JP2001009396A - Cleaning device for liquid crystal display panel and method for cleaning liquid crystal display panel - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To stabilize the conveyance of a liquid crystal display panel to rapidly clean it by ultrasonic waves and miniaturize a cleaning device by arranging a conveyance tight-holding belt for conveying the panel while tightly holding it together with each of conveyance rollers, at a position face to face with a plurality of conveyance rollers. SOLUTION: A liquid crystal display panel 2 is conveyed, disposed on the conveyance rollers 24 of a loading means 31 to be loaded into a cleaning chamber 22. Further, the panel 2 is tightly held between the conveyance rollers 24 and the tight-holing parts 25a of conveyance tight-holding belts 25, in such a state that the panel 2 is soaked in a cleaning liquid 4 stored in a cleaning tank 5. In this case, the panel 2 is tightly held with a desired tight-holding force with the help of a tight-holding force adjusting means, and thereby is stably conveyed. After that, ultrasonic wave is oscillated from below to the liquid crystal display panel 2 to be conveyed in a tightly holding state by driving an ultrasonic oscillator 8. Thus the panel 2 is oscillated by ultrasonic wave through oscillating the cleaning liquid 4 as a medium. Consequently, smears such as liquid crystal sticking to the liquid crystal display panel 2 are efficiently removed.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a cleaning apparatus for a liquid crystal display panel and a method for cleaning a liquid crystal display panel, and more particularly to a method for cleaning a liquid crystal display panel by carrying out ultrasonic cleaning while conveying the liquid crystal display panel from a loading position to a discharging position by a transport roller. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a single-wafer-type liquid crystal display panel cleaning apparatus and a liquid crystal display panel cleaning method suitable for quickly cleaning one liquid crystal display panel by a flow operation.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as a method for cleaning a liquid crystal display panel in which liquid crystal is injected between two transparent electrode substrates, brush cleaning for cleaning the liquid crystal display panel with a brush and ultrasonic cleaning for cleaning with an ultrasonic wave are known. It was common,
In particular, as a method of removing the liquid crystal attached to the gap between the transparent electrode substrates, ultrasonic cleaning has been often used.

[0003] Further, as a method of the ultrasonic cleaning,
There are known a single-wafer type in which liquid crystal display panels are washed one by one, and a batch type in which a plurality of liquid crystal display panels are installed in a carrier and batch-cleaned. Cleaning is the mainstream.

As shown in FIG. 6, a liquid crystal display panel cleaning apparatus 1 for performing single-wafer ultrasonic cleaning has an ultrasonic cleaning chamber 3 for ultrasonically cleaning a liquid crystal display panel 2. .

[0005] The ultrasonic cleaning chamber 3 has a cleaning tank 5 capable of storing a cleaning liquid 4. On one side (left side in the figure) of the cleaning tank 5, an input port (not shown) is formed as an input position for inputting the liquid crystal display panel 2 into the cleaning tank 5. On the other side (right side in the figure) of the cleaning tank 5, a discharge port (not shown) is formed as a discharge position for discharging the liquid crystal display panel 2 cleaned in the ultrasonic cleaning chamber 3.

In the cleaning tank 5, a plurality of transport rollers 7 for transporting the liquid crystal display panel 2 from the input port to the discharge port with the liquid crystal display panel 2 immersed in the cleaning liquid 4 are provided at predetermined intervals. I have. An ultrasonic vibrator 8 for ultrasonically cleaning the liquid crystal display panel 2 transported by the transport rollers 7 is provided at the bottom of the cleaning tank 5.
And the ultrasonic vibrator 8
Is configured to apply ultrasonic vibration to the conveyed liquid crystal display panel 2 using the cleaning liquid 4 as a medium. Further, an input means (not shown) for inputting the liquid crystal display panel 2 into the cleaning tank 5 through the input port is connected to one side (input port side) of the cleaning tank 5. Further, on the other side (discharge port side) of the cleaning tank 5, an illustration for performing cleaning of the liquid crystal display panel 2 ultrasonically cleaned in the ultrasonic cleaning chamber 3 in the next step, for example, shower cleaning or the like. No cleaning means are connected.

When the liquid crystal display panel 2 is cleaned by the single-wafer type liquid crystal display panel cleaning apparatus 1, the cleaning liquid 4 is stored in a cleaning tank 5 and the liquid crystal display panel 2 is removed from the charging section. It is put into the cleaning tank 5 and immersed in the cleaning liquid 4. Then, while driving the transport roller 7 to transport the liquid crystal display panel 2 to the discharge port side, the ultrasonic vibrator 8 is driven to oscillate ultrasonic waves in the direction of the liquid crystal display panel 2. At this time, the ultrasonic waves oscillated by the ultrasonic vibrator 8 vibrate the cleaning liquid 4 and apply the cleaning liquid molecules to the liquid crystal display panel 2.

