KR20040036986A - Glass Transfer System have Sensor which sense breakage of glass - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: A substrate transfer device having a glass substrate damage sensing unit is provided to mount a sensor for sensing whether a glass substrate is damaged on a transfer robot or a transfer track, in order to immediately sense a damaged state in the middle of a process for transferring the glass substrate, thereby preventing a next process from proceeding. CONSTITUTION: A robot body(42) is formed to run on a ground or a rail, and carries out a rotation action. A robot arm(44) is located in an upper part of the robot body(42), horizontally or vertically moves support plates, and moves a glass substrate preserved on one side to other side. A sensor mounting portion(426) is fixed to the robot body(42), and has a hollow such that the support plates of the robot arm(44) can pierce through when the robot arm(44) operates. A glass substrate damage sensor(6) consists of a light emitting sensor(62) and a light receiving sensor(64) attached to upper/lower sides of the sensor mounting portion(426). If abnormality is detected, a controller propagates an abnormal signal.

Description

Glass transfer system having a glass substrate breakage detection means {Glass Transfer System have Sensor which sense breakage of glass}

The present invention relates to a structure that can detect breakage when transferring a glass substrate of the liquid crystal display device, and more particularly, to a structure for detecting when the glass substrate is broken during the process and extracting it without proceeding to the next process. It is about.

In general, a liquid crystal display (LCD), which is one of the flat panel display devices, has a better visibility than the cathode ray tube (CRT) and has a smaller average heat dissipation than the CRT having the same screen size, and also generates a small amount of heat. Along with plasma display panels (PDPs) and field emission displays (FEDs), they have recently been in the spotlight as the next generation display devices for mobile phones, computer monitors and televisions.

These LCDs operate by injecting a liquid crystal material, which is an intermediate between solid and liquid, between two specially surface-treated thin glass plates to change the arrangement of liquid crystal molecules with the voltage difference between the electrodes on the upper and lower glass plates to generate contrast and display an image. In principle, the LCD does not emit light by the panel on which characters are displayed, and thus requires a light source such as a lamp to visually recognize the display contents.

Typically, an LCD module constituting a liquid crystal display device of a portable computer called a notebook computer, as shown in FIG. 1 of the accompanying drawings, the LCD module includes: a liquid crystal panel 10 for outputting an image; The upper and lower diffusion sheets 29 and 26 and the upper and lower prism sheets 28 and 27, the light guide plate 24, the reflective sheet 25, and a lamp (not shown) provided on the rear surface of the liquid crystal panel 10. ), A metal reflector 23 surrounding the lamp, and a synthetic resin mold frame 21 having a rectangular frame shape for supporting each of these components, the backlight assembly 20 emitting light to the liquid crystal panel 10. ) And; The LCD panel 10 and the backlight assembly 20 is composed of a metal chassis 30 of the rectangular frame shape to support the fixed corners.

The liquid crystal panel 10 is the most delicate part of the liquid crystal display module configured as described above. The liquid crystal panel 10 has a state in which two glass substrates 11 and 12 are surface bonded, and a liquid crystal material is inserted into an inner space where the two glass substrates 11 and 12 are in contact with each other.

One of the two glass substrates 11 and 12 is coated with a fluorescent material, and a thin film transistor is positioned on the other substrate, and a transparent electrode is installed to implement a screen by combining each phosphor as power is applied. will be.

For this reason, the glass substrates 11 and 12 constituting the liquid crystal panel 10 require a great deal of care in handling. Since the thin glass plate is used, the glass substrates 11 and 12 or the liquid crystal panel 10 may be used. The probability of failure is highest due to breakage, scratches, etc. generated during the process of transferring the glass substrates 11 and 12 in the manufacturing process.

By the way, in the current manufacturing process of the liquid crystal display device, there are many substrate sensing devices for checking the existence of the glass substrate or the liquid crystal panel 10, but there is no device for detecting breakage or scratch of the glass substrate. Even if the above problems occur during the transfer of the glass substrate in the process, the process proceeds to the next process, which causes unnecessary equipment operation and manufacturing time increase.

In other words, even if the transfer proceeds in a part of the broken state of the glass substrate, since the substrate sensing device is operated as it is, it is recognized that the glass substrate exists, and then the transfer is completed to the next process. For example, a damaged glass substrate may not be stopped but proceeds to a spin drying process. The glass substrate may be completely damaged by high-speed rotation, and the process equipment itself may be shut down due to the fragments. Effect.

In addition, even if the broken state of the glass substrate is inadequate to check if the initial recovery, but there is a problem that can not be recycled as the process continues to increase the damage state.

