JP2006171272A - Device for injecting liquid crystal - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a device for injecting a liquid crystal in which a stage with a liquid crystal container put thereon is efficiently cooled. <P>SOLUTION: A heater is arranged in a heater block 6 on which the liquid crystal container is put. When the liquid crystal is to be injected, the heater block 6 is heated with the heater to thereby heat the liquid crystal container and a liquid crystal cell. A pipe 161 through which a coolant flows is arranged on the rear side of the heater block 6 wherein the pipe 161 is fixed to the heater block 6 with a plurality of heat conduction blocks 162a-162j. Portions of the pipe 161 fixed with the respective heat conduction blocks 162a-162j therefore can be arranged in close contact with the heater block so as to follow the rear surface thereof. Furthermore, the heat on the heater block 6 is conducted to the coolant in the pipe 161 via the respective heat conduction blocks 162a-162j. As a result, efficiency of cooling is improved. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a liquid crystal injection apparatus that performs liquid crystal injection by placing a liquid crystal container filled with liquid crystal for injection on a stage provided with a heating means.

  Conventionally, a liquid crystal injection device is known as a device for injecting liquid crystal into a liquid crystal cell composed of a pair of glass substrates (see, for example, Patent Document 1). When liquid crystal injection is performed, the liquid crystal cell is carried into the chamber of the liquid crystal injection device, evacuated until the inside of the chamber reaches a predetermined pressure, and then the liquid crystal container provided in the chamber is raised by an elevating mechanism. Let the cell come into contact with the liquid crystal. Thereafter, the pressure in the chamber is returned to atmospheric pressure, and liquid crystal injection is started. The liquid crystal is injected into the liquid crystal cell by a differential pressure between the chamber internal pressure and the liquid crystal cell internal pressure.

  At the time of liquid crystal injection, the liquid crystal cell or liquid crystal is heated by a heating means such as a heater so as to increase the injection speed. After the liquid crystal injection is completed, the heater is turned off, the inside of the chamber and the liquid crystal cell are cooled by a cooling water jacket provided in the chamber, and the liquid crystal cell is returned to room temperature. Bring in the cell.

JP 2003-29276 A

  By the way, when a high temperature member such as a heater is cooled by a cooling water jacket, the cooling water jacket is generally provided so as to be in contact with the high temperature member. However, since the surface to be contacted by the cooling water jacket is wide, it is difficult to process the surface and the contact surface on the high temperature member side into a strict plane, and the contact surface between the cooling water jacket and the high temperature member is actually Is in a point contact state. Therefore, there has been a problem that sufficient cooling efficiency cannot be obtained.

A liquid crystal injection apparatus according to a first aspect of the present invention includes: a stage on which a liquid crystal container filled with injected liquid crystal is placed; a heating apparatus that heats the stage; and a cooling apparatus that cools the stage. The cooling device includes a refrigerant pipe that is routed on the back surface of the stage and through which the refrigerant flows, and a plurality of fixings that fix the refrigerant pipe on the back surface of the stage and transfer heat from the stage to the refrigerant pipe. And a block.
According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the liquid crystal injecting apparatus according to the first aspect, the fixing block fixes the refrigerant pipe to the stage by contacting the back surface of the stage with an accommodating portion for accommodating the refrigerant pipe in the longitudinal direction. And a fixed portion.
According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the liquid crystal injection apparatus according to the second aspect, the housing portion of the fixed block has an inner surface with which the outer peripheral surface of the refrigerant pipe contacts in the longitudinal direction.

  According to the present invention, the refrigerant pipe routed on the back surface of the stage is fixed to the back surface of the stage by the plurality of fixing blocks that transfer the heat of the stage to the refrigerant pipe. While being able to adhere and fix to the back surface, it is possible to improve the cooling efficiency.

  Hereinafter, the best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an embodiment of a liquid crystal injection device according to the present invention, and shows a schematic configuration of the liquid crystal injection device. In the liquid crystal injection apparatus of FIG. 1, a series of injection operations are performed in the vacuum chamber 1. Is connected to a nitrogen gas source 3. The vacuum pump 2 is connected via a vacuum valve 4, and the nitrogen gas source 3 is connected via a gas introduction valve 5.

  A heater block 6 having a heater H is provided inside the vacuum chamber 1, and a liquid crystal dish 7 containing liquid crystal 8 is placed on the heater block 6. The heater block 6 can be driven up and down by an elevating device 9. The elevating device 9 includes a pair of shafts 10a and 10b that support the heater block 6, a connecting plate 11 attached to the lower ends of the shafts 10a and 10b, a ball screw 12 and a motor 13 that drive the connecting plate 11 in the vertical direction in the figure. It has.

