Adhesive bonding and miscellaneous chemical manufacture – Methods – Surface bonding and/or assembly therefor
Reexamination Certificate
2000-06-13
2004-04-20
Gray, Linda (Department: 1734)
Adhesive bonding and miscellaneous chemical manufacture
Methods
Surface bonding and/or assembly therefor
C427S146000, C427S096400, C430S259000, C156S238000, C156S253000, C156S254000, C156S256000, C156S257000, C156S268000, C156S270000, C156S271000, C156S345420
Reexamination Certificate
active
06723199
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a lamination method for laminating resin layers on a substrate, and more specifically concerns a lamination method which is preferably used for laminating a photosensitive resin layer that serves as a material for a color filter onto the substrate. The color filter is utilized particularly in the manufacture of a display panel of a liquid crystal display.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Conventionally, there has been known a method in which, upon manufacturing a display panel of a liquid crystal display, a flexible laminated film, referred to as a dry resist film, is thermally bonded (laminated) onto a substrate in order to provide a color filter on a substrate.
The dry resist film has a construction in which a photosensitive resin layer, referred to as a color resist layer, is provided on a belt-shaped support called a base film, and an intermediate layer, such as an oxygen-shielding layer, is normally interpolated between the base film and the color resist layer. The color resist layer, which is a material of a color filter, forms the color filter through exposing, developing and heating processes after the base film has been separated therefrom in the post treatment. In order to form color filters of respective colors, it is required that color resist layers of the respective colors be laminated onto the substrate; that is, for each of three colors of R (red), G (green) and B (blue), or for each of the four colors including black, processes are required in which a dry resist film is laminated onto the substrate, the base film is separated, and the color resist layer is subjected to exposing, developing and other processes so that a color filter having the corresponding color is formed.
In order to laminate the dry resist film onto the substrate, there has been known a method in which the lamination is carried out by using a device referred to as a continuous laminating device. As illustrated in
FIG. 19
, in the continuous laminating device, dry resist film
54
is thermally bonded continuously onto substrates
53
by a pair of thermal bonding rollers
51
and
52
, while the substrates
53
are being transported between the thermal bonding rollers
51
and
52
one after another with given intervals in the direction of arrow A. The dry resist film
54
is wound onto a film take-out core
55
in the shape of a roll, and upon being thermally bonded, is supplied, with the color resist layer of the dry resist film
54
facing down so as to adhere to the substrate
53
.
After the thermal bonding process, the dry resist film
54
is cut into pieces in the direction of arrow B between the respective substrates
53
. Therefore, each of the substrates
53
is sent to the next process with excessive portions of the dry resist film
54
extruding in the front and rear sides when seen in the substrate-feeding direction A.
In the above-mentioned continuous laminating device, however, if the substrates
53
, which are to be transported between the thermal bonding rollers
51
and
52
, should be exhausted and the supply thereof should be interrupted, the next process also has to be stopped, causing unnecessary time-consuming tasks to recover the operation; the resulting problems are loss of time and loss of production.
Moreover, in the above-mentioned continuous laminating device, it is necessary to eliminate the extruding excessive portions of the dry resist film
54
for each of the substrates
53
; however, it is difficult to eliminate these portions with precision, resulting in another problem.
Therefore, it has become a main trend to use a lamination method in which a device called an intermittent laminating device as illustrated in
FIG. 20
is used. In the intermittent laminating device, dry resist film
59
is thermally bonded intermittently onto substrates
58
by a pair of thermal bonding rollers
56
and
57
, while the substrates
58
are being transported between the thermal bonding rollers
56
and
57
one after another with given intervals in the direction of arrow C. In other words, when it is laminated onto the substrate
58
, the dry resist film
59
, which has been wound onto a film take-out core
60
in the shape of a roll, is cut in the direction of arrow D by a cutting means
61
so that each piece has a size shorter than length L of the substrate
58
in the feeding direction.
The following description will discuss the operation of the above-mentioned intermittent laminating device more specifically. First, as illustrated in FIG.
21
(
a
), preparatory processes, such as clamping the leading end
59
a
of the dry resist film
59
and a predetermined position in the vicinity of the leading end
58
a
of the substrate
58
by the thermal bonding rollers
56
and
57
, are carried out. Next, as illustrated in FIG.
21
(
b
), a laminating process is started from the vicinity of the leading end
58
a
of the substrate
58
while the substrate
58
is being transported in the direction of arrow C. Upon laminating, the dry resist film
59
is vacuum-supported by vacuum suction units
62
a
and
62
b
for the purposes of imparting a certain degree of tension, etc.
Next, as illustrated in FIG.
21
(
c
), in the course of laminating, the dry resist film
59
is cut by the cutting means
61
so as to have a size shorter than length L of the substrate
58
in the feeding direction. Even after having been cut, the dry resist film
59
is vacuum-supported by being sucked by the vacuum suction units
62
b
at the vicinity of the rear end
59
b
thereof so that it is free from slackness and wrinkles.
Thereafter, as illustrated in FIG.
21
(
d
) the vicinity of the rear end
59
b
of the dry resist film
59
is vacuum-supported by the vacuum suction unit
62
b
until it has reached the limitation immediately before the completion of lamination, and as illustrated in FIG.
21
(
e
), after having been released from the suction process, the rear end
59
b
is laminated onto the substrate
58
, thereby completing the lamination.
Moreover, concerning another prior-art lamination method, Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 338041/1993 (Tokukaihei 5-338041) discloses a method in which upon press-bonding a laminated film onto a sheet substrate, the laminated film is press-bonded in a manner so as to extrude greatly as compared with the length of the sheet substrate.
Here, in either case of the above-mentioned lamination methods, before and after the laminating process, or during the laminating process, the film-cutting process is required. In the cutting process as described above, a cutter, such as a rotary cutter, or a special blade having a triangular edge, such as disclosed in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 23689/1994 (Tokukaihei 6-23689), is used.
Moreover, after the dry resist film has been laminated onto the substrate, it is necessary to separate the base film located on the upper side as described earlier. Concerning such a separating method, for example, Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 157187/1995 (Tokukaihei 7-157187) discloses a method in which, as illustrated in
FIG. 22
, a protective film
64
, laminated onto a substrate
63
, is separated therefrom by using a separation needle
62
. In this method, from a state in which the separation needle
62
comes into contact with the surface of the protective film
64
, the separation needle
62
is lowered and pressed onto the protective film
64
as illustrated in FIG.
22
(
b
), and in this state, the substrate
63
is moved in the direction of arrow E as illustrated in FIG.
22
(
c
). Thus, the separation needle is allowed to stick in the protective film
64
. Further, the protective film
64
on the substrate
63
is gradually separated from its end portion by moving the substrate
63
in the direction of arrow E as illustrated in FIG.
22
(
d
).
Concerning another separating method, a method using an air knife
65
for separation as illustrated in
FIG. 23
has been known. As illustrated in FIG.
23
(
a
), in this method, an air knife
65
blows ai
Akitomo Masaharu
Koyama Tetsurou
Gray Linda
Nixon & Vanderhye P.C.
Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha
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