JP5512349B2 - Substrate inversion apparatus and substrate inversion method - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a substrate bonding system such as a liquid crystal substrate, and in particular, when the upper and lower substrates are transported by a roller conveyor, the upper substrate is reversed and transferred to the bonding device when the upper substrate is delivered to the bonding device. The present invention relates to a substrate reversing apparatus and a substrate reversing method which can be performed.

  For the production of a liquid crystal display panel, two glass substrates provided with transparent electrodes and thin film transistor arrays are bonded with an adhesive (hereinafter also referred to as a sealing agent) provided at the peripheral edge of the substrate with a very close distance of about several μm. There is a step of bonding (hereinafter, the substrate after bonding is referred to as a liquid crystal panel) and sealing the liquid crystal in a space formed thereby.

  In order to seal the liquid crystal, the surface of the upper substrate on which the TFT (thin film transistor) or the color filter is formed is formed on the lower substrate on which the liquid crystal is dropped. They are made to face each other.

  By the way, when conveying an upper board | substrate to a bonding apparatus, the formation surface of TFT or a color filter may face up, and it may convey using a roller conveyor. In this case, when carrying in a bonding apparatus, it is necessary to reverse an upper board | substrate.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there has been known an apparatus that holds a substrate on which an electronic component is mounted, and rotates and reverses it by 180 degrees. In this apparatus, a center portion of a frame that holds a substrate is rotated and reversed. (For example, refer to Patent Document 1).

  Also known is a reversing device for reversing the bonded panel and irradiating it with UV light in order to cure the sealing agent between the substrates by irradiating with UV (ultraviolet rays) (see, for example, Patent Document 2). ).

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 6-48554 JP 2006-227181 A

  In the apparatus described in Patent Document 1, the substrate is sandwiched and held by a frame, and the center portion of the frame is rotated by 180 degrees to reverse the substrate.

  Similarly, in the apparatus described in Patent Document 2, in order to reverse the state in which the sealant is not cured after being bonded to the liquid crystal panel, the liquid crystal panel is reversed while being pressed between the two panels. Also in this inversion method, a method of rotating the substrate by 180 degrees in the air is used as in the apparatus described in Patent Document 1. For this reason, if the substrate is turned upside down before assembling the panel using this method (before bonding), the surrounding air will be disturbed and the dust falling on the transfer line will rise up. This can cause panel malfunction and image quality degradation.

  An object of the present invention is to provide a substrate reversing device that solves such problems and suppresses rising of dust and the like as much as possible when reversing the upper substrate, and a liquid crystal panel bonding system using the same.

  In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the present invention sets the roller conveyor upward before conveying the upper substrate and the lower substrate in which the liquid crystal is dropped inside the annular sealant to the substrate bonding apparatus. A substrate reversing device for vertically reversing the upper substrate to be transported, comprising a walking beam having a plurality of fingers that receive and hold the upper substrate that has been transported upward on the gantry from the roller conveyor in an upward state, The walking beam has a vertically moving member on one end side and a horizontal moving part on the other end side, and the vertically moving member moves up and down along a moving column provided on the gantry. It is characterized in that it is configured to move in the horizontal direction along the linear guide.

  Further, according to the present invention, a plurality of vacuum suction pads for sucking and holding the upper substrate are provided on each of the plurality of finger portions of the walking beam, and the vacuum suction pad has a foot portion having a predetermined height from the surface of the finger portion. It is characterized by having.

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the present invention is carried on a roller conveyor upward before holding and bonding the upper substrate and the lower substrate to the upper table and the lower table, respectively. A substrate reversing device for vertically reversing the upper substrate that has come, wherein a rotating arm provided with a connecting portion constitutes a reversing mechanism and the upper substrate is held upward and conveyed on the roller conveyor. The pallet coupling mechanism is pivotally coupled to the coupling portion of the rotary arm, and the rotary arm is rotated halfway so that the transport pallet and the upper substrate held by the pallet are vertically inverted. And

  Further, the present invention is characterized in that when the transport pallet is reversed, the transport pallet can be rotated between the transport pallet and the connecting portion of the rotating arm.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a substrate inverting method for inverting a substrate that has been conveyed upward on a roller conveyor, and a conveyance pallet that has been conveyed on the roller conveyor while holding the substrate upward. the coupling mechanism pivotally connected to the connecting portion of the rotary arm, characterized thereby upside down and the substrate held the rotating arm to a conveying pallet by a half turn.

  According to the present invention, when the substrate is turned upside down, since the substrate does not draw a circular arc and does not turn 180 degrees, the one end portion of the substrate is placed in a vertical state and the movement of the other end portion is horizontally reversed. The area of the moving locus to be drawn can be minimized, the area of air scraping generated by turning the substrate upside down can be reduced, dust generation can be minimized, and the size of the apparatus can be suppressed. That is, in the system using the substrate reversing device according to the present invention, it is possible to prevent the dust from dropping to another device and the accuracy of the bonded liquid crystal panel from being lowered, and the size of the device can be reduced.

It is a top view which shows the whole arrangement | positioning of the liquid crystal panel assembly system using the board | substrate inversion apparatus and board | substrate inversion method by this invention. It is a schematic block diagram which shows one specific examples, such as arrangement | positioning of a part of 1st conveyance line 5 in FIG. 1, and a detection sensor. It is a block diagram which shows 1st Embodiment of the substrate inversion apparatus and substrate inversion method by this invention in FIG. It is a block diagram which shows 2nd Embodiment of the substrate inversion apparatus and substrate inversion method by this invention in FIG. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows one specific example of the board | substrate carrying-in from the pre-processing chamber in the board | substrate bonding apparatus in FIG. 1, and the board | substrate carrying-out operation to a post-processing chamber.

