KR20190007611A - Apparatus of manufacturing transparent parts for curved display device and transparent parts manufactured by the apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

Provided are an apparatus of manufacturing a transparent member for a curved display device and a transparent member manufactured by the apparatus. The transparent member can easily discharge bubbles and overcome a springback phenomenon and be attached regardless of the shape of a curved surface without any deformation such as wrinkles. The apparatus and the member fill a space between a protection sheet of the curved part and a window of a curved display with a filling layer.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention [0001] The present invention relates to a transparent member manufacturing apparatus applied to a curved display device and a transparent member manufactured by the method.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a transparent member manufacturing apparatus and a transparent member thereof, and more particularly to a device for filling a curved portion of a rim of a curved display device and a transparent member manufactured thereby.

A display such as a liquid crystal display (LCD), an organic light emitting diode (OLED), and electrophoresis (EPD) forms a screen. Display is widely used in mobile devices such as mobile phones, smart phones, tablets, and information processors such as ATMs and kiosks. The display device employs a portable device with various functions. Such a mobile device is, for example, a mobile phone, a smart phone, a tablet PC, or the like, and is formed of a window, a circuit board, a touch screen, or the like. On the other hand, the protective sheet serves to protect the window. In addition, Windows protects the touch screen and display. At this time, the protective sheet, window, and touch screen are referred to as transparent members.

Recently, a portable device having a curved surface shape having a curvature and a three-dimensional curvature at an edge than a center portion has been applied. Such a panel is called a curved mobile device. The curved mobile device may also include a curved corner connected to an edge. In addition, the emergence of flexible and curved displays has led to the emergence of windows. As described above, the curved surface portable device has a tendency to have an edge, a corner or an edge and a curved shape at the corner. Transparent members applied to curved mobile devices should be adhered well despite the curved shape. Here, the window is detachable and is described in detail in Korean Patent No. 10-1574923.

In order to attach to a curved surface portable apparatus, in the case of a protective sheet, a method of attaching the protective cover to the front surface is adopted, and the edge is attached to the front surface using a flat tempered glass in Korean Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2014-0013155. The above method can not be adopted for the curved reinforced glass. In addition, since the multi-layer protective cover needs to be attached to the front surface of the edge, the manufacturing process is complicated. Further, the protective cover exposed to the outside is left with an adhesive material, foreign substances outside the portion are buried, and the aesthetic appearance is damaged. Incidentally, when the size of the edge forming the curved surface increases, the portion occupying the curved surface portion of the protective sheet expands, and the gap with the edge increases excessively. Accordingly, the method according to the patent is difficult to appropriately cope with the shape of the edge.

Curved edges, on the other hand, are changing in a variety of ways, such as varying curvature and making aspherical surfaces. In order to cope with this, a method of molding a hard material excellent in hardness, stiffness, transparency, and workability such as tempered glass, polycarbonate, and polyester has been proposed. However, the protective sheet made of such a material is difficult to be molded, and there is a spring back phenomenon in which the protective sheet is intended to be restored to its original state even if it is molded. It is difficult to cope with the curvature and the shape of the curved edge, so that it only covers a part of the curved edge. As another method, a soft material such as a soft TPU (Thermal Polyurethane) has been proposed, but the soft material has a remarkably low hardness and is very vulnerable to scratches. Further, the soft material must have high adhesion and it is not easy to remove bubbles.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems occurring in the prior art, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a transparent member manufacturing apparatus which is applied to a curved display device in which bubbles are easily discharged and overcome a springback phenomenon, And a transparent member made of a transparent material.

A transparent member manufacturing apparatus applied to a curved display device and a transparent member manufactured thereby fill a space between a curved surface portion and a window of a curved surface display with a filler material.

According to the transparent member manufacturing apparatus applied to the curved display device of the present invention and the transparent member manufactured thereby, the space between the edges of the protective sheet and the window of the curved display is filled with the filler material, And is attached without any deformation such as wrinkles regardless of the shape of the curved surface.

FIGS. 1 to 4 are schematic views showing one example of a transparent member manufacturing apparatus and a transparent member manufactured thereby, which are applied to a curved display device according to the present invention.
5 to 7 are schematic views showing another example of a transparent member manufacturing apparatus applied to a curved display device according to the present invention and a transparent member manufactured thereby.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. The embodiments described below can be modified into various other forms, and the scope of the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described below. The embodiments of the present invention are provided to enable those skilled in the art to more fully understand the present invention.

