JP2007019433A - Panel holding base, panel assembly equipment, and panel assembly method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a panel holding base which has a capacity from small to large size in all purposes with simple structure, can hold a large size panel without periphery hanging down, and exhibit sufficiently high suction force. <P>SOLUTION: A panel holding base 141 is prepared in panel assembly equipment mounting electronic parts to a glass panel, and holds the glass panel transferred by the panel assembly equipment. The base comprises a base mount 143 and movable holding means 144 prepared with respect to the above-mentioned base mount 143, in such a way that it can expand/contract a holding range of glass panel 200 for directly holding the glass panel 200. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a panel holding base used for a panel assembling apparatus for mounting components on a panel such as a glass panel used for a display or the like. In particular, the present invention relates to a panel holding table for holding and transferring a panel by vacuum suction at a position where components are mounted on the panel.

  In a glass panel used for a liquid crystal television or a plasma display, electronic components such as a driver board for controlling display are attached to a peripheral portion of the panel that is not related to image display. In order to industrially produce such a product, a process of automatically mounting electronic components on the peripheral edge of the panel is performed by an industrial machine called a panel assembling apparatus.

  In the display market in recent years, the demand for small and medium-sized displays has increased while the size of displays has been increasing, and a single panel assembly device has to be used for general purposes from small panels to large panels. Has occurred.

  When producing large and small panels with one panel assembling apparatus as described above, one of the problems is the positional accuracy of the panel. That is, as shown in FIG. 13A, even if the small panel 20 is placed on the small stage 41, there are few portions protruding from the stage, but as shown in FIG. When the large panel 20 is placed, deflection occurs at a portion of the panel that protrudes from the stage. When the deflection occurs, as shown in FIG. 13C, an error A occurs in the position measurement of the panel 20 (for example, by the camera 34), and there is a problem that the electronic component cannot be mounted at a desired position.

Therefore, the invention described in Patent Document 1 intends to solve the above problem by providing a large stage that does not bend at the peripheral edge even when the largest panel supported by the panel assembly apparatus is placed.
JP-A-11-177286

  However, in the invention described in Patent Document 1, in order to fix the panel placed on the stage, a suction portion for vacuum-sucking the panel is provided at the center of the stage. Therefore, a large panel that can cover the entire suction portion can be firmly fixed on the stage, but a relatively small panel having a size that cannot cover the entire suction portion is either There is a problem that air leaks from the adsorbing portion, the adsorbing power is reduced, or the adsorbing and holding cannot be performed.

  Furthermore, in the case of an assembling apparatus that projects a part of the panel from the edge of the stage and works by sandwiching the projecting part, the size of the stage needs to be adjusted to the minimum panel size. In the panel, the end edge is bent.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 14A, a stage 41 provided with a plurality of suction portions 47 is used to suck the panel 20 having a size that cannot cover the entire suction portion as shown in FIG. 14B. When holding, the area that can be sucked and held by closing some of the sucking portions 47 (the sucking portions 47 appearing in the drawing) is limited, and as shown in FIG. When the panel 20 is sucked and held, a method of securing a suction force according to the size of the panel 20 by sucking and holding the panel using the entire sucking portion 47 is proposed. The mechanism for opening and closing the suction portion becomes complicated, and the weight of the stage increases.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and can be held for various sizes of panels with a simple structure, and even if a large panel is held, the peripheral edge of the panel does not hang down. And it aims at provision of the panel holding stand which can exhibit sufficiently high suction power.

  In order to achieve the above object, a panel holding base according to the present invention is provided in a panel assembly apparatus for mounting components on a panel, and is a panel holding base for holding a panel that is moved by the panel assembly apparatus. A movable holding means for directly holding the panel is provided on the base so that the holding range of the panel can be expanded and contracted.

  As a result, the movable holding means can be moved relative to the base so that the size of the panel holding base can be expanded or reduced according to the panel to be held, and a holding state corresponding to the size of the panel can be secured. Become.

