WO2011111139A1

WO2011111139A1 - Cleaning instrument, and instrument having polarizing plate attached thereto

Info

Publication number: WO2011111139A1
Application number: PCT/JP2010/006983
Authority: WO
Inventors: 宇田満; 安田忠睦
Original assignee: シャープ株式会社
Priority date: 2010-03-08
Filing date: 2010-11-30
Publication date: 2011-09-15

Abstract

A cleaning instrument comprising: a stage on which a sheet-like liquid crystal display panel is to be held; an air blowing unit from which air is blown toward the liquid crystal display panel held on the stage to cause the detachment of contaminants from the surface of the liquid crystal display panel by the action of the flow of the air; and an air suction unit which is so arranged as to face the air blowing unit and can suck air discharged from the air blowing unit together with the contaminants.

Description

Cleaning device and polarizing plate pasting device

The present invention relates to a cleaning device and a polarizing plate pasting device provided with the same, and more particularly to a technique for cleaning a panel surface when a polarizing plate is pasted on the surface of a liquid crystal display panel in the manufacturing process of the liquid crystal display device. is there.

The liquid crystal display device includes a liquid crystal display panel in which a liquid crystal layer is sealed between a pair of substrates, and polarizing plates are attached to both surfaces of the liquid crystal display panel, and the liquid crystal display panel is transmitted through each polarizing plate. By restricting the vibration of light in a predetermined direction, the change in the optical characteristics of the liquid crystal layer due to the application of voltage, that is, the change in the alignment state of the liquid crystal molecules is visualized as the intensity of transmitted light, and the desired image display is performed It has become.

In the manufacture of this liquid crystal display device, when a polarizing plate is attached to the surface of the liquid crystal display panel, metal powder generated from the movable part of the manufacturing device, glass dust generated when the glass substrate is cut, sebum generated from the human body, sweat and When various fibers generated from hair, clothing, and the like adhere to the panel surface as foreign matter, the foreign matter is sandwiched between the panel surface and the polarizing plate. In this way, the liquid crystal display device in which a foreign substance is interposed between the panel surface and the polarizing plate appears to shine when the foreign substance intervening part reflects light when performing image display, and includes a defective product including a foreign substance defect. Become. A liquid crystal display panel including such a foreign substance defect requires a rework work to peel off the polarizing plate from the liquid crystal display panel, remove the foreign substance, and then re-apply another polarizing plate. And the polarizing plate is wasted.

The above-mentioned liquid crystal display device is manufactured in a clean room, but it is impossible to completely eliminate floating foreign substances that cause defects in the clean room. Therefore, in order to prevent foreign matter from intervening between the liquid crystal display panel surface and the polarizing plate, a cleaning process is employed to clean the panel surface before the polarizing plate is attached to the liquid crystal display panel surface. .

A cleaning device used in this cleaning process is, for example, as disclosed in Patent Document 1, an air suction part that sucks air from below, and a cleaning device that protrudes from the inside of the suction channel of the air suction part to the outside of the suction port. An air blowing part that blows out fresh air downward, blows air to the surface of the liquid crystal display panel that is the object to be processed by the air blowing part, winds up the foreign matter adhering to the panel surface, and includes the wound foreign matter Air is sucked by the air suction part at the outer periphery of the air blowing part to collect foreign matter.

Japanese Utility Model Publication 1-179433

However, in the above-described cleaning device, the air blowing portion and the air suction portion are adjacent to each other, and the direction in which air is blown to the liquid crystal display panel is opposite to the direction in which air containing foreign matter is sucked. The air blown from the air blowing portion and hitting the surface of the liquid crystal display panel cannot be sufficiently sucked by the air sucking portion, and the foreign matter recovery rate is low. For this reason, the wound up foreign matter floats in the clean room, and the cleanliness of the manufacturing environment is lowered. In addition, even if the cleaning process is carried out before attaching the polarizing plate, foreign matter that floats in the clean room before attaching the polarizing plate reattaches to the surface of the liquid crystal display panel, resulting in a defective product containing foreign matter defects. As a result, a decrease in manufacturing efficiency of the liquid crystal display device cannot be sufficiently suppressed, and the polarizing plate is also lost.

The present invention has been made in view of such a point, and the object of the present invention is to increase the recovery rate of foreign matter, maintain the cleanliness of the manufacturing environment, and reattach the foreign matter to the surface of the object to be processed. Is to prevent.

In order to achieve the above object, in the present invention, the air blowing means and the air suction means are arranged at appropriate positions in consideration of the airflow during cleaning.

Specifically, the present invention is directed to a cleaning device that cleans the surface of a plate-shaped object to be processed and a polarizing plate sticking device including the same, and the following solution is taken.

In other words, the first invention is a cleaning device, wherein a stage holding a plate-like object to be processed, and air is blown out toward the object to be processed held on the stage, and the object to be processed is caused by the flow of the air. An air blowing means for detaching foreign matter from the surface of the body, and an air suction means arranged so as to face the air blowing means and sucking the air blown from the air blowing means together with the foreign matter. To do.

According to the above configuration, the foreign matter released from the surface of the object to be processed by the air flow blown from the air blowing means is efficiently sucked together with the air by the air suction means arranged on the downstream side of the air flow. The recovery rate is increased. As a result, the foreign matter detached from the surface of the object to be processed by the cleaning work does not float in the cleaning work room, and the cleanliness of the manufacturing environment is maintained. Furthermore, since the air curtain is formed on the surface of the object to be processed by the air blowing by the air blowing means and the air suction by the air suction means, it is possible to prevent the foreign matter from reattaching to the surface of the object to be processed.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the cleaning device of the first aspect, the air blowing means and the air suction means are arranged on the side of the stage so as to face each other with the stage interposed therebetween. .

According to the above configuration, the air blown out from the air blowing means flows from one side of the object to be processed held on the stage toward the other side, and the foreign matter detached from the surface of the object to be processed in the process An air curtain that is efficiently sucked together with air by the air suction means arranged on the downstream side of the air flow and that flows from one side to the other side is formed on the surface of the object to be processed. Thus, the cleaning device of the first invention can be realized with a simple configuration.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the cleaning device of the second aspect, the air suction means is also disposed on the side of the stage extending between the air blowing means and the air suction means. .

According to the above configuration, the foreign matter detached from the surface of the object to be processed is sucked together with the air by the plurality of air suction means, so that the foreign matter recovery rate can be increased as much as possible.

4th invention is the cleaning apparatus of 2nd or 3rd invention, The said air blowing means is comprised so that a reciprocating motion to the up-down direction or the left-right direction is carried out with respect to the to-be-processed body hold | maintained at the said stage. It is characterized by that.

According to the above configuration, by reciprocating the air blowing means in the up-down direction or the left-right direction with respect to the object to be processed at the time of the cleaning work, the degree of air contact with the surface of the object to be processed is changed, and the cleaning ability is improved. It is possible to satisfactorily remove the foreign matter adhering to the surface of the object to be processed. In particular, when the air blowing means is reciprocated in the left-right direction, the air is blown over a wide area of the surface of the object to be treated even by the air blowing means of the air outlet having a small air blowing area compared to the area of the surface of the object to be treated. Since it becomes possible to blow out, the surface of a to-be-processed object of a large area can also be cleaned favorably.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the cleaning device of the second or third aspect, the air blowing means is configured to swing in the vertical direction or the horizontal direction with respect to the object to be processed held on the stage. It is characterized by that.

