JP2002277886A - Capping device and capping method for liquid crystal panel - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a capping device and a capping method for a liquid crystal panel, having high productivity, where a capping agent is applied only onto liquid crystal injecting port parts, and a plurality of liquid crystal panels can be handled as one cassette unit. SOLUTION: The capping device and the capping method for the liquid crystal panel is characterized in that a plurality of liquid crystal panels, each having one or more liquid crystal injecting ports on a lower end surface are housed in a cassette, the positioning of the plurality of liquid crystal panels on a plurality of coating rollers (or columnar pins) disposed below the cassette corresponding to the plurality of the liquid crystal panels and having a width narrower than that of the liquid crystal panels is performed, and the liquid crystal injecting ports of the plurality of liquid crystal panels are collectively capped, by using the capping agent held on the periphery of the coating rollers (or at the end faces of the columnar pins), while the coating rollers or the liquid crystal panels are moved in the direction parallel to the longitudinal direction of the lower end surface and the coating rollers are rotated.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an apparatus and a method for sealing a liquid crystal panel, and more particularly to a liquid crystal panel having a high productivity in which a sealing agent does not protrude to the display panel surface side and an injection hole is securely sealed. The present invention relates to a sealing device and method.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A conventional method for manufacturing a liquid crystal panel will be described below. The plurality of liquid crystal panels are housed in a cassette with the liquid crystal injection holes facing downward. The cassette is sent to a vacuum chamber, and the inside of the liquid crystal panel is evacuated. In this state, the liquid crystal is injected into the liquid crystal panel by bringing the injection hole into contact with the liquid crystal, and then returning the vacuum chamber to the atmosphere, thereby causing a pressure difference between the inside and the outside of the liquid crystal panel. Next, the elastic sheet is sandwiched between the liquid crystal panels, pressure is applied from both sides, and the liquid is sent to the sealing device with the injection hole facing upward. Here, the pressure is applied from both sides of the panel because the gap of the panel tends to gradually expand after liquid crystal injection due to the stress of various thin films and a sealant formed on the glass surface of the panel. This is to prevent display unevenness between the central portion and the peripheral portion of the panel due to the bulging. In the sealing step, first, liquid crystal adhering near the injection hole is removed, and then a sealing agent is applied to the injection hole portion one by one by a robot, and then the sealing agent is cured by irradiating ultraviolet rays. Let it. Although the panel is manufactured through such a process, in the liquid crystal injection process, a plurality of liquid crystal panels are collectively performed in a cassette unit, but in the sealing agent application process, the process is performed for each liquid crystal panel. There was a problem that productivity was low.

Therefore, a sealing method has been proposed in which the productivity is improved by applying a sealing agent to a plurality of liquid crystal panels at once. One example (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 9-17913)
No. 2) is shown in FIG. FIG. 9 is a perspective view (a) and a cross-sectional view (b) showing an application method for simultaneously applying a sealing agent to a plurality of liquid crystal panels. According to this method, as shown in FIG. 9, an elastic sheet 9 is sandwiched between a plurality of liquid crystal panels 7 and pressure is applied from both sides to maintain a state in which the gap of the liquid crystal panel 7 is kept flat, and The application roller 10 is moved up and down to apply the sealing agent to the injection hole.

Another example of the batch sealing method (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2000-2000)
-206545) is shown in FIG. In this method, first, after the liquid crystal is injected, the liquid crystal panel 7 is moved to the positioning section 1.
Transfer to 4. That is, the liquid crystal panel is inverted and inserted into the guide 14a with the liquid crystal injection hole facing upward to align the liquid crystal panels. Subsequently, the base plate 15 on which the plurality of pins 16 are attached at the same pitch as the guide 14a is moved onto the sealing agent container 17, and is lowered to cause the pins 15 to hold the sealing agent. After that, the pins are moved onto the liquid crystal injection hole of the liquid crystal panel, lowered, and the sealing agent is applied to the liquid crystal injection hole.
In this way, it is possible to perform a sealing process for a plurality of liquid crystal panels in a lump.

[0005]

As described above, FIG.
Although the productivity of the application step was improved by the batch application method of No. 10, it was found that there were many problems as described below. In the method shown in FIG. 9, the applied sealing agent is:
As shown in FIG. 6B, the liquid crystal panel wraps around to the display surface side of the liquid crystal panel, and after being cured, it swells and remains. For this reason, it was found that a new operation step for scraping off the sealing agent on the display surface after the sealing treatment was required, and the productivity of the entire liquid crystal panel was not substantially improved.

