JP2000202347A - Applicator - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To optimize coating film properties such as a desired coating film thickness and the uniformity of a film thickness corresponding to coating liquids of various properties by adjusting the rotational angle of an application part corresponding to the properties of a coating liquid such as viscosity, surface tension, and wettability to a substrate and setting the inclination angle of the substrate freely. SOLUTION: An application part 10 having an application head 15 which forms a coating film on a substrate S held by a holding member 13 and moves freely along a straight guide rail 17 is supported freely rotatably on a frame part 20. The application part 10 is supported rotatably along an arc-shaped guide rail 22 of the frame part 20 through slide members 12, and the rotational angle of the application part 10 to the frame part 20 is adjusted by an application part inclination angle adjusting means. The adjusting means composed of a slider driving mechanism including a driving source M3 slides a slider 33 through a ball screw rod 34 by controlling the driving source M3 and adjusts the inclination angle of the substrate S by rotating an application part body 11 through a connection pin 31.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a coating apparatus for efficiently forming a coating film having a uniform film thickness on a single-wafer type substrate, and more particularly to a coating apparatus having desired characteristics for a large-area single-wafer substrate. An object is to obtain a durable and reliable coating apparatus for forming a coating film.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A coating solution such as a resin solution or ink for forming a photosensitive resin film, an adhesive layer, a protective film, etc. is applied to a single-wafer type glass substrate used for a liquid crystal display device, a plasma display, or the like. In general, a spin coating method is often used. There are two types of spin coating methods: open type and closed type.Both of these methods have the drawback that the coating liquid coating efficiency is low and the coating film thickness at the corners of the substrate becomes too thick. With the increase in size, the amount of coating liquid used, the uniformity of coating film thickness,
There are many issues in terms of productivity of the coating process and the like.

[0003] Therefore, while eliminating the drawbacks of the spin coating method, it is possible to form a coating film having a uniform thickness stably on a single-wafer substrate without being affected by the physical properties of the coating solution itself and the smoothness of the substrate. Coating device is based on the international application PCT / J
P94 / 00845 (International filing date: May 27, 1994)
), The applicant has previously proposed.

This coating apparatus has a coating head that opens upward and has a band-shaped slit extending in the horizontal direction, a coating liquid supply unit that supplies a coating liquid to the coating head, and a coating liquid supply unit that faces above the coating head. And a substrate holding member that holds the substrate in a tilted state with the application surface facing downward. In this coating apparatus, first, a coating liquid is supplied to a coating head, and the coating liquid is discharged from a slit to form a band-shaped liquid pool in a gap between the substrate and the coating head. Next, by moving the coating head or the substrate holding member holding the substrate by suction in a direction crossing the liquid pool, the liquid pool of the coating liquid is sequentially brought into contact with the coating surface of the substrate, and the coating film is formed on the substrate. To form

[0005] The above-mentioned coating apparatus is used to adjust the coating surface of the substrate in order to obtain a desired uniform coating film thickness in accordance with the physical properties such as the viscosity and surface tension of the coating liquid and the wettability and smoothness of the substrate. A mechanism for adjusting the gap with the coating head, and a mechanism for adjusting the inclination angle of the substrate while maintaining the gap,
Further, a mechanism for adjusting the relative moving speed between the substrate holding member holding the substrate by suction and the coating head is provided. According to this coating apparatus, the coating efficiency of the coating liquid is good,
In addition, even with a single-wafer substrate, a coating film having a uniform thickness can be formed over a wide area on only one side of the substrate without being affected by the smoothness of the coating surface.

Next, in order to further improve the productivity of the substrate on which the coating film is formed in the above-mentioned coating apparatus, a plurality of portions on the outer periphery of the substrate holding member for holding the substrate by suction are extended inward from the outer periphery of the substrate to be coated. A space was provided. Then, when supplying the substrate to the coating apparatus or when discharging the substrate from the coating apparatus, the substrate attaching / detaching member for attaching / detaching the substrate passes through the space of the substrate holding member locked at the substrate attaching / detaching position, A coating apparatus configured to attach or detach a substrate has been proposed in Japanese Patent Application No. 9-19575 (filing date: January 20, 1997). According to this coating apparatus, the substrate attaching / detaching operation such as discharging the substrate after the coating processing or supplying the substrate before the coating processing can be performed quickly and reliably without using a complicated mechanism. Can be

Further, in order to make the thickness of a coating film formed on a substrate more uniform, the present applicant has added the following coating method.
A coating apparatus using a conventional spin coating method was proposed in Japanese Patent Application No. Hei 9-31237 (filing date: January 30, 1997). This has the effect of rotating the substrate already coated with the coating liquid at a high speed, thereby expanding the coating film region having a uniform thickness and increasing the effective dimension of the coating film forming substrate.

