JPH08194200A - Method for parting liquid crystal cell and device therefor - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To decrease beating times and to improve productivity by simultaneously cracking plural scribing lines with plural pressers. CONSTITUTION: All the pressers 34a belonging to a group A are lowered and are pressed to the surface of a glass substrate 22 by which the glass substrate 24 is parted at the points of the scribing lines existing right under the pressers 34a. Next, the pressers 34a are returned to their home positions and in turn, all the pressers 34b belonging to a group B are pressed to the front surface of the glass substrate 22, by which the glass substrate 24 is parted at the points of the scribing lines of the remaining half part. By these stages, the partings at the positions of all scribing lines of the glass substrate 24 of under side perfectly end. Next, a unit 20 is turned over and the glass substrate 22 which exists up thus far is directed downward and is placed on an elastic plate 28 and similarly, the scribing lines of the glass substrate 22 are parted as well. As a result, the unit 20 is parted to individual liquid crystal cells.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a dividing method and device for obtaining a plurality of liquid crystal cells by dividing a unit composed of a large glass substrate in a liquid crystal cell manufacturing process.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In the process of manufacturing a liquid crystal panel, there is a process of dividing a unit made of a large glass substrate to obtain a plurality of liquid crystal cells. The most common cutting method is to break the glass substrate by attaching a scribe line to the glass substrate, placing the glass substrate on an elastic plate, and hitting the glass substrate with a presser made of urethane rubber or the like. Is the way. The device for that is called a hit breaker. A technique of hitting a unit on an elastic plate and breaking it with a breaker is disclosed in JP-A-56-11434 and JP-A-59-16.
No. 0123 and JP-A-60-17718.

FIG. 9A shows an example in which a large number of liquid crystal cells are two-dimensionally arranged in one unit 14 in which two glass substrates are bonded together. This unit 14 is a scribe line in the X direction. Each liquid crystal cell can be divided by 10 and the scribe line 12 in the Y direction. That is, first, the scribe line 10 in the X direction and the scribe line 12 in the Y direction are formed on one glass substrate 11, and these scribe lines are tapped to be divided by a breaker. In this state, since the other glass substrate 13 is completely connected, the unit 14
Remains in the combined state as a whole. Next, scribe lines in the X direction and the Y direction are also formed on the other glass substrate 13, and the scribe lines are divided into individual liquid crystal cells. By the way, when the liquid crystal is injected into each liquid crystal cell after being divided into individual liquid crystal cells, the shape of the divided liquid crystal cells may differ depending on the manufacturing lot, or the individual liquid crystal cells may be small. However, there is a problem in that it is inconvenient to handle individual liquid crystal cells.

On the other hand, there is a method of injecting liquid crystal before dividing into individual liquid crystal cells. That is, after forming scribe lines in the X and Y directions on one glass substrate 11 and dividing the scribe lines, the scribe lines are formed only on the Y direction in the other glass substrate 13 to divide this portion. Then, the strip-shaped unit 16 as shown in FIG. 9B is completed. In this unit 16, one glass substrate 11 is already divided at the scribe line 10 in the X direction, but the other glass substrate 13 is not yet divided. Since the liquid crystal cells in this unit 16 are arranged in one row, the side surfaces of all the liquid crystal cells included in the unit 16 are exposed, and in this state liquid crystal can be injected into each liquid crystal cell. Become. If the liquid crystal is injected in this strip state, the unit 16 can be handled easily and the productivity of the liquid crystal injection is improved. After completing the liquid crystal injection, the other glass substrate 13
When a scribe line in the X direction is formed on the surface and is struck by a breaker to divide the scribe line, individual liquid crystal cells can be separated. That is, after forming the scribe line in the X direction on the other glass substrate 13, the glass substrate 13 may be placed face down on the elastic plate, and the pressing element may be pressed from above the glass substrate 11. Since the position of the lower scribe line is displaced from the position of the scribe line of the upper glass substrate 11, the pressing position of the pressing element is the upper glass substrate 11.
Never come on the scribe line.

