JPH10186340A - Manufacture of liquid crystal panel frame and manufacture of liquid crystal panel body - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a manufacturing method by which a liq. crystal panel structure excellent in earthquake resistance and impact resistance is formed, and orientation defects of liq. crystal molecules and tree-shaped orientation defects, which are derived by the permeation process of the liq. crystal inside the panel structure and the volumetric contraction of the liq. crystal, are completely removed. SOLUTION: Plural straight-lined partition members 8 are formed on either one of substrates 2, 3, oriented films 7, 9 are formed on the substrates 2, 3, the oriented films 7, 9 are subjected to rubbing treatment, the substrates 2, 3 are superimposed each other so that the partition members 8 are extended approximately in parallel with the rubbing direction, and the substrates 2, 3 are bonded together by heating the partition members 8 to form plural rectilinear spaces R in a hermetically sealed state. Preferably ferroelectric liq. crystal or antiferroelecric liq. crystal is encapsulated in these straight spaces R. Respective partition members 8 are bonded to opposit substrates to form the hermetically sealed straight spaces R.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to an industrial OA (Office)
The present invention relates to a liquid crystal display for automation or home use, and to a liquid crystal panel body and a liquid crystal panel frame used for such a liquid crystal display. In particular, the present invention relates to a liquid crystal panel body and a liquid crystal panel frame suitable for using a ferroelectric liquid crystal or an antiferroelectric liquid crystal.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Liquid crystal displays (Liquid Crystal Dis)
play: LCD) is lightweight and thin, so it can be used to display figures and characters on a plane for displays such as small calculators, displays for measuring instruments such as testers, decorations and POPs. It is widely used as various display bodies such as a display body. Recently, thin film transistors (TF
It is also used as a television that displays moving images in full color using T), and as a large-capacity thin terminal display for personal computers and workstations.

[0003] The above-mentioned various display devices mainly use the shutter property of the liquid crystal. A typical example of the liquid crystal exhibiting the shutter property is a twisted nematic (TN) using a nematic phase. Liquid crystal and super twisted nematic (STN) liquid crystal. There are also ferroelectric liquid crystals and antiferroelectric liquid crystals using a chiral smectic phase. These liquid crystals are described in (1) "Liquid Crystals", edited by Kobayashi and Okano: Baifukan, 1985. (2) "Structure and Physical Properties of Ferroelectric Liquid Crystals", co-authored by Fukuda and Takezoe:
(3) "Next-generation liquid crystal display and liquid crystal material", supervised by Fukuda: CMC Corporation, 1992, etc.

[0004] Ferroelectric liquid crystal (FLC: Ferro-Electric)
Liquid Crystal) is Clark et al.
No. 16 public information, U.S. Pat. No. 4,367,924). In addition, antiferroelectric liquid crystal (AFLC:
Anti-Ferro-Electric LiquidCrystal is available from Chandani et al. (ADLChandani et al, Japanese Journal.
Of Applied Physics, 28, L125
6 (1989)). Since both liquid crystals have a so-called memory effect, TF
It is expected that large-capacity display can be performed by simple matrix driving without using an active element such as T (Thin Film Transistor).

[0005] As these crystals are lowered in temperature from the liquid phase (ie, isotropic phase) on the high temperature side, for example, a chiral nematic phase (N ^* phase) → smectic A
(SmA phase) → Chiral smectic Cα phase (SmCα
^* Phase) → SmCβ ^* phase → SmCγ ^* phase → SmC _A ^* phase shows a complicated phase change. Some phases do not appear depending on the liquid crystal. For example, a chiral nematic phase has not been found in an antiferroelectric liquid crystal. In addition, the phase that responds to the electric field required for the liquid crystal display is a chiral smectic phase that is located at a lower temperature side than the chiral nematic phase, has low symmetry, and is close to a crystalline state. The liquid crystal (FLC) is a chiral smectic C phase (SmC ^* phase), and is an antiferroelectric liquid crystal (AFL).
In C), chiral smectic C _A phase (SmC _A ^* phase),
One of a chiral smectic Cα phase (SmCα ^* phase), a chiral smectic Cβ phase (SmCβ ^* phase), and a chiral smectic Cγ phase (SmCγ ^* phase).

However, in order to put a display using a ferroelectric liquid crystal (FLC) or an antiferroelectric liquid crystal (AFLC) into practical use, as described in the aforementioned reference (3), two problems are simultaneously overcome. It is necessary to. 1
First, it is necessary to establish a production method capable of mass-producing a large-area thin film composed of a defect-free chiral smectic phase, in particular, an orientation control technique. Another is that a large area defect-free chiral smectic phase is stored in a liquid crystal panel frame having excellent shock resistance and impact resistance.

Conventionally, as a method of manufacturing a liquid crystal display (LCD), for example, a method using a liquid crystal panel as shown in FIG. 3 is known. In this method, first, a pair of glass substrates 102, 1 having transparent electrodes 104, 105 are provided.
03 are adhered to each other with a minute gap therebetween to form a panel frame for enclosing liquid crystal. Then, a desired liquid crystal 101 is sealed in the minute gap to form a liquid crystal panel. Further, a polarizing plate 106 is attached to the liquid crystal panel body, and a driving printed circuit board and an additional element such as a backlight are mounted to manufacture a liquid crystal display.

When producing a panel frame for enclosing a liquid crystal,
A large number of spherical or cylindrical spacers 107 are arranged on one of the pair of glass substrates 102 and 103, and a seal portion 108 is printed in a frame shape around the spacers 107 by screen printing or the like. Then, the other glass substrate is pressed against the glass substrate with an appropriate pressure with the spacer 107 and the seal portion 108 interposed therebetween, and the pair of glass substrates is entirely heated in this pressed state to heat and cure the seal portion 108. The two glass substrates are bonded to each other.

On the opposing glass substrates 102 and 103, transparent electrodes 104 and 105, an insulating film,
A color filter or the like is laminated as necessary, and furthermore, a polyimide film 109 or 110 that has been subjected to a uniaxial orientation treatment for aligning the liquid crystal, for example, a rubbing treatment, is formed on the uppermost portion in contact with the liquid crystal 101. The width of the minute gap,
That is, the cell gap ranges from 1 to depending on the liquid crystal to be sealed.
It is set to a desired value between 10 μm. For ferroelectric liquid crystal (FLC) and antiferroelectric liquid crystal (AFLC),
３3 μm, preferably 1.5-2 μm.

[0010] The encapsulation of liquid crystal in the panel frame for enclosing liquid crystal is
For example, it is performed as follows. First, the panel frame is set in an exhaust device, the inside of the panel frame is exhausted through an opening formed in the panel frame, and then the opening is closed with liquid crystal to be sealed. Thereafter, air is introduced into the exhaust device to apply a pressure difference to the liquid crystal in the opening, and the liquid crystal permeates into the panel frame. The penetration rate can be controlled by the pressure difference. The slowest is to penetrate only by surface tension without applying a differential pressure. In addition, the inside of the liquid crystal panel frame shown in FIG. 3 forms a continuous single space without a partition, and when the liquid crystal permeates the internal space, it can permeate anywhere in the internal space. It is.

The permeation temperature is a temperature corresponding to the liquid phase of the liquid crystal to be sealed, and is about 80 ° C. to 120 ° C. for a ferroelectric liquid crystal (FLC) or an antiferroelectric liquid crystal (AFLC). After that, the opening is sealed and cooled again from a high temperature in an oven with a temperature control function. Is obtained.

In this structure, the upper and lower substrates 102 and 103 are not bonded to each other except for the seal portion 108.
When pressed locally, the substrates 102 and 103 have gentle irregularities, and the liquid crystal 101 in the liquid crystal panel flows. If the liquid crystal is in the nematic phase state, the nematic phase state is close to the liquid state. Therefore, even if such liquid crystal flows, if the pressure is released, the alignment state returns to the original state and no problem occurs. When carrying a liquid crystal display with a built-in liquid crystal panel as a portable type, or when using it daily in an office, when a certain impact or physical stress is applied to the substrate, the substrate is slightly deformed. There is no problem because it is reversibly restored when it is released.

On the other hand, when a ferroelectric liquid crystal (FLC) or an anti-ferroelectric liquid crystal (AFLC) is enclosed in a liquid crystal panel frame of this kind of structure, similarly, local pressure or impact causes When the substrate is deformed, the liquid crystal therein flows. A ferroelectric liquid crystal or the like usually has a smectic-specific layer structure as shown in FIG. 7. However, once a fluid flows in the smectic, a zigzag defect or a disorder occurs in the unique layer structure. The disturbance does not return. In such a case, it is necessary to heat the liquid crystal layer again to the isotropic phase, and further cool and reorient the liquid crystal layer, but such an operation is practically impossible. In order to prevent the liquid crystal layer from being disturbed, it is necessary to carefully handle the liquid crystal panel body so that vibrations and shocks are not applied to the liquid crystal panel during the mounting process of the auxiliary equipment after the alignment control. Special measures such as an absorber and a panel surface protection member are required. They are,
This leads to a decrease in productivity and an increase in cost, which narrows the range of use as a liquid crystal display.

Therefore, particularly when a liquid crystal such as a ferroelectric liquid crystal is used, even when the substrate is pressed or subjected to an impact, the liquid crystal inside does not cause excessive flow, so that the liquid crystal does not have an excessive shock resistance. An excellent panel frame is required. As a method of realizing such a panel structure, a method of firmly bonding a pair of substrates to each other is known. When the display area is about A4 or more, if both substrates are not bonded, no matter what kind of shape of the spacer member is used, floating occurs between the substrates during the alignment control, the mounting process, and during use. Is not practical at all.

In the conventional structure shown in FIG. 3, a technique is known in which adhesive beads (that is, spherical bodies) are sprayed between the two substrates to fix the two substrates together.
No. 6,086,045. Also, photolithography
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 63-50817 discloses a technique in which a dot-shaped (that is, a columnar) adhesive member is formed on one of the substrates, and the two substrates are more flexibly and firmly bonded by the adhesive member. JP-A Nos. 62-96925, 62-118323 and 4-
No. 255826. Further, a technique using a striped adhesive member is disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 63-5 / 1988.
No. 0817 and JP-A-63-135917.

