U.S. patent application number 15/957010 was filed with the patent office on 2019-03-14 for flexible display panel and display apparatus.
The applicant listed for this patent is Shanghai Tianma AM-OLED Co., Ltd.. Invention is credited to Zhenying LI, Peng ZHANG.
Application Number | 20190082528 15/957010 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 61063499 |
Filed Date | 2019-03-14 |
![](/patent/app/20190082528/US20190082528A1-20190314-D00000.png)
![](/patent/app/20190082528/US20190082528A1-20190314-D00001.png)
![](/patent/app/20190082528/US20190082528A1-20190314-D00002.png)
![](/patent/app/20190082528/US20190082528A1-20190314-D00003.png)
![](/patent/app/20190082528/US20190082528A1-20190314-D00004.png)
![](/patent/app/20190082528/US20190082528A1-20190314-D00005.png)
![](/patent/app/20190082528/US20190082528A1-20190314-D00006.png)
![](/patent/app/20190082528/US20190082528A1-20190314-D00007.png)
![](/patent/app/20190082528/US20190082528A1-20190314-D00008.png)
![](/patent/app/20190082528/US20190082528A1-20190314-D00009.png)
![](/patent/app/20190082528/US20190082528A1-20190314-D00010.png)
United States Patent
Application |
20190082528 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
ZHANG; Peng ; et
al. |
March 14, 2019 |
FLEXIBLE DISPLAY PANEL AND DISPLAY APPARATUS
Abstract
A flexible display panel and a display apparatus, the flexible
display panel includes: flexible base layer; display part;
packaging layer; supporting layer, including first area, bending
area and second area, first area being connected with the second
area via the bending area, bending area including at least two
supporting teeth; supporting body located at a side of flexible
base layer facing away from display device; when bending area is in
flattening state, reserved space is formed between adjacent
supporting teeth; when bending area is in bending state, flexible
base layer, first area, supporting body, and second area are
stacked in direction perpendicular to first area, adjacent
supporting teeth contact with each other to provide supporting
force to flexible base layer, supporting teeth together with first
and second area form avoiding space, in direction perpendicular to
the first area, projection of avoiding space is within projection
of bending area.
Inventors: |
ZHANG; Peng; (Shanghai,
CN) ; LI; Zhenying; (Shanghai, CN) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Shanghai Tianma AM-OLED Co., Ltd. |
Shanghai |
|
CN |
|
|
Family ID: |
61063499 |
Appl. No.: |
15/957010 |
Filed: |
April 19, 2018 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H01L 51/0097 20130101;
H05K 1/028 20130101; Y02E 10/549 20130101; H01L 2251/5338 20130101;
H01L 27/3244 20130101; G06F 1/1652 20130101 |
International
Class: |
H05K 1/02 20060101
H05K001/02 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Sep 11, 2017 |
CN |
201710814832.0 |
Claims
1. A flexible display panel, comprising: a flexible base layer; a
display device disposed on the flexible base layer; a packaging
layer which packages the display device, the display device being
located between the flexible base layer and the packaging layer; a
supporting layer disposed at a side of the flexible base layer
facing away from the display device, the supporting layer
comprising a first area, a bending area and a second area, the
first area being connected with the second area via the bending
area, and the bending area comprising at least two supporting
teeth; and a supporting body disposed in the first area or in the
second area, the supporting body being located at the side of the
flexible base layer facing away from the display device; wherein,
when the bending area is in a flattening state, reserved space is
formed between any adjacent two supporting teeth of the at least
two supporting teeth; when the bending area is in a bending state,
the flexible base layer, the first area, the supporting body, and
the second area are sequentially stacked in a direction
perpendicular to the first area, any adjacent two supporting teeth
of the at least two supporting teeth contact with each other so as
to provide a supporting force to the flexible base layer, the at
least two supporting teeth together with the first area and the
second area form an avoiding space; in a direction perpendicular to
the first area, a projection of the avoiding space is within a
projection of the bending area.
2. The flexible display panel according to claim 1, further
comprising: a control chip, an orthographic projection of the
control chip to the supporting layer being located within the
second area; and a plurality of first leading wires, an
orthographic projection of each of the first leading wires to the
supporting layer being located within the bending area, wherein an
orthographic projection of the display device to the supporting
layer is located within the first area; and the display device is
electrically connected with the control chip via the first leading
wires.
3. The flexible display panel according to claim 1, wherein in the
bending state: in the direction perpendicular to the first area, a
width of the projection of the avoiding space is greater than or
equal to an assembly error of the supporting body with respect to
the supporting layer; and the width and the assembly error are both
in a direction parallel to the first area, from the at least two
supporting teeth toward the supporting body, and perpendicular to a
bending axis of the bending area.
4. The flexible display panel according to claim 1, wherein the at
least two supporting teeth comprise a first supporting tooth and a
second supporting tooth, wherein in the flattening state, and in a
direction from the first area toward the second area, the first
supporting tooth is closer to the first area than supporting teeth
except the first supporting tooth, and the second supporting tooth
is closer to the second area than supporting teeth except the
second supporting tooth, and in the bending state, at least one of
the first supporting tooth and the second supporting tooth does not
contact with the supporting body.
5. The flexible display panel according to claim 4, wherein the
supporting layer further comprises at least one adhesive layer, in
the bending state, the first area and the second area are
respectively adhered to two opposing sides of the supporting body
via the at least one adhesive layer; in the flattening state, a
height of at least one of the first supporting tooth and the second
supporting tooth is less than or equal to a total thickness of the
first area and the adhesive layer; and a direction in which the
height is located is a thickness direction of the first area.
6. The flexible display panel according to claim 4, wherein the
supporting layer further comprises at least one adhesive layer, in
the bending state, the first area and the second area are
respectively adhered to two opposing sides of the supporting body
via the at least one adhesive layer; in the flattening state, a
height of at least one of the first supporting tooth and the second
supporting tooth is less than or equal to a thickness of the first
area; and a direction in which the height is located is a thickness
direction of the first area.
7. The flexible display panel according to claim 1, wherein two or
more of the at least two supporting teeth are a first supporting
tooth and a second supporting tooth, respectively, and all of the
at least two supporting teeth except the first and second
supporting teeth each are an intermediate supporting tooth, in the
flattening state, and in a direction from the first area toward the
second area, the first supporting tooth is closer to the first area
than the supporting teeth except the first supporting tooth, and
the second supporting tooth is closer to the second area than the
supporting teeth except the second supporting tooth; and in the
flattening state, a height of the intermediate supporting tooth is
greater than a height of the first supporting tooth and a height of
the second supporting tooth; a direction in which the height is
located is a thickness direction of the first area.
8. The flexible display panel according to claim 7, wherein more
than one intermediate supporting tooth is provided, and all of the
intermediate supporting teeth have the same height.
9. The flexible display panel according to claim 7, wherein more
than one first supporting tooth is provided, and all of the first
supporting teeth have the same height, and/or more than one second
supporting teeth are provided, and all of the second supporting
teeth have the same height.
10. The flexible display panel according to claim 1, wherein the
supporting layer further comprises a connection layer, and each of
the at least two supporting teeth is connected with the flexible
base layer via the connection layer.
11. The flexible display panel according to claim 10, wherein a
thickness of the connection layer is less than a thickness of the
first area.
12. The flexible display panel according to claim 1, wherein one
end of each of the at least two supporting teeth is a connection
end and the other end thereof is a free end, the connection end is
connected with the flexible base layer, and a preset interval is
provided between the free ends of adjacent two of the supporting
teeth; the connection ends of adjacent two of the supporting teeth
contact with each other, or a second preset interval is provided
between the connection ends of adjacent two of the supporting
teeth.
13. The flexible display panel according to claim 1, wherein the at
least two supporting teeth each comprise a first lateral surface
and a second lateral surface; in the flattening state, as for
adjacent two of the supporting teeth, the first lateral surface of
one of the two adjacent supporting teeth faces the second lateral
surface of the other one of the two adjacent supporting teeth; in
the bending state, as for adjacent two of the supporting teeth, the
first lateral surface of one of the two adjacent supporting teeth
is in surface contact with the second lateral surface of the other
one of the two adjacent supporting teeth.
14. The flexible display panel according to claim 13, wherein the
supporting teeth each further comprises a top surface, wherein the
first lateral surface, the top surface, and the second lateral
surface are sequentially connected to one another, a non-zero angle
is formed between the top surface and the first lateral surface,
and another non-zero angle is formed between the top surface and
the second lateral surface; in the flattening state, as for
adjacent two of the supporting teeth, the first lateral surface of
one of the two adjacent supporting teeth faces the second lateral
surface of the other one of the two adjacent supporting teeth; and
the supporting teeth each comprises a connection surface for
connecting with the flexible base layer, and the top surface faces
the connection surface.
