CN100397151C - Flat display module - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention provides a flat display module, which at least comprises: a display panel, having a first flexible circuit cable extending outwardly for connecting to a main system end, and a soldering point is arranged on the surface of the display panel, and the soldering point is electrically connected to the first flexible circuit cable through a circuit pattern on the surface of the display panel; and a backlight module, assembled under the display panel, for providing the light source required by the display panel, wherein the backlight module also has a second flexible circuit cable extending outwardly, and the front end of the second flexible circuit cable is soldered to the soldering point of the display panel.

Description

flat panel display module

technical field

The present invention relates to a flat display device, in particular to a welding connection point between a display panel flexible circuit cable (TFT FPC) and a backlight module flexible circuit cable (LED FPC), which is arranged on the surface of the display panel Or fold over to the design on the back of the backlight module.

technical background

With the rapid development of integrated circuit manufacturing technology and the continuous development and progress of electronic technology, all kinds of electronic products are moving towards "digitalization". In addition, in order to meet the considerations of portability and practicability, the design specifications of electronic products tend to be thin, short, multi-functional, and fast-processing, so that the products made can be carried more easily and are more in line with modern requirements. Daily needs. Especially after the popularity of multimedia electronic products, with its powerful computing power, it can easily process various digital data such as audio effects, images, and patterns, which in turn makes video playback equipment widely developed and used. Whether it is a personal digital processor, a notebook computer, a walkman, a digital camera, or a mobile phone, etc., a display screen is installed to facilitate consumers to browse information or images.

On the other hand, due to the rapid progress of thin-film transistor manufacturing technology, the performance of flat-panel displays such as liquid crystal displays (LCDs) and organic electroluminescent displays (OLEDs) continues to improve, and can be widely used in personal digital assistants (PDAs). , Notebook computers, digital cameras, camcorders, mobile phones and other electronic products. Coupled with the industry's active investment in research and development and the adoption of large-scale production equipment, the quality of flat-panel displays has been continuously improved, and the price has continued to decline, which has also rapidly expanded its application fields.

Generally speaking, in the manufacturing process of the display panel of the liquid crystal display, a large number of thin film transistors (TFTs), pixel electrodes (pixel electrodes), and each other are often fabricated on the surface of the lower glass substrate through processes such as film deposition and lithography Interlaced scan lines and data line patterns to construct the required pixel array (pixel array). Moreover, in order to provide the operating voltage and signals required by the thin film transistors in each pixel element, relevant circuit patterns will be made on the lower glass substrate, extending outward from the pixel array, so as to connect with chips and elements around the lower glass substrate . In this way, the timing controller and source driver IC fabricated on the outer edge of the glass substrate can transmit data signals to each pixel element through the circuit pattern on the panel. Moreover, the gate driver IC fabricated on the side of the glass substrate can also transmit scanning signals to each pixel element through these circuit patterns. On the other hand, a color filter and a common electrode will be made on the surface of the upper glass substrate, and then the upper glass substrate will be turned upside down to cover the pixel array area on the surface of the lower glass substrate, and injected into the liquid crystal layer between the upper and lower glass substrates to form the entire display panel.

Since the liquid crystal material cannot emit light by itself, the above-mentioned display panel will be assembled on a backlight module in application, and the liquid crystal display will produce an image by the light source provided by the backlight module. Taking the current backlight module used in small-sized liquid crystal displays as an example, its main components include a light-guide plate, a light-enhancing sheet, a diffusion sheet (films), a reflector sheet, and a light emitting diode (Light Emitting Diode). Wherein, the light guide plate is an injection-molded acrylic plate, and a circular, hexagonal or square particle pattern is defined on the surface by screen printing to serve as diffusion points for scattering light. An LED light source is installed at the side of the light guide plate, and the light is transmitted into the light guide plate by means of edge light, and then transmitted to the other end of the light guide plate by total reflection. As for, the reflective sheet is installed under the light guide plate to prevent light from escaping from the lower surface of the light guide plate. In addition, in order to make the light emitted from the surface of the light guide plate more uniform, the above-mentioned brightness enhanced film (BEF) and diffuser (diffuser) are installed on the light guide plate. Wherein, the diffusion sheet is used to scatter the light emitted from the light guide plate so that the distribution is more uniform and softer. As for the enhancement film, it can produce the effect of concentrating light.

