JP6384328B2 - Method for manufacturing organic electroluminescence panel - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing an organic electroluminescence panel.

  In recent years, attention has been paid to an organic EL panel including an organic electroluminescence (hereinafter also referred to as organic EL) element as a self-luminous element. In an organic EL panel, an organic compound light emitting layer (hereinafter also referred to as an organic light emitting layer or simply a light emitting layer) is sandwiched between two electrodes, a first electrode (anode) and a second electrode (cathode), on a substrate such as glass. The organic EL element having the structure is disposed, and the organic light emitting layer emits light by supplying a current between the cathode and the anode.

  Recently, with the expansion of applications of organic EL panels, organic EL panels using flexible substrates such as resin films have also appeared, and such flexible substrates are used as substrates for organic EL panels. Therefore, it has become possible to manufacture an organic EL panel by a roll-to-roll method (see, for example, Patent Document 1). The roll-to-roll manufacturing method here refers to a form in which a substrate wound in a roll shape is fed out, an organic EL element is formed on the substrate, and the substrate on which the organic EL element is formed is wound around a roll again. Refers to the manufacturing method. The roll-to-roll manufacturing method has the advantage that production efficiency can be improved because continuous production is possible.

  On the other hand, the light-emitting layer of the organic EL element constituting the organic EL panel is easily affected by moisture and oxygen, and if left in the air, the quality deteriorates due to moisture and oxygen. A step of forming a protective layer on the organic EL element for reducing the influence of the outside world called stop is added. As a sealing technique of an organic EL element, for example, as described in Patent Document 2, a technique is known in which a sheet-like sealing substrate is bonded to an organic EL element to perform sealing.

  Although the roll-to-roll method is excellent in production efficiency, if all production processes are carried out completely continuously, any troubles may occur or trouble may occur during maintenance. Has been done. At this time, since the next process can also be processed with a roll and the productivity is high, the manufacturing process is divided and wound into a roll. For example, Patent Document 3 discloses a method for manufacturing an organic EL panel by a roll-to-roll method in which a manufacturing process is appropriately divided and wound at any stage from a first electrode forming process to a winding process after a sealing process. Have been described.

International Publication No. 01/005194 Pamphlet Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2005-4063 JP 2006-294536 A

  When the organic EL element is exposed to the outside on the flexible substrate, the organic EL element is easily damaged during winding, and a defect is likely to occur. For this reason, the invention described in Patent Document 3 prevents the organic EL element from being damaged by interposing a winding auxiliary member. However, if it winds up after sealing of an organic EL element, since the organic EL element is not exposed outside, it will be possible to wind up without using a winding auxiliary member.

  However, when a sealing member is bonded to each of the plurality of organic EL elements on the flexible substrate, a convex portion is generated on the flexible substrate by a sealing portion by the sealing member. Therefore, if it winds as it is, without taking any measures, there exists a possibility that the organic EL element which overlapped by winding may be damaged by the press of the edge part of a sealing member. In addition, since the rigidity is partially different, the sealing member may be peeled off due to bending and the sealing performance may be deteriorated. For this reason, there exists a possibility of causing the performance fall of an organic electroluminescent panel.

  Then, this invention provides the manufacturing method of the organic EL panel which can suppress the performance fall of an organic EL panel, when winding after bonding a sealing member to each of the some organic EL element on a flexible substrate. The task is to do.

  The object of the present invention is achieved by the following constitution.

1. The plurality of organic electroluminescent element substrates in which a plurality of organic electroluminescent elements having at least a first electrode, a light emitting layer, and a second electrode are formed on a long flexible substrate by a roll-to-roll method. A method of manufacturing an organic electroluminescence panel in which the organic electroluminescence element substrate is wound up after a sealing member is bonded to each of the organic electroluminescence elements, and the organic electroluminescence element is formed on the flexible substrate. after placing the space occupier member occupying at least a portion of the space other than the space that, the is intended for taking up the organic electroluminescent device substrate, wherein the space occupation member, two of the organic electroluminescent were adjacently provided in the winding direction Luminescence element Method of producing an organic electroluminescent panel, characterized in that the winding direction of the position is partially overlapped with.

2. 2. The method of manufacturing an organic electroluminescence panel according to 1 above , wherein a plurality of the space occupying members are formed along both the winding direction and a width direction orthogonal to the winding direction.

3. The length of the space occupying member formed along the winding direction is equal to or longer than the length of one side along the winding direction of the organic electroluminescence element, and along the width direction orthogonal to the winding direction. 2. The organic electroluminescence according to 1 above, wherein the length of the space occupying member formed is not less than the length of one side along the width direction orthogonal to the winding direction of the organic electroluminescence element. Panel manufacturing method.

  4). 4. The method for manufacturing an organic electroluminescence panel according to any one of 1 to 3, wherein the space occupying member has a quadrangular planar shape and rounded corners.

5. A plurality of organic electroluminescent element substrates in which a plurality of organic electroluminescent elements having at least a first electrode, a light emitting layer, and a second electrode are formed on a long flexible substrate by a roll-to-roll method. A method of manufacturing an organic electroluminescence panel in which the organic electroluminescence element substrate is wound up after a sealing member is bonded to each of the organic electroluminescence elements, and the organic electroluminescence element is formed on the flexible substrate. A space occupying member that occupies at least a part of the space other than the space to be wound, and then winding up the organic electroluminescence element substrate. The space occupying member has the same material and cross-sectional shape as the sealing member. Yes you said that there Method of manufacturing an electroluminescent panel.

6). 6. The organic electro of any one of items 1 to 5 , wherein the space occupying member has a thickness equal to or greater than a total thickness of the organic electroluminescent element and the sealing member. Manufacturing method of luminescence panel.

7). A plurality of organic electroluminescent element substrates in which a plurality of organic electroluminescent elements having at least a first electrode, a light emitting layer, and a second electrode are formed on a long flexible substrate by a roll-to-roll method. A method of manufacturing an organic electroluminescence panel in which the organic electroluminescence element substrate is wound up after a sealing member is bonded to each of the organic electroluminescence elements, and the organic electroluminescence element is formed on the flexible substrate. A space occupying member that occupies at least a part of a space other than the space to be wound, and then winding up the organic electroluminescent element substrate, and sticking the sealing member to the organic electroluminescent element on the flexible substrate , And, wherein after simultaneously arrangement of space occupied member, the manufacturing method of the organic electroluminescence panel you characterized in that the winding to the flexible substrate.

  8). The space occupying member and the sealing member are disposed on a mother substrate serving as a support thereof, and the space occupying member and the sealing member on the mother substrate are disposed on the organic electroluminescence element substrate. (7) The method according to (7), wherein the organic electroluminescence element is sealed by the sealing member and the space occupying member is disposed on the flexible substrate, and then wound up. The manufacturing method of the organic electroluminescent panel of description.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, when winding after sealing a sealing member to each of the some organic EL element on a flexible substrate, the manufacturing method of the organic EL panel which can suppress the performance fall of an organic EL panel is provided. can do.

It is a schematic sectional drawing which shows an example of a structure of the sealed organic EL element. (A) Arrangement | positioning state figure of the space occupation member and sealed organic EL element in the manufacturing method of the organic electroluminescent panel which concerns on this invention (the 1), (b) It is sectional drawing in the XX line of an organic electroluminescent panel. (A) The schematic diagram of the state which wound up the organic EL panel manufactured with the manufacturing method of the organic EL panel which concerns on this invention, (b) The enlarged schematic diagram, (c) The manufacturing method of the organic EL panel which concerns on a comparative example (D) The schematic diagram of the state which wound up the organic electroluminescent panel which does not have the space occupation member manufactured by (d) The enlarged schematic diagram. It is the arrangement state figure of the space occupation member and organic EL element in the manufacturing method of the organic EL panel concerning the present invention (the 2). It is the arrangement state figure of the space occupation member and organic EL element in the manufacturing method of the organic EL panel concerning the present invention (the 3). It is the arrangement state figure (the 4) of a space occupation member and an organic EL element in a manufacturing method of an organic EL panel concerning the present invention. It is the arrangement state figure of the space occupation member and organic EL element in the manufacturing method of the organic EL panel concerning the present invention (the 5). It is the arrangement state figure of the organic EL element in the modification of the manufacturing method of the organic EL panel concerning the present invention (the 1). It is the arrangement state figure of the organic EL element in the modification of the manufacturing method of the organic EL panel concerning the present invention (the 2). It is a process line figure showing an example of a pasting process with an organic EL element substrate, a sealing member, and a space occupation member in a manufacturing method of an organic EL panel concerning the present invention. It is a flowchart of the manufacturing method of the organic electroluminescent panel which concerns on this invention.

  Next, the space occupying member and the organic EL element in the method for producing an organic EL panel according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings as appropriate.

<Configuration of organic EL panel>
FIG. 1 shows an example of the organic EL panel 31 (sealed organic EL element 2). In addition, in each drawing after this including FIG. 1, each figure is represented typically. As shown in FIG. 1, an organic EL panel 31 manufactured according to the present invention includes at least a flexible substrate 16 (hereinafter referred to as a substrate as appropriate), a first electrode 11, a second electrode 13, and an organic functional layer 12 including a light emitting layer. As a component. The organic EL element 3 is configured such that an organic functional layer 12 including a light-emitting layer is sandwiched between a first electrode 11 and a second electrode 13 provided on the substrate 16. The first electrode 11 and the second electrode 13 are a pair of an anode and a cathode.

