvature portions 11a and 11b decreases and the banded height h increases, the window member 10 and the design of the first and second curvature portions 11a and 11b increase. Air voids (or bubbles) are generated between the films. For example, there is a problem in that air bubbles between the design layer 30 and the window member 10 cannot escape. Air voids cause poor appearance of the cover window 1 . Therefore, in this example, the design layer 30 is directly formed or printed on the second area A2 of the window member 10 having a curved structure, and the optical film 70 having optical anisotropy is applied to the window member 10. ) to the entire first area A1 and the inner edge portion of the first printed layer included in the design layer 30, problems such as appearance defects due to air voids can be reduced. In addition, by directly forming or printing the design layer 30 on the window member 10, the sunglass effect can be prevented.

Alternatively, in FIGS. 3 and 4 , each of the first edge portion EP1 and the third edge portion EP3 of the window member 10 is illustrated as having a curved structure, but is not limited thereto, and the window member 10 The first edge portion EP1 or the third edge portion EP3 of ) may have a curved structure. Accordingly, any one of the first to fourth edge portions EP1 , EP2 , EP3 , and EP4 of the window member 10 may have a curved structure including a curved portion.

5 is a plan view illustrating a cover window for an electronic device according to an example of the present application, and FIGS. 6A and 6B are perspective views illustrating a window member and an optical film in the cover window for an electronic device shown in FIG. 5 , and FIG. 4 is A cross-sectional view along line II-II′ shown in FIG. 5 , which is a change in shape of a window member in a cover window for an electronic device according to an example of the present application. Accordingly, only the window member and its related components will be described below, and redundant descriptions of the same components will be omitted or simply described.

Referring to FIGS. 4 to 6 , in the cover window 1 for an electronic device according to the present example, the second area A2 of the window member 10 may have an overall curved structure. Specifically, the first to fourth edge portions (EP1, EP2, EP3, EP4) and the first to fourth edges of the window member 10 constituting the second area A2 of the window member 10 according to the present example. Each of the corner portions CP1, CP2, CP3, and CP4 between the edge portions EP1, EP2, EP3, and EP4 includes curvature portions 11a, 11b, 11c, 11d, 11e, 11f, 11g, and 11h having curvature. do. The cover window 1 for an electronic device according to this example includes first to fourth edge parts EP1 , EP2 , EP3 , and EP4 and first to fourth edge parts EP1 , EP2 , and EP3 of the window member 10 . , EP4), except that each corner part (CP1, CP2, CP3, CP4) has a curved structure as a whole, and each corner part (CP1, CP2, CP3, CP4) has a structure in which the curvature is rounded. 3 and FIG. 4 are the same.

As described above, the cover window 1 for an electronic device according to the present example may have an improved aesthetic sense by having a structure in which the second area A2 of the window member 10 is curved as a whole, and can have a horizontal view of the electronic device in a plan view. It is possible to reduce the bezel width in the direction and the vertical direction.

The curved curvature of each corner portion CP1 , CP2 , CP3 , CP4 of the window member 10 may be formed in various ways. For example, only some corners of the four corners CP1 , CP2 , CP3 , and CP4 of the window member 10 may be formed to be curved. Also, at least two or more curved corners among the four corner portions CP1 , CP2 , CP3 , and CP4 of the window member 10 may be curved with different curvatures. Also, the corner portions CP1 , CP2 , CP3 , and CP4 may be rounded with different curvatures. For example, the curvature of each corner portion may be formed to be the same as that of corners facing each other. The curvature of the corner portion in the vertical direction and the curvature of the corner portion in the left and right direction may be the same, but are not limited thereto.

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an electronic device according to an example of the present application, and FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view along line III-III′ shown in FIG. 7 .

7 and 8, the electronic device according to the present example includes a display module 100 including a display panel 110 displaying an image, and a cover window 300 covering the front of the display panel 110. ), and a housing 500 accommodating the display module 100 and supporting the cover window 300.

The display module 100 is accommodated in the housing 500 to display an image. The display module 100 according to an example includes a display panel 110 and a panel driving circuit that drives the display panel 110 .