[0005]

Assuming that the upper glass substrate is not yet divided, the two glass substrates on the elastic plate are suitable by simply pressing the pressing element near the center of the upper glass substrate. In contrast, the lower scribe lines are often well separated at the same time. in this case,
It is possible to divide all the scribe lines on the lower side only by pressing the pressing element once (or a few times).

However, as shown in FIG. 9B, when the upper glass substrate is already divided, it is necessary to press the pusher at a position directly above the lower scribe line. If the pusher is not directly above the lower scribe line, the division of the lower scribe line is not always successful. Therefore, it is necessary to repeat the pressing process for the number of lower scribe lines while changing the position of the pressing element. As a result, the number of times of hitting is required as many as the number of scribe lines, resulting in poor production efficiency. In the case of a strip-shaped unit in which liquid crystal cells are arranged in one row as shown in FIG. 9B, it is common to obtain ten or more liquid crystal cells from one unit. In order to fold all the scribe lines on the lower glass substrate, it is necessary to hit the surface more than ten times.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a liquid crystal cell dividing method and device in which productivity is improved by reducing the number of hits.

[0008]

The present invention is characterized in that a plurality of pressing elements are used to simultaneously break a glass substrate at a plurality of scribe line positions. That is, the method for dividing a liquid crystal cell of the present invention is (a) in which a scribe line is formed on the glass substrate on the side of folding of the glass substrate assembly consisting of two facing glass substrates on which electrode patterns for a plurality of liquid crystal cells are formed. Forming, (b) placing the glass substrate assembly on the elastic plate so that the glass substrate on the side to be broken is in contact with the elastic plate, and (c) glass directly above a plurality of scribe lines to be broken. By pressing multiple pushers simultaneously on the top surface of the board assembly,
The step of simultaneously breaking the glass substrate on the side in contact with the elastic plate at the positions of the plurality of scribe lines is provided.

As described above, since the glass substrate is simultaneously broken at the positions of the plurality of scribe lines, the number of hits by the pressing element is reduced and the productivity of the glass substrate cutting process is improved. In particular, when the upper glass substrate has already been divided, it becomes necessary to press the pressing element directly above the scribe line of the lower glass substrate, and in this case, the present invention is very effective.

In order to break the glass substrate at the positions of a plurality of scribe lines at the same time, it is necessary to secure a certain distance between the scribe lines to be simultaneously broken (that is, a space between the pressing elements pressed at the same time). If this interval is too short, the folds will not succeed. The minimum value of this interval is, for example, about 5 mm. If the interval between adjacent scribe lines is smaller than this minimum interval, it becomes impossible to simultaneously break all the scribe lines formed on one glass substrate in one tapping step. Therefore, it is realistic to divide the scribe lines into several groups, and to fold the scribe lines for each group at the same time so as to secure a certain distance between the scribe lines in the group. Typically, scribe lines can be divided into two groups. Even if the scribe lines are divided into two groups, if the distance between the scribe lines to be folded at the same time cannot be secured by a predetermined distance, the scribe lines are divided into three or more groups.

Further, the liquid crystal cell cutting device of the present invention comprises:
The feature is that two or more pushers move up and down in conjunction with each other. That is, this cutting device includes an elastic plate for mounting a glass substrate assembly composed of two facing glass substrates on which electrode patterns for a plurality of liquid crystal cells are formed, and a pressing element arranged above the elastic plate. The pressing device driving device includes a plurality of pressing members arranged in a line, and two or more pressing members are configured to move up and down in conjunction with each other.

Then, in order to secure a space between the interlocking pressers for a predetermined distance or more, the pressers are grouped so that the adjacent pressers belong to another group, and all the pressers belonging to the same group are arranged. It is preferable to move up and down in conjunction with each other.

