CN110632073A

CN110632073A - Vacuum drying equipment and monitoring device

Info

Publication number: CN110632073A
Application number: CN201910912569.8A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 叶志杰; 黄文同; 王欣欣; 彭锐; 贾文斌
Original assignee: BOE Technology Group Co Ltd; Hefei BOE Zhuoyin Technology Co Ltd
Current assignee: BOE Technology Group Co Ltd; Hefei BOE Zhuoyin Technology Co Ltd
Priority date: 2019-09-25
Filing date: 2019-09-25
Publication date: 2019-12-31

Abstract

The disclosure provides vacuum drying equipment and a monitoring device, and relates to the technical field of film forming processes. The monitoring device is used for monitoring a printing layer and comprises a monitoring probe, a control assembly and a driving mechanism. The monitoring probe is arranged opposite to the printing layer and comprises a light path system, a light source and a sensing component, wherein the light source is provided with a light outlet facing the light path system, the sensing component is provided with a light inlet facing the light path system, the light path system is used for forming a conjugate image of the light outlet on one side of the light path system close to the printing layer, and the light inlet is conjugated with the conjugate image; the sensing assembly is used for outputting a sensing signal according to the light entering the light inlet. The control component is used for outputting the control signal until the strength of the induction signal reaches a threshold value. The driving mechanism is connected with the monitoring probe and used for responding to the control signal to drive the monitoring probe to move towards the printing layer. The monitoring device can monitor the liquid level change of the printing layer and provide data for adjusting the vacuum drying equipment.

Description

Vacuum drying equipment and monitoring device

Technical Field

The disclosure relates to the technical field of vacuum drying, in particular to vacuum drying equipment and a monitoring device.

Background

VCD (Vacuum Dry) technology is an important process in a film forming process such as inkjet printing, and a printed layer can be dried by VCD process to form a desired film layer, and in the drying process, the liquid level of the printed layer gradually drops with the evaporation of moisture until the printed layer is cured to form a film. At present, due to the lack of data reflecting the liquid level change of a printing layer, parameters such as proper pressure and the like are difficult to determine according to the change of the printing layer, the flatness of the film layer is not favorable to be optimized, and the product quality is influenced.

It is to be noted that the information disclosed in the above background section is only for enhancement of understanding of the background of the present disclosure, and thus may include information that does not constitute prior art known to those of ordinary skill in the art.

Disclosure of Invention

The purpose of the present disclosure is to overcome the deficiencies of the prior art, and provide a vacuum drying apparatus and a monitoring device, which can monitor the liquid level change of a printing layer and provide data for adjusting the vacuum drying apparatus.

According to an aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a monitoring apparatus for monitoring a printed layer, the monitoring apparatus comprising:

the monitoring probe is arranged opposite to the printing layer and comprises a light path system, a light source and a sensing component, wherein the light source is provided with a light outlet facing the light path system, the sensing component is provided with a light inlet facing the light path system, the light path system is used for forming a conjugate image of the light outlet on one side of the light path system close to the printing layer, and the light inlet is conjugated with the conjugate image; the sensing assembly is used for outputting a sensing signal according to the light entering the light inlet;

the control component is used for outputting a control signal until the strength of the induction signal reaches a threshold value;

and the driving mechanism is connected with the monitoring probe and used for responding to the control signal to drive the monitoring probe to move towards the printing layer.

In an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, the optical path system includes:

the convex lens is arranged between the sensing assembly and the printing layer, the optical axis of the convex lens is perpendicular to the printing layer, and the center of the light inlet hole is positioned on the optical axis of the convex lens;

the light splitting mechanism is arranged between the convex lens and the induction assembly, the light outlet faces the light splitting mechanism, the light splitting mechanism is used for reflecting light emitted from the light outlet to the convex lens, and the light splitting mechanism can allow the light passing through the convex lens to emit to the light inlet to pass through.

In an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, the light splitting mechanism includes:

the semi-transmitting semi-reflecting mirror is crossed with the optical axis of the convex lens and is an included angle of a preset angle with the optical axis.

