JP2008055394A - Autoclave apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an autoclave apparatus having a chamber which keeps the space not contributing autoclave treatment reduced and prevents qualities among products treated by the autoclave apparatus from scattering. <P>SOLUTION: The chamber comprises a frame 7 having a window pane 5 and an opening 6, a pair of hot plates 4 holding the frame 7 tight therebetween, and a door 12 closing the opening 6 of the frame 7. Autoclave treatment is applied to an object by holding the chamber having the object housed therein under a predetermined high temperature and a predetermined high pressure for a predetermined period of time. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an autoclave apparatus, and more particularly to an autoclave apparatus capable of a single wafer processing method.

  Conventionally, an apparatus for removing bubbles existing in an adhesive agent interposed between a panel main body and an optical film by temporarily holding the panel main body to which an optical film such as a polarizing plate is attached in a predetermined high temperature and high pressure environment. For example, a defoaming device as shown below has been proposed.

  As shown in FIG. 4, it includes a cylindrical chamber 30, an autoclave 33 having a carry-in port 31 at one end and a carry-out port 32 at the other end, and an internal conveyor 34 disposed on the lower side in the chamber 30. A carry-in conveyor extending to the carry-in side via the carry-in port 31 and a carry-out conveyor extending to the carry-out side via the carry-out port are arranged. A temperature raising means for raising the temperature in the chamber 30 and a pressure raising means for raising the pressure in the chamber 30 are also provided.

  A single cassette 35 accommodates a predetermined number of liquid crystal display panels 36 of the same size each having an optical film attached thereto, and a plurality of types of cassettes 35 are prepared depending on the size of the liquid crystal display panel 36 to be accommodated. When different types of cassettes 35 are mixed and conveyed on the carry-in conveyor in the carry-in direction, the cassette length is sequentially detected when each cassette 35 passes a predetermined position of the carry-in conveyor. Then, the number of cassettes conveyed to the internal conveyor 34 in the chamber 30 is set to the maximum number that can be accommodated in the chamber 30 based on the cassette length detected in advance, and the cassette 35 conveyed to the internal conveyor 34 is When the set number is reached, the conveyor is stopped, the autoclave 33 is operated, and a predetermined defoaming process is started.

  When the defoaming process is completed, the defoamed cassette 35 is conveyed on the carry-out conveyor in the carry-out direction, and a separately set number of cassettes 35 are carried on the carry-in conveyor in the carry-in direction, It is set on the inner conveyor 34 and the defoaming process is started. And the defoaming process is sequentially performed to the liquid crystal display panel 36 accommodated in each cassette 35 arrange | positioned on a carrying-in conveyor by repeating the said process.

As a result, it is possible to efficiently use the space in the chamber without complicating the carrying-in operation despite the use of a plurality of types of cassettes having different cassette lengths, thereby improving the processing efficiency. (See, for example, Patent Document 1).
JP 2004-349438 A

  By the way, in the defoaming apparatus, as shown in FIG. 4A in particular, the chamber 30 has a cylindrical shape, and the cassette 35 accommodated in the chamber 30 forms a frame having a substantially rectangular cross section. Therefore, the diameter of the chamber 30 is determined by the diagonal length of the cassette, and there is still a space in the chamber 30 that is not utilized. The space becomes larger as the diameter of the chamber becomes larger as the liquid crystal display panel 36 becomes larger.

  The liquid crystal display panel 36 is heated by raising the temperature in the chamber 30. Therefore, as the diameter of the chamber 30 increases with the increase in the size of the liquid crystal display panel 36, it becomes difficult to ensure the uniformity of the temperature distribution in the chamber 30, and the quality of each liquid crystal display panel 36 that has been defoamed varies. It will be.

  Therefore, the present invention was devised in view of the above problems, and the object of the present invention is to provide a chamber with a reduced space that does not contribute to autoclave processing, and to provide quality variations between individual products that have been autoclaved. An object of the present invention is to provide an autoclave device that suppresses.

  In order to solve the above-described problem, according to a first aspect of the present invention, at least a part of a chamber surrounding a processing space is configured by a heating element, and the processing space is heated by heat supplied from the heating element. The object to be processed contained in the processing space is subjected to auto-fragmenting under high temperature and pressure by raising the temperature to a specified temperature and increasing the pressure to a specified pressure with high-pressure air supplied from the outside. It is what.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect, the chamber includes a window hole, a frame having an opening provided on at least one side surface orthogonal to the window hole, and the window. A pair of hot plates each having a temperature-controllable heater that sandwiches the frame body so as to cover the frame and a door that covers the opening are provided.

