KR20000035396A - A liquid crystal light modulating device, and a manufacturing method and a manufacturing apparatus thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: A method for manufacturing a liquid crystal light modulating device having a flexible substrates, is provided to make the liquid crystal light modulating device easily. CONSTITUTION: A liquid crystal display device(10) has a liquid crystal composition between a first substrate(1a) and a flexible second substrate(1b). The liquid crystal composition is filled between the substrates by being dispensed on the first substrate and spread uniformly while the second substrate is being pressed against the first substrate, and the liquid crystal composition is sealed by sealing resin(2) provided on the sides of the substrates. The gap between the substrates is maintained by a resin structure.

Description

Liquid crystal light modulator, manufacturing method and manufacturing apparatus therefor {A LIQUID CRYSTAL LIGHT MODULATING DEVICE, AND A MANUFACTURING METHOD AND A MANUFACTURING APPARATUS THEREOF}

The present invention relates to a liquid crystal light modulator, and more particularly, to a liquid crystal light modulator in which at least one of two substrates is flexible. Moreover, this invention relates to the manufacturing method and manufacturing apparatus of such a liquid crystal light modulator.

In recent years, display devices using liquid crystal compositions have been used as display sections of various display media as well as display sections of notebook personal computers. Such a liquid crystal display has the advantage of being thin in power consumption. Therefore, small and medium sized liquid crystal displays have been mounted in portable devices. However, the liquid crystal display device of these days is progressing the development of the big screen display which replaces CRT and wall-mounted TV.

Conventionally, the vacuum injection method has been used for the manufacturing method of a liquid crystal display device. In this method, a sealing resin having an opening for injecting a liquid crystal composition is formed on one side of a pair of glass substrates having electrodes. The other substrate is interspersed with a spacer for maintaining a predetermined gap between the two substrates. Thereafter, the positive and negative substrates are bonded together and heated to cure the sealing resin. Thus, a panel is produced. This panel is installed in a reduced pressure bath, and the panel is vacuumed. In this state, the opening is brought into contact with the liquid crystal composition. Finally, the liquid crystal composition is injected into the panel by returning the inside of the bath to normal pressure.

However, according to the vacuum injection method, as the display area is enlarged, a larger injection device and a longer injection time are required. Therefore, there has been a need for other efficient methods of injecting and sealing liquid crystal compositions into panels.

Countermeasures to solve these problems are disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open Nos. 61-190313, Japanese Patent Laid-Open Nos. 5-5890, 5-5892, 5-5893, 8-171093, 9-127528, and 9 -211437. According to the methods disclosed in these publications, a liquid crystal display device is manufactured as follows. First, a sealing resin is formed on a substrate, and the liquid crystal composition is dropped on the substrate. Next, the substrate is crimped to adjust a desired distance between the substrates. Thereafter, the sealing resin is cured. According to these methods, the vacuum injection method is unnecessary.

However, these methods have the following problems. That is, in the method disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 61-190313, the sealing resin is cured when the substrate is crimped and the distance between the substrates becomes uniform. Since the liquid crystal composition dropped into the sealing resin has fluidity, and the sealing resin is in an uncured step, both substrates are easily shifted during compression. In addition, both substrates shift even after the sealing resin is cured. Therefore, a problem other than that in the vacuum injection method arises in this method. In any of the methods disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open Nos. 5-5890, 5-5892 and 5-5893, the liquid crystal composition is distributed on a substrate having an unhardened sealing resin. Thereafter, another substrate is placed on this substrate and pressed, and the sealing resin is cured. Therefore, the above-described problem will arise because the sealing resin is not cured when the liquid crystal composition is distributed to the substrate. In the methods disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open Nos. 5-5892 and 5-5893, when two substrates are bonded together, the substrate or the sealing resin has a portion for releasing an excess amount of the liquid crystal composition to the outside. As described above, the sealing resin is then cured. After the sealing resin has cured, there is still a discharge portion. Therefore, if the pressure applied to the substrate is reduced after bonding the substrate, the substrate is expanded so that the spacing between the substrates cannot exactly match the designed spacing. Therefore, in these methods, problems different from those in the vacuum injection method arise.

In the method disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 8-171093, a photoetting resin is used as the sealing resin, but the two substrates are bonded together before the sealing resin is cured. Therefore, in this method, the above-mentioned problems caused by applying pressure between the uncured sealing resin and the liquid crystal composition arise. Moreover, according to this method, ultraviolet-ray is irradiated under vacuum in the state which adjusted the space | interval between board | substrates. At this time, it is necessary to press the board | substrate of the side which irradiates an ultraviolet-ray at the uniform pressure on the flat plate which transmits an ultraviolet-ray uniformly. The surface of the plate must be sufficiently flat. However, when the substrate is large, it is very difficult to produce such a flat plate.

In the method disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 9-127528, a thermoplastic photocurable resin having a softening point within a range from room temperature to the N-I point of the liquid crystal composition is used as the sealing resin. Generally, the N-I point of a liquid crystal composition is about 100 degreeC at most, The material which has the softening point of temperature lower than 100 degreeC is used as sealing resin. In this case, there is a possibility that the sealing resin softens in the use of heat radiation from the backlight, closed rooms, in-vehicles, and the like. The soft sealing resin component eluted from the liquid crystal composition or the soft sealing resin forms a thin film at the interface between the liquid crystal composition and the substrate, thereby causing a new problem of deterioration of the reliability of the display or causing a misalignment of the liquid crystal. .

In the method disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 9-211437, one substrate is bent and overlapped with the other substrate on which the liquid crystal composition is mounted. Thereafter, ultraviolet rays are irradiated to produce a polymer dispersed liquid crystal. And before the superposition | polymerization of a board | substrate, the sealing material provided with the opening part was formed in any one of the board | substrates, and after superposing | polymerizing a board | substrate, it irradiates light and hardens a sealing material. However, since the step of closing the opening of the sealing material is necessary, the manufacturing process is complicated. In addition, the problems caused by the irradiation of ultraviolet rays after the substrates are overlapped and the problems caused by using the uncured sealing resin have already been pointed out.

In addition, none of the above publications discloses a device suitable for mass-producing a liquid crystal light modulator.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide an improved liquid crystal light modulator, a method for manufacturing the same, and a manufacturing apparatus.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a method and apparatus suitable for mass-producing a liquid crystal light modulator.

1 is a cross-sectional view showing a first embodiment of a liquid crystal light modulator according to the present invention;

2 is an explanatory diagram showing a manufacturing process of the liquid crystal light modulator of the first embodiment;

3 is a cross-sectional view showing a second embodiment of a liquid crystal light modulator according to the present invention;

4 is a sectional view showing a modification of the second embodiment;

5 is an explanatory diagram showing a manufacturing process of the liquid crystal light modulator of the second embodiment;

6 is an explanatory diagram showing steps in the manufacturing process of the liquid crystal light modulator of the second embodiment;

7 is a view showing steps in the manufacturing process of the liquid crystal light modulator of the second embodiment;

8 is a view showing an arrangement of a resin structure of a liquid crystal light modulator of a second embodiment;

9 is a view showing an alignment direction of an alignment film formed on a first substrate and a second substrate of the liquid crystal light modulator of the second embodiment;

10 is a plan view showing a sealing resin provided on a second substrate;

11 is an explanatory diagram showing a bonding direction of a substrate;

12 is a cross-sectional view of a hot plate in the apparatus for manufacturing a liquid crystal light modulator;

13 is a perspective view showing a first embodiment of a manufacturing apparatus including a heating plate,

14 is a schematic front view of a manufacturing apparatus;

15 is a schematic side view of a manufacturing apparatus;

16 is a schematic configuration diagram showing a second embodiment of a manufacturing apparatus;

17 is a perspective view showing a third embodiment of the manufacturing apparatus;

18 is a sectional view showing a third embodiment of a liquid crystal light modulator;

19 is an explanatory diagram showing a manufacturing process of the third embodiment;

20 is a sectional view showing a fourth embodiment of a liquid crystal light modulator.

