JP2001215520A - Method of manufacturing liquid crystal device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide the manufacturing method of a liquid crystal device, which enables a sealing agent to not to be formed on the outer side of a liquid crystal cell, without giving damages to a substrate. SOLUTION: After injecting the liquid crystal between the substrate 11 and an element substrate 12 from a liquid crystal injection hole 15, and after pressurizing a liquid crystal cell from both sides side of the substrate 11 and the element substrate 12, by applying a non-cured adhesive 17A so that the entrance of the liquid crystal injection hole 15 is covered, and canceling or reducing the pressurization of the liquid crystal cell, after drawing a part of the non-cured adhesive 17A in the inside of the liquid crystal injection hole 15, the non-cured adhesive 17A adhering to the outside of the liquid crystal injection hole 15 is removed by wiping or suction, or wiping off after the suction, and by curing the noncured adhesive 17A formed in the liquid crystal injection hole 15, thus a sealing agent 17 which seals the liquid crystal injection hole 15 is formed only in the inside of the liquid crystal injection hole 15.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing a liquid crystal device, and more particularly to a technique for forming a sealing material for sealing a liquid crystal injection hole for injecting liquid crystal.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art FIGS. 8A and 8B are a schematic sectional view and a schematic plan view, respectively, of a general simple matrix type liquid crystal device 100, and the structure of the liquid crystal device will be described. FIG.
In (a) and (b), the same components are denoted by the same reference numerals.

As shown in FIG. 8A, a substrate (lower substrate)
101 and an opposing substrate (upper substrate) 102 are adhered at predetermined intervals at a peripheral portion of each substrate via a sealant 104, and a liquid crystal layer 10 is interposed between the substrate 101 and the opposing substrate 102.
6 is enclosed. On the inner surfaces of the substrate 101 and the counter substrate 102, transparent electrodes 101a having a stripe shape are provided, respectively.
102a are formed to cross each other. Substrates 101, 102 on which transparent electrodes 101a, 102a are formed
Alignment film 10 for further aligning the liquid crystal on the inner surface of
1b and 102b are formed. Also, the substrate 101,
A spherical spacer 103 made of silicon dioxide, polystyrene, or the like is arranged between the opposing substrates 102 in order to make the cell thickness of the liquid crystal cell uniform. Although not shown in the figure, optical elements such as a polarizing plate and a retardation plate are provided outside the substrate 101 and the counter substrate 102.

As shown in FIG. 8B, a sealing material 104 is formed on the periphery of the substrate 101 so as to form a liquid crystal injection hole 105 for injecting liquid crystal.
Liquid crystal is injected into the inside of the liquid crystal cell by a method such as a vacuum injection method from 05 to form a liquid crystal layer 106, and then a sealing material 107 for sealing the liquid crystal injection hole 105 is formed.

FIGS. 9A to 9E are process diagrams showing a conventional method for forming a sealing material 107, and the conventional method for forming a sealing material will be described. 9A to 9E are schematic plan views showing the vicinity of the liquid crystal injection hole 105 of the liquid crystal cell in an enlarged manner.

A large amount of liquid crystal is injected into the inside of the liquid crystal cell from the liquid crystal injection hole 105 by a method such as a vacuum injection method, and a liquid crystal layer 106 is formed.
The liquid crystal cell is pressurized from both sides to eliminate the gap between the spacer 103 and the alignment films 101b and 102b, thereby making the cell thickness of the liquid crystal cell uniform. At this time, a part of the liquid crystal in the liquid crystal layer 106 sealed in the liquid crystal cell is emitted to the outside of the liquid crystal cell, and the liquid crystal layer 106 in the liquid crystal cell is filled with the liquid crystal injection hole 105 as shown in FIG. Is formed without any gaps up to the entrance of. The liquid crystal discharged to the outside is wiped off by a wiping member such as a cloth.

Next, as shown in FIG. 9 (b), on the side surface of the liquid crystal cell, a natural curable adhesive, a thermosetting adhesive, and a photocurable adhesive are applied so as to cover the entrance of the liquid crystal injection hole 105. An uncured adhesive 107A selected from agents is applied by a syringe or the like.

