Patent Publication Number: US-2016223879-A1

Title: Color display apparatus and manufacturing method thereof

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to a display apparatus, and more particularly to a color display apparatus and a manufacturing method thereof. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     With advancement of flat screen display technology, diverse flat screen apparatuses have become available in the market for meeting different needs of consumers. Electrophoretic display apparatuses save energy, and are light weight and slim. Consequently, electrophoretic display apparatuses are becoming ever more popular. Early electrophoretic display apparatuses can only display black-and-white images. In order to use electrophoretic display apparatuses to display color images, conventional techniques dispose color filters at electrophoretic displays. 
       FIG. 1  is a schematic diagram of a conventional color electrophoretic display apparatus. Referring to  FIG. 1 , a conventional electrophoretic display apparatus  100  includes an array substrate  110 , a front plane laminate  120 , a color filter substrate  130  and an enclosed adhesive layer  140 . The front plane laminate  120  is arranged on the array substrate  110  and includes an electrophoretic display layer (not shown). The array substrate  110  drives the electrophoretic display layer to display images. Additionally, in order to achieve the object of display color images, the color filter substrate  130  is jointed to the array substrate  110  through the enclosed adhesive layer  140  in the conventional techniques. 
     The conventional color filter substrate  130  includes a thin glass panel  132 , a plurality of color filter patterns  134  arranged at the thin glass panel  132 , and a carrier panel  136  for carrying the thin glass panel  132 . The thin glass panel  132  is thin and therefore difficult to manufacture, so the carrier panel  136  is used during manufacture of the thin glass panel  132 . After the color filter substrate  130  is jointed to the array substrate  110  through the enclosed adhesive layer  140 , the carrier panel  136  is removed. 
     However, the enclosed adhesive layer  140  is liquid prior to curing and is prone to leaking out and contacting the sides of the carrier panel  136  and the thin glass panel  132 , resulting in attachment between and difficulty in separating the carrier panel  136  and the thin glass panel  132 . Consequently, the manufacture efficiency of a conventional color electrophoretic display apparatus  100  is compromised. Additionally, given that a conventional electrophoretic display apparatus  100  displays images by reflecting ambient light, and that some of the ambient light is reflected by the thin glass panel  132  and does not reach the front plane laminate  120 , the optical efficiency of the electrophoretic display apparatus  100  is compromised. Moreover, reflection by the thin glass panel  132  affects the quality of display. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     One object of the present disclosure is to provide a color display apparatus which is easy to manufacture. 
     Another object of the present disclosure is to provide a method of manufacturing a color display apparatus, for increasing manufacturing efficiency of a color display apparatus. 
     The present disclosure provides a color display apparatus, which includes a black-and-white display module and a color filter layer. The color filter layer is disposed on the black-and-white display module. The color filter layer includes a translucent base and a plurality of color filter patterns. The translucent base is disposed on the black-and-white display module. The color filter patterns are embedded in the translucent base. A first face of each of the color filter patterns distal from the black-and-white display module is exposed at a second face of the translucent base distal from the black-and-white display module. The first faces of the color filter patterns and the second face of the translucent base are in contact with a dielectric gas. 
     In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the material of the translucent base includes optically clear resin. 
     The present disclosure further provides a color display apparatus, which includes a black-and-white display module, a color filter layer and a protective layer. The color filter layer is disposed on the black-and-white display module. The color filter layer includes a translucent base and a plurality of color filter patterns. The translucent base is disposed on the black-and-white display module. The color filter patterns are embedded in the translucent base. A first face of each of the color filter patterns distal from the black-and-white display module is exposed at a second face of the translucent base distal from the black-and-white display module. The protective layer has a bottom face directly contacting and covering the first faces of the color filter patterns and the second face of the translucent base. The protective layer is a clear adhesive layer or an optical film. 
     In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the material of the translucent base includes optically clear resin, and the material of the clear adhesive layer includes optically clear resin or optically clear adhesive. 
     In an embodiment of the present disclosure, if the protective layer is a clear adhesive layer, the color display apparatus further includes a glass panel attached to the clear adhesive layer. A thickness of the glass panel is less than 400 micrometers. 
     In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the optical film includes anti-reflective film or anti-glare film. 
