JP2003315757A - Integrated type liquid crystal display panel assembling apparatus and substrate stacking apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To make it easy to introduce a manufacturing environment of high cleanness by saving the space of a manufacturing line and simplifying the manufacturing line in postprocessing of liquid crystal display panel manufacture. <P>SOLUTION: A lower substrate 91 is carried in by a conveyance system from a 1st substrate carry-in part 101 a seal forming module 1 forms a seal 10 on the lower substrate 91 along the outline of a display area, and a liquid crystal dispensing module 2 dispenses liquid crystal 20 inside the seal 10 of the lower substrate 91. An upper substrate 92 is carried in by the conveyance system from a 2nd substrate carry-in part 102, and a vacuum stacking module 3 stacks the upper substrate on the lower substrate 91 after the seal formation and liquid crystal dispensation in specified position relation with a specified gap. After the lower substrate 91 and upper substrate 92 are stuck together by setting the seal 10, the conveyance system carries them out to a panel carry- out part 103. In the conveyance system, two or more substrates 91 and 92 are not retained among the modules 1, 2, and 3. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a liquid crystal display manufacturing process, and more particularly to a liquid crystal display panel assembling process called a post process.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Liquid crystal displays are widely used in many applications including those for computer display units. The liquid crystal display has a configuration in which a liquid crystal display panel is fitted in a frame and a drive circuit for the liquid crystal display panel is provided inside. The liquid crystal display panel has a structure in which liquid crystal is sealed between a pair of liquid crystal substrates. TFTs (Thin Filt
A driving element such as an lm transistor) is formed. When an electric field is applied to the liquid crystal by the driving element, the molecular arrangement of the liquid crystal is changed to control the transmission and blocking of light, and characters and images are displayed. Further, a color filter is provided on the inner surface of the liquid crystal substrate on the emission side.

In the liquid crystal display, in many cases, a liquid crystal display panel is manufactured by a panel manufacturer, and it is brought into a notebook computer or liquid crystal display manufacturer to be incorporated in the product. The manufacturing process of a liquid crystal display panel is roughly divided into a pre-process and a post-process. The previous step is a step of separately processing a pair of liquid crystal substrates, and is a step of forming an element such as a TFT and a color filter. The post-process is a process of adhering the pair of liquid crystal substrates in a state where liquid crystal is sealed between the pair of liquid crystal substrates and is a final assembly process.

Alignment and gap formation are one of the important things in the subsequent process. The driving elements are formed on the inner surfaces of the pair of liquid crystal substrates, which face each other, as described above. Therefore, in order for the element to function properly, it is necessary to stack the pair of liquid crystal substrates so that the positional relationship in the plane direction of the liquid crystal substrates (hereinafter referred to as the plate plane direction) is predetermined. Further, in order for the drive element to operate properly and the liquid crystal to be controlled normally, it is necessary to stack a pair of liquid crystal substrates at a predetermined narrow interval. The alignment of the pair of liquid crystal substrates in the plate surface direction is called “alignment”, and the alignment of the pair of liquid crystal substrates with a predetermined distance (hereinafter, gap length) is called “gap alignment”.

Further, the method of the post-process is classified into an injection type and a dropping type depending on how the liquid crystal is sealed. In the injection method, first, on one of the pair of liquid crystal substrates, a photocurable or thermosetting seal is circumferentially formed along the contour of the display area on the inner surface thereof. The seal should not be formed in a perfect circle, but should be provided with a slight break. In this state, the other liquid crystal substrate is superposed with a spacer interposed, and alignment and gap formation are performed. Then, the seal is cured by light or heat to bond the pair of liquid crystal substrates.

The space between the pair of liquid crystal substrates bonded together in this way is a closed space other than the part where the seal is interrupted. And the part where the seal is broken (hereinafter,
Liquid crystal is injected into the interior through the injection hole). A container storing liquid crystal and a pair of bonded liquid crystal substrates are placed in a vacuum, and an injection hole is immersed in the liquid crystal in the vacuum. In this state, the atmosphere is returned to atmospheric pressure, and the liquid crystal is injected between the pair of liquid crystal substrates due to the pressure difference. Then, the injection hole is closed with a seal.

In the case of the dropping type, a seal is similarly formed in a circumferential shape on one of the pair of liquid crystal substrates. At this time, there is no discontinuity, and the shape is a perfect circumference (endless shape). Then, the liquid crystal substrate is kept in a horizontal posture, and a predetermined amount of liquid crystal is dropped on the surface thereof. The liquid crystal spreads inside the circumferentially formed seal. After that, the other liquid crystal substrate is superposed on the one liquid crystal substrate with the spacer interposed, and alignment and gap formation are performed. Then, when the seal is cured, the filling of the liquid crystal between the pair of liquid crystal substrates is completed.

Of the two methods described above, the injection method has been widely used in the past, but the drop method is considered to be superior in view of the increase in size of the liquid crystal substrate. In the case of the injection type, it is necessary to lift a pair of bonded liquid crystal substrates to immerse the injection hole in the liquid crystal, and the work becomes difficult when the liquid crystal substrate becomes large. Even when it is automated, it tends to be mechanically large. Further, in the injection method, it takes a long time to inject the liquid crystal due to the differential pressure, and there is a problem in productivity. This problem becomes remarkable as the size of the liquid crystal substrate increases. Further, in the injection type, since the liquid crystal is injected by the differential pressure, air or the like is easily mixed in the liquid crystal and bubbles are easily generated in the liquid crystal. When air bubbles are generated, it also causes display defects. Therefore,
The drop method has been widely adopted.

[0009]

In the post-process of the above-mentioned liquid crystal display panel, the processes belonging to the post-processes, that is, the seal forming process, the liquid crystal dropping process, the laminating process and the like are performed by different devices. Then, the liquid crystal substrate is transported between the devices using an automatic transport vehicle, a conveyor, or the like. Therefore, the post-process production line is large-scale and complicated.

Further, each device is independent, and the processing time in each device also differs depending on the content of the process. Therefore, the manufacturing line often has a buffer unit that absorbs a difference in processing time between the devices. The buffer section is
It is provided between a device having a short processing time and a device having a long processing time, and temporarily stores the liquid crystal substrate carried out from the device having a short processing time. Such a buffer section makes the production line even larger and more complex.

Further, due to the difference in processing time and the like, an apparatus having a long processing time may have a batch type structure, that is, a structure in which a plurality of liquid crystal substrates are collectively processed. However, in the case of the batch method, if a problem occurs in a certain treatment, all the liquid crystal substrates treated in that treatment may become unusable, which easily causes a reduction in yield.

Further, in recent years, due to demands for improvement in image quality performance and high resolution of liquid crystal displays, there is a tendency that consideration for the manufacturing environment in the subsequent process becomes more severe. For example, when liquid crystal is sealed between a pair of liquid crystal substrates, if dust such as dust enters, the liquid crystal substrates may be damaged, resulting in defective products. Particularly, in recent liquid crystal displays, the gap length tends to be considerably short due to thinning and high-speed operation, and even a slight amount of dust may damage the liquid crystal substrate.

Due to such a demand, a clean room is often used also in a manufacturing line of a post-process. However, if the production line is large and tends to be long as in the conventional case, a huge investment including running cost is required to introduce the clean room. For this reason, it can be seen that the adoption of a clean room is halfway, such as an inexpensive structure with low cleanliness or a structure with relatively high cleanliness in a specific area.

The invention of the present application has been made to solve the problems of the conventional manufacturing line, and enables space saving and simplification of the manufacturing line in the post-process of manufacturing a liquid crystal display panel. By facilitating the introduction of a highly clean manufacturing environment, it is possible to manufacture a high-performance liquid crystal display panel at a lower cost, which has a significant technical significance.

[0015]

In order to solve the above problems, the invention according to claim 1 of the present application is an apparatus for assembling a liquid crystal display panel having a structure in which liquid crystal is sealed between a pair of liquid crystal substrates. A seal forming module that forms a seal along the contour of the display area on the inner surface of one of the liquid crystal substrates, and a liquid crystal dropping device that drops liquid crystal onto one or the other of the pair of liquid crystal substrates. It has a configuration of an integrated type including a module and a vacuum superposition module that superposes a pair of liquid crystal substrates in a vacuum at a predetermined positional relationship and a predetermined interval after forming a seal and dropping a liquid crystal. Further, in order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the invention according to claim 2 is the structure according to claim 1, wherein a first substrate carry-in section for carrying one of the pair of liquid crystal substrates into the device is provided,
The second substrate carry-in section that carries the other into the apparatus, the panel carry-out section that carries out the assembled liquid crystal display panel from the apparatus, and the carrier system, and the carrier system carries one substrate into the first substrate carry-in. From the section, the seal forming module, the liquid crystal dropping module, and the vacuum stacking module are carried in this order, and the other substrate is carried from the second substrate loading section to the vacuum stacking module, or one of the substrates is The seal forming module and the vacuum stacking module are carried in this order from the substrate carry-in section, and the other substrate is carried in the order of the liquid crystal dropping module and the vacuum stacking module from the second substrate carry-in section. The system has a configuration in which the liquid crystal display panel is carried out from the vacuum stacking module to the panel carrying-out section. . In addition, in order to solve the above problems,
According to a third aspect of the invention, in the configuration of the second aspect,
The transfer system has a configuration in which two or more liquid crystal substrates are transferred between the modules without being retained. Moreover, in order to solve the above-mentioned subject, Claim 4
According to the invention described in claim 2 or 3, the transport system comprises a transport robot capable of holding and transporting the liquid crystal substrates one by one at the tip of an arm. In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the invention according to claim 5 is, in the configuration according to any one of claims 1 to 4, installed in a state of being embedded in a wall of a clean room. The dropping module and the vacuum stacking module can be maintained from the outside of the clean room. In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, the invention according to claim 6 provides a curing module according to any one of claims 1 to 5, which cures a seal for a pair of liquid crystal substrates stacked by the vacuum stacking module. It has a configuration of being equipped. In order to solve the above-mentioned subject, Claim 7
The described invention has a configuration in which, in the configuration of claim 2, the panel unloading unit is also used as the first substrate loading unit or the second substrate loading unit. Also,
In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the invention according to claim 8 is a substrate superposing apparatus for superposing a pair of substrates at a predetermined positional relationship and a predetermined interval, wherein one of the pair of substrates is carried into the apparatus. A substrate carry-in unit, a second substrate carry-in unit that carries the other into the device, and a carry-out unit that carries out a pair of superposed substrates from the device, the carry-out unit, the first substrate carry-in unit or the It has a configuration in which the second substrate loading unit is also used. In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the invention according to claim 9 is an apparatus for assembling a liquid crystal display panel having a structure in which liquid crystal is sealed between a pair of liquid crystal substrates, wherein one of the pair of liquid crystal substrates is a liquid crystal. A seal is formed on the inner surface of the substrate along the contour of the display area, and a composite module for dropping liquid crystal onto one or the other of the pair of liquid crystal substrates and a pair of liquid crystal substrates after the seal formation and the liquid crystal dropping. It has a configuration of an integrated type including a vacuum stacking module that stacks liquid crystal substrates in a vacuum at a predetermined positional relationship and a predetermined interval.

[0016]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments (hereinafter, embodiments) of the present invention will be described below. 1 and 2 are views showing an outline of an integrated liquid crystal display panel assembling apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 1 is a perspective view thereof.
FIG. 2 is a plan view thereof. A major feature of the apparatus shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 is that all the main steps of the post-steps can be performed by one apparatus. That is, the apparatus shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 can perform a seal forming step, a liquid crystal dropping step, and a substrate bonding step. As described above, there is no device that can perform all the main steps of assembling the liquid crystal display panel with one device so far, and in order to distinguish it from the conventional device, the "integrated liquid crystal display panel assembling device" is used. Call.

