JP2005283862A - Liquid crystal display panel - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a liquid crystal display panel having a structure effective for prevention of dielectric breakdown by forming a dummy metal layer in a region appearing between line concentrated parts of the line structure in the rim of the liquid crystal display panel, wherein even when a fractured portion is produced, the fractured portion can be easily visually recognized on applying a sealing material. <P>SOLUTION: The liquid crystal display panel has lines in a matrix to drive display elements and a terminal part formed on the rim of the display face of the liquid crystal display panel so as to connect the lines to driver elements or connectors. The lines are lead by leading lines in the rim, concentrated in the line concentrated part and connected to the terminal part, as well as a dummy metal layer is formed in the region present between the line concentrated parts. A plurality of slits 66 parallel to the rim of the liquid crystal display panel 60 are formed in the metal layer 65 to form a region of plurality of metal layers 65 segmented by the slits 66. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention provides an active matrix type liquid crystal display panel with countermeasures against static electricity, and a dummy metal layer is provided in a region formed between the concentrating portions of the wiring structure at the peripheral portion of the liquid crystal display panel to prevent electrostatic breakdown. The present invention relates to a liquid crystal display panel having an effective structure, and more particularly to a liquid crystal display panel that makes it easy to see a tearing portion of a sealing material applied on a dummy metal layer.

  In recent years, display devices used for OA devices are required to be lighter, thinner, lower power consumption, higher definition, and larger screens. Although there is a strong demand for large-screen televisions that allow you to experience a greater sense of realism even in ordinary households, conventional CRTs increase in volume and weight with the increase in screen size. The practical application of flat panel displays is strongly desired.

  For this reason, development and commercialization of a large screen are being promoted also in display devices such as a liquid crystal display device (LCD), a plasma display device (PDP), an EL (electro luminescent) display device, and an LED (light emitting display). . In particular, the liquid crystal display device has advantages in that the thickness (depth) can be remarkably reduced as compared with other display devices, the power consumption is small, and full color is easy. There is also great expectation for larger screens.

  FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an equivalent circuit of a general active matrix liquid crystal display panel. As shown in FIG. 6, the liquid crystal display panel includes a gate line 1 as a scanning line, a source line 2 as a signal line, and a thin film transistor 3 (hereinafter referred to as TFT) as a switching element. Are connected to a terminal unit 4 (scanning line input pad) and a terminal unit 5 (signal line input pad) for inputting external signals to the pixel unit, respectively.

  In the matrix substrate, a plurality of source lines 2 as signal lines are arranged orthogonal to a plurality of gate lines 1 as scanning lines, and a TFT 3 is provided at the intersection. The gate wiring 1 and the source wiring 2 are each provided with a lead line independently, and a scanning line input pad 4 and a signal line input pad 5 are provided at the end of the lead line.

  FIG. 7 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing the structure of a liquid crystal display device using such a liquid crystal display panel. In FIG. 7, a transmissive liquid crystal display panel 16 in which display pixels are arranged via a first polarizing plate 14 is disposed on the surface of the backlight 12, and a second polarizing plate 18 is disposed on the top. The transmissive liquid crystal panel 16 includes a rear glass plate 16a located on the light incident side, a front glass plate 16b located on the light emission side, a pixel electrode 16c formed on the inner surface of the rear glass plate 16a, and a front glass plate. The color filter 16d formed on the inner surface of 16b and the liquid crystal 16e hermetically filled with a sealing material 16f between the back glass plate 16a and the front glass plate 16b.

  In the manufacturing process of such a liquid crystal display panel, countermeasures are taken because the semiconductor elements and the like may be damaged by static electricity. For example, Patent Document 1 below discloses a liquid crystal display panel in which measures for preventing electrostatic breakdown are taken with the structure shown in FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 8, the liquid crystal display panel disclosed in Patent Document 1 includes a short bar 34 that connects drain lines 22, 23, 24 and gate lines 25, 26, 27 connected to each terminal of the TFT element 28. And providing anti-static electrodes 30, 31, 32, 33 between adjacent drain lines 22, 23, 24 and between adjacent gate lines 25, 26, 27, respectively. An electrostatic capacity is formed on the substrate.

