JP2008009127A - Display device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a display device capable of improving the strength of a transparent substrate while securing stability of cell gap. <P>SOLUTION: Liquid crystal 150 is inserted and held between a transparent substrate 110 and a transparent substrate 120 on both of which transparent electrodes are formed. A seal material 130 is formed into a frame shape having a prescribed width, is made of a resin or the like for adhering the transparent substrate 110 to the transparent substrate 120 and is formed so as to, for example, surround a surrounding part of the transparent substrate 110 by screen printing or the like. The seal material 130 is provided with a plurality of tapered protrusions on the whole of the inner circumference part and the outer circumference part of the seal material 130. The protrusions 133 are disposed at regular intervals on the inner circumference part and the outer circumference part, and are disposed on the inner circumference part and on the outer circumference part alternately. Further, the protrusions 133 are disposed at regular intervals on parts facing each other among four parts constituting substantially quadrangle in the inner circumference part, and are disposed on the parts oppositely and alternately. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a display device, and more particularly to a display device using glass as a transparent substrate.

  A liquid crystal display device is widely used as a display device that displays various images such as characters and graphics. A liquid crystal display panel in which liquid crystal is sealed between two transparent substrates is used as a display unit of a liquid crystal display device.

  FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view schematically showing a general liquid crystal display panel. A liquid crystal display panel 200 shown in FIG. 4 includes a transparent substrate 210, a transparent substrate 220, and a liquid crystal layer 250 sealed in a sealing material 230. Spacers 240 are disposed on the liquid crystal layer 250.

  For example, transparent glass is used as the transparent substrate 210 and the transparent substrate 220. Transparent electrodes (not shown) made of indium tin oxide (ITO) or the like are formed on the surfaces of the transparent substrates 210 and 220 facing each other. A liquid crystal layer 250 is sandwiched between the transparent substrate 210 on which the transparent electrode is formed and the transparent substrate 220.

  The sealing material 230 is a resin or the like for sealing so that the liquid crystal of the injected liquid crystal layer 250 does not escape, and is formed by screen printing or the like so as to surround the periphery of the transparent substrate 220, for example. The sealing material 230 adheres the transparent substrate 210 and the transparent substrate 220. As the sealing material 230, for example, a thermosetting epoxy resin, an ultraviolet curable resin, or the like is used.

  The spacers 240 are gap materials for keeping the gap between the transparent substrate 210 and the transparent substrate 220 constant, and are uniformly distributed on the transparent substrate 210, for example. The transparent substrate 220 on which the sealing material 230 is formed and the transparent substrate 210 on which the spacers 240 are dispersed are bonded together, and liquid crystal is injected between the transparent substrates 210 and 220, whereby the liquid crystal display panel 200 is formed. .

  FIG. 5 is a plan view schematically showing a general liquid crystal display panel. As shown in FIG. 5, a terminal portion 211 that protrudes from the transparent substrate 220 is formed at the end of the transparent substrate 210. For example, one end of a flexible printed circuit (FPC) (not shown) is connected to the terminal portion 211. The drive circuit board that transmits the drive voltage and the liquid crystal display panel 200 are connected via the FPC.

  In addition, the peripheral portion of the transparent substrate 220 is not completely surrounded by the sealing material 230, but an injection port 231 for injecting liquid crystal between the transparent substrates 210 and 220 to form the liquid crystal layer 250 is provided. Yes. The injection port 231 is sealed with a sealing material 232 after liquid crystal is injected, and the liquid crystal layer 250 is sealed between the transparent substrates 210 and 220.

  In the manufacturing process and testing process of the liquid crystal display panel, the transparent substrates 210 and 220 may be cracked or chipped. For example, in the liquid crystal injection process, cracks or chips may occur at the four corners of the transparent substrates 210 and 220 where external force is likely to act. Further, for example, in a test for confirming the cracking strength of the liquid crystal display panel, the transparent substrates 210 and 220 are cracked or cracked by dropping the liquid crystal display panel or applying a force on the panel surface. There are things to do. Cracks and the like become relatively prominent when thin glass is used as the transparent substrates 210 and 220.