More specifically, in the device of this embodiment, a seal formation for forming a seal on the element surface of one of the pair of liquid crystal substrates 91, 92 along the contour of the display area. Module 1, a liquid crystal dropping module 2 for dropping a predetermined amount of liquid crystal on one liquid crystal substrate 91 having a seal formed thereon, and one liquid crystal substrate 91 having one seal formed and liquid crystal dropped on the other liquid crystal substrate 91. And a vacuum stacking module 3 for stacking 92. The apparatus also includes a first substrate loading section 101 for loading one liquid crystal board 91 into the apparatus, a second substrate loading section 102 for loading the other liquid crystal board 92 into the apparatus, and an assembled liquid crystal display panel 93. And a panel unloading unit 103 for unloading from the apparatus. In addition, the device is provided with each liquid crystal substrate 9
1, 92 and assembled liquid crystal display panel 93
Is equipped with a transport system for transporting.

As shown in FIG. 2, the apparatus is installed so as to be embedded in the wall 110 of the clean room. Specifically, the first and second substrate loading units 101 and 102 and the panel unloading unit 103 are embedded in the wall 110.
Also, the seal forming module 1 and the liquid crystal dropping module 2
The vacuum stacking module 3, the transfer system, etc. are provided in the outer wall 100 of the apparatus. Further, maintenance work can be performed on the seal forming module 1, the liquid crystal dropping module 2, the vacuum stacking module 3 and the like from the outside of the clean room. Specifically, the worker stands up behind the seal forming module 1, the liquid crystal dropping module 2, and the vacuum stacking module 3 (on the side opposite to the wall surface 110) to perform maintenance work. In addition, the inside of the outer wall 100 of the apparatus may be made as clean as the inside of a clean room, or a clean bench or the like may be provided where necessary.

Further, as shown in FIG. 2, the apparatus of this embodiment has a spare module installation section 130 for additionally installing required modules. The module installation unit 130 is provided at a position where it can be transferred by the transfer system, and has a port for a control signal line from the main control unit,
A supply section for utilities such as clean air is standardized. In the present embodiment, one liquid crystal substrate 91 is on the lower side and the other liquid crystal substrate 92 is on the upper side during superposition. Therefore, hereinafter, the former 91 is referred to as a lower substrate and the latter 92 is referred to as an upper substrate.

FIG. 3 is a schematic front view of the first substrate loading section 101, the second substrate loading section 102 and the panel unloading section 103 of the apparatus shown in FIGS. As shown in FIG. 2, the device occupies a generally horizontally long rectangular space. First substrate loading unit 101, second substrate loading unit 1
02 and the panel unloading unit 103 are arranged side by side at the left end of the front side of the apparatus, as shown in FIG.

First substrate loading section 101, second substrate loading section 1
02 and the panel carry-out section 103 have the same configuration. As an example, the configuration of the first substrate loading unit 101 will be described. The 1st board | substrate carrying-in part 101 has a structure which accommodates the several lower board | substrates 91 by piled up and down at predetermined intervals. The first substrate loading section 101 is composed of a pair of side plates 104 provided on the left and right sides, and a convex section 105 provided on the facing surface of each side plate 104. Convex portion 105
Are long in the width direction of the side plate 104, and are provided at predetermined intervals in the vertical direction. The lower substrate 91 is accommodated in a state in which both ends are mounted on a pair of convex portions 105 at the same height. The second substrate loading unit 102 and the panel unloading unit 103 have basically the same configuration.

FIG. 4 is a schematic perspective view showing the structure of the transport system of the apparatus shown in FIGS. The transport system is the lower substrate 9
1, the transfer robot 121 that holds and transfers the upper substrate 92 or the liquid crystal display panel 93, and the transfer robot 1
It is mainly composed of a robot moving mechanism 122 for linearly moving 21 as a whole. In addition, a main control unit (not shown) that controls the entire apparatus including the transport system is provided.

The transfer robot 121 includes a fork 123 for supporting the lower substrate 91, the upper substrate 92 or the liquid crystal display panel 93, an articulated arm 124 having the fork 123 fixed at its tip, and a drive mechanism for driving the arm 124. It is mainly composed of a robot main body 125 in which is stored. The transfer robot 121 expands and contracts the arm 124, rotates about a vertical rotation axis, and vertically moves (vertical movement) to set the lower substrate 91, the upper substrate 92, or the liquid crystal display panel 93 on the fork 123 in a predetermined manner. It is designed to be transported to the position. Transport robot 121
Means the fork 123 in two directions (XY directions) orthogonal to each other in a horizontal plane, a vertical direction (Z direction), and the transfer robot 1.
In addition to the operation of moving the fork 123 in the rotation direction around the vertical axis (θ direction), the fork 123 is rotated around the horizontal axis to lower the lower substrate 91, the upper substrate 92, or the liquid crystal display panel 93 on the fork 123. You can also reverse the upside down.

The robot moving mechanism 122 is used when carrying the robot beyond the operating range of the transport robot 121. The robot moving mechanism 122 moves the transfer robot 121 in a direction in which the seal forming module 1, the liquid crystal dropping module 2, and the vacuum superposition module 3 are arranged (hereinafter, a juxtaposed direction). It is composed of a linear guide 126, a linear drive source 127 in which a ball screw and a servo motor are combined, and the like. In the present embodiment, the main control unit (not shown) also controls each unit of the apparatus. The main control unit controls the transfer robot 121 according to the progress of processing in each module.
Is designed to optimally control the operation of.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a schematic structure of the seal forming module 1 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. As shown in FIG. 5, the seal forming module 1 includes a stage 11 on which the lower substrate 91 is placed, a stage drive mechanism 12 for driving the stage 11, a seal dispenser 13 for discharging the seal 10, and a seal dispenser 13 for the seal 10.
And a dispenser position adjusting mechanism 15 for adjusting the position (height) of the seal dispenser 13 with respect to the stage 11.

The stage 11 has a horizontal upper surface, and the lower substrate 91 is placed on the upper surface. A vacuum suction hole (not shown) is provided on the upper surface of the stage 11, and the lower substrate 91 is vacuum suctioned at a predetermined position on the stage. Further, the stage is provided with lift pins (not shown) for delivering the lower substrate 91. A pin through hole (not shown) is provided so as to vertically penetrate the stage 11, and the pin is inserted in a posture perpendicular to the pin through hole. Lift pins
Four lower substrates 91 are provided so that they can be supported at respective corner positions. The lower ends of the lift pins are fixed to a horizontal pin base plate (not shown), and the base plate is provided with a pin lifting mechanism (not shown). The pin through hole may also serve as the vacuum suction hole. Specifically, a lateral hole is provided in the pin through hole, and vacuum suction is performed from there. The end of the pin through hole opposite to the stage 11 is hermetically sealed.

The stage driving mechanism 12 is arranged so that the stage 11 has two horizontal directions (X and Y directions) orthogonal to each other.
The stage 11 is driven. The X direction and the Y direction match the direction of each side of the lower substrate 91 placed at a predetermined position. The stage drive mechanism 12 uses a servo motor, and is configured to hold a predetermined position while displacing the stage 11 in the X direction or the Y direction. Since such a mechanism can be easily obtained from each company, detailed description thereof will be omitted.

As the seal 10, in the present embodiment, a resin having both photo-curing property and thermosetting property is used. Before curing, the seal 10 is a liquid having a certain degree of viscosity such as slurry. Such a seal 10 includes
For example, Kyoritsu Chemical Industry Co., Ltd. “World Rock N
No. 717 "can be used.

The seal dispenser 13 is a cylinder in which the uncured seal 10 is stored, and is held by a dispenser holder (not shown) in a posture with the discharge port at the tip facing downward. The dispenser position adjusting mechanism 15 adjusts the position of the seal dispenser 13 in the height direction while vertically displacing the seal dispenser holder. The dispenser position adjustment mechanism 15 is configured by a linear movement mechanism that combines a servo motor and a ball screw. The seal supply system 14 is
It is composed of a seal supply tube that connects the seal reservoir (not shown) and the seal dispenser 13, and a supply pump (not shown) that supplies a seal through the seal supply tube.

The operation of the seal forming module 1 having the above structure will be described below. Transport robot 121
Holds the lower substrate 91 and positions it at a predetermined position above the stage 11. The predetermined position is a position where the center of the lower substrate 91 is located on the central axis of the stage 11. The lower substrate 91 has a posture in which each side is along the X direction or the Y direction. The pin elevating mechanism has been operated in advance so that the lift pin is at the upper limit position where it projects from the stage 11.

In this state, the transfer robot 121 lowers the fork 123 and places the lower substrate 91 on each lift pin. Then, the fork 123 is retracted to a position where it does not contact even if the lower substrate 91 descends. Then, the pin elevating mechanism lowers the lift pins at the same time so that the upper end is lower than the upper surface of the stage 11. In this descending process, the lower substrate 91 is placed on the stage 11. Then, the vacuum suction mechanism operates and the lower substrate 91 is vacuum-sucked on the stage 11.

Next, the stage drive mechanism 12 operates to move the stage 11 to a predetermined origin position. Further, the dispenser position adjusting mechanism 15 operates to position the seal dispenser 13 at a predetermined height. In this state,
The supply pump of the seal supply system 14 operates and the seal 10 is discharged from the seal dispenser 13. The ejected seal 10 is placed on the lower substrate 91. At this time, the stage drive mechanism 12 operates to move the stage 11 in the X direction or the Y direction. While the discharge of the seal 10 from the seal dispenser 13 is continued, the stage drive mechanism 12 moves the center of the stage 11 so as to draw a square trajectory, and the seal 10 forms a square contour on the lower substrate 91. Is formed as. The stage drive mechanism 12 is
The stage 11 is driven in the X direction and the Y direction so that the seal 10 is formed at a position inside the edge of the lower substrate 91 by a predetermined distance.

After the seal 10 is formed in the rectangular shape in this manner, the supply pump is stopped. Then, after the vacuum suction is released, the pin lifting mechanism is operated again to position each lift pin at the upper limit position. As a result, the lower substrate 91 separates from the stage 11. Then, the transfer robot 121
After making the fork 123 enter below the lower substrate 91, the fork 123 is raised and the lower substrate 91 is received and taken out from the seal forming module 1. In addition to the configuration of the above-described embodiment, the stage 11 may be stationary and the seal dispenser 13 may be moved in the XY directions to perform drawing with the seal 10.

Next, the liquid crystal dropping module 2 will be described. FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing a schematic configuration of the liquid crystal dropping module 2 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. As shown in FIG.
The liquid crystal dropping module 2 includes a stage 21 on which the lower substrate 91 is placed and a stage drive mechanism 2 for driving the stage 21.
2, a liquid crystal dispenser 23 for discharging and dropping the liquid crystal 20, a liquid crystal supply system 24 for supplying the liquid crystal 20 to the liquid crystal dispenser 23, and a dispenser position adjusting mechanism for adjusting the position (height) of the liquid crystal dispenser 23 with respect to the stage 21. 25 and is mainly configured.

Stage 21 and stage drive mechanism 22
Has the same configuration as that of the seal forming module 1, and the description thereof will be omitted. The liquid crystal dispenser 23 is composed of a container in which the liquid crystal 20 is stored and has a discharge hole, a piston rod which pressurizes the liquid crystal 20 in the container to drop the liquid crystal from the discharge hole, and the like. In the liquid crystal dispenser 23, the liquid crystal 2 is supplied from a liquid crystal reservoir (not shown) by a liquid crystal supply system 24.
0 is supplied.

The operation of the liquid crystal dropping module 2 having the above structure will be described below. The transfer robot 121
The lower substrate 91 taken out from the seal forming module 1 is conveyed to the liquid crystal dropping module 2 and is positioned at a predetermined position above the stage 21. Similarly, the predetermined position is a position where the center of the lower substrate 91 is located on the central axis of the stage 21. Similarly, the lower substrate 91 is transferred to the stage 21 by lift pins (not shown) and is vacuum-adsorbed on the stage 21.