In order to achieve the above object, in the optical modulator according to the present invention, at least one flexible liquid crystal composition filled between the first substrate and the second substrate, the first and second substrates, and the liquid crystal composition leaked It includes a sealing material surrounding the liquid crystal composition to prevent it. The liquid crystal modulator comprises (a) providing an insufficiently cured sealant on at least one of the first and second substrates, (b) distributing the liquid crystal composition onto the first substrate, and (c) After carrying out steps (a) and (b), the second substrate is placed on the first substrate, and then the step of curing the sealing material to adhere the first and second substrates to each other is made.

An apparatus for manufacturing a liquid crystal modulator includes a support for supporting a first substrate, a dispenser for distributing a liquid crystal composition to the first substrate, and a second substrate to be pressed onto the first substrate in cooperation with the support. A presser and a mechanism for moving the presser relative to the support are provided. Using this apparatus, the liquid crystal modulator comprises (a) disposing a first substrate on the support, distributing the liquid crystal composition to the first substrate, and (b) performing step (a), followed by a second substrate. It is produced by carrying out the step of pressing the second substrate onto the first substrate by placing it on the first substrate and moving the presser relative to the support.

Embodiment of the Invention

An embodiment of a liquid crystal light modulator according to the present invention, a manufacturing method thereof, and a manufacturing apparatus thereof will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

<1st embodiment, see FIG. 1 and FIG. 2>

In the first embodiment, a liquid crystal display device 10 in which temperature is indicated by color change using a cholesteric liquid crystal as a liquid crystal composition and a manufacturing method thereof will be described.

1 is a cross-sectional view of the liquid crystal display device 10. A light modulation layer is filled between the first substrate 1a and the second substrate 1b made of the light transmitting material and the liquid crystal composition 4 exhibiting a cholesteric phase at room temperature. Side surfaces of the substrates 1a and 1b are provided with a sealing resin 2 including a spacer 3. In addition, a spacer 3 is provided between the substrates 1a and 1b to adjust the gap between the substrates 1a and 1b.

The liquid crystal display device 10 can be manufactured as follows.

First, as shown in FIG. 2A, the second substrate 1b is disposed on a base 5, and the sealing resin 2 in which the spacers 3 are mixed in advance is coated on the second substrate 1b from the side. It is. The sealing resin 2 may be anything as long as it can seal the liquid crystal composition inside the display device, but is preferably an ultraviolet curable resin, a thermosetting resin or the like used as the sealing resin 2. In particular, when a thermosetting resin such as epoxy resin is used as the sealing resin 2, high sealing performance can be maintained for a long time.

Dispenser method, ink jet method, etc., in which resin is injected into a substrate through a nozzle, printing method using a screen, a metal mask or the like, and a resin, once the resin has been molded into a plate or roller A transfer method in which the transfer to the substrate 1b can be employed to provide the sealing resin 2 to the substrate 1b.

The sealing resin 2 is provided to the substrate 1b, for example, in such a manner as to make a closed ring along the side of the substrate 1b. As described later, in the first embodiment, the liquid crystal composition is dropped onto at least one substrate, and the substrates are then bonded to each other. Therefore, the sealing resin 2 does not need to have an opening through which the liquid crystal composition is injected or discharged. However, even if such an opening is made in the sealing resin 2, it will not cause any problem. After the liquid crystal composition is filled between the substrates, the openings can be closed by ultraviolet curable resins or other such kinds. It is preferable that the width | variety of the sealing resin 2 exists in the range from about 10 micrometers to 100 micrometers.

The sealing resin 2 provided on the second substrate 1b is heated to be in a semihardened state. Here, the semi-rigid state means a state in which a part of the resin component is cured, and thus the fluidity and tack of the surface are lowered. When the sealing resin 2 contains a solvent, since the semi-hard state includes the state which the solvent partially volatilizes, the fluidity | liquidity and tack of a surface will fall. In addition, the semi-rigid state is a state in which the resin 2 can be deformed by pressure, and there is also adhesiveness.

On the other hand, as shown in Fig. 2B, the first substrate 1a is disposed on a flat plate such as a heating plate 6 that enables heating and vacuum adsorption, and the spacer 3 is distributedly disposed on the substrate 1a. Known materials can be used as the spacer 3, but particles of hard material that are not deformed by heat and / or pressure, such as fine particles of glass fibers, balls of silicate glass, alumina powder, and the like. It is preferable to use spherical particles of an organic material such as spherical particles of an inorganic material, divinyl benzene crosslinked polymer, and polystyrene crosslinked polymer. Moreover, these materials can be coat | covered with resin for using as a spacer. The size of the spacer is determined in accordance with the desired interval between the substrates, and is preferably in the range of 1 µm to 20 µm. Dispersion of the spacer 3 may be carried out by any conventional method, which may be a wet method or a dry method.

The liquid crystal composition 4 is dripped at the edge part of the board | substrate 1a by which the spacer 3 is arrange | positioned. At this time, for example, the liquid crystal composition 4 is injected into the substrate 1a through a nozzle of a syringe.

Next, as shown in FIG. 2C, an end portion of the second substrate 1b provided with the sealing resin 2 is disposed at an end portion of the first substrate 1a in which the spacer 3 and the liquid crystal composition 4 are distributed. have. Then, while the second substrate 1b is bent at the other end on which it is raised, the second substrate 1b is pressed by the pressing member (for example, the silicon rubber roller 7) to the first substrate 1a. Is squeezed on. When the pressing member 7 is moving on the second substrate 1b, the liquid crystal composition 4 is pushed and spread, and the second substrate 1b is disposed on the first substrate 1a without changing the distance between them. .

Thus, as shown in Fig. 2D, a semi-finished product of the liquid crystal display device 10 is manufactured. Next, as shown in FIG. 2E, the semifinished product is sandwiched between a pair of flat plates 11, and the semifinished product is heated for a certain time while a load is applied. An elastic member 12 may be provided between the substrates 1a and 1b and the plate 11 so that pressure can be more effectively applied to the substrates 1a and 1b. After sufficient time to fully bond the substrates 1a and 1b, the substrates 1a and 1b are cooled and the flat plate 11 is removed. Therefore, the liquid crystal display device 10 is finally manufactured. Preferably, the substrates 1a and 1b are slowly cooled while the load is applied.

The following shows a specific example of the liquid crystal display device according to the first embodiment.

<Example 1>

7059 glass (manufactured by Corning) was used as the first substrate, and PET film (Lumirror manufactured by Toray Industries) was used as the second substrate. An epoxy sealant PS0461 (manufactured by Mitsui Chemicals Co., Ltd.), in which Micropearl SP-230 (manufactured by Sekisui Fine Chemicals Co., Ltd.) having particles of 30 mu m in diameter, was mixed with a spacer, was printed on the second substrate by screen printing. Therefore, the sealing resin was provided on the second substrate. The second substrate with the sealing resin was placed on the base 5 and heated to 80 DEG C for 30 minutes, thereby sealing the resin.

Next, the first substrate was placed on the heating plate 6, and the above-mentioned Micropearl SP-230 having particles of 30 mu m in diameter was dispersed and disposed on the first substrate as a spacer. A liquid crystal composition E44 (manufactured by Merck Co., Ltd.) containing 40 wt% of a chiral agent CB15 was prepared as a liquid crystal composition, and a liquid crystal composition having a volume larger than that of the area surrounded by the sealing resin was dropped at the end of the first substrate. It became. The heating plate 6 was a vacuum suction plate made of stainless steel, and the first substrate was fixed to the heating plate 6 by vacuum suction.