Even with the above configuration, by swinging the air blowing means in the up-down direction or the left-right direction with respect to the object to be processed at the time of cleaning work, the degree of air contact with the surface of the object to be processed is changed, and the cleaning ability is improved. It is possible to satisfactorily remove the foreign matter adhering to the surface of the object to be processed. In particular, when the air blowing means is swung in the left-right direction, the air is blown over a wide area of the surface of the object to be treated even by the air blowing means of the air outlet having a small air blowing area with respect to the surface of the object to be treated. Since it becomes possible to blow out, the surface of a to-be-processed object of a large area can also be cleaned favorably.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the cleaning device of the first aspect, the air blowing means is disposed above and below the stage, and the air suction means is disposed at the other of the stage above and below the stage. It is arranged so as to face the air blowing means across the surface, and is configured to suck air that is blown onto the surface of the object to be processed and spreads on the outer periphery of the stage together with the foreign matter on the outer periphery of the stage. And

According to the above configuration, the air blown from the air blowing means is blown to the surface of the object to be processed held on the stage and flows to the outer periphery side of the object to be processed along the surface of the object to be processed. The foreign matter detached from the surface flows along with the air along the outer peripheral end surface of the object to be processed, and is efficiently sucked together with the air on the outer periphery of the stage by the air suction means arranged on the downstream side of the air flow. An air curtain that flows from the air blowing position toward the outer periphery of the workpiece is formed on the surface. Thus, the cleaning device of the first invention can be realized with a simple configuration.

According to a seventh aspect of the invention, in any one of the first to sixth aspects of the cleaning device, the air blowing means includes a plurality of blowing nozzles.

According to the above configuration, by selectively changing the blowing nozzle that blows out air, that is, selectively driving air blowing means that blows air from all blowing nozzles, or driving air blowing means that blows air from partial blowing nozzles. By implementing the above, it is possible to easily expand and reduce the cleaning range according to the size of the object to be processed.

The eighth invention is characterized in that, in the cleaning device according to any one of the first to seventh inventions, the air blowing means is configured such that an air blowing output is variable.

According to said structure, by changing the air blowing output by an air blowing means at the time of cleaning operation, the contact condition of the air with respect to the to-be-processed object surface changes, the cleaning capability improves, and it adhered to this to-be-processed object surface It becomes possible to remove the foreign matter satisfactorily.

The ninth invention is characterized in that, in the cleaning device of the eighth invention, the air blowing means is configured such that an opening area of the air blowing port is variable.

According to said structure, since the blowing output of the air by each blowing nozzle changes by expanding or reducing the opening area of the air blowing outlet of each blowing nozzle at the time of cleaning operation, the same effect as 4th invention is obtained. Played specifically.

According to a tenth aspect of the present invention, in the cleaning device according to any one of the first to ninth aspects of the invention, the suction passage of the air suction means has a flow passage area that gradually decreases from the air suction port toward the back side. It is characterized by being narrowly formed.

According to the above configuration, since the suction flow path is narrowly formed, the flow velocity of the suction airflow on the back side (downstream side) is higher than the air suction port side (upstream side) of the suction flow path. However, it is possible to reliably collect a relatively large foreign object.

The eleventh invention is characterized in that, in the cleaning device according to any one of the first to tenth inventions, the air suction means is configured such that an opening area of an air suction port is variable.

According to the above configuration, by changing the opening area of the air suction port of the air suction means from the expanded state to the reduced state, the flow velocity of the suction airflow increases, so that foreign matter having a relatively large mass can be reliably recovered, The present invention can also be applied to cleaning the surface of an object to be processed after a process that has a high possibility of attaching a foreign substance having a relatively large mass.

A twelfth aspect of the invention is the cleaning apparatus according to any one of the first to eleventh aspects of the invention, wherein the air blowing means includes an internal space connected to the air outlet, and positively and negatively ionizes air in the internal space. It is characterized in that it is configured to generate air having a charge-removing action that contains ions of the same and to blow out the air having a charge-removing action.

According to the above configuration, even if the object to be processed is charged when the polarizing plate is attached to the surface of the object to be processed, positive and negative ions contained in the air having a neutralizing action blown out toward the object to be processed Thus, the charge on the object to be processed is neutralized, and the object to be processed is neutralized. Accordingly, when the object to be processed is an electronic device such as a display panel, the object to be processed is prevented from being damaged due to charged static electricity.

The thirteenth invention is characterized in that, in any one of the cleaning devices according to the first to twelfth inventions, the air blowing means includes a cover member that covers a rear side of the air blowing port.

According to the above configuration, since the airflow from the outside of the cleaning device to the air blown out from the air blowing means is blocked by the cover member, the air blowing means blows air in a predetermined direction without being affected by the external airflow. It becomes possible to clean the surface of the workpiece well. Further, air blowing sound by the air blowing means is blocked by the cover member, and noise in the cleaning work is reduced.

The fourteenth invention is characterized in that, in the cleaning device according to any one of the first to thirteenth inventions, at least a surface of the air blowing means and the air suction means is provided with antistatic properties.

According to the above configuration, since the floating foreign matter is prevented from being electrostatically adsorbed to the air blowing means and the air suction means, the floating foreign matter in the cleaning work room is also efficiently used by the air suction means together with the foreign matter separated from the surface of the object to be processed. Can be sucked and collected.

A fifteenth aspect of the present invention is a polarizing plate sticking device, wherein any one of the cleaning devices of the first to fourteenth aspects, and a sticking mechanism for sticking the polarizing plate to the surface of the object to be processed held on the stage, And a control means for operating the sticking mechanism based on a cleaning start signal or a cleaning end signal of the cleaning device.

According to the above configuration, since the polarizing plate is attached to the surface of the object to be processed while the surface of the object to be processed is efficiently cleaned or cleaned so that the cleaning device does not reattach the foreign object, the foreign object is sandwiched between them. A polarizing plate is stuck on the surface of the object to be processed. Thereby, it is not necessary to perform a rework operation for re-attaching the polarizing plate to the surface of the object to be processed. As a result, the manufacturing efficiency of the liquid crystal display device is increased and the polarizing plate is not wasted.

According to a sixteenth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the polarizing plate pasting apparatus according to the fifteenth aspect, further comprising a moving mechanism that horizontally moves the stage and horizontally moves the air blowing means and the air suction means in the same direction as the stage moves. A polarizing plate holding means for holding the polarizing plate so that a downstream end portion in the stage moving direction protrudes, and a protruding end portion of the polarizing plate held by the polarizing plate holding means on the stage. A pressing roller that presses against the surface of the object to be processed held on the surface, and the control means moves the surface of the object to be processed held on the stage by the air blowing means and the air suction means in the moving process of the stage. While cleaning or immediately after cleaning, the protruding end portion of the polarizing plate held by the polarizing plate holding means is raised with respect to the downstream end portion of the surface of the object to be processed in the stage moving direction. The cleaning device, the pasting mechanism, and the moving mechanism are controlled so as to stick the polarizing plate to the object to be processed by pressing with the pressing roller and rolling the pressing roller on the surface of the polarizing plate as the stage moves. It is characterized by that.

