JP2009011919A - Cleaning device, cleaning method, preparatory ejection device, coating device, and preparatory ejection method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a cleaning device, a cleaning method, a preparatory ejection device and a coating device each showing excellent cleaning performance in the preparatory ejection device that does not employ a priming roller upon carrying out preparatory ejection. <P>SOLUTION: The cleaning device 100 for cleaning a preparatory ejection face 81 of the preparatory ejection device used in a preparatory ejection action carried out in the coating device is characterized by comprising a plurality of squeegees 110a, 110b, and 110c for scraping off a liquid by sliding over the preparatory ejection face 81 coated with the liquid, with the squeegees 110a, 110b, and 110c each supported in such a manner that the longitudinal direction of the squeegee end contacting the preparatory ejection face 81 is tilted relative to the sliding direction. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a cleaning device, a cleaning method, a preliminary discharge device, and a coating device.

  A fine pattern such as a wiring pattern or an electrode pattern is formed on a glass substrate constituting a display panel such as a liquid crystal display. Generally, such a pattern is formed by a technique such as photolithography. In the photolithography method, a step of forming a resist film on a glass substrate, a step of pattern exposing the resist film, and a step of developing the resist film are performed.

As an apparatus for applying a resist film on a substrate, there is known an application apparatus that fixes a slit nozzle and applies a resist (liquid material) to a glass substrate that moves under the slit nozzle (see, for example, Patent Document 1). ). In such a coating apparatus, in order to obtain the uniformity of the coating film, for example, nozzle tip management such as nozzle cleaning and preliminary discharge operation before resist coating is performed.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2005-236092

  In the coating apparatus described in Patent Document 1, a resist is discharged (applied) onto a roller surface called a priming roller as a preliminary discharge operation. However, the above configuration has a problem that a large amount of cleaning liquid is required when cleaning the coating liquid discharged (applied) onto the roller. Therefore, it is desired to provide a technique that enables good cleaning in a preliminary discharge apparatus having a new configuration that does not use a priming roller during the preliminary discharge operation.

  The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and a cleaning device, a cleaning method, a preliminary discharge device, and a coating device that can obtain high cleaning performance in a preliminary discharge device that does not use a priming roller during a preliminary discharge operation. The purpose is to provide.

  In order to solve the above problems, a cleaning device of the present invention is a device for cleaning a preliminary discharge surface of a preliminary discharge device used for a preliminary discharge operation in a coating device, on the preliminary discharge surface on which a liquid material has been applied. The squeegee is supported in a posture in which the length direction of the contact end with the preliminary discharge surface is inclined with respect to the sliding direction. It is characterized by that.

  According to the cleaning apparatus of the present invention, the liquid material scraped off by the squeegee sliding on the preliminary discharge surface is pushed away sideways along the surface of the squeegee. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the liquid material scraped off by the squeegee from hindering the sliding of the squeegee and to obtain a high detergency.

Moreover, in the said washing | cleaning apparatus, it is preferable that the crossing angle of the length direction of the said contact end and the said sliding direction is 85 degrees or less.
By setting the crossing angle to the above angle, the liquid material can be favorably pushed away, and the preliminary discharge surface can be cleaned well.

Further, the cleaning device preferably includes a plurality of the squeegees.
According to this configuration, the liquid material on the preliminary discharge surface can be scraped well by the plurality of squeegees, and high cleaning properties can be exhibited.
Furthermore, it is more preferable that the plurality of squeegees are arranged in the sliding direction in a substantially parallel posture.
According to this configuration, the gaps between the squeegees can be set to be approximately equal, and the cleaning performance on the preliminary discharge surface can be stabilized.

The cleaning apparatus preferably includes a cleaning liquid supply unit having a discharge port for discharging the cleaning liquid in front of the sliding direction of the squeegee.
According to this configuration, for example, by diluting the liquid material applied on the preliminary discharge surface with the cleaning liquid, the liquid material can be easily scraped by the squeegee, and higher cleaning properties can be obtained. Further, since the cleaning liquid is discharged from the discharge port, the amount of the cleaning liquid used can be suppressed.
Furthermore, it is more preferable that the discharge port is provided corresponding to the other squeegees except for the squeegee located at the rearmost end in the sliding direction among the plurality of squeegees.
According to this configuration, when the last squeegee in the sliding direction slides on the preliminary discharge surface, it functions as a finishing squeegee that scrapes off the liquid material left behind by the front squeegee. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the liquid material from being left on the preliminary discharge surface and to have high cleaning performance.

Moreover, in the said washing | cleaning apparatus, it is preferable that the inclination angle with respect to the said preliminary discharge surface of several said squeegee is substantially the same.
According to this configuration, the scraping property of the liquid material in all squeegees can be made equal, and the preliminary ejection surface can be cleaned uniformly.
Furthermore, it is preferable that the inclination angle of the squeegee located at the head of the sliding direction among the plurality of squeegees is larger than the inclination angles of the other squeegees.
According to this configuration, it is possible to increase the contact resistance between the squeegee located at the head in the sliding direction and the preliminary discharge surface, and thereby it is possible to satisfactorily scrape off the liquid material applied on the preliminary discharge surface. .

The cleaning apparatus preferably includes a drying mechanism that ejects gas toward the preliminary discharge surface.
According to this configuration, it is possible to reliably dry the preliminary discharge surface that has been moistened by the cleaning process.

The cleaning apparatus preferably includes a suction mechanism that sucks the liquid remaining on the preliminary discharge surface.
According to this configuration, since the liquid remaining on the preliminary discharge surface can be sucked by the suction mechanism, the cleaning property of the preliminary discharge surface can be further improved.

Further, the cleaning apparatus includes a squeegee head portion that supports the squeegee and an arm portion that supports the squeegee head portion, and the arm portion includes a swing mechanism that swingably supports the squeegee head portion. Preferably it is provided.
According to this configuration, since the squeegee head portion is swingable, the squeegee can be reliably brought into contact with the preliminary discharge surface, and high cleaning performance can be obtained.

  The preliminary ejection device of the present invention includes the above-described cleaning device.

  According to the preliminary discharge device of the present invention, since the cleaning device having a high cleaning property is provided, the preliminary discharge operation can be reliably performed by cleaning the preliminary discharge surface satisfactorily. .

  The preliminary ejection device of the present invention includes a preliminary ejection surface on which a liquid material is applied in a preliminary ejection operation in the coating apparatus, and a squeegee that slides on the preliminary ejection surface to scrape the liquid material. And a cleaning device that supports the length direction of the contact end obliquely with respect to the sliding direction, and the squeegee sliding operation causes the preliminary discharge surface to flow laterally in the length direction. And a discharge part for discharging the liquid material.

  According to the preliminary discharge device of the present invention, the liquid material scraped by the squeegee sliding on the preliminary discharge surface and flowing out to the side in the length direction of the preliminary discharge surface along the surface of the squeegee is surely discharged from the discharge portion. Can be discharged. Therefore, high detergency can be obtained.

In the preliminary discharge device, it is preferable that the discharge portion has a side groove provided on a side of the preliminary discharge surface and extending in the sliding direction.
According to this configuration, the liquid material that has flowed out to the side of the preliminary discharge surface can be reliably discharged from the side groove portion.

  The preliminary ejection device of the present invention includes a preliminary ejection surface on which a liquid material is applied in a preliminary ejection operation in the coating apparatus, and a squeegee that slides on the preliminary ejection surface to scrape the liquid material. A cleaning device that supports the longitudinal direction of the contact end in an oblique direction with respect to the sliding direction, and a discharge that discharges the liquid material that has been moved forward of the squeegee by the sliding operation of the squeegee And a section.

  According to the preliminary ejection device of the present invention, the liquid material scraped by the squeegee sliding on the preliminary ejection surface and moved to the front of the squeegee can be reliably discharged. Therefore, high detergency can be obtained.

In the preliminary ejection device, it is preferable that a suction collection mechanism for sucking the liquid material is provided in the discharge unit.
According to this configuration, the liquid material accommodated in the discharge portion can be discharged well by the suction and recovery mechanism.

In the preliminary ejection device, it is preferable that a suction port connected to the suction recovery mechanism and an inclined surface descending toward the suction port are provided.
According to this configuration, the liquid material discharged to the discharge portion can easily flow to the suction port side along the inclined surface, and the liquid material can be discharged well from the suction port.
Furthermore, a plurality of regions having the suction port and the inclined surface corresponding to the suction port are arranged along the sliding direction in the discharge portion provided on the side of the preliminary discharge surface. Is more preferable.
According to this configuration, the liquid material discharged to the discharge portion can be favorably guided to the suction recovery mechanism by the plurality of suction ports and the inclined surfaces.

