JP2010182530A - Sealing device of substrate surface and manufacturing method of organic el panel - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To enable to realize lamination in which improvement of tact time is achieved and deterioration of performance of a product is prevented by saving labor of operation. <P>SOLUTION: As for a film 13 from film rolls 24a to 24d (Fig.6 (not illustrated)) of a film unwinding mechanism part 14, its cover film 13a (Fig.4 (not illustrated)) is peeled off by a cover film winding mechanism part 15, and sent to an inter-substrate processing mechanism part 16. In the inter-substrate processing mechanism part 16, by a half-cut member 34 and a peel-off tape 36 (Fig.7 (not illustrated)), as expressed in Fig.9 (not illustrated), a sealing material film 5' (Fig.4 (not illustrated)) of the film 13 is peeled off by a prescribed length at a prescribed spacing, and the sheet-like sealing member 5 (Fig.3 (not illustrated)) is formed. The film 13 processed like this is sent to a lamination mechanism part 19, the sheet-like sealing member 5 is heated and crimped to the substrate 1 from a front room 10 and cooled by a substrate cooling mechanism part 30, and a base film 13b (Fig.4 (not illustrated)) of the film 13 is peeled off by a base film winding mechanism part 21. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to the manufacture of an organic EL (Electro Luminescence) panel, and in particular, the surface of a substrate that is sealed by attaching a sheet-like sealing material to a substrate on which an organic EL element is applied (provided). The present invention relates to a sealing device and a method for manufacturing an organic EL panel.

  An organic EL panel has a structure in which a plurality of organic EL elements are arranged vertically and horizontally between two bonded substrates. Conventionally, in manufacturing such an organic EL panel, these organic EL elements are Each is sealed with a sealing material.

  As a conventional example of a method for producing such an organic EL panel, organic EL elements are sandwiched from above and below with an organic film having a low water-moisture transmittance, and the portions of these organic films that protrude from the upper and lower surfaces of the organic EL elements are The organic EL element is integrated by thermocompression bonding and sealed with the organic film, and the organic EL element is used for an organic EL panel (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

  Although not related to the manufacture of an organic EL panel, a technique of laminating (attaching) a film in a vacuum atmosphere in a chamber has also been proposed (see, for example, Patent Document 2).

  The technique described in Patent Document 2 is to laminate a resist film on a base film, and the base film is fed into a chamber from a supply roller installed outside the chamber. In this case, the resist film is heated and pressed by a pressure roller and bonded to the base film. Here, the resist film to be bonded to the base film is introduced into the chamber from an introduction port provided with an openable / closable shutter.

Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2-97075 JP 2002-52610 A

  By the way, the technique described in Patent Document 1 is to laminate each organic EL element so as to cover the entire organic EL element. In this way, organic EL elements laminated one by one with an organic film are prepared. Therefore, since it is used for the production of organic LE elements, it takes time and labor, and since the laminating process is performed in the atmosphere, it is affected by the surrounding environment, and dust is mixed in. There is also a risk that the characteristics of the EL element may be deteriorated.

  On the other hand, in the technique described in Patent Document 2, since laminating is performed in a vacuum atmosphere in the chamber, film wrinkling at the time of laminating and film ( That is, the generation of bubbles between the resist film) and the film to which the resist film is bonded (ie, the base film) can be suppressed. However, these base film and resist film continuously enter the chamber from the outside. Therefore, there is air leakage from those inlets into the chamber, and the degree of vacuum in the chamber is reduced. Along with this air leakage, moisture and dust etc. enter the chamber. There is a problem of deteriorating the performance of the product that has entered and the resist film is bonded.

  Further, in the technique described in Patent Document 2, an openable / closable shutter is provided at the resist film introduction port. By adjusting the open / closed state of the resist film, air leakage into the chamber is reduced as much as possible. However, when the shutter comes into contact with the resist film, the resist film is scratched and the properties of the laminated product are adversely affected.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a substrate surface sealing device and an organic EL panel that can solve such problems, improve the tact time by eliminating the labor of the work, and realize the laminating process that prevents the deterioration of the product performance. It is in providing the manufacturing method of.

  In order to achieve the first object, the present invention includes a chamber having a large volume in which a film bonding apparatus for attaching a sheet-like sealing material on a substrate is built in, and a chamber for carrying the substrate into the chamber. A front chamber having a small volume, and a rear chamber having a smaller volume than the chamber for discharging the substrate on which the sheet-like sealing material is pasted by the film laminating apparatus from the inside of the chamber. Gate chambers are provided on the chamber side, the chamber side of the rear chamber, and the substrate discharge port side, and the chamber is always kept in a high vacuum state, including when the substrate is carried in and out, and is bonded to the film. The apparatus unwinds a plurality of films having a predetermined width provided with a cover film and a base film, sandwiching a sheet-shaped sealing material, and a substrate transfer means for transferring a substrate carried from the front chamber at a predetermined interval. The film unwinding mechanism, the cover film unwinding mechanism for unwinding the cover film from each of the multiple films unwinding from the film unwinding mechanism, and the cover film unwinding mechanism A plurality of seal shapes corresponding to each of the substrates on the base film of each of the plurality of films are peeled off from each of the plurality of films, and a portion of the sealing encapsulant that becomes an interval between the substrates conveyed by the substrate conveying means is peeled off. An inter-substrate processing mechanism section for forming a sealing material, and a sealing encapsulant corresponding to the substrate of the film from the front end portion of the substrate and the inter-substrate processing mechanism section for each substrate carried from the front chamber by the substrate transport means An alignment mechanism for positioning with the tip of the substrate, and a plurality of sheets corresponding to a plurality of film substrates from the alignment mechanism on the substrate conveyed by the substrate conveying means. A sticking mechanism for attaching a sealing material, and a base film winding mechanism for peeling off and winding the base film from each of a plurality of films having a sheet-like sealing material attached to a substrate from the sticking mechanism. The substrate conveying means discharges the substrate in a state in which the plurality of sheet-like sealing materials from which the base films of the plurality of films have been peeled off by the base film winding mechanism unit are attached to the rear chamber. It is characterized by this.

  In addition, the present invention is characterized in that the front chamber and the rear chamber are each provided with a vacuum pump for changing the room from a dry air state to a high vacuum state equal to the inside of the chamber.

  Further, according to the present invention, the substrate processing mechanism unit includes a table on which a surface on which a plurality of films are mounted is non-adhesive and a pair of films that are pressed against the surface of the table at predetermined intervals in the length direction. For half-cutting, which cuts the sheet-like sealing material between the press plate and a portion pressed against the surface of the table by a pair of press plates of a plurality of films at intervals of the substrate in the length direction It is comprised from the tape peeling mechanism which peels from the said base film the said sheet-like sealing material of the part cut with the round blade for half cutting round blades of a some film.

  Furthermore, the present invention is characterized in that a substrate cooling mechanism for cooling the substrate is provided between the sticking mechanism and the base film take-up mechanism.

