KR100619711B1 - E-paper panel and side-wall manufacturing method thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a two-paper panel and a method for manufacturing the partition wall. In the related art, a partition wall is formed directly on a substrate using a photoresist, a photosensitive polymer, or the like, or a partition is manufactured from the outside using a polymer material or a film. Since it is often used to adhere to the substrate, such as a dark color, and the side has a flat structure. Therefore, the light incident from the outside is absorbed by the partition wall, and the light reflected by the inner toner particles is also absorbed by the partition wall. Therefore, the contrast performance is deteriorated due to the driving principle of the E-paper that reflects the external light to implement visual expression. There was nothing but a problem. In view of the above problems, the present invention forms a partition with a polymer white material, and then sprays and fuses diffusion beads for reflecting light on the side of the partition with high efficiency so that the side structures of the partition have an embossed shape. The external light is not absorbed into the partition wall and reflected with high efficiency, thereby increasing the contrast performance of the cell.

Description

E-PAPER PANEL AND SIDE-WALL MANUFACTURING METHOD THEREOF}

1 is a cross-sectional view showing a conventional two-paper panel structure.

Figure 2a to 2f is a cross-sectional view showing a conventional process for manufacturing a two-paper panel.

3 is a cross-sectional view showing an external light absorption state by a partition of a conventional two-paper panel.

4 is a cross-sectional view showing features of an embodiment of the present invention.

Figures 5a to 5b is a perspective view showing a procedure of manufacturing a partition wall of an embodiment of the present invention.

6a to 6b is a cross-sectional view showing a process of manufacturing a partition wall of another embodiment of the present invention.

*** Explanation of symbols for main parts of drawing ***

10: lower substrate 20: lower electrode

30: lower insulating layer 40: partition wall

50: toner particles 60: upper substrate

70: upper electrode 80: upper insulating layer

100: white bulkhead 110: diffusion beads

200: bead spray nozzle

The present invention relates to a two-paper panel and a method for manufacturing the partition wall, and in particular, to form a partition wall of the collision charging type two-paper panel by embossed white polymer material to maximize the reflection efficiency of the external light and its It is related with a manufacturing method of a partition.

With the necessity of various display devices, E-paper technology has been developed that can provide a clear image quality for a long time with smaller driving power.

E-paper technology uses the rapid movement of microparticles by an electric field to electrostatically move charged particles suspended in a certain space to display colors. Removing the particles does not change the position of the particles, so that the image does not disappear, as if printed on paper with ink. In other words, it does not emit light by itself, but the visual fatigue is very low, so it is possible to enjoy comfortable viewing like a real book, and the panel's flexibility is high enough to bend and the thickness can be formed very thin. Expecting. In addition, as mentioned above, since the image displayed once is maintained for a long time unless the panel is reset, the power consumption is extremely low, and thus the utility as a portable display device is excellent. In particular, low prices due to simple processes and low cost materials are expected to contribute to the popularization of e-paper panels.

1 is a cross-sectional view of a conventional collision-charged two-paper panel using dry particles, the structure of which is the upper and lower substrates formed with transparent electrodes (ITO) 20, 70 coated with an insulating layer (30, 80) The partition walls 40 are formed between the fields 10 and 60, and the toner particles charged and the toner particles 50 charged in the space secured by the partition walls 40 are relatively simple. .

The thickness of the lower substrate 10 and the upper substrate 60 is not limited, but since the toner particles 50 must be moved by the electrostatic force, the thickness of the actual partition wall 40 (tens of tens to hundreds of micrometers) or the toner particles 50 is not limited. Note that the size of is very small. In addition, the thickness of the transparent upper and lower electrodes 20 and 70 is much thinner than that of the upper and lower substrates 10 and 20, and the thicknesses of the electrodes 20 and 70 and the toner particles 50 may be reduced. Note that the thickness of the insulating layer 30 coated on the electrodes 20 and 70 is also thin so as to prevent electron movement by contact.