As a result, as shown in FIG. 7, dirt 9 such as liquid crystal adhered to the upper surface 2a and lower surface 2b of the liquid crystal display panel 2 and the outer periphery (particularly, the gap 2c between the two transparent electrode substrates) is removed. Is done. And the washing tank 5
The liquid crystal display panel 2 which has been ultrasonically cleaned therein is conveyed to the discharge port by the conveying roller 7 and transferred to another cleaning means connected to the outside of the ultrasonic cleaning chamber 3 to be subjected to another cleaning. You.

Therefore, according to the single-wafer type liquid crystal display panel cleaning apparatus 1, the cleaning operation of the liquid crystal display panel 2 is repeated for each sheet, so that a plurality of liquid crystal display panels 2 are continuously worked. Was able to be cleaned. Further, since the processing chambers such as a plurality of cleaning chambers can be arranged in-line so as to be arranged in a straight line, the equipment can be made compact.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 8, a description will be given of a liquid crystal display panel cleaning apparatus 10 for performing the batch type ultrasonic cleaning.
A cleaning tank 11 capable of storing the cleaning liquid 4 is provided. In the washing tank 11, a cage-like carrier 12 for disposing a plurality of liquid crystal display panels 2 in an upright state with a predetermined interval therebetween is provided.

An ultrasonic oscillator 14 for oscillating ultrasonic waves to the liquid crystal display panel 2 installed in the carrier 12 to perform ultrasonic cleaning of the liquid crystal display panel 2 is provided at the bottom of the cleaning tank 11. It is arranged.

When cleaning the liquid crystal display panel 2 by the batch-type liquid crystal display panel cleaning device 10, a plurality of liquid crystal display panels 2 are installed on the carrier 12 and are placed in the cleaning tank 11. After the cleaning liquid 4 is filled and the liquid crystal display panel 2 is immersed, the ultrasonic vibrator 14 is driven. As a result, vibration is applied to each liquid crystal display panel 2 in the carrier 12 using the cleaning liquid 4 as a medium,
This ultrasonic vibration removes dirt such as liquid crystal adhered to each liquid crystal display panel 2.

Therefore, according to the batch-type liquid crystal display panel cleaning apparatus 10, a plurality of liquid crystal display panels 2 can be cleaned at one time.

[0014]

However, in the conventional single-wafer type liquid crystal display panel cleaning apparatus 1, the liquid crystal display panel 2 is conveyed only by the conveying roller 7 which is in sliding contact with only one side of the liquid crystal display panel 2. As a result, the liquid crystal display panel 2 being cleaned could not be stably conveyed.

Therefore, when the ultrasonic wave oscillated from the ultrasonic vibrator 8 is strong, the liquid crystal display panel 2 itself is vibrated by the ultrasonic wave, and the liquid crystal display panel 2 is damaged. I was That is, an alignment film 17 is formed on each of inner surfaces of the two transparent electrode substrates 16 of the liquid crystal display panel 2 facing each other, and a gap 19 between the two transparent electrode substrates 16 is Spacers 18 for uniformly maintaining the gaps 19 are scattered. However, when the liquid crystal display panel 2 vibrates during transportation, the spacers 18 move within the panel 2 and damage the alignment film 17. Had been lost. Furthermore, the movement of the spacer 18 changes the spacer distribution, causing the gap 19 to fluctuate, thereby causing color unevenness in the display on the liquid crystal display panel 2.

Therefore, in the conventional single-wafer type liquid crystal display panel cleaning apparatus 1, ultrasonic waves cannot be intensified, so that there is a problem that the liquid crystal display panel 2 cannot be cleaned in a short time. Was.

Therefore, in order to sufficiently clean the liquid crystal display panel 2 by the conventional single-wafer type liquid crystal display panel cleaning apparatus 1, the ultrasonic waves oscillated from the ultrasonic vibrator 8 must be weakened. The cleaning time for one liquid crystal display panel 2 had to be increased. In this case, in order to sufficiently lengthen the cleaning time per sheet while processing a plurality of liquid crystal display panels 2 in the cleaning tank 5 in a flowable manner, the transport distance by the transport roller 7, that is, the dimension of the cleaning tank 5 ( (The dimension in the transport direction) must be made large.
For example, it takes approximately 5 to 10 minutes to remove the attached liquid crystal without damaging the liquid crystal display panel 2. Assuming that the transport speed of the panel 2 is 50 mm / sec, the cleaning tank 5 having a length of 15 m to 30 m is required. Further, since the charging section and other cleaning chambers are connected to the ultrasonic cleaning chamber 3, the total length of the liquid crystal display panel cleaning apparatus 1 is 30 m or more. Further, as the size of the cleaning tank 5 increases, the amount of the cleaning liquid 4 must be increased.

Therefore, although the single-wafer type liquid crystal display panel cleaning apparatus 1 is suitable for in-line use, as described above, the manufacturing cost associated with the enlargement of the apparatus 1 and the large amount of cleaning liquid required for cleaning are required. 4 is expensive, and a large space for installing the device 1 is required, so that there is a problem that the equipment cost is also expensive.