15. The flexible display panel according to claim 14, wherein the
top surface is a flat surface, and in the flattening state, the top
surface is parallel to the flexible base layer.
16. The flexible display panel according to claim 13, wherein at
least one of the first lateral surface and the second lateral
surface comprises at least two flat surfaces that are sequentially
connected to one another, and a non-zero included angle is formed
between the flat surfaces.
17. The flexible display panel according to claim 1, wherein each
of the at least two supporting teeth is formed as a rib-like
structure, and an extending direction of the supporting tooth is
parallel to a bending axis of the bending area.
18. The flexible display panel according to claim 1, wherein Two or
more of the at least two supporting teeth are respectively a first
supporting tooth and a second supporting tooth, in the flattening
state, the first supporting tooth is closer to the first area than
the supporting teeth except the first supporting tooth, and the
second supporting tooth is closer to the second area than the
supporting teeth except the second supporting tooth; the supporting
teeth each comprises a first lateral surface and a second lateral
surface; the first lateral surface of the first supporting tooth is
closer to the first area than the second lateral surface of the
first supporting tooth, and the second lateral surface of the
second supporting tooth is closer to the second area than the first
lateral surface of the second supporting tooth, the first lateral
surface of the first supporting tooth is fitted with a lateral
surface of the first area, and/or the second lateral surface of the
second supporting tooth is fitted with a lateral surface of the
second area.
19. The flexible display panel according to claim 15, wherein the
supporting teeth are separated from each other, and each of the
supporting teeth has a hexagonal longitudinal cross-section, and
the adjacent supporting teeth are in surface contact with each
other, the longitudinal cross-section is a surface perpendicular to
a bending axis of the bending area.
20. The flexible display panel of claim 19, wherein two or more of
the at least two supporting teeth are a first supporting tooth and
a second supporting tooth, respectively, and all of the supporting
teeth except the first and second supporting teeth are at least one
intermediate supporting tooth, in the flattening state, and in a
direction from the first area toward the second area, the first
supporting tooth is closer to the first area than the supporting
teeth except the first supporting tooth, and the second supporting
tooth is closer to the second area than the supporting teeth except
the second supporting tooth; and in the flattening state, a height
of the intermediate supporting tooth is greater than a height of
the first supporting tooth and a height of the second supporting
tooth; a direction in which the height is located is a thickness
direction of the first area; the first lateral surface comprises a
first surface and a second surface, the second lateral surface
comprises a third surface and a fourth surface, the first surface
is connected between the second surface and the connection surface,
the third surface is connected between the fourth surface and the
connection surface; in the bending state, the first surface of the
first supporting tooth is fitted with a lateral surface of the
first area, the fourth surface of the first supporting tooth is in
surface contact with the first surface of the intermediate
supporting tooth, as for adjacent two of the supporting teeth, the
second surface of one of the two adjacent intermediate supporting
teeth is in surface contact with the fourth surface of the other
one of the two adjacent intermediate supporting teeth, the second
surface of the second supporting tooth is fitted with a lateral
surface of the second area, the second surface of the second
supporting tooth is in surface contact with the third surface of
the intermediate supporting tooth.
21. A display apparatus comprising a flexible display panel,
wherein the flexible display panel comprises: a flexible base
layer; a display device disposed on the flexible base layer; a
packaging layer which packages the display device, the display
device being located between the flexible base layer and the
packaging layer; a supporting layer disposed at a side of the
flexible base layer facing away from the display device, the
supporting layer comprising a first area, a bending area and a
second area, the first area being connected with the second area
via the bending area, and the bending area comprising at least two
supporting teeth; and a supporting body disposed in the first area
or in the second area, the supporting body being located at the
side of the flexible base layer facing away from the display
device; wherein, when the bending area is in a flattening state,
reserved space is formed between any adjacent two supporting teeth
of the at least two supporting teeth; when the bending area is in a
bending state, the flexible base layer, the first area, the
supporting body, and the second area are sequentially stacked in a
direction perpendicular to the first area, any adjacent two
supporting teeth of the at least two supporting teeth contact with
each other so as to provide a supporting force to the flexible base
layer, the at least two supporting teeth together with the first
area and the second area form an avoiding space; in a direction
perpendicular to the first area, a projection of the avoiding space
is within a projection of the bending area.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] The present application claims priority to Chinese Patent
Application No. 201710814832.0, filed on Sep. 11, 2017, the content
of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
TECHNICAL FIELD
[0002] The present disclosure relates to the technical field of
electronic devices and, in particular, to a flexible display panel
and a display apparatus.
BACKGROUND
[0003] With the continuous development of display technology,
flexible display technology has received more and more attention,
so higher requirements have been put forward on the display
performance of the flexible display panel.
[0004] A conventional flexible display panel may include a flexible
base layer, a supporting body and a supporting layer. The flexible
base layer may be bent, and the bending portion is supported by the
supporting body.
[0005] However, since the supporting body has assembly errors with
respect to the supporting layer, the supporting body is easily
offset from the supporting layer, so that a portion of the
supporting portion does not contact with the bending portion of the
flexible base layer, resulting in that the bending portion of the
flexible base layer cannot be reliably supported. Therefore, such a
structure may cause the bending portion of the flexible base layer
to be dangled, resulting in unsatisfactory supporting effect with
respect to the flexible base layer.
SUMMARY
[0006] The present disclosure provides a flexible display panel and
a display apparatus, so as to improve the supporting effect with
respect to the flexible base layer.
[0007] The flexible display panel provided by the present
disclosure includes: a flexible base layer; a display device
disposed on the flexible base layer; a packaging layer which
packages the display device, the display device being located
between the flexible base layer and the packaging layer; a
supporting layer disposed at a side of the flexible base layer
facing away from the display device, the supporting layer including
a first area, a bending area and a second area, the first area
being connected with the second area via the bending area, and the
bending area including at least two supporting teeth; and a
supporting body disposed in the first area or in the second area,
the supporting body being located at the side of the flexible base
layer facing away from the display device. When the bending area is
in a flattening state, reserved space is formed between any
adjacent two supporting teeth of the at least two supporting teeth.
When the bending area is in a bending state, the flexible base
layer, the first area, the supporting body, and the second area are
sequentially stacked in a direction perpendicular to the first
area, any adjacent two supporting teeth of the at least two
supporting teeth contact with each other so as to provide a
supporting force to the flexible base layer. The at least two
supporting teeth together with the first area and the second area
form an avoiding space. In a direction perpendicular to the first
area, a projection of the avoiding space is within a projection of
the bending area.
[0008] The present disclosure further provides a display apparatus,
including the above-mentioned flexible display panel.
[0009] With the flexible display panel described above, when the
supporting layer is in the bending state, the supporting teeth
contact with each other, thereby providing a supporting force to
the bending portion of the flexible base layer, meanwhile, since
the supporting teeth together with the first area and the second
area form avoiding space, even if the supporting body has an
assembly error with respect to the first area and the second area,
causing that the supporting body may be misaligned with respect to
the first area and the second area, the avoiding space can
accommodate the misaligned portion of the supporting body, which
makes the supporting teeth not to be easily blocked by the
supporting body, so as to achieve that each supporting tooth can
more reliably support the flexible base layer.
[0010] It should be understood that, both the above general
description and the following detailed description are exemplary
only, which will not limit the present disclosure.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
[0011] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a partial structure of a
conventional flexible display panel in a bending state;
[0012] FIG. 2 is a structural schematic diagram of a flexible
display panel in a bending state provided by an embodiment of the
present disclosure;
[0013] FIG. 3 is a structural schematic diagram of a flexible
display panel in a flattening state provided by an embodiment of
the present disclosure;
[0014] FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view along A-A direction of the
flexible display panel shown in FIG. 2;
[0015] FIG. 5 is an enlarged schematic view of Section I of FIG.
4;
[0016] FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view along B-B direction of the
flexible display panel shown in FIG. 3;
[0017] FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of a partial structure
along A-A direction of the flexible display panel shown in FIG. 2
in another embodiment;
[0018] FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view of a partial structure
along B-B direction of the flexible display panel shown in FIG. 3
in another embodiment;
[0019] FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view of a partial structure
along A-A direction of the flexible display panel shown in FIG. 2
in still another embodiment;
[0020] FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view of a partial structure
along B-B direction of the flexible display panel shown in FIG. 3
in still another embodiment;
[0021] FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view of a partial structure
along A-A direction of the flexible display panel shown in FIG. 2
in still another embodiment;
[0022] FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view of a partial structure
along B-B direction of the flexible display panel shown in FIG. 3
in still another embodiment;
[0023] FIG. 13 is a cross-sectional view of a partial structure
along A-A direction of the flexible display panel shown in FIG. 2
in still another embodiment;
[0024] FIG. 14 is a cross-sectional view of a partial structure
along A-A direction of the flexible display panel shown in FIG. 2
in still another embodiment;
[0025] FIG. 15 is a cross-sectional view of a partial structure
along B-B direction of the flexible display panel shown in FIG. 3
in still another embodiment;
[0026] FIG. 16 is a cross-sectional view of a partial structure
along A-A direction of the flexible display panel shown in FIG. 2
in still another embodiment;
[0027] FIG. 17 is a cross-sectional view of a partial structure
along B-B direction of the flexible display panel shown in FIG. 3
in still another embodiment;
[0028] FIG. 18 is an enlarged schematic view of Section II of FIG.
