TW201736122A - Flexible glass structure which can be made with a simple manufacturing process - Google Patents

Abstract

Provided is a flexible glass structure, which is made by forming a first reinforced layer on the first surface of a glass base material. A first pre-stress is provided between the first reinforced layer and the glass base material. A substrate is formed in a local segment on the second surface of the glass base material. The glass base material covered by the local segment is defined as a straight segment, while the glass base material not covered by the substrate is defined as a bent segment. The glass base material appears to be a substantial plane corresponding to the straight segment, and a curved plane corresponding to the bent segment.

Description

Flexible glass structure

The present invention relates to a glass manufacturing technique, and more particularly to a glass having a flexible structure.

Glass is used in all areas of construction, computers, transportation, or household appliances. Especially in current mobile communication and portable electronic devices, glass panels or touch panels have been commonly used as human-machine interface to provide a relatively simple and intuitive operation mode. The general glass is easily broken, so the manufacturer has developed various tempered glass materials.

Furthermore, as the appearance of the portable electronic device in the consumer market is also required to be stylish, display curvature, lighter weight, and thinner thickness. For example, in the hand-held electronic device currently in use, the glass mirror or the touch panel is preferably adapted to the curvature of the user's wrist to enhance product value and ease of operation.

How to produce a display screen or glass product having a curved shape or a curved surface structure, although there are prior art, these techniques still have many disadvantages and are greatly limited by the process technology.

For example, in the conventional process technology, since the process of heating and stamping is adopted, the glass with the curved surface structure is limited by the press jig, and the curved curvature can not be manufactured, and the thickness can be easily adjusted. Glass products. Furthermore, when the glass having a curved surface structure is conventionally manufactured, it is generally necessary to pre-cut a large piece of glass into a plurality of small pieces of glass that meet the requirements of the final product, and then strengthen each of the small pieces of glass, so that the process size is greatly affected. Limitation, and can not improve production efficiency.

Therefore, how to produce a display screen or glass product with a curved shape or a curved surface structure is still a subject of research and development improvement by those involved in this industry.

In view of the needs of the prior art, it is an object of the present invention to provide a flexible glass structure that provides a flexible glass structure that is simple in process.

The technical means adopted in the present invention form a first strengthening layer on the first surface of a glass substrate. The first strengthening layer is formed by cooling the glass substrate after heat treatment, and forming a first pre-stress between the first reinforcing layer and the glass substrate. a substrate formed in a partial section of the second surface of the glass substrate, the glass substrate covered by the partial section is defined as a flat section, and the glass substrate not covered by the substrate It is defined as a bent section. The glass substrate is substantially planar corresponding to the straight section, and the glass substrate has a curved surface corresponding to the curved section.

Wherein, the glass substrate is a boron-containing glass substrate.

Wherein, the thickness of the first strengthening layer is between 3 and 100 μm.

In another embodiment of the invention, a first reinforcement layer is formed on a first surface of a glass substrate. The first strengthening layer is formed by subjecting the glass substrate to an ion exchange reaction to form a first pre-stress between the first reinforcing layer and the glass substrate. a substrate formed in a partial section of the second surface of the glass substrate, the glass substrate covered by the partial section is defined as a flat section, and the glass substrate not covered by the substrate It is defined as a bent section. The glass substrate is substantially planar corresponding to the straight section, and the glass substrate has a curved surface corresponding to the curved section.

Wherein, the glass substrate is one of a sodium alkali glass substrate or a silicate glass containing sodium ions.

Wherein, the thickness of the first strengthening layer is between 3 and 100 μm.

In terms of effects, the flexible glass structure produced by the present invention can be manufactured without a limitation of the precision of the conventional stamper, so that the flexible glass structure can be manufactured by a simple process. The glass of the present invention having a curved surface structure can be easily controlled by the glass surface strengthening time and etching time in the temperature control process. Furthermore, the invention can directly strengthen the processing with a large piece of glass, and then cut a plurality of small pieces of glass that meet the requirements of the final product, thereby effectively improving the production efficiency.

