KR101116137B1 - Method for spraying Liquid Crystal and LC dispenser employing the same - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention provides a liquid crystal injection method, and a liquid crystal dispensing apparatus employing the same. The liquid crystal spraying method according to the present invention includes a liquid crystal spraying method of a liquid crystal spraying apparatus including a liquid crystal nozzle unit for spraying liquid crystal onto a unit panel region of a mother substrate, wherein the spraying of the liquid crystal onto the unit panel region comprises: Spraying the liquid crystal from the liquid crystal nozzle unit by 0.1mg to 0.8mg, and separating the gap between the nozzle end and the mother substrate of the liquid crystal nozzle unit during the liquid crystal injection at the central portion of the unit panel region, and the edge portion of the unit panel region. In the step of the liquid crystal injection comprises the step of opening more than the interval between the nozzle end and the mother substrate of the liquid crystal nozzle portion.

Liquid crystal, dispensing, gas, atomization, spray angle

Description

Method for spraying liquid crystal and LC dispenser employing the same

The present invention relates to a liquid crystal spraying method and a liquid crystal dispensing apparatus, and more particularly, to a liquid crystal spraying method and a liquid crystal dispensing apparatus employing the same, which can be applied to a process of spraying liquid crystal onto a mother substrate during a liquid crystal display manufacturing process. will be.

In general, a liquid crystal display device includes a color filter substrate including a color filter layer, a TFT substrate on which driving elements are arranged, and a sealant attaching the color filter substrate and the TFT substrate (each of which is referred to as a “mother substrate” for convenience). And a liquid crystal layer positioned between the mother substrates.

The mother substrate includes one or a plurality of unit panel regions. The unit panel region forms one liquid crystal display device.

The liquid crystal display device displays an image by controlling the amount of light passing through the liquid crystal layer using light polarization of the liquid crystal molecules constituting the liquid crystal layer. To this end, during the manufacturing process of the liquid crystal display device, a process of injecting a predetermined amount of liquid crystal onto the color filter substrate or the TFT substrate and then bonding the mother substrates is required.

The head unit included in the liquid crystal dispensing apparatus is a device for dropping a liquid crystal onto the one mother substrate, and drops a fixed amount of liquid crystal for each unit panel region of the mother substrate.

In this case, in order to quantitatively drop the liquid crystal, a certain amount of liquid crystal is pumped from the liquid crystal tank to the nozzle using a pump, and the liquid crystal is dropped through the nozzle end.

Conventional pumps drop liquid crystals by pushing them out of the nozzle by 1 mg to 3 mg. When the liquid crystal is pushed out at a weight less than 1 mg, the viscous liquid crystal does not fall from the nozzle due to the nozzle tip and the surface tension.

However, the liquid crystal having a weight of 1 mg to 3 mg is not atomized in the dropping process, but is dropped into a drop mass, and the shape of the liquid crystal drop is instantaneously deformed by an impact when the dropped liquid crystal drops collide with the mother substrate.

When the shape of the liquid crystal droplets is momentarily deformed, small pieces of liquid crystal droplets fall off from the liquid crystal droplets and fall to a point other than the point where the liquid crystal droplets are dropped. Therefore, when the liquid crystal droplets fall to the point where the sealant is bonded, there is a problem that the substrates are not well bonded during the mother substrate bonding process. In addition, when the fragments of the liquid crystal drops out of the unit panel region, there is a problem that the total amount of the liquid crystal dropped in the unit panel region is smaller than the preset amount.

On the other hand, the spacing between the bonded mother substrates is very small in micrometers, and the thickness of the liquid crystal layer filled between the two substrates is also very thin in micrometers. Therefore, in the case of a general liquid crystal dispensing apparatus in which about 1 mg to 3 mg of liquid crystal is dropped from the nozzle, a difference in thickness of the liquid crystal layer occurs between a region where the liquid crystal is actually dropped and a region where the dropped liquid crystal is reflowed. Since the thickness difference of the liquid crystal layer makes the path of light passing through the liquid crystal layer different, as a result, a stain occurs on the screen when the product is applied, resulting in a defect of the product.

