JPS6311989B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a press device for efficiently and highly precisely bonding two plate-shaped bodies (for example, liquid crystal glass plates).

Products using liquid crystal cells have already been established as parts for optical equipment, electronic equipment, watches, etc. However, its uses are increasingly expanding. For example, products using liquid crystals are being produced in an extremely wide range of fields, such as liquid crystal televisions, large dot displays, automobile display systems, thermometers, etc., which are being developed one after another. To produce this liquid crystal cell, the following steps must be completed. That is, the steps include "glass cleaning, pattern vapor deposition, resist printing, exposure, etching, alignment film coating, stripping, rubbing process, adhesive application, etc." By the way, the most important step in the process is to position the alignment marks on the two glass plates that have completed the above process and to bond them together. At this time, the accuracy of bonding or the efficiency of the worker is directly linked to the reliability and productivity of the completed liquid crystal cell.
A key point for liquid crystal manufacturers is how precisely and efficiently bonding can be achieved.

Here, a conventional liquid crystal bonding apparatus will be explained with reference to FIG.

First, an upper glass plate is adsorbed to the glass suction moving plate 1 at an initial setting position so that the bonded surface is facing down. Further, the lower glass plate is attracted to the glass suction moving plate 1 at a predetermined distance apart from the upper glass plate so that the bonded surface is facing upward.

Then, the glass suction and movement plate is manually moved in a straight line so that the upper glass plate on the glass suction and movement plate 1 is directly below the upper glass suction plate 2. Next, an alignment board 9 placed on the ball holder 8 supported by the base 3
When the center of the upper glass suction plate 2, which is suspended by four pillars 5 and springs 6, is pressed with the lever rod 4, the upper glass suction plate 2 comes into contact with the upper glass plate adsorbed on the glass suction moving plate 1. .

Then, while the upper glass suction plate 2 starts suctioning, the suction of the glass suction moving plate 1 is released to transfer the upper glass from the glass suction moving plate 1 to the upper glass suction plate 2.

Subsequently, the glass suction/movement plate 1 is moved linearly so that the lower glass plate adsorbed on the glass suction/movement plate 1 is positioned directly below the upper glass suction plate 2, and fixed with the positioning pin 7.

Here, the upper and lower glass plates are in a state of facing each other, and the alignment marks provided on the upper and lower glass plates are observed using two observation devices 10. That is, the deviation between the upper and lower alignment marks is visually observed using the observation device 10, and the alignment substrate 9 is operated by two manipulators connected to the alignment substrate 9 to correct the deviation between the upper and lower alignment marks.

After the alignment marks match, the lever bar 4 is manually pressed again to bond the upper and lower glass plates together.

However, such a conventional method has the disadvantage that it is inefficient due to the time required to set the upper and lower glass plates in the press position. Moreover, since all work operations are manual, there is a drawback that the glass plate is easily contaminated with dust, fingerprints, etc., or scratches because the operator handles the glass plate directly. or,
This method has drawbacks in terms of productivity, such as the positioning accuracy and press pressure during bonding being unstable depending on the ability of the operator, resulting in significant variations in work efficiency.

An object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus that can efficiently and accurately bond liquid crystal glass plates and the like. A further object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus that can bond liquid crystal glass plates and the like with high precision even if they have a taper. Examples of the present invention will be shown below.

