Patent Application
20200292862
The present disclosure relates to the field of display technology, in particular, to a display-panel motherboard and a fabricating method of the display-panel motherboard.
Thin film transistor-liquid crystal display (TFT-LCD) is formed by aligning and assembling an array substrate and a color filter substrate to form a cell by means of sealant and enclosing the liquid crystals within the cell.
On the periphery of TFT-LCD, the internal and the external atmospheres of the sealant are different from each other, specifically, in that: 1) there are liquid crystals at the inner side of the sealant, while there is vacuum atmosphere at the outer side of the sealant, resulting in different atmospheres at the two sides of the sealant; and 2) there are liquid crystals and spacers for supporting to maintain the cell gap at the inner side of the sealant, while there is no supporter in a region at the outer side of the sealant and between the two parallel substrates (i.e., the array substrate and the color filter substrate), resulting in different supporting conditions at two sides of the sealant. Consequently, the inner side and the outer side of the sealant are subjected to different forces, which is prone to cause deformation of the array substrate and the color filter substrate during aligning and assembling them, resulting in a higher or a lower periphery of the display panel, i.e., a non-uniform cell gap on the periphery of the display panel, and therefore adverse effects such as yellowing display, black edge, mura, and the like, may be occur on the periphery of the display panel.
The present disclosure provides a display-panel motherboard and a fabricating method.
In an embodiment, the display-panel motherboard includes a first motherboard and a second motherboard arranged opposite to each other, the display-panel motherboard is divided into a plurality of sub-panel regions arranged in an array, and a surrounding region other than all of the sub-panel regions, sealing glue for bonding the first motherboard to the second motherboard is provided within the surrounding region on a periphery of the display-panel motherboard, each sub-panel region is provided therein with sealant for bonding the first motherboard to the second motherboard, and first liquid crystals are provided within a closed space between the first motherboard and the second motherboard at an inner side of the sealing glue and at an outer side of the sealant within the individual sub-panel regions.
In some embodiments, the display-panel motherboard further includes a plurality of supporting components provided within the closed space between the first motherboard and the second motherboard at an inner side of the sealing glue and at an outer side of the sealant within the individual sub-panel regions.
In some embodiments, the plurality of supporting components are arranged in an array.
In some embodiments, the supporting components are made of a photosensitive polymer material which is doped into the first liquid crystals.
In some embodiments, the photosensitive polymer material is an acrylic material or a polyimide material.
In some embodiments, the first liquid crystals are doped with polymerization catalyst.
In some embodiments, the first motherboard is an array-substrate motherboard, and the second motherboard is a color filter-substrate motherboard; or, the first motherboard is a color filter-substrate motherboard, and the second motherboard is an array-substrate motherboard.
The present disclosure further provides a method for fabricating a display-panel motherboard including steps:
dividing a first motherboard into a plurality sub-panel regions arranged in an array and a surrounding region other than all of the sub-panel regions;
applying sealing glue within the surrounding region on a periphery of the first motherboard;
dripping liquid crystals into a region enclosed by the sealing glue; and
aligning and assembling the first motherboard and the second motherboard to form a cell so as to form a display-panel motherboard.
In some embodiments, before the step of aligning and assembling the first motherboard and the second motherboard to form a cell, the method includes a step of:
forming a plurality of supporting components within a region between an inner side of the sealing glue and an outer side of sealant within the individual sub-panel regions.
In some embodiments, the step of forming a plurality of supporting components within a region at an inner side of the sealing glue and an outer side of sealant within the individual sub-panel regions includes:
doping a photosensitive polymer material into liquid crystals which are located within the region at the inner side of the sealing glue and the outer side of the sealant within the individual sub-panel regions; and
irradiating the photosensitive polymer material with light having a predetermined wavelength via a mask, so as to form the plurality of supporting components at exposure positions.