In an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, the preset angle is 45 °.

In an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, the light source includes:

a light emitting device disposed toward the optical path system;

the first light shading piece is blocked between the light emitting device and the optical path system, and the light outlet hole is formed in the first light shading piece.

In one exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, the light emitting device is for emitting monochromatic light.

In an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, the sensing assembly includes:

a photoelectric sensing device disposed toward the optical path system;

and the second light shading piece is blocked between the photoelectric sensing device and the optical path system, and the light inlet hole is formed in the second light shading piece.

In an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, the monitoring apparatus further includes:

the positioning assembly is used for detecting the position of the monitoring probe in real time;

the control component is used for determining the moving distance of the monitoring probe according to the position of the monitoring probe.

In an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, the aperture of each of the light emitting holes is 10 μm to 30 μm.

According to an aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a vacuum drying apparatus including:

the heating plate is used for bearing the base material with the printing layer;

the monitoring device is arranged on one side, deviating from the heating plate, of the printing layer, and the monitoring probe is arranged opposite to the printing layer.

When the vacuum drying equipment and the monitoring device are used, the monitoring probe can be arranged above a printing layer to be dried, the light source emits light to the light path system through the light outlet hole, and the light path system forms a conjugate image of the light outlet hole on one side close to the printing layer. In an initial state, the conjugate image is higher than the printing layer, namely the conjugate image is not coplanar with the printing layer, and the conjugate image is also conjugated with the light inlet hole, so that light reflected by the printing layer cannot enter the sensing assembly through the light inlet hole, only a sensing signal with lower intensity can be generated, and even no sensing signal exists. When the conjugate image conjugated with the light outlet hole is coplanar with the printing layer, the printing layer can reflect light rays, the reflected light rays can enter the light inlet hole of the sensing assembly through the light path system, at the moment, the intensity of the sensing signal is increased, when the intensity of the sensing signal reaches a threshold value, the control assembly stops outputting the control signal, and the driving mechanism stops moving the monitoring probe. From this, can make monitor along with the decline of printing the layer liquid level and descend, realize the pursuit to printing the layer liquid level, through the distance that obtains monitor removal, can confirm to print the height that the layer descends in drying process, provide data for the parameter of adjustment vacuum drying equipment, be convenient for improve the flatness of printing the layer, improve product quality.

It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory only and are not restrictive of the disclosure.

Drawings

The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate embodiments consistent with the present disclosure and together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the disclosure. It is to be understood that the drawings in the following description are merely exemplary of the disclosure, and that other drawings may be derived from those drawings by one of ordinary skill in the art without the exercise of inventive faculty.

Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram of an embodiment of a monitoring device according to the present disclosure.

Fig. 2 is a partial schematic view of the liquid level of a print layer before drying in an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Fig. 3 is a partial schematic view of the liquid level of a print layer after drying in an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Fig. 4 is a schematic view of an embodiment of a vacuum drying apparatus of the present disclosure.

Description of reference numerals:

100. printing the layer; 200. a substrate; 1. monitoring the probe; 11. an optical path system; 111. a convex lens; 112. a light splitting mechanism; 12. a light source; 1201. a light exit hole; 121. a light emitting device; 122. a first light shielding member; 13. an inductive component; 1301. a light entrance hole; 131. a photoelectric sensing device; 132. a second light shielding member; 14. a housing; 2. a control component; 3. a drive mechanism; 31. a guide rail; 32. a linear drive member; 4. a positioning assembly; 5. heating the plate; 6. a condenser.

Detailed Description

Example embodiments will now be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings. Example embodiments may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein; rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the concept of example embodiments to those skilled in the art. The same reference numerals in the drawings denote the same or similar structures, and thus their detailed description will be omitted. Furthermore, the drawings are merely schematic illustrations of the present disclosure and are not necessarily drawn to scale.