  In order to achieve the above object, a method for manufacturing an organic EL panel according to the present invention is a method in which a substrate having a plurality of EL elements provided inside a sealing agent frame and coated with a sealing agent in a frame shape is reduced in volume. Opening the first gate valve provided at the substrate carry-in port of the chamber and carrying it into the front chamber; loading the substrate into the front chamber from the substrate carry-in port; closing the first gate valve; Opening a second gate valve provided between the vacuuming step for bringing the chamber into a high vacuum state, the front chamber in a high vacuum state and the chamber having a large volume held in the high vacuum state, A transfer step of transferring the substrate into the chamber, transferring the substrate to the chamber, and then closing the second gate valve; and a sealing material for attaching the sheet-like sealing material in the frame of the sealing agent of the substrate in the chamber High vacuum in the pasting process and the small chamber A transfer step of opening a third gate valve provided between the chamber and the rear chamber and transporting the substrate on which the sheet-like sealing material is attached from the chamber to the rear chamber; and a substrate in the rear chamber The third gate valve provided at the discharge port is closed, the fourth gate is opened, the rear chamber is brought into the atmospheric state, and the substrate with the sheet-like sealing material in the rear chamber is discharged from the substrate discharge port. The sealing material pasting step comprises a step of sequentially transporting a substrate carried in from the front chamber at a predetermined interval, and a predetermined width in which a cover film and a base film are provided with a sheet-shaped sealing material interposed therebetween. A step of unwinding a plurality of films, a step of stripping and winding the cover film from each of the plurality of films to be unwound, and a distance between substrates conveyed from each of the plurality of films from which the cover film has been stripped. Become sea The step of peeling off the portion of the sealing material and forming a plurality of sealing sealing materials corresponding to each of the substrates on the base film of each of the plurality of films, and for each substrate carried in from the front chamber, A step of positioning the tip portion and the tip of the sealing encapsulant corresponding to the film substrate, and a step of attaching a plurality of sealing encapsulants corresponding to a plurality of film substrates to the substrate to be conveyed; , A step of cooling the substrate on which a plurality of sealing encapsulants are attached, and a step of peeling off the base film from each of the plurality of films on which the sheet-like encapsulants are attached to the cooled substrate It is characterized by the following.

  According to the present invention, a sheet-like sealing material having a predetermined width is simultaneously conveyed in a reduced pressure (vacuum) or inert gas atmosphere and bonded to the element glass substrate. Thus, adhesion of dust, bubbles, wrinkles, etc. Occurrence can be prevented, and the film tension can be kept constant by the film unwinding mechanism, the cover film winding mechanism, and the base film winding mechanism. The quality of the element glass substrate to which the pasting accuracy and the sheet-like sealing material are pasted can be improved.

  In addition, when the substrate is taken in and out of the chamber, the reduced pressure and the atmospheric pressure are changed in the front chamber and the rear chamber having a smaller volume than the chamber. The gas can be kept in the atmospheric state, the time required for changing the atmospheric state can be shortened, and the tact time can be improved.

It is a figure which shows schematic structure of one Embodiment of the sealing method of the substrate surface by this invention, and the manufacturing method of an organic electroluminescent panel. It is a schematic block diagram which shows one specific example of the organic electroluminescent panel manufactured by this invention. It is a schematic explanatory drawing of the manufacturing method of the sealing device and organic electroluminescent panel of the substrate surface by this invention. It is a fragmentary sectional view which shows the structure of the film in FIG. It is a perspective view which shows the whole structure of the one specific example of the sealing material bonding apparatus 8 in FIG. It is a block diagram which expands and shows the film unwinding mechanism part and cover film winding-up mechanism part in FIG. It is a block diagram which expands and shows the board | substrate process mechanism part in FIG. It is explanatory drawing about the sheet-like sealing material space | interval part formed in the inter-substrate process mechanism part in FIG. It is a figure which shows the operation | movement which the stripping apparatus in FIG. 7 strips off the sealing material film of a sheet-like sealing material space | interval part from a film. It is a block diagram which expands and shows the lamination mechanism part in FIG. It is a block diagram which expands and shows the board | substrate cooling mechanism part and base film winding-up mechanism part in FIG.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 2 is a schematic configuration diagram showing a specific example of an organic EL panel manufactured according to the present invention. FIG. 2A is an exploded view, and FIG. 2B is an enlarged view of a portion A of FIG. (C) is a total cross-sectional view taken along the section line BB in FIG. (B), 1 is an element glass substrate, 2 is a sealing glass substrate, 3 is a sealing agent, 4 is An organic EL element 5 is a sheet-like sealing material.

  In FIG. 2A, the element glass substrate 1 has a sealant 3 (FIG. 2B) formed in a frame shape along its peripheral portion on the surface thereof, and a region inside the frame of the sealant 3 A plurality of organic EL elements 4 are arranged vertically and horizontally, and these organic EL elements are sealed with a sheet-like sealing material 5. The element glass substrate 1 is overlaid with the sealing glass substrate from the side on which the sealing agent 3 is provided, and is pressed and bonded by the sealing agent 3, thereby forming an organic EL panel.

  2B and 2C, although not shown, the organic EL element 4 is provided with an anode (anode) on one surface of the upper and lower surfaces of the organic light emitting layer and a cathode (cathode) on the other surface. These anodes and cathodes are connected to signal lines and the like provided on the surface of the element glass substrate 1, and the organic EL element 4 is formed on an insulating film (not shown) provided on the signal lines and the like. Is provided. When the organic EL element 4 is a passive organic EL element, scanning lines and signal lines are laid vertically and horizontally on the surface of the element glass substrate 1, and the anode of the organic EL element 4 serves as the scanning line and the cathode serves as the scanning line. Each is connected to a signal line. When the organic EL element 4 is an active matrix type organic EL element, scanning lines and signal lines are laid in the vertical and horizontal directions on the surface of the element glass substrate 1, and TFTs ( An active element such as a thin film transistor (Thin Film Transistor) is provided, and a gate electrode and a source electrode of the TFT are connected to a scanning line and a signal line, respectively, and an anode of the organic EL element 4 is connected to a drain electrode thereof.

  The sheet-like sealing material 5 is made of a thermosetting resin such as an epoxy resin, and covers the organic EL element 4 except for the terminal portion of the electrode lead-out line of the organic EL element 4 and the anode. It is pasted and cured. The sealing glass substrate 5 is adhered to the element glass substrate 1 with the sealant 3 in a state where the sealing glass substrate 5 is in close contact with the cured sheet-shaped sealing material 5.

  In addition, as resin which comprises the sheet-like sealing material 5, it does not specifically limit, It becomes thermoplastic and thermosetting resin, such as an epoxy resin (It becomes soft and can be processed when heated, but it is as it is. Any type of resin can be used as long as the resin is cured by causing a chemical reaction when heating is continued. Moreover, you may make it provide other functions, such as a desiccant, to the sheet-like sealing material 5. FIG.

  FIG. 3 is a schematic explanatory view of a substrate surface sealing device and an organic EL panel manufacturing method according to the present invention, wherein 6 is a roll, 7 is an organic EL panel, and the same reference numerals are used for portions corresponding to FIG. A duplicate description will be omitted.

