JP5687930B2 - Manufacturing apparatus and manufacturing method of liquid crystal display device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a manufacturing apparatus and a manufacturing method of a liquid crystal display device in which a polarizing film is bonded to a liquid crystal panel.

  Currently, a liquid crystal display device in which a polarizing film is bonded to both surfaces of a liquid crystal panel is generally manufactured. And when laminating a polarizing film on a liquid crystal panel, a so-called Roll that unwinds a long polarizing film roll wound up in a roll shape and bonds it to a sheet-like liquid crystal panel while cutting into a predetermined length Manufacturing methods that employ the to-panel method are being implemented.

  For example, Patent Document 1 describes a manufacturing system and a manufacturing method employing a roll to panel method in which a liquid crystal display device is manufactured by bonding a polarizing plate made of a polarizing film and a protective film on both surfaces of a liquid crystal panel. ing. Patent Documents 2 and 3 also describe a manufacturing apparatus and a manufacturing method for manufacturing a liquid crystal display device using the Roll to Panel method. The manufactured liquid crystal display device is modularized and then subjected to various assembling steps to be used as mobile devices such as notebook personal computers and mobile phones, and various products (final products) such as large televisions.

  On the other hand, as described in Patent Document 4, for example, a manufacturing apparatus and a manufacturing method employing a so-called single-wafer method in which a single-wafer polarizing film cut in advance to a predetermined length is bonded to a single-wafer liquid crystal panel Is also described.

JP 2009-175653 A (released on August 6, 2009) JP 2009-271516 A (published November 19, 2009) JP 2009-271519 A (published on November 19, 2009) JP 2004-61940 A (published February 26, 2004)

  In recent years, in order to use light emitted from a light source more effectively, a liquid crystal display device in which a brightness enhancement film is further bonded to the surface of a polarizing film bonded to the back surface of a liquid crystal panel has been manufactured. . The brightness enhancement film has a function of improving the brightness at the front of the liquid crystal display device by condensing the light emitted from the light source toward the user of the liquid crystal display device through the display area of the liquid crystal panel. Yes. However, in order to exhibit the above function, the brightness enhancement film needs to be bonded so that the light transmission axis of the brightness enhancement film is parallel to the light transmission axis of the polarizing film to be bonded.

  The long polarizing film is uniaxially stretched so that its light transmission axis is formed in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction. On the other hand, the long brightness enhancement film is uniaxially stretched so that the light transmission axis is formed in a direction parallel to the longitudinal direction. For this reason, when bonding a brightness enhancement film to a polarizing film, it is necessary to bond in the state which turned the other 90 degrees with respect to one so that a light transmission axis may become mutually parallel.

  Therefore, for example, in the manufacturing apparatus and the manufacturing method described in Patent Documents 1 to 3, in order to further bond the brightness enhancement film to the surface of the polarizing film bonded by adopting the Roll to Panel method, it is long. The brightness enhancement film of the scale is cut in advance to a predetermined length to create a sheet-like brightness enhancement film that is slightly larger than the size of the liquid crystal panel, and then the brightness enhancement film is applied to the liquid crystal panel while being rotated 90 °. In addition, the bonded brightness enhancement film must be cut according to the size of the liquid crystal panel. Therefore, a pretreatment device and a pretreatment process for producing a sheet-like brightness enhancement film are required, and there is a problem that productivity is inferior. In addition, since the brightness enhancement film is cut in accordance with the size of the liquid crystal panel, a part of the brightness enhancement film is wasted (loss) and the manufacturing cost of the liquid crystal display device is increased.

  Therefore, there is a need for a manufacturing apparatus and a manufacturing method for a liquid crystal display device in which a roll-to-panel method is employed and a brightness enhancement film is bonded to a polarizing film.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and its main purpose is to reduce the number of manufacturing steps and reduce film materials that are wasted (loss) as compared with conventional manufacturing apparatuses and manufacturing methods. It is an object of the present invention to provide a manufacturing apparatus and a manufacturing method of a liquid crystal display device that can improve productivity and suppress manufacturing costs by effectively using film raw materials.

  An apparatus for manufacturing a liquid crystal display device according to the present invention is a manufacturing apparatus for manufacturing a liquid crystal display device in which a polarizing film is bonded to both surfaces of a liquid crystal panel in order to solve the above-described problem, and is a long polarizing film The back side polarizing film laminating mechanism for pasting on the back side of the liquid crystal panel while cutting the surface, the front side polarizing film laminating mechanism for pasting on the surface of the liquid crystal panel while cutting the long polarizing film, and polarized on one side A reversing mechanism that inverts the liquid crystal panel to which the film is bonded by 180 °, a 90 ° rotating mechanism that rotates the liquid crystal panel to which the polarizing film is bonded at least 90 °, and a polarizing film that is bonded to at least the back surface The protective film peeling mechanism that peels off the protective film on the polarizing film from the liquid crystal panel, and the protective film on the liquid crystal panel rotated 90 ° peels off The polarizing film is characterized by comprising a brightness enhancement film bonding mechanism for bonding while cutting the brightness enhancement film of a long.

  More preferably, the liquid crystal display manufacturing apparatus further includes a panel transport mechanism that transports the liquid crystal panel from the upstream side to the downstream side of the manufacturing apparatus. And the manufacturing apparatus of the said liquid crystal display device is a reverse side polarizing film bonding mechanism, a 90 degree turning mechanism, a protective film peeling mechanism, a brightness enhancement film bonding mechanism, inversion in order from the upstream side to the downstream side in the manufacturing apparatus. More preferably, a mechanism and a surface-side polarizing film bonding mechanism are arranged, or a back-side polarizing film bonding mechanism, a 90 ° turning mechanism, and a reversing mechanism in order from the upstream side to the downstream side in the manufacturing apparatus. More preferably, a surface side polarizing film laminating mechanism, a protective film peeling mechanism, and a brightness enhancement film laminating mechanism are arranged, or a back side polarizing film in order from the upstream side to the downstream side in the production apparatus. Bonding mechanism, 90 ° turning mechanism and reversing mechanism, surface side polarizing film bonding mechanism, reversing mechanism, protective film peeling mechanism, brightness enhancement film bonding It is more preferred that structure is provided.

  According to the above-described configuration, since the reversing mechanism and the 90 ° turning mechanism are provided, the brightness enhancement film is opposed to the polarizing film on the back surface of the liquid crystal panel so that the light transmission axes are parallel to each other. Bonding can be performed with the other turned 90 °. Therefore, the two polarizing films bonded to the liquid crystal panel and the brightness enhancement film can be supplied to each bonding mechanism in the state of a long film, and the liquid crystal while cutting the long film. Can be attached to the panel. That is, a pretreatment device for producing a sheet-like brightness enhancement film or a polarizing film is not required.

  Therefore, according to the above configuration, productivity can be reduced by reducing the number of manufacturing steps and reducing waste of film materials (effectively using film materials) as compared with conventional manufacturing apparatuses. In addition, it is possible to provide a manufacturing apparatus for a liquid crystal display device that is excellent in the manufacturing cost and can suppress the manufacturing cost.

  Moreover, in order to solve the said subject, the manufacturing method of the liquid crystal display device which concerns on this invention is a manufacturing method which manufactures the liquid crystal display device by which a polarizing film is bonded on both surfaces of a liquid crystal panel, Comprising: A first bonding step for bonding to the back surface of the liquid crystal panel while cutting the polarizing film, a third bonding step for bonding to the surface of the liquid crystal panel while cutting the long polarizing film, and a polarizing film on one side A reversing step of reversing the liquid crystal panel being bonded by 180 °, a 90 ° turning step of rotating a liquid crystal panel having a polarizing film bonded to at least the back surface by 90 °, and a polarizing film being bonded to at least the back surface The peeling process of peeling off the protective film on the polarizing film from the liquid crystal panel, and the polarizing film from which the protective film of the liquid crystal panel rotated 90 ° has been peeled off It is characterized and a second bonding step of bonding while cutting the film, to make a.

  As for the manufacturing method of the said liquid crystal display device, it is more preferable to perform a 1st bonding process, a 90 degree turning process, a peeling process, a 2nd bonding process, an inversion process, and a 3rd bonding process in this order, or 1st It is more preferable to perform one bonding step, 90 ° turning step and reversing step, third bonding step, peeling step, and second bonding step in this order, or the first bonding step, 90 ° turning step, and It is more preferable to perform the reversing process, the third bonding process, the reversing process, the peeling process, and the second bonding process in this order.

