JP2000180877A - Method and device for injecting liquid crystal - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a method and a device with which liquid crystals(LC) can be simultaneously injected to plural cells neither too much nor too little. SOLUTION: Plural injection routes 23 branched and extended from a pressurizing tank (pressurizing means) 21 are respectively provided with pressure reducing means 30. This pressure reducing means 30 is provided with a bypass route 31 detouring the injection route 23 and a valve 32 for opening/closing a route section 23a parallel with this bypass route 31. After the lapse of prescribed time from the arrival of LC at the arranging position of an LC sensor 40 (charge level detecting means) of each cell 1, the valve 32 corresponding to that cell 1 is closed.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method and an apparatus for simultaneously injecting liquid crystal into a plurality of cells.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a liquid crystal injection apparatus of this type, a plurality of injection paths are branched from a liquid crystal pressurizing means and extend. Connectors are provided at the ends of these injection passages, respectively.
These connectors are connected to the injection ports of a plurality of cells. Then, the liquid crystal pressurized by the pressurizing means is simultaneously injected into the plurality of cells via the plurality of injection paths.

[0003]

In the above-mentioned conventional configuration,
The problem was how to adjust the liquid crystal filling speed difference between cells. In other words, even if the injection pressure of the liquid crystal at the injection port is the same for a plurality of cells, the filling rates of the liquid crystal are different due to manufacturing variations of the individual cells. A cell with a faster filling rate will be full of liquid crystal before a cell with a slower filling rate. If the injection operation is stopped when the early cells are full, the liquid crystal becomes insufficient in the slow cells, resulting in defective products. On the other hand, if the filling operation is continued until the slow cells are filled, the cells that have been filled earlier will be swelled due to extra liquid crystal being injected, resulting in defective products.

[0004]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a pressurizing means for pressurizing a liquid crystal, a plurality of injection passages extending from the pressurization means, and a plurality of injection passages. A pressure reducing means provided and a connector provided at the tip of each injection passage are prepared, the connectors of the plurality of injection passages are connected to injection ports of a plurality of cells, and the liquid crystal is pressurized by the pressurizing means. Is simultaneously injected into a plurality of cells via a plurality of injection paths, and in each cell, after the filling of the liquid crystal reaches a predetermined level, the pressure reducing means of the injection path connected to the cell is operated to set the injection port. Wherein the injection pressure of the liquid crystal is reduced.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there are provided (a) a pressurizing means for pressurizing the liquid crystal, (b) a plurality of injection passages extending from the pressurizing means, and (c) a plurality of injection passages respectively provided in the plurality of injection passages. And (d) connectors provided at the tips of the plurality of injection passages and connected to the injection ports of the corresponding cells, respectively.

In a third aspect based on the second aspect, there is further provided a filling level detecting means provided for each of a plurality of cells,
Control means, wherein the filling level detecting means outputs a detection signal when the filling level of the liquid crystal of the corresponding cell reaches a predetermined level, and the control means operates the decompression means in response to the detection signal. Thus, the injection pressure of the liquid crystal at the injection port is reduced.

In a fourth aspect based on the second or third aspect, the pressure reducing means comprises a bypass passage bypassing the injection passage, and a valve opening / closing a passage portion of the injection passage parallel to the bypass passage. And the bypass passage is longer than the passage portion and has a smaller flow cross-sectional area.

In a fifth aspect based on the second or third aspect, the pressure reducing means is provided in the injection passage and opens and closes the injection passage, and an injection passage between the valve and the connector. A low-pressure supply means disposed in the back pressure chamber, wherein the low-pressure supply means has a configuration in which a liquid crystal chamber communicating with the injection passage and a back pressure chamber are partitioned by a diaphragm. A back pressure source for supplying a fluid pressure lower than the liquid crystal pressure generated by the means is connected.

In a sixth aspect based on the fifth aspect, the low-pressure supply means further has a stopper, and the stopper moves forward when the liquid crystal is injected while the valve is open. Position, and stops the expansion of the liquid crystal chamber by hitting the diaphragm.When the valve performs the closing operation, the stopper moves to the retracted position in synchronization with this to allow the expansion of the liquid crystal chamber. I do.