Although relative terms, such as "upper" and "lower," may be used in this specification to describe one element of an icon relative to another, these terms are used in this specification for convenience only, e.g., in accordance with the orientation of the examples described in the figures. It will be appreciated that if the device of the icon were turned upside down, the element described as "upper" would become the element "lower". When a structure is "on" another structure, it may mean that the structure is integrally formed with the other structure, or that the structure is "directly" disposed on the other structure, or that the structure is "indirectly" disposed on the other structure via another structure.

The terms "a," "an," "the," "said" are used to indicate the presence of one or more elements/components/etc.; the terms "comprising" and "having" are intended to be inclusive and mean that there may be additional elements/components/etc. other than the listed elements/components/etc.; the terms "first" and "second" are used merely as labels, and are not limiting on the number of their objects.

In the related art, in a film forming process such as inkjet printing, a printed layer is usually dried by a vacuum drying (VCD) apparatus, and specifically, a substrate on which the printed layer is formed is placed on a carrying device in a vacuum chamber of the vacuum drying apparatus, and the printed layer is heated, dried, and cured to form a film. Meanwhile, the flatness of the print layer is affected by the pressure in the vacuum chamber, so that the vacuum chamber needs to be evacuated and the pressure is adjusted to make the pressure in the vacuum chamber in an optimum state for improving the flatness of the print layer. However, the pressure parameters such as the critical point of the air pressure cannot be determined, so that the adjustment of the vacuum drying equipment is only performed by experience and experiments, which is not beneficial to improving the flatness of the printing layer and makes the product quality difficult to improve.

The disclosed embodiment provides a monitoring device, as shown in fig. 1, for monitoring a printing layer 100, where a material of the printing layer 100 may be ink in inkjet printing, or may also be a liquid material to be dried formed in other film forming processes, and the printing layer 100 may be a color film layer of a color film substrate or other film layers, which are not described in detail herein. As shown in fig. 1, the monitoring apparatus of the embodiment of the present disclosure includes a monitoring probe 1, a control assembly 2, and a driving mechanism 3, wherein:

the monitoring probe 1 is arranged opposite to the printing layer 100, the monitoring probe 1 comprises a light path system 11, a light source 12 and a sensing component 13, the light source 12 is provided with a light outlet 1201 facing the light path system 11, the sensing component 13 is provided with a light inlet 1301 facing the light path system 11, the light path system 11 is used for forming a conjugate image of the light outlet 1201 on one side of the light path system 11 close to the printing layer 100, and the light inlet 1301 is conjugated with the conjugate image; the sensing element 13 is used for outputting a sensing signal according to the light entering the light inlet 1301.

The control component 2 is used for outputting the control signal until the strength of the induction signal reaches a threshold value. The driving mechanism 3 is connected to the monitor probe 1, and is configured to drive the monitor probe 1 to move toward the print layer 100 in response to a control signal.

In the monitoring device according to the embodiment of the present disclosure, in use, the monitoring probe 1 may be placed above the printing layer 100 to be dried, and directly face the printing layer 100. The light source 12 emits light to the optical path system 11 through the light exit hole 1201, and the optical path system 11 may form a conjugate image conjugate to the light exit hole 1201 on its side close to the printing layer 100.

In the initial state of the monitoring probe 1, as shown by the dashed optical path in fig. 1, the conjugate image of the light exit hole 1201 formed by the optical path system 11 is higher than the printing layer 100, i.e. the conjugate image is not coplanar with the printing layer 100, and since the conjugate image is also conjugated with the light entrance hole 1301, the light reflected by the printing layer 100 is difficult to enter the sensing assembly 13 through the light entrance hole 1301, and only a sensing signal with low intensity can be generated, even no sensing signal. At this time, the control module 2 may send a control signal to drive the monitor probe 1 to move toward the printing layer 100 through the driving mechanism 3.

When the conjugate image of the light exit hole 1201 is coplanar with the printing layer 100, as shown by the solid light path in fig. 1, the light reflected by the area of the printing layer 100 corresponding to the conjugate image can enter the light entrance hole 1301 of the sensing assembly 13 through the light path system 11. At this time, the intensity of the sensing signal increases, and when the intensity of the sensing signal reaches a threshold value, the control unit 2 stops outputting the control signal, and the drive mechanism 3 stops moving the monitor probe 1. In fig. 1, the outline of the light spot formed on the printing layer 100 by the conjugate image is not shown because of the small size, and it is only the intersection point of the solid light path on the printing layer 100.

