KR20120049066A - Electrophorectic display device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: An electrophoretic display device is provided to minimize a thickness and detect a defect in a sealant. CONSTITUTION: A case(5) comprises a vertical member. A case receives a display panel. The display panel comprises a lower substrate and an upper substrate. A protection film(40) is attached to the display panel and the case. A sealant(30) surrounds an upper surface of the lower substrate, a side of the upper substrate, and a lower surface of the protection film.

Description

Electrophoretic display {ELECTROPHORECTIC DISPLAY DEVICE}

Embodiments relate to an electrophoretic display device.

Various display devices capable of displaying information have been developed. The display device may include a liquid crystal display, a plasma display, an organic light emitting display, a field emission display, and an electrophoretic display.

Among these, the electrophoretic display device eliminates the need for the backlight unit used in the liquid crystal display device by using ambient light, which is very light, has a very thin thickness, and consumes very little power. In addition, the electrophoretic display device is simple in structure and relatively low in manufacturing cost. In addition, the electrophoretic display has a very wide viewing angle. In addition, the electrophoretic display device may be freely flexible by using a flexible substrate, and may be folded or folded. Due to these many advantages, electrophoretic displays are widely used as electronic paper, electrophotographic, flexible display, and the like.

1 is a cross-sectional view of a conventional electrophoretic display device.

Referring to FIG. 1, after the lower substrate, the upper substrate, and the protective film are sequentially received in the lower case, the lower substrate and the upper substrate may be fastened. The lower substrate and the protective film are fixed by the upper substrate.

The sealant is formed along an edge region of the lower substrate and the protective film and a side surface of the upper substrate.

The lower substrate, the upper substrate, and the protective film are attached to each other by the sealant to complete the module, and then the module is stored in the lower case.

The upper case is arranged to cover the protective film corresponding to a bezel area to support the lower substrate and the protective film.

The lower case and the upper case are formed by molding. Although the thickness of the upper case covering the protective film corresponding to the bezel area is formed very thin, the thickness of the upper case is very thick in consideration of the thickness of the entire electrophoretic display device due to the limitation of the molding process.

In addition, the lower substrate, the upper substrate and the protective film is accommodated in the lower case, and then the upper case is fastened to the lower case, so that the manufacturing process is complicated and the manufacturing process time is long.

The embodiment provides an electrophoretic display device with minimized thickness.

The embodiment provides an electrophoretic display device with a simplified structure.

The embodiment provides an electrophoretic display device capable of detecting a defect of a sealant.

According to an embodiment, an electrophoretic display device includes: a case including a vertical member; A display panel accommodated in the case and including a lower substrate and an upper substrate; A protective film attached to the display panel and the case; And a sealant formed on an upper surface of the lower substrate, a side surface of the upper substrate, and a lower surface of the protective film.

Embodiments can minimize the thickness.

Embodiments can simplify the structure.

An embodiment can detect a failure of a sealant.

1 is a cross-sectional view of a conventional electrophoretic display device.
2 is a cross-sectional view illustrating an electrophoretic display device according to a first embodiment.
3 is a cross-sectional view illustrating in detail the electrophoretic display of FIG. 2.
4 is a plan view illustrating a protective film in the electrophoretic display of FIG. 2.
FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view illustrating another protective film in the electrophoretic display of FIG. 2.
6A to 6C are diagrams illustrating a manufacturing process of the electrophoretic display device of the first embodiment.
7 is a diagram illustrating an electrophoretic display device according to a second embodiment.
FIG. 8 is a plan view illustrating a protective film in the electrophoretic display of FIG. 7.
FIG. 9 is a plan view illustrating another protective film in the electrophoretic display of FIG. 7.

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

2 is a cross-sectional view illustrating an electrophoretic display device according to a first embodiment.

