A display panel and a manufacturing method thereof, and a display device

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to the field of display technology, and provides a display panel and a method for manufacturing the same, and a display device. The display panel includes a substrate, the substrate includes a display area and a frame area surrounding the display area; the display panel also includes a color resist layer, multiple inner frames, and multiple outer frames, the color resist layer is located in the display area, the color resist layer includes multiple sub-pixels distributed in an array on one side of the substrate; multiple inner frames are located in the display area, the inner frames are arranged between adjacent sub-pixels; multiple outer frames are located in the frame area; wherein at least part of the outer frames and the inner frames connected thereto have a dividing line at their connection, and the dividing line is a curve in the orthographic projection of the substrate.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to the field of display technology, and in particular, to a display panel and a method for manufacturing the same, and a display device. Background Art

[0002] With the increasing development of display technology, in order to adapt to more application scenarios and increase market share, large-size display panels such as TVs are gradually showing demand for products with special shapes and sizes.

[0003] Usually, the display performance specifications of special-shaped products are the same as those of regular products, and only the display size is changed to meet the needs of the application scenario. If the entire set of masks is changed for product development, the cost recovery cycle is long and it is not conducive to meeting the immediate needs of changing and diverse application scenarios.

[0004] It should be noted that the information disclosed in the above background technology section is only used to enhance the understanding of the background of the present disclosure, and therefore may include information that does not constitute the prior art known to ordinary technicians in the field. Summary of the invention

[0005] The purpose of the present disclosure is to overcome the deficiencies of the above-mentioned prior art and to provide a display panel and a method for manufacturing the same, and a display device.

[0006] According to one aspect of the present disclosure, a display panel is provided, comprising a substrate, the substrate comprising a display area and a frame area surrounding the display area; the display panel further comprises: a color resist layer, located in the display area, the color resist layer comprising a plurality of sub-pixels distributed in an array on one side of the substrate; a plurality of inner frames, located in the display area, the inner frames being arranged between adjacent sub-pixels; a plurality of outer frames, located on the same side of the substrate as the inner frames and in the frame area; wherein at least a portion of the outer frames and the inner frames connected thereto have a dividing line at their connection, and the orthographic projection of the dividing line on the substrate is a curve.

[0007] In an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, the curve is in a sawtooth shape and / or a wavy shape.

[0008] In an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, the outer frame includes a first frame and a second frame arranged opposite to each other in a first direction and a third frame and a fourth frame arranged opposite to each other in a second direction, the first direction intersects with the second direction; the surface of at least one of the second frame, the third frame and the fourth frame facing away from the substrate is uneven, the first frame includes a main body and a first connecting portion and a second connecting portion connected to both sides of the main body in its extension direction, the orthographic projection of the first connecting portion on the substrate is opposite to the orthographic projection of the third frame on the substrate, the orthographic projection of the second connecting portion on the substrate is opposite to the orthographic projection of the fourth frame on the substrate, and the surfaces of the first connecting portion and the second connecting portion facing away from the substrate are planes.

[0009] In an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, at least one of the second frame, the third frame and the fourth frame has a hollow pattern on a side facing away from the base substrate, and the first connecting portion and the second connecting portion do not have the hollow pattern on a side facing away from the base substrate.

[0010] In an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, the color resist layer also extends to the border area and covers the second border, the third border and the fourth border, and the orthographic projection of the color resist layer on the base substrate does not overlap with the orthographic projection of the first border on the base substrate.

[0011] In an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, the display panel also includes: a protective layer, covering the color resist layer in the display area and the second frame, the third frame and the fourth frame, and covering the first frame at the first frame; a plurality of spacer blocks, located on the side of the protective layer away from the base substrate and in the frame area, and the plurality of spacer blocks are arranged corresponding to the second frame, the third frame and the fourth frame and are arranged in sequence at intervals at the corresponding frames.

[0012] In an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, in the thickness direction of the base substrate, the thickness of the first frame at the connection with the third frame is smaller than the thickness at other positions on the first frame away from the third frame, and the thickness of the first frame at the connection with the fourth frame is smaller than the thickness at other positions on the first frame away from the fourth frame.

[0013] In an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, a ratio of a thickness at a connection between the first frame and the third frame to a thickness at other locations on the first frame away from the third frame is 0.8 to 0.95, and a ratio of a thickness at a connection between the first frame and the fourth frame to a thickness at other locations on the first frame away from the fourth frame is 0.8 to 0.95.

[0014] In an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, the display panel further includes: a plurality of color resist blocks located on a side of the first frame away from the base substrate, and the plurality of color resist blocks are sequentially spaced apart in an extension direction of the first frame.

[0015] In an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, the color resist block includes a first structural layer and a second structural layer stacked together, and a protrusion height of the first structural layer on the base substrate and a protrusion height of the second structural layer on the base substrate are both the same as a protrusion height of the color resist layer in the display area on the base substrate.

[0016] In an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, in the thickness direction of the base substrate, the thickness of the color resist block is 3.6-4.6 μm.

[0017] In an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, the display panel also includes: a protective layer, covering the color resist layer in the display area and the second frame, the third frame and the fourth frame, and the protective layer also covers the first frame surface that is not blocked by the color resist block; a plurality of spacer blocks, located on the side of the protective layer away from the base substrate and in the frame area, and the plurality of spacer blocks are arranged corresponding to the second frame, the third frame and the fourth frame and are arranged in sequence at intervals at the corresponding frames.

[0018] According to the second aspect of the present disclosure, a method for preparing a display panel is also provided, which is used to prepare the display panel described in any embodiment of the present disclosure, and the preparation method includes: providing a base substrate, the base substrate including a display area and a frame area surrounding the display area; using a first mask to expose the display area to form an inner frame pattern and part of the outer frame pattern of the display panel; using an exposure source to perform secondary exposure on the area of ​​the frame area where the outer frame pattern is not formed to form the remaining outer frame pattern, wherein the connection between the remaining outer frame pattern formed and the inner frame pattern connected thereto has a dividing line, and the orthographic projection of the base substrate is a curve; using a second mask to expose the display area of ​​the display panel to form a sub-pixel pattern.

