KR20060013882A - Plate cleaning apparatus for liquid crystal display device and cleaning method for the same - Google Patents

Abstract

A substrate cleaning apparatus for a liquid crystal display device is provided. A substrate cleaning apparatus for a liquid crystal display device includes a first drive shaft and a first rotation shaft spaced apart from each other, and a belt-shaped first clean sheet wound around the first drive shaft and the first rotation shaft as a support shaft and rotated. A second cleaning part including a first cleaning part, a second drive shaft and a second rotation axis spaced apart from each other, and a belt-shaped second clean sheet wound around the second drive shaft and the second rotation axis as a support shaft, and First and second internally configured in the first and second clean sheets so that the outer surfaces of the first and second clean sheets may be uniformly in surface contact with the upper and lower surfaces of the liquid crystal display substrate fed from the outside, respectively; And a second air knife. Also provided is a substrate cleaning method for a liquid crystal display device.

LCD, Clean Sheet, Cleaning, Surface Contact, Air Knife

Description

Plate cleaning apparatus for liquid crystal display device and cleaning method for the same}

1 is a schematic perspective view illustrating a substrate cleaning apparatus for a liquid crystal display according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the substrate cleaning apparatus for a liquid crystal display of FIG. 1.

3 is a perspective view illustrating an operation of inserting a substrate into a substrate cleaning apparatus for a liquid crystal display according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

<Description of the symbols for the main parts of the drawings>

100: first cleaning unit 110: first drive shaft

120: first rotating shaft 130: first clean sheet

140: first air knife 200: second cleaning part

210: second drive shaft 220: second rotation shaft

230: second clean sheet 240: second air knife

300: substrate 310: color filter substrate

320: thin film transistor substrate 400: deionized water supply unit

The present invention relates to a substrate cleaning apparatus and method for a liquid crystal display device.

The liquid crystal display device has various processes such as forming a thin film transistor (TFT), bonding upper and lower substrates, and injecting and encapsulating a liquid crystal through the application and etching of an electrode material, a semiconductor layer, and an insulating film on a substrate. After completion.

In various manufacturing processes of such a liquid crystal display, various foreign matters, adherent particles such as substrate fragments, foreign matters, etc. adhere to the substrate and often contaminate the substrate. In order to reduce defects caused by such foreign substances, a substrate cleaning operation is added to each step during the manufacturing process of the liquid crystal display.

Referring to each manufacturing process that requires cleaning of the substrate, first, before and after forming a thin film transistor array (TFT array) on the substrate, after forming the alignment film and rubbing the alignment film for liquid crystal alignment, Substrate cleaning is performed after the scribing process of bonding the lower substrates and then cutting the panels from the wide substrates, and after injecting the liquid crystal into the panels and sealing the injection portions.

Conventionally, in the case of cleaning the upper and lower surfaces during the substrate cleaning, it is common to adopt a method of cleaning the upper surface and inverting the lower surface to the upper side.

On the other hand, in the cleaning process performed after the process of injecting the liquid crystal into the panel and encapsulating the injection portion, both the color filter substrate constituting the upper surface and the thin film transistor substrate constituting the lower surface should be cleaned. There was a cumbersome problem of washing separately.

In addition, in order to invert the panel, the panel should be adsorbed and fixed by a robot arm or an adsorption pin, etc. At this time, the panel may be partially pressurized to cause a gap defect in the liquid crystal panel.

An object of the present invention is to provide a substrate cleaning apparatus for a liquid crystal display device capable of simultaneously cleaning both sides.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a substrate cleaning apparatus for a liquid crystal display device capable of extending the replacement cycle of the clean sheet.

Another technical problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide a substrate cleaning apparatus for a liquid crystal display device which prevents a gap defect of a liquid crystal panel due to partial pressurization of the upper and lower substrates when the liquid crystal panel is cleaned while the liquid crystal is injected and encapsulated. It is.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a substrate cleaning apparatus for a liquid crystal display device capable of suppressing the occurrence of scratches when the substrate is in contact with the clean sheet by pressure control using an air knife.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a substrate cleaning method for a liquid crystal display device capable of extending the replacement cycle of the clean sheet.

In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, a substrate cleaning apparatus for a liquid crystal display device is wound around a first drive shaft and a first rotation shaft, and the first drive shaft and the first rotation shaft are spaced apart from each other. A first washing part including a rotating belt-shaped first clean sheet, a second driving shaft and a second rotating shaft spaced apart from each other, and a belt shape wound around the second driving shaft and the second rotating shaft as a support shaft and rotating. The second cleaning unit including a second clean sheet of the second clean sheet and the outer surfaces of the first and second clean sheets so as to be in uniform surface contact with the upper and lower surfaces of the liquid crystal display device substrate fed from the outside, respectively. First and second air knives respectively configured within the first and second clean sheets.

