JP2007192853A - Fabricating method of electrooptical device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a fabricating method of electrooptical device capable of miniaturizing the external size of a product and improving the accuracy and operability upon connection by press-contacting when connecting a flexible substrate as an I/F circuit substrate to a connection terminal on one peripheral part of an electrooptical panel by press-contacting. <P>SOLUTION: The fabricating method of an electrooptical device which has the electrooptical panel provided with an external connection terminal and the flexible substrate provided with a connection terminal for connection to the external connection terminal comprises: a connection process of connecting the connection terminal of the flexible substrate to the external connection terminal of the electrooptical panel by the press-contacting using an anisotropic conductive film while supporting a guiding protrusion part formed by extending the connection terminal in the flexible substrate; and a cutting process of cutting the guiding protrusion part of the flexible substrate in such a state that the flexible substrate is connected to the electrooptical panel by the press-contacting. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing an electro-optical device in which a flexible substrate used for an interface with an external controller or the like is connected to a substrate of an electro-optical panel such as a liquid crystal panel.

Conventionally, in a method for manufacturing an electro-optical device such as a liquid crystal device, for example, a flexible substrate (hereinafter referred to as FPC) is connected to a liquid crystal panel constituting the liquid crystal device. This FPC
Functions as an interface (I / F) circuit board with an external circuit such as an external controller.

For example, in Patent Document 1, instead of disposing the FPC from the panel to the outside, which has been performed up to the connection terminal in one peripheral portion of the liquid crystal panel, the inside (panel body side)
A configuration is described in which the frame is narrowed in the non-display area around the display panel.
JP 2002-268575 A

However, Patent Document 1 shows a configuration in which the flexible substrate is disposed toward the inner side (panel body side) of the apparatus when the flexible substrate is connected to the connection terminal at one peripheral portion of the electro-optical panel. However, there is no disclosure about a manufacturing method for performing crimping connection and arrangement of the flexible substrate, and it is considered that workability when crimping and connecting the flexible substrate to one peripheral portion of a stepped electro-optical panel is considered to be poor.

Therefore, in view of the above problems, the present invention aims to reduce the size of the product when the FPC, which is an I / F circuit board, is crimped and connected to a connection terminal at one peripheral portion of an electro-optical panel such as a liquid crystal panel. At the same time, an object of the present invention is to provide a method of manufacturing an electro-optical device that can improve accuracy and workability at the time of crimping connection.

An electro-optical device manufacturing method according to the present invention is an electro-optical device manufacturing method including an electro-optical panel including an external connection terminal and a flexible substrate including a connection terminal for connecting to the external connection terminal. An anisotropic conductive member connected to the external connection terminal of the electro-optical panel while supporting the guide protrusion formed by extending the connection terminal of the flexible substrate. A connection step of crimping and connecting using a film, and a cutting step of cutting the guide protrusion of the flexible substrate in a state where the flexible substrate is crimped and connected to the electro-optical panel. Is.

According to such a method of the present invention, when the connection terminal of the flexible board is crimped and connected to the external connection terminal of the electro-optical panel, the guide protrusion provided on the flexible board is crimped while being supported by a jig or manually. Connection can be made, workability can be improved, and positioning at the time of connection can be facilitated.

In the present invention, an inspection terminal connected to the connection terminal is provided in the guide protrusion, and before the cutting step, an inspection drive signal is applied to the electro-optical panel via the inspection terminal. An inspection process for inspecting the electro-optical panel is further provided.

According to such a method, an inspection terminal is provided on the guide protrusion of the flexible substrate, the flexible substrate is crimped and connected to the electro-optical panel, and then an inspection drive signal is applied to the inspection terminal to perform electro-optics. Since the panel can be inspected, it can be inspected as part of the manufacturing process, but when the inspection probe is brought into contact with the inspection terminal, even if the terminal is damaged such as a scratch, it is guided in the subsequent process. The projecting portion is cut and removed, and as a result, there is no possibility of damaging the main body of the flexible substrate.
In the present invention, the flexible substrate is provided with a connection terminal portion for connecting to a connection terminal of an external circuit board at a position facing the guide protrusion with the connection terminal interposed therebetween, and the connection terminal in the connection step The connection terminal is connected from the part side.

