KR102031684B1 - Apparatus for manufacturing display panel with curved surface and method for manufacturing display panel with curved surface - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention provides a curved display panel manufacturing equipment and a method for manufacturing a curved display panel, which can reduce the bonding failure between the curved window substrate and the panel substrate. An apparatus for manufacturing a curved display panel according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention may include: a window stage formed convexly with the curvature so that a curved window substrate bent at a predetermined curvature may be seated; A panel stage on which a panel substrate on which pixels are formed is mounted; And a roller for bonding the panel substrate and the curved window substrate while simultaneously moving in the same direction as the panel stage.

Description

Equipment for manufacturing curved display panel and manufacturing method of curved display panel {APPARATUS FOR MANUFACTURING DISPLAY PANEL WITH CURVED SURFACE AND METHOD FOR MANUFACTURING DISPLAY PANEL WITH CURVED SURFACE}

The present invention relates to a manufacturing apparatus of a curved display panel and a method of manufacturing a curved display panel.

As the information society develops, the demand for a display device for displaying an image is increasing in various forms. Recently, a liquid crystal display, a plasma display device, and an organic light emitting diode display device ( Various flat panel display devices such as an organic light emitting diode display device and an electrophoretic display device have been utilized. In particular, research has been conducted to implement a liquid crystal display, an organic light emitting diode display, and an electrophoretic display as a flexible display device having flexibility. In addition, recently, as part of a flexible display device, a liquid crystal display, an organic light emitting diode display, and an electrophoretic display are formed in a curved shape. display device)) is required to be commercialized.

FIG. 1A is an exemplary view showing a flat display panel, and FIG. 1B is an exemplary view showing a curved display panel. The flexible display device is implemented as a flat display panel having flexibility as shown in FIG. 1A, and the curved display device is implemented as a curved display panel as shown in FIG. 1B. The flat display panel is manufactured by bonding a flat window substrate (fws) and a panel substrate (ps) using a transparent adhesive material or a transparent adhesive film (af). On the other hand, the curved display panel is manufactured by bonding the curved window substrate (cws) and the panel substrate (ps) using a transparent adhesive material or a transparent adhesive film (af). Since the manufacturing equipment of the conventional flat display panel is not optimized for manufacturing the curved display panel, when manufacturing the curved display panel using the manufacturing equipment of the conventional flat display panel, the curved window substrate (fws) and the panel substrate ( When the ps) is bonded to each other, bubbles are generated between the curved window substrate fws and the transparent adhesive film af.

The present invention provides a curved display panel manufacturing equipment and a method for manufacturing a curved display panel, which can reduce the bonding failure between the curved window substrate and the panel substrate.

An apparatus for manufacturing a curved display panel according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention may include: a window stage formed convexly with the curvature so that a curved window substrate bent at a predetermined curvature may be seated; A panel stage on which a panel substrate on which pixels are formed is mounted; And a roller for bonding the panel substrate and the curved window substrate while simultaneously moving in the same direction as the panel stage.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of manufacturing a curved display panel, comprising: seating a curved window substrate bent at a predetermined curvature on a window stage formed convexly with the curvature; Mounting the panel substrate on which the pixels are formed on the panel stage; Moving the panel stage to align the curved window substrate with the panel substrate; And bonding the panel substrate and the curved window substrate while simultaneously moving the panel stage and the roller in the same direction.

The present invention manufactures a curved display panel by using a roller formed concave at the same curvature as the window stage formed convexly at the same curvature as the curved window substrate bent at a predetermined curvature. As a result, in the present invention, when the curved window substrate and the panel substrate are bonded together, the curved window substrate and the transparent adhesive film can be uniformly pressed by a roller, so that bubbles are generated between the curved window substrate and the transparent adhesive film. The poor bonding can be reduced.

