JP2010141186A - Coating device and coating method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a coating device and a coating method by which a coating liquid can be uniformly applied. <P>SOLUTION: The coating device includes a roller 62, a cleaning nozzle 63b (64b), and a slit nozzle. The roller 62 has an extension axis (a) and can rotate on the extension axis, and is put close to an end surface of the slit nozzle, and the coating liquid is transferred from the end surface of the slit nozzle to form a uniform coat of the coating liquid on the end surface of the slit nozzle. The cleaning nozzle 63b (64b) is arranged opposite the roller 62, and jets a cleaning liquid to the roller while oscillating along the extension axis (a) to remove the coating liquid sticking on the roller. The slit nozzle moves over a body to be coated to apply the coating liquid onto the body to be coated from the end surface. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a coating apparatus and a coating method.

  In recent years, a liquid crystal display panel has been used as a monitor for displaying data including a lot of information such as a portable television and a computer. A liquid crystal display panel generally includes an array substrate, a counter substrate, a liquid crystal layer sandwiched between the two substrates, and a color filter formed on one of the array substrate and the counter substrate. The array substrate includes a substrate, a plurality of pixel portions provided in a matrix on the substrate, and a plurality of pixel portions that are provided on the substrate so as to surround these pixel portions and that extend in the first direction. Signal lines and a plurality of scanning lines extending in a second direction orthogonal to the first direction.

  The color filter has a plurality of striped red colored layers, a plurality of striped green colored layers, and a plurality of striped blue colored layers. Each colored layer is formed so as to overlap a plurality of pixel portions arranged in the first direction.

  When manufacturing a color filter on array (COA) type liquid crystal display panel, a mother glass having a size larger than that of the array substrate is prepared, and an array of signal lines, scanning lines, etc. is provided in a plurality of rectangular effective areas on the mother glass. A pattern and a color filter are formed. Subsequently, after a plurality of counter substrates are arranged to be opposed to the effective area and bonded together, the mother glass is divided along the periphery of the effective area. As described above, a plurality of empty liquid crystal display panels can be obtained by so-called multiple chamfering.

When forming using a photosensitive material such as a color filter, the photosensitive material is applied using a coating apparatus having a slit nozzle (see, for example, Patent Document 1). Then, a pattern is formed in a desired shape by exposure, development, and baking. The coating device includes a slit nozzle, a roller, and a cleaning nozzle. The cleaning nozzle is for ejecting cleaning liquid onto the roller and removing the photosensitive material transferred to the roller.
JP 2006-188773 A

  By the way, in the said coating device, there exists a possibility that the photosensitive material transcribe | transferred by the roller cannot fully be removed. Specifically, although the photosensitive material at the location facing the cleaning nozzle can be sufficiently removed, the photosensitive material that has deviated from the location facing the cleaning nozzle may not be sufficiently removed. That is, a pressure distribution is generated in the sprayed cleaning liquid.

  Then, since it becomes difficult to form a uniform film on the end face of the slit nozzle, it is difficult to apply the photosensitive material so that the film thickness becomes uniform. Furthermore, if the film thickness cannot be uniform, patterning defects may occur during exposure and development, and the pattern may not be formed in a desired shape.

  This invention is made | formed in view of the above point, The objective is to provide the coating device and the coating method which can apply | coat a coating liquid uniformly.

In order to solve the above-described problems, a coating apparatus according to an aspect of the present invention includes:
In a coating apparatus that applies a coating liquid using a slit nozzle on an object to be coated,
An extension shaft that extends along the longitudinal direction of the end face of the slit nozzle, is rotatable about the extension shaft, is close to the end face of the slit nozzle, and is applied from the end face of the slit nozzle. And a roller that forms a uniform film made of a coating liquid on the end face of the slit nozzle,
A cleaning nozzle disposed opposite to the roller and spraying the cleaning liquid onto the roller while swinging in a direction along the extension shaft, and removing the coating liquid adhering to the roller;
And a slit nozzle that moves on the object to be coated and applies a coating liquid from the end face onto the object to be coated.