Further, the movable holding means may be movable radially from a central portion of the base.
Thereby, it becomes possible to arrange the movable holding means in a balanced manner with respect to the base, and even when the panel holding base is greatly widened, the bending of the panel corner can be suppressed.

  The base may be further provided with a fixed holding means that is fixed to the base and holds the panel.

  Thereby, the part which hold | maintains a panel simply can be increased and it can contribute to the stable holding | maintenance of a panel.

  Moreover, it is preferable that the said base and the said movable holding means are joined by the sliding fixed structure which fixes both with a predetermined positional relationship while restrict | limiting a moving direction.

  Further, the sliding fixing structure is provided with a penetrating elongated hole extending in a relative movement direction in either one of the base and the movable holding means, and is relatively relative to each other by a bolt engaged with the elongated hole. It is preferable to adopt a structure that regulates the moving direction and fixes the base and the movable holding means with the bolts.

  Thereby, since the moving direction of the movable holding means is restricted, the movable holding means can be easily moved with respect to the base, and the positional relationship between the base and the movable holding means can be fixed within the restricted range. Therefore, the shape of the panel holding base after expansion / contraction can be assumed to some extent.

  In order to achieve the above object, a panel assembling apparatus according to the present invention is a panel assembling apparatus for mounting a component on a panel, including a component mounting means for mounting the component on the panel, and a panel holding for holding the panel by vacuum suction. And a transfer means for transferring the panel holding table for transferring the panel, the panel holding table being further movable in the transfer direction of the panel, and movable relative to the base And a movable holding means that enables expansion and contraction of the holding range of the panel.

The effect by this is the same as the above.
In order to achieve the above object, a panel assembling method according to the present invention is a panel assembling method applied to a panel assembling apparatus having a panel holding base having movable holding means capable of expanding and reducing the holding range of the panel. And a panel holding base adjusting step for adjusting the size of the panel holding base in accordance with the size of the panel to be assembled.

  The panel assembling method further includes a panel holding table measuring step for measuring the size of the adjusted panel holding table, and an alignment step for aligning the loader and the panel holding table based on the measured size. It is desirable to include.

  As a result, since the size of the panel holding table after expansion / reduction can be acquired, even if the panel holding table is manually enlarged / reduced, the panel holding table can be accurately moved while preventing interference with other structures. Become.

  With a simple structure, it can be used universally from a small panel to a large panel, and even if a large panel is held, a sufficient suction force can be ensured without the peripheral edge hanging down.

Next, an embodiment according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a main configuration of the panel assembling apparatus.

  The panel assembling apparatus is an apparatus for crimping and mounting the electronic component 202 on the peripheral edge portion of the glass panel 200 as shown in FIG. 2, and includes a loader 110, an unloader 120, a crimp bonding portion 130 as a component mounting means, A panel positioning unit 140.

  The member on the plate on the glass panel 200 in FIG. 2 is a color filter. The electronic component 202 is specifically a connector for connecting to another board or the like.

  The loader 110 is a device that receives the glass panel 200 carried in from the upstream of the production line by the mounting table 111 and conveys the received glass panel 200 in the X-axis direction shown in FIG. In addition, the mounting table 111 has a structure in which the interval can be increased or decreased according to the size of the glass panel 200 to be received.

  The unloader 120 is an apparatus for carrying out the glass panel 200 after the electronic component 202 is mounted to the downstream of the production line. The unloader 120 receives the glass panel 200 with the electronic component mounted on the mounting table 121, and the X axis shown in the figure. Transport in the direction. Note that the unloader 120 mounting table 121 has a structure in which the interval can be increased or decreased according to the size of the glass panel 200 to be received, similarly to the mounting table 111 described above.

FIG. 3 is a side view in which a part of the crimp joint 130 is cut away.
As shown in the figure, the crimp bonding part 130 is a device for bonding an electronic component 202 such as a connector to the peripheral part of the glass panel 200, and a portal frame 131 and an up-and-down press capable of moving up and down with respect to the frame 131. Part 132 and a receiving part 133 that is directly below the lifting and lowering pressing part 132.

