Patent ID: 6824023
Filing Date: 2004-11-30
Classification: B05C,G02F

Abstract:
A liquid crystal dispensing apparatus for dispensing liquid crystal onto a substrate, comprising:a liquid crystal container for containing the liquid crystal to be dispensed and having a gas input, wherein the liquid crystal container is formed substantially entirely of metal; a nozzle structure disposed at a lower portion of the liquid crystal container through which the liquid crystal is dispensed onto the substrate; and a valve structure disposed to control flow of the liquid crystal from the liquid crystal container to the nozzle structure in accordance with a gas pressure provided from the gas input, the valve structure including: a needle sheet including a discharging hole through which the liquid crystal is discharged to the nozzle structure from the liquid crystal container, a needle member disposed in the liquid crystal container, and moveable between open and closed positions, the needle member being biased toward the closed position to contact the needle sheet to prevent flow of the liquid crystal through discharging hole of the needle sheet, and a solenoid magnetically coupled to the needle member to move the needle member to the open position to permit flow of the liquid crystal through the discharging hole of the needle sheet, wherein the solenoid includes a magnetic bar disposed above the needle member, a magnetic field being generated by the solenoid in the magnetic bar to magnetically attract the needle member and to move the needle member to the open position.