KR101419748B1 - System for measuring total-pitch of optical film - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a system for measuring the total-pitch of an optical film traveling at a predetermined speed, comprising: a base roller capable of traveling in contact with an optical film; A lighting unit capable of irradiating light toward the base roller; A photographing unit capable of photographing the total-pitch of the optical film by the light reflected from the surface of the base roller; And a transport unit capable of reciprocating the light unit and the photographing unit in the width direction of the optical film at the same time.

Description

&Quot; System for measuring total-pitch of optical film "

preference

The present invention is based on Korean Patent Application No. 10-2012-0055180 filed on Feb. 24, 2012, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference, in accordance with Article 55 of the Patent Law of the "FPR Film Total-Pitch Measurement System" 1.

The present invention relates to a total-pitch measuring system for optical films, and more particularly to a system for measuring the total-pitch of an optical film such as, for example, an FPR film, That is, the present invention relates to a total-pitch measurement system of an optical film that can be measured in-line.

Generally, it is known that human being feels three dimensional feeling because the right eye and the left eye perceive objects with time lag. In other words, because the human eyes are spaced about 65 cm apart, the perception of stereoscopic effect is based on the binocular disparity that occurs in the process of viewing images in slightly different directions.

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, stereoscopic image display systems capable of realizing a stereoscopic image by a method of inputting images with parallax in both sides of the human are increasingly interested.

In general, stereoscopic image display devices are classified into three types such as a spectacular 3D display such as a shutter glasses, a micro polarizer, a patterned retarder and the like, a parallax barrier, a lenticular lens, A 3D display, and a holographic 3D display. Of these, stereoscopic image display devices have become popular as active systems (shutter glass systems) and passive systems (FPR systems).

In the active display, the left and right screens are alternately transmitted at a very high speed, and the stereoscopic glasses worn by the user in accordance therewith are also operated in conjunction with the output video. That is, the active method is a so-called 'time division method'. In the case of the left eye image, the right eye lens is closed when the left eye lens is opened, whereas the right eye image is a structure in which the left eye lens is closed when the right eye lens is opened. This approach has the advantage of being able to see the screen clearly, but it requires a high level of skill to synchronize the movement of the display with the glasses.

Passive display is a so-called " space division method " in which a left-eye image and a right-eye image having different polarization characteristics can be transmitted, a display having a polarizing filter on the front surface thereof, and polarizing glasses worn by the user . Only the left eye image transmitted from the display is viewed through the left eye lens of the polarizing glasses and only the right eye image is viewed through the right eye lens of the polarizing glasses. This pass method is easy to implement without technical difficulties.

However, the polarizing filter used in the passive system can be attached to the polarizing plate so that the polarizing plate itself is patterned so as to correspond to the left and right eye image display units, or the polarizing plates are respectively associated with the left and right eye image display units Called Pattern-type Patterned Retarder (FPR), such as a patterned retardation plate (optical filter) having a patterned pattern.

In addition, patterned retarders are classified into glass-type and film-type depending on the type of substrate. However, since the glass-type pattern driftader is difficult to meet the trend of enlargement of display, recently patterned retarder film using an organic polymer film as a substrate is popular.

However, the size of a pattern formed in the patterned retarder corresponds to the width of a pixel or a pixel and is very precise, and the shape of the pattern is generally formed in accordance with the row or column of the LCD. When the pattern is formed on the LCD, It is necessary to suppress the generation of dimensional defects in the manufacturing process of the patterned retarder and it is necessary to control the phase due to the damage of the liquid crystal layer and the culture layer of the patterned retarder There is a need to strictly control the defects due to the change (irrelevant to the defect of the display panel for 2D).

In addition, according to the conventional manufacturing method, the completed pattern reliader is attached to a protective film by reason of transportation defect or the like and is led to the display panel manufacturer, and the delivered pattern reliader is transferred to the panel before being finally attached to the panel, , There is a problem in that the defect rate becomes very high because a so-called 'full line' inspection method in which two polarizing plates are crossed and inspected with the naked eye is used, and the measurement of the total-pitch after manufacturing the patterned retarder There is a problem that the manufacturing process becomes complicated and the probability of defects increases.

On the other hand, the patterned retarder film facilitates printing of an alignment film or the like on a substrate by corona treatment of the surface of the substrate during its production. However, such a corona treatment process is a factor that deteriorates the optical linearity of the patterned retarder film finally produced, and a solution thereof is required.

In the production process of film-type patterned retarder (FPR) film, 'total-pitch' is one of the main five factors of quality assurance of FPR products and is one of the main factors affecting the upper and lower viewing angles and 3D implementation .

Generally, FPR films are sensitive to temperature and / or humidity, and therefore the film is likely to shrink or expand during process migration, so in order to ensure the quality of the final produced FPR film, the total- , And equipment for calculating a reference value for such control is required.

In addition, when the total-pitch defect occurs in the manufacturing process of the FPR film, for example, the feasibility of the 3D film composed of 1080 pixel lines is lowered, so that a large loss of the product and a claim for the quality defect from the customer . In order to prevent this problem, equipment for measuring the total-pitch in the manufacturing process of the FPR film itself (in-line) is required.

