JP2003187964A - Organic el device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent deterioration of the light-emitting part due to moisture and oxygen in the air, and improves durability in an organic EL device having an organic EL panel, in which a light-emitting part including an organic light- emitting material is laminated on a glass substrate 10. <P>SOLUTION: The organic EL panel 1 as a whole is housed in a case 2 and a transparent plate 21 is installed airtight on the front part of the case opposed to the glass substrate 10 using a plastic packing 22. An inert gas is filled in the case 2, and further, an adsorbent 4 for moisture and oxygen is housed in the case 2. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2003,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an organic EL (electroluminescence) device used as a display for information terminals such as computers, mobile phones and televisions, and as a backlight for liquid crystal displays.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art An organic EL device is provided with an organic EL panel in which a light emitting portion containing an organic light emitting material is laminated on a glass substrate. The light emitting portion is basically composed of indium tin oxide (I
(TO) or other transparent (ie, glass substrate) anode layer made of a conductive material, an intermediate light emitting layer made of an organic light emitting material such as polydioctylfluorene, and a metal material having a low work function such as aluminum. And a hole injecting / transporting layer on the anode layer side of the light emitting layer, and an electron injecting / transporting layer on the cathode layer side of the light emitting layer. The light emitting portion is easily deteriorated by moisture or oxygen in the atmosphere. Therefore, conventionally, a protective cap is adhered to the glass substrate so as to cover the light emitting portion, and the light emitting portion is sealed from the atmosphere by the protective cap. There are known ones (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 261091/1990, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-27).
5682).

[0003]

In the above-mentioned conventional example, the deterioration of the light emitting portion can be suppressed to some extent, but it is difficult to secure the durability of several thousand to tens of thousands of hours required at the product level. is there. The reason is that there is no adhesive having a sufficiently high gas barrier property, and oxygen and moisture intrude into the protective cap from the outside over time through the adhesive portion of the protective cap to the glass substrate.

In view of the above points, an object of the present invention is to provide an organic EL device in which the light emitting portion can be reliably shielded from oxygen and moisture so that the durability can be dramatically improved. .

[0005]

The present invention is an organic EL device comprising an organic EL panel comprising a glass substrate and a light emitting portion containing an organic light emitting material laminated on the glass substrate. The EL panel includes a case whose front portion facing the glass substrate is transparent, and in a state where the organic EL panel is inserted into the case through a panel insertion port formed in the case, the panel insertion port is hermetically sealed by a lid member. It is characterized by

According to the above construction, the entire organic EL panel is housed in the case, and if the cover member ensures the airtightness of the case, the deterioration of the light emitting portion due to oxygen and moisture in the atmosphere is effective. Can be prevented. Further, the lid member and the panel insertion port of the case can be freely processed into a shape suitable for ensuring airtightness with packing or the like, and the lid member can be welded to the panel insertion port. It is easy to ensure the airtightness of the case, and the durability of the light emitting portion is dramatically improved.

By the way, the front part of the case is made transparent so that the light rays emitted from the light emitting portion through the glass substrate are transmitted. In this case, it is conceivable to integrally mold the entire case with transparent plastic, but the current transparent plastic does not have a sufficient gas barrier property and the sealing performance against the atmosphere deteriorates. In contrast, the case
If it is composed of a dish-shaped case body having a front opening and a transparent plate attached to this opening, the case body is made of a material such as a metal having a high gas barrier property and has a sealing performance against the atmosphere. You can get better. Then, the front opening is used as a panel insertion opening, and the organic EL is inserted into the case main body from there.
If the panel is inserted and the transparent plate is airtightly attached to the front opening in this state, the transparent plate can also serve as the lid member to simplify the structure. However, when the transparent plate comes into contact with the glass substrate of the organic EL panel, a Newton's ring appears. Therefore, a ring-shaped spacer is provided between the glass substrate and the transparent plate to separate the transparent plate from the glass substrate.