The stage driving mechanism 22 positions the stage 21 at a predetermined position, and the dispenser position adjusting mechanism 25 operates to position the liquid crystal dispenser 23 at a predetermined height. In this state, the liquid crystal dispenser 2
3 operates, and the liquid crystal 20 is dropped by a predetermined amount. Next, the stage drive mechanism 22 operates to move the stage 21 in the X direction and / or the Y direction by a predetermined distance and position the stage 21 at another predetermined position. After that, similarly, the liquid crystal dispenser 23 is operated to drop a predetermined amount of the liquid crystal 20. By repeating this, the liquid crystal 20 is dropped onto a plurality of predetermined positions on the lower substrate 91 while the stage 21 is sequentially moved. The plurality of predetermined locations are locations at equal intervals, and the lower substrate 91
The liquid crystal 20 is evenly dropped on the top. Dropped liquid crystal 20
Has a viscosity, but spreads uniformly on the lower substrate 91.

After dropping a predetermined amount of the liquid crystal 20 as described above, the vacuum suction is released, and then the lower substrate 91 is transferred to the transfer robot 121 by lift pins. Transport robot 1
21 takes out the lower substrate 91 from the liquid crystal dropping module 2. The stage 21 may be stationary and the liquid crystal dispenser 23 may be sequentially moved in the XY directions to drop the liquid crystal.

Next, the vacuum stacking module 3 will be described. FIG. 7 is a front sectional view showing a schematic configuration of the vacuum stacking module 3. One of the major features of this embodiment is that the vacuum superposition module 3 superposes the lower substrate 91 and the upper substrate 92 in vacuum to perform gap formation and alignment. In the present embodiment, the vacuum container for arranging the pair of liquid crystal substrates 91, 92 in a vacuum atmosphere is a pair of liquid crystal substrates 91, 9
It is composed of a pair of substrate holders 31 and 32 for holding 2.

More specifically, the pair of substrate holders 3
As shown in FIG. 7, the reference numerals 1 and 32 hold the lower substrate 91 and the upper substrate 92 in a horizontal posture. Of the pair of substrate holders 31 and 32, the substrate holder 1 that holds the lower substrate 91 is called a “lower substrate holder”, and the substrate holder 2 that holds the upper substrate 92 is an “upper substrate holder”. Call. As shown in FIG. 7, the upper substrate holder 32 has a holder main body 321 having a recess formed on the lower surface thereof, and a diaphragm 3 provided so as to partition the space of the recess of the holder main body 321.
22 and a holding head 32 fixed to the lower surface of the diaphragm 322.
It is mainly composed of 3 and 3.

The holder main body 321 is made of a material having high rigidity such as duralumin or stainless steel. In some cases, aluminum, which has sufficient rigidity and is lightweight, may be selected as the material of the holder main body 321.
The diaphragm 322 presses the upper substrate 92 by the differential pressure applied by the differential pressure applying mechanism 62 described later. The holding head 323 is a member that contacts the upper substrate 92 and directly holds the upper substrate 92. The holding head 323 holds the upper substrate 92 by vacuum suction in the atmosphere and electrostatic suction in the vacuum.

In the electrostatic attraction mechanism, a pair of attraction electrodes (not shown) provided in the holding head 323 receives a DC voltage having the same size and different polarities or the same polarity by an attraction power source (not shown). It is a configuration to apply. The holding head 323 has a structure in which the surface of a member made of metal such as copper is covered with a dielectric such as polyimide resin. When the adsorption power supply operates and DC voltages having different polarities are applied to the pair of adsorption electrodes, dielectric polarization occurs in the dielectric coating layer of the holding head 323, and static electricity is induced on the lower surface. The upper substrate 92 is electrostatically attracted by this static electricity. The holding head 323 may be entirely made of a dielectric material such as alumina.

The lower substrate holder 31 is also made of a highly rigid material such as duralumin, stainless steel or aluminum. The lower substrate holder 31 is supported by a sturdy base (not shown). Lower substrate holder 31
Is similarly provided with an electrostatic adsorption mechanism. Specifically, a recess is provided on the upper surface of the lower substrate holder 31, and an electrostatic adsorption plate 311 is provided so as to be fitted in the recess. Electrostatic attraction plate 311
Is made of a dielectric material and electrostatically attracts the lower substrate 91 with the same configuration.

As described above, the pair of substrate holders 31,
32 is a member that constitutes a vacuum container. Specifically, the vacuum container includes a pair of substrate holders 31 and 32 and an intermediate ring 3 located between the pair of substrate holders 31 and 32.
3 and 3. The lower substrate holder 31 has an exhaust path 312, and the exhaust system 312 is provided in the exhaust path 312. The exhaust system 41 includes an exhaust passage 312 and a vacuum pump 41.
1, an exhaust pipe 412 connecting the exhaust pipe 1 and the valve 1, a valve 413 provided on the exhaust pipe 412, an exhaust speed regulator (not shown), and the like. The upper substrate holder 32 has a vent gas introduction passage 325, and the vent gas introduction passage 325 is provided with a vent gas introduction system 42. As the vent gas, purified dry air (dry air), nitrogen, or the like is used. The upper surface of the lower substrate holder 31 has a step in the peripheral portion and is slightly lower. This lowered portion extends circumferentially, and the intermediate ring 3
3 is located.

The pair of substrate holders 31, 32 are located at a long first distance when the vacuum container is opened to the atmosphere by the opening / closing mechanism 5, and when the vacuum container is evacuated to a vacuum. It is located a short second distance away. Specifically, the opening / closing mechanism 5 is configured to vertically move the upper substrate holder 32. In the following description, the position of the upper substrate holder 32 at which the distance between the pair of substrate holders 31 and 32 becomes the first distance is referred to as the upper limit position, and the upper substrate holder 32 at which the distance becomes the second distance. The position of is called the lower limit position.

The opening / closing mechanism 5 is mainly composed of a holding member 51 that holds the upper substrate holder 32 as a whole, and an opening / closing drive source 52 whose drive shaft is fixed to the holding member 51. A servomotor or the like is used as the opening / closing drive source 52, and a configuration is adopted in which a ball screw is rotated to convert the rotation into vertical movement. As the opening / closing mechanism 5, a mechanism using a fluid pressure cylinder such as an air cylinder or a hydraulic cylinder may be adopted. The opening / closing mechanism 5 is designed so that when opening to the atmosphere,
The upper substrate holder 32 is located at the upper limit position, and is located at a predetermined lower position during evacuation.
When the upper substrate holder 32 is at the lower limit position, the upper substrate holder 32 contacts the intermediate ring 33. When the vacuum container is composed of only the pair of substrate holders 31 and 32, the opening / closing mechanism 5 operates as the pair of substrate holders 3.
Move them so that 1, 32 are in contact with each other.

Such a structure has a pair of substrates 91 and 92.
It takes into consideration the loading and unloading of items and maintenance.
A vent gas introduction system 42 may be provided if it is simply opened to the atmosphere, but a pair of substrate holders is used to carry the substrates 91 and 92 into the vacuum container and to carry the substrates 91 and 92 out of the vacuum container. 31 and 32 are arranged to face each other with a long distance. As a configuration for loading and unloading the substrates 91 and 92, there is a configuration in which an opening is provided in the vacuum container and a gate valve for opening and closing the opening is provided.
Maintenance work such as cleaning the inner wall surface is difficult.

The apparatus of this embodiment is composed of a pair of substrates 91, 9
Alignment moving means 7 for performing alignment by moving at least one of the pair of substrate holders 31 and 32 in the plate surface direction so that the positional relationship of 2 in the plate surface direction becomes predetermined.
Is equipped with. In the present embodiment, the lower substrate 91 does not move in the plate surface direction, and alignment is performed by moving the upper substrate 92 in the plate surface direction with respect to the stationary lower substrate 91. ing. That is, the alignment moving means 7 moves the upper substrate 92 in the plate surface direction to perform alignment. Since the pair of substrates 91 and 92 are held in the horizontal direction, the plate surface direction is the horizontal direction.

The structure of the alignment moving means 7 will be described with reference to FIGS. 8 and 9. FIG. 8 is a schematic perspective view showing the configuration of the alignment moving means 7 provided in the vacuum superposition module 3 of FIG. Figure 9
FIG. 9 is a schematic perspective view of a main part of the alignment moving means 7 shown in FIG. 8. As shown in FIG. 7, the alignment moving means 7 is configured to directly move the intermediate ring 33. The upper substrate holder 32 is pressed against the intermediate ring 33 with a large force by the pressure difference inside and outside the vacuum container. The alignment moving means 7 moves the intermediate ring 33 in this state to move the intermediate ring 33.
The upper substrate holder 32 is moved integrally with the upper substrate holder 32, thereby moving the upper substrate 92.

As shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, the alignment moving means 7 includes a bracket 701 fixed to the intermediate ring 33, and the intermediate ring 33 via the bracket 701.
A linear drive source 702 for moving a fulcrum, a fulcrum pin 703 provided on the output shaft of the linear drive source 702, and a fulcrum pin 703.
And a linear guide 705 provided between the connector 704 and the bracket 701.

As shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, the bracket 7
01, linear drive source 702, fulcrum pin 703, and unit 71, 72, 73, 74 including linear guide 705.
Are provided on each side of the intermediate ring 33. Hereinafter, for convenience of explanation, each unit is referred to as the first unit 7
1, second unit 72, third unit 73, and fourth unit 74. As shown in FIG. 8, the first unit 71 and the third unit 73, and the second unit 72 and the fourth unit 74 are located on opposite sides of the intermediate ring 33, respectively. In each of the units 71, 72, 73, 74, the linear drive source 702 is composed of a motor such as a servo motor or a pulse motor, and a motion conversion mechanism including a ball screw that converts the output of the motor into linear motion. Each linear drive source 702 is fixed to a fixed plate (not shown) so as not to move.

The connecting member 704 has a U-shaped cross section as shown in FIG. 9, and is arranged with its opening facing the linear drive source 702. The fulcrum pin 703 is arranged so that the axial direction is the vertical direction. The connecting tool 704 has a hole for inserting the fulcrum pin 703 in the upper part and the lower part. The fulcrum pin 703 has an upper end and a lower end inserted into this hole.
The fulcrum pin 703 and the connector 704 are not fixed,
The connector 704 can rotate around the stationary fulcrum pin 703. The bracket 701 has a right-angled triangular shape in plan view as shown in FIGS. 8 and 9. One side of the pair of right angles of the bracket 701 is parallel to the side surface of the intermediate ring 33, and this side portion is fixed to the side surface of the intermediate ring 33.

The linear guide 705 includes a bracket 701.
It is fixed to the other side of the right angle. The linear guide 705 is a unit 7 to which the linear guide 705 belongs.
It is long in the horizontal direction perpendicular to the direction of the side of the intermediate ring 33 provided with 1, 72, 73, 74 and guides the linear movement in this direction. Connector 704
Has a concave portion or a step which is long in the same direction as the linear guide 705 and conforms to the shape of the linear guide 705. The linear guide 705 guides a linear movement while sliding along the recess or the step.

The operation of the alignment moving means 7 shown in FIGS. 8 and 9 will be described below. The alignment moving means 7 shown in FIG. 8 and FIG.
By arbitrarily operating the linear drive sources 702 of 2, 73 and 74, linear movement (X
(Movement in the direction and Y direction) and movement in the circumferential direction (movement in the θ direction) on a horizontal plane centered on an arbitrary position are performed by the intermediate ring 33.

A more specific description will be given. As shown in FIG. 8, the X direction is the direction of the side on which the first and third units 71 and 73 are arranged, and the Y direction is the second and fourth units 72 and 7.
The direction of the side where 4 is arranged is set. First, in order to linearly move the intermediate ring 33 in the X direction, the linear drive sources 702 of the first unit 71 and the third unit 73 are simultaneously operated, and the linear drive sources 702 of the second unit 72 and the fourth unit 74 are operated. Try not to let me. At this time, the linear drive sources 702 of the first unit 71 and the third unit 73 are
Each bracket 701 is driven to move by the same distance. For example, when the motor is a pulse motor, the same number of pulses are driven. As a result, the intermediate ring 33 also linearly moves in the X direction by this driving distance. The linear drive source 7
Not operating 02 means that the motor is like a servo motor and also includes the case where it operates so as to hold its position and prevent it from moving.

