JP3994367B2 - Bonding device for glass substrates for liquid crystal panels - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
According to the present invention, two glass substrates on which transparent electrodes are printed are relatively aligned and overlapped by providing a gap, and further, a gap between the two glass substrates is formed uniformly, and then the two glass substrates are separated. The present invention relates to an apparatus for laminating a glass substrate for a liquid crystal panel that cures a sealant applied to the substrate.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Conventionally, the glass substrate for a liquid crystal panel as described above is laminated by first relatively aligning two glass substrates on which transparent electrodes are printed and providing a gap with a pressing means. Next, in order to maintain the superposition state, the adhesive for temporary fixing applied at an appropriate interval between the two glass substrates was cured by ultraviolet irradiation or the like, and then the superposition state was maintained. The sheet is transferred to a station for curing the sealant as it is, and a gap between the glass substrates is uniformly formed by a pressing device, and then applied in a ring shape between the two glass substrates by ultraviolet irradiation or the like. -The liquid crystal panel is manufactured by curing the adhesive.
In addition, there is a method in which alignment of two glass substrates, superposition, uniform formation of a gap, and hardening of a sealant are performed in one station. In this case, uniform formation of the gap and the sealant are performed. It takes a long time to cure, and during these operations, other operations cannot be performed, waiting time is increased, and production efficiency is extremely deteriorated.
[0003]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, in the bonding of the glass substrates for the liquid crystal panel as described above, first, the UV irradiation device for temporary fixing at the overlapping position of the two glass substrates is different from the UV irradiation device for curing the sealant. This is necessary and the device structure is complicated.
The glass substrate is warped by the restoring action of the spacer being crushed when the two glass substrates in the second overlapped state are transferred to the sealant curing station, and the sealant is made of glass. When pulled away from the substrate, air is entrained in the sealant and bubbles are generated, reducing the adhesive strength.
Thirdly, since the mechanical pressing force of about 6 to 8 N / cm ² is applied when the two glass substrates are overlapped and the gap is uniformly formed, the apparatus is strong and rigid enough to support this pressing force. A structure is required.
Fourthly, since the upper and lower surface plates for aligning and overlapping the two glass substrates and forming the gap uniformly need to press the entire surface of the glass substrate uniformly, the surface accuracy of the surface of the surface plate must be improved. There were problems such as high costs for producing ceramic surface plates.
[0004]
The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and can eliminate the temporary fixing after the alignment and superposition of the two glass substrates, and into the sealant due to the warp of the superposed glass substrates. It is an object of the present invention to provide a liquid crystal panel glass substrate bonding apparatus that can eliminate the air entrapment and that does not require high rigidity and that can reduce the surface accuracy of the upper and lower surface plates.
[0005]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to achieve the above object, the apparatus for laminating a glass substrate for a liquid crystal panel according to the present invention comprises a support frame on a movable means that can be finely moved in the horizontal X and Y axes and in the horizontal rotation direction θ axis. The suction adsorption surface is composed of a plurality of block bodies provided on the upper surface to prevent the lower glass substrate from warping, and a plurality of through holes are formed vertically through the peripheral portion. The lower surface plate and a transparent flexible sheet having a length that covers the upper surface of the through hole are disposed on the inner upper surface of the lower surface plate so that the outer surface of the lower surface plate is fitted to the outer periphery of the lower surface plate so as to be fixed and detachable. An auxiliary frame provided, and an image of a position of an alignment mark disposed in correspondence with the through hole below the lower surface plate and attached to the upper and lower glass substrates, and determining the amount of deviation, the movable means An imaging determination mechanism for transmitting an operation signal of A suction hole that is detachably supported by the elevating device above the panel and penetrates up and down at a position corresponding to the auxiliary frame body, a suction suction hole that sucks the peripheral edge of the upper glass substrate at the inner position, and a central portion thereof And a communication hole that penetrates up and down and communicates with the atmosphere, and is flexible so as to cover the block body provided to prevent the upper glass substrate from warping inside the suction suction hole. An upper surface plate provided with a sheet, a plurality of positions on the outer side of the lower surface plate, an ultraviolet irradiation device provided therein, and an upper surface plate, the auxiliary frame body, and an alignment that is sucked and held integrally therewith And a press-curing and curing station B into which the upper and lower glass substrates are carried.
[0007]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In FIG. 1, symbol A is a set station that aligns and superimposes two glass substrates, and symbol B is a press-curing that is arranged in plural at an appropriate interval on the outer periphery of the set station A. It is a station. Between this set station A and each crimping station B, B, an upper surface plate that sucks and holds the glass substrate and an auxiliary frame (not shown) for conveying an auxiliary frame (described later) are arranged.
