Liquid crystal display panel and method for manufacturing the same

A liquid crystal display panel (50a) includes a pair of substrates arranged, facing each other, a liquid crystal layer provided between the pair of substrates, and a frame-like sealing member (25) configured to bond the pair of substrates with each other and enclose the liquid crystal layer. A cavity forming wall (18ba) is provided on one of the pair of substrates between the liquid crystal layer and the sealing member (25) and is configured to form a cavity region (C) therein by an upper end of the cavity forming wall contacting the other of the pair of substrates. The cavity region (C) is configured so that, when an excessive amount of a liquid crystal material which foims the liquid crystal layer is enclosed, the cavity forming wall is destroyed to cause a portion of the liquid crystal material to flow into the cavity region (C).

This application is the U.S. national phase of International Application No. PCT/JP2008/001932, filed 18 Jul. 2008, which designated the U.S. and claims priority to Japanese Application No, 2007-232482, filed 7 Sep. 2007, the entire contents of each of which are hereby incorporated by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to liquid crystal display panels and methods for manufacturing the liquid crystal display panels. More particularly, the present invention relates to liquid crystal display panels manufactured by the one drop fill method.

BACKGROUND ART

In liquid crystal display panels, a pair of substrates arranged facing each other are joined with each other via a sealing member for enclosing a liquid crystal layer. A spacer is interposed between the pair of substrates so that the substrates are held and separated with a predetermined gap therebetween.

For example, PATENT DOCUMENT 1 discloses a flexible liquid crystal display panel including two film substrates and a sealing member which is provided around a side portion of a gap layer to seal the gap layer. A liquid crystal is enclosed in the sealed gap layer. The integrated film substrates can be freely bent. The gap layer includes liquid holding portions which, when the film substrates are bent in the shape of a curve, hold an extra amount of the liquid crystal which is moved toward the ends of the curve. PATENT DOCUMENT 1 also describes that this liquid crystal display panel can substantially prevent a defective gap of the liquid crystal due to curved bending, thereby providing a curved surface shape without hindering liquid crystal display.

CITATION LIST

Patent Document

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Technical Problem

Incidentally, in recent years, the one drop fill method has attracted attention as a method for enclosing a liquid crystal layer between the pair of substrates. In the one drop fill method, a liquid crystal material is dropped onto a surface of one of the substrates before joining the substrates with each other via a sealing member formed in the shape of a closed frame, thereby enclosing the liquid crystal material (liquid crystal layer).

In the one drop fill method, a predetermined volume surrounded by the closed frame of the sealing member needs to be filled with exactly the same volume of the liquid crystal material. However, the liquid crystal material may be excessively supplied, so that the excessive amount of the liquid crystal material may be enclosed in the region surrounded by the sealing member between the substrates. In this case, the liquid crystal display panel is likely to swell at a region away from the sealing member, and therefore, the gap between the substrates, i.e., a cell gap, is likely to be partially enlarged. As a result, in this liquid crystal display panel, a spacer for keeping the substrates separated at a predetermined gap does not support the substrate surface, and therefore, when an external force (e.g., a vibration, etc.) is applied to the liquid crystal display panel, the cell gap changes, which causes a display disturbance.

The present invention has been made in view of the aforementioned problem. It is an object of the present invention to provide a liquid crystal display panel which substantially reduces the excessive cell gap when an excessive amount of liquid crystal material is enclosed.

Solution to the Problem

In order to achieve the aforementioned object, in the present invention, when an excessive amount of a liquid crystal material is enclosed, a portion of the liquid crystal material is caused to flow into a cavity region formed by a cavity forming wall.

Specifically, a liquid crystal display panel according to the present invention includes a pair of substrates arranged, facing each other, a liquid crystal layer provided between the pair of substrates, and a frame-like sealing member configured to bond the pair of substrates with each other and enclose the liquid crystal layer. A cavity forming wall is provided on one of the pair of substrates between the liquid crystal layer and the sealing member and is configured to form a cavity region therein by an upper end of the cavity forming wall contacting the other of the pair of substrates. The cavity region is configured so that, when an excessive amount of a liquid crystal material which forms the liquid crystal layer is enclosed, the cavity forming wall is destroyed to cause a portion of the liquid crystal material to flow into the cavity region.