The present invention has been made in order to solve the problems of the prior art described above, provided with a glass substrate damage detection means for immediately checking whether the substrate is damaged even when the glass substrate is transported so that the defective substrate does not proceed to the next process. It is an object to provide a substrate transfer device.

1 is a schematic exploded perspective view showing a conventional liquid crystal display module according to the prior art.

2 is a process diagram in which a glass substrate transfer robot and a glass substrate transfer track are installed, which is a substrate transfer apparatus having a glass substrate breakage detecting means according to the present invention;

Figure 3 is a perspective view showing a preferred embodiment of the glass substrate transfer robot

4 is a schematic perspective view showing a state in which the glass substrate transfer robot pulls out the glass substrate from the cassette;

5 is a perspective view showing when the glass substrate starts to advance to the horizontal portion of the robot body by the robot arm;

6 is a perspective view illustrating a state where the glass substrate enters the horizontal portion of the robot body and the end portion of the glass substrate passes through the sensor mounting portion;

FIG. 7 is an enlarged plan view of the glass substrate transfer robot loading the substrate in FIG. 2A; FIG.

8 is an enlarged plan view of B of FIG. 2.

9 is a plan view showing a state in which the glass substrate is damaged the edge during the track transfer.

FIG. 10 is a plan view illustrating a state in which a glass substrate having a broken edge is sensed at an end of a transfer track; FIG.

11 and 12 are plan views illustrating a state in which the glass substrate is sensed by two photosensors as the glass substrate advances.

** Explanation of symbols for main parts of drawings **

11,12: glass substrate 4: glass substrate transfer robot

42: robot body 422: vertical portion

424: horizontal portion 426: sensor mounting portion

427: hollow 44: robot arm

442: base plate 6: laser sensor

62: light emitting sensor 64: light receiving sensor

7: Photo sensor

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention is formed so as to travel on the ground or rail and the robot body capable of rotating movement; A robot arm positioned on an upper portion of the robot body and provided with a support plate to move the glass substrate stored on one side to the other side by horizontally or vertically moving the support plate; A frame-mounted sensor mounting part fixedly installed at the robot body and having a hollow to penetrate the support plate of the robot arm when the robot arm is operated when the robot arm is operated; Glass substrate breakage detection sensor consisting of a light emitting sensor and a light receiving sensor attached to the top and bottom of the sensor mounting portion; Provided is a substrate transfer apparatus having a glass substrate damage detection means including a control unit for propagating an abnormal signal when an abnormality in the detection result of the glass substrate damage detection means occurs.

In another aspect, the present invention provides a substrate transfer track which is arranged in two directions in a continuous direction in both rollers and the edge of the glass substrate is engaged between the rollers; A substrate stopper installed at a rear end of the substrate transfer track to stop the glass substrate from being completed; A sensor for detecting four edges of the glass substrate arriving at the rear end of the substrate transfer track; It provides a substrate transfer apparatus having a glass substrate damage detection means comprising a control unit for processing the result detected by the sensor.

The photosensor is characterized in that formed on the vertical side of the rear two corners of the four corners of the stationary glass substrate.

The structure of this invention is demonstrated in detail, referring an accompanying drawing.

2 is a process diagram in which a glass substrate transfer robot 4 and a glass substrate transfer track 5, which are substrate transfer apparatuses having a glass substrate breakage detecting means according to the present invention, are installed.

In manufacturing a liquid crystal display, a track conveying system as shown in FIG. 2 is used in some processes. Such a track conveying system is automatically transported by the transport robot 4 or the transport track 5, without the operator directly transporting the glass substrate 11, so that a predetermined process task can be accomplished without requiring human force. have.

Referring to FIG. 2, when the cassettes 100 stacking a plurality of glass substrates 11 at the same time are placed at one side of a process facility, the glass substrate transfer robot 4 operates. The glass substrate transfer robot 4 removes the glass substrates 11 loaded on the cassette 100 by moving only a predetermined line, and prepares a track transfer before the substrate is loaded on the track 5. )). The glass substrate 11 seated on the preloading part 51 is rotated 90 degrees to proceed to the track (5).

Hereinafter, the glass substrate transfer robot schematically illustrated in FIG. 2 is illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 4 in more detail.

3 is a perspective view showing a preferred embodiment of the glass substrate transfer robot 4, Figure 4 shows a state in which the transfer robot 4 draws out the glass substrate 11 from the cassette 100; A schematic perspective view.

Referring to FIG. 3, the glass substrate transfer robot 4 according to the present invention is a robot body 42 that can move along a rail or move from the ground to a wheel and can rotate left and right, and the robot body 42. Robot arm (44: arm) is installed above the horizontal movement and some vertical movement, and consists of a failure detection sensor (6) provided in the front end of the robot.

