JP3501736B2 - Flat panel display device and manufacturing method thereof - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a connection structure between a flat panel type display device such as a liquid crystal display device and a drive circuit board, and more particularly to a TCP (Tape Carrier Pai).
The present invention relates to a flat panel type display device having a structure in which a display panel having a tape carrier package) is attached to a housing so that the display panel can be easily attached and detached, and a manufacturing method thereof.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Liquid crystal display devices, plasma display devices, electroluminescent devices and the like are well known as flat panel type display devices, and liquid crystal display devices are widely used as a representative of the flat panel display devices. Mobile information terminals, notebook personal computers,
Used as a display in a home word processor.

A liquid crystal display device will be described below as a typical example of a flat panel type display device. In recent years, due to the trend toward smaller and lighter electronic devices equipped with a liquid crystal display device, further miniaturization of the liquid crystal display device is required. In particular, how to reduce the area of the frame portion excluding the image display area from the area of the liquid crystal display device and how to reduce the thickness of the entire liquid crystal display device are important issues. There is.

In order to drive the liquid crystal display panel, a semiconductor driving element such as an LSI called a driver is required. Due to the above demand for miniaturization, this driver LSI
COG (Chip On Glas
Although a method called s) was developed, if a defect appears in the LSI,
There is a problem that all the panel substrates are wasted.
Therefore, a method in which a driver LSI is arranged in a TCP (Tape Carrier Package) using a TAB (Tape Automated Bonding) method and is connected to a display panel substrate via the TCP is the mainstream.

The TCP manufactured by the TAB method is one in which a take-out electrode is connected to a protruding electrode (bump) of an LSI called a bare chip. The lead-out electrode is called the outer lead on the display panel side or the circuit board side.
The SI side is called the inner lead. Structurally, a large number of striped copper foil electrodes are formed on an insulating base film such as a polyimide film. LSI
The base film is a thick film having high mechanical strength in order to crimp the protruding electrode of (1) to the inner lead and connect the LSI with high reliability.

Therefore, when the TCP is bent and mounted, the bending process is facilitated by providing the slits only at the portions where the bending is necessary, that is, the curved portions. T with such slits and flexible parts
A liquid crystal display device adopting CP is disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 261656.
No. 4 and Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 9-265104.

Particularly in the liquid crystal display device disclosed in the latter publication, the liquid crystal panel is held by a stopper such as a protrusion attached to the housing, and the circuit board connected to the TCP is provided on the side surface of the housing. There is disclosed a technique of facilitating assembly and disassembly by using a structure in which the hook is held.

If the circuit board or panel is simply held without being adhered to the housing as described above, there is an advantage that the liquid crystal panel can be easily replaced when the liquid crystal panel fails.

However, in order to hold the circuit board on the hook, a step of temporarily lifting and inserting the circuit board inside the hook occurs. When simply fixing the circuit board to the side surface of the housing with an adhesive, it is only necessary to bend the TCP at the slit portion, and the length of the TCP is the shortest distance.
If the step of lifting the circuit board is added, an extra length for the lifting is required. Moreover, when lifted, peeling stress occurs at the connection between the display panel and the TCP. Furthermore, after the circuit board is housed in the hook, the extra length portion of the TCP is raised above the plane of the connection portion, so that it is necessary to accommodate the extra portion.

By the way, the liquid crystal display device is a portable information terminal,
Since it is often used in notebook personal computers and home word processor displays, etc., it is necessary to ensure vibration resistance and thermal shock resistance while reducing the size. On the other hand, as the screen of the liquid crystal panel becomes larger, the panel expands and contracts due to the thermal expansion of the panel body, so that the housing and the liquid crystal panel are not adhered to each other. In this case, the liquid crystal panel is held only by a stopper such as a protrusion attached to the housing. The size of the liquid crystal panel and the positioning of the fasteners attached to the housing must be made to some extent when manufacturing these liquid crystal panels and housings.
It is made in consideration of that inevitably occurs. That is, in order to improve the yield of products, in order to prevent the situation where the liquid crystal panel cannot be fitted in the housing, the space between the stoppers mounted on the housing is usually larger than the ideal size. The length is set to be slightly larger. Therefore, even in the completed liquid crystal display device, the liquid crystal panel may move slightly on the housing.

