CN101493626A - Flexible electrophoretic display device and method for manufacturing the same - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to a flexible electrophoretic display device and a manufacturing method thereof. The electrophoretic display device includes: a back protection layer having a coverage area; the visible area structure is arranged on the back surface protection layer, and the area of the visible area structure facing to the back surface of the back surface protection layer is smaller than the coverage area; and a side face reinforcement arranged on the back face protection layer in parallel with the visual area structure. The manufacturing method of the flexible electrophoretic display device comprises the following steps: providing a visual area structure; arranging a back protection layer on the back of the visual area structure, wherein the back protection layer has a coverage area, and the area of the back of the visual area structure is smaller than the coverage area; and arranging a side face reinforcement and the visual area structure on the back protective layer side by side. The invention adopts the back protection layer larger than the visual area structure as the basis, and forms the side reinforcement on the side of the visual area structure, thereby effectively strengthening the strength and reliability and leading the flexible electrophoresis type display device to achieve the commercialization degree.

Description

Flexible electrophoretic display device and manufacturing method thereof

technical field

The present invention relates to a structure of a reflective display device, in particular to a structure and a manufacturing method of a flexible electrophoretic display device which can enhance strength and reliability and reach the level of commercialization.

Background technique

Electrophoretic Display (EPD) is a reflective display device based on the electrophoretic phenomenon affecting charged particles dispersed in a dielectric solvent. A general electrophoretic display device includes a glass substrate, a transparent protective layer opposite to the glass substrate and arranged at intervals, and an electrophoretic layer arranged between the glass substrate and the transparent protective layer. Electrophoretic display devices can be divided into two types: passive matrix and active matrix according to different driving methods; among them, for passive matrix electrophoretic display devices, the row electrodes and transparent column electrodes on the glass substrate and transparent protective layer It is necessary; relatively, for active matrix electrophoretic display devices, the array of thin film transistors (transistors, transistors, hereinafter referred to as transistors) on the glass substrate and the electrodes of pixels (ie, pixels, hereinafter referred to as pixels) and electrodes on the glass substrate An unpatterned transparent plate electrode over the transparent protective layer is necessary.

With more and more applications of electrophoretic display devices, and most of them are used in portable devices (Portable Devices), the demand for thinner, thinner and smaller devices has increased a lot. Thinner electrophoretic display devices are becoming more and more important. At present, a flexible electrophoretic display device that replaces the glass substrate with a flexible substrate can have all the advantages mentioned above and is expected to become one of the key products in the market and one of the products in the future. However, how the flexible electrophoretic display device has some good reliability and sufficient strength at the same time is an urgent problem to be solved when it reaches the commercialization level. Therefore, how to create a new flexible electrophoretic display device and its manufacturing method is one of the current important research and development topics, and it has also become a goal that the industry needs to improve.

In view of the above-mentioned defects existing in the existing flexible electrophoretic display device, the inventor, based on years of rich practical experience and professional knowledge engaged in the design and manufacture of this type of product, combined with the application of academic theory, actively researched and innovated in order to create a new The flexible electrophoretic display device and its manufacturing method can improve the general existing flexible electrophoretic display device and make it more practical. After continuous research, design, and after repeated trials and improvements, the present invention with practical value is finally created.

Contents of the invention

The purpose of the present invention is to overcome the defects existing in the existing flexible electrophoretic display device, and provide a new type of flexible electrophoretic display device, the technical problem to be solved is to make it can effectively enhance the strength and reliability , reaching the degree of commercialization, very suitable for practical use.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a new method for manufacturing a flexible electrophoretic display device. The technical problem to be solved is to effectively enhance the strength and reliability of the electrophoretic display device produced by it. Reach the degree of commercialization, thus more suitable for practical use.

The purpose of the present invention and the solution to its technical problems are achieved by adopting the following technical solutions. According to a flexible electrophoretic display device proposed by the present invention, it comprises: a back protection layer with a covering area; a visible area structure arranged on the back protection layer, the visible area structure facing the back protection The area of the surface of the layer is smaller than the coverage area; and a side reinforcement is disposed on the rear protection layer side by side with the visible region structure.

The purpose of the present invention and its technical problems can also be further realized by adopting the following technical measures.

