JP2006231194A - Blade application apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a blade application apparatus which has simple configuration, furthermore stably supplies a coating liquid of a quantity matching with the quantity to be used in each part of a surface to be coated, and consequently forms a coating liquid layer having uniform thickness in any direction and excellent surface profile. <P>SOLUTION: In the blade application apparatus 100, a coating liquid layer corresponding to an opening 27 of a mask 25 on a flat substrate D is formed by lapping the mask 25 having the opening 27 on the flat substrate D, supplying the coating liquid 49 on the mask 25 and applying the coating liquid 49 with a blade 51 moving relatively to the mask. The blade coating apparatus is provided with a groove 39 formed to be recessed from the mask 25 surface and crossing the moving direction of the blade 51 at a right angle, a coating liquid discharge port 41 provided on the bottom part of the groove 39 and for discharging the coating liquid 49 and a coating liquid supply means 81 for supplying the coating liquid 49 to the coating liquid discharge port 41. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a blade coating apparatus, and more particularly to a blade coating apparatus including a coating liquid supply apparatus that supplies a coating liquid onto a mask.

  As a conventional blade coating apparatus for forming a printable coating liquid layer (ink receiving layer) by coating a coating liquid on a disc-shaped recording medium such as an optical disk to a thickness of about 100 μm, there is the one shown in FIG. . This blade coating apparatus 1 includes a suction table 2 for sucking and mounting an optical disk D, an air cylinder 3 for moving the optical disk D in the vertical direction together with the suction table 2, and a mask plate having an opening 8 defined by a circular edge 4a ( (Mask) 4 and a blade 5 that forms a coating liquid layer 9 by applying the coating liquid 6 to the optical disc D by being driven horizontally while maintaining a predetermined gap on the mask plate 4.

  As shown in FIG. 12A, the application of the coating liquid 6 by the blade coating apparatus 1 is performed by placing the optical disk D on the suction table 2 and fixing it by suction, and then operating the air cylinder 3 to operate the optical disk. D is raised, whereby the mask plate 4 is overlaid on the optical disk D. Then, while supplying the coating liquid 6 onto the mask plate 4, the blade 5 is relatively moved in the direction of arrow A above the mask plate 4, whereby the coating liquid 6 is applied to the optical disk D exposed from the opening 8 of the mask plate 4. Apply to the surface. Next, as shown in FIG. 12B, the air cylinder 3 is operated to lower the suction table 2 (in the direction of arrow B) to separate the optical disk D from the mask plate 4, and the opening of the mask plate 4 on the optical disk D is opened. A coating liquid layer 9 corresponding to 8 is formed.

In such a blade coating apparatus 1, the supply of the coating liquid 6 onto the mask plate 4 is performed by a coating liquid supply mechanism (not shown) disposed above the mask plate 4. The coating solution supply mechanism includes a coating solution supply nozzle, a coating solution supply device, and a nozzle lifting device. The coating solution 6 supplied from the coating solution supply device has an opening 8 and a standby blade from the coating solution supply nozzle. 5 is dripped and supplied onto the mask plate 4. In order to prevent interference with the blade 5, the coating liquid supply nozzle is moved (that is, lowered) to the vicinity of the mask plate 4 by the nozzle lifting device only when the coating liquid 6 is supplied dropwise, and is usually applied in the coating process. Ascend to a position where it does not interfere with the situation and enter a standby state.

  Moreover, a flux supply apparatus is known as an apparatus having a technique similar to a blade coating apparatus (see, for example, Patent Document 1). FIG. 13 shows a flux supply device, FIG. 13 (a) is a perspective view of the main part of the flux supply device, and FIG. 13 (b) is a vertical cross-sectional view taken along the line PP in FIG. 13 (a). The flux supply device 10 is used as a flux supply unit of a ball mounter (not shown). The ball mounter includes a transfer unit (not shown) and a ball mount head, and transfers the flux 98 supplied to the flux table 91 to a workpiece (not shown) positioned by being attached to the transfer unit and further transferred. For example, a solder ball is mounted on the flux 98.

As shown in FIG. 13, the flux supply device 10 includes a flux table 91, a squeegee 92, a flux supply bottle 93, and a remaining amount sensor 94. The flux table 91 is provided with a flux layer forming portion 91a formed one step lower on the upper surface thereof. A flux discharge port 96 is opened in the flux layer forming portion 91a, and a receiving port 97 for the flux supply bottle 93 is formed on the upper surface of the flux table 91 outside the flux layer forming portion 91a. The flux supply path 95 communicates. The flux 98 supplied from the flux supply bottle 93 to the flux layer forming portion 91a through the receiving port 97, the flux supply path 95, and the flux discharge port 96 is a thin film-like flux when the squeegee 92 operates in the horizontal direction. Become a layer.
JP-A-10-75044

