JP2004069774A - Large-area panel using organic el panel - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To solve a problem that it is difficult to constitute one panel as a large-area lighting or display device since light emission unevenness is caused by a difference between potentials applied to the anode and cathode of an organic EL panel because of a problem that as the organic EL panel has large area, the sheet resistance value of a transparent electrode of ITO etc is high. <P>SOLUTION: The large-area panel is constituted by using an organic EL panel formed on a rectangular glass substrate having the same area and mounting a plurality of organic EL panels on one substrate. Each organic EL panel is provided with a cathode-side electron introduction pin and an anode-side intermediate tap terminal pin for applying a voltage to an anode-side current introduction terminal through a current control element, and cathode/anode terminal pins of the respective organic EL panels can be connected to connectors as receptacles for the terminal pins which are previously provided on the one substrate. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
According to the present invention, a plurality of organic EL (electroluminescence) panels are prepared in advance, mounted on a single substrate so as to face terminal pins provided on the opposite side of the light-emitting panel surface, and mounted on a connector on the substrate. The present invention relates to a large-area display or illumination light-emitting panel which is fixed and connected to a power supply terminal of the organic EL panel.
[0002]
[Prior art]
With respect to EL (electroluminescence) elements, much research has been carried out for a long time, and various EL elements have been developed to the present.
[0003]
FIG. 4 shows an example of the structure of a conventional organic EL panel. FIG. 4A shows a plan view and an equivalent circuit thereof, and FIG. 4B shows a zz sectional view of FIG.
[0004]
Here, in the organic EL panel 100, a conductive transparent electrode (generally, ITO) is formed on a glass substrate 111. This transparent electrode becomes the anode layer 112.
[0005]
An EL element layer 114 is formed on the anode layer 112, and a cathode layer 113 such as a metal film is formed thereon.
[0006]
The EL element layer 114 includes a hole transport layer 114-1, a light emitting layer 114-2, an electron transport layer 114-3, an electron injection layer 114-4, and the like as shown in the drawing.
[0007]
When a DC power supply is connected between the anode terminal 100a and the cathode terminal 100b and current is injected, the EL element 114 emits light.
[0008]
The emitted light passes through the anode layer 112 of the transparent electrode, passes through the glass substrate 111, and radiates to the outside.
[0009]
Here, reference numeral 101 denotes a transparent substrate (made of resin or the like) for protecting the glass substrate 111. However, if the area is small, only the glass substrate 111 may be used.
[0010]
Here, when the conventional organic EL panel 100 as described above has a large-area panel structure, the following problems occur.
[0011]
That is, when the organic EL panel is made large in size for illumination, the anode layer 112 (ITO) serving as a transparent electrode generally has a high sheet resistance. Therefore, the voltage drop due to the sheet resistance of the ITO increases as the distance from the anode terminal 100a increases. As a result, the potential difference between the anode and the cathode decreases, and the current flowing between them decreases. Therefore, the intensity of light emission differs between a position near the anode terminal 100a and a position far from the anode terminal 100a, and uneven light quantity occurs.
[0012]
In other words, it has been found that a large-area lighting panel having no light quantity unevenness cannot be obtained by increasing the area of one organic EL panel.
[0013]
Therefore, a structure is conceivable in which one organic EL panel has a large area by using a plurality of organic EL panels each having an area that does not cause unevenness in the amount of light in the panel to be arranged in a plurality of rows and a plurality of columns. .
[0014]
However, in the above case, when manufacturing each organic EL panel, there are many conditions related to the light emitting mechanism in various manufacturing steps of the layer for forming the EL element 114, and a plurality of organic EL panels are usually manufactured with a constant light amount. It was difficult to do. That is, in a large-area panel structure formed from a plurality of sheets, the light quantity unevenness usually occurs in each panel.
