JP2008104947A - Coating machine and control method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a coating machine in which the time necessary for calculating the initiation height of coating at the distal end of a coating nozzle is easily shorten and the control treatment is easily performed, and to provide a coating method. <P>SOLUTION: The coating machine is provided with a distance sensor 33 to measure the distance between the upper surface W1a of the lower substrate W1 installed on the lower stage of the coating nozzle 32 from the distal end of the coating nozzle. Also the coating machine is provided with a control device which measures the height H from the coating nozzle 32 arranged at a predetermined initial position from the upper surface W1a of the lower substrate W1 and calculates the transferring target position below a measured height based on the measured height H and which repeatedly practices to drop the coating nozzle 32 to the calculated transferring target position until the height of the coating nozzle 32 reaches the target height or below. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention uses a coating device that discharges a liquid material from a coating nozzle and applies the liquid material to the surface of a substrate used in a flat panel display (FPD) such as a liquid crystal display device, and the coating device. The present invention relates to a method for applying a liquid material to a surface of a substrate.

Application that applies the liquid material continuously or intermittently to the surface of a glass substrate or the like arranged on the stage by relatively moving the stage and an application nozzle that is arranged above the stage and discharges the liquid material In the apparatus, the substrate is distorted due to the size of the substrate. Due to the distortion of the substrate, it becomes difficult to apply the liquid material to the surface of the substrate so that the liquid material has a certain height. For this reason, in the coating apparatus described in Patent Document 1, the height sensor is fixed to the z-axis base on which the syringe with the coating nozzle mounted at the tip is applied, and the liquid material is continuously applied to the surface of the substrate. The initial position (height) of the coating nozzle is set to a predetermined height considering the distortion of the substrate surface, and the coating nozzle is lowered from the initial position to the coating start height. Then, the height sensor measures the height of the tip of the coating nozzle from the surface of the substrate on the stage and the distortion of the substrate on the front side of the coating nozzle, and based on the measurement result, the control device detects the tip of the coating nozzle. The height of the application nozzle is feedback adjusted by raising and lowering the syringe so that the height is constant with respect to the distortion of the substrate surface (height considering the distortion).
Japanese Patent No. 3539891

  However, in the coating apparatus described in Patent Document 1, when the control device calculates the coating start height, the height of the tip of the coating nozzle is measured by a height sensor from the distortion of the substrate surface on the stage, and the measurement is performed. Control is performed to lower the application nozzle to the movement target position based on the result. Since it is necessary to calculate the distortion of the substrate surface every time the coating start height is determined, it takes time to calculate the movement target position of the coating nozzle and to lower the coating nozzle. Therefore, there is a limit to increasing the speed at which the liquid material is applied.

  The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a coating apparatus and a coating method in which the time required for calculating the coating start height at the tip of the coating nozzle can be reduced and the control process can be easily performed. There is.

  In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, the invention according to claim 1 is characterized in that the substrate disposed on the stage and the application nozzle are relatively moved, and a liquid material is discharged from the tip of the application nozzle to thereby provide the liquid. In a coating apparatus for coating a material on a surface of the substrate in a desired shape, a measurement unit that measures a distance between a tip of the coating nozzle and an object below the coating nozzle, and the substrate by the measurement unit Measuring the height from the upper surface to the coating nozzle arranged at a predetermined initial position, calculating a movement target position lower than the height based on the measured height, and calculating the movement target position to the calculated movement target position. The gist of the invention is that it comprises a control means for repeatedly lowering the coating nozzle until the height of the tip of the coating nozzle becomes equal to or less than a target height.

  According to this configuration, it is not necessary to consider the distortion of the substrate when determining the coating start height of the coating nozzle. In addition, the work process can be simplified by recursive control. Accordingly, it is possible to provide a coating apparatus and a coating method capable of calculating the coating start height at the tip of the coating nozzle and coating the liquid material and reducing the time required for coating the liquid material.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the coating apparatus according to the first aspect, the control means controls the measurement means to obtain a height value measured by 1 / m (m and n are natural numbers). ) And calculating the movement target position. According to this configuration, the application start height is set to, for example, 1/2 of the movement target value (1 to the 1st power of 2), 1/3 (1 to the 1st power of 3), or 1/8 (2 to the 3rd power). Since it can be calculated efficiently using constants rich in change, such as a part 1), and moved by recursive control, the work process can be simplified and made more efficient.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the coating apparatus according to the second aspect, when the height of the tip of the coating nozzle is equal to or less than a target height, the height is measured while being increased by a minute distance, A coating apparatus, comprising: a minute control unit that is repeatedly executed until a target height including a value (h0−ε) or more is reached. Since the tip of the coating nozzle is raised by a minute distance of about several microns, a height as close as possible to the height obtained by subtracting the allowable value from the target height can be obtained.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, the substrate disposed on the stage and the coating nozzle are relatively moved, and the liquid material is ejected from the tip of the coating nozzle so that the liquid material is desired on the surface of the substrate. In the coating apparatus for coating in the shape of, the measuring means for measuring the distance between the tip of the coating nozzle and the object below the coating nozzle, and the measuring means to the predetermined initial position from the upper surface of the substrate The height to the coating nozzle arranged is measured, and the value obtained by subtracting the target height value from the measured height value is set to 1 / m (m and n are natural numbers) of m. Control that repeatedly calculates the position and lowers the coating nozzle to the calculated movement target position until the height of the tip of the coating nozzle is equal to or less than a target height (h0 + ε) including an allowable value. Means and It has as its gist that there was example.