According to such a method, the outer shape of the product of the electro-optical device can be reduced without bending the flexible substrate at the end of the electro-optical panel.

In the present invention, a backlight is superimposed on the electro-optical panel, and the flexible substrate is connected along an outer surface of the backlight in the connection step.
According to such a method, the manufacturing method of the present invention can be applied to an electro-optical panel having a backlight.

In the present invention, the width of the projection for guiding is formed larger than the width of the connection terminal.
According to such a method, even when the width of the main body portion of the flexible substrate is narrow, since the guide protrusion is formed wide, the flexible substrate can be stably crimped and connected.

Embodiments of the invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
Before describing an embodiment of the present invention with reference to FIGS. 1 to 10, first, an overall configuration of an electro-optical device according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 11 and 12. Here, a description will be given using a TFT active matrix driving type liquid crystal device with a built-in driving circuit as an example of an electro-optical device as an example. A TFT is a thin film transistor (abbreviation of Thin Film Transistor), and a substrate on which a TFT is arranged for each pixel is referred to as a TFT substrate or an element substrate.

FIG. 11 is a plan view of the TFT substrate as viewed from the counter substrate side together with the components formed thereon, and FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view taken along line HH ′ of FIG.

11 and 12, in the liquid crystal device according to the embodiment of the present invention, the TFT substrate 10 and the counter substrate 20 are arranged to face each other in the liquid crystal panel 30 constituting the liquid crystal device shown in FIG. Here, the liquid crystal panel 30 refers to a basic form in which liquid crystal is sandwiched between two substrates 10 and 20, and does not include a polarizing plate. The TFT substrate 10 has a slightly larger area than the counter substrate 20, and one side (lower side in the figure) of the TFT substrate 10 in the lower part of the figure protrudes from the counter substrate 20, and this protruding part (hereinafter referred to as an extended part) ) 11 is provided with a data line driving circuit 101 and an external circuit connection terminal 102 as will be described later.

In the liquid crystal panel 30, a liquid crystal layer 50 is sealed between the TFT substrate 10 and the counter substrate 20, and the TFT substrate 10 and the counter substrate 20 are provided in a seal region located around the image display region 10a. They are bonded to each other by a sealing material 52. The sealing material 52 is made of, for example, a thermosetting resin, heat and photo-curing resin, photo-curing resin, UV-curing resin, or the like to bond the substrates 10 and 20 together, and is applied to the TFT substrate 10 in the manufacturing process. ,
It is cured by heating, heating and light irradiation, light irradiation, ultraviolet irradiation or the like.

In such a sealing material 52, a gap material such as glass fiber or glass beads for mixing the distance between the two substrates (inter-substrate gap) to a predetermined value is mixed. Note that such a gap material may be included in the liquid crystal layer 50 if the electro-optical device is a large-sized liquid crystal device such as a liquid crystal display or a liquid crystal television that displays the same size.
Vertical conduction members 106 are provided at the four corners of the counter substrate 20, and electrical conduction is established between the vertical conduction terminals provided on the TFT substrate 10 and the counter electrode 21 provided on the counter substrate 20. .

11 and 12, in parallel with the inside of the seal region where the seal material 52 is disposed,
A light-shielding peripheral light-shielding film 53 that defines the image display area 10a is provided on the counter substrate 20 side. The peripheral light shielding film 53 may be provided on the TFT substrate 10 side. A data line driving circuit 101 and an external circuit connection terminal 102 are provided along one side of the TFT substrate 10 on the outer side of the seal area where the seal material 52 is arranged in the peripheral area extending around the image display area. The scanning line driving circuit 104 is provided along two sides adjacent to the one side. Further, on the remaining side of the TFT substrate 10, a plurality of wirings 105 are provided for connecting between the scanning line driving circuits 104 provided on both sides of the image display region 10a.