Therefore, the monitoring probe 1 can descend along with the descending of the liquid level of the printing layer 100, the tracking of the liquid level of the printing layer 100 is achieved, the descending height of the printing layer 100 in the drying process can be determined by obtaining the moving distance of the monitoring probe 1, the change condition of the printing layer 100 is mastered, and data is provided for adjusting parameters of vacuum drying equipment, so that the flatness of the printing layer 100 is improved conveniently, and the product quality is improved. Meanwhile, in the above process, it is ensured that both the light exit hole 1201 and the light entrance hole 1301 are conjugated with the conjugate image, only the light reflected by the region where the conjugate image and the printing layer 100 are overlapped can enter the light entrance hole 1301, and interference of other light entering the light entrance hole 1301 to the sensing component 13 is avoided.

The liquid level of the print layer 100 on the substrate 200 before drying is shown in fig. 2, and the liquid level of the print layer 100 after drying is shown in fig. 3.

The following describes each part of the monitoring device according to the embodiment of the present disclosure in detail:

as shown in fig. 1, the monitoring probe 1 includes an optical path system 11, a light source 12 and a sensing component 13, wherein the light source 12 is provided with a light outlet 1201, the light outlet 1201 is disposed toward the optical path system 11, and a light emitting range of the light source 12 can be defined by the light outlet 1201. The optical path system 11 may form a conjugate image of the light exit hole 1201 on a side thereof close to the printing layer 100, the conjugate image being a light spot conjugate to the light exit hole 1201.

The sensing element 13 is provided with a light inlet hole 1301, the light inlet hole 1301 is arranged towards the optical path system 11, the light inlet hole 1301 is conjugated with the conjugate image, when the conjugate image is coplanar with the printing layer 100, the conjugate image can be equivalent to a light-emitting object, the emitted light can pass through the optical path system 11 and then irradiate into the light inlet hole 1301, and the outline of the light inlet hole 1301 is the outline of the image conjugated with the light-emitting object. The basic principle of object-image conjugation is not described in detail here.

The light exit hole 1201 may be circular in shape and may have an aperture of 10 μm to 30 μm, and the shape and size of a light spot formed when the conjugate image of the light exit hole 1201 is coplanar with the printing layer 100 are the same as those of the light exit hole 1201.

In one embodiment, as shown in fig. 1, the optical path system 11 includes a convex lens 111 and a light splitting mechanism 112, wherein:

the convex lens 111 is arranged between the sensing component 13 and the printing layer 100, the optical axis of the convex lens 111 is perpendicular to the printing layer 100, the center of the light inlet hole 1301 of the sensing component 13 is located on the optical axis of the convex lens 111, and the plane of the light inlet hole 1301 is perpendicular to the optical axis.

The light splitting mechanism 112 may be disposed between the convex lens 111 and the sensing component 13, the light outlet 1201 of the light source 12 is disposed toward the light splitting mechanism 112, the light splitting mechanism 112 is configured to reflect the light emitted from the light outlet 1201 toward the convex lens 111, and the light splitting mechanism 112 is capable of passing through the convex lens 111 and toward the light inlet 1301.

For example, as shown in fig. 1, the beam splitting mechanism 112 may include a half mirror, which intersects with the optical axis of the convex lens 111 and forms a predetermined angle with the optical axis. The preset angle may be 45 °. The center line of the light exit hole 1201 and the center line of the light entrance hole 1301 may perpendicularly intersect such that the optical axis of the light beam emitted from the light source 12 perpendicularly intersects the optical axis of the convex lens 111.

In other embodiments of the present disclosure, the light splitting mechanism 112 may further include one or more other reflective mirrors as long as the light of the light source 12 can be guided to the convex lens 111. The specific structure of the spectroscopic mechanism 112 is not particularly limited.