The purpose of bonding in each of the above prior arts is as follows.
Maintaining the distance between the upper and lower substrates constant and arranging the spacers corresponding to the non-pixel portions are particularly important items in the present invention, that is, (1) penetration of liquid crystal into the liquid crystal panel frame. It does not take into account the definition of the method of the formation, (2) specifying the direction of volume shrinkage of the liquid crystal due to cooling, and (3) controlling the growth direction of the chiral smectic phase layer. As described below,
With respect to those bonded in the form of dots and those bonded using beads, a defect-free chiral smectic phase cannot be obtained. With respect to those bonded in a stripe shape, there is a possibility that a chiral smectic phase with few defects may be obtained, but simply bonding in a stripe shape is not sufficient.

Next, a liquid crystal panel body in which both substrates are bonded by an adhesive member, and a liquid crystal panel body in which a distance between the two substrates is simply maintained by beads or the like without using the adhesive member, is used. That is, the distance between the substrates is set to about 2 μm or less, and a liquid crystal panel body is formed by infiltrating a ferroelectric liquid crystal into a substance subjected to a normal rubbing treatment, and then the liquid crystal panel body is placed in an oven or a liquid. The initial alignment state of the ferroelectric liquid crystal when cooled will be briefly described.

In the SmC ^* phase layer obtained by cooling the ferroelectric liquid crystal from the high temperature state phase, an alignment abnormality inherent to the crystalline body is always found. This alignment abnormality includes a loop-shaped zigzag defect (reference numeral 113 in FIG. 4), a tree-like defect generated at a portion where adjacent crystal layer domains meet each other (reference numeral 114 in FIG. 5), and a defect of a nearly linear type. (Reference numeral 115 in FIG. 6).

When non-adhesive spacers are scattered between the two substrates and when the dot substrates are randomly arranged and the two substrates are adhered to each other, many loop-shaped zigzag defects are observed, and rarely a tree is formed. Defects are seen. further,
As shown in FIG. 18, the dot-like fine spacer 107
Are regularly arranged and the two substrates are bonded to each other,
A zigzag defect 116 synchronized with the regularity period of the spacer 107 occurred. Many similar zigzag defects occur when non-adhesive striped spacers are used.

When both substrates are bonded by the stripe-shaped spacer, large zigzag defects which divide the panel surface into two or three parts are found, and many linear and tree-like alignment defects are found therein. In other words, when both substrates are bonded by the stripe-shaped spacer, the amount of zigzag defects is reduced, but such bonding alone is not sufficient to completely eliminate the defects. In this case, when the liquid crystal panel body is rapidly cooled, a narrow gap formed by contraction of the liquid crystal layer in the opposite direction is found in the gap between the adjacent stripe-shaped spacers.

If at least one alignment defect such as a zigzag defect exists on the electrode, when the refractive index for linearly polarized light is different on both sides of the alignment defect, a slight difference in shading occurs. It is difficult to put it to practical use because it has problems such as constant shining itself and a hotbed for the occurrence of new defects. This is the same even when a gap is formed.

The structure of a zigzag defect and a measure for eliminating the zigzag defect are described in the above reference (3). According to this, the zigzag defect is considered to occur inevitably because the SmC ^* phase takes the Chevron structure shown in FIG. The chevron structure is a phenomenon in which a layer of a chiral smectic phase is curved into a shape of “≪”. The bending direction is not uniquely determined, and there are two types, one 111 facing the left and one 112 facing the right, and a zigzag defect 113 occurs at each boundary. FIG.
As shown in the figure, if the chiral smectic layer S has an ideal bookshelf structure, it is considered that zigzag defects in the form of domains do not occur, but tree-like defects and linear defects may occur. . Note that in FIGS. 7 and 8, the symbol K indicates an interface between the substrate and the liquid crystal layer.

In order to eliminate the zigzag defects, the bending direction of the liquid crystal layer in the chevron structure is fixed in one direction. (1) The liquid crystal molecular axis in the liquid crystal layer is not parallel to the substrate but in a certain direction. To form a large and finite angle in advance, ie, to increase the pretilt angle (“Next-generation liquid crystal displays and liquid crystal materials”, supervised by Fukuda, 8
5 pages, CMC Corporation, 1992), (2)
To use the proper liquid crystal material and to make the combination of the alignment film and the rubbing direction appropriate (page 19 of the same magazine);
Alternatively, (3) a method of using a ferroelectric liquid crystal (FLC) material that causes less layer bending (that is, a decrease in the layer spacing of the smectic phase) during the phase transition from the smectic A phase to the SmC ^* phase (ibid., P. 37) ) Are exemplified.

However, in the method (1), the oblique vapor deposition method is adopted, and there is almost no effect when the display portion has a large area orientation of B5 size or more. Also, the methods (2) and (3) are effective only for specific materials, are not effective for material progress, and there is no clear guideline for obtaining such specific materials. In addition, even if the bending directions of the crystal layers are aligned in a certain direction by the above-described methods, defects caused by collision between domains in a cooling process of the liquid crystal and volume shrinkage of the liquid crystal are caused. It is not possible to eliminate defects that occur.

On the other hand, since the antiferroelectric liquid crystal (AFLC) does not have a chiral nematic phase layer, the smectic A (SmA) phase directly precipitates from the isotropic phase, that is, nuclei grows. ) And different. Defects, in the case of transition from the isotropic phase to the smectic A (SmA) phase, is visible when the transition from the SmA phase antiferroelectric state, for example, to the SmC _A ^* phase. Defects seen in the case of transition from the SmA phase to the SmC _A ^* phase, ferroelectric liquid crystal (FLC)
Is the same as

As a method of precipitating the smectic A (SmA) phase from the isotropic phase, first, the phase is deposited while growing in parallel to the rubbing direction. Precipitates while spreading in the direction. The alignment defects in this case include: (1) those generated at the portion where the SmA phase domains grown at different locations collide (reference X in FIG. 9); A fast domain that is generated in a part where the orientation direction is slightly different from the surrounding area (reference numeral Y in FIG. 10). (3) In many cases, the liquid crystal is generated in a meandering part. There is one that occurs in a portion where the directions are significantly different from each other (reference numeral Z in FIG. 11). The defect (1) has a string shape extending substantially perpendicular to the rubbing direction, and is small but numerous. The reason for the occurrence of (2) is unknown, but the area is large.

Although the defects of (1) and (3) are similar, the size of the discrepancy is different. Regarding the defect (1), the layer direction of both domains bordering the defect is basically defined in the rubbing direction and is the same. This defect is also a slight discrepancy because the two domains are formed by growing from different directions.
These defects are also taken over by the SmC _A ^* phase and remain as defects.

[0028]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a method of manufacturing a liquid crystal panel frame and a method of manufacturing a liquid crystal panel frame capable of completely removing alignment defects inevitably occurring in the above-mentioned chiral smectic phase layer based on physical laws. It is intended to provide a manufacturing method. More specifically, an object of the present invention is to provide a method for manufacturing a liquid crystal panel frame or the like that can reliably manufacture a liquid crystal panel structure having excellent earthquake resistance and impact resistance. It is another object of the present invention to provide a method of manufacturing a liquid crystal panel frame or the like that allows a liquid crystal to penetrate into the liquid crystal panel frame in a stable state without causing disturbance or distortion in the flow of the liquid crystal.

[0029]

In order to achieve the above object, a method for manufacturing a liquid crystal panel frame according to the present invention comprises the following steps: (1) At least one of a pair of transparent substrates is provided on one of a pair of substrates. Forming a partition member, (2) forming an alignment film on at least one of the pair of substrates, (3) performing a uniaxial alignment process on the alignment film, (4) And (5) bonding the pair of substrates by heating the partition members so that the plurality of partition members extend substantially parallel to the direction of the uniaxial alignment process. Forming a linear space in which a portion other than the open end can be sealed with respect to the liquid.

Further, the method of manufacturing a liquid crystal panel according to the present invention comprises: (1) forming a plurality of linear partition members on one of a pair of substrates, at least one of which is transparent;
(2) a step of forming an alignment film on at least one of the pair of substrates, (3) a step of performing a uniaxial alignment process on the alignment film, and (4) the plurality of partition members are (5) laminating the pair of substrates so as to extend substantially parallel to the direction of the uniaxial alignment treatment, and (5) bonding the pair of substrates by heating a partition member so that portions other than the opening end for liquid crystal passage are formed. The method is characterized by comprising a step of forming a linear space that can be sealed with respect to a liquid, and (6) a step of enclosing a ferroelectric liquid crystal or an antiferroelectric liquid crystal in the linear space.

In the above structure, the steps of forming the partition member, forming the alignment film, and performing the uniaxial alignment process are performed in any order, that is, the order is changed. It is possible to do.

It is desirable that the length of the linear space is longer than the effective display area of the liquid crystal panel. Since the entrance / exit of the space inevitably causes an orientation abnormality, the entrance / exit of the space is set to be approximately 8 mm or more, more preferably 12 mm or more.

Electrodes are usually formed on each of the pair of substrates. The pair of electrodes may be a stripe electrode in which a plurality of linear electrodes are arranged in parallel at a fixed pitch, or a pair of electrodes. A planar electrode formed as a single plane can be used. Striped electrodes are widely used in ordinary liquid crystal displays. With respect to this striped electrode, a pair of upper and lower striped electrodes are arranged in a direction perpendicular to each other, and a liquid crystal display is driven in a matrix by selectively energizing one of them. A planar electrode is an electrode formed widely and uniformly on a substrate. With respect to a liquid crystal panel using this planar electrode, for example, appropriate data can be written by irradiating a laser beam to an appropriate coordinate position of the planar electrode.

When a striped electrode is used, the partition member is provided so as to be located between the electrodes of one of the striped electrodes. In some cases, the partition members may be arranged at an appropriate pitch, such as every third electrode or every third electrode, instead of arranging the partition members between the electrodes. At this time, the distance between the side surface of the partition member and each electrode is preferably set as small as possible. Desirably, it is set to 5 μm or less. This is because the partition member has a function as a light-shielding layer, so that if the gap is large, steady leakage of transmitted light increases and the contrast decreases.

