KR101545959B1 - Manufacturing method for curved liquid crystal and curved liquid crystal display module using curved liquid crystal panel - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing a curved liquid crystal panel and a curved liquid crystal display module using a curved liquid crystal panel. The purpose is to provide a method for manufacturing a curved liquid crystal panel by performing a pressure thermal molding process on a liquid crystal panel of a general glass substrate and uniformly applying a pressure to a liquid crystal panel by using a predetermined curved transparent substrate, and a curved liquid crystal display module using a curved liquid crystal panel. A method for manufacturing a curved liquid crystal panel and a curved liquid crystal display module using a curved liquid crystal panel include a step (A) of performing a pressure thermal process on a transparent substrate of a flat shape by using a curved surface molding device and molding a curved transparent substrate; a cooling step (B) of maintaining a curved molding state by supplying air while the molded curved transparent substrate touches the upper mold and the lower mold of the curved surface molding device; a step (C) of molding a curved liquid crystal panel with a pressure thermal process using a curved surface molding device after locating a crystal liquid panel of a flat shape between two curved surface transparent substrates.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention [0001] The present invention relates to a curved liquid crystal display module, and more particularly to a curved liquid crystal display module using a curved liquid crystal panel,

The present invention relates to a method of manufacturing a curved liquid crystal panel and a curved liquid crystal display module using the curved liquid crystal panel. More specifically, the present invention relates to a curved liquid crystal display module in which a curved transparent substrate is provided on both sides of a general flat liquid crystal panel, And to a technique for manufacturing a curved liquid crystal display module at low cost using the same.

As display technology has developed, various kinds of display devices have been developed and used. Among them, there is a liquid crystal display device which implements an image by using a liquid crystal.

A liquid crystal panel of a general liquid crystal display (LCD) includes two substrates and a liquid crystal layer having a dielectric anisotropy therebetween. A desired image is obtained by applying an electric field to the liquid crystal layer and adjusting the intensity of the electric field to adjust the transmittance of light passing through the liquid crystal layer. Such a liquid crystal display device is a typical example of a flat panel display (FPD) that is easy to carry, and a TFT-LCD using a thin film transistor (TFT) as a switching element is mainly used. A plurality of display signal lines, that is, a gate line, a data line, a plurality of thin-film transistors, a pixel electrode, and the like are formed on a lower substrate among two substrates that are arranged to face each other on a liquid crystal panel. filter and a common electrode are formed.

Since such a liquid crystal panel is usually manufactured in a flat shape, there is a problem that a conventional flat liquid crystal panel can not be used when a curved display is required.

Of course, recently, a large curved display device is commercially available. Such a curved display device uses a flexible substrate and an organic light emitting diode (OLED), which is different from the conventional method using a glass substrate and a liquid crystal panel The yield is low and the manufacturing cost is still higher than that of the liquid crystal panel using the glass substrate, which is a disadvantage that it is not popular.

Therefore, a curved surface display device using a flat panel type liquid crystal panel using a glass substrate currently being manufactured has been developed. However, a method for manufacturing a curved surface liquid crystal display device having excellent economical efficiency and high yield has not been developed yet.

Hereinafter, a problem in manufacturing a curved surface of a flat plate type liquid crystal panel using a conventional glass substrate and a conventional curved surface liquid crystal panel manufacturing technique will be described.

In general, a flat liquid crystal panel should have a flat structure with little warping. These planar structures are related to screen uniformity. In addition, the flat liquid crystal panel itself has a slight flexibility. The liquid crystal panel has a large area, and the thinner the liquid crystal panel is, the more flexible it is.

However, in general, when a certain force is applied to a certain portion of a flat liquid crystal panel, a gap (GAP) between the liquid crystal panels is different from a force applied to each portion, This part shows the phenomenon of MURA (bruise or stain), and the reliability of the product is greatly affected by the unevenness of the screen. (See Fig. 8)

Therefore, when manufacturing the product, it is necessary to minimize the force applied to the active area of the panel in consideration of the portion directly applied to the liquid crystal panel.

