WO2004010173A1

WO2004010173A1 - Polarizing film producing apparatus and method, and liquid crystal cell and its manufacturing method

Info

Publication number: WO2004010173A1
Application number: PCT/JP2003/009090
Authority: WO
Inventors: Yoshihide Ishibasi; Honggi Bae; Shinya Ohmura; Hiroko Iwashige; Osamu Yamashita; Powei Sung
Original assignee: Nakan Corporation
Priority date: 2002-07-23
Filing date: 2003-07-17
Publication date: 2004-01-29
Also published as: TW200403454A; AU2003281592A1; TWI224687B

Abstract

An apparatus for producing a polarizing film of an LCD while dispensing with the production of a polarizing sheet and its bonding work conventionally requiring a long time and many man-hours. A polarizing film is produced by using an aqueous solution of a dichroic dye developed by Optiva, Inc., a USA-based company, as an ink and forming the polarizing film by printing with this ink on a glass or plastic substrate by means of a flexographic printing press. Referring to the drawing, a plate (1) having plural fine grooves extending in the printing direction is attached to a plate cylinder (2), the ink is dripped parallel to the rotating plate (1) from a dispenser (3), the dripped ink is spread with a blade (4), and the liquid-crystalline dichroic dye is squeezed into the fine grooves (a). Since the blade (4) is held with a small gap, out of contact with the plate (1). A thin film of the ink liquid is formed on the plate surface. When a glass substrate (6) secured to a table (5) passes directly below the plate cylinder (2), the thin film of the ink liquid is transferred from the plate (1) to the glass substrate (6), and the glass plate (6) is coated with the thin film.

Description

Specification

Liquid crystal cell and manufacturing method for polarizing film manufacturing apparatus and manufacturing method

The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing a liquid crystal display, and particularly to a manufacturing apparatus and a manufacturing method of a polarizing film to which a technique of forming a polarizing film by applying an ink of a dichroic dye is applied, and a liquid crystal cell and a liquid crystal cell are manufactured. It relates to the manufacturing method. Background art

Conventionally, polarizing plates disposed on both sides of a liquid crystal cell have been attached to the outside of the liquid crystal cell that has passed panel inspection using an adhesive.

For this reason, it was necessary to attach a polarizing plate to each of the liquid crystal cells divided by the scriber, and the workability was extremely poor.

In addition, various measures must be taken during lamination, such as ensuring positioning accuracy and adhesion strength, preventing air bubbles and dust from being mixed, and preventing the generation of static electricity. A lot of time and effort was spent on assembling the parts, such as performing autoclave treatment to remove air bubbles remaining in the tub.

Thus, the present invention requires the production and attachment of a polarizing plate, which has conventionally required a lot of time and labor, by applying the technology of forming a polarizing film by applying a dichroic dye ink. The first object is to provide an apparatus for manufacturing an LCD polarizing film.

In addition, when an ink of a dichroic dye is applied, the supermolecular complex composed of the dichroic dye is subjected to a shearing force to orient in a certain direction, and the dye molecules are regularly arranged (crystallized). Occurs. · Ideally, the oriented supramolecular complex should be arranged parallel to the substrate. In general, it is normal to be slightly more or less deviated from this ideal arrangement. The supramolecular complex originally has the property of aligning the major axis of the supramolecular complex in a specific direction, but the arrangement direction of the supramolecular complex depends on the surface condition of the substrate. When the surface tension of the supramolecular composite is smaller than the critical surface tension of the substrate surface, the surface tension is changed by the magnitude of the surface tension acting between the substrate and the elastic strain energy related to the arrangement of the supramolecular composite. Due to the large force acting between the surface and the supramolecular complex, the supramolecular complex wets the surface and spreads on the substrate surface, and the supramolecular complex is arranged in parallel to the substrate.

Conversely, if the surface tension of the supramolecular complex is greater than the critical surface tension of the substrate surface, the force acting between the supramolecular complex rather than the force acting between the substrate surface and the supramolecular complex Is large, the supramolecular complex does not spread on the surface but becomes spherical, and the supramolecular complex is arranged perpendicular to the substrate.