Although not shown, the robot body 42 is configured to move on a rail formed at a bottom thereof, and includes a vertical portion 422 serving as a pillar and a flat horizontal portion 424 supporting the robot arm 44. The vertical portion 422 of the robot body 42 is provided with a motor (not shown) to rotate left and right to rotate the robot arm 44 to move the glass substrate 11 at any position in front, rear, left and right. .

The horizontal portion 424 of the robot body 42 is formed to form a bottom on the bottom of the robot arm 44, in particular in the form having a hollow through which the robot arm 44 penetrates in front of the horizontal portion 424. A rectangular frame (hereinafter referred to as a sensor mounting portion) is provided, and a sensor 6 is attached to the upper and lower portions of the sensor mounting portion 426.

The sensor 6 includes a light emitting sensor 62 and a light receiving sensor 64, such as a laser sensor or a photo sensor. The light emitting sensor 62 is positioned above the sensor mounting portion 426, and the light receiving sensor is received below the sensor mounting portion 426. The sensor 64 may be attached to determine whether the object is damaged or scratched by the combination of the light emitting sensor 62 and the light receiving sensor 64.

4 is a state diagram illustrating a state in which the glass substrate transfer robot 4 having the above-described configuration draws out or loads the individual glass substrates 11 from the actual cassette 100.

As shown in the figure, the robot arm 44 has two support plates 442 and the support plates 442 are moved back and forth by the operation of the arm 44. The support plate 442 can move up and down a predetermined height to lift the glass substrate 11 or to lower the glass substrate 11.

If the state of FIG. 4 is a state in which the glass substrate 11 housed in the cassette 100 is taken out, the supporting plate 442 of the robot arm 44 is inserted into the rear surface of the glass substrate 11, and then slightly lifted up. (442) must be returned to its original position.

At this time, the glass substrate 11 seated on the supporting plate 442 passes through the square hollow 427 of the sensor mounting part 426 together with the supporting plate 442 to return to the original position. Sensors are attached to the upper and lower sides of the sensor mounting part 426 as described above. For example, when the sensor is the laser sensor 6, the light emitting sensor 62 of the laser sensor is located on the upper side, and the light receiving sensor of the laser sensor is located on the lower side. 64 is installed.

The sensor mounting part 426 continuously emits light and receives light when the glass substrate 11 penetrates the hollow. As a result, the front surface of the glass substrate 11 penetrates the hollow 427. The glass substrate 11 is entirely scanned by the sensor 6.

Hereinafter, the scanning operation between the sensor mounting portion 426 and the glass substrate 11 will be described with reference to FIGS. 5 and 6.

5 is a perspective view illustrating when the glass substrate 11 starts to advance to the horizontal portion 424 of the robot body 42, and FIG. 6 is a horizontal portion of the robot body 42. 424) is a perspective view illustrating a state in which the end portion of the glass substrate 11 penetrates the sensor mounting portion 426, and schematically shows only the glass substrate 11 and the sensor mounting portion 426. The light emitting sensor 62 installed above the sensor mounting unit 426 emits a laser, and the light receiving sensor 64 installed below the sensor mounting unit 426 continuously receives the emitted laser beam.

If the glass substrate 11 is completely opaque and cannot penetrate the laser at all, the glass substrate 11 completely penetrates the sensor mounting portion 426 since the glass substrate 11 starts to enter the hollow 427 of the sensor mounting portion 426. Until the light receiving sensor 64 should not detect the emitted laser.

However, if a part of the edge is broken, such as the glass substrate 11 shown in FIG. 6, the laser emitted from the light emitting sensor 62 passes through the broken part to recognize the laser at the light receiving sensor 64. . Since the laser is recognized by the light receiving sensor 64 indicates that the glass substrate is broken, the light receiving sensor 64 transmits it to the controller to generate an abnormal signal and stops the next process of the transfer robot 4. .

When the operator recognizes an abnormal signal appearing on the emergency light, the emergency bell or the display, the worker knows that the transfer robot 4 is generated in the process of drawing the glass substrate 11 from the cassette 100 or loading the cassette into the cassette 100. It is possible to immediately recover the defective substrate 11 deposited on the robot arm 44.

Referring back to FIG. 2, when the transfer robot 4 according to the present invention pulls out the glass substrate 11 from the cassette 100 in the process equipment, the extracted glass substrate 11 is transferred to the transfer track 5. When loading the preloading unit 51 and when the transport robot 4 pulls out the glass substrate 11 conveyed on the transport track 5, the glass substrate 11 is returned to the cassette 100 again. When the breakage of the glass substrate 11 on the transfer robot 4, such as when it can be usefully applied.