Further, in the method shown in FIG. 10, it is necessary to transfer the liquid crystal panel to a positioning portion. In addition, since this transfer requires positioning, the guide portion has a width approximately equal to or slightly wider than the panel thickness. Therefore, the insertion of the liquid crystal panel into the guide requires extremely high accuracy, and when the panel is enlarged, there is a problem that the panel cannot be inserted due to bending of the panel and the like, and it is practically difficult to shorten the time of the sealing process. There was a problem. Further, when the transfer is performed by a robot or the like, there is a problem that a panel damage accident is likely to occur. Also, by inserting the liquid crystal panel into the guide, the lower side of the panel is aligned, but especially in the case of a large panel, the position of the liquid crystal injection hole and the pin is bent by the bending of the panel on the upper end surface where the liquid crystal injection hole is provided. It was found that there was a problem that the liquid crystal injection hole was shifted, and the sealing of the liquid crystal injection hole was incomplete, or the liquid crystal injection hole protruded to the panel surface side.

On the other hand, after the liquid crystal is injected, the operation of removing the liquid crystal panel and the like are omitted, and a series of processes of liquid crystal removal, sealing agent application and curing are performed collectively and quickly in units of cassettes, so that after the liquid crystal injection, It was found that the processing time until the sealing agent was hardened was remarkably shortened, and that the swelling of the panel gap was substantially eliminated. That is, it was found that by performing the sealing process in units of cassettes, the step of sandwiching the elastic sheet and applying pressure from both sides can be omitted.

Based on such findings, the present inventor has conducted various studies on coating methods for stably applying the sealing agent only to the injection hole portion in order to eliminate the step of removing the sealing agent protruding to the panel surface side. As a result, the present invention was completed. That is, the present invention provides a highly productive liquid crystal panel sealing apparatus and method capable of reliably applying a sealing agent only to a liquid crystal injection hole portion and processing a plurality of liquid crystal panels in cassette units. With the goal.

[0009]

According to the present invention, there is provided a liquid crystal panel sealing apparatus in which a plurality of liquid crystal panels having one or more liquid crystal injection holes on a lower end face are housed in a cassette, and are arranged below the cassette. Rotating the application roller, and moving the application roller or the plurality of liquid crystal panels in parallel with the longitudinal direction of the lower end surface, and sealing the liquid crystal injection hole with a sealing agent held around the application roller. A sealing device that performs processing on the plurality of liquid crystal panels simultaneously,
In the vicinity of both lower ends of the cassette, a block-shaped member having a plurality of tapered guide grooves corresponding to the plurality of liquid crystal panels is provided, and the block-shaped member is raised or the cassette is lowered, and The liquid crystal panel is guided into the tapered guide groove and is brought into contact with the bottom of the groove, so that a panel positioning mechanism for aligning the height direction of the liquid crystal panel and the vertical direction of the panel surface is provided. A plurality of coating rollers having a narrow coating width and arranged corresponding to the liquid crystal panel, and a moving mechanism for moving the coating roller or the block-shaped member in a longitudinal direction of a lower end surface of the liquid crystal panel. It is characterized by the following.

As described above, by providing the panel positioning mechanism having the tapered guide groove, a plurality of liquid crystal panels can be accurately and easily aligned.
Even if the application roller is narrower than the thickness of the liquid crystal panel, the positioning between the lower end surface of the liquid crystal panel and the roller can be accurately performed. For this reason, it becomes possible to translate the coating roller in the longitudinal direction while rotating in the lower end surface, and the sealing agent does not protrude to the panel surface. Therefore, there is no need to transfer the conventional liquid crystal panel or to remove the sealing agent, and the productivity of the liquid crystal panel is greatly improved. Furthermore, since processing can be performed on a cassette basis, the processing time from the injection of liquid crystal to the completion of sealing processing is significantly reduced, and this is combined with the reduction in time due to the fact that there is no need to transfer liquid crystal panels or sandwich the elastic sheet. Further, the swelling of the panel over time is substantially negligible.