[0008]
Next, the set station A will be described with reference to FIGS. A lower surface plate 3 is fixed to a movable means 1 that can be finely moved in the X and Y axes in the horizontal direction and the horizontal rotation direction θ-axis via a support frame 2. An annular packing 4 is attached, and through holes 5 and 5 penetrating up and down are formed in the left and right positions slightly inside the annular packing 4.
[0009]
Further, a plurality of block bodies 6 and 6 for preventing the glass substrate from warping are attached to the inner surface of the through-holes 5 and 5 on the upper surface of the lower surface plate 3 at the same height with appropriate intervals. A suction surface is formed, and a recess defined by the plurality of block bodies 6 and 6 and the upper surface of the lower surface plate 3 communicates with a suction hole 7 leading to suction means (not shown). The suction surface of the lower surface plate 3 is made smaller by about 15 to 20 mm than the outer dimension of the glass substrate.
[0010]
Further, an auxiliary frame 8 fixed and detachable so as not to move in the horizontal and vertical directions by a clamp arm (not shown) is fitted on the outer surface of the lower surface plate 3 with a clearance of about 5 mm from the lower surface plate 3. A transparent flexible sheet 9 having a length that closes the upper part of the annular packing 4 and the upper part of the through holes 5 and 5 of the lower surface plate 3 has a frame shape inside the upper part of the auxiliary frame 8. It is fixed via a sheet presser 10.
Furthermore, below the through holes 5 and 5 in the lower surface plate 3, alignment marks M1 and M2 of the glass substrate, which will be described later, are imaged using a microscope and imaged. An imaging determination mechanism that determines the amount of deviation by image processing and transmits a signal to the movable means 1 according to the amount of deviation to finely move the lower surface plate 3 in the horizontal X and Y axes and the horizontal rotation direction θ axis. 11 and 11 are arranged.
[0011]
An upper surface plate 12 is disposed above the lower surface plate 3 and the auxiliary frame 8 so as to be fixed and detachable by a clamp arm attached to a lifting device (not shown). An outer annular packing 13 that is crimped to the upper surface of the auxiliary frame 8 and an inner annular packing 14 that is crimped to the periphery of the glass substrate are provided at positions corresponding to the peripheral edge and the annular packing 4, respectively.
A plurality of suction holes 15, 15 are formed in the upper surface plate 12 between the outer annular packing 13 and the inner annular packing 14 so as to penetrate vertically and communicate with suction means (not shown). A plurality of suction suction holes 16, 16 communicating with suction means (not shown) are also formed at positions corresponding to the through holes 5, 5 in the board 3.
[0012]
Further, a plurality of block bodies 17 and 17 for preventing warpage of the glass substrate are attached to the central portion of the lower surface of the upper surface plate 12 at an appropriate interval, and are located between the block bodies 17 and 17. Is formed with a communication hole 18 penetrating vertically and communicating with the atmosphere. In addition, a flexible sheet 19 is stretched on the inside of the lower surface of the suction suction holes 16, 16 in the upper surface plate 12, and the periphery thereof is fixed by a frame-shaped sheet presser 20.
Next, the crimp-curing station B will be described with reference to FIG. Each crimp-curing station B is provided with a carry-in / out door 21 that is lifted and lowered by a cylinder (not shown) on the side corresponding to the set station A, and a cooling fan 22 for cooling the inside is attached to the rear side. A plurality of ultraviolet irradiation devices L for irradiating ultraviolet rays upward are arranged on the bottom of the irradiation chamber 23, and a plurality of them are arranged on the outer periphery of the set station A. The same number of auxiliary frame bodies 8 and upper surface plates 12 are prepared according to the number of the pressure-curing and curing stations B.
[0013]
As shown in FIG. 2, the structure as described above is such that a large number of spacers U are sprayed on the upper surface while the upper surface plate 12 is raised, and the sealing agent R surrounding the whole is annularly formed. Corresponding to the lower glass substrate P2 coated and attached with the alignment mark M2 at positions corresponding to the through holes 5 and 5 in the lower surface plate 3, and the suction suction holes 16 and 16 in the upper surface plate 12. The upper glass substrate P1 with the alignment mark M1 attached to the lower surface of the position is carried into the upper part of the lower platen 3 and the lower part of the upper platen 12 by a conveying device (not shown).
[0014]
As shown in FIG. 3, the upper glass substrate P1 is brought into close contact with the lower surface of the inner annular packing 14, so that a sealed space Q is formed by the inner annular packing 14, the flexible sheet 19, and the upper surface of the upper glass substrate P1. The upper glass substrate P1 is sucked and held on the lower surface of the upper surface plate 12 by generating a predetermined suction force by a suction means (not shown) communicating with the sealed space Q through the suction suction holes 16 and 16. On the other hand, the lower glass substrate P2 is placed on the suction surface of the lower platen 3, and then a predetermined suction force is generated by a suction means (not shown) communicated by the suction hole 7, whereby the lower glass substrate P2 is placed on the lower platen 3. Adsorbed and held on the upper surface. When the upper and lower glass substrates P1 and P2 are attracted, a force acts so that the warp is generated by the suction force, but a plurality of warp prevention block bodies 6, 6, 17, and 17 provided at intervals. Warpage is prevented from occurring.
