JP2011131124A - Apparatus and method for chemical coating - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To enable coating a chemical uniformly in a wide range and reduce the time for chemical coating. <P>SOLUTION: A chemical coating coater includes a stage 1 mounted with a substrate 5 on the upper surface 1a and being movable in a horizontal plane, a pressing head 2 arranged above the stage 1 and pressing the upper surface of the substrate 5 mounted on the stage 1 to spread a chemical dropped on the substrate 5 to a predetermined thickness, a tape 3 hung between a pair of reels 8 arranged on the right and left sides of the pressing head 2 and over the pressing surface 2a of the pressing head 2 and a moving means 4 of causing the substrate 5 and the pressing head 2 to be pressed together with the tape 3 made intervening by relatively moving the stage 1 and the pressing head 2 vertically. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a chemical solution coating apparatus for applying a chemical solution on a substrate with a predetermined thickness, and more specifically, a chemical solution coating apparatus and a chemical solution coating device that uniformly apply a chemical solution to a wide area and reduce the application time of the chemical solution. It concerns the method.

  In this type of conventional chemical solution coating apparatus, a small resin piece having a flat surface is attached to the tip of a coating needle with the flat surface down, and the chemical solution is attached to the flat surface of the small piece so that the small piece is pressed against the substrate. Then, a chemical solution is applied (for example, see Patent Document 1).

JP 2007-279513 A

  However, in such a conventional chemical solution coating apparatus, the small pieces are pressed against the substrate to apply the chemical solution adhered to the flat surface of the small pieces. It is effective when applying a chemical solution to the substrate, but when applying a chemical solution to a wide area corresponding to multiple pixels, it is applied by repeating the chemical application operation several times while shifting the pressure contact position of the small piece to the substrate. There is a problem that the time required for applying the chemical solution becomes long.

  In addition, it is difficult to make the coating thickness of the chemical solution uniform by the method of applying the chemical solution within a predetermined range by a plurality of application operations while shifting the application position.

  Furthermore, since the chemical solution adheres to the flat surface of the small piece, it is necessary to wash the small piece in advance and remove the chemical solution adhering to the small piece before the next chemical solution application. there were.

  Accordingly, the present invention addresses such problems, and an object thereof is to provide a chemical solution application apparatus and a chemical solution application method that uniformly apply a chemical solution to a wide range of parts and reduce the application time of the chemical solution. And

  In order to achieve the above object, a chemical coating apparatus according to the present invention includes a stage on which a substrate is placed and movable in a horizontal plane, and is disposed above the stage and placed on the stage. In addition, the pressure-bonding head is bonded between a pressure-bonding head that press-bonds to the upper surface of the substrate and pushes the chemical solution dropped on the substrate to a predetermined thickness, and a pair of reels arranged on the left and right sides of the pressure-bonding head. The tape spanned through the surface side and the stage and the crimping head can be relatively moved up and down to crimp the substrate and the crimping head to each other with the tape interposed therebetween. And moving means.

  With such a configuration, the substrate is placed on the upper surface of the stage and moved in a horizontal plane, and after the chemical liquid dropped on the substrate is positioned under the pressure bonding head disposed above the stage, the moving means is used. By moving the stage and the crimping head relatively up and down, the tape spanned via the crimping surface side of the crimping head is interposed between a pair of reels arranged on the left and right with the crimping head in between. In this state, the substrate and the pressure-bonding head are pressure-bonded to spread the chemical solution on the substrate to a predetermined thickness.

  The crimping head includes a plurality of stamps having different crimping surface areas, and one stamp can be appropriately selected from the plurality of stamps according to the application area of the chemical solution. Accordingly, one stamp is appropriately selected from a plurality of stamps with different crimping surface areas arranged side by side on the crimping head according to the chemical application area, and the chemical solution on the substrate is made to have a predetermined thickness by the selected stamp. Push out.