However, according to the prior arts known to date, not only are there no apparatuses capable of measuring the total-pitch of three-dimensional FPR films, but the use of other facilities of the prior art has made measurement errors too large, There is no problem. On the other hand, in order to measure the total-pitch on the in-line of the manufacturing process of the FPR film, the error due to the change of the total-pitch of the film during the movement after the sampling is also included, and errors due to repeated measurement by the inspector may occur.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been conceived in order to solve the problems of the prior art as described above, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a method for measuring, controlling and controlling the total-pitch of an optical film on an in-line of a manufacturing process of a 3DR film, The present invention provides a system capable of monitoring a plurality of objects.

In order to solve the above problems, an optical film total-pitch measuring system according to a preferred exemplary embodiment of the present invention is a system for measuring a total-pitch of an optical film traveling at a predetermined speed, A base roller which can be contacted and traveled; A lighting unit capable of irradiating light toward the base roller; A photographing unit capable of photographing a total pitch of the optical film by light reflected from a surface of the base roller; And a transport unit capable of reciprocating the lighting unit and the photographing unit in the width direction of the optical film at the same time.

Preferably, the optical film is a pattern relief film (FPR) in which L and R patterns having different optical axes are formed.

Preferably, the FPR is in an in-line state before the substrate on which the alignment layer and the liquid crystal layer are formed is wound on the winder in the traveling direction.

Preferably, a protective member is attached to one surface of the optical film.

Preferably, the protective member is attached to the surface of the optical film to be in contact with the base roller.

Preferably, the protective member is a polyethylene terephthalate (PET) film having an optical axis and a phase difference.

Preferably, the PET film is an oriented PET film oriented to have a controlled optical axis deviation or a non-oriented PET film in which the optical axis deviation is not controlled.

Preferably, the total-pitch is a distance from a first reference line of one of the edges in the width direction of the optical film to a second reference line of another edge of the optical film.

Preferably, the system further comprises: a first filter unit disposed between the optical film and the illumination unit; And a second filter unit disposed between the optical film and the photographing unit.

Preferably, the first filter unit comprises a polarizing filter.

Preferably, the polarizing filter is positively or reversely rotatable at a 360-degree angle in order to automatically compensate for the phase change of the optical film.

Preferably, the polarizing filter comprises: a circular filter body; And a rotating member for rotating the filter body.

Preferably, the rotating member includes: a filter rotor having the filter body rotatably supported by the through-hole by a bearing and having a first pulley on an outer circumferential surface thereof; A second pulley provided on a rotary shaft of a driving source provided in the filter frame; And a belt connecting the first pulley and the second pulley.

Preferably, the polarizing filter further comprises a sensor member for measuring a rotating direction and an angle of the rotating member.

Preferably, the second filter unit has a circular polarization filter for separating the L and R patterns of the optical film and for controlling scattering of light.

Preferably, the circular polarizing filter is disposed integrally with the camera at an end of the camera of the photographing unit.

Preferably, the base roller is provided with a reflecting portion capable of reflecting light emitted from the lighting unit to the photographing unit.

Preferably, the reflective portion is coated or surface-treated on the surface of the base roller.

Preferably, the photographing unit has a pair of cameras capable of simultaneously photographing a first baseline portion and a second baseline portion of the total-pitch of the pattern formed on the optical film; The lighting unit includes a pair of LED lights installed to correspond to each of the pair of cameras.

Preferably, the photographing unit and the lighting unit are disposed at an angle of 45 degrees with respect to the surface of the base roller.

Preferably, the conveying unit includes: a bracket on which the photographing unit and the lighting unit are installed; And an LM guide installed between the bracket and the transfer frame.

The total-pitch measuring system of the optical film according to a preferred exemplary embodiment of the present invention is configured such that the photographing unit and the lighting unit are formed in a reflective form on the basis of the optical film, that is, the light emitted from the lighting unit travels on the base film (The base unit does not exist and the lighting unit and the photographing unit are arranged opposite to each other with respect to the optical film as a reference), and the light is reflected from the surface of the optical film and is designed so that the photographing unit can recognize the reflected light. The error caused by the curl and wave of the side portion of the optical film can be overcome.

The total-pitch measurement system of the optical film according to the preferred exemplary embodiment of the present invention adopts a structure capable of compensating the retardation of the non-oriented PET protective film. That is, in the above-described reflection structure, the phase difference in the width direction and the phase deviation in the traveling direction of the optical film can be overcome by providing the PL filter rotatably in the front part of the lighting unit.

The total-pitch measurement system of the optical film according to a preferred exemplary embodiment of the present invention comprises one set of cameras, illumination and LM guides, and the system consists of two sets. That is, one illumination is configured to correspond to one camera, and the camera and the illumination are moved integrally by one LM guide. After each set of cameras and lights are moved by the corresponding LM guides, the camera is subjected to an optimal compensation operation, and at the same time, the total-pitch of the optical film is imaged to produce a data of a gap type of up to 1/60 second The error caused by the film skewing occurring during the movement of the LM guide can be overcome.

More specifically, the total-pitch measurement system of the optical film according to a preferred exemplary embodiment of the present invention recognizes the reference pitch in 1 micrometer movement of the camera and measures the hardware distance difference of the linear motor system within the same time It is possible to calculate the error between the reference pitch and the measurement pitch.

