JPH11223823A - Method and device for manufacturing liquid crystal display panel - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide the method and device which can easily manufacture a liquid crystal display panel having liquid crystal injection holes on two opposite sides. SOLUTION: Liquid crystal panels each having a 1st liquid crystal injection hole 20a on a 1st side 12a having an electrode terminal and a 2nd liquid crystal injection hole 20b on a 2nd side which faces the 1st side and has no electrode terminal are stacked so that the 2nd liquid crystal holes of two adjacent liquid crystal panels are mutually in opposite directions and the display areas of the liquid crystal panels are mutually arrayed. The stacked liquid crystal display panels are pressed in the stacking direction to make liquid crystal materials flow out of the 1st and 2nd liquid crystal injection holes and those liquid crystal materials are wiped out. Then the 1st and 2nd liquid crystal injection holes are applied with sealants, which are sucked into the 1st and 2nd liquid crystal injection holes by reducing the pressure and set at the same time by irradiation with ultraviolet rays from both the sides of the liquid crystal display panel.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to a method and a method for manufacturing a liquid crystal display panel, and more particularly, to a method and a device for sealing a liquid crystal injection port of a liquid crystal display panel.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In general, a liquid crystal display panel includes two rectangular glass substrates bonded together with a sealant therebetween, and a liquid crystal material sealed between the glass substrates. One glass substrate has a larger dimension than the other glass substrate, and its two sides are bonded together in a state protruding from the other glass substrate. A large number of electrode terminals are provided on the two protruding sides, respectively.

[0003] In addition, at least one injection port is provided in the sealing material. When a liquid crystal panel is manufactured, a liquid crystal material is injected between the two glass substrates through the injection port, and the injection port is sealed. I have.

For example, in a method of manufacturing a liquid crystal display panel in which an injection port is provided at a position adjacent to one of the four sides of a glass substrate where no electrode terminal is provided, sealing of the injection port is as follows. It is performed in the step.

[0005] First, a plurality of liquid crystal display panels into which a liquid crystal material has been injected are stacked in a vertical direction such that the injection ports are directed in the same direction. Then, these liquid crystal display panels are pressed in the stacking direction by a panel pressing unit of the sealing device. Then, each liquid crystal display panel is pressed in a direction to reduce the gap between the two glass substrates, and a part of the liquid crystal material flows out from the injection port.

Subsequently, the entire stacked liquid crystal display panels are rotated 90 degrees from an upright state to a horizontal state, and the injection ports of each liquid crystal display panel are directed upward. In this state, the liquid crystal material that has flowed out from the injection port of each liquid crystal panel is wiped off, and an ultraviolet curing sealing material is applied to each injection port by a dispenser of a sealing device. Next, the pressure applied to the liquid crystal display panel is reduced, the sealing material is sucked into the injection port, and then the sealing material is cured by irradiating ultraviolet rays from above the injection port with an ultraviolet irradiation device. Thereby, the injection port of each liquid crystal display panel is sealed.

[0007]

In recent years, as the size of a liquid crystal display panel increases, liquid crystal injection ports are often provided on two opposite sides of the liquid crystal display panel, and at least one injection port is provided with an electrode terminal. Are located adjacent to one side provided with. When the injection port of such a liquid crystal display panel is sealed using the above-described sealing method and sealing device, the following problems occur.

That is, in each liquid crystal display panel, the side of the glass substrate provided with the electrode terminals protrudes beyond the side of the other glass substrate. When panels are stacked,
The injection port provided adjacent to the side on the electrode terminal side is in a state of being retracted and positioned between the electrode terminal installation sides of two adjacent liquid crystal display panels. Therefore, it is difficult to wipe the liquid crystal material that has flowed out of the injection port due to the pressurization.
In some cases, unwiped residue may occur. Then, when the sealing material is applied and cured while the liquid crystal material is left unwiped, there is a possibility that poor sealing of the injection port may occur.