On the other hand, when the batch-type liquid crystal display panel cleaning device 10 is used, a plurality of liquid crystal display panels 2 are surely used.
Can be cleaned at once, but even in a batch system, in order to perform cleaning without damaging the liquid crystal display panel 2, the ultrasonic waves must be weakened to increase the time required for one cleaning. . Therefore, in order to clean a large number of liquid crystal display panels at one time, the cleaning tank 5 must be formed large, and the manufacturing cost and the equipment cost become high as in the case of the single wafer type. In the batch-type liquid crystal display panel cleaning device 10, the liquid crystal display panel 2 is provided.
When the liquid crystal display panel 2 is installed in the carrier 12, the liquid crystal display panel 2 may have a portion that is short in distance from the ultrasonic vibrator 14 and a portion that is far from the ultrasonic vibrator 14. Could not. Furthermore, because of the batch system, there is a drawback that in-line cannot be originally intended. Therefore, the batch-type liquid crystal display panel cleaning device 10 is not suitable for sufficiently cleaning one liquid crystal display panel.
It was not suitable for making the equipment compact.

The present invention has been made in view of such a problem. By stably transporting the liquid crystal display panel, the liquid crystal display panel can be cleaned by powerful ultrasonic waves in a short time. It is an object of the present invention to provide a liquid crystal display panel cleaning device and a liquid crystal display panel cleaning method suitable for reducing the size of the device.

[0021]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a cleaning apparatus for a liquid crystal display panel according to the first aspect of the present invention, comprising: The present invention is characterized in that a transport sandwiching belt for transporting a liquid crystal display panel while sandwiching the same is provided.

Since the liquid crystal display panel can be stably transported by adopting such a configuration, the liquid crystal display panel can be cleaned in a short time by powerful ultrasonic waves, and the liquid crystal display panel can be cleaned. Since the transport distance of the panel can be shortened, the size of the apparatus can be reduced.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a cleaning apparatus for a liquid crystal display panel according to the first aspect, wherein the holding portion of the transport sandwiching belt is pressed against the liquid crystal display panel with an arbitrary pressure. In that clamping force adjusting means for adjusting the force is provided.

By adopting such a configuration, the liquid crystal display panel can be transported more stably, so that the liquid crystal display panel can be cleaned in a short time by stronger ultrasonic waves. The device can be further miniaturized.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the cleaning apparatus for a liquid crystal display panel according to the first or second aspect, the transport roller and the transport nip belt are formed using neoprene rubber.

By adopting such a configuration, the liquid crystal display panel can be transported while holding it more stably by utilizing the elasticity of the neoprene rubber.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the cleaning apparatus for a liquid crystal display panel according to any one of the first to third aspects, the transport sandwiching belt is arranged in a width direction orthogonal to a transport direction of the liquid crystal display panel. The point is that the size is formed larger than the size of the liquid crystal display panel in the same direction.

By adopting such a configuration, the holding force of the conveyor belt can be applied to the entire surface of the liquid crystal display panel, so that the liquid crystal display panel can be held more stably.

A feature of the liquid crystal display panel cleaning method according to claim 5 is that the liquid crystal display panel is conveyed while being pinched by the conveyance rollers and the conveyance pinch belt.

By employing such a method, the liquid crystal display panel can be stably conveyed, so that the liquid crystal display panel can be cleaned in a short time by powerful ultrasonic waves, and the liquid crystal display panel can be cleaned. Since the transport distance of the panel can be shortened, the size of the facility to be implemented can be reduced.

A feature of the liquid crystal display panel cleaning method according to a sixth aspect is that, in the fifth aspect, the holding portion of the transfer holding belt is pressed by pressing the holding portion of the transfer holding belt toward the liquid crystal display panel at an arbitrary pressure. The point is to adjust.

By adopting such a method, the liquid crystal display panel can be transported more stably, so that the liquid crystal display panel can be cleaned in a short time by more powerful ultrasonic waves. The equipment can be further miniaturized.

[0033]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of a liquid crystal display panel cleaning apparatus according to the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. Portions that do not differ in basic configuration from the conventional single-wafer type liquid crystal display panel cleaning device will be described using the same reference numerals.

As shown in FIG. 1, the liquid crystal display panel cleaning apparatus 20 of this embodiment has a cleaning chamber 22 as an ultrasonic cleaning chamber for ultrasonically cleaning the liquid crystal display panel 2 on a base 21. ing.

The cleaning chamber 22 has a cleaning tank 5 in which the cleaning liquid 4 can be stored. One side (left side in the figure) of the cleaning tank 5 holds the liquid crystal display panel 2 in the cleaning tank 5. A charging port (not shown) is formed as a charging position for charging the liquid. On the other side (right side in the figure) of the cleaning tank 5, a discharge port (not shown) is formed as a discharge position for discharging the liquid crystal display panel 2 cleaned in the cleaning tank 5 to the outside of the cleaning chamber 22. Have been.