In FIG. 12, on the TFT substrate 10, an alignment film is formed on the pixel electrode 9a after the pixel switching TFT, the scanning line, the data line and the like are formed. On the other hand, an alignment film is formed on the counter substrate 20 in the uppermost layer portion in addition to the counter electrode 21. The liquid crystal layer 50 is made of, for example, a liquid crystal in which one or several types of nematic liquid crystals are mixed, and takes a predetermined alignment state between the pair of alignment films.

In the present embodiment, a sampling circuit (not shown) is provided in a region on the TFT substrate 10 below the peripheral light shielding film 53. The sampling circuit is configured to sample the image signal on the image signal line in accordance with the sampling circuit drive signal supplied from the data line drive circuit 101, supply the sampled signal to the data line, and supply it to the pixels on the pixel display region 10a. ing.

In the embodiment described below, the electro-optical device of the present invention is applied to a liquid crystal device including a liquid crystal panel.
[First Embodiment]
FIG. 1 is a process diagram illustrating a process of connecting an FPC to a display panel in the method of manufacturing an electro-optical device according to the first embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is an FPC connected in the connection process of FIG. 3 is a guide plate as an FPC positioning jig used in the connecting step of FIG. 1, and FIG. 4 is a side sectional view showing the step of FIG.

1A to 1C, the external circuit connection terminal 102 (see FIG. 11) which is an external connection terminal provided on the projecting portion 11 of the liquid crystal panel 30 is as shown in FIG. FPC
60 is connected toward the inside (panel main body side) of the liquid crystal panel 30. However, FPC60
The guide protrusion 61 (see FIG. 2) is arranged outside the protruding portion 11 of the liquid crystal panel. Here, before describing each step of FIGS. 1A to 1C, the FPC 60 and the guide plate 40 as a positioning jig for supporting the FPC 60 will be described with reference to FIGS.

The FPC 60 shown in FIG. 2 is configured by sequentially bonding a base film made of polyimide or polyester, a wiring pattern made of copper foil, and a coverlay made of polyimide or polyester with a polyester adhesive. The FPC 60 is translucent, and a “+” mark for positioning is printed on the inner or outer surface thereof. In addition to the wiring pattern, circuit components (not shown) such as a controller IC and a capacitor can be mounted on the FPC 6.

When the FPC 60 is positioned on the liquid crystal panel 30, the FPC main body (62 to 64)
And a guide protrusion 61 formed by extending one end of the liquid crystal panel 30 and an external circuit connection terminal 102 of the liquid crystal panel 30 with an anisotropic conductive film (referred to as ACF) interposed therebetween. A terminal portion 62 (exposed on the inner surface side of the FPC 60) for connecting, a wiring pattern portion 63 consisting of a plurality of wiring patterns connected to these, and each of the wiring pattern portions 63 A connection terminal portion 64 comprising a plurality of connection terminals connected to the wiring pattern and connected to connection terminals of an external circuit board (not shown) such as an external controller.
And.

The guide protrusion 61 of the FPC 6 is provided with two holes 60-1, which can be respectively engaged with the two pins 41 protruding from the guide plate 40 shown in FIG. The inner diameter of the hole 60-1 is formed slightly larger (μm order) than the outer diameter of the pin 41.

As shown in FIG. 3, the guide protrusion 61 of the FPC 6 is supported by being sucked and supported on the upper surface of a guide plate 40, which is an FPC positioning jig, using a vacuuming device (not shown). Yes. The guide plate 40 is provided with two pins 41 projecting from the upper surface thereof, and a suction hole 42 penetrating from the upper surface of the guide plate 40 to communicate with the side surface of the guide plate 40. It has been. A tube of a vacuuming device (not shown) is connected to the hole 43 on the side surface of the guide plate 40.

