JP2007256877A - Spacer collector - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a spacer collector for successfully collecting spacers. <P>SOLUTION: The spacer collector 100 collects spacers 204 for a liquid crystal panel, and comprises: a discharge nozzle 101 for discharging the spacers 204 to be collected; and a reservoir tank 103 which reserves collecting liquid 104 for accommodating the spacers 204 discharged from the discharge nozzle 101, and the discharge nozzle 101 is disposed near the surface of the collecting liquid 104 and has a discharge opening 102 for discharging the spacers 204 toward the collecting liquid 104 reserved in the reservoir tank 103. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a spacer collecting machine used in a spacer spreading machine for spreading spacers of a liquid crystal panel.

  In general, a liquid crystal panel is formed by bonding two glass substrates on which electrodes, an alignment film, etc. are formed with a sealing material while maintaining a predetermined distance, and in a space formed by both substrates and the sealing material. The liquid crystal is injected. Conventionally, spacers have been used in order to keep the substrate interval (gap) of the liquid crystal panel constant. Conventionally, a dry spraying method or a wet spraying method has been adopted as such a spacer spraying method (see, for example, Patent Documents 1 and 2).

  In a conventional spacer sprayer, a substrate is placed in a spacer spraying booth to spray spacers. The variation of the gap defined by the spacer affects the display performance of the liquid crystal display device. For this reason, a certain amount of spacers are required to be uniformly distributed without being unevenly distributed in the spacer distribution region.

Therefore, when the substrate on which the spacers are dispersed is taken out, the spacer dispersion booth is evacuated and the spacers floating in the booth are removed. Thereby, it adjusts so that the quantity of the spacer adhering to a board | substrate may become fixed.
JP-A-9-203905 JP 2003-161950 A

  As described above, the spacer removed from the spacer spraying booth has been released into the atmosphere or recovered with a cloth filter medium or the like. When the spacer is discharged from the outlet to the atmosphere, the spacer is scattered around the outlet. Therefore, there is a problem that it is troublesome to periodically clean the periphery of the discharge port.

  In addition, when the spacer is filtered by the cloth filter medium provided at the outlet of the spacer and only clean air is released into the atmosphere, the spacer is deposited inside the cloth filter medium. For this reason, a cloth filter medium will be clogged with the time of collection | recovery. Therefore, the cloth filter medium must be frequently replaced, which increases the cost.

  Further, when the cloth filter medium is clogged, the atmospheric pressure and the atmospheric pressure inside the cloth filter medium are different. As a result, the amount of exhaust in the spacer spraying booth changes. When the amount of exhaust in the spacer spraying booth is different, the amount of collected spacers floating in the booth changes. As a result, the amount of spacers applied to the substrate cannot be kept constant, and there is a problem that the gap varies for each liquid crystal panel.

  The present invention has been made against the background of such problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a spacer recovery machine that can recover spacers satisfactorily.

  The spacer recovery machine according to the first aspect of the present invention is a spacer recovery machine that recovers a spacer for a liquid crystal panel, and a recovery liquid that contains a nozzle that discharges the spacer to be recovered, and a spacer that is discharged from the nozzle. The nozzle is disposed in the vicinity of the surface of the recovery liquid, and has a discharge port for discharging the spacer toward the recovery liquid stored in the storage tank. Thereby, the spacer can be satisfactorily accommodated in the recovered liquid.

  In the spacer recovery machine according to the second aspect of the present invention, the specific gravity of the recovery liquid is smaller than the specific gravity of the spacer. Thereby, a spacer can be reliably accommodated in a collection | recovery liquid.

  The spacer collection machine according to the third aspect of the present invention is the spacer collection machine described above, wherein a filter is provided on the counter discharge port side of the nozzle. As a result, the spacer can be reliably captured, and the scattering of the spacer into the atmosphere can be prevented.

  The spacer collection machine according to a fourth aspect of the present invention is the spacer collection machine described above, wherein the filter is provided on the downstream side of the first filter and the first filter, and more than the first filter. The second filter has a fine eye. As a result, the spacer can be captured more reliably, and the scattering of the spacer into the atmosphere can be further prevented.

