KR100660793B1 - End-sealing apparatus, manufacturing system and manufacturing method of liquid crystal panel - Google Patents

Abstract

(assignment)

The present invention provides a liquid crystal sealing device and a liquid crystal which can produce a liquid crystal panel with excellent display performance while improving productivity of the liquid crystal panel as a whole by shortening the processing time by performing the sealing step by cassette unit. An object of the present invention is to provide a manufacturing apparatus and a manufacturing method of a panel.

(Solution)

It is formed on the lower side of the liquid crystal panel, and has a coating roller having a length sufficient to hold a sealing agent on the circumferential surface thereof to block the injection hole, and a means for moving the coating roller relative to the liquid crystal panel, the rotation axis direction of the coating roller Is arranged so as to be parallel to the liquid crystal panel surface and the bottom surface, the coating roller or the liquid crystal panel is moved while maintaining this arrangement, and the sealing agent held on the circumferential surface of the coating roller is applied to the injection hole. After injecting the liquid crystal from the injection hole of the lower surface, it is characterized in that the injection hole is sealed in the arrangement state as it is.

Application roller, liquid crystal injection

Description

Liquid crystal sealing device and liquid crystal panel manufacturing device and manufacturing method {END-SEALING APPARATUS, MANUFACTURING SYSTEM AND MANUFACTURING METHOD OF LIQUID CRYSTAL PANEL}

1 is a view showing an example of a liquid crystal panel manufacturing apparatus of the present invention.

2 is a view showing a configuration example of a liquid crystal sealing device of the present invention.

3 is a cross-sectional conceptual view showing an example of the rotary coating roller of the present invention.

4 is a view showing another configuration example of the liquid crystal sealing device of the present invention.

5 is a view showing the configuration of a conventional liquid crystal sealing device.

Figure 6 is a view showing in detail the conventional sewing mill.

Brief description of symbols in the drawings

1 liquid crystal panel 2 cassette

3: liquid crystal injection hole 4: liquid crystal plate

5 blow mechanism 6 rotary application roller

6-1: Rotating shaft 6-2: Groove

7: sealing container 8: UV lamp

9: tray 11: cleaning roller

12: cleaning mechanism 21: cleaning robot

21-1: vacuum liquid crystal cleaning device 22: coating robot                 

22-1: sealing agent coating syringe 23: UV curing robot

23-1: UV irradiation apparatus 100: liquid crystal panel manufacturing apparatus

101: load chamber 102: heating chamber

103: exhaust chamber 104: injection chamber

105: intermediate chamber 106: washing chamber

107: sealing agent coating chamber 108: ultraviolet irradiation chamber

109: unloading room

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an apparatus for manufacturing a liquid crystal sealing device and a liquid crystal panel and a method for manufacturing the same, and more particularly, to a liquid crystal sealing device having improved display performance and productivity of a liquid crystal panel.

The manufacturing process of the conventional liquid crystal panel is described with reference to FIG. FIG. 5 is a view showing a step (sealing step) of blocking the injection hole of the liquid crystal after injecting the liquid crystal into the liquid crystal panel during the manufacturing step of the liquid crystal panel.

The liquid crystal panel 1 is placed in the cassette 2, and in the liquid crystal injection process, the inside of the liquid crystal panel 1 is evacuated in a vacuum while the injection hole 3 of the liquid crystal is downward. In the general method, the liquid crystal panel 1 is placed in a vacuum chamber (not shown) for each cassette 2, and when the vacuum chamber is evacuated, both the outer side and the inner side of the liquid crystal panel 1 become vacuum. In this state, the liquid crystal is placed in a dish-shaped container, the liquid crystal injection hole of the liquid crystal panel is brought into contact with the liquid crystal, and the liquid crystal injection hole is sealed with the liquid crystal itself to block the inside and outside of the liquid crystal panel 1. After that, if the vacuum chamber is gradually returned to atmospheric pressure, the inside of the liquid crystal panel 1 is in a vacuum state, and thus the liquid crystal is injected into the liquid crystal panel 1 by the pressure difference between the inside and the outside of the liquid crystal panel 1. When the inside of the liquid crystal panel 1 is filled with liquid crystal, the pressure difference between the liquid crystal panel 1 and its inside and outside is eliminated and the injection process is completed.

