KR100511350B1 - A liquid crystal dispensing apparatus with a nozzle protecting device - Google Patents

Abstract

The liquid crystal dropping apparatus of the present invention is for forming a liquid crystal layer by directly dropping a liquid crystal directly on a large-area glass substrate, the liquid crystal container is filled with a liquid crystal and a gas is supplied to the upper portion to apply pressure to the liquid crystal, the liquid crystal A needle seat is formed in the case that accommodates the container, a lower portion of the liquid crystal container and a discharge hole through which the liquid crystal of the liquid crystal container is discharged, and is inserted into the liquid crystal container so as to move up and down. One end is provided with a spring and the other end is provided. The needle that opens and closes the discharge hole of the needle sheet as it moves up and down in contact with the discharge hole of the needle seat, and a solenoid coil and a magnetic rod mounted on the needle to generate magnetic force as the power is applied to move the needle upward. And a substrate mounted on the lower portion of the liquid crystal container, the liquid crystal of the liquid crystal container including at least one panel. It consists of a nozzle having a discharge port for dropping in and a protective means is formed around the discharge port.

Description

Liquid crystal dropping device which can protect nozzle {A LIQUID CRYSTAL DISPENSING APPARATUS WITH A NOZZLE PROTECTING DEVICE}

The present invention relates to a liquid crystal dropping device (Liquid Crystal Dispensing Apparatus), and in particular, by installing a protective means in the nozzle (Nozzle) in which the liquid crystal flows out from the liquid crystal dropping device (drop) prevents the dispersion of the liquid crystal by the nozzle failure and at the same time The present invention relates to a liquid crystal dropping device capable of forming a fluorine resin film around and preventing liquid crystals from agglomerating around the nozzle.

Recently, with the development of various portable electronic devices such as mobile phones, PDAs, and notebook computers, there is a growing demand for flat panel display devices for light and thin applications. Such flat panel displays are being actively researched, such as LCD (Liquid Crystal Display), PDP (Plasma Display Panel), FED (Field Emission Display), VFD (Vacuum Fluorescent Display), but mass production technology, ease of driving means, Liquid crystal display devices (LCDs) are in the spotlight for reasons of implementation.

LCD is a device for displaying information on the screen using the refractive anisotropy of the liquid crystal. As shown in FIG. 1, the LCD 1 is composed of a lower substrate 5 and an upper substrate 3 and a liquid crystal layer 7 formed between the lower substrate 5 and the upper substrate 3. The lower substrate 5 is a drive element array substrate. Although not shown in the drawing, a plurality of pixels are formed on the lower substrate 5, and a driving element such as a thin film transistor is formed in each pixel. The upper substrate 3 is a color filter substrate, and a color filter layer for real color is formed. In addition, a pixel electrode and a common electrode are formed on the lower substrate 5 and the upper substrate 3, respectively, and an alignment film for aligning liquid crystal molecules of the liquid crystal layer 7 is coated.

The lower substrate 5 and the upper substrate 3 are bonded by a sealing material 9, and a liquid crystal layer 7 is formed therebetween by a driving element formed on the lower substrate 5. Information is displayed by controlling the amount of light passing through the liquid crystal layer by driving the liquid crystal molecules.

The manufacturing process of the liquid crystal display device can be largely divided into a driving element array substrate process of forming a driving element on the lower substrate 5, a color filter substrate process of forming a color filter on the upper substrate 3, and a cell process. However, the process of the liquid crystal display will be described with reference to FIG. 2.

First, a plurality of gate lines and data lines arranged on the lower substrate 5 to define a pixel region are formed by a driving element array process, and the gate line and the data are formed in each of the pixel regions. A thin film transistor which is a driving element connected to the line is formed (S101). In addition, the pixel electrode is connected to the thin film transistor through the driving element array process to drive the liquid crystal layer as a signal is applied through the thin film transistor.

In addition, the upper substrate 3 is formed with a color filter layer and a common electrode of R, G, B to implement the color by the color filter process (S104).

