JPH08192355A - Polishing method for surface of polished member and automatic polishing equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To remove a protrusion on the surface of a polished member and to clearly determine its location by detecting the location of a protruded part from the presence or absence of the touch of any contact to the protruded part on the polished member and by facing polishing means toward the detected location to polish the surface of the polished member. CONSTITUTION: A control part 50 memorizes the location of a detected protruded part to record in an IC card 62 loaded in an input output part 60 together with the identification code of a color filter read by means of a code ready. In automatic polishing equipment 10, when the protruded part on the color filter detected by means of a surface detecting unit 230 passes under a polishing unit 104 with a polishing table moved from a loading part 14 side to a discharge part 18 side, a polishing head is moved to the location facing the protruded part to carry out polishing by means of a polishing tape.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method for polishing a surface of a member to be polished such as a color filter formed on the surface of a glass substrate used for an LCD or the like, and an automatic polishing apparatus.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A liquid crystal display (hereinafter, "LCD") that displays an image according to an electric signal.
In the above, a deflecting film is provided on the surface side of the liquid crystal, and an image is displayed by forming light and dark depending on whether light transmitted through the liquid crystal passes through the deflecting film. LC like this
In D, for example, it is possible to display a color image by arranging a color filter formed by arranging each color component of red, green, and blue in a minute mosaic shape and giving each color component to light passing through the deflection film. ing.

Incidentally, if protrusions, foreign matter, or the like are attached to the surface of the color filter, a gap is created between the deflecting film and the color filter, making it impossible to display a clear color image. Therefore, it is necessary to carry out polishing to remove the protrusions from the surface of the color filter so that the protrusions and the like on the surface of the color filter fall within an allowable range (for example, about 4 μm).

By the way, since the surface of the color filter used for the LCD is soft, it is necessary to pay close attention not to apply an external force unnecessarily when polishing the color filter.

Therefore, when removing protrusions, foreign matters, etc. adhering to the surface of the color filter, the irregularities on the surface of the color filter are measured by a laser length measuring instrument or the like, and protrusions having a protrusion amount exceeding the allowable range and The position is calculated, or the image information photographed by a CCD image sensor or the like is arithmetically processed to obtain the position of the protrusion beyond the allowable range,
The position on the color filter obtained by arithmetic polishing is rubbed with a polishing member to remove protrusions and the like from the surface of the color filter.

[0006]

However, the apparatus for performing such polishing has a precise and complicated structure and is very expensive. Therefore, in general, an operator visually inspects the surface of the color filter for protrusions, and if there are protrusions, foreign matter, etc. that are considered to be above the allowable range, polish the tape or the like with abrasive particles added. The members are used to be removed by polishing them by hand little by little while paying close attention. Therefore, it is an extremely inefficient work, and particularly when a manual inspection is performed, it is impossible to clearly record which position of which member to be polished has the protrusion, and the polishing is completed. Discrimination of the member to be polished may be difficult.

The present invention has been made in consideration of the above facts, and it is possible to detect the position of a protrusion on the surface of a member to be polished such as a color filter with a simple structure, and to polish and remove it accurately. Of course, at which position on which member to be polished,
An object of the present invention is to provide a method for polishing the surface of a member to be polished and an automatic polishing apparatus that can clearly determine whether foreign matter has adhered.

[0008]

According to a method of polishing a surface of a member to be polished according to the present invention, a plurality of members to be polished contained in a container are placed one by one on a moving table and moved in a predetermined direction. Whether or not any of the contacts comes into contact with the protrusion on the member to be polished is detected by the detection means having a large number of contacts closely arranged along the direction orthogonal to the moving direction of the moving table. The position of the protrusion is detected from there, and a polishing means provided with a polishing member arranged on the downstream side of the detecting means in the moving table moving direction is opposed to the detected position, and the polishing member is used to After polishing the surface, the member to be polished is accommodated in a predetermined container, and the identification code of the member to be polished, the container in which the member to be polished is accommodated, and the member to be polished after polishing are accommodated. And together with the identification code of the container, characterized in that to record the position of the projections of the polished member it detected by said detecting means in a predetermined recording medium.

The automatic polishing apparatus according to the present invention comprises a loading section in which a container capable of containing a plurality of members to be polished is loaded, a moving table on which the members to be polished are placed and which moves in a predetermined direction, The protrusions on the surface of the member to be polished depend on whether or not a large number of contacts closely arranged along the direction orthogonal to the moving direction of the movable table contact the protrusions on the surface of the member to be polished on the moving table. Is provided so as to be movable in a direction orthogonal to the moving table moving direction on the downstream side of the moving table moving direction of the detecting means, and any position of the color filter on the moving table is polished. The polishing means for polishing by a member, the movement of the moving table and the polishing means are controlled, and the polishing means is moved according to the detection result of the detection means to move the surface of the color filter. The polishing control means for polishing, the identification code of the container loaded in the loading part and the discharging part, and the identification code of the member to be polished placed on the moving table are detected, and the detection result of the detection means is detected. And an inspection information input / output unit for recording the identification code of the container and the detection result of the detection unit on a predetermined recording medium.

[0010]

According to the method of polishing the surface of a member to be polished of the present invention, the members to be polished contained in the container are placed one by one on the moving table to perform polishing, and the polished members to be polished are successively accommodated in the container. To do. Further, when polishing the member to be polished, the presence or absence of a protrusion on the surface of the member to be polished is detected by a contactor arranged in a direction orthogonal to the moving direction of the moving table, and when the protrusion is detected, the polishing member is Is opposed to the detected position and polishing is performed.

The contacts are closely arranged and swing by contacting a protrusion protruding from the surface of the member to be polished. The position of the protrusion on the surface of the member to be polished can be easily and clearly determined from which contactor has come into contact with the protrusion when the polishing table moves to which position.

