JP2009154106A - Coating method, coating apparatus, and method for preparing component for use in liquid crystal display - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a coating device and coating method by which a stable high grade coating is attained repeatedly with high productivity by realizing a means for initializing a slit nozzle using a rotary roll without causing coating defects such as particle defects or stripe defects at a coating starting part and for cleaning a preliminary coated rotary roll under an independent and optimum condition even when periodical cleaning frequency of the slit nozzle is long and a coating liquid easily dried is used and to provide a method of manufacturing a member for liquid crystal display member capable of manufacturing the liquid crystal display member at a low cost with high grade. <P>SOLUTION: In the method of coating a member to be coated wherein a coating liquid is discharged toward a rotary roll 202 from a coater 20 having discharge port 34 for discharging a coating liquid to carry out preliminary coating and successively coating a member to be coated, at least two or more preliminary coating are carried out. The preliminary coating is carried out on preliminary coating zone intermittently arranged. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention is mainly used in the field of manufacturing liquid crystal display members such as color filters for color liquid crystal displays and TFT array substrates, and more specifically, a uniform coating film on the surface of a member to be coated such as a glass substrate. The present invention relates to an improvement in a coating method and a coating apparatus related to initialization of a coating device necessary for forming a large number of sheets, and a method for manufacturing a liquid crystal display member.

A color liquid crystal display is composed of a color filter, a TFT array substrate, and the like. However, both the color filter and the TFT array substrate have a manufacturing process in which a low-viscosity liquid material is applied and dried to form a coating film. Many are included. For example, in a color filter manufacturing process, a black photoresist material coating film is formed on a glass substrate, and the coating film is processed into a lattice shape by a photolithographic method, and then red, blue, and green photoresist materials are formed between the lattices. These coating films are sequentially formed by the same method. In addition, after applying a photoresist material to form a coating film, a column that secures a space for liquid crystal to be injected between the color filter and the TFT array substrate is formed, or surface irregularities on the color filter are formed. There are also a manufacturing process for forming an overcoat coating film for smoothing the film, and a manufacturing process for forming a coating film of a photoresist material for forming a predetermined pattern on the TFT array substrate.
As the coating apparatus for forming the coating film, it is relatively easy to reduce the consumption of the coating liquid and the power consumption, and to increase the size of the coating apparatus corresponding to a super large substrate of 2 m square or more. For this reason, the use of slit coaters (for example, Patent Document 1) has increased in recent years. This known slit coater has a slit nozzle as an applicator, and is applied onto a coated member such as a glass substrate that travels in one direction while discharging a coating liquid from a slit-like discharge port provided in the slit nozzle. A film is formed.

  When applying to a large number of coated members with this slit coater, the slit nozzle discharge port and the surrounding state are the same for all coated members, that is, the coating is performed after initialization. Otherwise, the film thickness profile of the coating film at the coating start portion cannot be reproduced, and the same quality cannot be maintained. Therefore, the slit nozzle must be initialized for each coated member before coating. The initialization of the slit nozzle is performed in a non-contact state in which preliminary application is performed on the rotary roll with the slit nozzle (for example, Patent Documents 2 and 3). In this preliminary application, as in the case of application to the member to be applied, the slit nozzle is brought close to the rotating roll, and then the application liquid is discharged to apply, and a coating film having a certain thickness is formed on the rotating roll. Thereafter, the discharge of the coating liquid is finished, and the slit nozzle is pulled away from the rotating roll. At this time, the separated slit nozzle remains on the discharge port surface including the discharge port that is the outlet of the coating liquid at the slit nozzle with a certain amount of coating liquid remaining on both sides of the slit nozzle discharge surface. Both adjoining surfaces adjacent to are in a state where the coating liquid is not attached. This state is referred to as an initialized state. If the coating liquid adheres to both adjacent surfaces, the deposited coating liquid is also coated at the start of coating, so that the coating start portion becomes thick or a streak-like defect occurs starting from the deposited coating liquid. If the coating liquid adhering to the discharge port surface is not always constant, the film thickness distribution at the coating start portion cannot be reproduced.

  If the slit nozzle is always preliminarily applied to the rotating roll under the same conditions, and the slit nozzle is pulled away after completion of the preliminary application, the slit nozzle is in the same initialized state every time. Although the means for preliminarily applying the slit nozzle to the rotating roll is effective for the initialization of the slit nozzle, it is necessary to always clean the rotating roll so that the preliminary application can be performed in the same state. Otherwise, the pre-coating film cannot be formed in the same way, and as a result, the slit nozzle is not in a certain initialized state. Therefore, it is necessary to always maintain the clean state of the rotating roll, and as shown in Patent Document 2, for the coating liquid applied on the rotating roll in order from the upstream side in the rotating direction of the rotating roll. Then, the cleaning liquid is attached, and then the mixture of the coating liquid and the cleaning liquid is scraped off with a blade, and finally the remaining liquid is sprayed with nitrogen gas or the like and dried.

  In addition, in the means for initializing the slit nozzle in a non-contact manner using a rotating roll, there may be a particle defect or a streak defect due to particles at the coating start part. This is because when the slit nozzle is continuously applied many times, a thin and dried solidified solution is gradually formed at the tip of the slit nozzle discharge port, and this is when the coating liquid is discharged during the subsequent application. This is because a part of the particle is eluted or a part of the particle is separated from the tip of the discharge port to become a particle, which adheres to the coating start part and becomes a particle defect, or a particle defect starts from this particle. . Further, when a coating solution that is very easy to dry is used, a solidified product obtained by drying the coating solution adheres to the tip of the discharge port of the slit nozzle even after a single coating, and a particle defect and a rod defect are generated by the same mechanism. In order to prevent the above, every time coating is performed a certain number of times, the periphery of the slit nozzle outlet is cleaned with a cleaning liquid or air (for example, Patent Document 2), and the coating liquid adhered to the tip of the slit nozzle outlet Removes the dried solidified product. However, when using a coating solution that is very easy to dry, the tip of the slit nozzle outlet must be cleaned after each application, which increases the takt time and increases productivity. There was a problem of lowering. Also, in order to further improve the coating quality by reducing the number of particle defects and the number of defects at the start of application more than currently produced, it is necessary to shorten the cleaning cycle at the tip of the discharge port of the slit nozzle. In order to improve the quality, the takt time is increased and the productivity is lowered.

Furthermore, in order to perform stable initialization and maintain high coating quality repeatedly, the coating liquid is completely removed from the surface of the rotary roll on which the coating liquid has been preliminarily applied, and the rotary roll is subjected to the next preliminary coating. The surface cleanliness needs to be kept at a high level. However, the conventional rotating roll cleaning means removes and cleans the pre-applied coating solution while pre-applying, so that it cannot be cleaned at the optimum roll rotation speed for cleaning, resulting in repeated high application. In order to guarantee the quality, it has been very difficult to increase the cleanliness of the rotating roll. That is, the conventional slit nozzle initialization means using a rotating roll has a problem that it is very difficult to maintain high coating quality repeatedly.
JP-A-6-339656 (5th column 18th line to 8th column 1st line, 10th column 9th line to 43rd line, FIG. 1, FIG. 3, FIG. 4) JP-A-2005-254090 (columns 0036 to 0047, columns 0053, columns 0061 to 0067, FIGS. 2 to 4) JP 2004-167476 A (columns 0023 to 0035, FIGS. 1 and 2)

  The present invention has been made on the basis of the above-mentioned circumstances. The purpose of the present invention is to initialize a slit nozzle using a rotating roll. Even coating solutions that are long and easy to dry do not cause coating defects such as particle defects and stripe defects at the coating start part. 2) Optimum cleaning independent of pre-coated rotating rolls for higher coating quality. An object of the present invention is to provide a coating apparatus and a coating method that realizes a stable and high coating quality with high productivity by embodying means that can be performed under conditions. Furthermore, the manufacturing method of the member for liquid crystal displays which can manufacture members for liquid crystal displays, such as a high-quality color filter and a TFT array substrate, by low-cost by it is provided.