Subsequently, an alignment layer is applied to the upper substrate 3 and the lower substrate 5, respectively, and then the alignment control force or surface fixing force (ie, the liquid crystal molecules of the liquid crystal layer formed between the upper substrate 3 and the lower substrate 5). In order to provide a pretilt angle and an orientation direction, the alignment layer is rubbed (S102 and S105). Subsequently, a spacer is disposed on the lower substrate 5 to maintain a constant cell gap, and a sealing material is applied to an outer portion of the upper substrate 3. Then, the lower substrate 5 and the upper substrate are dispersed. Pressure is applied to (3), and it adheres (S103, S106, S107).

On the other hand, the lower substrate 5 and the upper substrate 3 is made of a large area glass substrate. In other words, a plurality of panel regions are formed on a large area glass substrate, and a TFT and a color filter layer, which are driving elements, are formed in each of the panel regions. Must be processed (S108). Thereafter, the liquid crystal is injected into the liquid crystal panel processed as described above through the liquid crystal inlet, and the liquid crystal inlet is encapsulated to form a liquid crystal layer. Then, the liquid crystal display is manufactured by inspecting each liquid crystal panel (S109 and S110). .

The liquid crystal is injected through the liquid crystal inlet formed in the panel. At this time, the injection of the liquid crystal is made by the pressure difference. 3 shows an apparatus for injecting liquid crystal into the liquid crystal panel. As shown in FIG. 3, a container 12 filled with liquid crystal is provided in a vacuum chamber 10, and a liquid crystal panel 1 is positioned on an upper portion thereof. The vacuum chamber 10 is connected to a vacuum pump to maintain a set vacuum state. In addition, although not shown in the drawing, an apparatus for moving the liquid crystal panel is installed in the vacuum chamber 10 to move the liquid crystal panel 1 from the upper part of the container 12 to the container, and thus the injection hole 16 formed in the liquid crystal panel 1. ) Is brought into contact with the liquid crystal 14 (this method is referred to as a liquid crystal dipping injection method).

As described above, when nitrogen (N ₂ ) gas is supplied into the vacuum chamber 10 while the injection port 16 of the liquid crystal panel 1 is in contact with the liquid crystal 14, the vacuum degree of the chamber 10 is reduced. The liquid crystal 14 is injected into the panel 1 through the injection hole 16 by the pressure difference between the pressure inside the liquid crystal panel 1 and the vacuum chamber 10 and the liquid crystal is completely filled in the panel 1. The liquid crystal layer is formed by sealing the injection hole 16 with a sealing material (this method is called vacuum injection of liquid crystal).

However, the method of forming the liquid crystal layer by injecting liquid crystal through the injection hole 16 of the liquid crystal panel 1 in the vacuum chamber 10 as described above has the following problems.

First, the liquid crystal injection time to the panel 1 is long. In general, the distance between the driving element array substrate and the color filter substrate of the liquid crystal panel is very narrow, such as several μm, so that only a very small amount of liquid crystal is injected into the liquid crystal panel per unit time. For example, when a liquid crystal panel of about 15 inches is manufactured, it takes about 8 hours to completely inject the liquid crystal, and the liquid crystal panel manufacturing process is lengthened by the long-term liquid crystal injection, thereby lowering the manufacturing efficiency.

Second, the liquid crystal consumption rate is high in the liquid crystal injection method as described above. Of the liquid crystals 14 filled in the container 12, the amount injected into the liquid crystal panel 10 is a very small amount. On the other hand, when the liquid crystal is exposed to the atmosphere or a specific gas, it reacts with the gas and deteriorates. Therefore, even when the liquid crystal 14 filled in the container 12 is injected into the plurality of liquid crystal panels 10, the liquid crystal 14 remaining after the injection must be discarded. This leads to an increase in manufacturing cost.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the foregoing, and an object thereof is to provide a liquid crystal dropping apparatus for directly dropping liquid crystal onto a large-area glass substrate including at least one liquid crystal panel.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a liquid crystal dropping device which can prevent the dropping amount of the liquid crystal from dropping or dropping the liquid crystal into an undesired area by providing a protective means in the nozzle through which the liquid crystal is discharged. It is.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a nozzle structure of a liquid crystal dropping device having a protective means and a fluorine resin film formed to prevent breakage and liquid crystal agglomeration caused by external force.