Further, in the conventional sealing device, the panel pressing portion rotates only 90 degrees to the left or right from the upright state, and the ultraviolet irradiation device is provided only on one side. Therefore, by using such a sealing device, the opposing 2
It becomes difficult to seal the injection port of the liquid crystal display panel in which the injection port is provided on each side.

The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and has as its object to provide a method and a method for manufacturing a liquid crystal display panel which can easily manufacture a liquid crystal display panel having liquid crystal injection ports on two opposing sides. It is to provide a device.

[0011]

In order to achieve the above object, a manufacturing method according to the present invention comprises a first liquid crystal injection port located on a side provided with a plurality of electrode terminals, and a first liquid crystal injection port facing the side. And a second liquid crystal injection panel positioned on a side having no electrode terminal and having a second liquid crystal injection panel, wherein the direction of the second liquid crystal injection port of two adjacent liquid crystal display panels is changed. So that they face in opposite directions,
In addition, a plurality of liquid crystal display panels into which a liquid crystal material is injected are stacked via a plate-like spacer so that the display areas of the liquid crystal display panels are aligned with each other, and the plurality of stacked liquid crystal display panels are stacked. Is pressed along the stacking direction to cause liquid crystal material to flow out of the first and second liquid crystal injection ports of each liquid crystal display panel, and the liquid crystal material discharged to the first and second liquid crystal injection ports of each liquid crystal display panel to be discharged. Wipe,
After wiping the liquid crystal material, a sealing material is applied to the first and second liquid crystal injection ports of each liquid crystal display panel, and the pressure applied to the liquid crystal display panel is reduced to remove the sealing material from the first and second liquid crystal display panels. 2
It is characterized in that the first and second liquid crystal inlets are sealed by sucking into the liquid crystal inlet and curing the sealing material sucked into the first and second liquid crystal inlets of each liquid crystal display panel.

According to the manufacturing method of the present invention, an ultraviolet-curable sealing material is used as the sealing material, and when the sealing material is cured, ultraviolet rays are irradiated from both sides of the liquid crystal display panel.
The sealing material applied to the first and second liquid crystal injection ports is simultaneously cured.

Further, the manufacturing apparatus for a liquid crystal display panel according to the present invention has a first liquid crystal injection port located on a side where a plurality of electrode terminals are provided, and has no electrode terminal facing the side. In a manufacturing apparatus for manufacturing a rectangular liquid crystal display panel having a second liquid crystal injection port located on a side, the directions of the second liquid crystal injection ports of two adjacent liquid crystal display panels are opposite to each other. And a support unit for supporting a plurality of liquid crystal display panels, each of which is filled with a liquid crystal material, in a stacked state via a plate-like spacer so that the display areas of the liquid crystal display panels are aligned with each other; A pressing unit for pressing the plurality of liquid crystal display panels in the stacked state supported by the unit along the stacking direction; and moving the supporting unit from the standing state in which the liquid crystal display panels are vertically stacked to approximately 90 to one side. Collapse A rotation mechanism configured to rotate between a first position and a second position that is tilted by about 90 degrees in the opposite direction from the standing state, and a rotation mechanism configured to rotate the stacked liquid crystal display panel to the first and second positions. An application mechanism for applying an ultraviolet-curable sealing material to the first and second liquid crystal injection ports; and a first and a second liquid crystal display panel, which are disposed on both sides of the laminated liquid crystal display panel rotated to the first or second position, respectively. A pair of ultraviolet irradiators that respectively irradiate ultraviolet light toward the second liquid crystal injection port,
It is characterized by having.

[0014]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, a method and an apparatus for manufacturing a liquid crystal display panel according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. First, a liquid crystal display panel manufactured by the present manufacturing method and manufacturing apparatus will be described. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the liquid crystal display panel 10 includes a rectangular first glass substrate 12 and a rectangular second glass substrate 14, and these glass substrates are sandwiched by a sealing material 16. And a liquid crystal material (not shown) is sealed between the glass substrates.

