USRE46146E1 - Liquid crystal display device and method of manufacturing the same - Google Patents

Abstract

An LCD device and a method of manufacturing the same are disclosed, in which a sealant concentrated upon the end of a dispensing device is formed in a dummy region on a substrate, so that a liquid crystal layer is not contaminated when both substrates are attached to each other and a cell cutting process can easily be performed. The method of manufacturing an LCD device includes preparing a lower substrate and an upper substrate, forming an auxiliary UV sealant in a dummy region on one of the lower and upper substrate and forming a main UV sealant, applying a liquid crystal on one of the lower and upper substrates, attaching the lower and upper substrates, and irradiating UV light onto the attached substrates.

Description

This application claims the benefit of the Korean Application No. P2002-8900 filed on Feb. 20, 2002, which is hereby incorporated by reference for all purposes as if fully set forth herein.

This application incorporates by reference two applications, Ser. No. 10/184,096, filed on Jun. 28, 2002, entitled “SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR MANUFACTURING LIQUID CRYSTAL DISPLAY DEVICES”and Ser. No. 10/184,088, filed on Jun. 28, 2002, entitled “SYSTEM FOR FABRICATING LIQUID CRYSTAL DISPLAY AND METHOD OF FABRICATING LIQUID CRYSTAL DISPLAY USING THE SAME”, as if fully set forth herein.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a liquid crystal display (LCD) device, and more particularly, to a sealant pattern of an LCD device manufactured by applying a liquid crystal to the surface of a substrate.

2. Discussion of the Related Art

Generally, ultra thin flat panel displays have a display screen with a thickness of several centimeters or less. In particular, flat panel LCD devices are widely used in monitors for notebook computers, spacecraft, and aircraft because such LCD devices have low power consumption and are easy to carry.

Such an LCD device includes a lower substrate, an upper substrate, and a liquid crystal layer. A thin film transistor (TFT) and a pixel electrode are formed on the lower substrate. The upper substrate is formed to oppose the lower substrate. A light-shielding layer, a color filter layer, and a common electrode are formed on the upper substrate. The liquid crystal layer is formed between the lower and upper substrates. In operation an electric field is formed between the lower and upper substrates by the pixel electrode and the common electrode so that the electric field “drives” the alignment of molecules in the liquid crystal layer. Light transmittivity is controlled by driving the liquid crystal layer so that a picture image is displayed.

In the aforementioned LCD device, to form the liquid crystal layer between lower and upper substrates, a vacuum injection method based on capillary phenomenon and pressure difference has been conventionally used. However, such a vacuum injection method has a problem in that it takes long time to inject the liquid crystal into a large display panel, thereby reducing manufacturing productivity.

To solve such a problem, a method of applying liquid crystal on the substrate has been developed and is generally described with reference toFIGS. 1A to 1D. Although the drawings illustrate only one unit cell, a plurality of unit cells may be formed depending upon the size of the substrate.

As shown inFIG. 1A, alower substrate1 and anupper substrate3 are prepared. A plurality of gate and data lines (not shown) are formed on thelower substrate1. The gate lines cross the data lines to define a pixel region. A thin film transistor (not shown) is formed at each crossing point between the gate and data lines. A pixel electrode (not shown) connected with the thin film transistor is formed in the pixel region.

A light-shielding layer (not shown) is formed on theupper substrate3 to prevent light from leaking out from the gate and data lines and the thin film transistor. Color filter layers of red(R), green(G), and blue(B) are formed on the light-shielding layer, and a common electrode is formed on the color filter layers. An alignment film (not shown) is formed on at least one of thelower substrate1 and theupper substrate3 to initially align the liquid crystal molecules.

As shown inFIG. 1B, asealant7 is formed on thelower substrate1 and a liquid crystal5 is applied thereon, so that a liquid crystal layer is formed. A spacer (not shown) is spread or sprayed onto theupper substrate3 to maintain a cell gap between the upper and lower substrates.