The dividing device may be provided with a transfer device for pushing the divided liquid crystal cell onto the conveying device. Furthermore, the transfer device can be provided with a brush for cleaning the glass dust on the elastic plate. With such a configuration, it is possible to automate the process of carrying out the divided liquid crystal cell and the cleaning of glass scraps.

[0014]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS FIG. 1A is a front view showing the arrangement of pressing elements in a cutting device according to an embodiment of the present invention. The glass substrate assembly (hereinafter referred to as a unit) 20 is formed by facing and bonding two glass substrates 22 and 24 having a plurality of liquid crystal cell electrode patterns formed thereon. The overall shape of the unit 20 is an elongated rectangle as shown in FIG. 9B, and the liquid crystal cells are arranged in one row. A sealing portion is formed between the two glass substrates 22 and 24 so as to separate adjacent liquid crystal cells. Then, the liquid crystal is in a state of being injected into each liquid crystal cell.

In this embodiment, a case will be described in which a strip-shaped unit in which neither glass substrate has been cut is used. First, for the surfaces of the two glass substrates,
The scribe line 26 is formed at a place where the division is planned. When divided by this scribe line 26, as shown in FIG.
As the liquid crystal cells 38 are alternately combined on the front and back,
The cross-sectional shapes at the dividing position are complementary to each other. That is, the position of the scribe line is determined so as to have such a divided shape. Therefore, as shown in FIG.
In the unit 20, the distance between the scribe lines 26 adjacent to each other is such that a long distance L1 and a short distance L2 alternate.
The scribe line formed on the surface of one glass substrate 22 and the scribe line formed on the surface of the other glass substrate 24 are displaced from each other.

Returning to FIG. 1A, the unit 20 is
It is placed on the elastic plate 28 at the time of division. This elastic plate 28
On a table base 30 made of stainless steel,
The urethane sponge 32 and the belt material 33 are arranged. The belt material 33 is made of polyurethane-impregnated canvas. In order to make the drawing easier to see, the unit 2
Although 0 is illustrated as being slightly separated from the upper surface of the elastic plate 28, it is actually in contact with the surface of the elastic plate 28.

This cutting device is provided with a plurality of pressing elements. As shown in FIG. 7, these pressing elements are pressing elements 34a belonging to the A group and pressing elements 3 belonging to the B group.
4b. Adjacent pushers are
Belong to different groups. The distance between the pressing members adjacent to each other is alternated between the long distance L1 and the short distance L2 in accordance with the distance between the scribe lines. Therefore, the interval between the interlocking pressers is (L1 + L2). In this embodiment, L1 = 10 mm and L2 = 5 mm.

Next, the unit 20 is formed by using a plurality of pressing elements.
The process of dividing the liquid crystal into individual liquid crystal cells will be described. At first,
As shown in FIG. 1 (A), the glass substrate 2 on the folding side
The unit 20 is placed on the elastic plate 28 with 4 facing downward. The pressers 34a and 34b are the lower glass substrate 24.
It is positioned so that it is directly above the scribe line. In this state, all pushers 3 belonging to the A group
4a is moved down and pressed against the surface of the glass substrate 22. Then, the glass substrate 24 in the portion directly below the pressing element 34a warps slightly so as to be convex downward, and the glass substrate 24 is broken and divided at the scribe line directly below the pressing element 34a. By this step, the glass substrate 24 is divided at half of all the scribe lines of the lower glass substrate 24.

Next, as shown in FIG. 1B, the pressing elements 34a are returned to their original positions, and instead, all the pressing elements 34b belonging to the B group are pressed against the surface of the glass substrate 22. Then, similarly, the glass substrate 24 is broken and divided at the scribe line just below the pressing element 34b. As a result, the glass substrate 24 is divided at the scribe line of the other half of the lower glass substrate 24. Through the above steps, the division at the positions of all the scribe lines on the lower glass substrate 24 is completed. In this state,
Since the upper glass substrate 22 is not divided, the unit 20 is still integrated.

