JP2006126866A - Liquid crystal optical modulation device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an easy-to-manufacture liquid crystal optical modulation device which can keep a constant spacing between substrates more accurately. <P>SOLUTION: The liquid crystal optical device sandwiches a liquid crystal composition 28 between a first substrate 21a and a second substrate 21b, and comprises a plurality of pixels disposed in a matrix state. The device comprises a sealing resin 26 to seal the liquid crystal composition 28 between the substrates 21a and 21b, a plurality of spacers 25 disposed between the substrates 21a and 21b discretely, and a plurality of resin structures 27 in a dot state disposed at constant intervals within the optical modulation region between the substrates 21a and 21b based on a predetermined arrangement rule. The substrates 21a and 21b are glued by the plurality of the resin structures 27, and each resin structure 27 supports the area of a plurality of the pixels. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a liquid crystal light modulation device, and more particularly to a liquid crystal light modulation device in which a liquid crystal composition is sandwiched between a pair of substrates.

  In recent years, a display device using a liquid crystal composition has been used as a display unit of various display media including a display unit of a notebook personal computer. Liquid crystal display devices have many small and medium-sized areas that can be mounted on portable devices, taking advantage of their low power consumption and thinness. However, the development of large screen displays such as CRT substitutes and wall-mounted TVs has been developed. It is being advanced.

  Conventionally, a so-called vacuum injection method has been used as a method for manufacturing a liquid crystal display device. In this manufacturing method, first, a pair of glass substrates with electrodes is formed with a sealing resin having an opening for injecting a liquid crystal composition at the edge of one substrate, and a predetermined resin is formed between the substrates on the other substrate. Interspersed with spacers to maintain a size gap (gap). Thereafter, the substrates are bonded together and heated to cure the sealing resin, thereby producing a panel. The panel is placed in a evacuated tank, and the inside of the panel is evacuated to bring the opening into contact with the liquid crystal composition. Finally, the liquid crystal composition is injected into the panel by returning the inside of the tank to normal pressure.

  However, with the expansion of the display area, the above-described vacuum injection method requires a large injection device and requires a long injection time. Therefore, an efficient sealing method has been demanded instead.

  Measures for solving such problems are disclosed in JP-A-61-190313, JP-A-5-5890, JP-A-5-5892, JP-A-5-5893, and JP-A-8-171093. This is disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 9-127528 and Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 9-212437. In the liquid crystal panel manufacturing method shown in these, first, a sealing resin is formed on a substrate, a liquid crystal composition is dropped on the substrate, the substrate is pressed to adjust the gap between the substrates, and then the seal is sealed. For example, the resin is cured. Therefore, it is not necessary to use the vacuum injection method.

  However, it has the following problems. That is, the one disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 61-190313 presses the substrate and cures the sealing resin when the distance between the substrates becomes uniform. Since the liquid crystal composition dropped into the sealing resin is fluid and the sealing resin is in an uncured stage, both substrates are likely to be displaced when pressed, and the substrates are also displaced while the sealing resin is cured thereafter. There is a problem different from using the vacuum injection method.

  In JP-A-5-5892, a through-hole through which the liquid crystal composition is released is provided, and after the excess liquid crystal composition is pushed out, pressure is applied to cure the sealing resin. However, since the through-hole is open when the sealing resin is cured, the substrate swells when the pressure is subsequently restored, which is different from using the vacuum injection method in which the interval between the substrates does not come out accurately. The problem has occurred.

  In addition, in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 8-171093, a seal resin made of an uncured photocurable resin is used, but problems due to pressing the uncured seal resin and the liquid crystal composition have already been pointed out. Just as you did. Furthermore, the ultraviolet rays are irradiated with the gap between the substrates adjusted in a vacuum, but when the sealing resin is irradiated with the ultraviolet rays, a flat plate that transmits the ultraviolet rays is used, and at least the substrate that irradiates the ultraviolet rays is used. It is necessary to hold down with uniform pressure. For this purpose, a flat plate having a sufficiently flat surface must be used. When the substrate size is increased, it is very difficult to produce such a flat plate.

  In JP-A-9-127528, a thermoplastic photocurable resin having a softening point between room temperature and the NI point of the liquid crystal composition is used as the sealing resin. The N-I point of the liquid crystal composition is about 100 ° C. at most. With a material having a softening point lower than this temperature, a sealing resin can be used in daily use such as heat radiation from the backlight or in a closed room or in a car. The softened sealing resin component may elute in the liquid crystal composition, or the softened sealing resin may form a thin film at the interface between the liquid crystal composition and the substrate to reduce the display reliability. This causes a new problem of causing orientation failure.

  In Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 9-211437, one substrate is bent and superimposed on the other substrate on which the liquid crystal composition is placed, and then irradiated with ultraviolet rays to produce a polymer dispersed liquid crystal. Prior to the stacking of the substrates, a seal provided with an opening is formed on one of the substrates. After the substrates are stacked, the seal is cured by irradiating light. However, if an opening is provided in the seal, a process for closing the seal becomes necessary, which complicates the process. Problems with using an uncured seal resin and problems caused by irradiating ultraviolet rays after stacking the substrates are already present. As pointed out.

  In view of the problems as described above, an object of the present invention is to provide a liquid crystal light modulation device that can hold the substrate interval more accurately and is easy to manufacture.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides:
In a liquid crystal light modulation device having a plurality of pixels arranged in a matrix, the liquid crystal composition being sandwiched between at least one flexible first and second substrate,
A sealing resin for sealing the liquid crystal composition between the first and second substrates, a plurality of spacers scattered between the first and second substrates, and a light modulation region between the first and second substrates. A plurality of dot-like resin structures arranged at regular intervals based on a predetermined arrangement rule, and
The first and second substrates are bonded by the plurality of resin structures, and one resin structure supports a plurality of pixel areas;
It is characterized by.

  In the present specification, a portion that actually performs light modulation in the liquid crystal light modulation layer sandwiched between the substrates, that is, a portion surrounded by the seal resin 2 in the example of FIG. Call. When a liquid crystal light modulation device is used as a liquid crystal display device, the light modulation region is a display region.

  In the liquid crystal light modulation device according to the present invention, a sealing resin for sealing the liquid crystal composition, interspersed spacers and dot-like resin structures are interposed between the first and second substrates, and the first And the second substrate is bonded by the plurality of resin structures, and one resin structure supports the area of a plurality of pixels, so that the substrate spacing is more accurate without shifting the substrate. Can be held in. In particular, when the sealing resin is provided on a substrate different from the substrate provided with the resin structure, the sealing resin and the resin structure can be formed independently by an optimum method.

