JP2015187648A - Bonding method and bonding device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To make it possible to stably bond substrates together without leaving bubbles even if the substrates have warpage or deflection.SOLUTION: A bonding device comprises: a vacuum chamber including a vacuum exhaust pump; a substrate holding portion installed in the vacuum chamber and holding a display substrate so as to be able to vertically move the display substrate; a cover substrate holding portion installed in the vacuum chamber and holding a cover substrate; a pressing portion pressing the cover substrate held by the cover substrate holding portion to the display substrate held by the display substrate holding portion; and a control unit controlling the display substrate holding portion, the cover holding portion, and the pressing portion. The display substrate holding portion includes a plurality of pairs of fixed block holding the display substrate near four corners and holding blocks movable in one direction, the cover substrate holding portion holds the cover substrate so as to be convex on the display substrate, and the pressing portion presses the cover substrate to the display substrate sequentially from a central portion to a peripheral portion of the cover substrate.

Description

  The present invention relates to a bonding method and a bonding apparatus for bonding a display substrate such as a liquid crystal module (LCM) or an organic light emitting diode (OLED) module and a cover substrate such as a touch sensor substrate or a protective substrate. .

  The display unit of the display device is provided with a cover substrate such as a substrate with a touch sensor and a protective substrate on a polarizing plate provided on a display substrate such as a liquid crystal module or an organic light emitting diode module. In recent years, such a display unit is produced through a process of attaching a cover substrate to a display substrate. In addition, as a bonding material used when the two substrates are bonded together, an ultraviolet curable resin has been widely used.

  The step of attaching the cover substrate to the display substrate is generally performed in a vacuum environment in order to prevent bubbles from entering both substrates. Patent Document 1 discloses a method for manufacturing a display device in which a display device (corresponding to a display substrate) and a protective plate (corresponding to a cover substrate) made of a transparent surface material are bonded together in a vacuum container. The manufacturing method of this display device uses a vacuum container that can be evacuated. In the vacuum vessel, a base that supports the display substrate, a moving mechanism that supports the cover substrate and moves relative to the display substrate, and an adhesive resin for sealing is interposed between the display substrate and the cover substrate. A pressure member is provided for close contact.

  Further, in this display device manufacturing method, after the display substrate coated with the adhesive resin and the cover substrate are bonded together in a vacuum, the vacuum in the vacuum vessel is released. Then, the bonded display substrate and cover substrate are taken out of the vacuum container, and the display substrate and the cover substrate are accurately aligned in the alignment device. Thereafter, the fixing adhesive resin is cured by ultraviolet irradiation or the like, and the accurate positional relationship between the aligned display substrate and the cover substrate is fixed.

  According to Patent Document 1, according to the manufacturing method of this display device, both substrates are bonded together in a vacuum, so even when a gap is formed between the sealing adhesive resin and the cover substrate at the time of bonding, It is described that by releasing the vacuum, the sealing adhesive resin is sucked into the gap and the gap can be crushed.

International Publication No. 2011/037035 Pamphlet

  However, in the manufacturing method of the display device described in Patent Document 1, when the substrate has warpage or warpage, the volume of the space (closed space) formed during bonding depends on the shape of the substrate. Depending on the shape, the volume of the closed space is too large, and even if the vacuum is released, the closed space may not be crushed and may remain as bubbles. In particular, when the substrate size increases, the volume of the closed space tends to increase, which is a problem.

  Then, this invention provides the bonding method and the bonding apparatus which can be bonded together stably, without leaving a bubble, even if there exists a warp or a sledge on a board | substrate.

  In order to solve the above-described problems, in the present invention, an apparatus for bonding a display substrate and a cover substrate is installed in a vacuum chamber having a vacuum exhaust pump, and the display substrate is held inside the vacuum chamber to The display substrate holder that can move in the direction, the cover substrate holder that is installed inside the vacuum chamber and holds the cover substrate, and the cover substrate held by the cover substrate holder is held by the display substrate holder A display unit that includes a pressing unit that presses against the display substrate, and a control unit that controls holding of the display substrate by the display substrate holding unit, vertical movement, holding of the cover substrate by the cover holding unit, and pressing of the cover substrate by the pressing unit. The holding unit includes a fixed block whose upper surface that holds the display substrate in the vicinity of the four corners is lower than the surface of the display substrate, and a holding block that can move in one direction. And the cover substrate holding unit is configured to hold the cover substrate so that the cover substrate has a convex shape toward the display substrate, and the pressing unit is configured to press the cover substrate against the periphery of the cover substrate against the display substrate. .

  In order to solve the above problems, in the present invention, in the method of bonding the display substrate and the cover substrate, the display substrate holding portion that is installed inside the vacuum chamber and is movable in the vertical direction is positioned below. In this state, the display substrate is placed on the display substrate holding unit and the portions near the four corners of the display substrate are sandwiched and held, and the cover substrate is held by the display substrate holding unit by the cover substrate holding unit installed inside the vacuum chamber. The display substrate holding part is held in a state where the central part of the surface facing the display substrate protrudes toward the display substrate, the inside of the vacuum chamber is evacuated to a vacuum state, and the display substrate holding part is placed inside the vacuum chamber in a vacuum state. The display substrate held by holding the display substrate holding part sandwiching and holding the vicinity of the four corners with the display substrate holding part protruded from the cover substrate held in the state where the central part protrudes toward the display substrate side. The cover substrate is held by the cover substrate holding part in a state where the display substrate is pressed against the protruding portion of the cover substrate, and the cover substrate is released from the side opposite to the surface facing the display substrate. By pressing the cover substrate and pressing the cover substrate against the display substrate, the cover substrate is sequentially bonded from the portion pressed against the display substrate toward the peripheral portion, and the inside of the vacuum chamber with the cover substrate and the display substrate bonded together Was released from the vacuum chamber after the cover substrate and the display substrate were released from being pressed to the atmospheric pressure.

