KR102673207B1 - An aging method and appratus for oled instrument pannel modole for vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

An aging chamber with an inlet and an outlet located at the bottom, a transfer conveyor installed to be able to travel in the up and down direction through the inlet and outlet inside the aging chamber to move the pallet containing the aging object up and down, and a conveyor that raises the temperature inside the aging chamber. A hot air unit for heating the aging chamber, a monitoring unit for measuring the temperature of the upper and lower plurality of points inside the aging chamber, and a control unit for controlling the heating temperature of the hot air unit based on the temperature difference measured by the monitoring unit. A vehicle OLED instrument panel module aging device and an aging method using the same are disclosed.

Description

Automotive OLED instrument panel module aging method and aging device {AN AGING METHOD AND APPRATUS FOR OLED INSTRUMENT PANNEL MODOLE FOR VEHICLE}

The present invention relates to an aging method and device, and more specifically, to a method and aging device for aging a vehicle OLED instrument panel module that can age the vehicle OLED instrument panel module by moving it up and down in an aging chamber.

In general, products such as semiconductors, LCDs, and LED displays go through an aging process that examines the characteristics of the products for a certain period of time during the manufacturing process, which consists of multiple processes.

This aging process is performed while the product stays in an aging chamber (or oven), an aging device that provides a high temperature environment, for a certain period of time and checks the operating status of how the product's characteristics change over time. At this time, the products are maintained for a set time while maintaining a temperature of approximately 60°C to 120°C inside the aging chamber depending on the type of product.

If the temperature inside the chamber is not maintained uniformly during the aging process as described above, the temperature of the target product will not be heated uniformly as a whole and an accurate aging process will not be achieved. Therefore, the temperature inside the chamber must be maintained uniformly during the aging process. It is necessary to do

For this purpose, in the past, while the aging process was taking place, the temperature inside the chamber was maintained constant by continuously reheating and supplying the products stored inside the chamber while circulating hot air.

That is, as described above, the aging process was performed on products such as semiconductors, LCD displays, and OLED displays by loading them on trays and heating them using hot air while placing the trays inside a chamber.

Meanwhile, recently, as the uses of OLED have become more diverse, the shape, size, and form of display devices have become more diverse. For example, in the case of vehicle instrument panel modules, OLED instrument panels have recently been applied, and even in the case of these vehicle OLED instrument panel modules, an aging process must be performed during the manufacturing process.

However, in the case of the OLED instrument panel module for vehicles as described above, the size is large and has various shapes for each model, so if the aging process is performed while placed in a separate tray and fixed in the chamber, it takes a long time and does not heat uniformly. There is a problem that is not easy to do.

For this purpose, a method is used to perform the aging process by heating the vehicle OLED instrument panel module while moving it horizontally inside the chamber. In this case, a difference occurs in the temperature of the upper and lower parts of the chamber, so the temperature inside the chamber is increased. It is difficult to control it uniformly.

Additionally, when heating the OLED instrument panel module for a vehicle while moving it horizontally from the entrance to the outlet of the aging chamber, there is a problem in that electricity consumption increases because the tester is moved from the entrance to the outlet.

In addition, since the OLED instrument panel module for a vehicle, which has a relatively large volume, is heated and aged while moving horizontally within the chamber, it is difficult to maintain a uniform temperature throughout the top and bottom.

Domestic Registered Patent No. 10-0875907

The present invention was created in consideration of the above points, and its purpose is to provide a method and aging device for aging an OLED instrument panel module for a vehicle that can age the OLED instrument panel module for a vehicle by moving it up and down in a chamber.

The method of aging a vehicle OLED instrument panel module of the present invention for achieving the above object includes the steps of inserting a vehicle OLED instrument panel module to be aged into a pallet located at an entrance located at the bottom of an aging chamber; Electrically testing the vehicle OLED instrument panel module at the entrance; Moving the pallet upward from the inlet, then lowering it again and moving it to an outlet located at the bottom of the aging chamber, while heating the inside of the aging chamber with hot air; Measuring the difference between the upper temperature (T1) inside the aging chamber and the lower temperature (T2) at the outlet side; Adjusting the hot air temperature inside the aging chamber based on the difference between the upper temperature (T1) and the lower temperature (T2); and electrically testing the vehicle OLED instrument panel module mounted on the pallet moved to the exit.

As a result, the instrument panel module, which is an aging object, can be subjected to aging processing by heating to a uniform temperature regardless of the top and bottom height.

