KR101847455B1 - Apparatus for curing sealant in flat panel display cell and apparatus for additionally sealing Organic Light Emitting Diode display cell with the same - Google Patents

Abstract

The sealant hardening apparatus of the disclosed flat panel display cell comprises a cartridge mounted with at least one flat panel display cell and a hardened sealant applied to the corner by irradiating light to the edge of the flat panel display cell mounted on the cartridge, And a light source having at least one LED array including a plurality of spot LEDs (Light Emitting Diodes) arranged in a direction parallel to the extending direction of a corner of the display cell, At least one of which is configured to cure the flat panel display cell mounted on the cartridge.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a sealant hardening apparatus for a flat display cell and an OLED display cell reinforcing sealing apparatus for the same,

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention [0001] The present invention relates to the sealing of flat panel display cells, and more particularly, to a sealant curing apparatus for curing a sealant coated on corners of a flat panel display cell by irradiating light thereto.

A flat panel display (FPD) is thinner and lighter than a television or a monitor using a cathode-ray tube. For example, there are a liquid crystal display (LCD), a plasma display panel (PDP), a field emission display (FED), and an organic light emitting diode (OLED).

OLED, which is a type of flat panel display, is a phenomenon in which electrons injected through an anode and a cathode are recombined with an organic thin film to form an exciton, and light of a specific wavelength is generated by energy from the exciton Is a self-luminous display device using a light emitting diode.

1 schematically illustrates an example of an OLED display cell. As shown in Fig. 1, an OLED display cell has a lower electrode 3, an organic layer 4, and an upper electrode 5 stacked in this order between a lower plate 2 and an upper plate 6. And the outer periphery between the upper plate 6 and the lower plate 2 is sealed.

Because OLEDs are very vulnerable to moisture and oxygen, the types of sealants available are also very limited and the reliability of sealing is also required to be high. Therefore, in recent years, a method of performing reinforced sealing by using the reinforcing sealant 8 after primary sealing with the sealing member 7 has been used.

The reinforcing sealing process includes applying a reinforcing sealant and irradiating the applied reinforcing sealant with light to cure the reinforcing sealant. However, the conventional sealant curing apparatus is arranged in the form of a long tunnel on the conveyance path of the flat panel display cell conveyed by the conveyor, requiring a lot of equipment occupying space. In addition, depending on the size of the flat panel display cell, it is difficult to maintain the optimum distance between the edges of the flat panel display cell to which the light source and the sealant are applied.

The present invention provides a sealant hardening apparatus for a flat panel display cell in which a flat display cell is configured to be compact and occupied space is reduced, and a reinforced sealing apparatus for an OLED display cell having the same.

The present invention relates to a sealant hardening device for a flat panel display cell capable of uniformly irradiating light to all points coated with a sealant to improve the homogeneity of sealant hardening and the reliability of sealing, Device.

The present invention provides a sealant hardening apparatus for a flat panel display cell capable of maintaining an optimal distance between a sealant application point and a light source regardless of the size of a flat panel display cell and a reinforcing sealing apparatus for an OLED display cell having the same.

The present invention relates to a cartridge comprising a cartridge mounted with at least one flat panel display cell and a cured sealant applied to the edge by irradiating light to the edge of the flat panel display cell mounted on the cartridge, A light source having at least one LED array including a plurality of spot LEDs (Light Emitting Diodes) arranged in a direction parallel to a direction of the light source, wherein at least one of the light source and the cartridge is moved, Wherein the flat display cell mounted on the cartridge is configured to be cured.

The light source may be configured to adjust the gap with the cartridge.

The light source may include a first LED array disposed on the cartridge and irradiating light downward and second and third LED arrays disposed on both sides of the cartridge to illuminate light toward the cartridge .

The light source is fixed, and the cartridge can be transported through the light source.

The spot LED of the light source may be a UV LED that emits ultraviolet light (UV).

The cartridge may further include a plurality of mounts detachably arranged in a line in each of the flat panel display cells.

