KR102192381B1 - Curved display device and method of manufacturing the same - Google Patents

Abstract

A curved display device and a method of manufacturing the same are provided. In a method of manufacturing a curved display device according to an embodiment of the present invention, one end of a plurality of signal transmission chips including a driving IC is connected to a display panel on which an image is displayed, and the other end of the plurality of signal transmission chips is divided into one or more. Connecting the first printed circuit board and the second printed circuit board with a guide part formed thereon, cutting the divided guide part to form a plurality of sub printed circuit boards, and a flat display on which the plurality of sub printed circuit boards are formed It may include bending the device to form a curvature.

Description

A curved display device and its manufacturing method {CURVED DISPLAY DEVICE AND METHOD OF MANUFACTURING THE SAME}

The present invention relates to a display device, and more particularly, to a curved display device and a method of manufacturing the same.

Recently, flat panel displays are being used as television receivers and are becoming larger. In accordance with this trend of enlargement, there is a problem that the difference in image quality increases according to the viewing angle of the screen.

In order to solve this problem, a curved display device having a curvature by bending a flat display device displaying an image to be concave or convex has been proposed. A curved display device can have a curvature by forming a substrate of a display panel on which an image is displayed using a substrate made of a flexible material.

However, a printed circuit board that applies data and control signals to display an image on a display panel of a curved display device is made of a rigid material rather than a flexible material. The printed circuit board is generally electrically connected to the display panel through a flexible circuit board or a signal transmission chip including a driving IC that controls driving of the display panel.

A curved display device has a curvature after being connected to a printed circuit board through a flexible circuit board or a film in which the driving IC is mounted according to the mounting method of a driving IC that controls driving on a display panel including pixels that allow an image to be displayed. It is completed by forming so as to be.

However, if a force is applied to have a curvature after attaching the printed circuit board, stress is generated due to the material of the printed circuit board, so that the adhesive surface with the flexible circuit board or the film with the driver IC is dropped or the printed circuit board and the printed circuit board are printed. There is a problem that a crack occurs in signal lines arranged on a contact surface of a circuit board.

Accordingly, an object to be solved by the present invention is to provide a curved display device capable of improving the reliability of the display device without significantly increasing the production cost of the product by improving the structure of the printed circuit board.

In addition, an object to be solved by the present invention is to provide a method of manufacturing a curved display device capable of improving the reliability of the curved display device without significantly increasing the production cost of the product by improving the structure of the printed circuit board.

The problems of the present invention are not limited to the technical problems mentioned above, and other technical problems that are not mentioned will be clearly understood by those skilled in the art from the following description.

In the method of manufacturing a curved display device according to an embodiment of the present invention for achieving the above object, one end of a plurality of signal transmission chips including a driving IC is connected to a display panel displaying an image, and the plurality of signal transmission chips The other end of the step of connecting to a first printed circuit board and a second printed circuit board having one or more divided guide parts formed thereon, cutting the divided guide part to form a plurality of sub printed circuit boards, and the plurality of sub-printing The flat display device on which the circuit board is formed may include bending to form a curvature.

The divided guide part may include a plurality of holes, and the plurality of holes may be arranged in a plurality of rows in a vertical direction.

The plurality of sub-printed circuit boards may include a cutting surface cut by the division guide part, and an uneven part may be formed on the cutting surface.

The divided guide part may be made of the same material as the plurality of sub-printed circuit boards, and the width of the divided guide part may be 10 mm or less.

The divided guide part may include a cover film made of an insulating material on the substrate.

The divided guide portion may have a rectangular shape, but the lower end may be formed to have a shape having a curvature, or a rectangular hole may be formed in a central region of the divided guide portion.

The divided guide portion may be cut using either pruning shears or nippers.

After the step of forming the plurality of sub-printed circuit boards, the step of inspecting the plurality of sub-printed circuit boards may be further included.

The plurality of signal transmission chips may be a chip-on film (COF).

The first printed circuit board and the second printed circuit board may each include a first flexible circuit board and a second flexible circuit board for electrically connecting the plurality of sub-printed circuit boards to a region in which a division guide part is formed.