When the substrate surface is not smooth, the supramolecular composites are arranged in a state where the elastic strain energy is minimized, that is, the supramolecular composites are arranged in a direction in which the supramolecular composites are not subjected to elastic strain.

Whether or not the supramolecular complex is parallel to the substrate depends on the surface condition of the substrate, but the effect of moisture and gas adsorbed on the substrate surface and the effective critical surface due to the contact of the supramolecular complex with the substrate The magnitude of the tension changes, and the relationship between the magnitude of the surface tension and the orientation of the supramolecular complex does not always hold.

In addition, the state of the elastic strain energy on the surface of the substrate varies slightly depending on the LCD manufacturer.

For this reason, the supramolecular composite applied to the substrate surface cannot obtain a uniform orientation, and deviates from the ideal arrangement.

In order to obtain uniform orientation, it is necessary to provide the substrate surface with anisotropic orientation by some method. Therefore, in the present invention, when applying the technique of forming a polarizing film by applying a dichroic dye ink, the substrate surface is provided with orientation anisotropy, so that the uniform arrangement of the polymer complex is achieved. The second objective is to obtain a state.In addition, since the conventional polarizing plate is located on the outermost surface of the LCD, it greatly affects the display quality of the entire display, moisture resistance, heat resistance, etc. I was

Therefore, the present invention provides a new liquid crystal for reducing the influence on the display quality, moisture resistance, heat resistance, etc. of a polarizing plate when applying the technology of forming a polarizing film by applying a dichroic dye ink. The third purpose is to propose a cell and its manufacturing process. Disclosure of the invention

In order to achieve such an object, the present invention is configured as follows.

That is, the polarizing film manufacturing apparatus of the present invention uses an aqueous solution of a dichroic dye that forms a concentration transition type liquid crystal as an ink, and applies this ink to a plate having a large number of fine grooves along the printing direction. The above purpose is achieved by forming a polarizing film by transferring a thin film from a printing plate to a substrate to form a polarizing film.

Also preferably, the chemical formula of the dichroic dye is

And

Also preferably, the chemical formula of the dichroic dye is

And

Also preferably, the chemical formula of the dichroic dye is

And

Also, preferably, a dashed convex portion is raised in the fine groove to form a concave portion and a convex portion of the groove, and the adjacent convex portion faces the discontinuous portion of the dashed convex portion. The phases are alternately shifted. Preferably, the projection is formed in a raindrop shape in a plan view.

Preferably, the projection is formed in a bar shape in plan view.

Further, in the method for producing a polarizing film of the present invention, in the step of producing a polarizing film by applying a coating solution of a dichroic dye for forming a concentration transition type liquid crystal while applying a shearing force to the substrate surface, A pretreatment step is provided in the step of applying the liquid, and the substrate surface is subjected to an orientation treatment in the pretreatment step.

Preferably, the orientation treatment is a mechanical treatment in which the shape of the substrate surface is deformed to form a large number of fine grooves in one direction.

Preferably, the alignment treatment is a chemical treatment for imparting alignment anisotropy to an alignment layer formed by applying a chemical to a substrate surface.

Preferably, the means for imparting the orientation anisotropy is rubbing in the case of a dry method and an air knife in the case of a wet method.

Preferably, the chemical is a dilute aqueous solution of a nonionic (nonionic) surfactant.

Preferably, the chemical agent is a dilute aqueous solution of hydrophilic polyethylene glycol (PEG).

Preferably, the chemical agent is a hydrophobic linear fatty acid.

Preferably, the chemical is a dilute aqueous solution of an organic silane coupling agent.

Further, the liquid crystal cell of the present invention is characterized in that a polarizing film in which a dichroic dye forming a concentration transition type liquid crystal is oriented in a certain direction is printed directly or indirectly on the inside of the cell. I do.