  In addition, a liquid crystal display element that can increase the strength of a glass substrate and can manufacture non-defective products with high yield has been proposed (for example, see Patent Document 1). In Patent Document 1, in a liquid crystal display element bonded via a seal pattern interposed between two glass substrates, at least four corner portions of the glass substrate outside the seal pattern are bonded with an adhesive pattern. Thus, it is described that cracks and chips are less likely to occur during handling, and that the progress is stopped by the adhesive pattern even when cracks and chips occur in the four corners of the glass substrate.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 5-5891 (paragraphs 0009-0010)

  However, in the method described in Patent Document 1, the strength is not improved for the portion where the adhesive pattern is not formed. In addition, if a large number of adhesion patterns are formed not only at the four corners of the glass substrate but along the outer peripheral edge, for example, there is a problem that gap control between the glass substrates becomes difficult and the cell gap becomes wide.

  Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a display device that can increase the strength of a transparent substrate while ensuring the stability of a cell gap.

  The display device according to the present invention is a display device including two transparent substrates and a sealing material. The sealing material is formed in a frame shape (when viewed in a plan view) having a predetermined width. A plurality of tapered protrusions are provided on the entire inner peripheral portion and outer peripheral portion of the portion.

  It is desirable that the protrusions are provided at equal intervals on the inner peripheral portion and the outer peripheral portion of the frame-shaped portion and alternately at the inner peripheral portion and the outer peripheral portion. According to such a configuration, the difference in the width of the sealing material can be reduced and the protrusions can be provided without unevenness, so that the stability of the cell gap can be secured.

  The shape of the inner peripheral portion of the frame-shaped portion is a substantially quadrangular shape (when viewed in a plan view) including four substantially linear portions, and the protrusions are four substantially linear portions in the inner peripheral portion. Of these, it is desirable that they are provided alternately at sites facing each other at equal intervals and at sites facing each other. According to such a configuration, it is possible to reduce the difference in the distance between the two facing portions in the portion where the protrusion is provided and the portion where the protrusion is not provided, so that the stability of the cell gap is ensured. be able to.

  According to the present invention, since the circumference of the sealing material can be increased without significantly increasing the area of the sealing material, the stability of the cell gap can be ensured and the strength of the display panel can be increased. There is an effect that can be.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings, taking a liquid crystal display panel as an example. FIG. 1 is a plan view schematically showing a liquid crystal display panel according to the present invention. A liquid crystal display panel 100 shown in FIG. 1 includes a transparent substrate 110, a transparent substrate 120, and a sealing material 130.

  FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view schematically showing a liquid crystal display panel according to the present invention. A liquid crystal display panel 100 shown in FIG. 2 includes a transparent substrate 110, a transparent substrate 120, and a liquid crystal layer 150 sealed in a sealing material 130. A spacer 140 is disposed on the liquid crystal layer 150.

  For example, transparent glass is used as the transparent substrate 110 and the transparent substrate 120. Transparent electrodes (not shown) made of indium tin oxide (ITO) or the like are formed on the surfaces of the transparent substrates 110 and 120 facing each other. A liquid crystal layer 150 is sandwiched between the transparent substrate 110 on which the transparent electrode is formed and the transparent substrate 120. The transparent electrodes facing each other with the liquid crystal layer 150 interposed therebetween have alignment films (not shown) subjected to rubbing treatment on the facing surfaces. In the following description, a case where the transparent substrate 120 is rectangular is illustrated.

  The sealing material 130 is a resin or the like for sealing so that the liquid crystal of the injected liquid crystal layer 150 does not escape, and is formed by screen printing or the like so as to surround the periphery of the transparent substrate 120, for example. The sealing material 130 bonds the transparent substrate 110 and the transparent substrate 120. As the sealing material 130, for example, a thermosetting epoxy resin, an ultraviolet curable resin, or the like is used.