In the preliminary ejection device, it is preferable that a standby unit for placing the cleaning device is provided on a side of the preliminary ejection surface.
According to this configuration, when the preliminary discharge surface is cleaned, the movement distance to the preliminary discharge surface can be shortened, and the movement time can be shortened.
Furthermore, it is more preferable that the standby portion is provided at the rear in the sliding direction with respect to the preliminary discharge surface.
According to this configuration, the cleaning device is arranged on the cleaning start side, and the cleaning operation by the cleaning device can be started quickly.

In the preliminary ejection device, the standby unit may be provided on the preliminary ejection surface, or may be provided at a position lower than the preliminary ejection surface, but lower than the preliminary ejection surface. It is preferable to have a mounting surface provided at a position on which the cleaning device is mounted.
According to this configuration, it is possible to prevent interference between the coating apparatus and the cleaning apparatus that move on the preliminary discharge surface during the preliminary discharge operation.

In the preliminary ejection device, it is preferable that a squeegee cleaning mechanism for removing the liquid material attached to the squeegee is provided in the standby unit.
According to this configuration, the squeegee can be kept in a good state, and the cleaning quality on the preliminary discharge surface can be stabilized.

Moreover, in the said preliminary discharge apparatus, it is preferable that the said squeegee cleaning mechanism is an uneven | corrugated structure formed in the said mounting surface.
According to this configuration, the liquid attached to the squeegee can be removed satisfactorily.

  A coating apparatus according to the present invention includes the above-described preliminary discharge device.

  According to the coating apparatus of the present invention, since the preliminary ejection device having a high cleaning property on the preliminary ejection surface is provided, the application part can be always kept in a good state by performing the preliminary ejection operation well. The liquid material can be applied with a uniform film thickness.

  The cleaning method of the present invention is a method for cleaning a preliminary discharge surface of a preliminary discharge device used for a preliminary discharge operation in a coating apparatus, and is applied to the preliminary discharge surface by sliding a squeegee on the preliminary discharge surface. When scraping off the liquid material, the squeegee is slid in a posture in which the length direction of the contact end with the preliminary discharge surface is inclined with respect to the sliding direction.

  According to the cleaning method of the present invention, the liquid material scraped off by the squeegee sliding on the preliminary discharge surface can be pushed away in the sliding direction side along the surface of the squeegee. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the liquid material scraped off by the squeegee from obstructing the sliding of the squeegee and to obtain a high detergency.

Moreover, in the said washing | cleaning method, it is preferable that the crossing angle of the length direction of the said contact end and the said sliding direction is 85 degrees or less.
According to this configuration, the liquid material can be pushed away well, and the preliminary discharge surface can be washed well.
Furthermore, it is more preferable to slide a plurality of the squeegees on the preliminary discharge surface.
According to this configuration, the liquid material on the preliminary discharge surface can be scraped well by the plurality of squeegees, and high cleaning properties can be exhibited.
More preferably, the plurality of squeegees are slid in a state of being arranged substantially parallel to each other in the sliding direction.
According to this configuration, the gaps between the squeegees can be set to be approximately equal, and the cleaning performance on the preliminary discharge surface can be stabilized.

Moreover, in the said cleaning method, it is preferable to discharge a washing | cleaning liquid ahead of the said sliding direction of the said squeegee.
According to this configuration, for example, by diluting the liquid material applied on the preliminary discharge surface with the cleaning liquid, the liquid material can be easily scraped by the squeegee, and higher cleaning properties can be obtained. Further, since the cleaning liquid is discharged from the discharge port, the amount of the cleaning liquid used can be suppressed.

In the cleaning method, it is preferable that the cleaning liquid is discharged forward of the other squeegees in the sliding direction, except for the squeegee that is located at least at the end of the sliding direction among the plurality of squeegees. .
According to this configuration, when the last squeegee in the sliding direction slides on the preliminary discharge surface, it functions as a finishing squeegee that scrapes off the liquid material left behind by the front squeegee. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the liquid material from being left on the preliminary discharge surface and to have high cleaning performance.

Moreover, in the said cleaning method, it is preferable to inject gas with respect to the said preliminary discharge surface after the said squeegee passes.
According to this configuration, it is possible to reliably dry the preliminary discharge surface that has been moistened by the cleaning process.

In the cleaning method, it is preferable that the liquid remaining on the preliminary discharge surface after the squeegee has passed is sucked.
According to this configuration, since the liquid remaining on the preliminary discharge surface can be sucked by the suction mechanism, the cleaning property of the preliminary discharge surface can be further improved.

The preliminary ejection method of the present invention is a preliminary ejection method prior to the coating operation in the coating apparatus,
A step of applying a liquid material to the preliminary discharge surface; and a step of sliding the liquid material on the preliminary discharge surface to scrape the liquid material. In the step of sliding the squeegee, And slide the liquid material on the preliminary discharge surface in the length direction of the preliminary discharge surface. It is characterized by discharging to the side.

  According to the preliminary discharge method of the present invention, it is possible to clean the preliminary discharge surface satisfactorily by pushing the liquid material scraped by the squeegee sliding on the preliminary discharge surface to the side in the length direction of the preliminary discharge surface. Can do.

  The preliminary ejection method of the present invention is a preliminary ejection method prior to the coating operation in the coating apparatus, the step of applying a liquid material to the preliminary ejection surface, and sliding the squeegee on the preliminary ejection surface. Scraping the liquid material, and in the step of sliding the squeegee, the squeegee is in a posture in which the length direction of the contact end with the preliminary discharge surface is inclined with respect to the sliding direction. The liquid material collected by the squeegee is discharged forward in the sliding direction of the preliminary discharge surface.

  According to the preliminary discharge method of the present invention, it is possible to satisfactorily clean the preliminary discharge surface by discharging the liquid material collected by the squeegee sliding on the preliminary discharge surface forward in the sliding direction of the preliminary discharge surface. .

  In the preliminary discharge method, after the step of sliding the squeegee, the squeegee is moved to a standby position provided on a side of the preliminary discharge surface, and the liquid adhering to the squeegee at the standby position. It is preferable to remove the body.

  According to this configuration, the squeegee can be kept in a good state, and the cleaning quality on the preliminary discharge surface can be stabilized. Further, since the cleaning operation is performed at the standby position provided on the side of the preliminary discharge surface, the squeegee moving time can be shortened.

  According to the present invention, even in a preliminary discharge device that does not use a priming roller during a preliminary discharge operation, the liquid material on the preliminary discharge surface is scraped well by a squeegee that slides on the preliminary discharge surface. Can be obtained.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. As shown in FIG. 9, the coating apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment is a coating apparatus that coats a resist on a glass substrate used for a liquid crystal panel, for example, and a resist is formed on a preliminary ejection surface instead of a conventional priming roller. Preliminary discharge is performed, and the preliminary discharge surface can be satisfactorily cleaned. The coating apparatus 1 includes a substrate transport unit 2, a coating unit 3, and a management unit 4 as main components, and a resist is placed on the substrate by the coating unit 3 while the substrate transport unit 2 floats and transports the substrate. The application unit 3 manages the state of the application unit 3.

(Management Department)
First, the configuration of the management unit 4 will be described with reference to FIGS.
The management unit 4 is a part that manages the nozzles 32 so that the discharge amount of the resist (liquid material) discharged to the substrate S is constant, and the management unit 4 overlaps the coating unit 3 so as to overlap the substrate transport unit 2 in plan view. The -X direction side (upstream side in the substrate transport direction). The management unit 4 includes a preliminary discharge mechanism (preliminary discharge device) 42, a dip tank 41, a nozzle cleaning device 43, a storage unit 44 that stores these, and a holding member 45 that holds the storage unit 44. is doing. The holding member 45 is connected to the moving mechanism 45a. The accommodating portion 44 is movable in the X direction by the moving mechanism 45a.

The preliminary discharge mechanism 42, the dip tank 41, and the nozzle cleaning device 43 are arranged in this order in the −X direction side. The dimensions of the preliminary discharge mechanism 41, the dip tank 42, and the nozzle cleaning device 43 in the Y direction are smaller than the distance between the columnar members 31a of the portal frame 31, and the portal frame 31 straddles each part. (See FIG. 14).
The dip tank 41 is a liquid tank in which a solvent such as thinner is stored. The nozzle cleaning device 43 is a device that rinses and cleans the peripheral region of the opening 32 a of the nozzle 32.