When moving in the Y direction, the linear drive sources 702 of the second unit 72 and the fourth unit 74 are simultaneously operated, and the first unit 71 and the third unit 7 are operated.
The linear drive source 702 of No. 3 is not operated. Also in this case, the driving distances of the linear driving sources 702 of the second unit 72 and the fourth unit 74 are the same. As a result, the intermediate ring 33 linearly moves in the Y direction by the driving distance.

In the movement in the X and Y directions, the linear guide 705 of each unit 71, 72, 73, 74 is moved.
Has the function of guiding the movement. That is, when moving in the X direction, each bracket 701 also moves in the X direction together with the intermediate ring 33. At this time, the linear guides 705 provided on the brackets 701 of the second unit 72 and the fourth unit 74 move while sliding along the recesses or steps of the connector 704, and guide the movement in the X direction. That is, the linear guide 705 of the second fourth unit 72, 74.
Is to prevent the driving force in the X direction from being transmitted to the linear driving source 702 and the like. Further, when moving in the Y direction, the linear guides 705 provided on the brackets 701 of the first unit 71 and the third unit 73 are connected to the connector 70.
It slides along the concave portion or the step of 4 and guides the movement in the Y direction.

Next, the case of moving in the θ direction will be described. For example, the movement when the rotation axis is coaxial with the intermediate ring 33, that is, the center axis of the intermediate ring 33 will be described. In this case, for example, the linear drive source 702 of the first unit 71 and the linear drive source 702 of the third unit 73 are simultaneously operated, and the linear drive source 702 of the second unit 72 and the linear drive source 702 of the fourth unit 74 are operated. Don't let it work. At this time, the linear drive source 702 of the first unit 71 and the linear drive source 702 of the third unit 73 are driven in different directions (forward and backward) by the same distance. As a result, the intermediate ring 33 has a horizontal circumferential direction centered on the central axis (see FIG. 8).
Indicated by θ ₁ ).

During this movement in the θ ₁ direction, each bracket 7
01 also moves in the θ ₁ direction integrally with the intermediate ring 33. At this time, the fulcrum pin 703 and the connector 704 of the second fourth unit 72, 74 have a function of releasing the driving force in the θ ₁ direction and not transmitting it to the linear driving source 702.
That is, the bracket 701 of the second fourth unit 72, 74
When is moved in the θ ₁ direction, the connector 704 is also integrally moved in the θ ₁ direction via the linear guide 705. However, the fulcrum pin 703 is fixed to the output shaft of the linear drive source 702 and does not move. Therefore, when the bracket 701 moves in the θ ₁ direction, the connecting tool 704 slightly rotates around the fulcrum pin 703, so that the driving force in the θ ₁ direction is released and is not transmitted to the linear drive source 702 and the like.

In the movement in the θ ₁ direction, the linear drive sources 702 of the first and third units 71 and 73 are not operated, and the linear drive sources 702 of the second and fourth units 72 and 74 are the same in different directions. It can also be performed by driving only a distance. In this case, the connecting tool 704 and the fulcrum pin 703 of the second fourth unit 72, 74 operate so as to release the driving force in the θ ₁ direction.

Also in the circumferential direction other than the θ ₁ direction, the linear driving source 702 of each unit 71, 72, 73, 74 can be freely driven by appropriately selecting the driving method (driving distance and driving direction). be able to. For example, as indicated by θ ₂ in FIG. 4, it is possible to move the substrate 91, 92 or the intermediate ring 33 in a circumferential direction around the position of a square corner. The movement distance in the above alignment is quite short. ± in case of linear movement such as X direction or Y direction
It is about 2 mm or less. In case of movement in θ direction,
When expressed as an angle, it is about ± 1 degree or less.

Further, the apparatus of this embodiment is provided with a position shift detection sensor 75 for detecting a shift in the positional relationship between the pair of substrates 91 and 92 in the plate surface direction during alignment. The displacement detection sensor 75 is attached to the lower substrate holder 31 as shown in FIG. 7. Specifically, the lower substrate holder 31 has a detection through hole 314 extending vertically. The displacement detection sensor 75 is attached to a position facing the lower end opening of the detection through hole 314. A plurality of through holes 314 for detection are provided, and a displacement detection sensor 75 is attached to each of them. The lower end opening of the detection through hole 314 is the optical window 31.
It is airtightly closed by 5.

Each displacement detecting sensor 75 is specifically an image pickup device such as a CCD camera. A pair of substrates 91, 9
Each of the two is provided with an alignment mark at a predetermined position on the plate surface. The pair of substrates 91 and 92 are transparent and have the same shape and dimension. The alignment mark is provided at the same position on the pair of substrates 91 and 92.

As described above, when the lower substrate 91 is loaded by the transfer robot 121, the transfer robot 121
The lower substrate 91 is accurately positioned so that the alignment mark is located at the upper end opening of the through hole 314 for detection.
Place on 1. At the time of alignment, the misalignment detection sensor 75 passes through the detection through hole 314 and the lower substrate holder 3
The alignment mark 1 and the alignment mark on the upper substrate 92 are imaged.

In this embodiment, the upper substrate 92 is pressed toward the lower substrate 91 to form a gap. That is, gap moving means for moving the upper substrate 92 toward the lower substrate 91 to perform a gap is provided. The configuration of the gap moving means constitutes the third major feature of this embodiment. That is, the gap moving means includes a mechanism 61 for mechanically applying a pressing force to the upper substrate 92 (hereinafter referred to as a pressing mechanism) and a mechanism for applying a pressing force to the upper substrate 92 by a gas differential pressure (hereinafter referred to as a differential pressure application). Mechanism) 62 is also used, and this is a major feature.

The pressing mechanism 61 includes a plurality of pressing rods 611 fixed to the upper substrate holder 32 and the pressing rods 61.
1 and a pressing drive source 612 provided in each of the above. Each pressing rod 611 is in a vertical posture, has a lower end fixed to the diaphragm 322, extends upward, and penetrates the upper substrate holder 32 in an airtight manner. Each pressing drive source 6
12 is connected to the upper end of the pressing rod 611. Each pressing drive source 612 is a position control motor such as a servo motor, and its rotational motion is converted into a linear motion by a motion conversion mechanism using a ball screw or the like.

The penetrating portion of each pressing rod 611 is
A pressing vacuum sealing means 613 is provided which performs vacuum sealing while permitting vertical movement of each pressing rod 611. The pressing vacuum seal means 613 is specifically an O-ring seal, but a mechanical seal using magnetic fluid can also be used. A bellows may be provided between each pressing rod 611 and the upper substrate holder 32.

Among the spaces partitioned by the diaphragm 322, the upper space is the upper holder main body 321 and the diaphragm 322.
It is a closed space 326 surrounded by and. The closed space 326 is located behind the upper substrate 92. The differential pressure applying mechanism 62 is adapted to introduce gas into the closed space 326 and apply a differential pressure to the space where the upper substrate 92 is located. That is, the differential pressure applying mechanism 62 includes a differential pressure pipe 621 connected to the upper holder main body 321, a cylinder (not shown) for introducing gas into the closed space 326 through the differential pressure pipe 621, and a differential pressure pipe 621 on the differential pressure pipe 621. It is mainly configured by the provided differential pressure main valve 622. The upper holder main body 321 has a gas introduction passage 327 at a position where the differential pressure pipe 621 is connected. The closed space 326 means that the portion other than the gas introduction path 327 is basically a closed space.

The differential pressure applying mechanism 62 has a closed space 326.
It has a pressure regulator (not shown) for adjusting the internal pressure.
A pressure regulator (not shown) uses an electro-pneumatic regulator that adjusts the pressure according to the input of an electric signal for control.
An electro-pneumatic regulator is a device that controls pressure with an electrical signal (voltage or current). For example, a structure in which a diaphragm (diaphragm) is controlled by a piezoelectric element and an internal valve is adjusted by this to control the pressure is used. Since such electro-pneumatic regulators are commercially available from various companies, they are appropriately selected and used. As shown in FIG. 7, an auxiliary exhaust pump 626 for exhausting the inside of the closed space 326 is provided. The auxiliary exhaust pump 626 exhausts the inside of the closed space 326 through the differential pressure pipe 621, the valves 622 and 624, and the auxiliary exhaust pipe 623.

The device of the present embodiment has been devised in many ways so that the gap can be formed with high accuracy. First,
A distance sensor 63 is provided for indirectly measuring the distance between the upper substrate 92 and the lower substrate 91 when the upper substrate 92 is pressed against the lower substrate 91 in order to form a gap. Are in control. More specifically, a plurality of distance sensors 63 are provided and attached to the lower substrate holder 31. A recess is provided on the upper surface of the lower substrate holder 31 outside the portion that holds the lower substrate 91, and the distance sensor 63 is provided so as to fill this recess.

As shown in FIG. 7, the substrate holder surface of the lower substrate holder 31 (the upper surface of the electrostatic attraction plate 311) and the substrate holding surface of the upper substrate holder 32 (the lower surface of the holding head 323) are parallel to each other. is there. Further, the thickness of the lower substrate 91 and the thickness of the upper substrate 92 are known. Therefore, the lower substrate holder 3
If the distance between the substrate holding surface 1 and the substrate holding surface of the upper substrate holder 32 is known, the gap length (separation distance) between the pair of substrates 91 and 92 can be known. Since the positional relationship of the substrate holding surface of the lower substrate holder 31 with respect to the distance sensor 63 is unchanged, the gap length between the pair of substrates 91 and 92 can be determined by measuring the distance from the distance sensor 63 to the lower surface of the holding head 323. It will be obtained indirectly.

As the distance sensor 63, for example, one which detects an eddy current can be used. That is, one of the sensors is configured to generate an AC magnetic field, and the other is configured to detect an eddy current generated by this AC magnetic field. The distance is determined by the magnitude of the eddy current. In addition, a sensor that measures the distance by the magnetic field strength, a distance sensor that uses a laser interferometer, or the like can be used. Alternatively, an electric contact micrometer may be used.

FIG. 10 shows the distance sensor 6 in the plate surface direction.
It is a figure explaining the arrangement position of No. 3. Yet another major feature of this embodiment is that the distance sensor 63 is arranged so as to form a pair with each pressing rod 611 of the pressing mechanism 61. That is, as shown in FIG. 10, in this embodiment, four pressing rods 611 are provided. Each pressing rod 611 is arranged at a corner position of a virtual rectangle or square coaxial with the upper substrate holder 32. And each distance sensor 63 is also provided four in the same manner,
It is located below each pressing rod 611 and forms a pair.
More precisely, the square connecting the four pressing rods 611 and the square connecting the four distance sensors 63 are similar to each other and coaxial with each other. The pressing rods 61 forming each pair
1 and the distance sensor 63 are located at the same vertex of the rectangle.

The diaphragm 3 of the upper substrate holder 32
22 transmits the driving force in the plate surface direction by the alignment moving means 7 to the upper substrate 92. That is, as described above, the alignment moving means 7 moves the upper substrate holder 32 in the plate surface direction via the intermediate ring 33. The force of this movement is transmitted to the holding head 323 via the diaphragm 322 and the pressing rod 611, and as a result, the upper substrate 9 electrostatically attracted to the holding head 323.
2 moves.

