JP3625279B2

JP3625279B2 - Disc substrate processing method and apparatus

Info

Publication number: JP3625279B2
Application number: JP2001330214A
Authority: JP
Inventors: 孝祐稲谷; 正彦琴寄; 隆之鈴木; 秀雄小林
Original assignee: Origin Electric Co Ltd
Current assignee: Origin Electric Co Ltd
Priority date: 2001-10-29
Filing date: 2001-10-29
Publication date: 2005-03-02
Anticipated expiration: 2021-10-29
Also published as: JP2003132590A

Description

【０００１】
【産業上の利用分野】
本発明は、ＣＤ−Ｒ又はＤＶＤ−Ｒなどのような有機色素膜をもった追記型の光ディスク、及びＭＯやＭＤなどの光磁気デイスクのディスク基板の熱処理に関する。
【０００２】
【従来技術】
一般に、ＣＤ−Ｒ又はＤＶＤ−Ｒにあっては、射出成形されたディスク基板にスピンコートなどの方法により液状の有機色素材料を一様に塗布して薄い有機色素を形成し、この有機色素膜を書換え可能な記録膜として用いている。塗布前の有機色素材料は溶剤によって液状になっており、通常はディスク基板に有機色素液を一様に塗布した後に、溶剤を完全に除去し、光ディスクの品質の向上と安定化、再生信号の安定化などのために熱処理を行って乾燥している場合が多い。
【０００３】
この熱処理は、従来の場合、１ｍ／ｓよりも小さな風速、つまり非常にゆるやかな風速で高温の空気又は窒素のような気体を熱処理室に供給し、その熱処理室を順次搬送されるディスク基板全面の温度を５０〜１５０℃程度まで上昇させる。この温度を所定時間保持し、加熱処理を行うことにより所期の目的が達成される。このように高温の空気又は窒素のような気体を１ｍ／ｓよりも小さな風速で熱処理室内に流すのは、熱処理室内の温度を均一にするためであり、１ｍ／ｓ以上の風速で５０〜１５０℃程度の温度の空気又は窒素のような気体を熱処理室内に流すと、ディスク基板全面の温度が不均一になる。
【０００４】
【発明が解決しようとする課題】
したがって、従来のディスク基板の熱処理方法としては、５０〜１５０℃程度の高温の空気又は窒素のような気体を１ｍ／ｓよりも小さな風速で熱処理室内に流している。しかし、この場合には、ディスク基板全面が均一に所望の温度に上昇するまでには長時間、例えば図１１に示すように１５分程度、あるいは図示しないが２０〜３０分かかるため、熱処理室を長くせねばならず、装置全体が大型化すると同時に、装置コストが高くなるという欠点があった。
本発明はこのような従来の問題点を解決するため、熱処理装置を昇温部、定温保持部、冷却部の三つから構成し、昇温部では短時間、例えば１分以下で所定の温度までディスク基板を温度上昇させ、定温保持部ではそのディスク基板温度を安定に所定の熱処理時間保持し、冷却部では短時間、例えば１分以下で下限温度以下の温度まで低下させ、これにより熱処理装置全体を小型化し、熱処理時間の短縮も図ったものである。
【０００５】
【課題を解決するための手段】
この課題を解決するため、請求項１の発明は、ディスク基板の処理方法において、５０℃から前記ディスク基板の軟化温度よりも低い範囲の温度の気体を１〜１０ｍ／ｓの風速で前記ディスク基板に吹き付けてこれらディスク基板の温度を急速に上昇させる急速昇温工程と、５０℃から前記ディスク基板の軟化温度よりも低い範囲の温度の領域で、前記ディスク基板の上昇した前記温度を所定の時間保持する温度保持工程と、室温程度以下の温度の気体を１〜１０ｍ／ｓの風速で前記ディスク基板に吹き付けてその温度を急速に低下させる急冷工程とからなるディスク基板の熱処理方法を提案するものである。
この発明によれば、短時間でディスク基板を所定温度まで上昇させ、また室温まで短時間で低下させることができるので、熱処理時間を大幅に短縮できる。
【０００６】
請求項２の発明は、上記課題を解決するため、請求項１において、前記急速昇温工程から前記急冷工程までの工程にわたり、前記ディスク基板の移送方向に対して前記ディスク基板がほぼ直角になるようある間隔で配置し、前記ディスク基板の移送方向に対してほぼ直角になる方向から前記それぞれの気体を吹きつけるディスク基板の熱処理方法を提案するものである。
請求項２によれば、ディスク基板間を高速で気体が通過するので、短時間でディスク基板を昇温、又は降温させることができる。
【０００７】
請求項３の発明は、上記課題を解決するため、前記ディスク基板の直径よりも大きな直径をもつ円状の開口をもつ遮蔽壁により仕切られた三つの領域であって、加熱された気体を前記ディスク基板に吹き付けて急速にその温度を上昇させる昇温部と、加熱された気体で前記ディスク基板の上昇した前記温度を所定時間保持する定温保持部と、室温程度以下の温度の気体を前記ディスク基板に吹き付けることにより前記ディスク基板の温度を急速に低下させる冷却部とからなる熱処理室と、前記複数のディスク基板をある間隔で互いに平行になるように並べた状態で順次搬送する搬送機構とを備えたディスク基板の熱処理装置を提案するものである。
請求項３によれば、短時間でディスク基板を所定温度まで上昇させ、また室温まで短時間で低下させることができるので、熱処理時間を大幅に短縮でき、熱処理装置を小型化できる。
【０００８】
請求項４の発明は、上記課題を解決するため、請求項３において、前記昇温部は５０℃から前記ディスク基板の軟化温度よりも低い範囲の温度の気体を１〜１０ｍ／ｓの風速で前記ディスク基板に吹き付けてこれらディスク基板の温度を急速に上昇させるディスク基板の熱処理装置を提案するものである。このように、ディスク基板を設定温度まで急速に上昇させることができるので、熱処理装置を小型化できる。
【０００９】
請求項５の発明では、上記課題を解決するため、請求項３又は請求項４において、前記定温保持部は５０℃から前記ディスク基板の軟化温度よりも低い範囲の温度の雰囲気中で、前記昇温部で昇温された前記ディスク基板の温度をほぼ一定に保持するディスク基板の熱処理装置を提案するものである。
搬送するディスク基板間の間隔をより小さくできるので、熱処理装置をより小型化できる。
【００１０】
請求項６の発明では、上記課題を解決するため、請求項３ないし請求項５のいずれかにおいて、前記冷却部は室温程度以下の温度の気体を１〜１０ｍ／ｓの風速で前記定温保持部から移送されて来る前記ディスク基板に吹き付けて、これらディスク基板の温度を急速に低下させるディスク基板の熱処理装置を提案するものである。
請求項６によれば、冷却部の長さを短くでき、熱処理装置をより小型化できる。
【００１１】
請求項７の発明では、上記課題を解決するため、請求項３ないし請求項６のいずれかにおいて、前記昇温部と冷却部の双方又は一方は前記ディスク基板の搬送方向に長い長さとこれよりも短く、かつ前記ディスク基板の直径よりも小さい幅とを有するスリットからなる気体吹き出し穴を備え、この気体吹き出し穴は前記ディスク基板の搬送方向に沿った四つの壁の一つにおける前記ディスク基板の最大径の部分に対向する位置に配置され、前記気体吹き出し穴の形成された前記壁のうちの対向する壁に気体排出穴が備えられたディスク基板の熱処理装置を提案するものである。