17;
[0029] FIG. 19 is a cross-sectional view of a partial structure
along A-A direction of the flexible display panel shown in FIG. 2
in still another embodiment;
[0030] FIG. 20 is an enlarged schematic view of Section III of FIG.
19;
[0031] FIG. 21 is a cross-sectional view of a partial structure
along B-B direction of the flexible display panel shown in FIG. 3
in still another embodiment;
[0032] FIG. 22 is a schematic structural diagram of a supporting
tooth of a flexible display panel in an embodiment;
[0033] FIG. 23 is a schematic structural diagram of a supporting
tooth of a flexible display panel in another embodiment;
[0034] FIG. 24 is a schematic structural diagram of a flexible
display panel in a bending state in still another embodiment;
and
[0035] FIG. 25 is a cross-sectional view along A-A direction of the
flexible display panel shown in FIG. 24.
REFERENCE SIGNS
[0036] Shown in FIG. 1:
[0037] 11--flexible base layer;
[0038] 12--supporting body;
[0039] 12a--end portion;
[0040] 13--supporting layer.
[0041] Shown in FIGS. 2-19:
[0042] 100--flexible display panel;
[0043] 110--flexible base layer;
[0044] 120--display device;
[0045] 130--packaging layer;
[0046] 140--supporting layer;
[0047] 141--first area;
[0048] 142--bending area;
[0049] 142a--supporting tooth;
[0050] 142aa--first supporting tooth;
[0051] 142ab--second supporting tooth;
[0052] 142ac--intermediate supporting tooth;
[0053] 142ad--first lateral surface;
[0054] 142al--first surface;
[0055] 142ah--second surface;
[0056] 142ae--second lateral surface;
[0057] 142ai--third surface;
[0058] 142aj--fourth surface;
[0059] 142af--top surface;
[0060] 142ag--connection surface;
[0061] 143--second area;
[0062] 144a--first adhesive layer;
[0063] 144b--second adhesive layer;
[0064] 145--connection layer;
[0065] 150--supporting body;
[0066] 160--polarizing layer;
[0067] 170--touch layer;
[0068] 180--cover layer;
[0069] 190--control chip;
[0070] 210--first leading wire;
[0071] 220--protection layer.
[0072] The drawings herein are incorporated into and constitute a
part of the present specification, which show exemplary embodiments
in accordance with the present disclosure and explain principles of
the present disclosure together with the description.
DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS
[0073] In order to make the above purpose, features and advantages
of the present disclosure clearer and more understandable, the
present disclosure will be further described with reference to the
accompanying drawings and embodiments. However, exemplary
embodiments may be carried out in many manners and should not be
construed as being limited within the embodiments herein; rather,
these embodiments are provided so that the disclosure will be more
comprehensive and complete, and will fully transfer the concepts of
the exemplary embodiments to those skilled in the art. The same
reference signs in the drawings represent the same or similar
structures, and a repetitive description thereof will be omitted.
The expressions of the positions and the directions in the present
disclosure are all described by taking the drawings as examples,
however, changes may be made if necessary, and all the changes are
within the protection scope of the present disclosure. The drawings
of the present disclosure are merely for illustrating the relative
position relationship, the layer thicknesses of some portions are
presented in an exaggeration drawing manner for the sake of
comprehension, and the layer thicknesses in the drawings do not
represent the proportional relationship of the actual layer
thicknesses.
[0074] It should be noted that details are described hereinafter
for fully understanding the present disclosure. However, the
present disclosure can be implemented in various other manners
different from those described herein, and those skilled in the art
can make similar improvement without departing from the spirit of
the present disclosure. Therefore, the present disclosure is not
limited within the embodiments disclosed herein. The description of
the specification is given as the preferred embodiments for
implementing the present disclosure. However, the description is
for the purpose of illustrating the general principles of the
present disclosure and is not intended to limit the scope of the
present disclosure. The scope of the present disclosure should be
defined by the appended claims.
[0075] The present disclosure will be described in detail by
specific embodiments and with reference to the accompanying
drawings. The thickness and the shape of each component in the
drawings do not represent the actual scale of the display
apparatus, and merely intend to illustrate the present disclosure.
It should be noted that, the embodiments in the present disclosure
and the features in the embodiments may be combined with each
other.
[0076] As shown in FIG. 1, FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a
partial structure of a conventional flexible display panel in a
bending state. The conventional flexible display panel may include
a flexible base layer 11, a supporting body 12 and a supporting
layer 13. The flexible base layer 11 may be bent, and the bending
portion is supported by an end portion 12a of the supporting body
12, therefore, the end portion 12a of the supporting body 12 is
generally designed as an arcuate structure so as to support the
bending portion of the flexible base layer 11.
[0077] However, since the supporting body 12 has assembly errors
with respect to the supporting layer 13, the supporting body 12 is
easily offset from the supporting layer 13, so that a portion of
the supporting portion 12a does not contact with the bending
portion of the flexible base layer 11 (as shown in Section I of
FIG. 1), so that the bending portion of the flexible base layer 11
cannot be reliably supported. Therefore, such a structure may cause
the bending portion of the flexible base layer 11 to be dangled,
resulting in unsatisfactory supporting effect with respect to the
flexible base layer.
[0078] As shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, FIG. 2 is a structural
schematic diagram of a flexible display panel in a bending state
provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure, and FIG. 3 is
a structural schematic diagram of a flexible display panel in a
flattening state provided by an embodiment of the present
disclosure. The flexible display panel 100 includes a bending state
and a flattening state. As shown in FIGS. 4-6, FIG. 4 is a
cross-sectional view along A-A direction of the flexible display
panel shown in FIG. 2, FIG. 5 is an enlarged schematic view of
Section I of FIG. 4, and FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view along B-B
direction of the flexible display panel shown in FIG. 3.
[0079] The flexible display panel 100 may include a flexible base
layer 110, which is the basis for setting the structure of each
layer of the flexible display panel 100. For example, the flexible
base layer 110 may be formed of any suitable insulating material
with flexibility, and the insulating material may be polymer
materials such as polyimide (PI), polycarbonate (PC),
polyethersulfone (PES), polyethylene terephthalate (PET),
polyethylene naphthalate (PEN), polyarylate (PAR) or glass fiber
reinforced plastic (FRP) and the like.
[0080] The flexible display panel 100 may further include a display
device 120 disposed on the flexible base layer 110. The display
device 120 may be an organic light-emitting device, and the display
device 120 may include structures such as a thin film transistor, a
transparent electrode, a reflective electrode, a light-emitting
layer (all not shown in the drawings) and the like.
[0081] The flexible display panel 100 may further include a
packaging layer 130 which packages the display device 120. The
display device 120 is disposed between the flexible base layer 110
and the packaging layer 130. The packaging layer 130 can prevent
moisture and other substances from entering an interior of the
flexible display panel, and the packaging layer 130 can be formed
by using organic layers and inorganic layers stacked on top of each
other.
[0082] The flexible display panel 100 may further include a
supporting layer 140 disposed at a side of the flexible base layer
110 facing away from the display device 120. The supporting layer
140 is configured to support or protect the flexible base layer 110
and may include a first area 141, a bending area 142 and a second
area 143, wherein the first area 141 is connected with the second
area 143 via the bending area 142. The bending area 142 includes at
least two supporting teeth 142a, which may have a regular shape or
an irregular shape (in the present embodiment and the drawings, it
is described by taking an example that the supporting teeth 142a
have an irregular shape). A material of the supporting layer 140
may be a plastic film formed by a polymer such as
polyethylene-chlorinated (PEC) or polyethylene naphthalate (PEN)
and the like.
[0083] The flexible display panel 100 may further include a
supporting body 150 disposed in the first area 141 or in the second
area 143. The supporting body 150 also functions to support or
protect the flexible base layer 110, and the supporting body 150 is
disposed at a side of the first area 141 or the second area 143
facing away from the flexible base layer 110; before and after the
flexible base layer 110 is bent, firstly the supporting body 150
may be connected with the first area 141, and the shape of the
first area 141 and its relative position to the supporting body 150
may not change. The second area 143 is connected with the
supporting body 150 after the flexible base layer 110 is bent. Of
course, when the flexible display panel 100 is in a flattening
state, the supporting body 150 may also be connected with the
second area 143. When the flexible display panel 100 is transformed
from the flattening state toward the bending state, as the flexible
base layer 110 is bent, the supporting body 150 moves together with
the second area 143 toward a side of the first area 141 facing away
from the flexible base layer 110, and then is connected with the
first area 141.