However, according to the conventional blade coating apparatus 1 shown in FIG. 12, since the coating liquid supply mechanism is arranged above the mask plate 4, when the coating liquid 6 is dropped onto the mask plate 4 from the coating liquid supply nozzle. The liquid splash of the coating liquid 6 occurs, and the splash adheres to the coating liquid layer 9 of the optical disc D, which deteriorates the surface properties of the coating liquid layer 9 and causes problems in subsequent printing and the like. In addition, the surroundings of the blade coating apparatus 1 may be contaminated by the spray of the coating liquid 6. Furthermore, there is a drawback that it is difficult to secure a good coating liquid layer 9 because air is entrained when the coating liquid 6 is supplied dropwise, and bubbles are mixed in the coating liquid 6.
In order to eliminate the influence of splashing, it may be possible to supply the optical disc at a position further away from the optical disc, but the non-product part (running section) of the mask plate 4 will be secured longer than necessary, and the apparatus will be enlarged. This causes problems such as an increase in the amount of coating solution used.

  Further, since the coating liquid 6 discharged from the coating liquid supply nozzle is concentrated and supplied to one point on the mask plate 4, when coating on a wide coating surface, the coating liquid 6 is lateral, that is, the length of the blade 5. It was difficult to spread in the direction, and it was difficult to form the coating liquid layer 9 having a uniform thickness over the entire coated surface. That is, the variation in the thickness of the coating liquid layer 9 tends to increase in the lateral direction (direction perpendicular to the moving direction of the blade 5) with respect to the vertical direction (moving direction of the blade 5). This is not preferable because it causes printing failure. Further, in order to prevent interference with the blade 5 reciprocatingly moving on the mask plate 4, a nozzle lifting device that lifts and lowers the coating liquid supply nozzle is required, which causes a problem that the device becomes complicated.

  In the flux supply device 10 disclosed in Patent Document 1, the flux discharge port 96 is opened in the flux layer forming portion 91a provided in the flux table 91, and the flux 98 is supplied from the flux discharge port 96. Compared with the case where the flux 98 is supplied dropwise from a nozzle or the like disposed in the nozzle, there is no risk of splashing of the flux 98 or air entrainment. However, since the flux discharge port 96 is formed in the flux layer forming portion 91a which is a product portion, the arrangement position and shape of the flux discharge port 96 are often limited, and a uniform coating liquid layer (flux layer) ) May not be obtained.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to form a coating liquid layer having a uniform thickness in any direction and a good surface property by a simple mechanism. It is an object of the present invention to provide a blade coating device that can be used.

The above object of the present invention can be achieved by the following configuration.
(1) A mask having an opening is overlaid on a flat substrate, a coating liquid is supplied onto the mask, and the coating liquid is coated on the mask with a blade that moves relative to the mask above the mask. A blade coating apparatus for forming a coating liquid layer corresponding to the opening of the mask on the planar substrate,
Grooves recessed from the mask surface and perpendicular to the direction of movement of the blade;
A coating liquid discharge port that is provided at the bottom of the groove and discharges the coating liquid;
A coating solution supply means for supplying a coating solution to the coating solution discharge port;
A blade coating apparatus comprising:

  According to the blade coating apparatus configured as described above, when the coating liquid is supplied from the coating liquid discharge port in the groove on the mask, the groove is first filled with the coating liquid, and then the coating liquid is grooved. As a result, the blade is brought into contact with the coating liquid on the mask. When the blade can come into contact with the blade, the coating liquid is evenly stacked along the longitudinal direction of the groove, and the coating liquid can be supplied evenly along the longitudinal direction of the blade. Further, the coating liquid can be continuously supplied from the coating liquid discharge port of the groove formed on the mask surface without providing the coating liquid supply mechanism above the mask. Therefore, there is no restriction that the blade moving mechanism considers interference with the coating liquid supply mechanism, and the mechanism of the entire apparatus can be simplified. Further, the splashing of the liquid and the mixing of bubbles into the coating liquid are prevented, and the coating liquid is always supplied stably.

  (2) The blade coating apparatus according to (1), wherein the coating liquid discharge ports are arranged at a plurality of locations along a direction orthogonal to the blade moving direction in the groove.

  According to the blade coating apparatus configured as described above, the coating liquid can be supplied to a plurality of locations along the direction perpendicular to the moving direction of the blade, that is, the longitudinal direction of the blade. Thus, the coating liquid can be evenly supplied also in the longitudinal direction of the blade, and the supply amount of the coating liquid can be made uniform.

  (3) The blade coating apparatus according to (1) or (2) above, wherein the grooves are formed in a plurality of rows at different positions with respect to the blade moving direction, and the grooves have different longitudinal widths.

  According to the blade coating apparatus configured as described above, a plurality of rows of grooves are formed in a portion where the consumption amount of the coating solution is large, and a large amount of coating solution corresponding to the consumption amount can be supplied. This also makes the thickness of the coating liquid layer uniform in each part.

  (4) The blade coating apparatus according to (1) or (2), wherein the groove is formed by changing a groove width along a direction orthogonal to the blade moving direction.