Referring to the principle of operation of the two-paper structured as described above, it is first assumed that the black toner particles are positively charged, and that the white toner particles are negatively charged (which may be oppositely charged). First, when a negative voltage is applied to the upper electrode 70 and a positive voltage is applied to the lower electrode 20, white particles positively charged by the coulomb force move toward the upper substrate 60, and the negatively charged black particles Move toward the lower substrate 10. Since the white toner particles 50 are located on the upper substrate 60 side, they appear white when viewed from the outside. On the contrary, when + voltage is applied to the upper electrode 70 and-voltage is applied to the lower electrode 20, the negatively charged black particles move toward the upper substrate 60, and the positively charged white particles move to the lower substrate 10. It will move to) and display in black. Therefore, after applying a voltage so that all the cells appear white at first, only the desired cell is applied with the opposite voltage so that the cells appear black.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a process of manufacturing a conventional dry two-paper panel shown in FIG. 1.

First, as illustrated in FIG. 2A, a transparent lower electrode 20 and an insulating layer 30 are sequentially formed on the lower substrate 10. Since the basic electrode structure of the e-paper panel is a matrix structure, the lower electrode 20 has a shape similar to the perspective view shown on the right side. It is preferable that the transparent electrode is ITO, and there is no problem in driving even if the insulating layer 30 applied thereon is omitted. However, when the toner particles are in close contact with the electrode and electron movement occurs, the memory effect is reduced. It may be difficult to preserve an image for a long time without applying power, so it is desirable to apply it.

As shown in FIG. 2B, a partition wall 40 is formed on the substrate. Since the barrier 40 is simply used to distinguish cell units, the material may be a polymer, an inorganic material, or the like. In general, a method for configuring the barrier 40 includes photolithography using photoresist. The method, the method using a photosensitive polymer, the laminating method of cutting and bonding the pre-made material can be used, the color of the partition wall is not limited. In the case of the adhesion may be applied on the bottom plate pre-formed in the manner of ultraviolet adhesive and ultraviolet irradiation. The general partition 40 has a lattice structure as shown in the right perspective view.

As shown in FIG. 2C, negatively charged toner particles 50 using a corona discharge lamp are injected into a nozzle and injected into a space separated by the partition wall 40. At this time, by applying a positive voltage to the lower electrode 20 or a means for applying a positive electric field to the lower portion of the substrate 10 so that the toner particles 50 injected can easily reach the inside of the partition 40. . The toner particles 50 have an additive material for controlling charging characteristics internally, and when the toner particles 50 collide with each other, the charging characteristics appear. When you apply AC, you will be able to find your match characteristics.

As shown in FIG. 2D, the toner particles 50a disposed on the partition 40 are removed by various methods. The most common method is to adsorb and remove toner particles 50a on the top of the partition wall 40 using an adhesive roller or the like, and after the toner jet is finished with a separate mask disposed on the top of the wall 40. The method of removing the mask can also be used.

As shown in FIG. 2E, the transparent upper electrode 70 and the upper insulating layer 80 are sequentially formed on the transparent upper substrate 60 in the same process as the lower plate for use as the upper plate. In this case, the upper electrode 70 may also have a structure as shown in FIG. 2A, but has a direction perpendicular to the lower electrode.

As shown in FIG. 2F, the formed upper plates 60, 70, and 80 are disposed on the lower plates 10, 20, 30, and the partition 40, and joined to each other. Then, if necessary, by repeatedly applying the opposite voltage to each electrode, the toners 50 are moved and run to each other so as to be negatively or positively charged, respectively.

The dry two-paper panel is superior to the conventional liquid phase in terms of response speed and ease of processing, but a systematic manufacturing method has not yet been established. In particular, since the partition wall uses various materials and various colors arbitrarily, the contrast performance of the E-paper panel, which allows the panel image to be visually confirmed by the external reflected light, is also low in reliability.