In addition, the OLED instrument panel module aging device for a vehicle of the present invention for achieving the above object includes an aging chamber in which an inlet and an outlet are disposed at the bottom; A transfer conveyor installed to be able to travel in an upward and downward direction through the inlet and outlet within the aging chamber to move a pallet containing an object to be aged processed up and down; A hot air unit for increasing the temperature inside the aging chamber; It is characterized in that it includes a monitoring unit for measuring the temperature of the upper and lower plurality of points inside the aging chamber; and a control unit for controlling the heating temperature of the hot air unit based on the temperature difference measured by the monitoring unit.

Here, the monitoring unit includes an upper temperature sensor that measures the temperature of the upper central portion inside the aging chamber; and a lower temperature sensor that measures the temperature of the outlet portion of the aging chamber.

As a result, the hot air temperature can be adjusted by measuring the temperature of the upper and lower parts of the aging chamber and obtaining the temperature difference.

In addition, an entrance tester unit that electrically connects and tests an object mounted on a pallet before entering the entrance of the aging chamber; and an exit tester unit that electrically connects and tests an object mounted on a pallet exiting the aging chamber.

As a result, electricity consumption can be significantly reduced by supplying electricity only to the inlet and outlet of the aging chamber for testing.

Additionally, the aging object is preferably an OLED instrument panel module for a vehicle.

The vehicle OLED instrument panel module aging method and aging device of the present invention can reduce display consumption by locating the inlet and outlet of the aging chamber at the lower part of the aging chamber and performing electrical tests only at the inlet and outlet.

In addition, by heating the aging object with hot air while raising and lowering it inside the aging chamber, differential heating due to height differences can be prevented and aging can be achieved by uniform heating.

In addition, the temperature of the hot air can be optimally controlled by using the temperature difference between the upper part of the aging chamber and the outlet.

Figure 1a is a perspective view showing an OLED instrument panel module aging device for a vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention.
Figure 1b is a schematic diagram for explaining a state in which an instrument panel module is mounted on a pallet.
FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line I-I of FIG. 1A.
Figure 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along line II-II of Figure 1A.
Figure 4 is a flowchart for explaining an aging method according to an embodiment of the present invention.
Figure 5 is a block diagram for explaining an OLED instrument panel module aging device for a vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Hereinafter, an OLED instrument panel module aging device for a vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the attached drawings.

1A to 5, the vehicle OLED instrument panel module aging device according to an embodiment of the present invention includes an aging chamber 110, a pallet 120, a transfer unit 130, a hot air unit 140, and a monitoring device. It is provided with a unit 150, a control unit 160, a storage unit 171, an input unit 173, an inlet tester 180, and an outlet tester 190.

The aging chamber 110 is configured to age the aging object, that is, the vehicle OLED instrument panel module 10 (hereinafter referred to as “instrument panel module”) by moving it in the vertical direction. This aging chamber 110 has an inlet 111 and an outlet 113 spaced apart from each other at the bottom. The internal space of the aging chamber 110 consists of a rising space 110a extending upward from the inlet 111 and a descending space 110b separated horizontally by a partition wall 115 and connected to the outlet 113. . The upper portions of the spaces 110a and 110b are connected so that the pallet 120 can be horizontally moved from the rising space 110a to the lowering space 110b.

The pallet 120 enters the inlet 111 by the transfer unit 130, passes up and down the distribution of the aging chamber 110, and is then moved to be discharged to the outlet 113, and the instrument panel module (the aging object) is inside. 10) has a mounting structure that can be mounted. And the pallet is connected to a pattern driving unit 121 that is electrically connected to the instrument panel module 10 mounted inside and can check the electrical driving state of the instrument panel module 10. The pattern driving unit 121 is provided with an external connector unit 121a to which the inlet and outlet testers 180 and 190 are connected.

The pallet 120 may be provided in various sizes and shapes depending on the model of the instrument panel module 10 to be aged.

The transfer unit 130 includes a rising transfer unit 131 that transfers the pallet 120 from the entrance 111 to the upper part of the rising space 110a, and a pallet 120 from the upper part of the lowering space 110b to the exit 113. It is provided with a downward transfer unit 133 that transfers and a horizontal transfer unit 135 that moves the pallet 120 of the upward transfer unit 131 to the lower transfer unit 133.

The rising conveyor 131 includes a rising conveyor 131a installed to travel on an endless track up and down in the rising space 110a, and a pallet mounting unit disposed at regular intervals on the rising conveyor 131a and on which the pallet 120 is mounted. It has (131b). The rising conveyor 131a travels on an endless track by a driving pulley or driving sprocket driven by a driving unit (not shown), and its traveling speed is controlled by the control unit 160. After the pallet 120 mounted on the pallet mounting unit 131b at the entrance 111 is moved to the upper part of the rising space 110a by this upward transfer unit 131, the downward transfer unit ( 133).