Specific examples of the configuration of the organic EL panel having such a multilayer structure include the following.
1. 1. substrate / first electrode (anode) / light emitting layer / second electrode (cathode) / sealing layer 2. substrate / first electrode (anode) / hole transport layer / light emitting layer / second electrode (cathode) / sealing layer 3. Substrate / first electrode (anode) / light emitting layer / electron transport layer / second electrode (cathode) / sealing layer 4. Substrate / first electrode (anode) / hole transport layer / light emitting layer / electron transport layer / second electrode (cathode) / sealing layer 5. Substrate / first electrode (anode) / hole transport layer / light emitting layer / hole blocking layer / electron transport layer / second electrode (cathode) / sealing layer 6. Substrate / first electrode (anode) / hole transport layer / light emitting layer / hole blocking layer / electron transport layer / electron injection layer / second electrode (cathode) / sealing layer 7. Substrate / first electrode (anode) / hole injection layer / hole transport layer / light emitting layer / hole blocking layer / electron transport layer / electron injection layer / second electrode (cathode) / sealing layer Substrate / first electrode (anode) / hole injection layer / hole transport layer / electron blocking layer / light emitting layer / hole blocking layer / electron transport layer / electron injection layer / second electrode (cathode) / sealing layer

[substrate]
The substrate 16 is also referred to as a base material or a transparent substrate, and is a member that serves as a support for the organic EL element 3. The substrate 16 is a long, strip-like synthetic resin film, preferably a transparent resin film.

  The substrate 16 is, for example, polyester such as polyethylene terephthalate (PET) or polyethylene naphthalate (PEN), polyethylene, polypropylene, cellophane, cellulose diacetate, cellulose triacetate (TAC), cellulose acetate butyrate, cellulose acetate propionate (CAP). ), Cellulose esters such as cellulose acetate phthalate and cellulose nitrate or derivatives thereof, polyvinylidene chloride, polyvinyl alcohol, polyethylene vinyl alcohol, syndiotactic polystyrene, polycarbonate (PC), norbornene resin, polymethylpentene, polyether ketone , Polyimide, polyethersulfone (PES), polyphenylene sulfide, polysulfones, poly Ether imide, polyether ketone imide, polyamide, fluororesin, nylon, polymethyl methacrylate, acrylic or polyarylates, cyclone resins such as Arton (trade name, made by JSR) or Appel (trade name, made by Mitsui Chemicals) Can be formed.

[First electrode (anode)]
In the organic EL element 3, the first electrode 11 (anode) side is usually the observation side. As the first electrode 11 (anode), an electrode material made of a metal, an alloy, an electrically conductive compound, or a mixture thereof having a large work function (4 eV or more) and a transmittance of 40% or more is preferably used. Specific examples of such electrode materials include metals such as Au, CuI, ITO (mixture of tin oxide and indium oxide), IZO (mixture of zinc oxide and indium oxide), ZnO, SnO ₂ , In ₂ O _{3 and the} like. ing. Alternatively, an amorphous material such as IDIXO (In ₂ O ₃ .ZnO) capable of forming a transparent conductive film may be used.
Among them, the ITO electrode has a high light transmittance of 90% or more and a low sheet resistance value of 10Ω / □ or less, and is also used as a transparent electrode for liquid crystal displays and solar cells. In addition, the IZO electrode has an advantage that a predetermined low resistance value can be obtained without heating the substrate 16 when formed, and the film surface is smoother than the ITO electrode.

[Second electrode (cathode)]
The second electrode 13 is connected to a power source and functions as, for example, a cathode. As such a second electrode 13, an electrode material made of a metal having a low work function (4 eV or less) (referred to as an electron injecting metal), an alloy, an electrically conductive compound, or a mixture thereof is used. Specific examples of such electrode materials include sodium, sodium-potassium alloy, magnesium, lithium, magnesium / copper mixture, magnesium / silver mixture, magnesium / aluminum mixture, magnesium / indium mixture, lithium / aluminum mixture, aluminum / oxidation. Aluminum (Al ₂ O ₃ ) mixture, indium, rare earth metal and the like can be mentioned. Among these, a mixture of an electron injecting metal and a second metal which is a stable metal having a larger work function value than this from the viewpoint of durability against electron injection and oxidation, for example, a magnesium / silver mixture, Magnesium / aluminum mixtures, magnesium / indium mixtures, aluminum / aluminum oxide (Al ₂ O ₃ ) mixtures, lithium / aluminum mixtures, aluminum and the like are preferred.

  In addition, in order to transmit the emitted light, if either one of the anode (first electrode 11) or the cathode (second electrode 13) of the organic EL element 3 is transparent or translucent, the emission luminance is improved, which is convenient. is there.

  Moreover, after producing these metals with the film thickness of 1-20 nm as the 2nd electrode 13, the electroconductive transparent material quoted by description of the 1st electrode 11 is produced on it, and transparent or translucent 2nd is produced. The electrode 13 (cathode) can be produced, and by applying this, an element in which both the first electrode 11 (anode) and the second electrode 13 (cathode) are light transmissive can be produced.

[Organic functional layer]
The organic functional layer 12 includes a light emitting layer (not shown) that emits light by recombination of holes injected from the first electrode 11 (anode) and electrons injected from the second electrode 13 (cathode). It is out. In addition to the light emitting layer, the organic functional layer 12 includes an electron transport layer, a hole transport layer, a hole injection layer (anode buffer layer), an electron injection layer (cathode buffer layer), a hole blocking layer, an electron blocking layer, and the like ( Any of them can be appropriately laminated.

[Light emitting layer]
The light emitting layer is a layer that emits light by recombination of holes injected from the first electrode 11 (anode) and electrons injected from the second electrode 13 (cathode). The portion that emits light may be within the layer of the light emitting layer or at the interface between the light emitting layer and the adjacent layer. The light emitting layer may be a single layer or may be a multilayer using a plurality of light emitting layers. In the case of a multilayer structure, a non-light emitting intermediate layer may be provided between the light emitting layers. Further, among the layer configurations, the organic functional layer 12 including the light emitting layer can be used as one light emitting unit, and a plurality of light emitting units can be stacked. The plurality of stacked light emitting units may have a non-light emitting intermediate layer between the light emitting units, and the intermediate layer may further include a charge generation layer. In addition, when a light emitting layer is a multilayer, it is necessary to arrange | position the unit of an application | coating and drying part according to the number to laminate | stack.

  The total thickness of the light emitting layer is not particularly limited, but is usually selected in the range of 2 nm to 5 μm, preferably 2 to 200 nm in consideration of the uniformity of the film and the voltage required for light emission. Furthermore, it is preferable that it exists in the range of 10-20 nm. A film thickness of 20 nm or less is preferable because it has the effect of improving the stability of the emission color with respect to the driving current as well as the voltage surface.

  The material (light emitting material) that can be used for the light emitting layer is not particularly limited. For example, “The latest trend of flat panel display-current state of EL display and latest technology trend” (Toray Research Center, Inc., issued in March 2004) Various materials such as those described in pages 228 to 332 can be mentioned.

  As described above, the light emitting layer is a layer that emits light by recombination of electrons and holes injected from the electrode, the electron injection layer, and the hole transport layer. The portion that emits light may be within the layer of the light emitting layer or at the interface between the light emitting layer and the adjacent layer.

The light emitting layer can be formed, for example, by applying a light emitting layer forming coating solution and drying. Examples of wet coating machines that apply the light emitting layer forming coating solution include a die coating method, a screen printing method, a flexographic printing method, an inkjet method, a Mayer bar method, a cap coating method, a spray coating method, a casting method, a roll coating method, An applicator used for a bar coating method, a gravure coating method, or the like can be used. The use of these wet coaters can be appropriately selected according to the material of the organic functional layer 12.
Note that the formation of the light emitting layer is not limited to the coating method, and any method such as a vacuum vapor deposition method can be appropriately selected.

[Hole transport layer (hole injection layer, electron blocking layer)]
(Hole transport layer)
The hole transport layer has a role of moving holes to an effective recombination region and a role of blocking electrons locally as an energy barrier to strengthen light emission. The hole transport layer is made of a hole transport material having a function of transporting holes, and in a broad sense, a hole injection layer and an electron blocking layer are also included in the hole transport layer. The hole transport layer can be provided as a single layer or a plurality of layers. These are described in detail in Chapter 2 “Electrode Materials” (pages 123 to 166) of Volume 2 of “Organic EL Devices and the Forefront of Industrialization” (NTS Corporation, issued on November 30, 1998). Have been described.

  The hole transport material has any one of hole injection or transport and electron barrier properties, and may be either organic or inorganic. For example, triazole derivatives, oxadiazole derivatives, imidazole derivatives, polyarylalkane derivatives, pyrazoline derivatives and pyrazolone derivatives, phenylenediamine derivatives, arylamine derivatives, amino-substituted chalcone derivatives, oxazole derivatives, styrylanthracene derivatives, fluorenone derivatives, hydrazone derivatives, Examples thereof include stilbene derivatives, silazane derivatives, aniline copolymers, and conductive polymer oligomers, particularly thiophene oligomers.

  Although there is no restriction | limiting in particular about the film thickness of a positive hole transport layer, Usually, 5 nm-about 5 micrometers, Preferably it is 5-200 nm. This hole transport layer may have a single layer structure composed of one or more of the above materials. A hole transport layer having a high p property doped with impurities can also be used. Examples thereof include JP-A-4-297076, JP-A-2000-196140, JP-A-2001-102175, J.A. Appl. Phys. 95, 5773 (2004), and the like. It is preferable to use such a hole transport layer having a high p property because an organic EL element with lower power consumption can be produced.