The display panel 110 may be a light emitting display panel or a flexible light emitting display panel. The display panel 110 according to an example includes a pixel array substrate 111 having a pixel array composed of a plurality of pixels, an encapsulation layer 113 encapsulating the pixel array, and an upper surface of the encapsulation layer 113. An attached polarizing film 115 may be included.

Each of the plurality of pixels is provided in a pixel area provided by pixel driving lines. Each of the plurality of pixels may include a pixel circuit having at least two thin film transistors and at least one capacitor, and a light emitting element that emits light by current supplied from the pixel circuit. As an example, the light emitting device may include an organic light emitting layer or a quantum dot light emitting layer. As another example, the light emitting device may include a micro light emitting diode.

The encapsulation layer 113 protects the thin film transistor and the light emitting element from external impact and prevents moisture from penetrating into the light emitting element.

The polarizing film 115 is attached to the upper surface of the encapsulation layer 113 via a film attachment member. The polarizing film 115 serves to improve the visibility and contrast ratio of the display panel 110 by changing the external light reflected by the thin film transistors and/or the pixel driving lines provided on the pixel array substrate 311 into a circularly polarized state. includes

Also, the display panel 110 may further include a barrier layer and a touch electrode layer interposed between the encapsulation layer 113 and the polarizing film 115 . Also, the display panel 110 may further include a color filter layer provided on the upper surface of the encapsulation layer 113 .

Alternatively, the encapsulation layer 113 may be replaced with an encapsulation substrate attached to the pixel array substrate 111 via a filler surrounding the pixel array. When the filler is formed of a transparent filler, the encapsulation substrate may be a transparent encapsulation substrate.

The panel driving circuit part is connected to a pad part provided on the pixel array substrate 111 of the display panel 110 and displays an image in each pixel by supplying a driving signal and a data signal to the pixel driving lines.

The cover window 300 is provided to cover the front surface of the display module 100 and covers the non-display area except for the display area of the display module 100 . To this end, the cover window 300 is provided in a first area overlapping the display area of the display module 100, a second area overlapping the non-display area of the display module 100, and a second area. ) includes a design layer that covers the non-display area. Since this cover window 300 has the same configuration as the cover window 1 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 except for having a shape corresponding to the shape of the electronic device, redundant description thereof will be omitted. .

The cover window 300 is attached to the front surface of the display module 100 , that is, to the front surface of the polarizing film 135 via the panel adhesive member 200 . For example, the front surface of the display panel 110 may be attached to the rear surface of the optical film 70 provided on the cover window 300 by a direct bonding process using the panel adhesive member 200 as a medium.

The panel adhesive member 200 may have the same size as the optical film 70 of the cover window 300 . Accordingly, the edge portion of the panel adhesive member 200 may overlap the inner edge portion of the design layer 30 adjacent to the first area of the window member 300 . The panel adhesive member 200 according to an example may be an optical adhesive film, for example, Optically Clear Adhesive (OCA) or Pressure Sensitive Adhesive (PSA).

The housing 500 accommodates the display panel 110 and supports the cover window 300 . For example, the housing 500 supports the second region of the window member 10 or supports the cover window 300 by being coupled to the second region.

The housing 500 according to an example includes a support frame 510 , an outermost cover 530 , and a circuit accommodating space 550 .

The support frame 510 supports the display panel 110 and provides a circuit accommodating space 550 . The support frame 510 according to an example includes a panel support part 511 and a support side wall 513 .

The panel support part 511 supports the rear surface of the display panel 110 . As an example, the panel support 511 may be provided in the form of a flat plate to support the entire rear surface of the display panel 110 . As another example, the panel support 511 may be provided in a strip shape to support only the rear edge portion of the display panel 110 .

The support sidewall 513 is coupled to the outer surface of the panel support part 511 to support the cover window 300 and surrounds each side of the display panel 110 . The support sidewall 513 may be provided in a band shape having a predetermined thickness to overlap the second area of the cover window 300 . Alternatively, the support sidewall 513 may be coupled to the second region of the cover window 300 through an adhesive member.