[0011] Further, a plurality of panel aligning grooves are provided corresponding to the plurality of liquid crystal panels, and the liquid crystal panel is inserted into the panel aligning grooves so that the lower end surface of the liquid crystal panel and the coating roller are separated from each other. A panel aligning member for performing positioning is arranged in front of or behind the longitudinal direction of the application roller. Here, the panel alignment member may be configured to move together with the application roller by, for example, fixing the panel alignment member to a fixing member of a rotation axis of the application roller. When the liquid crystal panel is large, the panel itself is likely to bend. Therefore, even when the liquid crystal panel is positioned at both ends, the application roller may be displaced from the lower end surface of the panel at the center. However, for example, by providing a panel alignment member that moves together with the application roller, the application roller can always be positioned within the thickness of the panel, and even a large panel can be sealed without protruding onto the panel surface.

[0012] Further, a side end surface positioning member for pressing the side end surface of the liquid crystal panel to move the liquid crystal panel in the longitudinal direction so as to make the side end surfaces the same surface is provided. Specifically, in particular, when there are a plurality of injection holes, by positioning the lower end face in the longitudinal direction, while the application roller or the block-shaped member is moving in the longitudinal direction, the position of the liquid crystal injection hole is changed. Correspondingly, a control mechanism for moving the application roller or the block-shaped member up and down may be provided so that the sealing agent is not applied between the injection holes. On the other hand, the coating roller may be provided with a notch, and the length of the protruding portion may be substantially equal to or longer than the length of the liquid crystal injection hole. In this case, the circumferential length of the roller is 2
By setting the pitch of the liquid crystal injection holes to be substantially an integral multiple of the above, the sealing agent can be applied only to the injection hole portion simply by rotating and moving the roller.

According to a second liquid crystal panel sealing device of the present invention,
A plurality of liquid crystal panels each having one or more liquid crystal injection holes on the lower end face are housed in a cassette, and are arranged below the cassette, and a plurality of columnar pins are attached to the plurality of liquid crystal panels. By moving the shaft up and down, the sealing agent held on the end surface of the columnar pin is pressed against the liquid crystal injection hole, and the sealing is performed on the plurality of liquid crystal panels simultaneously. A device,
In the vicinity of both lower ends of the cassette, a block-shaped member having a plurality of tapered guide grooves corresponding to the plurality of liquid crystal panels is provided, and the block-shaped member is raised or the cassette is lowered, and The liquid crystal panel is guided into the tapered guide groove and is brought into contact with the bottom of the groove, whereby the panel positioning mechanism for aligning the height direction of the liquid crystal panel and the vertical direction of the panel surface, and rotating the rotating shaft A mechanism and a mechanism for moving the rotating shaft or the block-shaped member up and down, wherein the cross section of the columnar pin is smaller than the thickness of the liquid crystal panel and substantially the same or longer than the length of the liquid crystal injection hole, By rotating the rotating shaft, the end face of the columnar pin is brought into contact with a sealing agent in a sealing agent container disposed therebelow, and the sealing agent is held on the end surface. And butterflies. In this device configuration, instead of an application roller, a columnar pin is arranged, and a sealing agent held on the end surface of the pin is pressed against the liquid crystal injection hole to apply the liquid crystal. Because a mechanism, panel alignment member, or side end surface positioning member is provided,
The sealing agent can be accurately and stably applied without protruding from the lower end surface of the panel.

In the method for sealing a liquid crystal panel according to the present invention, a plurality of liquid crystal panels having one or more liquid crystal injection holes on a lower end face are housed in a cassette, and a lower portion of the cassette is provided corresponding to the plurality of liquid crystal panels. Align the application roller and the plurality of liquid crystal panels that are narrower than the liquid crystal panel arranged in a plurality, and then move the application roller or the liquid crystal panel in parallel with the longitudinal direction of the lower end surface. In addition, the application roller is rotated, and the sealing process of the liquid crystal injection holes is simultaneously performed on the plurality of liquid crystal panels with the sealing agent held around the application roller. The uniformity of application of the sealing agent is further improved by setting the relative speed between the uppermost roller of the application roller and the liquid crystal panel to substantially zero.

According to a second method of sealing a liquid crystal panel of the present invention,
A plurality of liquid crystal panels having one or more liquid crystal injection holes on a lower end surface are housed in a plurality of cassettes, and a rotating shaft having a plurality of columnar pins corresponding to the plurality of liquid crystal panels is arranged below the cassette. Then, by rotating the rotating shaft, the end surface of the columnar pin is brought into contact with a sealing agent in a sealing agent container disposed below the rotating shaft to hold the sealing agent on the end surface, The liquid crystal panel was aligned with the plurality of columnar pins, and subsequently, the rotation axis or the liquid crystal panel was moved up and down in a state where the rotation of the rotation axis was stopped, and was held on the end face of the columnar pin. It is characterized in that a sealing agent is pressed against the liquid crystal injection holes, and the liquid crystal injection holes are simultaneously sealed for the plurality of liquid crystal panels.

