JP3366292B2 - Liquid crystal display panel and method of manufacturing the same - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a liquid crystal display panel and a manufacturing method thereof, and more particularly to a liquid crystal display panel manufactured by adopting a drop injection method as a liquid crystal sealing method and a manufacturing method thereof.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A dip injection method or a drop injection method is known as a method for injecting liquid crystal into a liquid crystal display panel, but the drop injection method is superior from the viewpoint of injection speed.
A method of manufacturing a liquid crystal display panel using this dropping injection method is disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 06-194615.

In the publication, as shown in a perspective plan view in FIG. 6, a frame-shaped spacer member 41 is formed on one substrate 1 so as to surround its display area, and a sealing member is provided on the outer periphery of the other substrate 2. 3, the liquid crystal 5 having high viscosity is dropped in the center of either one of the substrates in an amount corresponding to the amount of the enclosed liquid, and the two substrates are bonded together. In such a liquid crystal display panel, the frame-shaped spacer member 41 serves to prevent the liquid crystal from contacting the uncured seal member 3 and prevents impurities from being mixed into the liquid crystal 5 from the seal member 3.

However, in such a structure, it is necessary to strictly control the amount of liquid crystal to be dropped, and the manufacturing margin is narrowed. Furthermore, looking at the liquid crystal display panel after completion, when there is a large difference in the operating environment temperature, the gap in the center of the panel changes due to the difference in thermal expansion of the enclosed liquid crystal,
This causes problems such as uneven display.

A means for dealing with such a problem is disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. Hei 1
It is disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 1-038424. In the publication, as shown in a sectional view in FIG. 7, a frame-shaped convex wall 72 is provided separately from the spacer member on the substrate 1 on the liquid crystal dropping side. Its height is kept below a predetermined cell thickness. That is, it is formed so as to have a diameter smaller than the diameter of the spherical spacer member 42 dispersed in the liquid crystal in the frame so that a minute gap (about 0.5 μm) is formed between the spherical spacer member 42 and the counter substrate 2. Then, by making the amount of the dropped liquid crystal larger than the volume of the space inside the cell and slightly smaller than the volume of the space inside the seal member 3 provided on the outer periphery, the counter substrate in vacuum. When the two are stacked, the surplus liquid crystal 5 is trapped in the space between the seal member 3 and the convex wall 72.

[0006]

However, although the manufacturing margin is widened in the above structure, a spacer member is additionally required. Furthermore, since the gap is intentionally formed,
Even after the sealing member 3 is cured, the liquid crystal 5 may come into contact with it, so it cannot be said to be perfect as a measure against contamination of the liquid crystal.

It is an object of the present invention to realize a liquid crystal display panel which prevents contamination of liquid crystal by a seal member, keeps a gap between opposed substrates constant, and can easily control an excessive amount of liquid crystal to widen a manufacturing margin. It is what

[0008]

According to the present invention, a pocket-shaped hollow region is provided in a frame-shaped spacer member that prevents the liquid crystal from being contaminated by a seal member and controls the cell gap of the panel. It is characterized in that the liquid crystal in the display area of the liquid crystal display panel is controlled to an appropriate amount by entering the area.

According to the present invention, the liquid crystal is dropped and injected between the substrates opposed to each other by disposing the spacer member outside the display area, and the seal for sealing the space between the substrates is provided on the outer wall side of the spacer. A liquid crystal display panel provided with a member, characterized in that a hollow region is provided in the spacer member, and an opening communicating with the hollow region is provided in an inner wall of the spacer member.

An excessive amount of the liquid crystal is introduced into the hollow region through the opening.
Further, a plurality of the hollow regions are provided in the spacer member.

Furthermore, the total volume of the plurality of hollow regions is larger than the volume of the spacer member.

As another aspect of the present invention, there is also obtained a liquid crystal display panel characterized in that a protruding member having a height lower than that of the spacer member is provided in a region between the spacer member and the seal member. To be

Further, according to the present invention, the step of forming a frame-shaped spacer member on one substrate of the liquid crystal display panel, the step of dropping liquid crystal inside the spacer member, and the other step of the liquid crystal display panel. In the method for manufacturing a liquid crystal display panel, the method includes a step of bonding a substrate to the one substrate so as to sandwich the spacer member and the liquid crystal, and sealing between both substrates using a seal member, in the step of forming the spacer member. A hollow region is formed in the spacer member, and an opening communicating with the hollow region is formed in the inner wall of the spacer member, thereby obtaining a liquid crystal display panel manufacturing method.

Further, before the step of sealing, a protruding member having a height lower than the height of the spacer member is provided on the other substrate side so as to be located between the spacer member and the seal member. It is also characterized by having steps.

[0015]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

An embodiment of the present invention is a plan view shown in FIG. 1 and a sectional view taken along the line AA in FIGS. 2 and BB.
A description will be given with reference to FIG. 3, which is a sectional view taken along the line.

A pair of substrate 1 and substrate 2 made of a transparent material such as a glass plate has their peripheries bonded together by a seal member 3, and a liquid crystal 5 is contained between the substrates. A spacer member 4 made of a frame-shaped insulating resin or the like is formed around the substrate 1 so as to be located inside the seal member 3. The frame-shaped spacer member 4 keeps the gap between the substrate 1 and the substrate 2 constant, and at the same time prevents the seal member 3 and the liquid crystal 5 from coming into contact with each other, so that the liquid crystal 5 is sealed by the seal member 3.
It is prevented from being polluted by. Further, the spacer member 4 is provided with a plurality of hollow regions 6 so that excess liquid crystal can enter the hollow regions 6.