In order to achieve the above object, the liquid crystal dropping apparatus of the present invention is a liquid crystal container filled with a liquid crystal and a gas supplied thereon to apply pressure to the liquid crystal, a case (Case) in which the liquid crystal container is accommodated, and the liquid crystal container. A needle sheet is formed at a lower portion of the liquid crystal container and has a discharge hole through which liquid crystals are discharged. The needle sheet is inserted into the liquid crystal container so that the liquid crystal container can be vertically moved. A spring is installed at one end and the other end of the needle sheet. A needle that opens and closes a needle hole of the needle sheet as it moves up and down in contact with the discharge hole of the needle sheet, and a solenoid coil that generates magnetic force as the power is applied to the upper portion of the needle and moves the needle upward. And a magnetic rod and a discharge port mounted under the liquid crystal container to drop the liquid crystal of the liquid crystal container onto a substrate including at least one panel. Provided and consists of a nozzle is formed of protection around the outlet.

As power is supplied to the solenoid coil, a magnetic force is generated in the magnetic rod. The magnetic force rises the needle upwards, and the discharge hole of the needle sheet is opened, and the liquid crystal of the liquid crystal container is dropped on the substrate through the nozzle. As the power supplied to the coil is cut off, the needle returns to its original position by the elasticity of the spring, and the discharge hole of the needle sheet is closed by the needle, thereby stopping dropping of the liquid crystal.

The protective means formed around the outlet of the nozzle is formed at the same or greater height than the height of the outlet to prevent the outlet from being deformed or damaged by external force when joining or separating the nozzle, and the nozzle is coated with a fluorine resin film. The inaccurate amount of liquid crystal which may be generated by agglomeration of the liquid crystal onto the substrate may be prevented from dropping on the substrate or splashing the liquid crystal in an undesired region (sealing region).

In addition, the nozzle structure of the liquid crystal dropping apparatus according to the present invention includes a support portion coupled to a container filled with liquid crystal through a coupling means, discharge means attached to the support portion to discharge the liquid crystal filled in the container to a substrate, and the discharge means. It is formed around the protection means for protecting the discharge means from an external force and formed around the discharge means fluorine resin film.

In order to overcome the shortcomings of the conventional liquid crystal injection method such as the liquid crystal dipping method or the liquid crystal vacuum injection method, a method proposed in recent years is a liquid crystal layer forming method by the liquid crystal dropping method. The liquid crystal dropping method does not inject the liquid crystal by the pressure difference between the inside and the outside of the panel, but directly drops and dispenses the liquid crystal onto the substrate, and uniformly spreads the liquid crystal dropped by the bonding pressure of the panel. The liquid crystal layer is formed by distribution. Since the liquid crystal dropping method directly drops the liquid crystal onto the substrate for a short time, the liquid crystal layer formation of the large area liquid crystal display device can be performed very quickly, and only the required amount of liquid crystal is directly dropped onto the substrate. Since it is possible to minimize the consumption of the liquid crystal display device has the advantage that can significantly reduce the manufacturing cost.

4 is a view showing a basic concept of the liquid crystal dropping method. As shown in the figure, in the liquid crystal dropping method, before the lower substrate 105 and the upper substrate 103 on which the driving element and the color filter are formed, respectively, the liquid crystal 107 is droplet-shaped on the lower substrate 105. Dropping The liquid crystal 107 may be dropped on the substrate 103 on which the color filter is formed. In other words, the substrate to be the liquid crystal dropping method in the liquid crystal dropping method can be either a TFT substrate or a CF substrate. However, when the substrates are bonded, the substrate on which the liquid crystal is dropped must be placed at the bottom.

In this case, a sealing material 109 is applied to the outer region of the upper substrate 103 to apply pressure to the upper substrate 103 and the lower substrate 105 so that the upper substrate 103 and the lower substrate 105 are bonded together. At the same time, droplets of the liquid crystal 107 are spread out by the pressure to form a liquid crystal layer having a uniform thickness between the upper substrate 103 and the lower substrate 105. In other words, the biggest feature of the liquid crystal dropping method is that the liquid crystal 107 is previously dropped on the lower substrate before the panel 101 is bonded, and then the panel is bonded by the sealing material 109.

The liquid crystal display device manufacturing method to which the above liquid crystal dropping method is applied is shown in FIG. 5. As shown in the figure, TFT and color filter layers, which are driving elements, are formed on the upper substrate and the lower substrate, respectively, through the TFT array process and the color filter process (S201 and S202). The TFT array process and the color filter process are the same as those of the conventional manufacturing method shown in FIG. 2 and are collectively performed on a large-area glass substrate on which a plurality of panel regions are formed. In particular, since the liquid crystal dropping method is applied in the manufacturing method, it can be usefully used in a larger glass substrate, for example, a large area glass substrate having an area of 1000 × 1200 mm ² or more compared with the conventional manufacturing method.