  According to the above method, since the reversing step and the 90 ° turning step are provided, the brightness enhancement film is directed to the polarizing film on the back surface of the liquid crystal panel so that the light transmission axes are parallel to each other. Bonding can be performed with the other turned 90 °. Therefore, the two polarizing films bonded to the liquid crystal panel and the brightness enhancement film can be used in each bonding step in the state of a long film, and the liquid crystal panel while cutting the long film Can be pasted. That is, a pretreatment process for producing a sheet-like brightness enhancement film or a polarizing film is not required.

  Therefore, according to the above method, productivity can be reduced by reducing the number of manufacturing steps and reducing waste film materials (effectively using film materials) as compared with the conventional manufacturing method. In addition, it is possible to provide a method for manufacturing a liquid crystal display device that is excellent in the manufacturing cost and can suppress the manufacturing cost.

  According to the manufacturing apparatus and the manufacturing method of the liquid crystal display device according to the present invention, a pre-processing apparatus and a pre-processing step for producing a sheet-like brightness enhancement film or a polarizing film are not required. Therefore, compared with the conventional manufacturing apparatus and manufacturing method, while reducing the number of manufacturing steps and reducing the film raw material that is wasted (loss) (effectively using the film raw material), it is excellent in productivity. There is an effect that it is possible to provide a manufacturing apparatus and a manufacturing method of a liquid crystal display device capable of suppressing the manufacturing cost.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of a manufacturing apparatus for explaining an example of a manufacturing apparatus and a manufacturing method of a liquid crystal display device according to the present invention. It is a schematic front view which shows the structure of the principal part of the said manufacturing apparatus. It is a block diagram for explaining another example of a manufacturing apparatus and a manufacturing method of a liquid crystal display device according to the present invention and showing a schematic configuration of the manufacturing apparatus. FIG. 10 is a block diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of a manufacturing apparatus for explaining still another example of a manufacturing apparatus and a manufacturing method for a liquid crystal display device according to the present invention.

  The apparatus for manufacturing a liquid crystal display device according to the present invention is a manufacturing apparatus for manufacturing a liquid crystal display device in which polarizing films are bonded to both surfaces of a liquid crystal panel, and the back surface of the liquid crystal panel while cutting a long polarizing film. The back side polarizing film laminating mechanism to be bonded to the surface, the surface side polarizing film laminating mechanism to be bonded to the surface of the liquid crystal panel while cutting the long polarizing film, and the liquid crystal in which the polarizing film is bonded to one side The reversing mechanism for reversing the panel by 180 °, the 90 ° turning mechanism for turning the liquid crystal panel having a polarizing film bonded to at least the back surface by 90 °, and the polarizing liquid crystal panel having the polarizing film bonded to at least the back surface The protective film peeling mechanism that peels off the protective film on the film, and the polarizing film from which the protective film on the 90 ° swiveled liquid crystal panel has been peeled And a brightness enhancement film bonding mechanism for bonding while cutting the brightness enhancement film, which is configured to include.

  A manufacturing method of a liquid crystal display device according to the present invention is a manufacturing method for manufacturing a liquid crystal display device in which polarizing films are bonded to both surfaces of a liquid crystal panel, and the back surface of the liquid crystal panel while cutting a long polarizing film 180 ° for the first bonding step for bonding to the surface, the third bonding step for bonding to the surface of the liquid crystal panel while cutting the long polarizing film, and the liquid crystal panel for bonding the polarizing film to one side Protecting on the polarizing film from a reversing step for reversing, a 90 ° turning step for turning a liquid crystal panel having a polarizing film bonded to at least the back surface by 90 °, and a liquid crystal panel having a polarizing film bonded to at least the back surface The film is peeled off and the polarizing film from which the protective film in the 90 ° swiveled liquid crystal panel is peeled off is bonded while cutting the long brightness enhancement film. Two lamination and covering step is a method of performing.

  In the present invention, the “front and back surfaces of the liquid crystal panel” correspond to the front and back surfaces of the liquid crystal display device as a product.

  In the present invention, “turning the liquid crystal panel by 90 °” means that the liquid crystal panel is rotated by 90 ° in the plane with the virtual center line passing through the center of the liquid crystal panel perpendicularly from the front surface side to the back surface as the central axis. Point to. That is, for example, when the liquid crystal panel has a rectangular shape (when viewed from above), for example, it indicates that the portrait is horizontally long or the landscape is vertically long in the transport direction.

[Embodiment 1]
An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and can be implemented in a mode in which various modifications are added within the range described.

<Liquid crystal display device>
An example of the configuration of the liquid crystal display device manufactured by the manufacturing apparatus and the manufacturing method according to the present invention will be described below. In the liquid crystal display device manufactured by the manufacturing apparatus and the manufacturing method according to the present invention, the polarizing film and the protective film are mainly laminated in this order on the surface of the liquid crystal panel, and the polarizing film, A brightness enhancement film and a protective film are laminated in this order. The liquid crystal display device may have a configuration in which a surface treatment member, a protective plate, a 3D (3 Dimension) member, and the like are further laminated on the surface of the liquid crystal panel.

  A known liquid crystal panel is preferably used as the liquid crystal panel. More specifically, the liquid crystal panel includes a known liquid crystal panel that includes a pair of substrates such as a glass substrate and a liquid crystal layer, and an alignment film is disposed between the substrate and the liquid crystal layer.

  A known polarizing film is preferably used as the polarizing film. More specifically, as the polarizing film, protective films are bonded to both sides of the polarizer film, and a pressure-sensitive adhesive layer (which may be an adhesive layer) is further formed on the protective film. A well-known polarizing film is mentioned. Among the above-mentioned pressure-sensitive adhesive layers, one pressure-sensitive adhesive layer is formed to bond a release film to a polarizing film and to bond the polarizing film to a liquid crystal panel. Of the pressure-sensitive adhesive layers, the other pressure-sensitive adhesive layer is formed to bond a protective film to the polarizing film. And the polarizing plate is comprised from the polarizing film, the protective film, and the adhesive layer.

  Examples of the polarizer film include, for example, uniaxially stretched on a film made of a hydrophilic polymer such as polyvinyl alcohol, partially formalized polyvinyl alcohol, a partially saponified ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer, or cellulose (described later). Examples include a film which is subjected to various treatments such as hue adjustment, as well as a dyeing treatment with a pigment such as iodine. In the polarizer film, a light absorption axis in a direction parallel to the stretching direction and a light transmission axis in a direction perpendicular to the stretching direction are formed. However, the manufacturing method of a polarizer film is not limited to said manufacturing method, A well-known polarizer film is used suitably.

  Examples of the protective film include TAC (triacetylcellulose) film, cycloolefin resin film, cellulose acetate resin film such as diacetylcellulose, polyester resin film such as polyethylene terephthalate, polyethylene naphthalate, and polybutylene terephthalate, polycarbonate resin film, Known films such as an acrylic resin film and a polypropylene resin film can be used.

  The pressure-sensitive adhesive layer (which may be an adhesive layer) is not particularly limited, and is configured by applying a known pressure-sensitive adhesive (or adhesive) used in the technical field. What is necessary is just to set the thickness of an adhesive layer suitably.

  The thickness of the polarizing film is not particularly limited, but is generally 10 μm or more and 300 μm or less. The polarizing film may further include other layers in addition to the protective layer and the polarizer film as long as there is no practical problem. Specifically, for example, the polarizing film may further include a pressure-sensitive adhesive layer (may be an adhesive layer) that bonds the polarizer film and the protective film.

  The polarizing film is bonded to both surfaces of the liquid crystal panel so as to cover the entire display area of the liquid crystal panel (the entire part of the display screen).

  The brightness enhancement film is also referred to as a brightness enhancement film. A known brightness enhancement film is preferably used as the brightness enhancement film. More specifically, as the brightness enhancement film, for example, on both sides of a BEF (Brightness Enhancement Films) film made of a polyester film or the like subjected to uniaxial stretching (stretching in the width direction of the brightness enhancement film raw material described later), The well-known brightness enhancement film in which the adhesive layer is formed is mentioned. In the BEF film, a light reflection axis in a direction parallel to the stretching direction and a light transmission axis in a direction perpendicular to the stretching direction are formed.

