Liquid adhesive boundary control

• US 8,875,652 B2
• Filed: 09/14/2011
• Issued: 11/04/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 09/14/2011
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Inventors: Feinstein, Casey J., Sung, Kuo-Hua, Horstkemper, Ralf
• Primary Examiner(s): Yuan, Dah-Wei D
• Assistant Examiner(s): Thomas, Binu
• Application Number:
  US13/232,902
• Publication Number:
  US 20130064967A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,147 Days
• Field of Search: 118/620, 118/624, 118688-690, 156/275.5, 427/553, 427/510, 427/8, 250/338.4
• US Class Current: 118/620
• CPC Class Codes: B05C 11/00 Component parts, details or accessories not specifically provided for in groups B05C1/00 - B05C9/00 means for manipulating or holding work B05C13/00; enclosures for apparatus, booths B05C15/00; spray booths B05B16/00
• CPC Class Codes: B05C 3/18 only one side of the work coming into contact with the liquid or other fluent material B05C3/02 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: B05C 9/12 the auxiliary operation being performed after the application B05C9/14 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 65/1406 Ultraviolet [UV] radiation
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 65/1435 at least passing through one of the parts to be joined, i.e. transmission welding
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 65/1448 radiating the edges of the parts to be joined, e.g. for curing a layer of adhesive placed between two flat parts to be joined, e.g. for making CDs or DVDs
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 65/1464 making use of several radiators
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 65/1496 making use of masks B29C65/1696 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 65/4845 Radiation curing adhesives, e.g. UV light curing adhesives
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 65/52 characterised by the way of applying the adhesive B29C65/50 takes precedence; apparatus for applying liquids in general B05C; processes for applying liquids in general B05D
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 66/324 Avoiding burr formation
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 66/345 Progressively making the joint, e.g. starting from the middle B29C66/8341, B29C65/12, B29C65/14, B29C65/16 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 66/45 Joining of substantially the whole surface of the articles methods or apparatus for laminating B32B37/00
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 66/8322 Joining or pressing tools reciprocating along one axis
• CPC Class Codes: B29L 2031/3475 Displays, monitors, TV-sets, computer screens
• CPC Class Codes: B32B 7/12 using interposed adhesives or interposed materials with bonding properties
• CPC Class Codes: C08J 7/18 using wave energy or particle radiation
• CPC Class Codes: C09J 2301/416 use of irradiation
• CPC Class Codes: C09J 5/00 Adhesive processes in general; Adhesive processes not provided for elsewhere, e.g. relating to primers
• CPC Class Codes: C23C 14/02 Pretreatment of the material to be coated C23C14/04 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2224/75901 : using a computer, e.g. fully- or semi-automatic bonding
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2224/83874 : Ultraviolet [UV] curing
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2224/83909 : Post-treatment of the layer connector or bonding area
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2224/83951 : Forming additional members, e.g. for reinforcing, fillet sealant
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 24/00 : Arrangements for connecting or disconnecting semiconductor or solid-state bodies; Methods or apparatus related thereto
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 24/75 : Apparatus for connecting with bump connectors or layer connectors
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 24/83 : using a layer connector

Abstract

A system for controlling a boundary of spreading liquid adhesive on a surface is disclosed. The system includes one or more ultra-violet (UV) sources configurable to emit UV light onto the liquid adhesive; and a control circuit coupled to the one or more UV sources and configured to control the one or more UV sources to selectively apply the UV light at selected locations on the liquid adhesive to cure the adhesive and prevent its further spread at those locations.

Claims

1. A system for controlling a boundary of spreading liquid adhesive on a surface, comprising:

one or more ultra-violet (UV) sources configurable to emit UV light onto the liquid adhesive;

a detection circuit, comprising;

an infrared transmitter that emits infrared light onto the liquid adhesive; and

an infrared receiver that receives infrared light that is reflected off the liquid adhesive and that detects locations at which the boundary of the liquid adhesive has spread beyond a predetermined region on the surface;

a control circuit coupled to the one or more UV sources, wherein upon detecting that the boundary of the liquid adhesive has spread beyond the predetermined region, the detection circuit is configured to send a signal to the control circuit to control the one or more UV sources to selectively apply the UV light only at the detected locations on the liquid adhesive to cure the adhesive and prevent the boundary of the adhesive from further spreading beyond the predetermined region.

2. The system of claim 1, further comprising a shutter with one or more segments positioned between the UV source and the liquid adhesive, the one or more segments of the shutter configurable under control of the control circuit to block the UV light from reaching the detected locations of the liquid adhesive when in a closed state and apply the UV light to the detected locations when in an open state.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein the one or more segments are configured to independently switch between the open state and the closed state.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the control circuit is configured to control the one or more UV sources by selectively turning the one or more UV sources on and off at the detected locations.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the detection circuit further comprises a camera.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the detection circuit is configured to monitor a spread pattern of the liquid adhesive in real time.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the detection circuit is coupled to the control circuit and configured to feed a detected spread pattern of the liquid adhesive to the control circuit.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein the control circuit is configured to control the one or more UV sources based on the detected spread pattern.

9. The system of claim 2 or 4, further comprising a timer configured to trigger the control circuit to apply or block the UV light to the detected locations.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein the timer is configured to trigger the control circuit based on a known spread pattern of the liquid adhesive.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein the known spread pattern is determined based on an initial dispense pattern of the liquid adhesive.

12. The system of claim 1, wherein the detected locations comprises a desired boundary area of the liquid adhesive.

13. The system of claim 1, wherein the UV source is positioned substantially over the top of the surface.

14. The system of claim 1, wherein the UV source is positioned substantially facing the side of the surface.