Subsequently, after the alignment layer is applied to the lower substrate on which the TFT is formed and the upper substrate on which the color filter layer is formed, rubbing is performed (S202 and S205), liquid crystal is dropped on the liquid crystal panel region of the lower substrate, and the liquid crystal panel is surrounded by the upper substrate. Sealing material is applied to the subregions (S203, S206).

Thereafter, pressure is applied while the upper substrate and the lower substrate are aligned to bond the lower substrate and the upper substrate with a sealing material, and at the same time, the liquid crystal dropped by the application of pressure is uniformly spread throughout the panel (S207). ). Through this process, a plurality of liquid crystal panels having a liquid crystal layer are formed on glass substrates (lower substrates and upper substrates) having a large area. The glass substrates are processed and cut and separated into a plurality of liquid crystal panels. By inspecting, a liquid crystal display device is produced.

Comparing the difference between the method of manufacturing the liquid crystal display device to which the liquid crystal drop method shown in FIG. 5 is applied and the method of manufacturing the liquid crystal display device to which the conventional liquid crystal injection method shown in FIG. 2 is applied, the difference between the vacuum injection and the liquid crystal drop of the liquid crystal and In addition to the difference in the processing time of the large-area glass substrate it can be seen that there are other differences. That is, in the method of manufacturing a liquid crystal display device to which the liquid crystal injection method shown in FIG. 2 is applied, the injection hole must be sealed by an encapsulant after the liquid crystal is injected through the injection hole. This eliminates the need for sealing of these inlets. In addition, although not shown in FIG. 2, in the manufacturing method to which the liquid crystal injection method is applied, since the substrate contacts the liquid crystal when the liquid crystal is injected, the outer surface of the panel is contaminated by the liquid crystal. In the manufacturing method in which the liquid crystal dropping method is applied, since the liquid crystal is directly dropped on the substrate, the panel is not contaminated by the liquid crystal, and as a result, the cleaning process is unnecessary. As described above, the manufacturing method of the liquid crystal display device by the liquid crystal dropping method is made of a simple process by the manufacturing method by the liquid crystal injection method, so that not only the manufacturing efficiency can be improved but also the yield can be improved.

In the manufacturing method of the liquid crystal display device in which the liquid crystal dropping method is introduced as described above, the most important factors for accurately forming the liquid crystal layer to a desired thickness are the position of the liquid crystal to be dropped and the amount of liquid crystal dropping. In particular, since the thickness of the liquid crystal layer has a close relationship with the cell gap of the liquid crystal panel, the accurate dropping position and the dropping amount of the liquid crystal are very important factors for preventing defects of the liquid crystal panel. Therefore, there is a need for a device for dropping the correct amount of liquid crystal at the correct position, the present invention provides such a liquid crystal dropping device.

6 is a view showing the basic concept of dropping the liquid crystal 107 on the substrate (large area glass substrate) 105 using the liquid crystal dropping apparatus 120 according to the present invention. As shown in the figure, the liquid crystal dropping device 120 is provided above the substrate 105. Although not shown in the drawing, the liquid crystal is filled in the liquid crystal dropping device 120 to fill a predetermined amount on the substrate.

Typically, the liquid crystal is dropped onto the substrate in the form of droplets. Since the substrate 105 moves at a set speed in the x and y directions, and the liquid crystal dropping device discharges the liquid crystal at a set time interval, the liquid crystal 107 dropped on the substrate 105 at regular intervals in the x and y directions. Is placed. Of course, the liquid crystal dropping substrate 105 may be fixed and the liquid crystal dropping apparatus 120 may move in the x and y directions to drop the liquid crystal at a predetermined interval. However, in this case, since the droplet-shaped liquid crystals are shaken by the movement of the liquid crystal dropping device 120, an error may occur in the dropping position and the dropping amount of the liquid crystal. Therefore, the liquid crystal dropping device 120 is fixed and the substrate 105 is moved. It is desirable to.

