KR101341211B1 - Apparatus for supporting glass for flat panel display in drying process, method for drying glass using the apparatus and method for manufacturing flat panel display using the method - Google Patents

Abstract

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a flat panel display device, and more particularly, to a glass substrate using a support device for supporting a glass substrate in a process of drying a glass substrate, which is a material of the flat panel display device, in a batch method. And a method for manufacturing a flat panel display device using the glass substrate drying method.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, a glass substrate support device includes a plurality of support bars arranged in parallel with each other and a fixed bar fixed to one end of the plurality of support bars in order to horizontally support a glass substrate, which is a material of the flat panel display device. It includes, the plurality of support rods are characterized in that the inclined arrangement so that the height of the other end far from the fixed bar than one end in contact with the fixed bar.

Flat panel display, PDP, glass substrate, drying, RTP.

Description

Flat panel display device during the drying process, glass substrate support device, method for manufacturing glass substrate using the same method and manufacturing method of flat panel display device using the drying method {APPARATUS FOR SUPPORTING GLASS FOR FLAT PANEL DISPLAY IN DRYING PROCESS AND METHOD FOR MANUFACTURING FLAT PANEL DISPLAY USING THE METHOD}

1 is a perspective view of one embodiment of a glass substrate support device according to the present invention;

2 is a cross-sectional view taken from the line A-A of FIG.

3 is a cross-sectional view showing a state in which the embodiment of FIG. 1 supports a glass substrate;

4 is a flow chart of one embodiment of a glass substrate drying method according to the present invention;

Figure 5a is a cross-sectional view showing a state in which the fork arm is inserted into the drying furnace in the embodiment of Figure 4,

5B is a longitudinal cross-sectional view corresponding to FIG. 5A;

6 is a flowchart of an embodiment of a method of manufacturing a flat panel display device according to the present invention.

<Explanation of symbols for the main parts of the drawings>

51, 52: glass substrate 100: fork arm

110: fixed bar 120: support rod

200: drying furnace 210: support pin

220: heat source 230: door

240: auxiliary door

The present invention relates to the manufacture of a flat panel display device, and more particularly, a support device for supporting a glass substrate in a process of drying the glass substrate, which is a material of the flat panel display device, and a glass substrate drying method using the support device, And it relates to a flat panel display device manufacturing method using this glass substrate drying method.

Recently, various types of flat panel display devices such as liquid crystal displays (LCDs), plasma display panels (PDPs), organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs), and the like are widely used for displaying images. .

Although the shape is different, most flat panel display devices have a glass substrate as a material, and have a common point in that a manufacturing process includes forming a pattern on the glass substrate.

For example, a plasma display device is manufactured by arranging a pair of glass substrates in parallel, forming electrodes on each glass substrate, and encapsulating an inert gas therebetween. The electrodes of each glass substrate are formed in a plurality of strips arranged in parallel. Since the pair of glass substrates are arranged so that the electrodes cross each other, a power is applied to one electrode of one glass substrate, When power is applied to either electrode, a discharge occurs at a point closest to each other, that is, at an intersection point, and the energy of the discharge is converted into visible light through the fluorescent material. In this way, each intersection becomes a light emitting source. When the transfer of energy generated by the discharge is blocked within a predetermined region, the predetermined region may function as one pixel in the display device. This is particularly called a cell, and a glass substrate is formed with a barrier or rib for partitioning each cell.

As one of methods for forming such a wall or rib, there is a method of printing a paste on a glass substrate. After the printing of the paste is finished, the paste may be dried and fixed to proceed to the next process. At this time, in order to stably fix the paste and reduce the process time, a rapid thermal process (RTP) is performed.

Rapid heat treatment removes the moisture of the paste in a short time by heating the glass substrate on which the paste is printed from an external heat source, and two methods are widely used.

One of them is the in-line type, which is heated while continuously transporting the glass substrate while supporting it on the conveyor belt. The other is by inserting one glass substrate into the drying furnace with closed chamber. Batch type to heat.

As the batch method is heated while the glass substrate is stationary, the paste is more stably settled than the inline method which is dried while moving. In addition, the glass substrate is heated inside and in a closed chamber, so the drying speed is faster and the energy consumption is lower than that of the in-line method.

On the other hand, the batch method has a problem in that the process time is longer than that of the in-line method because the glass substrates have to be repeatedly put out after drying by putting them into the drying furnace.

