JP5642239B2 - LCD substrate bonding system - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a substrate bonding system for a liquid crystal substrate, and more particularly to a substrate bonding system that shortens the time until completion of bonding and minimizes the work of transferring a substrate by a robot in the system.

  In the production of a liquid crystal display panel, an adhesive (hereinafter also referred to as a sealing agent) provided on the peripheral edge of a substrate with two glass substrates provided with a transparent electrode and a thin film transistor array at a very close distance of about several μm. And bonding (hereinafter, the substrate after bonding is referred to as a liquid crystal display panel), and there is a step of sealing the liquid crystal in the space between the substrates formed thereby.

  For sealing the liquid crystal, liquid crystal is dropped on one substrate drawn in a pattern in which a sealing agent is closed so as not to provide an injection port, and the other substrate is placed on the one substrate in a vacuum chamber. There is a method in which the upper and lower substrates are brought close to each other and bonded together.

  As a conventional method of laminating a liquid crystal substrate, a method is known in which a spare chamber is provided for loading / unloading a substrate into / from the vacuum chamber, and the substrate is loaded / removed in the same atmosphere as the spare chamber. (For example, refer to Patent Document 1).

  This Patent Document 1 shows a configuration in which an upper substrate and a lower substrate are placed on a conveying jig, conveyed on a roller conveyor from a preliminary chamber to a bonding chamber, and transferred to an upper table and a lower table, respectively. Has been. In this method, when the upper and lower substrates are mounted on the transfer jig, the robot hand is set on the transfer jig. The substrate is also transferred to the table after the upper substrate is held on the upper table, the lower substrate is lifted from the transfer jig, and the transfer jig is retracted to the spare chamber and then set on the lower table. Yes.

  As another conventional example, the lower substrate is transferred from the first load chamber to the assembly device via the spacer spraying device, the sealing material coating device, the liquid crystal injection device, and the first preliminary alignment device, and the upper substrate is transferred to the second load chamber. After passing through the second preliminary alignment chamber and the preliminary chamber to the same assembly apparatus, these two substrates are bonded together by the assembly apparatus, and then the substrate is unloaded through the sealing material curing apparatus, the heat treatment apparatus, and the substrate cutting apparatus. A system for sending to an apparatus is known (for example, see Patent Document 2).

JP 2001-305563 A JP 2003-15101 A

  In the technique described in Patent Document 1, in the liquid crystal substrate assembly system, when the substrate is put in and out of the bonding chamber (vacuum chamber) for bonding the substrates, the bonding chamber has the same atmosphere as the spare chamber. When two substrates to be bonded are carried into one spare chamber provided on one side of the bonding chamber, and the bonding of these two substrates is completed in the bonding chamber, Since the apparatus is configured to discharge from the other auxiliary chamber provided on the other side, the apparatus has a long structure and requires a large installation area. Moreover, since it is necessary to evacuate each of the preliminary chamber and the bonding chamber, it is necessary to arrange an apparatus for that purpose, and it takes time until the vacuum state is reached, and there is a limit to shortening the tact time. is there. Further, Patent Document 1 does not describe any relationship with the previous process. Furthermore, since the transfer jig is used for transferring the upper and lower substrates from the preliminary chamber to the bonding chamber, there is a problem that it takes time to transfer the substrate to the transfer jig.

  Patent Document 2 only describes that the substrate is moved between the devices by the moving means, and the description of what transport means is used to transport the substrate and deliver it to each device. Nothing is disclosed.

  In order to reduce the size of the entire system, the object of the present invention is to reduce the number of places where a robot hand can deliver a substrate, and to convey the substrate by a roller conveyor and place the conveyed substrate on a table provided in each apparatus. An object of the present invention is to provide a liquid crystal substrate bonding system that can be performed with high accuracy and can reduce the time required for alignment and the time required for loading the upper and lower substrates into the bonding chamber.

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the present invention provides a paste coating machine in which a first transport line including a roller conveyor for transporting a lower substrate is formed, and a sealant is applied onto the first transport line, and the paste A short-circuit electrode forming coating machine disposed downstream of the coating machine, a liquid crystal dropping device for dropping a liquid crystal material, a first inspection chamber for inspecting the state of the lower substrate, and the first inspection chamber from the first inspection chamber A transfer chamber for receiving the lower substrate, and a second transfer line comprising a roller conveyor for transferring the upper substrate in parallel with the first transfer line is formed, and the end of the second transfer line A substrate reversing device is provided on the side, and the transfer chamber is provided on the downstream side of the substrate reversing device as a confluence of the first transport line and the second transport line. Roller controller connected to the first conveying line A third transfer line is formed, and a transfer chamber, a pretreatment chamber, a substrate bonding chamber, a post-treatment chamber, an ultraviolet irradiation chamber, and a panel inspection chamber are arranged in series on the third transfer line; The transfer chamber is provided with the third transfer line and a robot hand having a plurality of fingers and suction pads, and the upper substrate inverted by the substrate reversing device is provided in the robot hand. the passed to the third transport line provided between the panel test chamber and the pre-treatment chamber is held by the suction pad, wherein the pre-treatment chamber, a conveyor stretch for stretching the low La conveyor A mechanism is provided on the lower side of the pretreatment chamber, a robot hand is provided on the upper side of the pretreatment chamber, which includes a finger part and a suction pad and carries the upper substrate from the pretreatment chamber into the substrate bonding chamber. In the substrate bonding chamber, A lower table from low La conveyor is extended by conveyors telescopic mechanism receiving the lower substrate, a table top with an adhesive pad for receiving and holding a substrate on which is carried by the pre-treatment chamber of the robot hand, stuck the substrate A gate valve that opens and closes at the entrance side and the exit side of the chamber and uses the substrate laminating chamber as a vacuum chamber, the gate valve on the entrance side of the substrate laminating chamber is opened and extended by the conveyor extension mechanism connected row La conveyor on the inlet side gate roller conveyor of the valve beyond said substrate lamination coupling chamber, the lower substrate to the lower table by the substrate lamination coupling chamber of the roller conveyor are transported, the substrate Hagoshitsu The entrance-side gate valve is opened, and the upper substrate held by the finger part of the robot hand and the suction pad in the pretreatment chamber is carried into the substrate bonding chamber. When this is done, the stretchable adhesive pad provided on the upper table descends between the fingers of the robot hand to hold the upper substrate, and the robot hand and the third transfer line In the liquid crystal substrate pasting system, the lower substrate is carried into the substrate pasting chamber substantially simultaneously.

  Moreover, this invention is the said liquid crystal substrate bonding system. WHEREIN: The said paste applicator provided on the said 1st conveyance line, the said coating device for electrode formation for short circuits, the said liquid crystal dropping apparatus, and the said 1st test room. And the roller conveyor in front of the substrate reversing device in the second transport line, and the front end of the left and right sides of the substrate at right and left in the direction perpendicular to the substrate transport direction. The first and second detection sensors are arranged, and when one of the first and second detection sensors detects the passage of the substrate, the detection sensor side that detects the passage of the substrate The roller conveyor is stopped, and the driving of the roller conveyor on the other detection sensor side is continued until the other detection sensor that does not detect the passage of the substrate detects the passage of the substrate.

