JP2000241785A - Production of liquid crystal display element cell and apparatus for production - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To enable the industrial production of multidomain system liquid crystal display cells by adopting the constitution to automatically and continuously execute respective stages for mounting liquid crystal display element cells of unoriented liquid crystal molecules to voltage impressing means, recovering of the liquid crystal display cells with which the orientation is completed from the voltage impressing means, etc. SOLUTION: At the time of the orientation of the liquid crystal molecules of the multidomain system display element cells, the respective stages of mounting of the liquid crystal display element cell of the unoriented liquid crystal molecules to the voltage impressing means, heating of the liquid crystal display element cells, impressing of voltage to the liquid crystal display element cells, cooling of the liquid crystal display element cells, irradiating of the liquid crystal display element cells with UV rays, releasing of the voltage impressed to the liquid crystal display element cells and recovering of the liquid crystal display element cells with which the orientation is completed from the voltage impressing means are automatically and continuously executed. The apparatus for production consists of a cell loading station 1, voltage impressing jigs 7, a heating and cooling station 2, a UV irradiation station 3, etc. The cell loading station consists of a transfer device 8, cassette rotating mechanism, etc.

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 manufacturing a liquid crystal display element cell, and more particularly, to a method for manufacturing one pixel,
The present invention relates to a method and an apparatus for manufacturing a liquid crystal display element cell of a multi-domain type liquid crystal display element cell which is divided into a plurality of regions having different rising directions of liquid crystal molecules to improve viewing angle characteristics.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as shown in FIGS. 14, 15 and 16, in a TN (twisted nematic) type liquid crystal display device, a first electrode substrate 63 and a second
An electrode substrate 64 is attached at a predetermined gap, and the two electrode substrates 63 and 64 are attached to each other so as to face each other.
A transparent electrode made of TO (indium tin oxide) is formed by vapor deposition.

In a liquid crystal display device capable of dot matrix display, a transparent electrode of an active matrix type liquid crystal display element cell generally has a pixel electrode 70 in a dot matrix shape corresponding to a display pixel on a first electrode substrate 63.
In the second electrode substrate 64, the common electrode 7 is continuous over the entire display surface.
It is configured as 1.

The first electrode substrate 63 has a pixel electrode 7
0, the thin film transistor or the thin film diode, the capacitor, the pixel electrode 7
0 or a gate electrode, a gate electrode, a drain line, a drain electrode, a transfer electrode for supplying a current to the common electrode 71, and a black matrix for blocking incident light other than the display pixel portion. ) Are formed together with the transparent electrode by vapor deposition.

[0005] An alignment layer 73 made of a polyimide resin or a polymer organic film is formed on the transparent electrode. The surface of the orientation layer 73 is a velvet woven roller (not shown) of rayon, cotton, polyester, or the like.
A rubbing treatment that rubs in one direction is applied. The two electrode substrates 63 and 64 are bonded so that the rubbed alignment layer 73 faces each other. At this time, the orientation layer 73
The two electrode substrates 63 and 64 are bonded together so that a gap between them forms, for example, a gap of 3 to 6 μm.

Further, the two electrode substrates 6 bonded together
A nematic liquid crystal material 74 is sealed in the gap between 3 and 64. It is known that the liquid crystal molecules 75 are aligned at the boundary with the alignment layer 73 along the vector direction of the rubbing process. For example, the rubbing direction of the first electrode substrate 63 is set to 45
If the rubbing directions of the opposing alignment layers 73 are perpendicular to each other such that the rubbing direction of the second electrode substrate 64 is −45 °, the liquid crystal molecules 75 will be formed due to the properties of the nematic liquid crystal material.
Is 90 between the first electrode substrate 63 and the second electrode substrate 64.
゜ It becomes a twisted spiral arrangement. In addition, STN (super tw
The isted nematic (super twisted nematic) type liquid crystal display device has a twist angle of 180 ° to 270 ° by changing the components of the liquid crystal material 74.

[0007] A polarizing plate 72 is attached to the outside of both electrode substrates 63 and 64. The polarizing plate 72 is attached such that the polarization axis is parallel to the rubbing direction of the alignment layer 73. That is, similarly to the rubbing direction, the polarizing axes of the opposing polarizing plates 72 are configured to be orthogonal to each other. For example, in the case of the above example, the polarization axis of the first electrode substrate 63 is set to 45 °, and the polarization axis of the second electrode substrate 64 is set to −45 °. The incident light emitted from the backlight 76 is polarized by the polarizing plate 72 of the first electrode substrate 63. The polarized incident light is formed by the helical molecular arrangement of the liquid crystal material 74.
The polarized light component reaches the second electrode substrate 64 while rotating. Since the polarization axis of the polarizing plate 72 attached to the second electrode substrate 64 is orthogonal to the polarization axis of the polarizing plate 72 of the first electrode substrate 63, the incident light whose polarization component has turned by 90 ° is It can pass through the polarizing plate 72 provided on the electrode substrate,
Recognized as white display.

On the other hand, when a voltage is applied between the pixel electrode 70 of the first electrode substrate 63 and the common electrode 71 of the second electrode substrate 64, as shown in FIG. Are aligned and stand up. Liquid crystal molecules 7
When 5 rises vertically, the incident light from the backlight 76 does not rotate its polarization component, but proceeds straight and reaches the second electrode substrate 64. Since the polarization axis of the polarizing plate 72 of the second electrode substrate 64 is orthogonal to the polarization axis of the incident light, the incident light cannot pass through the polarizing plate 72 and is recognized as a black display.

[0009] As described above, a device that provides white display in a no-voltage state is called a normally white mode, and this mode is frequently used in a liquid crystal display device used as a display device. A black display without voltage is called a normally black mode, and a liquid crystal display device using this mode is also used. When the applied voltage is changed within the range of white display (no voltage) to black display, the tilt angle of the liquid crystal molecules 75 changes according to the voltage. At this time, the transmittance of the incident light changes according to the inclination angle of the liquid crystal molecules 75, and a gray scale expression between a white display and a black display can be realized. When color display is performed, at least one of the electrode substrates 63 or 64 is provided with RGB (red, gree).
n, blue = red, green, and blue = three primary colors of light). Generally, the second electrode substrate 64 is colored, and this is called a color filter substrate.

As shown in FIG. 16B, when a certain pixel displays an intermediate gradation, the liquid crystal molecules 75 are applied to both electrode substrates 63,
64. Accordingly, the angle of inclination of the liquid crystal molecules 75 with respect to the line of sight differs between when viewing from the normal direction, when viewing from the right diagonal direction, and when viewing from the left diagonal direction. As described above, the liquid crystal molecules 75
Is different, the transmittance of the incident light changes, so that different gradations are recognized depending on the viewing direction. For example, on the basis of the visual recognition from the normal direction, the image is recognized as being darker in the diagonal right direction and brighter in the diagonal left direction. Further, as the viewing direction is more inclined from the normal direction, the degree of gradation change becomes larger, causing a significant decrease in contrast and further inversion of contrast.

As described above, the conventional liquid crystal display device has a problem that the display quality is significantly reduced depending on the viewing direction. Also, there is a problem that the viewing angle range in which a normal gradation expression can be obtained is extremely narrow, and C having excellent viewing angle characteristics
The advantage over an RT (cathode ray tube = cathode ray tube = cathode ray tube) display device or the like has been significantly impaired. As a means for solving such a problem, a multi-domain technique has been proposed in which one pixel is divided into a plurality of regions having different rising directions of liquid crystal molecules to improve visual characteristics.

For example, in Japanese Patent No. 2565639, a pixel electrode 70 is provided on a first electrode substrate 63 as shown in FIG.
However, a common electrode 71 is formed on the second electrode substrate 64 by vapor deposition. Further, when an opening 78 is provided at a portion of the common electrode 71 facing the pixel electrode 70 and a voltage is applied between the pixel electrode 70 and the common electrode 71, the opening 78 causes an uneven electric field in the pixel. Due to the non-uniform electric field, one pixel is divided into a plurality of regions having different rising directions of the liquid crystal molecules 75. As a result, a display without gradation inversion can be obtained even when viewed from an oblique direction.

Further, as described above, the liquid crystal molecules 75 are aligned along the vector direction of the rubbing process performed on the alignment layer 73. Therefore, in Japanese Patent No. 2692693, FIG.
As shown in (1), a plurality of regions 80 and 81 having different rubbing directions are provided in one pixel. In the regions 80 and 81, the rising directions of the liquid crystal molecules 75 are different. That is, one pixel is divided into a plurality of regions 80 and 81 having different rising directions of the liquid crystal molecules 75. As a result, a display without gradation inversion can be obtained even when viewed from an oblique direction.

Further, in the technique described in JP-A-10-20323, as shown in FIG. 20, an opening 78 is provided in a pixel electrode 70, and a third electrode 79 is provided in the opening 78. Further, a third electrode 79 is provided over the pixel electrode 70 with an insulating layer (not shown) interposed therebetween. Liquid crystal substance 74 (FIG. 14)
A photosensitive low-molecular substance is mixed in advance. After the liquid crystal material 74 is heated to a temperature indicating an isotropic liquid state, the liquid crystal material 74 is re-aligned by gradually cooling while applying a voltage to the pixel electrode 70 and the third electrode 79. At this time, a voltage higher than the voltage applied to the pixel electrode 70 is applied to the third electrode 79 as described above. For example, 5
V, 10 V is applied to the third electrode 79.