On the other hand, as the size of the flat panel display increases, the size of the glass substrate, which is its material, is gradually increasing, while the thickness of the glass substrate is also thinned in accordance with the demand for thinning. This results in a drop in the structural strength of the glass substrate, and there is a problem in that the glass substrate is more likely to be broken when the glass substrate is unstable in the process of introducing the glass substrate into the drying furnace. Therefore, the support device for injecting the glass substrate into the drying furnace needs to keep the position of the glass substrate as horizontal as possible.

The present invention has been made to solve the problems described above, the glass substrate to stably support the glass substrate when the glass substrate is dried in a batch method in the manufacturing process of the flat panel display device, and to shorten the process time It is an object to provide a support device.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a method for drying a glass substrate by using a glass substrate support device.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a flat panel display manufacturing method using a glass substrate drying method is reduced manufacturing time.

Other objects, specific advantages and novel features of the invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description and preferred embodiments in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

In order to achieve the above object, a support apparatus for a glass substrate for a flat panel display device according to the present invention includes a plurality of support rods arranged in parallel to each other to horizontally support a glass substrate, which is a material of the flat panel display device, and the plurality of support rods. It includes a fixed bar fixed to one end of the, the plurality of support rods are characterized in that disposed inclined so that the height of the other end far from the fixed bar than one end in contact with the fixed bar.

In the apparatus for supporting a glass substrate for a flat panel display device according to the present invention, the length of the supporting rod is preferably at least two times the size of the glass substrate.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of drying a glass substrate for a flat panel display device, comprising: horizontally loading a glass substrate, which is a material of a flat panel display device, onto a fork arm formed by arranging a plurality of support bars in parallel; Horizontally moving the loaded fork arm; loading another glass substrate on the fork arm; inserting the fork arm into the furnace by drying a support pin protruding from the bottom surface; Moving the two glass substrates loaded on the fork arm to the support pins, loading the fork arm to the outside of the drying furnace, and heating the inside of the drying furnace.

In the method of drying a glass substrate for a flat panel display device according to the present invention, the horizontal movement of the fork arm loaded with one glass substrate is preferably horizontally moved along the longitudinal direction of the supporting rod.

In addition, in the method of drying the glass substrate for a flat panel display device according to the present invention, the step of transferring the two glass substrates loaded on the fork arm to the support pins, lowering the support rods to a height below the support pins. Or, it is preferable to raise the support pin to a height higher than the support rod.

In the method for drying a glass substrate for a flat panel display device according to the present invention, it is preferable that the support bar is disposed to be inclined so that one end is higher than the other end.

In the method for drying a glass substrate for a flat panel display device according to the present invention, it is preferable to use a light source as a heat source in the drying furnace.

Meanwhile, the method of manufacturing a flat panel display according to the present invention includes printing pastes on a plurality of glass substrates, transferring the plurality of glass substrates in a row, and forming a plurality of supporting rods in parallel with each other. Horizontally loading any one of the plurality of glass substrates, horizontally moving the fork arm loaded with the one glass substrate, and further loading the other glass substrate transferred next to the fork arm And inserting the fork arm into the furnace by drying the support pin protruding from the bottom surface, transferring the two glass substrates loaded on the fork arm to the support pin, and loading the fork arm. Drawing out the drying furnace to the outside, heating the inside of the drying furnace, inserting the fork arm into the drying furnace where the heating is completed, and Transferring the two glass substrates loaded on the zip pin to the fork arm, loading the fork arm from the drying furnace, unloading any one of the two glass substrates loaded on the fork arm; Moving the fork arm in a horizontal direction; unloading the remaining glass substrate loaded on the fork arm; and transferring the unloaded two glass substrates in a row. .

Hereinafter, with reference to the accompanying drawings will be described in detail a preferred embodiment of the glass substrate support apparatus according to the present invention.

1 is a perspective view of an embodiment of a glass substrate support apparatus according to the present invention, Figure 2 is a cross-sectional view seen from the line AA of Figure 1, Figure 3 is a cross-sectional view showing a state in which the embodiment of Figure 1 supports the glass substrate. to be.

Fixing bar 110 is for supporting the support rod 120, although not shown is connected to the conventional drive means is to drive the support device.