[0084] In addition, as shown in FIG. 4, the above-mentioned
flexible display panel 100 may further include a polarizing layer
160 disposed on the packaging layer 130, a touch layer 170 disposed
on the polarizing layer 160, and a cover layer 180 disposed on the
touch layer 170.
[0085] As shown in FIG. 6, when the bending area 142 is in the
flattening state, reserved space C is formed between adjacent
supporting teeth 142a. in the flattening state, the reserved space
C is formed between opposing surfaces of the adjacent supporting
teeth 142a in a direction which is parallel to the first area 141
and from the first area 141 toward the second area 143. The
direction mentioned herein is: in the flattening state, a direction
parallel to the first area 141, from the first area 141 toward the
second area 143, and perpendicular to a bending axis of the
flexible base layer 110, which may be direction X as shown in FIG.
6; that is, when the flexible base layer 110 disposed on the
bending area 142 is bent toward the supporting layer 140, adjacent
supporting teeth 142a may be closer to each other, allowing the
flexible base layer 110 in the bending area 142 to be bent, so that
a function of the reserved space C is that the supporting teeth
142a can have enough space to be bent when the flexible base layer
110 is bent.
[0086] When the flexible display panel is bent, the first area 141
or the second area 143 may be rolled around the bending area 142
with the bending area 142 being a bending axis. In this case, the
bending area 142 will be deformed. As shown in FIG. 5, when the
bending area 142 is in the bending state, in the non-bending area,
the flexible base layer 110, the first area 141, the supporting
body 150, and the second area 143 are sequentially stacked in a
direction perpendicular to the first area 141; and in the bending
area, adjacent supporting teeth 142a contact with each other so as
to provide a supporting force to the bending flexible base layer
110. The supporting teeth 142a together with the first area 141 and
the second area 143 form avoiding space D. In a direction
perpendicular to the first area 141, a projection of this avoiding
space D is within a projection of the bending area 142.
[0087] With the flexible display panel 100 described above, when
the supporting layer 140 is in the bending state, adjacent
supporting teeth 142a contact with each other, thereby providing a
supporting force to the bending portion of the flexible base layer
110. Meanwhile, since the supporting teeth 142a together with the
first area 141 and the second area 143 form avoiding space D, even
if the supporting body 150 has an assembly error with respect to
the first area 141 and the second area 143, causing that the
supporting body 150 may be misaligned with respect to the first
area 141 and the second area 143, the avoiding space D can
accommodate the misaligned portion of the supporting body 150, so
that the supporting teeth 142a cannot be easily blocked by the
supporting body 150, so as to achieve that each supporting tooth
142a can more reliably support the flexible base layer 110.
[0088] Further, as shown in FIG. 4 and in combination with FIG. 6,
the above-mentioned flexible display panel 100 may further include:
a control chip 190, whose orthographic projection to the supporting
layer 140 is located within the second area 143; a plurality of
first leading wires 210, whose orthographic projection to the
supporting layer 140 is located within the bending area 142; and a
protection layer 220 covering first leading wire 210 so as to
protect the first leading wire 210.
[0089] An orthographic projection of the display device 120 to the
supporting layer 140 is located within the first area 141, and the
display device 120 is electrically connected with the control chip
190 via the first leading wire 210.
[0090] With the above-mentioned structure, the control chip 190 can
control the display device 120 by the first leading wire 210, so as
to drive the display device 120 to work.
[0091] It should be noted that, the positions of the control chip
190, the first leading wire 210 and the protection layer 220 shown
in FIG. 4 are merely used for illustration, and the three may be
arranged in different positions according to different products and
different requirements.
[0092] In an embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4, and in combination
with FIG. 6, in the bending state, in a direction perpendicular to
the first area 141, a width W of the projection of the avoiding
space D is greater than or equal to an assembly error of the
supporting body 150 with respect to the supporting layer 140,
wherein directions in which both the width W of the projection of
the avoiding space D and the assembly error of the supporting body
150 with respect to the supporting layer 140 are, are directions
parallel to the first area 141, from the supporting teeth 142a
toward the supporting body 150, and perpendicular to a bending axis
of the bending area 142. In addition, it should be noted that, in
the direction parallel to the first area 141, from the supporting
teeth 142a toward the supporting body 150, and perpendicular to the
bending axis of the bending area 142, when distances between
different supporting teeth 142a and the supporting body 150 (this
distance refers to a distance having the minimum value between each
point on an outer surface of single supporting tooth 142a and the
supporting body 150 in the above-mentioned direction) are not
equal, the width W of the projection of the above-mentioned
avoiding space D in the direction perpendicular to the first area
141, refers to the distance between the supporting tooth 142a and
the supporting body 150 that is closest to the supporting body 150
in the above-mentioned direction, as shown in FIG. 4.
[0093] With the above solution, when designing the structure of the
supporting teeth 142a, the design can be carried out according to
the assembly error of the supporting body 150 with respect to the
supporting layer 140, so that the formed avoiding space D can still
accommodate the supporting body 150 when the flexible display panel
100 is in the bending state, even if the supporting body 150
reaches the maximum assembly error with respect to the supporting
layer 140. Therefore, this solution can prevent the supporting
teeth 142a from being blocked by the supporting body 150 in a
maximum extent. Preferably, when the width W of the projection of
the avoiding space D in the direction perpendicular to the first
area 141 is equal to or greater than 50 .mu.m, the assembly error
of the supporting body 150 with respect to the supporting layer 140
substantially does not affect the bending of the flexible base
layer 110. The reason lies in that the assembly error E of the
supporting body 150 with respect to the supporting layer 140
generally does not reach 50 .mu.m or more, so the width W of the
projection of the avoiding space D in the direction perpendicular
to the first area 141 is set to be greater than or equal to 50
.mu.m, which can be substantially adaptive to the above-mentioned
assembly error E generated in various situations.
[0094] Each of the supporting teeth 142a includes a first
supporting tooth 142aa and a second supporting tooth 142ab. As
shown in FIG. 6, in the flattening state and in a direction from
the first area 141 toward the second area 143, the first supporting
tooth 142aa is closer to the first area 141 than other supporting
tooth 142a, and the second supporting tooth 142ab is closer to the
second area 143 than other supporting tooth 142a. As shown in FIG.
7 and FIG. 8, FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of a partial
structure along A-A direction of the flexible display panel shown
in FIG. 2 in another embodiment, FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view
of a partial structure along B-B direction of the flexible display
panel shown in FIG. 3 in another embodiment. In combination with
FIG. 6, when the flexible base layer 110 is bent, the first
supporting tooth 142aa and the second supporting tooth 142ab
together with the first area 141 and the second area 143 form
avoiding space D, the supporting body 150 has an assembly error E
with respect to the supporting layer 140, wherein the width W of
the projection of the avoiding space D in the direction
perpendicular to the first area 141 may be equal to the assembly
error E. When the flexible base layer 110 is bent, the first
supporting tooth 142aa and the second supporting tooth 142ab may
contact with the supporting body 150. In such an embodiment, the
shape of the bending portion can just meet the requirements when
the flexible base layer 110 is bent, that is, the supporting teeth
142a are not easily blocked by the supporting body 150. The
supporting body 150 can provide a supporting force to the
supporting teeth 142a, so that the bending portion of the flexible
base layer 110 has a higher strength.
[0095] In another embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4 and in combination
with FIG. 6, in the bending state, at least one of the first
supporting tooth 142aa and the second supporting tooth 142ab does
not contact with the supporting body 150. That is, when the
flexible base layer 110 is bent, the first supporting tooth 142aa
and the second supporting tooth 142ab together with the first area
141 and the second area 143 form avoiding space D, the supporting
body 150 may have an assembly error E with respect to the
supporting layer 140. The width W of the projection of the avoiding
space D in the direction perpendicular to the first area 141 is
larger than the assembly error E.
[0096] In this case, an interval is formed between the supporting
body 150 and at least one of the first supporting tooth 142aa and
the second supporting tooth 142ab, so that at least one of the
first supporting tooth 142aa and the second supporting tooth 142ab
cannot contact with the supporting body 150, so that it is not easy
to be blocked by the supporting body 150. Meanwhile the supporting
teeth and the supporting body are prevented from colliding with
each other, which may deteriorate the supporting performance and
cause deformation of the product. Further, it may also be the
structure shown in FIG. 9 and FIG. 10. FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional
view of a partial structure along A-A direction of the flexible
display panel shown in FIG. 2 in still another embodiment, and FIG.
