JP4634121B2 - Color filter defect correction method - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a method for repairing a defect portion such as a white defect in a color filter for liquid crystal display.

In the process of manufacturing a liquid crystal color filter, a so-called white defect may occur in a black matrix or RGB pixel pattern due to a transfer failure or transfer failure due to contamination of foreign matter, and this improves the product yield. It is necessary to apply and correct an appropriate amount of filter coloring ink in the defective portion. Conventionally, a method of supplying the color filter correcting liquid dropwise from above the surface to be corrected using an inkjet or a dispenser (Patent Document 1) In addition to Patent Document 2), a method of discharging the ink from the nozzle while the tip of the nozzle of the dispenser is in contact with the defective portion of the filter (Patent Document 3) is used.
JP-A-8-292121 JP-A-6-106111 JP-A-6-109914

  However, in the above-described conventional method using an ink jet (Patent Document 1), a correction liquid having a low viscosity containing a volatile solvent is used to prevent the nozzle from being clogged. In addition to the problem that the thickness of the applied correction liquid is thinned due to spreading on the surface and the white defect cannot be sufficiently repaired, the use of a high-viscosity color filter correction liquid leads to the supply amount of the same liquid There was a problem that it became difficult to control.

  In the method of supplying the color filter correcting liquid by separating the nozzle of the dispenser from the surface to be corrected of the color filter (Patent Document 2), the correcting liquid crawls up to the outer periphery of the nozzle tip and enters a droplet state. Therefore, in addition to the problem that it is difficult to supply the correct amount of the correction liquid to the surface to be corrected of the color filter, there is a problem that the correction liquid in the droplet state is solidified and the nozzle is blocked. there were.

In the method of supplying the color filter correcting liquid by bringing the nozzle tip of the dispenser into contact with the surface to be corrected (Patent Document 3), the glass on the surface to be corrected of the color filter is damaged by the contact. In order to prevent this, there is a problem that a complicated buffer mechanism is required and the apparatus becomes complicated.
In addition, the coloring liquid crawls up to the outer periphery of the nozzle tip and solidifies in the form of droplets, and the nozzle is blocked. There is a problem that the positioning accuracy changes with time.

  In order to address such problems, the present invention provides a method for accurately supplying the color filter correcting ink to the corrected surface of the color filter without any trouble when correcting the corrected surface of the color filter. The issue is to provide.

To solve the problems described above, defect correction method of the color filter of the present invention, the tip outer periphery of a nozzle of a dispenser incorporating the ultraviolet curable color filter repair ink, droplets of advance the ink form After that, the tip of the nozzle is brought into contact with the surface to be corrected of the color filter so that the contact angle becomes an acute angle, and then the ink is covered from the nozzle so that at least the end portion of the nozzle is covered with the ink. The surface to be corrected is supplied to the surface to be corrected, and the surface to be corrected is corrected by irradiating the ink thus supplied with ultraviolet rays to cure the ink .

According to defect correction method for a color filter of the present invention, the tip portion outer periphery of the nozzle of the dispenser with a built-in UV-curable fixes ink color filters, after forming the droplets in advance the correction ink, wherein contact angle tip to the balancing plane of the filter of the nozzle of the dispenser is brought into contact such that an acute angle, then, the ink tip portion the correction of at least the nozzles of the corrective ink from the nozzle of the dispenser to be supplied to the object to be modified surface to be covered by, so an excellent effect that the corrective ink can be accurately supplied.

Moreover, since the use of ultraviolet curable color filter colored inks, be formed droplets up the ink creeps from the nozzle tip of the dispenser, for the droplets do not solidify in the nozzle tip outer peripheral surface, The nozzle tip can be brought into direct contact with the surface to be corrected, and the liquid droplets function as a cushioning material at that time (FIG. 4a), thereby producing an excellent effect of preventing the surface to be corrected from being damaged.

  Then, when the nozzle is brought into contact with the surface to be corrected so that the contact angle is acute with respect to the surface to be corrected, the nozzle is slightly bent, and an impact is generated when the nozzle and the surface to be corrected come into contact. When the nozzle is absorbed and the tip of the nozzle is bent, the tip of the nozzle moves slightly along the surface to be corrected (in the direction of the arrow in FIG. 4b). At that time, the correction formed in advance at the tip of the nozzle is performed. The ink droplets function as a lubricant (FIG. 4b), and have an excellent effect of not causing scratches on the surface to be corrected by the nozzle tip.

  Further, the correction ink is supplied from the nozzle of the dispenser to the surface to be corrected so that at least the tip portion of the nozzle is covered with the correction ink, thereby separating the nozzle tip from the surface to be corrected. At this time, since the liquid droplets at the tip of the nozzle are maintained, the above-described excellent effect can be achieved when a new surface to be corrected is corrected.

Then, in addition to the above excellent effects, when the ink is to be free of volatile solvent, the volume of the ink of shrinkage is small when said ink supplied to the modified surface is UV cured, The thickness of the ink can be increased, and an excellent effect that white defects can be sufficiently repaired can be expected .