According to the above configuration, the polarizing plate is attached to the surface of the object to be processed in order from one end to the other end by the pressing roller as the stage moves, so that air bubbles are involved between the surface of the object to be processed and the polarizing plate. The polarizing plate can be satisfactorily adhered to the surface of the object to be processed with a simple configuration.

According to a seventeenth aspect of the invention, in the polarizing plate attaching apparatus according to the sixteenth aspect of the invention, the moving mechanism includes a stage moving mechanism that horizontally moves the stage, a blowing means moving mechanism that horizontally moves the air blowing means, and the air suction. A suction means moving mechanism for horizontally moving the means, the control means from the air blowing means so as to compensate for a time lag until the air blown from the air blowing means reaches the air suction means The air suction means is controlled so as to be moved to the upstream side of the stage moving direction with a delay, and the blowing means moving mechanism and the suction means moving mechanism are controlled.

According to the above configuration, the air suction means moves in accordance with the airflow flowing upstream in the stage moving direction as the stage moves, so that the foreign objects are more efficiently sucked together with the air by the air suction means, and the object to be processed The air curtain is well formed on the surface.

According to the cleaning device of the present invention, the air blowing means that blows air toward the object to be processed and the air suction means that sucks the air blown from the air blowing means are disposed so as to face each other. The recovery rate of foreign matters can be increased, the cleanliness of the manufacturing environment can be maintained, and the reattachment of foreign matters to the surface of the object to be processed can be prevented. Then, by incorporating such a cleaning device into the polarizing plate attaching device, the polarizing plate can be attached to the surface of the object to be processed without sandwiching foreign matter. As a result, the manufacturing efficiency of the liquid crystal display device can be increased and the waste of the polarizing plate can be eliminated.

FIG. 1 is a front view schematically showing a polarizing plate sticking apparatus according to the first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a plan view of the polarizing plate sticking apparatus of FIG. 1 (the sticking mechanism is not shown). FIG. 3 is a side view of the polarizing plate sticking apparatus of FIG. 1 (the air blowing part and the air suction part are not shown). FIG. 4 is a perspective view schematically showing the cleaning device according to the first embodiment. FIG. 5 is a perspective view schematically showing an air suction unit according to the first embodiment. FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a method for attaching a polarizing plate to a liquid crystal display panel. FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a state where the polarizing plate is attached to the liquid crystal display panel. FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a state where the polarizing plate is stuck to the liquid crystal display panel. FIG. 9 is a plan view schematically showing a polarizing plate sticking apparatus according to Modification 1 of Embodiment 1 (the sticking mechanism is not shown). FIG. 10 is a perspective view illustrating a cleaning device according to a second modification of the first embodiment. 11A and 11B are perspective views showing an air blowing portion according to Modification 3 of Embodiment 1, wherein FIG. 11A is an air blowing portion in which the air blowing port is in an expanded state, and FIG. 11B is an air in which the air blowing port is in a reduced state. It is a blowout part. 12A and 12B are perspective views illustrating an air suction unit according to the fourth modification of the first embodiment, in which FIG. 12A is an air suction unit in which the air suction port is in an expanded state, and FIG. 12B is air in which the air suction port is in a contracted state. It is a suction part. FIG. 13 is a front view schematically showing a polarizing plate sticking apparatus according to Modification 7 of Embodiment 1. FIG. 14 is a perspective view schematically showing the cleaning device according to the second embodiment.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. The present invention is not limited to the following embodiments.

Embodiment 1 of the Invention
FIG. 1 is a schematic front view of a polarizing plate sticking apparatus S of the present embodiment. FIG. 2 is a schematic plan view of the polarizing plate sticking apparatus S, and FIG. 3 is a schematic side view of the polarizing plate sticking apparatus S. For the sake of convenience, the pasting mechanism described later is omitted in FIG. 2, and the air blowing part, the air suction part, etc. described later are omitted in FIG. 3.

The polarizing plate pasting device S is used, for example, in a clean room of a liquid crystal display device manufacturing factory, and cleans the surface of a liquid crystal display panel P, which is a plate-shaped object, as shown in FIG. And a pasting mechanism 53 for pasting the polarizing plate H on the surface of the liquid crystal display panel P.

FIG. 4 is a schematic perspective view showing the configuration of the cleaning device 10.

The cleaning device 10 includes a rectangular stage 11 that holds the liquid crystal display panel P on the upper surface, an air blowing portion 23 that is an air blowing means for blowing air toward the liquid crystal display panel P held on the stage 11, An air suction unit 31 that is an air suction unit that sucks air blown from the air blowing unit 23 is provided.

Two positioning pins 13 project from the upper surface of the stage 11 at positions corresponding to two adjacent sides of the liquid crystal display panel P, and each positioning pin 13 is brought into contact with the edge of the liquid crystal display panel P. Thus, the liquid crystal display panel P can be positioned. Although not shown, a plurality of suction holes are formed on the upper surface of the stage 11, and each suction hole is connected to a vacuum suction means such as a vacuum pump. The stage 11 sucks and holds the liquid crystal display panel P placed on the upper surface by driving the vacuum suction means.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, the stage 11 is horizontally movable in one axial direction (vertical direction in FIG. 2 and horizontal direction in FIG. 3) by a stage moving mechanism 17 constituting the moving mechanism 15. The stage moving mechanism 17 includes, for example, a slider 19 that supports the lower part of the stage 11 and a guide rail 21 that extends from the front side to the back side of the polarizing plate pasting apparatus S and that slidably fits and supports the slider 19. As shown in FIG. 2, the liquid crystal display panel P is taken out from the initial position p1 where the liquid crystal display panel P is placed through the polarizing plate attaching position p2, as shown in FIG. The stage 11 is moved along the guide rail 21 to the final position p3.

The air blowing portion 23 is disposed in the vicinity of the stage 11 on one side of the stage 11 (right side in FIGS. 1 to 3), and is formed in a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape extending along the edge of the stage 11. Of the liquid crystal display panel P held by the stage 11, and a plurality of blowing nozzles 27 protruding from the surface portion of the casing 25 on the stage 11 side. It arrange | positions so that it may rank with a fixed interval along an edge.

Although not shown, the casing 25 is connected to an air supply means such as a gas cylinder that feeds clean air into the blowout nozzles 27 through valves and pipes, and adjusts the open / close state of the valves. The air blowing output from each blowing nozzle 27 is configured to be variable. In addition, discharge needles that generate corona discharge are provided inside the blowout nozzles 27, and the discharge needles are connected to a high-voltage power source that applies an alternating high voltage through wiring. And the said air blowing part 23 applies alternating current high voltage to each discharge needle from a high voltage power supply, generates corona discharge, ionizes the air near the discharge needle supplied from the said air supply means by this corona discharge. It is configured to generate neutralizing air containing positive and negative ions, and to blow out the neutralizing air from each blowing nozzle 27.