FIGS. 1 to 4 are schematic views showing one example of a transparent member manufacturing apparatus and a transparent member manufactured thereby, which are applied to a curved display device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

1 to 4, the curved display device is divided into a curved portion on the outer side and a central portion on the inner side with respect to the panel inflection point. The panel inflection point c1 is a boundary between a curved portion and a center portion having different curvatures. The center portion may have a flat surface as shown, but it may be a curved surface having a predetermined curvature depending on the case. The curved portion is a region where the curved surface has a larger degree of warpage than the central portion. The curved portion may have all the same curvature along the circumference of the device, and may have a partially different curvature. Conventional apparatuses may have a rectangular shape in plan view, and curved portions may be formed on both side edges or one side edge of the square type apparatus. The screen portion can extend to a part or all of the curved portion.

The display device according to the embodiment of the present invention is applied to a curved display device in which the edge has a larger curvature than the center portion and is three-dimensional. The curved display device basically consists of a window and a display, and optionally a touch screen can be placed between the window and the display. The curved display device is further connected to the edge and further comprises a corner forming a curved surface.

The transparent member of the present invention refers to a protective sheet, a window, and a touch screen. In other words, the window and the touch screen are transparent members and components constituting the display device. The protective sheet is attached to the window, the window is the touch screen or the display and the touch screen are attached to the display. The display device according to the embodiment of the present invention refers to all image processing devices such as a mobile device, an information processing terminal, and a television. The mobile device includes a mobile phone, a smart phone, a tablet, and the like. The information processing terminal includes an ATM, a kiosk, and the like. The display of the display device may be flat or curved, and may be flexible.

The transparent substrate can be used without restriction as long as it is made of a transparent material. For example, a glass substrate or a plastic substrate. Specifically, the glass substrate may be tempered glass, and the plastic substrate is made of a thermoplastic resin. Preferably, the plastic substrate is made of PET (PolyEthylene Terephthalate), PEN (PolyEthylene Naphthalate), PES (Polyether Sulfone) ), PC (PolyCarbonate), PMMA (PolyMethyl Methacrylate), PU (Polyurethane), TAC (Tri-Acrylic-Cellulose) or COC (Cycloolefin Copolymer). The transparent substrate may be a laminated structure in which the reinforcing glass and the plastic substrate are formed in multiple layers. When the transparent substrate is a touch screen, it may include an electrode pattern.

On the transparent substrate, properties such as fingerprint prevention, anti-reflection, blue light blocking, electromagnetic wave blocking, privacy, and antibacterial properties can be imparted. For example, a fluorine-based coating liquid may be wet-coated, or may be dry-coated by vacuum deposition to form a fingerprint-preventing coating layer that provides a fingerprint-proofing function. The coating layer of the transparent substrate can be prevented from fingerprints or fingerprints, and can be antibacterial or hardened, as well as fingerprints or fingerprints and antimicrobial treatments. As described above, the coating layer can allow the transparent substrate to exhibit various functions. Further, the transparent substrate may be a slim tempered glass having a thickness of approximately 10 mu m to 150 mu m. The adhesive layer and the adhesive layer are detachably attached to the display component, and may be any one of an acrylic resin, a silicone resin, an epoxy resin, a urethane resin, or a composite resin thereof.

Poly (ethylene terephthalate), PEN (PolyEthyleneNaphthalate), PES (polyether sulfone), PI (polyimide), PAR (polyarylate), and the like are preferably used as the polymer resin. , At least one selected from the group consisting of PC (PolyCarbonate), PMMA (PolyMethylMethAcrylate), PU (PolyUrethane), TPU (Thermal Polyurethane), TAC (Tri- Acyltyl-Cellulose), COC (Cycloolefin Copolymer) have. In some cases, the layers of the resins may be laminated.

The transparent substrate / adhesive layer / polymer resin / adhesive layer may be flat, but the vicinity of the curved portion may be warped. In the drawings, a flat case is taken as an example. The print layer and pattern may be present between the transparent substrate and the polymer resin, or may be formed in the adhesive layer. At this time, the pattern may be located on the screen.

