JP2012037584A - Particle arrangement method in manufacturing panel for information display - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a particle arrangement method in manufacturing a panel for information display in which particle groups can be prevented from being damaged, an aggregate also can be prevented from occurring, and furthermore the particle groups can be prevented from soaring.SOLUTION: In the particle arrangement method in manufacturing the panel for information display which comprises: an observation side substrate having a transparent screen area to display information; a rear side substrate arranged opposite to the observation side substrate; partition walls for partitioning the inside of the screen area between the two substrates; and particle groups which are arranged in the screen area between the two substrates and moved by an imparted electric field to serve as a display medium to display information, when the particle groups 3W placed on a mask 11 having an opening corresponding to the inside of the screen area partitioned by the partition walls are moved by a particle filling member 12 which moves the particle groups in a state of pressing the mask and particles are arranged in the screen area of the substrate below the mask, a resin sheet 21 is arranged on the particle groups placed on the mask and the particle groups are moved by moving the particle filling member 12 via the arranged resin sheet in a state of pressing the mask.

Description

  In the present invention, a group of particles constituting a display medium is arranged in each cell formed by partitioning between two substrates each having at least two transparent substrates arranged opposite to each other, and the group of particles is moved by an electric field. The present invention relates to a particle arrangement method at the time of manufacturing an information display panel for displaying information.

  Conventionally, a particle group constituting a display medium is arranged in each cell formed by partitioning a substrate in which two substrates, at least one of which is transparent, are opposed to each other, and information is obtained by moving the particle group by an electric field. An information display panel for displaying is known.

  And the technique which arrange | positions a particle | grain using a screen and a plate-shaped member (particle filling member) is known by the particle | grain arrangement | positioning process performed when manufacturing the information display panel mentioned above (for example, patent document 1). reference). In this technique, a screen is arranged on a partition formed on a panel substrate of an information display panel, and a group of particles constituting a display medium placed on the screen is moved from the opening of the screen while moving on the screen with a plate-like member. Drop it. This is a technique for arranging particle groups in a cell surrounded by partition walls on a panel substrate. Thus, if the particle | grain arrangement | positioning by a screen and a plate-shaped member is performed, when manufacturing the information display panel, a particle | grain can be arrange | positioned efficiently in a cell.

JP 2007-148381 A

  In the technique of filling and arranging the particle group disclosed in Patent Document 1 described above in the cell, the particle is strongly rubbed between the mask surface and the plate-like member, so that the particle is damaged and continuously filled. Among them, there is a problem that broken particles enter the cells on the panel substrate and the display performance such as contrast deteriorates. In addition, damaged particles tend to aggregate and form aggregates on the mask, streaks appear in the vicinity of the aggregates, and streaks appear in images displayed on the manufactured information display panel. There was also a problem that would become possible. In addition, every time the plate-like member moves on the mask, the particles rise, and the raised particles are not arranged on the substrate, but spread to other parts other than the substrate, causing a problem of loss of raw materials.

  The object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems, prevent damage to the arranged particles, prevent the formation of aggregates of the arranged particles, and further prevent the particles from rising, An object of the present invention is to provide a method for arranging particles at the time of manufacturing an information display panel capable of reliably arranging particles to be arranged at a place.

  The method for arranging particles at the time of manufacturing an information display panel according to the present invention includes: an observation side substrate having a transparent screen area for displaying information; a back side substrate arranged opposite to the observation side substrate; and the two substrates. An information display composed of a partition partitioning the screen area between and a group of particles disposed in the screen area between the two substrates and serving as a display medium that moves by an electric field and displays information A method for arranging particles at the time of manufacturing a panel, wherein the particle group placed on a mask having an opening corresponding to a screen area defined by the partition is moved in a state where the mask is pressed. When the particles are arranged on the screen area of the substrate under the mask by moving with the particle filling member, a resin sheet is arranged on the particle group placed on the mask, and the particle filling member Through the arranged resin sheet It is characterized in that for moving the particles by moving while pressing the serial mask.

