KR20030076872A - A liquid crystal dispensing apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:A large capacity apparatus for dispensing liquid crystal is provided to realize a large capacity liquid crystal container without increasing weight and prevent the liquid crystal from being contaminated. CONSTITUTION:A large capacity liquid crystal container(124) formed of a light metal is filled with liquid crystal, and gas is applied to an upper part of the liquid crystal container to give pressure to the liquid crystal. A needle sheet(143) is mounted at a lower part of the liquid crystal container and has an exhaust hole exhausting liquid crystal of the liquid crystal container. A needle(136) is inserted into the liquid crystal container to be movable up and down. A spring(128) is installed at one end part of the needle and the other end part of the needle contacts with the exhaust hole of the needle sheet, so that the exhaust hole of the needle sheet is opened and shut by the movement of the needle. A plurality of Teflon layers(125,139) are applied to an inner surface of the liquid crystal container and the needle to prevent the liquid crystal from being contaminated.

Description

Large-capacity liquid crystal dropping device {A LIQUID CRYSTAL DISPENSING APPARATUS}

The present invention relates to a liquid crystal dropping device (Liquid Crystal Dispensing Apparatus), and more particularly to a liquid crystal dropping device capable of efficiently performing liquid crystal dropping by forming a liquid crystal container and needle filled with a liquid crystal material to increase the size of the liquid crystal container will be.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Subsequently, an alignment layer is applied to the upper substrate 3 and the lower substrate 5, respectively, and then the alignment control force or surface fixing force (ie, the liquid crystal molecules of the liquid crystal layer formed between the upper substrate 3 and the lower substrate 5). In order to provide a pretilt angle and an orientation direction, the alignment layer is rubbed (S102 and S105). Subsequently, a spacer is disposed on the lower substrate 5 to maintain a constant cell gap, and a sealing material 9 is applied to an outer portion of the upper substrate 3, and then the lower substrate 5 is disposed. And the upper substrate 3 by applying pressure (S103, S106, S107).

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

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

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

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

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

Second, the liquid crystal consumption rate is high in the liquid crystal injection method as described above. Of the liquid crystals 14 filled in the container 12, the amount injected into the liquid crystal panel 1 is a very small amount. On the other hand, when the liquid crystal is exposed to the atmosphere or a specific gas, the liquid crystal not only deteriorates by reacting with the gas but also by impurities introduced in contact with the liquid crystal panel 1. Therefore, even when the liquid crystal 14 filled in the container 12 is injected into the plurality of liquid crystal panels 1, the liquid crystal 14 remaining after the injection must be discarded. (1) It leads to an increase in manufacturing cost.

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

Another object of the present invention is to provide a liquid crystal dropping device which can be provided with a large-capacity liquid crystal container without the addition of a load applied to the liquid crystal container by forming the liquid crystal container and the needle with a lightweight material.

In order to achieve the above object, the liquid crystal dropping apparatus according to the present invention is a large liquid crystal container made of a light metal filled with a liquid crystal and a gas supplied thereon to apply pressure to the liquid crystal, and is mounted on the lower portion of the liquid crystal container. A needle sheet having a discharge hole for discharging the liquid crystal of the container is inserted into the liquid crystal container so as to vertically move, and a spring is installed at one end and the other end is moved upward and downward in contact with the discharge hole of the needle sheet. A needle that opens and closes a ball, a solenoid coil and a magnetic rod that are mounted on top of the needle to generate magnetic force as the power is applied, and are mounted on the bottom of the liquid crystal container to at least one liquid crystal in the liquid crystal container. It consists of a nozzle dripping on the board | substrate containing a panel.

The liquid crystal container is made of aluminum, and a fluorine resin film is coated therein to prevent chemical reaction between the liquid crystal and aluminum.

In addition, since the needle is made of at least a portion of lightweight aluminum, the liquid crystal container can be manufactured with a larger capacity without increasing the load of the liquid crystal container. At this time, the needle is coated with a fluororesin film.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

8 is an exploded perspective view of FIG. 7;

9 is a view showing a liquid crystal dropping apparatus of the present invention in which a fluorine resin film is applied to a liquid crystal container and a needle.