Next, the end portion of the second substrate is disposed at the end portion of the first substrate on which the liquid crystal composition is dropped. While the other end of the second substrate is being raised, the second substrate is compressed by the silicon rubber roller 7 so as to be disposed on the first substrate at even intervals from each other, so that the liquid crystal composition spreads out between the two substrates. Is charged. This was done at room temperature.

This semifinished product is then placed between a pair of stainless plates 11 with a polished surface. At this time, the silicone rubber sheet 12 is inserted between the semi-finished product and the flat plate 11. Thereafter, while a 0.3 kg / cm 2 load is applied, the semifinished product is kept in a constant temperature bath at 100 ° C. for 90 minutes, whereby the two substrates are bonded to each other. The power of the constant temperature bath is then turned off, so that the semifinished product is cooled to room temperature while under load.

The liquid crystal display device was manufactured by this method. This liquid crystal display device displays blue at 10 ° C, green at 20 ° C, and red at 30 ° C. Therefore, since the color tone changes gradually with temperature, the temperature can be expressed in color tone.

<Second embodiment, see FIGS. 3 to 11>

In the second embodiment, a liquid crystal display device 20 for displaying an image by turning on and off a plurality of pixels and a manufacturing process thereof are shown.

3 is a cross-sectional view of the liquid crystal display device 20. The liquid crystal composition 28 is filled as a light modulation layer between the pair of substrates 21a and 21b. Transparent electrodes 22a and 22b are formed on the substrates 21a and 21b in a stripe shape, respectively. The electrode 22a is juxtaposed to one side, and the electrode 22b is juxtaposed to the perpendicular to the electrode 22a. Therefore, the electrodes 22A and 22B are arranged in a matrix. If necessary, insulating films 23a and 23b and alignment films 24a and 24b are formed on the electrodes 22a and 22b. In addition, a spacer 25 is provided between the substrates 21a and 21b to adjust the gap between the substrates 21a and 21b. The substrates 21a and 21b are joined to each other by a sealing resin 26 including spacers 25 'at the sides. In the light modulation region, the resin structure 27 is provided between the substrates 21a and 21b to support the substrates 21a and 21b.

For the liquid crystal display device 20, the intersection of the electrodes 22a and 22b is a pixel. The area where the light modulation is performed by the liquid crystal composition 28 is referred to as the light modulation area, and the resin structure 27 is located in the light modulation area.

For the resin structure 27, a material such as a thermoplastic resin, which softens when heated and hardens when cooled, is used. As the thermoplastic resin, for example, polyvinyl chloride resin, polyvinylidene chloride resin, polyvinyl acetate resin, polyester methacrylic acid resin, polyacrylic acid ester resin, polystyrene resin, polyamide resin, polyethylene resin, polypropylene resin, fluoro resin And polyurethane resins, polyacrylonitrile resins, polyvinyl ether resins, polyvinyl ketone resins, polyether resins, polyvinyl pyrrolidone resins, and saturated polyester resins. The resin structure 27 is made of a material containing at least one of these materials or a mixture of these materials. In addition, a pressure sensitive adhesive that adheres when pressed can be used. For example, the acrylic resin emulsified in water is an adhesive. As an example of such an acrylic resin, the water adhesive Three Bond 1546 (made by Three Bond Co., Ltd.) is mentioned.

In addition, an ultraviolet curable resin can be used. In this case, the UV curable resin is distributed to a specific position of the substrates 21a and 21b by screen printing or another method of that kind, and the ultraviolet ray solidifies at least the surface of the resin before the substrates 21a and 21b are bonded to each other. To be radiated. Acrylic resin or epoxy resin may be used as the ultraviolet curable resin, and the ultraviolet curable material used as the sealing resin when manufacturing the liquid crystal panel may be used.

The resin structure 27 has such a configuration, a size, and an arrangement pattern so as to appropriately support the two substrates 21a and 22b so as not to interfere with the display performance of the liquid crystal display device. For example, the resin structure 27 is composed of, for example, a cylinder, a square pole or an elliptic cylinder arranged in a specific pattern such as a dot or a lattice pattern. In addition, the resin structure 27 may be composed of stripes arranged at specific intervals. If the resin structure 27 is a dot type, the effective area of the light modulation region is increased while making the device resistant to vibration and bending, and the substrates 21a and 21b can be firmly bonded. If the resin structure 27 is stripe-shaped, the effective area of the light modulation region becomes smaller. However, since the adhesion area is further increased and the liquid crystal display device is stronger, the substrates 21a and 21b in this case can be bonded more firmly than when providing a dot resin structure. In addition, in the case of providing a stripe resin structure, weirs are erected on the liquid crystal layer, and these weirs prevent the liquid crystal composition from flowing. 8 is a plan view in the case where the resin structure 27 is composed of cylinders arranged in a lattice.

In the case of a dot-type resin structure, in consideration of adhesiveness and display characteristics, it is preferable that the maximum width of a resin map is 200 micrometers or less. Moreover, it is preferable that the maximum width of a dot is at least several micrometers, and it is more preferable that it is at least 10 micrometers for the convenience of manufacture. The size of the resin structure is an important factor in supporting the substrate and having sufficient adhesive strength. The adhesive region to which the resin structure adheres to the substrate is at least 1% of the light modulation region, and the liquid crystal display device will have sufficient intensity as the light modulation element. As the ratio of the resin structure in the light modulation region increases, the effective area of the light modulation region decreases. In fact, if the ratio of the sealing structure is 40% or less of the light modulation region, the liquid crystal display device will have sufficient characteristics as the light modulation element. As for the stripe resin structure, as in the case of the dot resin structure, the maximum width of the stripe is preferably in the range of several micrometers to 200 micrometers, and more preferably in the range of 10 micrometers to 200 micrometers.

In addition, in the case where a dot-type resin structure is provided in a liquid crystal display device having pixels consisting of a matrix of strip-shaped electrodes as in the second embodiment, a plurality of resin maps may be used if the pixels are large to increase the intensity of the device. It is effective to locate each pixel, and when the pixels are small, it is effective to support a plurality of pixels having one resin map. Also, if the resin map is located between the electrodes before the pixel, the effective area of the light modulation region will be further increased, which is desirable. When the stripe resin structure is provided in a liquid crystal display device having pixels consisting of a matrix of stripe electrodes, it is preferable to position the resin stripe along the stripe electrode so as to form an effective area of the large light modulation region as much as possible.

The liquid crystal composition 28 may be in any mode, such as twisted nematic (TN) mode, super twisted nematic (STN) mode, ferroelectric liquid crystal (FLC) mode, in-plane switching (IPS) mode, or vertical alignment ( VA) mode, electrically induced birefringence mode, cholesteric-nematic phase transition guest-host mode, polymer dispersed liquid crystal mode, cholesteric selective reflection mode and the like.

The substrates 21a and 21b may be made of various light transmitting materials. At least one of the substrates 21a and 21b may be made of a flexible material, and the other may be made of a non-flexible material such as glass. The substrates 21a and 21b transmit light within a specific wavelength range of the visible light range. In the following paragraphs, the term "transparent" has this meaning. As for the reflective liquid crystal display device, one of the substrates 21a and 21b is transparent, and the other is, for example, a plate, metal plate, plastic plate or the like coated with a metal layer, an organic layer, an inorganic layer or the like. It is not a transparent substrate.

4 shows a modification of the liquid crystal display device 20. In Fig. 4, the alignment films 24a and 24b are provided only in the light modulation region. This requires a small amount of material for the alignment films 24a and 24b. In addition, since the sealing resin is in direct contact with the substrates 21a and 21b and the insulating films 23a and 23b, it is necessary to worry that atmospheric water enters the liquid crystal layer via the alignment films 24a and 24b. none.