The cleaning tank 5 has a transport roller 24 for transporting the liquid crystal display panel 2 from the input port side to the discharge port side.
Are arranged at predetermined intervals in the transport direction, and the transport rollers 24 transport the liquid crystal display panel 2 in a state of being immersed in the cleaning liquid 4. Further, the plurality of transport rollers 24 are formed of a rubber material having excellent elasticity such as neoprene rubber.

At the bottom of the cleaning tank 5, an ultrasonic vibrator 8 for ultrasonically cleaning the liquid crystal display panel 2 conveyed by the plurality of conveying rollers 24 is provided.
It is provided to face the plurality of transport rollers 24. The ultrasonic vibrator 8 vibrates the cleaning liquid 4 so that the cleaning liquid molecules collide with the liquid crystal display panel 2 conveyed by the conveying rollers 24.

At a position above the plurality of transport rollers 24, a transport nip belt 25 for transporting the liquid crystal display panel 2 from the input port to the discharge port while nipping the liquid crystal display panel 2 together with the plurality of transport rollers 24 is provided. Are arranged. The transport nipping belt 25 is wound around four pulleys 26 rotatable by a drive source (not shown) such as a motor, and can be moved in the counterclockwise direction in FIG. Has become. The dimension of the transport holding belt 25 in the width direction orthogonal to the transport direction of the liquid crystal display panel 2 is formed larger than the dimension of the liquid crystal display panel 2 in the same direction. Therefore, since the transport holding belt 25 can apply a holding force to the entire upper surface 2a of the liquid crystal display panel 2, the liquid crystal display panel 2 can be stably held. Also,
At least the liquid crystal display panel 2 of the transport holding belt 25
The portion of the outer peripheral surface that comes into contact with is made of a rubber material having excellent elasticity such as neoprene rubber. Therefore, the transport sandwiching belt 25 and the transport roller 24 can stably sandwich the liquid crystal display panel 2 by utilizing the elasticity of the rubber material and can absorb the vibration of the liquid crystal display panel 2. It has become. Further, as shown in FIG. 4, a clamping force adjusting means 27 for adjusting the clamping force of the transport clamping belt 25 is provided at a position near the inner peripheral surface of the clamping portion 25a of the transport clamping belt 25. The holding force adjusting means 27 adjusts the holding force of the transfer holding belt 25 by pressing the holding portion 25a toward the liquid crystal display panel 2 with an arbitrary pressure. The pinching force adjusting means 27 includes a boat-shaped holding plate 28.
And an air cylinder 29 for applying an arbitrary pressure to the holding plate 28. The air cylinder 29 applies a pressure arbitrarily set by adjusting the air pressure by a regulator to the holding plate 28. The holding force adjusting means 27 may be constituted by, for example, a spring having an appropriate spring coefficient, or a method of installing a weight.

A loading means 31 for loading the liquid crystal display panel 2 before cleaning into the cleaning chamber 22 is connected to one side (loading port side) of the cleaning chamber 22. The feeding means 31 includes a transport roller 24 of the cleaning chamber 22.
A plurality of transport rollers 24 are provided at a predetermined interval on the same plane as above, and the liquid crystal display panel 2 is put into the cleaning chamber 22 by these transport rollers 24.

The other side (discharge port side) of the cleaning chamber 22
Is connected to a shower cleaning chamber 32 for performing shower cleaning, which is the next stage of cleaning, on the liquid crystal display panel 2 that has been ultrasonically cleaned by the cleaning chamber 22. The shower cleaning chamber 32 showers the upper surface 2a and the lower surface 2b of the liquid crystal display panel 2 by discharging water from above and below the liquid crystal display panel 2. In the shower cleaning chamber 32, a plurality of transport rollers 24 are provided at a predetermined interval on the same plane as the transport rollers 24 of the cleaning chamber 22. The shower cleaning is performed while transporting the wafer to the downstream side in the transport direction.

A rinse chamber 33 as an ultrasonic cleaning chamber for ultrasonically rinsing the liquid crystal display panel 2 which has been shower-cleaned by the shower cleaning chamber 32 is connected to the downstream side of the shower cleaning chamber 32 in the transport direction. I have.
The rinsing chamber 33 contains the cleaning liquid 4 stored in the cleaning tank 5.
Has the same configuration as the cleaning chamber 22 except that is pure water for rinsing cleaning. The cleaning liquid 4 attached to the liquid crystal display panel 2 during the cleaning in the cleaning chamber 22 can be removed by the rinsing with pure water.