Disclosure of Invention The present invention has been made to solve various problems including the above problems, and to provide a liquid crystal spraying method and a liquid crystal dispensing apparatus employing the liquid crystal without causing dropping of the liquid crystal and spraying the particles into fine particles.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a liquid crystal spraying method for precisely positioning the liquid crystal inside the unit panel region, and a liquid crystal dispensing apparatus using the method.

Therefore, the liquid crystal spraying method according to the embodiment of the present invention is a liquid crystal spraying method of a liquid crystal spraying apparatus including a gas nozzle portion for ejecting a liquid crystal nozzle portion having a nozzle end for spraying liquid crystal onto the unit panel region of the mother substrate. In this case, the step of injecting the liquid crystal onto the unit panel region, injecting the liquid crystal from the liquid crystal nozzle unit by 0.1mg to 0.8mg at the same time, the liquid crystal nozzle during the liquid crystal spraying in the central portion of the unit panel region And controlling the gap between the negative nozzle end and the mother substrate to be wider than the gap between the nozzle end and the mother substrate of the liquid crystal nozzle part during the liquid crystal injection at the edge of the unit panel region.

In this case, before the step of spraying the liquid crystal on the unit panel region, including the step of measuring in advance the injection angle of the liquid crystal according to the gap between the nozzle end and the mother substrate of the liquid crystal nozzle portion, In the spraying of the liquid crystal, it is preferable to control the distance between the nozzle end and the mother substrate of the liquid crystal nozzle unit based on the measured spray angle.

The injecting the liquid crystal onto the unit panel region may include measuring the position of the liquid crystal injector in real time, and continuously moving the liquid crystal injector horizontally in accordance with the position of the liquid crystal injector. It may further comprise the step of raising and lowering.

On the other hand, the liquid crystal dispensing apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention is a liquid crystal dispensing apparatus for performing the liquid crystal spraying method, the liquid crystal nozzle unit in which the liquid crystal is injected through the nozzle end on the unit panel area of the mother substrate And a gas nozzle unit disposed to surround the liquid crystal nozzle unit and discharging gas for atomizing the injected liquid crystal, a quantitative supply device for supplying a liquid crystal of a predetermined quantity to the liquid crystal nozzle unit, and the liquid crystal unit. A lift drive device for lifting and lowering the injection device, a position grasping device for grasping a position coordinate on the unit panel region of the liquid crystal injection device, and a lift drive device according to the position coordinates grasped from the location grasping device.

On the other hand, in another aspect of the present invention, the liquid crystal dispensing device is arranged so as to surround the liquid crystal nozzle portion receiving the liquid crystal and the liquid crystal nozzle portion outer portion so that the liquid crystal is formed at the nozzle end, the liquid crystal nozzle portion A liquid crystal injector including a gas nozzle unit for dropping liquid crystals formed at the nozzle end, a quantitative supply device for supplying a liquid crystal of quantitatively to the liquid crystal nozzle unit nozzle end, a lift driver for raising and lowering the liquid crystal injector; And a positioning device for grasping the position coordinates on the unit panel region of the liquid crystal injection device, and a lifting control unit for driving the lift driving device according to the position coordinates grasped from the positioning device.

According to the present invention, the distance between the liquid crystal jetting device and the mother substrate is closer to the edge portion than the center portion of the unit panel region, so that the dropped liquid crystal can be dropped within the point where the sealant on the unit panel region is bonded. The bonding force of a board | substrate becomes excellent, and the total amount of liquid crystal can be matched correctly.

In addition, by reducing the size of the dropped liquid crystal to an appropriate level, it is possible to prevent the liquid crystal droplets from falling to a point other than the dropping point, and to prevent the occurrence of spots on the substrate.

Hereinafter, a liquid crystal spraying method and a liquid crystal dispensing apparatus employing the control method according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

1 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a liquid crystal injection device 110 and a quantitative supply device 120 of a liquid crystal dispensing device employing a liquid crystal injection method according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, Figure 2 is a liquid crystal injection method of the present invention It is a conceptual diagram outlined.

