Radiation imagery chemistry: process – composition – or product th – Combined
Reexamination Certificate
1999-11-17
2001-12-18
McPherson, John A. (Department: 1756)
Radiation imagery chemistry: process, composition, or product th
Combined
C430S007000, C347S004000, C347S102000, C347S104000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06331384
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to a method and apparatus for manufacturing a color filter by coloring a color filter substrate, the color filter, a display device using the color filter, and an apparatus equipped with the display device.
Recent advances in personal computers, especially portable personal computers, have been accompanied by increasing demand for liquid crystal displays, particularly color liquid crystal displays. However, lowering the cost of liquid crystal displays is required to further the wider use thereof, and it is particularly important to lower the cost of color filters, which are relatively expensive. Various methods of meeting these demands while satisfying the characteristics required of color filters have been tried, but a method of satisfying all of these requirements has not yet been realized. The various methods that have been attempted will now be described.
A first method, which is that most widely used, is dyeing. This method includes coating a glass substrate with an aqueous polymer material consisting of a dyeing material, patterning the polymer material into a desired shape by photolithography and then dipping the pattern obtained into a dye solution to obtain a colored pattern. By repeating this three times, R (red), G (green), B (blue) color filter layers are formed.
A second method is pigment dispersion, which currently is in the process of supplanting the dyeing method. This method includes forming a photosensitive resin layer, in which a pigment has been dispersed, on a substrate, and patterning this layer to obtain a pattern of a single color. By repeating this three times, R, G, B color filter layers are formed.
A third method is electrodeposition. This method includes forming transparent patterns on a substrate and electrodepositing a first color by dipping the substrate in an electrodeposition coating solution containing pigment, resin and an electrolyte, etc. Color filter layers of the colors R, G, B are formed by repeating this process three times. This is followed by calcination.
A fourth method is printing. This includes dispersing pigment in a thermosetting resin and repeating printing three times to apply the three colors R, G, B, after which the resin is thermoset to form colored layers.
In general, a protective layer is formed on the colored layers in each of the methods mentioned above.
What these methods have in common is that it is required that the same process be repeated three times in order to achieve coloring in the three colors R, G, B. This increases cost. An additional problem is that the greater the number of steps, the lower the yield. Furthermore, in the electrodeposition method, the shapes of the patterns that can be formed are limited. For this reason, this method cannot be applied to TFT applications. The printing method cannot form patterns at a fine pitch owing to poor resolution and smoothness.
To eliminate these shortcomings, methods of manufacturing color filters using an inkjet method have been disclosed in the specifications of Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open (KOKAI) Nos. 59-75205, 63-235901 and 1-217320. These methods include spraying coloring solutions, which include pigments of the three colors R, G, B, on a light-transmitting substrate by the inkjet method and drying each of the coloring solutions to form a colored image area. The inkjet method makes it possible to form R, G, B pixels at one time. The advantages obtained are a greatly simplified manufacturing process and a major reduction in cost.
However, in the conventional method of manufacture based upon the inkjet method described above, a series of steps from a step for forming an ink-absorbing receptor layer on a color filter substrate to a step for coloring the receptor layer and curing the receptor layer is not performed continuously. The result is poor productivity.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a color filter manufacturing method and apparatus through which the productivity of color filter manufacture is improved.
Another object of the invention is to provide a color filter manufactured by the method and apparatus mentioned above, a display device that uses the color filter and an apparatus equipped with this display device.
According to the present invention, the foregoing objects are attained by a method of manufacturing a color filter by coloring a color filter substrate, comprising a partitioning step of partitioning the substrate into a portion which is to be colored and a portion that is not to be colored, a coloring step of coloring the portion to be colored by discharging ink from an inkjet head, and a drying step of drying the ink discharged at the coloring step, the partitioning step, coloring step and drying step being performed successively.
The invention further provides an apparatus for manufacturing a color filter by coloring a color filter substrate, comprising a partitioning unit for partitioning the substrate into a portion which is to be colored and a portion that is not to be colored, a coloring unit for coloring the portion to be colored by discharging ink from an inkjet head, and a drying unit for drying the ink discharged by the coloring unit, the partitioning unit, coloring unit and drying unit being arranged in succession as a single manufacturing line.
The invention further provides a color filter manufactured by coloring a color filter substrate, the color filter being manufactured by successively executing a partitioning step of partitioning the substrate into a portion which is to be colored and a portion that is not to be colored, a coloring step of coloring the portion to be colored by discharging ink from an inkjet head, and a drying step of drying the ink discharged at the coloring step, the partitioning step, coloring step and drying step being performed successively.
The invention further provides a display device equipped with a color filter manufactured by coloring a color filter substrate, the display device comprising a color filter and light-quantity varying means integrated with the color filter for varying quantity of light, the color filter being manufactured by successively executing a partitioning step of partitioning the substrate into a portion which is to be colored and a portion that is not to be colored, a coloring step of coloring the portion to be colored by discharging ink from an inkjet head, and a drying step of drying the ink discharged at the coloring step, the partitioning step, coloring step and drying step being performed successively.
The invention further provides an apparatus having a display device, which is equipped with a color filter manufactured by coloring a color filter substrate, and image signal output means for outputting an image signal to the display device, wherein the display device comprises a color filter and light-quantity varying means integrated with the color filter for varying quantity of light, the color filter being manufactured by successively executing a partitioning step of partitioning the substrate into a portion which is to be colored and a portion that is not to be colored, a coloring step of coloring the portion to be colored by discharging ink from an inkjet head, and a drying step of drying the ink discharged at the coloring step, the partitioning step, coloring step and drying step being performed successively.
Other features and advantages besides those discussed above will be apparent to those skilled in the art from the description of a preferred embodiment of the invention which follows. In the description, reference is made to the accompanying drawings, which form a part thereof, and which illustrate an example of the invention. Such example, however, is not exhaustive of the various embodiments of the invention, and therefore reference is made to the claims which follow the description for determining the scope of the invention.
REFERENCES:
patent: 4313124 (1982-01-01), Hara
patent: 4345262 (1982-08-01), Shiratu
patent: 4459600 (1984-07-01), Sato
pat
Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
Fitzpatrick ,Cella, Harper & Scinto
McPherson John A.
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