JPH0588182A - Rubbing device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To allow the oriented films of all substrates to be subjected to a uniform and good orientation treatment by bringing a tape-shaped rubbing cloth into contact with the oriented film by means of a rubbing pressure imparting roller while sending the cloth, thereby rubbing the oriented film. CONSTITUTION:A rubbing cloth feed mechanism 12 is held driven prior to the start of the movement of a moving stage 11 to send the tape-shaped rubbing cloth 15 at a specified speed from a rubbing cloth supplying section 13 to a rubbing cloth recovering section 14. The rubbing pressure imparting roller 16 is brought into contact under a specified contact pressure with the rear surface (front surface) of the tape-shaped rubbing cloth 15. The tape-shaped rubbing cloth 15 is pressed under the specified contact pressure by the rubbing pressure imparting roller 16 to the film surface of the oriented film a of the substrate A when the substrate A on the moving stage 11 is sent under the rubbing pressure imparting roller 16 by the movement of the moving stage. The film surface of the oriented film a is then rubbed successively in one direction from one end side to the other end side of the oriented film a as the moving stage 11 moves.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an alignment film rubbing apparatus.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art An alignment film formed on an electrode formation surface of a transparent substrate used for a liquid crystal display element is formed of an alignment material such as a polyimide resin. Liquid crystal molecules are arranged in a predetermined direction on the alignment film. Orientation processing is performed to make it.

This alignment treatment is performed by a method of rubbing the film surface of the alignment film in one direction, and the rubbing of the alignment film surface is conventionally performed by the rubbing apparatus shown in FIG.

In this rubbing apparatus, a substrate A having an alignment film a formed thereon is placed on a fixed stage 1 with the alignment film forming surface facing upward, and a rubbing roller is placed on the film surface of the alignment film a on the substrate A. When the rubbing roller 2 is brought into contact with the rubbing roller 2, the rubbing roller 2 is rubbed in one direction by moving the rubbing roller 2 in parallel along the alignment film surface while rotating in one direction. As for cloth 4 such as cotton cloth
A rubbing cloth 4 in which fiber bristles 4b of rayon, nylon, etc. are planted around a is wound around the outer peripheral surface of the roller body 3.

[0005]

However, in the conventional rubbing device, the rubbing roller 2 having the rubbing cloth 4 wound around the outer peripheral surface of the roller body 3 rubs the film surface of the alignment film a. There has been a problem that the alignment films on all the substrates cannot be subjected to uniform and good alignment treatment.

This is due to dirt on the rubbing cloth 4 on the outer peripheral surface of the rubbing roller and abrasion of the fiber bristles 4b. That is, since the rubbing of the alignment film is performed by rubbing the surface of the alignment film with the rubbing cloth 4, the surface of the polyimide resin film or the like which is the alignment film is scraped with the rubbing cloth 4.
The scraped resin adheres to the rubbing cloth 4 to stain the rubbing cloth 4, and the fiber bristles 4b of the rubbing cloth 4 also wear due to friction with the alignment film.

Since the above-mentioned conventional rubbing apparatus rubs the alignment films of a large number of substrates by the same rubbing roller 2, the rubbing cloth 4 on the outer circumferential surface of the rubbing roller and the fiber bristles 4b are repeatedly rubbed. Abrasion progresses, and as a result, the rubbing state of the alignment film to be rubbed next changes due to the dirt on the rubbing cloth 4 and the abrasion of the fiber bristles 4b, and an alignment defect occurs in this alignment film. An object of the present invention is to provide a rubbing device capable of uniformly and favorably performing alignment treatment on alignment films of all substrates.

[0008]

A rubbing apparatus according to the present invention has a rubbing cloth feeding section and a rubbing cloth collecting section, and a tape-like rubbing cloth is fed from the rubbing cloth feeding section to rubbing the rubbing cloth. The rubbing cloth feeding mechanism for collecting the rubbing cloth in the cloth collecting section and the rubbing pressure applying roller for bringing the rubbing cloth fed from the rubbing cloth supply section into contact with the alignment film surface are provided.

[0009]

That is, the rubbing device of the present invention, while feeding the tape-shaped rubbing cloth from the rubbing cloth supply section to the rubbing cloth collecting section, the rubbing cloth is brought into contact with the alignment film surface by the rubbing pressure applying roller to make the alignment film. With this rubbing device, the alignment film surface can always be rubbed with a new rubbing cloth (unused portion of the tape-like rubbing cloth), so that the alignment film on all the substrates is uniform and excellent. An orientation treatment can be performed.

[0010]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS.

