JP4500031B2 - Liquid member dropping device and liquid member dropping method - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an improvement of a liquid member dropping apparatus and a liquid member dropping method suitable for use in manufacturing a liquid crystal display panel.

  In the manufacture of a liquid crystal display panel, two glass substrates are bonded to one glass substrate through a sealing agent applied in a rectangular shape so as to surround the display region, and the two bonded substrates and a seal are sealed. The liquid crystal is sealed in the space formed with the agent. The liquid crystal is dropped into a region surrounded by the sealant on one substrate by a dropping device.

  In the manufacture of a conventional liquid crystal display panel, a predetermined amount of liquid crystal contained in a container is discharged from a nozzle tip and dropped onto a substrate in a dropping device, and two glass substrates are bonded together in a bonding device. The method is adopted.

  In the conventional liquid crystal dropping device, the liquid crystal is dropped while the container containing the liquid crystal and the stage on which the substrate is placed are moved relative to each other in the surface direction of the substrate. At that time, the dropping operation is performed efficiently. In order to uniformly distribute the position within the region surrounded by the sealant of the substrate, the nozzles are moved relative to the substrate at a predetermined speed while scanning the dropping positions positioned at equal intervals in advance. (For example, refer to Patent Document 1).

FIG. 9 shows a dropping pattern of the liquid crystal L on the substrate 1. Numbers (L 1, L 2,... L 20) are assigned to the dropping positions set in the region surrounded by the sealing agent 2, and The moving direction of the nozzle relative to the substrate when the liquid crystal L is dropped at the dropping position is indicated by an arrow.
JP-A-5-281562

  As described above, in a conventional liquid crystal dropping device that drops liquid crystal as a liquid member onto a substrate or the like, the substrate and the container containing the liquid crystal are relatively scanned so as to sequentially scan the dropping positions that are positioned at equal intervals in advance. The liquid crystal is dropped while moving.

  Recently, as the size of the liquid crystal display panel increases, the display area increases, and as a result, the area surrounded by the sealing agent applied to surround the display area also increases, and the number of liquid crystal dripping points also increases. Therefore, it takes a considerable time to drop the liquid crystal on one substrate surface.

  In order to improve the throughput of the liquid crystal dropping process, naturally, it is necessary to increase the relative movement speed of the nozzle with respect to the substrate in the direction indicated by the arrow in FIG.

  On the other hand, in the manufacture of a liquid crystal display panel, the total amount of liquid crystal to be dripped in the region surrounded by the sealing agent should not be excessive or deficient. Adjustment control is performed so that liquid crystal is discharged.

  By the way, when the liquid crystal is dropped from the nozzle toward the substrate surface, the liquid crystal that collides with the substrate surface rebounds and scatters in all directions.

  That is, as shown in the cross section of the main part in FIG. 10, the liquid crystal L accommodated in the container 3 is compressed gas having a predetermined pressure supplied via a supply pipe 3a connected to a compressed gas supply source (not shown). Therefore, during the opening operation of the nozzle 3b by the shaft 5 moving in the arrow Z direction by a drive source (not shown), the nozzle 3b is ejected vigorously toward the surface of the substrate 1. When the liquid crystal L ejected from the nozzle 3b collides with the substrate 1, a part of the liquid crystal bounces back and scatters in all directions as indicated by L5 in FIG.

  In a stationary state where the relative movement between the substrate 1 and the nozzle 3b is zero, the range in which the liquid crystal L scatters in all directions is the amount of liquid crystal L discharged from the nozzle 3b or from the tip of the nozzle 3b to the surface of the substrate 1. Although it varies depending on the distance, the discharge speed of the liquid crystal L discharged from the nozzle 3b, the viscosity of the liquid crystal L itself, and the like, it can be considered that these conditions fall within an almost constant scattering distance range.

  FIG. 10 schematically shows the state of dropping at the dropping position L5 among the dropping positions. Under the situation where the substrate 1 is moving relative to the nozzle 3b in the direction of the arrow R. Since the substrate 1 is relatively moved in the direction of the arrow R while the liquid crystal L bounced off the surface of the substrate 1 is in the air, the liquid crystal L bounced to the right in FIG. The scattering distance is increased by the amount of relative movement of the substrate 1 in the direction of the arrow R, compared to the liquid crystal L that has bounced back in the same direction in a stationary state where the relative movement with respect to 3b is zero. Accordingly, the scattered liquid crystal L that should fall within the distance r between the substrate 1 and the nozzle 3b in the stationary state where the relative movement between the substrate 1 and the nozzle 3b is zero is also close to the sealant 2 as shown in the figure. At the dropping position, the relative movement of the substrate 1 in the direction of arrow R may jump over the area surrounded by the sealant 2 and fall onto the surface of the substrate 1.

  The amount of the liquid crystal L that jumps out of this region increases as the relative movement speed between the substrate 1 and the nozzle 3b when the liquid crystal L is dropped is increased so as to improve the throughput of the liquid crystal dropping step. The liquid crystal L scattered outside the area surrounded by the sealant 2 not only contaminates the surface of the substrate 1 but also the amount of the liquid crystal L to be dropped into the area originally surrounded by the sealant 2. The total amount is insufficient, and there is a possibility that an appropriate display screen cannot be formed on the manufactured liquid crystal display panel.

  Therefore, the present invention provides a liquid member dropping device and a liquid member that can appropriately drop a predetermined amount of a liquid member into a predetermined region and improve product quality while preventing a reduction in throughput in the dropping step. It aims at providing the dripping method of.

