JP2013140257A - Sheet laminating device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a sheet laminating device capable of holding a plastic film sheet without flection, wrinkles, and expansion/contraction; precisely positioning the sheet on a display panel; and beautifully laminating that without trapping air bubbles or wrinkles.SOLUTION: While proper tension is added to a plastic film (a film) 1 provided in a roll-shape, the film 1 is sucked by a peripheral surface of a roll-shaped suction roll 3 having a curved surface, and is cut out in a suction state. The film 1 is positioned to a display panel 7 together with the suction roll 3 in the suction state. The suction roll 3 is rotated so as to make a surface of the film 1 along with a surface of the display panel 7, thereby beautifully laminating the film 1 on the display panel 7 without trapping air bubbles or wrinkles.

Description

  The present invention relates to an apparatus for laminating a flexible sheet on a flat panel. The apparatus of the present invention is used in the process of manufacturing a liquid crystal panel or a plasma display panel, for example.

  When manufacturing a display device such as a liquid crystal panel or a plasma display panel, there is a step of bonding a plastic film sheet having various functions on the display panel. Because plastic film is thin, it can be easily deformed by bending or wrinkling. When tension is applied to prevent bending and wrinkling, local expansion and contraction occur around the gripped part. In particular, it is difficult to apply tension in a uniform state for a film after being cut into a sheet.

  On the other hand, the positioning accuracy and bonding accuracy of the plastic film with respect to the display panel are important in order to increase the display quality and functionality of the display device. Some products require positioning accuracy and bonding accuracy of around a few microns. However, it has been difficult to accurately align and bond a plastic film that is difficult to hold evenly to a display panel.

  Therefore, it is important to hold the plastic film sheet without bending, wrinkling, or expansion / contraction, to accurately position the plastic film sheet on the display panel, and to bond beautifully without bubbles or wrinkles.

As a conventional technique for bonding two sheets, a bonding apparatus and a bonding method as described below have been devised.
In the following Patent Document 1 (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2009-294551), a work holder, a table that supports the work holder, and a metal bonding diaphragm that can be deformed in a projecting manner toward the table side inside the vacuum chamber. A membrane is provided. It is an apparatus that drives the table in a state where the air in the vacuum chamber is evacuated with a vacuum source and the bonding diaphragm film is expanded by the working fluid, and bonds the workpiece from the central portion toward the peripheral portion.

  In the method in Patent Document 1, as a work positioning, a metal ball supported so as to be advanced or retracted and a work holding structure including a spring for energizing and energizing the ball are pressed by the reaction force of the spring from four sides. It has a structure. However, this positioning method cannot achieve the expected effect on a workpiece that is thin like a film and deforms even with a small force. Moreover, even if the workpiece is highly rigid, it is difficult to obtain positioning accuracy on the micron order.

  In the following Patent Document 2 (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2010-94910), the first bonding table has a vacuum chamber and a silk screen, and a mounting base that supports a workpiece is disposed on the outer surface of the silk screen. A roller for pressing the mounting base is provided inside the vacuum chamber. The mounting base is formed by stacking a group of hard sheets that can be ventilated and fixing the end face on the pressing start end side of the stacked hard sheets. With the above configuration, the workpiece is bonded while following the mounting base to the roller and locally bending and deforming.

  In the method in Patent Document 2, the work is disposed on a mounting base provided on the outer surface of the silk screen that covers the opening surface of the vacuum chamber, and is sucked and held by applying a vacuum pressure. However, it is difficult to dispose a workpiece that is thin like a film and deforms even with a small force on the mounting base without wrinkles or local expansion / contraction. In the method disclosed in Patent Document 2, the positioning of the work depends on the position of the mounting base, and the mounting base is positioned by the positioning frame. However, with the positioning frame, it is difficult to accurately position the film on the display panel in the micron order.

  In the method disclosed in Patent Document 3 (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2008-15041), a web film on which a color filter substrate is continuously formed is supported by a film support member, and a sheet on which a single TFT array substrate is formed is a film. It is held so as to face the web film on the support member. A sealant is supplied between the web film and the sheet. The sheet holding member is brought close to the film support member, and the sheet held by the sheet holding member is overlaid on the web film to cause the sealing agent to have a fixing action.

  In the method in Patent Document 3, the film is a web-like continuous body, and can be uniformly tensioned, which is a good method for preventing uneven stretching and wrinkling. Since the film is a continuum, the film is held on the nip roll before and after the bonding part so that the alignment between the front and back substrates is not affected, so that the tension state does not affect the front and back films. It has become. However, it is conceivable that the film at the nip portion is scratched or the functional portion formed on the film is damaged, and the nip portion cannot be used as a product, and the member use efficiency is poor. The film used in the display device is optically transparent and a material having a small birefringence is selected. However, since these films are expensive, the inefficient use of members greatly affects the manufacturing cost.

