JP3755341B2 - Substrate crimping apparatus, crimping control method, and liquid crystal device manufacturing method - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a substrate pressure bonding apparatus, a pressure bonding control method, and a liquid crystal device manufacturing method.
[0002]
[Prior art]
In the bonding technique between substrates in the manufacturing process of the liquid crystal device, it is an important issue to make the cell gap, which is the thickness of the liquid crystal layer, in-plane uniform. This cell gap is an important factor that determines retardation Δn · d, which is a basic optical value of the liquid crystal device, and affects display characteristics such as light transmittance, contrast ratio, and response speed.
[0003]
In order to make the cell gap uniform in the plane, it is premised that glass with a flat surface is used, but since the cell gap itself is as thin as several μm, spacers are distributed between the substrates. The method of doing is taken. That is, when two substrates are bonded together using a sealing material, the cell gap is defined in the height and diameter dimension of the spacer by heating and pressing with a substrate crimping apparatus.
[0004]
A conventional substrate crimping apparatus is as shown in FIG. As shown in the figure, by using this substrate crimping apparatus 1, a pair of substrates 2 and 3 can be bonded together with a sealing material 5. A large number of spacers 4 are dispersed between the substrates 2 and 3, and a sealing material 5 is interposed between the peripheral portions of the opposing surfaces of the substrates. The substrate crimping apparatus 1 includes a base 11 on which the substrates 2 and 3 are stacked and a pressing unit 13 including a pressing plate 12 that presses the stacked substrates 2 and 3 over the entire surface. .
[0005]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, in the substrate crimping apparatus 1 as described above, when the substrates are bonded and pressed, the base 11 and the pressure plate 12 are slightly inclined, or depending on the bonded state of the substrates 2 and 3, Pressure unevenness is likely to occur. If uneven pressure is generated in the substrate crimping apparatus 1, the uneven pressure is transferred to the liquid crystal panel side, and the cell gap becomes non-uniform in the panel surface, which causes a problem of reducing the display quality of the liquid crystal device. .
[0006]
Further, when the substrate is made of a flexible plastic film, it is easy for pressure unevenness to occur. Therefore, it is desired to realize a highly accurate substrate crimping apparatus.
[0007]
Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to obtain a substrate pressure bonding apparatus and a pressure bonding control method that can suppress the occurrence of pressure unevenness in the substrate surface. Another object of the present invention is to produce a liquid crystal device having a uniform cell gap in the plane and having good optical characteristics.
[0008]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
The present invention relates to a substrate crimping apparatus that presses a pair of substrates that are stacked to face each other via a sealing material and sandwiches the pair of substrates from both sides. A first pressurizing unit that presses and roughly pressurizes; a second pressurizing unit capable of pressing with a different pressure for each part within a region where the first pressurizing unit presses the pair of substrates; Detecting means for detecting an in-plane pressure distribution of the pair of substrates pressed by one pressurizing means; and the first pressurizing means in the second pressurizing means based on detection information from the detecting means ; Pressure control means for outputting a pressure correction control signal to a driving part corresponding to each part in the pressed area to precisely pressurize the paired substrates .
[0009]
According to such a configuration of the present invention, the pair of substrates that are pressed roughly at a predetermined pressure by the first pressurizing means are bonded to each other by the sealing material. Then, the in-plane pressure distribution on the substrate surface is detected by the detecting means, and the pressure control means presses the substrate of the second pressurizing means in the region pressed by the first pressurizing means based on this detection information. A pressure correction control signal is output so as to perform pressure adjustment at a plurality of portions, and precise pressurization is performed . For this reason, it becomes possible to make uniform the pressure distribution in the board | substrate surface crimped | bonded by the 1st pressurization means. If the bonding process of the liquid crystal display panel is performed using this substrate pressure bonding device, a liquid crystal device having a uniform cell gap in the substrate surface and good optical characteristics can be manufactured.
