JP2005161249A - Fluid coating apparatus and fluid coating control process - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a fluid coating apparatus capable of forming better dripping by dummy discharge before applying a coating liquid onto a substrate surface. <P>SOLUTION: This fluid coating apparatus 1 for applying a coating liquid onto the substrate surface comprises an applying head 20 for coating the coating liquid, and a liquid dripping controlling unit 30 having a roller, and dummy discharge by the applying head is performed on the liquid dripping control unit 30 prior to coating operation onto the substrate surface. A control means for controlling the dummy discharge operation and rotational operation of the roller of the liquid dripping controlling unit starts the dummy discharge operation earlier than the starting timing of the rotational operation of the roller by a given interval. In further details, after the curtain liquid dripping is formed on the roller by the dummy discharge by the dummy discharge operation, the rotational operation of the roller is started. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a slot-type fluid coating apparatus for coating a coating liquid with a uniform film thickness and film quality on the surface of a substrate-like coating target such as a semiconductor substrate or a liquid crystal substrate, and in particular, a slot nozzle before the start of coating. The present invention relates to a fluid application apparatus in which the liquid dripping state of the slot opening is made constant to improve the uniformity of the film quality of the coating film.

  A slot-type fluid coating apparatus is used to apply a coating solution such as a resist solution or a chromium coating solution to the surface of a substrate-like coating object such as a semiconductor substrate or a liquid crystal substrate. This type of fluid application apparatus is a surface of an object to be applied (substrate) held in a horizontal position while moving a slot nozzle having a slit-like slot for discharging the application liquid with a constant thickness in the horizontal direction. A coating solution is applied to the surface of the coating object to form a coating film having a predetermined film thickness and quality.

  In such a fluid application device, a dripping phenomenon of the coating liquid occurs at the slot opening (nozzle outlet) from which the coating liquid flows out at the lower end of the slot nozzle before and after the liquid application. This liquid sag forms a shape in which a plurality of liquid balls are connected by beads in the width direction of the slot nozzle, which causes uneven coating film thickness at the start of coating and drawing after the start of coating. In addition, this liquid sag is deteriorated by exposure to air over time, and at the start of the next application, this deteriorated application liquid is applied to the surface of the object to be applied, and the application liquid is a developer. , Resulting in deterioration of the coating film quality, such as causing uneven development.

  Therefore, it is necessary to remove the sag of the coating liquid having a deteriorated quality generated at the lower end portion of the slot nozzle before applying the coating liquid to the substrate. Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 5-166714 or It is proposed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-67622. Among these, the one described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 5-166714 is provided with a coating liquid removing member in the waiting means of the slot nozzle, and when the slot nozzle is placed at the standby position after applying the developer, this coating liquid removing member Touches the liquid sag generated at the coating liquid discharge part (slot opening) of the slot nozzle, and the liquid sag of the deteriorated developer is caused to flow to the coating liquid removing member side by capillary action and is discharged. When applying the developer, the quality of the coating film can be ensured by applying a fresh developer.

  Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 11-67622 discloses an arcuate knife edge disposed around a rotary table of a developer application device, and the slot nozzle moves horizontally to apply the developer. Before the application, the knife edge comes into contact with the liquid sag portion, and excess coating liquid (liquid sag) flows down along the wall surface of the knife edge and is discharged. As a result, unevenness of the coating film is eliminated, and development unevenness due to the altered developer is prevented.

  However, all of those described in these publications are for the purpose of simply removing excess developer before and after the application of the developer, and before application, The state of liquid sag is not evenly arranged in the width direction of the slot nozzle. Application of a developing solution having a viscosity different from that of the resist solution is not required to be as severe as the application quality of the resist solution, and is not required until the state of the liquid sag is adjusted.

  Here, the operation of “preparing the state of dripping” is the same as preparing the brush before starting to draw a picture. The brush with the paint is washed with water, faded and dried. After arranging the brush in this way, apply the brush to the new paint. The operation of “adjusting the state of dripping” is similar to the operation of removing the extra paint and preparing the brush. Creating a good liquid sag state before application of the coating liquid is important for improving the uniformity of the coating film at the start of application.

  Of course, the film thickness and film quality of the coating film depend on various parameters (temperature, slit interval, coating head height, etc.), but the dripping state of the coating liquid before coating is also one of these parameters. One. In order to eliminate variations in coating film quality for each substrate lot, each parameter needs to be constant, and therefore, the dripping state of the coating liquid before coating needs to be also constant.

Therefore, in JP-A-2003-39404, a liquid draining means for draining the coating liquid remaining in the slot opening of the slot nozzle is provided at a liquid draining position in the vicinity of the periphery of the coating object, and at least the coating liquid coating starts. A fluid application device that moves the slot nozzle (swing the application head horizontally) so that the slot opening is located above the liquid removal position before or after the liquid removal position is proposed. It is trying to solve the above-mentioned problems.
JP-A-5-166714 Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-67622 JP 2003-39404 A JP 2003-181360 A

  However, not only the liquid draining method disclosed in JP-A-5-166714 and JP-A-11-67622 but also the method described in JP-A-2003-39404 may be used as a liquid removing member. In this method, it is difficult to always obtain a stable liquid dripping quality. This is because the liquid dripping is maintained by the static surface tension with respect to the nozzle tip recess, and the dynamic dripping cutting method using the dynamic removal member once disturbs the static stability of the liquid dripping. This is because the static stable state is restored later. In other words, it is difficult to obtain the same dynamic environment unless the moving speed of the removing means and the distance between the nozzle recess and the like are set to the same conditions with high accuracy. The conventional method described above has a limit in making sagging.

