Stereoscopic OLED lighting assembly and preparation method thereof

Abstract

Disclosed are a three-dimensional OLED lighting assembly and a preparation method thereof. The three-dimensional OLED lighting assembly comprises: at least two OLED panels; wherein the first OLED panel has a first light-emitting pattern, and the second OLED panel has a second light-emitting pattern; wherein at least one of the first OLED panel and the second OLED panel is transparent; a fixture for receiving the first OLED panel and the second OLED panel; wherein the first OLED panel and the second OLED panel are arranged separately from each other along the y-axis in the fixture, wherein the y-axis is perpendicular to the light-emitting plane of at least one OLED panel, and the first light-emitting pattern and the second light-emitting pattern only partially overlap; wherein the placement of the first OLED panel and the second OLED panel is limited by the fixture; wherein the at least two OLED panels are illuminated at the same time. The OLED lighting assembly can realize the three-dimensional pattern lighting function economically and conveniently.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the field of OLED lighting technology, in particular, to an OLED lighting component and a preparation method thereof, and more particularly, to a three-dimensional OLED lighting component and a preparation method thereof. Background Art

[0002] Some stereoscopic display effects can be achieved by using polarizers, microlenses or special circuit designs (US 6,359,664, US 6,485,884, US7,221,332, US 2002 / 0075566, US 2002 / 0158574, US 2004 / 0012851). However, these stereoscopic displays require complex pixelation processes and integration steps, which increases the manufacturing cost. On the other hand, some simple stereoscopic displays can be obtained by assembling simple lighting components. In KR20180074992A, a stack of transparent glass panels are pre-etched into different shapes and assembled into a jig, in which a group of LED lights respectively irradiate different light onto each glass panel from the side / bottom of the glass panel, such as Figure 1 As shown. This assembly creates a colorful transparent three-dimensional pattern. However, in order to generate this pattern, each panel must be etched into a different shape in advance, and the use of LEDs inevitably brings about clumsy appearance design and complexity of assembly.

[0003] In such Figure 2 In another transparent OLED lighting exhibit shown, (https: / / www.homecrux.com / panasonic-introduces-transparent-oled-display-concept-at-salone-del-mobile / 121005 / ), a transparent OLED light-emitting panel is placed in front of some objects. This transparent OLED panel is mainly used as a decoration to embellish the objects behind the panel. The panel itself has no three-dimensional visual effect, and this exhibit also has only one transparent OLED light-emitting panel. Patent CN109555983A describes a group of OLED panels that are assembled and stacked to form a lighting module with adjustable luminous color, in which at least one OLED panel is transparent. However, this application is only used as ordinary lighting or embellishment lighting, but there is no three-dimensional visual effect. In patent CN109253404A, the transparent OLED light-emitting panel is placed in front of a reflective source. When in use, the reflective source can be used to adjust the light beam, and the transparent OLED light-emitting panel can be used as a perspective window when the reflective source is put away. Likewise, although a group of OLED panels including a transparent panel are stacked in this application, they form neither a specific pattern nor a three-dimensional visual effect.

[0004] US2015 / 01878846 describes an embodiment of irregular pixelation of each layer in a stacked OLED device, but the final product is still a single-piece light-emitting panel, so it is difficult to produce an effective three-dimensional effect due to the distance limitation. Moreover, the "patterning" of the upper and lower layers is composed of pixels of different sizes, and its essence is still pixelated display, which is complex in process and high in preparation cost. Although WO2013057789A1 overlaps different OLED light-emitting panels in the vertical direction, vertical electrode contacts are used between the panels of each layer for driving, which is a great challenge to the electrode preparation process, and these panels are not arranged in a misaligned manner, and their display does not have a specific pattern. Finally, US2009 / 0284158A1 shows the idea of ​​assembling multiple OLED light-emitting panels into a signboard by overlapping them front and back, where each panel displays a different pattern, and only one panel can emit light at a time. Its purpose is not to show the three-dimensional effect of the pattern, but to display different contents on the same display board.

[0005] like Figure 3 Transparent OLED origami (https: / / inhabitat.com / rainbow-oled-transparent-light-origami-folds-to-make-new-hues / ) has also been reported, in which a large number of transparent OLED light panels of different colors are assembled into a 3D object. Each OLED panel here has no pattern or graphic, and the overlap between the panels does not produce a pre-designed pattern. Figure 4 As shown in (https: / / www.oled-info.com / udc-updates-and-booth-visit-sid-2012), a patterned transparent OLED light-emitting panel is placed in front of another light-emitting panel with the same pattern. The assembly of this application is arbitrary, which means that the relative position of the two panels is not fixed and the two panels are not connected by a fixture. Even if the two panels display the same pattern, the combination of the two panels will not form a complete pattern and there is no three-dimensional visual effect. In particular, the light emission of the two panels is alternating, that is, the current or voltage change trends of the two panels are exactly opposite, and they are not illuminated at the same time.