[0011]

When the liquid crystal panel shifts in this way, a load is applied to the TCP connected to the liquid crystal panel, and the load causes the connection at the pressure contact portion between the circuit board and the TCP. There is a possibility that the connection between the pressure contact portion of TCP and TCP will be broken, which causes a connection failure. It is difficult to absorb such a load only by the slit provided only in the curved portion of the TCP.

In the above-mentioned Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 9-265104,
Bend the flexible part of TCP up to a position close to the upper surface of the liquid crystal panel, and then bend it down to
Even after the circuit board is held by the hook of the casing, the curved portion of the PCT is housed between the frame and the liquid crystal panel so as to draw an arc having a large radius of curvature.

Therefore, it is significant to provide a large curved portion in order to prevent peeling due to bending stress of the TCP for downsizing, but from the viewpoint of making the flat panel display device thinner and smaller. Therefore, there is still room for improvement. In addition, in such a configuration in which the curved portion is large, the extension distance of the TCP becomes large, but it is desired that the length of the TCP is as short as possible in terms of high frequency characteristics.

For reference, the above disconnection phenomenon will be described with reference to the process of attaching the liquid crystal panel and the circuit board to the housing.
2A to 12C will be described. First, the liquid crystal panel 1 is held on the main surface of the housing 4 (FIG. 12A). Next, T
TCP with slit 7 provided in the area where CP2 is curved
2 is curved along the corner of the housing (FIG. 12B), and the hook portion 6 provided on the side surface of the housing 4 holds the circuit board (FIG. 12C).

As shown in FIG. 12B, when holding the circuit board 3 on the hook portion 6, it is necessary to lift the curved portion of the TCP 2 upward. If the TCP 2 is lifted up in this way, a load may be applied to the joint between the TCP 2 and the liquid crystal panel 1 in the direction of peeling the TCP 2 and the liquid crystal panel 1, and the wiring may be disconnected at the joint.

Further, when the TCP2 is lifted upward, a load is further applied to the connecting portion between the TCP2 and the circuit board 3, and the connection between the TCP2 and the circuit board 3 may be broken.

Needless to say, the above problem is not limited to the liquid crystal display device, but is a problem that occurs in other flat panel type display devices as well.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to reduce the length of the TCP to a necessary minimum, thereby making the curved portion of the TCP smaller, thereby making it possible to make the flat panel further flattened and downsized. To provide a shape display device and a manufacturing method thereof.

[0019]

The present invention does not merely pay attention to the structure required for the bent portion of the TCP after the display device is completed, but how stress is applied in the bending step of the slit for the curved portion. Considering whether it will occur, if it is configured to add a new auxiliary slit that bends only at the time of assembly and returns to a flat state after completion, no extra length is required, and not only at the time of assembly, This was achieved based on the viewpoint that the peeling stress can be relaxed even after completion.

That is, according to the present invention, the display panel placed on the main surface of the housing, the circuit board held by the hook portion provided on the side surface of the housing, and one end connected to the display panel Tape with the other end connected to the circuit board
A carrier package (TCP), the TCP having a curved region between a first region substantially parallel to a major surface of the housing and a second region substantially parallel to a side surface of the housing. And a flat panel characterized in that at least one of the first region and the second region is provided with a region that is easier to deform than the surroundings so as to extend parallel to the extending direction of the curved region. A shape display device is obtained.

That is, the TCP adopted in the present invention is
Not only is an easily deformable region that is easily bent (hereinafter referred to as a slit) provided for the bending portion, but an auxiliary slit for temporarily bending is newly provided. When the slit for the curved portion is called the main slit, the auxiliary slit can be called the sub slit.

Further, in such a flat panel type display device, it is characterized in that the curved region in which the main slit is formed is positioned and arranged so as to be below the surface level of the first region.

The slit of the TCP has a structure in which a plurality of conductive wires are covered with a flexible insulating film which is thinner than the thickness of the insulating film near the connection region of the driver element included in the TCP.

Further, according to the present invention, in the flat panel type display device, the display panel is held with play in the housing, and the mechanical deviation between the display panel and the housing is absorbed by the slit. It is characterized in that it is configured as follows.

Further, in the flat panel type display device of the present invention, the sub slit of TCP may be provided in the first region and may be formed in a wide slit shape by being connected to the main slit of the curved region.