In the method of manufacturing the LCD device based on the liquid crystal application method, a liquid crystal layer is formed on attached substrates before thesealant7 is hardened. Therefore, if a thermo-hardening sealant is used as thesealant7, the liquid crystal heats and expands so that it flows out of the substrate when it is heated. For this reason, a problem arises in that the liquid crystal5 is contaminated. Therefore, in the method of manufacturing the LCD based on the liquid crystal application method, a sealant that is at least partially curable by ultraviolet (UV) light is used as thesealant7.

The UV sealant is formed by a screen printing method or a dispensing method. In the screen printing method, since a screen comes into contact with the substrate, the alignment film formed on the substrate may be damaged. Also, if the substrate has a large sized area, loss of the sealant increases. In these respects, the dispensing method is preferably used.

As shown inFIG. 1C, thelower substrate1 is attached to theupper substrate3.

As shown inFIG. 1D, UV light is irradiated through a UV irradiating device9 so that thesealant7 is hardened.

Thereafter, although not shown, a cell cutting process and a final test process are performed, thereby completing a liquid crystal cell.

Meanwhile,FIGS. 2A and 2B are perspective views illustrating a process of forming a UV sealant using a dispensing method. In the method of applying liquid crystal to one of the substrates before attaching the the substrates, since no liquid crystal injection hole is required, asealant7 having no injection hole is formed on alower substrate1 using adispensing device8.

However, since thesealant7 has high viscosity, it is concentrated upon the end of a nozzle of the dispensingdevice8 before thesealant7 is dispensed. For this reason, a blob “A” of thesealant7 is excessively deposited at the point where deposition of thesealant7 on the substrate is started.

As shown inFIG. 2C, the excessively distributed sealant spreads into an active region (central part of the substrate) and a dummy region (outer part of the substrate) when thelower substrate1 is attached to theupper substrate3. In this case, a problem arises in that the sealant spreads into the active region and contaminates the liquid crystal while the sealant spread out to the dummy region makes the cell cutting process difficult, especially after the sealant is cured.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, the present invention is directed to an LCD device and a method of manufacturing the same that substantially obviates one or more problems due to limitations and disadvantages of the related art.

An advantage of the present invention is to provide an LCD device and a method of manufacturing the same in which a sealant is formed so that a liquid crystal is not contaminated when both substrates are attached to each other and so that a cell cutting process can be easily performed.

Additional advantages and features of the invention will be set forth in part in the description which follows and in part will become apparent to those having ordinary skill in the art upon examination of the following or may be learned from practice of the invention. These and other advantages of the invention may be realized and attained by the structure particularly pointed out in the written description and claims hereof as well as the appended drawings.

To achieve these and other advantages and in accordance with the purpose of the invention, as embodied and broadly described herein, a method of manufacturing an LCD device according to the present invention includes preparing a lower substrate and an upper substrate; forming an auxiliary sealant and subsequently forming a main sealant on one of the lower and upper substrates, wherein the auxiliary sealant is formed in a dummy region and connect to the main sealant; applying a liquid crystal on one of the lower and upper substrates; attaching the lower and upper substrates; and curing at least the main sealant.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the supplementary UV sealant does not perform the ordinary the function of a sealant, that is, it does not prevent the liquid crystal from leaking out. While the main UV sealant acts as a sealant to confine the liquid crystal.

In another aspect of the present invention, a method of manufacturing a liquid crystal display (LCD) device includes preparing a lower substrate and an upper substrate; forming an auxiliary UV sealant and a main UV sealant on one of the lower and upper substrates, wherein the auxiliary UV sealant is formed in a dummy region and extends from the main UV sealant; applying a liquid crystal on one of the lower and upper substrates; attaching the lower and upper substrates; and irradiating UV light on the attached substrates.

In one aspect of the present invention, the supplementary UV sealant is formed in a dummy region on the substrate and then the closed type main UV sealant is formed, so that the sealant concentrated upon the end of a nozzle of a dispensing device is formed in the dummy region on the substrate.