Furthermore, the air blowing unit 23 has an opening / closing mechanism such as a shutter inside each blowing nozzle 27, and is configured to be able to select the blowing nozzle 27 that blows air. By changing the blowing nozzle 27 that blows air, That is, the cleaning range is expanded and reduced according to the size of the liquid crystal display panel P by selectively performing driving for blowing air from all the blowing nozzles 27 or driving for blowing air from the partial blowing nozzles 27. It can be easily done.

Further, the air blowing section 23 includes a cover member 29 that covers the entire housing 25 on the rear side of the air blowing outlet 27a at the tip of each blowing nozzle 27, and the outside of the cleaning device 10 is supplied to the air blown from each blowing nozzle 27. The airflow is blocked from flowing in. Thus, air can be blown in a predetermined direction from each blowing nozzle 27 of the air blowing portion 23 toward the liquid crystal display panel P held by the stage 11 without being affected by the external airflow. Furthermore, the air blowing sound by the air blowing portion 23 can be blocked by the cover member 29, and noise in the cleaning work can be reduced.

FIG. 5 is a schematic perspective view of the air suction unit 31.

The air suction part 31 is disposed close to the stage 11 on the other side of the stage 11 (left side in FIGS. 1 to 3), and faces the air blowing part 23 with the stage 11 in between. The housing 33 is formed so as to extend along the line. A wide air suction port 33a is formed on the surface portion of the casing 33 on the stage 11 side so as to extend along the edge of the liquid crystal display panel P held by the stage 11, and the air suction port 33a It faces the air outlet 27a of each outlet nozzle 27.

Although not shown, a fan facing the air suction port 33a and a filter through which the suction airflow passes are accommodated in the housing 33 of the air suction unit 31. Then, the air suction unit 31 sucks air from the outside into the suction flow path 33b through the air suction port 33a when the fan is rotationally driven by an electric motor, and removes foreign matter in the sucked air. The purified air that has been filtered and purified through the filter is discharged from an exhaust port (not shown) formed on the back surface of the housing 33 on the side opposite to the stage 11.

Further, as shown in FIG. 5, the suction flow path 33b of the housing 33 of the air suction portion 31 is formed to be narrow so that the flow area gradually decreases from the air suction port 33a toward the back side. . Thereby, since the flow velocity of the suction airflow is increased on the back side (downstream side) of the air suction port 33a side (upstream side) of the suction flow path 33b, foreign matter having a relatively large mass can be reliably sucked and collected.

In the present embodiment, the air suction unit 31 exemplifies a configuration in which air is sucked by the rotational drive of a fan accommodated in the housing 33. However, the air suction unit 31 is connected to the housing 33 by a vacuum pump. A vacuum suction means such as the above may be connected, and air may be sucked by driving the vacuum suction means.

The air blowing part 23 (the casing 25, the blowing nozzle 27 and the cover member 29) and the air suction part 31 (the casing 33) are made of an antistatic material such as aluminum, stainless steel or iron, and the surface thereof is charged. It has a preventive property so that floating foreign substances in the clean room are not electrostatically adsorbed. Thereby, floating foreign substances in the clean room are also efficiently sucked and collected together with air by the air suction unit 31. The air blowing unit 23 and the air suction unit 31 are supported on

support bases

37 and 39, respectively, and as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the blowing unit moving mechanism 41 and the suction unit moving mechanism constituting the moving mechanism 15. 47 enables horizontal movement in the same direction as the stage 11.

In this embodiment, the air blowing part 23 and the air suction part 31 are made of an antistatic material. However, the air blowing part 23 and the air suction part 31 are external surfaces of the base material constituting them. An antistatic layer made of a known surfactant or conductive resin is provided by coating, spraying, or pasting, which has antistatic properties on the surface and prevents electrostatic adsorption of floating foreign matters. It may be.

The blowing part moving mechanism 41 includes, for example, a slider 43 that supports the lower portion of the support base 37 of the air blowing part 23 and one side of the guide rail 21 of the stage moving mechanism 17 (right side in FIGS. 1 and 2). And a guide rail 45 that slidably fits and supports the slider 43, and moves the air outlet 23 in synchronism with the movement of the stage 11 by a feed screw mechanism and a linear motor (not shown) as in the stage moving mechanism 17. It is supposed to let you. Further, the suction part moving mechanism 47 has the same configuration as that of the blowing part moving mechanism 41 having the slider 49 and the guide rail 51 with the stage moving mechanism 17 sandwiched between the other sides of the guide rail 21 of the stage moving mechanism 17 (see FIG. 1 and the left side in FIG. 2, the air suction part 31 is moved in synchronization with the movement of the stage 11.

In the cleaning apparatus 10 configured as described above, the air blowing unit 23 and the air suction unit 31 are moved by the moving mechanism 15 in synchronization with the movement of the stage 11 and the neutralizing action is blown out from the air blowing unit 23. Air flows from one side of the liquid crystal display panel P held by the stage 11 to the other side, and the foreign matter attached to the surface of the liquid crystal display panel P is released by the air flow, and the released foreign matter is airflow. The air suction unit 31 disposed on the downstream side of the air efficiently removes the air together with the air, and the surface of the liquid crystal display panel P is cleaned. Further, an air curtain that flows from one side to the other side is formed on the surface of the liquid crystal display panel P by blowing out air by the air blowing unit 23 and sucking air by the air suction unit 31, so that the liquid crystal display panel P It is possible to prevent foreign matters from reattaching to the surface.

At the time of cleaning the liquid crystal display panel P, by changing the air blowing output by the air blowing portion 23, the air contact with the surface of the liquid crystal display panel P is changed to improve the cleaning ability, and the liquid crystal display panel P is improved. The foreign matter adhering to the surface can be removed satisfactorily. In addition, when the liquid crystal display panel P is charged, the charge carried by the liquid crystal display panel P is neutralized by positive and negative ions contained in the air blown toward the liquid crystal display panel P. Thus, the liquid crystal display panel P is neutralized. Thereby, it is possible to prevent the liquid crystal display panel P from being damaged due to charged static electricity.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, the sticking mechanism 53 includes a suction plate 55 as a polarizing plate holding means for sucking and holding the polarizing plate H on the lower surface, and a polarizing plate sticking position p2 in the moving path of the stage 11. And a pressing mechanism 57 provided so as to be positioned above the stage 11.

The suction plate 55 is configured to move between the polarizing plate mounting position on the side of the moving path of the stage 11 and the polarizing plate attaching position p2 on the moving path of the stage 11 by a plate moving mechanism (not shown). Further, the suction plate 55 is configured to be able to rotate with the plate rotating mechanism (not shown) at the polarizing plate attaching position p2 with the upstream end in the stage moving direction as the central axis and the downstream end facing downward. . A polarizing plate H is mounted on the suction plate 55 so that the end protrudes on the downstream side in the stage moving direction when the polarizing plate is moved to the polarizing plate attaching position p2 by a transport unit (not shown) at the polarizing plate mounting position. The The polarizing plate H has an adhesive layer covered with a protective film on the side of the anti-adsorption plate 55, and the protective film is removed by a peeling mechanism (not shown) before the adsorption plate 55 moves from the polarizing plate mounting position to the polarizing plate attaching position p2. It is peeled off.

