JP2006205380A - Sheet manufacturing method and sheet laminator - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a sheet laminator capable of easily realizing the positioning and arrangement of a plurality of polymer sheets on the same surface plate using a vacuum chuck. <P>SOLUTION: The sheet laminator is constituted of an upper surface plate and a lower surface plate both of which respectively have a large number of suction holes for vacuum suction and a large number of these suction holes are divided into at least two groups which are devided into the predetermined regions on the surface plates. A control mechanism for independently controlling the suction force of the groups of the divided suction holes is provided. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a method for producing a sheet-like polymer film used for liquid crystal elements, precision electronic components, projector screens, and the like, and a laminating apparatus.

  The multifunctional optical film used for the liquid crystal element has a configuration in which a plurality of polymer films having different functions are bonded together with an adhesive or an adhesive. For example, high functionality has been achieved by attaching a light diffusion film for improving viewing angle characteristics to a polarizing plate or a phase compensation plate for performing phase compensation. In particular, in order to increase the size of liquid crystal elements and improve the productivity of electronic components, the area of the polymer film to be bonded increases, and at the same time the bonding apparatus increases in size, and high bonding accuracy has been required.

As an apparatus for laminating such a sheet film, there are a roll laminating apparatus using a polymer film wound in a roll shape, a sheet laminating apparatus for laminating sheet-like polymer films one by one. In particular, in a single wafer bonding apparatus, since it is necessary to arrange and fix a sheet with high accuracy, a method using a vacuum chuck for fixing the sheet by vacuum suction is often used. And the bonding apparatus which bonds together with aligning with high precision, without changing the bonding direction of a sheet | seat is known (for example, refer patent document 1).
JP 2004-148721 A (4th page, FIGS. 1, 2, and 3)

  However, when laminating a large-area sheet-like polymer film, there are restrictions on manufacturing and the size of the sheet to be laminated, or when laminating sheets with different sizes, In addition to aligning a plurality of sheets on the same surface, the sheets had to be bonded with high precision, and there was no bonding apparatus suitable for it.

  In particular, when laminating such a polymer sheet, a sheet laminating apparatus is suitable. However, when a plurality of divided sheets are arranged and bonded on one side, all the suction holes of the vacuum chuck mechanism for positioning and fixing the divided polymer films have the same suction force. Therefore, it was difficult to use.

  An object of this invention is to implement | achieve the sheet | seat bonding apparatus which can implement | achieve easily positioning and arrange | positioning several polymer sheets on the same surface plate using a vacuum chuck.

  The sheet bonding apparatus of the present invention includes an upper surface plate and a lower surface plate having a plurality of suction holes for vacuum suction, and two or more of the plurality of suction holes divided into predetermined regions on the surface plate. Is divided into sets. And the control mechanism which controls each adsorption | suction power of the division | segmentation of these division | segmentation adsorption holes independently is provided. With such a configuration, the sheet can be attached and detached for each of the divided regions. As a result, the sheets divided into two or more can be positioned and attached to the surface plate independently.

  In addition, the suction force from the divided suction holes can be varied in two stages. In this way, when the sheet is aligned, the suction force is weakened to such an extent that the sheet is displaced, and when the sheet is fixed, the suction force is increased to such an extent that the sheet can be sufficiently fixed. High-precision bonding is possible with no sheet displacement during bonding.

  As a method of forming a collection of suction holes, a spacer made of a polymer elastic material having an opening having the shape of a suction path corresponding to these collections is inserted into the back of the surface plate and sealed, and each suction path is independent. The suction force of the collection of adsorption holes was controlled independently using an intake pipe coupled to the. This simplifies the configuration of the device, and at the same time, it is possible to easily change the suction area by replacing the spacer with a spacer having a different suction path shape, and it is possible to respond quickly to bonding conditions with different specifications. It has become possible.

  Since the bonding apparatus of the present invention can easily position and fix the polymer sheet divided into two or more and enable high-precision bonding, bonding of functional sheets having different functions for each region, It has the effect that it becomes easy to produce a large-area sheet by joining raw material sheets having different widths together. Particularly, for a large screen with controlled viewing angle characteristics, it is possible to position and paste each control area with high accuracy, and thus the manufacturing is facilitated. In addition, by using the sheet bonding apparatus of the present invention, it becomes easy to perform the bonding at the time of sheet bonding, thereby reducing the manufacturing defects, and as a result, the manufacturing cost can be reduced.

