JPH07270740A - Production of liquid crystal element - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To produce a liquid crystal element having through-holes penetrating the front and rear surfaces at a good yield by forming the through-holes without generating crack and fissure at substrates. CONSTITUTION:A liquid crystal element assembly A is assembled by joining a pair of the large-sized substrates 1, 2 via a sealing material 3 enclosing the liquid crystal packing regions of the respective liquid crystal elements, a sealing material 4 enclosing the piercing parts and a frame-shaped outer peripheral sealing material 5 along the outer peripheral edges of the substrates. Resist films 7 on which the parts respectively corresponding to the piercing parts are opened are formed on the outside surfaces of both substrates 1, 2. The piercing parts of both substrates 1, 2 are chemically etched with the resist films 7 as the mask, thereby, the through-holes (a) are formed, and thereafter, the resist films 7 are peeled and the liquid crystal element assembly A is separated into the individual liquid crystal elements 10.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing a liquid crystal element having through holes on the front and back surfaces.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art For example, as an electronic timepiece, there is an electronic timepiece in which the time is analog-displayed by a hand and the date and other information are displayed by a liquid crystal element. A liquid crystal element is used in which a through hole is provided on the front and back sides.

A liquid crystal device having such a through hole has heretofore been described with a pair of substrates made of a glass plate on which electrodes for applying an electric field to a liquid crystal layer are formed, and a sealing material surrounding a liquid crystal filling region. It is manufactured by a method in which the through-holes are joined to each other through a sealing material surrounding the perforated portions, and then the perforated portions of the both substrates are perforated by a spindle to form the through-holes.

[0004]

However, in the above-mentioned conventional manufacturing method, since the substrate is mechanically perforated by the spindle to form the through hole, cracks or breaks may occur in the substrate during perforation. Therefore, there is a problem that the manufacturing yield of liquid crystal elements is poor.

The present invention provides a method for manufacturing a liquid crystal element, which can form a through hole without causing cracks or breaks in a substrate and can manufacture a liquid crystal element having a through hole penetrating the front and back surfaces with a high yield. It is intended to be provided.

[0006]

According to the manufacturing method of the present invention, a pair of substrates made of a glass plate on which electrodes for applying an electric field to a liquid crystal layer are formed, and a pair of substrates enclosing a liquid crystal filling region of a liquid crystal element. And a sealing material that surrounds the perforated portion of the through hole, and then, a resist film in which portions corresponding to the perforated portions are open is formed on the outer surfaces of the pair of substrates, and the pair of resist films is used as a mask. The through hole is formed by chemically etching the perforated portion of the substrate.

When the manufacturing method of the present invention is applied to a manufacturing method for assembling a plurality of liquid crystal elements at a time, a pair of large substrates capable of collecting a plurality of liquid crystal element substrates are filled with the liquid crystal of each liquid crystal element. A liquid crystal element assembly is assembled by joining through a sealing material that surrounds a region and a sealing material that surrounds a perforated portion and a frame-shaped outer peripheral sealing material along the outer peripheral edge of the large-sized substrate, and the liquid crystal element assembly is assembled in the state described above. After chemically etching the perforated portions of the pair of large-sized substrates to form the through holes, the liquid crystal element assembly is separated into individual liquid crystal elements.

[0008]

According to the manufacturing method of the present invention, the portions corresponding to the perforated portions are opened on the outer surfaces of the pair of substrates joined together through the sealing material surrounding the liquid crystal filling area and the sealing material surrounding the perforated portions of the through holes. A resist film is formed, and the through holes are formed by chemically etching the perforated portions of the pair of substrates using the resist film as a mask. Therefore, as in the case of mechanically perforating the through holes with a spindle. Therefore, the substrate is not cracked or broken, and therefore, the liquid crystal element having the through holes penetrating the front and back surfaces can be manufactured with high yield.

When the manufacturing method of the present invention is applied to a manufacturing method in which a plurality of liquid crystal elements are assembled together, a pair of large-sized substrates enclose a liquid crystal filling region of each liquid crystal element and a sealing material enclose a perforated portion. And a frame-shaped outer peripheral sealing material along the outer periphery of the large-sized substrate to bond the liquid-crystal element assembly to each other, and in the state of the liquid-crystal element assembly, the perforated portions of the pair of large-sized substrates are chemically etched. By forming the through hole, the outer peripheral sealing material prevents the etching solution from entering the inner surface side of the large-sized substrate when forming the through hole by the chemical etching, and prevents the inner surface of the substrate from being damaged. it can.

