JP3868364B2 - Optical member bonding method and optical member bonding apparatus - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an optical member bonding method for bonding a polarizing film such as a retardation film to a polarizing plate as an optical member specified for a liquid crystal display device, and an optical member bonding apparatus for carrying out the method.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Conventionally, as an optical member laminating means, an optical member laminating unit has been proposed and implemented in which a polarizing film is adhered to a surface of a polarizing plate that is adsorbed and held in a horizontal position on an adsorption table via a roll (see Patent Document 1). ).
[0003]
[Patent Document 1]
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 6-71756 [0004]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
In the conventional means, since the polarizing film is laminated and held on the suction table and the polarizing film is bonded, the fine dust generated during the process is likely to fall on the surface of the polarizing plate and adhere to it. It has become. That is, it is necessary to take sufficient work environment conservation measures such as a means for preventing the generation of dust and a means for removing the generated dust, and the equipment cost tends to be high.
[0005]
The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and is capable of reducing work environment conservation measures, while performing a good bonding process that suppresses the occurrence of defective products due to dust adhesion. The main object is to provide an optical member bonding method and an optical member bonding apparatus that can be performed.
[0006]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
The present invention has the following configuration in order to achieve the above object.
[0007]
That is, in the invention according to claim 1, the first optical member and the second optical member are held in a plane in a vertical position so that the first optical member and the second optical member are opposed to each other, and are kept facing each other while maintaining the plane holding state in the vertical position. The first optical member is bonded to the second optical member.
[0008]
(Operation / Effect) Since the first optical member and the second optical member are each handled in a vertical posture, even if dust falls during the processing, the first optical member and the second optical member are subjected to the processing in a state where they are difficult to adhere to the affixing surface. In other words, with simple improvements, it is possible to create a work environment in which dust that has come down is difficult to adhere, and to reduce the number of defective products while reducing the number of facilities for work environment conservation measures. It can be carried out.
[0009]
The invention according to claim 2 is an optical member laminating apparatus for laminating a film-like second optical member to the first optical member,
A first table for sucking and holding the second optical member in a vertical position;
A second table that holds the first optical member by suction in a vertical position;
Table turning means for turning the second table so that the first optical member holding surface of the second table approaches and opposes the second optical member holding surface of the first table;
Tilt means for tilting the first table so that one end of the first table approaches one end of the second table;
A sticking roller for pressing the second optical member held by the first table against the first optical member;
A table moving means for translating the sticking roller and the tilted first table along the second table is provided.
[0010]
(Function / Effect) According to the optical member laminating apparatus, first, the second optical member (for example, a polarizing film) and the first optical member (for example, a polarizing plate) are adsorbed to the first table and the second table in a vertical posture, respectively. Retained. Next, the first optical member approaches and opposes the second optical member by turning the second table, and one end portion of the second optical member is moved through the sticking roller by the tilting operation of the first table. Affixed to one end of Thereafter, the second optical member of the first table is continuously pasted to the surface of the first optical member while the sticking roller and the first table in the tilt posture move in parallel along the second table. That is, the optical member bonding method according to claim 1 can be suitably realized.
[0011]
Further, the invention according to claim 3 is the optical member bonding apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the second optical member of the first table in the process of translating the sticking roller and the first table by the table moving means. And a control means for controlling the suction level of the first table so that a predetermined tension is applied to the second optical member by the suction and the pressing of the sticking roller.
[0012]
(Operation / Effect) In the process of moving the sticking roller and the first table in parallel, the second optical member is fixed to the second optical member by the suction of the second optical member (for example, a polarizing film) of the first table and the pressing of the sticking roller. The second optical member is bonded to the first optical member (for example, a polarizing plate) while being tensioned. That is, the second optical member can be bonded to the first optical member in a uniform state without unevenness of bonding.
[0013]
Moreover, the invention which concerns on Claim 4 was equipped with the angle adjustment means which changes the standing angle of the said 1st table of a vertical attitude | position and the 2nd table in the optical member bonding apparatus of Claim 2 or Claim 3. It is characterized by this.
[0014]
(Function / Effect) The first table and the second table are arbitrarily changed to an angle at which the second optical member (for example, a polarizing film) or the first optical member (for example, a polarizing plate) can be easily supplied to or removed from the tables. Adjust. Therefore, the standing angles of the first and second tables can be matched to the operator's physique and the like, and the loading operation of the second optical member or the first optical member, or the processing of the processed first optical member can be performed. The efficiency of taking out work can be improved.