[0015]
On the other hand, an EL panel capable of displaying characters and image patterns must be divided into cells in a matrix and wired for a selection circuit, but its manufacture is difficult. In addition, when a defective cell was generated even at one location, the character was missing, and the cell was unusable despite the other cells being good.
[0016]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
The present invention has been made in order to solve the above-mentioned problems, and an object of the present invention is to mount a plurality of organic EL panels on a single substrate, to have a large area and no unevenness in light quantity. To provide a panel.
[0017]
Accordingly, an object is to display a character or a pattern image on a large-area lighting device having no light amount unevenness or a large electric bulletin board.
[0018]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, a large-area panel using the organic EL panel of the present invention includes a plurality of organic EL (electro-luminescence) panels formed on a glass substrate having the same area on a single substrate. A plurality of terminals provided on the opposite side of the radiation surface of the glass substrate are arranged and mounted in m rows and n columns (m and n are each an integer of 1 or more) with the terminal connector provided on the substrate. A panel having an area of m × n times the fixed organic EL panel,
The organic EL panel includes an anode layer formed of a transparent conductive layer on the glass substrate, an EL light emitting layer formed on the anode layer, and a cathode formed of a metal layer thereon. Constituting a light-emitting panel by a layer, a cathode terminal at one end in contact with the cathode layer, and an anode terminal at one end in contact with the anode layer,
The organic EL panel emits light by applying a DC potential between the cathode terminal and the anode terminal.
[0019]
The organic EL panel further includes an anode-side intermediate tap terminal at one end on the glass substrate, and a current limiting element between the intermediate tap terminal and the anode terminal.
The positive side of the DC potential is applied to the anode terminal through the current limiting element via the intermediate tap terminal,
A current limiting element having a resistance value adjusted so that each light emission amount of the organic EL panel becomes a predetermined value can be connected to each organic EL panel.
[0020]
The EL element layer between the anode layer and the cathode layer of the organic EL panel includes at least one of a hole injection layer, a hole transport layer, a light emitting layer, an electron transport layer, and an electron injection layer in order from the anode layer side. It is characterized by the following.
[0021]
Further, an anode side and a cathode side power supply terminal on the substrate,
An anode-side wiring circuit for connecting the anode-side power terminal and the anode-side intermediate tap terminal of each organic EL panel all;
A cathode-side wiring circuit for connecting the cathode-side power supply terminal and the cathode terminal of each organic EL panel together;
When a DC potential is applied between the power supply terminals, a large-area lighting panel in which all the organic EL panels emit light simultaneously is characterized.
[0022]
Further, the substrate is a cathode-side wiring circuit and an anode-side wiring circuit which are pre-wired so that the cathode-side wiring and the anode-side wiring do not cross each other on the one substrate on the same surface side. I do.
[0023]
Further, an anode side and a cathode side power supply terminal at one end of the substrate,
A row direction switching circuit having m row switching destination terminals connected to the anode side power supply terminal;
M row connection wirings connected to the row switching destination terminal and all of the n organic EL panels in the row,
A row switching signal input terminal for controlling the row switching,
A column direction switching circuit having n column switching destination terminals connected to the cathode side power supply terminal;
N column connection wirings connected to the column switching destination terminal and all of the m organic EL panels in the column;
A column switching signal input terminal for controlling the column switching,
When a DC potential is applied between the power supply terminals and a switching signal for selecting a row and a column is input, only the organic EL panel where the row and column intersect is selectively lit to display a predetermined character or pattern. It is characterized in that it becomes an electronic display panel having an area.
[0024]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.
[0025]
FIG. 1 shows the structure of a large-area panel using the organic EL panel 10 of the present invention.
[0026]
In this embodiment, wiring is performed so that a power input is simultaneously supplied to a plurality of all organic EL panels 10 mounted on the panel mounting substrate 1 to form a large-area lighting device.