[0010]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment in which the manufacturing method of the present invention is applied to a manufacturing method for collectively assembling a plurality of liquid crystal elements will be described below with reference to FIGS. First, the liquid crystal element to be manufactured will be described. FIG. 3 is a partially cutaway front view of the liquid crystal element manufactured by the manufacturing method of this embodiment before filling the liquid crystal. The liquid crystal element 10 is made of soda glass or borosilicate. A pair of substrates 11 and 12 made of a glass plate such as acid glass and having a transparent electrode (not shown) for applying an electric field to the liquid crystal layer formed thereon are used as a sealing material 3 surrounding a liquid crystal filling region of a liquid crystal element. , The through-hole a is bonded to the through-hole sealing material 4 surrounding the through-hole a (the central portion of the liquid crystal element in the figure) to form the through-hole a in the through-holes of the pair of substrates 11 and 12. Is.

The liquid crystal element is, for example, a segment display type liquid crystal element which is driven in a time division manner, and the transparent electrode formed on one substrate 11 is formed on the segment electrode corresponding to the display pattern and on the other substrate 12. The transparent electrode is a common electrode divided into a plurality of parts. Hereinafter, the substrate 11 on which the segment electrodes are formed is referred to as a segment substrate, and the substrate 12 on which the common electrodes are formed is referred to as a common substrate.

Of the segment substrate 11 and the common substrate 12, the segment substrate 11 is such that one side edge portion thereof is a substrate of a size projecting to the outside of the common substrate 12, and the projecting portion ( Hereinafter, segment electrode terminals and common electrode terminals (neither of which is shown) are arranged on the terminal arrangement edge portion 11a.

The lead wiring of each segment electrode formed on the segment substrate 11 is led out to the terminal array edge 11a of the segment substrate 1 and connected to the segment electrode terminal.

The lead wiring of each common electrode formed on the common substrate 12 is led out to one side edge of the common substrate 12 and surrounds the liquid crystal filling area of the liquid crystal element.
Outside of the above, it is connected to the common electrode terminal of the terminal arrangement edge portion 11a by a conductive paste.

Further, an alignment film (not shown) for aligning the molecules of the liquid crystal filled in the liquid crystal element in a predetermined alignment state is provided on the electrode forming surfaces of the segment substrate 11 and the common substrate 12. Each is provided.

Next, the method of manufacturing the liquid crystal element will be described. FIG. 1 is a sectional view of each step showing the method of manufacturing the liquid crystal element. In this embodiment, the liquid crystal element is manufactured by the following steps. To do.

[Step 1] First, as shown in FIG. 1A, a pair of large-sized substrates 1 and 2 having a size capable of collecting substrates for a plurality of liquid crystal elements (four in the figure) are provided for each liquid crystal. The sealing material 3 surrounding the liquid crystal filling area of the element and the perforated portion sealing material 4 surrounding the perforated portion of the through hole a and the frame-shaped outer peripheral sealing material 5 along the outer peripheral edges of the large-sized substrates 11 and 12 are joined together, The liquid crystal element assembly A is assembled.

Of the portions of the pair of large-sized substrates 1 and 2 that will be the substrates of each liquid crystal element, the adjacent one substrate portion will be the segment substrate 11 of the liquid crystal element shown in FIG. 3, and the other substrate. The portion serves as the common substrate 12, and in the portion serving as the segment substrate 11, the above-mentioned segment electrodes and their lead wirings and electrode terminals are formed, and the alignment film is formed in the portion corresponding to the liquid crystal filling region. The common electrode and its lead wiring described above are formed in the portion that will be the common substrate 12, and the alignment film is formed in the portion corresponding to the liquid crystal filling region.

FIG. 2 is a partially cutaway plan view of the liquid crystal element assembly A. The sealing material 3 surrounding the liquid crystal filling area of each liquid crystal element is provided with a notch portion on one side to be a liquid crystal injection port 3a. The perforated portion sealing material 4 is formed in a frame shape and is formed in a tubular shape surrounding the entire circumference of the perforated portion.
The outer peripheral sealing material 5 along the outer peripheral edge is formed in a frame shape with a missing portion provided on one side to be the air vent port 5a.

These sealing materials 3, 4, 5 are, for example, epoxy adhesives, and the liquid crystal element assembly A has the sealing materials 3, 4, 5 on one of a pair of large substrates 1, 2 as a screen. Printed by a printing method or the like, and on the other large-sized board, the lead wiring of the common electrode formed on the common board 12 and the terminal arrangement edge 1 of the segment board 11 are formed.
After printing a conductive paste for connecting to the common electrode terminals formed on 1a by a screen printing method or the like, the pair of large-sized substrates 1 and 2 are separated from each other on the segment substrate 11 portion and the common substrate 12 portion. Assembling is performed by a method of facing and stacking, and curing the sealing materials 3, 4, and 5 while applying pressure so that the distance between the substrates 1 and 2 becomes a predetermined distance.