  The spacer 140 is a gap material for keeping the gap between the transparent substrate 110 and the transparent substrate 120 constant, and is uniformly distributed on the transparent substrate 110, for example. The transparent substrate 120 on which the sealing material 130 is formed and the transparent substrate 110 on which the spacers 140 are dispersed are bonded together, and liquid crystal is injected between the transparent substrates 110 and 120, whereby the liquid crystal display panel 100 is formed. .

  As shown in FIG. 1, terminal portions 111 projecting from the transparent substrate 120 are formed at the end portions of the transparent substrate 110. For example, one end of an FPC (not shown) is connected to the terminal portion 111. The drive circuit board that transmits the drive voltage and the liquid crystal display panel 100 are connected via the FPC.

  The sealing material 130 is formed in a shape and width that can secure a display portion. When the transparent substrate 120 is rectangular, the sealing material 130 is formed in a frame shape having a predetermined width, for example, as viewed in a plan view. Since it is formed in a frame shape, the portion where the sealing material 130 is formed may hereinafter be referred to as a frame portion. In addition, as seen in a plan view, the inner peripheral portion and the outer peripheral portion of the sealing material 130 each have a substantially quadrangular shape including four substantially linear portions. As will be described later, each of the inner peripheral portion and the outer peripheral portion is provided with the protrusions 133, so that the shapes are expressed as “substantially” linear and “substantially” quadrangular. The sealing material 130 does not completely surround the periphery of the transparent substrate 120, but has an injection port 131 for injecting liquid crystal between the transparent substrates 110 and 120. The injection port 131 is sealed with a sealing material 132 after liquid crystal is injected, and the liquid crystal layer 150 is sealed between the transparent substrates 110 and 120.

  As shown in FIG. 1, it has the some taper-shaped projection part 133 over the whole inner peripheral part and outer peripheral part of a frame part. In addition, in FIG. 1, the code | symbol is attached | subjected only in one place of an outer peripheral part. The shape of the protrusion 133 is preferably a triangular point on the plan view, but may be a wedge shape or other shapes. It can be expected that the stress applied to the sealing material 130 converges when the protruding portion 133 has a tapered shape.

  FIG. 3 is a plan view schematically showing an enlarged part of the liquid crystal display panel according to the present invention, and corresponds to an enlarged view showing an A portion shown in FIG. When attention is paid to a part of the frame portion of the sealing material 130, as shown in FIG. 3, the protrusions 133 are alternately provided on the inner peripheral portion and the outer peripheral portion of the frame portion at the inner peripheral portion and the outer peripheral portion. . In FIG. 3, reference numerals are given only at one location on the inner periphery. In addition, “alternately between the inner peripheral portion and the outer peripheral portion” means that the protrusion 133 provided on the inner peripheral portion and the outer peripheral portion are provided when a straight line orthogonal to the longitudinal direction of the frame portion is assumed. The protruding portion 133 is not on the same straight line, and the interval at which the protruding portion 133 is provided on the inner peripheral portion is the same as the interval at which the protruding portion 133 is provided on the outer peripheral portion. Means that. Therefore, the difference in the width of the sealing material 130 between the portion where the protrusion 133 is provided and the portion where the protrusion 133 is not provided is only the height of the protrusion 133 (for one piece) and is small. Stability can be ensured.

  In addition, it is desirable that the protrusions 133 provided alternately on the inner peripheral portion and the outer peripheral portion of the frame portion are provided at equal intervals. “Evenly spaced” means that it is provided on the inner periphery when a straight line that passes through the center of two adjacent protrusions 133 provided on the outer periphery and is orthogonal to the longitudinal direction of the frame is assumed. It is assumed that the projected portion 133 exists on the straight line, and at the same time, passes through the center of two adjacent projected portions 133 provided on the inner peripheral portion and is orthogonal to the longitudinal direction of the frame portion. This means that the protrusion 133 provided on the outer peripheral portion exists on the straight line. Since the projections 133 are provided alternately and at equal intervals over the entire circumference of the inner and outer peripheries of the frame, it is possible to ensure the stability of the cell gap.

