KR101083432B1 - Appratus for forming pattern for light guide plate using co2 laser - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a light guide plate pattern forming apparatus using a CO ₂ laser, comprising: a laser light source unit generating and outputting CO ₂ laser light; A scanner unit disposed at an output side of the laser light source unit to receive the CO ₂ laser light emitted from the laser light source unit and to adjust a refractive angle of the incident CO ₂ laser light to change a horizontal or vertical displacement to scan in a predetermined direction; Optical unit disposed at the output sides of the scanner portion, to be incident a CO ₂ laser light emitted by the scanner unit in a direction perpendicular to the light guide plate disposed on the stage, changing the CO ₂ laser beam paths; A gantry unit mounted on the stage, on which the laser head unit comprising the scanner unit and the optical unit is mounted, to move the laser head unit in a first axis and a second axis direction; A pattern data processor configured to previously store pattern information to be formed on the light guide plate and convert the pattern information into a specific format; And a light guide plate pattern forming apparatus using a CO ₂ laser for a control unit for controlling the laser light source, wherein the scanner unit and operation of the gantry part is provided.

Description

Light guide plate pattern forming apparatus using CO2 laser {APPRATUS FOR FORMING PATTERN FOR LIGHT GUIDE PLATE USING CO2 LASER}

The present invention relates to a light guide plate pattern forming apparatus using a CO ₂ laser, and more particularly to a light guide plate pattern forming apparatus using a CO ₂ laser for processing the pattern of a large area light guide plate more quickly using a scanner portion, and high quality processing. It is about.

 In general, the liquid crystal display (LCD) is expanding its application range due to features such as lightweight, thin, low-power drive, full-color, high-resolution implementation. Such a liquid crystal display device adjusts the amount of light transmitted according to an image signal applied to a plurality of control switches arranged in a matrix to display a desired image on a panel of the liquid crystal display device. Since the liquid crystal display does not emit light by itself, a light source such as a backlight unit is required.

The backlight unit includes a light source, a reflecting plate, a light guide plate, a diffusion plate, a prism sheet, a protective sheet, and the like, and a liquid crystal panel is provided on the top of the backlight unit. Visible light emitted from the light source proceeds to the incident surface of the light guide plate. Various patterns such as fine dot patterns are formed on the lower surface of the light guide plate to convert the traveling direction of the visible light to the upper direction, that is, the liquid crystal panel. At the same time, the light is guided towards the upper surface with the reflector.

 As a method of forming a pattern on the light guide plate, there are a method of forming a mechanical V-notch using diamond, a printing method, and a method of forming a pattern using a laser. Mechanical cutting method by diamond has a problem that the speed is relatively slow, the productivity is low, the light is not uniformly scattered due to the roughness of the processing surface, and the reproducibility of reproducing the intended pattern form as it is. In addition, the printing method has a problem in that when the corrosion solution is used after performing exposure and development by a mask pattern, the corrosion solution penetrates between the mask and the light guide plate to form a fine pattern, and the problem of inferior reproducibility when the light guide plate is a thin plate. have. Therefore, in recent years, the method of forming the pattern of a light guide plate using a laser device is increasing.

However, the conventional laser device has a problem in that the processing speed is significantly reduced because light emitted from the laser unit is irradiated to one line when the light guide plate pattern is applied to the backlight unit.

In addition, when the scanner is used, the processing speed is increased, but the center area is irradiated perpendicularly to the light guide plate within the field size of the scanner. There was a problem that the quality of the light guide plate is not uniform because it is not uniform.

The present invention is to overcome the above-mentioned conventional problems, the problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide a light guide plate pattern forming apparatus using a CO ₂ laser that can improve the pattern formation speed of the light guide plate, and also increase the reliability of the product. It is to.

According to an aspect of the invention, the laser light source unit for generating and outputting CO ₂ laser light; A scanner unit disposed at an output side of the laser light source unit to receive the CO ₂ laser light emitted from the laser light source unit and to adjust a refractive angle of the incident CO ₂ laser light to change a horizontal or vertical displacement to scan in a predetermined direction; Optical unit disposed at the output sides of the scanner portion, to be incident a CO ₂ laser light emitted by the scanner unit in a direction perpendicular to the light guide plate disposed on the stage, changing the CO ₂ laser beam paths; A gantry unit mounted on the stage, on which the laser head unit comprising the scanner unit and the optical unit is mounted, to move the laser head unit in a first axis and a second axis direction; A pattern data processor configured to previously store pattern information to be formed on the light guide plate and convert the pattern information into a specific format; And a light guide plate pattern forming apparatus using a CO ₂ laser for a control unit for controlling the laser light source, wherein the scanner unit and operation of the gantry part is provided.

