LIQUID CRYSTAL MATERIAL PROCESSING DEVICE, METHOD OF PROCESSING LIQUID CRYSTAL MATERIAL, METHOD OF MANUFACTURING LIQUID CRYSTAL DISPLAY PANEL, AND LIQUID CRYSTAL DISPLAY DEVICE

• US 20170014732A1
• Filed: 06/30/2016
• Published: 01/19/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 07/13/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Japan Display Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Japan Display Incorporated
• Inventors: TSUKANE, Midori, SUZUKI, Daiichi, SAEKI, Yoshifumi
• Granted Patent: US 10,456,710 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: B01D 11/0446 Juxtaposition of mixers-settlers
• CPC Class Codes: B01D 11/0492 Applications, solvents used
• CPC Class Codes: B01F 23/803 Venting, degassing or ventilating of gases, fumes or toxic vapours from the mixture
• CPC Class Codes: B01F 33/70 Mixers specially adapted for working at sub- or super-atmospheric pressure, e.g. combined with de-foaming
• CPC Class Codes: B01F 35/189 Venting, degassing or ventilating of gases, fumes or toxic vapours during mixing
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/1303 Apparatus specially adapted to the manufacture of LCDs
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/1341 Filling or closing of cells
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/13415 Drop filling process

Abstract

According to one embodiment, the liquid crystal material processing device includes a syringe containing contents composed of a liquid crystal material and the like, having a distal end portion constituting a first discharge pipe, an agitation mechanism agitating the contents of the syringe, a vacuum chamber having a second discharge pipe penetrating the bottom to connect to the first discharge pipe of the syringe. The agitation mechanism agitates the liquid crystal material and the pure water in the syringe, and purifies the liquid crystal material by causing water-soluble impurities to transfer to the pure water. The agitation mechanism agitates the liquid crystal material remaining in the syringe after the water layer has been discharged. The evacuation mechanism evacuates the vacuum chamber and causes the liquid crystal material to be degassed while the remaining liquid crystal material is agitated.

Claims

1. A liquid crystal material processing device for purifying and degassing a liquid crystal material, the device comprising:

a syringe containing contents composed of a liquid crystal material and pure water or of a liquid crystal material, having a distal end portion constituting a first discharge pipe which defines a first discharge channel therethrough for discharge of the contents, and having a proximal end opening to receive the contents;

a first opening/closing mechanism provided at the first discharge pipe to open/close the first discharge channel;

an agitation mechanism agitating the contents of the syringe;

a vacuum chamber accommodating the syringe;

a second discharge pipe penetrating a bottom of the vacuum chamber and extending from an inside to an outside of the vacuum chamber, defining a second discharge channel therethrough for discharging the contents of the syringe to the outside of the vacuum chamber, inside the second discharge pipe, and accommodating the syringe in the vacuum chamber by detachably connecting to the first discharge pipe of the syringe;

a second opening/closing mechanism provided at the second discharge pipe to open/close the second discharge channel; and

an evacuation mechanism evacuating the vacuum chamber to set the inside of the vacuum chamber under vacuum,

when the contents of the syringe accommodated in the vacuum chamber are composed of the liquid crystal material and the pure water, the agitation mechanism agitating the liquid crystal material and the pure water, and purifying the liquid crystal material by causing water-soluble impurities contained in the liquid crystal material to transfer to the pure water,

when the contents composed of the liquid crystal material and the pure water are left to stand still and separated into a liquid crystal material layer of an upper layer and a water layer of a lower layer after the agitation has been stopped, the first opening/closing mechanism and the second opening/closing mechanism opening the first discharge channel and the second discharge channel, respectively, to discharge the water layer of the lower layer to the outside of the vacuum chamber through the first discharge channel and the second discharge channel, respectively,

the first opening/closing mechanism closing the first discharge channel after the water layer of the lower layer has been discharged, and the agitation mechanism agitating the liquid crystal material remaining in the syringe after the water layer of the lower layer has been discharged,

the evacuation mechanism evacuating the vacuum chamber and causing the liquid crystal material to be degassed through the opened proximal end of the syringe while the remaining liquid crystal material is agitated.

2. The liquid crystal material processing device of claim 1, wherein

the syringe is formed of a transparent material comprising glass or resin.

3. The liquid crystal material processing device of claim 1, wherein

the first opening/closing mechanism and the second opening/closing mechanism are cocks or valves which open or close the first discharge channel and the second discharge channel, respectively.

4. The liquid crystal material processing device of claim 1, wherein

the agitation mechanism comprises a motor and an agitator comprising blades rotated by a driving force of the motor.

5. The liquid crystal material processing device of claim 1, wherein

the agitation device is vertically movable by a guide pole, a vertically movable member, attached to the guide pole and guided by the guide pole, and a connection bar which is connected to the vertically movable member to hold the agitation device.

18. A method of manufacturing a liquid crystal display panel, comprising:

installing, in a one drop filling device, a syringe containing a liquid crystal material purified and degassed in the syringe by the liquid crystal material processing device of claim 1, and manufacturing the liquid crystal display panel by one drop filling method.

6. A method of processing a liquid crystal material, comprising:

agitating and mixing the liquid crystal material and pure water in a syringe accommodated in a vacuum chamber, purifying the liquid crystal material by transferring water-soluble impurities contained in the liquid crystal material to the pure water, stopping the agitation, and separating the mixture into a liquid crystal material layer of an upper layer and a water layer of a lower layer by leaving the mixture to stand still;

discharging the water layer of the lower layer from the syringe to an outside of the vacuum chamber; and

evacuating the vacuum chamber and degassing the liquid crystal material while agitating the liquid crystal material remaining in the syringe after discharging the water layer of the lower layer.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein

the liquid crystal material and the pure water are agitated and mixed at a proportion of 1 part by weight or more and less than 5 parts by weight of pure water to 100 parts by weight of liquid crystal material.

8. The method of claim 6, wherein

the agitation and mixing of the liquid crystal material and the pure water are performed at 5 to 100 rpm for 1 to 60 minutes.

9. The method of claim 7, wherein

the agitation and mixing of the liquid crystal material and the pure water are performed at 5 to 100 rpm for 1 to 60 minutes.

10. The method of claim 6, wherein

the agitation of the liquid crystal material remaining in the syringe is performed at 50 to 100 rpm for 5 to 10 hours.

11. The method of claim 7, wherein

the agitation of the liquid crystal material remaining in the syringe is performed at 50 to 100 rpm for 5 to 10 hours.

12. The method of claim 8, wherein

the agitation of the liquid crystal material remaining in the syringe is performed at 50 to 100 rpm for 5 to 10 hours.

13. The method of claim 6, wherein

pure water having a specific resistance of 16MΩ

·

cm or more is used as the pure water.

14. The method of claim 7, wherein

pure water having a specific resistance of 16MΩ

·

cm or more is used as the pure water.

15. The method of claim 8, wherein

pure water having a specific resistance of 16MΩ

·

cm or more is used as the pure water.

16. The method of claim 10, wherein

pure water having a specific resistance of 16MΩ

·

cm or more is used as the pure water.

17. The method of claim 6, wherein

ultrapure water having a specific resistance of 18MΩ

·

cm or more and an impurity amount of 0.001 μ

g/L or less is used as the pure water.

19. A liquid crystal display device, comprising:

a liquid crystal display panel including an array substrate, a counter substrate disposed to be opposed to the array substrate, and a liquid crystal layer of a liquid crystal material held between the array substrate and the counter substrate,

the liquid crystal material being processed by the method of processing the liquid crystal material of claim 6.