CN104503153A - Liquid crystal panel and display device - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to the technical field of liquid crystal display, and discloses a liquid crystal panel and a display device. The support area of the spacer of the liquid crystal panel is provided with a groove structure, and the bottom of the groove structure is provided with a support column, and the part of the spacer corresponding to the area where the support column is located undergoes elastic compression deformation, so that the support column is embedded in the In the spacer, it is used to fix and support the spacer, so that the spacer is not easy to be shifted and misaligned. The top of the spacer protrudes into the groove structure, and when the panel is deformed, the spacer is also blocked by the groove wall of the groove structure, which further ensures that the spacer is not easy to be shifted and misplaced, and improves the product quality. quality and display quality. At the same time, the one-to-one correspondence structure between the spacer and the groove structure can also improve the alignment accuracy of the liquid crystal panel.

Description

A kind of liquid crystal panel and display device

technical field

The invention relates to the technical field of liquid crystal display, in particular to a liquid crystal panel and a display device.

Background technique

Thin Film Transistor-Liquid Crystal Display (TFT-LCD for short) has the characteristics of small size, low power consumption, and no radiation. It has developed rapidly in recent years and occupies a dominant position in the current flat panel display market. The main structure of the liquid crystal display is the liquid crystal panel. In the manufacturing process of the liquid crystal panel, the design and control of cell thickness is one of the key technologies of the liquid crystal display, which directly affects the quality of the liquid crystal display.

The liquid crystal panel includes an array substrate and a color filter substrate arranged opposite to each other, and a liquid crystal layer filled between the array substrate and the color filter substrate. Wherein, data lines and gate lines, and a plurality of pixel units defined by the data lines and gate lines are formed on the array substrate. The thickness of the liquid crystal layer (ie cell thickness) is mainly controlled by spacers (PS) formed between the array substrate and the color filter substrate.

The PS material is an elastic polymer, which can be formed on an array substrate or a color filter substrate. When the PS is formed on the color filter substrate, a spacer supporting area is formed on the array substrate, and the top of the PS bears against the corresponding spacer supporting area on the array substrate. Wherein, the spacer supporting area is generally located on the grid line. The disadvantages of this structure are:

Large-size LCD panels, due to the large panel area, are prone to deformation during handling and other processes, and external stress such as pressing will also cause deformation of the substrate, which in turn makes the PS misaligned and shifted from the original position, making the LCD panel prone to defects such as zara and light leakage. Phenomenon, resulting in abnormal panel display, which in turn affects product quality.

Contents of the invention

The invention provides a liquid crystal panel and a display device, which are used to solve the problems that the panel is deformed when being transported or subjected to external stress, resulting in dislocation of PS, zara, light leakage and other undesirable phenomena.

In order to solve the above-mentioned technical problems, an embodiment of the present invention provides a liquid crystal panel, including a first substrate and a second substrate arranged opposite to each other, the first substrate includes a spacer supporting area, and the spacer is an elastic material , the second substrate includes a spacer, the spacer is an elastic material, wherein the spacer supporting area is provided with a groove structure for supporting the spacer, and the groove bottom of the groove structure is provided with supporting columns;

The top of the spacer protrudes into the groove structure, and the part of the spacer corresponding to the area where the support column is located undergoes elastic compression deformation, so that the support column is embedded in the spacer.

In the above-mentioned liquid crystal panel, preferably, the height of the support columns is less than or equal to the groove depth of the groove structure.

As for the above-mentioned liquid crystal panel, preferably, the support column is located at the center of the bottom of the groove.

In the above liquid crystal panel, preferably, the first substrate is a thin film transistor array substrate;

The spacer supporting regions are located on the grid lines.

In the above-mentioned liquid crystal panel, preferably, the spacer supporting region includes a source-drain metal layer.

In the above-mentioned liquid crystal panel, preferably, the groove structure extends to the gate lines, and the support pillars include a source-drain metal layer.

In the above-mentioned liquid crystal panel, preferably, the spacer supporting region includes a source-drain metal layer and an active layer.

In the above-mentioned liquid crystal panel, preferably, the groove structure extends to the gate lines, and the support pillars include a source-drain metal layer and an active layer.