  In the cutting process of the TFT substrate, the TFT substrate is cut to cut out each TFT substrate 21 and the short bar 34 connected to each wiring is cut off, so that it is difficult to make the wirings have the same potential. When static electricity enters from the outside, the charge is dispersed from the wiring where the charge is concentrated to the adjacent wiring through the above-described anti-static electrodes 30, 31, 32 and 33, thereby reducing the concentration of the charge. This prevents damage to elements and wiring due to static electricity.

  By the way, in the liquid crystal display panel as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, for example, the gate wiring and the source wiring are arranged in a matrix with a certain interval on the TFT substrate 41 (see FIG. 9). As shown in FIG. 9, each wiring is drawn out in the peripheral portion 42 (frame portion) of the display surface as a representative lead line indicated by reference numeral 46 and is connected to a driver element or a connector. Connected to the unit 43.

  For this reason, in the peripheral part 42, the part 44 in which the wiring of a leader line is not formed arises. If there is such a portion where no wiring is formed, it becomes difficult to keep the distance between the substrates constant when the TFT substrate and the CF substrate are bonded with a sealing material. A configuration is adopted in which a dummy metal layer 45 is provided by using a gate material for forming a line and the distance between the substrates is kept substantially uniform.

  In the process of processing such a liquid crystal display panel, a TFT substrate is placed on the exposure stage and a predetermined processing operation such as exposure is performed. In the process, the process of aligning the TFT substrate on the exposure stage, etc. In this case, static electricity is generated by friction between the TFT substrate made of a glass substrate and the exposure stage.

  In addition, peeling electrification occurs when the TFT substrate is moved from the exposure stage by the conveying means after the exposure is completed. At this time, the charged static electricity increases and sparks, and electrostatic breakdown occurs that destroys the element formed on the substrate.

  In the liquid crystal display panel disclosed in Patent Document 1, the electrostatic breakdown that occurs in the liquid crystal display panel having the dummy metal layer 45 having a relatively large area at the peripheral portion 42 as shown in FIG. 9 is not considered. There is a problem that the structure is not sufficient to prevent electrostatic breakdown of the liquid crystal display panel by forming the dummy metal layer 45.

  The present inventors have already applied for a patent application No. 2003-283621 as a method for solving the above-described problems (hereinafter referred to as a prior invention). Next, this prior invention will be briefly described.

  The invention of the prior application includes a matrix-like wiring for driving a display element, and a terminal portion provided on a peripheral edge of a display surface of the liquid crystal display panel for connecting the wiring to a driver element or a connector. In the liquid crystal display panel in which the wiring is led out by a lead line in the part, the lead line is gathered in the concentrating part and connected to the terminal part, and a dummy metal layer is provided in a region existing between the concentrating parts, This is a liquid crystal display panel in which a plurality of slits are provided in a metal layer and a plurality of metal layer regions separated by the slits are formed.

  FIG. 10 is a partial enlarged view of the liquid crystal display panel, and is an enlarged view of a portion C in FIG. The liquid crystal display panel shown in FIG. 10 is provided with a peripheral portion (frame portion) 51 at the periphery of the display surface 50, and a terminal portion for connecting wiring such as gate wiring, source wiring, and common wiring to the end of the peripheral portion 51. 53 is provided. These wirings are led out by a lead wire, which is typically indicated by the reference numeral 57 in the peripheral portion 51, and the lead wire 57 is gathered by the concentrating portion 52 and connected to the terminal portion 53, and a connector (not shown) is connected from the terminal portion 53. To a driver circuit (not shown) for driving each wiring.

  In general, the intervals between the terminals of the terminal portion 53 are dense with respect to the intervals between the matrix wiring such as the gate wiring and the source wiring on the display surface, and each of the terminals connected from the display surface 50 to the terminal portion 53 is dense. The lead lines of the wiring are concentrated toward the terminal portion 53 in the concentrating portion 52 of the peripheral portion 51 as schematically shown in FIG. That is, each wiring such as a gate wiring and a source wiring that are wired at a predetermined pitch on the display surface 50 is concentrated in a fan shape in the concentrating portion 52 with the terminal portion 53 as a key of the fan.

