KR101449413B1 - System For Attaching Of Touch Panel - Google Patents

Abstract

More particularly, the present invention relates to a touch panel vacuum adhering system, and more particularly, to a touch panel vacuum adhering system, in which a window for protecting a touch panel cell and a window for protecting the touch panel cell are adhered in a vacuum state to suppress bubble generation, To a touch panel vacuum lacquering system capable of improving adhesion.

Description

{System For Attaching Of Touch Panel}

More particularly, the present invention relates to a touch panel vacuum adhering system, and more particularly, to a touch panel vacuum adhering system that suppresses the occurrence of bubbles that can occur when a touch panel cell and a window for protecting the touch panel cell are adhered in a vacuum state, To a touch panel vacuum cementation system capable of zeroing bleed in / out.

The touch panel is actively applied to all display devices as an input means for inputting predetermined information corresponding to the display by pressing the display displayed on the panel.

In general, the touch panel extracts coordinates of a portion pressed on a touch panel by an electrostatic capacity method, a resistance film method, a surface ultrasonic method, an infrared method, or the like, and inputs information.

Since the touch panel is a method in which a hand or an electronic pen or the like touches the panel to recognize coordinates, panel damage is apt to occur. Therefore, a window for protecting the touch panel is manufactured by attaching it on the touch panel.

Conventionally, a method of using an optical adhesive (OCA tape) or using a UV curable resin is used as a method of attaching the touch panel and the window.

In the system using the optical adhesive, the entire thickness of the panel is increased due to the thickness of the adhesive itself, and there is a problem that the adhesive strength is lowered. Therefore, a method using a UV curable resin is widely used.

However, the conventional curing method using the UV curable resin causes bubbles to be generated through the reaction in the air by bonding the touch panel cell and the window at atmospheric pressure, and a bleed in / out phenomenon occurs and UV curable resin flows to the side of the cell There is a problem that the process efficiency is deteriorated because the defective rate is increased due to the necessity of a step of wiping the resin that flows down.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a touch panel,

And to provide a touch panel cementing system capable of increasing yield by zeroing out bleed in and out.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a system for attaching a touch panel cell and a window to each other, the system including a bonded portion for attaching the transferred touch panel cell and the window coated with the UV resin in a vacuum state, And a UV curing portion for curing the cured touch panel.

The seal unit may include a first load lock chamber in which the touch panel cell is loaded, a second load lock chamber in which a window coated with the UV resin is loaded, a touch panel cell loaded in the first and second load lock chambers, And a process chamber for aligning the loaded touch panel cell and the window in a vacuum state.

The pressure in the first and second load lock chambers is in the range of atmospheric to several torr, the pressure in the transfer chamber is in the range of several torr to 10 ^-2 torr, and the pressure in the process chamber is in the range of 10 ^-4 to 10 ^-5 torr .

The process chamber includes a vacuum pump for maintaining a vacuum state, fixing means for fixing the window at the lower end, fixing the touch panel cell at the upper end, aligning means for aligning the attachment positions of the fixed window and the touch panel cell, And a toughening means for toughening the aligned window and the touch panel cell.

In addition, the aligning means may include a vision system for visually confirming an alignment image, which is an accurate position at which the touch panel cell and the window are to be attached, and a window aligner for performing centering by fixing the left and right sides of the substrate chuck on which the window is loaded, And a touch panel cell aligner for controlling the movement of the touch panel cell and the window to align the precise position of the touch panel cell and the window by moving the touch pad on which the panel cell is loaded by X, Y, Z, and θ 4 axes.

The window alignment part includes a fixing pin for fixing and centering the both ends of the window loaded on the substrate chuck, and a fixing pin driving part for providing a driving force for moving the fixing pin in the left and right directions.

In addition, the touch panel alignment portion may include a movement guide connected to the adhesive pad for performing alignment by moving the touch panel cell loaded on the adhesive pad in four axes of X axis, Y axis, Z axis, And a movement guide driving unit for controlling the driving of the driving unit.

And the window is glass or tempered glass.

As described above, in the touch panel cementing system according to the present invention, when a window for protecting the touch panel cell and the window for protecting the touch panel cell is attached, the cementing process is performed in a vacuum state. Therefore, bubble generation and bleed in / in / out) can be zeroed to minimize the defective rate and improve the yield.