In FIG. 2, the upper glass plate carrier 11 and the upper glass plate chuck 13 are installed in an integral rigid box 14. As shown in FIG. There is a Geneva mechanism 16 on the right side of the integral rigid box 14, and this Geneva mechanism 16 allows
The upper glass plate carrier 11 is configured to rotate 90 degrees counterclockwise or clockwise to a horizontal position. A suction plate 15 equipped with suction grooves and provided in the XY direction is attached to the upper surface of the upper glass plate carrier 11, and pins for positioning glass plates, etc. are also incorporated in the upper surface of the upper glass plate carrier 11. be. or,
A horizontal holding plate 18 for preventing deflection is provided on the lower surface of the upper glass plate carrier 11, and an upper hook 17 for position fixing is provided on the left side. Also chuck 13 for upper glass plate
is suspended and held by four pillars 19 that are built into and supported by the integral rigid box 14. Furthermore, the chuck 13 for the upper glass plate and the four pillars 19 are suction-fixed by a ball holder 19' with a suction hole, and a pole pusher that moves the four pillars 19 only in the Z direction (vertical direction in the drawing) is used. I am guiding you. Furthermore,
A push rod 20 is erected at the center of the upper surface of the upper glass plate chuck 13 via a spring 12', and is incorporated into the integral rigid box 14 so as to be movable in the Z direction. The push rod 20 is interlocked with the chuck 13 for the upper glass plate, and is installed in the integral rigid box 14 in order to raise and lower the chuck 13 for the upper glass plate. push rod 2
A lever bar 21 is provided at the upper end of the 0, and this lever bar 21 is operated by a motor 14' serving as a driving source, a push screw, or the like. The push rod 20 is held by a chuck 13 for the upper glass plate via a spring 12'. In addition, the lower glass plate transport platform 26 includes
Several notches are provided, and transfer pins 34 are provided in these notches, and a suction plate 21' and a pin 20' are attached to the upper surface of the lower glass plate transport platform 26. The chuck 29 for the lower glass plate is placed on the lower glass plate carrier 26 via the suction plate 21' and the pin 20'. 37 is a gap sensor attached to the chuck 29 for the lower glass plate. This gap sensor 37 is used to align the chuck 13 for the upper glass plate and the chuck 29 for the lower glass plate at set reference positions. Incidentally, a hook 18' for position fixing is provided on the right side of the lower glass plate carrier 26. Further, a three-point support transfer shaft 35, which will be described later, is configured to slide vertically within several notches of the lower glass plate conveyor 26.

Four Z-direction support shafts 23 are erected on the substrate 33, and the four Z-direction support shafts 23
An XY direction stage 24 placed on a substrate 33 is fitted and supported. Moreover, on the board 33,
A lower conveyance shaft 22 is fitted and erected opposite the Z-direction support shaft 23 . The Z-direction stage 25 is fitted onto the Z-direction support shaft 23 and the lower conveyance shaft 22.
A Geneva mechanism 16' is provided at the lower end of the lower transport shaft 22, and a lower glass plate transport stand 26 is supported at the upper end of the lower transport shaft 22. Z direction stage 25
A recess is formed in the recess, and a θ stage 27 that changes the rotational angle θ is fitted into the recess. In addition, the θ stage 27 has a three-point support transfer shaft 3.
5 is incorporated, and a sensor 36 is attached to the upper end of this three-point support transfer shaft 35. This mounting position corresponds to the equally divided positions of the outermost circumference of the chuck 29 for the lower glass plate.

As described above, the transfer pin 34 is attached to the back surface of the lower glass plate chuck 29 located on the lower glass plate transport platform 26, and the lower surface of the transfer pin 34 and the three-point support shaft 35 face each other. ing. The lower ends of the lower conveyance shaft 22 and the four support shafts 23 mentioned above are fixed by a coupling plate 28. The connecting plate 28 is provided with an air cylinder 28'.
8' is a Z direction stage 25 via a pusher.
And the θ stage 27 is raised and fixed. Further, the coupling plate 28 is coupled by a coupling plate 39, and is connected to a manual manipulator and an air clutch plate 30 for switching to automatic operation. The four support shafts 23 and the lower conveyance shaft 22 penetrate the base 33. In addition, the XY direction stage 24
An air pad 31 for fixing the air pad 31 is held by leaf springs 32 attached to four support shafts 23, and the air pad 31 is in contact with a base 33. The air pad 31 is capable of adsorbing and discharging air. Chuck 2 for lower glass plate
At least three or more parallel gap sensors 37 are attached to the chuck 13 for the upper and lower glass plates, and two or more observation devices 38 are attached to the integral rigid box 14 to detect mark positions on the upper and lower glasses. Observe and measure the amount of gap. The amount of deviation of the mark position and the amount of gap measured by the observation device 38 are taken out to the TV as a video signal, and the amount of deviation of the mark is detected using the scanning line of the TV.
It is possible to perform calculation processing using CPV and control each drive system for automatic positioning. In addition, regarding the gap amount, by using the well-known technology of white illumination and a Wollaston prism and using white interference fringes, reflected light with an optical path difference between the upper and lower glasses is extracted and the interference fringes are shaped. The parallel gap can be set by individually driving each shaft 35 using a signal obtained by electrically exchanging the pitch of the interference fringes.