  For this reason, as described above, a portion 54 (triangular portion) where no lead wire is formed is formed between the adjacent terminal portions 53. If there is a portion where no wiring is formed in this way, it becomes difficult to maintain a constant distance between the substrates when the TFT substrate and the CF substrate are bonded via a spacer. A dummy (not electrically connected anywhere) metal layer 55 is provided to keep the distance between the substrates uniform.

  The liquid crystal display panel according to the prior application invention is characterized in that the dummy metal layer 55 is divided into a plurality of regions by a plurality of slits 56 as shown in FIG. As described above, when the dummy metal layer 55 is divided into a plurality of regions, the area of the divided dummy metal layer 55 is larger than that of the integrally formed dummy metal layer 45 shown in FIG. It will be much smaller.

For this reason, the charge amount at the time of frictional charging and peeling charging can be reduced, and even if frictional charging or peeling charging occurs between the processing stage and the liquid crystal display panel in the process of liquid crystal panel, the metal layer It is difficult for sparks to occur between the wiring 55 and adjacent wiring such as a gate wiring, and the occurrence of electrostatic breakdown can be prevented.
JP-A-9-197376 (FIG. 1)

  By the way, in the liquid crystal display panel shown in FIG. 7, when the front glass plate and the rear glass plate are joined, the two glass substrates are joined by applying a sealing material on the concentrating portion and the dummy metal layer. The metal layer is usually formed of the same metal material (for example, Al) as the wiring. This is because a dummy metal layer is also formed as it is when the wiring material is formed and the wiring is formed. And when the sealing material was applied and the glass substrate was bonded, the state of the sealing material was difficult to see from the outside of the liquid crystal display panel because it was shielded from light on the metal layer, and the sealing material was torn or blurred. Even so, it is difficult to judge. That is, as shown in FIG. 9, when the dummy metal layer is formed in a solid shape, the state of the sealing material is difficult to see, so that a defective product cannot be identified.

  Further, when the sealing material is applied by a dispenser as a method of applying the sealing material, the amount of the sealing material applied may not be constant during the sealing material application process, and the density of the sealing material may occur. Even in this case, if the state of the sealing material is difficult to see, it becomes difficult to make the distance between the substrates constant when bonding the glass substrates.

  In view of the above-mentioned problems, the present invention applies a sealing material that joins opposing glass substrates to the concentrating portion and the dummy metal layer when the opposing glass substrates are joined to form a liquid crystal display panel. Even if the liquid crystal display panel is easy to understand at first glance, the slit direction provided in the dummy metal layer is provided in parallel to the direction in which the seal material is applied. As a result, it has been found that the disconnection portion, the haze, and the coating amount of the sealing material are easy to see, and the present invention has been achieved.

  That is, an object of the present invention is to provide a liquid crystal display in which an application state of the sealing material can be seen at a glance when applying the sealing material in a liquid crystal display panel in which a dummy metal layer is provided in a region between the concentrating portions. The purpose is to provide a panel.

  In order to solve the above-mentioned object, the invention of the liquid crystal display panel according to claim 1 of the present invention includes a matrix-like wiring for driving a display element, and the liquid crystal display panel for connecting the wiring to a driver element or a connector. And a terminal portion provided at a peripheral portion of the display surface, wherein the wiring is drawn out by a lead wire at the peripheral portion, and the lead wire is concentrated at the concentrating portion and connected to the terminal portion, and exists between the concentrating portions. In a liquid crystal display panel in which a dummy metal layer is provided in a region to be formed, a plurality of slits parallel to the outer periphery of the liquid crystal display panel are provided in the metal layer, and a plurality of metal layer regions separated by the slits are formed. It is characterized by.

  The invention according to claim 2 of the present invention is according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of metal layers are further provided with slits orthogonal to the outer peripheral edge of the liquid crystal display panel, and are divided by the slits. A metal layer region is formed.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, the slit provided in the metal layer is narrower in width than the width of the wiring.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a liquid crystal display panel in which a pair of substrates are bonded to each other with a sealing material so as to sandwich the liquid crystal, and one substrate includes a matrix-like wiring and the wiring. A terminal portion provided at the peripheral portion of the substrate for connection to a driver element or a connector, and the wiring at the peripheral portion is drawn out by a lead wire, and the lead wire is collected at a concentrating portion and connected to the terminal portion, A dummy metal layer is formed in a region existing between the concentrating portions, and a slit parallel to the seal material application direction is formed in the metal layer at a position where the seal material is applied. It is characterized by being.