  In addition, the present invention provides a table unit provided in the paste coating machine, the short-circuit electrode forming coating machine, the liquid crystal dropping device, and the first inspection chamber provided on the first transport line. Is provided with a positioning mechanism capable of moving up and down on the table side for defining the stop position of the substrate, which is perpendicular to the transport direction and stops the tip portions on both end sides of the substrate. is there.

  According to the present invention, a bonding device, a sealing agent curing device (ultraviolet irradiation device), and the like are arranged almost in series from a coating device that applies a sealing agent for substrate bonding, and a lower substrate and a liquid crystal that has been bonded. Because the panel is transported using a roller conveyor with separate left and right drive systems, the tilt of the substrate can be corrected in front of each device, and the upper and lower substrates can be simultaneously loaded into the laminating apparatus and laminating chamber. In addition, the manufacturing time of the liquid crystal panel can be greatly shortened, and the substrate tilt correction is performed before the apparatus, so that the coating and bonding accuracy is greatly improved.

It is a plane which shows the whole arrangement | positioning of 1st Embodiment of the liquid crystal substrate bonding system by this invention. It is a figure which shows schematic structure of the specific example of the upper table in the board | substrate bonding chamber in FIG. It is a schematic block diagram which shows the specific example of arrangement | positioning of the detection sensor in the 1st conveyance line of FIG. 1, and its operation | movement. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows the board | substrate carrying-in from the pre-processing chamber in the board | substrate bonding chamber in FIG. 1, and the board | substrate carrying-out operation to a post-processing chamber. It is a schematic block diagram which shows the part of the substrate bonding chamber in 2nd Embodiment of the liquid crystal substrate bonding system by this invention.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a plan view showing the overall arrangement of a first embodiment of a liquid crystal substrate bonding system according to the present invention, wherein 1 is a lower substrate, 2 is an upper substrate, 3 is a substrate carry-in robot, 4 is an alignment mechanism, 5 Is a first transfer line (inline), 6 is a second transfer line (side line), 7 is a paste applicator (seal dispenser), 8 is a short-circuit electrode forming applicator, 9 is a liquid crystal dropping device, 10 is 1st inspection room, 11 is a substrate reversing device, 12 is a transfer room, 13 is a robot hand, 14 is a pretreatment room, 15 is a substrate bonding room (vacuum chamber), 16 is a post-treatment room, and 17 is an ultraviolet irradiation. The chamber 18 is a second inspection room (panel inspection room), 19 is a bonded substrate (liquid crystal panel), and 20 is a third transport line.

  In the figure, a first transfer line (inline) 5 for transferring a lower substrate 1 and a second transfer line (side line) for transferring an upper substrate 2 on which TFTs (Thin Film Transistors) are formed. ) 6 is provided. The 1st conveyance line 5 and the 2nd conveyance line 6 which convey the cleaned upper board | substrate 2 and the lower board | substrate 1 are comprised by the roller conveyor or the belt conveyor. The roller conveyer or the belt conveyer is divided and arranged in the left-right direction with respect to the moving direction of the substrate, and is configured so that each can be separately driven and controlled by a separate drive mechanism. The following description is based on the configuration of the roller conveyor. The upper and lower substrates 1 and 2 are respectively conveyed on a roller conveyor.

  In front of the first transfer line 5, there are provided a substrate carry-in robot 3 for carrying the cleaned lower substrate 1 into this system, and an alignment mechanism 4 for aligning the lower substrate 1 from the substrate carry-in robot 3. . The lower substrate 1 is transferred from the alignment mechanism 4 to the first transport line 5, and the lower substrate 1 moves in the direction of the arrow on the first transport line 5 with the bonding surface facing up. A paste applicator (seal dispenser) 7 for applying a sealing agent (adhesive) in a closed loop shape on the lower substrate 1 is provided in the middle of the first transport line 5. In series with the paste applicator 7, a short-circuit electrode forming applicator 8 for spotting the conductive paste is disposed.

  Further, a liquid crystal dropping device 9 for dropping a desired amount of liquid crystal in the loop of the sealing agent applied as described above is disposed on the downstream side of the short-circuit electrode forming applicator 8. A first inspection chamber 10 for inspecting the state of the applied sealing agent, the dropped liquid crystal material, and the like is disposed on the downstream side of the liquid crystal dropping device 9. The lower substrate 1 inspected in the first inspection chamber 10 is transferred to a third substrate provided between the pretreatment chamber 14 and the second inspection chamber 18 by a robot hand 13 provided in the transfer chamber 12. Delivered to the transfer line 20. The third transport line 20 is also formed by a roller conveyor. By the third transfer line 20, first, the lower substrate 1 is carried into the pretreatment chamber 14 on the substrate carry-in side. Furthermore, after the upper substrate 2 conveyed by the second carrying line 6 is reversed by the substrate reversing device 11, it is carried into the pretreatment chamber 14 by the robot hand 13 provided in the transfer chamber 12. Is done.

  Note that a robot hand (not shown) that holds the upper substrate 2 and carries it into the substrate bonding chamber (vacuum chamber) 15 and a roller conveyor (not shown) that conveys the lower substrate 1 also in the pretreatment chamber 14. And provided. Further, the pretreatment chamber 14 is provided with a conveyor expansion / contraction mechanism (not shown) for expanding and contracting the roller conveyor, and a gate valve (between the pretreatment chamber 14 and the substrate bonding chamber 15). When the roller is opened, the conveyor expansion / contraction mechanism allows the roller conveyor to be connected to the roller conveyor in the substrate bonding chamber 15 beyond the gate valve.

  When the upper and lower substrates 1 and 2 are carried into the pretreatment chamber 14, a gate valve (not shown) provided at the entrance of the pretreatment chamber 14 on the substrate carry-in side is closed. A vacuum pump not shown evacuates until a predetermined degree of vacuum (about 150 Torr: hereinafter referred to as a semi-vacuum). When the inside of the pretreatment chamber 14 is in a semi-vacuum state, the gate valve to the substrate bonding chamber 15 is opened, and the roller conveyor is extended to the substrate bonding chamber 15 side by the conveyor expansion / contraction mechanism, so that the substrate bonding chamber 15 is opened. Connected to a roller conveyor. The lower substrate 1 is carried into the substrate bonding chamber 15 on the roller conveyor, and the upper substrate 2 is carried into the substrate bonding chamber 15 by a robot hand. At this time, the inside of the substrate bonding chamber 15 is in a semi-vacuum state. In the pretreatment chamber 14, the lower substrate 1 is received and transferred to the lower table of the substrate bonding chamber 15. The roller conveyor is the third transfer line 20, and the upper substrate 2 is received on the substrate bonding chamber 15. A robot hand 37 (FIG. 4) for delivery to a table (pressure plate) 46 (FIG. 4) is provided. Details of receiving the substrates 1 and 2 in the substrate bonding chamber 15 will be described later.

