KR102392014B1 - Window laminating system and method - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a window bonding system and method capable of easily bonding a new window to the front surface of a display panel without air bubbles when replacing a display panel and a window of a portable mobile communication terminal (also called a 'smartphone'). , The window bonding method according to the present invention comprises the steps of: (S1) seating the display panel to which the adhesive film is attached to the front surface on the panel jig of the temporary bonding module; (S2) aligning the display panel; (S3) pressing the center of the display panel with respect to the window to temporarily join the center of the rear surface of the window and the center of the front surface of the display panel; (S4) inserting the temporary bonding body of the window and the display panel temporarily bonded in the step (S3) into the main bonding module; and, (S5) supplying compressed air to the rubber balloon of the main bonding module to inflate the rubber balloon, and sequentially applying pressure to the temporary bonding body of the window and the display panel from the center to the periphery to bond them.

Description

Window lamination system and method

The present invention relates to a window bonding system and method, and more particularly, to a window bonding system capable of easily bonding a window of a portable mobile communication terminal (also called a 'smartphone') to the front surface of a display panel without air bubbles, and it's about how

Recently, a curved display device that not only improves immersion by users but also makes images more realistic, so that users feel comfortable, is applied to portable mobile communication terminals (eg, smart phones), etc. are doing

In addition, such a curved display device has the advantages of space utilization, interior and design, can have various application fields, and among curved display devices, an edge curved display device that can implement images on both the front and side parts ( edge curved display device) is being actively researched.

In such an edge curved display device, a flexible display panel that has rich elasticity like a film and can be deformed in various ways is attached to curved window glass having one or more curved surfaces in many cases to be used integrally. Accordingly, many technologies have been developed for attaching a flexible display panel to the curved window glass. Here, the curved window glass refers to window glass having a shape in which at least one of the four edges of the rectangular window glass is curved in a curved shape.

In the case of using such a curved window glass, it is difficult to apply uniform pressure to all surfaces due to severe deformation of the display panel in the process of attaching the display panel to the curved window glass. It is very difficult to attach the flexible panel without bubbles (or without defects).

In order to solve this problem, in Korean Patent Laid-Open No. 10-2020-0010928, compressed air is supplied between the rubber sheet and the base plate of the panel base jig to expand the rubber sheet, and then the gap between the window mounting part and the panel base jig is adjusted. By pressing the expanded rubber sheet with the display panel, a uniform pressure is generated on the contact surface with the rubber sheet of the display panel, and accordingly, the display panel can be uniformly adhered and bonded to the window glass facing the display panel. , A window panel bonding apparatus and a window panel bonding method are disclosed so that a display panel can be uniformly bonded even on a curved portion of window glass.

However, such a conventional window panel bonding apparatus and method requires a complicated device such as a clamp device that bends toward the window while supporting both ends of the display panel. There is a problem in that the defect rate is increased due to the occurrence of air bubbles during the process.

In addition, most conventional bonding devices for attaching a window and a display panel perform the bonding process immediately in a state in which the window and the display panel are aligned. In many cases, it is very difficult to catch bad conditions such as bubble defects caused by alignment errors or simple bubble defects, and it takes a very long time to set up the equipment.

As described above, with the conventional window panel bonding apparatus, it is very difficult to accurately align the display panel and the window while simultaneously solving the problems of air bubbles and other functional defects in the bonding process, thus increasing the process defect rate.

Republic of Korea Patent Publication No. 10-2020-0010928 (published on January 31, 2020) Republic of Korea Patent Registration No. 10-1578442 (Registered on Dec. 11, 2015)

The present invention is to solve the above problem, and the present invention can greatly reduce process defects by performing the align process and the bonding process separately between the window and the display panel, and by closely attaching the window and the display panel without bubbles An object of the present invention is to provide a window bonding system and method capable of bonding.