In order to achieve the above object, a curved display device according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention includes a display panel displaying an image, a plurality of signal transmission chips having one end connected to the display panel, and a driving IC driving the display panel. And a plurality of printed circuit boards connected to the other ends of the plurality of signal transfer chips, receiving an image signal from an external source and applying data and control signals to the plurality of signal transfer chips, wherein the plurality of printed circuit boards A cutting surface may be included on one side surface, and an uneven portion may be formed on the cutting surface.

The plurality of printed circuit boards may be arranged in a plurality of pairs, and the plurality of paired printed circuit boards may be arranged such that the cutting surfaces face each other.

In addition, a plurality of flexible circuit boards for electrically connecting a plurality of paired printed circuit boards may be further included.

The display panel may be made of a flexible material, and the plurality of printed circuit boards may be made of a rigid material.

Details of other embodiments are included in the detailed description and drawings.

* According to the embodiments of the present invention, there are at least the following effects.

In other words, it is possible to improve the reliability of the curved display device by preventing the surface of the flexible circuit board or the panel board to be attached to the film incorporating the driver IC from falling off, and preventing the occurrence of cracks in signal lines.

In dividing the printed circuit board, there is no need for other facilities or other configurations, so it is possible to prevent a decrease in productivity.

The effects according to the present invention are not limited by the contents exemplified above, and more various effects are included in the present specification.

1 is a schematic perspective view of a display device according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.
2 is a plan view schematically illustrating a display device according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.
3 is an enlarged view of an enlarged area A of FIG. 2.
4 is a cross-sectional view of I-I' of FIG. 2.
5 is a cross-sectional view of II-II' of FIG. 2.
6 is a schematic plan view of a printed circuit board according to another embodiment of the present invention.
7 is a plan view schematically showing a printed circuit board according to another embodiment of the present invention.
8 to 11 are plan views schematically illustrating a method of manufacturing a display device according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

Advantages and features of the present invention, and a method of achieving them will become apparent with reference to the embodiments described below in detail together with the accompanying drawings. However, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments disclosed below, but will be implemented in various forms different from each other, and only these embodiments make the disclosure of the present invention complete, and common knowledge in the technical field to which the present invention pertains. It is provided to completely inform the scope of the invention to those who have it, and the invention is only defined by the scope of the claims.

When an element or layer is referred to as “on” another element or layer, it includes all cases where another layer or other element is interposed directly on or in the middle of another element. The same reference numerals refer to the same components throughout the specification.

Although the first, second, and the like are used to describe various components, it goes without saying that these components are not limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish one component from another component. Therefore, it goes without saying that the first component mentioned below may be the second component within the technical idea of the present invention.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

1 is a perspective view schematically illustrating a display device according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a plan view schematically illustrating a curved display device according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, a curved display device according to an exemplary embodiment may include a panel area 100, a signal transmission area 200, and a control area 300.

The panel region 100 has a curved surface and may include a first substrate 110 and a second substrate 120. The first substrate 110 and the second substrate 120 may be made of a flexible material such that the display area 100 has a curved surface. A pixel region in which pixels are arranged may be arranged between the first substrate 110 and the second substrate 120, and this pixel region may be a display region. Meanwhile, as shown in FIG. 2, the first substrate 110 and the second substrate 120 are formed in different sizes, and the size of the first substrate 110 and the second substrate 120 is The large second substrate 120 may include a non-display area.

In the first substrate 110, a plurality of scan lines (not shown) and a plurality of data lines (not shown) for transferring data and control signals applied from the control region 300 to a corresponding pixel are arranged in a matrix form. Pixels may be arranged in an area defined by the scan line and the plurality of data lines. Here, the pixel may include a switching element that is turned on/off according to a control signal applied from the control region 300, that is, thin film transistors and a light emitting element that emits light when the switching element is turned on/off.

