Mother Substrate Dummy Spacer Density for Uniform Scribing
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Solution Overview
Problem
The thinning of upper and lower substrates in display panel manufacturing leads to unintended cracks during the scribing process, causing uneven scribing lines and generating impurities that result in defective pixels, particularly as the area of the mother substrate increases.
Innovation Solution
The implementation of a mother substrate with a grid-shaped surrounding area and dummy spacers disposed within the surrounding area, where the average arrangement density of spacers is lower at the intersection points of the grid, allowing for the formation of uniform scribing lines that alleviate substrate bending and reduce impurity generation during cutting.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Weight of moving object
If the thickness of upper and lower substrates is reduced to decrease weight and thickness of display device, then weight and thickness are reduced, but the substrates become prone to bending during scribing line formation causing unintended cracks
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by introducing dummy spacers at specific locations (intersection points of scribing lines) rather than uniformly across the entire substrate. These localized spacers provide targeted support where bending moments are highest during cutting, allowing the rest of the thin substrate to maintain its lightweight properties. This resolves the contradiction by providing strength only where needed while preserving overall weight reduction.
2Ease of manufacture
If a cutter is used to form scribing lines on thin substrates, then cutting is achieved, but substrate bending occurs causing uneven scribing lines and unintended cracks
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by placing dummy spacers at the intersection points of scribing lines before the cutting process begins. These spacers are positioned in advance to prevent substrate bending during the subsequent cutter operation. This preliminary support ensures that when the cutter forms scribing lines, the substrate remains stable and the scribing lines remain uniform and straight, resolving the precision issue while maintaining ease of manufacture.
3Strength
If uniform dummy spacers are distributed across the entire surrounding area, then substrate bending is alleviated, but the complexity of the manufacturing process increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent simplifies the overall structure by applying local quality - placing dummy spacers only at the critical intersection points of scribing lines rather than uniformly across the entire surrounding area. This targeted approach provides sufficient bending resistance at the most vulnerable locations while significantly reducing the total number of spacers needed, thereby decreasing manufacturing complexity and material usage.
4Productivity
If the area of the mother substrate is increased to improve yield, then manufacturing efficiency is improved, but the likelihood of substrate bending and crack formation increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies segmentation by dividing the large mother substrate into multiple unit panels through scribing lines. The dummy spacers are strategically positioned at the intersection points of these scribing lines, creating localized support zones that segment the stress distribution across the large substrate. This allows the mother substrate to maintain large area for high yield while the segmented support structure prevents bending and crack formation that would otherwise occur in such large panels.
Data Source
AI summary
A display panel includes a display area, a non-display area, a first substrate with first and second edges extending in first and second directions and forming a vertex, a second substrate facing the first substrate, a seal pattern between the first and second substrates to surround a display area with first and second seal patterns extending in the first and second directions and forming a vertex, and dummy spacers disposed on the first substrate within the non-display area. The non-display area includes a first non-display area between the first seal pattern and the first edge, a second non-display area between the second seal pattern and the second edge, a vertex area that abuts on the first and second non-display areas and is adjacent to the vertex of the first substrate, and an average arrangement density of the dummy spacers is smaller in the vertex area than in the non-display area.