KR100514936B1 - Apparatus and Method for coating material - Google Patents

Abstract

A base having support posts at each end thereof; Horizontal bar connecting between the support post; A cylinder block installed horizontally on the horizontal bar; A support plate which is fixed on the base and is divided into areas in which a plurality of objects are seated at the same time, and an alignment unit made of a guide bracket and an alignment jig for aligning and elastically contacting the object opposite to each other; And a plurality of applicators corresponding to each of the plurality of objects are fixed to the cylinder block and installed on the support plate so that the plurality of applicators corresponding to each of the plurality of objects are fixed and transportable in an arbitrary direction to simultaneously apply liquids to predetermined portions of the plurality of objects. Disclosed is a liquid coating apparatus including a coating unit.

Description

Liquid coating device and coating method {Apparatus and Method for coating material}

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a liquid coating device and a liquid coating method, and more particularly, to a liquid coating device and a liquid coating method capable of applying UV-curable silicon in a short time to the gate and driver region of an LCD panel at a precise position.

Chip on glass (COG) is mounted on the gate and data drive regions of the LCD panel including the upper panel and the lower panel and liquid crystals injected therebetween. In addition, the COG is combined with a flexible printed circuit (FPC) for applying power and a control signal to form an LCD module.

In the LCD module configured as described above, UV-curable silicon is generally applied to the gate and data drive areas except for the combination of COG and FPC, thereby protecting against external shock.

The ultraviolet curable silicone is applied to the LCD module through the nozzle from the applicator for temporarily storing the U / V silicone liquid and applied, and usually an automated coating apparatus is used.

However, the conventional silicone coating device was applied in such a manner that the coating was completed on one LCD module and applied on the next LCD module. According to this method, there is a problem in that the application speed is considerably slow and productivity is lowered.

Even if the improvement of the moving speed of the coating device is improved, the amount of silicon injected through the nozzle is limited, so there is a limit in productivity.

In addition, a method of applying silicon to a plurality of LCD modules at one time can be considered, but considering the alignment of the LCD module, increase in injection amount of silicon, etc., an automated and systemized coating device or application method is not easy.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a coating apparatus and method capable of applying a liquid at a precise position to a plurality of objects including an LCD module.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a coating apparatus and method which can reduce the application time by increasing the injection amount while maintaining the correct position.

Still other objects and features of the present invention will be more clearly understood through the embodiments described below.

According to a first embodiment of the present invention, a support plate is provided with regions in which a plurality of objects are seated at the same time; An applicator fixed to correspond to each of the plurality of objects and installed on an upper portion of the support plate to be transportable in an arbitrary direction, and including an application unit for simultaneously applying liquid to a predetermined portion of the plurality of objects, wherein the plurality of objects are simultaneously applied to the area. Supplied or withdrawn.

According to the second embodiment of the present invention, regions in which a plurality of LCD modules are seated at the same time are partitioned, through holes for vacuum suction are formed in these regions, and guide brackets are installed on adjacent sides of the regions and on the opposite side. Support plates each of which is provided with alignment jigs on adjacent sides; An applicator unit fixed to the plurality of LCD modules and installed on the support plate to be transportable in an arbitrary direction; And a supply unit which allows a plurality of LCD modules to be supplied to this area at a time or withdrawn at a time.

Preferably, the guide bracket is installed over one adjacent side, and a pair of alignment jigs are provided on the adjacent side of the opposite side opposite to the adjacent side, respectively, to enable horizontal movement. More preferably, the guide bracket is installed spaced apart or approaching from one adjacent side depending on the size of the object.

The pair of alignment jig is composed of a support that is moved by a pneumatic cylinder and a pin that is fixed to the support and the tip of the end in contact with the object is elastically installed.

Preferably, an accommodating groove is formed on the support plate, and a cleaning material is inserted into the accommodating groove so that the cleaning unit contacts and cleans before performing the application of the liquid.

In addition, the nozzle connected to the respective applicators may shorten the needle at the end and form a hopper-shaped path therein to facilitate the injection of the liquid.

Moreover, the plurality of objects are supplied to or withdrawn from the area by an extraction jig using a vacuum pressure, and the extraction jig is a suction bar fixed to the support bar at a predetermined interval on the support bar, a handle connecting the support line to the pump line connected to the vacuum pump, and the support bar. And a switch for controlling the on and off of the plate and the vacuum pump.

