Display panel and preparation method thereof

Abstract

The application discloses a display panel and a preparation method thereof. The display panel comprises a first area and a second area connected with the first area. The display panel comprises a display screen body and a substrate. The substrate is arranged on one side of the display screen body. The substrate comprises a base body part and a thinning part connected with each other. The base body part is at least partially located in the first area. The thinning part is located in the second area. The surface of the thinning part, which is away from the display screen body, is recessed towards the display screen body. According to the embodiments provided in the application, the display panel provided in the application can avoid or reduce the adhesion between the cutting protective layer and the display panel, and improve the preparation efficiency of the display panel and the quality of the display panel.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This application relates to the field of display panels, specifically to a display panel and its manufacturing method. Background Technology

[0002] Display panels are widely used in electronic devices such as mobile phones and tablets. The manufacturing process of a display panel involves first preparing a master board with multiple display panels, then cutting the master board to obtain multiple separate display panels. To facilitate processes such as master board rotation, bonding, lamination, and inter-process transfer, a protective layer is attached to one side of the master board. After the master board is cut to obtain the display panels, the protective layer is peeled off. Because the cutting location is heated during the cutting process, the protective layer and display panel at the cutting location partially melt and adhere, causing peeling jams, tearing of the display panel or protective layer, and deformation of parts of the display panel during subsequent peeling. This affects the manufacturing efficiency and quality of the display panel. Summary of the Invention

[0003] This application provides a display panel and its manufacturing method, which can avoid or reduce the adhesion between the protective layer and the display panel after cutting, thereby improving the manufacturing efficiency and quality of the display panel.

[0004] An embodiment of the first aspect of this application provides a display panel, the display panel including a first region and a second region connected to the first region, the display panel including:

[0005] Display screen body;

[0006] A substrate is disposed on one side of the display body. The substrate includes a base portion and a thinning portion connected to each other. The base portion is at least partially located in a first region, and the thinning portion is located in a second region. The thinning portion is recessed relative to the surface of the base portion away from the display body in a direction closer to the display body.

[0007] According to an embodiment of the first aspect of this application, the surface of the substrate near the display body is a flat surface, and the distance from the surface of the base portion away from the display body to the substrate is greater than the distance from the surface of the thinned portion away from the display body to the substrate.

[0008] According to any of the foregoing embodiments of the first aspect of this application, the distance from the surface of the substrate away from the display body to the substrate is 0.03 to 0.04 mm, and the distance from the surface of the thinned portion away from the display body to the substrate is 0.01 to 0.015 mm.

[0009] According to any of the foregoing embodiments of the first aspect of this application, the second region is disposed around the first region, and the thinning portion is disposed around at least a portion of the first region;

[0010] According to any of the foregoing embodiments of the first aspect of this application, the first region includes a plurality of side edges, the second region includes a side edge region extending along one side edge, and the thinning portion is disposed in the side edge region.

[0011] According to any of the foregoing embodiments of the first aspect of this application, the display panel is a polygon with multiple apex regions, and the second region is the apex region.

[0012] According to any of the foregoing embodiments of the first aspect of this application, the number of second regions is multiple, and at least two second regions are spaced apart along the same side of the display panel.

[0013] According to any of the foregoing embodiments of the first aspect of this application, the display screen body includes:

[0014] The light-emitting device layer includes multiple light-emitting units arranged in an array and spaced apart from each other;

[0015] A driving array layer, including a driving circuit connected to the light-emitting unit;

[0016] The projection of the light-emitting unit and the driving circuit onto the substrate falls into the matrix.

[0017] The second aspect of this application also provides a method for manufacturing a display panel, comprising:

[0018] A motherboard is provided, which includes a plurality of display panels as provided in the first aspect connected in sequence, and a protective layer attached to the side of the substrate away from the display body, wherein the protective layer and the thinning portion are spaced apart.

[0019] The motherboard is cut to obtain a display panel, such as the one provided in the first aspect, with a protective layer attached.