Please refer to FIG. 1 , which shows the situation of assembling a display panel 1 and a backlight module 2 in the prior art. Wherein, as mentioned above, the display panel 1 includes a lower glass substrate 10 , and on the upper surface of the lower glass substrate 10 , there is a liquid crystal display area 11 composed of an upper glass substrate and a liquid crystal layer. As for the upper surface of the lower glass substrate 10 on the side of the liquid crystal display area 11 , a source driver chip 12 and a gate driver chip 13 are arranged respectively to control the pixel array in the liquid crystal display area 11 . Generally speaking, a flexible circuit cable (FPC) 14 extending outward is formed on the side of the lower glass substrate 10 close to the source driver chip 12 . One end of the flexible circuit cable 14 is connected to the source driver chip 12 and the gate driver chip 13 through the circuit layout on the surface of the lower glass substrate 10, and the other end is used to connect with the main system so as to connect the main system. The control signal of the system is transmitted to the display panel 1 .

It should be noted that, in order to provide the power required by the light-emitting diodes in the backlight module 2 , a flexible circuit cable 21 extending outward is also provided on the side wall of the casing of the backlight module 2 . The front end of the flexible circuit cable 21 is fixed on the flexible circuit cable 14 of the display panel 1 by welding, so as to obtain the power supply of the LED from the main system side through the flexible circuit cable 14 . As shown in the figure, taking the current typical liquid crystal display design as an example, a predetermined welding area 141 will be reserved on the flexible circuit cable 14, so that when the display panel 1 and the backlight module 2 are assembled, the flexible circuit cable The wire 21 is welded and fixed on the flexible circuit cable 14 .

However, it is worth noting that the above-mentioned method of soldering and connecting the flexible circuit cables 14 and 21 has serious defects. Please refer to FIG. 2. After the display panel 1 and the backlight module 2 are assembled, the production line at the main system side will assemble the display panel 1 and the backlight module 2 into the main system (for example: personal digital assistant, palmtop computer.. . etc.) in the housing of the device. At this time, as shown in FIG. 2 , it is common to fold down the flexible circuit cables 14 and 21 so as to insert the backlight module 2 and the display panel 1 into the casing of the main system and make the flexible circuit cables The wire 14 can be plugged and connected to a slot inside the host system to establish the required signal connection. In this case, the welding area 141 of the flexible circuit cable 14 and 21 will make the thickness of the entire flexible circuit cable 14 thicker, and increase its bending resistance, causing the main system end to be assembled It is difficult to bend the flexible circuit cable 14 during programming. In addition, the continuous bending and twisting may also lead to peeling and damage of solder joints, which may lead to problems of detachment and disconnection between lines.

Taking the actual assembly situation on the current production line as an example, after the flexible circuit cable 14 is bent, the rate of poor contact due to peeling off of the soldering area is about 5% to 10%. Therefore, how to effectively solve this problem has become an extremely important issue in the current related manufacturing process.

Contents of the invention

One object of the present invention is to provide a welding joint between the display panel flexible circuit cable (TFT FPC) and the backlight module flexible circuit cable (LED FPC), which is arranged on the surface of the display panel or folded to the backlight module Design on the back.

In the first embodiment of the present invention, a display module is disclosed, which mainly includes the following components. The lower glass substrate has thin film transistors on the upper surface. An upper glass substrate is stacked on the lower glass substrate, and the lower surface of the upper glass substrate has a color filter. A layer of liquid crystal molecules is placed between the upper and lower glass substrates. A drive chip is fabricated on the upper surface of the lower glass substrate and is used to drive the thin film transistor for operation. The first flexible circuit cable is connected to the driver chip and extends outward from the side of the lower glass substrate to connect to a main system end. A welding point is made on the upper surface of the lower glass substrate, and is electrically connected to the first flexible circuit wiring through the circuit pattern on the lower glass substrate surface. and a backlight module assembled under the lower glass substrate to provide the light source required by the display module, wherein the backlight module has a second flexible circuit cable extending outward to provide the power required by the light source in the backlight module, The front end of the second flexible circuit cable is welded and connected to the solder joint of the lower glass substrate.

In the second embodiment of the present invention, another display module is disclosed, which mainly includes the following components. The lower glass substrate has thin film transistors on the upper surface. An upper glass substrate is stacked on the lower glass substrate, and the lower surface of the upper glass substrate has a color filter. A layer of liquid crystal molecules is placed between the upper and lower glass substrates. A drive chip is fabricated on the upper surface of the lower glass substrate and is used to drive the thin film transistor for operation. The first flexible circuit cable is connected to the driver chip and extends outward from the side of the lower glass substrate to connect to a main system terminal, wherein there is a foldable area on the first flexible circuit cable , the front end of the foldable area has a welding area. A backlight module is assembled under the lower glass substrate to provide the light source required by the display module. The backlight module has a second flexible circuit cable extending outwards to provide the power required by the light source in the backlight module. The front end of the second flexible circuit cable is welded to the welded area of the foldable area. Wherein the foldable area and the second flexible circuit cable are folded backward, so that the welding area is folded on the back of the backlight module.