  Further, the tape is automatically wound up by a predetermined amount after the chemical solution is applied. Thereby, after application | coating of a chemical | medical solution, a predetermined amount of tapes are wound up, and the unused part of a tape can be used at the time of the next chemical | medical solution application | coating.

  The moving means includes a height sensor, and the amount of pressure bonding between the substrate and the pressure bonding head can be controlled based on the output of the height sensor. Thereby, the amount of pressure bonding between the substrate and the pressure bonding head is controlled based on the output of the height sensor provided in the moving means.

  Further, the method for applying a chemical solution according to the present invention drops a predetermined amount of a chemical solution on a substrate, and crimps the substrate and a crimping head disposed above the substrate with a tape interposed therebetween. The chemical solution is spread to a predetermined thickness, and the spread chemical solution is cured.

  Further, the pressure-bonding head is provided with a plurality of stamps having different pressure-bonding surface areas, and one of the plurality of stamps can be appropriately selected according to the application area of the chemical solution. Accordingly, one stamp is appropriately selected from a plurality of stamps with different crimping surface areas arranged side by side on the crimping head according to the chemical application area, and the chemical solution on the substrate is made to have a predetermined thickness by the selected stamp. Push out.

  The tape is automatically wound by a predetermined amount after the chemical solution is applied. Thereby, after application | coating of a chemical | medical solution, a predetermined amount of tapes are wound up, and the unused part of a tape can be used at the time of the next chemical | medical solution application | coating.

  According to the invention which concerns on Claim 1 or 4, the chemical | medical solution dripped on the board | substrate can be spread with a crimping | compression-bonding head, and a chemical | medical solution can be uniformly apply | coated to a wide part. In this case, the chemical solution can be applied by a single application operation instead of applying the chemical solution to a wide area by a plurality of application operations while shifting the application position as in the prior art. It can be shortened. At that time, since the tape is interposed between the substrate and the crimping head, the crimping head is not contaminated with the chemical solution. Therefore, it is not necessary to clean the pressure-bonding surface of the pressure-bonding head at the next time of chemical solution application, and the chemical solution application operation can be performed efficiently.

  Moreover, according to the invention which concerns on Claim 2 or 5, one stamp can be selected according to the application area of a chemical | medical solution from several stamps from which a crimping | compression-bonding area differs.

  Furthermore, according to the invention according to claim 3 or 6, since the tape is automatically wound up by a predetermined amount after the chemical solution is applied, it is always possible to use an unused portion of the tape when applying the chemical solution. It is possible to prevent a part of the chemical solution adhering to the tape at the time of applying the chemical solution from reattaching to the substrate. Therefore, when a plurality of different chemical solutions are continuously applied, it is possible to prevent a plurality of chemical solutions from being mixed.

  According to the fourth aspect of the invention, the amount of crimping between the substrate and the crimping head can be controlled by the height sensor. Therefore, the chemical solution can be applied to a predetermined thickness.

It is a front view which shows embodiment of the chemical | medical solution coating device by this invention. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA in FIG. 1. It is a figure which shows the crimping head used for the said chemical | medical solution coating device, (a) is a front view, (b) is a bottom view. It is a perspective view which shows the structure of the tape used for the said chemical | medical solution coating device. It is process drawing explaining the chemical | medical solution coating method of this invention.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is a front view showing an embodiment of a chemical liquid coating apparatus according to the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA in FIG. This chemical solution coating apparatus applies a chemical solution on a substrate with a predetermined thickness, and includes a stage 1, a pressure-bonding head 2, a tape 3, and a moving means 4.

  The stage 1 has a substrate 5 placed on the upper surface 1a and is movable in the X-axis and Y-axis directions in a horizontal plane. For example, a plurality of suction holes can be formed on the upper surface 1a to hold the substrate 5 by suction. It is like that. Further, positioning projections (not shown) are provided in the vicinity of the edge of the stage 1, and for example, the substrate 5 can be positioned and held in contact with two orthogonal sides of the rectangular substrate 5. It is like that.