In each of the above-mentioned applications, two types are proposed in terms of the configuration of the coating apparatus. The first type is a type in which the coating head is fixed and the substrate holding member is moved. In this type of coating apparatus, the moving distance of the substrate holding member from the coating start position to the coating end position requires a distance at least equal to or longer than the length of the substrate in the coating direction, and therefore includes the moving distance of the substrate holding member. Is at least twice as long as the length of the substrate in the application direction. However, recently, as the size of a substrate on which a coating process is performed is increased, the size and weight of the substrate holding member are increasing, and the first type of coating apparatus requires a mechanical accuracy for obtaining desired coating film characteristics. In addition, the durability of the device cannot be ensured.

A second type of coating apparatus is a type in which a substrate holding member is fixed during coating processing and a coating head is moved. The mechanical length of the coating apparatus of this type is determined by the moving distance of the coating head, that is, the length in the coating direction of the substrate, the physical dimensions in the moving direction of the coating head itself, and the physical length of the moving means for moving the coating head. And the length. Therefore, even if the substrate to be coated is large-sized, the mechanical length of the coating apparatus can be configured to be shorter than that of the first type of coating apparatus, so that mechanical accuracy and durability of the apparatus are ensured. It is easy.

The main points of the coating apparatus are as follows. First, a coating surface of a substrate which is inclined downward and is suction-held by a substrate holding member, and an upward opening of a horizontally extending strip-shaped slit provided in a coating head. The coating head is moved at a constant speed in a tilt direction parallel to the coating surface of the substrate while always maintaining the gap between the coating head and the coating head constant.

Second, in order to obtain a desired uniform coating film thickness, the inclination angle of the substrate holding member for holding the substrate is adjusted in accordance with the viscosity and surface tension of the coating solution, the wettability of the substrate, and the like. Is to make it possible. Third, when supplying the substrate before the coating process to the coating device or discharging the substrate after the coating process from the coating device, the downward inclination during the coating process is performed so that the substrate can be quickly or securely mounted or detached. The position of the substrate holding member is reversed and rotated from the position, and is not necessarily horizontal, but is locked upward at a fixed substrate attaching / detaching position.

FIGS. 4 and 5 are an external perspective view and a side perspective view showing an example of the configuration of the second type of coating apparatus. In this coating apparatus, a substrate holding member 13 that holds a substrate S to be subjected to a coating process by suction is supported on an upper portion of a coating section body 11 via a rotation axis J. This substrate holding member 13
Can be reversed between the coating processing position R and the substrate attaching / detaching position V by the driving source M2. Coating frame 11
A coating head 15 that is moved by a driving source M1 while maintaining a constant gap with the coating surface of the substrate to be coated so as to face the substrate holding surface (downward in the figure) of the substrate holding member 13 is provided at the lower part of FIG. , Are slidably provided via linear guide rails 17.

One end of the lower portion of the coating unit frame 11 is supported on a gantry 21 by a rotation axis K, and the other end of the coating unit frame 11 is applied to a substrate S to be coated by a coating unit inclination angle adjusting means 30. It is attached to the gantry 21 so that the inclination angle can be adjusted.
By rotating the handle H of the coating unit inclination angle adjusting means 30, the rotation angle of the coating unit frame 11, that is, the inclination angle θ of the substrate during the coating process can be adjusted.

[0014]

In recent years, there has been an increasing demand for a large-sized and large-area substrate to be subjected to a coating process. For this reason, first, it is necessary to increase the size of a substrate holding member for holding a substrate by suction. Became. At that time, the size and weight of the substrate holding member itself have increased due to an increase in mechanical strength for ensuring the flatness of the substrate holding surface. Naturally, the coating head for performing the coating process on the substrate also needs to be increased in size, and the dimensions and weight increase. Further, a rotating mechanism for reversing and rotating the substrate holding member and a moving mechanism for moving the coating head also need to increase mechanical strength, and a coating unit for integrally holding the substrate holding member and the coating head. The skeleton,
The strength was increased to maintain the required positional accuracy, and the dimensions and weight increased.

[0015] As described above, the configuration of the coating portion having an increased size and weight by using the device structure shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 so as to be able to freely tilt is problematic in terms of mechanical strength of the device. There is a possibility that safety and durability may be impaired. The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and supplies a coating liquid to a coating head having a slit opened upward, discharges the coating liquid from the slit, and is held inclined downward. In a coating apparatus that applies a coating liquid to a substrate, the tilt angle of the substrate during the coating process can be adjusted, and the desired coating film characteristics can be obtained even on a large-sized and large-sized substrate, and the quality can be easily maintained. It is another object of the present invention to obtain a coating apparatus having high durability and safety.

