JP2018018010A - Lamination device and production method of light control film - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To stably produce a light control film with high accuracy, which is constituted by using a thin transparent film material.SOLUTION: A lamination device includes: a first stage 22A for holding on a stage surface a first laminate 5U prepared by forming at least an alignment layer on a substrate made of a transparent film material by a first holding part; a second stage 22B for a holding a second laminate 5D prepared by forming at least an alignment layer on a substrate made of a transparent film material, to oppose to the first laminate 5U; and a chamber 21 for accommodating the first and second stages 22A and 22B, respectively. The second stage 22B includes, on the stage surface, an expansion/contraction body 31 that expands at least in a thickness direction by inflow of a gas or a fluid, and holds the second laminate 5D by a second holding part disposed on the expansion/contraction body 31. The second laminate 5D is pressed to the first laminate 5U by the expansion of the expansion/contraction body 31.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

  The present invention relates to a light control film that can be used for, for example, an electronic blind that is attached to a window to control the transmission of extraneous light.

  Conventionally, for example, various devices relating to a light control film that is attached to a window to control the transmission of external light have been proposed (Patent Documents 1 and 2). One such light control film uses liquid crystal. The light control film using the liquid crystal is prepared by sandwiching a liquid crystal material with a transparent film material having a transparent electrode and an alignment layer, and a liquid crystal cell between the linear polarizing plates. As a result, in this light control film, the orientation of the liquid crystal is changed by changing the electric field applied to the liquid crystal, thereby blocking or transmitting the extraneous light, and further changing the amount of transmitted light. To control.

  In addition, a liquid crystal display panel, which is one of image display panels, has a transparent electrode and an alignment layer sequentially formed on a glass plate material, and a liquid crystal material is sandwiched between a pair of glass plate materials formed by forming the transparent electrode and the alignment layer. A liquid crystal cell is constructed. A liquid crystal display panel consists of this liquid crystal cell sandwiched between linear polarizing plates, and displays the desired image by changing the electric field applied to the liquid crystal in pixel units by patterning the transparent electrodes formed on the glass plate. To do.

  By the way, the light control film is not driven on a pixel basis, but like a liquid crystal display panel, it is produced by sandwiching a liquid crystal layer with a transparent substrate on which a transparent electrode is produced, thereby utilizing the production equipment of the liquid crystal display panel. Can be mass-produced. Thereby, it is thought that the light control film can produce a liquid crystal cell by the following processes.

  That is, in the manufacturing process of a light control film, a sealing agent is arrange | positioned by the frame shape to the transparent film material which produced the transparent electrode etc., and liquid-crystal material is arrange | positioned in the site | part enclosed by this sealing agent. Similarly, the transparent film material in which a transparent electrode or the like is produced is pressed against the transparent film material in which the sealant is disposed, and the liquid crystal material is thus formed by a pair of transparent film materials so as to crush the sealant. Hold it. Further, the crushed sealant is cured to integrate the transparent film material, and the liquid crystal material is prevented from leaking, thereby producing a liquid crystal cell.

  However, when manufacturing a liquid crystal cell in this way, it has been found that if the production equipment for the liquid crystal display panel is simply used, the cell gap changes locally, which deteriorates the manufacturing accuracy. It was also found that bubbles may remain in the liquid crystal layer made of the liquid crystal material. As a result, it has been found that it is difficult to produce a liquid crystal cell stably and accurately in a light control film constituted by using a thin transparent film material.

JP 03-47392 A Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 08-184273

  This invention is made | formed in view of such a condition, and it aims at enabling it to produce stably and accurately regarding the light control film comprised using a thin transparent film material.

  The present inventor has conducted extensive research to solve the above problems, and led to the idea that a liquid crystal cell is produced by pressing through an expansion / contraction body that expands at least in the thickness direction by inflow of gas or fluid, The present invention has been completed.

  Specifically, the present invention provides the following.

(1) a first stage in which a first laminate in which at least an orientation layer is provided on a substrate made of a transparent film material is held on a stage surface by a first holding unit;
A second stage for holding a second laminate in which at least an orientation layer is provided on a substrate made of a transparent film material so as to face the first laminate;
A chamber for accommodating the first and second stages,
The second stage is
The stage surface is provided with an expansion / contraction body that expands at least in the thickness direction by the inflow of gas or fluid, and the second stacked body is held by a second holding portion provided in the expansion / contraction body,
The laminating apparatus
A laminating apparatus that presses the second laminated body against the first laminated body by expansion of the expansion / contraction body.

  According to (1), when the first and second laminates made of thin film material are pressed and laminated, they can be pressed with a substantially uniform pressing force, thereby causing a local change in the cell gap. It can be effectively avoided and accurately manufactured. In this case, the air between the first and second laminates can be sufficiently exhausted, so that the generation of bubbles can be prevented, and thus stable production can be achieved.

(2) In (1),
Due to the expansion of the expansion / contraction body, the portion of the second laminate that contacts the first laminate is gradually enlarged from the central portion, and the second laminate is pressed against the first laminate. Laminating device.