Subsequently, the process proceeds to the sealing step, and the liquid crystal injection hole 3 of the liquid crystal panel 1 is sealed with, for example, an ultraviolet curable resin. Here, the liquid crystal panel 1 is inverted in the state put into the cassette 2 so that the liquid crystal injection hole 3 faces the upper side (namely, the sealing agent application robot 22 side), and then performs a sealing process.

In the sealing step, as shown in FIG. 5, first, the liquid crystal adhered to the liquid crystal injection hole 3 by the liquid crystal cleaning robot 21 is washed, and then the sealing agent is applied to the injection hole by the coating robot 22. Then, the ultraviolet curing robot 23 irradiates and seals the sealing material with ultraviolet rays. Fig. 6 shows the details of the vicinity of the liquid crystal injection hole and each robot, in which case the liquid crystal cleaning uses an absorption method by the vacuum liquid crystal cleaning device 21-1 attached to the cleaning robot 21. In addition to this vacuum method, cleaning may be performed with a cloth or brush shape.

When the sealing agent is applied to the liquid crystal injection hole by the application robot 22, the position of the liquid crystal panel is recognized by a sensor (not shown) installed in the robot, and if there is a deviation, it is corrected and the syringe containing the sealing agent 22 Apply the sealing agent while moving -1) along the liquid crystal injection hole. Subsequently, while the ultraviolet irradiation device 23-1 attached to the UV curing robot 23 is moved for curing the sealing agent, the sealing agent is cured by irradiating ultraviolet rays over the entire length of the applied sealing agent. In addition, in the example of FIG. 5, although the case where ultraviolet curing resin was used as a sealing agent was demonstrated, thermosetting resin can also be used. In this case, it becomes a structure which heats a sealing agent instead of ultraviolet irradiation.

Since the process of injecting the liquid crystal panel takes a long time and sometimes takes several hours to several tens of hours, it is preferable to put as many liquid crystal panels as possible into the vacuum chamber at the same time to perform liquid crystal injection in order to ensure productivity.

On the other hand, in the liquid crystal panel before the liquid crystal injection, the gap in the center portion is larger than the peripheral portion and expanded due to the stress of the sealant used to adhere the two substrates, the transparent conductive film formed on the substrate, and the a-Si film. In the step of injecting the liquid crystal panel into the vacuum container and injecting the liquid crystal, the gap becomes flat. If the liquid crystal is continuously injected by the above-described internal and external pressure difference, the liquid crystal is injected until the original expanded state. This expansion causes display bleeding of luminance and color bleeding at the center and periphery of the panel, which is a big problem especially for high precision display devices and large display devices.

Therefore, it is necessary to stop the injection of the liquid crystal at the time when the gap of the panel becomes flat and to apply and cure the sealing agent. However, even if the liquid crystal injection is completed in the optimum state (ie, the gap is flat), if a long time is required until the sealing agent is cured, the gap in the center portion of the panel expands and becomes larger than the desired value. Smear occurs. In addition, if the curing is delayed after applying the sealing agent, the gap increases and at the same time, the applied sealing agent enters the inside of the panel, and the pixels in the portion cause display defects. Therefore, it is necessary to perform sealing in a short time after liquid crystal injection.

However, in the conventional method of applying the sealing agent using a coating robot, it takes time to detect and correct the liquid crystal panel arrangement deviation and to apply the sealing agent, so that the number of panels that can be injected into the liquid crystal at one time results in sealing. It was to be limited by ability. In order to avoid this, it is necessary to arrange a large number of application robots, but there is a problem that inevitably leads to equipment cost and enlargement of the apparatus.

In addition, in the conventional sealing process, as described above, the cassette must be inverted between the liquid crystal injection process and the injection hole sealing process in order to apply the sealing agent, and the expensive panel may be broken during the reversal. Since the jig for inverting a cassette of several tens of kilograms containing a panel that is likely to be stored becomes large and complicated, it has become a cause of an increase in the size of the entire apparatus and an increase in cost.

Since the above problems are more prominent due to the large size and high precision of the liquid crystal panel, there has been a demand for the development of a sealing method and apparatus with higher productivity and reliability.

In view of the above situation, the inventors have conducted a series of processing methods for liquid crystal injection, liquid crystal cleaning, sealing agent application and sealing of the sealing agent based on the above known techniques, and the relationship between productivity and display performance of the panel, such as the structure, arrangement, and the like of various devices required for this. As a result of earnestly examining, it came to complete this invention.                         