Next, an FPC connection process will be described with reference to FIGS.
In carrying out the connection step of FIG. 1, ACF is applied in advance to the external circuit connection terminal 102 of the liquid crystal panel 30 overhanging portion 11 or the terminal portion 62 of the FPC 60 (on the inner surface side of the FPC 60 shown in FIG. 2). ing. Further, the FPC 60 is configured such that the two holes 60-1 of the guide projection 61 are engaged with the two pins 41 of the guide plate 40 and are vacuum-sucked, as shown in FIG. Suppose that it is supported above.

In the step of FIG. 1A, the guide plate 40 is moved in the direction of the arrow as shown in FIG. 4 from the state where the FPC 60 is attracted and held on the guide plate 40 as shown in FIG. And the guide plate 4
The front surface 40a of 0 is brought into contact with the lower end surface of the protruding portion 11 of the TFT substrate 10 in the liquid crystal panel 30 (the side surface 80a of the installation base 80 of the liquid crystal panel 30 in FIG. 4). 4 shows a state where the FPC 60 is positioned on the liquid crystal panel 30 after moving the guide plate 40. The FPC 60 ′ on the liquid crystal panel 30 shown in FIG.

In the step of FIG. 1B, the guide plate 40 is disposed at a position where the predetermined position of the FPC 60 on the guide plate 40 coincides with the predetermined position of the protruding portion 11 of the liquid crystal panel 30. The FPC 60 is roughly positioned (provisionally positioned) with respect to the liquid crystal panel 30.

Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 5, the position of the FPC 60 is finely adjusted (not shown) so that the “+” mark of the FPC 60 and the “+” mark (not shown) formed in advance on the glass substrate of the liquid crystal panel 30 are aligned. In a state where the terminal portion 62 of the FPC 60 and the external circuit connection terminal 102 of the projecting portion 11 of the liquid crystal panel 30 overlap with each other in the state of being positioned by adjusting in the vertical and horizontal directions, the crimping means (not shown) )) To apply pressure and crimp. The fine adjustment of the position of the FPC 60 is performed by adjusting the outer diameter of the pin 41 on the guide plate 40 and the inner diameter of the hole 60-1 of the FPC 60 engaged therewith in a state where the guide plate 40 is fixed at the temporary positioning position. Since there is play (clearance), the position of the FPC 60 is changed to μ on the guide plate 40 before the crimping connection by the ACF.
Fine adjustments can be made on the m order.

In the step of FIG. 1C, the guide protrusion 61 of the FPC 60 is cut using a cutting means (not shown) in a state where the liquid crystal panel 30 and the FPC 60 of FIG.
FIG. 6A shows a front view of the liquid crystal device obtained after cutting in the step of FIG. FIG. 6B shows a side view of FIG.

In the liquid crystal device shown in FIG. 6, the FPC 60 is connected toward the inside (panel main body side) of the device with the external circuit connection terminal 102 of the protruding portion 11 that is one peripheral portion of the liquid crystal panel 30 as the base end of the connection. In this connected state, the FPC 60 is disposed on the panel body side without being bent.

According to the method of manufacturing the electro-optical device of the first embodiment of the present invention, when the connection terminal of the FPC is crimped and connected to the external connection terminal of the electro-optical panel such as a liquid crystal panel, the guide is provided on the flexible substrate. The protruding portion can be crimped and connected while being supported by a jig or manually, improving workability at the time of connection and facilitating positioning at the time of connection.

When the FPC 60 is connected to the liquid crystal panel 30 and the width of the FPC 60 in FIG. 1 is narrow, the width of the guide protrusion 61 is the same as the narrow width of the FPC 60, and the FP
There is a possibility that stability when C60 is arranged with respect to the guide plate 40 is deteriorated.