As shown in FIG. 1, the hollow region 6 has a slit-shaped inlet on the inner wall surface of the spacer member 4, and has a hollow region wider inside the spacer member 4 than the inlet.

Next, an embodiment of the manufacturing method of the present invention will be described with reference to the plan view shown in FIG. 1 and the sectional views shown in FIGS. First, a spacer member 4 having a hollow portion as a hollow region 6 is formed on the substrate 1 on which TFTs and the like are formed so as to be located inside the seal member 3. As a method for forming the spacer member 4, a photosensitive resin (for example, acrylic resin) is used. The photolithography method using can be adopted. An example of dimensions of the spacer member 4 is, for example, width 0.5 mm and height 5
μm, and the volume ratio with the hollow portion forming the hollow region 6 is
The larger the hollow part is, the more effective the buffer becomes. More preferably, spacer member 4: hollow region 6 =
It is about 3: 7.

Next, on the substrate 1, the seal member 3 is formed in a frame shape by printing or coating so as to be located outside the spacer member 4. Finally, after dropping the liquid crystal 5 in the inner region of the spacer member 4 on the substrate 1, the substrate 2 is overlaid and the sealing member 3
Is cured by light or heat.

Another embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the plan view of FIG. 4 and FIG. 5 which is a sectional view taken along the line CC. The difference from the above-described embodiment is that the frame-shaped inner wall 7 is provided so as to be located between the spacer member 4 and the seal member 3. In the above-described embodiment, the substrate 2 and the spacer member 4 on which the spacer member 4 is not formed
Although they are in mechanical contact with each other, they are not bonded, so if there is a minute gap between them,
There may be a case where a minute gap is temporarily generated due to external pressure or internal pressure. At that time, the liquid crystal 5 may not pass through the gap. In such a case, there is a possibility that the seal member 3 or the adhesive portion of the seal member 3 may be contaminated and the adhesiveness and the like of the seal member 3 may be deteriorated. In the embodiment shown in FIG. The inner wall 7 having a height lower than the height is attached to the spacer member 4
If it is formed on the substrate 2 on the side not formed with the photolithography method or the like, the creepage distance for the outflow of the liquid crystal can be increased. Therefore, the liquid crystal 5 can be prevented from traveling along the substrate and contaminating the seal member 3 or the bonding portion.

The height of the inner wall 7 is made lower than that of the spacer member 4 in order not to impair the spacer function of the spacer member, and in consideration of this, if the height dimension is slightly lower than the spacer member. good. At least half the height of the spacer member or more is desirable in order to secure the creeping effect.

[0023]

According to the present invention, the spacer member 4 keeps the gap between the substrate 1 and the substrate 2 constant, and the spacer member 4 separates the seal member 3 and the liquid crystal 5, so that the liquid crystal 5 is contaminated by the seal member. Is prevented. In addition, since excess liquid crystal can enter the hollow region 6 provided in the spacer member 4, the spacer member 4 also functions as a buffer, and it is possible to maintain a constant gap between the opposite substrates and maintain high display quality. It has the effect of being able to do it.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view enlarging and displaying a part of a liquid crystal display panel according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along the line AA of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line BB of FIG.

FIG. 4 is a plan view showing a part of a liquid crystal display panel according to another embodiment of the present invention as seen through.

5 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line CC of FIG.

FIG. 6 is a plan view showing a part of a conventional liquid crystal display panel in an enlarged manner.

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view showing an enlarged view of a part of another conventional liquid crystal display panel.

[Explanation of symbols]

1, 2 substrates 3 seal members 4 Spacer members 5 liquid crystal 6 hollow area 7 internal wall

Claims (7)

(57) [Claims] 1. A liquid crystal is dropped and injected between substrates which are opposed to each other by disposing a spacer member outside the display area, and a seal member which seals between the substrates is provided on the outer wall side of the spacer. In the liquid crystal display panel, a hollow region is provided in the spacer member, and an opening communicating with the hollow region is provided in an inner wall of the spacer member. 2. The liquid crystal display panel according to claim 1, wherein an excessive amount of the liquid crystal enters into a part of the hollow region through the opening. 3. The liquid crystal display panel according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of the hollow regions are provided in the spacer member. 4. The liquid crystal display panel according to claim 3, wherein the total volume of the plurality of hollow regions is larger than the volume of the spacer member. 5. The liquid crystal display panel according to claim 1, wherein a protruding member having a height lower than that of the spacer member is provided in a region between the spacer member and the seal member. 6. A step of forming a frame-shaped spacer member on one substrate of the liquid crystal display panel, a step of dropping liquid crystal inside the spacer member, and a step of forming the other substrate of the liquid crystal display panel on the spacer member and In a method for manufacturing a liquid crystal display panel, the method including a step of bonding the liquid crystal to one of the substrates so as to sandwich the liquid crystal and sealing the both substrates with a sealing member, in the step of forming the spacer member, the spacer member is hollow. A method for manufacturing a liquid crystal display panel, which comprises forming an area and forming an opening communicating with the hollow area in an inner wall of the spacer member. 7. Before the step of sealing, a protruding member having a height lower than the height of the spacer member is provided on the other substrate side so as to be located between the spacer member and the seal member. 5. The method according to claim 4, further comprising steps.
A method for manufacturing the liquid crystal display panel described.