Display panel, display panel module and electronic apparatus

• US 8,552,641 B2
• Filed: 08/25/2008
• Issued: 10/08/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 09/12/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: JDI Design and Development GK
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Nakamura, Kazuo, Sagawa, Hiroshi
• Primary Examiner(s): Mai, Anh
• Assistant Examiner(s): COUGHLIN, ANDREW J
• Application Number:
  US12/230,124
• Publication Number:
  US 20090066871A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,870 Days
• Field of Search: 313/512, 313/504
• US Class Current: 313/512
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/1345 Conductors connecting electrodes to cell terminals

Abstract

A display panel is disclosed which suppresses appearance of structural fault at a frame portion of an opposing glass plate. The display panel has a panel structure ready for an active matrix driving method and includes an element having a formation face on which pixel circuits are formed, and an opposing substrate configured to seal the formation face. The opposing substrate has a protrusion pattern formed in a region thereof opposing to an outer edge of the opposing substrate. The protrusion pattern has a layer structure similar to that in a display region of the formation face.

Claims

1. An organic electroluminescence display panel having a display region and an outside region in contact with and surrounding the display region, the organic electroluminescence display panel comprising:

a glass substrate extending in the display region and the outside region and having a flat glass substrate surface;

a pixel circuit located in the display region and disposed on and projecting away from the flat glass substrate surface to terminate at a pixel circuit height, the pixel circuit fabricated from at least four different pixel circuit materials;

a first protrusion located in the outside region, juxtaposed the pixel circuit and disposed on and projecting away from the flat glass substrate at approximately the pixel circuit height, the first protrusion fabricated from the at least four different pixel circuit materials and configured differently than the pixel circuit as viewed in cross-section;

a single-compound flattening film contacting and at least substantially covering the pixel circuit and contacting and completely covering the first protrusion, the flattening film terminating in a flat flattening film surface disposed above the pixel circuit and the first protrusion;

an organic EL thin film located in the display region and disposed on and projecting, in part, into the flattening film at a projection distance sufficient to contact the pixel circuit and projecting, in part, away from the flat flattening film surface to terminate at an organic EL thin film height, the organic EL thin film fabricated from at least two organic EL thin film materials;

a second protrusion located in the outside region, juxtaposed and electrically insulated from the organic EL thin film and disposed on and projecting away from the flat flattening film surface at approximately the organic EL thin film height, the second protrusion fabricated from the at least two organic EL thin film materials and configured differently than the organic EL thin film as viewed in cross-section;

a single-compound, thermally-hardened or photo-set sealing material contacting and covering the organic EL thin film circuit and the second protrusion and terminating in a flat sealing material surface disposed above the organic EL thin film circuit and the second protrusion; and

a glass plate disposed on the flat sealing material surface and over the organic EL thin film circuit and the second protrusion,

wherein the first and second protrusions have similar shapes as viewed in cross-section and the second protrusion is stacked on top of the first protrusion and is separated therefrom by the flattening film.

2. The organic electroluminescence display panel according to claim 1, wherein the pixel circuit projects away from the flat glass substrate surface at a pixel circuit distance and the first protrusion projects away from the flat glass substrate at a first protrusion distance being at least substantially equal to the pixel circuit distance.

3. The organic electroluminescence display panel according to claim 2, wherein the organic EL thin film projects away from the flat flattening film surface at an organic EL thin film distance and the second protrusion projects away from the flat flattening film surface at a second protrusion distance being at least substantially equal to the organic EL thin film distance.

4. The organic electroluminescence display panel according to claim 1, wherein the organic EL thin film projects away from the flat flattening film surface at an organic EL thin film distance and the second protrusion projects away from the flat flattening film surface at a second protrusion distance being at least substantially equal to the organic EL thin film distance.

5. The organic electroluminescence display panel according to claim 1, wherein a sealing material contacts the flat flattening film surface at least in the outside region.

6. An electronic apparatus, comprising:

the organic electroluminescence display panel according to claim 1;

a system control section configured to control operation of an entirety of the electronic apparatus; and

an operation inputting section configured to accept an operation input to said system control section.

7. The organic electroluminescence display panel according to claim 1, wherein, relative to the glass substrate as viewed in cross-section being at a bottom-most position, the organic EL thin film is disposed and aligned above the pixel circuit within the display region and the second protrusion is disposed and aligned above the first protrusion within the outside region.