JP2001174832A - Method for manufacturing liquid crystal cell - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a method for manufacturing a liquid crystal cell which can prevent the contamination of internal electrodes, etc., by completely closing the spacing between both substrates before the substrates are polished after the two substrates are bonded to each other. SOLUTION: An outer peripheral seal 16 is continuously applied and formed in the outer peripheral region of the one glass substrate 10 of the two glass substrates 10 and 17 and the corner parts 16 of another glass substrate 17 are cut. The outer periphery seal 16 is exposed in these parts. When such glass substrates 10 and 17 are bonded to each other, the corner parts 16 act as air vent holes. Even when the corner parts 16 are closed, the outer peripheral seal 15 is applied beyond the ends of the corner parts 16 at a uniform width and therefore even when an IR curing agent or the like is applied thereto, the agent may be surely brought into contact with the outer peripheral seal 16 and both substrates 10 and 17 may be completely end-sealed. As a result, the contamination of the electrodes, etc., by infiltration of an etching agent, etc., between the substrate in a subsequent polishing stage may be prevented.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing a liquid crystal cell.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, in portable electronic devices and the like,
Liquid crystal display devices have been widely used because of their advantages such as small size, thinness, and light weight. When manufacturing a liquid crystal display device, a thin film transistor (TFT) is formed on a single glass substrate by performing film formation, patterning, and the like.
r), forming one or more array substrates by forming wiring layers, pixel electrodes, and the like. Further, a counter electrode is formed on another glass substrate to form the same number of counter substrates as the array substrate. Then, the two glass plates are bonded together, thinned, cut to the size of a liquid crystal cell, and liquid crystal is injected into a gap between the substrates to obtain a liquid crystal cell.

Here, the term “thinning” refers to reducing the thickness of a glass substrate in order to make the liquid crystal cell thinner and lighter, and is performed in several processes. As one of the methods for thinning, there is a method in which two glass substrates are bonded to each other and the surface of the glass plate is polished before injecting liquid crystal. At this time, it is necessary to seal the inside of the liquid crystal cell by forming a seal so that the etching solution and the abrasive do not enter the inside of the liquid crystal cell and contaminate the electrodes and the like of the liquid crystal cell.

As shown in FIG. 5, on the surface of one glass substrate 20 on which a plurality of array substrates 21 and 23 are formed, seals 22 and 24 are provided on the outer peripheral area of each of the array substrates 21 and 23. Is formed, and the glass substrate 2
The outer peripheral seal 25 is formed in the outer peripheral region of the zero. And
The other glass substrate 27 on which the opposing substrate is formed and the glass substrate 20 are bonded.

[0005]

However, the conventional method of manufacturing a liquid crystal cell has the following problems.

In order to achieve uniform application, the outer peripheral seal 25 normally detects the height of the application area with a sensor at all times, and applies a sealant from a seal dispenser based on the detection result. Here, if a film or the like thicker than usual exists at the place where the application is to be performed, which is being detected by the sensor, a detection error occurs in the sensor, and uniform application cannot be realized. In general, at the edge of the substrate, film formation is not performed uniformly, and an abnormally thick residue often exists. Since uniform application is difficult in such a region, as shown in FIG.
The outer peripheral seal 25 is formed not in the outermost peripheral area 40 but in an area several millimeters inward from the substrate end. Then, after bonding the glass substrates 20 and 27, the air vent hole 26 is formed by cutting off the end 41 of the outer peripheral seal 25 as a hole through which the internal air is released when a gap is formed.

The air vent hole 26 is formed in the glass substrate 2
After bonding 0 and 27 and evacuating the internal air, the internal electrodes and the like are closed with an ultraviolet curing agent or the like so as not to be contaminated with an etchant or the like. Here, the air vent hole 26
To completely block the air, the ultraviolet curing agent must be
It is necessary to adhere to the end 41 of the outer peripheral seal 25 at 6.