  In the same figure, a plurality of organic EL elements 4 (FIG. 2) are arranged and attached to the element glass substrate 1 in a pre-process (not shown) in a region of almost the entire surface, and so as to surround the whole region. Sealing agent 3 (FIG. 2) as a liquid adhesive is applied in a frame shape. The element glass substrate 1 is transferred into a chamber (not shown).

  In the chamber, the entire area where the organic EL elements 4 are provided on the surface of the element glass substrate 1 is covered with a plurality of rows of sheet-like sealing materials 5, and each sheet-like sealing material 5 is covered with a plurality of rows of organic materials. The sheet-shaped sealing material 5 is pressed against the surface of the element glass substrate 1 with a roll 6 and heated so as to cover the EL element, and is thermocompression bonded to the surface of the element glass substrate 1. Thereby, all the organic EL elements 4 on the surface of the element glass substrate 1 are covered and sealed with the plurality of sheet-like sealing materials 5. The sheet-like sealing material 5 has an epoxy resin as a main component, and is thus stuck on the surface of the element glass substrate 1 by a laminating method.

  Here, although not shown, a signal line is provided on the surface of the element glass substrate 1, and the terminal portion of the organic EL element 4 is connected to the signal line. It is affixed by thermocompression bonding so that the whole surface of the organic EL element 4 except this terminal part may be covered. The plurality of rows of sheet-like encapsulants 5 are applied at the same time so as to increase the efficiency of the application. In addition, the uneven portions formed by the wiring arranged on the organic EL element 4 are In order to cover with the sheet-like sealing material 5 without the occurrence of the above, the sheet-like sealing material 5 is applied in a vacuum (reduced pressure) or under reduced pressure in the chamber.

  Next, the element glass substrate 1 to which the sheet-like sealing material 5 is attached is unloaded from the chamber, and sealed on the element glass substrate 1 by a liquid sealant 3 (FIG. 2) provided on the surface thereof. Glass 2 is bonded. The organic EL panel 7 is obtained by curing the sealing agent 3 with ultraviolet rays or the like.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of an embodiment of a substrate surface sealing device and an organic EL panel manufacturing method according to the present invention, wherein 8 is a sealing material bonding device, 9 is a chamber, and 10 is a front chamber. , 11 is a rear chamber, 12a to 12d are gate valves, 13 is a film, 14 is a film unwinding mechanism, 15 is a cover film winding mechanism, 16 is an inter-substrate processing mechanism, 17 is a film tension measuring mechanism, Reference numeral 18 denotes an alignment mechanism, 19 denotes a lamination mechanism, 20 denotes a substrate cooling mechanism, and 21 denotes a base film winding mechanism.

  In the figure, a sealing material bonding apparatus 8 for bonding a sheet-shaped sealing material 5 to the element glass substrate 1 is provided in the chamber 9. A front chamber 10 is provided on the inlet side of the chamber 9 and a rear chamber 11 is provided on the outlet side. A gate valve 12b is provided between the chamber 9 and the front chamber 10, and a gate valve 12c is provided between the chamber 9 and the rear chamber 11. Are provided. A gate valve 12 a is provided at the entrance of the front chamber 10, and a gate valve 12 d is provided at the exit of the rear chamber 11.

  The inside of the chamber 9 is maintained in a constantly decompressed (vacuum) atmosphere state or an inert gas atmosphere state, and processing such as attachment of an organic EL element and application of a sealing agent was performed in a previous process (not shown). The element glass substrate 1 is carried into the chamber 9 via the front chamber 10. When the element glass substrate 1 is conveyed from the previous process, the gate valve 12 b on the inlet side of the chamber 9 and the outlet side on the outlet side are provided. The gate valve 12c is closed and the inside of the chamber 9 is in a sealed state, and the gate valve 12a on the inlet side of the front chamber 10 is opened and the inside of the front chamber 10 is in an air state of dry air. In this state, the element glass substrate 1 is carried into the front chamber 10.

  In addition, the path | route to the entrance of the front chamber 10 in which the organic EL element is attached and the element glass substrate 1 coated with the sealing material is conveyed is in an air state of dry air.

  When this element glass substrate 1 is carried into the front chamber 10, the gate valve 12a is closed and the front chamber 10 is hermetically sealed, and the inside of the chamber is discharged by a vacuum pump or the like provided therein. As a result, the pressure changes to an inert gas atmosphere. When the inside of the front chamber 10 is in the same atmosphere as the chamber 9, the gate valve 12 b on the inlet side of the chamber 9 is opened, and the element glass substrate 1 is carried into the chamber 9. When this loading is completed, the gate valve 12b is closed and the gate valve 12a is opened, and the front chamber 10 waits for the next element glass substrate 1 to be loaded.

  In the sealing material bonding apparatus 8 in the chamber 9, the sheet-like sealing material 5 is attached to the loaded element glass substrate 1. When this operation is completed, the gate valve on the outlet side of the chamber 9 is finished. 12c opens. At this time, the gate valve 12d on the outlet side of the rear chamber 11 is in a closed state, and the inside of the rear chamber 11 is brought into a high vacuum atmosphere similar to that in the chamber 9 by a vacuum pump or the like provided therein. Then, the element glass substrate 1 on which the sheet-like sealing material 5 has been attached is transferred from the chamber 9 into the rear chamber 11. When this transfer is completed, the gate valve 12c on the chamber 9 side is closed, the gate valve 12d on the outlet side is opened, and the inside of the rear chamber 11 is brought into the dry air atmosphere. Thereafter, the element glass substrate 1 is moved to the rear chamber. 11 and carried to a subsequent process for bonding the sealing glass substrate 2 (FIGS. 2 and 3).

  From the previous step, the element glass substrate 1 on which the organic EL element is attached and the sealant is applied is sequentially transferred to the front chamber 10 and the sheet-like sealing material 5 is attached in order to each of them. Processing is performed.

  In addition, when manufacturing an organic EL element, in order to prevent the performance deterioration of an organic EL element in a manufacturing process, it manufactures in the atmosphere of pressure reduction or an inert gas. Similarly, in order to prevent the performance of the organic EL element from deteriorating during the bonding of the sheet-shaped sealing material 5, the sealing material bonding apparatus 8 is provided in the chamber 9, and the inside of the chamber 9 is decompressed. Alternatively, an inert gas atmosphere is used.

  In the sealing material bonding apparatus 8, the film 13 of the sheet-shaped sealing material 5 is taken out from the film unwinding mechanism section 14, and the cover film winding mechanism section 15, the inter-substrate processing mechanism section 16, and the film tension measuring mechanism section 17. The sheet-like sealing material 5 is attached to the element glass substrate 1 carried in from the front chamber 10 by the lamination mechanism 19 through the alignment mechanism 18.

