JPH11216430A - Washing device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a washing device capable of making the finished state of washing excellent without making the structure complex compared to a conventional washing device. SOLUTION: A brush 11 slides in the orthogonally crossing direction against the advancing direction of a liquid crystal display panel. As a sliding method of the brush 11, a unit for simultaneously rotating the brush 11 is disposed on a slide rail 13 and a shaft 16 attached to a disk 15 directly fixed to the rotational shaft of a motor is connected to the unit so that the unit moves in the orthogonally crossing direction against the advancing direction of the liquid crystal display panel. Thus, the brush 11 can be slid in the orthogonally crossing direction against the advancing direction of the liquid crystal display panel.

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 cleaning a plate-like object with a brush while being conveyed by a plurality of conveying rollers, and particularly for cleaning a liquid crystal display panel, an electrode substrate for a liquid crystal display panel, and a semiconductor substrate. The present invention relates to a cleaning device used for the above.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a manufacturing process of a liquid crystal display device, a liquid crystal display panel or an electrode substrate for a liquid crystal display panel is washed at the end of each process, and the process proceeds to the next process. As a cleaning method at this time, a brush cleaning method or an ultrasonic cleaning method is used. In recent years, since a foreign substance adhering to a liquid crystal display panel or a liquid crystal display panel electrode substrate can be efficiently removed, a cylindrical brush is transferred while the liquid crystal display panel or the liquid crystal display panel electrode substrate is conveyed by a plurality of conveyance rollers. A brush cleaning device that cleans by rotating the brush is used.

[0003] As shown in FIG.
The liquid crystal display panel 5 is fed by the transport roller 51 in the single-wafer processing.
This is a device for cleaning the liquid crystal display panel 52 by rotating the cylindrical brush 53 in the forward or reverse direction with respect to the transport direction of the liquid crystal display panel 52 while transporting the liquid crystal display panel 52 in the horizontal direction.

The transport roller 51 is provided with a liquid crystal display panel 52.
, And is rotated by a motor (not shown) to transport the liquid crystal display panel 52 in the horizontal direction by single-wafer processing. In addition, a transport roller 51 may be provided on the upper surface side of the liquid crystal display panel 52 so that the liquid crystal display panel 52 can be transported stably.

[0005] Cylindrical brushes 53 are provided at predetermined intervals between the transport rollers 51 so as to be parallel to the transport rollers 51. Generally, a cylindrical brush 53
Are provided on the upper surface side and the lower surface side of the liquid crystal display panel 52, and are rotated by a motor (not shown) in the forward or reverse direction with respect to the transport direction of the liquid crystal display panel 52, and dust, glass powder, Remove dirt and the like.

When cleaning the liquid crystal display panel 52 with the cylindrical brush 53, spray nozzles 54 provided on the upper and lower sides of the liquid crystal display panel 52 are used to clean the liquid crystal display panel 52.
The cleaning is performed while applying the cleaning liquid 55 to the liquid crystal display panel 52. City water or pure water is used as the cleaning liquid 55, and a neutral detergent or the like may be mixed.

[0007]

In the future, smaller dust,
If removal of foreign substances such as glass powder and dirt is required, it is necessary to increase the number of times of contact of the brush with the liquid crystal display panel or the electrode substrate for the liquid crystal display panel. In addition, the same applies to the case where a detergent is used to enhance the effect of removing foreign substances. By increasing the number of times the brush contacts the liquid crystal display panel or the electrode substrate for the liquid crystal display panel, the detergent can be sufficiently spread. .

In order to increase the number of times the brush contacts the liquid crystal display panel or the liquid crystal display panel electrode substrate, it is necessary to increase the number of rotations of the brush or the number of brushes. When increasing the number of rotations of the brush, there is a problem that the number of rotations is limited by the number of rotations and the torque of the motor. Further, when the number of brushes is increased, there is a problem that the size of the cleaning device is increased and the installation space of the cleaning device is increased.

As another problem of the conventional brush cleaning device, there is no problem with the terminal surface on the side parallel to the transport direction of the liquid crystal display panel, but it is perpendicular to the transport direction of the liquid crystal display panel. There is a problem that the finished state of the cleaning of the side terminal surface is deteriorated.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned conventional problems, and it is an object of the present invention to improve the finished state of cleaning without complicating the structure of a conventional cleaning apparatus. It is an object of the present invention to provide a cleaning apparatus that can perform the cleaning.