  In order to solve the above problems, a fluid application apparatus according to the present invention is a fluid application apparatus that applies a coating liquid onto a substrate surface, and includes a coating head means for applying the coating liquid and a roller. A sag adjusting unit, a dummy squeezing means for executing dummy squeezing by the coating head means in the sag sag adjusting unit prior to a coating operation on the substrate surface, a dummy squeezing operation of the dummy squeezing means and the sag sag adjustment Control means for controlling the rotation operation of the roller of the unit, wherein the control means starts the dummy discharge operation at a predetermined interval earlier than the start timing of the roller rotation operation.

  The fluid application control method according to the present invention is a fluid application control method for applying a coating liquid onto a substrate surface, and prior to a coating operation on the substrate surface by a coating head means for coating the coating liquid. A dummy discharge step for executing dummy discharge by the coating head means in the liquid dripping adjustment unit, a dummy discharge operation in the dummy discharge step, and a control for controlling the rotation operation of the roller of the liquid dripping adjustment unit having a roller. The dummy discharge operation is started earlier by a predetermined interval than the start timing of the roller rotation operation in the control step.

  According to the present invention, at the time of dummy discharge, a good liquid sag can be generated by making the dummy discharge start timing earlier than the start of the rotation operation of the roller of the liquid sag adjustment unit by a predetermined interval. The coating liquid can be uniformly applied to the substrate.

  The best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings.

  The fluid application apparatus according to the present embodiment has a uniform film thickness on the surface of a substrate-like object to be coated such as a semiconductor substrate or a liquid crystal substrate, and a liquid or liquid material such as a resist solution or a chrome coating solution (hereinafter, these are generically called And “application liquid” or “liquid”). In this embodiment, it is expressed as a slot nozzle, but is used in the same meaning as the application nozzle. In the present specification, four embodiments are shown.

<Common items in each embodiment>
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a schematic perspective view of a fluid application device in each embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1, the overall configuration is schematically shown in which a table 3 is installed near the center of the base 2 of the fluid application apparatus 1, and a substrate to be coated on the upper surface of the table 3. 4 is placed. The substrate 4 has a long rectangular shape along the front-rear direction of the base 2 (the direction connecting the lower left and the upper right in FIG. 1). Side walls 2a, 2b that stand up at right angles are formed on both side edges of the base 2, and rails 5a, 5b are laid on the upper surfaces of these side walls 2a, 2b. While being guided, the coating mechanism section 10 travels, and the coating liquid discharged from the lower end nozzle section of a slot nozzle (also referred to as a coating head) 20 provided in the coating mechanism section 10 so as to be movable up and down is applied to the coating mechanism section. Along with the running of the nozzle 10 and the slot nozzle 20, the film is uniformly applied on the surface of the substrate 4 from the coating start end portion to the terminal end portion with a uniform film thickness and film quality.

  The lower end nozzle portion of the slot nozzle 20 is composed of an elongated nozzle portion having a length substantially equal to the width of the substrate 4 (the length of the substrate 4 in the direction orthogonal to the traveling direction of the slot nozzle 20). The liquid is discharged uniformly. The structure of the slot nozzle 20 will be described later in detail.

  The coating mechanism section 10 includes a pair of left and right movable platforms 11a and 11b, and a head holding frame 12 is stretched between the movable platforms 11a and 11b so as to be movable up and down. 20 is installed. Therefore, the slot nozzle 20 moves up and down integrally with the head holding frame 12 as the head holding frame 12 moves up and down. The head holding frame 12 is connected to elevating cylinders 13a and 13b fixed to the movable bases 11a and 11b, and moves up and down as these elevating cylinders 13a and 13b move up and down.

  Linear driving units 14a and 14b are attached to the lower parts of the movable bases 11a and 11b (the linear driving unit 14a is not shown). Electric power is supplied to the linear drive units 14a and 14b via the movable cable 15. Therefore, now, when electric power is supplied to these linear drive units 14a and 14b via the movable cable 15, they are excited by electromagnetic coils provided in the linear drive units 14a and 14b, although not shown in detail. Attraction and repulsion occurs between the electromagnet and the permanent magnets 16a and 16b laid on the upper surfaces of the side walls 2a and 2b of the base 2 in parallel with the rails 5a and 5b, and the propulsive force of the movable bases 11a and 11b is generated. The movable platforms 11a and 11b are formed and start traveling in either the front or rear direction depending on the direction of the excitation current while being guided by the rails 5a and 5b. Linear bushings 17a and 17b are fixed to the lower surfaces of the movable bases 11a and 11b. By sliding these linear bushings 17a and 17b into the rails 5a and 5b, the movable bases 11a and 11b are The vehicle travels while being guided by the rails 5a and 5b.

  At the front (lower left in FIG. 1) portion of the table 2 on the base 2, the slot nozzle 20 remains attached to the head holding frame 12 when the application operation is on standby. A liquid sag adjusting unit 30 used for operations such as cleaning and liquid draining is installed. The structure of the liquid dripping adjustment unit 30 will be described in detail later.