Further, it is desirable that the distance between the two slits is larger than the depth of the hook portion.

Further, in the TCP of the present invention, a large number of lead wires are covered with an insulating flexible film, and the slit is formed in a direction perpendicular to the direction in which the TCP extends from the liquid crystal panel to the circuit board. The slit is formed in a long hole shape, and the slit is formed by coating the surface of the conductive portion with a flexible coating member thinner than that of the main body portion.

Furthermore, according to the present invention, the step of holding the display panel provided with the tape carrier package (TCP) connected to the circuit board in the housing, the slit for the curved portion provided in the TCP, and The process of raising the circuit board so that the lower end of the circuit board goes beyond the tip of the hook part provided on the housing by bending the auxiliary slit, and the curve of the auxiliary slit is returned to a flat state to put the circuit board in the hook part. A method of manufacturing a flat panel display device, the method including an inserting step.

In particular, the auxiliary slit is provided between the bending slit and the display panel, and the bending direction of the auxiliary slit is opposite to the bending direction of the bending slit in the step of lifting the circuit board. It is characterized by being bent into.

Alternatively, the auxiliary slit is provided between the bending portion slit and the circuit board, and the bending direction of the auxiliary slit is the same as the bending direction of the bending portion slit in the step of lifting the circuit board. It is characterized by being bent into.

Alternatively, the auxiliary slit is provided between the bending portion slit and the display panel, and is connected and integrated with the bending portion slit to form a wide common slit, and the circuit board is lifted. In the process, the bending direction of the common slit is opposite to that of the circuit board side and that of the display panel side.
In particular, in the method of manufacturing such a flat panel type display device, the display panel is characterized in that the display panel is held with play in the housing.

In the present invention having such characteristics, TC
The load applied to P is absorbed not only by the slit of the curved portion but also by the presence of another slit region that is temporarily curved during assembly. Therefore, when the liquid crystal panel or the circuit board moves on the housing, the slit can reduce the load applied to the TCP. As a result, it is possible to prevent a defective connection between the liquid crystal panel and the circuit board when the circuit board is mounted, and at the time of performing a vibration or shock test.
It is also possible to prevent disconnection of CP. Furthermore, the number of assembling steps and the number of assembling members of the liquid crystal display device can be reduced.

[0033]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A liquid crystal display device will be described as an example of a typical flat panel type display device according to the first embodiment of the present invention with reference to FIGS.

Further, in the present specification, the same or equivalent parts will be described with the same reference numerals.

As shown in FIG. 1, in the liquid crystal panel, one ends of a plurality of TCPs 2 are connected to the upper side and the left side, and TC
The circuit boards 3 are connected to the other ends of P2.
In the illustrated example, the circuit board 3 having six TCPs on the left side is common.
And 13 TCPs are connected to the common circuit board 3 on the upper side. Such a liquid crystal panel 1
It is mounted on the upper surface of the frame-shaped housing 4. A pair of protrusions 51 and 52 for positioning the liquid crystal panel are provided at the four corners of the housing 4, respectively, and are positioned as shown in FIG.
The TCP 2 is bent and the circuit board 3 is held by the hook portions 6 provided on the side surface of the housing 4. In the illustrated example, three hook portions 6 are formed on the side surface of the housing. As the housing 4, one formed by molding resin molding or one formed by punching out a metal plate is adopted. The present embodiment will be described in detail below with reference to the enlarged view of FIG. T in this example
In CP2, the main slit 7 and the sub slit 8 are provided in parallel. The main slit 7 is provided along the curved portion of the TCP 2, and the sub slit 8 is provided on a horizontal plane of the TCP 2, that is, a plane parallel to the main surface of the housing 4. Particularly, the sub slit 8 is arranged so as to be located between the connection portion between the liquid crystal panel 1 and the TCP 2 and the main slit 7.

The main slit 7 in the present invention is for forming a curved portion of the TCP, and is a slit necessary for facilitating the bending. It can be said that this is a slit for a curved portion.

The sub-slit 8 in the present invention is for temporarily bending the TCP, and is a slit necessary for shortening the length of the TCP although it is returned to a flat state after assembly. This is an auxiliary slit, and its action and position are different from those of the main slit 7.