The object of the present invention is achieved by the means described below.
In the coating method according to the present invention, in order to eject the coating liquid, the coating liquid is ejected from the applicator having a discharge port extending in one direction toward the rotating roll, and the preliminary coating is performed. In the coating method to be performed, the preliminary coating is performed at least twice.

Here, it is preferable that the preliminary application is performed in an intermittently applied preliminary application region, and the removal of the coating liquid preliminarily applied to at least two places on the rotating roll is performed after completion of all preliminary applications. .
The coating apparatus according to the present invention includes an applicator having a discharge port extending in one direction for discharging a coating liquid, a preliminary coating apparatus for performing preliminary coating by discharging the coating liquid onto a rotating roll from the coating apparatus, and coating In the coating apparatus provided with the present coating apparatus for forming a coating film on a member to be coated subsequently after the initialization of the vessel and the cleaning apparatus for removing the coating liquid preliminarily applied to the rotating roll, the rotating roll is in the longitudinal direction. A plurality of grooves extending in the groove are provided, and the surface of the rotating roll between the grooves serves as a preliminary application region.
Here, it is preferable that the cleaning device is disposed at a position where cleaning can be performed after all preliminary application is completed.
The manufacturing method of the member for liquid crystal displays which becomes this invention manufactures the member for liquid crystal displays using the coating method in any one of Claims 1-3.

If the coating method and the coating apparatus according to the present invention are used, the preliminary coating is intermittently performed at least twice or more, so the cleaning cycle of the discharge nozzle tip of the slit nozzle is lengthened or a coating solution that is easy to dry is used. Even if the solidified product from which the coating solution is dried adheres to the discharge port portion of the applicator, these solidified materials are eluted or separated from the discharge port portion by at least two preliminary coatings. By doing so, particles can be formed and adhered to the surface of the pre-coated rotary roll. As a result, such particles do not adhere to the application start portion during application to the member to be applied, and no streak defect caused by the particles occurs. Therefore, the cleaning cycle of the discharge nozzle tip of the slit nozzle can be made extremely long, and the tact time is shortened to greatly improve productivity. Furthermore, even coating solutions that are easy to dry do not generate coating defects such as particle defects and flaws, so that the coating quality can be improved and the degree of freedom of the coating liquid that can be used is expanded.
Also, even if each preliminary application length is shortened on the rotating roll by at least two preliminary applications, no adhesion of particles to the application target or application defects occur, so the preliminary application is completed. Thus, the rotating roll can be cleaned, and the coating solution can be removed and cleaned under optimal cleaning conditions such as the speed of the rotating roll. As a result, the preliminarily applied coating liquid is completely removed from the surface of the rotating roll, and the cleanliness of the surface of the rotating roll can be maintained at a high level. Thereby, even if it repeats preliminary application, since the cleanliness of the surface of the rotating roll can be maintained at a high level, it is possible to repeatedly realize high application quality of the member to be applied.

  According to the method for producing a liquid crystal display member according to the present invention, since the liquid crystal display member is produced using the above-described excellent coating method, the uniformity and reproducibility of the coating film and the coating quality are low-cost. It is possible to manufacture a high-quality liquid crystal display member that is extremely excellent in high productivity.

  Hereinafter, a preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a schematic front view of a slit coater 1 according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is an enlarged schematic front view showing details of a rotary roll 202, and FIG. 3 is a schematic front view showing a preliminary application state by a preliminary application apparatus 200 step by step. FIG. 4 is a schematic front view showing the pre-coating state by another pre-coating method using the pre-coating apparatus 200 in a stepwise manner.

  Referring first to FIG. 1, a slit coater 1 equipped with a pre-coating device 200 of the present invention is shown. The slit coater 1 includes a base 2, and a mounting table for a substrate A that is a member to be coated, that is, a stage 6 is disposed on the base 2. The upper surface of the stage 6 is a vacuum suction surface made up of suction holes (not shown) and can hold the substrate A by suction. A pair of guide rails 4 is further provided on the base 2, and a portal gantry 10 is mounted on the guide rails 4 so as to be guided in the X direction indicated by arrows in FIG. Yes. A slit nozzle 20, which is an applicator, is attached to the portal gantry 10 via an elevating unit 70 so as to be positioned above the stage 6. Since the portal gantry 10 is driven by a linear motor (not shown), the slit nozzle 20 mounted on the portal gantry 10 can freely reciprocate in the X direction which is the coating direction.

  The slit nozzle 20 includes a front lip 22 and a rear lip 24 that extend in a direction perpendicular to the X direction (a direction perpendicular to the paper surface) and are overlapped in the X direction via a shim 32 and integrated with a plurality of connection bolts (not shown). Is bound to. A manifold 26 is formed at the center of the slit nozzle 20, and the manifold 26 also extends in the longitudinal direction of the slit nozzle 20 (direction perpendicular to the X direction). A slit 28 is formed below the manifold 26 in communication therewith. The slit 28 also extends in the longitudinal direction of the slit nozzle 20, and the lower end thereof opens at the discharge port surface 36 that is the lowermost end surface of the slit nozzle 20 to form the discharge port 34. Since the slit 28 is formed by the shim 32, the gap (measured in the X direction) of the slit 28 is equal to the thickness of the shim 32. On both sides of the discharge port surface 36, there are provided lip slopes 38 that are obliquely upward. The lip slope 38 is located on both sides of the discharge port surface 36 and becomes both adjacent surfaces continuous with the discharge port surface 36.

  The lifting unit 70 that lifts and lowers the slit nozzle 20 includes a suspension holding base 80 that holds the slit nose in a suspended form, a lifting base 78 that raises and lowers the suspension holding base 80, a guide 74 that guides the lifting base 78 in the vertical direction, The ball screw 76 converts the rotational motion of the motor 72 into the linear motion of the lifting platform 78. The elevating unit 70 has a pair of left and right so as to support both ends of the slit nozzle 20 in the longitudinal direction, and each can be lifted and lowered independently, so that an inclination angle with respect to the horizontal in the longitudinal direction of the slit nozzle 20 can be arbitrarily set. Thereby, the discharge port surface 36 of the slit nozzle 20 and the substrate A can be made substantially parallel over the longitudinal direction of the slit nozzle 20. Further, the elevating unit 70 can provide a clearance, that is, a clearance of any size between the substrate A on the stage 6 and the discharge port surface 36 of the slit nose 20.