The total-pitch measuring system of the optical film according to the present invention has the following effects.

First, since two cameras move and perform optimal compensation, two cameras at the same time can take images of the surface of the optical film, and the interval between the two cameras at such an imaging position can be measured as the total-pitch It is possible to measure the total-pitch change of the film due to the temperature and humidity change in the factory or the total-pitch change due to the error of the patterning of the optical film itself, and the total-pitch on the in- And the like can be attempted to improve the quality and yield of the film. For example, if the process temperature decreases by approximately 1 DEG C relative to the reference temperature, the total-pitch is reduced by approximately 100 micrometers. In the in-line process as in the present invention, It is possible to compensate for the temperature part by reflecting the process condition.

Second, the present invention relates to a method of measuring the total-pitch of a photographic unit by reflecting the light irradiated from the lighting unit onto the surface of the base roller and using the light transmitted through the optical film, It is possible to greatly reduce the measurement error caused by skewing, curling, etc. of the side portion of the running optical film.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The present invention will be described in detail with reference to the following drawings, which illustrate preferred embodiments of the present invention, and therefore the technical idea of the present invention should not be construed as being limited thereto.
FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram schematically showing a main configuration of a total-pitch measuring system of an optical film according to a preferred exemplary embodiment of the present invention.
2 is an enlarged view of the "A"
3 is a conceptual diagram illustrating the operation of the total-pitch measurement system of an optical film according to a preferred exemplary embodiment of the present invention.
Figure 4 is a frontal schematic view of a total-pitch measurement system of an optical film according to another preferred exemplary embodiment of the present invention.
Fig. 5 is a side view of the main part of Fig. 4. Fig.
Fig. 6 is a plan view of the main part of Fig. 4. Fig.
7 is an enlarged plan view schematically showing a part of a light pattern of an optical film according to a preferred exemplary embodiment of the present invention.
8 is an enlarged view of the first filter unit portion of FIG.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Prior to this, terms and words used in the present specification and claims should not be construed as limited to ordinary or dictionary terms, and the inventor should appropriately interpret the concepts of the terms appropriately It should be construed in accordance with the meaning and concept consistent with the technical idea of the present invention based on the principle that it can be defined. Therefore, the embodiments described in this specification and the configurations shown in the drawings are merely the most preferred embodiments of the present invention and do not represent all the technical ideas of the present invention. Therefore, It is to be understood that equivalents and modifications are possible.

Fig. 1 is a conceptual view schematically showing a main configuration of a total-pitch measurement system of an optical film according to a preferred exemplary embodiment of the present invention, and Fig. 2 is an enlarged view of the "A"

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, an optical film total-pitch measuring system 100 according to a preferred exemplary embodiment of the present invention irradiates light onto an optical film 10 running along a base roller 110 A PL filter 130 provided adjacent to the illumination device 120, a PL filter 130 that is incident on the optical film 10 and is reflected from the surface of the base roller 110 to retransmit the optical film 10 A camera device 140 capable of photographing a predetermined region of the optical film 10 through light and a CPL filter 150 interposed between the camera device 140 and the optical film 10.

As shown in Fig. 2, the optical film 10 is, for example, a pattern relief film (FPR) in which L and R patterns having different optical axes are formed. The FPR type optical film 10 has the base material 14 and the orientation layer 16 and the liquid crystal layer 18 are formed on the surface of the base material 14 opposed to the surface to which the protective member 12 is attached have. As described later, it is preferable that the optical film 10 such as the patterned retarded film is in an in-line state before the film is wound on the winder (not shown) in the traveling process.

It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that, in an alternative embodiment, the total-pitch measurement system 100 of an optical film can also be applied to a patterned retarder film that has been fabricated or to an optical filter that has been cut to a predetermined size.

The base material 14 of the optical film 10 is made of, for example, a cycloolefin polymer such as triacetylcellulose, polyacrylate, polyethylene terephthalate, polycarbonate, polyethylene, norbornene derivatives and the like. It is preferable that the base material 14 is an isotropic base material having almost no in-plane retardation and thickness retardation or only a retardation value in the thickness direction without in-plane retardation. On the other hand, the width of the optical film 10 is substantially determined by the width of the substrate 14, and can be variously configured with a width of, for example, 1200 mm to 2200 mm.

The orientation layer 16 of the optical film 10 has an alignment treatment method and an alignment direction in which the first alignment film and the second alignment film are different from each other. For example, if the first alignment layer is a photo alignment layer, the second alignment layer is a rubbing alignment layer, and if the first alignment layer is a rubbing alignment layer, the second alignment layer is a photo alignment layer. When an alignment film having a different processing method is used, since one alignment film processing method does not affect other alignment films, an alignment film having different alignment directions can be easily formed without going through a complicated process such as a mask or a photoresist. For example, even if the rubbing alignment film is irradiated with UV polarized light, the alignment direction of the alignment film is not changed, and the case where the rubbing process is performed on the photo alignment film is also reversed. Therefore, after the rubbing alignment film is applied, the rubbing process is performed in the first alignment direction to form the rubbing alignment film, the polymer film for the photo alignment film is coated thereon at regular intervals thereon, and the polarized film is polarized in the second alignment direction different from the first alignment direction By the method of irradiating UV polarized light, the first alignment film and the second alignment film having different alignment directions can be formed. It is preferable that the alignment directions of the first alignment film and the second alignment film are perpendicular to each other.