The outermost cover 530 surrounds each outer surface of the cover window 300 while surrounding the rear surface and each side surface of the support frame 510 . The outermost cover 530 according to an example is bent from an edge portion of the rear cover 531 supporting or covering the rear surface of the support frame 510, and the rear cover 531 to each side of the support frame 510 and the cover. A side cover 533 enclosing all outer surfaces of the window 300 is included.

Alternatively, the rear cover 531 and the side cover 533 may be individually configured and separated from each other. In this case, the rear cover 531 may be made of a plastic material, a metal material, or a glass material. In this case, the rear cover 531 made of glass may have any one of sapphire glass and gorilla glass, or a bonding structure thereof. For example, when both the cover window 300 and the rear cover 531 are made of Gorilla Glass, it is preferable that the Gorilla Glass of the back cover 531 has relatively higher durability than that of the Gorilla Glass of the cover window 300. can

The circuit accommodating space 550 is provided between the panel support 511 and the rear cover 531 . The circuit accommodating space 500 may accommodate a panel driving circuit unit, a memory, a battery, and the like.

As such, the electronic device according to the present example loses or deteriorates the polarization of an image displayed on the display panel 110 through the optical film 70 provided on the cover window 300 and having optical anisotropy, thereby providing polarized sunglasses. An image displayed on the display panel 110 may be provided to a user who wears it.

9 is a diagram illustrating an electronic device according to an example of the present application, and FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view along the line IV-IV′ shown in FIG. 9, which is an electronic device including a cover window shown in FIGS. 3 to 6 is to explain

9 and 10, the electronic device according to the present example includes a display module 100 including a display panel 110 displaying an image, and a cover window 300 covering the front of the display panel 110. ), and a housing 500 accommodating the display module 100 and supporting the cover window 300.

Since the display module 100 is the same as the display module shown in FIGS. 7 and 8 , redundant description thereof will be omitted or simply described.

The cover window 300 is provided to cover the front surface of the display module 100 and covers the non-display area except for the display area of the display module 100 . To this end, the cover window 300 is provided in a first area overlapping the display area of the display module 100, a second area overlapping the non-display area of the display module 100, and a second area. ), and a structure in which the second area is curved with a curvature. Since this cover window 300 has the same configuration as the cover window 1 shown in FIGS. 3 to 6 except for having a shape corresponding to the shape of the electronic device, redundant description thereof will be omitted or simply described. I'm going to do it.

The housing 500 accommodates the display panel 110 and supports the cover window 300 . For example, the housing 500 supports the second region of the window member 10 or supports the cover window 300 by being coupled to the second region.

The housing 500 according to an example includes a support frame 510 supporting the display panel 110 and providing a circuit accommodation space, and each of the cover window 300 while surrounding the back and each side of the support frame 510. It includes the outermost cover 530 surrounding the outer surface.

The support frame 510 according to an example is coupled to the panel support 511 supporting the rear surface of the display panel 110 and the outer surface of the panel support 511 to cover each side of the display panel 110. A supporting sidewall 513 supporting the second region of the window 300 is included. Here, the support sidewall 513 may be provided in a band shape having a constant thickness so as to overlap the second area of the cover window 300 . The support sidewall 513 supports the curved second region of the window member 10 . Alternatively, the support sidewall 513 may be coupled to the second region of the cover window 300 through an adhesive member.

The outermost cover 530 is bent from the rear cover 531 supporting or covering the rear surface of the support frame 510 and the edge portion of the rear cover 531 to surround each side of the support frame 510 and is curved. The outer surface of the window member 10 is supported.

Alternatively, as in the electronic device of the foregoing example, the rear cover 531 and the side cover 533 may be individually configured to have a form separated from each other.

The circuit accommodating space 550 is provided between the panel support 511 and the rear cover 531 . The circuit accommodating space 500 may accommodate a panel driving circuit unit, a memory, a battery, and the like.

As such, the electronic device according to the present example loses or deteriorates the polarization of an image displayed on the display panel 110 through the optical film 70 provided on the cover window 300 and having optical anisotropy, thereby providing polarized sunglasses. An image displayed on the display panel 110 may be provided to a user who wears it. Also, the electronic device according to the present example may have a thin bezel width as the second region of the cover window 300 has a curved structure.