The non-display area of the second substrate 120 may include a pad area (not shown) in which a plurality of pads receiving a pixel driving control signal applied from the driving IC 211 are arranged. This pad region may be electrically connected to the signal transmission region 200.

The signal transmission region 200 may be disposed between the panel region 100 and the control region 300 and includes a plurality of chip-on films (COF, 210, hereinafter referred to as'COF'). can do. One end of the COF 210 may be electrically connected to the pad area of the panel area 100, and the other end may be electrically connected to signal lines (314 of FIG. 3) or a connector (not shown) of the control area 300. have. The COF 210 includes, for example, a plurality of output wirings electrically connected to the pad area of the panel area 100 on a flexible insulating film made of a material such as polyimide (PI), and a control area ( It may include a plurality of input wires electrically connected to the 300) and a driving IC 211 mounted in an open area of the flexible insulating film. The driving IC 211 receives data and control signals applied from the control substrate 300 to generate a pixel driving control signal, and transmits the pixel driving control signal to a plurality of scan lines or data lines arranged in the display area, and the panel area 100 The pixels of are driven so that the image is displayed. In an embodiment of the present invention, it is illustrated that the driving IC 211 is mounted in a COF method, but is not limited thereto, and may be mounted in a chip on glass (COG) method. When the driving IC 211 is mounted in a chip-on-glass method, the panel region 100 and the control region 300 may be electrically connected through a flexible circuit board.

The control area 300 may receive an image signal from the outside, generate data and a control signal, and apply it to the panel area 100. The control area 300 may include a plurality of sub-printed circuit boards 311, 312, 321, 322, a first flexible circuit board 410 and a second flexible circuit board 420. The plurality of sub-printed circuit boards 311, 312, 321, and 322 may be arranged in pairs, respectively. For example, the first sub-printed circuit board 311 may be paired with the second sub-printed circuit board 312, and the third sub-printed circuit board 321 and the fourth sub-printed circuit board 322 Can be paired. As will be described later with reference to FIG. 3, in the first sub-printed circuit board 311 and the second sub-printed circuit board 312, the first printed circuit board 310 is cut by the division guide part 313. This is because the third sub-printed circuit board 321 and the fourth sub-printed circuit board 322 are also formed by cutting the second printed circuit board 320 by a division guide part. Accordingly, the plurality of sub-printed circuit boards 311, 312, 321, 322 may include a cutting surface in which an uneven portion is formed on any one side, and the cutting surface is arranged so that the paired sub-printed circuit boards face each other. Can be. The first flexible circuit board 410 may electrically connect the paired first sub-printed circuit board 311 and the second sub-printed circuit board 312, and the second flexible circuit board 420 is a third sub-printed circuit board. The printed circuit board 321 and the fourth sub-printed circuit board 322 may be electrically connected. A more detailed description of the control area 300 will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 3 to 5 below.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of an enlarged area A of FIG. 2, FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line I-I' of FIG. 2, and FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along line II-II' in FIG. 2.

Before describing FIG. 3, FIG. 3 is a representative example of a first printed circuit board 310 to describe the structure of a printed circuit board according to an embodiment of the present invention, but the second printed circuit board 320 ) Can also have the same structure.

Referring to FIG. 3, a first printed circuit board 310 according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention includes a first sub printed circuit board 311 and a second sub printed circuit before bending the display device to be applicable to a curved display device. A division guide part 313 that can be divided into the substrate 312, signal lines 314 arranged to be electrically connected to the COF 210, and a first flexible circuit board 410 may be included.

The first flexible circuit board 410 is a first sub-printed circuit board 311 when the first printed circuit board 310 is divided into a first sub-printed circuit board 311 and a second sub-printed circuit board 312 It may be arranged to electrically connect the and the second sub printed circuit board 312. Accordingly, the first flexible circuit board 410 may be disposed corresponding to the area where the divided guide part 313 is disposed.