  According to this configuration, since the target nozzle is lowered in advance from the initial position and the coating nozzle can be lowered by 1 of n strips of m (m and n are natural numbers), the distortion of the substrate is taken into consideration. There is no need, and even if the application nozzle is lowered by the calculated value, since the target height is previously differentiated, there is no principle that the tip of the application nozzle hits the substrate. Also, by using constants that vary a lot, such as 1/2 (1 of the power of 2), 1/3 (1 of the power of 3), 1/8 (1 of the power of 2), etc. Since it can be calculated efficiently and moved by recursive control, the work process can be simplified and made more efficient.

The gist of the fifth aspect of the present invention is that, in the coating apparatus according to any one of the first to fourth aspects, the n is the number of times the height is calculated.
According to the configuration, 1/2 of the initial position (1 of 2 to the power of 1), 1/4 (1 of the power of 2), 1/8 (1 of the power of 2), 1 / 16 (1 to the fourth power of 2) or the like can be set in advance so that the distance of descent is shortened according to the number of calculations. When a highly accurate distance sensor is used, the application start position can be set quickly because the distance can be lowered to the vicinity of the target height without measuring the height each time the vehicle is lowered.

  According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the coating apparatus according to any one of the first to fourth aspects, the control device measures the height of the tip of the coating nozzle each time the coating nozzle is lowered. The gist is to calculate the movement target position from the measured value. Therefore, since the distance between the surface of the substrate and the tip of the coating nozzle is set each time the coating nozzle is lowered, the predetermined position of the coating nozzle can be set with high accuracy.

  A seventh aspect of the present invention is the coating apparatus according to any one of the first to fifth aspects, wherein the control means is configured such that the tip of the coating nozzle is equal to or less than the target height including an allowable value. The gist is to raise the coating nozzle by a preset allowable value. For this reason, the application nozzle can be moved again to the vicinity of the target height by raising it by an allowable value, and control for lowering can be performed.

Invention of Claim 8 has the memory | storage means to memorize | store the movement target position immediately before in the coating device as described in any one of Claims 1 thru | or 5,
The control means raises the application nozzle to a height obtained by adding the height stored in the storage means and a preset allowable height when the tip of the application nozzle is equal to or less than the target height including an allowable value. This is the gist. For this reason, the application nozzle can be moved again to the vicinity of the target height by raising it by an allowable value added to the previous height, and control for lowering can be performed.

  According to the ninth aspect of the present invention, the substrate disposed on the stage and the coating nozzle are relatively moved, and the liquid material is ejected from the tip of the coating nozzle so that the liquid material is desired on the surface of the substrate. A control method for lowering the nozzle to a target height in a coating apparatus that applies to the shape of the coating, wherein the coating apparatus measures a distance between a tip of the coating nozzle and an object below the coating nozzle. And measuring the height from the upper surface of the substrate to the coating nozzle arranged at a predetermined initial position by the measurement step, and calculating a movement target position lower than the height based on the measured height And a control step of repeatedly lowering the coating nozzle to the calculated movement target position until the height of the tip of the coating nozzle is equal to or lower than the target height. It has as its gist that.

  According to this configuration, it is not necessary to consider the distortion of the substrate when determining the coating start height of the coating nozzle. In addition, the work process can be simplified by recursive control. Accordingly, it is possible to provide a coating apparatus and a coating method capable of calculating the coating start height at the tip of the coating nozzle and coating the liquid material and reducing the time required for coating the liquid material.

  A tenth aspect of the present invention is the coating apparatus according to the ninth aspect, wherein the coating apparatus sets a height value measured by controlling the measurement step in the control step to 1 / n of m ( The gist is that the movement target position is calculated by using m and n as natural numbers.

  According to this configuration, the application start height is set to, for example, 1/2 of the movement target value (1 to the 1st power of 2), 1/3 (1 to the 1st power of 3), or 1/8 (2 to the 3rd power). Since it can be calculated efficiently using constants rich in change, such as a part 1), and moved by recursive control, the work process can be simplified and made more efficient.