Moreover, the coating method according to another aspect of the present invention includes:
In a coating method in which a coating liquid is coated on a workpiece using a slit nozzle,
The end face of the slit nozzle is brought close to a roller having an extension shaft extending along the longitudinal direction of the end face of the slit nozzle and rotatable about the extension shaft, and the roller from the end face of the slit nozzle Transfer the coating liquid to
The cleaning liquid sprayed onto the roller while the cleaning nozzle disposed opposite to the roller is swung in the direction along the extension shaft, the coating liquid adhering to the roller is removed, and the coating liquid is applied to the end surface of the slit nozzle. Form a uniform film consisting of
After forming the film, the slit nozzle is moved on the object to be coated, and the coating liquid is applied onto the object to be coated from the end face.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a coating apparatus and a coating method capable of uniformly coating a coating liquid.

  Hereinafter, a coating apparatus and a coating method according to embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. Here, a case where a color filter of a liquid crystal display panel is formed using a coating apparatus and a coating method will be described. First, the configuration of the liquid crystal display panel will be described.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 to 4, the liquid crystal display panel includes an array substrate 1, a counter substrate 2 disposed opposite to the array substrate with a predetermined gap, and a liquid crystal layer 3 sandwiched between the two substrates. And a color filter 4. Polarizing plates (not shown) are respectively arranged on the outer surfaces of the array substrate 1 and the counter substrate 2. A backlight unit (not shown) is disposed on the outer surface side of the array substrate 1. The array substrate 1 and the counter substrate 2 have a rectangular display region R1. In this embodiment, the array substrate 1 has a color filter forming region R2 that overlaps the display region R1. The color filter 4 is provided in the color filter forming region R2 of the array substrate 1. For this reason, the array substrate 1 is a color filter substrate.

  The array substrate 1 has a glass substrate 11 as a transparent insulating substrate. In the display region R1, on the glass substrate 11, a plurality of signal lines 21 extending in the first direction d1 and arranged at intervals in a second direction d2 perpendicular to the first direction, and a plurality of signal lines A plurality of scanning lines 15 extending in the second direction intersecting with each other and arranged at intervals in the first direction are arranged in a grid pattern.

  On the glass substrate 11, a plurality of auxiliary capacitors are formed, which constitute the auxiliary capacitance element 24, extend in the second direction d <b> 2 across the plurality of signal lines 21, and are arranged at intervals in the first direction d <b> 1. A line 17 is formed. The auxiliary capacitance line 17 extends in parallel with the scanning line 15.

  Here, the array substrate 1 and the counter substrate 2 have a plurality of matrix pixel portions 20 provided so as to overlap an area surrounded by the plurality of signal lines 21 and the plurality of auxiliary capacitance lines 17. That is, each pixel unit 20 is provided so as to overlap an area surrounded by two adjacent signal lines 21 and two adjacent auxiliary capacitance lines 17. The pixel portion 20 of the array substrate 1 is provided with a TFT (thin film transistor) 19 as a switching element. More specifically, the TFT 19 is provided in the vicinity of each intersection of the signal line 21 and the scanning line 15.

  The TFT 19 includes, as a channel layer, a semiconductor film 12 made of amorphous silicon (a-Si) or polysilicon (p-Si), and a gate electrode 16 that extends a part of the scanning line 15. In the present embodiment, the semiconductor film 12 and a later-described auxiliary capacitance electrode 13 are formed of p-Si.

  More specifically, in the display region R1, the semiconductor film 12 and the auxiliary capacitance electrode 13 are formed on the glass substrate 11, and the gate insulating film 14 is formed on the glass substrate including the semiconductor film and the auxiliary capacitance electrode. It is a membrane. A scanning line 15, a gate electrode 16, and a storage capacitor line 17 are disposed on the gate insulating film 14. The auxiliary capacitance line 17 and the auxiliary capacitance electrode 13 are arranged to face each other with the gate insulating film 14 interposed therebetween. An interlayer insulating film 18 is formed on the gate insulating film 14 including the scanning line 15, the gate electrode 16, and the auxiliary capacitance line 17.

  A signal line 21 and a contact electrode 22 are formed on the interlayer insulating film 18. Each contact electrode 22 is connected to a drain region of the semiconductor film 12 and a pixel electrode 26 described later via a contact hole. Further, the contact electrode 22 is connected to the auxiliary capacitance electrode 13 through the gate insulating film 14 and the interlayer insulating film 18. Here, the auxiliary capacitance line 17 is formed excluding the connection portion between the auxiliary capacitance electrode 13 and the contact electrode 22.