In addition, it is preferable to further include a deionized water supply unit for providing deionized water from the outside to the first and second cleaning units, respectively.

Meanwhile, the first cleaning part may clean the upper surface of the substrate, the second cleaning part may clean the lower surface of the substrate, and the substrate cleaning operation of the first and second cleaning parts may be simultaneously performed.

In this case, the substrate may be transferred so as to pass between the first and second cleaning parts, and further comprising a substrate transfer part allowing the substrate to pass from an edge portion of the substrate.

In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a substrate cleaning method for a liquid crystal display device, the method including: a first step of rotating a first clean sheet wound around a first driving shaft and a first rotating shaft; A second step of transferring the substrate so as to contact the outer surface of the first clean sheet; and a third step of moving the transferred substrate in a direction perpendicular to the rotation direction of the first clean sheet to clean the substrate. It is made to include.

Further, a first clean sheet wound around the first drive shaft and the first rotation shaft as a support shaft, and a lower portion facing the first clean sheet, and wound around the second drive shaft and the second rotation shaft as the support shaft. A second step of rotating each of the two clean sheets, a second step of transferring the substrate such that one side of the substrate is inserted between the first clean sheet and the second clean sheet, and the transferred substrate is transferred to the first and second substrates. And a third step of cleaning the substrate by proceeding in a direction perpendicular to the rotation direction of the second clean sheet.

Here, it is preferable that the said 1st and 2nd clean sheet is an endless type sheet.

Specific details of other embodiments are included in the detailed description and the drawings.

Advantages and features of the present invention and methods for achieving them will be apparent with reference to the embodiments described below in detail with the accompanying drawings. However, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments disclosed below, but may be implemented in various forms. It is provided to fully convey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art, and the present invention is defined only by the scope of the claims. Like reference numerals refer to like elements throughout.

First, the structure of a substrate cleaning apparatus for a liquid crystal display according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described.

1 is a schematic perspective view illustrating a substrate cleaning apparatus for a liquid crystal display according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the substrate cleaning apparatus for a liquid crystal display of FIG. 1.

1 and 2, the substrate cleaning apparatus for a liquid crystal display according to the exemplary embodiment of the present invention may include first and second cleaning units 100 and 200 and the first and second cleaning units. The first and second air knives 140 and 240 and the de-ionized water (DIW) from the outside are respectively disposed in the first and second cleaning parts 100 and 200, respectively. It includes a deionized water supply unit 400 to provide.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the first cleaning part 100 positioned above and the second cleaning part 200 located below the upper and lower surfaces of the liquid crystal display substrate may be simultaneously cleaned. It is provided.

The first cleaning unit 100 after the process of injecting liquid crystal and sealing the injection unit between the upper surface of the substrate 300 transferred from the outside, for example, the color filter substrate 310 and the thin film transistor substrate 320. When the substrate 300 is transferred, the color filter substrate 310 toward the upper side is cleaned. On the contrary, the second cleaning unit 200 cleans the thin film transistor substrate 320 facing downward. Of course, when the thin film transistor substrate 320 is upward in the substrate 300 and the color filter substrate 310 is downward in the substrate 300, the first cleaning unit 100 is transferred to the cleaning apparatus of the present invention. ) May clean both sides of the substrate 300 simultaneously by cleaning the thin film transistor substrate 320 and the second cleaning part 200 cleaning the color filter substrate 310. .

The first cleaning part 100 is wound around the first drive shaft 110 and the first rotation shaft 120 and the first drive shaft 110 and the first rotation shaft 120 which are positioned to be spaced apart from each other. It includes a belt-shaped first clean sheet 130 is rotated.

The second cleaning unit 200 is similar to the first cleaning unit 100, the second drive shaft 210 and the second rotation shaft 220 are spaced apart from each other, the second drive shaft 210 and the And a belt-shaped second clean sheet 230 wound around the second rotation shaft 220 as a support shaft.

The first and second drive shafts 110 and 210 are rotated by motor power so that the first and second clean sheets 130 and 230 wound together on the first and second rotation shafts 120 and 220 rotate. And the first and second rotation shafts 120 and 220 rotate together, and the substrate 300 is cleaned.