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

  FIG. 1 is a plan view showing an overall arrangement of a liquid crystal panel assembly system using a substrate reversing apparatus and a substrate reversing method according to the present invention, wherein 1 is a lower substrate, 2 is an upper substrate, 3 is a substrate carry-in robot, Alignment mechanism, 5 is a first transfer line (inline), 6 is a second transfer line (side line), 7 is a paste applicator (seal dispenser), 8 is a short-circuit electrode forming applicator, and 9 is a liquid crystal drop Apparatus, 10 is a first detection chamber, 11 is a substrate inversion device, 12 is a transfer chamber, 13 is a robot hand, 14 is a pretreatment chamber, 15 is a substrate bonding chamber (vacuum chamber), 16 is a posttreatment chamber, Reference numeral 17 denotes an ultraviolet irradiation chamber, 18 denotes a second inspection room (panel inspection room), 19 denotes a bonded substrate (liquid crystal panel), and 20 denotes a third transport line.

  In the figure, a first transport line (inline) 5 for transporting a lower substrate 1 on which a TFT or the like is formed, and a first substrate 2 on which a color filter is formed are transported in parallel with the first transport line 5. Two transport lines (side lines) 6 are provided. The 1st conveyance line 5 and the 2nd conveyance line 6 in which the cleaned upper board | substrate 2 and the lower board | substrate 1 are conveyed are comprised by the roller conveyor or the belt conveyor. The substrate on which the TFT is formed may be the upper substrate 2 and the substrate on which the color filter is formed may be the lower substrate 1. These upper and lower substrates are conveyed on a roller conveyor or a belt conveyor with the processed surfaces (the lower substrate 1 is a surface on which TFTs are formed and the upper substrate 2 is a surface on which color filters are formed) facing upward. . In the following description, the conveying device will be described by taking a roller conveyor as an example, but it goes without saying that the roller conveyor may be replaced with a belt conveyor.

  In front of the first transfer line 5, a substrate carry-in robot 3 for carrying the cleaned lower substrate 1 into this system and an alignment mechanism 4 for aligning the lower substrate 1 from the substrate carry-in robot 3 are provided. The lower substrate 1 is transferred from the alignment mechanism 4 to the first conveyance line 5, and the lower substrate 1 moves in the direction of the arrow on the first conveyance line 5 with the bonding surface up. In the middle of the first transport line 5, there is provided a paste applicator 7 for applying a sealing agent (adhesive) in a ring shape (closed loop shape) on the lower substrate 1. On the downstream side of the paste applicator 7, a short-circuit electrode forming applicator 8 for applying a conductive paste in a spot manner is arranged in series.

  Although not shown, each apparatus is provided with a table for holding a substrate, and is configured to receive the lower substrate 1 conveyed by a roller conveyor on the table surface. For this reason, in the table portion, a roller conveyor is installed across the table and is configured to be movable up and down. Here, instead of moving the roller conveyor up and down, the table can be moved up and down to receive the substrate. In the following description, the method of moving the table up and down will be described.

  Further, on the downstream side of the short-circuit electrode forming applicator 8, a liquid crystal dropping device 9 for dropping a desired amount of liquid crystal into the loop of the sealing agent applied in an annular shape as described above is disposed. On the downstream side of the liquid crystal dropping device 9, a first inspection device 10 that inspects the state of the applied sealing agent, the dropped liquid crystal material, and the like is disposed. The lower substrate 1, which has been inspected by the first inspection apparatus 10 for the application state of the sealant and the liquid crystal dripping state, is provided from the pretreatment chamber 14 to the panel inspection chamber 18 by the robot hand 13 provided in the transfer chamber 12. Then, it is delivered to the third transport line 20. The third transport line 20 is also formed by a roller conveyor. First, the lower substrate 1 is carried into the pretreatment chamber 14 on the substrate carry-in side by the third carrying line 20. In the pretreatment chamber 14, gate valves are provided on the substrate carry-in side (transfer chamber 12 side) and the substrate carry-out side (substrate bonding chamber 15 side). In order to carry in the lower substrate 1 from the transfer chamber 12 side, a conveyor expansion / contraction mechanism for expanding and contracting the roller conveyor is provided in the pretreatment chamber 14. When the gate valve is open, the roller extender is extended from the pretreatment chamber 14 to the transfer chamber 12 by the conveyor expansion / contraction mechanism and is connected to the roller conveyor of the transfer chamber 12. When the lower substrate 1 is carried into the pretreatment chamber 14, the roller conveyor is contracted in the pretreatment chamber 14 so that the conveyor expansion / contraction mechanism operates and the gate valve can be closed. Similarly, the conveyor expansion / contraction mechanism provided in the pretreatment chamber 14 is configured so that the roller conveyor can be expanded and contracted also on the substrate bonding chamber 15 side.

  Further, the upper substrate 2 transported through the second transport line 6 is turned upside down by the substrate turnover device 11 and then carried into the pretreatment chamber 14 by the robot hand 13 provided in the transfer chamber 12. . That is, the first transfer line 5 and the second transfer line are merged at the transfer chamber 12 and connected to the third transfer line. The first transfer line 5 and the third transfer line are connected in a substantially straight line.

  The pretreatment chamber 14 is also provided with a robot hand (not shown) that holds the upper substrate 2 and carries it into the substrate bonding chamber 15 and a roller conveyor (not shown) that conveys the lower substrate 1. .