The window bonding system according to the present invention for achieving the above object is a temporary bonding process of temporarily bonding the center of the window and the display panel to bonding the window and the display panel of the portable mobile communication terminal and the front surface of the window and the display panel ( As a window bonding system that separates the main bonding process for bonding the entire surface, after aligning the display panel with an adhesive film on the front side and the window, the center of the display panel is pressed against the window, and the center of the rear side of the window and a temporary bonding module for performing a temporary bonding process of temporarily bonding the central portion of the front surface of the display panel; and a base jig in which a temporary assembly of a window and a display panel, the center of which is bonded to each other by the temporary bonding module, is supported, and a temporary assembly of a window and a display panel supported by the base jig by expanding by compressed air supplied from the outside. The main bonding module including a rubber balloon performing a main bonding process of bonding the window and the display panel by sequentially applying pressure from the center to the periphery of the unit; may include.

The provisional bonding module includes a window jig on which a window is placed, a panel jig disposed below the window jig and on which a display panel having an adhesive film attached to a front surface is placed, and installed in the center of the upper surface of the panel jig and elastic force It may include a pressure pad that is made of a resin material and presses the center of the display panel against the center of the window, and a jig driving unit for reciprocating the window jig up and down by a predetermined distance.

In addition, the temporary bonding module may further include a position detection unit for detecting the position of the display panel by photographing the mark of the display panel supported on the panel jig.

The main bonding module includes: a chamber base; a base jig installed in the chamber base to which a temporary assembly of the window and the display panel is placed and fixed; a chamber cover for opening and closing the upper surface of the chamber base; A rubber balloon that is installed and expanded by the pressure of compressed air supplied from the outside to pressurize the temporary assembly of the window and the display panel against the base jig, and the chamber base and the chamber cover to discharge air from the space sealedly partitioned. It may include a vacuum means for forming a vacuum pressure.

At one end of the base jig, a substrate support for supporting a circuit board connected to one end of the display panel may be formed to be inclined at a predetermined angle.

The window bonding method according to the present invention may include the following steps.

(S1) placing the display panel to which the adhesive film is attached to the front surface on the panel jig of the temporary bonding module;

(S2) aligning the display panel;

(S3) pressing the center of the display panel with respect to the window to temporarily join the center of the rear surface of the window and the center of the front surface of the display panel;

(S4) inserting the temporary bonding body of the window and the display panel temporarily bonded in the step (S3) into the main bonding module;

(S5) The step of applying compressed air to the rubber balloon of the main bonding module to inflate the rubber balloon to sequentially apply pressure to the temporary bonding body of the window and the display panel from the center to the periphery to bond them.

In the step (S3), the window and the display panel are respectively fixed to the window jig and the panel jig disposed vertically on the temporary bonding module, and the central portion of the window and the central portion of the display panel are pressed against each other while reciprocating the window jig up and down by a predetermined distance. It can be temporarily joined.

In addition, in the step (S5), when the air inside the chamber of the main bonding module and the rubber balloon is discharged to the outside at the same time to reach a certain degree of vacuum, compressed air is supplied into the rubber balloon to inflate the rubber balloon. .

According to the present invention, after a provisional bonding process in which the center of the display panel and the center of the window are first temporarily bonded, the rubber balloon expands in the main bonding process and sequentially applies pressure from the center to the periphery of the provisional bonding body to the periphery of the display panel. It is joined by applying pressure uniformly to the entire surface of the window. Accordingly, the entire surface of the display panel and the window can be uniformly bonded without a non-bonding area in the center of the display panel and the window, and bubbles are not generated at all during the bonding process.

1 is a configuration diagram schematically showing the overall configuration of a window bonding system according to an embodiment of the present invention.
2 is a flowchart illustrating a window bonding method according to an embodiment of the present invention.
3 is a cross-sectional view showing an embodiment of a temporary bonding module constituting the window bonding system according to the present invention.
4 is a plan view showing a part of the temporary bonding module shown in FIG. 3 .
5 is a cross-sectional view showing an embodiment of the main bonding module constituting the window bonding system according to the present invention.