Explanation of symbols on the main parts of the drawings

101: liquid crystal panel 103, 105: substrate

107: liquid crystal 120: liquid crystal dropping device

124: liquid crystal container 125,139: fluorine resin film

128: spring 130: solenoid coil

132: magnetic rod 134: gap adjustment unit

136, 136a, 136b: needle 139: coupling portion

143: needle seat 144: discharge hole

145: nozzle 146: outlet

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

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

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

The liquid crystal display device manufacturing method to which the above liquid crystal dropping method is applied is shown in FIG. 5. As shown in the figure, TFT and color filter layers, which are driving elements, are formed on the lower substrate 105 and the upper substrate 103 through the TFT array process and the color filter process (S201 and S202). The TFT array process and the color filter process are the same as those of the conventional manufacturing method shown in FIG. 2 and are collectively performed on a large-area glass substrate on which a plurality of panel regions are formed. In particular, since the liquid crystal dropping method is applied in the manufacturing method, it can be usefully used in a larger glass substrate, for example, a large area glass substrate having an area of 1000 × 1200 mm ² or more, compared with the conventional manufacturing method.

Subsequently, after the alignment film is applied to the lower substrate 105 on which the TFT is formed and the upper substrate 103 on which the color filter layer is formed, rubbing is performed (S202 and S205), the liquid crystal panel region of the lower substrate 105 is formed. 107 is dropped and a sealing material 109 is applied to the liquid crystal panel outer region of the upper substrate (S203, S206).

Thereafter, pressure is applied while the upper substrate 103 and the lower substrate 105 are aligned, and the upper substrate 105 and the lower substrate 103 are bonded together by a sealing material 109 and at the same time the application of pressure is applied. The liquid crystal 107 dropped by this is spread evenly over the whole panel (S207). Through this process, a plurality of liquid crystal panels having a liquid crystal layer are formed on glass substrates (lower substrates and upper substrates) having a large area. By inspecting, a liquid crystal display device is produced (S208, S209).

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

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

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

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

7 is a view showing a liquid crystal dropping apparatus according to the present invention, Figure 7 (a) is a cross-sectional view of the liquid crystal dropping, Figure 7 (b) is a cross-sectional view of the liquid crystal dropping, Figure 8 is an exploded perspective view of FIG. Hereinafter, a liquid crystal dropping apparatus according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

As shown in the figure, in the liquid crystal dropping apparatus 120 of the present invention, the liquid crystal is filled in the cylindrical liquid crystal container 124. The liquid crystal container 124 is made of a lightweight material such as a light metal (for example, aluminum), and although not shown in the drawing, a gas supply pipe connected to an external gas supply unit is formed at an upper portion thereof. A gas such as nitrogen is supplied from an external gas supply unit through the gas supply pipe to fill a region in which the liquid crystal is not filled in the liquid crystal container 124 to apply pressure to the liquid crystal, thereby dropping the liquid crystal.

In the conventional liquid crystal dropping apparatus used in the prior art, the liquid crystal container 124 is made of polyethylene. The polyethylene has the advantage of being able to easily form a container having a desired shape because of its good formability, but has a disadvantage in that it is easily deformed by a weak external impact because of its weak strength. Therefore, in order to use a liquid crystal container made of polyethylene, a case made of a material such as a metal having high strength, for example, stainless steel (Strainless Steel), must be prepared, and the liquid crystal container must be stored in the case and used. However, in this case, there is a problem that the structure of the liquid crystal dropping device becomes complicated and the manufacturing cost increases.

Further, when the liquid crystal container made of polyethylene is stored in the case as described above, the liquid crystal container is deformed by an external force (for example, movement of the liquid crystal dropping device or application of uneven pressure by nitrogen) inside the case. In this case, there is a problem that the liquid crystal outlet (ie, the nozzle) connected to the liquid crystal container is also deformed so that the liquid crystal does not drop in the correct position through the deformed nozzle.

In order to solve this problem, the liquid crystal container 124 itself is formed of a metal, such as stainless steel, the structure is simple and the manufacturing cost is reduced, and the liquid crystal container that can prevent the liquid crystal is dropped in the incorrect position by the external force Although 124 has recently been proposed, the liquid crystal container 124 has a problem that the weight of the stainless steel itself is large.

The large weight of the liquid crystal container 124 limits the size of the liquid crystal container 124. Conventional liquid crystal container 124 used in general was mainly 50mg capacity. Meanwhile, in the liquid crystal dropping method using the liquid crystal dropping device 120, when the liquid crystal 107 is dropped on the set substrate and the liquid crystal 107 of the liquid crystal container 124 is depleted, the liquid crystal container 124 is separated from the liquid crystal dropping device. After cleaning the liquid crystal container 124 to refill the liquid crystal 107 and the liquid crystal container 124 must be installed in the liquid crystal dropping device 120. Therefore, when the capacity of the liquid crystal container 124 is small, it is necessary to frequently disassemble the liquid crystal container 124 from the liquid crystal dropping device 120 and clean the liquid crystal container 124 as described above. In order to solve this problem, when the capacity of the liquid crystal container 124 is increased, the weight of the liquid crystal container 124 increases, so that the load applied to the liquid crystal dropping device 120 also increases, In addition to shortening the service life, accurate dropping of the liquid crystals is impossible due to large loads upon dropping.