It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description of the present invention are exemplary and explanatory and are intended to provide further explanation of the invention as claimed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a further understanding of the invention and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this application, illustrate embodiment(s) of the invention and together with the description serve to explain the principle of the invention.

In the drawings:

FIGS. 1A to 1D are perspective views illustrating a method of manufacturing an LCD device according to a related art liquid crystal application method;

FIGS. 2A and 2B are perspective views illustrating a process of forming a UV sealant using a related art dispensing method;

FIG. 2C is a perspective view illustrating a sealant formed by a related art dispensing method after attaching substrates to each other;

FIGS. 3A to 3D are perspective views illustrating a method of manufacturing an LCD device according to a first embodiment of the present invention;

FIGS. 4A to 4D are perspective views illustrating a process of forming a UV sealant in manufacturing an LCD device according to a second embodiment of the present invention of the present invention;

FIGS. 5A and 5B are perspective views illustrating a process of forming a UV sealant in a method of manufacturing an LCD device according to a third embodiment of the present invention of the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view illustrating an LCD device according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention; and

FIGS. 7A and 7B are sectional views taken along lines I-I and II-II ofFIG. 6.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE ILLUSTRATED EMBODIMENTS

Reference will now be made in detail to the illustrated embodiments of the present invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Wherever possible, the same reference numbers will be used throughout the drawings to refer to the same or like parts.

FIGS. 3A to 3D are perspective views illustrating a method of manufacturing an LCD device according to the first embodiment of the present invention;

Although the drawings illustrate only one unit cell, a plurality of unit cells may be formed depending upon the size of the substrate.

As shown inFIG. 3A, alower substrate10 and anupper substrate30 are prepared for the process. A plurality of gate and data lines (not shown) are formed on thelower substrate10. The gate lines cross the data lines to define a pixel region. A thin film transistor (not shown) having a gate electrode, a gate insulating layer, a semiconductor layer, an ohmic contact layer, source/drain electrodes, and a protection layer is formed at each crossing point of the gate lines and the data lines. A pixel electrode (not shown) connected with the thin film transistor is formed in the pixel region.

An alignment film (not shown) is formed on the pixel electrode to initially align the molecules of liquid crystal. The alignment film may be formed of polyamide or polyimide based compound, polyvinylalcohol (PVA), and polyamic acid by rubbing. Alternatively, the alignment film may be formed of a photosensitive material, such as polyvinvylcinnamate (PVCN), polysilioxanecinnamate (PSCN) or cellulosecinnamate (CelCN) based compound, by using a photo-alignment method.

A light-shielding layer (not shown) is formed on theupper substrate30 to shield light leakage from the gate lines, the data lines, and the thin film transistor regions. A color filter layer (not shown) of R, G, and B is formed on the light-shielding layer. A common electrode (not shown) is formed on the color filter layer. Additionally, an overcoat layer (not shown) may be formed between the color filter layer and the common electrode. The alignment film is formed on the common electrode.

Silver (Ag) dots are formed outside thelower substrate10 to apply a voltage to the common electrode on theupper substrate30 after the lower andupper substrates10 and30 are attached to each other. Alternatively, the silver dots may be formed on theupper substrate30.

For an in plane switching (IPS) mode LCD, the common electrode is formed on the lower substrate like the pixel electrode, and so that an electric field can be horizontally induced between the common electrode and the pixel electrode. The silver dots are not formed on the substrate.

As shown inFIG. 3B, aliquid crystal50 is applied onto thelower substrate10 to form a liquid crystal layer.

An auxiliary UVcurable sealant70a is formed in a dummy area at a corner region of theupper substrate30, subsequently, a main UVcurable sealant70b having no injection hole is formed, using a dispensing method.

Theauxiliary UV sealant70a is prevents any problem that may occur due to a sealant concentrated upon the end of a nozzle of a dispensing device. Therefore, it does not matter where theauxiliary UV sealant70a is formed in the dummy area of the substrate, i.e., any blob of-sealant will be formed away from the active region of the liquid crystal display device and away from a region where the liquid crystal panel will be cut away from the mother substrate assembly. Formation of themain UV sealant70b is preceded by the formation of theauxiliary UV sealant70a. Theauxiliary UV sealant70a may be formed in a straight line as shown. Alternatively, theauxiliary UV sealant70a may be formed in a curved line or other shape as long as it is formed in a dummy region.

