CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This U.S. non-provisional patent application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. § 119 to Korean Patent Application No. 10-2018-0154335, filed on Dec. 4, 2018, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure provided herein relates to a display module and a method of manufacturing a display device including the same, and more particularly, to a display module including a step-difference compensation film a method of manufacturing a display device including the same.

DISCUSSION OF RELATED ART

A display module for displaying an image may include a display panel and a cover panel. Components may be added to the display module, and/or components of the display module may be coupled to each other by a pressing process during manufacture.

A space may occur in the display module due to a step difference between the components which may introduce complications in the pressing process. Defects may consequently occur because of a difference in refractive index between the display panel and an air layer filling the space as well as unequal pressing forces.

SUMMARY

The present disclosure provides for a display module which includes a step-difference compensation film capable of compensating for a step difference in a pressing process for coupling components of the display module, and a method of manufacturing a display device including the same.

According to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, a display module is provided including a display panel comprising a pixel configured to display an image on a front surface of the display panel. A cover panel is disposed on a rear surface of the display panel. An adhesive film is disposed on the cover panel, and the adhesive film exposes a first portion of the cover panel. A protective film is disposed on the cover panel, and the adhesive film is disposed between the protective film and the cover panel. A step-difference compensation film is disposed between the cover panel and the protective film. The step-difference compensation film covers the first portion of the cover panel exposed by the adhesive film and the step difference compensation film has a thickness substantially equal to a thickness of the adhesive film.

According to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, an adhesive strength of the step-difference compensation film to the cover panel is less than an adhesive strength of the step-difference compensation film to the protective film.

According to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the step-difference compensation film includes a first adhesive layer disposed on the protective film, a second adhesive layer disposed on the cover panel, and an intermediate layer disposed between the first adhesive layer and the second adhesive layer. The adhesive strength of the step-difference compensation film to the protective film is defined as an adhesive strength of the first adhesive layer to the protective film, and an adhesive strength of the second adhesive layer of the step-difference compensation film to the cover panel is less than the adhesive strength of the first adhesive layer of the step-difference film to the protective film.

According to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the adhesive film includes a first adhesive film layer disposed on the protective film, a second adhesive film layer disposed on the cover panel, and an intermediate film disposed between the first adhesive film layer and the second adhesive film layer. The adhesive strength of the second adhesive layer of the step-difference compensation film to the cover panel is less than an adhesive strength of the second adhesive film layer of the adhesive film to the cover panel.

According to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the adhesive strength of the first adhesive layer of the step-difference compensation film to the protective film is greater than an adhesive strength of the first adhesive film layer of the adhesive film to the protective film.

According to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the intermediate layer is provided in plural, and the step-difference compensation film further comprises an additional adhesive layer disposed between the intermediate layers.

According to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, a surface of the step-difference compensation film and a surface of the adhesive film which face the protective film are coplanar with each other.

According to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the adhesive film includes at least one opening exposing a second portion of the cover panel which is different from the first portion of the cover panel.

According to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the step-difference compensation film comprises a first film covering the first portion of the cover panel, and a second film covering the second portion of the cover panel.

According to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the adhesive film includes a pressure sensitive adhesive (PSA), an optical clear adhesive (OCA), and/or an optical clear resin (OCR).

According to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the cover panel includes a heat dissipation layer, an impact absorbing layer, or a light blocking layer.

According to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the first portion of the cover panel exposed by the adhesive film is the heat dissipation layer, the impact absorbing layer or the light blocking layer.

According to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, a display module is provided including a display panel including a pixel configured to display an image on a front surface of the display panel. A cover panel is disposed on a rear surface of the display panel. An adhesive film is disposed on a rear surface of the cover panel and exposes a first portion of the cover panel. A protective film disposed under the adhesive film. A step-difference compensation film is disposed between the cover panel and the protective film and covering the first portion of the cover panel exposed by the adhesive film. An adhesive strength of the step-difference compensation film to the cover panel is less than an adhesive strength of the step-difference compensation film to the protective film.

According to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, a thickness of the step-difference compensation film ranges from 90% to 110% of a thickness of the adhesive film.

According to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the adhesive film includes at least one opening exposing a second portion of the cover panel which is different from the first portion of the cover panel. The step-difference compensation film covers the second portion of the cover panel.

According to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the adhesive film includes a first adhesive film layer in contact with the protective film, a second adhesive film layer in contact with the cover panel, and an intermediate film disposed between the first adhesive film layer and the second adhesive film layer. The adhesive strength of the step-difference compensation film to the cover panel is less than an adhesive strength of the second adhesive film layer of the adhesive film to the cover panel.

According to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the adhesive strength of the step-difference compensation film to the protective film is greater than an adhesive strength of the first adhesive film layer of the adhesive film to the protective film.

According to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, a method of manufacturing a display device is provided including providing an initial display module. The initial display panel module includes a cover panel, an adhesive film exposing a first portion of the cover panel and coupled to the cover panel, a step-difference compensation film covering the first portion of the cover panel exposed by the adhesive film, and a protective film covering the adhesive film and the step-difference compensation film. The initial display module is pressed to form a preliminary display module. A display panel is coupled to the preliminary display module to form a display module. The protective film and the step-difference compensation film are removed from the display module to form a display unit.

According to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, a cover window and a cover case are coupled to the display unit.

According to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the cover case is coupled to the display unit by the adhesive film.

