JP3708338B2 - Crimping device - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to crimping equipment for crimping a flexible board to the display panel.
[0002]
[Prior art]
A sub-board on which a driver chip is mounted is connected to a display panel such as a plasma panel. The sub-board and the display panel are connected via a flexible board, and is applied by applying an anisotropic conductive adhesive to the edge of the display panel and then pressing the flexible board.
[0003]
By the way, a flexible substrate may be connected to both sides of the display panel as well as one side. Display panels are generally large in size, and in the case of such large panels, it is difficult to invert the display panel. Two crimping steps were required: crimping from above and crimping from below.
[0004]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
For this reason, in the manufacturing process of the conventional display panel, a dedicated crimping device for upper crimping and lower crimping is required, and the cost of equipment due to the need for a plurality of crimping devices and two processes are required. Therefore, there is a problem that the process becomes complicated and the tact time required for pressure bonding increases.
[0005]
Accordingly, the present invention aims at providing a compression equipment which can perform compression on both sides in the same step.
[0006]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
The crimping device according to claim 1 is disposed at a position facing the upper and lower sides of a crimping target object in which a flexible substrate is stacked via an anisotropic conductive material at a crimping position of an end portion of the display panel. A crimping apparatus including a crimping tool that can freely move toward and away from an object, a pressing unit that presses the crimping tool toward the crimping object, and an abutment that restricts the advancement position of the crimping tool by the pressing unit In the case of having a member and a moving means for moving the pressing means integrally with the abutting member in the advance direction of the crimping tool for each crimping tool, and crimping the flexible substrate to the upper surface of the display panel, The pressing means of the upper crimping tool generates a pressing force suitable for crimping the object to be crimped, and the pressing means of the lower crimping tool generates a holding pressing force larger than the pressing pressure. ,Also When the flexible substrate is crimped to the lower surface of the display panel, the pressing means of the lower crimping tool generates a pressing force suitable for crimping the object to be crimped, and the pressing means of the upper crimping tool comprising a control means for Ru generates a large holding pressure than crimping pressure.
[0007]
The crimping device according to claim 2 is the crimping device according to claim 1, wherein the pressing means is an air cylinder.
[0008]
A crimping apparatus according to a third aspect is the crimping apparatus according to the first aspect, wherein the moving means is capable of position control or speed control.
[0011]
According to the invention described in each of the claims, two crimping tools that can be moved forward and backward between the crimping objects are provided, one crimping tool is brought into contact with the crimping object, and the crimping pressing force is held by the other crimping tool. By doing so, the pressure bonding to both surfaces can be performed in the same process by the same pressure bonding apparatus.
[0012]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a front view of a pressure bonding apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a side view of the pressure bonding apparatus, and FIGS. 3A, 3B, and 3C are operation explanatory views of the pressure bonding method. .
[0013]
First, the structure of the crimping apparatus will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2, the crimping apparatus 1 includes a lower unit 1A, which is a crimping unit having the same structure, an upper unit 1B, and an XYZθ table 2 on which a display panel 3 which is a crimping object is placed and supported. . The lower unit 1A and the upper unit 1B have the same structure as described above, and both are disposed to face each other in the vertical direction with the object to be bonded interposed therebetween.
[0014]
The structures of the lower unit 1A and the upper unit 1B will be described. Since both have the same structure, only the lower unit 1A will be described here, and the description of the upper unit 1B will be omitted. However, as described above, the lower unit 1A and the upper unit 1B are disposed so as to be opposed to each other in the vertical direction. In the side unit 1A and the upper unit 1B, the vertical direction is reversed. Therefore, the upper side (the advance direction of the crimping tool) and the lower side (retracting direction of the crimping tool) in the lower unit 1A correspond to the lower side and the upper side, respectively, in the lower unit 1B.
[0015]
1 and 2, a guide rail 11 is disposed in the horizontal direction on the upper surface of the bottom plate of the fixed frame 10 having an L-shaped cross section. A plate 13 is fixed to the upper surface of a slider 12 that is slidably mounted on the guide rail 11 in the horizontal direction. A plate cam 14 is attached to the upper surface of the plate 13, and a cam roller 15 disposed on the lower surface of the first elevating frame 30 is in contact with the plate cam 14.
[0016]
The plate 13 is coupled to the nut 20 on the upper surface side, and a feed screw 19 that is rotationally driven by a motor 21 is screwed into the nut 20. By driving the motor 21, the plate cam 14 moves in the horizontal direction together with the plate 13, and the first lifting frame 30 is moved up and down via the cam roller 15. The raising / lowering operation of the first raising / lowering frame 30 at this time is guided by the guide rail 17 disposed perpendicularly to the vertical surface of the fixed frame 10 and the slider 18 fixed to the back surface of the first raising / lowering frame 30.
