TWI397755B - Apparatus and method for dropping liquid crystals - Google Patents

Description

Apparatus and method for dropping liquid crystal [related application]

The present application claims priority to and benefit from Korean Patent Application No. 10-2008-0135185, filed on Dec. 29, 2008, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. The manner is incorporated herein.

The present invention relates to an apparatus and method for dropping liquid crystals, and more particularly to a liquid crystal dropping apparatus and method capable of reducing liquid crystal dropping time by dropping liquid crystals as the substrate and the nozzle are moved.

A cathode ray tube (CRT) has been used as a display element. However, CRTs have the disadvantage of being bulky and heavy. Therefore, in recent years, the use of flat display panels such as liquid crystal display devices (LCDs), plasma display panels (PDPs), and organic light emitting devices (OLDEs) is increasing. The flat panel display panel is lightweight, slim, and low power.

A flat panel display panel is manufactured by joining a pair of flat substrates to each other. For example, when manufacturing an LCD, a lower substrate in which a plurality of thin film transistors and a picture electrode are formed is fabricated and then an upper substrate in which a color filter and a common electrode are formed is fabricated. Next, the liquid crystal is dropped on the lower substrate, and the upper substrate and the lower substrate are bonded to each other, thereby fabricating an LCD.

At this time, a liquid crystal dropping device is used to drop the liquid crystal on the substrate.

The liquid crystal dropping device employs a liquid crystal discharge unit for dropping liquid crystal on the substrate. A conventional liquid crystal discharge unit moves in the horizontal direction (i.e., the X-axis and the Y-axis) to drop a plurality of liquid crystal droplets on the entire surface of the substrate. At this time, the moving and stopping operations are repeatedly performed several times to drop a plurality of liquid crystal droplets on the entire surface of the substrate using the liquid crystal discharge unit. That is, the liquid crystal discharge unit is moved over the substrate, and then stopped in the liquid crystal dropping region to drip the liquid crystal. Subsequently, the liquid crystal discharge unit is again moved over the substrate, and then stopped in the liquid crystal dropping region to drip the liquid crystal. As such, the liquid crystal is uniformly applied to the entire surface of the substrate by a plurality of moving and stopping operations. Thus, when a liquid crystal dropping device is used to drip the liquid crystal, a long processing time is required, and thus productivity may be impaired.

Therefore, there is a need for a technique of dropping liquid crystal during the movement of the liquid crystal discharge unit without stopping the liquid crystal discharge unit. The easiest way is to drop the liquid crystal at a certain time according to the moving speed of the liquid crystal discharge unit. However, since in the time-based dripping scheme, the time interval of dripping should be adjusted according to the moving speed of the liquid crystal discharge unit, a large number of tests should be performed to ensure accurate data. Furthermore, when the materials are applied in practice after the information is guaranteed, the liquid crystals are not dropped at equal intervals, and thus unevenness in spacing may occur. Therefore, it is difficult to apply the above scheme to the current equipment.

The present invention provides a liquid crystal dropping device and method capable of uniformly dropping liquid crystal on the entire surface of a substrate, and by passing liquid crystal according to the liquid crystal dropping unit even though the liquid crystal is dropped during the movement of the liquid crystal dropping unit The liquid crystal is dropped by moving the distance to reduce the processing time required for dropping the liquid crystal to improve productivity.

According to an exemplary embodiment, a liquid crystal dropping device includes: a platform on which a substrate is placed; a first moving unit for moving the platform in a horizontal direction; and at least one liquid crystal dropping unit for dropping a liquid crystal Falling on the substrate; a second moving unit for moving the liquid crystal dropping unit in the horizontal direction; and a drip control unit for passing the first and second moving units The moving distance of the liquid crystal dropping unit relative to the substrate is controlled to control the liquid crystal dropping time.

The liquid crystal dropping unit may drop the liquid crystal while being moved by the second moving unit, and may move in a direction opposite to a moving direction of the stage.

The first mobile unit can include a first motor to move the platform, and a first encoder or first linear scale to measure a position value and speed of the first motor; the second The mobile unit may include a second motor to move the liquid crystal drip unit, and a second encoder or a second linear scale to measure a position value and a speed of the second motor; and the drip control The unit may include a position calculation module for calculating the platform and the position based on position values output from the first encoder or the first linear scale and the second encoder or the second linear scale a liquid crystal drop control module for generating a liquid crystal drop for controlling a liquid crystal dropping operation of the liquid crystal dropping unit based on a calculation result of the position calculating module Fall control signal.