The divided guide part 313 has a plurality of holes H arranged in three rows in a vertical direction, and may be formed smaller than the sizes of the sub printed circuit boards 311, 312, 321, and 322. The division guide part 313 is later cut using pruning shears or nippers, and the first printed circuit board 310 includes a first sub printed circuit board 311 and a second sub printed circuit board 312 Can be divided into In the present exemplary embodiment, a plurality of holes H of the divided guide portion 313 are illustrated as being arranged in three rows in a vertical direction, but the present invention is not limited thereto, and a plurality of holes may be arranged in three or more rows, or less than three rows. As a result, a plurality of holes may be arranged. When the divided guide part 313 is cut around the hole H formed in this way, as shown in FIG. 1, the first sub-printed circuit board 311 and the second sub-printed circuit board 312 face each other. A cutting surface may be disposed on the cutting surface, and an uneven portion may be formed on the cutting surface. In this case, it is preferable that the width d of the divided guide portion 313 in the horizontal direction is 10 mm or less. This is because there is a limit to the length of the printed circuit board applied to the curved display device. The divided guide part 313 may be disposed in the central area of the first printed circuit board 310. However, the location of the division guide part 313 is not limited to the central area, and one or more division guides in an area other than the central area according to the design of the designer or the number of sub-printed circuit boards to which the printed circuit board is to be divided. A portion 313 may be formed. In addition, a trapezoidal groove may be formed at the lower end of the printed circuit board 310 corresponding to the region in which the divided guide portion 313 is formed. In the division guide unit 313, signal lines for transmitting data and control signals are not arranged. Referring to FIG. 5, the divided guide part 313 may be formed by including a cover film 332 made of an insulating material on the substrate 331. In contrast, in the first sub-printed circuit board 311, referring to FIG. 4, a metal pattern 342, that is, signal lines 314 are arranged on the substrate 341, and the metal pattern 342 is A cover film 343 made of an insulating material may be formed. In other words, the division guide part 313 is formed of the same material as other sub-printed circuit boards, but the signal lines 314 are not arranged. The divided guide part 313 may not consist of only a plurality of holes H and may have different shapes.

In the curved display device according to an embodiment of the present invention, a printed circuit board including a divided guide part 313 is disposed to cut the printed circuit board using only a cutting tool (for example, pruning scissors or nippers). By dividing, it may be easier to apply a rigid printed circuit board to a curved display device.

In addition, in general display devices, the number of printed circuit boards is different depending on the size.(For example, a display device of 55 inches or less has two printed circuit boards attached, and a display device of 60 inches or more has four printings. A circuit board is attached.) In the curved display device according to an embodiment of the present invention, one or two printed circuit boards are attached regardless of the size of the display device, but a plurality of divided guide portions 313 are formed to have a curved surface. By allowing it to be easily divided beforehand, it is possible to reduce the cost of equipment required to separately attach the printed circuit board, thereby preventing an increase in manufacturing cost.

6 is a plan view schematically showing a printed circuit board according to another embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 7 is a plan view schematically showing a printed circuit board according to another embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 6, the division guide part 313 of the first printed circuit board 310 divided into the first sub printed circuit board 311 and the second sub printed circuit board 312 has a rectangular shape, but It may be formed in a shape forming this curvature, and the divided guide portion 313 thus formed may be cut using a nipper. In this case, the divided guide portion 313 has a quadrangular shape but is shown to include a curvature at the bottom, but is not limited thereto and may be formed only in a quadrangular shape.

Meanwhile, referring to FIG. 7, the division guide part 313 of the first printed circuit board 310 divided into the first sub printed circuit board 311 and the second sub printed circuit board 312 is a division guide part ( A square-shaped hole is formed in the central area of the 313) to have two guide portions. The divided guide portion 313 formed in this way may be cut using a nipper.

When the divided guide portion 313 has a shape as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the uneven portions may not be formed on the cutting surfaces of the sub printed circuit boards 311, 312, 321, and 322.