Therefore, in order to make the flat liquid crystal panel into a curved shape, it is necessary to manufacture the flat liquid crystal panel so that the pressure applied to the liquid crystal panel is uniformly applied.

Korean Patent Registration No. 10-1179436 (method of manufacturing a curved surface display panel) and Korean Patent Registration No. 10-1300020 (method of manufacturing a curved display panel) are known as a manufacturing method of a curved liquid crystal panel using a liquid crystal panel.

According to the technical features of Korean Patent Registration No. 10-1179436, a flat liquid crystal panel including a lower substrate and an upper substrate facing each other and a liquid crystal layer formed between the lower substrate and the upper substrate is used A method of manufacturing a display panel having a desired curved surface shape, the method comprising: cutting an outer portion of the lower substrate and the upper substrate such that the lower substrate and the upper substrate are reduced to a predetermined thickness; The lower substrate and the upper substrate are bent in the desired curved shape so that the shape of the curved lower substrate and the upper substrate are hardened in the same shape as the desired curved shape on the outer surface so that the substrate is maintained in a curved shape A method of manufacturing a display panel manufacturing room Relate to.

In addition, according to a technical feature of Korean Patent Registration No. 10-1300020, a method of manufacturing a curved display panel in which a curved display panel having a desired curved surface shape is manufactured using a flat display panel including a first substrate and a second substrate facing each other , Cutting out at least a portion of the outer side so that the thickness of the first substrate and the second substrate is reduced to a predetermined thickness, and attaching a polarizing plate to at least one of the first substrate and the cut outer side of the second substrate Forming a dam member on the surface of the polarizing plate; and forming a dam member on the surface of the polarizing plate by using the adhesive layer formed along the edge of the display panel in a state in which the display panel with the polarizing plate is warped in the desired curved shape, Transmitting reinforcement plate having the shape Comprising the step of mounting the panel, and the inner surface of the adhesive layer is related to a curved display panel manufacturing method that is supported by the dam member.

However, according to the conventional technique, the glass substrate on the LCD surface is etched (a method of cutting the surface to a predetermined thickness) to thin the glass substrate and heat is applied to the panel to heat the panel. , The disadvantage is that the yield of the product may be deteriorated due to the high defect ratio of the polarizing film and the disadvantage of replacing the polarizing film which is already attached and the PC or PMMA of the same curved surface And the like.

Therefore, the above-described conventional liquid crystal panel curving technology is suitable for producing a small-sized special-purpose product that can be used in a game machine or a casino game machine rather than manufacturing a large amount of curved liquid crystal panel.

Accordingly, a method of manufacturing a curved liquid crystal display device having a high yield and excellent economy is applied even when the pressure applied to the liquid crystal panel is constant and uniform.

Korean Registered Patent Publication No. 10-1179436 (Aug. 29, 2012) Korean Patent Registration No. 10-1300020 (2013.08.20.) Korean Registered Patent Publication No. 10-1211370 (2012.12.06) Korean Patent Publication No. 10-2010-0009836 (2010.01.29)

In order to solve the above problems, an object of the present invention is to provide a liquid crystal panel having a general glass substrate by pressure thermal processing molding, wherein a pressure applied to the liquid crystal panel is uniformly applied to the liquid crystal panel using a pre- And to provide a curved surface liquid crystal display module using the curved liquid crystal panel.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of forming a curved transparent substrate, the method comprising: (A) forming a flat transparent substrate using a curved surface forming apparatus by pressure thermal processing to form a curved transparent substrate;

(B) a cooling step of supplying a curved surface transparent substrate to the curved surface forming apparatus by supplying air in a state in which the curved surface transparent substrate is in contact with the upper mold and the lower mold of the curved surface forming apparatus;

Forming a curved liquid crystal panel by positioning the flat panel type liquid crystal panel between the two curved transparent substrates after the step (C), and then subjecting the curved liquid crystal panel to pressure thermal processing using a curved surface molding apparatus. ≪ / RTI >

In a preferred embodiment, the upper mold of the curvilinear molding apparatus is lowered to cause the transparent substrate to abut the lower mold, and then the temperature of the heat plate mounted on the lower mold is raised to thermally expand the lower surface of the transparent substrate And supplying air through a vent hole formed in the upper mold to cool the upper surface of the transparent substrate to perform curved surface processing.

