JP2003033708A - Paste applicator and method for controlling the same - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To make it possible to use the inspection result of a paste pattern applied on a substrate in a device for a downstream process and eliminate unneeded material consumption in the downstream device to increase productivity. SOLUTION: When a paste pattern forming is completed on a substrate at a step 500 by an apparatus for applying paste, the formed paste pattern is transferred to a step 600 and an inspection for defects such as disconnection of the formed paste pattern, the measurements of an inner boundary line length of the paste pattern (total inner peripheral length) and of an area surrounded by the boundary line of the paste pattern (inner dimension), and a judgement of whether the total inner peripheral length and inner area are proper or not are performed. Then, the inspection result or judgement is transferred to a device for a downstream process of the paste applicator apparatus by communication. In the device, a defective or null substrate is eliminated by using the inspection result or judgement, and when forming a liquid crystal panel by laminating two substrates with the paste pattern, the filling volume of the liquid crystal is controlled by using the inner area of the paste pattern.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a paste applicator, and more particularly, using paste pattern inspection data,
The present invention relates to a paste applicator for applying the following paste patterns.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art For example, in a liquid crystal panel manufacturing process, a paste applicator is used to apply a paste for bonding a front glass and a rear glass of a panel. The paste applicator is composed of a paste storage cylinder to which a paste is filled and a nozzle having a discharge port for discharging the paste is attached, and a substrate, that is, a table on which a glass plate is placed so as to face the discharge port. , A drive mechanism that changes the relative positional relationship between the table and the nozzle, and the paste is discharged from the discharge port onto the substrate while the relative positional relationship is changed by the drive mechanism. A paste pattern is formed on top.

[0003]

By the way, the state of the paste pattern applied and drawn on the substrate is inspected by an automatic visual inspection, and thus, the cutting and thinning of the paste pattern are inspected. This is an inspection as to whether or not the paste pattern was well applied and drawn, and the inspection result was not used in the downstream process.

If the inspection result of such a paste pattern can be effectively utilized in the downstream process (downstream manufacturing apparatus), some things performed in the downstream process can be wasted and eliminated. It becomes possible and productivity can be improved.

The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and an object thereof is to make it possible to use the inspection result and the judgment result of a paste pattern drawn and applied in a downstream process, and to continue the production of intermediate defective products. It is another object of the present invention to provide a paste applicator and a control method therefor capable of increasing productivity.

[0006]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a means for inputting a plane (from the top of a table) image of a paste pattern for sealing, and an inside of the paste pattern from the input image data. A means for calculating the area and a means for communicating the inner area of the paste pattern to the downstream manufacturing apparatus are provided so that the amount of liquid crystal filling (liquid crystal dropping) after the seal application process can be controlled, and the predetermined allowable judgment value is set. When an abnormality in the inside area value is detected, the inspection area information is transmitted in addition to the above inside area data, and processing is performed on the abnormal pattern part in the downstream device (processes such as liquid crystal injection and spacer scattering). The processing is stopped so as to prevent excessive processing and improve productivity.

[0007]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of a paste coating machine according to the present invention, in which 1 is a mount, 2 is a Z-axis table support mount, 3 is an X-axis moving table, 4 is an X-axis servo motor, and 5 is Y. Axis moving table, 6 Y-axis servo motor, 7 substrate holding mechanism, 8 θ axis moving table, 9 substrate, 10 Z axis moving table support bracket, 11 Z axis moving table, 12 Z axis servo motor , 13 is a paste container, 14 is a nozzle support, 15 is an image recognition camera, 16 is a distance meter, 17 is a main control unit, 18 is a sub control unit, 18a is a hard disk as an external storage device, 1
8b is a floppy disk as an external storage device, 19 is a monitor, 20 is a keyboard, 21 is a cable, 22 is a camera for measuring the inner circumference (inner area) of the paste pattern (hereinafter referred to as a pattern measuring camera), and 23 is a camera support base. , 24
Is a nozzle cleaning unit, and 25 is a substrate table.

In FIG. 1, an X-axis moving table 3 is provided on a gantry 1 in parallel with the X-axis direction, and a Y-axis moving table 5 is provided on the X-axis moving table 3 so as to be orthogonal thereto. It is provided. Further, on the Y-axis moving table 5,
The substrate table 25 is provided so as to be movable in the Y-axis direction, the θ-axis moving table 8 is installed on the substrate table 25 so as to be rotatable in the θ-axis direction, and the substrate 9 is placed on the θ-axis moving table 8. A substrate holding mechanism 7 for holding the substrate is provided. A nozzle cleaning unit 24 is also provided on the substrate table 25.