As a result, a non-uniform electric field is generated, and one pixel is divided into a plurality of regions having different rising directions of the liquid crystal molecules 75. Thereafter, the photosensitive low-molecular substance is photopolymerized and polymerized by irradiating ultraviolet rays. This polymer compound is uniformly dispersed in the liquid crystal material 74, and the liquid crystal molecules 75
Can be stabilized.

[0016]

However, the above-mentioned patent No. 2
In the technique described in Japanese Patent No. 565639, since the opening 78 is also formed in the common electrode 71 which does not originally require fine processing, fine processing such as photoresist processing is required, and the pixel electrode 70 and the opening 78 can be accurately formed. First to meet
Since an advanced bonding technique of the electrode substrate 63 and the second electrode substrate 64 is required, there is a problem that the manufacturing process is complicated.

Further, since there is no electrode in the opening 78, a sufficient electric field is not applied to the opening 78 when a voltage is applied to the pixel electrode 70, and the liquid crystal does not respond sufficiently to the applied voltage. In addition, there is a problem that the response of the liquid crystal becomes insufficient and the contrast is lowered.

On the other hand, according to the technique described in Japanese Patent No. 2692693, a plurality of rubbing treatments having different vector directions are required for the alignment layers 73 of the first electrode substrate 63 and the second electrode substrate 64, respectively. In order to form a plurality of regions having different directions, it is necessary to perform a masking process such as a photoresist process on the alignment layer 73. Further, in order to accurately face the regions 80 and 81 having different rubbing directions, the first electrode substrate is formed. Since an advanced bonding technique between the first electrode substrate 63 and the second electrode substrate 64 is required, the manufacturing process is complicated.

In view of the above problems, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-2032
In JP-A No. 3 (1993) -1995, a third electrode 79 is provided in the pixel electrode 70, and a voltage higher than the voltage applied to the pixel electrode 70 is applied to the third electrode 79, thereby generating a non-uniform electric field. A method for improving the viewing angle characteristics by dividing a pixel into a plurality of regions having different rising directions of the liquid crystal molecules 75 is disclosed.

In addition to the above, some inventions have been proposed in which the viewing angle characteristics are improved by using multi-domains. However, all of the above-mentioned three prior art examples also show the possibility of a multi-domain liquid crystal display device. None of them have been demonstrated at the experimental level and mention industrial production methods and production equipment.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide an industrial method and apparatus for manufacturing a liquid crystal display element cell described in the above-mentioned conventional example.

It is an object of the present invention to heat a liquid crystal display element cell to a temperature higher than a temperature at which a liquid crystal material undergoes a phase transition to an isotropic liquid state, thereby forming a pixel electrode formed on a first electrode substrate and a second electrode. While applying a voltage to the third electrode and the common electrode formed on the second electrode substrate, the liquid crystal display element cell was cooled to a temperature at which the liquid crystal material showed anisotropy, and the liquid crystal material was realigned. In a method of manufacturing a multi-domain type liquid crystal display element cell in which a photosensitive low-molecular substance mixed in a liquid crystal substance is irradiated with ultraviolet light to polymerize by photopolymerization and stabilize a rising angle of liquid crystal molecules, An object of the present invention is to provide a method and an apparatus for manufacturing a liquid crystal display element cell, which automatically perform a process continuously and enable industrial production.

[0023]

In order to achieve the above object, a method of manufacturing a liquid crystal display element cell according to the present invention comprises the steps of: aligning liquid crystal molecules of a multi-domain liquid crystal display element cell; Mounting the liquid crystal display element cell on the voltage applying means, heating the liquid crystal display element cell, applying a voltage to the liquid crystal display element cell, cooling the liquid crystal display element cell, irradiating the liquid crystal display element cell with ultraviolet rays, the liquid crystal display element The method is characterized in that the steps of canceling the voltage applied to the cell and collecting the liquid crystal display element cell from the voltage applying means whose alignment has been completed are automatically and continuously performed.

At this time, a liquid crystal display element cell is mounted on the voltage applying means, and a voltage is applied to the liquid crystal display element cell.
The liquid crystal display element cell may be cooled and irradiated with ultraviolet rays.

Further, an area slightly larger than the periphery of the display area of the liquid crystal display element cell may be heated and cooled. On this occasion,
It is preferable to cool the liquid crystal display element cell at a constant temperature gradient.

Further, in the apparatus for manufacturing a liquid crystal display element cell according to the present invention, means for applying a voltage to the liquid crystal display element cell, means for mounting the liquid crystal display element on the voltage applying means, and Means for heating, means for applying a voltage to the liquid crystal display element cell, means for cooling the liquid crystal display element cell, means for irradiating the liquid crystal display element cell with ultraviolet light, and means for applying a voltage to the liquid crystal display element cell. Means for canceling the applied voltage, means for collecting the liquid crystal display element cells from the voltage applying means, and means for controlling each of the means.

A liquid crystal display element cell is mounted on the voltage applying means, and while the voltage applying means applies a voltage to the liquid crystal display element cell, the cooling means cools the liquid crystal display element cell. It is also possible to irradiate the liquid crystal display element cell with ultraviolet light by means of ultraviolet light irradiating means.

Further, the voltage applying means includes a roller, and a liquid crystal display element is provided between a heating / cooling station for heating and cooling the liquid crystal display element cell and an ultraviolet irradiation station for irradiating the liquid crystal display element cell with ultraviolet light. The cell may be configured to move while applying a voltage.

The voltage applying means includes an inner underframe having a wiring substrate for supplying a voltage from a voltage generator to the liquid crystal display element cell via a terminal, the inner underframe being fitted therein and the roller being provided. It is preferable to have an outer underframe.

Further, the voltage applying means has a cell positioning part for positioning the liquid crystal display element cell, and the gate positioning and drain terminal of the liquid crystal display element cell are reliably connected to the terminals of the voltage applying means by the cell positioning part. Preferably.

Further, the voltage applying means has a cell holding mechanism for holding the liquid crystal display element cell with an arbitrary holding force, and the gate terminal and the drain terminal of the liquid crystal display element cell are connected to the voltage by the cell holding mechanism. It is preferable to make sure that it makes contact with the terminal of the application means.

A heating / cooling plate for heating and cooling the liquid crystal display element cell may be brought into surface contact with an area slightly larger than the periphery of the display area of the liquid crystal display element cell to perform heating and cooling. It is.

At this time, it is preferable that the heating means can arbitrarily set the heating temperature of the liquid crystal display element cell up to a maximum of 130 ° C., and the cooling means makes the liquid crystal display element cell constant. It is preferable to enable cooling by a temperature gradient.

When the liquid crystal display element cell is heated by the heating means, the temperature of the liquid crystal display element cell is higher than the phase transition temperature of the liquid crystal material by 20 ° C.
It is preferable to detect that the temperature has reached a high temperature, and to perform heating surely. When cooling the liquid crystal display element cell heated by the cooling means, the temperature is higher than the phase transition temperature of the liquid crystal substance by 30%.
It is preferable to detect that the temperature has been lowered by ° C. and to surely perform cooling.

Further, it is preferable that the illuminance of the ultraviolet light applied to the liquid crystal display element cell by the ultraviolet irradiation means is variable, and that the irradiation time of the ultraviolet light can be set arbitrarily.

By exhausting the atmosphere of the lamp of the ultraviolet lamp and the interior of the ultraviolet irradiation chamber, overheating of the ultraviolet irradiation chamber and the liquid crystal display cell due to the radiant heat generated by the ultraviolet lamp is prevented,
At this time, it is preferable to inject outside air to the liquid crystal display element cell by a cooling fan to prevent the liquid crystal display element cell from being overheated due to ultraviolet irradiation.

Further, it is more preferable to provide a polarizing microscope for observing the alignment state during heating and cooling of the liquid crystal display element cell.

The liquid crystal display device cell manufacturing apparatus according to the present invention is used to inject, for example, a liquid crystal material mixed with a photosensitive low-molecular substance loaded in a cassette by a transfer device at a cell loading station. Of the liquid crystal display element cell is loaded in a voltage application jig.

Next, the liquid crystal display element cell loaded in the voltage applying jig is moved to an adjacent heating / cooling station.
When the liquid crystal display cell is heated to 100 ° C. in the heating / cooling station, the liquid crystal material undergoes a phase transition to an isotropic liquid state.

At this time, the size of the heating / cooling plate is enlarged by 1 mm around the display area of the liquid crystal display element cell, so that the display area of the liquid crystal display element cell can be uniformly heated. Next, a voltage is applied to the electrode substrate of the liquid crystal display element cell via a voltage application jig. At this time,
A voltage higher than that of the pixel electrode is applied to the third electrode. While applying a voltage, -1
When the liquid crystal display element cell is gradually cooled at a temperature gradient of ° C / min to -20 ° C / min, the liquid crystal substance becomes a liquid crystal phase exhibiting anisotropy. By performing cooling at a constant temperature gradient, a uniform phase transition can be achieved. At this time, since a voltage higher than the voltage applied to the pixel electrode is applied to the third electrode,
A non-uniform electric field is generated in the pixel, and the pixel is divided into a plurality of regions in which liquid crystal molecules rise in different directions.

Subsequently, the slowly cooled liquid crystal display cell is transferred to an adjacent ultraviolet irradiation station while applying a voltage to the electrode substrate via a voltage applying jig. In the ultraviolet irradiation station, the display surface of the liquid crystal display element cell was 1 mW / cm
Irradiation with ultraviolet light is performed at an illuminance of 2 to 15 mW / cm2. Irradiation of ultraviolet light causes the photosensitive low-molecular substance mixed in the liquid crystal material to undergo photopolymerization to be polymerized and dispersed in the liquid crystal material, so that the alignment state of the liquid crystal molecules, that is, the rising direction is stabilized. In addition, since the cooling and the irradiation of the ultraviolet ray are continuously performed while the voltage is applied to the liquid crystal display element cell, the alignment state is not disturbed.