  The film 13 unwound from the film unwinding mechanism section 14 has a continuous band shape, and as shown in FIG. 4, the base film 13b is formed on one surface of the sealing material film 5 ', and the cover film is formed on the other surface. 13a has a three-layer structure in which each can be peeled off. As will be described later, this sealing material film 5 ′ is divided for each element glass substrate 1 by the inter-substrate processing mechanism 16, and the sheet-like sealing material 5 of the element glass substrate 1 is formed.

  Note that it is difficult for the film 13 including the sheet-shaped sealing material 5 to have a moisture-proof function, and in order to remove moisture from the sheet-shaped sealing material that has absorbed moisture, the film 13 is reduced in pressure or in an inert gas atmosphere. Processing to remove moisture in the environment must be performed for a long time. For this reason, in the process before being used for bonding by the sealing material bonding apparatus 8, the film 13 is in a room where the surroundings are maintained in an environment of dry air (open air temperature = −20 ° C. or lower) or inert gas. Moreover, the sealing material bonding apparatus 8 for bonding the sheet-shaped sealing material 5 divided as described later on the film 13 to the element glass substrate 1 is also reduced in pressure in the chamber 9. The film 13 is disposed in an inert gas atmosphere, and the film 13 is in the chamber 9 until the sheet strip sealing material 5 is bonded to the element glass substrate 1 from the film unwinding mechanism 14 and unloaded from the chamber 9. It is in.

  In FIG. 1, the cover film winding mechanism unit 15 peels off the cover film 13 a bonded to the upper side of the sealing material film 5 ′ from the film 13 unwound from the film unwinding mechanism unit 14. In the processing mechanism section 16, the encapsulant film 5 ′ exposed from the film 13 from which the cover film 13a has been peeled is divided into one element glass substrate to form the sheet encapsulant 5, and the sheet encapsulant The upper and lower surfaces are inverted so that the material 5 faces downward and is conveyed to the lamination mechanism unit 19.

  Here, the tension of the film 13 is measured by the film tension measuring mechanism 17 to adjust the tension of the film 13, and the sheet-shaped sealing material 5 separated by the film 13 is adjusted by the alignment mechanism 19. Is accurately aligned with the element glass substrate 1 to be bonded.

  In this way, the film 13 of the sheet-shaped sealing material 5 whose position has been adjusted is heated on the surface of the element glass substrate 1 on the surface of the element glass substrate 1 in the lamination mechanism section 19 as described in FIG. The element glass substrate 1 that has been crimped and heated by thermocompression bonding at the substrate cooling mechanism 20 is cooled. By this cooling, the sheet-like sealing material 5 is firmly attached to the surface of the element glass substrate 1. After that, the base film winding mechanism unit 21 peels off the base film 13b of the film 13 to form the element glass substrate 1 on which each sheet-like sealing material 5 is bonded. Each time the element glass substrate 1 to which the sheet-like sealing material 5 has been bonded in this way is conveyed to the outlet of the chamber 9, the gate valve 12 c is opened and conveyed to the rear chamber 11.

  In addition, although the one film 13 was demonstrated here, the several film 13 is processed similarly similarly, and the several sheet-like sealing material 5 is affixed on the element glass substrate 1 simultaneously as mentioned above. .

  Thus, by installing the sealing material bonding apparatus 8 for bonding the sheet-shaped sealing material 5 to the element glass substrate 1 in the chamber 9 under a reduced pressure or an inert gas atmosphere, The deterioration of the performance due to moisture absorption of the organic EL element 4 (FIG. 2) provided on the surface can be prevented, and the sheet-like sealing material 5 is also element glass substrate from the time when it is unwound from the film unwinding mechanism part 14. Since it is in the chamber under a reduced pressure or inert gas atmosphere during the bonding operation until it is affixed to 1 and carried out from the chamber 9 to the rear chamber 11, moisture is discharged and its invasion can be prevented. Moisture absorption of the sheet-like sealing material 5 can also be prevented, and performance deterioration due to moisture absorption of the sheet-like sealing material 5 can be prevented. Moreover, since air and dust are discharged in the chamber 9 and can also be prevented from entering, the generation of bubbles between the organic EL element 4 to be bonded and the sheet-like sealing material 5 and the intrusion of dust are suppressed as much as possible. It is also possible to prevent deterioration of the performance of the organic EL panel 7 (FIG. 3).

  Further, the chamber 9 is provided with a front chamber 10 on the inlet side and a rear chamber 11 on the outlet side thereof, and when the element glass substrate 1 from the previous process is carried into the front chamber 10 in the atmospheric state. After the gate valve 12a, 12b is closed, the inside of the front chamber 10 is changed from the atmospheric state to the same atmosphere as that in the chamber 9, the gate valve 12b is opened and carried into the chamber 9, and the gate valve 12b is closed again. Further, after the inside of the rear chamber 11 is changed from the atmospheric state to the same atmosphere as that in the chamber 9, the gate glass 12c is opened and the element glass substrate 1 to which the sheet-like sealing material 5 in the chamber 9 is attached is attached to the rear chamber. 11, and then the gate valve 12 c is closed to bring the interior of the rear chamber 11 into the atmospheric state, and the gate valve 12 d is opened and discharged to the outside. It can be maintained in an inert gas atmosphere, and the operating time of a means such as a vacuum pump for maintaining such an atmosphere can be extremely shortened. Moreover, the front chamber 10 and the rear chamber 11 are Since the element glass substrate 1 can be taken in and out and stored and the gate valves 12a and 12b have a capacity that can be opened and closed, the volume within the chamber 9 is 1/5 to 1/10. For this reason, the time required for changing from the atmospheric state to the reduced pressure or inert gas atmosphere state and the time required for changing the state of the chamber 9 can be reduced. Compared with the case where the change of the state is performed, it is possible to significantly shorten the time for bonding the sheet-like encapsulant to the element glass substrate per unit. Rukoto can.

  Although not shown, the chamber 9, the front chamber 10, and the rear chamber 11 are installed in a place where the surroundings are maintained in an atmosphere of dry air or inert gas.

  FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing the entire configuration of a specific example of the sealing material bonding apparatus 8 in FIG. 1, and 14a to 14c, 15a, 15b, 16a, 16b, 19a, 20a, 21a, and 21b are drive motors. , 22 is a stripping device, and 23 is a position detector. The parts corresponding to those in FIG.

  In the figure, four films 13 are unwound from a film unwinding mechanism 14 driven by drive motors 14a to 14c, and run parallel to each other at the same predetermined interval. The traveling direction is parallel to the traveling direction of the element glass substrate 1 and is opposite to the traveling direction, as indicated by an arrow (←). The traveling of the films 13 is carried out by the film unwinding mechanism section 14 and the cover films 13a (FIG. 4) of the films 13 are driven by the drive motors 15a and 15b. The film 15 is wound by the base film winding mechanism section 21 wound by the section 15 and the base film 13b (FIG. 4) of the film 13 driven by the drive motors 21a and 21b. As will be described later, these films 13 run intermittently with a dimension l shown in FIG. 8 in synchronization with the loading of the element glass substrate 1 from the front chamber 10.