In a seventh aspect based on the sixth aspect, the valve is actuated by a first air cylinder, the stopper is driven by a second air cylinder, and the valve is moved forward for a valve closing operation in the first air cylinder. The air pressure chamber communicates with the retraction air pressure chamber of the second air cylinder, and the retraction air pressure chamber for opening the valve in the first air cylinder communicates with the forward air pressure chamber of the second air cylinder. It is characterized by having.

[0011]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 1 shows an apparatus M1 for simultaneously injecting a liquid crystal LC into a plurality of (for example, ten, only three in the figure) cells 1.

Prior to the detailed description of the liquid crystal injection device M1,
The cell 1 will be described. The cell 1 has two substrates 2 made of, for example, glass. In FIG. 1, these two substrates 2 are superimposed on the near side of the drawing and the back of the drawing. The peripheral portion of the substrate 2 is attached with an adhesive 3. A gap 4 having a minute thickness (about 5 μm) is formed by the substrate 2 and the adhesive 3. At the right edge of the cell 1, for example, the adhesive 3 is interrupted, and the interrupted portion becomes the injection port 5. The adhesive 3 is also interrupted at, for example, two places on the left edge of the cell 1, and this part is an exhaust port 6.

The liquid crystal injection device M1 will be described in detail. The device M1 includes an exhaust mechanism 10 for vacuum-suctioning the air in the gap 4 of the cell 1, and an injection mechanism 20 for injecting the liquid crystal LC into the gap 5. The exhaust mechanism 10 includes a vacuum pump 11 and a common exhaust passage 1 extending from the vacuum pump 11.
2 and a plurality of exhaust passages 13 branched from the common exhaust passage 12. The common exhaust passage 12 is provided with a valve 16 for opening and closing the same. Each exhaust passage 13
Are further branched into two branch exhaust passages 14, and exhaust connectors 15 are connected to these branch exhaust passages 14, respectively. These exhaust connectors 15 are connected to the exhaust ports 6 of the cell 1 respectively. A liquid crystal trap (not shown) is connected to each exhaust connector 15.

The injection mechanism 20 includes a pressurized tank 21 (pressurizing means) and a common injection passage 2 extending from the pressurized tank 21.
2 and a plurality of injection passages 23 branched from the common injection passage 22. The pressurized tank 21 is provided with an air pressure source (not shown) outside the bellows storing the liquid crystal LC, for example.
, And pressurizes the liquid crystal LC to a predetermined pressure and sends it to the common injection passage 22. The pressurized tank 21 also has a function of defoaming the liquid crystal. Injection connectors 24 (connectors) are connected to the tips of the plurality of injection passages 23, respectively. These injection connectors 24 are connected to injection ports 5 of cells 1 different from each other.

A pressure reducing means 30 is provided in each of the plurality of injection paths 23, and a valve 25 for opening and closing the injection path 23 is provided between the pressure reducing means and the injection connector 24. The pressure reducing means 30 includes a bypass passage 31 that bypasses the injection passage 23, and a valve 32 that opens and closes a passage portion 23 a in the injection passage 23 that is parallel to the bypass passage 31. The bypass passage 31 is sufficiently longer than the passage portion 23a.
In addition, the flow cross-sectional area of the bypass passage 31 is the passage portion 23a,
That is, it is sufficiently smaller than the flow cross-sectional area of the injection passage 23.
For example, while the diameter of the injection passage 23 is 2.8 mm, the diameter of the bypass passage 31 is 0.4 mm.

FIGS. 2 and 3 show the details of the pressure reducing means 30. FIG. The decompression means 30 includes three upper and lower superposed upper bodies 30U and a center body 30.
C and a base body 30B. A pair of cylindrical connection terminals 33A and 33B are provided on both left and right sides of the base body 30B. A portion of the injection passage 23 upstream of the pressure reducing means 30 is connected to a base end (an end protruding from the base body 30B) of the connection terminal 33A on the right side. Connection terminal 33B on left side
Is connected to a portion of the injection passage 23 on the downstream side of the pressure reducing means 30. In the base body 30B, a passage 30a extending from the tip of the connection terminal 33A (the end on the side that has entered the base body 30B) to the upper surface and a passage 30b extending from the tip of the connection terminal 33B to the upper surface are formed. . Passages 30a, 30b and connection terminals 33
The central holes of A and 33B are provided as a part of the injection passage 23.