The liquid crystal layer 18 of the optical film 10 is formed on the first alignment film and the second alignment film and is patterned into a first region oriented by the first alignment film and a second region oriented by the second alignment film. When the liquid crystal material is applied on the alignment layer, the liquid crystal material is oriented along the alignment direction of the alignment layer. Since the first alignment layer and the second alignment layer have different alignment directions, the liquid crystal layer 18 formed thereon is also oriented The liquid crystal layer 18 is alternately formed, and as a result, a patterned retardation layer can be formed. The pattern of the liquid crystal layer 18 is determined according to the application pattern of the second alignment film. For example, when the second alignment film is in a stripe shape, a liquid crystal layer of a stripe pattern is formed, and when the second alignment film is applied in a checkerboard pattern, a checkerboard pattern liquid crystal layer is formed.

On the other hand, the liquid crystal layer 18 may have various retardations depending on its thickness, and may preferably be a quarter-wave retardation layer. When the liquid crystal layer 18 is a quarter-wave retardation layer, the polarized light is converted into circularly polarized light when the incident light source is linearly polarized light and linearly polarized light when the incident light source is circularly polarized light. This is because it is useful for stereoscopic image display.

The protective member 12 is attached to the surface of the optical film 10 facing the illumination device 120 and is brought into contact with the surface of the base roller 110. [ The protective member 12 performs a corona treatment to increase the binding force between the substrate 14 and the culture layer 16 during the manufacturing process of the FPR 10. The FPR 10 It is preferable to be previously attached to one surface of the base material 14 before the culture layer 16 is formed. That is, if the base material 14 with the protective member 12 is corona-treated, the problem of degradation of the optical linear characteristic of the finally produced FRP 10 can be solved.

The protective member 12 includes a polyethylene terephthalate (PET) film having a specific optical axis and a retardation. The PET film may be an oriented PET film oriented to have a relatively uniform optical axis deviation by controlling the speed of the production line and the tension of the film while controlling the optical axis deviation while producing the film. In this embodiment, however, And relatively inexpensive non-oriented PET films are used. The non-oriented PET film is produced through the same production process using the same resin as the oriented PET film. Alternatively, the person skilled in the art will appreciate that the protective member 12 can be replaced by various plastic films other than PET films.

It will be understood by one skilled in the art that the retardation and the optical axis of the non-oriented PET protective film can exhibit different properties depending on the measurement position or depending on the lot produced. Generally, in the same lot where the same speed is maintained during the production of the non-oriented PET protective film, the optical axis can be kept relatively constant at the side and center, but if the lot is changed, the optical axis and phase difference are not the same do.

It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the total-pitch measurement system 100 of an optical film according to an alternative embodiment is capable of measuring the total-pitch of the optical film 10 without the protective member 12 described above.

The illumination device 120 is for irradiating light in the direction of the optical film 10 to provide the light necessary for the camera device 140 to photograph the surface of the optical film 10 and uses, for example, LED illumination . Of course, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the lighting device 120 may be other general lighting devices for LED lighting. The illumination device 120 preferably includes a pair of LED lights capable of moving in the width direction of the traveling optical film 10, respectively.

The illumination device 120 is for irradiating light in the direction of the optical film 10 to provide the light necessary for the camera device 140 to photograph the surface of the optical film 10 and uses, for example, LED illumination . Of course, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the lighting device 120 may utilize an illumination such as a fluorescent lamp, an incandescent lamp, etc. for the LED illumination.

A PL (polarization) filter 130 is disposed between the optical film 10 and the illumination device 120 to perform a polarization function at a specific angle corresponding to the type of the optical film 10 to be measured. Further, the PL filter 130 is rotatably installed at a 360 degree angle, and compensates for a phase change according to each pattern boundary region of the optical film 10. That is, before the PL filter 130 captures the total-pitch of the optical film 10 through the camera device 140, the PL filter 130 detects the phase difference of the protective member 12 attached to the optical film 10, It is a structure that can be rotated to find a suitable position.

Polarizing filter 130 has a pair of polarizing filters each located proximate to each LED illumination of illuminator 120. That is, each polarizing filter 130 is a structure that is moved with the corresponding LED illumination and camera 142.

The camera apparatus 140 is configured such that the light irradiated from the illumination device 120 is polarized by the PL filter 130 and compensated or polarized through the polarization axis of the optical film 10 and / And includes a camera 142 for photographing the surface of the optical film 10 optimized by light.

Each camera 142 of the camera device 140 is positioned to correspond to a pair of LED lights and travels with each LED lighting of the lighting device 120.

The CPL filter 130 separates the L pattern (left eye pattern) and the R pattern (right eye pattern) of the optical film 10 and controls the light scattering. Further, the CPL filter 130 is installed at the end of the camera 142. The CPL filter 130 has a pair of CPL filters located respectively at the ends of the respective cameras 142 corresponding thereto.

Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the illumination device 120 and the camera device 140 are mounted on a bracket and the bracket can be moved by a linear motion system, such as, for example, an LM guide or the like.