[0016]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail. A first embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIGS. FIG. 1 is a schematic front view showing a state in which a cassette 6 for accommodating a liquid crystal panel 7 after being injected with liquid crystal is conveyed to a sealing agent device and is placed on a support 1 in a sealing agent application step. And a side view (b). FIG. 2 is a schematic front view showing a state during the coating process, and FIGS.
It is a typical sectional view about A ', CC', and BB '.

As shown in FIG. 2, the coating process section of the sealing device is a support table 1 for the cassette 2 and a panel positioning mechanism for aligning a plurality of liquid crystal panels in the cassette in a height direction and a panel surface direction. A vertically movable block-shaped member 2 having a tapered guide groove 2a, and a side end surface positioning mechanism for aligning the side end surfaces of the plurality of liquid crystal panels 7,
A block-shaped member 3 having a plurality of grooves and movable left and right;
A plurality of application rollers 4 for applying a sealing agent to the liquid crystal injection holes 7a;
A panel alignment member 11 disposed in front of the application roller 4 in the horizontal movement direction and moving together with the application roller, and a slit-shaped outlet having a length equal to or longer than the arrangement width of the liquid crystal panel. A blower (blow mechanism) 5 for blowing off and removing the attached liquid crystal, a drive mechanism (not shown) for moving the application roller 4 and the panel alignment member 11 left and right and up and down, and a control mechanism therefor. .

Here, the width of one application roller 4 is as shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 6, the thickness is set smaller than the thickness of the liquid crystal panel, and a plurality of application rollers are mounted around the central axis 8 at equal intervals corresponding to the arrangement of the plurality of liquid crystal panels. The lower portion of the application roller is brought into contact with a sealing agent in a sealing agent container (not shown), and by rotating the roller, a sealing agent having a predetermined thickness is held on the circumference of the roller. In addition, the thickness of the sealing agent held by the application roller can be controlled by, for example, a leveling plate attached to the container.

The cassette 6 is provided with a storage groove 6a for storing a plurality of liquid crystal panels. If the cassette is used for a long period of time, or if the cassette is distorted due to washing or the like, storage and removal of the liquid crystal panel may not be performed. Especially when the robot is automatically stored / removed by a robot, the panel may be damaged.
Usually, the width of the storage groove is formed wider than the panel thickness. Accordingly, each liquid crystal panel has a slight angle with respect to the side surface of the cassette, and the intervals between the panels vary.

When the cassette 6 is placed on the support 1,
First, a block-shaped member (for example, made of alumite or SUS) 3 of the side end surface positioning mechanism moves rightward in FIG. 1A and enters the inside of the cassette. Perform the operation to align the side edges of the panel.

Subsequently, a block-shaped member (for example, made of anodized aluminum or SUS) 2 of the panel positioning mechanism is lifted by an elevating mechanism (not shown), and as shown in FIG. Supported by Here, the guide groove 2a formed in the block-shaped member has a tapered shape, and the width of the upper part of the guide groove is larger than the width of the cassette housing groove 6a. When the lower end surface of the liquid crystal panel comes into contact with the bottom surface of the guide groove 2a, the liquid crystal panel is supported by the block-shaped member. Since the width of the bottom surface is designed to be substantially the same as or slightly wider than the thickness of the liquid crystal panel, each liquid crystal panel becomes parallel when the lower end surface of the liquid crystal panel comes into contact with the groove bottom surface, and the interval between the panels is constant.

In this state, the blower 5 is raised to a predetermined height to blow out air at a predetermined pressure toward the lower end surface of the liquid crystal panel, and is moved to the left side of FIG. The remaining surplus liquid crystal is blown off and removed. The liquid crystal that has been blown off and adhered to other portions of the liquid crystal panel is removed by washing after the sealing process.
After moving to the left end, it descends and retracts to the storage position.

Next, the application roller 4 rises while rotating together with the sealing agent container (not shown), and
Also rises with the application roller. The panel alignment member 11
It is attached to, for example, a sealing agent container as close as possible to the application roller so as not to hinder the rotation of the application roller. A plurality of panel alignment grooves 11a are formed in the panel alignment member, and the liquid crystal panel is guided into the grooves 11a by the elevation of the panel alignment member 11, and is in the state shown in FIG. On the other hand, the application roller 4 is in a state in which the sealing agent is in contact with the lower end surface of the liquid crystal as shown in FIG.

