JP2008134380A - Suction table - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a suction table which can, at a low cost, eliminate scratches often formed on the display area of an electrooptical panel when securing it in contact with its suction surface, and thus improve the production yield when manufacturing electrooptical panels. <P>SOLUTION: The suction table 1 secures a liquid crystal panel 100 with a reduced pressure using a suction pump. The suction hole 5 is formed communicating with the suction pump, on a mounting surface 6s for the liquid crystal panel 100 on the surface 6 of the suction table 1. Further, this hole 5 is made larger in a plan view than the display area 40 of the liquid crystal panel 100 laid on the mounting surface 6s. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a suction table that holds an electro-optical panel by vacuum suction using a suction device.

  2. Description of the Related Art As is well known, an electro-optical device, for example, a light transmission type liquid crystal device, has a mounting case in which a liquid crystal panel, which is an electro-optical panel constructed by interposing liquid crystal between two substrates made of a glass substrate, a quartz substrate, etc. It is accommodated and configured.

  In addition, in a liquid crystal device, switching elements such as thin film transistors (hereinafter referred to as TFTs) and pixel electrodes are arranged in a matrix on one substrate of a liquid crystal panel, and a counter electrode is arranged on the other substrate. Thus, an image can be displayed by changing the optical response of the liquid crystal layer interposed between the two substrates in accordance with the image signal.

  In addition, the TFT substrate on which the TFT is disposed and the counter substrate disposed to face the TFT substrate are manufactured separately. The TFT substrate and the counter substrate are configured, for example, by laminating a semiconductor thin film, an insulating thin film, or a conductive thin film having a predetermined pattern on a quartz substrate. The semiconductor thin film, the insulating thin film, or the conductive thin film is formed by repeating a film forming process and a photolithography process for various films for each layer.

  When the liquid crystal is interposed between the TFT substrate and the counter substrate, for example, by the liquid crystal sealing method, the TFT substrate and the counter substrate formed in this way have a substantially circumferential shape so as to have a notch in part. Through the applied sealing material, it is bonded with high precision (for example, within an alignment error of 1 μm) in the panel assembling process.

  Next, after alignment is performed and each is cured by pressure bonding, liquid crystal is sealed through a notch provided in a part of the sealing material, and the notch is sealed with a sealing material cured by heat or the like. The

  Next, FPC (Flexible Printed Circuits) for connecting the liquid crystal device and an electronic device such as a projector is connected to the external connection terminal of the TFT substrate, and a liquid crystal panel is manufactured.

  Thereafter, the liquid crystal panel is accommodated and fixed in the mounting case via an adhesive, whereby the liquid crystal device is manufactured. The manufactured liquid crystal device is provided in an electronic device such as a projector via an FPC.

  By the way, when an assembly operation or the like is performed in the manufacturing process of the liquid crystal device, for example, when the FPC is connected to the external connection terminal of the TFT substrate by a known pressure bonding, the external connection terminal is positioned with high positional accuracy with respect to the pressure bonding head. At the same time, it is necessary to hold and fix the liquid crystal panel with high positional accuracy so that the liquid crystal panel does not move from the positioned position due to pressure bonding.

In view of such circumstances, a suction table that can fix a liquid crystal panel with high positional accuracy by vacuum suction using a suction device such as a pump is well known, and is disclosed in, for example, Patent Document 1.
JP 2002-52281 A

  However, the suction table disclosed in Patent Document 1 has a configuration in which a plurality of suction ports communicating with a suction device such as a pump used for suction are scattered and opened over the entire surface of the suction table. is doing.

  Therefore, when the liquid crystal panel is placed on the placement surface and sucked, or after the suction, the placement surface and the liquid crystal are moved when the liquid crystal panel is moved for alignment on the placement surface. There is a problem that the display area of the panel comes into contact with the display area of the liquid crystal panel, and scratches associated with the contact adhere to the display area of the liquid crystal panel, resulting in a decrease in yield in manufacturing the liquid crystal panel.

  In view of such problems, in Patent Document 1, the mounting surface of the suction table is made of a material such as polyethylene that is easily elastically deformed. However, if the suction table is made disposable, the manufacturing cost of the suction table is reduced. There was a problem that it would increase.

  The present invention has been made paying attention to the above-mentioned problems, and at the time of suction, the display area is damaged due to contact between the mounting surface and the display area of the electro-optical panel at low cost. It is an object of the present invention to provide a suction table that can be prevented and that can improve the yield in manufacturing an electro-optical panel.