[0006] In order to give full play to the advantages of OLED-related technologies, the inventors have successfully developed a three-dimensional lighting component through in-depth research. In this new three-dimensional lighting component, a group of OLED light-emitting panels with the same pattern are staggered according to a specific design to obtain a three-dimensional pattern lighting effect. Summary of the invention

[0007] The present invention aims to provide an economical and convenient solution for realizing three-dimensional pattern lighting by disclosing a three-dimensional OLED lighting assembly. The lighting assembly comprises a group of OLED light-emitting panels with the same pattern, and a three-dimensional pattern is constructed by staggering multiple OLED panels.

[0008] To achieve the above object, according to one embodiment of the present invention, an OLED lighting assembly is disclosed, comprising:

[0009] At least two OLED panels; wherein the first OLED panel has a first light emitting pattern, and the second OLED panel has a second light emitting pattern; wherein at least one of the first OLED panel and the second OLED panel is transparent;

[0010] A fixture for receiving the first OLED panel and the second OLED panel;

[0011] wherein the first OLED panel and the second OLED panel are disposed apart from each other along a y-axis in the fixture, wherein the y-axis is perpendicular to a light emitting plane of at least one of the OLED panels, and the first light emitting pattern and the second light emitting pattern only partially overlap;

[0012] Wherein the placement of the first OLED panel and the second OLED panel is limited by the fixture;

[0013] Wherein the at least two OLED panels are illuminated simultaneously.

[0014] According to an embodiment of the present invention, the distance between the two closest points of the two OLED panels along the y-axis is not less than 0.1 mm.

[0015] According to one embodiment of the present invention, the method further includes a transparent page attached to at least one of the first OLED panel and the second OLED panel.

[0016] According to an embodiment of the present invention, the transparent page includes a third pattern different from the first luminous pattern or the second luminous pattern.

[0017] According to an embodiment of the present invention, the third graphic is printed on the transparent page.

[0018] According to an embodiment of the present invention, the first light emitting pattern and the second light emitting pattern are substantially the same.

[0019] According to an embodiment of the present invention, the first luminous pattern and the second luminous pattern form at least one of the following corresponding relationships in the fixture: upside down, mirror inverted, horizontally misaligned, or rotationally misaligned.

[0020] According to an embodiment of the present invention, the at least one transparent OLED panel is a panel placed closer to the viewing direction.

[0021] According to an embodiment of the present invention, the first OLED panel or the second OLED panel may be PMOLEDs (Passive OLED).

[0022] According to an embodiment of the present invention, at least one of the OLED panels is flexible.

[0023] According to an embodiment of the present invention, a third OLED panel is further included, wherein the third OLED panel has a third emission pattern that is substantially the same as at least one of the first emission pattern and the second emission pattern.

[0024] According to an embodiment of the present invention, the fixture further comprises a circuit driving module.

[0025] According to an embodiment of the present invention, the circuit driving module drives the first OLED panel and the second OLED panel independently or jointly.

[0026] According to an embodiment of the present invention, the first OLED panel only emits light of a first color, and the second OLED panel only emits light of a second color, and the first color and the second color may be the same or different.

[0027] According to another embodiment of the present invention, the following steps are included:

[0028] 1. Determine a unit pattern, simulate the arrangement of multiple unit patterns, where the unit patterns are placed in an offset and overlapping manner to obtain a target pattern;

[0029] 2. Designing an OLED panel layout, wherein the light-emitting pattern of the OLED panel is substantially the same as the unit pattern; preparing at least two OLED panels, at least one of which is a transparent OLED panel;

[0030] 3. Design a fixture to receive the OLED panel and arrange its light pattern in step a;

[0031] 4. Assemble the at least two OLED panels into a fixture;

[0032] Step 2 and step 3 may occur simultaneously or in any order.

[0033] According to an embodiment of the present invention, step 1 further includes determining the target pattern and decomposing it into unit patterns.

[0034] According to an embodiment of the present invention, the transparent OLED panel is arranged at a position closer to the observation direction.

[0035] According to an embodiment of the present invention, step 4 further comprises inserting a transparent page between at least two of the OLED panels.

[0036] According to an embodiment of the present invention, a pattern different from the unit pattern is printed on the transparent page.

[0037] According to an embodiment of the present invention, the design tool further includes a design circuit driving module.

[0038] In the present invention, the three-dimensional OLED lighting assembly constructs a three-dimensional pattern through a group of overlapping OLED light-emitting panels with the same pattern. In order to form a complete three-dimensional pattern, there is a certain distance between these panels, and they are intentionally misplaced according to the pre-designed pattern. Since the panels have the same graphic design, the manufacturing process is simple and the cost is low. Especially when made into a flexible OLED panel, a single panel can be very thin, and even the components after multiple layers of overlap can still be relatively light and thin, which can better reflect the great advantages compared to traditional light sources. Therefore, the lighting assembly provides an economical and convenient solution for realizing three-dimensional pattern lighting. This solution can be widely used in decorative lighting. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0039] Figure 1 It is a schematic diagram of an existing stack of transparent glass panels that are pre-etched into different shapes and assembled into a jig.

[0040] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of existing transparent OLED lighting exhibits.

[0041] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of existing transparent OLED origami.

