The disclosure relates to a method and device for laser-cutting display materials.
As an information society is being developed, a demand for display devices for displaying images is being diversified. For example, display devices have been applied to various electronic devices such as smart phones, digital cameras, notebook computers, navigation systems, and smart televisions. Here, the display devices may be flat panel display devices such as a liquid crystal display (“LCD”) device, a field emission display (“FED”) device, or an organic light-emitting display (“OLED”) device.
During a fabrication of a display device, a laser cutting of display materials is performed. For a reliable laser cutting process for display materials, the display materials and a cutting device need to be accurately aligned.
To address the aforementioned problems, embodiments of the disclosure provide a simplified method of laser-cutting display materials.
Embodiments of the disclosure also provide a simplified device for laser-cutting display materials.
However, embodiments of the disclosure are not restricted to those set forth herein. The above and other embodiments of the disclosure will become more apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art to which the disclosure pertains by referencing the detailed description of the disclosure given below.
In an embodiment of the disclosure, a method of laser-cutting display materials includes a loading operation of loading display materials from a tray. The loading operation includes a loader robot arrangement operation of arranging a loader robot near the tray, an alignment operation of aligning pickup pads of the loader robot with the display materials, and a pickup operation of picking up the display materials with the pickup pads of the loader robot, in the alignment operation, the pickup pads are aligned with the display materials in accordance with the same standard regardless of a size of the display materials, and in the pickup operation, the pickup pads pick up the display materials regardless of center positions of the display materials.
In another embodiment of the disclosure, a device for laser-cutting display materials includes a tray in which display materials are loaded, and a loader robot loading the display materials from the tray. The loader robot includes a laser irradiation part, which irradiates a laser pointer to be aligned with first teaching points of the display materials, and pickup pads, which pick up the display materials.
In another embodiment of the disclosure, a device for laser-cutting display materials includes a tray in which display materials are loaded, a loader robot loading the display materials from the tray, and a pre-alignment device acquiring alignment information regarding the display materials. The loader robot includes pickup pads, which pick up the display materials, a pre-alignment table of the pre-alignment device defined vacuum holes, and when each of the display materials is disposed on the pre-alignment table, the pickup pads overlap with areas where the vacuum holes of the pre-alignment table are defined.
Details of other embodiments of the disclosure are included in the description and the drawings of the disclosure.
By embodiments of the disclosure, laser cutting facilities and processes may be simplified.
It should be noted that the effects of the disclosure are not limited to those described above, and other effects of the disclosure will be apparent from the following description.
Advantages and features of the invention and methods of accomplishing the same may be understood more readily by reference to the following detailed description of embodiments and the accompanying drawings. Embodiments of the disclosure may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as being limited to the embodiments set forth herein. Rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete and will fully convey the concept of the invention to those skilled in the art, and the invention will only be defined by the appended claims.
It will be understood that when an element or layer is referred to as being “on” another element or layer, it can be directly on the other element or layer or intervening elements or layers may be present. Like reference numerals refer to like elements throughout the specification.
It will be understood that, although the terms first, second, etc. may be used herein to describe various elements, components, regions, layers and/or sections, these elements, components, regions, layers and/or sections should not be limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish one element, component, region, layer or section from another region, layer or section. Thus, a first element, component, region, layer or section discussed below could be termed a second element, component, region, layer or section without departing from the teachings of the invention.
Features of each embodiment of the invention may be partially or coupled or combined, in part or as a whole, with one another, may be technically linked and driven in various manners, and embodiments of the invention may be implemented independently of one another or together in connection with one another.
Embodiments of the invention will hereinafter be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
Referring to
The method of laser-cutting display materials includes a loading operation S10 of loading a display material 1 from the tray; and a cutting operation S50 of cutting a dummy portion of the loaded display material 1.
The loading operation S10 may include a loader robot arrangement operation S11 of arranging a loader robot (refer to
As illustrated in
The display panel PL may be, e.g., a light-emitting diode (“LED”) display panel, an organic light-emitting display panel, a quantum-dot light-emitting display panel, a plasma display panel, or a field emission display panel. The display panel PL will hereinafter be described as being, e.g., an LED display panel, but the disclosure is not limited thereto. That is, the disclosure may also be applicable to various other display panels.
The display panel PL may have a quadrangular shape, e.g., rectangular shape having short sides extending in a first direction DR1 and long sides extending in a second direction DR2, which intersects the first direction DR1. The display panel PL may further include a protruding part, which protrudes from the short side, on a second side, in the second direction DR2, of the display panel PL in the second direction DR2. The width, in the first direction DR1, of the protruding part of the display panel PL may be less than the width, in the first direction DR1, of a rectangular part of the display panel PL.
The planar shape of the polarizer member POL may be generally similar to the planar shape of the rectangular part of the display panel PL. The polarizer member POL may include edges EG3 and EG4, which are adjacent to the long sides of the display panel PL, and edges EG1 and EG2, which are adjacent to the short sides of the display panel PL.
