JP2000066162A - Liquid crystal display panel manufacturing method - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] [PROBLEMS] To provide a method of manufacturing a liquid crystal display panel that can detect a problem in a liquid crystal display panel production process at an early stage and start to respond to the problem by accelerating an inspection timing of the liquid crystal display panel. I do. SOLUTION: A liquid crystal material is dropped on one of upper and lower glass substrates or formed using an ultraviolet-curable sealing material for sealing the liquid crystal material on one of the two glass substrates, and the glass substrate is formed in a vacuum chamber. In the method for manufacturing a liquid crystal display panel in which the upper and lower glass substrates are bonded together and then the ultraviolet-curable sealing material is cured, before cutting the unnecessary portion in the manufacturing process of the liquid crystal display panel, the upper substrate or the lower substrate is required in advance. A voltage is applied to the terminals of the electrodes provided on the side substrate, and the liquid crystal display panel is turned on to perform an image defect inspection.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing an active matrix type liquid crystal display panel.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art An active matrix type liquid crystal display panel having a structure shown in FIG. 14 is generally assembled by using a vacuum injection method having a process flow shown in FIG. In the vacuum injection method, first, as shown in FIG. 13, an array substrate 1 and an opposing substrate 2 are provided via a seal material 6 formed with a cut 61 serving as a liquid crystal material injection port as shown in FIG.
In the step of cutting off the edge portions 11 and 21 of the glass substrate after curing the sealing material 6, the edge portions 11 and 21 of the glass substrate shown in FIGS. 11 and 12 are cut off. To assemble empty cells. Next, after the inside of the empty cell is evacuated in the vacuum chamber, the liquid crystal material 8 is brought into contact with the injection port 61 to return the outside of the empty cell to the atmospheric pressure, and the pressure difference between the inside and outside of the empty cell is utilized.
Inject. Finally, the liquid crystal display panel is completed by sealing the injection port 61 with a sealing agent.

When the vacuum injection method is used, the liquid crystal display panel is actually driven to perform the image inspection because the liquid crystal material 8 is completely injected and the flat portion 1 at the end of the glass substrate is used.
1 and 21 are cut, and after the sealing of the injection port 61 is completed.

On the other hand, with the recent increase in the size of the liquid crystal display panel, a dropping method having a process flow shown in FIG. 17 has been studied. In the dropping method, first, an appropriate amount of the liquid crystal material 8 is dropped on one of the array substrate 1 and the opposing substrate 2,
In addition, an ultraviolet-curable sealing material 6 is applied to one of the substrates.
After forming the substrates, both substrates are bonded together in a vacuum chamber as shown in FIG. Next, the pair of glass substrates 1 and 2 with the liquid crystal material 8 sandwiched therebetween are taken out of the vacuum chamber, and the sealing resin 6 is applied using an ultraviolet irradiation device.
After curing, the edge portions 11 and 2 of the glass substrate
Cut off one. Since the same glass substrate as that used in the conventional vacuum injection method is also used in this dropping method, the image inspection of the liquid crystal display panel is performed after the step of cutting off the edge portions 11 and 21 of the glass substrate. Have been

In FIG. 14, for simplification of the drawing, the description of the array structure of the array substrate and the color filter of the counter substrate is omitted.

[0006]

As described above, in the conventional vacuum injection method, the image inspection of the liquid crystal display panel can be performed after the assembly of the liquid crystal display panel is completed. In particular, the liquid crystal injecting step requires a considerable amount of time as the size of the liquid crystal display panel becomes large, and the curing time of a generally used thermosetting sealing material and the portions 11 and 21 to the edges of the glass substrate. Considering the time required for the step of cutting off and the residence time of each step, at least several days or more are required after the substrate is put into the assembly process of the liquid crystal display panel and the image inspection is completed. .

On the other hand, when the dripping method is used, although the time required for the process is greatly reduced, at present, most ultraviolet-curable sealing materials have insufficient strength, and a long time is required after the ultraviolet-curing process. Is required, and it takes one day or more after the substrate is put into the assembly process of the liquid crystal display panel until the image inspection is completed.