[0010]
In the present invention, it is preferable that the detection means is a pressure distribution detection sheet including a plurality of pressure / voltage conversion elements in an in-plane region.
[0011]
According to the present invention having such a configuration, the pressure distribution in the substrate surface can be obtained from voltage data obtained by a plurality of pressure / voltage conversion elements. In addition, as a pressure / voltage conversion element, a piezoelectric element etc. can be used, for example.
[0012]
Furthermore, in the present invention, it is preferable that the substrates are arranged in a state where a plurality of pairs are stacked.
[0013]
According to the present invention having such a configuration, it is possible to bond a plurality of pairs of substrates in a single pressurizing step, and to increase the efficiency of substrate crimping.
[0014]
Further, according to the present invention, the pressure control means may output a pressure correction control signal to a driving part corresponding to each part in the region in the second pressurizing means based on detection information in the detecting means. preferable.
[0015]
According to the present invention having such a configuration, the second pressurizing unit presses the substrate with an arbitrary pressure at a plurality of portions based on the pressure correction control signal from the pressure control unit, so that the first pressurizing unit and the first pressurizing unit The pressure applied to the substrate surface by the two pressurizing means can be made uniform.
[0016]
Further, in the present invention, it is preferable that the paired substrates are sandwiched between the pressing surface of the first pressing unit and the pressing surface of the second pressing unit.
[0017]
According to the present invention having such a configuration, the other side surface of the pair of substrates is maintained while maintaining the state in which one side surface of the pair of substrates is pressed with a predetermined pressure by the pressing surface of the first pressurizing means. Fine adjustment can be made on the side of the pressing surface of the second pressurizing means. Thus, by separately providing the surfaces on which the first pressing and the second pressing are performed, the configuration of the first pressurizing unit and the second pressurizing unit can be simplified.
[0018]
In the present invention, it is preferable that a plurality of balloons that expand and contract according to pressure are arranged on the pressing surface of the second pressurizing unit. According to the present invention having such a configuration, the plurality of balloons arranged on the pressing surface of the second pressurizing means expand and contract in accordance with an arbitrary pressure, respectively, thereby reducing the pressure of the substrate surface portion with which the balloon abuts. Fine adjustment is possible, and the pressure distribution in the substrate surface can be made uniform.
[0019]
The present invention is a pressure control method, wherein a pair of substrates stacked so as to face each other through a sealing material is pressed with a predetermined pressure and roughly pressed , and the pair of substrates is formed. Independently in a plurality of portions based on the pressure correction control signal , within the roughly pressurized region of the pair of substrate surfaces that form a pair so as to detect the in-plane pressure distribution and make the in-plane pressure distribution uniform. and characterized in that pressing a row gastric pressure precision pressure.
[0020]
According to such a configuration of the present invention, the substrate to each other to form a pressed crude pressure applied to the pair at a predetermined pressure, they are bonded by a sealing material. In this state, the in-plane pressure distribution of the substrate surface is detected, and based on the detection result, independent precision pressurization at a plurality of portions with respect to the roughly pressurized region of the paired substrates. To adjust the pressure. For this reason, it becomes possible to correct and make uniform the pressure distribution in the substrate surface pressed with a predetermined pressure. If the bonding process of the liquid crystal display panel is performed using this pressure bonding control method, a liquid crystal device having a uniform cell gap in the substrate surface and good optical characteristics can be manufactured.
[0021]
The present invention relates to a method of manufacturing a liquid crystal device, wherein substrates each having a display electrode formed on a surface to be opposed are overlapped so as to face each other with a sealant, and the substrate surface is applied from both sides at a predetermined pressure. the pressing and applying crude wise, the said substrate surface by based rather pressure correction control signal to detect and detection information plane pressure distribution of the substrate surface in a state in which the pressure crude pressurized and pressurized the rough pressurized In the region, each part is precisely pressurized, the paired substrates are bonded together, and then the liquid crystal is sealed in a gap formed by the paired substrate and the sealing material.