3 is a conceptual diagram illustrating the operation of the total-pitch measurement system of an optical film according to a preferred exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

3, the optical film 10 is divided into a first optical pattern 1 having a first reference total-pitch required by a display device and a second optical pattern 3 having a second reference total- . Here, the first optical pattern 1 can be applied to, for example, a 32-inch display device, and the second optical pattern 3 can be applied to, for example, a 40-inch display device. The first optical pattern 1 and the second optical pattern 3 have different sizes and optical characteristics and the first optical pattern 1 and the second optical pattern 3 are arranged in the width direction of the optical film 10 And are spaced apart from each other by a predetermined distance. The first edge regions 1a and 1b are provided on both sides of the first optical pattern 1 and the second edge regions 3a and 3b are formed on both sides of the second optical pattern 3 .

In this state, the optical film total-pitch measuring system 100 according to a preferred exemplary embodiment of the present invention operates the linear motion system to move the first camera 144 and the second camera 146 of the camera device 140, Is moved to the first optical pattern 1 to position the cameras 144 and 146 over the first edge regions 1a and 1b, respectively.

Then, the position of the PL filter 130 is fixed after the PL filter 130 is rotated while compensating for the phase characteristic of the first optical pattern 1 in an optimum state.

Next, the first camera 144, which can be finely moved by the linear motion system, is used to identify the first edge region 1a on the left side of the first optical pattern 1 and then the first camera 144 And the second camera 146 capable of finely moving by the linear motion system is used to confirm the right first edge region 1b of the first optical pattern 1 and then the second carrera (146). In this state, when light is irradiated onto the optical film 10 by the illumination device 120, the light is transmitted through the optical film 10, reflected by the surface of the base roller 110, Lt; / RTI > In this process, the first camera 144 and the second camera 146 are operated to photograph the first edge regions 1a and 1b of the first optical pattern 1.

The distance between the first camera 1a and the second camera 1b thus measured corresponds to the actual total-pitch of the first optical pattern 1, and such data is transmitted to the control unit. The control unit then determines whether the interval (total-pitch) identified above corresponds to the first reference total-pitch limit range.

Next, the linear motion system is operated again, and the first camera 144 and the second camera 146 are moved to the second optical pattern 3. In this process, the first camera 144 is positioned on the left edge region 3a of the second optical pattern 3 and the second camera 146 is positioned on the right edge region 3b of the second optical pattern 3 . In this process, since the optical film 10 is moved downward in the figure, the positions of the first camera 144 and the second camera 146 in the second optical pattern 3 are the same as the positions of the first optical pattern 1 In the figure). It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the position of the cameras 144 (146) does not move, but rather the movement of the optical film (10).

Next, the position of the PL filter 130 is fixed after the PL filter 130 is rotated while compensating the second optical pattern 3 in an optimal state so that the photographing apparatus 140 can best recognize the second optical pattern 3.

Then, the total-pitch of the second optical pattern 3 can be measured in the same manner as the total-pitch measurement of the first optical pattern 1, as described above.

FIG. 4 is a schematic front view showing a total-pitch measurement system of an optical film according to another preferred embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 5 is a side view of the main part of FIG. 4, 4 is a plan view of the main parts. 1 to 3 are the same member having the same function.

4 to 6, the total-pitch measuring system 200 according to the present embodiment is similar to the above-described embodiment in that, in a state in which the protective film 12 is stuck on one surface of the base 14 An orientation layer 16 and a liquid crystal layer 18 are formed on the other side of the base material 14 to produce an optical film 10 such as FPR, that is, the optical film 10 is wound on a winder In real-time, the total-pitch of at least one or more optical patterns formed on the optical film (10) traveling at a predetermined speed in an IN-Line state before the optical film (10). Thus, each total-pitch data measured by the measurement system 200 can be monitored in real time to take necessary actions such as changing production process conditions (e.g., humidity or temperature) in real time, Generation can be significantly reduced.

The system 200 according to the present embodiment includes a base roller 210 that can travel in contact with the optical film 10, a lighting unit 220 that can irradiate light toward the base roller 210, A photographing unit 240 having a pair of cameras 244 and 246 capable of photographing the total-pitch of the optical film 10 by light reflected from the surface of the light unit 210; And a transport unit 250 capable of reciprocating the photographing unit 240 in the width direction of the optical film at the same time.

The base roller 210 is for reducing the total-pitch error of the optical film 10 taken by the photographing unit 240 as well as reflecting the light irradiated from the lighting unit 220 to the photographing unit 240 .

The base roller 210 is configured such that the light irradiated by the lighting unit 220 without the base roller 210 is transmitted by the photographing unit 240 located on the opposite side of the lighting unit 220 through the optical film 10 The total-pitch photographed by the photographing unit 240 by the curling or bending phenomenon at the edge of the optical film 10 formed sufficiently long in the width direction and the like is smaller than the actual total-pitch of the optical film 10 The optical film 10 is flattened by the base roller 210 having a substantially flat surface, that is, curled or bent so that the actual total- Pitch of the optical film 10 in a state in which no error is generated in the pitch. To this end, it is apparent to those skilled in the art that the base roller 210 should be surface treated to have sufficient flatness.