As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, the liquid crystal injection device 110 includes a liquid crystal nozzle unit 111 and a gas nozzle unit 116.

The liquid crystal injection device 110 is disposed on the mother substrate 1 so as to be able to move up and down. Accordingly, the distance between the mother substrate 1 supported by the liquid crystal dispensing device and the liquid crystal injection device 110 can be changed and adjusted. The mother substrate 1 may be a color filter substrate with a color filter layer and a TFT substrate with drive elements arranged thereon.

Through the nozzle end of the liquid crystal nozzle 111, the liquid crystal L is sprayed onto the unit panel region P of the mother substrate 1.

In this case, the term "injection" in the present specification refers to not only ejecting pressure by applying pressure to the liquid crystal but also blowing away from the nozzle end at a constant angle. Accordingly, when the liquid crystal falls from the nozzle end by itself with a certain pressure, and the liquid crystal falls from the nozzle end by a separate means such as gas while the liquid crystal is formed at the nozzle end, the liquid crystals fall within a specific angle. It means the case.

The gas nozzle unit 116 atomizes the liquid crystals L emitted from the liquid crystal nozzle unit 111 in the form of fine particles, or discharges gas that drops the liquid crystals L. In this case, the gas nozzle unit 116 may be formed so as to surround the outer periphery of the liquid crystal nozzle unit 111.

The gas flow path of the gas nozzle unit 116 may have a swirl slot so that the gas may descend while rotating. Accordingly, the edge of the liquid crystal jetted from the nozzle end 111a of the liquid crystal nozzle 111 may collide with gas to be atomized into fine particles.

In addition, the nozzle end 116a of the gas nozzle unit 116 may be formed to face the nozzle end 111a of the liquid crystal nozzle unit 111. In this case, the liquid crystal having a small weight attached to the nozzle end 111a of the liquid crystal nozzle 111 can be dropped onto the unit panel region P. FIG.

The gas discharged from the gas nozzle unit may function as an air curtain so that the injected liquid crystal is not injected outside a predetermined area.

The gas nozzle unit 116 may receive gas from the gas tank 105. In this case, a gas control valve 107 may be disposed in the gas passage tube 106 connecting the gas nozzle unit 116 and the gas tank 105 to open and close the gas passage tube.

A fixed amount supply device 120 is disposed at the inlet side of the liquid crystal nozzle 111. The metering supply device 120 may be a pump. Examples of the pump include an inlet end 121 connected to the liquid crystal tank 102, an outlet end 123 connected to the liquid crystal nozzle unit 111, a cylinder 125 formed between the inlet end and the outlet end, and the Including a piston 127 is formed to be raised, lowered and rotatable on the cylinder, the piston 127 is pushed down the liquid crystal (L) to the liquid crystal nozzle portion 111 through the outlet end 123 while descending a certain period. Can be.

On the other hand, the liquid crystal dispensing device may further include a control device 130 for controlling the operation of the quantitative supply device 120 and the supply of gas to the gas nozzle unit 116. This will be described later in detail.

2 is a view conceptually illustrating a change in height of the liquid crystal injection apparatus 110 in the step of injecting liquid crystal onto the unit panel region P according to the liquid crystal injection method according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 2, according to the size of a liquid crystal display device, the mother substrate 1 supplied to the liquid crystal dispensing device includes one or a plurality of unit panel areas P, and the unit panel area ( P) each constitutes one liquid crystal display. Accordingly, the end portion of the unit panel region P is bonded by the sealant S to the mother substrate 1.

Accordingly, if the mother substrate 1 has a plurality of unit panel regions P (see FIG. 5), the mother substrate 1 may be further cut through the unit panel region P after the dispensing process. do.

According to the present invention, the gap H between the liquid crystal injection device 110 and the mother substrate during the liquid crystal injection at the central portion c of the unit panel region is defined by the edge portion e of the unit panel region P. ) Is controlled to be wider than the gap H between the liquid crystal injection apparatus 110 and the mother substrate during the liquid crystal injection. Herein, the edge portion e of the unit panel region means an inner region adjacent to the region where the sealant S is applied in the unit panel region.