In addition, the present invention provides an OLED display cell comprising a front substrate, a rear substrate, and organic materials sandwiched between the front substrate and the rear substrate, wherein a reinforcing sealant is applied to the outside of the sealing member to bond the front substrate and the rear substrate together A sealant application device for applying a reinforcement sealant to the OLED display cell, and an encapsulation device for an OLED display cell including the sealant curing device.

The OLED display cell reinforcing sealing device may include a loading device that loads the OLED display cell applied by the sealant application device into the cartridge of the sealant curing device and an OLED display cell cured by the sealant curing device And an unloading device for unloading the cartridge from the cartridge. In this case, the loading position of the loading device and the unloading position of the unloading device may be disposed opposite to each other with respect to the light source, and the cartridge may reciprocate between the unloading position and the loading position.

The present invention does not require a costly configuration that occupies a large space such as a flat panel display cell conveyor and a light source tunnel, which are included in the conventional sealant curing apparatus, and thus can reduce the space occupied by the equipment and the equipment manufacturing cost.

The present invention can uniformly irradiate light to all the points where the sealant is applied and maintain the optimum distance between the sealant application point and the light source irrespective of the size of the flat panel display cell and improve the reliability of sealing .

1 is a cross-sectional view schematically showing an example of an OLED display cell.
FIG. 2 is a perspective view illustrating a sealant coating apparatus provided in a reinforcing sealing apparatus of an OLED display cell according to an embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG.
3 is a perspective view illustrating a sealant hardening apparatus for a flat panel display cell according to an embodiment of the present invention.
Fig. 4 is a front view schematically showing a sealant hardening device, a loading device and an unloading device of the flat panel display cell of Fig. 2;
5 is a plan view showing the light emitting surface of the LED array shown in FIG.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Hereinafter, a sealant curing apparatus for a flat panel display cell according to an embodiment of the present invention and a reinforcing sealing apparatus for an OLED display cell having the same will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

The reinforcing sealing apparatus of the OLED display cell according to the embodiment of the present invention may include the sealant applying apparatus 20 shown in FIG. 2 and the sealant hardening apparatus 40 shown in FIGS. 3 and 4. Referring to Fig. 2, the sealant applicator 20 applies the reinforcement sealant 29 to the flat panel display cell 100 in an automated process. Here, the flat panel display cell 100 includes an organic material (not shown) interposed between the front substrate 101 (see FIG. 4), the rear substrate 103 (see FIG. 4), and the two substrates 101 and 103 OLED display cells.

The sealant application device 20 includes a rotary cartridge 22 on which a plurality of flat panel display cells 100 can be mounted and which is rotatable about a shaft 25 extending in the X axis direction, And a head 27. The rotary cartridge 22 has a plurality of mounting portions 23. The mounting portions 23 are arranged in a line in the direction of the shaft 25 so as to mount a plurality of flat panel display cells 100 thereon. The sealant 29 may not be applied to the edge of the four corners of the flat panel display cell 100 that abuts the mounting portion 23 and in this case the sealant 29 is applied to the remaining three corners 106, .

The sealant head 27 moves along the arrow A parallel to the Y axis direction and leaks the sealant 29 down to apply the sealant 29 to the corners 106, Further, the sealant head 27 can move along the arrow B parallel to the Z-axis direction to adjust the distance from the corners 106, 107, and 108. When the plurality of flat panel display cells 100 are mounted on the rotary cartridge 22, the sealant head 27 first applies the sealant 29 to the first corner 106 of all the flat panel display cells 100. Next, the rotary cartridge 22 is rotated clockwise by 90 degrees following the rotation of the shaft 25, and the sealant head 27 is moved downward to close all of the flat display cells 100 The sealant 29 is applied to the second edge 107 of the sealant.

Next, the rotary cartridge 22 is rotated 180 degrees in the counterclockwise direction following the rotation of the shaft 25. The sealant head 27 is spaced apart from the flat display cell 100 for a while and then moved down again to seal the sealant 29 to the third corner 108 of all the flat display cells 100 with proximity to the third edge 108 Lt; / RTI > The reinforcing sealant 29 applied to the first to third edges 106, 107, 108 is cured by the sealant hardening device 40 (see Figs. 3 and 4).