  In addition, it is possible to vent the liquid crystal composition and adjust the gap between the substrates by spreading and bonding one flexible substrate with the liquid crystal composition on the other substrate while pressing the liquid crystal composition. The liquid crystal light modulation device can be easily manufactured.

  In the liquid crystal light modulation device according to the present invention, the liquid crystal composition exhibits a cholesteric phase at room temperature and is switched to a focal conic state, a planar state, or a halftone display state by applying a voltage. Even in this case, it is preferable that the display is maintained in a state where no voltage is applied.

  In addition, the liquid crystal light modulation device can be configured as a liquid crystal light modulation device in which a plurality of layers are laminated with an adhesive or an adhesive material.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of a liquid crystal light modulation device according to the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

(Refer to the first embodiment, FIG. 1 and FIG. 2)
In the first embodiment, a structure of a liquid crystal display device 10 that indicates a temperature by changing a color tone using a cholesteric liquid crystal as a liquid crystal composition and a manufacturing method thereof will be described.

  FIG. 1 shows a cross-sectional structure of a liquid crystal display device 10. Between the first substrate 1a and the second substrate 1b made of a pair of light transmissive materials, a liquid crystal composition 4 showing a cholesteric phase is filled as a light modulation layer near room temperature. Further, a sealing resin 2 including a spacer 3 is provided in the periphery of the substrates 1a and 1b. Further, a spacer 3 as a substrate gap control material is disposed between the substrates 1a and 1b.

  Such a liquid crystal display device 10 can be manufactured as follows. First, as shown in FIG. 2A, the second substrate 1b is placed on the base 5, and the sealing resin 2 mixed with the spacer 3 in advance is applied to the peripheral portion of the second substrate 1b. The material of the sealing resin 2 is not particularly limited as long as the liquid crystal composition can be enclosed in the liquid crystal display device, but it is preferable to use an ultraviolet curable resin or a thermosetting resin. In particular, when a thermosetting resin material such as an epoxy resin material is used as the sealing resin, high airtightness can be maintained over a long period of time.

  The sealing resin 2 is formed by discharging a resin, such as a dispenser method or an ink jet method, onto the substrate on the periphery of the substrate 1b, a printing method using a screen plate, a metal mask, or the like. Once formed in a predetermined shape on a flat plate or roller, it can be formed by a transfer method or the like which is transferred onto the substrate 1b.

  The sealing resin 2 is formed in an annular shape that is continuous with the peripheral portion of the substrate 1b, for example. In the first embodiment, as will be described later, since the liquid crystal material is dropped onto at least one substrate and the two substrates are bonded together, there is no need to provide an opening for injecting or discharging the liquid crystal material into the seal resin 2. Even though the liquid crystal material can be filled between the substrates, such an opening may be provided in the sealing resin. The opening may be sealed using an ultraviolet curable resin or the like after the liquid crystal material is filled. The line width of the sealing resin 2 is preferably formed to be approximately 10 μm to 1000 μm.

  The sealing resin 2 is heated on the second substrate 1b to be in a semi-cured state. The semi-cured state here refers to a state in which a part of the resin component is cured and the fluidity and surface tack are lowered. When the solvent component is included in the seal resin 2, the seal resin is heated to This includes a state in which the solvent component contained is partially volatilized and the fluidity and surface tack are reduced, and when pressed, the shape is crushed and adhesiveness is produced.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 2B, the first substrate 1a is placed on a flat substrate capable of generating heat, such as a hot plate 6 that can be vacuum-sucked, and spacers 3 are scattered thereon. Conventionally known spacers can be used as the spacer 3, but particles made of a hard material that is not deformed by heating and pressurization are preferable. For example, glass fibers made finer, ball-shaped silicate glass, alumina powder, etc. Inorganic materials, or spherical particles of organic materials such as divinylbenzene-based crosslinked polymers and polystyrene-based crosslinked polymers can be used. These spacer surfaces coated with resin may be used. The size of the spacer may be appropriately determined according to the size of the gap between the substrates to be set, but is preferably 1 to 20 μm. The spacer 3 may be sprayed using a conventionally known spraying method, and may be either a wet method or a dry method.

  Thus, the liquid crystal composition 4 is dropped onto the end portion of the first substrate 1a on which the spacers 3 are dispersed. In order to drop the liquid crystal composition, for example, a method of injecting the liquid crystal composition onto a substrate from a nozzle-like injection port such as a syringe can be used.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 2C, the end portion of the second substrate 1b on which the sealing resin 2 is formed is connected to the end portion of the first substrate 1a to which the spacer 3 and the liquid crystal composition 4 are supplied. 4 to overlap. Then, the substrate 1b is bent so as to lift the opposite end of the second substrate 1b, and the substrate 1b is pressed against the substrate 1a by a pressurizing member (for example, a roller 7 made of silicon rubber). While extruding the composition 28, they are overlapped so that the gap between the substrates 1a and 1b does not change.

  A semi-finished product of the liquid crystal display device 10 shown in FIG. Next, as shown in FIG. 2E, the semi-finished product is sandwiched between a pair of flat substrates 11, heated to an appropriate temperature under a load, and maintained for a predetermined time. Note that when the two substrates are bonded together, the elastic body 12 may be sandwiched between the respective substrates 1a and 1b and the flat substrate 11 so that a pressing force is applied to the substrates 1a and 1b more reliably. When a time sufficient to complete the bonding of the substrates 1a and 1b has elapsed, the substrates 1a and 1b are cooled, and the flat substrate 11 is removed to form the liquid crystal display device 10. The cooling is preferably performed slowly with a load applied.

Hereinafter, specific examples of the first embodiment will be described.
Example 1
7059 glass (manufactured by Corning) was used as the first substrate, and PET film (Lumirror manufactured by Toray Industries, Inc.) was used as the second substrate. On this second substrate, an epoxy sealant PS0461 (manufactured by Mitsui Chemicals) in which micropearl SP-230 (manufactured by Sekisui Fine Chemical Co., Ltd.) having a particle diameter of 30 μm as a spacer is mixed in advance by screen printing is used as a seal resin. did. This second substrate was placed on the base 5 and heated at 80 ° C. for 30 minutes to make the sealing resin semi-cured.

  Next, the 1st board | substrate was mounted on the hotplate 6, and the said micro pearl SP-230 with a particle size of 30 micrometers was sprayed on it as a spacer. Further, a liquid crystal component E44 (both manufactured by Merck & Co., Inc.) containing 40 wt% of the chiral agent CB15 as a liquid crystal composition was dropped on the edge of the first substrate more than the volume in the region surrounded by the seal resin. The hot plate 6 is a stainless steel vacuum suction plate, and the first substrate is fixed on the plate 6 by vacuum suction.