The lowering conveyor 133 has the same structure as the rising conveyor 131, that is, a lowering conveyor 133a that travels in an endless orbit up and down in the lowering space 110b, and a pallet mounting unit disposed at regular intervals on the lowering conveyor 133a. It has (133b). This lowering transport unit 133 takes over the pallet 120 moved from the upward transport unit 131 by the horizontal transport unit 135 at the upper part of the lowering space 110b and serves to move it toward the exit 113. . The driving speed of the lowering conveyor 133a is also controlled by the control unit 160.

The horizontal transfer unit 133 moves the pallet 120 to the upper part of the upper space 110a by the first transfer unit 131 to the pallet mounting part of the second transfer unit 133 located at the upper part of the lower space 110b ( 133). This horizontal transfer unit 133 may be provided with an actuator installed in the aging chamber 110 and driven horizontally so that the pallet 120 can be pushed and moved. Of course, in addition, the horizontal transfer unit 133 may be provided with a pickup means for moving the pallet 120 while moving horizontally within the aging chamber 110. In this way, the horizontal transfer unit 133 can apply various known technologies for horizontally moving an object, and is not limited to a specific embodiment.

Here, the pallet mounting portions 131a and 133a are guided to move up and down in a horizontal position along a guide (not shown), and are guided to be maintained in a horizontal position during horizontal movement to enable movement.

The hot air unit 140 is used to heat the temperature inside the aging chamber 110 to a set so-called aging temperature range, and may be equipped with a heater and a blowing fan. Preferably, the hot air unit 140 includes a first hot air unit 141 installed in the rising space 110a to heat the rising space 110a, and a lowering space 110b to heat the lowering space 110b. It is advisable to have a second hot air unit 143 installed in. Each hot air unit (141, 143) is provided with heaters (141a, 143a) and blowing fans (141b, 143b). According to this configuration, the first and second hot air units 141 and 143 are independently driven and controlled by the control unit 160, so that the temperature inside the aging chamber 110 can be easily controlled to a desired temperature range.

The monitoring unit 150 includes a first temperature sensor 151 and a second temperature sensor 153.

The first temperature sensor 151 measures the upper temperature inside the aging chamber 110 and provides it to the control unit 160, and the second temperature sensor 153 measures the temperature at the outlet 113 and provides it to the control unit 160. to provide. The control unit 160 controls the operation of the hot air unit 140 based on the temperature difference measured by the first and second temperature sensors 151 and 153, thereby adjusting the aging chamber 110 to an appropriate aging temperature for each model of the aging object. The internal temperature can be controlled. Therefore, aging efficiency can be increased and reliability can be improved.

Additionally, the control unit 160 controls the operation of the inlet tester 180 and the outlet tester 190, respectively. That is, the control unit 160 first controls the movement of the entrance tester 180 to electrically connect to the connector part 121a of the pallet 120 located at the entrance 111 and provides electricity, so that the instrument panel before aging treatment Let's test the module (10). And the control unit 160 controls the outlet tester 190 to be electrically connected to the connector part 121a of the pallet 120 coming out of the outlet 113, and electrically tests the aged instrument panel module 10. .

Each of the inlet tester 180 and the outlet tester 190 is connected to and separated from the connector portion 121a of the pallet 120 by moving the tester connection module forward and backward by a linear motor that moves forward and backward, The test process can be performed by providing electricity to the pallet 120 or by short-circuiting it. Since the specific configuration of each of the inlet and outlet testers 180 and 190 does not limit the present invention, detailed description will be omitted.

The storage unit 171 stores aging conditions for each model of the instrument panel module 10 to be aged, that is, information such as aging temperature and time for each model depending on the temperature difference between the first and second temperature sensors 151 and 153. . Information stored in the storage unit 171 is input through the input unit 173.

A method of aging the instrument panel module 10 using the aging device having the above configuration will be described.

First, when the aging process begins, the instrument panel module 10 is loaded and mounted on the pallet 120 located at the entrance 111 (S10).

Next, the control unit 160 moves the entrance tester 180 to approach the pallet 120 on which the instrument panel module 10 is mounted at the entrance 111, and supplies electricity while electrically connected to the instrument panel module 10. ) Check the driving status (S11).

While driving the transfer unit 130 in the same manner as above, a plurality of instrument panel modules 10 are mounted on the pallet 120 and tested at the entrance 111, and then moved to the upper part of the aging chamber 110.

At this time, the control unit 160 drives the hot air unit 140 to maintain the temperature inside the aging chamber 110 in an appropriate aging range (S12).

And while the aging process is taking place, the first and second temperature sensors 151 and 153 measure the temperature at the top and the outlet side of the aging chamber 110, respectively, and provide the measurements to the control unit 160 (S13).

The control unit 160 controls the hot air unit 140 according to the difference between the temperatures T1 and T2 measured in step S13, so that the aging chamber 110 is set to the aging temperature set for each instrument panel module 10. The internal temperature can be effectively controlled (S14).