気体を均一に吹き出すことができ、気体がディスク基板間を速い速度で通過することができるので、よりディスク基板の昇温、降温の時間を短縮できる。
【００１２】
請求項８の発明では、上記課題を解決するため、請求項３ないし請求項７のいずれかにおいて、前記定温保持部は前記ディスク基板の搬送方向に沿った四つの壁の一つに設けられた多数の孔からなる気体供給部を備え、前記気体供給部の形成された前記壁のうちの対向する壁に気体排出部が備えられ、前記気体供給部にはその多数の孔の大きさを調整するための気体調整手段を備えたディスク基板の熱処理装置を提案するものである。
供給気体の量を調整できるので、定温保持部をより簡単に設定温度に保持することができる。
【００１３】
請求項９の発明では、上記課題を解決するため、請求項３ないし請求項８のいずれかにおいて、複数の前記ディスク基板は所定の間隔で互いに平行になるよう並べられて搬送されるディスク基板の熱処理装置を提案するものである。
【００１４】
請求項１０の発明では、上記課題を解決するため、前記ディスク基板の直径よりも大きな直径をもつ円状の開口をもつ遮蔽壁により仕切られた三つの領域であって、加熱された気体を前記ディスク基板に吹き付けて急速にその温度を上昇させる昇温部と前記ディスク基板の上昇した温度を所定時間保持する定温保持部と前記ディスク基板の温度を急速に低下させる冷却部とからなる熱処理室と、前記複数のディスク基板をある間隔で互いに平行になるように並べた状態で順次搬送する搬送機構とを備え、前記搬送機構は、ある長さ又は長さ全体にわたって一定のピッチで螺旋状に形成された溝をもつ移送用シャフトを３本以上と、これら移送用シャフトを回転させるための駆動装置と、前記移送用シャフトが回転できるようにこれら移送用シャフトの両端をそれぞれ支承する一対の支承部材とからなり、この支承部材は、３本以上の前記移送用シャフトに移載された前記ディスク基板の中央穴に対応する箇所が開いた空部になっているディスク基板の熱処理装置を提案するものである。
請求項１０によれば、ディスク基板を衝撃を与えることなく静かに、かつ容易に移送用シャフトに移載することができる。
【００１５】
請求項１１の発明では、上記課題を解決するため、前記ディスク基板の直径よりも大きな直径をもつ円状の開口をもつ遮蔽壁により仕切られた三つの領域であって、加熱された気体を前記ディスク基板に吹き付けて急速にその温度を上昇させる昇温部と前記ディスク基板の上昇した温度を所定時間保持する定温保持部と前記ディスク基板の温度を急速に低下させる冷却部とからなる熱処理室と、前記複数のディスク基板をある間隔で互いに平行になるように並べた状態で順次搬送する搬送機構とを備え、前記搬送機構は、ある長さ又は長さ全体にわたって一定のピッチで螺旋状に形成された溝をもつ移送用シャフトを３本以上と、これら移送用シャフトを回転させるための駆動装置と、前記移送用シャフトが回転できるようにこれら移送用シャフトの両端をそれぞれ支承する一対の支承部材とからなり、前記支承部材とこれを支えるベ−ス部材との間には直線駆動装置が備えられており、前記移送用シャフトの温度変化による伸縮に応じて前記支承部材が動けるようにしたディスク基板の熱処理装置を提案するものである。
請求項１１によれば、移送用シャフトの熱膨張によるディスク基板への悪影響を無くすことができる。
【００１６】
【発明の実施の形態及び実施例】
記録膜としての有機色素膜の形成されたディスク基板の熱処理装置を昇温部、定温保持部、冷却部の三つから構成し、昇温部では５０〜１５０℃程度の温度の気体を１〜１０ｍ／ｓの風速でディスク基板に吹き付けて、例えば図９に示すように６０秒程度の短時間で所定の温度（例えば８０℃）までディスク基板を温度上昇させ、定温保持部でディスク基板全面の温度を均一化し、冷却部で２０〜３０℃程度の温度の気体を１〜１０ｍ／ｓの風速でディスク基板に吹き付けることにより、１分以下の短時間で３５℃程度以下の室温まで低下させ、これにより熱処理装置全体を小型化し、熱処理時間の短縮も図ったものである。
【００１７】
図１及び図２により本発明の１実施例について説明する。図１は側面から見た図、図２は上面から見た図である。これら図において、乾燥炉となる熱処理室１は２枚の側壁板２、３及びこれらと同様な２枚の仕切り板４、５によって、昇温部６、定温保持部７、冷却部８の三つの部屋に分割されている。これら昇温部６、定温保持部７、冷却部８を搬送機構９によりディスク基板１０はぼ順次通過することになる。ディスク基板１０は、追記型光ディスクであるＣＤ−Ｒ又はＤＶＤ−Ｒの製造工程途中のものであり、例えばスピンコート法などによって記録色素材料と有機溶剤とからなる有機色素薄膜が形成されている。この熱処理室１で乾燥が行われ、有機溶剤が除去され、次の工程で反射膜又は半反射膜となる金属薄膜が形成される。ディスク基板１０を搬送する搬送機構９は、所定のピッチで螺旋状に形成された溝をもつ搬送シャフト９ａ、９ｂ、９ｃからなり、多数のディスク基板は１０を所定間隔で鉛直に立てて順次送る。
【００１８】
側壁板２、３及び仕切り板４、５の詳細については図示していないが、基本的にはディスク基板１０を問題なく通過させるためにディスク基板１０の直径よりも大きな大穴と、搬送シャフト９ａ、９ｂ、９ｃの回転を妨げないように搬送シャフト９ａ、９ｂ、９ｃの直径よりも大きな三つの小穴とを有する。搬送シャフト９ａ、９ｂ、９ｃは搬送シャフト９ｂを頂点とする２等辺３角形の各角部に配置され、搬送シャフト９ａ、９ｂ、９ｃが回転することによりそれらに形成されている溝の働きで所定間隔を保ちながら順次前方に送られる。搬送シャフト９ａ、９ｂ、９ｃの駆動装置については図示するのを省いたが、共通のモータと従動ローラとベルトなどによって構成される。図面を簡単にするために、実際は搬送機構９と並列に全く同一構造の搬送機構が設置されているが、図示するのを省略した。
【００１９】
このような熱処理装置にあって、矢印で示すように昇温部６と定温保持部７では吹き出し板１１ａに形成された噴出孔から熱風が噴出され、また冷却部８では室温以下の空気又は窒素のような気体が吹き出し板１３ａから噴出される。昇温部６で熱風を噴出する孔は、図３に示すように、吹き出し板１１ａに細長く形成されたスリットＳであり、そのスリットＳは順次移送されるディスク基板１０の頂部の真上に位置し、スリットＳから熱風が搬送方向に鉛直、つまりディスク基板１０の円状面に沿うよう供給される。スリットＳは１個又は複数個であり、長さは昇温部６の搬送方向の長さとほぼ等しく、その幅はスリットを臨むディスク基板１０の上頂部から対向する下頂部を結ぶ線を中心に両側を適当な量の熱風が流れるように調整される。そのスリット幅は、幅調整手段１１ｃにより隣り合うディスク基板１０間の間隔、昇温時間、熱風の温度、風量、風速によって調整される。なお、この昇温部６における隣り合うディスク基板１０間の間隔は、ディスク基板１０の全面を一様に温度上昇させ、かつその半双方向の長さを短くして装置をできるだけ小型化するという面から、０．５ｍｍないし２ｍｍの範囲が良い。
【００２０】