[0022]
According to such a configuration of the present invention, the pair of substrates are bonded together by the sealing material by performing the rough pressurization with a predetermined pressure. In this state, the in-plane pressure distribution of the substrate surface is detected, and the pressure correction control signal based on the detected information is used to independently press the paired substrates at a plurality of portions in the roughly pressurized region. The pressure can be adjusted by performing precision pressurization. For this reason, by performing the precision pressurization, it becomes possible to correct the pressure distribution in the substrate surface pressed by the coarse pressurization and make it uniform. If the liquid crystal display panel is bonded using this method for manufacturing a liquid crystal device, a liquid crystal device having a uniform cell gap in the substrate surface and good optical characteristics can be manufactured.
[0023]
In the present invention, it is preferable that the rough pressurization is performed by the first pressurizing unit, and the precise pressurization is performed by the second pressurizing unit provided separately.
[0024]
According to the present invention having such a configuration, since the coarse pressurization and the precise pressurization are performed by different pressurizing means, only the second pressurizing means has a function for adjusting the pressure. Thus, the configuration of the pressurizing means can be simplified.
[0025]
Furthermore, it is preferable that the second pressurizing unit presses the substrate surface at an arbitrary pressure at a plurality of locations. By adopting such a configuration, it is possible to adjust an arbitrary pressure in a plurality of portions of the substrate surface.
[0026]
In the present invention, it is preferable that spacers are dispersed and arranged between the pair of substrates.
[0027]
According to the present invention having such a configuration, the spacers distributed between the substrates can prevent the substrates from being too close to each other when the substrates are pressed, and a liquid crystal device with a uniform cell gap in the substrate surface can be realized. can do. This has the effect of improving the optical characteristics of the liquid crystal device.
[0028]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, details of a substrate pressure bonding apparatus, a pressure bonding control method, and a liquid crystal device manufacturing method according to the present invention will be described based on embodiments shown in the drawings.
[0029]
First, the configuration of the substrate crimping apparatus will be described. FIG. 1 is an explanatory side view of the substrate crimping apparatus according to the present embodiment. The substrate crimping apparatus 10 of the present embodiment includes a base 11 and a counter plate 13 fixed to the base 11 side via a support member 12 so as to be parallel to the base 11 above the base 11 with a predetermined interval. It is equipped with. Between the base 11 and the counter plate 13, a pair of glass substrates 22 and 23 are arranged so as to be opposed to each other with a sealing material 21 therebetween. Each of these glass substrates 22 and 23 has a predetermined pattern of display electrodes formed on the opposite surfaces, and an alignment film is formed over the entire display region. On one glass substrate 22, spacers 24 are arranged in a display area (substantially corresponding to an area surrounded by a sealing material) by spraying.
[0030]
On the lower surface of the counter plate 13, a first balloon 14 is provided as a first pressurizing means having a flat contact surface having a contact area larger than the area of the glass substrate to be disposed at the lower part. The first balloon 14 is set to have a predetermined internal pressure by an air pump and a pressure adjusting valve (not shown), and is bulged downward by driving the air pump.
[0031]
Further, on the upper surface of the substrate 11, a precision pressurizing unit 16 as a second pressurizing unit is provided, in which a large number of fine second balloons 15 for fine pressure adjustment are arranged uniformly. The precision pressurizing unit 16 has an arrangement as shown in FIG. 3 on the stage surface 17 and a recess 17A as shown in FIG. The second balloon 15 is accommodated in the recess 17A. An opening 17B is opened at the bottom of the recess 17A, and a pipe 15A communicating with the second balloon 15 is inserted into the opening 17B. The pipe 15A is connected to a pressure fine adjustment device (not shown).
