JPH11337957A - Liquid crystal injecting device and manufacture of liquid crystal device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To precisely drip a small amount of liquid crystal on nearby a liquid crystal injection hole. SOLUTION: After an empty panel 120a is mounted on a stage 301 in a vacuous atmosphere, the stage 301 is moved up to press a bin part 316 of the liquid crystal dripping device 302 against nearby the liquid crystal injection hole 101a of the empty panel 120a and a valve member 305 is pressed up. Consequently, the valve part 315 leaves a valve seat 310 to open a valve hole 309 and liquid crystal 112 is dripped from the gap between the valve hole 309 and bin part 316 on nearby the liquid crystal injection hole 101a. Then a support plate 303 is moved up and down to move up and down the bin part 316 of the liquid crystal dripping device 302, thereby dripping a specific amount of liquid crystal on nearby the liquid crystal injection hole 101a. Then the stage 301 is moved down and a valve member 305 is moved down by gravitation to sit the valve part 315 on the valve seat 310, and then the valve hole 309 is closed to stop dripping the liquid crystal 112.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a liquid crystal injection device suitable for a small liquid crystal device such as a TFT, and a method for manufacturing the liquid crystal device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A liquid crystal device has an element substrate and an opposing substrate joined to the element substrate via a four-ring sealing material, and a region surrounded by the sealing material (liquid crystal enclosing region).
Is filled with liquid crystal. In order to fill the liquid crystal into the liquid crystal filling region, a predetermined amount of liquid crystal is dropped by a so-called dropping method under a vacuum atmosphere in the vicinity of a liquid crystal filling port provided in a part of the sealing material in the circumferential direction. By releasing the vacuum atmosphere, the liquid crystal is injected from the liquid crystal injection port into the liquid crystal sealed region using the pressure difference.

[0003]

However, in the conventional drop injection method, it is difficult to accurately control the amount of liquid crystal dropped near the liquid crystal injection port and the position of the liquid crystal dropped near the liquid crystal injection port. In a TFT liquid crystal device or the like, there are inconveniences such as the dropping amount of the liquid crystal being excessively large with respect to the filling amount of the liquid crystal in the liquid crystal filling region, and the dropping position being shifted, and the liquid crystal being wasted.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve such a disadvantage, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a liquid crystal injection device capable of dropping a small amount of liquid crystal in the vicinity of a liquid crystal injection port while ensuring quantitative and positional accuracy. With the goal.

[0005]

In order to achieve the above object, a liquid crystal injection device for injecting liquid crystal from a liquid crystal injection port of a liquid crystal device in which a pair of substrates are bonded with a sealing material, wherein the liquid crystal injection device Comprises a liquid crystal dropping device having a container having a valve port for dropping the liquid crystal, and a valve member housed inside the container and movable in the vertical direction and having a protruding portion projecting from the valve port. When the valve member moves downward, a valve portion provided on the valve member sits on a valve seat inside the container and closes the valve port,
When moving upward, the valve portion and the valve seat are separated to open the valve port.

The present invention also relates to a method for manufacturing a liquid crystal device in which liquid crystal is injected from a liquid crystal injection port of a liquid crystal device in which a pair of substrates are bonded with a sealing material, wherein the container has a valve opening for dropping the liquid crystal. And a valve member that is housed inside the container and that can move in the up-down direction and has a protruding portion that protrudes from the valve port. The valve member is provided on the valve member when it moves downward. When the valve portion is seated on a valve seat inside the container and closes the valve port, and moves upward, the valve portion and the valve seat are separated to open the valve port. When the tip of the protrusion comes into contact with the vicinity of the liquid crystal injection port in a vacuum atmosphere near the injection port, the valve member is pushed upward to separate the valve portion of the valve member from the valve seat. Open the valve port to open the valve port Liquid crystal is dropped near the liquid crystal inlet from a gap between the outlet and the tip of the protruding portion is separated from the vicinity of the liquid crystal inlet to move the valve member downward, thereby causing the valve of the valve member to move downward. Part is seated on the valve seat to stop liquid crystal dripping, and the vacuum atmosphere is released.
The dropped liquid crystal is sealed in the liquid crystal device.

