Optical film attachment system

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10946589-B2
Application number	US-201816650742-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Sep 14, 2018
Priority date	Sep 26, 2017
Publication date	Mar 16, 2021
Grant date	Mar 16, 2021

Abstract

Exemplary embodiments of the present invention provide an optical film attachment system which is connected to a downstream device and includes a panel conveyance path, the optical film attachment system including: a connection unit which connects the panel conveyance path and the downstream device and conveys the panel; a first inspection unit which is positioned on the panel conveyance path and finds out whether the panel with the attached optical film has a defect; and a second inspection unit which is positioned at a position spaced apart from the panel conveyance path and re-inspects a defect-determined panel determined as a defective panel by inspection by the first inspection unit; in which the connection unit includes a main conveyance path in which a first conveyance unit and a second conveyance unit are sequentially arranged in a conveyance direction of the panel conveyance path, a first auxiliary conveyance path which connects the first conveyance unit and the second inspection unit and is bypassed from the main conveyance path, and a second auxiliary conveyance path which is connected to the second conveyance unit and bypassed from the main conveyance path, the control unit controls the connection unit so that the defect-determined panel is conveyed from the first conveyance unit to the second inspection unit along the first auxiliary conveyance path when the panel inspected by the first inspection unit is determined as a defective panel, and a good-quality-determined panel determined as a good-quality panel by the first inspection unit is conveyed from the second conveyance unit along the second auxiliary conveyance path when it is difficult to convey the good-quality-determined panel to the downstream device.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. An optical film attachment system which is connected to a downstream device and includes a panel conveyance path for conveying a panel and attaching an optical film to the panel, the optical film attachment system comprising:
a connector which connects the panel conveyance path and the downstream device and conveys the panel;
a first optical inspector which is positioned on the panel conveyance path and determines whether the panel with the attached optical film has a defect based on a predetermined optical inspection reference; and
a second optical inspector which is positioned at a position spaced apart from the panel conveyance path and re-inspects a defect-determined panel determined as a defective panel by inspection by the first optical inspector;
wherein the connector includes a main conveyance path in which a first conveyor and a second conveyor are sequentially arranged in a conveyance direction of the panel conveyance path, a first auxiliary conveyance path which connects the first conveyor and the second optical inspector and is bypassed from the main conveyance path, and a second auxiliary conveyance path which is connected to the second conveyor and bypassed from the main conveyance path, a controller that controls the connector so that the defect-determined panel is conveyed from the first conveyor to the second optical inspector along the first auxiliary conveyance path when the panel inspected by the first optical inspector is determined as a defective panel, and a good-quality-determined panel determined as a good-quality panel by the first optical inspector is conveyed from the second conveyor along the second auxiliary conveyance path.

2. The optical film attachment system of claim 1 , wherein the first auxiliary conveyance path includes a first buffer storage that stores the defect-determined panel conveyed from the first conveyor when the re-inspection by the second optical inspector pauses.

3. The optical film attachment system of claim 2 , wherein the defect-determined panel conveyed from the first conveyor is conveyed to the second optical inspector via the first buffer storage when the second optical inspector is in an idle state, the defect-determined panel conveyed from the first conveyor is stored in the first buffer storage when the re-inspection by the second optical inspector pauses, and the defect-determined panel stored in the first buffer storage is conveyed to the second optical inspector when the conveyance of the panel positioned at an upstream side of the first buffer storage is delayed.

4. The optical film attachment system of claim 1 , wherein the panel positioned on the second conveyor is conveyed to the downstream device when the downstream device is in an idle state, the panel positioned on the second conveyor is conveyed along the second auxiliary conveyance path when the downstream device pauses, and the panel positioned on the second auxiliary conveyance path is conveyed to the second conveyor when the conveyance of the panel positioned at an upstream side of the second conveyor is delayed.

5. The optical film attachment system of claim 1 , wherein a good-quality-confirmed panel confirmed as a good-quality panel by re-inspection by the second optical inspector is conveyed to the second conveyor along the second auxiliary conveyance path.

6. The optical film attachment system of claim 1 , wherein the second auxiliary conveyance path includes a second buffer storage that stores the panel conveyed from the second conveyor.

7. The optical film attachment system of claim 6 , wherein the second buffer storage stores a good-quality-confirmed panel confirmed as a good-quality panel by re-inspection by the second optical inspector.

8. The optical film attachment system of claim 7 , wherein the good-quality-confirmed panel conveyed from the second optical inspector is stored in the second buffer storage while the panel is conveyed from the first conveyor to the second conveyor.

9. The optical film attachment system of claim 7 , wherein the conveyance of the good-quality-confirmed panel from the second optical inspector to the second auxiliary conveyance path is stopped while the panel is conveyed from the second conveyor along the second auxiliary conveyance path.

Assignees

• Lg Chemical Ltd

Inventors

• Lee Beom Seok
• Jeoung Ju Young
• Kim Kyoung Sik
• Choi Hang Suk
• Jang Eung Jin

Classifications

• G02F1/1309

  Repairing; Testing · CPC title

• G01N2021/9513

  Liquid crystal panels · CPC title

• B29C65/82 Primary

  Testing the joint · CPC title

• G02F1/1303 Primary

  Apparatus specially adapted to the manufacture of LCDs · CPC title

• B29C65/7802

  Positioning the parts to be joined, e.g. aligning, indexing or centring · CPC title