  According to (2), since the air between the first and second laminates can be exhausted more reliably, the generation of bubbles can be prevented more reliably.

(3) In (1) or (2),
A laminating apparatus comprising an exhaust system that exhausts the inside of the chamber using the vacuum piping of the chamber.

  According to (3), since the first and second laminates can be laminated and integrated in an exhausted state, generation of bubbles can be further prevented.

(4) In any of (1) to (3),
A lamination apparatus further comprising a movable mechanism for relatively moving the first stage and the second stage.

  According to (4), the first and second stacked bodies can be more accurately integrated with the expansion / contraction body after the first and second stacked bodies are brought close to each other by the movable mechanism. Further, it is possible to more easily arrange each stacked body on the stage surface of each stage.

(5) In any one of (1) to (4),
The expansion / contraction body is
Formed of silicon rubber material,
The laminating apparatus comprises:
The first stacked body together with the second stacked body through the through-hole provided in the second stage, the expansion / contraction body, and the second stacked body held by the expansion / contraction body A stacking apparatus including an imaging device for imaging.

  According to (5), the relative position of the first and second stacked bodies can be confirmed from the imaging result, and the displacement of the first stacked body with respect to the second stacked body can be confirmed.

(6) In (5),
A stack that processes an imaging result of the imaging device to detect a relative position of the first and second stacked bodies, and moves the first stage based on the detection result to position the first stacked body. apparatus.

  According to (6), it is possible to improve the positioning accuracy related to the lamination integration.

(7) a first laminate production step of producing a first laminate by producing a transparent electrode and an alignment layer on a transparent film material;
A second laminate production step of producing at least an alignment layer on the transparent film material to produce a second laminate;
A lamination integration step of laminating and integrating the first and second laminates with a liquid crystal material interposed therebetween,
The lamination and integration step includes
Holding the second laminated body so as to face the first laminated body by a second holding part provided on the expansion / contraction body that expands at least in the thickness direction by inflow of gas or fluid,
A method for producing a light control film, wherein the second laminate is pressed against the first laminate by expansion of the expansion / contraction body.

  According to (7), when the first and second laminates made of a thin film material are pressed and laminated, they can be pressed with a substantially uniform pressing force, thereby causing a local change in the cell gap. It can be effectively avoided and accurately manufactured. In this case, the air between the first and second laminates can be sufficiently exhausted, so that the generation of bubbles can be prevented, and thus stable production can be achieved.

(8) In (7),
The lamination and integration step includes
Due to the expansion of the expansion / contraction body, the portion of the second laminate that contacts the first laminate is gradually enlarged from the central portion, and the second laminate is pressed against the first laminate. A method for producing a light control film.

  According to (8), since the air between the first and second stacked bodies can be exhausted more reliably, the generation of bubbles can be prevented more reliably.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, it can produce stably and accurately regarding the light control film comprised using a thin transparent film material.

It is sectional drawing which shows the light control film which concerns on 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the manufacturing process of the light control film of FIG. It is sectional drawing with which it uses for description of the lamination apparatus which concerns on the lamination process of FIG. FIG. 4 is a view showing a state in which the chamber lid is pressed against the figure chamber body in the stacking apparatus of FIG. 3. It is a flowchart which shows the lamination process of FIG. 2 in detail. It is a figure which shows the state which lowered | hung the press syringe in the lamination apparatus of FIG. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a state in which expansion of the expansion / contraction body is started in the stacking apparatus of FIG. 3. FIG. 7 is an enlarged view showing a portion where the upper laminate and the lower laminate are opposed in the lamination apparatus of FIG. 6. FIG. 8 is an enlarged view showing the facing portions of the upper laminate and the lower laminate in the laminating apparatus of FIG. 7. FIG. 4 is a view showing a state where the expansion / contraction body is completely expanded in the laminating apparatus of FIG. 3. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a state in which the chamber is returned to normal pressure in the stacking apparatus of FIG. 3. FIG. 4 is a view showing a state in which the chamber lid is returned to the original state in the stacking apparatus of FIG. 3.

[First Embodiment]
[Light control film]
FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing a light control film according to the first embodiment of the present invention. This light control film 1 is used by being attached to an area for light control such as a window glass of a building, a showcase, an indoor transparent partition, etc. with an adhesive layer or the like, and the amount of transmitted light can be reduced by changing the applied voltage. Control.

  This light control film 1 is a film material that controls transmitted light using liquid crystal, and is configured by sandwiching a liquid crystal cell 4 for light control film between linear polarizing plates 2 and 3. Here, the linear polarizing plates 2 and 3 are formed by impregnating polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) with iodine or the like, and then stretched to form an optical functional layer that performs an optical function as a linear polarizing plate. TAC (triacetyl cellulose) The optical functional layer is sandwiched between base materials made of a transparent film material such as the above. The linearly polarizing plates 2 and 3 are arranged in the liquid crystal cell 4 by an adhesive layer made of an ultraviolet curable resin or the like in a crossed Nicol arrangement. The linear polarizing plates 2 and 3 are provided with retardation films 2A and 3A for optical compensation on the liquid crystal cell 4 side, respectively, but the retardation films 2A and 3A may be omitted as necessary.