  When both the upper and lower substrates are carried into the pretreatment chamber 14, a gate valve (not shown) provided at the entrance of the pretreatment chamber 14 on the substrate carry-in side is closed, and a vacuum pump (not shown) is driven to drive the pretreatment chamber. 14 is exhausted until a predetermined degree of vacuum (about 150 Torr: hereinafter referred to as a semi-vacuum) is reached. At this time, the gate valve between the pretreatment chamber 14 and the substrate bonding chamber 15 is closed. When the inside of the pretreatment chamber 14 is in a semi-vacuum state, the gate valve to the substrate bonding chamber 15 is opened, and the upper and lower substrates are carried into the substrate bonding chamber 15 from the pretreatment chamber 14. At this time, the inside of the substrate bonding chamber 15 is in a semi-vacuum state. In the pretreatment chamber 14, the lower substrate 1 is received and transferred to the lower table of the substrate bonding chamber 15, and the upper substrate 2 is received and transferred to the upper table (pressure plate) of the substrate bonding chamber 15. A robot hand for carrying is provided. At this time, the roller conveyor is extended from the pretreatment chamber 14 by the conveyor expansion / contraction mechanism so as to straddle the gate valve and connected to the roller conveyor in the substrate bonding chamber 15, and the lower substrate 1 moves on the roller conveyor to attach the substrate. It is delivered to the lower table of the pasting device in the meeting room 15.

When the delivery of both the upper and lower substrates to the bonding apparatus is completed and the upper and lower substrates are respectively held by the upper and lower tables, the gate valve is closed, and a vacuum pump (not shown) is driven to keep the substrate bonding chamber 15 in the high level It is evacuated to a vacuum (about 5 × 10 ⁻³ Torr). Thereafter, the upper table is lowered while aligning the upper and lower substrates, and the upper substrate 2 is bonded to the lower substrate 1. When this bonding is completed, the bonded substrate (liquid crystal panel) 19 is transferred from the lower table to the roller conveyor 20. Thereafter, air is introduced into the substrate bonding chamber 15 to return to a semi-vacuum state, and a gate valve (not shown) between the substrate bonding chamber 15 and the post-processing chamber 16 is opened. At this time, the post-processing chamber 16 is in a semi-vacuum state.

  The post-processing chamber 16 is also provided with a conveyor expansion / contraction mechanism, and when the gate valve between the substrate bonding chamber 15 and the post-processing chamber 16 is opened, the post-processing chamber 16 changes to the substrate bonding chamber 15. The roller conveyor is stretched by the conveyor expansion / contraction mechanism and can be connected to the roller conveyor in the substrate bonding chamber 15. Then, a liquid crystal panel formed by bonding the upper and lower substrates on the roller conveyor is conveyed and carried into the processing chamber 16. When the liquid crystal panel 19 bonded to the post-processing chamber 16 is carried in, the roller conveyor is contracted into the post-processing chamber 16 and the gate valve between the substrate bonding chamber 15 and the post-processing chamber 16 is closed. When the gate valve is closed, the atmosphere is introduced into the post-processing chamber 16 to return from the semi-vacuum state to the atmospheric state. When the interior of the post-processing chamber 16 becomes atmospheric, the gate valve between the post-processing chamber 16 and the ultraviolet irradiation chamber 17 is opened. When the gate valve is opened, the roller conveyor from the post-processing chamber 16 is extended toward the ultraviolet irradiation chamber 17 by a conveyor expansion / contraction mechanism (not shown) provided in the post-processing chamber 16, and the roller conveyor of the ultraviolet irradiation chamber 17. Connected. Then, the substrate bonded to the ultraviolet irradiation chamber 17 from the post-processing chamber 16 is carried on the roller conveyor, and the sealing agent on the bonded substrate is irradiated with ultraviolet light (UV light) to cure the sealing agent. When the curing of the sealant is completed, the liquid crystal panel 19 is transported on the roller conveyor and is carried into the panel inspection chamber 18 for inspection.

  As described above, the processing chambers 14 to 18 are arranged in a substantially straight line and a robot hand is used for a part of the processing chambers. However, since the roller conveyor is used for transferring the substrate almost entirely, the installation area of the apparatus is minimized. Can be suppressed.

  FIG. 2 is a schematic configuration diagram showing a specific example of a part of the first transport line 5 and the arrangement of detection sensors in FIG. 1, and FIG. 2A shows the lower substrate 1 transported in a normal posture. (B) shows the state where the lower substrate is conveyed in a rotated (tilted) state, 30a and 30b are power transmission shafts, 31a and 31b are rollers, 32a and 32b, respectively. Is a substrate detection sensor, and 33a and 33b are drive motors. Parts corresponding to those in FIG.

  Generally, when a substrate is transported on a roller conveyor, the substrate may be rotated and tilted with respect to the transport direction when the substrate is placed on the roller conveyor or when the roller conveyor is suddenly stopped. Here, a configuration and a method for correcting the inclination will be described.

  2 (a) and 2 (b), a plurality of rollers 31a and 31b are arranged on the left and right sides of the respective roller conveyors, and drive motors 33a and 33b for driving the left and right rollers 31a and 31b, respectively. The power transmission shafts 30a and 30b are connected. The lower substrate 1 is placed on the rollers 31a and 31b, and the rollers 31a and 31b are driven by the drive motors 33a and 33b, whereby the lower substrate 1 is conveyed in the direction of the arrow.

