JP2022176039A - Heater unit for heat treatment oven - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a heater unit for a heat treatment oven, the heater unit suppressing occurrence of particles in a chamber to improve cooling speed at the time of cooling.SOLUTION: A heater unit for a heat treatment oven can be configured to include: a sleeve that is attached to one ends of an upper plate and a lower plate, the upper plate and the lower plate coupled to an upper side and a lower side of a heating element, respectively, in a sandwich structure and guides a heater wire so that the heater wire is exposed to the outside; sleeve fixation blocks that are positioned on the upper side and the lower side of the sleeve and are attached to one end parts of the upper plate and the lower plate so as to enhance a degree of airtightness between the upper plate and the lower plate, respectively, to inhibit particles from being caused by mutual friction of the upper plate and the lower plate; and cooling means mounted on the heater unit to make cooling fluid on the outer side flow.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 7

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a heater unit for a heat treatment oven, and more particularly, a heater for a heat treatment oven that increases the airtightness of the heater unit to suppress the generation of particles in the chamber of the heat treatment oven and improve the cooling rate during cooling. regarding the unit.

Recently, displays have been applied to various kinds of image devices such as TVs, mobile phones, monitors, etc. With rapid technological development, efforts are being made to improve the performance of the products. Organic light emitting display devices and LCD substrates (hereinafter referred to as 'substrates' or 'glass substrates') are one of next-generation display devices and have been applied to various product fields. The glass substrates that make up the display device are manufactured by heat treatment, and in order to meet the conditions required for each process during heat treatment, it is necessary to prevent the influence of the outside air and minimize the heat emitted outside the chamber. must be kept to As a result, deterioration in performance can be prevented, and the defective rate of products can be reduced. In addition, in order to improve the yield of finished products, it is better to have less in-plane variations in the substrate during heat treatment.

In manufacturing substrates, temperature control and temperature uniformity are essential to maintain good substrate quality and yield. For example, in a substrate manufacturing process using a heat treatment oven, since an organic layer is formed on the surface of the substrate and can contain a certain amount of water, a drying process is required to evaporate the water. , a cleaning process is performed before coating the surface of the substrate with a photosensitive film, and after the cleaning process, a heating and drying process is performed to remove moisture. Most of the substrate manufacturing processes include heating and drying processes. manufactures the substrates. Moisture generated from the substrate manufacturing process is removed by using infrared rays or by heating and drying in a heat treatment oven chamber containing a heating element such as a sheath heater. is doing. In this regard, Korean Patent No. 10-1238560 and Korean Patent Publication No. 10-2013-0028322 propose an “LCD glass oven chamber”.

On the other hand, in order to heat-treat the substrate through the heat-treating oven, it is important to control the cleanliness of the heat-treating space in order to increase the manufacturing yield of the substrate. there is

For example, it is necessary to improve the cooling rate of the heater, and to control the problem of particles such as dust and foreign matter generated from the heater unit scattering inside the chamber and reducing the yield of heat treatment of substrates. However, the conventional heater unit is structurally difficult to improve the cooling rate and control the scattering of particles generated in the heat treatment process.

That is, in the conventional heater unit, when the heating element (Ml heater-micro sheathed heater) generates heat, the heating element and the upper plate and the lower plate expand, and the temperature and thermal expansion coefficient of each material are different, so the friction between the materials is increased. Generates a large amount of foreign matter (particles).

If the foreign matters are discharged outside through the gap between the upper plate and the lower plate, the defective rate of the heat-treated substrate increases and the yield decreases, so that it is necessary to improve the structure of the heater unit.

In addition, if a cooling process is required according to the heat treatment process in the heat treatment oven, it is necessary to improve the cooling rate in order to increase the manufacturing yield of the substrate. has a limit.

Korean Patent No. 10-1238560 (publication date: February 28, 2013) Korean Patent No. 10-0722154 (publication date: May 28, 2007) Korean Patent Publication No. 10-2013-0028322 (Published date: March 19, 2013)

One of the technical problems to be solved by the present invention is to suppress the generation of particles in the chamber of the heat treatment oven by increasing the degree of airtightness of the heater unit.