The light guide plate pattern forming apparatus using the CO ₂ laser further includes a position measuring unit for detecting a position on the stage of the laser head unit and transmitting the detected position information to the control unit, wherein the control unit receives the pattern data processing unit from the pattern data processing unit. The pattern may be formed on the light guide plate by controlling the output of the laser light source unit and the operation of the scanner unit and the gantry unit according to the pattern information and the position information of the laser head unit received from the position measuring unit.

The scanner unit includes a galvano scanner, wherein the galvano scanner comprises: a galvano mirror rotatably installed to reflect the CO ₂ laser light; And a galvano mirror driving unit which rotates while supporting the galvano mirror.

The optical unit may include: an imaging lens disposed at an output side of the scanner unit to adjust a focus of CO ₂ laser light emitted through the scanner unit to be focused on the light guide plate; And a telecentric lens unit disposed at a rear end of the imaging lens and focusing the CO ₂ laser light transmitted through the imaging lens to be incident on the light guide plate in a vertical direction.

The telecentric lens unit may include a first lens disposed at a rear end of the imaging lens and having a negative refractive power for emitting incident CO ₂ laser light; A second lens disposed at a rear end of the first lens, the second lens having a positive refractive power and primarily focusing the light emitted by the first lens, wherein at least one surface is an aspherical surface; And a third lens disposed at a rear end of the second lens and having a positive refractive power and focusing the light focused by the second lens again so that the CO ₂ laser light is focused on the light guide plate in a vertical direction. It includes.

The gantry portion includes a pair of first guides spaced apart from each other; A pair of sliders respectively coupled to the pair of first guides and moving along the first guides; A second guide coupled to the pair of sliders to move with the slider; A head coupled to the second guide and moving along the second guide.

The light guide plate is divided into a plurality of scanner part field areas, and movement in the first axis direction within each scanner part field area is moved while scanning the CO ₂ laser light in the first axis direction by using the scanner part. In addition, the movement in the second axis direction and the movement to the next scanner field area may be performed by moving the laser head unit using the gantry.

It is disposed on the output side of the laser light source unit, and further comprises a light splitting unit for dividing and reflecting the CO ₂ laser light incident from the laser light source unit to at least two or more light, at least two scanner unit is provided, the optical The unit is characterized in that it is installed corresponding to the number of the scanner unit.

According to the present invention, it is possible to increase the pattern formation speed of the light guide plate and increase the reliability of the product. As a result, the manufacturing cost of the light guide plate can be lowered, and the cost of the liquid crystal display device including the light guide plate can be lowered.

1 and 2 are schematic functional block diagrams and configuration diagrams of a light guide plate pattern forming apparatus using a CO ₂ laser according to a first embodiment of the present invention.
3 is a perspective view schematically illustrating a gantry part of the configuration illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2, and FIG. 4 is a schematic configuration diagram of the telecentric lens unit illustrated in FIG. 2.
FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a process of forming a pattern on a light guide plate using a light guide plate pattern forming apparatus using a CO ₂ laser according to a first embodiment of the present invention.
6 is a schematic functional block diagram of a light guide plate pattern forming apparatus using a CO ₂ laser according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

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

1 and 2 are schematic functional block diagrams and configuration diagrams of a light guide plate pattern forming apparatus using a CO ₂ laser according to a first embodiment of the present invention. 3 is a perspective view schematically illustrating a gantry part of the configuration illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2, and FIG. 4 is a schematic configuration diagram of the telecentric lens unit illustrated in FIG. 2.

1 and 2, the light guide plate pattern forming apparatus using the CO ₂ laser according to the present embodiment includes a laser light source unit 100, a scanner unit 200, an optical unit 300, a gantry unit 500, and a position measurement. The unit 550 includes a pattern data processor 600, a stage 700, and a controller 800.