  Looking again at the slit nozzle 20, the upstream side of the manifold 26 of the slit nozzle 20 is always connected to a supply hose 60 connected to the coating liquid supply device 40 via an internal passage (not shown). A coating liquid can be supplied to the coating liquid 26 from the coating liquid supply apparatus 40. The coating liquid that has entered the manifold 26 is uniformly widened in the longitudinal direction of the slit nozzle 20 and is discharged from the discharge port 34 through the slit 28.

  The coating liquid supply device 40 includes a filter 46, a supply valve 42, a syringe pump 50, a suction valve 44, a suction hose 62, and a tank 64 on the upstream side of the supply hose 60. A coating liquid 66 is stored in the tank 64, and a back pressure of an arbitrary magnitude can be applied to the coating liquid 66 by being connected to a pressure air source 68. The coating liquid 66 in the tank 64 is supplied to the syringe pump 50 through the suction hose 62. In the syringe pump 50, a syringe 52 and a piston 54 are attached to the main body 56. Here, the piston 54 can reciprocate freely in the vertical direction by a drive source (not shown). The syringe pump 50 is a constant-capacity intermittent supply pump that fills a syringe 52 having a constant inner diameter with a coating liquid, pushes it out by a piston 54, and supplies the slit nozzle 20 with a single substrate A. It is. When filling the syringe 52 with the coating liquid 66, the suction valve 44 is opened, the supply valve 42 is closed, and the piston 54 is moved downward. Further, when supplying the coating liquid filled in the syringe 52 toward the slit nozzle 20, the suction valve 44 is closed, the supply valve 42 is opened, and the piston 54 is moved upward, so that the piston 52 moves the syringe 52. Push up and discharge the coating solution inside.

  Further, when the left end portion of the base 2 is viewed in FIG. 1, the preliminary coating apparatus 200 is attached on the base 2. The slit nozzle 20 can be moved by the movement of the portal gantry 10 to the standby position D above the rotary roll 202 indicated by a broken line.

  Looking at the configuration of the preliminary coating apparatus 200, a rotating roll 202 that rotates in the clockwise direction indicated by an arrow is disposed at the center inside the frame 236. The rotary roll 202 is rotatably supported by the frame 236 at both ends in the longitudinal direction orthogonal to the X direction, that is, the coating width direction, and is further rotated by being driven by a rotary motor (not shown). As shown in detail in FIG. 2, the rotary roll 202 is provided with eight grooves 250 extending in the longitudinal direction of the rotary roll with the same cross-sectional shape, whereby the surface of the rotary roll 202 is indicated by an arrow. 8 preliminary coating surfaces 252A to 252H are formed by being divided in the rotating direction. The preliminary application surfaces 252A to 252H are intermittently applied preliminary application areas where the application liquid discharged from the slit nozzle 20 is preliminarily applied. The downstream sides in the rotational direction of the preliminary application surfaces 252A to H form start edges 256A to H for starting preliminary application, and the upstream sides in the rotational direction form end edges 254A to 254H for finishing preliminary application. Regarding the cross-sectional shape of the groove 250, the width L1 is preferably 5 mm or more, and the depth L2 is preferably 1 mm or more. If the width L1 and the depth L2 are both smaller than the above numerical values, the coating liquid may bridge between the preliminary coating surfaces, which is not preferable. The length of the groove 250 in the longitudinal direction of the rotary roll 202 is preferably longer than the length of the ejection port 34 of the slit nozzle 20 in the longitudinal direction.

  Referring again to FIG. 1, the cleaning liquid discharge nozzle 204, the blade 206, and the gas nozzle 208 are arranged on the left side of the rotary roll 202 in order from the upstream side along the rotation direction of the rotary roll 202. The cleaning liquid discharge nozzle 204 and the gas nozzle 208 are supported by the frame 236 at both ends in the longitudinal direction of the rotary roll 202. The blade 206 is supported by the frame 236 at both ends in the longitudinal direction of the rotary roll 202 via the bracket 210. Here, the cleaning liquid discharge nozzle 204 discharges the cleaning liquid 220 along the longitudinal direction of the rotary roll 202, the blade 206 scrapes cleaning liquid and dirt along the longitudinal direction of the rotary roll 202, and the gas nozzle 208 rotates a gas such as nitrogen gas. The cleaning liquid ejected over the longitudinal direction of 202 is removed and dried. The cleaning liquid is supplied from the cleaning liquid source 224 to the cleaning liquid discharge nozzle 204 via the cleaning liquid pipe 226 and the cleaning liquid switching valve 228, and a predetermined amount of cleaning liquid is slightly longer than the longitudinal length of the discharge port 36 of the slit nozzle 20. The ink is discharged toward the rotary roll 202. The cleaning liquid is discharged and stopped by operating the cleaning liquid switching valve 228. The blade 206 is fixed to the bracket 210, and when the bracket 210 is rotated counterclockwise, the pressing force of the blade 206 against the rotary roll 202 is increased, and the liquid scraping ability is improved. The material of the blade 206 is preferably a metal such as stainless steel or a synthetic resin such as PET in consideration of chemical resistance and strength. Gas is supplied to the gas nozzle 208 from the gas supply source 230 via the gas pipe 232 and the gas switching valve 234, and a predetermined amount of gas is discharged toward the rotary roll 202 over the above-described cleaning width. Gas discharge and discharge stop are performed by operating the gas switching valve 234.

  The coating liquid preliminarily applied from the slit nozzle 20 on the preliminary application surfaces 252A to 252H of the rotating roll 202 and the cleaning liquid discharged from the cleaning liquid discharging nozzle 204 are scraped by the blade 206 or blown off by the gas nozzle 206, etc. It is separated from 202 and falls toward the tray 212 built in the frame 236. The coating liquid and the cleaning liquid dropped on the tray 212 are recovered from a discharge pipe 214 provided on the tray 212 to a liquid recovery device (not shown) via a pipe 216. Further, the gas discharged from the gas nozzle 208 is recovered from a gas suction pipe 218 disposed near the gas nozzle 208 to a gas recovery device (not shown) via the suction pipe 222 after colliding with the rotary roll 202. The coating liquid preliminarily applied on the rotary roll 202 by the slit nozzle 20 is diluted with the cleaning liquid discharged from the cleaning liquid discharge nozzle 204 and is washed away, and is scraped off by the blade 206 and is not scraped off by the blade 206. Finally, the mixed liquid of the coating liquid and the cleaning liquid is removed and dried with the gas discharged from the gas nozzle 208. Therefore, nothing is left on the rotating roll 202 when passing through the position of the gas nozzle 208, and the preliminary application can be continuously performed in a state where there is always nothing.

  Note that the linear motor, the motor 72, the coating liquid supply device 40, the preliminary coating device 200, and the like that are operated by the control signal are all electrically connected to the control device 100. Then, a control command signal is transmitted to each device in accordance with an automatic operation program incorporated in the control device 100, and a predetermined operation is performed. When changing the conditions, if a change parameter is appropriately input to the operation panel 102, the change parameter is transmitted to the control device 100, and the change of the driving operation can be realized. In particular, in the coating liquid supply apparatus 40 and the preliminary coating apparatus 200, the syringe pump 50, the supply valve 42, the suction valve 44, the cleaning liquid switching valve 228, the gas switching valve 234, the rotary roll 202, and the like are electrically connected to the control apparatus 100. Therefore, the control device 100 can take in the electrical signal, or can be operated in accordance with a command from the control device 100.