  A crimping head 2 is disposed above the stage 1. The pressure-bonding head 2 presses the top surface of the substrate 5 placed on the stage 1 and spreads the chemical solution dropped on the substrate 5 to a predetermined thickness, and is formed of a rigid member or an elastic member. A surface facing the upper surface 1a of 1 is formed flat to form a crimping surface 2a. As shown in FIG. 3, the pressure-bonding head 2 includes a plurality of stamps 6 having different areas of the pressure-bonding surface 2 a arranged at a predetermined pitch on the head main body 7, and can be appropriately selected according to the application area of the chemical solution. ing.

  A tape 3 is stretched between a pair of reels 8 disposed on the left and right sides with the crimping head 2 interposed therebetween via the crimping surface 2 a side of the crimping head 2. This tape 3 is interposed between the substrate 5 and the pressure-bonding head 2 when the pressure-sensitive head 2 is pressure-bonded to the substrate 5 and the chemical solution dropped onto the substrate 5 is spread to a predetermined thickness. It is for preventing chemicals from adhering to 2a, and is made of polyethylene terephthalate (PET), vinyl chloride (PVC), polyimide, or the like. As shown in FIG. 4, the tape 3 has a surface made of a coating layer such as an acrylic resin, a polyethylene resin, a silicone resin, a fluororesin, or a metal film such as aluminum on the surface of the tape substrate 9 such as PET. The layer 10 is formed to optimize the wettability with the chemical solution (adjustment of hydrophilicity, water repellency, etc.). In this case, in order to improve the adhesion between the tape base material 9 and the surface layer 10, a binder 11 may be interposed therebetween. As another method for optimizing the wettability, the surface of the tape substrate 9 may be plasma-treated, or fine irregularities may be formed on the surface, for example.

  The pair of reels 8 rotate around a pair of rotation shafts 13A and 13B projecting in the Y-axis direction on the left and right ends of the front surface of the apparatus body 12, respectively. The reel 8 positioned on the right side with the crimping head 2 interposed therebetween is a supply reel 8A for supplying the tape 3, and the left reel 8 is a take-up reel 8B for winding the tape 3. Further, the rotation shaft 13A on the supply reel 8A side is braked so as to apply an appropriate back tension to the tape 3, a motor for applying an appropriate rotational force to the rotation shaft 13A in the direction opposite to the supply direction indicated by the arrow B, or the like. Is provided. Further, a take-up motor (not shown) is attached to the rotary shaft 13B on the take-up reel 8B side, and the tape 3 is automatically fed by a predetermined amount each time one chemical application is completed. It can be wound up.

  A moving means 4 is provided at the center of the front surface of the apparatus main body 12. The moving means 4 moves the pressure-bonding head 2 attached to the lower end portion up and down so that the substrate 5 placed on the upper surface 1a of the stage 1 and the pressure-bonding head 2 are mutually connected with the tape 3 interposed therebetween. It can be crimped, and includes a Z stage 14, a motor 15, and a ball screw 16. In this case, the amount of pressure bonding between the substrate 5 and the pressure bonding head 2 (the distance between the upper surface of the substrate 5 and the lower surface of the tape 3 under the pressure bonding surface 2a of the pressure bonding head 2 and the surface of the surface layer 10) is as follows. The height of the moving means 4 is managed and controlled by a height sensor (not shown) provided in the moving means 4.

  Here, the Z stage 14 moves up and down along a pair of rails 17 that are fixed to the apparatus main body 12 by attaching the pressure-bonding head 2 to the head attachment portion 14a provided at the lower end. On the part side, at a position retracted upward from the pressure-bonding surface 2a of the pressure-bonding head 2 in the Z-axis direction, a tape guide 18 protrudes in front of the Y-axis direction symmetrically with the pressure-bonding head 2 in between. The motor 15 serves as a driving source that gives a driving force for vertical movement to the Z stage 14, and is fixed to a motor mounting portion 12 a that projects from the front surface of the apparatus main body 12. Further, the ball screw 16 converts the rotational force of the motor 15 into a linear drive force of the Z stage 14 and is directly connected to the rotational shaft of the motor 15.

