KR20200133963A - Bending robot - Google Patents

Abstract

There is provided a bending robot capable of uniformly bending a bending portion of a flexible printed circuit board in an arc shape. The bending robot includes a substrate support, a body, a first arm, a second arm, a third arm, a fourth arm, a fifth arm, a sixth arm, and a control unit. The substrate support supports a work object to which the first end of the flexible printed circuit board is attached, having a first end and a second end opposite to the first end. The body is disposed to be spaced apart from the work object of the support. The first arm includes a first end and a second end opposite to the first end, and the first end is axially coupled to an upper portion of the body. The second arm includes a first end and a second end opposite to the first end, and the first end is hingeably coupled to the second end of the first arm. The third arm includes a first end and a second end opposite to the first end, and the first end is hingeably coupled to the second end of the second arm. The fourth arm includes a first end and a second end opposite to the first end, and the first end is axially coupled to the second end of the third arm. The fifth arm includes a first end and a second end opposite to the first end, and the first end is hingeably coupled to the second end of the fourth arm. The sixth arm includes a first end and a second end opposite to the first end, the first end is axially coupled to the second end of the fifth arm, and the flexible printed circuit board And a finger fixing the second end of the. The control unit controls the movement of the first to sixth arms.

Description

Bending robot {BENDING ROBOT}

The present invention relates to a bending robot, and more particularly, to a bending robot for bending a flexible printed circuit board attached to the front side of a display panel and placing it on the rear surface of a display panel or bending a flexible display board when manufacturing a smart phone. will be.

As the information society develops and various portable electronic devices such as mobile communication terminals and notebook computers are developed, a flat panel display panel applicable thereto is widely used.

Among these flat panel display panels, a liquid crystal display panel (LCD) and an organic light emitting display panel (OLED) are widely used. The liquid crystal display panel has a liquid crystal layer that serves as a switching between the upper and lower substrates, and displays an image by controlling the amount of light transmitted from the backlight unit. The organic light emitting display panel is formed between the upper and lower substrates. The light emitting layer is provided to generate light by itself to display an image.

Meanwhile, in order to drive such a flat panel display panel, a pad portion is formed on the lower substrate, and a flexible printed circuit board is attached to input signals to the pad portion. The flexible printed circuit board is attached to the upper surface of the end side of the lower substrate, and then bent and assembled to be disposed under the flat panel display. This process relied on manual work in the past, but for automation, a bending robot has been developed and used.

Korean Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 10-2015-0114407, "A display device and a bending device for manufacturing the same" includes a base stage including a seating surface on which the display device is disposed, and a clamp part for holding a part of the display device connected to the bending part of the display device A part of the display device is bent using a gantry and a bending part that bends and presses the bending part.

1 is a schematic perspective view of a conventional bending robot, and FIGS. 2 to 4 are side views illustrating the operation of the bending robot shown in FIG. 1.

1 to 2, a conventional bending robot includes a support plate 1, a bending member 2, and a pressing member 3.

The support plate 1 includes a plurality of holes (not shown), and adsorbs and fixes the display panel DP disposed thereon. As shown, the display panel DP includes an upper substrate US and a lower substrate LS, and one side of the flexible printed circuit board FPCB is attached to one side of the lower substrate LS.

Meanwhile, the other side of the flexible printed circuit board (FPCB) is placed on the bending member 2. Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 3, the support plate 1 moves in the direction of the arrow, that is, in the direction of the bending member 2, so that the flexible printed circuit board (FPCB) is bent, and thereafter, as shown in FIG. 4, the pressing member 3 After moving to the upper part of the flexible printed circuit board (FPCB), it descends to complete the bending work.

However, in the case of such a conventional bending robot, there are cases where a problem occurs in bending.

5 is a side view of a flexible printed circuit board showing a problem of a bending portion that may occur during bending by a conventional bending robot, and FIG. 6 is a side view of a flexible printed circuit board showing a preferably bent portion.

Preferably, as shown in FIG. 6, the bending portion BP should be formed in an arc shape, but in the case of a conventional bending robot, the arc shape is not formed evenly and is bent as shown in FIG. 5.