     The present disclosure still further provides a method of manufacturing a color display apparatus including steps of: forming a plurality of color filter patterns on a substrate; coating the substrate with a liquid adhesive to cover the color filter patterns; attaching the substrate, through the liquid adhesive, onto a black-and-white display module; curing the liquid adhesive, wherein the liquid adhesive forms a translucent base; and removing the substrate. 
     In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the liquid adhesive includes optically clear resin. 
     In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the method of manufacturing a color display apparatus further includes steps of: disposing a clear adhesive layer on the translucent base; and attaching a glass panel onto the clear adhesive layer, wherein a thickness of the glass panel is less than 400 micrometers. A thickness of the glass panel is less than 400 micrometers. 
     In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the method of manufacturing a color display apparatus further includes a step of: disposing an optical film on the translucent base. 
     Different from structures of conventional color filter substrates, in the color display apparatus and the method of manufacturing the same of the present disclosure, the color filter patterns are directly embedded in the translucent base arranged on the black-and-white display module, and no thin glass panels or carrier panels are required. Therefore, the problem of attachment between the thin glass panel and the carrier panel present in conventional techniques is solved by the present disclosure, thereby increasing the manufacturing efficiency of the color display apparatus. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The present invention will become more readily apparent to those ordinarily skilled in the art after reviewing the following detailed description and accompanying drawings, in which: 
         FIG. 1  shows a schematic diagram of a conventional color electrophoretic display apparatus; 
         FIG. 2  shows a schematic diagram of a color display apparatus according to an embodiment of the present disclosure; 
         FIG. 3A  to  FIG. 3D  show a color display apparatus throughout a manufacturing process according to an embodiment of the present disclosure; 
         FIG. 4  shows a schematic diagram of a color display apparatus according to another embodiment of the present disclosure; 
         FIG. 5  shows a schematic diagram of a color display apparatus according to still another embodiment of the present disclosure; 
         FIG. 6A  to  FIG. 6C  show a color display apparatus throughout a manufacturing process according to another embodiment of the present disclosure; and 
         FIG. 7  shows a schematic diagram of a color display apparatus according to another embodiment. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     The present invention will now be described more specifically with reference to the following embodiments. It is to be noted that the following descriptions of preferred embodiments of this invention are presented herein for purpose of illustration and description only. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to be limited to the precise form disclosed. 
       FIG. 2  shows a schematic diagram of a color display apparatus according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Referring to  FIG. 2 , a color display apparatus  200  in the present embodiment includes a black-and-white display module  210  and a color filter layer  220 . The color filter layer  220  is disposed on the black-and-white display module  210 . The color filter layer  220  includes a translucent base  221  and a plurality of color filter patterns  222 . The translucent base  221  is disposed on the black-and-white display module  210 . The color filter patterns  222  are embedded in the translucent base  221 . Each of the color filter patterns  222  has a first face  223  distal from the black-and-white display module  210 . The translucent base  221  has a second face  224  distal from the black-and-white display module  210 . Each of the first faces  223  of the color filter patterns  222  is exposed at the second face  224  of the translucent base  221 . The first faces  223  of the color filter patterns  222  and the second face  224  of the translucent base  221  are in contact with a dielectric gas. In other words, the first faces  223  of the color filter patterns  222  and the second face  224  of the translucent substrate  221  are not covered by other film layer. 
     In the present embodiment, the black-and-white display module  210  is for example an electrophoretic display module, including an array substrate  211  and a front plane laminate  212 . The front plane laminate  212  is arranged on the array substrate  211 , and the array substrate  211  is configured to drive the electrophoretic display layer in the front plane laminate  212  to display images. However, the present disclosure does not limit the type of the black-and-white display module  210 . For example, the black-and-white display module can also be a liquid crystal display module, an electrowetting display module, a liquid powder display module, etc. 
     The translucent base  221  in the present embodiment is for example cured liquid adhesive. The material of the translucent base  221  can be an optically clear resin. The color filter patterns  222  can be embedded into the liquid adhesive (e.g. optically clear resin) through transfer printing. When the liquid adhesive adhered on the black-and-white display module  210  is cured and becomes the translucent base  221 , the color filter patterns  222  become fixed over the black-and-white display module  210  for adding color to images displayed by the black-and-white display module  210 . The color filter pattern  222  can include red filters  222 R, green filters  222 G, blue filters  222 B, etc. In another embodiment, the color filter patterns  222  can include yellow filters, cyan filters, and magenta filters. The following, in conjunction with the figures, describes a method of manufacturing the abovementioned color display apparatus  200 . 