The specific techniques used in the present invention will be further illustrated by the following examples and the accompanying drawings.

1A to 1F, there are shown structural cross-sectional views of the first embodiment of the present invention during fabrication. First, a glass substrate 1 having a first surface 11 and a second surface 12 is prepared. The glass substrate 1 in this embodiment is a boron-containing glass substrate.

Next, the first surface 11 and the second surface 12 of the glass substrate 1 are heat-treated to 600-700 degrees Celsius, and then the glass substrate 1 is cooled to make the first surface 11 and the second surface 12 of the glass substrate 1 A first strengthening layer 21 and a second strengthening layer 22 are formed by cooling (as shown in FIG. 1B). The thickness of the first reinforcing layer 11 and the second reinforcing layer 12 are respectively between 3 and 100 μm, and the thickness can be controlled by the temperature and time of the heat treatment. At this time, a first pre-stress is formed between the first reinforcing layer 21 and the glass substrate 1, and a second pre-stress is formed between the second reinforcing layer 22 and the glass substrate 1.

After the first reinforcing layer 21 and the second reinforcing layer 22 are completed, a certain shape layer 3 is attached to the surface of the first reinforcing layer 21 (as shown in FIG. 1C).

Then, the second strengthening layer 22 is etched to remove the second strengthening layer 22 (as shown in FIG. 1D ) to expose the second surface 12 of the glass substrate 1 to release between the glass substrate 1 and the second reinforcing layer 22 . The second pre-stress, while preserving the first pre-stress between the glass substrate 1 and the first reinforcement layer 21.

After the second reinforcing layer 22 is etched, a substrate 4 (as shown in FIG. 1E) can be attached to a portion of the second surface 12 of the glass substrate 1. The glass substrate 1 covered by the substrate 4 is defined as a straight section S1, and the glass substrate 1 not covered by the substrate 4 is defined as a bent section S21, S22. The area of the substrate 4 where the second surface 12 of the substrate 4 is covered may depend on the final desired glass product curvature.

Finally, the shaped layer 3 attached to the first surface 11 of the glass substrate 1 can be removed. After the shaping layer 3 is removed, the glass substrate 1 is substantially planar due to the support of the substrate 4 corresponding to the flat section S1, and the glass substrate 1 corresponds to the bending section S21, S22 causes the glass substrate 1 to form a curved surface 4 (as shown in FIG. 1F) due to the first pre-stress between the glass substrate 1 and the first reinforcing layer 21.

2A to 2I, there are shown structural cross-sectional views of the second embodiment of the present invention during fabrication. First, a glass substrate 5 (shown in FIG. 2A) having a first surface 51 and a second surface 52 is prepared. The glass substrate 5 in this embodiment is one of a sodium alkali glass substrate or a tellurite glass containing sodium ion Na+.

Next, the first surface 51 and the second surface 52 of the glass substrate 5 are subjected to an immersion treatment (shown in FIG. 2B) with a potassium nitrate melt W containing potassium ions K+. At this time, the potassium nitrate melt W has been heated to 400-500 degrees Celsius by heat treatment to perform an ion exchange reaction, and the sodium ions Na+ of the first surface 51 and the second surface 52 of the glass substrate 5 are separated to leave a plurality of Ion holes 6 (shown in Figure 2C) are filled into the ion pores 6 by potassium ions K+ in the potassium nitrate melt W (as shown in Figure 2D).

Subsequently, the glass substrate 5 is cooled, and the first surface 51 and the second surface 52 of the glass substrate 5 are respectively cooled to form a first strengthening layer 71 and a second strengthening layer 72 (as shown in FIG. 2E). A first pre-stress is formed between the first reinforcing layer 71 and the glass substrate 5, and a second pre-stress is formed between the second reinforcing layer 72 and the glass substrate 5.

After the first reinforcement layer 71 and the second reinforcement layer 72 are completed, a certain shape layer 8 (shown in FIG. 2F) is attached to the surface of the first reinforcement layer 71 to expose the second surface 52 of the glass substrate 5.