Hereinafter, the configuration of the preliminary discharge mechanism 42 will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining a schematic configuration of the preliminary discharge mechanism 42.
As shown in FIG. 1, the preliminary discharge mechanism 42 is used for the preliminary discharge operation of the nozzle 32 (the coating unit 3), and has a preliminary discharge unit 103 having a preliminary discharge surface 81 for performing preliminary discharge of resist. And a preliminary discharge surface cleaning unit (cleaning device) 100 for cleaning the preliminary discharge surface 81.

The preliminary discharge unit 103 includes a plate-shaped preliminary discharge plate 80 made of, for example, SUS, stone, glass, or the like, and one surface of the preliminary discharge plate 80 forms the preliminary discharge surface 81. The preliminary discharge plate 80 has a longitudinal direction corresponding to the longitudinal direction of the nozzle.
The preliminary discharge surface cleaning unit 100 performs a cleaning process by moving on the preliminary discharge surface 81 coated with the resist R, and has a squeegee 110 that slides on the preliminary discharge surface 81 and scrapes off the resist R. is doing.

(Preliminary discharge surface cleaning unit)
A schematic configuration of the preliminary discharge surface cleaning unit 100 will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 2 is a schematic view of the preliminary discharge surface cleaning unit 100. FIG. 2 illustrates a state in which the preliminary discharge surface cleaning unit 100 is disposed on the preliminary discharge surface 81.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the preliminary discharge surface cleaning unit 100 includes a squeegee head unit 105 and an arm unit that supports the squeegee head unit 105 and allows the squeegee head unit 105 to move relative to the preliminary discharge surface 81. 101, a drying unit (drying mechanism) 120 that ejects air (gas) toward the preliminary discharge surface 81, and a suction unit (suction mechanism) 130 that sucks the liquid remaining on the preliminary discharge surface 81. Yes.

  The squeegee head unit 105 includes at least one discharge port 102 that discharges cleaning liquid onto the preliminary discharge surface 81, three squeegees 110 that slide on the preliminary discharge surface 81 coated with a resist and scrape the cleaning liquid, And a control unit 140 that controls the discharge amount of the cleaning liquid discharged from each discharge port 102.

In order to make the following description easy to understand, the squeegee 110 is referred to as a first squeegee 110a, a second squeegee 110b, and a finishing squeegee 110c in order from the sliding direction side.
These squeegees 110 (110a, 110b, 110c) are composed of a plate-like member having a rectangular shape in plan view, and various constituent materials can be used as long as the resist applied on the preliminary ejection surface 81 can be scraped off. In this embodiment, for example, polyester is used. The length of the squeegee 110 is set to be equal to or greater than the width of the preliminary ejection surface 81, whereby the squeegee 110 can scrape off the resist applied on the preliminary ejection surface 81.

  In addition, the squeegee 110 is desirably attached to the squeegee head unit 105 in a state of being inclined by 15 ° or more and 50 ° or less with respect to the preliminary discharge surface 81 (more preferably in a state of being inclined by 45 °). Thus, a high cleaning performance can be obtained by the squeegee 110 sliding on the preliminary discharge surface 81. Specifically, in the present embodiment, the inclination angle is set to 45 °.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the preliminary discharge surface cleaning unit 100 is movable on the preliminary discharge surface 81, and the squeegee 110 held by the squeegee head unit 105 slides on the preliminary discharge surface 81. ing. FIG. 3 shows how the squeegee 110 is attached to the squeegee head unit 105. The squeegee 110 shown in the figure is a contact end with respect to the preliminary discharge surface 81.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the squeegee 110 is supported by the squeegee head unit 105 in a posture in which the length direction of the contact end with the preliminary discharge surface 81 is inclined with respect to the sliding direction of the squeegee 110. Specifically, it is desirable that the crossing angle between the length direction of the contact end and the sliding direction of the squeegee 110 be 85 ° or less (in this embodiment, it is set to 80 °). Therefore, the squeegees 110 are arranged in the sliding direction in a substantially parallel posture.

  As shown in FIG. 2, a gap 107 is formed in the squeegee head portion 105 between the first squeegee 110a and the second squeegee 110b. Further, the squeegee head unit 105 is provided with a cleaning liquid supply pipe 106 a communicating with the gap 107.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the cleaning liquid supply pipe 106 a is formed along the longitudinal direction of the squeegee head unit 105, and in this embodiment, for example, the cleaning liquid is supplied to ten gaps 107. . The gaps 107 are arranged at equal intervals. The number of the gaps 107 is not limited to this, and can be changed as appropriate. A cleaning liquid supply means 106 connected to the cleaning liquid supply pipe 106a is provided on the side of the squeegee head section 105 (on the right side in the figure). The cleaning liquid supply means 106 includes a pump that sucks the cleaning liquid from a cleaning liquid tank (not shown) filled with a cleaning liquid such as thinner and supplies the cleaning liquid to the cleaning liquid supply pipe 106a.

  The cleaning liquid supply means 106 is electrically connected to a control unit 140 that controls the discharge amount of the cleaning liquid discharged from each discharge port 102. The cleaning liquid supply means 106 is adjusted based on the electrical signal from the control unit 140, and the discharge amount of the cleaning liquid discharged from each discharge port 102 via the cleaning liquid supply pipe 106a can be adjusted. In the present embodiment, the controller 140 adjusts the cleaning liquid supply means 106 so that the amounts of cleaning liquid discharged from the first discharge port 102a and the second discharge port 102b are equal.

  Accordingly, the discharge port 102 (cleaning liquid supply unit) from which the cleaning liquid is discharged by allowing the cleaning liquid sucked by the cleaning liquid supply means 106 to flow into the gap 107 from the cleaning liquid supply pipe 106a is configured. The cleaning liquid discharged from the discharge port 102 is supplied (discharged) onto the preliminary discharge surface 81 along the surface of the squeegee 110 on the sliding direction side.

  The squeegee head unit 105 according to the present embodiment includes a first discharge port 102a corresponding to the first squeegee 110a and the second squeegee 110b excluding the rearmost sliding direction (finishing squeegee 110c) of the squeegee 110. Ten second discharge ports 102b are provided. The number of discharge ports 102 is not limited to this, and can be changed as appropriate. The discharge port 102 corresponding to the squeegee means one that is provided in the vicinity of the squeegee 110 and discharges (supply) the cleaning liquid onto the preliminary discharge surface 81 on the sliding direction side of the squeegee 110.

  In the present embodiment, the first and second discharge ports 102a and 102b are arranged at equal intervals, so that the cleaning liquid can be uniformly arranged on the surface of the squeegee 110 on the sliding direction side. Yes. Further, as shown in FIG. 5, the discharge ports 102a and 102b have gaps 107 in the squeegee head portion so that the cleaning liquid discharged from the adjacent discharge ports 102 and transmitted on the surface of the squeegee 110 reaches the tip of the squeegee 110 and is integrated. 105.

  Next, the configuration of the arm unit 101 that supports the squeegee head unit 105 will be described. As shown in FIG. 2, the arm portion 101 is mainly composed of a metal plate such as SUS, and is provided with a cross roller bearing (swing mechanism) 150 that supports the squeegee head portion 105. The cross roller bearing 150 is configured such that rollers are arranged orthogonally between an inner ring and an outer ring so that the squeegee head portion 105 can be swingably supported. The swing mechanism is not limited to the cross roller bearing 150. For example, various bearing mechanisms can be used as long as the squeegee head unit 105 can swing in a predetermined direction (longitudinal direction of the squeegee 110). Can do.

FIG. 6 is an enlarged view showing the peripheral structure of the arm unit 101.
As shown in FIG. 6, an opening 108 is formed in the arm portion 101, and the cross roller bearing 150 is inserted into the opening 108 so that the cross roller bearing 150 faces the lower surface of the arm portion 101 (the surface facing the preliminary discharge surface 81). ) Pass from the side to the top side.
The cross roller bearing 150 is supported by a shaft portion 152 that is fixedly arranged on the upper surface side of the arm portion 101. Therefore, the cross roller bearing 150 can rotate along the shaft portion 152 and can swing with respect to the arm portion 101.