In the above-mentioned liquid crystal panel, preferably, the groove structure extends to the gate line, and the support pillar includes one of the source-drain metal layer and the active layer, but does not include the other.

An embodiment of the present invention also provides a display device, including the above-mentioned liquid crystal panel.

The beneficial effects of above-mentioned technical scheme of the present invention are as follows:

In the above technical solution, a groove structure is provided in the support area of the spacer of the liquid crystal panel, and a support column is provided at the bottom of the groove structure, and the part of the spacer corresponding to the area where the support column is located undergoes elastic compression deformation, so that the support column is embedded in the spacer, and is used to fix and support the spacer, so that the spacer is not easy to be shifted and dislocated. The top of the spacer protrudes into the groove structure, and when the panel is deformed, the spacer is also blocked by the groove wall of the groove structure, further ensuring that the spacer is not easy to be shifted and dislocated. Therefore, when being transported or subjected to external stress, the support column and the groove wall on the groove bottom of the groove structure act on the spacer at the same time, so that the displacement and dislocation will not occur, and the quality display quality of the product is improved. At the same time, the one-to-one correspondence structure between the spacer and the groove structure can also improve the alignment accuracy of the liquid crystal panel.

Description of drawings

In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention or the prior art, the following will briefly introduce the drawings that need to be used in the description of the embodiments or the prior art. Obviously, the accompanying drawings in the following description are only These are some embodiments of the present invention. For those skilled in the art, other drawings can also be obtained according to these drawings without any creative effort.

FIG. 1 shows a schematic structural diagram of a first substrate of a liquid crystal panel in an embodiment of the present invention;

Fig. 2 shows the structural schematic diagram 1 of the liquid crystal panel in the embodiment of the present invention;

Fig. 3 shows the partial plan view of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 shows the structural schematic diagram II of the first substrate of the liquid crystal panel in the embodiment of the present invention;

Fig. 5 shows the structural schematic diagram II of the liquid crystal panel in the embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 6 shows a schematic structural diagram III of the first substrate of the liquid crystal panel in the embodiment of the present invention;

Fig. 7 shows the structural schematic diagram III of the liquid crystal panel in the embodiment of the present invention;

detailed description

For a liquid crystal panel, its main structure is an array substrate and a color filter substrate arranged opposite to each other, and the cell thickness of the panel is supported by a spacer arranged between the array substrate and the color filter substrate. Wherein, the spacer is an elastic material, which can be arranged on the array substrate or the color filter substrate, and a spacer supporting area is provided on the other substrate, and the top of the spacer bears against the spacer supporting area. The disadvantage of this structure is that the panel is easily deformed when it is transported or subjected to external stress, which will cause the spacer to be shifted and dislocated, and undesirable phenomena such as zara and light leakage will occur.

In order to solve the above-mentioned technical problems, the present invention provides a liquid crystal panel, in which a groove structure for supporting spacers is arranged in the spacer supporting area of the liquid crystal panel, and a support column is arranged at the groove bottom of the groove structure, so that The part of the spacer corresponding to the area where the support column is located undergoes elastic compression deformation, so that the support column is embedded in the spacer, and is used to fix and support the spacer, so that the spacer is not easy to be shifted and dislocated. Moreover, the top of the spacer protrudes into the groove structure, and when the panel is deformed, the spacer is also blocked by the groove wall of the groove structure, which further ensures that the spacer is not easily displaced. Therefore, when being transported or subjected to external stress, the support column and the groove wall on the groove bottom of the groove structure act on the spacer at the same time, so that the displacement and dislocation will not occur, and the quality of the product and the display quality are improved. At the same time, the one-to-one correspondence structure between the spacer and the groove structure can also improve the alignment accuracy of the liquid crystal panel.

The specific implementation manner of the present invention will be further described in detail below with reference to the drawings and embodiments. The following examples are used to illustrate the present invention, but are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention.

An embodiment of the present invention provides a liquid crystal panel, which includes a first substrate and a second substrate arranged opposite to each other, the first substrate includes a spacer supporting area, the second substrate includes a spacer, and the spacer The padding is elastic material. The spacer supporting area is provided with a groove structure for supporting the spacer, and the groove bottom of the groove structure is provided with a support column. The top of the spacer protrudes into the groove structure, and the part of the spacer corresponding to the area where the support column is located undergoes elastic compression deformation, so that the support column is embedded in the spacer.