  In order to achieve the above object, a suction table according to the present invention is a suction table for holding an electro-optical panel by vacuum suction using a suction device, and the mounting surface of the electro-optical panel on one surface of the suction table The suction port that communicates with the suction device is formed larger than the display area of the electro-optical panel placed on the placement surface in plan view.

  According to the present invention, the suction surface of the suction table is simply formed larger than the display area of the electro-optical panel placed on the placement surface of the suction table in a plan view. Since the contact between the display area of the electro-optical panel and the display area can prevent the display area from being scratched and the like, it can be prevented at a low cost, thereby improving the manufacturing yield of the electro-optical panel. It has the effect of being able to.

  Further, the suction port is formed smaller than the electro-optical panel in a plan view.

  According to the present invention, the suction port of the suction table is larger in a state in plan view than the display area of the electro-optical panel placed on the placement surface of the suction table, and in a state seen in plan view from the outer shape of the electro-optical panel It is possible to prevent the mounting area and the display area of the electro-optical panel from coming into contact with the movement after the adsorption, and to prevent the display area from being damaged or the like at low cost. Therefore, it is possible to improve the yield in manufacturing the electro-optical panel.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. In the following embodiments, the electro-optical device will be described by taking a light transmission type liquid crystal device as an example. Therefore, the electro-optical panel included in the electro-optical device will be described using a liquid crystal panel as an example.

  In addition, one of the pair of substrates opposed to each other in the liquid crystal panel is an element substrate (hereinafter referred to as a TFT substrate), and the other substrate is an example of a counter substrate facing the TFT substrate. explain.

  First, the overall configuration of the liquid crystal panel that is sucked and held by the suction table of the present embodiment will be described. FIG. 1 is a plan view of a liquid crystal panel held by the suction table of the present embodiment, and FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the liquid crystal panel cut along the line II-II in FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, the liquid crystal panel 100 uses, for example, a TFT substrate 10 using a quartz substrate, a glass substrate, or the like, and a glass substrate, a quartz substrate, or the like disposed opposite to the TFT substrate 10. A liquid crystal 50 that is an electro-optical material is interposed in an internal space between the counter substrate 20 and the counter substrate 20. The TFT substrate 10 and the counter substrate 20 that are arranged to face each other are bonded together by a sealing material 52.

  A display area 10 h of the TFT substrate 10 that constitutes the display area 40 of the liquid crystal panel 100 is formed in an area in contact with the liquid crystal 50 of the TFT substrate 10. In addition, pixel electrodes 9a that constitute pixels and apply a driving voltage to the liquid crystal 50 together with a counter electrode 21 described later are arranged in a matrix in the display region 10h on the surface 10f side.

  Further, a counter electrode 21 for applying a driving voltage to the liquid crystal 50 together with the pixel electrode 9a is provided in a region in contact with the liquid crystal 50 on the surface 20f side of the counter substrate 20, and the counter electrode 21 is provided in a region facing the display region 10h. A display area 20h of the counter substrate 20 constituting the display area 40 of the liquid crystal panel 100 is configured.

  An alignment film 16 that has been subjected to a rubbing process is provided on the pixel electrode 9 a of the TFT substrate 10, and the rubbing process is also performed on the counter electrode 21 formed over the entire surface of the counter substrate 20. An alignment film 26 is provided. Each alignment film 16, 26 is made of a transparent organic film such as a polyimide film, for example.

  Further, in the display area 10h of the TFT substrate 10, a plurality of scanning lines (not shown) and a plurality of data lines (not shown) are wired so as to cross each other, and a pixel electrode is formed in an area partitioned by the scanning lines and the data lines. 9a are arranged in a matrix. A thin film transistor (TFT) (not shown) is provided corresponding to each intersection of the scanning line and the data line, and a pixel electrode 9a is connected to each TFT.

  The TFT is turned on by the ON signal of the scanning line, whereby the image signal supplied to the data line is supplied to the pixel electrode 9a. A voltage between the pixel electrode 9 a and the counter electrode 21 provided on the counter substrate 20 is applied to the liquid crystal 50.

  A light shielding film 53 is provided on the counter substrate 20 as a frame that defines the display area 40 of the liquid crystal panel 100.

  When the liquid crystal 50 is injected into the space between the TFT substrate 10 and the counter substrate 20 by a known liquid crystal injection method, the sealing material 52 is missing and applied at a part of one side of the sealing material 52. .