According to this means, the liquid crystal is dropped near the liquid crystal inlet by bringing the liquid crystal dropping device close to the vicinity of the liquid crystal inlet of the liquid crystal device, and the liquid crystal is dropped by being separated from the vicinity of the liquid crystal inlet. Since dripping is stopped,
By appropriately adjusting the timing of the movement of the liquid crystal dropping device toward and away from the vicinity of the liquid crystal injection port of the liquid crystal device, the quantitative accuracy of the liquid crystal dropping near the liquid crystal injection port of the liquid crystal device can be improved.

Further, since the tip of the projection is positioned in contact with the vicinity of the liquid crystal inlet, and the liquid crystal is dropped from the gap between the valve port and the tip of the projection in this state. The positional accuracy of liquid crystal dropping in the vicinity of the liquid crystal injection port of the liquid crystal device can be improved.

In the present invention, it is preferable that at least the surface of the valve member is formed of a non-conductive material.

According to this structure of the present invention, the valve member is partially peeled off by repeated contact of the tip of the protruding portion with the vicinity of the liquid crystal injection port and contact of the valve portion with the valve seat, so that the liquid crystal is formed together with the liquid crystal. A short circuit can be avoided when injected into the encapsulation area.

In the present invention, it is preferable that the surface of the valve member is formed of a material having water repellency.

According to this structure of the present invention, the adhesion of the liquid crystal to the valve member is prevented, and the liquid crystal can be smoothly dropped from the valve port.

[0013]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention.
This will be described with reference to FIGS.

First, the TFT liquid crystal device 120 will be described with reference to FIGS. As shown in FIG. 3, on a TFT array substrate (element substrate) 20 having a rectangular shape, a sealing material 101 is provided along an edge thereof.
In parallel with the inside, for example, black matrix 109
Light-shielding peripheral parting 1 made of the same or different material
02 (a light-shielding film for separating a display area and a non-display area around the display area) is provided. In a region outside the sealing material 101, a data line driving circuit 103 and mounting terminals 104 are provided along one side of the TFT array substrate 20, and a scanning line driving circuit 105 extends along two sides adjacent to this one side. It is provided. Further, on a remaining side of the TFT array substrate 20, a plurality of wirings 106 for connecting between the scanning line driving circuits 105 provided on both sides of the screen display area 113 are provided.

The four corners of the sealing material 101 are provided with TFTs.
An upper / lower conductive material 107 for providing electrical continuity between the array substrate 20 and the opposing substrate 108 is provided. In addition,
In the figure, reference numeral 205 denotes an F connected to the mounting terminal 104.
PC (flexible printed circuit board).

As shown in FIG. 4, the sealing material 1 is formed smaller than the TFT array substrate 20 shown in FIG.
A rectangular counter substrate 108 having substantially the same outline as that of the counter substrate 01 is joined to the TFT array substrate 20 via the sealing material 101. At the time of bonding, the inside of the peripheral partition 102 at the portion where the TFT array substrate 20 and the counter substrate 108 overlap each other is defined as a screen display area 113.

The data line driving circuit 103 and the scanning line driving circuit 105 are electrically connected to a data line as a source electrode and a scanning line as a gate electrode (both not shown) via wiring. Data line drive circuit 10
An image signal converted into a format that can be immediately displayed from a control circuit (not shown) is input to the scanning line driving circuit 1.
The data line driving circuit 103 sends a signal voltage corresponding to the image signal to the data line (source electrode) in accordance with the step 05 in which the gate voltage is sequentially sent to the scanning line in a pulsed manner.

In this embodiment, in particular, since the TFT 111 is a p-Si (polysilicon) type TFT,
The data line driving circuit 1 is formed in the same process when the TFT 111 is formed.
03 and the scanning line driving circuit 105 can be formed, which is advantageous in manufacturing.

Referring to FIG. 6, the TFT liquid crystal device 12
To briefly explain an example of the assembling process of No. 0, after receiving and cleaning the TFT array substrate 20 and the opposing substrate 108 as the element substrates, polyimide,
An alignment film such as polyvinyl alcohol is formed, and then the surface of the alignment film is rubbed using a cloth material such as rayon or nylon. Note that cleaning may be performed after rubbing.

Next, the above-described sealing material 101 is formed on the TFT array substrate 20 side by screen printing or the like, and a vertical conductive material 107 is applied.