  The invention according to claim 11 is the coating apparatus according to claim 9, wherein when the tip height of the coating nozzle is equal to or less than a target height, the coating apparatus is configured to increase the height while being increased by a minute distance. And a minute control step that is repeatedly executed until the height reaches a target height (h0−ε) including an allowable value or more. Since the tip of the coating nozzle is raised by a minute distance of about several microns, a height as close as possible to the height obtained by subtracting the allowable value from the target height can be obtained.

  According to the twelfth aspect of the present invention, the substrate disposed on the stage and the coating nozzle are relatively moved, and the liquid material is ejected from the tip of the coating nozzle so that the liquid material is desired on the surface of the substrate. A control method for lowering the nozzle to a target height in a coating apparatus that applies to the shape of the coating, wherein the coating apparatus measures a distance between a tip of the coating nozzle and an object below the coating nozzle. The measurement step and the height from the upper surface of the substrate to the coating nozzle arranged at a predetermined initial position by the measurement step are measured, and the value obtained by subtracting the target height value from the measured height value is m The height of the tip of the coating nozzle allows the moving target position to be calculated to 1 / n of power (where m and n are natural numbers) and the coating nozzle is lowered to the calculated moving target position. Contains value A target height (h0 + epsilon) control step of repeatedly executed until become less was, that the execution has its gist.

  According to this configuration, since the target nozzle is lowered in advance from the initial position and the coating nozzle can be lowered by 1 of n strips of m (m and n are natural numbers), the distortion of the substrate is taken into consideration. There is no need, and even if the application nozzle is lowered by the calculated value, since the target height is previously differentiated, there is no principle that the tip of the application nozzle hits the substrate. Further, for example, the application start height is set to 1/2 of the movement target value (1 to the 1st power of 2), 1/3 (1 to the 1st power of 3), or 1/8 (1 to the 3rd power of 2). For example, it is possible to efficiently calculate using constants rich in change and move by recursive control, so that the work process can be simplified and made more efficient.

  It is possible to provide a coating apparatus and a coating method in which the time required for calculating the coating start height at the tip of the coating nozzle can be reduced and the control process can be easily performed.

DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, an embodiment of the invention will be described with reference to FIGS.
FIG. 1 is a side view of the seal drawing apparatus 10.
The sticker drawing apparatus 10 is incorporated in a bonded substrate manufacturing apparatus, and the bonded substrate manufacturing apparatus encloses a liquid crystal display panel by enclosing a liquid crystal between two types of substrates to be supplied (a lower substrate and an upper substrate). To manufacture. The liquid crystal display panel manufactured by the apparatus of the present embodiment is, for example, an active matrix type liquid crystal display panel. The lower substrate is an array substrate (TFT substrate) on which a TFT or the like is formed on a glass substrate, and the upper substrate is a color filter substrate (CF substrate) on which a color filter, a light-shielding film, or the like is formed on the glass substrate. It is. These lower substrate and upper substrate are produced and supplied by respective processes. The bonded substrate manufacturing apparatus manufactures a liquid crystal display panel by bonding a lower substrate and an upper substrate.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the seal drawing apparatus 10 is supplied with one of two types of substrates constituting the liquid crystal display panel, for example, a lower substrate W1. The seal drawing apparatus 10 applies a sealing material R as a liquid material to the upper surface W1a of the lower substrate W1 in a frame shape. For the sealing material R, at least an adhesive including a photo-curable adhesive is used.

Next, the seal drawing apparatus 10 will be described in detail.
A rectangular parallelepiped stage 22 smaller than the base 21 is placed on a rectangular parallelepiped base 21 constituting the seal drawing apparatus 10, and the base 21 extends across the stage 22. A gantry 23 is provided as a moving means. The gantry 23 is integrally formed with a pair of support legs 23a extending in parallel upward from the base 21 and a connecting portion 23b that spans between the two support legs 23a and connects the upper ends of the support legs 23a. It is formed and the shape seen from the side is U-shaped. The base end portions of the pair of support legs 23 a are respectively inserted into a pair of guide grooves 21 a formed in parallel along the stage 22 on both sides of the stage 22 on the upper surface of the base 21. The gantry 23 is moved in the y direction along the guide groove 21a by a y-axis actuator 24 provided in the base 21 corresponding to the pair of support legs 23a. In FIG. 1, the direction perpendicular to the paper surface is the y direction.

  The connecting portion 23b is provided with an x-axis base 26 that is moved in the x-direction along the connecting portion 23b by the driving force of the x-axis actuator 25, and the x-axis base 26 includes a z-axis actuator 27. A z-axis base 28 that is moved along the z direction by a driving force is provided. The x direction is a direction orthogonal to the y direction, and the z direction is a direction orthogonal to both the y direction and the x direction. In FIG. 1, the horizontal direction is the x direction, and the vertical direction is the z direction.