According to a third embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a method, comprising: mounting and feeding a plurality of objects to an area on a support plate at the same time; Aligning the plurality of objects using an alignment unit; Vacuum suction and fixing the plurality of objects through a through hole formed in the region; Simultaneously applying liquid to a predetermined portion of the plurality of objects using the application unit; And releasing the vacuum suction and simultaneously withdrawing a plurality of objects from the area.

According to a fourth embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a method, comprising: mounting and supplying a plurality of LCD modules to an area on a support plate at the same time; Aligning the plurality of LCD modules based on the guide bracket using the alignment jig; Vacuum suction and fixing the plurality of LCD modules through a through hole; Simultaneously applying ultraviolet curable silicon to the gate and data driver regions on the LCD panel of the LCD module using the coating unit; And releasing the vacuum suction and simultaneously withdrawing the plurality of LCD modules from the area.

Preferably, the nozzle of the coating unit is cleaned before applying the silicone, and when the silicone is applied, the nozzle of the coating unit is positioned above the LCD module.

Hereinafter, with reference to the accompanying drawings will be described in detail the coating apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. For convenience of description, the object is taken as an LCD module as an example, and the liquid to be applied is described as U / V silicon.

1 is a front view of a coating apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, Figure 2 is a side view of the coating apparatus of FIG.

At least one support plate (100, 100 ') on which the LCD module is mounted is installed on the base (20). Preferably, two or more support plates (100, 100') are installed during the coating operation of any one support plate (100). The other support plate 100 ′ may be supplied with an object.

Support posts 10 are installed at both sides of the base 20, and support bars 12 are disposed across the support posts 10, and the cylinder block 30 is movable on the support bars 12 to move left and right. It is coupled, the coating unit 200 is coupled to the cylinder block 30 so as to be movable.

As shown in FIGS. 4 and 4, the coating unit 200 is installed on the support bracket 220 at a plurality of applicators 210 at set intervals. Although not shown, each applicator 210 is connected to a line for supplying a liquid and a line for supplying air, respectively.

In addition, the nozzle 212 is coupled to the applicators 210, and preferably a hopper type nozzle in which the needle of the nozzle is changed into a hopper shape may be used, which will be described later.

3 is a plan view showing a support plate applied to the coating apparatus of the present invention, Figure 3a is a partial perspective view.

As described above, at least one, preferably at least two, support plates 100 are disposed on the base 10.

On the support plate 100, a plurality of regions 101 on which the LCD module 1 is seated are divided and formed. Referring to FIG. 3A, a seated LCD module 1 includes an FPC (electrically connected to an upper panel 2, a lower panel 3 sealingly coupled thereto, and a COG 6 formed in a gate or drive region 5). 7) Reference numeral 4 denotes a drive IC mounted on the FPC 7.

Guide brackets 106 are provided over any adjacent side of the area 101. The guide bracket 106 is fixed to the support plate 100 by screws or the like, for example, in a "-" shape. The support plate 100 may change the position of the guide bracket 106 according to the size of the LCD module 1 in which a plurality of screw holes are formed and seated. In other words, when the size of the LCD module 1 is large, the guide bracket 106 is provided to be far from the side, and when the size is small, the guide bracket 106 is to be installed to be close to the side.

The X-axis alignment jig and the Y-axis alignment jig are respectively provided on the adjacent side opposite to one side. The X-axis and Y-axis alignment jig are accommodated in the through slots 102a and 104a, respectively, to move left and right, and for example, they are simultaneously moved by pneumatic cylinders (not shown).

The X- and Y-axis alignment jig consists of the supports 102 and 104 and the pins 103 and 105 fixed to the supports 102 and 104, and the tips 103a and 105a at the ends of the pins 103 and 105, respectively. ) Is elastically coupled to the pins (103, 105) so as not to impact even if it contacts the LCD module (1).

In addition, a through hole 107 for vacuum suctioning the LCD module 1 is formed in the region 101 of the support plate 100 to vacuum-secure and fix the LCD module 1 that is seated and aligned.