The phase state of the ferroelectric liquid crystal contained in the liquid crystal panel is set to, for example, a chiral smectic C phase. Further, the antiferroelectric phase state of the liquid crystal to be accommodated, the chiral smectic C _A phase, a chiral smectic Cα phase, the chiral smectic Cβ phase is either a chiral smectic Cγ phase.

It is desirable that a black coloring material is dispersed in the partition member. The partition member itself has a light-shielding property, but this is most effective when the two polarizing plates are in a perfect crossed Nicols, that is, in a perfect orthogonal arrangement. However, since it does not generally operate with perfect crossed Nicols, light-shielding properties are reduced. By dispersing a black coloring member in the partition member, such a decrease in light shielding properties can be improved.

As shown in FIG. 20, the liquid crystal display generally includes a liquid crystal panel 1, a printed circuit board 20 on which an auxiliary device such as a driving IC is mounted,
It is manufactured by assembling the backlight 11, the upper and lower frames 12a, 12b, and the like. Further, using such a liquid crystal display 15, a display device 16 as shown in FIG. 21, for example, can be manufactured. This display device 16
For example, it is used as an output device for a computer. The display device 16 includes a support stand 13 and a rectangular frame 14 supported by the stand 13.
And The liquid crystal display 15 has a frame 1
4 is set almost at the center. Regarding the display device 16, it is desirable to position the liquid crystal panel 1 so that the partition member 8 in the liquid crystal panel 1 extends in the horizontal direction.

When the liquid crystal panel body has a large area, when the liquid crystal panel body is set up vertically, a large load is applied to the liquid crystal present at the lower position due to the weight of the liquid crystal present at the upper position. If no measures are taken, the orientation of the liquid crystal present at the lower position may be destroyed by the action of the load, causing an abnormal orientation. On the other hand, if the partition members 8 are arranged in the horizontal direction as shown in FIG. 21, the load of the liquid crystal in each portion is taken up by each partition member 8, and therefore, the alignment abnormality occurs in the liquid crystal. Can be prevented.

In the above-described liquid crystal panel frame or liquid crystal panel body, the uniaxial alignment treatment is a treatment performed to align liquid crystal molecules in a certain direction. Conceivable.

The liquid crystal panel frame or liquid crystal panel body to which the present invention is applied has, for example, a structure as shown in FIG.
Further, when the liquid crystal panel frame and the like are viewed from above, the structure is as shown in FIG. In FIG. 1, a linear partition member 8 having a thickness corresponding to the cell gap G is formed between stripe-shaped transparent electrodes 5 formed on one glass substrate 3. The other glass substrate 2 is adhered to the partition member 8 by an appropriate means, whereby the pair of substrates is completely adhered, and the liquid crystal panel frame for enclosing the liquid crystal in which the cell gap G is accurately defined. Is configured.

Reference numerals 9 and 7 are polyimide alignment films. Reference numeral 4 denotes an opposing transparent electrode that faces one of the transparent electrodes 5 and extends in a stripe shape in a direction perpendicular to the transparent electrode 5. Reference numeral 6 denotes an insulating film. As the insulating film, for example, a thin film of alumina or silica having a thickness of about 1000 ° can be used. Further, the insulating films can be provided on both sides. The color filter can be provided below one of the transparent electrodes. With this configuration, a linear space R is formed between the partition members 8. By enclosing a ferroelectric liquid crystal (FLC) or an antiferroelectric liquid crystal (AFLC) in these spaces R, the liquid crystal panel 1
Is produced.

The linear spaces R above the stripe-shaped electrodes 5 are separated from each other by the partition member 8, and are completely closed spaces except for the opening at the front end portion 22 and the opening at the rear end portion 23 in FIG. Has formed. That is, portions other than the openings are sealed with respect to the liquid. The rear end portion 23
It can also be closed by bonding to the seal portion 21. The cross-sectional shape of the linear space R is a flat quadrilateral, that is, a rectangular shape. In this case, the minimum width of the long side L of the rectangle is substantially the same as the line width of the striped electrode 5, for example, about 50 to 500.
It is automatically set to μm. The short side S of the rectangle is set to be substantially equal to the cell gap G, for example, 1 to 3 μm. Strictly speaking, the cross-sectional shape of the linear space R is affected by a step due to the thickness of the transparent electrode 5, some unevenness on the surface of the transparent electrode 5, bending of the side surface of the partition member 8, or roundness of the four corners. It is not a complete quadrilateral.

The width W of the partition member 8 serving as a partition for partitioning the linear space R is set to be equal to or less than the distance between two adjacent electrodes 5, for example, 10 to 100 μm. Linear space R
Length L _R (FIG. 2), the length of the electrode that acts as the display unit D, for example, set to be longer than 10 to 40 cm. To such setting longer than the display portion D of the length of the linear interstices R, since the liquid crystal inlet and outlet of the linear interstices R abnormal orientation E is found by the length L _E or L _X of about 5~10mm It is.
A specific method itself for continuously forming such a linear space R on a substrate is disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No.
No. 2-96925.

The uniaxial orientation treatment is applied to the inner wall of the space R substantially parallel to the direction in which the linear space R extends. As the uniaxial orientation treatment, for example, a rubbing treatment, an oblique deposition treatment, or the like is used, but when targeting a large-area panel body,
A rubbing treatment is desirable in view of productivity and alignment ability.
This rubbing treatment is applied without interruption to at least one of the two wide surfaces P1 and P2 (FIG. 1) among the surfaces forming the linear space serving as the liquid crystal passage, that is, the four surfaces in contact with the liquid crystal. Two planes P3 facing at right angles to this
The rubbing process is not impossible for P4 and P4,
Sufficient orientation of crystal molecules cannot be obtained by these planes alone.

When imparting orientation to the two opposing surfaces P1 and P2, the method of aligning the rubbing directions can be either parallel or anti-parallel. Parallel means two planes P1 and P1
The rubbing directions of the two surfaces P1 and P2 are set in opposite directions (↓ ↑) when the rubbing directions of the two surfaces are aligned in the same direction (↑↑). However, at some request, the rubbing directions may not be completely aligned between the two surfaces P1 and P2 but may be opposed to each other at a certain angle. In this case, it is desirable that the center line of the angle between the two rubbing directions coincides with the direction in which the partition member 8 extends. The angle difference between the two rubbing directions at this time is desirably set within 12 °. In the case where one rubbing direction and the direction in which the partition member 8 extends substantially coincide with each other, the angle difference between the two rubbing directions is kept within 6 °. When the rubbing directions are the same between the two surfaces P1 and P2, the angle between the rubbing direction and the direction in which the partition member 8 extends does not necessarily have to be parallel. However, desirably, the angle between the rubbing direction and the partition member 8 is kept within 12 °.

Next, the advantages of the structure of the liquid crystal panel frame for enclosing the liquid crystal manufactured by the method of the present invention will be described from the viewpoint of the permeation of the liquid crystal. The main problems here are (1) the problem of the affinity between the liquid crystal and the alignment film, and (2) the residual of bubbles generated due to the meandering of the liquid crystal when the liquid crystal penetrates into the panel frame, and the problem of the liquid crystal. The problem is the accumulation of distortion. Ferroelectric liquid crystal (FL
Regardless of C) or the antiferroelectric liquid crystal (AFLC), when it penetrates into the inside of the liquid crystal panel frame, it is parallel to the rubbing direction up to the deep portion of the panel frame and linearly in the rubbing direction. Desirable to penetrate. The reason is,
This is because, when the liquid crystal is made to permeate under the same conditions with respect to the differential pressure and the temperature, if the rubbing direction and the permeation direction are angularly shifted, it is observed that the permeation speed decreases accordingly. In other words, if an angle is formed between the rubbing direction and the permeation direction, the affinity between the alignment film surface and the liquid crystal decreases. For example, if the liquid crystal penetrates into the panel frame only by the surface tension, the liquid crystal can be arranged in the most natural and stable state with respect to the alignment film. In this case, the angle between the rubbing direction and the permeation direction is formed. Are approximately 2 to 4
A speed difference of about twice occurs.

The better the affinity between the alignment film and the liquid crystal is, the more advantageous the liquid crystal is because it penetrates into the inside of the panel frame faster, and the liquid crystal is more naturally arranged on the alignment film and is more stable. In addition, the orientation of the inside of the liquid crystal is enhanced by the function of the orientation film. Conversely, if the inclination between the rubbing direction and the liquid crystal permeation direction is increased, the liquid crystal is more likely to meander, and air pockets, that is, air bubbles or voids are likely to be generated. In addition, since the liquid crystal is highly viscous, the meandering pattern of the liquid crystal is stored in the liquid crystal itself as an unstable conformation, and distortion is accumulated around the meandering portion. This contributes to the occurrence of the alignment abnormality as it is, or the induction of the alignment abnormality with the change in the volume of the liquid crystal. When the liquid crystal is penetrated in a direction perpendicular to the rubbing direction, it is actually found that the zigzag defect relatively increases even if the liquid crystal panel body is cooled under the best conditions according to the present invention. Was. This phenomenon occurred regardless of whether the two substrates were bonded or not bonded by the partition member, and regardless of the shape of the partition member.

Next, means for permeating the liquid crystal in a straight line along the rubbing direction will be described. To do this,
It is desirable to form a straight passage partitioned between the pair of substrates as narrowly as possible, and to allow the liquid crystal to permeate in the passage. Such a passage is required as the distance to be permeated becomes longer, that is, as the area of the liquid crystal panel becomes larger. If this is described in accordance with the liquid crystal panel frame for liquid crystal encapsulation, as shown in FIG.
In addition, it means that the liquid crystal penetrates into the linear space R extending in the rubbing direction.