The Y-axis moving table 5 is horizontally moved in the X-axis direction by rotating the ball screw forward or reverse (forward / reverse) by driving the X-axis servomotor 4 provided on the X-axis moving table 3. Move to. Further, the substrate table 25 on which the θ-axis moving table 8 and the substrate holding mechanism 7 are mounted and the nozzle cleaning unit 24 is provided is
By driving the Y-axis servomotor 6 provided on the axis moving table 5 to rotate the ball screw forward and backward,
Move horizontally in the Y-axis direction.

A Z-axis table support base 2 is provided on the base 1, and a Z-axis moving table support bracket 10 is fixed near the center of the Z-axis table support base 2. A Z-axis moving table 11 is attached to the Z-axis moving table support bracket 10, and a paste storage cylinder 13, a distance meter 16, and an image recognition camera 15 are supported and fixed on the Z-axis moving table 11. The Z-axis servomotor 12 provided on the Z-axis moving table 11 is connected to the paste storage cylinder 13 and the range finder 16.
Is moved in the Z-axis direction. The paste storage cylinder 13 is detachably attached to a movable part of a linear guide (not shown), and a nozzle (not shown) is attached to the lower end of the paste storage cylinder 13 via a nozzle support 14.

The image recognition camera 15 as an image recognition means has a lens barrel having a light source capable of illumination (not shown), and aligns the substrate 9 mounted on the substrate holding mechanism 7 and It is provided so as to face the substrate 9 in order to recognize the shape of the paste pattern applied and drawn on the substrate 9. Further, a camera support 23 is attached to the Z-axis table support base 2.
A pattern measuring camera 22 such as a two-dimensional CCD camera or a one-dimensional line sensor camera is attached to the unit 3.

Inside the gantry 1, there are an X-axis servo motor 4, a Y-axis servo motor 6, a Z-axis servo motor 12, and a θ-axis servo motor (not shown) for rotating a θ-axis moving table. A main control unit 17 for controlling is provided. The main controller 17 is connected to the sub controller 18 via a cable 21. A monitor 19, a keyboard 20, a hard disk 18a as an external storage device, a prop disk 18b, and the like are connected to the sub-control unit 18. Data for various processing in the main control unit 17 is input from the keyboard 20. Further, the image information captured by the image recognition camera 15 and the processing status of the main controller 17 are displayed on the monitor 19. The data input from the keyboard 20 is stored and stored in a storage medium such as a hard disk 18a or a floppy disk 18b, which is an external storage device.

The substrate table 25 is provided with a nozzle cleaning unit 24 to which a cleaning material is attached. When the application and drawing of a paste pattern to be described later is completed, the paste discharge port at the tip of the nozzle is provided. By touching the nozzle cleaning unit 24, the rest of the paste adhering to the paste discharge port can be removed.

Further, here, the relative positional relationship between the substrate 9 and the nozzle is changed by moving the substrate 9 side with respect to the nozzle, but the nozzle side is moved with respect to the substrate 9. You may do it.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged perspective view showing a portion of the paste storage cylinder 13 and the distance meter 16 in FIG.
Reference numeral 3a is a nozzle, and the parts corresponding to those in FIG.

In the figure, the range finder 16 is provided with a triangular notch at the lower end thereof, and a light emitting element and a plurality of light receiving elements are provided at this notch. The nozzle 13a is positioned below the cut portion of the distance meter 16. The distance meter 16 measures the distance from the tip of the nozzle 13a to the surface (upper surface) of the substrate 9 made of glass (hereinafter referred to as the height of the nozzle 13a) by non-contact triangulation. That is, the light emitting element is provided on one slope of the triangular cut portion of the nozzle 13a, and the plurality of light receiving elements are provided on the other slope. Laser light L emitted from the light emitting element
Is irradiated to the measurement point S on the substrate 9, and the laser light reflected there is received by any one of the plurality of light receiving elements according to the height of the nozzle 13a. Therefore, the laser light L is not blocked by the paste storage cylinder 13 or the nozzle 13a. A nozzle 13 a is provided in the nozzle housing cylinder 13 via a nozzle support tool 14. Further, although not shown, a paste passage is provided from the nozzle housing cylinder 13 through the inside of the nozzle support 14 and the nozzle 13a to the paste discharge port at the tip of the nozzle 13a.