According to another exemplary embodiment, a liquid crystal dropping method includes: moving a substrate and a liquid crystal dropping unit; determining whether a current moving position of the liquid crystal dropping unit with respect to the substrate is consistent with a set dropping position; In the case where the current moving position of the liquid crystal dropping unit with respect to the substrate coincides with the set dropping position, the liquid crystal is dropped on the substrate by the liquid crystal dropping unit.

The substrate can be moved by a first motor unit, the first motor unit including a first motor to move the substrate and a first encoder or a first to measure a position value and speed of the first motor a linear scale, and the liquid crystal dropping unit is movable by a second motor unit, the second motor unit including a second motor for moving the liquid crystal dropping unit and for measuring the second a second encoder or second linear scale of the position value and speed of the motor, wherein the output from the first encoder or the first linear scale and the second encoder or the second linear scale may be used The position value is used to calculate a current moving position of the substrate and the liquid crystal dropping unit.

The substrate may be moved in a first direction and the liquid crystal drip unit may be moved in a second direction opposite the first direction.

When the length of the substrate in the moving direction of the substrate is established as a usable portion of the liquid crystal dropping, a plurality of dropping points may exist in the liquid crystal dropping available portion.

The liquid crystal dropping available portion may be equally divided into a plurality of sub-portions, and the dropping point may be set by moving the point at the boundary of the equally divided sub-portion forward against the moving direction of the substrate The sum of the distance values calculated by multiplying the moving speed of the substrate and the liquid crystal dropping unit by the time taken before the liquid crystal discharged from the liquid crystal dropping unit reaches the surface of the substrate.

The liquid crystal dropping method may further include: determining whether a current moving position of the liquid crystal dropping unit with respect to the substrate is inconsistent with the set dropping point, or after dropping the liquid crystal on the substrate, Whether the current moving position of the substrate and the liquid crystal dropping unit is outside the set liquid crystal dropping available portion; and the current moving position of the substrate and the liquid crystal dropping unit is not set according to the result of the judgment In the case where the liquid crystal is dropped outside the usable portion, it is again determined whether or not the current moving position of the liquid crystal dropping unit with respect to the substrate coincides with the set dropping point.

The above described features and advantages of the present invention will be more apparent from the following description.

Hereinafter, specific embodiments will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, the invention may be embodied in different forms and should not be construed as being limited to the embodiments set forth herein. Rather, the embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and the scope of the invention will be fully disclosed. In addition, the same or similar reference numerals denote the same or similar constituent elements, although they appear in different embodiments or drawings of the present invention.

FIG. 1 illustrates a conceptual diagram of a liquid crystal dropping device according to an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 2 illustrates a block diagram of a portion of a liquid crystal dropping device in accordance with the described embodiment.

1 and 2, a liquid crystal dropping device according to the embodiment includes a platform 100 on which a substrate 10 is placed; a first moving unit 200 for moving the platform 100 in a horizontal direction; At least one liquid crystal dropping unit 300 for dropping liquid crystal on the substrate 10; a second moving unit 400 for moving the liquid crystal dropping unit 300 in a horizontal direction; and a dropping control unit 500 It is used to control the liquid crystal dripping time of the liquid crystal dropping unit 300 according to the moving distance of the substrate 10 and the liquid crystal dropping unit 300 by the first moving unit 200 and the second moving unit 400.

Although not shown, the liquid crystal dropping device may further include a third moving unit for moving the liquid crystal dropping unit 300 in the vertical direction.

The platform 100 is fabricated in the same shape as the shape of the substrate 10 to place the substrate 10 thereon. In this embodiment, the substrate 10 uses an insulating substrate in the shape of a quadrangle. Therefore, the platform 100 also uses a platform in the shape of a quadrangle.

Although not shown, the platform 100 can further include a separate component to house and secure the substrate 10. Here, the fixing element can use an electrostatic chuck or a vacuum fixing element. When a vacuum securing element is used, a plurality of holes in communication with the vacuum pump can be placed over the platform 100, making it possible to secure the substrate 10 resting on the platform 100.