  These films 13 from which the cover film 13a (FIG. 4) has been peeled off by the cover film take-up mechanism unit 15 are, as described above, the exposed sheet-like sealing material 5 in the inter-substrate processing mechanism unit 16. Each element glass substrate is divided into pieces, and the sheet-shaped sealing material 5 having a predetermined length is peeled off so as to make a boundary between these divisions. Such stripping is performed by the stripping device 22 driven by the drive motors 16a and 16b.

  These films 13 processed by the inter-substrate processing mechanism unit 16 are changed in the traveling direction downward by the film tension measuring mechanism unit 17, that is, in the direction of the traveling path of the element glass substrate 1. At this time, the film tension measuring mechanism unit 17 measures the combined tension of these films 13, and the drive motors 14a to 14c of the film unwinding mechanism unit 14 are controlled according to the measurement results, whereby the tensions of these films 13 are controlled. Is adjusted.

  The film 13 from the film tension measuring mechanism unit 17 is sent to the alignment mechanism unit 18, and the sheet-like sealing material 5 of the film 13 is fed one by one by the lamination mechanism unit 19. The alignment mechanism 18 adjusts the position of the film 13 in the width direction and the length direction (running direction) based on the detection result of the position detector 23 such as a CCD camera so as to match the position to be bonded. It is. In this position adjustment, the element glass substrate 1 carried in from the front chamber 10 (FIG. 1) stops at a predetermined position in front of the lamination mechanism unit 19, but a film is applied to the element glass substrate 1 stopped at this position. The film 13 is set by moving in the width direction and the length direction so that the leading position of the sheet-like sealing material 5 at 13 is a predetermined position. When the positional relationship between the element glass substrate 1 and the sheet-like sealing material 5 bonded to the element glass substrate 1 on the film 13 becomes the predetermined positional relationship as described above, the alignment mechanism unit 18 The element glass substrate 1 is set at a position where the leading position of the sheet-like sealing material 5 to be bonded to the element glass substrate 1 can be detected. By adjusting the leading position, the element glass substrate 1 is stopped at a predetermined position. And the sheet-like sealing material 5 to be bonded to this can be set to the above-mentioned predetermined positional relation.

  Thus, when the positional relationship between the element glass substrate 1 and the sheet-like sealing material 5 on the film 13 to be bonded to the element glass substrate 1 is set, the element glass substrate 1 and the film 13 are in a stopped state for a predetermined time. At this time, in the inter-substrate processing mechanism section 16, a stripped portion that forms the boundary of the section next to the sealing material film 5 ′ in the film 13 is located at this position, and this portion is the inter-substrate processing mechanism section. It is stripped off by 16 stripping devices 22. Thereby, the following sheet-like sealing material 5 is formed.

  Thereafter, the film 13 and the element glass substrate 1 travel at the same speed, and are fed into a lamination mechanism unit 19 operated by a drive motor 19a. The sheet-like sealing material 5 of the film 13 is heated on the element glass substrate 1. Bonded by crimping.

  This thermocompression bonding is performed by the continuous movement of the sheet-like sealing material 5 of the film 13 and the element glass substrate 1, and at the same time, the next element glass substrate 1 is carried in from the front chamber 10, as described above. Then, it stops at a predetermined position. At the same time, the element glass substrate 1 on which the sheet-like encapsulant 5 of the film 13 is bonded by the lamination mechanism unit 19 is also stopped, and the sheet-like encapsulant 5 of the film 13 with respect to the next element glass substrate 1 by the alignment mechanism unit 18. Next, the next sheet-shaped sealing material 5 is formed in the inter-substrate processing mechanism section 16, and the sheet-shaped sealing material 5 is bonded to the next element glass substrate 1.

  In this manner, the sheet-like sealing material 5 is sequentially bonded to the element glass substrate 1 that is sequentially conveyed from the front chamber 10.

  The element glass substrate 1 on which the sheet-like sealing material 5 of the film 13 is bonded is cooled by the substrate cooling mechanism unit 20 driven by the drive motor 20a, and then driven by the drive motors 21a and 21b. The base film 13 of the film 13 is peeled off by the mechanism portion 21, and each element glass substrate 1 to which the sheet-like sealing material 5 is attached is conveyed to the rear chamber 11. However, during this time, the film 13 and the element glass substrate 1 move intermittently with the dimension l shown in FIG. 8 along with the above intermittent operation.

  In addition, although the sealing material bonding apparatus 8 which performs the above operation | movement is installed in the chamber 9, the drive motor of each apparatus, such as the drive motors 14a-14c of the film unwinding mechanism part 14, is the outer side of the chamber 9. Is attached.

  6 is an enlarged view showing the film unwinding mechanism 14 and the cover film winding mechanism 15 in FIG. 5, in which 24a to 24d are film rolls, 25a to 25d are rotating shafts, 26 is a torque limiter, 27 is a film tension adding roll, 28 is a pinch roll, 29a and 29b are drive motors, 30a to 30d are cover film take-up rolls, 31 is a cover film peeling roll, and 32 is a torque limiter. Are given the same reference numerals and redundant description is omitted.

  In the figure, in the film unwinding mechanism section 14, film rolls 24b and 24d each having two films 13 wound in a roll shape are attached to a rotation shaft 25a of the drive motor 14a at a predetermined interval. Film rolls 24a and 24c each having two films 13 wound in a roll shape are also attached to the rotating shaft 25b of 14b at a predetermined interval. The film 13 is fed out from each of these film rolls 24a to 24d, but the film 13 from the film roll 24a, the film 13 from the film roll 24b, the film 13 from the film roll 24c, and the film 13 from the film roll 24d, The rotating shafts 25a and 25b are arranged in this order and at the predetermined intervals.

  These film rolls 24a to 24d can be detached from the rotary shafts 25a and 25b, respectively, and when the film 13 is almost unwound by the film rolls 24a to 24d, they can be replaced with new film rolls.

  The rotation shaft 25c of the drive motor 14c is provided with a film tension applying roll 27 on which the films from the film rolls 24a, 24b, 24c, and 24d abut. Further, for each of these film tension applying rolls 27, four pinch rolls 28 are provided on the rotary shaft 25d so as to sandwich the film 13 in contact with these film tension adding rolls 27.

  When the drive motors 14a to 14c are rotated, the films 13 are fed downward from the film rolls 24a to 24d, respectively, and these films 13 are pulled with a predetermined tension by the film tension adding roll 27 and the pinch roll 28, respectively. Moving. At this time, the moving direction of each film 13 that moves downward from the film rolls 24a to 24d by the film tension applying roll 27 is changed to the horizontal direction.

  Here, the film rolls 24a to 24d are rotatably attached to the rotary shafts 25a and 25b, respectively, and a torque limiter 26 is provided on each of the attachment portions. By these torque limiters 26, the film rolls 24a to 24d rotate with the rotation of the rotary shafts 25a and 25b, respectively, and the film 13 is fed out. At the same time, the film rolls 24a to 24d rotate with respect to the rotary shafts 25a and 25b. Thus, the feeding tension of the film 13 is adjusted.

  Thus, the four films 13 fed out from the film unwinding mechanism unit 14 are sent to the cover film winding mechanism unit 15.