1A is an exemplary view illustrating a flat display panel.
1B is an exemplary view illustrating a curved display panel.
2 is an exploded perspective view illustrating in detail a curved display panel according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.
3 is a perspective view of the manufacturing equipment of the curved display panel according to an embodiment of the present invention.
4 is a front view or a rear view of the manufacturing equipment of the curved display panel of FIG.
5 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line II ′ of FIG. 3;
6 is a side view of the window stage and roller of FIG.
7 is an exemplary view showing a radius of curvature of a curved window substrate.
8 is a flowchart illustrating a manufacturing method of a curved display panel according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.
9A to 9F are cross-sectional views taken along line II ′ of the manufacturing apparatus of the curved display panel according to the flowchart of FIG. 8.

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Like numbers refer to like elements throughout. In the following description, when it is determined that a detailed description of known functions or configurations related to the present invention may unnecessarily obscure the subject matter of the present invention, the detailed description thereof will be omitted. In addition, the component names used in the following description may be selected in consideration of the ease of preparation of the specification, and may be different from the actual component names.

2 is an exploded perspective view illustrating in detail a curved display panel according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 2, the curved display panel according to the exemplary embodiment of the present invention includes a panel substrate 70, a transparent adhesive film 80, a curved window substrate 90, and the like.

The curved display panel according to the embodiment of the present invention may be a liquid crystal display panel, a field emission display panel, an organic light emitting diode display panel, or electrophoresis. The display panel may be implemented as an electrophoretic display panel. In the following embodiment, the curved display panel is illustrated as being implemented as an organic light emitting diode device, but the present invention is not limited thereto.

The panel substrate 70 may include a flexible substrate 10, a display driving circuit 20, a protective film 30, a polarizing film 40, a flexible film 50, and a reinforcing substrate 60. The flexible substrate 10 may be bent or curved, and may be made of a material having high restoring force. For example, the flexible substrate 10 may be formed of any one of polyimide, polyethylene terephthalate, polyethylene naphthalate (PEN), polycarbonate, and polyester sulfone (PES). However, it should be noted that the present invention is not limited thereto.

Pixels are formed on one surface of the flexible substrate 10. In detail, one surface of the flexible substrate 10 is formed to intersect the data lines and the scan lines, and pixels are formed in a matrix form. Each of the pixels displays an image by controlling a current flowing through the organic light emitting diode using at least one switching thin film transistor, a driving TFT, and at least one capacitor. The pixels may display an image in the form of bottom emission, top emission, or the like.

The display driving circuit 20 is adhered to one surface of the flexible substrate 10 by a chip on glass (COG) process. The display driving circuit 20 converts the digital image data input from the outside into an analog data voltage and supplies the data voltage to the data lines of the display area. In addition, the display driving circuit 20 may output a control signal for controlling the scan driving circuit to the scan driving circuit. The scan driving circuit may be formed on one side or both sides of the display area in which the pixels are formed. The scan driving circuit may be formed on the flexible substrate 10 simultaneously with the pixels by a gate in panel (GIP) process. Alternatively, the scan driving circuit may be mounted on a tape carrier package (TCP) and bonded to the flexible substrate 10 by a tape automated bonding (TAB) process. Alternatively, the scan driving circuit may be bonded onto the flexible substrate 10 by a COG process. The scan driver circuit sequentially supplies scan pulses to the scan lines for controlling the switching TFTs of each of the pixels in response to a control signal from the display driver circuit 20.

The protective film 30 is attached on the flexible substrate 10 to cover the pixels to protect the pixels. Since the pixels including the organic light emitting diodes are vulnerable to oxygen or moisture, the pixels may be protected from oxygen or moisture by covering the pixels using the protective film 30. The protective film 30 may be implemented as a transparent film including an organic-inorganic composite layer. The polarizing film 40 is attached on the protective film 30 to improve visibility by external light reflection.

The flexible film 50 is adhered to one surface of the flexible substrate 10 by a film on glass (FOG) process. In particular, the flexible film 50 may be adhered to the outside of the display driving circuit 20. In the flexible film 50, a power supply source for supplying a power voltage to the display driving circuit 20 may be mounted.

The reinforcement substrate 60 is attached to an opposite surface of one surface of the flexible substrate 10 on which pixels are formed. The reinforcement substrate 60 is a substrate for reinforcing rigidity on the flexible substrate 10. The reinforcing substrate 60 may be implemented with any one of polyimide, polyethylene terephthalate, polyethylene naphthalate (PEN), polycarbonate, and polyester sulfone (PES), but is not limited thereto. It should be noted that not.