FIG. 1 is a layout diagram schematically showing a touch panel laminating stage according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a flowchart schematically showing a laminating method according to the arrangement of FIG.
Figure 4 illustrates a process chamber in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention.
FIGS. 5 and 6 are schematic views illustrating a process of attaching a touch panel cell and a window in a process chamber according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 5 is a cross- And FIG. 6 shows that the window is loaded and aligned and then joined together with the touch panel cell.
7 illustrates an alignment process through an alignment image of a touch panel cell and a window.

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

FIG. 1 is a layout diagram schematically showing a touch panel laminating stage according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a flowchart schematically showing a laminating method according to the arrangement of FIG.

1 and 2, a method of attaching a touch panel according to the present invention will be described.

The touch panel cementing system according to the present invention may include a cementing unit for cementing the transferred touch panel cell and the window coated with the UV resin in a vacuum state, and a UV curing unit for curing the cemented touch panel.

The touch panel cell and the window are attached to the chamber part in a vacuum state. The touch panel cell and the window are attached to the chamber part in a vacuum state. In this case, the touch panel cell and the window are included in the process from loading to curing. A plasma processing portion, a rotation portion, a resin application portion, a chamber portion (first and second load lock chambers, a transfer chamber, a process chamber), and the like.

Here, each part of the stage shown in Fig. 1 may be connected through a conveyor belt or conveyed through a conveying robot, or a combination of a conveyor belt and a robot arm may be applied.

First, when the touch panel cell is loaded on the stage, if the protective film is attached on the touch panel cell, the protective film removing unit 110 removes the protective film from the touch panel cell through the filler.

Here, since the protective film is bonded by low adhesive force as a means for protecting the window surface, the protective film can be removed by applying a force larger than the adhesive force. In addition, the protective film can be removed by manual operation.

Then, the bonding surface area is increased to increase the adhesive force, and plasma processing is performed through the plasma processing part 120 to remove organic substances on the touch panel cell.

The plasma treatment may be performed in an atmosphere of oxygen (O ² ) or nitrogen (N ² ), and the specific conditions may vary according to the specification, and are generally well-known technologies, and thus a detailed description thereof will be omitted.

Then, the plasma-processed touch panel cell is transferred to the first load lock chamber 311 of the chamber part.

The plasma processing unit 120 may further include a rotation unit 130 for rotating the touch panel cell 180 degrees between the plasma processing unit 120 and the first load lock chamber 311.

The touch panel cell is placed on top of the touch panel and the top surface of the touch panel is downward. However, since the touch panel cell initially loaded on the protective film removing unit 120 is loaded with the top surface of the panel facing upward, And the rotation unit 130 rotates the touch panel cell 180 degrees by using a rotating device or a robot and transfers the rotation to the first load lock chamber 311. [

The first load lock chamber 311 may be as small as possible to accommodate the touch panel cell. When the gate of the first load lock chamber 311 is opened and the gate of the touch panel cell is closed Through pumping, the pressure between atmospheric pressure and several torr can be controlled to act.

On the other hand, when the window is loaded on the stage, if the protective film is attached on the window, the protective film is removed from the window through the filler in the protective film removing unit 210.

Then, the plasma processing is performed through the plasma processing unit 220 to increase the adhesive surface area to increase the adhesive force and to remove organic substances on the window.

After the plasma treatment, the resin is applied to the resin application part 230 to apply UV resin to the window surface.

When the window is transported in a state where the UV resin is not cured, the UV resin may flow to the periphery and may affect the uniformity of the UV resin. Therefore, a UV lamp is provided in the resin application part 230, To about 30%.

When UV resin is applied on the window, it is transferred to the second load lock chamber 312 of the chamber part.

The second load lock chamber 312 may also be formed as small as possible as long as the window can be inserted. When the window is loaded while the gate of the second load lock chamber 312 is opened and the gate is closed, To-torr < / RTI >

When the touch panel cell and the window are transferred to the chamber through the above process, the transfer robot of the transfer chamber 320 opens the gate of the first load lock chamber 311 to take out the touch panel cell, Is opened and loaded.

Similarly, the transfer robot of the transfer chamber 320 opens the gate of the second load lock chamber 312 to take out the window and load it into the process chamber 330.

The transfer robot mounted on the transfer chamber 320 may be configured in two stages, and may be configured to include a joint robot to transfer the window and the touch panel cell to the process chamber 330 at the same time.