  According to the blade coating apparatus configured in this way, the groove width of the groove disposed corresponding to the coating surface with a large amount of coating liquid consumption is formed wide, and also corresponding to the coating surface with a small amount of coating liquid consumption. By narrowing the groove width of the groove to be disposed, it is possible to easily supply an amount of the coating liquid corresponding to the coating liquid consumption of each part. Thereby, the thickness of the coating liquid layer of each part can be equalized.

  (5) At least one pair of the grooves is provided on both sides of the opening of the mask, and the blade moves to a position passing through the grooves on both sides. The blade coating apparatus according to any one of 4).

  According to the blade coating apparatus configured as described above, when the blade is reciprocated, the coating process can be performed for each movement path, and the tact time of the coating process can be shortened.

  According to the blade coating apparatus of the present invention, an amount of coating liquid corresponding to the consumption amount of each part is stably supplied by a simple mechanism, thereby having a uniform thickness in any direction and good It is possible to form a coating liquid layer having a satisfactory surface property.

  DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, a preferred embodiment of a blade coating apparatus according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

(First embodiment)
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an outline of a blade coating apparatus according to the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing an outline of the appearance of the blade coating apparatus shown in FIG.

The blade coating apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment is used for coating a liquid film using, for example, a disk-shaped recording medium (optical disk) D, which is an example of a flat substrate, as a member to be coated.
First, the basic configuration of the blade coating apparatus 100 will be described.
As shown in FIG. 1, the applicator 11 of the blade applicator 100 is provided with a circular suction table 13 on which the optical disk D can be sucked and placed. A plurality of suction holes 15 are opened on the upper surface of the suction table 13, and a vacuum pump 19 is connected to each suction hole 15 via a suction path 17. The suction table 13 can hold the optical disk D on the upper surface through the suction holes 15 by operating the vacuum pump 19.

  Further, the suction table 13 is supported by the lifting shaft 21 so that the center of the lower surface is movable in the vertical direction. The vertical movement of the elevating shaft 21 is performed by driving an air cylinder 23 which is an example of a mask peeling means. A mask plate (mask) 25 is provided above the suction table 13, and the mask plate 25 has an opening 27 for exposing the application surface 57 of the optical disk D. The optical disk D placed on the suction table 13 is covered with the opening edge 25 a of the mask plate 25 when the elevating shaft 21 is raised by driving the air cylinder 23 and reaches the upper limit position.

  The coating unit 11 is provided with a mask cap attaching / detaching means 29 above the center of the optical disc D. The mask cap attaching / detaching means 29 includes a cap suction nozzle 31, a vacuum pump 33, and an elevating means 35. The mask cap attaching / detaching means 29 sucks and holds the mask cap 37 at the lower end of the cap suction nozzle 31 by driving the vacuum pump 33. When the elevating means 35 is driven in this state, the cap suction nozzle 31 is lowered, and the mask cap 37 is inserted into the hole in the center of the optical disc D. Note that the mask cap (center cap) 37 is not limited to this, and may be detached by other mechanical means. For example, there is a method in which the mask cap 37 is pushed up from below and lifted from the mask plate 25, and the mask cap 37 is scooped from the side.

  On the surface of the mask plate 25 outside the opening 27, there is a long groove 39 having a longitudinal direction in a direction perpendicular to the moving direction of the blade 51 (left and right direction in FIG. 1), that is, a direction perpendicular to the paper surface. The mask plate 25 is formed so as to be recessed one step lower than the surface. The length of the long groove 39 in the longitudinal direction is set to be substantially the same as the length of the opening 27 of the mask plate 25 (the length in the direction perpendicular to the moving direction of the blade 51). A plurality of coating liquid discharge ports 41 are formed on the bottom surface of the long groove 39 in a direction orthogonal to the moving direction of the blade 51. The coating liquid discharge ports 41 communicate with each other and are connected to the coating liquid supply means 81 via a coating liquid supply path 43 formed in the mask plate 25. The coating liquid supply means 81 includes a coating liquid supply pump 45 and a coating liquid tank 47. The coating liquid supply pump 45 pumps the coating liquid 49 stored in the coating liquid tank 47, discharges it from the coating liquid discharge port 41, and supplies it into the long groove 39.

  Here, as the coating liquid 49, for example, one having a liquid viscosity of 150 cP to 800 cP can be used, and in particular, the coating liquid 49 of 200 cP to 600 cP is preferably used. In addition, the liquid viscosity here is a value measured with a B-type viscometer (bismetholone) in an environment of 25 ° C.

  The blade 51 is arranged in a standby state further outside the long groove 39. In other words, the coating liquid 49 is supplied from the coating liquid discharge port 41 to the running section of the blade 51. The blade 51 is horizontally driven on the mask plate 25 while maintaining a predetermined gap G by the moving means 53, and is exposed through the opening 27 of the mask plate 25 as shown in FIG. It moves so that the coating liquid 49 may be apply | coated to the application | coating surface 57 of the optical disk D made.