One end of the support rod 120 is fixed to the fixing bar 110, and the other end thereof extends substantially horizontally. In addition, the supporting rods 120 are for supporting the glass substrates 51 and 52 horizontally, and a plurality of supporting rods 120 are provided and arranged in parallel with each other. As shown in FIG. 2, the support bar 120 is disposed to be inclined at a predetermined angle so that one end is positioned at a position lower than the other end with respect to the horizontal plane. That is, each support rod 120 is disposed so that the end of the side farther from the fixed bar 110 compared to the end in contact with the fixed bar 110, the support rod 120 does not necessarily have to be a straight shape and smooth curve Since it may be arranged to draw, it has an initial tilt angle or curvature. The initial inclination angle to the curvature of the support rod 120, as shown in Figure 3, when the glass substrate 51, 52 is placed on the support rod 120, by the weight of the glass substrate (51, 52) Even if the end farther from the fixing bar 110 of the 120 sags downward, the glass substrates 51 and 52 are to be as horizontal as possible. Therefore, the initial inclination angle to the curvature of the support rod 120 can be obtained by engineering calculations by modeling cantilever according to the weight distribution of the glass substrates 51 and 52 and the length, shape or material of the support rod 120.

The glass substrate support device having such a configuration is supported while the fixing bar 110 is moved by the operation of a separate driving means in a state where the glass substrates 51 and 52 are horizontally placed on the support rod 120 as shown in FIG. 3. The glass substrates 51 and 52 can be moved to a required place. At this time, since the support rod 120 has an initial inclination angle to curvature, the glass substrates 51 and 52 may be maintained in a horizontal position even when the glass substrates 51 and 52 are raised. Therefore, by adjusting the initial inclination angle to the curvature of the support rod 120, it is possible to horizontally support the plurality of glass substrates (51, 52) at a time. Therefore, the support rod 120 preferably has a length of at least twice the horizontal or vertical size of a single glass substrate. In this case, for example, if two glass substrates 51 and 52 are placed on the support rod 120, the two glass substrates 51 and 52 are arranged along the longitudinal direction of the support rod 120.

Hereinafter, a preferred embodiment of the glass substrate drying method according to the present invention will be described in detail.

Figure 4 is a flow chart of an embodiment of a glass substrate drying method according to the present invention, Figure 5a is a cross-sectional view showing a state in which the fork arm is inserted into the drying furnace in the embodiment of Figure 4, Figure 5b is a longitudinal section corresponding to Figure 5a It is also.

One glass substrate 51, which is a material of the flat panel display, is horizontally loaded on the fork arm (S110). The fork arm is formed by arranging a plurality of supporting rods in parallel, and the glass substrate is loaded on the supporting rod and loaded on the fork arm. As shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B, the fork arm 100 may be configured as a glass substrate support apparatus according to the present invention described above. Therefore, the support rod 120 of the fork arm 100 is preferably disposed inclined so that one end is higher than the other end.

Next, the fork arm 100 in which one glass substrate 51 is loaded is moved in a horizontal direction (S120). At this time, the moving direction is preferably along the longitudinal direction of the support rod (120).

When another glass substrate 52 is further loaded on the moved fork arm 100 (S130), the two glass substrates 51 and 52 are both loaded on the fork arm 100 along the longitudinal direction of the support rod 120. It becomes a state.

The fork arm 100 is inserted into the drying furnace 200 (S140). The drying furnace 200 is in the form of a chamber having an internal space, and a plurality of support pins 210 protrude from the bottom surface of the internal space. The fork arm 100 includes a plurality of support rods 120 arranged in parallel with each other, and the support pins 210 of the drying furnace 200 each have a rectangular plate shape and are formed between a pair of support rods. It is preferable that a plurality is arranged in parallel at a position corresponding to the space. That is, each support pin 210 is disposed so that the side surface of the rectangular plate material is in contact with the bottom surface of the drying furnace (200). Even if the fork arm 100 is lowered in this state, since each of the support rods 120 of the fork arm 100 enters between a pair of adjacent support pins 210, the support rods 120 and the support pins 210 mutually No contact On the other hand, the drying furnace 200 is advantageous in terms of rapid drying or energy efficiency having an internal space isolated from the outside. Therefore, the drying furnace 200 preferably has a door 230 on its side, and when the fork arm 100 is inserted into the drying furnace 200 in which the door 230 is provided, the door 230 first. It must be opened.

