# US 12,010,897 B2 · Foldable display panel

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- Number: US 12,010,897 B2
- Document ID: US12010897B2
- Status: Granted
- Kind: B2
- Application number: 17/261,766
- Filed: 2020-10-20
- Published: 2023-06-29
- Granted: 2024-06-11
- Earliest claimed: 2020-06-28
- Assignees: Wuhan China Star Optoelectronics Semiconductor Display Technology Co., Ltd.
- Applicants: Wuhan China Star Optoelectronics Semiconductor Display Technology Co., Ltd.
- Inventors: Fang Wang
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US12010897B2

## CPC

- H10K 59/80: Constructional details
- G02B 5/3016: {involving passive liquid crystal elements (optical properties of liquid crystals G02F1/0063; polarising elements associated with active liquid crystal devices G02F1/133528)}
- G06F 1/1637: {Details related to the display arrangement, including those related to the mounting of the display in the housing}
- G06F 1/1641: {the display being formed by a plurality of foldable display components (G06F1/1647 takes precedence)}
- G06F 1/1652: {the display being flexible, e.g. mimicking a sheet of paper, or rollable}
- G06F 3/041: Digitisers, e.g. for touch screens or touch pads, characterised by the transducing means
- G06F 3/0412: {Digitisers structurally integrated in a display}
- H04M 1/0268: {including a flexible display panel}
- H10K 77/111: {Flexible substrates}
- G06F 2203/04102: Flexible digitiser, i.e. constructional details for allowing the whole digitising part of a device to be flexed or rolled like a sheet of paper
- H10K 59/12: Active-matrix OLED [AMOLED] displays
- H10K 2102/311: {Flexible OLED}
- H10K: ORGANIC ELECTRIC SOLID-STATE DEVICES
- G02B: OPTICAL ELEMENTS, SYSTEMS OR APPARATUS
- G06F: ELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING (computer systems based on specific computational models G06N)
- H04M: TELEPHONIC COMMUNICATION (circuits for controlling other apparatus via a telephone cable and not involving telephone switching apparatus G08)

## Abstract

Embodiments of the present invention provide a foldable display panel, comprising a display area. The display area is provided with a plurality of foldable areas, and a metal supporting layer is provided with a hollow pattern in the foldable areas. A material of the metal supporting layer is SUS stainless steel.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A foldable display panel, comprising a first display area, a second display area, a third display area, an inwardly folding area defined between the first display area and the second display area, and an outwardly folding area defined between the second display area and the third display area, wherein the foldable display panel further comprises a metal supporting layer, a display module disposed on a surface of the metal supporting layer, a touch layer disposed on a surface of the display module, and a polarizing cover layer disposed on a surface of the touch layer, wherein the metal supporting layer is provided with a complete SUS stainless steel layer in the first display area, the second display area, the third display area, and the outwardly folding area, and the metal supporting layer is provided with an SUS stainless steel layer with a hollow pattern in the inwardly folding area; and
wherein the polarizing cover layer comprises a polarizing layer and a cover layer attached to each other, the polarizing layer is a liquid crystal layer and/or a polyvinyl alcohol film, and the cover layer is an organic and inorganic laminated layer, wherein a fan-out area is disposed on an edge of the display area, a driving circuit is disposed in the fan-out area, a protection layer is disposed on a surface of the driving circuit, and the protection layer and the metal supporting layer are made of a same material and provided in a same layer.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The foldable display panel as claimed in claim 1, wherein the inwardly folding area is defined on a bending axis of the first display area and the second display area, and connects the first display area to the second display area.

### Claim 3 (depends on 2)

The foldable, display panel as claimed in claim 2, wherein the hollow pattern is a complete cut-out, and the cut-out is same in shape and size as the inwardly folding area, and the metal supporting layer has a segmented structure.

### Claim 4 (depends on 2)

The foldable display panel as claimed in claim 2, wherein the hollow pattern is separately arranged in parallel with or perpendicular to the bending axis, and the metal supporting layer is an integrated grid structure.