  The blade 51 is made of a metal material such as a stainless steel material that is elongated in the direction perpendicular to the paper surface of FIG. 1, and the cross-sectional shape perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the blade 51 is formed in a substantially trapezoidal shape. Further, a gap (gap) G is formed between the lower surface 59 of the blade 51 and the mask plate 25, and the coating liquid 49 is pressed as the flow is guided by the front side surface 55 of the blade 51. It is pushed into the gap G. The coating liquid 49 is filled in the opening 27 of the mask plate 25 by passing through the lower surface (pressing surface) 59 of the blade 51 facing the coating surface 57. As a result, the coating liquid 49 is applied to the coating surface 57 flatly.

  The operations of the vacuum pump 19, the air cylinder 23, the vacuum pump 33, the lifting / lowering means 35, the coating liquid supply pump 45, and the moving means 53 are controlled by the control unit 63.

  Further, the opening 27 of the mask plate 25 has an opening exceeding at least 50 mm continuous along the longitudinal direction of the blade 51, so that the effect of uniform application by the blade application according to the present invention, which will be described in detail later, becomes remarkable. . In the present embodiment, the opening 27 is formed in a circular shape having a diameter of about 120 mm.

  In the blade coating apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment, the coating liquid layer is coated at a thickness of at least 100 μm or more during coating. When the coating solution is applied in such a thickness of 100 μm or more, the surface property of the coating solution layer is less likely to follow the surface of the coating surface 57 than in the case of thin film coating, and the shape of the blade 51 is It will have a big impact. That is, the surface of the coating liquid layer is determined by the pressure of the coating liquid 49 by the blade 51, the wettability of the coating liquid 49 by the shape of the blade 51, and the like.

  Further, when the coating liquid 49 is applied to a relatively large coating surface 57 having a diameter of about 120 mm, it is important that the amount of the coating liquid 49 commensurate with the required coating amount is supplied in a balanced manner. Here, the application required amount is not only the total amount applied to the application surface 57 but also when the application surface 57 is applied by the blade 51 that moves linearly with respect to the application surface 57 having a large width. It is necessary to consider the required amount of coating for each section. This is because the coating liquid 49 supplied onto the mask plate 25 is applied to the coating surface 57 while being stretched in the moving direction of the blade 51 and is not stretched much in the direction perpendicular to the moving direction of the blade 51. .

  When this blade coating apparatus 100 is used as a disk coating apparatus for forming at least one recording layer of a disk-shaped recording medium, it forms a printing layer (ink receiving layer) for printing using, for example, an ink jet printer. be able to. According to this disk coating apparatus, it is possible to form a printing layer having a necessary and sufficient thickness so that good color reproducibility can be ensured when printing on the printing layer. Actually, when the coating liquid layer has a thickness of about 100 μm at the time of coating, a coating film of about 30 μm is formed at the time of reduction after drying, and the ink receiving layer of about 30 μm enables good color reproducibility. .

Next, a coating solution coating method using the blade coating apparatus 100 will be described.
FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing the procedure of the coating method according to the present invention as (a) to (c), and FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing the procedure of the coating method according to the present invention as (d) to (g). is there.
First, as shown in FIG. 3A, the optical disk D is adsorbed on the adsorption table 13 at the lowered position of the elevating shaft 21, as shown in FIG. 3A, and an air cylinder is obtained as shown in FIG. The suction table 13 is lifted by the driving of 23 and the optical disk D comes into contact with the opening edge 25 a of the mask plate 25. Next, as shown in FIG. 3C, the mask cap 37 is inserted into the central hole of the optical disc D by driving the mask cap attaching / detaching means 29.

  Then, as shown in FIG. 4D, the coating liquid 49 is discharged from the coating liquid discharge port 41 by the coating liquid supply means 81 and accumulates in the long groove 39, and eventually rises on the mask plate 25 so as to rise from the long groove 39 (blade). 51 run-up sections). At this time, since the plurality of coating liquid discharge ports 41 communicate with each other, the coating liquid 49 is supplied from the plurality of coating liquid discharge ports 41 at the same timing. The amount of the coating liquid 49 to be supplied is appropriately adjusted according to the area of the coating surface 57 of the optical disc D.

  Here, the supply of the coating liquid 49 will be described in detail with reference to FIG. 5A to 5E are plan views showing a state in which the coating liquid discharged from the coating liquid discharge port is accumulated in the long groove. As shown in FIG. 5, the coating liquid 49 ejected from the plurality of coating liquid ejection ports 41 formed in the long groove 39 is a planar circular shape (substantially hemispherical) independent from each other due to the surface tension at the initial stage of ejection. However, (a) spreads in the lateral direction as the discharge amount increases, and is gradually guided to the long side 39a of the long groove 39 to gradually become a planar elliptical shape (b). When the coating liquid 49 is further supplied, both ends of the independent plane shape ellipse come into contact with each other (c), and the long groove 39 is eventually filled with the coating liquid 49 (d). It overflows and becomes a planar shape oval and rises on the long groove 39 (e), and a required amount of coating liquid 49 is supplied.