  Next, the 1st coating method using the slit coater 1 of this invention is explained in full detail.

  First, as a preparatory work, the coating liquid 66 has already been filled from the tank 64 to the slit nozzle 20, and the work of discharging residual air to the slit nozzle 20 after the tank 64 has already been completed. At this time, the coating liquid supply device 40 is in a state where the syringe 52 is filled with the coating liquid 66, the suction valve 44 is closed, the supply valve 42 is opened, and the piston 54 is at the lowermost position. The nozzle 20 can be supplied. Further, as a preparatory operation for the preliminary coating apparatus 200, the cleaning liquid source 224 to the cleaning liquid discharge nozzle 204 are filled with the cleaning liquid and the air is sufficiently removed, and the gas is also switched from the gas supply source 230 to the closed gas switching valve 234. Filled. Here, the cleaning liquid switching valve 228 is also closed in the same manner as the gas switching valve 234. The blade 206 is not in contact with the surface of the rotating roll 202 and is placed at an initial position separated by a certain gap. In addition, the cleaning of the preliminary application surfaces 254A to 254H of the rotary roll 202 with a clean wiper (cloth) moistened with a solvent is also completed as a preparation operation.

  Subsequently, when the operation start of the slit coater 1 is transmitted from the operation panel 102 to the control device 100, the portal gantry 10 is placed at the standby position D above the rotary roll 202 of the pre-coating device 200 on the left side of FIG. Move to stop. At the same time, the rotary roll 202 is also rotated and stopped when the central portion of the preliminary application surface 252H comes to the uppermost point, that is, the vertical center line of the rotary roll 202. Subsequently, the elevating unit 70 is driven to lower the slit nozzle 20, and the clearance between the preliminary application surface 252H and the discharge port surface 36 of the slit nozzle 20 becomes the first clearance C1 on the vertical center line of the rotary roll 202. Stop at the position (state shown in FIG. 3A).

  Next, lift pins (not shown) rise on the surface of the stage 6, and the substrate A is placed on the lift pins from a loader (not shown). Then, the lift pins are lowered to place the substrate A on the upper surface of the stage 6 and simultaneously hold it by suction.

  In this state, preliminary coating is started from the slit nozzle 20 to the rotary roll 202. The preliminary coating method will be described with reference to FIG. The slit nozzle 20 and the rotary roll 202 are in the state shown in FIG. 3A. First, in order to perform the first preliminary coating, the rotary roll 202 is rotated in the direction of the arrow to start the start edge 256G of the preliminary coating surface 252G. Is stopped at a position immediately below the discharge port 34 of the slit nozzle 20. In parallel with this, the syringe pump 50 is driven to discharge the coating liquid from the slit nozzle 20 by the initial delivery amount Q1, and after the completion of the discharge, the same posture is waited for the waiting time T1, and the discharge port surface 36 of the slit nozzle 20 And a bead, that is, a pool of coating solution, is formed between the preliminary coating surface 252G of the rotary roll 202. T1 second after the discharge of the initial amount Q1 of the coating liquid from the slit nozzle 20 is completed, the elevating unit 70 is driven to raise the slit nozzle 20 to preliminarily apply the discharge port surface 36 of the slit nozzle 20 and the rotary roll 202. The rise of the slit nozzle 20 is stopped at a position where the clearance between the surfaces 252G becomes the second clearance C2. When the rise of the slit nozzle 20 stops, the syringe pump 50 is driven again to start discharging the coating liquid from the slit nozzle 20 at a constant discharge speed, and the rotary roll 202 is moved to the arrow after the waiting time T2 from the start of the re-drive of the syringe pump 50. Driven in the direction at a peripheral speed V1, preliminary coating of the coating liquid is started on the preliminary coating surface 252G (state shown in FIG. 3B). Note that the waiting times T1 and T2 may be zero. The peripheral speed V1 is a peripheral speed on the preliminary application surfaces 252A to 252H. When the position just before the end edge 254G by the length S1 reaches directly under the discharge port 34, the syringe pump 50 starts to be decelerated and stopped. On the other hand, the rotary roll 202 is rotated at the same peripheral speed V1, and when the end edge 254G comes close to the discharge port 34, the slit nozzle 20 is raised, and between the discharge port surface 36 of the slit nozzle 20 and the preliminary application surface 252G. The bead thus formed is cut off, and the first preliminary application is completed. The rotating roll 202 that is rotating even after the first preliminary coating is completed has a preliminary coating start portion including the start edge 256E of the preliminary coating surface 252E, which is located one from the preliminary coating surface 252G. Stop when it comes to a position directly below the outlet 34. The pre-coating surface 252E, which is one from the pre-coating surface 252G, is used because the slit nozzle 20 is stopped at the start edge 256E of the pre-coating surface 252E with a margin after the pre-coating on the pre-coating surface 252G is completed. Because. Subsequently, the elevating unit 70 is driven to lower the slit nozzle 20, and the lowering of the slit nozzle 20 is stopped at a position where the clearance between the discharge port surface 36 of the slit nozzle 20 and the preliminary application surface 252E becomes the first clearance C1. Let Thereafter, the second preliminary application is performed on the preliminary application surface 252E in exactly the same procedure as the first preliminary application (state of FIG. 3C). In the second preliminary application, the elevating unit 70 is driven in the vicinity of the end edge 254E to raise the slit nozzle 20, and the bead is cut off to complete the preliminary application.