However, it is difficult to apply the end 41 of the outer peripheral seal 25 to the end face of the glass substrate 20 with a uniform width in the air vent hole 26 due to the limit of the seal applying technique. This limit is, as described above, in addition to the problem of height detection that the film thickness at the substrate edge is larger than usual and the sensor causes a detection error,
That is, it is difficult to stop the application of the seal on the end face of the substrate while preventing the seal from protruding and adhering to the stage on which the substrate is mounted.

For this reason, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6,
In the air vent hole 26, the outer peripheral seal 2
5 or the width of the end 41 of the outer peripheral seal 25 is narrower than the original width in many cases.
Thus, the outer peripheral seal 25 is formed in the air vent hole 26.
After the substrates 20 and 27 are bonded together in a state where they are not formed with a uniform width up to the end of the substrate, even if the air vent hole 26 is sealed with an ultraviolet curing agent, the ultraviolet curing agent is As a result, it did not reach 41 and could not be completely sealed. In addition, even if the ultraviolet curing agent apparently reaches the end 41 of the outer peripheral seal 25, if the width of the end 41 of the outer peripheral seal 25 is narrow, the connection is unstable and the adhesion is poor. Sometimes it was not enough. In such a case, an etching solution, an abrasive, or the like enters the gap between the substrates 20 and 27, and the electrodes and the like are contaminated, resulting in a defective product, and a reduction in yield.

In view of the above circumstances, the present invention is to completely close the gap between both substrates and prevent internal contamination after the two substrates are bonded and before the substrates are thinned. It is an object of the present invention to provide a method of manufacturing a liquid crystal cell capable of performing the following.

[0011]

According to the method of manufacturing a liquid crystal cell of the present invention, after two substrates are bonded together, the substrates are thinned, cut into dimensions of the liquid crystal cell, and liquid crystal is injected between the substrates. In the method for manufacturing a cell, a step of forming an outer peripheral seal in an outer peripheral region of one substrate, and at least one place on the outer periphery of the other substrate having a shape different from the outer shape of the one substrate are present. Bonding the two substrates in a state where the outer peripheral seal formed on the one substrate is exposed.

Here, the one substrate is rectangular,
The other substrate has an outer shape having substantially the same dimensions as the one substrate, and at least one corner may be removed in an oblique direction, or at least one side is removed in a V-shape or a U-shape. It may have a portion.

It is preferable that the outer peripheral seal is formed continuously without interruption in the outer peripheral region of the one substrate.

[0014]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS One embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows the structure of a liquid crystal cell according to an embodiment of the present invention. One of the glass substrates 10 on which the array substrates 11 and 13 and the seals 12 and 14 applied to the outer periphery thereof are formed has a predetermined outer dimension. On the other hand, the opposite substrates (not shown) correspond to the array substrates 11 and 13.
The other glass substrate 17 formed in correspondence with the above has the same outer dimensions as the glass substrate 10, and two of the four corners 16 are removed with a size of C10 to 20 mm.

In the outer peripheral area of the glass substrate 10,
The outer peripheral seal 15 is applied and formed. This outer peripheral seal 15
As shown in FIG. 2, a coating is formed so as to make a continuous circuit without interruption in an area several mm inward from the outer end of the glass substrate 10 without providing an air vent hole 26 unlike the conventional outer peripheral seal 25 shown in FIG. Is done. Such a glass substrate 10,
17 are bonded.

Next, the bonded glass substrates 10, 1
7 is pressurized, and the outer peripheral seal 15 and the seals 12 and 14 are pressed.
Cures. As shown in FIG. 2, only the glass substrate 10 exists and the glass substrate 17 does not exist in the portions removed at the two corners 16 of the glass substrate 17. Therefore, since there is a step in a portion where the outer peripheral seal 15 does not exist, the internal air at the time of pressurization escapes to the outside as shown by the arrow.

Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 3, an ultraviolet curing agent 31 or the like is applied by the dispenser 30 along the two corners 16 to completely seal both the glass substrates 10 and 17. Here, unlike the conventional outer peripheral seal 25 shown in FIG. 6, the outer peripheral seal 15 formed on the glass substrate 10 has a corner 1 of the glass substrate 17 as shown in FIG.
6 and is formed with a uniform width up to a region beyond the cut end face.

Therefore, the ultraviolet curing agent 31 for closing the air vent hole at the corner 16 can be securely adhered to the outer peripheral seal 15 to completely seal the inside. As a result, it is possible to protect the electrodes and the like from the etching agent and the abrasive in the subsequent polishing step, and to improve the yield.

Further, by making the outer dimensions of the two glass substrates 10 and 17 the same, it is possible to use the same production line, thereby preventing an increase in cost.

The above embodiment is merely an example, and does not limit the present invention. For example, although two array substrates 11 and 13 are formed on the glass substrate 10 shown in FIG. 1, the present invention can be applied to a case where one or three or more array substrates are formed. In the above embodiment, two corners 16 of the opposing substrate 17 are removed. However, it is sufficient that at least one corner 16 is removed so as to function as an air vent hole. Is also good. Further, the outer seal 15 formed on the glass substrate 10 which has the dimension to be removed but is not removed is exposed, and is freely provided within a range that does not hinder the function as the air vent hole and the subsequent blocking of the air vent hole. Can be set.

Further, the glass substrate to be removed for the air vent hole is not limited to the glass substrate 17 on which the opposing substrate is formed, but may be the glass substrate 10 on which the array substrates 11 and 13 are formed.

Further, in the above embodiment, the glass substrate 1
Although the corner 16 of 7 is removed to form an air vent hole, a similar effect can be obtained even if the corner 16 is removed in at least one side in a V-shape or U-shape.

[0024]

As described above, according to the method of manufacturing a liquid crystal cell of the present invention, at least a portion having a different outer shape exists on one of the two substrates on which the outer peripheral seal is not formed. However, since the outer peripheral seal is exposed at this position when the two substrates are bonded together, this portion acts as an air vent hole and can be easily and reliably performed when the air vent hole is closed. Is prevented from being contaminated in the polishing step.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing a structure of a liquid crystal cell according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing an air vent in the liquid crystal cell.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a method of closing an air vent in the liquid crystal cell.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged plan view showing a corner of the liquid crystal cell in an enlarged manner.

FIG. 5 is a plan view showing the structure of a conventional liquid crystal cell.

FIG. 6 is an enlarged plan view showing a corner of the liquid crystal cell in an enlarged manner.

[Explanation of symbols]

 10, 17 Glass substrate 11, 13 Array substrate 12, 14 Seal 15 Outer peripheral seal 16 Corner 30 Dispenser 31 Ultraviolet curing agent

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A method of manufacturing a liquid crystal cell, comprising laminating a substrate, cutting the substrate into dimensions of a liquid crystal cell, and injecting a liquid crystal between the substrates after bonding the two substrates together. A step of forming a seal, and at least one place on the outer periphery of the other substrate having a shape different from the outer shape of the one substrate, wherein the outer seal formed on the one substrate is exposed at this position. A method of manufacturing a liquid crystal cell, comprising: bonding the two substrates. 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the one substrate has a rectangular shape, the other substrate has an outer shape having substantially the same dimensions as the one substrate, and at least one corner is obliquely removed. The method for manufacturing a liquid crystal cell according to claim 1. 3. The one substrate has a rectangular shape, and the other substrate has an outer shape having substantially the same dimensions as the one substrate, and has at least one V-shaped or U-shaped portion removed on one side. 2. The method for manufacturing a liquid crystal cell according to claim 1, wherein: 4. The method for manufacturing a liquid crystal cell according to claim 1, wherein said outer peripheral seal is continuously formed without interruption in an outer peripheral region of said one substrate.