Next, the operation of the chemical solution applying apparatus configured as described above and the chemical solution applying method will be described with reference to FIG.
First, for example, the position of a wet defect portion of the alignment film of the substrate 5 for liquid crystal display (the portion where the alignment film was repelled and could not be applied, hereinafter referred to as “fog defect portion”) is detected in advance by a defect inspection apparatus, The position data is read into a control personal computer (not shown) from an external memory such as an FD or a CD-ROM that stores the position data. At this time, the center of the stage 1 of the chemical solution coating apparatus of the present invention is positioned at the origin of the XY coordinate axes.

  Next, the substrate 5 is positioned and placed on the stage 1. As a result, the center of the substrate 5 is positioned substantially at the origin of the XY coordinates. Subsequently, among the position data of the repelling defect portion, the position data of the first repelling defect is read out and coordinate-converted into the position data on the XY coordinates.

  Thereafter, the stage 1 is moved in the X-axis and Y-axis directions based on the coordinate-converted position data, and is within the field of view of an objective lens of a microscope (not shown) provided at a predetermined distance from the center of the crimping head 2. The repelling defect portion is positioned. At this time, when the repelling defect portion is not at the center of the visual field of the objective lens, the stage 1 is finely moved to position the repelling defect portion at the visual field center of the objective lens.

  Here, the size (area) of the repelling defect portion is measured, and the amount of the chemical applied is calculated from the area and the known coating thickness, and at the same time, the stamp 6 of the pressing head suitable for the size is selected. Is done. Then, for example, as shown in FIG. 5A, an amount of the chemical solution 19 corresponding to the calculated application amount is dropped onto the repelling defect portion by the discharge needle 20 of the dispenser.

  Next, the stage 1 is moved by a predetermined distance in the X-axis and Y-axis directions, and as shown in FIG. 5B, the repelling defect portion is positioned directly below the selected stamp 6 (for example, the middle stamp). It is done. At this time, the distance between the center of the crimping head 2 and the center of the field of view of the objective lens of the microscope is known, and the distance between the center of the crimping head 2 and the center of each stamp 6 is also known. It is possible to position the part under the selected stamp 6 by moving it from under the microscope.

  Subsequently, the Z stage 14 descends while the motor 15 of the moving means 4 is driven to rotate forward and the tape 3 is pushed down by the crimping head 2 attached to the lower end of the Z stage 14. Then, as shown in FIG. 5 (c), the pressure bonding surface 2 a of the selected stamp 6 of the pressure bonding head 2 is pressure bonded to the surface of the substrate 5 through the tape 3. At this time, the height of the crimping surface 2a of the crimping head 2 is controlled based on the output of the height sensor provided in the moving means 4, and the lower surface of the tape 3 located below the upper surface of the substrate 5 and the crimping head 2. Is set to a predetermined value (corresponding to the coating film thickness). As a result, the chemical liquid 19 dropped on the repelling defect portion of the substrate 5 is spread by the pressure bonding by the pressure-bonding head 2, and at least the repelling defect portion is filled with the chemical liquid 19.

  When the Z stage 14 is lowered, the take-up motor is stopped. For example, when the rotary shaft 13B is braked, the tape 3 is pulled from the supply reel 8A by a predetermined back tension as the Z stage 14 is lowered. In this state, it is supplied in the direction of arrow B in FIG.