In addition, the method for manufacturing a liquid crystal cell of the present invention includes a patterning step of forming a transparent electrode on a washed substrate, an alignment processing step of applying and firing and rubbing an alignment film on the substrate, and a spacer. Spray and paste two substrates together A substrate laminating step, a panel dividing step of dividing the bonded substrate into panels of a predetermined size, a liquid crystal injecting step of injecting a liquid crystal material into the panel, and a polarizing plate attached to both sides of the cell that has passed the panel inspection. In the step of assembling a liquid crystal cell comprising a polarizing plate attaching step, a polarizing film printing / stabilizing step of printing and stabilizing a polarizing film on the substrate surface by printing and stabilizing is provided before the alignment treatment step. It is characterized in that the plate attaching step is not required.

Further, in the method for manufacturing a liquid crystal cell according to the present invention, in the process for forming the polarizing film, the pattern of the alignment film applied on the polarizing film is used as a resist to etch the polarizing film other than the display region. It is characterized by.

Further, in the method for manufacturing a liquid crystal cell according to the present invention, in the process for forming the polarizing film, the coated polarizing film is dried, and then the polarizing film is stabilized with an aqueous BaCl ₂ solution (8 to 20 wt%). It is characterized. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an apparatus for manufacturing a polarizing film embodying the present invention. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of display colors and molecular structural formulas of a dichroic dye. FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of a supermolecular complex. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an alignment state of liquid crystal molecules of a dichroic dye. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of a pattern of fine grooves. Figure 6 is a schematic diagram of the mechanical processing. Figure 7 is a conceptual diagram of the chemical treatment. FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram of the coating direction and the rubbing direction. FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram of a coating direction and a substrate installation direction. FIG. 10 is a sectional view of a liquid crystal cell embodying the present invention. FIG. 11 is a process flow of a liquid crystal cell manufacturing method according to the present invention. FIG. 12 is a process plan view and a process cross-sectional view of a method for manufacturing a liquid crystal cell embodying the present invention. BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows a schematic view of a polarizing film manufacturing apparatus embodying the present invention.

The polarizing film manufacturing equipment uses an aqueous solution of a dichroic dye developed by Optiva in the United States as an ink, and prints this ink on a glass-plastic substrate using an ordinary flexographic printing machine to form the polarizing film. Make it.

In the figure, a plate 1 having a number of fine grooves a along the printing direction is mounted on a plate cylinder 2, and ink is dripped from a dispenser 3 in parallel with the rotating plate 1 and spread with a blade 4. The dichroic dye in the liquid crystal state is pushed into the fine grooves a.

At this time, since the blade 4 is held in contact with the plate 1 with a slight gap therebetween, a thin film of the ink liquid is formed on the plate surface.

Then, when the glass substrate 6 fixed on the table 5 passes directly below the plate cylinder 2, a thin film of this ink is transferred and applied from the plate 1 to the glass substrate 6.

FIG. 2 shows an example of the display colors and molecular structural formulas of the dichroic dye.

There are about seven types of dichroic dyes used in the polarizing film of the present invention. Here, three representative types are shown.

Dichroic dyes have a significantly different electron density in the molecule between the vertical and horizontal directions, and have a slender molecular structure like a liquid crystal molecule. In molecular structure from the jar to the flat surface length circular I can see the formula molecule, is around having a hydrophilic - S 0 ₃ - is to have a water-soluble with a good UNA functional groups.

These dyes can be used alone to form a polarizing film, but are generally used as a mixture. As can be seen from the figure, there are many double bonds, which contribute to light absorption and indicate the properties of a dye.

Ink is an aqueous solution of these dyes. As the concentration of the dye increases, the hydrophobic part, that is, the plane part, grows and piles up, and lyotropic (concentration transition) Shape) The liquid crystal is formed and becomes sticky.

The aggregate of liquid crystal molecules stacked in a stick shape is called a “supramolecular complex”, and FIG. 3 shows a schematic diagram thereof.

The -SO ₃ — group is located outside this stick and is in contact with water. It is said that the ratio between the stick width and length (aspect ratio) is as high as 150: 1. The reason for this ratio is thought to be that the equilibrium state is maintained at the stable point where the energy is the lowest due to the interaction between water, the hydrophilic group and the hydrophobic group. The supramolecular complex increases in viscosity at higher concentrations and becomes a polycrystalline phase.