In some embodiments, the step of forming a plurality of supporting components within a region at an inner side of the sealing glue and an outer side of sealant within the individual sub-panel regions further includes:
doping polymerization catalyst into the liquid crystals within the region at the inner side of the sealing glue and the outer side of the sealant within the individual sub-panel regions.
In some embodiments, before the step of irradiating the photosensitive polymer material with light having a predetermined wavelength via a mask, the method includes:
acquiring a distribution of cell gaps between the first motherboard and the second motherboard;
the step of irradiating the photosensitive polymer material with light having a predetermined wavelength via a mask includes:
preparing a corresponding mask based on the acquired distribution, and irradiating the photosensitive polymer material with light having a predetermined wavelength via the mask to adjust distribution positions of the supporting components.
In some embodiments, the light having a predetermined wavelength is ultraviolet light.
In some embodiments, the photosensitive polymer material is an acrylic material or a polyimide material.
In some embodiments, the first motherboard is an array-substrate motherboard, and the second motherboard is a color filter-substrate motherboard; or, the first motherboard is a color filter-substrate motherboard, and the second motherboard is an array-substrate motherboard.
The display-panel motherboard and the fabricating method thereof according to the embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail below in conjunction with drawings in order that a person skilled in the art can understand the technical solutions of the present disclosure better. The present disclosure provides the display-panel motherboard and the fabricating method thereof to solve at least one of the problems that the cell gap on the periphery of the display panel is non-uniform and the adverse effects such as yellowing display, black edge, mura, and the like, occur on the periphery of the display panel caused by the different applied forces at the inner and the outer side of the sealant in the existing display.
Specifically, in the present embodiment, the first motherboard is an array-substrate motherboard, and the second motherboard is a color filter-substrate motherboard.
In the display-panel motherboard provided by the present embodiment, the display-panel motherboard includes a first motherboard and a second motherboard opposite to each other, the display-panel motherboard being divided into a plurality of sub-panel regions arranged in an array, and a surrounding region other than all of the sub-panel regions. Sealing glue for bonding the first motherboard to the second motherboard is provided within the surrounding region on the periphery of the display-panel motherboard. Each sub-panel region is provided therein with sealant for bonding the first motherboard to the second motherboard so that: a closed space is formed between the first and the second motherboards at the inner side of the sealing glue and at the outer side of the sealant within the individual sub-panel regions; also, between the individual sub-panel regions, closed spaces are further formed between the first and the second motherboards at the outer side of the sealant within the individual sub-panel regions; and closed spaces are further formed between the first and the second motherboards at the inner side of the sealant within the individual sub-panel regions, respectively. Furthermore, first liquid crystals are provided within the closed space located between the first and the second motherboards at the inner side of the sealing glue and at the outer side of sealant within the individual sub-panel regions; between the individual sub-panel regions, first liquid crystals are further provided within the closed spaces located between the first and the second motherboards at the outer side of the sealant within the individual sub-panel regions; second liquid crystals may be provided within the closed spaces located between the first and the second motherboards at the inner side of the sealant within the individual sub-panel regions. According to the technical solution provided by the present embodiment, since the sealing glue is disposed within the surrounding region on the periphery of the display-panel motherboard, and the first liquid crystals are disposed between the first and the second motherboards at the outer side of the sealant within the individual sub-panel regions and at the inner side of the sealing glue, it is ensured that the internal and the external environments of the sealant are consistent since there are liquid crystals at both sides (the inner side and the outer side) of the sealant within the individual sub-panel regions. In addition, since the liquid crystals at the inner side and the outer side of the sealant can act as supporters, the supporting conditions at the two sides of the sealant are substantially consistent. Consequently, the forces applied to the inner side and the outer side of the sealant are substantially the same, which may avoid occurrence of a deformation of the first motherboard (for example, the array substrate) and the second motherboard (for example, the color filter substrate) as much as possible during they are aligned and assembled to form a cell, so that a final display panel with a more uniform cell gap may be formed, and thus various adverse effects caused by a non-uniform cell gap may be avoided as much as possible.
