Display device and water ingress verification method for a display device

Abstract

This application provides a display device and a method for verifying water ingress into the display device. A capacitance testing unit is formed by adding a first metal layer and a second metal layer arranged opposite to each other. This unit detects changes in capacitance within the display device. Given a fixed area and distance between the first and second metal layers, the change in dielectric constant can be calculated from the changed capacitance. The change in ion concentration is then calculated based on the change in dielectric constant. The change in ion concentration changes with the amount of water vapor intruding from the outside. Therefore, the amount of water vapor intrusion into the display device can be quantitatively determined using the change in capacitance.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of display technology, and more specifically to a display device and a method for testing the water ingress of the display device. Background Technology

[0002] LCD screens are susceptible to moisture damage, leading to visual defects such as mura around the edges and blackening at the corners. These defects are often used as a criterion for judging a product's water resistance. Currently, determining a display's water resistance requires testing in a high-temperature, high-humidity environment, a qualitative assessment that fails to quantitatively determine the amount of water that can enter the display. Summary of the Invention

[0003] This invention provides a display device and a method for verifying water ingress into the display device, aiming to solve the problem that the existing technology cannot quantitatively determine the amount of water entering the display device.

[0004] To address the aforementioned problems, in a first aspect, this application provides a display device.

[0005] The display device includes a first substrate and a second substrate facing each other. A first insulating layer is disposed on the inner surface of the first substrate near the second substrate. The display device has a display area and at least one test unit located around the display area. The at least one test unit includes a first metal layer and a second metal layer. The display device also includes a frame adhesive, which is disposed between the first substrate and the second substrate to space the first substrate and the second substrate.

[0006] The first metal layer is disposed above the first substrate, and the first insulating layer is disposed above the first metal layer and completely covers the first metal layer;

[0007] A second metal layer is disposed above the frame adhesive, and the first metal layer and the second metal layer are electrically connected to form a capacitance test unit.

[0008] In some possible embodiments, a second insulating layer is disposed on the inner surface of the second substrate near the first substrate. The second insulating layer is disposed above the frame adhesive, which connects the first insulating layer and the second insulating layer. The second insulating layer completely covers the second metal layer.

[0009] In some possible embodiments, a third insulating layer is disposed on the inner surface of the second substrate near the first substrate, the third insulating layer being located above the second metal layer, and the frame adhesive connecting the second metal layer and the first insulating layer.

[0010] In some possible embodiments, the second insulating layer and the third insulating layer are black matrix layers.

[0011] In some possible embodiments, the display device includes a plurality of test areas, each of which includes a first metal layer and a second metal layer disposed opposite to each other, and the first metal layer and the second metal layer of each test area are electrically connected to form a capacitance test unit corresponding to each test area.

[0012] In some possible embodiments, the first metal layer and the second metal layer are disconnected from other metal film layers in the display device.

[0013] In some possible embodiments, both the first metal layer and the second metal layer are made of copper, aluminum, molybdenum, or titanium.

[0014] Secondly, this application provides a method for water ingress testing of a display device, the display device comprising the display device described in any of the preceding claims, the method comprising:

[0015] The actual capacitance of the display device is detected using a capacitance testing unit.

[0016] Determine whether the actual capacitance is within a preset capacitance range to determine whether the display device has been infiltrated by water.

[0017] In some possible embodiments, the method further includes:

[0018] If the display device is flooded, the actual dielectric constant of the display device is determined based on the actual capacitance.

[0019] Determine the initial dielectric constant of the display device under conditions of no moisture intrusion;

[0020] The water inlet volume corresponding to the display device is determined based on the actual dielectric constant and the initial dielectric constant.

[0021] In some possible embodiments, the display device includes multiple capacitance testing units, and the step of determining whether the actual capacitance is within a preset capacitance range to determine whether the display device has been flooded includes:

[0022] The capacitance of the display device is measured using the multiple capacitance testing units to obtain multiple actual capacitances;

[0023] Determine whether each of the plurality of actual capacitors is within the preset capacitance range;

[0024] If at least one of the plurality of real capacitors is within the preset capacitance range, then the display device is determined to have been flooded.

