JP2002244115A - Cleaning device for liquid crystal panel - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To reliably remove a foreign matter adhered to the surface of a glass substrate. SOLUTION: A cleaning device for a liquid crystal display panel is provided with a head part rotating and having a facing surface, parallel to and opposed to the surface of the liquid crystal display panel and a flat plate like blade attached to the facing surface on a virtual line, passing through the rotary axis of the head part the have 28-32 degrees for the inclined angle with respect to the surface of the liquid crystal display panel. The tip part of the blade is a wedge-shaped blade edge part, having 18-22 degrees angle toward the liquid crystal display panel side and 8-12 degrees angle toward the opposite side of the liquid crystal display panel to the inclined angle, and the blade edge has a flat part.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to a liquid crystal panel cleaning device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A liquid crystal display panel comprises a pair of glass substrates opposed to each other with a liquid crystal interposed therebetween, and has a large number of pixels in a direction in which the liquid crystal spreads.

An electric field generated between a pair of electrodes formed on the liquid crystal side surface of the glass substrate is applied to the liquid crystal of each pixel.

In this case, the initial orientation of the liquid crystal is determined by an alignment film formed in direct contact with the liquid crystal on the surface of the glass substrate on the side of the liquid crystal. Will be performed.

A polarizing plate is attached to the surface of the glass substrate opposite to the liquid crystal, so that the behavior of the liquid crystal can be visualized through the polarizing plate.

In such a liquid crystal display panel, the surface of the glass substrate is generally cleaned by a so-called liquid crystal panel before the polarizing plate is attached.

On the surface of the glass substrate of the liquid crystal display panel,
There is a case where foreign matter adhered during the manufacturing process of the liquid crystal display panel remains, and when a polarizing plate is attached while leaving this foreign matter, it floats up at the part of the foreign matter,
This is because the display in that portion will be defective.

[0008] Conventionally, as a method of cleaning a liquid crystal panel, for example, cleaning with an ultrasonic wave or a brush,
There are two types of removal: manual removal (using the cutting edge of a cutter to remove each foreign object by hand) and knife (cleaning by attaching a cutter to the head that moves parallel to the surface of the LCD panel). In addition, these are combined to remove foreign matter.

[0009]

However, cleaning with an ultrasonic wave or a brush has a disadvantage that the resin or glass cullet adhered firmly cannot be sufficiently removed.

[0010] In addition, the manual removal has a disadvantage in that it takes time to clean one liquid crystal display panel and the degree of cleaning by an operator varies.

In addition, the removal with a knife makes it difficult to control the cutting edge, which involves a danger in the work, and there is a problem that the chipped blade may damage the panel surface.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a liquid crystal panel cleaning apparatus capable of reliably removing foreign substances adhering to the surface of a glass substrate.

[0013]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Among the inventions disclosed in the present invention, typical ones will be briefly described as follows.

That is, a liquid crystal panel cleaning apparatus according to the present invention includes, for example, a head portion which rotates with a facing surface parallel to the surface of a liquid crystal display panel, and a virtual line passing through the rotating axis on the facing surface. A flat blade attached at an angle of 28 ° to 32 ° with respect to the surface of the liquid crystal display panel, the tip of the blade being a wedge-shaped blade, and With respect to the inclination, the liquid crystal display panel has an angle of 18 ° to 22 ° on the liquid crystal display panel side, and has an angle of 8 ° to 12 ° on the surface opposite to the liquid crystal display panel. It is characterized by having.

In the liquid crystal panel cleaning apparatus thus configured, the surface of the liquid crystal display panel can be suppressed within a range in which the rate of occurrence of scratches is allowed, and the rate of occurrence of removal of foreign substances can be greatly improved.

[0016]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of a liquid crystal panel cleaning apparatus according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

Embodiment 1 FIG. First, prior to the description of the liquid crystal panel cleaning device, a manufacturing process of the liquid crystal display panel is shown in FIG.

In FIG. 2, if schematically shown, one glass substrate (for example, a lower plate) and the other glass substrate (for example, an upper plate) constituting an envelope of the liquid crystal display panel are separately processed, and Each processed glass substrate is assembled using a sealant, and then liquid crystal is sealed.

Here, the step of using the liquid crystal panel cleaning apparatus is a part called "cell cleaning" in the figure, which is performed before the module step. The module process is performed before a process of mounting a liquid crystal driving circuit on a liquid crystal display panel, arranging a backlight on the back of the liquid crystal display panel, and incorporating the liquid crystal display panel and the backlight in a frame. Become.

From the above, since the glass substrate itself is to be processed in each step up to cell cleaning, the surface of the glass substrate opposite to the liquid crystal is not affected by the previous steps. There are cases where foreign matter that has been scattered easily is attached.

As described above, when the polarizing plate is adhered with the foreign matter left, the part floats at the part of the foreign matter, causing a display failure at that part.

The manufacturing process of the liquid crystal display panel shown in FIG. 2 is automatically performed by a belt conveyor.

FIG. 3 shows a manufacturing process in the vicinity of a portion called "cell cleaning". A liquid crystal display panel as a work includes a loader device 1, a cell cleaner device 2, a brush cleaner 3, and an unloader device 4. It has been going through.