[0015]
Next, a lifting device (not shown) that lifts and lowers the upper surface plate 12 is lowered to stop the lowering just before the lower surface of the upper glass substrate P1 comes into contact with the sealing agent R on the lower glass substrate P2. At this time, the outer annular packing 13 of the upper surface plate 12 is in close contact with the upper surface of the auxiliary frame 8. At this time, the imaging determination mechanisms 11 and 11 are operated to image the alignment marks M1 and M2 of the upper and lower glass substrates P1 and P2 through the through holes 5 and 5 and the transparent flexible sheet 9, respectively. The amount of displacement is determined by image processing, a signal corresponding to the amount of displacement is transmitted to the movable means 1 and the lower surface plate 3 is moved finely in the horizontal X and Y axes and in the horizontal rotation direction θ axis. The glass substrate P2 is moved to align with the upper glass substrate P1. At this time, there is a gap of about several hundred μm between the upper and lower alignment marks M1 and M2, and the resolution of the imaging determination mechanism 11 is lowered. Therefore, the shift amount is adjusted to about ± 50 μm.
[0016]
Next, the upper surface plate 12 and the outer annular packing 13 and the inner annular packing 14 attached to the lower surface of the upper surface plate 12, the auxiliary frame 8, the transparent flexible sheet 9, and the upper and lower glass substrates P1 and P2 were defined. A predetermined suction force is generated in the sealed space S by suction means (not shown) communicated with the suction holes 15 and 15 to reduce the pressure between the upper and lower glass substrates P1 and P2, and the flexible sheet 19 is moved by atmospheric pressure. A pressing force is applied to the upper glass substrate P1. This pressing force is initially set to a minimum of 0.5 N / cm ² (more preferably 1 N / cm ² ) and gradually increased to a maximum of 4 N / cm ² (more preferably 3 N / cm ² ). Similarly, the imaging and image processing of the alignment marks M1 and M2 and the determination of the shift amount are performed, and the movable means 1 is operated to align the upper and lower glass substrates P1 and P2. At this time, since the distance between the upper and lower alignment marks M1 and M2 is reduced to about 10 μm, high-accuracy imaging is possible, and the positional deviation amount can be adjusted to about ± 1 μm. Although the lower glass substrate P1 moves during the alignment, the sealed space S is maintained by bending the transparent flexible sheet 9 in close contact with the lower surface of the lower glass substrate P2.
[0017]
Next, when the alignment is completed, the suction action from the suction suction holes 16 and 16 of the upper surface plate 12 and the suction hole 7 of the lower surface plate 3 is stopped, and the upper surface plate 12 and the auxiliary frame body 8 are fixed. The clamp arm (not shown) is released, and the upper surface plate 12 and the auxiliary frame body 8 and the aligned upper and lower glass substrates P1 and P2 that are sucked and held integrally with them by a conveying device (not shown) are pressure-bonded and cured station B. Into the irradiation chamber 23. At this time, a pressing force of about 3 N / cm ² acts on the upper and lower glass substrates P 1 and P ² by a suction means (not shown) communicated with the suction holes 15 and 15, but the pressing force is increased to about 7 N / cm ² during transport. Te (minimum 2N / cm ² ~ up 8N / cm ² if good) space - to form a uniform gap between the upper and lower crush uniformly press the sub U glass substrate P1, P2.
[0018]
Thereafter, in the set station A, another upper surface plate 12 and auxiliary frame body 8 are carried in, and the upper and lower glass substrates P1 and P2 aligned by repeating the above operation together with the upper surface plate 12 and auxiliary frame body 8 are loaded. The operation of carrying in another crimp-curing station B is sequentially performed.
On the other hand, what is carried into the irradiation chamber 23 of the pressure-curing / curing station B is partially below the upper and lower glass substrates P1 and P2 via the transparent flexible sheet 9 by the ultraviolet irradiation device L disposed below. The liquid crystal panel in which the sealant R is cured to a uniform strength and is bonded with high precision in a state where the uniform UV irradiation is performed and the spacer U is formed in the uniform gap is completed. During this pressure curing, the cooling fan 22 is operated to perform cooling so that the upper surface plate 12 and the auxiliary frame 8 are not heated to a high temperature.