[0042] Figure 4 It is a schematic diagram of assembling an existing patterned transparent OLED light-emitting panel with another light-emitting panel having the same pattern.

[0043] Figure 5a This is a cross-sectional diagram of a basic OLED panel; Figure 5b 5c is a schematic cross-sectional view of an OLED light-emitting panel with a front cover film; 5c is a schematic cross-sectional view of an OLED light-emitting panel with an additional encapsulation layer on a substrate; Figure 5d is a schematic cross-sectional view of an OLED light-emitting panel with a rear cover film.

[0044] Figure 6a It is a schematic diagram of layered graphics; Figure 6b6c is a schematic diagram of a unit figure; and 6c is a schematic diagram of a stacked unit figure.

[0045] Figure 7a It is a schematic diagram of a single-layer bamboo forest pattern and Figure 7b It is a schematic diagram of a multi-layered bamboo forest pattern.

[0046] Figure 8a is a schematic diagram of a single layer of reed pattern and Figure 8b It is a schematic diagram of the multi-layered reed pattern.

[0047] Figure 9a 9a is a schematic diagram of the anode layout; 9b is a schematic diagram of the organic layer layout; 9c is a schematic diagram of the cathode layout; 9d is a schematic diagram of the encapsulation layer layout; and 9e is a schematic diagram of the overall layout.

[0048] Fig.10 It is a schematic diagram of the transparent blue OLED device structure.

[0049] Fig.11 Figure 2 is a diagram of the chemical structures of organic materials used in transparent blue OLED devices.

[0050] Fig.12a This is a photo of the transparent blue OLED light-emitting panel when it is lit before cutting; and Figure 12b This is a real picture of the transparent blue OLED light-emitting panel after being cut and lit.

[0051] Fig.13a and Fig.13b This is a physical picture of the various combinations of two transparent blue OLED light-emitting panels.

[0052] Fig.14 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of a bottom-emitting blue OLED device.

[0053] Fig.15a This is a photo of the bottom-emitting blue OLED panel lit before cutting; and Fig.15b This is a real picture of the bottom-emitting blue OLED light-emitting panel after being cut and lit.

[0054] Figures 16a-16d These are physical pictures of various combinations of two transparent blue OLED light-emitting panels and one bottom-emitting blue OLED light-emitting panel.

[0055] Fig.17 It is a schematic diagram of the transparent red OLED device structure.

[0056] Fig.18 This is a diagram of the chemical structures of some organic materials used in transparent red OLED devices.

[0057] Fig.19a This is a physical picture of the transparent red OLED unit panel; Figure 19b-19e This is a physical picture of the various combinations of two transparent red OLED panels; Fig.19f This is a physical picture of the combination of three red OLED panels.

[0058] Figures 20a-20c This is a physical picture of various combinations of a transparent red OLED light-emitting panel and a transparent blue OLED light-emitting panel.

[0059] Figures 21a-21c This is a schematic diagram of a fixture that can hold three panels.

[0060] Fig.22a is a front view of an example of a dynamic fixture; and Figure 22b is a side view of an example of a dynamic fixture.

[0061] Fig.23a is a schematic diagram of an example of an additional printed graphic; and Figure 23b This is a physical picture of an example where additional printed graphics are added to an OLED light-emitting panel assembly.

[0062] Fig.24 is a flow chart for manufacturing a three-dimensional OLED lighting component. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0063] In our invention, we disclose a three-dimensional lighting assembly, which includes a group of overlapping OLED light-emitting panels with the same pattern. In order to form a complete pattern, these panels are spaced a certain distance apart and are intentionally misaligned according to a pre-designed pattern. At least one of the OLED light-emitting panels is a transparent panel. These combined OLED panels illuminate simultaneously. Since the panels have the same graphic design, the manufacturing process is simple and the cost is low. A method for manufacturing such a light-emitting assembly includes: 1) determining a unit pattern so that multiple unit patterns can be rearranged into a new target pattern by translation, misalignment, flipping, inversion, or mirror inversion; 2) preparing OLED light-emitting panels according to the unit patterns, wherein at least one OLED light-emitting panel is transparent; 3) designing a jig according to the arrangement of step 1; 4) assembling the panels into the jig according to the arrangement in step 1 and realizing the target pattern. Among them, the order of steps 2) and 3) can be reversed or performed in parallel. The assembly can be used as a decorative lamp.

[0064] As described herein, an "OLED device" includes an anode, a cathode, and one or more organic layers between the cathode and the anode. As described herein, an "OLED panel" includes a substrate, an OLED device, an encapsulation layer, and at least one anode contact position extending to the outside and at least one cathode contact position extending to the outside. An "OLED panel" does not include a cover layer.

[0065] As used herein, "encapsulation layer" may refer to a thin film encapsulation, which is less than 100 μm thick, including a single film or a film stack disposed directly on the OLED device, or may be a glass cover bonded to a substrate.