  The liquid crystal cell 4 controls the polarization plane of transmitted light by an applied voltage to a transparent electrode described later. Thereby, the light control film 1 is comprised so that transmitted light can be controlled and various light control can be aimed at.

[Liquid crystal cell]
The liquid crystal cell 4 is configured by sandwiching a liquid crystal layer 8 between an upper laminate 5U and a lower laminate 5D which are first and second laminates in a film shape. The lower laminate 5D is formed by producing the transparent electrode 11, the spacer 12, and the alignment layer 13 on the base 6 made of a transparent film material. The upper laminate 5U is formed by laminating a transparent electrode 16 and an alignment layer 17 on a base material 15 made of a transparent film material. The liquid crystal cell 4 controls the orientation of the liquid crystal material provided in the liquid crystal layer 8 by the TN (Twisted Nematic) method by driving the transparent electrodes 11 and 16 provided in the upper laminate 5U and the lower laminate 5D. This controls the plane of polarization of the transmitted light.

In place of the TN method, a driving method such as a VA (Virtual Alignment) method, an IPS (In-Place-Switching) method, or an FFS (Fringe Field Switching) method may be applied. When driving by the IPS method, either the transparent electrode 11 or 16 of the upper stacked body 5U or the lower stacked body 5D is omitted, and a driving electric field is applied to the liquid crystal material by patterning the other transparent electrode. .
Here, the TN system is a system in which the orientation of liquid crystal molecules is changed between a vertical direction and a horizontal twist direction by applying an electric field, and the amount of transmitted light is controlled using the optical rotation of light.
The VA method is a method of controlling transmitted light by changing the alignment of a liquid crystal between a vertical alignment and a horizontal alignment. Generally, the liquid crystal layer is vertically aligned by vertically aligning the liquid crystal when no electric field is applied. A liquid crystal cell is formed by sandwiching the liquid crystal material, and the liquid crystal material is horizontally aligned by application of an electric field.
The IPS method is a method of controlling the amount of transmitted light by rotating aligned liquid crystal molecules in a horizontal (horizontal) direction with respect to a substrate.
In the FFS method, liquid crystal molecules move in the horizontal (horizontal) direction with respect to the substrate as in the IPS method, but the amount of transmitted light is controlled by twisting and bending.

  Although various transparent film materials applicable to this kind of film material can be applied to the base materials 6 and 15, it is desirable to apply a film material having a small optical anisotropy. In this embodiment, although a polycarbonate film is applied to the substrates 6 and 15, a COP (cycloolefin polymer) film, a TAC film, or the like may be applied.

  Various electrode materials applied to this kind of film material can be applied to the transparent electrodes 11 and 16, and in this embodiment, the transparent electrodes 11 and 16 are formed of a transparent electrode material made of ITO (Indium Tin Oxide). The spacer 12 is provided to define the thickness of the liquid crystal layer 8 and various resin materials can be widely applied. However, in this embodiment, the spacer 12 is made of a photoresist, and a substrate formed by producing the transparent electrode 11. It is produced by applying a photoresist on 6 and exposing and developing. The spacer 12 may be provided in the upper laminate 5U, or may be provided in both the upper laminate 5U and the lower laminate 5D. Further, a so-called bead spacer may be applied in place of the spacer made of photoresist.

  The alignment layers 13 and 17 are produced by rubbing a polyimide resin layer. The alignment layers 13 and 17 can be applied with various configurations capable of expressing the alignment regulating force with respect to the liquid crystal material related to the liquid crystal layer 8, and may be formed by a so-called photo-alignment layer. You may form and form the fine line-shaped uneven | corrugated shape by a process by a shaping process. The spacer 12 may be provided on the alignment layer 13.

  In addition, although various materials to which the photo-alignment technique can be applied can be applied as the photo-alignment material, in this embodiment, the alignment is not changed by ultraviolet irradiation after the alignment, for example, a photodimerization type Use materials. The photodimerization type material is described in “M. Schadt, K. Schmitt, V. Kozinkov and V. Chigrinov: Jpn. J. Appl. Phys., 31, 2155 (1992)”, “M. Schadt, H. Seiberle and A. Schuster: Nature, 381, 212 (1996).

  Various liquid crystal materials applicable to this type of light control film can be widely applied to the liquid crystal layer 8.

  In the liquid crystal cell 4, a sealing agent 19 is disposed so as to surround the liquid crystal layer 8, and the upper stacked body 5 </ b> U and the lower stacked body 5 </ b> D are integrally held by the sealing agent 19, and leakage of the liquid crystal material is prevented. Here, as the sealing agent 19, for example, a thermosetting resin such as an ultraviolet curable resin can be applied.

〔Manufacturing process〕
FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing the manufacturing process of the light control film 1. In this manufacturing process SP1, the base materials 6 and 15 are formed in a sheet shape from a transparent film material, and the transparent electrodes 11 and 16 are sequentially manufactured while the base materials 6 and 15 are being transported to manufacture the light control film 1. .