  The signal line 21 is connected to the source region of the semiconductor film 12 through a contact hole. A protective insulating film 23 is formed on the interlayer insulating film 18, the signal line 21, and the contact electrode 22. On the protective insulating film 23, the color filter 4 is formed. In this embodiment, the color filter 4 includes a plurality of red colored layers 30R, a plurality of green colored layers 30G, and a plurality of blue colored layers 30B. Each colored layer 30R, 30G, 30B is formed in a stripe shape and extends in the first direction d1. In FIG. 3, the color filter 4 is not shown.

  On the colored layers 30R, 30G, and 30B, pixel electrodes 26 are formed of a transparent conductive film such as ITO (indium tin oxide). A plurality of contact holes 25 are formed in the protective insulating film 23 and the colored layers 30R, 30G, and 30B overlapping the storage capacitor line 17. These contact holes 25 are provided in the plurality of pixel portions 20.

  Each pixel electrode 26 is connected to the contact electrode 22 through the contact hole 25. The peripheral edge of each pixel electrode 26 overlaps the auxiliary capacitance line 17 and the signal line 21. The pixel electrodes 26 form the pixel portions 20 respectively. The auxiliary capacitance line 17 and the signal line 21 function as a black matrix (BM). A plurality of columnar spacers 27 as a plurality of spacers are formed on the pixel electrode 26. An alignment film 28 is formed on the color filter 4 and the pixel electrode 26.

  The counter substrate 2 includes a glass substrate 41 as a transparent insulating substrate. On the glass substrate 41, a counter electrode 42 and an alignment film 43 formed of a transparent conductive material such as ITO are sequentially formed.

  The array substrate 1 and the counter substrate 2 are arranged to face each other with a predetermined gap held by a plurality of columnar spacers 27, and are joined to each other by a rectangular frame-shaped sealing material 51 arranged outside the display region R1 of both the substrates. . The liquid crystal layer 3 is formed in a region surrounded by the array substrate 1, the counter substrate 2, and the sealing material 51. A liquid crystal inlet 52 is formed in a part of the sealing material 51, and the liquid crystal inlet is sealed with a sealing material 53.

Next, the coating apparatus will be described.
As shown in FIGS. 6 to 9, the coating device 60 includes a stage 61, a roller 62, cleaning nozzle groups 63 and 64, a tray 65, a slit nozzle 66, and a control unit 69. The coating device 60 applies a coating liquid 67 on the object to be coated using a slit nozzle 66. Here, the object to be coated is the mother glass 10 (FIG. 5).

  The stage 61 is for placing the mother glass 10 that is an object to be coated. A tray 65 and the like are also provided on the stage 61. The tray 65 accommodates the removed coating liquid 67 and cleaning liquid 68.

  The roller 62 is formed in a cylindrical shape. The roller 62 has an extending shaft a that extends along the longitudinal direction of the end face of the slit nozzle 66. The roller 62 can rotate around the extension shaft a. The roller 62 is brought close to the end face of the slit nozzle 66. The coating liquid 67 is transferred to the roller 62 from the end face of the slit nozzle 66. The roller 62 forms a uniform film made of the coating liquid 67 on the end face of the slit nozzle 66.

  The cleaning nozzle group 63 has a swinging part 63a and a plurality of cleaning nozzles 63b. The plurality of cleaning nozzles 63b are arranged so as to face the roller 62 from one side, and are arranged along the extending axis a. The plurality of cleaning nozzles 63b are attached to the swinging part 63a. The swing part 63a is supported by the support part 65a of the tray 65 so as to be swingable. Therefore, when the swinging portion 63a swings, the cleaning liquid 68 can be sprayed onto the rollers 62 while the plurality of cleaning nozzles 63b are aligned and swinging in the direction along the extension shaft a, whereby the rollers The coating liquid 67 adhering to 62 can be removed.

  The cleaning nozzle group 64 is configured in the same manner as the cleaning nozzle group 63.

