JP2004361741A - Optical film pasting device and method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an optical film pasting device and method having high working efficiency. <P>SOLUTION: A belt-like film formed by pasting a release film on an optical film via an adhesion layer is sent out in its longitudinal direction, at least the optical film and the adhesion layer of the belt-like film is cut leaving the release film in the direction orthogonal to the longitudinal direction when the length of the belt-like film is made to be a prescribed length, the release film is separated from the film piece cut out by cutting, a substrate is conveyed so that one end surface of the substrate is made to be orthogonal to its progressing direction, conveyance of the substrate is stopped, positioning in the direction orthogonal to the progressing direction of the substrate is performed based on the position in the width direction of the film piece and an adhesion surface of the film piece is pasted on the corresponding position of the substrate. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an optical film sticking apparatus and method for sticking an optical film such as a polarizing plate or a retardation film to a substrate such as a liquid crystal display substrate or a plasma display substrate, and more particularly to an optical film sticking apparatus with high work efficiency.
[0002]
[Prior art]
With the widespread use of liquid crystal display devices (hereinafter referred to as LCDs), demand for optical films such as polarizing plates and retardation films is increasing rapidly. In the polarizing plate, a protective film is generally bonded to both surfaces or one surface of a polarizing layer having polarizing ability. As a material for the polarizing layer, polyvinyl alcohol (hereinafter referred to as PVA) is mainly used. After the PVA film is uniaxially stretched, it is dyed with iodine or a dichroic dye or dyed, and then stretched. A polarizing film for a polarizing layer is formed by crosslinking with a compound. As the protective film, cellulose triacetate (hereinafter referred to as TAC) is mainly used because it is optically transparent and has a small birefringence. Since the polarizing plate is usually stretched in the longitudinal direction, the absorption axis of the polarizing film is substantially parallel to the longitudinal direction. The polarizing film is provided with an adhesive layer for bonding onto the substrate, and a release film for protecting the adhesive layer from foreign matters such as dust is bonded thereon. The polarizing film to which the release film is bonded is supplied in the form of a roll of a strip-like film stretched in the longitudinal direction.
[0003]
In a conventional LCD using TN (Twisted Nematic) liquid crystal, the transmission axis of the polarizing plate is inclined by 45 ° with respect to the vertical or horizontal direction of the screen. For this reason, there is known a sticking device (see, for example, Patent Document 1) for sticking a piece of polarizing plate obtained by punching a polarizing plate in the form of a roll in advance in a direction of 45 ° with respect to the longitudinal direction of the roll. Further, in LCDs using VA (Vertical Alignment) liquid crystal and IPS (In Plane Switching) liquid crystal, the transmission axis of the polarizing plate is arranged in the vertical or horizontal direction of the screen. However, the polarizing plate pieces are bonded to the LCD one by one.
[0004]
[Patent Document 1]
JP 2002-23151 A
[0005]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, the conventional polarizing plate sticking apparatus has a problem that the entire lead time is large because a separate step of cutting the strip-like film is required before the polarizing plate piece is stuck to the substrate. Further, if the cutting process and the pasting process are separated, there is a risk that dust will adhere to the polarizing plate piece during transportation.
[0006]
Moreover, in the conventional polarizing plate sticking apparatus, when sticking a polarizing plate piece to a substrate, it is necessary to transfer the polarizing plate pieces one by one, peel off the release film, etc. immediately before the sticking. There is a limit to shortening the process time, and it becomes more difficult to shorten the process time as the size of the LCD increases. Further, since the polarizing plate is usually punched from a roll-shaped polarizing film, curling is likely to occur, the workability when transferring and transporting the polarizing plate piece is poor, and the size of the LCD When becomes larger, the influence of the curl becomes larger and the workability becomes worse.
[0007]
In addition, in the conventional polarizing plate sticking apparatus, it is necessary to have a stock of polarizing plate pieces that have been cut into a necessary size in advance for bonding to LCDs of various sizes, which may lead to defective stock. There is.
[0008]
Furthermore, there is no conventional pasting apparatus that can flexibly handle different sizes of LCDs.
[0009]
A first object of the present invention is to provide an optical film sticking apparatus and method with high work efficiency.
[0010]
A second object of the present invention is to provide an optical film sticking apparatus and method that does not require stock of film pieces.
[0011]
The third object of the present invention is to provide an optical film sticking apparatus and method capable of suppressing the adhesion of dust to the optical film.
[0012]
A fourth object of the present invention is to provide an optical film sticking apparatus and method that can flexibly cope with substrates of different sizes in a single unit.
[0013]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In the 1st viewpoint of this invention, the optical film sticking apparatus which sticks an optical film (film piece) to a board | substrate is provided. The optical film sticking apparatus includes a belt-like film sending unit that sends a belt-like film having a release film stuck on an optical film via an adhesive layer in the longitudinal direction thereof. And the strip | belt-shaped film cutting unit which has a cutting | disconnection mechanism which cut | disconnects the said optical film and the said adhesion layer in the direction orthogonal to a longitudinal direction leaving the said peeling film leaving the said strip | belt-shaped film is provided. And the peeling film separation unit which isolate | separates the said peeling film from the film piece cut out by cutting | disconnection, or the said strip | belt-shaped film is provided. And the 1st strip | belt-shaped film position detection means which detects the position of the edge part of the at least one side of the width direction of the said strip | belt-shaped film sent out by the said strip | belt-shaped film delivery unit or the said film piece is provided. A first substrate transport unit that transports the substrate with one end face of the substrate orthogonal to the traveling direction is provided. A substrate positioning unit is provided that determines a position in a direction orthogonal to the traveling direction of the substrate on the transport path of the first substrate transport unit. Then, based on the information relating to the position of the strip film or the film piece from the first strip film position detecting means, the substrate positioning unit so that the substrate corresponds to the position in the width direction of the film piece. Board positioning control means for controlling the positioning operation. Furthermore, while being arranged on the downstream side in the transport direction in the first substrate transport unit, the adhesive surface of the film piece from which the release film is separated is positioned on the end surface on the traveling direction side of the substrate and the film. A pasting unit for pasting at a corresponding position on the substrate is provided so that the cut surfaces of the pieces are parallel to each other.
[0014]
In the 2nd viewpoint of this invention, the optical film sticking method which sticks an optical film (film piece) to a board | substrate is provided. The optical film sticking method includes a step of sending a strip-like film having a release film stuck on the optical film via an adhesive layer in the longitudinal direction. Then, when the fed strip-shaped film has a predetermined length, the step of cutting the strip-shaped film in a direction orthogonal to the longitudinal direction at least the optical film and the adhesive layer, leaving the release film. Including. And the step which isolate | separates the said peeling film from the film piece cut out by cutting | disconnection, or the said strip | belt-shaped film is included. And it includes the step of transporting the substrate with one end face of the substrate orthogonal to the traveling direction. And based on the position of the width direction of the said film piece or the said strip | belt-shaped film, the step which performs the positioning of the direction orthogonal to the advancing direction of the said board | substrate at least is included. Further, the adhesive surface of the film piece from which the release film has been separated is pasted at a corresponding position on the substrate so that the end surface of the positioned substrate in the traveling direction is parallel to the cut surface of the film piece. Including the step of attaching.
[0015]
Thereby, it can stick by controlling so that the width direction of a strip | belt-shaped film or a film piece may correspond to the width direction of a board | substrate.
[0016]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
An optical film sticking apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a front view schematically showing a configuration of an optical film sticking apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a top view of a substrate transport system, and FIG. 3 is a film transport system (release film). Is omitted). FIG. 4 is a block diagram schematically showing the configuration of the control unit of the optical film sticking apparatus according to one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 5 is a partially enlarged front view schematically showing the vicinity of the film sticking portion of the optical film sticking device according to one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 6 is a block diagram schematically showing the configuration of the substrate transport section of the optical film sticking apparatus according to one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 7 is a schematic view schematically showing the configuration of the lifter in the substrate transport section of the optical film sticking apparatus according to one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 8 is a partially enlarged perspective view schematically showing a drive roller of the optical film sticking device according to one embodiment of the present invention.
[0017]
This optical film sticking device 1 is a device for sticking an optical film (film piece 5) to a substrate 2 (see FIG. 1), a film unwinding unit 10, a film transporting unit 20, a release film winding unit 30, and the like. The substrate transfer unit 40, the substrate positioning unit 50, the film pasting unit 60, the inspection unit 70 (see FIG. 2), the charge eliminating unit 80, and the control unit 90 (see FIG. 4) can be divided. .