The aforementioned flexible electrophoretic display device, wherein the visible area structure includes: a flexible substrate disposed on the back protection layer; an electrophoretic layer disposed on the flexible substrate; an edge protector surrounding the The electrophoretic layer is set; a driver integrated circuit, the driver integrated circuit and the electrophoretic layer are arranged side by side on the flexible substrate, and the driver integrated circuit is a chip on glass (COG, Chip On Glass) module; an edge reinforcement The edge reinforcement covers the drive integrated circuit and is in contact with the transparent protection layer; and a transparent protection layer is arranged on the electrophoretic layer and the edge protection.

In the aforementioned flexible electrophoretic display device, wherein the side reinforcement is in contact with the edge reinforcement, wherein the Young's modulus of the side reinforcement is greater than or equal to the Young's modulus of the edge reinforcement.

In the aforementioned flexible electrophoretic display device, the electrophoretic layer includes a dielectric solvent and charged particles dispersed in the dielectric solvent.

In the aforementioned flexible electrophoretic display device, the difference between one side of the visible area structure and the same side of the back protective layer is 0.1 mm to 1 mm.

In the aforementioned flexible electrophoretic display device, the material of the back protective layer is polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polycarbonate (PC) or polystyrene (PS).

In the aforementioned flexible electrophoretic display device, the material of the side reinforcement is plastic, ultraviolet polymer glue, silica gel or polyurethane (PU).

The aforementioned flexible electrophoretic display device further includes an upper casing and a lower casing, the upper casing is arranged on the visible area structure and the side reinforcement and has an opening to expose the visible area structure. In the display area, the lower casing is arranged on the side of the rear protection layer away from the visible area structure.

The purpose of the present invention and the solution to its technical problem also adopt the following technical solutions to achieve. According to a method of manufacturing a flexible electrophoretic display device proposed by the present invention, it includes the following steps: providing a visible area structure; disposing a back protective layer on the back of the visible area structure, and the back protective layer has a Covering area, the area of the back side of the visible area structure is smaller than the covered area; and a side reinforcement is arranged side by side with the visible area structure on the back protection layer.

The purpose of the present invention and its technical problems can also be further realized by adopting the following technical measures.

The aforementioned flexible electrophoretic display device, wherein the step of providing the visible region structure includes the following steps: providing a flexible substrate; providing an electrophoretic layer disposed on the flexible substrate; providing a transparent protective layer, Provided on the electrophoretic layer; providing an edge protector, disposed between the flexible substrate and the transparent protective layer and surrounding the electrophoretic layer; providing a driver integrated circuit, which is arranged side by side with the electrophoretic layer on the flexible substrate and providing an edge reinforcement covering the driver integrated circuit and in contact with the transparent protective layer.

The above-mentioned flexible electrophoretic display device further includes the following steps: providing an upper casing, which is arranged on the side of the visible area structure opposite to the back and is located on the visible area structure and the side reinforcement , the upper case has an opening to expose the display area of the viewable area structure; and a lower case is provided, which is arranged on the side of the back protection layer away from the viewable area structure.

Compared with the prior art, the present invention has obvious advantages and beneficial effects. By means of the above-mentioned technical scheme, the flexible electrophoretic display device of the present invention and its manufacturing method have at least the following advantages and beneficial effects: the present invention is based on the use of a rear protective layer larger than the structure in the visible area, and in the structure of the visible area The side reinforcement is formed on the side to protect the reliability of the side, so the strength and reliability can be effectively enhanced, and the soft electrophoretic display device can be commercialized.

To sum up, the flexible electrophoretic display device of the present invention can effectively enhance the strength and reliability, and reach the level of commercialization. The manufacturing method of the flexible electrophoretic display device of the present invention can effectively enhance the strength and reliability of the electrophoretic display device manufactured by it, and reach the degree of commercialization. The present invention has the above-mentioned many advantages and practical value, it has great improvement no matter in product structure, manufacturing method or function, has remarkable progress in technology, and has produced easy-to-use and practical effect, and compared with existing The flexible electrophoretic display device of the present invention has enhanced outstanding functions, and thus is more suitable for practical use. It is a novel, progressive and practical new design.

