KR20120041075A - Apparatus marking laser pattern - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a laser pattern processing apparatus, and more particularly, to a laser pattern processing apparatus for forming a pattern on a light guide plate with a laser beam, maximizing the working efficiency of the laser generator.
It is a feature of the present invention to further include an XY scanner inside the laser head. Through this, a plurality of pattern lines may be simultaneously formed on the light guide plate.
Therefore, the efficiency of the light guide plate patterning operation can be improved, and there is an advantage in that the light guide plate processing can be performed quickly.

Description

Laser pattern processing equipment {Apparatus marking laser pattern}

The present invention relates to a laser pattern processing apparatus, and more particularly, to a laser pattern processing apparatus for forming a pattern on a light guide plate with a laser beam, maximizing the working efficiency of the laser generator.

In line with the recent information age, the display field has also been rapidly developed, and a liquid crystal display device (FPD) is a flat panel display device (FPD) having advantages of thinning, light weight, and low power consumption. LCD, plasma display panel device (PDP), electroluminescence display device (ELD), field emission display device (FED), etc. : It is rapidly replacing CRT.

Among them, liquid crystal display devices are used most actively in the field of notebooks, monitors, TVs, etc. because of their excellent contrast ratio and high contrast ratio, and liquid crystal display devices do not have their own light emitting elements. Will be required.

Accordingly, a backlight unit having a light source is provided on a rear surface of the liquid crystal panel to irradiate light toward the front of the liquid crystal panel, thereby realizing an image of identifiable luminance.

Meanwhile, a general backlight unit is classified into a side light method and a direct type method according to an arrangement of light sources. The side light method is a structure in which one or a pair of light sources is disposed at one side of the light guide plate. It has, or two or two pairs of light sources have a structure arranged on each side of the light guide plate, the direct type has a structure in which several light sources are arranged under the optical sheet.

Here, the side light method is easier to manufacture than the direct type method, and has the advantages of lighter weight and lower power consumption than the direct type.

1 is an exploded perspective view of a side light type backlight unit.

As shown in the drawing, the general backlight unit 20 includes a lamp 29a which is a light source, a light guide plate 23 and a light guide plate 23 positioned on the same plane as the lamp 29a and facing at least one side thereof with the lamp 29a. It consists of a plurality of optical sheets 21 seated on the top.

Further, a reflector 25 for reflecting light exiting to the lower surface of the light guide plate 23 is further formed below the light guide plate 23, and a lamp guide 29b for guiding the lamp 29a is further provided.

Here, the optical sheet 21 on the light guide plate 23 includes a diffusion sheet, at least one light collecting sheet, and the like to diffuse or collect light passing through the light guide plate 23.

On the other hand, the light guide plate 123 is a pattern of a specific shape is formed on the back to supply a uniform surface light source, the pattern is an elliptical pattern (elliptical pattern), polygonal to guide the light incident into the light guide plate 123 The pattern (polygon pattern), hologram pattern (hologram pattern) and the like can be configured in various ways, such a pattern is formed on the lower surface of the light guide plate 123 by a printing method, an injection method or a V-cutting method.

The printing method has a long history and is stable, but the process is complicated and causes many defects in the printing process. In consideration of the cost loss, a non-printed LGP manufactured by a mechanical processing method has been developed and applied to mass production.

The injection method is a method of directly injecting a light guide plate by manufacturing a shape having a light scattering function, and may be classified into laser processing, sand blast, corrosion, pole, etc. according to a method of carving a shape on a mold.

Although this injection method is suitable for mass production, there are many defects due to the heat deformation of the light guide plate, and the increase in the cost and time required for manufacturing the mold is a disadvantage, and the mold cannot be easily modified when the pattern design is changed. Has the disadvantage of degrading.

Therefore, recently, V-cutting is in the spotlight, and V-cutting is a method of forming a V-shaped groove pattern using a laser on the surface of the light guide plate. However, this V-cutting has a long processing time, and there is a disadvantage that light is not scattered uniformly due to the roughness of the processing surface.

