Source: http://www.google.com/patents/US6711386?dq=5,832,511
Timestamp: 2015-04-01 15:25:56
Document Index: 658140787

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Patent US6711386 - Method for mounting an apparatus, an apparatus and an apparatus part - Google PatentsSearch Images Maps Play YouTube News Gmail Drive More »Sign inAdvanced Patent SearchPatentsThe invention relates to the assembly of devices, produced by replication on a substrate (e.g. LCDs on a glass plate) and separated from each other by a cutting process. Because of the unevenness of the cutting, an assembly of the devices based on the outer boundary of the substrate has inherent inaccuracies....http://www.google.com/patents/US6711386?utm_source=gb-gplus-sharePatent US6711386 - Method for mounting an apparatus, an apparatus and an apparatus partAdvanced Patent SearchPublication numberUS6711386 B1Publication typeGrantApplication numberUS 09/504,948Publication dateMar 23, 2004Filing dateFeb 16, 2000Priority dateFeb 17, 1999Fee statusPaidAlso published asCN1197447C, CN1340292A, DE60041693D1, EP1159859A1, EP1159859B1, WO2000049847A1Publication number09504948, 504948, US 6711386 B1, US 6711386B1, US-B1-6711386, US6711386 B1, US6711386B1InventorsG�ran EngblomOriginal AssigneeTelefonaktiebolaget Lm EricssonExport CitationBiBTeX, EndNote, RefManPatent Citations (12), Non-Patent Citations (1), Classifications (10), Legal Events (5) External Links: USPTO, USPTO Assignment, EspacenetMethod for mounting an apparatus, an apparatus and an apparatus part
This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. ��119 and/or 365 to 9900584-5 filed in Sweden on Feb. 17, 1999; the entire content of which is hereby incorporated by reference.
According to the invention, one or more distinctive marks added to the substrate of a first apparatus part by a so-called position reference system used in the production process of the part are used for the positioning and fixing of the part (according to one or more �decisive components� included on the part) with respect to a second apparatus part, said second apparatus part being provided with first positioning means. The relevant distinctive mark(s) is(are) read from the first apparatus part by a positioning system and the information is used to position the part relative to other structures with which it is to be assembled. Second positioning means, designed to co-operate with the first positioning means on the second apparatus part, are secured on the first apparatus part in accordance with the distinctive mark(s) and thus in a well-known geometrical relationship to the �decisive components� on the part. The two sets of co-operating positioning means may hence be designed and positioned on the first and second apparatus parts, respectively, so that when the co-operating positioning means are joined, a controlled geometrical relationship is obtained between the �decisive components� on the first apparatus part and relevant corresponding features on the second apparatus part. The �decisive component� on the first apparatus part may e.g. be the active area of an LCD, and the corresponding feature on the second apparatus part may e.g. be the display window of a light carrier of a mobile telephone.
The invention utilises distinctive marks added to an apparatus part during its processing, these distinctive marks having �microscopic� tolerances as they are e.g. the results of a semiconductor-like process, to control the positioning of decisive components or other structural elements on the apparatus part relative to corresponding features on another part. Thereby the �macroscopic� positioning of the apparatus part on the body in question is based on the �microscopic� tolerances of the production process of the apparatus part.
An advantage of the method is that the apparatus part provided with distinctive marks to be used in the positioning and mounting of the part on another apparatus part may be produced in one production process (e.g. a semiconductor process or the like) and used as a �component� in a device assembled with another apparatus part in another production process, possibly at different locations. A further advantage of the method is that it is well-suited for automation and hence of course advantageous from a precision and cost perspective, when dealing with large quantities. Since the guiding means ensure a correct position of the first part relatively to the second part, the actual joining of the parts is uncritical, and therefore the parts may alternatively be joined using a manual or semi-automatic assembly without loss of precision. This may be advantageous e.g. in prototype developments or when dealing with small quantities or if manual assembly is attractive for other reasons.
