JP2004149188A - Method for transporting display panel - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To pack and transport a display panel in a relatively low cost in relation to a method for transporting the displaying panel. <P>SOLUTION: The method for transporting the display panel is composed of storing a liquid crystal panel 12 in a cassette 14, packing the cassette 14 storing the display panel 12 with a packing body 10, and transporting the packed cassette. The packing body 10 comprises upper and lower cushioning members 28 and 34, upper and lower pressing members, and box bodies 32 and 38. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a display panel transportation method.
[0002]
[Prior art]
A liquid crystal panel as a display panel has liquid crystal sealed between a pair of glass substrates. One glass substrate is provided with a TFT and an active matrix, and the other glass substrate is provided with a color filter. In the manufacture of a liquid crystal display device, there are a TFT substrate manufacturing process, a CF substrate manufacturing process, a liquid crystal panel assembling process of bonding a TFT substrate and a CF substrate, and a unitization process.
[0003]
As the size of the glass substrate increases, in order to cope with an increase in the space required in each step and an increase in the amount of investment, the above steps may be performed using a plurality of factories. In this case, since the unitization process may have low clean room cleanliness and is technically different from other processes, the TFT substrate manufacturing process, the CF substrate manufacturing process, and the liquid crystal panel assembling process are one step. Although performed in one factory, the unitization process may be performed in another factory.
[0004]
The glass substrate and the liquid crystal panel are transported using a cassette, respectively (for example, see Patent Documents 1, 2, and 3). In general, one glass substrate is allocated to a plurality of liquid crystal panels, and, for example, glass substrates for four liquid crystal panels are taken from one mother glass substrate. Therefore, a pre-process cassette for transporting the mother glass substrate and a post-process cassette for transporting a liquid crystal panel having a predetermined size by dividing the liquid crystal panel including the mother glass substrate into four parts are provided in the factory. .
[0005]
[Patent Document 1]
JP-A-6-286812 [Patent Document 2]
JP-A-10-264970 [Patent Document 3]
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2000-7148
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, when the unitization process is performed at a different factory from the previous process, a liquid crystal panel of a predetermined size must be transported from the factory where the liquid crystal panel assembly process is performed to the factory where the unitization process is performed. Therefore, it is necessary to pack the liquid crystal panel. Conventionally, a liquid crystal panel has been taken out of a post-process cassette, wrapped in a cushion material or the like, and transported in a dedicated transport case. For the dedicated transport case, for example, a foamed PP box was used. At the factory where the unitization process is performed, the liquid crystal panels were taken out of a special transport case and transferred to a cassette.
[0007]
For this reason, a dedicated transport case is required, and a transfer operation from the post-process cassette to the dedicated transport case is required, which raises a problem of increasing costs.
[0008]
An object of the present invention is to provide a method of transporting a display panel that can pack and transport the display panel at a relatively low cost.
[0009]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
The method of transporting a display panel according to the present invention is characterized in that the display panel is stored in a cassette, the cassette storing the display panel is packed in a packing member, and the packed cassette is transported.
[0010]
According to this configuration, the display panel can be transported using the cassette used in the factory. Therefore, cost reduction can be achieved.
[0011]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
[0012]
FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing a package 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the cassette 14 containing the liquid crystal panel 12. FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of the package 10 of FIG.
[0013]
First, referring to FIG. 2, the liquid crystal panel 12 is manufactured through a TFT substrate manufacturing process, a CF substrate manufacturing process, and a liquid crystal panel assembling process, in which liquid crystal is sealed between a pair of glass substrates. is there. The cassette 14 has an upper frame 16 and a lower frame 18 which are connected to each other by supporting columns 20 at an interval in parallel. A pair of opposing side plates 22 are provided between the upper frame 16 and the lower frame 18 inside the column 20. The side plates 22 are adjustably fixed to the upper frame 16 and the lower frame 18 so that the distance between the two side plates 22 can be changed. Further, two rod-shaped stoppers 24 are arranged at one open end.
[0014]
FIG. 4 is a partial front view of the cassette 14 viewed from the open end opposite to the stopper 24. FIG. 5 is a partial side view of the side plate 22 viewed from the inside of the cassette 14. The side plate 22 has a plurality of parallel steps 26 as support means for the liquid crystal panel 12. A groove may be used instead of the step 26. In this way, as shown in FIG. 2, the liquid crystal panel 12 is accommodated in the cassette 14 and transported in a factory (clean room) by a robot or a trolley (not shown).
[0015]
When transporting the liquid crystal panel 12 from the factory where the liquid crystal panel assembly process is performed to the factory where the unitization process is performed, the cassette (post-process cassette) 14 used in the liquid crystal panel assembly process is used as it is, and the liquid crystal panel 12 is transported. The package is packed as a package 10 shown in FIGS. In a factory where the liquid crystal panel assembly process is performed, the cassette 14 is transported with the upper frame 16 being upward. When packing the cassette 14 for transportation to a factory where the unitization process is performed, the cassette 14 containing the liquid crystal panel 12 is rotated by 90 degrees, and the cassette 14 is packed with the stopper 24 positioned below. The liquid crystal panel 12 is placed vertically. That is, the cassette 14 accommodating the liquid crystal panel 12 is transported in the factory with the step (supporting means) 26 substantially horizontal, and the cassette 14 packed with the step (supporting means) 26 substantially vertical. It will be transported from the factory to the outside (another factory).