Further, it is necessary that the upper and lower substrates are completely adhered to each other by the stripe-shaped partition wall members so that the cell gap is maintained uniformly. When a stripe-shaped partition member such as a beaded spacer or a dot-shaped spacer is not used, the space between the upper and lower substrates is a single open space, and in principle, the liquid crystal is located anywhere. It can penetrate into In general, although it tends to penetrate in the rubbing direction, it actually penetrates first in a relatively narrow portion of the cell gap. This means that the flow of the liquid crystal is disturbed and meanders. In the worst case, the unpermeated part remains as bubbles or the meander is stored in the liquid crystal itself and accumulates as distortion of the liquid crystal around the meandering part. I do. This tendency is remarkable in a panel frame in which both substrates are not bonded, but even in a panel frame in which both substrates are bonded, if dot-shaped spacers are used, the meandering of the liquid crystal is completely prevented. It cannot be prevented. In addition, when a dot-shaped spacer is used, the existence of the spacer itself may cause disturbance of the flow of the liquid crystal, and accumulate distortion of the liquid crystal around the spacer.

In view of this, it is effective to form a linear space between the two substrates by the stripe-shaped partition member and to allow the liquid crystal to penetrate inside the liquid crystal in order to obtain a desirable liquid crystal permeation state. A panel frame having such a linear space formed parallel to the rubbing direction but not adhering the partition member to the substrate, that is, a structure in which the linear space is not sealed is disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 61-205919. And JP-A-61-205921. However, when a large-area liquid crystal panel body is manufactured using this structure, a floating is necessarily generated between the partition wall member and the substrate, and the flow of the liquid crystal is disturbed at that portion, making it difficult to move the liquid crystal straight. In order to solve this problem, it is conceivable that the two substrates are temporarily brought into close contact with each other when the liquid crystal is penetrated. However, in this case, a special device is required to bring the two substrates into close contact with each other. When a liquid crystal display is manufactured by mounting a driving transistor, a backlight or the like on a body, or when the manufactured liquid crystal display is used, the liquid crystal panel body has insufficient seismic shock resistance and is not practical.

Next, another reason why the panel structure manufactured by the method of the present invention is advantageous will be described in detail in terms of the growth mode of the layer of the chiral smectic phase. First, a ferroelectric liquid crystal (F
LC) in a high temperature state phase in parallel with the rubbing direction to form a liquid crystal panel. There are three types of panel frames: (1) one in which both substrates are bonded with a stripe-shaped partition member, (2) one in which both substrates are bonded with a dot-shaped member, and (3) one in which both substrates are not bonded with a stripe-shaped member. Was compared. A liquid crystal panel body using each of these panel frames is immersed in a constant temperature water bath containing water set to a temperature at which a liquid crystal exhibits a liquid phase, and then cooled at a rate of about 0.5 ° C./min. The cooling in the liquid is for cooling the entire surface of the liquid crystal panel as uniformly as possible.

Then, in a liquid crystal panel body in which both substrates are bonded by a dot-shaped member and a liquid crystal panel body in which both substrates are not bonded only by sandwiching a stripe-shaped member, a space for liquid crystal sealing formed between both substrates is formed. Since it was released as a single space, many large and small zigzag defects and tree-like defects occurred.
On the other hand, for those bonded with the stripe-shaped partition wall members, a defect-free alignment state was stably obtained. However, even in the case of bonding with a stripe-shaped partition member, as the size of the liquid crystal display section was increased to A4 size, and further to B4 size, defect-free orientation could not be obtained.

Regarding the tendency of the orientation defect, both large-sized and small-sized zigzag defects are observed in both those using the non-adhesive stripe-shaped member and those using the bonded or non-adhered dot-shaped member. It seems to add a little.
In a liquid crystal panel body in which both substrates are bonded by a stripe-shaped partition member, although the number of alignment defects is reduced, without using the cooling method characterized by the present invention, for example, when only cooling in an oven or the like is performed. There are zigzag defects, tree-like defects, and linear defects that divide the surface of the liquid crystal panel body into two or three.

Therefore, the SmA within the range that can be observed with a microscope is
The manner in which the SmC ^* phase is generated from the phase and grows will be described with reference to FIGS. Initially, the entire surface of the liquid crystal is in the SmA phase (FIG. 12A), and when the transition from the SmA phase to the SmC ^* phase starts, the distorted S
The mC ^* phase domain begins to appear (FIG. 12 (b)), and zigzag defects begin to form (FIG. 12 (c)). afterwards,
Further growth of the SmC ^* phase domain (FIG. 13 (d))
Then, adjacent SmC ^* phase domains meet (Fig. 13
(E)).

In this case, there are the following two cases in which the domains meet. One is a case where domains in which the bending directions of the layers are the same are met, and if the conformity at the meeting point is poor, it may remain inside as tree-like defects or linear defects (FIG. 13 (f)). This is very similar to one of the reasons for the occurrence of alignment defects in the above-mentioned antiferroelectric liquid crystal (AFLC), that is, the one that occurs in a portion where SmA phase domains grown in different places collide (FIG. 9). Defect. As for this defect, if the outermost boundary of the merged domains is outside the region used for the display unit of the liquid crystal display, only the domains in the same bending direction exist inside the display unit. Another way of meeting the domains is that domains having different bending directions of the liquid crystal layer grow individually and finally meet. According to this encounter method, a true zigzag defect occurs, and a tree-like defect due to collision may exist inside each domain.

Apart from the defect caused by the collision of the domains, the whole looks like one grown domain, but at a certain timing, a small loop-shaped zigzag defect domain may suddenly appear therein. this is,
It is often seen when dot-shaped spacer members are sprayed or adhered.

The following may be considered as the reason why the zigzag defect grows. When the phase transitions from the SmA phase to the SmC ^* phase, the molecules in the SmA phase layer are inclined from the normal direction of the layer, so that the spacing between the SmA phase layers is reduced. This narrowing distance is about 10% of the length of the molecule, that is, about 3 °. If the volume change of the liquid crystal is small near the transition point of the liquid crystal phase,
Somewhere in the liquid crystal should have lengthened slightly to compensate for this decrease in layer spacing. However, shrinkage due to a temperature drop is dominant in the liquid crystal as a whole.

One of the above-mentioned liquid crystal elongations extends in the cell gap direction, but is bound by a pair of opposing glass substrates, so that the liquid crystal is bent, that is, deflected by the amount of extension. The other of the elongation is the elongation of a component perpendicular to this, that is, a component parallel to the glass substrate. Actually, they appear as a combination of these, but quantitatively, the extension in the cell gap direction is larger. T.P. Laker, etc. (Physical Review, A37,
1053 (1988)), it has been found that the bending of the layer is approximately proportional to the amount of extension, and this bending structure is shown in FIG.
The so-called chevron structure shown in FIG. In general,
There are two directions in which the layer bends, one in the direction indicated by reference numeral 111 and the other in the direction indicated by reference numeral 112, and the boundary between domains having the respective directions is the zigzag defect 113.

It is considered that a tree-like defect is usually generated by collision between domains in the same bending direction. As in the present invention, a large number of linear spaces are formed continuously and parallel to each other between a pair of glass substrates facing each other, and liquid crystal is sealed in those spaces to form a liquid crystal panel body. However, if a conventional cooling treatment is performed, for example, uniform cooling in an oven, this kind of tree-like defect occurs.
However, the amount of generated defects is much smaller than that of a conventional liquid crystal panel body in which liquid crystal is sealed in a single open space. This is a difference caused by whether or not the liquid crystal is regulated in a narrow and narrow space. That is, in the present invention, since there is a linear partition wall due to the function of the partition member, the liquid crystal phase domain grows in the horizontal direction indicated by the arrow ZZ in FIG. This is because collision is far less likely. If the size of a region where one crystal nucleus is generated is defined as a unit area 1, the number of collisions is approximately 2a in a region where one side is a.
^It is proportional to 2-2a (a≫1). This cannot be ignored in large areas.

When dot-shaped spacers are used, whether the substrates are adhered to each other by the spacers or not, even if the bending direction of the liquid crystal layer can be defined in a certain direction, even if the two substrates are not adhered to each other. The occurrence of defects due to collision cannot be avoided in a large area. Even if the structure of the liquid crystal panel body according to the present invention is adopted, there is no probability that a domain grows in parallel to a linear space and a tree-like defect occurs. By adopting the cooling process for the panel body, the temperature is reliably reduced.

Next, means for regulating the bending direction of the chiral smectic phase layer, which is the most important element of the present invention,
Explain the legal facts that support it. The nucleus causing the alignment defect, that is, the generation cause of the minute domain is local temperature unevenness. When the size of the liquid crystal panel is increased, even if the liquid crystal panel is immersed in a medium having a large heat capacity, the occurrence of temperature unevenness cannot be prevented. Blocking requires a very large cooling system, which is not feasible in practice. Therefore, when the temperature of the liquid crystal panel body was locally reduced and what was generated in the liquid crystal layer was experimentally repeated, the present inventor found the following law and empirical facts. .

That is, the direction in which the liquid crystal layer bends in the chevron structure is oriented in a direction in which the temperature is lowered earlier in time. The cause of such a phenomenon was presumed to be due to volume shrinkage of the liquid crystal due to cooling. This phenomenon did not depend on the combination of the alignment film and the liquid crystal.

As described above, almost simultaneously with the expansion of the liquid crystal layer in the cell gap direction at the transition point of the liquid crystal phase, there is always a large volume shrinkage from the periphery to the center of the cooling point.
This pulls the surrounding portion toward the cooling point, and as a result, the central portion of the layer parallel to the substrate tends to shift in that direction. That is, as schematically shown in FIGS. 14A and 14B, the liquid crystal layer A easily bends toward the place Q that has been cooled earlier in time, and which part is cooled first. That is, there is a high probability that the bending direction is determined depending on whether it is performed. Note that, in FIG. 14, the symbol M indicates a liquid crystal molecule.

From the above, it can be seen that if the liquid crystal panel body is cooled from one direction, the direction in which the liquid crystal layer bends can always be defined in a certain direction. The layer normal direction of the layer of the chiral smectic phase due to the interaction between the alignment film and the liquid crystal is regulated so as to be substantially parallel to the rubbing direction, so that the bending direction is concentric around the cooling point. No. In the present invention, in order to limit the direction in which the layer of the smectic phase bends, the liquid crystal panel body is cooled while intentionally giving a temperature gradient parallel to the rubbing direction from one end so that the temperature gradient is not reversed. Thus, the direction in which the liquid crystal layer bends is restricted to a certain direction. Thereby, the direction in which the liquid crystal layer bends can be defined in principle and in practice.