       FIG. 3A  to  FIG. 3D  show a color display apparatus throughout a manufacturing process according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Referring to  FIG. 3A , according to the method of manufacturing a color display apparatus of the present embodiment, for example, a plurality of color filter patterns  222  are formed on a substrate  300 . In the present embodiment, the method of forming the color filter patterns  222  is for example printing, but is not limited thereto. 
     Next, as shown in  FIG. 3B , liquid adhesive  221   a  is coated on the substrate  300  to cover the color filter patterns  222 . The liquid adhesive  221   a  in the present embodiment is for example an optically clear resin. The material of the liquid adhesive  221   a  can also be other transparent liquid adhesives. 
     Then, as shown in  FIG. 3C , the substrate  300  is attached to the black-and-white display module  210  through the liquid adhesive  221   a . In the present embodiment, when the substrate  300  is attached to the black-and-white display module  210 , the substrate  300  and the black-and-white display module  210  need to be aligned, such that the color filter patterns  222  align with pixels (not shown) on the black-and-white display module  210 . 
     Then, as shown in  FIG. 3D , the liquid adhesive  221   a  is cured and becomes the translucent base  221  shown in  FIG. 2 . The method of curing the liquid adhesive  221   a  can be determined according to the type of the liquid adhesive  221   a . For example, when the liquid adhesive  221   a  is an ultraviolet light curing adhesive, ultraviolet light L can be directed at the liquid adhesive  221   a  to cure the liquid adhesive  221   a  and form the translucent base  221  in  FIG. 2 . In other embodiments, the liquid adhesive can be adhesives curable by other types of light or heat. The present disclosure does not limit the type of the liquid adhesive. 
     Then, the substrate  300  is removed to form the color display apparatus  200  of  FIG. 2 . Of particular note, when a surface  302  of the substrate  300  for carrying the color filter patterns  222  (as shown in  FIG. 3D ) is planar, the first faces  223  of the color filter patterns  222  and the second face  224  of the translucent base  221  in  FIG. 2  are coplanar. 
     Regarding the color display apparatus  200  and the method of manufacturing the same according to the present embodiment, the color filter patterns  222  are embedded in the translucent base  221  and carried by the translucent base  221  attached to the black-and-white display module  210 , therefore the thin glass panel used in conventional techniques for carrying the color filter patterns  222  can be omitted. Consequently, the problem of attachment between the thin glass panel and the carrier panel used for carrying the thin glass panel present in conventional techniques is solved by the present disclosure, thereby increasing the manufacturing efficiency of the color display apparatus  200 . Additionally, as opposed to conventional techniques, the color filter patterns  222  of the present disclosure are not covered by a thin glass panel, avoiding partial reflection of the ambient light by the thin glass panel, thereby increasing the optical efficiency and image display quality of the color display apparatus  200 . 
       FIG. 4  shows a schematic diagram of a color display apparatus according to another embodiment of the present disclosure. Referring to  FIG. 4 , the color display apparatus  200   a  in the present embodiment is similar to the abovementioned color display apparatus  200 . A difference lies in that the color display apparatus  200   a  further includes a protective layer  230  arranged on the translucent base  221 . The protective layer  230  has a bottom face  231  facing the translucent base  221 , and the bottom face  231  directly contacts and covers the first faces  223  of the color filter patterns  222  and the second face  224  of the translucent base  221 . Additionally, the protective layer  230  in the present embodiment is for example an optical film such as an anti-reflective film or an anti-glare film, etc., but is not limited thereto. Arrangement of the optical film improves the optical efficiency and/or the image display quality of the color display apparatus  200   a.    
     The method of manufacturing the color display apparatus  200   a  is similar to the method of manufacturing the abovementioned color display apparatus  200 , with the difference lying in that after forming the abovementioned color display apparatus  200 , an optical film is disposed on the translucent base  221  to serve as the protective layer  230 . 