A plane display module provided by the present invention has the following beneficial effects:

Because the welding point between the backlight module flexible circuit cable (LED FPC) and the display panel flexible circuit cable (TFT FPC) is effectively moved to the display panel or folded back to the surface of the backlight module, so When the flexible circuit cable (TFT FPC) is bent during the assembly process, it will not cause damage to the soldering point. In the first embodiment, the welding point is designed on the display panel, which can effectively reduce the thickness of the flexible circuit cable, and make the bending of the flexible circuit cable easier, thereby making the subsequent assembly process more convenient.

As for the second embodiment of the present invention, since a foldable area is cut from the flexible circuit cable (TFT FPC) of the display panel, and the welding position of the TFT FPC and the LED FPC is set here, it can be folded Therefore, after the welding of TFT FPC and LED FPC is completed, the foldable area including the welding position can be folded and fixed on the surface of the backlight module, and the excessive bending of the TFT FPC during the assembly process may cause soldering. Point stripping problem.

Description of drawings

Figure 1 shows the welding method of the flexible circuit cable (TFT FPC) of the display panel and the flexible circuit cable (LED FPC) of the backlight module when assembling the display panel and the backlight module in the prior art;

Fig. 2 is a side view of a liquid crystal display module in the prior art, showing the welding method of the panel flexible circuit cable (TFTFPC) and the backlight module flexible circuit cable (LED FPC);

3 shows that according to the first embodiment of the present invention, the flexible circuit cable (LED FPC) of the backlight module is welded on the display panel, and is electrically connected to the flexible circuit cable (LED FPC) of the display panel through the circuit pattern on the display panel ( TFT FPC) case;

FIG. 4 shows the situation viewed from the front of the display panel according to the first embodiment of the present invention;

Fig. 5 shows that according to the second embodiment of the present invention, a foldable area is cut on the flexible circuit cable (TFT FPC) of the display panel, and the welding position is set on the foldable area, so as to be flexible with the backlight module. The situation of welding the circuit cable (LED FPC);

FIG. 6 shows the situation that the foldable area is folded back and fixed on the back cover of the backlight module according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

Description of figure number

display panel 1

Lower glass substrate 10 LCD display area 11

Source driver chip 12 Gate driver chip 13

Flexible circuit cable 14 pressure welding area 141

Backlight module 2 Flexible circuit cable 21

Liquid crystal display module 3 display panel 31

Lower glass substrate 310 Upper glass substrate 311

Gate driver chip 312 Source driver chip 313

Flexible circuit cable 314 Solder spot 315

Line layout pattern 316a Line layout pattern 316b

Backlight module 32 Flexible circuit cable 321

LCD module 4

Display panel 41 lower glass substrate 410

Upper glass substrate 411 Gate drive chip 412

Source driver chip 413 Flexible circuit cable 414

Foldable area 415 Welding area 4150

Backlight module 42 Flexible circuit cable 421

Tape 5

Detailed ways

first embodiment

Please refer to FIG. 3 , which shows the liquid crystal display module 3 in the first embodiment of the present invention. The liquid crystal display module 3 includes a display panel 31 and a backlight module 32 assembled under the display panel 31 . Wherein, the display panel 31 mainly includes a lower glass substrate 310 for making transistors and an upper glass substrate 311 for making color filters, and a liquid crystal layer is injected between the upper and lower glass substrates to produce the required Visualization function. Generally speaking, the size of the lower glass substrate 310 will be larger than that of the upper glass substrate 311. Therefore, after the upper glass substrate 311 and the liquid crystal layer are assembled, the lower glass substrate 310 will still expose part of the upper surface, so that the driving thin film transistor can be fabricated. operating driver chip. As shown in the figure, a gate driver chip 312 can be fabricated on the right upper surface of the lower glass substrate 310 ; and a source driver chip 313 can be fabricated on the front upper surface of the lower glass substrate 310 .