  A first aspect of the liquid member dropping device according to the present invention includes a discharge port for discharging the liquid member accommodated in a container, and a stage on which the substrate is placed so as to face the discharge port, In the liquid member dropping apparatus for dropping the liquid member to a plurality of dropping positions set in a predetermined region on the substrate by relatively moving the discharge port and the stage in the surface direction of the substrate, the dropping position The liquid member is dropped during relative movement between the stage and the discharge port, and control means is provided for controlling the movement speed of the relative movement according to the dropping position. To do.

  As described above, the first aspect of the liquid member dropping apparatus changes the relative movement speed between the stage on which the substrate is placed and the discharge port that discharges the liquid member. When the vicinity of the edge of the region is reached, it is possible to suppress the liquid member from scattering outside the predetermined region by reducing the relative movement speed.

The liquid crystal member dropping apparatus according to a second aspect of the present invention includes a discharge port for discharging the liquid member accommodated in a container, and a stage on which the substrate is placed so as to face the discharge port, In the liquid member dropping apparatus for dropping the liquid member to a plurality of dropping positions set in a predetermined region on the substrate by relatively moving the discharge port and the stage in the surface direction of the substrate, the dropping position And a control means for controlling the discharge speed of the liquid member from the discharge port.

  As described above, the second invention relating to the dropping device for the liquid member has the control means for controlling the discharge speed of the liquid member from the discharge port, so that when the discharge port reaches the vicinity of the edge of the predetermined region by relative movement. By reducing the discharge speed, the liquid member can be prevented from scattering outside the predetermined region.

A third aspect of the liquid crystal member dropping device according to the present invention includes a discharge port for discharging the liquid member accommodated in a container, and a stage on which the substrate is placed so as to face the discharge port, In the liquid member dropping apparatus for dropping the liquid member to a plurality of dropping positions set in a predetermined region on the substrate by relatively moving the discharge port and the stage in the surface direction of the substrate, A vertical axis moving mechanism that makes the interval between the placed substrate and the discharge port variable, and a drive control of the vertical axis moving mechanism according to the dropping position to change the interval between the substrate and the discharge port. And a control means for controlling the operation.

  Thus, since the third invention of the liquid member dropping apparatus has the control means for changing the distance between the substrate and the discharge port, when the discharge port reaches the vicinity of the edge of the predetermined region by relative movement, By reducing the distance from the discharge port, the liquid member can be prevented from scattering outside the predetermined region.

A fourth aspect of the liquid member dropping device according to the present invention includes a discharge port for discharging the liquid member accommodated in a container, and a stage on which the substrate is placed so as to face the discharge port. In the liquid member dropping apparatus for dropping the liquid member to a plurality of dropping positions set in a predetermined region on the substrate by relatively moving the discharge port and the stage in the surface direction of the substrate, Control means for controlling the relative movement of the discharge port and the stage so that the liquid member is sequentially dropped from the edge of the predetermined area toward the center of the predetermined area with respect to the dropping position of the predetermined area. It is characterized by.

  As described above, according to the fourth aspect of the liquid member dropping apparatus, the liquid member is dropped from the edge of the predetermined region in the direction toward the center of the predetermined region, so that the liquid member is scattered outside the predetermined region. Can be suppressed.

  Next, a first aspect of the method for dropping a liquid member according to the present invention includes: a discharge port for discharging the liquid member housed in a container; and a stage on which the substrate is placed so as to face the discharge port. A liquid member dropping method for dropping a liquid member from a discharge port to a plurality of dropping positions set in a predetermined region on the substrate while relatively moving in a surface direction of the substrate, wherein the liquid member is dropped according to the dropping position. The moving speed of the relative movement is changed.

  As described above, in the first aspect of the liquid member dropping method, the movement speed of the relative movement between the stage on which the substrate is placed and the discharge port for discharging the liquid member is changed. When the vicinity of the edge is reached, it is possible to suppress the liquid member from scattering outside the predetermined region by reducing the relative movement speed.

According to a second aspect of the method for dropping a liquid crystal member according to the present invention, there is provided a discharge port for discharging the liquid member accommodated in a container and a stage on which the substrate is placed so as to face the discharge port. A liquid member dropping method in which a liquid member is dropped from a plurality of drop positions to a plurality of drop positions set in a predetermined region on a substrate by moving relative to each other in the direction, and the discharge port is set according to the drop position. discharge speed of the liquid member from, characterized in that make changing at least one of a distance between the substrate and the discharge port.

  Thus, in the second invention of the dropping method of the liquid member, at least one of the discharge speed of the liquid member from the discharge port and the interval between the substrate and the discharge port is controlled. When the vicinity of the edge is reached, it is possible to suppress the liquid member from being scattered outside the predetermined region by reducing the discharge speed or bringing the distance between the substrate and the discharge port close.

  According to a third aspect of the method for dropping a liquid crystal member according to the present invention, there is provided a discharge port for discharging the liquid member accommodated in a container and a stage on which the substrate is placed so as to face the discharge port. A liquid member dropping method in which a liquid member is dropped from a discharge port to a plurality of dropping positions set in a predetermined region on a substrate while moving relative to each other in the direction. The liquid member is sequentially dropped from the edge of the region toward the center of the predetermined region.

  As described above, according to the third aspect of the liquid member dropping method, the liquid member is dropped from the edge of the predetermined region toward the center of the predetermined region, so that the liquid member is scattered outside the predetermined region. Can be suppressed.

  Thus, according to the dropping device and the liquid member of the liquid member of the present invention, by changing the dropping conditions near the edge of the predetermined region, or by specifying the dropping movement direction, while preventing a decrease in throughput, The liquid member can be appropriately dropped in a predetermined amount within a predetermined region, and the product quality can be improved.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of a liquid member dropping device and a liquid member dropping method according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. In addition, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected to the same structure as the conventional structure shown in FIG.9 and FIG.10, and detailed description is abbreviate | omitted.

