JP2000091068A - El element and lighting system using the same - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a standardizable EL element at a low cost to be used for display unit and an operation unit of various electronic equipment and to provide a lighting system using this EL element. SOLUTION: A lower board 15 formed with a back surface electrode layer 5 in a top surface of an insulating film 14 is overlappedly arranged under an upper board 13 formed with a translucent electrode layer 2 in a lower surface of an insulating film 1. An illuminant layer 3 and a dielectric layer 4 are superposed and printed on the translucent electrode layer 2 of the upper board 13 or the back surface electrode layer 5 of the lower board 15 on each layer or either of them to form an EL element 16. One of the upper board 13 and the lower board 15 is fixed, and in a superposed state with each other, the other is arranged movable in the predetermined range to form a lighting system. The standardizable EL element of a low cost and the lighting device can be thereby.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an EL element used as a backlight or the like in a display section or an operation section of various electronic devices, and an illuminating device using the same.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, as various electronic devices have been diversified, a backlight for illumination has been provided behind a display panel, an LCD, or a switch key so that a display unit and an operation unit can be identified and operated even in darkness. Increasingly, EL devices are often used as backlights.

[0003] Such a conventional EL element is shown in FIG.
This will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view of a conventional EL element. In FIG. 8, reference numeral 1 denotes a transparent insulating film such as polyethylene terephthalate, and indium tin oxide (hereinafter referred to as ITO) or the like is vapor-deposited on the entire lower surface thereof to transmit light. A luminescent electrode layer 2 in which zinc sulfide or the like serving as a base material of light emission is dispersed in a high dielectric resin such as fluororubber or cyano resin, or a high dielectric resin A dielectric layer 4 in which barium titanate or the like is dispersed and a back electrode layer 5 made of silver or carbon resin are sequentially formed by printing, and these are covered with an insulating film 6 such as polyethylene terephthalate to form an EL element 7. ing.

FIG. 9A is a cross-sectional view of an illuminating device using the above-described EL element 7. In FIG. 9A, a display panel is provided at an opening of an insulating resin case 8 of an electronic device. 9
The EL device 7 mounted on the fixing plate 10 is disposed below the light-emitting device, and a light-shielding plate 11 made of an insulating resin is disposed on the right side of the EL device 7 to constitute an illumination device 12.

In the above configuration, when a voltage is applied to the light-transmitting electrode layer 2 and the back electrode layer 5 of the EL element 7 from a circuit (not shown) of an electronic device, the EL element 7 is driven to emit light. Are emitted, and this light illuminates the display panel 9 from behind, so that the display on the display panel 9 can be clearly confirmed even when the surroundings are dark.

When the light shielding plate 11 moves to the left from the state of FIG. 9A to cover the right half of the EL element 7 as shown in FIG. 9B, the display panel 9 moves to the left. When only half of the light is illuminated, and when the light blocking plate 11 moves to the left to cover the entire surface of the EL element 7, the illumination of the display panel 9 is cut off.
When the light shielding plate 11 further moves to the left to cover the left half of the EL element 7, the light shielding plate 11 is moved so that only the right half of the display panel 9 is illuminated. Was configured to be switched.

[0007]

However, the conventional E
In the case of the L element, each layer is superimposed and printed on one insulating film 1, and when manufacturing different emission colors, it is necessary to switch the printing process each time. It is difficult to standardize
If any of the layers has a printing defect or a defect such as a scratch during production, carrying-out or storage, the EL element 7
Since everything must be discarded, there is a problem that there is much loss and the yield is poor.

An illumination device 1 using the EL element 7
In (2), a light shielding plate 11 having a certain thickness and size to prevent light leakage is required for switching the illumination range of the display panel 9, so that the number of parts used in the illumination device 12 is large, and There was also a problem that it took time.

The present invention solves such a conventional problem, and can standardize the manufacturing process, improve the yield, reduce the cost of the EL element, use a small number of parts, and easily assemble. An object is to provide an illumination device.

[0010]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention relates to a method of manufacturing a semiconductor device, comprising the steps of: providing an entire lower surface of an insulating film; Alternatively, the lower substrate on which the back electrode layer is formed is overlapped and arranged at a predetermined position, and the light emitting layer is separately or individually overlapped with the light transmitting electrode layer of the upper substrate or the back electrode layer of the lower substrate. And a dielectric layer are formed by printing to form an EL element.

As a result, standardization can be achieved and an inexpensive EL element can be realized, and one of the upper substrate and the lower substrate of the EL element is fixed, and the EL element is moved within a predetermined range in an overlapping state. By arranging as much as possible, it is possible to realize an illuminating device that does not require a light shielding plate and is easy to assemble.