[0019] In an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, the method of using a first mask to expose in the display area to form an inner border pattern and a portion of an outer border pattern of a display panel includes: using the first mask to expose in the display area to form the inner border pattern of the display panel and exposing in a portion of the outer border area to form a second border pattern, a third border pattern and a fourth border pattern; and using an exposure source to perform a secondary exposure on an area of ​​the border area where no outer border pattern is formed to form the remaining outer border patterns includes: using an exposure source to perform a secondary exposure on a side of the border area opposite to the second border to form a first border pattern.

[0020] In an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, the use of an exposure source to perform secondary exposure on a side of the border area relative to the second border to form a first border pattern includes: coating a photoresist on the substrate, wherein the photoresist is a negative photoresist; moving a marking machine to the border area in a first direction relative to a side of the second border to perform secondary exposure to form a first border pattern of the display panel.

[0021] In an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, after forming the first border pattern of the display panel, the method further includes: using a marking machine to expose the first border pattern on a side away from the base substrate to form a color block pattern; forming a protective layer on a side of the color block pattern away from the base substrate; and exposing the protective layer on a side away from the base substrate and corresponding to the second border, the third border and the fourth border to form a spacer block pattern.

[0022] According to a third aspect of the present disclosure, a display device is also provided, comprising the display panel described in any embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0023] The display panel provided by the present disclosure has a curved dividing line at the junction of at least part of the outer frame and the inner frame connected thereto because the outer frame is formed by supplementary exposure, and the supplementary exposure does not use a mask, while the other outer frames and inner frames are formed by mask exposure, thereby forming a curved dividing line at the junction of the outer frame and the inner frame. The present disclosure can use existing exposure equipment to perform secondary exposure to form part of the outer frame, without the need to develop a separate mask, reducing production costs, and solving the problem of peripheral light leakage caused by the missing frame during partial exposure or cold cutting of special-sized panels in the prior art.

[0024] It is to be understood that the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory only and are not restrictive of the present disclosure. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0025] The accompanying drawings herein are incorporated into the specification and constitute a part of the specification, illustrate embodiments consistent with the present disclosure, and together with the specification are used to explain the principles of the present disclosure. Obviously, the accompanying drawings described below are only some embodiments of the present disclosure, and for ordinary technicians in this field, other accompanying drawings can be obtained based on these accompanying drawings without creative work.

[0026] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of a gray area formed near a light shield in the related art;

[0027] Figure 2 It is a display defect problem of local light leakage in the related art;

[0028] Figure 3 is a schematic structural diagram of a display panel according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0029] Figure 4 is a top view of a display panel according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0030] Figure 5 for Figure 4 A partial enlarged view of the M in the middle;

[0031] Figure 6 for Figure 5 The cross-sectional view along the AA direction;

[0032] Figure 7 for Figure 6 A partial enlarged view of the middle Q;

[0033] Figure 8 is a schematic diagram of a hollow pattern according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0034] Fig. 9 for Figure 4 A schematic diagram showing a comparison between a special-shaped panel and a conventional panel;

[0035] Fig.10 A schematic diagram showing a display panel showing a black display near a frame according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0036] Fig.11 According to another embodiment of the present disclosure Figure 4 A partial enlarged view of the M in the middle;

[0037] Fig.12 for Fig.11 Cross-sectional view along CC direction;

[0038] Fig.13 The pattern after DPO side exposure in the conventional process is shown;

[0039] Fig.14 Shows Fig.13 Performing a developed pattern;

[0040] Fig.15 is a pattern after DPO side exposure in the process according to the embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0041] Fig.16 Shows Fig.15 The pattern after development is performed. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0042] Example embodiments will now be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, the example embodiments can be implemented in a variety of forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein; rather, these embodiments are provided so that the present disclosure will be comprehensive and complete and fully convey the concepts of the example embodiments to those skilled in the art. The same reference numerals in the figures represent the same or similar structures, and thus their detailed description will be omitted. In addition, the drawings are only schematic illustrations of the present disclosure and are not necessarily drawn to scale.

[0043] Although relative terms such as "upper" and "lower" are used in this specification to describe the relative relationship of one component of the illustration to another component, these terms are used in this specification only for convenience, such as according to the orientation of the examples described in the drawings. It is understood that if the device of the illustration is turned upside down, the component described as "upper" will become the component "lower". When a structure is "on" other structures, it may mean that the structure is formed integrally on the other structure, or that the structure is "directly" disposed on the other structure, or that the structure is "indirectly" disposed on the other structure through another structure.

[0044] The terms "a", "an", "the", "said" and "at least one" are used to indicate the presence of one or more elements / components / etc.; the terms "including" and "having" are used to express an open-ended inclusive meaning and mean that additional elements / components / etc. may exist in addition to the listed elements / components / etc.; the terms "first", "second" and "third" etc. are used merely as labels and are not intended to limit the quantity of their objects.

[0045] In related technologies, the cold cutting technology is introduced late in the cutting process, and the yield rate is low at only about 30% when only laser welding is used. The cut parts are usually not reusable, and the utilization rate of the substrate is low. Partial exposure can design the exposure position and select the layout with the highest substrate utilization rate for exposure. Before assembling the box, the special-sized products are inspected and repaired, and the use of tungsten powder combined with welding can effectively increase the yield rate to more than 90%, and the back-end reliability risk is lower, and the product yield rate is higher.

