JP4445586B2 - Luminescent design body and manufacturing method thereof - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a luminescent design body that can be used in various fields as a character luminescent / picture luminescent plate and a method for producing the same.

Luminous design bodies are being used as scuff plates, license plates, etc. for automobiles, store displays, house exterior products, and the like.
As a light-emitting plate, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2001-18733 discloses a technique in which a number plate punched so as to penetrate a character portion to be lit is provided and a light emitter is provided on the back side of the punched portion.
However, there is a design problem that there is a large step between the punched license plate and the light emitter, the bottom of the hole is shining, the sense of unity is poor, and the appearance is not good.
Further, when an EL light emitter is directly provided on the surface of the light emitting plate, there is a problem that a wiring pattern for energizing the EL light emitter is exposed to the outside and the appearance is impaired.
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-259572 discloses a technique of forming a dielectric layer, a light emitting layer, and a transparent conductive layer of an EL element on the surface of an article with a paint.
However, it has been difficult to design a fine light-emitting shape by the coating method.

JP 2001-18733 A JP 2004-259572 A

  In view of the above technical problems, the present invention provides a highly reliable light-emitting design body that has an EL element structure formed on a metal plate, is excellent in unity, has no wiring visible from the outside, and a manufacturing method thereof. With the goal.

  The technical gist of the invention described in claim 1 is that a base substrate having a conductive portion formed by partially removing the oxide film after forming an electrically insulating oxide film on the metal plate, or insulating ink on the metal plate. A base substrate having an insulating layer printed on a portion other than the conductive portion so as to partially form a conductive portion is used, and a back electrode is formed on the base substrate so as to conduct to the conductive portion. A dielectric layer and a light emitting layer are formed on the back electrode in accordance with the shape of the back electrode, and a transparent upper electrode is formed on the light emitting layer.

When aluminum, magnesium, titanium (including their respective alloys) or the like is used as the metal plate, an oxide film with high electrical insulation can be easily formed by anodic oxidation or the like.
In particular, aluminum has a feature that an alumite film can be formed, and a plate colored in various colors by electrolytic coloring or dyeing.
And in the case of the insulating layer which consists of an alumite film | membrane, a conductive part can be formed by removing partially by alkali etching etc. using a masking technique.
Also, the insulating layer may be printed on the metal plate by masking the portion that becomes the conductive portion and printing the insulating ink on the metal plate so that the conductive portion is partially formed using the insulating ink on the metal plate. Can be used as a printed base substrate.
When the insulating ink is used, the present invention can be applied not only to the metal that can form an insulating film by anodic oxidation such as aluminum but also to various metal plates made of steel or SUS.

Next, as an EL element structure formed on the base substrate, a back electrode is formed on the base substrate so as to conduct to the conductive portion, and a dielectric layer and a light emitting layer are formed on the back electrode in accordance with the shape of the back electrode. Since the transparent upper electrode is formed on the light emitting layer, the back electrode and the upper transparent electrode that conduct to the conductive portion are used as a counter electrode, and an inorganic material is used as a base between the counter electrodes. A structure in which a light-emitting layer having a light-emitting body and a dielectric layer are provided in a layer form, and a light-emitting phenomenon is generated in the light-emitting body by an electric field generated between the counter electrodes by applying an alternating voltage to the counter electrode is employed.
Accordingly, light is emitted in accordance with the shape of the back electrode, and the back electrode pattern is formed by printing or the like on a character or design desired to emit light.
The upper transparent electrode need not be matched to the light emission shape, and may be formed on the entire surface of the metal plate.
The upper transparent electrode is printed so that at least the wiring connection electrode (terminal) can be provided at the end of the plate.
As a result, a wiring connection electrode (terminal) is provided at the end of the metal plate and an AC voltage is applied to the upper transparent electrode, so that the connection wiring cannot be seen at the plate surface design portion.