A window bonding system and method according to embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Since the present invention can have various changes and can have various forms, specific embodiments are illustrated in the drawings and described in detail in the text. However, this is not intended to limit the present invention to the specific disclosed form, it should be understood to include all modifications, equivalents and substitutes included in the spirit and scope of the present invention. In describing each figure, like reference numerals have been used for like elements. In the accompanying drawings, the dimensions of the structures are enlarged than actual for clarity of the present invention, or reduced than actual in order to understand the schematic configuration.

Also, terms such as first and second may be used to describe various elements, but the elements should not be limited by the terms. The above terms are used only for the purpose of distinguishing one component from another. For example, without departing from the scope of the present invention, a first component may be referred to as a second component, and similarly, a second component may also be referred to as a first component. Meanwhile, unless otherwise defined, all terms used herein, including technical or scientific terms, have the same meaning as commonly understood by those of ordinary skill in the art to which the present invention belongs. Terms such as those defined in commonly used dictionaries should be interpreted as having a meaning consistent with the meaning in the context of the related art, and should not be interpreted in an ideal or excessively formal meaning unless explicitly defined in the present application. does not

1 is a configuration diagram schematically showing the overall configuration of a window bonding system according to an embodiment of the present invention, the window bonding system shown in FIG. In order to do this, a temporary bonding process of aligning and temporarily bonding the window 2 and the display panel 2 and a main bonding process of bonding the entire surface of the window 2 and the display panel 1 are separately performed. As a window bonding system, the central portion of the rear surface of the window (2) and the central portion of the front surface of the display panel (1) are first temporarily bonded, and only the central portion of the window (2) and the display panel (1) are temporarily bonded. The entire surface is uniformly joined by sequentially pressing the joined body 3 from the temporarily joined center to the periphery.

For this purpose, the window bonding system of the present invention is a temporary bonding process of bonding the central portion of the rear surface of the window 2 aligned with the alignment of the display panel 1 and the window 2 and the central portion of the front surface of the display panel 1 . The front surface of the window 2 and the display panel 1 by sequentially applying pressure from the center to the periphery of the temporary bonding module 100 to perform and a main bonding module 200 including a rubber balloon 240 for performing a main bonding process for bonding the entire surface.

The window 2 of the portable mobile communication terminal may be a curved edge-type window in which both edge portions are curved, and the material of the window 2 may be made of tempered glass or a transparent resin material having high strength. The display panel 1 is bonded to the rear surface of the window 2 to output an image by an electric signal applied from the outside, and a flexible display panel may be applied. A circuit board 1a (eg, FPCB) for driving the display panel 1 is connected to one end of the display panel 1 , and the circuit board 1a is folded with respect to the display panel 1 . can be lost or unfolded.

An adhesive film (OCA; Optical Clear Adhesive) 4 is attached to the front surface of the display panel 1 so that the rear surface of the window 2 and the front surface of the display panel 1 are firmly bonded to each other by the adhesive film. can

The temporary bonding module 100 presses the center of the display panel 1 to which the adhesive film 4 is attached to the front surface of the window 2 against the rear surface of the window 2, thereby forming the center of the rear surface of the window 2 and the display panel 1 It is configured to temporarily join only the central portion of the front surface of the window jig 120 on which the window 2 is placed, as shown in FIGS. 3 to 4, and the window jig 120 disposed below the display panel ( 1) is installed in the center of the panel jig 110 on which the panel jig 110 is placed, and is made of a resin material having elasticity to press the center of the display panel 1 against the center of the window 2 A pressing pad 115, a jig driving unit for pressing the window 2 with a constant pressure against the display panel 1 by reciprocating the window jig 120 up and down by a predetermined distance, and on the panel jig 110 It includes a position detection unit provided with a camera 140 for detecting the position of the display panel (1) by photographing the mark of the display panel (1) supported on the.

The window jig 120 is formed with a plurality of vacuum holes communicated to the lower side on the lower surface, and the window 2 is vacuum-adsorbed and fixed to the lower surface of the window jig 120 by sucking air through the vacuum hole. In addition, the window jig 120 is detachably coupled to the jig driving unit and reciprocates up and down by a predetermined distance by the jig driving unit. The window jig 120 may have a single square plate shape so that the operator can hold it by hand and seat it on the jig elevating plate 131 of the jig driving unit.