Next, as shown in FIG. 9C, by releasing or reducing the pressure of the liquid crystal cell, a part of the adhesive 107A is placed inside the liquid crystal injection hole 105 by utilizing the capillary phenomenon. Pull in. At this time, the amount of the adhesive 107A drawn into the liquid crystal injection hole 105 can be controlled by the amount of reduced pressure of the liquid crystal cell.

[0009] Thereafter, as shown in FIG.
When the adhesive 07A is a natural curable adhesive, the adhesive 107A is cured by heating, in the case of a thermosetting adhesive, or by the irradiation of ultraviolet rays in the case of a photocurable adhesive, and the sealing material is cured. 107 is formed.

[0010] The sealing material 107 formed in this manner is formed to be convexly thick to the outside of the side surface of the liquid crystal cell. For example,
The height of the liquid crystal injection hole 105 corresponds to the cell thickness, and is 3 to 5 μm.
The width L20 of the liquid crystal injection hole 105 is about 3 to 10 mm,
The thickness L30 of the sealing material 107 formed inside the liquid crystal injection hole 105 is about 0.2 to 0.5 mm. on the other hand,
Thickness L10 of sealing material 107 formed outside the liquid crystal cell
Is about 0.5 to 1.0 mm, which is larger than the thickness L30 of the sealing material 107 formed inside the liquid crystal injection hole 105.

[0011] The sealing material 107 formed in such a manner as to protrude thicker than the liquid crystal cell requires extra space inside a liquid crystal module or an electronic device having the liquid crystal device 100. As shown in ()), the sealing material 107 formed outside the side surface of the liquid crystal cell is cut by a cutter or the like so that the side surface of the liquid crystal cell becomes flat.

[0012]

In the method of forming the sealing material 107, the sealing material 107 formed outside the liquid crystal cell is cut by a cutter or the like. Substrate 101, counter substrate 10
2 is damaged, and the strength of the liquid crystal device 100 is reduced. In particular, when the substrate 101 and the counter substrate 102 are glass substrates, this problem is remarkable, and when the sealing material 107 is cut by a cutter or the like,
Fine cracks may be formed in the substrate 101 and the counter substrate 102 in some cases. As a result, a large number of fine cracks may be used as a starting point, and even if a slight impact is applied, the cracks may be expanded. Therefore, there is a problem that the strength of the liquid crystal cell is reduced and the liquid crystal cell is easily broken.

The above problems are not limited to the liquid crystal device 100 of the simple matrix type, but include a TFD (Thin Film).
Diode) devices such as two-terminal devices and TFT (Thin-
This is a problem that occurs in any liquid crystal device such as an active matrix type liquid crystal device using a three-terminal type element typified by a Film Transistor element.

Accordingly, the present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and to provide a method of manufacturing a liquid crystal device which makes it possible not to form a sealing material outside the side surface of a liquid crystal cell without damaging a substrate. With the goal.

[0015]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention takes a liquid crystal in which a liquid crystal layer is sandwiched between two substrates adhered at a predetermined interval via a sealing material. A method of manufacturing a device, comprising: injecting a liquid crystal between the two substrates through a liquid crystal injection hole formed in a part of the sealing material, and then applying an uncured adhesive to at least an entrance of the liquid crystal injection hole. A step of drawing a part of the uncured adhesive into the liquid crystal injection hole, a step of removing the uncured adhesive attached to the outside of the liquid crystal injection hole, Curing the formed uncured adhesive to form a sealing material for sealing the liquid crystal injection hole only inside the liquid crystal injection hole.

Further, in this means, in the applying step, the two substrates are pressed while approaching each other.
In the step of applying the uncured adhesive at least to the entrance of the liquid crystal injection hole, the drawing-in step is performed by releasing or reducing the pressure of the two substrates, thereby forming a part of the uncured adhesive. Is drawn into the liquid crystal injection hole.

In the above means, the removing step is a step of wiping the uncured adhesive. It is preferable that the uncured adhesive adhered to the outside of the liquid crystal injection hole is removed by wiping at a time by contacting a wiping roller around the entrance of the liquid crystal injection hole.