Further, the positions of the projections and the like on the surface of the member to be polished are accompanied by an identification code that clearly identifies each member to be polished, and in which container this polishing member was stored, When finished, it is recorded in a recording medium together with the container identification code indicating which container the container is housed in.

With this, it is not necessary to measure the positions of the projections of the member to be polished in advance, and it is possible to clearly determine at which position of each member to be polished the protrusions have been generated even after the polishing is completed. can do.

In the automatic polishing apparatus of the present invention, the member to be polished is taken out from the container loaded in the loading section and placed on the moving table before performing the polishing operation. At this time, first, the presence or absence of a protrusion or the like on the surface of the member to be polished is detected by the contactor, and when a protrusion larger than a predetermined value is detected from the detection result, the polishing member is moved in a direction orthogonal to the moving direction of the moving table. Move and sequentially polish.

On the other hand, the identification code of the container loaded in the loading section, the identification code for identifying each member to be polished, and the identification code for the container containing the member to be polished which has been polished are read out and recorded on the recording medium. Record.

This makes it possible to automatically polish the surface of each member to be polished without wasting the surface of the member to be polished in advance. Further, it is possible to clarify the presence or absence and the position of the protrusion for the member to be polished contained in each container.

[0017]

EXAMPLE FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 show an automatic polishing apparatus 10 applied to this example.

In this automatic polishing apparatus 10, a casing 12 having a substantially U-shaped outer planar shape is provided with a loading section 14 on both sides,
The discharging unit 18 is arranged, and the polishing working unit 16 is arranged between the loading unit 14 and the discharging unit 18. The casing 12 is tightly surrounded by an outer wall material such as a vinyl chloride plate that has been subjected to antistatic treatment, and has a clean room inside. The casing 12 is provided with a circulation duct equipped with an air cleaning device (not shown),
The internal air is circulated at a predetermined timing to remove dust and dirt. Further, the casing 12 is provided with an operation panel 13 (see FIG. 2) for performing a polishing operation in the automatic polishing apparatus 10.

As shown in FIG. 1, the color filter 20 as the member to be polished is housed in the container 22. The container 22 has a rectangular shape and is in the shape of a box with one surface open, and the color filters 20 are layered in the container 22 at regular intervals.

As shown in FIG. 3, the color filter 2
0 is, for example, green, blue, on the surface of the thin glass substrate 20A.
A filter layer 20B in which a minute red color component is arranged is formed, and an identification code 20C (for example, a manufacturing number or the like) given to each color filter 20 is written on the peripheral portion of the glass substrate 20A. .

As shown in FIG. 2, the automatic polishing apparatus 10
The casing 12 is provided with a loading port 24 on the loading unit 14 side and the discharging unit 18 side, and the container 22 is inserted into the casing 12 from the loading port 24.

As shown in FIG. 1, the loading section 14 and the discharging section 18 are provided with a base 28 on which a container 22 is loaded, and the loading section 14 contains a container 22 containing a color filter 20. The empty container 22 that does not house the color filter 20 is loaded in the discharge section 18. An identification code (not shown) is written at a predetermined position on each container 22 so that each container 22 can be identified.

A base 28 is provided at the loading section 14 and the discharging section 18.
The transfer robots 30 and 32 are arranged on the further back side.
In this embodiment, the same transfer robots 30 and 32 are used.
0 will be described, and description of the other transfer robot 32 will be omitted.

The transfer robot 30 has a columnar base 34.
The arm portion 36 is disposed on the upper part of the arm, and the holding plate 38 is provided at one end of the arm portion 36 in the longitudinal direction. As shown in FIG. 4, the transfer robot 30 includes a servo motor 4 for lifting and lowering the arm 36.
0, a rotary encoder 42 for rotating the arm portion 36 within a predetermined range, a servo motor 44 for expansion and contraction for expanding and contracting the arm portion 36 to move the holding plate 38, and a suction hole (not shown) provided on the surface of the holding plate 38. A solenoid valve 46 for supplying negative pressure is provided,
These are connected to the control unit 48.
Further, the control unit 48 is connected to the control unit 50 of the automatic polishing apparatus 10.

Therefore, the transfer robot 30 has the control unit 5
It is possible to raise, lower, rotate, and extend the arm portion 36 in response to a signal from 0 to accurately translate the holding plate 38 in a horizontal state in parallel to an arbitrary position, and to suck and hold the color filter 20 on the holding plate 38 for conveyance. You can do it.

Further, an elevating motor 52 and a detection sensor 54 provided adjacent to the base 28 of the loading section 14 are connected to the control section 50. As the detection sensor 54, for example, a photoelectric sensor in which a light emitting element and a light receiving element are integrated is used, and the container 2 is lifted along the open surface of the container 22 by the operation of the lifting motor 52.
The color filters 20 housed inside 2 are detected in order from the bottom.

Further, the control unit 50 is provided with code readers 140 and 142 for reading the identification codes of the containers 22 loaded in the loading unit 14 and the discharging unit 18, respectively. When loaded, the identification code of the container 22 is read by the code leads 140 and 142 prior to the polishing operation. As the code readers 140 and 142, for example, a bar code reader may be used when the identification code is displayed as a bar code, and a CCD sensor or the like may be used when the identification code is displayed as characters.

In the automatic polishing apparatus 10, when the detection sensor 54 detects the lowermost color filter 20 accommodated in the container 22, the transfer robot 30 is operated in accordance with this height and the holding plate 38 sucks and holds it. Then, the color filter 20 is conveyed to the polishing work section 16. The transfer robot 32 of the discharge unit 18
Takes out the color filter 20 from the polishing section 16 and inserts the color filter 20 into the container 22 in that order. At this time, the color filter 20 is inserted according to the position taken out from the loading unit 14, that is, the height detected by the detection sensor 54, and the color filter 20 is overlapped in the same order before and after the polishing work. Are housed in the container 22.