When the transfer of both the substrates 1 and 2 in the substrate bonding chamber 15 is finished and the upper and lower substrates 1 and 2 are respectively held on the upper and lower tables 46 and 47 (FIG. 4), they are extended from the pretreatment chamber 14. The roller conveyor that has been retracted is retracted into the pretreatment chamber 14, and the gate valve is closed. Then, the inside of the substrate bonding chamber 15 is exhausted until a high vacuum (about 5 × 10 ⁻³ Torr) is obtained. Thereafter, while aligning the upper and lower substrates 1 and 2, the upper table is lowered and the upper substrate 2 is bonded to the lower substrate 1. When this bonding is completed, the inside of the substrate bonding chamber 15 is returned to a half vacuum, and a gate valve (not shown) between the substrate bonding chamber 15 and the post-processing chamber 16 is opened. At this time, the post-processing chamber 16 is in a semi-vacuum state.

  The post-processing chamber 16 is also provided with a conveyor expansion / contraction mechanism (not shown). When the gate valve to the substrate bonding chamber 15 is opened, the conveyor expansion / contraction mechanism provided in the post-processing chamber 16 operates. Then, a roller conveyor is extended from the post-processing chamber 16 and connected to the roller conveyor in the substrate bonding chamber 15. When a bonded substrate (that is, a liquid crystal panel) 19 in which the upper and lower substrates 1 and 2 are bonded to the post-processing chamber 16 is carried in, the roller conveyor is contracted into the post-processing chamber 16, and the post-processing chamber 16 and the substrate bonding are bonded. The gate valve between the chamber 15 is closed and the inside of the post-processing chamber 16 is brought into an atmospheric state. When the inside of the post-processing chamber 16 is in an atmospheric state, a gate valve (not shown) between the post-processing chamber 16 and the ultraviolet irradiation chamber 17 is opened, and a conveyor expansion / contraction mechanism (not shown) provided in the post-processing chamber 16 is opened. To the roller conveyor of the ultraviolet irradiation chamber 17. Thereafter, the liquid crystal panel 19 is carried into the ultraviolet irradiation chamber 17 on the roller conveyor, where the sealing agent is irradiated with ultraviolet rays to cure the sealing agent. When the curing of the sealant is completed, the liquid crystal panel 19 is transported on the roller conveyor and is transported to the second inspection room (panel inspection room) 18 for inspection.

  As described above, the processing chambers 14 to 18 are arranged almost linearly and a robot hand is used for a part of the processing chambers. However, since the roller conveyor is used for transferring the substrate almost entirely, the installation area of the apparatus is minimized. It can be suppressed to the limit.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a specific example of the upper table in the substrate bonding chamber 15 in FIG. 1, wherein FIG. 2 (a) shows an adhesive pin (adhesive pad) system, and FIG. Each shows a method of attaching an adhesive sheet to the upper table surface, 21 is an upper table, 22 is an adhesive pad mounting plate, 23 is an adhesive pin (adhesive pad), 24 is an adhesive member, 25 is a base plate, 26 is an elastic body, Reference numeral 27 denotes a pressing pin mounting member, 28 denotes a pressing pin, 29 denotes an elastic member, and 30 denotes an adhesive sheet. Note that parts corresponding to those in FIG. Here, the description will be made mainly assuming that the adhesive pin method is adopted.

  The upper table 21 by the adhesive pin (adhesive pad) method shown in FIG. 2A is provided with a plurality of adhesive pins 23 attached to an adhesive pad mounting plate 22 in a laminate of a base plate 25 and an elastic body 26. The adhesive member 24 is provided at the tip of these adhesive pins 23. That is, by moving the adhesive pad mounting plate 22 up and down using a drive mechanism (not shown), the tip of each adhesive pin 23 protrudes from the lower surface of the upper table 21 (ie, the lower surface of the elastic body 26), The upper substrate 2 is configured to be adhesively held. Further, the adhesive pin (hereinafter referred to as an adhesive pad) 23 has an adhesive member 24 provided at the tip thereof and a vacuum suction port (not shown) for vacuum suction provided at the center thereof. Yes. The upper substrate 2 is received from the robot hand using the adhesive pad 23, pulled up to the lower surface of the upper table 21, and held on the adhesive pad 23 as it is.

  The upper table 21 is configured to be moved up and down by a table driving mechanism (not shown). In addition, when the bonding is finished and the bonding substrate (liquid crystal panel) 19 (FIG. 1) is peeled off from the adhesive pad 23, the upper table 21 is pressed against the bonding substrate 19 with a table driving mechanism. The adhesive member 24 can be peeled from the bonding substrate 19 by pulling up the adhesive pad 23 from the lower surface of the upper table 21 while spraying gas from the vacuum suction port in the center of the adhesive pad 23 onto the surface of the bonding substrate 19. it can.

  2B, the upper table 21 by the method of attaching the adhesive sheet shown in FIG. 2B is provided with the adhesive sheet 30 on almost the entire surface of the pace plate 25 of the upper table 21, and the adhesive surface of the adhesive sheet 30 from the upper table 21 ( A plurality of vacuum suction ports (not shown) are provided penetrating to the suction surface), and this vacuum suction is performed by lowering the upper table 21 to the vicinity of the surface of the upper substrate 2 held by the previous robot hand. The upper substrate 2 is sucked onto the adhesive surface of the suction sheet 30 by vacuum suction using a mouth and is configured to be adhesively held. Generally, even if a vacuum suction mechanism is provided with the inside of the vacuum chamber in a vacuum state, the vacuum suction force is reduced and is not useful, but in this specific example, the vacuum chamber is received until the upper substrate 2 is received and held. Since the inside of the (substrate bonding chamber (FIG. 1)) 15 is in a semi-vacuum state, a vacuum adsorption force can be applied.

  The pressure-sensitive adhesive surface of the pressure-sensitive adhesive sheet 30 is provided with mesh-like irregularities as shown in the figure. Further, in this configuration, a plurality of vacuum suction pads that can move up and down from the upper table 21 through the adhesive sheet 30 may be used to lift the upper substrate 2 to the adhesive surface of the adhesive sheet 30.

  In the case of this pressure-sensitive adhesive sheet method, a pressing pin mounting member 27 having a drive mechanism for driving up and down is provided in order to peel off the upper substrate 2 from the pressure-sensitive adhesive sheet 30 after the bonding of the upper and lower substrates 1 and 2 is completed. The pressing pin mounting member 27 is provided with a plurality of pressing pins 28. An elastic member 29 is provided at the tip of the pressing pin 28 so that even if the pressing pin 28 is pressed against the surface of the upper substrate 2, the surface of the upper substrate 2 is not damaged. . The upper substrate 2 can be peeled from the adhesive sheet 30 by raising the upper table 21 while pressing the pressing pins 28 against the upper substrate 2.

  A gas flow path or hole for gas blowing is provided in the center of the pressing pin 28 and the elastic member 29, and when the pressing pin 28 is pressed against the surface of the upper substrate 2, gas is blown onto this surface. The upper substrate 2 can be easily peeled off from the upper table 21.