FIG. 7 shows a manufacturing method as a first modified example in the first embodiment of the present invention.
Each step (a) to (c) in the manufacturing process of FIG. 7 is the same as that of FIG. In the embodiment of FIG. 1, the outer shape of the FPC 60 is substantially square (rectangular) as shown in FIG. 2, but in the modified example of FIG. 7, the FPC 60 is wider than the width of the FPC 60 as a guide protrusion. By forming the guide protrusion 61A having a width, the outer shape of the FPC 60 is formed in a substantially convex shape.
As a result, even when the width of the FPC 60 is considerably narrowed, it is possible to eliminate the possibility that the stability when the FPC 60 is arranged and supported on the guide plate 40 is deteriorated.

On the other hand, FIGS. 1 to 7 described above relate to a reflective liquid crystal device having no backlight, but may be applied to a transmissive liquid crystal device having a backlight as shown in FIG. Is possible.

FIG. 8 shows a second modification of the first embodiment of the present invention.
In FIG. 8, the liquid crystal panel 30 has a backlight substrate 70 superimposed on the TFT substrate 10 and the counter substrate 20 bonded together, and the FPC 60 is connected in a direction along the outer surface side of the backlight substrate 70. The The backlight substrate 70 may be a light guide plate or a diffusion plate that guides light from the LED light source, but can be configured to be thinner if an EL light source is used as the surface light source. Each of the TFT substrate 10 and the counter substrate 20 constituting the liquid crystal panel 30 has a thickness of 0.5 mm, for example, and the backlight substrate 70 has a thickness of 1 mm, for example.

[Second Embodiment]
FIG. 9 is a process diagram illustrating a process of connecting an FPC to a display panel in the method of manufacturing an electro-optical device according to the second embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 10 is a detailed view of the process of FIG. Yes. FIG.
The same components as those in FIG.

When carrying out the connection step of FIG. 9, the ACF is applied to the external circuit connection terminal 102 of the liquid crystal panel 30 overhanging portion 11 or the terminal portion 62 of the FPC 60A (exposed to the inner surface side of the FPC 60A) in advance. Yes. Here, an inspection wiring pattern (inspection connection terminal 61-1 and a wiring pattern connected thereto) is formed on the guide protrusion 61B of the FPC 60A. For this reason, the guide protrusion 61B has a positioning purpose. There are no holes. In this embodiment, the guide plate is not used as the positioning jig, and the F for the liquid crystal panel 30 is used.
The positioning of the PC 60A is performed only by the position mark.

In the process of FIG. 9A, the FPC 60A is moved in the arrow direction.
9B, the predetermined position of the FPC 60A and the overhanging portion 11 of the liquid crystal panel 30 are used.
By disposing the guide plate 40 at a position that coincides with a predetermined position, the FPC 60A is roughly positioned (temporarily positioned) with respect to the liquid crystal panel 30.

Thereafter, the FPC 60A is finely adjusted so that the “+” mark of the FPC 60A and the “+” mark (not shown) formed in advance on the glass substrate of the liquid crystal panel 30 are aligned, Pressure is applied from above to the portion where the terminal portion 62 of the FPC 60A and the external circuit connection terminal 102 of the projecting portion 11 of the liquid crystal panel 30 overlap with each other by pressure bonding means (not shown).

9C, the inspection electrode of the inspection probe 90 of the inspection apparatus (not shown) is applied to the inspection connection terminal 61-1 in a state where the liquid crystal panel 30 and the FPC 60A of FIG. By touching, inspection drive signals are added to inspect display defects and the like.
In the process of FIG. 9D, after the inspection process of FIG. 9C is completed, the guide protrusion 61B of the FPC 60A is cut using a cutting means (not shown).