  Among the above-mentioned pressure-sensitive adhesive layers, one pressure-sensitive adhesive layer is formed in order to bond the release film to the brightness enhancement film and to bond the brightness enhancement film to the polarizing film. Of the pressure-sensitive adhesive layers, the other pressure-sensitive adhesive layer is formed in order to bond a protective film to the brightness enhancement film. In addition, the brightness enhancement film may further include other layers in addition to the above-described layers (BEF film, pressure-sensitive adhesive layer) as long as there is no practical problem.

  The brightness enhancement film has a function of improving brightness in front of the liquid crystal display device by condensing the light emitted from the light source toward the user of the liquid crystal display device through the display area of the liquid crystal panel. . The thickness of the brightness enhancement film is not particularly limited, but is generally 20 μm or more and 300 μm or less. The thickness when the brightness enhancement film is a so-called DBEF film is not particularly limited, but is generally about 110 μm, and the thickness when the brightness enhancement film is a so-called APF film is not particularly limited, but is generally about 26 μm.

  The brightness enhancement film is bonded to the back surface of the liquid crystal panel so as to cover the polarizing film. However, the brightness enhancement film is bonded so that the light transmission axis of the BEF film is parallel to the light transmission axis of the polarizer film of the polarizing film to be bonded.

  The brightness enhancement film is a diffusion sheet made of a polyester film or the like that has been subjected to uniaxial stretching (stretching in the width direction of the brightness enhancement film raw material described later), and a prism sheet made of an acrylic resin, etc., instead of having a BEF film. The structure which has the comprised optical film may be sufficient.

  As the protective film, a known protective film is preferably used. More specifically, examples of the protective film include known protective films such as a polyester film, a polyethylene terephthalate film, a polyethylene film, a polypropylene film, and a polystyrene film. The thickness of the protective film is not particularly limited, but is generally 10 μm or more and 100 μm or less.

  And the protective film which protects the polarizing film bonded by the surface side of a liquid crystal panel turns into a surface protective film which protects the surface of the liquid crystal display device which is a product. On the other hand, the protective film that protects the polarizing film that is bonded to the back side of the liquid crystal panel is peeled off when the brightness enhancement film is bonded to the polarizing film.

  Moreover, the protective film which protects a brightness enhancement film turns into a back surface protective film which protects the back surface of the liquid crystal display device which is a product.

  And the said surface protective film, a polarizing film, a liquid crystal panel, a polarizing film, a brightness enhancement film, and a back surface protective film are laminated | stacked in this order mainly, and the liquid crystal display device is comprised.

  The release film is also referred to as a protective film or a separator. The release film protects the polarizing film from being wrinkled until the polarizing film is bonded to the liquid crystal panel (the surface on the side bonded to the liquid crystal panel). It peels from a polarizing film when bonding to a panel. Or, the release film is designed to protect the surface of the brightness enhancement film (the surface to be bonded to the polarizing film) from being wrinkled until the brightness enhancement film is bonded to the polarization film. When the brightness enhancement film is bonded to the polarizing film, it is peeled off from the brightness enhancement film.

  Specifically as a peeling film, well-known films, such as a polyethylene resin, a polypropylene resin, a polystyrene resin, a polyethylene terephthalate resin, can be specifically used, for example. The thickness of the release film is not particularly limited, but is generally 10 μm or more and 100 μm or less. In addition, since a peeling film peels in the manufacturing process of a liquid crystal display device, it is not a structural member of a liquid crystal display device.

<Liquid crystal display manufacturing equipment>
An example of the configuration of a manufacturing apparatus suitable for carrying out the method for manufacturing a liquid crystal display device according to the present invention will be described.

  As shown in FIG. 1, a manufacturing apparatus 1 for a liquid crystal display device according to the present embodiment is a manufacturing apparatus that employs a so-called roll to panel method for continuously manufacturing liquid crystal display devices. In addition to the panel transport mechanism 11 for transporting, the back side polarizing film laminating mechanism 2, the 90 ° turning mechanism 3, and the protective film in order from the upstream side of the panel transport mechanism 11 to the downstream side (the direction of the arrow in FIG. 1). The peeling mechanism 4, the brightness improvement film bonding mechanism 5, the inversion mechanism 6, and the surface side polarizing film bonding mechanism 7 are provided (arranged). The manufacturing apparatus 1 further cleans the liquid crystal panel supplied from the supply mechanism, the supply mechanism that supplies the liquid crystal panel to the panel transport mechanism 11 at a predetermined interval, further upstream than the back surface side polarizing film bonding mechanism 2. A polishing mechanism for polishing and a drying mechanism (none of which is shown) for drying the cleaned liquid crystal panel and supplying it to the back side polarizing film bonding mechanism 2 are provided as necessary. Furthermore, the manufacturing apparatus 1 includes an inspection mechanism (not shown) for automatically inspecting the completed liquid crystal display device further downstream than the surface-side polarizing film bonding mechanism 7 as necessary. The specific configurations of the supply mechanism, the cleaning mechanism, the drying mechanism, and the inspection mechanism can employ known configurations and are not particularly limited.

  Hereinafter, each mechanism with which the manufacturing apparatus 1 is provided is demonstrated.

  The panel transport mechanism 11 includes a plurality of transport rollers (not shown), and transports the sheet-like liquid crystal panel from the upstream side to the downstream side by driving the transport rollers. The panel transport mechanism 11 rectifies downflow (supply of clean air) from the top of the liquid crystal panel, so that each operation such as transport operation and bonding operation of the liquid crystal panel is stabilized. Can be done.

  And when the manufacturing apparatus 1 sees the said apparatus from upper direction, the conveyance direction centerline of the liquid crystal panel conveyed by the panel conveyance mechanism 11, and conveyance of the polarizing film conveyed by the back surface side polarizing film bonding mechanism 2 The direction center line, the transport direction center line of the brightness enhancement film transported by the brightness enhancement film laminating mechanism 5, and the transport direction center line of the polarization film transported by the surface side polarizing film laminating mechanism 7 are matched. Each said bonding mechanism is arrange | positioned.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the back side polarizing film laminating mechanism 2 includes a polarizing film transport mechanism 21 in the lower (first floor) portion and is pasted on the upper (second floor) portion where the panel transport mechanism 11 is provided. It has a two-stage structure with a joint 22. Thereby, space saving of the back surface side polarizing film bonding mechanism 2 can be achieved. The panel transport mechanism 11 transports the liquid crystal panel 10 along the polarizing film transport mechanism 21 in a state of being horizontally long with respect to the transport direction, for example.

  The polarizing film transport mechanism 21 unwinds the long polarizing film original fabric 25a wound up in a roll shape and transports it to the bonding unit 22, and winds up the long peeling film 25b that is no longer necessary. ing.

  The said polarizing film original fabric 25a is a film laminated body comprised from a polarizing film, an adhesive layer, a protective film, and the peeling film 25b, and the adhesive layer is on the surface by which the liquid crystal panel 10 in a polarizing film is bonded. A release film 25b that can be peeled off (which may be an adhesive layer) is bonded, and a protective film is provided on the back surface of the above surface via a pressure-sensitive adhesive layer (may be an adhesive layer). Is pasted. That is, a polarizing plate is formed by laminating an adhesive layer, a polarizing film, an adhesive layer, and a protective film in this order on the peeling film 25b, and the polarizing film original fabric 25a is separated from the polarizing film and the peeling film 25b. It is comprised from the film 25b.

  The release film 25b protects the surface of the polarizing film (the surface to be bonded to the liquid crystal panel 10) from being wrinkled until the polarizing film is bonded to the back surface of the liquid crystal panel 10. And, when the polarizing film is bonded to the liquid crystal panel 10, it is peeled off from the polarizing film. The thickness of the polarizing film original fabric 25a (thickness excluding the release film) is not particularly limited, but is generally 10 μm or more and 300 μm or less. Moreover, the width | variety of the polarizing film original fabric 25a, ie, the width | variety of a polarizing film, is about 300-1500 mm in general.

  The polarizing film transport mechanism 21 includes an unwinding unit 21a, a winding unit 21b, a half cutter (not shown), a knife edge 21c, and a roller group 21d. A long polarizing film original fabric 25a is installed in the unwinding portion 21a, and the polarizing film original fabric 25a is unwound. The said polarizing film original fabric 25a is wound up by the unwinding part 21a so that the conveyance direction and the direction of the light absorption axis of a polarizing film may correspond. The winding part 21b winds up the long release film 25b. The polarizing film transport mechanism 21 is provided with an unwinding portion 21a and a winding portion 21b so that the polarizing film original fabric 25a can be switched to a new polarizing film original fabric in a short time when the remaining amount of the polarizing film original fabric 25a decreases. You may have two.