The first glass substrate 12 is a second glass substrate 14
The first and second sides 12a and 12b are formed in larger dimensions and are parallel to each other, and the third and fourth sides are parallel to each other.
It has sides 12c and 12d. On the first and third sides orthogonal to each other, a number of electrode terminals 18 are provided along each side.

The sealing material 16 is applied on the surface of the first glass substrate 12 in a rectangular shape along four sides of the first glass substrate. However, the electrode terminal 18 is the sealing material 16
It is arranged outside. The first side of the sealing material 16 adjacent to the first side 12a on which the electrode terminal 18 is provided has a first side.
An inlet 20a is formed, and a second inlet 20b is formed on a side adjacent to the second side 12b facing the first side.

The first glass substrate 12 has second and fourth sides 12b, 12b on which the electrode terminals 18 are not provided.
d is adhered to the second glass substrate 14 in a state where d is aligned with the corresponding side of the second glass substrate 14. As a result, the first and third sides of the first glass substrate 12 where the electrode terminals 18 are provided project from the corresponding sides of the second glass substrate 14, respectively.

The liquid crystal material is sealed in a region surrounded by the sealing material 16, and this region forms a display region 21 of the liquid crystal display panel 10. On the other hand, as shown in FIGS. 3 to 5, the sealing device 22 used for manufacturing the liquid crystal display panel 10 includes a base 24, on which a pressing mechanism 26, a rotating mechanism 28, and a coating mechanism. 30, a pair of ultraviolet irradiation devices 32a, 32b and the like are provided.

The pressing mechanism 26 has an elongated rectangular support plate 34 perpendicular to the base 24, and one end of the support plate, for example,
Rectangular mounting plate 3 fixed to the lower end and substantially parallel to base 24
6 and a pressing plate 38 provided at the other end of the support plate 34 and facing the mounting plate 36 in parallel. The pressing plate 38
The mounting plate 36 is attached to the support plate 34 so as to be movable in the direction of coming and going with respect to the mounting plate 36. Further, the pressing mechanism 26
Are attached to the support plate 34 and press plate 3
8 is provided with a pressing portion 40 for pressing the mounting plate 8 toward the mounting plate 36.

As will be described later, a plurality of liquid crystal display panels are stacked on the mounting plate 36 and pressed by the pressing plate 38 to hold the plurality of liquid crystal panels between the mounting plate and the pressing plate. At the same time, each liquid crystal display panel can be pressed in the stacking direction. The support plate 34, the mounting plate 36, and the pressing plate 38 constitute a support for supporting the liquid crystal display panel.

The pressure mechanism 26 is rotatably supported by a rotation mechanism 28. That is, the rotation mechanism 28 includes a drive motor 44 supported on the base 24 via the support post 42. The rotation shaft 44a of the drive motor 44 extends substantially parallel to the surface of the base, and Pressure mechanism 26
Is connected to the center of the support plate 34. Then, by rotating the drive motor 44 forward and backward, the pressing mechanism 26 is rotated.
Is rotated from the neutral position in which the support plate 34 extends perpendicularly to the base 24 by 90 degrees to both sides around the rotation shaft 44a of the drive motor 44 so that the support plate 34 is substantially parallel to the surface of the base 24. The extended first and second pivot positions are moved.

The application mechanism 30 includes a supply section 45 for supplying an ultraviolet-curing sealing material as a sealing material, and a nozzle 46 connected to the supply section. The nozzle 46 is parallel to the surface of the base 24. It can move along various directions.

One ultraviolet irradiation device 32a is formed in an elongated rectangular shape extending in the horizontal direction, and is formed on the surface of the base 24.
It is slidably provided between an evacuation position located apart from the pressing mechanism 26 and an irradiation position facing in parallel with the pressing mechanism 26 moved to the first or second rotation position.