  The pressure bonding part 130 has a frame 131 and a lower receiving part 133 fixed to each other. The lowering pressing part 132 that can be moved up and down with respect to the frame 131 is pushed down toward the lower receiving part 133, so It is an apparatus that can press a glass panel 200 sandwiched between pressing parts 132, a bonding tape (ACF: anisotropic conductive film) 201 in which an anisotropic conductive agent is taped, and an electronic component 202 at a time. .

  The glass panel 200, the bonding tape 201, and the electronic component 202 are pressed by the elevating and pressing unit 132, so that the glass panel 200 and the electronic component 202 are bonded via the bonding tape 201.

  In addition, in order to align the glass panel 200 and the electronic component 202, the crimp bonding portion 130 includes a camera 134 that images the glass panel 200 protruding from the panel holding base 141 from below. Since the camera 134 recognizes a mark or the like provided on the edge of the glass panel 200, when the edge of the glass panel 200 is bent, the position where the electronic component 202 is actually attached is recognized as being shifted. Become.

  The panel positioning unit 140 is a device that receives the glass panel 200 from the loader 110, conveys the glass panel 200 to the crimp joint 130, and places the glass panel 200 at an appropriate position with respect to the crimp joint 130. A panel holding table 141 for holding the glass panel 200 by vacuum suction, and a positioning table 142 as a transfer means capable of moving the panel holding table 141 in the X direction, Y direction, Z direction, and θ direction. Yes.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing the panel holding base.
FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing an exploded state of the panel holding base.

  As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the panel holding base 141 includes a cross-shaped base 143 and a movable holding portion 144 that is movable with respect to the base 143.

  The four protrusions provided in the base 143 are each provided with a long hole 145 penetrating in the thickness direction. Two elongated holes 145 are provided in each protrusion in parallel with an axis extending in the radial direction with the center of the base 143 as the center. The base 143 is attached to the positioning table 142 and can be moved in the X direction, the Y direction, the Z direction, and the θ direction according to the positioning table 142.

  The movable holding portion 144 is integrally provided with a suction portion 147 that sucks and holds the placed glass panel 200 and an attachment portion 148 that is thinner than the suction portion 147.

  The movable holding portion 144 serves as a cushion when the glass panel 200 is placed, and is movable to hold a bellows pad 146 that is connected to a vacuum system and sucks the glass panel 200 toward the movable holding portion 144 main body (downward). A plurality of the portions 144 are arranged in the length direction on the upper surface. In addition, a vacuum path (not shown) that conducts to each bellows pad 146 is provided inside the movable holding portion 144. The vacuum path is electrically connected to a tube 151 inserted on the side surface of the movable holding portion 144, and is connected to an external vacuum suction source (not shown).

  The tube 151 has flexibility that can follow the movement of the movable holding portion 144, and has a strength that does not collapse even if the inside of the tube 151 is in a vacuum state.

  The mounting portion 148 can be inserted with a threaded portion of the bolt 152, and is provided with four through holes 149 having a diameter that engages with the head portion of the bolt 152. These through holes 149 are provided at positions corresponding to the four corners of the rectangle, and the long sides of the rectangle formed by the through holes 149 correspond to the intervals between the long holes 145 provided in the base 143. The short side is set to be shorter than the length of the long hole 145, and at the same time, the two bolts 152 can be inserted into the long hole 145, and the two bolts 152 can slide along the long hole 145. Is set. Further, the thickness of the attachment portion 148 is set to a thickness that does not interfere with the glass panel 200 sucked by the suction portion 147 at the head of the bolt 152 that engages with the peripheral portion of the through hole 149.

  The through hole 149 of the mounting portion 148, the long hole 145 of the base 143, the bolt 152 and the nut 153 constitute a sliding fixing structure. That is, the moving direction of the movable holding portion 144 is regulated in the radial direction centered on the central portion of the base 143 by the bolt 152 inserted through the overlapping through-hole 149 and elongated hole 145, and the bolt 152 The movable holding portion 144 can be fixed to the base 143 by tightening the nut 153. On the other hand, by loosening the bolt 152 and the nut 153, the movable holding portion 144 can slide with respect to the base 143.

