JP2000193991A - Method for heating liquid crystal and apparatus therefor - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To make it possible to efficiently warm a cell by blowing heated gas to the cell at the time of filling liquid crystals into the cell. SOLUTION: A fan 53 and heater 54 in a unit box 52 are driven simultaneously with the start of a liquid crystal filling operation or slightly before the same. The air in a vessel 10 is sucked by driving of the fan 53 into a duct 51 through a suction port, by which the air is heated in the process of passing the heater 54. The air is blown off in the form of hot air from the duct 51 to a hood 55. The hot air is subjected to the removal of dust by a filter 57 and to the removal of static electricity by an ionizer 58 and is thereafter blown to the cell 1 from the holes of a gap forming material 59. The cell 1 is thus rapidly warmed. The liquid crystals filled into the cell 1 are warmed by the heat from the warmed cell 1, by which the viscous resistance thereof is lowered. Consequently, the liquid crystals are more easily filled into the cell 1 and the time for packing the liquid crystals is shortened.

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 heating liquid crystal injected into a cell.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, when injecting liquid crystal into a cell, a heater (heating means) is disposed above the cell, and the cell is heated by radiant heat. As a result, the temperature of the liquid crystal injected into the cell is increased to reduce the viscous resistance, and the liquid crystal is easily injected into the cell.

[0003]

In the above conventional structure, the method of transferring heat by radiant heat has a problem that it takes a long time to warm the cell to a desired temperature, which is inefficient. In addition, it is difficult to uniformly heat the liquid crystal, particularly when the liquid crystal is simultaneously injected into a plurality of cells. That is,
When the cells are arranged perpendicular to the direction in which the heat of the heater is transmitted, heat is less likely to be transmitted to the cells on the side farther from the heater due to the shadow of the cells closer to the heater. Therefore, in order to heat these cells at the same time, the cells must be arranged in parallel to the direction in which heat is transmitted, but in such a case, only the edge near the heater in each cell is heated, and the edge on the far side is heated. The edges are less likely to be warmed.

[0004]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, a liquid gas is injected into a cell, and a heated gas is blown onto the cell. Second
According to the invention of (a), an air-blowing path whose outlet side is directed toward the cell, (b) air-blowing means provided in the air-blowing path, and (c) heating for heating gas passing through the air-blowing path Means. A third invention is characterized in that, in the second invention, the axis of the blowing-side end of the air passage is substantially parallel to a plurality of cells arranged in parallel with each other. A fourth invention is the third invention, wherein
A plate material orthogonal to the axis of the blow-side end is provided at the blow-side end of the air passage, and a large number of holes are formed in the plate, and the ratio of the holes per unit area of the plate is It is characterized in that it becomes larger as approaching from the center of the plate to the periphery. A fifth invention is characterized in that, in the third or fourth invention, a suction-side end of the air passage is arranged on a side opposite to a blow-side end of the air passage with the plurality of cells interposed therebetween. . A sixth invention is characterized in that, in any one of the second to fifth inventions, the position of the outlet side of the air passage is adjustable with respect to the support means for supporting the cell.

[0005]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. FIG. 1 shows a liquid crystal injection system S. The system S includes a sealable container 10. In the container 10, a cassette 20 (support means) for setting the cell 1, an injection device 30 for injecting liquid crystal into the cell 1, and an exhaust device 40 for exhausting air in the cell 1, according to the present invention. A liquid crystal heating device 50 is provided. These cassettes 20 and devices 30, 4
0 and 50 are two front sides each (in front of the sheet of FIG. 1).
And a rear side (rear side in the drawing of FIG. 2) in a pair (see FIG. 2). The following description will be made only with respect to the front cassette 20 and the apparatuses 30, 40, and 50. First, the configurations of the cassette 20, the injection device 30, and the exhaust device 40 will be briefly described.

As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG.
Is formed in a box shape, and openings 20a and 20b are formed in the upper and lower side plates substantially over the entire side plates. Wheels 21 are provided on the edges of the four corners of the opening 20 b in the lower plate of the cassette 20, and the wheels 21 are engaged with rails 22 laid in the front-rear direction. Thereby, the cassette 20 can be moved forward from the set position in FIG. The container 10 is provided with a door (not shown) for taking the cassette 20 in and out. The cassette 20 is fixed by the clamp 23 at the setting position.

In the cassette 20, openings 20c and 20d are formed substantially on the right and left side plates, respectively. At the upper and lower edges of the left and right openings 20c and 20d of the cassette 20, ten grooves 20e extending in the left-right direction are formed at regular intervals in the front-rear direction. The four corners of each cell 1 are inserted into these grooves 20e, and are supported vertically. As a result, ten cells 1 are arranged and set in parallel in the cassette 20 at intervals. An injection port 1a is provided at the right end of each cell 1, and two exhaust ports 1b are provided at the left end.