[0016]
In FIGS. 1 and 3, the packing body 10 includes an upper cushion member 28, an upper holding member 30, a box lid 32, a lower cushion member 34, and a container 14 for packing the cassette 14 containing the liquid crystal panel 12. It comprises a lower holding member 36 and a box bottom body 38. The upper cushion member 28 supports the upper end of the liquid crystal panel 12, and the lower cushion member 34 supports the lower end of the liquid crystal panel 12. The lower cushion member 34 is sized to fit between the two stoppers 24 shown in FIG. The lower cushion member 34 and the lower holding member 36 are integrated. The upper holding member 30 and the lower holding member 36 fix the cassette 14 to a box including a box lid 32 and a box bottom 38. In the embodiment, the height of the box lid 32 is larger than the height of the box bottom 38, but the height of the box bottom 38 may be larger than the height of the box lid 32.
[0017]
FIG. 6 is a partial side view of the side plate 22 viewed from the inside of the cassette 14 at the time of packing. The lower cushion member 34 supports the lower end of the liquid crystal panel 12 housed in the cassette 14. The lower cushion member 34 projects above the surface of the lower holding member 36 when the lower holding member 36 is disposed therebelow, and supports the lower end of the liquid crystal panel 12 so as to absorb a shock. The same applies to the upper cushion member 28. Therefore, the liquid crystal panel 12 is packed in the package 10 without being damaged. By changing the size of the upper cushion member 28 and the lower cushion member 34, it is possible to cope with a change in the size of the liquid crystal panel 12.
[0018]
The box lid 32 and the box bottom 38 are made of green cardboard and can be repeatedly used as a pass-through box. The box lid 32 and the box bottom 38 can be employed at a lower cost than a dedicated transport case made of a conventional foamed PP box. Further, since the cassette 14 used in the factory can be used as it is, there is no need to transfer the liquid crystal panel 12. In the case of using a dedicated transport case, two transfer operations, ie, loading and unloading, are required.
[0019]
FIG. 7 is a view showing a modification of the lower cushion member 34. FIG. 8 is a partial side view of the side plate 22 viewed from the inside of the cassette 14 including the lower cushion member 34 of FIG. The lower cushion member 34 includes a main body that supports an end of the liquid crystal panel 12, and a comb-shaped portion 40 extending from the main body. The tip of each comb-shaped portion 40 is larger than the thickness of the step 26 of the side plate 22 of the cassette 14 and has a thin tip so that it can be easily inserted between the liquid crystal panels 12. The comb-shaped portion 40 is arranged so as to be aligned with the step portion 26. The main body of the lower cushion member 34 can support the end portion of the liquid crystal panel 12 in the same manner as described above, and the comb-shaped portion 40 enters between the adjacent liquid crystal panels 12 and connects the liquid crystal panel 12 to the adjacent two Maintained between the two steps 26. Therefore, the comb-shaped portion 40 aligns the liquid crystal panel 12, suppresses vibration of the liquid crystal panel 12, prevents the liquid crystal panel 12 from rubbing against the step portion 26, and protects the liquid crystal panel 12. The comb-shaped portion 40 can be set on the basis of the frame of the rigid cassette 14 and can be located in the same plane as the step portion 26. As for the upper cushion member 28, a comb-shaped portion similar to the comb-shaped portion 40 can be provided.
[0020]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the present invention, it is not necessary to transfer the display panel from the cassette by packing the display panel such as a liquid crystal panel or the like in the transport packing member while being stored in the cassette. The transport packaging member can be made inexpensive by using it with the cassette. In addition, even if the display panel is stored in the cassette, the end of the display panel can be prevented from being cracked or chipped.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing a package according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a cassette accommodating a liquid crystal panel.
FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of the package of FIG.
FIG. 4 is a partial front view of the cassette as viewed from an open end opposite to the stopper.
FIG. 5 is a side view of the side plate as viewed from the inside of the cassette.
FIG. 6 is a partial side view of a side plate viewed from inside the cassette at the time of packing.
FIG. 7 is a view showing a modification of the lower cushion member.
FIG. 8 is a partial side view of the side plate viewed from the inside of the cassette including the lower cushion member of FIG. 7;
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Package 12 ... Liquid crystal panel 14 ... Cassette 16 ... Upper frame 18 ... Lower frame 20 ... Column 22 ... Side plate 24 ... Stopper 26 ... Step 28 ... Upper cushion member 30 ... Upper holding member 32 ... Box lid 34 ... Lower Cushion member 36 Lower holding member 38 Box bottom body 40 Comb-shaped portion

Claims (4)

A method of transporting a display panel, comprising storing a display panel in a cassette, packing the cassette in which the display panel is stored in a packing member, and transporting the packed cassette. The cassette has a plurality of parallel support means for supporting a plurality of display panels, and the cassette containing the display panel is transported in a factory with the support means being substantially horizontal, and the support means is substantially vertically. 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the packed cassette is transported from the factory to the outside. The method for transporting a display panel according to claim 1, wherein the packing member includes a cushion member that supports an end of the display panel. 4. The method according to claim 3, wherein the cushion member includes a comb-shaped portion that supports an end of the display panel and enters between adjacent display panels.

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