Therefore, Japanese Patent Publication No. 2616564 cited in the conventional example discloses a liquid crystal display device employing a TCP provided with two slits for bending in a U shape, but both slits are formed by the same method. It corresponds to the main slit in the invention, and neither the disclosure nor the suggestion corresponds to the sub-slit of the present invention.

The curved portion 27 of the TCP 2 is formed on the main surface 4 of the housing 4.
It is a region that is formed parallel to the extending direction of the ridgeline 43 at a position facing the ridgeline 43 where 1 and the side surface 42 intersect.
In other words, it is a region where the TCP 2 is curved while the liquid crystal panel 1 is held in the housing 4 and the circuit board 3 is held in the hook portion 6.

The operation of holding the circuit board 3 on the hook portion 6 of the housing 4 by bending the TCP 2 is shown in FIG.
A description will be given with reference to (a) to FIG. 4 (c). First, the liquid crystal panel 1 is held in the housing 4 (FIG. 4A). Next, the TCP 2 is curved at the positions of the main slit 7 and the sub slit 8 by raising the main slit 7 so that the sub slit 8 on the panel side serves as a fulcrum (FIG. 4B).
That is, when viewed from the upper surface side of the TCP 2, the TCP 2 has a mountain-folded curve in the main slit 7, and the valley slit-shaped curve in the sub slit 8.

After that, by holding the circuit board 3 on the hook portion 6, the area of the sub slit 8 is released from the curved state and becomes a flat state (FIG. 4C).

In the present embodiment, when the TCP 2 is mountain-folded, the TCP 2 is in the valley fold state in the area of the sub slit 8. Therefore, the stress of lifting the TCP 2 upward is absorbed in the area of the sub slit 8. It is possible to bend the TCP 2 and store and hold the circuit board 3 in the hook 6 with almost no load applied to the press contact portion.

Further, by adopting such TCP2,
When the liquid crystal panel 1 is displaced in the completed liquid crystal display device, the TCP is formed by the main slit 7 and the sub slit 8.
2 easily deforms, so TCP 2 and circuit board 3 and T
It is possible to reduce the load applied to the portion of CP2 and the pressure contact portion, and TCP2 and the circuit board 3, and TCP2 and the liquid crystal panel 1.
The connection of can be maintained securely.

In this way, both the main and sub slits 7 and 8 are TC
Although it is common in that the bending of P is facilitated, its main role is different as described above. Further, since both slits are present, they play an important role of absorbing stress due to vibration after assembly, and the effect of absorbing stress is drastically reduced if either slit is not provided.

The driving LSI 11 is arranged on the back side of the TCP 2 between the main slit 7 and the circuit board 3. The LSI 11 may be provided on the front surface side of the TCP 2,
As shown in FIG. 3, if a notch is provided in a region of the circuit board 3 corresponding to the LSI 11 so that the LSI 11 can fit therein, space efficiency can be improved.

The details of the slit of TCP2 will be described with reference to FIG. TCP is a polyimide-based base film 2 in which a lead wire usually made of copper foil 20 is bonded via an adhesive (not shown).
2 and a resist film 24. The lead wires made of the copper foil 20 are electrically insulated from the outside by these films 22 and 24. On the other hand, the slit is formed by coating a lead wire made of the copper foil 20 with a polyimide-based flex resin 23. The LSI 11 is covered with a protective resin 25. The flex resin 23 is thinly coated as compared with the thickness of normal TCP. As a result, the slit is
It can be bent more easily than CP. Also,
Even if either the liquid crystal panel 1 or the circuit board 3 moves, the slit absorbs the force due to the movement, and thus the load applied to each connection portion with the TCP can be reduced.

An example of specific dimensions of TCP2 is as follows.

The total thickness of the normal part is about 130 μm,
The base film has a thickness of about 75 μm, the adhesive has a thickness of about 12 μm, the copper foil has a thickness of about 18 μm, and the resist film has a thickness of about 25 μm. The total thickness of the slit portions is about 68 μm, and the thickness of the upper and lower flex resins is about 25 μm. The width of each of the slits 7 and 8 is 1-2 mm, and the distance between the main slit 7 and the sub slit 8 may be larger than the depth of the hook portion, that is, the distance for lifting the circuit board.