  Moreover, as a suitable example of the particle | grain arrangement | positioning method at the time of manufacture of the information display panel of this invention, there exists that the said resin sheet is a fluororesin sheet, and the thickness of the said fluororesin sheet is 30 micrometers-200 micrometers.

  According to the present invention, the resin sheet is arranged on the particle group placed on the mask, and the particle group is moved by moving the particle filling member while pressing the mask through the arranged resin sheet. Thereby, even if it produces continuously, a particle group is not rubbed with a particle filling member, a particle group is not damaged, and the manufacturing method of the panel for information displays without a panel contrast fall can be obtained.

  In addition, according to the present invention, the particle-filling member is pressed through the resin sheet, and the particle group is filled and arranged in the cell on the panel substrate with pressure from the mask opening of the metal mask. In addition, a particle arrangement method at the time of manufacturing an information display panel capable of preventing the particle group from rising and preventing loss of the particle group can be obtained.

  Furthermore, according to the suitable example of this invention, the said effect can be acquired more suitably because a resin sheet is a fluororesin sheet and the thickness of a fluororesin sheet is 30 micrometers-200 micrometers.

(A), (b) is a figure for demonstrating an example of the panel for information displays which uses as a display medium the particle group containing the electrification particle | grains used as the object of this invention, respectively. (A), (b) is a figure for demonstrating another example of the information display panel which uses as a display medium the particle group containing the electrification particle | grains used as the object of this invention, respectively. (A), (b) is a figure for demonstrating an example of the particle | grain arrangement | positioning method of this invention, respectively. (A), (b) is a figure for demonstrating a specific example of the particle | grain arrangement | positioning method performed at the time of the information display panel manufacture.

<About the information display panel which is the subject of the present invention>
First, a basic configuration of an information display panel using a particle group including a chargeable particle as an example of an information display panel as an object of the present invention as a display medium will be described. In the information display panel, an electric field is applied from a counter electrode pair to a display medium configured as a particle group including a chargeable particle sealed between two opposing substrates. Along with the applied electric field direction, the display medium is attracted by an electric field force or a Coulomb force, and the moving direction of the display medium is switched by a change in the electric field direction, whereby information such as an image is displayed. Therefore, it is necessary to design the information display panel so that the display medium can move uniformly and maintain the stability when the display information is rewritten or when the displayed information is continuously displayed. Here, as the force applied to the particles constituting the display medium, in addition to the force attracting each other by the Coulomb force between the particles, an electric mirror image force between the electrode and the substrate, an intermolecular force, a liquid cross-linking force, gravity and the like can be considered.

  An example of an information display panel using a particle group including a chargeable particle as an object of the present invention as a display medium will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 (a), (b) to 2 (a), (b). .

  In the example shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B, at least two types of display media (in this case, including negatively charged white particles 3Wa) configured as a particle group including particles having at least optical reflectance and chargeability are included. The white particle group 3W and the black particle group 3B including the positively chargeable black particle 3Ba are shown) in each cell 7 formed by the partition wall 4, the electrode 5 (stripe electrode) provided on the panel substrate 1 on the back side And a transparent electrode 6 (striped electrode) provided on the transparent panel substrate 2 on the observation side, and the substrate 1, Move 2 perpendicularly. Then, the white particle group 3W is visually recognized by the observer as shown in FIG. 1A, or the white display is displayed, or the black particle group 3B is visually recognized by the observer as shown in FIG. Is displayed in a matrix with black and white dots. In addition, in FIG. 1 (a), (b), the partition in front is abbreviate | omitted. Reference numeral 8 denotes an adhesive. Further, here, an example is shown in which cells and pixels (dots) have a one-to-one correspondence.