[0018]
The substrate 2 is a flat plate member such as a glass substrate or a synthetic resin substrate used for a liquid crystal display substrate, a plasma display substrate, an organic EL substrate, a TFT substrate, a printed substrate, etc. (see FIG. 1). You may use the board | substrate with which the component was formed. The shape of the substrate 2 is rectangular here (see FIG. 14), but may be square. Further, the film piece 5 may be attached to one side of the plate surface of the substrate.
[0019]
The unwinding roll 3 is a roll around which the belt-like film 4 is wound (see FIG. 1).
[0020]
The belt-like film 4 (see FIG. 1) is a belt-like film in which a release film 6 is attached to an optical film 112 such as a polarizing plate, a retardation film, an antireflection film, and an interference filter via an adhesive layer 111 (band-like film). (See FIG. 15 for the cross section of the film 4). The optical film may be a composite film obtained by bonding two or more optical films (for example, the polarizing plate 115 and the retardation film 112). The belt-like film 4 can be, for example, a film having a thickness of 200 to 500 μm wound around one roll by a length of 500 m or more.
[0021]
The film piece 5 is cut out from the belt-like film 4 (see FIGS. 1 and 14).
[0022]
The take-up roll 7 is a roll for taking up the release film 6 separated from the belt-like film 4 (or film piece 5) (see FIG. 1).
[0023]
The film unwinding unit 10 includes a strip-shaped film unwinding unit 11, a pass roller 12, a second strip-shaped film position detecting means 13, a joining base 14, pass rollers 15, 16, a strip-shaped film tension adjusting unit 17, and a pass roller. 18 (see FIGS. 1 and 3).
[0024]
The strip-shaped film unwinding unit 11 is a unit that unwinds the strip-shaped film 4 from the unwinding roll 3 around which the strip-shaped film 4 is wound, and has a shaft portion (not shown) that rotatably supports the unwinding roll 3. In addition, it has a slide mechanism 11a that slides the shaft portion in the axial direction (see FIGS. 1, 3, and 4). The slide mechanism 11a is for correcting the variation in the sending position due to the winding deviation of the unwinding roll 3, and is controlled by the belt-like film position control means 91 (see the arrow G in FIG. 3 for the sliding direction). Moreover, the strip | belt-shaped film unwinding unit 11 has the motor part 11b which rotates a shaft part, and has the roll diameter detection part 11c which detects the diameter of the unwinding roll 3 (refer FIG.1, FIG3 and FIG.4). . The operation of the motor unit 11b is controlled by a film piece cutting control means 92, a film piece cutting control means 93, a sticking control means 97, and a roll rotation control means 99. The roll diameter detector 11 c uses, for example, an ultrasonic sensor and sends information related to the detected diameter of the unwinding roll 3 to the roll rotation control means 99.
[0025]
The pass roller 12 is a roller with a horizontal axis that changes the feeding direction of the belt-like film 4 unwound from the unwinding roll 3 (see FIGS. 1 and 3).
[0026]
The 2nd strip | belt-shaped film position detection means 13 is an edge sensor which detects the position of the edge part of the at least one side of the width direction of the strip | belt-shaped film 4 unwound (refer FIG.1, FIG.3 and FIG.4), Here, Although an optoelectronic or optical photosensor is used, a sound wave type or air type edge sensor may be used. The second strip film position detection means 13 sends information relating to the detected position to the strip film position control means 91.
[0027]
The joining base 14 is a base for joining the old strip-shaped film and the new strip-shaped film from the new unwinding roll when the strip-shaped film 4 disappears from the unwinding roll 3 (see FIGS. 1 and 3). . The joining base 14 includes a suction function (not shown), a slide mechanism (not shown), a film cut head (not shown) installed in the slide mechanism, and a tape applying unit (not shown) installed in the film cut head. (Not shown). A resin plate is embedded in a central portion of the joining base 14 through which the film cut head passes, and the film cut head is protected by the resin plate. An equiangular round blade or a knife blade is set as the cutting edge of the film cut head. In the case of a round blade, it may be rotated or fixed. The film cut head has a function of blowing dust attached to the blade (not shown) and a function of collecting dust blown off (not shown). Bonding of the strip film 4 is performed as follows. First, after the belt-like film 4 of the unwinding roll 3 is lost and the apparatus is stopped, the belt-like film 4 is adsorbed on the joining base 14 and the film cutting head of the joining base 14 is slid automatically or manually to cut the belt-like film 4. To do. Thereafter, the unwinding roll 3 is replaced with a new one, and the new band-shaped film is cut with the film cut head of the bonding table 14 in a state where the new band-shaped film is overlapped with the end of the old band-shaped film 4. The new band-shaped film and the old band-shaped film 4 are bonded together by the tape applying unit.
[0028]
The pass rollers 15 and 16 are rollers with horizontal axes that change the feeding direction of the belt-like film 4 that has passed through the joining base 14 (see FIGS. 1 and 3).
[0029]
The belt-like film tension adjusting unit 17 is a unit having a tension adjusting mechanism that adjusts the tension of the unrolled belt-like film 4 to a predetermined value (see FIG. 1). Here, as the tension adjusting mechanism, a mechanism having a dancer roller 17a and a pneumatic unit 17b is used (see FIGS. 1 and 3). The dancer roller 17a is a roller whose axis is horizontal and is used to keep the tension of the strip film 4 between the unwind roll 3 and the strip film delivery unit 21 constant, and is slidably attached to the pneumatic unit 17b. (Refer to arrow A in FIG. 1 for the sliding direction). The pneumatic unit 17b is a unit that corrects its own weight applied to the dancer roller 17a by the air pressure in order to keep the film delivery stable. In order to keep the film delivery stable, the air pressure unit 17b has a feed followability by the size of the roll diameter. Compensate for changes. Moreover, the strip | belt-shaped film tension adjustment unit 17 has the position detection part 17c which detects the slide position of the dancer roller 17a (refer FIG. 4). The position detection unit 17c sends information related to the detected slide position of the dancer roller 17a on the pneumatic unit 17b to the roll rotation control means 99.
[0030]
The pass roller 18 is a roller with a horizontal axis that changes the feeding direction of the strip film 4 that has passed through the dancer roller 17a of the strip film tension adjusting unit 17 (see FIGS. 1 and 3).
[0031]
The film transport unit 20 includes a strip film delivery unit 21, a strip film cutting unit 22, a film piece transport unit 23, a first strip film position detection unit 24, and a strip film detection unit 25 (FIG. 1). And FIG. 3).
[0032]
The belt-shaped film delivery unit 21 has feed rollers 21a and 21b that feed the belt-like film 4 with adjusted tension in the longitudinal direction (see FIGS. 1, 3 and 4). The feed rollers 21a and 21b are rollers having a horizontal axis for conveying the belt-like film 4 that has passed the pass roller 18 to the belt-like film cutting unit 22 side, and are two rollers that sandwich the belt-like film 4. Further, at least one of the feed rollers 21a and 21b is provided with a film piece cutting control means 92, a film single heading control means 93, or a sticking control means 97 according to the position of the strip film 4 or film piece 5 and the position of the substrate 2. Is driven and controlled. Moreover, the strip | belt-shaped film delivery unit 21 has the length measurement means 21c which measures the length of the fed strip | belt-shaped film 4 (refer FIG.1, FIG3 and FIG.4). The length measuring unit 21c measures the length of the strip film 4 based on the rotation amount of at least one of the feed rollers 21a and 21b, and sends the information relating to the measured length of the strip film 4 to the film single head control unit 93. .
[0033]
The band-shaped film cutting unit 22 is a unit having a cutting mechanism for cutting the fed band-shaped film 4 at least in the direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the optical film and the adhesive layer, leaving the release film 6 (FIGS. 1 and 3). And FIG. 4). Here, the cutting mechanism uses a hydraulic cutter with a Thomson blade or a guillotine cutter with a motor crank, but in addition, a laser cutter, a round blade rolling cutter, a round blade knife blade pulling cutter, etc. Can do. The strip-shaped film cutting unit 22 is disposed at a predetermined position between the strip-shaped film delivery unit 21 and the release film separating means 6 in accordance with individual patterns (the length of the film piece 5). The strip-shaped film cutting unit 22 slides the cutting mechanism along the longitudinal direction of the strip-shaped film 4 so that the film piece 5 can be pasted after the film piece 5 is cut out from a small substrate to a large substrate. It is preferable to have a mechanism (see arrow B in FIG. 1 for the sliding direction). When the belt-like film 4 is attached to the substrate 2 and cut out as the film piece 5, it is necessary to stop the feeding of the belt-like film 4, but by providing a slide mechanism, it is possible to transfer to the single substrate 2 without stopping from the beginning of attachment. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the occurrence of stop marks caused by stopping during the pasting. Moreover, the strip | belt-shaped film cutting | disconnection unit 22 progressed according to the position of the strip | belt-shaped film 4 or the film piece 5, and the position of the board | substrate 2, and the strip | belt-shaped film 4 progressed and became fixed length (size required to affix on the board | substrate 2). It is controlled by the film piece cutting control means 92 so as to cut sometimes. In the half cut, cutting is performed from the lower surface (interleaf side) of the belt-like film 4, so that it is difficult for chips to go to the release film 6 side (adhesive surface side).