On the other hand, the control section 50 is connected to the input / output section 60 provided on the operation panel 13 together with the operation switch section 56 and the display section 58. In this input / output unit 60,
An IC card 62 is mounted as a recording medium. This IC
The card 62 is provided corresponding to, for example, the container 22 loaded in the loading unit 14 or the discharging unit 18, and the control unit 50 uses the identification codes of the containers 22 of the loading unit 14 and the discharging unit 18 as the IC. Record on card 62,
Which container 2 is the color filter 20 to be polished later
It is possible to clearly discriminate whether or not it is taken out from 2.

The recording medium is an IC card 62.
However, various general recording media that can store data magnetically and optically, such as a floppy disk and an MO disk, can be used. It may correspond to the container 22.

As shown in FIG. 1, the polishing work section 16 is provided with a base 64 between the loading section 14 and the discharging section 18, and a polishing table 66 is arranged on the upper surface of the base 64. ing. In the polishing table 66, a rectangular polishing table 68 and a base plate 70 are integrally connected by a plurality of spacers 72.

A pair of guide rails 74 are provided on the upper surface of the base 64 in parallel with each other from the supply section 14 to the discharge section 18, and between the guide rails 74, one end is connected. A ball screw 78 that rotates by the drive of the main scanning motor 76 is provided. 6 and 8
As shown in FIG. 7, a base plate 70 of the polishing table 66 is provided with a slider 74A slidably engaged with each of the pair of guide rails 74 and a ball nut 78A meshed with a ball screw 78.

As shown in FIG. 4, the main scanning motor 76
Is connected to the control unit 50, and the polishing table 66 is controlled by the control unit 50 to load the loading unit 14 and the discharging unit 18.
It is designed to move between. At this time, the polishing table 6
6, that is, the amount of movement of the polishing table 68 is determined by the main scanning motor 7
It is possible to accurately obtain it from the driving amount of 6.

As shown in FIGS. 6 and 8, a plurality of suction holes 80 are formed on the upper surface of the polishing table 68. As shown in FIG. 4, the control unit 50 has a suction hole 8
A solenoid valve 82 that supplies a negative pressure to 0 is provided. For this reason, the color filter 2 is attached to the polishing table 68.
The color filter 20 is suction-held on the polishing table 68 by opening the solenoid valve 82 when 0 is mounted.

Further, as shown in FIG.
A rectangular frame 84 is provided between the polishing table 68 and the base plate 70. The support shafts 8 supported by the slide bearings 90 are provided at the four corners of the frame 84.
8 is projected upward. Also, the frame 84
Is attached to the lower surface of the polishing table 68 at the center of
The drive shaft of an air cylinder 86 that is operated by the air supplied from the control unit 50 (see FIG. 4) is connected.

Therefore, the frame 84 is moved up and down by the driving of the air cylinder 86, and the support shaft 88 is moved.
The tip portion 88A of the tip of the above is projected and retracted above the polishing table 68. In the polishing work unit 16, the tip portion 88A of the support shaft 88 is projected above the polishing table 68 to receive the color filter 20 from the transfer robot 30 and float above the polishing table 68 to support it. .

As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the base 64
On the loading section 14 side of the
2 is projected. At the tip of these columns 92,
A substantially U-shaped bracket 94 is attached. An air cylinder 96 is attached to each bracket 94. When driven, each air cylinder 96 moves between the brackets 94 in the arrow Y direction (main scanning direction).

Each air cylinder 96 is provided with air cylinders 98 and 99. A holding block 100 for positioning is attached to the tip of the drive shaft of each of the air cylinders 98 and 99, and the holding blocks 100 are driven in a direction in which they come in contact with and separate from each other along the arrow X direction (arrow X direction). It is like this. In addition, a positioning plate 102 is provided so as to project from the end of each bracket 94 on the loading section 14 side. As shown in FIG. 4, these air cylinders 96, 98, 99
Is operated by the air supplied from the control unit 50.

As shown in FIG. 7, the sandwiching block 100 for positioning faces the end surface of the color filter 20 supported by the tip portion 88A of the support shaft 88, and drives the air cylinder 98 to drive one of them. Holding block 1
00 is projected to a predetermined position, the other air cylinder 99 is driven to press and move the color filter 20 by the holding block 100 so as to hold the color filter 20.
Positioning is performed in the direction of the arrow X of 0. Further, the air cylinder 96 brings the color filter 20 sandwiched by the sandwiching block 100 into contact with the positioning plate 102 and positions the color filter 20 along the arrow Y direction.

When the positioning of the color filter 20 on the polishing table 68 is completed, the control unit 50 releases the holding by the holding block 100 and supplies the negative pressure to the suction hole 80 while retracting the support shaft 88 downward. , The color filter 20 is placed and held on the polishing table 68 without causing displacement.

As shown in FIG. 4, the control unit 50 includes
A code reader 144 for reading the identification code 20C of the color filter 20 is provided, and the identification code 20C of the color filter 20 positioned and held on the polishing table 68 is read prior to polishing.

In the color filter 20 thus positioned and placed on the polishing table 68, for example, an intermediate portion in the width direction of the end portion on the loading portion 14 side is set as an origin P, and the following polishing work is performed at this origin. With P as a reference, for example, an arbitrary position on the color filter 20 is expressed as x, y coordinates with this origin P as a reference (origin) to perform the work.

In the polishing table 68, a urethane rubber having a hardness of 60 ° which is polished and finished is attached to the upper surface on which the color filter 20 is placed, and the flatness of the upper surface is set to 0.
The support shaft 88 has a tip 88A.
Is smoothly curved, and the supported color filter 20 can be smoothly moved horizontally without being damaged.
Further, the sandwiching block 100 is exchanged according to the size of the color filter 20, and it is possible to position the fixed position at the origin P regardless of the size of the color filter 20.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 5, the base 64
The polishing unit 104 is disposed above the center of the
A surface inspection unit 230 is provided on the loading section 14 side of the polishing unit 104. Color filter 20
The polishing table 68 on which the
After passing below 0, it passes below the polishing unit 104 and reaches the discharge portion 18 side.

