IPC분류정보
국가/구분 |
United States(US) Patent
등록
|
국제특허분류(IPC7판) |
|
출원번호 |
US-0988834
(2004-11-16)
|
등록번호 |
US-7316248
(2008-01-08)
|
우선권정보 |
KR-10-2003-0081166(2003-11-17); KR-10-2003-0085739(2003-11-28) |
발명자
/ 주소 |
- Jeong,Jae Gyu
- Kim,Sang Hyun
- Kwak,Soo Min
- Kwak,Yong Keun
|
출원인 / 주소 |
|
대리인 / 주소 |
McKenna Long & Aldridge LLP
|
인용정보 |
피인용 횟수 :
5 인용 특허 :
40 |
초록
▼
A liquid crystal dispensing apparatus includes a container containing liquid crystal material; a discharge pump drawing in and discharging the liquid crystal material; a nozzle dispensing, onto a substrate, liquid crystal material discharged by the discharge pump; and a detector arranged near the no
A liquid crystal dispensing apparatus includes a container containing liquid crystal material; a discharge pump drawing in and discharging the liquid crystal material; a nozzle dispensing, onto a substrate, liquid crystal material discharged by the discharge pump; and a detector arranged near the nozzle to detect the presence of residual liquid crystal material accumulated on the surface of the nozzle. When the presence of residual liquid crystal material is detected, a dummy dispensing operation and/or a cleaning operation may be performed to remove the residual liquid crystal material.
대표청구항
▼
What is claimed is: 1. A liquid crystal dispensing apparatus, comprising: a container that contains liquid crystal material; a discharge pump that draws in the liquid crystal material from the container and discharges the drawn liquid crystal material; a nozzle that dispenses the discharged liquid
What is claimed is: 1. A liquid crystal dispensing apparatus, comprising: a container that contains liquid crystal material; a discharge pump that draws in the liquid crystal material from the container and discharges the drawn liquid crystal material; a nozzle that dispenses the discharged liquid crystal material; and a detecting means that detects the presence of liquid crystal material accumulated on the surface of the nozzle. 2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the nozzle dispenses the discharged liquid crystal material onto a substrate. 3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the detecting means is operably proximate to the nozzle. 4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the discharge pump includes: a cylinder having a suction opening and a discharge opening; and a piston that draws in the liquid crystal material through the suction opening and discharges the liquid crystal material through the discharge opening. 5. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein: the piston is arranged within the cylinder; and a groove is arranged at a center region of a lower portion of the piston. 6. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein the piston is rotatable and axially translatable within the cylinder. 7. The apparatus of claim 4, further including a fixing unit that controls an operation of the discharge pump. 8. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the fixing unit includes a rotating member coupled to the piston. 9. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein: the rotating member includes a hole; and the piston includes a bar inserted within the hole included within the rotating member. 10. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the bar is rotatably inserted within the hole. 11. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a liquid crystal capacity amount controlling member coupled to the discharge pump that controls the amount of liquid crystal material discharged by the discharge pump. 12. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the liquid crystal capacity amount controlling member controls a fixation angle of the piston. 13. The apparatus of claim 11, further comprising: a motor that drives the liquid crystal capacity amount controlling member; and a rotational shaft rotatably coupled to the motor and moveably coupled to the liquid crystal capacity amount controlling member. 14. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the detecting means includes a photo-coupler. 15. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a filter that filters liquid crystal before it is dispensed from the nozzle. 16. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the filter filters liquid crystal after it is discharged from the discharge pump. 17. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein the filter is provided at a front end of the nozzle. 18. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein the filter is provided at a discharge opening of the discharge pump. 19. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the filter filters liquid crystal before it is drawn into the discharge pump. 20. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising: a motor driving unit that drives a motor to operate the discharge pump; an alignment driving unit that drives at least one of a substrate and the nozzle to align the nozzle to predetermined a dispensing position on the substrate; a control unit coupled to the detecting means, wherein the control unit stops a normal dispensing operation of liquid crystal material on the substrate when the detecting means detects the presence of liquid crystal material accumulated on the surface of the nozzle; and a dummy dispensing operating unit coupled to the control unit, wherein the dummy dispensing unit dispenses liquid crystal material at a dummy location after the normal dispensing operation is stopped. 21. The apparatus of claim 20, wherein the dummy location includes a region of the substrate where a liquid crystal display panel is to be not formed. 