  Returning to FIG. 1, the liquid crystal panel 19 formed by bonding the upper and lower substrates 1 and 2 in the substrate bonding chamber 15 is peeled off from the upper table 21 (FIG. 2) as described above. The liquid crystal panel 19 is transferred from the lower table onto the roller conveyor and conveyed to the post-processing chamber 16. When the liquid crystal panel is carried into the post-processing chamber 16, a gate valve (not shown) between the substrate bonding chamber 15 and the post-processing chamber 16 is closed, and the inside of the post-processing chamber 16 is returned to the atmospheric state.

  When the interior of the post-treatment chamber 16 is in the atmospheric state, the liquid crystal panel 19 is transferred to the ultraviolet irradiation chamber 17 where the sealing agent is irradiated with UV light (ultraviolet rays) to cure the sealing agent. The liquid crystal panel 19 in which the sealant is cured is transferred to a second inspection room (that is, a panel inspection room) 18 where the inspection is performed.

  The liquid crystal panel 19 is manufactured with the system configuration described above. In the liquid crystal substrate bonding system of this embodiment, the substrates 1 and 2 are mostly transported by a roller conveyor. There is a risk that the accuracy of alignment of the upper and lower substrates 1 and 2 may be reduced as compared with FIG. For this reason, it is necessary to prevent the positional deviation of the substrate that occurs when stopping on the transport path, and to make sure that there is no positional deviation when the upper and lower substrates 1 and 2 are delivered to each processing apparatus. Therefore, in this embodiment, a detection sensor for performing alignment before the upper and lower substrates 1 and 2 are delivered to each processing apparatus is disposed.

  FIG. 3 is a schematic configuration diagram showing a specific example of the arrangement and operation of the detection sensors in the first transport line 5 of FIG. 1, wherein FIG. 3 (a) shows a substrate (here, the lower substrate 1 is an example). (B) shows a state in which the substrate is being rotated, 31a and 31b are rollers, and 32a and 32b are power transmissions. Shafts, 33a and 33b are drive motors, and 34a and 34b are substrate detection sensors. Parts corresponding to those in the previous drawings are given the same reference numerals, and redundant description is omitted.

  In the figure, each roller conveyor is provided with rollers 31a and 31b on the left and right, respectively, and is connected to drive motors 33a and 33b for driving the left and right rollers 31a and 31b via power transmission sources 32a and 32b, respectively. Has been. The driving force of the drive motors 33a and 33b is transmitted to the rollers 31a and 31b via the power transmission sources 32a and 32b, whereby the rollers 31a and 31b are rotationally driven. By rotating the rollers 31a and 31b with the lower substrate 1 placed on the rollers 31a and 31b, the lower substrate 1 is conveyed in the direction of the arrow.

  Substrate detection sensors 34a and 34b for detecting passage of the left and right sides of the lower substrate 1 are arranged in the transport line 5 in a direction perpendicular to the transport direction (left and right direction). When the lower substrate 1 is conveyed before a table (not shown) of the paste applicator 7 (FIG. 1), the lower substrate 1 is detected by the substrate detection sensors 34a and 34b installed in the first conveying line 5. The left and right sides of 1 are detected. When any one of the board detection sensors 34a and 34b on the left and right sides detects the side portion of the lower board 1, control means (not shown) controls to stop the drive motor 33a or 33b on the detected side. . When the substrate detection sensors 34a and 34b simultaneously detect the tips of the respective sides of the lower substrate 1, the control means determines that the lower substrate 1 has been conveyed in the correct state, and rotates the drive motors 33a and 33b as they are. The lower substrate 1 is conveyed by driving.

  Therefore, as shown in FIG. 3B, the lower substrate 1 is transported by being rotated (tilted) counterclockwise when viewed from the advancing direction (hereinafter the same) (that is, the left side portion of the lower substrate 1). Assuming that the side is transported later than the right side), the substrate detection sensors 34a and 34b arranged on the left and right sides (as viewed in the traveling direction) do not detect the lower substrate 1 at the same time. Will occur. When the lower substrate 1 is tilted as shown in FIG. 3B, the right substrate detection sensor 34b first detects the lower substrate 1 and drives the roller conveyor on the substrate detection sensor 34b side. 33b is stopped. At this time, the drive motor 33a on the substrate detection sensor 34a side that has not detected the left side of the lower substrate 1 continues to operate, and the roller 31a continues to rotate. For this reason, the left side of the lower substrate 1 holds the moving state. As described above, when the substrate detection sensor 34b detects the lower substrate 1 with respect to the lower substrate 1 that is inclined with respect to the transport direction, the drive motor 33b is stopped. At this time, the other drive motor 33a is driven to rotate, and the left side of the lower substrate 1 is conveyed. By this operation, the lower substrate 1 is rotated so as to advance the left side of the lower substrate 1. By this rotation operation, the left side of the lower substrate 1 is detected by the substrate detection sensor 34a, and the tip of the left side of the lower substrate 1 becomes the same position as the tip of the right side, and the tilt of the lower substrate 1 is corrected. . As described above, when the inclination of the lower substrate 1 is corrected and both the substrate detection sensors 34a and 34b detect the leading ends of the left and right sides of the lower substrate 1, the right drive motor 33b is also restarted to correct the inclination. In this state, the lower substrate 1 is transferred again.

  This point will be described in more detail. The control means (not shown) detects the rotation (tilt) state of the substrate by looking at the time difference between the detections of the left and right substrate detection sensors 34a and 34b, and the drive motor 33a. , 33b are reversed to return the lower substrate 1 to the predetermined position before detection again. Thereafter, the drive motors 33a and 33b are rotated again in the forward direction to rotate the rollers 31a and 31b in the transport direction, thereby moving the lower substrate 1 in the transport direction indicated by the arrow. Thereby, it can be confirmed that the tips of the left and right sides of the lower substrate 1 are detected by the substrate detection sensors 34a and 34b and the inclination is eliminated. When the inclination of the lower substrate 1 is not sufficiently corrected, the operation is repeated and corrected, and the drive motors 33a and 33b are stopped to obtain the detection time difference. When the control means determines that the difference in detection time is within a predetermined range, it recognizes that the lower substrate 1 is being transported in a normal state, and lowers the lower substrate 1 to the bottom of the application table of the paste applicator 7. Transport and stop there.

  The application table of the paste applicator 7 is configured to be movable up and down, and is configured to receive the lower substrate 1 from the roller conveyor onto the application table by raising the application table. In this way, the substrate detection sensors 34a and 34b are arranged in the left-right direction in the middle of the transport line 5, and the drive on the side where the front end of the side portion of the lower substrate 1 is detected according to the detection results of the substrate detection sensors 34a and 34b. The inclination state of the lower substrate 1 can be detected by stopping the motor and obtaining the detection time difference between the substrate detection sensors 34a and 34b. In addition, the inclination of the lower substrate 1 is corrected by repeatedly detecting the tips of the left and right sides of the lower substrate 1 until the detection time difference between the substrate detection sensors 34a and 34b falls within a predetermined range. Thereby, it is not necessary to separately provide a table for correcting the tilt of the lower substrate 1, and further, it is not necessary to provide a robot hand, so that an increase in the size of the system can be suppressed. Although the correction of the inclination has been described by taking the lower substrate 1 as an example, the same correction is performed for the upper substrate 2 transported along the second transport line 6 (FIG. 1).