On the front side (lower side in FIG. 3) of the base body 30B, another pair of connection terminals 33C and 33D are provided side by side. These connection terminals 33C,
Both ends of one elongated bypass pipe 34 are connected to 33D. One end of the bypass pipe 34 on the connection terminal 33C side is
It communicates with the passage 30a through a communication hole 30d formed in the base body 30B. Similarly, the other end of the bypass pipe 34 on the connection terminal 33D side is connected to the passage 30b via the communication hole 30e. The bypass passage 31 is constituted by the internal passage of the bypass pipe 34 and the communication holes 30d and 30e. A portion of the passage 30a downstream from a portion connected to the communication hole 30d and a portion of the passage 30b upstream of a portion connected to the communication hole 30e are provided as the passage portion 23a.

A valve receiving hole 30f is formed in the lower surface of the center body 30C, and passages 30a and 30b are connected to the valve receiving hole 30f. In the valve housing hole 30f,
The valve 32 is housed. The valve 32 integrally has a connecting portion 32a having a bolt and a diaphragm 32b provided at a lower end of the connecting portion 32a.

The valve 32 is operated by an air cylinder 35. The air cylinder 35 has a piston 36. The piston 36 is slidably accommodated in a cylinder hole 30g formed on the upper surface of the center body 30C. The cylinder hole 30g is coaxial with the valve housing hole 30f, and is connected via a communication hole 30h. A rod 37 is integrally provided on the lower surface of the piston 36. The lower end of this rod 37 passes through the communication hole 30h and
f, and is connected to the connecting portion 32a of the valve 32.

The forward air pressure chamber 30i above the piston 36 in the cylinder hole 30g is connected to the upper body 30.
It is connected to a common air pressure source with the pressurized tank 21 via a two-position, three-port valve 38 provided in U. The retreating air pressure chamber 30j below the piston 36 in the cylinder hole 30g is connected to the air pressure passage 30k formed in the center body 30C and the 2-position 3-port valve 39 provided in the upper body 30U through the valve 39 described above. Connected to air pressure source.

As shown in FIG. 1, the liquid crystal injection device M1 comprises:
Further, the liquid crystal sensor 40 installed for each of the plurality of cells 1
(Fill level detection means). LCD sensor 40
Is arranged in the cell 1 at the center in the width direction near the left edge where the exhaust port 6 is formed. The liquid crystal sensor 40 detects that the liquid crystal LC has reached the arrangement position by, for example, optical means.

The liquid crystal injection device M1 further includes a controller 41 (control means). This controller 4
1, a detection signal of the liquid crystal sensor 40 is input. The controller 41 controls the vacuum pump 1
1. The pressurized tank 21, the valves 16, 25, 38, 39, the air pressure source and the like are automatically controlled, and the liquid crystal is injected into the cell 1.

Hereinafter, a method of injecting liquid crystal into a plurality of cells 1 by the controller 41 will be described. First, the valve 16 of the common exhaust passage 12 is opened, and the vacuum pump 11 is driven to vacuum suction the air in the gap 4 of each cell 1. When the inside of the gap 4 is increased to a predetermined degree of vacuum, the valve 38 of each pressure reducing means 30 is set to the atmosphere release position and the valve 39 is set to the communication position with the air pressure source while continuing the vacuum suction. Thus, air pressure is supplied to the retreat air pressure chamber 30j. This air pressure pushes the piston 36 upward, and the center of the diaphragm 32b of the valve 32 rises from the upper surface of the base body 30B. Thereby, passage 3
Oa and 30b communicate with each other via a space between the diaphragm 32b and the upper surface of the base body 30B. That is, the passage portion 23a is opened. In addition, each injection passage 23
Is opened. Then, the pressurizing tank 21 is driven.

Thus, the pressurized liquid crystal LC is distributed from the pressurized tank 21 to the respective injection passages 23 via the common injection passage 22, reaches the injection connector 25, and is introduced into the injection port 5 of the cell 1. Thereby, gap 4 of cell 1
Then, the liquid crystal LC is filled so as to concentrically spread around the injection port 5. Since almost the entire amount of the liquid crystal LC passes through the passage portion 23a having a small flow resistance, the liquid crystal pressure in the pressurized tank 21 becomes the injection pressure at the injection port 5 without decreasing so much.

