JPH08156099A - Method and apparatus for adhering - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To reduce an apparatus scale, and to obtain a method and an apparatus for adhering an optical member by simplifying by pressure reducing in a pressure vessel while maintaining the sealing of the periphery of the one surface of an adhering member with the vessel, and pressurizing the one surface of the member by atmospheric pressure. CONSTITUTION: Since an adhering member 4 to be adhered via an adhesive is supported in a pressure vessel 13 and the residual part of the surface is exposed to the atmosphere while maintaining the sealing between the periphery of the one surface of the member 4 and the vessel 13, when a valve 19 is opened and a vacuum pump 21 is operated, the vessel 13 is depressurized, one transparent member 3 is pressurized by atmospheric pressure, and bubble of an ultraviolet curable adhesive 2 is evacuated. The valve 19 and the pump 21 are coupled by an elastic tube 20 so that the vibration of the pump 21 is not transmitted to the member 4.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a bonding method and an apparatus for bonding members, and more particularly to a bonding method and apparatus for bonding various optical members.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art For example, in an optical component disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 3-248125, it is necessary to bond the components together. The simplest method for such bonding is to apply an adhesive to the surfaces to be bonded, stack the parts, and apply pressure.

Generally, there is a demand for optical components to be as flat as possible. The flatness means a low degree of phenomenon such as warpage or waviness of an interface or a surface, that is, a degree of coincidence with an ideal flat surface. Therefore, the flatness of the surface of each individual optical component before bonding is first increased, and the optical components laminated with an adhesive are sandwiched from above and below by a plane platen and pressure-treated by a pressing machine. In order to increase the flatness of the bonding surface, the adhesive used at this time should have a high fluidity when pressed by a press machine, and therefore an external energy source should be used rather than a type that solidifies at room temperature over time. For example, those of the type that solidify by heat rays or ultraviolet rays are preferable.

Incidentally, in the case of a thermosetting adhesive, the flat platen must have a mechanical strength corresponding to the flat platen so as not to impair the flatness of the flat platen even when it is pressed, and it is sufficiently rigid as compared with the adhesive member. It is necessary to use the one with. There are various problems in transmitting heat to the members sandwiched between such flat surface plates. In other words, it takes heating time to transfer heat from the heating element outside the flat platen due to the thickness of the platen, and when exchanging with a new member for pressurization during mass production, a cooling mechanism is also required and the device becomes complicated. Become. Further, even if a heating element is used for the surface plate itself, the flatness of the surface plate itself will decrease due to the temperature rise, so the flatness of the member pressed by such a surface plate will also decrease. I will end up.

When members having different thermal expansion coefficients are bonded to each other by using a thermosetting adhesive, when the adhesive is hardened and then cooled to normal temperature, warp occurs due to the difference in shrinkage ratio of the bonded members. Then the flatness is reduced. Therefore, as the adhesive, an ultraviolet curable adhesive is selected over a thermosetting adhesive. In this case, the temperature rise due to ultraviolet irradiation is smaller than that when a thermosetting adhesive is used, and the problem due to the difference in heat shrinkage does not occur.

Further, when the step of laminating the interference film or the metal film is continued after the optical parts are adhered to each other, the minute air bubbles trapped in the adhesive increase in pressure when overheated, and cracks or the like occur to cause optical parts. Function may be impaired. The same phenomenon may occur due to the pressure difference even when the optical component is used under vacuum such as outer space. Therefore, the air bubbles in the adhesive are removed and then the bonding member is pressed.

FIG. 5 shows a step of laminating optical components in consideration of the above situation. First, as shown in FIG. 5A, the ultraviolet curable adhesive 2 is applied on the other translucent member 1, and one of the translucent members is applied thereon as shown in FIG. 5B. 3 are bonded together to form a bonding member 4.

After that, the bonding member 4 is shown in FIG.
As shown in (4), by being placed in the vacuum chamber 5 and depressurized, minute bubbles in the ultraviolet curable adhesive 2 are removed (defoaming process). Next, the defoamed bonding member 4 is sandwiched between the glass lower surface plate 7 and the upper surface plate 8 placed on the press machine 6 as shown in FIG. The pressure is lowered by lowering 9, and the ultraviolet curable adhesive 2 is irradiated with ultraviolet rays from the ultraviolet light source 10 installed below, and the adhesive 2 is cured.