With this configuration, the upper end of the cavity forming wall provided on one of the substrates contacts the other substrate, so that the cavity forming wall forms a cavity region between the pair of substrates. Therefore, the cavity region is adjacent via the cavity forming wall to the liquid crystal layer enclosed between the pair of substrates by the frame-like sealing member. Therefore, if an excessive amount of the liquid crystal material is enclosed, the cavity forming wall is destroyed to cause a portion of the liquid crystal material to flow into the cavity region through a destroyed portion of the cavity forming wall. As a result, an extra amount of the liquid crystal material which causes an excessive cell gap is moved into the cavity region, whereby the excessive cell gap is corrected. Therefore, in a liquid crystal display panel in which an excessive amount of a liquid crystal material is enclosed, an excessive cell gap is substantially reduced.

The cavity forming wall may be configured to have opposite ends contacting the sealing member.

With this configuration, the opposite ends and the upper end of the cavity forming wall provided on one of the substrates contact the sealing member and the other substrate, respectively. Therefore, a cavity region surrounded by the sealing member and the cavity forming wall is formed between the pair of substrates.

A display region which contributes to display and a frame region which is provided around the display region and does not contribute to display, may be provided. A frame-like light shielding layer may be provided in the frame region of the one of the pair of substrates. The cavity fouling wall may be provided, overlapping the light shielding layer.

With this configuration, the cavity forming wall and the cavity region are formed in the frame region in which the light shielding layer is provided and does not contribute to display. Therefore, an excessive cell gap can be corrected without affecting display.

The cavity forming wall may be provided at four corner portions of the sealing member.

With this configuration, as there are generally not many wirings for display (e.g., lead wirings for gate lines and source lines, etc.) at the four corner portions of the sealing member, the cavity forming wall is formed while substantially reducing its overlapping the display wirings. Therefore, bumps on the upper end of the cavity forming wall are reduced, and therefore, the tightness between the upper end of the cavity forming wall and a surface of the other substrate is improved, whereby the cavity region can be reliably formed.

The cavity forming wall may be provided, extending along a side of the sealing member.

With this configuration, for instance, the cavity forming wall is provided along a side of the sealing member which is located at a lower portion when the liquid crystal display panel is caused to stand upright. Therefore, when the cavity forming wall is destroyed, an extra amount of the liquid crystal material is caused to quickly flow into the cavity region due to the action of the force of gravity, whereby an excessive cell gap can be quickly corrected.

The cavity forming wall may be provided, extending along each side of the sealing member.

With this configuration, the cavity forming wall is provided along each side of the sealing member, and therefore, the capacity of the cavity region for causing an extra amount of a liquid crystal material to flow thereinto can be increased.

The cavity forming wall may has a partition wall having a tip end contacting the sealing member and an upper end contacting the other of the pair of substrates, thereby dividing the cavity region into a plurality of parts.

With this configuration, the cavity region is divided into a plurality of parts by the partition wall, and therefore, an excessive cell gap can be corrected by causing the liquid crystal material to flow into a part or parts of the cavity region corresponding to an extra amount of the liquid crystal material.

The plurality of parts of the cavity regions separated by the partition wall may have different sizes.

With this configuration, the parts of the cavity region have different sizes, and therefore, an excessive cell gap can be corrected by causing the liquid crystal material to flow into a part of the cavity region having a size corresponding to an extra amount of the liquid crystal material.

The plurality of parts of the cavity regions separated by the partition wall may have equal sizes.

With this configuration, the parts of the cavity region have equal sizes, and therefore, an excessive cell gap can be corrected by causing the liquid crystal material to flow into a part or parts of the cavity region the number of which corresponds to an extra amount of the liquid crystal material.

The cavity forming wall may have a wall protruding toward the sealing member so as to substantially reduce backflow of a fluid.

With this configuration, the cavity forming wall has the protruding wall for substantially reducing backflow of a fluid, and therefore, when a vacuum bubble is present between the liquid crystal layer and the sealing member, the vacuum bubble flowing into the display region is substantially reduced.