In the present invention, as described above, the liquid crystal container 124 is formed of a lightweight material such as aluminum, thereby increasing the capacity of the liquid crystal container 124 and preventing the weight of the liquid crystal container 124 from increasing. .

As shown in the figure, a projection 138 is formed at the lower end of the liquid crystal container 124 made of a light metal is coupled to the first coupling portion 141. The protrusion 138 is formed with a nut and a bolt is formed at one side of the first coupling part 141, so that the protrusion 138 and the first coupling part 141 are fastened by the nut and the bolt. In this case, a bolt is formed on the protrusion 138 and a nut is formed on the first coupling part 141 to fasten the protrusion 138 and the first coupling part 141. These bolts and nuts simply need to be formed on each of the objects to be combined as a coupling means for coupling the protrusion 138 and the first coupling portion 141, but the bolt or nut need not be formed on the specific coupling object. Accordingly, the protrusions and nuts described below are for joining parts, and it is not important that they are formed on any part, but only bolts and nuts are formed on the parts to be joined.

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

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

A discharge pipe extending from the discharge hole 144 of the needle sheet 143 is formed in the support part 147, and the discharge pipe is connected to the discharge hole 146. Typically, the outlet 146 of the nozzle 145 has a very small diameter (to adjust the fine liquid crystal dropping amount) and protrudes from the support 147.

The needle 136 is inserted into the liquid crystal container 124 so that one end thereof contacts the needle sheet 143. The needle 136 consists of two parts joined by the coupling part 137. Like the liquid crystal container 124, the lower first needle 136a is made of a light metal such as aluminum, and the upper second needle 136b is made of a metal such as stainless steel. Since the end of the second needle (136a) in contact with the needle seat 143 is formed in a conical shape, the end is inserted into the discharge hole 144 of the needle sheet 143 to block the discharge hole (144) do. The reason why the first needle 136a is formed of a light material is the same as that of forming the liquid crystal container 124 with a light material. That is, to reduce the load added to the liquid crystal container 124 to make the liquid crystal container 124 a large capacity by the reduced load.

In addition, a spring 128 is mounted at the other end of the second needle 136b positioned in the upper case 126 of the liquid crystal dropping device 120, and a magnetic rod having a gap adjusting unit 134 attached thereon. 132 is mounted. The magnetic rod 132 is made of a ferromagnetic material or a soft magnetic material, the outside of the cylindrical solenoid coil 130 is installed. Although not shown in the drawing, the solenoid coil 130 is connected to a power supply means to supply power, and as the power is applied, a magnetic force is generated in the magnetic rod 132.

The second needle 136b and the magnetic rod 132 are provided at regular intervals x. When power is supplied to the solenoid coil 130 to generate a magnetic force on the magnetic rod 132, the second needle 136b made of metal contacts the magnetic rod 132 by the magnetic force, and power supply is stopped. The needle 136 is restored to its original position by the elasticity of the spring 128 installed at the end of the second needle 136b. The discharge hole 144 formed in the needle sheet 143 is opened or closed by the vertical movement of the needle 136. The end of the first needle 136a and the needle seat 143 are repeatedly contacted as power is supplied to the solenoid coil 130 and stopped.

When power is supplied to the solenoid coil 130, as the discharge hole 144 of the needle sheet 143 is opened by the rising of the needle 136, the liquid crystal container 124 is opened. Nitrogen supplied pressurizes the liquid crystal, and the liquid crystal 107 starts to drop from the nozzle 145. At this time, the amount of the liquid crystal 107 is dropped depends on the time when the discharge hole 144 is opened and the pressure applied to the liquid crystal, the opening time is the interval between the second needle 136b and the magnetic rod 132. (x), the magnetic force of the magnetic rod 132 generated by the solenoid coil 130 and the elastic force of the spring 128 provided in the second needle (136b). The magnetic force of the magnetic rod 132 may be adjusted according to the number of windings of the solenoid coil 130 installed around the magnetic rod 132 or the size of the power applied to the solenoid coil 130, and the second needle 136b and the magnetic force may be adjusted. The distance x of the rod 132 can be adjusted by the gap adjusting unit 134 provided at the end of the magnetic rod 132.