[0016]

According to the present invention, there is provided a coating apparatus comprising: a substrate holding member for holding a substrate with a coating surface facing downward and inclined at a coating processing position; A rotating means for reversingly rotating the substrate holding member, a coating head provided below the substrate holding member at the coating processing position and having a slit opened upward and extending in the horizontal direction, and supplying the coating liquid to the coating head The application liquid supply means for discharging the application liquid from the slit, and the moving means for relatively moving the application head in a direction parallel to the tilt direction of the substrate, the application surface of the substrate and the application head are kept constant during the application processing. In order to maintain the gap between the substrate holding member and the coating head, the coating unit is provided on the coating unit skeleton that opposes the coating unit, and the coating unit skeleton is connected to a gantry that rotatably supports along a circular orbit. Against By adjusting the rotation angle of the coating unit skeleton, and a coating portion inclination angle adjusting means for varying the inclination angle of the substrate being coating process.

The coating apparatus of the present invention comprises a pair of arc-shaped guide members fixed to one of the coating unit frame and the gantry, and a pair of arc-shaped guide members fixed to the other, and slides along the circular orbit of the pair of arc-shaped guide members. And a plurality of sliding members that move, and a frame rotating unit that rotatably supports the application unit frame on the gantry. In addition, the substrate holding member provided in the coating apparatus of the present invention is supported by the coating portion skeleton by a horizontally extending rotating shaft, and the center of the circular orbit of the arc-shaped guide member constituting the skeleton rotating means is the substrate. The holding member is configured so as to be located at the rotation axis center for bearing. Further, the application unit inclination angle adjusting means provided in the application apparatus of the present invention is mechanically driven by a driving source using power.

That is, a substrate holding member for sucking and holding a substrate to be coated and a rotating mechanism thereof, and a coating liquid supply means including a coating head for forming a coating film on the substrate and a driving mechanism for the coating liquid are provided on the coating section frame. It is provided integrally, and is configured such that the application portion skeleton is rotated along a circular orbit on a gantry. In other words, it comprises a pair of arc-shaped guide members fixed to one of the coating portion frame or the gantry, and a plurality of sliding members fixed to the other and sliding along the circular orbit of the pair of arc-shaped guide members. By using the skeleton rotation means
The large and heavy application part frame can be freely rotated on the gantry.

By configuring the coating apparatus in this manner, the coating section can be rotated without impairing the strength and durability of the entire coating apparatus even if the substrate to be coated becomes large-sized and large in area. The inclination angle of the substrate to be formed can be adjusted so as to obtain desired coating film characteristics. Further, since the center of the circular orbit of the arc-shaped guide member constituting the frame rotating means is located at the rotation axis for supporting the substrate holding member, the substrate holding member is supported even when the application section is rotated. The spatial position of the rotation axis does not change, so that the substrate attaching / detaching position of the substrate holding member that has been turned in the reverse direction can be spatially fixed,
The structure such as a substrate attaching / detaching mechanism is simplified. Further, by mechanically driving the application unit inclination angle adjusting means for adjusting the rotation angle of the application unit with respect to the gantry using power,
It is possible to safely rotate the application section that has been increased in size and weight.

[0020]

Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is an external perspective view showing an embodiment of the coating apparatus of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a side view of a state in which a part of the coating apparatus is broken to show the configuration of the coating apparatus. FIG. 3 is a side view for explaining the rotation angle adjusting operation of the application unit.

(Configuration of Coating Apparatus) First, an outline of the configuration of the coating apparatus will be described. 1 and 2, reference numeral 1 denotes a main body of the coating apparatus. The coating apparatus 1 includes a coating unit 10 that forms a coating film on a substrate S, and a gantry unit 20 that rotatably supports the coating unit 10. On the upper portions of the side frames 21A and 21B of the gantry 20, arcuate guide rails 22 are respectively fixed. This arc-shaped guide rail 22 is polished so that the sliding surface forms a circular orbit.
For example, it is made of steel.

On the other hand, the coating unit frame 1 constituting the coating unit 10
One of the side frames 11A and 11B is provided with
Are provided with a plurality of sliding members 12 that slide along a circular orbit provided on the arc-shaped guide rail 22. As the sliding member 12, for example, a ball bearing or a needle bearing is used.

The application section 10 is mounted on an arc-shaped guide rail 22 of a gantry section 20 via a plurality of sliding members 12, and can freely rotate along the circular orbit of the arc-shaped guide rail 22. It has become. The rotation center of the coating unit 10 is configured to be the same center as the rotation axis Q of the substrate holding member 13 that is supported on the coating unit frame 11 by the rotation axis J.