That is, in this manufacturing process, in the electrode manufacturing process SP2, the transparent electrodes 11 and 16 are manufactured on the base materials 6 and 15 related to the lower stacked body 5D and the upper stacked body 5U by sputtering using a sputtering apparatus. Here, the electrode manufacturing step SP2 may further include a step of patterning the transparent electrode.
In the case of using the IPS method, one of the transparent electrodes 11 and 16 is omitted, and a patterning process for patterning the other transparent electrode 11 or 16 is provided.
In addition, in the case of the FFS method, the production of a transparent electrode on one substrate is omitted, and after producing a transparent electrode on the other substrate, an insulating layer is produced on the produced transparent electrode, and further on the insulating layer. And a step of patterning the transparent electrode provided on the insulating layer.

Subsequently, in the manufacturing process SP3, the spacer 12 is manufactured on the substrate 6 on which the transparent electrode 11 is formed in the spacer manufacturing process SP3. Here, in the photoresist coating process SP3-1, the manufacturing process is performed by applying a photoresist coating solution to the base material 6 of the lower laminate 5D and then drying, thereby producing a photoresist layer. To do. In the subsequent exposure step SP3-2, after exposing the photoresist layer with an exposure apparatus, in the development step SP3-3, after developing with a developer, washing, rinsing, and drying are performed, thereby producing the spacer 12. .
In the present embodiment, the spacer 12 is provided on the base 6 side. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the spacer 12 is formed on the base 15 or both the base 6 and the base 15. You may be made to do. In addition, when a bead spacer is applied to the spacer, the spacer manufacturing step SP3 is naturally omitted.

  Subsequently, in the subsequent coating process SP4, the manufacturing process is performed by applying the coating liquid according to the alignment layer 13 to the base material 6 formed in such a manner as described above, and then drying and curing. A material layer of the alignment layer 13 is prepared. In addition, the material layer of the alignment layer 17 is produced in the same manner for the other base material 15.

In the subsequent rubbing step SP5, the manufacturing process is performed by rubbing the base materials 6 and 15 related to the upper laminated body 5U and the lower laminated body 5D obtained by preparing the material layers of the alignment layers 13 and 17 in this way, Layers 13 and 17 are produced. In addition, when applying a photo-alignment layer to the alignment layers 13 and 17, it replaces with coating process SP4 and rubbing process SP5, and the process of application | coating of the coating liquid which concerns on a photo-alignment layer, and an exposure process are performed.
In the case where a bead spacer is used for the spacer 12, the bead spacer is disposed on the formed alignment layer after the rubbing step SP5, for example. Moreover, when applying a photo-alignment layer to each alignment layer 13 and 17, a bead spacer may be arrange | positioned after the process of the exposure of the coating liquid which concerns on a photo-alignment layer, for example, and the coating which concerns on a photo-alignment layer It may be arranged immediately after the application of the working liquid and before the exposure process.

  In this manufacturing process, the sealing agent 19 is applied to either the upper laminate 5U or the lower laminate 5D using a dispenser in the subsequent sealing agent application step SP6. Here, the application of the sealing agent 19 is performed in a frame shape surrounding a part for producing the liquid crystal layer 8. In the manufacturing process, in the subsequent liquid crystal dropping process SP7, the liquid crystal material related to the liquid crystal layer 8 is dropped inside the frame shape by the sealing agent 19.

  In the subsequent stacking step SP8, the corresponding lower stacked body 5D or upper stacked body 5U is stacked and pressed on the upper stacked body 5U or the lower stacked body 5D in which the liquid crystal material is arranged in this way.

  In the subsequent integration step SP9, the sealing agent 19 is semi-cured by irradiation with ultraviolet rays and then heated, thereby integrating the base materials 6 and 15 related to the upper laminate 5U and the lower laminate 5D.

  In this manufacturing process, the stacked body of the upper stacked body 5U and the lower stacked body 5D thus manufactured is cut into a desired size in the subsequent trimming process SP10, thereby manufacturing the liquid crystal cell 4. Moreover, in subsequent bonding process SP11, the linearly polarizing plates 2 and 3 are bonded together with adhesives, such as ultraviolet curable resin, and the light control film 1 is produced.

[Lamination equipment]
FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing a laminating apparatus 20 used for laminating the upper laminated body 5U and the lower laminated body 5D in the laminating process. The stacking apparatus 20 is an apparatus that holds and stacks the upper stacked body 5U and the lower stacked body 5D in the chamber 21 formed by the chamber body 21A and the chamber lid 21B.

  Here, the chamber main body 21A is manufactured by cutting a metal material such as a steel material, for example, and holds a temperature adjustment stage 22A that is a temperature adjustable stage having a rectangular shape at the center of the bottom surface. Here, the temperature adjustment stage 22A is formed by processing a metal material such as copper having a high thermal conductivity into a desired shape and arranging a heater, a sensor, and the like for temperature adjustment. The chamber main body 21A has a shape surrounding the temperature control stage 22A so that a wall extends to the chamber lid 21B side, and a sealing material 21C such as an O-ring for airtightness is disposed on the end surface of the wall lid 21B. Is done.