  A ball screw 12 rotatably attached to the bottom surface of the vacuum chamber 1 is screwed with the connecting plate 11. Therefore, when the ball screw 12 is rotationally driven by the motor 13, the connecting plate 11 screwed to the ball screw 12 moves up and down, and the shafts 10a and 10b and the heater block 6 move up and down. Sliding bearings 14 are respectively provided in portions of the vacuum chamber 1 through which the shafts 10a and 10b penetrate. A gap between the shafts 10 a and 10 b and the sliding bearing 14 is sealed by a shaft seal 15.

  A cooling device 16 is fixed to the back side of the heater block 6. The cooling device 16 cools the heater block 6 using a refrigerant, the refrigerant introduction part is connected to a joint 164 attached to the shaft 10a, and the refrigerant discharge part is connected to a joint 164 attached to the shaft 10b. Yes. A pipe line 100 is formed in the axial direction at the axial center of the shafts 10 a and 10 b, and the refrigerant is supplied and discharged through the pipe line 100.

  A cassette 18 holding a plurality of liquid crystal cells 17 is carried into the vacuum chamber 1 from a carry-in entrance (not shown) and loaded at a predetermined position. The liquid crystal cell 17 is a liquid crystal panel before the liquid crystal injection step, in which two glass substrates are arranged with a spacer interposed therebetween, and the periphery of the glass substrate is sealed with a sealing member. An inlet for liquid crystal injection is formed in the sealing member, and each liquid crystal cell 17 is held in the cassette 18 so that the inlet is directed downward in the figure.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram showing details of the cooling device 16, and is a view of the back side of the heater block 6 as viewed from the bottom side of the chamber. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line AA in FIG. The cooling device 16 includes a joint 164, a pipe 161 made of stainless steel or copper, a bellows-shaped flexible pipe 163, and heat transfer blocks 162 a to 162 j that fix the pipe 161 to the back surface of the heater block 6. The pipe 161 is bent so as to meander, and is arranged over the entire back surface of the heater block 6. In addition, the pipe 161 is connected to the joint 164 via the flexible pipe 163, and can be easily connected even if there is a misalignment between the pipe 161 and the joint 164.

  The straight portion of the pipe 161 is fixed by the heat transfer blocks 162a to 162j so as to be in close contact with the back surface of the heater block. As shown in FIG. 3, the heat transfer blocks 162a to 162j have a C-shaped cross section, and the pipe 161 is housed in a groove 166 formed in the longitudinal direction of the heat transfer blocks 162a to 162j. . Each of the heat transfer blocks 162a to 162j is fixed to the back surface of the heat block 6 by a bolt 165.

  The heat transfer blocks 162a to 162j are formed by cutting a metal having excellent thermal conductivity such as aluminum. The heat transfer blocks 162a to 162j have fixing surfaces 167 that are in surface contact with the heater block 6, and in addition to the pipe fixing function, heat transfer members that transfer the heat of the heater block 6 to the pipe 161 as indicated by broken lines. It is functioning as well. In the present embodiment, the block for fixing the pipe 161 is composed of a plurality of heat transfer blocks 162a to 162j, and the linear portions of the pipe 161 are fixed individually, so that the heat transfer blocks 162a to 162j and the heater are fixed. The contact with the block 6 can be improved.

  For example, when the pipe 161 is fixed with one large block, it is difficult to accurately contact the block with the back surface of the heater block over a wide range, and point contact tends to occur. In addition, if the pipe 161 is not in a strict planar shape even if high-precision processing is performed so that the back surface of the heater block and the mating surface of the fixing block are flat, if the pipe 161 does not have a strict flat shape, A gap is generated between the fixing blocks and the heat transfer performance between them is reduced.

  In addition, even in the configuration in which the cooling jacket that has been conventionally employed is fixed to the back surface of the heater block, the area to be contacted is large, and thus a point contact state occurs, and sufficient cooling efficiency is reduced. there were. Furthermore, in the case of a cooling jacket structure in which the refrigerant is circulated directly inside, generally, the metal plate material is bent and welded to form a jacket structure, but the surface in contact with the heater block back surface is a strict flat surface. It's actually difficult to do.

  On the other hand, in this Embodiment, the linear part which is a narrow range compared with the pipe 161 whole is fixed with each heat-transfer block 162a-162j. Therefore, even if the pipe 161 is not in a strictly flat state as a whole, the portion of the pipe 161 fixed by the heat transfer blocks 162a to 162j can be disposed along the back of the heater block. . As a result, the pipes 161 in the respective regions can be brought into close contact with the back surface of the heater block, and the contact between the heat transfer blocks 162a to 162j and the heater block 6 can be easily maintained individually. That is, the contact efficiency of the cooling device 16 as a whole can be improved. As a result, not only the pipe 161 is directly cooled, but also the cooling performance is improved through the heat transfer blocks 162a to 162j, and the cooling efficiency can be improved.