Referring to FIG. 3, an accommodating groove 108 is formed in the support plate 100 to a length corresponding to the length of the coating unit 200, and an elastic cleaning material such as a sponge is inserted therein. As will be described later, the nozzle 212 of the coating unit 200 is in contact with the cleaning material before applying the silicon to remove the silicon droplets stuck on the tip of the nozzle.

5 is a perspective view showing an extraction jig applied to the present invention.

As shown, a support bar 152 having an air passage therein, a handle 154 connecting the support bar 152 and a pump line 155 connected to a vacuum pump (not shown), and a support bar ( The suction plate 156 fixed to the plurality of intervals 152 and a switch 158 for controlling the on and off of the vacuum pump.

The extraction jig 150 absorbs the LCD module 1 from the case in which the number of the suction plates 156 is mounted, and supplies the LCD module 1 to the area 101 of the support plate 100 or to apply the LCD module. It is used for adsorbing and withdrawing (1).

6 is a cross-sectional view showing a hopper type nozzle applied to the present invention.

As illustrated, the needle 214 of the nozzle 212 was formed to be extremely short and a hopper-shaped path was formed so that the U / V silicon liquid therein could be discharged for a short time.

The operation of the coating device having such a configuration will be described in detail below.

First, when the LCD module 1 is mounted on a case or the like, the plurality of vacuum modules are temporarily sucked out by using the extraction jig 150 and placed in the area 101 of the support plate 100. In this case, the area 101 may be roughly aligned so that the operator may mount the LCD module 1 in a short time.

Then, align the LCD module 1 placed roughly using the alignment jig. That is, the guide bracket 106 is a reference, and the supports 102 and 104 are moved along the X axis and the Y axis at the same time by the pneumatic cylinder, respectively, to push the LCD module 1 into contact with the guide bracket 106. At this time, as described above, the tips 103a and 105a coupled to the ends of the pins 103 and 105 are elastically coupled to the pins 103 and 105 such that the tips 103a and 105a are connected to the LCD module 1. Even if a force is applied in contact with the touch panel, the LCD module 1 is not impacted.

When the alignment is completed, the vacuum pump (not shown) is driven to vacuum-adsorb the LCD module 1 through the through hole 107 formed in the region 101 of the support plate 100.

Then, the cylinder block 30 moves along the X and Y axes, and the coating unit 200 descends to bring the nozzle 212 into contact with the cleaning material of the receiving groove 108 so that the end tip 213 of the nozzle 212 is moved. Remove the silicon burr formed in). Therefore, the phenomenon in which silicon is not smoothly discharged by the silicon bur can be eliminated, and the discharged silicon can be prevented from being misguided by the silicon bur and applied to portions other than the set part.

Thereafter, in the state in which the coating unit 200 is lowered, the cylinder block 30 moves along the X axis and the Y axis along the set path to apply U / V silicon to the gate and data drive areas of the LCD module 1.

At this time, the silicon 2 is sprayed by the nozzle 212 is slightly spaced apart from the upper panel 2 of the LCD module (1). That is, the end tip of the nozzle 212 is damaged because the surface of the lower panel 3 of the LCD module 1 to which silicon is applied is not flat, and the COG and FPC joints that do not have silicon must also pass through. There is a concern. Therefore, in order to eliminate this problem, it is preferable to space the nozzle 212 upwardly than the upper panel 1. In addition, by spraying the silicon in the state of maintaining a constant distance apart from each other it may be possible to achieve a sufficient coating in accordance with the moving speed of the nozzle.

On the other hand, the operator waits for the coating process by supplying the LCD modules (1) through the above-described order to the other support plate 100 'while the coating is applied to one support plate (100).

When the application is complete, the operator causes the application fixing to start on the other support plate 100 ', and the vacuum suction through the through hole 107 of the area 101 is released for the LCD module of one support plate 100, Using the extraction jig 150, the LCD modules 1 that have been applied are vacuum-adsorbed and placed in a case. Subsequently, the LCD module to be applied is vacuum-adsorbed from another case and seated on one support plate 100 again.

For example, if the coating process takes about 5 seconds, the operator continuously takes out the coated LCD module within at least 5 seconds, stores it in the case, removes the LCD module from the case, and mounts it on the support plate. The process can proceed.

Of course, the LCD module may be vacuum-adsorbed from the case and provided to the support plate, and the process of vacuum-adsorbing the coated LCD module may be automated.