  Next, the structure of the slot nozzle 20 will be described in detail. As shown in FIG. 2, the slot nozzle 20 includes two divided heads 21 and 22 and a shim 23, and the shim 23 is sandwiched between the two divided heads 21 and 22. . Each of the two divided heads 21 and 22 is made of an elongated rectangular parallelepiped-shaped metal (stainless steel) block, and tooth tips 21a and 22a projecting in an acute angle are formed at lower portions near the side surfaces facing each other. .

  The shim 23 is formed of a thin plate punched into a U-shape, and the U-shaped recess 23a is formed when the shim 23 is sandwiched between the two split heads 21 and 22. , 22 is formed with a slit-like slot 27 (see FIG. 4). The thickness of the shim 23 determines the size of the gap in the slot 27. The length of the recess 23a determines the length of the slot 27, and the length of the slot 27 determines the coating width of the coating liquid on the surface of the substrate 4 (the coating length in the width direction of the substrate 4). To do.

  A liquid injection port 24 for injecting the coating liquid is formed at the upper part of one split head 21 at the center in the length direction (the width direction of the slot nozzle 20). In addition, air vents 28 are respectively formed. Similarly, a reservoir 26 for retaining the liquid injected from the liquid injection port 24 and diffusing it in the width direction is formed in the middle part of the one divided head 21. The reservoir 26 is open on the side surface of the one divided head 21 facing the other divided head 22. Then, three through holes 25 are formed for communicating the liquid inlet 24, the air vent 28 and the reservoir 26. The reservoir 26 communicates with the slot 27, and the liquid in the reservoir 26 is made to have a constant thickness by the slot 27 and is referred to as a tip opening 27a below the slot 27 (hereinafter simply referred to as “slot opening 27a”). ). The slot opening 27a forms a nozzle opening of the lower end nozzle portion of the slot nozzle 20.

  FIG. 3 is a view showing the appearance of the liquid dripping adjustment unit 30. As shown in FIG. The liquid dripping adjustment unit 30 has a structure in which the main body is covered with a unit cover 30a having an opening on the upper surface, and only the upper surface of the roller 30b protrudes from the unit cover 30a. The roller 30b is made of a water repellent material such as stainless steel or glass. For the roller 30b, it is at least important that the surface is uniform, the surface is not shaken during rotation, and does not rust.

  FIG. 4 is a side view showing a state in which dummy discharge is performed from the slot opening 27a of the slot nozzle (coating nozzle) 20 together with the internal configuration of the liquid dripping adjustment unit 30.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the liquid sag adjusting unit 30 includes a roller 30b that rotates about a rotation shaft 30c, a cleaning liquid storage pool 301, and a cleaning liquid 302 (the cleaning liquid may be present in the predetermined amount pool 301 from the beginning. However, the air suction nozzle 303 and the cleaning nozzle 304 may be covered with the unit cover 30a. However, the roller 30b slightly protrudes from the unit cover 30a. In addition, the radius of the roller 30b is 45 mm in each embodiment, for example. By providing the roller, dummy discharge can be realized while saving space.

  As shown in FIG. 4, at the time of dummy discharge, a predetermined amount of coating liquid is discharged from the slot opening 27 a of the slot nozzle 20 to the roller 30 b of the liquid sag adjusting unit 30. At the time of dummy ejection, as will be described later, the slot nozzle 20 is controlled to be lowered from a normal position, and the distance from the roller is set to a minute interval, for example, 30 to 150 microns. Which distance of 30 to 150 microns is set depends on the type and properties of the coating liquid (viscosity of the coating liquid, etc.), and this setting is usually performed by the user in advance. This interval is substantially the same as the interval between the glass substrate and the opening 27a of the slot nozzle 20 when applying to the glass substrate. By doing so, a liquid that is close to the liquid dripping state at the time of application can be obtained by dummy discharge (because the same state as when the application liquid is discharged onto the glass substrate can be made), and stable with a high quality of several microns. It becomes possible to produce | generate a coating film on a glass substrate.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, the coating liquid is similarly discharged by the slot nozzle that travels on the substrate by discharging the coating liquid on a substantially horizontal traveling surface that moves relatively (the roller 30b and the slot nozzle 20). It is possible to create the same state as the state of discharging, and it is possible to create a high-quality liquid dripping state at the end of coating. In other words, the discharge is not stable at the start of coating, but since the discharge can be uniformly performed in the width direction near the end after that, the liquid dripping state of the nozzle at that time becomes good.

  The coating liquid discharged by the dummy discharge is drawn into the unit 30 by the rotation of the roller 30b, and is washed to some extent by passing through the cleaning liquid 302 accumulated in the cleaning liquid storage pool 301. However, since it is not completely cleaned by this alone, the cleaning liquid is discharged from the cleaning nozzle 304 at the timing when the portion where the dummy discharge is performed passes through the cleaning nozzle 304. Then, the remaining cleaning liquid is sucked when the cleaned portion passes through the air suction nozzle 303, and the dummy discharged portion on the roller is cleaned and dried.

  The cleaning nozzle 304 has the same shape (having a slot-shaped opening in the width direction) in the width direction of the roller surface of the roller 30b. The size of the opening of the suction hole of the air suction nozzle 303 is very small, for example, about 1 mm, and the gap (interval) between the roller 30b and this opening is also very small, for example, about 0.5 mm to 1 mm. It has become.

  The excess cleaning liquid 302 is discharged from the waste liquid discharge port 305.