In addition, since the glass substrate transfer robot 4 of the present invention can inspect the entire surface by a scan method regardless of the position when detecting the broken state of the glass substrate 11, the glass substrate transfer robot 4 can also detect whether there is a minute breakage.

FIG. 7 is an enlarged view illustrating a state in which the substrate 11 is loaded on the preloading unit 51 in FIG. 2A, and the glass substrate 11 loaded on the preloading unit 51 by the transfer robot 4. The sensor 7 which detects the four edges of) is installed on top of the glass substrate to show the structure of sensing the state of the substrate before being transferred to the track 5. Since the glass substrate 11 is loaded by the transfer robot 4 and then rotated 90 degrees from the position to the track 5, the glass substrate 11 is loaded and then transferred to the state or the track 5. For example, the sensors 7 may be selectively installed in a state of being rotated by 90 degrees.

As described above, by installing four sensors 7 capable of sensing edges, the glass substrate 11 can be detected to remove broken glass substrates having broken edges before being transported onto the track 5. The sensor 7 can be either a laser sensor or a photosensor.

FIG. 8 is an enlarged view of B of FIG. 2, when the glass substrate 11 loaded in the preloading unit 51 by the glass substrate transfer robot 4 shown in FIG. 3 is transferred to the track 5. When the glass substrate 11 is damaged on the track (5) relates to a structure for detecting whether the glass substrate 11 is damaged.

Referring to FIG. 2 again, the glass substrate 11 loaded in the preloading unit 51 is moved on the track by the roller 52. The roller 52 is a double roller having a form in which two rollers are engaged, and the side edge of the glass substrate 11 is advanced in the form of being engaged with the double roller 52.

An apparatus for detecting whether the glass substrate 11 is properly transferred to the bottom of the track 5 is already installed. Although there are many such devices for detecting the presence or absence of the glass substrate 11, the existence of the substrate is determined by dropping and returning the connected magnet pin (not shown) as the substrate progresses.

However, as shown in FIG. 9, when the substrate 11 is diagonally engaged with the dual roller 52, the edge portion 112 of the glass substrate 11 collides with the roller 52. Will occur. The broken glass substrate 11 proceeds obliquely along the track 5 so that the substrate sensing device recognizes that the substrate exists.

Referring to FIG. 8 again, the portion shown is where the glass substrate 11 completes the track transfer. That is, the glass substrate 11 which has moved along the track 5 by the operation of the roller 52 is transferred to the end of the track 5 while finishing the cleaning process or the like on the track 5.

As described above, both the damaged glass substrate 11 and the normal glass substrate 11 are primarily blocked by the substrate stopper 59 formed at the end of the track 5. In the present invention, when the area of the glass substrate 11 stopped by the substrate stopper (59) as a reference, the photosensor (7) in the vertical upper side or the vertical lower portion of the position corresponding to the edge of the glass substrate 11 Characterized in that installed. The photosensor 7 can be installed regardless of a specific place as long as it can sense the edge of the glass substrate 11.

In the embodiment of FIG. 8, four photosensors 7 are provided at upper portions corresponding to each corner. The reason why the photosensor 7 is installed at each corner is due to the experience and probability that the breakage of the glass substrate 11 occurs at the corner at the time of transporting the track. Therefore, in order to more accurately detect whether the glass substrate 11 is damaged, more sensors may be installed at positions corresponding to the edges of the glass substrate 11 as well as each corner.

When the photosensor 7 is installed as described above, when the glass substrate 11 is stopped by the substrate stopper 59, the value detected by the photosensor 7 is changed. For example, when the photosensor 7 is installed on the upper side of the edge vertically, when the glass substrate 11 is positioned, the result of sensing the edge portion should always have a constant value when the glass substrate 11 is normal.

If the glass substrate 11 whose edge 112 is broken is sensed by the photosensor 7 as shown in FIG. 10, the emitted light is not reflected and a predetermined value does not come out. The controller transmits an abnormal signal to the worker.

An operator who has contacted an abnormal signal by an alarm, emergency light, emergency bell, or the like can detect that the glass substrate 11 that has reached the end of the glass substrate transfer track 5 has been broken and thus the broken glass substrate 11 Take it out so that it does not proceed to the next spin drying process.

FIG. 11 illustrates a state in which two photosensors 7 are installed without installing four sensors so as to correspond to four corners of the glass substrate as shown in FIG. 8.