Considering the easiness of lifting the circuit board, the position of the sub slit 8 is preferably near the display panel. Therefore, the position of the sub slit 8 is closer to the panel side than the middle between the main slit 7 and the panel. It is desirable to do.
As an example, if the distance between the main slit 7 and the panel is 6 mm, the sub slit 8 may be provided at a position 1 mm away from the panel side. Further, since the main slit 7 is bent at a substantially right angle, the sub-slit 8 has a small bending angle, and therefore the width of the sub-slit 8 may be narrower than the width of the main slit 7.

In the present specification, illustration of well-known structures not directly related to the present invention is omitted. That is, the frame of the liquid crystal panel 1 is held on the upper surface of the housing 4, and the outer frame for protecting the TCP 2 and the circuit board 3 is provided, and the liquid crystal panel 1 is displaced as much as possible by being provided at several positions on the liquid crystal panel side. An elastic body such as rubber to be prevented is not shown.

Since the other parts and the connection of those parts related to the liquid crystal display device of the present embodiment are the same as the parts and the connection of those parts related to the conventional liquid crystal display device, they are not shown. For example, there are the followings as components relating to these conventional liquid crystal display devices and connection modes of these components. That is, a backlight having a light guide plate that illuminates the liquid crystal panel 1 is housed in the housing 4. In addition, when the display capacity of the liquid crystal panel 1 is small, a circuit for processing a control signal may be incorporated in the circuit board 3, in which case a new large circuit board for control is unnecessary. In the case of a large-sized liquid crystal panel, the circuit board 3 alone cannot handle the problem, so a separate large-sized control circuit board is arranged on the back side of the housing, and jumper wires are used to move from the circuit board 3 to the control circuit board. I try to establish electrical continuity. In that case, the circuit board 3 is used only as a connection board.

A method of manufacturing a liquid crystal display device according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

FIG. 6 shows the flow of steps of the method for manufacturing a liquid crystal display device.
Shown in. First, as shown in FIG. 7, one end of the TCP 2 is pressed against the peripheral portion of the liquid crystal panel 1. That is, the work table 300
The liquid crystal panel 1 is arranged on the above. An anisotropic conductive film 31 is arranged at a position where one end of the TCP 2 in the peripheral portion of the liquid crystal panel 1 is in pressure contact, and one end of the TCP 2 on which two slits are already formed is placed on the anisotropic conductive film 31. The hot head 30 is brought into contact with the TCP 2 on which the anisotropic conductive film 31 is arranged from above, and the TCP 2 is connected to the liquid crystal panel 1 through the anisotropic conductive film. With this procedure, the TCP 2 is connected to the liquid crystal panel 1 at predetermined positions in the horizontal and vertical directions. Here, the predetermined position usually indicates any one of the two horizontal sides and the two vertical sides of the four sides of the rectangular liquid crystal panel. However, the T on all four sides of the rectangular LCD panel 1
CP2 may be connected in some cases. Also in the present embodiment, T is provided on all four sides of the rectangular liquid crystal panel 1 as described above.
CP2 may be connected.

Next, as shown in FIG. 1, one end of the TCP2 where the TCP2 and the liquid crystal panel 1 are connected to each other is different from the T2.
The circuit board 3 is connected to one end of CP2. The connection method between the TCP 2 and the circuit board 3 includes a connection method by press contact and a connection method by solder. That is, as in the case where one end of the TCP2 is connected to the peripheral portion of the liquid crystal panel 1 as described above, the method of pressing the circuit board 3 to the other end of the TCP2, and the other end of the TCP2 and the circuit board 3 via solder There is a way to connect. The TCP 2 and the circuit board 3 are connected by either of these two methods. One circuit board 3 is provided in each of the horizontal direction and the vertical direction, and one end of the TCP 2 in the horizontal direction or the vertical direction is connected to each circuit board 3.
The circuit board 3 has a rectangular shape, and the length of the long side is substantially equal to the horizontal or vertical direction of the liquid crystal panel and the length of the short side is substantially equal to the thickness of the liquid crystal display device.