  The spacer collection machine according to the fifth aspect of the present invention is the spacer collection machine described above, wherein the discharge port is thinner than the outer diameter of the nozzle. Thereby, the flow velocity of the air containing the spacer can be increased, and the spacer can be more reliably accommodated in the recovered liquid.

  A spacer recovery machine according to a sixth aspect of the present invention includes the above-described spacer recovery machine having a stirring unit for stirring the recovered liquid. As a result, the spacers are dispersed in the recovered liquid, and the spacers can be recovered more reliably.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the spacer collection | recovery machine which can collect | recover a spacer favorably can be provided.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. In addition, these figures and description illustrate this invention, and do not restrict | limit the scope of the present invention. It goes without saying that other embodiments may belong to the category of the present invention as long as they are consistent with the present invention.

  A spacer recovery machine according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a configuration of a spacer spreader 200 using the spacer recovery device 100 according to the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1, the spacer sprayer 200 includes a spacer spraying booth 201, a duct 202, and a blower motor 203. The spacer recovery machine 100 according to the present embodiment is used by being connected to the duct 202 of the spacer spreader. The spacer recovery machine 100 recovers the spacer 204 floating in the spacer spraying booth 201.

  The spacer sprayer 200 is used in a spacer spraying process that defines the gap of the liquid crystal panel. When the spacers 204 are sprayed in the spacer sprayer 200, a substrate (not shown) is placed in the spacer spraying booth 201. And the spacer 204 is sprayed with compressed air from the spray nozzle (not shown) provided in the upper part of the spacer spray booth 201. As a spraying method, a conventionally well-known dry spraying method, wet spraying method, or the like can be used.

  Then, the spacer 204 floating in the spacer spraying booth 201 is allowed to stand for a certain period of time, and is deposited on the substrate. Thereafter, the blower motor 203 evacuates the spacer spraying booth 201 for a certain period of time to remove excess spacers 204 remaining in the booth. In this state, the substrate after the completion of the application is taken out from the spacer application booth 201, and the next substrate is set. In this manner, the spacers are sequentially applied to the substrate.

  The spacer collection booth 201 is exhausted by the blower motor 203 and the spacer recovery machine 100 according to the present invention is used when the spacer 204 is removed.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the spacer recovery machine 100 includes a discharge nozzle 101, a discharge port 102, a storage tank 103, a recovery liquid 104, an internal filter (first filter) 105, an upper filter (second filter) 106, a drain. A valve 107 is provided. The discharge nozzle 101, the discharge port 102, the collected liquid 104, the internal filter 105, and the upper filter 106 are disposed inside the storage tank 103.

  The discharge nozzle 101 is connected to the duct 202. The discharge nozzle 101 has a discharge port 102 for discharging air including the spacer 204 in the spacer spraying booth 201.

  The storage tank 103 stores the recovered liquid 104. As a material of the storage tank 103, for example, a plastic resin such as vinyl chloride resin or a metal such as stainless steel can be used. A recovery liquid 104 is stored at the bottom of the storage tank 103. The recovered liquid 104 is recovered by containing and mixing the spacers 204 removed from the spacer spraying booth 201.

  The discharge port 102 is disposed in the vicinity of the surface of the recovery liquid 104 and discharges air including the spacer 204 toward the recovery liquid 104. Further, the discharge port 102 is formed to be long in the left-right direction in FIG. 1 so that the area in which the air including the spacer 204 contacts the recovered liquid 104 is widened. Thereby, the spacer 204 can be recovered in the recovery liquid 104 satisfactorily. Further, in order to prevent a variation in the amount of the spacer 204 sprayed onto the substrate due to a change in the exhaust amount in the spacer spraying booth 201, the discharge port 102 is configured not to be immersed in the recovered liquid 104.