3 is a perspective view illustrating a sealant hardening apparatus for a flat panel display cell according to an embodiment of the present invention. Fig. 4 is a front view schematically showing a sealant hardening device, a loading device and an unloading device of the flat panel display cell of Fig. 2;

3 and 4, the sealant hardening apparatus 40 includes a cartridge 42 on which a plurality of flat panel display cells 100 to which a sealant 29 (see FIG. 2) is applied, And a light source 45 for irradiating light to the corners 106, 107, and 108 of the flat panel display cell 100 mounted on the display panel 100 to cure the sealant 29 applied thereto.

The cartridge 42 has a plurality of mounting portions 43 arranged in a line in the X-axis direction so as to mount a plurality of flat panel display cells 100 thereon. The flat panel display cell 100 is mounted on the mounting portion 43 so that the first to third corners 106, 107, and 108 to which the sealant 29 (see FIG. 2) is applied are exposed. The cartridge 42 is moved along the arrow C parallel to the X-axis direction by the light irradiation position shown by the solid line in Figs. 3 and 4 and the light shown by the imaginary line (dashed line in Figs. 3 and 4) And is configured to be able to reciprocate between positions after irradiation. Specifically, the cartridge 42 may be connected to a ball screw (not shown) or connected to a linear motor.

The light source 45 is positioned between the light irradiation position and the light irradiation position of the cartridge 42 and is formed as a passage through which the cartridge 42 on which the flat panel display cell 100 is mounted passes .

The light source 45 includes first, second, and third LED arrays. The first LED array 46 is disposed on the cartridge 42 and irradiates light downward. The second and third LED arrays 48 and 50 are disposed on both sides of the cartridge 42 to illuminate the cartridge 42 with light. The first LED array 46 has a plurality of spot LEDs 52 arranged in a direction parallel to the extending direction of the first edge 106 of the flat panel display cell 100 mounted on the cartridge 42, The second LED array 48 has a plurality of spot LEDs 52 arranged in a direction parallel to the extending direction of the second edge 107 and the third LED array 50 has an extension of the third edge 108 And a plurality of spot LEDs (52) arranged in a direction parallel to the direction of the LEDs. The spot LED 52 emits ultraviolet light (UV).

5 is a plan view showing the light emitting surface of the LED array shown in FIG. 5, a plurality of spot LEDs 52 are arranged in the first to third LED arrays 46, 48 and 50 such that the edges of the corners 106, 107, and 108 of the flat display cell 100 (see FIG. 3) And they are closely arranged in a direction parallel to the extending direction. This means that the light intensity in the longitudinal direction of the first to third LED arrays 46, 48 and 50 can be constant. Therefore, the reinforcing sealant 29 (see FIG. 2) along the edges 106, 107, and 108 of the flat panel display cell 100 can be uniformly cured, thereby improving the reliability of the reinforced sealing work. Further, since the spot LED 52 irradiates light, the concentration of a desired ultraviolet wavelength (for example, 365 nm single wavelength) is larger than that in the case of irradiating light using a lamp, light output is improved, And the space occupied by the light source 45 is reduced.

Referring again to FIG. 3, the light source 45 may adjust the distance from the cartridge 42. FIG. Specifically, the first LED array 46 ascends and descends along the arrow D parallel to the Z axis, and the second LED array 48 and the third LED array 50 respectively ascend and descend along arrows D parallel to the Z axis, (E, F). Therefore, even if the size of the flat panel display cell 100 mounted on the cartridge 42 is changed, the positions of the first to third LED arrays 46, 48, and 50 are adjusted so that each of the corners 106, 107, The intervals between the corresponding first to third LED arrays 46, 48, and 50 can be maintained at optimum intervals. 3 and 4 disclose a configuration in which the light source 45 is fixed and the cartridge 42 is cured by passing the light source 45 through the sealant 29 (see FIG. 2). On the contrary, The structure in which the light source 45 is fixed and the light source 45 moves along the X axis to harden the applied sealant 29 is also included in the present invention.