Next, to explain the operation, at the initial upper and lower glass plate transfer positions, the upper glass plate conveyance table 11 and the lower glass plate conveyance table 26 are waiting for a glass plate to be automatically placed. When the glass plates are placed on the upper glass plate carrier 11 and the lower glass plate carrier 26, they are held in a horizontal position by the Seneva mechanisms 16 and 16', and the upper glass plate carrier 11 and the lower glass plate carrier 26 are They rotate 90 degrees clockwise and counterclockwise, respectively, and come to the position shown in Figure 2 almost simultaneously. When it reaches this position, it is detected by a sensor, etc., and based on the signal, the upper glass plate conveyor 11 moves to the upper hook 1.
7 and the horizontal holding plate 18', it is fixed in a predetermined position. Then, the upper glass plate is positioned by an XY direction glass suction plate 15 on the upper glass conveyance table. Then, when the motor 14' and the push screw are operated to operate the lever bar 21, the push bar 20 descends and presses the spring 12.
Furthermore, the chuck 13 for the upper glass plate is lowered. As a result, the upper glass plate chuck plate 13 is brought into contact with the upper glass plate on the upper glass plate carrier 11. Next, an air pressure sensor or the like detects the suction of the chuck 13 for the upper glass plate, releases the suction of the upper glass plate conveyor 11, starts air suction to the ball holder with suction holes, and the chuck 13 for the upper glass plate is released. Attach the upper glass plate to the bottom surface of the . Then, by operating the motor 14' and the push screw, the chuck 13 for the upper glass plate is opened.
is pulled up to the abutment surface of the integrally rigid box 14. As described above, the lower glass plate carrier 26 is also rotated 90 degrees counterclockwise almost simultaneously with the upper glass plate carrier 11 to come to the position shown in FIG. Then, the position is detected by a sensor or the like and fixed with a hook 18'. The chuck 29 for the lower glass plate is pin 2.
0' and three suction plates 21', it is fixed and positioned on the lower glass plate conveyance table 26. Next, the manipulator moves the XY direction stage 24 which is integrally supported by the four support shafts 23 via the connecting plate 39 and the connecting plate 28, and in order to fix it to the base 33, the plate spring 32 is moved. And make the air pads absorb air. Next, the upper glass plate carrier 11 is rotated horizontally by 90 degrees counterclockwise by the operation of the Zenepa mechanism 16.
Move it to the original delivery position of the glass plate. Next, when the three-point support transfer shaft 35 is raised by the Z drive unit, the above-described sensor 36 is activated to release the adsorption connection between the lower glass plate chuck 29 and the lower glass conveyance table 26, and then the lower glass plate chuck 29 is moved upward. 29
By adsorbing and coupling the three-point support transfer shaft 35, the transfer pin 34 of the lower glass plate chuck plate 29 is inserted into the three-point support transfer shaft 35 and integrated. Next, when the Z-direction stage 25 is raised by the air cylinder 28' attached to the coupling plate 28, the chuck plate 29 for the lower glass plate supported by the three-point support transfer shaft 35 is aligned with the θ stage 27. rises to. At this time, the upper glass plate held by the chuck 13 for the upper glass plate and the lower glass plate held by the chuck 29 for the lower glass plate are in a state where their adhesive surfaces face each other. At least three or more parallel gap sensors 37 are attached to the chuck 29 for the lower glass plate (the above-mentioned gap sensors may be attached to the chuck 13 for the upper glass plate).
7, the parallelism of the upper and lower two glass plates is sensed. Furthermore, the mark positions on the upper and lower glass plates are observed using an observation device 38 attached to the integral rigid box 14, and the amount of gap is further measured. Observation device 3
The amount of deviation and gap amount of the mark measured in step 8 is taken out as a video signal to the TV, and using the scanning line of the TV, the amount of deviation of the mark is detected and processed by the CPU, and then sent to the XY direction stage 24 and the θ stage 27. and three independent axes 35 can be controlled for automatic alignment.