It is well known that liquid crystals are aligned when subjected to shear forces. Therefore, when this liquid crystal supramolecular composite is printed by the polarizing film manufacturing apparatus of the present invention, it is arranged in the printing direction, and as shown in FIG. As shown in Fig. 4 (b), as the solvent dries and the solvent (in this case, water) evaporates, it is regularly arranged and crystallized to form a thin film.

At this time, every other double bond exists on the plane perpendicular to the printing direction. Therefore, light having an electric field in this direction is absorbed by this film, and transmitted light becomes polarized light having an electric field in the printing direction.

When drying is complete crystallization thin film is treated with an aqueous solution of Bac l _2, one of the molecules in a short time - SO ₃ and other molecules - SO ₃ reacts with one Ba ⁺⁺ Ion, crosslinking Occur. The result is increased mechanical strength without dissolving in water. This facilitates subsequent steps.

FIG. 5 shows an example of a pattern of the fine grooves.

The fine grooves a are formed by applying a photo resist to the surface of the plate 1 and projecting the dashed convex portions b by pattern exposure and etching to form concave and convex portions of the grooves. At this time, the phases of the adjacent convex portions b are alternately shifted so that the adjacent convex portions b face the discontinuous portion c of the broken-line convex portions b.

The depth of the microgroove a is 20 to 30 m, the interval between adjacent convex parts b is 120 to 500 μra, discontinuous The length of the connecting portion c is preferably 30 to 800 m.

The pattern in Fig. 5 (a) shows the projection b formed in the shape of a raindrop in a plan view.The length of the short axis is 30 to 70 μπι, the length of the long axis is 100 to 1 000; The taper angle of the tail is preferably 8 to 19 °.

The pattern shown in Fig. 5 (b) is one in which the convex part b is formed in a bar shape in plan view, and the length of the short axis is preferably 30 to 70 m, and the length of the long axis is preferably 100 to 1 000 μm. .

Next, a method for manufacturing a polarizing film according to the present invention will be described.

The method for manufacturing a polarizing film is to apply a coating solution containing a supramolecular complex in which dichroic dyes are spontaneously stacked in a stick form while applying a shearing force using a printing device or a coating device. A pretreatment step is provided in the process, and the orientation of the surface of the glass substrate is treated in this pretreatment step, so that the arrangement state of the supramolecular complex composed of the dichroic dye when applied to the glass substrate is uniform. It is to make the molecular arrangement state.

The orientation treatment includes mechanical treatment to give directionality by applying a directional flaw corresponding to the size of the supramolecular complex to the glass substrate surface, and chemical treatment to give directionality to chemicals applied to the glass substrate surface. is there. .

Rubbing is used to give directionality to chemicals, and knives are used when wet.

Figure 6 shows a schematic diagram of the mechanical processing.

For mechanical processing, the rubbing equipment used in LCD manufacturing is used as is.

In the figure, a cloth 8 such as rayon is wound around a roller 7 of a rubbing device, and a glass substrate 6 placed on a table 5 is moved in the direction opposite to the rotation direction of the roller 7 while rotating the roller Ί.

As a result, the surface of the glass substrate 6 is rubbed in a certain direction, and a large number of parallel and fine grooves are formed. If the interface has irregularities, the applied supramolecular composite is generally arranged in such a manner that the elastic strain energy is minimized, since no distortion can be obtained.

As a result, the orientation of the supramolecular complex can be aligned with the direction of the groove by the interaction between the groove and the supramolecular complex.

Therefore, even if the coating direction and the rubbing direction are changed, the orientation of the supramolecular composite is the same as the rubbing direction, regardless of the coating direction.

The rubbing treatment improves the polarization performance by up to about 20% compared to the conventional case without rubbing.