  A substantially cylindrical syringe 31 is attached to the z-axis base 28 so as to be able to move integrally with the z-axis base 28, and the syringe 31 is filled with a sealing material R for applying to the lower substrate W1. ing. As described above, the sealing material R is an adhesive containing at least a photocurable adhesive.

  In addition, the lower end portion of the syringe 31 is formed in a conical shape whose diameter decreases toward the lower end, and an application nozzle 32 is attached to the lower end thereof. Further, a distance sensor 33 for measuring the distance between the upper surface W1a of the lower substrate W1 disposed on the stage 22 and the tip of the coating nozzle 32 is fixed to the z-axis base 28 to which the syringe 31 is attached. ing. The distance sensor 33 irradiates light perpendicularly to the upper surface W1a of the lower substrate W1 disposed on the stage 22 and receives the reflected light, whereby the upper surface W1a of the lower substrate W1 and the coating are applied based on the received reflected light. A first measurement signal S1 corresponding to the distance from the tip of the nozzle 32 is output.

  The stage 22 has an upper surface formed horizontally, and a plurality (eight in the present embodiment) of suction areas (not shown) are set on the upper surface 22a of the stage 22. Each of the eight suction regions has a quadrangular shape, and is equally set in a range where the lower substrate W1 is disposed on the upper surface 22a of the stage 22. In each suction region, a plurality of suction holes (not shown) are formed in a matrix. And the suction device 35 (refer FIG. 3) provided in the stage 22 attracts | sucks the gas between the lower board | substrate W1 arrange | positioned on the stage 22, and the stage 22, and the stage 22, the lower board | substrate W1, and During this time, a vacuum suction force is generated, and the lower substrate W1 is fixed on the stage 22 by the vacuum suction force. Further, the suction device 35 is configured to be able to change the magnitude of the vacuum suction force with respect to the lower substrate W1 on the stage 22 for each suction region.

  As shown in FIG. 2, a plurality (15 in this embodiment) of accommodating recesses 22 c are formed on the upper surface 22 a of the stage 22. The fifteen receiving recesses 22c are formed at positions facing the lower substrate W1 in the z direction when the lower substrate W1 is disposed on the upper surface of the stage 22. Specifically, the fifteen receiving recesses 22 c are formed so as to be arranged in three rows of five along the longitudinal direction of the stage 22. Further, the five receiving recesses 22c constituting each row are provided at equal intervals, and the three rows constituting the receiving recesses 22c are formed at equal intervals in the short direction of the stage 22. Yes. One distance sensor 41 is housed in each of the 15 housing recesses 22c. These distance sensors 41 are for measuring the distance from the upper surface 22a of the stage 22 to the upper surface W1a of the lower substrate W1 disposed on the stage 22.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the y-axis actuator 24, the x-axis actuator 25, the z-axis actuator 27, the distance sensor 33, the suction device 35, and the distance sensor 41 are controlled by a control device 51 as control means and minute control means. Is done.

  More specifically, the control device 51 controls the suction device 35 so as to fix and release the lower substrate W1 disposed on the stage 22 with respect to the stage 22, and vacuums the lower substrate W1 for each suction region. Adjust the suction force. Further, the control device 51 uses the y-axis actuator 24, the x-axis actuator 25, and the z-axis actuator 27 to draw a desired pattern with the sealing material R on the upper surface W1a of the lower substrate W1 disposed on the stage 22. Control.

  The control device 51 controls the y-axis actuator 24 and the x-axis actuator 25 to move the coating nozzle 32 to the coating start position, and based on the first measurement signal S1 input from the distance sensor 33. The z-axis actuator 27 is controlled to lower the tip of the application nozzle 32 to the target height. Specifically, the control device 51 determines the distance between the upper surface W1a of the lower substrate W1 disposed on the stage 22 and the tip of the coating nozzle 32 based on the first measurement signal S1 input from the distance sensor 33. (Height) is calculated. Then, the control device 51 controls the z-axis actuator 27 based on the calculated height, and lowers the coating nozzle 32 so that the tip of the coating nozzle 32 becomes a target height with respect to the upper surface W1a of the lower substrate W1. Let The target height is set according to the amount, material (component), and the like of the sealing material R applied to the upper surface W1a of the lower substrate W1.

The moving means is composed of a gantry 23 having these actuators 24, 25, 27 and a control device 51, and the measuring means is composed of a distance sensor and control device 51.
The configuration and operation of the distance sensor 33 will be described with reference to FIG.

