TWM611713U - Electronic device - Google Patents

Abstract

An electronic device includes a cover plate, a touch sensing layer, and a display module. The cover plate includes a glass layer and at least one polymer material layer. The glass layer has a first surface and a second surface. The polymer material layer is disposed on and in contact with at least one of the first surface and the second surface of the glass layer, and is laminated with the glass layer. The touch sensing layer is disposed under the cover plate. The display module is disposed under the touch sensing layer.

Description

Electronic device

This creation is about an electronic device and its manufacturing method, especially an electronic device that includes a flexible screen.

Recently, mobile phones with foldable screens have been launched on the market. For mobile phone manufacturers, mobile phones with foldable screens can not only establish brand images, but also increase product prices. Mobile phones with foldable screens will also replace tablets and even notebook computers as a new source of business growth. For supply chain manufacturers, mobile phones with foldable screens will bring new demands and improve their profitability.

In order to achieve a foldable effect, some existing foldable screen covers are realized by using polymer films. In addition to flexibility, this film needs to be thin, high hardness, high temperature resistance and high light transmittance. However, from the experimental data, if a foldable screen made of plastic film is folded for a certain number of times, the foldable cover cannot have a high stress relief ability due to the use of plastic film (it can also be said that the cover is formed by a plastic film. The Young's modulus itself is low), and the optical performance (for example, brightness, contrast) will be greatly reduced. Looking back at the prior art U.S. Patent Application No. 20200225699A, it can be seen that the prior art uses optical clear adhesive (OCA) or pressure sensitive adhesive (PSA) for coupling between laminated structures, which not only increases the overall Thickness, cracks and gaps are easily formed after repeated folding.

Therefore, how to propose an electronic device that can solve the above-mentioned problems is one of the problems that the industry urgently wants to invest in research and development resources to solve.

In view of this, one purpose of this creation is to provide an electronic device that can solve the above-mentioned problems.

In order to achieve the above objective, according to one embodiment of the present invention, an electronic device includes a cover plate, a touch sensing layer, and a display module. The cover plate includes a glass layer and at least one transparent cover layer. The glass layer has a first surface and a second surface. The transparent covering layer is arranged and in contact with at least one of the first surface and the second surface of the glass layer, and is overlapped with the glass layer. The touch sensing layer is disposed under the cover plate. The display module is arranged under the touch sensing layer.

In one or more embodiments of the present creation, the glass layer is an ultra-thin glass layer having a thickness of less than about 100 microns.

In one or more embodiments of the present invention, the thickness of the glass layer ranges from about 25 microns to about 100 microns.

In one or more embodiments of the present invention, the thickness of the glass layer ranges from about 25 microns to about 35 microns.

In one or more embodiments of the present creation, the transparent cover layer has a thickness ranging from about 5 microns to about 10 microns.

In one or more embodiments of the present creation, the cover plate has a Young's modulus of about 10 Gpa to about 200 Gpa.

In one or more embodiments of the present creation, the transparent cover layer includes polyimide or colorless polyimide (CPI).

In one or more embodiments of the present creation, at least one transparent covering layer is added with an inorganic compound. The cover plate of the composite inorganic mixture has a Young's modulus ranging from about 80 Gpa to about 200 Gpa.

In one or more embodiments of the present creation, the display module is an organic light emitting display module or an electronic paper display module.

In one or more embodiments of the present creation, the touch sensing layer is in contact with the second surface of the glass layer.

In one or more embodiments of the present creation, the touch sensing layer is in contact with the transparent cover layer.

In one or more embodiments of the present creation, the transparent cover layer includes a first transparent cover layer and a second transparent cover layer. The glass is laminated between the first transparent covering layer and the second transparent covering layer.

In one or more embodiments of the present invention, the electronic device further includes an anti-reflection layer. The anti-reflection layer is disposed on the side of the cover plate away from the touch sensing layer.

In one or more embodiments of the present invention, the electronic device further includes a polarizing layer. The polarizing layer is arranged between the touch sensing layer and the display module.

