System for Assembling Optical Films for Displays

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2016018587-A1
Application number	US-201414332111-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Jul 15, 2014
Priority date	Jul 15, 2014
Publication date	Jan 21, 2016
Grant date	—

Abstract

Display backlight structures may provide backlight illumination that passes through display layers in the display. Computer-controlled equipment such as robotic arms with gripper structures may be used in assembling backlight layers such as a reflector, light guide plate, diffusers, and prism films into a backlight unit. The grippers may include mechanical grippers and vacuum heads. A vacuum gripper head may have a plenum to which a perforated plate and porous layer are attached for distributing the vacuum. Computer-controlled air sources may be used to blow streams of deionized air between backlight layers to separate the backlight layers during assembly. Release liners may be removed using robotic arms and grippers. Translation stages may move a backlight layer storage frame between stations. A cleaning tool with a solvent dispenser and air jets may clean backlight layers. A camera system may be used during alignment and positioning operations.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1 . A system for assembling a display backlight unit, comprising:
a robotic arm; a gripper mounted on the robotic arm; and a controller that directs the robotic arm and the gripper to assemble display backlight layers to form the backlight unit.

2 . The system defined in claim 1 wherein the gripper comprises a vacuum gripper.

3 . The system defined in claim 2 wherein the vacuum gripper includes a layer of porous material.

4 . The system defined in claim 3 wherein the vacuum gripper comprises:
a plenum that receives vacuum; and
a perforated plate interposed between the plenum and the layer of porous material.

5 . The system defined in claim 4 wherein the perforated plate has rows and columns of perforations.

6 . The system defined in claim 5 further comprising:
a camera system, wherein the controller controls the robotic arm based on information from the camera system.

7 . The system defined in claim 6 further comprising deionized air sources controlled by the controller.

8 . The system defined in claim 7 further comprising backlight layer storage frame, wherein the deionized air sources blow streams of air across the backlight layer storage frame to separate the backlight layers.

9 . The system defined in claim 1 further comprising at least one pressurized air nozzle that blows a puff of air between the backlight layers to separate the backlight layers.

10 . The system defined in claim 1 further comprising:
a source of the backlight layers; and
a temporary storage frame configured to receive the backlight layers, wherein the controller is configured to direct the robotic arm and the gripper to move the backlight layers from the source of backlight layers into the temporary storage frame.

11 . The system defined in claim 10 further comprising a translation stage that laterally moves the temporary storage frame.

12 . The system defined in claim 11 wherein further comprising a cleaning tool that includes a solvent dispenser that dispenses solvent onto the backlight layers and a nozzle that blows air to remove the solvent from the backlight layers.

13 . The system defined in claim 12 further comprising a computer-controlled release liner removal tool that peels release liner layers from the backlight layers.

14 . A system for assembling a display backlight unit, comprising:
a source of backlight layers; computer-controlled equipment that assembles the backlight layers from the source to form the backlight unit; a controller that controls the equipment; and air sources controlled by the controller.

15 . The system defined in claim 14 wherein the air sources comprise deionized air sources that blow streams of deionized air between the backlight layers to separate the backlight layers.

16 . The system defined in claim 15 wherein the computer-controlled equipment includes at least one robotic arm.

17 . The system defined in claim 16 wherein the computer-controlled equipment includes a vacuum gripper mounted to the robotic arm that holds the backlight layers during movement of the robotic arms and wherein the backlight layers comprise layers selected from the group consisting of: a reflector layer, a light guide plate, a diffuser layer, and a prism film layer.

18 . A method of assembling backlight layers to form a backlight unit, comprising:
separating the backlight layers from each other by blowing air between the backlight layers with a computer-controlled air source; and using a robotic arm to place the backlight layers in a support structure.

19 . The method defined in claim 18 wherein using the robotic arm comprises:
with a vacuum head attached to the robotic arm, holding the backlight layers.

20 . The method defined in claim 19 further comprising:
removing release liners from the backlight layers using a computer-controlled gripper.

Assignees

• Apple Inc

Inventors

• Koraishy Babar M

Classifications

• G02B6/0065 Primary

  Manufacturing aspects; Material aspects · CPC title

• B32B2307/202

  Conductive · CPC title

• B32B37/18

  involving the assembly of discrete sheets or panels only · CPC title

• B32B38/10

  Removing layers, or parts of layers, mechanically or chemically · CPC title

• Y10S901/47

  Optical · CPC title