In addition to the second liquid crystals, a plurality of spacers are provided at the inner side of the sealant 203 within the individual sub-panel regions 101 so as to maintain the cell gap properly in each sub-panel region. Accordingly, in the present embodiment, in order to maintain the cell gap properly on the periphery of the display-panel motherboard, a plurality of supporting components 301 are further provided in the closed space located between the first and the second motherboards at the inner side of the sealing glue 103 and at the outer side of the sealant 203 within the individual sub-panel regions 101, and provided in the closed spaces located between the first and the second motherboards at the outer side of the sealant 203 within the individual sub-panel regions 101 and between the individual sub-panel regions 101. In some embodiments, the plurality of supporting components 301 are arranged in an array; the material for forming the supporting components 301 is a photosensitive polymer material which is doped in the first liquid crystals. Furthermore, in some embodiments, the photosensitive polymer material is an acrylic material or a polyimide material. Furthermore, polymerization catalyst may be doped in the first liquid crystals to accelerate the polymerization procedure.
The photosensitive polymer material can be polymerized by the irradiation of light having a specific wavelength (such as UV light), and then form the supporting components 301 (also called polymer blocking structures) at exposure positions. The photosensitive polymer material which is not located at the exposure positions will not be polymerized. Thus, the positions at which the polymer blocking structures be formed may be controlled by adjusting the positions of trenches/openings in a mask used for exposing the photosensitive polymer material. In a practical production procedure, a production staff may first test the cell gap data after the first and the second motherboards are aligned and assembled to form a cell, and then generate a corresponding mask based on a practical fluctuation of the cell gap data. Thereby, the cell gap may be corrected after the first and the second motherboards are aligned and assembled to form a cell, resulting in a uniform cell gap in the display-panel motherboard as formed subsequently.
According to the technical solution provided by the present embodiment, the sealing glue 103 is disposed within the surrounding region on the periphery of the display-panel motherboard, the first liquid crystals and the plurality of the supporting components 301 are disposed in the closed space between the first and the second motherboard at the inner side of the sealing glue 103 and at the outer side of the sealant 203 within the individual panel regions 101, and the first liquid crystals and the plurality of the supporting components 301 are further disposed in the closed space between the first and the second motherboard at the outer side of the sealant 203 within the individual panel regions 101 and between the individual panel regions 101; in this case, there are liquid crystals and a plurality of spacers acting as supporters at the inner side of the sealant 203 within the individual sub-panel regions, while there are liquid crystals and a plurality of supporting components 301 acting as supporters at the outer side of the sealant 203, and thereby ensuring consistent supporting conditions at the two sides of the sealant. In this manner, the forces applied to the inner and the outer sides of the sealant are identical, which may avoid occurrence of deformation of the first and the second motherboards during they are aligned and assembled to form a cell, so that a final display panel with a uniform cell gap may be formed, and thus various adverse effects caused by a non-uniform cell gap may be avoided.
Specifically, in the present embodiment, the first motherboard is an array-substrate motherboard, and the second motherboard is a color filter-substrate motherboard.