Two glass substrates 51 and 52 loaded on the fork arm 100 are transferred to the support pins 210 and loaded (S150). Moving and loading the glass substrates 51 and 52 takes place in two ways. The first is to lower the fork arm (100). When the support rod 120 of the fork arm 100 is lowered to a position lower than the support pins 210, the glass substrates 51 and 52 that are mounted on the support rods 120 are supported by the support pins 210. The substrates 51 and 52 may be transferred to the support pins 210 and loaded. On the contrary, the fork arm 100 raises the support pin 210 without moving, but when the support pin 210 is raised to a position higher than the support bar 120, the glass substrates 51 and 52 are also supported pins. It is moved to 210 and loaded.

When the glass substrates 51 and 52 are transferred to the support pins 210 and loaded, the fork arm 100 is drawn out of the drying furnace 200 (S160). Since the glass substrates 51 and 52 are supported by the support pins 210 and remain inside the drying furnace 200, the fork arm 100 does not come into contact with the glass substrates 51 and 52. Just by moving the fork arm 100 in the horizontal direction it can be easily taken out of the drying furnace (200).

When the fork arm 100 is drawn out, the drying furnace 200 is heated (S170). The heat source 220 for heating may be installed at any position inside the drying furnace 200, but is preferably disposed on the bottom surface between the support pins 210. In addition, the heat source 220 may be configured as an electric heater, but more preferably configured as a light source such as a halogen lamp. Since the heating by the electric heater causes convection inside the drying furnace 200, the paste formed on the glass substrates 51 and 52 may be unevenly dried, and the uneven drying may cause the final product to be defective. On the other hand, when a light source is used as a heat source, heat is transferred by radiation, so rapid heating and uniform heating are possible. On the other hand, as described above, when the door 230 is provided in the drying furnace 200, it is preferable to close the door 230 after the fork arm 100 is taken out. As shown in FIG. 5A, a pair of doors 230 and 240 including the auxiliary door 240 may be provided to face each other. The fork arm 100 is further provided on the outside of the auxiliary door 240 side of the drying furnace 200 to insert the glass substrates 51 and 52 into the drying furnace 200 and the fork arm to be withdrawn. It is preferable to arrange so as to face each other. As described above, if the pair of doors 230 and 240 are provided in the drying furnace 200 to face each other, and the pair of fork arms are provided to face each other, the glass substrate is transferred from one fork arm to the other fork arm via the drying furnace. Can be transferred. This makes it easy to harmonize with other processes where in-line systems are applied for mass production at the production site.

Hereinafter, a preferred embodiment of the method of manufacturing a flat panel display device according to the present invention will be described in detail.

6 is a flowchart of an embodiment of a method of manufacturing a flat panel display device according to the present invention.

A paste is printed on a plurality of glass substrates, which are materials of the flat panel display, to form a predetermined pattern (S200). This pattern is for forming pixels of the flat panel display, and may vary depending on the type of flat panel display.

The plurality of glass substrates on which the paste is printed are transferred in a line (S201). Glass substrates are conveyed by conveying means such as conveyor belts, in particular in line at manufacturing sites where inline processing is common.

A glass substrate 51, which is a material of the flat panel display device, is loaded horizontally on the fork arm (S202), and then the fork arm 100 is moved in the horizontal direction (S203), and the other fork arm 100 is moved. One glass substrate 52 is further loaded (S204). Then, the fork arm 100 is inserted into the drying furnace 200 (S205), and the two glass substrates 51 and 52 loaded on the fork arm 100 are transferred to the support pins 210 to load ( Next, the fork arm 100 is taken out to the outside of the drying furnace 200 (S207), and the inside of the drying furnace 200 is heated (S208) to dry the paste printed on the glass substrates 51 and 52. Loading the glass substrates 51 and 52 on the fork arm 100 as described above (S202) to heat the interior of the drying furnace 200 (S208) of the glass substrate drying method according to the present invention described above Since it is common to one embodiment, a detailed description thereof will be omitted.

The fork arm 100 is reinserted into the drying furnace 200 in order to take out the glass substrates 51 and 52 which have been dried due to the heating of the drying furnace 200 (S209). At this time, the fork arm 100 may be a fork arm 100 supporting the glass substrates 51 and 52 when the glass substrates 51 and 52 are inserted into the drying furnace 200, but the drying furnace 200 may be used. When the fork arm is further provided on the opposite side of the fork arm, the fork arm is preferably inserted into the drying furnace 200 through the auxiliary door 230.