  Such dummy discharge is performed in order to stabilize the discharge of the coating liquid from the slot opening 27a. If the dummy discharge is not performed, a large number of liquid pools are formed at the tip of the slot nozzle, resulting in streaks in the coating film. There is no duck in the slot opening 27a.

  Subsequently, FIG. 5 is a control block diagram of the coating apparatus according to the present embodiment. With reference to FIG. 5, an electrical configuration relating to dummy ejection and coating operation on the glass substrate in the coating apparatus will be described.

  The coating apparatus in the present embodiment includes a substrate coating control unit 50 for controlling the operation of coating the coating liquid on the glass substrate, and a dummy ejection / roller cleaning control unit 51 for controlling the dummy ejection / roller cleaning operation. A roller driving unit 52 for driving (rotating) the roller 30b, a slot nozzle lifting / lowering driving unit 53 for moving the slot nozzle 20 up and down, and a coating nozzle for driving the slot nozzle 20 horizontally and obliquely. The slant driving unit 54, the slot nozzle liquid discharging unit 55 for discharging the coating liquid from the slot nozzle 20, the cleaning nozzle driving unit 56 for driving the cleaning nozzle 304 for cleaning the roller 30b, and the roller An air suction nozzle drive unit 57 for driving an air suction nozzle 303 for sucking the residual cleaning liquid on 30b. In FIG. 5, at the time of dummy discharge, the dummy discharge / roller cleaning control unit 51 includes a roller drive unit 52, a slot nozzle drive lift unit 53, a slot horizontal / oblique drive unit 54, a slot nozzle liquid discharge unit 55, and a cleaning nozzle drive unit 56. And the operation of the air suction nozzle driving unit 57 is controlled. In addition, while applying the coating liquid on the glass substrate, the substrate coating control unit 50 controls the operation of the slot nozzle drive lifting unit 53, the slot nozzle horizontal / slanting drive unit 54, and the slot nozzle liquid discharge unit 55. doing.

<First Embodiment>
Next, the operation of the first embodiment will be described using the operation timing chart of FIG. 7 and the operation outline diagram of FIG.

  In FIG. 7, (1) shows one cycle time of a series of slot nozzles 20 including dummy discharge and substrate coating discharge.

  Further, (2) shows the timing of movement (down, rise, horizontal movement) of the slot nozzle 20 within one cycle time. (3) shows the rotation timing of the roller 30b within one cycle time. (4) shows the timing for opening and closing the slot opening 27a for dummy discharge and substrate coating discharge. (5) shows the timing of cleaning the roller 30b by the cleaning nozzle 304, and (6) shows the timing of cleaning liquid suction by the air suction nozzle 303.

  As shown in FIG. 7 (2), when there is an instruction to discharge and apply a glass substrate, dummy discharge is performed before that, so the slot nozzle 20 is prepared for dummy discharge. That is, as shown in FIG. 6A, the slot nozzle 20 is driven to descend from the standby position and stops at the coating liquid discharge position. In this case, the interval between the roller 30b and the opening 27a of the slot nozzle 20 is a minute interval, and is set to 30 to 150 microns, for example.

  When the lowering operation of the slot nozzle 20 is completed, as shown in FIG. 7 (4), dummy discharge is started before the roller 30b rotates. Then, the drive control of the roller 30b is performed slightly after the dummy discharge operation, and the roller 30b starts to rotate. This rotation operation ends when the dummy discharge, cleaning, and air suction operations are completed. As described above, the difference between the roller rotation timing and the dummy discharge timing differs depending on the type of the coating liquid, but is, for example, 0.2 seconds. This time is the time from when the coating liquid is discharged from the opening 27a to the roller. It is set approximately equal.

  Here, the reason for shifting the roller rotation timing and the dummy discharge timing will be described with reference to FIG. First, FIG. 12A thru | or D have shown the mode in case the roller 30b rotates previously and performs dummy discharge there. As shown in FIG. 12A, when the roller 30b is rotating, the coating liquid is discharged from the slot 20, and when the roller 30b arrives at the roller, the coating liquid undulates like 27c. When viewed from above, the cross section of the portion where the coating solution contacts the roller 30b has a shape as shown in FIG. 12B. FIG. 12C shows the state of the coating liquid during the dummy discharge, but it can be seen that the coating liquid during the dummy discharge is also rippled when the cross sections of the rollers C1 and C2 are viewed. Then, since the dummy discharge is finished in a state where the coating liquid is undulated, as shown in FIG. 12D, a liquid pool is generated in the liquid sag, and the application to the substrate 3 is performed in a state of satisfactory liquid sag. Can not do it. Therefore, by starting the discharge and rotating the roller 30b in a state where the tip of the discharged coating liquid has reached the roller 30b, the disadvantage that the liquid drip is generated in the liquid sag is solved. Yes. That is, FIGS. 12E to 12H show a state of liquid dripping generation by dummy discharge according to the present embodiment. First, as shown in FIG. 12E, before rotating the roller 30b, the coating liquid is discharged from the slot 20, and the roller 30b is rotated when it reaches the roller 30b. At this time, the discharged coating liquid is in the form of a curtain, and unlike FIGS. 12A and 12B, it is not in a waved state. FIG. 12F shows a cross section of the coating solution in contact with the roller 30b. In addition, it can be seen that even during the dummy discharge, as shown in FIG. 12G, the wave does not appear (see the cross-sectional view of the roller by G1 and G2 in FIG. 12G). Even after the dummy discharge is finished, as shown in FIG. 12H, it is possible to prevent the liquid dregs from being generated in the liquid dripping. In this way, by making the rotation and rotation timing of the roller 30b slower than the dummy discharge timing, it is possible to generate a good liquid sag, and a stable and good coating film even when applying the coating liquid to the substrate Can be generated.

