JP2007178553A - Rubbing apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a rubbing apparatus which can eliminate foreign matters generated in a region near a re-alignment mechanism and can thereby prevent substrate surface from being scratched. <P>SOLUTION: The rubbing apparatus 10 comprises a rubbing base 14 for mounting a glass substrate 13, with which a transparent electrode 11 and an alignment layer 12 are formed; a rubbing roller 15 which is adjusted so that a push-in amount to the alignment layer 12 is 0.3 mm, and which rotates and moves, while pressurizing the alignment layer 12 with a constant pressure; a rubbing cloth 17 which is wrapped around the rubbing roll 15 and has buffing fluff 16 for rubbing the alignment layer 12; a circular cylinder 18 which is adjusted so that a push-in amount to the buffing fluff 16 is 0.3 mm so as to realign the buffing fluff 16; and a suction mechanism 19 for sucking the neighborhood region of the circular cylinder 18. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a rubbing apparatus, and more particularly to a rubbing apparatus to which a realignment mechanism for rubbing cloth is added.

  Conventionally, as shown in FIG. 5, a liquid crystal display (LCD) cleans a glass substrate (step S501), and a transparent electrode having a film resistance value of 15 to 30Ω and a thickness of 100 to 150 nm is formed on the cleaned glass substrate. Patterning is performed (step S502), an alignment film having a hardness of 2H to 4H is formed on the glass substrate on which the transparent electrode is patterned (step S503), and the formed alignment film is rubbed (step S504). Are bonded together to form a glass panel (step S505), the glass panel is cut (step S506), and liquid crystal is injected (step S507).

The alignment film rubbing process (step S504) is performed using a rubbing apparatus as shown in FIG. 6, the rubbing apparatus 60 includes a rubbing base 64 for placing a glass substrate 63 on which a transparent electrode 61 and an alignment film 62 are formed, and a surface of the glass substrate 63 placed on the rubbing base 64 (alignment film). 62) a rubbing roller 65 that rotates and moves in the direction of the arrow while pressing with a constant pressure, and a rubbing cloth 66 wound around the rubbing roller 65 and having a buff fluff 69 for rubbing the alignment film 62 on the surface ( For example, see Patent Document 1).
JP 2003-195251 A

  However, when the alignment film 62 is rubbed using the rubbing device 60, the alignment film 62 may be scraped or buffed when the alignment film 62 is rubbed with the surface of the rubbing cloth 66 (buff fluff 69). 69 may fall off, so that the alignment film 62 may be scraped or buffed fluff 69 may be caught in the rubbing roller 65 to damage the alignment film 62.

  Further, when the rubbing roller 65 presses the chamfered portion 68 of the glass substrate 63, cullet is generated due to friction between the unevenness in the chamfered portion 68 and the buff fluff 69, and the cullet is caught in the rubbing roller 65 to form the alignment film 62. I was hurt.

  Further, the buff fluff 69 in the rubbing cloth 66 wound around the rubbing roller 65 rotating at high speed collides with the side surface 61a of the transparent electrode 61 and falls off, and the buff fluff 69 that has fallen off is caught in the rubbing roller 65 and is aligned. 62 could be damaged.

  An object of the present invention is to provide a rubbing apparatus that can remove foreign matters generated in the vicinity of the realignment mechanism and can prevent the surface of the substrate from being damaged.

  In order to achieve the above object, the rubbing apparatus according to claim 1 is to contact the surface of the mounting table, the roller that rotates while pressing the surface of the substrate mounted on the mounting table, and the surface of the substrate. A rubbing apparatus comprising: a rubbing cloth wound around the outer periphery of the roller; and a realignment mechanism that realigns the surface of the rubbing cloth that is in contact with the surface of the substrate, and a suction mechanism that sucks a region near the realignment mechanism. It is characterized by providing.

  A rubbing apparatus according to a second aspect is the rubbing apparatus according to the first aspect, wherein the suction mechanism includes a suction portion disposed so as to cover the realignment mechanism.

  A rubbing apparatus according to a third aspect is the rubbing apparatus according to the second aspect, wherein the realignment mechanism has a substantially cylindrical shape.

  A rubbing apparatus according to a fourth aspect is the rubbing apparatus according to the first aspect, wherein the suction mechanism has a suction portion formed integrally with the realignment mechanism.

  The rubbing apparatus according to claim 5 is the rubbing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the realignment mechanism has a plurality of grooves formed in the same direction on a surface thereof.