A resin layer may be provided on one of the pair of substrates in a display region which contributes to display, and the cavity fog ning wall may be formed in the same layer as and of the same material as those of the resin layer.

With this configuration, the cavity forming wall is formed in the same layer as and of the same material as those of the resin layer, and therefore, the cavity forming wall can be formed on the one substrate without providing an additional manufacturing step.

Moreover, a method for manufacturing a liquid crystal display panel according to the present invention is provided. The liquid crystal display panel includes a pair of substrates arranged, facing each other, a liquid crystal layer provided between the pair of substrates, and a frame-like sealing member configured to bond the pair of substrates with each other and enclose the liquid crystal layer. A cavity forming wall is provided on one of the pair of substrates between the liquid crystal layer and the sealing member and is configured to form a cavity region therein by an upper end of the cavity forming wall contacting the other of the pair of substrates. The method includes a panel fabricating step of joining the pair of substrates with each other with the liquid crystal layer, the sealing member and the cavity forming wall being interposed therebetween, and thereafter, curing the sealing member, to enclose the liquid crystal layer between the pair of substrates and form the cavity region, a cell gap measuring step of measuring a gap between the pair of substrates joined with each other in the panel fabricating step, and a cell gap correcting step of destroying the cavity forming wall to cause a portion of the liquid crystal material forming the liquid crystal layer to flow into the cavity region, where the cell gap correcting step is performed when the gap between the pair of substrates measured in the cell gap measuring step is larger than a predetermined distance.

With this method, in the liquid crystal display panel fabricated in the panel fabricating step, the upper end of the cavity forming wall provided on one of the substrates contacts the other substrate, so that the cavity forming wall forms a cavity region between the pair of substrates. Therefore, the cavity region is adjacent via the cavity forming wall to the liquid crystal layer enclosed between the pair of substrates by the frame-like sealing member. Therefore, if it is determined in the cell gap measuring step that the measured gap between the pair of substrates is larger than the predetermined distance, i.e., an excessive amount of the liquid crystal material is enclosed, the cavity forming wall is destroyed to cause a portion of the liquid crystal material to flow into the cavity region through a destroyed portion of the cavity forming wall in the cell gap correcting step. As a result, an extra amount of the liquid crystal material which causes an excessive cell gap is moved into the cavity region, whereby the excessive cell gap is corrected. Therefore, in a liquid crystal display panel in which an excessive amount of a liquid crystal material is enclosed, an excessive cell gap is substantially reduced.

In the cell gap correcting step, the cavity forming wall may be destroyed by laser irradiation.

With this method, the cavity forming wall is destroyed by laser irradiation with high accuracy in the cell gap correcting step, so that a portion of the liquid crystal material flows into the cavity region through a destroyed portion of the cavity forming wall, thereby an excessive cell gap is effectively corrected.

Advantages of the Invention

According to the present invention, when an excessive amount of a liquid crystal material is enclosed, a portion of the liquid crystal material is caused to flow into a cavity region formed by a cavity forming wall. As a result, in a liquid crystal display panel in which an excessive amount of a liquid crystal material is enclosed, an excessive cell gap can be substantially reduced.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

Embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings. Note that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described below.

<<Embodiment 1 of the Invention>>

FIGS. 1-5show a liquid crystal display panel and its manufacturing method according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. Specifically,FIG. 1is a plan view of a liquid crystal display panel50aof this embodiment, andFIG. 2is a cross-sectional view of the liquid crystal display panel50a, taken along line II-II ofFIG. 1.

As shown inFIGS. 1 and 2, the liquid crystal display panel50aincludes an active matrix substrate20and a color filter substrate30awhich are provided as a pair of substrates arranged facing each other, a liquid crystal layer40provided between the active matrix substrate20and the color filter substrate30a, and a sealing member25for bonding the active matrix substrate20with the color filter substrate30awhile enclosing the liquid crystal layer40.