  FIG. 6 is a plan view showing a state in which the panel holding base 141 is reduced in order to hold the relatively small glass panel 200.

  FIG. 7 is a plan view showing an enlarged state of the panel holding base 141 in order to hold the relatively large glass panel 200.

  As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the panel holding base 141 can move the movable holding portion 144 relative to the base 143, so that the panel holding base 141 is enlarged or reduced in accordance with the size of the glass panel 200 to be held. It becomes possible to do.

  Moreover, the movable holding portion 144 can be easily moved and fixed to the base 143 by the sliding fixing structure.

Next, the usage mode of the panel holding base 141 and the processing contents of the panel assembling apparatus will be described.
FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing pre-processing operations performed prior to panel assembly.

  Prior to the assembly process for mounting the electronic component 202 on the glass panel 200, the size of the panel holding base 141 is adjusted to correspond to the size of the glass panel 200 to be processed. Specifically, the bolt 152 and the nut 153 are loosened, and the four movable holding portions 144 are respectively slid relative to the base 143 to adjust the size of the panel holding stand 141. The size of the panel holding base 141 is fixed by tightening the nut 153 (S502).

  The above work is performed with the base 143 attached to the positioning table 142 and can be performed with a simple operation. Therefore, when the size of the glass panel 200 to be produced is changed, so-called setup change is performed. It can be done easily.

  Next, the panel assembly apparatus 100 is made to learn the adjusted size of the panel holding table 141 and the positional relationship between the origin of the positioning table 142 and the end of the panel holding table 141. Specifically, first, the positioning table 142 is operated in the X direction, and the end of the panel holding base 141 in the X direction is recognized by a sensor (not shown) attached to the panel assembly apparatus 100 main body (S504). Next, the positioning table 142 is operated in the Y direction, and the end of the panel holding base 141 in the Y direction is recognized by a sensor (not shown) attached to the panel assembly apparatus 100 main body (S505). Based on the data obtained by the above operation, the size of the panel holding base 141 is calculated, the relationship with the origin of the positioning table 142 is calculated, and the panel assembly apparatus 100 learns the value (S506).

  Since the panel holding base 141 is expanded and contracted only in a state where the rectangular shape is maintained by the sliding fixing structure, it is possible to estimate the size of the panel holding base 141 only by the value in the X direction and the value in the Y direction. Become.

Thus, the preprocessing is completed, and the process proceeds to panel assembly processing.
FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing the operation of the panel assembly process.

  First, the loading table 111 of the loader 110 receives the glass panel 200 on which the ACF is attached at a predetermined position in the previous process from the upstream of the production line, and transfers the glass panel 200 to the transfer section with the panel holding base 141 (S601). ).

  The interval is adjusted in advance in accordance with the size of the glass panel 200 that also receives the mounting table 111.

  Next, the panel holding base 141 moves to the glass panel 200 delivery position with the loader 110, and based on the relationship between the size of the panel holding base 141 learned in advance and the origin of the positioning table 142, At this time, the positioning table 142 and the loader 110 are positioned so that the position of the panel holding base 141 is optimal, and the glass panel 200 is delivered in an appropriate state (S602).

  The appropriate state is a state in which the side where the components of the glass panel 200 are joined protrudes by a predetermined amount from one edge of the panel holding base 141 and the rest is placed on the panel holding base 141 in a well-balanced manner.

  Next, the glass system 200 is sucked and held on the panel holding base 141 by operating the vacuum system (S603). Specifically, the bellows pad 146 contracts with the operation of the vacuum system, and suction force (pushing force due to atmospheric pressure) generated by the contraction of the bellows pad 146 and the drag force of the movable holding unit 144 are generated. As a result, the glass panel 200 is sucked and held on the panel holding base 141.