  According to the present invention, even if there is a warp or warp on the substrate, the substrates can be bonded stably without leaving bubbles.

It is a top view which shows schematic structure of the display substrate which concerns on Example 1 of this invention. 1B is a cross-sectional view taken along the line AA of FIG. 1A of the display substrate according to Example 1 of the invention. It is a top view which shows schematic structure of the cover board | substrate which concerns on Example 1 of this invention. It is an AA cross section arrow view of FIG. 2A of the cover board | substrate which concerns on Example 1 of this invention. It is a front view which shows schematic structure of the board | substrate bonding apparatus which concerns on Example 1 of this invention. It is a top view which shows schematic structure of the display substrate holding part which concerns on Example 1 of this invention. It is front sectional drawing which shows the positional relationship of the pressing part which concerns on Example 1 of this invention, a cover substrate, and the application | coating area | region of ultraviolet curable resin. It is a flowchart which shows the operation example at the time of bonding which concerns on Example 1 of this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows the operation example at the time of bonding which concerns on Example 1 of this invention. It is a front view which shows schematic structure of the board | substrate bonding apparatus which concerns on Example 2 of this invention. It is a front view of the front-end | tip part of the cover board | substrate holding part of the board | substrate bonding apparatus which concerns on Example 2 of this invention. It is a top view which shows schematic structure of the cover board | substrate holding part which concerns on Example 2 of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the operation example at the time of bonding which concerns on Example 2 of this invention. It is a front view which shows schematic structure of the board | substrate bonding apparatus which concerns on Example 3 of this invention. It is a top view of the cover board | substrate holding part which concerns on Example 3 of this invention. It is a front view which shows schematic structure of the board | substrate bonding apparatus which concerns on Example 4 of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the operation example at the time of bonding which concerns on Example 4 of this invention. It is a top view which shows schematic structure of the cover board | substrate conveyance hand which concerns on Example 5 of this invention. It is an arrow line view of the AA cross section in FIG. 15A of the cover board | substrate conveyance hand which concerns on Example 5 of this invention. It is a front view which shows schematic structure of the display substrate holding part which concerns on Example 6 of this invention. It is a top view which shows schematic structure of the display substrate holding part which concerns on Example 6 of this invention.

  The present invention provides a substrate bonding apparatus for bonding a display substrate and a cover substrate through an adhesive member, a display substrate holding unit for holding a display substrate, a cover substrate holding unit for holding a cover substrate, and at the time of bonding The display board holding part holds the outer edge part of the display board at the time of bonding so that the four corners of the display board do not float, and the cover board holding part is Hold the cover substrate so that the center of the substrate is convex with respect to the bonding surface, bring the display substrate holding part and the cover substrate holding part close together, and attach the display substrate and at least part of the cover substrate. At least a part of each side of the bonding region was pressed against the cover substrate.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

[Display board]
First, the display substrate which is one substrate bonded by the bonding apparatus of a present Example is demonstrated.

  FIG. 1A is a plan view showing a schematic configuration of the display substrate 1, and FIG. 1B is an arrow view of the AA cross section of FIG. 1A. The display substrate 1 is, for example, an LCD module (LCM). The display substrate 1 includes a substrate main body 2 using liquid crystal, a frame 3 that accommodates the substrate main body 2 by exposing one surface of the substrate main body 2, and a polarizing plate attached to one surface of the substrate main body 2. 4 is provided.

  The display substrate 1 may be an organic light emitting diode (OLED) module or other display module.

[Cover substrate]
Next, a substrate with a touch sensor showing a specific example of a cover substrate which is the other substrate bonded by the bonding apparatus of the present invention will be described.
FIG. 2A is a plan view showing a schematic configuration of the substrate 5 with a touch sensor, and FIG. 2B is an arrow view of the AA cross section of FIG. 2A. The substrate 5 with a touch sensor includes a substrate body 6 and a decorative printing unit 7 provided on one surface of the substrate body 6. The substrate body 6 is provided with a touch sensor. The decorative printing unit 7 is formed in a frame shape. The contour of the outer periphery of the decorative printing unit 7 is substantially equal to the contour of the outer periphery of the substrate body 6, and the contour of the inner periphery is smaller than the contour of the outer periphery of the polarizing plate 4 on the display substrate 1.

  Note that the cover substrate according to the present embodiment is not limited to a substrate with a touch sensor, and may be a protective substrate formed entirely of a glass material, for example.

[Board bonding equipment]
Next, the structure of the bonding apparatus of a present Example is demonstrated with reference to FIG.
FIG. 3 is a front view illustrating a schematic configuration of the bonding apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment. A bonding apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment includes a vacuum chamber 8, a display substrate holding unit 9, a cover substrate holding unit 10, a pressing unit 11, a vacuum exhaust pump 801, and an overall control unit 110.