FIG. 3is a plan view showing one pixel of the active matrix substrate20.FIG. 4is a cross-sectional view of the liquid crystal display panel50a, taken along line IV-IV ofFIG. 3.

As shown inFIGS. 3 and 4, the active matrix substrate20includes a plurality of gate lines1provided on an insulating substrate10a, extending in parallel with each other, a plurality of source lines3provided extending in parallel with each other and in a direction perpendicular to the gate lines1, a plurality of TFTs (thin film transistors)5provided at intersections of the gate lines1and the source lines3, an interlayer insulating film12provided covering the TFTs5, and a plurality of pixel electrodes6arranged in a matrix on the interlayer insulating film12. Note that a capacitor line lb is provided between each gate line1, extending in parallel with the gate lines1.

As shown inFIGS. 3 and 4, each TFT5includes a gate electrode1awhich is a portion of the gate line1protruding in a lateral direction of the gate line1, a gate insulating film11provided covering the gate electrode1a, an island-like semiconductor layer2located on the gate insulating film11at a position corresponding to the gate electrode1a, and a source electrode3aand a drain electrode3bprovided on the semiconductor layer2, facing each other. Here, as shown inFIG. 3, the source electrode3ais a portion of the source line3protruding in a lateral direction of the source line3. Also, as shown inFIG. 3, the drain electrode3bis extended to a region overlapping the capacitor line lb to form an auxiliary capacitor, and is connected to the corresponding pixel electrode6via a contact hole12aformed in the interlayer insulating film12on the capacitor line lb.

As shown inFIGS. 1,2and4, the color filter substrate30aincludes an insulating substrate10b, black matrices16aand16bwhich are provided in the shape of a frame with a grid therein, on the insulating substrate10b, a color filter17including a red layer (R), a green layer (G) and a blue layer (B), which is provided between each grid bar of the black matrices16aand16b, a common electrode (not shown) provided covering the color filter17, column-like spacers18aprovided protruding from the color filter17via the common electrode toward the active matrix substrate20, and cavity forming walls18bawhose opposite ends contact the sealing member25and whose upper ends contact a surface of the active matrix substrate20to form cavity regions C.

The liquid crystal layer40is formed of a nematic liquid crystal material having an electro-optical property or the like.

Moreover, in the liquid crystal display panel50a, a plurality of pixel electrodes6arranged in a matrix on the active matrix substrate20and a plurality of color layers (the color filter17) arranged in a matrix on the color filter substrate30aconstitute a display region D which contributes to display, and the frame-like black matrix16bprovided on the color filter substrate30aand a region outside the black matrix16bconstitute a frame region F which does not contribute to display.

Moreover, in the liquid crystal display panel50a, in each pixel, which is an minimum unit of an image, when a gate signal is transferred from the gate line1to the gate electrode1a, so that the TFT5is turned on, a source signal is transferred from the source line3to the source electrode3a, and predetermined charge is written via the semiconductor layer2and the drain electrode3bto the pixel electrode6. In this case, there is a potential difference between each pixel electrode6of the active matrix substrate20and the common electrode of the counter substrate30a, and a predetermined voltage is applied to the liquid crystal layer40. Moreover, in the liquid crystal display panel50a, an image is displayed by changing the alignment state of the liquid crystal layer40by changing the magnitude of the voltage applied to the liquid crystal layer40to adjust the light transmittance of the liquid crystal layer40.

Next, a method for manufacturing the liquid crystal display panel50ahaving the aforementioned configuration and a method for correcting it will be described by way of an example. The manufacturing method of this embodiment includes a panel fabricating step (an active matrix substrate fabricating step, a color filter substrate fabricating step, a sealing member applying step, a liquid crystal dropping step, a joining step, and a sealing member curing step), a cell gap measuring step, and a cell gap correcting step.

Initially, a metal film made of aluminum or the like is formed on an entirety of a glass substrate (the insulating substrate10a) having a thickness of about 0.7 mm by sputtering.

Thereafter, patterning is performed by photolithography to form the gate lines1, the gate electrodes1aand the capacitor lines1b, which have a thickness of about 4000 Å.

