KR100967933B1 - System and method for attaching polarizer to glass - Google Patents

Abstract

Functional film attachment systems and methods are disclosed. The functional film attachment system of the present invention forms an in-lined work line through which at least two of the supply, cleaning and take-out processes for the panel are performed, and is provided on one side of the panel on one side of the panel. A functional film attaching unit for attaching the functional film, an adhesion unit for inspecting the adhesion of the functional film to the panel, and a light inspection unit for inspecting the presence of foreign matter between the panel and the functional film. A cell line having at least one inspection unit selected from among them; And a poll line connected to the functional film attaching unit of the cell line to supply the functional film to the functional film attaching unit. According to the present invention, the rework rate is improved by allowing at least one of the inspection of the adhesion of the functional film attached to the panel on the cell line and the lighting test for inspecting the presence of foreign matter between the panel and the functional film. (rework ratio) can be reduced.

Description

Functional film attaching system and its method {System and method for attaching polarizer to glass}

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a functional film attachment system and a method thereof, and more particularly, to check the adhesion of a functional film attached to a panel on a cell line and to examine the presence or absence of foreign matter between the panel and the functional film. The present invention relates to a functional film attachment system and method for reducing the rework ratio by allowing at least one of the inspections to proceed.

Recently, the flat panel display (FPD) has begun to emerge as the electronic display industry is rapidly developing among the semiconductor industry.

A flat panel display (FPD) is an image display device that is thinner and lighter than a cathode ray tube (CRT), which has been mainly used as a display for a TV or a computer monitor, and includes a liquid crystal display (LCD, liquid). crystal displays), plasma display panels (PDPs), organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs), and the like.

A thin film transistor (TFT) liquid crystal display (TFT), which is one of the flat panel displays (FPD), injects a liquid crystal, which is an intermediate between solid and liquid, between two thin upper and lower glass substrates. It is a device using a kind of optical switch phenomenon that displays the number or the image by generating the contrast by changing the arrangement of the liquid crystal molecules by the electrode voltage difference. Liquid crystal display (LCD) is replacing the existing cathode ray tube (CRT) at a high speed due to the excellent performance of thin, light weight, low power consumption. Therefore, it is widely used in electronic products such as electronic clocks, electronic calculators, TVs, notebook PCs, speed displays and driving systems of automobiles and aircrafts.

Such liquid crystal display (LCD) is largely released as a product through a TFT process, a cell process, and a module process. The TFT process is a process of arranging thin film transistors on a glass substrate by repeating deposition, photolithography, and etching. The Cell process forms an alignment layer on the TFT bottom plate manufactured by the TFT process and the top plate which is a color filter so that the liquid crystals can be aligned well. The top and bottom plates are formed by corals and seal printing. It is a process of bonding. The module process uses a functional film attachment system to attach a functional film to a completed panel, mount an integrated circuit (Drive-IC), assemble it with a printed circuit board (PCB), and then back This is a series of processes for assembling a back-light unit and a fixture.

Referring to the conventional functional film attachment system, which is one of the module processes, the conventional functional film attachment system includes a so-called cell line, a line through which panels are transported, and a so-called pole line, a line through which functional films are supplied. line).

In the cell line, a panel supply unit (including a panel supply cassette and a supply robot), a panel cleaning unit, a panel alignment unit, a functional film attachment unit, a panel inspection unit, and a panel ejection unit (a panel eject cassette) are sequentially disposed along the direction in which the panel is transported. And take-out robot). Among the plurality of units provided in the cell line, the panel cleaning unit is provided with a belt rotating cleaner for cleaning the upper and lower surfaces of the panel by directly contacting the upper and lower surfaces of the panel.

The pole line is provided with a functional film supply working unit, a functional film cleaning unit, and a functional film centering unit that sequentially supply the functional film along the direction in which the functional film is supplied. The functional film supply working unit is pre-cut into a single plate of a certain size required and is present in a state where there are several hundred or more functional films loaded in a height direction. Each functional film is transferred to the functional film attachment unit via a pole line.

Referring to the conventional functional film attachment method having such a configuration as follows.

First, when the supply robot removes the panel from the panel supply cassette and transfers the panel to the panel cleaning unit, the panel is cleaned by a belt rotary cleaner while passing through the panel cleaning unit. Thereafter, the panel is aligned in the panel alignment unit and then supplied to the functional film attachment unit.