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a first embodiment of a liquid member dropping apparatus according to the present invention. 2 is an enlarged configuration diagram showing the main part of the liquid member dropping device shown in FIG. 1, FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line AA in FIG. 2, and FIG. 4 is shown in FIG. It is a block diagram of the controller as a control means.

  In FIG. 1, the dropping device 4 includes a stage 41 on which the substrate 1 is placed, a supply unit 43 that drops the liquid crystal L onto the surface of the substrate 1, and a controller 44 that drives and controls the stage 41 and the supply unit 43.

  The stage 41 has an XY-θ moving mechanism 411 driven by a servo motor or the like, and is configured to be able to move the placed substrate 1 in the XY-θ direction.

  The supply unit 43 includes a container 42 that stores liquid crystal L as a liquid member, and a box-shaped housing 431. The housing 431 includes a θ rotation mechanism 432 formed of a servo motor or the like. The θ rotation mechanism 432 receives drive control of the controller 44 and drives a rotation unit 434 described later to drive the substrate 1 on the stage 41. The liquid crystal L is discharged toward

  As shown in an enlarged view of the main part in FIG. 2, the supply unit 43 includes a take-out port 433 a that takes in the liquid crystal L supplied from the container 42, and a discharge port 433 b that has a discharge port that discharges the liquid crystal L toward the substrate 1. And a rotating part 434 in which two storage chambers 434a and 434b for temporarily storing the liquid crystal L taken in via the take-out port 433a are formed.

  The take-out port 433a and the discharge port 433b of the fixed portion 433 are provided at positions that are point targets with respect to the rotation center of the rotation portion 434 on the circumference around the rotation center of the rotation portion 434.

  The rotating unit 434 is provided in a liquid-tight manner with respect to the fixed unit 433. The two storage chambers 434a and 434b of the rotating part 434 penetrate the rotating part 434 vertically, respectively, and as shown in FIG. 3, an extraction port 433a and a discharge port 433b are arranged around the rotation center of the rotating part 434. On the circumference having the same radius as the circumference of the circle, it is provided at a position that is point-symmetric with respect to the rotation center of the rotation unit 434. As a result, when one storage chamber 434a faces the take-out port 433a, the other storage chamber 434b faces the discharge port 433b, and the liquid crystal L removal step and the liquid crystal L discharge step are simultaneously performed in parallel. Done.

  Further, the rotation part 434 is fixedly attached to the rotation axis 432a of the θ rotation mechanism 432 coaxially with the rotation center.

Although not shown in FIG. 1, the supply unit 43 loosely inserts the rotation shaft 432a around the rotation shaft 432a around the rotation shaft 432a, as shown in FIG. It is fixedly arranged. In addition, a rotating plate 436 having two guide holes 436a and 436b is provided between the cam 435 and the rotating portion 434 so as to be fixed to the rotating shaft 432a. The guide holes 436a and 436b are provided in the storage chambers 434a and 434a, respectively. It is provided at a position facing each of 434b.

  As shown in FIG. 2, between the rotating portion 434 and the cam 435, the plungers 437a and 437b are incorporated so as to freely move up and down through the guide holes 436a and 436b, and the upper ends of the plungers 437a and 437b are Since the springs 438a and 438b are biased and abut against the cam surface of the cam 435, the lower ends of the plungers 437a and 437b reciprocate vertically in the storage chambers 434a and 434b along the cam surface. I do. The springs 438a and 438b are interposed between flanges 437aa and 437ba provided above the plungers 437a and 437b and the rotating plate 436.

  The cam surface of the cam 435 moves the plungers 437a and 437b from the lower limit position to the upper limit position during the period in which the storage chambers 434a and 434b of the rotation part 434 communicate with the take-out port 433a of the fixed part 433 by driving the θ rotation mechanism 432. Formed to rise. Then, due to the upward movement of the plungers 437a and 437b at this time, the amount of liquid crystal L required for one drop is accommodated from the take-out port 433a into the storage chambers 434a and 434b.

  On the other hand, the cam surface of the cam 435 is such that the plungers 437a and 437b are lowered from the upper limit position to the lower limit position during the period in which the storage chambers 434a and 434b of the rotating part 434 communicate with the discharge port 433b of the fixed part 433. Formed. At this time, all the liquid crystals L accommodated in the storage chambers 434a and 434b are pushed out by the downward movement of the plungers 437a and 437b.

  Then, after the liquid crystal L is pushed out by the plungers 437a and 437b, as shown in FIG. 2, after the inside of the discharge port 433b is filled with the liquid crystal L, 1 is discharged from the discharge port 433b every time the plungers 437a and 437b are pushed out. The amount of liquid crystal L required for one drop is discharged and dropped onto the substrate 1. In the above configuration, a cylinder mechanism may be adopted instead of the pushing mechanism of the plungers 437a and 437b by the cam 435.

  With the above configuration, the supply unit 43 has two functions, that is, a function of taking out a predetermined amount of liquid crystal L and a discharge function of discharging the taken out predetermined amount of liquid crystal L onto the substrate 1 by the rotation of the θ rotation mechanism 432. Operates the pumping action.

  The supply unit 43 configured as described above can change the discharge speed of the liquid crystal L from the discharge port 433b by controlling the rotation speed of the θ rotation mechanism 432.

  Next, the dropping device 4 shown in FIG. 1 moves the detector 45 including a displacement sensor that detects a relative distance between the supply unit 43 and the substrate 1 on the stage 41, and the supply unit 43 up and down (Z axis). A supply unit moving mechanism 46 having a vertical axis moving function (mechanism) that can move in the direction is provided. Therefore, the controller 44 receives the supply of the distance data from the detector 45 composed of, for example, a laser displacement sensor to the surface of the substrate 1 and controls the supply unit moving mechanism 46 to control the substrate 1 and the discharge port 433b. It is possible to adjust and control the interval between the two, that is, the discharge port height.

