KR20100045667A

KR20100045667A - Substrate cutting apparatus

Info

Publication number: KR20100045667A
Application number: KR1020080104714A
Authority: KR
Inventors: 양진혁
Original assignee: 세메스 주식회사
Priority date: 2008-10-24
Filing date: 2008-10-24
Publication date: 2010-05-04

Abstract

PURPOSE: An apparatus for cutting a substrate is provided to maintain a spacing distance between a scribing part and a motherboard by adjusting a position of the scribing part by detecting height of the motherboard. CONSTITUTION: A supporting part(310) supports a mother substrate(100). It etches motherboard to the predetermined depth and the scribing part forms the scribe line. A presser portion pressurizes the scribing part to motherboard. A displacement sensor(340) measures the distance of the motherboard upper side and scribing part.

Description

Substrate Cutting Device {SUBSTRATE CUTTING APPARATUS}

The present invention relates to a cutting device used for manufacturing a flat panel display panel, and more particularly, to a substrate cutting device for cutting a mother substrate for a flat panel display panel.

Generally, a display panel used for a flat panel display device is provided, and the display panel is completed through the following process.

First, a plurality of cells are formed in a large mother substrate, and the mother substrate is cut into a plurality of cell units. Here, each cell separated from the mother substrate is used as the display panel.

As such, the process of cutting the large mother substrate in cell units includes a method of cutting using a laser beam and a method of using a scribe wheel. In the method of cutting the mother substrate using the scribe wheel, the scribe wheel moves while pressing the mother substrate to form a scribe line on the surface of the mother substrate. Subsequently, when a physical shock is applied to the mother substrate, cracks propagate along the scribe line and are separated into cells.

In the cutting method using the scribe wheel, a scribing apparatus including a head having a scribe wheel and a cylinder for pressing the head toward the mother substrate is used.

The surface of the mother substrate to be cut may be curved, and the height of the mother substrate may vary depending on the position of the support for supporting the mother substrate. In this case, when the scribing process is performed with the head having a fixed height with respect to the upper surface of the mother substrate, the pressure applied to the mother substrate varies depending on the distance between the mother substrate and the head, so that the scribe line is formed at a constant depth. It doesn't work. That is, the scribe line may be formed deep or shallow depending on the position.

As such, when the scribe lines have different depths depending on the position, scribing defects occur and it is difficult to cut the mother substrate normally, thereby lowering the yield of the product.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a substrate cutting apparatus capable of preventing scribing defects.

The substrate cutting apparatus according to the present invention includes a scribing unit, a pressing unit, a displacement sensor unit, a moving unit, and a control unit to cut a mother substrate on which a plurality of cells are formed in the plurality of cells.

The scribing part etches a position to be cut of the mother substrate to a predetermined depth to form a scribe line, and the pressing part presses the scribing part toward the mother substrate. The displacement sensor unit is provided at the front end of the scribing unit in the advancing direction of the scribing unit to measure a distance from the upper surface of the mother substrate, and the moving unit is configured to scribe the unit in a direction perpendicular to the upper surface of the mother substrate. Move it.

The controller controls the moving unit based on the distance measured from the displacement sensor unit to maintain a constant distance between the mother substrate and the scribing unit.

The scribing portion includes a cutting wheel, a head, and a holder. The cutting wheel is rotatable and rotates in contact with the mother substrate to form the scribe line on the surface of the mother substrate. The head is installed above the cutting wheel and presses the cutting wheel toward the mother substrate by the pressing unit. The holder engages the cutting wheel and the vibrating head, and fixes the cutting wheel to the vibrating head.

Here, the displacement sensor unit is installed on the front side with respect to the traveling direction of the head.

According to the above-described substrate cutting device, the distance between the scribing portion and the mother substrate can be kept constant by detecting the height of the mother substrate and adjusting the position of the scribing portion, so that the mother substrate has a uniform depth. A row scribe line may be formed to prevent defects in the scribing process.

Hereinafter, with reference to the accompanying drawings will be described in detail a preferred embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, the mother substrate for the liquid crystal display panel is described as an example of the cutting object. In addition, the representations of elements in the figures have been exaggerated to emphasize a more clear description.

