US-12628286-B2 - Supporting element including fiber reinforced plastics and foldable display device including the same

US12628286B2US 12628286 B2US12628286 B2US 12628286B2US-12628286-B2

Abstract

A foldable display device includes a display panel including a foldable area folded based on a folding axis, and a supporting member positioning under the display panel and including a folding portion corresponding to the foldable area. The supporting member includes a fiber reinforced plastic, through-holes are defined in the folding portion, each of the through-holes includes an affected zone which is disposed at a boundary of the through-hole and in which a physical or chemical change has occurred at one surface of the supporting member, the folding portion includes a first region including an edge portion contacting the end portion of the supporting member and a second region adjacent to the first region in the folding axis direction, and a width of the affected zone of the through-holes disposed in the first region is different from that of the affected zone of the through-holes disposed in the second region.

Inventors

Geunwoo YUG

Assignees

SAMSUNG DISPLAY CO., LTD.

Dates

Publication Date: 20260512
Application Date: 20230523
Priority Date: 20220810

Claims (17)

1 . A foldable display device comprising: a display panel including a foldable area which is folded based on a folding axis; and a supporting member disposed under the display panel and including: a folding portion which corresponds to the foldable area of the display panel and in which a plurality of through-holes is defined, the folding portion comprising: a first region including an edge portion in contact with an end portion of the supporting member; and a second region positioned adjacent to the first region in a folding axis direction; and a fiber reinforced plastic, wherein each of the plurality of through-holes includes an affected zone which is disposed at a boundary of a through-hole of the plurality of through-holes and in which a physical or chemical change has occurred at one surface of the supporting member, a width of the affected zone of through-holes of the plurality of through-holes disposed in the first region is different from a width of the affected zone of through-holes of the plurality of through-holes disposed in the second region, and the folding portion further includes a third region adjacent to the second region in the folding axis direction, and the width of the affected zone of the through-holes disposed in the third region is different from the width of the affected zone of the through-holes disposed in the second region.
2 . The foldable display device of claim 1 , wherein the width of the affected zone of the through-hole disposed in the first region is within about 10 micrometers from an incision surface of the through-hole.
3 . The foldable display device of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of through-holes is disposed consecutively and extended in the folding axis direction.
4 . The foldable display device of claim 3 , wherein the plurality of through-holes has a first width in the folding axis direction and a second width in a direction intersecting the folding axis direction, and the first width is wider than the second width.
5 . The foldable display device of claim 4 , wherein the plurality of through-holes is in a form of which a half circle is tangential to opposite ends of a rectangle.
6 . The foldable display device of claim 1 , wherein the fiber reinforced plastic includes at least one of carbon fiber reinforced plastic, glass fiber reinforced plastic, graphite fiber reinforced plastic, aramid fiber reinforced plastic, and hybrid carbon fiber reinforced plastic.
7 . A foldable display device comprising: a display panel including a foldable area which is folded based on a folding axis; and a supporting member disposed under the display panel and including: a folding portion which corresponds to the foldable area of the display panel and in which a plurality of through-holes defined by a laser, the folding portion including: a first region including an edge portion in contact with an end portion of the supporting member; and a second region disposed adjacent to the first region in a folding axis direction; and a fiber reinforced plastic, wherein through-holes of the plurality of through-holes disposed in the first region and through-holes of the plurality of through-holes disposed in the second region are processed by lasers of different pulse energy, and the through-holes disposed in the first region are processed with a laser of a first pulse energy, and the through-holes disposed in the second region are processed with a laser of a second pulse energy, which is a higher energy than the first pulse energy.
8 . The foldable display device of claim 7 , wherein a number of laser scans of the first pulse energy in the first region is different from a number of laser scans of the second pulse energy in the second region.
9 . The foldable display device of claim 7 , wherein the folding portion further includes a third region adjacent to the second region in the folding axis direction, the through-holes disposed in the first region are processed by a laser of a first pulse energy, the through-holes disposed in the second region are processed by a laser of a second pulse energy, which is higher energy than the first pulse energy, and the through-holes disposed in the third region are processed with a laser of a third pulse energy, which is a higher energy than the second pulse energy.
10 . The foldable display device of claim 9 , wherein a number of laser scans of the first pulse energy in the first region is greater than a number of laser scans of the second pulse energy in the second region, and a number of laser scans of the third pulse energy in the third region is smaller than the number of laser scans of the second pulse energy in the second region.
11 . The foldable display device of claim 7 , wherein the fiber reinforced plastic includes at least one of carbon fiber reinforced plastic, glass fiber reinforced plastic, graphite fiber reinforced plastic, aramid fiber reinforced plastic, and hybrid carbon fiber reinforced plastic.
12 . A supporting member comprising: a folding portion which is folded based on a folding axis and in which a plurality of through-holes is defined by laser processing, the folding portion including: a first region including an edge portion in contact with an end portion of the supporting member; and a second region disposed adjacent to the first region in a folding axis direction, and a fiber reinforced plastic, wherein each of the plurality of through-holes includes an affected zone which is disposed at a boundary of a through-hole of the plurality of through-holes and in which a physical or chemical change has occurred at one surface of the supporting member, a width of the affected zone of through-holes of the plurality of through-holes disposed in the first region is different from a width of the affected zone of through-holes of the plurality of through-holes disposed in the second region, and the through-holes disposed in the first region are processed by a laser of a first pulse energy, and the through-holes disposed in the second region are processed by a laser of a second pulse energy different from the first pulse energy.
13 . The supporting member of claim 12 , wherein the folding portion further includes a third region adjacent to the second region in the folding axis direction, and a width of the affected zone of the through-holes disposed in the third region is different from the width of the affected zone of the through-holes disposed in the second region.
14 . The supporting member of claim 12 , wherein the width of the affected zone of the through-holes disposed in the first region is within about 10 micrometers from an incision surface of the through-holes.
15 . The supporting member of claim 12 , wherein the plurality of through-holes is formed consecutively and extended in the folding axis direction.
16 . The supporting member of claim 12 , wherein the fiber reinforced plastic includes at least one of carbon fiber reinforced plastic, glass fiber reinforced plastic, graphite fiber reinforced plastic, aramid fiber reinforced plastic, and hybrid carbon fiber reinforced plastic.
17 . The supporting member of claim 12 , wherein a number of laser scans of the first pulse energy in the first region is different from a number of laser scans of the second pulse energy in the second region.

