Method and apparatus for sequentially laminating optical film including polarizing film, to rectangular-shaped panel

A lamination apparatus for sequentially laminating a carrier film-attached optical film laminate to a rectangular-shaped panel having a long side and a short side, using the optical film laminate which comprises an optical film including at least a polarizing film having a thickness of 10 μm or less, and a carrier film attached to the optical film through an adhesive layer under a condition that an adhesion force of the carrier film with respect to the adhesive layer is weaker than an adhesion force of the optical film with respect to the adhesive layer, the lamination apparatus comprising:

• an optical film laminate feeding mechanism for feeding the optical film laminate in a lengthwise direction thereof;
• a slit forming mechanism for sequentially forming a plurality of slits in the optical film laminate being fed in the lengthwise direction by the feeding mechanism, in a width direction thereof at lengthwise intervals corresponding to one of the long and short sides of the panel, to extend from a surface of the optical film on a side opposite to the carrier film to a depth reaching a surface of the carrier film adjacent to the optical film to thereby form an optical film sheet supported by the carrier film, between lengthwisely adjacent two of the slits;
• a panel feeding mechanism for sequentially feeding a plurality of the panels to a lamination position;
• a carrier film peeling mechanism for, with respect to each of the optical film sheets being fed toward the lamination position in synchronization with a respective one of the panels being sequentially fed to the lamination position, peeling the optical film sheet from the carrier film just before the lamination position, while allowing the adhesive layer to be left on the side of the optical film sheet, and feeding the peeled optical film so as to superimpose it on the panel fed to the lamination position;
• a laminating mechanism disposed at the lamination position to laminate the optical film sheet to the panel fed to the lamination position, through the adhesive layer;
• and
• a holding mechanism for, after the optical film sheet is peeled from the carrier film, feeding the optical film sheet to the laminating mechanism, while holding at least a leading end of the optical film sheet in a moving direction thereof.