In the present embodiment, an arc-shaped slit 23 is formed in the side frames 21A and 21B of the gantry 20 constituting the coating apparatus 1 in a circular shape with a radius centered on the rotation axis Q. Is provided. Then, the connecting pin 31 having a threaded end portion is connected to the arc-shaped slit 2.
3 is fixed to the side frames 11A and 11B constituting the coating unit 10 so as to protrude therefrom. This connecting pin 3
An application portion fixing screw 32 is fitted into the threaded portion 1, and the application portion skeleton 11 is fixed to the gantry portion 20 by tightening the application portion fixing screw 32.

Further, the present coating apparatus is provided with a coating section inclination angle adjusting means for adjusting the rotation angle of the coating section 10 with respect to the gantry section 20, that is, the tilt angle of the substrate to be coated. 2 and 3, reference numeral 31 denotes a connecting pin fixed to the side frame of the application unit frame 11. A slider 33 is mounted on the connecting pin 31. A parallel guide shaft is inserted through the slider 33. One of the parallel guide shafts is a ball screw rod 34, and a guide rod 35 as the other guide shaft is provided in parallel with the ball screw rod 34. A bevel gear is fitted into one end of the ball screw rod 34,
0 is engaged with the transmission shaft 36 disposed between the two side frames 21A and 21B. The transmission shaft 36 is connected to a drive source M3 such as a motor via a transmission means such as a belt or a chain.

The coating section inclination angle adjusting means in the present coating apparatus is constituted by a slider driving mechanism including the driving source M3. That is, the drive source M3 is driven to
By rotating the ball screw rod 34 via 6, the slider 33 slides along a parallel guide shaft formed by the ball screw rod 34 and the guide rod 35. The slider 33 can change the sliding direction by controlling the rotation direction of the driving source M3.
By controlling the power supply to the drive source M3, it is possible to slide or stop. That is, by controlling the driving source M3, the slider 33 slides, and the coating unit frame 11 is rotated via the connecting pin 31, so that the inclination angle of the substrate during the coating process can be adjusted. it can. In addition, as the driving source M3,
For example, an induction motor with a brake is used.

(Structure of Coating Unit) Next, the structure of the coating unit 10 will be described. As shown in FIG. 2, a substrate holding member 13 supported by an application unit frame 11 is provided above the application unit 10.
Is provided so as to be able to turn between a coating processing position R and a substrate attaching / detaching position V by a driving source M2, for example, a servomotor and a speed reducer. The substrate holding member 13 has a large number of suction holes on the substrate holding surface. The suction holes are connected to a suction pump (not shown), and the substrate to be coated is suction-held on the substrate holding surface by the suction action of the suction pump. I do. The substrate holding member 13 is positioned by the coating position locking means 14 provided on the coating portion frame 11 at the coating position R, and at a substrate attaching / detaching position V, the relative position with respect to the coating apparatus 1 is changed. It is positioned by the fixed substrate attaching / detaching position locking means 24.

On the other hand, a coating head 15 having an upward opening and a horizontally extending slit is provided below the coating section 10.
The substrate S sucked and held downward by the substrate holding member 13
Slidable in the direction parallel to the application surface
1 is attached via a movable base 16 that moves along a linear guide rail 17 fixed to the base 1. The moving base 16 on which the coating head 15 is mounted is connected to a ball screw 18 provided alongside a guide rail 17, and the ball screw 18 is rotated at a constant rotation speed by a driving source M1, for example, a servomotor capable of controlling the rotation speed. By doing so, it is possible to move along the linear guide rail 17.

That is, when the substrate holding member 13 is rotated, positioned by the coating position locking means 14 and locked at the coating position R, the substrate holding surface of the substrate holding member 13 and the linear guide rail are aligned. 17, the coating surface of the substrate S sucked and held by the substrate holding member 13 and the coating head 15 movably mounted on the guide rail 17.
The slit opened upward faces a state where a certain gap is maintained. When the driving source M1 is driven in this state,
With the constant gap maintained, in the direction parallel to the application surface of the substrate S sucked and held by the substrate holding member 13, from the highest edge S1 to the lowest edge S2 of the inclined substrate S, The coating head 15 can be moved at a constant speed.