Further, the case is composed of a frame-shaped case main body having a front opening and a rear opening serving as a panel insertion opening, and a transparent plate hermetically mounted in the front opening of the case main body. In addition, a flange portion that receives the transparent plate is integrally formed on the inner circumference of the case body, and the organic EL panel is inserted into the case body from the opening on the back surface so that the glass substrate faces the transparent plate with the flange portion in between. In the inserted state, the lid member may be airtightly attached to the opening on the back surface. This requires a lid member other than the transparent plate, but does not require a ring-shaped spacer.

Further, in order to hermetically seal the front opening of the case body with the transparent plate, the transparent plate may be welded to the front opening, but this takes time. In contrast,
If the transparent plate is airtightly attached to the front opening using a plastic packing, the transparent plate is fixed to the front opening due to the friction between the transparent plate and the plastic packing, and due to the high gas blocking property of the plastic packing. The airtightness of the opening on the front side can be ensured well, and the sealing operation becomes easy.

Further, if the case is filled with an inert gas and the case further contains an adsorbent for water and oxygen, the light emitting portion can be more effectively isolated from water and oxygen, and the durability is improved. Further improve. In particular, the case of the present invention is
Since it accommodates the entire L panel and has a large capacity, the amount of adsorbent that can be accommodated in the case also increases, and the moisture and oxygen absorbing function can be maintained for a long time.

[0011]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Referring to FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes an organic EL panel formed by laminating a light emitting portion 11 containing an organic light emitting material on a glass substrate 10. The light emitting section 11 is basically an inner anode layer (on the side of the glass substrate) made of a transparent and conductive material such as indium tin oxide (ITO),
It is composed of an intermediate light emitting layer made of an organic light emitting material such as polydioctylfluorene, and an outer cathode layer made of a metal material having a low work function such as aluminum. A hole injecting and transporting layer and a known one provided with an electron injecting and transporting layer on the cathode layer side of the light emitting layer,
Detailed description thereof will be omitted.

Here, the light emitting portion 11 is covered with a protective cap 12 adhered to the glass substrate 10, and the protective cap 12 is further covered with a resin layer 13 such as an epoxy resin. Moisture and oxygen in the atmosphere intrude into the protective cap 12 over time via the adhesive portion of the protective cap 12 to the glass substrate 10, and the light emitting portion 11
Cause deterioration. Therefore, a case 2 capable of accommodating the organic EL panel 1 is provided, the organic EL panel 1 is inserted into the case 2 through the panel insertion opening 2a formed in the case 2, and the panel insertion opening 2a is hermetically sealed by the lid member 3 in this state. To be sealed.

The case 2 is composed of a dish-shaped case main body 20 having an opening in the front surface facing the glass substrate 10 of the organic EL panel 1, and a transparent plate 21 mounted in the front opening of the case main body 20. ing. The case body 20 is made of a material such as metal or ceramic having a high gas blocking property, and the transparent plate 21 is made of a transparent material such as an inorganic glass having a high gas blocking property.

The organic EL panel 1 is designed to be inserted into the case body 20 from the opening on the front of the case body 20 as a panel insertion opening 2a. After the organic EL panel 1 is inserted, the transparent plate 21 is inserted. Is used as the lid member 3, and the opening 2a on the front surface of the case body 20 is sealed by the transparent plate 21. Here, at the peripheral edge of the opening 2a on the front surface of the case body 20, a concave cutout 20a for receiving the peripheral edge of the transparent plate 21 is formed.
Are formed. Then, the inclined surface 2 is provided on the bottom surface side of the peripheral portion.
By pressing the transparent plate 21 with the 1a formed therein into the recess 20a with the plastic packing 22 interposed between the transparent plate 21 and the peripheral wall of the recess 20a, the transparent plate 21 is inserted into the opening 2a on the front surface of the case body 20. Put on 21. The plastic packing 22 is made of a fluororesin such as polytetrafluoroethylene (Teflon (registered trademark)) or tetrafluoroethylene-ethylene copolymer resin (Tefzel (registered trademark)) and has a very high gas barrier property. , Good airtightness can be secured, and the transparent plate 21 is attached to the plastic packing 2
It can be securely fixed to the recess 20a by the frictional force acting between the two. It is also possible to weld the transparent plate 21 to the opening 2a on the front surface of the case body 20 by using a method such as laser irradiation or ultrasonic welding using low melting glass or metal solder.

