JP2007033589A - Display device manufacturing method and coating device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To achieve the best coating of a sealant while taking a spread of the sealant into consideration when substrates are laminated. <P>SOLUTION: In a manufacturing method for a liquid crystal device including a stage of coating at least one of a pair of substrates with the sealant 11 and laminating the pair of substrates through the sealant 11, the sealant 11 is applied in dots by a droplet discharging device 20. Especially, a droplet discharging device 20 which has a plurality of nozzles N linearly arrayed is used as the droplet discharging device 20 and then the sealant 11 can be applied in a proper amount from the plurality of nozzles N at a time. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a manufacturing method of a display device including a step of bonding a pair of substrates by discharging a sealant from a droplet discharge device, and a coating device including the droplet discharge device, and in particular, a display such as a liquid crystal display element. The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing a display device and a coating device used in a manufacturing process.

  In recent years, flattening of liquid crystal display panels, plasma display panels, and the like has progressed in image display devices, and various manufacturing techniques corresponding to the flattening have been considered. In particular, in a liquid crystal display panel, since it is necessary to inject liquid crystal between a pair of substrates bonded together, technology relating to control of the gap between substrates and sealing performance is very important.

  In order to bond the pair of substrates together, it is necessary to apply a predetermined amount of a sealing agent to a predetermined position of the substrate and fix it in a state where a certain gap is formed via the sealing agent. Here, as a technique for applying a predetermined amount of a liquid material on a substrate, a technique is generally known in which a liquid material is discharged using a dispenser and placed on the substrate (for example, Patent Document 1). reference.). In addition, as a technique for applying a liquid material, a liquid crystal material application technique using a method called a liquid drop discharge method is known (see, for example, Patent Document 2).

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-3332601 JP 2005-31693 A

  However, in applying the sealing agent, the liquid material quantitative arrangement technique using the dispenser described above is difficult to control the material discharge amount and the arrangement position of the liquid material on the substrate with high accuracy, and the shape after application In addition, it is difficult to manage for uniform production due to variations in the coating amount, and also tends to cause variations in the spread of the resin after being bonded, causing deterioration in quality and production performance.

  The present invention has been made to solve such problems. That is, according to the present invention, in applying the sealing agent in a method for manufacturing a display device including a step of applying a sealing agent to at least one of the pair of substrates and bonding the pair of substrates through the sealing agent. It is a method of applying in the form of dots by a droplet discharge device.

  In the present invention, when the sealing agent is applied to the substrate, it is applied in the form of dots by the droplet discharge device, so that the application amount can be controlled easily and accurately, and the sealing agent spreads when the substrates are bonded together. It becomes possible to perform application in consideration of the above.

  In particular, by using a device in which a plurality of nozzles are linearly arranged as a droplet discharge device, it becomes possible to apply a sealant in an appropriate amount all at once from the plurality of nozzles. Moreover, if a sealant is applied from a part of the plurality of nozzles and a material (for example, a common agent) different from the sealant is applied from the remaining nozzles, it is possible to cope with a case where a plurality of materials are applied. Become.

  In addition, when the sealant is applied in the form of dots, the first point sealant consisting of the first application amount is arranged at a predetermined interval, and a second application amount consisting of a second application amount smaller than the first application amount is placed therebetween. By disposing the two point-like sealants, when these sealants are crushed and spread by bonding the substrates, the space between the first point-like sealants can be filled with the second point-like sealant. Therefore, it becomes possible to perform linear sealing while suppressing unnecessary spread.

  In addition, the coating apparatus of the present invention includes a droplet discharge device that applies a sealant to at least one of the pair of substrates in a dot shape in a coating apparatus that applies a sealant for bonding the pair of substrates together. It is what.

  In the present invention, when the sealing agent is applied to the substrate, it is applied in the form of dots by the droplet discharge device, so that the application amount can be controlled easily and accurately, and the sealing agent spreads when the substrates are bonded together. It becomes possible to perform application in consideration of the above.