On the other hand, in parallel with this, the functional film is supplied from the functional film supply working unit loaded with several hundred or more functional films to the functional film cleaning unit and cleaned, and then the centering is aligned in the functional film centering unit, and then the functional film is attached. Supplied to the unit.

As such, when the panel and the functional film are supplied to the functional film attaching unit, the functional film is attached to the panel in the functional film attaching unit.

The panel on which the functional film is attached is manually inspected by the operator while passing through the panel inspection unit, and then loaded into the panel take-out cassette by the take-out robot.

However, according to the related art, since the inspection process on the cell line corresponds to the operator's manual inspection degree on the panel on which the functional film is completed, an integrated circuit (Drive-IC) is mounted on the panel or a printed circuit board (PCB). After assembling and confirming that the panel is bad only in the various inspections performed, the problem that the rework ratio (rework ratio) increases as the process proceeds unnecessarily despite the defective panel.

An object of the present invention is to rework than before by performing at least one of the inspection of the adhesion of the functional film attached to the panel on the cell line and the lighting test for inspecting the presence of foreign matter between the panel and the functional film. It is to provide a functional film attachment system and method that can reduce the rework ratio.

The object is, according to the present invention, to form an in-lined work line in which at least two of the supply, cleaning and take-out processes for the panel are carried out, provided on one side of the work line, A functional film attaching unit for attaching a functional film to one surface, an adhesion degree inspection unit provided around the functional film attaching unit and inspecting the adhesion of the functional film to the panel, and a foreign material between the panel and the functional film. A cell line including at least one inspection unit selected from among lighting inspection units for inspecting whether there is a light; And a poll line connected to the functional film attaching unit of the cell line to supply the functional film to the functional film attaching unit.

Here, the cell line, the panel supply unit for supplying the panel; A panel cleaning unit for cleaning the panel; The adhesion test unit; The lighting inspection unit; And it may include a panel take-out unit for taking out the finished panel is completed the functional film attachment.

The panel cleaning unit and the functional film attaching unit may further include a panel foreign matter inspection unit for inspecting foreign substances that may exist on the cleaned panel.

The panel alignment unit may further include a panel alignment unit provided between the panel foreign material inspection unit and the functional film attachment unit to align the panel.

The cell line may include the panel supply unit, the panel cleaning unit, the panel foreign material inspection unit, the panel alignment unit, the functional film attachment unit, the adhesion accuracy inspection unit, and the lighting unit along a direction in which the panel is conveyed. It is possible to form an inlined work line in which the inspection unit and the panel take-out unit are sequentially arranged.

The panel supply unit includes a panel supply cassette on which a panel of a work object is loaded; A supply robot for supplying a panel to the cell line from the panel supply cassette; And a loading conveyor to which the panel supplied by the supply robot is loaded and transported, wherein the panel taking-out unit comprises: an unloading conveyor to which the completed panel to which the functional film is attached is transferred; A panel take-out cassette in which the finished panel is loaded; And a take-out robot that handles the finished panel from the unloading conveyor and loads the finished panel into the panel take-out cassette.

The panel cleaning unit may perform a plurality of cleaning operations and drying operations for the panel, and the plurality of cleaning operations include a roll cleaning method using a polishing roll, a bubble jet cleaning method, and a final process. The rinse (final rinse) may be carried out by any one of the cleaning method selected from the cleaning method, the drying operation may be carried out by the air injection method by an air knife (air knife).

On the other hand, the object, according to the present invention, the step of supplying a functional film to the functional film attachment unit; Supplying a panel to the functional film attachment unit; Attaching the functional film to at least one surface of the panel in the functional film attaching unit; And performing at least one inspection selected from an inspection of adhesion of the functional film to the panel and a lighting test for inspecting the presence or absence of foreign matter between the panel and the functional film. It is also achieved by

Here, the step of performing the inspection, the step of inspecting the adhesion of the functional film to the panel; And a lighting test step of inspecting the presence or absence of a foreign material between the panel and the functional film, and the lighting test step may be performed after the step of checking the adhesion.

Before attaching the functional film, the method may further include inspecting foreign matter that may exist on the panel.

The method may further include a panel alignment step of performing an alignment operation on the panel between inspecting the foreign material and attaching the functional film.