If the sealing resin 26 is an ultraviolet curable resin or a thermosetting resin, some types of alignment films prevent the sealing resin from curing, but this problem can be avoided when only the alignment film is provided in the light modulation region. The spacer 25 ′ included in the sealing resin 26 has a size different from that of the spacer 25 dispersed in the light modulation region, but if the size of the spacer 25 ′ is the same as that of the spacer 25, In general, since the thickness of the insulating film and the alignment film, the thickness of the electrode, and the thickness of the liquid crystal layer are sufficiently small compared to the horizontal dimension of the liquid crystal display device, there will never be any particular problem such as an uneven thickness of the liquid crystal layer. .

Next, the manufacturing process of the liquid crystal display device 20 will be described.

First, in FIGS. 5A and 5B, transparent electrodes 22a and 22b are formed on a substrate 21a and 21b in a specific pattern. A substrate having a transparent electrode of a market such as NESA glass can be used. At least one of the substrates 21a and 21b is flexible. In the process of laminating | stacking the board | substrate mentioned later, a flexible board | substrate is arrange | positioned at the non-flexible board | substrate maintained on a flat surface.

Next, in FIG. 5C and FIG. 5D, if necessary, an organic or inorganic layer is provided on each surface of the substrate on which the electrode is formed. In the second embodiment, first, insulating films 23a and 23b are formed, and alignment films 24a and 24b are formed thereon. These insulating films and alignment films are provided as necessary, and these layers are made of inorganic materials such as silicon oxide and organic materials such as polyimide resin, sputtering method, spin coat method, roll coat It can be formed by a conventional method such as a coat) method. It is possible to provide an insulating film and an alignment film. Again, these layers are probably provided only on one of the substrates. In addition, rubbing treatment can be performed on the alignment film as necessary.

Next, the spacers 25 are distributedly arranged on the substrate 21b in FIG. 5 a 'and b' in FIG. 5, and the sealing resin 26 is coated on the substrate from the side. The sealing resin 26 seals the liquid crystal composition 28 of the liquid crystal display device. Not only the resin structure 27 but also the sealing resin 26 supports the substrates 21a and 21b, and the substrates 21a and 21b are supported by the larger area. Accordingly, the distance between the substrates 21a and 21b can be kept uniform in all display devices.

Any material can be used as the sealing resin 26 as long as it can seal the liquid crystal composition of the liquid crystal display device, but it is preferable to use an ultraviolet curable resin or a thermosetting resin. In particular, when a thermosetting resin such as epoxy resin is used as the sealing resin 26, the display device will maintain high sealing performance for a long time. In addition, the sealing resin 26 may be made of the same polymer material as the material used in the resin structure (27).

The sealing resin 26 is provided to the substrate 21b in the same manner as described in the first embodiment. In addition, the sealing resin 26 includes a spacer 25 '. The size of the spacer 25 'included in the sealing resin 26 is almost the same as the size of the spacer 25 dispersed in the light modulation region.

In the second embodiment, the sealing resin 26 and the resin structure 27 are provided on different substrates, which adopts different molding methods and materials for the sealing resin 26 and the resin structure 27. To facilitate. For example, the resin structure 27 is precisely formed in the light modulation area by the use of a screen or a metal mask, and the sealing resin 26 is used in the use of the dispenser so that the amount of resin can be reduced to the outside outside the light modulation area. Is formed by. For the resin structure 27 formed in the light modulation region, a material is selected in consideration of fineness and adhesiveness, and has a high sealing performance to prevent impurities from entering the liquid crystal composition from the outside, and has a reliability for a long time. Is selected. Of course, both the sealing resin 26 and the resin structure 27 can be provided in one substrate.

When the sealing resin 26 and the resin structure 27 are made of the same material and formed on one substrate by the same method, the process becomes easy. In addition, forming the sealing resin 26 and the resin structure 27 at the same time simplifies the manufacturing process.

In c 'of FIG. 5, the board | substrate 21b is arrange | positioned in the planar heating plate, such as the heating plate 30, and is heated. By heating the substrate 21b, the viscosity of the liquid crystal composition is reduced so that bubbles are hardly generated between the substrates when the substrates are stacked. Although the heating temperature is appropriately set in some cases, the fluidity of the liquid crystal composition can be increased by setting the heating temperature according to the phase transition temperature with respect to the isotropic phase of the liquid crystal composition. Thereby, the change of the liquid crystal in partial composition can be suppressed and the unevenness of a display can be prevented.

By semi-hardening the sealing resin before lamination of the substrates, the substrates can be securely bonded to each other. For example, if a thermosetting resin is used as the material of the sealing resin, the sealing resin can be semi-hardened by heating by use of the heating plate 30. Here, "semi-hard" has the same meaning as described in connection with the first embodiment.

In the case of using a thermosetting resin as the sealing resin, if the softening temperature of the resin structure and the curing temperature of the sealing resin are the same or similar to each other, only one very effective heating step is required. The difference between the softening temperature of the resin structure and the curing temperature of the sealing resin is preferably 15 ° C. or less, more preferably about 10 ° C. or less.

12 shows the structure of a vacuum adsorption heating plate 30 that is an example of a heating plate. The heating plate 30 includes a suction table 31 having a plurality of suction holes 31c for supporting a substrate to be heated, a planer heater 32 fixed to the rear surface of the suction table 31, and a bake. A heat insulating plate 33 made of baked material or ceramic material is provided. All the suction holes 31c communicate with each other in the suction table 31 and are connected to the vacuum pump 40 through the electromagnetic valve 39. The substrate is supported by the suction table 31 by air suction from the suction hole 31c. Therefore, when the flexible substrate 21b is heated in the heating plate 30, the substrate 21b will be fixed thereto without being expanded by heating, and the entire substrate 21b will be heated evenly.

Meanwhile, in FIG. 5E, the curable resin 27 ′ is provided to the substrate in a specific pattern, and the curable resin 27 ′ is cured to make the resin structure 27. Like the curable resin 27 ', photocurable resins, thermosetting resins, electrobeam curable resins, etc. may also be used, which must be softened at a temperature lower than the softening temperature of the substrate 21a after curing. .

A substrate 21a having a resin structure 27 formed thereon and a substrate 25 having a spacer 25 and a sealing resin 26 provided thereon are stacked.

6 shows a process of laminating substrates. During the stacking of the substrates, at least one of the substrates 21a and 21b is heated to soften the resin structure 27. In FIG. 6, the liquid crystal composition 28 is dropped onto the substrate 21a fixed on the heating plate 30 from the side, and the side surface of the substrate 21b is disposed on the side of the substrate 21a on which the liquid crystal composition is dropped. Thereafter, while the substrate 21b is bent by raising the other side of the substrate 21b, the substrate 21b is pressed onto the substrate 21a by the pressing member, whereby the liquid crystal composition 28 is spread. It is preferable to use a heating roller as the pressing member. 6 shows a case in which the pressing roller 51 and the pressing heating roller 52 located at the lower portion of the roller 51 press the substrate 21b.

The substrate 21a is disposed on the heating plate 30 heated to a specific temperature on the surface having the alignment film 24a facing the surface. In this state, the liquid crystal composition 28 is dropped onto the substrate 21a from the side. The volume of the liquid crystal composition 28 dropped on the substrate 21a is larger than the volume of the space surrounded by the sealing resin 926 and the substrates 21a and 21b.

The sealing resin 26 is preferably in a semi-rigid state until the substrates 21a and 21b are completely bonded. Accordingly, the sealing resin 26 can be prevented from being dissolved in the liquid crystal composition 28. In addition, if the sealing resin 26 is provided on a substrate other than that provided by the resin structure, the semi-hard sealing resin 26 is heated only when pressed by the pressing member. Accordingly, the sealing resin 26 can be prevented from being excessively cured and losing its adhesiveness.

