Mask plate assembly, display panel and display device

Abstract

The invention provides a mask plate assembly, a display panel and a display device.The mask plate assembly comprises a first mask plate assembly and a second mask plate assembly, the first mask plate assembly comprises at least two plate bodies arranged in a first direction plane, pattern areas and peripheral areas surrounding the pattern areas are arranged on the plate bodies in an array mode, splicing areas are arranged on the sides, close to each other, of the plate bodies, the splicing areas are provided with connecting layers, and the connecting layers are arranged on the side, close to each other, of the plate bodies; the included angle between the edge of the connecting layer and the plane where the plate body is located is smaller than 90 degrees. And the second mask plate assembly comprises at least two plate bodies which are arranged in a plane in the first direction, pattern areas and peripheral areas surrounding the pattern areas are arranged on the plate bodies in an array mode, and a transmission area is arranged between the plate bodies. The first mask plate assembly and the second mask plate assembly are combined, so that the situation that the connecting layer cannot be used due to fracture caused by stress concentration in the using process is effectively avoided; the first mask plate assembly or the second mask plate assembly or a combination mode of the first mask plate assembly and the second mask plate assembly is utilized; and simultaneous preparation and packaging of a plurality of display panels on a large-size substrate in different forms are realized respectively.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application relates to the field of display technology, and in particular to a mask assembly, a display panel and a display device. Background Art

[0002] At present, in the packaging process of Organic Light-Emitting Diode (OLED) display panels, in order to achieve the effect of screen flexibility, the pixel packaging method adopted is thin film packaging (Thin Film Encapsulation). The packaging film is stacked by a three-layer structure of inorganic layer-organic layer-inorganic layer, of which the two inorganic layers are both produced by chemical vapor deposition (Chemical Vapor Deposition, CVD) process, and the shape and size of the chemical vapor deposited film are controlled by a metal mask.

[0003] However, for large-size packaging masks, multiple masks are pasted or spliced ​​together due to the width limitation of the raw materials. The pasting or splicing method increases the gap or clearance due to the overlap of multiple layers of mask plates, which causes increased shadows. The pasting or splicing in two directions applies independent forces to each other, which can easily cause asymmetric deformation of the mask frame, resulting in reduced accuracy. At the same time, this solution is difficult to use in the design of packaging mask plates because the connection layer at the overlapping part is difficult to carry out. Summary of the invention

[0004] In view of this, the purpose of the present application is to provide a mask assembly, a display panel and a display device that overcome the above problems or at least partially solve the above problems.

[0005] Based on the above objectives, in a first aspect of the present application, a mask assembly is provided, comprising:

[0006] A first mask plate assembly comprises at least two plates arranged in a plane along a first direction, wherein a pattern area and a peripheral area surrounding the pattern area are arrayed on the plates, a splicing area is provided on one side of the plates, a connecting layer is provided on the splicing area, and an angle between an edge of the connecting layer and a plane where the plates are located is less than 90°;

[0007] The second mask assembly comprises at least two plates arranged in a plane along the first direction, pattern areas and peripheral areas surrounding the pattern areas are arrayed on the plates, and a transmission area is arranged between the plates.

[0008] Optionally, the first mask assembly and the second mask assembly include a first state and a second state;

[0009] In the first state, the orthographic projection of the pattern area on the base substrate coincides with the position of the pattern formed on the base substrate;

[0010] A first center line is provided in the middle of the plate along a second direction. In the second state, the orthographic projections of the pattern areas located on both sides of the first center line and distributed along the second direction on the substrate are respectively offset to the side of the plate away from the first center line; wherein the second direction is a direction perpendicular to the first direction and the plane where the plate is located.

[0011] Optionally, a second center line is provided in the middle of the plate body along the first direction, and in the second state, the offset distance of the pattern area gradually decreases toward both sides away from the second center line.

[0012] Optionally, the plate body includes a first surface and a second surface that are arranged opposite to each other, and the pattern area extends from the first surface to the second surface; and the connecting layer covers the first surface and / or the second surface at the splicing area.

[0013] Optionally, the peripheral region and the connection layer of the first mask assembly are covered with an insulating layer;

[0014] The peripheral area of ​​the second mask assembly is covered with the insulating layer.

[0015] Optionally, the connection layer is elastic and is made of insulating material.

[0016] A second aspect of the present application provides a display panel, comprising: a base substrate, and a film layer located on the base substrate, wherein the film layer is formed by using the mask assembly as described in the first aspect;

[0017] The film layer formed by using the first mask assembly at least includes an organic light-emitting layer, a first inorganic encapsulation layer, an organic encapsulation layer, and a second inorganic encapsulation layer, and the organic light-emitting layer, the first inorganic encapsulation layer, the organic encapsulation layer, and the second inorganic encapsulation layer are located in the pattern area within the orthographic projection range of the base substrate;

[0018] The film layer formed using the second mask plate assembly includes at least the organic light-emitting layer, the first inorganic encapsulation layer, the organic encapsulation layer and the second inorganic encapsulation layer, and the organic light-emitting layer, the first inorganic encapsulation layer, the organic encapsulation layer and the second inorganic encapsulation layer are respectively located within the orthographic projection range of the pattern area and the transmission area on the substrate.