このような間隔で立てられたディスク基板１０は約１分で昇温部６を通過するが、前述のように図示しないヒータで５０℃からディスク基板の軟化温度よりも低い温度（例えば１１０〜１３０℃）に加熱された気体を、１〜１０ｍ／ｓの風速、好ましくは２〜５ｍ／ｓの風速で吹き出し板１１ａのスリットから噴出することにより、各ディスク基板１０は次の定温保持部７の入口で測定すると、ディスク基板の軟化点温度よりも低い所定温度まで上昇しており、つまり１分以下で所定温度まで上昇することが確認された。したがって、この実施例では従来に比べてディスク基板１０をその軟化点温度よりも低い所定温度まで上昇するのに要する時間は大幅に短くなり、つまりこの期間でのディスク基板１０の搬送距離を大幅に短くできるのが分かる。なお、スリットから噴出された熱風はディスク基板１０間を通って昇温部６の下側の排出板１１ｂに設けられた多数の孔又はスリットから排出され、循環される。
【００２１】
次に、定温保持部７では昇温部６で所定温度に昇温された各ディスク基板１０の温度を上昇させたり、あるいは低下させずに、その設定温度に保持してディスク基板１０の有機色素薄膜から有機溶剤をほぼ完全に除去する。定温保持部７の吹き出し板１２ａには、図４に示すように多数の孔Ｈが形成されており、またそれらの孔の大きさを調整できる調整板１２ｃが備えられている。図４（Ａ）は多数の孔Ｈを全開した状態、図４（Ｂ）は多数の孔Ｈを全て閉じた状態であり、調整板１２ｃを矢印方向に動かすことにより、孔Ｈの大きさは調整される。それら孔Ｈから、熱風が搬送方向に鉛直、つまりディスク基板１０の円状面に沿うよう供給される。この熱風の温度は前記設定温度程度か、幾分高くなっており、風速は１ｍ／ｓ以下、好ましくは０．２〜０．５ｍ／ｓである。定温保持部７は、その雰囲気を前記設定温度程度に保てれば良いが、一般に要求される熱処理時間によって昇温部６に比べてデイスク基板の搬送方向の長さがかなり長くなる。ここで、従来も本発明でも設定温度での熱処理が約１０分間必要であるとすれば、前記から定温保持部７は昇温部６の１０倍程度の長さを持たなければならない。しかし、ここでのディスク基板１０の処理枚数は同じとすれば、従来も本発明も同等になる。なお、吹き出し板１２ａの多数の孔Ｈから噴出された熱風はディスク基板１０間を通って定温保持部７の下側の排出板１２ｂに設けられた多数の孔又はスリットから排出され、循環される。
【００２２】
このように、ディスク基板１０は定温保持部７において搬送機構９により順次搬送されながら乾燥され、仕切り板５を通って冷却部８に送られる。冷却部８の構造は昇温部６とほぼ同様な構造であり、その吹き出し板１３ａのスリットから噴出される気体の温度が室温程度、例えば２０〜３０℃の温度である点が異なるだけである。冷却部８では、室温程度の気体が１〜１０ｍ／ｓ、好ましくは２〜５ｍ／ｓの風速でディスク基板１０に吹き付けられるので、図１０で示すように、実験から３０秒以下の時間で前記設定温度から室温程度まで低下するのが確認された。この点、従来の方法では図１２から約６分程度かかるのが分かる。したがって、この実施例ではディスク基板１０の搬送速度を考慮して、ディスク基板１０がほぼ３０秒から６０秒間かけて冷却部８を通過するよう冷却部８の長さを決めた。また、冷却部８でも冷却に用いられた空気は排出板１３ｂに設けられた図示しない幾つものスリット又は多数の孔から排出される。
【００２３】
以上述べた第１の実施例では、昇温部６と冷却部８の気体の風速を基準にして隣り合うディスク基板１０間隔を幾分大きくし、気体の風速があまり低下することなくディスク基板１０間を流れるようにしたが、図３に示す第２の実施例では熱せられた気体の風速が低い定温保持部７におけるディスク基板１０間を基準にした。定温保持部７ではディスク基板１０の温度を保持すれば良いので、ディスク基板１０間の間隔は十分に小さくても良いが、昇温部６と冷却部８では気体の風速があまり低下することなくディスク基板１０間を流れるようにしなければならないので、昇温部６と冷却部８におけるディスク基板１０間の間隔を大きくした。
【００２４】
熱処理室の内部を側面かみた状況を示す図５では、間隔可変式の搬送機構９を用いた一実施例を示す。間隔可変式の搬送機構９は前記実施例と同様に３本の同一構造の搬送シャフト（図では９ａだけを示している。）を用いており、各搬送シャフトは、昇温部６と冷却部８における長さにわたっての送りピッチは大きく、定温保持部７での送りピッチは小さくなっている。昇温部６と冷却部８では送りピッチが大きいだけディスク基板１０の搬送速度は大きくなるので、その分だけ長くしなければならないが、１分間程度の時間だけ昇温部６と冷却部８内にあれば良いので、昇温部６と冷却部８の長さの増加分は僅かである。それに比べて、定温保持部７での熱処理時間は長いので、定温保持部７は昇温部６と冷却部８に比べてかなりの長さが必要であり、定温保持部７における送りピッチを小さくしてディスク基板１０の搬送速度を小さくし、定温保持部７の長さを短くすることにより、熱処理室１全体の長さを短縮することができ、より一層装置の小型化が可能になる。他については第１の実施例と同様であるので、説明を省略する。
【００２５】
次に熱処理室の内部を側面かみた状況を示す図６は、図１と図２に示した昇温部６の吹き出し板１１ａ、定温保持部７の吹き出し板１２ａ、冷却部８の吹き出し板１３ａに相当する箇所に高性能フィルタであるヘパ（ＨＥＰＡ）フィルタＦ１、Ｆ２、Ｆ３（例えば、クラス１００）をそれぞれ設けた一実施例を示している。もともと熱処理室１はクリーンルーム内に設置されているが、通常あまりクリーン度の高くない雰囲気で前記熱処理が行われていた。この実施例では熱処理室１に気体を吹き込むので、ヘパフィルタを通してその気体のクリーン度を高くすることにより、熱処理室１のクリーン度をより高め、光ディスクの特性を向上させようというものである。
【００２６】
昇温部６では、前述のように図示しないヒータで５０℃からディスク基板の軟化温度よりも低い温度（例えば１１０〜１３０℃）に加熱された気体を、１〜１０ｍ／ｓの風速、好ましくは２〜５ｍ／ｓの風速でヘパフィルタＦ１を通して噴出している。これにより熱風が搬送方向に鉛直、つまりディスク基板１０の円状面に沿うよう供給される。次に、定温保持部７では、この熱風よりも幾分高いか、あるいは前記設定温度程度の気体を、風速は１ｍ／ｓ以下、好ましくは０．２〜０．５ｍ／ｓの風速でヘパフィルタＦ２を通して噴出し、定温保持部７の雰囲気を設定温度に保持している。次に、冷却部８では室温程度の気体を、１〜１０ｍ／ｓの風速、好ましくは２〜５ｍ／ｓの風速でヘパフィルタＦ３を通して噴出している。また、図示していないが、必要に応じて、熱処理室１の入口側と出口側にもヘパフィルタを設け、ヘパフィルタを通して室温の気体を搬送機構９上のディスク基板１０に吹き付ける。
【００２７】