The base roller 210 has a reflecting portion 212 for reflecting the light emitted from the lighting unit 220 toward the photographing unit 240. When the reflective portion 212 is made of stainless steel or a metal having excellent surface roughness, the reflective portion 212 may reflect light of the lighting unit 220 by a mirror surface treatment. However, the reflective portion 212 of the base roller 210 according to the present embodiment may be formed by coating a surface of the base roller 210 with a material having excellent glass, silver, or other reflectance, And surface treatment in a similar manner.

The photographing unit 240 is capable of continuously photographing the edge regions 1a and 1b or the edge regions 3a and 3b of the total-pitch of the predetermined pattern formed on the traveling optical film 10, 1 camera 244 and a second camera 246. The first camera 244 and the second camera 246 are installed in the first bracket 252 and the second bracket 254, respectively, and a CCD camera having a normal resolution is used.

The lighting unit 220 includes a first LED lighting unit 222 and a second LED lighting unit 222 installed on the first bracket 252 and the second bracket 254 to correspond to the first camera 244 and the second camera 246, (224). The first LED illumination 222 and the second LED illumination 224 are installed so as to maintain a straight line with the through hole 234 of the filter frame 233 of the first filter unit 230 to be described later.

The above-described photographing unit 240 and the lighting unit 220 are disposed at an angle of 45 degrees with respect to the surface of the base roller 210. That is, the first camera 244 and the second camera 246 of the photographing unit 240 are arranged to be inclined at a 45-degree angle with respect to the horizontal line, while the lighting unit 220 is vertically arranged to irradiate the horizontal light. do.

The transfer unit 250 includes a first bracket 252 and a first unit 242 installed in the first unit 244 of the photographing unit 240 and the first LED illuminator 222 of the unit 220, A bracket including a second camera 246 of the illumination unit 220 and a second bracket 254 provided with a second LED illumination unit 224 of the illumination unit 220 and a bracket including a second bracket 254 provided between the first bracket 252 and the first transfer frame 251 And a second LM guide 258 disposed between the second bracket 254 and the second transfer frame 253. Such an LM guide moves a lighting unit 220 and a photographing unit 240 installed in each of the brackets 252 and 254 by a single bracket, for example, by 1 micrometer unit, . The transfer unit 250 is provided with an anti-collision sensor 260 for preventing the first bracket 252 and the second bracket 254 from colliding with each other.

The first bracket 252 includes a first camera 244 and a corresponding first LED illumination 222 as a set together and the second bracket 254 includes a second camera 246, And the corresponding second LED illumination 224 are installed together as one set.

The first bracket 252 is movable in the width direction of the optical film 10 by the first LM guide 256 coupled to the first guide rail 255 provided in the first transport frame 251, The bracket 254 is movable in the width direction of the optical film 10 by the second LM guide 258 coupled to the second guide rail 257 provided in the second transfer frame 253.

The first camera 244 described above is for photographing the first edge regions 1a and 3a corresponding to either side of any one of the optical patterns 1 and 3 of the optical film 10, The second camera 246 is located above the second edge regions 1b and 3b of the optical patterns 1 and 3 described above and is for photographing such edge regions. Therefore, when the first camera 244 and the second camera 246 simultaneously photograph the optical patterns 1 and 3 on the first edge areas 1a and 3a and the second edge areas 1b and 3b , The distance between the first camera 244 and the second camera 246 becomes the total-pitch of the actual optical patterns 1 and 3.

As described in the above-described embodiment, the optical film 10 is formed of, for example, a substrate 14 (e.g., a liquid crystal layer) in which L and R patterns having different optical axes are formed and an alignment layer 16 and a liquid crystal layer 18 are formed Having a protective member 12 attached to one surface of the optical film 10 in contact with the base roller 210 in the in-line state before being wound on the winder in the course of running, Is a deep-drawn film (FPR). Here, the protective member 12 is a polyethylene terephthalate (PET) film having a phase difference from the optical axis, and the PET film may be an oriented PET film oriented to have a controlled optical axis deviation or a non-oriented PET film have.

On the other hand, those skilled in the art will understand that the optical film 10 may include any other film formed with a light pattern having a total-pitch, for example, a polarizing film or the like.

7 is an enlarged plan view schematically showing a part of a light pattern of an optical film according to a preferred exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

7, the longitudinal direction of FIG. 7 is a width direction of the optical film 10, and the cameras 244 and 246 of the photographing unit 240 and the illuminating unit 220 are moved by the conveying unit 250 Direction. Here, the total-pitch of the optical film 10 means the total-pitch of each optical pattern in one or more optical patterns 1 and 3 formed on the optical film 10, Means the distance between the first reference line 201 at the upper edge of the arbitrary optical pattern of the optical film 10 and the second reference line 203 at the lower edge. Here, the first reference line 201 is a line between a third pattern region P3 and a fourth pattern region P4 from the top, a second reference line 203 is a line between the fourth pattern region P2 from the bottom, And is a line between the pattern regions P1. Also, in Figure 7, the total-pitch is the sum of the individual pitches of the 1080 pattern areas. Here, 1080 pattern areas correspond to the pixel lines of the display device, and each of the two pattern areas of the upper and lower edges is discarded when used in the final display device.

Generally, the total-pitch of the optical film 10, such as the FPR, is determined between approximately 60 micrometers and 150 micrometers, although it may vary depending on the size of the display device or the customer's requirements.

8 is an enlarged view of the first filter unit portion of FIG.