  In this state, the coating liquid 49 accumulated on the long groove 39 so as to overflow flows in the longitudinal direction of the long groove 39 due to the leveling effect, and an equal amount of the coating liquid 49 is supplied in the longitudinal direction. That is, even if there is some variation in the supply amount of the coating liquid 49 supplied from each coating liquid discharge port 41, the coating liquid 49 is finally stored in the long groove 39 by the leveling effect by temporarily storing it in the long groove 39. In the longitudinal direction (that is, the longitudinal direction of the blade 51).

  As shown in FIG. 4E, the blade 51 is moved rightward in the figure by the moving means 53 while pressing the coating liquid 49 temporarily stored in the long groove 39 and supplied in an equal amount in the longitudinal direction of the blade 51. Move left from. Then, the blade 51 passes through the coating surface 57 of the optical disk D together with the coating liquid 49, and a coating liquid layer having a predetermined thickness is formed on the coating surface 57 of the optical disk D.

Note that the supply amount of the coating liquid 49 supplied from the coating liquid discharge port 41 into the long groove 39, that is, on the mask plate 25, is slightly larger than the amount applied to the coating surface 57 of the optical disc D by a single coating. Therefore, when the blade 51 reaches the movement end position (the left end in the figure), the blade 51 hardly remains. Further, since the coating liquid 49 is temporarily stored in the long groove 39 and applied after being made to have an equal amount in the longitudinal direction of the long groove 39, the coating liquid is compared with the case where the coating liquid is concentratedly supplied from a nozzle or the like. The layer thickness can be made much more uniform.
Examples of the coating liquid 49 include the compositions shown in Table 1 which are the coating liquid 49 for forming an ink receiving layer on the optical disc D.

Next, as shown in FIG. 4 (f), the mask cap attaching / detaching means 29 is driven, and the mask cap 37 is detached from the optical disc D. As a result, a circular step 69 to which the coating liquid 49 is not applied is formed at the center of the optical disc D. Next, as shown in FIG. 4G, the suction table 13 is lowered by driving the air cylinder 23, so that the optical disk D is separated downward from the opening edge 25 a of the mask plate 25. As a result, the coating liquid 49 applied to the coating surface 57 is separated from the coating liquid 49 on the mask plate 25 by shearing. As a result, since the outer peripheral edge of the optical disk D is covered with the mask plate 25, the non-application part 71 where the application liquid 49 is not applied is formed.
Note that the shape of the application part can be freely set by appropriately changing the opening shape of the mask plate 25.

  The optical disk D in which the application of the coating liquid 49 has been completed in this manner is omitted from the drawing table 13 and is transferred to the drying process of the coating liquid 49 in the next process, although not shown. At the same time, the blade 51 is moved from the left to the right in the drawing by the moving means 53 to return to the original position, and preparation for coating the next coating liquid 49 is performed.

  In the blade coating apparatus 100 described above, the blade 51 is formed of a stainless material. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and may be, for example, a resin material or hard rubber. In this embodiment, the blade coating apparatus is used for coating the printing surface of the optical disc. However, the object is not limited to this, and any object that forms a thick film may be coated. Can do.

(Second Embodiment)
6 is a perspective view showing an outline of the outer appearance of the blade coating apparatus of the second embodiment, FIG. 7 is a longitudinal sectional view of the blade coating apparatus shown in FIG. 6, and FIG. 8 shows the procedure of the coating method according to the present invention ( It is explanatory drawing represented by a)-(f).

  As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, in the blade coating apparatus 200 of the second embodiment, the blade 51 applies the coating liquid 49 to the coating surface 57 of the optical disc D when the blade 51 moves forward and backward. Thus, a coating liquid layer having a predetermined thickness is formed. Both sides of the opening 27 of the mask plate 25, more specifically, both sides of the opening 27 in the moving direction of the blade 51, the longitudinal direction of the mask plate 25 is made to coincide with the direction orthogonal to the moving direction of the blade 51. A pair of long grooves 39 (39A, 39B) dug one step down from the surface is formed. A plurality of coating liquid discharge ports 41 (41A, 41B) are provided at the bottom of each of the long grooves 39 (39A, 39B).

  The plurality of coating liquid discharge ports 41 (41 </ b> A, 41 </ b> B) are connected to the coating liquid supply means 81 via coating liquid supply paths 43 (43 </ b> A, 43 </ b> B) formed in the mask plate 25. The coating liquid supply unit 81 includes a switching valve 83, a coating liquid supply pump 45, and a coating liquid tank 47. The coating liquid supply means 81 switches the supply path communicating with the coating liquid supply pump 45 by the switching valve 83 to the coating liquid supply path 43A or the coating liquid supply path 43B, and applies the coating liquid 49 stored in the coating liquid tank 47 to the coating liquid. The liquid is discharged from the coating liquid discharge port 41A or the coating liquid discharge port 41B by the supply pump 45 and supplied into the long groove 39A or the long groove 39B.