Next, the liquid crystal display element cell loaded on the voltage applying jig is moved to the cell loading station. After the application of the voltage is completed, the liquid crystal display cell whose alignment has been completed is taken out of the voltage application jig. Since these steps are performed continuously and automatically, it becomes possible to mass-produce the multi-domain liquid crystal display element cells with stable quality.

[0043]

Next, an embodiment of a method and an apparatus for manufacturing a liquid crystal display element cell according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

The configuration of the apparatus for manufacturing a liquid crystal display element cell according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the apparatus for manufacturing a liquid crystal display element cell according to the present invention includes a cell loading station 1, a voltage applying jig 7, a transport mechanism 6, a heating / cooling station 2, an ultraviolet irradiation station 3, and the like. You.

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the transport mechanism 6
Is provided on the base 5 via the support 21 and the transfer rail 15,
16 and 17 are installed facing each other. A voltage applying jig 7 is mounted between the opposed transfer rails 15, 16, and 17. Roller 34 provided on voltage applying jig 7
(FIG. 8) comes into contact with the inner surfaces of the transport rails 15, 16, 17 and can slide on the transport rails 15, 16, 17 in a reciprocating manner.

The voltage applying jig 7 is driven by a 100 W electric motor 18 using a belt 20 and a pulley 19 installed on the base 5 in parallel with the transport rails 15, 16 and 17 as a power transmission means to load cells. It reciprocates between stations 1, a heating / cooling station 2, and an ultraviolet irradiation station 3.

As shown in FIGS. 1, 2 and 4, the cell loading station 1 includes a transfer device 8, a cassette rotating mechanism 9,
And so on. A liquid crystal display element cell 61 into which a liquid crystal has been injected into which a photosensitive low-molecular substance is mixed into the cassette rotating mechanism 9
However, for example, a cassette 10 containing 20 sheets is mounted with the insertion opening facing upward.

In general, the cassette 10 is conveyed with its insertion opening facing upward so that the liquid crystal display element cells 61 do not fall off the cassette 10 due to vibrations during conveyance.

Next, in order to insert and remove the liquid crystal display element cell 61 from the cassette 10, the cassette rotating mechanism 9 is operated to rotate the cassette 10 by 90.degree.
Turn to the side. At this time, the liquid crystal display element cells 61 have a posture of being stacked on a horizontal plane.

Then, in response to a command from a transfer device controller (not shown), the suction arm 11 of the transfer device 8 installed on the gantry 4 causes the liquid crystal display with the liquid crystal infused with the photosensitive low-molecular substance from the cassette 10 to be injected. Element cell 61 is 1
The extracted liquid crystal display element cell 61 is
It is mounted on the voltage applying jig 7 by the transfer device 8.

As shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, the voltage applying jig 7 includes an outer frame 29, an inner frame 30, a wiring board 31, and a terminal 3.
2. Cell positioning part 33, roller 34, holding frame 3
6, a holding cylinder 37, a support 38, and the like.
The holding frame 36, the holding cylinder 37, the support 38, and the like function as a cell holding mechanism 35.

An inner frame 30 is fitted into the outer frame 29, and a wiring board 31 is mounted on the inner frame 30.
Terminals 32 are provided on the wiring board 31.

The terminal 32 supplies a voltage from a voltage generator (not shown) to the liquid crystal display element cell 61 via the wiring board 31. That is, the wiring of the wiring board 31 and the terminal 32 are in electrical contact with each other and are conductive.
The transfer device 8 mounts one liquid crystal display element cell 61 on the voltage application jig 7. At this time, as shown in FIG. 9, the gate electrode 65 and the drain electrode 66 formed by vapor deposition on the first electrode substrate 63 of the mounted liquid crystal display element cell 61 are in contact with the terminal 32 and become conductive. I have. Thus, the voltage sent from the voltage generator can be supplied to the liquid crystal display element cell 61 via the wiring board 31 and the terminal 32.

The liquid crystal display element cell 61 is held by the cell holding mechanism 35. The holding frame 3 is attached to the mounted liquid crystal display element cell 61 by the action of the holding cylinder 37.
6, the liquid crystal display element cell 61 is held so as not to be displaced, and the gate electrode 65 and the drain electrode 6 are pressed.
6 and the terminals 32 are kept in good contact.

Incidentally, four rollers 34 are provided below the outer underframe 29.
As described above, the transport rails 15, 16,
17 can be slid reciprocally by the transport mechanism 6.

As shown in FIG. 5, the transfer rail 16 includes a cam roller pedestal 22, a cam roller 23, and a linear motion guide 2.
4. It can be freely moved up and down by an elevating mechanism composed of an elevating cam 25, an elevating cylinder 26, a stainless steel shaft 27, a bush 28 containing a ball bearing, and the like.

The transport rail 16 is supported by a ball bearing-containing bush 28 attached to the base 5 and a shaft 27 fitted to the ball bearing-containing bush 28, and slides vertically. An elevating cylinder 26 and a linear motion guide 24 are mounted on the base 5, and an elevating cam 25 is mounted on the linear motion guide 24. Further, the tip of the elevating cylinder 26 is connected to the elevating cam 25, and slides reciprocally by the action of the linear guide 24.

A cam roller 23 containing a bearing is provided on the transfer rail 16 via a cam roller base 22.
Is attached. The cam roller 23 is a lifting cam 2
5, and the lift cam 25 reciprocates to move the transport rail 16 up and down. With the lifting cylinder 26 pushing the lifting cam 25, the transport rail 16 is at the raised position.

The mounting position of the cam roller pedestal 22 can be finely adjusted with respect to the transport rail 16, whereby the raising position of the transport rail 16 can be finely adjusted. , 17 are at the same height. In this state, the voltage applying jig 7 on which the liquid crystal display element cell 61 is mounted is moved by the transport rail 15 and the transport rail 1.
6, and the transfer between the transfer rail 16 and the transfer rail 17 is enabled.

The voltage applying jig 7 on which the liquid crystal display element cells 61 are mounted is transferred from the cell loading station 1 to the heating / cooling station 2 by the transfer mechanism 6. When the lifting cylinder 26 pulls the lifting cam 25, the voltage applying jig 7 moves down together with the transport rail 16. Immediately before the lifting cylinder 26 reaches the lower end, the liquid crystal display element cell 61
Contacts the heating / cooling plate 39. At this time, the inner frame 30 of the voltage applying jig 7 is placed on the heating / cooling plate 39 together with the liquid crystal display element cell 61, but the outer frame 2
9 is disengaged from the inner underframe 30, and together with the transport rail 16,
It descends to the descending end. Thus, the voltage application jig 7 is
With the double structure of the outer frame 29 and the inner frame 30,
When the liquid crystal display element cell 61 is placed on the heating / cooling plate 39, it is possible to prevent an extra load such as the transport rail 16 from being applied to the liquid crystal display element cell 61.

As shown in FIGS. 5 and 10, the heating / cooling station 2 (FIG. 1) includes a heating / cooling plate 39, a heating medium 42, a cooling medium 43, a temperature sensor 44, a temperature controller 45, a pedestal 41, and a heat insulating plate 40. , Polarizing microscope 46
And so on.

The heating / cooling plate 39 has a size in which the display area 62 of the liquid crystal display element cell 61 is expanded by 1 mm around the periphery. Note that the dimension of "1 mm around" is such that the heating / cooling plate 39 reliably contacts the entire display area 62 in consideration of the displacement between the liquid crystal display element cell 61 and the heating / cooling plate 39.

A heating medium 42, a cooling medium 43, and a temperature sensor 44 are built in the heating / cooling plate 39. The heating medium 42, the cooling medium 43, and the temperature sensor 44 are connected to a temperature controller 45.

The temperature of the heating / cooling plate 39 is controlled by using a heater as the heating medium 42 and cooling water as the cooling medium 43, and the temperature controller 45 controls the heating temperature of the heater and the flow rate of the cooling water based on the measured value of the temperature sensor 44. Adjustment is performed to control the heating / cooling plate 39 to a desired temperature. Such a temperature control technique is disclosed in, for example,
It is known as a known technique as introduced in 52636.

As shown in FIG. 5, the polarizing microscope 46 comprises a monitor camera 47, a lens barrel 48, a polarizing filter 49, a lighting device 51, a television device 50 and the like.

The heating and cooling plate 39 has a diameter of 3 mm in advance.
A through-hole (not shown) is opened, a polarizing filter 49 is attached to the through-hole on the lower surface of the heating / cooling plate 39, and an illumination device 51 is further disposed thereunder.

On the other hand, a monitor camera 47 having a lens barrel 48 is installed above the through hole. A polarizing filter 49 is also attached to the lens barrel 48. The polarizing filter 49 attached to the lower surface of the heating / cooling plate 39 and the lens barrel 48 has a structure that can adjust the direction of the polarization axis. Light emitted from the illumination device 51 is polarized by the polarizing filter 49, passes through the through hole of the heating / cooling plate 39, and enters the monitor camera 47. The light that has entered the monitor camera 47 is projected on the television device 50 as an image.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 6, the ultraviolet irradiation station 3 (FIG. 1) includes an ultraviolet irradiation chamber 52 made of stainless steel, a shutter mechanism 53, a lamp 54, an ultraviolet lamp 55,
It comprises an exhaust pipe 56, a cooling fan 57 and the like.