Referring to FIGS. 4 and 8, the total-pitch measuring system 200 according to the present embodiment further includes a first filter unit 230 disposed between the optical film 10 and the lighting unit 220. The first filter unit 230 includes a polarizing filter 232 arranged to be able to rotate forward and backward at 360 degrees in order to automatically compensate for the phase change of the optical film 10. [ To this end, the first filter unit 230 includes a first polarizing filter 232 positioned proximate to the first LED illumination 222 and a second polarizing filter 234 positioned proximate to the second LED illumination 224, Respectively. Accordingly, the first filter unit 230 is also installed in the first bracket 252 and the second bracket 254, and the first polarizing filter 232 and the second polarizing filter 234 have the same structure and operation principle . Therefore, only the first polarized light filter 232 will be described below.

The first polarizing filter 232 has a circular filter body 232 and a rotating member for rotating the filter body 232. When the rotating member sequentially measures the total-pitch of each of the optical patterns (for example, 32-pattern, 40-inch pattern, etc.) in the width direction of the optical film 10, Pitch is measured by rotating the first polarizing filter 232 so as to be suitable for the first polarizing filter 232 and the first polarizing filter 232 to be optimized for the polarizing characteristic of the 40-inch and / or the retardation of the protective member 12 in the case of the next 40- To rotate the filter 232. That is, the rotating member is intended to compensate or optimize the optical pattern-specific optical characteristics when the photographing unit 240 is moved between sections having different optical patterns.

The rotating member includes a filter rotating body 231 having a first pulley 238 provided on the outer circumferential surface of the filter body 232 to be rotatably supported on the through hole 234 by a bearing 236, A second pulley 237 provided on the rotary shaft of the driving source 235, a belt 239 connecting the first pulley 238 and the second pulley 237, and a rotation direction and angle of the filter main body 232 And a sensor member 270 for detecting the temperature of the liquid.

The filter body 232 has a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape and is made of aluminum or a synthetic resin. The filter body 232 can communicate with the through hole 234 and is provided with an internal space in which the second pulley 237 can be located. The filter rotator located inside the through hole 234 is supported by a bearing 236 and the bearing 236 is coupled to one surface of the filter body 232 and has an opening coaxially disposed with a channel And is coupled into the through hole 234 by a bearing cover. The filter frame 233 has a housing in which the polarizing filter 232 is accommodated and a channel communicating with the housing. The polarizing filter 232 is fixed by a filter cover 272. It is preferable that the first pulley 238 is formed on the outer peripheral surface of the filter frame 233 and has a structure of a timing pulley.

The driving source 235 may be constituted by, for example, a forward or reverse rotatable step motor. The driving source 235 is protected by a motor cover (not shown) coupled to the filter frame 233. A second pulley 237 in the form of a timing pulley is mounted on the rotating shaft of the driving source 235. The first pulley 238 and the second pulley 237 are provided with a belt 239 having a timing belt structure.

The sensor member 270 includes a sensor dog 274 and a sensor dog 274 provided at the end of the rotational axis of the drive source 235 proximate to the second pulley 237 and provided with a reference consisting of one or more grooves or holes. And a photosensor 276 having a light emitting portion and a light receiving portion. The sensor member 270 can determine the rotation angle and direction of the polarization filter 232 by the rotation direction and rotation speed of the driving source 235. [

The total-pitch measurement system 200 of an optical film according to a preferred exemplary embodiment of the present invention further includes a second filter unit 260 disposed between the optical film 10 and the photographing unit 240. The second filter unit 260 separates the L and R patterns of the optical film 10 and controls scattering of light. The second filter unit 260 includes a circular polarizing filter 262 ) ≪ / RTI >

The circular polarization filter 260 includes a first circular polarization filter 262 fixed to the front end of the first camera 244 and a second circular polarization filter 264 fixed to the front end of the second camera 246. The second circular polarization filter 262 and the second circular polarization filter 264 are provided in the first bracket 252 and the second bracket 254 respectively and have the same structure and operation principle .

4 to 6, the second filter unit 260 is disposed integrally with the cameras 244 and 246 at each end of a pair of cameras 244 and 246 of the photographing unit 240 .

The measurement flow of the total-pitch measuring system of the optical film according to the preferred exemplary embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to Fig.

As shown in Fig. 3, first, the fabric structure of the optical film 10 is recognized. That is, the optical film 10 recognizes that it has the first optical pattern 1 and the second optical pattern 3 in the width direction, respectively.

Next, a first bracket 252, a second camera 246, and a second LED illuminator 224, which are provided with the first camera 244 and the first LED illuminator 222 as measuring points of the first optical pattern 1, And the second bracket 254 provided with the second bracket 254 is moved. Here, the first camera 244 is located in the left edge region of the first optical pattern 1, and the second optical pattern 3 is located in the right edge region of the first optical pattern 1. [

The first optical pattern 1 and the polarizing filter 232 are rotated while rotating the polarizing filter 232 of the first filter unit 230 so that the photographing unit 240 can photograph the first optical pattern 1 in an optimal state 232).