Further, the measurement point S of the laser beam L on the substrate 9
And the position directly below the nozzle 13a are a slight distance Δ on the substrate 9.
Although only X and Y are displaced in the X-axis and Y-axis directions, there is no difference in the unevenness of the surface of the substrate 9 with the slight deviations ΔX and ΔY. There is almost no difference between the distance from the surface to the surface (upper surface) of the substrate 28 (that is, the height of the nozzle 13a). Therefore, based on the measurement result of the distance meter 16, the Z-axis servomotor 1
By controlling 2 (FIG. 1), the height of the nozzle 13a can be kept constant according to the unevenness (waviness) of the surface of the substrate 9.

In this way, the height of the nozzle 13a is maintained constant and the amount of paste discharged from the discharge port of the nozzle 13a per unit time is maintained constant, so that the substrate 9 is coated. The width and thickness of the drawn paste pattern are uniform.

Next, the control method in this embodiment will be described.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a concrete example of the configuration of the main control unit 1 in FIG. 1 and its control system.
Is a θ-axis servomotor, 17a is a microcomputer,
17b is a motor controller, 17c is a data communication bus, 17d is an external interface, 17e is an image processing apparatus, 17f to 17i are drivers, 26 is a negative pressure source, 27
Is a positive pressure source, 26a and 27a are regulators, 28 is the atmosphere, and 29 is a valve unit. The parts corresponding to those in FIG.

In the figure, a main controller 17 includes a motor controller 17b for controlling the microcomputer 17a and drivers 17f to 17i, an image processing device 17e for processing video signals obtained by the image recognition camera 15 and the pattern measurement camera 22, The external interface 17d is built in, and these are connected to each other by the data communication bus 17c. Where external interface 1
7d performs signal transmission with the sub-control unit 18, control of the regulators 22a and 23a, control of the valve unit 24, and input / output with the distance meter 16.

Further, the microcomputer 17a includes
Although not shown, a main arithmetic unit, a ROM storing a processing program for performing coating drawing, which will be described later, a RAM storing the processing result in the main arithmetic unit and input data from the external interface 17d and the motor controller 17b, an external interface 17d. And an input / output unit for exchanging data with the motor controller 17b.

The θ-axis servomotor 8a is for rotating the θ-axis movement table 8 (FIG. 1). The θ-axis servomotor 8a, the X-axis servomotor 4, the Y-axis servomotor 6,
The Z-axis servomotor 12 has a built-in encoder E that detects the amount of rotation. The driver 17f is the X-axis servo motor 4, the driver 17g is the Y-axis servo motor 6, the driver 17h is the θ-axis servo motor 8a, and the driver 17 is
i drives the Z-axis servomotors 12 under the control of the motor controller 17b, respectively, and takes in the detection results of the encoder E to move the servomotors 4, 6, 8a, 12 respectively. Tables 5 and 2
Position control of 5, 8, and 11 is performed.

First, the servo motors 4, 6, 8a, 12
Rotates in the normal and reverse directions based on the data input from the keyboard 20 and stored in the RAM of the microcomputer 17a. As a result, the substrate 9 held by the substrate holding mechanism 7 moves an arbitrary distance in the X and Y axis directions with respect to the nozzle 13a supported by the Z axis moving table 11.
During the movement, a slight atmospheric pressure is continuously applied to the paste storage cylinder 13 from the positive pressure source 27 via the regulator 27a and the valve unit 29. Thereby, the nozzle 13a
The paste is discharged from the paste discharge port at the tip of the substrate, and a desired paste pattern is applied and drawn on the substrate 9.

The range finder 16 is provided with a nozzle 13 while the substrate 9 held by the substrate holding mechanism 7 is moving horizontally in the X and Y axis directions.
Measure the height of a. The Z-axis driver 17i uses this measurement result to drive-control the servo motor 12 and always maintain the height of the nozzle 13a constant.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

In FIG. 4, when the power is turned on (step 100), first, the initial setting of the coating machine is executed (step 200). In this initial setting process, in FIG. 1, the servomotors 4, 6, 8a, 12 are driven to move the substrate holding mechanism 7 in the X-, Y-, and θ-axis directions to position it at a predetermined reference position. In addition, the nozzle 13a
Is set to a predetermined origin position so that the paste discharge port becomes the position where the paste application starts (that is, the paste application start point). Further, the paste pattern data, the substrate position data, and the paste ejection end position data are set.