  The display substrate holding unit 9 is driven in the Z direction by the driving unit 12 controlled by the overall control unit 110 and holds the display substrate 1.

  A plan view of the display substrate holding unit 9 is shown in FIG. The display substrate holding unit 9 includes a fixed block 16, a holding block 17, a holding drive unit 18, and a base 19. The fixed block 16 and the holding block 17 are installed at positions that hold the vicinity of the four corners with respect to the display substrate 1. The heights of the upper surfaces of the fixed block 16 and the holding block 17 are formed to be lower than the height of the surface of the display substrate 1 to be held so as not to interfere with the cover substrate at the time of bonding.

  The display substrate 1 placed on the display substrate holding unit 9 is sandwiched from the side surfaces by the fixing block 16 and the holding block 17, so that the four corners are fixed and the floating at the time of bonding is suppressed. By driving the holding block 17 back and forth in the X direction or the Y direction by the holding driving unit 18 controlled by the overall control unit 110, the display substrate 1 is pressed against or released from the fixed block 16. Fix / release and adjust the fixing force.

  As a configuration of the holding drive unit 18, in FIG. 4, a spring 181 is interposed between the movable plate 182 and the holding block 17, and the movable plate 182 is driven by a motor (not shown) to move back and forth. Although the configuration for fixing / releasing is shown, the present embodiment is not limited to this. For example, the holding block 17 may be directly driven back and forth using a torque motor.

  The cover substrate holding unit 10 is driven in the X direction by the driving unit 14 controlled by the overall control unit 110 and holds the cover substrate 5 coated with the ultraviolet curable resin 13. The tip 101 of the cover substrate holding part 10 is inclined so as not to drop the cover substrate 5. Further, a protruding stopper 102 is provided on the upper side so that the substrate does not slide upward when the cover substrate 5 is sandwiched.

  The cover substrate 5 supplied to the cover substrate holding unit 10 has a downwardly convex shape that sags toward the surface on which the ultraviolet curable resin 13 is applied by its own weight. Here, when the cover substrate holding unit 10 is driven in the X direction by the drive unit 14 controlled by the overall control unit 110 and the cover substrate 5 is sandwiched, the cover substrate 5 bends and the amount of deformation of the downward convex increases. By controlling the force by which the cover substrate holding unit 10 sandwiches the cover substrate 5 by the driving unit 14 by the overall control unit 110, the amount of deformation of the downward convex of the cover substrate 5 can be controlled.

  The pressing unit 11 is driven in the Z direction by the driving unit 15 controlled by the overall control unit 110, and presses the cover substrate 5 from the opposite side of the bonding surface to which the ultraviolet curable resin 13 is applied at the time of bonding. The pressing portion 11 has a rectangular plate shape and presses the four outer sides of the application region of the ultraviolet curable resin 13.

  FIG. 5 shows the positional relationship between the pressing portion 11, the cover substrate 5, and the application region of the ultraviolet curable resin 13. The outer peripheral part of the application | coating area | region of the ultraviolet curable resin 13 exists outside the inner edge part of the decorating printing part 7 on the cover board | substrate 5 so that the boundary of the ultraviolet curable resin 13 is not visually recognized from the outside. The pressing part 11 is designed to be larger than the inner edge part of the decorative printing part 7 so that the inner side of the inner edge part of the decorative printing part 7 is securely bonded. The size relationship between the application region of the ultraviolet curable resin 13 and the pressing portion 11 may be either.

  In this embodiment, the pressing portion 11 has a rectangular plate shape. However, the pressing portion 11 protrudes in a square shape in the vicinity of the inner edge portion of the decorative printing portion 7 or the vicinity of the inner edge portion of the decorative printing portion 7. The groove may be provided to such an extent that it does not significantly affect the pressing pressure distribution.

  In the configuration shown in FIG. 4, an example in which four combinations of the fixed block and the pressing block are provided is shown. However, the present embodiment is not limited to this, and for example, two sets that are pressed in the X-axis direction are deleted. Then, only two sets that are pressed in the Y-axis direction may be used, and the combination of the fixed block and the pressing block that are pressed in the Y-axis direction along the X-axis direction that is the longitudinal direction of the display substrate 1 is two sets in FIG. May be increased to 3 sets, or 4 sets or more.

[Operation example when pasting]
Next, an operation example at the time of bonding will be described with reference to FIGS.
First, in step S <b> 1, the display substrate 1 is carried into the inside of the vacuum chamber 8 from a carry-in port (not shown) of the vacuum chamber 8 by a transfer means (not shown), and the holding drive unit 18 controlled by the overall control unit 110. The holding block 17 is driven and placed on the display substrate holding unit 9 in a retracted state, and the overall control unit 110 operates the holding driving unit 18 to move the holding block 17 forward and place it on the display substrate holding unit 9. By pressing the display substrate 1 against the fixed block 16, the fixed block 16 and the holding block 17 hold the four corners of the display substrate 1.