  FIG. 4 shows the configuration of the controller 44.

  The controller 44 includes a storage unit 441, an arithmetic processing unit 442, a drive control unit 443, and a data input unit 444.

  The storage unit 441 stores the dropping pattern data of the liquid crystal L on the substrate 1 and the application pattern data of the sealant 2 on the substrate 1, and the relative relationship between the stage 41 and the discharge port 433b when the liquid crystal L is dropped. The relationship between the moving speed and the scattering distance of the liquid crystal L, the relationship between the discharging speed of the liquid crystal L discharged from the discharge port 433b and the scattering distance of the liquid crystal L, and the scattering distance of the liquid crystal L with respect to the height of the discharge port. At least one of the scattering distance data such as the relationship data between them is obtained and stored in advance based on the results of experiments and the like.

  Further, the data input unit 444 is configured to input the liquid crystal L dropping pattern data, the coating pattern data of the sealant 2, and the like.

  Therefore, the arithmetic processing unit 442 calculates the scattering distance of the liquid crystal L at each dropping position based on the dropping pattern data of the liquid crystal L, the application pattern data of the sealant 2, and the scattering distance data stored in the storage unit 441. This calculation will be described later.

  FIG. 5 shows a dropping pattern of the liquid crystal L on the substrate 1 stored in the storage unit 441 in the first embodiment.

  In FIG. 5, L1, L2,... L20 with 20 dropping points are arranged at equal intervals, L1 indicates the first dropping position, L20 indicates the last dropping position, and the discharge port 433b in the direction indicated by the arrow from L1. Move relative to the substrate 1 sequentially (in this embodiment, the substrate 1, that is, the stage 41 moves in the X and Y directions, and the discharge port 433 b is fixed in the X and Y directions). The liquid crystal L is dripped.

  That is, the controller 44 reads the position information of the stage 41 from the encoder output of the servo motor that constitutes each drive unit of the XY-θ moving mechanism 411, and the discharge port 433b of the supply unit 43 is taught in advance. It controls so that each dripping position L1, L2, ... L20 on the board | substrate 1 may be passed sequentially. Then, the controller 44 passes through the predetermined dropping positions L1, L2,... L20 through the discharge port 433b, and the liquid crystal L in the storage chambers 434a and 434b is moved to the plungers 437a, 434a at a timing earlier than the passing timing. The θ rotation mechanism 432 is controlled such that the liquid crystal L is discharged from the discharge port 433b by 437b and dropped at a predetermined dropping position. The timing at which the liquid crystal L is discharged from the discharge port 433b can be calculated from the moving speed of the XY-θ moving mechanism 411, the discharge speed of the liquid crystal L from the discharge port 433b, and the discharge port height.

Here, the liquid crystal L is dropped at each dropping position L1, L2,... L20 for each row along the long side direction of the substrate 1, but the movement of the discharge port 433b with respect to the stage 41 for each row. The direction is referred to as “dropping movement direction”. In the case of FIG. 5, the dropping movement direction is the opposite direction between adjacent rows.

At the start of the dropping operation by the controller 44, the controller 44 recognizes the positioning mark of the substrate 1 in advance, detects the positional deviation of the substrate 1 on the stage 41 , and corrects the detected positional deviation of the substrate 1. Thus, the XY-θ moving mechanism 411 is controlled so that the discharge port 433b is positioned at the dropping start position on the substrate 1 (or the standby position at the start of dropping).

  Therefore, in the first embodiment, the controller 44 drops the liquid crystal L onto the surface of the substrate 1 while sequentially moving the discharge port 433b relative to the substrate 1 in the direction of the arrow in the dropping pattern shown in FIG. The distance range of the liquid crystal L that is dropped and scattered is calculated by calculation, and the moving speed of the relative movement between the stage 41 and the discharge port 433b is controlled so that the liquid crystal L does not splash outside the area surrounded by the sealant 2 To do.

In addition, in each Example described below including this 1st Example, as the dropping pattern data, the dropping position of the liquid crystal L with respect to the substrate 1 is a dropping point of 20 (4 × 5) as described above. Based on the position L1, 4 columns are input at 15mm intervals on the left side in the X direction and 5 rows are input at 20mm intervals on the upper side in the Y direction, and discharged from the discharge port 433b by pushing the plungers 437a and 437b once. It is assumed that the dropping condition is obtained by inputting data that the amount of the liquid crystal L is 2 mg / dot . Here, the dropping position L1 with respect to the substrate 1 is set to a position where the separation distance to the side at the dropping position adjacent to the side of the sealing agent 2 applied on the substrate 1 is equal, respectively. In the embodiment, it is 8 mm.

  In the first embodiment, in the storage unit 441 of the controller 44, the amount of liquid crystal L ejected from the ejection port 433b is 2 mg / dot and the ejection speed of the liquid crystal L from the ejection port 433b is the scattering distance data. When the movement speed is 50 mm / S, 100 mm / S, and 200 mm / S, the relationship between the relative movement speed of the substrate 1 and the discharge port 433b and the scattering distance of the liquid crystal L in the dropping movement direction is Assume that data indicating that the scattering distance is within 5 mm, within 10 mm, and within 20 mm is stored in advance. Note that the scattering distance data may be obtained in advance by experiments or the like.

  The controller 44 moves XY-θ so that the liquid crystal L does not scatter outside the area surrounded by the sealant 2 based on the dropping pattern data, application pattern data, and scattering distance data stored in the storage unit 441. A control condition for the mechanism 411 is calculated by calculation.