Referring to FIG. 2, the electrophoretic display device according to the first embodiment includes a case 5, a lower substrate 10, an upper substrate 20, a protective film 40, and a sealant 30. The upper substrate 20 and the lower substrate 10 will be referred to as display panels. The display panel may be divided into a display area that transmits light and a non-display area that does not transmit light. The non-display area may occupy substantially the same area as the bezel area.

As shown in FIG. 3, the lower substrate 10 may include a plurality of thin film transistors 17.

In detail, the gate line (not shown), the gate electrode 12, and the gate pad electrode (not shown) may be formed on the first base substrate 11.

The first base substrate 11 may be made of glass or metal.

The gate line, the gate electrode 12 and the gate pad electrode may be integrally formed on the same layer from the same metal material. The gate electrode 12 may extend from the gate line, and the gate pad electrode may be formed at an end region of the gate line.

The gate line, the gate electrode 12 and the gate pad electrode are titanium (Ti), chromium (Cr), nickel (Ni), aluminum (Al), platinum (Pt), gold (Au), tungsten (W). , At least one selected from the group consisting of copper (Cu) and molybdenum (Mo).

The gate insulating layer 13 may be formed on the entire area of the substrate including the gate line, the gate electrode 12, and the gate pad electrode.

The gate insulating layer 13 may be formed of an inorganic material such as silicon oxide (SiOx) or silicon nitride (SiNx). However, the present invention is not limited thereto, and the gate insulating layer 13 may be formed of an organic material.

The semiconductor pattern 14 may be formed on the gate insulating layer 13 corresponding to the gate electrode 12. The semiconductor pattern 14 may include an active pattern formed of amorphous silicon and an ohmic contact pattern doped with impurities in the amorphous silicon.

A data line (not shown), a source electrode 15, a drain electrode 16, and a data pad electrode (not shown) may be formed on the substrate including the semiconductor pattern 14.

The data line may be arranged to at least intersect the gate line. A pixel region may be defined by the intersection of the gate line and the data line. Therefore, a plurality of pixel areas may be defined as a matrix on the lower substrate 10.

The source electrode 15 may extend from the data line and at least partially overlap the gate electrode 12. The drain electrode 16 may be spaced apart from the source electrode 15 and formed to at least partially overlap the gate electrode 12.

The data pad electrode may be formed at an end region of the data line.

The data line, the source electrode 15, the drain electrode 16 and the data pad electrode may be integrally formed on the same layer from the same metal material.

The data line, the source electrode 15, the drain electrode 16, and the data pad electrode include titanium (Ti), chromium (Cr), nickel (Ni), aluminum (Al), platinum (Pt), and gold ( Au), tungsten (W), copper (Cu) and molybdenum (Mo) may be formed of at least one or more selected from the group consisting of.

A protective film 18 made of an organic material may be formed on the substrate including the data line.

The passivation layer 18 may include a drain contact hole exposing the drain electrode 16, a gate contact hole exposing the gate pad electrode, and a data contact hole exposing the data pad electrode. This can be formed.

A pixel electrode 19, a gate contact electrode (not shown), and a data contact electrode (not shown) may be formed on the passivation layer 18.

The pixel electrode 19 may be formed for each pixel area, and may be electrically connected to the drain electrode 16 through the drain contact hole. The gate contact electrode may be electrically connected to the gate pad electrode through the gate contact hole. The data contact electrode may be electrically connected to the data pad electrode through the data contact hole.

The pixel electrode 19, the gate contact electrode and the data contact electrode may be formed of a transparent material. The transparent material may be formed of one selected from the group consisting of ITO IZO (In-ZnO), ITZO (In-SnO), IAZO (In-Al-ZnO), and IGZO (In-Ga-ZnO).

The first adhesive layer 41 may be disposed on the pixel electrode 19 and the passivation layer 18. The first adhesive layer 41 may be disposed on the upper substrate 20 as a member for attaching the lower substrate 10 and the upper substrate 20.

When the upper substrate 20 is described in detail, the common electrode 24 may be formed on the entire area of the second base substrate 22.