Thereafter, a silicon nitride film or the like is formed, by CVD (Chemical Vapor Deposition), on an entirety of the substrate on which the gate lines1, the gate electrodes1aand the capacitor lines lb have been formed, thereby forming the gate insulating film11having a thickness of about 4000 Å.

Moreover, an intrinsic amorphous silicon film and a phosphorus-doped n+amorphous silicon film are successively formed, by CVD, on an entirety of the substrate on which the gate insulating film11has been formed. Thereafter, patterning is performed by photolithography to form an island-like pattern on the gate electrode. As a result, a semiconductor layer formation layer is formed in which the intrinsic amorphous silicon layer having a thickness of about 2000 Å and the n+amorphous silicon layer having a thickness of about 500 Å are stacked.

Thereafter, a metal film made of titanium or the like is formed, by sputtering, on an entirety of the substrate on which the semiconductor layer formation layer has been formed. Thereafter, patternining is performed by photolithography to form the source lines3, the source electrodes3aand the drain electrodes3b, which have a thickness of about 2000 Å.

Next, the n+amorphous silicon layer of the semiconductor layer formation layer is etched using the source electrodes3aand the drain electrodes3bas a mask to form channel portions by patterning, thereby forming the semiconductor layer2and the TFTs5.

Moreover, a film made of a photosensitive acrylic resin or the like is formed, by spin coating, on an entirety of the substrate on which the TFTs5have been formed. Thereafter, patterning is performed by photolithography to form the contact holes12aon the drain electrodes3b, and the interlayer insulating film12having a thickness of about 2 to 3 μm is then formed.

Thereafter, an ITO (Indium Tin Oxide) film is formed, by sputtering, on an entirety of the substrate on which the interlayer insulating film12has been formed. Thereafter, patterning is performed by photolithography to form the pixel electrodes6having a thickness of about 1000 Å.

Finally, a polyimide resin is applied, by a printing method, onto an entirety of the substrate on which the pixel electrodes6have been formed. Thereafter, a rubbing treatment is performed to form an alignment film having a thickness of about 1000 Å.

Thus, the active matrix substrate20can be fabricated.

Initially, a black colored photoresist material or the like is applied onto an entirety of a glass substrate (the insulating substrate10b) having a thickness of about 0.7 mm. Thereafter, patterning is performed by photolithography to form the black matrices16aand16bhaving a thickness of about 1.5 μm.

Next, for example, a red, gree or blue colored photoresist material or the like is applied between each grid bar of the black matrices16aand16b. Thereafter, patterning is performed by photolithography to form a color layer having one selected color and having a thickness of about 2.0 μm. Moreover, a similar process is repeated for the other two colors to form color layers having the other colors and having a thickness of about 2.0 μm. Thus, the color filter17is formed.

Moreover, for example, an ITO film is formed on the color filter17by sputtering to form the common electrode having a thickness of about 1500 Å.

Thereafter, a photosensitive acrylic resin or the like is applied onto an entirety of the substrate on which the common electrode has been formed. Thereafter, patterning is performed by photolithography to form the column-like spacers18aon the grid-like black matrix16aand the cavity forming walls18baon the frame-like black matrix16b, where the column-like spacers18aand the cavity forming walls18bahave a thickness of about 3.5 μm.

Finally, a polyimide resin is applied, by a printing method, onto an entirety of the substrate on which the column-like spacers18aand the cavity forming walls18bahave been formed. Thereafter, a rubbing treatment is performed to form an alignment film having a thickness of about 1000 Å.

Thus, the color filter substrate30acan be formed.

A thermal and UV curing acrylic-epoxy resin for forming the sealing member25is applied (drawn) in the shape of a frame, as shown inFIG. 1, using a dispenser or the like, on one (e.g., the color filter substrate30a) of the active matrix substrate20fabricated in the active matrix substrate fabricating step and the color filter substrate30afabricated in the color filter substrate fabricating step.

A liquid crystal material for forming the liquid crystal layer40is dropped onto the display region D of the color filter substrate30aon which the acrylic-epoxy resin (the sealing member25) has been applied in the sealing member applying step.