As shown in FIG. 4, the cell cleaner device 2 includes a positioning portion 5, a transfer arm I6, a CF-side cleaning stage 7, a reversing arm I8, a TFT It is constituted by a side cleaning stage 9, a reversing arm II10, and a discharge unit 11.

FIG. 5 is a structural view showing the appearance of a liquid crystal panel cleaning device installed on the CF side cleaning stage 7 and the TFT side cleaning stage 9, respectively.

The liquid crystal panel cleaning device includes a motor 13 that can move up and down with respect to the liquid crystal display panel PN fixed at a fixed position and move in a plane parallel to the surface of the liquid crystal display panel, and a rotating shaft of the motor 13. And a head part 14 with a blade attached to the head.

The head portion 14 has an opposing surface parallel to the surface of the liquid crystal display panel PN, and a blade 15 is fixed to this opposing surface in a replaceable manner. As shown in FIG. In this embodiment, for example, the tip (blade edge) is inclined at, for example, 30 ° with respect to the surface of the liquid crystal display panel, so that the tip (blade edge) contacts the surface of the liquid crystal display panel PN. . The blade is made of a super hard material.

The tip of the blade 15 is a wedge-shaped blade, and the blade 15 is inclined (28 ° to 32 °, preferably 30 ° with respect to the surface of the liquid crystal display panel).
In contrast, the liquid crystal display panel has an angle of 18 ° to 22 °, preferably 20 °, and the surface opposite to the liquid crystal display panel has an angle of 8 ° to 12 °, preferably 10 °. Has a width of about 0.1 mm, as shown in detail in FIG.
A flat portion of 1 mm is formed.

As shown in FIG. 7, for example, two blades having such a configuration are attached to the head portion 14 on a virtual line passing through the rotation axis with the rotation axis O therebetween. I have.

Then, as shown in FIG. 8, the motor 13 rotates the head 14 while rotating the liquid crystal display panel P.
It moves evenly in a meandering manner over the entire surface of N (having a size of 150 mm × 200 mm or more).

In the liquid crystal panel cleaning apparatus thus configured, the blade provided therein has the above-described shape, thereby increasing the strength of the apparatus itself. (Resin, etc.) was confirmed to be no longer damaged by damage.

FIG. 9 is a table showing experimentally the foreign matter removal rate and the scratch generation rate when the blade edge angle, feed speed, head rotation speed, blade material, etc. of the blade are changed including the above configuration. It is.

In each case, a portion corresponding to good data as a result is surrounded by a thick frame in the drawing (for example, a portion of 10 ° in the case of the foreign matter removal side angle of the blade edge angle).

As will be apparent from this table, the above-described configuration allows the foreign matter removal rate to be increased within a range in which the scratch generation rate is sufficiently allowed, and the life of the blade 15 to be extended to 370 to 550 liquid crystal display panels. Cleaning can be achieved.

Embodiment 2 FIG. FIG. 10A is a configuration diagram showing another embodiment of the liquid crystal panel cleaning device according to the present invention, and corresponds to FIG.

6 differs from the configuration shown in FIG. 6 in that the blade 15 has a wedge-shaped cutting edge at the tip of the blade 15 at an angle between the surface of the liquid crystal display panel PN and the surface opposite to the liquid crystal display panel PN. Are equal, and the cutting edge is sharp without having a flat portion.

The blade 15 is made of carbon steel, and its surface is subjected to a wear-resistant surface treatment (Nidax treatment) as shown in FIG.
5a is applied.

In the liquid crystal panel cleaning apparatus thus configured, the life of the blade 15 is prolonged due to frequent use thereof, and the liquid crystal display panel P to be cleaned is provided.
There is an effect that the number of N reaches 500 or more.

In the above-described embodiment, the wear-resistant treatment tank 15a is formed on the entire blade 15, but the present invention is not limited to this, and the treatment is performed on at least the tip portion. Is also good. This is because a similar effect is achieved.

Embodiment 3 FIG. FIG. 11 is a configuration diagram showing another embodiment of the liquid crystal panel cleaning device according to the present invention.

On the premise of the configuration of each of the above-described embodiments, the blade 15 is attached to the head section 14 via a spring 16.

That is, the blade 15 has elasticity and can be finely moved with respect to the head portion 14 side, so that the blade 15 (head portion 14) is moved to the liquid crystal display panel P.
When the blade 15 is brought into contact with the N side with a sufficient force, the blade tip of the blade 15 is pressed by the spring 16 with an appropriate force.

This means that when the head 14 rotates,
The blade 15 can constantly rotate the surface of the liquid crystal display panel PN while applying an appropriate force, and can scrape not only foreign substances having a relatively large volume but also small foreign substances.

The above embodiment is based on the configuration of the first and second embodiments, but is not necessarily limited to this. In addition, the present invention can be applied to the embodiments described below.

Embodiment 4 FIG. FIG. 12 is a configuration diagram showing another embodiment of the liquid crystal panel cleaning device according to the present invention, and corresponds to FIG.