22. The apparatus of claim 20, wherein the dummy location includes a measuring cup that measures the amount of liquid crystal material dispensed. 23. The apparatus of claim 1, further including a cleaner that removes liquid crystal material accumulated on the surface of the nozzle. 24. The apparatus of claim 23, wherein the cleaner includes: a body; a suction pipe arranged within the body; and a vacuum pump in fluid communication with the suction pipe, wherein the suction pipe transmits a suction force generated by the vacuum pump to remove liquid crystal material accumulated on the surface of the nozzle. 25. The apparatus of claim 24, wherein the cleaner further includes a tank connected to the suction pipe that receives the removed liquid crystal material. 26. The apparatus of claim 23, further comprising: a motor driving unit that drives a motor to operate the discharge pump; an alignment driving unit that drives at least one of a substrate and the nozzle to align the nozzle to predetermined a dispensing position on the substrate; a control unit coupled to the detecting means, wherein the control unit stops a dispensing operation of liquid crystal material on the substrate when the detecting means detects the presence of liquid crystal material accumulated on the surface of the nozzle; and a cleaner driving unit coupled to the control unit, wherein the cleaner driving unit drives the cleaner after the normal dispensing operation is stopped. 27. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the nozzle includes fluorine resin. 28. The apparatus of claim 19, wherein the filter is integrally formed with the nozzle. 29. A method of dispensing liquid crystal material, comprising: determining whether liquid crystal material is accumulated on the surface of a nozzle of a liquid crystal dispensing apparatus when liquid crystal material is dispensed onto a substrate during a normal dispensing operation; stopping the normal dispensing operation when it is determined that liquid crystal material has accumulated on the surface of the nozzle; removing the accumulated liquid crystal material from the surface of the nozzle; and after removing the accumulated liquid crystal material from the surface of the nozzle, resuming the normal dispensing operation. 30. The method of claim 29, wherein the normal dispensing operation includes: drawing liquid crystal material from a container into a discharge pump; discharging the drawn liquid crystal material from the discharge pump to the nozzle; and dispensing the discharged liquid crystal material onto the substrate through the nozzle. 31. The method of claim 29, wherein removing the accumulated liquid crystal material includes performing a dummy dispensing operation. 32. The method of claim 31, wherein the dummy dispensing operation includes: aligning the nozzle to a location of the substrate where a liquid crystal display panel is not to be formed; and dispensing liquid crystal material. 33. The method of claim 31, wherein the dummy dispensing operation includes: aligning the nozzle with a measuring cup; and dispensing liquid crystal material into the measuring cup, wherein the measuring cup measures the amount of liquid crystal material dispensed. 34. The method of claim 31, wherein the dummy dispensing operation includes: aligning the nozzle with a dummy container; and dispensing liquid crystal material into the dummy container. 35. The method of claim 29, wherein removing the accumulated liquid crystal material includes cleaning the nozzle with a cleaner. 36. The method of claim 35, wherein the cleaning includes: at least partially enclosing the accumulated liquid crystal material within a predetermined space; transmitting a predetermined suction force to the predetermined space; and removing the accumulated liquid crystal material from the surface of the nozzle. 37. The method of claim 31, further including cleaning the nozzle with a cleaner. 38. The method of claim 37, wherein the cleaning includes: at least partially enclosing the accumulated liquid crystal material within a predetermined space; transmitting a predetermined suction force to the predetermined space; and removing the accumulated liquid crystal material from the surface of the nozzle. 39. A liquid crystal dispensing apparatus, comprising: a container for containing liquid crystal material; a discharge pump for drawing in the liquid crystal material from the container and for discharging the drawn liquid crystal material; a nozzle for dispensing, onto a substrate, liquid crystal material discharged by the discharge pump; and a filter for filtering the liquid crystal material before it is dispensed. 40. The apparatus of claim 39, wherein the discharge pump includes: a cylinder having a suction opening and a discharge opening; and a piston for drawing in and discharging the liquid crystal material. 41. The apparatus of claim 39, further comprising a liquid crystal capacity amount controlling member contacting the discharge pump for controlling the amount of liquid crystal material discharged by the discharge pump. 42. The apparatus of claim 39, further comprising: a first connecting tube for connecting the container and the discharge pump; and a hollow pin at the end of the first connecting tube, the hollow pin selectively placing the first connecting tube and the container in fluid communication. 43. The apparatus of claim 39, wherein the filter is provided at a front end of the nozzle. 