  In the cover film take-up mechanism unit 15, two cover film take-up rolls 30b and 30d are attached to the rotary shaft 29a of the drive motor 15a with a predetermined interval, and two cover film take-up rolls are attached to the rotary shaft 29b of the drive motor 15b. 30a and 30c are attached at a predetermined interval. In addition, four cover film peeling rolls 31 are attached to the rotating shaft 29c so that the respective films 13 fed out from the film unwinding mechanism section 14 abut each other. The cover film peeling roll 31 peels the cover film 13a from the film 13, and the peeled cover film 13a is wound by the cover film winding rolls 30a to 30d, respectively.

  These cover film peeling rolls 31 can be detached from the rotary shafts 29a and 29b, respectively, and when the film 13 is almost unwound by the film rolls 24a to 24d in the film unwinding mechanism section 14 and replaced with new film rolls, The cover film peeling roll 31 is also removed from the rotary shafts 29a and 29b, and new cover film peeling rolls 31 on which the cover film 13a is not wound are attached to the rotary shafts 29a and 29b, respectively. The film 13 is pulled out from each of the new film rolls 24a to 24d, the cover film 13a is peeled off and attached to the cover film peeling roll 31, and then the cover film 13a is wound around the cover film take-up rolls 30a to 30d. To.

  Further, the cover film take-up rolls 30a to 30d are rotatably attached to the rotation shafts 29a and 29b, respectively, and torque limiters 32 are provided on these attachment portions. The cover film take-up rolls 30a to 30d are rotated with the rotation of the rotary shafts 29a and 29b, respectively, so that the cover film 13a is taken up.

  Thus, the four films 13 from which the cover film 13a has been peeled off by the cover film peeling roll 31 are sent to the inter-substrate processing mechanism 16 (FIG. 7) in parallel at a predetermined interval as described above.

  The tension measurement result of the film tension measuring mechanism 17 described with reference to FIG. 5 is sent to the film unwinding mechanism 14 to adjust the rotational torque of the drive motors 14a to 14c. Is also sent to adjust the rotational torque of the drive motors 15a and 15b.

  FIG. 7 is an enlarged configuration diagram of the inter-substrate processing mechanism 16 in FIG. 5, in which 33a and 33b are film pressing members, 34 is a half-cut member, 35 is a peeling roller, 36 is a peeling tape, and 37 is a tape. The feeding roll, 38 is a tape take-up roll, 39a and 39b are hanging rollers, and the portions corresponding to those in FIG.

  In the figure, the inter-substrate processing mechanism section 16 stops when the film 13 is fed by a predetermined length (film feeding length) from the cover film winding mechanism section 15 (FIG. 6). The film 13 is simultaneously pressed into a flat portion (not shown) by two film pressing members 33a and 33b extending in parallel to a direction orthogonal to the arrangement direction of the thirteen. Thereby, the part between the film holding members 33a and 33b of these films 13 is fixed. When the stripping device 22 acts at the pressing portions of the film 13 by the film pressing members 33a and 33b, the sealing material film 5 ′ in the region where the sheet-shaped sealing material 5 is divided is stripped as described above. .

  Here, if the stripping portion of the sealing material film 5 ′ with the film 13 is determined in synchronism with the loading of the element glass substrate 1 from the front chamber 10 (FIG. 5), the sealing material with the film 13 The distance between stripped portions of the film 5 ′ and the length thereof (length in the moving direction of the film 13) are determined as follows.

That is, in FIG. 8, the length of the element glass substrate 1 in the conveyance direction is now L, and the element glass substrate 1 in the conveyance direction of the element glass substrate 1 in the sealing region 40 covered with the sheet-like sealing material 5 on the element glass substrate 1 is illustrated. Assuming that the length is L ′ and the distance between the element glass substrates 1 carried in from the front chamber 10 is D, the distance d between the sealing regions 40 in the two element glass substrates 1 to be back and forth is
d = L−L ′ + D
It becomes. This space | interval d is the length of the peeling part in sealing material film 5 'of the film 13. FIG. Therefore, the pressing members 33a and 33b fix the film 13 so as to sandwich the stripped portion. Further, the repeated length of the stripped portion (that is, the film feed length of the film 13) l is
l = L ′ + d = L + D
And the repeated length of loading of the element glass substrate.

  Returning to FIG. 7, the peeling device 22 includes a half-cut member 34, a peeling tape 36, and a peeling roller 35. The half-cut member 34 can be moved in the direction of arrow A by the driving means (not shown) or the arrow B direction opposite thereto, and the peeling roller 35 and the hanging rollers 39a and 39b are also moved by the driving means (not shown). It can move in the B direction. The peeling roller 35 moves with the movement of the hanging rollers 39a and 39b, but can also move in the vertical direction. That is, although not shown, for example, a means capable of moving in the directions of arrows A and B on which the half-cut member 34, the peeling roller 35, and the hanging rollers 39a and 39b are mounted is provided. A driving means for rotationally driving is provided, and a peeling roller 35 is mounted in this means so as to be movable up and down.

  Therefore, while the half-cut member 34 moves in the direction of arrow A from the take-up roll 38 side, cuts are made on both front and rear sides of the stripped portion of the length d (FIG. 8) of the sealing material film 5 ′ on the film 13. After the half-cut member 34, the peeling tape 36 that is pressed against the film 13 by the peeling roller 35 that also moves in the direction of arrow A is used to cut the sealing material 5 ′ of the film 13 between the cuts by the half-cut member 34. The part is peeled off from the film 13. The peeling tape 36 is affixed between the feeding roll 37 and the take-up roll 38, and is hung downward between the two hanging rollers 39 a and 39 b and pressed against the film 13 by the peeling roller 35. ing.

  Thus, when the part (namely, sheet-like sealing material space | interval part 42 shown in FIG. 9) used as the space | interval of the sheet-like sealing material 5 in the four films 13 is formed, the drive of the drive motor 16b. As a result, the take-up roll 38 rotates and the release tape 36 is taken up. At this time, the drive motor 16a is not driven, and the supply roll 37 does not supply the peeling tape 36. For this reason, when the peeling tape 36 moves to the take-up roll 38 side between the suspending rollers 39a and 39b, the peeling roller 35 is lifted away from the film 13, and then the drive motor 16a is started and fed out. The release tape 36 is fed out from the roll 37 at the same speed as the take-up speed of the release tape 36 on the take-up roll 38. At the same time, the means mounting the half-cut member 34, the peeling roller 35, and the hanging rollers 39a, 39b moves in the direction of arrow B, so that the half-cut member 34, the peeling roller 35, the hanging roller 39a, 39b moves in the direction of arrow B until it is closer to the winding roll 38 than the film 13.

  Then, when the film pressing members 33a and 33b are lifted and the film 13 is released from the fixed state and moved in the arrow C direction by the length l, the film pressing members 33a and 33b are lowered again to fix the film 13, As described above, the next sheet-shaped sealing material interval portion 42 (FIG. 9) is formed by the peeling device 22.