Here, the pressure of the transfer chamber 320 may be controlled through pumping so as to be in the range of several torr to 10 ^-2 torr, and the pressure of the process chamber 330 in which the adhesion is progressing may be controlled to 10 ^-4 to 10 ^-5 torr < / RTI > range.

As described above, when the pressure in the load lock chamber, the transfer chamber, and the process chamber is set to be decreased stepwise, the time for pumping to maintain the pressure when the gate is opened to be transferred to each chamber can be reduced, .

When the touch panel cell and the window are mounted on the process chamber 330, the touch panel cell and the window are aligned with each other by aligning means, and the touch panel cell and the window are bonded together in a vacuum state.

The process chamber 330 may be configured to be vacuum-bonded as shown in FIG.

Referring to FIG. 3, the process chamber 330 may include a vacuum pump, fixing means, alignment means, and temporary hardening means.

The vacuum pump has a function of pumping the inside of the process chamber to maintain a high vacuum of 10 ^-4 to 10 ^-5 torr when the gate of the process chamber is opened and the touch panel cell and window are loaded and the gate is closed. do.

The fixing unit includes a substrate chuck 331 on which a touch panel cell and a window are mounted at a lower end and to which a window is fixed, and an adhesive pad 332 for fixing the back surface of the touch panel cell such that an upper surface of the touch panel cell faces downward And the like.

The aligning means includes a vision system 333 for visually confirming an alignment image indicative of the precise position at which the touch panel cell and the window are to be attached, and a vision system 333 for fixing both ends of the window loaded on the substrate chuck, And a touch panel aligning part 335 for aligning the touching pad on which the touch panel cell is loaded by moving the touching pad in X, Y, Z, have.

The window alignment portion 334 may include a fixed pin for fixing and centering the both ends of the window loaded on the substrate chuck and a fixed pin driver for providing a driving force for moving the fixed pin in the horizontal direction .

The touch panel aligning unit 335 is configured to move the touch panel cell attached to the adhesive pad along the X axis, the Y axis, the Z axis, and the? 4 axis to perform alignment, And a moving guide driving unit for controlling the driving unit.

The vision system 333 may further include an illumination unit for brightening the alignment region for accurate identification of the alignment image.

Here, the adhesive pad 332 may be made of a synthetic rubber having adhesiveness so as to support the touch panel cell in order to hold the touch panel cell at the upper portion. When the adhesive force is too high, The cell surface may be damaged. If the adhesion force is excessively low, the touch panel cell may be separated and broken before being attached to the window. Therefore, it is desirable that the touch panel cell has adhesiveness within a range that does not exert an excessively large adhesive force while holding the touch panel cell. And preferably has an adhesive force in the range of 400 to 5000 _gf / cm < ² >.

The temporary hardening unit may include a UV lamp 336 disposed under the process chamber and UV-curable the touch panel cell and the window.

FIGS. 4 and 5 are schematic views illustrating a process of attaching a touch panel cell and a window in a process chamber according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a cross- And FIG. 5 shows that the window is loaded and aligned and then joined with the touch panel cell.

4 and 5, when the touch panel cell is loaded on the substrate chuck 331 (FIG. 4A) in the process chamber 330, the touch panel aligning unit 335 is moved And aligns the position of the touch pad 332 with the lower part to move the touch panel cell to the adhesive pad 332 (FIG. 4B)

After the 1-2 mm adhesive chuck is moved upward through the Y axis control of the touch panel aligning part 335, the alignment image of the touch panel cell is recognized through the camera stage 333 (see FIG. 4 c), Fig. 6)

Then, the touch panel cell is moved upward to prevent interference with the window (Fig. 4 (d)).

Next, when the window is loaded on the substrate chuck 331 (FIG. 5E), the window aligning portion 334 fixes both ends of the window loaded in the first substrate chuck and performs centering and alignment (Fig. 5 (f), Fig. 6)

Then, the touch panel aligning unit 335 moves the touch panel cell located at the upper side downward, and moves the X, Y, Z, and θ axes to align the alignment image of the touch panel cell and the window, (Fig. 5 (g), Fig. 6)

More specifically, the touch panel cell and the window can be aligned using the point-align method, and the camera stage can be aligned by aligning the angled image of the glass with the cross mark, which is an alignment image of the touch panel cell (X-axis, Y-axis, Z-axis, and θ-angle) of the touch panel cell by controlling the alignment of the touch panel cell and the window, Can be aligned in the correct position.