The filling speed of the liquid crystal LC in the gap 4 varies among the cells 1. Of the three cells 1 shown in FIG. 1, the upper cell 1 has the fastest filling speed, and the lower cell 1 has the slowest filling speed. Hereinafter, in order to distinguish these three cells 1, reference numerals 1A, 1B, and 1C are respectively given. Further, for simplicity of description, it is assumed that the plurality of cells 1 are only these three cells 1A, 1B, and 1C.

In the upper cell 1 A having the highest filling speed, the liquid crystal LC reaches the position where the liquid crystal sensor 40 is disposed first. As a result, a detection signal is output from the liquid crystal sensor 40 to the controller 41. Upon receiving this, the controller 41 causes the built-in timer to count,
Wait for a predetermined time to elapse. This predetermined time is equal to the length of the liquid crystal L.
The time required for C to reach the exhaust port 6 from the position where the liquid crystal sensor 40 is disposed is set in advance.
Then, when a predetermined time has elapsed, that is, when it is estimated that the liquid crystal LC has reached the exhaust port 6 and is full in the cell 1A, the controller 41 moves the valve 39 of the pressure reducing means 30 connected to the cell 1A to the atmosphere release position. At the same time, the valve 38 is switched to the communication position with the air pressure source. Thus, the air pressure is supplied to the forward air pressure chamber 30i.

The piston 36 is pushed down by the air pressure, and the diaphragm 32b of the valve 32 is pressed against the upper surface of the base body 30B. Thereby, the openings at the upper ends of the passages 30a and 30b are closed. That is, the passage portion 23a is closed. Therefore, the liquid crystal LC is introduced into the injection port 5 of the cell 1A through only the bypass passage 31 of the passage portion 23a and the bypass passage 31. Since the bypass passage 31 is thin and long, the pressure of the liquid crystal LC supplied from the pressurized tank 21 is greatly reduced during the passage through the bypass passage 31.

As a result, the injection pressure of the liquid crystal LC at the injection port 5 of the cell 1A is greatly reduced as compared to before the liquid crystal LC was filled through the passage portion 23a. Therefore, no excessive injection pressure acts on the cell 1A in the full state. Therefore, the cell 1A does not expand due to excessive injection of the liquid crystal LC. After the cell 1A is full, a small amount of liquid crystal LC is sucked into the liquid crystal trap from the exhaust port 6 of the cell 1A by the vacuum suction by the exhaust mechanism 10, but the liquid crystal LC is correspondingly sucked through the bypass passage 31.
Is replenished with the liquid crystal LC. As a result, the cell 1A after being full
The liquid crystal LC maintains an equilibrium state without being excessively filled or reduced.

The cell 1A which has been previously filled in this way is
While maintaining the equilibrium, the passage portions 23a are still opened for the cells 1B and 1C that are not yet full, and the liquid crystal injection at a high injection pressure is continued. And
When the liquid crystal LC is full in the cell 1B, the passage portion 23a connected to the cell 1B is closed, and the injection pressure at the injection port 5 is reduced. By this,
Cell 1B also maintains equilibrium.

When the liquid crystal LC is full in the cell 1C having the slowest filling speed, the passage portion 23a connected to the cell 1C is closed and the injection port 5 is closed.
Decrease the injection pressure at. As a result, the injection pressure of all the cells 1A, 1B, 1C is reduced. While maintaining this state for a while, the pressure of the exhaust port 6 is gradually returned to the atmospheric pressure. And all cells 1A, 1B,
The valve 25 connected to 1C is closed, the driving of the pressurized tank 21 is stopped, the injection and exhaust connectors 15, 24 are disconnected from the ports 5, 6, and the cells 1A, 1B, 1C are taken out.

The plurality of cells 1A, 1B, 1C into which liquid crystal has been injected as described above are filled with the liquid crystal LC in all cells 1A, 1B, 1C without excess or shortage regardless of the filling speed. . Therefore, all of these cells 1A, 1B, 1C can be made non-defective.