The second surface 52 of the glass substrate 5 is etched (as shown in FIG. 2G) to release a second pre-stress between the glass substrate 5 and the second reinforcement layer 72 while leaving the glass substrate 5 and the first reinforcement layer The first pre-stress of 71.

After the second reinforcing layer 72 is etched, a substrate 9 (shown in FIG. 2H) can be attached to a portion of the second surface 52 of the glass substrate 5. The glass substrate 5 covered by the substrate 9 is defined as a straight section S3, and the glass substrate 5 not covered by the substrate 9 is defined as a bent section S41, S42. The area of the substrate 4 that is covered by the second surface 52 of the substrate 4 can depend on the final desired glass product curvature.

Finally, the shaped layer 8 attached to the first surface 51 of the glass substrate 5 can be removed (as shown in Figure 2I). After the shaping layer 8 is removed, the glass substrate 5 is substantially planar corresponding to the flat section S3 due to the support of the substrate 9, and the glass substrate 5 corresponds to the bending section S41, In S42, the glass substrate 5 is formed into a curved surface by the first pre-stress between the glass substrate 5 and the first reinforcing layer 71.

The above-mentioned embodiments are only intended to illustrate the invention, and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention, and other equivalent modifications or substitutions which are not departing from the spirit of the invention are intended to be included in the scope of the appended claims. Inside.

1‧‧‧glass substrate
11‧‧‧ first surface
12‧‧‧ second surface
21‧‧‧First strengthening layer
22‧‧‧Second reinforcement
3‧‧‧ Shaped layer
4‧‧‧Substrate
S1‧‧‧ Straight section
S21, S22‧‧‧ bending section
5‧‧‧ glass substrate
51‧‧‧ first surface
52‧‧‧ second surface
6‧‧‧Ion Hole
71‧‧‧First strengthening layer
72‧‧‧Second reinforcement
8‧‧‧ Shaped layer
9‧‧‧Substrate
S3‧‧‧ Straight section
S41, S42‧‧‧ bending section
W‧‧‧ potassium nitrate solution
Na+‧‧‧ sodium ion
K+‧‧‧potassium ion

1A to 1F are cross-sectional views showing the structure of a first embodiment of the present invention during fabrication. 2A to 2I are cross-sectional views showing the structure of a second embodiment of the present invention during fabrication.

1‧‧‧glass substrate

11‧‧‧ first surface

12‧‧‧ second surface

21‧‧‧First strengthening layer

4‧‧‧Substrate

S1‧‧‧ Straight section

S21, S22‧‧‧ bending section

Claims (6)

A flexible glass structure comprising: a glass substrate having a first surface and a second surface; a first reinforcement layer formed on the first surface of the glass substrate; wherein the first reinforcement layer Forming the glass substrate to be cooled by heat treatment, forming a first pre-stress between the first strengthening layer and the glass substrate; a substrate formed on the second surface of the glass substrate a partial segment, the glass substrate covered by the partial segment is defined as a straight segment, and the glass substrate not covered by the substrate is defined as a bent segment; wherein the glass substrate is Corresponding to the straight section is substantially planar, and the glass substrate has a curved surface corresponding to the bent section. The flexible glass structure of claim 1, wherein the glass substrate is a boron-containing glass substrate. The flexible glass structure of claim 1, wherein the first reinforcing layer has a thickness of between 3 and 100 μm. A flexible glass structure comprising: a glass substrate having a first surface and a second surface; a first reinforcement layer formed on the first surface of the glass substrate; wherein the first reinforcement layer Forming the glass substrate to perform an ion exchange reaction, forming a first pre-stress between the first strengthening layer and the glass substrate; a deformed layer attached to the surface of the first reinforcing layer; a substrate Forming a partial section of the second surface of the glass substrate, the glass substrate covered by the partial section is defined as a straight section, and the glass substrate not covered by the substrate is defined For bending sections. The flexible glass structure of claim 4, wherein the glass substrate is one of a sodium alkali glass substrate or a tellurite glass containing sodium ions. The flexible glass structure of claim 4, wherein the first reinforcing layer has a thickness of between 3 and 100 μm.