According to the present invention, at least one of the inspection of the adhesion of the functional film attached to the panel on the cell line and the lighting test for checking the presence or absence of foreign matter between the panel and the functional film is carried out so that the rework rate is more than conventional. (rework ratio) can be reduced.

In order to fully understand the present invention, the operational advantages of the present invention, and the objects achieved by the practice of the present invention, reference should be made to the accompanying drawings which illustrate preferred embodiments of the present invention and the contents described in the accompanying drawings.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail by explaining preferred embodiments of the present invention with reference to the accompanying drawings. Like reference numerals in the drawings denote like elements.

1 is a schematic process diagram of a functional film attachment system according to an embodiment of the present invention, Figure 2 is a schematic perspective view of a first cleaner provided in the panel cleaning unit, Figure 3 is a schematic view of the functional film attachment unit 4 is a block diagram of a functional film attaching method according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Prior to the description of the drawings, a functional film includes at least one flat panel display selected from a liquid crystal display (LCD), a plasma display panel (PDP), and an organic light emitting diode (OLED) in order to transmit and polarize light under optimal conditions. Various types of optical films (or sheets) that can be applied to the film, such as EMI films, prism films, protective films, diffuser films, reflective films, DBEF, PVA, TAC, release films, compensation films, antireflective films, and the like. In the following description, it is referred to as a polarizer attached to both sides of the LCD panel to polarize light.

As shown in these figures, the functional film attachment system according to the present embodiment has a cell line and a poll line. Reference numerals for the cell lines and the pole lines will be omitted for convenience of drawing and description.

The cell line forms an in-lined working line through which the feeding, cleaning, functional film attachment, various inspection and take-out processes to the panel are carried out, as shown by reference numeral 100.

These cell lines, along the direction in which the panel is transported, the panel supply unit 110, the panel cleaning unit 120, the panel foreign material inspection unit 130, the panel alignment unit 140, the functional film attachment unit 150 The attachment degree inspection unit 160, the lighting inspection unit 170, and the panel taking-out unit 180 form an inlined work line sequentially arranged.

The panel supply unit 110 serves to supply a panel to be worked, that is, a panel before the functional film is attached. The panel supply unit 110 includes a panel supply cassette 111 on which a panel of a work object is loaded, a supply robot 112 for supplying a panel from the panel supply cassette 111 to a cell line, and a supply robot 112. It includes a loading conveyor 113 is loaded and conveyed by the panel supplied by.

The panel supply cassette 111 has a box structure in which a plurality of panels are stacked. A plurality of slots are formed in the panel supply cassette 111 so that a plurality of panels can be stacked in layers. Usually, about 25 sheets of panels are stacked in one panel supply cassette 111, but this is not necessarily the case.

The supply robot 112 takes out a plurality of panels stacked on the panel supply cassette 111 one by one and transfers them to the loading conveyor 113. The supply robot 112 is provided as a robot having an articulated arm 112a that can be rotated and folded based on a central axis. An end portion of the arm 112a of the supply robot 112 is provided with a fork 112b that substantially supports and supports the panel. Although not shown in detail, the fork 112b is further provided with means for preventing the fork 112b from bending when handling a relatively heavy panel.

The loading conveyor 113 supplies the panel supplied by the supply robot 112 to the panel cleaning unit 120. Since the loading conveyor 113 serves to transport the panel, it may be applied to a conventional roller type. That is, a plurality of rollers 113b for rotatably supporting the panel may be coupled to each of the plurality of rotation shafts 113a. However, since the scope of the present invention is not limited thereto, the loading conveyor 113 may be replaced with a conventional conveyor type or stage type.

As such, when the loading conveyor 113 is applied as a conveyor type or a stage type, it may be advantageous to apply an air floating module (not shown) together to raise the panel. The plurality of rollers 113b is preferably made of a flexible material so as not to scratch the panel. The plurality of rotation shafts 113a may be rotated together by a single motor to facilitate control of the rotation speed thereof, but the rotation shafts 113a are not necessarily the same, and each of the plurality of rotation shafts 113a is individually rotated by an individual motor. You can also

On the other hand, the loading conveyor 113 may be further provided with at least one entry detection sensor (not shown) in the direction in which the panel enters. The entrance detection sensor generates a detection signal for reducing or stopping the speed of the rotating shaft 113a based on the entry position of the panel. Also, a plurality of lift pins (not shown) are provided on the loading conveyor 113 to raise the panel a predetermined height with respect to the plurality of rollers 113b so that the panel is transferred from the supply robot 112 to the loading conveyor 113. It may be further provided between the plurality of rollers (113b). The lift pins are up when the panel is transported to the loading conveyor 113 by the supply robot 112 and then slowly down to transport the panel. Of course, the loading conveyor 113 having such a feature does not have to be provided in the panel supply unit 110, but when the loading conveyor 113 is provided as in this embodiment, the loading conveyor 113 serves as a buffer. Since this can be done, there is an advantage to increase the process efficiency.