As a result of the experiment, the smaller the angle の between the coating direction A and the rubbing direction B, the better the polarization performance, and の = 0 ° in Fig. 8 (a) (the coating direction A and the rubbing direction B ) At about 20%, about 10% at Θ = 15 ° in Figure 8 (b), about 5% at Θ = 30 ° in Figure 8 (c), and about 5% at Θ = 45 ° in Figure 8 (d). It turns out that each improves.

The polarizing film has various directions according to user's requirements, and it is necessary to orient the supramolecular composite obliquely with respect to the glass substrate 6 according to each requirement.

In the conventional coating method without rubbing, as shown in Fig. 9 (a), when the supramolecular composite is obliquely oriented on the glass substrate 6, the coating direction A cannot be changed. It is necessary to rotate the table 5 so that the glass substrate 6 is inclined.

However, when the table 5 is rotated, the table 5 may be tilted. In order to prevent the table 5 from being tilted, an accuracy of 0.01 mm or less is required. Costs.

Also, as shown in FIG. 9 (b), when the table 5 is larger than the glass substrate 6, the coating liquid is applied to the entire surface while the glass substrate 6 is slanted. Wash table 5 every time as it protrudes from 6. It must be purified and dried.

Further, as shown in FIG. 9 (c), when the glass substrate 6 and the table 5 are the same size, if the coating liquid is applied while the table 5 on which the glass substrate 6 is placed is inclined, the necessary width is required in the width direction. Since the liquid volumes are different, the output adjustment of the coating liquid becomes complicated.

According to the coating method of the present invention, since the orientation of the supramolecular complex is aligned with the rubbing direction and the rubbing direction can be easily changed, the glass substrate 6 does not need to be inclined, and such a problem does not occur. .

In the case of mechanical treatment, when rubbed with rayon-based cloth 8, all supramolecular complexes show the same molecular arrangement state. In addition, when the material of the cloth 8 is changed to rayon, nylon, polyethylene, polyethylene, polypropylene, or Teflon, different orientation performances are exhibited depending on the polarity and the like.

For this reason, it is desirable to use different materials for the cloth 8 depending on the composition of the coating liquid.

Figure 7 shows a conceptual diagram of the chemical treatment.

There are two types of chemical treatment, wet and dry.In the wet type, the glass substrate 6 is cleaned by immersing the glass substrate 6 in a chemical solution or applying a chemical solution by showering or spraying, and providing directionality by air knife. And dry.

At this time, it may be rubbed with a household abrasive sponge, and then drained with an air knife. .

Alternatively, a household wet sponge may be rubbed with a cleanser and rinsed and then drained with an air knife.

In the dry method, for example, an alcohol solution in which stearic acid is dissolved in alcohol is soaked in a cloth and dried, and the cloth is wound around a roller to rub the glass substrate 6.

Use a cloth made of hard material such as gauze or felt for medical use. You.

As a result, a thin alignment layer of a chemical agent is formed on the surface of the glass substrate 6 by a chemical bond or an intermolecular force, and the alignment layer is provided with alignment anisotropy by air nip rubbing.

As a result, the supramolecular composite takes over the orientation of the orientation layer material formed on the surface of the glass substrate 6 and is arranged in a certain direction.

Specifically, a nonionic surfactant is diluted 1000 times and applied to a cloth, and the surface of the glass substrate 6 is wiped with the cloth to apply an aqueous solution of the surfactant in a predetermined direction.

After this, it is effective to wipe up in the same direction with a dry cloth.

Alternatively, it rinsed the glass substrate 6 by wet cleaning, by applying a solution obtained by the surfactant 50 to 100 _P pm replaced with water was wet, then cut the water E Anaifu.

By applying a shearing force in the direction of the air when the water is drained, the polarization performance is improved.

Surfactants consist of a hydrophobic part and a hydrophilic part, but hydrophilic polyethylene glycol (molecular weight 200 to 20,000) has the same effect as a surfactant.

Hydrophobic stearate is a solid, but when it is rubbed on a cloth, it has the same tendency as polypropylene and Teflon.

The same effect can be obtained by treating the glass substrate 6 with a solution of a silane coupling agent and then removing the solution with an air knife.