As shown in FIG. 9, on the base 64, legs 204 are erected on both sides of the base 64 in the direction of arrow X, and the surface inspection unit 2 is provided between the legs 204.
30 are provided. In this inspection unit 230,
A pair of side plates 232 are respectively arranged along the leg portions 204, and a top plate 234 is bridged between these side plates 232 and fixed by screws 236.

As shown in FIG. 10, a shaft 240 is bridged between the side plates 232, and support rollers 238 pivotally supported by the shaft 240 are provided near the side plates 232. These support rollers 2
38 is provided so as to face the non-filter layer on the periphery of the color filter 20 held on the polishing table 68.

The central portion of the shaft 240 in the axial direction is inserted into a cylindrical support portion 270A at the tip of a bracket 270 attached to the top plate 234, thereby preventing bending of the intermediate portion of the shaft 240. And holds it straight.

A substantially L-shaped bracket 242 is attached to the outer surface of the side plate 232, and a space between the substantially L-shaped brackets 244 of the leg portion 204 provided facing the bracket 242 is provided. The headed pins 246 are connected to each other so as to be relatively movable in the vertical direction. A compression coil spring 248 is provided in an intermediate portion of the headed pin 246, that is, between the brackets 242 and 244. The compression coil spring 248 receives the load of the surface inspection unit 230, and the support roller 238 causes the color filter 20. The load acting on the color filter 20 when it comes into contact with the surface of is reduced.

As shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, the top plate 234 of the surface inspection unit 230 has shafts 250 hanging from the four corners, and the inspection base 252 is hung on the lower ends of these shafts 250. It is delivered and attached in parallel with the top plate 234.

As shown in FIG. 10, the inspection base 25
Two circular hole grooves 254 are formed in 2 along the longitudinal direction (arrow x direction). In each of these circular hole grooves 254, a plurality of rectangular holes 256 are formed at equal intervals. In this embodiment, as an example, the two circular hole grooves 254 are provided.
Seven rectangular holes 256 are provided in a zigzag pattern between the two.

A filler 258, which is a contactor for detecting a protrusion 20D attached to or protruding from the surface of the color filter 20, is inserted into each of the rectangular holes 256.

The filler 258 is thin-walled and cut into a substantially T-shape, and the bent shoulder 158A at the upper end is bridged over the rectangular hole 256 and supported in the circular hole groove 254, and the tongue at the lower end. 158B is projected below the inspection base 252. As shown in FIG. 11A, these fillers 258 are formed on the mirror surface portion 25 extending from the shoulder portion 258A.
8C is balanced so that it is horizontal.
These fillers 258 are swingable, and the mirror surface portion 258C is inclined by the swing of the tongue portion 258B (see FIG. 11B).

The wall thickness of the filler 258 is
It is about 0.1 to 0.2 mm, is formed and attached accurately using a metal such as stainless steel or titanium, and the upper surface of the mirror surface portion 258C is mirror-finished. Further, the tongue portions 258 of all the fillers 258 are in a state in which the support roller 238 is in contact with the peripheral edge of the color filter 20.
The front end (lower end) of B is arranged so that a predetermined space (4 μm in this embodiment) is formed between the front end (lower end) and the filter layer 20B of the color filter 20.

Further, in this embodiment, the width dimension of the tongue portion 258B is set to 10 mm, and the tongue portion 258B is arranged in one circular hole groove 254 at a pitch of 19 mm. The shift of the filler 258 seen, that is, the offset amount is set to 9.5 mm. As a result, the filler 258 is
They are arranged at equal intervals with 0.5 mm overlap (see FIG. 9).

On the other hand, the photoelectric sensor 260 is provided on the top plate 234 so as to face the mirror surface portions 258C of the respective fillers 258.
Is provided. These photoelectric sensors 260 are connected to the control unit 50 (see FIG. 4).

As shown in FIG. 11A, the photoelectric sensor 260 irradiates light from the light projecting portion 260A toward the upper surface of the shoulder portion 258A of the filler 258, and reflects the light reflected on the upper surface of the mirror surface portion 258C. The light receiving section 260B receives light (light receiving state).

Here, as shown in FIG.
The tongue portion 258B of the filler 258 is the color filter 20.
It abuts on the protrusion 20D on the surface of the and swings, and the shoulder 258A
When the upper surface of the optical sensor 260 tilts, the reflection direction of the light emitted from the light projecting section 260A of the photoelectric sensor 260 changes, and the light receiving section 260B
Can no longer be detected in (non-light receiving state).

In the control unit 50, these photoelectric sensors 26
From the change in the light receiving state of 0, that is, the non-light receiving state
The presence and position of the protrusion 20D on the surface of the color filter 20 is detected. That is, the control unit 5
In 0, the position of the protrusion 20D on the color filter 20 is specified from the number indicating the position of each photoelectric sensor 260 and the driving amount of the main scanning motor 76, and the position of the protrusion 20D is set with the origin P as a reference. The calculation is performed as (x, y) coordinates. Since the fillers 258 are overlapped in two rows, when the overlapping fillers 258 detect the protrusion 20D by moving back and forth, the middle of the two fillers 258 is detected as the position of the protrusion 20D. I have to.

In the control unit 50, the detected protrusion 2 is detected.
The position of 0D is stored and recorded in the IC card 62 loaded in the input / output unit 60 together with the identification code 20D of the color filter 20 read by the code reader 144. This makes it possible to accurately determine the individual positions of the protrusions 20D existing on the respective color filters 20.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 5, the polishing unit 104 has a guide portion which is extended between a pair of leg portions 106 standing from the base 64 along the arrow X direction. It is attached to 108.