The blade 51 moves to a position where it passes through the pair of long grooves 39A and 39B provided on both sides of the opening 27, in other words, to the outside of the pair of long grooves 39A and 39B. Further, the blade 51 is formed in a substantially hexagonal shape in which a cross-sectional shape perpendicular to the longitudinal direction is tapered at a lower portion, and a front side surface 55A that is an inclined surface that guides the flow of the coating liquid 49 on both side surfaces, And the rear side surface 55B is formed. Then, when the blade 51 moves forward, the coating liquid 49 is pressed by the front side 55A, and when the blade 51 returns, the coating liquid 49 is pressed by the rear side 55B to apply the coating liquid 49 to the coating surface 57 of the optical disc D.
Since other parts are the same as those of the blade coating apparatus 100 of the first embodiment, the same parts are denoted by the same reference numerals or corresponding signs, and the description thereof is simplified or omitted.

Next, a coating solution coating method using the blade coating apparatus 200 will be described.
FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram showing the procedure of the coating method according to the present invention as (a) to (f).
First, as shown in FIG. 8A, after the optical disk D is adsorbed on the adsorption table 13 at the lowered position of the elevating shaft 21 by the command of the control unit 63, the adsorption table 13 is driven by the air cylinder 23. The optical disk D rises and comes into contact with the opening edge 25a of the mask plate 25. Next, as shown in FIG. 8B, the switching valve 83 is switched to the coating liquid supply path 43 </ b> A, and the coating liquid discharge port 41 on the side where the blade 51 is waiting for the coating liquid 49 stored in the coating liquid tank 47. It is discharged from the coating liquid discharge port 41A on the left side in FIG. 8 and supplied to the long groove 39A. The coating liquid 49 discharged from the plurality of coating liquid discharge ports 41A formed at the bottom of the long groove 39A gradually spreads into the long groove 39A due to the leveling effect, and rises as a planar oval shape along the shape of the long groove 39A (FIG. 5). At this time, the coating liquid 49 is a uniform amount in the longitudinal direction of the long groove 39A.

  As shown in FIG. 8 (c), when a predetermined amount of coating liquid 49 (a quantity necessary for performing one coating on the optical disk D) is supplied to the long groove 39A from the coating liquid discharge port 41A, the blade 51 is moved. The moving means 53 moves while pressing the coating liquid 49 from the left to the right in the drawing to form a coating liquid layer having a predetermined thickness on the coating surface 57 of the optical disc D. Since the coating liquid 49 is supplied in an equal amount in the longitudinal direction of the blade 51, the thickness of the coating liquid layer applied to the coating surface 57 is also uniform. Then, the blade 51 passes through the long groove 39B, reaches the right movement end position, and stops. At this time, the coating liquid 49 is consumed for coating the coating surface 57 and hardly remains. Next, as shown in FIG. 8 (d), the optical disk D is separated downward from the opening edge 25 a of the mask plate 25 by lowering the suction table 13 by driving the air cylinder 23. As a result, the coating liquid 49 applied to the coating surface 57 is separated from the coating liquid 49 on the mask plate 25 by shearing. Then, at the lowered position of the suction table 13, the optical disc D on which the coating liquid 49 has been applied is removed and transferred to the drying process of the next coating liquid 49.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 8 (e), a new optical disk D (uncoated optical disk) is adsorbed on the adsorption table 13, and the adsorption table 13 is raised by driving the air cylinder 23, so that the optical disk D becomes the mask plate 25. It contacts the opening edge 25a. Simultaneously with the replacement operation of the optical disk D, the switching valve 83 switches the coating liquid supply path 43 from the coating liquid supply path 43A to the coating liquid supply path 43B, and discharges a predetermined amount of the coating liquid 49 from the plurality of coating liquid discharge ports 41B. Supply into the long groove 39B. A plurality of coating liquid discharge ports 41B, in other words, the coating liquid 49 supplied to a plurality of places spreads in the long groove 39B by the leveling effect as before, and eventually they are connected and integrated to follow the shape of the long groove 39B. It rises in a planar shape oval. As a result, the coating liquid 49 supplied to the long groove 39 </ b> B is also uniform in the longitudinal direction of the blade 51. Then, as shown in FIG. 8 (f), the blade 51 moves while pressing the coating liquid 49 from the right to the left in the drawing by the moving means 53, and a coating liquid layer having a predetermined thickness is applied to the coating surface 57 of the optical disc D. Form.

  Thereafter, the operation is repeated in the same manner, and in the forward and backward movements of the blade 51, the coating liquid 49 is applied to form a coating liquid layer having a predetermined thickness on the coating surface 57 of the optical disc D. It is applied to the optical disc D.

  According to the blade coating apparatus 200 of the present embodiment, the coating liquid 49 supplied from the plurality of coating liquid discharge ports 41 spreads in the longitudinal direction of the blade 51 within the long groove 39, and is eventually connected to each other to form a planar oval shape. As a result, the coating liquid 49 rises as a unit, and an equal amount of the coating liquid 49 is supplied in the longitudinal direction of the blade 51. Then, the blade 51 moves while pressing the coating liquid 49 that spreads in the lateral direction to be substantially the same width as the width of the coating surface 57 of the optical disc D (the length in the longitudinal direction of the blade 51). Since the coating is applied, the thickness of the coating layer 57 of the optical disk D, which has conventionally been easy to vary in thickness in the lateral direction (longitudinal direction of the blade 51), that is, easily streaks parallel to the moving direction of the blade 51, is uniform. A coating liquid layer can be formed.