The disadvantage of this V-cutting is that the pattern processing time increases as the size of the light guide plate increases, and thus, there is a disadvantage in that the pattern forming operation of the large light guide plate cannot be performed quickly.

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides efficient use of a laser beam by simultaneously supplying a plurality of processing points with a laser beam adjusted to correspond to pattern information for each position of the light guide plate in the process of forming the light guide plate pattern. It is a first object of the present invention to provide a laser pattern processing method capable of performing a pattern processing operation of a large light guide plate as quickly as possible.

In addition, a second object of the present invention is to provide a laser pattern processing apparatus capable of improving work efficiency and performing a large light guide plate operation.

In order to achieve the above object, a laser pattern processing apparatus for forming a pattern on a light guide plate, comprising: a laser generator for generating a laser beam; A laser head receiving the laser beam and irradiating the light guide plate toward the light guide plate; An XY scanner included in the laser head and irradiating the laser beam at a desired position at a high speed to form a pattern; A guide rail for moving the laser head; And a light guide plate mounting part for moving the light guide plate, wherein the XY scanner provides a laser pattern processing apparatus for forming a plurality of pattern lines in a process of sliding the laser head through the guide rail.

At this time, the XY scanner is made of an X-axis galvano mirror and a Y-axis galvano mirror, the X-axis galvano mirror is made of an X-axis driving mirror for rotating the X-axis reflection mirror and the X-axis reflection mirror, The Y-axis galvano mirror is composed of a Y-axis reflection mirror and a Y-axis driving device for rotating the Y-axis reflection mirror, the X-axis reflection mirror is rotated in the X-axis direction through the X-axis drive device The Y-axis reflection mirror is rotated in the Y-axis direction perpendicular to the X-axis by a rotation axis through the Y-axis driving device.

The laser head includes a reflecting mirror and a focus lens, and includes an optical attenuator for adjusting the intensity of the laser beam between the laser generator and the laser head, and the laser beam is a flat top beam or truncated. A beam shaper for converting to a Gaussian beam and a beam expander for expanding the laser beam in a parallel light format are located.

At this time, an AO module laser (acousto-optic modulator) is located between the laser generator and the laser head on / off (on / off), the laser generator is an optical active device including an optical amplifier, And a power meter module for measuring, monitoring, and correcting the intensity of the laser beam, and an optical isolator for not only advancing the laser beam in one polarization direction but also blocking the reflected laser beam.

As described above, according to the present invention, by further providing an XY scanner inside the laser head, there is an effect that a plurality of pattern lines can be simultaneously formed on the light guide plate.

Through this, it is possible to improve the efficiency of the light guide plate patterning operation, there is an effect that can be carried out the light guide plate processing quickly.

1 is an exploded perspective view of a side light backlight unit.
Figure 2 is a perspective view schematically showing a laser pattern processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
3 is a flow chart for explaining a laser pattern processing method using the laser pattern processing apparatus of FIG.
Figure 4 is a block diagram for examining in more detail the configuration of the laser pattern processing apparatus of the present invention of FIG.
Figure 5 is a block diagram for examining in more detail the structure of the laser head according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Hereinafter, embodiments according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

Figure 2 is a perspective view schematically showing a laser pattern processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

As shown, in the laser pattern processing apparatus 100, the laser generator 110 is disposed on one side of the table 101 on which the light guide plate 123 is seated, and the exit of the laser beam of the laser generator 110 is provided on the table 101. It is installed to face.

The light guide plate 123 seated on the table 101 is seated on the light guide plate mounting portion 163 provided on the table 101.

At this time, although not shown in the drawing, the light guide plate mounting portion 163 is provided from a light guide plate supply position (not shown) located in one of the Y-axis direction of the table 101 or the X-axis direction of the table 101 defined in the drawing. The light guide plate 123 may be slidably moved to a processing standby position (not shown) for forming a pattern.

