Patent Publication Number: US-2018029200-A1

Title: Supporting Suction Assembly, Supporting Device and its Operation Method

Description:
TECHNICAL FIELD 
     The present disclosure relates to a jig in a display field, and in particularly, to a supporting suction assembly, a supporting device including the supporting suction assembly and an operation method of the supporting device. 
     BACKGROUND 
     Curved surface glass panels are widely applied, can be applied in manufacturing a curved surface touch screen for example, and can also be applied in manufacturing a curved surface display apparatus, such as a curved surface television, a curved surface mobile phone, a curved surface tablet, and so on. Since the distances between a conventional flat display apparatus and eyeballs of a viewer are uneven, display effect at edges is not ideal, and vision fatigue is easily occurred. For a curved surface display apparatus, since a display screen and the eyeballs of the viewer are spaced equally, there is no loss in picture quality at edges, causing comfortably watching experience and excellent effect. 
     In the Chinese Patent Application No. 200810108919.7, a substrate suction device is disclosed, however, the substrate suction device is used to suction and hold a flat panel glass substrate. However, as the market share of curved surface display apparatus is gradually increased and the size thereof is gradually enlarged, the curved surface display apparatus has become a main trend of the development of display apparatus. Therefore, there is a need for a supporting device suitable for fixing a workpiece having a profiled or irregular shape, such as a curved surface substrate, or the like. 
     SUMMARY 
     A first aspect of the present disclosure provides a supporting suction assembly including: an extension part extendable along an up-and-down direction; a rotation part mounted on a top portion of the extension part, wherein the rotation part includes a rotation ball joint and a suction cup fixedly mounted on the rotation ball joint, the rotation ball joint is provided with a first venting hole communicating with outside, and the suction cup can be rotated along with the rotation ball joint; and an extraction passage provided in the extension part and communicated with the first venting hole. 
     A second aspect of the present disclosure provides a supporting device including: a carrying stage; and a plurality of the above described supporting suction assemblies, the plurality of supporting suction assemblies being provided on the carrying stage in an array manner; a height of each of the supporting suction assemblies is adjustable and a supporting face is constructed by the suction faces of the plurality of suction cups as a whole. 
     A third aspect of the present disclosure provides an operation method for the above described supporting device, including: adjusting heights of the plurality of supporting suction assemblies so that the supporting face is in contact with a surface of a workpiece; and enabling the plurality of supporting suction assemblies to perform vacuum adhesion to adhere and hold the surface of the workpiece by the suction cups. 
    
    
     
       DESCRIPTION OF THE ATTACHED DRAWINGS 
       In order to more clearly describe the technical solution of the embodiments of the present disclosure, the attached drawings for the embodiments will be briefly described, it is obvious that the attached drawings in the following description only illustrate some embodiments of the present disclosure, but not are intended to limit the present disclosure. 
         FIG. 1  is a side view schematically showing a supporting device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure; 
         FIG. 2  is a top view schematically showing a plurality of supporting suction assemblies according to an embodiment of the present disclosure; 
         FIG. 3  is a sectional view schematically showing a supporting suction assembly according to an embodiment of the present disclosure; 
         FIG. 4( a ) and ( b )  are sectional views schematically showing two kinds of suction cups according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, respectively; 
         FIG. 5  is a sectional view schematically showing an extraction passage having flared shape according to an embodiment of the present disclosure; 
         FIG. 6  schematically shows an extraction path of the supporting device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure; and 
         FIG. 7  schematically shows a protection cover of the supporting device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     In order to make objects, technical details and advantages of the embodiments of the disclosure apparent, the technical solutions of the embodiments will be described in a clearly and fully understandable way in connection with the drawings related to the embodiments of the disclosure. Apparently, the described embodiments are just a part but not all of the embodiments of the disclosure. Based on the described embodiments herein, those skilled in the art can obtain other embodiment(s), without any inventive work, which should be within the scope of the disclosure. 
     Unless otherwise defined, all the technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meanings as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which the present disclosure belongs. The terms “first,” “second,” etc., which are used in the description and the claims of the present application for disclosure, are not intended to indicate any sequence, amount or importance, but distinguish various components. Also, the terms such as “a,” “an,” etc., are not intended to limit the amount, but indicate the existence of at least one. The terms “comprise,” “comprising,” “include,” “including,” etc., are intended to specify that the elements or the objects stated before these terms encompass the elements or the objects and equivalents thereof listed after these terms, but do not preclude the other elements or objects. The phrases “connect”, “connected”, etc., are not intended to define a physical connection or mechanical connection, but may include an electrical connection, directly or indirectly. “On,” “under,” “right,” “left” and the like are only used to indicate relative position relationship, and when the position of the object which is described is changed, the relative position relationship may be changed accordingly. 