[0027]
FIG. 1A is a plan view, in which organic EL panels 10 formed on a glass substrate 11 (not shown) having the same rectangular area are arranged in m rows and n columns on a panel mounting substrate 1. Shows the state of being mounted and fixed. (M and n are integers of 1 or more)
[0028]
Here, (m, n) indicates the panel 10 in the m-th row and the n-th column.
FIG. 1B is a cross-sectional view taken along line xx of the plan view of FIG. Here, 1x and 1y denote an anode-side connector and a cathode-side connector, respectively, and are receptacles for terminal pins of the organic EL panel 10.
[0029]
The terminal pins of the organic EL panel 10 are shown in FIG. 2, and details thereof will be described later. Reference numeral 10b denotes a cathode terminal pin, and reference numeral 10p denotes an anode-side intermediate tap terminal pin.
[0030]
The panel mounting substrate 1 includes power supply terminals 1a and 1b for inputting DC power at one end. The substrate 1 may be made of a resin such as a plastic capable of forming a wiring circuit. The area may be approximately the same as the area of m × n times the area of the glass substrate 11 of the panel 10.
[0031]
The power supply terminals 1a and 1b are provided on the outer peripheral edge of the substrate 1, respectively, and are connected to the anode side connector 1x serving as a receptacle for the terminal pin 10p of each organic EL panel 10 on the same surface substrate 1 from each of the terminals. A circuit A and a wiring circuit B for connection to a cathode-side connector 1y serving as a receiving port of the terminal 10b are provided on the substrate 1 in advance.
[0032]
As shown in FIG. 1A, when the terminal pins 10p and 10b are set on the connectors 1x and 1y of the all organic EL panel 10 respectively, the connection wiring circuit A is connected to all the terminals 10p of the panel 10 as shown in FIG. , And the connection wiring circuit B is connected to all the terminals 10 b of the panel 10.
[0033]
Accordingly, when the terminal pins are set in the connector receptacles of each panel 10, a direct current + potential is applied to the anode terminal 10a from the anode side intermediate tap terminal 10p through the soldered current limiting element 10r, respectively. Reference numeral 10 denotes a wiring state in which a DC-potential is applied to each cathode terminal 10b.
[0034]
Therefore, when the DC power supply is connected to the terminals 1a and 1b, all the panels 10 emit light.
[0035]
When actually using the current limiting element 10r as a large-area lighting device, the resistance value of the current limiting element 10r is adjusted in advance so that the amount of light emitted from each panel 10 becomes a predetermined value. Therefore, the lighting device has a large area and emits light uniformly.
[0036]
FIG. 2 shows details of the structure of the organic EL panel 10. FIG. 2A shows a plan view and an equivalent circuit thereof.
[0037]
The dimensions of the organic EL panel 10 are, for example, 100 mm square unit cells.
[0038]
FIG. 2B is an xx sectional view of FIG. 2A passing through the anode-side intermediate tap terminal pin 10p and the cathode terminal pin 10b.
[0039]
FIG. 2C is a yy cross-sectional view passing through the anode (ITO) terminal 10a and parallel to xx in FIG.
[0040]
(A) As shown in (c), the terminal 10a is formed at one end of the anode layer 12 (ITO), and as shown in (a) and (b), the terminal 1 pin 10p is directly on the glass substrate 11. The terminal pins 10 b are formed on the cathode layer 13.
[0041]
Returning to FIG. 1, if a DC power supply is connected between the power supply terminals 1a and 1b, the following is achieved.
[0042]
A current limiting element whose resistance value is adjusted in advance such that the + potential side of the 1a terminal passes through the intermediate tap terminal pin 10p of each panel 10 and the light emission amount of each panel 10 becomes a predetermined current value. A voltage is applied to the anode layer 12 by the terminal 10a via 10r.
[0043]
On the other hand, one potential side of the 1b terminal is applied to the cathode layer 13 by the terminal pins 10b of each panel 10. Therefore, a current in which the light emission amount becomes a predetermined value flows through the EL element 14, and a large area of m × n times the area of the panel 10 emits light uniformly.