The cross roller bearing 150 is provided with a mounting plate 151 for mounting the squeegee head unit 105. The squeegee head portion 105 is fixed to the mounting plate 151 disposed on the lower surface side of the arm portion 101 with a bolt B2. Therefore, the squeegee head portion 105 is provided so as to be swingable by the cross roller bearing 150.
With this configuration, when the squeegee head unit 105 rotates (swings), the squeegee 110 can be reliably brought into contact with the preliminary discharge surface 81 and can slide well.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the drying unit 120 is provided on the side opposite to the sliding direction with respect to the squeegee head unit 105, and uses a flange from the outside to thin the air in the sliding direction of the squeegee 110 (for example, an air knife method). ) And the preliminary discharge surface 81 is dried.

The suction unit 130 is provided adjacent to the drying unit 120 on the side opposite to the sliding direction of the squeegee 110. A suction pump (not shown) is connected to the suction unit 130 via a flange, for example, and the suction pressure can be adjusted by controlling the suction pump. The suction unit 130 sucks the resist remaining on the preliminary discharge surface 81. The suction unit 130 is capable of sucking not only the resist remaining on the preliminary discharge surface but also the cleaning liquid or the waste liquid in which the cleaning liquid and the resist are mixed, thereby improving the cleaning performance in the preliminary discharge surface cleaning unit 100. .
By providing the suction unit 130 and the drying unit 120 in this way, the preliminary ejection surface 81 is dried by the air ejected from the drying unit 120, and the air in the vicinity of the preliminary ejection surface 81 is aspirated (spouted). ) Can prevent foreign matters (dust etc.) from being scattered on the preliminary discharge surface 81.

(Preliminary discharge unit)
Next, the configuration of the preliminary discharge unit 103 will be described. 7 shows a schematic configuration of the preliminary discharge unit 103, FIG. 7 (a) is a plan view, and FIG. 7 (b) is a side view.
As shown in FIGS. 7A and 7B, the preliminary discharge unit 103 mainly includes a preliminary discharge plate 80 having a preliminary discharge surface 81 on which a resist is applied by a preliminary discharge operation of the nozzle 32 (application unit 3). The preliminary discharge plate 80 is held so that the preliminary discharge surface 81 is horizontal. The squeegee 110 of the preliminary discharge surface cleaning unit 100 slides on the preliminary discharge surface 81.

  In the present embodiment, as described above, the preliminary discharge surface cleaning unit 100 holds the squeegee 110 in a posture in which the length direction of the contact end with the preliminary discharge surface 81 is inclined with respect to the sliding direction ( (See FIG. 3). Therefore, when the squeegee 110 slides on the preliminary discharge surface 81 to which the resist is applied, the resist scraped off by the squeegee 110 is generally rearward in the sliding direction in the length direction of the squeegee 110 (see FIG. 7A). Pushed away. The preliminary discharge unit 103 according to the present embodiment includes a side discharge portion 93 that discharges the resist that has flowed out to the side end side of the squeegee 110 by the sliding operation of the squeegee 110.

  The side discharge portion 93 may be formed integrally with the preliminary discharge plate 80 having the preliminary discharge surface 81, or may be composed of another member. In this embodiment, a slit-like side groove portion 93 a extending in the sliding direction of the squeegee 110 is formed on the side of the preliminary discharge plate 80, and the side discharge portion 93 is integrally formed.

  As shown in FIG. 7B, the side discharge portion 93 is provided with a suction collection mechanism 95 that sucks the resist. As the suction recovery mechanism 95, for example, a suction pump is used. The side groove portion 93a has four regions having a suction port 95a connected to the suction recovery mechanism 95 and an inclined surface 93b descending toward the suction port 95a arranged along the sliding direction of the squeegee 110. Is made up of. With this configuration, the side discharge portion 93 facilitates the flow of the resist discharged to the side groove portion 93a toward the suction port 95a along the inclined surface 93b, and can discharge the resist well from the suction port 95a. .

  By the way, as described above, the resist scraped off by the squeegee 110 is moved to the side (side discharge portion 93) of the preliminary ejection surface 81, but a part of the resist moves forward in the sliding direction of the squeegee 110. .

  Therefore, the preliminary discharge unit 103 according to the present embodiment discharges the resist moved forward in the sliding direction of the squeegee 110 by the sliding operation of the squeegee 110 as shown in FIGS. 7A and 7B. A discharge unit 92 is provided. The front discharge unit 92 has a suction collection mechanism 95 that sucks the resist. Although not shown, a side groove portion having an inclined surface 93b that is connected to the suction recovery mechanism 95 and descends toward the suction port 95a may be formed in the front discharge portion 92, similarly to the side discharge portion 93. Further, the side groove as described above may be formed in at least one of the side discharge portion 93 and the front discharge portion 92.

  Further, the preliminary discharge unit 103 is provided with a standby unit 91 for placing the preliminary discharge surface cleaning unit 100 on the side of the preliminary discharge surface 81 (backward in the sliding direction). The standby unit 91 is a member that keeps the preliminary discharge surface cleaning unit 100 on standby while the resist is preliminary discharged from the nozzle 32 onto the preliminary discharge surface 81. Specifically, in this embodiment, a standby unit 91 is provided behind the squeegee 110 in the sliding direction, and the preliminary discharge unit 103 is moved from the standby unit 91 to the preliminary discharge surface 81 in a short time when the preliminary discharge surface 81 is cleaned. I can do it.

  The standby unit 91 has a mounting surface 91a on which the preliminary discharge surface cleaning unit 100 is mounted (see FIG. 1). The placement surface 91a is configured to make the preliminary discharge surface cleaning unit 100 stand by at a position equal to or lower than the preliminary discharge surface 81, for example. In particular, the preliminary discharge cleaning unit 100 stands by at a position where the mounting surface 91a is lower than the preliminary discharge surface 81, so that the nozzle 32 and the preliminary discharge surface cleaning unit move on the preliminary discharge surface 81 during the preliminary discharge operation. Interference with 100 can be prevented.

  As shown in FIG. 8, the placement surface 91 a has a concavo-convex structure in cross section, and this concavo-convex structure forms a squeegee cleaning mechanism 94. The squeegee cleaning mechanism 94 has a function of removing the resist adhering to the squeegee 110 by the concavo-convex structure after the preliminary ejection surface 81 is cleaned. With this configuration, the squeegee can be kept in a good state, and the cleaning quality on the preliminary discharge surface is stabilized.

(Coating device)
Next, the coating apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings. The coating apparatus 1 according to this embodiment includes a preliminary discharge mechanism (preliminary discharge apparatus) 42. 9 is a perspective view of the coating apparatus 1, FIG. 10 is a plan view of the coating apparatus 1, FIG. 11 is a plan view of the coating apparatus 1, and FIG. 12 is a side view of the coating apparatus 1.

  As shown in FIGS. 9 to 12, the coating apparatus 1 includes the substrate transport unit 2, the coating unit 3, and the management unit 4 as main components, and lifts and transports the substrate by the substrate transport unit 2. Meanwhile, a resist is applied onto the substrate by the application unit 3, and the state of the application unit 3 is managed by the management unit 4.

(Substrate transport section)
Next, the structure of the board | substrate conveyance part 2 is demonstrated.
The substrate transport unit 2 includes a substrate carry-in region 20, a coating processing region 21, a substrate carry-out region 22, a transport mechanism 23, and a frame unit 24 that supports them. In the substrate transport unit 2, the transport mechanism 23 transports the substrate S sequentially to the substrate carry-in area 20, the coating processing area 21, and the substrate carry-out area 22. The substrate carry-in area 20, the coating treatment area 21, and the substrate carry-out area 22 are arranged in this order from the upstream side to the downstream side in the substrate carrying direction. The transport mechanism 23 is provided on one side of each part so as to straddle each part of the substrate carry-in area 20, the coating treatment area 21, and the substrate carry-out area 22.

  Hereinafter, in describing the configuration of the coating apparatus 1, for simplicity of description, directions in the drawing will be described using an XYZ coordinate system. The substrate transport direction is the longitudinal direction of the substrate transport unit 2 and the substrate transport direction is referred to as the X direction. A direction orthogonal to the X direction (substrate transport direction) in plan view is referred to as a Y direction. A direction perpendicular to the plane including the X direction axis and the Y direction axis is referred to as a Z direction. In each of the X direction, the Y direction, and the Z direction, the arrow direction in the figure is the + direction, and the direction opposite to the arrow direction is the-direction.

The substrate carry-in area 20 is a portion for carrying the substrate S carried from the outside of the apparatus, and has a carry-in stage 25 and a lift mechanism 26.
The carry-in stage 25 is provided on the upper portion of the frame portion 24, and is a rectangular plate-like member made of, for example, SUS or the like in plan view. The carry-in stage 25 has a long X direction. The carry-in stage 25 is provided with a plurality of air ejection holes 25a and a plurality of elevating pin retracting holes 25b. The air ejection holes 25 a and the lifting pin retracting holes 25 b are provided so as to penetrate the carry-in stage 25.