Next, the two substrates 20 and 108 are
After performing the alignment by bonding through the substrates 1, a certain pressure is applied to press the two substrates 20 and 108 together.

Next, when the sealing material 101 has photocurability, it is cured by irradiating light (ultraviolet light), and after the curing, a liquid crystal injection port provided on a part of the sealing material 101 in the circumferential direction. The liquid crystal 112 is injected from 101 a into the liquid crystal enclosing region 200 surrounded by the sealing material 101, and after the injection is completed, the liquid crystal injection port 101 a is sealed with the sealing material 110. Thus, the assembly of the TFT liquid crystal device 120 is completed. After the assembly is completed, the TFT liquid crystal device 120 is cleaned and then subjected to a predetermined inspection.

Here, in this embodiment, the liquid crystal 112 is injected into the liquid crystal enclosing region 200 as follows.

FIG. 1 is an explanatory perspective view for explaining an example of an embodiment according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is an explanatory sectional view showing a state in which a liquid crystal dropping device is separated from a vicinity of a liquid crystal inlet, and FIG.
FIG. 4 is an explanatory sectional view showing a state in which the liquid crystal dropping device is brought close to the vicinity of the liquid crystal injection port. In the figure, reference numeral 120a
Is an empty panel in a state before liquid crystal is injected into the liquid crystal filling region 200 of the TFT liquid crystal device 120. This empty panel 12
Reference numeral 0a denotes a large TFT array substrate 20a in which a plurality of (two in each case) opposing substrates 108 are spaced apart from each other, and scribe grooves (not shown) are formed between the opposing substrates 108 after liquid crystal injection. Then, the liquid crystal devices are separated by breaking the scribe grooves.

The liquid crystal injection device 300 is vertically driven by a driving device (not shown) so that the empty panel 120a is
A stage 301 is placed with its 08 facing upward. Two liquid crystal dropping devices 302 are disposed above the stage 301, and the liquid crystal dropping devices 302 are driven up and down by a driving device (not shown). Support plate (support part)
It is supported by 303.

The liquid dropping device 302 penetrates the support plate 303, is fixed to the support plate 303, and has a container 304 in which the liquid crystal 112 is accommodated, and is provided in the container 304 so as to be vertically movable. A valve member 305.

The container 304 is made of a non-conductive material such as ceramics, and has a support plate 3 with its axis oriented vertically.
03 is provided. The upper end of the cylindrical portion 306 protrudes upward from the support plate 303, and a flange 307 is formed on the protruding portion to serve as a fixing margin. On the other hand, a lower end portion of the cylindrical portion 306 protrudes downward from the support plate 303, and a tapered cylindrical portion 308 concentrically formed with a diameter decreasing downward is formed at the protruding end. here,
The lower end opening of the tapered cylindrical portion 308 is a valve port 309, and the inner peripheral surface of the tapered cylindrical portion 308 is a valve seat 310.

The valve member 305 is formed of a non-conductive material such as ceramic or glass and has been subjected to a surface treatment having excellent water repellency. The valve member 305 has a valve body 311 provided in the container 304 so as to be movable in the vertical direction. The valve body 311 has a short columnar portion 312 having a diameter smaller than the inner diameter of the cylindrical portion 306 at the central portion in the axial direction, and a tapered columnar portion 313 which is reduced in diameter upward at the upper end of the short columnar portion 312. The lower end is formed with a tapered columnar portion 314 whose diameter is reduced downward. The outer surface shape of the tapered cylindrical portion 314 corresponds to the valve seat 310 described above, and the outer surface of the tapered cylindrical portion 314 is
The valve portion 315 is seated on the vehicle.

A vertically long protruding portion (pin portion) 316 is integrally connected to a lower end portion (top portion) of the tapered cylindrical portion 314, and the pin portion 316 forms a gap with the valve port 309. In this state, it protrudes downward from the valve port 309. A vertically long protruding portion (pin portion) 317 is also integrally connected to the upper end portion (top portion) of the tapered cylindrical portion 313 so that the entire valve member 305 is balanced. Here, as long as the pin portion 316 is not pushed upward, the valve member 305 is in the liquid crystal 112 accommodated in the container 304.
15 has a specific gravity that always sits on the valve seat 310.