3 illustrates the external light reflection form of the lower panel of the panel in which the partition wall 40 is formed in the above-described conventional manner. In the related art, the partition wall 40 is formed directly on a substrate using a photoresist, a photosensitive polymer, or the like. Since the barrier rib is manufactured from the outside using a material or a film, and the like is bonded to the substrate, it is often manufactured in a dark color, and both sides have a flat structure. As a result, the light incident on the outside is absorbed by the partition wall 40, and the light reflected by the inner toner particles is also absorbed by the partition wall 40. There was a problem that the phase contrast performance is inevitably deteriorated.

According to the present invention for solving the above problems, the side wall structure of the partition wall is embossed by spraying and fusing a diffusion bead for reflecting light with high efficiency after forming the partition wall with a polymer white material. The purpose of the present invention is to provide a two-paper panel and a method of manufacturing the partition wall, which allow the external light to be reflected at high efficiency without being absorbed into the partition wall, thereby increasing the contrast performance of the cell.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention and the lower substrate formed electrode; A white partition wall positioned above the lower substrate on which the electrode is formed, and having a side surface having an embossed structure; Toner particles injected into the cell area divided by the white partition wall; And an upper substrate having an upper electrode bonded to the upper portion of the white partition.

The white partition wall is formed of a material containing a high purity acrylic resin (PMMA), acrylic material, polystyrene, polyester material.

In addition, the present invention provides a method for producing a partition wall to be formed on the lower plate of the two-paper panel, comprising the steps of: patterning a polymer white panel to be used as the partition wall; And applying a mask to the patterned structure, then spraying and heat treating the polymer diffusion beads to fuse the diffusion beads to the side of the structure.

The present invention as described above will be described in detail through one embodiment as follows.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view illustrating an embodiment of the present invention, and as shown, the white beads 110 fused to the side surface of the white partition wall structure 100 by an embossing structure may be identified. When the barrier rib structure 100 is manufactured in white, external light can be effectively reflected, and when the embossing structure is formed on the side where the light is reflected, effective scattering of external light and scattering of light reflected by the toner particles inside the cell are achieved. The characteristics can also be improved, so that the displayed image becomes clear.

Due to the operation characteristics of the e-paper which reflects the external light and displays the image by the difference in reflectance, the reflection of the external light inside the cell is inextricably related to the contrast characteristic of the display image. If the light is evenly reflected by the side embossing structure, the image becomes clear. If only the partition wall is made white without embossing structure, the incident light is reflected and the part where strong external light is strongly exposed is easily exposed to the partition wall so that the whole cell becomes bright even if strong incident light is scattered through the embossing structure. Must be configured

The white beads 110 generally refer to diffusion white grains applied to a diffusion film for the purpose of diffusing light, which are sprayed onto a white film and then fused through heat treatment to diffuse light of a backlight or a light emitting diode display. It is applied to the top plate printing film of an element (graphical LED module element).

In the present invention, the diffusion white bead 110 is directly applied to the side surface of the structure having the partition wall pattern, and then heat-treated and fused to form the white partition wall having the side surface of the embossed structure. The white bead 110 is mainly formed of a polymer material, and made of a material including high purity acrylic resin (PMMA), an acrylic material, polystyrene, and a polyester material, and forming a partition pattern to be fused with the white bead 110. The structure 100 is also formed by patterning the white panel of the same material. This is to improve the mutual fusion properties using a material having the same melting point.

That is, the barrier rib structures 100 and 110 having the embossed side as described above are first polymer polymer panels (panels having a thickness (bulk thickness) of several tens to hundreds of micrometers) by various physicochemical techniques such as punching, etching, and sand blasting. After patterning to form a partition structure, the white bead 110 is formed by spraying and heat treating the structure.

Masking process and order in which the partition structures 100 and 110 are adhered to the lower plates 10, 20 and 30 or the white beads 110 are not fused onto the patterned panel structure 100 having the partition structure. Can vary depending on the embodiment. For example, the white bead 110 may be bonded to the lower plate after forming the partition wall structure 100 in which the white beads 110 are fused to the side surface, and the panel structure 100 patterned as the partition wall structure is bonded to the lower plate and then white. The beads 100 may be sprayed and heat treated to form sidewalls of the embossed structure in a state of being bonded to the lower plate. In addition, the masking process may be performed immediately before the injection after the injection of the white beads 100, or may be removed after the heat treatment, or may be removed during the heat treatment process.