One of the technical problems to be solved by the present invention is to improve the cooling speed during cooling by making the heater unit itself have cooling performance.

The above object is achieved according to the present invention in a heater unit for a heat treatment oven, wherein an upper plate and a lower plate are combined in a sandwich structure on the upper and lower sides of a heating element, respectively, and the upper plate and the lower plate are combined. a sleeve installed at one end of the heater wire to guide the heater wire to be exposed to the outside; and a sleeve located at the upper and lower sides of the sleeve to increase the sealing degree between the upper plate and the lower plate, respectively. a sleeve fixing block attached to one end of the plate and the lower plate to suppress the generation of particles due to friction between the upper plate and the lower plate; and a sleeve fixing block attached to the heater unit to flow the cooling fluid on the outside. cooling means; and;

According to an embodiment of the present invention, in order to minimize the gap between the sleeve and the upper plate and the lower plate, the outer shape of the sleeve is cylindrical, and the sleeve fixing blocks are arranged on the respective sleeves. A semi-circular groove can be machined at the corresponding position where the sleeve is coupled so that the sleeve can be tightly coupled.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the sleeve fixing block is divided into an upper sleeve fixing block and a lower sleeve fixing block, and the upper sleeve fixing block and the lower sleeve fixing block are respectively It can be configured with semi-circular grooves at corresponding locations so that a circular sleeve can be tightly inductively coupled.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the cooling means may comprise cooling ducts in intimate contact along the surface of the lower plate for flowing a cooling fluid.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the cooling duct may be configured by mounting a separate plate under the lower plate.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the cooling means may further comprise a cooling air flow hole provided in the lower plate for allowing cooling fluid flowing along the cooling duct to flow in contact with the heating element. .

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY The present invention can suppress the scattering of particles generated from the heater unit during the heat treatment process of the substrate using the heat treatment oven, thereby enabling cleanliness control in the chamber of the heat treatment oven to achieve high yield and high yield. This has the effect of making it possible to manufacture quality substrates.

In addition, the present invention improves the cooling rate in the heat treatment process that requires cooling during the heat treatment process of the substrate using the heat treatment oven, and shortens the time required for cooling, thereby shortening the time required for the heat treatment process. is shortened and the production yield of substrates is improved.

1 is an exemplary diagram showing a heat treatment oven; FIG. It is an exemplary view showing the front of a heat treatment oven. It is an exemplary view showing a plane of a heat treatment oven. 1 is an exemplary view showing one side of a heat treatment oven; FIG. FIG. 4 is an exemplary view of a heater unit arranged in a heat treatment oven; FIG. 2 is an exemplary view showing a plan view of an arrangement structure of a plurality of heater units arranged in a heat treatment oven; FIG. 3 is an exemplary view showing a heater unit of a heat treatment oven according to one embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 3 is an exemplary view showing the main parts of the heater unit of the heat treatment oven according to one embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA′ of FIG. 7 and is an exemplary view showing the cross-sectional structure of the heater unit of the heat treatment oven according to one embodiment of the present invention.

A "heater unit for a heat treatment oven" according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described below.

FIG. 1 is an exemplary diagram showing a heat treatment oven. FIG. 2 is an exemplary view showing the front of the heat treatment oven. FIG. 3 is an exemplary view showing the plane of the heat treatment oven. FIG. 4 is an exemplary view showing a side view of the heat treatment oven.

1 to 4 show the overall structure of the heat treatment oven 100, and are exemplary views of the heat treatment oven 100 including a chamber 200. FIG.

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 4, the heat treatment oven 100 takes a heat treatment target substrate into each stage provided in the chamber 200 to heat the substrate, or puts the heat treated substrate into the chamber 200 . 200, a door portion 110 can be provided on the rear portion and a shutter portion 120 can be provided on the front portion.