搬送機構９の細部について、図７及び図８を用いて説明する。図５は搬送シャフト９ａ、９ｂ、９ｃ及びこれらと同一構造で並行して備えられた搬送シャフト９ａ’、９ｂ’、９ｃ’のそれぞれの一端を回転可能に支承する支承部材１５、１５’を示し、支承部材１５（１５’）は前記搬送シャフトの両端にそれぞれ備えられる。この実施例では、２ラインでデイスク基板１０、１０’を同時に熱処理して乾燥させるようになっている。搬送シャフト９ａ、９ｂ、９ｃは、支承部材１５に外輪が取り付けられたラジアルベアリング１６ａ、１６ｂ、１６ｃの内輪に固定され、支承部材１５に対して自由に回転可能になっている。搬送シャフト９ａ’、９ｂ’、９ｃ’も同様であり、ラジアルベアリング１６ａ’、１６ｂ’、１６ｃ’により自由に回転可能に支承されている。搬送シャフト９ａ、９ｂ、９ｃ及び搬送シャフト９ａ’、９ｂ’、９ｃ’は紙面側にある寸法で伸延しており、その部分には溝が形成されていない円筒状シャフトになっていて、図示しないベルトを介して図示しない駆動源に結合されている。
【００２８】
支承部材１５はその上面１５ａから下方向に延びる溝１５ｂ、１５ｃを備える。溝１５ｂは、ディスク基板１０に有機色素膜を塗布した後に、図示しない搬送アームの先端部に取り付けられた吸着手段１７に吸着保持されたディスク基板１０を搬送シャフト９ａ、９ｂ、９ｃに移載するときに、図示しない搬送アームが入り込み、ディスク基板１０に衝撃を与えることなく静かに搬送シャフト９ａ、９ｂ、９ｃにディスク基板１０を載置することを可能にする大切な役割を果たす。溝１５ｃも溝１５ｂと同様な働きを行い、ディスク基板１０’が衝撃を受けることなく静かに搬送シャフト９ａ’、９ｂ’、９ｃ’に載置されるのを可能にする。これら溝１５ｃ、１５ｂの形状は制限されず、図示しない搬送アームが紙面前方側から溝１５ｃ、１５ｂに入り込んで、ディスク基板１０、１０’を支承部材１５の紙面後方側においてそれぞれの搬送シャフト９ａ、９ｂ、９ｃ及び搬送シャフト９ａ’、９ｂ’、９ｃ’に載置するときに、搬送アームが溝１５ｃ、１５ｂの内壁に接触しなければ良い。溝１５ｃ、１５ｂを備えることにより、前記搬送アームの鉛直方向の動作、前後方向の１８０度の動作にも対応することができる。また、前記搬送アームは支承部材１５の外側にあって、ディスク基板１０、１０’を支承部材１５の内壁近傍に載置できるので、搬送機構９を短くできる。
【００２９】
このような熱処理装置にあっては、昇温部６、定温保持部７において搬送シャフト９ａ、９ｂ、９ｃ及び搬送シャフト９ａ’、９ｂ’、９ｃ’も温度上昇する。搬送シャフト９ａ、９ｂ、９ｃ及び搬送シャフト９ａ’、９ｂ’、９ｃ’が温度上昇することにより、それらの金属材料が熱膨張し、ディスク基板１０、１０’を搬送する過程で歪みを与えることがあり、この歪みが光ディスクの特性に悪影響を与えることがある。したがって、この実施例では支承部材１５と１５’のうち、支承部材１５を可動とし、支承部材１５’は固定とした。支承部材１５は、ベース部材１８に固定されたガイドレール１９に、直線駆動手段２０、取り付け部材２１を介して結合されている。直線駆動手段２０は多数のボールベアリングを循環させる通常の構造のものであり、ガイドレール１９上を自由に紙面左右方向に動くことができる。支承部材１５’はベース部材１８’に固定されている。この構造にあっては、搬送シャフト９ａ、９ｂ、９ｃ及び搬送シャフト９ａ’、９ｂ’、９ｃ’が温度上昇により熱膨張すると、その分だけ直線駆動手段２０はガイドレール１９上を図面右側に動き、また室温まで低下する過程で収縮するときには、図面左側に動く。したがって、搬送シャフト９ａ、９ｂ、９ｃ及び搬送シャフト９ａ’、９ｂ’、９ｃ’に歪みが生じることがなく、その歪みによってディスク基板１０、１０’に不必要な力がかからず、その特性に悪影響をお呼びすことはない。
【００３０】
なお、前にも触れたが、各搬送シャフト９ａ、９ｂ、９ｃ及び搬送シャフト９ａ’、９ｂ’、９ｃ’の両端は、通常のラジアルボ−ルベアリング２２を介して支承部材１５、１５’に取り付けられている。ラジアルボ−ルベアリング２２の外輪はボルト２３によって支承部材１５、１５’にそれぞれ取り付け、その内輪に各搬送シャフト９ａ、９ｂ、９ｃ及び搬送シャフト９ａ’、９ｂ’、９ｃ’の両端が固定される。
【００３１】
以上の実施例では、搬送機構として移送シャフトを用いたが、ベルトなど他の部材からなるものであっても良い。また、移送シャフトを用いる場合には３本に限ることなく、４本以上であっても良い。さらに、上記実施例ではいずれも天井側から気体を供給し、下側から排出したが、逆でも良く、横方向に気体供給口と排出口を設けても良い。また、以上の実施例ではＣＤ−Ｒ又はＤＶＤ−Ｒのような有機色素膜をもった追記型の光ディスクのディスク基板について述べたが、ＭＯ及びＭＤなど光ディスク基板のディスク基板は成形後の応力による歪みを低減して諸特性の改善を図るために熱処理を行っており、本発明にかかる熱処理方法及び装置はこの熱処理にも使用できる。
【００３２】
【発明の効果】
以上述べたように、本発明によればＣＤ−Ｒ又はＤＶＤ−Ｒなどのような有機色素膜をもった追記型の光ディスクのディスク基板の熱処理時間を大幅に短縮することができ、熱処理装置を小型化できる。さらに、請求項１０の発明によれば、搬送機構の支承部材を通してディスク基板を搬送機構に載置できるので、通常の移載機構を採用でき、ディスク基板に衝撃を与えることなく搬送機構に移載することができる。さらにまた、請求項１１の発明によれば、搬送機構の熱膨張・収縮を吸収できる構造となっているので、搬送機構の熱膨張・収縮によりディスク基板が悪影響を受けることはない。
【図面の簡単な説明】
【図１】本発明の１実施例を説明するための側面からみた図である。
【図２】本発明の１実施例を説明するための上面からみた図である。
【図３】本発明の１実施例における気体を吹き出す部分を示す図である。
【図４】本発明の１実施例における天板の一例を示す図である。
【図５】本発明の別の実施例を説明するための側面からみた図である。
【図６】本発明の更に別の実施例を説明するための側面からみた図である。
【図７】本発明の１実施例を説明するための搬送機構の一部分を示す図である。
【図８】本発明の１実施例を説明するための搬送機構の一部分を示す図である。
【図９】本発明におけるディスク基板の温度上昇特性の一例を示す図である。
【図１０】本発明におけるディスク基板の温度降下特性の一例を示す図である。
【図１１】従来におけるディスク基板の温度上昇特性の一例を示す図である。
【図１２】従来におけるディスク基板の温度降下特性の一例を示す図である。
【符号の説明】
１−熱処理室２、３−側壁板
４、５−仕切り板６−昇温部
７−定温保持部８−冷却部
９−搬送機構９ａ〜９ｃ−搬送シャフト
１０−ディスク基板１１ａ−昇温部６の吹き出し板
１１ｂ−昇温部６の排出板１２ａ−定温保持部７の吹き出し板
１２ｂ−定温保持部７の排出板１３ａ−冷却部８の吹き出し板
１３ｂ−冷却部８の排出板Ｓ−スリット
Ｈ−孔Ｆ１、Ｆ２、Ｆ３−ヘパフィルタ
１５−搬送機構１５の支承板１６ａ〜１６ｃ−ベアリング
１７−吸着手段１８−ベ−ス手段
１９−ガイドレール２０−直線駆動装置
２１−取り付け手段２２−ラジアルベアリング
２３−ボルト[0001]
[Industrial application fields]
The present invention relates to a heat treatment of a write-once optical disk having an organic dye film such as CD-R or DVD-R, and a disk substrate of a magneto-optical disk such as MO or MD.