Rubbing the wet-processed glass substrate 6 also has the effect of giving directionality.

FIG. 10 is a sectional view of a liquid crystal cell embodying the present invention.

The figure shows an example of a simple matrix type LCD such as the STN type. The liquid crystal cell sandwiched a thin layer of liquid crystal material 1 3 two inner transparent in order to electrodes of the glass substrate 6 9, S i 0 ₂ film 10, the polarizing film 1 1, an orientation film 12 are laminated, peripheral In this configuration, the cell is hermetically sealed by circling a sealing material 14.

The polarizing film 11 uses an aqueous solution of a dichroic dye as an ink, and applies the ink to a plate having a large number of fine grooves along the printing direction to form a thin film. Is transferred and applied to form a film.

The liquid crystal molecules of the liquid crystal material 13 are in direct contact with the alignment film 12, and the cell gap corresponding to the thickness of the liquid crystal material 13 is controlled by the diameter of the spacer 15.

If aluminum glass is used for the glass substrate 6, the aluminum component may be dissolved in the liquid crystal, which may cause a decrease in contrast and image quality.

Therefore, as shown in the figure, a SiO ₂ film 10 is formed between the transparent electrode 9 and the polarizing film 11 or between the glass substrate 6 and the transparent electrode 9, and the glass substrate 6 is undercoated. .

FIG. 11 shows a process flow of a method for manufacturing a liquid crystal cell according to the present invention. FIG. 12 shows a process plan view and a process cross-sectional view of the method for manufacturing a liquid crystal cell. In the liquid crystal cell, first, an IT0 film is formed on a well-cleaned glass substrate 6 by an evaporation method or a sputtering method, and a resist material is applied thereon, and the mask pattern is exposed and etched. Then, the transparent electrode 9 is patterned, and then the resist material is removed. (Step 101).

After the cleaning, the SiO ₂ film 10 corresponding to the electrode pattern is applied on the transparent electrode 9 by printing (Step 102).

Next, before applying the polarizing film 11, a pretreatment is performed to better align the molecular orientation of the polarizing film 11 by, for example, rubbing the surface of the lower film with a cloth having a surfactant attached thereto ( Step 103).

Next, the polarizing film 11 is printed using an ink that forms a polarizing film on the entire surface of the glass substrate 6, or is coated with another coating device that applies shearing force. And then dried (step 104).

When the polarizing film 11 is applied, a shear force is applied by a bar coater, a slot die, a plate, or the like to orient the molecules of the polarizing film 11 composed of the dichroic dye in a certain direction.

For stable application and drying, the temperature should be 23 ° C and the humidity should be higher than 60%.

Thereafter, the polarizing film 11 is stabilized, rinsed and dried (step 105). Since the solvent forming the polarizing film 11 is water, the solvent collapses when the film is dried and then comes into contact with water even after the film is dried. Therefore, after drying, stabilization is performed to make it insoluble in water.

Stabilization processes immersed 2-10 seconds polarizing film 1 1 The aqueous solution was Bac l ₂ in an aqueous solution of 8~20wt%. After that, the glass substrate 6 coated with the polarizing film 11 is rinsed with pure water to remove excess BaCl ₂ aqueous solution, and the pure water is cut off with an air knife, and the glass substrate 6 is washed at about 80 ° C to 120 ° C. By drying, the moisture of the glass substrate 6 is completely dried. By such a process, a thin film having a polarizing function can be formed on the entire surface of the glass substrate 6 in a state stabilized in water or the like.

Next, PI printing and curing are performed (Step 106).

In PI printing, a polyimide solution diluted with an organic solvent is applied by a flexographic printing apparatus, and the pattern of the alignment film 12 is printed on the polarizing film 11.

For curing, the solvent is dried at a heating temperature of around 80 ° C, and then calcined to completely cure the polyimide.

Next, etching, rinsing and drying are performed (step 107).