In addition, according to the conventional bending robot, since the other end of the flexible printed circuit board is not fixed, there is a problem in that bending occurs at a point that does not meet the position required for bending or at a point past.

In addition, according to the conventional bending robot, parts that perform each function, that is, the pressing member 3, the support plate 1, etc., are individually configured, and a driving unit (not shown) for driving them is separately configured. , Conventional bending robots occupy a relatively large volume, and the number of them is limited when installed in a limited area.

Republic of Korea Patent Publication No. 10-2015-0114407

Accordingly, the problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide a bending robot capable of uniformly bending a bending portion of a flexible printed circuit board in an arc shape.

In addition, another problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide a bending robot that enables accurate bending at a position where bending is required.

In addition, another problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide a bending robot that can be installed in a limited area by reducing the occupied space.

A bending robot according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention for solving these problems includes a substrate support, a body, a first arm, a second arm, a third arm, a fourth arm, a fifth arm, a sixth arm, and a control unit. Include. The substrate support supports a work object to which the first end of the flexible printed circuit board is attached, having a first end and a second end opposite to the first end. The body is disposed to be spaced apart from the work object of the support. The first arm includes a first end and a second end opposite to the first end, and the first end is axially coupled to an upper portion of the body. The second arm includes a first end and a second end opposite to the first end, and the first end is hingeably coupled to the second end of the first arm. The third arm includes a first end and a second end opposite to the first end, and the first end is hingeably coupled to the second end of the second arm. The fourth arm includes a first end and a second end opposite to the first end, and the first end is axially coupled to the second end of the third arm. The fifth arm includes a first end and a second end opposite to the first end, and the first end is hingeably coupled to the second end of the fourth arm. The sixth arm includes a first end and a second end opposite to the first end, the first end is axially coupled to the second end of the fifth arm, and the flexible printed circuit board And a finger fixing the second end of the. The control unit controls the movement of the first to sixth arms.

At this time, in the bending operation of the flexible printed circuit board, when the sixth arm rotates while the finger moves toward the substrate support (-Y axis direction), the center of the axis rotation of the sixth arm is At least a portion of the first to sixth arms may be controlled to be operated so that a shift is applied to the upper (Z-axis direction) or the lower (-Z-axis direction).

For example, in the bending operation of the flexible printed circuit board, when the sixth arm rotates while the finger moves toward the substrate support (-Y axis direction), the center of the axis rotation of the sixth arm is At least part of the first to sixth arms is controlled to be operated so as to reciprocate and proceed to the upper portion (Z-axis direction).

At this time, when the flexible printed circuit board is bent by 90 degrees, the control unit controls at least a portion of the first to sixth arms so that the center of the axis rotation of the sixth arm reaches the highest height in the Z-axis direction. You can control it to work.

In addition, the control unit includes at least one of the first to sixth arms so that the process of reaching the maximum height in the Z-axis direction and the process of descending from the maximum height draw a trajectory of the axis of the sixth arm. Some can be controlled to operate.

Preferably, the trajectory of the curve may be a convex curve such that a line segment connecting any two points below the trajectory of the curve does not cut the trajectory of the curve.

In addition, when the flexible printed circuit board is bent by 180 degrees, the height in the Z-axis direction of the center of the axial rotation of the sixth arm is when the bending starts (0 degree bending), the axial rotation of the sixth arm It is possible to control to operate at least some of the first to sixth arms to be higher than the height of the center of the Z-axis direction.

Meanwhile, the substrate support may include a support pillar and a substrate fixing part. The support pillar is in contact with the ground, and the substrate fixing portion is attached to the upper portion of the support pillar, and includes a plurality of suction holes to vacuum suction and fix the work object.

In addition, the finger may include a substrate fixing unit that includes a plurality of suction holes and vacuum-adsorbs and fixes the second end of the flexible printed circuit board.

As described above, according to the bending robot according to the present invention, the bending portion of the flexible printed circuit board can be constantly bent in an arc shape.

Further, according to the bending robot according to the present invention, accurate bending can be performed at a position where bending is required.