The suction plate 55 is made of an antistatic material such as aluminum, stainless steel, or iron. As a result, even when the polarizing plate H is charged with static electricity, the static electricity is quickly removed, and the polarizing plate H is prevented from being distorted or the liquid crystal display panel P being damaged due to the static electricity charged with the polarizing plate H. Is done.

The pressing mechanism 57 includes a cylinder 59 provided with a piston rod 59a facing downward, a mounting plate 61 mounted horizontally on the tip of the piston rod 59a of the cylinder 59, and a stage 11 side of the mounting plate 61. A pair of pivot bars 63 extending downward from both ends located and facing each other, a backup roller 65 between the pair of pivot bars 63, and a pressing roller 67 in contact with the lower end of the backup roller 65 Each is rotatably mounted. The pressing mechanism 57 moves the pressing roller 67 downward when the cylinder 59 is operated when the stage 11 is moved to the polarizing plate attaching position p2, and the pressing roller 67 causes the pressing plate 67 to move to the suction plate 55. The protruding end portion of the held polarizing plate H is pressed against the surface of the liquid crystal display panel P held by the stage 11.

Further, the polarizing plate sticking device S includes a control unit 69 which is the control means shown in FIG. 1 for controlling the cleaning device 10, the moving mechanism 15 and the sticking mechanism 53, and the control unit 69 includes the stage moving mechanism. 17, the air blowing section 23, the air suction section 31, the blowing section moving mechanism 41, the suction section moving mechanism 47, the suction plate 55, the plate moving mechanism, the transport unit, the peeling mechanism, the pressing mechanism 57, and the like.

In the polarizing plate sticking apparatus S having the above configuration, the transport unit, the peeling mechanism, and the plate moving mechanism are operated by the control unit 69 prior to the sticking operation of the polarizing plate H, and the suction plate 55 holds the polarizing plate H in advance. Is disposed at the polarizing plate attaching position p2. When the liquid crystal display panel P is placed on the stage 11, the control unit 69 activates the air blowing unit 23 and the air suction unit 31 to start cleaning the surface of the liquid crystal display panel P, and the moving mechanism 15. The liquid crystal display panel is moved from the initial position p1 to the final position p3 by operating the stage moving mechanism 17, the blowing part moving mechanism 41, and the suction part moving mechanism 47 to move the stage 11 together with the air blowing part 23 and the air suction part 31. Transport P. In the process of transporting the liquid crystal display panel P (during the movement of the stage 11), the control unit 69 constantly operates the air blowing unit 23 and the air suction unit 31 to constantly clean the surface of the liquid crystal display panel P. Based on the cleaning start signal 10, the plate rotation mechanism is operated to rotate and attract the suction plate 55 at the polarizing plate attaching position p <b> 2. Along with the rotation of the suction plate 55, the control unit 69 further operates the cylinder 59 of the pressing mechanism 57 so that the suction plate 55 holds the downstream end of the surface of the liquid crystal display panel P in the stage moving direction. The protruding end portion of the polarizing plate H is pressed by the pressing roller 67. Then, when the pressing roller 67 is rolled on the surface of the polarizing plate H as the stage 11 moves, the polarizing plate H is attached to the surface of the liquid crystal display panel P.

-How to attach polarizing plate H to the surface of liquid crystal display panel P-
Next, a method for attaching the polarizing plate H to the surface of the liquid crystal display panel P using the polarizing plate attaching apparatus S will be described with reference to FIGS. 2 and 6 to 8 with an example. FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a method of attaching a polarizing plate to the liquid crystal display panel P. FIG. 7 shows a state where the polarizing plate H is pasted, and FIG. 8 shows a state where the polarizing plate H is pasted.

First, a liquid crystal display panel P to be attached to the polarizing plate H is prepared as an object to be processed, and the liquid crystal display panel P is positioned and held on the stage 11 waiting at the initial position p1 shown in FIG. The liquid crystal display panel P is set in the polarizing plate pasting apparatus S (ST1). At this stage, the suction plate 55 stands by at the polarizing plate attaching position p2 while holding the polarizing plate H in advance.

Next, the air blowing unit 23 and the air suction unit 31 are operated, and the air blown from the air blowing unit 23 is removed from the surface of the liquid crystal display panel P by the air flow formed by sucking the air by the air suction unit 31. Cleaning of the surface of the liquid crystal display panel P for sucking and removing foreign matter together with air is started (ST2).

Next, the stage 11 is moved horizontally, and the liquid crystal display panel P is transported to the polarizing plate attaching position p2 (ST3) as indicated by the one-dot chain line in FIG. 2, and the movement of the stage 11 is further continued. P is continuously conveyed to the final position p3 (ST5). In the process of transporting the liquid crystal display panel P (during the movement of the stage 11), the polarizing plate H is attached to the surface of the liquid crystal display panel P while constantly cleaning the surface of the liquid crystal display panel P (ST4).

That is, when the liquid crystal display panel P approaches the polarizing plate attaching position p2, as shown in FIG. 7, the downstream side in the stage moving direction of the suction plate 55 is tilted downward, and the protruding end of the polarizing plate H is placed in the liquid crystal. The surface of the display panel P is brought into contact with the downstream end of the stage moving direction. At the same time, the pressing roller 67 of the pressing mechanism 57 is moved downward, and the protruding end of the polarizing plate H is pressed against one end of the surface of the liquid crystal display panel P by the pressing roller 67. Then, with the polarizing plate H pressed against the surface of the liquid crystal display panel P, the pressing roller 67 rolls on the surface of the polarizing plate H as the liquid crystal display panel P is conveyed (the movement of the stage 11). Thereby, the polarizing plate H is affixed in order, without entraining a bubble toward the other end part from the one end part of the liquid crystal display panel P surface. At this time, even if the liquid crystal display panel P is charged due to, for example, the attaching operation of the polarizing plate H such as rolling of the pressing roller 67, the surface of the liquid crystal display panel P is constantly cleaned. The liquid crystal display panel P is neutralized at any time by the air having a neutralizing action blown out from the respective blowout nozzles 27.

When the stage 11 passes through the polarizing plate attaching position p2 and the polarizing plate H is attached to the surface of the liquid crystal display panel P, the control unit 69 stops the operation of the air blowing unit 23 and the air suction unit 31. Finish the cleaning work.

After the liquid crystal display panel P with the polarizing plate H attached in this way is conveyed to the final position p3, the liquid crystal display panel P is removed from the stage 11, and the stage 11 is moved back to the initial position p1 ( ST6).