In one or more embodiments of the present creation, the polarizing layer is in contact with the touch sensing layer.

In one or more embodiments of the present creation, the polarizing layer is bonded to the touch sensing layer via a bonding glue.

In one or more embodiments of the present creation, the electronic device further includes a blackened layer. The blackened layer is arranged on the edge of the glass layer.

In one or more embodiments of the present creation, the electronic device further includes a first screen and a second screen. The second screen is rotatably connected to the first screen. The cover plate covers the first screen and the second screen.

In one or more embodiments of this creation, the first screen and the second screen are touch display screens.

In one or more embodiments of the present creation, each touch display screen includes a force sensing layer.

In one or more embodiments of the present creation, the electronic device is a folding mobile phone.

In order to achieve the above object, according to one embodiment of the present invention, a method of manufacturing an electronic device includes: providing a cover plate, wherein the cover plate includes a laminated glass layer and at least one transparent cover layer; and forming a touch sensing layer on the cover Under the board; and forming a display module under the touch sensing layer.

In one or more embodiments of the present invention, providing the cover plate includes: coating a polymer material layer on the glass layer; and drying the polymer material layer to form a transparent covering layer.

In one or more embodiments of the present invention, forming the touch sensing layer under the cover includes: coating the conductive coating under the cover; and drying the conductive coating to form the touch sensing layer.

In summary, in the electronic device of this creation, the transparent cover layer in the cover plate is arranged and is in contact with the glass layer. In other words, the transparent cover layer and the glass layer are not adhered to each other with glue (for example, Optical Clear Adhesive (OCA)), so not only can the overall thickness of the cover plate be reduced, but the loosening of the glue during the bending process can reduce the formation of pores. And unnecessary crack gaps can also effectively improve the surface properties of the cover (for example, bending resistance, stress resistance, wear resistance, hardness). In addition, the use of laminating glue can also simplify the manufacturing process, thereby reducing manufacturing costs.

The above description is only used to explain the problem to be solved by this creation, the technical means to solve the problem, and the effects produced by it, etc. The specific details of this creation will be introduced in detail in the following embodiments and related drawings.

In the following, multiple implementations of this creation will be disclosed in schematic form. For the sake of clarity, many practical details will be explained in the following description. However, it should be understood that these practical details should not be used to limit this creation. In other words, in the implementation of this authoring part, these practical details are not necessary. In addition, in order to simplify the drawings, some conventionally used structures and elements will be shown in a simple schematic manner in the drawings.

Please refer to Figure 1A and Figure 1B. FIG. 1A is a schematic diagram showing the electronic device 100 in a use state according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1B is a schematic diagram showing the electronic device 100 in FIG. 1A in another state of use. In this embodiment, the electronic device 100 is an example of a folding mobile phone including a cover 110, but the creation is not limited to this. In other embodiments, the electronic device 100 may also be a tablet computer or a notebook computer. For example, the electronic device 100 is a dual-screen notebook computer including a first screen 210 and a second screen 220 (indicated by a dashed line in Figure 1B). The second screen 220 is rotatably connected to the first screen 210 (for example, through a hinge), and is configured to display a virtual keyboard (not shown).

In some embodiments, the first screen 210 and the second screen 220 are touch display screens. In some embodiments, each touch display screen includes a force sensing layer for pressure sensing or tactile feedback with an actuator effect.