In an embodiment, as shown in fig. 1, the light source 12 may include a light emitting device 121 and a first light blocking member 122, wherein:

the light emitting device 121 may be disposed toward the optical path system 11, for example, toward the half mirror of the above embodiment. Meanwhile, the light emitting device 121 may be used to emit monochromatic light, such as red laser light. Of course, the light emitting device 121 may also be used to emit mixed light, as long as the optical path system 11 can form a conjugate image of the light exit hole 1201. The light emitting device 121 may be a laser, an OLED lamp, or the like, and is not particularly limited herein.

The first light-shielding member 122 may be blocked between the light-emitting device 121 and the optical path system 11, for example, the first light-shielding member 122 may be blocked between the light-emitting device 121 and the half mirror. The first light-shielding member 122 may be made of a light-shielding material, for example, the first light-shielding member 122 may be a metal sheet which is not transparent to light. The light exit hole 1201 is provided in the first light shielding member 122, the light emitting device 121 is disposed toward the light exit hole 1201, and the range irradiated on the first light shielding member 122 covers the light exit hole 1201, so that the light emitting region of the light source 12 can be defined by the first light shielding member 122.

In one embodiment, as shown in fig. 1, the sensing assembly 13 includes a photo sensing device 131 and a second light shielding member 132, wherein:

the photo sensor device 131 may be disposed toward the optical system 11, and may include one or more photo sensors for converting the optical signal into an electrical signal, i.e., generating a sensing signal, wherein the intensity of the sensing signal is positively correlated to the illumination intensity.

The second light shielding member 132 can be blocked between the photo sensor device 131 and the optical system 11, for example, the second light shielding member 132 is blocked between the photo sensor device 131 and the half mirror, and is separated from the first light shielding member 122 on two sides of the half mirror. The second light-shielding member 132 may be made of a light-shielding material, for example, the second light-shielding member 132 may be a metal sheet which is not transparent to light. When the conjugate image of the light exit hole 1201 is coplanar with the printing layer 100, the conjugate image is a light spot on the printing layer 100, and light reflected by the printing layer 100 in the light spot region can pass through the convex lens 111 and the half mirror in sequence and enter the light entrance hole 1301. Since the conjugate image (light spot) is conjugated with the light entrance hole 1301, only the light reflected by the printing layer 100 in the light spot region can enter the light entrance hole 1301, and other light cannot enter the light entrance hole 1301, so that the interference of the surface stray light on the sensing signal is avoided.

As shown in fig. 1, the control component 2 can output the control signal after being turned on, and can receive the sensing signal, compare the strength of the sensing signal with a preset threshold, stop outputting the control signal when the strength of the sensing signal reaches the threshold, and otherwise continuously output the control signal. The control component 2 may be a microprocessor such as a single chip microcomputer or a PLC (programmable logic controller), or may be a system such as a computer having a judgment and processing function, and the structure thereof is not particularly limited.

As shown in fig. 1, the driving mechanism 3 may be connected to the monitor probe 1 and may drive the monitor probe 1 to move in a direction close to the printing layer 100, for example, to move linearly toward the printing layer 100 in a direction perpendicular to the printing layer 100 in response to the control signal described above, so as to reduce the distance between the monitor probe 1 and the printing layer 100.

In one embodiment, as shown in fig. 1, the drive mechanism 3 comprises a guide rail 31 and a linear drive member 32, wherein:

the guide rail 31 is disposed perpendicular to the printing layer 100, and the structure thereof is not particularly limited. The monitoring probe 1 is slidably coupled to the guide rail 31 so as to be linearly slidable along the guide rail 31.

The linear driving unit 32 may be connected to the monitoring probe 1 for driving the monitoring probe 1 to move along the guide rail 31. The linear driving unit 32 may be a linear motor, a hydraulic cylinder, an air cylinder, or the like that can output a linear motion.