  For the hole transport layer, the hole transport material is formed by using, for example, a vacuum deposition method, a spin coating method, a casting method, a printing method including an ink jet method, a slot die method, a spray coating method, an LB method, a dip coating method, or a blade method. , And a known method such as a slit coating method.

(Hole injection layer)
The details of the hole injection layer (anode buffer layer) are described in JP-A-9-45479, JP-A-9-260062, JP-A-8-288069 and the like. As a specific example, copper phthalocyanine is used. Examples thereof include a phthalocyanine buffer layer represented by an oxide, an oxide buffer layer represented by vanadium oxide, an amorphous carbon buffer layer, and a polymer buffer layer using a conductive polymer such as polyaniline (emeraldine) or polythiophene.
Further, ferrocene compounds described in JP-A-6-025658, starburst type compounds described in JP-A-10-233287, JP-A-2000-068058, JP-A-2004-6321 Triarylamine type compounds described in JP-A-2002-117799, sulfur-containing ring-containing compounds described in JP-A No. 2002-117879, US Patent Application Publication No. 2002/0158242, US Patent Application Publication No. 2006 / Examples of the hole injection layer include hexaazatriphenylene compounds described in Japanese Patent No. 0251922, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2006-49393, and the like.

  The thickness of the hole injection layer is not particularly limited, but is about 0.1 nm to 5 μm, preferably 0.1 to 100 nm, more preferably 1 to 100 nm, and most preferably 10 to 60 nm.

[Electron transport layer (electron injection layer, hole blocking layer)]
(Electron transport layer)
The electron transport layer has a role of moving electrons to an effective recombination region and a role of blocking holes as an energy barrier and locally retaining light to enhance light emission. The electron transport layer is made of a material having a function of transporting electrons (electron transport material), and includes an electron injection layer and a hole blocking layer in a broad sense. The electron transport layer can be provided as a single layer or a plurality of layers. These are described in detail in “Organic EL elements and their industrialization front line” (issued by NTT, Inc. on November 30, 1998).

  Conventionally, it is used for an electron transport layer adjacent to the light-emitting layer on the cathode side when the electron transport material (also serves as a hole blocking material) used for a single electron transport layer or a plurality of electron transport layers are used. Any electron transporting material may be used as long as it has a function of transmitting electrons injected from the cathode to the light emitting layer, and any of known materials can be selected and used as the material. . Examples include nitro-substituted fluorene derivatives, diphenylquinone derivatives, thiopyran dioxide derivatives, carbodiimides, fluorenylidenemethane derivatives, anthraquinodimethane, anthrone derivatives, and oxadiazole derivatives. Furthermore, in the above oxadiazole derivative, a thiadiazole derivative in which the oxygen atom of the oxadiazole ring is substituted with a sulfur atom, and a quinoxaline derivative having a quinoxaline ring known as an electron-withdrawing group can also be used as a material for the electron transport layer. it can. Furthermore, a polymer material in which these materials are introduced into a polymer chain or these materials are used as a polymer main chain can also be used.

  The electron transport layer can be formed by thinning the above material by a known method such as a vacuum deposition method, a spin coating method, a casting method, a printing method including an inkjet method, or an LB method. Although there is no restriction | limiting in particular about the film thickness of an electron carrying layer, Usually, 5 nm-about 5 micrometers, Preferably it is 5-200 nm. The electron transport layer may have a single layer structure composed of one or more of the above materials.

(Electron injection layer)
Details of the electron injection layer (cathode buffer layer) are also described in JP-A-6-325871, JP-A-9-17574, JP-A-10-74586, and the like. Specifically, strontium, aluminum, etc. Metal buffer layer typified by lithium, alkali metal compound buffer layer typified by lithium fluoride, alkaline earth metal compound buffer layer typified by magnesium fluoride, oxide buffer layer typified by aluminum oxide, etc. . The electron injection layer (cathode buffer layer) is preferably a very thin film, and the film thickness is preferably in the range of 0.1 nm to 5 μm although it depends on the material.

(Hole blocking layer)
The hole blocking layer has a function of an electron transport layer in a broad sense. The hole blocking layer is made of a hole blocking material that has a function of transporting electrons but has a very small ability to transport holes, and recombines electrons and holes by blocking holes while transporting electrons. Probability can be improved. The hole blocking layer can be implemented using the one described in the electron transport layer. The hole blocking layer is preferably provided adjacent to the light emitting layer. The film thickness of the hole blocking layer is preferably 3 to 100 nm, more preferably 5 to 30 nm.

[Sealing layer]
The sealing layer 4 of the organic EL element 3 includes a sealing member 15 and an adhesive layer 14, and the sealing member 15 includes a sealing substrate and a barrier layer here. Further, a protective layer may be provided on the barrier layer. The sealing substrate may be a single body or a laminate, and can be appropriately selected as necessary. The barrier layer may be a single body or a laminate, and can be appropriately selected as necessary. The sealing layer 4 is formed by bonding the sealing member 15 onto the organic EL element 3 via the adhesive layer 14.

(Sealing substrate)
The thickness of the sealing substrate is preferably 10 μm to 500 μm in consideration of handleability during manufacturing, tensile strength, stress cracking resistance of the barrier layer, and the like. The thickness of the barrier layer is preferably 5 nm to 200 μm in consideration of barrier performance, stress cracking resistance of the barrier layer, and the like.

The water vapor permeability of the sealing substrate is preferably 0.01 g / m ² · day or less in consideration of the gas barrier properties required for commercialization as an organic EL element. The water vapor permeability indicates a value measured mainly by the MOCON method by a method based on the JIS K 7129B method (1992).

The oxygen permeability of the sealing substrate is preferably 0.01 ml / m ² · day · atm or less. The oxygen permeability is a value measured mainly by the MOCON method by a method based on the JIS K 7126B method (1987).

The rigidity (Young's modulus) of the sealing substrate is preferably 1 × 10 ⁻³ GPa to 80 GPa in consideration of handleability during manufacturing, tensile strength, stress cracking resistance of the barrier layer, and the like.
The sealing substrate constituting the sealing member 15 used in the present invention is not particularly limited. For example, ethylene tetrafluoroethyl copolymer (ETFE), high density polyethylene (HDPE), stretched polypropylene (OPP), Thermoplastic used for general packaging films such as polystyrene (PS), polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA), stretched nylon (ONy), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polycarbonate (PC), polyimide, polyether styrene (PES) Resin film material can be used. As these thermoplastic resin films, a multilayer film produced by coextrusion with a different film, a multilayer film produced by bonding with different stretching angles, etc. can be used as required. Further, it is naturally possible to combine the density and molecular weight distribution of the film used to obtain the required physical properties.

(Barrier layer)
Examples of the barrier layer include an inorganic vapor deposition film and a metal foil. As the inorganic deposited film, “Thin Film Handbook” (published by Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, published by Ohm Co., p879-p901), “Vacuum Technology Handbook” (published by Nikkan Kogyo Shimbun, p502-p509, p612, p810), “Vacuum Handbook Amendment Plate ”(published by ULVAC, Japan Vacuum Technology Co., Ltd., published by Ohm, p132 to p134). For example, metals such as In, Sn, Pb, Au, Cu, Ag, Al, Ti, Ni, MgO, SiO, SiO ₂ , Al ₂ O ₃ , GeO, NiO, CaO, BaO, Fe ₂ O ₃ , Y ₂ O ₃ , TiO ₂ , Cr ₂ O ₃ , Si _x O _y (x = 1, y = 1.5 to 2.0), Ta ₂ O ₃ , ZrN, SiC, TiC, PSG, Si ₃ N ₄ , single Crystalline Si, amorphous Si, W, etc. are used.
As the material of the metal foil, for example, a metal material such as aluminum, copper, or nickel, or an alloy material such as stainless steel or an aluminum alloy can be used. Aluminum is preferable in terms of workability and cost. The film thickness is about 1 to 100 μm, preferably about 10 to 50 μm.

  Furthermore, when the protective layer is provided on the barrier layer, the thickness of the protective layer is the stress cracking resistance, electrical insulation resistance of the barrier layer, and adhesiveness (adhesive force, step following) when used as a sealant layer. In consideration of the property, etc., 100 nm to 200 μm is preferable. As the protective layer, a thermoplastic resin film having a JIS K 7210 standard melt flow rate of 5 to 20 g / 10 min is preferable, and a thermoplastic resin film of 6 to 15 g / 10 min or less is more preferably used. This is because if a resin having a melt flow rate of 5 (g / 10 min) or less is used, the gap caused by the step of the lead electrode of each electrode cannot be completely filled, and a resin of 20 (g / 10 min) or more cannot be filled. This is because if used, the tensile strength, stress cracking resistance, workability and the like are lowered.

  The thermoplastic resin film is not particularly limited as long as it satisfies the above numerical values. For example, “New trends in functional packaging material development” (New development of functional additive materials) (Toray Research Center, Inc.) Low density polyethylene (LDPE), HDPE, linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE), medium density polyethylene, unstretched polypropylene (CPP), OPP, ONy, PET, polyvinyl alcohol (PVA), cellophane , Expanded vinylon (OV), ethylene-vinyl alcohol copolymer (EVOH), ethylene-propylene copolymer, ethylene-acrylic acid copolymer, ethylene-methacrylic acid copolymer, vinylidene chloride (PVDC), etc. Is possible. Among these thermoplastic resin films, it is particularly preferable to use LDPE, LLDPE produced by using LDPE, LLDPE and a metallocene catalyst, or a film using a mixture of these films and HDPE films.