[0066] As used herein, "flexible printed circuit" refers to any flexible substrate coated with any one or a combination of the following, including but not limited to: conductive lines, resistors, capacitors, inductors, transistors, MEMS, etc. The flexible substrate for the FPC sheet can be plastic, thin glass, thin metal foil coated with an insulator, fabric, leather, paper, etc. The thickness of the FPC sheet is less than 1 mm, more preferably less than 0.7 mm.

[0067] As used herein, "light extraction layer" may refer to a diffuser, any microstructure with light extraction effect, or a thin film coating with an outcoupling effect. The light extraction layer may be disposed on the surface of the OLED substrate, or in any other suitable location, such as between the substrate and the ITO layer, between the organic layer and the cathode layer, between the cathode and the encapsulation layer, or on the encapsulation layer.

[0068] As used in this article, a "pattern" is a representation of the external form of an object, usually similar to reality. A "pattern" usually contains content or information that is easy to recognize and understand.

[0069] As described in this article, a "figure" does not necessarily have a high similarity to reality like a "pattern" and may not be directly understood. A "figure" can be a discontinuous form. A "figure" can be a part of a "pattern".

[0070] As described in this article, a "figure" or "pattern" has a main plane, and the "rotation" operation is to rotate a certain angle in the main plane along any point in the main plane. A special case of "rotation" is to "invert" a "figure" or "pattern", that is, to rotate 180 degrees in the plane around any point in the main plane; "mirror invert" a "figure" or "pattern" is to rotate 180 degrees with any straight line in the main plane as the rotation axis. The "mirror inversion" action can include left-right mirror inversion or top-down mirror inversion.

[0071] As used herein, the term "fill ratio" refers to the area ratio of the light emitting region to the entire panel.

[0072] As used herein, the term "luminescent area" refers to the area of ​​the anode layer, organic layer and cathode layer in the light-emitting device, excluding the light extraction effect. "Luminescent area" does not include edge emission and does not represent a hemispherical luminescent space in three dimensions.

[0073] As used herein, the term "light-emitting plane" refers to the surface from which the OLED emits light. A "light-emitting plane" should be parallel to one of the substrate or the encapsulation layer, or to both. For a flexible OLED light-emitting panel, the "light-emitting plane" can be a curved surface.

[0074] As described herein, the term "offset overlap" refers to two identical patterns being overlapped but not coincident, that is, the pattern after the overlap is different from the pattern before the overlap.

[0075] As described herein, the term "independent drive" means that each OLED panel can operate independently at a certain operating point, independent of changes in the operating points of other panels. Conversely, the term "joint drive" means that the operating point of each OLED panel will change with changes in the operating point of any other panel. Note that OLED panels under "joint drive" can operate at different operating points.

[0076] As described herein, the term "simultaneously illuminated" may refer to multiple OLED light-emitting panels reaching the rated operating point at substantially the same time, i.e., turning on at the same time, but the rated operating points of each OLED light-emitting panel may be different; "simultaneously illuminated" may also refer to multiple OLED light-emitting panels operating under the same current or voltage change trend, for example, brightening together or dimming together, but the rates of brightening or dimming may be different, and the maximum or minimum current or voltage values ​​finally reached may also be different; "simultaneously illuminated" may also include a situation where one OLED light-emitting panel is turned on or off at a first time point, a second OLED light-emitting panel is turned on or off at a second time point, and there is a third time point that allows the two OLED panels to reach the rated operating point at the same time. Note that in any case, the multiple OLED light-emitting panels that are "simultaneously illuminated" will not operate under opposite current or voltage change trends, such as one panel is brightening while another is dimming, or one is in an on operation while another is in a off operation.

[0077] A cross-sectional view of a basic OLED light-emitting panel is shown in Figure 5aThe OLED light-emitting panel 300 includes a substrate 301, an OLED device 310, a pair of contact electrodes 303 electrically connected to the OLED device 310, a thin film encapsulation layer 302 but exposing the contact electrodes 303, and an adhesive structure 304 connecting the pair of contact electrodes 303 to an external driving circuit. The substrate 301 can be hard such as glass, or flexible such as plastic. The OLED device 310 can be a bottom-emitting device, a top-emitting device, or a transparent device, that is, both sides can emit light. The encapsulation layer 302 can be a glass cover adhered to the substrate by an adhesive. In another embodiment, the encapsulation layer 302 can be a thin film encapsulation layer, such as thin film glass, a single inorganic layer, or a multi-layer structure of alternating organic and inorganic layers. The contact electrode 303 can include at least one anode contact and one cathode contact. A front cover film 305 can be added to the basic flexible OLED light-emitting panel, such as Figure 5b As shown. The front cover film 305 can be a flexible printed circuit (FPC) board on which a pre-designed circuit is printed and electrically connected to the OLED device 310 through the adhesive structure 304. In another embodiment, the adhesive structure 304 can be an FPC frame, and the front cover film 305 can be a plastic film to provide mechanical support. The specific description of using an FPC board to drive an OLED light-emitting panel can be found in Chinese patent application CN201810572632.3, which is incorporated by reference in its entirety, and it is not covered by the present application. The front cover film 305 may also include a light extraction layer. When the OLED device 310 is top-emitting, the front cover film 305 may be transparent in the light-emitting area. The front cover film 305 may be a combination of the above. An additional thin film encapsulation layer 306 may be coated on one or both sides of the substrate 301, such as Figure 5c The front cover film may also be coated with an additional thin film encapsulation layer 306, but this is not shown in the figure. Figure 5d In the embodiment, the back cover film 307 is covered to the substrate 301. The back cover film 307 can be used for mechanical support. When the flexible OLED is a bottom-emitting device, the back cover film 307 can be a light extraction layer. The back cover film 307 can be a combination of the above. The OLED light-emitting panel will be the architectural basis of the three-dimensional OLED lighting assembly.