[0008] For this reason, regardless of whether the vacuum injection method or the dropping method is used, if a problem occurs in the assembling process, the discovery thereof is delayed, and a large number of defective panels may be assembled. Sex is always a concern.

The present invention is directed to a liquid crystal display panel capable of preventing the above-mentioned adverse effects and accelerating the inspection timing of the liquid crystal display panel, so that a problem in the liquid crystal display panel production process can be found at an early stage, and a response can be started. It is intended to provide a manufacturing method.

[0010]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, a method of manufacturing a liquid crystal display panel according to the present invention comprises dropping a liquid crystal material on one of upper and lower two glass substrates, or dropping a liquid crystal material on one of the upper and lower glass substrates. A method of manufacturing a liquid crystal display panel formed by using an ultraviolet-curable sealing material for sealing a liquid crystal material, bonding the upper and lower glass substrates in a vacuum chamber, and then curing the ultraviolet-curable sealing material. Before the step of cutting unnecessary portions in the manufacturing process of the liquid crystal display panel, a voltage is applied to the terminals of the electrodes provided on the upper substrate or the lower substrate in advance, and the liquid crystal display panel is turned on to perform the image defect inspection. It is characterized by having a process.

With this configuration, by combining the bonding of the two glass substrates and the image inspection immediately after the ultraviolet curing of the sealing material, even if a problem occurs in the assembling process, it can be detected in a short time. The productivity of the display panel can be greatly improved.

Further, in the method for manufacturing a liquid crystal display panel according to the present invention, one or both ends of two upper and lower glass substrates are cut in advance, and the upper and lower two glass substrates are bonded together. It is desirable to include a step of applying a voltage to the electrode terminals exposed on the surface from the cut portion, turning on the liquid crystal display panel, and performing an image defect inspection. Because the electrode terminals are exposed on the surface, image defect inspection can be easily performed.

Further, in the method of manufacturing a liquid crystal display panel according to the present invention, a voltage is applied to the electrode terminals exposed on the surface by shifting the edges of the upper and lower glass substrates so as to apply the liquid crystal. It is desirable to have a process of turning on the display panel and performing an image defect inspection. Because the electrode terminals are exposed on the surface, image defect inspection can be easily performed.

Further, according to the method of manufacturing a liquid crystal display panel according to the present invention, in a TFT (Thin Film Transistor) liquid crystal display panel, a terminal of a source electrode and a gate electrode provided in advance at an end of an array substrate is connected to an array substrate or a counter electrode. It is desirable to have a step of performing an image defect inspection using a terminal of a common electrode provided at an end of the substrate. This is because the same effect can be obtained in the TFT liquid crystal display panel by having such a step.

Further, according to the method of manufacturing a liquid crystal display panel of the present invention, in a MIM (Metal Insulator Metal) liquid crystal display panel, a terminal of a signal electrode previously provided at an end of a signal electrode substrate and an end of a scanning electrode substrate are provided. It is desirable to have a step of performing an image defect inspection using the terminals of the scanning electrodes provided in the above. By having such a step, a similar effect can be obtained also in the MIM liquid crystal display panel.

[0016]

Embodiment 1 Hereinafter, a method for manufacturing a liquid crystal display panel according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is an array substrate 1 used for a liquid crystal display panel according to a first embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a counter substrate 2 used for the liquid crystal display panel according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

A liquid crystal display panel as shown in FIG. 14 was prepared by dropping the array substrate 1 shown in FIG. 1 and the opposing substrate 2 shown in FIG. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the ends of both substrates are cut before bonding the substrates,
Further, the array substrate 1 is provided with a source electrode terminal 54 and a gate electrode terminal 53, and the counter substrate 2 is provided with a common electrode terminal 31.