  In other words, the arithmetic processing unit 442 of the controller 44 obtains, for each dropping position, the moving speed of the relative movement between the stage 41 and the discharge port 433b where the liquid crystal L is not scattered outside the area surrounded by the sealant 2 by calculation. Then, the controller 44 sets the obtained moving speed as a relative moving speed between the stage 41 and the discharge port 433b at the dropping position. In this embodiment, the relative moving speed at the dropping positions L5, L10, L15, and L20, that is, the moving speed of the XY-θ moving mechanism 411 is set to a low speed of 50 mm / S, and 200 mm / s at the other dropping positions. S is set to a high speed.

  In the above description, it has been described that the relative movement between the stage 41 and the discharge port 433b is performed by the XY-θ movement mechanism 411. However, the relative movement operation may be performed by movement on the supply unit 43 side. Alternatively, both may cooperate. Furthermore, the number of storage rooms is not limited to two and may be three or more.

  FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the procedure of the dropping step in the first embodiment described above.

  First, an operator inputs dripping pattern data, application pattern data, and scattering distance data from the data input unit 444 and stores them in the storage unit 441 (step 6A).

  Next, the arithmetic processing unit 442 calculates the relative movement speed between the stage 41 and the discharge port 433b at each dropping position based on the dropping pattern data, the coating pattern data, and the scattering distance data (Step 6B).

  After step 6B, the controller 44 moves the discharge port 433b to the dropping start position (step 6C), and then the liquid crystal L with respect to each dropping position L1, L2,... L20 according to the relative movement speed obtained by calculation. The XY-θ moving device 411 and the θ rotating mechanism 432 are controlled so as to execute the dropping (step 6D).

  Sequentially, the liquid crystal L is dropped on the dropping positions L1, L2,... L20 in the order indicated by the arrows in FIG. 5, and this operation is repeated until the final dropping position L20 is reached. After reaching (step 6E), the process ends.

As described above, in the first embodiment, the relative movement between the stage 41 and the discharge port 433b is performed when the liquid crystal L is dropped onto the dropping positions L1, L2,... L20 set on the substrate 1. The stage 41 and the discharge port at the dropping positions L5, L10, L15, and L20 where the moving speed changes, that is, the liquid crystal L that collides with the substrate 1 and scatters in the dropping movement direction may jump over the area surrounded by the sealant 2 Since the moving speed of the relative movement with respect to 433b is set to a low speed (50 mm / S), the liquid crystal L that collides with the substrate 1 and scatters in the dropping movement direction is prevented or avoided from being applied, It is possible to prevent a shortage of the total amount of the liquid crystal L to be dropped in the region surrounded by the sealant 2. Thereby, the display defect of the manufactured liquid crystal display panel caused by the shortage of the liquid crystal L can be reduced, and the product quality can be improved.

  Further, the relative movement between the stage 41 and the discharge port 433b at the dropping positions L5, L10, L15, and L20 where the liquid crystal L that collides with the substrate 1 and is scattered in the dropping movement direction may jump over the area surrounded by the sealant 2 The speed is low (50 mm / S), and the relative movement speed is high (200 mm / S) at other dropping positions where the liquid crystal L scattered in the dropping movement direction is unlikely to jump over the area surrounded by the sealant 2. Therefore, the relative movement speed between the stage 41 and the discharge port 433b when the liquid crystal L is dropped can be reduced as much as possible, and the reduction of the throughput in the dropping process of the liquid crystal L can be prevented.

  In this embodiment, the scattering distance of the liquid crystal L is obtained for each dropping position, and the moving speed of the XY-θ moving mechanism 411 suitable for each dropping position, that is, the relative moving speed between the stage 41 and the discharge port 433b. However, the movement speed of the XY-θ movement mechanism 411 when the liquid crystal L is dropped is set in advance to a maximum movement speed, for example, 200 mm / S, and scattered in the dropping movement direction. The moving speed of the XY-θ moving mechanism 411 at the dropping position where the liquid crystal L may be scattered outside the area surrounded by the sealant 2 may be controlled to be appropriately reduced.

  In the second embodiment, by changing the discharge speed of the liquid crystal L from the discharge port 433b, the liquid crystal L is prevented from scattering out of the region surrounded by the sealant 2. Compared with the first embodiment, the controller 44 only differs in the control of the discharge speed of the liquid crystal L from the discharge port 433b in the controller 44, and the other points are common. Only the differences will be described below.

  In the second embodiment, the controller 44 considers the range of the liquid crystal L that is dropped and scattered when the liquid crystal L is dropped on the surface of the substrate 1 while sequentially moving in the direction of the arrow in the dropping pattern shown in FIG. Then, the ejection speed of the liquid crystal L ejected from the ejection port 433b is controlled in accordance with the dropping position of the liquid crystal L on the substrate 1. The discharge speed of the liquid crystal L is changed by controlling the rotation speed of the θ rotation mechanism 432.

  In the second embodiment, in the storage unit 441, when the amount of the liquid crystal L discharged from the discharge port 433b is 2 mg / dot, the discharge speed of the liquid crystal L discharged from the discharge port 433b is stored in the storage unit 441. Regarding the relationship with the scattering distance to the periphery of the liquid crystal L, when the discharge speed is 10 mm / S, 20 mm / S, and 40 mm / S, data indicating that the scattering distance is within 5 mm, within 10 mm, and within 20 mm, respectively, is stored in advance. It is assumed that Note that the scattering distance data may be obtained in advance by experiments or the like.

  The controller 44 controls the θ rotation mechanism 432 so that the liquid crystal L does not scatter outside the area surrounded by the sealant 2 based on the dropping pattern data, application pattern data, and scattering distance data stored in the storage unit 441. The condition is calculated by calculation.