A lamp 54 is mounted inside the ultraviolet irradiation chamber 52, and an ultraviolet lamp 55 is mounted inside the lamp 54 together with a reflector and a heat ray cut filter (both not shown). The illuminance on the surface of the liquid crystal display element cell 61 is set to 1
The power supplied to the ultraviolet lamp 55 was made variable in the range of 1 to 4 kW in order to make it variable in the range of 15 to 15 mW / cm ² .

In the ultraviolet irradiation chamber 52, the transport rail 1
7 is extended, and the voltage applying jig 7 is carried in and carried out. A shutter mechanism 53 is provided at an inlet of the voltage application jig 7 in the ultraviolet irradiation chamber 52. The shutter mechanism 53 includes a shutter 58, a linear guide 59, a fluid cylinder 60, and the like.

The rail portion of the linear guide 59 is fixed to the ultraviolet irradiation chamber 52, and the shutter 58 is fixed to the slider portion of the linear guide 59. By the action of the linear motion guide 59, the shutter 58 slides up and down freely. The tip of the fluid cylinder 60 held in the ultraviolet irradiation chamber 52 is
The shutter 58 is connected to the shutter 58 and moves up and down using the fluid cylinder 60 as a power source. That is, the shutter 58 rises when the voltage application jig 7 is carried in and out, and opens the inlet, and when the ultraviolet light is irradiated, it lowers and closes the inlet, thereby preventing leakage of ultraviolet rays harmful to the human body.

When the ultraviolet lamp 55 is turned on in a closed space, the temperature in the ultraviolet irradiation chamber 52 rises. The overheating has an adverse effect such as damage to the ultraviolet lamp 55 itself, a phase transition to a liquid state in which the liquid crystal substance 74 is isotropic, and disorder in the alignment. Generally, in a commercially available ultraviolet irradiation device, a lamp 54 and an exhaust fan (not shown) are connected by an exhaust pipe 56,
The inside of the lamp 54 is exhausted to prevent overheating. In the present invention, not only the lamp 54 but also the lamp 54
The surrounding atmosphere is simultaneously exhausted by the exhaust fan to prevent overheating in the ultraviolet irradiation chamber 52. The cooling fan 57 blows outside air to the liquid crystal display element cell 61 to prevent the liquid crystal display element cell 61 from overheating.

Next, the structure of an embodiment of a method and an apparatus for manufacturing a liquid crystal display element cell according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIGS.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the apparatus for manufacturing a liquid crystal display element cell according to the present invention comprises a cell loading station 1, a voltage application jig 7, a transport mechanism 6, a heating / cooling station 2, an ultraviolet irradiation station 3, and the like. Be composed.

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the transport mechanism 6
Is 20mm thick x 2900mm wide x 1000m deep
The stainless steel “U” -shaped transfer rails 15, 16, and 17 are installed on a base 5 made of an aluminum plate having a length of m and opposed to each other with a support 21 interposed therebetween. This opposing transport rail 15,
The voltage application jig 7 is mounted between 16 and 17. Stainless steel roller 34 provided on voltage applying jig 7
Are grounded on the inner surfaces of the transport rails 15, 16, 17 and the voltage applying jig 7 can slide on the transport rails 15, 16, 17 in a reciprocating manner.

In this embodiment, the cross-sectional shapes of the transfer rails 15, 16, 17 are "U" -shaped, but "L" -shaped or "concave".
A shape, a “work” shape, an “H” shape, a “⊥” shape, or other shapes may be adopted. In that case, the transport rails 15, 16, 17
The shape, mounting position, etc. of the roller 34 are considered in accordance with the sectional shape of the roller 34. Also, the transport rails 15, 16, 17 are arranged so that the voltage applying jig 7 can slide back and forth without meandering.
Needless to say, the roller 34 needs to be selected.

Transfer rails 15, 16, 17 and roller 3
The material 4 is made of stainless steel in this embodiment, but other materials may be adopted. However, the manufacturing environment of the cell assembling process of the liquid crystal display element cell is class 100 (1
It is necessary to suppress dust of 0.5 μm to 100 or less in a cubic foot). For this reason, it is desirable not to use materials that are easily worn or corrosive because they may emit dust and contaminate the clean room and seriously damage products to be manufactured.

The voltage applying jig 7 is driven by a 100 W electric motor 18 using a belt 20 and a pulley 19 installed on the base 5 in parallel with the conveying rails 15, 16 and 17 as a power transmission means, to load cells. It reciprocates between stations 1, a heating / cooling station 2, and an ultraviolet irradiation station 3.

In the embodiment of the present invention, the electric motor 18 is used as the power source, the belt 20 is used as the power transmission means, and the pulley 1 is used as the power transmission means.
Although 9 is used, a fluid cylinder, a ball screw, a linear motor, a rack, a gear, or other similar means may be selected. However, it is preferable to select a means that can move and stop the voltage applying jig 7 to an arbitrary position by an arbitrary operation procedure.

As shown in FIGS. 1, 2 and 4, the cell loading station 1 includes a cassette rotating mechanism 9, a transfer device 8
And so on.

The cassette rotating mechanism 9 is loaded with, for example, a cassette 10 containing, for example, 20 liquid crystal display element cells 61 into which liquid crystal has been injected and into which a photosensitive low-molecular substance has been mixed, with the insertion opening facing upward.

In general, the cassette 10 is transported with its insertion opening facing upward so that the liquid crystal display element cells 61 do not fall off the cassette 10 due to vibrations during transportation. Next, the liquid crystal display element cells 6
The cassette rotating mechanism 9 is operated to rotate the cassette 90 by 90 ° in order to insert / remove the cassette 1 and insert the insertion slot into the transfer device 8.
Turn to the side. At this time, the liquid crystal display element cells 61 have a posture of being stacked on a horizontal plane.

Incidentally, in the embodiment of the present invention, the cassette rotating mechanism 9 includes a turning fluid cylinder (not shown) as a power source,
Although belts and pulleys are used as power transmission means,
Other means similar to these may be selected.

The transfer device 8 installed on the gantry 4 in response to a command from a transfer device controller (not shown), allows one liquid crystal display element cell 61 in which liquid crystal has been injected from the cassette 10 to which a photosensitive low-molecular substance has been mixed. It is extracted. In the embodiment of the present invention, the transfer device 8 has an X-axis stroke of 450 m.
m, Z axis stroke 300mm, θ rotation range 360
The XZθ robot is used, and the suction arm 11 is attached to the X axis, and the liquid crystal display element cell 61 is vacuum-adsorbed and transferred to an arbitrary position within the movable range of the XZθ device by an arbitrary operation procedure. can do.

The transfer device 8 may be other means such as a horizontal articulated robot. However, it is preferable that the liquid crystal display element cell 61 can be transferred to an arbitrary position by an arbitrary operation procedure. The liquid crystal display element cell 61 extracted from the cassette 10 is mounted on the voltage applying jig 7 by the transfer device 8.

As shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, the voltage applying jig 7 comprises an outer frame 29, an inner frame 30, a wiring board 31, and a terminal 3.
2. Cell positioning part 33, roller 34 holding frame 36,
It is composed of a holding cylinder 37, a column 38 and the like. still,
The holding frame 36, the holding cylinder 37, the column 38, and the like function as a cell holding mechanism 35.

An aluminum inner frame 30 having a thickness of 10 mm is fitted in an aluminum outer frame 29 having a thickness of 12 mm. A wiring board 31 is provided on the inner underframe 30. As the wiring board 31, for example, a printed wiring board (generally called a printed board) is used, but other equivalent boards may be used. In this example, a copper-clad glass-based epoxy resin laminated substrate was used, and the surface of the copper foil was gold-plated with a thickness of 2 μm to prevent corrosion.

The terminals 32 are provided on the wiring board 31. The terminal 32 applies a voltage from a voltage generator (not shown) to the liquid crystal display element cell 61 via the wiring board 31.
Is to be supplied to That is, the wiring of the wiring board 31 and the terminal 32 are in electrical contact with each other and are conductive. In the present embodiment, the terminal 32 is made of conductive rubber (for example, Shin-Etsu Interconnector SE manufactured by Shin-Etsu Polymer Co., Ltd.).
C: product name), but similar or
A metal probe or the like may be used. Also, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 10-5
No. 4967 describes, as a prior art, an example of a terminal in which a metal wire is wound around a tube.

The transfer device 8 mounts one liquid crystal display element cell 61 on the voltage applying jig 7. At this time,
A gate electrode 65 and a drain electrode 66 formed by vapor deposition on the first electrode substrate 63 of the mounted liquid crystal display element cell 61.
Are in contact with the terminal 32 and are conductive. Thus, the voltage sent from the voltage generator can be supplied to the liquid crystal display element cell 61 via the wiring board 31 and the terminal 32.

The liquid crystal display element cell 61 is held by the cell holding mechanism 35. The cell holding mechanism 35 includes a holding frame 36, a holding cylinder 37, a support 38, and the like.

In the embodiment of the present invention, the holding frame 36 is made of a 10 mm-thick paper base phenol resin laminate (generally called bakelite), but other materials may be used. However, heat resistance of about 130 ° C. is required for mechanical strength and heat treatment in a heating / cooling station 2 described later. For example, polyetheretherketone resin,
Polyphenylene sulfide resin, polyimide resin, polyetherimide resin, polyethersulfone resin,
An aromatic polyester resin or the like can be used. Alternatively, the thickness of the resin plate may be, for example, 5 mm, and the resin plate may be reinforced with a metal such as aluminum. However, since the liquid crystal display element cell 61 is generally made of glass, direct contact with metal causes glass breakage, and it is not desirable to make all the holding frames 36 that come into contact with glass be made of metal.