  Next, the second substrate is overlaid on the end of the liquid crystal composition on the first substrate and the other end of the second substrate is lifted, and the liquid crystal is liquidated by the roller 7 made of silicon rubber at room temperature. While the composition was spread / filled between both substrates, they were superposed such that the gap between the substrates did not change.

Thereafter, both substrates are sandwiched between a pair of stainless steel flat substrates 11 whose surfaces are polished via a sheet 12 made of silicon rubber, a load of 0.3 kg / cm ² is applied, and the substrate is placed in a constant temperature bath at 100 ° C. for 90 minutes. Both substrates were bonded together. Then, the thermostat was turned off and cooled to room temperature in the thermostat with the load applied.

  A liquid crystal display device was produced as described above. In this liquid crystal display device, the color tone changed continuously in blue at 10 ° C., green at 20 ° C., and red at 30 ° C., and the temperature could be indicated by the color tone.

(Refer 2nd Embodiment and FIGS. 3-15)
In the second embodiment, a structure of a liquid crystal display device 20 that displays an image by turning on / off a large number of pixels and a manufacturing method thereof will be described.

  FIG. 3 shows a cross section of the liquid crystal display device 20. A liquid crystal composition 28 as a light modulation layer is filled between the pair of substrates 21a and 21b. Further, transparent electrodes 22a and 22b are formed in a matrix on the substrates 21a and 21b, and insulating films 23a and 23b and alignment films 24a and 24b are formed thereon as desired. Furthermore, a spacer 25 is disposed between the substrates 21a and 21b to define a gap between the substrates. The peripheral portions of the substrates 21a and 21b are bonded with a sealing resin 26 including a spacer 25 '. In the display area, a resin structure 27 that adheres to the substrates 21a and 21b is disposed to support the substrates 21a and 21b.

  In the present liquid crystal display device 20, the points where the electrodes 22a and 22b intersect in a matrix form become display pixels. A region where light modulation is performed in a matrix by the liquid crystal composition 28 is referred to as a display region, and the resin structure 27 is provided at least in the display region.

  For the resin structure 27, a material that is softened by heating and solidified by cooling, for example, a thermoplastic resin is used. Examples of the thermoplastic resin include polyvinyl chloride resin, polyvinylidene chloride resin, polyvinyl acetate resin, polymethacrylate resin, polyacrylate resin, polystyrene resin, polyamide resin, polyethylene resin, polypropylene resin, and fluorine resin. , Polyurethane resin, polyacrylonitrile resin, polyvinyl ether resin, polyvinyl ketone resin, polyether resin, polyvinyl pyrrolidone resin, saturated polyester resin, etc., and a resin from a material containing at least one of these or a mixture thereof. A structure 27 is formed. Moreover, you may use the pressure sensitive adhesive which has adhesive force by pressurizing. The pressure-sensitive adhesive is an adhesive that generates adhesive ability by applying pressure, and includes, for example, an acrylic resin made into an emulsion in water. One example is an aqueous pressure-sensitive adhesive, ThreeBond 1546 (manufactured by ThreeBond).

  Furthermore, when using an ultraviolet curable resin, after arrange | positioning this resin to arbitrary positions by screen printing etc., before bonding both board | substrates 21a and 21b, an ultraviolet-ray is irradiated and at least the surface is solidified. For this, any ultraviolet curable resin such as an acrylic resin or an epoxy resin can be used, and an ultraviolet curable seal resin or a sealing material used for manufacturing a liquid crystal panel can be suitably used.

  The resin structure 27 may be arranged so as to have a shape, size, interval, and arrangement pattern that can appropriately support the two substrates without hindering the display of the liquid crystal display device after curing. For example, based on a predetermined arrangement rule such as a lattice arrangement, a dot shape such as a columnar shape, a quadrangular columnar shape, or an elliptical columnar shape arranged at regular intervals can be used. Further, a stripe shape arranged at a predetermined interval may be used. By forming the resin structure in a dot shape, it is possible to increase the adhesion to the upper and lower substrates while maintaining a high aperture ratio of the liquid crystal display device, and to make a strong element resistant to vibration and bending. In addition, when the resin structure is formed in a stripe shape, the aperture ratio is generally lower than in the case where the resin structure is formed in a dot shape, but the adhesion between the resin structure and the substrate is increased due to an increase in the adhesion area, and the element itself further increases. It will be solid. Furthermore, when a stripe-shaped resin structure is formed, a weir is provided in the liquid crystal layer, which is advantageous in that the liquid crystal composition in the liquid crystal layer is prevented from flowing. In FIG. 7, the top view at the time of providing the cylindrical resin structure 27 in the grid | lattice form was shown.

  A dot-like resin structure having a maximum width of 200 μm or less is desirable in view of adhesiveness and display characteristics, and is preferably at least several μm, more preferably 10 μm or more in consideration of ease of manufacturing. A large one is desirable. In order to support the upper and lower substrates and have a certain degree of adhesion, the size of the resin structure is also a problem, but the ratio of the area of the bonded portion of the resin structure in the light modulation region after thermocompression bonding is 1 % Or more, sufficient strength as a liquid crystal light modulation element can be obtained. As the area occupied by the resin structure in the light modulation region increases, the area of the light modulation portion decreases. However, if the ratio of the area occupied by the resin structure is 40% or less, characteristics sufficient for practical use as a liquid crystal light modulation element Is obtained. The line width of the stripe-shaped resin structure is desirably several μm to 200 μm, more preferably 10 μm to 200 μm, as in the case of the above-described dot-shaped resin structure.

  In addition, in the liquid crystal display device in which pixels are configured by matrix electrodes as in the second embodiment, when a dot-shaped resin structure is formed, a plurality of resin structures are formed in the pixel when the pixel is large. Thus, a configuration that increases the strength of the liquid crystal light modulation element is also useful, and when the pixels are small, a configuration that supports the area of a plurality of pixels with one resin structure is also useful. In addition, it is preferable to place a dot-like resin structure preferentially between the electrodes because the aperture ratio increases. When forming a stripe-shaped resin structure in a liquid crystal display device in which pixels are formed by matrix electrodes, it is desirable to form the resin structure along the electrodes between the band-shaped electrodes in order to maximize the aperture ratio.

  The liquid crystal composition 28 may be used in any mode, such as twisted nematic (TN) mode, super twisted nematic (STN) mode, ferroelectric liquid crystal (FLC) mode, in-plane switching (IPS) mode, A liquid crystal material used in any mode such as a vertical alignment (VA) mode, an electric field induced birefringence (ECB) mode, a cholesteric-nematic phase transition guest-host mode, a polymer dispersion type liquid crystal mode, and a cholesteric selective reflection type mode may be used. .