[0078] In this work, we explore an economical method to construct a three-dimensional pattern by stacking OLED panels, at least one of which is transparent. Each OLED panel has the same pattern and can be arranged so that the patterns at least partially overlap each other and are spaced apart. During assembly, the OLED panels can be turned upside down, mirrored, rotated or simply displaced in a plane parallel to the other panels. A jig can be designed to accommodate this assembly. By spacing the OLED panels apart, visual depth can be created so that the final integration produces a three-dimensional luminous pattern. At the same time, the production cost is reduced by using the same pattern for each OLED panel. The details are described below.

[0079] A mountain scene was selected as the preliminary target pattern, such as Figure 6a The choice of pattern is mostly arbitrary, however, a multi-layered, asymmetrical pattern with similar repeating patterns is preferred. This pattern is then broken down into unit patterns, such as Figure 6b shown. Figure 6c The 3D rendering shows how to assemble three such unit graphics to form a final pattern. Here we define the y-axis to be perpendicular to the graphic plane, while the x- and z-axes are parallel to the graphic plane and perpendicular to each other. Because there is a gap between the three graphics along the y-axis, a visual depth and a sense of three-dimensionality can be generated when viewed from the front. In addition, due to the relative displacement along the x-axis and z-axis, the same graphic will look different, so that the combination of all three graphics produces a completely new pattern. The key here is that the three graphics only partially overlap, rather than perfectly aligned. In some embodiments, the unit graphics can be inverted, mirrored, or rotated to enrich the visual content. Note that the final target pattern can be smaller than the unit graphics. This is because it is usually preferred to only expose the overlapping parts of the three graphics and hide the rest in the fixture. The arrangement of the panel positions can be pre-designed, which will result in a fixed final product. In some embodiments, this arrangement can be dynamic so that the panel can be moved by the user within a certain distance. The overlapping scheme of the simulated unit graphics can be obtained through various graphics software, which is well known to professionals in this field. In this example, the graphics simulation is performed using Rhinos software. Some other multi-layered patterns are shown in Figure 7a , 7b and Figure 8a , 8b middle. Figure 7a and 7b Single and multi-layer bamboo forest patterns are shown, while Figure 8a and 8b Single and multi-layer reed patterns are shown.

[0080] On the other hand, a unit pattern can be determined first, and then multiple layers can be stacked to generate a final target pattern. The number of layers, that is, the number of OLED light-emitting panels, can be different. The more layers there are, the richer the content of the final pattern. However, the more layers there are, the more space is occupied. Therefore, there is a trade-off between the final visual effect and space. The number of layers, that is, the number of panels, can be between 2-10, and more preferably between 3-5.

[0081] After the unit pattern and the corresponding target pattern are finalized, the layout of the OLED light-emitting panel can be designed. There are some broad rules of panel design that can be applied to the present invention. First, the light-emitting area can be determined based on the expected effect and is roughly the same as the preliminary target pattern. For example, in Figure 6b In the mountain view graphic shown, either the top 601 portion or the bottom 602 portion can emit light. Second, at least one transparent OLED light-emitting panel must be included in the final assembly. In order to achieve uniform light emission, the matching between the resistance values ​​of the conventional ITO anode and the semi-transparent cathode needs to be calculated, and the design of the contact electrode needs to take this difference into account. The specific panel design to achieve higher uniformity is well known to professionals in the field and is not discussed in the present invention. Third, the life of transparent devices is often a major concern, so additional dry sheets can be implanted in the package. In this case, more areas need to be designed to hide the non-transparent dry sheets in the package frame. The patterning of the OLED light-emitting panel can be obtained by designing the overlapping areas of the anode layer, organic layer and cathode layer, coating metal traces (US 8,927,308, US 8,432,095), or inserting a non-conductive dielectric layer between the anode and the organic layer / the organic layer and the cathode (US 9,184,420). There are many ways to pattern the OLED light-emitting panel, and they are widely known to professionals in the field.

[0082] We designed a set of layouts for the above special graphics, including anode layer, organic layer, cathode layer and packaging layer, such as Figures 9a-9d This is based on a 6-inch x 6-inch square substrate design, that is, Figure 9a The block pattern 901 closest to the edge is shown in FIG. In order to achieve the maximum fill rate, two unit patterns are arranged on a substrate. It can be seen that the encapsulation layer ( Figure 9d This is to allow enough space within the packaging area to integrate a non-transparent dry sheet without interfering with the luminescent pattern, such as in Fig.9e The area 902 circled in the overall layout. The calculated luminous area of ​​the unit pattern is 39.06 cm 2 . And the light-emitting pattern is substantially the same as the unit pattern.