In the above technical solution, by setting the support column, the part of the spacer corresponding to the area where the support column is located undergoes elastic compression deformation, so that the support column is embedded in the spacer to fix and support the spacer, so that The spacer is not easy to be shifted and dislocated. At the same time, when the panel is deformed, the spacer will be blocked by the groove wall of the groove structure, which further ensures that the spacer is not easy to be shifted and dislocated, thereby ensuring the quality of the product and improving the display quality.

Wherein, the height of the support column is preferably less than or equal to the groove depth of the groove structure, so as to ensure that the top of the spacer can overcome the resistance of the support column and extend into the groove structure. Moreover, the cross-sectional area of the support column is very small, which is much smaller than that of the groove structure, so as to ensure that the groove structure can play a role of blocking spacers.

In practical application, the shape of the cross-section of the support column and the cross-section of the groove structure may be the same or different. For example: the cross-section of the groove structure is rectangular, and the cross-section of the supporting column is circular; or, the cross-section of the groove structure and the supporting column are both rectangular or circular.

Preferably, the support column is located at the center of the bottom of the groove, and this symmetrical structure makes the force balance of the spacer, the stability is higher, and the displacement and dislocation are not easy to occur.

The first substrate in the embodiment of the present invention is an array substrate, that is, the spacer supporting area is located on the array substrate of the liquid crystal panel, and the spacer is arranged on the color filter substrate.

Certainly, the first substrate may also be a color filter substrate, the spacer supporting area is located on the color filter substrate of the liquid crystal panel, and the spacers are arranged on the array substrate.

The technical solution of the present invention will be specifically described below by taking an array substrate in which the first substrate is a liquid crystal panel and a color filter substrate in which the second substrate is a liquid crystal panel as an example.

Wherein, the spacer supporting area is located on the array substrate, and the spacer is arranged on the color filter substrate.

FIG. 1 shows a schematic structural view of an array substrate in an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 shows a schematic structural view of a liquid crystal panel in an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 3 is a partial top view of FIG. 2 .

As shown in FIGS. 1-3 , the first substrate of the liquid crystal panel in the embodiment of the present invention is an array substrate, and the second substrate is a color filter substrate. The array substrate includes a spacer supporting area 300 , and the color filter substrate includes a spacer 11 .

Wherein, the spacer supporting area 300 is provided with a groove structure 1 for supporting the spacer 11, the groove bottom of the groove structure 1 is provided with a support column 12, and the part of the spacer 11 corresponding to the area where the support column 12 is located undergoes elastic compression deformation, so that the support column 12 is embedded in the spacer 11 for fixing and supporting the spacer 11 , so that the spacer 11 is not easy to be shifted and dislocated. The top of the spacer 11 protrudes into the groove structure 1 , and when the panel is deformed, the spacer 11 will be blocked by the groove wall of the groove structure 1 , so that the displacement and dislocation are not easy to occur.

Preferably, the spacer 11 is set in contact with the groove wall after a certain elastic compression deformation occurs under the force of the groove wall of the groove structure 1, so as to improve the effect of the groove wall blocking the displacement of the spacer 11 . In order to facilitate this purpose, the longitudinal section of the spacer 11 is generally set to be an inverted trapezoid with a large top and a small bottom, but it is not limited to this structure.

Further, when the first substrate is a thin film transistor array substrate, the first substrate includes a base substrate 100 , such as a transparent substrate such as a glass substrate or a quartz substrate. On the base substrate 100, gate lines 10 and data lines (not shown in the figure) distributed vertically and vertically, and a plurality of pixel units (not shown in the figure) defined by the gate lines 10 and data lines are formed, each Each pixel unit includes a thin film transistor (Thin Film Transistor, referred to as TFT). The TFT includes a gate electrode, a source electrode and a drain electrode, and a channel between the source electrode and the drain electrode. The gate line 10 and the gate electrode of the thin film transistor array substrate are formed by the same gate metal (such as: Cu, Al, Ag, Mo, Cr, Nd, Ni, Mn, Ti, Ta, W and other metals and alloys of these metals), the data The line, source electrode and drain electrode are formed of the same source and drain metal (such as: Cu, Al, Ag, Mo, Cr, Nd, Ni, Mn, Ti, Ta, W and other metals and alloys of these metals). The layer pattern is formed by a semiconductor layer (eg silicon semiconductor, metal oxide semiconductor).