In addition, a guide rail 133 is provided at one side of the light guide plate 123 along the longitudinal direction of the table 101 in the X-axis direction. The guide rail 133 slides along the Y-axis direction of the table 101 through the rails 171 and 173 provided on the table 101.

The guide rail 133 is attached to the laser head 135 receives the laser beam generated from the laser generator 110, the laser head 135 of the table 101 along the longitudinal direction of the guide rail 133 Sliding movement along the X-axis direction.

At this time, the guide rail 133 and the laser head 135 includes an X axis moving means (not shown) or Y axis moving means (not shown) respectively controlled by the controller 150, wherein the X axis moving means (Not shown) or Y-axis moving means (not shown) is composed of a driving mechanism using a ball screw, a belt or a chain, or a linear motor and a guide device having excellent efficiency, guaranteeing a constant speed, and excellent positional accuracy and repeatability. Can be.

Accordingly, a pattern is formed in the light guide plate 123 through a laser beam irradiated from the laser head 135. In this case, the guide rail 133 is along the Y-axis direction of the table 101 through the rails 171 and 173. As the laser head 135 attached to the guide rail 133 slides along the X-axis direction of the table 101, the laser head 135 slides along the X-axis direction of the table 101 to form a pattern formed through the laser head 135 on the front surface of the light guide plate 123. Can be formed on both.

 Although not shown in the drawing, the bottom surface of the table 101 is provided with a dust collecting duct to suck the smoke generated during the pattern forming with a laser beam on the light guide plate 123 provided on the table 101 to discharge it to the outside. .

Hereinafter, the laser pattern processing method of the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to FIG. 3.

3 is a flowchart illustrating a laser pattern processing method using the laser pattern processing apparatus of FIG. 2.

First, the laser pattern processing method of the present invention may be made by a controller.

In the processing condition setting step (S10), the control unit sets laser processing conditions such as frequency, laser power, etc. corresponding to the processing of the light guide plate (123 in FIG. 2), and sets offset values for the guide rails, the laser head, and the light guide plate mounting unit, and their The moving speed set value is set.

When the processing condition setting step S10 is completed, the guide rail, the laser head, and the light guide plate mounting part are returned to a predetermined home position.

At this time, the light guide plate mounting portion is positioned at the light guide plate supply position.

Thereafter, the light guide plate supplying step S20 in which the control unit and the light guide plate supplying device of the present invention are interlocked is performed.

In the light guide plate supply step (S20), the light guide plate supply device picks up the light guide plate from the light guide plate supply position and places it on the light guide plate mounting portion.

Then, in the light guide plate mounting portion processing standby position moving step (S30), the light guide plate mounting portion is moved from the light guide plate supply position to the processing standby position, to place the light guide plate at the processing standby position.

In the pattern loading step (S40), the analysis of the pattern information input from the control unit is performed, the laser on / off time is set according to the analysis result, and the processing positions for the guide rail and the laser head are set.

Thereafter, the processing step (S50) is carried out. At this time, the laser pattern processing apparatus of the present invention is characterized in that it is possible to process a plurality of pattern lines at the same time.

Therefore, the efficiency of the operation of the laser pattern processing step of the present invention can be improved, and the light guide plate processing step can be performed quickly.

After completion of the processing step, the light guide plate supply position returning step (S60) of the light guide plate mounting unit is performed. That is, the light guide plate mounting part maintains the stop state after moving the light guide plate after the pattern processing from the processing standby position to the light guide plate supply position.

In this case, the LGP supplier may lift the LGP and move it to the work completion area, and then return to the LGP supply step S20.

Here, the laser pattern processing apparatus of the present invention can process a plurality of pattern lines at the same time, thereby improving the efficiency of the operation of the laser pattern processing step, because the XY scanner is further provided inside the laser head. Let's take a closer look at this.