On the right side of the cassette 20, the injection device 3
0 is provided. The injection device 30 includes a slide mechanism 31 extending in the left-right direction, a vertically extending lift mechanism 32 provided on the slide mechanism 31, and an injection connector 33 provided on the lift mechanism 32. The slide mechanism 31 moves the lift mechanism 32 in the left-right direction, and the lift mechanism 32 moves the injection connector 33 up and down. Ten injection connectors 33 are arranged in the front-rear direction at the same interval as the ten cells 1 described above.
0 can be inserted into the cassette 20 through the opening 20d of the right side plate. Each injection connector 33 is connected to a liquid crystal injection pipe 34.

On the left side of the cassette 20, the exhaust device 4
0 is provided. The exhaust device 40 includes the slide mechanism 4
1, a lift mechanism 42, and an exhaust connector 43, similar to the injection device 30. However, the exhaust system 4
0, the exhaust connector 43 is connected to each lift mechanism 42
Are provided in pairs, two at a time. These exhaust connectors 43 are connected to the left opening 20 c of the cassette 20.
Can be inserted into the cassette 20 via the. A vacuum suction pipe 44 is connected to each exhaust connector 43.

The liquid crystal heating device 50 according to the present invention will be described. The liquid crystal heating device 50 includes a duct 51 and a unit box 52 provided in the middle of the duct 51. The unit box 52 accommodates a fan 53 (blowing means) and a heater 54 (heating means). I have.

The suction port 51a (end on the suction side) of the duct 51 is arranged below the cassette 20 at the set position, that is, below the cell 1, and vertically overlaps the opening 20b of the lower plate of the cassette 20. . In the duct 51, the downstream side of the unit box 52 is flexible, and a hood 55 whose axis is oriented vertically is connected to the downstream end of the duct 51. Food 55
Is disposed above the cassette 20 at the set position, that is, above the cell 1, and the inside of the hood 55 vertically overlaps the opening 20a of the upper plate of the cassette 20. The hood 55 is supported by an elevating mechanism 60 suspended from the ceiling of the container 10, and the height of the hood 55 can be adjusted in response to a change in the size of the cell 1. The duct 51, the unit box 52, and the hood 55 constitute a “blowing path” in the claims, and the hood 55 forms a “blow-side end of the blowing path”.

Inside the hood 55, a temperature sensor 56, a filter 57, and an ionizer (static electricity removing means) 58 are sequentially provided from above. A punching metal 59 (plate material) is horizontally attached to the lower end of the hood 55. As shown in FIG. 3, a large number of holes 59a are formed in the punching metal 59 over the entire surface.
These holes 59a are arranged regularly at the center, and have a smaller diameter near the center of the punching metal 59 and a larger diameter nearer the periphery. That is, the ratio of the hole 59 a per unit area of the punching metal 59 increases as the punching metal 59 approaches the periphery from the center.

A method for injecting liquid crystal into the cell 1 by the liquid crystal injection system S configured as described above will be described. As shown in FIG. 2, the hood 55 is lowered in advance, and the punching metal 59 at the lower end thereof is abutted against the upper plate of the cassette 20. Then, the injection connector 33 is connected to the injection port 1a of each cell 1, and the exhaust connector 43 is connected to the exhaust port 1b. Next, the air in the cell 1 is vacuum-evacuated from the exhaust connector 43 to increase the inside of the cell 1 to a certain degree of vacuum. Thereafter, the liquid crystal is injected from the injection connector 33 into the injection port 1a. The height of the hood 55 may be adjusted after the connectors 33 and 43 are connected and before the liquid crystal is injected.

Simultaneously with or slightly before the start of the liquid crystal injection operation, the fan 53 and the heater 54 in the unit box 52 are driven. Then, the air in the container 10 is moved from the suction port 51a to the duct 5 by driving the fan 53.
1 and is heated in the process of passing through the heater 54, and is blown out from the duct 51 to the hood 55 as hot air. This hot air is blown onto the cell 1 from the hole 59a of the punching metal 59 after dust is removed by the filter 57 and static electricity is removed by the ionizer 58. Thereby, the cell 1 is rapidly heated. The liquid crystal injected into the cell 1 is heated by receiving heat from the heated cell 1, and the viscous resistance is reduced.
As a result, the liquid crystal is easily injected into the cell 1, and the filling time of the liquid crystal is shortened. The ionizer 58 also removes static electricity generated when the connectors 33 and 43 are connected to and disconnected from the ports 1a and 1b of the cell 1.

The process of heating the cell 1 will be described in more detail. The hot air blown out from the holes 59a of the punching metal 59 flows in parallel with
And the gap between the front and rear side plates of the cassette 10 flows vigorously. Therefore, the cell 1 is uniformly heated on the side near and far from the hole 59a. Also, the hot air flows along both surfaces of each cell 1, so that both surfaces are uniformly heated.
Furthermore, the action of the punching metal 59 heats the ten cells 1 evenly. That is, the wind pressure of the hot air inside the hood 55 is strongest on the central axis, and becomes weaker as it approaches the wall surface of the hood 55. On the other hand, the hole 59 near the periphery of the punched metal 59
The larger the diameter, the smaller the flow resistance of the hot air.
Therefore, the amount of hot air blown out per unit time is equal to all holes 59a. Therefore, the same amount of hot air is blown to all the cells 1 irrespective of whether they are arranged near the center in the front-rear direction or near the front end or the rear end.