Next, it is confirmed whether or not the polarizing plate H is stuck on both surfaces of the taken out liquid crystal display panel P (ST7). Here, when the polarizing plate H is attached only on one surface of the liquid crystal display panel P, the liquid crystal display panel P is turned over (ST8), and the liquid crystal display panel P is returned to the stage 11 which is returned to the initial position p1. Positioned and held in the inverted state and set again on the polarizing plate pasting apparatus S (ST1), the above-described pasting operation of the polarizing plate H (ST2 to ST6) is performed again. On the other hand, when the polarizing plate H is confirmed on both surfaces of the liquid crystal display panel P, the attaching operation of the polarizing plate H is finished.

As described above, the polarizing plate H can be attached to both surfaces of the liquid crystal display panel P.

-Effect of Embodiment 1-
Therefore, according to the first embodiment, when the polarizing plate H is attached to the surface of the liquid crystal display panel P, the foreign matter adhering to the surface of the liquid crystal display panel P can be sucked and removed together with air by the cleaning device 10 with a high recovery rate. The cleanliness of the environment can be maintained. Further, since the air curtain formed on the surface of the liquid crystal display panel P by the operation of the cleaning device 10 can prevent the foreign matter from reattaching to the surface of the liquid crystal display panel P, the surface of the liquid crystal display panel P can be prevented from being caught. A polarizing plate H can be attached. As a result, it is not necessary to perform a rework operation for re-attaching the polarizing plate H to the surface of the liquid crystal display panel P, the manufacturing efficiency of the liquid crystal display device can be increased, and the polarizing plate H is not wasted.

In the first embodiment, the polarizing plate H is attached to the surface of the liquid crystal display panel P while cleaning the surface of the liquid crystal display panel P. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the liquid crystal display panel P is placed at the polarizing plate attachment position p2. When approaching, the control unit 69 stops the operation of the air blowing unit 23 and the air suction unit 31 to finish the cleaning operation. Immediately based on the cleaning end signal, the protruding end of the polarizing plate H is pressed by the pressing roller 67. May be pressed against the edge of the surface of the liquid crystal display panel P to attach the polarizing plate H to the surface of the liquid crystal display panel P. Even in this case, as in the first embodiment, the cleanliness of the manufacturing environment can be maintained, and foreign matter can be prevented from reattaching to the surface of the liquid crystal display panel P, and the liquid crystal display panel P surface can be prevented from being caught. A polarizing plate H can be attached.

Next, a modified example of the first embodiment will be described. In each of the following modifications, only the device portion having a different configuration will be described, and the same components will be left to the description of the first embodiment based on FIGS. 1 to 8, and the detailed description thereof will be omitted. To do.

<Modification 1 of Embodiment 1>
FIG. 9 is a schematic plan view of the polarizing plate sticking apparatus S of Modification Example 1, and corresponds to FIG.

In the first embodiment, the air blowing unit 23 and the air suction unit 31 are moved in synchronization with the stage 11, but in this modification, the air blowing unit 23 is moved more than the stage 11 as shown in FIG. 9. The control unit 69 controls the blow-out unit moving mechanism 41 and the suction unit moving mechanism 47 so that the air suction unit 31 is moved slightly upstream in the moving direction from the stage 11 while moving slightly ahead in the downstream direction. In addition, a time lag until the air blown out from each blowing nozzle 27 of the air blowing section 23 reaches the air suction section 31 is compensated.

According to the configuration of Modification 1, since the air suction unit 31 moves in accordance with the airflow flowing upstream in the stage moving direction as the stage 11 moves, the air suction unit 31 efficiently sucks foreign matter together with air. In addition to being able to collect the air curtain, it is possible to satisfactorily form an air curtain on the surface of the liquid crystal display panel P, and reliably prevent the foreign matter from reattaching to the surface of the liquid crystal display panel P. In other respects, the same effects as those of the first embodiment can be obtained.

<Modification 2 of Embodiment 1>
FIG. 10 is a schematic perspective view of the cleaning device 10 according to the second modification.

In the first embodiment, the cleaning device 10 including one air suction unit 31 with respect to the air blowing unit 23 has been described. However, in this modification, as illustrated in FIG. The air suction portions 31 are also arranged on both sides of the stage 11 extending between the air suction portions 31, that is, on both sides in the moving direction of the stage 11 (lower side and upper side in the figure). The air suction units 31 positioned on both sides of the stage 11 in the moving direction are supported by a support base 39 and are slidable along the guide rails 21 of the stage moving mechanism 17 via a slider, not shown, though not shown. The controller 69 is configured to move in synchronization with the stage 11.

According to the configuration of the second modification, the foreign matter peeled from the surface of the liquid crystal display panel P by the plurality of air suction portions 31 is sucked together with the air, so that the foreign matter recovery rate can be increased as much as possible. In other respects, the same effects as those of the first embodiment can be obtained.

<Modification 3 of Embodiment 1>
FIG. 11 is a schematic perspective view of the air outlet 23 of the third modification.

In the first embodiment, the air blowing output from each blowing nozzle 27 of the air blowing unit 23 is variably configured by adjusting the open / closed state of the valve. However, in this modification, each blowing nozzle 27 is configured to be variable. By changing the opening area of the air outlet 27a, the air blowing output from each of the blowing nozzles 27 is configured to be variable.

That is, as shown in FIG. 11A, a bowl-shaped support portion 77 protruding toward the blow nozzle 27 side is provided on the upper surface portion of the casing 25 of the air blowing portion 23 of this modification. A cylinder 75 is disposed on the protruding portion of the piston rod so as to penetrate the piston rod below the protruding portion. Moreover, each blowing nozzle 27 is formed in a cylindrical cylindrical shape extending to the same diameter, and an upper protruding piece 71 and a lower protruding piece 72 are protruded from the upper end portion and the lower end portion, respectively. A common movable bar 73 is locked and fixed to the upper projecting piece 71 of each blowing nozzle 27, and the movable bar 73 is connected to the piston rod tip of the cylinder 75. On the other hand, a common fixing bar 74 is locked and fixed to the lower projecting piece 72 of each blowing nozzle 27, and the fixing bar 74 is a side bar whose both ends are fixed to the casing 25 of the air blowing part 23. 76 is fixed. And the air blowing part 23 operates the cylinder 75 by the control part 69, and as shown in FIG.11 (b), presses each upper side protrusion 71 below via the movable bar 73, and each blowing nozzle 27 The air outlets 27a of the air outlets 27a of the air outlets 27a of the air outlets 27a are released by pressing the air air outlets 27a of the air outlets 27a to reduce the opening areas of the air outlets 27a and releasing the pressing of the upper protrusions 71. The area is expanded.

Also according to the third modification, when the surface of the liquid crystal display panel P is cleaned, the opening area of the air outlet 27a of each outlet nozzle 27 is repeatedly enlarged and reduced to change the air blowing output by each outlet nozzle 27. As a result, the degree of air contact with the surface of the liquid crystal display panel P is changed, the cleaning ability is improved, and the foreign matter adhering to the surface of the liquid crystal display panel P can be satisfactorily detached. In other respects, the same effects as those of the first embodiment can be obtained.

<Modification 4 of Embodiment 1>
FIG. 12 is a schematic perspective view of the air suction part 31 of the fourth modification.