The technical gist of the invention of claim 2 is that a base substrate is formed by forming an electrically insulating oxide film on a metal plate and then removing the oxide film in accordance with the light emission shape to form a conductive portion, or an insulating property on the metal plate. Use a base substrate with an insulating layer printed on the part other than the conductive part so as to form a conductive part that matches the light emission shape using ink, and form a dielectric layer and a light emitting layer on the base substrate according to the shape of the conductive part The transparent upper electrode is formed on the light emitting layer.
The invention according to claim 1 has a feature that the shape of the conductive part formed on the base substrate is not limited as long as it is electrically connected to the back electrode in order to specify the light emission shape such as letters by the shape of the back electrode. The back electrode must be printed on the base substrate.
Accordingly, the invention according to claim 2 is such that the conductive portion on the base substrate is manufactured in a light emitting shape by masking technology.
Thereby, formation of a back electrode can be omitted.

Furthermore, if the protective layer is formed on the transparent upper electrode, the durability is improved.
The protective layer is transparent and may be formed by printing, or a transparent resin film may be attached.

  The invention according to claim 4 relates to a method of manufacturing a luminescent design body, and after forming an electrically insulating oxide film on a metal plate, partially removing the oxide film to form a conductive portion to manufacture a base substrate, or A base substrate is manufactured by printing an insulating layer on a portion other than the conductive portion so that the conductive portion is partially formed using an insulating ink on the metal plate, and the conductive portion is made conductive on the base substrate. A back electrode is formed, a dielectric layer and a light emitting layer are formed on the back electrode in accordance with the shape of the back electrode, and a transparent upper electrode is formed on the light emitting layer.

The invention according to claim 5 is a manufacturing method in which the shape of the conductive portion of the base substrate is matched to the light emitting shape, and after the electrically insulating oxide film is formed on the metal plate, the oxide film is removed in accordance with the light emitting shape to thereby remove the conductive portion. Form a base substrate by forming, or manufacture a base substrate by printing an insulating layer on a portion other than the conductive portion so as to form a conductive portion matched to the light emission shape using an insulating ink on a metal plate, A dielectric layer and a light emitting layer are formed on the base substrate in accordance with the shape of the conductive portion, and a transparent upper electrode is formed on the light emitting layer.

The technical gist of the invention of claim 7 resides in a method of manufacturing a luminescent design body after separately manufacturing a base substrate and a luminescent film substrate, and partially after forming an electrically insulating oxide film on a metal plate. The oxide film is removed to form a conductive part and a base substrate is manufactured, or an insulating layer is printed on a part other than the conductive part so that the conductive part is partially formed using an insulating ink on a metal plate. The base substrate is manufactured, the upper transparent electrode layer is formed on the transparent film, the light emitting layer, the dielectric layer and the back electrode are formed on the upper transparent electrode layer according to the light emission shape, and the light emitting film substrate is manufactured. The light-emitting film substrate is bonded to the base substrate so that the conductive portion and the back electrode are electrically connected.
In this case, as described in claim 8, after forming an electrically insulating oxide film on the metal plate, the oxide film is removed in accordance with the light emission shape to form a conductive portion, or a base substrate is manufactured. An insulating layer is printed on a portion other than the conductive portion so as to form a conductive portion matched to the light emission shape using an insulating ink on the plate, a base substrate is manufactured, and an upper transparent electrode layer is formed on the transparent film, A light emitting layer and a dielectric layer are formed on the upper transparent electrode layer in accordance with the light emitting shape to produce a light emitting film substrate, and a light emitting film substrate is bonded to the base substrate so that the conductive portion and the dielectric layer overlap each other. Also good.

  As a method of forming an EL element structure on a light emitting film substrate, an upper transparent electrode is formed by depositing a transparent conductive ITO (Indium Tin Oxside) film on a transparent resin film such as a PET (polyethylene terephthalate) film. Examples of the method include forming a light emitting layer and a dielectric layer and a back electrode layer, or a light emitting layer and a dielectric layer by printing on the upper transparent electrode.