  After the ink droplets are formed in advance on the outer periphery of the tip of the nozzle of the dispenser that contains the UV-curable color filter coloring ink that does not contain a volatile solvent, in order to accurately and easily perform defects in the color filter. The tip of the nozzle is brought into contact with the surface to be corrected so that the contact angle is an acute angle, and then the ink is applied from the nozzle so that at least the end portion of the nozzle is covered with the ink. An operation to supply the correction surface is performed.

Hereinafter, the defect correction method for a color filter according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
First, an apparatus according to a color filter defect correcting method of an embodiment of the present invention will be described. As shown in FIG. 1, the defect correcting apparatus 1 is a table on which a color filter (hereinafter simply referred to as “workpiece”) 2 is placed. 3 and a moving means 4 for moving the table 3 in the X direction and the Y direction (direction perpendicular to the paper surface), an objective lens 5 provided opposite to the work 2, and an objective lens 5 On the optical axis L, a half mirror 6A, an imaging lens 7, a half mirror 6B, a variable slit 8, and a laser irradiator 9A having an open / close switch (not shown) are provided. The laser irradiator 9A having a built-in open / close switch (not shown) is electrically connected to the control device 17.

  The laser light emitted from the laser irradiator 9A is shaped into a predetermined shape by the variable slit 8, and is then applied to the surface to be corrected of the workpiece 2. The surface to be corrected is trimmed into the predetermined shape. (See FIGS. 5 and 6).

Further, a deflection mirror 6C for deflecting the optical axis L1 to the optical axis L2 is provided on the optical axis L1 branched from the optical axis L by the half mirror 6B, and photographing means is provided on the optical axis L2. The CCD camera 11 is provided.
The CCD camera 11 is electrically connected to the display device 12, and an image captured by the CCD camera 11 is displayed on the display device 12.

A half mirror 10 that branches a part of the optical axis L3 is provided on the optical axis L3 branched from the optical axis L by the half mirror 6A, and the optical axis branched from the optical axis L3 by the half mirror 10 On the optical axis of L4, there is provided illumination means 9C for irradiating a predetermined area including the intersection point a of the optical axis L and the workpiece 2 on the optical axis L3 transmitted through the half mirror 10. An ultraviolet irradiator 9B that irradiates ultraviolet rays for curing the correction ink is provided.
The ultraviolet irradiator 9B has a built-in shutter (not shown), and the ultraviolet irradiator 9B and the illumination means 9C are electrically connected to the control device 17.

Further, a nozzle 13 of the dispenser is provided in the vicinity of the intersection point a so that the contact angle θ is an acute angle, and the nozzle 13 is moved with respect to the workpiece 2 by the moving means (not shown) of the nozzle 13 of the dispenser. It can be approached and separated along the arrow β direction.

  The nozzle 13 of the dispenser is preliminarily filled with a correction ink 22 (for example, a liquid containing a pigment not containing a volatile solvent, a dispersant, an ultraviolet initiator, and an ultraviolet curable resin). The other end is connected to the compressed air production machine 16 via a conduit 14, an on-off valve 15 and a pressure control valve 18, and the moving means of the nozzle 13 of the dispenser, the on-off valve 15 and the pressure control valve 18 are connected. And the compressed air production machine 16 are electrically connected to the control device 17, respectively.

  An external input device 19 is electrically connected to the control device 17. By the external input device 19, the moving amount of the moving means of the nozzle 13 of the dispenser, the opening / closing time and the number of opening / closing times of the opening / closing valve 15, the pressure adjusting valve 18. The set pressure can be changed freely.

Next, the defect correction method of the color filter of the present invention implemented by the defect correction apparatus 1 will be described together with the operation of the defect correction apparatus 1 having the above configuration with reference to FIGS.
The workpiece 2 is placed on the table 3, and the surface to be corrected is set immediately below the optical axis L of the objective lens 5 by the moving means 4 (step 1). At that time, the illumination means 9C is activated, and the switch of the laser irradiator 9A and the shutter for opening / closing of the ultraviolet irradiator 9B are closed.

The image of the modified surface that is displayed on the capture display 12 by the photographing unit 11 (Step 2). Next, the open / close switch of the laser irradiator 9A is turned ON on the surface to be corrected, and the laser light from the laser irradiator 9A is shaped into a predetermined shape by the variable slit 8 (see FIGS. 5 and 6), and then the RGB coloration is performed. By irradiating the defective portions (21a, 21b) in the layer 21, the color filters (films of RGB, etc.) of the defective portions (21a, 21b) on the surface to be corrected are removed, and the shape of the removed portions is trimmed (step) 3).
The trimming means that, when the defective portion is contaminated with foreign matter, a predetermined range including the foreign matter is removed with a laser beam to change to a white shape with a predetermined shape. When the defect is a white defect, it means that the shape is formed into a predetermined shape (see FIGS. 5 and 6).