As shown in FIG. 12A, the housing 33 of the air suction portion 31 of this modification has a movable upper wall portion 33c that constitutes the upper portions of the air suction port 33a and the suction flow path 33b. The wall portion 33c is supported by a support member 81 provided on the upper surface so as to be rotatable in the vertical direction with the rear end portion as the central axis. The support member 81 has a support shaft extending along the left-right direction of the air suction port 33a, and supports the connection member 83 rotatably on the support shaft. The connecting member 83 is connected to the tip of the piston rod 85 a of the cylinder 85 fixed upward with respect to the housing 33. The air suction unit 31 operates the cylinder 85 to rotate the movable upper wall portion 33c downward to reduce the opening area of the air suction port 33a, and the opening area of the air suction port 33a. The movable upper wall 33c is rotated upward from the reduced state to enlarge the opening area of the air suction port 33a.

According to the configuration of the fourth modification, the flow area of the suction airflow is increased by changing the opening area of the air suction port 33a of the air suction portion 31 from the enlarged state to the reduced state, so that a foreign substance having a relatively large mass can be reliably secured. For example, when a liquid crystal display device is manufactured by a multi-chamfer manufacturing method, individual liquid crystal displays after a mother panel dividing step that has a high possibility of attachment of foreign matter having a relatively large mass such as glass waste It can also be applied to cleaning the surface of the panel P. In other respects, the same effects as those of the first embodiment can be obtained.

<Modification 5 of Embodiment 1>
Although not shown, the cleaning device 10 of the modified example 5 has a moving mechanism such as a feed screw mechanism that moves the air blowing portion 23 in the front-rear direction of the stage moving direction on the support base 37 of the air blowing portion 23. The blowing portion 23 is configured to be reciprocally movable in the left-right direction (vertical direction in FIG. 2) with respect to the liquid crystal display panel P held on the stage 11.

According to the configuration of the fifth modification, the air blowing portion 23 is reciprocated in the left-right direction with respect to the liquid crystal display panel P when the surface of the liquid crystal display panel P is cleaned, so that the air hits the surface of the liquid crystal display panel P. Therefore, the foreign matter adhering to the surface of the liquid crystal display panel P can be satisfactorily detached. Further, even if the air blowing area by the blowing nozzle 27 is smaller than the area of the surface of the liquid crystal display panel P, the air can be blown over a wide range of the surface of the liquid crystal display panel P by the left and right movement of the air blowing portion 23. The surface of the large-area liquid crystal display panel P can also be cleaned well. In other respects, the same effects as those of the first embodiment can be obtained.

In this modification, the air blowing unit 23 moves in the left-right direction with respect to the liquid crystal display panel P. However, the air blowing unit 23 is not limited to this, and the air blowing unit 23 is placed on the liquid crystal display panel P held by the stage 11. On the other hand, you may be comprised so that a reciprocation is possible in the up-down direction. Even in such a configuration, the degree of air contact with the surface of the liquid crystal display panel P can be changed, and foreign matters can be satisfactorily detached from the surface of the liquid crystal display panel P.

<Modification 6 of Embodiment 1>
In the cleaning device 10 of the modified example 6, although not shown, each blowing nozzle 27 of the air blowing portion 23 is supported so as to be rotatable in the left-right direction with the rear end portion as a central axis, and each of these blowing nozzles 27 is supported by the stage 11. With respect to the held liquid crystal display panel P, it is configured to be able to swing in the horizontal direction (vertical direction in FIG. 2).

Even with the configuration of the sixth modification, the air to the surface of the liquid crystal display panel P is swung in the left-right direction with respect to the liquid crystal display panel P by swinging the respective blowing nozzles 27 of the air blowing portion 23 when cleaning the surface of the liquid crystal display panel P. Therefore, the foreign matter adhering to the surface of the liquid crystal display panel P can be removed well, and the surface of the liquid crystal display panel P having a large area can also be cleaned well. In other respects, the same effects as those of the first embodiment can be obtained.

In this modification, each blowing nozzle 27 of the air blowing unit 23 swings in the left-right direction with respect to the liquid crystal display panel P. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and each blowing nozzle 27 is held by the stage 11. The liquid crystal display panel P may be configured to be able to swing in the vertical direction. Even in such a configuration, the degree of air contact with the surface of the liquid crystal display panel P can be changed, and foreign matters can be satisfactorily detached from the surface of the liquid crystal display panel P.

<Modification 7 of Embodiment 1>
FIG. 13 is a schematic perspective view of the polarizing plate sticking apparatus S of the seventh modification.

In the first embodiment, the air blowing unit 23 and the air suction unit 31 are supported by the support bases 37 and 39, respectively, and are moved in synchronization with the stage 11 by the blowing unit moving mechanism 41 and the suction unit moving mechanism 47. In this modification, an air blowing part 23 and an air suction part 31 are provided on the stage 11. That is, the stage 11 has installation areas 11a on both sides of the area for holding the liquid crystal display panel P (on the left and right sides in FIG. 13). The one installation area 11a has an air outlet 23 and the other installation area 11a has An air suction unit 31 is provided.

According to the configuration of the modified example 7, the air blowing unit 23 and the air suction unit 31 are provided on the stage 11, so that the blow unit moving mechanism 41 and the suction unit moving mechanism 47 are separated from the stage moving mechanism 17. Therefore, the effects of the first embodiment can be obtained with a simpler configuration.

<< Embodiment 2 of the Invention >>
FIG. 14 is a schematic perspective view of the cleaning device 10 according to the second embodiment. In the second embodiment, the configuration of the cleaning device 10 is the same as that of the first embodiment except that the configuration of the cleaning device 10 is different from that of the first embodiment. Therefore, only the cleaning device 10 having a different configuration will be described, and similarly to the above-described modifications. Detailed description of the same components will be omitted.

In the first embodiment, the cleaning device 10 is arranged such that the air blowing part 23 and the air suction part 31 are opposed to each other on the side of the stage 11, but in this embodiment, the cleaning apparatus 10 is shown in FIG. As described above, the air blowing portion 91 is disposed above the stage 11, while the air suction portion 101 is disposed below the stage 11, and the air blowing portion 91 and the air suction portion 101 face each other with the stage 11 interposed therebetween. Is arranged.

The air blowing section 91 includes a casing 93 having the same internal configuration as the air blowing section 23 of the first embodiment, a blowing nozzle 95 projecting from the lower surface portion of the casing 93 on the stage 11 side, and the blowing A horizontal cover member 97 that covers the liquid crystal display panel P held by the stage 11 is provided above the nozzle 95. On the other hand, the air suction unit 101 includes a housing 103 having an internal configuration similar to that of the air suction unit 31 of the first embodiment formed in a larger area than the stage 11. The casing 103 is formed with an annular air suction port 103a extending along the outer periphery of the stage 11 on the upper surface portion on the stage 11 side, and is formed on the surface of the liquid crystal display panel P from the blowing nozzle 95 of the air blowing portion 91. Air that is blown and spreads to the outer periphery of the stage 11 is configured to be sucked by the outer periphery of the stage 11.