Therefore, when the bonding member 4 is taken out from the vacuum chamber 5 and set in the press machine 6, the light transmissive members 1 and 3 are misaligned, and the ultraviolet curable adhesive 2 is re-aired. There were times when it flowed in. Also,
Irradiating ultraviolet rays through the glass lower surface plate 7 was not very efficient, and the equipment cost was high.

[0010]

Therefore, as a result of intensive investigations by the present inventors, the bonding member is supported in a pressure container, and the space between at least one surface of the bonding member and the pressure container is hermetically sealed. When the pressure in the pressure vessel is reduced by exposing the remaining part to the atmosphere while supporting it, the pressure is applied by the bonding member or the atmospheric pressure, and the defoaming process for removing the minute bubbles in the adhesive is also performed. It has been found that when the bonding member is translucent, it can be irradiated with ultraviolet rays to cure the ultraviolet-curable adhesive under pressure, resulting in extremely good workability. That is, an object of the present invention is to provide a simplified bonding method and device for optical members.

[0011]

The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and the first gist thereof is to provide a pressure vessel with a peripheral portion of at least one surface of this bonding member. There is a bonding method in which at least one surface of the bonding member is pressurized by the atmospheric pressure while decompressing the inside of the pressure container while keeping the remaining portion of the surface exposed to the air while maintaining airtightness. Further, in the above summary,
When the portion of the bonding member exposed to the atmosphere is translucent, it is effective that the portion is irradiated with ultraviolet rays or heat rays to cure the bonding adhesive of the bonding member.

Another aspect of the present invention is to provide a pressure container having at least one atmosphere-exposing window that is in airtight contact with a peripheral portion of an atmosphere-exposing portion of the bonding member, and supporting the bonding member inside thereof. The bonding apparatus includes a vacuum pump for reducing the pressure inside the pressure container. Further, in the above-mentioned gist, the pressure vessel is airtightly joined to a base body on which a surface plate is placed and which supports the other surface of the attachment member, and the attachment member of the attachment member is exposed to the atmosphere at a window portion. It is effective to have a lid body that is in airtight contact with the peripheral portion of one surface.

[0013]

According to the method of the present invention, the defoaming treatment of the bonding adhesive and the pressing work of the bonding member are simultaneously performed, so that the workability is extremely improved. Further, when the bonding member is translucent like an optical component, the portion can be irradiated with ultraviolet rays or heat rays, and a bonding adhesive such as an ultraviolet curable adhesive or a thermosetting adhesive can be bonded to the bonding member. It can be cured in the pressurized state as described above, and the yield and reliability of the product will be good. According to the apparatus of the present invention, it is possible to obtain an apparatus capable of simultaneously performing the pressurization of the bonding member and the defoaming treatment of the adhesive, and the apparatus scale is reduced. Further, when the pressure container is formed of the base and the lid, the work is facilitated, and the bonding work may be performed on the base of the container in some cases.

[0014]

EXAMPLES Next, according to the examples shown in FIGS. 1 to 4,
The present invention will be described in more detail. FIG. 1 is a vertical sectional view of an apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in the figure, a pressure vessel 13 composed of a base 11 and a lid 12 is airtightly joined via a seal ring 14, and on the surface plate 15 provided inside, the other transparent member 1 and A bonding member 4 in which one of the translucent members 3 is bonded with an ultraviolet curable adhesive 2 is placed. A seal ring 18 supported by an end edge portion 17 of an atmosphere exposure window 16 provided in the lid 11 of the pressure container 13 is airtightly contacted with the upper surface of the one translucent member 3 of the bonding member 4. . Base 11 of pressure vessel 13
A valve 19 is provided in the vicinity of the bottom portion of the and is connected to a vacuum pump 21 via an elastic tube 20. Reference numeral 22 denotes a general-purpose ultraviolet ray generator, which is arranged so as to be able to supply ultraviolet rays to the atmosphere exposure window via the fiber bundle 23.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view seen from the back side of the lid 12 of the pressure vessel 13. The height position of the end edge portion 17 formed in the atmosphere exposure window 16 of the lid body 12 is determined by the bonding member 4
And the thickness of the surface plate 15 are taken into consideration, and the seal ring 18 supported by the edge 17 is just in contact with the upper surface of the one transparent member 3 of the bonding member 4. . Further, the shape of the atmosphere exposure window 16 is made similar to the shape of the bonding member 4, and the contact portion of the seal ring 18 is made as small as possible and the portion exposed to the atmosphere is made as wide as possible. Furthermore, although the case where one atmosphere exposure window 16 is provided is illustrated, a large number of atmosphere exposure windows 16 can be provided for mass production.