  Next, in step S <b> 2, the cover substrate 5 to which the ultraviolet curable resin 13 has been applied is driven by the drive unit 14 controlled by the overall control unit 110 and the cover substrate holding unit 10 is retracted. The cover is loaded into the vacuum chamber 8 through a loading port (not shown) of the vacuum chamber 8 with the surface coated on the bottom side, and driven by the driving unit 14 to advance the cover substrate holding unit 10. The substrate 5 is held (FIG. 7A). At this time, the central portion of the cover substrate 5 is held in a convex shape on the side to which the ultraviolet curable resin 13 is applied, that is, on the lower side.

  In step S3, the vacuum pump 801 is driven by the overall control unit 110, and the inside of the vacuum chamber 8 is evacuated to a vacuum state via the vacuum pipe 802.

  After the inside of the vacuum chamber 8 reaches a predetermined degree of vacuum, in step S4, the overall control unit 0 controls the drive unit 12 to raise the display substrate holding unit 9, and the display held in the display substrate holding unit 9 Near the center of the substrate 1 and the ultraviolet curable resin 13 applied on the cover substrate 5 held by the cover substrate holding portion 10 come into contact (FIG. 7B). At this time, since the compressive force is applied to the center of the display substrate 1 by the cover substrate 5, the end of the display substrate 1 is moved by deformation of the frame 3 constituting the display substrate 1, the base 9 on which the display substrate 1 is placed, and the like. There is a case where a force to lift is added.

  When the end portion of the display substrate 1 is lifted, the end portions of the display substrate 1 and the cover substrate 5 may come into contact with each other at a stretch, thereby forming a large closed space. On the other hand, in this embodiment, the display substrate holding unit 9 suppresses the four corners of the display substrate 1 from being lifted, so that the display substrate 1 can be bonded gradually from the center toward the end.

  In step S5, the overall control unit 110 drives the drive unit 14 to retract the cover substrate holding unit 10 to release the cover substrate 5 (FIG. 7 (c)).

  Next, in step S <b> 6, the overall control unit 110 drives the drive unit 15 to lower the pressing unit 11, and the pressing unit 11 presses the cover substrate 5 against the display substrate 1. Are pasted together (FIG. 7 (d)).

  Next, in step S7, the pressing unit 11 presses the cover substrate 5 against the display substrate 1 for a predetermined time, and then the overall control unit 110 stops driving the vacuum exhaust pump 801 to open the vacuum chamber 8 to the atmosphere. The overall control unit 110 drives the drive unit 15 to raise the pressing unit 11 to release the pressing by the pressing unit 11, and crushes bubbles remaining between the display substrate 1 and the cover substrate 5 at atmospheric pressure.

  In step S <b> 8, the bonded substrate is unloaded from the vacuum chamber 8 by a transfer means (not shown).

  According to the above-described embodiment, the cover substrate 5 can be bonded to the display substrate 1 sequentially from the center portion to the peripheral portion with the bonding surface controlled to be convex without depending on the warp or warp. The volume of the closed space formed at the time of bonding can be reduced or the generation of the closed space can be suppressed, and the generation of bubbles on the bonding surface of the cover substrate 5 and the display substrate 1 can be suppressed.

  Furthermore, since the floating of the four corners of the display substrate 1 is suppressed, the display substrate 1 can be sequentially bonded from the center of the substrate toward the end, and the volume of the closed space formed at the time of bonding is reduced or the generation of the closed space is suppressed. Therefore, the generation of bubbles on the bonding surface of the cover substrate 5 and the display substrate 1 can be suppressed.

  The cover substrate 5 may be smaller than the display substrate 1. In such a case, in the configuration of the first embodiment, the tip of the cover substrate holding unit 10 contacts the display substrate 1 at the time of bonding, and bonding cannot be performed.

  In the present embodiment, in order to enable bonding even when the cover substrate 5 is smaller than the display substrate 1, an example in which an adhesive member is used as the cover substrate holding portion in the bonding apparatus 100 described in the first embodiment will be described. To do.

  In addition, the structure of the display board | substrate 1 and the cover board | substrate 5 which are object in a present Example, and the structure of the display board holding | maintenance part 9 of the bonding apparatus 200 in a present Example were shown in FIG.1, FIG.2, FIG.4, respectively. Since it is the same as that of Example 1, description is abbreviate | omitted.

[Board bonding equipment]
FIG. 8A is a front view showing a schematic configuration of the bonding apparatus 200 of the present embodiment. The bonding apparatus 100 discards the vacuum chamber 81, the display substrate holding unit 9, the cover substrate holding unit 20, the pressing unit 21, the vacuum exhaust pump 23 for vacuum-sucking the cover substrate 5, and the inside of the vacuum chamber 81 to a vacuum. For this purpose, an evacuation pump 801 and an overall control unit 210 are provided.

  FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line AA of FIG. 8A and shows the positional relationship of the cover substrate holding unit 20, the pressing unit 21, and the cover substrate 5 in the present embodiment.

  As shown in FIG. 8B, the cover substrate holding unit 20 is provided with an adhesive member 202 at the tip portion 201, and holds the cover substrate 5 by adhering to the adhesive surface 203 of the adhesive member 202. The front end portion 201 of the cover substrate holding unit 20 is inclined with respect to the bonding surface so that the central portion of the cover substrate 5 to be held protrudes toward the display substrate 1. By holding the cover substrate 5 along the inclination of the front end portion 201 of the cover substrate holding part 20, the cover substrate 5 is convex so that the bonding surface of the cover substrate 5 is convex toward the opposing display substrate 1 (lower side). 5 is controlled.