(Adhesive layer)
In the method for producing an organic electroluminescence panel of the present invention, the adhesive used when the substrate 16 on which the organic EL element 3 is formed and the sealing member 15 are bonded together with an adhesive is a photocurable or thermosetting liquid. Examples thereof include an adhesive, a photocurable or thermosetting sheet adhesive, a thermoplastic resin, and a photocurable resin. Examples of liquid adhesives include photo-curing and thermosetting sealing agents having reactive vinyl groups such as acrylic acid oligomers and methacrylic acid oligomers, moisture-curing adhesives such as 2-cyanoacrylate, epoxy-based adhesives, etc. And adhesives such as heat and chemical curing type (two-component mixing), hot melt type adhesives such as polyamide, polyester, and polyolefin, and cationic curing type ultraviolet curing type epoxy resin adhesives. It is preferable to add a filler to the liquid adhesive as necessary. The addition amount of the filler is preferably 5 to 70% by volume in consideration of adhesive strength. In addition, the size of the filler to be added is preferably 1 μm to 100 μm in consideration of the adhesive strength, the adhesive thickness after pasting and pressure bonding, and the like. The kind of filler to be added is not particularly limited, and examples thereof include soda glass, non-alkali glass, or silica, titanium dioxide, antimony oxide, titania, alumina, zirconia, tungsten oxide, and other metal oxides.

  When the sealing member 15 and the organic EL element 3 are bonded to each other using a liquid adhesive, the bonding portion is bonded stability, prevention of bubbles from being mixed into the bonding portion, and flatness of the flexible sealing substrate. In consideration of retention and the like, it is preferable to carry out under reduced pressure conditions of 1000 Pa or less.

  In addition, since the organic EL element 3 may be deteriorated by heat treatment, it is preferable that the adhesive can be adhesively cured within a range of 70 to 120 ° C. Further, a desiccant may be dispersed in the adhesive. Application | coating of the adhesive agent to a sealing part may use commercially available dispenser, and may print like screen printing.

[Space-occupying member]
FIG. 2A shows the arrangement state of the space occupying member and the sealed organic EL element 2 in the organic EL panel manufacturing method according to the present invention, and FIG. 2B shows a cross section taken along line XX of the organic EL panel. . FIG. 3A shows a state in which an organic EL panel manufactured by the method for manufacturing an organic EL panel according to the present invention is wound, FIG. 3B shows an enlarged view, and FIG. 3C shows a comparative example. FIG. 3D shows an enlarged view of the state in which the organic EL panel having no space occupying member manufactured by the method for manufacturing the organic EL panel is wound.
The space occupying member 1 is formed by forming the organic EL element 3 on the flexible substrate 16 by a roll-to-roll method and sealing it with the sealing member 15, and then the flexible substrate 16 having the sealed organic EL element 2. When the (organic EL panel 31) is wound up in a roll shape, the organic EL panel 31 is a member that maintains the radial interval of the wound organic EL panel 31 and suppresses the bending of the flexible substrate 16 of the wound up organic EL panel 31. .

For example, as illustrated in FIG. 2, the space occupying member 1 is formed in at least a part of a space other than the space in which the organic electroluminescence element is formed. Here, the space occupying member 1 is separated from the sealing member 15 and arranged separately.
By forming the space occupying member 1 in at least a part of the space other than the space where the organic EL element 3 on the flexible substrate 16 is formed, as shown in FIG. The distance between the organic EL panels 31 in the radial direction is maintained, and the organic EL elements 3 are adjacent to each other on the inner surface side of the roll, like the organic EL panel 32 of the comparative example shown in FIG. Suppresses falling in between 3.

(Arrangement 1)
As shown in FIG. 2, the space occupying member 1 is arranged such that the position in the winding direction overlaps with two or more organic electroluminescence elements 3 adjacent to each other in the winding direction on the flexible substrate 16. It is preferable to do.

  The space occupying member 1 not only exists between the organic EL elements 3 and 3 adjacent to each other in the winding direction of the substrate 16, but also the two or more organic EL elements 3 adjacent to each other in the winding direction and the positions in the winding direction. 2 at least partially overlap with each other (the overlapping portion) indicated by R in FIG. 2, so that the flexible substrate 16 is abrupt between the adjacent organic EL elements 3 and 3 and the sides and corners of the organic EL element 3. Is more reliably prevented (see FIG. 3B).

  By arranging the space occupying member 1 in this way, it is possible to more reliably prevent the substrate 16 from being bent suddenly between the adjacent organic EL elements 3 and 3, particularly at the end of the organic EL element 3. Further, peeling of the sealing member 15 due to a difference in rigidity between the sealing layer 4 and the organic EL element 3 therebelow is more reliably prevented. Thereby, it is possible to prevent the performance of the organic EL panel 31 from being deteriorated due to peeling of the sealing member 15 and moisture entering the organic EL element 3 to generate dark spots or shrinkage (shrinkage). It is possible to maintain the performance.

  Further, by arranging the space occupying member 1 in this way, the organic EL element 3 can be prevented from falling between the adjacent organic EL elements 3 and 3 on the inner surface side of the roll. It becomes difficult for distortion to occur, and it becomes difficult for pressure due to the sides and corners of the sealed organic EL element 2 on the inner surface side of the roll to be generated. Thereby, the damage due to the pressure applied to the organic EL element 3 hardly occurs, and the performance of the organic EL panel 31 is maintained. In addition, the thickness and distribution of the adhesive layer 14 that bonds the organic EL element 3 and the sealing member 15 are less likely to be uneven, and the sealing performance is maintained, so that moisture cannot easily enter. Dark spots and shrinkage (shrinkage) generated as a result of moisture entering the organic EL element 3 are also reduced, and the performance of the organic EL panel 31 is maintained.

  Further, even in the case of the top emission type organic EL panel 31 that extracts light from the sealing member 15 side, a difference in the thickness of the sealed organic EL element 2 is unlikely to occur. The performance of the organic EL panel 31 is maintained.

(Arrangement 2)
As shown in FIG. 4, the space occupying member 1 may be formed continuously in the winding direction of the flexible substrate 16.
The space occupying member 1 is not only present between the organic EL elements 3 and 3 adjacent to each other in the winding direction of the substrate 16 but also continuously present on the side of the organic EL element 3. While being surely prevented from being bent suddenly between the organic EL elements 3 and 3 and being uniformly bent along the circumferential direction of the roll when being wound, the organic EL elements 3 are also suddenly bent at the central portion. To prevent bending. Further, the organic EL element 3 is reliably suppressed from falling between the adjacent organic EL elements 3 and 3 on the inner surface side of the roll.

  The effect similar to the said arrangement | positioning 1 is acquired also by setting it as such arrangement | positioning of the space occupation member 1. FIG. In addition, since sharp bending is prevented even at the center of the organic EL element 3, it is possible to prevent a large bending stress from being applied to the organic EL element 3, and the peeling of the sealing member 15 is more reliable. To be prevented. Therefore, the occurrence of dark spots and shrinkage (shrinkage) is further prevented, and the performance of the organic EL panel 31 can be further maintained.

(Arrangement 3)
As shown in FIG. 5, the space occupying member 1 may be formed along both the winding direction of the flexible substrate 16 and the width direction substantially orthogonal to the winding direction.

The length of the space occupying member 1 when the space occupying member 1 is formed along the winding direction of the flexible substrate 16 is not limited, but the length L1 of the space occupying member 1 in this case is the winding of the organic EL element 3. It is preferable that it is more than the length of one side along a taking direction.
The radial direction of the organic EL panel 31 wound up in a roll shape when the space occupying member 1 has a length equal to or longer than one side of the organic EL element 3 and is adjacent to at least the side of the organic EL element 3. Is sufficiently maintained, and the organic EL element 3 is prevented from falling between the organic EL elements 3 and 3 on the inner surface side of the roll.

There is no limitation on the length of the space occupying member 1 when the space occupying member 1 is formed along the width direction substantially perpendicular to the winding direction of the flexible substrate 16, but the length L2 of the space occupying member 1 in this case is The length is preferably equal to or longer than the length of one side along the width direction substantially orthogonal to the winding direction of the organic EL element 3.
The space occupying member 1 has a length equal to or longer than one side of the organic EL element 3 and is wound in a roll shape by being adjacent to the organic EL element 3 at least in the width direction substantially orthogonal to the winding direction. While maintaining sufficiently the radial interval of the organic EL panel 31, the organic EL element 3 is further suppressed from falling between the organic EL elements 3 and 3 on the inner surface side of the roll.

Furthermore, by arranging the space occupying member 1 around the organic EL element 3 on the flexible substrate 16, the rigidity of the entire flexible substrate 16 is made uniform, and the substrate 16 is prevented from being bent suddenly. Thereby, peeling of the sealing member 15 due to a difference in rigidity between the sealing layer 4 and the organic EL element 3 therebelow is prevented.
It is more preferable that the space occupying member 1 has a length equal to or longer than one side of the organic EL element 3 and extends in both directions to the adjacent organic EL elements 3 and 3. This prevents the substrate 16 from being bent suddenly at the end of the organic EL element 3, thereby further preventing the sealing member 15 from peeling off.

(Modification)
There are no limitations on the number and direction of formation of the space occupying members 1. For example, as shown in FIG. The space occupying member 1 may be disposed between the organic EL elements 3 and 3. Further, in addition to the arrangement of the space occupying member 1 of the arrangement 2 as shown in FIG. 7, the space occupying member 1 may be arranged between the organic EL elements 3 and 3 adjacent to each other in the winding direction of the flexible substrate 16. Good.