The platform 100 moves in a plane (ie, the X-axis and Y-axis directions). For this purpose, this embodiment includes a first mobile unit 200 for moving the platform 100 in the X-axis and Y-axis directions.

The first mobile unit 200 includes a first guard rail 210 coupled to the platform 100, and a first motor component 220. The first motor component 220 includes a first motor 221 for moving the platform 100 over the first guard rail 210 and a first encoder 222 for measuring the position value and speed of the first motor 221.

The first mobile unit 200 can include two first guard rails and two first motor components. Therefore, the stage 100 is moved in the front-rear direction (i.e., the Y-axis direction) in a plane by a first guide rail and a first motor component. Further, the stage 100 is moved in the left-right direction (i.e., the X-axis direction) on the plane by the other first rail and the other first motor component. Thus, the platform 100 can be moved in the X-axis and Y-axis directions. The first mobile unit 200 is not limited to the above embodiment, and thus may include two first guard rails and one first motor component.

Here, as described above, the first motor component 220 includes a first motor 221 and a first encoder 222 for measuring the position value and speed of the first motor 221. The platform 100 is moved by the first motor 221 of the first motor component 220. The moving speed and moving distance (ie, position) of the platform 100 are determined by the movement of the first motor 221 (for example, the number of rotations of the rotating shaft of the first motor 221 and the rotational speed). Therefore, the moving speed and moving position of the platform 100 are measured by the first encoder 222. If it is detected based on the output value of the first encoder 222 that the first motor 221 has moved a first distance at the first speed, this means that the platform 100 has moved the first distance at the first speed.

The first encoder 222 can measure the speed and position values of the first motor 221 using electromagnetic or optical properties. For example, the first encoder 222 is disposed on the rotating shaft of the first motor 221, and thus the speed and position values of the first motor 221 can be detected using the number of rotations and the rotational speed of the first motor 221. Of course, it is possible to use a linear scale instead of an encoder. Linear scales also use electromagnetic or optical properties to measure motor speed and position values.

In this embodiment, it is possible to use the output value of the first encoder 222 to determine or control the liquid crystal dripping time of the liquid crystal dropping unit 300. This will be described in detail below.

The platform 100 can be placed on a separate work station, and the first mobile unit 200 and the work station can be fabricated as a single body.

At least one liquid crystal dropping unit 300 drops the liquid crystal onto the substrate 10 disposed on the platform 100 that is moving in a plane.

The liquid crystal dropping unit 300 includes a syringe 310 that stores liquid crystals, a nozzle 320 that receives liquid crystal from the syringe 310 and discharges liquid crystal, and a control part 330 that controls the amount of liquid crystal supplied from the syringe 310 to the nozzle 320.

The syringe 310 can be formed in various shapes capable of storing liquid crystals. The liquid crystal stored in the syringe 310 is supplied to the nozzle 320 through the control member 330. Here, the control component 330 can be formed to include a pump, a motor, and/or a valve. Therefore, the liquid crystal stored in the syringe 310 is pushed in the downward direction in accordance with the operation of the control member 330, and thus supplied to the nozzle 320. Of course, the liquid crystal stored in the syringe 310 can be supplied to the nozzle 320 by mechanical movement according to the operation of the control member 330. As such, a fixed amount of liquid crystal can be discharged through the nozzle 320 through the control member 330. The syringe 310 can be of a cylindrical type.

A separate prevention unit can be employed to prevent the creation of bubbles or voids in the syringe 310. In this embodiment, the liquid crystal droplets are dropped while the liquid crystal dropping unit 300 is moving. Therefore, a separate gas emitting unit can be employed to help drop the liquid crystal droplets.

The liquid crystal dropping unit 300 in this embodiment is moved in the front and rear and left and right directions on the plane by the second moving unit 400.

The second moving unit 400 includes a first moving part 410 having a second guard rail 411 connected to the liquid crystal dropping unit 300, and a second moving part 420 having a third guard rail 415 connected to the first moving part 410. And a second motor component 430. The second motor part 430 has a second motor 431 for moving the liquid crystal dropping unit 300 through the first moving part 410 and the second moving part 420, and a second encoder 432 for measuring the position value and speed of the second motor 431. .