[0012]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The invention according to claim 1 of the present invention is directed to an upper substrate having a light-transmitting electrode layer formed on the entire lower surface of a light-transmitting insulating film or at a predetermined position; A back electrode layer is formed on the entire surface or at a predetermined location, and the lower substrate, which is arranged below the upper substrate, and the light-transmitting electrode layer of the upper substrate and the back electrode layer of the lower substrate are individually or individually overlapped. EL element consisting of a luminescent layer and a dielectric layer printed on one of them,
By constructing the EL element by dividing the substrate into an upper substrate and a lower substrate, the manufacturing process and products can be standardized.
Even if a failure occurs in any of the layers, it can be dealt with by discarding only one of the upper substrate and the lower substrate,
This has the effect that an inexpensive EL element with improved yield can be obtained.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect, the light-transmitting electrode layer and the back electrode layer are formed by printing with a flexible resin in which conductive powder is dispersed. Even if it is bent or bent during loading, unloading, or storage, it does not easily break, so that an EL element that can be easily handled is obtained.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first or second aspect of the present invention, a lubricant is applied between the upper substrate and the lower substrate. In addition, the conductive lubricant applied between the upper substrate and the lower substrate improves the adhesion of the superposed surfaces, and has the effect of making the light emission of the EL element uniform.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the invention, a plurality of luminous layers having different luminescent colors are formed by printing on a predetermined portion of the upper substrate or the lower substrate. Alternatively, a color conversion layer is printed and formed at a predetermined position on the upper surface of the insulating film of the upper substrate, and the emission color of each light emitting layer or the color of the color conversion layer is made different from each other, so that each EL element Various colors can be emitted from the light-emitting part, and various colors are emitted when used as a backlight of a display panel, an LCD, a switch key, etc., and the display parts of various electronic devices are diversified. It has the effect of being able to.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in any one of the first to fourth aspects of the present invention, one of the upper substrate and the lower substrate is fixed, and the other is placed in a state where both are overlapped with each other. Is an illuminating device that is movably disposed within a predetermined range, and has an effect that an illuminating device that requires no light-shielding plate or the like, uses a small number of parts, and is easy to assemble can be obtained.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.
This will be described with reference to FIGS. In addition, in order to make the configuration easy to understand, each drawing shows an enlarged dimension in the thickness direction.

The same components as those described in the section of the related art are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof will be omitted.

(Embodiment 1) FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of an EL device according to a first embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes a flexible light-transmitting insulating material such as polyethylene terephthalate. On the lower surface of the film, a light-transmissive electrode layer 2 is formed by printing a flexible resin such as a polyester resin, an epoxy resin, an acrylic resin, a phenoxy resin, or a fluororubber in which conductive powder such as ITO is dispersed.
Is configured.

Reference numeral 14 denotes a flexible light-transmitting insulating film such as polyethylene terephthalate, on which a back electrode layer 5 made of silver or carbon resin is formed by printing, and a fluoro rubber or A dielectric layer 4 in which barium titanate or the like is dispersed in a high dielectric resin such as a cyano resin;
Similarly, the light emitting layer 3 in which zinc sulfide or the like serving as a light emitting base material is dispersed in a high dielectric resin is sequentially formed by printing to form the lower substrate 15.

Then, the light-transmitting electrode layer 2 of the upper substrate 13 is brought into contact with the light-emitting layer 3 on the lower substrate 15, and the upper substrate 13 and the lower substrate 15 are overlapped to constitute the EL element 16.

In the drawing, a gap is provided between the upper substrate 13 and the lower substrate 15 so that the configuration can be easily understood.

FIG. 2A is a sectional view of an illuminating device using the above-described EL element. In FIG. 2A, a display panel 9 is mounted on a housing 8 made of insulating resin of an electronic device.
An EL element 16 in which the upper substrate 13 and the lower substrate 15 are overlapped by bringing the light-emitting layer 3 and the light-transmitting electrode layer 2 into contact therebelow.
Are mounted on a movable plate 17 to constitute an illumination device 18.

In the above configuration, when a voltage is applied to the light transmitting electrode layer 2 and the back electrode layer 5 of the EL element 16 from a circuit (not shown) of the electronic device, the EL element 16 is driven to drive the light transmitting electrode. The light emitting layer 3 between the layer 2 and the back electrode layer 5 emits light, and this light illuminates the display panel 9 from behind, so that the display on the display panel 9 can be clearly confirmed even when the surroundings are dark. .