In a preferred embodiment, the transparent substrate can be heated to 50 to 200 DEG C by a hot plate.

In a preferred embodiment, in the step (C), the upper mold of the curved surface molding apparatus is lowered so that the curved transparent substrate located on the upper side and the transparent substrate located on the lower side press the upper and lower surfaces of the liquid crystal panel at a uniform pressure, The lower surface of the liquid crystal panel is thermally expanded and air is supplied through the vent holes formed in the upper mold to cool the upper surface of the liquid crystal panel to perform curved surface processing.

In a preferred embodiment, the liquid crystal panel can be heated to 40 to 50 DEG C by a hot plate.

In another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a curved liquid crystal panel tangent between two curved transparent substrates manufactured according to the method of manufacturing the curved liquid crystal panel, and then a backlight unit, a diffuser plate, and a cover bottom chassis, After manufacturing, a backlight unit is installed in the cover bottom chassis, a curvature-preventing mold is provided on the periphery of the cover bottom chassis to assemble the curved transparent substrate and the curved liquid crystal panel with each other, The bending panel protector is passed around the curved transparent substrate, which is in contact with the front of the curved liquid crystal panel, through a backward bending prevention mold using a fixing screw, A curved surface liquid crystal display module using the curved surface liquid crystal panel is provided As it is achieved.

In a preferred embodiment, the anti-flexion mold is formed of PC (polycarbonate) and has a larger area toward the backlight unit side than the side having the curved liquid crystal panel, and a seating structure or groove structure is formed on the front side A curved transparent substrate, a curved liquid crystal panel, and a diffuser plate.

According to the present invention having the above-described characteristics, a liquid crystal panel having a general shape is deformed by pressure thermal processing with a curved transparent substrate directly formed in advance, without deforming the liquid crystal panel by an etching operation, It is possible to apply uniform and uniform application of the liquid crystal panel to the liquid crystal panel,

In addition, by utilizing the conventional flat liquid crystal panel, it is a useful invention having advantage that it can speed up the popularization of the curved display device by securing the process technology capable of commercialization of the expensive curved display device which is available only through the flexible OLED at a low cost. This is a highly anticipated invention.

1 is a perspective view showing a curved surface forming apparatus used in manufacturing a curved liquid crystal panel according to an embodiment of the present invention,
FIG. 2 is an exemplary view showing a process of pressurizing and thermally processing a transparent substrate in a curved surface forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention,
FIG. 3 is an exemplary view showing a liquid crystal panel positioned between upper and lower transparent substrates positioned in a curved surface forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention,
FIG. 4 is a view illustrating a process of positioning a transparent substrate and a liquid crystal panel on a curved surface forming apparatus, followed by a pressurizing thermal process, according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a curved liquid crystal panel completed through the processes of FIGS. 1 to 4. FIG.
6 is a view illustrating a curved liquid crystal display module equipped with a curved liquid crystal panel according to an embodiment of the present invention,
FIG. 7 is an exemplary view showing a side support structure for maintaining a curved surface of a curved liquid crystal panel in the curved liquid crystal display module of FIG. 6,
8 is an exemplary view showing the principle of MURA phenomenon occurring in a general liquid crystal display device.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the following description of the present invention, a detailed description of known functions and configurations incorporated herein will be omitted when it may make the subject matter of the present invention rather unclear.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a curved surface forming apparatus used in the manufacture of a curved surface liquid crystal panel according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a view illustrating a process of pressurizing and thermally processing a transparent substrate in a curved surface forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention FIG. 3 is an exemplary view showing a liquid crystal panel positioned between upper and lower transparent substrates positioned in a curved surface forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 4 is a cross- FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a curved liquid crystal panel completed through the processes of FIGS. 1 to 4, FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the present invention FIG. 7 is a side view of a curved surface liquid crystal display module in the curved surface liquid crystal display module of FIG. 6, An exemplary view showing a tectonic.