Although the above has been described with reference to the preferred embodiment of the present invention, it can be appropriately changed or modified by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

For example, the design of the robot for nozzle movement in the X-, Y- and Z-axis directions can vary. The support plate moves on the Y axis, the coating unit moves on the Z axis, and the cylinder block You can also move it to the X axis.

In addition, as described above, the movement of the LCD module from the case to the support plate may be automated.

In particular, the coating apparatus or the coating method of the present invention is not limited to the LCD module and is not applied, and of course, it can be applied to a general object requiring application to the correct position.

It is natural that such changes or modifications fall within the scope of the present invention without departing from the spirit of the present invention. Therefore, the scope of the present invention should not be limited to the above-described embodiments, but should be determined by the claims described below.

As described above, the present invention has various advantages.

First, there is an advantage that the liquid can be applied to the correct position while reducing the application time by aligning the LCD module in a fast time using the guide bracket.

In addition, there is an advantage that can reduce the application time by increasing the injection amount while maintaining the correct position.

Moreover, the production rate can be increased by reducing the application time, and at the same time, the defect rate can be minimized by maintaining the correct position.

1 is a front view of an applicator according to an embodiment of the present invention.

2 is a side view of the applicator of FIG. 1.

Figure 3 is a plan view showing a support plate applied to the coating apparatus of the present invention.

3A is a partial perspective view of FIG. 3.

4 is a front view showing the coating unit of the present invention.

4A is a side view of the coating unit of FIG. 4.

5 is a perspective view showing an extraction jig applied to the present invention.

6 is a cross-sectional view showing a hopper type nozzle applied to the present invention.

Claims (12)

A base having support posts at each end thereof; A horizontal bar connecting between the support posts; A cylinder block installed on the horizontal bar so as to be movable left and right; The support plate is fixed on the base, and the support plate is provided with an alignment unit consisting of a guide bracket and an alignment jig for elastically contacting and aligning the object against the guide bracket, respectively, in which the areas in which a plurality of objects are simultaneously seated are partitioned. ; And It is installed on the cylinder block so as to be movable, and a plurality of applicators corresponding to each of the plurality of objects are fixed and installed on an upper portion of the support plate so as to be transported in an arbitrary direction, at the same time on a predetermined portion of the plurality of objects. Liquid coating device comprising a coating unit for applying a liquid. delete The liquid coating apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the pair of alignment jigs comprises a support which is moved by a pneumatic cylinder and a pin which is fixed to the support and the tip of the end contacting the object is elastically installed. delete The cleaning groove of claim 1, wherein an accommodating groove is formed on the support plate, and a cleaning material is inserted into the accommodating groove to perform cleaning by contacting the cleaning material before the coating unit applies the liquid. Liquid applicator. The liquid coating apparatus of claim 1, wherein the nozzle connected to each of the applicators has a needle formed at a short end and a hopper-shaped path therein to smoothly eject the liquid. The method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of objects are supplied to or withdrawn from the region by an extraction jig using a vacuum pressure, the extraction jig is a support bar, a handle connecting the pump line connected to the support bar and the vacuum pump, And a switch for controlling on and off of the vacuum pump and the suction plate fixed to the support bar at a predetermined interval. delete A base having support posts at each end thereof; A horizontal bar connecting between the support posts; A cylinder block installed on the horizontal bar so as to be movable left and right; Areas fixed on the base, and in which a plurality of LCD modules are seated at the same time, are partitioned, through holes for vacuum suction are formed in the areas, and guide brackets are installed on adjacent sides of the areas and adjacent to opposite sides. A support plate on the side of which an alignment jig is elastically contacted with the LCD module; A plurality of applicators corresponding to each of the plurality of LCD modules are fixed and applied to a liquid applying device including an application unit installed on the support plate to be transported in an arbitrary direction. Mounting and supplying the plurality of LCD modules to the area at the same time; Aligning the plurality of LCD modules based on the guide bracket using the alignment jig; Vacuum suction and fixing the plurality of LCD modules through the through hole; Simultaneously applying ultraviolet curable silicon to the gate and data driver regions on the LCD panel of the LCD module using the coating unit; And Releasing the vacuum suction and simultaneously drawing out the plurality of LCD modules from the area. 10. The method of claim 9, further comprising cleaning the nozzle of the coating unit before applying the silicon. delete delete