Please refer to FIG. 2, which is a schematic cross-sectional view of the electronic device 100 in FIG. 1A. As shown in Figure 2, in this embodiment, the electronic device 100 further includes a touch sensing layer 120, a display module 130, a polarizing layer 140, a metal plate 170, a pressure glue 180, a support 190, and a bonding glue OCA1 , OCA2 (for example, Optical Clear Adhesive (OCA)). The touch sensing layer 120 is disposed under the cover 110. With the touch sensing layer 120, the electronic device 100 can provide a touch sensing function. The display module 130 is disposed under the touch sensing layer 120. The polarizing layer 140 is disposed between the touch sensing layer 120 and the display module 130. The polarizing layer 140 is bonded to the touch sensing layer 120 via the bonding adhesive OCA1. The screen displayed by the display module 130 can be sequentially viewed by the user through the multi-layer structure disposed above it, so that the display function of the electronic device 100 can be provided. In some embodiments, the display module 130 is, for example, an organic light emitting display module or electronic paper. The polarizing layer 140 is configured to achieve a specific optical effect. For example, the polarizing layer 140 can block the reflection of external light to ensure that the image displayed by the display module 130 can maintain a high contrast. The metal plate 170 is disposed under the display module 130 and is bonded to the display module 130 through the adhesive OCA2. The pressure glue 180 is arranged under the metal plate 170. The support 190 is arranged under the pressure glue 180.

In some embodiments, the touch sensing layer 120 may be structured as a single-side bridge (SITO) pattern, a single-layer multi-dot pattern (non-cross pattern), etc., but this is not the case. However, the material selection can be composed of silver nano wires (SNW; also known as AgNW) electrode layer, metal mesh or electrode layer containing indium tin oxide (ITO), but this creation does not Not limited to this. In the embodiment where the touch sensing layer 120 is a nano silver wire electrode layer, the touch sensing layer 120 may include a matrix and nano silver wires doped therein. The silver nanowires overlap each other in the matrix to form a conductive network. The matrix refers to the non-nanosilver material formed by the solution containing silver nanowires through processes such as coating and heating and drying. The silver nanowires are scattered or embedded in the matrix, and partly protrude from the matrix. The matrix can protect the silver nanowires from the external environment such as corrosion and abrasion. In some embodiments, the matrix is compressible.

In some embodiments, the touch sensing layer 120 can also be used in a single-layer bridge pattern with an IAI stack structure (ie, ITO-Al-ITO is selected for one of the first axis electrode or the second axis electrode Stacked architecture or SNW-Al-SNW stacked architecture).

In some embodiments, the touch sensing layer 120 is disposed and is in contact with the lower surface of the cover 110. In some embodiments, the polarizing layer 140 is disposed and is in contact with the upper surface of the display module 130.

In some embodiments, the electronic device 100 may only have a touch function without a display function. In other words, the aforementioned display module 130 and the polarizing layer 140 can be omitted from the electronic device 100, and the metal plate 170 can be attached to the touch sensing layer 120 via one of the adhesives OCA1 and OCA2.

In some embodiments, the electronic device 100 may only have a display function but not a touch function. In other words, the aforementioned touch sensing layer 120 can be omitted from the electronic device 100, and the polarizing layer 140 can be disposed and contacted on the lower surface of the cover 110, or bonded to the cover 110 via the adhesive OCA1.

As shown in FIG. 2, in this embodiment, the cover 110 includes a glass layer 111 and transparent covering layers 112 and 113. The glass layer 111 has a first surface 111a and a second surface 111b on opposite sides. The transparent covering layers 112 and 113 are respectively disposed and contacting the first surface 111a and the second surface 111b. The touch sensing layer 120 is disposed and in contact with the transparent covering layer 113, and the glass layer 111 is laminated between the transparent covering layers 112 and 113. It can be seen that the transparent cover layers 112, 113 and the glass layer 111 are not attached to each other by using adhesives, so not only can the overall thickness of the cover 110 be reduced, but also the surface performance of the cover 110 can be effectively improved (for example, wear resistance) ,hardness). In addition, the use of laminating glue can also simplify the manufacturing process, thereby reducing manufacturing costs.

In some embodiments, the material of the transparent covering layers 112 and 113 includes Polyimide, but the present creation is not limited to this.

In some embodiments, the glass layer 111 has a thickness between about 10 microns and about 300 microns; preferably, the glass layer 111 has a thickness between about 20 microns and about 100 microns (for example, optimally Choose between about 25 to 35 microns, this range has a sufficiently thin thickness and sufficient stress support effect); therefore, the glass layer 111 is an ultra-thin glass layer.