4 is a block diagram illustrating in more detail the configuration of the laser pattern processing apparatus of the present invention of FIG. 2.

As shown, the laser pattern processing apparatus 100 according to the present invention has a light guide plate 123 is mounted on the light guide plate mounting portion 163, the laser generator 110 for generating a laser beam on the light guide plate 123. And an optical attenuator 141, a beam shaper 145, a beam expander 147, a laser head 135, and a controller 150.

This may include an AO modulator (acousto-optic modulator: 143).

The laser generator 110 may generate a laser having an infrared wavelength, such as a CO ₂ laser suitable for processing a material of the light guide plate 123, and is controlled by the controller 150, and modulates an RF signal. The laser beam is controlled through the pulse repetition rate, pulse width, and duty cycle to be continuously oscillated and irradiated toward the light attenuator 141.

The laser generator 110 may further include a photoactive device 111 including an optical amplifier.

The laser generator 110 may further include a power meter module 113 for measuring, monitoring, and correcting the intensity of the laser beam output from the photoactive element 111.

In addition, the laser generator 110 may further include an optical isolator 115 to allow the laser beam to proceed in only one polarization direction. The optical isolator 115 may play a role of preventing the reflected light generated at a long distance from returning to the laser generator 110 and destabilizing the operation of the laser generator 110.

In addition, between the laser generator 110 and the laser head 135, the optical attenuator 141, the AO modulator 143, the beam shaper 145, and the beam expander 147 are processed along the direction in which the laser beam passes. Each may be installed in the frame of the device.

The optical attenuator 141 serves to adjust the intensity of the laser beam or the output power of the laser beam. The optical attenuator 141 may be either a tunable attenuator that combines a step change in parallel with a continuous change in attenuation, or a fixed attenuator that makes the attenuation constant.

As the AO modulator 143 switches the path of the laser beam generated from the laser generator 110 and exits the optical attenuator 141, the laser beam irradiated to the light guide plate 123 is turned on / off. Play the role of ensuring that

The beamshaper 145 converts a laser beam in the form of a Gaussian beam into a parallel flat top beam or a truncated Gaussian beam to smooth the cutting surface or prevent thermal damage. It can play a role.

The beam expander 147 plays a role of enlarging the laser beam into a parallel light type of a predetermined diameter. The beam expander 147 may be installed on a movement path of the laser beam used for pattern formation in the light guide plate 123.

The laser head 135 receives the laser beam emitted from the laser generator 110 and irradiates the light guide plate 123 to perform pattern processing.

The laser head 135 may include a reflective mirror 137 disposed at an upper side thereof, and a focus lens 139 for focusing a laser beam passing through the laser beam 135 at a processed surface of the light guide plate 123.

In addition, the laser head 135 of the laser pattern processing apparatus 100 of the present invention allows the laser beam to be irradiated at a desired position between the reflective mirror 137 and the focus lens 139 at a high speed, thereby simultaneously processing a plurality of lines. It is characterized in that it comprises a possible XY scanner (210, 220).

Through this, by reducing the processing time for forming a pattern on the light guide plate 123, it is possible to maximize the work efficiency.

The XY scanners 210 and 220 are so-called galvano scanners composed of two galvano mirrors. The galvano mirror consists of two reflection mirrors 211 and 221 and driving devices 213 and 223 for rotating the reflection mirrors 211 and 221, respectively.

The two reflecting mirrors 211 and 221 are rotated separately through the respective driving devices 213 and 223 to scan the laser beam in two biaxial directions which are not parallel to each other, and thus the light guide plate 123 through the focus lens 139. The laser beam is continuously irradiated to various desired positions on the?

Thus, a plurality of patterns may be simultaneously formed on the light guide plate 123 while the laser head 135 slides along the guide rail 133 of FIG. 2.

That is, the laser pattern processing apparatus of the present invention is capable of simultaneously processing a plurality of pattern lines on the light guide plate 123 only by moving the laser head 135 once.