Initially, the color filter substrate30aon which the liquid crystal material (40) has been dropped in the liquid crystal dropping step and the active matrix substrate20fabricated in the active matrix substrate fabricating step are joined with each other in vacuum in a manner which allows the display regions D of them to overlap.

Next, the active matrix substrate20and the color filter substrate30athus joined with each other are exposed to the atmosphere so that pressure is applied on the surfaces of the active matrix substrate20and the color filter substrate30a.

The active matrix substrate20and the color filter substrate30awhich have been joined with each other in the joining step are subjected to UV irradiation and baking, whereby the sealing member25interposed between the active matrix substrate20and the color filter substrate30ais cured to enclose the liquid crystal layer40.

Thus, the liquid crystal display panel50acan be manufactured.

A cell gap of the liquid crystal display panel50amanufactured in the panel fabricating step is measured by retardation measurement with a rotating analyzer method using a cell gap inspection system (RETS manufactured by OTSUKA ELECTRONICS CO., LTD.). Here, when the measured cell gap is a predetermined distance, e.g., a standard cell gap is 4.00 μm (acceptable range: 3.95 μm to 4.05 μm) and the measured cell gap falls within the acceptable range, the panel is determined to be good or non-defective. When the measured cell gap is larger than the predetermined distance, e.g., the measured cell gap exceeds 4.05 μm, the panel is determined to be defective, and the following cell gap correcting step is performed.

In the liquid crystal display panel50awhich has been determined to be defective in the cell gap measuring step, the cavity forming wall18bais irradiated with laser light, such as YAG laser or the like, through the active matrix substrate20so as to destroy at least a portion of the cavity forming wall18ba, whereby a portion of the liquid crystal material (40) of the liquid crystal layer40is caused to flow into the cavity region C, as shown inFIG. 5. Note thatFIG. 5is a cross-sectional view of a liquid crystal display panel50bwhich is the liquid crystal display panel50awhose cell gap is corrected. Moreover, in a color filter substrate30bofFIG. 5, the cavity forming wall18bawhich had been foimed in the corresponding color filter substrate30aofFIG. 2is destroyed, leaving residues18bb. As a result, an extra amount of the liquid crystal material (40) which causes an excessive cell gap is moved into the cavity region, whereby the liquid crystal display panel50bin which the excessive cell gap is corrected can be manufactured.

As described above, according to the liquid crystal display panels50aand50band their manufacturing methods of this embodiment, in the liquid crystal display panel50afabricated in the panel fabricating step, the cavity forming wall18baprovided on the color filter substrate30ahas opposite ends contacting the sealing member25and an upper end contacting a surface of the active matrix substrate20. As a result, the cavity region C surrounded by the sealing member25and the cavity forming wall18bais formed between the active matrix substrate20and the color filter substrate30a. Therefore, the cavity region C is adjacent via the cavity forming wall18bato the liquid crystal layer40which is enclosed between the active matrix substrate20and the color filter substrate30aby the frame-like sealing member25. Therefore, in the cell gap measuring step, when a measured interval (cell gap) between the active matrix substrate20and the color filter substrate30ais larger than a predetermined distance, and it is determined that an excessive amount of liquid crystal material (40) is enclosed, the cavity forming wall18bais destroyed in the cell gap correcting step, whereby a portion of the liquid crystal material (40) is caused to flow through a destroyed portion of the cavity forming wall18bainto the cavity region C. As a result, an extra amount of the liquid crystal material (40) which causes an excessive cell gap is moved to the cavity region, so that the excessive cell gap is corrected. Therefore, it is possible to substantially reduce an excessive cell gap in the liquid crystal display panel50ain which an excessive amount of liquid crystal material (40) is enclosed. Moreover, as an excessive cell gap can be substantially reduced, a display disturbance due to an external force can be substantially reduced. Moreover, as the excessive cell gap of the liquid crystal display panel50acan be corrected, the yield of manufacture of the liquid crystal display panel can be improved. Moreover, the cavity region C formed between the active matrix substrate20and the color filter substrate30areduces the amount of a liquid crystal material enclosed between the active matrix substrate20and the color filter substrate30a, resulting in a reduction in the cost of the material.