In the above means, the step of removing may be a step of sucking the uncured adhesive. In this case, it is desirable that the uncured adhesive adhered to the outside of the liquid crystal injection hole be removed by suction from a suction device connected to a pressure reducing device.

In the above means, the step of removing may be a step of wiping off the uncured adhesive after sucking it. In this case, after removing most of the uncured adhesive attached to the outside of the liquid crystal injection hole by suction, the uncured adhesive attached to the outside of the liquid crystal injection hole is completely removed by wiping. Can be.

According to the above means, when the adhesive is in an uncured state, the adhesive attached to the outside of the liquid crystal cell can be removed by wiping or suctioning, or by wiping after suctioning. It is an object of the present invention to provide a method of manufacturing a liquid crystal device, which enables an adhesive to be formed only inside a liquid crystal injection hole, so that a sealing material is not formed outside a liquid crystal cell without damaging a substrate. Aim.

Further, according to this manufacturing method, the substrate is not damaged, so that a highly reliable liquid crystal device can be provided.

[0022]

Next, an embodiment according to the present invention will be described in detail.

Referring to FIGS. 1 to 3, a TFD (Thin Film Diod) is used as a switching element in an embodiment according to the present invention.
e) A method for manufacturing the liquid crystal device 10 using elements will be described.

FIGS. 1A and 1B are a schematic sectional view and a schematic plan view, respectively, showing the structure of the liquid crystal cell after the liquid crystal is injected into the liquid crystal cell and before the liquid crystal injection hole is sealed. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the structure of the liquid crystal cell. Fig. 1 (a)
2 shows a cross-sectional view of the liquid crystal cell shown in FIG. 2 when cut in the AA ′ direction. FIGS. 3A to 3E show process diagrams illustrating a method of forming a sealing material for a liquid crystal injection hole. 3 (a) to 3 (e) are views showing an enlarged part of FIG. 1 (b).

As shown in FIGS. 1A and 2, a substrate (lower substrate) 11 and an element substrate (upper substrate) 12 are separated from each other by a sealing material And stick it on.

On the inner surface of the substrate 11, ITO (Indium
Transparent electrode 11a made of Tin Oxide)
Are formed in a plurality of stripes. A color filter layer or the like for displaying a color may be provided between the substrate 11 and the transparent electrode 11a.

On the inner surface of the element substrate 12, pixel electrodes 12a made of a transparent material such as ITO are arranged in a matrix at positions corresponding to the respective pixels, and a TFD for driving the pixel electrodes 20 is provided. The element 18 corresponds to each pixel electrode 12
a. A plurality of signal lines 19 are provided on the inner surface of the element substrate 12 so as to be orthogonal to the transparent electrodes 11 a arranged on the substrate 11, and the TFD elements 18 are connected to the signal lines 19.

Further, as shown in FIG.
a, Alignment films 11b and 12b for aligning liquid crystal are formed on the pixel electrode 12a. Alignment films 11b, 12
A spherical spacer 13 made of silicon dioxide, polystyrene, or the like for uniforming the cell thickness of the liquid crystal cell is disposed between b.

As shown in FIG. 1B, the sealing material 14
A liquid crystal injection hole 15 for injecting liquid crystal is formed at a peripheral portion on the substrate 11. A large amount of liquid crystal is injected between the substrate 11 and the element substrate 12 from the liquid crystal injection hole 15 by a vacuum injection method or the like to form a liquid crystal layer 16.

Next, as shown in FIGS. 3A to 3E, a sealing material 17 for sealing the liquid crystal injection hole 15 is formed. A method for forming the sealing material 17 will be described.

As shown in FIG. 1B, after the liquid crystal layer 16 is formed, the liquid crystal cell is pressed from both sides of the substrate 11 and the element substrate 12, and the gap between the spacer 13 and the alignment films 11b, 12b is formed. , The cell thickness of the liquid crystal cell is made uniform. At this time, a part of the liquid crystal in the liquid crystal layer 16 sealed in the liquid crystal cell is released from the liquid crystal injection hole 15 to the outside of the liquid crystal cell, and the liquid crystal layer 16 in the liquid crystal cell becomes as shown in FIG. Then, a state is formed in which no gap is formed up to the entrance of the liquid crystal injection hole 15. The liquid crystal discharged to the outside is wiped off by a wiping member such as a cloth.