Next, as shown in FIG. 2A, the unit 20 is turned upside down, and the glass substrate 22 which has been on the upper side is placed downward on the elastic plate 28. On the upper side,
The glass substrate 24 for which the division has been completed comes. Further, the pusher driving device is moved to the right so that all the pushers 34a, 3
4b is evenly displaced to the right so that each pressing member is located directly above the scribe line of the lower glass substrate 22. In this state, when all the pressing elements 34a belonging to the A group are pressed against the surface of the glass substrate 24, the glass substrate 22 is broken and divided at the scribe line just below the pressing elements 34a. As a result, the glass substrate 22 is divided at half of all the scribe lines of the lower glass substrate 22.

Next, as shown in FIG. 2B, the pressing elements 34a are returned to their original positions, and instead, all the pressing elements 34b belonging to the B group are pressed against the surface of the glass substrate 24. Then, similarly, the glass substrate 22 is broken and divided at the scribe line just below the pressing element 34b. As a result, the glass substrate 22 is divided at the scribe line of the other half of the lower glass substrate 22. Through the above steps, the division of both glass substrates 22 and 24 is completed, and the unit 20 is divided into individual liquid crystal cells.

FIG. 3A is a perspective view of the pusher 34. The pusher 34 is made of a steel material (SK material), and its lower end is sharp. The tip angle of the pusher 34 is 60 °. FIG. 3B is a perspective view of one divided liquid crystal cell 38.

FIG. 5A is a perspective view of an automatic cutting device for automatically transferring and dividing the liquid crystal cell. In addition, in this drawing, the pusher driving mechanism is omitted. Unit 20
Is placed on the elastic plate 28 at the carry-in position 48 and then carried by the transfer body 36 to the dividing position 50. At the dividing position 50, the unit 20 is divided by the pressing element, and the liquid crystal cell 38 that has been completely divided is pushed out onto the belt conveyor 40 by the transfer body 36. The belt conveyor 40 is a circulating endless belt. Transfer body 36
A brush 42 for cleaning glass scraps is provided on the rear surface of the elastic plate 28, and a glass scrap storage box 44 is attached to the end surface of the elastic plate 28.

FIG. 5B is a plan view showing a state where the unit 20 is set in the automatic cutting device. At the carry-in position 48 (see FIG. 5A), the operator moves the unit 20 leftward in the figure while pressing the long side of the unit 20 against the front surface of the transfer body 36. Then, the short side of the unit 20 contacts the positioning body 37 and stops at that position. As a result, the unit 20
Positioning is completed. The positioning body 37 is the transfer body 36.
It can move back and forth on the side of the unit 20, protrudes forward when the unit 20 is set, and retreats to the position shown by the alternate long and short dash line when the unit 20 is divided and discharged.

Next, the operation of this automatic cutting device will be described with reference to FIG. First, the pusher driving device will be described. In FIG. 6A, there are a plurality of pressing elements 34 above the dividing position, and these pressing elements 34 are drive cylinders 46.
It can be moved up and down by. That is, all the pushers belonging to the A group can be moved up and down in conjunction with the drive cylinder for the A group, and all the pushers belonging to the B group can be moved up and down in conjunction with the drive cylinder for the B group. The lower limit position of the pusher can be set to any height, and the lower limit position can be set according to the conditions of the unit to be processed.

First, as shown in FIG. 6A, the unit 20 at the carry-in position is pushed out by the transfer body 36 to the dividing position. FIG. 6B shows a state in which the unit 20 is at the dividing position. Next, as shown in FIG.
The transfer body 36 once returns to the original loading position, and the pusher 34
Descends and cuts the glass substrate. When the division is complete,
As shown in FIG. 6D, the divided liquid crystal cell 38 is pushed out onto the belt conveyor 40 by the transfer body 36.
The liquid crystal cell 38 discharged onto the belt conveyor 40 moves to the next step. Finally, while the transfer body 36 returns to its original state, the brush 42 on the rear surface cleans the glass scraps on the elastic plate 38, and the collected glass scraps are dropped into the storage box 44. If the division of the other glass substrate is not yet completed, the liquid crystal cell 38 is not divided by the single passage through the automatic dividing device, and the unit 20 is reversed and the liquid crystal cell 38 is inverted again. , It is necessary to cut with an automatic cutting device.