Here, the sealing agent is applied to the injection hole while the panel alignment member 11 and the application roller 4 are moved to the left. The amount of the sealing agent applied to the injection hole portion is determined by the distance between the uppermost portion of the roller and the lower surface of the panel, the rotation direction of the application roller,
The desired amount can be controlled by selecting the ratio between the moving speed and the rotation speed of the application roller. From the viewpoint of coating uniformity, it is preferable to determine the moving speed and the rotating speed of the coating roller such that the relative speed between the uppermost portion of the coating roller and the lower end surface of the liquid crystal panel becomes substantially zero. Also, while the application roller is moving to the left, the application roller is lowered except for the application part (injection hole part), and the height is controlled so that the sealing agent is not transferred. When the application of all the injection holes is completed, the panel alignment member 11 and the application roller 4 descend and retreat to the storage position. Although the width of the panel alignment groove depends on the size of the liquid crystal panel, it is preferable that the width is about 0.5 mm larger than the thickness of the liquid crystal panel, and the depth of the groove is about 10 to 20 mm. By inserting the liquid crystal panel into the groove of about 8 to 18 mm in this manner, highly accurate positioning can be performed. In this case, it is preferable to use a soft material such as Teflon (registered trademark) because the liquid crystal panel will rub against the groove.

With the above, the application of the sealing agent to the injection hole is completed.
The cassette is conveyed to a sealing agent curing process section, where ultraviolet light is irradiated from below to cure the sealing agent, and the sealing process is completed. With such a configuration, the sealing agent can be used as shown in FIG.
As shown in (a), the shape covers only the injection hole,
The protrusion to the panel surface side can be prevented. As a result, the panel surface shaving operation, which is indispensable in the conventional batch processing, becomes unnecessary, and the productivity can be greatly improved.

In the structure of this embodiment, since a control mechanism for moving the application roller up and down in accordance with the position of the injection hole is provided, various liquid crystal panels having different injection hole lengths and intervals can be easily handled. be able to. In addition, since the above processing can be performed in a very short time, the swelling of the gap due to the stress of the thin film or the like is negligible,
It is possible to manufacture a liquid crystal panel having no display unevenness between the central portion and the peripheral portion of the panel. Therefore, the step of sandwiching the elastic sheet between the panels and applying pressure from both sides to prevent swelling becomes unnecessary, and the productivity is further improved.

Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described. In FIG. 7, a notch is formed in a part of the circumference of the application roller, and the circumference of the protrusion 4a is substantially the same as or slightly longer than the length of the injection hole 7a. Further, by selecting the diameter of the application roller so that the circumferential length of the application roller is an integral multiple of the pitch of the injection holes (that is, the length of the injection hole + the interval), the application roller is moved up and down during the horizontal movement of the application roller. The transfer of the sealing agent between the injection holes can be prevented without moving the sealing agent. In this case, it is necessary to replace the application roller for each liquid crystal panel with different injection hole lengths and intervals, but if the product type is the same, the control mechanism for the application roller is simplified and the overall configuration of the device is simplified. Can be In the present invention, the coating roller having the notch has a meaning including, for example, a shape in which a columnar pin is left as shown in FIG.

FIG. 8 shows a third embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG.
A plurality of columnar pins 13 are arranged around the pin, and the rotary shaft 8 is lifted up so that the sealing agent held on the end face of the pin is pressed against the liquid crystal injection hole and transferred. The sealing agent application step will be described for a case where a columnar pin having a cross-shaped cross section is attached to the rotating shaft so that the cross section has a cross shape (FIG. 8C). The configuration of the sealing device is the same as the configuration in FIG. 1 except that the rotating shaft is used instead of the application roller. The cross section of the columnar pin has a square, elliptical (circular) shape, or the like. One side (shorter axis) is smaller than the thickness of the liquid crystal panel, and the other side (long axis) is the same as the length of the liquid crystal injection hole. Or make it a little longer.