  The holding position of the cover substrate 5 by the cover substrate holding unit 20 suppresses the occurrence of peeling of the cover substrate 5 from the surface 203 of the adhesive member 202 provided at the tip 201 of the cover substrate holding unit 20 due to the elastic force of the cover substrate 5. In order to achieve this, it is desirable to provide several places closer to the end of the cover substrate 5 (particularly, several places closer to the end on the short side when the cover substrate 5 is rectangular).

  A vacuum suction pipe 22 is provided in the center of the cover substrate holding unit 20. One end of the vacuum suction pipe 22 is connected to the vacuum exhaust pump 23, and the other end is connected to the vacuum suction port 221. The cover substrate 5 carried into the bonding apparatus 200 is vacuum-adsorbed from the vacuum suction port 221 so that it is firmly adhered and held on the adhesive member 202 of the tip 201 of the cover substrate holding unit 20.

  The pressing unit 21 is driven in the Z direction by the driving unit 151 controlled by the overall control unit 210. At the time of bonding, the vacuum control by the vacuum pump 23 is controlled by the overall control unit 210, and the pressing unit 21 is driven downward in the Z direction while the vacuum suction from the vacuum suction port 221 is stopped to cover the cover substrate. 5, the cover substrate 5 is peeled off from the adhesive 202 of the cover substrate holding unit 20, and the cover substrate 5 is pressed against the display substrate 1 from the opposite side of the bonding surface. The pressing portion 21 has a shape shown in FIG. 9, and the inside can be reliably bonded to the inner edge portion of the decorative printing portion 7 of the cover substrate 5.

  Note that the pressing portion 21 is not limited to that shown in FIG. 9, and it is only necessary that the inner side of the decorative printing portion 7 of the cover substrate 5 can be securely bonded.

[Operation example when pasting]
An operation example at the time of pasting will be described with reference to a flowchart of FIG.
Step S101 is the same as step S1 in the flowchart of FIG.

  Next, in step S102, the cover substrate 5 coated with the ultraviolet curable resin 13 is placed inside the vacuum chamber 8 from the unillustrated inlet of the vacuum chamber 8 with the surface coated with the ultraviolet curable resin 13 facing down. The vacuum pump 23 is operated by the overall control unit 110 while the cover substrate 5 is vacuum-sucked from the vacuum suction port 221 in a state in which the vacuum exhaust pump 23 is operated by the overall control unit 110 in a state where the cover substrate holding unit 20 is pressed against the adhesive 202. The cover substrate 5 is held following the shape of the tip portion 201 of the cover substrate holding unit 20. Thereby, the center part of the cover board | substrate 5 is hold | maintained by the convex shape at the side by which the ultraviolet curable resin 13 was apply | coated, ie, a lower side.

  Steps S103 and S104 are the same as S3 and S4 in FIG.

  In step S105, the pressing unit 21 is lowered by being driven by the driving unit 151 controlled by the overall control unit 210 while being evacuated by the evacuation pump 23 under the control of the overall control unit 210, and the cover substrate holding unit is lowered. The cover substrate 5 held by the adhesive member 202 at the tip portion 201 of 20 and the convex tip (lower end) portion in contact with the display substrate 1 is pushed away from the adhesive member 202.

  In step S106, the pressing unit 21 is further lowered by being driven by the driving unit 151 controlled by the overall control unit 210, and the cover substrate 5 is further pressed against the display substrate 1 so that the entire surface of the display substrate 1 and the cover substrate 5 is bonded. Match.

  Next, in step S107, the pressing unit 11 presses the cover substrate 5 against the display substrate 1 for a predetermined time, and then the overall control unit 210 stops driving the vacuum exhaust pump 801 to open the vacuum chamber 8 to the atmosphere. The overall control unit 110 drives the drive unit 15 to raise the pressing unit 11 to release the pressing by the pressing unit 11, and crushes bubbles remaining between the display substrate 1 and the cover substrate 5 at atmospheric pressure.

  Finally, in step S108, the substrate that has been bonded by a transfer means (not shown) is carried out of the vacuum chamber 8.

  According to the present embodiment, even when the cover substrate 5 is smaller than the display substrate 1, the display substrate is controlled in a state in which the bonding surface is controlled to be convex toward the display substrate 1 regardless of warpage or warpage. 1 can be sequentially contacted from the central portion toward the outer peripheral portion, so that the volume of the closed space formed at the time of bonding can be reduced or the generation of the closed space can be prevented, so that the cover substrate 5 and the display substrate 1 can be bonded. Generation of bubbles on the mating surfaces can be suppressed.

  Depending on the shape of the cover substrate 5, even in the configuration of the second embodiment, it may not be possible to control the shape so that the central portion of the cover substrate 5 is convex.

  In the present embodiment, even for such a substrate, in order to control the shape so that the central portion of the cover substrate 5 is convex, the protruding portion is further provided for the bonding apparatus 200 described in the second embodiment. An example in which is provided will be described.

  In the present embodiment, the structure of the display substrate 1, the cover substrate 5, the display substrate holding portion 9, the cover substrate holding portion, and the operation at the time of bonding are the same as those in the second embodiment. Omitted.