As shown in FIG. 2B, the movable plate 17 is moved from the state shown in FIG. 2A, and the lower substrate 15 placed on the movable plate 17 is moved rightward. Lower substrate 15
Overlaps with the right half of the light transmissive electrode layer 2 and the left half of the luminous body layer 3, and voltage is applied only to the left half of the luminous body layer 3 to emit light, so that the left half of the display panel 9 disappears. When only the right half is illuminated and the lower substrate 15 is further moved rightward, the upper substrate 13 and the lower substrate 15 are separated, so that the entire surface of the display panel 9 disappears. Is moved, the illumination of the display panel 9 is switched.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the EL element 16 is divided into the upper substrate 13 and the lower substrate 15 so as to be divided into two, so that the light emitting layer 3 and the dielectric layer 4 are not formed. The use of the substrate 13 as a shared component can be used to standardize the components used, and even if a failure occurs in any one of the layers, the disposal of either the upper substrate 13 or the lower substrate 15 can be dealt with, thereby improving the production process yield. Thus, an EL element having a low manufacturing cost can be obtained.

An illuminating device 18 is constructed by using the EL element 16 as described above, and either one of the upper substrate 13 and the lower substrate 15 is fixed.
By moving the other side within a predetermined range, it is possible to obtain an inexpensive illuminating device that does not require a light-shielding plate or the like, uses a small number of components, is easy to assemble, and is cheap.

Further, since the light-transmitting electrode layer 2 and the back electrode layer 5 are formed by printing with a flexible resin in which conductive powder is dispersed, the light-transmitting electrode layer 2 and the back electrode layer 5 can be used during production, carry-in / out, or storage.
Even if bending or bending is applied, the EL element is not easily broken, so that an EL element which is easy to handle can be obtained.

As shown in the sectional view of FIG. 3, a conductive or dielectric paste-like lubricant such as an olefin-based or paraffin-based lubricant is placed between the upper substrate 13 and the lower substrate 15 which are divided into two parts. By applying 19, the adhesion of the superposed surfaces is improved, and light emission can be made uniform.

In the above description, the configuration in which the luminous layer 3 and the dielectric layer 4 are formed on the lower substrate 15 side has been described. However, as shown in FIG. A configuration in which the transparent electrode layer 2, the luminescent layer 3, and the dielectric layer 4 are sequentially formed by printing to form the upper substrate 20, and the lower substrate 21 is formed by printing only the back electrode layer 5 on the upper surface of the insulating film 14, Alternatively, as shown in FIG.
A light transmitting electrode layer 2 and a light emitting layer 3 are sequentially formed on the lower surface of the insulating film 14 to form an upper substrate 22, and a back electrode layer 5 and a dielectric layer 4 are formed on the upper surface of the insulating film 14 by printing. 23
It is needless to say that the same effect can be obtained also when the EL element is formed by superposing these elements to form an EL element.

(Embodiment 2) FIG. 5 is a sectional view of an EL device according to a second embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 5, a light transmitting electrode layer 2 is formed by printing on the lower surface of an insulating film 1. Although the upper substrate 13 is formed as described above, and the back electrode layer 5 and the dielectric layer 4 are sequentially formed on the upper surface of the insulating film 14 by printing, the same as in the first embodiment, On the dielectric layer 4, a plurality of luminescent layers 3A and 3B having different luminescent colors are formed by printing to form a lower substrate 24.

The light transmitting electrode layer 2 on the upper substrate 13
And light-emitting layers 3A and 3B of different emission colors on lower substrate 24
And the upper substrate 13 and the lower substrate 24
The L element 25 is configured.

FIG. 6A shows such an EL element 2.
5 is a cross-sectional view of an illuminating device using No. 5, in which a display panel 9 is mounted on a housing 8 of an electronic device, and light-emitting layers 3A, 3B and light-transmitting electrodes An EL element 25 in which the upper substrate 13 and the lower substrate 24 are overlapped by bringing the layer 2 into contact with each other is placed on the movable plate 17 to constitute an illumination device 26.

In the above configuration, when a voltage is applied to the light-transmitting electrode layer 2 and the back electrode layer 5 of the EL element 25 from a circuit (not shown) of the electronic device, the EL element 25 is driven and the light emitting layer 3A is driven. , 3B emit light, and this light illuminates the display panel 9 from behind, so that the display on the display panel 9 can be clearly confirmed even when the surroundings are dark.
However, since the light emitting colors of the light emitting layer 3A and the light emitting layer 3B are different, the left half and the right half of the display panel 9 are configured to be illuminated with different colors.