[0025] This application provides a display device and a method for water ingress testing of the display device. The display device includes a first substrate and a second substrate facing each other. A first insulating layer is disposed on the inner surface of the first substrate near the second substrate. The display device has a display area and at least one test unit located around the display area. The at least one test unit includes a first metal layer and a second metal layer. The display device also includes a frame adhesive disposed between the first substrate and the second substrate to separate them. The first metal layer is disposed above the first substrate, and the first insulating layer is disposed above the first metal layer and completely covers it. The second metal layer is disposed above the frame adhesive. The first metal layer and the second metal layer are electrically connected to form a capacitance testing unit. This application uses the newly added first metal layer and second metal layer, which are arranged opposite each other, to form a capacitance testing unit. This allows the capacitance change in the display device to be detected using the capacitance testing unit. Given that the areas of the first metal layer and the second metal layer, and the distance between them, are determined, the change in dielectric constant can be calculated from the change in capacitance. The change in ion concentration can then be calculated based on the change in dielectric constant. The change in ion concentration changes with the amount of water vapor entering the display device. Therefore, the amount of water vapor entering the display device can be quantitatively determined using the change in capacitance. Attached Figure Description

[0026] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention, the accompanying drawings used in the description of the embodiments will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the accompanying drawings described below are only some embodiments of the present invention. For those skilled in the art, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative effort.

[0027] Figure 1 A top view of an embodiment of the display device provided in this application;

[0028] Figure 2 A cross-sectional view of an embodiment of the display device provided in this application;

[0029] Figure 3 A cross-sectional view of another embodiment of the display device provided in this application;

[0030] Figure 4 This is a schematic flowchart of an embodiment of water ingress testing for a display device provided in this application. Detailed Implementation

[0031] The technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some embodiments of the present invention, and not all embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art without creative effort are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0032] In the description of this invention, it should be understood that the terms "center," "longitudinal," "lateral," "length," "width," "thickness," "upper," "lower," "front," "rear," "left," "right," "vertical," "horizontal," "top," "bottom," "inner," and "outer," etc., indicating orientation or positional relationships based on the orientation or positional relationships shown in the accompanying drawings, are only for the convenience of describing the invention and simplifying the description, and do not indicate or imply that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, or be constructed and operated in a specific orientation, and therefore should not be construed as a limitation of the invention. Furthermore, the terms "first" and "second" are used for descriptive purposes only and should not be construed as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly specifying the number of indicated technical features. Thus, features defined with "first" and "second" may explicitly or implicitly include one or more of the stated features. In the description of this invention, "a plurality of" means two or more, unless otherwise explicitly specified.

[0033] In this application, the term "exemplary" is used to mean "serving as an example, illustration, or description." Any embodiment described as "exemplary" in this application is not necessarily to be construed as being more preferred or advantageous than other embodiments. The following description is provided to enable any person skilled in the art to make and use the invention. Details are set forth in the following description for purposes of explanation. It should be understood that those skilled in the art will recognize that the invention can be made without using these specific details. In other instances, well-known structures and processes will not be described in detail to avoid obscuring the description of the invention with unnecessary detail. Therefore, the invention is not intended to be limited to the embodiments shown, but is consistent with the broadest scope of the principles and features disclosed in this application.

[0034] This invention provides a display device and a method for testing the water ingress of the display device. These will be described in detail below.

[0035] like Figure 1 The image shown is a top view of an embodiment of the display device provided in this application. Figure 1In this application, the display device has a display area 10 for normally displaying the image and a non-display area 20 for setting various circuit traces on the display panel. For the display device of this application, in order not to affect the normal display of the image, more test units are typically set in the non-display area 20. That is, the test area 201 in this application is set in the non-display area, and the test area 201 typically only occupies a portion of the non-display area. This application achieves water ingress testing of the display device by changing the structure of the non-display area.

[0036] like Figure 2 The image shown is a cross-sectional view of an embodiment of the display device provided in this application. Figure 2 The display device may include a first substrate 101 and a second substrate 106 disposed opposite to each other, wherein a first insulating layer 103 is disposed on the inner surface of the first substrate 101 near the second substrate 106. The display device also includes at least one test unit located outside the display area, i.e., in the non-display area 20; the at least one test unit includes a first metal layer 102 and a second metal layer 105, wherein the first metal layer 102 is disposed above the first substrate 101, and the first insulating layer 103 is disposed above the first metal layer 102 and completely covers the first metal layer 102.

[0037] The display device also includes a frame adhesive 104, which is disposed between the first substrate 101 and the second substrate 106 to separate the first substrate 101 and the second substrate 106; and a second metal layer 105 is disposed above the frame adhesive 104, and the second metal layer 105 is located on the side of the second substrate 106 closer to the first substrate 101. The first metal layer 102 and the second metal layer 105 are electrically connected to form a capacitance testing unit.