  By repeating the above operation, the sealing region 40 is sequentially formed with the above-mentioned repetition length l, and the sheet-like sealing material 5 is sequentially formed for each of them.

  FIG. 9 is a view showing an operation in which the peeling device 22 in FIG. 7 peels off the sealing material film 5 ′ at the sheet-shaped sealing material interval portion from the film 13, and 34a and 34b are half-cutting circles. A blade, 34c is a rotating shaft, 41a and 41b are notches, and 42 is a sheet-like sealing material interval portion.

  In the figure, half-cut members 34 are half-cut round blades at intervals equal to the length d shown in FIG. 8 at both ends of a rotating shaft 34c arranged in parallel with the moving direction of the film 13 indicated by an arrow C. 34a and 34b are attached. The half-cut member 34 having such a configuration is driven in the direction of travel (longitudinal direction) of the film 13 as indicated by an arrow C while the rotary blades 34a and 34b rotate while the rotary shaft 34c is rotated by a drive motor (not shown). Is moved in the direction of the arrow A orthogonal to each other, thereby forming cuts 41a and 41b having a depth equal to the thickness of the sealing material film 5 'of the film 13.

  On the other hand, the peeling roller 35 is a part between the cuts 41a and 41b formed by the half-cutting round blades 34a and 34b in the sealing material film 5 ′ of the film 13 from the back of the half-cut member 34. The portion between the cuts 41a and 41b of the sealing material film 5 ′ adheres to the peeling table 36 and is peeled off. Thereby, the sheet-like sealing material interval part 42 is formed, and the sheet-like sealing whose length before the sheet-like sealing material interval part 42 in the sealing material film 5 ′ is length L ′ (FIG. 8). Material 5 is obtained.

  In this way, in the inter-substrate processing mechanism section 16, the on-sheet sealing material 5 having the length L 'is sequentially formed on the film 13 at intervals of the length d.

  FIG. 10 is an enlarged configuration diagram showing the lamination mechanism 19 in FIG. 5, wherein 19b and 19c are drive motors, 43 is a roller with a width direction adjusting guide, 44a to 44d are motors for width direction adjustment, 45a, Reference numeral 45b denotes a thermocompression-bonding roller, 46 denotes a substrate carrying roller, and 47 denotes a carrying direction changing roller. The same reference numerals are given to portions corresponding to those in FIG.

  In the figure, in the lamination mechanism section 19, the films 13 transported in the downward direction indicated by the arrow D from the film tension measurement mechanism section 17 (FIG. 5) are respectively moved by the transport direction conversion roller 47 to the arrow of the element glass substrate 1. It is converted into a direction along the transport direction indicated by E. The direction-converted films 13 are conveyed between the thermocompression rollers 45a and 45b. By this direction change, the sheet-like sealing material 5 is arranged on the element glass substrate 1 side in the film 13.

  Immediately before the conveyance direction conversion roller 47, a roller 43 with a width direction adjusting guide that is driven by a width direction adjusting motor 44a to 44d for each film is provided. Each of these width-adjusting guide rollers 43 is provided with flange portions (not shown) at both ends in the width direction, and the film 13 passes between these two flange portions. These width direction adjusting motors 44a to 44d and the width direction adjusting roller 43 constitute a width direction adjusting means of the alignment mechanism portion 18 in FIG. Further, a position detector 23 is provided for each film 13 between the transport direction changing roller 47 and the thermocompression-bonding rollers 45a and 45b (however, only one is shown here). A positional deviation in each width direction is detected. Depending on the detection result, the width direction adjustment motor 44 (general name of the width direction adjustment motors 44a to 44d) corresponding to the film 13 in which the positional deviation occurs among the width direction adjustment motors 44a to 44d corresponds. The guide roller 43 is rotated in a predetermined direction to adjust the positional deviation of the film 13 in the width direction.

  As described above, the alignment mechanism 18 (FIG. 5) allows the positional relationship of the sheet-like sealing material 5 on the film 13 to the element glass substrate 1 that has been carried in from the front chamber 10 (FIG. 5) and is stopped to be predetermined. When set, the film 13 is transported, and the element glass substrate 1 is also transported by the substrate transport roller 46 at the same speed, and the film 13 is transferred to the sealing region 40 (FIG. 8) of the element glass substrate 1. Sheet-like sealing material 5 is overlaid. In this state, the element glass substrate 1 and the film 13 are sandwiched between thermocompression-bonding rollers 45a and 45b that are rotationally driven by the drive motors 19b and 19c, and further heated, whereby the element glass substrate 1 The sheet-shaped sealing material 5 with the respective films 13 is thermocompression bonded to the sealing region 40 of each.

  Thus, the element glass substrate 1 and the film 13 in which the sheet-like sealing material 5 is thermocompression bonded to the sealing region 40 are conveyed to the next cooling step by the substrate conveying roller 46.

  FIG. 11 is an enlarged configuration diagram showing the substrate cooling mechanism 20 and the base film take-up mechanism 21 in FIG. 5, wherein 48a and 48b are substrate cooling rollers, 49 is a base film peeling roll, and 50a to 50d are The winding roller 51 is a torque limiter, and 52 is a substrate transport motor. Parts corresponding to those in FIGS.

  In the figure, the substrate cooling mechanism section 20 is provided with two sets of cooling roller sections that are paired with substrate cooling rollers 48a and 48b that are rotationally driven by a drive motor 20a. The element glass substrate 1 on which the sealing material 5 is bonded is sandwiched between the substrate cooling rollers 48a and 48b and conveyed. The substrate cooling rollers 48a and 488 are made of steel and have a cylindrical shape, and cooling water is introduced and discharged therein to provide cooling means inside the substrate cooling rollers 48a and 48b. ing. The film 13 and the element glass substrate 1 are cooled by being sandwiched between the surfaces of the substrate cooling rollers 48a and 48b cooled by the cooling means.

  For example, when the sheet-like sealing material 5 is thermocompression-bonded to the sealing region 40 of the element glass substrate 1 at 100 ° C. by the lamination mechanism unit 19 (FIG. 10), the sheet-like sealing material 5 seals the element glass substrate 1. In this case, the adhesive property between the sheet-like sealing material 5 and the base film 13b of the film 13 is high. If the base film 13a is peeled off without cooling, the sheet-like sealing material is sealed. The material 5 may be peeled off from the sealing region 40 of the element glass substrate 1 while adhering to the base film 13b.

  Therefore, the element glass substrate 1 is cooled to, for example, about 40 ° C. in a state where the sheet-like sealing material 5 of the film 13 is heated and pressure-bonded by the substrate cooling mechanism unit 20. Adhesiveness to the substrate 1 is increased, and the sheet-like sealing material 5 is easily peeled off from the base film 13b of the film 13.