First, an alignment film 4 is formed on the array substrate 1 and the opposing substrate 2, and thereafter, as shown in (Table 1), an alignment process is performed with four different indentations A to D including the original indentations. Next, spacer particles 7 having a particle size of 5.0 μm are sprayed on the array substrate 1 side, a sealing material 6 is formed on the counter substrate side by screen printing, and a common electrode conducting paste 9 is applied, and a further appropriate amount is applied. The liquid crystal material 8 is dropped.

The array substrate 1 and the opposing substrate 2 are
As shown in (1), bonding is performed in a vacuum chamber, and after taking out from the vacuum chamber, the sealing material 6 is cured by irradiating ultraviolet rays while shielding the display area with a mask.

Here, since the ends of the array substrate 1 and the counter substrate 2 are cut before bonding, the terminal 53 of the gate electrode 51 and the source electrode Since the terminal 54 of the common electrode 52 and the terminal 31 of the common electrode provided on the counter substrate 2 are exposed on the surface, a predetermined pulse voltage and a signal voltage are applied to the terminal 53 of the gate electrode 51 and the terminal 54 of the source electrode 52. Further, by applying a predetermined common voltage to the terminal 31 of the common electrode, the liquid crystal display panel can be driven to perform an image inspection (first inspection), and the occurrence of poor alignment (rubbing streaks, reverse tilt domain) can be generated. It is possible to check the situation.

Next, the pair of bonded glass substrates is subjected to a heat treatment for 5 hours in a high-temperature layer at 100 ° C. to further cure the sealing material 6 and anneal the liquid crystal display panel. The liquid crystal display panel is completed by cutting off the bent portions 11 and 21 of the glass substrate in the cutting step.

Finally, a normal image inspection is performed on the completed liquid crystal display panel (second inspection), and a bonding and sealing material 6 is formed.
Is compared with the image inspection result (first inspection) performed immediately after UV curing. The comparison results are shown in (Table 1).

[0023]

[Table 1]

From Table 1 it can be seen that the occurrence of rubbing streaks is completely consistent between the first and second tests. The state of occurrence of the reverse tilt differs between the first inspection and the second inspection, which is a result of eliminating the reverse tilt by the thermal annealing treatment after the first inspection.

In the first embodiment, the inspection of the rubbing streaks has been described, but by performing the above-described first inspection,
Most defective items such as rubbing stripes, gap unevenness, electrostatic breakdown of TFT, substrate cleaning defect, array defect, etc. that occur on the liquid crystal display panel are detected, except for some defective items such as those generated in the reverse tilt and cutting process. You can do it.

Further, by increasing the number of terminals 54 of the source electrode as shown in FIG. 4, it is possible to cope with V-line inversion driving in which the signal voltage level is alternately changed for each source electrode 52.

In this method of manufacturing a liquid crystal display panel, the time required from the alignment treatment of the glass substrate to the detection of a defective item can be reduced to about one hour from one day or more in the conventional method.

As described above, according to the first embodiment, by cutting the end portions of the glass substrates 1 and 2 in advance,
An image inspection can be performed immediately after the ultraviolet curing of the sealing material 6, and even if a problem in the assembling process occurs, it can be detected in a short time, so that the productivity of the liquid crystal display panel can be greatly improved.

(Embodiment 2) Next, a method of manufacturing a liquid crystal display panel according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 5 shows Embodiment 2 of the present invention.
FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of an array substrate 1 used for a liquid crystal display panel according to the present invention, and FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of a counter substrate 2 used for a liquid crystal display panel according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

A liquid crystal display panel as shown in FIG. 14 was prepared by dropping the array substrate 1 shown in FIG. 5 and the opposing substrate 2 shown in FIG. As shown in FIG.
Are provided with a terminal 54 of a source electrode and a terminal 53 of a gate electrode, and the counter substrate 2 is provided with a terminal 31 of a common electrode as shown in FIG.