Generally, the spacer supporting region 300 of the TFT array substrate is located on the gate line 10 . Specifically, the spacer supporting region 300 may include the source-drain metal layer 101 , and may also include the source-drain metal layer 101 and the active layer 102 at the same time.

In a specific embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 1-3 , the spacer supporting region 300 includes a source-drain metal layer 101 , and the groove structure 1 extends to the gate line 10 to expose the gate line 10 . The support pillar 12 also includes a source-drain metal layer 101 whose height is equal to the groove depth of the groove structure 1 .

Preferably, the source-drain metal layer 101 of the spacer supporting region 300 and the source electrode and drain electrode of the thin film transistor are formed by patterning the same source-drain metal layer, so that no additional manufacturing process is required to form the spacer supporting region 300 ,reduce manufacturing cost.

In another specific embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4 and FIG. 5, and FIG. , exposing the grid lines 10 . The support pillar 12 also includes a source-drain metal layer 101 and an active layer 102 . Its height is equal to the groove depth of the groove structure 1 .

Preferably, the source-drain metal layer 101 of the spacer supporting region 300 and the source electrode and drain electrode of the thin film transistor are formed by patterning the same source-drain metal layer, and the active layer 102 and the active layer pattern of the thin film transistor are formed by matching The patterning process of the same semiconductor layer is formed, so that there is no need to add an additional manufacturing process to form the spacer supporting region 300, thereby reducing the production cost. The specific formation process can be:

sequentially forming a semiconductor layer and a source-drain metal layer on the base substrate 100;

Coating photoresist on the source-drain metal layer, exposing the photoresist with a gray-tone or half-tone mask, forming a photoresist completely reserved area, a photoresist half-retained area and a photoresist after development The non-retained area, wherein, the photoresist completely reserved area corresponds to the spacer support area 300 and the support column 12, and the area where the source electrode and the drain electrode of the thin film transistor are located, and the photoresist semi-retained area corresponds to the source electrode and the drain electrode of the thin film transistor. In the region between the drain electrodes, the photoresist-free region at least corresponds to the region where the groove structure 1 is located;

Etching away the semiconductor layer and the source-drain metal layer in the region where the photoresist does not remain, forming the groove structure 1, and the pattern of the spacer support region 300, the support pillar 12, and the source electrode and drain electrode of the thin film transistor;

Removing the photoresist in the semi-retained area of the photoresist by an ashing process;

Etching away the source-drain metal layer in the half-retained area of the photoresist to form the active layer pattern of the thin film transistor;

The remaining photoresist is stripped to form the spacer supporting region 300, the supporting pillar 12, the source electrode and the drain electrode of the thin film transistor.

When the spacer support region 300 includes the source-drain metal layer 101 and the active layer 102 at the same time, it is also possible to set the support column 12 to include one of the source-drain metal layer 101 and the active layer 102, excluding the other, for example: support The pillar 12 includes a source-drain metal layer 101 , but does not include an active layer 102 , as shown in FIG. 6 and FIG. 7 . At this time, the height of the support column 12 is smaller than the groove depth of the groove structure 1 . The specific formation process can be:

forming a semiconductor layer on the base substrate 100;

Coating photoresist on the semiconductor layer, using a mask to expose the photoresist, forming a photoresist reserved area and a photoresist non-retained area after development, wherein the photoresist reserved area corresponds to the spacer The area where the support area 300 and the active layer pattern of the thin film transistor are located, and the area where the photoresist is not retained corresponds at least to the area where the groove structure 1 and the support pillar 12 are located;

Etching away the semiconductor layer in the region where the photoresist does not remain, forming a groove structure 1;

stripping the remaining photoresist, forming the active layer 102 of the spacer supporting region 300, and the active layer pattern of the thin film transistor;

forming a source-drain metal layer on the active layer;