The panel cleaning unit 120 cleans the panel supplied by the panel supply unit 110. The panel cleaning unit 120 performs a drying operation for drying the panel in which the cleaning operation is completed, in addition to the cleaning operation for the panel.

Referring to the cleaning operation, the panel cleaning unit 120 performs three cleaning operations sequentially on the panel. The first cleaner 121 cleans the panel by a roll cleaning method using polishing rolls 121a to 121d, and the second cleaner 122 cleans the panel by a bubble jet cleaning method. The third cleaner 123 cleans the panel by a final rinse cleaning method. Of course, since the scope of the present invention is not limited thereto, it need not be limited to three cleaning methods. In addition, other cleaning methods not listed above may be added or replaced, and the above cleaning methods need not be followed.

For reference, even in the prior art, it is known that the cleaning unit for cleaning the panel is partially disclosed. However, the panel cleaning unit (not shown) of the prior art uses a belt rotary cleaning machine for cleaning the panel, the process life of the belt is relatively short, so a lot of process loss (loss) due to the frequent replacement cycle of the belt There was a problem that caused it.

Therefore, in the present embodiment, the problem of the prior art is solved by using the first washing machine 121 by the roll cleaning method without using the belt rotating washing machine as in the prior art. 2, the first cleaner 121 to which the roll cleaning method is applied includes four polishing rolls 121a to 121d. That is, four polishing rolls 121a to 121d are provided in the vertical direction and the front and rear with the panel to be cleaned in between.

Of the four polishing rolls 121a-121d, two (121a, 121b) located on the upper side of the panel clean the upper surface of the panel, and two (121c, 121d) located on the lower side of the panel clean the lower surface of the panel. . Therefore, the cleaning efficiency can be maximized in less time, and the replacement cycle can be reduced, in particular, compared to the conventional method, thereby preventing the process loss. The lifespan of the polishing rolls 121a to 121d is relatively longer than that of the conventional belt. Each of the four polishing rolls 121a to 121d may be rotated in a corresponding direction at a corresponding position by the roll driving units 121e to 121h respectively coupled to the four polishing rolls 121a to 121d.

The structure of the second scrubber 122 and the third scrubber 123 is omitted from the illustration and description, but the bubble jet cleaning method of the second scrubber 122, the air bubbles or water droplets on the surface of the panel The panel is cleaned by blowing the air bubbles or water droplets, and the final rinse cleaning method of the third cleaner 123 is to finally clean the panel on which the cleaning is completed.

Referring to the drying operation, the drying operation is performed by the dryer 124 disposed behind the third cleaner 123 with respect to the conveying direction of the panel. In this embodiment, the dryer 124 is applied with an air jet method by an air knife, and the injected air removes moisture or moisture remaining on the surface of the panel.

The panel foreign matter inspection unit 130 is provided at the rear of the panel cleaning unit 120 to inspect foreign substances remaining on the panel on which the cleaning and drying are completed by the panel cleaning unit 120. Although cleaning and drying are completed by the panel cleaning unit 120, foreign substances may remain in the panel. However, if foreign matters remain in the panel but the inspection and filtering cannot be carried out, the process proceeds unnecessarily despite the defective panel, so the rework ratio is inevitably increased.

In fact, since the panel foreign matter inspection unit 130 is not provided in the prior art, there is no way to solve the problem of increasing the rework rate. However, in the present embodiment, before the functional film is attached to the panel, the foreign material on the panel is inspected through the panel foreign material inspection unit 130, and if the defective panel determined to be defective is recovered on the cell line, the rework rate can be reduced. It can be. The foreign material inspection method by the panel foreign material inspection unit 130 may be applied in various ways, but in the present embodiment, a panel camera using a CCD camera to convert a light signal into an electrical signal is applied to the panel. Checking for foreign objects.