That is, the present invention provides a liquid crystal sealing device and a manufacturing method and a manufacturing method of the liquid crystal panel which can improve the productivity of the liquid crystal panel as a whole by increasing the number of panels that can be processed at one time in the injection process by shortening the sealing process. It aims to do it. Another object of the present invention is to provide a liquid crystal sealing device capable of manufacturing a higher quality liquid crystal display device, such as a high precision display device, a large display device, and a liquid crystal panel manufacturing apparatus and a manufacturing method thereof.

An object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus for manufacturing a liquid crystal panel which can be reduced in size and cost, and a manufacturing method for realizing a cost reduction in a liquid crystal panel.

In order to solve the problems of the conventional liquid crystal sealing device, and to achieve the above object, the liquid crystal rod factory of the present invention seals the injection hole in the intact state after injecting the liquid crystal from the injection hole in the lower surface of the liquid crystal panel. As a liquid crystal sealing device,

A rotary coating roller provided below the liquid crystal panel and having a length sufficient to hold a sealing agent on its circumferential surface and close the length of the injection hole, and means for moving the coating roller relative to the liquid crystal panel;

The rotation axis direction of the application roller is arranged to be parallel to the liquid crystal panel surface and the bottom surface, and while maintaining the arrangement, the coating roller or the liquid crystal panel is moved and a sealing agent held on the circumferential surface of the application roller is injected. It is characterized by the above-mentioned.

By such a configuration, the time required for the reversal of the liquid crystal panel and the sealing agent coating step can be omitted and shortened, the liquid crystal panel having excellent display characteristics can be stably manufactured, and the productivity is greatly improved. In addition, the cassette reversing jig and the like become unnecessary, thereby making it possible to reduce the size and cost of the apparatus.

Preferably, the coating roller is provided with a plurality of grooves or recesses in the circumferential surface thereof, and a container containing a sealing agent and a flat plate of the sealing agent are disposed around the circumferential surface of the coating roller, while the coating roller is rotated. It is more preferable to keep the sealing agent in contact with the sealing agent in the container while maintaining the sealing agent on the circumferential surface of the application roller and to control the held sealing agent to the desired thickness by the flat plate.

As a result, the coating amount and the coating shape of the sealing agent can be further uniformed between the panels and within the panels, whereby more stable sealing performance can be obtained.

And a vertical positioning mechanism of the lower surface of the liquid crystal panel and the circumferential surface of the application roller, the positioning mechanism comprising means for lifting the lower surface of the liquid crystal panel to a predetermined height, and moving the application roller up and down to apply the positioning mechanism. It is preferable to comprise a means for setting the distance between the top of the roller and the predetermined height to a desired value.

With such a configuration, even if there is an arrangement deviation in the liquid crystal panel in the cassette, it is possible to collectively correct the entire panel in the cassette and to significantly shorten the processing time of the entire coating step, thereby improving productivity. Moreover, since the distance of a liquid crystal injection hole and an application | coating roller is set correctly, application amount and application shape become more uniform.

In the liquid crystal sealing apparatus of the present invention, a blow mechanism for removing a liquid crystal attached to the vicinity of the injection hole by blowing a gas discharged from a rectangular gas discharge slit or a plurality of gas discharge ports arranged in one dimension on the lower surface of the liquid crystal panel is installed. Preferably, the blow mechanism is provided perpendicular to the liquid crystal panel surface and the bottom surface of the slit in the longitudinal direction or the arrangement direction of the discharge port, and the plurality of liquid crystal panels are collectively processed while the blow mechanism or the liquid crystal panel is moved. It is desirable to. Instead of the blow mechanism, a rectangular suction slit or a plurality of suction ports arranged in one dimension may be provided, and a vacuum mechanism for suctioning and removing the liquid crystal attached to the vicinity of the injection hole on the lower surface of the liquid crystal panel may be provided.

As a result, the liquid crystal attached to the injection hole in the lower surface of the liquid crystal panel can be effectively removed in a short time, thereby further stabilizing the sealing process and further shortening the time of the process.