[0032]
Moreover, the board | substrate crimping | compression-bonding apparatus 10 of this embodiment is provided with the pressure distribution detection sheet 17 as a pressure detection means, and the pressure control part 18 into which the detection data obtained by this pressure distribution detection sheet 17 are input. . Specifically, the pressure distribution detection sheet 17 includes a large number of piezo elements in a predetermined arrangement in a resin sheet body, and changes the pressure at the position where each piezo element is disposed to a voltage, thereby controlling the pressure control unit 18. To be output. The pressure control unit 18 includes an arithmetic processing unit, and each piezoelectric element of the pressure distribution detection sheet 17 is arranged based on the voltage data D1 input from the pressure distribution detection sheet 17 as shown in the block diagram of FIG. The pressure correction data is calculated from the voltage distribution corresponding to the pressure distribution at the position, and the correction control data D2 is output to the precision pressurizing unit 16, or the pressure adjustment data D3 is output to the first balloon 14. It has become. The correction control data D2 includes information on how much the pressure of the second balloon 15 at which position of the precision pressurizing unit 16 is set. Along with this, the above-described pressure fine adjustment device (not shown) is appropriately driven.
[0033]
Next, a method for bonding the glass substrates 22 and 23 using the substrate crimping apparatus 10 of the present embodiment will be described based on the flowchart shown in FIG.
[0034]
First, the glass substrates 22 and 23 are placed on the precision pressurizing unit 16 in a state where the glass substrates 22 and 23 are overlapped via the sealing material 21. Next, the pressure distribution detection sheet 17 is placed on the entire surface of the glass substrate 23. In this state, when a switch (not shown) is turned on, pressure adjustment data D3 is output from the pressure control unit 18 to the first balloon 14, and the first balloon 14 is pressurized and inflated until a predetermined pressure is reached ( First balloon pressurization step S1). As the volume of the first balloon 14 increases, the glass substrates 22 and 23 are pressed with a predetermined pressure.
[0035]
Next, detection of the pressure distribution on the substrate surface of the glass substrate 23 is started by the pressure distribution detection sheet 17 (step S2). Based on the voltage data D1 corresponding to the pressure distribution from the pressure distribution detection sheet 17, the pressure control unit 18 creates correction control data D2 and supplies it to the precision pressurizing unit 16 to perform correction control (step S3).
[0036]
Thereafter, the precision pressurizing unit 16 performs precision pressurization by adjusting the pressure of the second balloon 15 located at a predetermined address based on the correction control data D2 with a pressure fine adjustment device (not shown) (step S4).
[0037]
Then, the pressure control unit 18 determines whether or not the pressure distribution is uniform (step S5). As a result, when it is determined that the pressure distribution is uniform, after the time for the sealing material 21 to cure has elapsed, the crimping process is terminated. When it is determined that the pressure distribution is not uniform, the process returns to step S3 of the correction control again.
[0038]
The glass substrates 22 and 23 thus pressure-bonded are in a state where the cell gap is also uniformly bonded. Then, a liquid crystal device can be manufactured by performing a liquid crystal sealing process. The liquid crystal device manufactured in this way has a uniform cell gap because the pressure for pressing the substrates is uniform. For this reason, the liquid crystal device manufactured in the present embodiment has good optical characteristics.
[0039]
Although the present embodiment has been described above, the present invention is not limited to this, and various modifications accompanying the gist of the configuration are possible. For example, in the above-described embodiment, a glass substrate is used, but good bonding can be performed using a flexible substrate made of a resin film. In the present embodiment, the first balloon 14 is used as the first pressurizing unit, but a pressurizing unit driven by a piston cylinder may be used. Similarly, although the second balloon 15 is used as the second pressurizing means, it is of course possible to use a piston cylinder driving means having a fine pressing surface. Furthermore, in this embodiment, the pressure distribution detection sheet 17 provided with a piezo element is used as the pressure detection means, but various pressure detection means can be applied. Further, in the present embodiment, only a pair of glass substrates 22 and 23 forming a pair is pressurized, but it is possible to perform a pressure treatment by stacking a plurality of pairs of substrates, and this is efficient. Pressure treatment can be performed. In this case, it is preferable to arrange the pressure distribution detection sheets 17 in the middle of a plurality of pairs.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is an explanatory side view showing an embodiment of a substrate crimping apparatus according to the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a main part showing a precision pressurizing part of the present embodiment.
