Patent Publication Number: US-2015070601-A1

Title: Electronic device

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention generally relates to an electronic device, and more particularly, to an electronic device including two components combined by a liquid optical clear adhesive. 
     2. Description of the Prior Art 
     In recent years, touch sensing technologies have developed flourishingly, and consumer electronics integrated with touch sensing function are commercialized accordingly. In those consumer electronics, display panels are mainly used to be integrated with the touch sensing function. In other words, the display panels are replaced by the touch display panels with the touch sensing function. According to differences in structure designs, the touch display panels may include an out-cell type touch display panel, an in-cell type touch display panel, and an on-cell type touch display panel. In the out-cell type touch display panel, an independent touch panel is attached to a normal display panel . A lamination process is required to combine an out-cell type touch panel and a display panel, combine an in-cell type touch display panel and a cover lens, or combine a cover lens and a normal touch panel. 
     Generally, solid-state optical clear adhesives are employed in the lamination process of the related industries. However, height differences on rugged surfaces of the modules to be bound are difficult to be filled with the solid-state optical clear adhesive. The appearance quality and electrical operations of the electronic device may be affected accordingly. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     It is one of the objectives of the present invention to provide an electronic device. A combining unit including spacing structures is used to combine two components so as to enhance lamination performances and process qualities. 
     To achieve the purposes described above, a preferred embodiment of the present invention provides an electronic device. The electronic device includes a first component, a second component and a combining unit. The second component is disposed correspondingly to the first component. The combining unit is disposed between the first component and the second component so as to combine the first component with the second component. The combining unit includes a plurality of spacing structures configured to define an accommodation space between the first component and the second component. Each of the spacing structures has a first end and a second end opposite to the first end. A width of the first end is wider than a width of the second end. 
     In the present invention, a liquid optical clear adhesive is used to form the combining unit for laminating two components in the electronic device. A filling performance of the combining unit may be improved and related qualities of the electronic device may be enhanced accordingly. 
     These and other objectives of the present invention will no doubt become obvious to those of ordinary skill in the art after reading the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment that is illustrated in the various figures and drawings. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a schematic flow chart illustrating a lamination method of an electronic device according to a first embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 2 ,  FIG. 3 ,  FIG. 4  and  FIG. 5  are schematic diagrams illustrating the lamination method of the electronic device according to the first embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 6  is a schematic cross-sectional diagram taken along a line A-A′ in  FIG. 5 . 
         FIG. 7  is a schematic diagram illustrating an electronic device according to a second embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 8  is a schematic diagram illustrating an electronic device according to a third embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 9  is a schematic diagram illustrating an electronic device according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 10  is a schematic diagram illustrating an electronic device according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 11  is a schematic diagram illustrating an electronic device according to a sixth embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 12  is a schematic diagram illustrating an electronic device according to a seventh embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 13  is a schematic diagram illustrating an electronic device according to an eighth embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 14  is a schematic diagram illustrating an electronic device according to a ninth embodiment of the present invention. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     To provide a better understanding of the present invention to the skilled users in the technology of the present invention, preferred embodiments will be detailed as follows. The preferred embodiments of the present invention are illustrated in the accompanying drawings with numbered elements to elaborate the contents and effects to be achieved. 
