Flexible display and electronic device including the same

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10490771-B2
Application number	US-201816233962-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Dec 27, 2018
Priority date	Dec 28, 2017
Publication date	Nov 26, 2019
Grant date	Nov 26, 2019

Abstract

Disclosed are a flexible display and an electronic device including the same, in the flexible display, a back plate has an improved structure so as to stably support a display panel even during repeated folding and unfolding operations, and also the flexible display can prevents sagging or deformation of specific constituent elements therein.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A flexible display, comprising:
a display panel; and
a back plate divided into a folding portion and a non-folding portion, the back plate including
a first layer formed of a material having stiffness higher than a stiffness of the display panel,
a first opening pattern formed in the first layer and corresponding to the folding portion, the first opening pattern having a first density of empty space, and
a second opening pattern formed in the first layer and corresponding to the non-folding portion, the second opening pattern having a second density of empty space lower than the first density.

2. The flexible display according to claim 1 , wherein the non-folding portion is divided into two or more areas, a first area of the two or more areas includes the second opening pattern having the second density, and a second area of the two or more areas includes a third opening pattern having a density of empty space different from the first and second densities.

3. The flexible display according to claim 2 , wherein the second density of a portion of the second opening pattern at a first distance from the folding portion is lower than the first density, and the third density of a portion of the third opening pattern at a second distance from the folding portion is lower than the second density, the second distance being greater than the first distance.

4. The flexible display according to claim 1 , wherein the first density is uniform in the folding portion, and
wherein the second density decreases in the non-folding portion with increasing distance from the folding portion.

5. The flexible display according to claim 1 , wherein the first layer includes at least one of stainless steel, amorphous metal, amorphous silicon, and Invar.

6. The flexible display according to claim 1 , wherein the back plate further comprises a skin layer on at least one surface of the first layer.

7. The flexible display according to claim 1 , further comprising a first adhesive layer between the display panel and the back plate.

8. The flexible display according to claim 6 , wherein the skin layer is formed of a resin.

9. The flexible display according to claim 8 , wherein at least one of the first opening pattern and the second opening pattern is filled with the resin.

10. The flexible display according to claim 6 , wherein the back plate further comprises an adhesive layer between the first layer and the skin layer.

11. The flexible display according to claim 10 , wherein the skin layer has a higher elastic restoration ability than the first layer.

12. The flexible display according to claim 11 , wherein the skin layer includes at least one of stainless steel, amorphous metal, amorphous silicon, and Invar.

13. The flexible display according to claim 10 , wherein the adhesive layer is exposed by the first and second opening patterns.

14. The flexible display according to claim 10 , wherein a space is provided within at least one of the first and second opening patterns between the adhesive layer and a surface of the first layer that is not in contact with the adhesive layer, and wherein a thickness of the space is equal to or less than a thickness of the first layer.

15. The flexible display according to claim 1 , wherein the first opening pattern includes openings arranged in a plurality of columns in the folding portion.

16. The flexible display according to claim 1 , wherein the first opening pattern is divided into a plurality of patterns each having columns with a discontinuous portion separating adjacent openings in each column.

17. The flexible display according to claim 16 , wherein a first discontinuous portion in a first column is located in a different row than a second discontinuous portion in a second column adjacent to the first column.

18. The flexible display according to claim 11 , wherein the skin layer has a thickness that is thinner than a thickness of the first layer.

19. The flexible display according to claim 1 , the folding portion having edges without an opening of the first opening pattern exposed on the edges.

20. An electronic device, comprising:
a display panel;
a back plate divided into a folding portion and a non-folding portion, the back plate including
a first layer formed of a material having stiffness higher than a stiffness of the display panel,
a first opening pattern formed in the first layer and corresponding to the folding portion, the first opening pattern having a first density of empty space, and
a second opening pattern formed in the first layer and corresponding to the non-folding portion, the second opening pattern having a second density of empty space lower than the first density; and

a case accommodating the display panel and the back plate therein.

Assignees

• Lg Display Co Ltd

Inventors

• Kim Jun-Hyung
• Kim Tae-Woo
• Lee Han-Ul
• Park Jung-Kyu

Classifications

• H05K5/0017

  with operator interface units · CPC title

• H01L51/56

  Electricity · mapped topic

• H01L27/3244

  Electricity · mapped topic

• H01L51/5253

  Electricity · mapped topic

• H01L2251/5338

  Electricity · mapped topic