Actually, in any liquid crystal panel body, if the liquid crystal panel body is intentionally cooled so that a temperature gradient is applied along the rubbing direction, the liquid crystal layer is bent in almost one direction. It is. As a preferable method for cooling while giving a temperature gradient, for example, immersing the liquid crystal panel body in a liquid kept at a constant temperature and then pulling up the liquid crystal panel body at a constant speed or draining the liquid To move the gas-liquid interface. However, even if such a cooling method is used, zigzag defects or tree-like defects occur if the object to be cooled is not the liquid crystal panel having the structure according to the present invention.

With respect to the angle formed between the direction of the temperature gradient and the rubbing direction (ie, the direction in which the partition member extends),
It does not mean that the largest component of the temperature gradient must necessarily be parallel to the rubbing direction. For example, when a temperature gradient is generated in the liquid crystal panel body by pulling up the liquid crystal panel body from a liquid acting as a high temperature part or a low temperature part, the rubbing direction of the liquid crystal panel body is appropriately changed from a direction perpendicular to the gas-liquid interface by an angle θ. This is a case where the liquid crystal panel body can be pulled up in the vertical direction while only tilting.

When the inclination angle θ is 90 °, a temperature gradient does not occur in the rubbing direction, so that a large number of defects may occur in such a state. However, when θ is 70
When the temperature was adjusted to not more than 60 °, more preferably not more than 60 °, no defect occurred. If θ is large, the direction in which the liquid crystal layer bends tends to greatly deviate from the layer direction of the liquid crystal layer determined by the rubbing treatment.

On the other hand, another advantage of employing the liquid crystal panel frame and the liquid crystal panel body manufactured by the method of the present invention is that the occurrence of tree-like defects can be reliably prevented.
That is, if the liquid crystal panel body is sequentially cooled from one end side to the other end side of the linear space formed by the partition member, the liquid crystal panel body may be cooled at a different position in the direction parallel to the partition member. The liquid crystal phase domains no longer grow at the same time, and therefore, tree-like defects due to the collision of the domains hardly occur in the direction parallel to the partition wall members.

On the other hand, the domains generated in the liquid crystal grow in a direction perpendicular to the stripe-shaped partition member, that is, in the width direction L of the linear space R in FIG. Tree-like defects may occur due to collisions. However, by reducing the distance L between the adjacent partition members 8, the occurrence of such tree-like defects is surely eliminated. When the interval L is set equal to the width of the electrode 5, the probability of occurrence of a tree-like defect is minimized. In the case of a planar electrode, the interval L between the partition members can be set arbitrarily. However, if the interval L is set to 2 mm or less, this kind of tree-like defect did not occur at all. In this way, two orientation abnormalities of a zigzag defect and a tree-like defect can be eliminated at the same time. Since it is desirable to set the interval L between the partition members 8, that is, the width L of the linear space R to 2 mm or less, and further to set the cell gap G to 3 μm or less, the cross-sectional area of the linear space R is 0.006.
That is, it is desirable to be equal to or less than mm ² .

Next, the advantages obtained by using the liquid crystal panel having the structure according to the present invention and the specific cooling method for cooling the liquid crystal panel will be described from the viewpoint of facilitating the mass transfer accompanying the volume shrinkage of the liquid crystal. I do. The defects that can be solved from this viewpoint are mainly linear defects and FIG.
It is considered to be a void seen in the central part of 4 (b).
This void usually occurs when the liquid crystal panel body is cooled unevenly. In order to limit the bending direction of the liquid crystal layer to one direction, even if the liquid crystal panel body is cooled from one end of the liquid crystal panel body along the rubbing direction, two opposite directions may be considered as the cooling directions. One of them may cause a linear defect. However, even in such a case, all the linear defects disappear completely when the temperature is slowly lowered along the rubbing direction from another appropriately selected direction.

The appearance of the SmC ^* phase from the liquid phase is schematically shown in FIGS. In (a), the entire liquid crystal 1 sealed in a glass substrate 2 is placed in a high temperature state and exhibits a liquid phase. In (b), when the liquid crystal is gradually cooled from the top of the figure, the inside of the liquid crystal undergoes a phase transition in the order of liquid phase → chiral nematic (N ^* ) phase → SmA phase → SmC ^* phase. At this time, most of the liquid crystal except for the vicinity of the alignment film moves in the direction of arrow B while contracting as a whole by the arrow C.
Proceed in the direction. In (c), the area of the defect-free SmC ^* phase increases as the cooling progresses. If the phase change and the movement of the liquid crystal do not proceed smoothly, it is presumed that a temporary linear defect occurs. In the worst case, a gap is generated in a direction perpendicular to the direction of the movement of the liquid crystal. In rare cases, voids may be generated in parallel with the rubbing direction.

Modelly speaking, it is considered that a groove formed in the alignment film for the rubbing treatment, that is, the movement of the liquid crystal induced by the rubbing groove is slightly deviated between adjacent rubbing grooves, resulting in a linear defect. Can be This is because, in the cooling using the oven, the cooling is not uniform, so that it is difficult to synchronize the mass transfer on the adjacent individual rubbing grooves.

Another cause of the linear defect is that when the extending direction of the stripe-shaped partition member is not parallel to the rubbing direction, the contraction of the liquid crystal due to cooling hits the partition member and is hindered. Even if no clear defect appears in the portion where the contraction is stopped, distortion of the liquid crystal accumulates in that portion.

The reason that the occurrence of linear defects is related to the direction of cooling the liquid crystal panel body is that there is a direction in which the liquid crystal layer is likely to move (FIG. 14A) due to the relationship between the alignment film and the liquid crystal. This is because the liquid crystal layer does not move smoothly in the reverse direction (FIG. 14B). In other words, according to the combination of the alignment film and the liquid crystal, there is a certain kind of preferable bending direction of the liquid crystal layer, and a defect occurs because competition occurs between the bending direction defined by cooling and the preferable bending direction. It can be said that it is easy to occur. The volume contraction of the liquid crystal also occurs in a direction perpendicular to the direction in which the cooling proceeds, but this is regulated by the partitioning function of the partition member, and the propagation is prevented.

On the other hand, in the structure of the conventional liquid crystal panel body, the liquid crystal undergoes non-uniform shrinkage in all directions other than the direction along the rubbing direction, and the substrate gap changes correspondingly. Therefore, distortion easily accumulates in the liquid crystal plane. The distortion mainly appears as large and small defects. In the case of a conventional liquid crystal panel body in which dot-shaped spacer members are regularly arranged, it can be seen from the fact that zigzag defects occur regularly, and that liquid crystal distortion is regularly distributed. With respect to such a conventional liquid crystal panel, even if the liquid crystal panel is cooled from one end, non-uniform shrinkage of the liquid crystal cannot be controlled, so that defect-free alignment in a low-temperature state phase cannot be obtained. This occurs similarly even when the stripe-shaped member is used without bonding.

Although it is particularly important for an antiferroelectric liquid crystal (AFLC), in general, the SmA phase also undergoes volume shrinkage upon cooling. However, according to the present invention, the volume shrinkage is also limited in the direction in which the partition member extends in the linear space partitioned by the partition member, so that potential accumulation of liquid crystal distortion is small. Without such a partition,
The volume shrinkage of the liquid crystal occurs in all directions, accumulating distortion of the liquid crystal, which induces defects.

The inventor has studied the length of the linear space and the width of the end opening. Figure 1 shows the results.
This will be described with reference to FIG. The width L of the linear space R is determined by the distance between the partition members 8, and the partition members 8 have a function that the partition member 8 also functions as a light shielding layer, the frequency of generation of liquid crystal domains, Judging from the viewpoint of the adhesive strength to the substrate or the rigidity of the substrate when the substrate is pressed, it is ideal to dispose the substrate between all the stripe electrodes. When a planar electrode is used, the arrangement interval of the partition member 8 is not determined in relation to the inter-electrode pitch as in the case of the stripe electrode, and an appropriate arrangement pitch determined from each of the above viewpoints is selected. Is done.

When the width L of the end opening of the linear space R is made large, the liquid crystal introduced from the liquid crystal filling port 10 becomes less linear.
There is a problem in that the distance L1 from the inside to the steady flow becomes long. Within this distance L1, there is a high possibility that an alignment defect of the liquid crystal will occur, and thus it cannot be used as a display unit. Generally, the flow of the liquid crystal is disturbed in the vicinity of the liquid crystal entrance of the linear space R, so that the length of the linear space R needs to be longer by 10 mm or more on one side than the area used as the display unit. Further, in order to completely apply a temperature gradient to the surface of the liquid crystal panel when the liquid crystal panel is cooled, a liquid crystal panel having a linear space R whose length is too short is not preferable. From the above, it is desirable that the length of the linear space R be 10 cm or more, and that the width L of the opening be 2 mm or less.

Regarding the positional relationship between the liquid crystal charging port 10 and the linear space R, it is desirable that the partition member 8 is formed immediately from the liquid crystal charging port 10 to form the linear space R. However, in this case, it is necessary to increase the size of the liquid crystal enclosing opening 10, and therefore, it may be difficult to seal the liquid crystal panel body. At the same time, in the vicinity of the liquid crystal filling port 10, the upper and lower substrates are bonded only by the linear partition members 8 instead of the bonding by the seal portion, so that another problem that the bonding strength is insufficient occurs. Therefore, it is necessary to reduce the size of the liquid crystal filling port 10 to a certain extent and to provide a certain distance between the liquid crystal filling port 10 and the liquid crystal entrance / exit of the linear space R in order to spread the flow of the liquid crystal.

The liquid crystal filling port 10 for introducing the liquid crystal into the inside of the liquid crystal panel frame may be provided at any part of the liquid crystal panel frame. However, as shown in FIG. It is desirable to be provided on the entrance side. With this arrangement, liquid crystal can be introduced into the linear space R without generating a disturbance as compared with the case where the liquid crystal charging port 10 is provided on the side of the linear space R, that is, on the side of the partition member 8. Save time.