The transparent adhesive film 80 is bonded to the polarizing film 40 to bond the curved window substrate 90 and the polarizing film 40. The transparent adhesive film 80 may be implemented as an optically clear adhesive (OCA) film. In particular, the transparent adhesive film 80 may not only cover the polarizing film 40 as shown in FIG. 2, but may also be formed to cover the display driving circuit 20. The display driving circuit 20 may be protected from external shock by the transparent adhesive film 80.

The curved window substrate 90 is bonded to the transparent adhesive film 80 and serves as a cover covering the flexible substrate 10. The curved window substrate 90 may be formed to have a curved surface curved at a predetermined curvature Cur. Specifically, the curved window substrate 90 may be formed to have a curved surface curved at a predetermined curvature Cur in the long side (x-axis) direction. A detailed description of the curvature Cur of the curved window substrate 90 will be described later with reference to FIG. 7. The curved window substrate 90 may be implemented as a glass substrate or a plastic substrate.

3 is a perspective view of a manufacturing apparatus of a curved display panel according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. 4 is a front view or a rear view of the manufacturing equipment of the curved display panel of FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along line II ′ of FIG. 3. 6 is a side view of the window stage and the roller of FIG. 3. It should be noted that the panel stage 200 is not illustrated in FIG. 6 for better understanding. 3 to 6, a manufacturing apparatus of a curved display panel according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention includes a window stage 100, a panel stage 200, and a roller 300.

The window stage 100 includes a window seat on which the curved window substrate 90 is mounted. The window seating portion may be convex with the same curvature Cur as the curved window substrate 90 where the curved window substrate 90 is seated so that the curved window substrate 90 bent to a predetermined curvature may be seated. Is formed. Specifically, the window seating portion may be convexly formed with the same curvature Cur as the curved window substrate 90 in the long side (x-axis) direction. A detailed description of the curvature Cur of the window stage 100 will be described later with reference to FIG. 7.

A plurality of adsorption holes may be formed in the window seating portion of the window stage 100 to vacuum-adsorb the curved window substrate 90. For this reason, the curved window substrate 90 may be fixed so as not to be separated from the window stage 100.

The panel stage 200 includes a panel seating portion on which the panel substrate 70 is seated. The panel seating portion is formed flat so that the flat panel substrate 70 can be seated. The transparent adhesive film 80 is bonded to one surface of the panel substrate 70 facing the curved window substrate 90.

A plurality of adsorption holes may be formed in the panel seating portion of the panel stage 200 to vacuum-absorb the panel substrate 70. For this reason, the panel substrate 70 may be fixed so as not to be separated from the panel stage 200.

The roller 300 is formed to be concave with the same curvature Cur as the curved window substrate 90 so as to press the curved window substrate 90 bent at a predetermined curvature Cur. Specifically, the roller 300 may be formed concave with the same curvature Cur as the curved window substrate 90 in the long side (x-axis) direction. That is, the central portion C of the roller 300 may be formed to have the thinnest thickness, and both edge portions E of the roller 300 may be formed to have the thickest thickness. A detailed description of the curvature Cur of the roller 300 will be described later with reference to FIG. 7.

The roller 300 bonds the panel substrate 70 and the curved window substrate 90 by pressing the panel substrate 70 while simultaneously moving in the same direction as the panel stage 200. Specifically, the roller 300 is bonded to the panel substrate 70 and the curved window substrate 90 while moving from one side of the curved window substrate 90 to the other side. Since the roller 300 simultaneously moves in one direction of the panel stage 200 in the same direction as the panel stage 200, the roller stage 200 may press the panel substrate 70 while the panel stage 200 moves. A detailed description of the bonding of the panel substrate 70 and the curved window substrate 90 using the roller 300 will be described later with reference to FIGS. 8 and 9A to 9F.

As described above, the present invention manufactures a curved display panel using a roller formed concave with the same curvature as the window stage formed convex with the same curvature as the curved window substrate bent at a predetermined curvature. As a result, in the present invention, when the curved window substrate and the panel substrate are bonded together, the curved window substrate and the transparent adhesive film can be uniformly pressed by a roller, so that bubbles are generated between the curved window substrate and the transparent adhesive film. The poor bonding can be reduced.