  In particular, by using a device in which a plurality of nozzles are linearly arranged as a droplet discharge device, it becomes possible to apply a sealant in an appropriate amount all at once from the plurality of nozzles. In addition, as the plurality of nozzles, the first nozzles having the first discharge amount are arranged at a predetermined interval, and the second nozzle having the second discharge amount smaller than the first discharge amount is arranged therebetween. Even when a point-like sealant is applied from a plurality of nozzles, it becomes possible to apply a sealant that can fill a gap without causing unnecessary spread when crushed.

  Therefore, according to the present invention, it is possible to facilitate seal shape control and spread width control by adopting a dropping method in a sealing agent and common agent coating method in a manufacturing process of a display device such as a liquid crystal display device. Become. Thereby, it becomes possible to reduce the following of the yield due to defective seal application, and it is possible to improve production speed by operating other processes in parallel.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic view for explaining a coating apparatus according to the present embodiment. That is, the coating apparatus 1 is an apparatus for applying the sealing agent 11 to at least one of the pair of substrates (substrate S) when a display device is manufactured by bonding the pair of substrates via the sealing agent. And a stage 10 on which the substrate S to be coated is placed, and a droplet discharge device 20 that is disposed to face the substrate S placed on the stage 10 and that coats the sealing agent 11 in a dot-like manner from the nozzle N. ing.

  The stage 10 on which the substrate S is placed can move in at least one direction, and the droplet discharge device 10 scans the substrate S by relative movement between the substrate S and the droplet discharge device 10. It can be done. In this embodiment, the stage 10 is configured to move in consideration of dust generation or the like, but the stage 10 may be configured to move the droplet discharge device 20 in a fixed manner.

  The droplet discharge device 20 includes a plurality of nozzles N arranged in a straight line toward an opposing substrate, and the sealant 11 is discharged from each nozzle N in a dot shape. The droplet discharge device 20 includes a measuring device (not shown) that measures the weight of the sealing agent 11, a temperature detection device (not shown) that measures the temperature of the sealing agent 11, and a control device that performs overall control (not shown). (Not shown) is provided, so that application with an accurate discharge amount can be performed by optimum temperature control and weight control.

  As a discharge method of the droplet discharge device 20, a known technique (for example, a bubble method or a piezo method) can be applied. Further, the discharge control can be performed in units of nozzles, and the dot-like sealant 11 can be applied at a desired position in the substrate surface in linkage with the movement of the stage 10.

  Since the present embodiment mainly assumes application of a sealant when manufacturing a liquid crystal display device, the sealant 11 is mixed with a spacer for controlling the gap between substrates to be constant. Accordingly, the nozzle N having a diameter larger than that of the spacer is used. Further, it is desirable to coat the inner surface of the nozzle N with a fluororesin or the like so that the nozzle N is not clogged by the discharged sealant 11.

  By using such a coating apparatus 1, it is possible to accurately dispose the optimal amount of the sealant 11 at an accurate position on the substrate S by discharging the sealant 11 from the droplet discharge device 20 in the form of dots. it can. The position where the sealant 11 is arranged can be set by the diameter and arrangement of the nozzle N in consideration of the spread after the substrate S is bonded, and the material after bonding is controlled by controlling the droplet amount with high precision. The spread can be controlled, it is easy to obtain a uniform spread width, and the quality can be improved. In addition, by preparing the nozzles N for each material, it is possible to perform the application work of different types of materials in parallel, so that the processing time can be shortened compared to the case where the conventional operations are performed separately.

  FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view for explaining the state of discharge of the sealant by the droplet discharge device. The droplet discharge device 20 in the coating apparatus of the present embodiment has a coating range corresponding to the size of the substrate S, and includes a plurality of nozzles arranged in a line. For this reason, by moving the substrate S along the direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the droplet discharge device 20, the entire surface of the substrate S can be made the coating region.