That is, the liquid crystal L injected from the liquid crystal injection device 110 is atomized by the gas injected from the gas nozzle unit 116 to have a constant injection angle a. Accordingly, the liquid crystal cross section injected is proportional to the distance from the nozzle end of the liquid crystal nozzle portion. As a result, the area where the liquid crystal contacts the unit panel region P is proportional to the distance H between the nozzle end of the liquid crystal injection nozzle portion from the unit panel region P and the mother substrate.

For example, if the mother substrate 1 does not move up and down, and the liquid crystal spraying device 110 moves up and down, the edge portion e of the unit panel region P is formed on the surface where the liquid crystal contacts the sealant S. The liquid crystal is sprayed in a state in which the height of the liquid crystal spraying device 110 is relatively lowered so as to control it to fall on the edge region of the unit panel region P without being asked. In addition, the center portion c of the unit panel region P has a height higher than that of the edge portion e so as to increase the height of the liquid crystal spraying device 110, thereby making the degree of liquid crystal atomization more excellent, and preventing spots from occurring. The liquid crystal is sprayed on a wide surface.

On the other hand, the liquid crystal from the liquid crystal nozzle unit 111 is controlled to spray so as to atomize by 0.1mg to 0.8mg. Even if the liquid crystal having the weight is injected and falls on the mother substrate, the liquid crystal display does not cause staining later.

To this end, the metering unit is supplied from the metering unit 120 to the liquid crystal nozzle unit 111 at a rate of, for example, 1 mg to 3 mg, and at least a portion of the gas from the gas nozzle unit 116 is intermittently or every predetermined time. As a result, the liquid crystal nozzle 111 may be controlled to be sprayed in the direction of the nozzle tip 111a. Accordingly, as described above, when the liquid crystal forms a predetermined volume at the nozzle end 111a of the liquid crystal nozzle unit 111, the liquid crystal may be injected by the gas discharged from the gas nozzle unit 116.

On the contrary, as shown in FIG. 3A, the liquid crystal L to be sprayed onto the unit panel region P is droplet-bound to the nozzle end 111a of the liquid crystal nozzle 111, and then, FIG. 3B. As shown in FIG. 2, the liquid crystal L may be injected by discharging the gas from the gas nozzle unit 116 toward the liquid crystal nozzle unit 111.

In this case, the metering supply device 120 alternately pumps 0.1 mg to 0.8 mg of the liquid crystal to the nozzle end 111 a of the liquid crystal nozzle 111, and discharges gas from the gas nozzle part 116. It can be made continuously. Therefore, it is possible to drop onto the unit panel region P by 0.1 mg to 0.8 mg, which is a weight that does not fall freely from the nozzle end.

Even in this case, the liquid crystal having a weight of 0.1 mg to 0.8 mg has a fine volume in accordance with the weight, and at the same time, collides with gas and falls with a constant injection angle. The gas discharged from the gas nozzle unit may function as an air curtain as described above.

On the other hand, before the step of injecting the liquid crystal on the unit panel region (P), it may include the step of measuring in advance the liquid crystal injection angle of the liquid crystal according to the height of the liquid crystal injector (110). Accordingly, the liquid crystal injector 110 may be set in advance at which position and at what height at the edge of the unit panel region P. The liquid crystal is sprayed onto the unit panel region P in advance. In the step of, the height of the liquid crystal injection apparatus 110 can be controlled based on the measured injection angle.

Meanwhile, the liquid crystal ejection apparatus 110 is disposed to be coupled to the liquid crystal ejection head 103 (refer to FIG. 5) to be able to move up and down, and the liquid crystal ejection head 103 (refer to FIG. 5) is formed to cross the upper side of the substrate. The support 104 may be coupled to be horizontally movable. In this case, the step of injecting the liquid crystal on the unit panel region, the step of measuring the position of the liquid crystal injector 110 in real time, in accordance with the position of the liquid crystal injector 110, the liquid crystal injector It can be achieved by moving the horizontal 110 while moving up and down at the same time.