When the second preliminary coating is completed and the raising of the slit nozzle 20 is completed, the rotary roll 202 is stopped and the portal gantry 10 is driven rightward so that the slit nozzle 20 starts coating the substrate A. Move to the top of the section and stop. During these operations, the thickness of the substrate A is measured by a thickness sensor (not shown). Using the measured thickness data of the substrate A, the elevating unit 70 is driven to lower the slit nozzle 20 stationary on the coating start portion of the substrate A, and the discharge port surface 36 of the slit nozzle 20 is moved from the substrate A in advance. Close to the given clearance separation position and stop. Then, the piston 54 of the syringe pump 50 is raised at a predetermined speed, and the coating liquid 66 is discharged from the slit nozzle 20 to form a bead B as a liquid pool between the discharge port surface 36 and the coating start portion of the substrate A. Then, the portal gantry 10 is started to move in the X direction at a predetermined speed, and the coating film 66 is formed by starting the coating of the coating liquid 66 on the substrate A. When the coating end position of the substrate A reaches the position of the discharge port 34 of the slit nozzle 20, the piston 54 is stopped to stop the supply of the coating liquid 66, and then the elevating unit 70 is driven to raise the slit nozzle 20. As a result, the bead B formed between the substrate A and the slit nozzle 20 is cut off, and the application is completed. The portal gantry 10 continues to move even after the application is completed, and stops once it reaches the end point position.
In addition, after the second preliminary application was completed and the rotary roll 202 was stopped, the preliminary application was applied to the rotary roll 202 in parallel with the application of the coating liquid to the substrate A by the slit nozzle 20. Remove and wash the coating solution. When the second preliminary coating is completed and the rotary roll 202 is stopped, the cleaning liquid switching valve 228 and the gas switching valve 234 are subsequently opened, and the cleaning liquid and gas are supplied from the cleaning liquid discharge nozzle 204 and the gas nozzle 208 to predetermined conditions. Discharge with. Further, the blade 206 rotates the bracket 210 counterclockwise to contact the surface of the rotary roll 202 and presses it with an appropriate force. After such preparation is completed, the rotary roll 202 is re-driven in the rotation direction (clockwise direction) indicated by the arrow in FIG. 3 at the cleaning peripheral speed V2 (the state shown in FIG. 3D), and preliminary coating is performed. The coating liquid preliminarily applied to the surface 252G and the preliminary coating surface 252E is removed in order, and the preliminary coating surfaces 252G and 252E are cleaned. Note that the rotary roll 202 may continue to be driven after the removal of the coating liquid on the preliminary coating surfaces 252G and 252E and the cleaning is completed, and the preliminary coating surfaces 252G and 252E may be repeatedly cleaned. When removal and cleaning of the coating liquid on the preliminary coating surfaces 252G and 252E are finished, the cleaning liquid switching valve 228 and the gas switching valve 234 are closed to stop the discharge of the cleaning liquid and gas from the cleaning liquid discharge nozzle 204 and the gas nozzle 208, respectively. The coating liquid, the cleaning liquid, and the gas dropped on 212 are collected. Subsequently, the bracket 210 is rotated in the clockwise direction, and the blade 206 is pulled away from the rotary roll 202 to return to the initial position separated by a predetermined gap. Then, when the central portion of the preliminary application surface 252H comes to the uppermost point, that is, the vertical center line, the rotary roll 202 is stopped there.
After confirming that the preliminary application surface 252H of the rotary roll 202 has stopped at a predetermined position, the portal gantry 10 is moved in the X direction toward the rotary roll 202. When the slit nozzle 20 comes to the standby position D, that is, above the rotary roll 202, the movement of the portal gantry 10 is stopped, the suction of the substrate A is released, the lift pins are raised, and the substrate A is lifted. At this time, the lower surface of the substrate A is held by an unloader (not shown), and the substrate A is transported to the next step.
When the slit nozzle 20 stops at the standby position D, the elevating unit 70 is also driven to lower the slit nozzle 20, and the clearance between the discharge port surface 36 of the slit nozzle 20 and the preliminary application surface of the rotary roll 202 is first. Set to clearance C1. In this state, the supply valve 42 of the coating liquid supply apparatus 40 is first closed, and then the suction valve 44 is opened. Then, the piston 54 is lowered at a constant speed, and the coating liquid 66 in the tank 64 is filled into the syringe 52. After the completion of filling, the piston 54 is stopped, the suction valve 44 is closed, and then the supply valve 42 is opened. Subsequently, waiting for the next substrate A to come, the same operation is repeated.

The first and second preliminary application methods shown in detail in the above application method are merely examples, and if the application liquid is preliminarily applied to any two or more of the preliminary application surfaces 252A to H, Any pre-coating method may be applied. For example, the clearance between the slit nozzle 20 and the preliminary application surface 252H is fixed to the second clearance C2, the rotary roll 202 is rotated at a constant peripheral speed V1, and the preliminary application surface 252G is directly below the discharge port 34 of the slit nozzle 20. , 252E may be discharged, and the coating liquid may be discharged to preliminarily apply the coating liquid to the preliminary coating surfaces 252G and 252E. The point is that the coating liquid remaining around the discharge port 34 of the slit nozzle 20 is eluted from the periphery of the discharge nozzle 34 and separated from the periphery of the discharge port 34 by performing the preliminary coating twice or more. However, the solidified material eluted or / and separated in the subsequent second preliminary application can be adhered to the rotating roll 202 as particles. As a result, in the application to the substrate A following the preliminary application, the particles do not adhere to the substrate, and the streak defect caused by the particles does not occur. According to this preliminary coating method, the cleaning cycle of the discharge port surface 36 of the slit nozzle 20 is lengthened, or a coating liquid that is easy to dry is used, so that the solidified product from which the coating liquid is dried adheres to the discharge port surface 36. Even if the pre-application is performed at least twice, these solidified substances are eluted or separated from the discharge port surface 36 to become particles, and the pre-application surface of the rotary roll 202 on which the pre-application is performed. All can be attached to 252A-H. As a result, when the substrate A is applied, such particles do not adhere to the application start portion, and the streak defect caused by the particles does not occur. Therefore, the cleaning cycle in the vicinity of the discharge port 34 of the slit nozzle 20 can be made very long, and even a coating liquid that is easy to dry can be used easily. Since the above effect can be obtained if the coating liquid is preliminarily applied to any two or more of the preliminary coating surfaces 252A to 252H, the coating liquid is applied to two or more locations on the preliminary coating surfaces adjacent to the preliminary coating surfaces 252A to 252H. Needless to say, the same effect can be obtained even if the pre-coating is performed. Since the larger the number of pre-coating, the more unnecessary particles adhere to the rotating roll 202, so that the coating quality of the substrate A in the subsequent main coating is increased. However, since it takes time to initialize the slit nozzle 20 including preliminary application, the number of preliminary application is preferably 2 to 3 times. No matter how long the preliminary coating length is increased by setting the number of preliminary coatings to one, the same effect as when performing preliminary coating intermittently a plurality of times cannot be obtained. Only when the application is started, the liquid or solidified material adhering to the vicinity of the discharge port 20 or the vicinity of the discharge port surface 36 of the slit nozzle 20 is applied to the preliminary application surface, that is, transferred, while the slit nozzle 20 is being applied. This is because only those discharged from the discharge port 34 are applied to the preliminary application surface. In this way, preferably by performing intermittent pre-coating 2 to 3 times, the total pre-coating length necessary for particle elimination and prevention of defects can be made much shorter than conventional pre-coating. Therefore, the preliminary application can be terminated before the coating liquid preliminarily applied on the rotating roll 202 reaches the coating liquid removal / cleaning means constituted by the cleaning liquid discharge nozzle 204, the blade 206, and the gas nozzle 208. As a result, the preliminarily applied coating solution can be removed and cleaned under optimum conditions. For example, as described above, the peripheral speed V2 of the rotating roll 202 at the time of removing and cleaning the coating liquid can be determined completely independently of the peripheral speed V1 of the rotating roll 202 at the time of preliminary application. In other words, the pre-coating method according to the present invention can shorten the pre-coating length, and therefore includes a cleaning liquid discharge nozzle 204, a blade 206, and a gas nozzle 208 at a position where cleaning can be performed after all pre-coating has been completed. It can be said that a coating solution removing and cleaning means can be arranged. Furthermore, since the preliminary coating length for maintaining the coating quality of the substrate A is shortened by performing the preliminary coating at least twice as described above, the cleaning liquid used for cleaning the rotating roll 202 is reduced. The amount of gas such as nitrogen gas can be significantly reduced.