Typically, the display material 1 may be loaded from the tray by arranging the centers of the pickup pads of the loader robot in the middle of the display material 1 and lifting down the display material 1.
However, as the pickup positions of the pickup pads for the display material 1 are highly likely to vary, it may take a considerable amount of time to align the display material 1 after the loading of the display material 1 (i.e., in a pre-alignment operation S40 or an inspection operation (or a fine alignment operation)).
Also, as already described above, when there are multiple display materials 1 having different sizes from each other, the middle parts of the multiple display materials 1 may not coincide with one another, and thus, it may take a considerable amount of time to calibrate the pickup positions of the multiple display materials 1.
However, according to the method of laser-cutting display materials, the loading operation S10 includes the laser pointing operation S13 of aligning the laser pointer LP emitted from the loader robot with the first teaching point TP of the display material 1 and the pickup operation S15 of picking up the display material 1 with the pickup pads (171 and 175). As the position of the laser pointer LP relative to at least one pickup pad 171 is maintained in a plan view, the pickup pads 171 whose positions relative to the laser pointer LP are maintained may be aligned with respect to the first teaching point TP by aligning the laser pointer LP with the first teaching point TP.
As the pickup positions of the pickup pads for the display material 1 are fixed, any delays in an alignment process (e.g., in the pre-alignment operation S40 or the inspection operation (or the fine alignment operation)) that follows the loading of the display material 1 may be prevented in advance.
Also, the amount of time that it takes to process multiple display materials 1 having different sizes may be considerably shortened by adopting fixed pickup positions regardless of the positions of the centers of the multiple display materials 1.
The first teaching point TP may be the intersection between the edge EG1 of the polarizer member POL, which is adjacent to the short side on the second side, in the second direction DR2, of the display panel PL, and a dividing line DL dividing the display panel PL into equal parts in the first direction DR1.
The laser pointer LP may include a first laser extension LPa, which extends in the first direction DR1, and a second laser extension LPb, which extends in the second direction DR2.
In the laser pointing operation S13, the intersection between the first and second laser extensions LPa and LPb may be aligned with the first teaching point TP. Also, the first laser extension LPa may be aligned with the edge EG1, and the second laser extension LPb may be aligned with the dividing line DL.
The cutting operation S50 may be the operation of cutting the dummy portion of the display material 1 with a cutter (also referred to as a cutting device) of the device for laser-cutting display materials.
The structure of the loader robot is as illustrated in
As illustrated in
The main support part 110 may define a plurality of fixing holes (110H1 and 110H2), which penetrate the main support part 110 in the first direction DR1. The width, in the first direction DR1, of first fixing holes 110H1 may be less than the width, in the first direction DR1, of a second fixing hole 110H2. A plurality of first fixing holes 110H1 may be defined, but the disclosure is not limited thereto. Protrusions (not illustrated) of the first vertical part 120 may be inserted in the first fixing holes 110H1. A protrusion (not illustrated) of the second vertical part 130 may be inserted in the second fixing hole 110H2. The width, in the first direction DR1, of the second fixing hole 110H2 may be greater than the width, in the first direction DR1, of the first fixing holes 110H1 to provide space in which the protrusion of the second vertical part 130 may move. That is, the first vertical part 120 may not be able to move in the second direction DR2 because it is fixed to the main support part 110 through the first fixing holes 110H1, but the second vertical part 130 is not fixed and may thus be able to move in the second direction DR2, even when the protrusion of the second vertical part 130 is inserted in the second fixing hole 110H2.
Accordingly, the first lower support part 140, which is connected to the first vertical part 120, and the first pickup pads 171, which are disposed on the bottom surface of the first lower support part 140, may both be fixed not to be movable, but the second lower support part 150, which is connected to the second vertical part 130, and a second pickup pad 175, which is disposed on the bottom surface of an auxiliary second lower support part 160, may both be movable in the second direction DR2.
The display material 1 may further include the printed circuit film FPCB, which is attached to an end portion of the display panel PL, and in the pickup operation S15, at least one of the pickup pads (171 and 175) may overlap with the display panel PL in the thickness direction and perform a pickup operation, and another one of the pickup pads (171 and 175) may overlap with the printed circuit film FPCB and perform a pickup operation.
As already described above, as the second pickup pad 175, which is disposed on the bottom surface of the second lower support part 150, is movable in the second direction DR2, the printed circuit film FPCB may be picked up by adjusting the position of the second pickup pad 175 in accordance with the size of the printed circuit film FPCB.
As illustrated in
Thereafter, the method of laser-cutting display materials may further include, between the loading operation S10 and the cutting operation S50, a primary rotation operation S20 of reversing the loaded display material 1 in a front-to-rear direction.
The primary rotation operation S20 may include a primary transfer operation S21 of transferring the picked-up display material 1, an arrangement-on-rotation-table operation S23 of arranging the transferred display material 1 on the rotation table 200, and a rear rotation operation S25 of rotating the display material 1 disposed on the rotation table 200.
The method of laser-cutting display materials may further include, before the loader robot arrangement operation S11, the operation of aligning the laser pointer LP of the loader robot with a second teaching point 200_PC of the rotation table 200.