The holding frame 36 is attached to the mounted liquid crystal display element cell 61 by the action of a holding cylinder 37 having a diameter of 12 mm.
Is pressed to hold the liquid crystal display element cell 61 so as not to be displaced, and the gate electrode 65 and the drain electrode 66 are pressed.
And the terminals 32 are kept in good contact. In the embodiment of the present invention, a pneumatic cylinder is used as the holding cylinder, and the pressurized gas for operating the pneumatic cylinder is adjusted by adjusting the air pressure within a range of 0.01 MPa to 0.5 MPa by a pressure regulator (not shown). The contact pressure between the display element cell 61 and the holding frame 36 is appropriately adjusted. Note that, other than the pneumatic cylinder, a voice coil or the like may be selected. Further, it is desirable to select a means capable of arbitrarily adjusting the pressing force. However, if an optimum pressing force is required, a means that cannot adjust the pressing force, such as a spring pressure, may be employed.

Four rollers 34 are attached to the lower part of the outer frame 29, and as described above, the transport rails 15, 16, 17
The upper part can be slid reciprocally by the transport mechanism 6.

As shown in FIG. 5, the transfer rail 16 includes a cam roller pedestal 22, a cam roller 23, and a linear motion guide 2.
4. It can be freely moved up and down by an elevating mechanism composed of an elevating cam 25, an elevating cylinder 26, a stainless steel shaft 27, a bush 28 containing a ball bearing, and the like.

The transport rail 16 is supported by a ball bearing-containing bush 28 attached to the base 5 and a stainless steel shaft 27 having a diameter of 12 mm fitted to the ball bearing-containing bush 28, and slides vertically.

An elevating cylinder 26 having a diameter of 20 mm and a linear guide 24 are mounted on the base 5, and an elevating cam 25 is mounted on the linear guide 24. The tip of the elevating cylinder 26 is connected to the elevating cam 25, and slides reciprocally by the action of the linear guide 24. Transport rail 1
A cam roller 23 having a diameter of 19 mm and containing a bearing is attached to 6 via a cam roller base 22. The cam roller 23 is in contact with the elevating cam 25, and the elevating cam 25 reciprocates to move the transport rail 16 up and down. With the lifting cylinder 26 pushing the lifting cam 25, the transport rail 16 is at the raised position.

The position of the cam roller pedestal 22 can be finely adjusted with respect to the transport rail 16 so that the ascending position of the transport rail 16 can be finely adjusted. , 17 are at the same height. In this state, the voltage applying jig 7 on which the liquid crystal display element cells 61 are mounted is transported by the transport rail 15 and the transport rail 1.
6, and the transfer between the transfer rail 16 and the transfer rail 17 is enabled.

The voltage applying jig 7 on which the liquid crystal display element cells 61 are mounted is transferred from the cell loading station 1 to the heating / cooling station 2 by the transfer mechanism 6.

When the lifting / lowering cylinder 26 draws the lifting / lowering cam 25, the voltage applying jig 7 is lowered together with the transport rail 16. Just before the lifting cylinder 26 reaches the lower end, the liquid crystal display element cell 61 contacts the heating / cooling plate 39. At this time, the inner underframe 30 of the voltage applying jig 7 is placed on the heating and cooling plate 39 together with the liquid crystal display element cell 61, but the outer underframe 29 is disengaged from the inner underframe 30, and together with the transport rail 16, It descends to the descending end.

As described above, the voltage applying jig 7 is connected to the outer underframe 2.
When the liquid crystal display element cell 61 is mounted on the heating / cooling plate 39, an extra load such as the transport rail 16 is applied to the liquid crystal display element cell 61 by the double structure of the inner frame 9 and the inner base frame 30. Can be prevented.

As described above, in this embodiment, the lifting cylinder 26, the lifting cam 25, and the like are used as the lifting mechanism of the transport rail 16, but other means such as an electric motor and a crank mechanism may be used. . However, it is preferable to select a means that can be finely adjusted so that the height of the transport rail 16, that is, the height of the adjacent transport rails 15 and 17 is the same level.

As shown in FIGS. 5 and 10, the heating / cooling station 2 (FIG. 1) includes a heating / cooling plate 39, a heat insulating plate 40, a pedestal 41, a heating medium 42, a cooling medium 43, a temperature sensor 44, and a temperature controller 45. , Polarizing microscope 46
And so on.

The heating / cooling plate 39 is made of aluminum having a thickness of 20 mm, and has a size in which the display area 62 (FIG. 9) of the liquid crystal display element cell 61 is expanded by 1 mm around. That is, while the size of the display area 62 is 246 mm × 184 mm, the size of the heating / cooling plate 39 is 248 mm × 186 m.
m. Note that the dimension of "1 mm around" is such that the heating / cooling plate 39 reliably contacts the entire display area 62 in consideration of the displacement between the liquid crystal display element cell 61 and the heating / cooling plate 39.

The material forming the heating / cooling plate 39 is as follows.
In the embodiment of the present invention, the aluminum base is subjected to hard alumite treatment, but other materials may be used. However, it is preferable to select one having excellent thermal conductivity. A heating medium 42, a cooling medium 43, and a temperature sensor 44 are built in the heating and cooling plate 39, and the heating medium 42, the cooling medium 43,
The temperature sensor 44 is connected to a temperature controller 45. The temperature of the heating and cooling plate 39 is controlled by the heating medium 42.
As a heater, cooling water is used as a cooling medium 43, and a temperature controller 45 adjusts a heating temperature of the heater and a flow rate of the cooling water from a measurement value of the temperature sensor 44,
The heating and cooling plate 39 is controlled to a desired temperature. Such a temperature control technique is disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 8-152636.
, Is known as a known technique.

The cooling water may be ordinary city water (tap water) or pure water. However, it is desirable that the water temperature is constant and the flow rate does not fluctuate. Also, pure water is liable to produce algae and bacteria, and if these adhere to the flow path, the cooling performance changes, so care must be taken.

As shown in FIG. 5, the polarizing microscope 46 includes a monitor camera 47, a lens barrel 48, a polarizing filter 49, a television device 50, a lighting device 51, and the like.

The heating and cooling plate 39 has a diameter of 3 mm in advance.
A through-hole (not shown) is opened, a polarizing filter 49 is attached to the through-hole on the lower surface of the heating / cooling plate 39, and a lighting device 51 is placed thereunder.

On the other hand, a monitor camera 47 having a lens barrel 48 is installed above the through hole. A polarizing filter 49 is also attached to the lens barrel 48. The polarizing filter 49 attached to the lower surface of the heating / cooling plate 39 and the lens barrel 48 has a structure that can adjust the direction of the polarization axis. Light emitted from the illumination device 51 is polarized by the polarizing filter 49, passes through the through hole of the heating / cooling plate 39, and enters the monitor camera 47.

In this embodiment, as a light source of the illumination device 51, a cold cathode fluorescent lamp having a diameter of 6 mm, which is the same as that generally used as a backlight of a liquid crystal display device, is used. The type of light source that can be used is not limited to a cold cathode fluorescent lamp, but it is preferable to select a light source that emits white light. More preferably, in an illuminating device using a discharge such as a fluorescent lamp, if an inverter-type power supply that can modulate the frequency of an AC power supply to a higher frequency is adopted, an image displayed on the television device 50 has less flicker and is easy to observe. . The light that has entered the monitor camera 47 is projected on the television device 50 as an image.

In the embodiment of the present invention, the monitor camera 47 is provided with a CCD (charge coupled device) having a diagonal size of 1/2 inch.
e = charge-coupled device). CCD with diagonal 1/2 inch is 10mm
A barrel 4 with a built-in magnifying lens of × 8 mm and a magnification of 12 times
0.8mm x 0.7mm by combining with 8
Can be enlarged and projected on the television device 50. Normally, a 10 to 15-inch type liquid crystal display element cell 61 frequently used in OA applications such as a notebook type personal computer and a desktop monitor has a pixel size of 0.1 m.
m × 0.3 mm, the monitor camera 47
The combination of the lens barrel 48 is suitable for observing the alignment state.

In this embodiment, the monitor camera 47, the lens barrel 48, and the television device 50 are used as microscopes. However, an optical microscope or a microscope equivalent thereto may be used.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 6, the ultraviolet irradiation station 3 (FIG. 1) includes a stainless steel ultraviolet irradiation chamber 52, a shutter mechanism 53, a lamp 54, an ultraviolet lamp 55,
It comprises an exhaust pipe 56, a cooling fan 57 and the like.

A lamp 54 is mounted inside the ultraviolet irradiation chamber 52, and an ultraviolet lamp 55 is mounted inside the lamp 54 together with a reflector and a heat ray cut filter (both not shown). Here, the distance from the center of the ultraviolet lamp 55 to the surface of the liquid crystal display element cell 61 held by the voltage applying jig 7 was 500 mm. This is the liquid crystal display element cell 61
Is a necessary and sufficient distance to uniformly irradiate the entire display area 62 (246 mm × 184 mm).