  The sheet laminating apparatus of the present invention includes a first surface plate for fixing the base material and a second surface plate having a plurality of suction holes for fixing the sheet. There are a first region and a second region each having a suction hole, and the suction force of the first region and the suction force of the second region can be controlled independently. Furthermore, the first surface plate has a third region and a fourth region each having a suction hole, and the suction force of the third region and the suction force of the fourth region are independently controlled. I was able to do it. Here, the positional relationship between the first region and the second region formed on the second surface plate is the positional relationship between the third region and the fourth region formed on the first surface plate. It was different. For example, the arrangement direction of the first region and the second region formed on the second surface plate is orthogonal to the arrangement direction of the third region and the fourth region formed on the first surface plate. It was decided to.

  Furthermore, the second surface plate includes a suction plate provided with a plurality of through holes functioning as suction holes, a lid that forms a gap facing the suction plate, a first region provided in the gap, A spacer provided with an opening formed corresponding to the shape of the second region is provided.

  Moreover, in the 1st area | region and the 2nd area | region, it decided that the adsorption | suction force could be controlled by force of several steps. For example, a first pipe connected to the first area, a second pipe connected to the second area, a first pressure regulating valve provided in the path of the first pipe, and a second A second pressure regulating valve provided in the path of the pipeline is provided, and the first pressure regulating valve and the second pressure regulating valve adjust the atmospheric pressure in the first pipeline and the second pipeline in a plurality of stages. It was decided.

  The sheet laminating method of the present invention includes a step of fixing the base material to the first surface plate, and a position alignment in a state where the first sheet is movably held in the first region of the second surface plate. A step of fixing the aligned first sheet to the first region of the second surface plate with a suction force that cannot move, and a second sheet of the second region of the second surface plate Positioning in a state where the sheet is movably held, fixing the aligned second sheet to the second area of the second surface plate with an adsorption force that cannot move, and the first surface plate And a step of laminating the base plate, the first sheet, and the second sheet. At this time, the size of the first sheet and the second sheet was smaller than the base material. Furthermore, the step of fixing the base material to the first surface plate was aligned with the step of aligning the third sheet in a movable manner in the third region of the first surface plate. Positioning the third sheet in a state where the fourth sheet is movably held in the fourth area of the first surface plate and the step of fixing the third sheet to the third area of the first surface plate with an adsorption force that cannot move. A step of aligning and a step of fixing the aligned fourth sheet to the fourth region of the first surface plate with a suction force that cannot be moved.

  Examples of the sheet bonding apparatus of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a perspective view schematically showing the structure of the sheet bonding apparatus of this example. The bonding apparatus of the present embodiment includes a gantry 3, an upper surface plate 1 and a lower surface plate 2 having suction holes. The upper surface plate 1 and the lower surface plate 2 are coupled by a rotational movement mechanism 4 and a movement mechanism 5, and the sheet fixing surfaces with the suction holes 6a and 6b opened can be aligned with a predetermined positional accuracy. That is, the rotational movement mechanism 4 has a function of rotating the upper surface plate 1 to match the sheet fixing surface of the lower surface plate 2 and simultaneously aligning the sheet position by moving the upper surface plate 1 in the direction of the rotation axis. On the other hand, the moving mechanism 5 translates the upper surface plate 1 in a direction perpendicular to the rotation axis of the rotational moving mechanism 4. In this way, when the upper surface plate 1 and the lower surface plate 2 are combined, the deviation between the sheet fixed on the upper surface plate 1 and the sheet fixed on the lower surface plate 2 is corrected, It can be adjusted so that there is no deviation. Although FIG. 1 shows a state where the upper surface plate 1 is inclined and opened, the upper surface plate 1 can be opened until the lower surface plate 2 and the sheet fixing surface are on the same surface.