  In the example shown in FIGS. 2 (a) and 2 (b), at least two types of display media (here, including negatively charged white particles 3Wa) configured as a particle group including particles having at least optical reflectance and chargeability are included. The white particle group 3W and the black particle group 3B including the positively charged black particles 3Ba are shown) in each cell formed by the partition wall 4, the electrode 5 provided on the substrate 1 (pixel electrode with TFT (thin film transistor)) And an electrode 6 (common electrode) provided on the substrate 2 are moved perpendicularly to the substrates 1 and 2 in accordance with an electric field generated by applying a voltage. Then, the white particle group 3W is visually recognized by the observer as shown in FIG. 2 (a), or the white display is displayed, or the black particle group 3B is visually recognized by the observer as shown in FIG. 2 (b). Is displayed in a matrix with black and white dots. In addition, in FIG. 2 (a), (b), the partition in front is abbreviate | omitted. Reference numeral 8 denotes an adhesive. Further, here, an example is shown in which cells and pixels (dots) have a one-to-one correspondence.

<Regarding the Particle Arrangement Method of the Present Invention>
An example of the particle arrangement method of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 (a) and 3 (b).

  FIGS. 3A and 3B are diagrams for explaining an example of a particle arrangement method in the method for producing an information display panel of the present invention. In this example, first, as shown in FIG. 3A, the substrate 1 provided with the cells 7 by the partition walls 4 is placed on the conductive stage 25. The mask 11 having the mask opening 11-1 and the mask portion 11-2 corresponding to the opening of the cell 7 is placed on the top of the partition wall 4, the mask opening 11-1 and the opening of the cell 7 correspond to each other, and the partition wall 4 And the mask portion 11-2 are arranged so as to correspond to each other. Then, as shown in FIG. 3B, the particle group (here, the white particle group 3 </ b> W) placed on the mask 11 is moved on the mask 11 using the particle filling member 12. At this time, the particle filling member 12 is moved while being pressed against the mask surface via the resin sheet 21. By the movement of the particle filling member 12, the white particle group 3 </ b> W pushed by the particle filling member 12 falls into each cell 7 from the opening 11-1 of the mask 11. Thereby, a particle | grain arrangement | positioning process is implemented. The above process is the same as the conventional process.

  The feature of the present invention is that, in the particle arrangement method described above, the resin sheet 21 is arranged on the particle group 3W, and the particle filling member 12 is moved so as to press against the mask 11 through the arranged resin sheet 21. is there. Specifically, first, as shown in FIG. 3A, the resin sheet 21 disposed on the mask 11 is pressed by the particle filling member 12 with the same width as the aggregate of the particle groups 3W. Then, the particle filling member 12 is brought into contact with the mask 11 through the resin sheet 21. And as shown in FIG.3 (b), the particle | grain arrangement | positioning process is implemented by moving the particle filling member 12 pressing the mask 11 through the resin sheet 21 in the state.

  In the present invention, as the resin sheet 21, a silicone resin sheet, a polyurethane resin sheet, a polyethylene terephthalate (PET) sheet, a fluororesin sheet or the like can be used, and among these, it is preferable to use a fluororesin sheet. Moreover, when using a fluororesin sheet | seat as the resin sheet 21, it is preferable that the thickness shall be 30 micrometers-200 micrometers. It is preferable that the thickness of the fluororesin sheet is 30 μm to 200 μm. If the thickness is less than 30 μm, uneven stripes are likely to occur, and the display defect rate occurring in the manufactured information display panel exceeds 1%. This is because the particle filling rate may decrease when the thickness exceeds 200 μm.

  The material of the particle filling member 12 is not particularly limited, but is preferably an elastic material having a JIS-A hardness of 60 degrees to 80 degrees. If the JIS-A hardness is less than 60 degrees, the stick-slip is caused when the plate-like particle filling member is moved because the frictional force between the plate-like particle filling member and the resin sheet covering the mask surface is large. If it exceeds 80 degrees and the plate-like particle filling member is pressed against the resin sheet covering the mask surface and moved, the resin sheet may be damaged.

  As an example of the elastic polymer material having such JIS-A hardness, a rubber material can be mentioned. Examples of such a rubber material include natural rubber, urethane rubber, nitrile rubber, chloroprene rubber, ethylene propylene rubber, and silicone rubber. Synthetic rubbers such as butyl rubber, styrene butadiene rubber, hyperon rubber, and fluoro rubber can be suitably used.