  The specific gravity of the recovery liquid 104 is preferably smaller than the specific gravity of the spacer 204. As a result, the spacer 204 discharged onto the recovery liquid 104 sinks into the recovery liquid 104. For this reason, the spacer 204 can be reliably recovered in the recovery liquid 104. As the spacer 204, resinous spacers such as Sekisui Chemical Co., Ltd. Micropearl (registered trademark) (specific gravity 1.19), NATCO Co., Ltd. NATOCO spacer (specific gravity 1.22), glass spacers (specific gravity 2.5) In the case where the spacer 204 having a specific gravity of 1 or more is used, for example, water (specific gravity 1.0) or the like can be used as the recovered liquid 104.

  Further, the storage tank 103 may be provided with a stirring unit (not shown) for stirring the recovered liquid 104. As a result, the spacers 204 are dispersed in the recovery liquid 104, and the mixing ratio of the spacers 204 to the recovery liquid 104 can be increased.

  The internal filter 105 is provided above the discharge nozzle 101. The internal filter 105 is provided on the side of the discharge nozzle 101 opposite to the discharge port 102. That is, the internal filter 105 is provided on the downstream side of the recovered liquid 104 in the flow path through which air including the spacer 204 discharged from the discharge port 102 flows. That is, the air discharged from the discharge port 102 reaches the internal filter 105 after contacting the recovered liquid 104. As a result, the spacer 204 that could not be accommodated by the recovered liquid 104 can be captured, and the scattering of the spacer 204 into the atmosphere can be prevented.

  Further, most of the spacer 204 is recovered by the recovery liquid 104. For this reason, the number of spacers 204 reaching the internal filter 105 is reduced. Therefore, the spacer 204 deposited on the internal filter 105 is reduced, and the frequency of occurrence of clogging of the internal filter 105 is reduced. As a result, the frequency of replacing the internal filter 105 can be reduced. Therefore, an increase in cost associated with filter replacement can be suppressed.

  An upper filter 106 is provided above the internal filter 105. That is, the upper filter 106 is provided on the downstream side of the internal filter 105 in the flow path through which air including the spacer 204 discharged from the discharge port 102 flows. That is, the air discharged from the discharge port 102 contacts the recovered liquid 104, then passes through the internal filter 105 and reaches the upper filter 106.

  The upper filter 106 is finer than the internal filter 105. Thereby, the spacer 204 that could not be collected by the internal filter 105 can be further captured. As described above, almost all the spacers 204 are collected by the spacer collecting machine 100 from the air including the spacers 204 exhausted from the spacer spraying booth 201. Then, clean air collected by the spacer 204 is discharged from the upper filter 106. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the spacer 204 from scattering into the atmosphere.

  Further, since the inner filter 105 is coarser than the upper filter 106, the possibility that both the inner filter 105 and the upper filter 106 are clogged is reduced.

  Conventionally, when the filter is clogged, the atmospheric pressure and the pressure inside the cloth filter medium are different, and the exhaust amount in the spacer spraying booth has changed. When the amount of exhaust in the spacer spraying booth is different, the amount of collected spacers floating in the booth changes. As a result, the amount of spacers applied to the substrate cannot be kept constant, and there is a problem that the gap varies for each liquid crystal panel.

  However, according to the present invention, it is possible to prevent both the internal filter 105 and the upper filter 106 from being clogged. Thereby, since the exhaust amount in the spacer dispersion | distribution booth 201 does not change, the collection | recovery amount of the spacer 204 which floats in a booth can be made substantially constant. For this reason, it is possible to keep the amount of spacer 204 applied to the substrate constant, and to solve the problem that the gap varies for each liquid crystal panel.

  The drain valve 107 is provided to take out the recovered liquid 104 mixed with the spacer 204 from the storage tank 103 to the outside. The recovered liquid 104 taken out from the storage tank 103 can be filtered to take out the spacer 204 mixed therein and reuse it. Therefore, a liquid that does not affect the spacer 204, such as water or alcohol, can be used as the recovered liquid 104.