  The sheet position information fixed on the upper surface plate 1 and the lower surface plate 2 is not illustrated by detecting the sheet apex or the positioning mark by an optical sensor or an imaging sensor (not illustrated) disposed on the upper surface plate 1 and the lower surface plate 2. Input to the control circuit. The control circuit controls the amount of movement of the rotational movement mechanism 4 and the movement mechanism 5 using the position information obtained in this manner, and aligns the sheet when the upper surface plate 1 is rotated and aligned with the lower surface plate 2. Is done automatically. The gantry 3 is coupled to the lower surface plate 2 and supports the lower surface plate 2 and the upper surface plate 1. Further, the work surface of the lower surface plate 2 is kept at an appropriate height. Further, a suction pump and a control circuit (not shown) are housed in the gantry 3 to protect them from external force and to ensure the safety of the operator.

  A plurality of suction holes 6 a and 6 b are arranged on the sheet fixing surfaces of the upper surface plate 1 and the lower surface plate 2. In FIG. 1, the suction holes 6a and 6b are arranged on a matrix, but they may be arranged in other arrangements such as a three-fold symmetric arrangement or a six-fold symmetric arrangement. The suction hole has a function of a vacuum chuck that sucks air from the hole and sucks the sheet placed on the surface to fix the sheet. The fixing force of the sheet is determined by the hole cross-sectional area of the suction part of the suction holes 6a and 6b and the suction force of the atmosphere. Since the diameter and the number of holes of the suction holes 6a and 6b are determined in the initial state, the fixing force of the sheet can be controlled by controlling the suction force.

  In the present embodiment, the suction force of the suction hole 6a is controlled by being divided into suction regions 7a, 7b, and 7c. That is, all the suction holes existing in the suction region 7a have the same suction force, and this suction force is controlled independently of the suction holes in the other regions. In this way, the suction and fixing operation of the sheet can be independently performed in the suction regions 7a, 7b, and 7c. The size of this area does not have to be the same. The suction areas 8a, 8b and 8c on the lower surface plate 2 also have the same action as the suction areas 7a, 7b and 7c on the upper surface plate 1.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the adsorbed areas 7a, 7b, and 7c of the upper surface plate 1 and the adsorbed areas 8a, 8b, and 8c of the lower surface plate 2 are orthogonal to each other, and the divided sheets are bonded to be orthogonal to each other. be able to. Further, it is not necessary to divide the suction areas of both the upper surface plate 1 and the lower surface plate 2, and it is possible to divide the suction area only on one side of the surface plate. If it does in this way, the sheet | seat divided | segmented into plurality with respect to one sheet | seat can be bonded together.

  FIG. 2 is a piping diagram showing an example of an intake circuit of the sheet bonding apparatus. As shown in FIG. 2, the lower surface plate 2 has a plurality of suction holes 6b. Suction passages 9a, 9b and 9c are formed on the back surface of the suction hole 6b. These suction paths 9a, 9b, 9c have a size in the vertical and horizontal directions, and are hollow with a thickness of about several mm to 10 mm. The end portions of the cavities are hermetically coupled to the exhaust pipes 15, 16, and 17 through the coupling portions 10a, 10b, and 10c, respectively. Since the suction holes 6b are independently sucked from the suction paths directly connected thereto, only the sheets placed in the areas corresponding to the suction paths 9a, 9b, 9c can be sucked independently. The exhaust pipes 15, 16 and 17 are provided with opening / closing valves 11a, 11b and 11c immediately after the coupling portions 10a, 10b and 10c so that the air passages of the exhaust pipes can be opened and closed independently. . This open / close valve can be manually opened and closed using a foot pedal switch or a button switch. Each exhaust pipe is provided with a pair of pressure regulating valves 12a, 12b, 12c immediately after each on-off valve, and the pressure in each suction passage is adjusted in two stages. When these pressure regulating valves are in the open state, the airway becomes wider than in the closed state. When the pressure regulating valves are in the closed state, the intake force from each suction passage is weakened and consequently the adsorbing force is weakened. These pressure regulating valves can be manually opened and closed using a foot pedal switch or a button switch. By providing this pressure regulating valve, when adjusting the seat, the pressure regulating valve is closed and the suction force is weakened to such an extent that the seat is displaced.When the seat is fixed, the pressure regulating valve is opened and the seat can be sufficiently fixed. The suction force is increased to enable highly accurate bonding with no sheet displacement during bonding. In addition, each exhaust pipe coupled to each suction path is integrated into one exhaust pipe 18. The exhaust pipe 18 is coupled to the intake pump 13, and the intake pump 13 sucks the gas in the exhaust pipe 18 to suck the gas in each suction path.