  In the first transport line 5, substrate detection sensors 32 a and 32 b for detecting the passage of the front end portions of the left and right sides of the lower substrate 1 are spaced apart in the direction perpendicular to the substrate transport direction (left and right). Are arranged. When the lower substrate 1 is transported in front of a substrate mounting table (not shown) of the paste applicator 7 (FIG. 1), the substrate detection sensors 32a and 32b installed in the first transport line 5 are used. The tips of both sides of the lower substrate 1 are detected. When any one of the substrate detection sensors 32a and 32b provided on the left and right sides detects the tip of the lower substrate 1, a control means (not shown) is arranged to stop the drive motor 33a or 33b on the detected side. Control. As shown in FIG. 2 (a), when the substrate detection sensors 32a and 32b detect the sharp edges of the respective sides of the substrate 1 simultaneously, the control means has transported the lower substrate 1 in the correct state. And the drive motors 33a and 33b are rotated as they are to convey the lower substrate 1.

  As shown in FIG. 2B, when the lower substrate 1 is rotated (tilted) counterclockwise as viewed from the traveling direction (hereinafter the same) (ie, the left side of the lower substrate 1 is the right side). If the substrate detection sensors 32a and 32b arranged on the left and right sides do not detect the lower substrate 1 at the same time, a time difference occurs in the detection. When the lower substrate 1 is inclined as shown in FIG. 2B, the substrate detection sensor 32b first detects the lower substrate 1, and the drive motor 33b that drives the roller conveyor on the substrate detection sensor 32b side stops. Is done. At this time, the drive motor 33a on the substrate detection sensor 32a side that has not detected the tip on the left side of the lower substrate 1 continues to rotate. For this reason, one side of the lower substrate 1 holds the moving state. In the lower substrate 1 having such an inclination, when the substrate detection sensor 32a detects the lower substrate 1, the detection-side drive motor 33a is stopped. By this operation, the lower substrate 1 is positioned at substantially the same position as the stop side on the side where the drive motor is rotating, and the inclination is corrected.

  The control means (not shown) obtains the time difference between the detections of the board detection sensors 32a and 32b provided on the left and right sides to know the rotation (tilt) state of the lower board 1 and drives both the left and right roller conveyors. The drive motors 33a and 33b are reversed to return the lower substrate 1 to the predetermined position before detection again. Thereafter, both the drive motors 33a and 33b are driven again to rotate the roller conveyor in the transport direction, and the lower substrate 1 is moved in the transport direction indicated by the arrow, so that both the substrate detection sensors 32a and 32b are substantially simultaneously moved to the lower substrate. By detecting the tip portions of both sides of 1, it can be confirmed that there is no inclination. If the tilt is not sufficiently corrected, the above operation is repeated and corrected to stop the drive motors 33a and 33b and obtain the detection time difference between the substrate detection sensors 32a and 32b. When the control means determines that the difference in detection time is within a predetermined range, the control unit recognizes that the lower substrate 1 is being transported in a normal state, transports the lower substrate 1 to under the coating table, and stops there. Let

  The substrate mounting table provided in the paste applicator 7 is configured to be movable up and down, and the lower substrate 1 is received from the roller conveyor on the substrate mounting table by raising the substrate mounting table. It has become. That is, the roller conveyors are arranged on both the left and right sides of the substrate placement table, and the lower substrate 1 is received on the substrate placement table by raising the substrate placement table. If the roller conveyor must be narrower than the table width because of the width of the lower substrate 1, a groove for storing the roller conveyor is provided in the substrate mounting table, and the roller conveyor is stored in the groove. May be.

  In this way, the substrate detection sensors 32a and 32b are arranged in the left-right direction, which is the width direction of the lower substrate 1, in the middle of the first transport line 5, and the detection side drive is performed according to the detection results of the substrate detection sensors 32a and 32b. The motor 33a or 33b is stopped, and the detection time difference between the substrate detection sensors 32a and 32b is obtained. Thereby, the inclination state of the lower substrate 1 is detected, and the detection of the lower substrate 1 and the stop of the roller conveyor on the previously detected side are repeated until the detection results of the substrate detection sensors 32a and 32b reach a predetermined range. The inclination of the lower substrate 1 is corrected. This eliminates the need for a separate table for correcting the tilt of the lower substrate 1 and shortens the processing time. In addition, there is no need to provide a robot hand, and an increase in the size of the system can be suppressed. The roller conveyor of the first transport line 5 is subjected to the same alignment control between the devices.

  In the above method, the inclination of the lower substrate 1 is corrected by driving the roller conveyor in the reverse direction, returning the lower substrate 1 to a predetermined position, and repeatedly detecting the leading ends of the left and right sides. It is also possible to obtain the relationship between the detection time difference and the correction amount in advance, store the relationship, and correct the drive motor 33a or 33b on one side according to the detection time difference. is there. Thus, in order to correct the position of the lower substrate 1 on the transport conveyor in the first transport line 5, it is not necessary to align the lower substrate 1 placed on the table, and the substrate bonding chamber 15. Thus, it is possible to shorten the alignment time when the substrate is placed on the substrate placement table, and the work accuracy on the table in each apparatus is improved.

  Although the above description has been made using the lower substrate 1, the upper substrate 2 can be similarly corrected.

  Each table provided in each apparatus is provided with a substrate positioning mechanism in order to define the stop position of the substrates 1 and 2. This positioning mechanism is composed of two restricting pins that move up and down to regulate the progress of both ends of the substrates 1 and 2 in the direction perpendicular to the substrate transport direction. When the lower substrate 1 is transported into the apparatus on the roller conveyor, the regulation pin is protruded until it is higher than the position of the lower substrate 1 on the roller conveyor so as to stop the movement of the lower substrate 1. Is.

  FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the first embodiment of the substrate inverting apparatus 11 and the substrate inverting method according to the present invention in FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 (a) is a schematic diagram showing the overall configuration of the first embodiment. Configuration diagram, (b) is a configuration diagram showing the walking beam in FIG. (A), 40 is a pedestal, 41 is a moving column, 42 is a walking beam, 43 is a horizontal moving part, 44 is vertically moved A member, 45 is a finger portion, and 46 is a vacuum suction pad.

  The upper substrate 2 is placed on the roller conveyor forming the second conveyance line 6 with the color filter forming surface facing upward and conveyed to the substrate reversing device 11. The roller conveyor provided in the reversing mechanism portion of the substrate reversing device 11 is configured to move up and down.

  3A, the substrate reversing device 11 includes a plurality of finger portions 45 (FIG. 3B) extending on the gantry 40 in a direction perpendicular to the conveying direction of the upper substrate 2 (width). A reversing mechanism including a walking beam 42 is provided.

  As shown in FIG. 3B, the walking beam 42 has a configuration in which a plurality of finger portions 45 are provided on the rotation shaft, and a plurality of vacuum suction pads that suck the upper substrate 2 are attached to these finger portions 45. 46 is provided at a predetermined height also on the surface of the finger portion 45. Although not shown, the vacuum suction pad 46 is connected to a pipe from a negative pressure source that supplies a negative pressure.

  As shown in FIG. 3A, the reversing mechanism is configured such that the upper substrate 2 is sucked and held on the finger 45 of the walking beam 42 by the vacuum suction pad 46, and the up and down moving member 44 on one end side of the walking beam 42. The upper substrate 2 is turned upside down by moving the horizontal movement member 43 on the other end side from one side of the gantry 40 to the other side in the substrate transport direction. It has a configuration.

  Here, the finger part 45 of the walking beam 42 is installed between the rollers of the roller conveyor provided in the reversing mechanism part. A moving column 41 for raising and lowering the up and down moving member 44 on one end side of the walking beam 42 is provided at a substantially central portion of the gantry 40 in the substrate transport direction and on the end portion side of the upper substrate 2. . A driving motor (not shown) for moving up and down a vertically moving member 44 provided on one end side of the walking beam 42 is provided in the moving column 41. By this drive motor, the vertically moving member 44 is configured to move up and down along the moving column 41. Although not shown, the up-and-down moving member 44 is connected to the counterweight with a rope to reduce the driving force of the driving motor. The horizontal moving member 43 on the other end side of the walking beam 42 is provided with a rolling mechanism that makes it easy to move on the linear guide.

  The operation of the substrate reversing device 11 of the first embodiment will be described.

  First, when the upper substrate 2 arrives on the substrate inverting device 11, the roller conveyor is stopped and the roller conveyor is moved downward. By lowering the roller conveyor, the upper substrate 2 is transferred onto the finger portion 45 of the walking beam 42 provided between the rollers. The upper substrate 2 delivered onto the finger part 45 is vacuum-sucked and held by a vacuum suction pad 46 provided on the finger part 45. When the upper substrate 2 is sucked and held, the vertical moving member 44 on one end side of the walking beam 42 rises along the moving column 41, and at the same time, the horizontal moving member 43 on the other end side of the walking beam 42 is linear. Move horizontally along the guide. Before the vertical moving member 44 reaches the highest point, the horizontal moving member 43 moves in the horizontal direction at a predetermined speed so that it can pass through the center of the moving column 41 and move to the opposite side. Yes.

  In addition, it is good also as a structure which provides the horizontal moving member 43 with the motor for a drive, and gives the rotational force to the horizontal moving member 43, and drives to a horizontal direction.

  When the walking beam 42 is in a vertical state, the upward and downward movement member 44 is controlled to change in the downward direction. By performing the above operation, the upper substrate 2 can be turned upside down.

  When the horizontal moving member 43 moves to the opposite side of the moving column 41 and the walking beam 42 is in a horizontal state and the upper substrate 2 is turned upside down, the robot hand in the next transfer chamber 12 of the substrate inverting device 11 is placed. 13 (FIG. 1) is extended to a position shifted from the finger portion 45 of the walking beam 42, and the upper substrate 2 is sucked and held by a vacuum suction pad provided on the finger portion on the robot hand side. As a result, the upper substrate 2 is transferred from the walking beam 42 of the substrate inverting device 11 to the robot hand 13 in the transfer chamber 12.

  Thus, in this substrate reversing device 11, in order to move one end side of the upper substrate 2 up and down and horizontally move the other end, the upper substrate 2 has the vertically moving member 44 of the walking beam 42 as a vertex. It moves in a shape close to a half fan shape with the vertex at the center, and the moving area is smaller than when it is rotated 180 degrees. Therefore, the surrounding air is not disturbed, the generation of dust can be suppressed to the minimum, and the influence of the dust on the surrounding devices can also be suppressed to the minimum.

  In this embodiment, the vacuum suction pad of the robot hand is extended from above the finger portion 45 of the walking beam 42 to receive the upper substrate 2. However, the vacuum suction pad 46 provided on the finger portion 45 of the walking beam 42 is used. The upper substrate 2 may be delivered by inserting the finger portion of the robot hand 13 between the upper substrate 2 and the finger portion 45 so that the upper substrate 2 is extended. The work efficiency is improved.

  FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a second embodiment of the substrate inversion apparatus 11 and the substrate inversion method according to the present invention in FIG. 1, and FIG. 4A is a schematic diagram showing the overall configuration of the first embodiment. FIG. 2B is a block diagram showing the upper substrate transfer pallet in FIG. 1A. 50 is a stand, 51 is an upper substrate transfer pallet, 52 is a rotating arm, 53 is a drive mechanism, and 54 is a connection. , 55 is a crosspiece, 56 is a vacuum suction pad, and 57 is a coupling mechanism.

  In FIG. 4A, the substrate reversing device 11 is provided with a reversing mechanism for vertically reversing the upper substrate 2 composed of the transfer pallet 51 and the like on the gantry 50. The reversing mechanism places the upper substrate 2 on the transfer pallet 51 and rotates the upper substrate 2 upside down by supporting and rotating the central portion of the transfer pallet 51.

  Hereinafter, the reversing mechanism of the substrate reversing device 11 will be described with reference to FIG. 4A using FIG. 4B showing a specific example of the upper substrate transport pallet.

  A connecting mechanism 57 (FIG. 4B) is provided at the central part on both sides parallel to the transport direction of the upper substrate 2 on the transport pallet 51 so as to be able to be jointed with the connecting part 54 of the reversing mechanism. Further, as shown in FIG. 4B, the transport pallet 51 is formed of a plurality of bars 55, and has a predetermined length so that the finger part of the robot hand can be inserted into the upper part of the bars 55. A vacuum suction pad 56 is provided.

  The substrate reversing device 11 is provided with a pallet rotation driving mechanism at the center thereof. In this pallet rotation drive mechanism, the rotary arm 52 is provided on both sides of the first transfer line 5 in the transfer direction of the upper substrate 2, and the rotary arm 52 is provided at one end side (rotation center side) of the rotary arm 52. A driving mechanism 53 for rotating the pallet is provided, and a connecting portion 54 for connecting to the transport pallet 51 is provided on the distal end side of the rotating arm 52.

  The second transfer line 6 (FIG. 1) is provided with a transfer pallet 51, and the upper substrate 2 is placed on the transfer pallet 51 with the color filter surface facing upward from the substrate carry-in robot 3 (FIG. 1). Is done. At this time, the upper substrate 2 is vacuum-sucked by the vacuum suction pad 56 provided on the crosspiece 55 of the transport pallet 51 shown in FIG. The upper substrate 2 is transported to the substrate reversing device 11 on the second transport line 6 together with the transport pallet 51.

  When the transport pallet 51 reaches the substrate reversing device 11, the connecting portion 54 provided at the tip of the rotating arm 52 of the reversing mechanism is connected by a connecting mechanism 57 provided at the center of the transport pallet 51. The When the connecting portion 54 at the tip of the rotating arm 52 is connected to the connecting mechanism 57 of the transport pallet 51, the rotating arm 52 is rotated by the driving mechanism 53 to turn the upper substrate 2 upside down. Further, the connecting portion 54 of the rotating arm 52 is configured to be rotatable, and the rotating arm 52 is rotatable with respect to the connecting mechanism 57 of the transport pallet 51 with respect to the rotating arm 52. With the rotation in the A direction, the transport pallet 51 is rotated in the directions of arrows B and C shown in the figure. When the rotary arm 52 rotates 180 degrees in the direction of arrow A, the upper substrate 2 comes to the lower side of the transport pallet 51.

  The upper substrate 2 is transferred to the robot hand 13 in the transfer chamber 12 while being suspended from the lower portion of the transfer pallet 51. That is, the finger part of the robot hand 13 is inserted between the vacuum suction pads 56 of the transport pallet 51, the upper substrate 2 is held by the vacuum suction pad provided on the finger part of the robot hand 13, The vacuum suction of the vacuum suction pad 56 provided at 55 is stopped. Thereafter, the robot hand separates the upper substrate 2 from the transfer pallet 51 and carries the upper substrate 2 into the pretreatment chamber 14. The transport pallet 51 is rotated again by the reversing mechanism of the substrate reversing device 11, returned upward to the second transport line 6 with the vacuum suction pad provided, and returned to the position of the substrate loading robot 3.

  As described above, also in the second embodiment, in the substrate reversing device 11, the upper substrate 2 is not completely rotated 180 degrees and turned upside down, but one end side is substantially horizontal and the other end side is vertical. By moving in the direction, the operation of the upper substrate 2 can be suppressed to the smallest possible range, so that the generation and rising of dust accompanying the inversion of the upper substrate 2 can be suppressed, and the influence of dust on surrounding devices can be suppressed. Can be suppressed.

  FIG. 5 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a specific example of the operation of carrying in the substrate from the pretreatment chamber 14 and carrying out the substrate into the posttreatment chamber 16 in the substrate bonding apparatus 15 in FIG. Is a roller conveyor, 62 is a robot hand, 63 is a finger part, 64 is a suction pad, 65 is a lower table, 66 is a roller conveyor for delivering a substrate, 67 is an upper table, 68 is a suction pad, 69 and 70 are gate valves, Reference numeral 71 denotes a roller conveyor, and 72 denotes a conveyor expansion / contraction mechanism. Parts corresponding to those in FIG.

  In the figure, the pretreatment chamber 14 is provided with a roller conveyor 60 that expands and contracts downward, and a robot hand 62 on the ceiling side. A gate valve 69 is provided between the substrate bonding chamber 15 and the pretreatment chamber 14, and the bonding chamber of the substrate bonding apparatus 15 is normally maintained at a predetermined degree of vacuum. The finger part 63 of the robot hand 62 is provided with a plurality of suction pads 64. The upper table 67 is also provided with a plurality of elastic suction pads 68 so that the suction pads 68 of the upper table 67 can be lowered between the finger portions 63 of the robot hand 62 to hold the upper substrate 2 by suction. I have to. The suction pads 64 and 68 are provided with a supply port for supplying a negative pressure at the center, and the negative pressure is supplied to the supply port to suck the substrate.