  FIG. 2 shows a view of the spacer recovery machine 100 shown in FIG. 1 as viewed from the A direction. As shown in FIG. 2, the discharge port 102 is thinner than the outer diameter of the discharge nozzle 101. That is, the cross-sectional area of the air flow path including the spacer 204 is small. Thereby, the air containing the spacer 204 is accelerated when passing through the discharge port 102 from the discharge nozzle 101. For this reason, the flow velocity of the air including the spacer 204 discharged from the discharge port 102 can be increased. As a result, the air containing the spacer 204 can collide with the recovered liquid 104 at a high speed, and the spacer 204 can be recovered in the recovered liquid 104.

  The internal filter 105 is formed in a mountain shape with the vicinity of the discharge nozzle 101 as a vertex. That is, the internal filter 105 is disposed with a specific inclination angle with respect to the side wall of the reservoir 103. By forming the internal filter 105 in such a shape, an area through which air including the spacer 204 passes increases. Thereby, the spacer 204 can be captured more reliably.

  FIG. 3 shows the arrangement of the discharge nozzle 101 and the internal filter 105. As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the internal filter 105 is arranged above the discharge nozzle 101 so as to cover the discharge nozzle 101. Further, the internal filter 105 is provided in substantially the entire surface of the air flow path including the spacer 204 in the storage tank 103.

  FIG. 4 shows the arrangement of the discharge nozzle 101 and the upper filter 106. As shown in FIGS. 1, 2, and 4, the upper filter 106 is provided on substantially the entire surface of the air flow path including the spacer 204 above the internal filter 105. The upper filter 106 is provided over substantially the entire upper surface of the storage tank 103. With such a configuration, the spacer 204 can be captured more reliably by the internal filter 105 and the upper filter 106.

  The shapes of the internal filter 105 and the upper filter 106 are not limited to the configuration shown in FIG. The internal filter 105 may be a plane and the upper filter 106 may be a mountain shape.

  As described above, in the present invention, the spacer 204 in the spacer spreader 200 can be satisfactorily collected by the spacer collecting machine 100, and clean air can be discharged from the spacer collecting machine 100. For this reason, scattering of the spacer 204 can be effectively suppressed. Further, the recovered spacer 204 can be easily reused.

  Furthermore, since the exhaust amount in the spacer spraying booth 201 can be made substantially constant, fluctuations in the recovery amount of the spacer 204 floating in the booth can be suppressed. For this reason, the dispersion amount of the spacers 204 on the substrate can be kept substantially constant, and a liquid crystal panel having excellent display characteristics can be manufactured.

It is a figure which shows an example of a structure of the spacer spreader using the spacer collection | recovery machine which concerns on this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of a structure of the spacer collection | recovery machine concerning this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of a structure of the filter used for the spacer collection | recovery machine concerning this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of a structure of the filter used for the spacer collection | recovery which concerns on this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 Spacer collection machine 101 Discharge nozzle 102 Discharge port 103 Reservoir 104 Collection liquid 105 Internal filter 106 Upper filter 107 Drain valve 200 Spacer spreader 201 Spacer dispersion booth 202 Duct 203 Blower motor 204 Spacer

Claims (6)

A spacer collecting machine for collecting spacers for liquid crystal panels,
A nozzle for discharging the spacer to be collected;
A storage tank for storing the recovery liquid that stores the spacer discharged from the nozzle;
The said nozzle is arrange | positioned in the surface vicinity of the said collection | recovery liquid, The spacer collection | recovery machine which has the discharge outlet which discharges the said spacer toward the collection | recovery liquid stored by the said storage tank.   The spacer recovery machine according to claim 1, wherein the specific gravity of the recovery liquid is smaller than the specific gravity of the spacer.   The spacer collection | recovery machine of Claim 1 or 2 with which the filter is provided in the anti-discharge outlet side of the said nozzle. The filter is
A first filter;
The spacer collection | recovery machine of Claim 3 which has a 2nd filter which is provided in the downstream of the said 1st filter and is finer than a said 1st filter.   The spacer recovery machine according to claim 1, wherein the discharge port is thinner than the outer diameter of the nozzle.   The spacer collection machine according to any one of claims 1 to 5, further comprising a stirring unit that stirs the collected liquid.

Images