Next, the three-point support transfer shafts 35 are operated simultaneously to maintain the parallel gap and position, and the lower glass plate chuck 29 is raised to press the upper and lower glass plates together. After being set for an arbitrary time, the chuck 13 for the upper glass plate
The adsorption between the upper glass plate and the upper glass plate is released, and the upper glass plate and the lower glass plate are held on the lower glass plate chuck 29 while being bonded. Furthermore, the lower glass plate conveyance table 26
and the chuck 29 for the lower glass plate is attracted, and the lower glass plate conveyance table 26 is horizontally rotated 90 degrees clockwise to the take-out position by the Zenepa mechanism 16'.
Then, take out the two sheets of glass that have been pasted together.

Now, if the surfaces of the two glass plates to be bonded are inclined, the parallel alignment gap sensor 37 calculates the amount of gap and adjusts the gap of the bonded surfaces of the two glass plates. Must. For this purpose, the three-point support transfer shafts 35, which are to raise the lower glass plate chuck plate 1a, must be raised not only simultaneously but also individually. A device for this purpose is shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 shows the main parts of the press drive section and the gap drive section. Each of the suction pad-equipped support shafts 35 incorporates a bearing 42 and a pole bush 43 with respect to the θ stage 27. Each of the suction pad-equipped support shafts 35 has a simultaneous gear 46 below it.
An air pad plate 44 for attracting the simultaneous gear 46 is supported by a leaf spring 45. This leaf spring 45 is in contact with the upper surface of the simultaneous gear 46. Further, there is a screw hole in the center of the simultaneous gear 46, and a threaded rod 48 with an individual gear is screwed into the center with precision.
The bearings 53 and 54 are connected by a pressing ring 55 that holds them down. Further, the shaft of the threaded rod 48 with a single gear is supported by a bearing 56,
It is fixed to the bottom surface of the θ stage 27. A motor 50 that drives the threaded rod 48 with a single gear is transmitted to the threaded rod 48 with a single gear via a gear 49 and a large gear meshing with the gear 49.

On the other hand, each simultaneous gear 46 is provided on the support shaft 35 with a suction pad described above, and an interlocking gear 51 is installed in mesh with the simultaneous gear 51 so that these three simultaneous gears 46 can be driven simultaneously. are supported by the θ stage 27, respectively. Further, a friction mechanism 57 supported by the θ stage 27 is engaged with the interlocking gear 51, and this friction mechanism 57 is driven by a motor.

Next, the operations of the gap drive and press drive will be explained. First, in the case of gap drive, each of the three support shafts 35 with suction pads is individually driven by a motor 50 (pulse motor), and the above-mentioned pulses are used to move each of the three support shafts 35 by the required gap amount. It is transmitted to the single geared threaded rod 48 via the gear 49. At this time, the support shaft 35 with suction pads and the gear 46 are suctioned and fixed by the air pads 44 and springs 45 provided on the support shaft 35 with suction pads. At this time, it will not be attracted to other support shafts. Therefore, the rotation of the simultaneous gear 46 and the support shaft 35 with suction pad is restricted.
For this purpose, by rotating the threaded rod 48 with a single gear, the support shaft 3 with the suction pad including the gear 46 is simultaneously
5 can move vertically. Therefore, the motor 50 can be driven separately by three individually emitted pulses to adjust the desired gap.

Next, in order to drive the press using the support shafts 35 with three suction pads, in order to fix the threaded rod 48 with an individual gear, the self-torque of the motor 50 is used to fix the threaded rod 48 with an individual gear. I'll keep it.
Further, by releasing the adsorption of the air pad plate 44, the connection between the shaft 35 and the simultaneous gear 46 is severed, and the simultaneous gear 46 becomes rotatable. When the friction mechanism 57 that meshes with the interlocking gear 51 is driven by a motor, the simultaneous gear 46 that meshes with the interlocking gear 51 rotates, and this rotation causes the shaft 35 to rotate.
move vertically. The vertically moved shaft 35 contacts and presses against the press object. This pressing pressure is regulated by the output of the motor and the sliding friction force provided in the friction mechanism 57. By setting an arbitrary sliding friction force, the friction mechanism 57 causes the collar to rotate due to sliding, thereby providing a constant press.