After lamination, as described in connection with the first embodiment, in Fig. 7, the substrates 21a and 21b are sandwiched between the pair of planes 75, and a load is applied for a certain time under a specific temperature. After sufficient time to complete the adhesion, the substrate is cooled and the plate 75 is removed. Therefore, the liquid crystal display device is finally manufactured. It is desirable to gradually cool the substrate while maintaining the load.

The following shows a specific example of the liquid crystal display device according to the second embodiment.

<Example 2>

The above-described 7059 glass was used as the first substrate. On this substrate, an indium tin oxide (ITO) layer having a thickness of 200 nm was formed by sputtering. Flexible transparent conductive film FST-5352 (manufactured by Sumitomo Bekerit) was used as the second substrate. The I TO layer was also formed on this film. The ITO layer on the substrate was patterned by a lithography method, whereby a transparent band electrode having a width of 300 mu m was formed at a pitch of 350 mu m.

Next, on the transparent electrode on the substrate, a thin layer (1000 mm thick) of Polysilazane L120 (manufactured by Tonen) is formed by the spin coating method. Subsequently, the substrate with the thin layer formed thereon was heated in a constant temperature bath at 120 ° C. for 2 hours, and then further heated to a constant temperature constant humidity at 90 ° C. and 85% for 3 hours. Therefore, an insulating film was formed on the substrate. Next, a thin layer (thickness 500 kPa) of alignment material AL4552 (manufactured by JSR) was formed on the insulating film of the substrate by spin coating, and the substrate was heated in an isothermal tank at 165 캜 for 2 hours.

Thereafter, rubbing treatment was performed on the alignment film formed on the substrate. Fig. 9 shows the rubbing direction R inclined 45 ° clockwise with respect to the extending direction of the strip-shaped electrode 22a with respect to the rubbing treatment toward the substrate 21a, and the strip shape with respect to the rubbing treatment toward the substrate 21b. The rubbing direction R inclined 45 degrees counterclockwise with respect to the extending direction of the electrode 22b is shown.

Next, the above-mentioned Micropearl SP-2045 having a diameter of 4.5 mu m is dispersed and disposed as a spacer on the second substrate. The distribution was performed as follows. Water and isopropanol were mixed at a volume ratio of 1: 1, and the spacers were dispersed in this solvent, which was sprayed onto the alignment film of the second substrate using a nebulizer. Micropearl SP-2045 with a diameter of 4.5 µm was mixed in the sealing material Struct Bond XN-21S (manufactured by Mitsui Toatsu), which was dots on the side of the second substrate using a liquid crystal sealing resin dispenser MLC-III (Musashi Engineering Co., Ltd.). Was distributed to. At this time, as shown in Fig. 10, the sealing resin 26 was formed in a circular shape surrounding the light modulation region.

After dispensing of the sealing resin, as shown in Fig. 12, the second substrate was fixed to the heating plate 30 and heated to 80 DEG C for 30 minutes.

Next, a resin structure was formed on the first substrate. In this example, Aronmelt PES-360SA40 (manufactured by Three Bond), which is a thermoplastic resin (polyester resin), was used. On the first substrate, this thermosetting resin was printed by dots of 50 mu m in diameter at 350 mu m pitch by screen printing. These substrates were laminated using the bonding apparatus shown in FIGS. 13-15.

The first substrate was fixed to the heating plate 30 heated to 80 ° C. together with the alignment film facing the surface to be vacuum adsorbed, and the liquid crystal composition was dropped at the end of the first substrate. As described in connection with the first embodiment, the dropped liquid crystal composition has a volume larger than that of the space surrounded by the substrate and the sealing resin. The liquid crystal composition ZL11565 (manufactured by Merck) used in the TN mode was used as a chiral material including 0.7 wt% of S811 (manufactured by Merck).

Next, as shown in Fig. 11, the end portion of the second substrate 21b has a liquid crystal composition 28 having a transparent band electrode 22b on the second substrate 21b and a transparent band shape on the first substrate 21a. It was disposed at the end of the first substrate 21a dropped in this manner perpendicular to the electrode 22a, and the rubbing direction R of each alignment film was at right angles to each other. Thereafter, the heating plate 30 moves so that the silicone rubber rollers 51, 52 rotate. Accordingly, while the liquid crystal composition 28 is spread, the second substrate 21b is disposed on the first substrate 21a.

At this time, the temperature of the surface of the silicone rubber roller 52 was set to 150 ° C. While the resin structure 27 was softened, the silicone rubber roller 52 applied pressure to the second substrate 21b to make a gap between the substrates 21a and 21b controlled by the spacer 25. The substrates 21a and 21b laminated by the rollers 51 and 52 are disposed between a pair of stainless plates 75 having a polished surface via the silicone rubber sheet 76, and subjected to a load of 0.3 kg / cm 3. While losing, the substrates 21a and 21b are kept in a constant temperature bath at 150 ° C. for 90 minutes. Thereafter, the power supply of the constant temperature bath is turned off, and the substrates 21a and 21b are cooled to the room temperature of the constant temperature bath with the applied load. In this way, the liquid crystal display device is manufactured.

Since the liquid crystal display device operated in the TN mode has a uniform distance between the substrates, it achieves even display.

A first embodiment of the manufacturing apparatus is referred to FIGS. 12 to 15.

Next, a first embodiment of the manufacturing apparatus can be used to stack substrates. Fig. 13 shows a perspective view of the pasting device. Fig. 14 shows a process of laminating the substrates 21a and 21b using the pasting device.

The bonding device includes a heating plate 30 for supporting and moving a substrate, a discharge device 41 for releasing a liquid crystal composition 28 of a specific volume, and a compression / heating device for pressing and heating the substrates 21a and 21b ( 50) and a holding unit 70 for holding the second substrate at the lower portion.

12 shows the heating plate 30. The lower surface of the heat insulating plate 33 is provided with an LM block 34 and a nut block 34 '. The LM block 34 slides along the LM rail 38 installed on the base plate 100 (see FIG. 13). The nut block 34 'is screwed into a ball thread 35 in which the drive source 36 is a servo motor or a speed control motor. In front of or behind the ball thread 35, the LM block 34 and the heating plate 30 slide along the rail 38 at the same time.

As shown in FIG. 12, the suction table 31 is provided with the pin 31a for positioning the board | substrate 21a. When the heating plate 30 slides and comes to a position facing the pressing roller 51 and the pressing / heating roller 52 of the pressing / heating device 50, the pin 31a is caused by the pressure applied from the rollers 51, 52. The coil spring 31b installed on the back side of the pinch pinches and the pin 31a comes down. Therefore, the pin 31a does not load the rollers 51 and 52.

Since the substrate 21a is supported and fixed to the heating plate 30 by air suction from the suction hole 31c shown in Fig. 12, it is not necessary to press the substrate 21a from above, which simplifies the device structure. To avoid contamination. Moreover, if the board | substrate 21a is a film, the board | substrate 21a does not expand. In the case of pressing the substrate 21a from above so as to fix the substrate 21a to the heating plate 30, the substrate is pressed on the side so that the movement of the pressing roller is not hindered. In this case, it is difficult to keep the entire substrate flat, especially when a substrate with high flexibility is supported.

In addition, the temperature sensor 32b is provided near the suction table 31. The temperature sensor 32b is connected to the temperature controller 32a, and the temperature controller 32a performs on / off control of the heater 32 to adjust the temperature of the suction table 31. .

A position detector 37, such as an optical sensor or a limit switch, is provided near the LM rail 38 (see FIG. 14), and the position detector 37 transmits a control signal to the drive source 36. As shown in FIG.

The discharge device 41 includes a liquid crystal composition and emits a liquid crystal composition through a discharge port, an air pressure source 44 for supplying air to the cylinder 42, and a liquid crystal emitted from the cylinder 42. The controller 43 controls the air pressure source to adjust the volume of the composition, and the XY robot mechanism 45 allows the controller 43 and the cylinder 42 to move and stop on the suction table 31.