The other ultraviolet irradiation device 32b is formed in an elongated rectangular shape extending in a horizontal direction, and has a pressing mechanism 26b.
It is provided above. And the ultraviolet irradiation device 32
b is a retracted position sufficiently separated upward from the pressurizing mechanism 26 by the lifting mechanism 50 provided on the base 24;
Alternatively, it is provided so as to be able to move up and down between the pressing mechanism 26 moved to the second rotation position and the irradiation position facing in parallel.

Next, a method for sealing a liquid crystal injection port of a liquid crystal display panel using the sealing device configured as described above will be described. First, as shown in FIG.
Is held at the neutral position shown in FIG. 3, the jig 53 is set on the mounting plate 36, and the mounting plate 36 is
A plurality of liquid crystal display panels 10 and a plurality of plate-like spacers 52 are alternately stacked on the top. In this case, the spacer 5
The two liquid crystal display panels 10 that are adjacent to each other with the first insertion port 20a facing in opposite directions to each other, and
The display regions 21 are stacked so that they are aligned and overlap. Thus, the stacked body 54 including the plurality of liquid crystal display panels 10 and the plurality of spacers 52 extends in the vertical direction along the support plate 34 of the pressurizing mechanism 26, and the first liquid crystal display panel 10 The side 12a is in a state of protruding left and right alternately.

Subsequently, as shown in FIG. 7A, the pressing unit 40 of the pressing mechanism 26 is operated, and the pressing plate 38 is moved to the placing plate 3.
Move in 6 directions. Thereby, while holding the laminated body 54 between the mounting plate 36 and the pressing plate 38,
A predetermined pressure along the stacking direction of each liquid crystal display panel 10;
For example, pressure is applied at a pressure of 200 kg.

By being pressed, the first and second glass substrates 12 and 14 of each liquid crystal display panel 10 are adjusted to a predetermined gap, and the first and second liquid crystal injection ports 20a of each liquid crystal display panel are adjusted. , 20b. Then, as shown in FIG. 7B, the pressing mechanism 26 is rotated 90 degrees counterclockwise by the rotating mechanism 28 to move to the first rotating position. In the first rotation position, the stacked body 54 is located to extend in the horizontal direction.

Subsequently, as shown in FIG. 8A, the first and second liquid crystal injection ports 20 located on the upper surface side of the laminate 54 are formed.
After wiping the liquid crystal material that has flowed out of the first and second liquid crystal injection ports 20a and 20b, the nozzle 46 of the coating mechanism 30 is connected to the first and second liquid crystal injection ports 20a and 20b as shown in FIGS. 8 (b) and 8 (c). Then, an ultraviolet-curable sealing material 56 is applied.

After the application is completed, as shown in FIG. 8 (d), the pressing mechanism 26 is rotated clockwise by 180 degrees by the rotating mechanism 28 and moved to the second rotating position. In the second rotation position, the stacked body 54 is located to extend in the horizontal direction. Subsequently, as shown in FIG. 8E, after the liquid crystal material that has flowed out from the first and second liquid crystal injection ports 20a and 20b located on the upper surface side of the stacked body 54 is wiped off, the first and second liquid crystal materials are wiped off. An ultraviolet curing sealing material 56 is applied to the liquid crystal injection ports 20 a and 20 b using the nozzle 46 of the application mechanism 30.

Thereafter, as shown in FIG.
Is operated, and the pressure applied to the pressing plate 38 is reduced to about 150 kg. Then, the pressure inside the display area 21 of each liquid crystal display panel 10 is also reduced, and the first and second
The sealing material 56 applied to the liquid crystal injection ports 20a and 20b
Is sucked into the display region 21 side from each liquid crystal injection port, and completely seals the liquid crystal injection port.

During the above steps, a pair of ultraviolet irradiation devices 3
2a and 32b are each held at the retracted position so as not to hinder the rotating operation of the pressing mechanism 26. Subsequently, as shown in FIG. 10, a pair of ultraviolet irradiation devices 32a, 32
b is moved to the irradiation position, and is adjacently opposed to the lower surface and the upper surface of the stacked body 54 held by the pressing mechanism 26. In this state, the first UV irradiation devices 32a and 32b
And irradiating the second liquid crystal injection ports 20a and 20b with ultraviolet light, and the sealing material 5 applied to these liquid crystal injection ports is applied.
6 are simultaneously cured.