Next, as shown in FIG. 3B, on the side surface of the liquid crystal cell, a natural curable adhesive, a thermosetting adhesive, and a photocurable adhesive are applied so as to cover the entrance of the liquid crystal injection hole 15. An uncured adhesive 17A selected from agents is applied by a syringe or the like. In the drawing, the uncured adhesive 17A is formed only on the outside of the side surface of the liquid crystal cell.
The uncured adhesive 17 </ b> A may also be slightly formed inside the liquid crystal injection hole 15 depending on the conditions at the time of application.

Next, as shown in FIG. 3 (c), by releasing or reducing the pressure of the liquid crystal cell, a part of the uncured adhesive 17A is removed by utilizing the capillary phenomenon and the liquid crystal injection hole 15 is removed. Pull inside. At this time, depending on the amount of decompression of the liquid crystal cell,
The amount of the adhesive 17A drawn into the liquid crystal injection hole 15 can be controlled.

An example of the size of the adhesive 17A and the liquid crystal injection hole 15 formed at this time will be described. For example, the height of the liquid crystal injection hole 15 corresponds to the cell thickness, about 3 to 5 μm, the width L2 of the liquid crystal injection hole 15 is about 3 to 10 mm, and the thickness L3 of the adhesive 17A drawn into the liquid crystal injection hole 15 is 0.2 ~
An adhesive 17 formed on the outside of the liquid crystal cell by about 0.5 mm
The thickness L1 of A is about 0.5 to 1.0 mm.

Next, as shown in FIG. 3D, the uncured adhesive 17A adhering to the outside of the liquid crystal cell is removed.
A method of removing the uncured adhesive 17A attached to the outside of the liquid crystal cell will be described later.

Next, as shown in FIG. 3 (e), when the uncured adhesive 17A is a natural curable adhesive, the adhesive is naturally cured, and when the uncured adhesive 17A is a thermosetting adhesive, the light curable adhesive is heated. In the case of an adhesive, the adhesive 17A is hardened by ultraviolet irradiation or the like, and the sealing material 17 is formed inside the liquid crystal injection hole.

Finally, although not shown, the substrate 1
1. A polarizing plate and a retardation plate are attached to the outside of the element substrate 12, and the liquid crystal device 10 is manufactured.

Here, a method of removing the uncured adhesive 17A attached to the outside of the liquid crystal cell will be described.

The uncured adhesive 17A adhering to the outside of the liquid crystal cell is removed manually using a cloth or the like, or as shown in FIG.
The wiping is automatically performed using the wiping device 20 as shown in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 4, the wiping device 20 includes a wiping roller 21 and a wiping cloth 22. The wiping roller 21 is connected to a motor (not shown) and is driven to rotate in the direction of arrow A in the figure. Is done. Further, the wiping cloth 22 is moved by the wiping roller 21 at a predetermined speed in the direction of arrow B in the figure.

Further, the wiping roller 21 and the wiping cloth 22 can be moved at a predetermined speed in the direction of arrow C in the figure (the direction parallel to the side surface of the liquid crystal cell).
In addition, the wiping roller 21 moves in the direction of arrow C in the figure while maintaining the height position at which the wiping cloth 22 lightly contacts the side surface of the liquid crystal cell on the entrance side of the liquid crystal injection hole 15. .

As shown in FIG. 4, the wiping roller 21
Is moved in the direction of arrow C in the figure, the adhesive 17A attached to the outside of the liquid crystal cell can be removed by wiping with the wiping cloth 22 at a time.

The same effect can be obtained by fixing the wiping roller 21 and moving the liquid crystal cell in the direction opposite to the direction of arrow C.

The uncured adhesive 17A adhering to the outside of the liquid crystal cell may be removed by suction. In this case, as shown in FIG. 5, the suction device 30 connected to a decompression device (not shown) is brought close to the uncured adhesive 17A, and the uncured adhesive adhered to the outside of the liquid crystal cell. Agent 1
Aspirate only 7A. For example, the pressure reducing device side is 6.65k
Suction is performed by reducing the pressure to about Pa.