As described above, the diaphragm 322 swells in the thickness direction by the differential pressure applying mechanism 62 of the gap moving means and applies a pressing force to the upper substrate 92. On the other hand, at the time of alignment, a force in the plate surface direction is applied to the upper substrate 9
Tell 2. At this time, it is important that the diaphragm 322 can be deformed in the thickness direction, but is substantially supported in the plate surface direction by the rigidity of the diaphragm 322 because it is firmly supported by the pressing rod 611. It is something that is not done. If the sheet is deformed in the plate surface direction, the alignment becomes unstable, and the reproducibility and accuracy may deteriorate. “Substantially unchanged” means, for example, that the amount of deformation when the force F ₁ is applied in the thickness direction is ΔT _1, and the amount of deformation when the same force F ₂ is applied in the plate surface direction. When the amount is ΔT ₂ , it means a case where ΔT ₂ / ΔT ₁ ≦ 0.1. The diaphragm 322 has a thin sheet shape, and is made of, for example, a metal such as stainless steel or titanium or a material such as carbon fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP).
The thickness of the diaphragm 322 is, for example, about 1 mm to 2 mm.

Further, in the apparatus of this embodiment, considering the function of the diaphragm 322 for transmitting the force in the plate surface direction to the upper substrate 92,
A special bearing mechanism (see FIG. 7) is attached to the lower end of the pressing rod 611.
(Not shown). FIG. 11 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the bearing mechanism provided at the lower end of the pressing rod 611 shown in FIG. The bearing mechanism includes a bearing 614 fixed to the diaphragm 322, a main bearing 615 interposed between the bearing 614 and the lower end of the pressing rod 611, and a lower end side surface of the pressing rod 611 and an inner side surface of the bearing 614. It is mainly composed of an intervening sub bearing 616.

As described above, when a force in the plate surface direction is applied to the diaphragm 322 by the moving means 7 for alignment, the diaphragm 322 is very thin, so that the diaphragm 322 is likely to be deformed in a wavy manner in some cases. . If such deformation occurs, the force in the plate surface direction may not be well transmitted to the upper substrate 92, alignment may not be performed well, and accuracy may be deteriorated. Therefore, in this embodiment,
The bearing mechanism shown in FIG. 11 prevents deformation such as waviness. That is, when a deformation such as waviness occurs, the diaphragm 322 is locally inclined as shown by the dotted line in FIG. In this state, the diaphragm 3
The diaphragm 322 tries to return to its original horizontal state due to the tension of 22 itself. The main bearing 615 serves to assist the movement of this diaphragm 322. The sub-bearing 616 prevents play (backlash) between the bearing 614 and the pressing rod 611 in the plate surface direction. If there is play, the alignment accuracy will decrease.

Next, referring to FIG. 7, the vacuum sealing means 8
The configuration of 1, 82 will be described. As described above, the pair of substrate holders 31 and 32 and the intermediate ring 33 constitute a vacuum container, so that their contact points must be vacuum-sealed. The structure of the vacuum sealing means 81, 82 for performing this vacuum sealing is also a major feature of the apparatus of this embodiment.

First, the intermediate ring 33 and the lower substrate holder 3
A first vacuum sealing unit 81 is provided between the first vacuum sealing unit 81 and the first vacuum sealing unit 81. The characteristic point is that the first vacuum seal means 81 maintains the vacuum seal even when the upper substrate holder 32 and the intermediate ring 33 move integrally for the alignment. is there. More specifically, the first vacuum sealing means 81 includes an elastic body sealing tool 811 that contacts the intermediate ring 33 that is moved by the alignment moving means 7, and a rigid body 812 that limits the amount of deformation of the elastic body sealing tool 811. It is configured.

The elastic sealer 811 is typically a vacuum sealer such as an O-ring. Lower substrate holder 31
A circumferential groove is formed in the lower part of the upper surface of the peripheral part, and the elastic sealer 811 is fitted in this groove. On the other hand, in the intermediate ring 33, a convex portion is formed in a circumferential shape along the inner edge of the lower surface, and the convex portion comes into contact with the elastic body seal member 811 to perform vacuum sealing. On the other hand, the rigid body 812 is spherical,
It is made of a highly rigid material such as bearing steel. Rigid body 8
A plurality of 12 are provided and are locked by a locking tool (not shown) in a state of being rollable in any direction. The rigid body 8
A plurality of 12 are provided at equal intervals around the peripheral elastic sealer 811.

In the structure of the usual vacuum sealing means, an elastic sealing member such as an O-ring is interposed between the members to be vacuum-sealed, and in this state, the two members are brought into contact with each other for screwing or the like. The two are not completely contacted with each other only by screwing or the like, and the vacuum sealing is not performed, but the vacuum sealing is achieved by the airtightly sandwiching the elastic body sealing member between the two. However, such a configuration cannot be adopted in this embodiment. This is because the intermediate ring 33 needs to be moved horizontally with respect to the fixed lower substrate holder 31 during alignment. In the case where the lower substrate holder 31 and the intermediate ring 33 are in contact with each other, alignment is performed by moving the intermediate ring 33 while rubbing the intermediate ring 33 against the lower substrate holder 31. Become. If such a thing is performed, there is a problem that a large amount of force is required for movement and that dust such as dust is generated by the rubbing.

A structure in which the contact between the intermediate ring 33 and the lower substrate holder 31 is prevented can be considered by optimizing the elastic force of the elastic sealer 811 to be large. However, in this case, the pressure due to the pressure from the upper substrate holder 32 and the pressure difference between the atmospheric pressure and the vacuum pressure when the gap is formed is applied only to the elastic body seal member 811. Therefore, the elastic force of the elastic body sealing member 811 must be made considerably large, and it may be difficult to obtain an appropriate vacuum sealing action. When the elastic force is small, a large force is applied to the elastic body seal member 811, so that the amount of deformation of the elastic body seal member 811 gradually increases, and finally the intermediate ring 33 and the lower substrate holder 31 are separated. There is a risk of contact. As described above, when only the elastic body sealing tool 811 is used, the range of the optimum elastic force is narrow,
Selection is very difficult. On the other hand, like this embodiment,
When the deformation of the elastic body sealing tool 811 is limited by the rigid body 812, the deformation of the elastic body sealing tool 811 can be easily limited to the range in which the intermediate ring 33 and the lower substrate holder 31 are not in contact with each other. That is, the diameter of the spherical rigid body 812 may be set to an appropriate value.

Further, the elastic body seal member 8 by the rigid body 812 is used.
The limitation of the deformation of 11 has great technical significance in terms of alignment while maintaining the vacuum seal. More specifically, when the intermediate ring 33 moves during alignment, the elastic body seal member 811 is rubbed against the intermediate ring 33. That is, the intermediate ring 33 is in a state of moving while sliding the elastic body seal member 811 on the lower surface thereof.

In this case, when a large force is applied to the elastic sealer 811, and the amount of deformation increases, the frictional force increases, and the intermediate ring 33 cannot move sufficiently, or requires a large force to move, or moves. The accuracy of distance control may be reduced. In addition, as a result of forcibly moving, there is a possibility that the elastic body seal member 811 will be greatly worn or that much dust such as dust will be generated. Further, if the elastic force is increased so that the elastic sealer 811 is less deformed, the vacuum seal may not be maintained. According to the configuration of the present embodiment, since the rigid body 812 is provided, the deformation of the elastic body seal member 811 is limited, and the pressure between the intermediate ring 33 and the lower substrate holder 31 is dispersed. Therefore, the above problem does not occur, the intermediate ring 33 can be easily moved with sufficiently high controllability, and there is no problem such as dust generation.

In the present embodiment, a device is provided to further enhance the effect of reducing the generation of dust due to friction. First, the elastic sealer 811 is made of silicon rubber or the like, but the one whose surface is coated with a lubricant such as Teflon (registered trademark) is used. In addition, the rigid body 812
The surface of the is also coated with a lubricant. The lower surface of the intermediate ring 33 that comes into contact with the elastic body seal member 811 and the rigid body 812 is mirror-finished, and the surface thereof is provided with a lubricant. This lubricant is specifically a lubricating oil and is applied to the lower surface of the intermediate ring 33. With such a configuration, the effect that the movement of the intermediate ring 33 is small, the control is easy, and the amount of dust generated by friction is reduced can be further enhanced.

Further, as shown in FIG. 7, the rigid body 812 is
Outside of the elastic sealer 811 (the substrate holders 31, 3
It is located on the side farther from the central axis of 2). Therefore,
Even if dust is generated at the contact point of the rigid body 812, the dust is blocked by the elastic sealer 811, and the substrate 9
Do not enter the space where 1 and 92 are overlapped. That is, the point where the rigid body 812 is located outside the elastic body seal member 811 also means that dust is mixed in the liquid crystal 20 and the substrates 91 and 9 are disposed.
This contributes to preventing dust from adhering to the element surface of No. 2.

In such a structure of the first vacuum sealing means 81, the rigid body 812 rolls, but it may slide. That is, the rigid body 812 is a block having a rectangular parallelepiped shape or the like, and may have a surface coated with a lubricant such as a fluororesin. In this case, the rigid body 812 slides relative to the intermediate ring 33.

Further, the first vacuum sealing means 81 may have a structure in which the intermediate ring 33 and the lower substrate holder 31 are magnetically repulsed instead of the rigid body 812 to maintain the space between them. In this case, magnets are provided on the intermediate ring 33 and the lower substrate holder 31 so that magnetic poles of the same polarity face each other. The magnet is composed of an electromagnet, and the current is controlled so that a predetermined interval is maintained.

Further, the intermediate ring 33 and the lower substrate holder 3
It is possible to employ a mechanism for adjusting the pressure of the fluid interposed between the first and the second fluid and maintaining the space. In this case, the space is sealed by connecting the intermediate ring 33 and the lower substrate holder 31 with a bellows, and gas is introduced into this space. The pressure of the introduced gas is adjusted to keep the distance between them at a predetermined value. In any case, by maintaining such an interval, the deformation of the elastic body seal member 811 can be kept below a predetermined level, and the contact between the intermediate ring 33 and the lower substrate holder 31 can be prevented, so that the alignment can be prevented. In this case, there is no problem that a large force is required and dust is generated.

Another major feature of the present embodiment relating to the vacuum seal is that the second vacuum seal means 82 for vacuum-sealing the seal portion which is brought into contact with or separated from the open / close mechanism 5 at the time of opening / closing is the above-mentioned first. The point is that it is provided separately from the vacuum sealing means 81. Hereinafter, this point will be described.

The members that come into contact with or separate from each other by the opening / closing mechanism 5 at the time of opening / closing are the upper substrate holder 32 and the intermediate ring 33 in this embodiment. Therefore, the second vacuum seal member is adapted to perform a vacuum seal between the upper substrate holder 32 and the intermediate ring 33. Unlike the first vacuum sealing means 81, the second vacuum sealing means 82 is composed of only the elastic body sealing tool 821. The elastic sealer 821 is also typically an O-ring or the like. A groove having a trapezoidal cross section as shown in FIG. 7 is circumferentially provided on the upper surface of the intermediate ring 33, and the elastic body sealing member 82 is provided in the groove.
1 is filled. The elastic body sealing member 821 has a shape that slightly protrudes from the groove in a state where the vacuum sealing is not performed.
It is designed to secure a vacuum seal.

The construction employing such second vacuum sealing means 82 has the following technical significance. In the configuration of this embodiment, it is not impossible not to provide the second vacuum sealing means 82. For example, if the intermediate ring 33 is integrated with the upper substrate holder 32 (if the intermediate ring 33 is not provided), the second vacuum sealing means 8
2 is unnecessary. However, in this case, when the opening / closing mechanism 5 opens and closes, the upper substrate holder 32 and the lower substrate holder 31 come into contact with or separate from each other. That is, in the first vacuum sealing means 81, opening to the atmosphere and vacuum sealing are repeated.

However, if the portion of the first vacuum sealing means 81 is opened to the atmosphere, the problem of dust adhesion tends to occur. If dust adheres to the surface of the elastic sealer 811,
As a result of being rubbed against the intermediate ring 33 at the time of alignment, the surface of the elastic body sealing tool 811 is damaged, the performance of the elastic body sealing tool 811 deteriorates, and a leak (vacuum leakage) easily occurs. Further, when dust adheres to the lower surface of the intermediate ring 33, the elastic body seal member 811 is rubbed, and as a result, the mirror surface may be scratched by the dust and the frictional force may increase. Furthermore, each time it is opened and closed,
As a result of the intermediate ring 33 repeatedly contacting and separating from the elastic body seal member 811 and the rigid body 812, the lubricant may be worn or the lubricant may be scraped to become dust.