After the sealing material 56 is cured, the ultraviolet irradiation devices 32a and 32b are moved to the retracted positions, respectively.
The rotation mechanism 28 is operated to rotate the pressure mechanism 26 to the neutral position. In this state, the pressing unit 40 is operated to move the pressing plate 38 away from the mounting plate 36. Thereby, the holding of the stacked body 54 is released, and each liquid crystal display panel 10 can be taken out from the mounting plate 36. Then, the sealing of the liquid crystal display panel 10 is completed by the above steps.

According to the sealing method and the sealing device described in detail above, when sealing the liquid crystal injection port of the liquid crystal display panel, two adjacent liquid crystal display panels 10 with the spacer 52 interposed therebetween
So that the first injection ports 20a face in opposite directions to each other,
In a state where the display regions 21 are stacked so as to be aligned and overlap, pressure, wiping of a liquid crystal material, and application of a sealing material are performed. Therefore, a plurality of stacked liquid crystal display panels 10
The first sides 12a where the electrode terminals and the first liquid crystal inlet 20a are provided alternately protrude from opposing surfaces of the stacked body, and are located between two adjacent first sides 12a along the stacking direction. The second side 12b of another liquid crystal display panel is in a state of being interposed. Therefore, these two adjacent first sides 1
The interval between 2a can be made sufficiently wide, and the work of wiping out the liquid crystal material that has flowed out and the work of applying the sealing material can be easily performed. For this reason, it is possible to prevent the occurrence of defective sealing due to the remaining wiping of the liquid crystal material, and to perform reliable sealing.

Further, the laminated body of the liquid crystal display panel can be rotated by 90 degrees in opposite directions, and a pair of ultraviolet irradiation devices 32a and 32b are provided with the laminated body interposed therebetween. First and second located on both sides of the
The sealing material can be cured by simultaneously irradiating the liquid crystal injection ports 20a and 20b with ultraviolet rays. As a result, even when a liquid crystal injection port is provided on two opposing sides of the liquid crystal display panel, the sealing operation can be performed efficiently and easily.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, but can be variously modified within the scope of the present invention. For example, in the above-described embodiment, the manufacture of the liquid crystal display panel having the liquid crystal injection port one for each of two opposing pieces has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this.
The present invention can also be applied to the manufacture of a liquid crystal display panel in which two or more liquid crystal injection ports are provided on each of two opposing sides.

[0036]

As described above in detail, according to the present invention, even when the liquid crystal injection port is provided adjacent to the side where the electrode terminal is formed, the liquid crystal injection port can be reliably and easily formed. It is possible to provide a manufacturing method and a manufacturing apparatus which can be sealed and can easily manufacture a liquid crystal display panel having a liquid crystal injection port provided on each of two opposing sides.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a liquid crystal display panel.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the liquid crystal display panel.

FIG. 3 is a front view of the sealing device according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a front view showing a state in which the pressurizing mechanism is turned from a neutral position to a first turning position in the sealing device.

FIG. 5 is a side view of the sealing device.

FIG. 6 is a view showing a step of stacking and arranging a plurality of liquid crystal display panels in the sealing device.

FIG. 7 is a view schematically showing a step of pressing the plurality of liquid crystal display panels and a step of rotating to a first rotation position.

FIG. 8 is a diagram schematically showing a wiping step, a sealing material applying step, and a rotating step of the liquid crystal display panel.

FIG. 9 is a view schematically showing a pressure reduction step and a sealing material suction step of the liquid crystal display panel.