  According to the particle arrangement method of the present invention described above, the particle filling member is pressed against the mask surface through the resin sheet, whereby the particles on the mask are applied to the substrate from the mask opening of the mask by the pressure applied through the resin sheet. The cells can be filled in a cell. Even in continuous production, since the particles are not rubbed by the particle filling member, the particles are not damaged, and a decrease in contrast can be reduced in the display performance of the manufactured information display panel. In addition, by pressing the particle filling member against the mask surface through the resin sheet, the particles on the mask are filled into the cells on the substrate from the mask opening of the mask with the pressure applied through the resin sheet. , No streak-like unevenness is generated, and it is possible to prevent display defects from occurring in the produced information display panel, and it is possible to prevent particles from rising during particle arrangement, and to eliminate the loss of particles to be arranged. Can do.

<About a specific example of particle arrangement method>
4A and 4B are diagrams for explaining a specific example of the particle arrangement method of the present invention. In the example shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B, the same members as those in the examples shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B to FIGS. Description is omitted. Moreover, in the example shown to Fig.4 (a), (b), in order to demonstrate easily, the resin sheet and mask which cover a front surface in a center part are abbreviate | omitted. In the example shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B, a particle arrangement step in a so-called four-piece example in which four information display panels are manufactured from one mother panel is shown. In this example, the resin sheet 21 uses the sheet fixing plates 23-1 and 23-2 for the opposed frames 22-1 and 22-2 in the frame provided on the outermost periphery of the mask 11. Are fixed by a plurality of fixing screws 24-1 and 24-2. In manufacturing, the substrate of the information display panel (in this case, the mother substrate) is placed on the stage 25 and the particles are arranged.

<Examination example 1>
When the following group of particles containing chargeable particles is arranged as a display medium in a cell formed in the screen area of each information display panel on the mother panel shown in FIG. The effect was examined by comparing the case where the particle arrangement method was applied with the case where it was not applied. In each cell, a black particle group and a white particle group were arranged in equal volume amounts so that the volume occupancy was 25%. In the screen area of the information display panel, partition walls were provided in a lattice shape so as to form cells with openings of 300 μm × 300 μm. As the mask, a nickel mask having a thickness of 25 μm produced by electroforming and having an opening corresponding to a cell formed in the screen area of each information display panel was used.

(Black particle group)
60 parts by weight of methyl methacrylate monomer (Kanto Chemical Reagent) and 40 parts by weight (about 25 mol%) of ethylene glycol dimethacrylate (Wako Pure Chemical Reagent) as a polyfunctional monomer having a plurality of polymerization reactive groups in one molecule 3 parts by weight of a nigrosine compound (Bontron N07: manufactured by Orient Chemical) as a charge control agent for charging and 5 parts by weight of carbon black (special black: manufactured by Degussa) as a black pigment are dispersed by a sand mill (acrylic and methacrylic). ) After dissolving 5 parts by weight of resin-hydrocarbon resin block copolymer (Modiper F600: manufactured by NOF Corporation), a solution containing 2 parts by weight of lauryl peroxide (Perroyl L: manufactured by NOF Corporation) was dissolved in the interface. Sodium polyoxyethylene alkyl ether sulfate as activator LATEMUL E-118B (manufactured by Kao) is suspended in purified water to which 0.5% is added, polymerized, filtered and dried, and then average particle size 9 using a classifier (MDS-2: Nippon Pneumatic Industry). A group of positively charged black particles of 2 μm was obtained. In the examples, this black particle group was used as a black display medium.

(White particles)
100 parts by weight of polymethylpentene polymer (TPX-R18: made by Mitsui Chemicals), 100 parts by weight of titanium dioxide (Taipaque CR-90: made by Ishihara Sangyo Co., Ltd.) as a colorant, and phenol-based condensation as a negative charge control agent 5 parts by weight of the product (Bontron E89: manufactured by Orient Chemical Co., Ltd.) was melt-kneaded with a twin-screw kneader and finely pulverized with a jet mill (Lab Jet Mill IDS-LJ type: Nippon Pneumatic Co., Ltd.). Classification using MDS-2: Nihon Numatic Kogyo Co., Ltd., melt spheronization using a melt spheronizer (MR-10: Nihon Numatic Kogyo Co., Ltd.), negative chargeability with an average particle size of 9.5 μm Of white particles were obtained. In the examples, this white particle group was used as a white display medium.