As shown in FIG. 5, in the guide portion 108, a pair of guide rails 112 and a ball screw 114 are arranged in a box-shaped casing 110. The base 116 of the polishing unit 104 includes a pair of guide rails 112.
Sliders 112 slidably engaged with each of the
A and a ball nut 114A meshing with the ball screw 114 are attached and supported by the guide portion 108. The ball screw 114 has one end with the sub-scanning motor 1.
18 (see FIG. 4) is connected, and the drive amount is accurately controlled by the control unit 50 so as to be rotationally driven.

The polishing unit 104 includes a sub-scanning motor 11
By driving 8, the polishing table 66 is moved in a direction orthogonal to the moving direction (direction of arrow X, front and back direction of paper surface of FIG. 5).

In the polishing unit 104, a base plate 120 is vertically extended downward from the base portion 116. A tape roll 124 is provided on the base plate 120. The polishing tape 122 is wound into a roll. The polishing tape 122 pulled out from the tape roll 124 is attached to the polishing head 1 at the lower end of the base plate 120.
It is wound around 26, and the front end is wound around the winding roll 128. Tape roll 124 and take-up roll 12
8 is driven at a predetermined speed by the tape running means 130 (see FIG. 4) to direct the polishing tape 122 from the tape roll 124 to the take-up roll 128.
It is designed to be moved in the direction opposite to the moving direction of 8.

As shown in FIG. 12, the polishing head 12
6 is provided on the swing arm 150. 14
As also shown in the figure, the swing arm 150 is provided on a fixed shaft 152 that is projected from the base plate 120 at right angles in the direction of the arrow X and in parallel with the upper surface of the polishing table 68. A pair of support arms 154 are attached to the fixed shaft 152.
4 includes a support shaft 1 that is substantially parallel to the fixed shaft 152.
56 are hung.

As shown in FIG. 14, the support arm 15
4 is attached to each of the fixed shaft 152 and the support shaft 156 via a bearing 188. For this reason,
As shown in FIGS. 12 and 13, the swing arm 1
In 50, the support shaft 156 is rotatable about the fixed shaft 152 in the arrow A direction and the arrow B direction. Further, the end of the support arm 154 on the support shaft 156 side can be separately swung due to the shift of the center of rotation that occurs within the allowable range of the bearing 188, so that the support shaft 156 can be inclined with respect to the horizontal direction. It is possible to swing. It should be noted that a self-aligning bearing capable of having a large allowable range of displacement of the rotary shaft may be used as the bearing 188, and the swing amount of the support shaft 156 in the horizontal direction may be set to be relatively large.

As shown in FIGS. 13 to 15, the support shaft 156 is provided with a polishing roller 158 serving as the polishing head 126 and a pair of guide rollers 160. The polishing roller 158 and the guide roller 160 have substantially the same outer dimensions, and the polishing tape 122 is wound around the polishing roller 158 at the center. The polishing roller 158 is made slightly thinner than the width of the polishing tape 122, and the edge of the polishing tape 126 has the color filter 20.
To prevent contact with the surface of.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 14, an eccentric portion 156A which is eccentric with respect to both ends is formed in the middle portion of the support shaft 156, and the polishing roller 158 is provided on the eccentric portion 156A. Guide rollers 160 are rotatably mounted on both sides of the roller 158 via bearings 189, respectively. That is, the guide roller 1
60 is eccentrically attached to the polishing roller 158. The polishing roller 158 and the guide roller 1
As the bearing 189 for receiving 60, it is more preferable to use an angular bearing whose displacement of the rotation center is small.

As shown in FIGS. 12 and 13, on the support shaft 156, a rotary lever 162 is attached to a tip portion protruding from one support arm 154. The rotation lever 162 extends along the support arm 154 on the opposite side of the support shaft 156, and has an arc-shaped elongated hole 168 substantially coaxial with the support shaft 156 at the end. The rotary lever 162 is fixed by screwing a thumbscrew 170 inserted at an arbitrary position of the elongated hole 168 into a screw hole (not shown) provided in the support arm 154.

By rotating the support shaft 156 between the polishing roller 158 and the guide roller 160,
The amount of step difference between the peripheral surfaces facing the lower polishing table 68 is changed. This step difference is between the color filter 20 and the polishing roller 158 when the support shaft 156 is rotated around the fixed shaft 152 and the peripheral surface of the guide roller 160 is brought into contact with the color filter 20 on the polishing table 68. Is the gap between the color filter 20 and the polishing tape 122 wound around the polishing roller 158. By fixing the rotary lever 162 to a desired position, this step difference can be made substantially constant. You can do it.

Therefore, by rotating the support shaft 156 together with the rotating lever 162, the polishing tape 12
The protrusion 2 on the surface of the color filter 20 which is polished by 2
The size of 0D can be adjusted, and the thickness of the polishing tape 122 can be adjusted when the tape roll 124 is replaced. For example, when the thickness of the polishing tape 122 is about 30 μm, the allowable range of protrusions on the surface of the color filter 20 (for example, about 3 to 4 μm) is added to this thickness.
It may be adjusted so as to be the sum of m).

As shown in FIG. 12, the rotating lever 16
A pointer 172 is provided at the tip of the support arm 154.
A scale 174 corresponding to the pointer 172 is engraved on the. In this embodiment, the rotary lever 162 is rotated to move the pointer 172 by one graduation so that the step amount between the polishing roller 158 and the guide roller 160 is 1 μm.
It is set to change only. A notch 190 is formed in a part of the outer periphery of the guide roller 160, and the end opposite to the notch 190 is balanced so as to be located substantially below the step, and the step due to the rotation of the guide roller 160 is formed. The length of one-time polishing is narrowed so that the change in the amount is suppressed and the notch 190 does not come into contact with the surface of the color filter 20.