[0019] Optionally, the display panel further includes:

[0020] The film layer formed by using the first mask assembly at least includes the organic light-emitting layer and a pixel definition layer; and

[0021] The film layer formed by using the second mask plate assembly includes at least the first inorganic packaging layer, the organic packaging layer and the second inorganic packaging layer, wherein the image area includes at least the organic light-emitting layer, the pixel definition layer, the first inorganic packaging layer, the organic packaging layer and the second inorganic packaging layer within the orthographic projection range of the substrate; the transmission area includes at least the pixel definition layer, the first inorganic packaging layer and the second inorganic packaging layer within the orthographic projection range of the substrate.

[0022] Optionally, the transmission area includes at least a first blocking dam and a second blocking dam distributed along the first direction at the edge within the positive projection range of the substrate, the first blocking dam and the second blocking dam include at least the first inorganic encapsulation layer and the second inorganic encapsulation layer that are stacked, and the first blocking dam and the second blocking dam are at least filled with the first inorganic encapsulation layer.

[0023] A third aspect of the present application provides a display device, comprising the display panel described in the second aspect.

[0024] From the above, it can be seen that the mask assembly, display panel and display device provided by the present application use multiple plates to splice to form a large-sized mask plate. The angle between the edge of the connecting layer set in the splicing area and the plane where the plate body is located is less than 90° to form an acute angle. During the use of the connected plate body, the slope of the edge of the connecting layer toward the surface of the plate body shares the stress on the surface of the plate body, preventing the stress from being concentrated at the welding point, thereby causing separation between the connecting layer and the plate body. In the preparation and packaging process of the display panel, the first mask assembly or the second mask assembly or the combination of the first mask assembly and the second mask assembly are respectively used to realize different forms of simultaneous preparation and packaging of multiple display panels on a large-sized substrate, while reducing the influence of water and oxygen, and improving the preparation and packaging efficiency of the display panel. Finally, in the first mask assembly and the second mask assembly, the netting compensation of the first mask assembly and the second mask assembly is realized by offsetting the pattern area on both sides of the first center line by the offset distance of the first center line.

[0025] The above description is only an overview of the technical solution of the present invention. In order to more clearly understand the technical means of the present invention, it can be implemented according to the contents of the specification. In order to make the above and other purposes, features and advantages of the present invention more obvious and easy to understand, the specific implementation methods of the present invention are listed below. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0026] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the present application or related technologies, the drawings required for use in the embodiments or related technical descriptions are briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are only embodiments of the present application. For ordinary technicians in this field, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without paying creative work.

[0027] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of a three-layer package in an embodiment of the present application;

[0028] Figure 2 This is a top view of the splicing of panels in one embodiment of the present application;

[0029] Figure 3 This is a cross-sectional view of a plate splicing in one embodiment of the present application;

[0030] Figure 4 A top view of a first mask assembly 100 according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0031] Figure 5 This is a cross-sectional view of a first mask assembly 100 according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0032] Figure 6 A top view of a second mask assembly 200 according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0033] Figure 7 A schematic diagram of pattern area design compensation according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0034] Figure 8 A top cross-sectional view of a transparent area formed by a second mask assembly in an embodiment of the present application within the orthographic projection range of a substrate;

[0035] Fig. 9 It is a cross-sectional schematic diagram of a transparent area formed by a second mask assembly within the orthographic projection range of a substrate according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0036] Fig.10 It is a cross-sectional schematic diagram of a transparent area formed by first using a first mask assembly and then using a second mask assembly within the orthographic projection range of a substrate according to an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0037] In order to make the objectives, technical solutions and advantages of the present application more clearly understood, the present application is further described in detail below in combination with specific embodiments and with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0038] It should be noted that, unless otherwise defined, the technical terms or scientific terms used in the embodiments of the present application should be the usual meanings understood by people with ordinary skills in the field to which the present application belongs. The "first", "second" and similar words used in the embodiments of the present application do not represent any order, quantity or importance, but are only used to distinguish different components. "Including" or "comprising" and similar words mean that the elements or objects appearing in front of the word cover the elements or objects listed after the word and their equivalents, without excluding other elements or objects. "Connect" or "connected" and similar words are not limited to physical or mechanical connections, but can include electrical connections, whether direct or indirect. "Up", "down", "left", "right" and the like are only used to indicate relative positional relationships. When the absolute position of the described object changes, the relative positional relationship may also change accordingly.

[0039] refer to Figure 1 As shown, in the manufacturing process of Organic Light-Emitting Diode (OLED), in order to achieve the effect of screen flexibility, the means of pixel encapsulation is thin film encapsulation (Thin Film Encapsulation). The encapsulation film is stacked by a three-layer structure of inorganic layer-organic layer-inorganic layer, where the two inorganic layers are both made by chemical vapor deposition (Chemical Vapor Deposition, CVD) process, and the shape and size of the chemical vapor deposited film are controlled by a metal mask.