[0046] For the local exposure process, the current CF exposure machine is a proximity exposure machine. For local exposure, the exposure machine's aperture plate is used to block the non-exposure area. The proximity exposure machine has an exposure gray zone near the aperture plate. Figure 1 Gray Zone is actually the actual exposure weakened after the light diffracts and shines on the light-shielded area. Weak exposure in some areas causes pattern loss or abnormal characteristics. The degree of loss varies due to different light curing degrees of the materials and uneven development intensity.

[0047] When the regular size product is compatible with the special size, when the regular size is smaller than the special size, splicing exposure can be used to increase the display area; when the regular size is larger than the special size, a shading plate is used to block partial exposure to reduce the display area. Therefore, the position blocked by the shading plate is the edge of the panel of the special-shaped panel. The edge of the conventional design panel is fully exposed, the complete characteristics of the pattern are normal, and the edge design has a complete BM Frame (black matrix frame) to block light to avoid light leakage around the panel. Due to compatibility with the normal product Mask, the boundary blocked by the shading plate is actually the display area of ​​the regular product, without complete BMFrame shading, and there is a gray area in the blocking boundary. The missing pattern directly causes light leakage at the edge of the panel, affecting the normal display effect, such as Figure 2 When the display panel of the present disclosure is prepared, the frame located in the display area of ​​the conventional panel is supplementarily exposed to form a continuous outer frame pattern. The structure of the display panel of the present disclosure and the preparation method thereof are described in detail below.

[0048] Figure 3 FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a structure of a display panel according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Figure 3 As shown, the display panel of the present disclosure may be a liquid crystal display panel, which may include a color filter substrate and a TFT substrate arranged in a cell, and a frame and a color resist layer CL are arranged on the color filter substrate.

[0049] Figure 4 is a top view of a display panel according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, Figure 5 for Figure 4 A partial enlarged view of the M in the middle. Figure 6 for Figure 5 The cross-sectional view along the AA direction is shown in Figure 2. Figure 7 for Figure 6 A partial enlarged view of the middle Q, such as Figures 4 to 7 As shown, the display panel may include a substrate BP, the substrate BP includes a display area AA and a frame area BMA surrounding the display area AA; the display panel may also include a color resist layer CL, multiple inner frames BMI and multiple outer frames BMO, the color resist layer CL is located in the display area AA, the color resist layer CL includes multiple sub-pixels distributed in an array on one side of the substrate BP; the multiple inner frames BMI are located in the display area AA, and the inner frames BMI are arranged between adjacent sub-pixels; the multiple outer frames BMO are located on the same side of the substrate BP as the inner frames BMI and in the frame area BMA; wherein, at least part of the outer frames BMO and other outer frames BMO connected thereto have a dividing line at their connection, and the orthographic projection of the dividing line on the substrate BP is a curve.

[0050] The display panel provided by the present disclosure has a curved dividing line at the junction of at least part of the outer frame BMO and the inner frame BMI connected thereto because the outer frame BMO is formed by supplementary exposure, and the supplementary exposure does not use a mask, while the other outer frame BMO and the inner frame BMI are formed by mask exposure, thereby forming a curved dividing line at the junction of the outer frame BMO and the inner frame BMI. The present disclosure can use existing exposure equipment for secondary exposure to form part of the outer frame BMO, without the need to develop a separate mask, reducing production costs, and solving the problem of peripheral light leakage caused by the missing frame during partial exposure or cold cutting of special-sized panels in the prior art.

[0051] Both the inner frame BMI and the outer frame BMO can be black matrices BM. The inner frame BMI can be grid-shaped, so that adjacent light-emitting areas can be isolated by the inner frame BMI to prevent light leakage and color mixing. The outer frame BMO is mainly used to prevent light leakage from sub-pixels at the edge of the display area AA.

[0052] The display panel disclosed in the present invention may be a special-shaped panel, which is relative to a conventional panel. A conventional panel is a display panel with a conventional size, which can form a corresponding pattern through a conventional mask. For example, a first mask and a second mask are usually used to prepare a conventional panel. A complete outer frame pattern and an inner frame pattern can be formed by exposing and developing the first mask, and a color resist layer pattern can be formed by exposing and developing the second mask. It can be understood that a liquid crystal display panel usually includes a color resist layer CL located on the light-emitting side of the liquid crystal layer, and light passes through the color resist layers CL of different colors to present a color display.

[0053] As mentioned above, when using the mask of a conventional panel to prepare a special-shaped panel, part of the outer frame pattern will be missing, causing light leakage. The present disclosure can use existing exposure equipment to form the outer frame BMO of the special-shaped panel that is missing because it is compatible with the conventional mask, thereby eliminating the need to develop a separate mask, improving the utilization rate of the equipment, reducing production costs, and the preparation method can adapt to special-shaped panels of different sizes.

[0054] Specifically, after forming part of the outer frame BMO of the special-shaped panel by a conventional mask (i.e., a mask used to prepare a conventional panel, including a first mask and a second mask), the existing exposure equipment can be used to partially expose the frame area BMA where the frame pattern cannot be formed, that is, to supplement the exposure of the local area, thereby forming a structurally continuous outer frame pattern in the local area. It is precisely because the outer frame BMO of the local area is formed by supplementary exposure and development, and there is no mask during the supplementary exposure process, so that the edge formed by exposure is relatively blurred, while the other outer frames BMO and inner frames BMI are formed by mask exposure, and the edges of the other outer frames BMO and inner frames BMI formed are relatively clear, which will cause the outer frame pattern formed by supplementary exposure and the other outer frame patterns and inner frame patterns formed by mask exposure to have an obvious curved dividing line between them. The curved dividing line described here can be understood as the positive projection of the dividing line on the substrate BP is a curve, for example, it can be an irregular line such as a sawtooth or / and a wavy shape.