In the display-panel motherboard provided by the present embodiment, the display-panel motherboard includes a first motherboard and a second motherboard opposite to each other, the display-panel motherboard being divided into a plurality of sub-panel regions arranged in an array, and a surrounding region other than all of the sub-panel regions. Sealing glue for bonding the first motherboard to the second motherboard is provided within the surrounding region on the periphery of the display-panel motherboard. Each sub-panel region is provided therein with sealant for bonding the first motherboard to the second motherboard so that: a closed space is formed between the first and the second motherboards at the inner side of the sealing glue and at the outer side of the sealant within the individual sub-panel regions; also, between the individual sub-panel regions 101, closed spaces are further formed between the first and the second motherboards at the outer side of the sealant 203 within the individual sub-panel regions 101; and closed spaces are further formed between the first and the second motherboards at the inner side of the sealant within the individual sub-panel regions, respectively. Furthermore, first liquid crystals and a plurality of supporting components are provided within the closed space located between the first and the second motherboards at the inner side of the sealing glue and at the outer side of sealant within the individual sub-panel regions, and first liquid crystals and a plurality of supporting components are further provided within the closed spaces located between the first and the second motherboards at the outer side of the sealant 203 within the individual sub-panel regions 101 and between the individual sub-panel regions 101; second liquid crystals and a plurality of spacers may be provided within the closed spaces located between the first and the second motherboards at the inner side of the sealant within the individual sub-panel regions. According to the technical solution provided by the present embodiment, since the sealing glue is disposed within the surrounding region on the periphery of the display-panel motherboard, and the first liquid crystals and the plurality of supporting components are disposed within the closed space located between the first and the second motherboards at the outer side of the sealant within the individual sub-panel regions and at the inner side of the sealing glue, it is ensured that the internal and the external environments of the sealant are consistent since there are liquid crystals at both sides (the inner side and the outer side) of the sealant within the individual sub-panel regions. In addition, since the liquid crystals and the plurality of spacers at the inner side of the sealant can act as supporters, and the liquid crystals and the plurality of supporting components at the outer side of the sealant can also act as supporters, the supporting conditions at the two sides of the sealant are substantially consistent. Consequently, the forces applied to the inner side and the outer side of the sealant are substantially the same, which may avoid the occurrence of deformation of the first motherboard (such as an array substrate) and the second motherboard (such as a color filter substrate) during they are aligned and assembled to form a cell, so that a final display panel with a more uniform cell gap may be formed, and thus various adverse effects caused by a non-uniform cell gap may be avoided.
Step 1001: dividing a first motherboard into a plurality sub-panel regions arranged in an array and a surrounding region other than all of the sub-panel regions.
Step 1002: applying sealing glue within the surrounding region on the periphery of the first motherboard.
Step 1003: dripping liquid crystals into a region enclosed by the sealing glue.
Step 1004: aligning and assembling the first motherboard and a second motherboard to form a cell so as to form a display-panel motherboard.
It is well known to a person skilled in the art that, prior to Step 1003, the method further includes a step of providing sealant within the individual sub-panel regions and forming a plurality of spacers within regions enclosed by the sealant. In some embodiments, before the step of aligning and assembling the first motherboard and the second motherboard to form a cell (i.e., Step 1004), the method includes a step of forming a plurality of supporting components within a region between an inner side of the sealing glue and an outer side of the sealant within the individual sub-panel regions.
In some embodiments, the step of forming the plurality of supporting components includes: doping a photosensitive polymer material into liquid crystals which are located within the region between the inner side of the sealing glue and the outer side of the sealant within the individual sub-panel regions, and into liquid crystals which are located within regions between the first and the second motherboard at the outer side of the sealant 203 within the individual sub-panel regions 101 and between the individual sub-panel regions 101; irradiating the photosensitive polymer material by using light having a predetermined wavelength via a mask, so as to form a plurality of supporting components at exposure positions. The liquid crystals within the individual sub-panel regions may be the same as or different from the liquid crystals within the surrounding region. In some embodiments, the light having a predetermined wavelength is ultraviolet (UV) light. Furthermore, in order to accelerating the polymerization procedure, polymerization catalyst may be doped into the liquid crystal located within the region at the inner side of the sealing glue and at the outer side of the sealant within the individual sub-panel regions, and into the liquid crystals located within the regions between the first and the second motherboard at the outer side of the sealant 203 within the individual sub-panel regions 101 and between the individual sub-panel regions 101 (i.e., the liquid crystals within the surrounding region). Before producing the products on a large scale, position optimization of the supporting components may be performed on a test motherboard after being aligned and assembled to form a cell. Then, an optimal distribution design for the supporting components is made in view of the product design. Thereafter, mass production is done using the above distribution design for the supporting components, and thus production efficiency may be improved and the distribution of the supporting components can be optimized as well. Finally, the display panel motherboard is cut so as to be divided into single display panels which will be processed in subsequent technological processes after being subject to cleaning and edge polishing.