Accordingly, the liquid crystal injector 110 continuously scatters the liquid crystal on the mother substrate 1.

In this case, according to the position of the liquid crystal spraying device 110, the information about the height of the liquid crystal spraying device 110 may be set in advance before the spraying of the liquid crystal on the unit panel region P.

4 is a block diagram of a liquid crystal dispensing apparatus employing a liquid crystal spraying method according to an embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 4, the liquid crystal dispensing apparatus 100, together with the liquid crystal injector 110, a fixed quantity supply device 120, a lift drive device 140, a positioning device 150, and control Device 130.

The quantitative supply device 120 is connected to the liquid crystal tank filled with the liquid crystal and the liquid crystal nozzle unit 111, thereby supplying the quantitative liquid crystal to the liquid crystal nozzle unit 111.

In this case, the metering supply device 120 may be a pump in which the pumping degree is determined by the control device 130. The control device 130 may include a fluid control unit 131. The fluid control unit 131 controls the operation of the metering unit 120. In addition, the fluid control unit 131 may control the opening and closing of the gas control valve 107 that opens and closes the gas flow path to the gas nozzle unit 116 in association with the operation of the metering unit 120. Accordingly, by the fluid control unit 131 and the fixed-quantity supply device 120, the gas discharge timing and the liquid crystal supply timing can be adjusted, so that the liquid crystal can be injected with a weight of 0.1mg to 0.8mg.

The lift driver 140 lifts the liquid crystal injection device 110.

The positioning device 150 determines the position coordinates on the unit panel area of the liquid crystal injection device 110. In this case, the nozzle positioning device may be an imaging device such as a CCD camera.

The controller 130 controls the elevating drive unit 140 to be driven in accordance with the position coordinates obtained from the position determining device 150. In this case, the control device 130 may include a lifting control unit 135 for driving control of the lifting driving device 140.

In this case, the control device 130 may be operated in one process as described above, or alternatively, may be operated by being dualized by the lifting control unit 135 and the fluid control unit 131. Even in the case of dualization, the elevating control unit 135 and the fluid control unit 131 operate in conjunction with each other. That is, in the case where the liquid crystal is injected from the center of the unit panel region of the mother substrate, the liquid crystal injector and the mother substrate are based on the unit panel region as compared to the case where the liquid crystal is injected from the edge of the unit panel region. Control the interval between the more wide.

5 is a perspective view schematically showing an example of the liquid crystal dispensing apparatus of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 5, first, the substrate 1 onto which the liquid crystal is to be dropped is placed on the stage 102 provided on the frame 101. Then, the liquid crystal jetting head 103 positioned on the stage 102 moves according to a previously input pattern, and the liquid crystal is jetted from the liquid crystal jetting apparatus 110 constituting the liquid crystal jetting head 103. On the other hand, the liquid crystal jet head 103 moves along the head support 104 installed on the frame 101. The head support 104 is formed in a bent shape, both ends thereof are coupled to the frame 101 so as to be movable in one direction. At this time, the head support 104 is positioned to cross the stage 102. The stage 102 moves in one direction on a fixed table 105 mounted on the frame 101. The direction in which the stage 102 moves is perpendicular to the head support 104. On the other hand, the liquid crystal dispensing device may further include a weighing device 106 for measuring the weight of the liquid crystal.

As described above, it has been described with reference to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, but those skilled in the art various modifications and changes to the present invention without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention described in the claims below I can understand that you can.

1 is a cross-sectional view showing a liquid crystal injection device and a quantitative supply device in the liquid crystal dispensing device of the present invention.

2 is a conceptual view schematically illustrating a liquid crystal injection method of the present invention.

3A and 3B are cross-sectional views illustrating a state in which a liquid crystal is dropped from a liquid crystal spray device nozzle end in the liquid crystal spraying method of the present invention.

4 is a block diagram of a liquid crystal dispensing apparatus employing the method of FIG.

5 is a perspective view of the liquid crystal dispensing apparatus employing the method of FIG.