On the side of the lower glass substrate 310 close to the source driver chip 313, a flexible circuit cable (TFT FPC) 314 extending outward is fabricated. One end of the flexible circuit cable 314 is respectively connected to the source driver chip 313 and the gate driver chip 312 through the circuit layout on the surface of the lower glass substrate 310, and the other end is used to connect with the main system so as to The control signal of the main system is transmitted to the display panel 31 . It should be noted that a solder joint 315 is provided on the upper surface of the lower glass substrate 310 near the corner. The solder joint 315 can be electrically connected to the above-mentioned flexible circuit cable 314 through the circuit layout on the upper surface of the lower glass substrate 310 .

In addition, as mentioned above, a backlight module 32 is assembled under the display panel 31 to provide the light source required by the entire liquid crystal display module 3 . As shown in the figure, the backlight module 32 also has an outwardly extending flexible circuit cable (LED FPC) 321 for providing power required by the light source (such as an LED light source) in the backlight module 32. The front end of the flexible circuit cable 321 can be soldered to the solder joint 315 on the upper surface of the lower glass substrate 310 to be electrically connected to the flexible circuit cable 314 of the display panel 31 . In this way, when the flexible circuit cable 314 is connected to the main system side, the backlight module 32 can obtain the required power from the main system side through the flexible circuit cable 321 and 314 .

Please refer to FIG. 4 , which shows a situation viewed from the front of the display panel 31 . Wherein, the gate driving chip 312 and the source driving chip 313 are manufactured on the right side and the lower side area of the upper surface of the lower glass substrate 310 respectively. Moreover, the flexible circuit wiring 314 formed on the side of the lower glass substrate 310 can be connected to the source driver chip 313 through the circuit layout pattern 316 a formed on the upper surface of the lower glass substrate 310 . As for the solder joints 315 formed at the corners of the lower glass substrate 310 , they are also electrically connected to the source driver chip 313 through the circuit layout patterns 316 b formed on the upper surface of the lower glass substrate 310 .

It should be pointed out that since the front end of the flexible circuit cable 321 is welded on the display panel 31, in the subsequent production process, even if the flexible circuit cable 314 on the display panel 31 needs to be bent or twisted, it will not In order to cause damage to the solder joints of the flexible circuit cable 321 . In other words, in this way, the problem of easy peeling and detachment of solder joints in the prior art can be effectively avoided. In addition, although in this embodiment, the solder joints 315 are arranged at the corners of the lower glass substrate 310, in practical applications, the design of the solder joints can be arranged at any position and on any surface of the lower glass substrate 310 as required. and electrically connect with the flexible circuit cable 314 through the circuit layout pattern.

second embodiment

Please refer to FIG. 5 , which shows a liquid crystal display module 4 in a second embodiment of the present invention. As mentioned above, the liquid crystal display module 4 mainly includes a display panel 41 and a backlight module 42 assembled under the display panel 41 . Wherein, the display panel 41 also includes a lower glass substrate 410 , an upper glass substrate 411 , and a liquid crystal layer sandwiched between the upper and lower glass substrates. On the right side and the front side of the upper surface of the lower glass substrate 410 , a gate driver chip 412 and a source driver chip 413 are fabricated respectively to drive the thin film transistors on the lower glass substrate 410 to operate. In addition, as mentioned above, a flexible circuit cable (TFT FPC) 414 is electrically connected to the source driver chip 413 and extends outward from the side of the lower glass substrate 410 for connecting to a main system terminal.

It is worth noting that there is a foldable area 415 cut in a "U" shape on the flexible circuit cable 414, and there is a welding area 4150 at the front of the foldable area 415, which can be used to connect with the backlight module 42 flexible circuit cable connection. As shown in the figure, the foldable area 415 cut in a "U" shape can be folded up or down arbitrarily as needed, and folded backwards to cover the backlight module 42 . It should be noted that although in this figure, the "U"-shaped foldable area 415 is cut directly on the flexible circuit cable 414, in practical applications, any shape can be cut as required. The foldable area of the .

As for the backlight module 42 assembled under the lower glass substrate 410 , it is used to provide the light source required by the entire liquid crystal display module 4 . As mentioned above, the backlight module 42 also has an outwardly extending flexible circuit cable (LED FPC) 421 for providing power required by the light source (for example: LED light source) in the backlight module. In this embodiment, the front end of the flexible circuit cable 421 is connected to the welding area 4150 at the front end of the foldable area 415 of the flexible circuit cable 414, as shown in the figure. In a preferred embodiment, the front end of the flexible circuit cable 421 can be connected to the welding area 4150 at the front end of the foldable area 415 by welding.