The cornerstone of the invention is the use of the �distinctive marks� laid out by a high-precision positioning system. In preferred embodiments of the invention these distinctive marks may be special alignment marks, electrical connections, as stated in claim 4, or pads for electrical connections, the advantages of each being dependent on the particular process, type of apparatus part, positioning system used for the assembly, required precision, etc. Important is 1) that the distinctive marks used are laid out with high precision, 2) that an exact relationship to the location of the decisive parts of the components to be used in the positioning of the part relative to other structures is or may be established and 3) that the distinctive marks are easy to identify for the positioning system used in the assembly process.
The �positioning system� may be the position reference system or another positioning system having means for reading the relevant distinctive marks. In a special embodiment of the invention, as stated in claim 5, the positioning system may e.g. be a vision system used in the assembly process, the first apparatus part being joined with other apparatus parts. A �vision system� is a pattern recognition system that enables automatic handling of known structures, e.g. by an assembly robot. The vision system must be able to read the relevant distinctive marks on the apparatus part. This has the economic and logistic advantage that the use of the invention may be integrated in a �normal� assembly chain. The �position reference system� is the positioning system used for the layout of the distinctive marks and of the individual layers or steps that constitute the creation of or placement of the components and structural elements in the production process of the first apparatus part. In another special embodiment of the invention, as stated in claim 6, the positioning system is equal to the position reference system. This has the advantage that the positioning means of the first apparatus part can be applied in the same operation and with the same accuracy as the components or other structural elements in question and as the distinctive marks of the part, thus eliminating a link in the tolerance chain.
The distinctive marks 6 should have well defined geometrical relations to the �decisive components� 5 or structural elements 17, 20 of the first apparatus part 1 (i.e. e.g. to its edges, to the boundaries of certain components of the part, to its electrical connections, etc.) which are to govern the position of the part 1 (and the component 5 in particular) relative to specific features 11 of the second apparatus part 2, to which it is to be joined. This information must be extracted from the reference positioning system and transferred to and used by the positioning system controlling the assembly process. The chosen distinctive mark(s) 6 of the first apparatus part may e.g. be used by a positioning system as fix-points, and the positioning means 7 of the first apparatus part 1 may be located on the part with a known geometrical relationship to the fix-points and hence to the decisive components 5 or structural elements 17, 20 on the first apparatus part 1. With knowledge of this geometrical information, the co-operating positioning means 4 on the second apparatus part 2, with which the first apparatus part 1 is to be joined, may be designed and located on the second apparatus part to implement a desired position of the decisive components 5 or structural elements 17, 20, on the first apparatus part 1 relative to corresponding features 11 of the second apparatus part 2, when the co-operating positioning means 4, 7 are joined.
The �distinctive marks� 6 may be special alignment marks, electrical connections 17 or pads 20 for electrical connections, structural features of active or passive devices (e.g. gates of transistors, boundaries of capacitors) or other structures that are easy to identify for the positioning system used in the assembly process (including e.g. micro-mechanical features). A single distinctive mark 6 (e.g. a cross or a circle) may fix a first apparatus part 1 relative to a second apparatus part 2 in one dimension (e.g. sufficient if the part or the structure shows rotational symmetry). Two separate distinctive marks 6 are required to fix the first apparatus part 1 to a second apparatus part 2 in two dimensions.
In this context the term �the first apparatus part� 1 may cover a device consisting of a substrate 10 on which one or more components 5, 16 or other structural elements 17, are integrated, possibly with connections 20 to the exterior and between them 17. An �apparatus part� 1 may e.g. be a liquid crystal display module, a multi-chip-module (MCM), a micro-mechanical module, an integrated optics module, etc.
The �second apparatus part� 2 in relation to which the first apparatus part 1 is to be positioned (and joined) may be a special carrier (e.g. a light guide), a PCB, a housing member (including an outer housing member, e.g. a front cover, a frame, etc.), an identical apparatus part (enabling the cascading of identical parts), a guiding means for co-operating with corresponding receiving means on another device, etc.
In this context the �substrate� 10 of the apparatus part 1 is taken to mean any carrier, e.g. a semiconductor substrate, a PCB, a glass or ceramic plate or the like.