The liquid crystal panel manufacturing apparatus of this invention has the liquid crystal rod factory value of the said invention, Comprising: The liquid crystal injection and sealing agent coating process to a liquid crystal panel is set as the structure which carried out the liquid crystal injection port facing down. That is, since the liquid crystal is injected from the inlet of the lower surface of the panel and the sealing process is performed from the lower side in the arrangement state as it is, the device for inverting the liquid crystal panel, the drop preventing jig, etc. is unnecessary, and the whole manufacturing apparatus is simple. It can be miniaturized and the cost can be reduced significantly. In addition, the sealing can be collectively processed in units of cassettes, so that the productivity can be further improved.

In addition, the manufacturing method of the liquid crystal panel of the present invention is a liquid crystal panel manufacturing method comprising the step of injecting the liquid crystal in the injection hole of the lower surface of the liquid crystal panel, and the process of sealing the injection hole in the arrangement as it is, the injection hole In the sealing process, a rotary coating roller having a length sufficient to block the length of the injection hole while maintaining the sealing agent on the circumferential surface thereof is parallel to the liquid crystal panel surface and the bottom surface of the rotary axis direction below the liquid crystal panel. The coating roller or the liquid crystal panel is moved while maintaining the arrangement, and the sealing agent held on the circumferential surface of the coating roller is applied to the injection hole.

According to the present invention, the time required for the inversion of the liquid crystal panel can be omitted, and the sealing agent coating time of the liquid crystal panel can be shortened, thereby making it possible to stably produce a liquid crystal panel having excellent display characteristics and at the same time, greatly improving productivity. It may help to reduce the cost of the liquid crystal panel.

Embodiment of the invention

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

One structural example of the liquid crystal panel manufacturing apparatus of this invention is shown in FIG.

The liquid crystal panel manufacturing apparatus 100 includes a liquid crystal injection unit consisting of a heating chamber 102, an exhaust chamber 103, and a liquid crystal injection chamber 104, a liquid crystal cleaning chamber 106, a sealant coating chamber 107, and an ultraviolet irradiation chamber. It consists of a sealing processing part which consists of 108, and the load chamber 101 and the unload chamber 109 of a cassette are provided in the both sides of the apparatus, and the intermediate chamber 105 is provided in the center part. Moreover, the rail for conveyance is provided in each chamber.

In the liquid crystal injection section, first, a plurality of cassettes (2) in which dozens of liquid crystal panels are accommodated in the load chamber (101) are provided on the tray (9), and the tray (9) is sequentially conveyed to each chamber, and a predetermined Processing takes place. After the liquid crystal panel is heated to a predetermined temperature in the heating chamber 102, the air in the liquid crystal panel is exhausted from the exhaust chamber 103.

Subsequently, it is conveyed to the liquid crystal injection chamber 104 in a depressurized state, where the injection hole of the lower surface of the liquid crystal panel is brought into contact with the liquid crystal in the liquid crystal plate, and then atmospheric pressure or higher N ₂ gas is introduced into the room to pressurize the liquid crystal and liquid crystal. Liquid crystal is injected into the panel.

The monitoring state of the liquid crystal is monitored by a monitoring device (not shown), and at the time when the liquid crystal fills the inside of the panel, the liquid crystal panel bottom surface is separated from the liquid crystal plate and transferred to the intermediate chamber 105. In the intermediate chamber 105, the cassette and the tray are separated and the cassette 2 is transferred to the next sealing operation, while the empty tray 9 is returned to the load chamber 101.

In the liquid crystal injection chamber 104, a chamber for supplying liquid crystal to the liquid crystal plate and degassing air contained in the liquid crystal is provided in parallel.

In a sealing processing part, it conveys sequentially to each thread by a cassette unit, and each process is performed. That is, the cassette sent from the intermediate chamber 105 to the cleaning chamber 106 is moved above the blow mechanism or the vacuum mechanism, so that the liquid crystal adhered to the vicinity of the liquid crystal panel injection port is removed in cassette units.

Subsequently, the cassette is sent to the sealing agent application chamber 107, and after height adjustment of an application roller and the lower end surface of a liquid crystal panel is performed, it moves on the application roller which hold | maintained the sealing agent, and a sealing agent is apply | coated to an injection opening part.

 After application, in the ultraviolet irradiation chamber 108, ultraviolet rays are irradiated to cure the sealing agent. As a result, the liquid crystal injection hole is sealed, and the cassette in which all the processes are completed is discharged from the unloading chamber 109.