  The roller conveyor of the first transport line 5 is arranged between the alignment mechanism 4, the paste applicator 7, the short-circuit electrode forming applicator 8, the liquid crystal dropping device 9, the first inspection chamber 10, and the transfer device 12. The same alignment control as described above is executed in each section. In the above control method, the inclination of the lower substrate 1 is corrected by driving the roller conveyor in the reverse direction to return it to a predetermined position and repeating the detection of the tip portions of the left and right side portions of the lower substrate 1. It is also possible to obtain the relationship between the detection time difference and the correction amount in advance, store the relationship, and correct the drive motor on one side according to the detection time difference. It is. As described above, in order to correct the position of the lower substrate 1 on the transfer line, it is not necessary to align the lower substrate 1 placed on the table, and the time required for alignment when placed on the table is shortened. In addition, the work accuracy on each table is improved.

  Each of the above devices is provided with a table for performing each processing, and each table is provided with a substrate positioning mechanism for defining a stop position of the lower substrate 1. This positioning mechanism is composed of two restricting pins that move up and down to define the progression of the left and right sides of the lower substrate 1 in a direction perpendicular to the substrate transport direction. When the lower substrate 1 is conveyed into the apparatus on the roller conveyor, the restriction pins protrude above the roller conveyor so as to stop the movement of the lower substrate 1 and stop the progress of the lower substrate 1. is there.

  Each table of the above apparatus is configured to be moved up and down by a driving mechanism (not shown). When the lower substrate 1 is conveyed onto the table by the roller conveyor and the roller conveyor stops, the table is raised. By doing so, the lower substrate 1 can be received on the table surface from the roller conveyor. It is also possible to provide a vertical moving mechanism on the roller conveyor provided in the table portion so that the substrate is delivered by moving the roller conveyor below the table surface.

  FIG. 4 is a longitudinal sectional view showing the operation of carrying the substrate from the pretreatment chamber 14 and carrying the substrate to the posttreatment chamber 16 in the substrate bonding chamber 15 in FIG. 1, wherein 35 is a conveyor expansion / contraction mechanism, and 36 is a roller conveyor. , 37 is a robot hand, 38 is a finger part, 39 is a suction pad, 40 is a gate valve, 41 is a lower table, 42 is a roller conveyor for delivering a substrate, 43 is a gate valve, 44 is a conveyor telescopic mechanism, and 45 is a roller conveyor. Therefore, parts corresponding to those in FIGS. 1 and 2 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant description is omitted.

  In FIG. 1, a pre-treatment chamber 14 (FIG. 1) is provided with a roller conveyor 36 having a conveyor telescopic mechanism 35 that expands and contracts on the lower side, and a robot hand 37 on the ceiling side. A gate valve 38 is provided between the substrate bonding chamber 15 and the pretreatment chamber 14, and the inside of the substrate bonding chamber 15 is normally maintained at a predetermined degree of vacuum. A gate valve 43 is also provided between the substrate bonding chamber 15 and the post-processing chamber 16 (FIG. 1). As shown in the figure, the substrate bonding chamber 15 is a vacuum chamber in which a lower table 41 for holding the lower substrate 1 and an upper table 21 for holding the upper substrate 2 are provided.

  The roller conveyor 36 of the pretreatment chamber 14 is provided with a conveyor expansion / contraction mechanism 35, and when the gate valve 38 between the substrate bonding chamber 15 and the pretreatment chamber 14 is opened, the conveyor expansion / contraction mechanism 35 causes the substrate bonding mechanism 35 to paste the substrate. The roller conveyor 36 of the pretreatment chamber 14 extends and is connected to the roller conveyor of the chamber 15 so that the lower substrate 1 can be loaded onto the lower table 41. When the substrates are bonded, the upper table 21 is moved to the lower table 41 side by a drive mechanism (not shown), and the lower substrate 1 and the upper substrate 2 are bonded.

  A plurality of suction pads 39 are provided on the finger portion 38 of the robot hand 37 provided in the pretreatment chamber 14. As described above, the upper table 21 side of the pretreatment chamber 14 is also provided with a plurality of elastic adhesive pads (suction pins) 23 as shown in FIG. The adhesive pad 23 on the upper table 21 side is lowered between the finger portions 38 of the hand 37 so that the upper substrate 2 can be sucked and held. The suction pads 39 and 23 are provided with a supply port (not shown) for supplying a negative pressure to the center thereof, and the upper substrate 2 is sucked by supplying a negative pressure to the supply port. I am doing so. Note that illustration of the negative pressure source and the supply piping is omitted.

  As described above, when the upper substrate 2 is transferred, the pretreatment chamber 14 and the substrate bonding chamber 15 are in a semi-vacuum state so that they can be adsorbed with a negative pressure, and are supplied to the adhesive pads 39 and 23. Has a higher degree of vacuum than that.

  When the upper substrate 2 is delivered from the pretreatment chamber 14 to the substrate bonding chamber 15, the upper substrate 2 is held by both the adhesive pad 39 on the robot hand 37 side and the adhesive pad 23 on the upper table 21 side, and then the robot hand The negative pressure supply of the adhesive pad 39 on the 37 side is stopped, and the robot hand 37 and the extended roller conveyor 36 are retracted to the pretreatment chamber 14. Thereafter, the upper substrate 2 is lifted up to the surface of the upper table 21 by the adhesive pad 23 and is held by the plurality of adhesive pads 23. Therefore, even if the degree of vacuum is increased, the upper substrate 2 is held by the adhesive force and does not fall.

  When the bonding of the lower substrate 1 and the upper substrate 2 is completed, the adhesive pad 23 is lifted above the surface of the upper table 21 in a state where the upper table 21 is pressed against the upper substrate 2, thereby the surface of the upper substrate 2. The adhesive pad 23 can be peeled off. At this time, the adhesive pad 23 can be easily peeled off by spraying a positive pressure gas from a negative pressure supply port provided at the center of the adhesive pad 23.

  The lower table 41 is provided with an adhesive sheet (adhesive member) (not shown) and a plurality of negative pressure supply ports so as to prevent the lower substrate 1 from moving. When the adhesive member is peeled off from the lower substrate 1, the lower table 41 is not moved, but is supplied with a compressed gas from a negative pressure supply port provided at the center of the adhesive sheet, and then peeled off. Alternatively, it is possible to peel the adhesive member from the lower substrate 1 by providing an upper and lower pin at the center of the negative pressure supply port and pushing up the lower substrate 1 with the upper and lower pins.

  The roller conveyor 36 provided in the pretreatment chamber 14 has a structure that can be expanded and contracted toward the substrate bonding chamber 15 by the expansion / contraction mechanism 35, and a gate valve between the pretreatment chamber 14 and the substrate bonding chamber 15. When 40 is closed, it is contracted to the pretreatment chamber 14 side, and when the gate valve 40 is opened and the lower substrate 1 is transferred into the substrate bonding chamber 15, it extends to the substrate bonding chamber 15 side, It is configured so that it can be docked on a substrate delivery roller conveyor 42 provided in the bonding chamber 15 so that the lower substrate 1 can be smoothly transferred to the lower table 41 of the substrate bonding chamber 15. The lower table 41 is provided between the left and right roller conveyors 42 as receiving conveyors, and a drive mechanism is provided so as to be movable up and down.