     As shown in  FIG. 1  and  FIG. 2 , a supporting device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure includes a carrying stage  300  and a plurality of supporting suction assemblies  200  provided on the carrying stage  300  in an array manner; each of the supporting suction assemblies  200  has an adjustable height so that function of sucking and holding can be achieved according to the shape of the surface of a workpiece to be supported. As shown in FIG.  1 , tops of the plurality of supporting suction assemblies  200  form a supporting face as a whole. For example, the supporting face can be adjusted into a curved surface so as to achieve the supporting of a curved surface substrate  100 . Of course, the supporting face can also be a planar surface. 
     Hereinafter, the curved surface substrate will be described as an example of the workpiece to be supported, however, the above supporting device can be applied to suction any workpiece having a regular or irregular shaped surface, for example, the surface of the workpiece can be a planar surface or a non-planar surface, such as a curved surface, a sphere surface, or the like. 
       FIG. 3  schematically shows a partial enlarged view of the supporting suction assembly  200 . The supporting suction assembly  200  includes an extension part which is extendable in an up-and-down direction and a rotation part mounted on a top of the extension part; the rotation part includes a rotation ball joint  2  and a suction cup  1  fixedly mounted on the rotation ball joint  2 , the rotation ball  2  has a first venting hole  201  communicated with outside, and the suction cup  1  is rotated along with the rotation ball joint  2 . The supporting suction assembly  200  further includes an extraction passage  203  that is provided in the extension part and to be communicated with the first venting hole  201 , the extraction passage  203  has an end communicated with the first venting hole  201  and another end connected with an external air extraction device. In the embodiment of the present disclosure, the external air extraction device may employ a vacuum pump or the like. When air extraction is needed, the vacuum pump is started, and when inflating is needed, a valve on an extraction path can be communicated directly with outside, so that air can be introduced into pipes. Other inert gas can also be used as the gas source for inflating. 
     The suction cup  1  is made from a flexible material, such as engineering plastic, to avoid damaging to the workpiece, and has good abrasive resistance. The suction cup  1  has a curved suction face, and the above mentioned supporting face can be constructed by a plurality of the suction faces of the plurality of suction cups  1  for supporting and suctioning the surface of the cured surface substrate  100 . The suction cup  1  includes a second venting hole  202  communicated with the first venting hole  201  in the rotation ball joint  2 , and the second venting hole  202  has an opening provided at a suction face of the suction cup  1  and is communicated with outside. When the supporting suction assembly  200  is used to suction, air between the suction face and the surface of the workpiece is extracted away through the first venting hole  201 , the second venting hole  202  and the extraction passage  203 , so that a negative pressure state is produced between the suction face and the surface of the workpiece, and thus firmly suction between the suction cup  1  and the workpiece can be achieved. 
       FIG. 4 a    and  FIG. 4 b    schematically show two implementation manners of the second venting hole in the suction cup. For example, the second venting hole  202  may include one through-hole located at a center thereof, as shown in  FIG. 4   a.  In some implementations, the through-hole has a diameter larger than the diameter of the first venting hole  201  on a contact surface between the rotation ball joint  2  and the suction cup  1 , so as to facilitate to extract the air above the suction face quickly. Still for example, the second venting hole  202  may include a plurality of through holes distributed in the suction cup, as shown in  FIG. 4   b,  and accordingly, a plurality of suction openings are formed in the suction face, so that the air between the suction cup  1  and the workpiece can be simultaneously and quickly extracted away. The diameter of the first venting hole  201  in the rotation ball joint  2  can be determined according to arrangement of the second venting hole. The arrangement of the second venting hole  202  is not limited to the above two implementations. 
     In at least one embodiment of the present disclosure, at an interface where the rotation ball joint  2  is connected with the extension part, one of the first venting hole and the extraction passage has a flared shape having a width gradually increased as it approaches to the interface, so that the suction function can be maintained even when the rotation ball joint  2  is relatively rotated. For example, as shown in  FIG. 3 , at the interface where the rotation ball joint  2  is connected with the extension part, the first venting hole has a flared shape (or referred to as a taper shape) having a width gradually increased as it approaches to the interface. If it is desired that the rotation ball joint  2  has a larger rotatable angle, the width of the flared shape should be provided so as to be relatively large, so that the area of the flared shape is larger than the area of the extraction passage  203 . In this way, even when the rotation ball joint  2  is rotated by a large angle, the communication between the extraction passage  203  and the first venting hole  201  can also be maintained. In another example, an opening of the extraction passage  203 ′ can also be provided so as to be of a flared shape, as shown in  FIG. 5 , the above object can equally be achieved. At this time, there is no special limitation on the shape of the first venting hole  201 ′, and the first venting hole may include through holes having a constant size, or may has through holes in flared shape or other shape, as long as the extraction passage  203 ′ can be communicated with the first venting hole  201 ′. 