After the flexible circuit cable 421 of the backlight module 42 is connected with the welding area 4150 of the foldable area 415, the entire foldable area 415 and the flexible circuit cable 421 can be folded back to make the welding area The 4150 is folded to the back of the backlight module 42 , and the welding area 4150 is fixed on the backlight module 42 by using fixing elements such as glue or tape. In other words, the connection point between the flexible circuit cable 421 and the foldable area 415 is folded backward and fixed on the back of the backlight module 42 . For example, please refer to FIG. 6 , which shows the way to fix the strip-shaped foldable area 415 on the shell of the backlight module 42 by turning backwards. In the case of inverting the entire liquid crystal display module 4, the foldable area 415 connected to each other and the flexible circuit cable 421 can be folded backward together, so that the welding area 4150 of the foldable area 415 is attached to the backlight module 42, and use adhesive tape 5 to fix the welding area 4150 on the backlight module 42 shell.

In this embodiment, since the foldable area 415 and the welding area 4150 of the flexible circuit cable 421 are fixed on the housing of the backlight module 42, no matter how it is bent or twisted during the subsequent assembly process with the main system end The flexible circuit cable 414 will not cause damage to the welding area 4150 , that is, it will not cause damage to the connection point between the foldable area 415 and the flexible circuit cable 421 . In this way, the disadvantages in the prior art that the solder joints between the flexible circuit cables 421 and 414 are easy to crack and peel off can be effectively avoided. It is worth noting that in this embodiment, although the welding area 4150 is folded and fixed on the back cover of the backlight module 42, in practical applications, the welding area 4150 can also be fixed on the back surface according to the needs of the production process. any position. For example, the welding area 4150 can also be fixed between the display panel 41 and the backlight module 42 , or on the surface of the display panel 41 .

Using the design of the present invention has unique advantages. Because the welding point between the backlight module flexible circuit cable (LED FPC) and the display panel flexible circuit cable (TFT FPC) is effectively moved to the display panel or folded back to the surface of the backlight module, so When the flexible circuit cable (TFT FPC) is bent during the assembly process, it will not cause damage to the soldering point. In the first embodiment, the welding point is designed on the display panel, which can effectively reduce the thickness of the flexible circuit cable, and make the bending of the flexible circuit cable easier, thereby making the subsequent assembly process more convenient.

As for the second embodiment of the present invention, since a foldable area is cut from the flexible circuit cable (TFT FPC) of the display panel, and the welding position of the TFT FPC and the LED FPC is set here, it can be folded Therefore, after the welding of TFT FPC and LED FPC is completed, the foldable area including the welding position can be folded and fixed on the surface of the backlight module, and the excessive bending of the TFT FPC during the assembly process may cause soldering. Point stripping problem.

Although the present invention has been described above with preferred examples, it is not intended to limit the spirit and entities of the present invention to the above-mentioned examples. For example, although the liquid crystal display device is used for illustration in the above-mentioned embodiment, those who are familiar with this technology can easily apply the technical features of this case to various flat display devices (such as PDP, FED, OLED... ). Therefore, any replacement or modification made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention, or the design of extending the connection method of this application to other flat panel display devices shall be included in the patent application scope of this application.

Claims (6)

1. a display module is characterized in that, comprises at least:

One display panel, has first flexible circuit cable of stretching to the outer, in order to be linked to a main system end, in this panel surface and be provided with a solder joint, and this solder joint is that line pattern by this panel surface is electrically connected at this first flexible circuit cable; And

One backlight module is assembled in this display panel below, in order to provide this display panel required light source, and this backlight module and have second flexible circuit cable of stretching to the outer wherein, this second flexible circuit cable front end is this solder joint that is welded in this display panel.

2. display module as claimed in claim 1, it is characterized in that: above-mentioned display panel has also comprised a lower glass substrate, a top glass substrate and has been made in liquid crystal layer between this upper and lower glass substrate, and above-mentioned solder joint is to be arranged at this lower glass substrate surface.

3. display module as claimed in claim 2 is characterized in that: above-mentioned solder joint is the corner location that is arranged at this lower glass substrate upper surface, and is to be linked to this first flexible circuit cable by this line pattern that is positioned at this lower glass substrate surface.

4. display module as claimed in claim 2 is characterized in that: above-mentioned display panel also comprises a chip for driving, is that this line pattern by this panel surface is electrically connected at this first flexible circuit cable.

5. display module as claimed in claim 4 is characterized in that: above-mentioned chip for driving is to be arranged at this lower glass substrate upper surface, and is this line pattern via this lower glass substrate upper surface, is linked to this first flexible circuit cable.

6. display module as claimed in claim 1 is characterized in that: above-mentioned second flexible circuit cable is the light source that is linked in this backlight module, in order to provide this light source required electric power.

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