  The air ejection holes 25a are holes for ejecting air onto the stage surface 25c of the carry-in side stage 25. For example, the air ejection holes 25a are arranged in a matrix in a plan view in a region of the carry-in side stage 25 through which the substrate S passes. An air supply source (not shown) is connected to the air ejection hole 25a. In the carry-in stage 25, the substrate S can be floated in the + Z direction by the air ejected from the air ejection holes 25a.

  The elevating pin retracting hole 25b is provided in an area of the loading side stage 25 where the substrate S is loaded. The elevating pin retracting hole 25b is configured such that air supplied to the stage surface 25c does not leak out.

  One alignment device 25d is provided at each end of the carry-in stage 25 in the Y direction. The alignment device 25d is a device that aligns the position of the substrate S carried into the carry-in stage 25. Each alignment device 25d has a long hole and an alignment member (not shown) provided in the long hole, and mechanically holds the substrate loaded into the loading stage 25 from both sides. .

  The lift mechanism 26 is provided on the back side of the carry-in stage 25 at a position corresponding to the substrate carry-in position. The lift mechanism 26 includes an elevating member 26a and a plurality of elevating pins 26b. The elevating member 26a is connected to a driving mechanism (not shown), and the elevating member 26a is moved in the Z direction by driving the driving mechanism. The plurality of elevating pins 26b are erected from the upper surface of the elevating member 26a toward the carry-in stage 25. Each raising / lowering pin 26b is arrange | positioned in the position which overlaps with said raising / lowering pin retracting hole 25b, respectively by planar view. As the elevating member 26a moves in the Z direction, each elevating pin 26b appears and disappears on the stage surface 25c from the elevating pin appearing hole 25b. Ends in the + Z direction of the lift pins 26b are provided so that their positions in the Z direction are aligned, so that the substrate S transported from the outside of the apparatus can be held in a horizontal state. .

The coating processing region 21 is a portion where resist coating is performed, and a processing stage 27 that floats and supports the substrate S is provided.
The processing stage 27 is a rectangular plate-like member in a plan view in which the stage surface 27 c is covered with a light absorbing material mainly composed of hard anodized, for example, and is provided on the + X direction side with respect to the loading side stage 25. . In the portion of the processing stage 27 covered with the light absorbing material, reflection of light such as laser light is suppressed. The processing stage 27 has a longitudinal Y direction. The dimension of the processing stage 27 in the Y direction is substantially the same as the dimension of the loading stage 25 in the Y direction. The processing stage 27 is provided with a plurality of air ejection holes 27a for ejecting air onto the stage surface 27c and a plurality of air suction holes 27b for sucking air on the stage surface 27c. The air ejection holes 27 a and the air suction holes 27 b are provided so as to penetrate the processing stage 27.

  In the processing stage 27, the pitch of the air ejection holes 27 a is narrower than the pitch of the air ejection holes 25 a provided in the carry-in side stage 25, and the air ejection holes 27 a are provided more densely than the carry-in stage 25. Therefore, in this processing stage 27, the flying height of the substrate can be adjusted with higher accuracy than in other stages, and the flying height of the substrate is controlled to be, for example, 100 μm or less, preferably 50 μm or less. Is possible.

  The substrate carry-out area 22 is a part where the substrate S coated with resist is carried out of the apparatus, and includes a carry-out stage 28 and a lift mechanism 29. The carry-out stage 28 is provided on the + X direction side with respect to the processing stage 27, and is composed of substantially the same material and dimensions as the carry-in stage 25 provided in the substrate carry-in region 20. Similarly to the carry-in stage 25, the carry-out stage 28 is provided with an air ejection hole 28a and a lift pin retracting hole 28b. The lift mechanism 29 is provided on the back side of the carry-out stage 28 at a position corresponding to the substrate carry-out position. The lift member 29 a and the lift pin 29 b of the lift mechanism 29 have the same configuration as each part of the lift mechanism 26 provided in the substrate carry-in area 20. The lift mechanism 29 can lift the substrate S by lift pins 29b for transferring the substrate S when the substrate S on the unloading stage 28 is unloaded to an external device.

  The transport mechanism 23 includes a transport machine 23a, a vacuum pad 23b, and a rail 23c. The conveyor 23a has a configuration in which, for example, a linear motor is provided therein, and the conveyor 23a can move on the rail 23c when the linear motor is driven. The transporter 23a is arranged such that the predetermined portion 23d overlaps the end portion of the substrate S in the −Y direction in plan view. The portion 23d overlapping the substrate S is provided at a position lower than the height position of the back surface of the substrate when the substrate S is lifted.

  A plurality of vacuum pads 23b are arranged in a portion 23d overlapping the substrate S in the transport machine 23a. The vacuum pad 23b has a suction surface for vacuum-sucking the substrate S, and is arranged so that the suction surface faces upward. The vacuum pad 23b can hold the substrate S by the suction surface adsorbing the back surface end portion of the substrate S. The height position of each vacuum pad 23b from the upper surface of the transfer machine 23a can be adjusted. For example, the height position of the vacuum pad 23b can be raised or lowered according to the flying height of the substrate S. . The rail 23c extends across the stages on the side of the carry-in stage 25, the processing stage 27, and the carry-out stage 28, and the conveyor 23a slides along the respective stages by sliding on the rail 23c. Can move.

(Applying part)
Next, the configuration of the application unit 3 will be described.
The application unit 3 is a part for applying a resist on the substrate S, and includes a portal frame 31 and a nozzle 32.
The portal frame 31 includes a support member 31a and a bridging member 31b, and is provided so as to straddle the processing stage 27 in the Y direction. One support member 31 a is provided on the Y direction side of the processing stage 27, and each support member 31 a is supported on both side surfaces of the frame portion 24 on the Y direction side. Each strut member 31a is provided so that the height positions of the upper end portions are aligned. The bridging member 31b is bridged between the upper end portions of the respective column members 31a, and can be moved up and down with respect to the column members 31a.

  The portal frame 31 is connected to a moving mechanism 31c and is movable in the X direction. The portal frame 31 is movable between the management unit 4 by the moving mechanism 31c. That is, the nozzle 32 provided in the portal frame 31 can move between the management unit 4.

  The nozzle 32 is formed in a long and long shape in one direction, and is provided on the surface on the −Z direction side of the bridging member 31 b of the portal frame 31. A slit-like opening 32a is provided along the longitudinal direction of the nozzle 32 at the tip in the -Z direction, and a resist is discharged from the opening 32a. The nozzle 32 is disposed so that the longitudinal direction of the opening 32 a is parallel to the Y direction and the opening 32 a faces the processing stage 27. The dimension in the longitudinal direction of the opening 32a is smaller than the dimension in the Y direction of the substrate S to be transported, so that the resist is not applied to the peripheral region of the substrate S. A flow passage (not shown) through which the resist flows through the opening 32a is provided inside the nozzle 32, and a resist supply source (not shown) is connected to the flow passage. The resist supply source has a pump (not shown), for example, and the resist is discharged from the opening 32a by pushing the resist to the opening 32a with the pump. The support member 31a is provided with a moving mechanism (not shown), and the nozzle 32 held by the bridging member 31b is movable in the Z direction by the moving mechanism. The nozzle 32 is provided with a moving mechanism 32c, and the moving mechanism 32c enables the nozzle 32 to move in the Z direction with respect to the bridging member 31b. On the lower surface of the bridging member 31b of the portal frame 31, there is a sensor 33 that measures the distance in the Z direction between the opening 32a of the nozzle 32, that is, between the tip of the nozzle 32 and the facing surface facing the nozzle tip. It is attached.

(Applicator operation)
Next, operation | movement of the coating device 1 comprised as mentioned above is demonstrated.
14-17 is a top view which shows the operation | movement process of the coating device 1. FIG. With reference to each figure, the operation | movement which apply | coats a resist to the board | substrate S is demonstrated. In this operation, the substrate S is carried into the substrate carry-in region 20, a resist is applied in the coating treatment region 21 while the substrate S is floated and conveyed, and the substrate S coated with the resist is carried out from the substrate carry-out region 22. . 14 to 17, only the outlines of the portal frame 31 and the management unit 4 are indicated by broken lines, so that the configurations of the nozzle 32 and the processing stage 27 can be easily distinguished. Hereinafter, detailed operations in each part will be described.