The coating head 15 is connected to a coating liquid supply means composed of a coating liquid storage tank T, a coating liquid supply pump P, a coating liquid filtration filter F, and the like. The application liquid is discharged from an upwardly opened and horizontally extending slit provided in the application head 15 to form a liquid pool on the upper surface of the application head 15. In this state, the coating head 15 is moved in the direction from the highest edge S1 to the lowest edge S2 of the inclined substrate S, so that the coating liquid in the liquid pool formed on the upper surface of the coating head 15 is sequentially deposited on the substrate S. The coating film having a uniform thickness adheres to the substrate S
Formed on the coating surface of

When the coating head 15 moves and a coating film is formed on the coating surface of the substrate S, the coating head 15 stops at the coating end position M. Next, the substrate holding member 13 starts rotating toward the substrate attaching / detaching position V while holding the substrate S on which the coating film is formed by suction. The substrate holding member 13 is turned by the driving source M2 and is rotated in the substrate attaching / detaching position V.
It is positioned by the board attaching / detaching position locking means 24. Thereafter, the substrate S on which the coating film is formed is separated from the substrate holding member 13 by a substrate attaching / detaching member (not shown).

Then, after the new substrate to be coated is placed on the substrate holding member 13 locked at the substrate attaching / detaching position V, the substrate holding member 13 rotates toward the coating position R again. . During this time, the coating head 15 returns from the coating end position M to the coating start position L, and the substrate holding member 13
Is locked by the coating processing position locking means 15 at the coating processing position R, the coating processing by the coating head 15 is started again.

(Operation of the Apparatus) Next, the operation of the present coating apparatus will be described. FIG. 3 shows a state in which the rotation angle of the application unit 10 is adjusted to an angle different from the angle in FIG. As described above, in the coating process, in order to obtain a coating film characteristic such as a desired uniform film thickness, the viscosity and surface tension of the coating solution are adjusted, and in accordance with the wettability of the substrate,
The inclination angle of the substrate holding member that holds the substrate is adjusted.

For example, when the thickness of the coating film formed on the substrate S is to be increased, a high-viscosity coating solution is used and the inclination angle of the substrate during the coating process is reduced. As shown in the figure, the rotation angle of the application unit is made closer to horizontal. Conversely, when the thickness of the coating film is to be reduced, a low-viscosity coating solution is used, and the inclination angle of the substrate during the coating process is increased, as shown in FIG. The angle of rotation of approaches vertically.

In the adjustment of the viscosity and surface tension of the coating solution, it is necessary to consider the drying property of the coating solution and the uniformity of the coating film thickness. By adjusting the inclination angle of the substrate during processing, a coating film having a desired uniform film thickness is to be obtained.

The procedure for adjusting the inclination angle of the substrate during the coating process in the coating apparatus of the present invention will be described below. First, the viscosity and surface tension of the coating liquid used in the present coating apparatus and the wettability of the substrate to be coated are measured and recorded using a predetermined measuring method. This record can be used for adjustment of the coating apparatus by accumulating it as various coating liquids and coating characteristic data of the substrate. Then
The prepared coating liquid is supplied to a coating liquid supply unit of the present apparatus,
Specifically, the liquid is injected into the coating liquid storage tank T, the coating liquid supply pump P is started, and the coating liquid supply means is started.

Next, the inclination angle of the substrate is adjusted in the coating apparatus. For example, when the rotation angle of the coating unit of the coating device can be adjusted within a range of 0 ° to 40 ° with respect to the horizontal, the rotation angle of the coating unit to be set first is set substantially at the center of the rotation range. Set to °. The inclination angle of the substrate, that is, the rotation angle of the coating unit is adjusted by loosening the coating unit fixing screw 32 shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 so that the coating unit 10 can be rotated. Adjustment of the rotation angle of the application unit 10 is performed by rotating the ball screw rod 34 and moving the slider 33 by rotating the driving source M3 forward or backward. When the rotation angle of the application section 10 connected via the connection pin 31 is positioned at a predetermined angle by the movement of the slider 33, the application section fixing screw 32 is tightened to fix the application section body 11 to the gantry 20.

Next, a test substrate to which a coating solution is applied is mounted on a coating apparatus, and a coating process is performed. This test coating process is performed at least three times, and the coating film characteristics such as the coating film thickness are measured. As a result, when the average value of the coating film characteristics such as the coating film thickness is smaller than a desired coating film thickness, for example, it is intermediate between the minimum rotation angle of 0 ° and the intermediate rotation angle of 20 °.
° and set the coating film characteristics again. If it is thicker than the desired coating film thickness, the coating film characteristics are measured again by setting the rotation angle to an intermediate rotation angle of 20 ° to a maximum rotation angle of 40 ° and 30 °.