  Next, in the state where the motor 15 of the moving means 4 is driven in reverse to raise the Z stage 14 and the pressure bonding between the substrate 5 and the pressure bonding head 2 is released as shown in FIG. In the case of a curable resin, the chemical liquid 19 is cured by irradiating ultraviolet rays from below or above the substrate 5. Further, when the chemical liquid 19 is a thermosetting resin, the chemical liquid 19 is cured by irradiating infrared rays from below or above the substrate 5. The chemical solution 19 may be cured in a state where the substrate 5 and the pressure-bonding head 2 are pressure-bonded.

  When the Z stage 14 is raised, it is detected by a sensor (not shown), and when the winding motor is driven to rotate forward as the Z stage 14 is raised, the tape 3 is wound in the direction of arrow C in FIG. 3, the used portion where a part of the chemical liquid 19 is attached to the surface of the surface 3 moves from the lower side of the crimping head 2 to the take-up reel 8B side, and the unused portion of the tape 3 is newly positioned below the crimping head 2. . Thereby, the unused part of the tape 3 can be used at the time of chemical | medical solution application | coating with respect to the next repellency defect part.

  In the above-described embodiment, the case where the chemical liquid 19 is dropped by the discharge needle 20 of the dispenser has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and various methods such as a contact coating method using a dispenser or a non-contact coating method using an inkjet. The chemical liquid 19 may be applied to the repelling defect portion by the above.

  In the above-described embodiment, the case where the liquid crystal display substrate is used for correcting the repellency defect of the alignment film has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the defect of the coating film formed on the substrate 5 is corrected. As long as it is a thing, it can be used for any kind of defect correction of a color filter substrate.

  Furthermore, in the said embodiment, when crimping | bonding the board | substrate 5 and the crimping | compression-bonding head 2 was demonstrated about the case where the crimping | compression-bonding head 2 side is moved to a Z-axis direction, this invention is not restricted to this, The stage 1 side is moved. You may move in the Z-axis direction. Alternatively, both the stage 1 and the crimping head 2 may be moved.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Stage 1a ... Upper surface 2 ... Crimp head 2a ... Crimp surface 3 ... Tape 4 ... Moving means 5 ... Substrate 6 ... Stamp 8 ... Reel 8A ... Supply reel 8B ... Take-up reel 19 ... Chemical solution

Claims (7)

A stage on which a substrate is placed and moved in a horizontal plane;
A crimping head disposed above the stage, and crimped to the upper surface of the substrate placed on the stage to push the chemical dropped onto the substrate to a predetermined thickness;
A tape spanned between a pair of reels arranged on the left and right with the pressure-bonding head in between via the pressure-bonding surface side of the pressure-bonding head;
Moving means that allows the stage and the pressure-bonding head to relatively move up and down to allow the substrate and the pressure-bonding head to be pressure-bonded to each other with the tape interposed therebetween,
A chemical solution coating apparatus characterized by comprising:   2. The crimping head according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of stamps having different crimping surface areas are arranged side by side, and one of the plurality of stamps can be appropriately selected according to the application area of the chemical solution. The chemical | medical solution coating device of description.   3. The chemical solution coating apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the tape is automatically wound up by a predetermined amount after the chemical solution is applied.   The said moving means is provided with the height sensor, Based on the output of this height sensor, it enabled control of the amount of crimping of the said board | substrate and the said crimping | compression-bonding head. The chemical | medical solution application apparatus as described in 1 .. A predetermined amount of chemical solution is dropped on the substrate,
The substrate and the pressure bonding head disposed above the substrate are pressed against each other with a tape interposed therebetween to spread the chemical solution to a predetermined thickness,
Curing the spread chemical,
A method for applying a chemical solution.   6. The crimping head according to claim 5, wherein a plurality of stamps having different crimping surface areas are arranged side by side, and one stamp can be appropriately selected from the plurality of stamps according to the application area of the chemical solution. The chemical | medical solution application method of description.   7. The chemical solution coating method according to claim 5, wherein the tape is automatically wound up by a predetermined amount after the chemical solution is applied.