Next, a liquid crystal injection device M2 according to a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. In the device M2, the same components as those in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals in the drawings, and description thereof will be omitted.
The difference between the device M2 and the device M1 is the configuration of the pressure reducing means. As shown in FIG. 4, the pressure reducing means 3 of the device M2
0 ′ includes a valve 32 provided in each injection passage 23 and a low-pressure supply means 50 provided between the valve 32 and the valve 25.

As shown in FIG. 5, the low-pressure supply means 50 comprises:
It is provided in a common body 30U, 30C, 30B with the valve 32, and includes a diaphragm 51 and a back pressure source 52.

On the lower surface of the center body 30C, a diaphragm accommodating hole 50a for accommodating the diaphragm 51 is formed. The diaphragm accommodating hole 50a is partitioned by the diaphragm 51 into a lower liquid crystal chamber 50b and an upper back pressure chamber 50c. The liquid crystal chamber 50b has two passages 50d and 50e formed in the base body 30B.
Are connected. One passage 50d is connected to the passage 30b opened and closed by the valve 32. The other passage 50
e is connected to a portion of the injection passage 23 downstream of the low-pressure supply means 50. In the decompression means 30 ', the passages 30a, 30b, 50d, 50e and the liquid crystal chamber 50b
Are provided as a part of the injection passage 23.

Back pressure chamber 50c of diaphragm accommodating hole 50a
Is a back pressure passage 50 formed in the center body 30C.
f, and connection terminal 5 provided on upper body 30U
3 and connected to the back pressure source 52. The back pressure source 52 supplies a fluid pressure (hereinafter, referred to as “back pressure”) sufficiently lower than the liquid crystal pressure generated by the pressure tank 21 to the back pressure chamber 50c. In this embodiment, an air pressure is used as the back pressure, and an air pressure source connected to the pressurized tank 21 and the valves 38 and 39 is provided as the back pressure source 52.

The diaphragm 51 is restricted by a stopper 58. The stopper 58 is connected to the air cylinder 54
(A second air cylinder). The air cylinder 54 has a piston 55. Piston 55
Are slidably accommodated in a cylinder hole 50g formed on the upper surface of the center body 30C. This piston 5
A rod 56 is integrally provided on the lower surface of the rod 5.
The stopper 58 is integrally provided at the lower end of the nozzle 6.

The cylinder hole 50g is coaxially connected with the diaphragm accommodating hole 50a. These holes 50
A seal ring 57 is provided at the boundary between a and 50g. The seal ring 57 is in airtight contact with the outer peripheral portion of the rod 56, so that these holes 50a and 50g are partitioned.

The forward air pressure chamber 50h above the piston 55 in the cylinder hole 50g is connected to an air pressure source via a valve 39. Further, this forward air pressure chamber 50
h is a communication passage 50j formed in the center body 30C.
Via the air cylinder 35 for actuating the valve 32
The first air cylinder communicates with the retreat air pressure chamber 30j.

The retraction air pressure chamber 50i below the piston 55 in the cylinder hole 50g is
C through the communication passage 50k formed in the air cylinder 3
5 are connected to the forward air pressure chamber 30i.

The operation of the apparatus M2 configured as described above will be described. When injecting the liquid crystal, the controller 41 sets the valve 38 to the atmosphere release position and sets the valve 39 to the communication position with the air pressure source. Then, the air pressure is supplied to the forward air pressure chamber 50h of the air cylinder 54,
It is also supplied to the retraction air pressure chamber 30j of the air cylinder 35 through the communication passage 50j.

The forward air pressure chamber 50h of the air cylinder 54
5, the piston 55 is pushed down, and the stopper 58 reaches a forward position indicated by a virtual line in FIG. At the same time, the piston 36 is pushed up by the air pressure supplied to the retraction air pressure chamber 30j of the air cylinder 35, and the valve 32 is opened. As a result, the injection passage 23 is opened, and the liquid crystal LC is injected into the cell 1.

At this time, in the diaphragm accommodating hole 50a, the pressure of the liquid crystal LC in the liquid crystal chamber 50b below the diaphragm 51 is higher than the back pressure in the upper back pressure chamber 50c. Therefore, the diaphragm 51 is pushed upward. However, the diaphragm 51 hits the stopper 58 in the advanced position in the neutral state, and is prevented from being further pushed upward. Thereby, expansion of the liquid crystal chamber 50b is prevented.