The cleaning nozzle group 64 has a swinging part 64a and a plurality of cleaning nozzles 64b. The plurality of cleaning nozzles 64b are arranged to face the roller 62 from the other side, and are arranged along the extending axis a. The plurality of cleaning nozzles 64b are attached to the swinging portion 64a. The swing part 64a is supported by the support part 65a of the tray 65 so as to be swingable. For this reason, when the oscillating portion 64a oscillates, the cleaning liquids 68 can be sprayed onto the rollers 62 while the plurality of cleaning nozzles 64b are aligned and oscillated in the direction along the extending axis a. The coating liquid 67 adhering to 62 can be removed.

In this embodiment, the cleaning liquid 68 is an organic solvent containing a dry gas such as N ₂ . The plurality of cleaning nozzles 63b are arranged at equal intervals and are swung with a width equal to the interval between adjacent cleaning nozzles 63b. Similarly, the plurality of cleaning nozzles 64b are arranged at equal intervals and are swung with a width equal to the interval between adjacent cleaning nozzles 64b. As described above, the coating apparatus 60 has the two cleaning nozzle groups 63 and 64. The cleaning nozzle 63b and the cleaning nozzle 64b are alternately positioned along the extending axis a. Therefore, the coating liquid 67 adhering to the roller 62 can be further removed.

The slit nozzle 66 moves on the mother glass 10 that is an object to be coated, and applies the coating liquid 67 on the mother glass 10 from the end face of the slit nozzle 66. Since a film having a uniform thickness can be formed on the end face of the slit nozzle 66, the coating liquid 67 can be applied on the mother glass 10 with a uniform thickness.
The control unit 69 controls the operation of the coating apparatus 60 as described above.

  Next, the effect obtained by swinging the cleaning nozzle groups 63 and 64 will be described. Here, only the cleaning nozzle group 63 will be noted, and the effect obtained by swinging only the cleaning nozzle group 63 will be described.

  As shown in FIG. 10, when the cleaning nozzle group 63 is located at the normal position P1, it can be seen that a pressure distribution is generated in the sprayed cleaning liquid 68. In this case, the cleaning nozzle group 63 cannot clean the roller 62 sufficiently.

  However, in this embodiment, the cleaning nozzle group 63 swings between the left swing final position P2 and the right swing final position P3 with the normal position P1 interposed therebetween. For this reason, it can be seen that the pressure distribution of the sprayed cleaning liquid 68 can be made uniform. Thereby, the cleaning nozzle group 63 of this embodiment can sufficiently clean the roller 62.

Next, a more detailed configuration of the liquid crystal display panel will be described together with its manufacturing method. In particular, a method for manufacturing the color filter 4 will be described in detail.
As shown in FIG. 5, first, a mother glass 10 as a mother substrate having a larger dimension than the array substrate 1 is prepared as a transparent insulating substrate. According to this embodiment, the mother glass 10 has nine rectangular effective regions R3 arranged in the first direction d1 and the second direction d2 in order to form the array substrate 1. Each effective region R3 has sides extending in the first direction d1 and the second direction d2. Each effective region R3 has a rectangular color filter forming region R2. Each color filter forming region R2 has sides extending in the first direction d1 and the second direction d2.

  On the prepared mother glass 10, the TFT 19, the signal line 21, the scanning line 15, the auxiliary capacitance line 17, the protective insulating film 23, and the like are formed in the effective region R 3 by normal manufacturing processes such as repeated film formation and patterning. To do. Thereafter, using the photolithography method, the color filter 4 is formed in each of the effective regions R3 using the coating apparatus 60.

As shown in FIGS. 5 to 9, when forming the color filter 4, first, the mother glass 10 is placed on the stage 61.
Subsequently, the end surface of the slit nozzle 66 is brought close to the roller 62, and the coating liquid 67 is transferred from the end surface of the slit nozzle 66 to the roller 62. The coating solution 67 used here is a photosensitive acrylic green resist solution (hereinafter referred to as a green resist) that is a photosensitive material.

  Next, the cleaning liquid 68 is sprayed onto the roller 62 while swinging the cleaning nozzle groups 63 and 64 disposed opposite to the roller 62 in the direction along the extending axis a, and the green resist adhering to the roller 62 is removed. . As a result, a uniform film made of a green resist is formed on the end face of the slit nozzle 66.

  Thereafter, the slit nozzle 66 is moved on the mother glass 10, and a green resist is applied onto the mother glass 10 from the end face of the slit nozzle 66. Thereby, a green resist film is formed on the mother glass 10 with a uniform thickness.