[0038] Please refer to Figure 2 In this embodiment, the first metal layer 102 may be disposed above the first substrate 101, and the first metal layer 102 is located only in the non-display area (or test area), excluding the portion located in the display area. The first insulating layer 103 is located above the first metal layer 102 and completely covers it. The first insulating layer 103 includes the portion located in the display area and the portion located in the non-display area. The first insulating layer 103 primarily separates the first metal layer 102 from other film structures in the display device, preventing the first metal layer 102 from conducting with other film structures and affecting the display.

[0039] The frame adhesive 104 is disposed above the first insulating layer 103 and is mainly used to connect the first substrate 101 and the second substrate 106 in the display device, thereby forming a complete display device; the frame adhesive 104 is also disposed in the non-display area of ​​the display device. A second metal layer 105 is disposed above the frame adhesive 104, and the second metal layer 105 is connected to the first metal layer 102 to form a capacitance testing unit. Figure 2 In this configuration, a second insulating layer 107 is also included between the second metal layer 105 and the frame adhesive 104. The second insulating layer 107 is disposed on the inner surface of the second substrate 106 near the first substrate and is positioned above the frame adhesive. The second insulating layer 107 completely covers the second metal layer 105, which is also entirely located in the non-display area. At this time, the frame adhesive 104 actually connects the first insulating layer 103 and the second insulating layer 107.

[0040] for Figure 2 In the illustrated embodiment, the first metal layer 102 and the second metal layer 105 are connected, and a voltage different from the display device driving signal is applied to both ends of the first metal layer 102 and the second metal layer 105. This allows the first metal layer 102 and the second metal layer 105 to form a capacitance testing unit, thereby detecting the capacitance between the first metal layer 102 and the second metal layer 105. Figure 2 In the illustrated embodiment, the film layer between the first metal layer 102 and the second metal layer 105 includes a first insulating layer 103, a frame adhesive 104, and a second insulating layer. Detecting the capacitance between the first metal layer 102 and the second metal layer 105 is essentially detecting the capacitance of the entire structure comprised of the first insulating layer 103, the frame adhesive 104, and the second insulating layer. In other embodiments, other film layer structures may also be present between the first insulating layer 103, the frame adhesive 104, and the second insulating layer, but the capacitance of the entire structure comprised of these film layers is still detected.

[0041] Specifically, according to the capacitance formula, given a fixed area *s* of the metal plates at both ends of a capacitor and a fixed distance *d*, the capacitance changes when the dielectric constant changes. This change in dielectric constant is typically caused by a change in the ion concentration of the material. In this application, the display device is affected by moisture penetration, leading to a change in ion concentration, which in turn causes a change in the dielectric constant and consequently, a change in the capacitance. Therefore, it can be determined that a larger change in capacitance indicates a greater degree of moisture contamination of the display device. Thus, this application utilizes an additional first metal layer 102 and a second metal layer 105, and determines the capacitance between the first metal layer 102 and the second metal layer 105 to determine the degree of moisture contamination in the display device. Furthermore, since the specific value of the capacitance can be determined, the degree of moisture contamination in the display device can be quantitatively determined.

[0042] In the above embodiments, the first substrate 101 can be a substrate in an array substrate, and the first metal layer and the first insulating layer can also be other film layer structures in the array substrate. The second substrate can be a substrate in a color filter substrate, and the second insulating layer 107 can be a black matrix layer. At this time, the substrate and the color filter substrate are connected by a frame adhesive, and a first metal layer 102 is disposed in the substrate and a second metal layer 105 is disposed in the color filter substrate. The capacitance change in the display device is measured by the capacitor formed by the first metal layer 102 and the second metal layer 105.

[0043] like Figure 3 The image shown is a cross-sectional view of another embodiment of the display device provided in this application. Figure 3 In this display device, a first substrate 101, a first metal layer 102, a first insulating layer 103, a frame adhesive 104, and a second metal layer 105 are also included; and the display device further includes a third insulating layer 108. Figure 2 The difference between the embodiments shown is that, Figure 3 The second metal layer 105 is in direct contact with the third insulating layer 108, while Figure 2 The second metal layer 105 is in direct contact with the second substrate 106. Meanwhile, Figure 3 The display device shown also includes a third metal layer 109 located in the display area, which is also located on the inner surface of the second substrate 106 near the first substrate 101. In this embodiment, the third insulating layer may also be a black matrix layer, while the first and second metal layers are made of materials such as copper, aluminum, molybdenum, or titanium.