[0002]
[Prior art]
In general, in a CD-R or DVD-R, a thin organic dye is formed by uniformly applying a liquid organic dye material onto a disk substrate formed by injection molding using a method such as spin coating. Is used as a rewritable recording film. The organic dye material before coating is liquefied by the solvent. Normally, after the organic dye solution is uniformly applied to the disk substrate, the solvent is completely removed to improve and stabilize the quality of the optical disk, It is often dried by heat treatment for stabilization.
[0003]
Conventionally, this heat treatment is performed by supplying high-temperature air or a gas such as nitrogen at a wind speed lower than 1 m / s, that is, a very gentle wind speed, to the heat treatment chamber, and sequentially transporting the heat treatment chamber through the entire surface of the disk substrate. Is raised to about 50 to 150 ° C. The intended purpose is achieved by holding this temperature for a predetermined time and performing heat treatment. The reason why high-temperature air or a gas such as nitrogen is allowed to flow into the heat treatment chamber at a wind speed smaller than 1 m / s is to make the temperature in the heat treatment chamber uniform, and 50 to 150 at a wind speed of 1 m / s or more. When a gas such as air or nitrogen having a temperature of about 0 ° C. is flowed into the heat treatment chamber, the temperature of the entire disk substrate becomes non-uniform.
[0004]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
Therefore, as a conventional heat treatment method for a disk substrate, a high-temperature air of about 50 to 150 ° C. or a gas such as nitrogen is flowed into the heat treatment chamber at a wind speed lower than 1 m / s. However, in this case, it takes a long time for the entire surface of the disk substrate to rise uniformly to the desired temperature, for example, about 15 minutes as shown in FIG. There is a drawback that the entire apparatus is increased in size and at the same time the apparatus cost is increased.
In order to solve such a conventional problem, the present invention comprises a heat treatment apparatus including a temperature raising part, a constant temperature holding part, and a cooling part, and the temperature raising part has a predetermined temperature in a short time, for example, 1 minute or less. The temperature of the disk substrate is increased to a constant temperature, and the constant temperature holding unit stably holds the disk substrate temperature for a predetermined heat treatment time, and the cooling unit reduces the temperature to a temperature below the lower limit temperature in a short time, for example, 1 minute or less, thereby The whole is downsized and heat treatment time is shortened.
[0005]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to solve this problem, according to the first aspect of the present invention, in the disk substrate processing method, a gas having a temperature in a range from 50 ° C. to a temperature lower than the softening temperature of the disk substrate is applied at a wind speed of 1 to 10 m / s. The temperature of the disk substrate is increased by a rapid heating step in which the temperature of the disk substrate is rapidly increased and a temperature range from 50 ° C. to a temperature lower than the softening temperature of the disk substrate. Proposing a heat treatment method for a disk substrate comprising: a temperature holding step for holding; and a quenching step in which a gas having a temperature of about room temperature or less is blown onto the disk substrate at a wind speed of 1 to 10 m / s to rapidly reduce the temperature. It is.
According to the present invention, since the disk substrate can be raised to a predetermined temperature in a short time and lowered to room temperature in a short time, the heat treatment time can be greatly shortened.
[0006]
In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, the invention according to claim 2 is characterized in that in claim 1, the disk substrate is substantially perpendicular to the transfer direction of the disk substrate throughout the process from the rapid heating step to the rapid cooling step. The present invention proposes a heat treatment method for a disk substrate which is arranged at a certain interval and blows the respective gases from a direction substantially perpendicular to the transfer direction of the disk substrate.
According to the second aspect, since the gas passes between the disk substrates at a high speed, the temperature of the disk substrate can be increased or decreased in a short time.
[0007]
In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, the invention of claim 3 includes three regions partitioned by a shielding wall having a circular opening having a diameter larger than the diameter of the disk substrate, and the heated gas is A temperature raising unit that sprays the disk substrate and rapidly raises its temperature, a constant temperature holding unit that holds the raised temperature of the disk substrate with a heated gas for a predetermined time, and a gas having a temperature of about room temperature or less A heat treatment chamber comprising a cooling unit that rapidly lowers the temperature of the disk substrate by spraying the substrate, and a transport mechanism that sequentially transports the plurality of disk substrates arranged in parallel to each other at a certain interval. The present invention proposes a heat treatment apparatus for a provided disk substrate.
According to the third aspect, since the disk substrate can be raised to a predetermined temperature in a short time and lowered to room temperature in a short time, the heat treatment time can be greatly shortened and the heat treatment apparatus can be downsized.
[0008]
The invention of claim 4 solves the above-mentioned problem. In claim 3, the temperature raising part is a gas having a temperature in a range from 50 ° C. to a temperature lower than the softening temperature of the disk substrate at a wind speed of 1 to 10 m / s. The present invention proposes a heat treatment apparatus for a disk substrate which sprays on the disk substrate and rapidly raises the temperature of the disk substrate. In this manner, the disk substrate can be rapidly raised to the set temperature, so that the heat treatment apparatus can be downsized.
[0009]
According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in order to solve the above problem, in the third or fourth aspect of the present invention, the constant temperature holding section is formed in an atmosphere in a temperature range from 50 ° C. to a temperature lower than the softening temperature of the disk substrate. The present invention proposes a heat treatment apparatus for a disk substrate that keeps the temperature of the disk substrate heated by the warming part substantially constant.
Since the interval between the transported disk substrates can be made smaller, the heat treatment apparatus can be made smaller.
[0010]
According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in order to solve the above-mentioned problem, in any one of the third to fifth aspects, the cooling unit is configured to hold the gas at a temperature of about room temperature or less at a wind speed of 1 to 10 m / s. The present invention proposes a heat treatment apparatus for a disk substrate which sprays onto the disk substrate transferred from the disk and rapidly lowers the temperature of the disk substrate.
According to the sixth aspect, the length of the cooling unit can be shortened, and the heat treatment apparatus can be further downsized.
[0011]
According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, in order to solve the above-mentioned problem, in any one of the third to sixth aspects, both or one of the temperature raising section and the cooling section has a longer length in the conveying direction of the disk substrate. A gas blowing hole made of a slit having a width shorter than the diameter of the disk substrate, and the gas blowing hole is formed on one of the four walls along the transport direction of the disk substrate. The present invention proposes a heat treatment apparatus for a disk substrate, which is disposed at a position facing the maximum diameter portion and has a gas discharge hole on the facing wall among the walls in which the gas blowing holes are formed.
Since the gas can be blown out uniformly and the gas can pass between the disk substrates at a high speed, it is possible to further shorten the time for raising and lowering the temperature of the disk substrate.
[0012]
According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, in order to solve the above-mentioned problem, in any one of the third to seventh aspects, the constant temperature holding portion is provided on one of the four walls along the conveying direction of the disk substrate. A gas supply unit comprising a large number of holes is provided, and a gas discharge unit is provided on the opposing wall of the walls where the gas supply unit is formed, and the size of the large number of holes is adjusted in the gas supply unit The present invention proposes a heat treatment apparatus for a disk substrate provided with gas adjusting means.
Since the amount of the supply gas can be adjusted, the constant temperature holding unit can be held at the set temperature more easily.
[0013]
According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, in order to solve the above-mentioned problem, in any one of the third to eighth aspects, the plurality of disk substrates are arranged in parallel so as to be parallel to each other at a predetermined interval. A heat treatment apparatus is proposed.