As described above, in the liquid crystal panel manufacturing apparatus of the present invention, all of the liquid crystal cleaning means, the sealing agent coating means, and the sealing agent curing means are disposed below the cassette in which the liquid crystal panel is housed, and the liquid crystal panel arrangement in the liquid crystal injection portion. Since it is the same as the above, when the liquid crystal injection portion moves from the liquid crystal injection portion to the sealing hole processing portion, the liquid crystal panel can be sealed without the inversion of the liquid crystal panel. That is, since the liquid crystal panel housed in the cassette is sent to the sealing processing unit in the same arrangement after the liquid crystal injection process is completed, complicated mechanisms and jigs necessary for the inversion of the cassette can be omitted, and the entire apparatus can be reduced in size and cost. Can be achieved. In addition, the problem of damage to the liquid crystal panel accompanying the inversion is also eliminated, and the time until completion of the sealing process after injection is also shortened, so that the display performance deviation in the panel can be suppressed between the panels. In addition, since the sealing processing is carried out in cassette units, the processing time can be further shortened and very high productivity can be realized.

And although each room which comprises the liquid crystal panel manufacturing apparatus of FIG. 1 was shown in all about one case, of course, you may make it the structure arrange | positioned in multiple numbers according to the doctor time etc. of each process.

Next, the configuration of the sealing processing unit will be described in more detail. 2 is a view showing a configuration example of a liquid crystal sealing device according to the present invention. Hereinafter, according to the procedure shown in FIG. 2, a processing method, its apparatus, a member, etc. are demonstrated for each process of sealing.

(Liquid crystal cleaning process)                     

The liquid crystal plate 4 which supplied liquid crystal to the liquid crystal panel 1 from the lower side of the liquid crystal panel 1 is isolate | separated. Then, the liquid crystal panel 1 which entered the cassette 2 blows a liquid crystal by the blow mechanism 5, in order to wash | clean the liquid crystal adhering in the vicinity of the liquid crystal injection hole 3. In this blow mechanism, slits having a length of about the width of the cassette are formed, and gas is discharged from the slits toward the lower end of the panel. At this time, the gas flow rate, pressure, and ejection angle are adjusted according to the type of liquid crystal so that the adhered liquid crystal is completely removed and the gas does not enter the injection hole. Instead of the slit, a blow mechanism having a structure in which a plurality of gas outlets are arranged in one dimension and gas is discharged from each outlet may be used.

The arrangement of the liquid crystal panel 1 and the blow mechanism 5 in the cassette is not particularly limited, but the slit length direction is arranged perpendicular to the panel surface and the bottom surface (that is, the arrangement of the blow mechanism in FIG. Disposition at 90 ° in the horizontal plane) and moving the blow mechanism or cassette at a predetermined speed in the vertical direction to discharge gas at a desired flow rate, pressure, and blowout angle, and blow the liquid crystal attached to the injection hole. desirable. Such a structure makes it possible to remove the attached liquid crystal more uniformly and stably with respect to liquid crystals having various hygroscopicity and viscosity, and to collectively process the liquid crystal panel in the cassette, thereby reducing the time for sealing. can do. When the liquid crystal is blown by the blow mechanism, it is preferable to select a condition such that the liquid crystal is not scattered around. However, even if it is scattered, it can be cleaned during the panel cleaning operation performed in the later step. none.

In the present invention, a vacuum mechanism can be used instead of the blow mechanism. In this case, the liquid crystal cleaning method is configured such that a suction unit having a suction slit having a cassette width and an exhaust device are connected by a tube or the like, and by suctioning air around the liquid crystal inlet, the liquid crystal attached to the liquid crystal inlet is removed. That's the way it is. As such an exhaust device, for example, a ring blower (VFC808A) manufactured by Fuji Electric Co., Ltd. is used, and the liquid crystal can be recovered by providing a liquid crystal recovery part (or liquid crystals) in the middle of the tube.

This method has the advantage that the liquid crystal is not scattered and blown, compared to the case where the blow mechanism is used, the cleaning of the subsequent step is easy and the liquid crystal can be recovered.

As the liquid crystal cleaning method, in addition to the above-described method, for example, as shown in FIG. 4, the cleaning roller 11 may be rotated to wipe the vicinity of the liquid crystal injection hole. In this case, the liquid crystal attached to the roller is washed by the washing mechanism 12 at the same time as the rotation of the roller, and regenerated so that it can be wiped again.