A bracket 176 is attached to the tip of each support arm 154 on the side of the support shaft 156, extending obliquely upward and the tip of which is bent in a substantially horizontal direction. One end of a coil spring 178 is connected to the vicinity of the tip of the bracket 176. The other end of each coil spring 178 has a base plate 1
It is connected to 20. The coil spring 178 prevents the surface of the color filter 20 from being unnecessarily loaded when the guide roller 160 is brought into contact with the surface of the color filter 20. In this embodiment, the load applied to the color filter 20 when the guide roller 160 is brought into contact with the color filter 20 is about 200.
It is set to about g so that the surface of the soft color filter 20 is not damaged.

A small roller 182 is rotatably arranged on one of the brackets 176, and an eccentric cam 184 protruding from the base plate 120 faces the peripheral surface of the small roller 182. . This eccentric cam 184 is
The swing motor 186 connected to the control unit 50 is driven to rotate eccentrically, and the swing arm 150 is vertically moved together with the bracket 176. When the swing arm 150 moves upward, the polishing head 126 is separated from the surface of the color filter 20,
When moved downward, the guide roller 160 of the polishing head 126 comes into contact with the surface of the color filter 20.

As shown in FIGS. 12 and 13, a reflecting plate 192 is provided at the tip of these brackets 176, and the reflecting plate 192 has a base plate 120.
The laser detector 194 provided in the is opposed. The laser detector 194 is connected to the control unit 50 (see FIG. 4) and irradiates the reflection plate 192 to irradiate the reflection plate 1.
The laser light reflected back to 92 is detected, and the position of the reflector 192 is detected from the optical path length of the laser light.

In the control unit 50, this laser detector 194
It is possible to determine whether or not the surface of the color filter 20 is normally polished from the detection result of 1. For example, the protrusion 20D on the surface of the color filter 20
When the polishing tape 158 is hard and cannot be polished by the polishing tape 122, the polishing roller 158 rides on the protrusion 20D to raise the swing arm 150,
The control unit 50 detects the swing of the swing arm 50 from the detection value of the laser detector 194 based on whether or not at least one of the reflection plates 192 is lifted upward, and the corresponding protrusion 20D can be removed. It is decided that there is no such thing (unpolished). In this embodiment, it is determined that the polishing failure has occurred when any one of the reflection plates 192 moves up by about 2 μm or more.

In the automatic polishing apparatus 10, the polishing table 68
When the projection portion 20D on the color filter 20 detected by the surface detection unit 230 passes below the polishing unit 104 while the discharge portion 18 moves from the loading portion 14 side to, the polishing head 126 is moved to the projection portion 20D. The polishing tape 122 is moved to a position facing each other, and polishing is performed by the polishing tape 122.

When the polishing table 68 reaches the discharge portion 18 side while performing polishing following the surface inspection of the color filter 20 placed on the upper surface, in the polishing working portion 16, the air cylinder 86 is driven in the polishing work portion 16 to support shaft 88. The color filter 20 is lifted by. At this time, the supply of the negative pressure to the suction holes 80 is released, the holding plate 38 of the transfer robot 32 is inserted below the lifted color filter 20, and the transfer robot 32 lifts the color filter 20. To be

The transport robot 32 that has lifted the color filter 20 stores the color filter 20 in a predetermined position of the container 22 loaded in the discharge section 18.

On the other hand, in the control unit 50, the color filter 2
When the polishing work of 0 is completed, the polishing result (whether unpolished or not) is recorded in the IC card 62 together with the identification code 20C of the color filter 20 and the detected position of the protrusion 20D. An image pickup unit 196 (see FIG. 4) such as a camera is provided in the polishing unit 126 in the polishing work unit 16 so that the state of the polishing work can be displayed on the display unit 58 or the like. .

The operation of this embodiment will be described below. In the automatic polishing apparatus 10, the container 22 containing the color filter 20 for polishing is loaded in the loading section 14, the empty container 22 is loaded in the discharging section 18, and the polishing is performed when a start switch (not shown) is operated. Start.

The flowchart shown in FIG. 16 shows an example of the outline of the polishing work performed by the automatic polishing apparatus 10.

This flowchart is executed when the polishing operation is started, and in the first step 300, the loading unit 1
4 and the respective containers 22 loaded in the discharge part 18
Is read by the code readers 140 and 142, and then the read identification code of the container 22 is recorded in the IC card 62 loaded in the input / output unit 60 (step 302). After that, in step 304, the detection sensor 54 detects the lowermost color filter 20 in the container 22 loaded in the loading unit 14,
The color filter 20 is taken out by the transfer robot 30 and transferred to the polishing table 68 of the polishing work unit 16.

Next, in the polishing work section 16, the transfer robot 3
The color filter 20 conveyed by 0 is received, positioned and held on the polishing table 68 (step 306), and the identification code 20C of the color filter 20 is read by the code reader 144 (step 20).
8). After that, in the polishing work unit 16, the main scanning motor 76
Is started to start the movement of the polishing table 68 to polish and polish the surface of the color filter 20 (step 31).
0).

In the polishing work section 16, the polishing unit 1
Prior to polishing the surface of the color filter 20 by 04,
The surface of the color filter 20 is inspected by the surface inspection unit 230 arranged on the upstream side of the polishing unit 104 in the movement direction of the polishing table to detect the position of the protrusion 20D. The polishing unit 104 is operated based on the inspection result of the surface inspection unit 230.
Further, the flowchart shown in FIG. 17 shows an example of the surface inspection of the color filter 20, and this flowchart is executed when the polishing table 68 starts moving.

First Step 32 of this Flowchart
At 0, each memory M is cleared, the variable I for memory address is set to "1", and the next step 322 is executed.
Then, the detection result of the photoelectric sensor 260, that is, the filler 25
It is determined whether or not the projection portion 20D on the surface of the color filter 20 is detected based on whether or not the photoelectric sensor 260 is in the non-light-receiving state due to the swinging of the light emitting element 8.