The jig driving unit for moving the window jig 120 up and down can be configured by applying a known linear motion device, for example, the jig lifting plate 131 on which the window jig 120 is placed, the jig lifting plate The elevating shaft 132 installed to extend downwardly at the edge of the 131, the cam follower 133 coupled to the lower end of the elevating shaft 132, the circular cam hole 134 formed in the cam follower 133 Inside Including a cam 135 installed to rotate by a motor (not shown), the cam 135 rotates 360 degrees inside the cam hole 134 while linearly reciprocating the cam follower 133 up and down. A cam driven linear motion device can be applied.

The panel jig 110 has a plurality of vacuum holes for sucking air on its upper surface are formed to communicate upward, and the display panel 1 is placed on the upper surface of the panel jig 110 by sucking air through the vacuum holes. It is fixed by vacuum adsorption. In order to finely adjust the position of the display panel 1 fixed on the panel jig 110 , the panel jig 110 is configured such that the position can be adjusted by three micrometer heads. Of course, the position of the panel jig 110 may be finely adjusted by automatically moving the position of the panel jig 110 using a known X-Y-θ stage.

At the center of the upper surface of the panel jig 110 , a pressure pad 115 for pressing the center of the flexible display panel 1 against the center of the window 2 is installed. The pressure pad 115 is made of a resin material having elastic force such as rubber or silicone to elastically support the center of the display panel 1, and a longitudinal direction in the center so that only the center area of the display panel 1 is locally pressed. Accordingly, the pressing protrusion 115a is formed to protrude upward.

Referring to FIG. 5 , the main bonding module 200 includes a window 2 whose center is bonded to each other by the provisional bonding module 100 and a base jig 220 in which the provisional bonding body 3 of the display panel 1 is supported. ) and the window (2) expanded by compressed air supplied from the outside and supported by the base jig 220 and the window (2) by applying pressure sequentially from the center to the periphery of the temporary assembly 3 of the display panel 1 2) and a rubber balloon 240 for bonding the display panel 1 to each other.

More specifically, the main bonding module 200 includes a chamber base 210 and a base installed in the chamber base 210 on which the window 2 and the temporary assembly 3 of the display panel 1 are placed and fixed. The jig 220, the chamber cover 230 for opening and closing the upper surface of the chamber base 210, and the window ( 2) and a rubber balloon 240 that presses the temporary assembly 3 of the display panel 1 against the base jig 220, and a space hermetically partitioned by the chamber base 210 and the chamber cover 230 A vacuum means for forming a vacuum pressure by discharging air from the vacuum means, and a substrate support part formed to be inclined at a certain angle at one end of the base jig 220 to support the circuit board 1a connected to one end of the display panel 1 (250).

The base jig 220 has a plurality of vacuum holes for vacuum adsorbing and fixing the window 2 and the temporary assembly 3 of the display panel 1 to communicate with the outside through the upper surface. Therefore, when the temporary assembly 3 of the window 2 and the display panel 1 is placed on the upper surface of the base jig 220 and vacuum pressure is generated through the vacuum hole, the temporary assembly 3 is the base jig ( 220) is vacuum-adsorbed and fixed on the upper surface.

The rubber balloon 240 is made in the form of a rectangular pack having a size substantially identical to that of the temporary assembly 3, and is made of a flexible and elastic material so that it can be inflated when air is injected therein. An outlet 245 connected to an air supply source for supplying or discharging air as compressed air is formed in the center of the upper surface of the rubber balloon 240 . The rubber balloon 240 expands from the center when air is supplied through the outlet 245, and accordingly, the center of the rubber balloon 240 is a temporary assembly 3 between the window 2 and the display panel 1 The pressure is applied by first contacting the center of the

The rubber balloon 240 is detachably installed under the chamber cover 230 so that it can be replaced for each model of the display panel 1 to be worked.