In the same manner as in the first embodiment, after the end of the blowing process, the rotary shaft 12 rotates and rises together with the sealing agent container (not shown), and the columnar pin row holding the sealing agent faces upward. Stop rotation when facing. The rotation axis rotates,
The columnar pin array contacts the sealing agent of the sealing agent container and attaches the sealing agent to the end surface.The sealing agent attached to the end surface is leveled by the time the columnar pin array faces upward, and a certain amount of sealing is performed. The agent will be retained. Further, the panel alignment member 11 also moves up together with the rotation shaft 12, and the liquid crystal panel is inserted into the panel alignment groove 11a. In this state, the panel alignment member 11 and the rotating shaft 12 are moved to the left, and stopped when the columnar pin comes directly below the liquid crystal injection hole. Then, the rotating shaft is further lifted and held on the end face of the columnar pin. The sealing agent is applied by pressing against the liquid crystal injection hole. The positioning of the columnar pin and the liquid crystal injection hole may be determined, for example, from the distance between the rotation axis and the position of the side end face of the liquid crystal panel determined by the side end face positioning mechanism.

After the application, the rotating shaft is lowered and moved to the next liquid crystal injection hole, and the rotating shaft is rotated to turn the columnar pin row holding the sealing agent upward. Subsequently, the rotation axis is similarly raised, and the sealing agent is applied to the injection hole. This operation is repeated to apply the sealing agent to all the injection holes, and then returns to the storage position to complete the application process. The shape of the sealing agent applied in this manner has the same shape as that of FIG. 6A, and the application of the sealing agent to the panel surface without protruding can be performed.

The above embodiment is merely an example of the present invention, and each step of the sealing process, the arrangement and shape of the constituent members, and the like can be changed to various forms. For example, the configuration is such that the application of the sealing agent is started after the blow processing is completed for all the liquid crystal panels. However, the blow mechanism and the application roller (or the rotating shaft) are arranged at a predetermined interval and moved. Two processes may be simultaneously performed on the cassette. Further, instead of the blow mechanism, a vacuum mechanism for sucking liquid crystal may be used, or may be wiped off with a cloth or the like.

Further, the liquid crystal blow processing step and the sealing agent coating step may be separately provided, and the cassette may be transported to the coating step after the blow processing. on the other hand,
The curing treatment after the application of the sealing agent is performed by moving the cassette and performing it in another place.
The sealing agent applied from the lower part of the cassette may be irradiated with ultraviolet rays. However, in this case, it is necessary to cover the storage section such as the application roller with a shielding plate or the like so that ultraviolet rays do not enter the application roller (or the rotating shaft) and the sealing agent container. Although a plurality of application rollers or columnar pins are fixed around one central axis, a plurality of rollers or columnar pins may be fixed to a plurality of central axes. The arrangement is not limited to the arrangement arranged in front of the roller (or the rotating shaft), but may be arranged rearward and further forward and backward. Also, the panel alignment member is fixed to a sealing agent container or the like,
Although it was configured to move together with the application roller or the rotating shaft,
It may be configured to be driven independently.

In the above embodiment, the case where the liquid crystal panel is fixed and the application roller and the like are moved has been described, but the blow mechanism, the application roller (or the rotating shaft)
Needless to say, an ultraviolet lamp or the like may be fixed at a predetermined position, and the liquid crystal panel supported by the block-shaped member may be moved thereon. In this case, for example, after the block-shaped member rises and lifts the liquid crystal panel, it further rises and supports the cassette at the horizontal portion of the block-shaped member, and moves while supporting both the liquid crystal panel and the cassette. As the rotation mechanism and the movement mechanism of the present invention, a known rotation mechanism and a movement mechanism such as a motor, a combination of a ball screw and a motor, and an air cylinder are used. Further, a thermosetting resin or the like can be used instead of the ultraviolet curable resin as the sealing agent.

[0034]

According to the present invention, it is possible to apply the sealing agent only to the liquid crystal injection hole, and the step of scraping off the protruding sealing agent, which is indispensable in the conventional coating method, is not required, and the liquid crystal panel is not required. The productivity can be greatly improved. Further, the shortening of the sealing processing time eliminates the need for the step of holding the elastic sheet or the like, the step of transferring the liquid crystal panel, and the like, so that the productivity of the liquid crystal panel can be further improved. For this reason, it is possible to reduce the cost of a larger high-precision liquid crystal display device, and to suppress an increase in the size and cost of the manufacturing apparatus.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic view showing an example of a method and a device for sealing a liquid crystal injection hole.

FIG. 2 is a schematic view showing an example of a sealing agent application step.

FIG. 3 is a schematic cross-sectional view taken along line AA ′ of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a schematic sectional view taken along the line CC ′ of FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a schematic sectional view taken along the line BB ′ of FIG. 2;

FIG. 6 is a conceptual diagram showing the shape of a sealing agent after application.

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram showing a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram showing a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view showing a conventional sealing method.

FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing a conventional sealing method.

[Explanation of symbols]

 REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 support base, 2 panel positioning mechanism, 2a tapered guide groove, 3 side end face positioning mechanism, 4 rotary coating roller, 4a protrusion, 4b notch, 5 blow mechanism, 6 cassette, 6a storage groove, 7 Liquid crystal panel, 7a liquid crystal injection hole, 8 central axis, 9 sealing agent, 10 application roller, 11 panel alignment member, 11a panel alignment groove, 12 rotation axis, 13 columnar pin, 14 positioning section, 14a guide, 15 base plate , 16 pins, 17 sealant container.

Claims (20)

[Claims] 1. A plurality of liquid crystal panels each having one or more liquid crystal injection holes on a lower end face are housed in a cassette, and an application roller disposed below the cassette is rotated,
The application roller or the plurality of liquid crystal panels are moved in parallel to the longitudinal direction of the lower end surface, and the liquid crystal injection hole is sealed with a sealing agent held around the application roller. A simultaneous sealing device, wherein a block-shaped member having a plurality of tapered guide grooves is provided in the vicinity of both lower ends of the cassette corresponding to the plurality of liquid crystal panels, and the block-shaped member is raised or raised. By lowering the cassette and guiding the plurality of liquid crystal panels into the tapered guide grooves and abutting against the groove bottoms, a panel positioning for aligning the height direction of the liquid crystal panels and the vertical direction of the panel surface is performed. A mechanism having a coating width smaller than the thickness of the liquid crystal panel, and a plurality of coating rollers arranged corresponding to the liquid crystal panel; and A liquid crystal panel sealing device, comprising: a moving mechanism for moving an application roller or the block-shaped member. 2. A liquid crystal panel having a plurality of panel aligning grooves corresponding to the plurality of liquid crystal panels, and the liquid crystal panel being inserted into the panel aligning grooves, whereby a lower end surface of the liquid crystal panel and the coating roller are formed. 2. The liquid crystal panel sealing device according to claim 1, wherein a panel alignment member for performing positioning is disposed in front of or behind the longitudinal direction of the application roller. 3. 3. The liquid crystal panel sealing device according to claim 2, wherein the panel alignment member is configured to move together with the application roller. 4. A side end surface positioning member for pressing the side end surfaces of the plurality of liquid crystal panels and moving the liquid crystal panels in the longitudinal direction to make the side end surfaces the same surface. 4. The sealing device for a liquid crystal panel according to any one of 3. 5. A control mechanism for moving the application roller or the block member up and down in accordance with the position of the liquid crystal injection hole while the application roller or the block member is moving in the longitudinal direction. 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the lower end surface other than the injection hole is not coated.
The sealing device for a liquid crystal panel according to any one of claims 1 to 4. 6. The method according to claim 1, wherein the coating roller is provided with a notch, and the length of the protruding portion is substantially equal to or longer than the length of the liquid crystal injection hole. A sealing device for a liquid crystal panel as described in the above. 7. The liquid crystal panel sealing device according to claim 6, wherein the circumferential length of the application roller is substantially an integral multiple of the pitch of the two or more liquid crystal injection holes. 8. A plurality of liquid crystal panels having one or two or more liquid crystal injection holes on a lower end surface are housed in a cassette, and arranged below the cassette, and a plurality of columnar pins are provided corresponding to the plurality of liquid crystal panels. By moving the rotating shaft having the attached pins up and down, the sealing agent held on the end faces of the columnar pins is pressed against the liquid crystal injection holes, and the liquid crystal injection holes are sealed for the plurality of liquid crystal panels. A block member having a plurality of tapered guide grooves corresponding to the plurality of liquid crystal panels is provided near the lower end portions of the cassette, and the block member is raised. Alternatively, by lowering the cassette, guiding the plurality of liquid crystal panels into the tapered guide groove and abutting against the groove bottom surface, the height direction of the liquid crystal panel and the vertical direction of the panel surface are aligned. A panel positioning mechanism, a mechanism for rotating the rotating shaft, and a mechanism for moving the rotating shaft or the block-shaped member up and down, wherein the cross section of the columnar pin is smaller than the thickness of the liquid crystal panel and the liquid crystal. By making the shape substantially the same as or longer than the length of the injection hole, the end face of the columnar pin is brought into contact with a sealing agent in a sealing agent container disposed therebelow by rotating the rotating shaft, and the sealing agent is applied to the end surface. A sealing device for a liquid crystal panel, wherein the sealing device is configured to be held. 9. The apparatus according to claim 8, further comprising a side end surface positioning member for pressing the side end surfaces of the plurality of liquid crystal panels to move the liquid crystal panels in the longitudinal direction and to make the side end surfaces the same surface. A sealing device for a liquid crystal panel as described in the above. 