[0020] Remove the protective layer from the display panel provided by the first party.

[0021] According to the implementation of the second aspect of this application, removing the protective layer includes:

[0022] Fix the movable shaft to the protective layer located in the second region, rotate and move the movable shaft so that the protective layer attached to the substrate is wound onto the movable shaft.

[0023] According to any of the foregoing embodiments of the second aspect of this application, after removing the protective layer, the following is included:

[0024] A support layer is provided and attached to the side of the substrate away from the display body.

[0025] In the display panel and its manufacturing method provided in this application embodiment, by setting the substrate to include a connected base portion and a thinning portion, and setting the thinning portion to be recessed relative to the surface of the base portion away from the display body towards the display body, the protective layer and the thinning portion can be spaced apart when the substrate is bonded with a protective layer and cut. The protective layer and the thinning portion, which are melted by the cutting heating, will not or will have less contact, thereby avoiding or reducing the adhesion between the protective layer and the thinning portion to a certain extent, and improving the manufacturing efficiency and quality of the display panel. Since the thinning portion is located in the second region, and the thinning portion is thinned compared to the base portion, the supporting effect of the thinning portion on the display body located in the second region is weaker than the supporting effect of the base portion on the display body located in the first region. By setting the connection between the second region and the first region, the conductive functional components in the display body can be set in the first region, so as to avoid abnormal forming of some conductive functional components in the display body due to the weakening of the supporting effect of the thinning portion relative to the base portion. Attached Figure Description

[0026] Other features, objects, and advantages of this application will become more apparent from the following detailed description of non-limiting embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which the same or similar reference numerals denote the same or similar features, and the drawings are not drawn to scale.

[0027] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the planar structure of a display panel provided in the first aspect embodiment of this application;

[0028] Figure 2 This is a cross-sectional structural diagram of a display panel and a protective layer provided in the first aspect embodiment of this application;

[0029] Figure 3 This is a partial cross-sectional structural diagram of a display panel and a protective layer provided in the first aspect embodiment of this application;

[0030] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of the planar structure of another substrate provided in the first aspect embodiment of this application;

[0031] Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of the planar structure of another substrate provided in the first aspect embodiment of this application;

[0032] Figure 6 This is a schematic diagram of the planar structure of a motherboard provided in the second aspect of this application.

[0033] Explanation of reference numerals in the attached figures:

[0034] 10. Display panel; AA, first area; BB, second area;

[0035] 1. Display screen body; 11. Light-emitting device layer; 11a. Light-emitting unit; 12. Driving array layer; 12a. Driving circuit;

[0036] 2. Substrate; 21. Base layer; 22. Thinned section; 3. Buffer layer; 4. Cover plate;

[0037] 20. Protective layer. Detailed Implementation

[0038] The features and exemplary embodiments of various aspects of this application will now be described in detail. To make the objectives, technical solutions, and advantages of this application clearer, the application will be further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and specific embodiments. It should be understood that the specific embodiments described herein are only configured to explain this application and are not configured to limit this application. For those skilled in the art, this application can be implemented without some of these specific details. The following description of the embodiments is merely to provide a better understanding of this application by illustrating examples of this application.

[0039] It should be noted that, in this document, relational terms such as "first" and "second" are used merely to distinguish one entity or operation from another, and do not necessarily require or imply any such actual relationship or order between these entities or operations. Furthermore, the terms "comprising," "including," or any other variations thereof are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process, method, article, or apparatus that comprises a list of elements includes not only those elements but also other elements not expressly listed, or elements inherent to such a process, method, article, or apparatus. Without further limitations, an element defined by the phrase "comprising..." does not exclude the presence of additional identical elements in the process, method, article, or apparatus that includes the element.

[0040] It should be understood that when describing the structure of a component, when referring to a layer or region as being "above" or "on top of" another layer or region, it can mean that it is directly above the other layer or region, or that it contains other layers or regions between it and the other layer or region. Furthermore, if the component is flipped over, that layer or region will be located "below" or "under" the other layer or region.