  The half cutter is provided on the upstream side (unwinding part 21a side) from the knife edge 21c, and the polarizing film original fabric 25a is half-cut to cut the polarizing film, the protective film, and the adhesive layer. Yes. That is, the half cutter cuts a long polarizing film (that is, a polarizing plate) to a predetermined length without cutting the release film 25b. As the half cutter, a known cutter such as a blade or a laser cutter is preferably used.

  The knife edge 21c peels the peeling film 25b from the polarizing film cut to a predetermined length. The pressure-sensitive adhesive layer formed between the polarizing film and the release film 25b remains on the polarizing film side after the release film 25b is released.

  21 d of roller groups are provided so that fixed tension | tensile_strength may be applied to the polarizing film original fabric 25a, and the said polarizing film original fabric 25a may be conveyed.

  The bonding part 22 is arrange | positioned so as to oppose the knife edge 21c, and bonds the polarizing film unwound by the said polarizing film conveyance mechanism 21 to the back surface of the liquid crystal panel 10 (that is, bonding a polarizing plate). To do).

  The bonding part 22 is composed of a pair of nip rollers 22a and 22a forming a nip part, and a polarizing film is bonded to the back surface of the liquid crystal panel 10 conveyed by the panel conveying mechanism 11 via an adhesive layer. It has a function to do. And the polarizing film conveyed to the bonding part 22 is aligned with the liquid crystal panel 10 (more specifically, in the conveying direction) so as to cover the entire display area of the liquid crystal panel 10 (the entire part of the display screen). The tip portion is aligned) and bonded to the liquid crystal panel 10. As the nip rollers 22a and 22a, known nip rollers such as a pressure roller and a pressure roller are preferably used. Further, the nip rollers 22a and 22a can arbitrarily adjust the rotation speed, and can appropriately adjust the pressure (nip pressure) and temperature of the nip portion as necessary. The liquid crystal panel 10 to which the polarizing film is bonded is transported to the 90 ° turning mechanism 3 by the panel transport mechanism 11.

  The 90 ° turning mechanism 3 can bond the brightness enhancement film so that the light transmission axis thereof is parallel to the light transmission axis of the polarizing film in the brightness enhancement film bonding mechanism 5 located on the downstream side. In this way, the liquid crystal panel 10 is turned 90 °. The 90 ° turning mechanism 3 includes, for example, an adsorption mechanism that adsorbs and turns the liquid crystal panel 10. The liquid crystal panel 10 is adsorbed and lifted from the panel transport mechanism 11 and turned (turned) by 90 °. Thereafter, it is placed on the panel transport mechanism 11. Therefore, after the polarizing film is bonded to the back surface by the back surface side polarizing film bonding mechanism 2, the liquid crystal panel 10 is rotated by the 90 ° turning mechanism 3, for example, transported in a state of being horizontally long with respect to the transport direction. In such a case, it is conveyed to the downstream protective film peeling mechanism 4 in a vertically long state. The specific configuration of the 90 ° turning mechanism 3 is not particularly limited, and the liquid crystal panel 10 can be turned 90 ° without wrinkling the surface of the liquid crystal panel 10 or the polarizing film. I just need it.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the protective film peeling mechanism 4 peels the protective film from the liquid crystal panel 10 that has been transported by the transport mechanism 11. More specifically, the protective film peeling mechanism 4 includes a gripping part (not shown) that grips the protective film and a recovery part 41 that collects the protective film as main components, and is provided on the back side of the liquid crystal panel 10. The protective film protecting the surface of the bonded polarizing film is peeled by gripping the tip of the protective film with a gripping part, and the peeled protective film is collected in the collecting part 41. The said holding | grip part peels the liquid crystal panel 10 slightly, provides a clearance gap between a polarizing film and a protective film, and grips and peels off the front-end | tip part of a protective film by supplying compressed air to this clearance gap. An operation and a late peeling operation of pulling and peeling the protective film after the peeling operation are performed. Moreover, the protective film peeling mechanism 4 is further provided with the holding part (not shown) which hold | suppresses the said liquid crystal panel 10 so that the liquid crystal panel 10 may not bend greatly by a tensile force, when peeling a protective film.

  The pressure-sensitive adhesive layer formed between the polarizing film and the protective film is peeled off together with the protective film when the protective film is peeled off. The liquid crystal panel 10 from which the protective film has been removed is transported to the brightness enhancement film laminating mechanism 5 on the downstream side by the panel transport mechanism 11 without wrinkling the surface of the polarizing film. In addition, the specific structure of the protective film peeling mechanism 4 is not specifically limited, What is necessary is just a structure which can peel a protective film from the said polarizing film, without attaching a wrinkle to the surface of a polarizing film. Moreover, instead of providing the protective film peeling mechanism 4, an operator, a worker, or the like who operates the manufacturing apparatus 1 may manually peel off the protective film.

  The said brightness enhancement film bonding mechanism 5 is equipped with the structure similar to the back surface side polarizing film bonding mechanism 2 mentioned above. That is, the brightness enhancement film bonding mechanism 5 includes the brightness enhancement film transport mechanism 51 in the lower (first floor) portion, and the bonding section 52 in the upper (second floor) portion where the panel transport mechanism 11 is provided. It has a two-stage structure. Thereby, space saving of the brightness enhancement film bonding mechanism 5 can be achieved. The panel transport mechanism 11 transports the liquid crystal panel 10 along the brightness enhancement film transport mechanism 51, for example, in a state of being vertically long in the transport direction.

  The brightness enhancement film transport mechanism 51 unwinds and transports the long brightness enhancement film original 55a wound up in a roll shape to the bonding unit 52, and winds up the long release film 55b that is no longer necessary. It has become.

  The said brightness enhancement film original fabric 55a is a film laminated body comprised from a BEF film, an adhesive layer, a protective film, and the peeling film 55b, and the adhesive layer on the surface by which the polarizing film in a BEF film is bonded. A release film 55b that can be peeled through (which may be an adhesive layer) is bonded, and a protective film is attached to the back surface of the above surface via a pressure-sensitive adhesive layer (may be an adhesive layer). Is pasted. That is, the brightness enhancement plate is formed by laminating the pressure-sensitive adhesive layer, the brightness enhancement film, the pressure-sensitive adhesive layer, and the protective film in this order on the release film 55b, and the polarizing film original fabric 55a has the brightness enhancement. It consists of a plate and a release film 55b.

  The release film 55b protects the surface of the brightness enhancement film (the surface to be bonded to the polarizing film) from being wrinkled until the brightness enhancement film is bonded to the polarizing film of the liquid crystal panel 10. It is peeled off from the brightness enhancement film when the brightness enhancement film is bonded to the polarizing film. The thickness of the brightness enhancement film original 55a (thickness excluding the release film) is not particularly limited, but is generally 20 μm or more and 300 μm or less. The width of the brightness enhancement film original 55a, that is, the width of the brightness enhancement film is generally about 300 to 1500 mm. The width when the brightness enhancement film is a so-called DBEF film is not particularly limited, but is generally about 1330 mm, and the width when the brightness enhancement film is a so-called APF film is not particularly limited, but is generally about 1280 to 1315 mm.

  The brightness enhancement film transport mechanism 51 includes an unwinding part 51a, a winding part 51b, a half cutter (not shown), a knife edge 51c, and a roller group 51d. The unwinding portion 51a is provided with a long brightness enhancement film original fabric 55a, and the brightness enhancement film original fabric 55a is unwound. The brightness-enhancing film original 55a is wound around the unwinding portion 51a so that the transport direction coincides with the direction of the light transmission axis of the BEF film. Therefore, when the brightness enhancement film is bonded to the polarizing film, the light transmission axis of the BEF film is parallel to the light transmission axis of the polarizer film. The winding part 51b winds up the long peeling film 55b. Note that the brightness enhancement film transport mechanism 51 has an unwinding part 51a and a winding part so that when the remaining amount of the brightness enhancement film original 55a decreases, it can be switched to a new brightness enhancement film original in a short time. Two 51b etc. may be provided.

