Method of manufacturing a light emitting display panel and a light emitting display panel

• US 20040135503A1
• Filed: 09/16/2003
• Published: 07/15/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 09/17/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Dai Nippon Printing Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Dai Nippon Printing Company Limited
• Inventors: Nakajima, Hirofumi, Kobayashi, Masaru, Handa, Shinichi, Shirogane, Hiroyuki, Kuba, Kenichi
• Granted Patent: US 7,404,751 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 313/511
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 33/04 Sealing arrangements , e.g. against humidity
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 2102/311 Flexible OLED
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 50/844 Encapsulations
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 59/1201 Manufacture or treatment
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 59/221 Static displays, e.g. displaying permanent logos
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 59/873 Encapsulations
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 71/00 Manufacture or treatment specially adapted for the organic devices covered by this subclass
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 71/50 Forming devices by joining two substrates together, e.g. lamination techniques
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 71/80 using temporary substrates
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 77/10 Substrates, e.g. flexible substrates
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 10/549 Organic PV cells

Abstract

The present invention is a method of manufacturing a light emitting display panel, which includes a laminated structure formed by laminating at least a flexible base layer, a first electrode layer, an EL layer, a second electrode layer and a flexible sealing layer in that order. The flexible base layer is provisionally attached to a rigid flat plate, and thereafter supplied to a main manufacturing step of the light emitting display panel. According to the feature, no significant unevenness in the thicknesses of layers formed on or above the flexible base layer is generated. Therefore, a light emitting display panel whose light emitting strength is uniform can be produced.

Claims

1. A method of manufacturing a light emitting display panel including a laminated structure formed by laminating at least a flexible base layer, a first electrode layer, an EL layer, a second electrode layer and a flexible sealing layer in that order, wherein

the flexible base layer is provisionally attached to a rigid flat plate, and thereafter supplied to a main manufacturing step of the light emitting display panel.

2. A method of manufacturing a light emitting display panel according to claim 1, wherein

the EL layer is formed on the flexible substrate which has been already provisionally attached to the rigid flat plate.

3. A method of manufacturing a light emitting display panel according to claim 1, wherein

a provisional attachment of the flexible base layer to the rigid flat plate and a detachment of the flexible base layer from the rigid flat plate are carried out once or more in the course of manufacturing the light emitting display panel.

4. A method of manufacturing a light emitting display panel according to claim 1, wherein

the flexible base layer is provisionally attached to the rigid flat plate by one or more means selected from a detachable sealing attachment, a bond attachment, an adhesive attachment, an attachment by tool, and a vacuum attachment.

5. A method of manufacturing a light emitting display panel according to claim 1, wherein

the rigid flat plate is a glass substrate.

6. A light emitting display panel including a laminated structure formed by laminating at least a flexible base layer, a first electrode layer, an EL layer, a second electrode layer and a flexible sealing layer in that order, wherein

the laminated structure has an insulating layer that insulates the first electrode layer and the second electrode layer to each other, and

the insulating layer is formed into a predetermined pattern.

7. A light emitting display panel according to claim 6, wherein

the insulating layer defines a light emitting region of a predetermined shape.

8. A light emitting display panel according to claim 7, wherein

the light emitting region forms a character, a figure, a mark or a display pattern formed by combining some of a character, a figure and a mark.

9. A light emitting display panel according to claim 7, wherein

a light non-emitting region other than the light emitting region forms a character, a figure, a mark or a display pattern formed by combining some of a character, a figure and a mark.

10. A light emitting display panel according to claim 6, wherein

the light emitting display panel has a thickness of 50 μ

m to 400 μ

m.

11. A light emitting display panel according to claim 6, wherein

the flexible sealing layer consists of a sealing agent or a laminated structure formed by laminating a sealing agent and a flexible sealing base layer.

12. A light emitting display panel according to claim 6, wherein

a barrier layer is provided between the flexible base layer and the first electrode layer, and

another barrier layer is provided between the second electrode layer and the flexible sealing layer.

13. A light emitting display panel according to claim 6, wherein

the flexible base layer and the flexible sealing layer are optically transparent, and

at least one of the first electrode layer and the second electrode layer is also optically transparent.

14. A light emitting display panel according to claim 6, wherein

at least one of the first electrode layer and the second electrode layer is formed of a transparent oxide film.

15. A light emitting display panel according to claim 6, wherein

a partial laminated structure formed by at least the flexible base layer and the first electrode layer on a side with respect to the EL layer and another partial laminated structure formed by at least the second electrode layer and the flexible sealing layer on the other side with respect to the EL layer have substantially the same expansion coefficient.

16. A light emitting display panel according to claim 6, wherein

the first electrode layer, the EL layer, the second electrode layer and the insulating layer are formed on the flexible base layer by means of a wet process.

17. A light emitting display panel comprising a laminated structure, the laminated structure including:

a first electrode layer,

a second electrode layer,

an EL layer between the first electrode layer and the second electrode layer,

an insulating layer between the first electrode layer and the second electrode layer, the insulating layer being formed into a pattern and insulating the first electrode layer and the second electrode layer to each other,

a flexible layer on a side with respect to the first electrode layer and the second electrode layer, and

another flexible layer on the other side with respect to the first electrode layer and the second electrode layer.