  In the present embodiment, a drive-side substrate or a counter-side substrate corresponding to a plurality of display devices can be formed from one substrate S, and so-called multi-cavity is obtained, so that one substrate corresponds to each display device. A point-like sealant is applied to a substantially rectangular region. In the example shown in FIG. 2, since the droplet discharge device 20 has a line-shaped nozzle arrangement, discharge control of each nozzle is performed in conjunction with scanning in units of lines, and a dotted seal is formed in a substantially rectangular area. The agent will be applied.

  FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram for explaining an example of the application shape, and shows an example in which a part of the substantially rectangular application region is enlarged. In the example shown in FIG. 3 (a), dot-like droplets of the same amount are made to be continuous at a substantially constant interval. In this case, the diameters of the nozzles of the droplet discharge device may be the same, arranged in a line at substantially constant intervals, and the same amount of sealing agent 11 may be discharged from each nozzle.

  In the example shown in FIG. 3 (b), the amount between the dot-like liquid droplets (the first point sealant 11a comprising the first application amount) similar to that shown in FIG. 3 (a) is smaller than that. (Second application amount) of droplets (second dot sealant 11b) are discharged. In this case, what is necessary is just to arrange | position alternately what match | combined the diameter of each nozzle of a droplet discharge apparatus with the 1st dotted seal agent 11a, and the 2nd dotted seal agent 11b. Thus, by discharging a small amount of the second point sealant 11b between the first point sealant 11a, a gap is formed when the first point sealant 11a is pressed by the substrate. It can be filled with the second point sealant 11b.

  In the example shown in FIG.3 (c), the 2nd point seal agent 11b discharged between the 1st point seal agents 11a is divided into plurality, and is discharged. In this case, as the nozzles of the droplet discharge device, the nozzles corresponding to the first dot sealant 11a and a plurality of small nozzles may be arranged in accordance with the nozzles. In such discharge, since the second spot-like sealant 11b is divided into a plurality of parts, the optimum number of the second spot-like sealant 11b is determined according to various conditions such as viscosity and temperature of the sealant. You will be able to choose.

  FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram for explaining a shape when the sealing agent discharged in a dot shape is pressed by the substrate. 4A is an example when the discharge shape shown in FIG. 3A is pressed, FIG. 4B is an example when the discharge shape shown in FIG. 3B is pressed, and FIG. It is an example at the time of pressing the discharge shape shown in FIG.3 (c).

  In any of the examples, the sealing agent discharged in the form of dots is pressed and spread when the substrates are bonded together, thereby connecting to form a line and forming a rectangular coating region. In addition, compared with the example shown in FIG. 4A, the example of FIGS. 4B and 4C has the second dotted sealant 11b between the first dotted sealant 11a. It can be seen that the examples of (b) and (c) are more linear than the example shown in FIG.

  FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram showing an example in which a sealant and other materials are applied by a droplet discharge device. In the example shown in FIG. 5, for ease of explanation, the arrangement and number of nozzles in the line direction and the number of rectangular areas of the display device are limited, but actually, more nozzles and rectangles are shown. It corresponds to the area. 5 is a schematic view seen from the upper side of the droplet discharge device 20, but the nozzles N1 and N2 shown in the droplet discharge device 20 are actually provided on the surface facing the substrate S. ing. Here, the nozzles N1 and N2 are drawn with solid lines for easy understanding. Among the plurality of nozzles N1 and N2, the nozzle N1 indicated by dots is a nozzle for applying a sealing agent, and the nozzle N2 indicated by white is a nozzle for applying a material other than the sealing agent (here, the common agent 12). It has become.

  In the droplet discharge device shown in FIG. 5, 16 sealant nozzles N1 from x1 to x16 are arranged along the line y1, and four nozzles N1, x8, x9, and x16 are arranged along the line y2. A nozzle N2 for common agent is arranged. These nozzles N1 and N2 enable application corresponding to the rectangular areas of the two display devices. Here, the interval between the lines y1 to y2 where the nozzles N1 and N2 are arranged is the same as between the lines L1 to L6 which are application regions on the substrate S.