(Third embodiment)
FIG. 9 is a longitudinal sectional view of a main part of the blade coating apparatus according to the third embodiment.
As shown in FIG. 9, the blade coating apparatus 300 according to the third embodiment has the longitudinal direction coincided with the direction orthogonal to the moving direction of the blade 51 on both sides of the opening 27 of the mask plate 25 in the moving direction of the blade 51. Thus, a pair of long grooves 39 (39A, 39B) having a length L1 are formed by being dug one step down from the surface of the mask plate 25. On the opening 27 side of each of the long grooves 39A and 39B, a pair of auxiliary long grooves 39C and 39D having a length L2 are further formed in parallel with the long grooves 39A and 39B.

The length L1 of the long grooves 39A and 39B is substantially the same as the width of the opening 27 of the mask plate 25 (the length in the direction orthogonal to the moving direction of the blade 51), and the length L2 of the auxiliary long grooves 39C and 39D is the long groove. It is shorter than the length L1 of 39A and 39B (L1> L2). A plurality of coating liquid discharge ports 41 (41A, 41B, 41C, 41D) are provided at the bottoms of the respective long grooves 39 (39A, 39B, 39C, 39D).
Since other parts are the same as those of the blade coating apparatus 200 of the second embodiment, the same parts are denoted by the same reference numerals or the corresponding reference numerals, and the description thereof is simplified or omitted.

  The blade coating apparatus 300 having a pair of long grooves 39A and 39B and auxiliary long grooves 39C and 39D having a length L2 shorter than the length L1 of the long grooves 39A and 39B includes a plurality of coating surfaces 57 in a direction orthogonal to the moving direction of the blade 51. When the coating liquid 49 is applied to the coating surface having a shape in which the areas of the respective sections are different, the coating liquid layer having a uniform thickness can be formed extremely effectively. it can. That is, by arranging the auxiliary long grooves 39C and 39D corresponding to the sections having a large area, the supply amount of the coating liquid 49 is partially increased, and the coating liquid that is insufficient only by the supply amount from the long grooves 39A and 39B. Refill 49.

  FIG. 10 is a diagram showing the coating liquid supply amount (a) and the area (b) of the coating surface when the coating solution is applied to the coating surface of the optical disk. As shown in FIG. 10B, when the application surface 57 of the optical disc D is divided into a plurality of sections in a direction orthogonal to the moving direction of the blade 51, the area (application area) S of each section is the application surface 57. There are few both ends, and it increases gradually toward the center. Since the mask cap 37 to which the coating liquid 49 is not applied is inserted in the central portion of the coating surface 57, the area S has a hollow shape with a reduced central portion.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 9, long grooves 39A and 39B having the same length L1 as the width of the coating surface 57 of the optical disc D, and auxiliary long grooves 39C having a length L2 arranged corresponding to the center of the coating surface 57, As shown in FIG. 10A, the supply amount of the coating liquid 49 by the blade coating apparatus 300 having 39D has a substantially two-stage pyramid shape in which the supply amount near the center is increased by the auxiliary long grooves 39C and 39D. Accordingly, since a large amount of the coating liquid 49 is supplied to the central portion of the coating surface 57 that requires a large amount of the coating liquid 49, a coating liquid layer having a uniform thickness can be formed on the coating surface 57 of the optical disc D. it can.

In the blade coating apparatus according to the third embodiment, the auxiliary long groove is arranged at the center so as to correspond to the circular coating surface of the optical disk. However, the auxiliary coating according to the opening shape of the mask plate, that is, the coating area. The position of the long groove can be arranged corresponding to the application portion having a large application area, and thereby the application liquid can be supplied by adjusting the supply amount so as to obtain a desired supply distribution.
Further, by making the grooves of the long groove 39A and the auxiliary long groove 39C and the grooves of the long groove 39B and the auxiliary long groove 39D communicate with each other, the coating liquid discharge ports provided in the respective grooves are made common, for example, the long grooves 39A, It can be configured that the coating liquid is supplied to both grooves through the coating liquid discharge ports 41A and 41B of 39B.
Here, the coating liquid is applied in the reciprocating motion of the blade, but the long groove and the auxiliary long groove are arranged on one side of the opening so that the coating liquid is applied only when the blade moves forward. Needless to say, it is good. In this case, the mechanism of the blade coating device can be further simplified.

(Fourth embodiment)
FIG. 11 is an enlarged plan view of a main part of a mask plate provided in the blade coating apparatus according to the fourth embodiment.
As shown in FIG. 11, the mask plate 25 of the fourth embodiment has a substantially rhombic long groove 91 that gradually narrows from the surface of the mask plate 25 on the outside of the opening 27. It is formed one step lower. A plurality of coating liquid discharge ports 93 (93A, 93B) connected to a coating liquid supply means (not shown) are provided at the bottom of the rhombic long groove 91. The hole diameter of the coating liquid discharge port 93A provided at the wide bottom at the center in the longitudinal direction of the rhombic long groove 91 is larger than the hole diameter of the other coating liquid discharge port 93B, and more coating liquid 49 is discharged. .