  The half cutter is provided on the upstream side (unwinding part 51a side) from the knife edge 51c, so that the brightness enhancement film original fabric 55a is half-cut and the brightness enhancement film, the protective film, and the adhesive layer are cut. It has become. That is, the half cutter cuts the long brightness enhancement film (that is, the brightness enhancement plate) to a predetermined length without cutting the release film 55b. As the half cutter, a known cutter such as a blade or a laser cutter is preferably used.

  The knife edge 51c peels the peeling film 55b from the brightness enhancement film cut to a predetermined length. The pressure-sensitive adhesive layer formed between the brightness enhancement film and the release film 55b remains on the brightness enhancement film side after the release film 55b is peeled off.

  The roller group 51d is provided so that a certain tension is applied to the brightness enhancement film original fabric 55a and the brightness enhancement film original fabric 55a can be conveyed.

  The bonding part 52 is arrange | positioned so as to oppose the knife edge 51c, and bonds the brightness enhancement film unwound by the said brightness enhancement film conveyance mechanism 51 to a polarizing film (that is, pastes a brightness improvement board). To do).

  The bonding part 52 is composed of a pair of nip rollers 52a and 52a forming a nip part, and a brightness enhancement film is attached to the back surface of the liquid crystal panel 10 conveyed by the panel conveying mechanism 11 via an adhesive layer. It has a function to match. And the brightness enhancement film conveyed to the bonding unit 52 is aligned with the liquid crystal panel 10 (more specifically, the conveyance direction) so as to cover the entire display area of the liquid crystal panel 10 (the entire region serving as a display screen). Is aligned to the polarizing film on the back surface of the liquid crystal panel 10. As the nip rollers 52a and 52a, known nip rollers such as a pressure roller and a pressure roller are preferably used. In addition, the nip rollers 52a and 52a can arbitrarily adjust the rotation speed, and can appropriately adjust the pressure (nip pressure) and temperature of the nip portion as necessary. The liquid crystal panel 10 on which the brightness enhancement film is bonded is transported to the reversing mechanism 6 by the panel transport mechanism 11.

  The inversion mechanism 6 inverts (turns over) the liquid crystal panel 10 by 180 °. The reversing mechanism 6 includes, for example, a robot arm mechanism that sucks or sandwiches the liquid crystal panel 10 and lifts the liquid crystal panel 10 from the panel transport mechanism 11 by sucking or sandwiching the liquid crystal panel 10 and flips it 180 degrees ( After turning over, it is placed on the panel transport mechanism 11. Therefore, after the brightness enhancement film is pasted to the polarizing film on the back surface by the brightness enhancement film pasting mechanism 5, the liquid crystal panel 10 is inverted by 180 ° by the reversing mechanism 6, for example, in a state of being vertically long in the transport direction It is conveyed to the surface side polarizing film bonding mechanism 7 of a downstream side. The specific configuration of the reversing mechanism 6 is not particularly limited, and may be a configuration capable of reversing the liquid crystal panel 10 by 180 ° without wrinkling the surface of the liquid crystal panel 10 or the brightness enhancement film. That's fine.

  The said surface side polarizing film bonding mechanism 7 is equipped with the structure substantially the same as the back surface side polarizing film bonding mechanism 2 mentioned above. That is, the surface-side polarizing film bonding mechanism 7 bonds the polarizing film to the surface of the liquid crystal panel 10 that has been transported from the reversing mechanism 6 by the panel transport mechanism 11. Therefore, after the polarizing film is bonded to the back surface by the back surface side polarizing film bonding mechanism 2, the liquid crystal panel 10 is bonded to the back surface by the brightness improving film bonding mechanism 5, and then the front surface side polarized light. A polarizing film is bonded to the surface by the film bonding mechanism 7 to obtain a liquid crystal display device.

  In addition, the manufacturing apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment includes a control unit (not shown) that controls the operation of each mechanism. That is, for example, in the back surface side polarizing film bonding mechanism 2, the control unit is configured to transport the liquid crystal panel 10 in the panel transport mechanism 11 (rotational speed of a plurality of transport rollers) and unwind in the polarizing film transport mechanism 21. Speed of the polarizing film original fabric 25a between the portion 21a and the winding portion 21b (rotational speed of the unwinding portion and the winding portion), timing of cutting the polarizing film by a half cutter (length in the conveying direction of the polarizing film) Setting), timing of bonding of the polarizing film to the liquid crystal panel 10 by the bonding unit 22 (positioning of the polarizing film with respect to the liquid crystal panel 10), adjustment of the rotational speed of the nip rollers 22a and 22a, pressure (nip pressure) Various manufacturing conditions such as adjustment and temperature adjustment are controlled. Further, for example, in the brightness enhancement film laminating mechanism 5, the control unit is configured to transport the liquid crystal panel 10 in the panel transport mechanism 11 (rotation speed of a plurality of transport rollers) and unwind in the brightness enhancement film transport mechanism 51. Speed of the brightness-enhancement film original fabric 55a between the part 51a and the winding part 51b (rotation speed of the unwinding part and the winding part), timing of cutting the brightness-enhancing film by a half cutter (transport direction of the brightness-enhancing film) Setting of the length of the brightness enhancement film to the polarizing film by the pasting unit 52 (positioning of the brightness enhancement film with respect to the liquid crystal panel 10), adjustment of the rotational speed of the nip rollers 52a and 52a, pressure Various manufacturing conditions such as (nip pressure) adjustment and temperature adjustment are controlled. And what kind of control a control part performs concretely is inputted (instructed) in advance by a user such as an operator.

  Thereby, the manufacturing apparatus 1 bonds a polarizing film on both surfaces of the liquid crystal panel 10, and bonds a brightness enhancement film on the surface of the polarizing film on the back surface of the liquid crystal panel 10, that is, manufactures a liquid crystal display device. Be able to. In the liquid crystal display device, a pressure-sensitive adhesive layer, a polarizing film, a pressure-sensitive adhesive layer, and a protective film are laminated in this order on the surface side of the liquid crystal panel 10, and a pressure-sensitive adhesive layer, a polarizing film, and a pressure-sensitive adhesive layer are laminated on the back side of the liquid crystal panel 10. The agent layer, the brightness enhancement film, the pressure-sensitive adhesive layer, and the protective film are laminated in this order.

  Since the manufacturing apparatus 1 includes the 90 ° turning mechanism 3 and the reversing mechanism 6, the brightness enhancement film is placed on one side so that the light transmission axes are parallel to the polarizing film on the back surface of the liquid crystal panel 10. On the other hand, it can bond in the state which rotated the other 90 degrees. Therefore, the two polarizing films bonded to the liquid crystal panel 10 and the brightness enhancement film can be supplied to each bonding mechanism in the state of a long film, while cutting the long film. It can be bonded to the liquid crystal panel 10. That is, a pretreatment device for producing a sheet-like brightness enhancement film or a polarizing film is not required.

  Therefore, as compared with the conventional manufacturing apparatus, the manufacturing apparatus 1 reduces the number of manufacturing processes and reduces film materials that are wasted (loss) (effectively using film raw materials), thereby improving productivity. The manufacturing cost can be suppressed while being excellent.

  In addition, in the manufacturing apparatus 1 which concerns on this Embodiment, the said panel conveyance mechanism 11 can convey the said liquid crystal panel 10 so that a wrinkle may not stick to the surface of the polarizing film bonded by the back surface of the liquid crystal panel 10. FIG. If it is, instead of setting it as the structure equipped with each mechanism in order of the said back surface side polarizing film bonding mechanism 2, 90 degree turning mechanism 3, the protective film peeling mechanism 4, and the brightness enhancement film bonding mechanism 5, the said back surface side polarizing film It can also be set as the structure provided with each mechanism in order of the bonding mechanism 2, the protective film peeling mechanism 4, the 90 degree turning mechanism 3, and the brightness enhancement film bonding mechanism 5.

<Method for manufacturing liquid crystal display device>
A method of manufacturing a liquid crystal display device using the manufacturing apparatus 1 having the above configuration will be described. The manufacturing process of the liquid crystal display device mainly includes a transport process, first to third bonding processes, and the like.

  First, the liquid crystal panel 10 is transported at a constant speed by driving a plurality of transport rollers in the panel transport mechanism 11 (transport process). A conveyance process is continuously performed while performing other processes, such as a 1st thru | or 3rd bonding process. That is, the transport process is always performed throughout the manufacturing process. And in a conveyance process, the liquid crystal panel 10 which made the back surface the lower side in the state which becomes horizontally long with respect to a conveyance direction is conveyed to the back surface side polarizing film bonding mechanism 2, for example.