  Then, after the position of the glass panel 200 is measured by the camera 134, the positioning table 142 moves the glass panel 200 so that one end edge of the glass panel 200 is positioned at a predetermined position of the crimp joint 130 (S604).

  Next, the electronic component 202 is supplied to the edge of the glass panel 200 by the pressure bonding part 130, and the three members are pressed and bonded (S605).

  Next, the glass panel 200 to which the electronic component 202 is bonded is transferred to the transfer section with the unloader 120 and transferred to the unloader 120 (S606).

  Finally, the unloader 120 receives the glass panel 200 and transfers the glass panel 200 downstream of the production line (S607).

  As described above, since the panel holding base 141 can be easily changed in size according to the size of the glass panel 200, the panel assembly apparatus 100 including the panel holding base 141 is a small glass panel. Electronic components are joined without causing a lack of holding power of the glass panel 200 from 200 to a large glass panel 200, or a portion of the glass panel 200 that protrudes from the panel holding base 141 is bent to cause a deviation in position measurement by the camera 134. It becomes possible to do.

  In addition, even when producing glass panels 200 having different sizes, the panel holder 141 can be easily replaced. Furthermore, the structure for facilitating the setup change is simple, the increase in the weight of the panel holding base 141 can be suppressed as much as possible, and the influence on other devices such as the positioning table 142 can be suppressed.

  In this embodiment, since the sensor measures the size of the panel holding base 141 and the relationship with the origin, even the panel holding base 141 whose size has been adjusted by human power, the loader 110, the unloader 120, the crimping It is possible to accurately set the positional relationship between the joint 130 and the glass panel 200.

  The sliding fixing structure is not limited to the structure described above, and as shown in an exploded view in FIG. 10, a long hole 345 is formed in the attachment portion 148 and a screw corresponding to the long hole 345 is provided in the base 143. A hole 349 may be provided. Also, other structures may be adopted.

  Moreover, as shown in FIG. 11, you may provide the fixed holding | maintenance part 154 provided in the center of the base 143 with the bellows pad 146 for hold | maintaining a panel. By providing the fixed holding portion 154 in this manner, even if the panel holding base 141 is expanded, there is a place for holding the glass panel 200 at the center portion. Therefore, the glass panel 200 is firmly held, and the entire glass panel 200 is It is possible to eliminate warping and undulations.

  In addition, as shown in FIG. 12, the movable holding portions 144 of the panel holding base 141 may be arranged in rectangular four corners, and the movable holding portion 144 may be moved relative to the base 143 in the diagonal direction of the rectangle. By adopting such a configuration, it becomes possible to dispose the suction portions in the vicinity of each of the four corners of the panel to be held, and it is possible to effectively prevent the panel from being bent.

  In addition, as shown in FIG. 12, a plurality of suction portions 147 may be provided for the movable holding portion 144. Thereby, since the glass panel 200 can be sucked and held in a wide region even with the single movable holding portion 144, the holding force is improved and the glass panel 200 can be stably held. In addition, if a large-diameter pad is used for the suction part 147, a large suction force is locally generated, and there is a possibility that the bonded part of the glass panel 200 may be peeled off. It is good to secure power.

  Further, the number of movable holding portions 144 attached to the base 143 is not limited to four. Further, the arrangement of the movable holding portion 144 and the positional relationship with the fixed holding portion 154 can be arbitrarily set. For example, even if only one fixed holding portion 154 and one movable holding portion 144 are provided, it is possible to cope with the length of the panel.

  Further, a contact sensor is provided on the side surface of the panel holding table 144, and the positional relationship between the size of the panel holding table 144 and the positioning table 142 is measured by bringing the panel holding table 144 into contact with a pin fixed to the panel assembly apparatus 100 main body. It doesn't matter.

  The present invention is not limited to fastening with bolts and nuts, and the size of the panel holding base may be changed by driving the movable holding means with a cylinder, a feed screw or the like.