[Board bonding equipment]
FIG. 11: is a front view which shows schematic structure of the bonding apparatus 300 of a present Example. The bonding apparatus 300 includes a vacuum chamber 8, a display substrate holding unit 9, a cover substrate holding unit 20, a pressing unit 211, a vacuum exhaust pump 23, a protruding unit 24, and an overall control unit 310.

  FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line AA in FIG. 11 and shows the positional relationship between the cover substrate holding unit 20, the pressing unit 211, the protruding unit 24, and the cover substrate 5.

  The protruding portion 24 is disposed near the center of the cover substrate 5 and protrudes toward the display substrate 1 from the tip of the cover substrate holding portion 20 in the direction perpendicular to the bonding surface (Z direction). When the cover substrate 5 is held by the cover substrate holding portion 20 by the protruding portion 24, the center of the cover substrate 5 is controlled to have a convex shape toward the bonding surface.

  The bonding procedure in the present embodiment is the same as that described in Embodiment 2 with reference to FIG.

  According to the present embodiment, since the cover substrate 5 can be surely deformed in a convex shape toward the display substrate and then sequentially bonded from the vicinity of the center of the cover substrate 5 toward the periphery, it is formed at the time of bonding. Since the volume of the closed space can be reduced or the generation of the closed space can be prevented, the generation of bubbles on the bonding surface of the cover substrate 5 and the display substrate 1 can be suppressed.

  When the elastic modulus of the cover substrate 5 is high, when the cover substrate 5 is held by the adhesive member 202 and the shape is controlled as in the second and third embodiments, the cover substrate 5 is adhered to the adhesive member 202 by the restoring force of the cover substrate 5. May come off.

  In the present embodiment, an example in which the peeling preventing unit 25 is provided in the sticking apparatus 300 described in the third embodiment will be described in order to hold even such a substrate without peeling.

  In this embodiment, the structures of the display substrate 1, the cover substrate 5, the display substrate holding portion 9, the cover substrate holding portion 20, the pressing portion 21, and the protruding portion 24 are the same as those described in the third embodiment. The description is omitted.

[Board bonding equipment]
FIG. 13: is a front view which shows schematic structure of the bonding apparatus 400 of a present Example. The bonding apparatus 400 includes a vacuum chamber 83, a display substrate holding unit 9, a cover substrate holding unit 20, a pressing unit 211, a vacuum exhaust pump 23, a protruding unit 24, a peeling prevention unit 25, and an overall control unit 410.

The peeling prevention unit 25 is driven in the X direction by the driving unit 26 controlled by the overall control unit 410. The peeling prevention part 25 has an inclination at the tip part 251, and can press the vicinity of the adhesive part of the cover substrate 5 held by the cover substrate holding part 20.
The driving direction of the peeling prevention unit 25 is not limited to the X direction and may be an oblique direction.

[Operation example when pasting]
An operation example at the time of pasting will be described with reference to a flowchart of FIG.
Step S1401 is the same as step S101 in the flowchart described with reference to FIG.

  Next, in step S1402, the cover substrate 5 coated with the ultraviolet curable resin 13 is placed inside the vacuum chamber 8 from the unillustrated entrance of the vacuum chamber 83 with the surface coated with the ultraviolet curable resin 13 facing down. In the state where it is carried in and pressed against the tip portion 201 of the cover substrate holding part 20, the vacuum exhaust pump 23 is operated by the overall control part 410 to vacuum suck the cover substrate 5 from the vacuum suction port 221 and remove the cover substrate 5. The cover substrate holding part 20 is held in accordance with the shape of the tip part 201. Thereby, the center part of the cover board | substrate 5 is hold | maintained by the convex shape at the side by which the ultraviolet curable resin 13 was apply | coated, ie, a lower side.

  In step S1403, the peeling prevention unit 25 is advanced by the drive unit 26 controlled by the overall control unit 410, and the leading end portion 251 of the peeling prevention unit 25 enters the lower side of the cover substrate 5 as shown in FIG. As a result, the cover substrate 5 is pressed near the portion where the adhesive member 202 of the tip portion 201 of the cover substrate holding portion 20 is provided.

  In step S1404, the overall control unit 110 drives an evacuation unit (not shown) to evacuate the vacuum chamber 83 to a vacuum state.

  After the inside of the vacuum chamber 8 reaches a predetermined degree of vacuum, in step S1405, the peeling prevention unit 25 is retracted and the pressing of the cover substrate 5 is released.

  Steps S1406 to S1410 are the same as steps S104 to S108 in the second embodiment, and a description thereof will be omitted.

  According to the present embodiment, since the cover substrate 5 can be surely deformed in a convex shape toward the display substrate and then sequentially bonded from the vicinity of the center of the cover substrate 5 toward the periphery, it is formed at the time of bonding. Since the volume of the closed space can be reduced or the generation of the closed space can be prevented, the generation of bubbles on the bonding surface of the cover substrate 5 and the display substrate 1 can be suppressed.

  In the case where the shape of the cover substrate is concave with respect to the bonding surface, the elastic modulus of the substrate is high, and deformation due to its own weight is small, the cover substrate holding method of Example 2 uses the bonding surface of the cover substrate 5 to the display substrate 1. May not be convexly controlled. Also in the cases of Examples 2 to 4, when the cover substrate holding unit 20 holds the cover substrate 5, the cover substrate 5 is matched with the adhesive surface 203 of the adhesive member 202 provided at the tip portion 201 of the cover substrate holding unit 20. May not be able to be held.