The required illuminance of ultraviolet light is 1 to 15 mW / cm on the surface of the display area 62 of the liquid crystal display element cell 61.
^2, at the irradiation distance of 500 mm, a maximum of 15 mW
/ Cm2 with a maximum output of 4 kW
Metal halide lamp was adopted. Incidentally, other types of ultraviolet lamps include a high-pressure mercury lamp, a low-pressure mercury lamp, and the like, but the spectral characteristics did not match, and were not adopted in Examples of the present apparatus. As the ultraviolet lamp 55, one having a spectral characteristic suitable for the composition of the photosensitive low-molecular substance mixed into the liquid crystal substance 74 may be selected. Further, the illuminance is 1 to 15 mW / cm ²
, The electric power supplied to the ultraviolet lamp 55 is made variable in the range of 1 to 4 kW.

In the ultraviolet irradiation chamber 52, the transport rail 17 is provided.
Is extended, and the voltage applying jig 7 is carried in and carried out. A shutter mechanism 53 is provided at an inlet of the voltage application jig 7 in the ultraviolet irradiation chamber 52. The shutter mechanism 53 includes an aluminum shutter 58 having a thickness of 5 mm, a linear motion guide 59, a fluid cylinder 60 having a diameter of 16 mm, and the like.

The rail portion of the linear guide 59 is fixed to the ultraviolet irradiation chamber 52, and the shutter 58 is
9 slider part. By the action of the linear motion guide 59, the shutter 58 slides up and down freely. The distal end of the fluid cylinder 60 fixed to the ultraviolet irradiation chamber 52 is connected to the shutter 58, and the shutter 58 moves up and down using the fluid cylinder 60 as a power source. That is, the shutter 58 rises when the voltage application jig 7 is carried in and out, and opens the inlet, and when the ultraviolet light is irradiated, it lowers and closes the inlet, thereby preventing leakage of ultraviolet rays harmful to the human body.

When the ultraviolet lamp 55 is turned on in a closed space, the temperature in the ultraviolet irradiation chamber 52 rises. The overheating has an adverse effect such as damage to the ultraviolet lamp 55 itself, phase transition to a liquid state in which the liquid crystal material 74 shows isotropicity, and disorder in the alignment.

In general, a commercially available ultraviolet irradiator has a structure in which the lamp 54 is connected to a ventilator (not shown) by an exhaust pipe 56 and the inside of the lamp 54 is exhausted to prevent overheating. In the embodiment of the present invention, not only the inside of the lamp 54 but also the atmosphere around the lamp 54 is simultaneously exhausted by the exhaust fan to prevent overheating in the ultraviolet irradiation chamber 52.
The cooling fan 57 blows outside air to the liquid crystal display element cell 61 to prevent the liquid crystal display element cell 61 from overheating. As a result of these measures, the temperature of the atmosphere in the ultraviolet irradiation chamber 52 and the temperature of the liquid crystal display element cell 61 are about 50 ° C. at the maximum.

Next, the operation of the embodiment of the apparatus for manufacturing a liquid crystal display element cell according to the present invention (hereinafter referred to as the present apparatus) will be described in detail with reference to FIGS.

Liquid crystal material 74 mixed with a photosensitive low molecular weight material
As shown in FIG. 4, for example, 20 liquid crystal display element cells 61 in which (FIG. 14) is injected and the injection hole is sealed are loaded in the cassette 10 and the cassette 10 in which the liquid crystal display element cells 61 are loaded. Is loaded into the cassette rotating mechanism 9 of the cell loading station 1 with the insertion opening facing up. At this time, the cassette 10 is loaded so that the first electrode substrate 63 (FIG. 9) is on the right side in FIG. 4 (STEP 1).

Next, the type of the liquid crystal display element cell 61 to be manufactured is selected on the operation panel 12. The host sequence controller 67 (FIG. 10)
A heating temperature, a temperature gradient, an ultraviolet illuminance, an ultraviolet integrated light amount, and the like are stored. When the operator presses the start switch 13 (FIG. 4) of the present apparatus, the automatic operation of the present apparatus is started (STEP2 to STEP3).

First, referring to FIG.
Rotates 90 °, and the insertion opening faces the transfer device 8 side. At this time, the liquid crystal display element cell 61 is in a posture in which the first electrode substrate 63 (FIG. 9) is upward and the second electrode substrate 64 (FIG. 9) is downward (STEP 4).

Next, in FIG. 4, the transfer device 8 is operated, the suction arm 11 is inserted into the cassette 10, and the uppermost liquid crystal display element cell 61 is vacuum-sucked.
Extract from 0 (STEP 5).

Next, the suction arm 11 rotates by 180 °,
As shown in FIG. 8, the removed liquid crystal display element cell 61 is inserted between the inner underframe 30 and the holding frame 36 of the voltage applying jig 7. Here, the voltage applying jig 7 is moved to the cell loading station 1 (FIG. 1) in advance, and the cell holding mechanism 35 is opened. The liquid crystal display element cell 61 inserted in the voltage applying jig 7 is connected to the gate electrode 6 of the first electrode substrate 63.
5 and the drain electrode 66 face downward to contact and conduct with the terminal 32. Further, the outer shape is positioned by the cell positioning unit 33 (STEP 6).

Next, the holding cylinder 37 of the cell holding mechanism 35 operates to hold the liquid crystal display element cell 61 between the inner frame 30 and the holding frame 36. By sandwiching, the displacement of the liquid crystal display element cell 61 can be prevented, and the contact between the gate electrode 65 and the drain electrode 66 and the terminal 32 can be kept good (STEP 7).

Next, the electric motor 18 (FIG. 2) of the transport mechanism 6 is started, and the voltage applying jig 7 is moved to the heating / cooling station 2 (FIG. 1). As shown in FIG.
Display area 62 of liquid crystal display element cell 61 sandwiched between
When the center coincides with the center of the heating / cooling plate 39, the movement of the voltage applying jig 7 is stopped (STEP 8).

Next, the lifting cylinder 26 of the transport rail 16
Is started, and the lifting cam 25 is drawn toward the lifting cylinder 26. Cam roller 23 in contact with lifting cam 25
Descends according to the shape of the elevating cam 25. That is,
The transport rail 16 and the voltage applying jig 7 on the transport rail 16 are lowered. During the lowering, the liquid crystal display element cell 61 is grounded to the heating / cooling plate 39 before the transport rail 16 reaches the lowering end. The transfer rail 16 and the voltage applying jig 7 attempt to further descend to the lower end, but the inner frame 30 comes off the outer frame 29 of the voltage applying jig 7 and an excessive load is applied to the liquid crystal display element cell 61. (STEP
9).

Next, as shown in FIG. 11, the heating / cooling plate 39 (FIG. 10) is heated to heat the liquid crystal display element cell 61. For example, when the phase transition temperature is 80 ° C., the liquid crystal material 74 (FIG. 14) is heated to 100 ° C., which is a temperature sufficient for a phase transition to a liquid state showing isotropicity. If the heating / cooling plate 39 is preheated to 50 ° C. from the start of the apparatus (STEP 3), the liquid crystal display element cell 61 is set at 10 ° C.
The time required for heating to 0 ° C. can be reduced (STEP 10).

Next, the temperature sensor 44 (FIG. 10)
For example, in the case of the above example, the liquid crystal display element cell 61 has a temperature of 100 ° C.
Is detected, the conventional Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-203
As in the technique described in No. 23, the voltage generator is started to apply a 5V / 5Hz sine wave voltage to the pixel electrode 70 and a 10V / 5Hz sine wave voltage to the third electrode 79 (S
(TEP11 to STEP12).

Next, as shown in FIG. 11, the heating / cooling plate 39 (FIG. 10) is cooled at a temperature gradient of, for example, -10 ° C./min. Temperature controller 45 according to the present embodiment
When the set temperature is instructed from the host sequence controller 67, the action of the heating medium 42 and the cooling medium 43 is adjusted while reading the value of the temperature sensor 44 so that the temperature of the heating and cooling plate 39 approaches the set temperature.

When the host sequence controller 67 instructs the temperature controller 45 to lower the set temperature by 1 ° C. every predetermined time, a substantially constant temperature gradient is obtained. By changing the predetermined time, an arbitrary temperature gradient can be obtained. The gradual cooling by the temperature gradient is continued until the temperature becomes lower than the temperature at which the liquid crystal material 74 (FIG. 14) undergoes a phase transition to an anisotropic state.

For example, when the phase transition temperature is 80 ° C., 50
Continue cooling down to ℃. As shown in the conventional example of FIG. 20, when a voltage is applied to the pixel electrode 70 and the third electrode 79, the liquid crystal material 74 undergoes a phase transition from an isotropic state to an anisotropic state. Then, the liquid crystal molecules 75 are re-aligned (STEP 13 to STEP 14).

Next, the temperature sensor 44 (FIG. 10)
For example, in the case of the above example, when it is detected that the temperature has reached 50 ° C., the cooling is stopped. The heating and cooling plate 39 is kept at 50 ° C. (STEP 15).

Next, while continuing the voltage application, the lifting cylinder 26 of the transport rail 16 is activated in FIG.
The lifting cam 25 is pushed out. Then, the cam roller 23 in contact with the elevating cam 25 moves up according to the shape of the elevating cam 25. That is, the transport rail 16 and the voltage applying jig 7 on the transport rail 16 are raised, and the liquid crystal display element cell 61 is separated from the heating / cooling plate 39. When the transport rail 16 rises to the rising end, the height becomes the same level as the adjacent transport rail 17, and the voltage applying jig 7 can be transferred to the transport rail 17 (STEP 1).
6).

Next, in FIG. 6, the shutter mechanism 53 of the ultraviolet irradiation chamber 52 is activated to open the inlet of the ultraviolet irradiation chamber 52 (STEP 17).