Input of such data is performed from the keyboard 20, and the input data is stored in the RAM built in the microcomputer 17a as described above.

When the initial setting process (step 200) is completed, the substrate 9 is mounted on the substrate suction mechanism 7 and held (step 300), and the substrate preliminary positioning process (step 400) is performed.

In this process, the positioning mark of the substrate 9 mounted on the substrate holding mechanism 7 is photographed by the image recognition camera 15, and the position of the center of gravity of the positioning mark is obtained by image processing to determine the X and Y axis directions of the substrate 9. Position and the inclination in the θ-axis direction are detected, and the servo motors 4, 6 and 8a are driven accordingly,
By moving the substrate holding mechanism 7, the inclination in the X, Y, and θ axis directions is corrected.

When the amount of the remaining paste in the paste container 13 is small, the paste may be interrupted in the next paste applying operation during the applying operation. Therefore,
In order to prevent the paste from being interrupted, the paste container 13 and the nozzle 13a are exchanged beforehand. When the nozzle 13a is replaced, the nozzle 13 for the substrate 9
The position of a may shift. Therefore, a cross pattern is drawn on the substrate 9 where the paste pattern is not formed by using the new replaced nozzle 13a, and the barycentric position of the intersection of the cross pattern is obtained by image processing. The distance between this barycentric position and the barycentric position of the positioning mark on the substrate 9 is calculated, and the calculated distance is stored in the microcomputer 17a as the positional deviation amounts dx and dy of the paste ejection port of the nozzle 13a. Store in RAM.

With the above processing, the substrate preliminary positioning processing (step 400) is completed. The obtained positional deviation amounts dx and dy of the nozzle 13a are to be corrected in the subsequent operation of applying and drawing the paste pattern.

Next, a paste pattern drawing process (step 500) is performed.

In this process, the nozzle 13 is placed at the coating start position.
In order to align the paste ejection port of a, the substrate 9 is moved and the nozzle positions are compared and adjusted.

To this end, first, the positional deviation amounts dx and dy of the nozzles 13a obtained in the preceding substrate preliminary positioning processing (step 400) and stored in the RAM are allowed to be the positional deviation amounts of the nozzles 13a shown in FIG. It is determined whether or not it is within the ranges ΔX and ΔY. Within the allowable range (ΔX ≧ dx and ΔY
If ≧ dy, it is left as it is, but outside the allowable range (Δ
If X <dx or ΔY <dy, the substrate 9 is moved based on the positional deviation amounts dx and dy, and the positional deviation amount d
Make x and dy fall within the allowable ranges ΔX and ΔY. As a result, the displacement between the paste discharge port of the nozzle 13a and the desired position of the substrate 9 is eliminated, and the nozzle 13a is positioned at the desired position.

Next, the height of the nozzle 13a is set to the paste pattern drawing height. The nozzle 13a is lowered by the initial moving distance based on the initial moving distance data of the nozzle. Subsequently, the height of the nozzle 13a is measured by the distance meter 16 to check whether the tip of the nozzle 13a is set to a height for drawing the paste pattern. As a result, when it is confirmed that the drawing height cannot be set, the nozzle 13a is moved down by a minute distance and the nozzle 13a
The height of the nozzle 13a and the lowering of the nozzle 13a by a minute distance are repeatedly performed, and the paste discharge port at the tip of the nozzle 13a is set to the height for applying and drawing the paste pattern.

When the paste storage cylinder 13 is not replaced, the data of the positional deviation amounts dx and dy of the nozzle 13a are not stored in the RAM built in the microcomputer 17a, so the paste pattern drawing process (step 500) is performed. Immediately after entering, the height of the nozzle 13a is set.

When the above processing is completed, the servo motors 4 and 6 are then driven based on the paste pattern data stored in the RAM built in the microcomputer 17a. As a result, with the paste discharge port of the nozzle 13a facing the substrate 28, the substrate support mechanism 7 moves in the X and Y axis directions according to the paste pattern data. At the same time, a slight atmospheric pressure is applied to the paste storage cylinder 13 from the positive pressure source 27 to start the discharge of the paste from the paste discharge port of the nozzle 13a. That is, the application drawing of the paste pattern on the substrate 9 is started.

