BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The components in the drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale, the emphasis instead being placed upon clearly illustrating the principles of at least one embodiment of the present invention. In the drawings, like reference numerals designate corresponding parts throughout various views, and all the views are schematic.
FIG. 1 is a top plan view of a cutting system for a master liquid crystal panel according to a first embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a flow chart summarizing an exemplary method for cutting the master liquid crystal panel of FIG. 1.
FIG. 3 is a top plan view of a cutting system for a master liquid crystal panel according to a second embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 4 is a top plan view of a cutting system for a master liquid crystal panel according to a third embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 5 is a top plan view of a cutting system for a master liquid crystal panel according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 6 is a top plan view of a conventional cutting system for a master liquid crystal panel.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
Reference will now be made to the drawings to describe preferred embodiments of the present invention in detail.
Referring to FIG. 1, a cutting system 1 for a master liquid crystal panel according to a first embodiment of the present invention is shown. The cutting system 1 includes a master liquid crystal panel 10 and a pair of CCDs 12. In the illustrated embodiment, the master liquid crystal panel 10 is essentially rectangular.
As viewed in FIG. 1, the master liquid crystal panel 10 includes a first alignment mark A1 located at a top-left corner (not labeled) thereof, a second alignment mark B1 located at a top-right corner (not labeled) thereof, a third alignment mark C1 located at a bottom-left corner (not labeled) thereof, and a fourth alignment mark D1 located at a bottom-right corner (not labeled) thereof. Each of the first alignment mark A1, the third alignment mark C1, and the fourth alignment mark D1 is essentially cross-shaped. The second alignment mark B1 is essentially triangular.
The first, second, third, and fourth alignment marks A1, B1, C1, D1 are centrosymmetric around a center (not labeled) of the master liquid crystal panel 10. Centers (not labeled) of the first, second, third, and fourth alignment marks A1, B1, C1, D1 can be considered to cooperatively define an imaginary rectangle, and the first, second, third, and fourth alignment marks A1, B1, C1, D1 maintain a same distance from the center of the master liquid crystal panel 10. The sides of the imaginary rectangle are parallel to corresponding adjacent side edges of the master liquid crystal panel 10.
Referring to FIG. 2, an exemplary method for cutting the master liquid crystal panel 10 includes the following steps. In step (a), the master liquid crystal panel 10 having the alignment marks A1, B1, C1, D1 is placed on a rotatable platform (not shown). The master liquid crystal panel 10 is supported by the platform, and can be rotated along with the platform an angle selected from the group consisting of 90°, 180°, and 270°. In step (b), the CCDs 12 are provided. The CCDs 12 are connected to an identification circuit (not shown). The identification circuit stores a predetermined desired identification result, which corresponds to a predetermined desired orientation of the master liquid crystal panel 10. The CCDs 12 can thereby enable the identification circuit to identify whether the master liquid crystal panel 10 is in the desired orientation. In this embodiment, if the CCDs 12 identify the first and second alignment marks A1, B1 as being the alignment marks nearest the CCDs 12, the master liquid crystal panel 10 is deemed to be in the desired orientation. For example, once the master liquid crystal panel 10 is in the desired orientation, then when the master liquid crystal panel 10 is cut into a plurality of individual liquid crystal panels, peripheral parts (not labeled) of each of the liquid crystal panels maintain desired distances relative to a display part of the liquid crystal panel. If the master liquid crystal panel 10 is identified as being in the desired orientation, a cutting signal is generated. The cutting signal indicates that a cutting procedure can be launched. Thus, the procedure goes directly to step (d) described below.
On the other hand, if the captured alignment marks are the first and third alignment marks A1, C1, the second and fourth alignment marks B1, D1, or the third and fourth alignment marks C1, D1, the master liquid crystal panel 10 is identified as not being in the desired orientation. Accordingly, a rotating signal is generated. The rotating signal indicates that the master liquid crystal panel 10 is required to be rotated, for example, 90°, 180°, or 270°. The angle of rotation is determined according to the identification of the two captured alignment marks. Thus, the procedure goes to step (c) described below.
In step (d), the master liquid crystal panel 10 is cut into the individual liquid crystal panels, whereupon the procedure is completed. In step (c), the master liquid crystal panel 10 is rotated in order to achieve the desired orientation. Thereupon, the procedure returns to step (b). In many cases, if step (c) needs to be performed, it need only be performed once; and thereafter the procedure goes directly from step (b) to step (d). However, if necessary, the cycle of steps (b) and (c) can be performed iteratively until the cutting signal is generated in step (b). In an alternative embodiment, in step (d), the master liquid crystal panel 10 may be cut into only a single individual liquid crystal panel, according to the particular configuration of the master liquid crystal panel 10 itself. In step (d), the cutting process can be performed by using an edged cutting tool, or can be a so-called scribing and breaking (shearing) process.
In summary, the second alignment mark B1 is different from all of the first, third, and fourth alignment marks A1, C1, D1. This helps the CCDs 12 to determine whether the master liquid crystal panel 10 is accurately positioned in the desired orientation. The platform can automatically adjust the orientation of the master liquid crystal panel 10 in response to an identification by the CCDs 12 connected to the identification circuit that the master liquid crystal panel 10 is not accurately positioned in the desired orientation. Such adjustment can be repeated automatically if and as necessary until the master liquid crystal panel 10 is accurately positioned in the desired orientation. This automatic functioning by the cutting system 1 is performed with no need for manual work. The process efficiently obtains the correct orientation of the master liquid crystal panel 10. Thus, the cutting system 1 has improved performance and good reliability. In particular, the yield of liquid crystal panels can be improved.