  Subsequently, the mother glass 10 coated with a green resist is pre-baked and then exposed using a predetermined photomask. This cures the green resist where it is desired to remain. The photomask used for exposure has a pattern for forming the colored layer 30 </ b> G and a pattern for forming the contact hole 25.

  Thereafter, the green resist is developed to remove unnecessary green resist. Subsequently, the developed green resist is post-baked. By patterning the green resist applied as described above, a plurality of colored layers 30G having contact holes 25 are respectively formed in the effective region R3. The plurality of colored layers 30G extend in the first direction d1 and are arranged side by side in the second direction d2. The plurality of colored layers 30G are formed in a desired shape and can have a uniform film thickness.

  After forming the plurality of colored layers 30G, the end surface of the slit nozzle 66 is brought close to the roller 62, and the coating liquid 67 is transferred from the end surface of the slit nozzle 66 to the roller 62. The coating solution 67 used here is a photosensitive acrylic red resist solution (hereinafter referred to as a red resist) which is a photosensitive material.

  Here, the coating liquid 67 supplied to the slit nozzle 66 is replaced from the green resist to the red resist. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and a plurality of slit nozzles 66 may be prepared and the slit nozzle 66 itself may be replaced. That is, the slit nozzle 66 to which the green resist is supplied may be replaced with the slit nozzle 66 to which the red resist is supplied.

  Next, cleaning liquid 68 is sprayed onto the roller 62 while swinging the cleaning nozzle groups 63 and 64 disposed opposite to the roller 62 in the direction along the extending axis a, and the red resist adhering to the roller 62 is removed. . As a result, a uniform film made of a red resist is formed on the end face of the slit nozzle 66.

  Subsequently, the slit nozzle 66 is moved on the mother glass 10, and a red resist is applied onto the mother glass 10 from the end face of the slit nozzle 66. Thereby, a red resist film is formed on the mother glass 10 with a uniform thickness.

  Thereafter, by similarly patterning, a plurality of colored layers 30R having contact holes 25 are respectively formed in the effective region R3. The plurality of colored layers 30R extend in the first direction d1 and are arranged at intervals in the second direction d2, and are formed adjacent to the side edges of the plurality of colored layers 30G. The plurality of colored layers 30R are formed in a desired shape and can have a uniform film thickness.

  After forming the plurality of colored layers 30G and 30R, the end surface of the slit nozzle 66 is brought close to the roller 62, and the coating liquid 67 is transferred from the end surface of the slit nozzle 66 to the roller 62. The coating solution 67 used here is a photosensitive acrylic blue resist solution (hereinafter referred to as a blue resist) which is a photosensitive material. As described above, the coating liquid 67 supplied to the slit nozzle 66 may be replaced with a blue resist, or the slit nozzle 66 itself may be replaced.

  Next, cleaning liquid 68 is sprayed onto the roller 62 while swinging the cleaning nozzle groups 63 and 64 disposed opposite to the roller 62 in the direction along the extension axis a, and the blue resist adhering to the roller 62 is removed. . As a result, a uniform film made of a blue resist is formed on the end face of the slit nozzle 66.

  Subsequently, the slit nozzle 66 is moved on the mother glass 10, and a blue resist is applied onto the mother glass 10 from the end face of the slit nozzle 66. Thereby, a blue resist film is formed on the mother glass 10 with a uniform thickness.

Thereafter, by similarly patterning, a plurality of colored layers 30B having contact holes 25 are respectively formed in the effective region R3. The plurality of colored layers 30B extend in the first direction d1 and are arranged at intervals in the second direction d2, and are adjacent to the side edges of the plurality of colored layers 30G and the side edges of the plurality of colored layers 30R. Formed. The plurality of colored layers 30B are formed in a desired shape and can have a uniform film thickness.
As a result, the color filters 4 are formed in the effective region R3.

  After forming the plurality of color filters 4, ITO is deposited on the entire mother glass 10 by sputtering, for example, to form a conductive film. Thereafter, a plurality of pixel electrodes 26 are formed on the plurality of color filters 4 by patterning the conductive film.

  Next, a plurality of columnar spacers 27 are formed on the plurality of pixel electrodes 26 using, for example, resin. Subsequently, after an alignment film material such as polyimide is applied to the entire mother glass 10, patterning is performed to form alignment films 28 in the effective region R3. Thereafter, the plurality of alignment films 28 are subjected to alignment treatment (rubbing). As a result, nine array substrates 1 are formed on the mother glass 10.