At this time, as described above, the microcomputer 17a includes the range finder 16 to the nozzle 13a.
The actual measurement data of the height of is input. The microcomputer 17a obtains the undulation of the surface of the substrate 9 from the input actual measurement data, and uses the obtained value to maintain the height of the nozzle 13a constant regardless of the undulation. The motor 12 is drive-controlled.

In this way, the paste pattern is drawn. Then, it is determined whether the paste discharge port of the nozzle 13a is the end of the drawing pattern determined by the paste pattern data on the substrate 9. If the result of this determination is not the end, the process returns to the measurement of the surface waviness of the substrate 9 again, and the above coating and drawing is repeated.

When it is determined that the result of this determination is the end of the drawing pattern, the positive pressure source 27 causes the paste container 1
The pressurization to No. 3 is stopped, and the negative pressure source 26 applies a negative pressure to the paste storage cylinder 13 via the regulator 26 a and the valve unit 29. As a result, the paste in the vicinity of the paste discharge port of the nozzle 13a is pulled back into the paste storage cylinder 13. After that, the valve unit 29 is operated to stop the negative pressure, and the atmosphere 28 is applied to the paste storage cylinder 13. Further, the Z-axis servomotor 12 is driven to drive the nozzle 1
3a is raised.

As a result, the paste pattern drawing step (step 500) is completed, and then the inner circumference (inner area) of the paste pattern is measured and the information communication step (step 60).
Move to 0).

Here, for example, as shown in FIG. 5, four paste patterns PP1 to PP4 are applied and drawn on the substrate 9 in the above step 500, and step 600 will be described by taking this as an example. This step 600
The inner circumference (inner area) of the paste pattern is measured by using the pattern measuring camera 22 (FIGS. 1 and 3), and the measuring method will be described below.

In order to perform inspection with high accuracy, an image is input from the pattern measuring camera 22 for each paste pattern and image processing is performed. At this time, when the resolution of the pattern measuring camera 22 is high, that is, when the paste pattern can be measured with high accuracy, the image of the entire paste pattern may be collectively input to perform the measurement process.

In FIG. 5, paste patterns PP1 to PP1
A range (measurement range K1 to K4) surrounding it is set for each PP4, and the pattern measurement camera 22 captures the range for each measurement range K1 to K4. Then, taking the paste pattern PP1 as an example, a picked-up image of the measurement range K1 is shown in FIG. Measure the length of.

That is, by processing the image of the paste pattern PP1 within the measurement range K1, the inner boundary line of the pattern forming the paste pattern PP1 (the outer edge of the hatched area, which will be hereinafter referred to as the pattern boundary line). Is detected and the length L of the boundary line of this pattern is obtained. In this case, the boundary line of this pattern is represented by the position coordinates of the pixel on the boundary line of this pattern in the pattern measuring camera 22.

Here, the paste pattern PP1 has a gap between points A and B (the pattern is open).
So, for example, from point A at one end of this pattern,
As shown by the arrow, the length L1 is obtained counterclockwise up to the point B at the other end by using the position coordinates of the boundary line of this pattern. This is the inner peripheral length of the portion where the pattern of the paste pattern PP1 exists. Also, the paste pattern PP
1 between points A and B where there is no pattern (this portion is not a defect of the paste pattern PP1. This means that, for example, the microcomputer 17a
(It can be determined based on the pattern data stored in the built-in RAM in FIG. 3). A straight line connecting points A and B is set as a part of the boundary line of the pattern of the paste pattern PP1, and the length of this straight line is set. Then, L2 is obtained by the same method. Then, the length L2 of this straight line is added to the inner peripheral length L1 previously obtained, and the added length is set as the total inner peripheral length L (= L1 + L2) of this paste pattern PP1.

When the boundary line of the pattern coincides with the vertical and horizontal arrangement directions of the pixels of the pattern measuring camera 22, the inner peripheral lengths L1, L2 and L are the pixels on the boundary line of this pattern. It is the number multiplied by the distance between pixels, and if the boundary line above does not follow the array direction,
The length can be obtained by calculation using the direction of the boundary line and the position coordinates.

In the above example, the length of the boundary line of the pattern is calculated counterclockwise from the point A.
Length of straight line between C, length of straight line between points C and D, points C and E
The length of the straight line between the points, the length of the straight line between the points E and F, the length of the straight line between the points F and B, and the length of the straight line between the points B and A are calculated separately, and these are added. Alternatively, the total inner peripheral length L of the paste pattern PP1 may be obtained.