Here, the first and second clean sheets 130 and 230 are preferably made of a material such as AL ₂ O ₃ , CeO ₂ . In addition, the first and second clean sheets 130 and 230 have an endless type having a belt shape and have an advantage of extending an exchange period than a conventional roll type roll sheet.

The first and second air knives 140 and 240 are positioned inside the belt-shaped first and second clean sheets 130 and 230, respectively, to the first and second air knives 140 and 240. Clean dry air (CDA) is sprayed onto the inner sides of the first and second clean sheets 130 and 230 through slits (not shown).

The clean dry air (CDA) is continuously supplied during the cleaning operation, so that the outer surfaces of the first and second clean sheets 130 and 230 are supplied from the outside to the upper and lower surfaces of the liquid crystal display substrate 300. The substrates can be cleaned effectively by making the surface contact with each other uniformly. Accordingly, it is possible to prevent a scratch phenomenon or the like that may be caused by uneven contact between the substrate 300 and the clean sheets 130 and 230.

The deionized water supply unit 400 provides deionized water (DIW) to the first and second cleaning units 100 and 200, respectively, and performs first and second clean sheets to perform the rotation operation. By spraying deionized water toward the 130 and 230, or by directly spraying the deionized water onto the substrate 300, contaminants and the like adhered to the substrate 300 are completely removed.

In addition, although not shown in the drawings, the substrate cleaning apparatus for a liquid crystal display device according to the present invention may include a substrate transfer unit which inserts the substrate 300 between the first and second cleaning units 100 and 200 and passes therebetween. It may further include. The substrate transfer unit may have a configuration such as a conveyor belt that allows the substrate 300 to be introduced from the outside to be introduced between the first and second cleaning units 100 and 200. Specifically, the substrate transfer portion includes an upstream transfer portion and a downstream transfer portion. That is, the upstream transfer unit transfers the substrate 300 to be inserted between the first and second cleaning units 100 and 200, and the downstream transfer unit is inserted between the first and second cleaning units 100 and 200. The substrate 300 smoothly escapes between the cleaning parts 100 and 200 and is transferred to the outside.

In this case, the upstream transfer part is caught when the substrate 300 is inserted between the first and second cleaning parts 100 and 200, specifically, between the first and second clean sheets 130 and 230. It is preferable to transfer the substrate 300 at an angle so as to prevent the phenomenon from being input from the corner portion of the substrate 300.

Meanwhile, in one embodiment of the present invention, a substrate cleaning apparatus for simultaneously cleaning both surfaces of the substrate 300 has been described as an example, but only one of the above-described first cleaning unit 100 or second cleaning unit 200 is separately provided. Is provided, it is possible to implement the substrate cleaning apparatus according to the present invention in a manner to clean the cross-section of the substrate 300, of course.

Next, an operation of the substrate cleaning apparatus for a liquid crystal display according to the exemplary embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. 3.

3 is a perspective view illustrating an operation of inserting a substrate into a substrate cleaning apparatus for a liquid crystal display according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

First, the first and second drive shafts 110 and 210 are rotated by a motor power, and thus the first and second clean sheets 130, which are wound together on the first and second rotation shafts 120 and 220. The first and second rotation shafts 120 and 220 rotate together to allow the 230 to rotate and to engage the 230.

While the first and second clean sheets 130 and 230 are rotated, the substrate 300 is inserted between the first and second clean sheets 130 and 230 so that the upper and lower surfaces of the substrate 300 are disposed. Clean at the same time.

Here, the first and second clean sheets 130 and 230 are endless sheets, and rotate with a driving force by the drive shafts 110 and 210. In this case, the substrate cleaning operation may be performed by inserting the substrate 300 in a direction perpendicular to the rotation directions of the first and second clean sheets 130 and 230.

In this case, as shown in FIG. 3, the substrate 300 is conveyed obliquely by the upstream transfer unit so as to be introduced between the first and second clean sheets 130 and 230 first from an edge portion.

Accordingly, insertion failure due to a jam or the like, which may occur when the substrate 300 is smoothly inserted between the first and second clean sheets 130 and 230, may be prevented.

When the substrate 300 is inserted between the first and second clean sheets 130 and 230, the pressure of the clean dry air (CDA) provided from the first and second air knives 140 and 240 is increased. The outer surfaces of the first and second clean sheets 130 and 230 are kept taut and are in uniform surface contact with the substrate 300.

The downstream transfer part discharges the substrate 300 to the outside so that the injected substrate 300 proceeds in a direction perpendicular to the rotation directions of the first and second clean sheets 130 and 230.