  Before the substrate is carried into the substrate carry-in area 20, the coating apparatus 1 is put on standby. Specifically, the transfer machine 23a is arranged on the −Y direction side of the substrate loading position of the loading side stage 25, the height position of the vacuum pad 23b is matched with the flying height position of the substrate, and the loading side stage 25 is also positioned. The air is ejected or sucked from the air ejection hole 25a, the air ejection hole 27a of the processing stage 27, the air suction hole 27b, and the air ejection hole 28a of the carry-out stage 28, so that the air floats to the surface of each stage. Leave as supplied.

  In this state, for example, when the substrate S is transferred from the outside to the substrate carry-in position shown in FIG. 14 by a transfer arm (not shown), the elevating member 26a is moved in the + Z direction to move the elevating pin 26b from the elevating pin retracting hole 25b. Project to the surface 25c. And the board | substrate S is lifted by the raising / lowering pin 26b, and the said board | substrate S is received. Further, an alignment member is projected from the long hole of the alignment device 25d to the stage surface 25c.

  After receiving the board | substrate S, the raising / lowering member 26a is lowered | hung and the raising / lowering pin 26b is accommodated in the raising / lowering pin retracting hole 25b. At this time, since the air layer is formed on the stage surface 25c, the substrate S is held in a state of being floated with respect to the stage surface 25c by the air. When the substrate S reaches the surface of the air layer, the alignment member 25d aligns the substrate S, and the vacuum pad 23b of the transfer device 23a disposed on the −Y direction side of the substrate loading position is used as the substrate. Vacuum adsorption is performed on the end portion of S in the −Y direction. FIG. 14 shows a state in which the −Y direction side end of the substrate S is adsorbed. After the end of the −Y direction side of the substrate S is adsorbed by the vacuum pad 23b, the transporter 23a is moved along the rail 23c. Since the substrate S is in a floating state, the substrate S moves smoothly along the rail 23c even if the driving force of the transporter 23a is relatively small.

  When the front end of the substrate S in the transport direction reaches the position of the opening 32a of the nozzle 32, the resist is discharged from the opening 32a of the nozzle 32 toward the substrate S as shown in FIG. The resist is discharged while the position of the nozzle 32 is fixed and the substrate S is transported by the transport machine 23a. As the substrate S moves, a resist film R is applied onto the substrate S as shown in FIG. As the substrate S passes under the opening 32a for discharging the resist, a resist film R is formed in a predetermined region of the substrate S.

  The substrate S on which the resist film R is formed is transported to the unloading stage 28 by the transport machine 23a. In the carry-out stage 28, the substrate S is transferred to the substrate carry-out position shown in FIG.

  When the substrate S reaches the substrate unloading position, the suction of the vacuum pad 23b is released, and the elevating member 29a of the lift mechanism 29 is moved in the + Z direction. Then, the elevating pins 29b protrude from the elevating pin retracting holes 28b to the back surface of the substrate S, and the substrate S is lifted by the elevating pins 29b. In this state, for example, an external transfer arm provided on the + X direction side of the carry-out stage 28 accesses the carry-out stage 28 and receives the substrate S. After the substrate S is transferred to the transport arm, the transport machine 23a is returned to the substrate loading position of the carry-in stage 25 again and waits until the next substrate S is transported.

  Until the next substrate S is transported, the application unit 3 manages the state of the nozzles 32 in the management unit 4. As shown in FIG. 18, after the portal frame 31 is moved to the position of the management unit 4, the position of the portal frame 31 is adjusted (moved and lowered), and the nozzle 32 is accessed to the nozzle cleaning device 43. The nozzle 32 is cleaned by the cleaning device 43 (see FIG. 13). The frequency of performing the cleaning process of the nozzles 32 is set as appropriate by the user, and the cleaning process may be performed for each substrate S, or the cleaning process may be performed once every several sheets. .

  If the resist coating is not performed for a long time, the nozzle 32 is placed in the dip tank 41, and the nozzle 32 is dried by being exposed to the vapor atmosphere of the solvent (thinner) stored in the dip tank 41. To prevent.

  After cleaning the nozzle 32, the application unit 3 is made to access the preliminary discharge mechanism 42, and a preliminary discharge process for maintaining the discharge state of the nozzle 32 is performed. This preliminary discharge process is performed by using the preliminary discharge mechanism (preliminary discharge device) 42. In the preliminary ejection mechanism 42, when preliminary ejection of resist is performed on the preliminary ejection surface 81, the preliminary ejection surface cleaning unit 100 performs a cleaning process on the preliminary ejection surface 81.

(Preliminary discharge operation)
Hereinafter, the operation method of the preliminary discharge mechanism 42 will be described, and the effects obtained by the preliminary discharge mechanism 42, the preliminary discharge surface cleaning unit (cleaning apparatus) 100, and the cleaning method will be described with reference to the drawings.

  After applying the resist on the preliminary discharge surface 81, the squeegee 110 of the preliminary discharge surface cleaning unit 100 placed on the standby unit 91 is disposed at the height of the preliminary discharge surface 81. Thereby, the preliminary discharge surface cleaning unit 100 is disposed at the cleaning start position on the preliminary discharge surface 81 (see FIG. 1).

  Subsequently, the preliminary discharge surface cleaning unit 100 is moved through the arm portion 101 to slide the plurality of squeegees 110 on the preliminary discharge surface 81, and the resist R applied on the preliminary discharge surface 81 is scraped off.

  At this time, the preliminary discharge surface cleaning unit 100 discharges the cleaning liquid from the discharge port 102 onto the surface of the squeegee 110 on the sliding direction side. This cleaning liquid (thinner) can dilute the resist R applied on the preliminary ejection surface 81 and improve the removability of the resist R from the preliminary ejection surface 81. Thus, the resist R can be scraped off from the preliminary discharge surface 81 satisfactorily by the squeegee 110 sliding on the preliminary discharge surface 81 supplied with the cleaning liquid.

Specifically, the preliminary discharge surface cleaning unit 100 supplies the cleaning liquid from the first discharge port 102a onto the preliminary discharge surface 81 on the front side in the sliding direction of the first squeegee 110a, and removes the diluted resist R from the first. Scrape off with squeegee 110a.
Therefore, the rough cleaning process of the preliminary discharge surface 81 can be performed by the first squeegee 110a.

The preliminary discharge surface cleaning unit 100 supplies the cleaning liquid from the second discharge port 102b in the sliding direction forward of the second squeegee 110b on the preliminary discharge surface 81 through which the first squeegee 110a has passed, and the diluted resist R is supplied to the second squeegee 110a. Scrape off with squeegee 110b. Therefore, the main cleaning process of the preliminary discharge surface 81 can be performed by the second squeegee 110b.
In the present embodiment, the controller 140 adjusts the cleaning liquid supply means 106 so that the same amount of cleaning liquid is discharged from the first discharge port 102a and the second discharge port 102b.

  The preliminary discharge surface cleaning unit 100 slides the finishing squeegee 110c on the preliminary discharge surface 81 through which the second squeegee 110b has passed. Thereby, the residue (cleaning liquid and resist R) of the cleaning process in the 1st squeegee 110a and the 2nd squeegee 110b can be scraped off, and high detergency can be obtained.

  These squeegees 110 (110a, 110b, 110c) have a squeegee head portion in a posture in which the length direction of the contact end with the preliminary ejection surface 81 is inclined with respect to the sliding direction of the squeegee 110 as shown in FIG. 105 is supported. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 7A, the resist R scraped off by the squeegee 110 is pushed backward in the sliding direction in the length direction of the squeegee 110 and is accommodated in the side discharge portion 93, and the side discharge portion 93. The resist can be discharged satisfactorily by the suction and recovery mechanism 95 provided in.

  The preliminary discharge surface cleaning unit 100 allows the drying unit 120 to pass over the preliminary discharge surface 81 through which the finishing squeegee 110c has passed. The drying unit 120 performs a drying process on the preliminary discharge surface 81 by ejecting thin flat air on the preliminary discharge surface 81. Thereby, the cleaning liquid on the preliminary discharge surface 81 can be dried.

The preliminary discharge surface cleaning unit 100 passes the suction unit 130 onto the preliminary discharge surface 81 following the drying unit 120. The suction unit 130 can suck the resist R remaining on the preliminary discharge surface 81. Further, the suction unit 130 can suck not only the remaining resist R but also foreign matters (dust etc.) generated on the substrate by the drying process by the drying unit 120.
Therefore, the preliminary discharge surface cleaning unit 100 can satisfactorily remove the resist R applied on the preliminary discharge surface 81.