Based on the results of the above two measurements, the coating unit 10
By obtaining the rotation angle of the substrate, that is, the correlation characteristic between the inclination angle of the substrate and the characteristics of the coating film, the rotation angle of the coating section at which desired coating film characteristics can be obtained. At this time, when the reproduction accuracy on the correlation characteristic is insufficient, for example, the coating film characteristic is measured again at a further intermediate rotation angle between the two measurements to obtain the correlation characteristic with a desired accuracy. Then, the inclination angle at which the desired coating film characteristic can be obtained is determined, and the rotation angle of the coating unit 10 is determined.

The measurement results and the measurement conditions measured during these preparatory operations are all recorded, and are statistically processed together with the results of measurement of the coating film characteristics by sampling during the actual coating process. In addition, the viscosity and surface tension of various coating solutions, the wettability of the substrate, the inclination angle of the substrate during the coating process, and the like are correlated with the obtained coating film characteristics, and the quality of the coating film is easily assured.

As described above, in the coating process, the rotation angle of the coating unit 10 is adjusted many times in order to obtain desired coating film characteristics. The device is configured so that the adjustment of the pressure can be performed safely, reliably, simply and quickly. One of them is a rotating mechanism of the application unit. That is, the coating apparatus of the present invention supports the substrate holding member 13 for holding the substrate by suction at the coating processing position R, and the coating unit 10 including the coating head 15 that moves in parallel with the substrate holding member 13. To a plurality of sliding members 1
2, an arc-shaped guide rail 2 provided on the gantry 20
2 and is rotatable.

Therefore, the size of the substrate to be coated is increased,
The load of the application section 10, which has been increased in size and increased in weight with the increase in the area, is applied to the gantry section 20 via the plurality of sliding members 12 and the arc-shaped guide rails 22. That is, the loads applied to the individual sliding members 12 and the arc-shaped guide rails 22 are dispersed and reduced, and the mechanical strength, durability, and safety are improved.

If the position of the center of gravity of the application unit 10 is at an intermediate position between the plurality of sliding members 12, the application applied to the application unit inclination angle adjusting means composed of the connecting pin 31, the slider 33, the ball screw rod 34, and the like. The load on the part 10 is reduced,
A more favorable state is achieved in terms of mechanical strength, durability, and safety.

One of the other features of the present coating apparatus is that the rotation axis Q of the horizontally extending rotation axis J supported by the coating section frame 11 is provided.
A coating processing position R for applying the coating liquid to the substrate,
Rotation means for reversing and rotating the substrate holding member 13 is provided between the substrate mounting / removing position V where the substrate is mounted or detached, and the supply operation and the discharge operation of the substrate can be performed simply and quickly. .

The rotation axis Q of the substrate holding member 13 is provided at the same center as the radial center of the circular orbit provided on the arcuate guide rail of the body rotating means for rotating the application body 11. Can be Therefore, even if the coating unit 10 is rotated to adjust the inclination angle of the substrate during the coating process, the rotation axis Q of the substrate holding member 13 does not physically move.

Therefore, with the adjustment of the inclination angle of the substrate,
Each time the rotation angle of the coating unit 10 is adjusted, the substrate attaching / detaching position V
In this case, there is no need to mount the substrate on the substrate holding member 13 or adjust the operation position of the substrate attaching / detaching member for detaching the substrate from the substrate holding member 13. Further, the substrate attaching / detaching position locking means 24 for locking the substrate holding member 13 at the substrate attaching / detaching position V does not need to adjust the relative position with respect to the coating apparatus. Therefore, it is not necessary to adjust the peripheral mechanism of the coating apparatus when the inclination angle of the substrate is changed. In addition, the mechanism and structure of the coating apparatus itself can be simplified, thereby improving the durability of the apparatus. Angle adjustment can be speeded up.

(Other Embodiments) When the inclination angle of the substrate is adjusted by using the above-described coating section inclination angle adjusting means, the driving source M3 is used.
The turning angle of the coating unit may be adjusted by connecting and disconnecting the drive switch also serving as the rotation direction changeover switch. Further, a means for detecting the rotation angle of the application unit 10 can be provided. In this case, the rotation angle of the application unit 10 can be adjusted by automatic control. In any case, it is necessary to prevent the rotation of the application section 10 due to an erroneous operation by using the application section fixing screw 32 for fixing the rotation angle of the application section 10.

In the above embodiment, an arc-shaped guide rail is provided on the side frame of the gantry as a frame rotating means for rotating the coating portion frame, and slides on the circular track of the arc-shaped guide rail. Although a plurality of sliding members to be provided are provided on the side frame of the coating portion skeleton, conversely, an arc-shaped guide rail is provided on the coating portion skeleton, and the coating portion skeleton is supported through the arc-shaped guide rail. In addition, a slide member that slides in contact with the circular orbit of the arc-shaped guide rail may be provided on the gantry.