Therefore, the laser pattern processing apparatus 100 of the present invention can improve the efficiency of the pattern processing operation, there is an advantage that can quickly perform the light guide plate 123 processing.

5 is a block diagram illustrating in more detail the structure of a laser head according to an embodiment of the present invention.

As illustrated, the light guide plate 123 is seated on the light guide plate mounting portion 163, and the laser head 135 is positioned on the light guide plate 123.

The laser head 135 includes a laser generator (110 in FIG. 4), a light attenuator (141 in FIG. 4), a beam shaper (145 in FIG. 4), and a beam expander (FIG. 4) for generating a laser beam as mentioned above. 4, 147) and AO modulator (143 of FIG. 4) are supplied to the laser beam and irradiate the light guide plate 123.

The laser head 135 is composed of a reflective mirror 137, XY scanners 210 and 220, and a focus lens 139, where the XY scanners 210 and 220 are X-axis galvano mirrors 210 and Y-axis. It is made of a galvano mirror 220, the X-axis galvano mirror 210 is made of an X-axis driving device 213 for rotating the X-axis reflection mirror 211 and the X-axis reflection mirror 211, Y The shaft galvano mirror 220 includes a Y-axis reflection mirror 221 and a Y-axis driving apparatus 223 for rotating the Y-axis reflection mirror 221.

Accordingly, the X-axis reflection mirror 211 is disposed so that the rotation axis of the mirror is in the X-axis direction, and the Y-axis reflection mirror 221 is disposed so that the rotation axis of the mirror is in the Y-axis direction. Accordingly, the laser beam can be scanned in the X-axis direction on the light guide plate 123 by the X-axis reflection mirror 211, and the laser beam is scanned in the Y-axis direction on the light guide plate 123 by the Y-axis reflection mirror 221. can do.

Accordingly, the laser beam transmitted into the laser head 135 is refracted through the X-axis reflecting mirror 211 positioned by the X-axis galvano mirror 210 and then positioned by the Y-axis galvano mirror 220. By refracting through the Y-axis reflection mirror 221, the laser beam is guided to be irradiated onto the light guide plate 123 along the path input to the controller 150 (FIG. 4).

Accordingly, the laser beam passing through the XY scanners 210 and 220 is concentrated by the focus lens 139 and then irradiated onto the light guide plate 123 seated on the light guide plate mounting portion 163.

Here, the X-axis galvano mirror 210 and the Y-axis galvano mirror 220 through the X-axis and Y-axis drive unit (213, 223) installed in each of the X-axis reflection mirror 211 and Y-axis reflection mirror ( The reflection direction of 213 may be changed.

In addition, the XY scanners 210 and 220 are controlled by a controller (150 of FIG. 4) in which a movement path of a laser beam for a pattern to be formed on the light guide plate 123 is input.

Therefore, the laser pattern processing apparatus (100 in FIG. 4) using the XY scanners 210 and 220 having such a configuration has a path in which the laser beam is input to the controller (150 in FIG. 4) by the XY scanners 210 and 220. By irradiating onto the light guide plate 123, a pattern is formed on a predetermined portion on the light guide plate 123.

In this case, the laser head 135 slides along the line on which the pattern is to be formed, thereby forming a pattern on the light guide plate 123. As described above, the laser pattern processing apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention (see FIG. 4). 100 may allow the laser beam to be irradiated at a desired position at high speed through the XY scanners 210 and 220, so that a plurality of pattern lines may be formed even during one sliding movement of the laser head 135.

Therefore, the laser pattern processing apparatus (100 of FIG. 4) of the present invention can improve the efficiency of the pattern processing operation, there is an advantage that can quickly perform the light guide plate 123 processing.

That is, in general, when a pattern is to be formed on the light guide plate 123, only one pattern line may be formed during one sliding movement of the laser head 135.