In the present invention, since the EL element structure having a shape desired to emit light is formed on the base substrate, a sense of unity between the light emitting portion and the base substrate is high and can be obtained with very high accuracy, and an unprecedented light emitting display. It becomes a luminescent design body having a function.
In addition, if the base substrate and the light emitting film substrate are manufactured separately, a PET film or the like can be utilized, and not only can the inorganic EL element structure be formed by simply bonding the base substrate and the film substrate, but also an excellent appearance with a sense of unity. Can be obtained.
In addition, when a manufacturing method in which the film substrate and the base substrate are bonded together as described above, the base substrate and the film substrate that have been subjected to quality inspection can be combined, which is effective in reducing defective products and has good productivity.
In particular, when aluminum is used as the metal plate, an anodized film having excellent durability and colorability can be formed by anodic oxidation, and the adhesion to the upper transparent electrode is excellent due to the characteristics of the porous film.

An example of a luminous design body according to the present invention will be described in the order of production with reference to FIG.
A schematic cross-sectional view is shown in FIG.
First, the aluminum plate (metal plate) 21 is degreased and etched or chemically polished.
Next, an alumite film 21a is formed as an insulating layer by anodic oxidation.
Here, if it is necessary to add design properties to the anodized film 21a, it is colored and sealed.
In the figure, only the upper side of the anodized film 21a is drawn for easy understanding.
Further, the thickness of the film or the like is drawn extremely thick.
Next, it is formed into # 200 mesh, screen printing, and a film thickness of 10 to 15 μm using an etching resist (Protocoat 340C, manufactured by Yoshikawa Chemical Co., Ltd.) except for a predetermined portion for forming the light emitting portion of the work 11, and 80 ° C. For 20 minutes.
Next, the alumite film 21a of the light emitting portion forming portion (mask opening portion) 30a of the work 12 is removed (defilming) by being immersed in a 10% caustic soda treatment solution at 50 ° C. for 1 minute (work 13).
Next, the mask 25 of the work 13 is removed with a thinner (enamel thinner) to form the base substrate 20.
On the base substrate 20, a conductive portion 23a that is not covered with the alumite film 21a is formed as a light emitting shape.
On this conductive part 23a, barium titanate ink (manufactured by DuPont, LUXPRINT 8153N) is # 62 mesh, screen printing is repeated twice to form a dielectric layer 33 with a film thickness of 20-30 μm, and dried at 130 ° C. for 5 minutes. .
On this dielectric layer 33, fluorescent ink (blue-green fluorescent ink, manufactured by DuPont, LUXPRINT 7151J) is # 62 mesh, and screen printing is repeated twice to form the light emitting layer 32 with a film thickness of 20 to 30 μm.
Thereby, the light emission part 30 (light emission surface) of the shape which wants to make the light emitting layer 32 light-emit is formed.
The conductive portion 23a serves as a back electrode.

Next, transparent conductive ink (manufactured by DuPont, LUXPRINT 7162) is screen-printed by # 77 mesh and screen-printed to cover the entire metal plate surface (on the base substrate 20 and the light emitting layer 32 other than the light emitting layer 32). The electrode layer 31 is formed to a thickness of 100 μm and dried at 130 ° C. for 5 minutes (work 14).
Next, copper foil electrodes 43a and 43b having a foil thickness of 50 μm are placed on the upper transparent electrode layer 31 on the surface of the work 14 on the light emitting side surface 16 side, and the other is connected to the conductive portion 23a. For example, it is installed on the aluminum plate 21 on the back surface of the base substrate (work 15).
Transparent insulation ink (DuPont, LUXPRINT 5018) is screen-printed with # 77 mesh to cover the upper transparent electrode layer 31 and the electrode 43a of the work 15, and cured with a UV curing device to have an insulation protection of 100 μm thickness. The layer 35 is formed on the entire surface on the light emitting side surface 16 side to form the light emitting design body 10.
By applying an alternating current of 400 Hz at 120 V to the electrodes 43a and 43b of the luminescent design body 10, the luminescent layer 32 was able to emit blue-green light.
The surface of the base substrate 20 can be seen through the transparent insulating protective layer 35 and the transparent upper transparent electrode layer 31 in the luminescent design body 10.
The light emitting portion 30 having a shape desired to emit light is integrally provided with the base substrate 20, the upper transparent electrode layer 31, and the insulating protective layer 35, and there is no wiring in the design portion, which is excellent in design.