Next, as shown in FIG. 2, the liquid crystal panel 1 to which the circuit board 3 is connected via the TCP 2 is attached to the housing 4
Place it in place. Here, the predetermined position is the position of the frame defined by the protrusions 51 and 52 provided at the four corners of the upper surface of the housing 4. The projections 51, 52 are set to have a space between the projections 51, 52 slightly larger than the size of the liquid crystal panel 1 so that the liquid crystal panel 1 is locked by the projections 51, 52. In this way, the interval between the protrusions 51 and 52 is set to be larger than the size of the liquid crystal panel 1 because the protrusion 5
This is because manufacturing tolerances are inevitably produced when manufacturing 1, 52 and the liquid crystal panel 1. Therefore, the protrusions 51, 5
If the interval of 2 is set larger than the size of the liquid crystal panel 1, the yield of the liquid crystal display device can be improved.
In addition, it is desirable that the liquid crystal panel 1 and the housing 4 are not adhered to each other with an adhesive agent or the like in case the liquid crystal panel 1 is replaced due to a failure or the like. Also in this embodiment, the liquid crystal panel 1 and the housing 4 are not bonded to each other, and the liquid crystal panel 1 is held in the housing 4 by the projections 51, 52 and the like. Since the liquid crystal panel 1 is held on the housing 4 with play in this way, the liquid crystal panel 1 may move slightly on the housing 4 while being displaced.

After arranging the liquid crystal panel 1 on the upper surface of the housing 4, the two slits 7 and 8 of the TCP 2 are curved to form the housing 4.
The circuit board 3 is arranged on the hook portion 6 on the side surface of the. Several hooks 6 are provided on the side surface of the housing 4 (three hooks are provided on each side in the present embodiment). Even when the circuit board 3 is arranged on the hook portion 6, the protrusions 51,
Like the arrangement of the liquid crystal panel 1 in 52, the hook portion 6
The circuit board 3 is not adhered to. The reason for this is the above-mentioned protrusion 5
This is for the replacement of the liquid crystal panel 1 and for improving the yield of the liquid crystal display device, similarly to the arrangement of the liquid crystal panel 1 in Nos. 1 and 52.

As described above, according to the liquid crystal display device and the manufacturing method thereof according to the first embodiment of the present invention, the liquid crystal panel 1 can be easily replaced. Liquid crystal panel 1 when circuit board 3 is mounted
It is possible to prevent connection failure between the circuit board 3 and the circuit board 3 and to prevent disconnection of the TCP 2 when a vibration or impact test is performed. Furthermore, the number of assembling steps and the number of assembling members of the liquid crystal display device can be reduced.

Next, a second embodiment of TCP according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. The position of the main slit 7 for the bending portion is the same as that of the first embodiment, but the sub slit 9 at the place where it can be temporarily bent only during the step of holding the circuit board on the hook portion 6 includes the circuit board 3 and the driver. LSI
11 is different from the first embodiment in that it is provided between the first and second embodiments.

The liquid crystal display device of the present embodiment and the manufacturing method thereof are the same as those of the first embodiment,
The bent form is slightly different as shown in FIG.

The operation of placing the circuit board 3 on the hook portion 6 will be described with reference to FIG. First, the liquid crystal panel 1 is held in the housing 4 (FIG. 9A). Next, the TCP 2 is bent into a mountain fold at the position of the sub slit 9, and the TCP 2 is further bent into a mountain fold at the position of the main slit 7 in the curved portion of the TCP.
The lower end of the circuit board 3 is set to cross over the hook portion 6.
(FIG.9 (b)). Thus these two slits 7,
By appropriately bending 9, the circuit board 3 can be arranged on the hook portion 6 without applying stress to each connection portion with the TCP 2 (FIG. 9C).

Not only when the slits are curved in this order, the circuit board 3 is arranged on the hook portion 6 depending on the order of the slits that are curved at the positions of these two slits 7 and 9 and the appropriate size. May be.

Next, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

The slit 10 provided in the TCP 2 will be described with reference to FIG. The liquid crystal panel 1 is held in the housing 4 and the circuit board 3 is held in the hook portion 6 between the vicinity of the portion where the TCP 2 and the circuit board 3 are connected to the vicinity of the portion where the TCP 2 is pressed against the liquid crystal panel 1.
A wide slit 10 is provided in a region where 2 is curved.