[0011]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a cleaning apparatus for rotating a cylindrical brush while conveying a plate-like object by a plurality of conveying rollers. In the cleaning device for cleaning the plate-like object, by rotating the brush and sliding the brush in a direction perpendicular to the transport direction of the plate-like object, the cleaning of the plate-like object is performed. It is characterized by performing.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the cleaning apparatus of the first aspect, the transport rollers are provided on both upper and lower surfaces of the plate-like object, and pressure measuring means are provided at both ends of the transport rollers. It is characterized in that a contact pressure between the transport roller and the plate-like object is controlled based on information from a pressure measuring unit.

[0013] According to the cleaning apparatus of the present invention, the cleaning of the plate-like object is performed by sliding the brush in a direction perpendicular to the conveying direction of the plate-like object while rotating the brush. The number of times of contact of the brush with the plate-like object can be increased without having a complicated configuration. Further, the brush can be brought into contact with the foreign matter adhering to the plate-like object from a plurality of directions, and the foreign matter that cannot be removed conventionally can be removed. Further, it is possible to improve the cleaning state of the terminal surface on the side orthogonal to the transport direction of the liquid crystal display panel.

[0014] Further, transport rollers are provided on both upper and lower surfaces of the plate-like object, pressure measuring means are provided at both ends of the transport roller, and a contact pressure between the transport roller and the plate-like object is determined based on information from the pressure measuring means. By controlling, it is possible to prevent the plate-like object from meandering by sliding the brush in a direction orthogonal to the transport direction of the plate-like object.

[0015]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 1 is a plan view showing a cleaning device according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a side view showing a cleaning device according to the present invention, FIG. 3 is a side view showing a cleaning tank, and FIG. FIG. 5, FIG. 5 is a side view illustrating the brush sliding direction, FIG. 6 is a plan view illustrating the brush sliding method, FIG. 7 is a front view illustrating the brush sliding method,
8 is a plan view illustrating the meandering of the liquid crystal display panel, FIG. 9 is a front view illustrating the conveying roller, FIG. 10 is a side view illustrating the conveying roller, and FIG. 11 illustrates a method for preventing the meandering of the liquid crystal display panel. FIG. 12 is a front view for explaining a method for preventing the liquid crystal display panel from meandering.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a cassette 2 in which, for example, 20 liquid crystal display panels 1 can be stored is set in a loader 3, and the liquid crystal display panels 1 are placed one by one on a conveyor 4 by a robot 5. Transport. Then, the liquid crystal display panel 1 on the conveyor 4 is transported to the cleaning tank 6 by the conveyor 4.

As shown in FIG. 3, the cleaning tank 6 is divided into a detergent tank 7, a rinsing tank 8, and a rinsing tank 9, and a transport roller 10 for transporting the liquid crystal display panel 1 and a surface of the liquid crystal display panel 1. A brush 11 in which nylon fibers for washing the liquid crystal are planted in a cylindrical shape is arranged so as to sandwich the liquid crystal display panel 1 from above and below. The brush 11 rotates in an upper cut direction (indicated by an arrow in FIG. 3), and the transport roller 10 rotates in a down cut direction (indicated by an arrow in FIG. 3). Also,
Showers 12 arranged above and below each bath
Thus, detergent water is poured in the detergent tank 7, rinsing water is poured in the rinsing tank 8, and pure water for rinsing is poured in the rinsing tank 9 from above and below the brush 11.

The brush 11 slides in a direction perpendicular to the traveling direction of the liquid crystal display panel 1, as shown in FIGS.

As a method of sliding the brush 11, a unit for simultaneously rotating the brush 11 is arranged on a slide rail 13 and is mounted on a disk 15 directly connected to a rotation shaft of a motor 14, as shown in FIGS. By connecting the attached shaft 16 to the unit, the unit moves in a direction orthogonal to the traveling direction of the liquid crystal display panel 1 by the rotation of the motor 14. Thus, brush 1
1 can be slid in a direction orthogonal to the traveling direction of the liquid crystal display panel 1. At this time, the sliding speed of the brush 11 is determined by the rotation speed of the motor 14 or the diameter of the disk 15, and the sliding width of the brush 11 is determined by the diameter of the disk 15. The diameter of the disk 15 may be selected.

When the brush 11 is slid, the liquid crystal display panel 1 may meander as shown in FIG. 8 while the liquid crystal display panel 1 is being transported through the cleaning tank 6.

Therefore, as shown in FIGS. 9 and 10,
The pair of upper and lower transport rollers 10 is the lower transport roller 1.
The bearing 0a is fixed, and the bearing of the upper transport roller 10b can be moved up and down. The lower transport roller 10a and the upper transport roller 10b each have a spring 17 having an appropriate spring constant at both ends.
And a pressure sensor 18 and a motor 19 for adjusting the pressure.