  Next, an outline of the liquid crystal injection operation to the liquid crystal cell 17 will be described. FIG. 4 schematically shows a liquid crystal injection procedure. For the purpose of illustration, the vacuum pump 2 and the nitrogen gas source 3 are shown above the vacuum chamber 1. First, as shown in FIG. 4A, a cassette 18 holding a liquid crystal cell 17 is loaded into the vacuum chamber 1, the valve 4 is opened, and the vacuum chamber 2 is evacuated by the vacuum pump 2. As described above, since the injection port 17a is formed in the liquid crystal cell 17, the liquid crystal injection space between the glass substrates is in a vacuum state.

  At this time, the heater block 6 is heated to raise the temperature of the liquid crystal 8 in the liquid crystal dish 7. As a result, the gas dissolved in the liquid crystal 8 is degassed, and the viscosity of the liquid crystal 8 is reduced, so that the liquid crystal cell 17 is more rapidly injected.

  Next, after the valve 4 is closed and the evacuation is stopped, the lifting / lowering device 9 is driven to move the liquid crystal dish 7 placed on the heater block 6 upward, and the liquid crystal 8 is brought into contact with the inlet 17 a of the liquid crystal cell 17. It is made to liquid (refer FIG.4 (b)). Then, the valve 5 is opened to introduce nitrogen gas (pressurized gas) from the nitrogen gas source 3 into the vacuum chamber 1. As a result, the liquid crystal 8 in the liquid crystal dish 7 is injected into the liquid crystal cell 17 due to a pressure difference between the liquid crystal cell 17 and the vacuum chamber 1.

  Thereafter, the state of FIG. 4B is maintained until the liquid crystal injection into the liquid crystal cell 17 is completed. In order to perform liquid crystal injection more quickly, the liquid crystal is heated by introducing nitrogen gas into the vacuum chamber 1 or by heating the vacuum chamber 1 with a heater to heat the nitrogen gas in the chamber. The cell 17 may be heated. When the liquid crystal injection is completed, the refrigerant is supplied to the cooling device 16 to cool the heater block 6 and cool the liquid crystal dish 7 and the like. When sufficient cooling is performed and the cassette unloading operation is facilitated, the elevating device 9 is lowered, the vacuum chamber 1 is opened to the atmosphere, and the cassette 18 containing the liquid crystal cell 17 is unloaded from the vacuum chamber 1. . The injection port 17a of the liquid crystal cell 17 is sealed with an adhesive or the like.

  In the correspondence between the embodiment described above and the elements of the claims, the heater H is a heating device, the heater block 6 is a stage, the liquid crystal dish 7 is a liquid crystal container, and the heat transfer blocks 162a to 162j are fixed blocks. Configure each. The above description is merely an example, and when interpreting the invention, there is no limitation or restriction on the correspondence between the items described in the above embodiment and the items described in the claims.

It is a schematic block diagram which shows one Embodiment of the liquid crystal injection apparatus by this invention. It is a figure which shows the detail of the cooling device 16 provided in the back surface side of the heater block 6. FIG. It is a figure which shows the AA cross section of FIG. It is a figure explaining liquid crystal injection | pouring operation | movement.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Vacuum chamber 2 Vacuum pump 3 Nitrogen gas source 6 Heater block 7 Liquid crystal dish 8 Liquid crystal 9 Lifting device 10a, 10b Shaft 16 Cooling device 17 Liquid crystal cell 17a Inlet 161 Pipe 162a-162j Heat transfer block 163 Flexible piping 164 Joint 166 Groove 167 Fixed surface H Heater

Claims (3)

A stage for placing a liquid crystal container disposed in a vacuum chamber and filled with injected liquid crystal;
A heating device for heating the stage;
A cooling device for cooling the stage,
The cooling device is
A refrigerant pipe that is routed around the back of the stage and through which the refrigerant flows;
A liquid crystal injection apparatus comprising: a plurality of fixing blocks that fix the refrigerant pipe on the back surface of the stage and transfer heat from the stage to the refrigerant pipe. The liquid crystal injection device according to claim 1.
The fixing block includes an accommodating portion that accommodates the refrigerant pipe in a longitudinal direction thereof, and a fixing portion that is in surface contact with the back surface of the stage and fixes the refrigerant pipe to the stage. Injection device. The liquid crystal injection device according to claim 2.
The liquid crystal injecting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the housing portion of the fixing block has an inner surface with which an outer peripheral surface of the refrigerant pipe contacts in a longitudinal direction.

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