JPH11249151A - Manufacture of liquid crystal panel - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To perform the sticking of a liquid crystal panel while the accurate positioning is performed by putting a free cell to be stuck into a container and vacuum-packing it. SOLUTION: The one (free cell) (a) for which an array substrate and a color filter substrate are aligned and temporarily fixed is put in a metallic frame (b) and put in a poly bag (f) and it is put in a vacuum chamber and vacuum packed by using a seal heater. Thereafter, when it is taken out from the vacuum chamber and an atmospheric pressure is applied, a pressure is applied through the plastic bag (f) to the free cell (a) and a prescribed clearance is formed between the both substrates. In this case, since the metallic frame (b) is present, force for shifting the both substrates does not act. In the state, thermosetting is performed in the atmospheric pressure and after the setting is ended, the plastic bag (f) is opened. In such a manner, heating is performed without generating the disorder of the alignment of the both substrates, a thermosetting adhesive material is cured and the both substrates are stuck.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a technique for accurately aligning and attaching components.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A conventional method of bonding parts is described below.
The following describes an example in which an array substrate and a color filter substrate used in a liquid crystal display device are bonded to each other.

FIG. 21 is an explanatory view of a conventional method of bonding an array substrate h and a color filter substrate k. The state of the bonded substrates before liquid crystal injection is called an empty cell.

[0004] First, after printing a sealant (thermosetting adhesive) j and applying a photocuring adhesive i to the array substrate h,
Alignment (alignment) of color filter substrate k
Then, the photocurable adhesive i is cured by ultraviolet rays and fixed by temporary fixing.

[0005] Thereafter, the array substrate h and the color filter substrate k are pressed against each other while maintaining the gap between the two substrates, and then heat cured.

As a method of pressing both substrates together, there is a method of vacuum packaging in a plastic bag as shown in FIG.

However, since the end faces of the array substrate h and the color filter substrate k at the time of temporary fixing are not aligned as shown in FIG. 23, a force for shifting the substrates by the plastic bag after vacuum packing acts.

Further, there is another problem that the photocurable adhesive is softened by heat for heat curing and the components are displaced and cannot be bonded accurately.

[0009]

A substrate to be bonded is placed in a container and vacuum-packed.

(Function) Since the force for shifting the substrate does not work, it is possible to bond the substrates with accurate positioning.

[0011]

(First Embodiment of the Invention) FIGS. 1, 2, 3 and 4 are explanatory views of a first embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 1, an array substrate and a color filter substrate are aligned, and a temporarily fixed one a (hereinafter referred to as an empty cell) is put in a metal frame b and put in a plastic bag f, as shown in FIG. Then, it is placed in a vacuum evacuation chamber g and vacuum-packed using a seal heater m.

Thereafter, when the substrate is taken out of the evacuation chamber g and the atmospheric pressure is applied, pressure is applied to the empty cell a through the plastic bag f, and a predetermined gap is formed between both substrates.

Since the metal frame b is provided, no force acts to shift the two substrates. In this state, the resin is cured by heating under atmospheric pressure, and after the curing is completed, the plastic bag is opened.

As described above, it is possible to bond the two substrates by heating and curing the thermosetting adhesive without causing any misalignment between the substrates.

(Embodiment 2) Next, a method of further improving the embodiment of the invention will be described.

FIGS. 5 and 6 show an improved container in which empty cells are placed. The hollow is provided with a thickness corresponding to the empty cell thickness, and the hollow has a flat surface like the lower surface of the empty cell.

By doing so, it is possible to obtain the effect that the following problems can be solved.

That is, if the bottom of the container has a shape that supports only a part of the bottom surface of the empty cell, the outside of the bag is brought to atmospheric pressure after vacuum packaging, so that the empty cell receives pressure from above. The force that deforms the empty cell acts on the empty cell to deform the empty cell as shown in FIG.

When the empty cell is deformed, the positions of both substrates are shifted. When an empty cell shifts, it does not always shift symmetrically. Therefore, even if this deformation is corrected, a positional shift may occur and accurate bonding may not be performed.

On the other hand, in the present embodiment, since the uniform pressure is applied to the empty cells by the reaction from below, the empty cells are not deformed and the above-mentioned problems do not occur.

Furthermore, the rigidity of the container is increased due to the flat surface on which the empty cells are placed. By increasing the rigidity of the container, it is possible to prevent the empty cells from being deformed due to the deformation of the container, thereby preventing the alignment from being shifted.

If the difference between the depth of the depression and the thickness of the empty cell is large, a force may be applied to a part of the plastic bag as shown in FIG. 8 to break the bag. Is the thickness of the empty cell, so that no step occurs on the upper surface of the container containing the empty cell.

By preventing the occurrence of a step, the plastic bag can be prevented from being broken, and the pressure applied to the empty cell from above can be made uniform.

When the components to be bonded are flat, the bottom of the container may be flat as in the present embodiment, but when the shape of the components is not flat, the bottom of the container may be formed. Can be adjusted to the shape of the component, and by adjusting the shape of the component, a uniform force acts on the component from below as in the present embodiment, and it is possible to prevent misalignment due to deformation of the component.