     Please refer to  FIG. 1 ,  FIG. 2 ,  FIG. 3 ,  FIG. 4  and  FIG. 5 .  FIG. 1  is a schematic flow chart illustrating a lamination method of an electronic device according to a first embodiment of the present invention.  FIG. 2 ,  FIG. 3 ,  FIG. 4  and  FIG. 5  are schematic diagrams illustrating the lamination method of the electronic device in this embodiment. Please note that the figures are only for illustration and the figures may not be to scale. The scale maybe further modified according to different design considerations. As shown in  FIG. 1  and  FIG. 2 , the lamination method of the electronic device in this embodiment includes the following steps. A first component  110  is provided first. The first component  110  may include a display panel module, a touch panel, a glass substrate, a cover lens, a plastic substrate, a flexible plastic substrate, a thin glass substrate, a substrate of a display device or other components required to be bound to other components in the electronic device. The display panel module mentioned above includes a liquid crystal display (LCD) module, an organic light emitting display (OLED) module, or an electro-phoretic display (EPD) module. The cover lens may be plastic or a strengthened glass. A decoration layer and a touch unit may be selectively disposed on one side of the cover lens. The decoration layer is disposed on at least one side of the cover lens so as to cover a portion of traces of the touch unit. Subsequently, in step S 110 , a first liquid optical clear adhesive  120  is formed on the first component  110 . The first liquid optical clear adhesive  120  includes an acrylic adhesive, a silicon adhesive or other appropriate liquid optical clear adhesives. Specifically, when the first component  110  in this embodiment is a display panel module or a touch panel, the first component  110  may have a visible region VA, and the first liquid optical clear adhesive  120  formed on the first component  110  may include a plurality of first liquid optical clear adhesive patterns  121  surrounding the visible region VA, but not limited thereto. In other embodiments of the present invention, the first liquid optical clear adhesive patterns  121  may also be formed on a periphery of the visible region VA, formed in the visible region VA, or formed to partially overlap the visible region VA. Each of the first liquid optical clear adhesive patterns  121  may be formed by a glue dispenser, such as a nozzle type glue dispenser or a gear wheel type glue dispenser, and each of the first liquid optical clear adhesive patterns  121  has a first end  121 A and a second end  121 B opposite to the first end  121 A accordingly. The first end  121 A is the start point of glue dispensing, and a width of the first end  121 A is wider than a width of the second end  121 B. The first liquid optical clear adhesive patterns  121  may be sequentially formed by the glue dispenser and surround the peripheral region of the first component  110 , and the first end  121 A of one first liquid optical clear adhesive pattern  121  is adjacent to the second end  121 B of another first liquid optical clear adhesive pattern  121  preferably, but not limited thereto. As shown in  FIG. 2 , the first liquid optical clear adhesive patterns  121  may be formed clockwise or counterclockwise by glue dispensing. The operations of the glue dispenser may be simplified, the dispensing process may be accelerated, and the efficiency may be enhanced accordingly. In other embodiments of the present invention, the alignment condition of the first optical clear adhesive patterns  121  may be further modified according to different designs of the glue dispensers or/and different predetermined laminating regions of the first component  110 . For example, in this embodiment, the visible region VA of the first component  110  maybe a rectangle, and the first liquid optical clear adhesive  120  may include four first liquid optical clear adhesive patterns  121  formed on four sides of the first component  110  respectively. In other words, some of the first liquid optical clear adhesive patterns  121  may extend along a first direction X, some of the first liquid optical clear adhesive patterns  121  may extend along a second direction Y, and two adjacent first liquid optical clear adhesive patterns  121  extend along different directions. The first direction X is substantially perpendicular to the second direction Y, but not limited thereto. Additionally, a gap  121 S exists between two adjacent spacing structures  121 , and other excess liquid optical clear adhesives (not shown) formed in the visible region VA may overflow via the gap  121 S. 
     As shown in  FIG. 1  and  FIG. 3 , in step S 120 , the first liquid optical clear adhesive  120  is then treated by a pre-curing treatment so as to form a plurality of spacing structures  121 P. The spacing structures  121 P are semi-solidified at this point preferably for rework purposes, but not limited thereto. The pre-curing treatment mentioned above may include a thermal curing treatment, an ultraviolet curing treatment or other appropriate curing treatments suitable for the material properties of the first liquid optical clear adhesive  120 . As shown in  FIG. 3 , an ultraviolet light source may irradiate the first liquid optical clear adhesive  120  from a lateral side or an upper side for pre-curing the first liquid optical clear adhesive  120 , but not limited thereto. 
     As shown in  FIG. 1  and  FIG. 4 , in step S 130 , a second liquid optical clear adhesive  130  is then formed on the first component  110 . The pattern of the second liquid optical clear adhesive  130  formed on the first component  110  may be modified according to the design of the glue amount and the structure of the first component  110 . The second liquid optical clear adhesive  130  may include an acrylic adhesive, a silicon adhesive or other appropriate liquid optical clear adhesives. The first liquid optical clear adhesive  120  and the second liquid optical clear adhesive  130  are transparent after curing preferably, so as to avoid influencing the appearance and display effects. It is worth noting that the spacing structures  121 P may be used to maintain a required height of the second liquid optical clear adhesive  130 , and a height of the spacing structure  121 P is larger than a laminating thickness. For example, a height of each spacing structure  121 P along a vertical projective direction Z perpendicular to the first component  110  is substantially higher than or equal to 0.1 millimeter and lower than or equal to 10 millimeters, but not limited thereto. 