(Application Process)

Next, in the application | coating process of a sealing agent, the apparatus used for application | coating consists of the container which contained the rotary coating roller 6 and the sealing agent, The application roller has the peripheral surface lower part contacting the sealing agent in the container 7. The sealing agent rotates while being kept on the circumferential surface of the roller, and is in contact with the injection hole of the lower surface of the liquid crystal panel at the upper portion thereof, so as to apply the sealing agent.

Here, the coating roller and the liquid crystal panel are arranged so that the rotation axis of the roller is parallel to the liquid crystal panel surface and the bottom surface, and the coating roller or the cassette is moved in a direction perpendicular to the panel surface at a predetermined speed, and the liquid crystal panels in the cassette are arranged one by one. Apply sealant as needed. In addition, the length of the roller blocks the injection hole, and when the sealing agent is cured, the length of the roller is sufficient to allow the sealing hole to be completely formed. For example, when the length of the injection hole is 40 mm, the length of the sealing material holding part of the roller is about 43 mm.

The interval in the vertical direction between the upper circumferential surface of the rotary coating roller and the lower end surface of the liquid crystal panel is an important factor for making the coating amount and the coating shape uniform, and is preferably determined with high precision. In particular, in the case of a large panel, the panel support shaft in the cassette may bend due to the weight of the panel, and the distance between the roller and the panel bottom surface may vary between the panels or in one panel. In some cases, nonuniformity may arise in an application shape also between panels and a single panel.

As a method of determining this interval with high precision, it is preferable to provide a positioning mechanism in the vertical direction, for example, between the liquid crystal panel lower surface and the roller circumferential surface. The positioning mechanism is, for example, a means for lifting the entire plurality of liquid crystal panels in the cassette to a predetermined height, and moving the application roller up and down to determine a distance between the top of the circumferential surface of the application roller and the bottom surface of the liquid crystal panel. What is necessary is just to comprise it by means to set. Specifically, for example, two rod-shaped members having rigidity are pushed to a plurality of liquid crystal panel lower surfaces, and lifted to a predetermined height. In this manner, the lower end surface of the front panel is the same height, and then the height application roller is moved up and down so that the interval between the upper end of the application roller circumferential surface and the panel lower end surface becomes a predetermined value. What is necessary is just to determine the said predetermined height and the distance which moves an application | coating roller based on arbitrary height (for example, sealing agent container).

The means for moving an application roller up and down among the said positioning mechanism can also be abbreviate | omitted. In this case, the application roller is configured to previously set the upper portion of the circumferential surface to a position higher than the lower end surface of the liquid crystal panel, and to lift the liquid crystal panel to a position at which the gap is formed.

After setting in this way, the sealing agent may be applied while rotating and moving the roller (or moving the cassette). This simple configuration makes it possible to accurately position the roller circumferential surface and the liquid crystal panel, and even in a large panel, it is possible to continuously perform a very uniform coating amount and coating sealant coating treatment.

In the case of applying the sealing agent by a robot as shown in the conventional example, if the liquid crystal panel is slightly shifted in the cassette, coating failure of the sealing agent occurs, so that the positional deviation of the panel is detected one by one, and the application is performed while correcting the deviation. However, according to the present invention, since the deviation can be corrected in cassette units, the time due to the correction of the arrangement deviation is greatly reduced. In addition, the only problem that is caused by the arrangement deviation is the shift in the vertical direction of the panel, and it is hardly a problem when the panel is shifted at an angle in the horizontal plane. Also in this respect it can be seen that the sealing method of the present invention is very excellent.

An example of the rotary coating roller of this invention is shown to the cross-sectional conceptual diagram of FIG. In FIG. 3, 6 is a coating roller, 6-1 is a rotating shaft, and 6-2 is a groove cut in the circumferential direction. Although the shape of the application roller is various, it is preferable that at the time of rotation, the sealing agent held on the circumferential surface is substantially flattened over the entire length in the direction of the rotation axis, for example, to form a groove as shown in Fig. 3 (b). It is desirable to. The application roller shown in FIG. 3 (b) is formed by forming a plurality of grooves having a predetermined depth in the longitudinal direction at a predetermined pitch. By setting it as such a shape, it becomes possible to hold | maintain a sealing agent uniformly over the whole roller length at the time of rotation, and can perform the sealing process of a uniform application | coating shape continuously. If both ends of the application roller (convex) have a large width, both ends are in the form of an application in which the both ends are raised, and therefore, it is preferable to be the same as or narrower than the convex portions of other parts, and as shown in FIG. It is good to do. Here, the pitch of the unevenness, the width of the convex portion, the width and depth of the concave portion, and the like may be designed and appropriated according to the coating property of the roller and the sealing agent, the sealing agent viscosity, and the like.