[0083] Then we prepared an OLED light-emitting panel according to the above layout. A transparent blue OLED device 100 was prepared on a 0.7 mm thick, 6 inch x 6 inch glass substrate 101, and its device structure was drawn on Fig.10 A pre-graphic A thick ITO layer is provided on a glass substrate as an anode layer 102, followed by A hole injection layer (HIL) 103 composed of LG101 (available from LG Chem, South Korea), A hole transport layer (HTL) 104, Blue light electron blocking layer (BEBL) 105, The light emitting layer (EML) 106 includes a blue light host material (BH) doped with 4% of a blue light emitting material (BD), A blue hole blocking layer (BHBL) 107, The electron transport layer (ETL) 108 comprises LG201 (available from LG Chem, Korea) doped with 60% Liq. Liq as an electron injection layer (EIL) 109, a cathode layer 110 is Ytterbium follows closely Magnesium silver, in which the silver doping ratio is 10%, and finally Capping layer (CPL) 111. Examples of hole injection (HI), hole transport (HT), blue electron block (BEB), blue hole block (BHB), electron transport (ET), blue host (BH), blue light emitter (BD), and capping layer (CAP) materials are as follows Fig.11 All organic layers and cathode layers are evaporated in a vacuum environment of less than 1E-6Torr. The OLED light-emitting panel is encapsulated with a 0.7 mm thick glass cover in a nitrogen environment, and the adhesive is cured with UV light. A desiccant sheet can be inserted between the encapsulation glass and the substrate. Fig.9e The region 902 is used to further improve the lifespan. Note that this device structure is only an example, and any other transparent blue light device structure and material can be used to make an OLED light-emitting panel.

[0084] The transparent blue OLED light-emitting panel is then cut into two unit panels, Panel 1 and Panel 2, each displaying a unit pattern. Fig.12a This is a photo of the panel lit before cutting. Figure 12b This is a physical picture of the individual unit panels after cutting. In this example, no drying sheet is added to Panel 1 or Panel 2. Before assembling into the final target pattern, the two panels were tried in various combinations. For example, we can keep the 602 area of ​​the two panels (see Figure 6b) at the bottom of the combination, such as Fig.13a As shown, this is similar to a mountain scene under the night sky; we can also rotate 180 degrees to make their 601 area at the bottom of the combination, such as Fig.13b As shown, this reproduces a black mountain scene under a blue sky. Furthermore, the transparent OLED light-emitting panel has two light-emitting surfaces, one emitting from the anode and one from the cathode. The light emitted by these two light-emitting surfaces can have different brightnesses and even colors that are close but not exactly the same. In some embodiments, the anode light-emitting surfaces or cathode light-emitting surfaces of the two panels can be placed facing the front observer. In another case, the anode light-emitting surface of one panel and the cathode light-emitting surface of the other panel can be facing the front observer. In this way, different layers can obtain different brightness or slight color shifts. Note that this can also be achieved by driving each panel independently. In all combinations, the two OLED unit panels are illuminated at the same time. Note that although both panels in the example are transparent OLEDs, it is also possible to place a transparent OLED close to the observer and a single-sided emitting OLED panel, such as top emission or bottom emission, away from the observer.

[0085] In addition to the above two transparent panels, a third OLED light-emitting panel can be added to the combination. The third panel can be a transparent OLED like the first two panels, or it can be a single-sided light-emitting device, such as top emission or bottom emission. In this embodiment, we further prepare a bottom-emitting blue OLED light-emitting panel. The device structure of the bottom-emitting blue OLED device 200 is Fig.14 The only difference from the transparent device is that the cathode and above are used in the bottom-emitting OLED. The aluminum is used as cathode layer 120 and no cover layer is required. All other layers are the same as transparent device 100. Its evaporation and packaging processes are also the same as those of previous panels 1 and 2. Similarly, the structure and materials of the bottom-emitting blue light device are not limited to those shown in this example. OLED light-emitting panel 3 is a unit panel cut from the bottom-emitting panel and added to the previous combination. Since panel 3 is not transparent, it needs to be placed at the rear end of the entire combination, that is, the end away from the observer. Fig.15a This is a photo of the bottom-emitting blue OLED panel being lit before cutting. Fig.15b This is a picture of the actual unit panel after cutting. These panels were tried in various combinations before finally combining into the target pattern. For example, we can keep the 602 area of ​​all 3 panels at the bottom of the combination, such as Fig.16a Alternatively, we can place the 601 area of ​​all three panels at the bottom of the combination, as shown in Fig.16b We can further place the cathode emission surface of one of the transparent panels toward the front observer, as shown in Fig.16c and 16dAs shown. Similarly, in the above embodiment, all three OLED unit panels are illuminated at the same time. The superposition of three panels shows more layers and richer content than the superposition of two panels.