At the outlet side of the rinsing chamber 33, the liquid crystal display panel 2 rinsed by the rinsing chamber 33 is provided.
Further, a brush cleaning chamber 35 for performing a brush cleaning as a next-stage cleaning is connected. In the brush cleaning chamber 35, a plurality of transport rollers 24 are disposed on the same plane as the transport rollers 24 in the rinsing chamber 33, and the transport rollers 24 move the liquid crystal display panel 2 downstream in the transport direction. The cleaning is carried out by the brush 34 while being conveyed. In the brush cleaning chamber 35, a shower section 35a for finishing cleaning the liquid crystal display panel 2 is provided.

Further, a drying chamber 36 for drying the liquid crystal display panel 2 cleaned by the brush cleaning chamber 35 with warm air is connected to the downstream side of the brush cleaning chamber 35 in the transport direction. In the drying chamber 36, a plurality of transport rollers 24 are arranged at a predetermined interval on the same plane as the transport rollers 24 in the brush cleaning chamber 35. 2
While being transported downstream in the transport direction.

A delivery section 38 for delivering the liquid crystal display panel 2 dried by the drying chamber 36 to the outside of the liquid crystal display panel cleaning device 20 is connected to the downstream side of the drying chamber 36 in the transport direction. ing. The delivery unit 38 is provided with a plurality of transport rollers 24 on the same plane as the transport rollers 24 in the drying chamber 36. The transport rollers 24 discharge the liquid crystal display panel 2 to the outside of the apparatus. It has become.

Next, the liquid crystal display panel cleaning device 20
An embodiment of a liquid crystal display panel cleaning method according to the present invention to which the present invention is applied will be described.

First, in the initial state, a mixed solution of water and a surfactant is stored in the cleaning tank 5 of the cleaning chamber 22 as the cleaning liquid 4, and the cleaning liquid 4 is stored in the cleaning tank 5 of the rinsing chamber 33. As pure water is stored.

Then, the conveying roller 2 of the input means 31
4, the liquid crystal display panel 2 is placed. Then, the liquid crystal display panel 2 is transported downstream (in the right side in FIG. 1) in the transport direction by the transport rollers 24. Then, the liquid crystal display panel 2 passes through the input port of the cleaning chamber 22 and the cleaning chamber 22.
It is thrown in.

The liquid crystal display panel 2 placed in the cleaning chamber 22 is immersed in the cleaning liquid 4 stored in the cleaning tank 5 and is held between the transport roller 24 and the transport holding belt 25 in the cleaning chamber 22. 25a. At this time,
The liquid crystal display panel 2 can be held with a desired holding force by the holding force adjusting means 27. Further, since the width in the width direction of the transport holding belt 25 is formed to be larger than the width in the width direction of the liquid crystal display panel 2, it is possible to stably transport the liquid crystal display panel 2 while holding it. Further, the transport roller 24 and the transport nip belt 25
Is formed of a rubber material such as neoprene rubber having excellent elasticity, the liquid crystal display panel 2 can be more stably sandwiched.

Then, the ultrasonic vibrator 8 is driven while the liquid crystal display panel 2 is being conveyed while being nipped by the nipping / conveying belt 25 and the conveying roller 24, so that the liquid crystal display panel 2 An ultrasonic wave is oscillated from below. The ultrasonic wave oscillated by the ultrasonic vibrator 8 vibrates the cleaning liquid 4 as a medium to perform ultrasonic cleaning of the liquid crystal display panel 2. As a result, dirt 9 such as liquid crystal adhered to the liquid crystal display panel 2 (particularly, the gap 2c) is effectively removed.

At this time, since the liquid crystal display panel 2 is conveyed while being stably nipped by the conveyance nipping belt 25 and the conveyance roller 24, it is assumed that strong ultrasonic waves are oscillated from the ultrasonic vibrator 8. Even when the liquid crystal display panel 2 vibrates, the alignment film 17 is not damaged due to the movement of the spacer 18 or damage such as uneven color is not given. Therefore, the liquid crystal display panel 2 can be sufficiently cleaned in a short time without being damaged by strong ultrasonic waves. In general, the intensity of ultrasonic waves is represented by sound pressure (w / cm ² or w / cm ³ ) using the relationship between ultrasonic output and total cleaning area or cleaning tank volume. Conventionally, the sound pressure that does not damage the liquid crystal display panel 2 differs depending on the type of the liquid crystal display panel 2, but is generally about 0.
03 w / cm ³ or less. On the other hand, in the present embodiment, the liquid crystal display panel 2 is not damaged even when a sound pressure of 0.33 w / cm ³ which is ten times or more than that of the related art is applied.
Along with this, it is not necessary to make the transport distance (cleaning tank 5) of the liquid crystal display panel 2 large as in the related art, so that the apparatus can be downsized, and the manufacturing cost and equipment cost can be reduced. it can.