  The coating liquid 49 is discharged from a plurality of coating liquid discharge ports 93 (93 </ b> A, 93 </ b> B) by the coating liquid supply means and is supplied into the rhombic long groove 91. The coating liquid 49 discharged from the plurality of coating liquid discharge ports 93 (93A, 93B) is independent from each other in the rhombic long groove 91 in the initial stage of discharging, but the rhombic long groove 91 is caused by a leveling effect as the discharge amount increases. It spreads inside, and eventually they are connected and become one. At this time, since the central portion of the rhombic long groove 91 has a wide width W, more coating liquid 49 is supplied. Such a rhombic long groove 91 is suitable for use in coating an object to be coated having a large coating area at the center, for example, the coating surface 57 (see FIG. 9) of the optical disc D.

The shape of the long groove is not limited to a rhombus, and may be an arbitrary shape depending on the shape of the opening, that is, the coating area. More specifically, by increasing the width of the long groove corresponding to the portion where the coating area is large, a large amount of coating liquid is supplied to a portion where a large amount of coating liquid is required, thereby obtaining a desired supply distribution. Thus, it is possible to supply the coating liquid by adjusting the supply amount.
As a result, a coating liquid layer having a uniform thickness can be formed. In addition, when a large amount of coating liquid is supplied partially, in addition to increasing the hole diameter of the coating liquid discharge port, the arrangement density of the coating liquid discharge ports may be increased.

  Note that the blade coating apparatus according to the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and can be appropriately modified and improved.

It is a block diagram showing the outline of the blade coating device of 1st Embodiment which concerns on this invention. It is the perspective view showing the outline of the external appearance of the blade coating device shown in FIG. It is explanatory drawing which represented the procedure of the coating method which concerns on the blade coating device of 1st Embodiment by (a)-(c). It is explanatory drawing which represented the procedure of the coating method which concerns on the blade coating device of 1st Embodiment by (d)-(g). (A)-(e) is a top view which shows the state which the coating liquid discharged from a coating liquid discharge port accumulates in a long groove with progress of time. It is a perspective view showing the outline of the appearance of the blade application device of a 2nd embodiment. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the blade coating device shown in FIG. It is explanatory drawing which represented the procedure of the coating method which concerns on the blade coating device of 2nd Embodiment by (a)-(f). It is a perspective view showing the outline of the appearance of the blade application device of a 3rd embodiment. It is a figure which shows the coating liquid supply amount (a) in the case of apply | coating a coating liquid to the application surface of an optical disk, and the area distribution (b) of an application surface. It is a principal part enlarged plan view of the mask board with which the blade coating device of 4th Embodiment is equipped. A state in which a coating liquid is applied by a conventional disk coating apparatus is shown, (a) is a perspective view showing a state in which the coating liquid is applied to the optical disk by a blade, and (b) is a perspective view showing a state in which the optical disk is separated from the mask plate. FIG. The flux supply apparatus disclosed by patent document 1 is shown, (a) is a principal part perspective view of a flux supply apparatus, (b) is a PP arrow longitudinal cross-sectional view in (a).

Explanation of symbols

25 Mask 27 Opening 39A, 39B Long groove (groove)
39C, 39D Auxiliary long groove (groove)
41 (41A, 41B, 41C, 41D) coating liquid discharge port 49 coating liquid 51 blade 81 coating liquid supply means 91 rhombus long groove (groove)
93 (93A, 93B) Coating liquid discharge port 100 Blade coating device 200 Blade coating device 300 Blade coating device D Optical disc (planar substrate)
L1 Length of long groove (longitudinal width of groove)
L2 Length of auxiliary long groove (longitudinal width of groove)
W Groove width

Claims (5)

A mask having an opening is overlaid on a flat substrate, a coating liquid is supplied onto the mask, and the coating liquid is coated on the mask with a blade that moves relative to the mask above the mask. A blade coating apparatus for forming a coating liquid layer according to the opening of the mask on a substrate,
Grooves recessed from the mask surface and perpendicular to the direction of movement of the blade;
A coating liquid discharge port that is provided at the bottom of the groove and discharges the coating liquid;
A coating solution supply means for supplying a coating solution to the coating solution discharge port;
A blade coating apparatus comprising:   The blade coating apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the coating liquid discharge ports are arranged at a plurality of locations along a direction orthogonal to the blade moving direction in the groove.   3. The blade coating apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the grooves are formed in a plurality of rows at different positions with respect to the blade movement direction, with the longitudinal widths of the grooves being different from each other. 4.   3. The blade coating apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the groove is formed by changing a groove width along a direction orthogonal to the blade moving direction.   5. The structure according to claim 1, wherein at least a pair of the grooves are provided on both sides of the opening of the mask, and the blade moves to a position where it passes through the grooves on both sides. The blade coating apparatus according to claim 1.

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