  On the other hand, in the counter substrate 2, first, although not shown, another mother glass as a mother substrate having a larger dimension than the counter substrate 2 is prepared as a transparent insulating substrate. According to this embodiment, the other mother glass has nine effective regions R3 arranged in the first direction d1 and the second direction in order to form the counter substrate 2 like the array substrate 1.

  On the other prepared mother glass, ITO is deposited by, for example, sputtering to form a conductive film. Thereafter, the plurality of counter electrodes 42 are formed so as to overlap the plurality of effective regions R3 by patterning the conductive film. Subsequently, after an alignment film material such as polyimide is applied to the entire other mother glass, patterning is performed to form alignment films 43 in the plurality of effective regions R3. Thereafter, the alignment films 43 are subjected to alignment treatment (rubbing). Thus, nine counter substrates 2 are formed on the other mother glass.

  Next, the mother glass 10 on which the array substrate 1 is formed and another mother glass on which the counter substrate 2 is formed are arranged with a plurality of columnar spacers 27 holding a predetermined gap and the array substrate and the counter substrate facing each other. To do. Then, the mother glasses are bonded to each other by the sealing material 51 disposed at the peripheral portions of the array substrate 1 and the counter substrate 2 facing each other. Subsequently, the two mother glasses bonded together are divided along the peripheral edge e of the effective region R3. As a result, the array substrate 1 is cut out from the mother glass 10 and the counter substrate 2 is cut out from the other mother glass. As a result, nine sets of empty liquid crystal cells are obtained.

  Next, a liquid crystal material is injected between both substrates of each empty liquid crystal cell by a liquid crystal injection port 52 formed in the sealing material 51 by vacuum injection. Thereafter, the liquid crystal injection port 52 is sealed with a sealing material 53 such as an ultraviolet curable resin. As a result, liquid crystal is sealed in a region surrounded by the array substrate 1, the counter substrate 2, and the sealing material 51, and the liquid crystal layer 3 is formed. By this. Nine liquid crystal display panels are completed.

  According to the coating apparatus and the coating method configured as described above, the coating apparatus 60 includes the roller 62, the cleaning nozzle groups 63 and 64, and the slit nozzle 66. The roller 62 is rotatable around the extension shaft a, and the coating liquid 67 is transferred from the end face of the slit nozzle 66. The cleaning nozzle groups 63 and 64 can spray the cleaning liquid 68 onto the roller 62 while swinging in the direction along the extension shaft a. Since the pressure distribution of the sprayed cleaning liquid 68 can be made uniform, the coating liquid 67 adhering to the roller 62 can be removed in a sufficiently short time.

  Therefore, the roller 62 can form a uniform film made of the coating liquid 67 on the end surface of the slit nozzle 66. Thereby, the coating liquid 67 can be applied so that the film thickness becomes uniform. In addition, since the uniformity of the film thickness can be obtained, patterning does not occur even when the photolithography method is used, and the pattern can be formed in a desired shape.

  Further, the number of cleaning nozzles 63b and 64b included in the cleaning nozzle groups 63 and 64 can be reduced as compared with the case where they are not swung, and as a result, the amount of the cleaning liquid 68 used can also be reduced.

The cleaning liquid 68 is an organic solvent containing a dry gas. By including the dry gas, the ability to dissolve the deposit (coating liquid 67) adhering to the roller 62 can be improved.
From the above, it is possible to obtain a coating apparatus and a coating method capable of uniformly coating the coating liquid.

  Note that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment as it is, and can be embodied by modifying the constituent elements without departing from the scope of the invention in the implementation stage. Various inventions can be formed by appropriately combining a plurality of constituent elements disclosed in the embodiments. For example, some components may be deleted from all the components shown in the embodiment.

  For example, the object to be coated is not limited to the mother glass 10 and the coating liquid 67 is not limited to the colored resist, and can be variously modified. The coating device 60 and the coating method may be used for forming the columnar spacer 27. The coating liquid 67 is not limited to the photosensitive material, and can be variously modified.