The present invention relates to a technique of manufacturing a curved liquid crystal panel 1 using a conventional general liquid crystal panel having a glass substrate. In this case, the liquid crystal panel is subjected to pressure thermal processing, The curved transparent substrates 2 and 3 are brought into contact with each other so that a uniform pressure is applied to the liquid crystal panel.

At this time, in order to make the liquid crystal panel curved, the transparent plate of the flat plate shape is curved, and the curved surface molding device 4 is used to curved the liquid crystal panel by pressure thermal processing.

The curved surface forming apparatus 4 includes an upper mold 41 having a downwardly convex shape and a lower mold 42 having an upper concave shape as shown in FIG.

The upper metal mold 41 is formed with a plurality of ventilation openings 43 passing through upper and lower portions thereof to circulate or supply air. At this time, air can be forcedly supplied to the upper side of the ventilation hole if necessary. The ventilation hole may be formed as a plurality of ventilation openings formed in the longitudinal direction in the width direction. Here, the term " longitudinal direction " refers to the direction of the long side of the transparent substrate or liquid crystal panel for convenience, and the term " width direction " refers to the direction of the short side direction of the transparent substrate or liquid crystal panel.

A heat plate 44 is formed on the concave upper surface of the lower mold 42 so as to transmit heat to the flat plate-type transparent substrate placed on the upper surface. At this time, although the heating plate is not shown, the heating line is connected to maintain the high temperature continuously. At this time, the transparent substrate is preferably heated to 50 to 200 DEG C by a hot plate. The molding of the transparent substrate used in the present invention most preferably occurs at such a temperature range.

When a heat plate 44 for continuously heating a lower mold having a concave upper portion is formed in the upper mold convex downward as described above, a flat plate-like transparent substrate is placed on the upper mold, And the transparent substrate in the form of a flat plate comes into contact with the hot plate of the lower mold in a curved shape. When heat is applied only to the lower side of the transparent substrate in the pressurized state, the lower surface of the transparent substrate abutting the lower mold is bent due to the thermal expansion characteristic.

At this time, if the heated transparent substrate is continuously cooled by the plurality of ventilation openings 43 formed in the upper mold, the transparent substrate loses the elastic force and is formed into a curved transparent substrate in which the bending is maintained in the concave shape.

The bending radius is between 2000 and 6000R.

When the curved surface forming is completed, the curved transparent substrate is supplied with air through the vent hole of the upper mold in a state in which the upper mold and the lower mold side are in contact with each other and is cooled by room temperature or forced air blowing, Thereby maintaining the molding state.

The transparent substrate used above preferably uses a transparent acrylic or PMMA (PolyMethyMethacrylate) having a certain warpage. These materials may be cut and processed in accordance with the size of the corresponding liquid crystal panel.

The two upper and lower transparent substrates are subjected to a stress applied by the upper mold and the lower mold when the liquid crystal panel is heated and curved, Is a key construction necessary to make uniformity.

After the flat liquid crystal panel 1 is placed between the two curved transparent substrates 2 and 3 manufactured as described above, the liquid crystal panel 1 is heated up and down to about 50 캜.