FIG. 10 is a view schematically showing a curing step of the sealing material.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Liquid crystal display panel 12 ... 1st glass substrate 12a ... 1st side 12b ... 2nd side 14 ... 2nd glass substrate 16 ... Sealing material 18 ... Electrode terminal 20a ... 1st liquid crystal injection port 20b ... 2nd liquid crystal injection port 21 ... Display area 22 ... Seal device 24 ... Base 26 ... Pressure mechanism 28 ... Rotating mechanism 30 ... Coating mechanism 32a, 32b ... Ultraviolet irradiation device 36 ... Placement plate 38 ... Press plate 40 ... Press unit 54 ... Laminate 56 ... sealing material

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A first liquid crystal injection port located on a side where a plurality of electrode terminals are provided, and a second liquid crystal injection port located on a side facing the above side and having no electrode terminal. In a manufacturing method for manufacturing a rectangular liquid crystal display panel having the following, the directions of the second liquid crystal injection ports of two adjacent liquid crystal display panels are opposite to each other, and the display areas of the liquid crystal display panels are aligned with each other. In this way, a plurality of liquid crystal display panels into which liquid crystal materials have been injected are stacked via a plate-like spacer, and the stacked plurality of liquid crystal display panels are pressed in the stacking direction to form The first and second liquid crystal display panels
A liquid crystal material is spouted from a liquid crystal injection port, the liquid crystal material spouted into the first and second liquid crystal injection ports of each liquid crystal display panel is wiped, and the liquid crystal material is wiped off. A sealing material is applied to the entrance, the pressure applied to the liquid crystal display panel is reduced, and the sealing material is sucked into the first and second liquid crystal injection ports. The first and second liquid crystals of each of the liquid crystal display panels A method for manufacturing a liquid crystal display panel, comprising: curing a sealing material sucked into an injection port to seal the first and second liquid crystal injection ports. 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein when the plurality of liquid crystal display panels are laminated, the liquid crystal display panels are vertically laminated, and after being pressed, the laminated liquid crystal display panels are rotated in one direction by 90 degrees to extend horizontally. The first and second liquid crystal injection ports located on the upper side are wiped with the liquid crystal material that has sprung out and applied with a sealing material, and the stacked liquid crystal display panels are turned 180 degrees in the opposite direction to the horizontal direction. And the remaining first
2. The method for manufacturing a liquid crystal display panel according to claim 1, wherein the liquid crystal material that has sprung out is wiped and a sealing material is applied to the second liquid crystal injection port. 3. An ultraviolet curable resin is applied as the sealing material, and the first liquid crystal display panel is formed on both sides of the laminated liquid crystal display panel.
3. The method according to claim 2, wherein the second liquid crystal injection port is irradiated with ultraviolet rays, and the ultraviolet curable resin sucked into the first and second liquid crystal injection ports is simultaneously cured. . 4. A first liquid crystal injection port located on a side where a plurality of electrode terminals are provided, and a second liquid crystal injection port located on a side opposite to the side and having no electrode terminal. In a manufacturing apparatus for manufacturing a rectangular liquid crystal display panel having two or more adjacent liquid crystal display panels, the directions of the second liquid crystal injection ports of two adjacent liquid crystal display panels are opposite to each other, and the display areas of the liquid crystal display panels are aligned with each other. So that a plurality of liquid crystal display panels into which a liquid crystal material is injected are supported via a plate-like spacer in a stacked state, and a plurality of the stacked liquid crystal display panels supported by the supporting portion. A pressing portion for pressing the liquid crystal display panel along the stacking direction; a first position in which the support portion is tilted by approximately 90 degrees from a standing state in which the liquid crystal display panels are vertically stacked to one side; Almost 90 in the opposite direction A rotating mechanism for rotating to a second position where the liquid crystal display device is tilted, and an ultraviolet-curable sealing material for the first and second liquid crystal injection ports of the liquid crystal display panel in the stacked state which are rotated to the first and second positions. A pair of liquid crystal display panels disposed on both sides of the laminated liquid crystal display panel rotated to the first or second position and irradiating ultraviolet rays toward the first and second liquid crystal injection ports, respectively. An apparatus for manufacturing a liquid crystal display panel, comprising: an ultraviolet irradiation unit.