FIG. 8 shows a detailed structure of the pusher driving device. FIG. 8B is a front view of the pusher driving device. In addition, in order to simplify the drawing, the example in which the six pressers are provided has been described, but the actual number of pressers is larger. The three pushers 34a belonging to the A group are attached to the lower end of the pusher holder 64a, and the upper end of the pusher holder 64a is fixed to the first base 50a. The first pace 50a is a pair of first cylinders 52a.
Driven up and down by. 1 for the first base 50a
A pair of holder guide supports 54a are fixed, and two holder guides 56 are attached to the holder guide supports 54a.
a and 58a are supported. Holder guide 56a,
A positioning slider 60a is movably attached to 58a, and the positioning slider 60a positions the pusher holder 64a in the lateral direction. The positioned pusher holder 64a has a fixing screw 62a.
Is fixed to the first base 50a. The holder guides 56a and 58a are provided in two stages in order to eliminate mutual interference between the attachment portions of the pusher holders 34a and minimize the distance between the pusher holders 34a.

With the above-mentioned structure, the pressing elements 34a belonging to the A group move up and down by the driving of the first cylinder 52a. The descending speed of the pusher 34a is 50 m / s
m. The three pushers 34b belonging to the B group are also
It moves up and down with the same drive mechanism as in the case of group A.
The mechanical parts related to group B are hatched in the figure.

FIG. 8A is a plan view of the pusher driving device, in which only the drive cylinder and the pusher are shown. First
The base 50a and the second base 50b are shown by a chain line. Three pushers 3 are provided by the pair of first cylinders 52a.
4a is driven, and 3 is driven by the pair of second cylinders 52b.
The individual pusher 34b is driven.

FIG. 8C is a side view of the pusher driving device, showing only the portion related to the driving cylinder. The first cylinder 52a drives the first base 50a up and down,
The cylinder 52b drives the second base 50b up and down.

FIG. 8D is a side view of the pusher driving device, but shows only the portion related to the pusher holder. A pusher holder 64a is fixed to the first base 50a,
The pusher 34a of the A group is fixed to the lower end of the pusher holder 64a. A pusher holder 64b is fixed to the second base 50b, and a pusher of group B is fixed to the lower end of the pusher holder 64b.

The cutting device of this embodiment is particularly small (3
It is suitable for dividing into liquid crystal cells of 0 mm × 30 mm or less). The unit used in this example has an elongated rectangular shape as shown in FIG. 9 (B), and its lengthwise dimension is 160 to 170 mm. Figure 1 above,
2 and 7, in order to make the drawings easy to see, a state in which seven pressers are used to divide into five liquid crystal cells is drawn, but in the device of the actual embodiment, one unit is 17 units. It is divided into individual liquid crystal cells. Therefore, 18 scribe lines are formed on each of the two glass substrates, and 19 pressers are prepared to divide the scribe lines. A
The group has 10 pushers and the B group has 9 pushers. The number of liquid crystal cells to be divided and the number of pressing elements are not limited to those in the embodiment, and may be any number.

The present invention, as shown in FIG.
It can also be applied to a unit including a two-dimensional array of liquid crystal cells. In this case, the present invention is first applied to the scribe line in the X direction, and then the present invention is applied to the scribe line in the Y direction.