  In other words, the calculation processing unit 442 of the controller 44 calculates the discharge speed of the liquid crystal L from the discharge port 433b where the liquid crystal L does not scatter outside the area surrounded by the sealant 2 for each dropping position. And the controller 44 sets the discharge speed calculated | required by calculation as the discharge speed of the liquid crystal L in the dripping position. In this embodiment, the discharge speed at the dropping positions L1, L2, L3, L4, L5, L6, L10, L11, L15, L16, L17, L18, L19, and L20 adjacent to the sealant 2 is as low as 10 mm / S. The discharge speed at the other dropping positions is set to a high speed of 40 mm / S.

  The dropping process in the second embodiment is also in accordance with the procedure shown in FIG. 6, and only the point of step 6B is different as described above.

  Also in the second embodiment, the dropping positions L1, L2, L3, L4, L5, L6, L10, and L11 at which the liquid crystal L that collides and scatters on the substrate 1 may jump over the area surrounded by the sealant 2 are present. , L15, L16, L17, L18, L19, and L20, the discharge speed of the liquid crystal L from the discharge port 433b is set to a low speed (10 mm / S). Exceeding the agent 2 is suppressed or avoided, and as in the first embodiment, the shortage of the total amount of the liquid crystal L to be dropped in the region surrounded by the sealant 2 can be prevented. Quality can be improved.

  In addition, the dropping positions L1, L2, L3, L4, L5, L6, L10, L11, L15, L16, L17, where the liquid crystal L that collides with the substrate 1 and scatters may jump over the area surrounded by the sealant 2. Since the discharge speed of the liquid crystal L from the discharge port 433b is set to a low speed (10 mm / S) in L18, L19, and L20, the scattering distance of the liquid crystal L at the dropping position close to the sealant 2 can be shortened. Even at the dropping position close to the sealant 2, the liquid crystal L can be dropped without reducing the relative movement speed between the stage 41 and the discharge port 433b. In this case, it is possible to prevent a reduction in throughput in the dropping process of the liquid crystal L.

  In this embodiment, the liquid crystal L may be dropped at each dropping position during the relative movement between the stage 41 and the discharge port 433b or may be performed in a stationary state where the relative movement is zero.

  In the third embodiment, the controller 44 controls the supply unit moving mechanism 46, which is a vertical axis moving mechanism, on the basis of the detection data from the detector 45, and between the substrate 1 and the discharge port of the discharge port 433b. By changing the distance, that is, the height of the discharge port, the liquid crystal L is prevented from splashing out of the region surrounded by the sealant 2. That is, the liquid crystal L is pushed out from the discharge port 433b while receiving the pressing force by the plungers 437a and 437b. Therefore, although the size varies depending on the discharge amount and discharge speed of the liquid crystal L, the liquid crystal L is discharged from the discharge port 433b and is discharged from the plunger 437a, When the pressure received from 437b or the like is released, a part of the pressure scatters toward the periphery as shown by an arrow S in FIG. In this embodiment, the height of the discharge port is changed so that the liquid crystal L reaches the substrate 1 before the spread of the scattered liquid crystal becomes large.

  In the third embodiment, in the storage unit 441, as the scattering distance data, when the amount of the liquid crystal L discharged from the discharge port 433b is 2 mg / dot, the height of the discharge port and the scattering distance to the periphery of the liquid crystal L are stored. It is assumed that when the discharge port height is 3 mm, 5 mm, and 10 mm, data indicating that the scattering distance is within 5 mm, within 10 mm, and within 20 mm, respectively, is stored in advance. Note that the scattering distance data may be obtained in advance by experiments or the like.

  Based on the drop pattern data, application pattern data, and scattering distance data stored in the storage unit 441, the controller 44 controls the supply unit moving mechanism 46 for preventing the liquid crystal L from scattering outside the area surrounded by the sealant 2. The control condition is calculated by calculation.

  That is, the arithmetic processing unit 442 of the controller 44 obtains, for each dropping position, a discharge port height at which the liquid crystal L does not scatter outside the area surrounded by the sealant 2 by calculation. And the controller 44 sets the discharge port height calculated | required by calculation as a discharge port height in the dripping position. In this embodiment, on the basis of the calculation result, at the dropping positions L1, L2, L3, L4, L5, L6, L10, L11, L15, L16, L17, L18, L19, L20 adjacent to the sealing agent 2, The height is set to 3 mm, and the discharge port height at other dropping positions is set to 10 mm.

  The dropping process in the third embodiment is also in accordance with the procedure shown in FIG. 6, and only the point of step 6B is different as described above.

  Also in the third embodiment, the dropping positions L1, L2, L3, L4, L5, L6, L10, and L11 at which the liquid crystal L that collides and scatters on the substrate 1 may jump over the area surrounded by the sealant 2 are present. , L15, L16, L17, L18, L19, and L20, the discharge port height is as low as 3 mm, so that the liquid crystal L scattered around when discharged from the discharge port 433b exceeds the sealant 2 to which the liquid crystal L is applied. This is suppressed or avoided, and as in the first embodiment described above, it is possible to prevent a shortage of the total amount of liquid crystal L to be dropped in the region surrounded by the sealant 2, thereby improving the product quality. be able to.

  Further, the dropping positions L1, L2, L3, L4, L5, L6, L10, L11, L15, L16, where the liquid crystal L that collides with the substrate 1 and scatters may jump over the area surrounded by the sealant 2; Since the discharge port height is made lower than other dropping positions at L17, L18, L19, and L20, the scattering distance to the periphery of the liquid crystal L at the dropping position close to the sealing agent 2 can be kept short. Even at the dropping position close to the agent 2, the liquid crystal L can be dropped without reducing the relative movement speed between the stage 41 and the discharge port 433b. In this case, it is possible to prevent a reduction in throughput in the dropping process of the liquid crystal L.