Thereafter, the open / close switch of the laser irradiator 9A is turned OFF, and then the dispenser moving means is operated to move the tip of the nozzle 13 of the dispenser above the glass substrate 20 of the trimmed defective portion, and then external input The pressure control valve 16 is set using the device 19 and the on-off valve 15 is opened and closed at least once to form the correction ink droplet 24 at the tip of the dispenser nozzle 13 as shown in FIG. 3 (step 4). .

Then, the nozzle 13 of the dispenser along have contact angle θ in the direction of arrow β in FIG. 1 moves to an acute angle by moving means of the nozzle 13 of the dispenser, the glass substrate the tip of the nozzle 13 of the defect 20 and the external input device 19 is used to repeat the opening and closing of the opening / closing valve 15 until a predetermined amount of the correction ink is supplied to the defective portion (step 5).
When the tip of the dispenser nozzle 13 is brought into contact with the defective portion via the droplet 24 , the droplet 24 serves as a buffer material and a lubricant (FIGS. 4a and 4b). The glass substrate 20 is effective in preventing contact scratches, scratches, and the like.

The predetermined supply amount means that the trimmed portion of the surface to be corrected is filled with the correction ink as indicated by reference numeral 23 in FIG. 2 , and the tip of the dispenser nozzle 13 is also shown in FIG. the amount to be covered state by O urchin the corrective ink Ru indicated by reference numeral 23 say.

Then, after separating the dispenser nozzle 13 from the target balancing plane by a predetermined distance, ultraviolet rays are irradiated to the object to be modified surface on which the modified ink has been filled by opening the opening and closing shutter of the ultraviolet irradiator 9B After the correction ink is cured, the open / close shutter of the ultraviolet irradiator 9B is closed to complete the correction (step 6).
The predetermined distance refers to a distance to a position where the tip of the nozzle 13 of the dispenser is not irradiated with the ultraviolet rays.

When a workpiece having a plurality of surfaces to be corrected is to be corrected, a droplet in which the correction ink crawls up to the tip of the dispenser nozzle 13 in step 5 at the tip of the dispenser nozzle 13 separated in step 6. 24 is maintained, the opening / closing of the opening / closing valve 15 for forming the droplet 24 in the step 4 can be omitted, and as a result, the time required for the correction work can be shortened.

In the form for carrying out the present invention shown in FIG. 1, the ultraviolet irradiator 9B is provided on the optical axis L3 transmitted through the half mirror 10, but the position where the ultraviolet irradiator 9B is provided is not limited to this. Any position may be used as long as the correction ink can be cured with ultraviolet rays.
Further, the position of the illumination means 9C is not limited to the position shown in FIG. 1, and may be any position that can irradiate light in the vicinity including the intersection a.

It is a block diagram which shows the concept of one Embodiment for enforcing the defect correction method which concerns on this invention. It is a side view which shows the supply amount of correction ink, and the position of a dispenser nozzle. It is a side view which shows the droplet of the ink for correction formed in the tip of a dispenser nozzle. It is explanatory drawing which shows the function as a buffer material of a droplet. It is explanatory drawing which shows the function as a lubricant of a droplet. An example of trimming when the defect is a foreign object is shown. (A) is an explanatory view showing the presence of a foreign object defect, and (b) is an explanatory view showing a state after trimming of the foreign object portion. An example of trimming when a defect is a white spot is shown. (A) is an explanatory diagram showing the existence of a white spot defect, and (b) is an explanatory diagram showing a state after trimming of a white spot portion. is there. It is a flowchart which shows the process of the defect correction method of this invention.

1 Defect correction device 2 Workpiece (color filter)
3 Table 4 Table moving means 5 Objective lens 6A Half mirror 6B Half mirror 6C Deflection mirror 7 Imaging lens 8 Variable slit 9A Laser irradiator 9B Ultraviolet irradiator 9C Illuminating means 10 Half mirror 11 CCD camera 12 Display 13 Dispenser nozzle 14 conduit 15 on-off valve 16 the compressed air producing unit 17 control unit 18 pressure regulating valve 19 external input device 20 a color filter glass substrate 21 RGB colored layers 21a, 21b defect 2 2 ultraviolet curable color filter colored inks 23 Amount of correction ink supplied to glass substrate of color filter 24 Droplet L Optical axis L1 Optical axis L2 branched from optical axis L Optical axis L3 branched from optical axis L1 Optical axis β branched from optical axis L2 Direction of movement of dispenser nozzle θ Dispenser nozzle and collar Contact angle of the filter

Claims (1)

After forming the ink droplets in advance on the outer periphery of the tip of the nozzle of the dispenser containing the ultraviolet curable color filter correcting ink,
Rutotomoni contact angle as an acute angle to the abutment via the droplets of the ink to be modified surface of the tip portion of the nozzle as defective color filter,
After-edge portion of at least the nozzles of the ink from the nozzle the supply to be modified surface to be covered by the same ink, which was then separated nozzle of the dispenser from the object modified surface, in the target balancing plane the Rukoto ultraviolet is irradiated with curing the ink, characterized in that said modifying the target balancing plane, defect correction method of the color filter.

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