In addition, according to the bending robot according to the present invention, it is possible to reduce the occupied space of the bending robot, thereby enabling a larger number of installations in a limited area.

1 is a schematic perspective view of a conventional bending robot.
2 to 4 are side views illustrating the operation of the bending robot shown in FIG. 1.
5 is a side view of a flexible printed circuit board showing a problem of a bending portion that may occur during bending by a conventional bending robot.
6 is a side view of a flexible printed circuit board showing a preferably bent portion.
7 is a schematic perspective view of a bending robot according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.
8 is an enlarged view of the sixth arm shown in FIG. 7.
9 is a perspective view showing an initial appearance (0 degree bending) of the bending process of the bending robot shown in FIG. 7.
FIG. 10 is a perspective view illustrating a state in which the bending robot shown in FIG. 7 is bent at 90 degrees.
FIG. 11 is a perspective view showing a 180 degree bending of the bending robot shown in FIG. 7;
12 is a side view illustrating the bending process of FIGS. 9 to 11.
FIG. 13 is a side view illustrating the bending process shown in FIG. 12 overlapping.

In the present invention, various modifications may be made and various forms may be applied, and specific embodiments will be illustrated in the drawings and described in detail in the text. However, this is not intended to limit the present invention to a specific form disclosed, it should be understood to include all changes, equivalents, and substitutes included in the spirit and scope of the present invention. In describing each drawing, similar reference numerals are used for similar components. In the accompanying drawings, dimensions of structures may be exaggerated than actual for clarity of the present invention.

Terms such as first and second may be used to describe various components, but the components should not be limited by the terms. These terms are only used for the purpose of distinguishing one component from another component. For example, without departing from the scope of the present invention, a first component may be referred to as a second component, and similarly, a second component may be referred to as a first component.

The terms used in the present application are only used to describe specific embodiments, and are not intended to limit the present invention. Singular expressions include plural expressions unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. In the present application, terms such as "comprise" or "have" are intended to designate the presence of features, numbers, steps, actions, components, parts, or a combination thereof described in the specification, but one or more other features or It is to be understood that the presence or addition of numbers, steps, actions, components, parts, or combinations thereof does not preclude the possibility of preliminary exclusion. In addition, A and B are'connected' and'coupled' means that A and B are directly connected or combined, and other components C are included between A and B, so that A and B are connected or combined. To include that.

Unless otherwise defined, all terms used herein, including technical or scientific terms, have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which the present invention belongs. Terms such as those defined in commonly used dictionaries should be interpreted as having a meaning consistent with the meaning in the context of the related technology, and should not be interpreted as an ideal or excessively formal meaning unless explicitly defined in this application. Does not. Further, in the claims for the method invention, the order of each step may be interchanged with each other, as long as each step is not clearly bound to the order.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to the drawings.

7 is a schematic perspective view of a bending robot according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 8 is an enlarged view of the sixth arm shown in FIG. 7.

7 and 8, the bending robot 100 according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention includes a substrate support 110, a body 120, a first arm 130, a second arm 140, and It includes a third arm 150, a fourth arm 160, a fifth arm 170, a sixth arm 180, and a controller (not shown).

The substrate support 110 supports a work object to which the first end of the flexible printed circuit board is attached, having a first end and a second end opposite to the first end. The substrate support 110 may include a support pillar 111 and a substrate fixing part 112. The support pillar 111 is in contact with the ground, and the substrate fixing part 112 is attached to the upper portion of the support pillar 111, and includes a plurality of suction holes to vacuum-adsorb and fix the work object.

The body 120 is disposed to be spaced apart from the work object of the support 110.

Meanwhile, in the present invention, the terms'shaft rotation' and'hinge rotation' are used, and the term'axis rotation' is defined as a movement that rotates around an axis parallel in the length direction of the arm, and'hinge rotation' means , It is defined as a movement that rotates around an axis in a direction perpendicular to the length direction of the arm.

The first arm 130 includes a first end and a second end opposite to the first end, and the first end is coupled to the upper body 120 so as to be axially rotatable. That is, the first arm 130 is coupled to the body 120 so as to be rotatable about the Z-axis direction in FIG. 7.