[0034]

According to the present invention, the glass substrate is simultaneously broken at the positions of a plurality of scribe lines, so that the number of hits by the pressing element is reduced and the productivity of the glass substrate cutting process is improved. In particular, when the upper glass substrate is already divided, it is necessary to press the pressing element directly above the scribe line of the lower glass substrate, and in this case, the present invention is very effective.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view showing a part of a dividing step according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a front view showing the continuation of the dividing step in the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a pusher and a liquid crystal cell.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a plurality of liquid crystal cells immediately after being divided.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of an automatic cutting device that automatically transfers and cuts a liquid crystal cell, and an enlarged plan view of a part thereof.

FIG. 6 is a side view showing the operation of the automatic cutting device.

FIG. 7 is a front view showing an arrangement of scribe lines and an arrangement of pressing elements on the unit.

FIG. 8 is a plan view, a front view, and a side view of a pusher driving device.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of a unit including a plurality of liquid crystal cells.

[Explanation of symbols]

 20 unit 22, 24 glass substrate 26 scribe line 28 elastic plate 30 table base 32 urethane sponge 33 belt material 34a, 34b pusher 36 transfer body 38 liquid crystal cell 40 belt conveyor 42 brush 44 storage box

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Seiki Takeda 3-5 Ohgita, Noshiro-shi, Akita Okubo Manufacturing Co., Ltd. Akita factory (72) Inventor Akira Suzuki 5-5 Ohgita, Noshiro-shi, Akita Hot Works Akita Factory

Claims (8)

[Claims] 1. A step of forming a scribe line on a glass substrate on the side of folding of a glass substrate assembly comprising two glass substrates facing each other on which electrode patterns for a plurality of liquid crystal cells are formed. ) Placing the glass substrate assembly on the elastic plate so that the glass substrate on the folding side comes into contact with the elastic plate, and (c) a plurality of glass substrates on the upper surface of the glass substrate assembly immediately above the plurality of scribe lines to be simultaneously split. A step of simultaneously breaking the glass substrate on the side in contact with the elastic plate at the positions of the plurality of scribe lines by pressing the pressing element at the same time, and dividing the liquid crystal cell. 2. The liquid crystal cell dividing method according to claim 1, wherein the scribe lines are divided into a plurality of groups so that adjacent scribe lines belong to different groups, and the positions of all the scribe lines belonging to the same group. A method for dividing a liquid crystal cell, which is characterized in that the glass substrate is bent at the same time. 3. The method for dividing a liquid crystal cell according to claim 1, wherein the scribe lines of one glass substrate are divided into two groups and belong to the same group so that adjacent scribe lines belong to different groups. By simultaneously breaking the glass substrate at all scribe line positions, 1
A method for dividing a liquid crystal cell, characterized in that the division of a single glass substrate is completed in two pressing steps of a pressing element. 4. The method of dividing a liquid crystal cell according to claim 1, wherein the glass substrate assembly includes a plurality of liquid crystal cells.
A method for dividing a liquid crystal cell, which has an electrode pattern arranged in rows. 5. An elastic plate for mounting a glass substrate assembly composed of two facing glass substrates on which electrode patterns for a plurality of liquid crystal cells are formed, and a pusher driving device arranged above the elastic plate. In the liquid crystal cell disconnecting device including :, the pressing element driving device includes a plurality of pressing elements arranged in a line, and two or more pressing elements are configured to move up and down in conjunction with each other. A device for dividing a liquid crystal cell, which is characterized by: 6. The liquid crystal cell cutting device according to claim 5, wherein the pressure elements are grouped so that adjacent pressure elements belong to another group, and all pressure elements belonging to the same group move up and down together. A device for dividing a liquid crystal cell, which is configured to: 7. The liquid crystal cell dividing device according to claim 5, wherein the dividing device comprises a transfer device for pushing the divided liquid crystal cells on the elastic plate onto the conveying device. Cell cutting device. 8. The liquid crystal cell cutting device according to claim 7, wherein the transfer device includes a brush for cleaning glass scraps on the elastic plate.