Then, while moving upward and downward inside the aging chamber from the inlet 111 to the outlet 113, the aged instrument panel module 10 is connected to the outlet tester 190 at the outlet 113 and undergoes an electrical test process. (S15).

In this way, according to the present invention, electricity is applied at the inlet 111 to conduct an electrical test, and then during the aging process, the electrical connection is short-circuited and moves from the bottom to the top inside the aging chamber 110 and then again. It is moved to the bottom, heated at the outlet 113, supplied with electricity by the outlet tester 190, and subjected to an electrical test. Therefore, electricity consumption can be dramatically reduced.

In addition, the instrument panel module 10 is heated uniformly as a whole by hot air heating inside the aging chamber 110, and is also aged while moving up and down inside the aging chamber 110, making it possible to solve the problem caused by the upper and lower temperature difference. .

In addition, by measuring the temperature difference between the upper and lower parts of the aging chamber 110 and controlling the hot air heating temperature, reliability can be narrowed by controlling the aging temperature range set for each instrument panel module.

Although specific embodiments of the present invention have been described and shown above, it is known in the art that the present invention is not limited to the described embodiments, and that various modifications and changes can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. This is self-evident to those who have it. Accordingly, such modifications or variations should not be understood individually from the technical idea or viewpoint of the present invention, and the modified embodiments should be regarded as falling within the scope of the claims of the present invention.

10..Instrument panel module 110..Aging chamber
120..Pallet 130..Transfer unit
140..Hot air unit 150..Monitoring unit
160..Control unit 171..Storage unit
173..Input unit 180..Inlet tester
190..Exit side tester

Claims (5)

an aging chamber in which an inlet and an outlet are disposed at the bottom;
A transfer unit installed to be movable in an upward and downward direction through the inlet and outlet within the aging chamber to move a pallet containing an aging object up and down;
A hot air unit for increasing the temperature inside the aging chamber;
a monitoring unit for measuring temperatures at multiple points at the top and bottom of the aging chamber;
a control unit that controls the heating temperature of the hot air unit based on the temperature difference measured by the monitoring unit;
An entrance tester unit that electrically connects and tests an object mounted on a pallet before entering the entrance of the aging chamber; and
It includes an exit tester unit that electrically connects and tests an object mounted on a pallet exiting the aging chamber,
In the aging chamber, the inlet and outlet are arranged to be spaced apart from each other in the lower part, and the internal space is formed by a rising space extending from the inlet to the upper part and a lowering space isolated from the rising space by a partition wall, and the rising space and the lowering space are formed. The upper parts of the spaces communicate with each other so that the pallet moves horizontally from the ascending space to the descending space,
The transfer unit includes a rising transfer unit that transfers the pallet from the entrance to the upper part of the rising space, a lowering transfer unit that transfers the pallet from the upper part of the lowering space to the exit, and a horizontal transfer unit that horizontally moves the pallet from the rising transfer unit to the lowering transfer unit. Includes,
The entrance tester unit and the exit tester unit move the tester connection module forward and backward by a linear motor that moves forward and backward to connect and disconnect the connector part of the pallet, thereby providing or short-circuiting electricity to the pallet to proceed with the testing process. Features a vehicle OLED instrument panel module aging device. The method of claim 1, wherein the monitoring unit,
An upper temperature sensor that measures the temperature of the upper central portion of the aging chamber; and
An OLED instrument panel module aging device for a vehicle, comprising a lower temperature sensor that measures the temperature of the outlet portion of the aging chamber. delete According to paragraph 1,
An OLED instrument panel module aging device for a vehicle, characterized in that the aging object is an OLED instrument panel module for a vehicle. Inserting a vehicle OLED instrument panel module to be aged into a pallet located at the entrance located at the bottom of the aging chamber of the vehicle OLED instrument panel module aging device according to any one of claims 1, 2, and 4;
Electrically testing the vehicle OLED instrument panel module at the entrance;
Moving the pallet upward from the inlet, then lowering it again and moving it to an outlet located at the bottom of the aging chamber, while heating the inside of the aging chamber with hot air;
Measuring the difference between the upper temperature (T1) inside the aging chamber and the lower temperature (T2) at the outlet side;
Adjusting the hot air temperature inside the aging chamber based on the difference between the upper temperature (T1) and the lower temperature (T2); and
It includes electrically testing the vehicle OLED instrument panel module mounted on the pallet moved to the exit,
The step of electrically testing at the inlet and outlet is,
An automotive OLED instrument panel module aging method, characterized in that the test process is carried out by moving the tester connection module forward and backward using a linear motor and connecting and disconnecting to the connector part of the pallet to provide electricity to the pallet or short-circuit it.

Images