[0044] It should be noted that the electrical signals applied to the ends of the first and second metal layers in this application are different from the electrical signals used to drive the display panel to display normally; that is, separate electrical signals need to be applied to the ends of the first and second metal layers. Therefore, the first and second metal layers need to be disconnected from other metal film layers in the display device and cannot be connected to them. The third metal layer 109 is essentially another metal film layer located in the display area of ​​the display device; the first metal layer 102 needs to be disconnected from the third metal layer 109, and the second metal layer 105 is also disconnected from the third metal layer 109.

[0045] Please refer to Figures 1-3 In the embodiments of this application, the newly added first metal layer and second metal layer are both located in the non-display area of ​​the display device; specifically, they can be... Figure 1The capacitor is positioned at the top corner of the display device. In some embodiments, a capacitance test unit consisting of a first metal layer and a second metal layer may be added only at one top corner of the display device; in other embodiments, capacitance test units consisting of a first metal layer and a second metal layer may be added at multiple top corners of the display device, resulting in multiple test areas and multiple capacitance test units. Each test area includes a first metal layer and a second metal layer disposed opposite each other, and the first metal layer and the second metal layer in each test area are electrically connected to form the corresponding capacitance test unit for each test area. Please refer to the specific structure. Figures 1-3 This will not be elaborated upon here.

[0046] In the above embodiments, multiple first metal layers are located in the same layer, and multiple second metal layers are also located in the same layer; at the same time, each first metal layer is the same type of metal layer, and each second metal layer is the same type of second metal layer. This ensures that the distance between the first and second metal layers in different capacitance testing units is the same, and that the areas of the first and second metal layers in different capacitance testing units are the same.

[0047] Of course, in other embodiments, the multiple first metal layers can be set as different metal layers, such as first metal layers with different area sizes; similarly, the multiple second metal layers can also be set as different metal layers, such as second metal layers with different area sizes. In this case, the distance between the different first metal layers and the different second metal layers is usually also different, so as to detect the capacitance of the overall structure composed of different film layers.

[0048] It should be noted that the above-described display device embodiments only depict the aforementioned structure. It is understood that, in addition to the above structure, the display device of this invention may include any other necessary structures as needed, such as a gate layer, source / drain layers, etc., which are not specifically limited here. Furthermore, in the embodiments of this application, the positions of the first metal layer and the second metal layer can be set according to actual needs, thereby measuring the capacitance of different film layers in the display device.

[0049] This application also provides a method for water ingress testing of a display device, applicable to display devices as described in any of the preceding claims, such as... Figure 4 As shown, the method may include:

[0050] 401. Use a capacitance testing unit to test the actual capacitance of the display device.

[0051] 402. Determine whether the actual capacitance is within the preset capacitance range to determine whether the display device has been flooded.

[0052] This application requires the use of a capacitance testing unit to detect the actual capacitance of the display device and determine whether the current actual capacitance is within a preset capacitance range. If the actual capacitance is not within the preset capacitance range, it can be determined that the display device has been infiltrated by water. The preset capacitance range refers to the capacitance range of the display device when no moisture has entered, and this capacitance range can be obtained experimentally. Furthermore, the capacitance range typically differs for different types and sizes of display devices.

[0053] 403. If the display device is flooded, the dielectric constant of the display device shall be determined based on the actual capacitance.

[0054] 404. Determine the initial dielectric constant of the display device under conditions of no moisture intrusion;

[0055] 405. Determine the water inlet volume corresponding to the display device based on the true dielectric constant and the initial dielectric constant.

[0056] The aforementioned embodiments only qualitatively determine whether the display device has been flooded by judging whether the actual capacitance is within a preset capacitance range. This application can also quantitatively determine the degree of water ingress of the display device by judging the specific size of the actual capacitance. Specifically, it is necessary to calculate the dielectric constant of the display device based on the size of the actual capacitance. The area s of the first and second metal layers in the capacitance calculation formula is known, and the distance d between the first and second metal layers is also known. Given the capacitance size, the dielectric constant can be calculated.

[0057] The change in dielectric constant is due to the change in the amount of water vapor in the display device. Therefore, after calculating the current true dielectric constant, the difference between the true dielectric constant and the initial dielectric constant under conditions without water vapor intrusion can be further calculated, thereby determining the amount of water vapor intrusion based on the change in dielectric constant.

[0058] In the above embodiments, if the display device includes multiple capacitance testing units, the average value of the measured multiple capacitances can be calculated to obtain the true capacitance; then, based on the true capacitance, the true dielectric constant corresponding to the display device is calculated.