In the cleaning device 10 configured as described above, the air blown from the blowing nozzle 95 of the air blowing portion 91 is blown to the surface of the liquid crystal display panel P held by the stage 11 and the liquid crystal is then moved along the surface of the liquid crystal display panel P. The foreign matter that flows to the outer peripheral side of the display panel P and leaves the surface of the liquid crystal display panel P in the process flows downward along with the air along the outer peripheral end surface of the liquid crystal display panel P, and the air suction disposed downstream of the airflow An air curtain is formed on the surface of the liquid crystal display panel P from the air blowing position toward the outer peripheral side of the liquid crystal display panel P by being efficiently sucked and removed along with the air by the portion 101 along the outer periphery of the stage 11.

-Effect of Embodiment 2-
Therefore, according to the second embodiment, as in the first embodiment, the cleanliness of the manufacturing environment can be maintained, and the foreign matter can be prevented from reattaching to the surface of the liquid crystal display panel P. A polarizing plate H can be attached to the surface of the panel P. In addition, the same effects as those of the first embodiment can be obtained with respect to others.

In the second embodiment, the case where the liquid crystal display panel P is held on the upper surface of the stage 11 will be described. When the air blowing part 91 is provided above the stage 11 and the air suction part 101 is provided below the stage 11. However, when the liquid crystal display panel P is held on the lower surface of the stage 11, the air blowing part 91 may be provided below the stage 11 and the air suction part 101 may be provided above the stage 11.

As mentioned above, although preferable embodiment of this invention and its modification were demonstrated, the technical scope of this invention is not limited to the range as described in the said embodiment. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the above-described embodiments and modifications are exemplifications, and that various modifications can be made to combinations of the respective constituent elements and processing processes, and that such modifications are also within the scope of the present invention. It is understood.

As described above, the present invention is useful for a cleaning device and a polarizing plate sticking device provided with the cleaning device, and in particular, improves the recovery rate of foreign matter, maintains the cleanliness of the manufacturing environment, and provides a liquid crystal display panel and the like. It is suitable for a cleaning device that is required to prevent re-adhesion of foreign matter to the surface of the object to be processed and a polarizing plate sticking device including the same.

H Polarizing plate P Liquid crystal display panel (object to be processed)
S polarizing plate sticking device 10 cleaning device 11 stage 15 moving mechanism 17 stage moving mechanism 23 air blowing part (air blowing means)
27 Blowing nozzle 27a Air outlet 29 Cover member

33a Air inlet

33b Suction channel 31 Air suction part (air suction means)
41 Blowing unit moving mechanism 47 Suction unit moving mechanism 55 Suction plate (polarizing plate holding means)
67 Pressing roller 69 Control section (control means)

Claims

A stage for holding a plate-shaped object;
Air blowing means for blowing out air toward the object to be processed held on the stage, and for removing foreign matter from the surface of the object to be processed by the air flow;
A cleaning apparatus, comprising: an air suction means that is disposed so as to face the air blowing means and sucks the air blown from the air blowing means together with the foreign matter.
The cleaning device according to claim 1,
The cleaning apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the air blowing means and the air suction means are arranged on the sides of the stage so as to face each other with the stage interposed therebetween.
The cleaning device according to claim 2,
A cleaning apparatus, wherein an air suction means is also arranged on a side of a stage extending between the air blowing means and the air suction means.
In the cleaning device according to claim 2 or 3,
The cleaning apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the air blowing means is configured to be capable of reciprocating in a vertical direction or a horizontal direction with respect to an object to be processed held on the stage.
In the cleaning device according to claim 2 or 3,
The cleaning apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the air blowing means is configured to swing in the vertical direction or the horizontal direction with respect to the object to be processed held on the stage.
The cleaning device according to claim 1,
The air blowing means is disposed on one of the upper side and the lower side of the stage,
The air suction means is disposed so as to face the air blowing means with the other of the stage above and below the stage, and blows air that spreads on the outer peripheral side of the stage by being blown onto the surface of the object to be processed. A cleaning device configured to suck together with the foreign matter on the outer periphery of the stage.
The cleaning device according to any one of claims 1 to 6,
The said air blowing means is provided with the several blowing nozzle, The cleaning apparatus characterized by the above-mentioned.
The cleaning device according to any one of claims 1 to 7,
The cleaning apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the air blowing means is configured such that an air blowing output is variable.
The cleaning device according to claim 8,
The cleaning device according to claim 1, wherein the air blowing means is configured such that an opening area of the air blowing port is variable.
The cleaning device according to any one of claims 1 to 9,
The cleaning apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the suction flow path of the air suction means is formed to be narrower so that the flow path area gradually becomes narrower from the air suction port toward the back side.
The cleaning device according to any one of claims 1 to 10,
The air suction means is configured so that the opening area of the air suction port is variable.
The cleaning device according to any one of claims 1 to 11,
The air blowing means has an internal space connected to the air outlet, and ionizes the air by discharge in the internal space to generate air having a neutralizing action including positive and negative ions, and the air having the static eliminating action is It is comprised so that it may blow out, The cleaning apparatus characterized by the above-mentioned.
The cleaning device according to any one of claims 1 to 12,
The said air blowing means is provided with the cover member which covers a back side rather than an air blower outlet, The cleaning apparatus characterized by the above-mentioned.
The cleaning device according to any one of claims 1 to 13,
The cleaning apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the air blowing means and the air suction means are provided with antistatic properties on at least surfaces thereof.
The cleaning device according to any one of claims 1 to 14,
An attaching mechanism for attaching a polarizing plate to the surface of the object to be processed held on the stage;
A polarizing plate pasting device, comprising: a control means for performing a pasting operation of the pasting mechanism based on a cleaning start signal or a cleaning end signal of the cleaning device.
In the polarizing plate sticking device according to claim 15,
The stage further includes a moving mechanism that horizontally moves the air blowing means and the air suction means in the same direction as the stage moves.
The sticking mechanism includes a polarizing plate holding means for holding the polarizing plate so that a downstream end portion in the stage moving direction protrudes, and a protruding end portion of the polarizing plate held by the polarizing plate holding means is held on the stage. A pressing roller that presses against the surface of the processed object,
In the process of moving the stage, the control means moves the stage on the surface of the object to be processed while cleaning the surface of the object to be processed held by the stage by the air blowing means and the air suction means or immediately after cleaning. The projecting end of the polarizing plate held by the polarizing plate holding means is pressed against the downstream end in the direction by the pressing roller, and the pressing roller is rolled on the surface of the polarizing plate as the stage moves. The polarizing plate pasting apparatus, wherein the cleaning device, the pasting mechanism, and the moving mechanism are controlled so that the polarizing plate is pasted on the object to be processed.
In the polarizing plate sticking device according to claim 16,
The moving mechanism includes a stage moving mechanism that horizontally moves the stage, a blowing means moving mechanism that horizontally moves the air blowing means, and a suction means moving mechanism that horizontally moves the air suction means,
The control means moves the air suction means upstream of the air movement means relative to the air blow means so as to compensate for a time lag until the air blown from the air blow means reaches the air suction means. The polarizing plate pasting apparatus, wherein the blowing means moving mechanism and the suction means moving mechanism are controlled so as to move with a delay.