For example, when the light emitting color of the light emitting layer 3A is blue and the light emitting color of the light emitting layer 3B is green, FIG.
In the state shown in (1), the left half of the display panel 9 is illuminated with blue and the right half is illuminated with green.

Then, as shown in FIG. 6B, when the movable plate 17 on which the lower substrate 24 is placed is moved to the right from this state, the left half of the display panel 9 illuminated in blue disappears, The right half of the display panel 9 which has been illuminated in green is changed to blue and illuminated.

Similarly, when the movable plate 17 is moved to the left from the state shown in FIG. 6A, the right half of the display panel 9 illuminated in green disappears, and the left half of the display panel 9 illuminated in blue disappears. It is configured so that half is changed to green and illuminated.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, a plurality of luminous body layers 3A and 3B having different luminescent colors are formed by printing.
By setting the emission color of each light-emitting portion of the element 25 to various colors, it emits various colors when used as a backlight of the display panel 9, LCD or switch key, etc. Can be achieved.

In the above description, a plurality of light emitting layers 3A and 3B having different emission colors are formed on the dielectric layer 4 of the lower substrate 24.
As shown in FIG. 7, a monochromatic luminous layer 3 is printed on the entire surface of the lower substrate 15 and a light transmitting electrode layer 2 is printed on the lower surface, as shown in FIG. A similar effect can be obtained by forming an upper substrate 28 by printing and forming a color conversion layer 27 in which a fluorescent pigment or a fluorescent paint is dispersed in a transparent resin on the upper surface of the EL device 29, and stacking these to form an EL element 29. be able to.

For example, in FIG. 7, when the emission color of the light emitting layer 3 of the lower substrate 15 is blue and the color conversion layer 27 of the upper substrate 28 is red, the left half of the EL element 29 is blue. Light is emitted, but the right half emits white light after the blue light emission color is converted by the red color conversion layer 27.

Then, an illuminating device is constituted by using such an EL element 29, and the lower substrate 15 is moved right and left to form an EL device.
It is needless to say that the left half and the right half of the element 29 can emit blue or white light to perform various illuminations.

[0042]

As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to obtain an inexpensive EL device which can be standardized, has a good yield and is inexpensive, and has a small number of components and is easy to assemble.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of an EL device according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the illumination device.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view of the EL element.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of an EL element having another configuration.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view of an EL element according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of the illumination device.

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of an EL element having another configuration.

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view of a conventional EL element.

FIG. 9 is a sectional view of the illumination device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1,14 Insulating film 2 Light transmissive electrode layer 3, 3A, 3B Light emitting layer 4 Dielectric layer 5 Back electrode layer 7, 16, 25, 29 EL element 8 Housing 9 Display panel 18, 26 Illumination device 13, 20 , 22,28 Upper substrate 15,21,23,24 Lower substrate 17 Movable plate 19 Lubricant 27 Color conversion layer

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (72) Inventor Tetsuro Hanahara 1006 Kazuma Kadoma, Kadoma City, Osaka Prefecture Inside Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. (72) Shinji Okuma 1006 Kadoma Kadoma, Kadoma City, Osaka Prefecture Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. F term (reference) 3K007 AB04 AB15 AB17 AB18 BB00 CA06 CB01 DA05 DB02 EC01

Claims (5)

[Claims] An upper substrate having a light-transmitting electrode layer formed on the entire lower surface of the light-transmitting insulating film or on a predetermined location;
A back electrode layer is formed on the entire surface of the upper surface of the insulating film or at a predetermined position, and the lower substrate is disposed below the upper substrate, and the light transmitting electrode layer of the upper substrate or the back electrode layer of the lower substrate is overlapped. An EL element comprising a light-emitting layer and a dielectric layer, each of which is printed individually or on one of them. 2. The EL device according to claim 1, wherein the light-transmitting electrode layer and the back electrode layer are formed by printing with a flexible resin in which conductive powder is dispersed. 3. The EL device according to claim 1, wherein a lubricant is applied between the upper substrate and the lower substrate. 4. A method according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of light-emitting layers having different emission colors are formed by printing on predetermined portions of the upper substrate or the lower substrate, or a color conversion layer is formed by printing on predetermined portions of the upper surface of the insulating film of the upper substrate. 4. The EL device according to any one of items 1 to 3, 5. The E according to claim 1, wherein
An illuminating device in which one of an upper substrate and a lower substrate of an L element is fixed, and the other is movably arranged within a predetermined range in a state where both are overlapped.