  The negative pressure source and the supply piping are not shown here.

  As described above, when the upper substrate 2 is delivered, the pretreatment chamber 14 and the substrate bonding chamber 15 are in a semi-vacuum state so that the upper substrate 2 does not fall even if it is adsorbed by a negative pressure. The negative pressure supplied to the suction pads 64 and 68 has a higher degree of vacuum than that.

  When the upper substrate 2 is delivered, after the upper substrate 2 is held by both the suction pad 64 of the robot hand 62 and the suction pad 68 of the upper table 67, the supply of the negative pressure to the suction pad 64 of the robot hand 62 is stopped. Thus, the finger part 63 of the robot hand 62 is retracted to the pretreatment chamber 14. Thereafter, the upper substrate 2 is lifted up to the surface of the upper table 67 by the suction pad 68 and is held by a plurality of adhesive members (not shown) arranged on the upper table 67 surface. Therefore, even if the degree of vacuum is increased, the upper substrate 2 is held by this adhesive force and does not fall.

  In addition, although the vacuum suction pad of the system which supplies a negative pressure was used as the suction pads 64 and 68 here, since the pretreatment chamber 14 and the substrate bonding chamber 15 are in a semi-vacuum state, the suction pads 64 and 68 68 is preferably an adhesive suction pad having a configuration in which an adhesive member is provided on the surface in contact with the upper substrate 2.

  In addition, a negative pressure supply port is provided at the center of the adhesive suction pads 64 and 68, and when the upper substrate 2 is peeled off from the adhesive member of the adhesive suction pads 64 and 68, the compressed gas is supplied and peeled off. . Alternatively, an upper and lower pin is provided in the central portion of the suction pads 64 and 68, and the adhesive suction pad is operated so as to be peeled off from the adhesive member while pressing the upper substrate 2 with the upper and lower pins. The upper substrate 2 can be peeled off.

  The roller conveyor 61 provided in the pretreatment chamber 14 has a structure that can be expanded and contracted by the conveyor expansion / contraction mechanism 60 to the transfer chamber 12 (FIG. 1) side and the substrate bonding chamber 15 side which are the front chambers. . The transfer chamber 12 side does not need to use the conveyor expansion / contraction mechanism 60 by allowing the substrate to be loaded into the pretreatment chamber 14 with a robot hand. It is preferable that the upper substrate 2 and the lower substrate 1 can be simultaneously transported using 60.

  When the gate valve 69 between the pretreatment chamber 14 and the substrate bonding chamber 15 is closed, the roller conveyor 61 is contracted to the pretreatment chamber 14 side, and the gate valve 69 is opened to attach the lower substrate 1 to the substrate. When transporting to the chamber 15, it extends to the substrate laminating chamber 15 side and is docked on the substrate transfer roller conveyor 66 provided in the substrate laminating chamber 15, so that the lower substrate 1 can be smoothly bonded to the substrate laminating chamber. 15 can be delivered to the lower table 65. The lower table 65 is provided between the left and right roller conveyors constituting the receiving conveyor, and is configured to be movable up and down.

  In addition, the roller conveyor 71 provided in the post-processing chamber 16 can be extended and contracted to the bonding chamber 15 side by the conveyor expansion / contraction mechanism 72 provided in the post-processing chamber 16. When the bonding is completed and the gate valve 70 between the post-processing chamber 16 and the substrate bonding chamber 15 is opened, the roller conveyor 71 extends to the substrate bonding chamber 15 side and docks on the substrate delivery conveyor 66, The liquid crystal panel formed by bonding the substrates 1 and 2 is unloaded from the substrate bonding chamber 15.

  In this system, the upper and lower substrates 1 and 2 can be carried into the substrate bonding chamber 15 and placed on the upper and lower tables 65 and 67 at substantially the same time, thereby greatly increasing the panel assembly time. Can be shortened.

  As described above, when the upper and lower substrates 1 and 2 are held from the pretreatment chamber 14 by the upper table 67 and the lower table 65, respectively, the gate valve 69 is closed. Note that the gate valve 70 between the substrate bonding chamber 15 and the post-processing chamber 16 is closed in advance. When the gate valve 69 is closed, the upper and lower substrates 1 and 2 are bonded together while the substrate bonding chamber 15 is in a high vacuum state. When the inside of the substrate bonding chamber 15 is in a high vacuum state, the upper substrate 2 and the lower substrate 1 are aligned. The alignment of the upper and lower substrates 1 and 2 is performed by observing the alignment marks provided on the upper and lower substrates 1 and 2 with a camera (not shown) to determine the amount of displacement, and the lower table 65 is moved according to the amount of displacement. It is performed by moving in the horizontal direction. When the alignment is completed, the upper table 67 is moved to the lower table 65 side using a driving mechanism (not shown), and bonding is performed.

  When the bonding of the upper and lower substrates 1 and 2 is completed, as described above, the inside of the substrate bonding chamber 15 is set in a semi-vacuum state, and the post-processing chamber 16 is changed from a preset semi-vacuum state to a vacuum state. When the inside of the substrate bonding chamber 15 is in a semi-vacuum state, the gate valve 70 is opened, the roller conveyor 71 extends from the post-processing chamber 16 into the substrate bonding chamber 15, and the upper and lower substrates 1 and 2 on the transfer conveyor 66 are bonded. The combined product in the state of the liquid crystal panel 19 is carried out to the post-processing chamber 16 side. When the liquid crystal panel 19 is carried into the post-processing chamber 16, the gate valve 70 is closed, and the inside of the post-processing chamber 16 is returned to the atmospheric state. In this way, by returning to the atmosphere, atmospheric pressure is uniformly applied to the entire liquid crystal panel 19, and the interval between the upper and lower substrates 1 and 2 becomes a regular interval.