[0055] The exposure and development process described in the present disclosure may include: coating a substrate with a corresponding structure on the substrate substrate BP, then coating a photoresist on the substrate, and then using a corresponding mask plate for exposure, thereby forming a pattern of the mask plate on the photoresist, and then developing the photoresist to form a corresponding pattern. After exposure and development, etching, degumming and other processes are performed to form the substrate into a corresponding pattern, that is, the patterning of the substrate is completed. It can be understood that the photoresist of the present disclosure can be a positive photoresist or a negative photoresist. The present disclosure only takes the photoresist as a negative photoresist as an example to exemplify the present disclosure scheme.

[0056] like Figure 4 As shown, in an exemplary embodiment, the plurality of outer frames BMO may include a first frame DPO and a second frame DP arranged opposite to each other in a first direction Y, and a third frame GPL and a fourth frame GPR arranged opposite to each other in a second direction X, the first direction Y intersects with the second direction X, for example, the first direction Y may be a column direction of the display panel, and the second direction X may be a row direction of the display panel. The first frame DPO is a frame formed by supplementary exposure, and the second frame DP to the fourth frame GPR are frames formed by exposure of the first mask.

[0057] Fig. 9 for Figure 4 The schematic diagram of the comparison between the special-shaped panel and the conventional panel is shown in FIG. Fig. 9As shown, in this exemplary embodiment, the second frame area BM2 of the special-shaped panel is located in the second frame area DP of the conventional panel, the third frame area BM3 is located in the third frame area GPL of the conventional panel, and the fourth frame area BM4 is located in the fourth frame area GPR of the conventional panel, that is, the second frame area BM2 to the fourth frame area BM4 of the special-shaped panel are all located in the outer frame area of ​​the conventional panel, so the second frame area BM2 to the fourth frame area BM4 can be formed by using the first mask through a conventional exposure and development process. The first frame area BM1 of the special-shaped panel is located in the display area AA of the conventional panel, so when the first mask is used for exposure and development, the first frame area BM1 does not have the outer frame area pattern of the mask, so the first mask cannot be used to form the first frame area pattern in the first frame area BM1, and the display panel formed in this way will form light leakage in the first frame area BM1.

[0058] It is known that a marking machine is used for coding in the preparation process of the frame, and the marking machine can provide a fine exposure area. Therefore, the present disclosure can use the marking machine as an exposure source to supplement the exposure of the first frame area BM1 to form the first frame DPO of the special-shaped panel. Of course, in other embodiments, other devices can also be used to provide an exposure source to form the first frame DPO.

[0059] In an exemplary embodiment, the surface of at least one of the second border DP, the third border GPL and the fourth border GPR facing away from the substrate BP is uneven, the first border DPO includes a main body DPO-0 and a first connecting portion DPO-1 and a second connecting portion DPO-2 connected to both sides of the main body DPO-0 in its extension direction, the orthographic projection of the first connecting portion DPO-1 on the substrate substrate BP is opposite to the orthographic projection of the third border GPL on the substrate substrate BP, the orthographic projection of the second connecting portion DPO-2 on the substrate substrate BP is opposite to the orthographic projection of the fourth border GPR on the substrate substrate BP, and the surfaces of the first connecting portion DPO-1 and the second connecting portion DPO-2 facing away from the substrate substrate BP are planes.

[0060] The orthographic projection of a certain structure A described in the present disclosure on the substrate substrate is opposite to the orthographic projection of structure B on the substrate substrate, which can be understood as, the orthographic projection of structure A on the substrate substrate and the orthographic projection of structure B on the substrate substrate are arranged relative to each other in direction C, wherein direction C is the extension direction of the orthographic projection of structure B on the substrate substrate. Specifically in this embodiment, the orthographic projection of the first connecting portion DPO-1 on the substrate substrate BP is opposite to the orthographic projection of the third border GPL on the substrate substrate BP, that is, the orthographic projection of the first connecting portion DPO-1 on the substrate substrate BP and the orthographic projection of the third border GPL on the substrate substrate BP are arranged relative to each other in the first direction, and the first direction is the extension direction of the third border GPL on the substrate substrate BP. Figure 5As shown, the middle part of the first border DPO, namely the main body DPO-0, faces the display area AA, the left part of the first border DPO that exceeds the display area AA, namely the first connecting part DPO-1, faces the third border GPL, and the right part of the first border DPO that exceeds the display area AA, namely the second connecting part DPO-2, faces the fourth border GPR.

[0061] The second frame DP to the fourth frame GPR are formed by exposure using a first mask, and the first mask has a hollow pattern. The hollow pattern can be, for example, Figure 8 As shown, in this way, the second frame DP to the fourth frame GPR formed have a hollow pattern on the side of the surface facing away from the substrate BP, thereby causing the surface of at least one of the second frame DP to the fourth frame GPR to be uneven on the side facing away from the substrate BP. For example, the edge portion of each frame of the second frame DP to the fourth frame GPR away from the display area AA may have a hollow pattern. Since the first frame DPO is formed by supplementary exposure of a marking machine, and no mask is used in the supplementary exposure process, the surface of the first frame DPO formed by exposure does not have a hollow pattern, that is, the surface of the first frame DPO is flat.

[0062] like Figure 7 As shown, in an exemplary embodiment, in the thickness direction of the substrate base BP, the thickness of the first border DPO at the connection with the third border GPL is smaller than the thickness at other positions on the first border DPO away from the third border GPL. Similarly, the thickness of the first border DPO at the connection with the fourth border GPR is smaller than the thickness at other positions on the first border DPO away from the fourth border GPR.

[0063] Specifically, the first border DPO is formed by coating a negative photoresist in the first border area BM1 for exposure and development. The light intensity at the edges of the first border DPO close to the third border GPL and the fourth border GPR is weakened compared to the light intensity at other positions far from the edges, resulting in insufficient exposure of the first border DPO at the edges close to the third border GPL and the fourth border GPR, so that the thickness d1 of the first border DPO at the connection with the third border GPL is smaller than the thickness d2 of other positions on the first border DPO away from the third border GPL. Similarly, the thickness of the first border DPO at the connection with the fourth border GPR is smaller than the thickness of other positions on the first border DPO away from the fourth border GPR.