  Such a droplet discharge device 20 is moved relative to the substrate S, and discharge from the nozzles N1 and N2 is controlled according to the position, so that the common agent 12 can be applied together with the sealant 11. I have to. For example, when the line y1 of the droplet discharge device 20 is arranged on the line L1 on the substrate, the sealant 11 is dotted from the nozzles N1 for x2 to x7 and x10 to x15 along the line y1. To discharge. As a result, the sealant 11 is applied in the form of dots at the positions x2 to x7 and the positions x10 to x15 on the line L1 of the substrate S.

  Next, when the line y1 of the droplet discharge device 20 is arranged on the line L2 on the substrate S and the line y2 of the droplet discharge device 20 is arranged on the line L1 on the substrate S, the line y1 The sealant 11 is discharged in a dot shape from the four sealant nozzles N1, x8, x9, and x16. Further, the common agent 12 is ejected in the form of dots from the four common agent nozzles N2, x1, x8, x9, and x16 along the line y2. As a result, the sealant 11 is applied in the form of dots in the positions of x1, x8, x9, and x16 on the line L2 of the substrate S, and the common agent 12 is disposed at the positions of x1, x8, x9, and x16 on the line L1 of the substrate S. Is applied in the form of dots.

  Thereafter, in synchronization with the line y1 of the droplet discharge device 20 being sequentially arranged on the lines L3 to L5 on the substrate S, the four nozzles for the sealant x1, x8, x9, and x16 on the line y1. The sealant 11 is applied in the form of dots from only N1.

  Then, when the line y1 of the droplet discharge device 20 is arranged on the line L6 on the substrate S, the sealing agent 11 is removed from the nozzles N1 for the sealing agents x2 to x7 and x10 to x15 along the line y1. Discharge in the form of dots. As a result, the sealant 11 is applied in the form of dots at positions x2 to x7 and positions x10 to x15 on the line L6 of the substrate S. Further, at the stage where the line y2 of the droplet discharge device 20 is arranged on the line L6 on the substrate S, the common agent 12 is removed from the nozzles N2 for the common agents x1, x8, x9, and x16 along the line y2. Discharge in the form of dots. Thereby, the common agent 12 is applied in the form of dots at the positions of x1, x8, x9, and x16 on the line L6 of the substrate S.

  In this way, by controlling the nozzles N1 and N2 that discharge according to the positional relationship between the droplet discharge device 20 and the substrate S, the sealant 11 and other materials are applied to a desired region in the same process. It becomes possible. Further, since both the sealing agent 11 and the common agent 12 can be applied to one substrate S in the same process, a different process and an apparatus for applying the sealing agent to one substrate and the common agent to the other substrate as in the prior art. Since it is not necessary to perform coating by the above and only one coating process is required, it is possible to reduce the equipment and the process.

  As described above, after the dot-shaped sealing agent 11 or the dot-shaped common agent 12 is applied to at least one substrate S by the droplet discharge device 10 of the coating apparatus 1 according to this embodiment, the other substrate is pasted. Match. Thereby, the dot-shaped sealing agent 11 spreads as shown in FIG. 4 to form a line, and a pair of substrates are bonded to each other with a predetermined gap therebetween.

  The present embodiment is particularly suitable for manufacturing a reflective liquid crystal display device using a semiconductor substrate such as silicon as the substrate S. The drive circuit is configured so that a plurality of display devices can be configured from one semiconductor substrate. Each is formed in each rectangular area. When the dot sealant 11 and the common agent 12 are discharged and applied collectively from the droplet discharge device 10 of the coating apparatus 1 of the present embodiment to this rectangular region, the relative relationship between the semiconductor substrate and the droplet application device 10 is obtained. By such movement, the sealant 11 and the like can be applied to all the rectangular areas in a short time, and the application time can be greatly shortened as compared with application by a conventional dispenser. In addition, since the application is performed in the form of dots, the application amount can be accurately controlled, and problems such as the seal agent 11 being excessively spread at the time of bonding or conversely causing a seal failure due to a shortage can be solved.