As shown in FIG. 13 and FIG. 14, the crimping / heating apparatus 50 is equipped with the crimping roller 51 and the crimping / heating roller 52. As shown in FIG. When the substrates 21a and 21b moving together with the heating plate 30 come to a position facing the rollers 51 and 52, the rollers 51 and 52 press the substrates 21a and 21b onto the heating plate 30 and remove them. Heat.

As shown in FIG. 15, bearing holders 55 are provided at both ends of the pressing roller 51 via bearings 54. The frame 56 is provided in the base 100, and the LM rail 57 is provided in the frame 56. The bearing holder 55 is connected to the LM block 58 which slides along the LM rail 57 via the connecting block 59. Accordingly, the pressing roller 51 is supported to slide on the heating plate 30.

Above the bearing holder 55, a spring 60 for compressing each bearing holder 55 and an adjusting bolt 61 for adjusting the tightness of the spring 60 are provided. The adjusting bolt 61 is clamped in the screw hole of the frame 56, and a stopper provided at the end of the adjusting bolt 60 presses the spring. Since the tightness of the spring 60 can be adjusted by the rotation of the adjusting bolt 61, the pressing from the pressing roller 51 can be adjusted so that the pressing can be uniformly applied to the entire substrates 21a and 21b. In addition, the stopper 63 is provided below the bearing holder 55 in order to prevent the pressing roller 51 from excessively pressing the substrates 21a and 21b. The pressing from the pressing roller 51 is preferably smaller than the pressing from the pressing / heating roller 52.

The support mechanism of the pressing / heating roller 52 is the same as the supporting mechanism of the pressing roller 51. However, the pressing / heating roller 52 has a hollow shape, and a stick-like heater 53 is provided in the roller 52. The heater 53 heats the surface of the pressing / heating roller 52. In the vicinity of the pressing / heating roller 52, a contact type or non-contact type temperature sensor 64 is provided. The temperature sensor 64 is connected to a temperature controller 65 that controls the temperature of the roller 52 surface.

Preferably, the surfaces of the rollers 51, 52 are flattened and mold releasing silicone rubber suitable for use with the rollers 51, 52, for example.

The substrate holding apparatus 70 is provided with a pair of holding rollers 71 which hold | maintain the falling part of a board | substrate, and the motor 72 which winds and rewinds the wire 73 connected to the holding roller 71 at the edge part. When the rising part of the heating plate 30 comes to the position facing the pressing roller 51, the motor 72 starts to rewind the wire 73, and then the holding roller 71 is the heating plate 30 It is moved downward in synchronization with the movement of the. A second embodiment of the manufacturing apparatus is referred to FIG. 16.

16 shows a second embodiment of the manufacturing apparatus. In this bonding apparatus, the heating plate 30, the pressing / heating apparatus 50, and the like are surrounded by the vacuum chamber 80 on the base 100. The vacuum chamber 80 is supported by the lifting mechanism 81 and can be pulled up and down. The O-ring 82 is provided between the vacuum chamber 80 and the base so as to maintain the tightness of the vacuum chamber 80. The inside of the vacuum chamber 80 is connected to the vacuum pump 85 through the electromagnetic valve 86 so that the pressure of the vacuum chamber 80 may be reduced.

By using this pasting device in which the inside of the vacuum chamber 80 is kept clean, invasion of impurities and bubbles into the liquid crystal composition 28 between the substrates 21a and 21b can be more firmly prevented.

<3rd embodiment, see FIG. 17>

17 shows a third embodiment of the manufacturing apparatus. In this pasting device, the heating plate 30 is fixed, and the pressing / heating device 50 is movable. In particular, the frame 56 supporting the rollers 51 and 52 is provided in the LM block 76 which slides along the LM rail 75 provided in the base 100. In addition, a nut block 79 connected to the ball nut 78 driven by the drive source 77 is provided on one side of the frame 56. In this mechanism, the compression / heater 50 slides along the LM rail 75. The other part of this pasting device has the same structure as the other parts of the pasting device shown in FIGS. Since these parts and members are denoted by the same reference numerals as those shown in Figs. 12 to 15, the description of these parts is omitted.

In addition, it is possible to make the movable heating plate 30 and the pressing / heating device 50. The point is that the heating plate 30 and the press / heater 50 can move relative to each other for lamination of the substrates. A third embodiment of the liquid crystal light modulator refers to FIGS. 18 and 19.

Described below as a third embodiment is a reflective liquid crystal display device 20 'having three layers of liquid crystal panels having a liquid crystal composition which exhibits a cholesteric phase at room temperature and selectively reflects light of different wavelengths. For this liquid crystal display device 20 ', a method of covering a liquid crystal composition on a substrate with a spacer is adopted.

18 is a cross-sectional view of the liquid crystal display device 20 '. This display device 20 'differs from the second embodiment in the following points. The point is that the flexible substrate 21a, 21b is used for all three layers, the liquid crystal composition 28 which shows a cholesteric phase at room temperature is used, and the three liquid crystal which consists of a pair of board | substrate 21a, 21b is used. Each panel is arranged in three layers.

In the third embodiment, since the liquid crystal composition included in the three layers reflects light of different wavelengths, the layers can be selectively reflected or transparent, so that color display is possible. For example, when a liquid crystal display element using a liquid crystal composition prepared for selectively reflecting red, green, and blue light is arranged in three layers, full-color display becomes possible. Only parts different from those of the second embodiment will be described below.

Fig. 19 shows a part of the manufacturing process of the liquid crystal display device 20 'different from the second embodiment. First, the substrates 21a and 21b are prepared by the method described in connection with the second embodiment. Next, as shown in FIG. 19A, the substrate 21a is provided on the vacuum adsorption type heating plate 30 employed in the bonding apparatus shown in FIG. 16, and the liquid crystal composition 28 is provided on the side of the substrate 21a. It is dripped on a phase. After that, as shown in FIG. 19B, the pressure in the vacuum chamber 80 is reduced, and the band electrode 22a on the substrate 21a and the band electrode 22b on the substrate 21b are formed at the end of the substrate 21b. The liquid crystal composition is disposed on the side of the substrate 21a on which the liquid crystal composition is dropped in this manner to be perpendicular to each other. Subsequently, the substrates 21a and 21b are laminated using the pressing roller 51 and the pressing / heating roller 52.

For each layer, the substrates 21a and 21b are bonded to each other in the manner described above. At this time, the adhesive 29 is dropped between the layers so that the layers are bonded and the pixels of the layers will be aligned. Curable resins such as thermosetting resins and photocurable resins may be used as the adhesive 29. In addition, the layers can be bonded to each other with an adhesive.

A light absorbing layer without electrodes is provided on the surface of the substrate, and when three layers are stacked, the substrate 21a is disposed at the bottom with this light absorbing layer facing down. In addition, a light absorption layer can be provided on the surface of the substrate 21a provided with the electrodes 22a thereon. In this case, since it is not necessary to increase the applied voltage, it is preferable that the light absorption layer is provided between the substrate 21a and the transparent electrode 22a, but the light absorption layer is the transparent electrode 22a and the liquid crystal composition 28. It may be provided between. When the light absorbing layer is provided on the distant surface of the substrate 21, the light absorbing layer may be a dye such as a black lacquer.

The following is a specific example of the liquid crystal display device of the third embodiment.

<Example 3>

Two flexible transparent conductive films FST-5352 were used as substrates for each liquid crystal panel, and a strip-shaped transparent electrode was formed on the substrate by the method described in connection with the second embodiment. An electrode formed on the substrate was provided with an insulating film and an alignment film in the manner described in connection with the second embodiment. However, the rubbing treatment was not performed on the alignment film.