Next, while continuing the voltage application, the transport mechanism 6 is started to move the voltage application jig 7 to the ultraviolet irradiation station 3 (FIG. 1). And as shown in FIG.
Liquid crystal display element cell 61 sandwiched between voltage applying jigs 7
Is stopped when the center of the display area 62 coincides with immediately below the center of the ultraviolet lamp 55 (STEP 18).

Next, in FIG. 6, the shutter mechanism 53 of the ultraviolet irradiation chamber 52 is activated to close the inlet of the ultraviolet irradiation chamber 52 (STEP 19).

Next, the ultraviolet lamp 55 (FIG. 3) is turned on for a predetermined time while the voltage application is continued. For example, illuminance 1
Irradiate at 0 mW / cm ² for 3 minutes. The illuminance is switched by setting the output of the ultraviolet lamp power supply in advance. At the same time when the ultraviolet lamp 55 is turned on, the ultraviolet irradiation chamber 5 is irradiated with ultraviolet light.
In order to prevent the overheating of the second and the overheating of the ultraviolet lamp 55 itself, an exhaust fan (not shown) is activated to discharge the hot air in the ultraviolet irradiation chamber 52. Further, in order to prevent the liquid crystal display element cell 61 from being overheated due to the irradiation of ultraviolet rays, the cooling fan 57 is started to inject outside air into the liquid crystal display element cell 61 (STEP 20).

Next, after a predetermined irradiation time has elapsed, that is, when the irradiation amount has reached a predetermined integrated light amount, the ultraviolet lamp 5
5 is turned off. Further, the cooling fan 57 is stopped. Further, the voltage application is stopped. The exhaust of the hot air in the ultraviolet irradiation chamber 52 by the exhaust fan is continued until the inside of the ultraviolet irradiation chamber 52 reaches room temperature (20 to 25 ° C.) (STEP
21 to STEP 22).

Next, in FIG. 6, the shutter mechanism 53 of the ultraviolet irradiation chamber 52 is activated to open the inlet of the ultraviolet irradiation chamber 52 (STEP 23).

Next, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the transfer mechanism 6 is activated, and the voltage application jig 7 is moved to the cell loading station 1 (STEP 24).

Next, as shown in FIG.
The pressing cylinder 37 of No. 5 is activated, the pressing frame 36 is raised, and the holding of the realigned liquid crystal display element cell 61 is released (STEP 25).

Next, the suction arm 11 (FIG. 4) of the transfer device 8 is inserted between the holding frame 36 and the liquid crystal display cell 61, and the realigned liquid crystal display cell 61 is vacuum-adsorbed. It is extracted from the voltage application jig 7 (STEP 26).

Next, in FIG.
After rotating by 80 °, the realigned liquid crystal display element cell 61 is inserted into the cassette 10 (STEP 27).

Next, STEP 5 to STEP 27 are repeated for the next stage liquid crystal display cell in the cassette 10 (STEP 28).

Next, when the realignment of all the liquid crystal display element cells 61 in the cassette 10 is completed, the cassette rotating mechanism 9 is started to rotate the cassette 10 by 90 °. The cassette 10 is in a posture in which the insertion opening faces upward (STEP 2).
9).

Next, the alarm device 14 is sounded to notify the worker that the automatic driving operation has been completed, and the series of operations is completed. The operator operates the liquid crystal display element cell 6 whose realignment is completed.
1 moves the cassette 10 loaded with, for example, 20 sheets to the next step (STEP 30 to STEP 31).

The polarizing microscope 46 (FIG. 5) can monitor at any time, irrespective of the series of operations.

As shown in FIG. 17, as another embodiment of the apparatus for manufacturing a liquid crystal display element cell according to the present invention, the cell loading station 1 is connected to a front-rear process device (not shown) by a conveyor device 69. Then, the liquid crystal display element cells 61 which have been processed in the previous process are loaded into the cassette 10 and are mounted on the cassette rotating mechanism 9 of the cell loading station 1 via the conveyor device 69. In addition, the cassette 10 loaded with the liquid crystal display element cells 61 whose alignment has been completed by the present apparatus is sent out to the post-processing apparatus via the conveyor apparatus 69. This enables fully automatic integrated production of a multi-domain liquid crystal display element cell.

[0150]

As described above, according to the present invention,
Mounting the liquid crystal display element cell in which liquid crystal molecules are not aligned on the voltage applying means, heating the liquid crystal display element cell, applying voltage to the liquid crystal display element cell, cooling the liquid crystal display element cell, applying ultraviolet light to the liquid crystal display element cell. The steps of irradiating, canceling the voltage applied to the liquid crystal display element cell, and recovering the liquid crystal display element cell after the alignment is completed from the voltage applying means can be automatically and continuously performed. Display element cells can be industrially produced, and multi-domain liquid crystal display element cells can be produced inexpensively and in large quantities.

Further, according to the present invention, when the liquid crystal display element cell is mounted on the heating / cooling plate, the inner frame is disengaged from the outer frame, and the load of the outer frame and the transfer rail is reduced. Therefore, the liquid crystal display element cell is not damaged, thereby improving the product yield of the liquid crystal display element cell.

Further, according to the present invention, the liquid crystal display element cell can be heated by the temperature controller while monitoring the temperature with the temperature sensor until the temperature becomes higher than the temperature at which the phase transition occurs. Until the liquid crystal display element cell can be cooled with a constant temperature gradient while monitoring with a temperature sensor, and a heating / cooling plate is used as a heating / cooling means, and the heating / cooling plate is in contact with the liquid crystal display element cell. When the temperature change of the heating / cooling plate and the temperature change of the liquid crystal display element cell are synchronized, when the liquid crystal display element cell is mounted on the heating / cooling plate, the inner frame is disengaged from the outer frame, Since the load such as is not applied to the liquid crystal display element cell, the liquid crystal display element cell is not deformed, and the display area of the liquid crystal display element cell and the heating / cooling plate are securely contacted. The temperature change of the heating / cooling plate and the temperature change of the liquid crystal display element cell are synchronized, and the heating / cooling plate is slightly wider than the display area of the liquid crystal display element cell to heat the entire display area of the liquid crystal display element cell. Since the liquid crystal material can be cooled, the liquid crystal material can surely undergo a phase transition, prevent poor alignment, and improve the product yield.

Further, according to the present invention, the liquid crystal display element cell is positioned in the voltage applying jig by the cell positioning section, and the gate electrode and the drain electrode are securely brought into contact with the terminal.
When the liquid crystal display element cell is pressed by the terminal of the voltage applying jig by the cell holding mechanism, the terminal is securely brought into contact with the gate electrode and the drain electrode of the liquid crystal display element cell, and the liquid crystal display element is turned on. When the cell is mounted on the heating / cooling plate, the inner frame is disengaged from the outer frame, and the load of the outer frame and transport rails is not applied to the liquid crystal display element cells, the liquid crystal display element cells are not deformed, and the liquid crystal Since the gate electrode and drain electrode of the display element cell and the terminal of the voltage applying jig surely contact and conduct, the voltage is reliably applied to the pixel electrode and the third electrode, preventing poor alignment, Product yield is improved.

Further, according to the present invention, since the irradiation time is controlled so that the integrated amount of ultraviolet light to be irradiated is always constant, the photosensitive low-molecular substance mixed in the liquid crystal substance is surely polymerized. Able to react, exhaust the atmosphere in the ultraviolet irradiation chamber, prevent the temperature of the ultraviolet irradiation chamber from rising, prevent overheating of the liquid crystal display element cell, and prevent the realigned liquid crystal material from undergoing a phase transition again. By using a cooling fan to inject outside air into the liquid crystal display cell,
The overheating of the liquid crystal display element cell can be prevented, the liquid crystal material that has been re-aligned can be prevented from undergoing a phase transition again, and the application of a voltage to the liquid crystal display element cell can be interrupted by providing the voltage applying jig with a roller. Since heating, cooling, ultraviolet irradiation, and movement between the heating and cooling station and the ultraviolet irradiation station can be performed without any problem, the alignment state of the liquid crystal molecules can be maintained well, and the product yield is improved.

Further, according to the present invention, when the liquid crystal molecules of the multi-domain mode liquid crystal display element cell are aligned, each step is automatically performed by a command from the host sequence controller, and can be performed without human intervention. Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to enable industrial production of a multi-domain liquid crystal display element cell with stable quality. Thereby, regardless of the ability of the worker, the product yield is improved, and the quality of the product can be kept constant.

Further, according to the present invention, the heating temperature is set to a maximum of 1
The temperature can be set up to 30 ° C, and the heating temperature suitable for the liquid crystal material to be used can be selected. The heating temperature of the liquid crystal display element cell is stored as a kind parameter in the host sequence controller, and the heating temperature according to the selected kind is automatically set. The temperature gradient at the time of cooling can be varied in the range of -1 ° C / min to -20 ° C / min, so that a temperature gradient suitable for the liquid crystal material to be used can be selected. Since the temperature is automatically set according to the selected product type in the sequence controller as a product type parameter, even if liquid crystal materials of different components are used, it can be produced by the same device and multi-product production is possible. Therefore, the operation rate of the apparatus is improved.

Further, according to the present invention, since the illuminance of ultraviolet light can be varied in the range of 1 mW / cm ^{2 to} 15 mW / cm ² , it is possible to select an ultraviolet illuminance suitable for the photosensitive low-molecular substance to be used. Illuminance as a kind parameter in the host sequence controller, the illuminance according to the selected kind is automatically set, and the UV irradiation time can be set arbitrarily. It is possible to irradiate an appropriate integrated UV light amount, and the UV irradiation time is stored as a type parameter in the host sequence controller, and the irradiation time according to the selected type, that is, the integrated UV light amount is automatically set. Therefore, even if photosensitive low-molecular substances having different components are used, they can be produced by the same apparatus. Therefore, multi-kind production becomes possible, and the operation rate of the apparatus is improved.