  After the sealing agent 11 and the common agent 12 are applied to the semiconductor substrate, the glass substrate is bonded to cure the sealing agent 11 and the like. As a result, a predetermined gap is formed between the semiconductor substrate and the glass substrate by the spacer mixed with the sealant 11. Thereafter, liquid crystal is sealed in the gap, and the substrate is cut in accordance with each rectangular region in a state where the injection port is closed. Thereby, each liquid crystal display device is divided and formed.

  In the above-described embodiment, an example is shown in which application to the entire surface of the substrate S is performed by using the line-shaped droplet discharge device 10 to move relative to the substrate S. However, a plurality of nozzles N are provided. It is also possible to adopt a configuration in which the substrates S are arranged in a matrix and can be discharged all over the entire surface without moving the substrate S. Further, by using the droplet discharge device 10 provided with several nozzles N corresponding to a partial area of the substrate S, the droplet discharge device 10 is moved relative to the substrate S in the front-rear and left-right directions. You may make it cover the whole surface.

It is a schematic diagram explaining the coating device which concerns on this embodiment. It is a model perspective view explaining the mode of discharge of the sealing agent by a droplet discharge device. It is a schematic diagram explaining the example of application | coating shape. It is a schematic diagram explaining the shape at the time of pressing the sealing agent discharged in the shape of a dot with a board | substrate. It is a schematic diagram which shows the example which apply | coats sealing material and another material with a droplet discharge apparatus.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Coating apparatus, 10 ... Stage, 11 ... Sealing agent, 12 ... Common agent, 20 ... Droplet discharge apparatus, N ... Nozzle, S ... Substrate

Claims (10)

In a manufacturing method of a display device including a step of applying a sealing agent to at least one of a pair of substrates and bonding the pair of substrates through the sealing agent,
A method for manufacturing a display device, wherein the sealant is applied in the form of dots by a droplet discharge device. The method for manufacturing a display device according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of nozzles are linearly arranged as the droplet discharge device, and the sealing agent is applied collectively from the plurality of nozzles. The method for manufacturing a display device according to claim 2, wherein the sealant is applied from a part of the plurality of nozzles of the droplet discharge device, and a material different from the sealant is applied from the remaining nozzles. . In applying the sealant in a dot shape by the droplet discharge device, a first point sealant consisting of a first application amount is arranged at a predetermined interval, and a second less than the first application amount is provided. The method for manufacturing a display device according to claim 1, wherein the second point-like sealant comprising the coating amount is disposed between the first point-like sealants. The method for manufacturing a display device according to claim 1, wherein a spacer is mixed in the sealant. The method for manufacturing a display device according to claim 1, further comprising a step of sealing liquid crystal between the pair of substrates after bonding the pair of substrates through the sealant. In a coating apparatus for applying a sealant for bonding a pair of substrates,
A coating apparatus, comprising: a droplet discharge device that applies the sealant in a dot shape to at least one of the pair of substrates. The coating apparatus according to claim 7, wherein a plurality of nozzles are linearly arranged in the droplet discharge device, and the sealant can be discharged collectively from the plurality of nozzles. The coating apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the sealant is discharged from a part of the plurality of nozzles of the droplet discharge apparatus, and a material different from the sealant is discharged from the remaining nozzles. The plurality of nozzles of the droplet discharge device includes a first nozzle having a first discharge amount arranged at a predetermined interval, and a second nozzle having a second discharge amount smaller than the first discharge amount. The coating apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the coating apparatus is disposed between the first nozzles.

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