Here, as the transparent members 1 and 3, a rigid material such as glass, a flexible material such as a plastic sheet, or a composite material thereof can be used. In this case, it is preferable that the adhesive is also translucent, but it is not necessary to bond an opaque member such as a color filter or an ND (neutral density) filter. If the adhesive 2 is applied in a slightly larger amount so that the excess portion is extruded to the outside at the time of pressurization, the effect of extruding residual bubbles can be enhanced.

Thus, the bonding member 4 to be bonded via an adhesive is supported in the pressure container 13, and the pressure container 1 and the peripheral portion of at least one surface of the bonding member 4 are supported.
Since the remaining part of the surface is exposed to the atmosphere while maintaining airtightness with 3, the inside of the pressure vessel 13 is depressurized by opening the valve 19 and operating the vacuum pump 21. The translucent member 3 is pressurized by the atmospheric pressure and the bubbles of the ultraviolet curable adhesive 2 are degassed.

At this time, the valve 19 and the vacuum pump 21 are connected by the elastic tube 20 so that the vibration of the vacuum pump 21 is not transmitted to the bonding member 4 as much as possible.
In this way, the defoaming of the ultraviolet curable adhesive 2 is completed,
When the pressure applied to the bonding member 4 reaches an appropriate value, the valve 1
9 is closed, the vacuum pump 21 is stopped, and the ultraviolet generator 2
2 is operated to irradiate one of the translucent members 3 with ultraviolet rays, the ultraviolet curable adhesive 2 is cured and the bonding member 4
Will be fixed under aptitude conditions. Therefore, the probability of cracking during processing after bonding and in a low-pressure environment as a product becomes extremely small.

In the embodiment of FIG. 1, an example in which the bonding member 4 is bonded at another place and then housed in the pressure vessel 13 for processing is shown. As shown in FIG. Alternatively, if the pressure container 26 is formed in a dish shape and has the valve 19 attached to the lid 25 and connected to the vacuum pump 21 by the elastic tube 20, the surface plate 27 provided on the base body 24 has the other translucent surface. The member 1 is placed, the ultraviolet curable adhesive 2 is applied, and the one translucent member 3 is placed on the member 1 and laminated,
If the lid 25 is placed over the valve 19 and the valve 19 is opened to operate the vacuum pump 21, the base 24 and the lid 25
The airtightness between them is maintained by a seal ring 28, and the end edge portion 30 of the atmosphere exposure window 29 of the lid 25 and the bonding member 4 are bonded together.
Since the airtightness between and is kept by the seal ring 31, the defoaming process of the ultraviolet curable adhesive 2 and the pressurization of the bonding member 4 are simultaneously processed.

Upon completion of defoaming and pressurization, natural sunlight or ultraviolet rays from an ultraviolet ray generator (not shown) is radiated from the atmospheric exposure window 29 to cure the ultraviolet ray curable adhesive 2 and thereby the bonding member 4 Is fixed and completed as a part. That is, according to the embodiment of FIG. 3, the step of transferring the members before the adhesive curing of the bonding member 4 is omitted. Although the number of the atmospheric exposure windows 29 is one in this embodiment, a plurality of atmospheric exposure windows 29 may be used in the case of mass production.
It is also possible to use a pressure vessel equipped with.

Next, how to apply force to the bonding member 4 and the surface plate 15 will be described. As can be seen from the enlarged view of the portion A of FIG. 1 shown in FIG. 4A, when the bonding member 4 is stored in the pressure vessel 13, the bonding member 4 and the surface plate 15 appear to be in close contact with each other. Even so, the air lurks in and pushes both sides apart. However, since the atmospheric pressures applied from the atmospheric exposure windows cancel each other, the bonding member 4 is pressed against the surface plate 15 by its own gravity as shown in FIG. 4B.