Referring to FIG. 3, a cutting system 2 for a master liquid crystal panel according to a second embodiment of the present invention is similar to the cutting system 1. However, the cutting system 2 includes a master liquid crystal panel 20 and two CCDs (not labeled). As viewed in FIG. 3, the master liquid crystal panel 20 includes a first alignment mark A2 located at a top-left corner (not labeled) thereof, a second alignment mark B2 located at a top-right corner (not labeled) thereof, a third alignment mark C2 located at a bottom-left corner (not labeled) thereof, and a fourth alignment mark D2 located at a bottom-right corner (not labeled) thereof. Each of the first and fourth alignment marks A2, D2 is essentially cross-shaped. The second alignment mark B2 is essentially triangular. The third alignment mark C2 is essentially rectangular or square. In other respects, the cutting system 2 has features and advantages similar to those described above in relation to the cutting system 1. An exemplary method for cutting the master liquid crystal panel 20 is similar to the exemplary method described above in relation to the master liquid crystal panel 10. However, if step (c) needs to be performed, it need only be performed once. This is because the CCDs connected to an identification circuit (not shown) can determine an exact orientation of the master liquid crystal panel 20 based on the unique combination of the two alignment marks detected at the two adjacent corners of the master liquid crystal panel 20.
Referring to FIG. 4, a cutting system 3 for a master liquid crystal panel according to a third embodiment of the present invention is similar to the cutting system 1. However, the cutting system 3 includes a master liquid crystal panel 30 and two CCDs (not labeled). As viewed in FIG. 4, the master liquid crystal panel 30 includes a first alignment mark A3 located at a top-left corner (not labeled) thereof, a second alignment mark B3 located at a top-right corner (not labeled) thereof, a third alignment mark C3 located at a bottom-left corner (not labeled) thereof, and a fourth alignment mark D3 located at a bottom-right corner (not labeled) thereof. The first alignment mark A3 is essentially cross-shaped, the second alignment mark B3 is essentially triangular, the third alignment mark C3 is essentially rectangular or square, and the fourth alignment mark D3 is essentially circular. In other respects, the cutting system 3 has features and advantages similar to those described above in relation to the cutting system 1. An exemplary method for cutting the master liquid crystal panel 30 is similar to the exemplary method described above in relation to the master liquid crystal panel 20.
Referring to FIG. 5, a cutting system 4 for a master liquid crystal panel according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention is similar to the cutting system 1. However, the cutting system 4 includes a master liquid crystal panel 40 and two CCDs (not labeled). As viewed in FIG. 5, the master liquid crystal panel 40 includes a first alignment mark A4 located at a top-left corner (not labeled) thereof, a second alignment mark B4 located at a top-right corner (not labeled) thereof, a third alignment mark C4 located at a bottom-left corner (not labeled) thereof, and a fourth alignment mark D4 located at a bottom-right corner (not labeled) thereof. Each of the first, second, third and fourth alignment marks A4, B4, C4, D4 is essentially cross-shaped. The first, second, and third alignment marks A4, B4, C4 are centrosymmetric around a center (not labeled) of the master liquid crystal panel 40. That is, the first, second, and third alignment marks A4, B4, C4 maintain a same first distance from the center of the master liquid crystal panel 40. The fourth alignment mark D4 maintains a second distance from the center of the master liquid crystal panel 40, wherein the second distance is less than the first distance.
In a process of cutting the master liquid crystal panel 40, the different first and second distances can help the cutting system 4 to identify whether the master liquid crystal panel 40 is accurately positioned in a predetermined desired orientation. In particular, the desired orientation of the master liquid crystal panel 40 is a position in which the third and fourth alignment marks C4, D4 are nearest the CCDs. In other respects, the cutting system 4 has features and advantages similar to those described above in relation to the cutting system 1.
Further or alternative embodiments may include the following. In a first example, the first, second, third, and fourth alignment marks have a same shape, but have different sizes. In a second example, each of the first, second, third, and fourth alignment marks has one of the following shapes: trapezoidal, pentagonal, hexagonal, or another suitable shape. In a third example, the alignment marks of two diagonally opposite corners are non-centrosymmetric around the center of the master liquid crystal panel. In a fourth example, none of the alignment marks of the master liquid crystal panel is centrosymmetric around the center of the master liquid crystal panel. In a fifth example, the pair of CCDs may be replaced with a linear sensor, a linear detector, or another suitable detecting apparatus that can detect and identify alignment marks at two adjacent corners of the master liquid crystal panel. In a sixth example, the alignment marks can be located adjacent to an imaginary horizontal or vertical axis of the master liquid crystal panel, or at any other suitable positions on the master liquid crystal panel. In a seventh example, the master liquid crystal panel can have an essentially circular shape or another suitable shape. In an eighth example, at least one of the corners of the master liquid crystal panel can include two, three, or more alignment marks. In such case, the plural alignment marks at each of such corners can be same or can be different from each other. However, the alignment mark configuration at least one of the corners of the master liquid crystal panel must be different from the alignment mark configuration at least one of the other corners of the master liquid crystal panel.
It is believed that the present embodiments and their advantages will be understood from the foregoing description, and it will be apparent that various charges may be made thereto without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention or sacrificing all of its material advantages, the examples hereinbefore described merely being preferred or exemplary embodiments of the invention.
Patent Application
20080011802