Next, the transfer unit 250 is driven to move the first camera 244 and the second camera 246 to the upper portion of the edge region of the first optical pattern 1 so that the first and second reference lines 201, The transfer unit 250 is moved finely to confirm the transfer unit 203. When the fine movement is completed, the first camera 244 and the second camera 246 of the photographing unit 240 photograph the corresponding area at the same time. The actual total-pitch of the first optical pattern 1 of the optical film 10 is measured by measuring the mechanical distance between the first camera 244 and the second camera 246 at this shooting moment. The distance between the first camera 244 and the second camera 246 is calculated based on the distance between the first LM guide 256 and the second LM guide 258 of the transfer unit 250.

The first LM guide 256 and the second LM guide 258 of the transfer unit 250 are moved to the first and second brackets 252 and 252, respectively, 2 bracket 254 to the measurement point of the second optical pattern 3. The first camera 244 including the first circular polarization filter 262 and the first polarizing filter 232 installed adjacent to the first LED illumination 222 are then moved together by the movement of the first bracket 252 The second camera 246 including the first circular polarization filter 262 and the second polarizing filter 234 installed adjacent to the second LED illumination 224 are moved by the movement of the second bracket 254 And move together. Since the method of measuring the total-pitch of the second optical pattern 3 is the same as that of the first optical pattern 1 described above, detailed description thereof will be omitted. When the measurement is completed, the transfer unit 250 moves the first bracket 252 and the second bracket 254 to the area of the first optical pattern 1 of the optical film 10, The first camera 244 and the second camera 246 are positioned above the corresponding areas.

10 ... Optical film
100, 200 ... Total-pitch measuring device
110, 210 ... Base roller
120, 220 ... Lighting unit
130, 230 ... The first filter unit
140, 240 ... Shooting unit
150, 250 ... The second filter unit

Claims (21)

A system for measuring a total-pitch corresponding to a distance between both edge regions of an optical pattern formed on an optical film traveling at a predetermined speed,
A base roller which travels in contact with the optical film and reflects light on the surface;
An illuminating unit capable of irradiating light toward the both edge regions of the region of the optical film running in close contact with the base roller;
And a pair of cameras capable of photographing light reflected from the surface of the base roller corresponding to the both edge regions at a position corresponding to the both edge regions; And
And a transporting unit capable of reciprocating the lighting unit and the photographing unit in the width direction of the optical film at the same time,
Wherein the total-pitch is measured using a pair of camera distances of the reflected light.
The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the optical film is a pattern relief film (FPR) in which L and R patterns having different optical axes are formed.
The method of claim 2,
Wherein the FPR is in an in-line state before the substrate is wound on the winder in the course of running the substrate on which the alignment layer and the liquid crystal layer are formed.
The method of claim 2,
Wherein a protective member is attached to one surface of the optical film.
The method of claim 4,
Wherein the protective member is attached to a surface of the optical film so as to be in contact with the base roller.
The method of claim 4,
Wherein the protective member is a polyethylene terephthalate (PET) film having an optical axis and a phase difference.
The method of claim 6,
Wherein the PET film is an oriented PET film oriented to have a controlled optical axis deviation or a non-oriented PET film whose optical axis deviation is not controlled.
The method according to claim 1 or 2,
Wherein the total-pitch is a distance from a first reference line of one of the edges in the width direction of the optical film to a second reference line of another edge of the optical film.
The method according to claim 1 or 2,
A first filter unit disposed between the optical film and the illumination unit; And
Further comprising a second filter unit disposed between the optical film and the photographing unit.
The method of claim 9,
Wherein the first filter unit comprises a polarizing filter.
The method of claim 10,
Wherein the polarizing filter is disposed so as to be able to rotate forward and backward at 360 degrees in order to automatically compensate for the phase change of the optical film.
The method of claim 10,
Wherein the polarizing filter comprises:
The circular filter body and
And a rotating member for rotating the filter body.
The method of claim 12,
The rotating member comprises:
A filter body rotatably supported on the through hole by a bearing and having a first pulley on an outer circumferential surface thereof;
A second pulley provided on a rotary shaft of a driving source provided in the filter frame; And
And a belt connecting the first pulley and the second pulley.
The method of claim 12,
Wherein the polarizing filter further comprises a sensor member for measuring a rotating direction and an angle of the rotating member.
The method of claim 9,
Wherein the second filter unit comprises a circular polarization filter for separating L and R patterns of the optical film and for controlling scattering of light.
16. The method of claim 15,
Wherein the circular polarization filter is disposed integrally with the camera at an end of the camera of the photographing unit.
The method according to claim 1 or 2,
Wherein the base roller is provided with a reflecting portion capable of reflecting light emitted from the lighting unit to the photographing unit.
18. The method of claim 17,
Wherein the reflective portion is coated or surface-treated on the surface of the base roller.
The method according to claim 1 or 2,
The pair of cameras can simultaneously photograph the first baseline portion and the second baseline portion of the total-pitch of the pattern formed on the optical film;
Wherein the illumination unit comprises a pair of LED lights adapted to correspond to each of the pair of cameras.
The method according to claim 1 or 2,
Wherein the photographing unit and the lighting unit are disposed at an angle of 45 degrees with respect to the surface of the base roller.
The method according to claim 1 or 2,
Wherein the transfer unit comprises:
A bracket on which the photographing unit and the lighting unit are installed; And
And an LM guide provided between the bracket and the transfer frame.

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