  As described above, the slot opening 27a is controlled so that dummy discharge is performed as shown in FIGS. 7 (4) and 6B at a timing just before the rotation of the roller 30b. The dummy discharge is performed until the discharge operation of the coating liquid is stabilized. For example, a coating liquid having a length of about 10 mm is discharged. During the dummy discharge period, the roller 30b continues to rotate (FIG. 7 (3)), and the roller part discharged dummy is immersed in the cleaning liquid storage pool 301 as shown in FIG. 6C, and the coating liquid is cleaned to some extent. Further, at the timing when the dummy discharge operation is completed, the slot nozzle 20 is raised and returned to the standby position.

  Note that the rotational speed of the roller 30b may be set substantially the same as the moving speed of the slot 20 when the glass substrate is used. By doing in this way, the operating direction and speed of the slot nozzle 20 between the traveling surface and the glass substrate can be set to the same conditions as when applied to the glass substrate, and the liquid dripping state at the end of the dummy discharge is changed to the glass substrate. It can be optimized for application to.

  Moreover, the reason why the slot nozzle 20 is raised after the end of the dummy discharge is that a good dripping state can be generated. In other words, when the coating liquid is applied by the slot nozzle running on the glass substrate and finished, the supply of the coating liquid to the slot nozzle is stopped and the nozzle is raised to drain the liquid, but the slot nozzle is raised after the dummy discharge. By doing so, a similar state can be created.

  On the other hand, in parallel with the ascending operation of the slot nozzle 20, the cleaning liquid is discharged from the cleaning nozzle 304 at the portion where the coating liquid is adhered by the dummy discharge, and the remaining coating liquid is washed away (FIG. 7 (5)). When the cleaning operation is completed, the cleaning liquid is sucked by the air suction nozzle 303 and the roller is dried. This cleans the roller 30b (FIG. 7 (6)). When the air suction operation is completed, the rotation of the roller 30b is also terminated.

  In parallel with the suction operation, the slot nozzle 20 is controlled to move horizontally, and moves to the glass substrate coating / discharge start position. At that position, the slot nozzle 20 is further moved downward, and the glass substrate and the nozzle opening 27a are set so as to have a minute interval, for example, 30 to 150 microns (FIG. 7 (2)). This minute interval is the same as the interval between the roller 30b and the slot opening 27a during dummy discharge described above. Since the dummy discharge is aimed at stable discharge even at the minute interval, it is reasonable that the minute interval with the glass substrate is the same.

  From the application / discharge start position, the slot nozzle 20 is controlled to move horizontally (FIG. 7 (2)), and simultaneously, the application liquid is discharged onto the substrate (FIG. 7 (4) and FIG. 6D). The two operations are performed at the same timing and at the same time.

  When the substrate coating and discharging operation is completed, the slot nozzle 20 is raised, and when the raising is finished, the slot nozzle 20 is driven and controlled to return to the original standby position by horizontal movement (FIG. 7 (2)).

  As described above, a series of operations from dummy ejection to application to the glass substrate is completed.

<Second Embodiment>
In the first embodiment, the coating liquid discharged by dummy is cleaned using the cleaning liquid storage pool 301, the cleaning nozzle 304, and the air suction nozzle 303. However, in the second embodiment, the cleaning liquid storage pool 301 and the air suction nozzle 303 are cleaned. Only an example in which the dummy discharged coating liquid is cleaned is shown.

  The operation of the second embodiment will be described using the timing chart of FIG. 8 and the operation outline diagram of FIG. Note that the timing chart of FIG. 8 shows the completion of cleaning and drying of the roller 30b, and the subsequent application operation to the glass substrate 3 is the same as in the first embodiment, and is omitted. In addition, the time scale of the timing chart is different from the actual scale because priority is given to legibility.

  In FIG. 8, (1) shows the timing of lowering and raising of the slot nozzle 20 and its position. (2) shows the opening / closing timing of the opening 27a of the slot valve, and (3) shows the timing of discharge from the discharge pump. (4) indicates the rotation timing of the roller 30b. (5) shows the timing of cleaning liquid suction by the air suction nozzle 303.

  As shown in FIG. 8A and FIG. 6A, when a glass substrate coating / discharging instruction is given, the operation starts, and the drive is controlled so that the slot nozzle 20 (head) descends from the standby position. This descending operation is performed until the opening 27a of the nozzle 20 becomes a minute distance (for example, 30 to 150 microns) from the surface of the roller 30b. Thereafter, the nozzle 20 stops on the roller until it rises.

  When the lowering operation of the slot nozzle 20 is completed, dummy discharge is started before the roller 30b rotates as shown in FIGS. 8 (3) and 8 (4). The time T1 from the slot valve opening operation to the dummy discharge is, for example, 0.8 seconds.

  Then, drive control of the roller 30b is performed with a delay of T2 time (for example, 0.2 seconds) from the dummy discharge operation, and the roller 30b starts to rotate. This rotation operation ends after the dummy discharge, cleaning, and air suction operations are completed.