[0064] In an exemplary embodiment, the ratio of the thickness of the connection between the first frame DPO and the third frame GPL to the thickness of other positions on the first frame DPO away from the third frame GPL may be 0.8 to 0.95, for example, 0.8, 0.85, 0.9, 0.95, etc. Similarly, the ratio of the thickness of the connection between the first frame DPO and the fourth frame GPR to the thickness of other positions on the first frame DPO away from the fourth frame GPR is 0.8 to 0.95, for example, 0.8, 0.85, 0.9, 0.95, etc.

[0065] In an exemplary embodiment, in addition to being distributed in the display area AA, the color-resistance layer CL also extends to the border area BMA and covers the second border DP, the third border GPL and the fourth border GPR, and the orthographic projection of the color-resistance layer CL on the substrate BP does not overlap with the orthographic projection of the first border DPO on the substrate BP. That is, the second to fourth borders DP to GPR are all covered with the color-resistance layer CL, while the first border DPO does not have the color-resistance layer CL. In other words, in addition to being distributed in the display area AA, the color-resistance layer CL also covers the second to fourth borders DP to GPR in the border area, while the first border DPO in the border area does not have the color-resistance layer CL. The color-resistance layer CL covers the second to fourth borders DP to GPR, refer to Figure 3 The color resist layer CL extending to the frame can form a high support for the spacer column PS Bar, so that the spacer column PS Bar can support the TFT substrate set in the box. The first frame DPO is located in the display area AA of the conventional panel, blocking the exposure, resulting in the absence of the color resist layer CL on the side of the first frame DPO, that is, there is no color resist layer at the first frame DPO.

[0066] like Figure 6As shown, in the exemplary embodiment, the distribution of the spacer block PS Bar is illustrated by taking the third border GPL as an example in the figure. The display panel may also include a protective layer OC and a plurality of spacer blocks PS Bar, the protective layer OC covers the color resist layer CL in the display area AA and the second border DP, the third border GPL and the fourth border GPR, and covers the first border DPO in the first border DPO; the plurality of spacer blocks PS Bar are located on the side of the protective layer OC away from the substrate BP and in the border area BMA, and the plurality of spacer blocks PS Bar are arranged corresponding to the second border DP, the third border GPL and the fourth border GPR and are arranged in sequence at intervals at the corresponding borders. That is, in this exemplary embodiment, the spacer block PS Bar is located on the side of the protective layer OC away from the substrate BP, and is distributed corresponding to the second border DP, the third border GPL and the fourth border GPR. In other words, there is no spacer block PS Bar on the protective layer OC corresponding to the first border DPO. The spacer block PS Bar can support the TFT substrate set in a box, that is, support the TFT substrate set in a box with the color film substrate on the color film substrate. In this exemplary embodiment, reference Figure 3 Because the frame sealant shrinks inward, that is, the frame sealant shifts toward the display area AA side, in order to prevent the frame sealant from interfering with the spacer block PS Bar, the spacer block PS Bar located between the frame sealant and the display area AA will also shrink accordingly, resulting in the missing of the spacer block PS Bar at the first frame DPO due to shielding exposure.

[0067] In this exemplary embodiment, a color resist layer CL is formed below the protective layer OC corresponding to the second frame DP to the fourth frame GPR. The color resist layer CL has a certain thickness, which is equivalent to increasing the thickness of the spacer block PS Bar on the protective layer OC, so that the spacer block PS Bar can contact the TFT substrate set in the box, so that the spacer block PS Bar plays a role in supporting the TFT substrate.

[0068] In actual application, the inventors found that due to the lack of the spacer block PS Bar at the first frame DPO, there is no spacer block PS Bar at the first frame DPO to support the TFT substrate, resulting in a low spacing between the color filter substrate and the TFT substrate arranged in a box with it at the first frame DPO, causing a large area of ​​the display area near the first frame to be black, such as Fig.10 To this end, the inventor further improved the display panel based on the above embodiment to solve the problem of blackening of the frame.

[0069] Fig.11 According to another embodiment of the present disclosure Figure 4 The local enlarged view of M in the figure is as follows: Fig.11As shown, in an exemplary embodiment, the display panel may further include a plurality of color-resistance blocks CL Bar, the plurality of color-resistance blocks CL Bar are located on a side of the first frame DPO away from the base substrate BP, and the plurality of color-resistance blocks CL Bar are sequentially spaced in the extension direction of the first frame DPO. Specifically, in the process of forming the color-resistance layer CL, a marking machine may be used to perform fine exposure in the first frame area BM1 to expose a plurality of color-resistance blocks CL Bar having a certain length and width, and these color-resistance blocks CL Bar serve as spacer blocks PS Bar.

[0070] In this exemplary embodiment, the color group block may include a first structure layer BR1 and a second structure layer BR2 stacked, and the protrusion height of the first structure layer BR1 on the substrate BP and the protrusion height of the second structure layer BR2 on the substrate BP are the same as the protrusion height of the color block layer CL on the substrate BP in the display area AA. Specifically, the thickness of the color block layer CL is usually 1.8 to 2.3 um, which is close to the height of the spacer block PS Bar. Since there is no color block layer CL at the first frame DPO, a marking machine is used to perform two exposures in the first frame area BM1 to form a stacked first structure layer BR1 and a second structure layer BR2, so that the thickness of the color group block at the first frame DPO is close to the thickness of the spacer block PS Bar at other outer frames BMO, so that the color block CL Bar can play a role in supporting the TFT substrate at the first frame DPO, effectively solving the problem of black display caused by the lack of the spacer block PS Bar at the first frame DPO.