The second arm 140 includes a first end and a second end opposite to the first end, and the first end is hingeably coupled to the second end of the first arm 130 . That is, the second arm 140 is coupled to the first arm 130 so as to be rotatable about the X-axis direction.

The third arm 150 includes a first end and a second end opposite to the first end, and the first end is hingeably coupled to the second end of the second arm 140. . That is, the third arm 150 is coupled to the second arm 140 so as to be rotatable about the X-axis direction.

The fourth arm 160 includes a first end and a second end opposite to the first end, and the first end is coupled to the second end of the third arm 150 so as to be axially rotatable. . That is, the fourth arm 140 is coupled to the third arm 150 so as to be rotatable about the Y-axis direction.

The fifth arm 170 includes a first end and a second end opposite to the first end, and the first end is hingeably coupled to the second end of the fourth arm 160. .

The sixth arm 180 includes a first end and a second end opposite to the first end, and the first end is coupled to the second end of the fifth arm 170 so as to be axially rotatable. . In addition, the sixth arm 180 includes a finger 180 fixing the second end of the flexible printed circuit board. The finger 180 may include a substrate fixing part 182 that vacuum-adsorbs and fixes the second end of the flexible printed circuit board, including a plurality of suction holes.

The controller (not shown) controls the movement of the first to sixth arms.

Hereinafter, with reference to FIGS. 9 to 13, a control operation of the controller, which is a key feature of the present invention, will be described in more detail.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view showing an initial view (0 degree bending) of the bending process of the bending robot shown in FIG. 7, and FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing a state in which 90 degree bending of the bending robot shown in FIG. 7 progresses. FIG. 11 is a perspective view showing a 180 degree bending of the bending robot shown in FIG. 7; In addition, FIG. 12 is a side view showing the bending process of FIGS. 9 to 11, and FIG. 13 is a side view showing the bending process shown in FIG. 12 overlapping each other.

7 and 12, the controller (not shown) is when the sixth arm rotates while the finger moves toward the substrate support (-Y axis direction) in the bending operation of the flexible printed circuit board. , It is possible to control to operate at least a part of the first to sixth arms so that the center of the axial rotation of the sixth arm is shifted upward (Z-axis direction) or lower (-Z-axis direction).

For example, in the bending operation of the flexible printed circuit board (FPCB), the controller (not shown) rotates the sixth arm 180 while the finger 181 moves toward the substrate support (-Y axis direction). In this case, at least a part of the first arm 130 to the sixth arm 180 is controlled so that the center of the axial rotation of the sixth arm 180 reciprocates upward (in the Z-axis direction). .

At this time, the control unit (not shown), when the flexible printed circuit board (FPCB) is bent 90 degrees, the center of the axial rotation of the sixth arm 180 reaches the maximum height in the Z-axis direction. It is possible to control to operate at least a portion of the 1 arm 130 to the sixth arm 180.

In addition, the control unit (not shown), the first process so that the center of the axis rotation of the sixth arm 180 reaches the highest height in the Z-axis direction and the process of descending from the highest height to draw the trajectory of the curve. At least a portion of the arms 130 to the sixth arms 180 may be controlled to operate.

Preferably, the trajectory of the curve may be a convex curve such that a line segment connecting any two points below the trajectory of the curve does not cut the trajectory of the curve. That is, the trajectory of the curve may be an outwardly convex curve without a concave portion. As in Fig. 13, the trajectory of the curve moves approximately along a circle, but it is not exactly a circle.

Further, when the flexible printed circuit board is bent by 180 degrees, the height in the Z-axis direction of the center of the axial rotation of the sixth arm is at the beginning of bending (0 degree bending), the thickness of the substrate In consideration of, it is possible to control to operate at least a portion of the first arm 130 to the sixth arm 180 so as to be higher than the height in the Z-axis direction of the center of the axis rotation of the sixth arm.

As described above, according to the bending robot 100 according to the present invention, the bending portion of the flexible printed circuit board can be constantly bent in an arc shape.

Further, according to the bending robot 100 according to the present invention, accurate bending can be performed at a position where bending is required.