The first moving part 410 includes: a horizontally extending shaft 412 at which the second guard rail 411 is disposed; and a first vertical moving shaft 413 and a second vertical moving shaft 414 disposed on the two horizontally extending shafts 412 side. Here, the liquid crystal dropping unit 300 is moved in the left-right direction (ie, the X-axis direction) by the second guard rail 411 of the horizontally extending shaft 412.

The third guard rail 415 of the second moving member 420 is coupled to the first vertical moving shaft 413 and the second vertical moving shaft 414 to move the first vertical moving shaft 413 and in the front-rear direction (ie, the Y-axis direction). The second vertical movement shaft 414.

The second motor component 430 is similar to the first motor component 220 described above. That is, the liquid crystal dripping unit 300 is moved by the second motor 431 of the second motor part 430. The moving speed and moving distance (i.e., position) of the liquid crystal dropping unit 300 are determined by the number of rotations of the second motor 431 and the rotational speed.

The moving speed and moving position of the liquid crystal dropping unit 300 are measured by the second encoder 432. If it is detected based on the output value of the second encoder 432 that the second motor 431 has moved by the second distance at the second speed, this means that the liquid crystal dropping unit 300 has moved by the second distance at the second speed.

The second encoder 432 is also similar to the first encoder 222 described above. That is, it is possible to determine or control the liquid crystal dripping time of the liquid crystal dropping unit 300 using the output value of the second encoder 432 (ie, the moving speed and position value of the second motor 431).

As described above, in this embodiment, the platform 100 (ie, the substrate 10) and the liquid crystal dropping unit 300 can be moved by the first moving unit 200 and the second moving unit 400 to cross each other. Thus, it is possible to reduce the liquid crystal dropping time. This is because it is possible to double the moving speed as compared with the case of moving only one of the substrate 10 and the liquid crystal dropping unit 300. For example, the substrate 10 and the liquid crystal can be moved in different directions (ie, the +Y axis and the -Y axis direction) as compared with the case where the liquid crystal is dropped by the liquid crystal dropping unit 300 in a state where the substrate 10 is fixed. The dropping unit 300 reduces the liquid crystal dropping time.

Further, in this embodiment, during the movement of the liquid crystal dropping unit 300, the liquid crystal is dripped without stopping the liquid crystal dropping unit 300. Therefore, the liquid crystal dropping time can be further reduced. At this time, it is possible to uniformly drop the liquid crystal on the substrate by dropping the liquid crystal on the substrate 10 according to the positions of the substrate 10 and the liquid crystal dropping unit 300 when the liquid crystal is dropped during the movement of the liquid crystal dropping unit 300. 10 on. As described above, when the liquid crystal is dropped according to time, it is difficult to apply the scheme to the actual element, and in the case where the speed of each time portion is lowered, the liquid crystal may not uniformly land on the substrate 10. However, when the liquid crystal is dropped depending on the moving position of the liquid crystal dropping unit 300 and the substrate 10, it is not necessary to consider the above problem. That is, since the liquid crystal can be dropped at a clear position of the substrate 10 at all times, it is possible to uniformly drop the liquid crystal on the substrate 10.

The position value of the substrate 10 (i.e., the position values of the stage 100 and the liquid crystal drip unit 300) is calculated using the position value of the motor, and the position values of the motor are the first motor unit 220 of the first moving unit 200 and the second moving unit 400. And an output value of the second motor component 430, wherein the position value of the motor corresponds to the movement position value of the stage 100 and the liquid crystal drip unit 300. However, the present invention is not limited to this embodiment, and thus a linear scale may be used instead of the encoder depending on the structure of the motors of the first moving unit 200 and the second moving unit 400. That is, the position value of the output value of the liquid crystal drip unit 300 can be calculated using the position value of the output value as a linear scale. This embodiment employs a drip control unit 500 for controlling the liquid crystal dripping time of the liquid crystal dropping unit 300 according to the moving positions of the first moving unit 200 and the second moving unit 400.