  On the other hand, the chamber lid 21B is manufactured by cutting a metal material such as steel, and is held so as to face the chamber body 21A. The chamber lid 21B holds a similar temperature adjustment stage 22B so as to face the temperature adjustment stage 22A of the chamber main body 21A, and a wall portion extends toward the chamber main body 21A due to the shape surrounding the temperature adjustment stage 22B. . The laminating apparatus 20 is configured such that the chamber lid 21B can be moved up and down by a movable mechanism (not shown), thereby pressing the chamber lid 21B against the chamber body 21A as shown in FIG. The chamber 21 is constituted by the chamber body 21A.

  The chamber body 21A holds the temperature adjustment stage 22A so that the stage adjustment mechanism 24 can adjust the position and inclination of the temperature adjustment stage 22A in the X direction and Y direction within the surface. The upper laminate 5U is held on the stage surface of the stage 22A, and the lower laminate 5D is held on the temperature adjustment stage 22B of the chamber lid 21B so as to face the upper laminate 5U. Thereby, in the lamination | stacking apparatus 20, it is comprised so that adjustment of the relative position of 5 U of upper side laminated bodies and 5 D of lower side laminated bodies is possible.

  The chamber lid 21 </ b> B is provided with a vacuum pipe 26, which is a pipe for exhaust and intake, on the wall, and the stacking apparatus 20 can exhaust the inside of the chamber 21 using the vacuum pipe 26 by an intake / exhaust system (not shown). Configured.

  The chamber lid 21B is provided with a press syringe 28 so as to penetrate the chamber lid 21B, and holds the press syringe 28 movably up and down by a movable mechanism (not shown). The chamber lid 21B is provided with a temperature adjustment stage 22B at the tip of the press syringe 28. Thus, the chamber lid 21B holds the temperature adjustment stage 22B so as to be movable up and down via the press syringe 28. Thereby, the lamination apparatus 20 moves the temperature adjustment stage 22B downward in a state where the chamber lid 21B is pressed against the chamber body 21A, and the lower lamination body 5D held on the temperature adjustment stage 22B is moved to the chamber body 21A. It is comprised so that it can approach to the upper side laminated body 5U hold | maintained at 22 A of temperature control stages.

The temperature control stage 22B is provided with a through hole 32 for reading the alignment mark provided in the upper laminate 5U and the lower laminate 5D. Correspondingly, the chamber lid 21B has an alignment mark reading purpose. An alignment camera 29 is provided, and the alignment camera 29 is configured so that the stacked bodies 5D and 5U can be imaged integrally. The stacking apparatus 20 processes the imaging result of the alignment camera 29 and detects the coordinates of the alignment marks provided on the upper stacked body 5U and the lower stacked body 5D, whereby the upper stacked body 5U and the lower stacked body 5D are detected. An image data processing unit that detects the relative position and a drive unit that drives the stage adjustment mechanism 24 using the coordinates detected by the image data processing unit, thereby positioning the upper stacked body 5U with high accuracy with respect to the lower stacked body 5D. Configured to be able to.
The through hole 32 for reading the alignment mark is closed with a transparent member made of glass or the like from the viewpoint of maintaining the degree of vacuum in the chamber 21.

  By the way, simply holding the upper laminate 5U and the lower laminate 5D on the temperature control stages 22A and 22B, moving the press syringe 28 up and down to press the lower laminate 5D against the upper laminate 5U. Although the temperature control stages 22A and 22B are made of a metal material, the stage surfaces of the temperature control stages 22A and 22B that hold the upper laminate 5U and the lower laminate 5D are made extremely flat. Even if it is, the lower laminated body 5D cannot be pressed against the upper laminated body 5U by a uniform pressing force due to the influence of the parallelism of the stage surfaces of the temperature control stages 22A and 22B, the installation position of the press syringe 28, etc. It turns out that there is a case. More specifically, in this case, the pressing force increases as it approaches the press syringe 28, thereby generating a non-uniform distribution of the pressing force according to the arrangement of the press syringe 28. Naturally, a non-uniform distribution of the pressing force also occurs depending on the parallelism of the stage surface.

  Thereby, in this case, in the light control film 1, it becomes difficult to produce a cell gap uniformly, and the production precision of the liquid crystal cell 4 will fall. In addition, it becomes difficult to completely push out air, which may cause bubbles to remain in the liquid crystal layer 8.

  Therefore, in this embodiment, the lower laminate 5D is held by the expansion / contraction body that expands at least in the thickness direction by the inflow of gas or fluid, and the lower laminate 5D is turned into the upper laminate 5U by the expansion of the expansion / contraction body. By pressing, the lower laminate 5D is pressed with a uniform pressing force to improve the production accuracy. In addition, the generation of bubbles is effectively avoided.