7 is a view showing a liquid crystal dropping apparatus according to the present invention, Figure 7 (a) is a cross-sectional view and Figure 7 (b) is an exploded perspective view. The liquid crystal dropping apparatus of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

As shown in the figure, in the liquid crystal dropping device, a cylindrical liquid crystal container 124 is accommodated in the case 122. The liquid crystal container 124 is made of polyethylene and the liquid crystal 107 is filled therein, and the case 122 is made of stainless steel so that the liquid crystal container 124 is formed therein. It is stored. In general, polyethylene is mainly used as the liquid crystal container 124 because it is easy to form a container having a desired shape because of its excellent moldability and does not react with the liquid crystal when the liquid crystal 107 is filled. However, since the polyethylene is weak in strength, it is easy to be deformed by a weak external shock. In particular, when polyethylene is used as the liquid crystal container 124, the container 124 may be deformed to drop the liquid crystal 107 in the correct position. Since it is not present, the case 122 is made of stainless steel having high strength. Although not shown in the drawing, a gas supply pipe connected to an external gas supply unit is formed at an upper portion of the liquid crystal container 124. A gas such as nitrogen is supplied from an external gas supply unit through the gas supply pipe to fill a region in which the liquid crystal is not filled in the liquid crystal container 124 so that pressure is applied to the liquid crystal so that the liquid crystal is dropped.

An opening 123 is formed at the lower end of the case 122. When the liquid crystal container 124 is accommodated in the case 122, the protrusion 138 formed at the lower end of the liquid crystal container 124 is inserted into the opening 123 so that the liquid crystal container 124 is coupled to the case 122. Be sure to In addition, the protrusion 138 is coupled to the first coupling portion 141. As shown in the figure, a nut of the protrusion 138 is formed and a bolt is formed on one side of the first coupling portion 141, the protrusion 138 and the first coupling portion 141 by the nut and bolt. ) Is fastened.

A nut is formed at the other end of the first coupling part 141, and a bolt is formed at one end of the second coupling part 142 to fasten the first coupling part 141 and the second coupling part 142. . In this case, a needle sheet 143 is positioned between the first coupling part 141 and the second coupling part 142. The needle seat 143 is inserted into the nut of the first coupling part 141 and the first coupling part 141 and the second coupling part 142 when the bolt of the second coupling part 142 is inserted and fastened. Are coupled between. A discharge hole 144 is formed in the needle sheet 143 so that the liquid crystal 107 filled in the liquid crystal container 124 is discharged through the discharge hole 144 via the coupling part 142.

In addition, the nozzle 145 is coupled to the second coupling portion 142. The nozzle 145 is for dropping a small amount of the liquid crystal 107 filled in the liquid crystal container 124, the second coupling portion 142 is fastened with a nut of one end of the second coupling portion (145) A support part 147 including a bolt to be coupled to the 142, a discharge port 146 protruding from the support part 147, and dropping a small amount of liquid crystal onto the substrate in a drop shape, and formed outside the support part 147. And a protective wall 148 to protect the outlet 146.

A discharge pipe extending from the discharge hole 144 of the needle sheet 143 is formed in the support part 147, and the discharge pipe is connected to the discharge hole 146. Typically, the outlet 146 of the nozzle 145 has a very small diameter (to adjust the fine liquid crystal dropping amount) and protrudes from the support 147. Therefore, the nozzle 145 is easily affected by an external force during handling such as coupling or separating the second coupling part 142. For example, when the outlet 146 is deformed or damaged when the nozzle 145 is fastened to the second coupling part 142, the diameter of the outlet 146 is changed to adjust the amount of liquid crystal dropped on the glass substrate. Not only that, there is a problem that the liquid crystal is splashed to the damaged area and the liquid crystal is dropped in an unwanted position. There is even a problem that the outlet 146 is broken so that the liquid crystal cannot be dropped. In particular, when the liquid crystal dropped by the breakage of the discharge port 146 splashes into the sealing area (the area where the sealing material is applied to bond the upper substrate and the lower substrate), the sealing material of the region where the liquid crystal splatters when the substrate is bonded bursts. Defects will occur.

The outlet 146 protective wall 148 prevents the outlet 146 of the nozzle 145 from being damaged by the external force as described above. That is, as shown in the figure, by forming a wall of a predetermined height around the outlet 146, an external force is prevented from being applied to the outlet 146.