[0071] The protruding height of a certain structure A described in the present disclosure on the substrate BP can be understood as follows: the structure A has an upper surface facing away from the substrate BP in the thickness direction of the substrate BP, and the distance between the upper surface of the frame and the surface of the substrate BP facing the frame in the thickness direction of the substrate BP is the protruding height of the structure A on the substrate BP. When the structure A is in direct contact with the substrate BP, the protruding height is the thickness of the structure A; when there is another structure B between the structure A and the substrate BP, the protruding height is the sum of the thicknesses of the structure A and the other structures B.

[0072] For example, the first structure layer BR1 is located on the first frame DPO, so the protrusion height of the first structure layer BR1 on the base substrate BP is the sum of the thickness of the first structure layer BR1 and the thickness of the first frame DPO. As for the color-resist layer CL, the bottom of the color-resist layer CL directly contacts the base substrate BP, so the protrusion height of the color-resist layer CL on the base substrate BP is the thickness of the color-resist layer CL itself.

[0073] In addition, it is worth noting that the same protrusion height of a certain structure A and another structure B described in the present disclosure can be understood as the ratio of the protrusion height of structure A on the substrate BP to the protrusion height of structure B on the substrate BP is within a set ratio range, for example, the ratio is 0.95 to 1.05. Or it can be understood that the height difference between structure A and structure B is within a set tolerance range, for example, the height difference is less than or equal to 0.15 μm, etc.

[0074] In this exemplary embodiment, the thickness of the color resist block CL Bar may be 3.6-4.6 μm, for example, 3.6 μm, 4.0 μm, 4.3 μm, 4.5 μm, 4.6 μm, etc., which is equivalent to the thickness of two color resist layers CL.

[0075] As mentioned above, the display panel may further include a protective layer OC. Fig.12 for Fig.11 The cross-sectional view along the CC direction is as follows: Fig.12 As shown, in this exemplary embodiment, because the color block CL Bar is formed first, then the protective layer OC is formed, and then the spacer block PS Bar is formed, the color block CL Bar in this exemplary embodiment is located between the protective layer OC and the first frame DPO, and the spacer block PS Bar is located on the side of the protective layer OC away from the base substrate BP. Specifically, the protective layer OC covers the color block CL in the display area AA and the second frame DP, the third frame GPL and the fourth frame GPR, and the protective layer OC covers the color block CL Bar at the first frame DPO and covers the surface of the first frame DPO that is not blocked by the color block CL Bar.

[0076] The present invention uses a marking machine for supplementary exposure to form a partial outer frame BMO of a special-shaped panel, which can form a structurally continuous outer frame BMO, solve the problem of peripheral light leakage caused by the lack of outer frame BMO during partial exposure or cold cutting of special-shaped panels, greatly reduce the development cycle and initial investment of special-shaped panels, and optimize the product size according to the performance of the panel at the terminal, so as to achieve a set of mask plates corresponding to panels of various sizes, and improve the product conversion rate of conventional mask plates. In addition, in actual products, the outer frame BMO of the panel disclosed in the present invention is different in morphology from the outer frame BMO of conventional panels, and the structure of the supporting TFT substrate formed at the supplementary exposure is also different from the structure of the spacer block PS Bar that plays the same role in conventional panels.

[0077] The following is a detailed introduction to the method for preparing the display panel of the present disclosure in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. As described above, the display panel to be prepared by the present disclosure is a special-shaped panel, that is, a display panel whose size does not match the size of a conventional panel. And the preparation method of the present disclosure is to reduce investment by being compatible with the mask plate that forms a conventional panel. The preparation method of the present disclosure may include the following steps:

[0078] S110 , providing a base substrate BP, wherein the base substrate BP comprises a display area AA and a frame area BMA surrounding the display area AA.

[0079] like Figure 4 As shown, the multiple outer frames BMO of the display panel frame area BMA may include a first frame DPO (datapad opposite, data signal output side opposite side), a second frame DP (data pad, data signal output side), a third frame GPL and a fourth frame GPR, the first frame DPO is arranged opposite to the second frame DP, and the third frame GPL is arranged opposite to the fourth frame GPR. The first frame DPO and the second frame DP are arranged opposite to each other in the first direction Y, the third frame GPL and the fourth frame GPR are arranged opposite to each other in the second direction X, and the first direction Y intersects with the second direction X. For example, the first direction Y may be the column direction of the display panel, and the second direction X may be the row direction of the display panel.

[0080] S120 , using a first mask to expose in the display area AA to form an inner frame pattern and a portion of an outer frame pattern of the display panel.

[0081] The first mask is a mask for forming an inner frame pattern and an outer frame pattern in a conventional panel. Figure 4 As shown, this step is: using the first mask to expose and form the inner frame pattern of the special-shaped panel and the second frame pattern, the third frame pattern and the fourth frame pattern.

[0082] The second frame DP, the third frame GPL and the fourth frame GPR correspond to the outer frame area BMA of the conventional panel, so the second frame pattern, the third frame pattern and the fourth frame pattern can be formed by the first mask. At the same time, the inner frame BMI located in the display area AA corresponds to the first frame DPO area BMA of the conventional panel, so the inner frame pattern of the display area AA can be formed synchronously by exposing and developing with the first mask.

[0083] The preparation process of the display area AA disclosed in the present invention may include: first using a first mask plate to prepare a black matrix BM pattern with a grid shape (i.e., an inner frame BMI), and then using a second mask plate to prepare different color resist layer patterns in sequence, for example, first using the second mask plate to prepare a color resist pattern of the first color, and then offsetting the second mask plate to prepare a color resist pattern of the second color, and then continuing to offset the second mask plate to prepare a color resist pattern of the third color.

[0084] S130, using an exposure source to perform secondary exposure on the area of ​​the border area BMA where no outer border pattern is formed to form the remaining outer border patterns, wherein the formed outer border pattern and the connection between the other outer border patterns connected thereto and the inner border pattern have a curved dividing line.

[0085] The remaining outer frame BMO is the first frame DPO, that is, the outer frame BMO missing after exposure in step S130. This step is to use the exposure source for supplementary exposure to form the first frame DPO pattern.