That is, in the coating apparatus of the present invention, an arc-shaped guide member is fixed to one of the coating portion frame and the gantry supporting the coating portion frame as the frame rotating means. At that time, the radius center of the circular orbit of the arc-shaped guide member is
Align with the rotation axis of the substrate holding member that is supported on the application unit frame. On the other hand, a sliding member that slides along the circular orbit of the arc-shaped guide member is fixed to the gantry or the application portion skeleton.
For example, unlike the above embodiment, arcuate guide rails may be provided on both side surfaces of the application unit skeleton, and the gantry may be provided with support wheels that rotate while contacting the circular orbits of the arcuate guide rails. Then, the application unit frame is placed on the support wheel of the gantry via the arc-shaped guide rail. Then, the application unit skeleton can freely rotate along the circular orbit of the arc-shaped guide rail on the support wheel of the gantry.

Further, in order to set the rotation angle of the coating unit with respect to the gantry, there is provided a coating unit inclination angle adjusting means for connecting the gantry and the coating unit frame rotating on the gantry. The tilt angle of the substrate during the coating process is adjusted by operating the means and positioning and fixing the coating portion frame provided with the arc-shaped guide rail on the support wheel provided on the gantry after rotating. be able to.

At this time, the center of rotation of the coating unit frame is
A rotation axis of a substrate holding member that is supported on the application unit skeleton,
Since they are at the same axis position, even when the rotation angle of the coating unit is changed in order to adjust the inclination angle of the substrate, that is, the inclination angle of the substrate holding member at the coating processing position, the rotation of the substrate holding member is adjusted. The dynamic axis does not change, and therefore, the locking position of the substrate holding member when rotating to the substrate attaching / detaching position does not change.

In the coating apparatus of this embodiment, a coating film of a photosensitive resin solution is formed on a glass substrate having a thickness of 1 mm and a length of 700 × 600 mm in width with a thickness variation within ± 10%. I was able to. Further, in the conventional coating apparatus, the time required for adjusting the coating apparatus for obtaining the desired coating film characteristics required one hour or more.
According to the coating apparatus of the present invention, the adjustment time of the coating apparatus is 30
Minutes or less, and the operating rate of the coating apparatus can be dramatically improved.

The single-wafer substrate coated by the coating apparatus of the present invention is typically a glass substrate for a color filter of a liquid crystal display device. Is a photosensitive resin solution for forming The glass substrate is inflexible, but the substrate processed by the present coating apparatus is not limited to such a glass substrate,
It may be plastic, metal, paperboard, or the like.

The coating liquid used in the coating apparatus of the present invention is not particularly limited, and for example, has a viscosity of 3 to 50 cp.
s solvent-based photosensitive resin solution, water-based photosensitive resin solution,
Or, a photosensitive resin solution in which a colorant such as a pigment is dispersed in these photosensitive resin solutions, other dyes, fillers,
Sensitizers, resins, additives and the like may be used alone or in combination. Further, various adhesives, resin solutions for forming protective films, and various inks can be used.

[0055]

As described above in detail, the coating apparatus according to the present invention is a substrate holding member for holding a substrate with a coating surface facing downward and inclined at a coating processing position. Rotating means for inverting and rotating the substrate holding member between the coating position and the substrate attaching / detaching position; and a slit provided below the substrate holding member at the coating position and opening upward and extending in the horizontal direction. A coating head having a coating liquid supplying means for supplying a coating liquid to the coating head and discharging the coating liquid from the slit, and a moving means for relatively moving the coating head in a direction parallel to the tilt direction of the substrate,
In order to maintain a constant gap between the coating surface of the substrate and the coating head during the coating process, a substrate holding member and a coating head are provided on a coating body that holds the coating head facing each other, and the coating body is formed along a circular orbit. The coating liquid is provided with a coating part inclination angle adjusting means that is connected to a rotatably supported base and adjusts the rotation angle of the coating part frame with respect to the base to change the inclination angle of the substrate to be coated. By adjusting the rotation angle of the coating unit according to the characteristics such as viscosity, surface tension, and wettability to the substrate, the tilt angle of the substrate during the coating process can be set freely. It is easy to obtain desired coating film characteristics such as a desired coating film thickness and film thickness uniformity corresponding to the above coating liquid.

In the coating apparatus according to the present invention, the frame rotating means is a pair of arc-shaped guide members fixed to one of the coating unit frame or the gantry, and the other is fixed to the other. A plurality of sliding members sliding along a circular orbit of the pair of arc-shaped guide members, and a frame rotating means for rotatably supporting the coating portion frame on the gantry. Even if the substrate to be processed is large-sized and large-area, a coating apparatus having a simple structure, high accuracy, and excellent safety and durability can be obtained.