In addition, according to the bending robot 100 according to the present invention, the occupied space of the bending robot can be reduced by multi-joints, thereby enabling a larger number of installations in a limited area.

In the detailed description of the present invention described above, it has been described with reference to preferred embodiments of the present invention, but those skilled in the art or those of ordinary skill in the art will have the spirit of the present invention described in the claims to be described later. And it will be appreciated that various modifications and changes can be made to the present invention within a range not departing from the technical field.

100: bending robot
110: substrate support 111: support column
112: substrate fixing portion 120: body
130: first arm 140: second arm
150: third arm 160: fourth arm
170: fifth arm 180: sixth arm
181: finger 182: flexible printed circuit board fixing part
1: support plate 2: bending member
3: pressing member
DP: Display panel
US: upper substrate LS: lower substrate
FPCB: Flexible printed circuit board BP: Bending part

Claims (9)

A substrate support for supporting a work object to which the first end of the flexible printed circuit board is attached, having a first end and a second end opposite to the first end;
A body disposed to be spaced apart from the work object of the support;
A first arm including a first end and a second end opposite to the first end, the first end being axially rotatably coupled to an upper portion of the body;
A second arm including a first end and a second end opposite to the first end, wherein the first end is hingeably coupled to the second end of the first arm;
A third arm including a first end and a second end opposite to the first end, wherein the first end is hingeably coupled to the second end of the second arm;
A fourth arm including a first end and a second end opposite to the first end, the first end being axially coupled to the second end of the third arm;
A fifth arm including a first end and a second end opposite to the first end, wherein the first end is hingeably coupled to the second end of the fourth arm;
A first end and a second end opposite to the first end, wherein the first end is axially coupled to the second end of the fifth arm, and the second end of the flexible printed circuit board A sixth arm including a finger to fix the; And
A control unit for controlling the movement of the first to sixth arms;
Bending robot comprising a.
The method of claim 1,
The control unit,
In the bending operation of the flexible printed circuit board, when the sixth arm rotates while the finger moves toward the substrate support (-Y-axis direction), the center of the axial rotation of the sixth arm is upper (Z-axis direction) Or controlling to operate at least a portion of the first to sixth arms so that the shift is applied downward (in the -Z axis direction).
The method of claim 1,
The control unit,
In the bending operation of the flexible printed circuit board, when the sixth arm rotates while the finger moves toward the substrate support (-Y-axis direction), the center of the axial rotation of the sixth arm is upper (Z-axis direction) A bending robot, characterized in that controlling to operate at least a portion of the first to sixth arms so as to reciprocate and proceed.
The method of claim 3,
The control unit,
When the flexible printed circuit board is bent by 90 degrees, at least some of the first to sixth arms are controlled to be operated so that the center of the axial rotation of the sixth arm reaches the highest height in the Z-axis direction. Bending robot.
The method of claim 4,
The control unit,
Controlling to operate at least some of the first to sixth arms so that the center of the axis rotation of the sixth arm reaches the highest height in the Z-axis direction and the process of descending from the highest height draws a trajectory of a curve. A bending robot, characterized in that.
The method of claim 5,
The curved trajectory is a bending robot, characterized in that the curve is convex so that a line segment connecting two arbitrary points below the trajectory of the curve does not cut the trajectory of the curve.
The method of claim 4,
The control unit,
When the flexible printed circuit board is bent 180 degrees, the height in the Z-axis direction of the center of the axial rotation of the sixth arm is the Z-axis direction of the center of the axial rotation of the sixth arm at the beginning of bending (0-degree bending) A bending robot, characterized in that controlling to operate at least some of the first to sixth arms to be higher than the height of.
The method of claim 1,
The substrate support,
A support column in contact with the ground; And
A substrate fixing part attached to the upper part of the support pillar and vacuum-adsorbing and fixing a work object including a plurality of suction holes;
A bending robot comprising a.
The method of claim 1,
The finger,
A substrate fixing part including a plurality of suction holes to vacuum-adsorb and fix the second end of the flexible printed circuit board;
A bending robot comprising a.

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