[0086] Fig.13 The pattern after DPO side exposure in the conventional process is shown. Fig.14 Shows Fig.13 After developing the pattern, Fig.13 and Fig.14 The positions shown in A and B are Figure 4 The positions of BM1 and BM2 in FIG. Fig.13 As shown in the figure, the dotted frame is the frame after exposure. Since the frame material in the unexposed area is developed away, there is no frame shading in the edge area of ​​the DPO side. Fig.14 In the figure, the black area is the border formed, and the white area is developed without a pattern.

[0087] Fig.15 is a pattern after DPO side exposure in the process according to the embodiment of the present disclosure, Fig.16 Shows Fig.15 After developing the pattern, similarly, Fig.15 and Fig.16 The positions shown in A and B are Figure 4 The positions shown for BM1 and BM2 in the figure correspond to the same. Fig.15 The middle dotted frame is the frame after exposure. Fig.16 The black part is the formed border, and the white part is developed away without any pattern.

[0088] In an exemplary embodiment, step S130 can be optimized as follows:

[0089] S1301, coating a photoresist on the substrate BP, wherein the photoresist is a negative photoresist.

[0090] S1302, moving the marking machine to the frame area BMA to perform secondary exposure on a side of the second frame DP in the first direction Y to form a first frame DPO pattern of the display panel, thereby forming a first frame DPO pattern with a continuous structure.

[0091] like Fig.15As shown, in step S120, the normal BM Mask is first used in combination with the baffle for exposure. At this time, the normal BM Pattern of area A is exposed, and the BM of area B is not exposed. Then, in this step, a TT marking machine for marking is set in the BM line body, and the TT marking machine is used to expose area B. At this time, the exposed BM Pattern is as shown in FIG. Fig.15 As shown, since CF GLS is a negative photoresist, the exposed part is retained, as shown in Fig.16 As shown, therefore, the B region BM can also be retained to become a solid BM, that is, a first border DPO with a continuous structure is formed in the first border region BM1, thereby achieving a light shielding effect.

[0092] S140 , using a second mask to expose the display area AA of the display panel to form a sub-pixel pattern.

[0093] The disclosed preparation method forms the partially missing outer frame BMO of the special-shaped panel by being compatible with the existing RGB mask, thus solving the peripheral light leakage problem caused by the missing BM frame during the partial exposure or cold cutting process of the special-shaped panel. At the same time, the disclosed preparation method does not require any new Mask investment or equipment modification investment, and can share the normal product Mask, which greatly reduces the development cycle and initial investment of the special-shaped panel. At the same time, the product size can be optimized according to the performance of the panel's various terminals, and a set of Masks can be used to produce panels of various sizes, thereby improving the product conversion rate of conventional Masks.

[0094] In an exemplary embodiment, after forming the first border DPO pattern of the display panel, a marking machine may be further used for exposure to form a color block CL Bar at the first border DPO. By forming the color block CL Bar at the first border DPO, the problem of black display caused by the absence of the spacer block PS Bar can be solved.

[0095] Exemplarily, the preparation method may further include:

[0096] S150, using a marking machine to expose the first frame DPO pattern on a side away from the base substrate BP to form a color block pattern.

[0097] Among them, after forming the color resist layer CL, a marking machine can be used to expose the color resist block CL Bar on the side of the first frame DPO away from the base substrate BP, and the color resist block CL Bar serves as the spacer block PS Bar. Because the thickness of the color resist layer CL is close to the thickness of the spacer block PS Bar, the present exemplary embodiment can use a marking machine to expose the color resist material to form the color resist block CL Bar, which plays the role of the spacer block PS Bar, that is, it can effectively support the TFT substrate that is arranged in a box with the color filter substrate.

[0098] S160 , forming a protective layer OC on a side of the color resist block CL Bar away from the substrate BP.

[0099] S170 , exposing to form a spacer block PS Bar pattern at a side of the protective layer OC away from the substrate BP and corresponding to the second frame DP, the third frame GPL and the fourth frame GPR.

[0100] The preparation method disclosed herein can solve the light leakage problem caused by the missing frame when using the mask of a conventional panel to prepare a special-shaped panel by performing supplementary exposure at the first frame DPO using a marking machine. And further, a color block CL Bar is formed by exposing on the first frame DPO using a marking machine, and the color block CL Bar acts as a spacer block PS Bar, thereby further solving the problem of black display caused by the missing spacer block PS Bar. The preparation method disclosed herein can solve the peripheral light leakage and blackening problems caused by the missing BM Frame during partial exposure or cold cutting of special-shaped products. The DPO side is exposed using a TT marking machine, which avoids equipment travel limitations and completes the physical BM exposure on the DPO side without additional equipment modification and Mask investment.

[0101] The present disclosure further provides a display device, which includes but is not limited to a television, a tablet, etc. The display device may include the display panel described in any of the above embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0102] Those skilled in the art will readily appreciate other embodiments of the present disclosure after considering the specification and practicing the invention disclosed herein. This application is intended to cover any variations, uses, or adaptations of the present disclosure that follow the generality of the present disclosure and include common knowledge or customary techniques in the art that are not disclosed in the present disclosure. The specification and examples are to be considered as exemplary only, and the true scope and spirit of the present disclosure are indicated by the claims.

Claims

1. A display panel, characterized in that: The display panel includes a base substrate, wherein the base substrate includes a display area and a frame area surrounding the display area; the display panel also includes: A color resist layer, located in the display area, the color resist layer comprising a plurality of sub-pixels distributed in an array on one side of the base substrate; A plurality of inner frames, located in the display area, wherein the inner frames are arranged between adjacent sub-pixels; A plurality of outer frames, which are located on the same side of the base substrate as the inner frame and are located in the frame area; Wherein, at least a portion of the outer frame and other outer frames connected thereto have a dividing line at their connection points, and the orthographic projection of the dividing line on the substrate is a curve; At least part of the outer frame is formed by supplementary exposure, and the other outer frames are formed by mask exposure.