  The distance sensor 33 includes a control CPU 61, an LD (laser diode) 62 as a light projecting element, a lens 63, and an image sensor (for example, a light receiving element that converts light collected by the lens 63 into electric energy). And a two-dimensional CMOS sensor) 64.

  The LD 62 irradiates light toward the lower substrate W1 under the control of the CPU 61. The irradiated light is reflected by hitting an object, and the reflected light is collected by the lens 63 and received by the image sensor 64. The measurement range of the distance sensor is determined according to the focal length of the lens 63 and the size of the light receiving area of the image sensor 64, and the resolution of the distance to be measured is determined according to the number of pixels of the image sensor 64. In the present embodiment, as an example, the distance from the distance sensor 33 to the center (measurement center) of the measurement range (distance from the measurement point p1 to the measurement point p2) is 5 cm from the distance sensor 33, and the resolution is 0.1. It is assumed that a micrometer distance sensor 33 is used. Since the measurement range MR is 10 cm with respect to the center distance, the allowable value is plus or minus 5 cm.

  The light reflected by the upper surface W1a of the lower substrate W1 is collected by the lens 63, and the intensity of the light received by the image sensor 64 is converted to, for example, the control device 51 as a voltage value and transmitted to the CPU 61. The CPU 61 operates under the control of the control device 51 that controls the entire seal drawing apparatus 10 via a cable drawn with a broken line.

Next, a process for controlling the application of the sealing material R to the lower substrate W1 performed by the seal drawing apparatus 10 as described above will be described.
[First step]
First, the lower substrate W1 is arranged at a predetermined position on the stage 22. At this time, the control apparatus 51 has arrange | positioned the syringe 31 in the retracted position which does not interfere with the lower board | substrate W1 carried in.

[Second step]
Next, the control device 51 drives the suction device 35 to fix the lower substrate W1 on the stage 22 by a vacuum suction force. At this time, the control device 51 controls the suction device 35 so that the vacuum suction force in each suction region becomes equal.

[Third step (measurement step and control step)]
As the third step, first, the control device 51 drives the actuators 25 and 24 for the x and y axes to set the tip of the coating nozzle 32 having the distance sensor 33 to the XY initial value (for example, the seal material R). It moves to a point (starting point) on the locus to be applied, which is 0, 0 position in the coordinate system. Then, the z-axis actuator 27 is driven to the initial position H within the measurement range shown in FIG. When the descending operation is finished, the control device 51 measures the height H from the tip of the coating nozzle 32 to the upper surface W1a of the lower substrate W1 installed on the upper surface 22a of the stage 22 by controlling the distance sensor 33. .

  Next, using the measured height H (because the distance from the tip of the application nozzle 32 to the upper surface W1a of the substrate W1 varies due to the variation in the thickness of the lower substrate W1), the application start height of the application nozzle 32 is determined. Set. Specifically, the control device 51 removes the target height h0 obtained from experiments based on the thickness of the sealant, its error, and the like from the height H, and the height H1 = ½ of the height (H−h0) = (H−h0) / 2 is calculated as the movement target position.

  The target height h0 is stored in advance by a storage device (not shown) as storage means built in the control device 51. Then, the tip of the application nozzle 32 attached to the syringe 31 is lowered by driving the z-axis actuator 27 to the height H1 calculated by the control device 51 (shown by a one-dot chain line in FIG. 5).

  After the syringe 31 finishes descending, the control device 51 again controls the distance sensor 33 to increase the upper surface W1a of the lower substrate W1 installed on the upper surface 22a of the stage 22 from the height H1 where the tip of the application nozzle 32 is installed. Is measured, and the measured value is newly set as H1 and used for calculation of the next moving target value.

  Similarly, the control device 51 removes the target height h0 from the measured height H1, calculates a height H2 that is ½ of the height (H1-h0) as the next movement target position, and performs the z-axis operation. The actuator 27 is driven and the tip of the application nozzle 32 is lowered to the position (in the vicinity of the target height h0) depicted by the two-dot chain line in FIG. After the lowering operation, the control device 51 controls the distance sensor 33 to measure the distance from the height H2 at which the tip of the coating nozzle 32 is installed to the upper surface W1a of the lower substrate W1 installed on the upper surface 22a of the stage 22. Then, the next movement target value is calculated by newly setting the measured value as H2.

  The control device 51 calculates a value obtained by halving the height excluding the target height h0 every time the z-axis actuator 27 is driven to perform the lowering operation, and the measurement operation using the distance sensor 33 is performed. Do. By repeating this control process, the tip height of the application nozzle approaches the target height h0.

  When the tip of the application nozzle 32 descends to a position lower than the height (h0−ε) including the allowable value ε due to a measurement error or the like, the control device 51 drives the z-axis actuator 27 to apply to the substrate. For example, the tip of the nozzle is raised by an allowable value ε. Then, the control device 51 repeats the control process until the calculated result is within the range of the target height ((h0 + ε) or less to (h0−ε)).