  Next, in the back surface side polarizing film laminating mechanism 2, the nip rollers 22a and 22a of the laminating portion 22 are driven to rotate at a constant rotational speed, and the unwinding portion 21a and the winding portion 21b in the polarizing film transport mechanism 21 are driven. Is rotated at a predetermined rotational speed, for example, the polarizing film original fabric 25a is transported at a transport speed different from the transport speed of the liquid crystal panel 10 (that is, a transport speed slower than the transport speed of the liquid crystal panel 10). And the long polarizing film is cut into a set length by a half cutter. And while peeling the peeling film 25b from the polarizing film with the knife edge 21c, the timing of the bonding of the polarizing film with respect to the liquid crystal panel 10 is aimed at, ie, performing alignment of the polarizing film with respect to the liquid crystal panel 10, the said polarizing film Is conveyed to the nip portion of the bonding portion 22. Then, a polarizing film is bonded to the back surface of the liquid crystal panel 10 while applying a predetermined pressure (nip pressure) at the bonding portion 22 (first bonding step).

  Therefore, a 1st bonding process is a process of conveying a elongate polarizing film with the conveyance speed slower than the conveyance speed of the liquid crystal panel 10, and bonding to the liquid crystal panel 10 cut | disconnecting. That is, in the 1st bonding process, the conveyance speed of the liquid crystal panel 10 is set faster than the conveyance speed of a polarizing film. Thereby, tension | tensile_strength can be applied to the polarizing film bonded on the back surface of the liquid crystal panel 10, and the curvature (warp) of the liquid crystal panel 10 can be suppressed. Therefore, according to the method for manufacturing a liquid crystal display device according to the present invention, the manufactured liquid crystal display device can be prevented from being bent, so that the productivity and yield of the final product are increased (the defective rate is decreased). be able to.

  In the present invention, the “conveying speed of the polarizing film” means the conveying speed of the polarizing film (that is, the polarizing film original or release film) conveyed between the unwinding unit and the winding unit in the polarizing film conveying mechanism. Point to. Therefore, the “conveying speed of the polarizing film” can be arbitrarily adjusted by adjusting the rotational speeds of the unwinding unit and the winding unit. Moreover, "the conveyance speed of a liquid crystal panel" refers to the conveyance speed of a liquid crystal panel when passing a bonding part. Therefore, the “conveying speed of the liquid crystal panel” can be arbitrarily adjusted by adjusting the rotational speed of the nip roller. In addition, although it is desirable that the transport speed of the liquid crystal panel when transported by a plurality of transport rollers is equal to the “transport speed of the liquid crystal panel” in the present invention, the present invention is within a range that does not hinder the manufacturing process. It may be different from the “conveying speed of the liquid crystal panel” in the invention.

  What speed (slowness) the polarizing film conveying speed should be set with respect to the conveying speed of the liquid crystal panel may be determined through experiments in advance. That is, it is necessary to set how much the two conveying speeds differ from each other according to individual characteristics of the manufacturing apparatus (so-called device characteristics), the material and thickness of the liquid crystal panel and the polarizing film, and the like. For this reason, for example, by conducting several experiments to change the transport speed of the polarizing film while keeping the transport speed of the liquid crystal panel constant, and confirming the state of the liquid crystal display device to be manufactured (presence of bending) What is necessary is just to set the conveyance speed of a polarizing film. The set transport speed of the liquid crystal panel and the transport speed of the polarizing film may be input in advance by a user such as an operator as data in a storage device built in the control unit, for example. Therefore, the control unit controls the transport speed of the liquid crystal panel and the transport speed of the polarizing film using the input data.

  Next, the 90 ° turning mechanism 3 turns the liquid crystal panel 10 by 90 ° (90 ° turning step), and the protective film peeling mechanism 4 peels the protective film from the liquid crystal panel 10 (peeling step). Alternatively, the protective film is manually peeled off from the liquid crystal panel 10. Therefore, the liquid crystal panel 10 is conveyed to the brightness enhancement film bonding mechanism 5 with the back surface facing downward in a state of being vertically long with respect to the conveyance direction, for example.

  Subsequently, in the brightness enhancement film laminating mechanism 5, the nip rollers 52 a and 52 a of the laminating portion 52 are rotated at a constant rotational speed, and the unwinding portion 51 a and the winding portion 51 b in the brightness enhancement film transport mechanism 51 are driven. Is rotated at a predetermined rotational speed to transport the brightness enhancement film original 55a, for example, at the same transport speed as that of the liquid crystal panel 10, and a long brightness enhancement film is set by a half cutter. Cut to the specified length. And while peeling the peeling film 55b from the brightness enhancement film by the knife edge 51c, while aiming at the timing of the bonding of the brightness enhancement film to the liquid crystal panel 10, that is, while aligning the brightness enhancement film to the liquid crystal panel 10, The said brightness enhancement film is conveyed to the nip part of the bonding part 52. FIG. Then, a brightness enhancement film is bonded to the polarizing film on the back surface of the liquid crystal panel 10 while applying a predetermined pressure (nip pressure) at the bonding portion 52 (second bonding step).

  Thereafter, the liquid crystal panel 10 is inverted 180 ° by the inversion mechanism 6 (inversion process). Therefore, the liquid crystal panel 10 is conveyed to the surface side polarizing film bonding mechanism 7 with the surface facing down, for example, in a state of being vertically long with respect to the conveying direction. Next, in the surface side polarizing film bonding mechanism 7, a polarizing film is bonded on the surface of the liquid crystal panel 10 by performing the same operation as the back surface side polarizing film bonding mechanism 2 (third bonding process).

  Thereby, the liquid crystal display device according to the present embodiment is manufactured. In the manufacturing method of the liquid crystal display device according to the present invention, more preferably, the liquid crystal panel in at least one bonding step among the first and third bonding steps in which the polarizing film is bonded to both surfaces of the liquid crystal panel 10. The conveyance speed of 10 may be made faster than the conveyance speed of the polarizing film, and the liquid crystal panel 10 is conveyed in the first and third bonding steps so that the bending (warping) of the liquid crystal panel 10 can be further suppressed. More preferably, the speed is faster than the conveying speed of the polarizing film.

  When the conveyance speed of the liquid crystal panel is made faster than the conveyance speed of the polarizing film, the polarizing film is pulled when being bonded to the liquid crystal panel at the bonding portion due to the difference in the conveyance speed, and the polarizing film Can be tensioned. For this reason, by adjusting the tension of at least one of the polarizing films bonded to both surfaces of the liquid crystal panel, individual characteristics of the manufacturing apparatus used when performing the first to third bonding steps (so-called device characteristics). ) Can be corrected, and the curvature (warpage) of the liquid crystal panel can be suppressed. In other words, since the bending degree of the liquid crystal panel can be adjusted by the polarizing film to which tension is applied, it is possible to prevent the manufactured liquid crystal display device from being bent.

  Since the manufacturing method of the liquid crystal display device according to the present invention includes the 90 ° turning step and the inversion step, the light transmission axes of the brightness enhancement film are parallel to the polarizing film on the back surface of the liquid crystal panel 10. Thus, it can bond in the state which turned the other 90 degree | times with respect to one side. Accordingly, the two polarizing films bonded to the liquid crystal panel 10 and the brightness enhancement film can be used for each bonding step in the state of a long film, and the liquid crystal is cut while cutting the long film. It can be bonded to the panel 10. That is, a pretreatment process for producing a sheet-like brightness enhancement film or a polarizing film is not required.

  Therefore, compared with the conventional manufacturing method, the above manufacturing method reduces the number of manufacturing steps and reduces film materials that are wasted (loss) (effectively using film materials), thereby improving productivity. It is excellent and manufacturing cost can be suppressed.

[Embodiment 2]
Another embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIG. However, the description of the substantially same structure as the structure described in the first embodiment and the process substantially the same as the process described in the first embodiment will be omitted.