  The element glass substrate 1 cooled by the substrate cooling mechanism unit 20 is transported to the base film winding mechanism unit 21, and a sheet-like sealing material is provided in the sealing region 40 of the element glass substrate 1 by the base film peeling roll 49. The base film 13b of each film 13 to which 5 is bonded is peeled off. The base films 13b peeled off from the respective films 13 are taken up by take-up rollers 50a to 50d that are rotationally driven by drive motors 21a and 21b, respectively. The take-up rollers 50a to 50d are also provided with a torque limiter 51 to prevent the base film 13b from being bent.

  The element glass substrate 1 from which the base film 13b has been removed is separated here, and is transported by the substrate transporting roller 46 that is rotationally driven by the substrate transporting motor 52, and from the chamber 8 to the rear chamber 11 (FIG. 5). It is carried out to.

  In this embodiment, four films 13 having a predetermined width are used at a predetermined interval. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and a plurality of films 13 are used.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Element glass substrate 5 Sheet-like sealing material 5 'Sealing material film 8 Sealing material bonding apparatus 9 Chamber 10 Front chamber 11 Rear chamber 12a-12d Gate valve 13 Film 13a Cover film 13b Base film 14 Film unwinding mechanism part DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 15 Cover film winding mechanism part 16 Inter-substrate processing mechanism part 17 Film tension measuring mechanism part 18 Alignment mechanism part 19 Lamination mechanism part 20 Substrate cooling mechanism part 21 Base film winding mechanism part 22 Stripping device 24a-24d Film roll 30a- 30d Cover film take-up roll 31 Cover film peeling roll 33a, 33b Film pressing member 34 Half-cut member 34a, 34b Half-cutting round blade 35 Peeling roller 36 Peeling tape 39a, 39b Hanging roller 40 Sealing area Sheet-like sealing Wood spacing portion 41a, 41b cut 42 sheet sealing material spacing portion 43 the width direction regulating guide with rollers 45a, 45b thermal compression rollers 48a, 48b substrate cooling roller 49 base film peeling roll 50a~50d winding roll

Claims (5)

A chamber containing a film bonding apparatus for bonding a sheet-like sealing material onto a substrate, a front chamber having a smaller volume than the chamber for loading the substrate into the chamber, and the sheet bonding apparatus A rear chamber having a smaller volume than the chamber for discharging the substrate on which the sealing material is attached from the chamber;
Gate valves are provided on the substrate inlet side and the chamber side of the front chamber, and the chamber side and the substrate outlet side of the rear chamber, respectively, and the inside of the chamber always includes the time when the substrate is carried in and out. Kept in high vacuum,
The film laminating device
Substrate transport means for transporting the substrate carried in from the front chamber at a predetermined interval;
A film unwinding mechanism for unwinding a plurality of films having a predetermined width provided with a cover film and a base film with a sheet-like sealing material interposed therebetween;
A cover film take-up mechanism unit that peels off and winds the cover film from each of the plurality of films unwound from the film unwind mechanism unit;
From each of the plurality of films from which the cover film has been peeled off by the cover film winding mechanism, the portion of the sealing encapsulant that becomes the interval between the substrates conveyed by the substrate conveying means is peeled off, An inter-substrate processing mechanism for forming a plurality of the sealing encapsulants corresponding to the substrates on the base film of the plurality of films,
For each of the substrates carried from the front chamber by the substrate transport means, positioning of the tip of the substrate and the tip of the sealing sealing material corresponding to the substrate of the film from the inter-substrate processing mechanism unit An alignment mechanism that performs
An affixing mechanism for affixing a plurality of the sealing encapsulants corresponding to the substrate of the plurality of films from the alignment mechanism to the substrate conveyed by the substrate conveying means;
A base film take-up mechanism part that peels off and winds up the base film from each of the plurality of films in which the sheet-like sealing material is attached to the substrate from the sticking mechanism part,
The substrate transport means discharges the substrate in a state in which a plurality of sheet-like sealing materials from which the base film of the plurality of films has been peeled off are pasted to the rear chamber by the base film winding mechanism unit. A sealing device for a substrate surface, wherein: In claim 1,
An apparatus for sealing a substrate surface, wherein the front chamber and the rear chamber are each provided with a vacuum pump for bringing the chamber from a dry air state into a high vacuum state equal to that in the chamber. In claim 1 or 2,
The substrate processing mechanism is
A table on which the surface on which the plurality of films are mounted is non-adhesive;
A pair of press plates for pressing the plurality of films against the surface of the table at a predetermined interval in the length direction;
A half-cut circle that cuts the sheet-like sealing material between the portions of the plurality of films that are pressed against the surface of the table by the pair of press plates at intervals of the substrate in the length direction. A blade,
A substrate surface sealing device comprising: a tape peeling mechanism that peels off the sheet-like sealing material of the plurality of films cut by the half-cutting round blade from the base film. . In claim 1, 2 or 3,
A substrate surface sealing device comprising a substrate cooling mechanism for cooling the substrate between the sticking mechanism and the base film take-up mechanism. Opening the first gate valve provided at the substrate inlet of the front chamber having a small volume, the substrate in which a sealing agent is applied in a frame shape and a plurality of EL elements are provided inside the frame of the sealing agent, A carrying-in process for carrying into the front chamber;
A step of evacuating the substrate into the front chamber from the substrate carry-in port, closing the first gate valve, and bringing the front chamber into a high vacuum state;
A second gate valve provided between the front chamber in a high vacuum state and a chamber having a large volume held in a high vacuum state is opened, and the substrate is transferred from the front chamber into the chamber; A transfer step of closing the second gate valve after transfer of the substrate to the chamber;
In the chamber, a sealing material attaching step of attaching a sheet-like sealing material in the sealant frame of the substrate;
The rear chamber having a small volume is brought into a high vacuum state, a third gate valve provided between the chamber and the rear chamber is opened, and the substrate on which the sheet-like sealing material is adhered is removed from the chamber. A transporting process for transporting to the rear chamber;
The third gate valve provided at the substrate discharge port of the rear chamber was closed, the fourth gate valve was opened to bring the rear chamber into an atmospheric state, and the sheet-like sealing material in the rear chamber was attached. And a discharging step of discharging the substrate from the substrate discharge port,
The sealing material application step
A step of sequentially transporting the substrates carried in from the front chamber at a predetermined interval;
Unwinding a plurality of films having a predetermined width provided with a cover film and a base film with the sheet-like sealing material interposed therebetween;
A step of peeling off and winding the cover film from each of the plurality of films to be unwound,
Each of the plurality of films from which the cover film has been peeled off peels off the portion of the sealing encapsulant that becomes the gap between the substrates to be conveyed, and on the base film of each of the plurality of films, Forming a plurality of sealing encapsulants corresponding to each of the substrates;
For each of the substrates carried from the front chamber, positioning the tip of the substrate and the tip of the sealing encapsulant corresponding to the substrate of the film;
Attaching the plurality of sealing encapsulants corresponding to the substrates of the plurality of films to the substrate to be conveyed;
Cooling the substrate to which the plurality of sealing encapsulants are attached;
A step of peeling off and winding up the base film from each of the plurality of films in which the sheet-like sealing material is attached to the cooled substrate;
And a step of discharging the substrate on which the sheet-like sealing material is adhered to the rear chamber.

Images