The above description is only an overview of the technical solution of the present invention. In order to better understand the technical means of the present invention, it can be implemented according to the contents of the description, and in order to make the above and other purposes, features and advantages of the present invention more obvious and understandable , the following preferred embodiments are specifically cited below, and are described in detail as follows in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

Description of drawings

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a preferred embodiment of the flexible electrophoretic display device of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of another preferred embodiment of the flexible electrophoretic display device of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a flow chart of a preferred embodiment of the manufacturing method of the flexible electrophoretic display device of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a sub-flowchart of a step in the flowchart in FIG. 3 .

10: Soft electrophoretic display device 12: Back protection layer

122: Surface 14: Visual area structure

141: Soft substrate 142: Electrophoretic layer

143: Edge protection 144: Transparent protective layer

145: Driver integrated circuit 146: Edge reinforcement

16: Side reinforcement 17: Upper shell

172: Opening 19: Lower shell

Detailed ways

In order to further explain the technical means and effects of the present invention to achieve the intended purpose of the invention, the specific implementation methods, Structure, method, step, feature and effect thereof are as follows in detail.

The aforementioned and other technical contents, features and effects of the present invention will be clearly presented in the following detailed description of preferred embodiments with reference to the drawings. The directional terms mentioned in the following embodiments, such as: up, down, left, right, front or back, etc., are only referring to the directions of the drawings. Accordingly, the directional terms are used to illustrate and not to limit the invention. Through the description of the specific implementation mode, when the technical means and functions adopted by the present invention to achieve the predetermined purpose can be obtained a deeper and more specific understanding, but the accompanying drawings are only for reference and description, and are not used to explain the present invention be restricted.

Please refer to FIG. 1 , which is a cross-sectional view of a preferred embodiment of the flexible electrophoretic display device of the present invention. The flexible electrophoretic display device 10 of the preferred embodiment of the present invention includes: a back protection layer 12 , a visible area structure 14 and a side reinforcement 16 .

The above-mentioned back protection layer 12 has a surface 122, and the area of the surface 122 is called the coverage area. The back protective layer 12 is flexible, and its material can be selected from plastic materials such as polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polycarbonate (PC) or polystyrene (PS).

The above-mentioned visible region structure 14 is disposed on the surface 122 of the back protection layer 12 , and has a surface facing the back protection layer 12 . Preferably, one side of the viewable area structure 14 is 0.1 mm to 1 mm different from the same side of the back protection layer 12 .

Specifically, the above visible region structure 14 may include a flexible substrate 141, an electrophoretic layer 142, an edge protector 143 and a transparent protective layer 144; wherein:

The flexible substrate 141 is disposed on the back protection layer 12 and includes lines and first driving electrodes (not shown in the figure).

The electrophoretic layer 142 is disposed on the flexible substrate 141 and includes a dielectric solvent and charged particles dispersed in the dielectric solvent.

The edge protector 143 is disposed on the flexible substrate 141 and surrounds the electrophoretic layer 142; the material of the edge protector 143 can be a resin material, such as phenoxy resin (Phenoxy Resin).

The transparent protective layer 144 is disposed on the electrophoretic layer 142 and the edge protector 143 and includes a second driving electrode (not shown in the figure). The second driving electrode is a transparent electrode, such as an Indium Tin Oxide (ITO) electrode.

When the flexible electrophoretic display device 10 is a passive matrix driving type, the first driving electrodes on the flexible substrate 141 and the second driving electrodes on the transparent protective layer 144 can be respectively row electrodes and transparent column electrodes; , when it is an active matrix driving type, the first driving electrode on the flexible substrate 141 and the second driving electrode on the transparent protective layer 144 can be respectively a pixel electrode and a transparent plate electrode without a pattern, and the flexible Correspondingly, the substrate 141 also includes an array of active elements electrically connected to the pixel electrodes, such as a thin film transistor (Thin Film Transistor, TFT) array.

For further explanation, the visible area structure 14 may also include a driver integrated circuit 145 and an edge reinforcement 146; wherein:

The driving integrated circuit 145 is disposed on the flexible substrate 141 side by side with the electrophoretic layer 142 , and is electrically connected to the circuit on the flexible substrate 141 and the first driving electrode. The driving integrated circuit 145 can be a chip on glass (COG, Chip On Glass) module.