  In this embodiment, since it descends from the reference height by ½, the initial height setting of the coating nozzle 32 can be recursively determined without calculating the distortion of the substrate surface one by one. Thereby, the control device 51 can set the measurement value extremely close to the target height and the application start position of the application nozzle 32, and can shorten the time for setting the application start position as compared with the conventional method.

[Fourth step (application step)]
Next, the control device 51 drives the y-axis actuator 24 and the x-axis actuator 25 to move the syringe 31 having the application nozzle 32 at the tip with respect to the stage 22, and seal material R discharged from the application nozzle 32. Is continuously applied to the upper surface W1a of the lower substrate W1. Thereby, a desired pattern is drawn with the sealing material R on the upper surface W1a of the lower substrate W1. At this time, the control device 51 determines that the position (height) of the application nozzle 32 in the z direction corresponds to the position of the tip of the application nozzle 32 in the x direction and the y direction. The syringe 31 (coating nozzle 32) is moved up and down so that the position (height) is added to the target height h0 at the tip. Thereby, the distance between the upper surface W1a of the lower substrate W1 and the tip of the coating nozzle 32 is kept constant.

  Further, in the same process, the control device 51 drives the distance sensor 33 to measure the distance between the upper surface W1a of the lower substrate W1 and the tip of the coating nozzle 32, and the first input from the distance sensor 33 is performed. The distance between the upper surface W1a of the lower substrate W1 and the tip of the coating nozzle 32 is calculated based on one measurement signal S1. When the calculated distance between the upper surface W1a of the lower substrate W1 and the tip of the coating nozzle 32 exceeds a preset threshold value, the control device 51 discharges the sealing material R from the coating nozzle 32 and each of them. The drive of the actuators 24, 25, 27 is stopped. The “threshold value” is an upper limit value and a lower limit value of a predetermined region centered on the distance between the tip of the coating nozzle 32 and the upper surface W1a of the lower substrate W1 when the tip of the coating nozzle 32 is at the reference height. It corresponds to. “Exceeding the threshold value” means that the calculated distance between the upper surface W1a of the lower substrate W1 and the tip of the coating nozzle 32 is longer than the upper limit value, or the same distance is shorter than the lower limit value. .

[Fifth step]
When the application of the sealing material R to the upper surface W1a of the lower substrate W1 is completed, the control device 51 drives the z-axis actuator 27 to place the lower substrate W1 between the tip of the application nozzle 32 and the upper surface 22a of the stage 22. The syringe 31 is disposed at a position where an interval equal to or greater than the thickness is provided. Next, the control device 51 controls the suction device 35 to release the fixation of the lower substrate W1 on the stage 22. Thereafter, the lower substrate W1 is moved from the seal drawing device 10 to the liquid crystal dropping device by the transport device.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the following effects can be obtained.
(1) A distance sensor 33 that measures the distance from the upper surface W1a of the lower substrate W1 installed on the stage 22 below the coating nozzle 32 and a control device 51 are provided. The control device 51 measures the height H from the upper surface W1a of the lower substrate W1 to the coating nozzle 32 arranged at a predetermined initial position by the distance sensor 33. Then, based on the measured height H, the movement target position lower than that height is calculated, and the application nozzle 32 is lowered to the calculated movement target position. Repeat until h0 or less. By providing these, when determining the coating start height of the coating nozzle 32, it is not necessary to consider the distortion of the upper surface W1a of the lower substrate W1. In addition, the work process can be simplified by recursive control. Accordingly, it is possible to provide a coating apparatus and a coating method capable of calculating the coating start height at the tip of the coating nozzle 32 and coating the sealing material R and reducing the time required for coating the sealing material R. .

  (2) When the control device 51 sets the application start position of the application nozzle 32, the value obtained by subtracting the value of the target height h0 from the height value measured by controlling the distance sensor 33 is halved. Therefore, it is not necessary to consider the distortion of the upper surface W1a of the lower substrate W1, and there is no principle that the tip of the coating nozzle 32 hits the substrate even if it is lowered. Further, for example, the application start height is set to 1/2 of the movement target value (1 to the 1st power of 2), 1/3 (1 to the 1st power of 3), or 1/8 (1 to the 3rd power of 2). For example, it is possible to efficiently calculate using constants rich in change and move by recursive control, so that the work process can be simplified and made more efficient.

  (3) The control device 51 measures the height of the tip of the coating nozzle each time the coating nozzle 32 is lowered, and calculates the movement target position from the measured value, so that the upper surface W1a of the lower substrate W1 and the coating nozzle 32 are calculated. Since the distance to the tip of the coating nozzle is set each time the coating nozzle is lowered, the predetermined position of the coating nozzle 32 can be set with high accuracy.