In addition, the heat treatment oven 100 includes a chamber 200 containing substrates that need to be heated or dried, and a plurality of heater units 300 comprising heating elements 310 (see FIGS. 8 and 9) are mounted in the chamber 200. Thus, the heat generated from the heater unit 300 heats the substrate or evaporates and dries the moisture.

In addition, the heat treatment oven 100 has an air supply port for inflowing fluid including process gas and an exhaust port for exhausting the fluid in the chamber 200 on one side of the chamber 200 , and a frame with lugs supporting the chamber 200 . , and a conductive portion to which a large number of bus bars 301 are connected to which the heating wires of the heater unit 300 are connected so as to pass current.

8 and 9, an upper plate 311 and a lower plate, which are heating plates, are provided above and below the heating element 310 constituting the heater unit 300, although it depends on the specifications. 312 are placed in close contact with each other to effectively perform the substrate heating process performed in the chamber 200 .

On the other hand, in FIGS. 1 and 4, unexplained reference numerals “210” and “220” indicate “inner and outer casings” of the chamber 200. As shown in FIG. An unexplained reference numeral '230' denotes a 'cooling jacket' that forms a cooling airflow in the chamber 200 and cools the chamber 200 with a uniform temperature distribution through a cooling airflow guideway formed inside the chamber 200. FIG. An unexplained reference numeral “240” indicates a “power supply unit” that protrudes a feedthrough and supplies power into the chamber 200 through this.

By the way, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 4, the basic configuration constituting the heat treatment oven 100, for example, the structure of the chamber 200, the process gas supply and exhaust system, and the power supply to the heater unit 300 The configuration of the conductive portion including the bus bar 301 and the power supply portion 240 is not directly related to the present invention. Also, since the basic configuration of the heat treatment oven 100 is a well-known configuration that is irrelevant to the subject matter of the present invention, the description of the configuration and operation of the present invention will be omitted.

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 4, a heat treatment oven generally takes a substrate to be heat-treated into each stage provided in a chamber in which a heater unit is installed to heat-treat the substrate. In order to take out the processed substrate from the chamber, the rear portion may be provided with a door portion, and the front portion may be provided with a shutter portion.

In addition, the heat treatment oven includes a chamber containing a substrate that needs to be heated or dried, and a heater unit comprising a heating element is mounted in the chamber to heat the substrate with heat generated from the heater unit. Alternatively, it can be configured to evaporate and dry moisture.

In addition, although it differs depending on the specifications, in general, an upper plate and a lower plate are closely attached to the upper and lower portions of the heating element constituting the heater unit to perform the substrate heating process.

In addition, on one side of the chamber of the heat treatment oven, an air supply port for inflowing fluid including process gas and an exhaust port for exhausting fluid in the chamber are provided, and a frame with lugs for supporting and supporting the chamber, and a heater unit. and a conductive portion to which a large number of bus bars are connected for connecting the heating wires of the heating wire and passing the electric current.

On the other hand, in order to heat-treat the substrate through the heat-treating oven, there are required conditions for each process, and in order to mass-produce more good products in the same time, the structure can raise the temperature faster and cool it down. and requires cleanliness control of the heat treatment space.

For example, it is necessary to improve the cooling speed of the heater unit and appropriately control the problem of particles such as dust and foreign matter in the heater unit scattering inside the chamber. However, it is difficult to improve the cooling rate and structurally control the scattering of particles generated in the heat treatment process.

In other words, in the conventional heater unit, the heating element and the upper and lower plates expand when heat is generated, and the materials have different temperatures and coefficients of thermal expansion, causing friction between the materials and generating particles. .

When such foreign matter is discharged outside through the gaps between the sleeve and the upper and lower plates, it scatters and flows into the chamber, thereby increasing the defect rate of the heat-treated substrates and lowering the yield.