The scanner unit 200 is disposed on the output side of the laser light source unit 100, and the laser light source output from the laser light source unit 100 is incident to the scanner unit 200. The optical unit 300 is disposed at the output side of the scanner unit 200 and directs the laser light path so that the laser light source emitted through the scanner unit 200 is perpendicular to the light guide plate 10 disposed on the stage 700. Change it. The laser head unit 400 including the scanner unit 200 and the optical unit 300 is disposed above the stage 700 on which the light guide plate 10 is disposed, and the laser head unit 400 includes a first axis and a first axis. It is mounted on the gantry 500 installed on the upper part of the stage 700 so as to be movable in two axes, that is, in the x and y axes. The position measuring unit 550 detects a position on the stage 700 of the laser head unit 400 mounted to the gantry 500. The pattern data processing unit 600 stores pattern information to be formed in the light guide plate 10 in advance, converts the pattern information into a specific format, and transmits the pattern information to the control unit 800. The operation of the laser light source unit 100 and the scanner unit 200 is controlled according to the position information of the laser head unit 400 received from the position measuring unit 550.

Hereinafter, the structure and function of each component will be described in detail.

In the present embodiment, the laser light source unit 100 uses a light source that generates and outputs CO ₂ laser light as a light source that generates and outputs laser light. Although not shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the light guide unit (not shown) guides the CO ₂ laser light output from the laser light source to the scanner unit 200. A portion (not shown) may be used. As the light guide unit, a lens, a reflecting mirror, or the like may be used, and in some cases, an optical fiber may be used.

The scanner unit 200 includes a galvano scanner 210, and the galvano scanner 210 receives the CO ₂ laser light emitted from the laser light source unit 100, and adjusts the refractive angle of the incident CO ₂ laser light to level the horizontal. Alternatively, the vertical displacement is changed to scan the light guide plate 10 through the optical unit 300 in a predetermined direction, that is, in the x-axis or y-axis direction. The galvano scanner 210 includes a galvano mirror 211 and a galvano mirror driver 212. The galvano mirror 211 is rotatably installed to reflect the incident CO ₂ laser light, and the galvano mirror driver 212 rotates while supporting the galvano mirror 211.

The optical unit 300 includes an imaging lens 310 and a telecentric lens unit 320.

The imaging lens 310 is disposed on the output side of the scanner unit 200 to adjust the focus of the CO ₂ laser light emitted through the scanner unit 200 to be placed on the light guide plate 10 disposed on the stage 700. .

The telecentric lens unit 320 is disposed at the rear end of the imaging lens 310 and focuses the CO ₂ laser light transmitted through the imaging lens 310 to be incident on the light guide plate 10 in the vertical direction. The scanner part field area, which is a scanning area of the CO ₂ laser light scanned through the scanner part 200 to the light guide plate 10, is limited. In the center portion of the scanner part field area, the CO ₂ laser light is generally applied to the light guide plate 10. In the case of a region adjacent to the edge of the scanner field field region, the CO ₂ laser light is incident on the light guide plate 10 at an angle to the light guide plate 10 to form a pattern. The telecentric lens unit 320 of the optical unit 300 prevents the CO ₂ laser light from being incident to the light guide plate 10 at a predetermined angle so that the light guide plate pattern formed in the scanner unit field region is reduced. Ensure uniformity. The detailed configuration of the telecentric lens unit 320 will be described in more detail with reference to FIG. 3 below.

The gantry 500 is disposed above the stage 700 on which the light guide plate 10 is disposed, so that the unit mounted on the gantry 500 may be mounted in the first and second axial directions in the upper portion of the stage 700. Move in the x- and y-axis directions. The laser head unit 400 including the scanner unit 200 and the optical unit 300 according to the present exemplary embodiment is mounted on the gantry 500 and moved in the x-axis and y-axis directions from the top of the stage 700.

Referring to FIG. 4, the gantry 500 is coupled to the pair of first guides 510 and the pair of first guides 510 that are spaced apart from each other in parallel to each other along the first guide 510. A second guide 530 coupled to the pair of sliders 520 to move, a pair of sliders 520 to move together with the slider 520, and a second guide coupled to the second guide 530 Head 540 moving along 530. The laser head unit 400 is mounted to the head 540, and the laser head unit 400 also moves according to the movement of the head 540.

The position measuring unit 550 is mounted on the head 540 of the gantry 500 to detect a position on the stage 700 of the laser head unit 400, and transmits the detected position information to the controller 800. The pattern data processing unit 600 of the laser head unit 400 stores the pattern information to be formed in the light guide plate 10 in advance, converts the pattern information into a specific format, and transmits the pattern information to the control unit 800. In accordance with the pattern information received from the position information of the laser head unit 400 received from the position measuring unit 550 to control the operation of the laser light source unit 100 and the scanner unit 200.