[0059] In other embodiments, if there are multiple capacitance testing units, the same electrical signal (i.e., the same voltage) can be applied to multiple capacitance testing units, and the capacitance of the display device can be detected by multiple capacitance detection units to obtain multiple true capacitances. If any one of the multiple true capacitances is outside the preset capacitance range, it is determined that the display device has been flooded. This is because if even one true capacitance is outside the preset capacitance range, the display device cannot function properly, and it is necessary to determine that the display device has malfunctioned.

[0060] When quantitatively calculating the degree of water ingress into the display device, the average value of multiple real capacitors can be calculated, and the dielectric constant at this time can be quantitatively calculated based on the magnitude of the average value.

[0061] In the above embodiments, the descriptions of each embodiment have different focuses. For parts not described in detail in a certain embodiment, please refer to the detailed descriptions of other embodiments above, which will not be repeated here.

[0062] In practice, each of the above units or structures can be implemented as an independent entity or can be arbitrarily combined to be implemented as the same or several entities. For the specific implementation of each of the above units or structures, please refer to the previous method embodiments, which will not be repeated here.

[0063] For details on the implementation of each of the above operations, please refer to the previous examples, which will not be repeated here.

[0064] The above provides a detailed description of the display device and the water ingress test method for the display device provided by the embodiments of the present invention. Specific examples have been used to illustrate the principle and implementation of the present invention. The description of the above embodiments is only for the purpose of helping to understand the method and core idea of ​​the present invention. At the same time, for those skilled in the art, there will be changes in the specific implementation and application scope based on the idea of ​​the present invention. Therefore, the content of this specification should not be construed as a limitation of the present invention.

Claims

1. A display device comprising a first substrate and a second substrate facing each other, the first substrate being provided with a first insulating layer near an inner side surface of the second substrate, characterized by, The display device has a display area and at least one test unit located around the display area. The at least one test unit includes a first metal layer and a second metal layer. The display device also includes a frame adhesive disposed between the first substrate and the second substrate to space the first substrate and the second substrate. The first metal layer is disposed above the first substrate, and the first insulating layer is disposed above the first metal layer and completely covers the first metal layer; The second metal layer is disposed on the side of the second substrate close to the first substrate and above the frame adhesive. The first metal layer and the second metal layer are disposed opposite to each other in the opposing direction of the first substrate and the second substrate and are electrically connected to form a capacitance test unit for monitoring the intrusion of moisture in the area where the frame adhesive is located. A second insulating layer is provided on the inner surface of the second substrate near the first substrate. The second insulating layer is disposed above the frame adhesive, and the frame adhesive connects the first insulating layer and the second insulating layer. The second insulating layer completely covers the second metal layer. The first metal layer and the second metal layer are disconnected from other metal film layers in the display device.

2. The display device according to claim 1, characterized in that, A third insulating layer is provided on the inner surface of the second substrate near the first substrate. The third insulating layer is located above the second metal layer, and the frame adhesive connects the second metal layer and the first insulating layer.

3. The display device according to claim 2, characterized in that, The second insulating layer and the third insulating layer are black matrix layers.

4. The display device according to claim 1, characterized in that, The display device includes multiple test areas, each of which includes a first metal layer and a second metal layer disposed opposite to each other. The first metal layer and the second metal layer of each test area are electrically connected to form a capacitance test unit corresponding to each test area.

5. The display device according to claim 1, characterized in that, Both the first metal layer and the second metal layer are made of copper, aluminum, molybdenum, or titanium.

6. A method for water ingress testing of a display device, characterized in that, The display device includes the display device as described in any one of claims 1-5, and the method includes: The actual capacitance of the display device is detected using a capacitance testing unit. Determine whether the actual capacitance is within a preset capacitance range to determine whether the display device has been infiltrated by water.

7. The water ingress test method for the display device according to claim 6, characterized in that, The method further includes: If the display device is flooded, the actual dielectric constant of the display device is determined based on the actual capacitance. Determine the initial dielectric constant of the display device under conditions of no moisture intrusion; The water inlet volume corresponding to the display device is determined based on the actual dielectric constant and the initial dielectric constant.

8. The water ingress test method for the display device according to claim 7, characterized in that, The display device includes multiple capacitance testing units. The step of determining whether the actual capacitance is within a preset capacitance range to determine whether the display device has been flooded includes: The capacitance of the display device is measured using the multiple capacitance testing units to obtain multiple actual capacitances; Determine whether each of the plurality of actual capacitors is within the preset capacitance range; If at least one of the plurality of real capacitors is within the preset capacitance range, then the display device is determined to have been flooded.

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