According to the second embodiment of FIG. 9, the inspection wiring pattern (the inspection connection terminal 61-1 and the wiring pattern connected thereto) is provided on the guide protrusion of the FPC 60 in the first embodiment of FIG.
9C is incorporated in a part of the manufacturing process for connecting the FPC to the liquid crystal panel, and a display driving signal is added to the liquid crystal panel to inspect display defects and the like. Further, in the step of FIG. 9D, the guide protrusion 61B provided with the inspection wiring pattern can be cut and deleted. As a result, it is possible to reduce damage to the terminal electrode that occurs in the conventional inspection using the external circuit connection terminal 102.

The present invention relates to a display device for forming an element on a semiconductor substrate, for example, LCOS (Liqu
id Crysta1 On Silicon).
In LCOS, a single crystal silicon substrate is used as an element substrate, and a transistor is formed on a single crystal silicon substrate as a switching element used for a pixel or a peripheral circuit. In addition, a reflective pixel electrode is used for the pixel, and each element of the pixel is formed under the pixel electrode.

The electro-optical device of the present invention is not only a liquid crystal device including a liquid crystal panel, but also an electroluminescence device, an organic electroluminescence device, a plasma display device, an electrophoretic display device, and a device using an electron-emitting device (Field Emission Display and Surfac
The present invention can be similarly applied to various electro-optical devices such as e-Conduction Electron-Emitter Display).

FIG. 6 is a process diagram illustrating a process of connecting an FPC to a display panel in the method for manufacturing the electro-optical device according to the first embodiment of the invention. The figure which shows FPC connected by the connection process of FIG. The figure which shows the guide plate as a FPC positioning jig | tool used at the connection process of FIG. FIG. 2 is a side sectional view showing the process of FIG. The figure explaining the state which finely adjusts the position of FPC and positions. The front view and side view of a liquid crystal device obtained after the cutting | disconnection at the process of FIG.1 (c). Process drawing which shows the manufacturing method as a 1st modification in the 1st Embodiment of this invention. The side view which shows the 2nd modification in the 1st Embodiment of this invention. Process drawing explaining the connection process to the display panel of FPC in the manufacturing method of the electro-optical apparatus of the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. FIG. 10 is a detailed view of the process of FIG. The top view which looked at the TFT substrate from the opposite substrate side with each component formed on it. H-H 'sectional drawing of FIG.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... TFT substrate (element substrate), 20 ... Counter substrate, 30 ... Liquid crystal panel (electro-optical panel), 60, 60A ... FPC (flexible substrate), 60-1 ... Inspection terminal, 61, 61A,
61B ... Guide protrusion, 62 ... Terminal part (connection terminal), 70 ... Backlight substrate, 102 ...
External circuit connection terminal (external connection terminal).

Claims (5)

An electro-optical device having an external connection terminal and a flexible substrate having a connection terminal for connecting to the external connection terminal, and a method for manufacturing an electro-optical device,
An anisotropic conductive film is used for the connection terminal of the flexible substrate and the external connection terminal of the electro-optical panel while supporting a guide protrusion formed by extending the connection terminal of the flexible substrate. A connection process for crimping and connecting,
A cutting step of cutting the guide protrusion of the flexible substrate in a state where the flexible substrate is crimped and connected to the electro-optic panel,
A method for manufacturing an electro-optical device. In the guide protrusion, an inspection terminal connected to the connection terminal is provided,
2. The inspection step of inspecting the electro-optical panel by adding an inspection drive signal to the electro-optical panel via the inspection terminal before the cutting step. Manufacturing method of the electro-optical device. The flexible board is provided with a connection terminal part for connecting to the connection terminal of the external circuit board at a position facing the guide protruding part across the connection terminal, and the connection step from the connection terminal part side in the connection step. The method of manufacturing an electro-optical device according to claim 1, wherein a connection terminal is connected. 3. The method of manufacturing an electro-optical device according to claim 1, wherein a backlight is superimposed on the electro-optical panel, and the flexible substrate is connected along an outer surface of the backlight in the connecting step. . 5. The method of manufacturing an electro-optical device according to claim 1, wherein a width of the guide protrusion is larger than a width of the connection terminal.

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