[0040] However, for large-size packaging masks, due to the width limitation of raw materials, multiple masks are pasted or spliced ​​together. The pasting or splicing method increases gaps or clearances due to the overlap of multiple layers of mask plates, which causes increased shadows. The pasting or splicing in two directions is independent of each other and can easily cause asymmetric deformation of the mask frame, resulting in reduced accuracy. At the same time, this solution is difficult to use in the design of packaging mask plates because the connection layer at the overlapping part is difficult to carry out.

[0041] In one embodiment of the present application, reference Figure 2 , Figure 3 As shown, two or three small-sized mask template assemblies are pasted or spliced ​​to obtain a large-sized mask template that meets the requirements, and the narrower side of the small-sized mask template assembly is welded to the mask template frame one by one. Then, the gaps between these small-sized mask template assemblies are blocked by corresponding splicing or pasting to prevent the evaporation material from evaporating onto the display panel through the gaps, thereby causing poor display of the display panel.

[0042] However, in the above-mentioned pasting or splicing scheme, the solder joints and the stacked structure at the splicing points may easily lead to poor film formation of the connecting layer formed at the splicing points and cracks or gaps during use, which may eventually cause the connecting layer to fall off and the mask to be damaged, and arc discharge may damage the display panel during the chemical vapor deposition process.

[0043] Based on this, the embodiments of the present application provide a mask assembly, a display panel, and a display device to solve the technical problem that the yield of the display panel is affected by the insufficient size of the raw materials and the poor film formation of the connection layer in the large-size mask. In the embodiments of the present application, two mask assemblies are provided. In order to achieve large-size packaging, the mask adopts a method of pasting or splicing multiple mask assemblies due to the size limitation of the raw materials, in order to eliminate the influence of the gaps or gaps in the pasting or splicing method on the display panel formed by the large-size packaging.

[0044] The masks used for evaporation or chemical vapor deposition of OLED products are mainly divided into open masks (OpenMask) and fine metal masks (Fine Metal Mask, FMM). Among them, the fine metal mask is a "thin metal mask with small and dense holes". Its main function is to deposit RGB organic substances through the holes on the mask during the OLED production process and form pixels. It deposits organic substances precisely and finely where needed. The denser the small holes, the smaller the generated pixels and the higher the resolution.

[0045] The open mask is an open mask without any obstruction within the effective range of the display panel, and is used for evaporation to form a common film layer (Common layer). In the preparation and packaging process of the display panel, a fine metal mask and an open mask are usually used in combination to achieve the preparation and packaging of different film layers in the display panel. In the preparation and packaging process of the display panel, in order to improve efficiency, the display panel is not processed individually, but multiple display panels are processed simultaneously on the basis of a large-sized substrate, and then corresponding cutting is performed to form a separate display panel. The main purpose of the present application is to provide a mask assembly for forming a common film layer.

[0046] The present application embodiment provides a mask assembly, referring to Figures 4 to 7As shown, it includes: a first mask plate assembly 100, the first mask plate includes at least two plates 10 arranged along a first direction plane X, the plate body 10 is arrayed with a pattern area 11 and a peripheral area 12 surrounding the pattern area 11, a splicing area 13 is provided on the side close to the plate body 10, the splicing area 13 is provided with a connecting layer 14, and the angle between the edge of the connecting layer 14 and the plane where the plate body 10 is located is not greater than 90°; a second mask plate assembly 200, the second mask plate assembly 200 includes at least two plates 10 arranged along a first direction plane X, the plate body 10 is arrayed with a pattern area 11 and a peripheral area 12 surrounding the pattern area 11, and a transmission area 20 is provided between the plate bodies 10.

[0047] In the first mask plate assembly 100, the connection layer 14 is set by using the splicing area 13 on the side of the plate bodies 10. Through the blocking of the connection layer 14, during the packaging process, the connection layer 14 blocks the gap between the sides of the plate bodies 10, that is, the splicing. In the process of using the evaporation or chemical vapor deposition process to manufacture the display panel, the plasma generated by the evaporation or chemical vapor deposition is prevented from entering the display panel through the gap between the plate bodies 10, thereby affecting the yield of the display panel. In addition, if Figure 2 and Figure 3 In the embodiment shown, during the film formation process of the connection layer 14, due to the lamination design with the board body 10 and the welding points between the connection layer 14 and the board body 10, the film formation quality of the connection layer 14 is poor. During the use of the connected board body 10, since the stress points between the board body 10 and the connection layer 14 are mainly concentrated at the welding points, it is easy to cause cracks or gaps between the connection layer 14 and the board body 10, and finally cause the connection layer 14 to fall off and the board body 10 to be damaged. In the embodiment of the present application, further, by the angle between the edge of the connection layer 14 and the plane where the board body 10 is located being no more than 90°, that is, the edge of the connection layer 14 is designed to form an acute angle with the plane where the board body 10 is located, the film formation process of the connection layer 14 adopts natural film formation in the splicing area 13, and the film formation quality is better. In addition, during the use of the connected board body 10, the slope of the edge of the connection layer 14 toward the surface of the board body 10 shares the stress on the surface of the board body 10, preventing the stress from being concentrated at the welding points, thereby causing separation between the connection layer 14 and the board body 10.