[0017]
Two left and right first stoppers 16 are erected on the upper surface of the bottom plate of the fixed frame 10. A spring 22 is mounted between the first elevating frame 30 and the fixed frame 10, and the spring 22 urges the first elevating frame 30 in the arrow direction. When the first lifting frame 30 is lowered (retracted), the lower surface of the first lifting frame 30 is in contact with the first stopper 16.
[0018]
An air cylinder 33 is disposed on the upper surface of the first elevating frame 30 with the rod 33a facing upward. The tip of the rod 33a is coupled to a second lifting frame 35 to which a crimping tool 36 is attached. By driving the air cylinder 33, the second lifting frame 35 moves up and down. The raising / lowering operation at this time is guided by a guide rail 31 disposed in a direction perpendicular to the vertical surface of the first raising / lowering frame 30 and a slider 32 fixed to the back surface of the second raising / lowering frame 35. A second stopper 34 is erected on the upper surface of the first elevating frame 30, and the lower surface of the second elevating frame 35 comes into contact with the tip 34 a of the second stopper 34, thereby The advance position is restricted. That is, the second stopper 34 is an abutting member that limits the advancement position of the crimping tool 36.
[0019]
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the lower unit 1 </ b> A and the upper unit 1 </ b> B are positioned so as to face each other vertically with the display panel 3 and the flexible substrate 4, which are pressure-bonding objects placed on the XYZθ table 2. An arranged suction tool 6 is provided. The crimping tool 36 can be moved forward and backward by moving means including the plate cam 14 and the cam roller 15 driven by the motor 21, and the air cylinder 33 is a pressing means for pressing the crimping tool 36 against the display panel 3 and the flexible substrate 4. It has become. The advance position of the suction tool 36 when pressed by the air cylinder 33 is limited by the second stopper 34 as described above. The air cylinder 33 is moved integrally with the second stopper 34 by the moving means in the advancing direction of the crimping tool 36.
[0020]
The air cylinder 33 is connected to a switching valve 42 via an air pipe 43, and the switching valve 42 is supplied with air supplied from a pressure source and adjusted in pressure by a pressure control unit 41. Operations of the switching valve 42, the pressure control unit 41, and the motor 21 are controlled by the control unit 40. Here, the rotation of the motor 21 can be controlled in position or speed, and can be stopped at any position and controlled in speed in the advance / retreat operation of the crimping tool.
[0021]
Further, by controlling the switching valve 42 and the pressure control unit 41 by the control unit 40, the air cylinder 33 that presses one of the crimping tools 36 has a crimping press suitable for crimping the flexible substrate 4 to the display panel 3. The holding cylinder pressing force F2 larger than the pressing pressure F1 can be generated in the air cylinder 33 that generates the pressure F1 and presses the other pressing tool 36. That is, the control unit 40, the switching valve 42, and the pressure control unit 41 are control means. That is, the second stopper 16 serves as a fixing means for temporarily fixing the position of the first stopper 34 on the side of the other (upper unit 1B) crimping tool 36.
[0022]
This crimping apparatus is configured as described above, and the crimping operation will be described below with reference to FIG. This crimping operation indicates an operation of crimping the flexible substrate 4 to the upper surface of the display panel 3 by the upper unit 1A. That is, in this case, the crimping tool 36 of the upper unit 1B corresponds to one crimping tool, and the crimping tool of the lower unit 1A corresponds to the other crimping tool.
[0023]
3A, in both the lower unit 1A and the upper unit 1B, the rod 33a of the air cylinder 33 is immersed, and the second lifting frame 35 is in the retracted position and is separated from the tip 34a of the stopper 34. The first elevating frame 30 is in contact with the first stopper 16. Accordingly, the position of the second stopper 34 of the lower unit 1 </ b> A is fixed in one direction by the first stopper 16. That is, the first stopper 16 serves as a fixing means for temporarily fixing the position of the first stopper 34 on the other crimping tool 36 side.
[0024]
In this state, the weight of the portion below the first lifting frame 30 of the upper crimping unit 1 </ b> B is supported by the spring 22. Next, the display panel 3 held by the XYZθ table 2 (see FIG. 2) in this state enters between the upper and lower crimping tools 36 at the height of the pass line PL. At this time, an anisotropic conductive material is applied in advance to the crimping position of the upper end portion of the display panel 3, and the flexible substrate 4 is overlaid thereon.
[0025]
Next, the switching valve 42 is driven to cause the rod 33a of the air cylinder 33 to protrude in both the lower unit 1A and the upper unit 1B as shown in FIG. The stopper 34 is advanced until it comes into contact with the tip 34a of the stopper 34. As a result, the upper surface of the crimping tool 36 of the lower unit 1A reaches the height of the pass line PL and comes into contact with the lower surface of the display panel 3. The height of the pass line PL is set to the maximum height of advancement of the crimping tool 36.