In addition, the electronic device according to the present application is not limited to the smart phone, mobile communication terminal, or mobile phone shown in FIG. 7 or 9, and includes a tablet PC (personal computer), a smart watch, It may be a watch phone, a wearable device, an electronic notebook, an electronic book, a portable multimedia player (PMP), a navigation device, a television, a laptop computer, a monitor, a camera, a camcorder, or a home appliance.

And, in the electronic device according to the present application, the display panel has been described as being a flexible light emitting display panel including a plurality of pixels having light emitting elements, but is not limited thereto, and displays including a liquid crystal display panel or an electrophoretic display panel It can be changed to a panel or a flexible display panel.

The present application described above is not limited to the above-described embodiments and the accompanying drawings, and it is common in the technical field to which this application belongs that various substitutions, modifications, and changes are possible without departing from the technical details of the present application. It will be clear to those who have knowledge of Therefore, the scope of the present application is indicated by the following claims, and all changes or modifications derived from the meaning and scope of the claims and equivalent concepts should be interpreted as being included in the scope of the present application.

1, 300: cover window 10: window member
30: design layer 31, 33, 35, 37: print layer
50: adhesive member 70: optical film
90: protective layer 100: display module
110: display panel 111: pixel array substrate
113: encapsulation layer 115: polarizing film
200: panel adhesive member 500: housing
510: support frame 530: outermost cover

Claims (18)

A display module including a display panel displaying an image and a polarizing film disposed on the display panel;
a window member having a first area and a second area surrounding the first area;
a design layer provided on the second area of the window member; and
an optical film attached to the first region of the window member and an inner edge portion of the design layer adjacent to the first region via an adhesive member and attached to the display module via a panel adhesive member; ,
The optical film has optical anisotropy, and the polarization of an image incident from the display panel through the polarizing film is lost or reduced to transmit the image to the window member;
The design layer includes first to nth (n is a natural number equal to or greater than 2) print layers stacked on the second region of the window member;
The width of the first printed layer is greater than the width of the second to nth printed layers;
An edge portion of the adhesive member and the optical film overlaps an inner edge portion of the first printed layer adjacent to the first region;
A separation width between inner surfaces of the second through n-th printed layers facing the side surface of the adhesive member and the side surface of the adhesive member is larger than an overlapping width between the first printed layer and the optical film. delete delete According to claim 1,
The electronic device of claim 1, wherein an overlapping width between the optical film and the first printed layer is 0.11 micrometer or more. According to claim 1,
The electronic device of claim 1 , wherein the first printed layer has a thickness of 4 micrometers or more and 10 micrometers or less. According to claim 1,
An edge portion of the optical film covers an inner edge portion of the first printed layer adjacent to the first area,
The second to n-th printed layers are laminated on a portion of the remaining portion except for the inner edge portion of the first printed layer,
An electronic device further comprising a protective layer covering a rear surface of the n-th printed layer, an inner surface of the second to n-th printed layers, and an exposed portion of the rear surface of the first printed layer without overlapping with the optical film. . According to claim 6,
The electronic device of claim 1 , wherein a side surface of the adhesive member is spaced apart from an inner surface of the second printed layer adjacent to the first area by 0.2 micrometer or more. According to claim 1,
The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the second region of the window member includes a curvature portion. According to claim 1,
The second area of the window member is provided on first to fourth edge portions of the window member,
At least one of the first to fourth edge portions includes a curvature portion, the electronic device. According to claim 1,
The second region of the window member is provided at first to fourth edge portions of the window member and a corner portion between the first to fourth edge portions,
The electronic device, wherein each of the first to fourth edge portions and the corner portion includes a curvature portion. According to claim 1,
The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the optical film is a polyethylene terephthalate film stretched in the longitudinal and transverse directions. According to claim 1,
An electronic device further comprising a housing accommodating the display module and supporting the window member. delete delete According to claim 1,
An edge portion of the panel adhesive member overlaps an inner edge portion of a design layer adjacent to a first region of the window member. delete According to claim 1,
The display panel is a flexible light emitting display panel including a plurality of pixels having light emitting elements. According to claim 12,
The electronic device, wherein the housing supports the second region of the window member.

Images