Please refer to FIG. 3, which is a flowchart illustrating a manufacturing method of an electronic device according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 3, the manufacturing method of an electronic device mainly includes steps S101 to S103.

In step S101, a cover plate is provided, wherein the cover plate includes a laminated glass layer and a transparent cover layer.

In step S102, the touch sensing layer is formed under the cover plate.

In step S103, the display module is formed under the touch sensing layer.

In some embodiments, step S101 includes step S101a and step S101b.

In step S101a, the polymer material layer is coated on the glass layer.

In step S101b, the polymer material layer is dried to form a transparent covering layer.

In some embodiments, step S102 includes step S102a and step S102b.

In step S102a, the conductive coating is coated under the cover plate.

In step S102b, the conductive coating is dried to form a touch sensing layer.

It can be seen from the above steps that at least one of the transparent covering layers 112 and 113 is a dried polymer material layer. The material of the polymer material layer preferably includes Polyimide (PI) or Colorless Polyimide (Colorless Polyimide; CPI), but not limited to this. Preferably, a coatingable liquid polyimide is used. Amine materials (such as soluble polyimide type; Soluble Polyimide, SPI for short) have the characteristics of low hygroscopic expansion coefficient, low viscosity and high transparency. In some embodiments, at least one of the transparent covering layers 112, 113 has a thickness between about 3 microns and about 50 microns, and preferably has a thickness between about 5 microns and about 15 microns ( For example, a thickness between about 5 microns to about 10 microns is optimally selected).

In some embodiments, as shown in FIG. 2, the electronic device 100 further includes an anti-reflection layer 150. The anti-reflective layer 150 is disposed on the side of the cover 110 away from the touch sensing layer 120.

In some embodiments, one of the transparent covering layers 112 and 113 may be omitted. For example, when the transparent cover layer 113 is omitted, the touch sensing layer 120 is disposed and is in contact with the lower surface of the glass layer 111. When the transparent cover layer 112 is omitted, the anti-reflection layer 150 is provided and is in contact with the upper surface of the glass layer 111.

In some embodiments, the polymer material layer is coated on the glass layer 111 by a slot die coating process, but the invention is not limited to this. In some embodiments, the curing temperature for drying the polymer material layer is about 80 to about 350 degrees, for example, in the range of about 80 to about 150 degrees or about 200 to about 350 degrees, but this creation is not limit.

In some embodiments, the polymer material layer further includes an organic solvent for dissolving polyamide acid in the coating stage to form the polymer coating layer. The organic solvent is, for example, methyl isobutyl ketone (MIBK), propylene glycol monomethyl etherate (PGMEA), isopropanol (IPA), dimethylacetamide (DMAC), and the like. The polymer material layer also contains a coupling agent. The solid content of polyamide acid is preferably about 3 to about 15% by weight, and the amount of coupling agent added is preferably about 0.5 to about 10% by weight of the solid content of polyamide acid, but it is not limited as long as it can be used as a solvent. The range of organic solvents in this creation.

In practical applications, the aforementioned coating process can also be changed to a sputtering process or a printing process.

In order to further increase the Young's modulus of the cover 110, an inorganic compound can be added to one or both of the transparent covering layers (ie, one or both of the transparent covering layer 112 and the transparent covering layer 113) in the liquid state. . For example, the inorganic mixture may include graphene or diamond, preferably graphene dopants, but the invention is not limited to this. In fact, the outstanding mechanical properties of graphene are high strength and high modulus, and its tensile Young's modulus can reach up to 200 GPa, so that the maximum Young's modulus of the composite cover plate tends to 200 Pa. It is worth mentioning that graphene The hardness is higher than that of diamond with Mohs hardness level 10. It also has good toughness, can bend, and has excellent ductility. In some embodiments, the polymer material layer may further include nano particles such as silicon dioxide, which can improve the defects of insufficient hardness and increase the surface strength. Under the action of the coupling agent, the transparent silica nanoparticles are further dispersed, which can improve the dispersion stability of the transparent nanoparticles in the polymer material layer. In addition, the chemical reaction between the silanol group of silicon dioxide and the coupling agent can also improve the film hardness, thermal expansion coefficient and other properties, and reduce the difference in physical properties between the film and the substrate.