In order to inject the liquid crystal 112 into the liquid crystal enclosure region 200 of the empty panel 120a, first, the empty panel 120a is placed on the stage 301 in a vacuum atmosphere (in a vacuum chamber). In the mounted state, the counter substrate 1 of the empty panel 120a
08 is facing upward. At this time, as shown in FIG.
Each valve port 309 of the two liquid crystal dropping devices 302 has an empty panel 1
Each of the liquid crystal dropping devices 302 is directed to the two liquid crystal injection ports 101 a of the container 20 a, and the valve portion 315 of the valve body 311 is seated on the valve seat 310 of the container 304 and the valve port 309 is formed.
Is closed.

Next, as shown in FIG.
Is moved upward by the driving device, and the empty panel 120 is moved.
The pin portion 316 of the liquid crystal dropping device 302 is pressed against the vicinity of the liquid crystal injection port 101a of FIG. As a result, the valve portion 315 of the valve body 311 is
The valve port 309 is opened apart from the valve seat 310, and the liquid crystal injection port 1 is opened through a gap between the valve port 309 and the pin portion 316.
Liquid crystal 112 is dropped near 01a.

Next, the supporting plate 303 is moved up and down by the driving device to move the pin portion 316 of the liquid crystal dropping device 302 up and down, and a predetermined amount of liquid crystal is dropped near the liquid crystal injection port 101a. Next, the stage 301 is moved downward, the valve member 305 is moved downward by its own weight, and the valve portion 315 of the valve body 311 is seated on the valve seat 310 of the container 304, whereby the valve port 309 is closed and the liquid crystal 112 is closed. Stop dripping.

When the vacuum atmosphere is released in this state, the liquid crystal 112 dropped in the vicinity of the liquid crystal filling port 101a is sucked into the liquid crystal filling area 200 by a pressure difference because the liquid crystal filling area 200 of the empty panel 120a is in a vacuum state. After the injection, the liquid crystal injection port 101a is sealed with the sealing material 1.
By sealing with 10, the liquid crystal is sealed in the liquid crystal sealing region 200.

As is apparent from the above description, the liquid crystal 112 is dropped near the liquid crystal injection port 101a by bringing the liquid crystal dropping apparatus 302 close to the liquid crystal injection port 101a of the empty panel 120a, and from the vicinity of the liquid crystal injection port 101a. Since the dropping of the liquid crystal 112 is stopped by separating the liquid crystal 112, the liquid crystal dropping device 3 is positioned near the liquid crystal injection port 101a.
By appropriately adjusting the approach / separation movement timing of No. 02, the quantitative accuracy of liquid crystal dropping in the vicinity of the liquid crystal injection port 101a can be improved.

Further, the tip of the pin 316 is positioned in contact with the vicinity of the liquid crystal injection port 101a, and in this state, the liquid crystal 112 is dripped from a gap between the valve port 309 and the tip of the pin 316. The liquid crystal injection port 10
The positional accuracy of liquid crystal dropping in the vicinity of 1a can be improved.

Further, since the valve member 305 is formed of a non-conductive material, the liquid crystal injection port 101a at the tip of the pin 316 is formed.
Even if a part of the valve member 305 is peeled off and is injected together with the liquid crystal 112 into the liquid crystal enclosing area 200 due to repeated contact with the vicinity and contact with the valve seat 310 of the valve portion 315, a short circuit is caused by the peeled part. Can be avoided.

Further, since a material having excellent water repellency is employed for the valve member 305, the liquid crystal 112
Of the liquid crystal 112 can be smoothly dropped from the valve port 309.

In the above embodiment, the TFT liquid crystal device 120 is taken as an example of the display panel. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the present invention can be applied to liquid crystal devices other than the TFT liquid crystal device 120. is there.

Further, in the above embodiment, the entire valve member 305 is formed of a non-conductive material. However, it is not always necessary to do so, and a metal such as SUS coated with a non-conductive material is used. Is also good. As described above, if at least the surface of the valve member is formed of a non-conductive material, a portion of the valve member may be formed by repeated contact of the tip of the protruding portion with the vicinity of the liquid crystal injection port and contact of the valve portion with the valve seat. When short-circuiting occurs and is injected together with the liquid crystal into the liquid crystal sealing region, a short circuit can be avoided.