[0048] In some exemplary embodiments, the thickness of the connection layer 14 may be 1.2-1.7 μm, and the material of the connection layer 14 may be Al 2 O 3 . The thickness of the connection layer 14 is the distance from the side of the connection layer 14 away from the board 10 to the side facing the board 10 .

[0049] In some exemplary embodiments, the angle between the edge of the connection layer 14 and the plane where the board body 10 is located is 30° to 60°.

[0050] It can be understood that in this embodiment, the function of the connection layer 14 is equivalent to the peripheral area. During the preparation and packaging of the display panel, only the corresponding pattern of the display panel is formed in the pattern area 11, and in the peripheral area 12 and the positive projection area of ​​the connection layer 14 on the display panel, corresponding shielding is performed to prevent film formation in this area during evaporation or chemical vapor deposition. At least two small-sized plates 10 are used to form a large-sized mask that meets the requirements.

[0051] The second mask plate assembly 200 is not designed with a connection layer 14 to block the transmission area 20, that is, the connection layer 14 is not used to block the gap between the plates 10. In the process of preparing and packaging the display panel, the transmission area 20 is used as the same permeable area 20 as the pattern area 11. In the process of evaporating or chemically vaporizing the pattern area 11 to form a corresponding pattern film layer, the display panel at the positive projection position of the transmission area 20 is also evaporated or chemically vaporized to achieve packaging at the position of the transmission area 20. After the preparation and packaging of the display panel are completed on the large-size base substrate 50, the actual panel is cut and divided along the peripheral area 12 at the positive projection position of the base substrate 50 to achieve simultaneous packaging of multiple display panels, and the film layer at the corresponding position of the transmission area 20 is peeled off and discarded during the cutting process.

[0052] In some embodiments, reference Figure 8 , Fig. 9 As shown, using the second mask assembly 200, at least an organic light-emitting layer 51, a first inorganic encapsulation layer 52, an organic encapsulation layer 53, and a second inorganic encapsulation layer 54 are sequentially formed on the substrate 50 within the orthographic projection range of the substrate 50 using the pattern area 11, and at least an organic light-emitting layer 51, a first inorganic encapsulation layer 52, an organic encapsulation layer 53, and a second inorganic encapsulation layer 54 are sequentially formed on the substrate 50 within the projection range of the transmission area 20 on the substrate 50. That is, the film layer formed on the substrate 50 within the orthographic projection range of the transmission area 20 on the substrate 50 is the same as the film layer formed on the substrate 50 within the orthographic projection range of the substrate 50 in the pattern area 11.

[0053] Similarly, the first mask assembly 100 and the second mask assembly 200 can be used to package the display panel. Fig.10As shown, in the process of preparing the organic material film layer of the organic light-emitting layer 51, the first mask assembly 100 is used to form the organic light-emitting layer 51 in each pattern area 11 within the orthographic projection range of the substrate 50, and in the packaging process, the second mask assembly 200 is used to form the first inorganic encapsulation layer 52 and the second inorganic encapsulation layer 54 on the substrate 50 in the pattern area 11 and the transmission area 20 within the orthographic projection range of the substrate 50. It can be understood that before preparing the organic light-emitting layer 51, it is necessary to prepare the pixel definition layer 55 first, so at least the pixel definition layer 55, the first inorganic encapsulation layer 52 and the second inorganic encapsulation layer 54 are formed on the substrate 50 in the orthographic projection range of the substrate 50 in the transmission area 20.

[0054] In some exemplary embodiments, the organic light-emitting layer 51 may include a stacked hole injection layer (HIL), a hole transport layer (HTL), an electron blocking layer (EBL), an emitting layer (EML), a hole blocking layer (HBL), an electron transport layer (ETL) and an electron injection layer (EIL).

[0055] In some embodiments, the cross-sectional shape of the pattern area 11 is circular, elliptical, polygonal, or polygonal with arcs at the corners. Then, a display panel with a corresponding cross-sectional shape is formed by the pattern area 11 with a cross-sectional shape of circular, elliptical, polygonal, or polygonal with arcs at the corners. The cross-sectional shape of the pattern area 11 is not specifically limited here. The embodiment of the present application is introduced with the pattern area 11 being a rectangle.

[0056] In some embodiments, reference Figure 7 As shown, the first mask assembly 100 and the second mask assembly 200 include a first state and a second state; in the first state, the orthographic projection of the pattern area 11 on the base substrate 50 coincides with the pattern position formed on the base substrate 50 (such as Figure 7 The solid line pattern area 11, wherein the pattern area 11 is connected by a solid line along the second direction); a first center line 30 is provided in the middle of the plate body 10 along the second direction Y. In the second state, the orthographic projections of the pattern areas 11 located on both sides of the first center line 30 and distributed along the second direction on the substrate 50 are offset to the side of the plate body 10 away from the first center line 30 (such as Figure 7The dotted line pattern area 11, wherein the pattern area 11 is distributed along the second direction and connected by dotted lines); wherein the second direction is a direction perpendicular to the first direction and the plane where the plate body 10 is located.