�Components� 5, 16 may e.g. be the active parts of a display (e.g. of an LCD), integrated circuits (e.g. a driver circuit for a display), micro-mechanical devices, electro-optical devices, optical devices (e.g. laser diodes or photodiodes) or other functional bodies. For the positioning of components 5, 16 or other structural elements 17, 20, 21, 22 on the apparatus part, the position reference system or another positioning system may be used, possibly one or more components 5 or other structural elements 17, 20 by the position reference system and one or more other components 16 or other structural elements 21, 22 by another positioning system. The term �decisive components� refer to the components or component features that are to control the positioning of the first apparatus part relative to the second apparatus part.
�Structural elements� are taken to mean parts of a component that may be isolated due to their function or visual appearance or other functional features (e.g. electrical connections 17, 21 or other connections, including pads 20; 22). The structural elements 17, 20 may be added to the part 1 by means of the position reference system or another positioning system (in the latter case they are referred to as 21, 22).
The �position reference system� is the positioning system or systems (in case that more than one is used) used for the layout of the distinctive marks 6 and of the individual layers or steps that constitute the creation of or placement of the decisive components 5 and structural elements 17, 20 in the production process of the apparatus part 1.
The �positioning system� may be the position reference system or another positioning system having means for reading the relevant distinctive marks 6. The positioning system may be used to secure one or more components 16 or other structural elements 21, 22 to the apparatus part 1 (in addition to the ones laid out by the position reference system (possibly 5, 17, 20)). The positioning system may e.g. be a vision system used in the assembly process, where the first apparatus part 1 is joined with other apparatus parts 2. A �vision system� is a pattern recognition system that enables automatic handling of known structures, e.g. by an assembly robot. The vision system must be able to read the relevant distinctive marks 6 on the apparatus part 1 and to use information from the position reference system as to the mutual relative positions of the distinctive marks 6 and the �decisive components� 5 on the apparatus part 1. If the positioning system is the position reference system, the positioning means 7 of the apparatus part 1 can be applied in the same operation and with the same accuracy as the components 5 or other structural elements in question and as the distinctive marks 6 of the part 1. This has the advantage of eliminating a link in the tolerance chain.
FIGS. 4 and 5 show a preferred embodiment of the invention where the first apparatus part 1 is an LCD unit 101 (i.e. the �decisive component� (5 in FIGS. 1-3) is the active display area 105 of the LCD) comprising a glass plate substrate 110 that is provided with a transparent print of an electrically conductive pattern controlling the visual output of the display. Also included on the first apparatus part is a driver circuit 116 for the LCD, the driver circuit being secured to the apparatus part 101 under control of a vision system using distinctive marks. The electrical connections (e.g. pads 120) may be used as distinctive marks. The positioning means 107 of the first apparatus part 101 are shown with two protruding members 108. These members 108 are designed to match the corresponding apertures (109 in FIG. 6) on the receiving positioning means of the second apparatus part 102 (in FIG. 6) and to ensure the correct position of the first apparatus part 101 relative to the second apparatus part 102 (in FIG. 6). The positioning means 107 of the first apparatus part 101 include a receiving slot 14 for accommodating an elastomeric block 13 with a plurality of individually isolated conducting members 12 for establishing electrical contact between the first apparatus part 101 and a printed circuit board (115 in FIG. 7). In FIG. 4 and 5, the positioning means 107, including means for establishing electrical contact to a PCB (115 in FIG. 7), are mounted on the same side of the substrate 110 as the active display area 105. They might, however, also be mounted on the opposite side of the substrate 110 (as indicated in FIG. 7).
In one embodiment of the invention, the LCD unit 101 is secured to the light guide 102 simply by joining the protruding members (108 in FIG. 4, 5) of the positioning means 107 on the LCD unit 101 with the corresponding apertures 109 on the receiving positioning means 104 of the light guide 102. Other embodiments may be made, using other joining techniques (e.g. snap fasteners, fastening by screws, glue, adhesive tape, �click-join�, etc.) or combinations hereof.
The �apparatus� 3 in which the apparatus parts 1, 2; 101, 102 are mounted may be any apparatus in which the unique features of the method are required, including electronic devices, e.g. communications devices, among these mobile telephones, pagers, etc.
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