Further, by forming the surface of the valve member from a material having water repellency, the liquid crystal is prevented from adhering to the valve member and the liquid crystal can be smoothly dropped from the valve port.

[0041]

As is apparent from the above description, according to the present invention, since the quantity and position accuracy of liquid crystal dropping near the liquid crystal injection port can be improved, especially small liquid crystal devices and the like can be used. In this case, the amount and position of the liquid crystal to be dropped can be made appropriate with respect to the amount of the liquid crystal sealed in the liquid crystal sealed region. As a result, the effect that the liquid crystal can be efficiently injected into the liquid crystal sealed region can be obtained. .

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory perspective view for explaining an example of an embodiment according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory sectional view showing a state in which the liquid crystal dropping device is separated from the vicinity of a liquid crystal injection port of the TFT liquid crystal device.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory sectional view showing a state in which the liquid crystal dropping device is brought close to the vicinity of a liquid crystal injection port of the TFT liquid crystal device.

FIG. 4 is a schematic plan perspective view of a TFT liquid crystal device.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along line HH of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a flowchart for explaining an assembling process of the liquid crystal device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 20: TFT array substrate (element substrate) 101a: Liquid crystal injection port 101: Sealing material 108: Opposite substrate 112: Liquid crystal 120: TFT liquid crystal device 200: Liquid crystal filling region 300: Liquid crystal injection device 302: Liquid crystal dropping device 303: Support plate ( Supporting part) 304 container 305 valve member 309 valve port 310 valve seat 311 valve body 315 valve part 316 pin part

Claims (8)

[Claims] 1. A liquid crystal injection device for injecting liquid crystal from a liquid crystal injection port of a liquid crystal device in which a pair of substrates are bonded with a sealing material, wherein the liquid crystal injection device has a valve port for dropping the liquid crystal. And a liquid crystal dropping device having a valve member housed inside the container and capable of moving in the vertical direction and having a protruding portion protruding from the valve port, wherein the valve member moves downward when the valve member moves downward. A valve portion provided on a valve member is seated on a valve seat inside the container to close the valve port, and when moved upward, the valve portion and the valve seat are separated to open the valve port. Liquid crystal injection device. 2. The liquid crystal injection device according to claim 1, wherein the liquid crystal injection device includes a support portion for supporting the liquid crystal device so as to be relatively movable toward and away from the liquid crystal device. 3. The liquid crystal injection device according to claim 1, wherein at least a surface of the valve member is formed of a non-conductive material. 4. The valve member according to claim 1, wherein the surface of said valve member is formed of a material having water repellency.
The liquid crystal injection device according to any one of claims 1 to 6. 5. A method for manufacturing a liquid crystal device in which liquid crystal is injected from a liquid crystal injection port of a liquid crystal device in which a pair of substrates are bonded with a sealing material, the container having a valve opening for dropping the liquid crystal, and the container. A valve member that is housed therein and that is movable in the up and down direction and has a protruding portion that protrudes from the valve port.When the valve member moves downward, the valve portion provided on the valve member has A liquid crystal dropping device that is seated on a valve seat inside the container and closes the valve port, moves the valve section and the valve seat apart and opens the valve port when moved upward, near the liquid crystal injection port of the liquid crystal device. When the distal end of the protruding portion comes into contact with the vicinity of the liquid crystal inlet in a vacuum atmosphere, the valve member is pushed upward to separate the valve portion of the valve member from the valve seat, thereby opening the valve port. Open the valve between the valve port and the protrusion Liquid crystal is dropped near the liquid crystal injection port from a gap, and the tip of the protrusion is separated from the vicinity of the liquid crystal injection port to move the valve member downward, so that the valve portion of the valve member is the valve seat. And stopping the dropping of liquid crystal by releasing the liquid crystal device from the vacuum atmosphere, and sealing the dropped liquid crystal in the liquid crystal device. 6. The manufacturing of the liquid crystal device according to claim 5, wherein a contact portion and a separation of the protruding portion are controlled by a supporting portion which supports the liquid crystal dropping device so as to be relatively movable toward and away from the liquid crystal device. Method. 7. The method according to claim 5, wherein at least a surface of the valve member is formed of a non-conductive material. 8. The valve member according to claim 5, wherein the surface of the valve member is formed of a material having water repellency.
13. The method for manufacturing a liquid crystal device according to claim 1.