  A light-transmitting material can be suitably used for the substrates 21a and 21b. If at least one of the substrates has flexibility, the other may be glass or other non-flexible material. Good. The substrates 21a and 21b may transmit light in an arbitrary wavelength region in the visible light region. In the following, the word “transparent” is used in the same meaning. In the case of a reflective liquid crystal display device, one of the substrates 21a and 21b only needs to be transparent, and the other is a substrate or metal that is not transparent due to the provision of a metal film, an organic film, an inorganic film, or the like. A non-transparent substrate such as a plate or a plastic plate may be used.

  FIG. 4 shows a modified example of the liquid crystal display device 20, in which alignment films 24a and 24b are provided only in the display region. As shown in FIG. 4, by providing the alignment films 24a and 24b only in the display region, the amount of alignment film material used can be reduced. Further, since the sealing resin 26 directly contacts the substrates 21a and 21b or the insulating films 23a and 23b, it is possible to effectively prevent moisture in the atmosphere from entering the liquid crystal layer through the alignment films 24a and 24b.

  When an ultraviolet curable resin material or a thermosetting resin material is used as the seal resin 26, curing of the seal resin may be hindered depending on the presence of a certain alignment film. It is possible to prevent this problem by providing it. Note that the size of the spacer 25 ′ included in the seal resin 26 may be different from the size of the spacer 25 dispersed in the display region, but usually, the thickness of the insulating film or alignment film, the thickness of the electrode, the liquid crystal Since the thickness of the layer is sufficiently smaller than the size of the liquid crystal display device in the plane direction, even if the size of the spacer contained in the seal resin and the spacers dispersed in the display area are the same size, the liquid crystal layer Problems such as different thicknesses do not occur.

  Such a liquid crystal display device 20 can be manufactured as follows. First, as shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B, transparent electrodes 22a and 22b are formed in a predetermined pattern on the substrates 21a and 21b. A commercially available substrate with a transparent electrode such as NESA glass may be used. Note that at least one of the substrates 21a and 21b is flexible. In the substrate bonding step to be described later, it is appropriate to make the substrate that is bonded to the flat substrate flexible.

  Then, as shown in FIGS. 5C and 5D, inorganic or organic thin films are provided on the electrode surfaces of both substrates as necessary. In the second embodiment, an example is shown in which the insulating films 23a and 23b are first formed and then the alignment films 24a and 24b are formed. These insulating films and alignment films are provided as necessary, and each of them is known by sputtering, spin coating or roll coating using inorganic materials such as silicon oxide and organic materials such as polyimide resin. It may be formed by the method. Only one of the insulating film and the alignment film may be provided, or these films may be formed only on one substrate. If necessary, the alignment film may be rubbed.

  Next, as shown in FIGS. 5A 'and 5B', spacers 25 are dispersed on the substrate 21b, and a seal resin 26 is applied to the periphery of the substrate 21b. By providing the sealing resin 26, the liquid crystal composition is sealed in the liquid crystal display device, and the two substrates can be supported in a wide area together with the resin structure, so that the gap between the substrates is uniform throughout the liquid crystal display device. Can be kept in.

  The material of the sealing resin 26 is not particularly limited as long as the liquid crystal composition can be enclosed in the liquid crystal display device, but it is preferable to use an ultraviolet curable resin or a thermosetting resin. In particular, when a thermosetting resin material such as an epoxy resin material is used as the sealing resin, high airtightness can be maintained over a long period of time. The sealing resin 26 may be made of the same polymer material as the resin structure 27.

  The method for forming the sealing resin 26 is the same as that described in the first embodiment. The seal resin 26 may include a spacer 25 ′. The size of the spacer included in the sealing resin can be approximately the same as the size of the spacer 25 dispersed in the display area.

  In the second embodiment, by providing the sealing resin 26 on a different substrate from the resin structure 27, it is easy to change the formation method and material of the sealing resin 26 and the resin structure 27. For example, the fine resin structure 27 can be produced using a screen plate or a metal mask in the display area, and the amount of resin to be used can be minimized by using a dispenser outside the display area. Further, as the resin structure in the display region, a resin with an emphasis on fineness and adhesiveness is selected, and as the sealing resin 26, the liquid crystal composition 28 has high airtightness so that impurities are not mixed from the outside, and is long-lasting. A resin material having reliability can be selected. Of course, both can be provided on the same substrate.

  When the sealing resin 26 is made of the same resin material as the resin structure 27 and the sealing resin 26 and the resin structure 27 are formed on the same substrate by the same method, the process can be simplified. Furthermore, the production process can be minimized by forming the sealing resin 26 and the resin structure 27 at the same time.

  After the substrates before bonding are thus manufactured, as shown in FIG. 5C ′, the substrate 21b is placed on a heat-generating flat substrate such as a hot plate 30 that can be vacuum-sucked, and the substrate 21b is heated. . By heating the substrate 21b, the viscosity of the liquid crystal material having a high viscosity can be lowered, so that the entrainment of bubbles between the substrates can be reduced when the two substrates are overlapped. The heating temperature of the substrate may be set as appropriate. However, by setting the temperature higher than the transition temperature of the liquid crystal material to the isotropic phase, the fluidity of the liquid crystal material can be improved, and the composition change of the liquid crystal material depending on the position of the substrate occurs. Can be reduced and display unevenness can be prevented.

  If the sealing resin is in a semi-cured state before the two substrates are bonded together, the substrates can be bonded more reliably. For example, when a thermosetting resin material is used as the seal resin material, the seal resin can be brought into a semi-cured state by heating with the hot plate 30. Here, the semi-cured state has the same meaning as described in the first embodiment.

  When a thermosetting resin material is used as the sealing resin, if the softening temperature of the resin structure and the curing temperature of the sealing resin match or approach each other, it can be processed in a single heating process, and production is extremely efficient. Can do. It is desirable that the absolute value of the difference between the softening temperature of the resin structure and the curing temperature of the thermosetting resin material used as the seal resin is within 15 ° C, more preferably within 10 ° C.

  FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a configuration of a hot plate 30 that can be vacuum-sucked as an example of a flat substrate that can generate heat. As shown in FIG. 11, the hot plate 30 is closely fixed to the suction table 31 provided with a plurality of suction holes 31 c for vacuum suction for fixing and supporting the substrate to be heated, and the back surface of the suction table 31. The plate-like heater 32 and a heat insulating plate 33 made of a baking material or a ceramic material are used. All the suction holes 31 c communicate with each other in the suction table 31, and are further connected to the vacuum pump 40 via the electromagnetic valve 39. Since the substrate is fixedly supported by air suction from each suction hole 31c, even if the flexible substrate 21b is heated, the substrate 21b is fixed without being bent due to thermal expansion, and the substrate 21b is heated evenly. Can do.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 5E, a curable resin material 27 ′ is arranged in a predetermined arrangement on the substrate 21 a, and the curable resin material 27 ′ is cured to form a resin structure 27. As described above, as the curable resin material 27 ′, a photocurable resin material, a thermosetting resin material, an electron beam curable resin material, or the like can be used, and at a temperature lower than the softening temperature of the substrate 21a after the curing. Any softening may be used.

  In this way, the substrate 21a on which the resin structure 27 is formed and the substrate 21b on which the spacer 25 and the sealing resin 26 are disposed are bonded together.

  FIG. 6 shows how the two substrates are bonded together. At the time of bonding the two substrates, at least one of the substrates 21a and 21b is heated to soften the resin structure 27. Then, as shown in FIG. 6A, the liquid crystal composition 28 is dropped on the end portion of the substrate 21a fixed on the hot plate 30, and the substrate 21b is put on the end portion on the side where the liquid crystal composition 28 is dropped. Overlapping the ends of. Then, the substrate 21b is bent so as to lift the opposite end of the substrate 21b, and the liquid crystal composition 28 is extruded while being pressed against the substrate 21a by a pressurizing member. The pressure member that pressurizes the substrate 21b is preferably a heat generating roller. FIG. 7A illustrates an example in which the substrate 21b is pressed by the pressure roller 51 and the pressure heating roller 52 provided downstream thereof. showed that.

  With respect to the substrate 21a, the surface on which the alignment film 24a is formed is placed on the hot plate 30 that has been heated to a predetermined temperature in advance, and the liquid crystal composition 28 is dropped onto the end of the substrate 21a. The liquid crystal composition 28 may be dropped in an amount equal to or larger than the volume surrounded by the sealing resin 26 and both the substrates 21a and 21b.

  The sealing resin 26 is preferably in a semi-cured state until the pair of substrates are overlaid. By setting the semi-cured state, elution of the sealing resin component into the liquid crystal composition can be suppressed. If the sealing resin is provided on a substrate different from the substrate on which the resin structure is provided and the two substrates are bonded together, the sealing resin after semi-curing can be heated only during pressurization. It is possible to suppress a decrease in adhesive force due to excessive amount.

  After bonding, as in the first embodiment described above, the substrates 21a and 21b are sandwiched between the pair of flat substrates 75, a load is applied, and the substrate is maintained at an appropriate temperature and time. When a time sufficient to complete the bonding has elapsed, the bonded substrate is cooled, and the flat substrate 75 is removed to form a liquid crystal display device. It is preferable to cool slowly while applying a load.

  Next, an example of a bonding apparatus that can be used for bonding substrates will be described. FIG. 12 shows the appearance of the bonding apparatus. FIG. 13 shows a state in which a pair of substrates 21a and 21b are bonded together by this apparatus.

  This bonding apparatus includes a hot plate 30 on which the substrate 21a is placed and moved, a quantitative discharge unit 41 that discharges the liquid crystal composition 28 in a fixed amount, and pressure heating that pressurizes and heats the two substrates 21a and 21b. A unit 50 and a holding unit 70 that holds the rear end of the second substrate 21b are provided.

  As shown in FIG. 11, the hot plate 30 is more specifically, the LM block 34 that slides on the LM rail 38 provided on the base 100 (see FIG. 12) on the lower surface of the heat insulating plate 33, and a servo motor. Alternatively, a nut block 34 ′ screwed to a ball screw 35 using a speed control motor as a drive source 36 is provided. Based on the forward and reverse rotation of the ball screw 35, the block 34 'screwed to the ball screw 35 reciprocates along the rail 38 integrally with the hot plate 30 and the block 34.

  As shown in FIG. 11, the suction table 31 is provided with pins 31a for positioning the substrate 21a. When the hot plate 30 slides and comes to a position facing the pressure roller 51 and the pressure heating roller 52 provided in the pressure heating unit 50 described later, the coil spring 31b provided on the back portion of the pin 31a contracts. Thus, the pin 31a is lowered by the roller pressure so that no load is applied to the pressure roller 51 and the pressure heating roller 52.

  In the hot plate 30, since the substrate 21a is fixedly supported by air suction from each suction hole 31c shown in FIG. 11, there is no need for a member for pressing the substrate 21a from above, and the apparatus configuration is simplified and dirty. This is advantageous in terms of prevention. Further, even if it is a film substrate, the substrate does not bulge. If the substrate is pressed from the top of the plate and fixed, it will be supported at the periphery of the substrate so as not to hinder the movement of the pressure roller for bonding the substrates, especially for flexible large substrates. It is very difficult to keep the entire substrate flat.

  Further, a temperature sensor 32b is provided in the vicinity of the adsorption table 31, and the heater 32 is controlled to be turned on / off by a temperature controller 32a connected to the temperature sensor 32b, thereby controlling the temperature of the adsorption table 31.

  A position detector 37 (see FIG. 13) such as a photo sensor or a limit switch is arranged in the vicinity of the LM rail 38 so that the hot plate 30 can stop or change its speed at a predetermined position. A control signal is generated.

  The fixed discharge unit 41 controls the cylinder 42 that houses the liquid crystal composition and discharges the liquid crystal composition from the discharge port, the air pressure source 44 that supplies air into the cylinder 42, and the air pressure source 44. A control device 43 for adjusting the discharge amount of the liquid crystal composition from the cylinder 42, and an XY robot mechanism 45 for stopping and running the control device 43 and the cylinder 42 at an arbitrary position above the suction table 31. It is configured.

  As shown in FIGS. 12 and 13, the pressure heating unit 50 includes two rollers, a pressure roller 51 and a pressure heating roller 52, and the substrate 21 a, When 21 b comes to the opposite part of the rollers 51, 52, the substrates 51 a, 21 b are pressed and heated toward the hot plate 30 by the rollers 51, 52.

  As shown in FIG. 14, both ends of the pressure roller 51 are attached to a bearing holder 55 via bearings 54, respectively. A support plate 56 is attached on the base 100, and each bearing holder 55 is connected to an LM block 58 that slides on an LM rail 57 attached to the support plate 56 via a connection block 59. Thus, the pressure roller 51 is supported so as to be slidable immediately above the hot plate 30.