In some embodiments, the viscosity of the polymer coating layer is about 100 to about 5000 cps; preferably, the polymer coating layer has a viscosity of about 300 to about 1000 cps.

In some embodiments, the material of at least one of the transparent covering layers 112 and 113 may also include transparent polyethylene naphthalate (PEN), polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF), or polycarbonate (PC). Materials, but this creation is not limited to this.

In some embodiments, the glass layer 111 is an ultraviolet light absorbing glass layer. That is, the glass layer 111 has UV light absorption capability.

In some embodiments, as shown in FIG. 2, the electronic device 100 further includes a blackening layer 160. The blackening layer 160 is disposed on the edge of the glass layer 111 and is laminated between the glass layer 111 and the transparent covering layer 113. In addition to reducing Mura (that is, the phenomenon of various traces caused by uneven brightness), the blackening layer 160 can also avoid interference from the manufacturing process of the blackening layer 160 during the manufacturing process of the touch sensing layer 120.

According to the aforementioned parameters, the cover 110 may have a Young's modulus in the range of 10 Gpa to about 200 Gpa. In this creation, it is necessary to pay special attention that at least one of the transparent cover layers 112, 113 and the glass layer 111 are not adhered to each other with an adhesive (for example, Optical Clear Adhesive (OCA)), so that it can be coated. The liquid polyimide of the cloth is directly in contact with the glass layer 111, so not only can the overall thickness of the cover plate 110 be reduced, but also the surface performance of the cover plate 110 can be effectively improved (for example, combined with the stress buffer and the composite cover plate Anti-bending, abrasion, hardness, etc. performance). In addition, the reduction of the use of glue can simplify the manufacturing process and the thickness of the module, thereby reducing the manufacturing cost.

Please refer to FIG. 4, which is a schematic cross-sectional view of an electronic device 100A according to another embodiment of the present creation. The difference between the electronic device 100A of this embodiment and the electronic device 100 shown in FIG. 2 is that the electronic device 100A of this embodiment omits the adhesive OCA1 between the touch sensing layer 120 and the polarizing layer 140 . In other words, the touch sensing layer 120 in this embodiment is directly fabricated on the polarizing layer 140. After omission of the adhesive OCA1, the overall thickness of the electronic device 100 and the number of processes can be further reduced.

Please refer to Figure 5, which shows the stress-strain curve of various structures. Curve C1 is the stress-strain curve of the single-layer polyimide layer, and curve C2 is the stress-strain curve of the single-layer glass layer. Curve C3 is the stress-strain curve of the composite laminated structure composed of a single polyimide layer and a single glass layer. As shown in Figure 5, it can be seen from the curve C1 that the polyimide layer deforms greatly when subjected to an external force. It can be seen from the curve C2 that the glass layer has a smaller deformation when subjected to an external force, and the reason is that the glass layer has a larger Young's modulus. It can be seen from the curve C3 that the composite laminated structure composed of the polyimide layer and the glass layer can achieve the comprehensive effect of the two materials, so it can achieve better implementation effects in flexible folding applications. Specifically, the polyimide layer has better flexibility but poor stress bearing capacity, and the glass layer has better Young's modulus, so the composite laminated structure of the two can bring sufficient overall flexibility and sufficient The overall Young's modulus.

From the above detailed description of the specific implementation of this creation, it can be clearly seen that the transparent covering layer in the cover plate is arranged and in contact with the glass layer. In other words, the transparent cover layer and the glass layer are not attached to each other by laminating glue, so it can not only reduce the overall thickness of the cover plate, reduce the loosening of the colloid during the bending process to form pores and unnecessary cracks, but also effectively lift the cover plate. Surface properties (for example, bending resistance, stress resistance, abrasion resistance, hardness). In addition, the use of laminating glue can also simplify the manufacturing process, thereby reducing manufacturing costs.