  The resist R that is moved to the cleaning end position of the preliminary ejection surface 81 by the squeegee 110 without being accommodated in the side discharge portion 93 is accommodated in the front discharge portion 92, and the suction recovery provided in the front discharge portion 92 is performed. It is discharged well by the mechanism 95.

When the preliminary discharge surface cleaning unit 100 reaches the front discharge portion 92, the cleaning process of the preliminary discharge surface 81 is completed (see FIG. 1).
After completion of the cleaning process, the preliminary discharge mechanism 42 places the preliminary discharge surface cleaning unit 100 on the standby unit 91. With the above flow, the cleaning process of the preliminary discharge surface 81 in the preliminary discharge surface cleaning unit 100 is completed. Note that the squeegee 110 may be cleaned by using the squeegee cleaning mechanism 91 as necessary for the preliminary discharge surface cleaning unit 100 mounted on the mounting portion 91a. Thereby, a squeegee can be maintained in a favorable state and the cleaning quality on the preliminary ejection surface can be stabilized.

By the way, the squeegee 110 is worn over time by sliding on the preliminary discharge surface 81. In the preliminary discharge surface cleaning unit 100 according to this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 6, the squeegee head unit 105 that holds the squeegee 110 is swingable with respect to the longitudinal direction of the squeegee 110 by the cross roller bearing 150. .
For this reason, even when the squeegee 110 is worn, the squeegee 110 moves following the preliminary discharge surface 81, so that the squeegee 110 can be slid well with respect to the preliminary discharge surface 81. Thus, since the squeegee 110 is always in contact with the preliminary discharge surface 81 in a constant state, the preliminary discharge surface cleaning unit 100 can obtain a stable cleaning performance.

  After the preliminary discharge surface 81 is cleaned by the preliminary discharge surface cleaning unit 100 as described above, when the next substrate S is transported, the nozzle 32 is moved to a predetermined position by the moving mechanism 32b as shown in FIG. Let In this way, a high-quality resist R is formed on the substrate S by repeatedly performing the coating operation for applying the resist R on the substrate S and the preliminary ejection operation.

  As described above, according to the embodiment, even when the preliminary discharge surface 81 is cleaned, the cleaning liquid is supplied to the front of the squeegee 110 and the plurality of squeegees 110 slide on the preliminary discharge surface 81. Thus, the preliminary discharge surface 81 can be cleaned well. That is, in the preliminary discharge device used for the preliminary discharge operation in the coating apparatus, even in a configuration using the preliminary discharge surface 81 instead of the conventional priming roller, good cleaning can be performed.

The technical scope of the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and appropriate modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention.
In the above embodiment, the control unit 140 controls the discharge amount of the cleaning liquid so that the same amount of cleaning liquid is discharged from the first discharge port 102a and the second discharge port 102b. However, the present invention is limited to this. There is nothing.
For example, the controller 140 controls the discharge amount of the cleaning liquid so that the amount of the cleaning liquid discharged from the discharge port 102 on the leading side in the sliding direction of the squeegee 110, that is, the first discharge port 102a, is the largest. In this way, it is possible to improve the cleaning performance of the preliminary discharge surface 81 on the leading side in the sliding direction where a large amount of resist is adhered, and it is possible to perform the cleaning process satisfactorily.

  Alternatively, the discharge amount of the cleaning liquid is controlled by the control unit 140 so that the amount of the cleaning liquid discharged from the discharge port 102 at the end in the sliding direction among the discharge ports 102, that is, the second discharge port 102b is minimized. In this case, the amount of cleaning liquid used can be suppressed without being wasted by suppressing the amount of cleaning liquid discharged on the rearmost side in the sliding direction where the resist adhesion amount is small.

  In the above embodiment, the squeegee 110 is provided with three squeegees 110. However, the number of squeegees 110 is not limited to this, and it is sufficient that two or four or more squeegees 110 are provided. In particular, when four or more squeegees 110 are provided, the discharge ports 102 are provided corresponding to the squeegees 110 except the tail in the sliding direction, and the discharge ports 102 of the discharge direction 102 start from the discharge port 102 on the leading side in the sliding direction. The control unit 140 may control the discharge amount of the cleaning liquid so that the discharge amount of the cleaning liquid gradually decreases toward the tail discharge port 102. In this way, the amount of cleaning liquid discharged can be suppressed toward the rear in the sliding direction of the squeegee 110, which reduces the amount of resist, so that excessive cleaning liquid discharge can be prevented and the amount of cleaning liquid used can be suppressed. Even when four or more squeegees 110 are provided, as described above, control is performed so that the amount of cleaning liquid discharged from the discharge port 102 at the tail end in the sliding direction is minimized, or the discharge port at the top in the sliding direction is used. Control may be performed so that the discharge amount of the cleaning liquid from 102 is maximized.

  In the above embodiment, ten first discharge ports 102a and ten second discharge ports 102b are formed, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the number of first discharge ports 102a corresponding to the first squeegee 110a at the top in the sliding direction may be larger than the number of second discharge ports 102b corresponding to the second squeegee 110b at the rear in the sliding direction, In this way, the amount of cleaning liquid used can be reduced by reducing the amount of cleaning liquid discharged on the rear side in the sliding direction where there is little resist adhesion while improving the cleaning performance on the front side in the sliding direction where a lot of resist is attached. Can be suppressed.

In the above embodiment, the three squeegees 110 are attached to the squeegee head unit 105 in a state where the squeegees 110 are inclined by 45 ° with respect to the preliminary ejection surface 81. However, the attachment angles of the three squeegees 110a, 110b, 110c May be varied within a range of 15 ° to 50 °.
For example, the mounting angle of the first squeegee 110a on the front side in the sliding direction that requires high cleanability is set to around 45 ° where the contact resistance with respect to the preliminary discharge surface 81 increases, and the mounting angle of the finishing squeegee 110c that performs the finishing process. May be set in the vicinity of 20 ° at which the contact resistance with respect to the preliminary discharge surface 81 becomes small.

  Further, in the above embodiment, the air knife type configuration is adopted as the configuration of the drying unit 120, but the present invention is not limited to this, and any drying unit that dries the preliminary discharge surface 81 while blowing air may be used. For example, a down flow type in which air is blown from the upper surface may be used. In the above embodiment, the suction unit 130 is composed of a suction pump. However, the present invention is not limited to this, as long as it has a mechanism capable of sucking the resist remaining on the preliminary discharge surface 81. Various things can be used.

In the above embodiment, the preliminary discharge surface 81 is configured by one surface of the preliminary discharge plate 80, but the member constituting the preliminary discharge surface 81 is not limited to a plate-like member, and at least a part of the preliminary discharge surface 81 is reserved. Various members can be used as long as they have a flat surface functioning as the discharge surface 81.
In the above embodiment, the preliminary ejection surface cleaning unit 100 is configured to slide the squeegee 110 on the preliminary ejection surface 81 by moving on the preliminary ejection plate 80, but is not limited thereto. For example, the squeegee 110 may be slid on the preliminary discharge surface 81 by moving the preliminary discharge plate 80 with respect to the preliminary discharge surface cleaning unit 100. That is, various configurations can be adopted as long as the squeegee 110 can be moved relative to the preliminary ejection surface 81.

  In the above embodiment, the transport mechanism 23 is arranged on the −Y direction side of each stage in the overall configuration of the coating apparatus 1, but is not limited thereto. For example, the transport mechanism 23 may be arranged on the + Y direction side of each stage. Further, as shown in FIG. 19, the transport mechanism 23 (transport machine 23a, vacuum pad 23b, rail 23c) is arranged on the −Y direction side of each stage, and the same as the transport mechanism 23 on the + Y direction side. The transport mechanism 53 (the transport machine 53a, the vacuum pad 53b, and the rail 53c) having the configuration described above may be arranged so that different substrates can be transported by the transport mechanism 23 and the transport mechanism 53. For example, as shown in the figure, the transport mechanism 23 transports the substrate S1, and the transport mechanism 53 transports the substrate S2. In this case, since the substrate can be alternately conveyed by the conveyance mechanism 23 and the conveyance mechanism 53, the throughput is improved. When transporting a substrate having an area about half that of the above-described substrates S, S1, and S2, for example, the transport mechanism 23 and the transport mechanism 53 hold the substrates one by one, and the transport mechanism 23 and the transport mechanism 53 are connected. By translating in the + X direction, two substrates can be transported simultaneously. With such a configuration, throughput can be improved.