  The missing part of the sealing material 52 is a notch for injecting the liquid crystal 50 into the region surrounded by the sealing material 52 in the space between the TFT substrate 10 and the counter substrate 20 bonded from the missing part. A liquid crystal injection port 108 is configured. The liquid crystal injection port 108 is sealed with a sealing material 109 after the liquid crystal is injected.

  In order to connect the data line driving circuit 101 which is a driver for supplying an image signal to a data line (not shown) of the TFT substrate 10 at a predetermined timing and driving the data line in an area outside the sealing material 52 and an external circuit. The external connection terminal 102 is provided along one side of the TFT substrate 10. The external connection terminal 102 may be provided on the counter substrate 20.

  Connected to the external connection terminal 102 is one end of a flexible printed circuit board (hereinafter referred to as FPC) having a specific length for electrically connecting the liquid crystal panel 100 to an electronic device such as a projector. Is done. By connecting the other end of the FPC to an electronic device such as a projector, the liquid crystal panel 100 and the electronic device are electrically connected.

  By supplying scanning signals to scanning lines and gate electrodes (not shown) of the TFT substrate 10 along two sides adjacent to one side of the TFT substrate 10 provided with the external connection terminals 102, the gate electrode The scanning line driving circuits 103 and 104 which are drivers for driving are provided. The scanning line driving circuits 103 and 104 are formed on the TFT substrate 10 at a position facing the light shielding film 53 inside the sealing material 52.

  Further, on the TFT substrate 10, wiring lines 105 that connect the data line driving circuit 101, the scanning line driving circuits 103 and 104, the external connection terminal 102, and the vertical conduction terminal 107 are provided to face the three sides of the light shielding film 53. ing.

  The vertical conduction terminals 107 are formed on the four TFT substrates 10 at the corners of the sealing material 52. Between the TFT substrate 10 and the counter substrate 20, a vertical conductive material 106 having a lower end in contact with the vertical conductive terminal 107 and an upper end in contact with the counter electrode 21 is provided. And the counter substrate 20 are electrically connected.

  Next, the structure of the suction table that sucks and holds the liquid crystal panel 100 will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 3 is a plan view of the suction table of the present embodiment, and FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the suction table along the line IV-IV in FIG.

  The suction table 1 is configured as a disposable one that is exchanged at a rate of once per 10,000 times, for example. The number of exchanges is not limited to this. Also, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the half of the one side 6 of the suction table 1 in the plan view on the side 1a has a reverse concave shape as shown in FIG. The groove 1u is formed with a set width to a set depth, for example, 5 mm, as shown in FIG. The suction table 1 is not limited to a disposable table. Further, the depth of the groove 1u is not limited to 5 mm.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 3, in the area 6 surrounded by the groove 1 u and one side 1 a of the suction table 1 in the plan view on the one surface 6 of the suction table 1, a groove having a substantially rectangular shape in plan view. As shown in FIG. 5 to be described later, 1t is formed larger in a plan view than the display area 40 of the liquid crystal panel 100 (indicated by the hatched area in FIG. 5), and as shown in FIG. The depth is set to, for example, 5 mm. The depth of the groove 1t is not limited to 5 mm. Further, the depth of the groove 1t may be different from the depth of the groove 1u.

The groove 1t is smaller than the area of the liquid crystal panel 100 in a plan view, and is formed in an area about 4 mm ² larger than the display region 40 in a plan view. The size of the groove 1t is moved by a guide member 60 (see FIG. 5), which will be described later, from a temporary placement position where the liquid crystal panel 100 abuts on the guide member 60, which will be described later, to a holding position where the FPC is crimped. Regardless of the matter, the display area 40 of the liquid crystal panel 100 is sized so as not to come into contact with a mounting surface 6s described later on the one surface 6 of the suction table 1.

  Further, the opening on the one surface 6 side of the groove 1t constitutes a suction port 5 that sucks at least the display region 40 of the liquid crystal panel 100 placed on the placement surface 6s of the suction table 1. That is, the suction port 5 is opened on the mounting surface 6 s of the suction table 1.

  The groove 1t communicates with a suction pump 35, which is a suction device, as shown in FIG. 4 through a suction hole 2 formed in the central region in a state viewed from above at the bottom of the groove 1t. That is, by using the suction pump 35, the suction port 5 sucks at least the display area 40 of the liquid crystal panel 100 placed on the placement surface 6 s through the suction hole 2. The liquid crystal panel 100 is sucked and held by suction.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 3, the suction table 1 is a liquid crystal in a frame-like portion on the one surface 6 left between the groove 1u having an inverted concave shape in plan view and the substantially rectangular groove 1t. When the panel 100 is sucked and held, the mounting surface 6s on which the liquid crystal panel 100 is mounted is configured. The placement surface 6s is formed on a surface that is in close contact with the contact surface of the liquid crystal panel 100.