The second teaching point 200_PC may be provided in an engraved form on the rotation table 200.
Specifically, the second teaching point 200_PC may include a first teaching extension 200_P1, which extends in the first direction DR1, and a second teaching extension 200_P2, which extends in the second direction DR2.
In the operation of aligning the laser pointer LP with the second teaching point 200_PC of the rotation table 200, an intersection 200_PC between the first and second teaching extensions 200_P1 and 200_P2 may be aligned with an intersection LPc between the first and second laser extensions LPa and LPb. Also, the first laser extension LPa may be aligned with the first teaching extension 200_P1, and the second laser extension LPb may be aligned with the second teaching extension 200_P2.
According to the method of laser-cutting display materials, the intersection 200_PC between the first and second teaching extensions 200_P1 and 200_P2 and the intersection LPc between the first and second laser extensions LPa and LPb may be aligned in advance with each other, between the rotation table 200 and the loader robot, in the absence of the display material 1, and the pickup position of the loader robot for the display material 1 may be fixed. Accordingly, a desired level of alignment between the display material 1 and the rotation table 200 may be achieved in operations ranging from the loading operation S10 to the primary rotation operation S20.
Thereafter, the method of laser-cutting display materials may further include, between the primary rotation operation S20 and the cutting operation S50, the pre-alignment operation S40 of acquiring alignment information regarding the display material 1.
The pre-alignment operation S40 may include a second transfer operation S41 of transferring the primarily-rotated display material 1, an arrangement-on-pre-alignment-table operation S43 of arranging the transferred display material 1 on the pre-alignment table 500, and a primary vision operation S45 of capturing an image of alignment marks LIP, which are disposed on the pre-alignment table 500, by applying light via a backlight unit. In the arrangement-on-pre-alignment-table operation S43, a part of the display material 1 that overlaps with the polarizer member POL may be disposed on an upper part 510 of the pre-alignment table 500, and a part of the display material 1 that does not overlap with the polarizer member POL may be disposed on a lower part 520 of the pre-alignment table 500. A boundary 500_L between the upper and lower parts 510 and 520 of the pre-alignment table 500 may extend in the first direction DR1 and may be parallel to the first teaching extension 200_P1.
Alignment information regarding the display material 1, acquired in the primary vision operation S45, may be reflected in the cutting operation S50.
Thereafter, referring to
The inspection operation S60 may include operations similar operations to those of the pre-alignment operation S40. The inspection operation S60 may include a third transfer operation of transferring the cut display material 1, an operation of arranging the transferred display material on an inspection table, and a secondary vision operation of capturing an image of alignment marks on the inspection table by applying light via the backlight unit. The inspection operation S60 may acquire alignment information regarding the display material 1 that has been subject to the cutting operation S50, and may adjust the position of the display material 1 based on the alignment information regarding the display material 1, acquired in the secondary vision operation.
The secondary rotation operation S70 may include a fourth transfer operation of transferring the inspected display material 1, an operation of arranging the transferred display material 1 on a secondary rotation table, and a front rotation operation of rotating the display material 1 arranged on the secondary rotation table.
The unloading operation S80 is almost similar to the loading operation S10 except that the display material 1 is picked up from the secondary rotation table, rather than from the tray.
As illustrated in
The vacuum holes VH, which penetrate the upper part 510 of the pre-alignment table 500, may define air passages for the air sucked by a suction device VD and may thus allow the display material 1 to be easily arranged on the pre-alignment table 500 in the operation S43 of arranging the display material 1 on the pre-alignment table 500.
As illustrated in
Although not specifically illustrated, the device for laser-cutting display materials may further include the controller, which stores position information between the first teaching point TP of the display material 1 and the elements of the device for laser-cutting display materials. The position information may include position information between the first teaching point TP and the center of the tray, position information between the first teaching point TP and a primary rotation device, and position information between the first teaching point TP and pre-alignment marks of the pre-alignment device.
Other embodiments of the disclosure will hereinafter be described. Like reference numerals indicate like elements throughout the disclosure, and descriptions thereof will be omitted or simplified.
Referring to
In a method of laser-cutting display materials in the embodiment of
In the method of laser-cutting display materials in the embodiment of
Although a few embodiments of the invention have been described, those skilled in the art will readily appreciate that many modifications are possible in the embodiments without departing from the novel teachings and advantages of the invention. Accordingly, all such modifications are intended to be included within the scope of the invention as defined in the claims. Therefore, it is to be understood that the foregoing is illustrative of the invention and is not to be construed as limited to the illustrative embodiments disclosed.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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10-2020-0178678 | Dec 2020 | KR | national |
This application is a national stage application of International Patent Application No. PCT/KR2021/011036, filed on Aug. 19, 2021, claiming priority to Korean Patent Application No. 10-2020-0178678, filed on Dec. 18, 2020, the content of which in their entirety is herein incorporated by reference.
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
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PCT/KR2021/011036 | 8/19/2021 | WO |