  In the invention according to claim 1, the slit applied to the metal layer and the wiring is shielded from light by forming a slit that divides the dummy metal layer in parallel with the outer peripheral edge of the liquid crystal display panel. This makes it difficult to observe the state of the sealing material, but the state of the sealing material after bonding the glass substrate can be observed without being shielded from light on the slit. The density of the coating can be confirmed, the distance between the substrates can be kept constant, and the liquid crystal display panel with a broken portion etc. is discarded before the expensive liquid crystal is sealed in the liquid crystal display panel with a broken portion. Therefore, the liquid crystal can be sealed without using useless liquid crystal.

  Further, in the invention according to claim 2, since the slit is provided in the direction perpendicular to the outer peripheral edge of the liquid crystal display panel so as to classify the dummy metal layer into a size that does not cause electrostatic breakdown, The risk of electric breakdown can be further reduced.

  In the invention according to claim 3, by making the width of the slit shorter than the wiring, it becomes easier to keep the distance between the substrates more constant when the glass substrates are joined by the sealing material.

  Moreover, in the invention which concerns on Claim 4, since the slit parallel to the application direction of a sealing material is formed in the metal layer in the lower part of a sealing material, after joining a glass substrate similarly to Claim 1. Since the state of the sealing material can be observed without being shielded from light on the slit, the disconnection of the sealing material, haze, or the density of the coating amount of the sealing material can be confirmed, and the distance between the substrates can be kept constant, Furthermore, since it is possible to discard the liquid crystal display panel having the disconnection portion before the expensive liquid crystal is sealed in the liquid crystal display panel having the disconnection portion, the liquid crystal can be sealed without using wasteful liquid crystal. .

  Hereinafter, the best embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. However, the embodiment shown below exemplifies a liquid crystal display panel for embodying the technical idea of the present invention, and is not intended to specify the present invention for this liquid crystal display panel. Other embodiments within the scope of the claims are equally applicable.

  1 is a plan view showing a liquid crystal display panel of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a partially enlarged view showing an A portion of FIG. 1 in an enlarged manner, and FIG. 3 is an enlarged view showing a portion B of FIG. 4 is a partially enlarged view showing a state in which the sealing material is applied in FIG. 2, and FIG. 5 is a partially enlarged view showing a state in which the sealing material is applied in FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 1, a liquid crystal display panel 60 of the present invention is formed by bonding a pair of glass substrates. On one glass substrate, switching elements made of TFTs formed in a matrix form, Gate wirings and source wirings arranged in a matrix on the display surface 50 made up of pixel electrodes connected to the TFTs are concentrated at a predetermined interval in the concentrating portion 61 of the peripheral edge portion 62, and are drawn out to the terminal portion 63. A dummy metal layer 65 is formed in the gap 64 where the wiring between the terminal portions 63 is not formed. The dummy metal layer 65 is formed at the same time when the gate wiring is formed, and has a stacked structure similar to that of the gate wiring, and does not need to be formed in a separate process. In the present embodiment, specifically, it has a laminated structure of Al and Mo.

  The dummy metal layer 65 is divided into a predetermined size by a slit 66, thereby preventing electrostatic breakdown due to electrostatic charging. Incidentally, in FIG. 1, slits provided in a direction parallel to the outer peripheral edge of the liquid crystal display panel 60 and slits are provided at predetermined intervals in a direction orthogonal to the slits. In order to reduce the number of the dummy metal layers, the dummy metal layers are provided to form small islands, and are not necessarily provided. The widths of the slit 66 and the metal layer 65 provided here are preferably, for example, a metal width of 100 μm and a slit width of 50 μm. If the slit width becomes too longer than the metal width, the original metal layer is provided. It becomes difficult to keep the target substrate distance constant, and the slit width is formed shorter than the metal width, so that the distance between the substrates is easily kept constant.