In addition, if a cooling process is required according to the heat treatment process in the heat treatment oven, it is necessary to improve the cooling rate in order to increase the production yield of the substrate, but the conventional heater unit artificially increases or controls the cooling rate. hard to do.

Accordingly, in order to enable cleanliness control within the chamber of the heat treatment oven, the present invention provides a relatively fragile portion where particles such as dust and foreign matter may scatter from the inside of the heating element of the heater unit to the outside. In order to seal the space between a sleeve and the upper plate and the lower plate in a closed structure, the sleeve shape is made cylindrical, and another upper side and a lower side which can be fixed in the closed structure. A heater unit capable of controlling the cleanliness in the chamber of a heat treatment oven during the heat treatment process by improving the degree of airtightness by fastening the sleeve fixing block.

In addition, in order to improve the cooling performance of the heater unit, the present invention directly configures the cooling duct in the heater unit to improve the cooling speed in the substrate heat treatment process that requires cooling, thereby shortening the cooling time. To provide a heater unit capable of shortening the time of a heat treatment process and contributing to an increase in substrate manufacturing yield.

Next, the main components of the heater unit of the heat treatment oven according to the present invention will be specifically described with reference to FIGS. 5 to 9. FIG.

FIG. 5 is an exemplary view of a heater unit arranged in a heat treatment oven. FIG. 6 is an exemplary view showing a planar structure of a heater unit arranged in a heat treatment oven.

A heater unit of a heat treatment oven according to an embodiment of the present invention, as shown in FIGS. 7 to 9, changes the structure of the heater unit to enable cleanliness control in the chamber of the heat treatment oven and increase the cooling speed. can be configured to shorten the heat treatment process time and increase the manufacturing yield of the substrate.

FIG. 7 is an exemplary view showing a heater unit of a heat treatment oven according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is an exemplary view showing main parts of a heater unit of a heat treatment oven according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA' of FIG. 7, and is an exemplary view showing a cross-sectional structure of a heater unit of a heat treatment oven according to an embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIGS. 7 to 9, the heater unit 300 of the heat treatment oven according to the embodiment of the present invention is sandwiched between upper and lower plates 311 and 312 with a heating element 310 sandwiched therebetween. A sleeve 314 is attached to one end of the upper plate 311 and the lower plate 312 to guide the heater wire 313 to be exposed to the outside.

The upper plate 311 and the lower plate 311 are positioned at the upper side and the lower side of the sleeve 314 and attached to one end of the upper plate 311 and the lower plate 312 so as to increase the sealing degree between the upper plate 311 and the lower plate 312, respectively. A sleeve fixing block 315 that suppresses the generation of particles due to mutual friction with the sleeve 312 may be included.

It may include a cooling means mounted along the surface of the heater unit 300 and flowing a cooling fluid on the outside.

The heat treatment oven heater unit 300 according to one embodiment of the present invention also minimizes the gap between the sleeve 314 and the top and bottom plates 311 and 312, as shown in FIGS. For this reason, the outer shape of the sleeves 314 is formed cylindrical, and the sleeve fixing block 315 has semi-circular grooves 316 corresponding to the positions where the sleeves 314 are coupled so that the respective sleeves 314 can be tightly coupled. It can be processed and configured.

Here, the semi-circular grooves 316 provided in the cylindrical sleeve 314 and the sleeve fixing block 315 minimize the gap between the sleeve 314 and the upper and lower plates 311 and 312, increasing the degree of sealing. It can be a shape that is advantageous for assembly.

In addition, the sleeve fixing block 315 may have a structure divided into an upper sleeve fixing block 317 and a lower sleeve fixing block 318 . In other words, the sleeve fixing block 315 is preferably divided into an upper sleeve fixing block 317 and a lower sleeve fixing block 318, respectively, and assembled into separate structures, which are closely attached and inductively coupled to the circular sleeve 314 respectively. can be configured with semi-circular grooves 316 at corresponding locations to allow

Here, the cylindrical sleeve 314 and the semi-circular grooves 316 respectively formed in corresponding positions of the upper sleeve fixing block 317 and the lower sleeve fixing block 318 are formed between the sleeve 314 and the upper plate 311 and the lower plate 312 . The shape can be advantageous for assembly while minimizing gaps between and increasing the degree of sealing.