  When the inside of the post-processing chamber 16 is returned to the atmosphere, the liquid crystal panel 19 is transferred to the ultraviolet irradiation chamber 17 (FIG. 1) by the roller conveyor constituting the third transfer line 20, where the sealing agent is irradiated with ultraviolet rays. The sealant is cured. When the curing of the sealant is completed, it is sent to the panel inspection chamber 18 by the roller conveyor, and the state of the liquid crystal panel 19 is inspected and sent to the next step.

  Thus, in order to repeat the degree of vacuum in the substrate bonding chamber 15 between a semi-vacuum state and a high vacuum state, a pre-treatment chamber 14 and a post-treatment chamber 16 are provided before and after the gate valve 69, 70 is opened and closed to deliver the upper and lower substrates 1 and 2 and to send out the liquid crystal panel 19 after bonding. As described above, by repeating the semi-vacuum state and the high vacuum state, the time for vacuuming in the substrate bonding chamber 15 is shortened, and the cleanliness in the substrate bonding chamber 15 is prevented from being lowered. It is.

  As described above, in this embodiment, since the upper and lower substrates 1 and 2 are carried into the substrate bonding chamber 15 substantially simultaneously and held on the upper table 67 and the lower table 65, conventionally, they are carried separately. Compared to the case, the time required for bonding can be shortened.

  In addition, since the arrangement of the processing chambers in the process before the bonding is arranged substantially linearly and the roller conveyor is used for transporting the upper and lower substrates 1 and 2, the table configuration of each processing apparatus is substantially the same. In addition, the installation area of the apparatus can be reduced, and the tact time can be shortened.

12 Lower substrate 2 Upper substrate 3 Substrate loading robot 4 Alignment mechanism 5 First transfer line (inline)
6 Second transport line (side line)
7 Paste applicator (seal dispenser)
8 Coating device for forming an electrode for short-circuiting 9 Liquid crystal dropping device 10 First detection chamber 11 Substrate reversing device 12 Transfer chamber 13 Robot hand 14 Pretreatment chamber 15 Substrate bonding chamber (vacuum chamber)
16 Post-treatment room 17 UV irradiation room 18 Second inspection room (panel inspection room)
19 Bonding substrate (liquid crystal panel)
20 Third transport line 30a, 30b Power transmission shaft 31a, 31b Roller 32a, 32b Substrate detection sensor 33a, 33b Drive motor 40 Mounting frame 41 Moving column 42 Walking beam 43 Horizontal moving part 44 Vertical moving member 45 Finger part 46 Vacuum adsorption Pad 50 Pedestal 51 Upper substrate transport pallet 52 Rotating arm 53 Drive mechanism 54 Connection portion 55 Crossing 56 Vacuum suction pad 57 Connection mechanism 60 Roller conveyor 61 Roller conveyor 62 Robot hand 63 Finger portion 64 Adsorption pad 65 Lower table 66 Roller for substrate delivery Conveyor 67 Upper table 68 Suction pad 69, 70 Gate valve 71 Roller conveyor 72 Conveyor expansion / contraction mechanism

Claims (5)

Before the upper substrate and the lower substrate in which liquid crystal is dropped inside the loop of the sealing agent formed in an annular shape are conveyed to the substrate laminating apparatus, the upper substrate conveyed upside down on the roller conveyor is turned upside down. In the substrate reversing device,
A walking beam having a plurality of fingers that receive and hold the upper substrate, which has been conveyed upward on the gantry, from the roller conveyor in an upward state,
The walking beam is provided with a vertically moving member on one end side and a horizontal moving part on the other end side, and the vertically moving member moves up and down along a moving column provided on the gantry.
A substrate reversing apparatus characterized in that the horizontal moving portion moves in a horizontal direction along a linear guide. The substrate reversing apparatus according to claim 1,
Each of the plurality of finger portions of the walking beam is provided with a plurality of vacuum suction pads for sucking and holding the upper substrate,
The substrate reversing device, wherein the vacuum suction pad includes a foot portion having a predetermined height from the surface of the finger portion. Substrate reversing device that vertically flips the upper substrate that has been transported upward on the roller conveyor before the upper substrate and the lower substrate are held on the upper table and the lower table, respectively, by the substrate laminating device. In
The rotating arm provided with the connecting portion constitutes a reversing mechanism,
A transport pallet connecting mechanism that has been transported on the roller conveyor while holding the upper substrate upward is rotatably connected to a connecting portion of the rotating arm, and the rotating arm is rotated halfway to the transport pallet. A substrate reversing apparatus characterized in that the upper substrate held thereby is vertically reversed. The substrate reversing apparatus according to claim 3,
A substrate reversing device, wherein when the transport pallet is reversed, the transport pallet can be rotated between the transport pallet and the connecting portion of the rotating arm. In the substrate reversing method for reversing the substrate conveyed upward on the roller conveyor,
A transport pallet connecting mechanism that has been transported on the roller conveyor while holding the substrate upward is rotatably connected to a connecting portion of a rotating arm, and the rotating arm is half-rotated to the transport pallet and the transfer pallet. A substrate inversion method, wherein the held substrate is inverted upside down.

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