The liquid crystal composition prepared by adding chiral material S811 (both manufactured by Merck) to 32 wt% nematic liquid crystal E44 with respect to the first layer (topmost layer in FIG. 18) has a first (topmost) liquid crystal layer having 490 nm ( Was used to reflect blue light. A liquid crystal composition prepared by adding chiral material S811 to 30 wt% nematic liquid crystal E44 with respect to the second layer (intermediate layer in FIG. 18) was used so that the second liquid crystal layer reflected light of 560 nm (green). A liquid crystal composition prepared by adding chiral material S811 to 25 wt% nematic liquid crystal E44 with respect to the third layer (lowest layer in FIG. 18) was used so that the third layer reflected light of 680 nm (red).

In the liquid crystal composition of the first layer, SP205 (manufactured by Sekisui Fine Chemical Co., Ltd.) having a diameter of 5 µm is dispersed and arranged as a spacer so that the interval between the substrates is 5 µm. In the liquid crystal composition of the second layer, SP207 (manufactured by Sekisui Fine Chemical Co., Ltd.) having a diameter of 7 µm is dispersed and arranged as a spacer so that the distance between the substrates is 7 µm. In the liquid crystal composition of the third layer, SP209 (manufactured by Sekisui Fine Chemical Co., Ltd.) having a diameter of 9 µm is dispersed and arranged as a spacer so that the interval between the substrates is 9 µm. UV curable resin (epoxy resin) UV RESIN T-470 / UR-7092 (manufactured by Nagase-Ciba) having a transit temperature for glass of 144 ° C was used as the sealing resin, and the first, second and third layers. For the spacer, a spacer having a diameter of 5 mu m, a spacer having a diameter of 7 mu m, and a spacer having a diameter of 9 mu m are mixed with the sealing resin, respectively. After the UV curable resin was coated on one side of the substrate for each layer by the script printing method, the substrate was irradiated with 4000 mJ / cm 2 (total amount) of light using a 4 kW high-pressure mercury lamp HMW-244-11CM (ORC manufacturer). do.

On the other substrate forming each layer, the resin structure having a height greater than the distance between the substrates with respect to the layer is made of the UV curable resin material UV RESIN T-7092 in the manner described in connection with the second embodiment.

In this way, the substrates 21a and 21b were prepared. The substrate 21a is vacuum-adsorbed on the heating plate 30, and the liquid crystal composition 28 in which the spacers 25 having a specific particle diameter are dispersed is coated on the substrate 21a from the side. Next, the board | substrate 21b is attached to a bonding apparatus, and a vacuum chamber is pressure-reduced. At this time, the bonding apparatus shown in Fig. 16 is formed in such a manner that the band-shaped electrodes 22a of the substrate 21a and the band-shaped electrodes 22b of the substrate 21b are orthogonal to each other at the ends of the side where the liquid crystal composition is applied. The board | substrates 21a and 21b were bonded together.

In this way, the substrates 21a and 21b were bonded together to form each layer. Subsequently, the ultraviolet curable resin Photolec A-704-180 (manufactured by Sekisui Fine Chemicals Co., Ltd.) was dropped between the layers as an adhesive 29, and ultraviolet rays were irradiated in such a manner that the pixels in the three layers were oriented to adhere the three layers. did. Although the ultraviolet curable resin was used for the adhesive agent 29 here, a thermosetting resin may be sufficient and a thermoplastic resin may be sufficient. Moreover, you may laminate | stack and laminate each layer with an adhesive.

In addition, black resist CFPR BK-730S (manufactured by Tokyo Oka Co., Ltd.) was applied to the surface where the transparent electrode 22a of the third substrate 21a was not provided to form a light absorption layer 19. The surface on which this light absorption layer 19 is provided was pasted as the lowest surface at the time of 3-layer lamination.

In this way, the reflective liquid crystal display 20 'was manufactured. When a relatively small pulse voltage is applied to each layer, each layer becomes a focal conic state and becomes transparent. When a relatively large pulse voltage is applied to each layer, it becomes a planer state and becomes a selective reflection state of each color. Moreover, half-tone display is achieved by applying a pulse voltage of medium magnitude. In either case, the display was maintained with no voltage applied. In addition, by applying a voltage appropriately to each layer, a full color display with very bright and high visibility was possible.

<Fourth embodiment, see FIG. 20>

In the fourth embodiment, a polymer dispersed liquid crystal display device 90 in which a liquid crystal composition is dispersed in a polymer material will be described.

20 is a cross-sectional view of such a liquid crystal display device 90. Transparent strip-shaped electrodes 92a and 92b are formed on the flexible substrates 91a and 91b, respectively, and insulating films 93a and 93b and alignment films 94a and 94b are formed as necessary. At the periphery of the board | substrates 91a and 91b, the sealing resin 96 of a thermoplastic resin is provided as an adhesive material. As the display medium, the liquid crystal composition 98 dispersed in the polymer material 97 is sandwiched between the substrates 91a and 91b to define the space between the substrates as the spacer 95.

This liquid crystal display device 90 can be produced as follows. Similarly to the second embodiment, insulating films 93a and 93b and alignment films 94a and 94b are formed on the substrates 91a and 91b on which the patterned strip electrodes 92a and 92b are formed. Moreover, the alignment process by rubbing process, ultraviolet irradiation, etc. is performed on the alignment film 94a, 94b as needed. Next, the sealing resin 96 which mixed the spacer 95 'on at least one board | substrate 91b is formed.

Further, the spacer 95 is dispersed on the other substrate 91a, and the polymer material 97 in which the liquid crystal composition 98 is dispersed is dropped. Joining of the board | substrates 91a and 91b is the same as that of the said 2nd Embodiment. For example, when a photocurable resin is used as a polymer material, light is irradiated to polymerize the polymer material.

Hereinafter, the specific example of 4th Embodiment is shown.

<Example 4>

As a board | substrate, two flexible transparent conductive films FST-5352 were used, and the strip | belt-shaped transparent electrode was formed in each film similarly to the said 2nd Example. Moreover, the insulating film and the orientation film were provided in the electrode surface of each board | substrate similarly to Example 2.

The sealing resin is a thermoplastic resin (polyester resin) in which Aronmelt PES-360SA40 (manufactured by Three Bond Co., Ltd.) has previously incorporated the SP220 having a particle diameter of 20 µm as a spacer in advance, as shown in FIG. 10 by screen printing. Formed in an annular shape.

Moreover, spacer SP220 was spread | dispersed on one board | substrate. As the display medium, nematic liquid crystal E8 containing 12 wt% of chiral material S811 as the liquid crystal component (phase photorefractive index n ₀ = 1.525, refractive index anisotropy) n = 0.246) (all manufactured by Merck) and a UV curable acrylic monomer (monomer) R128H (refractive index 1.526) containing 10 wt% of a photopolymerization initiator Darocur 1173 (manufactured by Nagase-Ciba) as a polymer material (manufactured by Nippon Chemical Co., Ltd.) Was mixed with 15 wt%. This display medium was dropped on a substrate and pasted in the same manner as in the second embodiment using the pasting device shown in Figs.

After affixing a board | substrate, ultraviolet-ray was irradiated at 600mJ / cm <2> with wavelength 365nm using the ultrahigh pressure mercury lamp, and the acrylic monomer was polymerized. Furthermore, you may provide a heating / cooling process before and after this ultraviolet irradiation process as needed.

Thus, the polymer dispersion liquid crystal display device 90 was produced. During the fabrication of the device, the injection step can be performed efficiently, and the curling of the bubbles is small.

<Other embodiment>

The liquid crystal light modulator and its manufacturing method according to the present invention are not limited to the above embodiments.

In particular, the specific material of the liquid crystal composition and the material of the substrate, the adhesive material, etc. may be arbitrarily selected.