1 is a plan view illustrating a mother substrate for a liquid crystal display panel, and FIG. 2 is a perspective view illustrating a liquid crystal display panel.

Referring to FIG. 1, the mother substrate 100 has a structure in which first and second large substrates 110 and 120 are combined, and the plurality of cells 101 arranged in a matrix form on the mother substrate 100. This is provided. The mother substrate 100 is cut in units of the plurality of cells 101, and each of the cut cells is provided as a liquid crystal display panel.

As shown in FIG. 2, the liquid crystal display panel 105 has a structure in which a lower substrate 105a and an upper substrate 105b are combined. In the cutting process, the upper substrate 105b is cut into a smaller size than the lower substrate 105a to expose the source side end and the gate side end of the lower substrate 105a to the outside. A data pad portion for receiving a data signal from a source driver is provided at a source side end of the lower substrate 105a, and a gate pad portion for receiving a gate signal from a gate driver is provided at a gate side end.

Although the liquid crystal display panel 105 shown in FIG. 2 has a structure in which both the gate end and the source end are exposed, the liquid crystal display panel 105 may have a structure in which only the source end is exposed.

3 is a view schematically showing a substrate cutting apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 3, the substrate cutting apparatus 300 may include a support 310, a scribing 320, a pressing unit 330, a displacement sensor 340, a moving unit 350, and a control unit 360. Include.

The support part 310 is formed of a support plate on which the mother substrate 100 is seated, and the support plate 310 is provided with a vacuum hole (not shown) for adsorbing the mother substrate 100.

The scribing unit 320 is installed on the support 310, and forms a scribe line SL on the surface of the mother substrate 100. The scribing unit 320 includes a cutting wheel 321, a vibrating head 322 and a holder 323.

The cutting wheel 321 is rotatable, has a generally disk shape, and a circular through hole is formed at the center thereof. In one example of the present invention, the cutting wheel 321 is made of a diamond material. The cutting wheel 321 rotates while pressing the surface of the mother substrate 100 to generate cracks on the surface of the mother substrate 100 to form a scribe line SL. The mother substrate 100 is cut along the scribe line SL and separated into units of the cell 101 (see FIG. 1).

The vibration head 322 is installed above the cutting wheel 321. The vibration head 322 moves in the first direction D1 to control the cutting wheel 321 to form a scribe line SL in the first direction D1.

In addition, the vibration head 322 generates a vibration in the scribing process to apply vibration to the cutting wheel 321, the cutting wheel 321 is imaged by the vibration transmitted from the vibration head 322 The scribe line SL is formed on the surface of the mother substrate 100 by vibrating in a downward direction. The vibration head 322 may generate vibration by using ultrasonic waves, and in this case, an ultrasonic vibrator may be embedded in the vibration head 322.

The holder 323 fixes the cutting wheel 321 to the lower portion of the vibration head 322. The holder 323 is fixedly coupled to the lower portion of the vibration head 322, a groove is formed in the lower surface is inserted a portion of the cutting wheel 321. The holder 323 has a shaft pin penetrating the through-hole formed in the central portion of the cutting wheel 321. The shaft pin has a cylindrical shape and is mounted in the groove to fix the cutting wheel 321 to the holder 323. During the scribing process, only the cutting wheel 321 rotates while the shaft pin is fixed, and vibration of the vibration head 322 is transmitted to the cutting wheel 321 through the holder 323.

The pressing unit 330 is provided at the upper end of the vibration head 322 so that the cutting wheel 321 may press the surface of the mother substrate 100 with a suitable force during the scribing process. ) Is pressed toward the support 310. As an example of the present invention, a cylinder may be used as the pressing unit 330, and the cylinder pressurizes the vibration head 322 using pneumatic pressure.

The moving part 350 is coupled to one side of the scribing part 320 to move the scribing part 320 up / down. The moving part 350 includes a motor 351, a ball screw 352, a coupling plate 353, and an LM guide 354. When the motor 351 rotates at an appropriate speed, the ball screw 352 converts the rotational motion of the motor 351 into a linear motion. The LM guide 354 is connected to the ball screw 352 through the coupling plate 353 to transfer the linear motion to the scribing unit 320.

