Method for manufacturing display panel

• US 20030006003A1
• Filed: 06/27/2002
• Published: 01/09/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 06/29/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sanyo Electric Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Sanyo Electric Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Matsuoka, Hideki
• Granted Patent: US 7,135,086 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 156/272.2
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/1339 Gaskets; Spacers; Sealing of cells
• CPC Class Codes: H01J 2217/49264 Vessels
• CPC Class Codes: H01J 9/261 the vessel being for a flat panel display for flat discharge lamps H01J9/268
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 50/8426 Peripheral sealing arrangements, e.g. adhesives, sealants
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 59/8722 Peripheral sealing arrangements, e.g. adhesives, sealants

Abstract

A glass substrate of a display panel onto which an organic electroluminescence (EL) element or the like is formed is sealed by affixing the glass substrate and a sealing glass via an adhesive therebetween. During this process, a pressure is applied between the glass substrate and the sealing glass so that a gap between the affixing surfaces achieves a target value and the adhesive is cured. The pressure is changed over time based on conditions such as the viscosity of the adhesive so that quick and precise sealing by the adhesive can be achieved.

Claims

1. A method for manufacturing a display panel in which an element substrate and a sealing substrate are affixed with an adhesive therebetween, wherein a display element is formed on said element substrate, said sealing substrate is placed to oppose said element substrate at the side onto which said display element is formed, and said adhesive is provided at positions to surround the formation region of the element;

and said adhesive is cured; and

wherein

pressure for pressing the substrates after said affixing is changed over time.

2. A method for manufacturing a display panel according to claim 1, wherein

said pressure is changed in stages.

3. A method for manufacturing a display panel according to claim 1, wherein

said pressure is increased in stages.

4. A method for manufacturing a display panel according to claim 1, wherein

said pressure is changed until a gap between said element substrate and said sealing substrate to be affixed with said adhesive in between reaches a target value.

5. A method for manufacturing a display panel according to claim 1, wherein

said pressure is changed by repeating a pressure changing period in which the pressure is changed and a pressure retaining period in which a constant pressure is retained.

6. A method for manufacturing a display panel according to claim 5, wherein

said constant pressure retained in each of said pressure retaining periods is the final pressure of a pressure changing period immediately before the pressure retaining period.

7. A method for manufacturing a display panel according to claim 5, wherein

a plurality of said pressure changing periods and a plurality of said pressure retaining periods are repeated;

and

the duration of each of said plurality of pressure retaining periods is independently set to an arbitrary length.

8. A method for manufacturing a display panel according to claim 5, wherein

a plurality of said pressure changing periods and a plurality of said pressure retaining periods are repeated;

and

the amount of change in pressure for each of said plurality of pressure changing periods is independently set to an arbitrary value.

9. A method for manufacturing a display panel according to claim 8, wherein

said amount of change in pressure for a later pressure changing period among said plurality of pressure changing periods is smaller than said amount of change in pressure for an earlier pressure changing period.

10. A method for manufacturing a display panel according to claim 8, wherein

the rate of change of pressure in at least one of said plurality of pressure changing periods differs from a rate of change of pressure in the other periods.

11. A method for manufacturing a display panel according to claim 1, wherein

said pressure is changed over time through 3 repetitions of pressure changing periods in which pressure is changed and pressure retaining periods in which a constant pressure is retained.

12. A method for manufacturing a display panel according to claim 1, wherein

said adhesive is an ultraviolet curable resin.

13. A method for manufacturing a display panel according to claim 12, wherein

said ultraviolet curable resin is a cation polymerization type epoxy resin.

14. A method for manufacturing a display panel according to claim 1, wherein

the temperature of said adhesive is controlled during when said element substrate and said sealing substrate are affixed with said adhesive therebetween.

15. A method for manufacturing a display panel according to claim 14, wherein

prior to pressing said element substrate and said sealing substrate to be affixed, the temperature of said adhesive is raised to a predetermined temperature.

16. A method for manufacturing a display panel according to claim 14, wherein

said element substrate and said sealing substrate are pressed with a pressure which changes over time while the temperature of said adhesive is being raised to a predetermined temperature.

17. A method for manufacturing a display panel according to claim 14, wherein

said temperature of the adhesive to be controlled is a temperature that does not affect characteristic degradations of the display element.

18. A method for manufacturing a display panel according to claim 17, wherein

said display element is an electroluminescence display element.

19. A method for manufacturing a display panel according to claim 18, wherein

said electroluminescence display element is an organic electroluminescence element containing an organic compound in at least an emissive layer.

20. A method for manufacturing a display panel according to claim 14, wherein

said temperature of said adhesive is controlled based on the pressure for pressing said substrates after said affixing.

21. A method for manufacturing a display panel according to claim 19, wherein

said temperature of said adhesive to be controlled is a temperature that does not degrade the characteristic of the display element.