The needle 136 is inserted into the liquid crystal container 124 so that one end thereof contacts the needle sheet 143. In particular, since the end portion of the needle 136 in contact with the needle sheet 143 has a conical shape, the end portion is inserted into the discharge hole 144 of the needle sheet 143 to block the discharge hole 144. do.

In addition, a spring 128 is mounted at the other end of the needle 136, and a magnetic rod 132 having a gap adjusting part 134 is mounted thereon. The magnetic rod 132 is made of a ferromagnetic material or a soft magnetic material, the outside of the cylindrical solenoid coil 130 is installed. Although not shown in the drawing, the solenoid coil 130 is connected to a power supply means to supply power, and as the power is applied, a magnetic force is generated in the magnetic rod 132.

The needle 136 and the magnetic rod 132 are provided at regular intervals (x). When power is supplied to the solenoid coil 130 to generate a magnetic force on the magnetic rod 132, the needle 136 contacts the magnetic rod 132 by the magnetic force, and when the power supply is stopped, the needle 136 It is restored to its original position by the elasticity of the spring 128 installed at the end of the c). The discharge hole 144 formed in the needle sheet 143 is opened or closed by the vertical movement of the needle 136. The end of the needle 136 and the needle seat 143 is repeatedly contacted as power is supplied to the solenoid coil 130 and stopped. Due to such repeated contact, the end of the needle 136 and the needle seat 143 are exposed to a constant impact, so there is a possibility of breakage. Therefore, it is preferable that the end of the needle 136 and the needle sheet 143 is formed of a material resistant to impact, for example, cemented carbide, to prevent breakage due to impact.

8 illustrates a liquid crystal dropping device in which the discharge hole 144 of the needle sheet 143 is opened by the rising of the needle 136. As the discharge hole 144 of the needle sheet 143 is opened as described above, the gas (N ₂ gas) supplied to the liquid crystal container 124 applies pressure to the liquid crystal so that the liquid crystal 107 is dropped from the nozzle 145. To start. At this time, the amount of the liquid crystal 107 is dropped depends on the time the discharge hole 144 is opened and the pressure applied to the liquid crystal, the open time is the interval (x) between the needle 136 and the magnetic rod 132 ), The magnetic force of the magnetic rod 132 generated by the solenoid coil 130 and the elastic force of the spring 128 installed on the needle 136. The magnetic force of the magnetic rod 132 can be adjusted according to the number of windings of the solenoid coil 130 installed around the magnetic rod 132 or the size of the power applied to the solenoid coil 130, and the needle 136 and the magnetic rod ( The interval x of the 132 can be adjusted by the gap adjusting unit 134 provided at the end of the magnetic rod 132.

In addition, although not shown in the drawing, the solenoid coil 130 may be installed around the needle 136 instead of the magnetic rod 132. In this case, since the needle 136 is made of a magnetic material, when power is applied to the solenoid coil 130, the needle 136 becomes magnetic, and as a result, the needle 136 is raised to raise the rod 132. (The rod 132 is fixed and the needle 136 can move up and down).

FIG. 9 is an enlarged view of portion A of FIG. 7, wherein FIG. 9A is a perspective view and FIG. 9B is a sectional view. As shown in the figure, since the protective wall 148 is formed around the outlet 146 of the nozzle 145 at substantially the same height as the outlet 146, preferably higher than the outlet 146, It is possible to prevent the nozzle from being deformed or broken by a mechanism such as a joining tool during handling such as joining or detaching the nozzle 145.

In addition, the protective wall 148 increases the overall size of the nozzle 145. In general, since the size of the nozzle 145 is very small, when the nozzle 145 is coupled to or separated from the second coupling part 142 using a tool or the like, the handling thereof becomes very difficult. However, when forming the protective wall 148 to increase the size of the nozzle 145 as in the present invention, it is possible to facilitate the coupling and separation of the nozzle 145.

The protective wall 148 can be made of any material as long as it is a material that can protect the outlet 146 from external force, but a high strength stainless steel, cemented carbide, or the like can be used.

In addition, as illustrated in FIG. 9B, a material having a high contact angle with respect to the liquid crystal, such as the fluorine resin 150, is coated around the outlet 146 of the nozzle 145. The reason for being applied is as follows.