  As the intake pump 13, a general sirocco pump or a piston pump can be used. However, when the seat area is large, an oil rotary pump having a large displacement is suitable. When using an oil rotary pump, if the oil rotary pump is stopped with all the intake holes closed with seats, the leak pipe 19 and the pipe are opened and closed so that the oil in the pump does not flow backward to the exhaust pipe. A leak valve 14 is provided. When the sheet bonding is automatically performed by a transport robot or the like, the opening / closing switch, the pressure regulating valve, and the leak valve can be automatically opened / closed using a control circuit (not shown).

  A case where three sheets are arranged and fixed using such an apparatus will be described. First, the intake pump 13 is operated with the leak valve 14 and the on-off valves 11a, 11b, and 11c all closed. At this time, the pressure regulating valves 12a, 12b, and 12c are all closed. In this state, the first sheet is placed on the suction area 9c, and the on-off valve 11a is opened. Then, the gas in the suction path 9a is exhausted by the intake pump 13 and the first sheet is adsorbed by the surface plate, but the adsorption force is weak enough to move the sheet because the pressure regulating valve 12a is in the closed state. . In this state, the sheet is moved so that the apex of the sheet or the alignment mark is aligned with the alignment mark previously formed on the surface plate. Thereafter, when the pressure regulating valve 12a is opened, the suction force is increased and the first sheet can be firmly fixed. Next, the second sheet is arranged according to the first sheet, and the on-off valve 11b is opened to suck the second sheet. Even if the air layer present on the back surface of the sheet is sucked by this adsorption and the position of the second sheet is shifted, the pressure regulating valve 12b is open, so the second sheet is moved and the first sheet is moved. Can be adjusted to After realigning the second sheet, the second sheet can be firmly fixed by opening the pressure regulating valve 12b.

  FIG. 3 schematically shows a structure of a surface plate that can be used in this embodiment in a perspective assembly view. A suction disk 27 is attached to the support frame 23 in an airtight manner with screws through a seal (not shown). A plurality of suction holes 28 are opened through the suction disk 27. An exhaust pipe attachment mechanism is attached to the side surface of the support frame 23. In FIG. 3, an exhaust pipe attachment mechanism 24 is attached to one side of the support frame, and an airtight holding mechanism 25 is attached to the other side. A connecting portion 26 is formed in the exhaust pipe mounting mechanism 24. The coupling portion 26 has a structure in which a pair of male and female tubular parts are coupled with screws through a seal, and the female side is connected to an exhaust port in which a screw provided in the pipe mounting mechanism 24 is formed via a seal. Can be screwed. On the other hand, the male side has a swage lock mechanism in which a plastic tube with a retaining portion is fitted and the male side is screwed into the female side to couple the tube, and can be coupled to the exhaust pipe. On the other hand, the airtight holding mechanism 25 is configured to hermetically seal the suction path side and the outside. The exhaust pipe attachment mechanism 24 and the security keeping mechanism 25 are airtightly attached to the support frame 23 with the same structure. That is, they have the same fitting structure and can be screwed through a seal.

  On the other hand, a spacer 22 is inserted into an internal space formed by the suction disk 27 and the support frame 23. An opening corresponding to the shape of the suction path is formed in the spacer 22, and the opening is opened at a position corresponding to the exhaust port formed in the exhaust pipe attachment mechanism 24. The spacer 22 is made of an elastic polymer material that generates little dust, such as a rubber-based polymer material or a polyester elastomer. After the spacer 22 is inserted inside the support frame 23, the spacer 22 is sealed with the lid 20, and the support frame 23 and the lid 20 are fixed through the screw holes 29 and 30. At this time, a smooth holding plate 21 is formed on the spacer 20 side of the lid 20, and the spacer 22 is pressed when the support frame 23 and the lid 20 are fixed. The spacers 22 are formed so that the vertical and horizontal dimensions are the same as or slightly shorter than the vertical and horizontal dimensions of the space formed inside the support frame 23, and the thicknesses of the suction plate 27 and the holding plate 21 are fixed. It is formed slightly thicker than the gap. Therefore, when the support frame 23 and the lid 20 are fixed, they are pressed by the holding plate 22, are pushed in the thickness direction by the elasticity of the spacers 22, and extend in the vertical and horizontal directions to be in close contact with the inner wall surface of the support frame 23. In this way, the intake circuit composed of the suction hole, the suction path, and the exhaust port can be airtightly isolated from the outside.