  In this embodiment, an example of a cover substrate transport hand that can reliably hold such a substrate will be described.

  FIG. 15A is a plan view showing a schematic configuration of a cover substrate transport hand 27 for transporting the cover substrate 5 of the present embodiment, and FIG. 15B is an arrow view of the AA cross section of FIG. 15A. The transport hand 27 has suction arms 271 to 273, and the suction arms 271 to 273 are vacuum-sucked on the surface of the cover substrate 5 opposite to the surface on which the ultraviolet curable resin 13 is applied. Are provided with a plurality of adsorbing portions 28 to hold.

  The central suction arm 272 is arranged at a low position near the suction arms 271 and 273 on both sides thereof. When the cover substrate 5 is sucked due to the difference in height between the suction arm 272 disposed at the center and the suction arms 271 and 273 disposed on both sides thereof, the bonding surface of the cover substrate 5 to the display substrate 1 is bonded. It is adsorbed by the adsorption arms 271 to 273 so that the side of the surface coated with the ultraviolet curable resin 13 becomes convex. The suction part 28 is constituted by a suction cup, which is made of, for example, elastic rubber and can be sucked by following the shape of the cover substrate 5.

  According to the present embodiment, even when the elastic modulus of the cover substrate 5 is high, the cover substrate 5 can be matched with the adhesive surface 203 of the adhesive member 202 provided at the tip portion 201 of the cover substrate holding unit 20. Thereby, the display substrate 1 and the cover substrate 5 can be sequentially bonded from the central portion to the peripheral portion, and the volume of the closed space formed at the time of bonding can be reduced or the occurrence of the closed space can be prevented. Generation of bubbles on the bonding surface of the cover substrate 5 and the display substrate 1 can be suppressed.

  The display substrate 1 may expand due to air trapped inside the substrate during evacuation. At this time, the display substrate 1 may be detached from the display substrate holding part due to the expansion force.

  In this embodiment, an example of a display substrate holding unit that can hold such a display substrate will be described.

  FIG. 16A is a front view illustrating a schematic configuration of the display substrate holding unit of the present embodiment, and FIG. 16B is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA in FIG. 16A. The display substrate holding unit 91 includes fixed blocks 16 and 161, holding blocks 17 and 171, a holding drive unit 18, a base 191, a rotary bearing 29, and a rotary shaft 30. The fixed blocks 16 and 161 and the holding blocks 17 and 171 are installed at positions that hold the vicinity of the four corners with respect to the display substrate 1. The display substrate 1 placed on the display substrate holding unit 91 is sandwiched from the side surfaces by the fixing blocks 16 and 161 and the holding blocks 17 and 171 so that the four corners are fixed and the floating at the time of bonding is suppressed. The rotary shaft 30 is fixed to the fixed block 161 and the holding block 171 in the Y-axis direction. The rotary shaft 30 is fixed to the rotary bearing 29, and the fixed block 161 and the holding block 171 can freely move around the rotary shaft. Can rotate.

  Since the four corners of the display substrate 1 at the time of expansion are fixed, the display substrate 1 is deformed into an arc as shown in FIG. 16A. At this time, in the display substrate holding unit 9 described in the first to fifth embodiments, the frame is displaced from the fixed block 16 and the holding block 17, and the holding is easily removed. In the present embodiment, since the fixed block 161 and the holding block 171 rotate following the deformation of the frame, the display substrate 1 can be held without being removed.

  In the configuration shown in FIG. 16B, an example in which four combinations of the fixed block and the pressing block are provided is shown. However, the present embodiment is not limited to this, and for example, two sets that are pressed in the X-axis direction are deleted. Then, only two sets to be pressed in the Y-axis direction may be provided, and the combination of the fixed block and the pressing block to be pressed in the Y-axis direction along the X-axis direction which is the longitudinal direction of the display substrate 1 is two sets in FIG. May be increased to 3 sets, or 4 sets or more.

  According to the present embodiment, even when the display substrate 1 is deformed due to thermal expansion, the display substrate 1 can be reliably held, and the closed state formed by the displacement of the display substrate during bonding is formed. Since the volume of the space can be reduced or the generation of a closed space can be prevented, the generation of bubbles on the bonding surface of the cover substrate 5 and the display substrate 1 can be suppressed.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Display substrate 5 ... Cover substrate 8, 81, 82, 83 ... Vacuum chamber 9, 91 ... Display substrate holding part 10 ... Cover substrate holding part 11, 21, 21, 211 ... Pressing unit 13 ... UV curable resin 16 ... fixed block 17 ... holding block 18 ... holding drive unit 24 ... extrusion unit 25 ... peeling prevention unit 27 ... cover substrate transport hand 802 ... Vacuum pump.