As illustrated in FIG. 2, the drop control unit 500 includes a position calculation module 510 for using the output value of the first encoder 222 of the first mobile unit 200 and the second encoder 432 of the second mobile unit 400. The output value is used to calculate the moving position of the platform 100, that is, the moving position of the liquid crystal dropping unit 300 and the position of the substrate 10; and the liquid crystal dropping control module 520 for calculating the result using the position calculating module 510 on the base When the liquid crystal dropping unit 300 reaches the set position, the liquid crystal dropping control signal is emitted to the liquid crystal dropping unit 300 to perform liquid crystal dropping. Here, a linear scale may be used instead of the first encoder 222 and the second encoder 432.

As described above, in this embodiment, the liquid crystal can be dropped at the exact position by placing the position calculation module 510 and the liquid crystal drop control module 520 in a control unit. Since the modules 510 and 520 are disposed in one control unit, it is possible to prevent signal delay.

The position values of the motor, that is, the position values of the substrate 10 and the liquid crystal drip unit 300 are instantaneously supplied to the position calculation module 510 by the first moving unit 200 and the second moving unit 400. By this operation, it is possible to know the current position value of the substrate 10 and the liquid crystal dropping unit 300 that are moved, that is, the current coordinates.

The liquid crystal dropping control module 520 stores the liquid crystal dropping position (ie, the liquid crystal dropping coordinates) according to the size (ie, width and area) of the substrate 10. When the coordinates obtained by the position calculating module 510 correspond to the liquid crystal dropping coordinates stored in the liquid crystal dropping control module 520, the liquid crystal dropping control signal is emitted to the liquid crystal dropping unit 300. The control unit 330 operates in response to the liquid crystal dropping control signal supplied to the liquid crystal dropping unit 300, and supplies a certain amount of liquid crystal to the nozzle 320 through the syringe 310. Therefore, the nozzle 320 drops the liquid crystal droplets on the substrate 10.

A liquid crystal dropping method using the liquid crystal dropping device described above will be explained below.

3 illustrates a conceptual diagram for explaining a liquid crystal dropping method according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 4 illustrates a flowchart for explaining a liquid crystal dropping method according to the embodiment.

As described in FIG. 3, in this embodiment, liquid crystal is dropped at a corresponding position (i.e., coordinates) of the substrate 10 by simultaneously moving the substrate 10 and the liquid crystal dropping unit 300. That is, as the liquid crystal dropping unit 300 is moved in the first direction and the liquid crystal dropping unit 300 is moved in the opposite direction to the first direction, the liquid crystal is dropped on the substrate 10 in one direction. Therefore, after the liquid crystal is dropped on the substrate 10 in one direction, the substrate 10 or the liquid crystal dropping unit 300 is moved in a direction perpendicular to the first direction (as described in FIG. 1) to drop the liquid crystal on the substrate 10. On the entire surface. Next, as shown above, as the substrate 10 is moved in the first direction and the liquid crystal dropping unit 300 is moved in a direction opposite to the first direction, the liquid crystal is dropped. The liquid crystal can be dropped on the entire surface of the substrate 10 by repeating the moving and dropping processes several times. The above description exemplarily shows the case of employing one liquid crystal dropping unit. However, the present invention is not limited to this embodiment, and therefore, when a plurality of liquid crystal dropping units are employed, the liquid crystal can be dropped on the entire surface of the substrate 10 by moving the substrate 10 and the liquid crystal dropping unit 300 at once. This will be described in detail below.

As shown in FIG. 4, in step S110, the substrate 10 is moved in the first direction, and the liquid crystal dropping unit 300 is moved in a direction opposite to the first direction.

Next, in step S120, the movement positions of the substrate 10 and the liquid crystal dropping unit 300 are calculated based on the output values of the first moving unit 200 and the second moving unit 400 for moving the substrate 10 and the liquid crystal dropping unit 300, and Whether or not the current moving position of the substrate 10 and the liquid crystal dropping unit 300 is the set dropping position is determined based on the calculation result. That is, it is determined whether or not the current moving position of the liquid crystal dropping unit 300 with respect to the substrate 10 is the set dropping position. In this embodiment, since the substrate 10 and the liquid crystal dropping unit 300 are moved to cross each other, the coordinates of the current moving position are obtained based on the moving coordinates of the substrate 10 and the liquid crystal dropping unit 300. Here, the coordinates of the substrate 10 and the current moving position of the liquid crystal dropping unit 300 are instantaneously changed. This is because the substrate 10 and the liquid crystal dropping unit 300 continuously move without stopping.