When the alignment is completed as described above, the toughening process is performed to provide the minimum fixing force in a state where the touch panel cell and the window are lined as described above (FIG. 5 (h)).

For this, a UV lamp 336 may be provided at the lower end of the process chamber, and the UV lamp may be irradiated while the touch panel cell and the window are laminated so that the touch panel cell and the window can be cemented together with a minimum fixing force .

When the touch panel cell and the window are cured through the provisional curing process as described above, the adhesive pad is moved upward and separated.

Here, the window is fixed to the window aligning part 335, and the window and the touch panel cell are in a state in which adhesive strength is formed by the hardening of the UV lamp, and the adhesive force is set larger than the adhesive force of the adhesive pad, The adhesive pad 332 can be separated from the touch panel cell.

When the touch panel cells and windows are bonded together in a vacuum state through the process chamber as described above, they are transferred to the UV curing unit 410 through the third load lock chamber 313 by the transfer robot of the transfer chamber.

In the UV curing unit 410, the UV lamp is irradiated to completely cure the UV resin, so that the touch panel cell and the window bonded together in the process chamber are integrally bonded.

The UV curing unit 410 may be sized in consideration of the length of the stage, the moving speed, and the UV irradiation intensity of the UV lamp.

When the touch panel cell and the window are completely cured through the UV curing unit, the inspection panel 420 is transferred.

The inspection unit inspects whether the touch panel cell and the window are adhered to each other, and checks whether the product is good or defective, and is transferred to the unloading unit 430 through the inspection unit.

While the present invention has been described in connection with what is presently considered to be practical exemplary embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments, but, on the contrary, It will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

110: protective film removing unit 120: plasma processing unit
130: Rotation part 210: Protective film removal
220: Plasma processing part 230: Resin application part
30: chamber part 311: first load lock chamber
312: second load lock chamber 313: third load lock chamber
320: transfer chamber 330: process chamber
410: UV hardening part 420: inspection part
430: Unloading section

Claims (8)

A system for attaching a touch panel cell and a window,
A bonded portion for bonding the transferred touch panel cell and the window coated with the UV resin in a vacuum state; And
A UV curing unit for curing the cemented touch panel;
Lt; / RTI >
[0027]
A first load lock chamber in which the touch panel cell is loaded;
A second load lock chamber in which a window coated with UV resin is loaded;
A transfer chamber for transferring the touch panel cells and windows loaded in the first and second load lock chambers to a process chamber; And
A process chamber for aligning the loaded touch panel cell and the window and attaching them in a vacuum state;
Lt; / RTI >
The process chamber includes:
A vacuum pump for maintaining a vacuum state;
Fixing means for fixing the window at the lower end and fixing the touch panel cell at the upper end;
Aligning means for aligning the attachment positions of the fixed window and the touch panel cell; And
A toughening means for toughening the aligned window and the touch panel cell;
/ RTI >
Wherein said aligning means comprises:
Vision system for visually checking the alignment image, which is the exact position where the touch panel cell and window are to be attached;
A window aligner for fixing the left and right sides of the substrate chuck on which the window is loaded to perform centering; And
A touch panel cell aligner for controlling the movement of the touch pad cell and the window to align the precise position of the touch panel cell and the window by moving the touch pad on which the touch panel cell is loaded by X, Y, Z, and θ 4 axes;
Lt; / RTI >
Wherein the pressure of the first and second load lock chambers, the transfer chamber, and the process chamber is decreased step by step.
delete The method according to claim 1,
The pressure in the first and second load lock chambers
Atmospheric ~ torr,
The pressure in the transfer chamber
A number of torr to 10 ^-2 torr,
The pressure in the process chamber
10 < ^-4 > to 10 < ^-5 > torr.
delete delete The method according to claim 1,
The window aligner
A fixing pin for fixing and centering both ends of the window loaded on the substrate chuck;
And a fixing pin driver for providing a driving force for moving the fixing pin in the left-right direction.
The method according to claim 1,
The touch panel cell aligning portion
A movement guide connected to the adhesive pad for aligning the touch panel cell loaded on the adhesive pad by four axes of X axis, Y axis, Z axis, and θ angle;
And a movement guide driving unit for controlling driving of the movement guide.
The method according to claim 1,
The window
Glass or tempered glass.

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