Etching is performed by immersing the glass substrate 6 in an aqueous solution of 0.2% (0.2 to 0.5%) of an alkaline solution and then shaking with pure water, so that the polarizing film where there is no alignment film 12 is formed. Dissolve and remove 1 1. This makes it possible to easily leave only the display area of the polarizing film 11. Even the stabilized polarizing film 11 is peeled off when it comes into contact with the aqueous alkali solution. At this time, the temperature of the chemical is desirably about 20 ° C to 25 ° C.

Next, a rubbing process is performed to rub the alignment film 12 in a certain direction while rotating a roller around which a cloth such as a rayon is wound, so that the alignment directions of the liquid crystal molecules are aligned in a certain direction (step 108).

It is considered that the polymer main chain of the alignment film polyimide is stretched in the rubbing direction by this treatment, and the liquid crystal molecules are arranged along the stretching direction.

Next, a spacer 15 for controlling cell gap is sprayed on one glass substrate 6 (step 109).

Next, a sealing material 14 for bonding and sealing the glass substrate 6 and the opposing glass substrate 6 integrally is applied to the other glass substrate 6 (step 110). Next, the glass substrate 6 to which the sealing material 14 has been applied and the glass substrate 6 to which the spacer 15 has been scattered are accurately overlapped and bonded by pressure bonding (step 11 1).

Next, the glass substrate 6 occupied by the shells is tightened by a heating press until a predetermined cell gap is reached, and the sealing material 14 is heated and hardened (step 112).

Next, the multi-panel glass substrate 6 is divided, for example, into individual panels of a predetermined size (step 113).

Next, the liquid crystal material 13 is injected into the panel, and the liquid crystal material 13, dust, dirt, and the like adhering to the panel after the injection port is sealed are washed (step 114).

Next, appearance inspection such as foreign matter, scratches, defective separation, uneven color between polarizers, uneven cell gap, poor alignment, etc., presence or absence of black spots and white spots, presence / absence of various alignment defects, dot / line display A lighting inspection for the presence or absence of a defect is performed (step 115).

Thus, the assembly of the liquid crystal cell is completed. Industrial applicability As described above, the polarizing film manufacturing apparatus of the present invention uses the aqueous solution of the dichroic dye as the ink and prints this on the substrate to form the polarizing film. The production and pasting work of the board becomes unnecessary, and the production efficiency of LCD is greatly improved. Also, since the polarizing film is formed inside the glass substrate instead of outside as in the conventional case, the viewing angle is increased by the thickness of the glass substrate.

In addition, dyes such as iodine used in conventional polarizing plates have molecules arranged in a thread form and leak light when viewed from an oblique direction. However, the dye used in the polarizing film of the present invention has a width of basic molecules. Since it is about twice as large as the benzene nucleus, there is little light leakage even when viewed from an angle, and the viewing angle is further widened.

In addition, a conventional polarizer is produced by stretching a film on which a dye is adsorbed, and this stretching effect is likely to return due to thermal vibration, and it is considered that the heat resistance is low. molecules are the benzene nucleus and bone 'rating, Ba ⁺⁺ and - since S 0 ₃ one is crosslinked force is strong, difficult broken by thermal vibrations, heat resistance is improved.

Also, the arranging direction of the supramolecular complex takes various directions depending on the surface state of the substrate, but the method for manufacturing a polarizing film of the present invention provides an alignment anisotropy by performing an alignment treatment on the substrate surface in the pretreatment step. Therefore, the arrangement direction of the supramolecular complex applied to the substrate surface can be controlled to an ideal direction.

As a result, the polarization performance of the polarizing film was improved. As a result of applying the supramolecular composite in the direction in which the alignment treatment was actually performed, the polarization performance was improved by about 20%. On the other hand, when the supramolecular composite was applied perpendicular to this direction, the polarization performance was reduced by about 50%.

Further, since the liquid crystal cell of the polarizing film of the present invention is formed by printing a polarizing film in which a dichroic dye is oriented in one direction by printing on the inside of the cell, the viewing angle is increased by the thickness of the glass substrate.

Also, since the polarizing film is protected by the glass substrate, scratches may be made on the polarizing plate. This eliminates the need for hard coating and static electricity prevention.