  Above the bearing holder 55, a spring 60 that presses the bearing holder 55 and an adjustment bolt 61 for adjusting the amount of contraction of the spring 60 are provided. The adjustment bolt 61 is screwed into a screw hole provided in the support plate 56 and presses the spring 60 with a stopper 62 provided at the tip. Since the amount of contraction of the spring 60 can be changed by rotating the adjusting bolt 61, the pressing force of the pressure roller 51 can be adjusted so that a uniform pressure is applied to the substrates 21a and 21b. Further, a stopper 63 for preventing excessive pressurization is provided below the bearing holder 55. The pressure applied by the pressure roller 51 is preferably set to be weaker than the pressure applied by the pressure heating roller 52.

  The supporting structure of the pressure heating roller 52 and its periphery is the same as the supporting structure of the pressure roller 51. However, the pressure heating roller 52 has a hollow structure, and the surface of the pressure heating roller 52 is heated by a rod-shaped heater 53 incorporated in the hollow portion. A non-contact or contact-type temperature sensor 64 is disposed near the surface of the pressure heating roller 52, and the surface temperature of the roller 52 is controlled by a temperature controller 65 connected to the temperature sensor 64.

  The surfaces of the pressure roller 51 and the pressure heating roller 52 are preferably smooth and have releasability. For example, a silicon rubber layer can be suitably used.

  The substrate holding unit 70 includes a holding roller pair 71 that holds the rear end of the substrate 21b, and a motor 72 that winds and sends out the wire 73 whose tip is connected to the holding roller pair 71. . When the front end of the hot plate 30 comes to a position facing the pressure roller 51, the motor 72 starts feeding the wire 73 and links the lowering operation of the holding roller pair 71 with the moving operation of the hot plate 30.

Hereinafter, specific examples of the second embodiment will be described.
(Example 2)
The 7059 glass was used as the first substrate, and ITO (Indium Tin Oxide) was formed on the substrate to a thickness of 200 nm by sputtering. In addition, a flexible transparent conductive film FST-5352 (manufactured by Sumitomo Bakelite Co., Ltd.) was used as the second substrate. ITO was also formed on this film. ITO on these substrates was patterned by an photolithography process with an electrode pitch of 350 μm and an electrode width of 300 μm to form a strip-shaped transparent electrode.

  Next, a polysilazane solution L120 (manufactured by Tonen) was used to form a thin film having a thickness of 1000 angstroms on the transparent electrodes of both substrates by spin coating, and heated in a constant temperature bath at 120 ° C. for 2 hours. The insulating film was formed by heating for 3 hours in a constant temperature and humidity chamber at 85 ° C. and humidity of 85%. Next, an alignment film material AL4552 (manufactured by JSR) was formed on the insulating films of both substrates by spin coating, and a thin film having a thickness of 500 angstroms was formed and heated in a thermostatic bath at 165 ° C. for 2 hours.

  After the heating, the alignment films on both the substrates were rubbed. As shown in FIG. 8, the rubbing direction R was performed in a direction in which the first substrate 21a was 45 ° clockwise from the longitudinal direction of the strip electrode 22a and the second substrate 21b was 45 ° counterclockwise.

  Next, the micropearl SP-2045 having a particle diameter of 4.5 μm was dispersed as a spacer on the second substrate. The spacers were dispersed by dispersing the spacers in a solvent of water: isopropanol = 1: 1 (volume ratio) and spraying the spacers on the alignment film of the second substrate from the spray bottle. Subsequently, a liquid crystal in which the micropearl SP-2045 having a particle diameter of 4.5 μm as a spacer is mixed in a sealing material Structbond XN-21-S (manufactured by Mitsui Toatsu) at the periphery of the second substrate. Drawing was performed using a seal resin coating device (dispenser) MLC-III (manufactured by Musashi Engineering). At this time, the sealing resin 26 has an annular structure surrounding the display area as shown in FIG.

  After drawing the sealing resin, the second substrate was fixed by suction on the hot plate 30 capable of vacuum suction shown in FIG. 11 and heated at 80 ° C. for 30 minutes.

  Next, a resin structure was formed on the first substrate. Here, Aron Melt PES-360SA40 (manufactured by Three Bond Co., Ltd.) of thermoplastic resin (polyester resin) was used for the resin structure. This thermoplastic resin was printed by a screen printing method with a diameter of 50 μm and a pitch of 350 μm. For the bonding of the substrates, the bonding apparatus shown in FIGS. 12 to 14 was used.

  At the time of bonding, with respect to the substrate, the surface on which the alignment film is formed is faced up and fixed on the hot plate 30 preheated to 80 ° C. by vacuum suction, and the liquid crystal composition is applied to the edge of the first substrate. It was dripped. Similar to the first embodiment, the dropping amount was dropped from the volume surrounded by the sealing resin and both substrates. Here, ZLI1565 used in the TN mode contains 0.7 wt% of S811 (made by Merck), which is a chiral material.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 10, the strip-shaped transparent electrode 22b on the second substrate 21b is orthogonal to the strip-shaped transparent electrode 22a on the first substrate 21a, and the rubbing direction R is orthogonal to the alignment film. The end portion on the side where the liquid crystal composition was dropped was overlapped. Next, the second substrate 21b was bonded onto the first substrate 21a while moving the hot plate 30 so that the silicon rubber rollers 51 and 52 were rotated and the liquid crystal composition 28 was developed.

At this time, the surface temperature of the second silicon rubber roller 52 was set to 150 ° C., and the gap between the substrates was pressurized to a value defined by the spacer 25 while the resin structure 27 was softened by the silicon rubber roller 52. The substrates 21a and 21b bonded together by the silicon rubber rollers 51 and 52 are sandwiched between a pair of stainless steel flat substrates 75 whose surfaces are polished via a silicon rubber sheet 76, and a load of 0.3 kg / cm ² is applied. It was placed in a thermostatic bath at 150 ° C. for 90 minutes. Then, the thermostat was turned off and cooled to room temperature in the thermostat with the load applied. In this way, a liquid crystal display device was produced.

  The liquid crystal display device operating in the TN mode manufactured as described above has a uniform gap between the substrates and extremely small display unevenness.

(Refer to FIG. 15 as an improved example of the bonding apparatus)
FIG. 15 shows an improved example of the above-described bonding apparatus (see FIGS. 11 to 14). In this apparatus, the hot plate 30, the pressure heating unit 50 and the like are accommodated in a vacuum chamber 80 on a base 100. The vacuum chamber 80 is held by an elevating mechanism 81 and can be moved up and down, and an O-ring 82 is interposed between the vacuum chamber 80 and the base 100 so as to maintain airtightness. The inside of the vacuum chamber 80 is connected to a vacuum pump 85 via an electromagnetic valve 86, and the internal pressure is reduced.