The hot air that has passed through the cell 1 is supplied to the suction port 5
It is sucked into the duct 51 again from 1a, circulated and reused. Thereby, the burden on the heater 54 is reduced. The temperature of the hot air is measured by a temperature sensor 56. When the temperature exceeds an appropriate temperature range, the output of the heater 54 is reduced or turned off. When the temperature falls below the appropriate temperature range, the output of the heater 54 is increased or turned on again. As a result, the component of the liquid crystal in the cell 1 does not change.

After the cell 1 is filled with liquid crystal, the fan 5
3 and the drive of the heater 54 are stopped, and the hood 55 is raised and separated from the cassette 20. Further, the injection connector 33 and the exhaust connector 43 are connected to the respective ports 1a, 1b.
Away from Then, the door of the container 10 is opened, and the cassette 20 is opened.
Is pulled out of the container 10, and the cell 1 is taken out together with the cassette 20.

The liquid crystal injection system S can support cells of various sizes. Cassettes of different sizes are used according to the cells. The height of the hood 55 can be adjusted by the elevating mechanism 60 so that the hood 55 always hits the upper plate of the cassette regardless of the height of the cassette.

In any size, the position of the center of the cell and the cassette in the left-right direction is the same as the position in FIG. The axis of the hood 55 is offset toward the injection device 30 with respect to this center position. Therefore, the hot air can be reliably blown to the right portion where the injection port 1a of the cell is located. That is, irrespective of the size of the cell, the viscous resistance can be reduced in the initial stage of injecting the liquid crystal into the cell, and the liquid crystal can be filled in a shorter time. The reason why only the cell 1 is warmed, not the whole in the container 10, is that if the whole is warmed, the defoaming tank 35 of the injecting device 30 will be warmed up, and there is a risk that the components of the liquid crystal will evaporate. is there.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment,
Various forms can be adopted. For example, a large number of holes 59a formed in the punching metal 59 may have the same diameter, and the number of holes 59a per unit area may be increased as the hole 59a is closer to the peripheral portion of the punching metal 59. The heating means may not be provided in the air passage, and may be arranged, for example, between the outlet side end of the air passage and the cell.

[0021]

As described above, in the first and second aspects of the present invention, the cell can be efficiently heated by blowing heated gas to the cell. According to the third invention, the heated gas flows in parallel with each cell, so that a plurality of cells can be simultaneously and almost uniformly heated, and both sides of each cell are close to the blow-out end of the air passage. Even the far side can be evenly heated. According to the fourth invention, the amount of gas blown out from each hole of the plate per unit time can be made equal to each other, so that the plurality of cells can be heated even more evenly. In the fifth aspect, by circulating the gas, the cell can be more efficiently heated, and the burden on the heating means can be reduced. Further, the flow of gas passing through the cell can be made smooth. According to the sixth aspect, the blowing-side end of the airflow path can be always arranged close to the cell regardless of the size of the cell, and the heating efficiency of the cell can be increased.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view showing an embodiment of the present invention in a state before hot-air blowing.

FIG. 2 is a side view showing a main part of FIG. 1 in a state at the time of blowing hot air.

FIG. 3 is a plan view of a punching metal.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Cell 50 Liquid crystal heating device 51 Duct (blowing path) 51a Suction port (suction side end) 52 Unit box (blowing path) 53 Fan (blowing means) 54 Heater (heating means) 55 Hood (blowing side end of blowing path) Part) 59 Punched metal (plate material) 59a Hole

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A method for heating a liquid crystal, wherein a heated gas is blown onto the cell when injecting the liquid crystal into the cell. 2. An air blowing path whose end on the blowing side faces the cell; (b) air blowing means provided in the air blowing path; and (c) a gas passing through the air blowing path is heated. A liquid crystal heating device, comprising: heating means. 3. The liquid crystal heating device according to claim 2, wherein an axis of a blow-side end of the air passage is substantially parallel to a plurality of cells arranged in parallel with each other. 4. A plate member orthogonal to the axis of the blow-side end is provided at the blow-side end of the air passage, and a large number of holes are formed in the plate, and the holes per unit area of the plate are formed. 4. The liquid crystal heating device according to claim 3, wherein the proportion of the liquid crystal material increases as the plate material approaches the peripheral portion from the central portion. 5. The liquid crystal processing device according to claim 3, wherein a suction-side end of the air passage is disposed on a side opposite to a blow-side end of the air passage across the plurality of cells. Heating equipment. 6. The liquid crystal heating device according to claim 2, wherein the position of the outlet side of the air passage is adjustable with respect to a supporting means for supporting the cells.