In this embodiment, the liquid crystal is dropped on the entire surface of the substrate 10 at a fixed interval in a drip shape. Therefore, the entire width with respect to the moving direction of the substrate 10 becomes a portion usable for dropping the liquid crystal (i.e., the liquid crystal dropping optional portion). A plurality of points are selected within the portion and set to a drip position (ie, a drip point).

At this time, the dropping point can be changed in various ways depending on the amount of liquid crystal dropped and the total amount of liquid crystal dropped on the substrate 10. This is because the number of drip points set is equal to the number of dripping of the liquid crystal. For example, when the liquid crystal is dropped three times as shown in FIG. 3, three dropping points are prepared in one liquid crystal dropping usable portion. Here, in the case where the total amount of the liquid crystal dropped is 3, the amount of liquid crystal dropped on one dropping point becomes 1. Of course, the invention is not limited to this embodiment. Therefore, when the total amount of the liquid crystal dropped is 5, and the amount of liquid crystal dropped by the liquid crystal dropping unit 300 when performing a dropping operation is 1, 5 drops are prepared in one liquid crystal dropping usable portion. point.

At this time, it is preferable that the dropping point divides the usable portion of the liquid crystal drop into six sub-portions, and is respectively located at the boundary between the two adjacent sub-portions. By this operation, the liquid crystal can be uniformly dropped on the entire surface of the substrate 10. That is to say, it is possible to prevent the liquid crystal from being concentrated on a certain sub-portion. If the liquid crystal is concentrated on a certain sub-portion, some areas of the bonded substrate may protrude when the substrate is bonded in a subsequent process. However, according to this embodiment, the liquid crystal can be uniformly dropped on the entire surface of the substrate 10 by uniformly setting the liquid crystal dropping position in the liquid crystal dropping usable portion as described above.

Here, the liquid crystal dropping usable portion may be a length of a plane parallel to the moving direction of the substrate 10. Of course, the liquid crystal drop available portion may be the length of the substrate between the sealants applied to bond the substrate 10 among the planes.

The current position of the liquid crystal dropping unit 300 with respect to the substrate 10 can be calculated according to the moving position of the substrate 10 and the liquid crystal dropping unit 300. This is because the substrate 10 and the liquid crystal dropping unit 300 are simultaneously moved. For example, a case where the usable portion of the liquid crystal dropping (that is, the length of one side of the substrate 10) is 10 (0 to 10) is considered as follows. When the liquid crystal was dropped 4 times in the usable portion of the liquid crystal dropping, the dropping point was set to 2, 4, 6, and 8.

At the first starting point, the liquid crystal dropping unit 300 is disposed at the first position (i.e., 0) of the substrate 10. Next, if the liquid crystal dropping unit 300 also moves 1 when the substrate 10 is moved 1, the liquid crystal dropping unit 300 is disposed at a position corresponding to 2 of the substrate 10. That is, the liquid crystal dropping unit 300 is disposed at the set dropping point 2. This means that the current position of the substrate 10 and the liquid crystal dropping unit 300 coincides with the set dropping point.

Here, the moving speed of the substrate 10 may be the same as or different from the moving speed of the liquid crystal dropping unit 300.

As described above, in step S130, when the current position of the liquid crystal dropping unit 300 with respect to the substrate 10 coincides with the set dropping point, the liquid crystal is dripped by the liquid crystal dropping unit 300.

In this embodiment, the liquid crystal is dropped by the liquid crystal dropping unit 300 in a state where the substrate 10 and the liquid crystal dropping unit 300 are being moved. Therefore, although the liquid crystal dropping unit 300 is disposed at the dropping point at the timing of discharging the liquid crystal from the liquid crystal dropping unit 300, the liquid crystal dropping unit 300 can be moved from the dropping point at the timing when the liquid crystal reaches the substrate 10 at the moving speed. except. For example, a case where the moving speed of the substrate 10 is 1 mm/s, the moving speed of the liquid crystal dropping unit 300 is 1 mm/s, and the time taken when the liquid crystal reaches the substrate 10 is 0.5 second is considered as follows. For example, when the liquid crystal is dropped by the liquid crystal dropping unit 300 at the dropping point, the liquid crystal reaches the substrate 10 after 0.5 seconds. At this time, since the liquid crystal dropping unit 300 continuously moves after the liquid crystal drops, the liquid crystal dropping unit 300 moves by about 0.5 mm. Furthermore, since the substrate 10 also moves continuously, the substrate 10 also moves by about 0.5 mm. Thus, a problem occurs in that the liquid crystal drips at a position of about 1 mm from the target dropping point.