That is, first, one curved transparent substrate 3 is placed on the upper surface of the lower mold 42, the planar liquid crystal panel 1 and the remaining curved transparent substrate 2 are stacked in order, The upper mold 41 located on the upper side of the curved transparent substrate 2 located at the lower side of the curved transparent substrate 2 is lowered to press the flat liquid crystal panel 1 together with the curved transparent substrates 2 and 3 located at the upper and lower portions thereof to have the same curved surface, And then heated to about 40 to 50 DEG C through a heat plate 44 provided on the upper surface of the mold. The principle of the curved surface is the same as the above-mentioned transparent substrate. At this time, the transparent substrate contacting the upper and lower portions of the liquid crystal panel makes the stress applied to the liquid crystal panel uniform. That is, if the two curved transparent substrates 2 and 3 are not located at the upper and lower sides, the upper mold and the lower mold come into direct contact with the liquid crystal panel. In such a case, the liquid crystal panel may be broken, The liquid crystal panel is directly contacted with the mold to form a curved surface, and two curved transparent substrates, which serve as a buffer to provide a uniform pressure to the liquid crystal panel, are pressed to apply heat only to the lower side.

At this time, the heat of 50 ° C is lower than the storage temperature of at least 65 ° C that the liquid crystal panel can withstand when curved. When heat is applied at 40 to 50 ° C, the flat liquid crystal panel has a more flexible structure.

It is sufficient that the speed at the time of lowering the upper mold toward the lower mold is lowered at a proper speed so as to prevent the rapid impact or the lamination position from turning on the laminated liquid crystal panel or the curved transparent substrate.

In order to prevent foreign matter from entering the curved surface, it is preferable to perform a seating operation in a clean room.

Unlike the manufacturing method of the present invention described above, when the flat liquid crystal panel and the transparent substrate are adhered to each other with an adhesive, and then a predetermined heat is applied to gradually bend the flat liquid crystal panel and the transparent substrate, Even if a crack occurs or a crack is not generated, a mura phenomenon occurs due to a difference in cell gap.

The pressure applied to the liquid crystal panel during the curving operation of the liquid crystal panel is a minimum thickness of 1.4T (1T = 1 mm) or less, which is used for increasing the pressure of the liquid crystal panel It is preferable to use a liquid crystal panel. The thinner the thickness, the better the bending property of the flat liquid crystal panel.

At this time, the curvature should be at least 2000R, based on the 42-inch 1.4T product. If it is smaller than 2000R, the MURA phenomenon is very severe based on 1.4T. Also, when the temperature is lower than 1500R, cracks occur in the panel.

However, the numerical conditions may vary depending on the liquid crystal panel. This is because the Mura phenomenon has a large number of variables, and the deviation caused by each material (Si ball, spacer, black matrix (B / M), ITO glass, etc.) constituting the liquid crystal panel at the time of bending causes cell gap Therefore, it is not quantitative.

6 and 7 show a curved surface liquid crystal display module having the curved surface liquid crystal panel fixed by the above method. As shown in the figure, in order to maintain and fix the curved surface of the curved liquid crystal panel, The backlight unit 5 is installed on the cover bottom chassis 7 and the four sides of the cover bottom chassis 7 are provided with the backlight unit 5, the diffusion plate 6 and the cover bottom chassis 7, (PC material) 8 is provided on the periphery of the cover bottom chassis 7 and the curved transparent substrates 2 and 3 are assembled by sandwiching the curved transparent substrates 2 and 3 with the curved liquid crystal panel 1, The chassis 10 is fixed to the bending prevention mold 8 so as to provide a pressing force to the bending prevention mold 8 and the cover bottom chassis 7. The bending prevention chassis 9 is fixed to the bending prevention mold 8 by a fixing screw 10, Constitute the pressure so as to prevent warping deformation.

The curved transparent substrate 2 in contact with the front side of the curved liquid crystal panel 1 is provided with a bending panel protecting device 11 covering one area around the four sides so as to prevent the front side of the fixing screws 10 ) Is used to penetrate the rear bending prevention mold (8).