  Further, the invention described in claim 4 of the present invention is characterized in that a plurality of the autoclave devices according to any one of claims 1 and 2 are arranged and a plurality of the processing spaces are provided. .

  The autoclave apparatus of the present invention comprises at least a part of a chamber surrounding the processing space as a heating element, and the processing space is heated to a specified temperature by heat supplied from the heating element and specified by high-pressure air supplied from the outside. The pressure was increased to a pressure, and thus the object to be processed accommodated in the processing space was subjected to an auto-fragment process under a high temperature and a high pressure.

  As a result, the radiant heating of the adjacent hot plate is used as means for raising the temperature of the autoclave processing space for each object to be processed, so that the amount of heat supplied for heating in each processing cycle of the autoclave processing space is small. As a result, the temperature can be increased at a high speed and the time required for the treatment process can be shortened, and the uniformity of the temperature distribution in the autoclave treatment space can be maintained better than that of the conventional autoclave device. Variations in the quality of each processed object can be suppressed.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIG. 1 to FIG. 3 (the same reference numerals are given to the same portions, and descriptions thereof will be omitted). The embodiments described below are preferable specific examples of the present invention, and thus various technically preferable limitations are given. However, the scope of the present invention particularly limits the present invention in the following description. As long as there is no description of the effect, it is not restricted to these aspects.

  FIG. 1 is an exploded view showing an embodiment of the autoclave apparatus of the present invention. This device is a single wafer autoclave device. Bolt insertion holes 2 are provided in a plate 1 made of a good heat conductor, and a hot plate 4 is formed by incorporating a heater 3 capable of controlling the temperature in the plate 1.

  A pair of hot plates 4 sandwich a window body 5 and an opening 6 provided on one side surface orthogonal to the window hole, a bolt insertion hole 2, and a suction / exhaust port (not shown). The shaft portion 9 of the bolt 8 is sequentially inserted into the respective insertion holes 2 of the hot plate 4, the frame body 7, and the hot plate 4, and the nut body 10 is screwed into the end portion, whereby the frame body 7 becomes a pair of hot plates. 4 is compressed and fixed by the clamping pressure between the head 11 of the bolt 8 and the nut 10. A tie rod can be used instead of the bolt 8.

  Further, a door 12 made of a mechanism capable of securing a strong tightening force such as an eccentric booster mechanism or a hydraulic cylinder is attached to the opening 6 of the frame body 7 so as to block the opening 6 of the frame body 7. It can be done.

  An O-ring 13 serving as a sealing material for securing airtightness is disposed between the frame body 7 and the hot plate 4 and between the frame body 7 and the door 12.

  In the autoclave apparatus configured as described above, a sealed space is formed by the frame, a hot plate that holds the frame, a door attached to the frame, and an O-ring. Accordingly, the frame body, the hot plate that sandwiches the frame body, the door attached to the frame body, and the O-ring constitute a chamber, and the sealed space formed thereby corresponds to a processing space in the chamber.

  Next, a process for autoclaving a panel on which an optical film is adhered via an adhesive using the autoclave apparatus having the above-described configuration will be described with reference to FIG. In this process, a two-stage autoclave apparatus in which each of the two frames is sandwiched between hot plates is assumed.

  First, in the step (a), a two-stage autoclave device 14 with a door open is prepared, and the heater is heated to raise the temperature of the hot plate 4 to a specified temperature.

  Next, in the step (b), a frame is formed in each space formed by the hot plate 4 held at a specified temperature, the frame body 7 sandwiched between the hot plates 4 and an O-ring (not shown). The panel 15 on which the optical film is adhered through the adhesive 6 through the opening 6 provided in the body 7 is accommodated. At this time, the panel 15 is accommodated by a pusher, a robot, a hand jig or the like, and in particular, in the case of a pusher, it is preferable that the panel is slid and conveyed by a roller conveyor, air floating or the like.