Therefore, in this embodiment, it is preferable to adjust the dropping point according to the time taken before the liquid crystal discharged from the liquid crystal dropping unit 300 reaches the surface of the substrate 10 and the moving speed of the substrate 10 and the liquid crystal dropping unit 300.

That is, it is preferable to divide the liquid crystal drop usable portion into a plurality of equal sub-portions, and move forward by moving the point at the boundary between the equally divided sub-portions against the moving direction of the substrate 10 as much as possible. The distance calculated by multiplying the moving speed of the substrate 10 and the liquid crystal dropping unit 300 by the time required to drop the liquid crystal (i.e., the time taken before the liquid crystal discharged from the liquid crystal dropping unit 300 reaches the surface of the substrate 10) The sum is to establish the liquid crystal drop point.

By this operation, the liquid crystal can drip at the target area of the substrate 10 (i.e., at equally divided drop points).

As described above, in step S140, it is judged whether or not the current moving position of the substrate 10 and the liquid crystal dropping unit 300 is separated from the usable portion of the liquid crystal dropping after the liquid crystal is dropped. Here, in a case where it is determined that the above current moving position does not coincide with the set dripping point, it is judged whether or not the current moving position is outside the liquid crystal dripping available portion.

In this regard, the moving position of the substrate 10 and the liquid crystal dropping unit 300 can be ensured by the first encoder 222 and the second encoder 432 as described above. That is, the moving distance value (i.e., position) of the first motor 221 output from the first encoder 222 of the first motor part 220 of the moving substrate 10 and the second motor part 430 of the moving liquid crystal dropping unit 300 are moved. The second encoder 432 outputs a moving distance value (i.e., position) of the second motor 431 to notice the moving position of the substrate 10 and the liquid crystal dropping unit 300. In order to secure the moving position of the substrate 10 and the liquid crystal dropping unit 300, an output value of a linear scale may be used instead of the output value of the encoder.

If the current moving position of the substrate 10 and the liquid crystal dropping unit 300 is not outside the liquid crystal dropping available portion, the current moving position is again compared with the set dropping position because the substrate 10 and the liquid crystal dropping unit 300 continuously move, and The data (ie, signals) that it moves on is transmitted instantaneously.

On the other hand, if the current moving position of the substrate 10 and the liquid crystal dropping unit 300 is outside the liquid crystal dropping available portion, the movement of the substrate 10 and the liquid crystal dropping unit 300 is stopped, and the dropping process is terminated.

According to the present invention, when the liquid crystal is dropped during the movement of the liquid crystal dropping unit, it is possible to reduce the liquid crystal dropping time, and the liquid crystal is uniformly dropped by dropping the liquid crystal droplet according to the moving distance of the liquid crystal dropping unit with respect to the substrate. On the substrate.

Further, it is possible to reduce the liquid crystal dropping time by moving the substrate and the liquid crystal dropping unit in directions opposite to each other.

Although the invention has been described with reference to specific embodiments, the invention is not limited thereto. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and changes can be made in the present invention without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

10. . . Base

100. . . platform

200. . . First mobile unit

210. . . First guard rail

220. . . First motor component

221. . . First motor

222. . . First encoder

300. . . Liquid crystal dropping unit

310. . . syringe

320. . . nozzle

330. . . Control unit

400. . . Second mobile unit

410. . . First moving part

411. . . Second guard rail

412. . . Horizontal extension shaft

413. . . First vertical movement shaft

414. . . Second vertical movement shaft

415. . . Third guard rail

420. . . Second moving part

430. . . Second motor component

431. . . Second motor

432. . . Second encoder

500. . . Drip control unit

510. . . Position calculation module

520. . . Liquid crystal drop control module

S110, S120, S130, S140. . . step

FIG. 1 illustrates a conceptual diagram of a liquid crystal dropping device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 2 illustrates a block diagram of a portion of a liquid crystal dropping device in accordance with the described embodiment.