When the paste pattern PP1 has a break, the break can be detected when the boundary line of the above pattern is detected. For example, the boundary line of the pattern is detected as the position coordinate inside the pattern forming the paste pattern PP1, but if there is a disconnection, this position coordinate cannot be detected. Whether this is due to the pattern being open or due to disconnection is as described above, for example, pattern data stored in the RAM built in the microcomputer 17a (FIG. 3). It can be judged based on. When it is detected that such a paste pattern has a disconnection, the paste pattern PP1 is judged to be rejected at this time.

In FIG. 6, an open loop paste pattern has been described as an example, but when the inner peripheral length L is obtained for the same closed loop paste pattern, an arbitrary predetermined point on the boundary line of the pattern is set. The starting point A is set, or alternatively, the point of one predetermined corner of the boundary line of this pattern is set as the starting point A, and the lengths of the straight line portion and the curved line portion in the clockwise or counterclockwise direction from the starting point A are set. Obtained as above, and finally added up.

When the total inner peripheral length L of the boundary line of the above paste is obtained, the area calculating means then calculates the pattern boundary line of the paste pattern PP1 and the position coordinates inside thereof and the image resolution (per pixel). (Length) is used to determine the area of the area (area hatched in FIG. 6) defined by the boundary line of this pattern, that is, the area value PP1-A. For example, the pattern measuring camera 22 in this area
The number of CCD pixels is integrated and the pixel resolution (μm
/ Pixel) to calculate the area value PP1-A.

As another method, for example, in the case of the rectangular area shown in FIG. 6, the coordinate positions of the four vertices of the boundary line of the pattern are obtained, and from these, the short side and the long side of the rectangular area are calculated. The length may be calculated, and the area value PP1-A may be obtained from these. However, for some reason such as wettability between the substrate 9 and the paste, the paste pattern PP1
If an unstable state (unevenness) occurs at the boundary of, the accuracy is higher in the method of integrating pixels to obtain.

As described above, the paste pattern PP
When the total inner peripheral length L and the inner area PP1-A are obtained for 1, the inner peripheral length and the inner area are similarly obtained for the other paste patterns PP2 to PP4. Also,
The data of the total inner circumferential length and the inner area thus obtained is determined by the determination means whether it is valid or invalid with respect to the preset allowable range, and thus it is determined whether or not each paste pattern is acceptable. .

When a paste pattern is applied and drawn on a glass substrate in manufacturing a liquid crystal panel, the amount of liquid crystal injected between the front glass substrate and the rear glass substrate is converted from the above inner area. But in the end,
When the front glass substrate and the back glass substrate are bonded together using the formed paste pattern, the paste pattern is crushed and deformed. Therefore, it is necessary to determine the actual injection amount of the liquid crystal by estimating and determining the inner area in consideration of the collapse amount of the paste pattern. For example, in checking the coating conditions before production,
The cross-sectional area of the paste pattern to be applied is measured in advance, and the amount of deformation when the paste pattern is crushed is calculated from this cross-sectional area to the gap between these glass substrates when the front glass substrate and the back glass substrate are bonded together. Aside
Using this, it is possible to obtain the necessary inner area at the time of bonding. That is, the paste pattern can be applied and formed in consideration of the crush of the paste pattern, and the allowable range of the total inner peripheral length and the inner area can be set in consideration of the crush of the paste pattern.

When the above processing is completed, as the final processing of step 600 in FIG. 4, as shown in FIG. 7, the apparatus installed on the downstream side of the paste applicator is obtained as described above. The total inner circumferential length, the inner area data, the judgment result, and the like are collectively transmitted as inspection information. The downstream device receiving this can eliminate the board 9 judged to be defective or invalid by using such data, and there is no need to assemble such board into a panel. It is also possible to inject liquid crystal, and it is also possible to control the amount of liquid crystal injected between the glass substrates pasted by the paste pattern by using the internal area data, which is a waste of material. Prevent use and unnecessary operation / processing. Thereby, productivity can be improved.

When the above steps are completed, next, in FIG. 4, a substrate discharging process (step 700) is proceeded to, and in FIG. 1, the holding of the substrate 9 is released, and the substrate 9 is discharged to the outside of the apparatus. Then, it is determined whether or not all the above steps are stopped (step 800), and when the paste pattern is formed on the plurality of substrates 9 with the same pattern, the process is repeated from step 300, and a series of steps is performed on all the substrates. When the process of (3) is completed, all the work is completed (step 900).