That is, as shown in FIG. 11A, the surface of the color filter 20 has a predetermined amount or more (about 4 μm in this embodiment).
When there is no protrusion 20D of m), the mirror surface portion 158C of the filler 158 maintains the horizontal state, and the photoelectric sensor 160
Becomes a light receiving state. Here, if a projection 20D larger than a predetermined size is formed on the surface of the color filter 20, the projection 20D contacts the tongue 158B of any one of the fillers 158 when passing below the surface inspection unit 230. The filler 158 is swung (see FIG. 11B). Due to the swing of the filler 158, the upper surface of the mirror surface portion 158C is tilted, and the photoelectric sensor 160 that has been in the light receiving state becomes the non-light receiving state. When any one of the photoelectric sensors 160 is in the non-light receiving state, the control unit 50 determines that the projections 20D of a predetermined size or more are formed on the surface of the color filter 20.

In the next step 324, the coordinate value (x) of the position of the protrusion 20D with reference to the origin P is determined from the number indicating the position of the photoelectric sensor 260 in the non-light receiving state and the driving amount of the main scanning motor 76. _I , y _I ) and record it in the memory M (memory M _I ) at the address corresponding to the set variable I (step 326). Next step 3
In step 28, the variable I is incremented (“1” is added), the process returns to step 322, and when the protrusion 20D is detected next, the position is recorded in the memory M of a new address.

As a result, the memory M has a protrusion 20.
It is recorded in order along the y coordinate indicating the position of D. In addition,
In the surface inspection unit 230, since the fillers 158 are provided in a zigzag manner, when a new protrusion 20D is detected, the positions of the protrusions 20D previously detected and recorded are compared with each other, and if necessary. The rearrangement is performed so that the protrusion 20D close to the origin P along the y coordinate axis is recorded in the last memory M.

The inspection of the protrusions 20D on the surface of the color filter 20 by the filler 258 and the photoelectric sensor 260 is repeated, and in step 330, the surface inspection unit 230.
When it is detected from the driving amount of the main scanning motor 76 that the origin P of the color filter 20 has passed below (in the affirmative determination), the surface inspection is ended.

On the other hand, in the polishing unit 104, the color filter 2 is based on the inspection result of the surface inspection unit 230.
0 surface is polished. An example of the operation of the polishing unit 104 will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.

This flowchart shows the polishing table 68.
Is executed as the movement begins, and the first step 340
Then, the variable J for the address of the memory M is set to "1", and in the next step 342, it is judged whether or not data is recorded in the memory M (M _J ) of the set address.

Here, the surface inspection unit 230 detects the protrusion 20D, and the position of this protrusion 20D is stored in the memory M.
When the data is recorded in the memory (YES in step 342), the data in the memory M is sequentially read (step 346).

At the next step 348, the sub-scanning motor 1
18 is driven to move the polishing unit 104 to the x coordinate position among the coordinates (x, y) recorded in the memory M.
To move. Next, from the drive amount of the main scanning motor 76,
The protrusion 20D is formed on the polishing head 126 of the polishing unit 104.
Is approached to a predetermined position (affirmative determination), step 34
8, the polishing unit 104 is operated.

The operation of the polishing unit 104 drives the elevating motor 186 to lower the polishing head 126 to bring the guide roller 160 into contact with the surface of the color filter 20 for a predetermined time and move the polishing tape 122 to the color filter 20. Drive in the opposite direction. As a result, the polishing tape 122 scrapes off the protrusion 20D of the color filter 20 when the protrusion 20D of the color filter 20 passes below the polishing head 126.
To remove from the surface.

On the other hand, in the polishing unit 104, the laser head 194 causes the polishing head 126 to move the protrusion 2
It detects whether or not the vehicle has climbed up to 0D and climbed. That is, in the polishing unit 104, when the surface of the color filter 20 is rubbed with the polishing tape 122, the polishing tape 122 is forcibly pressed and not polished, and the protrusion 20D
When the particles are hard or firmly attached, the polishing head 126 is allowed to escape upward. by this,
The protrusion 20D is prevented from being forcibly rubbed to damage the surface of the color filter 20.

In the next step 352, the polishing unit 1
Each time the operation of 04 is completed, the laser detector 194
The determination of the polishing result by is recorded according to the memory M in which the position of the corresponding protrusion 20D is recorded. As a result, the polishing result of each protrusion 20D is recorded in the memory M together with the coordinate data representing the position of the protrusion 20D. Next, the variable J representing the memory M is incremented (step 354), the process returns to step 342, and a new protrusion 20D is polished.

On the other hand, in the polishing unit 104, the memory M
Polishing of all the protrusions 20D recorded in (3) is completed (negative determination in step 342), and the origin P of the color filter 20 is determined.
When it is detected from the drive amount of the main scanning motor 76 that the toner has passed below the polishing unit 104 (affirmative determination in step 356), the polishing of the color filter 20 is finished.

During the surface inspection and polishing work, the color filter 2 is displayed on the display unit 58 provided on the operation panel 13.
Each time the surface inspection unit 230 detects the protrusion 20D, 0 is displayed, the position of the protrusion 20D is displayed in an overlapping manner, and laser detection is performed each time the protrusion 20D is polished by the polishing unit 104. When the polishing unit 104 operates without any problem, the polishing result detected and determined by the vessel 194 is indicated by “◯”.
When the polishing head 126 is raised during polishing, “×” may be further displayed to be superimposed.

That is, the display unit 58 displays the position every time the protrusion 20D is detected on the color filter 20,
Further, the polishing result may be displayed every time each of the protrusions 20D is polished. by this,
It is possible to clearly confirm the progress of the polishing operation of the color filter 20.

On the other hand, in this way, the polishing table 68
When the polishing of the one color filter 20 placed on is completed, the process proceeds to the flowchart shown in FIG.
At 12, the transfer robot 32 takes out the color filter 20 on the polishing table 68, stores it in the container 22 provided in the discharge unit 18, and removes the color filter 20 from the polishing table 68 to the original position (color position) on the loading unit 14 side. Return to the receiving position of the filter 20).