  As described above, the sheet bonding apparatus of the present invention can adjust the adsorption region according to the size of the sheets to be bonded, and can bond sheets of different sizes to each other, It is possible to bond the sheets together on the same surface.

  By this, even if the raw material sheet on one side to be bonded is small, it is possible to arrange a plurality of these and arrange them to the size of the larger sheet.

It is a perspective view which shows typically the structure of the sheet bonding apparatus by this invention. It is a piping diagram which shows typically the air intake circuit of the sheet bonding apparatus by this invention. It is an assembly drawing which shows typically the surface plate structure of the sheet bonding apparatus of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Upper surface plate 2 Lower surface plate 3 Base 4 Rotation movement mechanism 5 Movement mechanism 6a, 6b Suction hole 7a, 7b, 7c, 7d, 8a, 8b, 8c, 8d Suction area 9a, 9b, 9c, 9d Suction path

Claims (10)

A first surface plate for fixing the base material and a second surface plate having a plurality of suction holes for fixing the sheet,
The second surface plate includes a first region and a second region each having a suction hole, and the suction force of the first region and the suction force of the second region are independently controlled. A sheet laminating apparatus characterized by being able to perform.   The first surface plate includes a third region and a fourth region each having a suction hole, and the suction force of the third region and the suction force of the fourth region are independent of each other. The sheet bonding apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the sheet bonding apparatus can be controlled.   The positional relationship between the first region and the second region formed on the second surface plate is different from the positional relationship between the third region and the fourth region formed on the first surface plate. The sheet bonding apparatus according to claim 2, wherein:   The arrangement direction of the first region and the second region formed on the second surface plate is orthogonal to the arrangement direction of the third region and the fourth region formed on the first surface plate. The sheet bonding apparatus according to claim 3, wherein   The second surface plate is provided in the gap with a suction plate provided with a plurality of through holes functioning as the suction holes, a lid that faces the suction plate, and forms a gap. The sheet bonding apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4, further comprising a spacer provided with an opening formed corresponding to the shape of the region and the second region.   The sheet bonding apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein in the first region and the second region, the adsorption force can be controlled by a plurality of steps of force.   A first conduit connected to the first region; a second conduit connected to the second region; a first pressure regulating valve provided in a route of the first conduit; A second pressure regulating valve provided in the path of the second pipeline, and the first pressure regulating valve and the second pressure regulating valve are configured to control the atmospheric pressure in the first pipeline and the second pipeline. The sheet bonding apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the adjustment is performed in a plurality of stages. Fixing the substrate to the first surface plate;
Aligning the first sheet movably in the first area of the second surface plate; and
Fixing the aligned first sheet to the first region of the second surface plate with a suction force that cannot move;
Aligning the second sheet movably in the second area of the second surface plate; and
Fixing the aligned second sheet to the second region of the second surface plate with a suction force that cannot move;
A method of manufacturing a sheet, comprising: stacking the first surface plate and the second surface plate and bonding the base material, the first sheet, and the second sheet together.   The sheet manufacturing method according to claim 8, wherein the first sheet and the second sheet are smaller in size than the base material. The process of fixing the substrate to the first surface plate is
Aligning the third sheet movably in the third region of the first surface plate; and
Fixing the aligned third sheet to the third region of the first surface plate with a suction force that cannot move;
Aligning the fourth sheet movably in the fourth region of the first surface plate; and
Fixing the aligned fourth sheet to the fourth region of the first surface plate with a suction force that cannot move;
The sheet manufacturing method according to claim 8, further comprising:

Images