[0014]
In the invention of claim 10, in order to solve the above-mentioned problem, three regions partitioned by a shielding wall having a circular opening having a diameter larger than the diameter of the disk substrate, wherein the heated gas is A heat treatment chamber comprising: a temperature raising section for spraying the disk substrate to rapidly increase its temperature; a constant temperature holding section for retaining the elevated temperature of the disk substrate for a predetermined time; and a cooling section for rapidly lowering the temperature of the disk substrate; A transport mechanism that sequentially transports the plurality of disk substrates arranged in parallel to each other at a certain interval, and the transport mechanism is formed in a spiral shape at a constant pitch over a certain length or the entire length. Three or more transfer shafts having a groove formed therein, a driving device for rotating the transfer shafts, and a transfer system for rotating the transfer shafts. The support member is a pair of support members that support both ends of the shaft, and the support member is a hollow portion where a portion corresponding to the center hole of the disk substrate transferred to the three or more transfer shafts is opened. A disk substrate heat treatment apparatus is proposed.
According to the tenth aspect, the disk substrate can be transferred to the transfer shaft quietly and easily without giving an impact.
[0015]
In the invention of claim 11, in order to solve the above-mentioned problem, three regions partitioned by a shielding wall having a circular opening having a diameter larger than the diameter of the disk substrate, wherein the heated gas is A heat treatment chamber comprising: a temperature raising section for spraying the disk substrate to rapidly increase its temperature; a constant temperature holding section for retaining the elevated temperature of the disk substrate for a predetermined time; and a cooling section for rapidly lowering the temperature of the disk substrate; A transport mechanism that sequentially transports the plurality of disk substrates arranged in parallel to each other at a certain interval, and the transport mechanism is formed in a spiral shape at a constant pitch over a certain length or the entire length. Three or more transfer shafts having a groove formed therein, a driving device for rotating the transfer shafts, and a transfer system for rotating the transfer shafts. It is composed of a pair of support members that support both ends of the shaft, and a linear drive device is provided between the support member and the base member that supports the support member. Accordingly, the present invention proposes a heat treatment apparatus for a disk substrate in which the support member can move.
According to the eleventh aspect, the adverse effect on the disk substrate due to the thermal expansion of the transfer shaft can be eliminated.
[0016]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
A heat treatment apparatus for a disk substrate on which an organic dye film is formed as a recording film is composed of a temperature raising part, a constant temperature holding part, and a cooling part. In the temperature raising part, a gas having a temperature of about 50 to 150 ° C. is 1 to For example, as shown in FIG. 9, the disk substrate is heated to a predetermined temperature (for example, 80 ° C.) in a short time of about 60 seconds as shown in FIG. By equalizing the temperature and blowing a gas at a temperature of about 20-30 ° C. on the disk substrate at a wind speed of 1-10 m / s in the cooling section, the temperature is lowered to a room temperature of about 35 ° C. or less in a short time of 1 minute or less, As a result, the entire heat treatment apparatus is miniaturized and the heat treatment time is shortened.
[0017]
An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 1 is a side view, and FIG. 2 is a top view. In these drawings, a heat treatment chamber 1 serving as a drying furnace is composed of two side wall plates 2 and 3 and two partition plates 4 and 5 similar to these, which are a temperature raising unit 6, a constant temperature holding unit 7, and a cooling unit 8. It is divided into two rooms. The disk substrate 10 passes through the temperature raising unit 6, the constant temperature holding unit 7, and the cooling unit 8 by the transport mechanism 9. The disk substrate 10 is in the process of manufacturing a CD-R or DVD-R that is a write-once optical disk, and an organic dye thin film made of a recording dye material and an organic solvent is formed by, for example, a spin coating method. Drying is performed in the heat treatment chamber 1, the organic solvent is removed, and a metal thin film to be a reflective film or a semi-reflective film is formed in the next step. The transport mechanism 9 for transporting the disk substrate 10 is composed of transport shafts 9a, 9b, 9c having grooves formed in a spiral shape at a predetermined pitch, and a large number of disk substrates are sequentially sent by standing 10 vertically at predetermined intervals. .
[0018]
Although details of the side wall plates 2 and 3 and the partition plates 4 and 5 are not shown, basically a large hole larger than the diameter of the disk substrate 10 and a conveying shaft 9a, Three small holes larger than the diameters of the conveying shafts 9a, 9b, 9c are provided so as not to hinder the rotation of 9b, 9c. The conveyance shafts 9a, 9b, and 9c are arranged at corners of an isosceles triangle having the conveyance shaft 9b as a vertex, and the conveyance shafts 9a, 9b, and 9c are rotated by the grooves formed in the predetermined parts. Sequentially sent forward while keeping the interval. Although the illustration of the driving device for the conveying shafts 9a, 9b, and 9c is omitted, it is configured by a common motor, a driven roller, a belt, and the like. In order to simplify the drawing, a transport mechanism having the same structure is actually installed in parallel with the transport mechanism 9, but the illustration is omitted.
[0019]
In such a heat treatment apparatus, as indicated by the arrows, hot air is blown from the blow holes formed in the blower plate 11a in the temperature raising unit 6 and the constant temperature holding unit 7, and air or nitrogen at room temperature or lower in the cooling unit 8. Such gas is ejected from the blowing plate 13a. As shown in FIG. 3, the hole through which the hot air is blown out in the temperature raising unit 6 is a slit S that is formed elongated in the blower plate 11 a, and the slit S is positioned directly above the top of the disk substrate 10 that is sequentially transferred. Then, hot air is supplied from the slit S so as to be perpendicular to the conveying direction, that is, along the circular surface of the disk substrate 10. There is one or a plurality of slits S, and the length is substantially equal to the length of the temperature raising unit 6 in the transport direction, and the width is centered on a line connecting the upper top part of the disk substrate 10 facing the slit and the lower top part facing each other. It is adjusted so that an appropriate amount of hot air flows on both sides. The slit width is adjusted by the width adjusting means 11c according to the interval between adjacent disk substrates 10, the temperature rising time, the temperature of the hot air, the air volume, and the wind speed. The space between the adjacent disk substrates 10 in the temperature raising unit 6 is a surface that uniformly raises the temperature of the entire surface of the disk substrate 10 and shortens the semi-bidirectional length to make the apparatus as small as possible. From 0.5 mm to 2 mm is preferable.
[0020]
The disk substrate 10 set up at such an interval passes through the temperature raising unit 6 in about 1 minute. As described above, a temperature lower than the softening temperature of the disk substrate from 50 ° C. (for example, 110 to 130) by a heater (not shown). Each disk substrate 10 has the following constant temperature holding portion 7 by ejecting the gas heated to 1 ° C.) from the slit of the blowing plate 11a at a wind speed of 1 to 10 m / s, preferably 2 to 5 m / s. When measured at the entrance, it was confirmed that the temperature had increased to a predetermined temperature lower than the softening point temperature of the disk substrate, that is, increased to the predetermined temperature in 1 minute or less. Therefore, in this embodiment, the time required to raise the disk substrate 10 to a predetermined temperature lower than its softening point temperature is significantly shorter than in the prior art, that is, the transport distance of the disk substrate 10 during this period is greatly increased. I can see it can be shortened. The hot air blown out from the slit passes between the disk substrates 10 and is discharged from a large number of holes or slits provided in the discharge plate 11b on the lower side of the temperature raising unit 6 and circulated.