[0034]
The film piece conveyance unit 23 has a conveyance mechanism 23a that conveys the film piece 5 from which the release film 6 is separated or the band-like film 4 to the position where it is attached to the substrate 2 while sucking the surface opposite to the adhesive surface (FIG. 1). FIG. 3 and FIG. 4). The transport mechanism 23a is a suction conveyor (belt conveyor) that transports the interleaf surface of the film piece 5 to the adhering unit 61 side at a constant angle while sucking the interleaf surface on the belt. The belt is pulled in a direction perpendicular to the traveling direction so that the vicinity of the center of the belt is not recessed. The transport mechanism 23a is driven and controlled by the film piece cutting control means 92, the film single heading control means 93, or the sticking control means 97 in accordance with the position of the belt-like film 4 or film piece 5 and the position of the substrate 2. The operation is synchronized with the operation of the film delivery unit 21.
[0035]
The 1st strip | belt-shaped film position detection means 24 is an edge sensor which detects the position of the edge part of the at least one side of the width direction of the strip | belt-shaped film 4 or the film piece 5 conveyed by the conveyance mechanism 23a of the film piece conveyance unit 23 ( In this embodiment, an optoelectronic or optical photosensor is used, but a sonic or pneumatic edge sensor may be used. The first belt-like film position detection unit 24 sends information relating to the detected position to the substrate position determination control unit 96.
[0036]
The band-shaped film detection means 25 is an edge sensor that detects the cutting end side cutting section of the band-shaped film 4 conveyed by the conveyance mechanism 23a of the film piece conveyance unit 23 (see FIGS. 1 and 4). An optical photosensor is used, but a sound wave type or air type edge sensor may be used. The band-shaped film detecting means 25 is for detecting the length between the cutting portion on the front side of the band-shaped film 4 and the portion to be cut next, and for cutting out the film piece 5. Information relating to the detection of the cutting portion is sent to the film piece cutting control means 92.
[0037]
The release film winding unit 30 includes a release film separation unit 31, pass rollers 32, 33, and 34, and a release film winding unit 35 (see FIG. 1).
[0038]
The release film separation unit 31 is a unit that separates the release film 6 from the film piece 5 or the strip-like film 4 cut out by cutting. Here, a roller is used (see FIGS. 1 and 3). The roller is arranged on the belt feeding side of the film piece transport unit 23, the roller axis is orthogonal to the traveling direction of the strip film 4 or film piece 5, and only the release film 6 is separated from the strip film 4 or film piece 5. The roller is not driven, and a back-up roller (not shown) is preferably provided behind the roller to prevent the roller from bending. In addition to the roller, an edge member having a rounded edge at the tip, a suction drum, or the like can be used.
[0039]
The pass rollers 32, 33, and 34 are rollers having a horizontal axis that change the feeding direction of the release film 6 separated by the release film separation unit 31 (see FIG. 1).
[0040]
The release film take-up unit 35 is a unit having a take-up shaft with a horizontal axis that winds up the separated release film 6 with a predetermined torque, and rotates the take-up roll 7 to take up the release film 6. (See FIGS. 1 and 4). The release film winding unit 35 is provided with a torque generator and winds up the release film 6 with a constant torque. Moreover, the peeling film winding unit 35 can change the outer diameter of a winding axis | shaft, and can make it easy to remove the peeling film 6 wound up by this. Further, the release film winding unit 35 is driven by the film piece cutting control means 92, the film single heading control means 93, or the sticking control means 97 according to the position of the belt-like film 4 or film piece 5 and the position of the substrate 2. Be controlled.
[0041]
The substrate transfer unit 40 includes a supply-side substrate transfer unit 41, a first substrate transfer unit 42, a first substrate detection unit 43, a second substrate detection unit 44, and a second substrate transfer unit 45. And a third substrate detecting means 46 and a substrate transport unit 47 on the discharge side (see FIGS. 1, 2 and 6).
[0042]
The substrate transport unit 41 on the supply side is a wheel conveyor that transports the substrate 2 supplied from the outside in a horizontal and constant direction, and has a plurality of drive wheels 41a to be driven, and one of the substrates 2 on the drive wheel 41a. This is a unit that transports the substrate 2 with its end face orthogonal to the direction of travel (see FIGS. 1, 2, and 6). The drive wheel 41a has a slide bearing 41b that cushions the driving force applied to the substrate. The drive wheel 41a rotates in the conveying direction by a frictional resistance between the slide bearing 41b and the drive shaft 41c, and when the substrate 2 is stressed, the slide bearing. 41b slips to follow the movement of the substrate 2 (see FIG. 8). Thereby, it can suppress that the surface of the board | substrate 2 is damaged by the friction between the drive wheel 41a and the board | substrate 2. FIG. The substrate transport unit 41 on the supply side has a lifter 41d that receives the substrate 2 supplied from the outside at a position higher than the drive wheel 41a and places the received substrate 2 on the drive wheel 41a (see FIG. 7). If necessary, a direction changing mechanism such as a robot arm may be installed in the substrate supply unit of the substrate transport unit 41 on the supply side.
[0043]
The first substrate transport unit 42 is a wheel conveyor that transports the substrate 2 transported from the substrate transport unit 41 on the supply side, to which the film pieces 5 are not attached, in a horizontal and constant direction, and drives a plurality of drives. This unit has a wheel 42a and conveys the substrate 2 on the drive wheel 42a with one end surface of the substrate 2 orthogonal to the traveling direction (see FIGS. 1, 2 and 6). The drive wheel 42 a is driven and controlled by the substrate transport speed control means 94 or the sticking control means 97. Further, the drive wheel 42a includes a slide bearing (not shown) and a drive shaft (not shown) similar to the slide bearing 41b and the drive shaft 41c (see FIG. 8) of the drive wheel 41a. Further, the driving wheel 42a may be freely rotatable without applying a driving force until the pasting is completed after the substrate 2 and the film piece 5 are held between the receiving roller 61a and the pressure roller 61b. The first substrate transport unit 42 is preferably detachable in order to facilitate maintenance of the portions (here, the strip-shaped film cutting unit 22, the film piece transport unit 23, etc.) disposed on the lower side thereof.
[0044]
The first substrate detection means 43 is a sensor that detects the substrate 2 passing through a predetermined position on the transport path before the first substrate transport unit 42 is pasted (FIGS. 2 and 4). The first substrate detection unit 43 sends information related to the detection of the substrate 2 to the substrate conveyance speed control unit 94.
[0045]
The second substrate detecting means 44 is a sensor that detects the substrate that is locked by the locking portion 51a of the substrate locking unit 51 (see FIGS. 2, 4, and 5). The second substrate detection unit 44 sends information related to the detection of the substrate 2 to the substrate conveyance stop control unit 95.
[0046]
The second substrate transport unit 45 is a wheel conveyor that transports the substrate 2 (including the one in the middle of pasting) on which the film piece 5 is pasted in the film pasting unit 60 in a horizontal and constant direction, and drives a plurality of drives. This unit has a wheel 45a and conveys the substrate 2 on the drive wheel 45a with one end surface of the substrate 2 orthogonal to the traveling direction (see FIGS. 1, 2 and 6). The drive wheel 45a has a slide bearing (not shown) and a drive shaft (not shown) similar to the slide bearing 41b and the drive shaft 41c (see FIG. 8) of the drive wheel 41a.
[0047]
The third substrate detection means 46 is a sensor that detects the substrate 2 passing through a predetermined position on the transport path of the second substrate transport unit 45 (FIGS. 2 and 4). The third substrate detection unit 46 sends information related to the detection of the substrate 2 to the video capture control unit 98.