  (4) When the tip of the application nozzle 32 becomes equal to or less than the target height h0 including the allowable value ε, the control device 51 increases the application nozzle 32 by a preset allowable value ε, and thus increases the allowable value ε. Thus, the coating nozzle 32 is moved again to the vicinity of the target height h0, and the control for lowering can be performed again.

In addition, you may implement the said one Embodiment in the following aspects.
In the above embodiment, when setting the coating start height, the lowering of the coating nozzle 32 may be calculated without removing the height corresponding to the allowable value ε. If the accuracy of the distance sensor 33 is high, it is not necessary to take every difference with the control device 51, so that the initial height calculation set at the start of application and the operation time of the distance sensor 33 are shortened.

  In the third step of the above embodiment, the height is measured every time the coating nozzle 32 is lowered. However, when the accuracy of the distance sensor 33 is high, the initial position is ½ (2 to the power of 2). 1), 1/4 (1 of the second power of 2), 1/8 (1 of the second power of 2), 1/16 (1 of the second power of 2), etc. It may be set in advance so that the distance to be shortened. When a highly accurate distance sensor is used, the application start position can be quickly set because the height can be lowered to the vicinity of the target height h0 without performing the height measurement every time it is lowered.

  In the above embodiment, when the application start height is set, if the height of the tip of the application nozzle 32 at the current time is lower than the target height h0, it is set in advance to the height Hx before calculation. The coating nozzle 32 may be installed within the target value and the permissible value ε by increasing the sum of the permissible value ε and re-measurement.

  In the above embodiment, when the control device 51 sets the application start height, the height of the tip of the application nozzle 32 at the present time is lower than the target height h0 minus the allowable value ε. In this case, the height is measured while being raised by a minute distance, and the process is repeatedly executed until the height becomes equal to or higher than the target height h0 minus the allowable value ε. Since the tip of the coating nozzle 32 is raised by a minute control step by a minute distance, a coating start height as close as possible to the height obtained by subtracting the allowable value ε from the target height h0 can be obtained.

  When the control device 51 determines that the calculated movement target position is lower than the value obtained by subtracting the allowable value ε from the target height h0, the controller 51 does not perform the operation of lowering the application nozzle 32 first, for example, The movement target position may be calculated again by raising the application nozzle 32 by the value ε. As a result, the coating nozzle 32 does not collide with the substrate in principle.

  In the above embodiment, the suction device 35 fixes the lower substrate W1 to the upper surface 22a of the stage 22 by a vacuum suction force, but may also fix the lower substrate W1 to the upper surface of the stage 22 by an electrostatic suction force. Good. In this case, the stage 22 is provided with an electrostatic chuck corresponding to each suction region.

  In the seal drawing apparatus 10 of the above embodiment, one syringe 31 having the application nozzle 32 and the distance sensor 33 is provided. However, a plurality of such syringes 31 are provided in the connecting portion 23b together with the x-axis base 26 moved in the x-direction by the x-axis actuator 25 and the z-axis base 28 moved in the z-direction by the z-axis actuator 27. Also good.

  In the above embodiment, the correction amount is continuously calculated along the trajectory of the tip of the application nozzle 32 when a desired pattern is drawn with the sealing material R on the upper surface W1a of the lower substrate W1. However, the correction amount may be calculated corresponding to the x-direction position and the y-direction position at a plurality of locations on the trajectory.

  In the above-described embodiment, the present invention is embodied in the seal drawing device 10 that applies the sealing material R for enclosing the liquid crystal between the lower substrate W1 and the upper substrate W2. However, such a seal drawing device is described. The present invention may be embodied in any applicator as long as it is an applicator that applies a liquid material to a flat plate in a desired shape. For example, the present invention may be embodied in a coating apparatus that applies solder to the surface of a substrate.

The schematic block diagram of the seal drawing apparatus in a bonded substrate manufacturing apparatus. The top view of a board | substrate and a stage. The block diagram which shows the electrical structure of a sticker drawing apparatus. The principle explanatory drawing of a height sensor. Action | operation explanatory drawing of a height sensor.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 22 ... Stage, 22a ... Upper surface of stage, 23 ... Gantry as moving means, 24 ... Y axis actuator, 25 ... X axis actuator, 27 ... Z axis actuator, 31 ... Syringe, 32 ... Coating nozzle, 33 ... Nozzle side measurement A distance sensor as means, 51... Control device as control means, R... Sealing material as liquid material, S 1... First measurement signal as measurement signal, W 1 ... lower substrate as substrate, W 1 a. Upper surface, H, H1, H2, Hx: Height from coating nozzle 32 to upper surface W1a of lower substrate W1, H: Initial position, h0: Target height, ε: Allowable value.