The second base substrate 22 may be made of glass or metal. The common electrode 24 may be formed of the same transparent material as the pixel electrode 19. The common electrode 24 may be formed of a transparent or non-transparent metal material.

An ink layer 26 including a plurality of microcapsules 28 may be disposed on the common electrode 24.

The microcapsules 28 are filled with particles having a positive polarity and particles having a negative polarity.

Therefore, when a positive voltage is applied to the pixel electrode 19 and a negative voltage is applied to the common electrode 24, particles having a negative polarity in the microcapsule 28 are formed in the pixel. Particles moved to the electrode 19 and having positive polarity may be moved to the common electrode 24.

On the contrary, when a negative voltage is applied to the pixel electrode 19 and a positive voltage is applied to the common voltage, particles having a positive polarity in the microcapsule 28 are introduced into the pixel electrode 19. Particles having a negative polarity may be moved to the common electrode 24.

The microcapsules 28 may be fixed on the common electrode 24 through a separate adhesive layer.

The first adhesive layer 41 disposed on the lower substrate may be disposed on the ink layer 26 of the upper substrate 20 instead of being disposed on the lower substrate. In other words, the first adhesive layer 41 may be disposed on the passivation layer and the pixel electrode 19 of the lower substrate or on the ink layer 26 of the upper substrate 20. Accordingly, the pixel electrode 19 and the passivation layer 18 of the lower substrate 10 and the ink layer 26 of the upper substrate 20 are in contact with each other via the first adhesive layer 41. Can be attached.

The case 5 may include a horizontal member 1 and a vertical member 3. The horizontal member 1 may have a plate shape and have a size larger than that of the lower substrate 10 to accommodate the lower substrate 10.

The vertical member 3 may have a shape that protrudes vertically from all end regions of the horizontal member 1. The vertical member 3 may have a rectangular lattice shape. The height of the vertical member 3 may coincide with an upper surface of the second base substrate 22 of the upper substrate 20. In this case, the upper surface of the vertical member 3 and the upper surface of the protective film 40 attached to the upper surface of the second base substrate 22 of the upper substrate 20 may have a flat surface.

If the height of the vertical member 3 is higher than the top surface of the second base substrate 22 of the upper substrate 20, the protection attached to the vertical member 3 and the upper substrate 20 The shape of the film 40 does not have a flat surface, but the shape of the film 40 is bent downward from the edge area to the center area of the protective film 40. In this case, a difference may occur in the propagation path of light in all regions of the electrophoretic display, thereby degrading image quality.

As shown in FIG. 4, the protective film 40 may include a protective layer 31 and a black pattern 33 formed along an edge area of the protective layer 31.

The protective layer 31 protects the lower substrate 10 and the upper substrate 20. The protective layer 31 protects the lower substrate 10 and the upper substrate 20 from an impact applied from the outside. It may serve to block moisture penetrating into the upper substrate 20 and the lower substrate 10 from. In addition, the protective layer 31 fixedly supports the upper substrate 20 and the lower substrate 10 so that the lower substrate 10 and the upper substrate 20 do not protrude to the outside due to a surrounding impact. Can play a role.

The protective layer 31 may be formed of a transparent resin material. For example, the protective layer 31 may be formed of any one of a polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) resin, a butyl methacrylate (BMA) resin, and a urethane acrylate (urethane acrylate) resin.

The black pattern 33 may extend from the end of the protective layer 31 toward the center of the protective layer 31 to cover at least the width of the sealant 30. In other words, the width W of the black pattern 33 may be at least greater than the sum of the width w1 of the sealant 30 and the width w2 of the vertical member 3.

The black pattern 33 corresponds to a bezel area covered by the upper case in the conventional electrophoretic display (FIG. 1), and is emitted by the lower substrate 10 and the upper substrate 20. It is a member for preventing passage to the bezel area.