In the example of FIG.3 (b), (c), although the pitch of the groove was made constant over the whole roller width, it is not limited to this, For example, you may make it denser at a center part and become coarser as it goes to an edge part. In addition, the width of the grooves is the same, and the depth of the grooves may be changed depending on the position. In addition, instead of the groove, concave portions such as holes having a predetermined depth may be formed, and concave portions of various shapes such as circles and squares may be two-dimensionally disposed. The pitch, size and depth of the recess may be changed depending on the position as in the case of the groove. In the present invention, the concave portion includes, in contrast to a hole, a cut to form a concave portion on a roller circumferential surface, so that a circumference, a square column, or the like protrudes.                     

In the present invention, the coating roller moves with respect to the cassette while rotating, and the sealing operation of the liquid crystal panel in the cassette is sequentially performed, but the relationship between the rotation and the moving direction is in the vicinity of the coating roller and the lower surface of the liquid crystal panel. It is preferable to rotate and move the rollers in a direction of decreasing the relative speed of both. Thereby, entry of a sealing agent to a panel surface side is suppressed, coating uniformity is acquired more easily between panels, and application | coating shape also becomes uniform.

The rotational speed of the roller and the feeding speed of the roller relative to the panel are optimized according to the desired coating shape, coating amount and viscosity of the sealing agent, hygroscopicity to the roller, roller diameter, and the like, for example, 0.1 to 5 rpm and 1 to 10 mm / sec, respectively. Degree is used. For example, in the case of using a roller having an outer diameter of 67 mm in FIG. 3 (c), a 50-sheet cassette can be applied in 70 seconds at 0.83 rpm and 5 mm / sec. have. As the application roller, various materials such as metal and resin are used, but an aluminum material is preferably used in view of cleanliness and workability.

In addition, in this invention, although not shown in FIG. 2, it is preferable to arrange | position a flat plate of sealing materials, such as a doctor blade, at predetermined intervals with the roller peripheral surface in parallel with the rotating shaft of an application roller. As a result, flapping of the sealing agent held by the roller is suppressed, and the amount of sealing agent holding is suppressed to a constant height, thereby making it possible to apply a more uniform coating. The distance between the flat plate and the roller surface can be accurately controlled by, for example, a micrometer attached to the flat plate.

When the liquid crystal panel is enlarged, a plurality of injection holes may be formed in order to shorten the injection time, but in this case, a plurality of application rollers may be formed on the same rotating shaft. Even when a plurality of rows of liquid crystal panels are housed in a cassette, a plurality of coating roller portions may be formed in the same manner.

In the case where a plurality of cassettes are subjected to a sealant coating treatment at the same time, at least the same number of coating rollers as the cassette may be provided, and in that case, the rotating shafts of the respective coating rollers may be separate from each other, or one rotating shaft may be shared.

By doing in this way, productivity of a liquid crystal panel can be improved further. In addition, there are various types of cassettes such as cassettes of various storage pitches or longevity, cassettes of a type accommodated in a plurality of rows, and the present invention can be applied to any type of cassette.

Moreover, in this invention, it is preferable to form a light shielding plate so that an application roller and a sealing agent container may not light.

(Sewing Hardening Process)

After completion of the sealing agent coating step, the cassette is transferred to the curing treatment step of the sealing agent.

Here, the sealing agent is hardened | cured by irradiating an ultraviolet-ray using the UV lamp 8 at the sealing agent application part of a liquid crystal panel. While moving the UV lamp or the cassette, the curing process may be performed sequentially from the first panel in the cassette, or ultraviolet rays may be irradiated to the entire liquid crystal panel in the cassette at once. As mentioned above, what is necessary is just to make a sealing agent harden | cure by a heater, an infrared lamp, etc., when using an ultraviolet curable resin for a sealing agent, or when using a thermosetting resin.

In the present invention, as the device configuration, for example, the cassette is wiped off with a liquid crystal, and the in-line method of processing while sequentially conveying the sealant coating and the sealant curing to each device, the cassette is stopped, and each device is moved to the cassette. Or a method of conveying the cassette to each apparatus separately for processing.