Claims (14)

A device for bonding a display substrate and a cover substrate,
A vacuum chamber with a vacuum pump;
A display substrate holder that is installed inside the vacuum chamber and is movable in the vertical direction while holding the display substrate;
A cover substrate holding part installed inside the vacuum chamber to hold the cover substrate;
A pressing unit that presses the cover substrate against the display substrate held by the display substrate holding unit;
A control unit that controls holding of the display substrate by the display substrate holding unit, movement in the vertical direction, holding of the cover substrate by the cover holding unit, and pressing of the cover substrate by the pressing unit;
The display substrate holding unit has a fixed block whose upper surface for holding the display substrate in the vicinity of the four corners is lower than the surface of the display substrate and a holding block movable in one direction,
The cover substrate holding unit holds the cover substrate so that the cover substrate has a convex shape toward the display substrate,
The said pressing part presses the said cover board | substrate to the said display board | substrate sequentially from the center part to the peripheral part of this cover board | substrate, The bonding apparatus characterized by the above-mentioned.   The bonding apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the cover substrate holding unit holds the cover substrate in a convex shape on the display substrate side by sandwiching two opposing sides of the cover substrate. A laminating device characterized by.   2. The bonding apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the cover substrate holding portion vacuum-sucks the cover substrate in the vicinity of an end of a surface opposite to a surface to be bonded to the display substrate of the cover substrate, and the cover substrate. A bonding apparatus, characterized in that an adhesive material is formed on the vacuum suction surface of the holding unit.   It is a bonding apparatus of Claim 3, Comprising: The said cover substrate holding | maintenance part has a protrusion part which protrudes the vicinity of the center part of the said cover substrate to the display substrate side hold | maintained at the said display substrate holding part, It is characterized by the above-mentioned. Bonding device to do.   5. The bonding apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the cover substrate holding portion further includes a peeling prevention portion that presses an end portion of the cover substrate close to the position to be vacuum-sucked against the adhesive material. Bonding device.   The bonding apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5, further comprising a cover substrate transfer portion that transfers the cover substrate to the cover substrate holding portion, wherein the cover substrate transfer portion is a central portion of the cover substrate. Is transferred to the cover substrate holding portion by transporting the cover substrate in a state of protruding toward the display substrate held by the display substrate holding portion.   It is a bonding apparatus in any one of Claims 1 thru | or 6, Comprising: Of four sets of fixed blocks and holding blocks which hold | maintain the display substrate of the said display substrate holding part in the vicinity of four corners, it opposes. The bonding apparatus characterized in that the two sets of the fixing block and the holding block are rotatably attached around the axis. A method of bonding a display substrate and a cover substrate,
A display substrate is placed on the display substrate holding portion in a state where the display substrate holding portion, which is installed inside the vacuum chamber and is movable in the vertical direction, is sandwiched between the four corners of the display substrate. Hold and
The cover substrate is held in a state where the center portion of the surface facing the display substrate held by the display substrate holding portion protrudes toward the display substrate by the cover substrate holding portion installed inside the vacuum chamber. ,
The inside of the vacuum chamber is evacuated to a vacuum state,
The display substrate holding portion is moved upward in the vacuum chamber in the vacuum state, and the display substrate holding portion sandwiching and holding the vicinity of the four corners by the display substrate holding portion has a central portion at the cover substrate holding portion. Press against the protruding portion of the cover substrate held in a state protruding to the display substrate side,
In a state where the display substrate is pressed against the protruding portion of the cover substrate, the cover substrate holding part releases the cover substrate and the surface of the cover substrate opposite to the surface facing the display substrate is released. By sequentially pressing the cover substrate against the display substrate by pressing the cover substrate from the side and sequentially pressing the cover substrate against the display substrate toward the peripheral portion,
With the cover substrate and the display substrate bonded together, the inside of the vacuum chamber is brought into an atmospheric pressure state,
The bonding method, wherein after the pressing of the cover substrate to the display substrate is released, the bonded cover substrate and the display substrate are taken out from the vacuum chamber.   The bonding method according to claim 8, wherein the cover substrate is held by the cover substrate holding portion so as to be convex toward the display substrate by sandwiching two opposite sides of the cover substrate. Characteristic bonding method.   The bonding method according to claim 8, wherein the cover substrate is vacuum-sucked in the vicinity of an end portion of the surface of the cover substrate opposite to the surface to be bonded to the display substrate in the cover substrate holding portion, A bonding method, comprising: adhering and holding the vacuum-adsorbed cover substrate with an adhesive material formed on a vacuum adsorption surface of a cover substrate holding unit.   The bonding method according to claim 10, wherein the cover substrate holding portion pushes and holds the vicinity of the central portion of the cover substrate toward the display substrate held by the display substrate holding portion. Characteristic bonding method.   It is the bonding method of Claim 11, Comprising: The vicinity of the center part of the said cover substrate is pressed against the said vacuum suction surface while pressing the edge part near the said vacuum suction position of the said cover substrate with the said cover substrate holding part. A bonding method, characterized in that the display substrate is held by pushing and protruding toward the display substrate held by the display substrate holder.   It is a bonding method in any one of Claims 8 thru | or 12, Comprising: The said cover substrate is conveyed in the state which made the center part of the said cover substrate protrude in the side of the display substrate hold | maintained at the said display substrate holding part. And it passes to the said cover board | substrate holding part, The bonding method characterized by the above-mentioned.   The bonding method according to any one of claims 8 to 13, wherein two sets of opposing fixed blocks and holding blocks that hold the display substrate of the display substrate holding unit in the vicinity of four corners are opposed to each other. The bonding method, wherein the fixing block and the holding block are attached so as to be rotatable around an axis.

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