[0048]
The substrate transport unit 47 on the discharge side is a wheel conveyor that transports the substrate 2 (substrate with a film piece) transported from the second substrate transport unit 45 horizontally and in a fixed direction, and has a plurality of drive wheels 41a to be driven. The unit transports the substrate 2 on the drive wheel 41a with one end face of the substrate 2 orthogonal to the traveling direction (see FIGS. 2 and 6). The drive wheel 47a has a slide bearing (not shown) and a drive shaft (not shown) similar to the slide bearing 41b and the drive shaft 41c (see FIG. 8) of the drive wheel 41a. Further, the discharge-side substrate transport unit 47 lifts up the substrate 2 on the drive wheel 45a to a position higher than the drive wheel 41a in order to discharge the substrate 2 on which the film piece 5 is adhered to the outside (see FIG. Not shown). The lifter of the substrate transport unit 47 on the discharge side is the same as the lifter 41d (see FIG. 7) of the substrate transport unit 41 on the supply side. Further, if necessary, a direction changing mechanism such as a robot arm may be installed in the substrate discharge section of the substrate transfer unit 47 on the discharge side.
[0049]
The substrate positioning unit 50 includes a substrate locking unit 51, a substrate floating unit 52, and a substrate positioning unit 53 (FIGS. 1 and 2).
[0050]
The substrate locking unit 51 has a locking portion 51a for locking the substrate 2 decelerated on the transport path of the first substrate transport unit 42, and a mechanism for locking and unlocking the locking portion 51a. It is a unit which has the part 51b, and is arrange | positioned in the downstream of the vicinity of the sticking unit 61 (FIG.1, FIG.2 and FIG.4). The end surface on the traveling direction side of the substrate 2 locked by the locking portion 51a is arranged on the line connecting the shaft of the receiving roller 61a and the shaft of the pressure roller 61b or on the downstream side thereof (see FIG. 5). The mechanism 51b employs a slide mechanism here, but may be a swing mechanism. The mechanism 51b is controlled by the sticking control means 97 to retract the locking portion 51a and release the locking of the substrate 2 when the bonding to the substrate 2 is performed (the releasing direction is shown in FIG. 5). (See arrow C).
[0051]
The substrate floating unit 52 is a unit that blows air onto the substrate 2 locked by the locking portion 51a of the substrate locking unit 51 to float the substrate 2 (FIGS. 2 and 4). The substrate floating unit 52 blows air onto the substrate 2 from below when the substrate 2 is positioned. The operation of the substrate floating unit 52 is controlled by the substrate positioning control means 96. Thereby, when the substrate 2 is lifted and positioned, the substrate 2 can be prevented from being rubbed against the driving wheel 42a of the first substrate transport unit 42 by a strong pressure, so that the substrate 2 can be prevented from being scratched. Can do.
[0052]
The substrate positioning unit 53 is a unit for determining the traveling direction of the floating substrate 2 and the position in the orthogonal direction, and includes a vertical positioning unit 53a and a horizontal positioning unit 53c (FIGS. 1, 2, and 4). The vertical positioning unit 53 a is a mechanism that pushes the substrate 2 on the first substrate transport unit 42 from the rear side and positions the substrate 2 in the traveling direction together with the locking portion 51 a of the substrate locking unit 51. A roller 53b is provided at a position where it abuts against the substrate 2. The lateral positioning unit 53c is a mechanism that regulates the substrate 2 on the first substrate transport unit 42 from both sides in the direction orthogonal to the traveling direction and performs positioning in the direction orthogonal to the traveling direction. A roller 53d is provided at a position in contact with the substrate 2. By having the roller 53b and the roller 53d, positioning can be performed smoothly without rubbing the end surface of the substrate 2. The operation of the substrate positioning unit 53 is controlled by the substrate positioning control means 96.
[0053]
The film pasting unit 60 has a pasting unit 61. The affixing unit 61 corresponds to the substrate 2 so that the end surface on the moving direction side of the positioned substrate 2 and the cut surface of the film piece 5 are parallel to the adhesive surface of the film piece 5 from which the release film 6 is separated. (FIGS. 1, 2, and 4), and here, a receiving roller 61a, a pressure roller 61b, and an elevating mechanism (not shown) are used (see FIG. 5). . The receiving roller 61a is a rubber roller having a horizontal shaft that conveys the substrate 2 and receives the pressing force of the pressure-bonding roller 61b from below. The pressure roller 61b is a rubber roller having a horizontal axis that is pressed from the lower surface side of the substrate 2 toward the receiving roller 61a so that the fed film piece 5 is wound and pressed against the lower plate surface of the substrate 2. The pressure roller 61b is attached to an elevating mechanism. The elevating mechanism is raised when the film piece 5 is bonded to the substrate 2 according to the position of the film piece 5 and the position of the substrate 2, and applies a pressing force to the receiving roller 61 a side to attach one substrate 2. Is controlled by the sticking control means 97 (see arrow D in FIG. 5 for the raising and lowering direction) until it is lowered until the next substrate 2 is ready for bonding. The pressure roller 61b may not be provided with a crown, and may be subjected to delicate pressure balance control by a backup roller (not shown) capable of varying pressure individually and arbitrarily in accordance with the pasting pattern. When delicate pressure balance control is not required, the pressure roller 61b may be provided with a crown at a necessary position, and a backup roller may not be provided. The sticking unit 61 (at least one of the receiving roller 61a and the pressure roller 61b) is driven and controlled by the sticking control means 97. Note that the pasting unit 61 can use a suction roll method, a tip positioning block method, a small-diameter lami-roll method, and the like in addition to the receiving roller 61a and the pressure roller 61b. The rubber roller used in the receiving roller 61a and the pressure roller 61b is preferably made of rubber having a hardness of 60 to 80 °. If the hardness is less than 60 °, uneven pressure may occur and uneven adhesion may occur. On the other hand, if the hardness is greater than 80 °, the substrate or the film may be damaged. The nip pressure of the roller at the time of pasting is preferably a linear pressure of 1 kg / cm or less. Even with a linear pressure greater than 1 kg / cm with respect to the nip pressure, the substrate or the film may be damaged.
[0054]
The inspection unit 70 includes a pasting position inspection unit 71 (see FIG. 2). Affixing position inspection means 71 is a means for inspecting the affixing position of the film piece 5 on the substrate 2 that passes through the substrate inspection position on the first substrate transport unit 42. Here, a CCD camera 71a, illumination (not shown) ), An image processing apparatus (not shown), and a monitor (not shown). Four CCD cameras 71a are arranged near the corners of the substrate 2, but can be moved by a position changing mechanism (not shown) in order to accommodate various sizes of the substrate 2 and the film pieces 5. (Refer to arrows E and F in FIG. 2 for the moving direction). The capturing of the image by the CCD camera 71 a of the pasting position inspection unit 71 is controlled by the image capturing control unit 98.
[0055]
The static elimination part 80 has the static elimination unit 81 (refer FIG. 1). The static elimination unit 81 neutralizes at least one of the peeling film separation unit 31 and the sticking unit 61 (receiving roller 61a). Thereby, the static electricity which affects the positioning of the film piece 5 can be removed.
[0056]
The control unit 90 includes at least a slide mechanism 11a of the strip-shaped film unwinding unit 11, a motor unit 11b of the strip-shaped film unwinding unit 11, a roll diameter detecting unit 11c of the strip-shaped film unwinding unit 11, and a second strip-shaped film position detecting unit 13. , A position detecting portion 17c of the belt-like film tension adjusting unit 17, feed rollers 21a and 21b (at least one) of the belt-like film sending unit 21, a length measuring means 21c of the belt-like film sending unit 21, and a cutting mechanism of the belt-like film cutting unit 22 ), A transport mechanism 23 a of the film piece transport unit 23, a first strip film position detection unit 24, a strip film detection unit 25, a release film winding unit 35, a drive wheel 42 a of the first substrate transport unit 42, a first Substrate detection means 43, second substrate detection means 44, second A controller or a computer electrically connected to each of the board detecting means 46, the mechanism 51b of the board locking unit 51, the board floating unit 52, the board positioning unit 53, the sticking unit 61, and the sticking position inspection means 71 ( 4), predetermined control is performed based on a predetermined program or database. The control unit 90 includes a strip-shaped film position control unit 91, a film piece cutting control unit 92, a film piece heading control unit 93, a substrate transfer speed control unit 94, a substrate transfer stop control unit 95, and a substrate position determination control. Means 96, sticking control means 97, video capture control means 98, and roll rotation control means 99 are provided.
[0057]
The belt-like film position control means 91 is electrically connected to the second belt-like film position detecting means 13 and the slide mechanism 11a of the belt-like film unwinding unit 11, and relates to the position from the second belt-like film position detecting means 13. Based on the information, the slide of the slide mechanism 11a of the strip film unwinding unit 11 is controlled so that the position in the width direction of the strip film 4 is constant (see FIG. 4).