[0044]
That is, the large-area panel structure shown in FIG. 1 provides a large-area lighting device having no light emission unevenness.
[0045]
Next, another embodiment of the large area panel structure using the organic EL panel 10 of FIG. 3 will be described.
[0046]
This panel structure shows a case of a matrix wiring panel structure in which each organic EL panel 10 can be used as a unit cell to selectively illuminate each cell 10. In this case, a large area display device capable of displaying a character / pattern image in a large area is provided.
[0047]
Here, the panel mounting substrate 1 mounts m × n organic EL panels 10 in m rows and n columns.
[0048]
Here, 1a, 1b, 1x, 1y, 10a, 10b, 10p, 10r, (m, n) have the same structure as the same reference numerals in FIGS.
[0049]
X and Y are a column direction switching circuit and a row direction switching circuit of the panel 10, respectively.
[0050]
The column direction switching circuit X has a cathode terminal xb connected to the power supply terminal 1b, a column switching signal input terminal xs, and n column selection terminals.
[0051]
On the other hand, the row direction switching circuit Y has an anode terminal ya connected to the power supply terminal 1a, a row switching signal input terminal ys, and m row selection terminals. Here, the n column selection wiring circuits are formed on the panel mounting substrate 1 in advance. On the other hand, the m row selection wiring circuits are formed beforehand insulated from the column selection wiring circuits formed in advance on the panel mounting substrate 1. 3 indicate through holes, and the row selection wiring lines are connected to the connectors 1x of the panel 10 via the through holes.
[0052]
Various methods for displaying characters or pattern images are publicly disclosed, and are, for example, as follows.
[0053]
First, a scan selection signal for the first column is sent, and an ON / OFF (or 1, 0) data signal is sent to each of the n terminals in the column direction, selectively output, and turned ON in the first row. Make the column emit light. Next, a scan selection signal is sent to the second row, and n ON / OFF data signals in the next column direction are sent. If the first to m-th rows of the above operation are repeated at a predetermined cycle, a character string or a pattern image is displayed on the large screen.
[0054]
The large-area panel structure using the organic EL panel 10 as described above has the following effects that have not been considered conventionally.
[0055]
That is, when one of the organic EL panels 10 is turned off or the amount of emitted light is reduced while using the large-area panel structure, the panel 10 can be easily replaced with a new panel 10. That is, the terminal pins 10p and 10b of the defective panel 10 may be pulled out from the connectors 1x and 1y, and the terminal pins 10p and 10b of the non-defective panel 10 may be set to the connectors 1x and 1y.
[0056]
If one of the panels 10 has a slight change in the amount of emitted light, the adjustment may be made only by replacing the current control element 10r.
[0057]
【The invention's effect】
The large-area panel using the organic EL panel of the present invention has the following effects.
[0058]
That is, by mounting a plurality of organic EL panels with anode and cathode terminals on a single substrate, it is possible to provide a lighting device having a larger area and less emission unevenness than before.
[0059]
In addition, an organic EL panel is mounted on a single substrate, and an anode terminal and a cathode terminal of each panel are connected in a matrix form, and a device for displaying a character or pattern image in a large area according to a selection signal of each panel is provided. Can be provided.
[0060]
Further, in the above-described large-area lighting / display panel structure, it is easy to replace only the non-lighted or light-attenuation panel in the organic EL panel used therein. Its maintainability is better than that of a display device.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a structure (1) of a large-area panel using an organic EL panel of the present invention, wherein (a) is a plan view and (b) is a cross-sectional view taken along line xx of (a). (In the case of the lighting device embodiment)
2 (a) is a plan view, FIG. 2 (b) is an xx sectional view of (a), and FIG. 2 (c) is a yy sectional view of (a) in the structure of the organic EL panel of the present invention. .
