JP2003222841A - Method for manufacturing liquid crystal display panel - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent a production yield of a liquid crystal display panel from lowering due to breaking, getting chipped, cracking and so on of a panel end face without incurring introduction of an additional new device and increase of an outer shape of the liquid crystal display panel. <P>SOLUTION: In a method for manufacturing the liquid crystal display panel comprising a liquid crystal sandwiched between two substrates overlaid on each other, just after cutting off the liquid crystal display panel, the end faces of the panel except for that of an edge for end-sealing are coated with a thermosetting resin and the resin is cured. After the panel undergoes subsequent steps of liquid crystal injection, end-sealing, panel cleaning and so on, the thermosetting resin is removed in an end face polishing step. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2003,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing a liquid crystal display panel, and more particularly to a method for manufacturing a liquid crystal display panel which has a good manufacturing yield and is suitable for downsizing.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In manufacturing a liquid crystal display panel, cracking, chipping and cracking are one of the major factors that reduce the manufacturing yield. In particular, after the panel cutting step of cutting the two substrates so that they are cut into a desired outer size,
Since the end face of the panel is sharp, it is vulnerable to external impacts, and when handling the panel, the end face is accidentally applied to the storage cassette or device, and even if the panel is stored in the cassette, it is strong against the cassette. It is easy for cracks, chips, and cracks to occur when impact is applied. A method disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 11-305201 is known as a method for preventing the occurrence of cracks, chips and cracks. According to this method, as shown in FIG. 3, a protective layer 6 made of an ultraviolet curable resin is formed on the edge portion of the liquid crystal display panel 5 to prevent cracks, chips and cracks from occurring.

[0003]

However, in the method disclosed in the above publication, since the protective layer is made of the ultraviolet curable resin, an ultraviolet irradiation device for curing the ultraviolet curable resin is required, and the introduction of a new device is required. There was a problem that it was necessary. In addition, since the protective layer remains on the edge portion of the liquid crystal display panel, the outer shape of the panel is increased by the amount of the protective layer added, which causes a problem of downsizing of the liquid crystal display device.

Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a method of manufacturing a liquid crystal display panel which can prevent a decrease in manufacturing yield without introducing a new device and increasing the outer shape of the panel.

[0005]

In order to achieve the above object, in the method of manufacturing a liquid crystal display panel according to claim 1 of the present invention, a liquid crystal is sandwiched between two superposed substrates. The method for manufacturing a liquid crystal display panel is characterized by including a step of covering an end surface of the panel other than the sealing side with a protective layer after the cutting of the liquid crystal display panel, and a step of removing the protective layer.

A method of manufacturing a liquid crystal display panel according to a second aspect of the present invention is the method of manufacturing a liquid crystal display panel according to the first aspect, characterized in that the protective layer is made of a thermosetting resin. To do.

Further, a method for manufacturing a liquid crystal display panel according to a third aspect of the present invention is characterized in that, in the method for manufacturing a liquid crystal display panel according to the first or second aspect, there is a step of curing the protective layer. And

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of manufacturing a liquid crystal display panel according to the third aspect, wherein the step of curing the protective layer is a heat treatment step. Characterize.

The method for manufacturing a liquid crystal display panel according to claim 5 of the present invention is the method for manufacturing a liquid crystal display panel according to claim 3 or 4, wherein the step of curing the protective layer is a liquid crystal display panel. It is characterized in that it is performed at the same time as the drying process.

Further, the method of manufacturing a liquid crystal display panel according to claim 6 of the present invention is the method of manufacturing a liquid crystal display panel according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the step of removing the protective layer is performed. Is composed of a polishing step.