Further, the uncured adhesive 17A adhering to the outside of the liquid crystal cell may be removed by sucking and then wiping it off. In this case, as shown in FIG. 5, after suctioning most of the uncured adhesive 17A adhering to the outside of the liquid crystal cell using the suction device 30 connected to the pressure reducing device, the cloth The remaining adhesive 17A of the uncured adhesive 17A adhering to the outside of the liquid crystal cell is wiped off manually by using, for example, or automatically using a wiping roller 20, as shown in FIG. Complete removal.

According to this embodiment, when the adhesive is in an uncured state, the adhesive formed on the outside of the liquid crystal cell can be removed by wiping or suction, or by wiping after suction. The present invention provides a method of manufacturing a liquid crystal device, in which an adhesive is formed only inside a liquid crystal injection hole, so that a sealing material is not formed outside a liquid crystal cell without damaging a substrate. Can be.

According to this manufacturing method, since the substrate is not damaged, a highly reliable liquid crystal device can be provided.

In this embodiment, the liquid crystal device using the TFD element has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and can be applied to any liquid crystal device. And an active matrix type liquid crystal device using a three-terminal element typified by a TFT (Thin-Film Transistor).

Next, a specific example of an electronic apparatus having the liquid crystal device 10 manufactured according to the above embodiment of the present invention will be described.

FIG. 6A is a perspective view showing an example of a mobile phone. In FIG. 6A, reference numeral 200 denotes a mobile phone main body, and reference numeral 201 denotes a liquid crystal display unit including the liquid crystal device 10 described above.

FIG. 6B is a perspective view showing an example of a portable information processing device such as a word processor or a personal computer. Fig. 6 (b)
1, reference numeral 300 denotes an information processing apparatus, 301 denotes an input unit such as a keyboard, 303 denotes an information processing main body, and 302 denotes a liquid crystal display unit provided with the liquid crystal device 10.

FIG. 6C is a perspective view showing an example of a wristwatch-type electronic device. In FIG. 6C, reference numeral 400 denotes a watch main body, and reference numeral 401 denotes a liquid crystal display unit provided with the liquid crystal device 10 described above.

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram showing a main part of a projection type display device using the liquid crystal device 10 as a light modulation device. 7, 510 denotes a light source, 513 and 514 denote dichroic mirrors, 515, 516 and 517 denote reflection mirrors, 518 denotes an incident lens, 519 denotes a relay lens,
20 is an exit lens, 522, 523 and 524 are liquid crystal light modulators, 525 is a cross dichroic prism, 52
Reference numeral 6 denotes a projection lens. The light source 510 includes a lamp 511 such as a metal halide and a reflector 51 that reflects light from the lamp.
Consists of two. The dichroic mirror 513 that reflects blue light and green light transmits red light of the light flux from the light source 510 and reflects blue light and green light. The transmitted red light is reflected by the reflection mirror 517 and is incident on the liquid crystal light modulation device 522 for red light. On the other hand, green light of the color light reflected by the dichroic mirror 513 is reflected by the dichroic mirror 514 that reflects green light, and is incident on the liquid crystal light modulation device 523 for green light. On the other hand, the blue light also passes through the second dichroic mirror 514. For blue light, in order to prevent light loss due to a long optical path, a light guide means 52 composed of a relay lens system including an entrance lens 518, a relay lens 519, and an exit lens 520.
1 is provided, and blue light is incident on the liquid crystal light modulation device for blue light 524 through the light modulation device 1. The three color lights modulated by the respective light modulators are cross dichroic prisms 525.
Incident on. This prism is formed by bonding four right-angle prisms, and a dielectric multilayer film that reflects red light and a dielectric multilayer film that reflects blue light are formed in a cross shape on the inner surface. The three color lights are combined by these dielectric multilayer films to form light representing a color image. The combined light is projected on a screen 527 by a projection lens 526, which is a projection optical system, and an image is enlarged and displayed.

Each of the electronic devices shown in FIGS. 6A to 6C and FIG. 7 includes the liquid crystal device 10 described above.
The volume of mounting the liquid crystal device to the electronic device can be reduced, and the size can be reduced.