<Liquid crystal display manufacturing equipment>
As shown in FIG. 3, the liquid crystal display manufacturing apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment includes a turning / reversing mechanism 8 instead of the 90 ° turning mechanism 3 and the reversing mechanism 6. And the manufacturing apparatus 100 is the back surface side polarizing film bonding mechanism 2, the turning inversion mechanism 8, and the surface side polarizing film bonding in order toward the downstream side (direction of the arrow in FIG. 3) from the upstream side of the panel conveyance mechanism 11. A mechanism 7, a protective film peeling mechanism 4, and a brightness enhancement film bonding mechanism 5 are provided.

  The turning reversing mechanism 8 is a mechanism having both the function of the 90 ° turning mechanism 3 and the function of the reversing mechanism 6 and is configured to turn the liquid crystal panel 10 by 90 ° and turn it 180 ° (turn over). That is, the turning reversing mechanism 8 includes, for example, an adsorption mechanism that adsorbs and turns the liquid crystal panel 10 and a robot arm mechanism that adsorbs or inverts the liquid crystal panel 10 and adsorbs the liquid crystal panel 10. After lifting from the panel transport mechanism 11 and turning (turning) by 90 °, the liquid crystal panel 10 is lifted from the panel transport mechanism 11 by suction or sandwiched and inverted (turned over) by 180 °. It is supposed to be placed on. Therefore, after the polarizing film is bonded to the back surface by the back surface side polarizing film bonding mechanism 2, the liquid crystal panel 10 is turned 90 ° and inverted (reversed) 180 °, for example, horizontally long with respect to the transport direction. When it has been transported in such a state, it is in a vertically long state, turned over, and transported to the downstream surface side polarizing film laminating mechanism 7. In the turning and reversing mechanism 8, the operation of turning the liquid crystal panel 10 by 90 ° and the operation of turning the liquid crystal panel 10 by 180 ° (turning it over) may be performed first or simultaneously (90 It may be rotated 180 ° while turning. Further, the specific configuration of the turning / reversing mechanism 8 is not particularly limited, and the liquid crystal panel 10 is turned 90 ° and turned 180 ° without wrinkling the surface of the liquid crystal panel 10 or the polarizing film. Any configuration can be used.

  Thereby, since the length of the panel conveyance mechanism 11 can be made shorter than the length of the panel conveyance mechanism 11 in Embodiment 1, further space saving of the manufacturing apparatus 100 can be achieved. The manufacturing apparatus 100 may be configured to include the 90 ° turning mechanism 3 and the reversing mechanism 6 in the same manner as the manufacturing apparatus 1 instead of including the turning reversing mechanism 8. In this configuration, the order of providing the 90 ° turning mechanism 3 and the reversing mechanism 6 is not limited, and the 90 ° turning mechanism 3 and the reversing mechanism 6 are provided in this order from the upstream side to the downstream side of the panel transport mechanism 11. Alternatively, the reversing mechanism 6 and the 90 ° turning mechanism 3 may be provided in this order.

  And the protective film peeling mechanism 4 with which the manufacturing apparatus 100 is provided becomes a structure which peels the protective film of the back surface of the said liquid crystal panel 10 from the upper direction of the liquid crystal panel 10. FIG. Therefore, the configuration and function of each member in the protective film peeling mechanism 4 is the same as the configuration and function described in the first embodiment, but the protective film is peeled off from above the liquid crystal panel 10.

  Similarly, the brightness enhancement film bonding mechanism 5 is configured to bond the brightness enhancement film to the back surface of the liquid crystal panel 10 from above the liquid crystal panel 10. Therefore, the configuration and function of each member in the brightness enhancement film transport mechanism 51 of the brightness enhancement film bonding mechanism 5 are the same as the configuration and function described in the first embodiment, but are higher than the bonding portion 52. It is the structure which conveys a brightness improvement film from. Other configurations of the manufacturing apparatus 100 are substantially the same as the configuration of the manufacturing apparatus 1.

  Thereby, the manufacturing apparatus 100 pastes a polarizing film on both surfaces of the liquid crystal panel 10, and pastes a brightness enhancement film on the surface of the polarizing film on the back surface of the liquid crystal panel 10, that is, manufactures a liquid crystal display device. Be able to.

<Method for manufacturing liquid crystal display device>
A method for manufacturing a liquid crystal display device using the manufacturing apparatus 100 having the above configuration will be described. The manufacturing process of the liquid crystal display device mainly includes a transport process, first to third bonding processes, and the like.

  First, the liquid crystal panel 10 is transported at a constant speed by driving a plurality of transport rollers in the panel transport mechanism 11 (transport process). In a conveyance process, the liquid crystal panel 10 which made the back surface the lower side in the state which becomes horizontally long with respect to a conveyance direction is conveyed to the back surface side polarizing film bonding mechanism 2, for example.

  Next, in the back surface side polarizing film bonding mechanism 2, the polarizing film is conveyed to the nip portion of the bonding portion 22 while aligning the polarizing film with respect to the liquid crystal panel 10. Then, a polarizing film is bonded to the back surface of the liquid crystal panel 10 while applying a predetermined pressure (nip pressure) at the bonding portion 22 (first bonding step).

  Next, the turning / reversing mechanism 8 turns the liquid crystal panel 10 by 90 ° and 180 ° (90 ° turning step and turning step). Therefore, the liquid crystal panel 10 is conveyed to the surface side polarizing film bonding mechanism 7 with the surface facing down, for example, in a state of being vertically long with respect to the conveying direction. Note that either the 90 ° turning step and the reversing step may be performed first, or may be performed simultaneously (180 ° turning while turning 90 °).

  Then, in the surface side polarizing film bonding mechanism 7, a polarizing film is bonded on the surface of the liquid crystal panel 10 by performing the same operation as the back surface side polarizing film bonding mechanism 2 (third bonding process).

  Next, the protective film is peeled from the liquid crystal panel 10 by the protective film peeling mechanism 4 (peeling step). Then, in the brightness enhancement film bonding mechanism 5, the brightness enhancement film is conveyed to the nip portion of the bonding portion 52 while aligning the brightness enhancement film with respect to the liquid crystal panel 10. Then, a brightness enhancement film is bonded to the polarizing film on the back surface of the liquid crystal panel 10 while applying a predetermined pressure (nip pressure) at the bonding portion 52 (second bonding step).

  Thereby, the liquid crystal display device according to the present embodiment is manufactured. In the manufacturing method of the liquid crystal display device according to the present invention, more preferably, the liquid crystal panel in at least one bonding step among the first and third bonding steps in which the polarizing film is bonded to both surfaces of the liquid crystal panel 10. The conveyance speed of 10 may be made faster than the conveyance speed of the polarizing film, and the liquid crystal panel 10 is conveyed in the first and third bonding steps so that the bending (warping) of the liquid crystal panel 10 can be further suppressed. More preferably, the speed is faster than the conveying speed of the polarizing film.

[Embodiment 3]
The following will describe still another embodiment of the present invention with reference to FIG. However, descriptions of substantially the same configurations as those described in the first and second embodiments and processes substantially the same as those described in the first and second embodiments are omitted.

<Liquid crystal display manufacturing equipment>
As shown in FIG. 4, the manufacturing apparatus 200 of the liquid crystal display device according to the present embodiment applies the back side polarizing film sticking in order from the upstream side of the panel transport mechanism 11 to the downstream side (the direction of the arrow in FIG. 4). The combination mechanism 2, the turning inversion mechanism 8, the surface side polarizing film bonding mechanism 7, the inversion mechanism 6, the protective film peeling mechanism 4, and the brightness enhancement film bonding mechanism 5 are provided. That is, the manufacturing apparatus 200 has a configuration in which the reversing mechanism 6 is further included in the configuration of the manufacturing apparatus 100. Therefore, the protective film peeling mechanism 4 is configured to peel the protective film from below the liquid crystal panel 10 in the same manner as the configuration and function of each member in the manufacturing apparatus 1. The brightness enhancement film transport mechanism 51 is configured to transport the brightness enhancement film from below to the bonding unit 52 in the same manner as the configuration and function of each member in the manufacturing apparatus 1. Other configurations of the manufacturing apparatus 200 are substantially the same as the configuration of the manufacturing apparatus 100.

  Thereby, the manufacturing apparatus 200 bonds a polarizing film on both surfaces of the liquid crystal panel 10, and bonds a brightness enhancement film on the surface of the polarizing film on the back surface of the liquid crystal panel 10, that is, manufactures a liquid crystal display device. Be able to.

<Method for manufacturing liquid crystal display device>
A method for manufacturing a liquid crystal display device using the manufacturing apparatus 200 having the above configuration will be described. The manufacturing process of the liquid crystal display device mainly includes a transport process, first to third bonding processes, and the like.