10 is a cross-sectional view of a partial structure along B-B
direction of the flexible display panel shown in FIG. 3 in still
another embodiment. In combination with FIG. 6, at least one of the
first supporting tooth 142aa and the second supporting tooth 142ab
does not extend to the supporting body 150 in a thickness direction
of the flexible display panel 100. Therefore, this structure can
better achieve that the supporting tooth 142a is not easily blocked
by the supporting body 150, thereby better adapting to the assembly
error of the supporting body 150 with respect to the supporting
layer 140.
[0097] In an embodiment, as shown in FIG. 5 and in combination with
FIG. 6, the supporting layer 140 further includes an adhesive
layer. In the bending state, the first area 141 and the second area
143 are respectively adhered to opposite sides of the supporting
body 150 via an adhesive layer, the adhesive layer may include two
parts, a first adhesive layer 144a and a second adhesive layer
144b, respectively. The first area 141 is adhered to the supporting
body 150 via the first adhesive layer 144a, and the second area 143
is adhered to the supporting body 150 via the second adhesive layer
144b. In general, a thickness of the first adhesive layer 144a is
equal to a thickness of the second adhesive layer 144b, and a
thickness of the first area 141 is equal to a thickness of the
second area 143.
[0098] In the flattening state, a height of at least one of the
first supporting tooth 142aa and the second supporting tooth 142ab
is less than or equal to the total thickness of the first area 141
and the adhesive layer, and the direction in which the height is
located is the thickness direction of the first area 141. As shown
in FIG. 10, the height H1 of the first supporting tooth 142aa is
less than or equal to the total thickness T1 of the first area 141
and the first adhesive layer 144a, and the height H2 of the second
supporting tooth 142ab is less than or equal to the total thickness
T2 of the second area 143 and the second adhesive layer 144b.
[0099] In the above embodiment, the height of at least one of the
first supporting tooth 142aa and the second supporting tooth 142ab
does not exceed the total thickness of the first area 141 and the
adhesive layer, so that at least one of the first supporting tooth
142aa and the second supporting tooth 142ab almost does not contact
with the supporting body 150, so as to more reliably prevent the
supporting teeth 142a from being blocked by the supporting body
150.
[0100] When the supporting layer 140 further includes the
above-mentioned adhesive layer, further in the flattening state,
the height of at least one of the first supporting tooth 142aa and
the second supporting tooth 142ab is less than or equal to the
thickness of the first area 141, wherein the direction in which the
height is located is the thickness direction of the first area 141.
As shown in FIG. 10, the height H1 of the first supporting tooth
142aa is less than or equal to the thickness T3 of the first area
141, and the height H2 of the second supporting tooth 142ab is less
than or equal to the thickness T4 of the second area 143. In this
case, at least one of the first supporting tooth 142aa and the
second supporting tooth 142ab has a smaller height, which is less
likely to contact with the supporting body 150. This solution can
achieve that each supporting tooth 142a provides sufficient
supporting force to the flexible base layer 110 and can also
decrease the weight of the flexible display panel 100 by decreasing
the height of the supporting teeth 142a.
[0101] In another embodiment, as shown in FIG. 11 and FIG. 12, FIG.
11 is a cross-sectional view of a partial structure along A-A
direction of the flexible display panel shown in FIG. 2 in still
another embodiment, and FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view of a
partial structure along B-B direction of the flexible display panel
shown in FIG. 3 in still another embodiment. At least two of the
supporting teeth 142a are a first supporting tooth 142aa and a
second supporting tooth 142ab, respectively, and the remaining is
at least one intermediate supporting tooth 142ac. In a flattening
state and in the direction from first area 141 toward the second
area 143, the first supporting tooth 142aa is closer to the first
area 141 than other supporting teeth 142a, and the second
supporting tooth 142ab is closer to the second area 143 than other
supporting teeth 142a.
[0102] As shown in FIG. 12, in the flattening state, a height of
the intermediate supporting tooth 142ac is larger than the height
of the first supporting tooth 142aa and the height of the second
supporting tooth 142ab, and the direction in which the height is
located is the thickness direction of the first area 141.
[0103] It can be seen as above that, the first supporting tooth
142aa and the second supporting tooth 142ab are the supporting
teeth 142a relatively closer to the supporting body 150, and both
do not contact with the supporting body 150, which can prevent the
supporting teeth 142a from being blocked by the supporting body
150, while the intermediate supporting tooth 142ac is more likely
configured to determine the magnitude of the supporting force that
the supporting teeth 142a can provide, therefore, the height of the
intermediate supporting tooth 142ac is larger, so that a larger
contact area between the intermediate supporting teeth 142ac can be
formed, thereby providing a greater supporting force.
[0104] More than one intermediate supporting tooth 142ac may be
provided, and these intermediate supporting teeth 142ac may have
the same height. As shown in FIG. 13 and FIG. 15, FIG. 13 is a
cross-sectional view of a partial structure along A-A direction of
the flexible display panel shown in FIG. 2 in still another
embodiment, and FIG. 15 is a cross-sectional view of a partial
structure along B-B direction of the flexible display panel shown
in FIG. 3 in still another embodiment. Such a structure can
simplify the structure of each supporting tooth 142a and then
control the processing cost of the flexible display panel 100. In
addition, these intermediate supporting teeth 142ac have the same
height so that the sizes of all intermediate supporting teeth 142ac
tend to be identical, so as to prevent some supporting teeth 142a
with substantially different height from affecting the size of the
finally formed avoiding space D, hereby more reliably forming the
avoiding space D.
[0105] One or more first supporting teeth 142aa may be provided,
and also one or more second supporting teeth 142ab may be provided.
Optionally, as shown in FIGS. 16-18, FIG. 16 is a cross-sectional
view of a partial structure along A-A direction of the flexible
display panel shown in FIG. 2 in still another embodiment, FIG. 17
is a cross-sectional view of a partial structure along B-B
direction of the flexible display panel shown in FIG. 3 in still
another embodiment, and FIG. 18 is an enlarged schematic view of
Section II of FIG. 17. There may be a plurality of first supporting
teeth 142aa, and all first supporting teeth 142aa have the same
height H1. The arrangement direction of the plurality of first
supporting teeth 142aa may be determined based on: in the
flattening state, a direction parallel to the first area 141, from
the first area 141 toward the second area 143, and perpendicular to
a bending axis of the flexible base layer 110, for example,
direction X shown in FIG. 17. In this case, since the first
supporting tooth 142aa does not easily contact with the supporting
body 150 after the flexible display panel is bent, the bending
reliability is improved, and the avoiding space D formed by the
bending of the flexible display panel 100 is larger. Meanwhile, by
setting the heights of all first supporting teeth 142aa to be
identical, the processing cost of the flexible display panel 100
may be further decreased and the supporting force provided by all
first supporting teeth 142aa becomes more uniform.
[0106] Similarly, as shown in FIGS. 16-17, a plurality of second
supporting teeth 142ab may be provided, and all second supporting
teeth 142ab have the same height H2. an arrangement direction of
the plurality of second supporting teeth 142ab may be determined
based on: in the flattening state, a direction parallel to the
first area 141, from the first area 141 toward the second area 143,
and perpendicular to a bending axis of the flexible base layer 110,
for example, direction X shown in FIG. 17.
[0107] Each of the above-mentioned supporting teeth 142a may be
directly connected with the flexible base layer 110, as shown in
FIGS. 4-15, or may be connected with the flexible base layer 110
via other structures. In an embodiment, as shown in FIG. 16 and
FIG. 17, and in combination with FIG. 6, the supporting layer 140
may further include a connection layer 145, and each supporting
tooth 142a is connected with the flexible base layer 110 via the
connection layer 145. Such a connection manner can enhance the
connection strength between the supporting teeth 142a and the
flexible base layer 110. The connection layer 145 is entire-surface
connected with the flexible base layer 110 so as to prevent an
individual supporting tooth 142a from connecting with the flexible
base layer 110, thereby avoiding the case in which a stress
concentrating area appears when bending, or a bending mark appears
on the flexible base layer 110 at the interval of each supporting
tooth 142a.
[0108] Further, a thickness of the above-mentioned connection layer
145 may be less than the thickness of the first area 141, so as to
decrease space occupied by the connection layer 145. The space
saved can be provided with the supporting teeth 142a, so that the
supporting teeth 142a may have a greater height, thereby increasing
the supporting force that each supporting tooth 142a can provide
after contact.