In other embodiments of the present disclosure, the driving mechanism 3 may also include a rotating motor and a lead screw nut pair, and the monitoring probe 1 may also be moved toward the printing layer 100 by driving the lead screw nut pair by the rotating motor. In addition, the driving mechanism 3 may be of other structures as long as it can move the monitor probe 1 toward the printing layer 100 in response to a control signal, which is not listed here.

In addition, in an embodiment, as shown in fig. 1, in order to facilitate moving the monitoring probe 1 as a whole to the printing layer 100, the monitoring probe 1 may further include a housing 14, the optical path system 11, the light source 12 and the sensing component 13 are all fixed in the housing 14, so as to move synchronously with the housing 14, and the driving mechanism 3 only needs to drive the housing 14. The housing 14 has an open end facing the print layer 100 so as not to block light. The housing 14 may be made of a light-shielding material to prevent stray light from entering, and the specific structure thereof is not particularly limited herein.

Further, in an embodiment, as shown in fig. 1, the monitoring apparatus of the embodiment of the present disclosure further includes a positioning component 4, configured to detect a position of the monitoring probe 1 in real time, and feed back position information of the monitoring probe 1 to the control component 2, where the position information may be coordinates of the monitoring probe 1 in a coordinate system. The positioning component 4 may be a GPS positioning system, a position sensor, or the like, which is not listed here.

The control component 2 can determine the moving distance of the monitoring probe 1 according to the position of the monitoring probe 1, wherein the moving distance is the height of the liquid level drop of the printing layer 100 in the drying process, so that the drying process of the printing layer 100 can be monitored in real time.

Of course, after the drying is completed, the distance that the monitoring probe 1 moves may also be manually measured, so that the height at which the liquid level of the printing layer 100 drops during the drying process is not automatically detected.

The present disclosure also provides a vacuum drying apparatus, as shown in fig. 4, which may include a heating plate 5 and the monitoring device of any of the above embodiments, wherein:

the heating plate 5 may be used to support the substrate 200 on which the printing layer 100 is formed, and may heat the substrate 200 to dry the printing layer 100. The structure of the substrate 200 is not particularly limited, and the printing layer 100 may be a color film layer of a color film substrate or other layers, which are not listed here.

The structure of the monitoring device can refer to the above embodiments of the monitoring device, and is not described herein again. Monitor 1 locates and prints one side that layer 100 deviates from heating plate 5, and just to setting up with printing layer 100 to can monitor printing layer 100, the embodiment of above monitoring device can be referred to the concrete principle.

In addition, the vacuum drying apparatus may further include a condenser 6, which may be disposed between the heating plate 5 and the substrate 200, and the condenser 6 is a light-transmitting structure so as not to block the monitoring probe 1 from emitting and receiving light.

Other embodiments of the disclosure will be apparent to those skilled in the art from consideration of the specification and practice of the disclosure disclosed herein. This application is intended to cover any variations, uses, or adaptations of the disclosure following, in general, the principles of the disclosure and including such departures from the present disclosure as come within known or customary practice within the art to which the disclosure pertains. It is intended that the specification and examples be considered as exemplary only, with a true scope and spirit of the disclosure being indicated by the following claims.

Claims

1. A monitoring device for monitoring a printed layer, the monitoring device comprising:

2. The monitoring device of claim 1, wherein the optical path system comprises:

3. The monitoring device according to claim 2, wherein the light-splitting mechanism comprises:

4. A monitoring device according to claim 3, in which the preset angle is 45 °.

5. The monitoring device of claim 1, wherein the light source comprises:

a light emitting device disposed toward the optical path system;

6. The monitoring device of claim 5, wherein the light emitting device is configured to emit monochromatic light.

7. The monitoring device of claim 1, wherein the sensing assembly comprises:

a photoelectric sensing device disposed toward the optical path system;

8. The monitoring device of claim 1, further comprising:

9. The monitoring device according to claim 1, wherein the apertures of the light-exiting holes are each 10 μm to 30 μm.

10. A vacuum drying apparatus, comprising:

the monitoring device of any one of claims 1-9, disposed on a side of the print layer facing away from the heater tray, and the monitoring probe is disposed opposite the print layer.