  The coating device 60 may have only one cleaning nozzle group. Also in this case, the adhering matter on the roller 62 can be satisfactorily removed by swinging one cleaning nozzle group. Thereby, the installation space of the cleaning nozzle group can be halved, and the amount of the cleaning liquid 68 used can be further reduced.

  The interval between the cleaning nozzles may be adjusted as appropriate according to the swinging width, and the number of cleaning nozzles may be adjusted as appropriate according to the specifications of the roller 62. When the roller 62 is extremely short, the coating device 60 may have only one cleaning nozzle.

  The present invention may be applied to a coating process in a field other than the liquid crystal display panel.

The perspective view which shows the liquid crystal display panel formed using the coating device and coating method which concern on embodiment of this invention. FIG. 2 is a schematic plan view of the array substrate shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 3 is an enlarged plan view showing a part of the array substrate. The expanded sectional view which shows a part of said liquid crystal display panel. The top view which shows the state which formed nine array substrates on the mother glass in the manufacturing method of the said liquid crystal display panel. The schematic block diagram which shows the coating device which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a schematic block diagram which expands and shows a part of coating device shown in FIG. 6, and is a figure which shows a roller, a washing | cleaning nozzle group, and a saucer especially. The top view which shows the said roller and washing | cleaning nozzle group. The figure which shows the state which is injecting the washing | cleaning liquid from the washing | cleaning nozzle shown in FIG.7 and FIG.8 to the roller. The figure which showed the change of the washing | cleaning-liquid injection pressure with respect to the roller position in the normal position of the said washing | cleaning nozzle group, the left swing final position, and the right swing final position.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Array substrate, 2 ... Opposite substrate, 3 ... Liquid crystal layer, 4 ... Color filter, 10 ... Mother glass, 30R, 30G, 30B ... Colored layer, 60 ... Coating apparatus, 61 ... Stage, 62 ... Roller, 63, 64 ... cleaning nozzle group, 63a, 64a ... swinging part, 63b, 64b ... cleaning nozzle, 65 ... saucer, 65a ... support part, 66 ... slit nozzle, 67 ... coating liquid, 68 ... cleaning liquid, 69 ... control part, a ... Extension shaft, P1 ... normal position, P2 ... left swing final position, P3 ... right swing final position.

Claims (7)

In a coating apparatus that applies a coating liquid using a slit nozzle on an object to be coated,
An extension shaft that extends along the longitudinal direction of the end face of the slit nozzle, is rotatable about the extension shaft, is close to the end face of the slit nozzle, and is applied from the end face of the slit nozzle. And a roller that forms a uniform film made of a coating liquid on the end face of the slit nozzle,
A cleaning nozzle disposed opposite to the roller and spraying the cleaning liquid onto the roller while swinging in a direction along the extension shaft, and removing the coating liquid adhering to the roller;
An application apparatus comprising: the slit nozzle that moves on the object to be applied and applies a coating liquid onto the object to be applied from the end face.   The coating apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the cleaning liquid is an organic solvent containing a dry gas.   The coating apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the coating liquid is a photosensitive material.   The cleaning nozzle includes a plurality of cleaning nozzles arranged to face the roller and arranged along the extension shaft, and the plurality of cleaning nozzles are aligned and swing in a direction along the extension shaft. The coating apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a cleaning nozzle group that sprays the cleaning liquid onto the rollers while removing the coating liquid adhering to the rollers.   The coating apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the plurality of cleaning nozzles are arranged at equal intervals and are swung with a width equal to an interval between adjacent cleaning nozzles.   The coating apparatus according to claim 4, further comprising another cleaning nozzle group disposed opposite to the roller and configured in the same manner as the cleaning nozzle group. In a coating method in which a coating liquid is coated on a workpiece using a slit nozzle,
The end face of the slit nozzle is brought close to a roller having an extension shaft extending along the longitudinal direction of the end face of the slit nozzle and rotatable about the extension shaft, and the roller from the end face of the slit nozzle Transfer the coating liquid to
The cleaning liquid sprayed onto the roller while the cleaning nozzle disposed opposite to the roller is swung in the direction along the extension shaft, the coating liquid adhering to the roller is removed, and the coating liquid is applied to the end surface of the slit nozzle. Form a uniform film consisting of
An application method in which, after forming the film, the slit nozzle is moved over the object to be coated, and a coating liquid is applied onto the object to be coated from the end face.

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