     Returning to  FIG. 3 , the extension part may include a piston rod  4  and an air cylinder  6  (or can also be an oil cylinder) sheathed around the piston rod  4 , the piston rod  4  can be driven in the air cylinder  6  to be reciprocated linearly. The rotation ball joint  2  is rotatably and hermetically connected to a top portion of the piston bar  4 . Since the up and down movement of the piston rod  4  brings the rotation ball joint  2  at its top portion as well as the suction cup  1  into the up and down movement so that the height of the supporting suction assembly  200  can be adjusted, suction can be performed with better adhesion with the surface of the workpiece. The piston bar  4  includes a plunger  401  tightly fitted with an inner wall of the air cylinder, when the piston rod  4  is vertically placed, as shown in  FIG. 1 , the air cylinder  6  is divided into two portions, i.e., an upper portion and a lower portion, by the plunger  401 . A first hole  7  is provided on an outer wall of the lower portion of the air cylinder to import air into or extract air from the lower space of the air cylinder. When the piston rod  4  is needed to be ascended, air is inflated into the space below the plunger  401  through the first hole  7 , and when the piston rod  4  is needed to be descended, air is extracted outside through the first hole  7 , and at the same time, the piston rod  4  is descended by its own gravity. In another example, a second hole  5  is also provided on an outer wall of the upper portion of the air cylinder  6 , to input air into or extract air from the upper space of the air cylinder  6 . By providing the second hole  5 , differentially driving of the piston rod  4  can be achieved, that is, when the piston rod  4  is needed to be ascended, pressure in the lower space is increased by inflating through the first hole  7 , and at the same time pressure in the upper space is decreased by extracting air through the second hole  5 , and when the piston rod  4  is needed to be descended, the pressure in the lower space is decreased by extracting air though the first hole  7  and at the same time the pressure in the upper space is increased by inflating through the second hole  5 . Compared with unidirectional driving, the height of the piston rod  4  can be more quickly adjusted by this differential driving manner. 
     In at least one embodiment of the present disclosure, the plurality of supporting suction assemblies  200  are arranged into an m×n array, where m is larger than or equal to 2, and n is larger than or equal to 2. An interval between two adjacent rows can be equal to an interval between two adjacent columns, or can also be unequal. For example, as shown in  FIG. 2 , 225 supporting suction assemblies  200  are arranged into a 15×15 array, and the interval between two adjacent row is equal to the interval between two adjacent columns. It can be understood that the number, row pitch, column pitch, and arrangement of the supporting suction assemblies  200  can be determined according to the size of the surface of the workpiece to be supported. For example, when a curved surface substrate is used, it is suitable to provide relatively more suction assemblies there below, so that areas of the panel surface having different heights can be supported, and stress can be avoided from incurring. The row pitch and column pitch can be determined depending on the curvature and size of the curved surface substrate, the more the pitch and the curvature are, the denser and the smaller the pitches are, whereby flexing and deformation of the glass panel due to its own weight can be avoided. 
       FIG. 6  schematically shows a block view of an extraction path in the supporting device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The extraction path is formed for each of the supporting suction assemblies  200 , and here a controller and an air extraction device  14  can be a common device. As shown in  FIG. 6 , the suction cup  1  is connected with the air extraction device  14  such as a vacuum pump through a pressure sensor  8  and a valve  11 . The second hole  5  is connected with the air extraction device  14  through a pressure sensor  9  and a valve  12 . The first hole  7  is connected with the air extraction device  14  through a pressure sensor  10  and a valve  13 . The pressure sensors  8 ,  9 , and  10  function to detect pressure in the extraction path, and the pressure signals are transmitted to the controller  15  by output signal lines. Signals output from the controller  15  are input into the valves  11 ,  12 ,  13  and the air extraction device  14 . The controller  15  is operatively used to control an extension amount of the extension part in the up-and-down direction, to adjust the shape of the supporting face. 