Monomers or oligomers each having both ends coupled to the acrylic group, mixed with an initiator are used as theUV sealants70a and70b. Alternatively, monomers or oligomers each having one end coupled to the acrylic group and the other end coupled to the epoxy group, mixed with an initiator are used as theUV sealants70a and70b.

Also, theliquid crystal50 may be contaminated if it comes into contact with themain UV sealant70b before themain UV sealant70b is hardened. Accordingly, theliquid crystal50 may preferably be applied on the central part of thelower substrate10. In this case, theliquid crystal50 is gradually spread even after themain UV sealant70b is hardened. Thus, theliquid crystal50 is uniformly distributed on the substrate.

Theliquid crystal50 may be formed on theupper substrate30 while theUV sealants70a and70b may be formed on thelower substrate10. Alternatively, theliquid crystal50 and theUV sealants70a and70b may be formed on one substrate. In this case, there is an imbalance between the processing times of the substrate with the liquid crystal and the sealants and the substrate without the liquid crystal and the sealants in the manufacturing process. For this reason, the total manufacturing process time increases. Also, when the liquid crystal and the sealants are formed on one substrate, the substrate may not be cleaned even if the sealant contaminates the panel before the substrates are attached to each other.

Accordingly, a cleaning process for cleaning theupper substrate30 may additionally be provided before the attaching process after theUV sealants70a and70b are formed on theupper substrate30.

Meanwhile, spacers may be formed on either of the twosubstrates10 and30 to maintain a cell gap. Preferably, the spacers may be formed on theupper substrate30.

Ball spacers or column spacers may be used as the spacers. The ball spacers may be formed in such a manner that they are mixed with a solution having an appropriate concentration and then spread at a high pressure onto the substrate from a spray nozzle. The column spacers may be formed on portions of the substrate corresponding to the gate lines or data lines. Preferably, column spacers may be used for the large sized substrate since the ball spacers may cause an uneven cell gap for the large sized substrate. The column spacers may be formed of a photosensitive organic resin.

As shown inFIG. 3C, thelower substrate10 and theupper substrate30 are attached to each other by the following processes. First, one of the substrates having the liquid crystal dropped thereon is placed at the lower side. The other substrate is placed at the upper side by turning by 180 degrees so that its portion having layers faces into the substrate at the lower side. Thereafter, the substrate at the upper side is pressed, so that both substrates are attached to each other. Alternatively, the space between the substrates may be maintained under the vacuum state so that both substrates are attached to each other by releasing the vacuum state.

Then, as shown inFIG. 3D, UV light is irradiated upon the attached substrates through aUV irradiating device90.

Upon irradiating the UV light, monomers or oligomers activated by an initiator constituting the UV sealants are polymerized and hardened, thereby bonding thelower substrate10 to theupper substrate30.

If monomers or oligomers each having one end coupled to the acrylic group and the other end coupled to the epoxy group, mixed with an initiator are used as the UV sealants, the epoxy group is not completely polymerized by the application of UV light. Therefore, the sealants may have to be additionally heated at about 120° C. for one hour after the UV irradiation, thereby hardening the sealants completely.

Afterwards, although not shown, the bonded substrates are cut into a unit cells and final test processes are performed.

In the cutting process, a scribing process is performed by forming a cutting line on surfaces of the substrates with a pen or wheel of a material having hardness greater than that of glass, such as diamond, and then the substrates are cut along the cutting line by mechanical impact (breaking process). Alternatively, the scribing process and the breaking process may simultaneously be performed using a pen or wheel of a diamond or other hard material.

The cutting line of the cutting process is formed between the start point of the auxiliary sealant, which may be a blob A of sealant, and a main UV sealant across the initially formedauxiliary UV sealant70a. Consequently, a substantial portion of the excessively distributedauxiliary UV sealant70a is removed.