First, an alignment film 4 is formed on the array substrate 1 and the counter substrate 2, and thereafter, an alignment process is performed with a predetermined amount of indentation. Next, spacer particles 7 having a particle size of 5.0 μm are sprayed on the array substrate 1 side, a sealing material 6 is formed on the counter substrate side by screen printing, and a common electrode conducting paste 9 is applied, and a further appropriate amount is applied. The liquid crystal material 8 is dropped.

The array substrate 1 and the counter substrate 2 are
As shown in (1), the bonding is performed in a vacuum chamber with the end side shifted back and forth, and after taking out of the vacuum chamber, the sealing material 6 is cured by irradiating ultraviolet rays while shielding the display area with a mask.

Here, since the array substrate 1 and the opposing substrate 2 are bonded with their edges shifted to the front and rear, the terminal 53 and the source electrode 52 of the gate electrode 51 previously provided at the end 11 of the array substrate. Since the terminal 54 of the common electrode 31 provided at the end 21 of the counter substrate 2 and the terminal 31 of the common electrode are exposed on the surface, a predetermined pulse voltage and a signal are applied to the terminal 53 of the gate electrode 51 and the terminal 54 of the source electrode 52. By applying a voltage and a predetermined common voltage to the terminal 31 of the common electrode, the liquid crystal display panel can be driven to perform image inspection (first inspection), and poor alignment (rubbing stripes, reverse tilt domain) can be performed. ) Can be checked.

Next, the pair of bonded glass substrates is subjected to a heat treatment at a high temperature layer of 100 ° C. for 5 hours to further cure the sealing material 6 and anneal the liquid crystal display panel. The liquid crystal display panel is completed by cutting off the bent portions 11 and 21 of the glass substrate in the cutting step.

As described above, according to the second embodiment, an image inspection can be performed immediately after the ultraviolet curing of the sealing material 6 by displacing and bonding the glass substrates, which causes a problem in the assembling process. Can be detected in a short time, so that the productivity of the liquid crystal display panel can be greatly improved.

Third Embodiment Next, a method of manufacturing a liquid crystal display panel according to a third embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 8 shows Embodiment 3 of the present invention.
FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram of an array substrate 1 used for a liquid crystal display panel according to the present invention, and FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram of a counter substrate 2 used for a liquid crystal display panel according to the third embodiment of the present invention.

A liquid crystal display panel as shown in FIG. 14 was prepared by dropping the array substrate 1 shown in FIG. 8 and the counter substrate 2 shown in FIG. As shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, the ends of both substrates are cut before bonding the substrates,
Further, the array substrate 1 is provided with signal electrode terminals 55,
The counter substrate 2 is provided with a scanning electrode terminal 33.

The array substrate 1 and the opposing substrate 2 are
Bonding in a vacuum chamber as shown in FIG.
After being taken out of the vacuum chamber, the sealing material 6 is cured by irradiating ultraviolet rays while shielding the display area with a mask.

Here, since the ends of the array substrate 1 and the opposing substrate 2 are cut before bonding, the terminal 55 of the signal electrode and the opposing substrate 2 which are provided in Since the terminal 33 of the scanning electrode provided is exposed to the outside, a predetermined voltage is applied to the terminal 55 of the signal electrode and a predetermined voltage is applied to the terminal 33 of the scanning electrode. When driven, an image inspection (first inspection) can be performed, and it is possible to confirm the state of occurrence of poor alignment (rubbing streak, reverse tilt domain).

As described above, according to the third embodiment,
By providing the signal electrode terminal 13 with the signal electrode terminal 55 and the scanning electrode substrate 32 with the scanning electrode terminal 33, the MIM liquid crystal display panel can also perform image inspection immediately after the sealing material 6 is cured by ultraviolet light. Even if a problem in the process occurs, it can be detected in a short time, so that the productivity of the liquid crystal display panel can be greatly improved.

