JP3283847B2 - Rubbing cleaning apparatus and rubbing cleaning method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve the display quality of a liquid crystal display panel without increasing the production cost of the liquid crystal display panel. SOLUTION: Positive or negative ions 6 are sprayed from an ionizer 3 to the surface of a cleaning substrate 2 to electrify the surface of the substrate 2, and then the substrate 2 is passed at a proper frequency in the production line while TFT substrates or CF substrates are passed so that the surface of the electrified cleaning substrate 2 is rubbed with a rubbing roll 4. Thus, foreign matters depositing on the rubbing roll 4 are removed by the electrostatic charges and physical forces by rubbing without significantly decreasing the limit of the number of times for use of the rubbing roller 4.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to a rubbing cleaning apparatus and a rubbing cleaning method suitable for manufacturing a liquid crystal display panel.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A liquid crystal display panel performs display by changing the arrangement of liquid crystal molecules by a voltage and controlling light passing through the liquid crystal. In order to align liquid crystals, it is necessary to apply an alignment film on a substrate and align the molecules of the alignment film with the long axes of the liquid crystal molecules.

[0003] The step of giving directionality to the molecules of the alignment film is a rubbing step. In the rubbing step, the TFT substrate and the color filter (hereinafter, referred to as CF) substrate on which the alignment film is formed are rubbed with a roll (hereinafter, referred to as a rubbing roll) obtained by winding a rubbing cloth into a cylindrical shape.

Since the rubbing step is a physical rubbing step, rubbing of the alignment film and rubbing roll cloth (hereinafter referred to as rubbing cloth) generated by rubbing the TFT substrate and the CF substrate are generated.

[0005] If dust generated during rubbing adheres to the TFT substrate and the CF substrate, the display quality is significantly reduced. Therefore, dust adhering to the TFT substrate and the CF substrate is removed by cleaning after the rubbing step.

However, dust and debris also adhere to the rubbing roll, and if the dust and debris are not removed, the alignment film will be damaged during the rubbing process.
In this case, the alignment of the alignment film is disturbed, and display defects of the liquid crystal display panel are caused.

[0007] As a method for removing dust, debris and the like adhering to the rubbing roll, there is a method disclosed in, for example, JP-A-8-87014. This is because the TFT
A stainless plate is flowed together with the substrate and the CF substrate, and dust and debris attached to the rubbing roll are removed by the stainless plate.

Another method is disclosed in, for example,
There is also one disclosed in JP-A-3-151925. In this technique, a discharge machine is provided in the vicinity of a rubbing roller of a rubbing device and a substrate to be rubbed, and discharges a charge of a polarity opposite to an electrostatic charge generated during rubbing to a substrate before rubbing. As a result, the charge on the substrate surface is eliminated.

[0009]

However, in the above-mentioned prior art, when the stainless steel plate is used to remove dust, debris and the like adhering to the rubbing roll, the stainless steel plate is shaved. There is a defect that it is not performed completely.

Further, since the stainless steel plate is rubbed once against one TFT substrate or one CF substrate, the number of TFT substrates and CF substrates that can be processed per rubbing roll is reduced by half. There is also a problem that it hinders the reduction of the manufacturing cost of the liquid crystal display panel.

In the latter prior art, although the adhesion of foreign substances on the substrate surface is improved, the cleaning treatment is not directly performed on the rubbing cloth. For this reason, rubbing of the rubbing cloth causes the scraps of the alignment film or the rubbing cloth scraped off by the physical force to become entangled with the rubbing roll, thereby giving a scratch to the alignment film during the rubbing step. In this case, the alignment of the alignment film is disturbed, and display defects of the liquid crystal display panel are caused.

The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and a rubbing cleaning apparatus and rubbing cleaning capable of improving the display quality of a liquid crystal display panel without increasing the manufacturing cost of the liquid crystal display panel. A method can be provided.