Although this creation has been disclosed in the implementation manner as above, it is not used to limit this creation. Anyone who is familiar with this art can make various changes and modifications without departing from the spirit and scope of this creation. Therefore, this creation is protected. The scope shall be subject to those defined by the attached patent scope.

100, 100A: electronic device 110: cover 111: glass layer 111a: first surface 111b: second surface 112, 113: transparent cover layer 120: Touch sensing layer 130: display module 140: Polarizing layer 150: Anti-reflective layer 160: Blackened layer 170: metal plate 180: pressure glue 190: Support 210: first screen 220: second screen C1, C2, C3: Curve OCA1, OCA2: Laminating glue

In order to make the above and other purposes, features, advantages and embodiments of this creation more obvious and understandable, the description of the attached drawings is as follows: FIG. 1A is a schematic diagram showing the electronic device according to an embodiment of the present invention in a use state. FIG. 1B is a schematic diagram showing the electronic device in FIG. 1A in another state of use. FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the electronic device in FIG. 1A. FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a manufacturing method of an electronic device according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a schematic cross-sectional view of an electronic device according to another embodiment of the invention. Figure 5 shows the stress-strain curves of various structures.

100: electronic device

110: cover

111: glass layer

111a: first surface

111b: second surface

112, 113: transparent cover layer

120: Touch sensing layer

130: display module

140: Polarizing layer

150: Anti-reflective layer

160: Blackened layer

170: metal plate

180: pressure glue

190: Support

OCA1, OCA2: Laminating glue

Claims (21)

An electronic device, including: a cover, including: A glass layer having a first surface and a second surface; and At least one transparent covering layer, which is arranged and in contact with at least one of the first surface and the second surface of the glass layer, and is overlapped with the glass layer; A touch sensing layer disposed under the cover plate; and A display module is arranged under the touch sensing layer. The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the glass layer is an ultra-thin glass layer having a thickness of less than about 100 microns. The electronic device according to claim 2, wherein the thickness of the glass layer is from about 25 microns to about 100 microns. The electronic device according to claim 3, wherein the thickness of the glass layer is from about 25 microns to about 35 microns. The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the at least one transparent cover layer has a thickness ranging from about 5 microns to about 10 microns. The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the cover plate has a Young's modulus of about 10 Gpa to about 200 Gpa. The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the at least one transparent cover layer comprises polyimide or colorless polyimide (CPI). The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein an inorganic compound is added to the at least one transparent cover layer, and the cover plate compounding the inorganic compound has a Young's modulus ranging from about 80 Gpa to about 200 Gpa. The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the display module is an organic light emitting display module or an electronic paper display module. The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the touch sensing layer is in contact with the second surface of the glass layer. The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the touch sensing layer is in contact with the at least one transparent cover layer. The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the at least one transparent cover layer includes a first transparent cover layer and a second transparent cover layer, and the glass is laminated on the first transparent cover layer and the second transparent cover Between layers. The electronic device according to claim 1, further comprising: An anti-reflection layer is arranged on the side of the cover plate away from the touch sensing layer. The electronic device according to claim 1, further comprising: A polarizing layer is arranged between the touch sensing layer and the display module. The electronic device according to claim 14, wherein the polarizing layer is in contact with the touch sensing layer. The electronic device according to claim 14, wherein the polarizing layer is bonded to the touch sensing layer via a bonding glue. The electronic device according to claim 1, further comprising: A blackened layer is arranged on the edge of the glass layer. The electronic device according to claim 1, further comprising: A first screen; and A second screen is rotatably connected to the first screen, wherein the cover plate covers the first screen and the second screen. The electronic device according to claim 18, wherein the first screen and the second screen are touch display screens. The electronic device according to claim 18, wherein each of the touch-sensitive display screens includes a force sensing layer. The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the electronic device is a folding mobile phone.

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