  A broken line B shown in FIG. 1 is a straight line that passes through the protrusion 133 provided on the inner peripheral portion and is orthogonal to the longitudinal direction of the frame portion. In general, the distance between the inner peripheral portions facing each other corresponds to the size of the display portion of the liquid crystal display panel 100, so that it is desirable to be constant. If there is a portion where the distance between the opposing inner peripheral portions is small, not only the display portion becomes small, but also cell gap control becomes difficult.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the protrusions 133 are arranged at equal intervals on the mutually opposing parts of the four parts (four substantially linear parts (sides) constituting a substantially quadrilateral) in the inner peripheral part, and , Are alternately provided at portions facing each other. Here, the term “alternately” means that a straight line orthogonal to the longitudinal direction of the frame portion is assumed and the protrusion 133 provided at one portion of the inner peripheral portion is provided at a portion facing the protrusion 133. The protrusion 133 does not exist on the same straight line, and the interval at which the protrusion 133 is provided at one part is the same as the interval at which the protrusion 133 is provided at the opposite part. means. For this reason, the difference in the distance between the portions of the inner peripheral portions facing each other between the portion where the protrusion 133 is provided and the portion where the protrusion 133 is not provided is only the height of the protrusion 133 (for one piece) at most. Therefore, the stability of the cell gap can be ensured.

  The interval between the adjacent protrusions provided on the sealing material 130 is preferably n / 16 to n / 8, for example, where n is the length of the long side of the transparent substrate 120. In addition, since the protrusions 133 are provided alternately and at equal intervals on the inner peripheral part and the outer peripheral part of the frame part, the length of the frame part between the protrusion part 133 of the inner peripheral part and the protrusion part 133 of the nearest outer peripheral part The distance in the direction is one half of the interval between adjacent protrusions.

  The height of the protrusion 133 is preferably, for example, a length of L / 4 to L / 3, where L is the width of the sealing material 130.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, the area of the sealing material is not enlarged, and there is no portion in which the width of the sealing material or the distance between the inner peripheral parts facing each other is greatly different. Since the length can be increased, the stability of the cell gap can be ensured and the strength of the liquid crystal display panel can be increased.

  The present invention can be applied to a display device, and in particular, can be effectively applied to a liquid crystal display device or an organic EL display device using glass as a transparent substrate.

The top view which shows typically the liquid crystal display panel by this invention. 1 is a cross-sectional view schematically showing a liquid crystal display panel according to the present invention. The top view which expands and schematically shows a part of liquid crystal display panel by this invention. Sectional drawing which shows a general liquid crystal display panel typically. The top view which shows a typical liquid crystal display panel typically.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 Liquid crystal display panel 110 Transparent substrate 111 Terminal part 120 Transparent substrate 130 Seal material 131 Inlet 132 Sealing material 133 Protrusion part

Claims (3)

In a display device comprising two transparent substrates and a sealing material,
The display device is characterized in that the sealing material is formed in a frame shape having a predetermined width, and a plurality of tapered protrusions are provided on the entire inner peripheral portion and outer peripheral portion of the frame-shaped portion. The display device according to claim 1, wherein the protrusions are provided at equal intervals on the inner peripheral portion and the outer peripheral portion of the frame-shaped portion, and alternately at the inner peripheral portion and the outer peripheral portion. The shape of the inner peripheral part of the frame-shaped part is a substantially quadrilateral including four substantially linear parts,
3. The display device according to claim 1, wherein the protrusions are alternately provided at portions that are opposed to each other among the four portions of the inner peripheral portion at equal intervals and at portions that are opposed to each other.

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