  Further, as indicated above, it is preferable that the preliminary application ends at the end edge 254 and the bead between the slit nozzle 20 and the preliminary application surface 252 is cut off. This is because the bead is uniformly cut along the longitudinal direction of the slit nozzle 20 by the end edge 254, and the coating liquid remains uniformly on the discharge port surface 36 of the slit nozzle 20, so that the film thickness at the next coating start portion is stable. This is because there are no streak defects caused by non-uniform film thickness distribution. That is, by using the end edge 254, the coating quality can be improved. In order to form the end edge 254, the rotary roll 202 has a plurality of preliminary application surfaces 252A to 252H divided in the rotation direction by the groove 250, and is a normal rotary roll made of a single continuous surface. The coating quality can be improved more than that, which is preferable.

  The effect of preventing the particle A and the defect from being generated on the substrate A to be coated by performing the pre-coating twice or more is that there is no divided pre-coating surface 252 and the surface is a continuous cylindrical surface having the same diameter. Even so, it is the same. Therefore, for the purpose of preventing the particle A and the defect from occurring on the substrate A, the present invention in which the preliminary coating is performed twice or more may be applied to the rotating roll 260 having a continuous cylindrical surface. This will be described with reference to FIG.

  First, in the preliminary coating apparatus 200, the rotary roll 202 having a plurality of preliminary coating surfaces 252A to 252H is replaced with a rotary roll 260 having a single continuous preliminary coating surface 262. Here, the cleaning liquid is filled up to the cleaning liquid discharge nozzle 204, the cleaning liquid switching valve 228 is closed, and the gas is also filled up to the gas switching valve 234 which is also closed. The blade 206 is not in contact with the surface of the rotary roll 260 and is in an initial position separated by a certain clearance. In order to perform preliminary coating, the slit nozzle 20 is moved to a position immediately above the rotating roll 260, and then the lifting unit 70 is driven to lower the slit nozzle 20, so that the preliminary operation is performed on the vertical center line of the rotating roll 260. The gap between the application surface 262 and the discharge port surface 36 of the slit nozzle 20 is stopped at a position where the second clearance C2 is reached (state shown in FIG. 4A).

Subsequently, the syringe pump 50 is driven to discharge the coating liquid from the slit nozzle 20 at a constant discharge speed, and the rotation roll 260 is started to rotate at a constant peripheral speed V1 after waiting time T2 seconds from the start of driving of the syringe pump 50. . Here, the peripheral speed V1 is a speed on the preliminary application surface 262. By the discharge of the coating liquid from the slit nozzle 20 and the rotation of the rotary roll 260 at the peripheral speed V1, the coating liquid is preliminarily applied to the preliminary coating surface 262 with a predetermined thickness, and the first preliminary coating is performed (FIG. 4 (b) state). When the first preliminary coating is performed for the length Lc, the syringe pump 50 is stopped, the discharge of the coating liquid from the slit nozzle 20 is terminated, and the first preliminary coating is terminated. At this time, the rotary roll 260 continues to rotate at the peripheral speed V1, but when the next second preliminary application start position comes directly under the discharge port 34 of the slit nozzle 20, the rotary roll 260 is stopped. . Then, as in the first preliminary application, the syringe pump 50 is driven to discharge the application liquid from the slit nozzle 20 at a constant discharge speed, and the rotating roll 260 is fixed after a waiting time T2 seconds from the start of driving of the syringe pump 50. The rotation starts again at the peripheral speed V1. As a result, the coating liquid is preliminarily coated on the preliminary coating surface 262 with a certain thickness, and the second preliminary coating is performed (state shown in FIG. 4C). When the second preliminary application is performed for the length Lc, the syringe pump 50 is stopped, the discharge of the slit nozzle 20 is ended, and the second preliminary application is ended. After a predetermined time after the second preliminary application, the rotating roll 260 rotating at the peripheral speed V1 is also stopped.
Subsequently, the cleaning liquid switching valve 228 and the gas switching valve 234 are opened, and the cleaning liquid and gas are discharged from the cleaning liquid discharge nozzle 204 and the gas nozzle 208 under predetermined conditions. Further, the blade 206 rotates the bracket 210 counterclockwise to contact the surface of the rotary roll 260 and presses it with an appropriate force. After such preparation is completed, the rotary roll 260 is re-driven in the rotational direction (clockwise) indicated by the arrow at the cleaning peripheral speed V2 (the state shown in FIG. 4D) and applied to the preliminary application surface 262. The preliminarily applied coating liquid is removed in order, and the preliminary coating surface 262 is cleaned. When the removal and cleaning of the coating liquid on the preliminary coating surface 262 are finished, the cleaning liquid switching valve 228 and the gas switching valve 234 are closed, respectively, and the discharge of the cleaning liquid and gas from the cleaning liquid discharge nozzle 204 and the gas nozzle 208 is stopped. The dropped coating solution, cleaning solution, and gas are collected. Further, the bracket 210 is rotated in the clockwise direction, and the blade 206 is pulled away from the rotary roll 260 to return to the initial position separated by a certain clearance.
Note that the preliminary coating method performed on the rotating roll 202 may be applied to the rotating roll 260.

  In the preliminary application to the rotary rolls 202 and 260 described above, the rotational peripheral speed V1 of the rotary rolls 202 and 260 during the preliminary application is preferably 10 to 500 mm / s, more preferably 20 to 200 mm / s. If it is smaller than this range, it takes too much time for pre-coating and the tact time becomes long. If it is larger than this range, film breakage occurs and pre-coating cannot be performed. The length of preliminary application such as the length Lc is preferably 10 to 100 mm, more preferably 20 to 60 mm. If the length Lc is too short, there is no time for the coating solution to dry and adhere to the slit nozzle 20 and to separate it from the slit nozzle 20, so it is eluted in the second and subsequent preliminary coatings. The solidified product separated or separated cannot be adhered as particles. If the length Lc is too long, the preliminary application takes time and the tact time becomes longer, and the preliminary application before the application liquid preliminarily applied to the cleaning means is removed and the cleaning liquid discharge nozzle 204 is reached. Cannot be terminated. It is preferable to determine the length in the rotation direction of the preliminary application surfaces 252A to 252H of the rotary roll 202 in accordance with the above preferable preliminary application length.

  Furthermore, the size of the first clearance C1 when starting the preliminary application to the rotating roll 202 is preferably 40 to 200 μm, more preferably 50 to 100 μm. If this clearance is too small, the slit nozzle 20 and the rotating roll 202 may collide, and if the clearance is too large, a bead, i.e., a pool of coating solution, is not formed, so that preliminary coating cannot be performed. The second clearance C2 is set to an optimum size for normal application, preferably 50 to 300 μm, more preferably 80 to 200 μm, and preferably larger than the first clearance C1. When the clearance between the discharge port surface 36 to the preliminary application surface 252G, E of the slit nozzle 20 is set in the first clearance C1, the initial ejection amount Q1 discharged from the slit nozzle 20 is set to the discharge port surface 36 to the preliminary application surface. Any size may be used as long as a liquid pool can be formed between 252G and E, but it is preferably 20 to 500 μl per 1 m, more preferably 50 to 150 μl. If it is smaller than this range, no liquid pool is formed. If it is larger than this range, the coating liquid overflows from the clearance between the discharge port surface 36 and the preliminary coating surfaces 252G and E, and normal preliminary coating cannot be performed.