It is a figure for demonstrating schematic structure of a preliminary discharge mechanism. It is a schematic block diagram of a preliminary discharge surface cleaning unit. FIG. 6 is a simplified diagram showing a squeegee mounting state in a squeegee head portion. It is the schematic of the front structure of a squeegee head part. It is a figure which shows the state of the cleaning liquid discharged from a discharge outlet. It is an enlarged view which shows the periphery structure of an arm part. It is a figure which shows schematic structure of a preliminary discharge unit. It is a figure which shows the structure of a squeegee washing | cleaning mechanism. It is a perspective view of a coating device. It is a front view of a coating device. It is a top view of a coating device. It is a side view of a coating device. It is a figure which shows schematic structure of a management part. It is a top view which shows the operation | movement process of a coating device. It is a top view which shows the operation | movement process following FIG. It is a top view which shows the operation | movement process following FIG. It is a top view which shows the operation | movement process following FIG. It is a figure for demonstrating operation | movement of an application part. It is a figure for demonstrating operation | movement of an application part. It is a figure which shows the modification of a coating device.

Explanation of symbols

R: Resist, 1 ... Coating device, 42 ... Preliminary ejection mechanism (preliminary ejection device), 81 ... Preliminary ejection surface, 100 ... Preliminary ejection surface cleaning unit (cleaning device), 102 ... Ejection port, 102a ... First ejection port ( Discharge port), 102b ... second discharge port (discharge port), 110 ... squeegee, 110a ... first squeegee (squeegee), 110b ... second squeegee (squeegee), 110c ... finishing squeegee (squeegee), 120 ... drying section ( Drying mechanism), 130 ... suction part (suction mechanism), 140 ... control part

Claims (35)

An apparatus for cleaning a preliminary discharge surface of a preliminary discharge device used for a preliminary discharge operation in a coating apparatus,
A squeegee that slides on the preliminary discharge surface coated with a liquid material and scrapes the liquid material;
The cleaning apparatus, wherein the squeegee is supported in a posture in which a length direction of a contact end with the preliminary discharge surface is inclined with respect to the sliding direction.   The cleaning device according to claim 1, wherein an intersection angle between the length direction of the contact end and the sliding direction is 85 ° or less.   The cleaning apparatus according to claim 1, comprising a plurality of the squeegees.   The cleaning apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the plurality of squeegees are arranged in the sliding direction in a substantially parallel posture.   The cleaning apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4, further comprising a cleaning liquid supply unit having a discharge port that discharges the cleaning liquid in front of the squeegee in the sliding direction.   The discharge port is provided corresponding to the other squeegees except for the squeegee located at the end of the sliding direction at least among the plurality of squeegees. Cleaning device.   The cleaning apparatus according to any one of claims 3 to 6, wherein a plurality of the squeegees have substantially the same inclination angle with respect to the preliminary discharge surface.   The cleaning apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the inclination angle of the squeegee located at the head of the sliding direction among the plurality of squeegees is larger than the inclination angles of the other squeegees.   The cleaning apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a drying mechanism that ejects gas toward the preliminary discharge surface.   The cleaning apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a suction mechanism that sucks the liquid remaining on the preliminary discharge surface. A squeegee head portion for supporting the squeegee; and an arm portion for supporting the squeegee head portion,
The cleaning apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a swing mechanism that swingably supports the squeegee head portion is provided on the arm portion.   A preliminary discharge device comprising the cleaning device according to claim 1. A preliminary discharge surface to which the liquid material is applied in the preliminary discharge operation of the coating apparatus;
A cleaning device that supports a squeegee that slides on the preliminary discharge surface to scrape off the liquid material in a posture in which a length direction of a contact end with the preliminary discharge surface is inclined with respect to the sliding direction; ,
A discharge part for discharging the liquid material that has flowed out to the side in the length direction of the preliminary discharge surface by the sliding operation of the squeegee;
A preliminary discharge apparatus comprising:   The preliminary discharge apparatus according to claim 13, wherein the discharge unit includes a side groove provided on a side of the preliminary discharge surface and extending in the sliding direction. A preliminary discharge surface to which the liquid material is applied in the preliminary discharge operation of the coating apparatus;
A cleaning device that supports a squeegee that slides on the preliminary discharge surface to scrape off the liquid material in a posture in which a length direction of a contact end with the preliminary discharge surface is inclined with respect to the sliding direction; ,
A discharge portion for discharging the liquid material moved to the front of the squeegee by the sliding operation of the squeegee;
A preliminary discharge apparatus comprising:   The preliminary discharge apparatus according to any one of claims 13 to 15, wherein the discharge unit is provided with a suction recovery mechanism for sucking the liquid material.   The preliminary ejection device according to claim 16, wherein a suction port connected to the suction recovery mechanism and an inclined surface descending toward the suction port are provided.   A plurality of regions having the suction port and the inclined surface corresponding to the suction port are arranged along the sliding direction in the discharge portion provided on the side of the preliminary discharge surface. The preliminary ejection device according to claim 17, wherein the preliminary ejection device is characterized in that   The preliminary discharge device according to any one of claims 13 to 18, wherein a standby unit for mounting the cleaning device is provided on a side of the preliminary discharge surface.   The preliminary discharge device according to claim 19, wherein the standby unit is provided behind the preliminary discharge surface in the sliding direction.   21. The preliminary ejection device according to claim 19 or 20, wherein the standby unit has a placement surface that is provided at a position lower than the preliminary ejection surface and on which the cleaning device is placed.   The preliminary discharge device according to any one of claims 19 to 21, wherein the standby unit is provided with a squeegee cleaning mechanism for removing the liquid material attached to the squeegee.   23. The preliminary ejection device according to claim 22, wherein the squeegee cleaning mechanism is an uneven structure formed on the placement surface.   24. A coating apparatus comprising the preliminary ejection device according to any one of claims 12 to 23. A method of cleaning a preliminary discharge surface of a preliminary discharge device used for a preliminary discharge operation in a coating apparatus,
When scraping the liquid applied to the preliminary discharge surface by sliding a squeegee on the preliminary discharge surface,
A cleaning method, wherein the squeegee is slid in a posture in which a length direction of a contact end with the preliminary discharge surface is inclined with respect to the sliding direction.   The cleaning method according to claim 25, wherein an angle of intersection between the length direction of the contact end and the sliding direction is 85 ° or less.   27. The cleaning method according to claim 25 or 26, wherein a plurality of the squeegees are slid on the preliminary discharge surface.   28. The cleaning method according to claim 27, wherein the plurality of squeegees are slid while being arranged in the sliding direction in a substantially parallel posture.   29. The cleaning method according to claim 25, wherein a cleaning liquid is discharged forward of the squeegee in the sliding direction.   30. The cleaning liquid according to claim 29, wherein the cleaning liquid is discharged forward of the other squeegees in the sliding direction, except for at least the squeegee located at the end of the sliding direction among the plurality of squeegees. Cleaning method.   The cleaning method according to any one of claims 25 to 30, wherein gas is jetted onto the preliminary discharge surface after the squeegee has passed.   32. The cleaning method according to claim 25, wherein the liquid remaining on the preliminary discharge surface after the squeegee has passed is sucked. A preliminary discharge method prior to a coating operation in a coating apparatus,
Applying a liquid material to the preliminary ejection surface;
Sliding the squeegee on the preliminary discharge surface to scrape the liquid.
In the step of sliding the squeegee, the squeegee is slid in a posture in which the length direction of the contact end with the preliminary discharge surface is inclined with respect to the sliding direction, and the squeegee on the preliminary discharge surface is A preliminary discharge method comprising discharging a liquid material to a side in a length direction of the preliminary discharge surface. A preliminary discharge method prior to a coating operation in a coating apparatus,
Applying a liquid material to the preliminary ejection surface;
Sliding the squeegee on the preliminary discharge surface to scrape the liquid.
In the step of sliding the squeegee, the squeegee is slid in a posture in which the length direction of the contact end with the preliminary discharge surface is inclined with respect to the sliding direction, and the liquid recovered by the squeegee A preliminary discharge method comprising discharging a body forward of the preliminary discharge surface in the sliding direction.   After the step of sliding the squeegee, the squeegee is moved to a standby position provided on a side of the preliminary discharge surface, and the liquid material attached to the squeegee is removed at the standby position. The preliminary discharge method according to claim 33 or 34.

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