[0041] In the manufacturing process of display panels, a master board with multiple display panels needs to be prepared first. The master board is then cut to obtain multiple separate display panels. To facilitate processes such as master board rotation, bonding, lamination, and inter-process transfer, a protective layer is attached to one side of the master board. After the master board is cut to obtain the display panels, the protective layer is peeled off. Because the cutting location is heated during the cutting process, the protective layer and display panel at the cutting location partially melt and adhere. This causes problems during the subsequent peeling of the protective layer, such as peeling jamming, tearing of the display panel or protective layer, and deformation of parts of the display panel. Peeling jamming affects the manufacturing efficiency of the display panel, while tearing of the display panel or protective layer and deformation of parts of the display panel result in uneven display brightness, affecting the quality of the display panel.

[0042] Please refer to Figure 1 and Figure 2 To address the aforementioned issues, an embodiment of the first aspect of this application provides a display panel 10. The display panel 10 includes a first region AA and a second region BB connected to the first region AA. The display panel 10 includes a display body 1 and a substrate 2. The substrate 2 is disposed on one side of the display body 1. The substrate 2 includes a base portion 21 and a thinning portion 22 connected to each other. The base portion 21 is at least partially located in the first region AA, and the thinning portion 22 is located in the second region BB. The thinning portion 22 is recessed towards the display body 1 relative to the surface of the base portion 21 that is away from the display body 1.

[0043] When the display panel 10 is a flexible display panel, the substrate 2 can have properties such as being stretchable, bendable, or flexible, and its material includes, but is not limited to, polyimide (PI), polycarbonate (PC), or polyethylene terephthalate (PET). During the fabrication process of the display panel 10, the various layers of the display body 1 can be formed on the substrate 2.

[0044] The display panel 1 has a light-emitting display function. The display panel 1 may include a light-emitting device layer 11 and a driving array layer 12. The light-emitting device layer 11 is located on one side of the substrate 2 and includes multiple light-emitting units 11a. The driving array layer 12 is located on the side of the light-emitting device layer 11 closer to the substrate 2 and is electrically connected to the light-emitting units 11a to control the light-emitting units 11a to emit light. For example, in this embodiment, an organic light-emitting diode (OLED) can be selected to fabricate the aforementioned light-emitting units 11a. Alternatively, the light-emitting units 11a can be configured as micro light-emitting diodes (Micro-LEDs) or quantum light-emitting diodes (QLEDs). The driving array layer 12 may include a driving circuit 12a, which controls the light-emitting units 11a to emit light. The display panel 10 of this embodiment may also include a buffer layer 3, a cover plate 4, optical adhesive, a polarizer, a touch layer, etc., which will not be described in detail here.

[0045] The second region BB can be connected to the periphery of the first region AA. Compared to the first region AA, the second region BB has few or no conductive functional components, or the conductive functional components are not connected to electricity, that is, the conductive functional components in the second region BB are not used for light emission display. The first region AA can be the display area of ​​the display panel 10, and the second region BB can be the non-display area (dummy area) of the display panel 10. That is, the first region AA is used for light emission display, and conductive functional components such as light-emitting unit 11a, thin film transistor, and touch electrode can be set in the first region AA, while the second region BB does not have conductive functional components such as light-emitting unit 11a, thin film transistor, and touch electrode. The first region AA can also be a functional area, and the second region BB can also be an empty area, that is, the first region AA has conductive functional components, such as light-emitting unit 11a and driving circuit 12a, which can be set in the first region AA, and the second region BB is an empty area, that is, no conductive functional components are set in the second region BB. The flexible substrate, encapsulation layer, insulating layer, and other layer structures in the display panel 10 without conductive functional components can extend from the first region AA to the second region BB. The base portion 21 may be located only in the first region AA, or it may extend partially from the first region AA to the second region BB.