  In this embodiment, the liquid crystal L may be dropped at each dropping position during the relative movement between the stage 41 and the discharge port 433b or may be performed in a stationary state where the relative movement is zero.

  Unlike the first to third embodiments, the fourth embodiment limits the dropping movement direction to a specific direction, and the controller 44 uses the substrate 1 in the dropping pattern shown in FIG. The liquid crystal L is dropped at each dropping position provided on the substrate 1 while sequentially moving the discharge port 433b in the direction of the arrow.

  That is, as indicated by an arrow from the edge of the region surrounded by the sealing agent 2, that is, the dropping position located near the sealing agent 2 with respect to three or more dropping positions provided on the substrate 1. Then, the XY-θ moving mechanism 411 is controlled so as to drop sequentially to the dropping position located on the center side of the region surrounded by the sealant 2.

  Thus, in the fourth embodiment, the controller 44 directs the liquid crystal L from the side close to the sealing agent 2 toward the center of the region surrounded by the sealing agent 2 for each dropping position on the substrate 1. Since the liquid is dropped, the liquid crystal L that collides with the substrate 1 and scatters in the dropping movement direction due to the considerable distance between each dropping position and the sealing agent 2 facing in the dropping movement direction. It is possible to suppress or avoid scattering outside the region surrounded by. Thereby, the display defect of the manufactured liquid crystal display panel caused by the shortage of the liquid crystal L can be reduced, and the product quality can be improved.

  In addition, since the liquid crystal L is dropped from the side close to the sealing agent 2 toward the center side of the region surrounded by the sealing agent 2 with respect to each dropping position on the substrate 1, the dropping movement direction with respect to each dropping position. The liquid crystal L is sealed without reducing the relative movement speed between the stage 41 and the discharge port 433b when the liquid crystal L is dropped at each dropping position. There is no risk of jumping over the area surrounded by the agent 2, and it is possible to avoid a reduction in throughput in the dropping step of the liquid crystal L accompanying a reduction in the relative movement speed between the stage 41 and the discharge port 433b.

  In the fourth embodiment, the example in which three or more dropping positions are provided in the region surrounded by the sealing agent 2 on the substrate 1 has been described. The liquid crystal L is dropped from the side close to the sealing agent 2 toward the center side of the region surrounded by the sealing agent 2 with respect to a plurality of dropping positions provided in the region surrounded by the sealing agent 2 on 1. The stage 41 and the discharge port 433b may be moved relative to each other.

  In each of the above embodiments, it has been described that the dropping amount of the liquid crystal L is constant. However, the supply unit 43 may be configured so that the dropping amount can be varied.

  FIG. 8 shows a configuration of a main part of the supply unit 43 that can appropriately adjust the dropping amount.

  That is, the supply unit 43 shown in FIG. 8 includes a stopper 439 that regulates the upper limit position of the vertical stroke of the plungers 437a and 437b in order to control the discharge amount of the liquid crystal L per one time.

  The stopper 439 is sandwiched between upper and lower rollers 4393 and 4394 provided on an elevating block 4392 that is screwed into a feed screw that is rotationally driven by a servo motor 4391 driven by a controller 43 and controlled to be raised and lowered to an appropriate position. The setting can be changed to a desired upper limit restriction position along the axis (vertical) direction of the rotation shaft 432a.

Accordingly, the stopper 439 can rotate around the rotation shaft 432a together with the rotation portion 434, and the hole 439 through which the cam followers (followers) of the plungers 437a and 437b can be inserted.
a includes a stopper portion 439b and a head flange 437a of the plungers 437a and 437b.
By abutting a and 437ba with the stopper portion 439b, the plungers 437a and 4437
The upper limit position of 37b is regulated, and the storage room 434 corresponding to the plungers 437a and 437b.
The amount of liquid crystal L taken out to a, and thus the amount of liquid crystal L discharged from the storage chamber 434b, can be changed.

  By controlling the discharge amount of the liquid crystal L to appropriately change the discharge amount of the liquid crystal L per time, an optimal dropping pattern for obtaining a uniform spread of the liquid crystal L can be easily obtained. In addition, the number of times the liquid crystal L is dropped per dropping position is not limited to one, and may be a plurality of times.

  Further, in each of the above embodiments, each of the embodiments has been described individually. However, two or more of the above embodiments may be appropriately combined. For example, the control of the relative movement speed between the stage 41 and the discharge port 433b of the first embodiment and the control of the discharge speed of the liquid crystal L from the discharge port 433b of the second embodiment, or the discharge port of the third embodiment You may combine with height control. Further, the control of the second embodiment and the control of the third embodiment may be combined. Further, the control of the dropping movement direction of the fourth embodiment and the control of the second embodiment or the control of the third embodiment may be combined. Furthermore, all the controls of the first to third embodiments may be combined, or all the controls of the second to fourth embodiments may be combined.

  Further, in each of the above embodiments, by providing a plurality of dropping devices 4 and using the plurality of dropping devices 4 at the same time, the throughput time of the dropping step can be further shortened.

  Further, in each of the above embodiments, the description has been given on the assumption that the dropping position interval is constant. However, the dropping position interval is appropriately changed depending on the position, and the embodiments of each embodiment are appropriately selected and combined to perform more appropriate dropping. It can also be configured to perform efficient dripping.

  Further, although the example in which the supply unit 43 includes a mechanism that pushes and discharges the liquid crystal by the plunger has been described, another mechanism, for example, a mechanism that includes a mechanism that discharges the liquid crystal by an ink jet method may be used.

  In addition, the area surrounded by the sealant has been described as the predetermined area. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the entire substrate surface may be set as the predetermined area, or a plurality of areas may be set on one substrate, and each of the predetermined areas It is also good.