[0109] One end of the supporting tooth 142a is a connection end,
and the other end is a free end. The connection end is connected
with the flexible base layer 110, and in a flattening state, and in
the direction from the first area 141 toward the second area 143 (X
direction as shown in FIG. 6), a first preset interval is formed
between the free ends of two adjacent supporting teeth 142a, so as
to form the above-mentioned reserved space C. In this case, as
shown in FIGS. 4-18, the connection ends of adjacent supporting
teeth 142a may contact with each other, so that each supporting
tooth 142a can support the flexible base layer 110 in a larger
area. Or as shown in FIGS. 19-21, FIG. 19 is a cross-sectional view
of a partial structure along A-A direction of the flexible display
panel shown in FIG. 2 in still another embodiment, FIG. 20 is an
enlarged schematic view of Section III of FIG. 19, and FIG. 21 is a
cross-sectional view of a partial structure along B-B direction of
the flexible display panel shown in FIG. 3 in still another
embodiment. A second preset interval is formed between the
connection ends of adjacent supporting teeth 142a. The second
preset interval can be controlled to be relatively smaller, so that
adjacent supporting teeth 142a are not easily pressed against each
other when the flexible base layer 110 is bent, thereby avoiding
excessive local stress on the flexible base layer 110.
[0110] In the embodiment of the present disclosure, as shown in
FIG. 22, FIG. 22 is a schematic structural diagram of a supporting
tooth 142a of a flexible display panel in an embodiment. The
supporting tooth 142a includes a first lateral surface 142ad and a
second lateral surface 142ae. In the flattening state, as for
adjacent supporting teeth 142a, the first lateral surface 142ad of
one of the adjacent supporting teeth 142a faces the second lateral
surface 142ae of the other one of the adjacent supporting teeth
142a. And in the bending state, as for adjacent supporting teeth
142a, the first lateral surface 142ad of one of the adjacent
supporting teeth 142a is in surface contact with the second lateral
142ae of the other one of the adjacent supporting teeth 142a. When
adjacent supporting teeth 142a contact with each other in the
surface contact manner, the contact area between the two is
relatively larger, thereby preventing excessive deformation of the
supporting teeth 142a resulting from excessive supporting force,
meanwhile increasing the stability of each supporting tooth 142a
supporting the flexible base layer 110.
[0111] Further, as shown in FIG. 22 and in combination with FIG. 6,
the supporting tooth 142a may further include a top surface 142af
and a connection surface 142ag. The first lateral surface 142ad,
the top surface 142af and the second lateral surface 142ae are
sequentially connected, and a non-zero included angle is formed
both between the top surface 142af and the first lateral the
surface 142ad and between the top surface 142af and the second
lateral surface 142ae, the connection surface 142ag is used to
connect with the flexible base layer 110, and the top surface 142af
is opposite to the connection surface 142ag. In the flattening
state, as for adjacent supporting teeth 142a, the first lateral
surface 142ad of one of the adjacent supporting teeth 142a is
opposite to the second lateral surface 142ae of the other one of
the adjacent supporting teeth 142a. It can be understood that, if a
distance between the first lateral surface 142ad and the second
lateral surface 142ae is relatively large, the width of the
supporting tooth 142a (the direction in which the width is located
is the direction parallel to the first area 141, from the first
area 141 toward the second area 143, and perpendicular to a bending
axis of the flexible base layer 110) becomes relatively larger, so
that the supporting tooth 142a are not easily deformed after being
applied with force, which is beneficial to provide better support.
In this case, if the first lateral surface 142ad is directly
connected with the second lateral surface 142ae, the curvatures of
the first lateral surface 142ad and the second lateral surface
142ae will not be so great that the two are substantially planar.
In this case, the first lateral surface 142ad and the second
lateral surface 142ae need to extend farther to be directly
connected, which will inevitably result in a larger height of the
supporting tooth 142a. When the supporting tooth 142a includes a
first lateral surface 142ad, a second lateral surface 142ae, a top
surface 142af and a connection surface 142ag, the presence of the
top surface 142af is equivalent to cutting away a portion of the
supporting tooth 142a with the above-mentioned connection between
the first lateral surface 142ad and the second lateral surface
142ae, so that such an embodiment allows the height of the
supporting tooth 142a to be appropriately decreased and further
facilitates formation of larger avoiding space D. In this case,
each supporting tooth 142a can provide sufficient supporting force,
meanwhile after the supporting teeth 142a contact with each other,
sufficiently large avoiding space D can be more reliably formed so
as to better adapt to the assembly error of the supporting body 150
with respect to the supporting layer 140.
[0112] The above-mentioned top surface 142af may be a curved
surface or a flat surface. As shown in FIG. 17 and FIG. 22, when
the top surface 142af is a flat surface, in the flattening state,
the top surface 142af may be parallel to the flexible base layer
110. In this case, the supporting teeth 142a have the same height
at the first lateral surface 142ad and at the second lateral
surface 142ae, so that more uniform contact area at the first
lateral surface 142ad and the second lateral surface 142ae can be
formed between adjacent supporting teeth 142a, ensuring that the
supporting teeth 142a can provide a more balanced supporting
force.
[0113] At least one of the first lateral surface 142ad and the
second lateral surface 142ae may be set as a flat surface, as shown
in FIG. 22. It is also possible that both of the first lateral
surface 142ad and the second lateral surface 142ae are set as
curved surfaces, as shown in FIG. 23. FIG. 23 is a schematic
structural diagram of a supporting tooth 142a of a flexible display
panel in another embodiment. In an optional embodiment, at least
one of the first lateral surface 142ad and the second lateral
surface 142ae includes at least two sequentially connected flat
surfaces disposed in different planes, and a non-zero included
angle is formed between every adjacent two flat surfaces. In this
case, the number and the size of the flat surface contained in the
first lateral surface 142ad and the second lateral surface 142ae
can be flexibly set so that contact area between adjacent
supporting teeth 142a can meet the supporting requirement, and
meanwhile larger avoiding space D can be formed. Optionally, a flat
surface of the first lateral surface 142ad is connected with the
flexible base layer 110 and may be perpendicular to the flexible
base layer 110, and a flat surface of the second lateral surface
142ae is connected with the flexible base layer 110 and may be
perpendicular to the flexible base layer 110, so that this area may
have a relative larger size, thereby improving the connection
strength between the supporting tooth 142a and the flexible base
layer 110.
[0114] When the supporting teeth 142a include the first supporting
tooth 142aa and the second supporting tooth 142ab, the supporting
teeth 142a have the first lateral surface 142ad and the second
lateral surface 142ae, the first lateral surface 142ad of the first
supporting tooth 142aa is closer to the first area 141 than the
second lateral surface 142ae, the second lateral surface 142ae of
the second supporting tooth 142ab is closer to the second area 143
than the first lateral surface 142ad, and the first lateral surface
142ad of the first supporting tooth 142aa is fitted with the
lateral surface of the first area 141, so that the first supporting
tooth 142aa is always in contact with the first area 141, and thus
the first area 141 provides the first supporting tooth 142aa with
force, and the first area 141 supports the flexible base layer 110
via the first supporting tooth 142aa, reinforcing the supporting
force applied on the flexible base layer 110. Of course, the second
lateral surface 142ae of the second supporting tooth 142ab may also
be fitted with the lateral surface of the second area 143, so that
the second area 143 supports the flexible base layer 110 via the
second supporting tooth 142ab.
[0115] In order to achieve the supporting strength of the
supporting teeth 142a, the supporting teeth 142a may be formed as a
rib-like structure. As shown in FIGS. 22-23, an extending direction
of the supporting teeth 142a is parallel to the bending axis of the
bending area 142, so that a relatively larger supporting area
between the supporting teeth 142a and the flexible base layer 110
can be formed. In the extending direction of the supporting teeth
142a, a longitudinal cross-section of the rib-like supporting teeth
142a does not change, and the supporting teeth 142a are arranged
along the direction from the first area 141 toward the second area
142. It should be noted that, the longitudinal cross-section herein
is a surface perpendicular to the bending axis of the bending area
142.
[0116] In an embodiment, the longitudinal cross-sectional shape of
at least one supporting tooth 142a is at least one of triangular
(such as the intermediate supporting tooth 142ac shown in FIG. 15),
rectangular (such as the first supporting tooth 142aa shown in FIG.
12), trapezoid (such as the intermediate supporting tooth 142ac
shown in FIG. 17), pentagons, and hexagons. The longitudinal
cross-section herein is a plane perpendicular to the bending axis
of the bending area 142. These supporting teeth 142a with theses
shapes have simpler structures, which facilitates processing.
[0117] In addition, at least two of the supporting teeth have
different longitudinal cross-sectional shapes, so as to meet the
supporting requirements at different positions. For example, some
certain positions in the flexible base layer may be subjected to a
relatively large force, then the longitudinal cross-section of the
supporting teeth corresponding to these positions may be set to be
a more resilient cross-section, and the longitudinal cross-sections
of the supporting teeth corresponding to other positions can be
selected flexibly. For example, as shown in FIG. 17, the first
supporting tooth 142aa and the second supporting tooth 142ab have a
trapezoidal longitudinal cross-section, and the intermediate
supporting tooth 142ac has a triangular longitudinal
cross-section.