[0086] Next, we prepared a transparent red OLED light-emitting panel with a device structure of 300 Fig.17 A pre-graphic ITO is provided as an anode layer 102 on a glass substrate 101, followed by The LG101 constitutes the HIL103, HTL304, Red electron blocking layer (REBL) 305, The EML306 contains a red host material (RH) doped with 2% red emitting material (RD). Red hole blocking layer (RHBL) 307, ETL308 contains LG201 doped with 60% Liq, a layer The EIL 309 is composed of ytterbium, followed by the cathode layer 310. Magnesium silver, doped with 10% silver, and finally A capping layer 111 is added. Examples of red electron blocking (REB), red hole blocking (RHB), red host (RH) and red emitting (RD) materials are as follows: Fig.18 As shown, the remaining layers are made of the same materials as device 100. A black dry film purchased from Dynics Inc. is applied to the encapsulation glass and encapsulated in the light emitting panel. Note that the transparent red light device structure and material system are only examples.

[0087] Fig.19a This is a physical picture of the unit panel after cutting (the panel before cutting is not shown). Similar to the above, we have made a variety of combinations of two transparent red light emitting panels, such as Figure 19b-19e We went a step further and added a third red light panel into the mix, as shown in Fig.19f The red light emitting panel is a bottom emitting device.

[0088] Each of the above-mentioned OLED light-emitting panels emits light of only one color. However, each OLED light-emitting panel does not necessarily emit light of the same color. Figures 20a-20c A combination of a transparent blue OLED light emitting panel and a transparent red light panel is shown, and the overlap area is pink when both panels are illuminated at the same time. In another embodiment, the light emission patterns of the OLED light emitting panels can be different.

[0089] Note that in the above example Fig.16cIt is roughly the same as the target pattern, while other combinations are intended to demonstrate the core content of the present invention, so they are not exactly the same as the target pattern.

[0090] A fixture can be designed to hold this set of stacked OLED light panels. The distance between each panel can be varied according to the design. The distance between each panel can be greater than 0.1 mm. If thin film encapsulation is used, the distance between each panel is preferably greater than 0.5 mm to create visual depth. Figures 21a-21c An example of a jig that supports three panels is shown, with the OLED panel and half of the jig structure viewed from the front ( Fig.21a ), the OLED panel and half of the fixture structure are viewed from the side ( Figure 21b ), and a cross-sectional view of the fixture without the light-emitting panel ( Fig.21c ). In this example, the OLED light panels are inserted into pre-cut grooves in the jig so that their relative positions are fixed once assembled. In some embodiments, a jig can be dynamic so that the user can change the position of the panels. Such an example is Fig.22a and 22b As shown in the figure, an example of a dynamic fixture for front and side observation is shown. Note that although the light-emitting panel can be moved in such a device, its displacement is limited by the fixture. Electrical contact can be achieved by bonding FPC boards, welding wires, applying conductive glue or flexible copper sheets to the OLED light-emitting panel. All of these are well known to professionals in this field. All wires and contact electrodes can be hidden in the frame and only the target pattern is exposed. The fixture can also include a circuit driving module to drive each OLED light-emitting panel. The circuit drive can be designed to drive each unit panel at the same time, or independently, the latter is particularly suitable for use when the colors of each panel are different. But no matter which driving method is used, each light-emitting unit panel will be illuminated at the same time.

[0091] In some embodiments, additional graphics may be printed on a thin transparent page and applied to one or more OLED light emitting panels. Fig.23a An example of such a graphic is shown in Figure 1. This graphic is printed onto a clear plastic sheet and inserted between two transparent blue OLED light-emitting panels. Figure 23b This makes it easy to fit more content into the final pattern and leaves more room for design.

[0092] When a mask with a common cathode is used, the luminous pattern is usually visible when the light-emitting panel is off. In order to create a more transparent background in the off state, a passive OLED (PMOLED) display is preferred. Usually in PMOLED, only the ITO layer is pixelated and connected to the drive circuit, while the organic layer and the cathode layer are fully coated. Therefore, the organic layer and the cathode layer can be turned off without revealing obvious patterns, which is equivalent to increased transparency. Another advantage of PMOLED is that the pattern can be changed through relatively simple circuit control. In this way, these OLED light-emitting panels can display different or dynamic patterns. Note that although the pattern can be different, PMOLED usually only emits light of one color, which is different from a pixelated controlled display.

[0093] In another embodiment, at least one OLED light-emitting panel in the assembly is flexible. The light-emitting plane of such a flexible OLED light-emitting panel can be a curved surface. The light-emitting pattern of the flexible OLED light-emitting panel can also be basically consistent with the unit pattern, and partially overlap with the light-emitting patterns of other OLED light-emitting panels. However, there is a spacing between these flexible OLED light-emitting panels, and the distance between the closest points between the two panels is not less than 0.1 mm, preferably not less than 0.5 mm. Usually, flexible OLED panels can be made very thin, for example, less than 100 microns in thickness, so that even if multiple layers of panels are stacked, the total thickness can be controlled within a very thin range. For example, three 100-micron-thick flexible OLED panels are assembled with a spacing of 0.1 mm from each other, and the final thickness is about 0.5 mm. This is difficult to achieve with other light sources such as LEDs.