FIGS. 4A to 4D are perspective views illustrating a process of irradiating UV light in the method of manufacturing an LCD device according to the second embodiment of the present invention. The second embodiment is similar to the first embodiment except for the UV irradiation process. In the second embodiment, a region where the sealants are not formed is covered with a mask before the UV light is irradiated. Since the other elements of the second embodiment are the same as those of the first embodiment, the same reference numerals will be given to the same elements and their detailed description will be omitted.

If the UV light is irradiated upon the entire surface of the attached substrates, the UV light may deteriorate characteristics of devices such as a thin film transistor on the substrate and may change a pre-tilt angle of an alignment film formed for the initial alignment of the liquid crystal.

Therefore, in the second embodiment of the present invention, the UV light is irradiated when the area where no sealant is formed is covered with a mask.

Referring toFIG. 4A, a region where theauxiliary UV sealant70a and themain UV sealant70b are formed is covered with amask80. Themask80 is placed at an upper side of the attached substrates, and the UV light is irradiated.

Also, themask80 may be placed at a lower side of the attached substrates. Also, although the UV light is irradiated upon theupper substrate30 of the attached substrates as shown, the UV light may be irradiated upon thelower substrate10 by turning the attached substrates.

If the UV light from aUV irradiating device90 is reflected and irradiated upon an opposite side, it may deteriorate characteristics of devices, such as the thin film transistor on the substrate and the alignment film, as described above. Therefore, masks are preferably formed at lower and upper sides of the attached substrates.

That is, as shown inFIG. 4B, masks80 and82 that cover the region where thesealants70a and70b are not formed are placed are at upper and lower sides of the attached substrates. The UV light is then irradiated thereupon.

Meanwhile, since theauxiliary UV sealant70a does not act as a sealant, it does not require hardening. Also, since the region of theauxiliary UV sealant70a overlaps the cell cutting line during the later cell cutting process, it is more desirable for the cell cutting process that the auxiliary UV sealant70 is not hardened.

Referring toFIGS. 4C and 4D, theauxiliary UV sealant70a is not hardened by irradiating the UV light when only the area where themain UV sealant70b is not formed is covered with the mask, i.e., theauxiliary sealant70a is also covered by a mask.

In this case, inFIG. 4C, the UV light is irradiated with themask80 in place at a lower or upper side of the attached substrates. InFIG. 4D, the UV light is irradiated when themask80 is respectively placed at lower and upper sides of the attached substrates.

FIGS. 5A and 5B are perspective views illustrating a process of forming a UV sealant in a method of manufacturing an LCD device according to the third embodiment of the present invention of the present invention.

The third embodiment is identical to the second embodiment except for the UV irradiation process. In the third embodiment, the UV light is irradiated at a tilt angle. Since the other elements of the third embodiment are identical to those of the second embodiment, the same reference numerals will be given to the same elements and their detailed description will be omitted.

If a light-shielding layer and a metal line such as gate and data lines are formed on a region where the UV sealant is formed, the UV light is not irradiated upon the region, thereby failing to harden the sealant. For this reason, adherence between the lower and upper substrates is reduced.

Therefore, in the third embodiment of the present invention, the UV light is irradiated at a tilt angle upon the substrate where the UV sealant is formed, so that the UV sealant is hardened even if the light-shielding layer or the metal line layer is formed between the UV irradiating surface and the sealant.

To irradiate the UV light at a tilt angle, as shown inFIG. 5A, the attached substrates are horizontally arranged and aUV irradiating device90 is arranged at a tilt angle of θ. Alternatively, as shown inFIG. 5B, the attached substrates may be arranged at a tilt angle and theUV irradiating device90 may horizontally be arranged.

Also, the UV light may be irradiated at a tilt angle when the area where the sealant is not formed is covered with the mask as shown inFIGS. 4A to 4D.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view illustrating an LCD device according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention, andFIGS. 7A and 7B are sectional views taken along lines I-I and II-II ofFIG. 6.