[0058]
The film piece cutting control means 92 includes a belt-like film detection means 25, a motor part 11b of the belt-like film unwinding unit 11, feed rollers 21a and 21b (at least one) of the belt-like film delivery unit 21, a belt-like film cutting unit 22, and a film piece. The transport mechanism 23a of the transport unit 23 and the peeling film winding unit 35 are electrically connected to each other, and the transport operation of the strip film 4 is detected by detecting the cutting end portion of the strip film 4 from the strip film detection means 25. At least the motor part 11b of the strip film unwinding unit 11, the feed rollers 21a and 21b (at least one) of the strip film delivery unit 21, and the strip film cutting unit so that the film piece 5 can be cut out from the stopped strip film 4 22, Film piece transport unit 2 Conveying mechanism 23a, and controls the release film winding unit 35 (see FIG. 4).
[0059]
The film single head control means 93 includes a length measuring means 21c of the belt-shaped film delivery unit 21, a motor portion 11b of the belt-shaped film unwinding unit 11, feed rollers 21a and 21b (at least one) of the belt-shaped film feeding unit 21, and film piece conveyance. The film piece 5 is electrically connected to the transport mechanism 23a of the unit 23 and the release film winding unit 35, and based on the information relating to the length of the strip film from the length measuring means 21c of the strip film delivery unit 21. At least the motor unit 11b of the strip-shaped film unwinding unit 11 and the feed rollers 21a and 21b of the strip-shaped film feeding unit 21 so that the leading end is positioned from the position at the time of cutting the film piece 5 to the position at the time of pasting (immediately before). (At least one), a transport mechanism 23a of the film piece transport unit 23, and Controlling the release film take-up unit 35 (see FIG. 4).
[0060]
The substrate transfer speed control means 94 is electrically connected to at least the first substrate detection means 43 and the drive wheel 42a (drive unit thereof) of the first substrate transfer unit 42, and the first substrate detection means 43 is connected to the substrate. By detecting 2, the drive wheel 42 a of the first substrate transport unit 42 is controlled so as to reduce the transport speed of the substrate 2 (see FIG. 4).
[0061]
The substrate transfer stop control unit 95 is electrically connected to the second substrate detection unit 44 and the drive wheel 42a of the first substrate transfer unit 42, and the second substrate detection unit 44 detects the substrate 2. The driving of the drive wheel 42a of the first substrate transport unit 42 is stopped so that the transport of the substrate of the first substrate transport unit is stopped (with the front end of the substrate 2 being locked by the locking portion 51a). Is stopped (see FIG. 4).
[0062]
The substrate positioning control means 96 is electrically connected to the first belt-like film position detecting means 24, the substrate floating unit 52, the vertical positioning unit 53a of the substrate positioning unit 53, and the horizontal positioning unit 53c of the substrate positioning unit 53. And the substrate 2 in the width direction of the film piece 5 (direction perpendicular to the traveling direction) based on the information relating to the position of the strip film 4 or the film piece 5 from the first strip film position detecting means 24. The positioning operation of the vertical positioning unit 53a and the horizontal positioning unit 53c of the substrate positioning unit 53 is controlled so as to correspond to the position, and the substrate floating unit 52 blows air onto the substrate 2 when positioning is performed. Control (see FIG. 4). Thereby, while being able to stick so that the width direction of the strip | belt-shaped film 4 or the film piece 5 and the width direction of the board | substrate 2 may respond | correspond, it can suppress that the board | substrate 2 is damaged by positioning.
[0063]
The sticking control means 97 includes a motor unit 11b of the strip film unwinding unit 11, feed rollers 21a and 21b (at least one) of the strip film feeding unit 21, a transport mechanism 23a of the film piece transport unit 23, a peeling film winding unit 35, Electrically connected to the drive wheel 42a of the first substrate transport unit 42, the mechanism portion 51b of the substrate locking unit 51, the pasting unit 61, the film single head control means 93, and the substrate positioning control means 96, and the film single head protrusion By receiving the information on the stop of the film piece 5 from the control means 93 and the information on the completion of the positioning of the substrate 2 from the substrate positioning control means 96, the locking of the substrate 2 is released. While controlling the mechanism part 51b of the board | substrate latching unit 51, the board | substrate 2 and the film piece 5 respond | correspond correspondingly. 61, at least the drive wheel 42a of the first substrate transport unit 42, the motor unit 11b of the strip film unwinding unit 11, the feed rollers 21a and 21b (at least one) of the strip film delivery unit 21, and a film piece. The conveyance mechanism 23a of the conveyance unit 23, the peeling film winding unit 35, and the sticking unit 61 are controlled (refer FIG. 4).
[0064]
The image capture control means 98 is electrically connected to the third substrate detection means 46 and the attachment position inspection means 71, and the attachment position inspection is performed when the substrate 2 is detected by the third substrate detection means 46. The video capturing in the means is controlled (see FIG. 4).
[0065]
The roll rotation control means 99 is electrically connected to the roll diameter detecting unit 11 c of the strip film unwinding unit 11, the motor unit 11 b of the strip film unwinding unit 11, and the position detecting unit 17 c of the strip film tension adjusting unit 17. Based on the information relating to the diameter of the unwinding roll 3 from the roll diameter detecting portion 11c of the strip film unwinding unit 11, the rotation amount of the motor unit 11b of the strip film unwinding unit 11 is controlled (corrected) and Based on the information regarding the slide position of the dancer roller 17a from the position detection unit 17c of the film tension adjusting unit 17, the rotation of the motor unit 11b of the belt-shaped film unwinding unit 11 is performed so that the dancer roller 17a is at a predetermined slide position. The amount of movement and the direction of rotation are controlled (corrected) (see FIG. 4). Thereby, while being able to adjust the unwinding amount of the strip | belt-shaped film 4 according to the diameter of the unwinding roll 3, the inertia (excess unwinding) by the weight of the unwinding roll 3 can be corrected. Further, the roll rotation control means 99 receives the information that the strip film 4 of the unwinding roll 3 has been removed from the roll diameter detection unit 11c of the strip film unwinding unit 11 so as to stop the entire apparatus. You may control.
[0066]
Next, operation | movement of the optical film sticking apparatus which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention is demonstrated using drawing (FIGS. 1-8).
[0067]
About conveyance of a film, it winds first adjusting the position of the width direction of the strip | belt-shaped film 4 from the unwinding roll 3 by which the strip | belt-shaped film 4 with which the peeling film 6 was stuck on the optical film via the adhesion layer was wound. put out. Here, the adjustment in the width direction of the strip film 4 is performed by the strip film unwinding unit 11, the second strip film position detection unit 13, and the strip film position control unit 91.
[0068]
Next, the tension of the unrolled belt-like film 4 is adjusted. Here, the adjustment of the tension of the strip film 4 is performed by the strip film tension adjustment unit 17.
[0069]
Next, the belt-like film 4 whose tension is adjusted is sent out in the longitudinal direction. Here, the feeding of the belt-like film 4 is performed by the belt-like film sending unit 21.
[0070]
Next, when the fed strip-shaped film 4 has a predetermined length, the strip-shaped film 4 is cut in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction, leaving at least the release film. Here, the length of the belt-like film 4 is the length between the detection position of the belt-like film detection means 25 (the position where the leading end side cutting portion of the belt-like film 4 stops) and the cutting position of the belt-like film cutting unit 22. . Further, the cutting of the belt-like film 4 is performed by the belt-like film cutting unit 22, and the control thereof is performed by the film piece cutting control means 92.
[0071]
Next, the release film 6 is separated from the film piece 5 or the strip film 4 cut out by cutting. Separation of the release film 6 is performed by a release film separation unit 31. The separated release film 6 is wound up with a predetermined torque. Here, the release film 6 is wound up by the release film winding unit 35.
[0072]
Next, it conveys to the sticking position to the board | substrate 2, sucking the surface on the opposite side of the adhesive surface of the film piece 5 or strip | belt-shaped film 4 from which the peeling film 6 was isolate | separated. The film piece 5 or the belt-like film 4 is sucked and conveyed by the film piece conveyance unit 23.
[0073]
About conveyance of a board | substrate, the board | substrate 2 is conveyed by making one end surface of the board | substrate 2 orthogonal to a advancing direction in parallel with conveyance of a film. Here, the substrate 2 is transported by the first substrate transport unit 42.
[0074]
Next, when passing through a predetermined position on the transport path, the transport speed of the substrate 2 is decelerated, the transport of the substrate 2 is stopped, and the substrate 2 is lifted so that the width of the film piece 5 or the strip-shaped film 4 is increased. Based on the position in the direction, the substrate 2 is positioned in the traveling direction and in the orthogonal direction. Here, the reduction of the conveyance speed of the substrate 2 is achieved by the first substrate conveyance unit 42, the first substrate detection means 43, and the substrate conveyance speed control means 94. The stop of the transport of the substrate 2 is achieved by the first substrate transport unit 42, the substrate locking unit 51, and the substrate transport stop control means 95. Further, the substrate 2 is floated by the substrate floating unit 52. Further, the positioning of the substrate 2 is performed by the first belt-shaped film position detecting means 24, the substrate positioning unit 53, and the substrate positioning control means 96.