  If this improved example is used, the inside of the vacuum chamber 80 can be kept clean, so that it is possible to more reliably prevent the inclusion of impurities, bubbles, etc. between the substrates 21a and 21b (inside the liquid crystal composition 28). .

(Refer to the third embodiment, FIGS. 16 and 17)
In the third embodiment, a reflective liquid crystal display device 20 ′ composed of a three-layer liquid crystal panel using a liquid crystal composition exhibiting a cholesteric phase at room temperature and sandwiching liquid crystal compositions having different selective reflection wavelengths in each layer will be described. . The liquid crystal display device 20 ′ is manufactured by a method in which a liquid crystal composition in which spacers are dispersed in advance is applied onto a substrate.

  FIG. 16 shows a cross section of such a liquid crystal display device 20 ′, in which flexible substrates 21a and 21b are used for all three layers, and a material in which the liquid crystal composition 28 exhibits a cholesteric phase at room temperature is used. The second embodiment is the same as the second embodiment except that a liquid crystal panel including a pair of substrates 21a and 21b is laminated in three layers.

  In the third embodiment, the liquid crystal composition contained in each layer has a different selective reflection wavelength, so that each layer can be selectively brought into a reflection state / transmission state to perform color display. For example, full color display can be performed by laminating liquid crystal display elements using a liquid crystal composition adjusted to reflect each color of red, green, and blue. Only the points different from the second embodiment will be described below.

  FIG. 17 shows a part of the manufacturing process of the liquid crystal display device 20 ′, and shows points different from the second embodiment described above. First, similarly to the second embodiment, the substrates 21a and 21b before bonding are manufactured. Next, as shown in FIG. 17A, the substrate 21a is placed on the vacuum-adsorbable hot plate 30 of the bonding apparatus shown in FIG. 15, and the liquid crystal composition 28 is placed on the end of the substrate 21a. Apply. Then, as shown in FIG. 17 (B), the inside of the vacuum chamber 80 is depressurized, and the substrate 21b is overlaid at this end so that the strip electrodes 22a and 22b are orthogonal to each other, and the pressure roller 51 is added. Both substrates are bonded together by the pressure heating roller 52.

  In this way, after the substrates 21a and 21b constituting each layer are bonded together, the adhesive 29 is dropped between the layers, alignment is performed so that there is no pixel displacement in each layer, and the layers are bonded. As the adhesive 29, a curable resin material such as a thermosetting resin material or a photocurable resin material, or a thermoplastic resin can also be used. Further, each layer may be adhered and laminated with an adhesive.

  A light absorption layer is provided on the surface of the third layer substrate 21a where the transparent electrode is not provided. The surface on which this light absorption layer is provided is bonded as the lowermost surface when three layers are stacked. The light absorption layer may be provided on the side of the substrate 21a where the transparent electrode 22a is provided. In that case, it is most preferable to provide between the substrate 21a and the transparent electrode 22a because it does not raise the applied voltage, but it may be provided between the transparent electrode 22a and the liquid crystal composition 28. Moreover, when providing in the outer surface of the board | substrate 21a, you may form a light absorption layer with a coating material like a black lacquer.

Hereinafter, specific examples of the third embodiment will be described.
(Example 3)
Two transparent conductive films FST-5352 having flexibility were used as substrates, and a strip-shaped transparent electrode was formed on each film in the same manner as in Example 2. In addition, an insulating film and an alignment film were provided on the electrode surface of each substrate in the same manner as in Example 2. However, the rubbing treatment of the alignment film was not performed.

  The selective reflection wavelengths of the liquid crystal layers of the respective layers are 490 nm (blue) for the first layer (uppermost layer in FIG. 16), 560 nm (green) for the second layer (middle layer), and 680 nm for the third layer (lowermost layer). The liquid crystal composition is composed of nematic liquid crystal E44 and chiral material S811 (both manufactured by Merck & Co., Inc.), 32 wt% (first layer), 30 wt% (second layer), and 25 wt% (third). Layer) A mixture was used.

In addition, since the spacers have gaps between the substrates of 5 μm, 7 μm, and 9 μm, respectively, SP205 having a particle size of 5 μm is contained in the first liquid crystal composition, and 7 μm in the second layer liquid crystal composition. SP207 and SP209 having a particle diameter of 9 μm (both manufactured by Sekisui Fine Chemical Co., Ltd.) were previously dispersed in the liquid crystal composition of the third layer. In addition, UV RESIN T-470 / UR-7092 (manufactured by Nagase Ciba Co., Ltd .: glass transition point 144 ° C.), which is an ultraviolet curable resin (epoxy resin) material, is used as the seal resin, and spacers of 5 μm, 7 μm, and 9 μm are mixed in each layer did. This ultraviolet curable resin material was applied onto a substrate by a screen printing method, and irradiated with 4000 mJ / cm ^{2 of} accumulated light with a 4 kW high-pressure mercury lamp HMW-244-11CM (manufactured by Oak Co.).

  On the other substrate on which each layer is formed, a resin structure having a height larger than the inter-substrate gap of each target layer using the UV curable resin material UV RESIN T-7092 in the same manner as in Example 2. The object was formed on each substrate of each layer.

  In this manner, the substrates 21a and 21b before being bonded are produced in the same manner as in the second embodiment, the substrate 21a is vacuum-adsorbed on the hot plate 30, and the spacers 25 having a desired particle size are dispersed in advance. 28 was applied to the end on the substrate 21a. Next, the substrate 21b is mounted on the bonding apparatus, the inside of the vacuum chamber is decompressed, and the substrate 21b is overlapped at the end on the side where the liquid crystal composition 28 is applied so that the strip electrodes 22a and 22b are orthogonal to each other. They were bonded together with the bonding apparatus shown in FIG.

  Thus, after bonding the substrates 21a and 21b constituting each layer, UV curable resin Photorec A-704-180 (manufactured by Sekisui Fine Chemical Co., Ltd.) is dropped as an adhesive 29 between the layers, and pixels in each layer The three layers were bonded by irradiating with ultraviolet rays. Here, an ultraviolet curable resin is used for the adhesive 29, but a thermosetting resin or a thermoplastic resin may be used. Further, each layer may be adhered and laminated with an adhesive.

  Further, a black resist CFPR BK-730S (manufactured by Tokyo Ohka Kogyo Co., Ltd.) was applied to the surface of the third layer substrate 21a where the transparent electrode 22a was not provided to form the light absorbing layer 19. The surface on which the light absorption layer 19 was provided was bonded as the lowermost surface when three layers were laminated.