As shown inFIGS. 6 and 7, an LCD device according to the present invention includes lower andupper substrates10 and30, a UV sealant between the lower andupper substrates10 and30, having anauxiliary UV sealant70a in a dummy area and a perimeter ofmain UV sealant70b connected to theauxiliary UV sealant70a, and aliquid crystal layer50 between the lower andupper substrates10 and30.

At this time, although not shown, a thin film transistor, a pixel electrode, and an alignment film are formed on thelower substrate10. A black matrix layer (not shown), a color filter layer (not shown), a common electrode (not shown) and an alignment film (not shown) are formed on theupper substrate30. Also, spacers are formed between the lower andupper substrates10 and30 to maintain a cell gap between the substrates.

As aforementioned, the LCD device and the method of manufacturing the same according to the present invention have the following advantages.

Since the sealant concentrated upon the end of the nozzle of the dispensing device is formed in the dummy area on the substrate, the liquid crystal layer is not contaminated by the attaching process of the substrates and the cell cutting process is easily performed.

Furthermore, if the UV light is irradiated upon the substrate when the mask is formed at the lower and/or upper side of the attached substrates, the UV light is irradiated upon only the region where the UV sealant is formed. In this case, the alignment film formed on the substrate is not damaged and the characteristics of the devices, such as the thin film transistor, are not deteriorated.

Finally, if the UV light is irradiated at a tilt angle, the sealant can be hardened even if the light-shielding layer or the metal line is formed on the sealant, thereby avoiding reducing adherence between the lower and upper substrates.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made in the present invention. Thus, it is intended that the present invention covers the modifications and variations of this invention provided they come within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents.

Claims (38)

What is claimed is:

1. A method of manufacturing a liquid crystal display (LCD) device comprising:

preparing a lower substrate and an upper substrate;

forming an auxiliary sealant and subsequently forming a main sealant on one of the lower and upper substrates, wherein the auxiliary sealant is formed in a dummy region and connects to the main sealant, and wherein the auxiliary sealant and the main sealant are contiguous;

applying a liquid crystal on one of the lower and upper substrates;

attaching the lower and upper substrates; and

curing at least the main sealant.

2. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the main sealant and the auxiliary sealant are at least partially curable by irradiating UV light and curing the main sealant includes irradiating UV light.

3. The method of claim2 31, wherein curing the main sealant includes irradiating UV light, and the sealant is formed using oligomers each having both ends coupled to an acrylic group.

4. The method of claim2 31, wherein curing the main sealant includes irradiating UV light, and the sealant is formed using monomers each having both ends coupled to an acrylic group.

5. The method ofclaim 2, wherein the sealant is formed using oligomers each having one end coupled to an acrylic group and the other end coupled to an epoxy group.

6. The method ofclaim 5, further comprising heating the sealant after irradiating the UV light.

7. The method of claim2 31, wherein curing the main sealant includes irradiating UV light, and the sealant is formed using monomers each having one end coupled to an acrylic group and the other end coupled to an epoxy group.

8. The method ofclaim 7, further comprising heating the sealant after irradiating the UV light.

9. The method ofclaim 2, further comprising heating the sealant after irradiating the UV light.

10. The method of claim2 31, wherein curing the main sealant includes irradiating UV light, and a region where the sealant is not formed is covered with a mask during the irradiating with UV light.

11. The method ofclaim 2, wherein a region where the main UV sealant is not formed is covered with a mask during the irradiating with UV light.

12. The method of claim2 31, wherein curing the main sealant includes irradiating UV light, and the UV light is irradiated at a tilt angle with respect to the attached substrates.

13. The method of claim2 31, wherein curing the main sealant includes irradiating UV light, the method further comprising:

providing a mask over a region where the main sealant is not formed before irradiating UV light such that the auxiliary sealant is not exposed to the UV light; and

cutting the attached substrates.

14. The method of claim1 31, further comprising forming column spacers on the upper substrate.

15. The method of claim1 31, wherein the main and auxiliary sealants are formed on the upper substrate and the liquid crystal is applied to the lower substrate.

