Bonding device and method for producing plate-shaped bonded assembly

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10737477-B2
Application number	US-201715700785-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Sep 11, 2017
Priority date	Oct 7, 2009
Publication date	Aug 11, 2020
Grant date	Aug 11, 2020

Abstract

A method for producing a bonded plate-shaped assembly includes retaining a pair of plate-shaped members facing each other by a pair of retaining base members; charging a photo-curable liquid material between the pair of plate-shaped members facing each other; causing movement of the pair of retaining base members by a retaining base member movement unit to cause the pair of plate-shaped members to draw close to each other to cause wetting spreading of the liquid material between the pair of plate-shaped members; detecting a wetting spreading state of the liquid material by a sensor; and illuminating curing light, in response to the result of detection, to the liquid material wettingly spread to the entire surfaces of the pair of plate-shaped members, to form the bonded plate-shaped assembly made up of the pair of plate-shaped members bonded together.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A method for producing a bonded plate-shaped assembly, comprising:
retaining a pair of plate-shaped members facing each other by a pair of retaining base members;
charging a photo-curable liquid material between the pair of plate-shaped members facing each other;
causing movement of the pair of retaining base members by a retaining base member movement unit to cause the pair of plate-shaped members to draw close to each other to cause wetting spreading of the liquid material between the pair of plate-shaped members;
detecting a wetting spreading state of the liquid material by a sensor;
illuminating curing light, in response to the result of detection, to the liquid material wettingly spread to the entire surfaces of the pair of plate-shaped members, to form the bonded plate-shaped assembly made up of the pair of plate-shaped members bonded together,
wherein one of the pair of plate-shaped members is a transparent panel of a display device,
wherein one retaining base member of the pair of retaining base members comprises a sensor opening near outer lateral side edges of the one of the pair of plate-shaped members retained by the retaining base member, and
the sensor illuminates laser light to one of the pair of plate-shaped members via the sensor opening.

2. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the sensor detects that the liquid material charged has been wettingly spread to a predetermined site between the pair of plate-shaped members.

3. The method according to claim 1 , wherein a sensor detects the rate of wetting spreading of the liquid material charged.

4. The method according to claim 1 , further comprising disposing an illuminating part in a direction substantially normal to the major surfaces of the pair of plate-shaped members, wherein the illumination unit is provided in a vicinity of the outer lateral side edges of at least one of the pair of plate-shaped members.

5. The method according to claim 4 , wherein the retaining member provided with the illumination unit is capable of transmitting the curing light towards at least one of the pair of plate-shaped members.

6. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the illuminating part of the illumination unit is transversely directed to a gap between the pair of plate-shaped members to illuminate the curing light parallel to the pair of plate-shaped members.

7. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the retaining base member movement unit controls relative tilt of the pair of plate-shaped members to control the wetting spreading state of the liquid material charged.

8. The method according to claim 1 , wherein one of the pair of plate-shaped members is a liquid crystal display device, with the other being a protective panel bonded to a display surface of the liquid crystal display device.

9. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the liquid material is wettingly spread by thrusting the pair of plate-shaped members.

10. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the bonded plate-shaped assembly is not provided with an opening for the sensor.

Assignees

• Dexerials Corp

Inventors

• Usui Hiroyuki
• Shinya Yoshihisa
• Endo Yasumi

Classifications

• B29C66/1122

  Single lap to lap joints, i.e. overlap joints (B29C66/45, B29C66/472, B29C66/52272 take precedence) · CPC title

• G02F1/133331

  Cover glasses · CPC title

• B29C66/342

  Preventing air-inclusions · CPC title

• B29L2031/3475

  Displays, monitors, TV-sets, computer screens · CPC title

• G02F1/1303

  Apparatus specially adapted to the manufacture of LCDs · CPC title