According to the configuration of this embodiment, since the second vacuum sealing means 82 is provided, it is not necessary to open and close the portion of the first vacuum sealing means 81, and the vacuum sealing can be always performed. Therefore, the problem described above does not occur in this embodiment. The vacuum stacking module 3 has a stacking control unit (not shown) that controls each unit. The overlay control unit includes a determination unit that determines the gap length and parallelism of the pair of substrates according to signals from the plurality of distance sensors. The determination unit is configured to compare the signals from the distance sensors to determine the parallelism and also to determine the gap length by averaging the signals from the distance sensors. Furthermore, the overlay control unit
A determination unit is also provided that determines whether the positional relationship between the pair of substrates in the plate surface direction is predetermined according to a signal from the displacement detection sensor. Then, such a superposition control section sends a control signal to the gap moving means and the alignment moving means.

Next, the operation of the vacuum superposition module 3 having the above structure will be described. 12 and 13
[Fig. 6] is a view for explaining the operation of the vacuum superposition module 3 in the present embodiment. 12 (1) and (2)
(3) indicates that the operation proceeds in the order of (1), (2), and (3) of FIG. 12 and 13
Shows almost the right half of the module shown in FIG.

12 and 13 partially show the detailed structure of the module not shown in FIG. First, as shown in FIGS. 12A to 12C, the pair of substrate holders 31 and 32 have substrates 91 and 92, respectively.
Lift pins 316 and 328 for delivering the above are provided. The lift pins 31 are attached to the substrate holders 31 and 32.
Through holes for 6, 328 are provided. The through holes are long in the vertical direction, and the lift pins 316 and 328 are also arranged in the through holes in a vertical posture. A plurality of (for example, four) through holes and lift pins 316 and 328 are evenly provided in each of the substrate holders 31 and 32.

Each lift pin 316, 328 is provided with a lift mechanism (not shown) for moving the lift pins 316, 328 up and down. The lift pins 316 and 328 are tubular, and the substrate can be vacuum-sucked at the opening at the tip. That is, a vacuum pump (not shown) that suctions vacuum through the lift pins 328 is provided. Also,
As shown in FIG. 13C, the lower substrate holder 31 has
A light irradiation unit 317 for temporary fixing is provided. The light irradiation section 317 is the tip of the optical fiber 318 in this embodiment. The optical fiber 318 is used for the ultraviolet lamp 31.
The light from 9 is directed to irradiate the seal. The tip of the optical fiber 318 is branched into a plurality of parts, and a plurality of light irradiation parts 317 are evenly provided on the lower substrate holder 31.

First, the loading operation of the pair of substrates 91 and 92 will be described with reference to FIGS. 12 (1) to 12 (3). First, the transfer robot 121 takes out the upper substrate 92 from the second substrate loading unit 102. The upper substrate 92 is held while being vacuum-adsorbed by the fork 123 of the transfer robot 121, transferred to the vacuum stacking module 3, and stopped at a predetermined position. Since the lower side of the upper substrate 92 is the element surface, the upper substrate 92 is vacuum-sucked and conveyed by the upper surface. And
As shown in FIG. 12A, the lift pins (hereinafter, upper lift pins) 328 of the upper substrate holder 32 are lowered, and the upper substrate 92 is vacuum-sucked. At this time, the upper lift pin 32
The reference numeral 8 descends at a position where it does not interfere with the fork 123 and is vacuum-adsorbed. After the vacuum suction of the fork 123 is released,
The fork 123 retracts to a position where it does not come into contact with the upper substrate 92 even if the upper substrate 92 rises. Then, as shown in FIG. 12B, the upper lift pins 328 rise and stop at the position where the upper substrate 92 contacts the holding head 323. Then, the vacuum suction mechanism operates and the upper substrate 92 holds the holding head 323.
Is vacuum-adsorbed by. Then, the upper lift pin 328
After releasing the vacuum suction, it further rises and stops at a predetermined standby position.

Next, the transfer robot 121 takes out the lower substrate 91 on which the liquid crystal has been dropped from the liquid crystal dropping module 2 and transfers it to the vacuum stacking module 3. Similarly, the lower substrate 91 is also held while being vacuum-sucked by the fork 123 of the transfer robot 121, and stopped at a predetermined position in the vacuum stacking module 3. Since the upper side of the lower substrate 91 is the element surface, vacuum suction is performed on the lower side. Then, after the vacuum suction of the fork 123 is released, the lift pins (hereinafter, lower lift pins) 316 of the lower substrate holder 31 are raised and come into contact with the lower surface of the lower substrate 91. And fork 12
3 retreats to a position where it does not contact even if the lower substrate 91 descends, and then descends a predetermined distance. As a result, FIG.
As shown in (3), the lower substrate 91 is placed on the electrostatic attraction plate 311. Then, the vacuum suction mechanism of the electrostatic suction plate 311 operates to operate the lower substrate 91.
Are vacuum-adsorbed on the electrostatic adsorption plate 311. The lower lift pin 316 further descends and stops at a predetermined standby position.

Next, the opening / closing mechanism 5 shown in FIG. 7 operates to lower the upper substrate holder 32 by a predetermined distance so as to be located at the lower limit position. As a result, as shown in FIG. 13A, the upper substrate holder 32 and the intermediate ring 33 come into contact with each other, and the second vacuum sealing means 82 achieves vacuum sealing. In this state, the exhaust system 41 operates and the pair of substrate holders 31,
The inside of the vacuum container composed of 32 and the intermediate ring 33 is evacuated to a predetermined pressure. At this time, the closed space 3 behind the diaphragm 322
The inside of 26 is also evacuated in the same manner and the vacuum pressure is set to the same level as the inside of the vacuum container. At the same time as the start of evacuation, the electrostatic adsorption mechanism is operated to electrostatically adsorb the substrates 91 and 92, and the vacuum adsorption is released. Note that the holding member 51 is separated from the opening / closing drive source 52 by a mechanism (not shown) after the upper substrate holder 32 and the intermediate ring 33 have come into contact with each other so that the alignment operation described later is not hindered.

Next, the gap moving means and the alignment moving means 7 are operated to perform gap forming and alignment. First, a predetermined value set as the gap length to be finally achieved in this device (hereinafter,
The gap length (hereinafter, gap length standby value) is set to be slightly larger than the gap length setting value. That is, the gap moving means operates the pressing drive source 612, lowers the holding head 323, and moves the pair of substrates 9
The gap length of 1,92 is set to the gap length standby value. In the state of the gap length standby value,
The upper substrate 92 is not in contact with the seal on the lower substrate 91. That is, the gap length standby value is sufficiently larger than the seal coating height.

In this state, first, the operation of setting the parallelism to a predetermined high value is performed. That is, the overlay control unit (not shown) obtains the parallelism from the signals from the distance sensors 63, and the determination unit (not shown) determines whether the parallelism is a predetermined high value. When it is determined that the parallelism has not reached a predetermined high value, the superposition control section sends a control signal to each pressing drive source 612 of the pressing mechanism 61 so that the pair of substrates 91 and 92 become parallel to each other. Each pressing drive source 612 is controlled. That is, when the distance measured by the specific distance sensor 63 is longer than the distance measured by the other distance sensor 63, the pressing rod 611 located above the distance sensor 63 (in a pair) is slightly moved. The pressing rod 61 is displaced downward.
A control signal is sent to the pressing drive source 612 which drives 1. In this way, each pressing drive source 612 is controlled, and the magnitude of the signal from each distance sensor 63 is compared. Then, when it is determined that the difference in the magnitude of the signal from each distance sensor 63 is within a predetermined small range, the parallelism between the pair of substrates 91 and 92 is set to a predetermined high value.

Next, alignment is performed. That is, the positional deviation detection sensor 75 images the two alignment marks. The captured image data is processed and digitized by the superposition control unit, and the positional deviation is calculated. Then, the superposition control section adjusts each unit 71 of the alignment moving means 7 so as to correct the positional deviation.
A control signal is sent to the linear drive sources 702 of 72, 73, and 74. The linear drive source 702 is driven according to the control signal,
The upper substrate 92 moves in each of the X, Y and / or θ directions. When the overlay control unit determines that the positional deviation is corrected from the image data of the two alignment marks sent from the positional deviation detection sensor 75, the alignment is completed.

In this state, the gap moving means is operated again to move the upper substrate 92 toward the lower substrate 91 in the plate surface direction so that the gap length becomes the gap length set value. . That is, the superposition control unit controls the four pressing drive sources 6 so that the gap length becomes the gap length setting value.
Similarly, a control signal is sent to 12. However, in many cases, the pressing force by each pressing drive source 612 is not sufficient,
The gap length does not reach the gap length set value even after the lapse of a predetermined time. In this case, the superposition control unit is configured to operate the auxiliary exhaust pipe 62.
3, the auxiliary valve 624 on the upper part 3 is closed, the valve 625 connected to a cylinder (not shown) and the differential pressure main valve 622 are opened, and the inside of the closed space 326 is pressurized. As a result, in addition to the pressure difference between the vacuum and the atmospheric pressure, the upper substrate 92 is pressed toward the lower substrate 91 by the pressure difference higher than the atmospheric pressure and the vacuum.

Then, a signal is sent to a pressure regulator (not shown) so that the gap length obtained by averaging the outputs from the four distance sensors 63 becomes the gap length set value, and the differential pressure applying mechanism 62 is fed back negatively. Control. If it is determined that the gap length matches the gap length setting value, the position shift detection sensor 75
The overlay control unit determines once again whether there is any positional deviation according to the signal from.

If it is determined that there is a positional deviation, the alignment is performed again, but at this time, the upper substrate 92 is slightly raised. In the state of the gap length setting value, the upper substrate 92 is in contact with the seal on the lower substrate 91. If alignment is attempted again in this state, a very large force is required to move the upper substrate 92 because it is in contact with the highly viscous seal. Further, in the case of the dropping type, since the liquid crystal exists in the gap, this problem is remarkable. Furthermore, if an attempt is made to perform alignment with the gap length set value, the upper substrate 92 may drag the spacer, and the surfaces of the substrates 91 and 92 may be scratched.

Therefore, in the present embodiment, the upper substrate 92 is slightly lifted from the state of the gap length setting value,
Alignment is performed again in that state. The gap length at this time may be a gap length standby value, or may be a length that is shorter than the gap length standby value but allows the upper substrate 92 to separate from the seal. After performing the alignment again in this manner, the upper substrate 92 is lowered again to form the gap. It is preferable to check the parallelism again before performing the gap formation again. If the parallelism does not reach a predetermined high value, the pressing drive sources 612 are controlled to obtain parallelism as described above.

When it is judged that the gap has been set again and the gap length has been set to the gap length and no positional deviation has occurred, the seal is temporarily fixed as shown in FIG. 13C. That is, ultraviolet rays are spotwise irradiated from the light irradiation unit 317 to partially cure the seal. As a result, the lower substrate 91 and the upper substrate 92 are bonded together, and the liquid crystal display panel 93 is completed. After that, the operation of the electrostatic attraction mechanism of the holding head 323 is stopped,
The holding of the upper substrate 92 by the holding head 323 is released. Then, the inside of the closed space 326 is evacuated to the same pressure as in the vacuum container, and the pressing drive source 612 is operated to raise the holding head 323 to the initial position.

Next, gas is introduced into the vacuum container to bring it to atmospheric pressure, and the opening / closing mechanism 5 is operated to raise the upper substrate holder 32 to the upper limit position. After that, the electrostatic attraction plate 31
The electrostatic attraction mechanism of No. 1 is stopped and the lower lift pin 316 is raised. As a result, the pair of substrates 91 and 92 are lifted by the lower lift pins 316 and separated from the electrostatic attraction plate 311. After that, the transfer robot 121 holds the completed liquid crystal display panel 93 while vacuum-sucking it, and carries it out from the vacuum stacking module 3.