[0021]
Next, the constant temperature holding unit 7 does not raise or lower the temperature of each disk substrate 10 that has been heated to a predetermined temperature by the temperature raising unit 6, but keeps the temperature at the set temperature, thereby maintaining the organic dye of the disk substrate 10. The organic solvent is almost completely removed from the thin film. As shown in FIG. 4, a large number of holes H are formed in the blowing plate 12 a of the constant temperature holding unit 7, and an adjustment plate 12 c that can adjust the size of these holes is provided. 4A shows a state in which a large number of holes H are fully opened, and FIG. 4B shows a state in which all the many holes H are closed. By moving the adjustment plate 12c in the direction of the arrow, the size of the holes H is as follows. Adjusted. Hot air is supplied from these holes H so as to be perpendicular to the conveying direction, that is, along the circular surface of the disk substrate 10. The temperature of the hot air is about the set temperature or somewhat higher, and the wind speed is 1 m / s or less, preferably 0.2 to 0.5 m / s. The constant temperature holding unit 7 only needs to maintain the atmosphere at the set temperature. However, the length in the conveyance direction of the disk substrate is considerably longer than the temperature rising unit 6 due to a generally required heat treatment time. Here, in the conventional and the present invention, if the heat treatment at the set temperature is required for about 10 minutes, the constant temperature holding unit 7 must have a length about 10 times that of the temperature raising unit 6 as described above. However, if the number of processed disk substrates 10 is the same, the conventional and the present invention are equivalent. The hot air blown from a large number of holes H of the blowing plate 12a passes between the disk substrates 10 and is discharged from a large number of holes or slits provided in the discharge plate 12b on the lower side of the constant temperature holding unit 7 and circulated. .
[0022]
Thus, the disk substrate 10 is dried while being sequentially transported by the transport mechanism 9 in the constant temperature holding unit 7, and is sent to the cooling unit 8 through the partition plate 5. The structure of the cooling unit 8 is substantially the same as that of the temperature raising unit 6 except that the temperature of the gas ejected from the slit of the blowing plate 13a is about room temperature, for example, 20 to 30 ° C. . In the cooling unit 8, gas at room temperature is blown to the disk substrate 10 at a wind speed of 1 to 10 m / s, preferably 2 to 5 m / s. Therefore, as shown in FIG. It was confirmed that the temperature dropped from the set temperature to about room temperature. In this regard, it can be seen that the conventional method takes about 6 minutes from FIG. Therefore, in this embodiment, the length of the cooling unit 8 is determined so that the disk substrate 10 passes through the cooling unit 8 over approximately 30 to 60 seconds in consideration of the conveyance speed of the disk substrate 10. In the cooling unit 8, the air used for cooling is discharged from a number of slits or a number of holes (not shown) provided on the discharge plate 13b.
[0023]
In the first embodiment described above, the interval between the adjacent disk substrates 10 is somewhat increased with reference to the gas wind speed of the temperature raising unit 6 and the cooling unit 8, and the disk substrate 10 is not reduced so much. However, in the second embodiment shown in FIG. 3, the distance between the disk substrates 10 in the constant temperature holding unit 7 where the wind speed of the heated gas is low is used as a reference. Since the constant temperature holding unit 7 only needs to hold the temperature of the disk substrate 10, the distance between the disk substrates 10 may be sufficiently small, but the gas wind speed does not decrease much in the temperature raising unit 6 and the cooling unit 8. Since it must flow between the disk substrates 10, the interval between the disk substrates 10 in the temperature raising unit 6 and the cooling unit 8 is increased.
[0024]
FIG. 5, which shows a situation where the inside of the heat treatment chamber is viewed from the side, shows an embodiment using a transport mechanism 9 with a variable interval. The variable interval type transport mechanism 9 uses three transport shafts (only 9a is shown in the drawing) having the same structure as in the above-described embodiment, and each transport shaft includes a temperature raising section 6 and a cooling section. The feed pitch over the length at 8 is large, and the feed pitch at the constant temperature holding unit 7 is small. In the temperature raising unit 6 and the cooling unit 8, the conveying speed of the disk substrate 10 increases as the feed pitch is increased. Therefore, it is necessary to increase the speed of the disk substrate 10. Therefore, the increase in the length of the temperature raising unit 6 and the cooling unit 8 is slight. In contrast, since the heat treatment time in the constant temperature holding unit 7 is long, the constant temperature holding unit 7 needs to be considerably longer than the temperature raising unit 6 and the cooling unit 8, and the feed pitch in the constant temperature holding unit 7 is reduced. Thus, by reducing the conveying speed of the disk substrate 10 and shortening the length of the constant temperature holding unit 7, the entire length of the heat treatment chamber 1 can be shortened, and the apparatus can be further downsized. Others are the same as those in the first embodiment, and the description thereof is omitted.
[0025]
Next, FIG. 6 showing a situation where the inside of the heat treatment chamber is viewed from the side is a blowing plate 11a of the temperature raising unit 6, a blowing plate 12a of the constant temperature holding unit 7 and a blowing plate 13a of the cooling unit 8 shown in FIGS. One example is shown in which hepa (HEPA) filters F1, F2, and F3 (for example, class 100), which are high-performance filters, are provided at locations corresponding to. Although the heat treatment chamber 1 is originally installed in a clean room, the heat treatment is usually performed in an atmosphere that is not so clean. In this embodiment, the gas is blown into the heat treatment chamber 1, so that the cleanness of the gas is increased through a hepa filter to further increase the cleanliness of the heat treatment chamber 1 and improve the characteristics of the optical disc.
[0026]
In the temperature raising unit 6, as described above, a gas heated from 50 ° C. to a temperature lower than the softening temperature of the disk substrate (for example, 110 to 130 ° C.) by a heater (not shown) is wind speed of 1 to 10 m / s, preferably It blows out through the hepa filter F1 at a wind speed of 2 to 5 m / s. As a result, the hot air is supplied so as to be perpendicular to the conveying direction, that is, along the circular surface of the disk substrate 10. Next, in the constant temperature holding unit 7, the hepa filter F2 is made of a gas that is somewhat higher than the hot air or about the set temperature at a wind speed of 1 m / s or less, preferably 0.2 to 0.5 m / s. The atmosphere of the constant temperature holding unit 7 is held at a set temperature. Next, in the cooling unit 8, a gas at about room temperature is blown out through the hepa filter F3 at a wind speed of 1 to 10 m / s, preferably 2 to 5 m / s. Although not shown, hepa filters are also provided on the inlet side and the outlet side of the heat treatment chamber 1 as necessary, and room temperature gas is blown onto the disk substrate 10 on the transport mechanism 9 through the hepa filter.
[0027]
Details of the transport mechanism 9 will be described with reference to FIGS. 7 and 8. FIG. 5 shows transfer shafts 9a, 9b, 9c and support members 15, 15 ′ for rotatably supporting one end of each of transfer shafts 9a ′, 9b ′, 9c ′ provided in parallel with the same structure. The support members 15 (15 ′) are provided at both ends of the transport shaft. In this embodiment, the disk substrates 10 and 10 'are simultaneously heat-treated and dried by two lines. The transport shafts 9 a, 9 b, 9 c are fixed to the inner rings of radial bearings 16 a, 16 b, 16 c with outer rings attached to the support member 15, and can freely rotate with respect to the support member 15. The same applies to the transport shafts 9a ′, 9b ′, 9c ′, and they are rotatably supported by radial bearings 16a ′, 16b ′, 16c ′. The conveying shafts 9a, 9b, 9c and the conveying shafts 9a ′, 9b ′, 9c ′ are extended to a dimension on the paper surface side, and are cylindrical shafts in which no groove is formed, and are not illustrated. It is coupled to a drive source (not shown) via a belt.