Coat photoresist on the source-drain metal layer, use a mask to expose the photoresist, and form a photoresist reserved area and a photoresist non-retained area after development, wherein the photoresist reserved area corresponds to the barrier The pad support region 300 and the support pillar 12, as well as the region where the source electrode and the drain electrode of the thin film transistor are located, the photoresist-free region at least corresponds to the region where the groove structure 1 is located, and the region between the source electrode and the drain electrode;

Etching away the source-drain metal layer in the region where the photoresist does not remain, forming the groove structure 1, and the patterns of the spacer support region 300, the support pillar 12, and the source electrode and the drain electrode of the thin film transistor;

The remaining photoresist is stripped to form the spacer supporting region 300 and the supporting pillar 12, as well as the source electrode and the drain electrode of the thin film transistor.

Of course, the spacer supporting region 300 may also include other layers, such as a gate insulating layer, and the supporting pillar 12 may include a gate insulating layer, or may not include a gate insulating layer. Preferably, the height of the support column 12 is set to be less than or equal to the groove depth of the groove structure 1 .

An embodiment of the present invention also provides a display device, which includes the above-mentioned liquid crystal panel, since the spacers of the liquid crystal panel are less likely to be shifted and dislocated, thereby improving product quality and display quality.

For the structure of other parts of the display device, reference may be made to the prior art, which will not be described in detail herein.

The display device may be a product or component with any display function, such as a digital photo frame, a mobile phone, and a tablet computer.

In the technical solution of the present invention, the spacer supporting area of the liquid crystal panel is provided with a groove structure for supporting the spacer, the top of the spacer extends into the groove structure, and a groove structure is arranged at the bottom of the groove structure. There is a support column, and the part of the spacer corresponding to the area where the support column is located undergoes elastic compression deformation, so that the support column is embedded in the spacer, and is used to fix and support the spacer, so that the spacer is not easy to occur Misalignment. Moreover, after the panel is deformed, the spacer is also blocked by the groove wall of the groove structure, which further ensures that the spacer is not easy to be shifted and dislocated. Therefore, when being transported or subjected to external stress, the support column and the groove wall on the groove bottom of the groove structure act on the spacer at the same time, so that it will not be shifted and dislocated, and the display quality will be improved. At the same time, the one-to-one correspondence between the spacer and the groove structure can also improve the alignment accuracy of the two substrates of the liquid crystal panel.

The above is only a preferred embodiment of the present invention, it should be pointed out that for those of ordinary skill in the art, without departing from the technical principle of the present invention, some improvements and replacements can also be made, these improvements and replacements It should also be regarded as the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims (10)

1. A liquid crystal panel, comprising a first substrate and a second substrate arranged in a box, the first substrate includes a spacer supporting area, and the second substrate includes a spacer, and the spacer is an elastic material , characterized in that, the spacer supporting area is provided with a groove structure for supporting the spacer, and the groove bottom of the groove structure is provided with a support column; The top of the spacer protrudes into the groove structure, and the part of the spacer corresponding to the area where the support column is located undergoes elastic compression deformation, so that the support column is embedded in the spacer. 2. The liquid crystal panel according to claim 1, wherein the height of the supporting columns is less than or equal to the groove depth of the groove structure. 3. The liquid crystal panel according to claim 1, wherein the support column is located at the center of the groove bottom. 4. The liquid crystal panel according to any one of claims 1-3, wherein the first substrate is a thin film transistor array substrate; The spacer supporting regions are located on the grid lines. 5. The liquid crystal panel according to claim 4, wherein the spacer supporting region comprises a source-drain metal layer. 6 . The liquid crystal panel according to claim 5 , wherein the groove structure extends to the gate line, and the support pillars comprise a source-drain metal layer. 7. The liquid crystal panel according to claim 4, wherein the spacer supporting region comprises a source-drain metal layer and an active layer. 8 . The liquid crystal panel according to claim 7 , wherein the groove structure extends to the gate line, and the support pillars include a source-drain metal layer and an active layer. 9 . The liquid crystal panel according to claim 7 , wherein the groove structure extends to the gate line, and the supporting column includes one of the source-drain metal layer and the active layer, but does not include the other. 10. A display device, comprising the liquid crystal panel according to any one of claims 1-9.