Referring again to FIG. 4, the reinforced sealing apparatus of the OLED display cell of the present invention further includes a loading device 60. The loading device 60 loads the flat display cell 100 with the reinforcing sealant 29 (see FIG. 2) applied thereto into the cartridge 42 of the sealant curing device 40. The loading apparatus 60 is configured to mount a plurality of flat panel display cells 100 on which the sealant 29 has been applied to the clamp 62 in the rotary cartridge 22 (see FIG. 2) of the sealant applicator 20 (see FIG. 2) Picked up using the flat panel display cell 100 and transported along a predetermined path and the plurality of flat panel display cells 100 are mounted on the cartridge 42 of the sealant hardening device 40 and retracted.

The cartridge 42 on which the plurality of flat panel display cells 100 are mounted moves along the arrow C and passes through the light source 45 and is guided by the reinforcing sealant 29 by ultraviolet light UV irradiated from the light source 45. [ (See FIG. 2) is cured.

The reinforced sealing device of the OLED display cell further includes an unloading device 65 for unloading the reinforced sealant 29 from the cured display cell 100 from the cartridge 42.

The unloading device 65 picks up a plurality of flat panel display cells 100 in which the sealant 29 has been cured by using the tongs 67 in the cartridge 42, , And is loaded and retracted at a predetermined loading place (not shown).

The cartridge 42 reciprocates between the loading position of the loading device 60 and the unloading position of the unloading device 65. That is, the cartridge 42 is moved from the loading position toward the unloading position while the flat panel display cell 100 is mounted, and conversely, the loading portion 43 is moved from the unloading position toward the loading position. The loading position corresponds to the aforementioned pre-irradiation position, and the unloading position corresponds to the aforementioned post-irradiation position. The loading position and the unloading position are disposed in the opposite directions with respect to the light source 45.

While the present invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to exemplary embodiments thereof, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention. Therefore, the true scope of protection of the present invention should be defined only by the appended claims.

20: sealant applying device 22: rotating cartridge
27: sealant head 40: sealant hardening device
42: cartridge 45: light source
46, 48, 50: LED array 60: loading device
65: unloading apparatus 100: flat panel display cell

Claims (8)

A cartridge in which at least one flat panel display cell is loaded so that three edges coated with a sealant face upward, left, and right; And
A plurality of spot LEDs arranged in a direction parallel to an extending direction of a corner of the flat panel display cell by irradiating light to a corner of the flat panel display cell mounted on the cartridge and curing the sealant applied to the corner, And a light emitting diode (LED) array including at least one light emitting diode,
Wherein the light source has a gate shape through which the cartridge is passed,
The LED array includes a first LED array arranged in a direction parallel to an upward direction of the upper side of the flat panel display cell and a second LED array arranged in a direction parallel to the direction in which the left- And an array of second, third LEDs,
Wherein at least one of the light source and the cartridge is moved so as to cure the flat panel display cell mounted on the cartridge. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the light source is configured to adjust an interval between the light source and the cartridge. delete The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the light source is fixed, and the cartridge is conveyed to pass through the light source. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the spot LED of the light source is a UV LED that emits ultraviolet light. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the cartridge further comprises a plurality of mounts detachably arranged in a line in each of the flat panel display cells. In an OLED display cell comprising a front substrate, a rear substrate, and organic materials interposed between the front substrate and the rear substrate, a reinforcing sealant is applied to the outside of the sealing member for bonding the front substrate and the rear substrate, An apparatus for reinforced sealing,
A sealant application device for applying a reinforcement sealant to the OLED display cell; And
The sealant curing apparatus of any one of claims 1, 2, 4, 5, and 6, which cures the reinforcing sealant of the OLED display cell applied in the sealant application apparatus Stiffening sealing device for OLED display cells. 8. The method of claim 7,
A loading device for loading the OLED display cell applied by the sealant application device into the cartridge of the sealant curing device; And
And an unloading device for unloading the cured OLED display cell from the cartridge by the sealant curing device,
Wherein a loading position of the loading device and an unloading position of the unloading device are disposed opposite to each other with respect to the light source,
Wherein the cartridge reciprocates between the unloading position and the loading position.

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