As another method for preventing the liquid crystal from being disturbed in the vicinity of the entrance and exit of the linear space R, as shown in FIG. It is desirable to provide a tapered portion T. In this way, the distance L2 at which the flow of the liquid crystal is disturbed can be reduced in the vicinity of the entrance / exit of the liquid crystal in each linear space R, and as a result, the generation of alignment defects of the liquid crystal over a wider range can be prevented.

Regarding the linear space surrounded by the partition member and the electrode, it is desirable to form a polymer organic material film on the inner wall surface by coating or the like. In this case, since the inner wall surface of the linear space in contact with the liquid crystal becomes chemically uniform, the volume change of the liquid crystal during cooling is made uniform, and the generation of defects can be reduced. As the polymer organic film, for example, polyimide, polyamide, polyvinyl alcohol, or the like can be used. In addition, as a method for forming the polymer organic material film, for example, a known film forming method such as spin coating or roll coating can be employed.

In order to bring the upper and lower substrates into uniform contact,
It is difficult to perform mechanical pressing, and it is preferable to press both substrates using atmospheric pressure. When both substrates are heated while being pressed at atmospheric pressure in this manner, both substrates can be completely bonded. At this time, if the rigidity of the partition member for maintaining the interval between the two substrates is insufficient, the partition member may be crushed. On the other hand, when forming the partition member, whether the diameter is the same as the cell gap in the resist in advance,
Alternatively, by dispersing and containing a smaller granular material having rigidity, the rigidity of the partition member can be improved and its collapse can be prevented. In addition, when attaching an accessory such as a backlight or when actually using the liquid crystal display, external pressure or the weight of the substrate may be applied to the partition member. Also in such a case, if the rigid granular material is dispersed in the partition member, the partition member can be prevented from being crushed. This is particularly effective when the size of the liquid crystal panel is A3 or more.

The means for forming the partition member is not limited to photolithography, and a high-definition printing technique is also applicable. The bonding method is not limited to heating, and an ultraviolet curing method may be used.

[0085]

The linear space separated by the partition member allows the sealed liquid crystal to flow smoothly and to stably arrange it on the alignment film. This prevents distortion from accumulating in the liquid crystal and limits the movement of liquid crystal molecules due to the phase change and volume change of the liquid crystal to the direction in which the linear space extends, thereby preventing the liquid crystal from interfering between the spaces. In addition, domain collision between spaces is prevented.

If the liquid crystal panel body is cooled from one end of the linear space, the direction in which the liquid crystal layer bends can be limited to one direction, the movement of the liquid crystal can be made smooth, and the domain can be reduced. Generation and collision can also be suppressed. as a result,
Generation of zigzag defects, tree-like defects, and linear defects can be reliably prevented.

In particular, when a large-area liquid crystal panel is considered, the liquid crystal panel frame and the liquid crystal panel are configured as in the present invention, and the cooling direction of the liquid crystal panel corresponds to the direction in which the linear space extends. By doing so, a chiral smectic phase oriented in a defect-free state can be reliably obtained.

[0088]

Example 1 Example 1 in FIG.
1mm glass substrate is optically polished and the flatness of the plane is 2μ.
One set of transparent substrates 2 and 3 processed within m is prepared. A 1500 ° ITO film is formed on each of the transparent substrates 2 and 3 by sputtering, and a stripe-shaped IT having a line width of 270 μm and a pitch of 300 μm is formed by conventional photolithography.
O electrodes 4 and 5 were formed except for each 1 cm on both sides of the substrates 2 and 3. The length of the electrode 4 on the substrate 2 is the same as the length of the substrate 2 in the longitudinal direction, and the length of the electrode 5 on the substrate 3 is the same as the length of the substrate 3 in the lateral direction.

Then, a 2% solution of a polyimide resin (HL1110: manufactured by Hitachi Chemical Co., Ltd.) is spin-coated on one of the substrates 3 at 1000 rpm for 20 seconds.
After drying in an oven at a temperature of about 1 hour to form an alignment film 9, rubbing treatment was performed at room temperature in a direction parallel to the electrode 5 in order to perform rubbing on both sides. Further, a 24 cp solution of resist AZ1400 (manufactured by Shipley Co., Ltd.) was spin-coated on the substrate 3 at 1000 rpm for 20 seconds. Thereafter, the adhesive partition wall members 8 having the pattern shown in FIG. 2 were formed evenly at positions not overlapping with the respective ITO electrodes 5 by conventional photolithography. Then, it dried at 140 degreeC for 1 hour. The partition member 8 has a thickness of 2 μm and a width of 30 μm.
m and the length were 20 cm. The number of partition members 8 is 900
It is a book.

In FIG. 2, a wide portion 21 surrounding the display portion D is used for bonding the peripheral portions of the glass substrates 2 and 3, and is a seal for preventing extra diffusion of the enclosed liquid crystal and contact with the atmosphere. Also serves as a department. The liquid crystal inlet 10 is a partition member 8
On one end side. The opposite substrate 2 is made of 2% of a polyimide resin (HL1110: manufactured by Hitachi Chemical Co., Ltd.).
After spin coating the solution at 1000 rpm for 20 seconds,
After drying in an oven at 180 ° C. for about 1 hour, an alignment film 7 was formed. Then, a rubbing process was performed.

After the rubbing, parallel rubbing is performed so that the rubbing direction is substantially parallel to the partition member 8.
That is, so that the upper and lower rubbing directions are the same direction,
The two substrates 2 and 3 were overlapped and temporarily brought into close contact. Then, in this state, when the inside of the panel body, that is, the linear space R was evacuated by setting the jig (not shown) for atmospheric pressure pressurization, the substrates 2 and 3 were completely adhered to each other by the atmospheric pressure. Then, put the panel body into the oven while decompressing, 5 ° C
The temperature was raised to 180 ° C. at a rate of / minute, and the temperature was maintained for 1 hour. Thereafter, the temperature was gradually reduced to room temperature and returned to normal pressure. As a result, a liquid crystal panel frame for enclosing a liquid crystal having a cell gap of 1.8 μm, the upper and lower substrates 2 and 3 being completely adhered, and having a group of partitions by the partition member 8 was obtained. The area of the display unit D is 27 cm × 20 cm.

Thereafter, the periphery of the obtained liquid crystal panel frame was fixed with an epoxy resin or the like, thereby producing a structure excellent in earthquake resistance, impact resistance and adhesion. The liquid crystal panel frame was set in a reduced pressure heating furnace to reduce the pressure to 10 ^-2 pa, then the temperature was increased to 90 ° C, and the liquid crystal panel was sealed in a liquid crystal container containing ferroelectric liquid crystal CS1014 (manufactured by Chisso Corporation). The inlet 10 was immersed, and the enclosure 10 was closed with liquid crystal. When this state was maintained, the liquid crystal permeated into the panel at a speed of about 1.5 cm / hour. In addition, CS1014 is a liquid phase → 82
℃ → chiral nematic phase → 71 ℃ → SmA phase → 64 ℃
→ Through the SmC ^* phase transition.

After the liquid crystal completely enters the inside of the liquid crystal panel frame, it is returned to room temperature in about 3 hours, and the liquid crystal filling port 10 is sealed with epoxy resin to obtain a liquid crystal panel body in which liquid crystal is completely filled. . Separately, two types of liquid crystal panel bodies were prepared: a completely similar panel structure and liquid crystal having upper and lower rubbing directions antiparallel, and a one-side rubbing. Observation of a chevron structure and alignment defects with changing the cooling direction for a total of three types of liquid crystal panel bodies gave the results shown in Table 1.

[0094]

[Table 1]

As a specific cooling method, a method using an apparatus as shown in FIG. 29 was adopted. In the figure, first, the liquid crystal panel body 1 is placed in a water tank 34 whose temperature is controlled to 85 ° C.
And kept for 3 minutes to make the entire liquid crystal a liquid phase which is a high temperature state phase. Thereafter, the water 33 in the water tank is drained such that the air-water interface P of the water tank is lowered at a speed of 2.5 cm / min, or
The liquid crystal panel 1 was pulled out of the water as shown by arrow D. The cooling direction can be changed by reversing the direction in which the liquid crystal panel body 1 is immersed in the liquid.

As a heat insulating member 32 for insulating the space between the atmosphere, which is a high temperature part, and the water 33, which is a low temperature part, a slit through which the liquid crystal panel body 1 can pass is provided.
m styrene foam plate was used. The heat insulating member 32 floats on the liquid surface so as to prevent the liquid surface from swaying, and moves simultaneously with the water surface when draining. The air / water interface moves in parallel on the surface of the liquid crystal panel body 1, and the moving direction of the air / water interface is substantially parallel to the rubbing direction applied to the liquid crystal panel body 1, and therefore substantially parallel to the partition member 8. FIG. 2 shows the relationship between the high temperature side and low temperature side and the rubbing direction.
3 to FIG. 28. In these figures, the thick line F indicates the tilt direction of the liquid crystal preferred by the alignment film, that is, the pretilt direction.

In each of the rubbing directions, the direction of bending of the liquid crystal layer in the liquid crystal chevron structure was directed to the end where cooling started. In the case of the parallel rubbing (a and b in Table 1: FIGS. 23 and 24), especially when the cooling direction is the same as the rubbing direction (b in Table 1: FIG. 24), some linear defects and abnormal orientation are observed. It was observed. When the cooling direction was opposite to the rubbing direction (a in Table 1: FIG. 23), no alignment abnormality was found in the main part at all. This is because the interaction between the liquid crystal and the alignment film is shown in Table 1 (a:
This is because the state of FIG. 23 is more preferable, and the state of (Table 1a: FIG. 23) facilitates mass transfer. Even in the state of Table 1 (b: FIG. 24), if the moving direction of the air-water interface was reversed again, defect-free orientation was obtained. 23 and 24,
Within about 5 to 10 mm from the liquid crystal entrance of the partition member 8 (see FIG. 2).
L _E and L _X ) had alignment abnormalities.

Further, one-side rubbing (e and f in Table 1: FIG.
7, FIG. 28), similar results were obtained.