[0013]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a rubbing cleaning apparatus comprising: a TFT substrate on which an alignment film is formed;
A stage on which the substrate and the cleaning substrate are placed; and an ionizer, a TFT substrate, and a CF substrate that are disposed above the stage and charge the surface of the cleaning substrate by applying + or-ions to the surface of the cleaning substrate. A rubbing roll that performs a rubbing process on the rubbing roll, and at the time of cleaning the rubbing roll, the Coulomb force between the charged charge of the cleaning substrate and the foreign matter attached to the rubbing roll and the physical force of rubbing the cleaning substrate. And moving foreign matter to the surface of the cleaning substrate. Further, the cleaning substrate can be a glass substrate. Further, the cleaning of the rubbing roll by the cleaning substrate can be performed by flowing the TFT substrate and the CF substrate at a certain frequency during the flow by the stage. The rubbing cleaning method according to claim 4, wherein the first step of mounting the TFT substrate, the CF substrate, and the cleaning substrate on which the alignment film is formed, and applying + or-ions to the surface of the cleaning substrate. A second step of charging the surface of the cleaning substrate, a third step of performing a rubbing process on the TFT substrate and the CF substrate, and a step of cleaning the rubbing roll and charging and rubbing the charged cleaning substrate. And a fourth step of moving the foreign matter to the surface of the cleaning substrate by the Coulomb force between the foreign matter attached to the roll and the physical force of rubbing the cleaning substrate. Further, the second step may include a step of applying + or − ions to the surface of the glass substrate. Further, the fourth step may include a step of cleaning the rubbing roll with the cleaning substrate by flowing the TFT substrate and the CF substrate at a certain frequency while the TFT substrate and the CF substrate are flowed to the rubbing roll side. it can.
In the rubbing cleaning device and the rubbing cleaning method according to the present invention, the ionizer disposed above the stage applies positive or negative ions to the surface of the cleaning substrate,
The surface of the cleaning substrate is charged, and when cleaning the rubbing roll, foreign matter is removed by the Coulomb force between the charged charge of the cleaning substrate and the foreign material attached to the rubbing roll and the physical force of rubbing the cleaning substrate. The alignment film is moved to the surface of the cleaning substrate so that the alignment film is not damaged during the rubbing step.

[0014]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an embodiment of the rubbing cleaning device of the present invention, and FIGS. 2 and 3 are diagrams for explaining the operation of the rubbing cleaning device of FIG.

The rubbing cleaning apparatus shown in FIG. 1 is provided with a stage 1 which moves in the direction of the arrow. The stage 1 has a TFT substrate on which an alignment film (not shown) is formed and a CF.
The substrate is to be placed. The TFT substrate and the CF substrate (not shown) are rubbed by a rubbing roll 4 in which a rubbing cloth is wound in a cylindrical shape.

The stage 1 has a rubbing roll 4
A cleaning substrate 2 for removing dust, debris, and the like attached to the device is placed. This cleaning substrate 2 is made of T
It is made to flow at a certain frequency while the FT substrate and the CF substrate flow.

Further, as the cleaning substrate 2, for example, a glass substrate can be used. Since the frequency of flowing the cleaning substrate 2 is limited by the number of times the rubbing cloth is used, the amount of foreign matter 7 to be described later (depending on the orientation film, the type of rubbing roll, rubbing conditions, and the cleanness of the substrate before rubbing)
To make the number of times appropriate.

Above the stage 1, an ionizer 3 for applying + or-ions 6 to the cleaning substrate 2 is provided. When, for example, + ions 6 are applied by the ionizer 3, + electric charges 5 are charged on the surface of the cleaning substrate 2.

Next, the operation of the rubbing cleaning apparatus having such a configuration will be described.

First, as shown in FIG. 1, the cleaning substrate 2 placed on the stage 1 is subjected to + or-from the ionizer 3.
Is applied to the ion 6. Here, + ions 6 are applied to the surface of the cleaning substrate 2.

Next, the cleaning substrate 2 to which the ions 6 have been applied
Is caused to flow below the rubbing roll 4 by moving the stage 1 as shown in FIG. The rubbing roll 4 has TF
Foreign matter 7 such as dust or debris generated during rubbing of the T substrate or the CF substrate is attached. Then, the cleaning substrate 2 is rubbed by the rubbing roll 4.