The edge reinforcement 146 covers the driving integrated circuit 145 and is in contact with the transparent protection layer 144 for protecting the driving integrated circuit 145 . Wherein, the edge reinforcement 146 can be made of plastic material, such as ultraviolet polymer glue, silica gel or polyurethane (Polyurethane, PU). In addition, the driver integrated circuit 145 can also be set separately from the visible area structure 14 to be a single control module.

The above-mentioned side reinforcement 16 is arranged on the rear protective layer 12 side by side with the visible area structure 14 . As shown in FIG. 1 , the side reinforcement 16 is in contact with the edge reinforcement 146 of the viewing area structure 14 . The side reinforcement 16 can be made of plastic, such as ultraviolet polymer glue, silica gel or polyurethane. Preferably, the Young's modulus (Young's modulus) of the side reinforcement is greater than or equal to the Young's modulus of the edge reinforcement 146, so that it can strengthen the overall strength of the flexible electrophoretic display device 10 with the side reinforcement 16 , to avoid destructive damage when bending.

Please refer to FIG. 2 , which is a cross-sectional view of another preferred embodiment of the flexible electrophoretic display device of the present invention. The flexible electrophoretic display device 10 of another preferred embodiment of the present invention can further include an upper casing 17 and a lower casing 19 to enhance the strength and reliability of the upper and lower sides of the flexible electrophoretic display device 10. sex.

The upper casing 17 is disposed on the viewable area structure 14 and the side reinforcement 16 , and has an opening 172 to expose the display area (not shown) of the viewable area structure 14 .

The lower casing 19 is disposed on a side of the back protection layer 12 away from the visible area structure 14 .

The upper casing 17 and the lower casing 19 are flexible and can be made of light-blocking materials.

Please refer to Fig. 3 and Fig. 4 at the same time, Fig. 3 is a flowchart of a preferred embodiment of the manufacturing method of the flexible electrophoretic display device of the present invention, and Fig. 4 is a sub-flowchart of a step in the flowchart in Fig. 3 . A method of manufacturing the flexible electrophoretic display device 10 will be briefly described below. The method for manufacturing a flexible electrophoretic display device according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention may generally include the following steps 220 to 260:

Step 220 : provide a viewable area structure 14 ; specifically, as shown in FIG. 4 , this step 220 may include the following steps 221 to 226 .

Step 221: providing a flexible substrate 141;

Step 222: providing an electrophoretic layer 142, disposed on the flexible substrate 141;

Step 223: providing a transparent protective layer 144 disposed on the electrophoretic layer 142;

Step 224: providing an edge protector 143, disposed between the flexible substrate 141 and the transparent protective layer 144 and surrounding the electrophoretic layer 142;

Step 225: providing a driving integrated circuit 145, which is arranged side by side with the electrophoretic layer 142 on the flexible substrate 141; and

Step 226 : Provide an edge reinforcement 146 covering the driver integrated circuit 145 and in contact with the transparent protection layer 144 .

Step 240 : disposing a backside protection layer 12 on the backside of the viewable area structure 14 , the backside protection layer 12 has a coverage area, and the area of the backside of the viewable area structure 14 is smaller than the coverage area.

Step 260 : Arranging a side reinforcement 16 and the visible area structure 14 side by side on the back protection layer 12 , so as to manufacture a flexible electrophoretic display device 10 .

Further, in order to enhance the strength and reliability of the upper and lower sides of the flexible electrophoretic display device 10, the manufacturing method may further include the following steps (not shown in the figure): Please refer to FIG. 2 to provide an upper The shell 17 is arranged on the other side of the visible area structure 14 relative to its back and is located on the visible area structure 14 and the side reinforcement 16. The upper shell 17 has an opening 172 to expose the visible area structure 14; and provide a housing 19, which is arranged on the side of the rear protective layer 12 away from the visible area structure 14.

In summary, in the foregoing embodiments of the present invention, because the rear protective layer 12 larger than the visible area structure 14 is used as the basis, and the side reinforcement 16 is formed on the side of the visible area structure 14, in order to protect The reliability of the side and the layers of the visible area structure 14 are not easy to peel off, so the strength and reliability can be effectively enhanced, and the flexible electrophoretic display device 10 can be commercialized. Furthermore, the arrangement of the upper casing 17 and the lower casing 19 can further enhance the strength and reliability of the upper and lower casings.