     As shown in  FIG. 1  and  FIG. 5 , in step S 140 , a second component  140  is bound to the first component  110 . Subsequently, in step S 150 , the second liquid optical clear adhesive  130  is treated by a pre-curing treatment so as to form an optical clear adhesive layer  130 P. The optical clear adhesive layer  130 P is semi-solidified at this point preferably for rework purposes, but not limited thereto. The pre-curing treatment mentioned above may include a thermal curing treatment, an ultraviolet curing treatment or other appropriate curing treatments suitable for the material properties of the second liquid optical clear adhesive  130 . The spacing structures  121 P and the optical clear adhesive layer  130 P are transparent preferably, but not limited thereto. It is optional to clean the excess amount of the second liquid optical clear adhesive  130  in step S 160 . It is worth noting that the amount of the second liquid optical clear adhesive  130  formed on the first component  110  is generally excess in order to avoid the shortage issue of the second liquid optical clear adhesive  130 . The excess second liquid optical clear adhesive  130  may overflow via the gaps  121 S between the spacing structures  121 P after the first component  110  and the second component  140  are combined by pressing, and the laminating condition will not be influenced by the excess second liquid optical clear adhesive  130  accordingly. In step S 170 , The first liquid optical clear adhesive  120  and the second liquid optical clear adhesive  130  may then be treated by a main curing treatment so as to form an electronic device  100  shown in  FIG. 5 . The main curing treatment mentioned above may include a thermal curing treatment, an ultraviolet curing treatment or other appropriate curing treatments. For example, an ultraviolet light source may irradiate the first liquid optical clear adhesive  120  and the second liquid optical clear adhesive  130  from a lateral side or an upper side for main curing the first liquid optical clear adhesive  120  and the second liquid optical clear adhesive  130 , but not limited thereto. Additionally, curing conditions may include the curing time or the curing approaches, such as irradiation from the lateral side or from the upper side. If the curing conditions of the second liquid optical clear adhesive  130  are different from the curing conditions of the first liquid optical clear adhesive  120 , a refractive index of the optical clear adhesive layer  130   p  may become different from a refractive index of the spacing structures  121 P. It is worth noting that the second component  140  in this embodiment may also include a display panel module, a touch panel, a glass substrate, a cover lens, a plastic substrate, a flexible plastic substrate, a thin glass substrate, a substrate of a display device or other components suitable to be combined with the first component  110 . The display panel module mentioned above includes a liquid crystal display module, an organic light emitting display module, or an electro-phoretic display module. For example, when the first component  110  is a touch panel and the second component  140  is a display panel module, the electronic device  100  may be regarded as a touch display device. Specifically, when the display panel module is a liquid crystal display panel module, the spacing structures  121 P made of the first liquid optical clear adhesive  120  is formed between a polarizing film (not shown) of the liquid crystal display panel module and the touch panel. A distance between each spacing structure  121 P and an edge of the polarizing film is larger than 0.01 millimeter. The spacing structures  121 P made of the first liquid optical clear adhesive  120  may be disposed on at least two sides of one surface of the polarizing film. For example, as shown in  FIG. 5 , the first liquid optical clear adhesive  120  (the spacing structures  121 P) at the left side and the right side may be kept, and the first liquid optical clear adhesive  120  at the upper side and the lower side may be omitted. Similarly, when the display panel module is an organic light emitting display module, the spacing structures  121 P may be selectively disposed on an encapsulation substrate or a polarizing film (not shown). When the first component  110  is a cover lens and the second component  140  is a substrate with touch units disposed on, the electronic device  100  may also be regarded as a touch device. In other words, the lamination method in the present invention is suitable for components to be combined in the electronic device. The liquid optical clear adhesives are employed in the lamination method of the present invention, height differences on rugged surfaces of the components to be bound may be filled with the optical clear adhesive  130 P more easily. The laminating condition may be improved, and the appearance quality and electrical operations of the electronic device  100  may be enhanced accordingly. 