Referring to FIG. 3, the telecentric lens unit 320 includes a first lens 321, a second lens 322, and a third lens 323. The first lens 321 is a lens having negative refractive power for emitting light incident from the laser light source side, and the second lens 322 is a lens having positive refractive power, and is emitted by the first lens 321. An aspherical lens that focuses light primarily and has at least one surface aspheric surface. In addition, the third lens 323 is a lens having positive refractive power, and focuses the light focused by the second lens 322 again so that the third lens 323 travels parallel to the optical axis of the laser light, that is, perpendicular to the light guide plate. .

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a process of forming a pattern on a light guide plate using a light guide plate pattern forming apparatus using a CO ₂ laser according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 5, the laser head unit 400 mounted on the gantry 500 moves in the x-axis and y-axis directions on the light guide plate 10 placed on a stage (not shown). The CO ₂ laser output from the laser light source unit 100 is irradiated to the light guide plate 10 according to the pattern information transmitted from 600 to form a pattern having a predetermined shape and depth. The light guide plate 10 is divided into a plurality of scanner part field areas A ₁ , A ₂ ,..., A _n , which are scanning areas of the CO ₂ laser light of the scanner part 200. Movement in the x-axis direction within each scanner unit field area is moved while scanning the CO ₂ laser in the x-axis using the scanner unit 200, and movement in the y-axis direction is lasered using the gantry unit 500. This is done by moving the head unit 400. Then, when moving to the next scanner field region, the gantry 500 is used to move the laser head unit 400 in the x-axis direction.

The position measuring unit 550 is mounted on the gantry 500 to detect a position on the stage of the laser head unit 400 and transmits the detected position information to the control unit 800. The pattern data processor (not shown) of the laser head unit 400 stores pattern information to be formed in the light guide plate 10 in advance, converts the pattern information into a specific format, and transmits the pattern information to the controller. The pattern to be formed on the light guide plate 10 is not uniformly formed as a whole, but as the distance from the light source increases, densely spaces between the patterns, increases the size of the pattern, or deepens the pattern, thereby providing light toward the liquid crystal panel. Can be reflected uniformly.

The controller 800 adjusts the output of the laser light source unit 100 according to the pattern information received from the pattern data processing unit 600 and the position information of the laser head unit 400 received from the position measuring unit 550, and the gantry unit. The movement of 500 is instructed.

That is, the controller determines the completion point of the light guide plate pattern formation in the area A _{1 based on} the position information of the laser head unit 400. When the formation of the light guide plate pattern in the area A ₁ is completed, the controller moves the laser head unit 400 in the x-axis direction using the gantry part 500 to the area A ₂ and at the same time the pattern corresponding to the area A _2. Information is received from the pattern data processing unit 600 to control the output of the laser light source unit 100 and the operation of the scanner unit 200 to form a pattern on the light guide plate accordingly.

6 is a schematic functional block diagram of a light guide plate pattern forming apparatus using a CO ₂ laser according to a second embodiment of the present invention. The second embodiment shown in FIG. 6 differs from the first embodiment in that it provides a device capable of forming a light guide plate pattern in a plurality of areas by using a plurality of scanner units, and the rest of the configuration is similar, and thus different configurations will be described below. The details will be mainly described.

The light guide plate pattern forming apparatus using the CO ₂ laser according to the second embodiment of the present invention includes a laser light source unit 100, a light splitter 150, a first scanner unit 230, a second scanner unit 240, and a first scanner unit. The optical unit 350, the second optical unit 300, the gantry unit 500, the position measuring unit 550, the pattern data processing unit 600, the stage 700, and the controller 800 are included.

The light splitter 150 is disposed on the output side of the laser light source 100 and splits and reflects the laser light incident from the laser light source 100 into a number corresponding to the number of the scanner parts. In the present embodiment, the scanner unit 200 is composed of two first scanner unit 230 and the second scanner unit 240, but this is for the purpose of description is not limited to this.

The CO ₂ laser light split through the light splitter 150 is incident to the first scanner 230 and the second scanner 240, respectively. Each scanner unit is made of a galvano scanner, and the galvano scanner receives CO ₂ laser light, and adjusts the angle of refraction of the incident CO ₂ laser light to change horizontal or vertical displacement, thereby providing a light guide plate 10 through the optical unit 300. ) Is scanned in a predetermined direction, i.e., in the x-axis or y-axis direction.

The optical unit 300 includes a first optical unit 350 and a second optical unit 360, and is disposed on the output side of the scanner unit 200, and emits CO ₂ laser light emitted through each scanner unit. The path of the CO ₂ laser light is changed to be incident perpendicularly to the light guide plate 10 disposed on the light guide plate 10.