7 is an exemplary view showing the curvature and the radius of curvature of the curved window substrate. In general, the curvature means a value indicating the degree of bending at each point of a curve or surface. The curvature of the circle is equal to the inverse of the radius of curvature of the circle. Therefore, if the curvature Cur of the curved window substrate corresponds to the curvature of the circle, the curvature Cur of the curved window substrate may be calculated as the inverse of the radius of curvature R of the curved window substrate. Hereinafter, a method of calculating the radius of curvature R of the curved window substrate will be described in detail.

When an imaginary circle is illustrated based on the curvature Cur of the curved window substrate as shown in FIG. 7, the point “A”, which is the center of curvature Cur of the curved window substrate, and one edge of the curvature Cur, “ The distance from the point “B” and the point “C” at the other edge to the origin O corresponds to the radius of curvature R. FIG. In addition, when the line connecting the "B" point and the "C" point is drawn as shown in FIG. 7, the intersection point of the curvature radius R of the "A" point and the line connecting the "B" point and the "C" point is "D". Can be defined as a point. When the distance from point "A" to point "D" is defined as "h" and the distance from point "B" to point "C" is defined as "S", point "B" to point "D" The distance to and the distance from point "C" to point "D" are "S / 2". In this case, since the triangle CDO corresponds to a right triangle, Equation 1 may be derived by Pythagorean theorem.

If Equation 1 is arranged for the radius of curvature R, Equation 2 may be derived.

As a result, the radius of curvature R of the curved window substrate may be calculated as in Equation 2. In addition, the curvature Cur of the curved window substrate may be calculated as the inverse of the radius of curvature R of the curved window substrate.

On the other hand, the curvature of the window stage and the curvature of the roller are substantially the same as the curvature of the curved window substrate. Therefore, the radius of curvature of the window stage and the radius of curvature of the roller may also be calculated as in Equation 2. In addition, each of the curvature of the window stage and the curvature of the roller may be calculated as the inverse of the radius of curvature of the window stage and the inverse of the radius of curvature of the roller, respectively.

8 is a flowchart illustrating a manufacturing method of a curved display panel according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. 9A to 9F are cross-sectional views of line II ′ of the manufacturing apparatus of the curved display panel according to the flowchart of FIG. 8. Hereinafter, a method of manufacturing the curved display panel using the manufacturing equipment of the curved display panel according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 8 and 9A to 9F.

First, as shown in FIG. 9A, the curved window substrate 90 is mounted on the window mounting portion of the window stage 100. The window seating portion may be formed convexly with the same curvature as the curved window substrate 90 so that the curved window substrate 90 bent to a predetermined curvature may be seated. In detail, the window seating portion may be formed to be convex with the same curvature as the curved window substrate 90 in the long side (x-axis) direction. In addition, the curved window substrate 90 is adsorbed using a plurality of adsorption holes of the window stage 100. For this reason, the curved window substrate 90 may be fixed so as not to be separated from the window stage 100. (S101)

Secondly, as shown in FIG. 9B, the panel substrate 70 is seated on the panel seating portion of the panel stage 200. The panel seating portion may be formed flat so that the flat panel substrate 70 may be seated. In addition, the panel substrate 70 is adsorbed using a plurality of adsorption holes of the panel stage 200. For this reason, the panel substrate 70 may be fixed so as not to be separated from the panel stage 200. In addition, the transparent adhesive film 80 may be adhered to the panel substrate 70 seated on the panel stage 200. (S102)

Third, as shown in FIG. 9C, the panel stage 200 is moved to align the curved window substrate 90 and the panel substrate 70. (S103)

Fourth, the panel substrate 70 and the curved window substrate 90 are bonded while simultaneously moving the roller 300 in the same direction as the panel stage 200 as shown in FIGS. 9D to 9F. The roller 300 is formed concave with the same curvature as the curved window substrate 90 so as to press the curved window substrate 90 bent at a predetermined curvature. Specifically, the roller 300 may be formed concave with the same curvature as the curved window substrate 90 in the long side (x-axis) direction. That is, as shown in FIG. 6, the central portion C of the roller 300 may have the thinnest thickness, and both edges E of the roller 300 may have the thickest thickness.