By adding the space occupying member 1 in the winding direction of the flexible substrate 16, the organic EL element 3 can be more reliably suppressed from falling between the adjacent organic EL elements 3 and 3 on the inner surface side of the roll. It is difficult for the organic EL element 3 to be distorted, and it is also difficult for pressure due to sides or corners of the sealed organic EL element 2 on the inner surface side of the roll to be generated. In addition, the thickness and distribution of the adhesive layer 14 that bonds the organic EL element 3 and the sealing member 15 are less likely to be uneven.
Therefore, damage due to pressure applied to the organic EL element 3 is less likely to occur, and the sealing performance is maintained, so that moisture is less likely to enter. Dark spots and shrinkage (shrinkage) generated as a result of moisture entering the organic EL element 3 are reduced, and the performance of the organic EL panel 31 is further maintained.

  The space occupying member 1 may be formed continuously in the width direction substantially orthogonal to the winding direction of the flexible substrate 16.

(material)
Although there is no restriction | limiting in the material which forms the space occupation member 1, It can form on the mother board | substrate 21 (refer FIG. 10) used as the support body of the flexible substrate 16 or the sealing member 15, and the wound organic It is preferable that the EL panel 31 is made of a material having a strength sufficient to maintain the radial interval of the EL panel 31 and suppress bending of the flexible substrate 16.
Examples of the material forming the space occupying member 1 include the same material as the sealing member 15 that seals the organic EL element 3. By making the material of the space occupying member 1 the same as that of the sealing member 15, it is not necessary to prepare a separate material. Further, since it becomes difficult for a large difference in rigidity between the sealed organic EL element 2 (sealing member 15) and the space occupying member 1 to occur, the organic EL panel 31 (substrate 16) can be uniformly wound up. Become. Thereby, the winding of the organic EL panel 31 wound up in a roll shape becomes difficult to collapse.

Further, by forming the adhesive layer 18 on the space occupying member 1, the thickness (height), size, and other shapes of the space occupying member 1 can be appropriately adjusted. The formation of the space occupying member 1 also requires cost reduction, for example, only the bonding onto the substrate 16 by the adhesive layer 18 is required.
The adhesive layer 18 has the same material and thickness (height) as the adhesive layer 14 described above, so that the space occupying member 1 in which the adhesive layer 18 is formed and the sealing member with the adhesive layer 14 15 can be made of the same material. Therefore, it is preferable that the adhesive layer 18 has the same material and thickness (height) as the above-described adhesive layer 14 from the viewpoint of improving workability and reducing costs.

(Cross-sectional shape)
The cross-sectional shape of the space occupying member 1 is not particularly limited. In the case where the material forming the space occupying member 1 is the same material as that of the sealing member 15, it is preferable that the material is the same as that of the sealing member 15 in consideration of reduction in manufacturing cost.
When the organic EL panel 31 (substrate 16) is wound up, the corners of the space occupying member 1 may be rounded so that the space occupying member 1 is difficult to peel off. Further, in order to reduce the pressure on the organic EL element 3 by the corners of the space occupying member 1, the corners on the upper surface of the space occupying member 1 may be rounded.

(thickness)
The thickness T (height) of the space occupying member 1 is not limited. Even if the thickness T of the space occupying member 1 is less than the sum of the thickness T1 of the organic EL element 3 and the thickness T2 of the sealing member 15 on the organic EL element 3, the rigidity is uniform due to the presence of the space occupying member 1 Thus, when the organic EL panel 31 (substrate 16) is wound up in a roll shape, the bending of the substrate 16 between the adjacent organic EL elements 3 and 3 can be alleviated. Further, even if the organic EL element 3 falls slightly between the adjacent organic EL elements 3 and 3 on the inner surface side of the roll, the organic EL element 3 is supported by the space occupying member 1 having a thickness T (height). It is possible to relieve the pressure on the.
Furthermore, the thickness T (height) of the space occupying member 1 is equal to the thickness T1 of the organic EL element 3 and the thickness T2 of the sealing member 15 on the organic EL element 3 as shown in FIG. The total is preferably 150% or less. Since the thickness T of the space occupying member 1 is equal to or greater than the sum of the thickness T1 of the organic EL element 3 and the thickness T2 of the sealing member 15 on the organic EL element 3, the height of the upper surface of the space occupying member 1 is increased. The height of the upper surface of the sealed organic EL element 2 can be made equal to or higher. As a result, it is possible to prevent a drop between adjacent organic EL elements 3 and 3 on the inner surface side of the roll, and to relieve pressure on the organic EL element 3. When the thickness T of the space occupying member 1 is 150% or less, it is possible to prevent the space occupying member 1 from being a convex portion and pressing the organic EL element 3.

(width)
When the space occupying member 1 is formed in the width direction substantially orthogonal to the winding direction of the flexible substrate 16, the width W2 (length in the winding direction) of the space occupying member 1 (see FIG. 5) considers the product yield. Then, 10% or more and 50% or less of the length of the organic EL element 3 in the winding direction is preferable. Moreover, if the width W2 of the space occupying member 1 is 10% or more, the effect of reducing the pressure due to the sides, corners, etc. of the sealed organic EL element 2 present in the wound organic EL panel 31 is more exhibited. .

  When the space occupying member 1 is formed in the winding direction of the flexible substrate 16, the width W1 of the space occupying member 1 (the length in the direction substantially perpendicular to the winding direction) (see FIG. 5) is not limited, but is a roll shape. It is preferable that the organic EL panel 31 (sealed organic EL element 2) wound around the width of the organic EL panel 31 has a width that can maintain the radial interval. Alternatively, it is preferable that the width W1 of the space occupying member 1 has a width that makes the rigidity uniform.

(interval)
The space in the winding direction of the flexible substrate 16 between the space occupying member 1 and the organic EL element 3 on the flexible substrate 16 is preferably as small as possible, and can be, for example, 5 mm or more.
If the space between the space occupying member 1 and the organic EL element 3 is 5 mm or more, the organic EL panel 31 can be easily cut out in a subsequent process.

  If the space between the space occupying member 1 and the organic EL element 3 is 10 mm or less, the organic EL element 3 is a space on the inner surface side of the roll-shaped substrate 16 when the organic EL panel 31 (substrate 16) is rolled up. It is difficult for the organic EL element 3 to fall between the occupying member 1 and the organic EL element 3, so that the organic EL element 3 is less likely to be distorted, and pressure is generated by the corners of the sealed organic EL element 2 and the space occupying member 1 on the inner surface of the roll. This is preferable because it becomes difficult to perform.

The distance between the space occupying member 1 on the flexible substrate 16 and the organic EL element 3 in the width direction substantially orthogonal to the winding direction of the flexible substrate 16 is preferably as small as possible, and can be, for example, 5 mm or more.
If the space between the space occupying member 1 and the organic EL element 3 is 5 mm or more, the organic EL panel 31 can be easily cut out in a subsequent process.

  If the space | interval of the space occupying member 1 and the organic EL element 3 is 10 mm or less, when the organic EL panel 31 is wound up in a roll shape, the organic EL element 3 is placed on the inner surface side of the roll, and the organic EL element 3 3, the organic EL element 3 is not easily distorted, and the organic EL element 3 on the inner surface side of the roll is not easily pressed by the corners of the sealed organic EL element 2 or the space occupying member 1.

[Arrangement of organic EL elements]
Although there is no restriction | limiting in the arrangement | positioning of the organic EL element 3, It is preferable to arrange | position regularly considering the cutting-out of the organic EL panel 31, etc.
In addition, it is also possible to make it difficult to cause damage to the organic EL panel 31 (organic EL element 3) by using the organic EL element 3 described later without using the space occupying member 1.

  FIG. 8 shows an arrangement state of organic EL elements in a modification of the method for manufacturing the organic EL panel 31 according to the present invention. FIG. 9 shows an arrangement state of organic EL elements in another modification of the method for manufacturing the organic EL panel 31 according to the present invention.

In this case, the organic electroluminescence element 3 is formed so as to exist on an arbitrary axis in the width direction substantially orthogonal to the winding direction of the flexible substrate 16. When at least one organic EL element 3 exists on an arbitrary axis in the width direction of the flexible substrate 16, when the organic EL panel 31 (substrate 16) is wound in a roll shape, the sealed organic EL element 2 itself As a result, the rigidity in the circumferential direction is made more uniform, thereby suppressing the rapid bending of the wound flexible substrate 16.
As a result, peeling of the sealing member 15 due to a difference in rigidity between the sealing layer 4 and the organic EL element 3 therebelow is prevented. As a result, the sealing member 15 is peeled off and moisture enters the organic EL element 3 to cause dark spots and shrinkage (shrinkage), thereby reducing the performance of the organic EL panel 31. Can be maintained.

More specifically, the organic electroluminescence elements 3 are preferably arranged in a staggered manner on the flexible substrate 16 as shown in FIG. By arranging the organic EL elements 3 on the substrate 16 in a staggered manner, a plurality of organic EL elements 3 exist on any axis in the width direction of the substrate 16, and the organic EL panel 31 (substrate 16) is wound up in a roll shape. At this time, rapid bending of the substrate 16 at a plurality of locations is suppressed.
Thereby, the collapse of the organic EL panel 31 wound up in a roll shape is further prevented, and the peeling of the sealing member 15 due to the difference in rigidity between the sealing layer 4 and the organic EL element 3 therebelow is further reduced. Is prevented. As a result, the performance of the organic EL panel 31 does not deteriorate without the performance of the organic EL panel 31 being deteriorated due to peeling of the sealing member 15 and moisture entering the organic EL element 3 to generate dark spots and shrinkage (shrinkage). Can be maintained.