When the cell 1A having the fastest filling speed is full, the controller 41 operates the valve 3 connected to the cell 1A.
9 is set to the atmosphere release position, and the valve 38 is set to the communication position with the air pressure source. Then, the air pressure becomes the air cylinder 3
5 is supplied to the forward air pressure chamber 30i of the air cylinder 54, and the air cylinder 54 is retracted through the communication passage 50k.
0i.

The forward air pressure chamber 30i of the air cylinder 35
The piston 36 is pushed down by the air pressure supplied to the valve 32, and the valve 32 is closed. At the same time, the air cylinder 54
By the air pressure supplied to the retraction air pressure chamber 50i
The piston 55 is pushed up, and the stopper 58 reaches the retracted position shown by the solid line in FIG. The retreating operation of the stopper 58 can prevent the injection pressure in the injection port 5 of the cell 1A from instantaneously increasing.

That is, the closing operation of the valve 32 acts so as to instantaneously increase the pressure of the liquid crystal LC in the injection passage 23 and the injection pressure in the injection port 5. on the other hand,
Since the stopper 58 is retracted in synchronization with the closing operation of the valve 32, the restriction on the diaphragm 51 is released, and the expansion of the liquid crystal chamber 50b is allowed. Therefore, the injection passage 23
When the liquid crystal pressure is increased, the diaphragm 51 is pushed up, the liquid crystal chamber 50b expands, and the pressure is prevented from increasing.

Thereafter, back pressure is continuously supplied from the back pressure source 52 to the back pressure chamber 50c, and this back pressure is provided as the injection pressure at the injection port 5 of the cell 1A. Since this back pressure is lower than the liquid crystal pressure generated by the pressurized tank 21, the injection pressure at the injection port 5 is greatly reduced as compared to before the injection port 5 is full. Therefore, the liquid crystal L
C is not implanted. When a small amount of liquid crystal LC is sucked from the exhaust port 6 by the exhaust mechanism 10,
The liquid crystal chamber 50b shrinks by that much, and the liquid crystal LC
Is replenished. The cell 1A maintains this equilibrium state until the remaining cells 1B and 1C are full.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment,
Various forms can be adopted. For example, the pressure reducing means may be a pressure control valve. A plurality of injection passages 23 may be directly connected to the pressurized tank 21. LCD sensor 40
Instead of operating the pressure reducing means after a predetermined time elapses after the detection signal is output from, the pressure reducing means may be operated immediately, and thereafter, the filling may be performed slowly until it becomes full. Further, the filling level detecting means may detect a full state of the cell. Further, the filling level detecting means may be a cell thickness detector. Device M
In 2, the back pressure may not be always supplied to the back pressure chamber 50c, but may be supplied after the closing operation of the valve 32.

[0048]

As described above, in the first invention,
After the filling of the liquid crystal in each cell reaches a predetermined level, the liquid crystal injection pressure at the injection port of that cell is reduced, so that the cells that have already been filled are excessively filled until the cell with a low filling rate becomes full. The liquid crystal is not filled, and the sucked-out liquid is refilled. As a result, it is possible to fill all the cells with the liquid crystal without excess or shortage.

In the second aspect of the present invention, the injection pressure at the injection port can be reduced for each cell, so that the cells already filled are filled with the liquid crystal excessively until the cells having a low filling speed are filled. Can be prevented, and the aspirated amount can be replenished. as a result,
Liquid crystals can be filled in all cells without excess or shortage.

In the third aspect, the filling level can be automatically controlled by the filling level detecting means and the control means so that the filling pressure is reduced after the liquid crystal filling of each cell reaches a predetermined level. In the fourth aspect, the injection pressure of the liquid crystal can be reliably reduced by the bypass passage.