By the way, in the above explanation, even if the lower glass plate is tilted and the upper surface of the lower glass plate is tilted with respect to the upper surface of the upper glass plate conveyor 11, the chuck for the lower glass plate can be operated by individually operating the three shafts 35. It is understood that by tilting the glass plate 29, the upper surface of the lower glass plate can be made parallel to the upper surface of the upper glass plate carrier 11.

By the way, when the upper glass plate is inclined and the upper surface of the upper glass plate is inclined to the upper surface of the upper glass plate conveyor 11, the chuck 13 for the upper glass plate is inclined according to the inclination of the upper glass, and the upper glass plate is tilted. Since the glass is adapted to blend well with the upper surface of the plate and can be adsorbed, the lower surface of the upper glass after being adsorbed to the upper glass plate chuck 13 becomes parallel to the upper surface of the upper glass plate conveyor 11. That is, even if the upper and lower glass plates are tilted, the two contact surfaces of the upper surface of the lower glass plate and the lower surface of the upper glass can be made parallel.

In addition, FIG. 4 is an overall view of the embodiment of the present invention, in which 11 is an upper glass plate conveyor, 26 is a lower glass plate conveyor, 29 is a chuck for the lower glass plate, and 24 is a lower glass plate conveyor.
XY direction stage, 25 is Z direction stage, 27
is the θ stage, 13 is the chuck for the upper glass plate, 3
8 is an observation device. This observation device 38 includes
TV, detection processor, arithmetic processor and X, Y, θ,
A Z-direction drive controller is connected. Drive controllers in the X, Y, and Z directions are connected to the substrate 33. The upper glass plate conveyor 11 receives the upper glass plate from the conveyor on the right side, and is configured to rotate horizontally by 90 degrees clockwise and 90 degrees counterclockwise. The lower glass plate conveyor 26 receives the lower glass plate from the conveyor on the left side, and is configured to rotate 90 degrees counterclockwise and 90 degrees clockwise in a horizontal position. Moreover, on the board 33
An XY direction stage 24 is mounted, a Z direction stage 25 is mounted on the XY direction stage 24, and a θ stage 2 is mounted on the Z direction stage 25.
7 is listed.

As described above, according to the present invention, liquid crystal glass plates and the like can be bonded together efficiently and with high precision. Furthermore, even if the liquid crystal glass plates or the like have a taper (inclination), they can be bonded together with high precision.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 shows a conventional liquid crystal bonding apparatus, FIG. 2 shows an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 3 shows a gap drive section and a press drive section in an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. shows the overall configuration diagram.
In the figure, 11 is an upper glass plate carrier, 13 is a chuck for the upper glass plate, 24 is an XY direction stage, 25 is a Z direction stage, 26 is a lower glass plate carrier, 27
is the θ stage, 29 is the chuck for the lower glass plate, 3
3 is a substrate, and 38 is an observation device.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. In order to hold the first plate-like body on a first chuck installed at a press position, a first conveying table for conveying the first plate-like body and a second plate-like body for holding the second plate-like body are provided. Second to do
a second conveyance table for conveying the chuck to the press position;
support means for separately supporting the second chuck with respect to the second conveyance table at the press position; and a support means for aligning the first and second plate-like bodies in a predetermined positional relationship at the press position. a movement control means for controlling the movement of the second chuck through means, and after the alignment is completed, the first plate-shaped body held by the first chuck and the second plate-shaped body held by the second chuck are moved. A bonding device characterized in that the first and second plate-like bodies are bonded together by pressing one of the plate-like bodies against the other with a predetermined pressure. 2. Claim 1, wherein the first and second conveyance tables are rotatably moved to the press position.
The bonding device described in Section 1. 3. The bonding apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first and second conveyance tables are rotated by a Geneva mechanism. 4. The bonding apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first and second conveyance tables move to the press position by rotating in opposite directions. 5. The support means has at least three support shafts that contact different parts of the second chuck, and controls the movement of the second chuck via the support shafts to support the first and second plate-shaped chucks. 2. The bonding device according to claim 1, wherein the bonding device performs parallel alignment between bodies and presses.