[0019]
Next, a take-out device (not shown) is positioned below the liquid crystal panel, and the suction action from the suction holes 15 and 15 is stopped, and the liquid crystal panel is transferred to the take-out device. After the frame body 8 is unloaded and the completed liquid crystal panel is taken out by the take-out device, the upper and lower glass substrates P1 and P2 which have been subjected to the next alignment are carried together with the upper surface plate 12 and the auxiliary frame body 8, and the above operation is performed. repeat. It is preferable to provide 5 to 6 crimp-cured stations B with respect to the set station A.
[0020]
【The invention's effect】
As is clear from the above description, the present invention, after adsorbing and holding the upper and lower glass substrates and bringing them into a temporary alignment through the alignment mechanism, brings the upper and lower glass substrates into contact with each other and depressurizes the upper and lower glass substrates. Then, the final alignment is performed while pressing both of them with the pressure difference from the atmospheric pressure, and this final alignment state is maintained and the degree of decompression between the upper and lower glass substrates is increased to form a uniform gap between the upper and lower glass substrates. Then, the sealant is cured by irradiating with ultraviolet rays, so that an ultraviolet irradiating device for temporarily fixing the upper and lower glass substrates becomes unnecessary, and the device structure can be simplified. Further, since the warp of the glass substrate is eliminated, air is not caught in the seal agent, and the adhesive strength of the seal agent is not reduced. In addition, since the upper and lower glass substrates are stacked and the uniform gap is formed by using the pressing force due to the pressure difference from the atmospheric pressure due to the reduced pressure, it is not necessary to make the device have a strong structure and the surface accuracy of the upper and lower surface plates is improved. There are various effects such as reducing the cost of manufacturing the surface plate because it does not have to be highly accurate.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a structural cross-sectional view showing an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing a state where upper and lower glass substrates are carried into a set station.
FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing a state in which upper and lower glass substrates are sucked and adsorbed on an upper and lower surface plate.
FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of a set station showing an alignment state of upper and lower glass substrates.
FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view showing the state of sealing agent curing (ultraviolet irradiation) of the upper and lower glass substrates.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Movable means 3 Lower surface plate 5 Transparent hole 6 17 Block body 7 Suction hole 8 Auxiliary frame 9 Transparent flexible sheet 11 Imaging determination mechanism 12 Upper surface plate 15 Suction hole 16 Suction suction hole 18 Communication hole 19 Flexibility Sheet 23 Irradiation chamber A Set station B Pressure curing station L Ultraviolet irradiation device M1 M2 Position mark P1 Upper glass substrate P2 Lower glass substrate Q S Sealed space R Seal agent U Spacer UV UV

Claims (1)

It is fixed via a support frame (2) on a movable means (1) that can be finely moved in the horizontal X and Y axes and the horizontal rotation θ axis, and a lower glass substrate ( P2 ) on the upper surface thereof. Lower surface plate in which a plurality of block bodies ( 6, 6 ) provided for preventing warping constitute a suction adsorption surface and a plurality of through holes ( 5, 5 ) are vertically penetrated in the peripheral portion. ( 3 ) and a length that is fitted to the outer periphery of the lower surface plate ( 3 ) with a gap between them and fixed and detachable, and covers the upper surface of the through holes ( 5, 5 ) on the inner upper surface thereof An auxiliary frame body ( 8 ) having a transparent flexible sheet ( 9 ) and upper and lower glass substrates ( P1 ) disposed below the lower surface plate ( 3 ) in correspondence with the through holes ( 5, 5 ). , P2 ) , the position of the alignment mark ( M1, M2 ) attached to the image is picked up, and the deviation amount is determined to determine the above-mentioned possibility. An imaging determination mechanism (11, 11) for transmitting the operation signal of movement means (1), corresponding to the upward and supported in the detachable lifting device and the auxiliary frame body of the lower surface plate (3) (8) A suction hole ( 15, 15 ) penetrating vertically at a position, a suction adsorption hole ( 16, 16 ) for adsorbing the peripheral edge of the upper glass substrate ( P1 ) at an inner position thereof, and a central portion thereof vertically penetrating to the atmosphere A communicating hole ( 18 ) that communicates with each other, and a block body ( 17, 17 ) provided inside the suction suction hole ( 16, 16 ) to prevent warpage of the upper glass substrate ( P1 ). Ru with a surface plate (12) on with the door (19), a plurality disposed ultraviolet radiation device therein at the outer portion of the lower surface plate (3) and (L) - covering a flexible sheet which is tensioned And the upper surface plate (12) and the auxiliary frame body 8) and compression curing stearyl the upper and lower glass substrates in alignment is sucked and held together with these (P1, P2) is conveyed - distribution (glass for liquid crystal panels to B), characterized by comprising Substrate bonding device.

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