Borderless display with curved edges

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10288974-B2
Application number	US-201615253553-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Aug 31, 2016
Priority date	Apr 6, 2016
Publication date	May 14, 2019
Grant date	May 14, 2019

Abstract

An electronic device with a flexible display subassembly is provided. The display stack may use two layers of adhesives having different elastic properties to improve mechanical impact resistance, with a first adhesive layer made of a viscoelastic material and a second adhesive layer having a low modulus of elasticity. The display stack may also include a hot melt protective sheet (HMPS) covering the display subassembly. The HMPS may be wrapped around the two side edges of a rigid substrate to attach directly to the substrate, thereby aiding in the adhesion of the display stack to the substrate. The display stack may also includes a patterned back protective sheet in which the protective backing layer is removed along the curved portions of the display stack.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An electronic device comprising:
a substrate having a first side, an opposing second side, and a first curved edge portion;
a first adhesive layer coupled to the first side, extending around the first curved edge portion, and coupled to the second side, wherein the first adhesive layer comprises a viscoelastic material;
a flexible display subassembly coupled to the substrate by the first adhesive layer such that the display subassembly overlies the first side, extends around the first curved edge portion, and overlies the second side;
a second adhesive layer coupled to the display subassembly, the second adhesive layer being an optically clear adhesive having a modulus of elasticity of between about 100 Pa to about 10 MPa; and
a front protective sheet coupled to the display subassembly by the second adhesive layer such that the front protective sheet overlies the first side, extends around the first curved edge portion, and overlies the second side.

2. The electronic device of claim 1 , wherein:
the first adhesive layer comprises one or more of the following: a thermoplastic elastomer, a styrene-butadiene block copolymer, or a interpenetration network polymer.

3. The electronic device of claim 1 , wherein:
the second adhesive layer comprises one or more of a polybutadiene or a silicone optically clear adhesive.

4. The electronic device of claim 1 , wherein:
the substrate further comprises a second curved edge portion opposite the first curved edge portion, the second curved edge portion extending from the first side to the second side;
the first adhesive layer extends around the second curved edge portion of the substrate;
the flexible display subassembly extends around the second curved edge portion of the substrate; and
the front protective sheet includes a portion that extends around the second curved edge portion of the substrate.

5. The electronic device of claim 1 , wherein:
the front protective sheet includes a first portion that extends beyond a portion of the flexible display subassembly that overlies the second side of the substrate, wherein the first portion of the front protective sheet is directly attached to the second side of the substrate.

6. The electronic device of claim 1 , wherein:
the front protective sheet comprises a transparent hot melt protective sheet.

7. The electronic device of claim 1 , further comprising:
a patterned protective backing layer comprising a first portion coupled to the first side of the substrate, a second portion coupled to the second side of the substrate, and an opening adjacent to the first curved edge portion of the substrate; and
an electrophorescent display (EPD) module comprising an electrophorescent material layer, wherein the EPD module is coupled to the first portion of the patterned protective backing layer, extends around the first curved edge portion of the substrate, and is coupled to the second portion of the patterned protective backing layer.

8. An electronic device comprising:
a substrate having a first side, an opposing second side, and a first curved edge portion;
a patterned protective backing layer comprising a first portion coupled to the first side of the substrate, a second portion coupled to the second side of the substrate, and an opening adjacent to the first curved edge portion of the substrate;
an electrophorescent display (EPD) module comprising a TFT backplane and an electrophoretic material layer, wherein the EPD module is coupled to the first portion of the patterned protective backing layer, extends around the first curved edge portion of the substrate, and is coupled to the second portion of the patterned protective backing layer; and
a front protective sheet coupled to the EPD module, wherein the front protective sheet includes a first portion that overlies the first side of the substrate, a second portion that extends around the first curved edge portion of the substrate, and a third portion that overlies the second side of the substrate.

9. The electronic device of claim 8 , further comprising:
a display driver circuit coupled to a first side of the TFT backplane;
wherein the second portion of the patterned protective backing layer is coupled to a second side of the TFT backplane opposite the display driver circuit.

10. The electronic device of claim 8 , wherein:
the first portion and the second portion of the patterned protective backing layer comprise one or more of the following: polyester, polyethylene terephthalate, polyethylene, high-density polyethylene, low-density polyethylene, polypropylene, polyamide, or polyurethane.

11. The electronic device of claim 8 , wherein:
the substrate further comprises a second curved edge portion opposite the first curved edge portion;
the TFT backplane extends around the second curved edge portion of the substrate; and
the front protective sheet includes a fourth portion that extends around the second curved edge portion of the substrate; and
further comprising a first adhesive layer coupled to the first side of the substrate, extending around the first curved edge portion of the substrate, extending around the second curved edge portion of the substrate, and coupled to the second side.

12. The electronic device of claim 8 , further comprising:
a first adhesive layer coupled a first side of the EPD module facing the substrate, wherein the first adhesive layer comprises a viscoelastic material; and
a second adhesive layer coupled to a second side of the EPD module opposite the first side, the second adhesive layer being an optically clear adhesive having a modulus of elasticity of between about 100 Pa to about 10 MPa.

13. The electronic device of claim 12 , wherein:
the first adhesive layer is coupled to the first and second sides of the substrate, the first portion of the patterned protective backing layer, and the second portion of the patterned protective backing layer; and
the second adhesive layer is coupled to EPD module and the front protective sheet.

14. The electronic device of claim 8 , wherein:
the front protective sheet includes a fourth portion that extends beyond a portion of the EPD module that is coupled to the second portion of the patterned protective backing layer, wherein the fourth portion of the front protective sheet is directly attached to the second side of the substrate.

15. An electronic device comprising:
a substrate having a first side, an opposing second side, and a first curved edge portion;
a first adhesive layer coupled to the first side, extending around the first curved edge portion, and coupled to the second side, wherein the first adhesive layer comprises a viscoelastic material;
a display subassembly coupled to the substrate by the first adhesive layer such that the display subassembly overlies the first side, extends around the first curved edge portion, and overlies the second side;
a second adhesive layer coupled to the display subassembly; and
a front protective sheet coupled to the display subassembly by the second adhesive layer such that the front protective sheet overlies the first side, extends around the first curved edge portion, and overlies the second side.

16. The electronic device of claim 15 , wherein:
the first adhesive layer comprises one or more of the following: a thermoplastic elastomer, a styrene-butadiene block copolymer, or a interpenetration network polymer.

17. The electronic device of claim 15 , wherein:
the second adhesive layer comprises one or more of a polybutadiene or a silicone optically clear adhesive.

Assignees

• Amazon Tech Inc

Inventors

• Hou Weihsin
• Sprague Robert Arthur
• Khor Chin Siong
• Gupta Siddharth

Classifications

• G06F1/1626

  with a single-body enclosure integrating a flat display, e.g. Personal Digital Assistants [PDAs] · CPC title

• G06F1/1652

  the display being flexible, e.g. mimicking a sheet of paper, or rollable · CPC title

• G06F1/1637

  Details related to the display arrangement, including those related to the mounting of the display in the housing · CPC title

• G02F2202/28

  Adhesive materials or arrangements · CPC title

• G02F2201/503

  Arrangements improving the resistance to shock · CPC title