Further, the rotational peripheral speed V2 of the rotary roll 202 when removing and washing the coating solution preliminarily applied to the preliminary coating surface 252 is preferably 2 to 100 mm / s, more preferably 5 to 50 mm / s. It is selected independently regardless of the peripheral speed V1 for performing. If the peripheral speed V2 is too low, the tact time for removing and cleaning the coating liquid becomes long, and if the peripheral speed V2 is too high, sufficient removal and cleaning of the coating liquid cannot be performed. The cleaning liquid is preferably a constituent solvent of the coating liquid because it is necessary to dissolve the solidified product dried from the coating liquid. However, any organic solvent other than the constituent solvent may be used as long as the coating liquid dissolves the dried solidified substance. Or an alkaline solution. The discharge amount discharged from the cleaning liquid discharge nozzle 204 is preferably 0.5 to 5 cc / s per meter. If it is smaller than this range, the cleaning ability is low, and if it is larger than this range, the amount of cleaning liquid used increases and the production cost increases. As the gas discharged from the gas nozzle 208, any gas that blows away the liquid can be used. However, since there is no risk of explosion, an inert gas such as nitrogen gas or argon gas is preferable, and cleaning treatment is performed from the viewpoint of cost and simplicity. The dried air may be used.
The discharge amount of a gas such as nitrogen gas or air discharged from the gas nozzle 208 is preferably 5 to 100 m / s, more preferably 20 to 50 m / s, expressed as an average wind speed at the discharge port. If it is slower than this range, the removal / drying capacity is insufficient, and if it is earlier than this range, the energy cost increases, which is not desirable.

  The coating liquid to which the present invention described above can be applied has a viscosity of 1 to 100 mPaS, more preferably 1 to 50 mPaS and is preferably a Newtonian from the viewpoint of coating properties, but can also be applied to a coating liquid having thixotropy. In particular, it is effective when a coating solution using a solvent having high volatility such as PGMEA, butyl acetate, ethyl lactate or the like is applied. Specific examples of the coating solution that can be applied include the black matrix for color filters and the coating solution for forming RGB color pixels described above, as well as a resist solution, an overcoat material, a column forming material, and a positive electrode for a TFT array substrate. There are resists. As a member to be coated which is a substrate, a metal plate such as aluminum, a ceramic plate, a silicon wafer or the like may be used in addition to glass. Furthermore, the preliminary coating speed and the coating speed are preferably 2 to 500 mm / s, more preferably 10 to 200 mm / s, the slit gap of the slit nozzle 20 is preferably 50 to 1000 μm, more preferably 80 to 200 μm, and the coating thickness is wet. It is 1-50 micrometers in a state, More preferably, it is 2-20 micrometers.

The present invention will be specifically described below with reference to examples.
A non-alkali glass substrate having a thickness of 1100 × 1300 mm and a thickness of 0.7 mm was put into a cleaning apparatus. After removing particles on the substrate by wet cleaning, a black matrix material is applied by the slit coater 1 at a discharge speed of 0.55 cc / s from the slit nozzle 20, a coating speed of 50 mm / s, and the clearance between the slit nozzle 20 and the substrate is 100 μm. The coating was applied to the entire surface of the substrate with a tact time of 60 seconds. For the black matrix material, carbon black was used as the light shielding material, acrylic resin was used as the binder, propylene glycol monomethyl ether acetate (PGMEA) was used as the solvent, and a photosensitizer was added to adjust the solid content concentration to 15% and the viscosity to 4 mPas. A paste was used. At this time, the slit nozzle 20 was used with a discharge port gap of 100 μm, a length of 1100 mm, a width of the discharge port surface 36 of 1 mm, and an angle formed by the discharge port surface 36 and the inclined surface 38 of 45 degrees. Before the application, the preliminary application of the slit nozzle 20 was always performed by the preliminary application apparatus 200, and the slit nozzle 20 was initialized. In the coating liquid supply apparatus 40, diaphragm valves are used for both the suction valve 44 and the supply valve 42. In the pre-coating apparatus 200, the rotary roll 202 has eight diameters of 180 mm in diameter, 1300 mm in length in the longitudinal direction, and grooves 250 having a width L1 = 10.7 mm, a depth L2 = 2 mm, and a length in the longitudinal direction of 1300 mm. Each of the pre-applied surfaces 252A to 252H is 60 mm in length in the rotating direction and 0.5 mm thick ceramic coating is applied on the surface. Further, the cleaning liquid discharge nozzle 204 has discharge holes with a diameter of 0.4 mm arranged in a straight line over a length of 1120 mm with a pitch of 5 mm, and the blade 206 has a thickness of 0.3 mm made of SUS420 and a length of 1200 mm. The gas nozzle 208 used was a discharge nozzle having a diameter of 0.5 mm arranged in a straight line over a length of 1120 mm at a pitch of 5 mm. PGMEA was used as the cleaning liquid, and nitrogen gas was used as the gas discharged from the gas nozzle 212. When the preliminary application is performed, the peripheral speed of the rotary roll 202 is 100 mm / s, the discharge speed of the black matrix material that is the coating liquid discharged from the slit nozzle 20 is 0.55 cc / s, and the discharge port surface 36 of the slit nozzle 20 The first clearance C1 between the preliminary application surfaces 252 was 80 μm, and the second clearance C2 was 150 μm. The amount of coating liquid discharged during the preliminary application was 0.66 cc. Thus, the preliminary application was performed with a thickness of 10 μm and a length of 60 mm. This preliminary coating was performed twice on the preliminary coating surfaces 252G and 252E under the same conditions. The waiting time T1 = 0.5 seconds and the waiting time T2 = 0.05 seconds when performing this preliminary coating were set, and the deceleration of the syringe pump 50 was started from a point S1 = 5 mm before the end edges 254G and 254E. In order to remove the coating solution preliminarily applied with a thickness of 10 μm on the rotating roll 202 after the two preliminary coatings are completed, the cleaning liquid is rotated while rotating the rotating roll 202 at a peripheral speed V2 = 20 mm / s. Was discharged from the cleaning liquid discharge nozzle 204 at a discharge flow rate of 15 cc / s and nitrogen gas was discharged from each discharge port of the gas nozzle 208 at a flow rate of 50 m / s. Under these conditions, the black matrix liquid and the cleaning liquid as the coating liquid could be removed, and nothing remained on the downstream side of the gas nozzle 208. Therefore, the slit nozzle 20 could be initialized in the same state in any preliminary application before application to the subsequent substrate. Further, when the preliminary coating was completed twice and the initialization of the slit nozzle 20 was completed, the slit nozzle 20 was moved to the coating start portion of the substrate, and the black matrix material was coated under the above coating conditions.

  The substrate coated in the above black matrix coating process was vacuum dried for 60 seconds to reach 65 Pa in 30 seconds, and then further dried for 10 minutes on a 100 ° C. hot plate. Next, after performing exposure, development, and peeling, the substrate is heated on a hot plate at 260 ° C. for 30 minutes to cure, and the pitch is 254 μm in the width direction of the substrate, the pitch is 85 μm in the longitudinal direction of the substrate, the line width is 20 μm, The number of RGB pixels is 4800 (substrate longitudinal direction) × 1200 (substrate width direction), the diagonal length is 20 inches (305 mm in the substrate width direction, 406 mm in the substrate longitudinal direction), and the thickness is 1 μm. Nine black matrix films were prepared.