The slit 10 has a structure in which the main slit 7 and the sub slit 8 in the first embodiment are combined, that is, the insulating film in the region between both slits is thinned,
The whole structure is easy to bend. Therefore,
The panel-side vicinity region of the slit 10 plays the same role as the sub slit in the first embodiment, and only the region located in the curved portion of the TCP 2 plays the same role as the main slit 7.

The liquid crystal display device of this embodiment and the method of manufacturing the same are the same as those of the first embodiment.

The operation of holding the circuit board 3 on the hook portion 6 provided on the side surface of the housing 4 will be described with reference to FIG. First, the liquid crystal panel 1 is held in the housing 4 (see FIG. 11).
(A)). Next, the slit 10 is curved, and the circuit board 3
The circuit board 3 is brought close to the side surface of the housing while raising the upper part (FIG. 11B). After that, the hook 6 holds the circuit board 3 (FIG. 11C).

Wide slit 10 provided in TCP2
Since the TCP2 is smoothly curved, the TCP2 can be curved with almost no load applied to the pressure contact portion. Further, since the TCP 2 is curved by the slit 10, the circuit board 3 can be held by the hook portion 6 provided in the housing 4 with almost no load applied to the pressure contact portion.

In addition, the slit 10 provided with T
The CP 2 allows the TCP 2 to freely move at the position where the slit 10 is provided when the liquid crystal panel 1 shifts in the completed liquid crystal display device. This makes T
It is possible to reduce the load applied to the parts of the CP2 and the circuit board 3 and the TCP2 and the pressure contact portion, and it is possible to reliably maintain the connection between the TCP2 and the circuit board 3 and the TCP2 and the liquid crystal panel 1.

Compared with the first and second embodiments, the liquid crystal display manufacturing method of this embodiment has the advantage that the number of slits is reduced because there is one slit.

[0070]

As described above, according to the present invention, the main slit as the bending slit and the auxiliary slit as the auxiliary slit for temporarily bending are
Since it is provided in the CP, it not only shortens the length of the TCP but also plays an important role of absorbing stress due to vibration after assembly.

Also, from the viewpoint of automating the assembling work necessary for mass production, the effect of reducing the peeling stress to the TCP connection portion can be obtained, so that the product yield at the time of mass production can be increased and the manufacturing cost can be reduced. That is a very practical and useful technology.

In addition, a flat display panel such as a liquid crystal panel is held in the housing with play, and a circuit board connected to the TCP is held in a hook portion provided on the side surface of the housing to connect to the display panel. Not only the TCP and the circuit board which are operating, but also the display panel can be easily removed from the housing, and the work such as maintenance, repair, and replacement can be facilitated.

Further, by adding the auxiliary slit to the TCP, when the display panel or the circuit board moves on the housing, the load applied to the TCP is reduced by the cooperation of both the main slit and the sub slit. can do. As a result, it is possible to prevent defective connection between the panel and the circuit board when the circuit board is mounted, and it is also possible to prevent disconnection of the TCP when a vibration or shock test is performed.

Particularly, according to the present invention, a plurality of TCPs are provided on one side of the display panel, and the common circuit board commonly connected to the plurality of TCPs must be held by the plurality of hooks provided in the housing. In a large-sized flat panel type display device that does not have such a large size, it exerts a great effect on the improvement of manufacturing yield and reliability.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 shows a TCP according to a first embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 6 is a perspective view illustrating a step of attaching a liquid crystal panel including the above to a housing.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a state where the TCP of FIG. 1 is bent and a circuit board is held by a hook on a side surface of a housing.

3 is an enlarged perspective view showing a corner portion of FIG. 2. FIG.

FIG. 4 is a schematic view illustrating an assembly process for holding the circuit board with TCP shown in FIG. 3 on a hook portion on a side surface of a housing.

5 is a cross-sectional view showing details of the TCP shown in FIG.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a manufacturing process of a flat panel type display device in the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a state where the TCP according to the first embodiment of the present invention is pressed against a liquid crystal panel.

FIG. 8 is a TCP according to a second embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing a holding state of the circuit board with TCP in the case of including the.

9 is a schematic diagram illustrating an assembly process for holding the circuit board with TCP shown in FIG. 8 on a hook portion on a side surface of a housing.

FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing a joint portion of a TCP and a liquid crystal panel and a joint portion of the TCP and a circuit board of the liquid crystal display device according to the third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram illustrating an assembly process for holding the circuit board with TCP shown in FIG. 10 on a hook portion on the side surface of the housing.