The panel alignment unit 140 is a portion for performing alignment for the panel to be supplied to the functional film attaching unit 150 before attaching the functional film to the upper and lower surfaces of the panel. The alignment work on the panel may be performed on the panel in the direction required by, for example, driving the stage supporting the panel in any one of the X-axis, Y-axis, and θ-axis directions.

The functional film attachment unit 150 proceeds with the process of attaching a functional film to a panel substantially. In the present embodiment, the functional film attaching unit 150 attaches one functional film to both the upper and lower surfaces of the panel.

Referring to Figure 3 briefly look at the functional film attachment unit 150 as follows. The functional film attachment unit 150 includes a pair of drums 151 and 152 for attaching a functional film supplied through a pole line, which will be described later, to the upper and lower surfaces of the panel, and a protective film from the functional film supplied by the pole line. A pair of peeling parts 153 and 154, and a controller (not shown) for electrically and mechanically controlling the operations of the drums 151 and 152 and the peeling parts 153 and 154 are provided.

Two drums 151 and 152 are formed in pairs so as to rotate in opposite directions with spaced apart from each other at predetermined intervals. Thus, a panel passing between two drums 151 and 152 may have a functional film attached to both sides thereof. Of course, since the scope of the present invention is not limited thereto, the panel may be moved while the panel is mounted on a conveyor belt, and only one drum may be designed to attach a functional film to one surface of the panel.

One side of the drum (151, 152) is further provided with a plurality of pressure rollers (155). The plurality of pressure rollers 155 are spaced apart from the drums 151 and 152 by the thickness of the functional film. These pressure rollers 155 are provided to prevent a so-called curl phenomenon in which the ends of the functional film supplied from the pole line are separated from the outer surfaces of the drums 151 and 152 and rolled up. If such pressure rollers 155 are not provided and a functional film is directly supplied from the pole line to the outer surfaces of the drums 151 and 152, a portion of the end of the functional film is likely to be rolled up by the elasticity of the functional film. . Even though the curl phenomenon has occurred, if the process of attaching the functional film to the panel without any action, bubbles are generated between the panel and the functional film may adversely affect the quality of the panel.

The peeling parts 153 and 154 serve to peel the protective film from the functional film adsorbed to the drums 151 and 152 using the adhesive tape T. The peeling parts 153 and 154 may include a supply roller R1 for supplying a new adhesive tape T, and an adhesive tape T to the surface of the protective film so that the adhesive tape T may be adhered to the protective film and peeled off. A contact roller (R2) for contact pressurization of the pressure-sensitive adhesive;

Functional film attachment unit 150 has a number of structural features in addition to the above-described parts, but the description thereof will be omitted here.

The adhesion accuracy inspection unit 160 and the lighting inspection unit 170 are disposed in the rear of the functional film attachment unit 150 along the conveying direction of the panel, respectively, and inspect the panel in which the functional film is attached to the upper and lower surfaces thereof. do. That is, the adhesion degree inspection unit 160 inspects the adhesion of the functional film to the panel, and the lighting inspection unit 170 inspects the presence or absence of foreign matter between the panel and the functional film. It is desirable that the adhesion test and the light test be performed automatically rather than visually by the operator. The description thereof will be omitted.

As in this embodiment, if the functional film is attached to the panel and then the adhesion test and the lighting test are performed on the panel, the rework rate may be prevented from increasing as the process proceeds unnecessarily despite the defective panel. Can be. In the case of the prior art, there are examples in which these inspections are carried out only after the panels having finished the functional film attachment through the cell lines have been taken out, and then went to a post process, for example, an assembly process. There have been no examples of lighting test or foreign material test. In this case, even though it is a defective panel, the rework rate has to increase due to the need to destroy the panel after unnecessarily undergoing many processes.

However, if the adhesion test and the lighting test are performed before the panel is completely taken out along the cell line as in this embodiment, the defective panel can be recovered immediately, thereby reducing the rework rate and reducing unnecessary additional burden. You will be able to.

In this embodiment, the adhesion test unit 160 and the lighting test unit 170 are sequentially provided along the conveyance direction of the panel, but their positions may be interchanged. In addition, the panel foreign material inspection unit 130, the adhesion accuracy inspection unit 160 and the lighting inspection unit 170 may be all provided on the cell line as in this embodiment, or may be provided any one or two selected.