Moreover, according to the liquid crystal display panels50aand50band their manufacturing methods of this embodiment, the cavity forming wall18baand the cavity region C are formed in the frame region F in which the black matrix161) is provided and therefore which does not contribute to display, the excessive cell gap can be corrected without affecting display.

Moreover, according to the liquid crystal display panels50aand50band their manufacturing methods of this embodiment, the cavity forming wall18bais formed in the same layer as and of the same material as those of the column-like spacer18aof the display region D. Therefore, the cavity forming wall18bacan be formed on the color filter substrate30awithout providing an additional manufacturing step.

Moreover, according to the liquid crystal display panels50aand50band their manufacturing methods of this embodiment, the cavity forming wall18bacan be destroyed by laser irradiation with high accuracy in the cell gap correcting step. Therefor; an excessive cell gap can be reliably corrected by causing a portion of a liquid crystal material (40) to flow through a destroyed portion of the cavity forming wall18bainto the cavity region C.

<<Embodiment 2 of the Invention>>

FIG. 6is a plan view showing a corner portion of a liquid crystal display panel50cof this embodiment. Note that, in embodiments described below, the same portions as those ofFIGS. 1-5are indicated by the same reference characters and will not be described in detail.

As shown inFIG. 6, a cavity forming wall18cof the liquid crystal display panel50chas a plurality of partition walls P whose tip ends contact the sealing member25and whose upper ends contact the active matrix substrate, and the partition walls P divide the cavity region C of Embodiment 1 into a plurality of cavity regions C1-C8having different sizes. Therefore, in the cell gap correcting step of Embodiment 1, when an excessive cell gap is corrected, at least a portion of the cavity forming wall18cmay be destroyed, corresponding to an extra amount of an enclosed liquid crystal material, whereby the extra amount of the liquid crystal material may be caused to flow into one of the cavity regions C1-C8which corresponds to the extra amount of the liquid crystal material.

According to the liquid crystal display panel50cand its manufacturing method of this embodiment, the division cavity regions C1-C8have different sizes, and therefore, by causing an extra amount of a liquid crystal material to flow into one of the cavity regions C1-C8which has a size corresponding to the extra amount of the liquid crystal material, an excessive cell gap can be corrected with high accuracy.

<<Embodiment 3 of the Invention>>

FIG. 7is a plan view showing a corner portion of a liquid crystal display panel50dof this embodiment.

As shown inFIG. 7, a cavity forming wall18dof the liquid crystal display panel50dhas a plurality of partition walls P whose tip ends contact a sealing member25and whose upper ends contact an active matrix substrate, and the partition walls P divide the cavity region C of Embodiment 1 into a plurality of cavity regions C1-C6having equal sizes. Therefore, in the cell gap correcting step of Embodiment 1, when an excessive cell gap is corrected, at least a portion of the cavity forming wall18dmay be destroyed, corresponding to an extra amount of an enclosed liquid crystal material, whereby the extra amount of the liquid crystal material may be caused to flow into one or more of the cavity regions C1-C6which correspond to the extra amount of the liquid crystal material.

According to the liquid crystal display panel50dand its manufacturing method of this embodiment, the division cavity regions C1-C6have equal sizes, and therefore, by causing an extra amount of a liquid crystal material to flow into one or more of the cavity regions C1-C6the number of which corresponds to the extra amount of the liquid crystal material, an excessive cell gap can be corrected with high accuracy.

<<Embodiment 4 of the Invention<<

FIG. 8is a plan view of a liquid crystal display panel50eof this embodiment.

As shown inFIG. 8, in the liquid crystal display panel50; a cavity forming wall18eis formed along a lower side of a frame-like sealing member25. Therefore, in the cell gap correcting step of Embodiment 1, when an excessive cell gap is corrected, the cavity forming wall18emay be destroyed so that an extra amount of a liquid crystal material is caused to flow into a lower cavity region C.