[0057] The mask for evaporation and chemical vapor deposition is assembled by fixing the mask assembly to the mask frame through processes such as stretching welding. When the mask assembly is stretched and welded to the mask frame, in order to ensure that the amount of sagging of the mask assembly meets the specification requirements, a certain amount of stretching force needs to be applied to the mask assembly. In this embodiment, the first state of the first mask assembly 100 and the second mask assembly 200 is the stretched state, and the second state is the non-stretched state.

[0058] In the embodiment of the present application, during the stretching process, a stretching force is applied along the second direction, and the first mask plate assembly 100 and the second mask plate assembly 200 expand outward in the second direction. During the expansion process in the second direction, the two sides along the first direction shrink inward toward the middle of the plate body 10. In order to make the pattern area 11 coincide with the pattern position on the base substrate 50 during the preparation and packaging of the display panel, that is, coincide with the preparation position of each display panel on the base substrate 50, corresponding position compensation is performed on the first mask plate assembly 100 and the second mask plate assembly 200. That is, in the first state, the pattern area 11 on both sides of the first center line 30 is offset in the direction away from the first center line 30.

[0059] Since the connecting layer 14 is connected between the plates 10 arranged in parallel along the first direction, in order to reduce the stress between the connecting layer 14 and the plates 10, a tensioning force is applied in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction on the plane where the plates 10 are located to achieve tensioning of the first mask plate assembly 100 and the second mask plate assembly 200. In particular, for the second mask plate assembly 200, there is no connecting layer 14 between the plates 10 arranged in parallel along the first direction, and the tensioning force is applied in the first direction, so that the gap of the transmission area 20 will be larger.

[0060] In some embodiments, a second center line 31 is disposed in the middle of the plate body 10 along the first radiating line. In the second state, the offset distance of the pattern area 11 gradually decreases toward both sides away from the second center line 31 .

[0061] Specifically, refer to Figure 7As shown, a tensioning force is applied to both sides of the second direction of the first mask plate assembly 100 and the second mask plate assembly 200. During the process of applying the tensioning force along both sides of the second direction, the closer to the center of the plate body 10, the greater the offset distance, that is, the greater the retraction distance, and the closer to both sides of the plate body 10 along the second direction, the smaller the offset distance, that is, the smaller the retraction distance. In order to achieve the overlap of the pattern area 11 and the pattern position of the base substrate 50 during the preparation and packaging of the display panel in the second state, the compensation distance for the pattern area 11 on the plate body 10 should be sufficient.

[0062] It should be noted that the specific offset distance of the pattern area 11 is specifically set according to the size of the tensioning force and the shape of the pattern area 11, and is not specifically limited here.

[0063] In some embodiments, the board body 10 includes a first surface and a second surface that are opposite to each other, the pattern area 11 extends from the first surface to the second surface, and the connection layer 14 covers the first surface and / or the second surface at the joint area 13 .

[0064] In this embodiment, the connection layer 14 and the plate body 10 are laminated to form the connection layer 14. The connection layer 14 can be arranged on one side of the first surface at the splicing area 13 of the plate body 10, or on one side of the second surface at the splicing area 13 of the plate body 10. Similarly, the connection layer 14 is arranged on one side of the first surface and the second surface at the splicing area 13 of the plate body 10 to achieve the splicing of the plate body 10 between the first mask plate assembly 100, thereby achieving the preparation of a large-size mask plate assembly, and the preparation and packaging of multiple display panels on a large-size substrate 50 at the same time. As long as the close connection between the connection layer 14 and the plate body 10 can be avoided, the effective shielding of the transmission area 20 can be achieved.

[0065] The pattern region 11 penetrates from the first surface to the second surface to form an opening, so that during the preparation and packaging process of the display panel, the corresponding film layer material can be formed on the display panel through the pattern region 11 .

[0066] In some embodiments, the peripheral region 12 and the connection layer 14 of the first mask assembly 100 are covered with an insulating layer; and the peripheral region 12 of the second mask assembly 200 is covered with an insulating layer.

[0067] During the preparation and packaging of the display panel, plasma is generated during the process through the chemical vapor deposition process. The static electricity generated by the plasma will affect the film formation of the packaging layer (the first inorganic packaging layer 52, the organic packaging layer 53 and the second inorganic packaging layer 54), and even the arc discharge generated by the static electricity will damage the display panel. In order to prevent the static electricity generated from accumulating on the plate body 10 of the first mask plate assembly 100 and the second mask plate assembly 200, the peripheral area 12 and the connecting layer 14 of the first mask plate assembly 100 are covered with an insulating layer, and the peripheral area 12 of the second mask plate assembly 200 is covered with an insulating layer. The insulating properties of the insulating layer are used to eliminate the static electricity generated in the chemical vapor deposition process from accumulating on it.

[0068] In some embodiments, the connection layer 14 is elastic and is made of insulating material.