  Further, the post-treatment chamber 16 is provided with a roller conveyor 45 that can be expanded and contracted toward the substrate bonding chamber 15 by a conveyor expansion / contraction mechanism 44 provided therein, and the lower substrate 1 and the upper substrate 2 are bonded together. Is completed and the gate valve 43 between the post-processing chamber 16 and the substrate bonding chamber 15 is opened, the roller conveyor 45 extends to the substrate bonding chamber 15 side and is connected to the substrate conveyor roller conveyor 42. The liquid crystal panel 19 formed by bonding the substrates from the roller conveyor 42 via the roller conveyor 45 is unloaded from the substrate bonding chamber 15 and transferred to the post-processing chamber 16.

  Here, it is possible to carry the upper and lower substrates 1 and 2 into the substrate bonding chamber 15 and to place and hold them on the upper and lower tables 41 and 21 at substantially the same time, thereby greatly increasing the assembly time of the liquid crystal panel. Can be shortened.

  As described above, when the upper and lower substrates 1 and 2 are held from the pretreatment chamber 14 by the upper table 21 and the lower table 41 of the substrate bonding chamber 15, the gate valve 40 is closed. The gate valve 43 between the substrate bonding chamber 15 and the post-processing chamber 16 is closed in advance. When the gate valve 40 is closed, the upper and lower substrates 1 and 2 are bonded together from the semi-vacuum state to the high vacuum state in the substrate bonding chamber 15. Although not shown, a drive mechanism for moving the upper table 21 up and down and a drive mechanism for moving the adhesive pad 23 up and down are provided outside the substrate bonding chamber 15, and a power transmission shaft provided in these drive mechanisms is provided. The upper and lower substrates 1 and 2 are bonded together by operating the driving mechanism to move the adhesive pad 23 and the upper table 21 up and down. At the time of bonding, the upper table 21 is moved to the lower table 41 side.

  When the bonding of the upper and lower substrates 1 and 2 is completed, as described above, the inside of the substrate bonding chamber 15 is set to a semi-vacuum state, and the post-processing chamber 16 that has been previously set to a semi-vacuum state is set to a high vacuum state. When the inside of the substrate bonding chamber 15 is in a semi-vacuum state, the gate valve 43 is opened, the roller conveyor 45 extends from the post-processing chamber 16 into the substrate bonding chamber 15, and the upper and lower substrates 1 on the roller conveyor 42 for substrate delivery. , 2 are pasted together, and the product that becomes the liquid crystal panel 19 is carried out to the post-processing chamber 16. When the liquid crystal panel 19 is carried into the post-processing chamber 16, the gate valve 43 is closed and the inside of the post-processing chamber 16 is returned to the atmospheric state. By returning the interior of the post-processing chamber 16 to the atmosphere, the atmospheric pressure is uniformly applied to the entire liquid crystal panel 19, and the interval between the upper and lower substrates 1 and 2 becomes a regular interval. Thereafter, in FIG. 1, the liquid crystal panel 19 is transported to the ultraviolet irradiation chamber 17 by the roller conveyor constituting the third transport line 20. Therefore, the sealing agent is cured by being irradiated with ultraviolet rays. When the curing of the sealant is completed, the liquid crystal panel 19 is sent to the panel inspection room 18 by the roller conveyor, and the state is inspected and sent to the next step (not shown).

  Next, 2nd Embodiment of the liquid crystal substrate bonding system by this invention is described.

  In the first embodiment, in order to repeat the state in the substrate bonding chamber 15 between the semi-vacuum state and the high vacuum state, the pre-treatment chamber 14 and the post-treatment chamber 16 are provided before and after that. By providing the gate valves 40 and 43 on these sides and opening and closing them, the liquid crystal panel 19 is received after the upper and lower substrates 1 and 2 are bonded together. As described above, by repeating the semi-vacuum state and the high vacuum state, it is possible to reduce the time required for the inside of the substrate bonding chamber 15 to be in a vacuum state, and to prevent a decrease in cleanliness in the substrate bonding chamber 15. It is a thing.

  In the second embodiment to be described next, the configuration is the same as the configuration shown in FIG. 1, but the pretreatment chamber 14 and the posttreatment chamber 16 are omitted, and the substrate bonding chamber directly from the transfer chamber 12. 15, the upper and lower substrates 1 and 2 are carried in, and the liquid crystal panel 19 formed in the substrate bonding chamber 15 is directly carried out to the ultraviolet irradiation chamber 17.

  FIG. 5 is a schematic configuration diagram showing a part of the substrate bonding chamber 15 in the second embodiment, in which 15 ′ is a substrate bonding apparatus, 46 is an upper chamber, 47 is a lower chamber, 48 is an upper table, 48a is a base plate, 48b is an adhesive member, 49 is a lower table, 49a is a base plate, 49b is an elastic body, 50 is a lateral pushing mechanism, 51 is a drive motor, 52 is a ball screw, 53 is a linear guide, 54 is a support column, 55 is a seal ring, 56 is a columnar member, 57 is a seal member, 58 is a lower table support column, 59 is a seal member, 60a and 60b are vacuum exhaust pipes, 61 is an upper frame, 62 is a vertical drive unit, 63 is a gantry, Reference numeral 64 denotes a joint mechanism, and parts corresponding to those in the previous drawings are given the same reference numerals and redundant description is omitted.

  In this figure, in this second embodiment, the substrate bonding apparatus 18 ′ corresponding to the substrate bonding chamber 18 in FIG. 1 is divided into an upper chamber 46 and a lower chamber 47 in the vacuum chamber forming it. A liquid crystal having a two-divided structure in which the upper substrate 2 is carried into the upper chamber 46 and the lower substrate 1 is carried into the lower chamber 47 from the transfer chamber 12 (FIG. 1), and the upper and lower substrates 1 and 2 are bonded together. The panel 19 (FIG. 1) is carried out to the ultraviolet irradiation chamber 17 (FIG. 1). In the second embodiment, although not shown, an expansion / contraction mechanism is provided to extend and retract a roller conveyor for transporting the upper and lower substrates 1 and 2 and the liquid crystal panel 19 to the transfer chamber 12 and the ultraviolet irradiation chamber 17. ing.

  The lower chamber 47 is substantially fixed to the support pillars 54a and 54b on the gantry 63 side, and a substrate conveyor roller conveyor (not shown) is provided in the lower chamber 47. A lower table 49 is provided. The lower table 49 may be moved up and down as long as it can receive the lower substrate 1 on the roller conveyor and move it to a position where it does not contact the roller conveyor. The lower table 49 has a configuration in which an elastic body 49b is provided on a base plate 49a, and the elastic body 49b is in contact with the lower substrate 1 loaded therein.

  The lower table 49 is provided in the lower chamber 47 and is supported by a plurality of lower table support columns 58 of the vertical drive unit 62 provided on the mount 63. A seal member 59 is provided between the lower table support column 58 and the lower chamber 47, and air does not enter when the vacuum chamber formed by the upper chamber 46 and the lower chamber 47 is evacuated. I am doing so.