The glass substrates 51 and 52 are loaded into the fork arms inserted into the drying furnace (S210). Loading the glass substrates 51 and 52 into the fork arm may be performed by reversing the process of moving the glass substrates 51 and 52 from the fork arm to the support pin 210. That is, when the fork arm is inserted below the glass substrates 51 and 52 and the fork arm is raised to a position higher than the support pin 210, or the support pin 210 is lowered to a position lower than the fork arm, The glass substrates 51 and 52 are transferred to the fork arms from the support pins 210 and are loaded.

The fork arms loaded with the glass substrates 51 and 52 are withdrawn to the outside of the drying furnace 200 (S211).

The glass substrate is unloaded from the drawn fork arm (S212). Then move the fork arm in the horizontal direction (S213), and unload the remaining glass substrate remaining on the fork arm (S214). In this way, the two glass substrates 51 and 52 which are sequentially unloaded are transferred in a line by a transfer means such as a conveyor belt (S215). The transferred glass substrates 51 and 52 are provided for other processes.

By transporting the glass substrates 51 and 52 in this manner, the glass substrates 51 and 52 can be harmonized with the inline method generally applied to the flat panel display manufacturing process.

One embodiment of the invention described above and shown in the drawings should not be construed as limiting the technical idea of the present invention. The scope of protection of the present invention is limited only by the matters described in the claims, and those skilled in the art will be able to modify the technical idea of the present invention in various forms. Accordingly, such improvements and modifications will fall within the scope of the present invention as long as they are obvious to those skilled in the art.

As described above, in the glass substrate support apparatus according to the present invention, the support rod is inclined to maintain a horizontal posture despite the load of the glass substrate.

In addition, the glass substrate drying method according to the present invention can dry a plurality of glass substrates at a time, thereby reducing the time required for drying. In addition, by using a light source as a heat source of the drying furnace, rapid heating and uniform heating are possible, thereby reducing the drying time and reducing the defective rate in the final finished product.

In addition, the manufacturing method of the flat panel display device according to the present invention can shorten the overall time required for the manufacturing process of the flat panel display device by reducing the drying time.

Claims (11)

In the supporting apparatus of the glass substrate provided in the drying furnace of the batch system including a door for sealing the inside, When the door is opened, a plurality of support rods are drawn in and drawn out in the drying furnace, and one end of the plurality of support rods is arranged in parallel with each other, and connected to a driving means to connect the plurality of support rods to the inside of the drying furnace. It is provided with a fork arm including a fixed bar for entering and withdrawing, The plurality of support rods are arranged to be inclined so that the height of the other end far from the fixed bar is higher than one end fixed to the fixed bar in order to horizontally support the glass substrate which is a material of the flat panel display device. Support device. The method of claim 1, The length of the support bar is a glass substrate support device for a flat panel display device, characterized in that more than twice the size of the glass substrate. In the drying method of the glass substrate applied to the drying furnace of the batch method including a door for sealing the inside, Horizontally loading a sheet of glass substrate, which is a material of a flat panel display, onto a fork arm including a plurality of support rods arranged in parallel; Horizontally moving the fork arm loaded with the glass substrate, Loading another glass substrate on the fork arm; Inserting the fork arm into the drying furnace including a support pin protruding to correspond to a position between the plurality of support rods when the door is opened; Transferring the two glass substrates loaded on the fork arm to the support pins to load the glass substrates; Drawing out the fork arm to the outside in the drying furnace; And heating the interior of the drying furnace, And the support bar is inclined so that one end thereof is higher than the other end so as to horizontally support the glass substrate which is a material of the flat panel display device. The method of claim 3, wherein the horizontal movement of the fork arm loaded with the glass substrate comprises: Drying method of a glass substrate for a flat panel display device characterized in that the horizontal movement in the longitudinal direction of the support bar. The method of claim 3, wherein the transferring of the two glass substrates loaded on the fork arm by the support pins comprises: And the support bar is lowered to a height equal to or less than the support pin. The method of claim 3, wherein the transferring of the two glass substrates loaded on the fork arm by the support pins comprises: And the support pin is raised to a height higher than or equal to the support bar. delete The method according to any one of claims 3 to 6, The drying method of the glass substrate for a flat panel display device characterized in that the drying furnace uses a light source as a heat source. delete The method of claim 1, An auxiliary door is further provided on an opposite surface on which the door of the drying furnace is formed. A support device for a glass substrate for a flat panel display device, characterized in that the fork arm is further provided to be pulled in and drawn out when the auxiliary door is opened. delete

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