  The rubbing apparatus according to claim 6 is the rubbing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the realignment mechanism is pushed into the surface of the rubbing cloth by 0.1 to 0.5 mm. It is characterized by that.

  A rubbing apparatus according to a seventh aspect is the rubbing apparatus according to the sixth aspect, wherein an amount of pressing of the realignment mechanism against a surface of the rubbing cloth is 0.2 to 0.4 mm.

  The rubbing device according to claim 8 is the rubbing device according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein an amount of pressing of the realignment mechanism with respect to the surface of the rubbing cloth is determined by pressing the roller with respect to the surface of the substrate. It is characterized by the same amount.

  According to the rubbing apparatus of the first aspect, since the suction mechanism sucks the area in the vicinity of the realignment mechanism, the foreign matter generated in the area in the vicinity of the realignment mechanism can be removed, and the surface of the substrate can be damaged. Can be prevented.

  According to the rubbing apparatus of the second aspect, since the suction part is arranged so as to cover the realignment mechanism, the foreign matter generated in the vicinity region of the realignment mechanism can be efficiently removed, and thus the substrate It is possible to further prevent the surface of the ink from being damaged.

  According to the rubbing apparatus of the third aspect, since the realignment mechanism has a substantially cylindrical shape, the suction efficiency of the suction mechanism can be improved, so that the foreign matter generated in the vicinity of the realignment mechanism can be more efficiently removed. Can be removed.

  According to the rubbing apparatus of the fourth aspect, since the suction part is formed integrally with the realignment mechanism, the size can be reduced.

  According to the rubbing apparatus of claim 5, since the realignment mechanism has a plurality of grooves formed in the same direction on the surface, the foreign matter mixed on the surface of the rubbing cloth can be scraped out efficiently, and thus realignment is performed. Foreign matter generated in the vicinity of the mechanism can be more efficiently removed.

  According to the rubbing apparatus of the sixth aspect, since the pushing amount of the realignment mechanism with respect to the surface of the rubbing cloth is 0.1 to 0.5 mm, the surface of the rubbing cloth can be efficiently realigned.

  According to the rubbing apparatus of the seventh aspect, since the pushing amount of the realignment mechanism with respect to the surface of the rubbing cloth is 0.2 to 0.4 mm, the surface of the rubbing cloth can be efficiently realigned.

  According to the rubbing apparatus of the eighth aspect, since the pushing amount of the realignment mechanism with respect to the surface of the rubbing cloth is the same as the pushing amount of the roller with respect to the surface of the substrate, the surface of the rubbing cloth can be prevented from being damaged. it can.

  Hereinafter, a rubbing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view schematically showing a configuration of a rubbing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

  In FIG. 1, a rubbing apparatus 10 includes a rubbing base 14 for placing a glass substrate 13 on which a transparent electrode 11 having a thickness of 150 nm and an alignment film 12 having a thickness of 50 nm are formed, and the surface of the glass substrate 13 ( A rubbing roller 15 that is adjusted by a micrometer (not shown) so that the amount of pressing into the alignment film 12) is 0.3 mm, and that rotates and moves in the direction of the arrow while pressing the alignment film 12 with a constant pressure; 15 and a rubbing cloth 17 having a buff fluff 16 on the surface for rubbing the alignment film 12 and a surface of the rubbing cloth 17 (buff fluff 16) are re-aligned so that the pushing amount to the buff fluff 16 is 0.3 mm. And a suction mechanism 19 that sucks a region near the cylindrical tube 18. The cylindrical tube 18 is made of SUS (iron-nickel-chromium alloy or iron-chromium alloy), and a groove (20 in FIG. 2) in the same direction as the rotation direction of the rubbing roller 15 is formed on the surface by laser marking. A plurality are formed. The buff fluff 16 is aligned by the groove 20. Note that FIG. 2 is shown for clarifying the direction of the groove 20 and does not accurately show the shape, width, depth, pitch, and the like of the groove 20. The shape, width, depth, pitch and the like of the groove 20 will be described in detail below.

  The groove 20 is concave, semicircular, or V-shaped, and has a width of 10 to 20 μm. The groove 20 has a depth of 5 to 10 μm. This range of depth is based on the fact that the yarn of buff fluff 16 (thickness of about 20 μm) does not have to enter groove 20 completely and will be worn if the yarn of buff fluff 16 enters groove 20 too much. It is determined. Further, the groove 20 has a pitch of 50 to 100 μm. The pitch range is determined based on the fact that the yarn is worn if the pitch is too small.