FIG. 1 is a side view of the rubbing apparatus of this embodiment. In this rubbing apparatus, a substrate A having an alignment film a formed thereon is placed horizontally with its alignment film forming surface facing upward. A moving stage 11 that moves in the horizontal direction, a rubbing cloth feed mechanism 12 disposed above the moving path of the moving stage 11, and a rubbing pressure applying roller 16 that brings the rubbing cloth into contact with the surface of the alignment film a on the substrate A. It has and.

The rubbing cloth feeding mechanism 12 has a rubbing cloth feeding section 13 and a rubbing cloth collecting section 14, and a tape-like rubbing cloth 15 is fed from the rubbing cloth feeding section 13 to collect the rubbing cloth 15 from the rubbing cloth. The rubbing cloth feeding section 13 is provided with a rubbing cloth feeding reel 13a around which the tape-like rubbing cloth 15 is wound, and the rubbing cloth collecting section 14 is fed from the rubbing cloth feeding reel 13a. Tape-shaped rubbing cloth 1
A rubbing cloth take-up reel 14a for winding 5 is provided.

The rubbing cloth feeding mechanism 12 moves the tape-like rubbing cloth 15 in the moving direction F of the moving stage 11.
Although not shown, the rubbing cloth feeding reel 13a is provided with a mechanism for applying a back tension to the tape-like rubbing cloth 15, which is parallel to the above and is fed in a direction opposite to the moving direction F of the moving stage 11. The rubbing cloth take-up reel 14a is rotationally driven at a very low speed by a motor and a speed reducer (not shown) to wind the tape-like rubbing cloth 15 at a constant speed.

Further, as shown in FIG. 2, the tape-like rubbing cloth 15 has a fiber-like hair 15b made of rayon, nylon or the like over the entire length and width of the tape-like cloth 15a made of cotton cloth or the like.
The tape-shaped rubbing cloth 15 is wound around the rubbing cloth feeding reel 13a with the flocked surface facing outward, and is fed from the rubbing cloth feeding reel 13a with the flocked surface being the lower surface. The rubbing pressure applying roller 16 makes contact with the surface of the alignment film a on the substrate A.

The rubbing pressure applying roller 16 is pressed downward by a spring force to bring the tape-like rubbing cloth 15 into contact with the surface of the alignment film a at a constant pressure. Tape-shaped rubbing cloth 15
It is arranged in an intermediate portion between the rubbing cloth supply section 13 and the rubbing cloth collecting section 14 in parallel with the width direction of the rubbing cloth. The rubbing pressure applying roller 16 and the rubbing cloth feeding reel 13a and the winding reel 14a of the rubbing cloth supply section 13 and the rubbing cloth collecting section 14 are supported by a common frame (not shown) in a fixed positional relationship. There is. The rubbing of the surface of the alignment film a by the rubbing device is performed as follows.

First, the substrate A on which the alignment film a is formed is placed on the moving stage 11 with the alignment film formation surface facing up.
After fixing the substrate A to the moving stage 11 by means such as vacuum suction, the moving stage 11 is moved at a constant speed, and the substrate A on the moving stage 11 is fed from below the rubbing pressure applying roller 16 from one end side thereof. In this embodiment, a large number of the moving stages 11 are provided, the substrates A are sequentially placed on the moving stages 11, and the substrates A are continuously fed under the rubbing pressure applying roller 16. ing.

On the other hand, the rubbing cloth feed mechanism 12 is driven prior to the start of the movement of the moving stage 11,
The tape-shaped rubbing cloth 15 is sent from the rubbing cloth supply unit 13 to the rubbing cloth collecting unit 14 at a constant speed. The rubbing pressure application roller 16 is in contact with the back surface (upper surface) of the tape-shaped rubbing cloth 15 with a constant contact pressure. The rubbing pressure applying roller 16 is a free rotation roller and rotates at the same speed as the tape-like rubbing cloth 15 is fed.

When the substrate A on the moving stage 11 is sent under the rubbing pressure applying roller 16 by the movement of the moving stage 11, the tape-like rubbing cloth 15 is rubbed on the film surface of the alignment film a on the substrate A. The film surface of the alignment film a pressed by the pressure application roller 16 with a constant contact pressure is rubbed in one direction from one end side to the other end side of the alignment film a as the moving stage 11 moves.

In this case, since the tape-shaped rubbing cloth 15 rubs the surface of the alignment film a, the surface of the polyimide resin film or the like which is the alignment film a is scraped by the rubbing cloth 15, and the scraped resin adheres to the rubbing cloth 15. And the rubbing cloth 15 gets dirty,
The tape-like rubbing cloth 15 is the rubbing cloth feeding mechanism 1.
Since the tape-shaped rubbing cloth 15 is always fed at a constant speed by 2, the dirty portion of the tape-shaped rubbing cloth 15, that is, the used portion, is wound and collected by the rubbing cloth collecting unit 14 without touching the surface of the alignment film a again. The unrubbed portion on the surface of the alignment film a is rubbed by the unused portion of the tape-shaped rubbing cloth 15 fed from the rubbing cloth supply unit 13.