  Moreover, although the application to the component crimping process to the glass panel has been described in the present embodiment, it goes without saying that the present invention can be applied to other processes such as a panel terminal cleaning process, an ACF application process, and a bonding state inspection process. .

  The present invention can be applied to a panel assembling apparatus, and particularly applicable to a panel assembling apparatus that performs general processing from a small panel to a large panel.

It is a perspective view which shows the main structures of a panel assembly apparatus. It is a perspective view which shows the glass panel after an assembly process. It is a side view which notches and shows a part of crimping | compression-bonding part. It is a perspective view which shows a panel holding stand. It is a perspective view which shows the state which the panel holding stand decomposed | disassembled. It is a top view which shows the state which reduced the panel holding stand 141 in order to hold | maintain the comparatively small glass panel 200. FIG. It is a top view which shows the state which expanded the panel holding stand 141 in order to hold | maintain the comparatively large sized glass panel 200. FIG. It is a flowchart which shows the operation | movement of the pre-process performed prior to the assembly of a panel. It is a flowchart which shows the operation | movement of the assembly process of a panel. It is a disassembled perspective view which shows the modification of a panel holding stand. It is a top view which shows the other modification of a panel holding stand. It is a top view which shows the other modification of a panel holding stand. It is a side view which shows the state which put the panel on the conventional stage, (a) shows the state which mounted the small panel, (b) shows the state which mounted the large panel, (c) is When a large panel is placed, the protruding portion is shown enlarged. It is a perspective view which shows the other conventional stage, (a) shows the state which has not mounted the panel, (b) shows the state which mounted the small panel, (c) shows the large panel. The mounted state is shown.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 Panel assembly apparatus 110 Loader 111 Mounting table 120 Unloader 121 Mounting table 130 Crimping joint part 131 Frame 132 Elevation press part 133 Bottom receiving part 134 Camera 140 Panel positioning part 141 Panel holding stand 142 Positioning table 143 Base 144 Movable holding part 145 Long hole 146 Bellows pad 147 Suction part 148 Attachment part 149 Through hole 151 Tube 152 Bolt 153 Nut 154 Fixed holding part 200 Glass panel 201 Joining tape 202 Electronic component

Claims (8)

A panel holding stand that is provided in a panel assembly apparatus for mounting components on a panel and holds a panel that is moved by the panel assembly apparatus,
The base,
A panel holding base comprising movable holding means that is provided to the base so as to expand and contract the holding range of the panel and directly holds the panel.   The panel holding table according to claim 1, wherein the movable holding means is movable radially from a central portion of the base.   The panel holding base according to claim 2, wherein the base is further provided with a fixed holding means that is provided in a fixed state with respect to the base and holds the panel.   The panel holding table according to claim 1, wherein the base and the movable holding means are joined by a sliding fixing structure that regulates a moving direction and fixes the two in a predetermined positional relationship.   The sliding fixing structure is provided with a penetrating elongated hole extending in a relative moving direction in either one of the base and the movable holding means, and a relative moving direction by a bolt engaged with the elongated hole. The panel holding base according to claim 4, wherein the base and the movable holding means are fixed with the bolts. A panel assembly device for mounting parts on a panel,
Component mounting means for mounting a component on the panel;
A panel holding table for holding the panel by vacuum suction;
Transporting means for moving the panel holding base to transport the panel;
The panel holder is further
A base movable in the transfer direction of the panel;
A panel assembling apparatus comprising movable holding means that is movably provided with respect to the base and enables expansion and contraction of a holding range of the panel. A panel assembling method applied to a panel assembling apparatus having a panel holding base according to claim 1, comprising movable holding means that enables expansion and contraction of a panel holding range,
A panel assembling method comprising a panel holding table adjusting step for adjusting the size of the panel holding table in accordance with the size of the panel to be assembled. The panel assembly method further includes:
A panel holding table measuring step for measuring the size of the panel holding table after the adjustment;
The panel assembly method according to claim 7, further comprising an alignment step of aligning the loader and the panel holding base based on the measured size.

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