[0055]

As described above, according to the present invention, when the adhesive is in an uncured state, it can be wiped or sucked.
Alternatively, the adhesive adhered to the outside of the liquid crystal cell can be removed by wiping after suctioning, so that the adhesive is formed only inside the liquid crystal injection hole, so that the liquid crystal cell is not damaged without damaging the substrate. A method for manufacturing a liquid crystal device, which enables no sealing material to be formed outside the device.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIGS. 1A and 1B show a method of manufacturing a liquid crystal device using a TFD element according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 4 is a schematic cross-sectional view and a schematic plan view showing the structure of the liquid crystal cell after injecting liquid crystal into the liquid crystal cell and before sealing the liquid crystal injection hole.

FIG. 2 shows a TFD in an embodiment according to the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a perspective view illustrating a structure of a liquid crystal device using an element.

FIGS. 3A to 3E show TFs according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 4 is a process chart showing a method of forming a sealing material in a method of manufacturing a liquid crystal device using a D element.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a method of wiping an adhesive adhered to the outside of a liquid crystal cell in an embodiment according to the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a view showing a method of sucking an adhesive attached to the outside of the liquid crystal cell in the embodiment according to the present invention.

FIG. 6A is a diagram illustrating an example of a mobile phone including the liquid crystal device manufactured according to the embodiment, and FIG. 6B is a diagram illustrating a portable type including the liquid crystal device manufactured according to the embodiment. FIG. 6C is a diagram illustrating an example of an information processing device, and FIG. 6C is a diagram illustrating an example of a wristwatch-type electronic device including the liquid crystal device manufactured according to the above embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a schematic configuration diagram showing a main part of a projection display device using the liquid crystal device manufactured according to the above embodiment as a light modulation device.

8A and 8B are a schematic sectional view and a schematic plan view, respectively, showing the structure of a general simple matrix type liquid crystal device.

FIGS. 9A to 9E are process diagrams showing a conventional method for forming a sealing material.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 10 liquid crystal device 11 substrate (lower substrate) 12 element substrate (upper substrate) 11a transparent electrode 12a pixel electrode 11b, 12b alignment film 13 spacer 14 sealing material 15 liquid crystal injection hole 16 liquid crystal layer 17 sealing material 17A uncured adhesive Reference Signs List 18 TFD element 19 Signal line 20 Wiping device 21 Wiping roller 22 Wiping cloth 30 Suction device

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. A method for manufacturing a liquid crystal device comprising a liquid crystal layer sandwiched between two substrates adhered at a predetermined interval via a sealing material, wherein a liquid crystal formed on a part of the sealing material is provided. 2 from the injection hole
A step of applying an uncured adhesive to at least an entrance of the liquid crystal injection hole after injecting the liquid crystal between the two substrates; and a step of drawing a part of the uncured adhesive into the liquid crystal injection hole. A step of removing the uncured adhesive attached to the outside of the liquid crystal injection hole, and sealing the liquid crystal injection hole by curing the uncured adhesive formed inside the liquid crystal injection hole. Forming a stopper only inside the liquid crystal injection hole. 2. The method of manufacturing a liquid crystal device according to claim 1, wherein in the applying step, the uncured adhesive is provided at least at an entrance of the liquid crystal injection hole while pressing the two substrates in a direction approaching each other. In the step of applying, the step of pulling in is a step of pulling a part of the uncured adhesive into the liquid crystal injection hole by releasing or reducing the pressure of the two substrates. Characteristic manufacturing method of a liquid crystal device. 3. The method for manufacturing a liquid crystal device according to claim 1, wherein the removing step is a step of wiping off the uncured adhesive. 4. The method for manufacturing a liquid crystal device according to claim 3, wherein the wiping step is performed by bringing a wiping roller into contact with a periphery of an entrance of the liquid crystal injection hole. . 5. The method for manufacturing a liquid crystal device according to claim 1, wherein the removing step is a step of sucking the uncured adhesive. 6. The method for manufacturing a liquid crystal device according to claim 5, wherein the uncured adhesive is sucked from a suction device connected to a pressure reducing device. 7. The method of manufacturing a liquid crystal device according to claim 1, wherein the removing step is a step of wiping off after sucking the uncured adhesive. Production method.