  That is, in the laminating apparatus 20, the pressure-sensitive adhesive layer 30 is provided as a first holding portion on the stage surface of the temperature control stage 22 </ b> A, and the upper laminated body 5 </ b> U is attached to the stage surface of the temperature control stage 22 </ b> A by this pressure-sensitive adhesive layer 30. Hold on. Note that the holding portion provided in the temperature adjustment stage 22 </ b> A is not limited to the pressure-sensitive adhesive layer 30, and an electrostatic chuck may be used instead of the pressure-sensitive adhesive layer 30. Here, the electrostatic chuck is a mechanism in which a dielectric layer is provided on a stage, a voltage is applied between the stage and the stacked body, and the stacked body is attracted by a Coulomb force generated between the two. In addition, it is also possible to use a mechanical chuck that mechanically holds the end of the laminate, a vacuum chuck that holds the laminate by vacuum suction, or the like.

  On the other hand, the airbag 31 which is an expansion / contraction body that expands at least in the thickness direction by the inflow of gas is disposed on the stage surface of the temperature control stage 22B, and the lower laminated body 5D is held via the airbag 31. Is done. Here, the airbag 31 has a substantially flat plate shape, is produced in a rectangular shape larger than the lower laminate 5D in plan view, and is formed so as to swell mainly in the thickness direction by air injection. The air bag 31 is held on the temperature adjustment stage 22B by sticking one surface of the flat plate shape to the stage surface of the temperature adjustment stage 22B with an adhesive or the like. Further, the airbag 31 has a pressure-sensitive adhesive layer 33 formed as a second holding portion on the surface on the other side, and the lower laminated body 5 </ b> D is attached to the airbag 31 and held by the pressure-sensitive adhesive layer 33.

  Here, the airbag 31 is a case where the member of the surface holding the lower laminated body 5D is formed with a substantially uniform thickness and is taken in a cross section in the longitudinal direction (this is the case of the cross section of FIGS. 3 and 4). Thus, the center part of the lowermost laminate 5D swells by the air injection, and the center part is set so as to be closest to the upper laminate 5U side.

  The air bag 31 is configured so that air can be injected by a pump (not shown) through a compressed air pipe 35 that is an air inflow pipe provided in the chamber lid body 21B, and the lower laminate 5D is injected by this air injection. The surface on the side to which is attached is deformed and the whole swells, and the swell presses the lower laminate 5D against the upper laminate.

  As the material of the airbag 31, transparent silicon rubber or the like that does not affect the imaging by the alignment camera 29 and transmits a visible light region or a specific wavelength region used for imaging by the alignment camera 29 is applied. In this way, the lower stacked body 5D is arranged via the airbag 31, and the lower stacked body 5D and the upper stacked body 5U are imaged by the alignment camera 29 via the through hole 32 and the airbag 31, and the imaging result is obtained. Even when positioning the lower laminated body 5D and the upper laminated body 5U based on the above, it is configured so that it can be positioned with high accuracy.

  Here, when the lower laminated body 5D is pressed against the upper laminated body by the bulging of the airbag 31, the entire surface of the lower laminated body 5D is pressed with a uniform pressing force to the upper laminated body 5U. Can be pressed. As a result, in the laminated body of the lower laminated body 5D and the upper laminated body 5U, the sealing agent 19 is uniformly crushed by this uniform pressing, and as a result, the thickness between the lower laminated body 5D and the upper laminated body 5U ( The cell gap) can be set to a uniform thickness corresponding to the height of the spacer 12. Thereby, in this embodiment, the light gap film can be produced with high accuracy by making the cell gap uniform.

  Further, when the airbag 31 is inflated and the lower laminate 5D is pressed against the upper laminate in this way, the lower laminate 5D is first formed in the center by being formed so that the central portion is most inflated. This part is in contact with the upper laminated body 5U and is pressed, and the gradually pressed part expands toward the peripheral part. Thereby, in this embodiment, the lower laminated body 5D is pressed against the upper laminated body 5U so as to push out air between the upper laminated body 5U and the lower laminated body 5D from the central portion toward the peripheral portion, thereby Effectively avoid the generation of bubbles.

  In this embodiment, the pressure-sensitive adhesive layer 33 of the airbag 31 is set to have a smaller adhesive force than the pressure-sensitive adhesive layer 30 of the temperature adjustment stage 22A. Thus, the stacking apparatus 20 presses the lower stacked body 5D on the upper stacked body 5U by driving the temperature control stage 22B and the air bag 31, thereby stacking the upper stacked body 5U and the lower stacked body 5D, and then the temperature adjusting stage. When 22B is retracted upward, the lower laminate 5D is peeled off from the adhesive layer 33 of the airbag 31, and the laminate of the upper laminate 5U and the lower laminate 5D is left on the temperature adjustment stage 22A. Composed.