[0118] The advantage of this structure lies in the following
aspects. If both the longitudinal section of the first supporting
tooth 142aa and the longitudinal section of the second supporting
tooth 142ab are triangular shaped, in order to prevent the first
supporting tooth 142aa and the second supporting tooth 142ab from
being blocked by the supporting body 150, the height of the first
supporting tooth 142aa and the second supporting tooth 142ab should
not be too large, otherwise, it would results in that the two
lateral surfaces of the first supporting tooth 142aa and the second
supporting tooth 142ab together with the lateral surface of the
first area 141 (specifically, the lateral surface in contact with
the first supporting tooth 142aa in the first area 141) and the
lateral surface of the intermediate supporting tooth 142ac form a
relatively larger included angle; if the included angle is larger
than the bending angle of the flexible display panel, the first
supporting tooth 142aa and the second supporting tooth 142ab will
not easily contact with the first area 141 and the intermediate
supporting tooth 142ac when the flexible display panel is bent,
resulting in poor supporting effect of the first supporting tooth
142aa and the second supporting tooth 142ab. On the contrary, if
both the longitudinal cross-section of the first supporting tooth
142aa and the longitudinal cross-section of the second supporting
tooth 142ab are trapezoidal shaped, the two are less likely to be
blocked by the supporting body 150 thereby forming relatively
larger avoiding space D, and in addition, the included angle formed
by the lateral surfaces of the first supporting tooth 142aa and the
second supporting tooth 142ab together with the lateral surface of
the first area 141 and the lateral surface of the intermediate
supporting tooth 142ac can be arbitrarily selected, so as to meet
the requirement that the two are in surface contact with the first
area 141 and the intermediate supporting tooth 142ac.
[0119] In the meantime, when the intermediate supporting tooth
142ac is triangular-shaped, since the first supporting tooth 142aa
and the second supporting tooth 142ab have trapezoidal cross
sections, the first supporting tooth 142aa and the second
supporting tooth 142ab form relatively larger interval space, so
the height of the intermediate supporting tooth 142ac can be
properly increased, so that a relatively larger contact area is
formed between the intermediate supporting teeth 142ac without
affecting the size of the avoiding space D. In this case, a
plurality of intermediate supporting teeth 142ac can form a
relatively larger contact area when the flexible display panel is
bent, so as to decrease intensity of pressure and make the
intermediate supporting teeth 142ac less likely to be deformed or
crushed even when being applied with force, thereby better bearing
the force.
[0120] In an optional embodiment, when at least two of the
supporting teeth 142a are the first supporting tooth 142aa and the
second supporting tooth 142ab respectively, and the remaining is at
least one intermediate supporting tooth 142ac, the above-mentioned
intermediate supporting teeth 142ac may be divided into multiple
groups, and all intermediate supporting teeth 142ac in each group
have the same height, the intermediate supporting teeth 142ac in
different groups may have different height. For example, as shown
in FIG. 17, the longitudinal cross-sections of the first supporting
tooth 142aa, the second supporting tooth 142ab and the intermediate
supporting teeth 142ac are trapezoidal-shaped, the two intermediate
supporting teeth 142ac located at the middle portion have the same
height, the two intermediate supporting teeth 142ac adjacent to the
two intermediate supporting teeth 142ac located at the middle
portion have a relatively smaller height, so as to achieve that the
supporting teeth 142a do not easily contact with the supporting
body 150 and that an individual intermediate supporting tooth 142ac
can be prevented from being excessively long, which results in a
smaller width W of the projection of the avoiding space D.
[0121] Optionally, as shown in FIG. 15, at least one of the first
supporting tooth 142aa and the second supporting tooth 142ab has a
longitudinal cross-section with a right-angled trapezoidal shape.
In this case, in order to better prevent the supporting teeth from
being blocked by the supporting body 150 so as to form more
sufficient avoiding space D, the height H1 of at least one of the
first supporting tooth 142aa and the second supporting tooth 142ab
is smaller than the thickness T3 of the first area 141.
[0122] Preferably, in the structure shown in FIG. 15, at least one
of the first supporting tooth 142aa and the second supporting tooth
142ab has a longitudinal cross-section with a right-angled
trapezoidal shape, and the right-angled edge of the right-angled
trapezoidal cross-section is located at a side of the first
supporting tooth 142aa and the second supporting the tooth 142ab
respectively facing the first area 141 and the second area 143.
Meanwhile, when the flexible display panel is in the flattening
state, the right-angled edge of the right-angle trapezoid
cross-section contacts with the first area 141 and the second area
143, respectively. Each intermediate supporting tooth 142ac has a
triangular longitudinal cross-section, and all intermediate
supporting teeth 142ac have the same height. In addition, the
height of the first supporting tooth 142aa and the height of the
second supporting tooth 142ab may be the same, so as to facilitate
processing the flexible display panel. The height of the
intermediate supporting tooth 142ac is greater than the height of
the first supporting tooth 142aa and the second supporting tooth
142ab, so that a larger contact area can be more reliably formed
between the intermediate supporting teeth 142ac and between the
intermediate supporting tooth 142ac and the first supporting tooth
142aa and the second supporting tooth 142ab, thereby providing
greater supporting force. In addition, as shown in FIG. 14, FIG. 14
is a cross-sectional view of a partial structure along A-A
direction of the flexible display panel shown in FIG. 2 in still
another embodiment. In the bending state, a pattern of the avoiding
space D formed by each supporting tooth 142a is more regular. The
longitudinal cross-sections of the first supporting tooth 142aa and
the second supporting tooth 142ab are both set as trapezoidal
cross-sections, so that one edge of the first supporting tooth
142aa and the second supporting tooth 142ab can respectively
contact with the first area 141 and the second area 143, and the
other edge can provide enough reserved space for better bending the
flexible base layer 110. Meanwhile, when the flexible display panel
is bent, a portion of the flexible display panel corresponding to
the first supporting tooth 142aa and the second supporting tooth
142ab is substantially not bent, and only the portion of the
flexible display panel corresponding to the intermediate supporting
tooth 142ac is bent. Since the first supporting tooth 142aa and the
second supporting tooth 142ab have a right-angled trapezoidal
cross-section, the first supporting tooth 142aa and the second
supporting tooth 142ab form relatively larger interval space,
therefore the height of the intermediate supporting tooth 142ac
having a triangular cross-section can be properly increased.
Optionally, all intermediate supporting teeth have the same height.
In the bending state, the state of the intermediate supporting
tooth with the triangular cross-section is that, the vertices of
all triangles is converged at one point, and this point corresponds
to the center corresponding to the curvature radius of the bending
flexible display panel corresponding to the intermediate supporting
tooth. In the triangular cross-section of the intermediate
supporting tooth, the height of the triangle is equivalent to the
curvature radius of the bending flexible display panel
corresponding to the intermediate supporting tooth. In this way,
the height of the intermediate supporting tooth 142ac with the
triangular cross-section is increased, that is, the bending
curvature radius of the corresponding flexible display panel is
increased, so that when a larger contact area is formed between the
intermediate supporting teeth 142ac, a portion of the flexible base
layer 110 corresponding to the intermediate supporting tooth 142ac
has a larger bending curvature radius, thus avoiding excessive
bending of the flexible display panel. Meanwhile, a width of a
projection of the bending portion in the direction perpendicular to
the flexible display panel is smaller, that is, the bending portion
occupies smaller space, which is beneficial to the design of narrow
border. The longitudinal cross-section of the intermediate
supporting tooth 142ac is a triangular cross-section, which can
simplify the process of the flexible display panel.
[0123] As shown in FIGS. 16-18, and in combination with FIG. 6 and
FIG. 22, at least one of the first supporting tooth 142aa and the
second supporting tooth 142ab has a longitudinal section with a
non-right-angled trapezoidal shape. In this case, The structure of
the first supporting tooth 142aa and the second supporting tooth
142ab may be as shown in FIG. 22, wherein at least one of the two
may have a top surface 142af. Referring to the above description of
the top surface 142af, it can be seen that, such a structure may
achieve that the height of at least one of the first supporting
tooth 142aa and the second supporting tooth 142ab can be properly
decreased, thereby more easily forming larger avoiding space D. In
this case, at least one of the first supporting tooth 142aa and the
second supporting tooth 142ab can provide sufficient supporting
force. Meanwhile, after the supporting teeth 142a are in contact
with each other, sufficiently large avoiding space D can be more
reliably formed so as to better adapt to the assembly error of the
supporting body 150 with respect to the supporting layer 140.