Specifically, as shown in FIGS. 9D to 9F, the roller 300 is moved from one side of the curved window substrate 90 to the other side, and the panel substrate 70 and the curved window substrate 90 are bonded to each other. The panel stage 200 is moved simultaneously with the roller 300 in the same direction as the roller 300. Since the roller 300 simultaneously moves in one direction of the panel stage 200 in the same direction as the panel stage 200, the roller stage 200 may press the panel substrate 70 while the panel stage 200 moves. (S104)

As described above, the present invention manufactures a curved display panel using a roller formed concave with the same curvature as the window stage formed convex with the same curvature as the curved window substrate bent at a predetermined curvature. As a result, in the present invention, when the curved window substrate and the panel substrate are bonded together, the curved window substrate and the transparent adhesive film can be uniformly pressed by a roller, so that bubbles are generated between the curved window substrate and the transparent adhesive film. The poor bonding can be reduced.

Those skilled in the art will appreciate that various changes and modifications can be made without departing from the technical spirit of the present invention. Therefore, the present invention should not be limited to the details described in the detailed description but should be defined by the claims.

10: flexible substrate 20: display driving circuit
30: protective film 40: polarizing film
50: flexible film 60: reinforcing substrate
70: panel substrate 80: transparent adhesive film
90: curved window substrate 100: window stage
200: panel stage 300: roller

Claims (13)

A window stage formed convexly with the curvature so that the curved window substrate bent to a predetermined curvature may be seated;
A panel stage on which a panel substrate on which pixels are formed is mounted; And
And a roller which presses the panel substrate while simultaneously moving in the same direction as the panel stage on one side of the panel stage to bond the panel substrate and the curved window substrate. The method of claim 1,
The roller,
The curved display panel manufacturing equipment of claim 1, wherein the curvature is curved so as to press the curved window substrate bent by the curvature. The method of claim 2,
The central portion of the roller,
Equipment for manufacturing a curved display panel having a thickness thinner than both edges of the roller. The method of claim 1,
The window stage includes a plurality of adsorption holes for adsorbing the curved window substrate,
And the panel stage includes a plurality of suction holes for adsorbing the panel substrate. The method of claim 1,
And the panel stage and the roller move from one side of the curved window substrate to the other side and press the panel substrate to bond the panel substrate and the curved window substrate. The method of claim 1,
And a transparent adhesive film is adhered to one surface of the panel substrate facing the curved window substrate. Mounting a curved window substrate bent to a predetermined curvature on a window stage formed convexly with the curvature;
Mounting the panel substrate on which the pixels are formed on the panel stage;
Moving the panel stage to align the curved window substrate with the panel substrate; And
Manufacturing the curved display panel by pressing the panel substrate through the roller and simultaneously bonding the panel substrate and the curved window substrate while simultaneously moving the panel stage and the rollers on one side of the panel stage in the same direction. Way. The method of claim 7, wherein
The roller,
The curved display panel manufacturing method of claim 1, wherein the curved window substrate bent by the curvature is formed concave with the curvature. The method of claim 8,
The central portion of the roller,
A method of manufacturing a curved display panel having a thickness thinner than both edges of the roller. The method of claim 7, wherein
Mounting the curved window substrate to the window stage,
And manufacturing the curved window substrate by using a plurality of suction holes of the window stage. The method of claim 7, wherein
Mounting the panel substrate on the panel stage,
And manufacturing the panel substrate by using a plurality of adsorption holes of the panel stage. The method of claim 7, wherein
Joining the panel substrate and the curved window substrate,
And pressing the panel substrate by moving the panel stage and the roller from one side of the curved window substrate to the other side, thereby bonding the panel substrate and the curved window substrate. The method of claim 7, wherein
Mounting the panel substrate on the panel stage,
And mounting a transparent adhesive film on one surface of the panel substrate facing the curved window substrate after the panel substrate is seated on the panel stage.