On the contrary, the laser pattern processing apparatus 100 of FIG. 4 may simultaneously form a plurality of pattern lines during one sliding movement of the laser head 135, thereby reducing the processing time for forming the pattern on the light guide plate 123. FIG. By minimizing, work efficiency can be maximized.

In particular, the laser head 135 driven at high speed does not have constant speed for each section (acceleration, constant velocity, deceleration section), and therefore, output characteristics of the laser beam irradiated from the laser head 135 are not constant.

Therefore, in the acceleration and deceleration sections of the laser head 135, a waiting time for supplying the laser beam that does not form a pattern occurs.

 That is, after forming one pattern line on the light guide plate 123 due to the sliding movement of the laser head 135, in order to form another pattern line next to each other, a predetermined time according to the acceleration and deceleration sections of the laser head 135 is formed. Wait for a while before proceeding with the patterning process.

On the contrary, in the present invention, since a plurality of pattern lines can be simultaneously formed during one sliding movement of the laser head 135, the pattern processing waiting time can be reduced, thereby maximizing the work efficiency and processing the light guide plate 123. You can do it quickly.

As described above, the laser pattern processing apparatus (100 in FIG. 4) of the present invention further includes XY scanners 210 and 220 in the laser head 135, so that a plurality of pattern lines can be simultaneously formed, and thus, the pattern Since the processing waiting time can be reduced, the working efficiency can be further maximized, and the light guide plate 123 can be processed quickly.

The invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention.

100: laser pattern processing device
110: laser generator, 111: photoactive element, 113: power meter module, 115:
123: light guide plate
130: beam switch, 135: laser head, 137: reflective mirror, 139: focus lens
141: optical attenuator, 143: AO modulator, 145: beam shaper, 147: beam expander
150: control unit, 163: light guide plate mounting unit
210: X-axis galvano mirror, 211: X-axis reflection mirror, 213: X-axis driving device
220: Y-axis galvano mirror, 221: Y-axis reflective mirror, 223: Y-axis driving device

Claims (7)

In the laser pattern processing apparatus for forming a pattern on a light guide plate,
A laser generator for generating a laser beam;
A laser head receiving the laser beam and irradiating the light guide plate toward the light guide plate;
An XY scanner included in the laser head and irradiating the laser beam at a desired position at a high speed to form a pattern;
A guide rail for moving the laser head;
Light guide plate mounting portion for moving the light guide plate
The laser pattern processing apparatus of claim 1, wherein the XY scanner forms a plurality of pattern lines in a process of sliding the laser head through the guide rail.
The method of claim 1,
The XY scanner is composed of an X-axis galvano mirror and a Y-axis galvano mirror, the X-axis galvano mirror is composed of an X-axis reflection mirror and an X-axis driving device for rotating the X-axis reflection mirror, the Y The shaft galvano mirror is a laser pattern processing apparatus comprising a Y-axis reflection mirror and a Y-axis driving device for rotating the Y-axis reflection mirror.
The method of claim 2,
The X-axis reflective mirror is rotated in the X-axis direction by the axis of rotation through the X-axis drive device, the Y-axis reflective mirror is rotated in the Y-axis direction perpendicular to the X axis by the Y axis drive device Pattern processing equipment.
The method of claim 1,
The laser head is a laser pattern processing apparatus including a reflection mirror and a focus lens.
The method of claim 1,
An optical attenuator for adjusting the intensity of the laser beam between the laser generator and the laser head, a beam shaper for converting the laser beam into a flat top beam or truncated Gaussian beam, and the laser beam Laser pattern processing device, where a beam expander is positioned to expand the beam into parallel light. The method of claim 1,
And an AO actoto-optic modulator for turning the laser beam on and off between the laser generator and the laser head.
The method of claim 1,
The laser generator includes an optical active device including an optical amplifier, a power meter module for measuring, monitoring, and correcting the intensity of the laser beam, and not only traveling the laser beam in one polarization direction but also reflecting and returning the laser beam. Laser pattern processing apparatus comprising an optical isolator for blocking.

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