FIG. 3 illustrates a conceptual diagram for explaining a liquid crystal dropping method according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 illustrates a flow chart for explaining a liquid crystal dropping method according to the embodiment.

10. . . Base

100. . . platform

200. . . First mobile unit

210. . . First guard rail

220. . . First motor component

300. . . Liquid crystal dropping unit

310. . . syringe

320. . . nozzle

330. . . Control unit

400. . . Second mobile unit

410. . . First moving part

411. . . Second guard rail

412. . . Horizontal extension shaft

413. . . First vertical movement shaft

414. . . Second vertical movement shaft

415. . . Third guard rail

420. . . Second moving part

430. . . Second motor component

500. . . Drip control unit

Claims (9)

A liquid crystal dropping device comprising: a platform for placing a substrate; a first moving unit for moving the platform in a horizontal direction; and at least one liquid crystal dropping unit for dropping liquid crystal on the substrate; a second moving unit for moving the liquid crystal dropping unit in the horizontal direction; and a dropping control unit for passing the first and second moving units according to the liquid crystal dropping unit The liquid crystal dripping time is controlled by the moving distance of the substrate. The liquid crystal dropping device of claim 1, wherein the liquid crystal dropping unit drops the liquid crystal while moving by the second moving unit, and is opposite to a moving direction of the platform Move on. The liquid crystal dripping device of claim 1, wherein the first moving unit includes a first motor for moving the platform, and a first value for measuring a position value and a speed of the first motor. An encoder or first linear scale; the second moving unit includes a second motor to move the liquid crystal drip unit, and a second code to measure a position value and a speed of the second motor Or a second linear scale; and the drip control unit includes a position calculation module for utilizing from the first encoder or first linear scale and the second encoder or second linear The position value of the scale output is used to calculate a movement position of the platform and the liquid crystal dropping unit, and a liquid crystal drop control module for generating a control result based on a calculation result of the position calculation module The liquid crystal dropping control signal of the liquid crystal dropping operation of the liquid crystal dropping unit. A liquid crystal dropping method comprising: moving a substrate and a liquid crystal dropping unit; determining whether a current moving position of the liquid crystal dropping unit with respect to the substrate is consistent with a set dropping position; and comparing the liquid crystal dropping unit with respect to In the case where the current moving position of the substrate coincides with the set dripping position, liquid crystal is dropped on the substrate by the liquid crystal dropping unit. The liquid crystal dropping method of claim 4, wherein the first encoder or the first motor for moving the substrate and the first encoder or the first to measure the position value and speed of the first motor are included a linearly scaled first motor unit to move the substrate; a second encoder comprising a second motor for moving the liquid crystal drip unit and a position value and speed for measuring the second motor or a second linearly scaled second motor unit to move the liquid crystal drip unit; and output from the first encoder or first linear scale and the second encoder or second linear scale The position value is used to calculate a current moving position of the substrate and the liquid crystal dropping unit. The liquid crystal dropping method of claim 4, wherein the substrate is moved in a first direction, and the liquid crystal dropping unit is moved in a second direction opposite to the first direction. The liquid crystal dropping method of claim 4, wherein when the length of the substrate in the moving direction of the substrate is established as a liquid crystal dropping usable portion, the liquid crystal dropping is available in the portion There are multiple drop points. The liquid crystal dropping method of claim 7, wherein the liquid crystal dropping available portion is equally divided into a plurality of sub-portions, and the points at the boundary of the equally divided sub-portions are reversed The moving direction of the substrate is moved forward by up to the moving speed of the substrate and the liquid crystal dropping unit before the liquid crystal discharged from the liquid crystal dropping unit reaches the surface of the substrate The time taken is multiplied to calculate the sum of the distance values to set the drop point. The liquid crystal dropping method of claim 4, further comprising: determining whether the current moving position of the liquid crystal dropping unit relative to the substrate is inconsistent with the set dropping point, or Whether the current moving position of the substrate and the liquid crystal dropping unit is outside the set liquid crystal dropping available portion after the liquid crystal is dropped on the substrate; and based on the result of the judgment Determining, in the case where the current moving position of the substrate and the liquid crystal dropping unit is not outside the set liquid crystal dropping available portion, determining the current moving position of the liquid crystal dropping unit relative to the substrate Whether it is consistent with the set drop point.