Although the pasting apparatus of each said embodiment is of the type which has two rollers, a press roller, a press / heat roller, and a pasting apparatus can be equipped with three or more rollers. For the pasting device with three or more rollers, it is preferable that the rollers be further down in the downward direction of the substrate. In addition, the heating roller is preferably located at the bottom. In addition, only a single pressing / heating roller can be installed in the pasting device.

In the pasting apparatus of each said embodiment, the falling part of a board | substrate is hold | maintained by a pair of holding rollers, and a holding roller is raised and lowered by a reel. However, the end of the substrate may be held in an array of rollers or a plate that moves with the heating plate. While the substrate is in motion, some mechanism may be employed as long as it can hold the end of the upper substrate at a particular position away from the lower substrate.

In addition, in the pasting device of each of the above embodiments, the X-Y robot mechanism is employed to freely move the syringe for distributing the liquid crystal composition in a plane opposite the heating plate. Other methods may also be employed for the distribution of the liquid crystal composition. For example, the syringe can only move in the direction crossing the substrate. In addition, a die-coater may be provided at a plurality of fixed syringes, slit-like supply ports arranged in a direction crossing the substrate, or at positions which do not interfere with the bonding operation.

The compression roller having the compression and the spring supplying the compression / heating roller can be replaced by an air pressure mechanism such as an air cylinder.

In addition, although this invention was demonstrated with respect to each said embodiment, it is not limited to this and can be variously modified and implemented in the range which does not deviate from the summary of invention.

According to the present invention, it is possible to provide an improved liquid crystal light modulator, a manufacturing method thereof, and a manufacturing apparatus. Moreover, the method and apparatus suitable for mass-producing a liquid crystal light modulator can be provided.

Claims (32)

An apparatus for manufacturing a liquid crystal light modulator comprising at least one of a flexible first substrate and a second substrate, and a liquid crystal layer filled between the first and second substrates. A support on which the first substrate is located; A dispenser for dispensing a liquid crystal composition to the first substrate; A presser for cooperating with the support to press the second substrate to the first substrate on which the liquid crystal composition is distributed; And a mechanism for relatively moving said presser relative to said support. The apparatus for manufacturing a liquid crystal light modulator according to claim 1, wherein the support has a table having a flat surface. 3. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the mechanism moves the compactor in a linear direction in a direction parallel to the plane of the table. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the mechanism moves the table linearly in a direction parallel to the plane of the table. The apparatus for manufacturing a liquid crystal light modulator according to claim 1, wherein the support is provided with an adsorber for attracting the first substrate on the surface of the support. The apparatus for manufacturing a liquid crystal light modulator according to claim 1, wherein the presser comprises at least one roller which can rotate while the presser is moved relative to the support. The liquid crystal light modulator according to claim 1, further comprising a heater for heating at least one of the support and the presser. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the dispenser distributes a liquid crystal composition to the first substrate supported by the support. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a holder for holding an edge of the second substrate to hold the edge of the second substrate away from the first substrate. In the method of manufacturing a liquid crystal light modulator comprising at least one of a flexible first substrate and a second substrate, and a liquid crystal layer filled between the first and second substrates, (a) disposing a first substrate on the support and distributing the liquid crystal composition to the first substrate; (b) after performing step (a), positioning the second substrate on the first substrate and pressing the second substrate onto the first substrate by moving the presser relative to the support. The manufacturing method of the liquid crystal light modulator characterized by the above-mentioned. 11. The method of claim 10, wherein the support comprises a table having a flat surface, Step (b) comprises the step (b1) of moving the compactor linearly in a direction parallel to the plane of the table. 11. The method of claim 10, wherein the support comprises a table having a flat surface, Step (b) comprises the step (b1) of moving the support linearly in a direction parallel to the plane of the table. The method of claim 10, wherein the step (a) comprises a step (a1) of adsorbing the first substrate to attract the first substrate to the support. The method of manufacturing a liquid crystal light modulator according to claim 10, further comprising the step (c) of heating at least one of the support and the presser. 11. The method of claim 10, wherein step (a) comprises the step (a1) of placing the first substrate on the support, and the step (a2) of distributing the liquid crystal composition to the first substrate after step (a1). Method of manufacturing a liquid crystal light modulator. The method of claim 10, wherein the liquid crystal composition distributed in step (a) is uniformly spread in step (b). 11. The method of claim 10, further comprising the step (c) of providing an adhesive to at least one of the first and second substrates. 18. The method of claim 17, wherein the step (b) further comprises the step (b1) of uniformly spreading the liquid crystal composition by disposing the second substrate on the first substrate; And (b2) bonding the first substrate and the second substrate to each other by the adhesive by pressing the second substrate onto the first substrate. 18. The method of claim 17, wherein the adhesive is provided to continuously surround the light modulation region. 11. The method of claim 10, wherein step (b) comprises arranging the second substrate on the first substrate by holding the edge of the first substrate away from the first substrate. Method of manufacturing a liquid crystal light modulator. A liquid crystal comprising at least one flexible first and second substrate, a liquid crystal composition filled between the first and second substrates, and a sealing material surrounding the liquid crystal composition to prevent the liquid crystal composition from leaking In the method of manufacturing the optical modulator, (a) providing an insufficiently cured sealant on at least one of the first and second substrates, (b) distributing the liquid crystal composition onto the first substrate, (c) after performing steps (a) and (b), placing the second substrate on the first substrate and curing the sealant to bond the first and second substrates together; Method for producing a liquid crystal light modulator, characterized in that. The method of claim 21, wherein the sealing material is provided to the second substrate in the step (a). 22. The method of claim 21, wherein the sealing material is provided to continuously surround the light modulation region in step (a). The method of claim 21, further comprising the step (d) of disposing the first substrate on the support, And said step (b) is performed after said step (d). 22. The method of claim 21, wherein step (b) comprises disposing the first substrate on a support (b1) and distributing the liquid crystal composition to the first substrate disposed on the support (b2). Method for producing a liquid crystal light modulator, characterized in that. 22. The method of claim 21, further comprising providing an insufficiently cured resin structure to at least one of the first and second substrates in the light modulation region prior to step (c), wherein the resin structure comprises: c) a method of manufacturing a liquid crystal light modulator, characterized in that it is cured. The method of claim 21, wherein step (a) comprises: (a1) providing an uncured sealant on at least one of the first and second substrates; And a step (a2) of insufficiently hardening the sealing material after the step (a1). The method of claim 21, wherein the step (c) comprises the step (c1) of pressing the first substrate to the second substrate, Heating the sealing material to soften the sealing material (c2), and And (c3) after the step (c2), cooling the sealant to cure the sealant. 29. The method of claim 28, wherein steps (c2) and (c3) are performed during step (c1). At least one flexible first and second substrates, A liquid crystal composition filled between the first and second substrates, It is provided with a sealing material surrounding the liquid crystal composition to prevent the liquid crystal composition from leaking, (a) providing an insufficiently cured sealant to at least one of the first and second substrates, (b) distributing the liquid crystal composition on the first substrate; (c) after performing steps (a) and (b), placing the second substrate on the first substrate and curing the sealant to bond the first and second substrates together. A liquid crystal light modulator, which is produced by performing. A liquid crystal light comprising a first substrate and a second substrate having at least one flexibility, a liquid crystal composition filled between the first and second substrates, and a sealing material surrounding the liquid crystal composition to prevent the liquid crystal composition from leaking In the method for manufacturing a modulator, (a) providing the sealant to the second substrate; (b) distributing the liquid crystal composition onto the first substrate, (c) after performing steps (a) and (b), placing the second substrate on the first substrate and curing the sealant to bond the first and second substrates together. The manufacturing method of the liquid crystal light modulator characterized by the above-mentioned. 32. The method of claim 31, wherein step (b) comprises: placing (b1) the first substrate on a support; And (b2) distributing the liquid crystal composition to a first substrate disposed on the support.