44. The apparatus of claim 39, wherein the filter is provided at a discharge opening of the discharge pump. 45. The apparatus of claim 39, wherein the filter is provided between the container and the discharge pump. 46. A method of dispensing liquid crystal material on a substrate, comprising: arranging the substrate operably proximate to a liquid crystal dispensing apparatus; aligning the substrate and a nozzle of the liquid crystal dispensing apparatus; dispensing liquid crystal material through the nozzle of the liquid crystal dispensing apparatus onto the substrate; and removing liquid crystal material accumulated on the surface of the nozzle. 47. The method of claim 46, further including arranging the substrate outside the operable proximity of the liquid crystal dispensing apparatus. 48. The method of claim 46, wherein removing accumulated liquid crystal material includes cleaning the surface of the nozzle. 49. The method of claim 48, wherein the cleaning includes: at least partially enclosing the accumulated liquid crystal material within a predetermined space; transmitting a predetermined suction force to the predetermined space; and removing the accumulated liquid crystal material from the surface of the nozzle. 50. The method of claim 46, wherein removing accumulated liquid crystal material includes performing a dummy dispensing operation. 51. The method of claim 50, wherein performing the dummy dispensing operation includes: aligning the nozzle to a location of the substrate where a liquid crystal display panel is not to be formed; and dispensing liquid crystal material. 52. The method of claim 50, wherein performing the dummy dispensing operation includes: aligning the nozzle with a measuring cup; and dispensing liquid crystal material into the measuring cup, wherein the measuring cup measures the amount of liquid crystal material dispensed. 53. The method of claim 50, wherein performing the dummy dispensing operation includes: aligning the nozzle with a dummy container; and dispensing liquid crystal material into the dummy container. 54. The method of claim 48, further including performing a dummy dispensing operation. 55. The method of claim 46, wherein the removing is performed before arranging the substrate operably proximate to the liquid crystal dispensing apparatus. 56. The method of claim 46, wherein the removing is performed after arranging the substrate operably proximate to the liquid crystal dispensing apparatus. 57. The method of claim 46, further comprising replacing the nozzle after a predetermined amount of liquid crystal material is dispensed. 58. The method of claim 46, wherein aligning the substrate and the nozzle includes moving the substrate with respect to the nozzle. 59. The method of claim 58, wherein the moving includes moving the substrate toward the nozzle. 60. The method of claim 46, wherein aligning the substrate and the nozzle includes moving the nozzle with respect to the substrate. 61. The method of claim 60, wherein the moving includes moving the nozzle toward the substrate. 62. The method of claim 46, further including filtering the liquid crystal material before it is dispensed onto the substrate. 63. The method of claim 62, further including filtering the liquid crystal material as it enters the nozzle. 64. The method of claim 62, further including filtering the liquid crystal material before it enters the nozzle. 65. A method of dispensing liquid crystal material on a substrate using a liquid crystal dispensing device having a nozzle, the method comprising: removing liquid crystal material accumulated on the surface of the nozzle; arranging a first substrate operably proximate to the liquid crystal dispensing apparatus; aligning the substrate and the nozzle; dispensing liquid crystal material onto the first substrate via the nozzle; removing the first substrate from operable proximity of the liquid crystal dispensing apparatus; and arranging a second substrate operably proximate to the liquid crystal dispensing apparatus. 66. The method of claim 65, wherein removing liquid crystal material accumulated on the surface of the nozzle includes cleaning the nozzle. 67. The method of claim 66, further including cleaning the nozzle before arranging the second substrate operably proximate to the liquid crystal dispensing apparatus. 68. The method of claim 65, removing liquid crystal material accumulated on the surface of the nozzle includes performing a dummy dispensing operation. 69. The method of claim 68, the dummy dispensing operation includes: aligning the nozzle to a location of the substrate where a liquid crystal display panel is not to be formed; and dispensing liquid crystal material. 70. The method of claim 68, the dummy dispensing operation includes: aligning the nozzle with a measuring cup; and dispensing liquid crystal material into the measuring cup, wherein the measuring cup measures the amount of liquid crystal material dispensed. 71. The method of claim 68, the dummy dispensing operation includes: aligning the nozzle with a dummy container; and dispensing liquid crystal material into the dummy container. 72. The method of claim 65, further including replacing the nozzle after a predetermined amount of liquid crystal material is dispensed. 73. The method of claim 65, wherein aligning the substrate and the nozzle includes moving the substrate with respect to the nozzle. 74. The method of claim 73, wherein the moving includes moving the substrate toward the nozzle. 75. The method of claim 65, wherein aligning the substrate and the nozzle includes moving the nozzle with respect to the substrate. 76. The method of claim 75, wherein the moving includes moving the nozzle toward the substrate.
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