Further, as shown in FIG. 9, the organic electroluminescent element 3 has an angle of more than 0 degree and less than 90 degrees, or more than 90 degrees and less than 180 degrees with respect to the winding direction of the flexible substrate 16. Are preferably arranged. By arranging the organic EL element 3 on the substrate 16 in this manner, a plurality of organic EL elements 3 exist on an arbitrary axis in the width direction of the substrate 16, and the organic EL panel 31 (substrate 16) is rolled. When winding up into a shape, sudden bending of the substrate 16 at a plurality of locations is suppressed.
Thereby, the collapse of the organic EL panel 31 wound up in a roll shape is further prevented, and the peeling of the sealing member 15 due to the difference in rigidity between the sealing layer 4 and the organic EL element 3 therebelow is further reduced. Is prevented. As a result, the performance of the organic EL panel 31 does not deteriorate without the performance of the organic EL panel 31 being deteriorated due to peeling of the sealing member 15 and moisture entering the organic EL element 3 to generate dark spots and shrinkage (shrinkage). Can be maintained.

  Further, the arrangement of the organic EL elements 3 and the space occupying member 1 can be combined to make it difficult for the organic EL panel 31 (organic EL element 3) to be damaged.

<Method for producing organic electroluminescence panel>
(Bonding process)
In the bonding step S106 (see FIG. 11), the organic EL element 3 on the flexible substrate 16 is bonded to the organic EL element 3 with the adhesive layer 14 to seal the organic EL element 3, and the organic on the substrate 16 is also organic. In this step, the space occupying member 1 is formed by bonding the space occupying member 1 with the adhesive layer 18 at a predetermined position in a space other than the space where the EL element 3 is formed.

  For example, as shown in FIG. 10, the flexible substrate 16 on which the organic EL elements 3 being conveyed at the same speed are formed, and the mother substrate 21 on which the sealing member 15 and the space occupying member 1 are arranged are supported by a support roll. The sealing member 15 is bonded to the organic EL element 3 on the flexible substrate 16 via the adhesive layer 14 by pressing with the bonding portion 54 having the bonding rolls 55 on the upper and lower sides through the flexible substrate 16. After the space occupying member 1 is bonded to the substrate via the adhesive layer 18, the mother substrate 21 is peeled off, wound around the take-up roll 56, and recovered to seal the organic EL element 3 and the space occupying member 1. Can be formed simultaneously. At this time, a peelable adhesive layer is formed on the mother substrate 21, and the sealing member 15 is disposed on the peelable adhesive layer at a position corresponding to the organic EL element 3 on the substrate 16, The space occupying member 1 is disposed at a position corresponding to a space other than the space where the organic EL element 3 is formed on the substrate 16. The mother substrate 21 is sent out from the feeding roll 51.

  In FIG. 10, a flexible substrate 16 on which the organic EL element 3 is formed (hereinafter also referred to as an organic EL element substrate 17), and a mother substrate 21 on which the sealing member 15 and the space occupying member 1 are disposed, Those wound in a roll shape are shown for convenience. However, without using the organic EL element substrate 17 in which the organic EL element 3 or the like is previously formed and wound in a roll shape, it is naturally possible to perform continuous bonding with other processes such as the formation of the organic EL element 3. In order to obtain the effects of the present invention, it is more preferable that the preparation from the flexible substrate 16 and the formation of the organic EL element 3 to the sealing of the organic EL element 3 are continuously performed.

  Note that the bonding of the space occupying member 1 is not limited to the bonding of the sealing member 15, and may be performed before or after the bonding of the sealing member 15. Bonding of the space occupying member 1 is not limited to batch bonding, and may be performed individually. The bonding method of the space occupying member 1 and the sealing member 15 is not limited to the method using the mother substrate 21.

Hereinafter, other steps of the method for manufacturing the organic EL panel 31 according to the present invention will be described.
FIG. 11 is a flowchart of the manufacturing method of the organic EL panel 31 according to the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 11, the manufacturing method of the organic EL panel 31 according to the present invention includes a light emitting layer forming step S114, a space occupying member manufacturing step S104, a bonding step S106, and the like. In the roll-to-roll manufacturing process, the flexible substrate 16 is fed out from the feed roll 53, and after forming the organic EL element 3 in the light emitting layer forming process S114 and the like, the sealing layer 4 is formed in the bonding process S106, and the space The occupying member 1 is bonded, and the flexible substrate 16 having the sealed organic EL element 2 and the space occupying member 1 is rolled up.
Hereinafter, the substrate preparation step S111 to the second electrode formation step S116 shown in FIG. 11 will be specifically described.

(Board preparation process)
For example, in the substrate preparation step S111, the flexible substrate 16 wound in a roll shape is fed to a cleaning unit, immersed in an ultrasonic cleaning tank and subjected to ultrasonic cleaning, and then rinsed with pure water in a rinsing tank. Rinse with a shower head and dry in the drying section.

  Thereafter, the transfer speed with the post-process is adjusted by the buffer unit, and is transferred to the plasma tank through the preliminary chamber a and the preliminary chamber b (both not shown). A gate valve for allowing the flexible substrate 16 (film) to pass therethrough is provided between each preliminary chamber entrance, between the preliminary chambers, and between the preliminary chamber and the plasma tank. The gate valve is provided with an orifice (a valve is preferably formed so that the gap can be adjusted) so that the surface of the flexible substrate 16, in particular, the surface on the organic EL element 3 formation side can be passed through without contact. As a result, the flexible substrate 16 is carried into the plasma tank after the decompression degree is adjusted by the differential pressure exhausting chamber, the further decompression preliminary chamber, and the differential decompression chamber.

  Each decompression preparatory chamber and the plasma chamber are differentially evacuated by a vacuum pump (not shown) provided so that the vacuum chamber required by the plasma chamber is changed from the atmospheric pressure environment to the plasma chamber. Adjusted.

In the plasma tank, the substrate 16 is cleaned with oxygen plasma in a vacuum environment of 1 × 10 ⁻⁴ Pa, for example.

  After the cleaning is performed, the flexible substrate 16 is then transferred to the first electrode formation step S112.

(First electrode forming step)
In the first electrode formation step S112, for example, the first electrode 11 (anode) having the extraction electrode portion is formed by a mask pattern film forming method. The mask pattern film forming method is, for example, a method of forming a film by using a mask having a necessary shape when ITO is formed on the flexible substrate 16 by sputtering as a material of the first electrode 11 (anode). Say.

(Hole transport layer forming process)
Next, in the hole transport layer forming step S113, a hole transport layer that is an organic compound is laminated on the entire surface of the first electrode 11 (anode) except for the portion that becomes the extraction electrode.

  It is preferable to carry out continuously in a vacuum environment from the preparation of the flexible substrate 16 to the formation of the hole transport layer. To carry out continuously means to be in a vacuum environment even when moving to the next stage. The step of forming the light emitting layer after the formation of the hole transport layer may not be in a vacuum environment. By continuously performing the formation of the hole transport layer in a vacuum environment, it is possible to prevent the foreign matter from adhering to the first electrode 11 (anode).

  Then, as will be described later, the light emitting layer, the electron transport layer, the electron injection layer, and the second electrode 13 (cathode) are formed on the hole transport layer formed as described above, and the organic EL element 3 is manufactured.

(Light emitting layer forming step)
In the light emitting layer forming step S114, the light emitting layer forming coating solution is applied on the hole transport layer excluding the take-out electrode portion of the flexible substrate 16 formed up to the hole transport layer, and the light emitting layer is formed through the drying section. The

  Usable wet coaters include, for example, die coating method, screen printing method, flexographic printing method, ink jet method, wire bar method, cap coating method, spray coating method, casting method, roll coating method, bar coating method, gravure coating. It is possible to use a coating machine such as a method. The use of these wet coating machines can be appropriately selected according to the material of the light emitting layer. In the case where the organic EL panel 31 is a full-color system, in order to pattern-apply the light emitting layer on the first electrode 11 (anode) in accordance with the pattern of the first electrode 11 (anode) formed by patterning, for example, It is possible to use various coating apparatuses used for an inkjet method, a flexographic printing method, an offset printing method, a gravure printing method, a screen printing method, a spray coating method using a mask, and the like.

(Electron injection layer forming process)
In the electron injection layer forming step S115, the electron injection layer is formed into a mask pattern on the light emitting layer already formed on the flexible substrate 16 continuously supplied from the feeding portion. The thickness of the electron injection layer is preferably in the range of 0.1 nm to 5 μm.

(Second electrode forming step)
In the second electrode formation step S116, the second electrode 13 (cathode) having an extraction electrode on the flexible substrate 16 continuously supplied from the electron injection layer formation step S115 is masked on the already formed electron injection layer. A pattern is formed. The sheet resistance as the second electrode 13 (cathode) is preferably several hundred Ω / □ or less, and the film thickness is usually selected in the range of 10 nm to 5 μm, preferably 50 to 200 nm. At this stage, the organic EL element 3 having a configuration of substrate / first electrode (anode) / hole transport layer / light emitting layer / electron injection layer / second electrode (cathode) is produced.

  In the above description of the second electrode (cathode) forming step S116 and the electron injection layer (cathode buffer layer) forming step S115, the case of the vapor deposition apparatus is shown, but the second electrode 13 (cathode) and the cathode buffer layer (electron injection layer) are shown. There is no particular limitation on the formation method of, for example, sputtering method, reactive sputtering method, molecular beam epitaxy method, cluster ion beam method, ion plating method, plasma polymerization method, atmospheric pressure plasma polymerization method, plasma CVD method, A laser CVD method, a thermal CVD method, a coating method, or the like can be used.

  Next, the sealing member material production process S101 to the arrangement process S105 shown in FIG. 11 will be described.