In FIG. 11, only two photosensors 7 are installed, and only the four photosensors 7 can sense all four corners of the glass substrate 11. To this end, two sensings must be made in the photosensor 7, respectively, and the sensing must be performed at a time interval.

The process of sensing four corners of the glass substrate 11 with only two photosensors 7 is as follows. As shown in FIG. 11, when the glass substrate 11 enters the end of the track 5, the two leading edges of the glass substrate 11 reach the position of the photosensor 7. At this time, the control unit sends a signal to sense by the photosensor 7 is the primary sensing is made. Alternatively, if the sensing is continuously performed, the sensing is performed when the two front edges of the front end pass the photosensor position.

12 illustrates a state in which the glass substrate 11 is stopped by the stopper 59. The glass substrate 11, which is continued after the first sensing is performed, is stopped and stopped by the substrate stopper 59. As shown in FIG. The photo sensor 7 located in the vertical upper side or the vertical lower side of the two corners of the advancing rear side of the glass substrate 11 performs second sensing again.

As described above, the sensing is performed twice with a time difference, so that the sensing of four corners of the glass substrate 11 can be performed using only two photosensors.

Since the photosensor 7 is a position capable of accurately emitting light at each corner of the glass substrate 11 is sufficient, it can be installed freely on the upper side or the lower side of the corner portion.

In the present invention, two examples of the structure of detecting the breakage of the glass substrate in the process of using the glass substrate, including the glass substrate of the liquid crystal display device.

First, the damage detection device is installed on the transfer robot that moves the glass substrate in the place where the glass substrate is loaded, such as cassette or transfer track, so that the glass substrate can be checked by the scanning action using laser light.

Second, the photo sensor is installed at the completion part of the glass substrate transfer track to sense whether the glass substrate is damaged by sensing the edge part, which is the most fragile part during transportation.

By applying the two embodiments as described above, in the process of transferring the glass substrate or the liquid crystal panel more reliably find the poor glass substrate and do not proceed to the next process to prevent the shutdown of the process equipment and that the glass substrate is completely damaged It can be blocked and recycled.

The above embodiments are merely examples for expressing the technical idea of the present invention in detail, and it is apparent that various modifications may be made to the location, material, etc. of the components within the scope without departing from the technical spirit of the present invention.

It is equipped with a sensor that can detect whether the glass board is damaged on the transfer robot or the transport track, which is a kind of device that transfers the glass board, and immediately detects the occurrence or damage already occurred in the middle of transferring the glass board to the next process. Since it does not proceed, unnecessary work can be omitted, and a defective board can be completed to prevent process interruption such as shutting down the equipment.

Claims (8)

A robot body formed to move on the ground or the rail and capable of rotating; A robot arm positioned on an upper portion of the robot body and provided with a support plate to move the glass substrate stored on one side to the other side by horizontally or vertically moving the support plate; A frame-mounted sensor mounting part fixedly installed at the robot body and having a hollow to penetrate the support plate of the robot arm when the robot arm is operated when the robot arm is operated; Glass substrate breakage detection sensor consisting of a light emitting sensor and a light receiving sensor attached to the top and bottom of the sensor mounting portion; Substrate transfer device having a glass substrate damage detection means including a control unit for propagating an abnormal signal when the detection result of the glass substrate damage detection means is abnormal The method of claim 1, The glass substrate breakage detection sensor is a substrate transfer apparatus having a glass substrate breakage detection means, characterized in that the laser sensor. The method of claim 1, And the glass substrate comprises a liquid crystal panel of a liquid crystal display device, a glass substrate constituting the liquid crystal panel, or a glass substrate constituting a flat panel display device. The method of claim 1, And the control unit displays the emergency light, the emergency bell, and the monitor to propagate an abnormal signal to propagate the abnormal signal. A substrate transfer track in which two rollers are continuously arranged in both directions and the edge of the glass substrate is engaged between the rollers; A substrate stopper installed at a rear end of the substrate transfer track to stop the glass substrate from being completed; A sensor for detecting four edges of the glass substrate arriving at the rear end of the substrate transfer track; And a control unit for processing a result detected by the sensor. The method of claim 5, wherein And the sensor is a laser sensor or a photo sensor. A substrate transfer apparatus having a glass substrate breakage detecting means. The method of claim 5, wherein The sensor is a substrate transfer apparatus having a glass substrate damage detection means, characterized in that four installed to detect the four corners of the glass substrate. The method of claim 5, wherein The sensor is installed two to detect only two of the four corners of the glass substrate, after detecting the two front corners of the glass substrate is set to detect the two rear corners over time intervals Substrate transfer device having a glass substrate damage detection means.