The panel take-out unit 180 is a part arranged at the end of the cell line. The panel take-out unit 180 handles the finished panel from the unloading conveyor 181 to which the finished panel on which the functional film is attached is transferred, the panel take-out cassette 182 on which the finished panel is loaded, and the unloading conveyor 181. And a take-out robot 183 loaded in the panel take-out cassette 182. The panel take-out unit 180 has a structure substantially similar to that of the panel supply unit 110 described above. That is, the unloading conveyor 181, the panel take-out cassette 182, and the take-out robot 183 of the panel take-out unit 180 are each a loading conveyor 113, a panel feed cassette 111, and a feed of the panel feed unit 110. Corresponding to the robot 112, they differ only in their roles and have substantially the same structure. Therefore, the description of each component constituting the panel take-out unit 180 will be replaced with the description of each component constituting the panel supply unit 110.

In addition to the units 110 to 180, the buffer units B1, B2, B3, and B4 are further provided in regions selected among the regions between the units 110 to 180 provided in the cell line. In the present embodiment, a total of four first to fourth buffer units B1, B2, B3, and B4 are provided, which are in turn an area between the panel foreign material inspection unit 130 and the panel alignment unit 140, and a functional film is attached thereto. It is provided in the region between the unit 150 and the adhesion test unit 160, the region between the adhesion test unit 160 and the lighting test unit 170, and the region between the lighting test unit 170 and the panel take-out unit 180. It controls the conveyance state and the conveying amount of the panel at the corresponding position. Of course, since the scope of the present invention is not necessarily limited thereto, the first to fourth buffer units B1, B2, B3, and B4 need to be provided at the positions of FIG. The buffer parts B1, B2, B3, and B4 are not necessarily provided, and the first to fourth buffer parts B1, B2, B3, and B4 do not have to be provided as many, and are appropriate when necessary. It is preferred that it be selected and applied.

On the other hand, the pole line is connected to the functional film attachment unit 150 of the cell line serves to supply the functional film to the functional film attachment unit 150.

In this embodiment, the pole line is supplied with the functional film directly from the film winding roll 211 on which the functional film is wound, and after processing the functional film into a single plate of the required unit size, the functional film attachment unit 150 ) To form an inlined work line for supplying the functional film.

However, the scope of the present invention need not be limited thereto. That is, a separate functional film supply working unit (not shown) is provided, cut into a single plate of a certain size required for the functional film supply working unit, and then loaded with several hundred sheets or more functional films in the height direction in advance, and then loaded. The functional films may be taken out one by one and supplied to the functional film attachment unit 150.

In such a configuration, the functional film cleaning and processing unit 220 to be described later may be excluded in the process. However, in order to proceed with the functional films loaded in the functional film supply working unit in this way, the functional films must be supplied from a separate functional film supplier. Since the functional film is processed, it may be difficult to reduce the overall cost from the panel manufacturer's point of view. As described above, the pole line is directly from the film winding roll 211 on which the functional film is wound. It may be desirable to form the inlined work line for supplying the functional film to the functional film attachment unit 150 after the functional film is processed into a single plate of the required unit size.

In the present embodiment, the pole line includes a functional film supply unit 210, a functional film cleaning and processing unit 220, and a functional film foreign material inspection unit 230 along a direction in which the functional film is supplied to the functional film attachment unit 150. The functional film centering and transfer unit 240 forms an inlined work line that is arranged sequentially.

The functional film supply unit 210 supplies the functional film to be unwound by the film winding roll 211, not the functional film previously processed into a single plate by the functional film cleaning and processing unit 220.

To this end, the functional film supply unit 210 includes a film winding roll 211 in which the functional film is wound, and a plurality of support rolls 212 for supporting the functional film released from the film winding roll 211. Of course, in addition to this, a means for rotating the film winding roll 211 is further provided, but a description thereof will be omitted.

The functional film cleaning and processing unit 220 cleans the functional film unwound from the film winding roll 211 and processes the functional film into a single plate of a required unit size to produce a functional film. In other words, in the functional film cleaning and processing unit 220, the operation of cleaning the functional film and the operation of processing the functional film are performed together.

First, the operation of cleaning the functional film through the functional film cleaning and processing unit 220 will be described. The functional film cleaning operation is the same as the first cleaner 121 on the panel cleaning unit 120 of the cell line described above. This applies. That is, the functional film released from the film winding roll 211 is cleaned by a roll cleaning method using a polishing roll (not shown) as shown in FIG. Can be reduced.