At the same time, in step 314, the identification code 20C for identifying the color filter 20 on which the IC card 62 mounted in the input / output unit 60 has been polished and the projections 20D recorded in the memory M are recorded. The position and the polishing result for each protrusion 20D are recorded.

At the next step 316, it is confirmed whether or not all the polishing of the color filter 20 loaded in the loading portion 14 is completed. As a confirmation method, the detection sensor 54 facing the container 22 is raised to search for the color filter 20 in the container 22, and then the color filter 20 is detected.
Alternatively, it may be determined whether or not there is no.

When the polishing of all the color filters 20 housed in the container 22 and loaded in the loading section 14 by the automatic polishing apparatus 10 is finished, the polished color filters 2 are finished.
The container 22 accommodating 0 is taken out from the ejecting section 18 and mounted on the input / output section 60.
With 2, it is carried to the next process.

As described above, in the color filter 20 which is housed in the container 22 loaded in the discharge section 18 and carried to the next step, the projection position before the polishing operation is recorded on the IC card 62, It is possible to clearly read in which position of each color filter 20 the protruding portion 20D is generated even after the polishing is completed.

Thus, the color filter 2 before polishing
Even if 0 is stored in the same container 22 having the same shape, it is possible to clearly identify whether or not the polishing of the color filters 20 stored in the respective containers 22 is completed.

Further, in the IC card 62, together with the identification code 20C for distinguishing each color filter 20, which container 22 was stored before polishing,
Since it is recorded at which position of the color filter 20 the protruding portion 20D is generated, it is determined from these information whether the defect of the color filter 20 is caused in the manufacturing stage or in the container 22, for example. It can be effectively used as information when managing the color filter 20, such as whether it was generated when it was transported.

[0107]

As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to carry out the polishing without measuring the presence or the position of the projections on the surface of the member to be polished in advance. It is possible to clarify the position of the protrusion that has occurred on the polishing member.

Further, according to the present invention, a large number of members to be polished contained in the container are continuously polished and then stored again in the container, and the positions of the projections and the like polished from the respective members to be polished are finished after the polishing. However, it has an effect that can be clarified.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a schematic configuration of an automatic polishing apparatus applied to this embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing an outer shape of an automatic polishing apparatus.

FIG. 3 is a schematic perspective view showing a color filter that is a member to be polished.

FIG. 4 is a schematic block diagram showing a control unit of the automatic polishing apparatus.

FIG. 5 is a front view showing a schematic configuration of a polishing work unit.

FIG. 6 is a schematic perspective view showing a polishing operation unit on the loading unit side.

FIG. 7 is a schematic plan view showing positioning of a color filter on a polishing table.

FIG. 8 is a schematic sectional view of the polishing table taken along the arrow Y direction.

FIG. 9 is a schematic view of the surface inspection unit viewed from the loading section side.

FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing a schematic configuration of a surface inspection unit.

11A and 11B are respectively 11-1 of FIG.
It is a schematic sectional drawing along line 1, (A) shows a normal state of a contact child, and (B) shows a state where a contact child contacted a projection part.

FIG. 12 is a front view of relevant parts showing a schematic configuration of a polishing unit.

FIG. 13 is a perspective view of a main part showing a swing arm provided with a polishing head.

14 is a schematic cross-sectional view taken along line 14-14 of FIG.

FIG. 15 is a schematic view of the polishing head as seen from the loading section side.

FIG. 16 is a flowchart showing an outline of a polishing operation of the automatic polishing apparatus.

FIG. 17 is a flowchart showing an outline of inspection by a surface inspection unit.

FIG. 18 is a flowchart showing an outline of polishing by a polishing unit.

[Explanation of symbols]

 10 Automatic Polishing Device 14 Loading Unit 16 Polishing Working Unit 18 Ejecting Unit 20 Color Filter 22 Container 50 Control Unit 60 Input / Output Unit 62 IC Card 68 Polishing Table 104 Polishing Unit 122 Polishing Tape 126 Polishing Head 150 Swing Arm 230 Surface Inspection Unit 258 Filler

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A plurality of members to be polished housed in a container are placed one by one on a moving table and moved in a predetermined direction, and the members are tightly moved along a direction orthogonal to the moving direction of the moving table. The detection means provided with a large number of arranged contacts detects the position of the protrusion from whether or not any of the contacts comes into contact with the protrusion on the member to be polished, and detects the position at the detected position. After facing the polishing means provided with a polishing member arranged on the downstream side of the moving table in the moving direction of the means and polishing the surface of the member to be polished by the polishing member, the member to be polished is placed in a predetermined container. While being accommodated, the identification code of the member to be polished, the container containing the member to be polished and the identification code of the container containing the member to be polished after polishing are detected by the detecting means. A method for polishing a surface of a member to be polished, characterized in that the position of the protrusion on the member to be polished is recorded on a predetermined recording medium. 2. A loading section in which a container capable of accommodating a plurality of members to be polished is loaded, a moving table on which the members to be polished are moved and which moves in a predetermined direction, and a direction orthogonal to the moving direction of the moving table. The position of the protrusion on the surface of the member to be polished can be detected based on whether or not a large number of contacts closely arranged along the direction of contact with the protrusion on the surface of the member to be polished on the moving table. Means and polishing means provided on the downstream side of the moving table moving direction of the detecting means so as to be movable in a direction orthogonal to the moving table moving direction, and for polishing an arbitrary position of the color filter on the moving table with a polishing member. Controlling the movement of the moving table and the polishing means,
A polishing control unit that moves the polishing unit according to the detection result of the detection unit to polish the surface of the color filter, an identification code of the container loaded in the loading unit and a discharge unit, and a mounting table on the moving table. Inspection information input / output means for detecting the identification code of the member to be polished placed, and recording the detection result of the detection means on the identification code of the container and the detection result of the detection means on a predetermined recording medium. An automatic polishing device having.