In the case of so-called antiparallel rubbing in which the rubbing directions are different between the upper and lower substrates (c and d in Table 1: FIGS. 25 and 2)
In 6), there should be no distinction in the bending direction of the liquid crystal layer.
However, defect-free orientation was obtained only when cooling from either one. However, even if there were defects, the amount was extremely small. This is presumably because the partition member was formed on the alignment film by photolithography, so that the function of the alignment film became asymmetrical in the vertical direction. If the partition member is formed by a printing method and the symmetry of the operation of the alignment film is maintained, a defect-free alignment state will be obtained regardless of the cooling method. Defects may occur in both photolithography and printing, but these results indicate that the direction in which the liquid crystal layer bends can be freely reversed by selecting the cooling direction.

In this case, the normal direction of the layer was inclined about 3 ° from the rubbing direction. This liquid crystal panel body has a bottom area of 1
In the case of 0 cm ² or more, no orientation abnormality occurred even when a heavy object of about 2 kg was placed or even when pressed strongly with a finger. When pressed strongly with a pitch smaller than the pitch of the partition members, such as the pen tip of a ballpoint pen, that is, the arrangement interval, the liquid crystal was locally moved in parallel with the partition members, but the layer was not destroyed.

(Comparative Example 1) A liquid crystal panel having the same configuration and having no striped partition member adhered thereto was manufactured using the same material and substrate as in Example 1. The stripe pattern at the center in FIG. 2 was formed in the same manner as in Example 1. After drying for 1 hour, the seal portion 21 was formed with an epoxy resin by a screen printing method.

In the same procedure as in Example 1, both substrates were superposed and set on an atmospheric pressure jig, and the substrates were bonded together at the seal portion 21 while the atmosphere around both substrates was kept at 90 ° C. By this method, a liquid crystal panel frame (A) was obtained which was non-adhesive and closely adhered in the vicinity of the seal portion 21 but was floating in the center. Separately, a liquid crystal panel frame (B) using a circular adhesive member having a radius of 8 μm was manufactured according to the same procedure as in Example 1. The adhesive member was on the line where the striped member of Example 1 was located, and had a regular arrangement with a pitch of 5 mm.

The liquid crystal was penetrated into the liquid crystal panel frames A and B so as to be substantially parallel to the rubbing direction. Then, they were immersed in a water bath at the same temperature as in Example 1 and cooled under the same conditions, but no defect-free initial orientation was obtained regardless of the cooling direction. In the liquid crystal panel body (A), large and small zigzag defects were scattered, and in the liquid crystal panel body (B), in addition to the zigzag defects, a defect synchronized with the dot arrangement in FIG. 18 and a tree-like defect were found. At the center of the liquid crystal panel body (A), the liquid crystal had penetrated into the gaps between the stripe-shaped members, and the light-shielding properties were reduced. Further, in the liquid crystal panel body (A), the alignment abnormality occurred concentrically by lightly touching the center.

(Example 2) Four types of liquid crystal panel bodies having the same configuration and the same procedure as in Example 1, and the angles formed by the stripe-shaped partition member and the rubbing direction were 90 °, 40 °, 23 °, and 12 °. Was prepared. Cooling was performed in the same manner as in Example 1. However, in the case of 90 °, a large number of zigzag defects were generated parallel to the partition member regardless of the angle at which the air-water interface was moved. Since the liquid crystal of the liquid crystal panel body in which the stripe-shaped partition member and the rubbing direction were almost parallel was completely defect-free, the defect generation rate was continuous while the inclination angle of the partition member became almost parallel from 90 °. It can be seen that the number has increased.

Therefore, disposing the partition member in a direction that is not parallel to the rubbing direction only causes a risk of occurrence of a defect, and performing such an operation is practically meaningless. Incidentally, even when the inclination angle of the partition member was 23 °, a small number of linear defects parallel to the rubbing direction were generated. This is because the liquid crystal permeation direction deviates from the rubbing direction.
It is considered that the movement of the liquid crystal moving along the rubbing direction hits the partition member and is hindered.

When the inclination angle of the partition member was 40 °, a larger number of linear defects and some small zigzag defects were generated as compared with the case where the inclination angle was 23 °. When the partition member had an inclination angle of 12 °, a defect-free oriented liquid crystal was obtained. Therefore, the angle between the partition member and the rubbing direction is
It is desirable to keep it within 12 °.

Example 3 A liquid crystal panel body was manufactured in the same configuration and in the same procedure as in Example 1. However, as shown in FIG. Ten types of two linear spaces R1 and R2 each having a width L of about 1 mm and about 2 mm between the openings were formed. The method of infiltrating and cooling the liquid crystal was the same as in Example 1.
A small number of zigzag defects and linear defects occurred in the liquid crystal penetrated into the linear space R2 having a width L = 2 mm. L
At = 1 mm, there was no defect. As a result, it is understood that the opening of the stripe-shaped partition member is preferably narrow. However, the specific numerical value is selected according to the panel size, the pixel size, the arrangement of the color filters, the adhesive strength, the pressure resistance, and the like. Further, when the present liquid crystal panel body is used as a writing body for optical writing, it is selected according to a scanning pitch of a writing laser beam or the like.

Example 4 In FIG. 16, a pair of transparent substrates 2 and 3 in which a 45 cm square glass substrate having a thickness of 1.1 mm was optically polished and processed to have a flatness of 2 μm or less was prepared. Planar electrodes 4 and 5 were formed by depositing a 1500 ° ITO film on the transparent substrates 2 and 3 by sputtering.

Next, a 2% solution of polyimide resin HL1110 was spin-coated on one substrate 3 at 1000 rpm for 20 seconds, dried in an oven at 180 ° C. for about 1 hour, and rubbed at room temperature in a direction parallel to one side. did. Further, in order to disperse the granular rigid body in the partition member 8, the viscosity of a rubber-based resist OMR-83 (manufactured by Tokyo Ohka Kogyo Co., Ltd.) in which a spherical spacer is added to the substrate by 1% by weight based on the resin content. 30 cp solution at 3000 rpm for 15 minutes
Spin coated for seconds.

Thereafter, an adhesive partition member 8 having the pattern shown in FIG. 2 was formed at the center of the substrate 2 in parallel with the rubbing direction by conventional photolithography. The partition member 8 has a thickness of 2.2 μm, a width of 28 μm,
The length was 37 cm and the number was 900. The main difference from the first embodiment is the length of the formed linear space R. Area D (see FIG. 2) usable as a display unit is 3
It becomes 7 cm x 30 cm. The opposite substrate 2 was spin-coated with a 2% solution of the polyimide resin HL1110 at 1000 rpm for 20 seconds, and then dried in an oven at 180 ° C. for about 1 hour.

As in the first embodiment, the upper and lower substrates 2 and 3
A liquid crystal panel frame was obtained in which the rubbing directions were parallel and the same direction, there was no sinking at the center, the cell gap was about 2.0 μm, and there was a partition member group in which the upper and lower substrates were completely bonded. Then, a ferroelectric liquid crystal ZL13 is provided on this liquid crystal panel frame.
774 (Merck Co., Ltd.) was enclosed. This liquid crystal has a liquid phase → 86 ° C. → N ^* phase → 76 ° C. → SmA phase → 62 ° C. → S
It undergoes a phase transition of the mC ^* phase.

The liquid crystal panel body is immersed in a water tank whose temperature is controlled at 88 ° C., and is held for 3 minutes so that the entire liquid crystal becomes a liquid phase. The water in the aquarium was drained. The air-water interface moves parallel to the surface of the liquid crystal panel body, and the moving direction of the air-water interface is opposite to the rubbing direction applied to the liquid crystal panel body. No defects were found in the main part of the liquid crystal panel thus obtained. When the cooling direction was reversed, only a few linear defects were found. The combination of the alignment film and the liquid crystal layer in the liquid crystal panel body of this embodiment is as follows.
The direction in which the liquid crystal layer bends in the opposite direction to the first embodiment is set to a natural state. However, at the beginning and end of the partition member,
There was an alignment abnormality including zigzag defects up to about 10 mm.

With this liquid crystal panel immersed in the liquid,
The panel was cooled to room temperature at a rate of 0.2 ° C./min while controlling the temperature so that the temperature difference across the panel was 0.1 ° C. In this case, a zigzag defect appeared across the adhesive member at a position where the entire surface of the panel was substantially vertically divided into 1: 2. Many linear defects were found inside two liquid crystal phase domains forming zigzag defects. When the liquid crystal panel body was cooled by changing the immersion method, the position of the zigzag defect fluctuated, but did not disappear. This indicates that the distribution of the cooling points and the movement of the crystals in the volume shrinkage are the causes of the generation of defects.

(Example 6) A liquid crystal panel frame for enclosing a liquid crystal was manufactured in the same configuration and in the same procedure as in Example 1, and an antiferroelectric liquid crystal CS4000 (manufactured by Chisso Corporation) was further provided in the liquid crystal panel frame. Was sealed to produce a liquid crystal panel body. Other materials are the same as in the first embodiment. CS4000 has an antiferroelectric phase, and its phase transition is isotropic phase (liquid phase) → 101
C → Smectic A phase → 84 ° C. → Chiral smectic C phase → 82 ° C. → Chiral smectic C _A phase. This liquid crystal panel is covered with a protective sheet made of synthetic resin, and
After immersion in silicon oil at 5 ° C., a temperature gradient was formed on the liquid crystal panel body under the same conditions as in Example 1, and the gas-liquid interface was moved parallel to the rubbing direction. The reason why the liquid crystal panel is covered with the protective sheet is to prevent the liquid crystal panel from becoming difficult to handle due to the attachment of silicon oil to the liquid crystal panel.

In the case of this example, no significant difference was found in the selected alignment state regardless of which side the liquid crystal panel body was cooled. In each case, a long and thin zigzag defect was found. However, as compared with a liquid crystal panel body cooled in a state where it was immersed in a silicone oil without providing a temperature gradient, the number of alignment defects was extremely small, that is, the alignment was much better.