### Claim 5 (depends on 4)

The foldable display panel as claimed in claim 4, wherein the hollow pattern comprises one or more of a rectangle, a parallelogram, or a trapezoid, and a long side of the hollow pattern is parallel to the bending axis.

### Claim 6 (depends on 1)

The foldable display panel as claimed in claim 1, wherein angles between the outwardly folding area and the inwardly folding area are greater than 0 degrees, and less than or equal to 90 degrees.

### Claim 7 (depends on 1)

The foldable display panel as claimed in claim 1, wherein a thickness of the metal supporting layer is in the range of 10 um to 30 um.

### Claim 8 (depends on 1)

The foldable display panel as claimed in claim 1, wherein the display module is an OLED display module or a mini-LED display module, a stress buffer layer is disposed between the display module and the metal supporting layer, and the stress buffer layer is made of foam or rubber.

### Claim 9 (depends on 8)

The foldable display panel as claimed in claim 8, wherein the display module is the OLED display module, the OLED display module comprises a flexible substrate, a driving circuit layer disposed on a surface of the flexible substrate, a functional layer disposed on a surface of the driving circuit layer, and a packaging layer disposed on a surface of a light emitting layer, and a rigidity of the metal supporting layer is greater than a rigidity of the flexible substrate.

### Claim 10

A foldable display panel, comprising a first display area, a second display area, a third display area, an inwardly folding area defined between the first display area and the second display area, and an outwardly folding area defined between the second display area and the third display area, wherein the foldable display panel further comprises a metal supporting layer, a display module disposed on a surface of the metal supporting layer, a touch layer disposed on a surface of the display module, and a polarizing cover layer disposed on a surface of the touch layer, wherein the metal supporting layer is provided with a complete SUS stainless steel layer in the first display area, the second display area, the third display area, and the outwardly folding area, and the metal supporting layer is provided with an SUS stainless steel layer with a hollow pattern in the inwardly folding area, wherein a fan-out area is disposed on an edge of the display area, a driving circuit is disposed in the fan-out area, a protection layer is disposed on a surface of the driving circuit, and the protective layer and the metal supporting layer are made of a same material and provided in a same layer.

### Claim 11 (depends on 10)

The foldable display panel as claimed in claim 10, wherein the inwardly folding area is defined on a bending axis of the first display area and the second display area, and connects the first display area to the second display area.

### Claim 12 (depends on 11)

The foldable display panel as claimed in claim 11, wherein the hollow pattern is a complete cut-out, and the cut-out is same in shape and size as the inwardly folding area, and the metal supporting layer has a segmented structure.

### Claim 13 (depends on 11)

The foldable display panel as claimed in claim 11, wherein the hollow pattern is separately arranged in parallel with or perpendicular to the bending axis, and the metal supporting layer is an integrated grid structure.

### Claim 14 (depends on 13)

The foldable display panel as claimed in claim 13, wherein the hollow pattern comprises one or more of a rectangle, a parallelogram, or a trapezoid, and a long side of the hollow pattern is parallel to the bending axis.

### Claim 15 (depends on 10)

The foldable display panel as claimed in claim 10, wherein angles between the outwardly folding area and the inwardly folding area are greater than 0 degrees, and less than or equal to 90 degrees.

### Claim 16 (depends on 10)

The foldable display panel as claimed in claim 10, wherein a thickness of the metal supporting layer is in the range of 10 um to 30 um.

### Claim 17 (depends on 11)

The foldable display panel as claimed in claim 11, wherein the display module is an OLEO display module or a mini-LED display module, a stress buffer layer is disposed between the display module and the metal supporting layer, and the stress buffer layer is made of foam or rubber.

### Claim 18 (depends on 17)

The foldable display panel as claimed in claim 17, wherein the display module is the OLED display module, the OLED display module comprises a flexible substrate, a driving circuit layer disposed on a surface of the flexible substrate, a functional layer disposed on a surface of the driving circuit layer, and a packaging layer disposed on a surface of a light emitting layer, and a rigidity of the metal supporting layer is greater than a rigidity of the flexible substrate.