Further, as shown in FIG. 11 and FIG.
0 is connected. Then, the pressure applied between the lower transport roller 10a and the upper transport roller 10b during the transportation of the liquid crystal display panel 1 is monitored by the personal computer 20, and the change in the pressure caused by the meandering of the liquid crystal display panel 1 is fed back to the personal computer 20. And motor 19 to PC2
By controlling at 0, the pressure applied by the motor 19 to both ends of the transport roller 10 is controlled to prevent the liquid crystal display panel 1 from meandering.

For example, when the liquid crystal display panel 1 starts to meander to the right with respect to the traveling direction, the lower transport roller 10
11 and FIG. 12 increases at the right end in FIG. 11 and FIG. This change in pressure is detected by a pressure sensor 18 and a motor 19 is controlled by a personal computer 20 to apply downward pressure at the right end and upward at the left end. That is, at the right end, the lower transport roller 10a and the upper transport roller 10b
And the pressure applied between the lower transport roller 10a and the upper transport roller 10b at the left end is reduced. In this way, the liquid crystal display panel 1 is prevented from moving further to the right side, and meandering of the liquid crystal display panel 1 is prevented.

When the liquid crystal display panel 1 starts to meander to the left with respect to the traveling direction, the pressure applied between the lower transport roller 10a and the upper transport roller 10b is increased at the left end, contrary to the above. At the right end, the lower transport roller 10
a and the pressure applied between the upper transport roller 10b may be reduced.

The liquid crystal display panel 1 which has come out of the cleaning tank 6 in this way is conveyed by a conveyor 21 as shown in FIGS. Then, the liquid crystal display panel 1 is positioned by the positioning pins 23 by the positioning pins 23, and is stored in the cassette 27 of the unloader 26 by the robot 25.

[0026]

As described above, according to the cleaning apparatus of the present invention, the brush is slid in the direction perpendicular to the direction of transport of the plate-like object while rotating the brush, whereby the plate-like object is cleaned. By performing the cleaning, the number of times of contact of the brush with the plate-like object can be increased. Further, the brush can be brought into contact with the foreign matter adhering to the plate-like object from a plurality of directions, and the foreign matter that cannot be removed conventionally can be removed. Further, it is possible to improve the cleaning state of the terminal surface on the side orthogonal to the transport direction of the liquid crystal display panel.

In addition, transport rollers are provided on both upper and lower surfaces of the plate-like object, pressure measuring means are provided at both ends of the transport roller, and a contact pressure between the transport roller and the plate-like object is determined based on information from the pressure measuring means. By controlling, it is possible to prevent the plate-like object from meandering by sliding the brush in a direction orthogonal to the transport direction of the plate-like object.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing a cleaning apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a side view showing a cleaning device according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a side view showing a cleaning tank.

FIG. 4 is a plan view illustrating a sliding direction of a brush.

FIG. 5 is a side view illustrating a sliding direction of a brush.

FIG. 6 is a plan view illustrating a brush sliding method.

FIG. 7 is a front view illustrating a brush sliding method.

FIG. 8 is a plan view illustrating meandering of the liquid crystal display panel.

FIG. 9 is a front view illustrating a transport roller.

FIG. 10 is a side view illustrating a transport roller.

FIG. 11 is a plan view illustrating a method of preventing meandering of the liquid crystal display panel.

FIG. 12 is a front view illustrating a method for preventing meandering of the liquid crystal display panel.

FIG. 13 is a side view illustrating a conventional brush cleaning device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Liquid crystal display panel 2 Cassette 3 Loader 4 Conveyor 5 Robot 6 Cleaning tank 7 Detergent tank 8 Rinse tank 9 Rinse tank 10 Transport roller 10a Lower transport roller 10b Upper transport roller 11 Brush 12 Shower 13 Slide rail 14 Motor 15 Disk 16 Shaft 17 Spring 18 Pressure sensor 19 Motor 20 Personal computer 21 Conveyor 22 Air blow 23 Positioning section 24 Positioning pin 25 Robot 26 Unloader 27 Cassette 51 Transport roller 52 Liquid crystal display panel 53 Cylindrical brush 54 Spray nozzle 55 Cleaning liquid

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A cleaning device for cleaning a plate-shaped object by rotating a cylindrical brush while conveying the plate-shaped object by a plurality of transfer rollers, wherein the cleaning of the plate-shaped object is performed while rotating the brush. A cleaning device for cleaning the plate-like object by sliding the brush in a direction perpendicular to a transport direction. 2. The transport roller is provided on both upper and lower surfaces of the plate-like object, pressure measuring means is provided at both ends of the transport roller, and the transport roller and the plate-like member are provided based on information from the pressure measuring means. The cleaning device according to claim 1, wherein a contact pressure with an object is controlled.