FIG. 12 is a schematic diagram illustrating an assembly process for holding a circuit board connected to a TCP in a conventional example on a hook portion provided on a side surface of a housing.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 LCD panel 2 TCP 3 circuit board 4 housing 51,52 Protrusion 6 Hook part 7 Main slit 8 Sub slit 9 Sub slit 10 wide slits 11 Drive LSI

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── --Continued from the front page (58) Fields surveyed (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) G09F 9/00 346 G09F 9/00 338 G02F 1/1333 G02F 1/1345 H05K 1/14

Claims (16)

(57) [Claims] 1. A display panel placed on a main surface of a housing, a circuit board held by a hook portion provided on a side surface of the housing, one end of which is connected to the display panel, and the other. A tape carrier whose ends are connected to the circuit board
A package (TCP), the TCP having a curved region between a first region substantially parallel to a main surface of the housing and a second region substantially parallel to a side surface of the housing. And a region that is easier to deform than the surroundings is provided in at least one of the first region and the second region so as to extend parallel to the extending direction of the curved region. Flat panel type display device. 2. The easily deformable area of the TCP is provided in the first area, and is located between the connection fixing area between the TCP and the display panel and the curved area. The flat panel display device according to claim 1. 3. The flat panel type display device according to claim 1, wherein the curved region is positioned and arranged so as to be below the surface level of the first region. 4. The flexible region of the TCP has a structure in which a plurality of conductive wires are covered with a flexible insulating film that is thinner than the thickness of an insulating film near a connection region of a driver element included in the TCP. The flat panel display device according to claim 1. 5. The display panel is held with play in the housing, and a mechanical shift between the display panel and the housing is absorbed in the easily deformable region. The flat panel type display device according to claim 1, wherein 6. The flat panel according to claim 1, wherein the easily deformable region of the TCP is provided in the second region and is located between the circuit board and the curved region. Shape display device. 7. The flat panel display device according to claim 1, wherein the easily deformable region of the TCP is provided in the first region and is connected to the curved region. 8. The flat panel according to claim 1, wherein a distance between a center of the curved region and a center of an easily deformable region provided in the first region is larger than a depth of the hook portion. Shape display device. 9. The TCP has a large number of lead wires covered with an insulating flexible film, and the slits are
The slit is formed in the shape of a long hole in the direction perpendicular to the direction in which TCP extends from the liquid crystal panel to the circuit board. The flat panel type display device according to claim 1, wherein: 10. A plurality of the TCPs are connected to the circuit board common to them, and the circuit board is held by a plurality of the hook portions provided on the casing. The flat panel display device according to claim 1. 11. The TCP according to claim 1, wherein the driver element provided on the TCP is arranged on a curved inner surface side of the TCP so as to be located in a notch provided on the circuit board. Flat panel display device. 12. A step of holding a display panel provided with a tape carrier package (TCP) connected to a circuit board in a housing, and bending a slit for a bending portion and an auxiliary slit provided in the TCP. Lifting the circuit board so that the lower end of the circuit board goes beyond the tip of the hook portion provided on the housing, and returning the curve of the auxiliary slit to a flat state to place the circuit board in the hook portion. And a step of inserting the flat panel type display device. 13. The auxiliary slit is provided between the curved portion slit and the display panel, and the bending direction of the auxiliary slit is the curved portion slit in a step of lifting the circuit board. The method for manufacturing a flat panel display device according to claim 12, wherein the flat panel display device is bent in a direction opposite to the bending direction. 14. The auxiliary slit is provided between the curved portion slit and the circuit board, and
The method for manufacturing a flat panel display device according to claim 12, wherein the bending direction of the auxiliary slit is bent in the same direction as the bending direction of the bending portion slit in the step of lifting the circuit board. 15. The auxiliary slit is provided between the bending slit and the display panel,
A wide common slit is formed integrally with the slit for the curved portion to form a wide common slit, and in the step of lifting the circuit board, the bending direction of the common slit is near the circuit board side and near the display panel side. The method for manufacturing a flat panel display device according to claim 12, wherein the bending directions are opposite to each other. 16. The method of manufacturing a flat panel type display device according to claim 12, wherein the display panel is held with play in the housing.