  As described above, the timing difference (T2) between the rotation of the roller and the dummy discharge varies depending on the type of coating liquid, the pressure of the pump, etc., and this time is required until the coating liquid is discharged from the opening 27a and reaches the roller. It is set approximately equal to time. The reason for shifting the roller rotation timing and the dummy discharge timing in this way is the same as in the case of the first embodiment described above, and thus the description thereof is omitted.

  As described above, pressure is applied to the discharge pump (not shown) so that dummy discharge is performed as shown in FIGS. 8 (4) and 6B at a timing slightly before the rotation of the roller 30b. Discharge from the opening 27a is performed. The dummy discharge is performed until the discharge operation of the coating liquid is stabilized. During the dummy discharge period, the roller 30b continues to rotate (FIG. 8 (4)). In addition, the rotational speed (at peripheral speed) of the roller 30b at the time of dummy discharge is, for example, 60 mm / s, and is set to an intermediate speed between roller cleaning and roller drying. The coating liquid discharged by this dummy discharge is, for example, 12 mm, and the dummy discharge is not performed more than one rotation of the roller.

  At an appropriate timing after the dummy discharge operation is completed, the slot nozzle 20 is raised and returned to the standby position.

  On the other hand, in parallel with the ascending operation of the slot nozzle 20, the roller rotation operation is continuously performed, and the operation shifts to the cleaning operation of the portion where the coating liquid is adhered by the dummy discharge. This roller cleaning is performed when the roller passes through the cleaning liquid storage pool. In this embodiment, the roller cleaning is performed for T3 time, for example, 45.2 seconds (FIG. 8 (4)). In 45.2 seconds, the roller 30b rotates approximately 24 times (rotation speed 150 mm / s × 45.2 seconds ÷ (90 mm × 3.14 = 23.99 rotations). Is controlled to a low speed (20 mm / s) and shifts to a roller drying operation by the air suction nozzle 303. This drying operation is performed for T4 time (for example, 15 seconds), which corresponds to approximately one rotation (20 mm). / S × 20 seconds ÷ (90 mm × 3.14) = 1.06 revolutions).

  The air suction operation is started at an appropriate timing during roller cleaning and is performed until the roller drying is completed. The rising operation at the start of air suction requires T5 time (for example, 7 seconds), and T6 time (for example, 12 seconds) for falling.

  The roller 30b is cleaned by the above operation. When the air suction operation is completed, the rotation of the roller 30b is also terminated.

  After this, although omitted in the present embodiment, the operation of applying the coating liquid to the glass substrate 3 is continued as in the first embodiment. The operations of the slot nozzle 20 and the coating liquid discharge are the same (see FIG. 7).

<Third Embodiment>
In the second embodiment, the dummy discharged coating liquid is cleaned using only the cleaning liquid storage pool 301 and the air suction nozzle 303, but in the third embodiment, the cleaning nozzle 304 and the air suction nozzle 303 are used. An example of cleaning the coating liquid discharged by dummy is shown. In the third embodiment, as a result, the cleaning liquid storage pool 301 is also used to clean the roller 30b. However, the roller 30b is not actively used as in the first embodiment. The storage pool 301 may be omitted, and the cleaning liquid may be directly discharged as waste liquid.

  The operation of the third embodiment will be described using the timing chart of FIG. 9 and the operation outline diagram of FIG. Note that the timing chart of FIG. 9 shows the completion of cleaning and drying of the roller 30b as in the second embodiment, and the subsequent application operation to the glass substrate 3 is the same as in the first embodiment. So it is omitted. In addition, the time scale of the timing chart is different from the actual scale because priority is given to legibility.

  In FIG. 9, (1) shows the timing of lowering and raising of the slot nozzle 20 and its position. (2) shows the opening / closing timing of the opening 27a of the slot valve, and (3) shows the timing of discharge from the discharge pump. (4) indicates the rotation timing of the roller 30b. (5) shows the timing of cleaning liquid discharge from the cleaning nozzle 304, and (6) shows the timing of cleaning liquid suction by the air suction nozzle 303.

  As shown in FIGS. 9A and 6A, when a glass substrate coating / discharging instruction is given, the operation starts, and the drive is controlled so that the slot nozzle 20 (head) descends from the standby position. This descending operation is performed until the opening 27a of the nozzle 20 becomes a minute distance (for example, 30 to 150 microns) from the surface of the roller 30b. Thereafter, the nozzle 20 stops on the roller until it rises.

  When the lowering operation of the slot nozzle 20 is completed, as shown in FIGS. 9 (3) and (4), dummy discharge is started before the roller 30b rotates. The time T1 from the slot valve opening operation to the dummy discharge is, for example, 0.8 seconds.

  Then, drive control of the roller 30b is performed with a delay of T2 time (for example, 0.2 seconds) from the dummy discharge operation, and the roller 30b starts to rotate. This rotation operation ends when the dummy discharge, cleaning, and air suction operations are completed. As described above, the timing difference (T2) between the rotation of the roller and the dummy discharge varies depending on the type of coating liquid and the pump pressure, and this time is the time from when the coating liquid is discharged from the opening 27a to the roller. It is set approximately equal.

  As described above, the reason for the timing of roller rotation and dummy discharge is the same as that in the first embodiment, and thus description thereof is omitted.