Contact angle refers to the angle formed when a liquid is in thermodynamic equilibrium at a solid surface. This contact angle is a measure of the wettability of a solid surface. The nozzle 145 is made of metal, which typically has a low contact angle. Therefore, since the metal has high wettability (i.e., hydrophilicity) and high surface energy, the liquid tends to spread to the metal surface. As a result, when the liquid crystal is dropped through the nozzle 145 made of a metal, the liquid crystal does not have a drop shape at the end of the outlet 146 of the nozzle 145 (to achieve such a drop shape means that the contact angle is high). The liquid crystal spreads to the surface of the nozzle 145, and the liquid crystal spreads to the surface of the nozzle 145 as the liquid crystal drop is repeated.

The spreading of the liquid crystal onto the surface of the nozzle 145 makes accurate liquid crystal dropping impossible. Even when the amount of liquid crystal discharged through the discharge hole 146 of the nozzle 145 is controlled by adjusting the time that the discharge hole 144 is opened and the pressure applied to the liquid crystal, some of the discharged liquid crystal is spread to the nozzle surface. The amount actually loaded onto the substrate is smaller than the amount discharged through the outlet 146. Of course, while the amount of the liquid crystal can be controlled in consideration of the amount of the liquid crystal spread to the surface of the nozzle 145, it is impossible to calculate the amount of liquid crystal substantially spreading to the surface of the nozzle 145.

In addition, the liquid crystal that is accumulated in the nozzle 145 by repeating the liquid crystal drop may be added to the amount discharged through the discharge port 146 of the nozzle 145 so that more liquid crystals may be dropped onto the substrate. In other words, in the nozzle 145 made of metal, the amount of liquid crystal dropped by the low contact angle, which is a property of the metal, becomes irregular.

On the other hand, when the fluororesin film 150 having a high contact angle is applied around the nozzle 145, particularly the outlet 146 of the nozzle 145, as in the present invention, the low wettability (hydrophobicity) of the fluororesin film 150 is applied. And the liquid crystal 107 discharged through the outlet 146 of the nozzle 145 by the low surface energy does not spread to the surface of the nozzle 145 to form a complete droplet form, as a result of the desired amount of liquid crystal on the substrate It can be dropped.

The fluororesin film (that is, Teflon) is applied to the surface of the nozzle 145 by dipping or spraying. In FIG. 9B, although the fluororesin film 150 is applied only around the outlet 146, the fluororesin film 150 may be applied to the entire nozzle 145 including the protective wall 148. . Since the fluorine resin not only has a high contact angle but also has various characteristics such as wear resistance, heat resistance, and chemical resistance, the nozzle 145 is more effectively prevented from being deformed or damaged by external force by the application of the fluorine resin film 150. You can do it.

As described above, the present invention provides a liquid crystal dropping device. In particular, the present invention provides a nozzle structure of the liquid crystal dropping apparatus which can not only protect the nozzle but also prevent a phenomenon of liquid crystal aggregation around the nozzle. In particular, the nozzle structure of the present invention is not limited only to the liquid crystal dropping device of the structure, but may be excellently applied to all devices used for liquid crystal dropping to date. In other words, in the detailed description of the present invention, the liquid crystal dropping device is limited to a specific structure, but the present invention is not limited to the liquid crystal dropping device having such a specific structure, but all structures to which the nozzle structure particularly shown in the present invention can be applied. It is used in the liquid crystal dropping device of. Therefore, the scope of the present invention should be determined not by the detailed description but by the appended claims.

As described above, in the present invention, since the protective wall is provided at the nozzle of the liquid crystal dropping device and the fluorine resin film is applied, the following effects can be obtained.

First, in the present invention, since a protective wall is formed around the discharge port of the nozzle, it is possible to prevent the discharge port from being deformed or damaged during handling such as the engagement or detachment of the nozzle. Defects can be prevented.

Secondly, the liquid crystal is dropped into the sealing area by the deformation of the discharge port by the protective wall, thereby preventing the sealing area from bursting by the dropped liquid crystal when the upper substrate and the lower substrate are vacuum-bonded to prevent defects in the liquid crystal panel. It becomes possible.

Third, by forming a fluorine resin film around the discharge port of the nozzle, it is possible to drop the correct amount of liquid crystal onto the substrate.