  First, like the manufacturing method in the said Embodiment 2, a conveyance process, a 1st bonding process, a 90 degree turning process, an inversion process, and a 3rd bonding process are performed. In the said conveyance process, the liquid crystal panel 10 which made the back surface the lower side in the state which becomes horizontally long with respect to the conveyance direction is conveyed to the back surface side polarizing film bonding mechanism 2, for example. Therefore, after finishing the 90 ° turning process and the reversing process, the liquid crystal panel 10 is conveyed to the surface side polarizing film laminating mechanism 7 with the surface facing down, for example, in a state of being vertically long with respect to the conveying direction.

  Next, the liquid crystal panel 10 is inverted 180 ° by the inversion mechanism 6 (inversion process). Accordingly, the liquid crystal panel 10 is transported to the protective film peeling mechanism 4 with the back surface facing downward, for example, in a state of being vertically long in the transport direction. Then, a peeling process and a 2nd bonding process are performed.

  Thereby, the liquid crystal display device according to the present embodiment is manufactured. In the manufacturing method of the liquid crystal display device according to the present invention, more preferably, the liquid crystal panel in at least one bonding step among the first and third bonding steps in which the polarizing film is bonded to both surfaces of the liquid crystal panel 10. The conveyance speed of 10 may be made faster than the conveyance speed of the polarizing film, and the liquid crystal panel 10 is conveyed in the first and third bonding steps so that the bending (warping) of the liquid crystal panel 10 can be further suppressed. More preferably, the speed is faster than the conveying speed of the polarizing film.

  Note that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and can be implemented in a mode in which various modifications are made within the described range. Accordingly, various modifications can be made within the scope of the claims. Is possible. Specifically, the manufacturing apparatus and the manufacturing method of the liquid crystal display device according to the present invention have a configuration (method) in which a polarizing film is first bonded to the back surface of a liquid crystal panel. However, the manufacturing apparatus and manufacturing method of the liquid crystal display device according to the present invention may have a configuration (method) in which a polarizing film is first bonded to the surface of a liquid crystal panel. That is, in the liquid crystal display device manufacturing apparatus and method according to the present invention, the pressure-sensitive adhesive layer, the polarizing film, the pressure-sensitive adhesive layer, and the protective film are finally laminated in this order on the surface side of the liquid crystal panel. If a liquid crystal display device in which a pressure-sensitive adhesive layer, a polarizing film, a pressure-sensitive adhesive layer, a brightness enhancement film, a pressure-sensitive adhesive layer and a protective film are laminated in this order on the back side of the substrate can be produced, its specific configuration Various changes can be made to the method and method within a consistent range. Therefore, a plurality of 90 ° turning mechanisms, reversing mechanisms, and turning reversing mechanisms may be provided depending on the configuration of the manufacturing apparatus.

  Further, for example, the number of roller groups in the manufacturing apparatus or the arrangement of each mechanism including the unwinding unit and the winding unit is not limited to the illustrated number and arrangement. Moreover, the protective film used as a surface protective film may be bonded to the polarizing film or the brightness enhancement film before the bonding step as in the above-described embodiment, and after the bonding step, the polarizing film. Or may be bonded to a brightness enhancement film. That is, after bonding a polarizing film and a brightness enhancement film to a liquid crystal panel, it is good also as a structure which bonds a protective film to a polarizing film and a brightness enhancement film further.

  According to the manufacturing apparatus and the manufacturing method of the liquid crystal display device according to the present invention, since a pre-processing device and a pre-processing process for producing a sheet-like brightness enhancement film or a polarizing film are not required, the productivity and manufacturing are improved. There is an effect that it is possible to provide a manufacturing apparatus and a manufacturing method of a liquid crystal display device capable of suppressing cost.

  Therefore, the apparatus and method for manufacturing a liquid crystal display device according to the present invention can be widely used in various industries for manufacturing mobile devices such as notebook personal computers and mobile phones, and large televisions.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Manufacturing apparatus 2 Back surface side polarizing film bonding mechanism 3 90 degree turning mechanism 4 Protective film peeling mechanism 5 Brightness improvement film bonding mechanism 6 Inversion mechanism 7 Front side polarizing film bonding mechanism 8 Turning inversion mechanism 10 Liquid crystal panel 11 Panel conveyance mechanism DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 21 Polarizing film conveyance mechanism 22 Bonding part 25a Polarizing film original fabric 25b Peeling film 51 Brightness improvement film conveyance mechanism 52 Pasting part 55a Brightness improvement film original fabric 55b Peeling film 100 Manufacturing apparatus 200 Manufacturing apparatus

Claims (9)

A manufacturing apparatus for manufacturing a liquid crystal display device in which a polarizing film is bonded to both surfaces of a liquid crystal panel,
A back side polarizing film laminating mechanism for pasting on the back side of the liquid crystal panel while cutting a long polarizing film;
A surface side polarizing film laminating mechanism for laminating the surface of the liquid crystal panel while cutting the long polarizing film;
A reversing mechanism for reversing a liquid crystal panel having a polarizing film bonded on one side by 180 °;
A 90 ° turning mechanism for turning a liquid crystal panel having a polarizing film bonded to at least the back by 90 °;
A protective film peeling mechanism for peeling the protective film on the polarizing film from the liquid crystal panel having the polarizing film bonded to at least the back surface;
A brightness enhancement film laminating mechanism for laminating a long brightness enhancement film to a polarizing film from which a protective film in a 90 ° rotated liquid crystal panel has been peeled,
An apparatus for manufacturing a liquid crystal display device.   The apparatus for manufacturing a liquid crystal display device according to claim 1, further comprising a panel transport mechanism that transports the liquid crystal panel from an upstream side to a downstream side in the manufacturing apparatus. In order from the upstream side of the manufacturing apparatus toward the downstream side, the back side polarizing film laminating mechanism, the 90 ° turning mechanism, the protective film peeling mechanism, the brightness enhancement film bonding mechanism, the reversing mechanism, the surface-side polarization The apparatus for manufacturing a liquid crystal display device according to claim 2, wherein a film bonding mechanism is provided. In order from the upstream side of the manufacturing apparatus toward the downstream side, the back side polarizing film laminating mechanism, the 90 ° turning mechanism and the reversing mechanism, the surface-side polarizing film laminating mechanism, wherein the protective film peeling mechanism, the brightness enhancement The apparatus for manufacturing a liquid crystal display device according to claim 2, wherein a film bonding mechanism is provided. In order from the upstream side of the manufacturing apparatus toward the downstream side, the back side polarizing film laminating mechanism, the 90 ° turning mechanism and the reversing mechanism, the surface-side polarizing film laminating mechanism, the reversing mechanism, the protective film peeling mechanism The said brightness improvement film bonding mechanism is arrange | positioned, The manufacturing apparatus of the liquid crystal display device of Claim 2 characterized by the above-mentioned. A manufacturing method for manufacturing a liquid crystal display device in which a polarizing film is bonded to both surfaces of a liquid crystal panel,
A first bonding step of bonding to the back surface of the liquid crystal panel while cutting the long polarizing film;
A third bonding step for bonding to the surface of the liquid crystal panel while cutting the long polarizing film;
A reversing step of reversing the liquid crystal panel having a polarizing film bonded on one side by 180 °,
A 90 ° turning step of turning 90 ° a liquid crystal panel having a polarizing film bonded to at least the back surface;
A peeling step of peeling the protective film on the polarizing film from the liquid crystal panel having the polarizing film bonded to at least the back surface;
A second laminating step of laminating the long brightness enhancement film on the polarizing film from which the protective film in the liquid crystal panel rotated 90 ° is peeled;
A method for manufacturing a liquid crystal display device. The first bonding step, the 90 ° turning step, the stripping step, the second bonding step, the reversing step, according to the third bonding step to claim 6, characterized in that in this order A method for manufacturing a liquid crystal display device. The said 1st bonding process, the said 90 degree turning process, the said inversion process, the said 3rd bonding process, the said peeling process, and the said 2nd bonding process are performed in this order. A method for manufacturing a liquid crystal display device. The first bonding step, the 90 ° turning step and the reversing step, the third bonding step, the reversing step, the peeling step, claims the second bonding step and performing in this order 7. A method for producing a liquid crystal display device according to 6.

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