  As described above, at a timing just before the rotation of the roller 30b, as shown in FIGS. 9 (4) and 6B, pressure is applied to the discharge pump (not shown) so that dummy discharge is performed, Discharge from the slot opening 27a is performed. The dummy discharge is performed until the discharge operation of the coating liquid is stabilized. During the dummy discharge period, the roller 30b continues to rotate (FIG. 9 (4)). In addition, the rotational speed of the roller 30b at the time of dummy discharge is 60 mm / s, for example, and is set to an intermediate speed between roller cleaning and roller drying. The coating liquid discharged by this dummy discharge is, for example, 12 mm, and the dummy discharge is not performed more than one rotation of the roller.

  At an appropriate timing after the dummy discharge operation is completed, the slot nozzle 20 is raised and returned to the standby position.

  On the other hand, in parallel with the ascending operation of the slot nozzle 20, the roller rotation operation is continuously performed, and the operation shifts to the cleaning operation of the portion where the coating liquid is adhered by the dummy discharge. This roller cleaning is performed by ejecting a cleaning liquid from the cleaning nozzle 304. In this embodiment, for a sufficient cleaning, the roller cleaning is performed for T5 time, for example, 17 seconds (FIG. 9 (5)). In 17 seconds, the roller 30b rotates approximately 6 times (rotation speed 100 mm / s × 17 seconds ÷ (90 mm × 3.14) = 6.01 rotations). When the cleaning operation is finished, the speed of the roller 30b is controlled to a low speed (20 mm / s), and the operation moves to the roller drying operation by the air suction nozzle 303. This drying operation is performed for T4 time (for example, 15 seconds), which corresponds to approximately one rotation (20 mm / s × 20 seconds ÷ (90 mm × 3.14) = 1.06 rotations).

  The air suction operation is started at an appropriate timing during roller cleaning and is performed until the roller drying is completed. The rising operation at the start of air suction requires T6 time (for example, 7 seconds) and T7 time (for example, 12 seconds) for falling.

  The roller 30b is cleaned by the above operation. When the air suction operation is completed, the rotation of the roller 30b is also terminated.

  After this, although omitted in the present embodiment, the operation of applying the coating liquid to the glass substrate 3 is continued as in the first embodiment. The operations of the slot nozzle 20 and the coating liquid discharge are the same (see FIG. 7).

  In the case of the third embodiment, since the roller 30b is cleaned using the cleaning nozzle 304, it is possible to clean the roller 30b faster than in the case of the second embodiment.

<Fourth embodiment>
In the fourth embodiment, an example in which the present invention is realized by software is shown. The present embodiment is an example in which the first embodiment is realized by software, but the components corresponding to the second and third embodiments can be similarly realized.

  FIG. 10 shows a block diagram of the entire coating apparatus according to the fourth embodiment.

  Reference numeral 1 denotes a coating device unit as in the above-described embodiments, and 100 denotes a control unit for controlling the coating device unit 1.

  The control unit 100 is mainly obtained by a CPU 101 for executing software programs and various instructions / commands, a ROM 102 for storing software programs and fixed data, and data input by a user and predetermined calculations. RAM 103 for temporarily storing processed data, an input operation unit 104 for inputting predetermined instructions and data, and a display unit 105 (LED, LCD, CRT display for displaying calculation results and input data) Etc.).

  For example, when the user instructs the application operation of the application liquid onto the glass substrate from the input unit 104, the CPU 101 reads the application operation program including dummy ejection from the ROM 102 and temporarily stores it in the RAM 103. Information relating to the predetermined coefficient and control time (for example, the rotation time of the roller 30b, the timing of dummy ejection, etc.) is read, and the operation given by the program is executed. Then, the operation result, the calculation result during the operation, and the like are displayed on the display unit 105.

  Next, the operation of the fourth embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

  When a coating liquid application operation to the glass substrate 3 is instructed, in step S101, the slot nozzle 20 descends from the standby position and stops at a minute interval from the roller 30b (dummy discharge position). This minute interval varies depending on properties such as the viscosity of the coating solution, but is set to 30 to 150 microns. This control coefficient is stored in the RAM 103.

  When the nozzle 20 is disposed at the dummy discharge position, dummy discharge starts before the roller 30b rotates in step S102. Then, after T2 time (for example, 0.8 seconds) from the start of dummy discharge, the roller 30b starts to rotate. Since the timing difference between the dummy discharge and the roller rotation start is the same as that in the first to third embodiments, the description thereof is omitted.

  In step S103, the rotation operation of the roller 30b is started T2 seconds after the dummy discharge is started.

  In step S104, the dummy discharge ends. In the present embodiment, in step S105, the nozzle 20 is controlled to rise from the dummy discharge position simultaneously with the end of the dummy discharge. The nozzle 20 may be raised directly above, but in the present embodiment, it is raised obliquely so that preparation for the next operation, that is, a coating operation on the glass substrate, can be performed quickly.

  In step S106, a roller cleaning operation is started. The roller itself is sufficiently rinsed by the cleaning liquid storage pool 301 by the rotation of the roller 30b, and then sufficiently cleaned by jetting the cleaning liquid by the cleaning nozzle 304. In step S107, the cleaning operation ends. Note that the roller 30b continues to rotate during the cleaning operation, and may be rotated several times as in the above-described embodiments.

  Then, the process proceeds to step S108, where the air suction operation starts. The cleaning liquid is sucked by this air suction, and the roller is dried and sufficiently cleaned. This air suction operation ends in step S110. When the air suction is finished, the rotation of the roller 30b is also finished.

  On the other hand, the nozzle 20 moves horizontally in parallel with the air suction operation. Thereafter, the coating operation on the glass substrate 3 is executed.