[0094] A method for preparing a three-dimensional OLED light-emitting component comprises the following steps:

[0095] 1. Identify a target pattern. Prefer those containing repeating unit patterns.

[0096] 2. Decompose the preliminary target pattern into unit shapes.

[0097] 3. Determine a combination method so that a target pattern is formed by superimposing multiple unit patterns.

[0098] 4. Design the OLED light-emitting panel layout based on the unit pattern in step 2, and prepare the OLED light-emitting panel according to the layout.

[0099] 5. Design the final fixture based on the combination of step 3.

[0100] 6. Combine these OLED light-emitting panels into the fixture according to the design in step 3.

[0101] Steps 4 and 5 can be performed in any order or simultaneously. In another method, steps 1 and 2 can be replaced by a simple step of confirming a unit pattern. Fig.24 As mentioned above, the fixture may also include a circuit driving module.

[0102] The above are only preferred embodiments of the present invention, and the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments. It is understood that other improvements and changes directly derived or associated by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and concept of the present invention should be considered to be included in the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. An OLED lighting assembly, characterized in that: Include: At least two OLED panels; wherein the first OLED panel has a first light emitting pattern, and the second OLED panel has a second light emitting pattern; wherein at least one of the first OLED panel and the second OLED panel is transparent; A fixture for receiving the first OLED panel and the second OLED panel; wherein the first OLED panel and the second OLED panel are disposed apart from each other along a y-axis in the fixture, wherein the y-axis is perpendicular to a light emitting plane of at least one of the OLED panels, and the first light emitting pattern and the second light emitting pattern only partially overlap; Wherein the placement of the first OLED panel and the second OLED panel is limited by the fixture; wherein the at least two OLED panels are illuminated simultaneously; The first light-emitting pattern and the second light-emitting pattern are substantially the same; The distance between the two closest points of the two OLED panels along the y-axis is not less than 0.1 mm; The first luminous pattern and the second luminous pattern form at least one of the following corresponding relationships in the fixture: upside down, mirror inverted, horizontally misaligned, or rotationally misaligned.

2. The OLED lighting assembly according to claim 1, characterized in that: It further includes a transparent page attached to at least one of the first OLED panel and the second OLED panel.

3. The OLED lighting assembly according to claim 2, characterized in that: The transparent page includes a third pattern that is different from the first luminous pattern or the second luminous pattern.

4. The OLED lighting assembly according to claim 3, characterized in that: The third graphic is printed on the transparent page.

5. The OLED lighting assembly according to claim 1, wherein: The at least one transparent OLED panel is a panel placed closer to the viewing direction.

6. The OLED lighting assembly according to claim 1, wherein: The first OLED panel or the second OLED panel may be PMOLEDs.

7. The OLED lighting assembly according to claim 1, wherein: At least one of the OLED panels is flexible.

8. The OLED lighting assembly according to claim 1, wherein: A third OLED panel is further included, wherein the third OLED panel has a third light emitting pattern that is substantially the same as at least one of the first light emitting pattern and the second light emitting pattern.

9. The OLED lighting assembly according to claim 1, wherein: The fixture further comprises a circuit driving module.

10. The OLED lighting assembly according to claim 9, characterized in that: The circuit driving module drives the first OLED panel and the second OLED panel independently or together.

11. The OLED lighting assembly according to claim 1, wherein: The first OLED panel only emits light of a first color, and the second OLED panel only emits light of a second color, and the first color and the second color may be the same or different.

12. A method for preparing an OLED lighting component, characterized in that: The following steps are involved:

1. Determine a unit pattern, simulate the arrangement of multiple unit patterns, where the unit patterns are placed in an offset and overlapping manner to obtain a target pattern; 2. Designing an OLED panel layout, wherein the light-emitting pattern of the OLED panel is substantially the same as the unit pattern; Prepare at least two OLED panels, wherein the first OLED panel has a first light emitting pattern, and the second OLED panel has a second light emitting pattern; the first light emitting pattern and the second light emitting pattern are substantially the same; and at least one of the panels is a transparent OLED panel; 3. Design a fixture to receive the OLED panel and arrange its light pattern in step 1; 4. Assemble the at least two OLED panels into a fixture; Wherein step 2 and step 3 may occur simultaneously or in any order; The distance between the two closest points of the two OLED panels along the y-axis is not less than 0.1 mm; The first luminous pattern and the second luminous pattern form at least one of the following corresponding relationships in the fixture: upside down, mirror inverted, horizontally misaligned, or rotationally misaligned; The at least two OLED panels are illuminated simultaneously.

13. The method according to claim 12, characterized in that The step 1 further includes determining a target pattern and decomposing the target pattern into unit patterns.

14. The method according to claim 12, characterized in that The transparent OLED panel is arranged at a position closer to the observation direction.

15. The method according to claim 12, characterized in that The step 4 further includes inserting a transparent page between at least two of the OLED panels.

16. The method according to claim 15, characterized in that The transparent page is printed with a pattern different from the unit pattern.

17. The method according to claim 12, characterized in that The design fixture further includes a design circuit driving module.

Images