Next, FIG. 2 shows an example of a manufacturing method in which the light emitting film substrate is attached to the base substrate.
FIG. 5A shows a state in which the light emitting film substrate 40 and the base substrate 20 are bonded together, and a schematic cross-sectional view of the light emitting body formed by the bonding.
The aluminum plate 21 is degreased and etched (chemical polishing), and then an anodized film 21a is formed by anodic oxidation. If necessary, the aluminum plate 21 is colored and sealed.
An etching resist is screen-printed except for a predetermined portion for forming the light emitting portion of the work 11, and a mask 25 is provided. Then, the alumite film 21a serving as the light emitting portion is removed with caustic soda.
The mask 25 of the work 13 is removed with a thinner (enamel thinner) to form the base substrate 20.
On the other hand, a transparent PET film having a thickness of 120 μm is used as a transparent resin film 41, and a transparent electrode made of a transparent conductive ITO film (manufactured by Toyobo Co., Ltd., transparent conductive ITO film 300R) is formed on the one surface by vapor deposition. 42.
On this upper transparent electrode layer 42, fluorescent ink is # 62 mesh and screen printing is repeated twice to form a light emitting layer 32 having a film thickness of 20 to 30 μm and dried at 130 ° C. for 5 minutes.
A barium titanate ink is formed on the light emitting layer 32 in the same shape with # 62 mesh and screen printing is repeated twice to form a dielectric layer 33 having a thickness of 20 to 30 μm and dried at 130 ° C. for 5 minutes.
Thus, the light emitting film substrate 40 including the upper transparent electrode layer 42, the light emitting layer 32, and the dielectric layer 33 is formed on the transparent resin film.
Here, since the light emitting layer 32 and the dielectric layer 33 have the same shape as the conductive portion 23 a when the light emitting film substrate 40 is bonded to the base substrate 20, the shape of the conductive portion 23 a is formed on the upper transparent electrode layer 42 of the resin film 41. Is printed symmetrically.
Next, an electrode 43 a made of copper foil is installed at the end of the upper transparent electrode layer 42.
On the other hand, a copper foil electrode 43b is also provided at the end of the base substrate.
Then, the dielectric layer 33 of the film substrate 40 is overlaid on the conductive portion 23a, and the light emitting film substrate 40 is pressure-bonded to the base substrate 20 by a laminating method to form the light emitting design body 10d.
By applying an alternating current of 400 Hz to the electrodes 43a and 43b, blue-green light emission was obtained in the light emitting layer 32.

Next, another embodiment will be described.
FIG. 3 shows an example in which the shape of the conductive portion 23a is the same as that of the light emitting portion 30 that is the light emitting side surface of the light emitting layer 32, and FIG. 3 (a) shows a case where an insulating layer is formed with the alumite film 21a. FIG. 4B is a schematic diagram when the insulating layer 24 is printed.
In the case of FIG. 3A, etching is performed, and in the case of FIG. 3B, the insulating ink is printed on the portion excluding the conductive portion 23b, and the periphery is surrounded by an insulating layer in the same shape as the light emitting portion. The conductive portions 23a and 23b are formed on the base substrates 20 and 20a.
The dielectric layer 33 and the light emitting layer 32 are sequentially printed in the same shape as the conductive portions 23a and 23b, and the upper transparent electrode layer 31 is printed on the entire surface of the plate.
In this case, an inorganic EL element structure is formed by sandwiching the light emitting layer 32 and the dielectric layer 33 with the conductive portions 23a and 23b as one electrode of the counter electrode and the upper transparent electrode layer 31 as the other counter electrode.