       FIG. 5  shows a schematic diagram of a color display apparatus according to still another embodiment of the present disclosure. Referring to  FIG. 5 , the color display apparatus  200   b  in the present embodiment is similar to the abovementioned color display apparatus  200 , with the difference lying in that the color display apparatus  200   b  further includes a clear adhesive layer  240  arranged on the translucent base  221 . The clear adhesive layer  240  can serve as a protective layer having a bottom face  241  facing the translucent base  221 , and the bottom face  241  directly contacts and covers the first faces  223  of the color filter patterns  222  and the second face  224  of the translucent base  221 . The material of the clear adhesive layer  240  in the present embodiment is optically clear resin. Additionally, the color display apparatus  200   b  can further include a glass panel  250  attached on the clear adhesive layer  240 . A thickness of the glass panel  250  is for example less than 400 micrometers. In other embodiments, the glass panel  250  can be replaced by other panels, such as a plastic panel, etc. 
       FIG. 6A  to  FIG. 6C  show a color display apparatus throughout a manufacturing process according to another embodiment of the present disclosure. Referring to  FIG. 6A , the method of manufacturing the color display apparatus  200   b  of  FIG. 5  is similar to the method of manufacturing the abovementioned color display apparatus  200 , with the difference lying in that after forming the abovementioned color display apparatus  200 , a layer of liquid adhesive  240   a  is coated on the translucent base  221 . The liquid adhesive  240   a  is for example an optically clear resin. 
     Next, as shown in  FIG. 6B , the glass panel  250  is disposed on the liquid adhesive  240   a.    
     Then, as shown in  FIG. 6C , the liquid adhesive  240   a  is cured to form the clear adhesive layer  240  as shown in  FIG. 5 , and the glass panel  250  is fixed over the black-and-white display module  210  through the clear adhesive layer  240 , thereby forming the color display apparatus  200   b  of  FIG. 5 . The method of curing the liquid adhesive  240   a  can be determined according to the type of the liquid adhesive  240   a . For example, when the liquid adhesive  240   a  is a ultraviolet light curing adhesive, ultraviolet light L can be directed at the liquid adhesive  240   a  to cure the liquid adhesive  240   a  and form the clear adhesive layer  240 . In other embodiments, the liquid adhesive can be adhesives curable by other types of light or heat. The present disclosure does not limit the type of the liquid adhesive. 
       FIG. 7  shows a schematic diagram of a color display apparatus according to yet another embodiment. Referring to  FIG. 7 , the color display apparatus  200   c  in the present embodiment is similar to the abovementioned color display apparatus  200   b , with the difference lying in that the type of clear adhesive layer used to serve as the protective layer is different. Specifically, regarding the color display apparatus  200   c , the material of the clear adhesive layer  260  is for example an optically clear adhesive (OCA), which is an adhesive film and unlike the abovementioned optically clear resin which is formed by curing liquid adhesive. 
     The method of manufacturing the color display apparatus  200   c  in the present embodiment is similar to the method of manufacturing the abovementioned color display apparatus  200 , with the difference lying in that after forming the abovementioned color display apparatus  200 , the optically clear adhesive is attached onto the translucent base  221  to serve as the clear adhesive layer  260 . Then, the glass panel  250  is attached onto the clear adhesive layer  260 . 
     In summary of the above, the color display apparatus and the method of manufacturing the same according to the present disclosure at least have the following advantages. 
     As opposed to structures of color filter substrates of conventional techniques, regarding the color display apparatus and the method of manufacturing the same of the present disclosure, the color filter patterns are directly embedded in the translucent base arranged on the black-and-white display module, and the thin glass panel and the carrier panel of conventional techniques are not required. Therefore, the problem of attachment between the thin glass panel and the carrier panel present in conventional techniques is solved by the present disclosure, thereby increasing the manufacturing efficiency of the color display apparatus. 
     In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the color filter patterns are not covered by a thin glass panel, avoiding partial reflection of the ambient light by the thin glass panel, thereby increasing the optical efficiency and image display quality of the color display apparatus. 
     While the invention has been described in terms of what is presently considered to be the most practical and preferred embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention needs not be limited to the disclosed embodiment. On the contrary, it is intended to cover various modifications and similar arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the appended claims which are to be accorded with the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and similar structures.