Next, the overall operation of the integrated liquid crystal display panel assembling apparatus of this embodiment will be briefly described. The lower substrate 91 and the upper substrate 92 that have undergone the pre-processes such as the formation of the driving elements and the color filters are subjected to the necessary processing such as cleaning, and then are transferred to the first substrate loading unit 101 and the second substrate loading unit 102 in the same predetermined manner. Only the number is accommodated. When the operation of one lot of the apparatus is started, the main control unit sets the transfer robot 1
21 is controlled to first take out one lower substrate 91 from the first substrate loading unit 101 and conveys it to the seal forming module 1. When the formation of the seal on the lower substrate 91 is completed, the main controller transfers the lower substrate 91 to the liquid crystal dropping module 2. In parallel with the liquid crystal dropping in the liquid crystal dropping module 2, the main control unit takes out the next lower substrate 91 from the first substrate loading unit 101, conveys it to the seal forming module 1, and causes it to form a seal.

First lower substrate 9 in liquid crystal dropping module 2
While the liquid crystal is dropped on the first substrate 1 and the seal is formed on the next lower substrate 91 by the seal forming module 1, the transfer robot 121 moves from the second substrate loading unit 102 to the upper substrate 92.
Is taken out and conveyed to the vacuum superposition module 3.
Then, as described above, the vacuum stacking module 3
Inside, the upper substrate 92 is vacuum-adsorbed by the holding head 323,
Stand by in this position.

When the liquid crystal dropping on the first lower substrate 91 in the liquid crystal dropping module 2 is completed, the main controller controls the transfer robot 121 to transfer the lower substrate 91 to the vacuum superposition module 3. The lower substrate 91 is placed on the electrostatic attraction plate 311, and as described above,
Lower substrate 9 while performing alignment and gap formation
The upper substrate 92 is overlaid on top of 1, and the liquid crystal display panel 93 is completed. After the temporary curing of the seal is performed, the main control unit causes the transfer robot 121 to take out the liquid crystal display from the vacuum stacking module 3 and transfer it to the panel discharge unit 103.

On the other hand, in parallel with the stacking in the vacuum stacking module 3, the next lower substrate 91 is conveyed to the liquid crystal dropping module 2 to drop the liquid crystal. Further, the next lower substrate 91 is further conveyed to the seal forming module 1 to form a seal. In this manner, the liquid crystal display panel 93 is assembled one after another while simultaneously performing the seal formation in the seal forming module 1, the liquid crystal dropping in the liquid crystal dropping module 2, and the superposition in the vacuum superposing module 3. To go. Upper substrate 92
Each time the assembled liquid crystal display panel 93 is taken out, it is preliminarily conveyed to the vacuum stacking module 3 and waits for the lower substrate 91. The main control unit operates the robot moving mechanism 122 as necessary to cope with conveyance exceeding the operation range of the conveyance robot 121.

When the lower substrate 91 and the upper substrate 92 in the first substrate carry-in section 101 and the second substrate carry-in section 102 are all bonded together, the operation of the apparatus for one lot is completed. After that, the assembled liquid crystal display panel 93 is taken out from the panel unloading section 103, and after the seal is fully cured, it is sent to a display test process or the like.
Then, the first substrate loading unit 101 and the second substrate loading unit 10
The lower substrate 91 and the upper substrate 92 of the next lot are arranged in No. 2. In this state, the operation of the next lot is started.

In this embodiment, the whole post-process, that is, the liquid crystal display panel 93 can be assembled by one device, and it is not necessary to individually lay out the device. Therefore, it is possible to save space and simplify the manufacturing line. It becomes possible to arrange the device in a high class clean room (for example, class 10 to 100), and the cost in that case is not so large. Therefore, it is very suitable for assembling the high-performance liquid crystal display panel 93 in which the prevention of dust and the like is strictly required.

In addition, in the apparatus of this embodiment, the lower substrate 91 and the upper substrate 92 are superposed in a vacuum. For this reason, the risk of dust and foreign matter being caught is further reduced, and in this respect also, it is very suitable for assembling the high-performance liquid crystal display panel 93. Further, in the present embodiment, the lower substrate 91 and the like do not stay between the modules and are directly conveyed to the next module. This is unique to the integrated device of this embodiment. When the seal forming device, the liquid crystal dropping device, the substrate stacking device, and the like are independently provided as in the conventional case, the lower substrate 91 and the upper substrate 92 are likely to stay due to the difference in processing time of each. For this reason, a buffer section or the like is required in consideration of retention, and as described above, the manufacturing line tends to be large-scaled and complicated. On the other hand, according to the configuration of the present embodiment, the buffer section is unnecessary, and the manufacturing line does not become large-scaled or complicated. In this case, "retention" means that two or more liquid crystal substrates stay at the same place.

Further, in this embodiment, since the transfer system is composed of the transfer robot 121 which holds and transfers the lower substrate 91 and the like one by one to the tip of the arm 124, space is saved and the lower substrate 91 and the like are saved. It is more effective to eliminate the retention. It is also possible to adopt a conveyor system using a transport roller as the configuration of the transport system. However, in the conveyor system, since the transport speed cannot be basically changed for each module, the liquid crystal substrate easily stays. In addition, a mechanism for transferring the liquid crystal substrate between the conveyor and the module is required, and the configuration of the transport system is large and tends to be complicated. Compared to this,
The configuration of the transfer robot 121 is simple and there is no substrate retention.

Although it is preferable that the number of the transfer robots 121 is only one, from the viewpoints of space saving and cost reduction, two transfer robots 121 may be used.
When the two transfer robots 121 are used, the liquid crystal substrate may be directly transferred, but if it is difficult,
A transfer shelf is provided, and the liquid crystal substrate is once placed on the shelf before another transfer robot 121 receives the substrate.
Further, in this embodiment, since the seal forming module 1, the liquid crystal dropping module 2 and the vacuum stacking module 3 can be configured to perform maintenance work from the outside of the clean room, it is possible to reduce the number of operators entering the clean room. The cleanliness of the clean room can be kept high.

In the configuration of the above embodiment, a curing module for curing the seal may be added if necessary. The additional curing module is installed in the module installation unit 130. The curing module is preferably used when the seal is fully cured in this apparatus. Similarly, the curing module has a configuration of performing curing by light irradiation and a configuration of performing thermal curing. Which configuration to use depends on the nature of the seal, but if the seal has both photo-curing and thermo-setting properties as described above, the curing module that performs photo-curing and the heat-curing are used. In some cases both curing modules are added.

When curing is performed by light irradiation, the assembled liquid crystal display panel 93 is included in the curing module.
A structure in which light is irradiated on the entire surface of is adopted. For example, by arranging several ultraviolet lamps in parallel, the liquid crystal display panel 93
A structure is adopted in which the entire surface on both sides of is irradiated with ultraviolet rays. A mask may be used when the irradiated ultraviolet rays may adversely affect the enclosed liquid crystal and the driving elements inside. As the mask, a mask patterned according to the shape of the seal is used so that only the seal is irradiated with ultraviolet rays.

As the curing module for performing thermal curing, the same one as in a heating furnace is used. The configuration is such that hot air is circulated in the furnace to maintain a high temperature, or gas blow heating is used to blow hot air to the seal portion. When heat curing is performed, it often takes a long time (for example, about 1 hour), so the curing module is a batch type. That is, a plurality of liquid crystal display panels 93 are accommodated and collectively heated and cured.

As described above, by adding the curing module for the main curing, the apparatus can be integrated into the main curing step, and the superiority of the apparatus is further enhanced. Even if the curing by the light irradiation of the light irradiation unit 317 in the vacuum superposition module 3 is not the temporary curing but the main curing, the curing module may be additionally installed and further cured. This is because in the light irradiation by the light irradiation unit 317, there is a case where the seal is shaded and the seal is not sufficiently irradiated with light, and curing is insufficient.

When a curing module is added, the main controller controls the transfer robot 121 to take out the liquid crystal display panel 93 from the vacuum stacking module 3 and then transfers it to the curing module. After the seal is completely cured, the liquid crystal display panel 93 is taken out from the curing module and conveyed to the panel unloading section 103. As described above, in the apparatus of this embodiment, it is possible to add an arbitrary module, so that it is possible to flexibly deal with a change in process. Therefore, the versatility is extremely high.

Next, the integrated liquid crystal display panel assembling apparatus of the second embodiment will be described. FIG. 14 is a front view showing the outline of the main part of the integrated liquid crystal display panel assembly apparatus of the second embodiment. The device of the second embodiment is different from the first embodiment in the configuration of the panel carry-out section 103. In the second embodiment, the dedicated panel unloading unit 103 is not provided, and the first substrate loading unit 101 or the second substrate loading unit 102 is also used. That is, as the operation of the apparatus progresses, an empty space from which the lower substrate 91 and the upper substrate 92 are taken out is formed in the first substrate loading unit 101 and the second substrate loading unit 102. A main control unit (not shown) controls the transfer robot 121 (not shown) to house the assembled liquid crystal display panel 93 in this empty space.

According to the apparatus of the second embodiment, since there is no dedicated panel carry-out section, the cost is correspondingly low and the space can be saved. The configuration in which the first substrate carry-in section 101 or the second substrate carry-in section 102 is also used as the panel carry-out section is not limited to the case of the integrated liquid crystal display panel assembly apparatus, but is not an integrated type apparatus, that is, the lower board 91 and the upper board 9
Even a device that only superimposes the two has the same technical significance. In this case, the first substrate loading unit 101
In this case, the lower substrate 91 on which the seal is formed and the liquid crystal is dropped is arranged. Further, this configuration is not limited to the device used for assembling the liquid crystal display panel 93,
For example, it may be an apparatus used for assembling a plasma display panel. Therefore, it can be applied to a substrate superposition apparatus in general.

In each of the above embodiments, the seal formation and the liquid crystal dropping are performed on the lower substrate 91, but in some cases,
A seal may be formed on the upper substrate 92. In this case, in order to prevent the liquid crystal having low viscosity from flowing out from the lower substrate 91 when the liquid crystal is dropped on the lower substrate 91, a dam-like member may be provided on the lower substrate 91. Further, when the seal is formed on the upper substrate 92, the transport system transports the lower substrate 91 from the first substrate loading unit 101 to the liquid crystal dropping module and the vacuum stacking module 3 in this order, and at the same time, transports the upper substrate 92. Second substrate loading section 1
From 02, the seal forming module 1 and the vacuum stacking module 3 are conveyed in this order.

Next, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described. 15 and 16 are perspective views showing the outline of the main part of the integrated liquid crystal display panel assembling apparatus of the third embodiment. In this embodiment, the seal formation and the liquid crystal dropping can be performed by one module.
A module for performing seal formation and liquid crystal dropping (hereinafter referred to as a composite module) includes a stage 21 on which a lower substrate 91 is mounted,
A stage drive mechanism 22 that drives the stage 21, a seal dispenser 13 that discharges the seal 10, a seal supply system 14 that supplies the seal 10 to the seal dispenser 13, and a dispenser position adjustment that adjusts the position of the seal dispenser 13 with respect to the stage 11. Mechanism 1
5, a liquid crystal dispenser 23 for discharging and dropping the liquid crystal 20, a liquid crystal supply system 24 for supplying the liquid crystal 20 to the liquid crystal dispenser 23, and a dispenser position adjusting mechanism 25 for adjusting the position of the liquid crystal dispenser 23 with respect to the stage 21. ing.

As shown in FIGS. 15 and 16, in this embodiment, three seal dispensers 13 are provided. The three seal dispensers 13 are held by a holder (not shown). The dispenser position adjusting mechanism 15 drives the holder to move the three seal dispensers 13 integrally and adjust the position.