FIG. 4 (a) shows an embodiment in which an alumite film 21a is formed on an aluminum plate 21 and a part of the alumite film 21a is removed by alkali etching to form an inorganic EL element structure on a base substrate 20b on which a conductive portion is formed. FIG. 4B shows an embodiment in which an inorganic EL element structure is formed on a base substrate 20c on which an insulating layer 24 is formed by printing an insulating ink except for a part on a metal plate.
In this case, on the conductive portions 23c and 23d (which may be different from the shape of the back electrode) where the aluminum plate 21 or the metal plate 22 is exposed to a part of the base substrate, the back electrode has the same shape as the light emitting portion 30 shape. The layer 34, the dielectric layer 33, and the light emitting layer 32 are printed in an overlapping manner.
Then, the upper transparent electrode layer 31 is printed so as to cover the base substrates 20b and 20c other than the light emitting layer 32 and the light emitting layer 32, and a counter electrode is formed by the back electrode layer 34 and the upper transparent electrode layer 31. An element structure is formed.
The protective insulating layer 35 is printed on the upper transparent electrode layer 31 to form the luminous design bodies 10b and 10c.

FIG. 5 shows a case where the light emitting film substrate 40 in which a part of the inorganic EL element structure is formed on the transparent resin film 41 is attached to the base substrate.
FIG. 5 (a) shows a case where an insulating layer is formed with an alumite film 21a, and FIG. 5 (b) shows a case where the insulating layer 24 is printed, and the left side shows a state where the film substrate and the base substrate are bonded together. The right side shows the state of being bonded.
A transparent conductive ITO film is formed on the transparent resin film 41 by vapor deposition to form an upper transparent electrode layer 42, and the light emitting layer 32 and the dielectric layer 33 are stacked so as to form a shape desired to emit light to the upper transparent electrode layer 42. The light emitting film substrate 40 is formed by printing.
Then, the conductive layer 23c, 23d formed in the same shape as the light emitting unit 30 is attached to the conductive layer 23c, 23d so that the dielectric layer 33 of the light emitting film substrate 40 is superposed on the conductive units 23c, 23d. The inorganic EL element structure used as a back electrode is formed, and it is set as the luminous design bodies 10d and 10e.

FIG. 6 shows a case where a light emitting film substrate 40a having an inorganic EL element structure formed on a transparent resin film 41 is attached to a base substrate.
A transparent conductive ITO film is formed on the transparent resin film by vapor deposition to form the upper transparent electrode layer 42. The light emitting layer 32, the dielectric layer 33, and the back electrode layer 34 are formed on the upper transparent electrode layer 42 so as to have a shape desired to emit light. Are stacked and printed to form the film substrate 40a.
Then, the film substrate 40a is attached so that the back electrode layer 34 is on the conductive portions 23c and 23d (which may be different from the light emission shape) of the base substrates 20b and 20c to form the light emitting design bodies 10f and 10g. .
As described above, for example, a complicated and fine light-emitting portion can be formed with high precision and a sense of unity by etching or printing.

Explanatory drawing of the manufacturing method of the luminescent design body concerning this invention is shown. Explanatory drawing in the case of manufacturing separately in a base substrate and a luminescent film substrate is shown. Explanatory drawing of a luminescent design body cross section is shown. The cross-sectional schematic diagram of another Example is shown. The cross-sectional schematic diagram of another Example is shown. The cross-sectional schematic diagram of another Example is shown.