[0075]
When the positioning of the substrate and the supply to the attachment position of the film are completed, the adhesive surface of the film piece 5 from which the release film 6 is separated is parallel to the end surface of the positioned substrate 2 in the traveling direction and the cut surface of the film piece 5 in parallel. It sticks in the position corresponding to the said board | substrate 2 so that it may become. Here, the film piece 5 is stuck on the belt-shaped film delivery unit 21, the film piece transport unit 23, the release film winding unit 35, the first substrate transport unit 42, the substrate locking unit 51, the pasting unit 61, This is performed by the control means 93, the substrate positioning control means 96, and the sticking control means 97.
[0076]
Finally, the attachment position of the film piece 5 on the substrate 2 is inspected. Here, the attaching position of the film piece 5 is performed by the attaching position inspection means 71.
[0077]
Next, the continuous conveyance method of the board | substrate in the optical film sticking apparatus which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention is demonstrated using drawing. FIG. 9 is a flowchart schematically showing operation timings of the substrate transport unit and the film sticking unit of the optical film sticking device according to the embodiment of the present invention. Here, the operation of the optical film sticking apparatus can be divided into a first stage in which the substrate is transported and stuck, and a second stage in which the substrate is fed and discharged. Here, the description will be made by paying attention to the movement of the substrate, and for the sake of convenience, the strip film transport operation, the substrate positioning operation, and the film sticking position inspection operation will be omitted.
[0078]
The initial point of the first stage will be described. In the substrate transfer unit 41 on the supply side, the substrate supplied from the outside is in a state of being placed on the supply unit (portion where the substrate 2a in FIG. 6 is arranged) on the transfer path. Further, in the first substrate transport unit 42, the substrate transported from the substrate transport unit 41 on the supply side is in a state where it is placed on the position determination completion portion (portion where the substrate 2b in FIG. 6 is arranged) on the transport path. . In addition, the pasting unit 60 is in a state in which the substrate positioned on the first substrate transport unit 42 is sandwiched between the receiving roller and the pressure roller (see the substrate 2 in FIG. 5 except that the locking unit 51a is retracted). Status). Moreover, in the 2nd board | substrate conveyance unit 45, the board | substrate which passed the sticking part 60 is in the state placed in the sticking position test completion part (part in which the board | substrate 2c of FIG. 6 was distribute | arranged) on the conveyance path. Further, in the substrate transport unit 47 on the discharge side, the substrate transported from the second substrate transport unit 45 is in a state of being discharged to the outside from a discharge portion (portion where the substrate 2d in FIG. 6 is disposed) on the transport path. (In other words, there is no substrate).
[0079]
The first stage will be described. First, the substrate transfer unit 41 on the supply side, the first substrate transfer unit 42, the sticking unit 60, the second substrate transfer unit 45, and the substrate transfer unit 47 on the discharge side simultaneously start transfer or sticking (step A1). ~ A5).
[0080]
Next, when the substrate (2a in FIG. 6) comes out of the transfer region in the supply-side substrate transfer unit 41, the supply-side substrate transfer unit 41 stops (step A6). Further, when the film pasting of the substrate (2b in FIG. 6) is finished in the pasting unit 60, the pasting unit 60 stops (step A7). In addition, when the substrate with a film arrives at the pasting position inspection completion part (the portion where the substrate 2c in FIG. 6 is disposed) in the second substrate transport unit 45, the second substrate transport unit 45 stops (step A8). . Further, when the substrate (2c in FIG. 6) in the pasting position inspection completion unit in the discharge-side substrate transport unit 47 arrives at the discharge unit (the portion where the substrate 2d in FIG. 6 is arranged), the substrate transport on the discharge side The unit 47 stops (step A9). In the stage where Steps A6 to A9 are performed, the first substrate transport unit 42 is in a state of transporting the substrate.
[0081]
Next, the pressure-bonding roller in the stuck application part 60 is lowered (see arrow D in FIG. 5 as an example of lowering) (step A10). At this stage, the first substrate transport unit 42 is in a state of transporting the substrate. Further, the supply-side substrate transfer unit 41, the second substrate transfer unit 45, and the discharge-side substrate transfer unit 47 are stopped.
[0082]
Next, in the first substrate transport unit 42, the speed of the substrate being transported is reduced at a predetermined position between the supply unit (2a in FIG. 6) and the position determination completion unit (2b in FIG. 6) (step) A11). The supply-side substrate transport unit 41, the pasting unit 60, the second substrate transport unit 45, and the discharge-side substrate transport unit 47 are in a stopped state.
[0083]
Next, when the decelerated substrate arrives at the substrate positioning unit (2b in FIG. 6) in the first substrate transport unit 42, the first substrate transport unit 42 stops (step A12). This completes the first stage.
[0084]
The second stage will be described. First, the lifter in the supply unit (2a in FIG. 6) of the substrate transport unit 41 on the supply side rises (see arrow H in FIG. 7 for the state of the rise) (step A13). Further, the lifter in the discharge portion (2d in FIG. 6) of the substrate transfer unit 47 on the discharge side is also raised (step A14).
[0085]
Next, the substrate is supplied to the lifted top of the lifter in the supply unit (2a in FIG. 6) of the substrate transport unit 41 on the supply side (step A15). Further, the substrate lifted by the lifter lifted in the discharge portion (2d in FIG. 6) of the substrate transfer unit 47 on the discharge side is discharged (step A16).
[0086]
Next, when the substrate is supplied at the supply unit (2a in FIG. 6) of the substrate transfer unit 41 on the supply side, the lifter is lowered (step A17). When the substrate is discharged at the discharge portion (2d in FIG. 6) of the substrate transfer unit 47 on the discharge side, the lifter is lowered (step A18).
[0087]
Next, the pressure roller in the affixing portion 60 is raised, and the substrate in the position determination completion portion (2b in FIG. 6) is sandwiched between the receiving roller and the pressure roller (step A19).
[0088]
Then, it returns to step A1 and the operation | movement of step A1-step A19 is performed repeatedly. Thereby, a continuous conveyance of a board | substrate can be performed.
[0089]
Next, the continuous sticking method of the film piece of the optical film sticking apparatus which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention is demonstrated using drawing. FIG. 10 is a flowchart schematically showing operation timings of main components of the optical film sticking device according to the embodiment of the present invention.
[0090]
Here, the operation of the optical film sticking apparatus can be divided into a first stage in which the substrate is transported and stuck and a second stage in which the substrate is positioned. The first stage and the second stage in FIG. 10 correspond to the first stage and the second stage in FIG. 9, respectively. The operations of the first substrate transport unit 42, the pasting unit 60, and the second substrate transport unit 45 in FIG. 10 are the same as those of the first substrate transport unit 42, the pasting unit 60, and the second substrate in FIG. The operation is the same as that of the transport unit 45. The supply-side substrate transport unit 41 and the discharge-side substrate transport unit 47 are omitted.
[0091]
About each structure part of an optical film sticking apparatus, the operation | movement object of the film unwinding part 10 shall be the strip | belt-shaped film unwinding unit 11 (refer FIG. 1). The operation target of the film transport unit 20 is a strip-shaped film delivery unit 21, a strip-shaped film cutting unit 22, a film piece transport unit 23, a first strip-shaped film position detecting unit 24, and a strip-shaped film detecting unit 25 (FIGS. 1 and 3). reference). The operation target of the release film winding unit 30 is the release film winding unit 35 (see FIG. 1). The operation target of the substrate positioning unit 50 is a substrate locking unit 51, a substrate floating unit 52, and a substrate positioning unit 53 (see FIG. 2). The operation target of the inspection unit 70 is the pasting position inspection unit 71 (see FIG. 2). In addition, about the film unwinding part 10 and the peeling film winding part 30, since it synchronizes with the film conveyance operation | movement of the film conveyance part 20, please refer to the operation | movement of the film conveyance part 20. FIG.