In the conventional electrophoretic display device, the bezel area is covered by the upper case, whereas in the embodiment, the bezel area may be covered by the black pattern 33 disposed on the protective film 40.

As a member covering the bezel area, the electrophoretic display device becomes significantly thinner by replacing the black pattern 33 of the embodiment instead of the conventional upper case.

For example, while the thickness of the conventional upper case is approximately 1000 μm, the black pattern 33 of the embodiment may have a thickness of approximately 2 μm to 5 μm. Accordingly, the black pattern 33 of the embodiment may have a significantly thinner thickness than the conventional upper case.

Here, the width of the black pattern 33 may be defined as a non-display area, and the area surrounded by the black pattern 33 may be defined as a display area.

The light must be emitted only to the display area and not to the non-display area covered by the black pattern 33. Therefore, the black pattern 33 may block light emitted to the non-display area.

The black pattern 33 may be formed of an opaque resin material, a plastic material, or a metal material that may block light.

The black pattern 33 may be directly formed on the protective layer 31 using a silk printing process. According to the silk printing process, a mask for protecting a display area is disposed on the protective layer 31, and a black solution is printed onto the protective layer 31 on the protective layer 31 using a silk printing apparatus, and then cured. The black pattern 33 may be formed on the protective layer 31 through the process.

When it is difficult to obtain a black pattern 33 having a desired thickness by one silk printing process, the black pattern 33 having a desired thickness may be obtained by repeatedly performing a plurality of silk printing processes.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 5, the protective film 40 ′, in addition to the black pattern 33 formed on the protective layer 31, the absorbing layer 35, the barrier layer 37, and the second adhesive layer 39. ) May be further formed.

The absorbing layer 35 may be formed on the black pattern 33 and the protective layer 31.

The absorbing layer 35 has a function of absorbing shock, and may be a shock absorbing filter.

In addition, the absorbing layer 35 further has a function of blocking ultraviolet rays (UV), and may be an ultraviolet blocking filter.

Accordingly, the lower substrate 10 and the upper substrate 20 may be protected by the absorbing layer 35 from external impact, and external ultraviolet rays may be directed to the lower substrate 10 and the upper substrate 20. As it does not penetrate, damage to the lower substrate 10 and the upper substrate 20 can be prevented from the ultraviolet rays.

The barrier layer 37 may prevent external moisture from penetrating into the lower substrate 10 and the upper substrate 20. For example, when external moisture penetrates into the protective film 40 ′, the moisture is absorbed by the barrier layer 37 so as not to penetrate the upper substrate 20.

The second adhesive layer 39 may be disposed on the barrier layer 37 to attach the protective film 40 ′ to the upper substrate 20 and the sealant 30.

In addition, the protective film may be directly attached to the upper surface of the vertical member 3 of the case 5 due to the second adhesive layer 39.

When the adhesive strength of the second adhesive layer 39 is ensured, by attaching the protective film 40 ′ on the vertical member 3 of the case 5 by the second adhesive layer 39. In addition, the protective film 40 ′ may sufficiently serve to fix and support the upper substrate 20 and the lower substrate 10.

In addition, the vertical member 3 of the case 5 and the protective films 40 and 40 'may be fixed using separate fastening members. The fastening member may be a screw such as a screw. As a screw, a metal material or a stainless steel material may be used, but preferably, a light and rigid plastic material may be used.

6A to 6C are diagrams illustrating a manufacturing process of the electrophoretic display device of the first embodiment.

Referring to FIG. 6A, the lower substrate 10 and the upper substrate 20 are accommodated in the case 5. The lower substrate 10 and the upper substrate 20 may be attached to each other via a first adhesive layer 41 disposed on any one of the lower substrate 10 and the upper substrate 20.

The lower substrate 10 and the upper substrate 20 attached as described above may be accommodated on the horizontal member 1 of the case 5. The lower surface of the lower substrate 10 may be in contact with the horizontal member 1 of the case 5 to be attached or fixed to the horizontal member 1 through an adhesive tape or the like.