In this case, an air vent 5a is provided on one side of the outer peripheral sealing material 5 along the outer peripheral edges of the large-sized substrates 1 and 2, and the sealing material 3 surrounding the liquid crystal filling area of each liquid crystal element.
Since the liquid crystal injection port 3a is provided on one side, the air between the substrates 1 and 2 can be escaped to the outside from the liquid crystal injection port 3a and the air vent port 5a when the substrates 1 and 2 are joined. It is possible to bond the large-sized substrates 1 and 2 at uniform intervals.

[Step 2] After assembling the liquid crystal element assembly A as described above, the air vent port 5a provided in the outer peripheral seal member 5 is made of an epoxy resin as shown by a chain double-dashed line in FIG. After sealing with an adhesive 6 or the like, as shown in FIG.
A resist film 7 having an opening 7a is formed in a portion corresponding to the perforated portion of each liquid crystal element by a screen printing method or the like.

[Step 3] Next, the liquid crystal element assembly A is immersed in an etching solution composed of a hydrofluoric acid solution, and the perforated portions of the pair of large-sized substrates 1 and 2 are chemically etched using the resist film 7 as a mask. As shown in FIG. 1C, a through hole a is formed in each of the perforated portions of the pair of large-sized substrates 1 and 2.

In this case, the gap between the large-sized substrates 1 and 2 is sealed by the outer peripheral sealing material 5 at the outer peripheral edge thereof, and the perforated portion is surrounded by the perforated portion sealing material 4, so that the chemical etching is performed. The etching solution does not enter the inner surfaces of the large-sized substrates 1 and 2 when forming the through holes a.

[Step 4] Next, the resist film 7 formed on the outer surfaces of the large-sized substrates 1 and 2 is peeled off, and then, as shown in FIG. The liquid crystal element assembly A is divided into individual liquid crystal elements 10 as shown in FIG.

After that, the liquid crystal is injected into the inside of each separated liquid crystal element (between the segment substrate 11 and the common substrate 12) from the above-mentioned liquid crystal injection port 3a by the vacuum injection method, and then the liquid crystal is injected. The inlet 3a is sealed with an epoxy adhesive or the like, and further, polarizing films having holes corresponding to the through holes a are previously attached to the outer surfaces of the segment substrate 11 and the common substrate 12, respectively, to complete a liquid crystal element. .

That is, in the above-mentioned manufacturing method, the outer surfaces of the pair of substrates 1 and 2 bonded to each other through the sealing material 3 surrounding the liquid crystal filling region and the perforated portion sealing material 4 surrounding the perforated portion of the through hole a are respectively described above. A through hole a is formed by forming a resist film 7 having an opening at a portion corresponding to the perforated portion, and chemically etching the perforated portion of the pair of substrates 1 and 2 using the resist film 7 as a mask. According to the manufacturing method, no cracks or breaks are generated in the substrates 1 and 2 unlike the case where the through holes are mechanically drilled by the spindle. Therefore, the liquid crystal element 10 having the through holes a penetrating the front and back surfaces. Can be manufactured with high yield.

When a plurality of liquid crystal elements 10 are assembled together as in the above embodiment, as described above, the pair of large-sized substrates 1 and 2 are provided with the sealing material 3 and the sealing material 3 surrounding the liquid crystal filling area of each liquid crystal element. Perforated part sealing material 4 and the large-sized substrates 1 and 2
The liquid crystal element assembly A is assembled by joining it with a frame-shaped outer peripheral seal material 5 along the outer peripheral edge of the liquid crystal element assembly A, and in the state of the liquid crystal element assembly A, the perforated portions of the pair of large substrates 1 and 2 are chemically etched. If the through holes a are formed by the chemical etching, the etching liquid is used to form the through holes a when the large substrates 1 and 2 are formed.
Since the outer peripheral sealing material 5 can prevent the inner surface of the substrate from entering, the inner surface of the substrate can be prevented from being damaged.

In the above embodiment, the air vent 4a provided in the frame-shaped outer peripheral seal material 5 along the outer peripheral edges of the large-sized substrates 1 and 2 is sealed and the perforated portions of the large-sized substrates 1 and 2 are etched. However, if the perforated portion is etched without immersing the air vent port 4a in the etching solution, it is not necessary to seal the air vent port 4a.