In addition, the cooling means configured in the heater unit 300 of the heat treatment oven according to an embodiment of the present invention may be configured with a cooling duct 320 that closely contacts the surface of the lower plate 312 and causes cooling fluid to flow.

In addition, the cooling duct 320 constituting the cooling means may be constructed by attaching a separate plate 321 to the lower portion of the lower plate 312 .

The cooling means also includes cooling air flow holes 312a provided in the lower plate 312 for allowing the cooling fluid flowing along the cooling duct 320 to flow in contact with the heating element 310, as shown in FIG. It can be configured with more.

As described above, the heater unit of the heat treatment oven according to the present invention includes the sleeve, the upper plate, and the lower plate, which are relatively fragile portions where particles such as dust and foreign matter can scatter from the inside of the heating element of the heater unit to the outside. Since the heater unit can be manufactured by increasing the airtightness of the space between them with a closed structure, it is possible to control the cleanliness inside the chamber of the heat treatment oven during the heat treatment process, thereby achieving high yield and high quality substrates. It has the advantage of making it possible to manufacture

Further, according to the present invention, a cooling duct is provided in the heater unit to improve the cooling rate in the heat treatment process of a substrate that needs to be cooled, thereby shortening the time required for cooling. There is an advantage that it can be shortened and an increase in substrate manufacturing yield can be expected.

Although the present invention has been described with reference to an illustrated embodiment, it is not limited to this embodiment and can be practiced with modifications and changes without departing from the spirit of the invention. It should be understood that modifications are also included in the technical concept of the present invention.

100 heat treatment oven 200 chamber 300 heater unit 301 busbar
310 heating element (Ml Heater-micro sheathed heater)
311 upper plate 312 lower plate 312a cooling air flow hole 313 heater wire
314 sleeve
315 sleeve fixing block 316 semicircular groove 317 upper sleeve fixing block 318 lower sleeve fixing block 320 cooling duct 321 plate

Claims (5)

A heater unit for a heat treatment oven,
a sleeve in which the upper plate and the lower plate are combined in a sandwich structure on the upper and lower sides of the heating element, respectively, and which is mounted on one end of the upper plate and the lower plate to guide the heater wire to be exposed to the outside;
Positioned at the upper and lower sides of the sleeve and attached to one end of the upper plate and the lower plate so as to enhance sealing between the upper plate and the lower plate respectively, the upper plate and the lower plate are mutually connected. a sleeve fixing block that suppresses particle generation due to friction between;
A heater unit of a heat treatment oven, comprising: a cooling means mounted on the heater unit for flowing a cooling fluid on the outside. In order to minimize the gap between the sleeve and the upper plate and the lower plate, the outer shape of the sleeve may be cylindrical, and the sleeve fixing block may tightly couple the sleeves. 2. The heater unit of a heat treatment oven as set forth in claim 1, wherein a semi-circular groove is machined at a corresponding position to which the sleeve is coupled. The sleeve fixing block is divided into an upper sleeve fixing block and a lower sleeve fixing block, and the upper sleeve fixing block and the lower sleeve fixing block are inductively coupled by closely contacting circular sleeves, respectively. 2. The heater unit of a heat treatment oven as claimed in claim 1, characterized by having a semi-circular groove at a corresponding position so as to allow the heating of the heat treatment oven. 2. The heater unit of a heat treatment oven as set forth in claim 1, wherein said cooling means comprises a cooling duct that closely contacts with the surface of said lower plate and causes a cooling fluid to flow. The cooling means is
2. The heater unit of a heat treatment oven as set forth in claim 1, further comprising a cooling airflow hole provided in said lower plate for allowing a cooling fluid flowing along the cooling duct to flow in contact with the heating element. .

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