[0069] In the first mask assembly 100, the connection layer 14 realizes the splicing of the small-sized plate bodies 10 through the connection area of ​​the plate bodies 10, and realizes the shielding of the transparent area 20 between the plate bodies 10. During the stretching process of the first mask assembly 100, the connection layer 14 also expands outward or shrinks inward along the stretching direction of the plate bodies 10. For example, along the second direction, the connection layer 14 also expands outward. Therefore, the connection layer 14 needs to be elastic, otherwise during the stretching process, the plate bodies 10 are subjected to uneven forces in different directions, resulting in a variation in the cross-sectional shape of the pattern area 11, or the cross-sectional shape of the pattern area 11 cannot meet the requirements.

[0070] In addition, during the preparation and packaging of the display panel, plasma is generated during the process through the chemical vapor deposition process. The static electricity generated by the plasma will affect the film formation of the encapsulation layer (the first inorganic encapsulation layer 52, the organic encapsulation layer 53, and the second inorganic encapsulation layer 54), and even the arc discharge generated by the static electricity will damage the display panel. In order to prevent the static electricity generated from accumulating on the connection layer 14, the connection layer 14 is made of an insulating material. The insulating properties of the insulating layer are used to eliminate the accumulation of static electricity generated in the chemical vapor deposition process on it, thereby preventing the static electricity from affecting the film formation of the wind encapsulation layer or the arc discharge generated from damaging the display panel.

[0071] Based on the same inventive concept, the present application embodiment provides a display panel, referring to Figure 8 and Fig. 9As shown, it includes a base substrate 50, a film layer located on the base substrate 50, and the film layer is made by using the mask assembly of any of the above embodiments; the film layer formed by the first mask assembly 100 includes at least an organic light-emitting layer 51, a first inorganic encapsulation layer 52, an organic encapsulation layer 53 and a second inorganic encapsulation layer 54, and the organic light-emitting layer 51, the first inorganic encapsulation layer 52, the organic encapsulation layer 53 and the second inorganic encapsulation layer 54 are located in the orthographic projection range of the pattern area 11 on the base substrate 50; the film layer formed by the second mask assembly 200 includes at least an organic light-emitting layer 51, a first inorganic encapsulation layer 52, an organic encapsulation layer 53 and a second inorganic encapsulation layer 54, and the organic light-emitting layer 51, the first inorganic encapsulation layer 52, the organic encapsulation layer 53 and the second inorganic encapsulation layer 54 are respectively located in the orthographic projection range of the pattern area 11 and the transmission area 20 on the base substrate 50.

[0072] In this embodiment, two different display panel packages are implemented by using the first mask plate assembly 100 and the second mask plate assembly 200 respectively.

[0073] During the preparation and packaging of the display panel by the first mask plate assembly 100, the connection layer 14 is set by using the splicing area 13 on the side close to the plate body 10. Through the blocking of the connection layer 14, during the packaging process, the connection layer 14 shields the side close to the plate body 10, that is, the transmission area 20. During the process of using the evaporation or chemical vapor deposition process to manufacture the display panel, the plasma generated by the evaporation or chemical vapor deposition is prevented from entering the display panel through the transmission area 20, thereby affecting the yield of the display panel. Only in the pattern area 11, at least the corresponding organic light-emitting layer 51, the first inorganic encapsulation layer 52, the organic encapsulation layer 53 and the second inorganic encapsulation layer 54 are formed within the orthographic projection range of the base substrate 50, and the peripheral area 12 does not form a film layer within the orthographic projection range of the base substrate 50 due to the shielding of the connection layer 14.

[0074] refer to Figure 8 , Fig. 9 As shown, during the preparation and packaging process of the display panel using the second mask plate assembly, the second mask plate assembly 200 is not designed with the connecting layer 14 to block the transparent area 20, that is, the connecting layer 14 is not used to block the existing gap between the plate bodies 10. During the preparation and packaging process of the display panel, the transparent area 20 is used as the same transparent area 20 as the pattern area 11. During the process of vapor deposition or chemical vapor deposition of the pattern area 11 to form a corresponding pattern film layer, the display panel at the position of the transparent area 20 at the positive projection position of the substrate 50 is also vapor deposited or chemically vapor deposited to achieve packaging at the position of the transparent area 20.

[0075] Specifically, at least an organic light-emitting layer 51, a first inorganic encapsulation layer 52, an organic encapsulation layer 53, and a second inorganic encapsulation layer 54 are sequentially formed on the substrate 50 in the orthographic projection range of the pattern region 11 on the substrate 50, and at least an organic light-emitting layer 51, a first inorganic encapsulation layer 52, an organic encapsulation layer 53, and a second inorganic encapsulation layer 54 are sequentially formed on the substrate 50 in the projection range of the transmission region 20 on the substrate 50. That is, the film layer formed on the substrate 50 in the orthographic projection range of the transmission region 20 on the substrate 50 is the same as the film layer formed on the substrate 50 in the orthographic projection range of the pattern region 11 on the substrate 50.