JP 2009-294551A JP 2010-94910 A JP 2008-15041 A

  The present invention has been made in view of the problems involved, and accurately aligns the film with the display panel, is driven so that the curved surface follows the display panel, and beautifully bonds without bubbles and wrinkles. A sheet laminating device capable of performing the above is provided.

  In the sheet bonding apparatus according to claim 1, unwinding means for unwinding the raw plastic film provided in a roll shape, and adsorbing and holding the plastic film while applying an appropriate tension, and holding the curved surface by suction A member, a film cutting means for cutting the film in an adsorbed state on the adsorbing and holding member, a panel holding member that holds the display panel facing the plastic film, and the film in an adsorbed state on the adsorbing and holding member. Alignment means for aligning with the display panel, drive means for driving the suction holding member so that the curved surface of the suction holding member is along the display panel, and fixing that causes the plastic film and the display panel overlaid to be fixed. The above-described problems are solved by providing the action imparting means.

  According to the sheet bonding apparatus of the present invention, the plastic film is adsorbed by the adsorbing and holding member in an appropriate tension state, and the film is cut out in the adsorbed state, so that uneven stretching occurs in the plastic film. It is possible to handle in a state where the shrinkage and wrinkles are eliminated. Further, the alignment can be accurately performed by adjusting the alignment with respect to the display panel held opposite to each other while the film is adsorbed. Then, when bonding, the surface of the film adsorption holding member is curved, so by running the surface of the adsorption holding member along the display panel, while removing wrinkles and bubbles generated in the bonding part Can be pasted together. The overlaid plastic film and the display panel are completely fixed by the fixing action applying means, and the bonding is completed as described above.

  In the sheet bonding apparatus according to claim 2, the shape of the suction holding member is a roll shape. The roll-shaped suction holding member can use general parts as a suction roll, and can reduce the apparatus cost.

  In the sheet bonding apparatus according to the third aspect, the shape of the suction holding member is a member having a partially curved surface, and is held by suction at the curved portion. When the size of the plastic film to be adsorbed increases, the cost can be reduced as compared with the use of a large-diameter suction roll.

  The sheet bonding apparatus according to claim 4 is characterized in that the surface material of the suction holding member is a rubber material obtained by processing a large number of suction holes. Since the rubber material comes into contact with elasticity, there is no scratch on the film.

  The sheet bonding apparatus according to claim 5 is characterized in that the surface material of the adsorption holding member is a metal suction mesh. The metal suction mesh is manufactured by processing methods such as etching and laser drilling, so there is no worry about wear powder and the influence of wear can be minimized even when used for a long time.

  The sheet bonding apparatus according to claim 6 is characterized in that a pressure-sensitive curable resin is used as a fixing action imparting means for imparting a fixing action between the plastic film and the display panel that are overlaid. Since the curing starts by receiving pressure, by adjusting the sensitivity to the pressure at the time of bonding, the curing starts from the bonded portion, and the bonding can be performed efficiently.

  In the sheet bonding apparatus according to claim 7, an ultraviolet curable resin that is cured by ultraviolet irradiation is used as a fixing action imparting unit that imparts a fixing action between the plastic film and the display panel that are overlapped. To do. Since it is possible to fix only the range irradiated with ultraviolet rays, the flexibility of process assembly can be improved. For example, by temporarily fixing a part of the range first, inspecting the alignment in that state, and completely fixing in a subsequent process, it is possible to redo if there is a problem in position accuracy.

  The sheet bonding apparatus according to claim 8 further includes a vacuum chamber in which at least superposition of the plastic film on the display panel is performed. By bonding in a vacuum chamber, the generation of bubbles can be suppressed and the bonding speed can be improved.

Since this invention is the above structure, there exist the following effects.
That is, in the present invention, the plastic film is adsorbed by the adsorbing and holding member in a state where an appropriate tension is applied, and the film is cut out in the adsorbed state. It becomes possible to handle in a state in which the influence of is eliminated. Further, the alignment can be accurately performed by adjusting the alignment with respect to the display panel held opposite to each other while the film is adsorbed. Then, when bonding, the surface of the film adsorption holding member is curved, so by running the surface of the adsorption holding member along the display panel, while removing wrinkles and bubbles generated in the bonding part Can be pasted together. The overlapped plastic film and the display panel can be completely fixed by the fixing action applying means.