[0015]
Further, the invention according to claim 5 is the optical member bonding apparatus according to any one of claims 2 to 4, wherein static electricity charged on the second optical member held by the first table is removed. It is characterized by comprising electrostatic removal means.
[0016]
(Function / Effect) The second optical member (polarizing film) is likely to be charged with static electricity when the protective film on the adhesive surface is peeled off. Is prevented from being adsorbed. Therefore, it is possible to avoid the dust from adhering to the bonding surface due to static electricity, which is effective in preventing the occurrence of defective products.
[0017]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.
[0018]
FIG. 1 is an overall side view of an optical member laminating apparatus for carrying out the optical member laminating method according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a plan view thereof, and FIG. 3 is a front view thereof.
In this example, a polarizing plate is used as the first optical member of the present invention and a polarizing film is used as the second optical member. However, the present invention is not limited to these members.
[0019]
This optical member laminating apparatus includes a laminating apparatus main body 2 on the upper surface of a base 1 fixed on the floor, and an operator manually operates a polarizing plate and a polarizing film as processing materials from the front surface of the base 1. Thus, it is configured to supply and load the bonding apparatus main body 2 and to manually take out the polarizing plate after the bonding process.
[0020]
The base frame 3 of the bonding apparatus main body 2 is connected to the base 1 so as to be tiltable around the horizontal axis fulcrum a, and by adjusting the expansion and contraction of the left and right stays 4 provided on the back, the base frame 3 can be set to an arbitrary standing angle. It is configured to be fixable. In addition, these structures comprise the angle adjustment means of this invention.
[0021]
On the front surface of the base frame 3 (on the right side in FIGS. 1 to 3), a polarizing film holding first table 5 having a front surface configured as a vacuum suction surface and a polarizing plate holding a front surface as a vacuum suction surface. The second table 6 is arranged in parallel on the left and right in a vertical posture.
[0022]
As shown in FIGS. 4 to 6, the front surface of the base frame 3 is supported so as to be horizontally movable along a pair of upper and lower guide rails 7. The movable base 10 is equipped. A vertical support shaft 12 is mounted on the movable base 10 so as to be rotatable about the vertical axis b and driven and rotated by an air cylinder 11. The first table is attached to the vertical support shaft 12. 5 is connected and fixed. These structures constitute the tilting means and the table moving means of the present invention.
[0023]
As shown in FIG. 6, a swing arm 14 driven and swung by an air cylinder 13 is loosely supported on the upper and lower ends of the longitudinal support shaft 12, and a free end portion of the swing arm 14 is supported. The pasting roller 15 is supported so as to be freely rotatable. In other words, when the swinging arm 14 swings around the longitudinal axis b, the sticking roller 15 is located outside the one end of the first table 5 and the retracting position is retracted backward from the table surface. The position is changed back and forth between the positions.
[0024]
As shown in FIG. 4, a longitudinal drive shaft 16 is arranged at the left and right intermediate position in the base frame 3 so that the second table 6 can turn around the longitudinal axis c. The vertical drive shaft 16 is wound around the motor 34 via a belt 18 and linked, and the second table 6 is connected so that the position of the vertical drive shaft 16 can be adjusted in the axial direction. These structures constitute the table turning means of the present invention.
[0025]
The basic configuration of the optical member bonding apparatus according to the present embodiment is as described above. Next, the operation of bonding the polarizing film to the polarizing plate will be described based on the flowcharts of FIGS. 3, 7 to 10, and 11. To do.
[0026]
<Step S1> At the time of starting the polarizing film loading / positioning process, as shown in FIG. 10A, the first table 5 is in a posture parallel to the base frame 3, and the sticking roller 15 is in the retracted position. In addition, the first table 5 is slightly slid leftward to approach the fixed receiving frame 17.
[0027]
A stepped portion d that is flush with the surface of the first table 5 is formed at the distal end portion of the fixed receiving frame 17, and the operator places the end portion of the polarizing film f against the stepped portion d for positioning. .