10. A liquid crystal display device comprising: a plurality of panel alignment grooves corresponding to the plurality of liquid crystal panels; and inserting the liquid crystal panel into the panel alignment grooves, whereby a lower end surface of the liquid crystal panel and the coating roller are formed. The sealing device for a liquid crystal panel according to claim 8, wherein a panel alignment member for performing alignment is disposed in front of or behind the longitudinal direction of the application roller. 11. The apparatus according to claim 10, wherein said panel aligning member moves together with said coating roller.
3. The sealing device for a liquid crystal panel according to claim 1. 12. A moving mechanism for moving the rotating shaft or the block-shaped member in a longitudinal direction of a lower end face of the liquid crystal panel.
Item 7. A liquid crystal panel sealing device according to item 1. 13. The liquid crystal panel sealing device according to claim 8, wherein the plurality of columnar pins are mounted in a plurality of rows in an axially symmetric manner. 14. A plurality of liquid crystal panels having one or more liquid crystal injection holes on a lower end surface are housed in a cassette, and a plurality of the liquid crystal panels are arranged below the cassette corresponding to the plurality of liquid crystal panels. Align the application roller and the plurality of liquid crystal panels with a narrower application roller, and then move the application roller or the liquid crystal panel parallel to the longitudinal direction of the lower end surface, and rotate the application roller. And sealing the liquid crystal injection holes for the plurality of liquid crystal panels simultaneously with a sealing agent held around the application roller. 15. The liquid crystal panel sealing method according to claim 14, wherein the relative speed between the uppermost roller of the application roller and the liquid crystal panel is substantially zero. 16. A panel aligning member having a plurality of panel aligning grooves corresponding to the plurality of liquid crystal panels is disposed in front of or behind the longitudinal direction of the application roller, and the liquid crystal panel is provided in the panel aligning grooves. The sealing process is performed while inserting the lower end surface of the liquid crystal panel and the application roller by inserting the liquid crystal panel.
17. The method for sealing a liquid crystal panel according to any one of items 16. 17. The method according to claim 17, wherein the applying roller or the liquid crystal panel is moved up and down so that a sealing agent is not applied to a lower end surface other than the liquid crystal injection hole while the applying roller or the liquid crystal panel is moving. 17. A method according to claim 14, wherein:
The method for sealing a liquid crystal panel according to any one of the above items. 18. A plurality of liquid crystal panels each having one or more liquid crystal injection holes on a lower end surface are housed in a cassette, and a plurality of columnar pins are attached below the cassette corresponding to the plurality of liquid crystal panels. The rotating shaft is arranged, and the rotating shaft is rotated to bring the end surface of the columnar pin into contact with the sealing agent in the sealing agent container arranged below the rotating shaft to hold the sealing agent on the end surface. Then, the plurality of liquid crystal panels and the plurality of columnar pins are aligned, and subsequently, the rotation axis or the liquid crystal panel is moved up and down in a state where the rotation of the rotation axis is stopped. A sealing method for a liquid crystal panel, wherein a sealing agent held on an end face is pressed against the liquid crystal injection hole, and the liquid crystal injection holes are simultaneously sealed for the plurality of liquid crystal panels. 19. The positioning of the plurality of liquid crystal panels and the plurality of columnar pins is performed by a block having a plurality of tapered guide grooves corresponding to the plurality of liquid crystal panels near lower end portions of the cassette. A plurality of liquid crystal panels are guided into the tapered guide groove and abut against the bottom surface of the liquid crystal panel by raising the block-shaped member or lowering the cassette, thereby obtaining the height of the liquid crystal panel. The method for sealing a liquid crystal panel according to claim 18, wherein the direction and the vertical direction of the panel surface are aligned. 20. A panel alignment member having a plurality of panel alignment grooves corresponding to the plurality of liquid crystal panels is disposed in front of or behind the lower end surface of the liquid crystal panel of the rotation axis in a longitudinal direction. 20. The sealing method for a liquid crystal panel according to claim 18, wherein the liquid crystal panel is inserted into the groove to perform a sealing process while aligning the lower end surface of the liquid crystal panel with the columnar pin. .