[Lamination process]
FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing details of the processing procedure of the stacking step SP8 by the stacking apparatus 20. The stacking apparatus 20 executes this processing procedure by controlling the operation of each unit by a controller which is a computer. That is, the stacking step SP8 sets the upper stacked body 5U and the lower stacked body 5D on the temperature control stages 22A and 22B, respectively, under the control of the robot in the stacked body setting step SP21 (FIG. 3). In the subsequent step SP22, the chamber lid 21B is moved and pressed against the chamber body 21A, and the chamber 21 formed by the chamber lid 21B and the chamber body 21A is sealed (FIG. 4). In this state, exhaust is performed through the vacuum pipe 26.

  In the subsequent step SP23, the laminating apparatus 20 moves the press syringe 28 and moves the temperature adjustment stage 22B in the downward direction, as indicated by the arrows in FIG. 6, so that the lower laminated body with respect to the upper laminated body 5U. 5D is held in close proximity to each other. In this state, the imaging result of the alignment camera 29 is further processed to detect the alignment mark coordinates of the upper stacked body 5U and the lower stacked body 5D, and the stage adjustment mechanism 24 is driven based on the detection result, thereby the stage. The adjusting mechanism 24 is positioned. In FIG. 6, adjustment in the in-plane direction of the stage surface of the temperature control stage 22A is indicated by x and y, and adjustment of the inclination of the stage surface is indicated by θ.

In the subsequent step SP24, as indicated by an arrow in FIG. 7, air is injected into the airbag 31 via the compressed air pipe 35, thereby expanding the airbag 31 and pressing the lower stacked body 5D against the upper stacked body 5U. To do. Here, as shown in FIG. 8, in this embodiment, the sealing material 19 and the liquid crystal material 8A related to the liquid crystal layer 8 are disposed on the upper laminated body 5U disposed on the temperature adjustment stage 22A side, and are disposed on the airbag 31 side. The lower laminated body 5D is moved to the upper laminated body 5U side as indicated by an arrow A so that the spacer 12 is provided in the lower laminated body 5D.
Note that the air pressure injected into the air bag 31 can be appropriately set according to the degree of vacuum in the chamber 21.

  Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 9, the airbag 31 is inflated to press the lower laminate 5D against the upper laminate 5U. In this case, as indicated by the arrow B, as the lower stacked body 5D is pressed against the upper stacked body 5U, the residual air between the lower stacked body 5D and the upper stacked body 5U flows out from the surroundings, thereby causing the air to remain. The generation of bubbles can be effectively avoided. Further, by pressing through the air bag 31 in this way, the sealing agent 19 can be crushed with a uniform pressing force to make the cell gap uniform, and also the bonding failure related to the sealing agent 19 can be ensured. Can be prevented. FIG. 10 is a view showing a state in which the lower laminate 5D is completely pressed against the upper laminate 5U in this way.

  In the subsequent step SP25, the stacking apparatus 20 allows air to flow into the chamber 21 by opening the vacuum pipe 26 to the atmosphere as shown in FIG. As a result, in the laminating apparatus 20, the airbag 31 is crushed by atmospheric pressure, the lower laminate 5D is peeled off from the airbag 31, and the liquid crystal layer 8 is sandwiched between the lower laminate 5D and the upper laminate 5U. Are left on the temperature control stage 22A.

In the subsequent step SP26, the stacking apparatus 20 moves the press syringe 28 upward to retract the temperature adjustment stage 22B as indicated by an arrow in FIG. 12, and in the subsequent step SP27, the lower stacked body 5D and the upper stacked layer are moved. The stacked body of the body 5U is taken out by the robot and transferred to the next process. Further, the compressed air pipe 35 of the airbag 31 is opened to the atmosphere, thereby returning the airbag 31 to its original shape.
Note that the vacuum pipe 26 of the chamber 21 may be released to the atmosphere after the compressed air pipe 35 of the airbag 31 is released to the atmosphere.

[Other Embodiments]
As mentioned above, although the specific structure suitable for implementation of this invention was explained in full detail, this invention can be variously changed in the range which does not deviate from the meaning of this invention.

  That is, in the above-described embodiment, the temperature control stage 22B is lowered by the press syringe 28 to hold the lower laminate 5D close to the upper laminate 5U, and then the lower laminate 5D is moved upward by the expansion of the airbag 31. Although the case where the laminated body 5U is pressed while being brought into contact has been described, the present invention is not limited thereto, and when the generation of bubbles can be sufficiently suppressed practically, the lower laminated body 5D is moved by the press syringe 28 with the upper laminated body. The lower laminate 5D may be pressed against the upper laminate 5U by the expansion of the airbag 31 while being pressed against 5U. Alternatively, the lower laminated body 5D may be pressed against the upper laminated body 5U by the expansion of the airbag 31, while the lower laminated body 5D is pressed against the upper laminated body 5U by the press syringe 28.

  In the above-described embodiment, the case where the air bag is provided on the upper temperature adjustment stage has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and may be provided on the lower temperature adjustment stage. You may make it provide in both.

  Further, in the above-described embodiment, the case where the upper laminated body and the lower laminated body are arranged directly on the temperature adjustment stage which is a temperature adjustable stage or via an airbag is described, but the present invention is not limited thereto. The temperature adjustment configuration may be omitted.