[0041]

As described above, according to the method of manufacturing a liquid crystal display panel according to the present invention, the timing of inspection of the liquid crystal display panel can be hastened, and the problem of the liquid crystal display panel production process can be found at an early stage. You can get started.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an array substrate used for a liquid crystal display panel according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a counter substrate used for the liquid crystal display panel according to the first embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a bonding state diagram of an array substrate and a counter substrate used in the liquid crystal display panel according to the first embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of another array substrate used for the liquid crystal display panel according to the first embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a schematic view of an array substrate used for a liquid crystal display panel according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of a counter substrate used for a liquid crystal display panel according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a bonding state diagram of an array substrate and a counter substrate used in a liquid crystal display panel according to a second embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram of a signal electrode substrate for an MIM liquid crystal display panel according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram of a scanning electrode substrate for an MIM liquid crystal display panel according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a bonding state diagram of a signal electrode substrate and a scanning electrode substrate for an MIM liquid crystal display panel according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a schematic view of a conventional array substrate.

FIG. 12 is a schematic view of a conventional counter substrate.

FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a conventional state of bonding an array substrate and a counter substrate.

FIG. 14 is a sectional view of a main part of an active matrix liquid crystal display panel.

FIG. 15 is a process flow chart of a method for manufacturing a liquid crystal display panel according to the present invention using a dropping method.

FIG. 16 is a process flow chart of a vacuum injection method.

FIG. 17 is a process flow chart of the dripping method.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Array substrate 2 Counter substrate 3 Transparent electrode 4 Alignment film 5 Array substrate side electrode 6 Sealing material 7 Spacer particle 8 Liquid crystal material 9 Common electrode conduction paste 11 Edge portion of array substrate 12 End of array substrate cut in advance Part 14 Pre-cut end of signal electrode 21 Head part of counter substrate end 22 Pre-cut end of counter substrate 31 Common electrode terminal 32 Scan electrode substrate 33 Scan electrode terminal 34 Pre-cut scan End of electrode 51 Gate electrode line 52 Source electrode line 53 Terminal of gate electrode 54 Terminal of source electrode 55 Terminal of signal electrode

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page F term (reference) 2H088 FA02 FA04 FA07 FA09 FA13 HA08 MA20 2H092 JA03 JA24 NA27 NA30 PA03 PA04 PA06

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A liquid crystal material is dropped on one of upper and lower glass substrates, or formed on one of the two glass substrates by using an ultraviolet-curable sealing material for sealing the liquid crystal material. In the method of manufacturing a liquid crystal display panel in which the upper and lower glass substrates are bonded to each other and then the ultraviolet-curable sealing material is cured, an upper substrate is previously set before cutting an unnecessary portion in the manufacturing process of the liquid crystal display panel. Alternatively, a method for manufacturing a liquid crystal display panel, comprising a step of applying a voltage to a terminal of an electrode provided on a lower substrate, lighting the liquid crystal display panel, and performing an image defect inspection. 2. One or both ends of the upper and lower glass substrates are cut in advance, and after bonding the upper and lower glass substrates, an electrode terminal exposed on the surface from the cut portion is formed. 2. The method for manufacturing a liquid crystal display panel according to claim 1, further comprising a step of applying a voltage to light the liquid crystal display panel to perform an image defect inspection. 3. An image defect inspection is performed by applying a voltage to the electrode terminals exposed on the surface by bonding the two upper and lower glass substrates while shifting the edges thereof, thereby turning on the liquid crystal display panel. 2. The method for manufacturing a liquid crystal display panel according to claim 1, comprising a step. 4. In a TFT liquid crystal display panel, a terminal of a source electrode and a terminal of a gate electrode provided in advance at an end of an array substrate and a terminal of a common electrode provided at an end of an array substrate or a counter substrate are used. 2. The method for manufacturing a liquid crystal display panel according to claim 1, further comprising a step of performing an image defect inspection. 5. In a MIM (Metal Insulator Metal) liquid crystal display panel, a signal electrode terminal provided beforehand at an end of a signal electrode substrate and a scanning electrode terminal provided at an end of a scanning electrode substrate are used. 2. The method for manufacturing a liquid crystal display panel according to claim 1, further comprising a step of performing an image defect inspection.