That is, in the rubbing apparatus, while feeding the tape-shaped rubbing cloth 15 from the rubbing cloth feeding section 13 to the rubbing cloth collecting section 14, the rubbing cloth 15 is brought into contact with the surface of the alignment film a by the rubbing pressure applying roller 16. hand,
The surface of the alignment film a is rubbed. According to this rubbing device, the surface of the alignment film a can always be rubbed with a new rubbing cloth (unused portion of the tape-shaped rubbing cloth 15), and thus the alignment film of all substrates can be rubbed. A uniform and good orientation treatment can be performed.

Next, another embodiment of the present invention will be described. In this embodiment, a plurality of rubbing units 20 each having a rubbing cloth feeding mechanism 12 and a rubbing pressure imparting roller 16 are arranged side by side in the moving direction F of the moving stage 11, and are fed by the moving stage 11 on the substrate A. The surface of the alignment film a is repeatedly rubbed by a plurality of rubbing units 20.

In this embodiment, the rubbing cloth feeding mechanism 12 is used.
Has a structure in which the rubbing cloth supply unit 13 and the rubbing cloth collecting unit 14 are arranged vertically, and the rubbing pressure applying roller 16 is arranged below the rubbing cloth supplying unit 13 and the rubbing cloth collecting unit 14 to arrange the rubbing unit. 20 is made compact.

The rubbing cloth feeding mechanism 1 of this embodiment
2 and the rubbing pressure imparting roller 16 are the same as the embodiment shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 only in the disposition position, and therefore the description thereof is given the same reference numerals in the drawings and omitted. ..

Also in the rubbing apparatus of this embodiment, each rubbing unit 20 feeds the rubbing cloth 15 while feeding the tape-like rubbing cloth 15.
Since the surface of the alignment film a is rubbed by contacting the surface of the alignment film a by means of 6, the surface of the alignment film a can always be rubbed with a new rubbing cloth (unused portion of the tape-like rubbing cloth 15). The alignment film on the substrate can be subjected to uniform and excellent alignment treatment.

Moreover, according to this embodiment, since a plurality of rubbing units 20 are provided, some of the rubbing units 20 are in a resting state (the feeding of the tape-like rubbing cloth 15 is stopped, and The rubbing pressure imparting roller 16 is pulled up so that the rubbing cloth 15 does not come into contact with the surface of the alignment film a), and the number of times the rubbing unit 20 is used is changed to arbitrarily select the number of times of rubbing on the surface of the alignment film a. Therefore, it is possible to control the rubbing density of the surface of the alignment film a and perform an arbitrary alignment treatment.

In each of the above embodiments, the surface of the alignment film a on the substrate A is rubbed while the substrate A is moved by the moving stage 11. However, the substrate A may be placed on the fixed stage. Well, in that case, rubbing cloth feed mechanism 1
The alignment film a surface on the substrate A may be rubbed while the 2 and the rubbing pressure applying roller 16 are moved in parallel in one direction along the surface of the substrate A.

[0027]

According to the rubbing apparatus of the present invention, while feeding a tape-like rubbing cloth from the rubbing cloth feeding section to the rubbing cloth collecting section, the rubbing cloth is brought into contact with the alignment film surface by the rubbing pressure applying roller, and the alignment film is formed. Since the surface is rubbed, the alignment film surface can always be rubbed with a new rubbing cloth (the unused part of the tape-like rubbing cloth), and therefore, the alignment film on all substrates can be uniformly and favorably treated. Can be applied.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side view of a rubbing apparatus showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of a part of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a partially cutaway side view of a rubbing device showing another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a side view of a conventional rubbing device.

[Explanation of symbols]

A ... Substrate, a ... Alignment film, 11 ... Moving stage, 12 ... Rubbing cloth feeding mechanism, 13 ... Rubbing cloth supply section, 13a ...
Rubbing cloth feeding reel, 14 ... rubbing cloth collecting section, 1
4a ... rubbing cloth take-up reel, 15 ... tape-like rubbing cloth, 15a ... tape-like cloth, 15b ... fiber bristles, 16 ... rubbing pressure applying roller, 20 ... rubbing unit.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A rubbing device for rubbing the film surface of an alignment film formed on a substrate in one direction, comprising a rubbing cloth supply section and a rubbing cloth collecting section, wherein the rubbing cloth supply section is a tape-like rubbing cloth. A rubbing cloth feeding mechanism for feeding out the rubbing cloth to the rubbing cloth collecting section, and a rubbing pressure imparting roller for bringing the rubbing cloth fed from the rubbing cloth supply section into contact with the alignment film surface. Characteristic rubbing device.