  Further, after the laser marking, the laser-marked groove 20 is subjected to a chrome plating process or a ceramic process.

  Note that the amount by which the cylindrical tube 18 is pushed into the buff fluff 16 is preferably the same as the amount by which the rubbing roller 15 is pushed into the alignment film 12.

  The suction mechanism 19 includes a suction part 19a made of a transparent cover covering the cylindrical tube 18, a dust collection duct 19b connected to the suction part 19a, and a fan unit 19c with a filter connected to the dust collection duct 19b. Since the suction portion 19a is made of a transparent cover, the state of the cylindrical tube 18 (for example, the attachment state of the buff fluff 16) can be confirmed through the suction portion 19a. Since the suction part 19a is detachably attached to the dust collection duct 19b, the suction pipe 19a and the suction mechanism 19 can be maintained by removing the suction part 19a from the dust collection duct 19b as necessary.

  Further, when the rubbing roller 15 rotates to rub the alignment film 12 and then returns to the initial position, the cylindrical tube 18 drives an air cylinder (not shown) by a program stored in a control device (not shown). It is driven and controlled as a source and contacts the buff fluff 16. Thus, since the cylindrical tube 18 is driven and controlled by the program, the contact with the buff fluff 16 can be freely controlled.

  Next, specific examples according to the present invention will be described.

  A super twisted nematic (STN) type liquid crystal display (LCD) in which a rubbing process of an alignment film is performed using a conventional rubbing apparatus 60 (without a suction mechanism) and a rubbing apparatus 10 according to the present invention (with a suction mechanism 19), respectively. In addition, a transflective liquid crystal display (LCD) having a panel size of 41.0 mm × 58.0 mm, a dot configuration of 128 × 64, and a display mode of monochrome mode with a retardation film was prepared. Table 1 shows the results of static driving by applying a voltage of 1.68 V and 64 Hz to the prepared liquid crystal display (LCD), and viewing the entire liquid crystal display. Here, the case where the alignment film was visually scratched was regarded as defective.

  From Table 1, when the rubbing process is performed using the rubbing apparatus 10 (with the suction mechanism 19) according to the present invention (Example), the rubbing process is performed using the conventional rubbing apparatus 60 (without the suction mechanism) ( It can be seen that the defect occurrence rate can be greatly reduced as compared with the comparative example.

  According to the present embodiment, since the suction part 19a is disposed so as to cover the cylindrical tube 18, foreign matter generated in the vicinity of the cylindrical tube 18 (for example, the buff fluff 16 dropped out in the rubbing process, the rubbing The shavings of the alignment film 12 generated in the processing, the cullet generated by the friction between the chamfered portion 13a of the glass substrate 13 and the buff fluff 16, the buff fluff 16 dropped off by the collision with the side surface 11a of the transparent electrode 11, and the like). Therefore, the alignment film 12 can be prevented from being damaged.

  According to the present embodiment, since the cylindrical tube 18 has a plurality of grooves 20 formed on the surface in the same direction as the rotation direction of the rubbing roller 15, the foreign matter mixed in the buff fluff 16 (for example, the buff fluff 16 that has fallen off). , Scraping of the alignment film 12 and cullet, etc.) can be scraped out efficiently, and foreign substances generated in the vicinity of the cylindrical tube 18 can be further efficiently removed.

  According to the present embodiment, since the pressing amount of the cylindrical tube 18 with respect to the buff fluff 16 is adjusted to be 0.3 mm, the buff fluff 16 can be efficiently realigned.

  According to the present embodiment, the pushing amount of the cylindrical tube 18 with respect to the buff fluff 16 is the same as the pushing amount of the rubbing roller 15 with respect to the alignment film 12, so that the buff fluff 16 can be prevented from being damaged.

  In the present embodiment, the suction part 19a covers the cylindrical tube 18, but the present invention is not limited to this, and the suction part 19a may be formed integrally with the cylindrical tube 18, for example, the cylindrical pipe 18 As shown in FIG. 3, it has through-holes 18a disposed above and below the outer peripheral surface, and suction holes 18b disposed at both left and right ends and connected to the dust collecting duct 19b. Suction may be performed through the hole 18a and the suction hole 18b. Further, the cylindrical tube 18 is rotated at a low speed, the contact portion between the cylindrical tube 18 and the buff fluff 16 is vibrated, or a cooling mechanism (not shown) is provided in the vicinity of the contact portion between the cylindrical tube 18 and the buff fluff 16. May be.