<Description of the symbols for the main parts of the drawings>

100: liquid crystal dispensing device 110: liquid crystal spraying device

111: liquid crystal nozzle portion 116: gas nozzle portion

120: metering supply device 130: control device

131: fluid control unit 135: elevating control unit

140: lift drive device 150: positioning device

c: center of unit panel region e: edge of unit panel region

H: gap between nozzle end of liquid crystal nozzle and mother substrate

L: liquid crystal P: unit panel area

a: spray angle

Claims (8)

A liquid crystal spraying method of a liquid crystal spraying apparatus comprising a liquid crystal nozzle unit having a nozzle end for spraying liquid crystal onto a unit panel region of a mother substrate, Injecting the liquid crystal onto the unit panel region: The liquid crystal is sprayed from the liquid crystal nozzle unit by 0.1 mg to 0.8 mg, and the gap between the nozzle end and the mother substrate of the liquid crystal nozzle unit during the liquid crystal injection at the center of the unit panel region is determined by the edge of the unit panel region. And controlling a portion to be wider than an interval between a nozzle end of the liquid crystal nozzle unit and a mother substrate during the liquid crystal ejection. 2. The method of claim 1, Before the step of injecting the liquid crystal on the unit panel region, comprising the step of measuring in advance the injection angle of the liquid crystal in accordance with the interval between the nozzle end and the mother substrate of the liquid crystal nozzle unit, And injecting the liquid crystal onto the unit panel region, controlling the distance between the nozzle end and the mother substrate of the liquid crystal nozzle based on the measured spray angle. The method of claim 1, Spraying the liquid crystal onto the unit panel region; Measuring the position of the liquid crystal injection apparatus in real time; And And raising and lowering the liquid crystal injector continuously and horizontally in accordance with the position of the liquid crystal injector. The method of claim 1, Injecting the liquid crystal from the liquid crystal nozzle unit by 0.1mg to 0.8mg step, the liquid crystal injection method, characterized in that by discharging the gas in the liquid crystal nozzle nozzle direction. A liquid crystal dispensing apparatus for performing the liquid crystal spraying method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, A liquid crystal spraying apparatus including a liquid crystal nozzle unit in which liquid crystal is injected through a nozzle end on the unit panel region of the mother substrate, and a gas nozzle unit disposed to surround the liquid crystal nozzle unit to discharge gas for atomizing the injected liquid crystal Wow; A quantitative supply device for supplying quantitative liquid crystal to the liquid crystal nozzle unit; A lift drive device for lifting and lowering the liquid crystal injection device; A positioning device for grasping a position coordinate on the unit panel region of the liquid crystal injection device; And a lift controller for driving the lift driver in accordance with the position coordinates determined by the position detector. The method of claim 5, The nozzle end of the gas nozzle unit is formed to be inclined in the direction of the nozzle end of the liquid crystal nozzle unit, The gas flow path of the gas nozzle unit, the liquid crystal dispensing device, characterized in that a swirl slot (swirl slot) is formed so that the gas can be lowered while rotating. A liquid crystal dispensing apparatus for performing the liquid crystal spraying method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, Liquid crystal injection comprising a liquid crystal nozzle unit receiving the liquid crystal so that the liquid crystal is formed at the end of the nozzle and a gas nozzle unit disposed to surround the liquid crystal nozzle unit and discharging a gas dropping the liquid crystal formed at the nozzle end of the liquid crystal nozzle unit. An apparatus; A fixed-quantity supply device for supplying a fixed-quantity liquid crystal to the liquid crystal nozzle unit nozzle end; A lift drive device for lifting and lowering the liquid crystal injection device; A positioning device for grasping a position coordinate on the unit panel region of the liquid crystal injection device; And a lift controller for driving the lift driver in accordance with the position coordinates determined by the position detector. The method of claim 7, wherein The nozzle end of the gas nozzle unit is formed to be inclined in the direction of the nozzle end of the liquid crystal nozzle unit, The gas flow path of the gas nozzle unit, the liquid crystal dispensing device, characterized in that a swirl slot (swirl slot) is formed so that the gas can be lowered while rotating.

Images