[0026]
At this time, the pressure control unit 41 sets the generated pressing force of the upper unit 1B and the lower unit 1A to F1 and F2, respectively. Here, F1 is a pressing pressure suitable for pressing the flexible substrate 4 to the display panel 3, and F2 is a pressing force sufficient to hold the pressing pressure F1, that is, a holding pressing force larger than F1. It is.
[0027]
Next, as shown in FIG. 3C, the motor 21 is driven to move the plate cam 14 to the right, and the first lifting frame 30 is advanced downward via the cam roller 15. The downward displacement of the first lifting frame 30 is performed by the extension of the spring 22 and stops at a position where the lower surface of the crimping tool 36 contacts the upper surface of the flexible substrate 4. At this time, the rod 33a of the cylinder 33 is pushed in somewhat by the pressure reaction force. As a result, a gap c is formed between the lower surface of the second lifting frame 35 and the distal end portion 34a of the second stopper 34. However, the pressing force F1 for pressing the pressing tool 36 against the flexible substrate 4 by the rod 33a. Does not change. The pressing force F1 is transmitted to the first elevating frame 30 via the crimping tool 36 and the air cylinder 33 of the lower crimping unit 1B, and is supported by the left and right first stoppers 16.
[0028]
The flexible substrate 4 is pressed against the display panel 3 by holding this pressed state for a predetermined time. At this time, since the operation of the motor 21 can be controlled in position or speed, a crimping pattern according to the characteristics of the crimping target can be set, and the crimping quality can be improved.
[0029]
At this time, the supporting pressing force F2 is transmitted to the second elevating frame 35, and the upward force generated by the difference between the pressing pressure force F1 and the pressing force F2 for holding is the tip of the two left and right second stoppers 34. It is supported by the part 34a. The point of action of the pressing pressure F1 for pressing from the upper side and the point of action of the supporting pressing force F2 do not necessarily coincide with each other. As a result, a bending moment may be generated in the second lifting frame 35. Even in this case, the bending moment due to the displacement of the action point is canceled out by the difference in the support reaction force between the left and right second stoppers 34. Accordingly, it is possible to prevent an excessive bending moment due to the deviation of the action point from acting on the guide rail 31 and the slider 32 that guide the lifting operation of the second lifting frame 35 and damaging these components.
[0030]
The above description of the crimping process describes the operation when the flexible substrate 4 is crimped to the upper surface of the display panel 3 by the upper unit 1B. When the flexible substrate 4 is also pressure-bonded to the lower surface of the display panel 3, the same process as described above is performed by exchanging the operations of the lower unit 1A and the upper unit 1B. At this time, the flexible substrate 4 can be pressure-bonded to both the front and back surfaces in the same process using the same apparatus without having to reverse or move the display panel 3. Therefore, compared with the case where crimping is performed in two processes using a plurality of conventional crimping apparatuses, the equipment space can be reduced, and the process can be simplified to improve productivity.
[0031]
【The invention's effect】
According to the present invention, a crimping tool that can be moved forward and backward between a crimping object is provided, one crimping tool is brought into contact with the crimping object, and a pressing pressure is held by the other crimping tool. Can be done with the same crimping device. Therefore, compared to the case where crimping is performed in two steps using a plurality of conventional crimping devices, the equipment space can be reduced and the process can be simplified. Can be improved.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a front view of a crimping apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a side view of the crimping apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. (B) Operation explanatory diagram of the crimping method of the embodiment of the present invention (c) Operation explanatory diagram of the crimping method of the embodiment of the present invention
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Crimping apparatus 1A Lower unit 1B Upper unit 3 Display panel 4 Flexible substrate 14 Plate cam 15 Cam roller 16 First stopper 21 Motor 33 Air cylinder 34 Second stopper 36 Crimping tool 40 Control unit 41 Pressure control valve 42 Switching valve

Claims (3)

The crimping position of the end of the display panel is placed at the position facing the top and bottom of the object to be crimped with the flexible substrate over the anisotropic conductive material. A crimping device provided with a tool, the pressing means for pressing the crimping tool toward the object to be crimped, the abutting member for limiting the advancement position of the crimping tool by the pressing means, and the pressing means For each crimping tool, there is a moving means that moves in the advancing direction of the crimping tool integrally with the contact member. When the flexible substrate is crimped to the upper surface of the display panel, the pressing means of the upper crimping tool includes It raises the crimping pressure suitable for crimping the crimping object, to generate a large holding pressure than the crimping pressing force to the pressing means of the crimping tool of the lower and flexibility on the lower surface of the display panel When the base plate is crimped, the pressing means of the lower crimping tool generates a pressing force suitable for crimping the object to be crimped, and the pressing means of the upper crimping tool uses the pressing pressure for the crimping tool. crimping apparatus characterized by comprising a control means for Ru generates a large holding pressures. 2. The pressure bonding apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the pressing means is an air cylinder. The crimping apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the moving unit is capable of position control or speed control.

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