[0028]
<Step S <b>2> After completion of the adsorption position adjustment of the polarizing film, the adsorption button 18 installed on the upper left side of the bonding apparatus main body 1 is pressed to adsorb and hold the polarizing film f on the surface of the first table 5. At this time, the edge part of the polarizing film f in the level | step-difference part d exists in the free state by which adsorption | suction holding is not carried out.
[0029]
In addition, what is necessary is just to block | close the open | released adsorption | suction hole with a suitable plate, when smaller than the adsorption | suction surface of the polarizing film f table 5. FIG.
[0030]
<Step S3> Stripping Removal of Protective Film Here, the polarizing film f is adsorbed and held with the adhesive surface protected by a protective film (not shown) facing forward, and then the protective film is peeled off. Remove.
[0031]
<Step S4> The second table 6 at the start of the polarizing plate loading / positioning process is in a posture with its surface facing forward, and at this time, the support provided at the free end (right end) of the second table 6 Both ends of the member 19 are received and supported by a pair of upper and lower stoppers 20 shown in FIG. 3 erected from the base frame.
[0032]
In addition, a pair of positioning members 23 and 24 moved by the air cylinders 21 and 22 are provided above and to the right of the second table 6, so that the operator can move to the positioning operation position close to the table edge. The positioning members 23 and 24 that are moving are positioned by applying the upper and right sides of the polarizing plate p.
[0033]
<Step S <b>5> After the adsorption position adjustment of the polarizing plate is completed, the adsorption button 25 installed on the upper right side of the bonding apparatus main body 1 is pushed to hold the polarizing plate p on the surface of the second table 6. This polarizing plate p is also adsorbed and held with the surface protected by a protective film (not shown) facing forward.
[0034]
If the polarizing plate p is smaller than the suction surface of each table 6, the opened suction hole may be closed with a suitable plate.
[0035]
<Step S6> After the alignment of the protective film is removed, the polarizing plate p is also adsorbed and held with the surface protected by the protective film (not shown) facing forward, and then this protective film. Remove and remove.
[0036]
<Step S7> Start of Bonding Processing When positioning and loading of the polarizing film f and the polarizing plate p are completed, the start button 26 installed on the lower right side of the bonding apparatus body 1 is pressed to start the bonding operation.
[0037]
When the bonding operation is started, as shown in FIGS. 9 and 10B, first, the positioning members 23 and 24 that have approached the end side of the second table 6 are moved backward, and the movable base is moved. 10 moves slightly to the right. By moving the movable table 10, one end portion of the polarizing film f that is not sucked and held becomes a position facing the end portion of the second table 6.
[0038]
<Step S8> Turning of the second table and tilting of the first table Next, as shown in FIG. 10C, the second table 6 is driven and turned around the vertical axis c toward the front surface of the first table 5. The At the same time, the first table 5 is tilted (tilted) around the vertical axis b by the air cylinder 11, and one end thereof is brought close to the second table 6.
[0039]
<Step S9> When the fixed second table 6 of the second table is turned by 180 °, the support member 19 of the second table 6 is fixed to the stopper 27 fixedly arranged on the base frame side from the back as shown in FIG. The pair of upper and lower presser members 29 that are received and mounted on the bracket 28 of the base frame 3 so as to be swingable around the fulcrum e are driven and swung by the air cylinder 30 so that both ends of the support member 19 are pressed from the front side. Thereby, the second table 6 is firmly fixed.
[0040]
<Step S10> After fixing the second table 6 by pressing the polarizing film with the sticking roller, the sticking roller 15 is moved forward by the air cylinder 13, and the end of the polarizing film f protruding from the end of the first table 5 is It is pressed and attached to the rear surface of the polarizing plate p that is sucked and held on the second table 6.
[0041]
<Step S11> Application of Polarizing Film As shown in FIG. 10 (d), the movable base 10 is driven and moved to the right, and the first table 5 and the application roller 15 in a tilted posture are moved together in parallel to the right. The polarizing film f is continuously pasted on the surface of the polarizing plate p. At this time, the adsorption force of the first table 5 is moderately weakened by a control means (not shown) so that the polarizing film f can slide as the application proceeds.
[0042]
<Step S12> Pasting Completion When pasting is completed, the first table 5 and the second table 6 move back to the initial position, the processed polarizing plate p of the second table 6 is taken out, and the pasting is performed once. The process ends.