[0046] The side of the substrate 2 facing away from the display body 1 can be used to bond with the protective layer 20, so that the protective layer 20 can protect the display panel 10 from being scratched during the manufacturing process of the display panel 10. The protective layer 20 can also provide a certain support force for the substrate 2 to ensure that the substrate 2 can remain flat.

[0047] In this embodiment, the substrate 2 includes a base portion 21 and a thinning portion 22 connected to each other. The thinning portion 22 is recessed relative to the surface of the base portion 21 away from the display screen body 1, moving towards the display screen body 1. This allows the flat protective layer 20 to adhere to the surface of the base portion 21 away from the display screen body 1 when the protective layer 20 is attached to the substrate 2. Because the thinning portion 22 is recessed relative to the base portion 21, the protective layer 20 and the thinning portion 22 are spaced apart from each other. When the display panel 10 with the protective layer 20 attached is cut, the spaced-apart arrangement of the protective layer 20 and the thinning portion 22 prevents or minimizes contact between them as they melt under the cutting heat, thereby reducing or preventing adhesion between the protective layer 20 and the thinning portion 22 to a certain extent. Since the adhesion between the protective layer 20 and the thinning portion 22 is avoided or reduced, the protective layer 20 can be easily peeled off, reducing or avoiding tearing or deformation of the display panel 10 caused by the peeling off of the adhesive protective layer 20, thereby improving the quality of the display panel 10.

[0048] In this embodiment, by providing a substrate 2 including a connected base portion 21 and a thinning portion 22, and by providing that the thinning portion 22 is recessed relative to the surface of the base portion 21 away from the display body 1 and towards the display body 1, when the protective layer 20 is attached to the substrate 2 and then cut, the protective layer 20 and the thinning portion 22 can be spaced apart from each other. The protective layer 20 and the thinning portion 22, which are melted by the cutting heating, will not or will have little contact, thereby avoiding or reducing the adhesion of the protective layer 20 and the thinning portion 22 to a certain extent, and improving the manufacturing efficiency of the display panel 10. And quality; since the thinning part 22 is located in the second region BB, and the thinning part 22 is thinned compared to the base part 21, the supporting effect of the thinning part 22 on the display screen body 1 located in the second region BB is weaker than the supporting effect of the base part 21 on the display screen body 1 located in the first region AA. By setting the connection between the second region BB and the first region AA, the conductive functional components in the display screen body 1 can be set in the first region AA, so as to avoid abnormal forming of some conductive functional components inside the display screen body 1 due to the weakening of the supporting effect of the thinning part 22 relative to the base part 21.

[0049] Please refer to the following: Figure 3 In some embodiments, the surface of the substrate 2 near the display body 1 is a flat surface, and the distance from the surface of the base portion 21 away from the display body 1 to the substrate 2 is greater than the distance from the surface of the thinned portion 22 away from the display body 1 to the substrate 2. The flat surface of the substrate 2 near the display body 1 allows the substrate 2 to be flatly connected to the display body 1.

[0050] The distance from the surface of the substrate 21 away from the display panel 1 to the substrate 2 is the thickness d1 of the substrate 21, and the distance from the surface of the thinned portion 22 away from the display panel 1 to the substrate 2 is the thickness d2 of the thinned portion 22. The larger the thickness d1 of the substrate 21, the weaker its bendability; the smaller the thickness d1, the weaker the support of the substrate 21 for the display panel 1. Similarly, the larger the thickness d2 of the thinned portion 22, the smaller the distance between the thinned portion 22 and the protective layer 20 adhered to the display panel 10, and the greater the possibility of the molten thinned portion 22 adhering to the protective layer 20; the smaller the thickness d2, the weaker the support of the substrate 21 for the display panel 1. Therefore, those skilled in the art can consider these principles and select appropriate thicknesses for the substrate 21 and the thinned portion 22. Optionally, the thickness d1 of the base portion 21 is 0.03 to 0.04 mm, and the thickness d2 of the thinned portion 22 is 0.01 to 0.015 mm. In one embodiment, the thickness d1 of the base portion 21 is 0.03 mm, and the thickness d2 of the thinned portion 22 is 0.015 mm.