[0124] Further, the longitudinal sections of the first supporting
tooth 142aa and the second supporting tooth 142ab may both be a
non-right-angled trapezoidal cross-section. As shown in FIG. 17 and
FIG. 18, in the flattening state, an angle .theta. is formed
between the first area 141 and the first supporting tooth 142aa, in
order words, .theta. is an included angle between the first lateral
surface 142ad of the first supporting tooth 142aa and the lateral
surface in the first area 141 being in contact with the first
supporting tooth 142aa, then the condition that
H1<(T3-E*tan.theta.)*cos.theta. is satisfied so as to prevent
the first supporting tooth 142aa from being blocked by the
supporting body 150 after the flexible display panel is bent.
Wherein T3 is the thickness of the first area 141, H1 is the height
of the first supporting tooth 142aa, and E is the assembly
error.
[0125] Further, in combination with the above relational
expression, when .theta. is not less than 45 degrees, the problem
of excessive bending of the flexible display panel can be
prevented.
[0126] In addition, in the structure shown in FIG. 17, the first
supporting tooth 142aa, the second supporting tooth 142ab, and each
intermediate supporting tooth 142ac have trapezoidal longitudinal
cross-sections, and the height of all intermediate supporting teeth
142ac are the same. In addition, the height of the first supporting
tooth 142aa and the height of the second supporting tooth 142ab may
be identical, so that the processing process of the first
supporting tooth 142aa is substantially the same as the processing
process of the second supporting tooth 142ab, so as to facilitate
processing the flexible display panel; the height of the
intermediate supporting tooth 142ac is greater than the height of
the first supporting tooth 142aa and the height of the second
supporting tooth 142ab, so that a larger contact area can be more
reliably formed between the intermediate supporting teeth 142ac and
between the intermediate supporting tooth 142ac and the first
supporting tooth 142aa and the second supporting tooth 142ab,
thereby providing greater supporting force. The longitudinal
cross-sections of the first supporting tooth 142aa and the second
supporting tooth 142ab are both set as trapezoidal cross-sections,
so that one edge of the first supporting tooth 142aa and the second
supporting tooth 142ab can respectively contact with the first area
141 and the second area 143, and the other edge can provide enough
reserved space for better bending the flexible base layer 110. The
longitudinal cross-section of the intermediate supporting tooth
142ac is a trapezoidal cross-section, which can simplify the
process of the flexible display panel.
[0127] In addition, in the structure shown in FIGS. 19-21, the
longitudinal cross-section of at least one of the first supporting
tooth 142aa and the second supporting tooth 142ab is hexagonal.
Optionally, the longitudinal cross-section of each intermediate
supporting tooth 142ac may also be hexagonal, and the height of all
intermediate supporting teeth 142ac may be the same. In addition,
the height of the first supporting tooth 142aa may be identical to
the height of the second supporting tooth 142ab, so as to
facilitate processing the flexible display panel; the height of the
intermediate supporting tooth 142ac is greater than the height of
the first supporting tooth 142aa and the height of the second
supporting tooth 142ab, so that a larger contact area can be more
reliably formed between the intermediate supporting teeth 142ac and
between the intermediate supporting tooth 142ac and the first
supporting tooth 142aa and the second supporting tooth 142ab, the
intermediate supporting tooth 142ac is less likely to be deformed
or crushed when being applied with force and thus being able to
bear a greater force, in other words, the intermediate supporting
tooth 142ac can provide greater supporting force.
[0128] Optionally, the first supporting tooth 142aa, the second
supporting tooth 142ab, and the intermediate supporting tooth 142ac
are separated from each other and form a surface contact. As
described above, such a structure can achieve the supporting
effect, while keeping the bending curvature radius of the flexible
display panel not changed, the number density of the supporting
teeth 142a can be decreased, the manufacturing difficulty of the
flexible display panel can be decreased, since the supporting teeth
142a are separated from each other in the flattening state,
therefore, it is avoided that an individual supporting tooth 142a
is abnormal during the manufacturing process, which influences the
surrounding supporting tooth 142a and makes the surrounding
supporting tooth 142a to be deformed. Of course, such a structure
decreases the number of the supporting tooth 142a while achieving
that the supporting tooth 142a can provide sufficient support,
thereby saving material.
[0129] Further, with reference to FIG. 23, at least two of the
supporting teeth 142a are the first supporting tooth 142aa and the
second supporting tooth 142ab, and the remaining is at least one
intermediate supporting tooth 142ac. In the flattening state, and
in the direction from the first area toward the third area, the
first supporting tooth 142aa is closer to the first area 141 than
the other supporting teeth 142a, and the second supporting tooth
142ab is closer to the second area 143 than the other supporting
teeth 142a. In the flattening state, the height of the intermediate
supporting tooth 142ac is greater than that of the first supporting
tooth 142aa and that of the second supporting tooth 142ab, and the
direction in which the height is located is the thickness direction
of the first area 141. The lateral surfaces of each of the first
supporting tooth 142aa, the second supporting tooth 142ab, and the
intermediate supporting tooth 142ac described above may include a
two-part flat surface, the first lateral surface 142ad of the
second supporting tooth 142ab and the intermediate supporting tooth
142ac includes a first surface 142ak and a second surface 142ah,
and the second lateral surface 142ae includes a third surface 142ai
and a fourth surface 142aj. The first surface 142ak is connected
between the second surface 142ah and the connection surface 142ag,
and the third surface 142ai is connected between the fourth surface
142aj and the connection surface 142ag. When the flexible display
panel is in the bending state, the first surface 142ak of the first
supporting tooth 142aa is fitted with the lateral surface of the
first area 141, and the fourth surface 142aj of the first
supporting tooth 142aa is in surface contact with the first surface
142ak of the intermediate supporting tooth 142ac. As for adjacent
intermediate supporting teeth 142ac, the second surface 142ah of
one of the adjacent intermediate supporting teeth 142ac is in
surface contact with the fourth surface 142aj of the other one of
the adjacent intermediate supporting teeth 142ac. The third surface
142ai of the second supporting tooth 142ab is fitted with the
lateral surface of the second area 143. The second surface 142ah of
the second supporting tooth 142ab is in surface contact with the
third surface 142ai of the intermediate supporting tooth 142ac.
[0130] As for the above-mentioned structure, the first surface
142ak and the third surface 142ai of the first supporting tooth
142aa, the second supporting tooth 142ab, and the intermediate
supporting tooth 142ac may be used to mainly control the overall
height of these three parts; and the bending degree of the flexible
display panel can mainly be controlled by the second surface 142ah
and the fourth surface 142aj of the first supporting tooth 142aa
and the second supporting tooth 142ab.
[0131] In another embodiment, in order to improve the adaptability
of the supporting teeth 142a with respect to the assembly error of
the supporting body 150, in the bending state, the supporting teeth
142a do not contact with the supporting body 150, so that larger
space is kept between the supporting teeth 142a and the supporting
body 150, so as to more reliably prevent the supporting teeth 142a
from being blocked by the supporting body 150.
[0132] In combination with FIG. 6, in order to enhance the
structural strength of the entire supporting layer 140, the
supporting layer 140 may be designed as an integrated structure.
That is, each section contained in the supporting layer 140, i.e.,
the first area 141, the bending area 142, the second area 143, and
the connection layer 145 are formed by one-time molding without
assembly, and a high bonding strength is formed between each
section, thereby achieving higher structural strength.
[0133] In another embodiment, as shown in FIG. 24 and FIG. 25, FIG.
24 is a schematic structural diagram of a flexible display panel in
a bending state in still another embodiment, FIG. 25 is a
cross-sectional view along A-A direction of the flexible display
panel shown in FIG. 24. In the flexible display panel, there are
two positions where the flexible base layer 110 is bent, and the
bending axes O of the two bending positions may be parallel to each
other. Correspondingly, the supporting teeth 142a are disposed on
both of the bending portions. The supporting teeth 142a are
distributed at two opposing sides of the supporting body 150 along
a direction where the above-mentioned width W is located (i.e., a
direction parallel to the first area 141, from the supporting teeth
142a toward the supporting body 150, and perpendicular to the
bending axis of the bending area 142), so as to further decrease
the negative impact on the flexible base layer 110 due to the
assembly error of the supporting body 150. Meanwhile, it should be
noted that, the structures described in the above embodiments may
also be applied to the structures shown in FIG. 24 and FIG. 25,
which will not be further described herein.
[0134] Based on the above-mentioned flexible display panel 100, the
embodiment of the present disclosure further provides a display
apparatus that includes the flexible display panel 100 described in
any one of the above embodiments.
[0135] The above are merely preferred embodiments of the present
disclosure, which are not used to limit the present disclosure. For
those skilled in the art, the present disclosure may have various
modifications and changes. All the modifications, equivalent
substitutions and improvements made within the spirit and
principles of the present disclosure shall fall into the protection
scope of the present disclosure.
* * * * *