The backlight unit 5 may be configured as a light source, not only a fluorescent lamp, but also a PCB having an LED bar shape. Also, the light source of the backlight unit can be configured as a direct light type or a curved light type with a light source attached thereto.

In addition, the anti-flexural mold 8 may be formed of PC (polycarbonate), and may have a larger area toward the backlight unit side than the side having the curved liquid crystal panel, and a seating structure or groove structure may be formed on the front side The curved transparent substrates 2 and 3, the curved liquid crystal panel 1, and the diffuser plate 6 are installed and fixed.

The bending deformation preventing structure thus configured maximally utilizes natural deflection of the planar state liquid crystal panel, and the deflection thereof is also fixed according to the warping of the liquid crystal display panel (between 2000 and 6000 R) as described above. This means is necessary to prevent the curved transparent substrate and the curved liquid crystal panel in a warped state from returning to their original state. Such a fixing method can maintain the uniform bending on the curved liquid crystal panel, thereby improving not only the reliability but also the yield.

It will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims and their equivalents. Of course, such modifications are within the scope of the claims.

(1): Curved liquid crystal panel (2, 3): Curved transparent substrate
(4): Curved surface forming device (5): Backlight unit
(6): diffuser plate (7): cover bottom chassis
(8): anti-warp mold (9): anti-warp chassis
(10): fixing screw (11): bending panel protection device
(41): upper mold (42): lower mold
(43): Vents (44): Heat plate

Claims (7)

(A) molding a transparent substrate of a flat plate shape into a curved transparent substrate by pressure thermal processing using a curved surface forming apparatus;
(B) a cooling step of supplying a curved surface transparent substrate to the curved surface forming apparatus by supplying air in a state in which the curved surface transparent substrate is in contact with the upper mold and the lower mold of the curved surface forming apparatus;
(C) placing a flat liquid crystal panel between two curved transparent substrates, and then subjecting the curved liquid crystal panel to pressure thermal processing using a curved surface molding apparatus,
In the step (A), the upper mold of the curved surface molding apparatus is lowered to bring the transparent substrate into contact with the lower mold, then the temperature of the heat plate mounted on the lower mold is raised to thermally expand the lower surface of the transparent substrate, Air is supplied through the formed vent holes to cool the upper surface of the transparent substrate to perform curved surface processing,
In the step (C), the upper mold of the curved surface molding apparatus is lowered so that the curved transparent substrate located on the upper side and the transparent substrate located on the lower side press the upper and lower surfaces of the liquid crystal panel at uniform pressure, And cooling the upper surface of the liquid crystal panel by supplying air through a vent hole formed in the upper mold to perform curved surface processing. The curved surface liquid crystal panel according to claim 1, Gt;
delete The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the transparent substrate is heated by a hot plate to 50 to 200 ° C.
delete The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the liquid crystal panel is heated to 40 to 50 DEG C by a hot plate.
A method of manufacturing a backlight unit, a diffuser plate, and a cover bottom chassis having a curved surface corresponding to a curved surface liquid crystal panel contacting between two curved transparent substrates manufactured according to any one of claims 1, 3, A backlight unit is installed in the chassis and a curvature prevention mold is provided on the periphery of the cover bottom chassis to assemble the curved transparent substrate and the curved liquid crystal panel with each other. Then, a bending prevention chassis is fixed around the rear end of the cover bottom chassis And a bending panel protector is formed around the curved transparent substrate in contact with the front side of the curved liquid crystal panel so as to penetrate the curved panel protective device through a backward bending prevention mold using a fixing screw so as to prevent bending state deformation A curved surface liquid crystal display module using a curved liquid crystal panel.
The method of claim 6,
Wherein the curvature of the curved surface of the curved surface of the curved transparent liquid crystal panel and the curved surface of the curved surface of the curved surface of the curved surface of the curved surface of the curved transparent liquid crystal panel A liquid crystal panel, and a diffusion plate.

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