According to the liquid crystal display panel50eand its manufacturing method of this embodiment, the cavity forming wall18eis provided along a side of the sealing member25which is located at a lower portion when the liquid crystal display panel50eis caused to stand upright. Therefore, when the cavity forming wall18eis destroyed, an extra amount of a liquid crystal material is caused to quickly flow into the cavity region C due to the action of the force of gravity, whereby an excessive cell gap can be quickly corrected.

<<Embodiment 5 of the Invention>>

FIG. 9is a plan view of a liquid crystal display panel50fof this embodiment.

As shown inFIG. 9, in the liquid crystal display panel50f, a cavity forming wall18fis formed along each side of the frame-like sealing member25. Therefore, in the cell gap correcting step of Embodiment 1, when an excessive cell gap is corrected, the cavity forming wall18fmay be destroyed so that an extra amount of a liquid crystal material is caused to flow into a surrounding cavity region C.

According to the liquid crystal display panel50fand its manufacturing method of this embodiment, the cavity forming wall18fis provided along each side of the sealing member25, and therefore, the capacity of the cavity region C for causing an extra amount of a liquid crystal material to flow thereinto can be maximized.

<<Embodiment 6 of the Invention>>

FIG. 10is a plan view of a liquid crystal display panel50gof this embodiment.

As shown inFIG. 10, in the liquid crystal display panel50g, a cavity forming wall18gis formed at only four corner portions of the frame-like sealing member25. Therefore, in the cell gap correcting step of Embodiment 1, when an excessive cell gap is corrected, the cavity forming wall18gmay be destroyed so that an extra amount of a liquid crystal material is caused to flow into cavity regions C at the four corner portions.

According to the liquid crystal display panel50gand its manufacturing method of this embodiment, as there are generally not many wirings for display (e.g., lead wirings for the gate lines1and the source lines3, etc.) at the four corner portions of the sealing member25, the cavity forming wall18gcan be formed while substantially reducing its overlapping the display wirings. Therefore, bumps on an upper end of the cavity forming wall18gare reduced, and therefore, the tightness between the upper end of the cavity forming wall18gand the surface of the active matrix substrate is improved, whereby the cavity region C can be reliably formed.

FIG. 11is a plan view of a cavity forming wall18hincluded in a liquid crystal display panel of this embodiment.

As shown inFIG. 11, in this liquid crystal display panel, the cavity forming wall18hhas a pair of anti-backflow valves V which are walls protruding toward the sealing member25. Therefore, in the cell gap correcting step of Embodiment 1, when an excessive cell gap is corrected, a portion of the cavity forming wall18hmay be destroyed by irradiating a region L with laser light so that an extra amount of a liquid crystal material is caused to flow into a cavity region C, as shown inFIG. 11.

According to the liquid crystal display panel and its manufacturing method of this embodiment, the cavity forming wall18hhas the pair of anti-backflow valves V on a side thereof closer to the sealing member25. Therefore, when a vacuum bubble is present between the liquid crystal layer40and the sealing member25, it is possible to substantially reduce the vacuum bubble or the like flowing into the display region D.

The cavity forming walls18baand18c-18hwhich are formed in the same layer as and of the same material as those of the column-like spacer18aare illustrated in the aforementined embodiments. Alternatively, in the present invention, the cavity forming walls may be formed of an organic resin film of each color layer included in the color filter provided on the color filter substrate, the interlayer insulating film provided on the active matrix substrate or the like, an additionally formed inorganic flim made of an SOG (Spin on Glass) material or the like, a multilayer structure thereof, or the like.

Moreover, the cavity region C which is surrounded by the sealing member25and each of the cavity forming walls18baand18e-18his illustrated in the aforementined embodiments. Alternatively, in the present invention, the cavity region may be fanned and surrounded only by a cavity forming wall between the liquid crystal layer40and the sealing member25.

Although the liquid crystal display panels illustrated in the aforementioned embodiments are of the active matrix drive type, the present invention is also applicable to passive matrix drive type liquid crystal display panels.

Industrial Applicability

As described above, in the present invention, a cell gap can be corrected in liquid crystal display panels manufactured by the one drop fill method. Therefore, the present invention is useful for manufacture of large-size liquid crystal display panels for which the one drop fill method is a mainstream method.

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