  Next, in the step (c), the door 12 is closed to close the opening 6 of each frame body 7, and each space in which each panel 15 is accommodated is defined as a sealed space 16. Then, air of a predetermined pressure is supplied into the sealed space 16 through intake / exhaust ports (not shown) provided in the respective frames 7. Then, each sealed space 16 is maintained in a high temperature and high pressure state of a specified temperature and a specified pressure by the radiant heat from the sandwiched hot plate 4 and the supplied high pressure air. By holding this high temperature and high pressure state for a predetermined time, the accommodated panel 15 is autoclaved.

  Next, in the step (d), after a predetermined time, the air in the sealed space 16 is exhausted to the atmospheric pressure through the intake / exhaust ports provided in the respective frames 7 and the door is opened.

  Next, in the step (e), the panel subjected to the autoclave process is taken out through the opening 6 provided in the frame body 7. At this time, the panel 15 is taken out by a pusher, a robot, a hand jig, etc., as in the case of housing. In particular, in the case of a pusher, it is preferable to slide the panel by a roller conveyor, air levitation or the like.

  Through the above series of processes, the autoclave treatment of the panel to which the optical film is attached via the adhesive is completed.

  The effects will be described below based on the autoclave apparatus and the treatment process. First, the autoclave processing space is independent for each panel to be processed, and a space with low waste and high utilization efficiency is formed according to the size and shape of the panel to be processed.

  Therefore, the size of the apparatus can be made smaller than the conventional autoclave apparatus with respect to the number of panels processed at the same time, and the work space can be made more efficient.

  Further, since the use efficiency of the autoclave processing space for each panel is high, the amount of supply air for pressurization for each processing cycle can be reduced, and the time required for the processing process can be shortened.

  Further, as a means for raising the temperature of the autoclave processing space for each panel, radiant heating of adjacent hot plates is used. Therefore, the amount of heat supplied for heating each processing cycle of the autoclave processing space can be reduced, the temperature can be increased at a high speed, the time required for the processing process can be shortened, and the temperature distribution in the autoclave processing space can be made uniform. Therefore, it is possible to keep the performance better than that of the conventional autoclave apparatus, and it is possible to suppress the variation in quality among the individual panels subjected to the autoclave process.

  In addition, since the shape of the autoclave apparatus is a rectangular parallelepiped, as shown in FIG. 3, various conditions such as the shape and dimensions of the processed panel, the number of processed panels, the cost of the apparatus, and the tact time of the line are considered. It is possible to stack two or more stages to form a multistage autoclave apparatus. Therefore, an unprocessed panel does not accumulate in the middle of the line, and the manufacturing process can be advanced efficiently.

  In addition, by providing a heat shield portion made of a heat insulating material or the like in the middle of the lamination of the multistage autoclave apparatus, it becomes possible to perform two or more types of autoclave treatments with different heating and pressurizing conditions in one multistage autoclave apparatus.

  Further, the hot plate is a good conductor of heat and has a small heat capacity with respect to the conventional autoclave apparatus, and the efficiency of the heat energy supplied is constantly improved because it is kept at a constant temperature.

It is a three-dimensional exploded view showing an embodiment of an autoclave device of the present invention. It is process drawing of the autoclave process which uses the autoclave apparatus of this invention. It is sectional drawing which shows other embodiment of the autoclave apparatus of this invention. It is sectional drawing which shows the prior art example of an autoclave apparatus.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Plate 2 Insertion hole 3 Heater 4 Hot plate 5 Window hole 6 Opening 7 Frame body 8 Bolt 9 Shaft part 10 Nut 11 Head 12 Door 13 O-ring 14 Autoclave apparatus 15 Panel 16 Sealing space

Claims (3)

  At least a part of the chamber surrounding the processing space is composed of a heating element, and the processing space is heated to a specified temperature with heat supplied from the heating element and is increased to a specified pressure with high-pressure air supplied from the outside. Thus, the auto-fragment apparatus is characterized in that the object to be processed accommodated in the processing space is subjected to auto-fragment processing under high temperature and high pressure.   The chamber has a window body, a frame body having an opening provided on at least one side surface orthogonal to the window hole, and a heater capable of controlling the temperature sandwiching the frame body so as to cover the window frame. The auto-fragment device according to claim 1, comprising a pair of hot plates and a door that covers the opening.   An autoclave apparatus comprising a plurality of the processing spaces by disposing a plurality of autoclave apparatuses according to claim 1.

Images