In the fifth aspect of the present invention, by supplying a fluid pressure lower than the liquid crystal pressure by the pressurizing means to the back pressure chamber, a lower injection pressure is supplied to the injection port after the valve is closed than before the valve is closed. be able to. According to the sixth aspect, it is possible to prevent the injection pressure at the injection port from instantaneously increasing during the closing operation of the valve. According to the seventh aspect, by linking the two air cylinders, the valve opening operation and the stopper retreating operation can be synchronized, and the injection pressure during the valve closing operation can be reliably prevented from rising.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a liquid crystal injection device according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view showing the pressure reducing means of the device in a valve closed state.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line XX of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a schematic configuration diagram of a liquid crystal injection device according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a longitudinal sectional view showing the pressure reducing means of the apparatus shown in FIG. 4 in a state at the time of a valve closing operation.

[Explanation of symbols]

 M1, M2 Liquid crystal injecting device 1, 1A, 1B, 1C Cell 5 Injecting port 21 Pressurizing tank (pressurizing means) 23 Injecting passage 23a Passage portion 24 Injecting connector 30, 30 'Depressurizing means 30i Forward air pressure chamber 30j Retreat Air pressure chamber 31 Detour passage 32 Valve 35 Air cylinder (first air cylinder) 40 Liquid crystal sensor (Filling level detection means) 41 Controller (Control means) 50 Low pressure supply means 50b Liquid crystal chamber 50c Back pressure chamber 50h Air pressure chamber for forward movement 50i Retraction air pressure chamber 51 Diaphragm 52 Back pressure source 54 Air cylinder (second air cylinder) 58 Stopper

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. A pressurizing means for pressurizing a liquid crystal, a plurality of injection passages extending from the pressurizing means, a pressure reducing means provided in each injection passage, and a connector provided at a tip of each injection passage. And connecting the connectors of the plurality of injection paths to the injection ports of the plurality of cells, injecting the liquid crystal pressurized by the pressurizing means into the plurality of cells simultaneously through the plurality of injection paths, In each cell, after the filling of the liquid crystal reaches a predetermined level,
A method for injecting liquid crystal, comprising: activating pressure reducing means in an injection passage connected to the cell to reduce an injection pressure of liquid crystal at an injection port. 2. A pressurizing means for pressurizing the liquid crystal;
A plurality of injection passages extending from the pressurizing means,
(C) a pressure reducing means provided in each of the plurality of injection passages; and (d) a connector provided at the tip of each of the plurality of injection passages and connected to an injection port of a corresponding cell. Characteristic liquid crystal injection device. 3. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a filling level detecting means provided for each of the plurality of cells, and a control means, wherein the filling level detecting means detects when the filling level of the liquid crystal in the corresponding cell reaches a predetermined level. 3. The liquid crystal injection device according to claim 2, wherein a signal is output, and the control means operates the pressure reducing means in response to the detection signal to lower the injection pressure of the liquid crystal at the injection port. 4. The decompression means includes a bypass passage that bypasses the injection passage, and a valve that opens and closes a passage portion of the injection passage that is in parallel with the bypass passage.
The liquid crystal injection device according to claim 2, wherein a flow cross-sectional area is longer than the passage portion and is smaller. 5. The low pressure means includes a valve provided in the injection passage for opening and closing the injection passage, and low pressure supply means disposed in the injection passage between the valve and the connector. The supply means has a configuration in which a liquid crystal chamber communicating with the injection passage and a back pressure chamber are partitioned by a diaphragm, and a fluid pressure lower than the liquid crystal pressure generated by the pressurizing means is supplied to the back pressure chamber. The liquid crystal injection device according to claim 2, wherein a back pressure source is connected. 6. The low-pressure supply means further includes a stopper, and when the pressurized liquid crystal is being injected while the valve is open, the stopper is in the forward position and hits the diaphragm to expand the liquid crystal chamber. 6. The liquid crystal injection device according to claim 5, wherein when the valve performs a closing operation, the stopper moves to the retracted position in synchronization with the closing operation to allow expansion of the liquid crystal chamber. . 7. The valve is operated by a first air cylinder, the stopper is driven by a second air cylinder,
A forward air pressure chamber for a valve closing operation in the first air cylinder communicates with a retreat air pressure chamber for the second air cylinder, and a retreat air pressure chamber for a valve opening operation in the first air cylinder. 7. The liquid crystal injection device according to claim 6, wherein a forward air pressure chamber of the second air cylinder is in communication.