[0092]
The initial point of the first stage will be described. In the first substrate transport unit 42, the substrate transported from the substrate transport unit 41 on the supply side is in a state where it is placed on a position determination completion portion (portion where the substrate 2b in FIG. 6 is arranged) on the transport path. In the film transport unit 20, the film piece 5 is in a cueing state (see FIG. 11A). In addition, in the pasting unit 60, the film piece 5 covering the substrate 2 positioned on the first substrate transport unit 42 is sandwiched between the receiving roller 61a and the pressure roller 61b (see FIG. 11A). Moreover, in the board | substrate position determination part 50, the latching | locking part 51a of a board | substrate latching unit is in the retracted state (refer FIG. 11 (A)), and air blowing and positioning operation are not performed. Further, the inspection unit 70 does not perform a video capturing operation. Furthermore, in the 2nd board | substrate conveyance unit 45, the board | substrate which passed the sticking part 60 is in the state placed in the sticking position test completion part (part in which the board | substrate 2c of FIG. 6 was distribute | arranged) on a conveyance path.
[0093]
The first stage will be described. First, the 1st board | substrate conveyance unit 42, the film conveyance part 20, the sticking part 60, and the 2nd board | substrate conveyance unit 45 start conveyance or sticking simultaneously (step B1-B4).
[0094]
Next, when the film is transported to a predetermined length, the film transport in the film transport unit 20 is stopped (step B5). Here, when the film conveyance is stopped, the belt film 4 side actually stops, and the film piece 5 side is still conveyed (see FIG. 11B). At this time, the first substrate transport unit 42, the pasting unit 60, and the second substrate transport unit 45 are transporting or pasting.
[0095]
Next, when the film piece is stuck on the substrate, the sticking operation of the sticking unit 60 is stopped (step B6). At this time, the first substrate transport unit 42 and the second substrate transport unit 45 are transporting.
[0096]
Next, when the sticking operation of the sticking part 60 is stopped, the pressure roller of the sticking part 60 is lowered (step B7). Further, the substrate on which the film piece is affixed is detected at a predetermined position between the positioning completion unit (see 2b in FIG. 6) and the affixing position inspection completion unit (see 2c in FIG. 6). The board | substrate conveyance unit 45 of the board | substrate conveyance image 45 is taken in, and the sticking position of a film piece is detected (step B8). At this time, the first substrate transport unit 42 and the second substrate transport unit 45 are transporting.
[0097]
Next, when the pressure roller of the sticking portion 60 is lowered, the locking portion 51a in the positioning unit 50 extends to a position where the substrate can be locked (step B9; see FIG. 12A). Further, when the substrate with a film arrives at the pasting position inspection completion part (the portion where the substrate 2c in FIG. 6 is arranged) in the second substrate transport unit 45, the second substrate transport unit 45 stops (step B10). . At this time, the first substrate transport unit 42 performs transport.
[0098]
Next, in the first substrate transport unit 42, the speed of the substrate being transported is reduced at a predetermined position between the supply unit (2a in FIG. 6) and the position determination completion unit (2b in FIG. 6) (step) B11).
[0099]
Next, when the substrate 2 decelerated to the substrate positioning unit (2b in FIG. 6) in the first substrate transport unit 42 is locked to the locking portion 51a, the first substrate transport unit 42 stops (step). B12; see FIG. 12B). This completes the first stage.
[0100]
The second stage will be described. First, in the film transport unit 20, the belt-like film 4 is half-cut (at least the optical film and the adhesive layer are cut leaving the release film 5) (step B13; see FIG. 13A). Further, air is blown to the substrate locked in the substrate positioning unit 50 (step B14).
[0101]
Next, the substrate positioning unit 50 starts the positioning operation of the floating substrate (step B15).
[0102]
Next, in the film transport unit 20, the position in the width direction of the film is measured (step B16). Further, after the measurement, the substrate positioning unit 50 positions the substrate in the feeding direction, and positions the substrate in the width direction corresponding to the position in the width direction of the film measured in Step B16 (Step B17). . When the positioning of the substrate is completed, the film is cued in the film transport unit 20 (step B18; see FIG. 13B). In the cueing of the film, not only the film piece 5 but also the belt-like film 4 follows.
[0103]
Next, when the cueing of the film is completed, the substrate positioning unit 50 unlocks the substrate (step B19).
[0104]
Next, when the substrate is unlocked, the pressure roller 61a is raised in the affixing portion 60, and the substrate positioned by the positioning completion portion (2b in FIG. 6) is sandwiched between the receiving roller and the pressure roller ( Step B20; see FIG.
[0105]
Next, the substrate positioning unit 50 stops air blowing and positioning on the substrate (step B21).
[0106]
Then, it returns to step B1 and the operation | movement of step B1-step B21 is performed repeatedly. Thereby, continuous sticking of a film can be performed.
[0107]
Next, other embodiments will be described. A clean fan (not shown) and a dust collector (not shown) are provided at predetermined positions of the optical film sticking device 1 of the embodiment (see FIG. 1). Accordingly, the apparatus can be operated in a clean environment, and dust can be prevented from being caught between the film piece 5 and the substrate 2.
[0108]
【The invention's effect】
According to the present invention, it is possible to improve the working efficiency due to the reduction of the process by bonding directly from the optical film roll to the substrate. Moreover, the stock of the film piece by the bonding to a several size board | substrate becomes unnecessary, and adhesion of the dust to an optical film can be suppressed.
[0109]
In addition, according to the present invention, the feeding direction and the width direction of the belt-like film or film piece are adjusted, and the feeding direction and the width direction of the substrate are adjusted, so that the sticking is performed, so that the sticking position is precisely controlled. be able to.
[0110]
Further, according to the present invention, the affixing length of the belt-like film can be freely switched, so that the necessary minimum length can be selected in real time, and the film yield can be improved.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a front view schematically showing a configuration of an optical film sticking apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a top view schematically showing the configuration of the substrate transport system of the optical film sticking apparatus according to one embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a top view schematically showing a configuration of a film transport system of the optical film sticking apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 4 is a block diagram schematically showing a configuration of a control unit of the optical film sticking device according to the embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 5 is a partially enlarged front view schematically showing the vicinity of a film sticking portion of an optical film sticking device according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 6 is a block diagram schematically showing a configuration of a substrate transport unit of the optical film pasting apparatus according to one embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 7 is a schematic view schematically showing a configuration of a lifter in a substrate transport section of an optical film sticking device according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 8 is a partially enlarged perspective view schematically showing a drive roller of an optical film sticking device according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 9 is a flowchart schematically showing operation timings of the substrate transport unit and the film sticking unit of the optical film sticking device according to the embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 10 is a flowchart schematically showing operation timings of main components of the optical film sticking device according to the embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 11 is a first partial enlarged front view schematically showing a configuration of an optical film sticking device according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 12 is a second partial enlarged front view schematically showing the configuration of the optical film sticking device according to one embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 13 is a third partially enlarged front view schematically showing the configuration of the optical film sticking device according to one embodiment of the present invention.
FIGS. 14A and 14B are a plan view and a cross-sectional view schematically showing a substrate on which a film piece is attached by an optical film attaching apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 15 is a cross-sectional view schematically showing the configuration of a strip film used in the optical film sticking apparatus according to one embodiment of the present invention.