The liquid crystal display panel 2 cleaned in the cleaning chamber 22 is conveyed to a shower cleaning chamber 32 connected downstream of the cleaning chamber 22 in the conveying direction through an outlet. The liquid crystal display panel 2 conveyed to the shower cleaning chamber 32 is mainly subjected to shower cleaning on the upper surface 2a and the lower surface 2b while being conveyed downstream by the conveying rollers 24 in the conveying direction. The shower-cleaned liquid crystal display panel 2
A rinsing chamber 33 as an ultrasonic cleaning chamber connected to the downstream side of the shower cleaning chamber 32 in the transport direction by the transport rollers 24.
It is thrown into.

The liquid crystal display panel 2 placed in the rinsing chamber 33 is immersed in pure water as a cleaning liquid 4 stored in a cleaning tank 5 and is immersed in the transport roller 2 in the rinsing chamber 33.
4 and the holding portion 25a of the transfer holding belt 25.

Then, the liquid crystal display panel 2 is conveyed while being nipped by the nipping and conveying belt 25 and the conveying roller 24, and the ultrasonic vibrator 8 is driven so that the liquid crystal display panel 2 is superposed on the conveyed liquid crystal display panel 2. Oscillates sound waves.
The ultrasonic wave oscillated by the ultrasonic vibrator 8 vibrates pure water as a medium to perform rinse cleaning by the ultrasonic wave. Thereby, the surfactant of the cleaning liquid 4 attached to the liquid crystal display panel 2 (particularly, the gap portion 2c) is effectively removed.

The liquid crystal display panel 2 washed in the rinsing chamber 33 is conveyed through a discharge port to a brush cleaning chamber 35 connected downstream of the rinsing chamber 33 in the conveying direction. The liquid crystal display panel 2 transported to the brush cleaning chamber 35 is brush-cleaned while being transported downstream in the transport direction by the transport roller 24, and then shower-washed by the shower unit 35a as finish cleaning. Then, the liquid crystal display panel 2 that has been subjected to the brush cleaning and the final shower cleaning is transported by the transport rollers 24 to the drying chamber 36 connected to the downstream side of the brush cleaning chamber 35 in the transport direction.

The liquid crystal display panel 2 conveyed to the drying chamber 36 is dried by hot air while being blown by hot air while being conveyed downstream by the conveying rollers 24 in the conveying direction. Then, the liquid crystal display panel 2 dried in the drying chamber 36 is transported by the transport rollers 24 to the payout section 38 connected to the downstream side of the drying chamber 36 in the transport direction.

The liquid crystal display panel 2 conveyed to the payout section 38 is paid out of the apparatus 20 by the conveying rollers 24 of the payout section 38.

Next, the liquid crystal display panel cleaning apparatus 20 of the present embodiment and the conventional liquid crystal display panel cleaning apparatus 1 will be described.
The cleaning test of the liquid crystal display panel 2 performed by using the above will be described.

In this cleaning test, the distance between the liquid crystal display panel 2 and the ultrasonic vibrator 8 was set to 30 mm, and the sound pressure of the ultrasonic wave was reduced to the conventional value. A liquid crystal display panel cleaning device 20 having a sound pressure of 0.33 w / cm ^{3 which} is 10 times or more the sound pressure of the ultrasonic cleaning was used. As a comparative example with respect to the above embodiment, the distance between the liquid crystal display panel 2 and the ultrasonic vibrator 8 is 90.
mm, and a conventional liquid crystal display panel cleaning device 1 having an ultrasonic sound pressure of 0.03 w / cm ³ which is the sound pressure of conventional ultrasonic cleaning.

In this cleaning test, the following two types of cleaning tests were performed using the above-described liquid crystal display panel cleaning devices 20 and 1.

That is, as a first cleaning test, the liquid crystal display panel 2 to which dirt such as liquid crystal has adhered is cleaned by each of the liquid crystal display panel cleaning devices 20 and 1, and then the liquid crystal display panel 2 is checked for dirt removal. An effect test was performed.

Further, as a second cleaning test, after the liquid crystal display panel 2 is cleaned by each of the liquid crystal display panel cleaning devices 20 and 1, an ultrasonic resistance test for examining damage to the liquid crystal display panel 2 by ultrasonic waves is performed. went.

First, the first cleaning test will be described.

In the first cleaning test, the liquid crystal display panel 2 having the liquid crystal, the fingerprint, the glass chamfer powder, and the aqueous cleaning stock solution adhered to the gap portion 2c and the surfaces 2a, 2b was prepared so that the types of the adhered liquid crystals were different. Nine kinds are prepared, these nine
Liquid crystal display panel 2 at a temperature of 130 ° C.
After firing for 15 hours, 15
I prepared one by one. Then, these nine types of liquid crystal display panels 2 were used as sample Nos. No. 1 to No. 1 9 and the cleaning time was changed for each of five samples for 5 seconds and 10 samples for each.
When the cleaning was performed for a cleaning time of seconds and 15 seconds, the results of Table 1 were obtained for the liquid crystal display panel cleaning device 20 of the above example, and the results of Table 2 were obtained for the liquid crystal display panel cleaning device 1 of the comparative example. was gotten. In the first cleaning test, a frequency of 45 kHz was used as the ultrasonic vibrator 8.
z, the power consumption is 600 W, and the cleaning liquid 4
The water-based detergent Elise EM5720 (manufactured by Asahi Kasei Kogyo Co., Ltd.) was adjusted to a concentration of 10% with city water, and the temperature of the washing solution 4 was set at 40 ° C.