  Next, after wet cleaning, the R color coating liquid is discharged from the slit nozzle 20 at a speed of 1.1 cc / s, the clearance between the slit nozzle 20 and the substrate is 100 μm, and the portal gantry moving speed is 50 mm / s, and the cycle time is 60. Application in seconds. The coating solution for R color was a photosensitive solution prepared by mixing an acrylic resin as a binder, PGMEA as a solvent, and Pigment Red 177 as a pigment and mixing them at a solid concentration of 12%, and adjusting the viscosity to 5 mPaS. The coated substrate was vacuum-dried to reach 65 Pa in 30 seconds for 60 seconds, and further dried on a 90 ° C. hot plate for 10 minutes. Next, exposure, development, and peeling were performed to leave an R color coating film having a thickness of 2 μm only on the R pixel portion, and then cured by heating on a hot plate at 260 ° C. for 30 minutes. Next, on the substrate on which the black matrix and the R color coating film are formed, the G color coating solution is discharged from the slit nozzle 20 at a speed of 1.0 cc / s, the clearance between the slit nozzle 20 and the substrate is 120 μm, and the portal gantry. After applying at a moving speed of 50 mm / s and a tact time of 60 seconds, vacuum drying was performed for 60 seconds to reach 65 Pa in 30 seconds, followed by further drying for 10 minutes on a hot plate at 100 ° C. Next, exposure, development, and peeling were performed to leave a G-color coating film having a thickness of 2 μm only on the G-color pixel portion, and curing was performed by heating on a 260 ° C. hot plate for 30 minutes.

Furthermore, a B-color coating liquid is discharged at a rate of 1.0 cc / s from the slit nozzle 20 on a substrate on which a black matrix, R color, and G color coating film is formed, the clearance between the slit nozzle 20 and the substrate is 100 μm, the gate The coating was applied at a mold gantry moving speed of 50 mm / s with a tact time of 60 seconds, vacuum-dried reaching 65 Pa in 30 seconds for 60 seconds, and further dried on a hot plate at 100 ° C. for 10 minutes. Next, exposure, development, and peeling were performed to leave a 2 μm-thick B-color coating film only on the B-color pixel portion, and curing was performed by heating on a hot plate at 260 ° C. for 30 minutes. The G-color coating solution is an R-color coating solution, the pigment is Pigment Green 36, the solid concentration is 14%, and the viscosity is adjusted to 3 mPaS. The B-color coating solution is an R-color coating solution. Pigment Blue 15 having a solid content concentration of 15% and a viscosity adjusted to 4 mPaS. The R, G, and B color coating liquids are all applied using the slit nozzle 20, the preliminary coating apparatus 200, and the coating liquid supply apparatus 40 having the same shape as in the black matrix coating process, and in particular, the preliminary coating apparatus 200 is the same as the black matrix. The slit nozzle 20 was initialized by preliminarily applying, removing the coating liquid and cleaning liquid and drying under the conditions.
As described above, the column material and the overcoat material were applied to the black matrix colored with RGB, and finally ITO was deposited by sputtering. With this manufacturing method, 1000 color filters were produced. The obtained color filter was satisfactory in terms of quality, not to mention that there was no particle or wrinkle defect at the coating start part, and that the coating was not uneven and the chromaticity was uniform over the entire surface of the substrate.

  Further, this color filter was superposed on the substrate on which the TFT array was formed, and heated at 160 ° C. for 90 minutes while being pressurized in an oven to cure the sealing agent. After liquid crystal injection into this cell, the liquid crystal injection port was sealed with an ultraviolet curable resin. Next, a polarizing plate was attached to the outside of the two glass substrates of the cell, and the obtained cell was modularized to complete a liquid crystal display device. The obtained liquid crystal display device had no color mixing, and the chromaticity was uniform and satisfactory over the entire surface of the substrate.

1 is a schematic front view of a slit coater 1 according to the present invention. 3 is an enlarged schematic front view showing details of a rotary roll 202. FIG. It is the schematic front view which showed the preliminary application condition in the preliminary application apparatus 200 in steps. It is the schematic front view which showed the preliminary application condition by another preliminary application method using the preliminary application apparatus 200 in steps.

Explanation of symbols

1 slit coater 2 base 4 guide rail 6 stage 10 portal gantry 20 slit nozzle (applicator)
22 Front lip 24 Rear lip 26 Manifold 28 Slit 32 Shim 34 Discharge port 36 Discharge port surface 38 Slope 40 Coating liquid supply device 42 Supply valve 44 Suction valve 46 Filter 50 Syringe pump 52 Syringe 54 Piston 56 Main body
60 Supply hose 62 Suction hose 64 Tank 66 Coating liquid 68 Air pressure source
70 Lifting Unit 72 Motor 74 Guide 76 Ball Screw 78 Lifting Stand 80 Suspension Holding Stand 100 Control Device 102 Operation Panel 200 Preliminary Coating Device 202 Rotating Roll 204 Cleaning Liquid Discharge Nozzle 206 Blade 208 Gas Nozzle 210 Bracket 212 Tray 214 Discharge Pipe 216 Pipe 218 Gas Suction Pipe 222 Suction pipe 224 Cleaning liquid source 226 Cleaning liquid pipe 228 Cleaning liquid switching valve 230 Gas supply source 232 Gas pipe 234 Gas switching valve 236 Frame 250 Grooves 252A to H Preliminary coating surfaces 254A to H End edge 256A to H Start edge 260 Rotary roll 262 Preliminary Application surface A Substrate (Coating member)
B Bead C Coating film D Standby position of slit nozzle 20 L1 Width of groove 250 L2 Depth of groove 250 Lc Pre-coating length

Claims (6)

In a coating method in which preliminary application is performed by discharging a coating liquid from a coating device having a discharge port extending in one direction to discharge a coating liquid toward a rotating roll, and subsequently applying to a member to be coated, at least twice. A coating method characterized by performing preliminary coating as described above. The coating method according to claim 1, wherein the preliminary coating is performed in intermittently disposed preliminary coating regions. The coating method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the removal of the coating solution preliminarily applied to at least two places on the rotating roll is performed after completion of all the preliminary coating. An applicator having a discharge port extending in one direction for discharging the coating liquid, a pre-coating device that performs pre-coating by discharging the coating liquid from the applicator onto a rotating roll, and subsequently applying the coating apparatus after initialization. In the coating apparatus provided with the present coating apparatus for forming a coating film on the coating member and the cleaning apparatus for removing the coating liquid preliminarily applied to the rotating roll, the rotating roll includes a plurality of grooves extending in the longitudinal direction, An applicator characterized in that a surface of a rotating roll between grooves serves as a preliminary application area. 5. The coating apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the cleaning apparatus is disposed at a position where cleaning can be performed after all preliminary coating is completed. A liquid crystal display member is produced using the coating method according to any one of claims 1 to 3. A method for producing a liquid crystal display member.

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