Curved vehicle displays

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2019077262-A1
Application number	US-201816126320-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Sep 10, 2018
Priority date	Sep 13, 2017
Publication date	Mar 14, 2019
Grant date	—

Abstract

Embodiments of a curved vehicle display including a display module having a display surface, a curved glass substrate disposed on the display surface having a first major surface, a second major surface having a second surface area, and a thickness in a range from 0.05 mm to 2 mm, wherein the second major surface comprises a first radius of curvature of 200 mm or greater, wherein, when the display module emits a light, the light transmitted through the glass substrate has a substantially uniform color along 75% or more of the second surface area, when viewed at a viewing angle at a distance of 0.5 meters from the second surface. Methods of forming a curved vehicle display are also disclosed.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1 . A method of forming a curved vehicle display comprising:
providing a substrate having a first major surface and a second major surface opposite the first major surface; positioning the substrate on a support surface, the first major surface facing the support surface; conforming the first major surface of the substrate to the support surface; and attaching a rear panel on the second major surface of the substrate while the first major surface is in conforming contact with the support surface, the attaching comprising curing a first adhesive between the rear panel and the second major surface while an ambient environment of the first adhesive is subjected to a first vacuum, wherein the support surface comprises a first radius of curvature that is 100 mm or greater.

2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the conformed first major surface comprises a second radius of curvature that is within 10% of the first radius of curvature.

3 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the support surface comprises a holding mechanism configured to temporarily hold the substrate on the support surface, and the substrate is at least partially conformed to the support surface via the holding mechanism.

4 . The method claim 3 , wherein the holding mechanism is a vacuum chuck or an electrostatic chuck.

5 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the positioning of the substrate on the support surface comprises carrying and placing the substrate by a positioning device that is configured to align the substrate with the support surface, wherein the positioning device comprises a deformable engagement surface, and wherein, when placing the substrate on the support surface, the deformable engagement surface temporarily deforms with the substrate as the substrate conforms to the support surface.

6 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the support surface comprises a third radius of curvature, and optionally, the first radius of curvature and the third radius of curvature are each radii about different axes of curvature.

7 . The method of claim 6 , wherein the conformed first major surface further comprises a fourth radius of curvature that is within 10% of the third radius of curvature.

8 . The method of claim 4 , wherein, when the support surface comprises a vacuum chuck, a second pressure of the vacuum chuck is controllable independently of a first pressure of the first vacuum, and wherein the method further comprises
reducing the first pressure from an initial pressure to a reduced pressure state while curing the first adhesive, and increasing the second pressure of the vacuum chuck to be greater than the first pressure while curing the first adhesive, wherein the ambient pressure is reduced to 0.1 atmospheres in the reduced pressure state.

9 . A vehicle interior component laminating system comprising:
a chamber configured to receive components of a vehicle interior system, a first pressure of an interior of the chamber being controllable; a curved support surface disposed in a lower part of the chamber; and an upper stage disposed in an upper part of the chamber, the upper stage being configured to hold components of the vehicle interior system, wherein the upper stage and the curved support surface are movable relative to one another such that the upper stage can position the components of the vehicle interior system on the curved support surface for cold-forming the vehicle interior system.

10 . The system of claim 9 , wherein the curved support surface has a radius of curvature corresponding to a desired radius of curvature of the vehicle interior system.

11 . The system of claim 9 , wherein the curved support surface comprises a vacuum chuck, a second pressure of the vacuum chuck being controllable separately from the first pressure of the chamber.

12 . The system of claim 9 , wherein the curved support surface comprises an electrostatic chuck, an electrostatic force of the electrostatic chuck being controllable separately from the first pressure of the chamber.

13 . The system of claim 9 , further comprising a heater to thermally cure an adhesive of the vehicle interior system.

14 . The system of claim 9 , wherein the upper stage comprises a flexible surface configured to conform to a curved shape of the components of the vehicle interior system when curved by the curved support surface.

15 . A method of forming a curved vehicle display comprising:
positioning a glass substrate on a support surface, the glass substrate having a first major surface and a second major surface opposite the first major surface, the first major surface facing the support surface, the support surface being flexible and able to have a three-dimensional or curved surface shape; attaching a back panel to the glass substrate via an adhesive on the second major surface of the glass substrate, wherein the glass substrate, the adhesive, and the back panel form a laminate structure; bending the laminate structure using a plurality of piezoelectric bending actuators on a back panel side of the laminate structure, wherein the bending of the laminate structure occurs below a glass transition temperature of the glass substrate, wherein the laminate structure having a first radius of curvature after bending, and the support surface assumes a curved surface shape to conform to the first radius of curvature of the laminate structure.

16 . The method of claim 15 , further comprising attaching a support structure to the back panel to form a stack comprising the substrate, the adhesive, the back panel, and the support structure
wherein the support structure comprises a frame for mounting the vehicle interior system in a vehicle.

17 . The method of claim 15 , wherein the bending of the laminate structure by the piezoelectric bending actuators comprises cold forming the stack, the piezoelectric bending actuators being disposed on a back side of the support structure.

18 . The method of claim 15 , wherein the piezoelectric bending actuators comprise at least one position sensor or strain gauge.

19 . The method of claim 15 , further comprising:
lowering a pressure in a chamber containing the laminate structure; and partially curing the adhesive prior to cold forming.

20 . A method of forming a curved vehicle display comprising:
providing a glass substrate having a first major surface and a second major surface opposite the first major surface; positioning the glass substrate on a deformable surface of a platform with the first major surface facing the deformable surface; providing an adhesive to the second major surface of the glass substarte; attaching a display panel to the glass substrate via the adhesive on the second major surface, forming a laminate structure comprising the glass substrate, the adhesive, and the display panel; cold bending the laminate structure by applying a curved surface of a die to a display-unit-side of the laminate structure, forming a curved laminate structure, the curved surface of the die comprising a first radius of curvature, wherein the deformable surface of the platform deforms to accommodate the cold bending of the laminate structure; and applying a pre-curved backlight unit and a pre-curved frame to the display panel of the curved laminate structure.

21 . The method of claim 20 , further comprising partially curing the adhesive after attaching the display panel to the glass substrate and before cold bending the laminate structure.

Assignees

• Corning Inc

Inventors

• Benjamin Jeffrey Michael
• Boggs Jordon Thomas
• Kumar Atul
• Li Cheng-Chung
• Sun Yawei

Classifications

• C03B23/0302

  between opposing full-face shaping moulds · CPC title

• B32B2457/20

  Displays, e.g. liquid crystal displays, plasma displays · CPC title

• C03C27/10

  with the aid of adhesive specially adapted for that purpose · CPC title

• B32B38/1866

  conforming the layers or laminate to a convex or concave profile · CPC title

• B32B2605/003

  Interior finishings · CPC title