Vacuum Stacking of Glass Substrates Using Mechanical Holding
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Solution Overview
Problem
The existing methods for stacking glass substrates in liquid crystal display panels face challenges such as prolonged liquid crystal injection time, residual bubbles, and difficulty in accurately aligning and holding substrates in vacuum, particularly due to the thinness and small gap between the substrates, which can lead to display failures and electrostatic damage.
Innovation Solution
A method and apparatus that utilize a mechanical supporting system with a film having a high coefficient of static friction to bend and align the glass substrates, allowing for precise alignment and stacking in vacuum while minimizing displacement and the risk of electrostatic damage, using a loading member to apply a perpendicular load and control the bending amount for accurate positioning.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If glass substrates are stacked in the atmosphere using the dropping method, then manufacturing costs are reduced by eliminating vacuum devices, but bubbles remain on the stacking surface causing display failures
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies vacuum environment (inert atmosphere) to the stacking process to eliminate bubbles on the stacking surface. By performing stacking in vacuum, the harmful bubbles are prevented from adhering to the glass substrate surface, thus maintaining display quality while still using the cost-effective dropping method for liquid crystal application.
2Reliability
If glass substrates are held in vacuum using electrostatic chucking, then stacking can be performed in vacuum to eliminate bubbles, but electrostatic damage may occur to the circuit and holding time is prolonged
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the holding function from the vacuum chamber environment by introducing external mechanical holding means (holding members) that operate independently of the vacuum condition. This eliminates the need for electrostatic chucking within the vacuum chamber, thereby preventing electrostatic damage to circuits while maintaining the ability to hold substrates securely during vacuum stacking.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces holding members as intermediary mechanical elements between the vacuum chamber and the glass substrates. These holding members provide mechanical support and positioning without requiring electrostatic fields, thus mediating the interaction between the vacuum environment and the substrates to avoid electrostatic damage while enabling precise positioning for bubble-free stacking.
3Reliability
If glass substrates are mechanically held at the peripheral edge, then holding in vacuum is achieved, but bending occurs due to the thinness of the substrates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the holding function by using multiple holding members distributed at specific positions on the glass substrates rather than edge holding. This segmentation allows for localized support points that minimize bending moments across the thin substrate, maintaining flatness while enabling secure mechanical holding in the vacuum environment.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This approach enables efficient and accurate stacking of glass substrates in vacuum, reducing residual bubbles and preventing electrostatic damage, while maintaining high alignment precision and minimizing the force required for alignment, thus improving the manufacturing process for liquid crystal display panels.
Implementation Method 1
a film having a high coefficient of static friction is interposed between the color filter substrate and the TFT array substrate
Implementation Method 2
a loading member to apply a perpendicular load and control the bending amount
Data Source
AI summary
A broad crystal display panel having a color filter substrate is supported by supporting nails and the middle portion of a supporting span is pressed by a loading bar. From this state, the supporting nails are removed to release the supporting, and subsequently the supporting nails are also removed to release the supporting the color filter substrate. While preventing the displacement between the color filter substrate and a TFT array substrate, the color filter substrate and the TFT array substrate can be stacked with a specified distance.