8 to 11 are plan views schematically illustrating a method of manufacturing a display device according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

In the display device according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, as shown in FIG. 8, a plurality of scan lines and data lines are formed, and a plurality of pixels defined by the plurality of scan lines and data lines are formed to form a display area ( After completing 100), the plurality of COFs 210 including the driving IC 211 are electrically connected to the pads of the display area 100. Afterwards, the plurality of COFs 210 are electrically connected to the first printed circuit board 310 and the second printed circuit board 320 including the divided guide part 313. At this time, in each of the first printed circuit board 310 and the second printed circuit board 320, a region in which the first sub-printed circuit board 311 and the second sub-printed circuit board 312 are later divided, that is, a division guide part. The first flexible circuit board 410 and the third sub-printed circuit board 321 and the fourth sub-printed circuit board 322 are disposed at the ends in the vertical direction of the region where 313 is formed. It may include a second flexible circuit board 420 disposed at the end.

Afterwards, as shown in FIG. 9, the division guide part 313 is cut through a cutting tool 500 such as pruning scissors or a nipper, so that the first sub printed circuit board 311 and the second sub printed circuit board 312 are used. , To form a third sub printed circuit board 321 and a fourth sub printed circuit board 322.

Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 10, the display device is inspected using the inspection device 600 to test the display device.

If an error does not occur as a result of the inspection, as shown in FIG. 11, a curved display device is completed by applying force to the display device to have a curvature and bending it.

The embodiments of the present invention have been described above, but these are only examples and do not limit the present invention, and those of ordinary skill in the field to which the present invention pertains should not depart from the essential characteristics of the embodiments of the present invention. It will be appreciated that various modifications and applications not illustrated above are possible. For example, each component specifically shown in the embodiments of the present invention can be modified and implemented. And differences related to these modifications and applications should be construed as being included in the scope of the present invention defined in the appended claims.

100: panel area 110: first substrate
120: second substrate 200: signal transmission region
210: COF 211: driving IC
300: control area 310: first printed circuit board
311: first sub-printed circuit board 312: second sub-printed circuit board
313: division guide unit 314: signal line
320: second printed circuit board 321: third sub printed circuit board
322: fourth sub-printed circuit board

Claims (12)

One end of the plurality of signal transmission chips including the driving IC is connected to a display panel on which an image is displayed, and the other end of the plurality of signal transmission chips includes a first printed circuit board and a second printed circuit board having one or more division guides Connecting;
Cutting the divided guide portion to form a plurality of sub-printed circuit boards; And
Bending the flat display device on which the plurality of sub-printed circuit boards are formed to form a curvature;
Method of manufacturing a curved display device comprising a. The method of claim 1, wherein the divided guide part,
Contains a plurality of holes,
A method of manufacturing a curved display device in which the plurality of holes are arranged in a plurality of columns in a vertical direction. The method of claim 2, wherein the plurality of sub-printed circuit boards,
It includes a cutting surface cut by the division guide,
A method of manufacturing a curved display device in which an uneven portion is formed on the cutting surface. The method of claim 1, wherein the divided guide part,
A method of manufacturing a curved display device made of the same material as the plurality of sub-printed circuit boards. The method of claim 4, wherein the divided guide part,
A method of manufacturing a curved display device formed by including a cover film of an insulating material on a substrate. The method of claim 1, wherein the divided guide part,
A method of manufacturing a curved display device having a rectangular shape but formed to have a shape having a curvature at a lower end. The method of claim 1, wherein the divided guide part,
A method of manufacturing a curved display device in which a rectangular hole is formed in a central area of the divided guide part. The method of claim 1, wherein the divided guide part,
A method of manufacturing a curved display device for cutting using either pruning shears or nippers. The method of claim 1,
And inspecting the plurality of sub-printed circuit boards after the step of forming the plurality of sub-printed circuit boards. The method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of signal transmission chips,
A method of manufacturing a curved display device that is a chip-on film (COF). The method of claim 1,
A method of manufacturing a curved display device having a width of the divided guide portion of 10 mm or less. The method of claim 1, wherein the first printed circuit board and the second printed circuit board,
A method of manufacturing a curved display device including a first flexible circuit board and a second flexible circuit board each electrically connecting the plurality of sub-printed circuit boards to a region corresponding to the divided guide part.

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