In this embodiment, a pair of liquid crystal substrates 91 and 9 are used.
It is assumed that two or more liquid crystal display panels will be manufactured from two. In the case of a small liquid crystal display panel for a mobile phone, the assembly of the liquid crystal display panel may be finally completed after cutting the pair of liquid crystal substrates 91 and 92 that are bonded together. In such cases,
The device surfaces of the pair of liquid crystal substrates 91 and 92 are divided into regions for each liquid crystal display panel, and drive devices and the like are provided in each region. In such a case, the seal formation
It needs to be done for each category.

More specifically, in this embodiment, it is assumed that six liquid crystal display panels are manufactured from a pair of liquid crystal substrates 91 and 92. As shown in FIG. 15, the dispenser position adjusting mechanism 15 controls the three seal dispensers 1 while discharging the seal 10.
3 is moved in a square around a predetermined position as a starting point. The starting point and the moving path of the square are set as following the shape of the section described above. One round of movement of the square completes the seal formation for the three sections. The dispenser moving mechanism 15 stops the discharge of the seal 10 and forms a seal for the other three sections.
The seal dispenser 13 is moved to the position of the next start point. Then, in the same manner, the seal 10 is ejected to make one round in a rectangular shape, whereby the seal formation for the other three sections is completed.

The dispenser position adjusting mechanism 25 retracts the liquid crystal dispenser 23 to a predetermined retracted position when forming the seal. When the seal formation is completed, the dispenser position adjusting mechanism 15 integrally moves each seal dispenser 13 and retracts it to a predetermined position. Then, the dispenser position adjusting mechanism 25 positions the liquid crystal dispenser 23 at a predetermined start point. The dispenser position adjusting mechanism 25 controls the position so that the liquid crystal dispenser 23 sequentially drops the liquid crystal 20 inside the seal 10 applied in a rectangular shape in each section. When the dropping of the liquid crystal 20 is completed for all the sections, the operation in this composite module is completed. The configuration and the operation other than the above are the same as those in the above-described embodiment.

According to this embodiment, the seal formation and the liquid crystal dropping can be performed by one module, which is excellent in productivity. That is, when the seal formation and the liquid crystal dropping are performed in different modules, it is necessary to convey the liquid crystal substrate to the module, which is not necessary in this embodiment,
You can save time. Further, according to the present embodiment, there is an effect that the device cost is reduced due to the reduction in the number of modules, and further space saving can be achieved.

The composite module of this embodiment is not limited to the case of manufacturing a plurality of liquid crystal display panels from a pair of liquid crystal substrates 91 and 92, but may be used in the case of manufacturing only one liquid crystal display panel. Of course. Further, as a method of using the composite module, there is a case where the upper substrate 92 is carried in to form a seal, the upper substrate 92 is carried out, and then the liquid crystal is dropped to the lower substrate 91.

Next explained is the fourth embodiment of the invention. FIG. 17 is a plan view showing the outline of the integrated liquid crystal display panel assembly apparatus of the fourth embodiment. This embodiment differs from the first embodiment shown in FIG. 2 in the way of assembling into a clean room. That is,
As shown in FIG. 17, in the fourth embodiment, a portion where the seal forming module 1, the liquid crystal dropping module 2 and the vacuum superposition module 3 are lined up is installed in a state where it is embedded in the wall 110 of the clean room. . Therefore, the transfer system and the first and second substrate loading units 101 and 102 and the panel unloading unit 103 are in a clean room. Incidentally, the outside of the portion where the seal forming module 1, the liquid crystal dropping module 2 and the vacuum superposition module 3 are lined up (the side opposite to the transport system side) is in the maintenance room. In the case of this embodiment, since the transfer system is in the clean room, the clean bench and its utility provided in the clean room can be used. Therefore, the configuration of the device is simplified. Since the transfer system is brought into the clean room, it is preferable that the transfer system is configured as a unit to suppress dust generation.

[0135]

As described above, according to the inventions described in each of the claims of the present application, almost all of the subsequent steps, that is, the liquid crystal display panel can be assembled by one device, and the devices can be individually laid out as in the prior art. No need. Therefore, it is possible to save space and simplify the manufacturing line. It allows the equipment to be placed in a higher class clean room, at a much less costly cost. Therefore, it becomes very suitable for assembling a high-performance liquid crystal display panel in which the prevention of dust and the like is strictly required. According to the invention of claim 3,
In addition to the above effects, since the liquid crystal substrate does not stay between the modules and is conveyed to the next module as it is, the buffer section is unnecessary, and the manufacturing line does not become large or complicated. The effect is obtained. According to the invention described in claim 4, in addition to the above effects, since the transfer system is composed of a transfer robot which holds and transfers the liquid crystal substrates one by one at the tip of the arm, space is saved and liquid crystal substrates are retained. Can be more effectively eliminated. According to the invention of claim 5, in addition to the above effects, the seal forming module, the liquid crystal dropping module and the vacuum stacking module are arranged side by side in a state of being embedded in the wall of the clean room, and the transfer system is a clean room. Since the conveyance is performed on the inner side of the, the maintenance work can be performed from the space on the outer side of the back clean room. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the number of operators entering the clean room and keep the cleanliness of the clean room high. Further, according to the invention as set forth in claim 6, since the curing module for curing the seal is provided, it is possible to provide an apparatus in which the steps of the main curing are integrated, and the above effect is further enhanced. Further, according to the invention of claim 7, in addition to the above effects, since the panel carry-out section also serves as the first substrate carry-in section or the second board carry-in section, and there is no dedicated panel carry-out section, the cost is correspondingly reduced. It is cheap and can save space. Further, according to the invention of claim 8, in the substrate superposing apparatus, the panel carry-out section is also used as the first board carry-in section or the second board carry-in section, and there is no dedicated panel carry-out section. It is cheap and can save space. Further, according to the invention described in claim 9, in addition to the above effects, the seal formation and the liquid crystal dropping can be performed by one module, which is excellent in productivity, apparatus cost, space saving, and the like.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view schematically showing an integrated liquid crystal display panel assembling apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view showing the outline of the integrated liquid crystal display panel assembly apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a first substrate loading section 10 of the apparatus shown in FIGS. 1 and 2.
1 is a schematic front view of a first substrate carry-in section 102 and a panel carry-out section 103. FIG.

FIG. 4 is a schematic perspective view showing a configuration of a transport system of the apparatus shown in FIGS. 1 and 2.

5 is a perspective view showing a schematic configuration of a seal forming module 1 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. FIG.

6 is a perspective view showing a schematic configuration of a liquid crystal dropping module 2 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. FIG.

FIG. 7 is a front sectional view showing a schematic configuration of a vacuum superposition module 3.

8 is a schematic perspective view showing a configuration of alignment moving means 7 included in the vacuum superposition module 3 of FIG.

9 is a schematic perspective view of a main part of the alignment moving means 7 shown in FIG.

FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an arrangement position of a distance sensor 63 in the plate surface direction.

11 is a schematic sectional view of a bearing mechanism provided at the lower end of the pressing rod 611 shown in FIG.

FIG. 12 is a diagram for explaining the operation of the vacuum superposition module 3.

FIG. 13 is a diagram for explaining the operation of the vacuum superposition module 3.

FIG. 14 is a front view showing an outline of a main part of an integrated liquid crystal display panel assembling apparatus according to a second embodiment.

FIG. 15 is a perspective view showing an outline of a main part of an integrated liquid crystal display panel assembling apparatus according to a third embodiment.

FIG. 16 is a perspective view showing an outline of a main part of an integrated liquid crystal display panel assembly device according to a third embodiment.

FIG. 17 is a plan view showing the outline of an integrated type liquid crystal display panel assembling apparatus of a fourth embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Seal formation module 10 seals 11 stages 13 seal dispenser 2 Liquid crystal dropping module 20 liquid crystal 21 stages 23 Liquid crystal dispenser 3 vacuum stacking module 31 Lower substrate holder 322 diaphragm 32 Upper substrate holder 33 Middle ring 41 Exhaust system 42 Vent gas introduction system 5 open / close mechanism 61 Pressing mechanism 62 Differential pressure applying mechanism 63 distance sensor 7 Alignment moving means 75 Displacement detection sensor 81 First vacuum sealing means 82 Second vacuum sealing means 91 Lower substrate 92 upper substrate 93 LCD display panel 101 first substrate loading section 102 second substrate loading section 103 panel unloading section 110 clean room wall 121 Transport robot 122 Robot movement mechanism 130 Module installation section

   ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued front page    F-term (reference) 2H088 FA01 FA03 FA04 FA09 FA10                       FA16 FA17 FA21 FA24 FA30                       HA01 HA08 HA12 MA10 MA20                 2H089 KA01 LA01 LA21 LA24 NA22                       NA24 NA25 NA37 NA39 NA42                       NA44 NA56 NA60 QA11 QA12                       QA14 QA16 TA01 TA09 TA12

Claims (9)

[Claims] 1. A device for assembling a liquid crystal display panel having a structure in which liquid crystal is sealed between a pair of liquid crystal substrates, wherein the liquid crystal display panel is formed on an inner surface of one of the pair of liquid crystal substrates along the contour of a display area. And a liquid crystal dropping module for dropping liquid crystal onto one or the other of the pair of liquid crystal substrates, and after the seal formation and liquid crystal dropping, the pair of liquid crystal substrates are placed in a predetermined positional relationship and An integrated liquid crystal display panel assembling apparatus, characterized in that it is an integrated type equipped with a vacuum stacking module that stacks in a vacuum at intervals. 2. A first substrate loading section for loading one of a pair of liquid crystal substrates into the apparatus, a second substrate loading section for loading the other into the apparatus, and a panel for unloading the assembled liquid crystal display panel from the apparatus. The transport system includes a carry-out section and a transport system. The transport system transports one substrate from the first substrate carry-in section to the seal forming module, the liquid crystal dropping module, and the vacuum stacking module in this order, and at the same time, transports the other substrate. , The second substrate carry-in section to the vacuum stacking module, or one of the substrates is carried from the first board carry-in section to the liquid crystal dropping module and the vacuum stacking module in that order while the other substrate is (2) From the substrate loading section, the seal forming module and the vacuum stacking module are carried in this order. Overlay integrated liquid crystal display panel assembly apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that for unloading the module to the panel unloading unit. 3. The integrated liquid crystal display panel assembling apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the carrying system carries the liquid crystal substrates between the respective modules without retaining two or more liquid crystal substrates. 4. The integrated liquid crystal according to claim 2, wherein the transfer system comprises a transfer robot capable of holding and transferring the liquid crystal substrates one by one at the tip of an arm. Display panel assembly device. 5. The seal forming module, the liquid crystal dropping module, and the vacuum stacking module, which are installed in a state where they are embedded in a wall of a clean room, can perform maintenance from the outside of the clean room. The integrated liquid crystal display panel assembling apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein 6. The integrated liquid crystal display panel assembly according to claim 1, further comprising a curing module that cures a seal on a pair of liquid crystal substrates that are stacked by the vacuum stacking module. apparatus. 7. The integrated liquid crystal display panel assembling apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the panel carry-out section is also used as the first board carry-in section or the second board carry-in section. 8. A substrate superposing apparatus for superposing a pair of substrates at a predetermined positional relationship and a predetermined interval, wherein a first substrate loading section for loading one of the pair of substrates into the apparatus and another for loading into the apparatus. A second substrate carry-in section, and a carry-out section for carrying out a pair of superposed substrates from the apparatus, wherein the carry-out section is also used as the first substrate carry-in section or the second substrate carry-in section. Substrate stacking device characterized in that 9. An apparatus for assembling a liquid crystal display panel having a structure in which a liquid crystal is sealed between a pair of liquid crystal substrates, wherein the liquid crystal display panel is formed on the inner surface of one of the pair of liquid crystal substrates along the contour of the display area. A composite module that forms a seal by dropping liquid crystal onto one or the other of the pair of liquid crystal substrates, and after forming the seal and dropping the liquid crystal, the pair of liquid crystal substrates are placed in a vacuum in a predetermined positional relationship and interval. An integrated liquid crystal display panel assembling apparatus, characterized in that the integrated liquid crystal display panel is equipped with a vacuum stacking module for stacking.