Further, according to the present invention, a polarization microscope is provided in the heating / cooling station, and the alignment state can be observed at any time. Therefore, even if an alignment defect occurs, it can be detected early before irradiation with ultraviolet rays. Since the orientation can be redone,
Product yield is improved.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view showing one embodiment of an apparatus for manufacturing a liquid crystal display element cell according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view showing one embodiment of an apparatus for manufacturing a liquid crystal display element cell according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a left side view of the apparatus for manufacturing the liquid crystal display element cell of FIG.

FIG. 4 is a front view of a cell loading station of the apparatus for manufacturing a liquid crystal display element cell of FIG. 1;

5 is a front view of an overheating cooling station of the liquid crystal display element cell manufacturing apparatus of FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a front view of an ultraviolet irradiation station of the apparatus for manufacturing a liquid crystal display element cell of FIG.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a voltage applying jig of the apparatus for manufacturing a liquid crystal display element cell of FIG.

8 is a perspective view of a voltage applying jig of the apparatus for manufacturing a liquid crystal display element cell of FIG.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of a liquid crystal display element cell manufactured by the manufacturing apparatus of FIG.

FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram showing a superheated cooling plate of the apparatus for manufacturing a liquid crystal display element cell of FIG.

FIG. 11 is a graph showing a temperature control procedure of the apparatus for manufacturing the liquid crystal display element cell of FIG.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing an operation of the apparatus for manufacturing a liquid crystal display element cell of FIG. 1;

FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing an operation of the apparatus for manufacturing a liquid crystal display element cell of FIG. 1;

FIG. 14 is a cross-sectional view schematically showing a schematic structure of a liquid crystal display element cell.

FIG. 15 is a perspective view schematically showing a schematic structure of a liquid crystal display element cell.

FIG. 16 is a sectional view schematically showing a schematic structure of a liquid crystal display element cell.

FIG. 17 is a plan view of an apparatus for manufacturing a liquid crystal display element cell according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 18 is a sectional view showing an example of a conventional liquid crystal display element cell.

FIG. 19 is a sectional view showing an example of a conventional liquid crystal display element cell.

FIG. 20 is a sectional view showing an example of a conventional liquid crystal display element cell.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Cell loading station 2 Heating / cooling station 3 Ultraviolet irradiation station 4 Stand 5 Base 6 Transport mechanism 7 Voltage application jig 8 Transfer device 9 Cassette rotation mechanism 10 Cassette 11 Suction arm 12 Operation panel 13 Start switch 14 Alarm device 15, 16 , 17 Transport rail 18 Electric motor 19 Pulley 20 Belt 21 Support 22 Cam roller pedestal 23 Cam roller 24 Linear guide 25 Elevating cam 26 Elevating cylinder 27 Shaft 28 Bush 29 Outer frame 30 Inner frame 31 Wiring board 32 Terminal 33 Cell positioning part 34 roller 35 cell holding mechanism 36 holding frame 37 holding cylinder 38 support 39 heating / cooling plate 40 heat insulating plate 41 pedestal 42 heating medium 43 cooling medium 44 temperature sensor 45 temperature controller 46 polarizing microscope 47 Camera 48 lens barrel 49 polarizing filter 50 television device 51 lighting device 52 ultraviolet irradiation chamber 53 shutter mechanism 54 lamp 55 ultraviolet lamp 56 exhaust pipe 57 cooling fan 58 shutter 59 linear guide 60 fluid cylinder 61 liquid crystal display element cell 62 display area 63 First electrode substrate 64 Second electrode substrate 65 Gate electrode 66 Drain electrode 67 Host sequence controller 68 Flow control valve 69 Conveyor device 70 Pixel electrode 71 Common electrode 72 Polarizing plate 73 Alignment layer 74 Liquid crystal substance 75 Liquid crystal molecule 76 Backlight 77 Active element 78 opening 79 third electrode 80, 81 region

Claims (20)

[Claims] When a liquid crystal molecule of a multi-domain type liquid crystal display cell is aligned, mounting of the liquid crystal display cell in which liquid crystal molecules are not aligned on a voltage applying means, heating of the liquid crystal display cell, liquid crystal display cell Voltage, cooling the liquid crystal display element cell, irradiating the liquid crystal display element cell with ultraviolet light, releasing the voltage applied to the liquid crystal display element cell, A method for manufacturing a liquid crystal display element cell, wherein each step of collection is automatically and continuously performed. 2. The liquid crystal display element cell is mounted on the voltage applying means, and a voltage is applied to the liquid crystal display element cell.
2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the liquid crystal display cell is cooled and irradiated with ultraviolet light. 3. The method for manufacturing a liquid crystal display element cell according to claim 1, wherein an area slightly larger than a periphery of a display area of the liquid crystal display element cell is heated and cooled. 4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the liquid crystal display element cell is cooled at a constant temperature gradient. 5. A means for applying a voltage to a liquid crystal display element cell, a means for mounting the liquid crystal display element on the voltage applying means, a means for heating the liquid crystal display element cell, and cooling the liquid crystal display element cell Means for irradiating the liquid crystal display element cell with ultraviolet light, means for canceling the voltage applied to the liquid crystal display element cell, means for collecting the liquid crystal display element cell from the voltage applying means, A liquid crystal display element cell manufacturing apparatus, comprising: means for controlling each of the above means. 6. A liquid crystal display element cell is mounted on the voltage applying means, and while applying a voltage to the liquid crystal display element cell by the voltage applying means, the liquid crystal display element cell is cooled by the cooling means. 6. The apparatus for manufacturing a liquid crystal display element cell according to claim 5, wherein the liquid crystal display element cell is irradiated with ultraviolet light by an ultraviolet irradiation means. 7. The liquid crystal display element is provided between a heating / cooling station for heating and cooling the liquid crystal display element cell and an ultraviolet irradiation station for irradiating the liquid crystal display element cell with ultraviolet light. 6. The cell moves while applying a voltage to the cell.
7. The apparatus for producing a liquid crystal display element cell according to item 6 or 6. 8. An inner frame having a wiring board for supplying a voltage from a voltage generating device to the liquid crystal display element cell via a terminal, the inner frame being fitted into the inner frame, and the roller being applied to the roller. 8. The apparatus for manufacturing a liquid crystal display element cell according to claim 7, further comprising an outer frame having: 9. The voltage applying means has a cell positioning part for positioning the liquid crystal display element cell, and the gate positioning part and the drain terminal of the liquid crystal display element cell are surely connected to the terminal of the voltage applying means by the cell positioning part. 8. The apparatus for manufacturing a liquid crystal display element cell according to claim 7, wherein the liquid crystal display element cell is brought into contact with. 10. The voltage applying means has a cell holding mechanism for holding the liquid crystal display element cell with an arbitrary holding force,
8. The apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the cell holding mechanism ensures that the gate terminal and the drain terminal of the liquid crystal display element cell are in contact with the terminal of the voltage applying means. 11. A heating and cooling plate for heating and cooling the liquid crystal display element cell is brought into surface contact with an area slightly larger than the periphery of a display area of the liquid crystal display element cell to perform heating and cooling. An apparatus for manufacturing a liquid crystal display element cell according to claim 5. 12. The apparatus for manufacturing a liquid crystal display element cell according to claim 5, wherein the heating means can arbitrarily set the heating temperature of the liquid crystal display element cell up to 130 ° C. 13. An apparatus for manufacturing a liquid crystal display element cell according to claim 5, wherein said cooling means makes it possible to cool said liquid crystal display element cell with a constant temperature gradient. 14. When the liquid crystal display element cell is heated by the heating means, it is detected that the temperature has reached a temperature 20 ° C. higher than the phase transition temperature of the liquid crystal material, and the heating is reliably performed. 6. An apparatus for manufacturing a liquid crystal display element cell according to item 5. 15. When cooling the liquid crystal display element cell heated by the cooling means, it is detected that the temperature has reached a temperature lower by 30 ° C. than the phase transition temperature of the liquid crystal substance, and the cooling is surely performed. An apparatus for manufacturing a liquid crystal display element cell according to claim 5. 16. An apparatus for manufacturing a liquid crystal display element cell according to claim 5, wherein the illuminance of ultraviolet light irradiated to said liquid crystal display element cell by said ultraviolet irradiation means is variable. 17. The liquid crystal according to claim 5, wherein the irradiation time of the ultraviolet light applied to the liquid crystal display element cell by the ultraviolet light irradiating means can be set arbitrarily. Display device cell manufacturing equipment. 18. The method according to claim 5, wherein the atmosphere of the lamp of the ultraviolet lamp and the interior of the ultraviolet irradiation chamber is exhausted to prevent the ultraviolet irradiation chamber and the liquid crystal display element cell from being overheated due to the radiant heat generated by the ultraviolet lamp. Equipment for manufacturing liquid crystal display element cells. 19. The liquid crystal display according to claim 5, further comprising a cooling fan, wherein the cooling fan injects outside air to the liquid crystal display element cell to prevent the liquid crystal display element cell from being overheated by ultraviolet irradiation. Device cell manufacturing equipment. 20. The apparatus for manufacturing a liquid crystal display element cell according to claim 5, further comprising a polarizing microscope for observing an alignment state during heating and cooling of the liquid crystal display element cell.