According to the present invention, the sealing time can be significantly shortened, and as a result, the number of liquid crystal panels in the liquid crystal injection process can be increased, and the productivity of the liquid crystal panel can be greatly improved. In addition, since the sealing process can be completed while the gap of the liquid crystal panel is close to flat, deterioration of display performance such as luminance bleeding and color bleeding can be prevented. Enable mass production.

Further, according to the present invention, there is no need to reverse the cassette containing the liquid crystal panel, so that no mechanism or space for this is required, and the size and cost of the liquid crystal panel manufacturing apparatus can be reduced. In addition, a mechanism for preventing the panel from falling out of the cassette at the time of reversal is also unnecessary, and the cassette itself is also simplified, which has a great effect on handling and cost.

Claims (8)

A liquid crystal sealing device for sealing the injection hole in the arrangement state after injecting the liquid crystal from the injection hole of the lower surface of the liquid crystal panel, A rotary coating roller provided below the liquid crystal panel and having a length sufficient to hold a sealing agent on the circumferential surface thereof to block the injection hole length, and means for moving the rotary coating roller relative to the liquid crystal panel. , The rotation axis direction of the rotary coating roller is disposed so as to be parallel to the liquid crystal panel surface and the bottom surface, and the rotary coating roller or the liquid crystal panel is moved while maintaining this arrangement and held on the circumferential surface of the rotary coating roller. A liquid crystal sealing device, characterized in that the sealing sealing agent is applied to an injection hole. The method of claim 1, The rotary coating roller is a liquid crystal sealing device, characterized in that a plurality of grooves or recesses formed on the circumferential surface. The method according to claim 1 or 2, A container containing a sealing agent and a flat plate of sealing agent are installed around the circumferential surface of the rotary coating roller, and the sealing agent is held on the circumferential surface of the rotary coating roller by rotating the rotary coating roller and making contact with the sealing agent in the container. And a sealing agent held at the same time and controlled to a desired thickness by the flat plate. The method according to claim 1 or 2, A positioning mechanism in the vertical direction of the lower surface of the liquid crystal panel and the circumferential surface of the rotary coating roller, the positioning mechanism comprising means for lifting the lower surface of the liquid crystal panel to a predetermined height, and moving the rotary coating roller up and down, And a means for setting a distance between the top of the rotary coating roller and the predetermined height to a desired value. The method according to claim 1 or 2, A blow mechanism that blows gas emitted from a rectangular gas discharge slit or a plurality of gas outlets arranged in one dimension to a lower surface of the liquid crystal panel to remove liquid crystal attached to the injection hole. A liquid crystal sealing device, characterized in that the arrangement direction is provided perpendicular to the liquid crystal panel surface and the bottom surface, and the plurality of liquid crystal panels are collectively processed while the blow mechanism or the liquid crystal panel is moved. The method according to claim 1 or 2, A vacuum mechanism for suctioning and removing a liquid crystal attached to the vicinity of the injection hole of the lower surface of the liquid crystal panel, having a rectangular suction slit or a plurality of suction ports arranged in one dimension, the liquid crystal panel surface in the longitudinal direction of the slit or the arrangement direction of the suction port And a configuration in which the plurality of liquid crystal panels are processed collectively while being installed perpendicular to the bottom surface and moving the vacuum mechanism or the liquid crystal panel. It has an injection device for injecting liquid crystal from the injection hole of the bottom surface of the liquid crystal panel and a sewing plant for sealing the injection hole, An apparatus for manufacturing a liquid crystal display panel according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the sewing plant is configured to continuously perform sealing after the liquid crystal injection using the sewing plant according to claim 1. A liquid crystal panel manufacturing method comprising a process of injecting a liquid crystal from an injection hole in a lower surface of a liquid crystal panel, and a process of sealing the injection hole in an intact state. The process of sealing the injection hole includes a rotary coating roller having a length sufficient to block the length of the injection hole while maintaining the sealing agent on the circumferential surface of the liquid crystal panel under the liquid crystal panel. It arrange | positions so that it may collide with a surface and a lower surface, and moves the said rotary application roller or the said liquid crystal panel, maintaining this arrangement | positioning, and will apply the sealing agent hold | maintained on the circumferential surface of the said rotary application roller to an injection hole. Method of manufacturing a liquid crystal panel.

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