[0011]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. According to the method for manufacturing a liquid crystal display panel of the present invention, a TFT (thin film transistor) is provided.
The liquid crystal material is injected immediately after the panel cutting process for cutting into a desired outer shape is completed after the TFT substrate on which is formed and the color filter (CF) substrate on which the red, green, and blue color filter layers are formed are superposed. After that, the panel end face is covered with the thermosetting resin by a process of applying, for example, a thermosetting resin as a protective layer on the end faces of the three sides other than the sealing side for sealing, and then heating in the panel drying process. This cures the thermosetting resin and protects the panel end face. Further, the thermosetting resin is removed by polishing the end faces in the end face polishing process after the liquid crystal injection process, the sealing process and the panel cleaning process. Since the thermosetting resin covers the panel end face, even if the panel end face is accidentally brought into contact with the storage cassette or device during handling of the panel between the panel cutting process and the end face polishing process, cracks, chips, and cracks will not occur. It can prevent the occurrence. Further, since the thermosetting resin is removed in the end face polishing step, the outer size of the panel does not increase, and the size of the housing for fixing the panel does not increase, which prevents the display device from increasing in size. it can.

The structure of the liquid crystal display panel during the manufacturing process of the present invention is shown in FIGS. FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing a state from a panel cutting step to an end surface polishing step of a liquid crystal display panel according to the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a plan view thereof. As shown in the figure, according to the method for manufacturing a liquid crystal display panel of the present invention, in a liquid crystal display panel in which a CF substrate 1 and a TFT substrate 2 are superposed, a thermosetting resin is used as a protective layer on the panel end surface other than the sealing side. The portion 4 is formed, and the thermosetting resin portion 4 is removed in the end face polishing step after the liquid crystal injection step, the sealing step, and the panel cleaning step.

Next, the operation of the embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing a state of a liquid crystal display panel of the present invention in an intermediate step, and FIG. 2 is a plan view thereof. On the end faces of three sides other than the sealing side 3 of the liquid crystal display panel in which the TFT substrate 1 and the CF substrate 2 are superposed,
The thermosetting resin portion 4 is formed by applying a thermosetting resin having a thickness of about 100 to 200 μm as a protective layer so as to cover the end face. For application, a dispenser filled with a thermosetting resin such as an epoxy resin may be used. The thermosetting resin portion 4 has a temperature of 150 in the next panel drying process.
Curing is carried out by heating at ℃ to 180 ℃ for about 1 hour. During the subsequent liquid crystal injection process, sealing process, panel cleaning process, and end face polishing process, the end face of the panel is a cassette or a device in a process requiring handling such as storage in the storage cassette or removal from the cassette. Since the thermosetting resin portion 4 covers the end face of the panel even when the liquid crystal display panel comes into contact with the substrate, it is possible to prevent the liquid crystal display panel from cracking, chipping, or cracking. In the subsequent end face polishing step, the thermosetting resin portion 4 is removed by polishing with a diamond grindstone or the like.

[0014]

As described above, according to the present invention,
Even if the end surface of the liquid crystal display panel comes into contact with the cassette, the device, or the like, the thermosetting resin portion covers the end surface of the liquid crystal display panel, so that the panel can be prevented from cracking, chipping, cracking, or the like. Further, since the thermosetting resin portion is removed in the end face polishing step, the outer size of the panel does not increase. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the display device from increasing in size without increasing the size of the housing for fixing the panel.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view (line AA in FIG. 2) showing a state of a liquid crystal display panel in an intermediate step of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view showing a state of a liquid crystal display panel in an intermediate step of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of a conventional liquid crystal display panel.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 CF substrate 2 TFT substrate 3 Sealing edge 4 Thermosetting resin part 5 Liquid crystal display panel 6 protective layer

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A method of manufacturing a liquid crystal display panel in which liquid crystal is sandwiched between two superposed substrates, a step of covering an end face of the panel other than the sealing side with a protective layer after cutting the liquid crystal display panel. And a step of removing the protective layer, a method of manufacturing a liquid crystal display panel. 2. The method for manufacturing a liquid crystal display panel according to claim 1, wherein the protective layer is made of a thermosetting resin. 3. The method for manufacturing a liquid crystal display panel according to claim 1, further comprising a step of curing the protective layer. 4. The method of manufacturing a liquid crystal display panel according to claim 3, wherein the step of curing the protective layer is a heat treatment step. 5. The method of manufacturing a liquid crystal display panel according to claim 3, wherein the step of curing the protective layer is performed simultaneously with the step of drying the liquid crystal display panel. 6. The method for manufacturing a liquid crystal display panel according to claim 1, wherein the step of removing the protective layer comprises a polishing step.