In the present embodiment, before the step of irradiating the photosensitive polymer material by using light having a predetermined wavelength via a mask, the method includes: acquiring a distribution of cell gaps between the first and the second motherboards; the step of irradiating the photosensitive polymer material by using light having a predetermined wavelength includes: preparing a corresponding mask based on the acquired distribution, and irradiating the photosensitive polymer material by using light having a predetermined wavelength via the mask to adjust the distribution positions of the supporting components. In some embodiments, the photosensitive polymer material is an acrylic material or a polyimide material. In a practical production procedure, a production staff may first test the cell gap data after the first motherboard (such as an array-substrate motherboard) and the second motherboard (such as a color filter-substrate motherboard) are aligned and assembled to form a cell, and then adjust exposure openings in the mask in accordance with a practical fluctuation of the cell gap artificially to control the positions of the supporting components, so that the artificial adjustment of the cell gap is achieved. In this manner, since the liquid crystals and the plurality of spacers at the inner side of the sealant can act as support, and the liquid crystals and the plurality of supporting components at the outer side of the sealant can also act as supporters, there are supporters at both the inner and the outer sides of the sealant. Consequently, the forces applied to the inner side and the outer side of the sealant are the same, which may avoid occurrence of deformation of the first and the second motherboards during they are aligned and assembled to form a cell, so that a final display panel with a uniform cell gap on the periphery thereof may be formed, and thus various adverse effects caused by a non-uniform cell gap may be avoided.
According to the fabricating method of a display panel motherboard provided by the resent embodiment, the fabricating method of a display-panel motherboard includes: dividing a first motherboard into a plurality sub-panel regions arranged in an array and a surrounding region other than all of the sub-panel regions; applying sealing glue within the surrounding region on the periphery of the first motherboard; dripping liquid crystals into a region enclosed by the sealing glue; aligning and assembling the first motherboard and the second motherboard to form a display-panel motherboard. In the technical solution provided by the present embodiment, since the sealing glue is provided within the surrounding region on the periphery of the display-panel motherboard, and liquid crystals are dripped into the region enclosed by the sealing glue, there are supporters at both the inner and the outer sides of the sealant, and thereby it is ensured that the internal and the external environments of the sealant are consistent. In addition, a plurality of supporting components are formed within the region located between the inner side of the sealing glue and the outer side of the sealant within the individual sub-panel regions, and formed within the regions located between the sealant within the individual sub-panel regions. In this manner, the liquid crystals and the plurality of spacers at the inner side of the sealant act as supporters, and the liquid crystals and the plurality of supporting components at the outer side of the sealant also act as supporters, so that the supporting conditions at the two sides of the sealant are consistent. Consequently, the forces applied to the inner side and the outer side of the sealant are the same, which may avoid occurrence of deformation of the array substrate and the color filter substrate during they are aligned and assembled to form a cell, so that a final display panel with a uniform cell gap on the periphery thereof may be formed, and thus various adverse effects caused by a non-uniform cell gap may be avoided.
It will be appreciated that the above implementations are only exemplary implementations for illustrating the principle of the disclosure, and the present disclosure is not limited to them. An ordinary person skilled in the art may make various modifications and improvements without departing from the spirit and essence of the present disclosure. The modifications and the improvements should be considered as the protective scope of the present disclosure.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 201710121149.9 | Mar 2017 | CN | national |
This is a National Phase Application filed under 35 U.S.C. 371 as a national stage of PCT/CN2017/105356, filed Oct. 9, 2017, an application claiming the benefit of priority to the Chinese Patent Application No. 201710121149.9 filed on Mar. 2, 2017, the contents of which are incorporated herein in their entirety by reference.
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/CN2017/105356 | 10/9/2017 | WO | 00 |