[0051] In some embodiments, the second region BB is disposed around the first region AA, and the thinning portion 22 is disposed at least around a portion of the first region AA. The thinning portion 22 disposed in the second region BB may be disposed around the first region AA. Of course, there may be multiple thinning portions 22, which are disposed sequentially and spaced apart in the second region BB, and multiple thinning portions 22 are disposed around the first region AA. The thinning portion 22 is disposed at least around a portion of the first region AA to reduce or avoid adhesion between the protective layer 20 and the substrate 2 during the cutting of the various sides of the display panel 10.

[0052] Please see Figure 4 In some embodiments, the first region AA includes multiple sides, the second region BB includes a side region extending along one side, and the thinning portion 22 is disposed in the side region.

[0053] During the peeling process of the protective layer 20 attached to the display panel 10, in order to reduce the peeling force applied to the protective layer 20, the protective layer 20 can be peeled off starting from the edge of the protective layer 20. Therefore, by providing the thinning portion 22 in the side area, the protective layer 20 can be peeled off starting from this side area, so as to avoid the display panel 10 being torn or deformed by the peeling force at the beginning stage of peeling off the protective layer 20.

[0054] Please see Figure 5 In other areas, the display panel 10 is a polygon with multiple apex regions, and the second region BB is the apex region. The apex regions have few or no conductive functional components, and by designating the apex regions as the second region BB, the thinning portion 22 provided by the thinning method avoids affecting the performance of the conductive functional components within the display body 1.

[0055] In some embodiments, there are multiple second regions BB, with at least two second regions BB spaced apart along the same side of the display panel 10, so that the protective layer 20 can be peeled off from that side to avoid the display panel 10 being torn or deformed by the peeling force at the beginning of the peeling of the protective layer 20.

[0056] Please refer to it again. Figure 1 In some embodiments, the display panel 1 includes a light-emitting device layer 11 and a driving array layer 12. The light-emitting device layer 11 includes a plurality of light-emitting units 11a arranged in an array and spaced apart from each other. The driving array layer 12 includes a driving circuit 12a connected to the light-emitting units 11a. The projections of the light-emitting units 11a and the driving circuit 12a onto the substrate 21 fall into the base portion 21. The base portion 21 supports the light-emitting units 11a and the driving circuit 12a to ensure their formation and improve the quality of the fabricated display panel 10.

[0057] An embodiment of the second aspect of this application provides a method for manufacturing a display panel, comprising:

[0058] S101, a motherboard is provided, the motherboard includes a plurality of display panels as provided in the first aspect connected in sequence, and a protective layer attached to the side of the substrate away from the display body, the protective layer and the thinning portion are spaced apart;

[0059] S102, the motherboard is cut to obtain a display panel with a protective layer attached, as provided in the first aspect;

[0060] S103, Remove the protective layer to obtain the display panel as provided in the first aspect.

[0061] In the process of fabricating a display panel, multiple functional layers such as a substrate and a display body can be stacked to form a motherboard with a large area. The motherboard is then cut to obtain multiple separate display panels. Those skilled in the art will understand that fabricating the motherboard first and then cutting it can effectively improve the fabrication efficiency of the display panel. The motherboard has multiple cutting lines, and the area enclosed by these cutting lines corresponds to one display panel; that is, cutting the motherboard along the cutting lines yields multiple separate display panels. Figure 6 In the embodiment shown, the mother plate is cut along the cutting line L to obtain four display panels.

[0062] The motherboard can be laser-cut to obtain a display panel with a protective layer, as provided in the first aspect. Because the thinned portion and the protective layer are spaced apart, peeling off the protective layer from the second region is more convenient.

[0063] The structure of the display panel manufactured by the above-described display panel preparation method can be found in the display panels provided in the above embodiments.