Next, the operation of processing the functional film through the functional film cleaning and processing unit 220 will be described. The functional film processing operation is performed by a laser cutter provided in the functional film cleaning and processing unit 220. When the functional film is manufactured by cutting the functional film by a laser cutter, there is an advantage that the cut surface is smooth and the efficiency of the process is increased.

The functional film foreign material inspection unit 230 inspects foreign matter that may exist on the functional film processed into a single plate by a laser cutter. In the functional film foreign material inspection unit 230, the foreign material for the functional film is inspected using a CCD camera to which a charge couple device (CCD) for converting a signal of light into an electrical signal is applied. However, the scope of the present invention need not be limited thereto.

The functional film centering and transfer unit 240 serves to transfer the functional film to the functional film attachment unit 150 while matching the centering for the functional film completed until the foreign material inspection. On the other hand, as described above, in the present embodiment, since the functional film is attached to both the upper and lower surfaces of the panel, the functional film to be attached to the upper surface of the panel and the functional film to be attached to the lower surface of the panel Each part must be provided separately.

To this end, in the pole line, the functional film supply unit 210, the functional film cleaning and processing unit 220, and the functional film foreign material inspection unit 230 are mutually based on the functional film centering and transfer unit 240 as a reference. It is provided symmetrically.

In fact, in the case of the LCD panel, since the area of the upper plate and the lower plate are different from each other, the size of the functional film supplied to the functional film centering and conveying unit 240 may be different from each other, but a description thereof will be omitted. The functional film centering and conveying unit 240 serves to align the direction of the supplied functional film to the direction required by the functional film attaching unit 150, and after carrying out the centering operation, transfer the functional film to the functional film attaching unit 150. do. The portion shown by the pole line in Figure 3 may be a functional film centering and transfer unit 240.

The functional film attachment method having such a configuration will be described with reference to FIG. 4 as follows.

First, the panel of the work object is supplied to the cell line through the panel supply unit 100 (S11). The supplied panel is cleaned and dried while passing through the panel cleaning unit 120 (S12). That is, after cleaning is completed through a roll cleaning method using a polishing roll (121a to 121d, polishing roll), a bubble jet cleaning method, and a final rinse cleaning method, an air knife is used. It is dried by an air blowing method.

After the cleaning and drying is completed, the panel is inspected whether a foreign material remains through the panel foreign material inspection unit 130 (S13). If foreign matter remains, it is destroyed or recovered to prevent unnecessary processes from proceeding with the defective panel.

The panel having no abnormality during the inspection of the foreign matter is aligned through the panel alignment unit 140 (S14), and then directed to the functional film attachment unit 150.

On the other hand, at the same time, the operation of supplying the functional film to the functional film attaching unit 150 proceeds continuously on the pole line. That is, the functional film is released from the film winding roll 211 and supplied through the functional film supply unit 210 (S21). The unpacked functional film reaches the functional film cleaning and processing unit 220 and is washed, and then processed into a single plate having a required unit size to produce a functional film (S22).

Then, after the presence of foreign matter is inspected through the functional film foreign material inspection unit 230 (S23), the centering is adjusted through the functional film centering and transfer unit 240 and then supplied to the functional film attachment unit 150 (S24)

When the functional film on the cell line and the panel on the cell line is supplied to the functional film attaching unit 150 as described above, as illustrated in FIG. 3, the peeling parts 153 and 154 peel off the protective film attached to the surface of the functional film. Subsequently, as the panel passes between the pair of drums 151 and 152, the functional film is attached to both upper and lower surfaces of the panel (S15).

Next, the finished panel is attached to the upper and lower functional film is passed through the adhesion test unit 160 and the light inspection unit 170, the degree of adhesion of the functional film to the panel is inspected (S16), then between the panel and the functional film The presence of foreign matter is checked (S17).

The inspection is completed and the normal panel having no abnormality is taken out (S18). However, if there is an abnormality in the adhesion of the functional film to the panel or foreign matter is present between the panel and the functional film, it can be immediately destroyed or recovered so that the rework ratio can be reduced. do.

As described above, according to the present exemplary embodiment, at least one of the inspection of the adhesion of the functional film attached to the panel on the cell line and the lighting test for inspecting the presence of foreign matter between the panel and the functional film is performed. It is possible to further reduce the rework ratio.