In addition, those skilled in the art can appropriately change the material of the back protection layer 12, the structure of the visible area structure 14, the material of the side protection layer 16 and/or the materials of the upper case 17 and the lower case 19, as long as they do not Deviation from the technical solutions and technical effects of the present invention are all available.

The above description is only a preferred embodiment of the present invention, and does not limit the present invention in any form. Although the present invention has been disclosed as above with preferred embodiments, it is not intended to limit the present invention. Anyone familiar with this field Those skilled in the art, without departing from the scope of the technical solution of the present invention, may use the method and technical content disclosed above to make some changes or modifications to equivalent embodiments with equivalent changes, but if they do not depart from the technical solution of the present invention, Any simple modifications, equivalent changes and modifications made to the above embodiments according to the technical essence of the present invention still fall within the scope of the technical solution of the present invention.

Claims (11)

1. A flexible electrophoretic display device, characterized in that it comprises: a back protection layer having a covering area; a visible zone structure, disposed on the back protective layer, the surface area of the visible zone structure facing the rear protective layer is smaller than the coverage area; and A side reinforcement is arranged on the back protection layer side by side with the visible area structure. 2. The flexible electrophoretic display device according to claim 1, wherein the visible area structure includes: a flexible substrate disposed on the back protection layer; an electrophoretic layer arranged on the flexible substrate; an edge protector is arranged around the electrophoretic layer; A driving integrated circuit, the driving integrated circuit and the electrophoretic layer are arranged side by side on the flexible substrate, and the driving integrated circuit is a grain glass bonding module; an edge reinforcement, the edge reinforcement covers the driver integrated circuit and is in contact with the transparent protective layer; and A transparent protective layer is arranged on the electrophoretic layer and the edge protector. 3. The flexible electrophoretic display device according to claim 2, wherein the side reinforcement is in contact with the edge reinforcement, wherein the Young's modulus of the side reinforcement is greater than or equal to the edge Young's modulus of the reinforcement. 4. The flexible electrophoretic display device according to claim 2, wherein said electrophoretic layer comprises a dielectric solvent and charged particles dispersed in the dielectric solvent. 5. The flexible electrophoretic display device according to claim 1, wherein the difference between one side of the visible area structure and the same side of the back protection layer is 0.1 mm to 1 mm. 6. The flexible electrophoretic display device according to claim 1, wherein the material of the back protection layer is polyethylene terephthalate, polycarbonate or polystyrene. 7. The flexible electrophoretic display device according to claim 1, wherein the side reinforcement is made of plastic, ultraviolet polymer glue, silica gel or polyurethane. 8. The flexible electrophoretic display device according to claim 1, characterized in that it further comprises an upper case and a lower case, the upper case is arranged on the visible area structure and side reinforcements and has An opening is used to expose the display area of the visible area structure, and the lower case is disposed on a side of the rear protection layer away from the visible area structure. 9. A method for manufacturing a flexible electrophoretic display device, characterized in that it comprises the following steps: Provide a viewport structure; disposing a backside protection layer on the backside of the viewable zone structure, the backside protection layer has a coverage area, and the area of the backside of the viewable zone structure is smaller than the coverage area; and A side reinforcement is arranged side by side with the visible area structure on the back protection layer. 10. The flexible electrophoretic display device according to claim 9, wherein said step of providing the visible region structure comprises the following steps: providing a flexible substrate; providing an electrophoretic layer disposed on the flexible substrate; providing a transparent protective layer disposed on the electrophoretic layer; providing an edge protector disposed between the flexible substrate and the transparent protective layer and surrounding the electrophoretic layer; providing a driver integrated circuit, which is arranged side by side with the electrophoretic layer on the flexible substrate; and An edge reinforcement is provided to cover the driving integrated circuit and connect with the transparent protection layer. 11. The flexible electrophoretic display device according to claim 9, further comprising the following steps: An upper shell is provided, which is arranged on the side of the viewable area structure opposite to the back and is located on the viewable area structure and the side reinforcement, the upper shell has an opening to expose the viewable area structure the display area; and A casing is provided, which is arranged on the side of the rear protection layer away from the viewable area structure.

Images