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

As described above, in the present invention, by forming the liquid crystal container 124 and the portion 136a of the needle 136 with lightweight aluminum, it is possible to reduce the weight applied to the liquid crystal container 124 upon dropping. It is possible to increase the capacity of the liquid crystal container 124 by the reduced weight.

In order to increase the load reduction effect applied to the liquid crystal container 124, the second needle 136b may also be formed of lightweight aluminum. In this case, a magnetic material should be applied to the surface of the second needle 136b so that the needle 136 moves up and down by the magnetic force of the magnetic rod 132.

As described above, when the liquid crystal container 124 and the second needle 136a are formed of a light metal such as aluminum, the liquid crystal 107 filled in the liquid crystal container 124 chemically reacts with aluminum, and this chemical reaction It causes contamination of the liquid crystal, and as a result, a defect occurs in the liquid crystal display device when the liquid crystal display device is manufactured.

In the present invention, in order to prevent the liquid crystal from being contaminated as described above, as shown in FIG. 9, the inner surface of the liquid crystal container 124 and the needle 136 (specifically, the first needle) may have a dipping method. Teflon layers 125 and 139 were applied by a spray method. In general, since the fluorine resin has such characteristics as wear resistance, heat resistance, and chemical resistance, it is possible to effectively prevent the liquid crystal from being contaminated by the application of the fluorine resin films 125 and 139.

As described above, the present invention provides a liquid crystal dropping device having a large liquid crystal container and a needle made of a lightweight material such as aluminum. The liquid crystal dropping apparatus of the present invention is not limited to the liquid crystal dropping apparatus having a specific structure but may be applied to all devices used for liquid crystal dropping up to now. In other words, in the detailed description of the present invention, the liquid crystal dropping device is limited to a specific structure, but the present invention is not limited to the liquid crystal dropping device having such a specific structure, but a large-capacity liquid crystal container made of a light weight material particularly proposed by the present invention. It is used in all structures of liquid crystal dropping devices including the needle and the needle (including the device currently used or the device to be used in the future). Therefore, the scope of the present invention should be determined not by the detailed description but by the appended claims.

As described above, in the present invention, since the liquid crystal container of the liquid crystal dropping device is made of a light material such as light metal (aluminum), the liquid crystal container can be made large in capacity without increasing the weight. In addition, since part or all of the needles are formed of a lightweight material, the load applied to the liquid crystal container can be further reduced, and as a result, the capacity of the liquid crystal container can be further increased. Further, in the present invention, by coating the fluorine resin film on the inner surface of the liquid crystal container and the surface of the needle, it is possible to prevent the liquid crystal from being contaminated by the chemical reaction between the liquid crystal and aluminum.

Claims (13)

A large-capacity liquid crystal container made of a material that is lighter than steel filled with liquid crystal and gas supplied thereon to apply pressure to the liquid crystal; A needle sheet mounted below the liquid crystal container and having a discharge hole through which liquid crystal of the liquid crystal container is discharged; A needle inserted into the liquid crystal container so as to be movable up and down, and having a spring installed at one end thereof, and a discharge hole of the needle sheet opened and closed as the other end contacts the discharge hole of the needle sheet and moves up and down; A solenoid coil and a magnetic rod mounted on an upper portion of the needle to generate a magnetic force to move the needle to an upper portion when power is applied; And And a nozzle mounted below the liquid crystal container and dropping liquid crystal of the liquid crystal container onto a substrate including at least one panel. The liquid crystal dropping apparatus of claim 1, wherein the liquid crystal container is made of a light metal. The liquid crystal dropping device of claim 1, wherein the light metal comprises aluminum. The liquid crystal dropping apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the liquid crystal container is coated with a fluorine resin film therein. The method of claim 1, wherein the needle, A first needle made of a material that is lighter than metal and in contact with the discharge hole of the needle sheet; And And a second needle made of a metal and positioned on the first needle. 6. The liquid crystal dropping apparatus according to claim 5, further comprising coupling means for coupling the first needle and the second needle. The liquid crystal dropping apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the first needle is made of aluminum. The liquid crystal dropping apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the first needle is formed with a fluorine resin film. The liquid crystal dropping apparatus of claim 1, wherein the needle is made of a material that is lighter than steel. The liquid crystal dropping apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the needle is made of a light metal. The liquid crystal dropping apparatus of claim 10, wherein the light metal comprises aluminum. The liquid crystal dropping apparatus according to claim 10, wherein a magnetic material is coated on an end region of the needle in contact with the magnetic rod. The liquid crystal dropping apparatus according to claim 9, wherein at least a part of the needle has a fluorine resin film formed thereon.