FIG. 3 is a plan view of a large-area panel structure (2) using the organic EL panel of the present invention. (In the case of the display device embodiment)
4 (a) is a plan view, and FIG. 4 (b) is a zz sectional view of FIG. 4 (a), showing a structure of a conventional organic EL panel.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Panel mounting board 1a, 1b Power supply terminal 10 Organic EL panel 10a Anode terminal 10b Cathode terminal pin 10r Current limiting element 10p Anode side intermediate tap terminal pin 11 Glass substrate 12 Anode layer (ITO)
13 Cathode Layer 14 EL Element 14-1 Hole Transport Layer 14-2 Light Emitting Layer 14-3 Electron Transport Layer 14-4 Electron Injection Layer A Wiring Circuit with Terminal 10p B Wiring Circuit with Terminal 10b X Column Direction Switching Circuit XS Column Switching signal Y Row direction switching circuit YS Row switching signal

Claims (6)

A plurality of organic EL (electroluminescence) panels formed on a glass substrate having the same area are placed on a single substrate, and a plurality of terminals provided on the opposite side of the light emitting surface of the glass substrate are opposed to each other. An organic EL panel arranged and mounted in row n columns (m and n are each an integer of 1 or more) and fixed by the terminal connector provided on the substrate,
The organic EL panel includes an anode layer formed of a transparent conductive layer on the glass substrate, an EL light emitting layer formed on the anode layer, and a cathode formed of a metal layer thereon. An organic EL panel by the layer, a cathode terminal at one end contacting the cathode layer, and an anode terminal at one end contacting the anode layer,
A large-area panel using an organic EL panel, wherein the organic EL panel emits light by applying a DC potential between the cathode terminal and the anode terminal. The organic EL panel further includes an anode-side intermediate tap terminal provided at one end on the glass substrate, and a current limiting element provided between the intermediate tap terminal and the anode terminal.
The positive side of the DC potential is applied to the anode terminal through the current limiting element via the intermediate tap terminal,
2. A large area panel using an organic EL panel according to claim 1, wherein a current limiting element having a resistance value adjusted so that each light emission amount of the organic EL panel becomes a predetermined value can be connected to each organic EL panel. . The EL element layer between the anode layer and the cathode layer of the organic EL panel includes at least one of a hole injection layer, a hole transport layer, a light-emitting layer, an electron transport layer, and an electron injection layer in order from the anode layer side. A large-area panel using the organic EL panel according to claim 1. A power terminal on the anode side and the cathode side on the substrate,
An anode-side wiring circuit for connecting the anode-side power terminal and the anode-side intermediate tap terminal of each organic EL panel all;
A cathode-side wiring circuit for connecting the cathode-side power supply terminal and the cathode terminal of each organic EL panel together;
4. A large-area panel using an organic EL panel according to claim 2, wherein all organic EL panels become a large-area lighting panel that emits light simultaneously when a DC potential is applied between the power supply terminals. The substrate, wherein the cathode side wiring and the anode side wiring are a cathode side wiring circuit and an anode side wiring circuit which are respectively wired in advance so as not to cross on the one substrate on the same surface side. A large-area panel using the organic EL panel according to item 4. An anode side and a cathode side power supply terminal at one end of the substrate,
A row direction switching circuit having m row switching destination terminals connected to the anode side power supply terminal;
M row connection wirings connected to the row switching destination terminal and all of the n organic EL panels in the row,
A row switching signal input terminal for controlling the row switching,
A column direction switching circuit having n column switching destination terminals connected to the cathode side power supply terminal;
N column connection wirings connected to the column switching destination terminal and all of the m organic EL panels in the column;
A column switching signal input terminal for controlling the column switching,
When a DC potential is applied between the power supply terminals and a switching signal for selecting a row and a column is input, only the organic EL panel where the row and column intersect is selectively lit to display a predetermined character or pattern. The large-area panel using the organic EL panel according to claim 2, wherein the large-area panel is an electroluminescent display panel having an area.

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