It is explanatory drawing of the sheet bonding apparatus which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows the time of plastic film unwinding from the unwinding part of FIG. It is explanatory drawing which shows the time of film adsorption | suction by the suction roll of FIG. It is the elements on larger scale which show the adsorption | suction hole of the suction roll of FIG. 3 in a partial cross section. It is explanatory drawing which shows the time of alignment with the film adsorb | sucked by the display panel of FIG. 1, and the suction roll. It is explanatory drawing which shows the time of film bonding completion to the display panel of FIG. It is explanatory drawing which shows the time of the display panel and film fixation of FIG. 1 by ultraviolet irradiation. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of the suction holding member replaced with the suction roll of FIG.

  Hereinafter, specific examples of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to examples and the accompanying drawings. However, the Example shown below illustrates the bonding apparatus by this invention, and does not intend specifying this invention to an Example.

  Drawing 1 shows an example of a sheet pasting device concerning one embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 1, 1 is a plastic film provided in the form of a roll, 2 is a chucking unit, 3 is a suction roll as a film adsorbing and holding unit, 4 is a suction roll for preventing the film from violating at the time of cutting, and 5 is a film A cutter blade as cutting means, 6 is a display panel holding unit having an XY-θ stage 6a, 7 is a display panel, 8 is an ultraviolet curable resin, 9 is an alignment camera, and 10 is an ultraviolet irradiation device.

  The plastic film 1 provided in a roll shape is hung on the unwinding portion 1a, and as shown in FIG. 2, the starting end portion is chucked by the full width chucking unit 2, and chucked by the actuator 2a as a tension applying means. By moving the unit 2, the plastic film 1 is unwound a predetermined number of meters. The plastic film (hereinafter abbreviated as “film”) 1 is given appropriate tension by the actuator 2a of the chucking unit 2 and the drive motor 1b of the unwinding portion 1a. The unwinding portion 1a having the drive motor 1b constitutes unwinding means in the claims. Further, the drive motor 1b constitutes the drive means in the claims. Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 3, the suction roll 3 (adsorption holding unit) installed on the upper part of the film is lowered while the film 1 is in tension. At this time, the unwinding portion 1a and the chucking unit 2 are controlled in tension, and the film 1 is unwound from the unwinding portion 1a by the drive motor 1b by an amount corresponding to the increase in the path length accompanying the lowering of the suction roll 3 while maintaining the tension. Is issued.

  In a state where the suction roll 3 is lowered and the film 1 is wound around a part of its peripheral surface, the suction roll 3 starts suction. As shown in an enlarged view in FIG. 4, a large number of suction holes 3 a are formed on the peripheral surface of the suction roll 3. The suction hole 3a is a suction air suction hole for sucking the film 1 wound around the peripheral surface of the suction roll 3, and communicates with a suction pump (not shown). In order to provide a structure in which a large number of such suction holes 3a are provided on the peripheral surface, the peripheral surface (surface) of the suction roll 3 is a rubber material or a metal mesh (metal suction mesh) having a large number of through holes that can be the suction holes 3a. Can be configured. When the suction roll 3 starts suction, the film 1 is adsorbed to the suction roll 3 as shown in FIG. Since the film is adsorbed in a state where the tension is maintained, the film 1 can be held in a state where there is no non-uniform expansion / contraction or generation of wrinkles. When the film 1 is adsorbed and held, the front and rear suction rolls 4 and 4 suck the front and rear films 1, and the drive motor 1 b and chucking unit 2 of the unwinding section 1 a release the tension control of the film 1. The film 1 is cut out by the cutter blades 5 and 5 (film cutting means). A known technique can be used for the cutting method. In this embodiment, a traverse cut method is employed in which the cutter blades 5 and 5 are scanned with respect to the film 1 in the direction of the rotation axis of the suction roll 3 (the width direction of the film 1) to cut the film 1.

  After the film 1 is cut out, the suction roll 3 is lowered and approached to the opposing display panel 7 while adsorbing the film 1, and then the display panel 7 and the film 1 are aligned. This is described in FIG. In this embodiment, since the suction holding unit is the suction roll 3, the suction roll 3 is rotated to a position where the starting end of the film 1 is opposed to the starting end of the display panel 7, and then the suction roll is applied to the display panel 7. 3 is approached. The clearance between the surface of the film 1 held on the suction roll 3 and the display panel 7 is about 100 μm. The display panel 7 is held on the porous adsorption plate 6b fixed on the XY-θ stage 6a with the ultraviolet curable resin 8 applied on the outermost surface, and below the porous plate 6b. An alignment camera 9 is installed. In this embodiment, the ultraviolet curable resin 8 is used as the fixing action imparting means, but it may be a pressure sensitive curable resin or simply an adhesive. The alignment camera 9 passes through the display panel 7 from an observation hole (not shown) formed in the porous adsorption plate 6b and reads an alignment mark (not shown) of the film 1, and based on the information, XY- The θ stage 6a is driven by servo motors 6c and 6d. At this time, the camera 9 may perform alignment by directly reading a pattern (not shown) formed on the film 1 instead of the alignment mark.