When the light guide plate pattern forming apparatus using the CO ₂ laser according to the present embodiment is used through the above configuration, since the pattern formation can be simultaneously performed on various regions of the light guide plate, the pattern formation time can be shortened.

What has been described above is only an exemplary embodiment of a light guide plate pattern forming apparatus using a CO ₂ laser according to the present invention, and the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, as claimed in the following claims, Without departing from the gist of the invention, anyone of ordinary skill in the art to which the present invention will have the technical spirit of the present invention to the extent that various modifications can be made.

100: laser light source
200: scanner unit
300: optical unit
400: laser head unit
500: gantry part
600: pattern data processing unit
700 stage
800: control unit

Claims (8)

A laser light source unit generating and outputting CO ₂ laser light;
A scanner unit disposed at an output side of the laser light source unit to receive the CO ₂ laser light emitted from the laser light source unit and to adjust a refractive angle of the incident CO ₂ laser light to change a horizontal or vertical displacement to scan in a predetermined direction;
Optical unit disposed at the output sides of the scanner portion, to be incident a CO ₂ laser light emitted by the scanner unit in a direction perpendicular to the light guide plate disposed on the stage, changing the CO ₂ laser beam paths;
A gantry unit mounted on the stage, on which the laser head unit comprising the scanner unit and the optical unit is mounted, to move the laser head unit in a first axis and a second axis direction;
A pattern data processor configured to previously store pattern information to be formed on the light guide plate and convert the pattern information into a specific format; And
It includes a control unit for controlling the operation of the laser light source unit, the scanner unit and the gantry unit,
The light guide plate is divided into a plurality of scanner part field areas, and movement in the first axis direction within each scanner part field area is moved while scanning the CO ₂ laser light in the first axis direction by using the scanner part. and, movement and movement in the scanner field area of the two-axis direction is a light guide plate pattern forming apparatus using a CO ₂ laser, characterized in that is carried out by moving the laser head unit using parts of the gantry.
The method of claim 1,
A position measuring unit for detecting the position on the stage of the laser head unit, and transmits the detected position information to the control unit,
The control unit controls the output of the laser light source unit and the operation of the scanner unit and the gantry unit in accordance with the pattern information received from the pattern data processing unit and the position information of the laser head unit received from the position measuring unit. A light guide plate pattern forming apparatus using a CO ₂ laser, characterized in that to form a pattern.
The method of claim 1,
The scanner unit includes a galvano scanner,
The galvano scanner is a galvano mirror rotatably installed to reflect the CO ₂ laser light; And
A light guide plate pattern forming apparatus using a CO ₂ laser, characterized in that it comprises a galvanometer mirror driving unit for rotating and supporting the galvanometer mirror.
The method of claim 1,
The optical unit,
An imaging lens disposed at an output side of the scanner to adjust the focus of the CO ₂ laser light emitted through the scanner to be focused on the light guide plate; And
A light guide plate pattern forming apparatus using a CO ₂ laser disposed at a rear end of the imaging lens and including a telecentric lens unit configured to focus the CO ₂ laser light transmitted through the imaging lens in a direction perpendicular to the light guide plate. .
The method of claim 4, wherein
The telecentric lens unit,
A first lens disposed at a rear end of the imaging lens and having a negative refractive power for emitting incident CO ₂ laser light;
A second lens disposed at a rear end of the first lens, the second lens having a positive refractive power and primarily focusing the light emitted by the first lens, wherein at least one surface is an aspherical surface; And
A third lens disposed at a rear end of the second lens and having a positive refractive power and focusing the light focused by the second lens again so that the CO ₂ laser light is focused in a direction perpendicular to the light guide plate; Light guide plate pattern forming apparatus using a CO ₂ laser comprising a.
The method of claim 1,
The gantry portion,
A pair of first guides spaced apart from each other;
A pair of sliders respectively coupled to the pair of first guides and moving along the first guides;
A second guide coupled to the pair of sliders to move with the slider;
The light guide plate pattern forming apparatus using the CO ₂ laser, characterized in that it comprises a head coupled to the second guide, the head moving along the second guide.
delete The method according to any one of claims 1 to 6,
It is disposed on the output side of the laser light source unit, and further comprises a light splitting unit for splitting and reflecting the CO ₂ laser light incident from the laser light source unit to at least two or more light,
At least two scanner units are provided, and the optical unit is a light guide plate pattern forming apparatus using a CO ₂ laser, characterized in that installed corresponding to the number of the scanner unit.

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