  Using a fluororesin sheet (Nitto Denko: Nitoflon Film No. 900UL), Examples 1 to 6 in which particles were arranged according to the present invention were carried out, and particles were arranged without using a resin sheet. The information display panel produced by performing Comparative Example 1 was prepared, and the display defect rate due to the stripe unevenness after the particle filling and arrangement and the time required for arranging the particles in the cell on the substrate were determined as in Comparative Example 1. The case was standardized as “1” as a reference, and the filling speed was compared. In addition, the display defect rate was calculated | required as ratio of the number of panels which had generate | occur | produced the defect considered that the display defect by the stripe unevenness seen after the particle filling arrangement | positioning with respect to the total number of produced panels. The results are shown in Table 1 below.

  From the results of Table 1, it can be seen that Examples 1 to 6 using a fluororesin sheet have a low display defect rate of 1% or less, which is considered to be uneven, as compared with Comparative Example 1 in which no resin sheet was used. In addition, among Examples 1 to 6, Examples 1 to 5 in which the thickness of the fluororesin sheet is 30 μm to 200 μm are considered to be due to the unevenness as compared with Example 6 in which the thickness of the fluororesin sheet exceeds 200 μm. Good results can be obtained for both the display defect rate and the filling speed indicating the time required for arranging the particles, and it is understood that the thickness of the fluororesin sheet is preferably in the range of 30 μm to 200 μm.

  Information display panels manufactured by using the present invention include notebook computers, electronic notebooks, portable information devices called PDA (Personal Digital Assistants), display units of mobile devices such as mobile phones and handy terminals, electronic books, electronic newspapers. Electronic paper, signboards, posters, bulletin boards such as blackboards (whiteboards), electronic desk calculators, display units for home appliances, automotive products, card display units such as point cards and IC cards, electronic advertisements, information boards, electronic Suitable for POP (Point Of Presence, Point Of Purchase advertising), electronic price tag, electronic shelf label, electronic score, display part of RF-ID equipment, as well as display part of various electronic equipment such as POS terminal, car navigation device, watch, etc. Used for. In addition, rewritable paper (one that can be rewritten using an external electric field forming means having a pixel electrode pair for forming an electric field of a pixel size according to the present invention, or a connection after rewriting information by connecting to an external display rewriting means) It can also be suitably used as a device that can keep information displayed even if it is released.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1, 2 Substrate 3W White particle group 3Wa White particle 3B Black particle group 3Ba Black particle 4 Partition 5, 6 Electrode 7 Cell 8 Adhesive 11 Mask 11-1 Mask opening 11-2 Mask part 12 Particle filling member 21 Resin sheet 22-1, 22-2 Frame 23-1, 23-2 Sheet fixing plate 24-1, 24-2 Fixing screw 25 Stage

Claims (3)

An observation-side substrate having a transparent screen area for displaying information, a back-side substrate disposed opposite to the observation-side substrate, a partition partitioning the screen area between the two substrates, and the two sheets A particle disposition method for producing an information display panel composed of a particle group that is disposed in the screen region between the substrates and serves as a display medium that moves by an electric field and displays information,
The particle group placed on a mask having an opening corresponding to the screen area defined by the partition walls is moved by a particle filling member that moves while the mask is pressed, and is under the mask. When performing particle placement on the screen region of the substrate, a resin sheet is placed on the particle group placed on the mask, and the particle filling member is placed on the mask via the placed resin sheet. A method for arranging particles during manufacturing of an information display panel, wherein the particle group is moved by being moved in a pressed state.   The method for arranging particles at the time of manufacturing an information display panel according to claim 1, wherein the resin sheet is a fluororesin sheet.   The method for arranging particles during production of an information display panel according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the fluororesin sheet has a thickness of 30 µm to 200 µm.

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