(Third Embodiment of the Invention) Next, different improvements of the first embodiment of the invention will be described.

By using a plastic bag for vacuum packaging that is slightly larger than the container, the generation of wrinkles is suppressed.

By doing so, it is possible to prevent the pressing pressure from being applied uniformly to the empty cells due to the wrinkling of the plastic bag as shown in FIG. 9, and to prevent the alignment from being deformed due to the deformation of the empty cells. .

It is desirable that the shape of the bag is the same as the shape of the container, and the same effect can be obtained.

Further, as shown in FIG. 10, by forming the outer end surface of the container in a wedge shape as shown in FIG. 10, wrinkles can be prevented and the same effect can be obtained.

Further, it works favorably for maintaining airtightness in a vacuum packaging machine. (Embodiment 4) Next, further different improvements of Embodiment 1 of the invention will be described.

An airway for evacuating the container as shown in FIG. 11, FIG. 12, FIG. 13, FIG. 14, and FIG.

When evacuating, the apparatus shown in FIGS. 16, 17, and 18 is used to reduce the pressure at the mouth of the plastic bag, but press the empty cell to atmospheric pressure. State.

By doing so, the following problems can be solved. That is, since the air outlet of the empty cell is small as shown in FIG. 19, when the entire bag is put into the chamber and evacuated, the pressure in the empty cell becomes higher than the pressure in the chamber during evacuation. As shown in FIG. 20, the empty cells swell, and a force for peeling off the temporarily fixed substrate is applied, which causes a misalignment.

In the embodiment of the present invention, such an inconvenience does not occur because the empty cell is always pressed with a pressure higher than the pressure in the empty cell.

Although a pressure difference between the inside of the cell and the force for holding the cell is generated by evacuation, it is sufficient that the empty cell can be held down by an appropriate force by the pressure difference.

For example, it is not necessary to make a complete vacuum,
Instead of reducing the pressure to some extent, instead of evacuating, it is also possible to seal at the atmospheric pressure and then heat it at a higher pressure than the atmospheric pressure. When you do this,
There is an effect that the problem that an empty cell swells when evacuating does not occur.

[0038]

As described above, by temporarily fixing the parts to be bonded, placing the parts in a container, and performing vacuum packing, the parts can be bonded together with accurate positioning. Alternatively, with the combination of a general-purpose heat treatment furnace and this container, the production capacity can be expanded in a short time with a cheap investment.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram of an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory view of a method of bonding parts;

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram of an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram of an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram of an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram of an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram of an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram of an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram of an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 12 is an explanatory diagram of an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 13 is an explanatory diagram of an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 14 is an explanatory diagram of an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 15 is an explanatory diagram of an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 16 is an explanatory diagram of an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 17 is an explanatory diagram of an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 18 is an explanatory diagram of an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 19 is an explanatory diagram of an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 20 is an explanatory diagram of an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 21 is an explanatory diagram of a procedure for bonding parts;

FIG. 22 is an explanatory view of a conventional method of bonding parts.

FIG. 23 is an explanatory view of a conventional method of bonding parts.

[Explanation of symbols]

 a Empty cell b Metal frame (container) f Plastic bag g Vacuum packaging chamber h Array substrate i Light-curing adhesive (for temporary fixing) j Sealant (thermosetting adhesive) k Color filter substrate m Seal heater

Claims (13)

[Claims] 1. A method of manufacturing a liquid crystal panel, wherein a pair of substrates are bonded to each other with a sealant therebetween to form a cell, and a liquid crystal is injected between the substrates through an opening of the sealant. A method for producing a substrate, comprising: attaching an empty cell to be attached to a container and performing vacuum packing when the substrates are attached to each other via a sealant. 2. A container for containing an empty cell to be bonded and vacuum-packing. 3. The method according to claim 1, wherein a container having a size corresponding to the size of the empty cell to be bonded is used. 4. The container according to claim 2, wherein the size of the hollow is the same as the size of the empty cell to be bonded. 5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the size of the bag is equal to or slightly larger than the size of the container. 6. A bag that is the same as or slightly larger than the container that holds the empty cells to be laminated. 7. The method according to claim 1, wherein the shape of the bag is a shape of a container. 8. A bag having the same shape as a container for holding an empty cell to be laminated. 9. The method according to claim 1, wherein the container has a wedge-like shape outside the container. 10. The container according to claim 2, wherein the container has a wedge-like shape on the outside. 11. The method according to claim 1, wherein the container has an airway. 12. The method according to claim 2, further comprising an airway.
A container according to claim 4 or claim 10. 13. An empty cell to be bonded to a container having an airway is inserted, and the container is inserted into a plastic bag. With the opening of the bag and the direction of the airway aligned, the opening side is a chamber of a vacuum packaging machine. A method in which the container is sandwiched between elastic bags and evacuated from above the bag, and heat sealed.