[0064] In some embodiments, S103 includes:

[0065] Fix the movable shaft to the protective layer located in the second region, rotate and move the movable shaft so that the protective layer attached to the substrate is wound onto the movable shaft.

[0066] An adhesive area can be set on the moving shaft, and the moving shaft and the protective layer are in contact so that the adhesive area and the protective layer are adhered. While moving the moving shaft, the protective layer is peeled off from the display panel, and while rotating the moving shaft, the peeled protective layer is wound onto the moving shaft.

[0067] In some embodiments, after S103, the following is included:

[0068] A support layer is provided and attached to the side of the substrate away from the display body.

[0069] When the display panel is a flexible display panel, the material of the support layer includes rigid materials such as stainless steel (e.g., SUS). Stainless steel is a high-modulus material that is not easily deformed under stress, which can well ensure the bending shape of the flexible display panel and provide structural reinforcement for the flexible display panel.

[0070] The embodiments described above are not exhaustive and do not limit the invention to specific examples. Clearly, many modifications and variations can be made based on the above description. These embodiments are selected and specifically described in this specification to better explain the principles and practical applications of this application, thereby enabling those skilled in the art to effectively utilize this application and its modifications. This application is limited only by the claims and their full scope and equivalents.

Claims

1. A display panel, characterized in that, The display panel includes a first region and a second region connected to the first region, and the display panel includes: Display screen body; A substrate is disposed on one side of the display body. The substrate includes a base portion and a thinning portion connected to each other. The base portion is at least partially located in the first region, and the thinning portion is located in the second region. The thinning portion is recessed towards the display body relative to the surface of the base portion away from the display body. The second region is disposed around the first region, the thinning portion is disposed around at least part of the first region, the substrate portion is disposed away from the surface of the display body for bonding with the protective layer, and the thinning portion is disposed at intervals from the protective layer and is used for cutting.

2. The display panel according to claim 1, characterized in that, The surface of the substrate near the display body is a flat surface, and the distance from the surface of the base portion away from the display body to the substrate is greater than the distance from the surface of the thinned portion away from the display body to the substrate.

3. The display panel according to claim 2, characterized in that, The distance from the surface of the substrate away from the display body to the substrate is 0.03 to 0.04 mm, and the distance from the surface of the thinned portion away from the display body to the substrate is 0.01 to 0.015 mm.

4. The display panel according to claim 1, characterized in that, The first region includes multiple sides, and the second region includes a side region extending along one of the sides, wherein the thinning portion is disposed in the side region.

5. The display panel according to claim 1, characterized in that, The display panel is a polygon with multiple apex regions, and the second region is the apex region.

6. The display panel according to claim 5, characterized in that, The number of the second region is multiple, with at least two second regions spaced apart along the same side of the display panel.

7. The display panel according to claim 1, characterized in that, The display screen body includes: The light-emitting device layer includes multiple light-emitting units arranged in an array and spaced apart from each other; A driving array layer, including a driving circuit connected to the light-emitting unit; The projections of the light-emitting unit and the driving circuit onto the substrate fall into the base portion.

8. A method for manufacturing a display panel, characterized in that, include: A motherboard is provided, the motherboard comprising a plurality of display panels as described in any one of claims 1-7 connected in sequence, and a protective layer attached to the substrate on the side opposite to the display body, the protective layer and the thinning portion being spaced apart; The motherboard is cut to obtain a display panel with the protective layer attached as described in any one of claims 1-7; Remove the protective layer to obtain the display panel as described in any one of claims 1-7.

9. The method for manufacturing a display panel according to claim 8, characterized in that, The removal of the protective layer includes: The movable shaft is fixed to the protective layer located in the second region, and the movable shaft is rotated and moved so that the protective layer attached to the substrate is wound onto the movable shaft.

10. The method for manufacturing a display panel according to claim 8, characterized in that, After removing the protective layer, the process includes: A support layer is provided and attached to the side of the substrate away from the display screen body.

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