  In addition, in FIG. 5, the liquid crystal L has been described as an example in which the liquid crystal L is dropped while returning the dropping movement direction for each row along the long side direction of the substrate 1 at each dropping position. If each is converted and dropped into a spiral shape, that is, with reference to FIG. 5, L1, L2, L3, L4, L5, L6, L15, L16, L17, L18, L19, L20, L11, L10, L9, L8, You may make it drip in order of L7, L14, L13, and L12.

  Moreover, although the liquid member was demonstrated in the example of the liquid crystal, it is not restricted to this, For example, a paste-form adhesive agent may be sufficient.

It is a block diagram which shows the 1st Example of the dripping apparatus of the liquid member by this invention. It is the block diagram which expanded and showed the principal part of the dripping apparatus of the liquid member shown in FIG. It is AA arrow sectional drawing of FIG. It is a block diagram of the controller as a control means shown in FIG. It is a dripping pattern figure of the liquid member dripped with the apparatus shown in FIG. It is the flowchart which showed the procedure of the dripping process in a 1st Example. It is a dripping pattern figure of the liquid member dripped in 4th Example of the dripping apparatus of the liquid member by this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the other example of the supply part shown in FIG. It is a dripping pattern figure for demonstrating the dripping operation | movement of the conventional liquid dripping apparatus. It is a principal part enlarged view of the conventional liquid dripping apparatus dripped with the dripping pattern shown in FIG.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Substrate 2 Sealing agent 4 Dropping device 41 Stage 411 XY-θ moving mechanism 42 Container 43 Supply unit 432 θ rotating mechanism 432a Rotating shaft 433 Fixed portion 433a Extraction port 433b Discharge port 434 Rotating portions 434a, 434b Storage chamber (discharge port) )
435 Cam 436 Rotating plate 436a, 436b Guide hole 437a, 437b Plunger 438a, 438b Spring 439 Stopper 44 Controller (control means)
441 Storage unit 442 Operation processing unit 443 Drive control unit 444 Data input unit 45 Detector 46 Supply unit moving mechanism (vertical axis moving mechanism)
L Liquid crystal (liquid material)

Claims (6)

A discharge port for discharging the liquid member contained in the container; and a stage on which the substrate is placed so as to be opposed to the discharge port, and the discharge port and the stage are relatively moved in the surface direction of the substrate. By this, in the dropping device of the liquid member that drops the liquid member to a plurality of dropping positions set in a predetermined region surrounded by the rectangular sealant applied on the substrate,
A controller that controls the liquid member to drop while the relative movement of the stage and the discharge port with respect to the dropping position, and to change the moving speed of the relative movement according to the dropping position;
The control means is configured such that the moving speed at a dropping position closer to the sealant facing the direction of dropping movement of the discharge port with respect to the stage within the predetermined region is slower than the moving speed at other dropping positions. An apparatus for dropping a liquid member, wherein A discharge port for discharging the liquid member contained in the container; and a stage on which the substrate is placed so as to be opposed to the discharge port, and the discharge port and the stage are relatively moved in the surface direction of the substrate. By this, in the dropping device of the liquid member that drops the liquid member to a plurality of dropping positions set in a predetermined region surrounded by the rectangular sealant applied on the substrate,
According to the dropping position, comprising a control means for controlling the discharge speed of the liquid member from the discharge port,
The control means controls the liquid member dropping device to control the discharge speed at the dropping position closer to the sealant in the predetermined region to be slower than the discharging speed at other dropping positions. . A discharge port for discharging the liquid member contained in the container; and a stage on which the substrate is placed so as to be opposed to the discharge port, and the discharge port and the stage are relatively moved in the surface direction of the substrate. By this, in the dropping device of the liquid member that drops the liquid member to a plurality of dropping positions set in a predetermined region surrounded by the rectangular sealant applied on the substrate,
A vertical axis moving mechanism capable of varying a distance between the substrate placed on the stage and the discharge port;
Control means for driving and controlling the vertical axis moving mechanism according to the dropping position to change the interval between the substrate and the discharge port;
The control means is configured such that the interval between the stage and the discharge port at a dropping position closer to the sealant in the predetermined region is narrower than the interval between the stage and the discharge port at another dropping position. An apparatus for dropping a liquid member, wherein While the stage to the discharge port of the discharge port Toko for discharging liquid member contained in the container disposed opposite the substrate is placed is relatively moved in the plane direction of the substrate, the discharge on the substrate a liquid member from the port A liquid member dropping method for dropping to a plurality of dropping positions set in a predetermined region surrounded by a rectangular sealant applied to
The moving speed of the relative movement is changed so as to be slower than other dropping positions at a dropping position closer to the sealant facing the direction of dropping movement of the discharge port with respect to the stage within the predetermined region. A dropping method of the liquid member. And a and a discharge port for discharging liquid member contained in the container and this is disposed opposite to the discharge port stage mounted with the substrate are relatively moved in the plane direction of the substrate, the discharge on the substrate a liquid member from the port A liquid member dropping method for dropping to a plurality of dropping positions set in a predetermined region surrounded by a rectangular sealant applied to
The discharge speed of the liquid member from the discharge port, dripping of liquid member, wherein a dropping position closer to the sealant that put in a predetermined area, wherein the changing to be lower than the other dropping position Method. A discharge port that discharges the liquid member contained in the container and a stage on which the substrate is placed so as to face the discharge port are relatively moved in the surface direction of the substrate, and the liquid member is placed on the substrate from the discharge port. A liquid member dropping method for dropping to a plurality of dropping positions set in a predetermined region surrounded by a rectangular sealant applied to
The liquid member dropping method, wherein the distance between the substrate and the discharge port is changed to be narrower than the other dropping positions at a dropping position closer to the sealant in the predetermined region.

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