Fourth, by forming the fluorine resin film around the discharge port and the entire nozzle, the strength of the nozzle is improved, and as a result, the nozzle can be prevented from being affected by external force.

1 is a cross-sectional view of a general liquid crystal display device.

2 is a flowchart showing a conventional method for manufacturing a liquid crystal display device.

3 is a view showing liquid crystal injection of a conventional liquid crystal display device.

4 is a view showing a liquid crystal display device manufactured by the liquid crystal dropping method according to the present invention.

5 is a flowchart illustrating a method of manufacturing a liquid crystal display device by the liquid crystal dropping method.

6 is a view showing a basic concept of the liquid crystal dropping method.

7 is a view showing the structure of a liquid crystal dropping apparatus according to the present invention.

8 is a view showing the structure of the liquid crystal dropping in the liquid crystal dropping apparatus according to the present invention.

9 is a view showing a nozzle structure of the liquid crystal dropping apparatus according to the present invention.

** Explanation of symbols for main parts of drawings **

101: liquid crystal panel 103, 105: substrate

107: liquid crystal 120: liquid crystal dropping device

122: case 124: liquid crystal container

128: spring 130: solenoid coil

132: magnetic rod 134: gap adjustment unit

136: needle 141,142: coupling portion

143: needle seat 144: discharge hole

145: nozzle 146: outlet

148: protective wall 150: fluorine resin film

Claims (16)

A liquid crystal container in which a liquid crystal is filled and a gas is supplied to the upper part to apply pressure to the liquid crystal; A case accommodating the liquid crystal container; A needle sheet mounted below the liquid crystal container and having a discharge hole through which liquid crystal of the liquid crystal container is discharged; A needle inserted into the liquid crystal container so as to be movable up and down, and having a spring installed at one end thereof, and a discharge hole of the needle sheet opened and closed as the other end contacts the discharge hole of the needle sheet and moves up and down; A solenoid coil and a magnetic rod mounted on an upper portion of the needle to generate a magnetic force to move the needle to an upper portion when power is applied; And And a nozzle mounted on the lower portion of the liquid crystal container and having a discharge port for dropping the liquid crystal of the liquid crystal container onto a substrate including at least one panel, wherein a nozzle is formed around the discharge port. The liquid crystal dropping apparatus of claim 1, wherein the liquid crystal dropping device is installed under the liquid crystal container, and combines the liquid crystal container, the nozzle and the needle sheet, and further comprises a coupling means. The liquid crystal dropping apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the protective means of the nozzle is a protective wall formed around the discharge port. 4. The liquid crystal dropping apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the protective wall is formed at the same height or greater than the discharge port. The liquid crystal dropping apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a fluorine resin film coated around the nozzle. 6. The liquid crystal dropping apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the fluororesin film is applied over the entire surface of the nozzle. The liquid crystal dropping apparatus according to claim 5 or 6, wherein the fluororesin film is applied by a dipping or spraying method. A support coupled to the container filled with liquid crystal through coupling means; Discharge means attached to the support to discharge the liquid crystal filled in the container to the substrate; And Nozzle structure of the liquid crystal dropping device is formed around the discharge means consisting of protection means for protecting the discharge means from external forces. 9. The nozzle structure according to claim 8, wherein the protection means is a protection wall extending from the support at a set height. 10. The nozzle structure according to claim 9, wherein the protective wall is formed at the same or larger height than the liquid crystal discharging means. 9. The nozzle structure according to claim 8, further comprising a fluorine resin film coated around the discharge port. 12. The nozzle structure according to claim 11, wherein the fluororesin film is formed on a support portion and a protective means. The nozzle structure according to claim 11, wherein the fluororesin film is formed by a dipping or spraying method. Liquid crystal dropping means for filling the liquid crystal and dropping the liquid crystal on the substrate by moving the needle up and down by the magnetic force of the solenoid coil and the tension of the spring is installed, the discharge hole connected to the nozzle is opened and closed; And And a liquid crystal dropper formed around the nozzle and configured to protect the nozzle. The liquid crystal dropping apparatus according to claim 14, wherein the nozzle protecting means is a protective wall formed around a discharge port of the nozzle. The liquid crystal dropping apparatus according to claim 15, wherein the protective wall is formed at a height equal to or greater than that of the discharge port.