The displacement sensor unit 340 is provided at the front end of the scribing unit 320 traveling in the first direction D1. The displacement sensor unit 340 senses the height of the mother substrate 100 before the scribe line SL is formed on the mother substrate 100 by the scribing unit 320. Specifically, the displacement sensor unit 340 irradiates a laser beam to the upper surface of the mother substrate 100, receives the laser beam reflected from the upper surface of the mother substrate 100 and the upper surface of the mother substrate 100 and the Measure the distance.

The controller 360 receives the distance measured from the displacement sensor unit 340 and adjusts the rotational speed of the motor 351 based on the distance. As described above, the height of the scribing unit 320 is adjusted according to the rotational speed of the motor 351. Therefore, the controller 360 controls the rotational speed of the motor 351 to raise the scribing unit 320 to a predetermined position when the measured distance decreases, and when the measured distance increases, The rotational speed of the motor 351 is controlled to lower the scribing unit 320 to a predetermined position.

As such, by raising or lowering the scribing unit 320 according to the distance measured by the displacement sensor unit 340, the distance between the upper surface of the mother substrate 100 and the vacuum head 322 is kept constant. do. Accordingly, the vacuum head 322 may apply a predetermined pressure to the upper surface of the mother substrate 100, and as a result, a scribe line SL may be formed on the surface of the mother substrate 100 with a uniform depth. . Thereby, the defect of the scribing process can be reduced and the yield of a product can be improved.

4 is a flowchart illustrating a substrate cutting process using the substrate cutting device illustrated in FIG. 3.

3 and 4, the mother substrate 100 is seated on the support 310 (S10), and the scribing unit 320 is disposed on the mother substrate 100 (S20).

Before performing the scribing process, the distance from the upper surface of the mother substrate 100 is measured using the displacement sensor unit 340 (S30). The distance measured by the displacement sensor unit 340 is transmitted to the control unit 360, the control unit 360 is a control signal to the moving unit 350 to adjust the position of the scribing unit 320 according to the distance To supply. The moving unit 350 adjusts the position of the scribing unit 320 in response to a control signal (S40).

When the position of the scribing unit 320 is adjusted, the scribing unit 320 performs a scribing process (S50).

As such, the scribing unit 320 is uniformly formed on the surface of the mother substrate 100 by adjusting the position of the scribing unit 320 according to the distance from the mother substrate 100 before performing the scribing process. The scribe line SL can be formed to a depth, and as a result, the defect of the scribing process can be prevented.

Although described with reference to the embodiments above, those skilled in the art will understand that the present invention can be variously modified and changed without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the claims below. Could be.

1 is a plan view illustrating a mother substrate for a liquid crystal display panel.

2 is a perspective view illustrating a liquid crystal display panel.

4 is a flowchart illustrating a substrate cutting process using the substrate cutting device shown in FIG. 3.

Explanation of symbols on the main parts of the drawings

100: mother substrate 300: substrate cutting device

310: support portion 320: scribing portion

330: pressure unit 340: displacement sensor unit

350: moving unit 360: control unit

Claims

In the substrate cutting device for cutting the mother substrate formed with a plurality of cells in the plurality of cells,

A support for supporting the mother substrate;

A scribing unit which forms a scribe line by etching the position of the mother substrate to be cut to a predetermined depth;

A pressing unit for pressing the scribing unit toward the mother substrate;

A displacement sensor unit provided at a front end of the scribing unit in a traveling direction of the scribing unit to measure a distance from an upper surface of the mother substrate;

A moving unit which moves the scribing unit in a direction perpendicular to the upper surface of the mother substrate; And

And a controller for controlling the moving part based on the distance measured from the displacement sensor part to maintain a constant distance between the mother substrate and the scribing part.

The method of claim 1, wherein the scribing unit,

A cutting wheel which rotates in contact with the mother substrate to form the scribe line on the surface of the mother substrate;

A head installed at an upper portion of the cutting wheel, vertically moved by the moving unit, and pressing the cutting wheel toward the mother substrate by the pressing unit; And

A holder for fixing the cutting wheel to the head,

The displacement sensor unit is a substrate cutting device, characterized in that installed on the front side of the head.