(Example 7) A liquid crystal panel was manufactured in the same configuration and in the same procedure as in Example 1. However, after forming the adhesive member, a 10% aqueous solution of polyvinyl alcohol was spin-coated at 1000 rpm for 40 seconds as an alignment film,
Dry at 30 ° C. for 30 minutes. The same pyrivinyl alcohol film was formed on the opposing substrate and rubbed. The liquid crystal panel was obtained by laminating the rubbing directions so as to be substantially parallel to the partition members. When cooling was performed under the same conditions as in Example 1, a defect-free orientation state was obtained regardless of the cooling method.

Example 8 A liquid crystal panel frame for enclosing liquid crystal was manufactured in the same configuration and in the same procedure as in Example 1. However, the partition member has a length of 5 mm at its start and end.
Is tapered so that it gradually narrows toward the tip.
The organic pigment having a particle diameter of 0.3 μm or less and a dispersant were dispersed. When the same liquid crystal as in Example 1 was sealed and cooled under the same conditions, the abnormal alignment region at the entrance and exit of the liquid crystal was reduced to a maximum of 4 mm. Even when the pigment and the dispersing agent were dispersed in the partition member, the liquid crystal panel body which maintained the adhesiveness and was excellent in the light shielding property was obtained.

Example 9 The same liquid crystal panel as in Example 3 was produced. However, the terminal portion 23 (FIG. 2) of the partition member was bonded to the seal portion 21. At the terminal end, the orientation was abnormal in the range of about 7 to 10 mm. When the liquid crystal panel body is allowed to stand still for about 10 days so that the end portion is located at the lower part, that is, the stripe-shaped partition member extends in the vertical direction with respect to the visual sense, the abnormal alignment region at the lower part increases by about 7 to 8 mm. And stopped in an equilibrium state. Such an alignment abnormality
This is considered to be because gravity acting on the liquid crystal in the linear space was applied to the liquid crystal lower region.

It can be seen from this that when the liquid crystal display is placed in a normal use state, if the partition member 8 inside the liquid crystal panel body is set to extend in the horizontal direction, it can enter each linear space. The gravitational force acting on the liquid crystal is received by the individual partition members 8,
Thereby, it is possible to prevent the occurrence of alignment abnormality in the liquid crystal located below the liquid crystal panel body.

Example 10 A liquid crystal and an alignment polyimide in which perfect defect-free alignment was obtained by properly selecting a high-temperature phase temperature and a cooling direction in the same procedure as in Examples 1 and 3. The combinations with the resin are listed below.

Ferroelectric liquid crystal: CS1013, CS101
5, CS1017, CS1019, (manufactured by Chisso Corporation), ZLI3774 (manufactured by Merck Ltd.), SCE8, SCE9, SCE10, SCE11, (manufactured by BDH) Polyimide resin: S610 (manufactured by Nissan Chemical Industries, Ltd.) , PIQ1400, PIQ5200, (manufactured by Hitachi Chemical Co., Ltd.) AL3046, AL1051, (manufactured by Nippon Synthetic Rubber)

[0122]

According to the method for manufacturing a liquid crystal panel frame and the method for manufacturing a liquid crystal panel body according to the present invention, a liquid crystal panel having a structure in which upper and lower substrates are firmly and flexibly bonded to each other by a partition member forming a linear space. A frame and a liquid crystal panel body, that is, a liquid crystal panel frame and a liquid crystal panel body having excellent seismic shock resistance that does not destroy an oriented liquid crystal phase can be reliably formed. This liquid crystal panel frame etc. does not bend even when touched by hand and can be freely carried without being deformed. Operability is improved.

Further, according to the method of manufacturing a liquid crystal panel frame and the method of manufacturing a liquid crystal panel body according to the present invention, a linear closed space completely sealed by each partition member is substantially aligned with the direction of the uniaxial alignment treatment. A plurality can be arranged parallel to each other so as to be parallel. With this arrangement, the liquid crystal can be permeated into the liquid crystal panel frame in a stable state without causing disturbance or distortion in the flow of the liquid crystal. Further, according to the arrangement structure, when volume shrinkage occurs in the liquid crystal injected into the liquid crystal panel frame and further cooled, the volume shrinkage in a direction perpendicular to the partition member can be regulated by each partition member. The moving direction of the contraction can be limited to the extending direction of the partition member. As a result, the distortion of the liquid crystal is not accumulated, so that the occurrence of defects can be reliably prevented.

[0124]

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective sectional view showing an internal structure of a liquid crystal panel frame or a liquid crystal panel body manufactured by a method of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan sectional view of the liquid crystal panel frame or the liquid crystal panel body.

FIG. 3 is a front sectional view showing an internal structure of an example of a conventional liquid crystal panel body.

FIG. 4 is a plan view schematically showing an example of a zigzag defect which is one of the alignment abnormalities.

FIG. 5 is a plan view schematically showing a tree-like defect which is another one of the orientation abnormalities.

FIG. 6 is a plan view schematically showing a linear defect which is still another one of the alignment abnormalities.

FIG. 7 is a perspective sectional view schematically showing a relationship between a chevron structure and a structure of a zigzag defect observed in a layer of an SmC ^* phase.

FIG. 8 is a perspective sectional view showing a bookshelf structure of an SmC ^* phase layer.

FIG. 9 is a diagram schematically showing a state of misalignment of layers, which is one of the orientation abnormalities of the antiferroelectric liquid crystal.

FIG. 10 is a diagram schematically showing a state in which two domains having different growth directions exist, which is another one of the orientation abnormalities of the antiferroelectric liquid crystal.

FIG. 11 is a view schematically showing another state of layer misalignment, which is still another example of the orientation abnormality of the antiferroelectric liquid crystal.

FIG. 12 is a diagram schematically showing a process of generating a tree-like defect.

FIG. 13 is a diagram schematically showing a tree-like defect generation process following FIG. 12;

FIG. 14 is a diagram schematically showing a situation where a liquid crystal layer bends toward a lower temperature. In particular, (a) shows a case where the temperature decreases first from the right side, and (b) shows a case where the temperature decreases sequentially from the center portion to the left and right sides.

FIG. 15 is a diagram schematically showing a state in which different phases are gradually generated toward lower temperatures inside the liquid crystal, and the SmC ^* phase layer is further bent.

FIG. 16 is a perspective sectional view showing another embodiment of the internal structure of the liquid crystal panel frame or the liquid crystal panel body manufactured by the method of the present invention.

FIG. 17 is a perspective sectional view showing still another embodiment of the internal structure of the liquid crystal panel frame or the liquid crystal panel body manufactured by the method of the present invention.

FIG. 18 is a diagram schematically showing an example of how zigzag defects appear in a liquid crystal panel body bonded with regular dot-type members.

FIG. 19 is a diagram schematically showing the flow of liquid crystal near the liquid crystal entrance in a linear space.

FIG. 20 is an exploded perspective view of an example of a liquid crystal display.

FIG. 21 is a perspective view showing an example of a use state of the liquid crystal display.

FIG. 22 is a view showing a modified example of the partition member.

FIG. 23 is a view schematically showing a bending direction of a liquid crystal layer and an inclined state of liquid crystal molecules corresponding to a relationship between a rubbing direction and a cooling direction, particularly a situation in which the cooling direction is opposite to the rubbing direction in parallel rubbing. is there.

FIG. 24 is a diagram schematically showing a bending direction of a liquid crystal layer and an inclined state of liquid crystal molecules corresponding to a relationship between a rubbing direction and a cooling direction, particularly a situation where the cooling direction is the same as the rubbing direction in parallel rubbing. is there.

FIG. 25 schematically illustrates the bending direction of the liquid crystal layer and the tilt state of the liquid crystal molecules corresponding to the relationship between the rubbing direction and the cooling direction, particularly the situation where the cooling direction is the same as the lower rubbing direction in antiparallel rubbing. FIG.

FIG. 26 schematically shows the bending direction of the liquid crystal layer and the tilt state of the liquid crystal molecules corresponding to the relationship between the rubbing direction and the cooling direction, particularly the situation where the cooling direction is the same as the upper rubbing direction in antiparallel rubbing. FIG.

FIG. 27 is a diagram schematically showing a bending direction of a liquid crystal layer and an inclined state of liquid crystal molecules corresponding to a relationship between a rubbing direction and a cooling direction, particularly a situation in which the cooling direction is opposite to the rubbing direction in one-side rubbing. is there.

FIG. 28 is a diagram schematically showing a bending direction of a liquid crystal layer and an inclined state of liquid crystal molecules corresponding to a relationship between a rubbing direction and a cooling direction, particularly a situation where the cooling direction is the same as the rubbing direction in one-side rubbing. is there.

FIG. 29 is a front sectional view showing an example of an apparatus for cooling a liquid crystal panel body.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Liquid crystal panel body 2, 3 Glass transparent substrate 4, 5 Transparent ITO electrode 6 Insulating film 7, 9, Polyimide alignment film 8 Partition member 10 Liquid crystal sealing opening 21 Sealing part 22 Front end of linear space 23 Rear end of linear space R Linear space L Long-side dimension of the cross section of the linear space R S Short-side dimension of the cross section of the linear space R W Width of the partition member 8 P1, P2 Wide surface of the linear space R in contact with the liquid crystal P3, P4 Narrow surface in contact with the liquid crystal in the linear space R

Claims (2)

[Claims] A step of forming a plurality of linear partition members on at least one of a pair of transparent substrates; and a step of forming an alignment film on at least one of the pair of substrates. Performing a uniaxial alignment process on the alignment film; laminating the pair of substrates so that the plurality of partition members extend substantially parallel to the direction of the uniaxial alignment process; Forming a linear space in a state in which portions other than the liquid crystal passage opening end can be sealed with respect to the liquid by heating the partition member by heating the partition member. A step of forming a plurality of linear partition members on at least one of a pair of transparent substrates, and a step of forming an alignment film on at least one of the pair of substrates. Performing a uniaxial alignment process on the alignment film; laminating the pair of substrates so that the plurality of partition members extend substantially parallel to the direction of the uniaxial alignment process; Forming a linear space in a state in which a portion other than the opening end for liquid crystal passage can be sealed with respect to the liquid by heating the partition member, and a ferroelectric liquid crystal or an anti-ferroelectric in the linear space. And a step of encapsulating an opaque liquid crystal.