Further, in the coating apparatus according to the present invention, as set forth in claim 3, the substrate holding member is supported by the coating portion frame by a horizontally extending rotating shaft. Since the center of the circular orbit is located at the rotation axis for supporting the substrate holding member, the substrate holding position at the substrate attaching / detaching position can be adjusted even when the application unit frame is rotated to adjust the substrate inclination angle during the coating process. The locking position of the member does not change,
Therefore, there is no need to adjust the substrate attaching / detaching mechanism for mounting the substrate on the substrate holding member and detaching the substrate from the substrate holding member, and the structure is simple and high in accuracy, excellent in reliability and durability, and operability. And a good coating device with a good value.

Further, in the coating apparatus of the present invention, the coating section inclination angle adjusting means is mechanically driven by a driving source using power, so that the coating apparatus is increased in size and weight. The unit can be rotated safely and reliably to change the inclination angle of the substrate to be coated.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an external perspective view showing the overall configuration of the present coating apparatus.

FIG. 2 is a partially broken side view showing the configuration of the present coating apparatus.

FIG. 3 is a side view for explaining a rotation angle adjusting operation of a coating unit.

FIG. 4 is an external perspective view showing a configuration example of a conventional coating apparatus.

FIG. 5 is a side view showing a configuration of a conventional coating apparatus.

[Explanation of symbols]

 REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 coating apparatus 10 coating section 11 coating section frame 11A, 11B side frame 12 sliding member 13 substrate holding member 14 coating processing position locking means 15 coating head 16 moving base 17 linear guide rail 18 ball screw 20 gantry section 21 base 21A , 21B gantry frame 22, 22A arc-shaped guide rail 23 arc-shaped slit 24 board attaching / detaching position locking means 30 coating part inclination angle adjusting means 31 connecting pin 32 coating part fixing screw 33 slider 34 ball screw rod 35 guide rod 36 conduction axis J times Moving axis L Coating start position M Coating end position Q Rotation axis S Substrate S1 High edge of substrate S2 Low edge of substrate R Coating position V Substrate attaching / detaching position M1, M2, M3 Drive source

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuing on the front page (72) Shinichiro Murakami, Inventor 1-1-1 Ichigaya-Kagacho, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo Inside Dai Nippon Printing Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Jun Takemoto 1-1-1, Ichigaga-cho, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo No. 1 Dai Nippon Printing Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Shunji Miyagawa 1-1-1, Ichigaya Kagacho, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo Dainippon Printing Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Yasuhide Nakajima Ichigaya Kachi, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo No. 1-1, Dai Nippon Printing Co., Ltd. F term (reference) 4F041 AA06 AB01 BA05 BA22 BA56 CA02 CA22 4F042 AA06 DF32 DF35 5F046 JA02 JA27

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A coating liquid is supplied to a coating head having a slit which opens upward and has a horizontally extending slit, and a coating liquid is supplied to a coating head having a coating surface directed downward and inclined. Moving the coating head in the direction from the highest edge to the lowest edge of the tilted substrate in parallel with the tilt direction of the substrate while forming a liquid pool with the coating liquid discharged from the slit in the gap between In the coating apparatus for forming a coating film by applying the coating liquid in the liquid pool to the coating surface of the substrate, a substrate holding member for holding the substrate with the coating surface facing downward and inclined at the coating processing position; Turning means for inverting and turning the substrate holding member between the processing position and the substrate attaching / detaching position; and a slot provided below the substrate holding member at the coating processing position and opened upward and extending in the horizontal direction. A coating liquid supply means for supplying a coating liquid to the coating head and discharging the coating liquid from the slit, and a moving means for relatively moving the coating head in a direction parallel to the tilt direction of the substrate. In order to maintain a constant gap between the coating surface of the substrate and the coating head during the coating process, a substrate holding member and a coating head provided oppositely to the coating section body for holding the coating head are disposed along a circular orbit. A coating unit inclination angle adjusting means for varying the inclination angle of the substrate to be coated by adjusting the rotation angle of the coating unit frame with respect to the frame. Coating device. 2. A pair of sliding members fixed to one of the coating portion frame and the base, and a plurality of sliding members fixed to the other and sliding along a circular orbit of the pair of circular guiding members. 2. The coating apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: a frame rotating unit configured to rotatably support the coating unit frame on the gantry. 3. The substrate holding member is supported by the coating portion skeleton by a horizontally extending rotating shaft, and the center of the circular orbit of the arc-shaped guide member according to claim 2 is a rotating shaft center for bearing the substrate holding member. A coating device, wherein 4. The coating apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said coating section inclination angle adjusting means is mechanically driven by a driving source using power.