After that, when a vacuum is drawn, the pressure vessel 13
Since the amount of air inside is reduced, the force for separating the bonding member 4 and the surface plate 15 from each other becomes weaker as shown in FIG. Therefore, the bonding member 4 is fixed to the surface plate 15
The force applied to the atmospheric exposure window 1 is greater than that before degassing.
The bonding member 4 is pushed downward from 6 to increase by the difference in atmospheric pressure. This force is maintained while there is a difference in atmospheric pressure even when the bonding member 4 is in complete contact with the surface plate 15.

When the inside of the pressure vessel 13 is degassed to a substantially vacuum, the pressure is 1 atm, that is, 1 kg / cm, as compared with before the evacuation is started.
² pressure is applied, and it is tens to hundreds of K like a molding press.
Although it does not reach g / cm ² , it functions sufficiently because it is a pressure for performing flattening with higher accuracy when laminating flat members. In this way, the bonding member 4 is pressed at the same time when the ultraviolet curable adhesive 2 is defoamed, and the flatness is increased. At this time, the opening of the atmosphere exposure window 16, that is, the upper surface of one of the translucent members 3 is evenly pressed by the Pascal's principle, so that the bonding member 4 can be flattened with only one surface plate. Becomes This is also the same when both surfaces of the bonding member 4 are exposed to the atmosphere and both surfaces are pressurized at atmospheric pressure.

As described above, according to the present invention, the defoaming process and the pressurizing process can be performed at the same time, it is not necessary to move the bonding member 4 for each work, and the mechanical mechanism for pressurizing is also provided. Since it is not necessary, the method and apparatus are extremely simplified.
Incidentally, the present invention is not limited to the case of using the ultraviolet effect adhesive as shown in the above-mentioned examples,
It can also be carried out with other types of adhesives.

[0025]

As described above, according to the present invention, the defoaming treatment and the pressure treatment can be performed at the same time, it is not necessary to provide a mechanical pressure mechanism, and an adhesive curing means such as ultraviolet irradiation is incorporated. Since there is no need, the device scale can be reduced and simplified, and an extremely economical effect can be obtained.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory longitudinal sectional view showing the concept of an apparatus according to the present invention.

2 is a rear perspective view of the lid body shown in FIG. 1. FIG.

FIG. 3 is a vertical sectional view of an apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention.

4A and 4B are explanatory views of a pressurization situation, FIG. 4A is an enlarged view of a portion A shown in FIG. 1, FIG. 4B is a pressurization situation diagram before deaeration, and FIG.
(C) is a pressurization situation diagram after deaeration.

5A and 5B are explanatory diagrams of a conventional method, FIG. 5A is an explanatory diagram of applying an adhesive, FIG. 5B is an assembly diagram of a bonding member, and FIG. 5C is an explanatory diagram of a defoaming process. 5 (d) is an explanatory diagram of pressurization.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Translucent member on the other side 2 Ultraviolet curable adhesive 3 Translucent member on the other side 4 Laminating member 11 Base 12 Cover 13 Pressure vessel 16 Air exposure window 21 Vacuum pump 24 Base 25 Cover 26 Pressure vessel 29 Air exposure window

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A bonding member, which is bonded via an adhesive, is supported in a pressure vessel, and at least one peripheral surface of at least one surface of the bonding member and the remaining portion of the surface are kept airtight. A bonding method, comprising depressurizing the inside of a pressure container while exposing a part to the atmosphere, and pressurizing at least one surface of the bonding member by atmospheric pressure. 2. When the portion of the bonding member exposed to the atmosphere is translucent, the portion is irradiated with ultraviolet rays or heat rays to cure the bonding adhesive of the bonding member. The bonding method according to claim 1. 3. A pressure vessel having at least one atmosphere-exposing window in airtight contact with a peripheral portion of an atmosphere-exposed portion of the bonding member, and supporting the bonding member therein, and a vacuum for reducing the pressure inside the pressure container. A laminating apparatus comprising a pump. 4. The pressure vessel is hermetically bonded to a base body on which a surface plate is placed and which supports the other surface of the bonding member, and the pressure-bonded member is bonded to the base body at an air exposure window portion. The laminating device according to claim 3, wherein the laminating device is hermetically in contact with a peripheral portion of one surface.