[0058]

As described above, according to the present invention,
Inner area when pasted from formed paste pattern
(Inner volume) is obtained, and the information is communicated to a downstream device (a liquid crystal dropping device or a laminating device), so that the downstream device can use such information and use it. Waste of material consumption can be eliminated and productivity can be improved.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of a paste applicator according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing an arrangement relationship between a paste storage cylinder and a distance meter in the embodiment shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a specific example of a configuration of a main control unit in FIG. 1 and its control system.

4 is a flow chart showing the overall operation of the embodiment shown in FIG.
It is a chart.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a paste pattern applied and drawn on a substrate.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a method of measuring the inner circumference (inner area) of the paste pattern.

FIG. 7 is a schematic block diagram of communicating inspection information (data) from a paste coating machine to a downstream device.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 stand 2 Z-axis table support stand 3 X-axis movement table 4 X-axis servo motor 5 Y-axis movement table 6 Y-axis servo motor 7 Substrate holding mechanism 8 θ-axis movement table 9 substrates 10 Z-axis movement table support bracket 11 Z-axis movement table 12 Z-axis servo motor 13 Paste storage cylinder (syringe) 14 Nozzle support 15 camera 16 rangefinder 17 Main control unit 18 Sub-control unit 18a hard disk 18b floppy disk 19 monitors 20 keyboard 21 connection cable 22 Camera for inner circumference (inner area) inspection (pattern measurement) 23 Camera support 24 nozzle cleaning unit 25 board table 26 Negative pressure source 26a Negative pressure regulator 27 Positive pressure source 27a Positive pressure regulator 28 atmosphere 29 valve unit

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ identification code FI theme code (reference) B05D 7/24 301 B05D 7/24 301K (72) Inventor Yukihiro Kawasumi 5-2 Koyodai, Ryugasaki-shi, Ibaraki Hitachi Techno Engineering Co., Ltd. Development Laboratory (72) Inventor Kiyoji Matsumoto 5-2 Koyodai, Ryugasaki City, Ibaraki Prefecture Hitachi Techno Engineering Co., Ltd. Development Laboratory (2) Junichi Matsui 5-chome, Koyodai, Ryugasaki City, Ibaraki Prefecture No. 2 Hitachi Techno Engineering Co., Ltd. R & D Laboratory (72) Inventor Fukuo Yoneda 5-2 Koyodai, Ryugasaki, Ibaraki Prefecture 2-2 Hitachi Techno Engineering Co., Ltd. R & D Lab (72) Masayuki Saito Koyodai, Ryugasaki, Ibaraki Prefecture 5th-2 Hitachi Techno Engineer Ring Co., Ltd. Ryugasaki Plant (72) Inventor Akira Hirai 5-2, Koyodai, Ryugasaki-shi, Ibaraki Hitachi Techno Engineering Co., Ltd. BA21 BA34 BA38 4F042 AA02 AA06 AB00 BA03 BA08 CB01 CB24 DF01 DF24 ED05

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A paste container, and a nozzle having a discharge port for discharging the paste filled in the paste container,
A table on which the substrate is placed so as to face the discharge port and a drive mechanism for changing the relative positional relationship between the table and the nozzle are provided, and the relative positional relationship is changed by the drive mechanism. In a paste applicator that forms a paste pattern on the substrate by discharging the paste from the discharge port, an image of the paste pattern formed on the substrate is captured and image data is output. An image recognition means, an area calculation means for calculating the inside area of the paste pattern from the image data output by the image recognition means, and a check as to whether the inside area calculated by the area calculation means is within a predetermined range. Determination means for determining, and control means having an interface for transmitting the inner area obtained by the area calculation means and the determination result of the determination means to a device on the downstream side. A paste applicator characterized by being provided. 2. The substrate is placed on a table so as to face the paste discharge port of the nozzle, and the paste filled in the paste storage cylinder is discharged from the paste discharge port onto the substrate, the table and the nozzle. In the paste application control method of forming a paste pattern by changing the relative positional relationship between and, a plane image of the paste pattern is input, and the inner area of the paste pattern is obtained from the input data of the plane image. A paste application control method comprising: determining whether the inner area is within a predetermined range, and transmitting the obtained inner area and the result of the determination to a downstream device.