FIG. 11 schematically shows a conventional method for manufacturing an optical display device (liquid crystal display). First, an optical member manufacturer produces a long sheet material, which includes an optical member, in the form of a roll (#1), and it is slit into a predetermined size (#2). Examples of the optical member include a polarizing plate for use in a liquid crystal display, a laminated film including a polarizing plate and a retardation plate, and so on. The slit piece of the long material is then cut into a specific length according to the size of an optical display unit (liquid crystal cell) (#3), and the specific-length piece of the sheet material is subjected to an appearance inspection (#4). The finished product is then inspected (#5). Subsequently, the four end faces of the piece of the sheet material are worked (#6). The piece of the sheet material is then subjected to clean packaging in a clean room environment (#7), and packaging for transportation is performed (#8). The piece of the sheet material manufactured as described above is transported to a panel processing manufacturer.
The panel processing manufacturer unpacks the piece of the sheet material (#11). An appearance inspection is then performed to check whether scratches, stains or other defects are produced in transit or during unpacking (#12). The piece of the sheet material determined as non-defective in the inspection is then transferred to the next step. An optical display unit (liquid crystal cell) to which the piece of the sheet material will be bonded is previously manufactured and cleaned before the bonding step (#13).
The piece of the sheet material and the optical display unit (liquid crystal cell) are bonded together to form an optical display device (#14). The release film is peeled off from the piece of the sheet material so that the pressure-sensitive adhesive can be left, and one side of the optical display unit (liquid crystal cell) is bonded to the surface of the pressure-sensitive adhesive. The other side of the optical display unit (liquid crystal cell) may also be bonded in a similar manner.
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open (JP-A) No. 2007-140046 (Patent Literature 1) discloses a manufacturing method, which includes: feeding a sheet material, which includes an optical member, from a roll thereof; detecting whether the sheet material has any defect; cutting the sheet material into pieces based on the result of the detection; subsequently peeling off the release film; and then bonding the cut piece of the optical member to a liquid crystal cell.
JP-A No. 2005-37416 (Patent Literature 2) discloses a manufacturing method, which includes cutting the members (e.g., a polarizing plate) of a sheet material other than a release film so that the sheet material can be kept continuous by means of the release film and bonding the cut piece of the sheet material to an optical display unit (liquid crystal cell) with the pressure-sensitive adhesive interposed therebetween, while peeling off the release film.    Patent Literature 1: Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open (JP-A) No. 2007-140046.    Patent Literature 2: JP-A No. 2005-37416.