The configuration different from the case of FIG.
5 in that an abrasive 18 is attached.

The abrasive 18 is shown in a plan view in FIG.
FIG. 13B is a cross-sectional view taken along the line bb of FIG.

The abrasive 18 has a surface facing the liquid crystal display panel PN substantially parallel to the surface of the liquid crystal display panel PN, and rectangular projections are arranged in a matrix. The body has a trapezoidal shape with a taper on each of its four sides, and a rectangular hole is formed in a four-sided pyramid on the top surface.

This abrasive is made of CeO, and each of the projections has a height of about 100 μm and a side length of about 200 μm.
m.

In the liquid crystal panel cleaning apparatus thus configured, the contact between the surface of the liquid crystal display panel and the abrasive is soft, and the foreign matter can be removed without causing scratches on the surface of the liquid crystal display panel. Will have.

Embodiment 5 FIG. FIG. 14 shows another embodiment of the liquid crystal panel cleaning apparatus according to the present invention. For example, eight (at least 2) are provided around the surface of the circular head portion 14 having a diameter of 170 with respect to the rotation axis thereof. (Or more) abrasives 18 are arranged at equal intervals.

By thus increasing the number of abrasives 18 attached to the head 14, the ability to remove foreign substances is improved.

[0053]

As is apparent from the above description, the liquid crystal panel cleaning apparatus according to the present invention can reliably remove foreign substances adhering to the surface of a glass substrate.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram showing a main part of an embodiment of a liquid crystal panel cleaning device according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing a manufacturing process of the liquid crystal display panel.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a liquid crystal display panel cleaning step and steps before and after the cleaning step.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a detailed process of a cleaning process of the liquid crystal display panel.

FIG. 5 is a configuration diagram showing an entire liquid crystal panel cleaning apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a configuration diagram showing one embodiment of a blade of the liquid crystal panel cleaning device according to the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a plan view showing one embodiment of a blade of a liquid crystal panel cleaning device according to the present invention and a head unit supporting the blade.

FIG. 8 is a plan view showing an embodiment of the movement of the liquid crystal panel cleaning device with respect to the liquid crystal display panel according to the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a table showing the effects of the liquid crystal panel cleaning device according to the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a configuration diagram showing a main part of another embodiment of the liquid crystal panel cleaning device according to the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a configuration diagram showing a main part of another embodiment of the liquid crystal panel cleaning device according to the present invention.

FIG. 12 is a configuration diagram showing a main part of another embodiment of the liquid crystal panel cleaning device according to the present invention.

FIG. 13 is a configuration diagram showing a main part of another embodiment of the liquid crystal panel cleaning device according to the present invention.

FIG. 14 is a configuration diagram showing a main part of another embodiment of the liquid crystal panel cleaning device according to the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

13 ... motor, 14 ... head, 15 ... blade, PN
... LCD panel, A ... Foreign matter.

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. A head section having a facing surface parallel to a surface of a liquid crystal display panel and rotating, and a head line rotating on the facing surface along a virtual line passing through the axis of rotation. And a flat blade attached with an inclination of from 32 ° to 32 °, and the tip of the blade is a wedge-shaped cutting edge, and the inclination of the blade is closer to the liquid crystal display panel with respect to the inclination. 18
A liquid crystal panel cleaning apparatus, which has an angle of 8 to 22 degrees, has an angle of 8 to 12 degrees on the surface opposite to the liquid crystal display panel, and has a flat edge formed on the edge thereof. 2. The liquid crystal panel cleaning apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the blade is made of a super hard material. 3. A head section which rotates with an opposing surface parallel to the surface of the liquid crystal display panel, and a head line which rotates on the imaginary line passing through the rotation axis on the opposing surface. And a flat blade attached with an inclination of from 32 ° to 32 °, wherein the blade is formed of carbon steel, and a tip portion serving as a wedge-shaped blade tip portion has a liquid crystal display with respect to the inclination of the blade. A liquid crystal panel cleaning apparatus, characterized in that the angles of the panel side and the side opposite to the liquid crystal display panel are substantially equal and the cutting edge is sharp, and at least a wear-resistant treatment tank is formed on the cutting edge. 4. The blade according to claim 1, wherein the blade is attached to the head via a spring between the blade and the head, and the blade has elasticity toward the liquid crystal display panel by the spring. The liquid crystal panel cleaning device according to any one of the above. 5. A head portion rotating with an opposing surface parallel to the surface of the liquid crystal display panel, and at least one pair of abrasives formed on the opposing surface with its rotation axis interposed therebetween. A liquid crystal panel cleaning device, wherein the surface of the liquid crystal panel is parallel to the surface of the liquid crystal display panel, and concave portions are scattered. 6. The liquid crystal panel cleaning apparatus according to claim 5, wherein two or more abrasives are provided and are arranged at equal intervals around a rotation axis of the head portion. 7. The polishing apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the abrasive is attached to the head via a spring between the abrasive and the head, and the blade has elasticity toward the liquid crystal display panel by the spring. 7. The liquid crystal panel cleaning device according to any one of 6.