Tables 1 and 2 show test results of the first cleaning test. Note that the results in Tables 1 and 2 are the results of the worst one of the five liquid crystal display panels 2 assigned to the cleaning for each cleaning time (5 seconds, 10 seconds, and 15 seconds). .

[0065]

[Table 1]

[0066]

[Table 2]

As shown in Table 1, according to the liquid crystal display panel cleaning apparatus 20 in the above embodiment, with respect to the removal of the liquid crystal, when the cleaning time was 10 seconds, the sample No. 2 and No.
7, except that the liquid crystal adhered to all samples could be completely removed when the cleaning time was 15 seconds. As for the stains other than the liquid crystal, when the cleaning time was 15 seconds, the sample No. All of them were removed except that there was a thin residue which could be confirmed by microscopic observation in No. 2.

On the other hand, as shown in Table 2, according to the liquid crystal display panel cleaning apparatus 1 of the comparative example, the cleaning time
Even in the case of 5 seconds, the liquid crystal and other stains are not removed at all. This is a natural result, considering that the conventional liquid crystal display panel cleaning apparatus 1 requires 5 to 10 minutes to remove the attached liquid crystal and the like without damaging the liquid crystal display panel 2. It can be said that.

Next, the second cleaning test will be described.

In the second cleaning test, the glass plate thickness of the transparent electrode substrate 16 was 0.4 mm, 0.7 mm,
Three types of liquid crystal display panels 2 each having a glass plate thickness of 1.1 mm were prepared as 50 samples each, and these three types of samples were changed in washing time by 10 sheets for 10 seconds each for every 10 sheets. When the cleaning was performed for 20 seconds, 30 seconds, 60 seconds, and 120 seconds, the results shown in Table 3 were obtained for the liquid crystal display panel cleaning device 20 in the above example, and the liquid crystal display panel cleaning in the comparative example was obtained. The results shown in Table 4 were obtained for the device 1. In the sample 2 prepared in the second cleaning test, resin spacers which are considered to easily damage the alignment film 17 are used as the spacers 18, and liquid crystal injection is performed so that the spacers 18 are more easily moved. The one in which the gap 19 was not adjusted by the subsequent pressurization was prepared. In the second cleaning test, as in the first cleaning test, the ultrasonic vibrator 8 was operated at a frequency of 4.
5 kHz, power consumption 600 W
The liquid temperature of the cleaning liquid 4 is the same as in the first cleaning test.

Tables 3 and 4 show test results of the second cleaning test.

[0072]

[Table 3]

[0073]

[Table 4]

As shown in Table 3, according to the liquid crystal display panel cleaning apparatus 20 in the above embodiment, the spacer 18 does not move even when a sound pressure 10 times or more than that of the conventional apparatus is applied to the sample for 120 seconds. Also, no damage such as damage to the alignment film or uneven color due to the movement of the spacer 18 occurred.

On the other hand, as shown in Table 4, according to the liquid crystal display panel cleaning apparatus 1 of the comparative example, damage was caused by the movement of the spacer 18 in all the samples 2 even when the cleaning time was 10 seconds. If the cleaning time is longer than 20 seconds, the damage is so great that it can be confirmed visually.

From the results of the cleaning tests described above, the liquid crystal display panel cleaning apparatus 20 of this embodiment is capable of cleaning the liquid crystal display panel 2 in a shorter time and the ultrasonic cleaning than the conventional liquid crystal display panel cleaning apparatus 1. It turns out that it is excellent.

Therefore, according to the liquid crystal display panel cleaning apparatus 20 and the liquid crystal display panel cleaning method of the present embodiment, the liquid crystal display panel 2 is conveyed while being stably pinched by the conveying rollers 24 and the conveying pinch belt 25. Therefore, the liquid crystal display panel 2 can be cleaned in a short time without damaging the liquid crystal display panel 2 by strong ultrasonic waves. Accordingly, the size of the cleaning tank 5 can be reduced, so that manufacturing costs and equipment costs can be reduced.

Further, the liquid crystal display panel 2 is held by the holding force adjusting means 27 with a desired holding force, and the width of the transport holding belt 25 in the width direction is larger than the width of the liquid crystal display panel 2 in the width direction. The liquid crystal display panel 2 is stably held between the transfer roller 24 and the outer circumferential surface portion of the transfer holding belt 25 by using a rubber material such as neoprene rubber having excellent elasticity. It can be conveyed.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, but can be variously modified as needed. For example, in the present embodiment, a driving source is provided on the transport holding belt 25 side. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and a driving source may be provided on the transport roller 24 side.