[0043]
In addition, in order to perform a film bonding process appropriately in the optical member bonding apparatus of a present Example, the following incidental functions are provided.
[0044]
That is, when the protective film of the polarizing film f or the polarizing plate p is peeled off, static electricity may be charged on the polarizing film f or the polarizing plate p to adsorb dust. To prevent this, FIG. As shown in FIG. 2, an electrostatic removal device 31 that discharges ions for neutralizing and removing static electricity toward the bonding processing unit is mounted on the upper portion of the apparatus body 1 so as to be adjustable in angle. The electrostatic removal device 31 corresponds to the electrostatic removal unit of the present invention.
[0045]
Moreover, as shown in FIG. 2, it is detected whether the operator exists in the turning area of the 2nd table 6 in the sensor arm 32 extended ahead from right and left of the bonding apparatus main body 1. FIG. An infrared sensor transmitter 33a and receiver 33b are provided. That is, when the start button 26 is pressed, the turning operation of the second table 6 is executed after it is detected and confirmed that no operator is present between the two sensor arms 32. Note that the equipment on the sensor arm 32 is not limited to the infrared sensor, and any equipment that can detect whether or not an operator is present in the turning area of the second table 6 may be used.
[0046]
As described above, each of the polarizing film f and the polarizing plate p is loaded on the first table 5 and the second table 6 arranged in the vertical position, and the second table 6 is turned while the state is maintained, so that the first table 5 is rotated. By attaching the polarizing film f to the polarizing plate p close to the table, it is possible to avoid the dust generated during the treatment from adhering to the attaching surface.
[0047]
【The invention's effect】
As is apparent from the above description, according to the present invention, the polarizing plate and the polarizing film are simply improved by simply handling the polarizing plate and the polarizing film in a vertical posture. Therefore, it is possible to form a work environment in which dust is hardly attached, and to perform film laminating processing with less generation of defective products while saving equipment for work environment conservation measures.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is an overall side view of an optical member bonding apparatus.
FIG. 2 is an overall plan view of the optical member bonding apparatus.
FIG. 3 is a front view of a bonding apparatus main body.
FIG. 4 is a side view of a bonding apparatus main body.
FIG. 5 is a plan view of a bonding apparatus main body.
FIG. 6 is a front view showing a first table driving structure of the bonding apparatus main body.
FIG. 7 is a side view of the second table.
FIG. 8 is a plan view showing a fixing structure at a bonding position of the second table.
FIG. 9 is a plan view showing a first table and a second table.
FIG. 10 is a schematic plan view showing a bonding operation.
FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing a bonding operation.
[Explanation of symbols]
5 ... 1st table 6 ... 2nd table 15 ... Sticking roller f ... Polarizing film p ... Polarizing plate

Claims (5)

An optical member laminating method for laminating a second optical member to a first optical member,
The first optical member and the second optical member are each held in a plane in a vertical position so that the first optical member and the second optical member are opposed to each other, and the first optical member is opposed to the second optical member facing each other while maintaining the plane holding state in the vertical position. An optical member bonding method, wherein optical members are bonded together. An optical member bonding apparatus for bonding a film-like second optical member to a first optical member,
A first table for sucking and holding the second optical member in a vertical position;
A second table that holds the first optical member by suction in a vertical position;
Table turning means for turning the second table so that the first optical member holding surface of the second table approaches and opposes the second optical member holding surface of the first table;
Tilt means for tilting the first table so that one end of the first table approaches one end of the second table;
A sticking roller for pressing the second optical member held by the first table against the first optical member;
An optical member laminating apparatus comprising: table moving means for translating the pasting roller and the tilted first table along a second table. In the optical member bonding apparatus according to claim 2,
In the process of moving the sticking roller and the first table in parallel by the table moving means, a second tension is applied to the second optical member by the suction of the second optical member of the first table and the pressing of the sticking roller. An optical member laminating apparatus comprising control means for controlling the adsorption level of one table. In the optical member bonding apparatus according to claim 2 or claim 3,
An optical member laminating apparatus comprising angle adjusting means for changing the standing angle of the first table and the second table in a vertical posture. In the optical member bonding apparatus according to any one of claims 2 to 4,
An optical member laminating apparatus comprising electrostatic removal means for removing static electricity charged on the second optical member held on the first table.

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