  The reflection type liquid crystal display device 20 ′ thus fabricated becomes transparent in a focal conic state when a relatively small pulse voltage is applied to each layer, and becomes a planar state when a relatively large pulse voltage is applied. When a pulse voltage of an intermediate magnitude was applied, a halftone display was made, and in all cases, the display was maintained with no voltage applied. In addition, by turning each layer on and off as appropriate, a full color display that was very bright and highly visible was possible.

(See the fourth embodiment, FIG. 18)
As the fourth embodiment, a polymer dispersion type liquid crystal display device 90 in which a liquid crystal composition is dispersed in a polymer material will be described.

  FIG. 18 shows a cross section of such a liquid crystal display device 90. Transparent strip electrodes 92a and 92b are formed on flexible substrates 91a and 91b, respectively, and insulating films 93a and 93b are formed as necessary. The alignment films 94a and 94b are formed. A thermoplastic resin seal resin 96 is provided as an adhesive material around the substrates 91a and 91b. Further, as a display medium, a liquid crystal composition 98 dispersed in a polymer material 97 is sandwiched between the substrates 91 a and 91 b, and a gap between the substrates is defined by the spacer 95.

  The liquid crystal display device 90 can be manufactured as follows. As in the second embodiment, if necessary, insulating films 93a and 93b and alignment films 94a and 94b are formed on the substrates 91a and 91b on which the patterned strip electrodes 92a and 92b are formed. Accordingly, alignment processing such as rubbing processing or ultraviolet irradiation is performed on the alignment films 94a and 94b. Subsequently, a sealing resin 96 mixed with a spacer 95 'is formed on at least one substrate 91b.

  Further, a spacer 95 is dispersed on one substrate 91a, and a polymer material 97 in which a liquid crystal composition 98 is dispersed is dropped. The bonding of the substrates 91a and 91b is the same as in the second embodiment. For example, when a photocurable resin is used as the polymer material, light is irradiated to polymerize the polymer material.

Hereinafter, specific examples of the fourth embodiment will be described.
Example 4
Two transparent conductive films FST-5352 having flexibility were used as substrates, and a strip-shaped transparent electrode was formed on each film in the same manner as in the second example. In addition, an insulating film and an alignment film were provided on the electrode surface of each substrate in the same manner as in Example 2.

  The seal resin is a thermoplastic resin (polyester resin) Aronmelt PES-360SA40 (manufactured by ThreeBond Co., Ltd.) in which SP220 having a particle size of 20 μm is mixed as a spacer in advance by screen printing, as shown in FIG. In the same manner as above, it was formed in a ring around the periphery of the substrate.

Further, the SP220 having a particle diameter of 20 μm was dispersed as a spacer on one substrate. The display medium, a nematic liquid crystal E8 containing chiral material S811 12 wt% as the liquid crystal component (ordinary refractive index n _o: 1.525, the refractive index anisotropy [Delta] n: 0.246) and (both Merck) 85 wt% of As a polymer material, a mixture of 15 wt% of an ultraviolet curable acrylic monomer R128H (refractive index: 1.526) (manufactured by Nippon Kayaku Co., Ltd.) containing 10 wt% of a photopolymerization initiator Darocur 1173 (manufactured by Nagase-Ciba) was used. . This display medium was dropped on the substrate, and was bonded in the same manner as in the second example using the bonding apparatus shown in FIGS.

After bonding, the acrylic monomer was polymerized by irradiating with ultraviolet rays at a wavelength of 365 nm at 600 mJ / cm ² using an ultrahigh pressure mercury lamp. In addition, you may provide a heating-cooling process before and after this ultraviolet irradiation process as needed.

  The polymer-dispersed liquid crystal display device 90 produced in this way was able to perform the injection process efficiently and had little bubble entrainment.

(Other embodiments)
The liquid crystal light modulation device according to the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and can be variously modified within the scope of the gist.

  In particular, the specific substance of the liquid crystal composition, the substrate, the material such as the adhesive material, etc. are arbitrary. Moreover, as a manufacturing apparatus, it is needless to say that apparatuses other than the structures shown in FIGS. 11 to 15 can be used.

1 is a cross-sectional view showing a first embodiment of a liquid crystal display device. Explanatory drawing which shows the manufacturing process of the said 1st Embodiment. Sectional drawing which shows 2nd Embodiment of a liquid crystal display device. Sectional drawing which shows the modification of the said 2nd Embodiment. Explanatory drawing which shows the manufacturing process of the said 2nd Embodiment. Explanatory drawing which shows the manufacturing process of the said 2nd Embodiment, and a continuation of FIG. Arrangement explanatory drawing of the resin structure in the 2nd embodiment. The top view which shows the orientation direction of the alignment film formed on the 1st and 2nd board | substrate in the said 2nd Embodiment. The top view which shows the sealing resin provided on the 2nd board | substrate. Explanatory drawing which shows the bonding direction of the 1st and 2nd board | substrate. Sectional drawing which shows the hotplate in the manufacturing apparatus of a liquid crystal display device. The perspective view which shows the bonding apparatus containing the said hot plate. The schematic front view which shows the said bonding apparatus. The schematic side view which shows the said bonding apparatus. The schematic block diagram which shows the example of improvement of the said bonding apparatus. Sectional drawing which shows 3rd Embodiment of a liquid crystal display device. Explanatory drawing which shows the manufacturing process of the said 3rd Embodiment. Sectional drawing which shows 4th Embodiment of a liquid crystal display device.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10, 20, 20 ', 90 ... Liquid crystal display device 1a, 1b, 21a, 21b, 91a, 91b ... Substrate 2, 26, 96 ... Seal resin 3, 25, 95 ... Spacer 4, 28, 98 ... Liquid crystal composition 27 ... Resin structure

Claims (4)

In a liquid crystal light modulation device having a plurality of pixels arranged in a matrix, the liquid crystal composition being sandwiched between at least one flexible first and second substrate,
A sealing resin for sealing the liquid crystal composition between the first and second substrates, a plurality of spacers scattered between the first and second substrates, and a light modulation region between the first and second substrates. A plurality of dot-like resin structures arranged at regular intervals based on a predetermined arrangement rule, and
The first and second substrates are bonded by the plurality of resin structures, and one resin structure supports a plurality of pixel areas;
Liquid crystal light modulation device characterized by.   The liquid crystal composition exhibits a cholesteric phase at room temperature, and can be switched to a focal conic state, a planar state, or a halftone display state when a voltage is applied. The liquid crystal light modulation device according to claim 1, wherein the liquid crystal light modulation device is maintained.   The liquid crystal light modulation device according to claim 1, wherein the resin structure is made of a thermoplastic material.   A liquid crystal light modulation device comprising a plurality of the liquid crystal light modulation devices according to claim 1 laminated with an adhesive or an adhesive material.

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