[0076] It is understandable that after there is no connection layer 14 between the plates 10, the organic material (such as the organic light-emitting layer 51) will be directly evaporated onto the base substrate 50 through the transmission area 20. Before the subsequent FMLOC (Flexible Multiple Layer on Cell) process, water washing and other processes are generally performed. Organic materials are easily affected by water and oxygen, so the corresponding film layer prepared by the FMLOC process falls off due to the influence of water and oxygen, and eventually the display panel is scrapped. The same film layer is set on the base substrate 50 within the positive projection range of the base substrate 50 through the transmission area 20 and the pattern area 11, especially after the second inorganic encapsulation layer 54 is set away from the top layer of the base substrate 50, the influence of water and oxygen is avoided during the water washing process. At the same time, the transparent area 20 forms a "dummy cell" on the substrate 50 within the orthographic projection range of the substrate 50. After the preparation and packaging of the display panel on the large-sized substrate 50 are completed, the real panel is cut and divided along the peripheral area 12 at the orthographic projection position of the substrate 50 to achieve simultaneous packaging of multiple display panels, and the "dummy cell" is peeled off and discarded during the cutting process. It does not affect the normal operation of the display panel.

[0077] In some embodiments, reference Fig.10 As shown, the display panel also includes: a film layer formed by using the first mask plate assembly 100 includes at least the organic light-emitting layer 51 and the pixel definition layer 55, and a film layer formed by using the second mask plate assembly includes at least a first inorganic encapsulation layer 52, an organic encapsulation layer 53 and a second inorganic encapsulation layer 54, wherein the image area includes at least the organic light-emitting layer 51, the pixel definition layer 55, the first inorganic encapsulation layer 52, the organic encapsulation layer 53 and the second inorganic encapsulation layer 54 within the orthographic projection range of the base substrate 50; the transmission area 20 includes at least the pixel definition layer 55, the first inorganic encapsulation layer 52 and the second inorganic encapsulation layer 54 within the orthographic projection range of the base substrate 50.

[0078] In this embodiment, the preparation process of the display panel is first performed. In this process, a pixel definition layer 55 is first formed on the base substrate 50. After the pixel definition layer 55 is patterned, the organic light-emitting layer 51 is formed between the pixel definition layers 55 using the first mask assembly 100. Then, in the process of packaging by chemical vapor deposition, the second mask assembly is used, and the image area is at least formed with the first inorganic encapsulation layer 52, the organic encapsulation layer 53 and the second inorganic encapsulation layer 54 within the orthographic projection range of the base substrate 50, and the transmission area 20 is at least formed with the first inorganic encapsulation layer 52 and the second inorganic encapsulation layer 54 within the orthographic projection range of the base substrate 50. In this process, the preparation and packaging of the display panel are realized by the cooperation of the first mask assembly 100 and the second mask assembly 200. It can be understood that before the preparation of the organic light-emitting layer 51, the preparation of the pixel definition layer 55 needs to be performed first, so the transmission area 20 is at least formed with the pixel definition layer 55 within the orthographic projection range of the base substrate 50.

[0079] It should be noted that in this process, in addition to the above-mentioned film layers, other film layers are also included, such as the preparation of flat layers, insulating layers, anode layers, and cathode layers, which are all relatively mature process steps and will not be introduced one by one here.

[0080] In some embodiments, the transmission area 20 includes at least a first blocking dam 56 and a second blocking dam 57 distributed along the first direction within the range of the positive projection of the substrate 50, and the first blocking dam 56 and the second blocking dam 57 include at least the first inorganic encapsulation layer 52 and the second inorganic encapsulation layer 54 that are stacked, and the first blocking dam 56 and the second blocking dam 57 are at least filled with the first inorganic encapsulation layer 52.

[0081] refer to Fig. 9 As shown, the anti-water and oxygen effect of the inorganic materials of the first inorganic encapsulation layer 52 and the second inorganic encapsulation layer 54 of the first blocking dam 56 and the second blocking dam 57 prevents water samples from entering the organic material layer (for example, the organic light-emitting layer 51 and the organic encapsulation layer 53) during the water washing process, so that the FMLOC process film layer will fall off due to the influence of water and oxygen after the subsequent FMLOC process, and finally the display panel will be scrapped.

[0082] Based on the same inventive concept, an embodiment of the present application provides a mask device, including a mask frame and a mask assembly as described in any of the above embodiments;

[0083] The mask frame includes at least one opening;

[0084] The mask assembly of any of the above embodiments is disposed in the opening.

[0085] In this embodiment, a mask frame is used to stretch the mask assembly so that the pattern area 11 in the mask assembly is aligned with the pattern position to be formed in the base substrate 50 .

[0086] Based on the same inventive concept, an embodiment of the present application provides a display device, comprising a display panel of any of the above embodiments.

[0087] Those skilled in the art should understand that the discussion of any of the above embodiments is merely illustrative and is not intended to imply that the scope of the present application (including the claims) is limited to these examples. In line with the concept of the present application, the technical features in the above embodiments or different embodiments may be combined, the steps may be implemented in any order, and there are many other variations of the different aspects of the embodiments of the present application as described above, which are not provided in detail for the sake of simplicity.