  In the above-described embodiment, the case of using the airbag that expands by inflow of gas is described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and an expansion / contraction body that expands by inflow of liquid instead of gas is used. May be.

  In the above-described embodiment, the lower stacked body 5D integrated by the stacking process has been described as an example in which the upper stacked body 5U remains on the lower temperature adjustment stage 22A as shown in FIG. Instead, it may remain on the airbag 31 side. In this case, the pressure-sensitive adhesive layer 33 of the airbag 31 is set so that the adhesion is greater than that of the pressure-sensitive adhesive layer 30 of the temperature adjustment stage 22A.

  Moreover, in the above-mentioned embodiment, although the lamination process showed the example which exhausts the inside of the chamber 21 by the vacuum piping 26, it is not limited to this, It may be made to perform a lamination process in the state open | released to air | atmosphere. Good.

In the above-described embodiment, an example in which the VA method or the like is applied to the liquid crystal alignment control of the liquid crystal cell 4 is shown, but the present invention is not limited to this, and a guest host method may be applied. . In this case, the light control film may omit the linear polarizing plate.
Here, the guest-host method is a mixture of liquid crystal molecules and a dichroic dye in a liquid crystal layer, and when the orientation direction of the liquid crystal molecules is changed by an electric field applied to the liquid crystal layer, the dichroism follows the movement. This is a method in which the amount of transmitted light of the liquid crystal cell can be changed by changing the orientation of the dye.

  In the above-described embodiment, the example in which the alignment camera 29 is provided on the chamber lid 21B side has been described. However, the alignment camera 29 is not limited thereto, and may be provided on the chamber body 21A side. In this case, for example, a through hole may be provided in the chamber body 21A, the temperature adjustment stage 22A, the adhesive layer 30, and the alignment camera may be disposed through the through hole. Note that the through hole for reading the alignment mark is closed by a transparent member made of glass or the like from the viewpoint of maintaining the degree of vacuum in the chamber 21.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Light control film 2, 3 Linear polarizing plate 2A, 3A Phase difference film 4 Liquid crystal cell 5D Lower laminated body 5U Upper laminated body 6, 15 Base material 8 Liquid crystal layer 8A Liquid crystal material 11, 16 Transparent electrode 12 Spacer 13, 17 Orientation Layer 19 Sealing agent 20 Laminating device 21 Chamber 21A Chamber body 21B Chamber lid 21C Sealing material 22A, 22B Temperature adjustment stage 24 Stage adjustment mechanism 26 Vacuum piping 28 Press syringe 29 Alignment camera 30, 33 Adhesive layer 31 Air bag 32 Through hole 35 Pneumatic piping

Claims (8)

A first stage in which a first laminated body in which at least an orientation layer is provided on a substrate made of a transparent film material is held on a stage surface by a first holding unit;
A second stage for holding a second laminate in which at least an orientation layer is provided on a substrate made of a transparent film material so as to face the first laminate;
A chamber for accommodating the first and second stages,
The second stage is
The stage surface is provided with an expansion / contraction body that expands at least in the thickness direction by the inflow of gas or fluid, and the second stacked body is held by a second holding portion provided in the expansion / contraction body,
The laminating apparatus
A laminating apparatus that presses the second laminated body against the first laminated body by expansion of the expansion / contraction body. Due to the expansion of the expansion / contraction body, the portion of the second laminate that contacts the first laminate is gradually enlarged from the central portion, and the second laminate is pressed against the first laminate. The stacking apparatus according to claim 1. The stacking apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising an exhaust system that exhausts the inside of the chamber using a vacuum pipe of the chamber. The stacking apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising a movable mechanism that relatively moves the first stage and the second stage. The expansion / contraction body is
Formed of silicon rubber material,
The laminating apparatus comprises:
The first stacked body together with the second stacked body through the through-hole provided in the second stage, the expansion / contraction body, and the second stacked body held by the expansion / contraction body The stacking apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4, further comprising an imaging device for imaging. The imaging result of the imaging device is processed to detect the relative positions of the first and second stacked bodies, and the first stage is moved by moving the first stage based on the detection results. Item 6. The laminating apparatus according to Item 5. A first laminate production step of producing a first laminate by producing a transparent electrode and an alignment layer on a transparent film material;
A second laminate production step of producing at least an alignment layer on the transparent film material to produce a second laminate;
A lamination integration step of laminating and integrating the first and second laminates with a liquid crystal material interposed therebetween,
The lamination and integration step includes
Holding the second laminated body so as to face the first laminated body by a second holding part provided on the expansion / contraction body that expands at least in the thickness direction by inflow of gas or fluid,
The manufacturing method of the light control film which presses a said 2nd laminated body to a said 1st laminated body by expansion | swelling of the said expansion / contraction body. The lamination and integration step includes
Due to the expansion of the expansion / contraction body, the portion of the second laminate that contacts the first laminate is gradually enlarged from the central portion, and the second laminate is pressed against the first laminate. The manufacturing method of the light control film of Claim 7.

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