The case 5 may further include a vertical member 3 in addition to the horizontal member 1. The vertical member 3 may protrude in a vertical direction from all end regions of the horizontal member 1.

In this case, the upper surface of the vertical member 3 may have the same height as the upper surface of the upper substrate 20 accommodated in the case (5). This is to allow the protective film 40 to be attached to the upper substrate 20 and the vertical member 3 to have a flat surface so that the light paths are the same in all regions of the display area of the electrophoretic display device.

The lower substrate 10 may have at least a larger area than the upper substrate 20. Therefore, when the upper substrate 20 is attached to the lower substrate 10, the edge area of the lower substrate 10 is not covered by the upper substrate 20.

As shown in FIG. 6B, a liquid sealant solution 43 may be formed along the edge region of the lower substrate 10. The sealant solution 43 may be a paste in which a viscous material and a curing material are mixed in addition to the sealant.

As shown in FIG. 6C, a protective film 40 including at least a black pattern 33 is placed on the vertical member 3 of the upper substrate 20 and the case 5, and then the protective film ( 40 is pressed to form a vertical member of the upper substrate 20 and the case 5 through the second adhesive layer 39 disposed on the protective film 40. 3) can be attached.

The sealant solution 43 positioned below the protective film 40 is pressed by the pressurized protective film 40 to spread in the lateral direction, so that the lower substrate 10 and the upper part are opened by the sealant solution 43. Air waves and the protective film 40 may be attached. A solid sealant 30 may be formed by evaporating moisture in the sealant solution 43 through a baking process. The sealant 30 may be filled or formed in a space surrounded by an upper surface of the lower substrate 10, a side surface of the upper substrate 20, and a lower surface of the protective film 40.

In addition, between the vertical member 3 of the case 5 and the protective film 40 corresponding thereto may be fixed using a separate fastening member.

When the protective film 40 is attached to the upper substrate 20 and the vertical member 3 of the case 5, the black pattern 33 disposed on the protective film 40 is the sealant 30. It may have a width at least greater than the sum of the width of the and the width of the vertical member (3) of the case (5). Due to the black pantone of this structure, the light passing through the bezel area or the non-display area can be completely blocked.

Meanwhile, in the electrophoretic display of the first embodiment, when the protective film 40 is attached to the upper substrate 20 and the vertical member 3 of the case 5, the sealant 30 is also formed. Due to the black pattern 33, whether the sealant 30 disposed below the black pattern 33 is defective may not be detected by the naked eye. A solution to this problem is described in the second embodiment.

7 is a diagram illustrating an electrophoretic display device according to a second embodiment.

The second embodiment is almost the same as the first embodiment except that openings 45 and 47 are formed in the black pattern 33 so as to detect a defect of the sealant 30. Therefore, in the second embodiment, the same reference numerals are assigned to the same components as those in the first embodiment, and detailed descriptions of the components described in the first embodiment are omitted.

Referring to FIG. 7, the electrophoretic display device according to the second embodiment includes a case 5, a lower substrate 10, an upper substrate 20, a protective film 40, and a sealant 30.

As shown in FIG. 8, the protective film 40 has a width A that is at least smaller than the width w1 of the sealant 30 so that the sealant 30 positioned under the protective film 40 can be seen. A passage opening 45 having an opening may be formed in the black pattern 33.

Since the sealant 30 is formed along the edge area of the lower substrate 10 and the side surface of the upper substrate 20, the passage opening corresponding to the sealant 30 so that all of the sealant 30 is visible ( 45 may also be formed to correspond to the edge area of the lower substrate 10.

The width A of the opening passage may be formed in a range of 30% to 80% with respect to the width w1 of the sealant 30.