The transparent plate 21 is mounted in the opening 2a on the front surface of the case body 20 with a ring-shaped spacer 23 interposed between the transparent plate 21 and the glass substrate 10 of the organic EL panel 1. Therefore, the transparent plate 21 does not contact the glass substrate 10, and it is possible to prevent the generation of Newton's rings due to the contact between the two. When the transparent plate 21 is welded to the front opening 2a of the case body 20, the spacer 23 is formed of a heat insulating material so that heat conduction to the organic EL panel 1 can be suppressed.

The above-described work of inserting the organic EL panel 1 and work of mounting the transparent plate 21 are performed in an inert gas, not in a general atmosphere, and the case 2 is filled with the inert gas.
Argon gas having a large atomic weight is suitable as the inert gas, but it is also possible to use nitrogen gas to reduce the cost. The work of inserting the organic EL panel 1 and the transparent plate 2
It is conceivable that the mounting work of 1 is performed in a vacuum and the inside of the case 2 is vacuumed.
Since oxygen easily enters the case 2, it is desirable to fill the case 2 with an inert gas as described above.

Further, an adsorbent 4 for water and oxygen is housed in the case 2 so that the water and oxygen remaining in the case 2 as well as the water and oxygen that enter the case 2 over time are adsorbed. So that it can be absorbed by. In this case, depending on the size of the case 2, the adsorbent 4 having a large capacity may be used as needed.
The adsorbent 4 can be housed inside, and the shape of the adsorbent 4 can be modified according to the shape and space of the case 2, so that the function of absorbing water and oxygen can be maintained for a long time.

A wiring hole 20 is provided on the rear surface of the case body 20.
b is formed, and the wiring member 14 for the organic EL panel 1 connected to the anode layer and the cathode layer of the light emitting unit 11 is led out to the outside through the wiring hole 20b. And the wiring hole 20b
Is filled with a material having a high gas barrier property, and the wiring hole 20b is sealed with this filling material.

FIG. 2 shows a second embodiment. In this case, the case main body 20 is formed in a frame shape having an opening on the front surface where the transparent plate 21 is mounted and an opening on the back surface which becomes the panel insertion opening 2a. A flange portion 20c that receives the transparent plate 21 is integrally formed on the inner circumference of the case body 20, and the transparent plate 21 is provided with a plastic packing 22 in the front opening portion as in the first embodiment. It is used airtightly. And the organic EL panel 1
With the glass substrate 10 inserted into the case main body 20 through the opening on the back so that the glass substrate 10 faces the transparent plate 21 with the flange 20c interposed therebetween, the lid member 3 is airtightly attached to the opening on the back. ing. Also in the second embodiment, the contact between the transparent plate 21 and the glass substrate 10 is prevented by the flange portion 20c, and the Newton ring does not occur.

In the second embodiment, a recess 20d for receiving the peripheral edge of the lid member 3 is formed at the peripheral edge of the opening on the back surface of the case body 20, and the peripheral edge of the lid member 3 is recessed. Two
Although the airtightness is secured by pushing the plastic packing 25 between the peripheral wall of 0d and the peripheral wall of 0d, the rubber packing 26 is used as in the third embodiment shown in FIG. It is also possible to secure the airtightness by screwing the lid member 3. That is, in the third embodiment, an annular groove 20e is formed on the rear end surface of the case body 20, a rubber packing 26 such as butyl rubber having a high gas blocking property is attached to the annular groove 20e, and the lid member 3 is screwed. At this time, the rubber packing 26 is compressed to obtain airtightness.