  In the present embodiment, the cylindrical tube 18 is made of SUS (iron-nickel-chromium alloy or iron-chromium alloy), but the material is not particularly limited.

  In the present embodiment, the cylindrical tube 18 has a plurality of grooves 20 in the same direction as the direction of rotation of the rubbing roller 15 on the surface, but the direction of the grooves 20 is not limited to the direction of rotation of the rubbing roller 15 and is the same. Any direction is acceptable. Further, the groove 20 may not be formed, and the surface of the cylindrical tube 18 may be polished smoothly.

  In the present embodiment, the cylindrical tube 18 is provided on the side of the rubbing roller 15, but is not limited to this, and is provided above the rubbing roller 15 as shown in FIG. 4. Also good. However, from the viewpoint of preventing foreign matter from being scattered, the cylindrical tube 18 is preferably provided at a position where the distance A from the contact point (rubbing treatment point) between the alignment film 12 and the rubbing roller 15 is short.

  In the present embodiment, the cylindrical tube 18 is used as the realignment mechanism, but the shape is not limited to the cylindrical shape. For example, the portion that contacts the buff fluff 16 has a plate shape or a square shape. Also good.

  In the present embodiment, when the rubbing roller 15 performs the rubbing process of the alignment film 12 and then returns to the initial position, the cylindrical tube 18 contacts the buff fluff 16, but this is not a limitation. The buff fluff 16 may always be in contact.

  In the present embodiment, the cylindrical tube 18 is adjusted so that the pushing amount with respect to the buff fluff 16 is 0.3 mm, but is not limited thereto, and the pushing amount is 0.1 to 0.5 mm. If it is in range. When the push amount is 0.5 mm or more, which is the upper limit value, the alignment film 12 is damaged unnecessarily, and when the push amount is 0.1 mm or less, which is the lower limit value, the length of the buff fluff 16 is caused to vary. As a result, the rubbing process becomes uneven. However, the pushing amount is preferably 0.2 to 0.4 mm.

  In the present embodiment, the glass substrate 13 on which the transparent electrode 11 having a thickness of 150 nm and the alignment film 12 having a thickness of 50 nm are formed is used. The thickness is in the range of 30 to 300 nm, and the thickness of the alignment film 12 is in the range of 30 to 100 nm.

It is a figure which shows roughly the structure of the rubbing apparatus which concerns on embodiment of this invention. FIG. 2 is a perspective view schematically showing a configuration of a cylindrical tube in FIG. 1. It is a perspective view which shows roughly the structure of the modification of the cylindrical tube in FIG. It is a figure which shows schematically the structure of the modification of the rubbing apparatus of FIG. It is a flowchart which shows the manufacturing method of the conventional liquid crystal display. It is a figure which shows schematically the structure of the conventional rubbing apparatus.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Rubbing apparatus 11 Transparent electrode 12 Alignment film 13 Glass substrate 14 Rubbing base 15 Rubbing roller 16 Buff fluff 17 Rubbing cloth 18 Cylindrical tube 19 Suction mechanism

Claims (8)

  A mounting table, a roller that rotates while pressing the surface of the substrate mounted on the mounting table, a rubbing cloth wound around an outer periphery of the roller to contact the surface of the substrate, and a surface of the substrate A rubbing apparatus comprising a realignment mechanism that realigns the surface of the rubbing cloth that has come into contact with the rubbing apparatus, wherein the rubbing apparatus includes a suction mechanism that sucks a region near the realignment mechanism.   The rubbing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the suction mechanism includes a suction portion disposed so as to cover the realignment mechanism.   The rubbing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the realignment mechanism has a substantially cylindrical shape.   The rubbing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the suction mechanism has a suction portion formed integrally with the realignment mechanism.   The rubbing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the realignment mechanism has a plurality of grooves formed in the same direction on a surface thereof.   The rubbing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein an amount of pressing of the realignment mechanism with respect to a surface of the rubbing cloth is 0.1 to 0.5 mm.   The rubbing apparatus according to claim 6, wherein an amount of pressing of the realignment mechanism with respect to a surface of the rubbing cloth is 0.2 to 0.4 mm.   8. The rubbing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein an amount of pressing of the realignment mechanism with respect to the surface of the rubbing cloth is the same as an amount of pressing of the roller with respect to the surface of the substrate.

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