     Please refer to  FIG. 5  and  FIG. 6 .  FIG. 5  is a schematic diagram illustrating the electronic device according to the first embodiment of the present invention.  FIG. 6  is a schematic cross-sectional diagram taken along a line A-A′ in  FIG. 5 . As shown in  FIG. 5  and  FIG. 6 , the electronic device  100  in this embodiment includes the first component  110 , the second component  140  and a combining unit  150 . The second component  140  is disposed correspondingly to the first component  110 . The combining unit  150  is disposed between the first component  110  and the second component  140  so as to combine the first component  110  with the second component  140 . The combining unit  150  includes the optical clear adhesive layer  130 P and a plurality of the spacing structures  121 P. The spacing structures  121 P are aligned to define an accommodation space SP between the first component  110  and the second component  140 . The optical clear adhesive layer  130 P is at least partially disposed in the accommodation space SP. The spacing structures  121 P surround the accommodation space SP and the optical clear adhesive layer  130 P. Each of the spacing structures  121 P has a first end  121 A and a second end  121 B opposite to the first end. A width of the first end  121 A is wider than a width of the second end  121 B. The spacing structures  121 P are formed by solidifying the first liquid optical clear adhesive  120 , and the optical clear adhesive layer  130 P is formed by solidify the second liquid optical clear adhesive  130 . In this embodiment, the first end  121 A of each spacing structure  121 P is disposed adjacently to one second end  121 B of another spacing structure  121 P, but not limited thereto. The gap  121 S exists between two adjacent spacing structures  121 P. Additionally, in this embodiment, at least two of the spacing structures  121 P disposed adjacently to each other extend along different directions, but the present invention is not limited to this. The material properties of each part in the electronic device  100  have been detailed in the lamination method described above and will not be redundantly described. It is worth noting that the size of the first component  110  maybe equal to or different from the size of the second component  140 . The optical clear adhesive layer  130 P is surrounded by the spacing structures  121 P, and the second liquid optical clear adhesive  130  used to form the optical clear adhesive layer  130 P preferably has relatively lower viscosity so as to cover the height differences on the components more easily. 
     The following description will detail the different embodiments of the present invention. To simplify the description, identical components in each of the following embodiments are marked with identical symbols. For making it easier to understand the differences between the embodiments, the following description will detail the dissimilarities among different embodiments and the identical features will not be redundantly described. 
     Please refer to  FIG. 7 .  FIG. 7  is a schematic diagram illustrating an electronic device  200  according to a second embodiment of the present invention. As shown in  FIG. 7 , the difference between the electronic device  200  in this embodiment and the electronic device in the first embodiment is that, in the electronic device  200 , at least apart of the optical clear adhesive layer  130 P extends outward from the accommodation space SP via the gaps  121 S. The excess optical clear adhesive layer  130 P may overflow in this way and may be removed without influencing the appearance and quality of the electronic device  200 . 
     Please refer to  FIG. 8 .  FIG. 8  is a schematic diagram illustrating an electronic device  300  according to a third embodiment of the present invention. As shown in  FIG. 8 , the difference between the electronic device  300  in this embodiment and the electronic device in the first embodiment is that, in the electronic device  300 , the first end  121 A of at least one spacing structure  121 P is adjacent to another first end  121 A of another spacing structure  121 P, and the second end  121 B of at least one spacing structure  121 P is adjacent to another second end  121 B of another spacing structure  121 P. The allocation condition of the spacing structures  121 P is mainly decided by the design of the glue dispenser. For instance, when there are two nozzles designed in the glue dispenser, the spacing structures  121 P at the upper side and the lower side in  FIG. 8  may be formed simultaneously, and/ or the spacing structures  121 P at the left side and the right side in  FIG. 8  may be formed simultaneously. The allocation conduction of the first ends  121 A and the second ends  121 B of the spacing structures  121 P may be formed accordingly. 
     Please refer to  FIG. 9 .  FIG. 9  is a schematic diagram illustrating an electronic device  400  according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention. As shown in  FIG. 9 , the difference between the electronic device  400  in this embodiment and the electronic device in the first embodiment is that, in the electronic device  400  of this embodiment, at least two of the spacing structures  121 P disposed adjacently to each other extend along one identical direction. Specifically, some of the spacing structures  121 P may be disposed at one identical side of the visible region VA, and the amount of the gaps  121 S may be increased. The second liquid optical clear adhesive  130  may reflow by impressing more quickly in the lamination process, and gaseous materials may be exhausted more quickly too. 
     Please refer to  FIG. 10 .  FIG. 10  is a schematic diagram illustrating an electronic device  500  according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention. As shown in  FIG. 10 , the difference between the electronic device  500  in this embodiment and the electronic device in the first embodiment is that the spacing structures  121 P in this embodiment are disposed in the visible region VA. The optical clear adhesive layer  130 P may be totally disposed within the visible region VA or partially disposed outside the visible region VA according to different process conditions. The curing approaches of the first liquid optical clear adhesive  120 , which is used to form the spacing structures  121 P, are more flexible because the spacing structures  121 P are disposed in the visible region VA. It is worth noting that the allocation of the spacing structures  121 P in this embodiment may also be applied to other embodiments of the present invention. 