At this time, as shown in FIG. 3, the foreign matter 7 is cleaned by the Coulomb force between the charge 5 of the cleaning substrate 2 charged to + and the foreign matter 7 and the physical force of rubbing the cleaning substrate 2. Move to the surface of the substrate 2. As a result, the foreign matter 7 attached to the rubbing roll 4 is cleaned.

As described above, in this embodiment, the surface of the cleaning substrate 2 is charged by applying + or-ions 6 to the surface of the cleaning substrate 2 from the ionizer 3 and then the cleaning substrate 2 is removed. During the flow of the TFT substrate or the CF substrate, the surface of the charged cleaning substrate 2 was rubbed with a rubbing roll 4 at a certain frequency.

Thus, the foreign matter 7 adhered to the rubbing roll 4 can be removed by a physical force caused by rubbing against static electricity without significantly reducing the number of times the rubbing roll 4 is used.

As a result, the foreign substances 7 on the rubbing roll 4 are removed, and the rubbing of the TFT substrate or the CF substrate is processed without damaging the alignment film of the TFT substrate or the CF substrate. The display quality is improved.

[0027]

As described above, according to the rubbing cleaning device and the rubbing cleaning method according to the present invention, the ionizer disposed above the stage impinges + or-ions on the surface of the cleaning substrate to clean the substrate. Charge the surface of the substrate,
At the time of cleaning the rubbing roll, the foreign matter is moved to the surface of the cleaning substrate by the Coulomb force between the charge of the charged cleaning substrate and the foreign material attached to the rubbing roll and the physical force of rubbing the cleaning substrate. In addition, since the alignment film is prevented from being damaged during the rubbing step, the display quality of the liquid crystal display panel can be improved without increasing the manufacturing cost of the liquid crystal display panel.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing one embodiment of a rubbing cleaning device of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining the operation of the rubbing cleaning device of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining the operation of the rubbing cleaning device of FIG. 1;

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 1 stage 2 cleaning substrate 3 ionizer 4 rubbing roll 5 charge 6 ion 7 foreign matter

Claims (6)

(57) [Claims] A stage for mounting a TFT substrate, a color filter substrate, and a cleaning substrate on which an alignment film is formed; and a stage disposed above the stage, wherein + or-ions are applied to the surface of the cleaning substrate. An ionizer for charging the surface of the cleaning substrate; and a rubbing roll for performing a rubbing process on the TFT substrate and the color filter substrate. When the rubbing roll is cleaned, the charged cleaning substrate is provided. A rubbing cleaning apparatus, wherein the foreign matter is moved to the surface of the cleaning substrate by the electric charge of the substrate and the Coulomb force between the foreign matter attached to the rubbing roll and the physical force of rubbing the cleaning substrate. 2. The rubbing cleaning apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the cleaning substrate is a glass substrate. 3. The cleaning of the rubbing roll by the cleaning substrate is performed by flowing the TFT substrate and the color filter substrate at a certain frequency during the period of being flowed by the stage. A rubbing cleaning device according to item 1. 4. A first step of mounting a TFT substrate, a color filter substrate, and a cleaning substrate on which an alignment film is formed, and applying + or − ions to a surface of the cleaning substrate to perform the cleaning. A second step of charging the surface of the substrate; a third step of performing a rubbing process on the TFT substrate and the color filter substrate; and A fourth step of moving the foreign matter to the surface of the cleaning substrate by the Coulomb force between the foreign matter attached to the rubbing roll and the physical force of rubbing the cleaning substrate;
A rubbing cleaning method comprising the steps of: 5. The rubbing cleaning method according to claim 4, wherein the second step includes a step of applying + or − ions to the surface of the glass substrate. 6. The cleaning of the rubbing roll by the cleaning substrate in the fourth step by flowing the TFT substrate and the color filter substrate at a certain frequency between the rubbing rolls. The rubbing cleaning method according to claim 4, comprising a step.