Some of the various embodiments will then be identified through process flow cross-sectional views.

5A to 5B illustrate a process of forming a barrier rib structure having an embossed side by a separate process. As shown in FIG. 5A, a polymer white panel is patterned to form a panel structure 100 on which a barrier rib pattern is formed. Apply a mask (MSK) layer on top and bottom (may be absent).

Then, as shown in FIG. 5B, the white bead 110 is sprayed on the panel structure 100 to which the mask layer is applied through the bead jet nozzle 200 and heat treated, and then the mask layer MSK is separated to have an embossed side surface. Form a bulkhead structure. As described above, the separation point of the mask (MSK) layer may be any time during the heat treatment immediately after the injection, after the heat treatment, and the like. Thereafter, the formed barrier rib structures 100 and 110 are bonded to the lower plate through ultraviolet bonding means or the like.

6A to 6B illustrate a case in which the panel structure 100 having the partition pattern formed on the lower plate is first bonded and then the white beads 110 are fused.

First, as shown in FIG. 6A, the polymer white panel is patterned to form a panel structure in which a partition pattern is formed, and then bonded on the lower plates 10, 20, 30 through various methods, and then the panel. A mask (MSK) layer is applied to protect the upper portion of the structure 100 and the white beads 110 are sprayed through the bead spray nozzles 200.

Then, the heat treatment as shown in Figure 6b to fuse the white bead 110 to the panel structure (100). The white bead 110 is easily melted and fused because of its small particle size, and is easily fused with the panel structure 100 made of the same material, so that the lower electrode 20 on the substrate 10 has a higher melting point than the white bead 110. ) Or the insulating layer 30 is not easily fused. Removal of the mask layer MSK may be performed at various times as described above.

As described above, by applying a white partition wall having an embossed structure on the side surface, it is possible to reflect the external light with high efficiency and to scatter the reflected light to maintain the brightness of the cell so as to increase the contrast performance of the display image.

As described above, in the present invention, the two-paper panel and the partition wall manufacturing method thereof form a partition wall made of a polymer white material, and then spray and fuse the diffusion beads for reflecting light on the side walls of the partition wall with high efficiency to form the side wall structure of the partition wall. By having an embossed shape, external light is reflected by a high efficiency without being absorbed into the partition wall, thereby increasing the contrast performance of the cell.

Claims (7)

A lower substrate on which electrodes are formed; A white partition wall positioned above the lower substrate on which the electrode is formed, and having a side surface having an embossed structure; Toner particles injected into the cell area divided by the white partition wall; And an upper substrate having an upper electrode bonded to the upper portion of the white partition wall. The two-paper panel of claim 1, wherein the embossing structure and the partition structure on the side of the white partition wall are formed of a polymer material of the same material. The two-paper panel of claim 2, wherein the white partition wall is formed of a material including high purity acrylic resin (PMMA), acrylic material, polystyrene, and polyester material. In the method of manufacturing a partition to be formed on the upper plate of the e-paper panel, Patterning a polymer white panel to be used as a partition wall; And applying a mask to the patterned structure, and then spraying and heat-treating the polymer diffusion beads to fuse the diffusion beads to the side surfaces of the structure. 5. The method of claim 4, wherein the mask is removed at any point during the heat treatment process, depending on the fusion of the diffusion beads and the structure. The method of claim 4, wherein the spraying and heat treatment of the diffusion beads on the structure is performed in a separate process to prepare a partition structure in which the diffusion beads are fused to the side of the patterned white structure. And then joining the partition structure to the two-paper panel using an adhesive means. 5. The method of claim 4, wherein injecting and heat treating the diffusion beads to the structure comprises: bonding the patterned structure to a lower plate using an adhesive means; And applying a mask to the top of the bonded structure, spraying diffusion beads, and performing heat treatment.

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