Explanation of symbols

10, 10a, 10b, 10c, 10d, 10e, 10f, 10g Luminous design body 11, 12, 13, 14, 15 Workpiece 16 Light emitting side surface 20, 20a, 20b, 20c Base substrate 21 Aluminum plate 21a Anodized coating (insulating layer) )
22 Metal plates 23a, 23b, 23c, 23d Conductive portion 24 Insulating layer 25 Mask 30 Light emitting portion (light emitting surface)
30a Predetermined part 31 forming light emitting part 31 Upper transparent electrode (layer)
32 Light emitting layer 33 Dielectric layer 34 Back electrode (layer)
35 Protective layer 40, 40a Light emitting film substrate 41 Transparent resin film (PET film)
42 Upper transparent electrode (layer) (transparent conductive ITO film)
43a, 43b Copper foil electrodes

Claims (8)

After forming an electrically insulating oxide film on the metal plate, the oxide film is partially removed to form a base substrate having a conductive portion, or the conductive portion is partially formed using an insulating ink on the metal plate. A base substrate with an insulating layer printed on a portion other than the conductive portion,
A back electrode is formed on the base substrate so as to conduct to the conductive part,
A dielectric layer and a light emitting layer are formed on the back electrode according to the shape of the back electrode,
A light-emitting design body comprising a transparent upper electrode formed on a light-emitting layer. After forming the electrically insulating oxide film on the metal plate, remove the oxide film according to the light emission shape and use it as the base substrate with the conductive part formed, or use the conductive ink that matches the light emission shape with insulating ink on the metal plate. A base substrate with an insulating layer printed on a portion other than the conductive portion to form,
A dielectric layer and a light emitting layer are formed on the base substrate in accordance with the shape of the conductive part,
A light-emitting design body comprising a transparent upper electrode formed on a light-emitting layer.   Furthermore, the protective layer is formed on the transparent upper electrode, The luminescent design body of Claim 1 or 2 characterized by the above-mentioned. After the electrically insulating oxide film is formed on the metal plate, the oxide film is partially removed to form a conductive part to produce a base substrate, or the conductive part is partially formed using an insulating ink on the metal plate. To make a base substrate by printing an insulating layer on the part other than the conductive part,
A back electrode is formed on the base substrate so as to conduct to the conductive part,
A dielectric layer and a light emitting layer are formed on the back electrode according to the shape of the back electrode,
A method for producing a luminescent design body, comprising forming a transparent upper electrode on a luminescent layer. After forming an electrically insulating oxide film on the metal plate, the oxide film was removed according to the light emission shape and the conductive part was formed to produce the base substrate, or the metal plate was adjusted to the light emission shape using insulating ink A base substrate is manufactured by printing an insulating layer on a portion other than the conductive portion so as to form a conductive portion,
A dielectric layer and a light emitting layer are formed on the base substrate according to the shape of the conductive portion,
A method for producing a luminescent design body, comprising forming a transparent upper electrode on a luminescent layer.   Furthermore, a protective layer is formed on a transparent upper electrode, The manufacturing method of the luminescent design body of Claim 4 or 5 characterized by the above-mentioned. After the electrically insulating oxide film is formed on the metal plate, the oxide film is partially removed to form a conductive part to produce a base substrate, or the conductive part is partially formed using an insulating ink on the metal plate. To make a base substrate by printing an insulating layer on the part other than the conductive part,
An upper transparent electrode layer is formed on the transparent film, a light emitting layer, a dielectric layer and a back electrode are formed on the upper transparent electrode layer according to the light emission shape, and a light emitting film substrate is manufactured.
A method for producing a light-emitting design body, wherein a light-emitting film substrate is bonded to a base substrate so that a conductive portion and a back electrode are electrically connected. After forming an electrically insulating oxide film on the metal plate, the oxide film was removed according to the light emission shape and the conductive part was formed to produce the base substrate, or the metal plate was adjusted to the light emission shape using insulating ink A base substrate is manufactured by printing an insulating layer on a portion other than the conductive portion so as to form a conductive portion,
An upper transparent electrode layer is formed on the transparent film, and a light emitting layer and a dielectric layer are formed on the upper transparent electrode layer in accordance with the light emission shape to produce a light emitting film substrate.
A method for producing a light-emitting design body, wherein a light-emitting film substrate is bonded to a base substrate so that a conductive portion and a dielectric layer overlap each other.

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