Description

This application claims priority to Korean Patent Application No. 10-2022-0100195, filed on Aug. 10, 2022, and all the benefits accruing therefrom under 35 U.S.C. § 119, the content of which in its entirety is herein incorporated by reference. BACKGROUND 1. Field The disclosure relates to a display device, and more specifically, to a foldable display device including a fiber reinforced plastic. 2. Description of the Related Art Electronic devices such as smartphones, mobile phones, tablets, multimedia players, televisions, and monitors include a display device for displaying images. The display device includes a display panel that implements a screen that displays an image. A flexible display device that may be deformable such as bendable, foldable, rollable, and stretchable by including a flexible substrate as a substrate for the display panel is being developed. Among the flexible display devices, a foldable display device may be folded and unfolded like a book. Such a foldable display device may include fiber reinforced plastics as a support member. SUMMARY The foldable display device may include a support member including the fiber reinforced plastic (“FRP”). Since the FRP includes a plurality of fibers, defects in a form of threads may occur due to the fibers being loosened during the manufacturing process of the display device. Embodiments are for reducing defects occurring in relation to FRP during the manufacturing process of the foldable display device. A foldable display device in an embodiment includes a display panel including a foldable area that is folded based on a folding axis, and a supporting member disposed under the display panel and including a folding portion corresponding to the foldable area of the display panel. The supporting member includes an FRP, a plurality of through-holes is defined in the folding portion, each of the plurality of through-holes includes an affected zone disposed at a boundary of a through-hole of the plurality of through-holes and in which a physical or chemical change has occurred at one surface of the supporting member, the folding portion includes a first region including an edge portion in contact with an end portion of the supporting member and a second region disposed adjacent to the first region in a folding axis direction, and a width of the affected zone of through-holes of the plurality of through-holes disposed in the first region is different from that of the affected zone of through-holes of the plurality of through-holes disposed in the second region. In an embodiment, the folding portion may further include a third region adjacent to the second region in the folding axis direction, and the width of the affected zone of the through-holes disposed in the third region may be different from the width of the affected zone of the through-holes disposed in the second region. In an embodiment, the width of the affected zone of the through-hole disposed in the first region may be within about 10 micrometers (μm) from an incision surface of the through-hole. In an embodiment, the plurality of through-holes may be formed continuously and extended in the folding axis direction. In an embodiment, the plurality of through-holes may have a first width in the folding axis direction and a second width in a direction intersecting the folding axis direction, and the first width may be wider than the second width. In an embodiment, the plurality of through-holes may be in a form of which a half circle is tangential to opposite ends of the rectangle. In an embodiment, the FRP may include at least one of carbon FRP, glass FRP, graphite FRP, aramid FRP, and hybrid carbon FRP. A foldable display device in an embodiment includes a display panel including a foldable area that is folded based on a folding axis, and a supporting member disposed under the display panel and including a folding portion corresponding to the foldable area of the display panel. The supporting member includes an FRP, the folding portion includes a plurality of through-holes defined by a laser, the folding portion includes a first region including an edge portion in contact with an end portion of the supporting member and a second region disposed adjacent to the first region in the folding axis direction, and through-holes of the plurality of through-holes defined in the first region and through-holes of the plurality of through-holes defined in the second region are processed by lasers of different pulse energy. In an embodiment, the through-holes disposed in the first region may be processed with a laser of a first pulse energy, and the through-holes disposed in the second region may be processed with a laser of a second pulse energy, which is a higher energy than the first pulse energy. In an embodiment, a number of laser scans of the first pulse energy in the first region may be different from a number of laser scans of the second pulse energy in the second region. In an embodiment, the foldi