In the above-described embodiment, the functional film is mainly attached to the LCD panel, but is applied to at least one flat panel display selected from a liquid crystal display (LCD), a plasma display panel (PDP), and organic light emitting diodes (OLED). Various functional films to be attached directly or indirectly to the panel, such as EMI films, prism films, protective films, diffusion films, reflective films, DBEF, PVA, TAC, release films, compensation films, antireflective films, etc. It may be applied to perform the same process.

As described above, the present invention is not limited to the described embodiments, and various modifications and changes can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention, which will be apparent to those skilled in the art. Therefore, such modifications or variations will have to be belong to the claims of the present invention.

1 is a schematic process diagram of a functional film attachment system according to one embodiment of the present invention.

2 is a schematic perspective view of a first cleaner provided in the panel cleaning unit.

3 is a schematic configuration diagram of a functional film attaching unit.

4 is a flowchart of a functional film attaching method according to an embodiment of the present invention.

* Explanation of symbols for the main parts of the drawings

110: panel supply unit 120: panel cleaning unit

130: panel foreign matter inspection unit 140: panel alignment unit

150: functional film attachment unit 160: adhesion accuracy inspection unit

170: lighting inspection unit 180: panel taking out unit (180)

210: functional film supply unit

220: functional film cleaning and processing unit

230: functional film foreign material inspection unit

240: functional film centering and transfer unit

Claims (11)

A panel supply unit for supplying a panel, a panel cleaning unit for cleaning the panel, a functional film attaching unit for attaching a functional film to one surface of the panel, and provided between the panel cleaning unit and the functional film attaching unit for cleaning A panel foreign material inspection unit for inspecting foreign matter that may exist on the panel, an adhesion degree inspection unit provided around the functional film attaching unit and inspecting the adhesion of the functional film to the panel, and the panel and the function A cell line having an in-line working line having a lighting inspection unit for inspecting the presence or absence of foreign matter between the films and a panel taking-out unit for taking out the finished panel on which the functional film is attached; And And a poll line connected to the functional film attaching unit of the cell line to supply the functional film to the functional film attaching unit. delete delete The method of claim 1, And a panel alignment unit provided between the panel foreign material inspection unit and the functional film attachment unit to align the panel. The method of claim 4, wherein The cell line may include the panel supply unit, the panel cleaning unit, the panel foreign material inspection unit, the panel alignment unit, the functional film attachment unit, the adhesion accuracy inspection unit, and the lighting unit along a direction in which the panel is conveyed. And an inspection unit and the panel take-out unit to form an inlined work line sequentially arranged. The method of claim 1, The panel supply unit, A panel supply cassette on which a panel of a work object is loaded; A supply robot for supplying a panel to the cell line from the panel supply cassette; And A loading conveyor to which the panel supplied by the supply robot is loaded and transported, The panel taking out unit, An unloading conveyor to which the finished panel on which the functional film is attached is transferred; A panel take-out cassette in which the finished panel is loaded; And And a take-out robot for handling the finished panel from the unloading conveyor and loading it into the panel take-out cassette. The method of claim 1, The panel cleaning unit performs a cleaning operation and a drying operation for the panel, The cleaning operation is performed by a cleaning method selected from a roll cleaning method using a polishing roll, a bubble jet cleaning method, and a final rinse cleaning method. The drying operation is a functional film attachment system, characterized in that the air is carried out by the air blowing method (air knife). Supplying a functional film to the functional film attaching unit; Supplying a panel to the functional film attachment unit; Attaching the functional film to at least one surface of the panel in the functional film attaching unit; And And performing at least one inspection selected from the inspection of adhesion of the functional film to the panel, and a lighting test for inspecting the presence or absence of foreign matter between the panel and the functional film. The method of claim 8, Performing the inspection, Inspecting the adhesion of the functional film to the panel; And It includes a lighting test step of inspecting the presence or absence of foreign matter between the panel and the functional film, And the lighting inspection step is performed after the step of inspecting the adhesion degree. The method of claim 8, Before the step of attaching the functional film, the method for attaching a functional film, characterized in that further comprising the step of inspecting the foreign matter present on the panel. The method of claim 10, And aligning the panel between the inspecting the foreign material and attaching the functional film.

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