16. The method ofclaim 1, further comprising cutting the attached substrates.

17. The method ofclaim 16, wherein the attached substrates are cut across a portion of the auxiliary sealant.

18. The method of claim1 31, wherein the applying the liquid crystal includes dropping the liquid crystal onto the one of the upper and lower substrates.

19. The method ofclaim 18, wherein the liquid crystal is applied in a predetermined pattern onto the one of the upper and lower substrates.

20. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the auxiliary sealant contacts the main sealant.

21. A method of manufacturing a liquid crystal display (LCD) device comprising:

preparing a lower substrate and an upper substrate;

forming an auxiliary UV sealant and a main UV sealant on one of the lower and upper substrates, wherein the auxiliary UV sealant is formed in a dummy region and extends outside from the main UV sealant, wherein the auxiliary UV sealant contacts the main UV sealant;

applying a liquid crystal on one of the lower and upper substrates;

attaching the lower and upper substrates; and

irradiating UV light on the attached substrates.

22. The method of claim21 23, wherein the UV light is irradiated at a tilt angle with respect to the attached substrates.

23. A method of manufacturing a liquid crystal display (LCD) device comprising:

preparing a lower substrate and an upper substrate;

forming an auxiliary UV sealant and a main UV sealant on one of the lower and upper substrates, wherein:

the main UV sealant has no injection hole;

the auxiliary UV sealant is formed in a dummy region and extends outside from the main UV sealant;

the auxiliary UV sealant includes a sealant blob at a sealant deposition starting point; and

the auxiliary UV sealant contacts the main UV sealant;

applying a liquid crystal on one of the lower and upper substrates;

attaching the lower and upper substrates; and

irradiating UV light on the attached substrates.

24. The method of claim 23, wherein the sealant blob is deposited completely outside of an area enclosed by the main UV sealant.

25. The method of claim 23, wherein the auxiliary UV sealant contacts the main UV sealant at a substantially 90-degree angle.

26. The method of claim 23, wherein the auxiliary UV sealant forms a substantially straight line between the sealant blob and the main UV sealant.

27. The method of claim 23, wherein the auxiliary UV sealant forms a curve between the sealant blob and the main UV sealant.

28. The method of claim 23, further comprising cutting the attached substrates across a portion of the auxiliary UV sealant between the sealant blob and the main UV sealant.

29. The method of claim 23, wherein the main UV sealant defines a completely enclosed active region on one of the lower and upper substrates.

30. The method of claim 23, wherein the auxiliary UV sealant is not connected to an injection hole.

31. A method of manufacturing a liquid crystal display (LCD) device comprising:

preparing a lower substrate and an upper substrate;

forming an auxiliary sealant that is at least partially curable by ultraviolet light and subsequently forming a main sealant that is at least partially curable by ultraviolet light on one of the lower and upper substrates, wherein:

the main sealant has no injection hole;

the auxiliary sealant is formed in a dummy region and connects to the main sealant;

the auxiliary sealant includes a sealant blob at a sealant deposition starting point; and

the auxiliary sealant and the main sealant are contiguous;

applying a liquid crystal on one of the lower and upper substrates;

attaching the lower and upper substrates; and

curing at least the main sealant.

32. The method of claim 31, wherein the sealant blob is deposited completely outside of an area enclosed by the main sealant.

33. The method of claim 31, wherein the auxiliary sealant connects to the main sealant at a substantially 90-degree angle.

34. The method of claim 31, wherein the auxiliary sealant forms a substantially straight line between the sealant blob and the main sealant.

35. The method of claim 31, wherein the auxiliary sealant forms a curve between the sealant blob and the main sealant.

36. The method of claim 31, further comprising cutting the attached substrates across a portion of the auxiliary sealant between the sealant blob and the main sealant.

37. The method of claim 31, wherein the main sealant defines a completely enclosed active region on one of the lower and upper substrates.

38. The method of claim 31, wherein the auxiliary sealant is not connected to an injection hole.

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