[Explanation of symbols]
1 Optical film sticking device
2 Substrate
3 Unwinding roll
4 Strip film
5 Film pieces
6 Release film
7 Winding roll
10 Film unwinding part
11 Strip film unwinding unit
11a Slide mechanism
11b Motor part
11c Roll diameter detector
12 Pass rollers
13 Second strip film position detecting means
14 Joining table
15, 16 pass rollers
17 Strip film tension adjustment unit
17a Dancer Laura
17b Pneumatic unit
17c Position detector
18 Pass Roller
20 Film transport section
21 Strip film delivery unit
21a, 21b Feed roller
21c Length measuring means
22 Strip film cutting unit
23 Film piece transport unit
23a Transport mechanism
24 1st strip | belt-shaped film position detection means
25 Strip film detection means
30 Release film winding part
31 Release film separation unit
32, 33, 34 pass rollers
35 Release film winding unit
40 Board transfer section
41 Substrate transport unit on the supply side
41a Drive wheel
41b plain bearing
41c Drive shaft
41d lifter
42 First substrate transfer unit
42a Drive wheel
43 1st board | substrate detection means
44 Second substrate detection means
45 Second substrate transfer unit
46 Third substrate detection means
47 Substrate transport unit on the discharge side
50 Substrate positioning part
51 Substrate locking unit
51a Locking part
51b Mechanism part
52 Substrate floating unit
53 Substrate positioning unit
53a Vertical positioning unit
53b, 53d Roller
53c Horizontal positioning unit
60 Film sticking part
61 Affixing unit
61a Receiving roller
61b Pressure roller
70 Inspection Department
71 Affixing position inspection means
71a CCD camera
80 Static neutralizer
81 Static elimination unit
90 Control unit
91 Strip film position control means
92 Film piece cutting control means
93 Film single-head control means
94 Substrate transport speed control means
95 Substrate transport stop control means
96 Substrate positioning control means
97 Sticking control means
98 Video capture control means
99 Roll rotation control means
111, 113 Adhesive layer
112 Retardation film (optical film)
114, 116 Protective film
115 Polarizing plate (optical film)
117 slip paper

Claims (24)

A belt-shaped film delivery unit that feeds a belt-shaped film having a release film attached to the optical film via an adhesive layer in the longitudinal direction;
A belt-shaped film cutting unit having a cutting mechanism that cuts at least the optical film and the pressure-sensitive adhesive layer in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction, leaving the strip-shaped film sent out;
A film piece cut by cutting, or a release film separating unit for separating the release film from the belt-like film;
First belt-shaped film position detecting means for detecting a position of at least one end in the width direction of the belt-shaped film or the film piece fed by the belt-shaped film feeding unit;
A first substrate transport unit that transports the substrate with one end face of the substrate orthogonal to the traveling direction;
A substrate positioning unit that determines a position in a direction orthogonal to the traveling direction of the substrate on the transport path of the first substrate transport unit;
Based on the information on the position of the strip film or the film piece from the first strip film position detecting means, the substrate positioning unit is positioned so that the substrate corresponds to the position in the width direction of the film piece. Substrate positioning control means for controlling the operation;
While being arranged on the downstream side in the transport direction in the first substrate transport unit, the adhesive surface of the film piece from which the release film has been separated is positioned between the end surface on the traveling direction side of the positioned substrate and the film piece. An affixing unit that is attached to the corresponding position of the substrate so that the cut surfaces are parallel;
An optical film sticking device comprising: The optical film sticking apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the belt-shaped film cutting unit includes a slide mechanism that slides the cutting mechanism along a longitudinal direction of the belt-shaped film. The optical device according to claim 1, further comprising a film piece conveyance unit having a conveyance mechanism that conveys the film piece or the surface opposite to the adhesive surface of the belt-like film to a position where the film piece is attached to the substrate. Film sticking device. A belt-shaped film detection means for detecting a leading end side cutting portion of the belt-shaped film transported by a transport mechanism of the film piece transport unit;
At least the belt-like shape is detected so that at least the feeding operation of the belt-like film is stopped by detecting the front-end-side cut portion of the belt-like film from the belt-like film detection means, and the film piece can be cut out from the stopped belt-like film 4. The optical film sticking apparatus according to claim 3, further comprising a film piece cutting control means for controlling the film feeding unit, the film piece conveying unit, and the strip-shaped film cutting unit. The strip film delivery unit has a length measuring means for measuring the length of the fed strip film,
Based on the information relating to the length of the belt-like film from the length measuring means of the belt-like film delivery unit, the tip of the film piece is cued from the position at the time of cutting out the film piece to the position at the time of sticking. The optical film sticking apparatus according to claim 4, further comprising: a film single head positioning control unit that controls at least the belt-shaped film delivery unit and the film piece transport unit. The substrate locking unit having a locking portion that locks the substrate on the transport path of the substrate, and a mechanism that locks the locking portion and releases the locking portion;
Second substrate detection means for detecting the substrate locked to the locking portion of the substrate locking unit;
Substrate transport stop control means for stopping the transport of the substrate of the first substrate transport unit by detecting the substrate by the second substrate detection means;
The optical film sticking device according to claim 1, wherein the optical film sticking device is provided. By receiving information on completion of cueing of the film piece from the film piece cueing control means and information on completion of positioning of the substrate from the substrate positioning control means, the locking of the substrate is released. At least the mechanism portion of the substrate locking unit, the first substrate transport unit, the belt-shaped film delivery unit, and the film so that the substrate and the film piece are correspondingly attached by the attachment unit. The optical film sticking apparatus according to claim 6, further comprising a sticking control means for controlling a transport mechanism of the single transport unit, the strip-shaped film cutting unit, and the sticking unit. A belt-like film tension adjustment unit having a tension adjustment mechanism for adjusting the tension of a belt-like film having a release film attached to the optical film via an adhesive layer to a predetermined value,
The optical film sticking apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the belt-shaped film feeding unit feeds the belt-shaped film whose tension is adjusted by the belt-shaped film tension adjusting unit. It has a shaft part that rotatably supports a roll wound with a strip-like film with a release film attached to the optical film via an adhesive layer, and has a slide mechanism that slides the shaft part in the axial direction. And the strip | belt-shaped film unwinding unit which unwinds the said strip | belt-shaped film from the said roll, and
Second belt-shaped film position detecting means for detecting the position of at least one end in the width direction of the belt-shaped film that has been unwound;
Based on the information relating to the position from the second belt-like film position detecting means, the belt-like film for controlling the slide of the slide mechanism of the belt-like film unwinding unit so that the position in the width direction of the belt-like film is constant. Position control means;
With
9. The optical film sticking apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the belt-like film tension adjusting unit adjusts the tension of the belt-like film unwound from the belt-like film unwinding unit. The belt-shaped film unwinding unit has a motor part that rotates the shaft part, and has a roll diameter detection part that detects the diameter of the roll,
The optical film sticking apparatus according to claim 9, further comprising a roll rotation control unit that controls a rotation amount of the motor unit based on information on the diameter of the roll from the roll diameter detection unit. The first substrate transport unit has a plurality of drive wheels for driving, and transports the substrate on the drive wheels,
First substrate detection means for detecting the substrate passing through a predetermined position on a transport path before the pasting in the first substrate transport unit;
Substrate transport speed control means for controlling a drive wheel of the first substrate transport unit so as to reduce the transport speed of the substrate by detecting the substrate by the first substrate detection means;
With
The optical film sticking apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the substrate locking unit locks the decelerated substrate. 12. The optical film sticking apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the driving wheel of the first substrate transport unit includes a slide bearing that buffers a stress applied to the substrate with respect to a driving force. A substrate floating unit that floats the substrate by blowing air to the substrate locked by the locking portion of the substrate locking unit;
The substrate positioning control means controls the substrate floating unit to blow air onto the substrate when positioning is performed,
The optical film sticking device according to any one of claims 6 to 12, wherein the substrate positioning unit determines a position of the floating substrate. A second substrate transport unit that transports the substrate with one end face of the substrate on which the film piece is pasted by the pasting unit orthogonal to the traveling direction;
Third substrate detection means for detecting the substrate passing through a predetermined position on the transport path of the second substrate transport unit;
A pasting position inspecting means for inspecting the pasting position of the film piece stuck on the substrate by capturing an image of the substrate that has passed the board inspecting position on the second substrate transport unit;
Video capture control means for controlling video capture in the pasting position inspection means by detecting the substrate by the third substrate detection means;
The optical film sticking device according to any one of claims 1 to 13, further comprising: The optical film sticking apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the substrate positioning unit includes a roller at a position where the substrate positioning unit comes into contact with the substrate to be positioned. The optical film sticking device according to claim 1, wherein the first substrate transport unit is detachable. The optical film sticking device according to any one of claims 1 to 16, further comprising a static elimination unit that neutralizes at least one of the release film separation unit and the sticking unit. A step of sending in the longitudinal direction a belt-like film having a release film attached to the optical film via an adhesive layer;
Cutting the strip-shaped film in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction at least the optical film and the adhesive layer, when the fed strip-shaped film has a predetermined length;
Separating the release film from the film piece cut out by cutting or the strip-shaped film;
Transporting the substrate with one end face of the substrate orthogonal to the traveling direction;
Based on the position in the width direction of the film piece or the band-shaped film, at least positioning in a direction orthogonal to the traveling direction of the substrate;
Affixing the adhesive surface of the film piece from which the release film has been separated to the corresponding position of the substrate so that the end surface of the positioned substrate in the direction of travel is parallel to the cut surface of the film piece When,
The optical film sticking method characterized by including. The optical film sticking method according to claim 18, wherein a tension of the strip film is adjusted before the strip film is sent out. The optical film sticking method according to claim 19, wherein before adjusting the tension of the strip film, unwinding is performed while adjusting the position in the width direction of the strip film from a roll around which the strip film is wound. The optical film sticking method according to any one of claims 18 to 20, wherein the film piece or the belt-like film is transported to a sticking position on the substrate while sucking a surface opposite to the adhesive face. The substrate transport speed is decelerated and the substrate transport is stopped when the substrate passes through a predetermined position on the transport path before the substrate is positioned. The optical film affixing method according to 1. 23. The optical film sticking method according to claim 22, wherein when the substrate is positioned, the substrate that has been transported is floated. The optical film sticking method according to claim 18, further comprising a step of inspecting a sticking position of the film piece on the substrate.

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