The vacuum means is connected to the chamber base 210 and discharges air in the space hermetically partitioned by the chamber base 210 and the chamber cover 230 to form a vacuum pressure to facilitate the expansion of the rubber balloon 240 . make it happen Such a vacuum means may be configured using a known vacuum generator such as a vacuum pump.

Next, the window bonding method of the present invention will be described in detail.

First, the display panel 1 with the adhesive film 4 attached to the front surface is seated on the panel jig 110 of the temporary bonding module 100, and the protective film of the adhesive film 4 is separated to form an adhesive film ( 4) is exposed to the outside (step S1).

Then, the position of the display panel 1 is detected by photographing the mark of the display panel 1 supported on the panel jig 110 by using the position detection unit, and the operator sees this on the monitor with three micrometer heads (Micrometer). head) to fine-tune and align the position of the display panel 1 on the panel jig 110 (step S2). As in this embodiment, the operator may manually adjust the position using a micrometer head while looking at the monitor, but otherwise, horizontal movement and rotation (θ direction) in the left and right directions (X direction) and front and rear directions (Y direction) are possible According to the coordinates of the mark photographed by the camera 140 using the known X-Y-θ stage, the X-Y-θ stage horizontally moves or rotates in the left and right and front and rear directions to automatically adjust the position of the display panel 1 will be.

Then, the window jig 120 on which the window 2 is mounted is seated on the jig elevating plate 131 and positioned above the panel jig 110 .

When the window jig 120 is seated on the jig elevating plate 131, the jig clamping rod 136 installed on one side of the jig elevating plate 131 is stretched by pneumatic pressure to move the window jig 120 to the jig elevating plate 131. fixed firmly against

Then, when the window jig 120 is lowered by a predetermined distance by operating the jig driving unit, the window 2 fixed to the lower surface of the window jig 120 comes into contact with the display panel 1 . At this time, the pressing protrusion 115a of the pressing pad 115 installed in the central portion of the panel jig 110 elastically supports the central portion of the display panel 1 so that the central portion of the display panel 1 is placed on the window 2 . The center of the adhesive film 4 attached to the front surface (the surface facing upward on the panel jig) of the display panel 1 is adhered to the center of the window 2 . At this time, since pressure is applied only to the central portion of the display panel 1 by the pressing protrusion 115a, only the central portion of the display panel 1 is slightly bonded to the central portion of the window 2, and the remaining peripheral portions are not bonded ( Step S3).

Only the center of the display panel 1 is bonded to the center of the window 2 by this temporary bonding process (S3), so that no air bubbles are generated inside, and only the geometric positions of the display panel 1 and the window 2 are accurately fixed. can do.

As such, when the center of the display panel 1 and the center of the window 2 are temporarily joined, the provisional assembly 3 is seated on the base jig 220 of the main bonding module 200 and fixed. At this time, the circuit board 1a connected to one end of the display panel 1 is stretched to the outside of the display panel 1 to be seated on the substrate support unit 250 and supported (step S4).

Then, the chamber cover 230 is closed, the vacuum means is operated to discharge the air in the space formed between the chamber base 210 and the chamber cover 230 to the outside while vacuuming between the chamber base 210 and the chamber cover 230 . At the same time as making the state, the air inside the rubber balloon 240 is also discharged to the outside, and when a certain degree of vacuum (10 to 0.1 Torr) is reached, air is injected into the rubber balloon 240 to inflate the rubber balloon 240 The window 2 and the temporary assembly 3 of the display panel 1 are joined by sequentially applying pressure from the center to the periphery (step S5). In this way, the rubber balloon 240 is expanded in a vacuum atmosphere to expand the window When (2) and the display panel (1) are bonded, the probability of generating bubbles is very low, and there is an advantage that the bonding operation can be smoothly performed even at low pressure.