The transparent member manufacturing apparatus includes a control unit and an injection unit. The injection unit injects a cured resin which is cured to a solid or a semi-solid body in the future, and preferably has an orifice form. The control unit controls the amount to be injected, the rate of injection, the pressure to be injected, the shape of the filling layer 1, the temperature of the cured resin, the viscosity of the cured resin, and curing by ultraviolet rays or heat. The manufacturing apparatus of the present invention can move the manufacturing apparatus without moving the filling layer 1 or moving the filling layer 1 without moving.

The filling layer (1) is filled in the space between the adhesive layer and the curved surface portion by the injection part. That is, the adhesive layer adheres to the center portion but not to the curved portion. As a result, a wedge-shaped space is formed between the display device and the adhesive layer in the curved surface portion, the width of which becomes wider toward the rim. The space exists along the perimeter of the rim. In some cases, in the curved portion, a space made of a transparent substrate and a polymer resin may be provided without an adhesive layer adhering to the polymer resin. Further, the transparent substrate and the adhesive layer may be flat or curved in the vicinity of the curved portion.

The filling layer 1 may be a water, a liquid such as an oil, a polymer gel such as silicon, or a cured resin which is cured by heat or ultraviolet rays to change into a gel state in a solid or semi-solid state. The filling layer 1 can be formed by injecting a liquid phase having the same overall viscosity, and can form a progressive viscosity layer a (a ₁ , ..., a _n ) whose viscosity gradually changes. By placing the progressive viscosity layer a, the filling layer 1 is filled between the pressure-sensitive adhesive layer and the curved surface portion without generating air bubbles or the like. The filling layer (1) is filled and, if necessary, can be removed again. In other words, the filling layer 1 is detachable.

The curing resin of the filling layer (1) may be composed of any one selected from a thermosetting resin and an ultraviolet ray curing resin, and more preferably an ultraviolet ray curing resin. The ultraviolet curable resin is prepared by blending various types of acrylic units and ultraviolet curing catalysts, for example, polyurethane resin, epoxy resin or polyester resin. As a specific example of the ultraviolet curing material, urethane or acrylate oligomer, reactive monomer, photoinitiator and leveling agent are mixed as an ultraviolet reactive coating material. The urethane acrylate oligomer has a formula containing an aliphatic, cyclic aliphatic, aromatic compound or an oligomer of these compounds, and polyester polyol or polyether polyol is included in the molecular structure.

5 to 7 are schematic views showing another example of a transparent member manufacturing apparatus applied to a curved display device according to an embodiment of the present invention and a transparent member manufactured thereby. 1, except for the filling layer 2, so that the detailed description of the same reference numerals will be omitted.

5 to 7, the filling layer 2 is made of the same material as that of the filling layer 1 and has a progressive viscosity similar to that of the layer a (a ₁ , ..., a _n ) in the filling layer 1 Layer b (b ₁ , ..., b _n ).

The filling layer 2 is filled in the space between the adhesive layer and the polymer resin. At this time, the polymer resin and the adhesive layer are attached to the curved display device. That is, the adhesive layer adheres to the polymer resin in the central portion, but not to the curved portion. As a result, a wedge-shaped space is formed between the polymer resin and the adhesive layer in the curved portion, which becomes wider toward the rim. The space exists along the perimeter of the rim.

In some cases, in the curved portion, a space made of a transparent substrate and a polymer resin may be provided without an adhesive layer adhering to the polymer resin. Further, the transparent substrate and the adhesive layer may be flat or curved in the vicinity of the curved portion. Furthermore, the apparatus for forming the filling layer 2 is the same as the injection unit and the control unit described in Fig.

The filling layer 2 is solidified or filled in a solid or semi-solid state in a space between the adhesive layer or the transparent substrate and the polymer resin to block the springback phenomenon of the polymer resin and the adhesive layer. That is, the filling layer 2 becomes an obstacle blocking the springback phenomenon. Even if the polymer resin tries to fall off the display device due to the springback phenomenon, the filling layer 2 plays a role of suppressing it. In this case, the polymer resin and the adhesive layer are stably attached to the curved portion of the display device.

While the present invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to exemplary embodiments thereof, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed exemplary embodiments, but many variations and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. It is possible.

Claims (1)

 A transparent member manufacturing apparatus applied to a curved display device which fills a space between a curved portion and a window of a curved display with a filling layer, and a transparent member manufactured thereby.

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