The above embodiment is an example in which the present invention is applied to a manufacturing method for collectively assembling a plurality of liquid crystal elements.
The present invention can also be applied to a manufacturing method for individually manufacturing each liquid crystal element, and in that case, a pair of substrates having electrodes formed thereon (a segment substrate when manufacturing the liquid crystal element shown in FIG. 3 is used). 11 and the common substrate 12) are joined together via the seal material 3 surrounding the liquid crystal filling area of the liquid crystal element and the perforated portion seal material 4, and then the portions corresponding to the perforated portions are opened on the outer surfaces of the pair of substrates. Forming a resist film to
Using the resist film as a mask, the perforated portions of the pair of substrates are chemically etched to form through holes.

In this case, the liquid crystal injection port 3a provided in the sealing material 3 surrounding the liquid crystal filling area is temporarily sealed, the perforated portion is etched, and then the resist film is peeled off. After removing the temporary sealing material of the liquid crystal injection port and injecting liquid crystal from the liquid crystal injection port, the liquid crystal injection port is sealed.

However, in the case of individually manufacturing each liquid crystal element, the perforated portion is etched by injecting liquid crystal between a pair of substrates joined together through the sealing materials 3 and 4 to inject a liquid crystal. It may be performed after sealing.

[0033]

According to the manufacturing method of the present invention, the portions corresponding to the perforated portions are formed on the outer surfaces of the pair of substrates which are joined together through the sealing material surrounding the liquid crystal filling area and the sealing material surrounding the perforated portions of the through holes. To form a resist film having an opening, and the through hole is formed by chemically etching the perforated portions of the pair of substrates using the resist film as a mask. Therefore, when the through hole is mechanically perforated by the spindle, As described above, the substrate is not cracked or broken, and therefore, the liquid crystal element having the through holes penetrating the front and back surfaces can be manufactured with high yield.

Further, when the manufacturing method of the present invention is applied to a manufacturing method for assembling a plurality of liquid crystal elements in a lump, a pair of large-sized substrates enclose a liquid crystal filling area of each liquid crystal element and a sealing material enclosing a perforated portion. And a frame-shaped outer peripheral sealing material along the outer periphery of the large-sized substrate to bond the liquid-crystal element assembly to each other, and in the state of the liquid-crystal element assembly, the perforated portions of the pair of large-sized substrates are chemically etched. By forming the through hole, the outer peripheral sealing material prevents the etching solution from entering the inner surface side of the large-sized substrate when forming the through hole by the chemical etching, and prevents the inner surface of the substrate from being damaged. it can.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view in each step showing a method for manufacturing a liquid crystal element according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a partially cutaway plan view of the assembled liquid crystal element assembly.

FIG. 3 is a partially cutaway front view of a manufactured liquid crystal element before being filled with liquid crystal.

[Explanation of symbols]

 A ... Liquid crystal element assembly 1, 2 ... Large substrate 3 ... Sealing material surrounding liquid crystal filling area 3a ... Liquid crystal injection port 4 ... Perforated portion sealing material 5 ... Perimeter sealing material 5a ... Air vent 7 ... Resist film 7a ... Opening a ... Through-hole 10 ... Liquid crystal element 11 ... Segment substrate 12 ... Common substrate

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A method of manufacturing a liquid crystal device having through holes penetrating to the front and back surfaces, comprising a pair of substrates made of glass plates and having electrodes for applying an electric field to a liquid crystal layer formed thereon.
After bonding through a sealing material surrounding a liquid crystal filling region of a liquid crystal element and a sealing material surrounding a perforated portion of the through hole, a resist film in which portions corresponding to the perforated portions are opened is formed on the outer surfaces of the pair of substrates. A method for manufacturing a liquid crystal element, comprising forming the through holes by chemically etching the perforated portions of the pair of substrates using the resist film as a mask. 2. A pair of substrates is a large substrate capable of collecting a plurality of substrates for each liquid crystal element, and the pair of large substrates encloses a liquid crystal filling region of each liquid crystal element and a seal surrounding a perforated portion. And a frame-shaped outer peripheral sealing material along the outer peripheral edge of the large-sized substrate are joined to assemble a liquid crystal element assembly, and the perforated portions of the pair of large substrates are chemically etched in the state of the liquid crystal element assembly. 2. The method for manufacturing a liquid crystal element according to claim 1, wherein the liquid crystal element assembly is separated into individual liquid crystal elements after the through holes are formed by forming the through holes.