[0080]

As described above, according to the apparatus for cleaning a liquid crystal display panel according to the first aspect of the present invention and the method for cleaning a liquid crystal display panel according to the fifth aspect of the present invention, the liquid crystal display panel is damaged by strong ultrasonic waves. It is possible to sufficiently clean the apparatus in a short time without providing the apparatus, to reduce the size of the apparatus, and to reduce manufacturing costs and equipment costs.

According to the liquid crystal display panel cleaning apparatus according to the second aspect and the liquid crystal display panel cleaning method according to the sixth aspect, the liquid crystal display panel cleaning apparatus according to the first aspect and the liquid crystal display panel cleaning according to the fifth aspect. In addition to the effect of the method, the liquid crystal display panel can be held more stably.

According to the cleaning device for a liquid crystal display panel according to the third aspect, in addition to the effect of the cleaning device for a liquid crystal display panel according to the first or second aspect, the liquid crystal display panel is conveyed while being held more stably. can do.

According to the cleaning apparatus for a liquid crystal display panel according to the fourth aspect, in addition to the effect of the cleaning apparatus for a liquid crystal display panel according to any one of the first to third aspects, the liquid crystal display panel is further stabilized. Can be conveyed while being pinched.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side view showing an embodiment of a liquid crystal display panel cleaning apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view showing an embodiment of a cleaning device for a liquid crystal display panel according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a view showing an ultrasonic cleaning chamber in the embodiment of the liquid crystal display panel cleaning apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a view showing an example of a clamping force adjusting means of the transport clamping belt in the embodiment of the liquid crystal display panel cleaning apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a view showing an aspect of dirt attached to the liquid crystal display panel in the embodiment of the liquid crystal display panel cleaning apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a conventional single-wafer type liquid crystal display panel cleaning apparatus.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a state of adhesion of dirt to a conventional single-wafer liquid crystal display panel cleaning device.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a batch-type liquid crystal display panel cleaning apparatus.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 2 liquid crystal display panel 4 cleaning liquid 5 cleaning tank 8 ultrasonic vibrator 20 liquid crystal display panel cleaning device 22 cleaning chamber 24 transport roller 25 transport clamping belt 25a clamping section 27 clamping force adjusting means 28 pressing plate 29 air cylinder 31 injection means 32 shower Cleaning room 33 Rinse room 35 Brush cleaning room 36 Drying room 38 Payout section

 ────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued on the front page (72) Inventor Mitsuaki Hoshi 1-2-1, Kamisakabe, Amagasaki City, Hyogo Prefecture Opterex Co., Ltd. Amagasaki Plant F-term (reference) 2H088 FA17 FA21 FA28 FA30 MA20 2H090 JC19 3B201 AA02 AB14 AB47 BB02 BB24 BB33 BB85 BB93 CC01 CC11 CC21 CD43

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A cleaning tank capable of storing a cleaning liquid is provided, and a transport roller for transporting a liquid crystal display panel from a loading position to a discharging position while immersing the liquid crystal display panel in the cleaning liquid is provided in the cleaning tank in a predetermined direction. A plurality of ultrasonic vibrators for ultrasonically cleaning the liquid crystal display panel conveyed by the plurality of transport rollers are provided on the plurality of transport rollers at the bottom of the cleaning tank. In a single-wafer-type liquid crystal display panel cleaning apparatus having an ultrasonic cleaning chamber provided so as to face each other, the liquid crystal display panel is sandwiched together with these transport rollers at a position facing the plurality of transport rollers. A cleaning device for a liquid crystal display panel, comprising a transport holding belt for transporting. 2. A holding force adjusting means for adjusting a holding force of the transfer holding belt by pressing a holding portion of the transfer holding belt toward a liquid crystal display panel with an arbitrary pressure. The cleaning device for a liquid crystal display panel according to claim 1. 3. The cleaning device for a liquid crystal display panel according to claim 1, wherein the transport roller and the transport nipping belt are formed using a rubber material such as neoprene rubber. 4. The liquid crystal display panel according to claim 1, wherein a dimension in a width direction of the transport sandwiching belt that is orthogonal to a transport direction of the liquid crystal display panel is larger than a dimension in the same direction of the liquid crystal display panel. Item 4. The cleaning device for a liquid crystal display panel according to any one of Items 3 to 3. 5. A single-wafer type liquid crystal display having an ultrasonic cleaning step of performing ultrasonic cleaning by an ultrasonic vibrator while transporting a liquid crystal display panel from a loading position to a discharge position by a transport roller while immersing the liquid crystal display panel in a cleaning liquid. In the panel cleaning method, the liquid crystal display panel is transported while being nipped by the transport roller and a transport nipping belt. 6. The liquid crystal display panel according to claim 5, wherein a clamping force of the transport clamping belt is adjusted by pressing a clamping portion of the transport clamping belt toward the liquid crystal display panel with an arbitrary pressure. Cleaning method.