  2 and 3 are enlarged views of the A part and the B part shown in FIG. The metal layer 65 formed in the gap of the terminal portion 63 where the electrodes are concentrated at the concentration portion 61 and drawn out is divided into a predetermined size in parallel to the outer peripheral edge so as not to generate a spark due to electrostatic retention. Each of the metal layers 65 is divided and arranged by slits 66 provided at predetermined intervals in parallel to the outer peripheral edge of the liquid crystal display panel 60.

  When the liquid crystal display panel 60 is manufactured, a sealing material 68 is applied on the concentrating portion 61 and the metal layer 65 formed in this way, a pair of glass substrates are bonded together, and a liquid crystal material is placed between the pair of glass substrates. Pinched. The sealing material 68 is applied in a direction parallel to the outer peripheral edge at a predetermined interval from the outer peripheral edge of the glass substrate as shown in FIGS.

  When the sealing material 68 is applied as described above, when the metal layer 65 is provided so as to be parallel to the outer peripheral edge of the liquid crystal display panel 60 as in the present invention, the sealing material 68 is drawn by a screen printing method or a dispenser. When the sealing material application method such as the method is used, the metal layer 65 is provided in parallel with the sealing material application direction, that is, the outer peripheral edge of the liquid crystal display panel. Since the state of the material can be observed, the density of the sealing material and the occurrence of haze can be confirmed. Further, the slit is provided in a direction parallel to the outer peripheral edge of the liquid crystal display panel. It becomes possible to easily observe whether or not.

It is a top view which shows the liquid crystal display panel of this invention. It is the elements on larger scale which expand and show the A section of FIG. It is the elements on larger scale which expand and show the B section of FIG. It is the elements on larger scale which show the state by which the sealing material was apply | coated to FIG. It is the elements on larger scale which show the state by which the sealing material was apply | coated to FIG. FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an equivalent circuit of a general active matrix liquid crystal display panel disclosed in Patent Document 1. It is a schematic cross-sectional view which shows the structure of the liquid crystal display device using the liquid crystal display panel of FIG. It is a figure which shows the circuit structure of the liquid crystal display panel which took the countermeasure for preventing the electrostatic breakdown of patent document 1. FIG. It is a schematic diagram which shows the structure of the liquid crystal display panel which formed the dummy metal layer in the frame part. It is the schematic diagram which expanded and showed partially the structure of the liquid crystal display panel of prior application invention.

Explanation of symbols

60 Liquid crystal display panel 61 Concentration part 62 Peripheral part (frame part)
63 Terminal portion 64 Gaps 65 in which no wiring is formed 65 Metal layer 66 Slit 67 Wiring 68 Sealing material

Claims (4)

A matrix-like wiring for driving the display element; and a terminal portion provided at a peripheral portion of a display surface of the liquid crystal display panel for connecting the wiring to a driver element or a connector, and the wiring is drawn out at the peripheral portion. In the liquid crystal display panel provided with a dummy metal layer in a region existing between the concentrators, and drawn out by lines, concentrating the lead lines in the concentrator and connecting to the terminal unit,
A liquid crystal display panel, wherein a plurality of slits parallel to an outer peripheral edge of the liquid crystal display panel are provided in the metal layer, and a plurality of metal layer regions divided by the slits are formed.   2. The liquid crystal according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of metal layers are further provided with slits orthogonal to an outer peripheral edge of the liquid crystal display panel, and a plurality of metal layer regions divided by the slits are formed. Display panel.   The liquid crystal display panel according to claim 1, wherein the slit provided in the metal layer has a width narrower than a width of the metal layer region. In a liquid crystal display panel in which a pair of substrates are bonded together with a sealing material so as to sandwich the liquid crystal,
One substrate has a matrix-like wiring, a terminal portion provided at a peripheral portion of the substrate for connecting the wiring to a driver element or a connector, and the wiring is drawn out by a lead wire at the peripheral portion, and a concentrating portion And the lead wire is concentrated and connected to the terminal portion, and a dummy metal layer is formed in a region existing between the concentration portions,
The liquid crystal display panel, wherein a slit parallel to the sealing material application direction is formed in the metal layer at a position where the sealing material is applied.

Images