     Please refer to  FIG. 11 .  FIG. 11  is a schematic diagram illustrating an electronic device  600  according to a sixth embodiment of the present invention. As shown in  FIG. 11 , the difference between the electronic device  600  in this embodiment and the electronic device in the first embodiment is that the combining unit  150  in this embodiment merely includes the spacing structures  121 P without the optical clear adhesive layer mentioned in other embodiments. In other words, the first component  110  and the second component  140  of the electronic device  600  in this embodiment may be combined by the spacing structures  121 P only. It is worth noting that the optical clear adhesive layer in the embodiments mentioned above may also be removed according to other design considerations, and the first component  110  and the second component  140  may be combined by the spacing structures  121 P only. 
     Please refer to  FIG. 12 .  FIG. 12  is a schematic diagram illustrating an electronic device  701  according to a seventh embodiment of the present invention. As shown in  FIG. 12 , the difference between the electronic device  701  in this embodiment and the electronic device in the first embodiment is that the first component  110  in this embodiment is a touch panel, and the second component  140  is a display panel module including a polarizing film  741  and a display substrate  742 . The polarizing film  741  is disposed on the display substrate  742 . The spacing structures  121 P are disposed on at least two side of one surface of the polarizing film  741 , and a distance D between each spacing structure  121 P and an edge of the polarizing film  741  is larger than  0 . 01  millimeter preferably. In addition, the first component  110  of this embodiment includes a cover lens  710 , a decoration layer  711  and a touch unit  712 . The decoration layer  711  and the touch unit  712  are disposed on one side of the cover lens  710 . The second component  140  may further include a protection sealant  730  and a first outer frame  761 . The first outer frame  761  surrounds the display substrate  742 , and the protection sealant  730  is at least partially disposed between the first outer frame  761  and the display substrate  742 . The protection sealant  730  surrounds the display substrate  742  for generating a protection effect, but not limited thereto. In this embodiment, the first liquid optical clear adhesive  120  is preferably formed on the polarizing film  741  before the step of combining the first component  110  and the second component  140 , but the present invention is not limited to this. In other embodiments of the present invention, the first liquid optical clear adhesive  120  may also be formed on the first component  110  before the step of combining the first component  110  and the second component  140 . 
     Please refer to  FIG. 13 .  FIG. 13  is a schematic diagram illustrating an electronic device  702  according to an eighth embodiment of the present invention. As shown in  FIG. 13 , the difference between the electronic device  702  in this embodiment and the electronic device in the seventh embodiment is that the second component  140  in this embodiment is a display panel module further including a second outer frame  762 . The second outer frame  762  surrounds the first outer frame  761 , and the spacing structures  121 P are disposed on the second frame  762 . The protection sealant  730  is at least partially disposed between the second outer frame  762  and the polarizing film  741  so as to keep the optical clear adhesive layer  130 P from flowing into the spacing between the first outer frame  761  and the display substrate  742 . In this embodiment, the first liquid optical clear adhesive  120  is preferably formed on the first outer frame  761  before the step of combining the first component  110  and the second component  140 , but the present invention is not limited to this. In other embodiments of the present invention, the first liquid optical clear adhesive  120  may also be formed on the first component  110  before the step of combining the first component  110  and the second component  140 . 
     Please refer to  FIG. 14 .  FIG. 14  is a schematic diagram illustrating an electronic device  703  according to a ninth embodiment of the present invention. As shown in  FIG. 14 , the difference between the electronic device  703  in this embodiment and the electronic device in the eighth embodiment is that the second component  140  in this embodiment is a display panel module further including an anti-permeation tape  770  at least partially covering the polarizing film  741 , the display substrate  742 , the first outer frame  761  and the second outer frame  762 . The spacing structures  121 P are disposed on the anti-permeation tape  770  so as to keep the optical clear adhesive  130 P from leaking out. Additionally, the distance D between each spacing structure  121 P and the edge of the polarizing film  741  is larger than 0.01 millimeter preferably, but not limited thereto. In this embodiment, the first liquid optical clear adhesive  120  is preferably formed on the anti-permeation tape  770  before the step of combining the first component  110  and the second component  140 , but the present invention is not limited to this. In other embodiments of the present invention, the first liquid optical clear adhesive  120  may also be formed on the first component  110  before the step of combining the first component  110  and the second component  140 . 
     To summarize the above descriptions, in the electronic device of the present invention, a combining unit formed by the liquid optical clear adhesive is used to combine two components in the electronic device. The improved filling performance of the optical clear adhesive layer is employed to improve the laminating condition. The appearance and electrical qualities of the electronic device may be enhanced accordingly. 
     Those skilled in the art will readily observe that numerous modifications and alterations of the device and method may be made while retaining the teachings of the invention. Accordingly, the above disclosure should be construed as limited only by the metes and bounds of the appended claims.