(Sealing member material production process)
The sealing member material manufacturing step S101 is a step of manufacturing the material of the sealing member 15 that seals the organic EL element 3, and here is also a step of manufacturing the material of the space occupying member 1.

  Here, the sealing member 15 is formed by bonding a sealing substrate that shields and protects moisture and oxygen from the external environment and a barrier layer. For example, after a sheet-like adhesive is placed on a long substrate, a metal thin film is stacked as a barrier layer and bonded by a dry laminating method. In addition, it can be obtained by a wet laminating method using a liquid adhesive.

(Adhesive layer forming process)
The adhesive layer forming step S <b> 102 is a step of forming the adhesive layer 14 that adheres to the organic EL element 3 on the material of the sealing member 15. For example, a method of pasting a thermosetting sheet-like adhesive by a dry laminating method can be mentioned. In addition, it can be obtained by a wet laminating method using a liquid adhesive.

(Sealing member manufacturing process)
In the sealing member manufacturing step S103, the sealing member 15 with the adhesive layer 14 that seals the organic EL element 3 by cutting the material of the sealing member 15 formed up to the adhesive layer 14 into a predetermined size is manufactured. It is a process to do.
The size of the sealing member 15 includes a part of the first electrode 11 and the second electrode 13 excluding the light emitting region of the organic EL element 3 formed on the flexible substrate 16 and the external output terminal forming part. It is preferable that

  There is no restriction | limiting in particular in the method to cut the raw material of the sealing member 15 to a predetermined magnitude | size, For example, a hollow blade system, a punch die system, etc. can be used. The hollow blade method is a blade that is punched with a blade from above, and has a blade edge angle of about 30 ° when punched. The punch die method uses a die having a pair of upper and lower blades, and the angle of the upper and lower blades is around 90 °. The punch die method is preferable because of the durability of the blade.

(Space-occupying member manufacturing process)
The material of the space occupying member 1 is not limited, and when the space occupying member 1 is the same material as the sealing member 15, the space occupying member producing step S104 is the sealing member produced in the material producing step S101 of the sealing member. 15 is a step of cutting the 15 materials into a predetermined size to produce the space occupying member 1 with the adhesive layer 18. There is no restriction | limiting in particular in the method of cutting the raw material of the sealing member 15, The means similar to sealing member preparation process S103 is employable.

(Arrangement process)
In the disposing step S105, the space occupying member 1 is disposed at a predetermined position corresponding to a space other than the space where the organic EL element 3 on the substrate 16 is formed on the peelable adhesive layer of the mother substrate 21, and the flexible substrate 16 In this step, the sealing member 15 is disposed at a position corresponding to the upper organic EL element 3.
The arrangement of the sealing member 15 and the space occupying member 1 is performed by, for example, a robot having a suction pad.

The bonding step S106 is as described above.
Then, the winding process S107 and the adhesive layer curing process S108 shown in FIG. 11 will be described.

(Winding process)
In this way, the sealed organic EL element 3 and the flexible substrate 16 on which the space occupying member 1 is sequentially formed sequentially pass through a spare chamber having a gate valve for adjusting the degree of decompression, and are thereby differentially exhausted. The decompression is gradually released, the vacuum is removed from the vacuum environment to the atmospheric pressure environment, and the paper is wound up in a roll shape by the winding roll 57 in the winding step S107. Thereafter, the wound roll is conveyed to the next step.

The winding step S107 is a step in which the organic EL element 3 is sealed in the bonding step S106 and the substrate 16 (organic EL panel 31) on which the space occupying member 1 is bonded is wound in a roll shape. . The organic EL panel 31 wound up in a roll shape may be temporarily stored in a wound state until it is sent to the adhesive layer curing step S108.
Since the organic EL element 3 is sealed in the bonding step S <b> 106, complicated tension control and speed control for the purpose of non-contacting the organic EL element 3 are performed when the organic EL panel 31 is wound up. It is unnecessary.
By arranging the space occupying member 1 on the flexible substrate 16, the rigidity of the portion of the organic EL panel 31 where the sealed organic EL element 2 is formed and the other portions (the portion where the space occupying member 1 is formed). Etc.) is reduced. The rigidity of the organic EL panel 31 is also made uniform as a whole by reducing a partial change. Therefore, the organic EL panel 31 (flexible substrate 16) can be wound into a uniform roll even if the winding tension is weak. Since the wound organic EL panel 31 is uniform, it is difficult for the organic EL panels 31 to be rubbed and damaged.

(Adhesive layer curing process)
In the adhesive layer curing step S108, the organic EL element substrate 17 to which the sealing member 15 and the space occupying member 1 are bonded is sent out from the roll wound in the winding step S107, and the adhesive layer 14 and The adhesive layer 18 is cured.

  When the material constituting the adhesive layer 14 and the adhesive layer 18 is a photocurable resin, examples of the curing means include an active energy ray that is an ultraviolet ray or an electron beam. Examples of active energy rays include ultraviolet rays and electron beams. Examples of the active energy ray source include an ultraviolet LED, an ultraviolet laser, a mercury arc lamp, a xenon arc lamp, a low-pressure mercury lamp, a fluorescent lamp, a carbon arc lamp, a tungsten-halogen copying lamp, and sunlight.

  Moreover, when the material which comprises the adhesive bond layer 14 and the adhesive bond layer 18 is a thermosetting resin, as a hardening means, it is hardened by heating to desired temperature using a heat provision means. Examples of the heating means include a heating fan, a surface heater, a heating roller, a heating belt, radiant heat heating such as a halogen heater and a far infrared heater.

(Division of manufacturing process)
The division position of the manufacturing process is preferably after the bonding step S106 in which the organic EL element 3 is protected by the sealing layer 4. In addition, since the organic EL element 3 before sealing is very sensitive to oxygen and moisture, it is preferable to seal as soon as possible.
On the other hand, if the adhesive layer curing step S108 for curing the adhesive layer 14 of the sealing layer 4 in the manufacture of the organic EL panel 31 is also performed continuously after the bonding step S106, the production line is for some reason such as a failure in the previous step. The heating time becomes unstable when stagnation occurs. As a result, for example, when the material constituting the adhesive layer 14 is a thermosetting resin, the heating time of the sealing member 15 is insufficient and the curing of the sealing member 15 becomes insufficient, or If the heating time is excessive, the performance of the organic EL panel 31 is degraded. For this reason, dividing the process between the winding process S107 and the adhesive layer curing process S108 is also preferable in securing the performance of the organic EL panel 31.

<Modification>
[Space-occupying member]
As described above, the material for forming the space occupying member 1 is not limited. As a modification, a case where the space occupying member 1 is made of a resin different from the sealing member 15 will be described.
For example, when the space occupying member 1 is made of a resin different from the sealing member 15, a resin or the like is attached to the organic EL element substrate 17 at a position that does not interfere with the organic EL element 3 (sealed organic EL element 2). Thus, the space occupying member 1 may be manufactured.

  Specifically, a discharge port for supplying a liquid resin on the mother substrate 21 that supports the sealing member 15 is provided on the production line, and the mother substrate 21 that does not interfere with the organic EL element 3 on the organic EL element substrate 17. After the liquid resin is disposed at the upper position, the liquid resin is attached from the mother substrate 21 to the position on the flexible substrate 16 that does not interfere with the organic EL element 3 on the organic EL element substrate 17 in the bonding step S106. Alternatively, a discharge port for supplying a liquid resin onto the organic EL element substrate 17 is provided on the production line, and the liquid resin is attached at a position where the organic EL element 3 does not interfere with the organic EL element substrate 17. And the space occupation member 1 is produced in adhesive bond layer hardening process S108.

The liquid resin used here is preferably a resin that cures under the same curing conditions as the photo-curing or thermosetting adhesive forming the adhesive layer 14. In this way, since the space occupying member 1 can be produced simultaneously with the curing of the adhesive layer 14 in the adhesive layer curing step S108, the number of manufacturing steps can be reduced, the manufacturing cost can be reduced, and the manufacturing speed can be reduced. Improvement is possible.
In this modification, the space occupying member production step S104 is included in the arrangement step S105.

[Production method]
The manufacture of the organic EL panel 31 may be returned to atmospheric pressure after the second electrode is formed in the second electrode formation step S116. Since the work under reduced pressure is reduced, the manufacturing becomes easy, the manufacturing cost can be reduced, and the manufacturing speed can be improved.

  As described above, according to the method for manufacturing an organic EL panel according to the present invention, the performance of the organic EL panel when winding is performed after the sealing member is bonded to each of the plurality of organic EL elements on the flexible substrate. The decrease can be suppressed.

  Examples in which the effects of the present invention are confirmed will be described below. In addition, this invention is not limited to this Example.

<Example 1>
With the method shown below, the first electrode, the hole transport layer, the light emitting layer, the electron transport layer, and the second electrode formed on the flexible substrate in this order are sealed with a sealing member, An organic EL panel on which a space occupying member was formed was prepared and wound up.

[Production of organic EL element]
(Production of flexible substrate)
As a flexible substrate, a polyethylene terephthalate film having a thickness of 100 μm (manufactured by Teijin DuPont Films Co., Ltd., hereinafter abbreviated as PET as appropriate) is formed on the entire surface on the side where the first electrode is formed. An inorganic gas barrier film was continuously formed using an atmospheric pressure plasma discharge treatment apparatus so as to have a thickness of 500 nm made of SiOx. As a result, a gas barrier band-shaped flexible substrate having an oxygen permeability of 0.001 ml / m ² / day or less and a water vapor permeability of 0.001 ml / m ² / day or less was produced.