FIG. 3 is a plan view of a precision pressurizing unit of the present embodiment.
FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating a substrate crimping apparatus according to the present embodiment.
FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing an embodiment of a crimping control method according to the present invention.
FIG. 6 is an explanatory side view showing a conventional substrate crimping apparatus.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Board | substrate crimping | compression-bonding apparatus 11 Base 13 Opposite board 14 1st balloon 15 2nd balloon 16 Precision pressurization part 17 Pressure distribution detection sheet 18 Pressure control part 21 Seal material 22, 23 Glass substrate 24 Spacer

Claims (10)

A substrate crimping device for crimping the substrates by sandwiching a pair of substrates stacked on both sides from each other through a sealing material,
First pressurizing means for pressing the paired substrates with a predetermined pressure to roughly pressurize ;
A second pressurizing unit capable of pressing at an arbitrary pressure for each part within a region where the first pressurizing unit presses the pair of substrates;
Pressure detecting means for detecting an in-plane pressure distribution of the pair of substrates pressed by the first pressurizing means;
Based on the detection information from the pressure detection means, a pressure correction control signal is output to the driving part corresponding to each part in the region pressed by the first pressure means in the second pressure means . Pressure control means for precisely pressurizing the substrate forming
A substrate crimping apparatus comprising:  The substrate pressure bonding apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the pressure detection means is a pressure distribution detection sheet including a plurality of pressure / voltage conversion elements in an in-plane region.  The board | substrate crimping | compression-bonding apparatus of Claim 1 or Claim 2 with which the said board | substrate is arrange | positioned in the state in which multiple pairs were piled up. The board | substrate crimping | compression-bonding in any one of Claim 1 thru | or 3 with which the board | substrate which makes the said pair is pinched | interposed by the press surface of the said 1st pressurization means, and the press surface of the said 2nd pressurization means. apparatus. The board | substrate crimping | compression-bonding apparatus of Claim 4 by which the several balloon which expands-contracts according to a pressure is arrange | positioned at the said press surface of a said 2nd pressurization means. The in-plane pressure distribution of the paired substrates is detected in a state where the paired substrates that are stacked so as to face each other through a sealing material are pressed with a predetermined pressure and are roughly pressed. of the substrate surface forming the pair so as to equalize the pressure distribution, the relative roughness pressurized region, that to pressure lines as have precise pressure independent of the pressure at a plurality of portions based on the pressure correction control signal A characteristic crimping control method. The substrates with the display electrodes formed on the surfaces to be opposed are stacked so as to face each other through a sealant, and the substrate surface is pressed from both sides with a predetermined pressure to be coarsely pressed. the substrate surface by based rather pressure correction control signal to detect and detection information plane pressure distribution of the substrate surface in a state where there, said pressure precision pressure for each part crude pressurized region, said pair A method for manufacturing a liquid crystal device, comprising: bonding substrates to each other, and then sealing liquid crystal in a gap formed by the pair of substrates and the sealing material. 8. The method of manufacturing a liquid crystal device according to claim 7, wherein the rough pressurization is performed by a first pressurizing unit, and the precise pressurization is performed by a second pressurizing unit. The method of manufacturing a liquid crystal device according to claim 8, wherein the second pressurizing unit presses the substrate surface at a plurality of locations with arbitrary pressure. Between the substrate to each other forming the pair, the method of manufacturing the liquid crystal device according to any one of claims 7 to 9, characterized in that the spacers are distributed is sprayed.

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