  After the alignment is completed, the suction roll 3 approaches a distance where the surface of the adsorbed film 1 contacts the display panel 7 and starts bonding. At the time of bonding, the suction roll 3 is rotated along the surface (circumferential surface) of the display panel 7, and the display panel 7 is also moved forward in accordance with the rotation of the suction roll 3. Can be bonded while removing wrinkles and bubbles. Note that the suction holes of the suction roll 3 in the range where the bonding is completed are closed as the suction roll 3 rotates, and the bonded film 1 is peeled off from the display panel 7 again. There is nothing. FIG. 6 shows a state when the bonding is completed.

  As illustrated in FIG. 7, after the bonding is completed, the entire surface of the display panel 7 is irradiated with ultraviolet rays 11 from the ultraviolet irradiation device 10 to completely fix the film 1 and the display panel 7, thereby completing the bonding process.

  In the above-described embodiment, the case where the suction holding means is the roll-shaped suction roll 3 has been described. However, for example, as shown in FIG. 8, the portion that adsorbs the film 1 to be bonded to the display panel 7 in the procedure shown in FIGS. 4 to 5 is a curved surface 12a, and the other portion is a member 12 composed of a flat surface 12b. An adsorption holding member may be configured. Thereby, adsorption | suction of the film 1, alignment to the display panel 7, and bonding can be performed with a member smaller than the suction roll 3. FIG.

  Further, the procedure for bonding the film 1 to the display panel 7 described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 6 (excluding FIG. 4) is performed in a vacuum chamber 13 as shown in FIG. You may comprise a sheet bonding apparatus. Thereby, generation | occurrence | production of the bubble between the film 1 and the display panel 7 is suppressed, and the bonding speed can be improved.

  The present invention is suitable for use in an apparatus for bonding a flexible sheet on a flat panel in the process of manufacturing a liquid crystal panel or a plasma display panel.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Plastic film provided by roll shape 2 ... Chucking unit 2a ... Actuator 3 ... Suction roll as a film adsorption | suction holding unit 3a ... Adsorption hole 4 ... Suction roll 5. ..Cutter blade 6 ... Display panel holding unit 6a ... X-Y- [theta] stage 6b ... Porous adsorption plate 6c, 6d ... Servo motor 7 ... Display panel 8 ... UV curing Resin 9 ... Alignment camera 10 ... UV irradiation device 11 ... UV 12 ... Adsorption holding member 12a ... Curved surface 12b ... Plane

Claims (8)

Unwinding means for unwinding the raw plastic film provided in a roll;
An adsorption holding member having a curved surface, which adsorbs the plastic film unwound by the unwinding means;
Tension applying means for applying a constant tension to the plastic film unwound by the unwinding means;
A panel holding member that holds the display panel facing the plastic film;
A film cutting means for cutting out the film in an adsorbed state on the adsorption holding member;
Alignment means for aligning the film with the display panel while being in the suction state to the suction holding member;
Driving means for driving the suction holding member so that the curved surface of the suction holding member is along the display panel;
A sheet laminating apparatus comprising:   The sheet bonding apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the suction holding member has a roll shape.   The sheet bonding apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a shape of the suction holding member is a member having a partially curved surface, and the suction holding member is sucked and held by a curved portion.   The sheet bonding apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein a surface material of the adsorption holding member is a rubber material obtained by processing a large number of adsorption holes.   The sheet bonding apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein a surface material of the adsorption holding member is a metal suction mesh.   The sheet sticking according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein a pressure-sensitive curable resin is used as a fixing action imparting means for imparting a fixing action between the overlapped plastic film and the display panel. Combined device.   6. An ultraviolet curable resin cured by ultraviolet irradiation is used as a fixing action imparting means for imparting a fixing action between the plastic film and the display panel overlapped with each other. The sheet bonding apparatus of description.   The sheet bonding apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 7, further comprising a vacuum chamber in which at least the plastic film is superposed on the display panel.

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