[0088] In addition, to simplify the description and discussion, and in order not to make the embodiments of the present application difficult to understand, the known power supply / ground connection with the integrated circuit (IC) chip and other components may or may not be shown in the provided drawings. In addition, the device can be shown in the form of a block diagram to avoid making the embodiments of the present application difficult to understand, and this also takes into account the fact that the details of the implementation of these block diagram devices are highly dependent on the platform to be implemented in the embodiments of the present application (that is, these details should be fully within the scope of understanding of those skilled in the art). In the case of elaborating specific details (e.g., circuits) to describe exemplary embodiments of the present application, it is obvious to those skilled in the art that the embodiments of the present application can be implemented without these specific details or when these specific details are changed. Therefore, these descriptions should be considered to be illustrative rather than restrictive.

[0089] Although the present application has been described in conjunction with specific embodiments of the present application, many replacements, modifications and variations of these embodiments will be apparent to those skilled in the art from the foregoing description. For example, other memory architectures (e.g., dynamic RAM (DRAM)) may use the embodiments discussed.

[0090] The embodiments of the present application are intended to cover all such substitutions, modifications and variations that fall within the broad scope of the appended claims. Therefore, any omissions, modifications, equivalent substitutions, improvements, etc. made within the spirit and principles of the embodiments of the present application should be included in the scope of protection of the present application.

Claims

1. A mask assembly, characterized in that: include: A first mask plate assembly comprises at least two plates arranged in a plane along a first direction, wherein a pattern area and a peripheral area surrounding the pattern area are arrayed on the plates, a splicing area is provided on one side of the plates, a connecting layer is provided on the splicing area, and an angle between an edge of the connecting layer and a plane where the plates are located is less than 90°; The second mask assembly comprises at least two plates arranged in a plane along the first direction, pattern areas and peripheral areas surrounding the pattern areas are arrayed on the plates, and a transmission area is arranged between the plates.

2. The mask assembly according to claim 1, characterized in that: The first mask assembly and the second mask assembly include a first state and a second state; In the first state, the orthographic projection of the pattern area on the base substrate coincides with the position of the pattern formed on the base substrate; A first center line is provided in the middle of the plate along the second direction, and in the second state, the orthographic projections of the pattern areas located on both sides of the first center line and distributed along the second direction on the substrate are respectively offset to the side of the plate away from the first center line; The second direction is a direction perpendicular to the first direction and the plane where the plate is located.

3. The mask assembly according to claim 2, characterized in that: A second center line is disposed in the middle of the plate along the first direction. In the second state, the offset distance of the pattern area gradually decreases toward both sides away from the second center line.

4. The mask assembly according to claim 1, characterized in that: The plate body comprises a first surface and a second surface which are arranged opposite to each other, and the pattern area extends from the first surface to the second surface; the connection layer covers the first surface and / or the second surface at the joint area.

5. The mask assembly according to claim 1, characterized in that: The peripheral region of the first mask assembly and the connection layer are covered with an insulating layer; The peripheral area of ​​the second mask assembly is covered with the insulating layer.

6. The mask assembly according to claim 1, characterized in that: The connection layer is elastic and is made of insulating material.

7. A display panel, characterized in that: include: A base substrate and a film layer on the base substrate, wherein the film layer is made by using the mask assembly according to any one of claims 1 to 6; The film layer formed by using the first mask assembly at least includes an organic light-emitting layer, a first inorganic encapsulation layer, an organic encapsulation layer, and a second inorganic encapsulation layer, and the organic light-emitting layer, the first inorganic encapsulation layer, the organic encapsulation layer, and the second inorganic encapsulation layer are located in the pattern area within the orthographic projection range of the base substrate; The film layer formed using the second mask plate assembly includes at least the organic light-emitting layer, the first inorganic encapsulation layer, the organic encapsulation layer and the second inorganic encapsulation layer, and the organic light-emitting layer, the first inorganic encapsulation layer, the organic encapsulation layer and the second inorganic encapsulation layer are respectively located within the orthographic projection range of the pattern area and the transmission area on the substrate.

8. The display panel according to claim 7, characterized in that: The display panel further includes: The film layer formed by using the first mask assembly at least includes the organic light-emitting layer and a pixel definition layer; and The film layer formed by using the second mask plate assembly includes at least the first inorganic packaging layer, the organic packaging layer and the second inorganic packaging layer, wherein the image area includes at least the organic light-emitting layer, the pixel definition layer, the first inorganic packaging layer, the organic packaging layer and the second inorganic packaging layer within the orthographic projection range of the substrate; the transmission area includes at least the pixel definition layer, the first inorganic packaging layer and the second inorganic packaging layer within the orthographic projection range of the substrate.

9. The display panel according to claim 7, characterized in that: The transmission area includes at least a first blocking dam and a second blocking dam distributed along the first direction at the edge within the positive projection range of the substrate, the first blocking dam and the second blocking dam include at least the first inorganic encapsulation layer and the second inorganic encapsulation layer that are stacked, and the first inorganic encapsulation layer is at least filled between the first blocking dam and the second blocking dam.

10. A display device, characterized in that: Comprising a display panel as described in any one of claims 7 to 9.

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