In the second and third embodiments, the lid member 3
The wiring hole 3a is formed in the wiring hole, and the wiring member 14 for the organic EL panel 1 is led out to the outside through the wiring hole 3a.
a is sealed with a filling material. Also in the second and third embodiments, as in the first embodiment, the case 2 is filled with an inert gas, and the case 2 contains the adsorbent 4 for water and oxygen. ing.

By the way, in the first to third embodiments,
The case body 20 is formed of an opaque material such as metal, and the transparent plate 21 is attached to the front opening of the case body 20. A transparent material having a high gas blocking property and good moldability has been developed. For example, the case 2 may be integrally molded with this transparent material. FIG. 4 shows such an embodiment. In this case, a box-shaped case 2 having a panel insertion opening 2a at one end surface is integrally molded with a transparent material, and the organic EL panel 1 is inserted into the case 2 from the edge side through the panel insertion opening 2a, and then the panel is inserted. The mouth 2a is hermetically sealed by the lid member 3. As shown in FIG. 5, inside the case 2, side guides 2b that receive both side edges of the glass substrate 10 of the organic EL panel 1 are provided so that the organic EL panel 1 can be smoothly inserted into the case 2. As shown in FIG. 6, an end stopper 2c for receiving one end of the glass substrate 10 on the inner surface of the other end of the case 2 and the inner surface of the lid member 3, respectively.
And an end retainer 2d that comes into contact with the other end of the glass substrate 10 and the cover member 3 is attached so that the organic EL panel 1 can be fixed in the case 2. The organic EL panel 1 may be fixed in the case 2 with an adhesive.

[0023]

As is apparent from the above description, according to the present invention, the entire organic EL panel can be housed in the case to improve the sealing performance of the light emitting portion against the atmosphere, and the durability is dramatically improved. To do.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view of a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a fourth embodiment of the present invention in an exploded state.

5 is a cross-sectional view taken along line VV of FIG. 4 in a state where the organic EL panel is housed.

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view taken along line VI-VI of FIG. 4 showing a state where the organic EL panel is housed.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Organic EL Panel 10 Glass Substrate 11 Light Emitting Part 2 Case 2a Panel Insertion Port 20 Case Body 21 Transparent Plate 22 Plastic Packing 3 Lid Member 4 Adsorbent

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. An organic EL device comprising an organic EL panel formed by laminating a light emitting portion containing an organic light emitting material on a glass substrate, wherein the organic EL panel can be housed, and at least organic E
The L panel is provided with a case whose front part facing the glass substrate is transparent, and the panel insertion opening is hermetically sealed by a lid member in a state where the organic EL panel is inserted into the case through the panel insertion opening formed in the case. An organic EL device characterized in that 2. The case comprises a dish-shaped case body having a front opening serving as the panel insertion opening and a transparent plate serving as the lid member, and the transparent plate is inserted into the case body. The organic EL device according to claim 1, wherein a ring-shaped spacer is provided between the glass substrate of the organic EL panel and the glass substrate, and the ring-shaped spacer is airtightly attached to the opening on the front surface of the case body. 3. A frame-shaped case main body having a front opening and a rear opening serving as the panel insertion opening, and a transparent plate airtightly attached to the front opening of the case main body. And a flange portion for receiving the transparent plate is integrally formed on the inner circumference of the case body, and the organic EL panel is formed from the rear opening so that the glass substrate faces the transparent plate with the flange portion interposed therebetween. The organic EL device according to claim 1, wherein the lid member is airtightly attached to the opening on the back surface in a state of being inserted into the main body. 4. The organic EL device according to claim 2, wherein the transparent plate is airtightly attached to an opening on the front surface of the case body using a plastic packing. 5. The organic EL device according to claim 1, wherein an inert gas is enclosed in the case. 6. The organic EL device according to claim 1, wherein an adsorbent for water and oxygen is stored in the case.