If the width A of the opening passage is too small, it is difficult to visually detect the defect of the sealant 30. If the width A of the opening passage is too large, the light passing through the lower substrate 10 and the upper substrate 20 may pass through the sealant 30 and then pass through the opening passage, thereby forming a black pattern. The light blocking function of 33 cannot be performed.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 9, the protective film 40 has a plurality of dot openings 47 formed in the sealant so that the sealant 30 positioned below the protective film 40 can be seen only locally. 30).

In FIG. 9, the dot opening has a circular shape, but is not limited thereto. The dot opening may have a triangular shape, a square shape, a rectangular shape, an elliptical shape, a star shape, or the like.

The diameter of the dot opening may be formed in the range of 30% to 80% of the width w1 of the sealant 30.

In this way, the black pattern 33 including the plurality of dot openings 47 is formed on the protective film 40 instead of the opening passage, thereby passing through the lower substrate 10 and the upper substrate 20. After a light passes through the sealant 30, the probability of passing through the opening passage may be much less.

Therefore, by forming the black pattern 33 including the dot openings 47 on the protective film 40, defect detection of the sealant as well as the light blocking function in the non-display area can be faithfully and stably performed. have.

1: horizontal member 3: vertical member
5: case 10: lower substrate
11: first base substrate 12: gate electrode
13: gate insulating film 14: semiconductor pattern
15: source electrode 16: drain electrode
17: thin film transistor 18: protective film
19: pixel electrode 20: upper substrate
22: second base substrate 24: common electrode
26: ink layer 28: microcapsules
30: sealant 31: protective layer
33: black pattern 35: absorbing layer
37: barrier layer 39: second adhesive layer
40, 40 ': protective film 41: first adhesive layer
43: sealant solution 45: passage opening
47: dot opening

Claims (17)

A case including a vertical member;
A display panel accommodated in the case and including a lower substrate and an upper substrate;
A protective film attached to the display panel and the case; And
A sealant formed surrounded by an upper surface of the lower substrate, a side surface of the upper substrate, and a lower surface of the protective film
Electrophoretic display device comprising a. The method of claim 1,
And the vertical member protrudes from the end region of the case in a vertical direction. The method of claim 2,
The protective film,
The protective layer; And
A black pattern formed on the protective layer to cover at least the width of the vertical member and the width of the sealant
Electrophoretic display device comprising a. The method of claim 3,
The black pattern is formed along the edge area of the protective layer. The method of claim 4, wherein
And the black pattern extends from the end of the protective layer toward the center of the protective layer to cover at least the width of the sealant. The method of claim 4, wherein
And the black pattern has a width that is at least greater than a sum of the width of the sealant and the width of the vertical member. The method of claim 3,
The black pattern has a thickness of 2 μm to 5 μm. The method of claim 3,
The black pattern may be any one of a vertical material, a plastic material, and a metal material. The method of claim 3,
An absorbing layer formed on the black pattern and the protective layer for shock absorption and UV blocking;
A barrier layer formed on the absorbing layer to prevent moisture penetration; And
Adhesion layer formed on the barrier layer
Electrophoretic display device further comprising. The electrophoretic display of claim 9, wherein the protective film is attached to the upper substrate, the sealant, and the vertical member via the adhesive layer. The method of claim 1,
Fastening member for fastening the protective film and the vertical member
Electrophoretic display device further comprising. The method of claim 1,
And an upper surface of the vertical member has the same height as an upper surface of the upper substrate. The method of claim 3,
The black pattern is,
A passage opening having a width at least less than the width of the sealant
Electrophoretic display device comprising a. The method of claim 13,
And the passage opening is formed corresponding to an edge area of the lower substrate on which the sealant is formed. The method of claim 13,
And the width of the opening passage is in a range of 30% to 80% of the width of the sealant. The method of claim 3,
The black pattern is,
A plurality of dot openings locally formed along the sealant
Electrophoretic display device comprising a. The method of claim 16,
The width of each of the dot passages is formed in the range of 30% to 80% of the width of the sealant.

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