  When the horizontal operation is finished and the nozzle 20 is positioned immediately above the coating start position of the glass substrate 3, the nozzle 20 is lowered in step S112.

  Subsequently, the coating operation is performed by discharging the coating liquid onto the substrate while the nozzle 20 further moves horizontally on the glass substrate. When the application operation for a certain distance is completed, the nozzle 20 is raised in step S114, and further, in step S115, the nozzle 20 is controlled to move horizontally in the reverse direction and return to the original standby position.

  The application operation to the glass substrate including dummy discharge is completed by the series of operations described above.

<Others>
In the processing of each embodiment, a storage medium recording software program codes embodying each function is provided to the system or apparatus, and the computer (or CPU or MPU) of the system or apparatus stores the storage medium in the storage medium. It can also be realized by reading and executing the program code. In this case, the program code itself read from the storage medium realizes the functions of the above-described embodiments, and the storage medium storing the program code constitutes the present invention. As a storage medium for supplying such program code, for example, floppy (registered trademark) disk, hard disk, optical disk, magneto-optical disk, CD-ROM, CD-R, magnetic tape, nonvolatile memory card, ROM Etc. can be used.

  Further, by executing the program code read by the computer, not only the functions of the above-described embodiments are realized, but also an OS (Operating System) running on the computer based on the instruction of the program code. Includes the case where the functions of the above-described embodiments are realized by performing part or all of the actual processing.

  Furthermore, after the program code read from the storage medium is written in the memory provided in the function expansion board inserted into the computer or the function expansion unit connected to the computer, the function is determined based on the instruction of the program code. This includes a case where a CPU or the like provided in an expansion board or function expansion unit performs part or all of the actual processing, and the functions of the above-described embodiments are realized by the processing.

It is a figure which shows the whole fluid application | coating apparatus by this invention. It is a figure which shows the structure of the slot nozzle of the fluid application | coating apparatus by this invention. It is a figure which shows the external appearance of the liquid dripping adjustment unit of the fluid application | coating apparatus by this invention. FIG. 4 is a view showing a relationship between a slot nozzle 20 and a liquid dripping adjustment unit 30 during dummy discharge. It is a block block diagram of the fluid application apparatus by this invention. FIG. 4 is a view for explaining a series of operations of the slot nozzle 20. 4 is a timing chart at the time of dummy ejection and application in the first embodiment. It is a timing chart at the time of dummy discharge and application in the second embodiment. It is a timing chart at the time of dummy discharge and application in the third embodiment. It is a block block diagram of the fluid application apparatus by 4th Embodiment. It is a flowchart for demonstrating the operation | movement of 4th Embodiment. It is a figure for demonstrating the advantage of performing liquid discharge at a timing earlier than roller rotation at the time of dummy discharge.

Claims (11)

A fluid application apparatus for applying a coating liquid onto a substrate surface,
Application head means for applying the application liquid;
A liquid dripping adjustment unit having a roller;
Dummy discharge means for executing dummy discharge by the coating head means in the liquid dripping adjustment unit prior to the coating operation on the substrate surface;
Control means for controlling the dummy discharge operation of the dummy discharge means and the rotation operation of the roller of the liquid dripping adjustment unit,
The fluid application apparatus, wherein the control unit starts the dummy discharge operation at a predetermined interval earlier than a start timing of the roller rotation operation.   2. The fluid according to claim 1, wherein the controller starts rotating the roller after generating a liquid sag on the roller by dummy discharge by the dummy discharge operation. Coating device.   3. The control unit according to claim 1, wherein the control unit controls the application head unit and the roller of the liquid sag adjusting unit to move relative to each other at a minute interval during the dummy discharge. Fluid application device.   4. The fluid application apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control unit raises the application head unit perpendicularly to a substantially horizontal plane of the roller at the end of the dummy ejection operation. 5. .   4. The fluid application apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control unit raises the application head unit obliquely with respect to a substantially horizontal plane of the roller at the end of the dummy discharge operation. 5. .   4. The fluid application apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the minute interval is substantially equal to the interval between the application head unit and the substrate surface during the operation of applying the application liquid onto the substrate surface.   The relative speed between the coating head means and the roller during the dummy discharge is substantially equal to the moving speed of the coating head means during the coating operation on the substrate surface. The fluid applying apparatus according to claim 1.   The fluid application according to claim 7, wherein the liquid dripping adjustment unit further includes a cleaning unit that cleans the roller surface, and the application liquid discharged onto the roller is cleaned by the dummy discharge. apparatus.   The fluid application apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the liquid dripping adjustment unit further includes a cleaning liquid drying unit that dries the roller after the cleaning unit cleans the roller.   10. The fluid application apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the control unit makes the rotation speed of the roller different between the dummy discharge, the roller cleaning by the cleaning unit, and the drying by the cleaning liquid drying unit. . A fluid application control method for applying a coating liquid onto a substrate surface,
Prior to the application operation on the substrate surface by the application head means for applying the application liquid, a dummy discharge process in which dummy discharge by the application head means is executed by the liquid sag adjusting unit;
A dummy discharge operation in the dummy discharge step, and a control step of controlling the rotation operation of the roller of the liquid sag adjusting unit having a roller,
Furthermore, in the control step, the dummy discharge operation is started at a predetermined interval earlier than the start timing of the roller rotation operation.

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