(Formation of the first electrode)
A first element made of ITO (indium tin oxide) having an element region of about 30 mm wide × 60 mm long and having a thickness of 120 nm on a gas barrier belt-like flexible substrate under a vacuum condition of 5 × 10 ⁻¹ Pa by sputtering. Electrodes were formed continuously at regular intervals in 4 rows.

(Formation of hole transport layer)
N, N'-diphenyl-N, N'-m-tolyl-4,4'-diamino was used as a hole transport layer forming material under vacuum conditions of 5 × 10 ⁻⁴ Pa by vapor deposition (vapor phase deposition). -1,1′-biphenyl was deposited on the first electrode 11 to form a hole transport layer having a thickness of 30 nm.

  Next, the light emitting layer, the electron injection layer, and the second electrode 13 were laminated on the hole transport layer formed above according to the following conditions to produce an organic EL element substrate 17 and wound into a roll.

(Formation of light emitting layer)
The light emitting layer forming coating solution was applied by a wet coating method using an extrusion coating machine so that the thickness after drying was 100 nm. After forming the light emitting layer, it was cooled to the same temperature as room temperature. The conveyance speed was 2 m / min.
The surface tension of the coating solution for forming a light emitting layer was 32 × 10 ⁻³ N / m. The surface tension of the coating solution for forming the light emitting layer was measured with a surface tension meter CBVP-A3 manufactured by Kyowa Interface Chemical Co., Ltd.

A carbazole derivative (CBP) and a dopant material Ir (ppy) ₃ as a host material were stacked by a co-evaporation method to a thickness of 40 nm.

The glass transition temperature of the light emitting layer was 225 degreeC. The glass transition temperature (Tg) was measured by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) using DSC-6220 manufactured by Seiko Instruments Inc. according to JIS K7121.
In this embodiment, a material having green light emission is used. However, it is possible to produce a white organic EL element by further depositing using blue, red and dopant materials.

(Formation of electron injection layer)
LiF is deposited on the light emitting layer as a material for forming an electron injection layer under a vacuum condition of 5 × 10 ⁻⁴ Pa by a vapor deposition method (vapor phase deposition method) to form an electron injection layer (LiF layer) having a thickness of 0.5 nm. did. The thickness of the layer was measured by using a stylus type surface shape measuring device dektakXT manufactured by BRUKER at the film forming step portion.

(Formation of second electrode layer)
Deposited on the electron injection layer by mask pattern film formation using aluminum as the second electrode forming material under vacuum condition of 5 × 10 ⁻⁴ Pa by vapor deposition method (vapor phase deposition method) so as to have the extraction electrode Thus, a second electrode layer having a thickness of 100 nm was formed.
Thus, an organic EL element was produced.

(Preparation of sealing member material)
Polyester-based polyethylene terephthalate film (manufactured by Teijin DuPont Films Co., Ltd.) as a sealing member material (sealing substrate) and 7.0 μm thick conductive aluminum foil as a barrier layer By joining by a dry laminating method using an adhesive, a raw material for a sheet-like sealing member having a two-layer structure was produced to form a long roll. The thickness of the sealing member material (sealing substrate) after bonding was 110 μm.

The produced sealing member material had a water vapor permeability of 0.01 g / m ² / day and an oxygen permeability of 0.1 ml / m ² / day · MPa. Water vapor permeability was measured by MOCON method based on JIS K 7129B method (1992), and oxygen permeability was measured by MOCON method based on JIS K 7126B method (1987).

(Formation of adhesive layer)
A thermosetting sheet-like adhesive (1600 series manufactured by ThreeBond Co., Ltd.) was bonded to the produced sealing member material by a dry laminating method to form an adhesive layer having a thickness of 20 μm.

(Bonding of organic EL element and sealing member)
The material of the produced sealing member with the sealing adhesive layer was cut into a size of about 30 mm width × about 60 mm length (in the winding direction) for the sealing member. Further, it was cut into a size of about 5 mm wide × about 60 mm long (in the winding direction) for the space occupying member. A Thomson type machined to the above size was used for cutting.

The bonding portion between the organic EL element substrate and the sealing member has a structure in which the organic EL element substrate and the sealing member are stacked and bonded between a pair of bonding rolls.
Place the sealing member so that the adhesive layer surface of the sealing member is in contact with the organic EL element region on the organic EL element substrate, similarly place the space occupying member in the arrangement as shown in FIG. Then, an organic EL panel was produced by rolling and pressure bonding with a pressure of 0.2 MPa and winding. The core diameter for winding was 75 mm, the tension was 19.6 N, and the production length was 100 m.

< Reference example >
An organic EL panel is manufactured in the same manner as in Example 1 except that the space occupying member has a width of about 5 mm and the space occupying member is arranged continuously in the winding direction of the substrate as shown in FIG. did.

<Example 3>
The size of the space occupying member is width W1 = W2 = about 5 mm, length L1 = about 60 mm, L2 = about 30 mm, and the space occupying member is arranged around the organic EL element as shown in FIG. An organic EL panel similar to Example 1 was produced.

<Comparative example>
A comparative organic EL panel without a space occupying member was also produced.

(Evaluation of organic EL panel)
After laminating the sealing member, the rolled roll of the organic EL panel (Examples 1 to 3 and Comparative Example) is transported through the heating section (120 ° C.) of the organic EL panel production line for 10 minutes and heated. As a result, the adhesive layer was cured. The adhesion state of the sealing member of this organic EL panel and the damage state of the sealing member were observed at a magnification of 30 times using an optical microscope MK-S30A manufactured by Saito Optical Co., Ltd.

In each of Examples 1 to 3, the end of the sealing member was peeled off, and no indentation of the sealing member was observed.
On the other hand, in each of the comparative examples, there was an element in which the end of the sealing member was peeled off and an indentation was observed when wound up.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Space occupying member 2 Sealed organic EL element 3 Organic EL element 4 Sealing layer 11 1st electrode 12 Organic functional layer 13 2nd electrode 14 Adhesive layer 15 Sealing member 16 Flexible substrate 17 Organic EL element substrate 18 Adhesive Layer 21 Mother substrate 31 Organic EL panel 32 Organic EL panel 51 Feed roll 52 Support roll 53 Feed roll 54 Laminating section 55 Laminating roll 56 Winding roll 57 Winding roll R Overlapping portion T Thickness T1 Thickness T2 Thickness

Claims (8)

By roll-to-roll method,
Each of the plurality of organic electroluminescence elements in the organic electroluminescence element substrate in which a plurality of organic electroluminescence elements having at least a first electrode, a light emitting layer, and a second electrode are formed on a long flexible substrate. After pasting the sealing member to
A method of manufacturing an organic electroluminescence panel that winds up the organic electroluminescence element substrate,
After arranging a space occupying member occupying at least a part of the space other than the space where the organic electroluminescence element is formed on the flexible substrate,
The organic electroluminescence element substrate is wound up,
The space occupying member partially overlaps the position of the two organic electroluminescence elements provided adjacent to each other in the winding direction in the winding direction. The space occupied by members method of producing an organic electroluminescent panel according to claim 1, characterized in that it is formed along both the width direction perpendicular to the winding direction and the winding direction. The length of the space occupying member formed along the winding direction is not less than the length of one side along the winding direction of the organic electroluminescence element,
The length of the space occupying member formed along the width direction orthogonal to the winding direction is not less than the length of one side along the width direction orthogonal to the winding direction of the organic electroluminescence element. The manufacturing method of the organic electroluminescent panel of Claim 2 characterized by the above-mentioned.   The method for manufacturing an organic electroluminescence panel according to claim 1, wherein the planar shape of the space occupying member is a quadrangle, and the corners thereof are rounded. By roll-to-roll method,
Each of the plurality of organic electroluminescence elements in the organic electroluminescence element substrate in which a plurality of organic electroluminescence elements having at least a first electrode, a light emitting layer, and a second electrode are formed on a long flexible substrate. After pasting the sealing member to
A method of manufacturing an organic electroluminescence panel that winds up the organic electroluminescence element substrate,
After arranging a space occupying member occupying at least a part of the space other than the space where the organic electroluminescence element is formed on the flexible substrate,
The organic electroluminescence element substrate is wound up,
The space occupied member, manufacturing method of the organic electroluminescence panel you wherein the material and cross-sectional shape is the same as the sealing member. The organic material according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the space occupying member has a thickness that is equal to or greater than a total thickness of the organic electroluminescence element and a thickness of the sealing member. Manufacturing method of electroluminescence panel. By roll-to-roll method,
Each of the plurality of organic electroluminescence elements in the organic electroluminescence element substrate in which a plurality of organic electroluminescence elements having at least a first electrode, a light emitting layer, and a second electrode are formed on a long flexible substrate. After pasting the sealing member to
A method of manufacturing an organic electroluminescence panel that winds up the organic electroluminescence element substrate,
After arranging a space occupying member occupying at least a part of the space other than the space where the organic electroluminescence element is formed on the flexible substrate,
The organic electroluminescence element substrate is wound up,
Lamination of the sealing member to the organic electroluminescent element on the flexible substrate, and, after placement of the space occupied by member to the flexible substrate at the same time, organic characterized in that winding Manufacturing method of electroluminescence panel. The space occupying member and the sealing member are disposed on a mother substrate serving as a support thereof,
By transferring the space occupying member on the mother substrate and the sealing member to the organic electroluminescence element substrate,
Sealing with the sealing member of the organic electroluminescence element;
The method for manufacturing an organic electroluminescence panel according to claim 7, wherein the space occupying member is disposed on the flexible substrate at the same time and then wound.

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