  Therefore, on the one surface 6 of the suction table 1, when the liquid crystal panel 100 is held, the groove 1 t, that is, the suction port 5 is formed larger than the display area 40 of the liquid crystal panel 100 in a plan view. When the panel 100 is positioned and placed at a temporary placement position or a holding position, which will be described later, only the frame-shaped placement surface 6s and the linear contact surface 6q, which will be described later, are located outside the display area 40 of the liquid crystal panel 100. It is the structure which contacts.

  In addition, as shown in FIG. 3, an area surrounded by a contact surface 6 q having a linear shape as viewed in plan and constituting one surface 6 on one side 1 a side of the suction table 1 and a groove 1 t facing the one side. A groove 1g having a linear shape in plan view communicating with the groove 1u is formed at a set depth, for example, 5 mm. The depth of the groove 1g is not limited to 5 mm. Further, the depth of the groove 1g may be different from the depth of the groove 1u or the depth of the groove 1t.

  Further, at the bottom of the groove 1g, when the one end of the FPC is crimped to the external connection terminal 102 of the liquid crystal panel 100 using a crimping head (not shown) while the adhesive is melted by heat, the adhesive is thermally melted. A plurality of gas suction holes 30 for sucking the generated gas are formed. The plurality of gas suction holes 30 communicate with a gas suction device (not shown).

  Next, the operation of the suction table 1 configured as described above, specifically, the suction method of the liquid crystal panel 100 using the suction table 1 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 5 is a plan view showing a state in which the liquid crystal panel is sucked to the holding position of the suction table of FIG. 3 together with the guide member.

  As shown in FIG. 5, first, in the guide member 60, one corner portion of the mounting surface 6 s having a frame-like shape on the two guide surfaces 60 g and 60 h orthogonal to each other at one corner, for example, In the vicinity of the upper left corner in FIG. 5, the guide surface 60 g is parallel to one side 5 a of the suction port 5, and the guide surface 60 h is parallel to one side 5 b orthogonal to the one side 5 a of the suction port 5. Position.

  Next, after the liquid crystal panel 100 is placed on the placement surface 6s, the two sides 100a and 100b of the liquid crystal panel 100 facing the guide surfaces 60g and 60h of the liquid crystal panel are brought into contact with the guide surfaces 60g and 60h, respectively. Then, temporary alignment is performed to align the liquid crystal panel 100 with the temporary placement position.

  In this state, since the groove 1t, that is, the suction port 5 is formed larger than the display area 40 of the liquid crystal panel 100 in a plan view, the placement surface 6s is placed on the placement surface 6s. There is no contact with the display area 40 of the placed liquid crystal panel 100. That is, in this state, only the mounting surface 6s and the linear contact surface 6q are in contact with the outside of the display area 40 of the liquid crystal panel 100.

  Next, by operating the suction pump 35, at least the display area 40 of the liquid crystal panel 100 is sucked from the suction port 5, and the liquid crystal panel 100 is vacuum-sucked to the suction table 1.

  Thereafter, the liquid crystal panel 100 is moved from the temporary placement position by moving the guide member 60 from the temporary placement position with the two sides 100a and 100b in contact with the guide surfaces 60g and 60h of the guide member 60, respectively. In a state viewed from above, the liquid crystal panel 100 is moved to a holding position where the center of the liquid crystal panel 100 coincides with the suction hole 2.

  At this time, the groove 1t, that is, the suction port 5 is formed larger than the display area 40 of the liquid crystal panel 100 in consideration of the movement from the temporary placement position to the holding position in a plan view. Accordingly, the placement surface 6s does not come into contact with the display area 40.

  As described above, the liquid crystal panel 100 is held at the holding position with high positional accuracy by the suction table 1. Even in this state, the liquid crystal panel 100 is placed in a state where the outside of the display region 40 is in contact with only the placement surface 6s and the linear contact surface 6q.

  Finally, in a state where the guide member 60 is separated from the liquid crystal panel 100, for example, a step of crimping one end of the FPC to the external connection terminal 102 of the liquid crystal panel 100 is performed. During the pressure bonding, the gas generated by the thermal melting of the adhesive is sucked by the plurality of gas suction holes 30 formed in the groove 1g of the suction table 1 as described above.