     Hereinafter, the operation process of the supporting device of  FIG. 6  will be described in detail. When the device is put into operation, the air extraction device  14 , the valve  11 , the valve  12 , and the valve  13  are activated, so as to supply air to the first hole  7  to ascend the piston rod  4 , and extract air through the third hole  3 . When the suction cup  1  is adhered with the curved surface substrate  100 , the pressure detected by the pressure sensor  8  reaches a certain threshold, at this time, the suction cup  1  tightly suctions the curved surface substrate, the valve  12  is closed so as to stop the ascend of the piston rod  4 . When it is need to release the curved surface substrate  100 , the height of the piston rod  4  is kept unchanged, the direction of the air flow is changed so that the third hole  3  becomes an air inlet, and the suction cup  1  is released. In the case that the suction cup  1  has not contacted with the curved surface substrate (for example, the suction cup  1  has been moved to a position beyond the surface of the substrate), when the pressure detected by the pressure sensor  10  reaches a threshold (means that the piston rod  4  has been at its top limit point), the valves  11 ,  12  and  13  are closed and the air extraction device  14  is stopped extracting air, so as to save energy. During the piston rod  4  is ascended, the second hole  5  is an air outlet and the first hole  7  is an air inlet; whereas, during the piston rod  4  is descended, the second hole  5  is the air inlet and the first hole  7  is the air outlet. When the curved surface substrate is tightly fixed, the third hole  3  is the air outlet. When the curved surface substrate is released, the third hole  3  is the air inlet. 
     In order to protect the supporting suction assemblies, as shown in  FIG. 7 , a cylinder protection cover can be provided at outside of all the air cylinders, and a piston rod protection cover can be provided at outside of each of the piston rods. When being not used, the supporting suction assemblies can be retracted into the protection cover so as to prevent moisture or dust from permeating. 
     According to another embodiment of the present disclosure, a operation method for the supporting device according to any one of the above embodiments is provided, including: adjusting the height of the plurality of supporting suction assemblies so that the supporting face constructed by the plurality of suction faces is in contact with the surface of the workpiece; and enabling the plurality of supporting suction assemblies to vacuum suction to suction and hold the surface of the workpiece to be supported by ways of the suction cups. 
     For example, the workpiece to be supported, such as a curved surface substrate  100 , is carried to the top of the carrying stage  300  by using a carrying device such as a robotic arm or the like, then, the valve  13  is opened (the valve  12  can also be opened), under control of the controller  15 , the lower space of the air cylinder  6  is inflated (the upper space of the air cylinder  6  can be extracted at the same time), until the suction cup  1  at the top of the piston rod  4  is moved to be in contact with the surface of the curved surface substrate  100 . Then, the valve  11  is opened, and under control of the controller  15 , the air extraction device  14  extracted the air outside from the extraction passage  203 . At this time, since the space between the suction cup  1  and the surface of the workpiece is in a negative pressure state, the surface of the curved surface substrate  100  is adhered and held by the suction cup  1 . Since the surface of the curved surface substrate  100  has a certain curvature, during suctioning, the rotation ball joint  2  is naturally rotated to a certain angle following the extraction process, so that the suction face of the suction cup  1  is adhered with the curved surface. 
     Still for example, the heights of the plurality of supporting suction assemblies can be controlled according to the shape of the surface of the workpiece to be supported in advance, so that the supporting face conforms with the surface of the workpiece to be supported, and then the workpiece to be supported is placed on the supporting face. This adjusting process is similar to the above example, and will not be further described. 
     In the supporting device according to the above embodiments of the present disclosure, each of the supporting suction assemblies can be controlled individually, so as to be ascended or descended individually, therefore, it is capable of suctioning the workpiece having a surface of a irregular shape, such as a curved surface substrate, or the like, and is especially suitable for the curved surface substrates with different sizes and different curvatures. Since the number of the supporting suction assemblies is large, multipoint supporting can be achieved, the suction becomes more stable, to facilitate the subsequent process, e.g., coating, exposure, bonding, and so on, to be performed on the workpiece. In addition, since the suction cup is made of a flexible material, has nearly no damage incurred to the surface of the workpiece, and can improve the productivity of the workpieces in each of the processes. The operation method for the supporting device can be performed manually, and also can be performed by a set of predetermined program. 
     What are described above is related to the illustrative embodiments of the disclosure only and not limitative to the scope of the disclosure; the scopes of the disclosure are defined by the accompanying claims. 
     The application claims priority to the Chinese patent application No. 201510481948.8, filed on Aug. 3, 2015, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference as part of the present application.