Claims (12)

In the coating apparatus that relatively moves the substrate disposed on the stage and the coating nozzle, and discharges the liquid material from the tip of the coating nozzle to apply the liquid material to the surface of the substrate in a desired shape.
Measuring means for measuring the distance between the tip of the coating nozzle and the object below the coating nozzle;
Measuring the height from the upper surface of the substrate to the coating nozzle arranged at a predetermined initial position by the measuring means, and calculating a movement target position lower than the height based on the measured height; Control means for repeatedly performing the lowering of the application nozzle to the moved target position until the height of the tip of the application nozzle is equal to or lower than the target height;
A coating apparatus comprising: The coating apparatus according to claim 1,
The control means calculates the movement target position by setting the height value measured by controlling the measurement means to 1 / m (m and n are natural numbers) of m.
An applicator characterized by that. The coating apparatus according to claim 2,
When the height of the tip of the coating nozzle becomes equal to or less than the target height, the height is measured while being increased by a minute distance, and the process is repeatedly executed until the height reaches the target height (h0−ε) including the allowable value. A coating apparatus comprising a minute control means. In the coating apparatus that relatively moves the substrate disposed on the stage and the coating nozzle, and discharges the liquid material from the tip of the coating nozzle to apply the liquid material to the surface of the substrate in a desired shape.
Measuring means for measuring the distance between the tip of the coating nozzle and the object below the coating nozzle;
The height from the upper surface of the substrate to the coating nozzle disposed at a predetermined initial position is measured by the measuring means, and a value obtained by subtracting the target height value from the measured height value is the nth power of m. 1 (m and n are natural numbers) to calculate the movement target position and to lower the application nozzle to the calculated movement target position, the height of the tip of the application nozzle includes an allowable value. Control means for repeatedly executing the target height (h0 + ε) or less,
A coating apparatus comprising: In the coating device as described in any one of Claims 1 thru | or 4,
N is the number of times the height is calculated.
An applicator characterized by that. In the coating device as described in any one of Claims 1 thru | or 4,
The control means measures the height of the tip of the application nozzle every time the application nozzle is lowered, and calculates the movement target position from the measured value.
An applicator characterized by that. In the coating device as described in any one of Claims 1 thru | or 5,
The control means raises the application nozzle by a preset allowable value when the tip of the application nozzle is equal to or less than the target height including the allowable value.
An applicator characterized by that. In the coating device as described in any one of Claims 1 thru | or 5,
Having storage means for storing the immediately preceding movement target position;
The control means raises the application nozzle to a height obtained by adding the height stored in the storage means and a preset allowable height when the tip of the application nozzle is equal to or less than the target height including an allowable value. ,
An applicator characterized by that. In the coating apparatus that relatively moves the substrate disposed on the stage and the coating nozzle and discharges the liquid material from the tip of the coating nozzle to apply the liquid material to the surface of the substrate in a desired shape. A control method for lowering the nozzle to a target height,
The coating device includes:
A measuring step of measuring a distance between the tip of the coating nozzle and an object below the coating nozzle;
Measuring the height from the upper surface of the substrate to the coating nozzle arranged at a predetermined initial position by the measuring step, and calculating a movement target position lower than the height based on the measured height; A control step of repeatedly performing the lowering of the application nozzle to the moved target position until the height of the tip of the application nozzle is equal to or lower than the target height;
The control method characterized by performing. The control method according to claim 9, wherein
The coating device includes:
In the control step, the movement target position is calculated by setting the height value measured by controlling the measurement step to 1 / m (m and n are natural numbers) of m. The coating method according to claim 9, wherein
The coating device includes:
When the height of the tip of the coating nozzle becomes equal to or less than the target height, the height is measured while being increased by a minute distance, and the process is repeatedly executed until the height reaches the target height (h0−ε) including the allowable value. A control method characterized by executing a minute control step. In the coating apparatus that relatively moves the substrate disposed on the stage and the coating nozzle and discharges the liquid material from the tip of the coating nozzle to apply the liquid material to the surface of the substrate in a desired shape. A control method for lowering the nozzle to a target height,
The coating device includes:
A measuring step of measuring a distance between the tip of the coating nozzle and an object below the coating nozzle;
The height from the upper surface of the substrate to the coating nozzle arranged at a predetermined initial position is measured by the measurement step, and a value obtained by subtracting the target height value from the measured height value is an nth power of m. 1 (m and n are natural numbers) to calculate the movement target position and to lower the application nozzle to the calculated movement target position, the height of the tip of the application nozzle includes an allowable value. A control process that is repeatedly executed until the target height (h0 + ε) or less,
The control method characterized by performing.

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