  Thus, in the present embodiment, the suction port 5 in the groove 1t of the suction table 1 is in a plan view than the display area 40 of the liquid crystal panel 100 placed on the placement surface 6s of the suction table 1. It was shown that it was formed large. In addition, the suction port 5 in the groove 1t is shown to be smaller than the liquid crystal panel 100 placed on the placement surface 6s of the suction table 1 in a plan view.

  According to this, the suction port 5 of the suction table 1 is formed larger than the display area 40 of the liquid crystal panel 100 placed on the placement surface 6s of the suction table 1 in a plan view, and the liquid crystal panel The mounting surface 6 s and the liquid crystal panel 100 are simply moved to a holding position from the temporary placement position using the guide member 60 after suction and the suction after the placement, by forming it smaller than 100 in a plan view. By making contact with the display area 40, it is possible to prevent the display area 40 from being scratched or the like at low cost, so that the yield in manufacturing the liquid crystal panel 100 can be improved.

  Hereinafter, modifications will be described.

  In the present embodiment, an example in which the liquid crystal panel 100 is sucked and held on the suction table 1 when one end of the FPC is crimped to the external connection terminal 102 of the liquid crystal panel 100 is shown. On the other hand, as long as the position of the liquid crystal panel 100 is fixed and the assembling work is performed, the process can be applied other than the process of crimping the FPC, and the same effect as the present embodiment can be obtained. Of course.

  Further, in the present embodiment, the suction table 1 is shown to be used for holding the liquid crystal panel 100. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and only the TFT substrate 10 constituting the liquid crystal panel 100 is held. You may apply when hold | maintaining only the board | substrate 20. FIG. In this case, as in the present embodiment, the display area 10h of the TFT substrate 10 and the display area 20h of the counter substrate 20 are given scratches due to contact with the placement surface 6s of the suction table 1 as in this embodiment. Can be prevented.

  Further, the liquid crystal panel is not limited to the above-described illustrated examples, and various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the present invention. For example, the liquid crystal panel described above has been described by taking an active matrix type liquid crystal display module using an active element (active element) such as a TFT (thin film transistor) as an example. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and a TFD (thin film diode) or the like. An active matrix type liquid crystal display module using the active element (active element) may be used.

  Further, in the present embodiment, the electro-optical panel of the electro-optical device has been described by taking the liquid crystal panel of the liquid crystal device as an example. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the electroluminescent device, in particular, the organic electroluminescent device. Devices, inorganic electroluminescence devices, etc., plasma display devices, FED (Field Emission Display) devices, SED (Surface-Conduction Electron-Emitter Display) devices, LED (light emitting diode) display devices, electrophoretic display devices, thin cathode ray tubes or The present invention can be applied to electro-optical panels of various electro-optical devices such as a device using a liquid crystal shutter.

  The electro-optical panel of the electro-optical device may be a display device that forms elements on a semiconductor substrate, for example, an electro-optical panel such as LCOS (Liquid Crystal On Silicon). In LCOS, a single crystal silicon substrate is used as an element substrate, and a transistor is formed on a single crystal silicon substrate as a switching element used for a pixel or a peripheral circuit. In addition, a reflective pixel electrode is used for the pixel, and each element of the pixel is formed below the pixel electrode.

  In addition, an electro-optical panel of an electro-optical device is a display device in which a pair of electrodes are formed on the same layer of a substrate on one side, for example, IPS (In-Plane Switching) or a substrate on one side via an insulating film. An electro-optical panel such as a display device FFS (Fringe Field Switching) in which a pair of electrodes are formed may be used.

The top view of the liquid crystal panel hold | maintained by the adsorption | suction table of this Embodiment. Sectional drawing of the liquid crystal panel cut | disconnected along the II-II line | wire in FIG. The top view of the adsorption | suction table of this Embodiment. Sectional drawing of the adsorption | suction table which follows the IV-IV line in FIG. The top view which shows the state by which the liquid crystal panel was adsorb | sucked to the holding position of the adsorption | suction table of FIG.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Suction table, 5 ... Suction port, 6 ... One side, 35 ... Suction pump, 40 ... Display area, 100 ... Liquid crystal panel.

Claims (2)

A suction table for holding an electro-optical panel by vacuum suction using a suction device,
The suction port opened to the mounting surface of the electro-optical panel on one surface of the suction table and communicated with the suction device is viewed in plan view from the display area of the electro-optical panel mounted on the mounting surface. A suction table that is formed in a large state.   The suction table according to claim 1, wherein the suction port is formed smaller than the electro-optic panel in a plan view.

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