  In the second embodiment, a lateral pushing mechanism 50 for moving the lower table 49 in the horizontal direction and aligning the upper substrate 2 and the lower substrate 1 is provided.

  The upper table 48 has a configuration in which an adhesive member 48b is provided on a base plate 48a, and includes a plurality of vacuum suction pads (not shown) that can move up and down, as in the first embodiment described above. The upper substrate 2 held by the vacuum suction pad in the robot hand 13 (FIG. 1) of the transfer chamber 12 (FIG. 1) is received by the vacuum suction pad provided on the upper table 48, and the substrate holding surface of the upper table 48 is received. Lift up. A plurality of vacuum suction ports (not shown) and an adhesive member 48b are arranged on the surface of the upper table 48, and the upper substrate 2 lifted by the vacuum suction pad on the upper table 48 side is vacuum-sucked by these. At the same time, the adhesive is finally held.

  The vacuum pad of the upper table 48 is also used to peel off the upper substrate 2 of the liquid crystal panel 19 that is adhesively held on the surface of the upper table 48 after the substrates 1 and 2 are bonded together. That is, when the bonding of the substrates 1 and 2 is completed, when the upper table 48 is peeled off from the surface of the bonding substrate (liquid crystal panel) 19, the upper table is pressed with the surface of the bonding substrate 19 pressed by the vacuum suction pad. By raising 48, the upper substrate 2 of the liquid crystal panel 19 can be peeled from the surface of the upper table 48. At this time, the upper substrate 2 of the liquid crystal panel 19 can be easily peeled off by blowing gas onto the surface of the liquid crystal panel 19 from a vacuum suction port provided on the surface of the upper table 48.

  The upper chamber 46 is connected to the upper frame 61 via a joint mechanism (not shown), and the upper table 48 is connected to the upper frame 61 by a plurality of columnar members 56. A seal member 57 is provided between the columnar member 56 and the upper chamber 46, and when the vacuum chamber such as the upper chamber 46 and the lower chamber 47 is evacuated, air enters the vacuum chamber. I try not to get in.

  The upper chamber 46 and the upper table 48 are moved up and down by an upper frame vertical drive mechanism including a drive motor 51, a ball screw 52, and a linear guide 53 provided at four corners of the apparatus to drive the upper frame 61 up and down. Is done. A seal ring 55 formed of rubber or the like is provided at a connection portion between the upper chamber 46 and the lower chamber 47. When the upper chamber 46 and the lower chamber 47 are combined to form a vacuum chamber, the seal ring 55 maintains confidentiality in the vacuum chamber.

  In addition, the correction of the inclination of the lower substrate 1 is performed using the detection value of the sensor that detects the passage of the substrate disposed at a predetermined position of the roller conveyor, as described in FIG. 3, as in the first embodiment. It is. In the substrate bonding apparatus 15 ′, the upper substrate 2 and the lower substrate 1 are carried in substantially simultaneously, and are transferred to the upper table 48 and the lower table 49 substantially simultaneously. At this time, the upper chamber 46 and the lower chamber 47 are separated from each other and are in an atmospheric state.

  As described above, the upper substrate 2 is formed in the transfer chamber 12 (FIG. 1) using the vacuum suction pad of the upper table 48 provided on the upper chamber 46 side as described in FIG. It is received from the robot hand 13 (FIG. 1) and held on the upper table 48 using vacuum suction and an adhesive holding mechanism. The lower substrate 1 is received on the lower table by a receiving roller conveyor 42 as shown in FIG. 4 provided on the lower chamber 47 side, and the lower table 49 is lifted to place the lower substrate 1 on the lower table 49. Place. The lower substrate 1 placed on the lower table 49 is vacuum-sucked using a plurality of vacuum suction ports provided on the lower table 49, and is held in an adhesive state by a plurality of adhesive members. The lower table 49 is provided with a table driving mechanism that is movable in the horizontal direction for alignment between the upper substrate 2 and the lower substrate 1. As described above, since the inclination of the substrates 1 and 2 is corrected in advance on the roller conveyor of the transfer line as described above, the amount of movement can be very small. Can be combined.

  When the upper and lower substrates 1 and 2 are held by the upper table 48 and the lower table 49, the upper chamber 46 is lowered to the lower chamber 47 side, and the upper chamber 46 and the lower chamber 47 are combined to form a vacuum chamber. When the vacuum chamber is formed, the joint mechanism 64 connecting the upper frame 61 and the upper chamber 46 is detached, and only the upper table 48 is moved up and down by the upper frame vertical drive mechanism.

Thus, when the vacuum chamber is formed, the gas in the vacuum chamber is exhausted from the vacuum exhaust pipes 60a and 60b provided on the upper chamber 46 side and the lower chamber 47 side, respectively, so that a high vacuum state (about 5 × 10 ⁻³ Torr). In this state, alignment marks provided on the upper substrate 2 and the lower substrate 1 are observed with a camera (not shown) to obtain the amount of positional deviation between the upper and lower substrates 1 and 2, and the lower table 49 is moved in the horizontal direction. To adjust the position. When the alignment is completed, the upper table 48 is moved to the lower table 49 side by the upper frame vertical drive mechanism to bond the upper and lower substrates 1 and 2 together. Thereby, the liquid crystal panel 19 (FIG. 1) is formed. The pressing force to be bonded at this time is measured by a pressure sensor provided on a drive shaft that drives the upper table 48 and pressed to a preset pressure.

  When the bonding of the upper and lower substrates 1 and 2 is finished, the upper table 48 is lifted to peel off the liquid crystal panel 19 that holds the adhesive. When peeling off the liquid crystal panel 19 with the adhesive held thereon, as explained above, the upper table 48 is lifted while pressing the substrate surface of the liquid crystal panel 19 with the vacuum suction pad for receiving the substrate, thereby adhering the liquid crystal panel 19. The liquid crystal panel 19 can be peeled off. When the vacuum suction pad is attached to the substrate surface of the liquid crystal panel 19, it can be easily removed by supplying a positive pressure gas instead of supplying a negative pressure. When the liquid crystal panel 19 that is adhesively held from the upper table 48 is peeled off, by supplying a positive pressure gas from a vacuum suction port provided on the surface of the upper table 48, this adhesive member, that is, The time for peeling off the upper substrate 2 of the liquid crystal panel 19 can be shortened.

  When the upper table 48 is peeled off from the upper substrate 2 of the liquid crystal panel 19 after the upper and lower substrates 1 and 2 are bonded together, the adhesive member on the lower substrate 1, that is, the lower substrate 1 of the liquid crystal panel 19 is peeled off from the lower table 49. In this case, the plurality of substrate support pins provided on the lower table 49 side are raised to the surface of the lower table 49 and the lower table 49 is moved downward from the roller conveyor, thereby lowering the lower substrate 1 of the liquid crystal panel 19. The side can be peeled off from the surface of the lower table 49 holding the side. When the liquid crystal panel 19 is peeled off from the lower table 49, the substrate support pins are lowered below the surface of the lower table 49, so that the liquid crystal panel 19 is placed on the substrate conveyor roller conveyor 42 as shown in FIG. Delivered. When the liquid crystal panel is transferred onto the roller conveyor 42, the atmosphere is introduced into the vacuum chamber. When the inside of the vacuum chamber becomes the same as the atmospheric pressure, the upper chamber 46 is raised by the chamber vertical drive mechanism, the upper chamber 46 is separated from the lower chamber 47, and the roller conveyor is extended from the ultraviolet irradiation chamber 17 (FIG. 1). The substrate transfer chamber 15 'is connected to a roller conveyor 42 for delivering the substrate. Next, the liquid crystal panel 19 is sent to the ultraviolet irradiation chamber 17, where the sealing agent is irradiated with ultraviolet rays to cure the sealing agent. When the curing of the sealant is completed, it is sent to the panel inspection room 18 which is the second inspection device by the roller conveyor and inspected.