In addition, the deionized water supply unit 400 sprays the deionized water toward the first and second clean sheets 130 and 230 at the same time as the first and second cleaning units 100 and 200 operate. Alternatively, by directly spraying on the substrate 300, contaminants, etc. attached to the substrate 300 are completely removed.

Accordingly, the substrate cleaning apparatus for a liquid crystal display according to the present invention includes first and second cleaning units 100 and 200 which are engaged with the upper and lower parts so as to simultaneously clean both surfaces of the substrate 300. Accordingly, when cleaning the liquid crystal panel in a state in which the liquid crystal is injected and encapsulated, it is possible to solve the conventional problem that may be caused by inverting the panel and cleaning the upper and lower surfaces separately. That is, in the process of inverting the substrate with the robot arm or the adsorption pin, the problem such as a gap defect of the liquid crystal panel, which is generated by exposing the substrate to partial pressure, can be solved.

In addition, scratches may be prevented by uniform surface contact between the clean sheets 130 and 230 and the substrate 300 according to the use of the air knives 140 and 240.

Meanwhile, in one embodiment of the present invention, a substrate cleaning method for simultaneously cleaning both surfaces of the substrate 300 has been described as an example. However, even when the end surfaces of the substrate 300 are separately cleaned, the clean sheet is rotated and one side of the substrate is rotated. The substrate may be cleaned so as to transfer the substrate so as to contact the outer surface of the clean sheet so that the transferred substrate proceeds in a direction perpendicular to the rotation direction of the clean sheet.

Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above with reference to the accompanying drawings, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments and can be variously modified and implemented by those skilled in the art without departing from the technical scope of the present invention.

According to the substrate cleaning apparatus and method for a liquid crystal display of the present invention, there are one or more of the following effects.

Both surfaces can be cleaned simultaneously without flipping the substrate fed from the outside.

The replacement cycle of the clean sheet can be extended.

When the liquid crystal panel is washed while the liquid crystal is injected and encapsulated, a gap failure of the liquid crystal panel due to partial pressurization of the upper and lower substrates can be prevented.

Pressure regulation using an air knife can suppress scratch generation during substrate contact of the clean sheet.

Claims (11)

A first cleaning unit including a first drive shaft and a first rotation shaft spaced apart from each other, and a belt-shaped first clean sheet wound around the first drive shaft and the first rotation shaft as a support shaft to be rotated; A second cleaning part including a second drive shaft and a second rotation shaft spaced apart from each other, and a belt-shaped second clean sheet wound around the second drive shaft and the second rotation shaft as a support shaft to be rotated; And First and second internally configured in the first and second clean sheets, respectively, such that outer surfaces of the first and second clean sheets may be uniformly in surface contact with upper and lower surfaces of the liquid crystal display substrate input from the outside, respectively. 2 A substrate cleaning device for liquid crystal display devices comprising an air knife. In claim 1, And a deionized water supply unit for providing deionized water from the outside to the first and second cleaning units, respectively. In claim 1, Wherein the first cleaning part cleans the upper surface of the substrate, the second cleaning part cleans the lower surface of the substrate, and substrate cleaning operations of the first and second cleaning parts are simultaneously performed. Substrate cleaning apparatus for liquid crystal display devices. In claim 3, And a substrate transfer unit configured to transfer the substrate so as to pass between the first and second cleaning units, and to allow the substrate to pass from an edge portion of the substrate. A first step of rotating the first clean sheet wound around the first drive shaft and the first rotation shaft as a support shaft; A second step of transferring the substrate such that one side of the substrate contacts an outer surface of the first clean sheet; And And a third step of cleaning the substrate by advancing the transferred substrate in a direction perpendicular to the rotation direction of the first clean sheet. In claim 5, And said first clean sheet is an endless type sheet. In claim 6, And spraying deionized water from outside to the first clean sheet. A first clean sheet wound around the first drive shaft and the first rotational shaft as a support shaft, and a second clean sheet wound below the first clean sheet and wound around the second drive shaft and the second rotation shaft as the support shaft; First rotating each of the sheets; A second step of transferring the substrate such that one side of the substrate is inserted between the first clean sheet and the second clean sheet; And And cleaning the substrate by advancing the transferred substrate in a direction perpendicular to rotation directions of the first and second clean sheets. In claim 8, The second step, And transporting the substrate so as to be inserted between the first clean sheet and the second clean sheet from an edge portion thereof. In claim 9, And said first and second clean sheets are endless sheets. In claim 10, And spraying deionized water from outside to the first and second clean sheets.

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