In addition, moisture resistance and heat resistance, which are important characteristics for expanding the use of LCDs and maintaining display quality, are improved.

Claims

The scope of the claims

1. An aqueous solution of a dichroic dye forming a concentration-transition liquid crystal is used as an ink,

This ink is applied to a plate having a number of fine grooves along the printing direction to form a thin film,

An apparatus for manufacturing a polarizing film, wherein the thin film is transferred from the plate to a substrate to form a polarizing film.

2. The chemical formula of the dichroic dye is

The polarizing film manufacturing apparatus according to claim 1,

3. The chemical formula of the dichroic dye is

The polarizing film manufacturing apparatus according to claim 1,

4. The chemical formula of the dichroic dye is

The polarizing film manufacturing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

5. A dashed convex portion is raised in the fine groove to form a concave portion and a convex portion of the groove, and the phase of the adjacent convex portion is set so that the adjacent convex portion faces the discontinuous portion of the broken line convex portion. 2. The apparatus for manufacturing a polarizing film according to claim 1, wherein the elements are alternately shifted.

6. The apparatus for manufacturing a polarizing film according to claim 5, wherein the projection is formed in a raindrop shape in a plan view.

7. The polarizing film manufacturing apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the projection is formed in a bar shape in a plan view.

8. In the step of producing a polarizing film by applying a coating solution of a dichroic dye forming a concentration transition type liquid crystal while applying a shearing force to the surface of the substrate,

A pretreatment step is provided in the step of applying the coating liquid,

A method for producing a polarizing film, characterized in that an alignment treatment is performed on the substrate surface in the pretreatment step.

9. The alignment treatment is 9. The method for producing a polarizing film according to claim 8, wherein a mechanical treatment is performed to deform the shape of the substrate surface to form a large number of fine grooves in a certain direction.

10. The alignment treatment

9. The method for producing a polarizing film according to claim 8, wherein a chemical treatment is performed to impart an alignment anisotropy to an alignment layer formed by applying a chemical to the substrate surface.

11. The method for producing a polarizing film according to claim 10, wherein the means for imparting orientation anisotropy is rubbing when dry, or air knife when wet.

12. The method for producing a polarizing film according to claim 10, wherein the chemical agent is a dilute aqueous solution of a nonionic (non-ionic) surfactant.

13. The method for producing a polarizing film according to claim 10, wherein the chemical agent is a dilute aqueous solution of hydrophilic polyethylene glycol (PEG).

14. The method for producing a polarizing film according to claim 10, wherein the chemical is a hydrophobic straight-chain fatty acid.

15. The method for producing a polarizing film according to claim 10, wherein the chemical is a dilute aqueous solution of an organic silane coupling agent.

16-Liquid crystal cell characterized by the fact that a dichroic dye that forms a concentration transition type liquid crystal is directly or indirectly printed on the inside of the cell with a polarizing film oriented in a certain direction.

1 7. A patterning process for forming a transparent electrode on the washed substrate;

An alignment process for applying an alignment film to the substrate, firing and rubbing; a substrate bonding process for applying a spacer to bond the _two substrates; and dividing the bonded substrate into panels of a predetermined size. A liquid crystal material injection step of injecting a liquid crystal material into the panel;

A polarizing plate attaching process of attaching polarizing plates to both sides of the cell that has passed the panel inspection;

In the assembly process of the liquid crystal cell consisting of Before the alignment treatment step, a polarizing film is printed and applied to the substrate surface to stabilize.

Thus, a method for producing a liquid crystal cell, which eliminates the need for the polarizing plate attaching step.

18. In the process of forming the polarizing film,

18. The method for producing a liquid crystal cell according to claim 17, wherein the polarizing film other than the display area is etched using the pattern of the alignment film applied on the polarizing film as a resist.

1 9. In the process of forming the polarizing film,

After drying the applied polarizing film,

Method for manufacturing a liquid crystal cell according to claim 17, wherein you, characterized in that to stabilize the polarization film at BaCl ₂ aqueous solution (8~20wt%).