According to the window bonding method as described above, after a temporary bonding process in which the central portion of the display panel 1 and the central portion of the window 2 are first temporarily bonded, the rubber balloon 240 expands in the main bonding process. By applying pressure sequentially from the center to the periphery of the temporary assembly 3, uniform pressure is applied to the entire surface of the display panel 1 and the window 2 to be bonded. Therefore, it is possible to uniformly bond the entire surface of the display panel 1 and the window 2 without an unbonded area in the center of the display panel 1 and the window 2, and no air bubbles are generated during the bonding process. .

In the detailed description of the present invention described above, although it has been described with reference to preferred embodiments of the present invention, those skilled in the art or those having ordinary knowledge in the technical field will And it will be understood that various modifications and variations of the present invention can be made without departing from the technical scope.

1: display panel 2: window
3: Temporary adhesive 4: Adhesive film
100: temporary bonding module 110: panel jig
115: pressure pad 115a: pressure projection
120: window jig 131: jig lifting plate
132: lifting shaft 133: cam follower
134: Camhole 135 : Cam
136: jig clamping rod 140: camera
200: main bonding module 210: chamber base
220: base jig 230: chamber cover
240: rubber balloon 250: substrate support

Claims (4)

In order to bond the window and the display panel of a portable mobile communication terminal, the temporary bonding process of temporarily bonding the center of the window and the display panel and the main bonding process of bonding the window and the entire surface of the display panel are separately performed. As,
After aligning the window and the display panel with the adhesive film attached to the front, pressing the center of the display panel against the window to perform a temporary bonding process of temporarily bonding the center of the rear surface of the window and the center of the front surface of the display panel bonding module; and,
A base jig in which a window and a temporary assembly of a display panel are supported in which the center is mutually bonded by the temporary bonding module, and the center of a temporary assembly of a window and a display panel expanded by compressed air supplied from the outside and supported by the base jig a main bonding module including a rubber balloon for performing a main bonding process of bonding the window and the display panel by sequentially applying pressure from the to the peripheral portion;
includes,
The temporary bonding module includes a window jig on which a window is placed, a panel jig disposed below the window jig and on which a display panel is placed, and a display panel made of an elastic resin material installed in the center of the upper surface of the panel jig. a pressing pad for pressing the center of the window against the center of the window, a jig driving unit for pressing the window with a constant pressure against the display panel by reciprocating the window jig up and down by a predetermined distance, and a display panel supported on the panel jig Comprising a position detection unit having a camera for detecting the position of the display panel by taking a mark of,
A pressing protrusion is formed to protrude upward in the longitudinal direction so as to locally press only the central region of the display panel to the central portion of the pressing pad,
The rubber balloon of the main bonding module is made in the form of a rectangular pack, and an outlet connected to an air supply source for supplying or discharging air is formed in the center of the upper surface. The window bonding system, characterized in that the expansion proceeds from the rubber balloon, and the center of the rubber balloon first contacts the center of the temporary assembly, applying pressure, and then applying pressure to the surrounding area. A window bonding method using the window bonding system according to claim 1, comprising:
(S1) placing the display panel to which the adhesive film is attached to the front surface on the panel jig of the temporary bonding module;
(S2) aligning the display panel;
(S3) pressing the center of the display panel with respect to the window and temporarily bonding the center of the rear surface of the window and the center of the front surface of the display panel;
(S4) inserting the temporary bonding body of the window and the display panel temporarily bonded in the step (S3) into the main bonding module; and,
(S5) supplying compressed air to the rubber balloon of the main bonding module to inflate the rubber balloon, thereby bonding the temporary bonding body of the window and the display panel by sequentially applying pressure from the center to the periphery;
A window cementation method comprising a. According to claim 2, wherein in the step (S3), the window and the display panel are fixed to the window jig and the panel jig vertically arranged on the temporary bonding module, respectively, and the window jig is moved up and down by a predetermined distance while reciprocating the central part of the window and the display A window bonding method in which the central portions of the panels are pressed to each other for temporary bonding. According to claim 2, wherein in step (S5), when the air inside the chamber of the main bonding module and the rubber balloon is discharged to the outside at the same time to reach a certain degree of vacuum, compressed air is supplied into the rubber balloon to inflate the rubber balloon. The window cementation method that made it happen.

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