2. The display panel according to claim 1, characterized in that: The curve is in a sawtooth shape and / or a wavy shape.

3. The display panel according to claim 1, characterized in that: The outer frame includes a first frame and a second frame arranged opposite to each other in a first direction, and a third frame and a fourth frame arranged opposite to each other in a second direction, wherein the first direction intersects with the second direction; The first frame includes a main body and a first connecting portion and a second connecting portion connected to both sides of the main body in its extension direction, the orthographic projection of the first connecting portion on the substrate substrate is opposite to the orthographic projection of the third frame on the substrate substrate, the orthographic projection of the second connecting portion on the substrate substrate is opposite to the orthographic projection of the fourth frame on the substrate substrate, the surface of the first connecting portion and the second connecting portion facing away from the substrate substrate is flat, and the surface of at least one of the second frame, the third frame and the fourth frame facing away from the substrate substrate is uneven.

4. The display panel according to claim 3, characterized in that: At least one of the second frame, the third frame and the fourth frame has a hollow pattern on a side away from the base substrate, and the first connecting portion and the second connecting portion do not have the hollow pattern on a side away from the base substrate.

5. The display panel according to claim 3, characterized in that: The color resist layer also extends to the frame area and covers the second frame, the third frame and the fourth frame, and the orthographic projection of the color resist layer on the base substrate does not overlap with the orthographic projection of the first frame on the base substrate.

6. The display panel according to claim 5, characterized in that: The display panel further includes: a protective layer, covering the color resist layer at the display area and the second frame, the third frame and the fourth frame, and covering the first frame at the first frame; A plurality of spacer blocks are located on a side of the protective layer away from the base substrate and in the frame area. The plurality of spacer blocks are arranged corresponding to the second frame, the third frame and the fourth frame and are sequentially spaced apart at the corresponding frames.

7. The display panel according to claim 3, characterized in that: In the thickness direction of the base substrate, the thickness of the first frame at the connection with the third frame is smaller than the thickness of other positions on the first frame away from the third frame, and the thickness of the first frame at the connection with the fourth frame is smaller than the thickness of other positions on the first frame away from the fourth frame.

8. The display panel according to claim 7, characterized in that: The ratio of the thickness of the connection between the first frame and the third frame to the thickness of other positions on the first frame away from the third frame is 0.8 to 0.95, and the ratio of the thickness of the connection between the first frame and the fourth frame to the thickness of other positions on the first frame away from the fourth frame is 0.8 to 0.

95.

9. The display panel according to claim 3, characterized in that: The display panel further includes: A plurality of color-resistance blocks are located on a side of the first frame away from the base substrate, and the plurality of color-resistance blocks are sequentially spaced apart in an extension direction of the first frame.

10. The display panel according to claim 9, characterized in that: The color resist block includes a first structure layer and a second structure layer stacked together, and the protrusion height of the first structure layer on the base substrate and the protrusion height of the second structure layer on the base substrate are both the same as the protrusion height of the color resist layer in the display area on the base substrate.

11. The display panel according to claim 9, characterized in that: In the thickness direction of the base substrate, the thickness of the color resist block is 3.6-4.6 μm.

12. The display panel according to claim 9, characterized in that: The display panel further includes: A protective layer, covering the color-resistance layer at the display area and the second frame, the third frame and the fourth frame, and the protective layer also covers the surface of the first frame that is not blocked by the color-resistance block; A plurality of spacer blocks are located on a side of the protective layer away from the base substrate and in the frame area. The plurality of spacer blocks are arranged corresponding to the second frame, the third frame and the fourth frame and are sequentially spaced apart at the corresponding frames.

13. A method for preparing a display panel, for preparing the display panel according to any one of claims 1 to 12, the method comprising: Providing a base substrate, the base substrate comprising a display area and a frame area surrounding the display area; Using a first mask to expose the display area to form an inner frame pattern and a portion of an outer frame pattern of the display panel; Using an exposure source, a second exposure is performed on a region of the frame region where no outer frame pattern is formed to form a remaining outer frame pattern, wherein a boundary line is provided at a connection between the remaining outer frame pattern and the inner frame pattern connected thereto, and the orthographic projection of the boundary line on the substrate is a curve; A second mask is used to expose a display area of ​​the display panel to form a sub-pixel pattern.

14. The method according to claim 13, characterized in that The method of using the first mask to expose the display area to form an inner frame pattern and a part of an outer frame pattern of the display panel includes: Using a first mask to expose in the display area to form an inner frame pattern of the display panel and to expose in a part of the outer frame area to form a second frame pattern, a third frame pattern and a fourth frame pattern; The step of using an exposure source to perform secondary exposure on the area of ​​the frame region where no outer frame pattern is formed to form the remaining outer frame pattern comprises: A second exposure is performed on a side of the frame area opposite to the second frame by using an exposure source to form a first frame pattern.

15. The preparation method according to claim 14, characterized in that: The method of performing secondary exposure on a side of the frame area opposite to the second frame using an exposure source to form a first frame pattern includes: Coating a photoresist on the substrate, wherein the photoresist is a negative photoresist; The marking machine is moved to the frame area on a side opposite to the second frame in a first direction for secondary exposure to form a first frame pattern of the display panel.

16. The preparation method according to claim 15, characterized in that: After forming the first border pattern of the display panel, the method further includes: Using a marking machine to expose the first frame pattern on a side away from the base substrate to form a color block pattern; forming a protective layer on a side of the color-resist block pattern away from the base substrate; A spacer block pattern is formed by exposing a side of the protective layer away from the base substrate and corresponding to the second frame, the third frame and the fourth frame.

17. A display device, characterized in that: A display panel comprising any one of claims 1 to 12.

Images