  As described above, in the second embodiment, since the upper and lower substrates 1 and 2 are carried into the substrate bonding apparatus 15 ′ almost simultaneously and held on the upper table 48 and the lower table 49, conventionally, these upper and lower substrates are used. Compared with the case where 1 and 2 are carried separately, the time required for bonding the substrates can be shortened.

In addition, the arrangement of the processing chambers in the process before bonding the substrates is made substantially linear so that the upper and lower substrates 1
, 2 using a roller conveyor, the configuration of the table in each processing apparatus can be made substantially the same, the installation area of the apparatus can be reduced, and the tact time can be shortened. I was able to.

1 Lower substrate 2 Upper substrate 3 Substrate loading robot 4 Alignment mechanism 5 First transfer line (inline)
6 Second transport line (side line)
7 Paste applicator (seal dispenser)
8 Coating device for forming an electrode for short-circuiting 9 Liquid crystal dropping device 10 First inspection chamber 11 Substrate reversing device 12 Transfer chamber 13 Robot hand 14 Pretreatment chamber 15 Substrate bonding chamber (vacuum chamber)
15 'substrate bonding apparatus 16 post-processing chamber 17 ultraviolet irradiation chamber 18 second inspection room (panel inspection room)
19 Bonding substrate (liquid crystal panel)
20 Third transfer line 21 Upper table 22 Adhesive pad mounting plate 23 Adhesive pin (adhesive pad)
24 adhesive member 25 base plate 26 elastic body 27 pressing pin mounting member 28 pressing pin 29 elastic member 30 adhesive sheet 31a, 31b roller 32a, 32b power transmission shaft 33a, 33b drive motor 34a, 34b substrate detection sensor 35 conveyor telescopic mechanism 36 roller Conveyor 37 Robot hand 38 Finger part 39 Suction pad 40 Gate valve 41 Lower table 42 Roller conveyor for substrate transfer 43 Gate valve 44 Conveyor expansion / contraction mechanism 45 Roller conveyor 46 Upper chamber 47 Lower chamber 48 Upper table 48a Base plate 48b Adhesive member 49 Lower Table 49a Base plate 49b Elastic body 50 Lateral push mechanism 51 Drive motor 52 Ball screw 53 Linear guide 54 Support column 55 Seal ring 56 Column member 57 Seal member 58 Lower table Support column 59 sealing member 60a, 60b evacuation pipe 61 upper frame 62 vertically driving unit 63 frame 64 joint mechanism

Claims (3)

A first coating line formed of a roller conveyor for transporting the lower substrate is formed, a paste coating machine for applying a sealant on the first transportation line, and a short-circuit electrode disposed on the downstream side of the paste coating machine A forming coating machine, a liquid crystal dropping device for dropping a liquid crystal material, a first inspection chamber for inspecting the state of the lower substrate, and a transfer chamber for receiving the lower substrate from the first inspection chamber are connected in series. Arranged,
A second transfer line comprising a roller conveyor for transferring the upper substrate in parallel with the first transfer line is formed, and a substrate reversing device is provided on the terminal side of the second transfer line, and downstream of the substrate reversing device. On the side, the transfer chamber is provided as a confluence of the first transfer line and the second transfer line,
At the junction, a third conveyance line composed of a roller conveyor connected to the first conveyance line is formed, and a transfer chamber, a pretreatment chamber, a substrate bonding chamber, and a rear are formed on the third conveyance line. Processing chamber, UV irradiation chamber and panel inspection chamber are arranged in series,
The transfer chamber is provided with the third transfer line and a robot hand provided with a plurality of fingers and suction pads,
The upper substrate reversed by the substrate reversing device is held by the suction pad provided in the robot hand and delivered to the third transfer line provided between the pretreatment chamber and the panel inspection chamber. And
Wherein the pre-treatment chamber, provided with a conveyor extension mechanism extending and retracting the row La conveyor below the pre-treatment chamber, a and the substrate provided with a suction pad and fingers on the substrate lamination coupling chamber from the pre-treatment chamber A robot hand for carrying in is provided on the upper side of the pretreatment chamber,
The substrate stuck case chamber has a lower table for receiving the lower substrate from low La conveyor is extended by the conveyor stretch mechanism, an adhesive pad for receiving and holding a substrate on which is carried by the pre-treatment chamber of the robot hand An upper table provided, and a gate valve that opens and closes on the inlet side and the outlet side of the substrate bonding chamber and uses the substrate bonding chamber as a vacuum chamber,
The inlet-side gate valve of the substrate lamination if chamber is opened, rows La conveyor is extended by the conveyor extension mechanism is connected to the inlet side gate roller conveyor of the valve beyond said substrate lamination coupling chamber, the substrate lamination The lower substrate is conveyed to the lower table by a roller conveyor in the chamber,
When the gate valve on the entrance side of the substrate bonding chamber is opened, and the upper substrate held by the finger part and the suction pad of the robot hand in the pretreatment chamber is carried into the substrate bonding chamber, the upper table A retractable adhesive pad provided in the lowering between the fingers of the robot hand to hold the upper substrate,
The liquid crystal substrate bonding system, wherein the upper substrate and the lower substrate are carried into the substrate bonding chamber substantially simultaneously with the robot hand and the third transfer line. In the liquid crystal substrate bonding system according to claim 1,
A roller conveyor in front of each of the paste applicator, the short-circuit electrode forming applicator, the liquid crystal dropping device, and the first inspection chamber provided on the first transport line; and The first and second detection sensors for detecting the front end portions of the left and right sides of the substrate are arranged on the roller conveyor in front of the substrate reversing device of the second transport line on the right and left sides in the direction perpendicular to the substrate transport direction, When one of the first and second detection sensors detects the passage of the substrate, the roller conveyor on the detection sensor side that detected the passage of the substrate is stopped, and the passage of the substrate is not detected. Until the other detection sensor detects the passage of the substrate, the driving of the roller conveyor on the other detection sensor side is continued. In the liquid crystal substrate bonding system according to claim 1,
In the table portion provided in the paste applicator, the short-circuit electrode forming applicator, the liquid crystal dropping device, and the first inspection chamber provided on the first transfer line, the substrate is stopped. A liquid crystal substrate bonding system, characterized in that a positioning mechanism capable of moving up and down is provided on the table side for defining the position, which is perpendicular to the transport direction and stops the tip portions on both ends of the substrate.

Images