[0028]
The support member 15 includes grooves 15b and 15c extending downward from the upper surface 15a. The groove 15b, after applying an organic dye film on the disk substrate 10, transfers the disk substrate 10 sucked and held by the suction means 17 attached to the tip of the transport arm (not shown) to the transport shafts 9a, 9b and 9c. Sometimes, a transport arm (not shown) enters and plays an important role in allowing the disk substrate 10 to be placed on the transport shafts 9a, 9b, 9c silently without giving an impact to the disk substrate 10. The groove 15c performs the same function as the groove 15b, and allows the disk substrate 10 'to be quietly placed on the transport shafts 9a', 9b ', 9c' without receiving an impact. The shape of the grooves 15c and 15b is not limited, and a transport arm (not shown) enters the grooves 15c and 15b from the front side of the paper surface, and the disk substrates 10 and 10 'are respectively transported by the transport shafts 9a and When mounting on 9b, 9c and the transport shafts 9a ′, 9b ′, 9c ′, the transport arm may not contact the inner walls of the grooves 15c, 15b. By providing the grooves 15c and 15b, it is possible to cope with the vertical movement of the transfer arm and the forward and backward movement of 180 degrees. Further, since the transport arm is outside the support member 15 and the disk substrates 10 and 10 'can be placed near the inner wall of the support member 15, the transport mechanism 9 can be shortened.
[0029]
In such a heat treatment apparatus, the temperature of the conveying shafts 9a, 9b, 9c and the conveying shafts 9a ′, 9b ′, 9c ′ also rises in the temperature raising unit 6 and the constant temperature holding unit 7. When the conveying shafts 9a, 9b, 9c and the conveying shafts 9a ′, 9b ′, 9c ′ rise in temperature, their metal materials are thermally expanded, which may cause distortion in the process of conveying the disk substrates 10, 10 ′. The distortion may adversely affect the characteristics of the optical disc. Therefore, in this embodiment, of the support members 15 and 15 ′, the support member 15 is movable and the support member 15 ′ is fixed. The support member 15 is coupled to a guide rail 19 fixed to the base member 18 via a linear drive means 20 and an attachment member 21. The linear drive means 20 has a normal structure in which a large number of ball bearings are circulated, and can freely move on the guide rail 19 in the left-right direction on the paper surface. The support member 15 ′ is fixed to the base member 18 ′. In this structure, when the conveying shafts 9a, 9b, 9c and the conveying shafts 9a ', 9b', 9c 'are thermally expanded due to the temperature rise, the linear drive means 20 moves on the guide rail 19 to the right side in the drawing. When it shrinks in the process of lowering to room temperature, it moves to the left side of the drawing. Therefore, the conveyance shafts 9a, 9b, 9c and the conveyance shafts 9a ′, 9b ′, 9c ′ are not distorted, and unnecessary force is not applied to the disk substrates 10, 10 ′ due to the distortion. There will be no adverse effects.
[0030]
As mentioned above, both ends of each of the transport shafts 9a, 9b, 9c and the transport shafts 9a ', 9b', 9c 'are attached to the support members 15, 15' via a normal radial ball bearing 22. ing. The outer ring of the radial ball bearing 22 is attached to the support members 15 and 15 'by bolts 23, and both ends of the transfer shafts 9a, 9b and 9c and the transfer shafts 9a', 9b 'and 9c' are fixed to the inner ring.
[0031]
In the above embodiment, the transfer shaft is used as the transport mechanism, but it may be formed of other members such as a belt. Further, when the transfer shaft is used, the number is not limited to three and may be four or more. Furthermore, in any of the above embodiments, gas is supplied from the ceiling side and discharged from the lower side. However, the reverse may be possible, and a gas supply port and a discharge port may be provided in the lateral direction. In the above embodiment, the disk substrate of the write once type optical disk having an organic dye film such as CD-R or DVD-R has been described. However, the disk substrate of the optical disk substrate such as MO and MD depends on the stress after molding. Heat treatment is performed to reduce distortion and improve various characteristics, and the heat treatment method and apparatus according to the present invention can be used for this heat treatment.
[0032]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the present invention, the heat treatment time of the disk substrate of a write-once optical disk having an organic dye film such as CD-R or DVD-R can be greatly shortened. Can be downsized. Furthermore, according to the invention of claim 10, since the disk substrate can be placed on the transport mechanism through the support member of the transport mechanism, a normal transfer mechanism can be adopted, and the transfer to the transport mechanism without impacting the disk substrate. can do. Further, according to the eleventh aspect of the present invention, since the structure can absorb the thermal expansion / contraction of the transport mechanism, the disk substrate is not adversely affected by the thermal expansion / contraction of the transport mechanism.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a side view for explaining one embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a top view for explaining one embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a portion for blowing out gas in one embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a top plate according to one embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 5 is a side view for explaining another embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 6 is a side view for explaining still another embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 7 is a view showing a part of a transport mechanism for explaining one embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 8 is a view showing a part of a transport mechanism for explaining an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of temperature rise characteristics of a disk substrate in the present invention.
FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of temperature drop characteristics of a disk substrate in the present invention.
FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of a temperature rise characteristic of a conventional disk substrate.
FIG. 12 is a diagram showing an example of a temperature drop characteristic of a conventional disk substrate.
[Explanation of symbols]
1- heat treatment chamber 2, 3-side wall plate
4, 5-partition plate 6-heating part
7-Constant temperature holding unit 8-Cooling unit
9-transport mechanism 9a-9c-transport shaft
10-disk substrate 11a-blow plate of temperature raising unit 6
11b-discharge plate of temperature raising unit 6 12a-blow plate of constant temperature holding unit 7
12b-discharge plate of constant temperature holding unit 7 13a-blowout plate of cooling unit 8
13b-discharge plate of cooling unit 8 S-slit
H-hole F1, F2, F3-hepa filter
15-Bearing plate of transport mechanism 15 16a-16c-Bearing
17-Adsorption means 18-Base means
19-guide rail 20-linear drive
21-Mounting means 22-Radial bearing
23-bolt

Claims

In the processing method of the disk substrate,
A rapid temperature raising step of rapidly raising the temperature of the disk substrate by blowing a gas having a temperature in a range from 50 ° C. to a temperature lower than the softening temperature of the disk substrate at a wind speed of 1 to 10 m / s;
A temperature holding step of holding the elevated temperature of the disk substrate for a predetermined time in a temperature range from 50 ° C. to a temperature lower than the softening temperature of the disk substrate;
A rapid cooling step in which a gas having a temperature of about room temperature or less is blown onto the disk substrate at a wind speed of 1 to 10 m / s to rapidly reduce the temperature;
A method for heat-treating a disk substrate, comprising:

In claim 1,
In the process from the rapid heating step to the rapid cooling step, the disk substrate is disposed at a certain interval so as to be substantially perpendicular to the transfer direction of the disk substrate, and substantially perpendicular to the transfer direction of the disk substrate. A method for heat-treating a disk substrate, characterized in that each of the gases is blown from a direction.

Three regions partitioned by a partition plate having a circular opening having a diameter larger than the diameter of the disk substrate,
A temperature raising unit that blows a heated gas onto the disk substrate to rapidly increase its temperature,
A constant temperature holding unit that holds the temperature of the disk substrate raised by a heated gas for a predetermined time;
A heat treatment chamber comprising a cooling unit that rapidly lowers the temperature of the disk substrate by blowing a gas having a temperature of about room temperature or less to the disk substrate;
A transport mechanism for sequentially transporting the plurality of disk substrates in a state of being parallel to each other at a certain interval;
A heat treatment apparatus for a disk substrate, comprising:

In claim 3,
The temperature raising unit blows a gas having a temperature in a range from 50 ° C. to a temperature lower than the softening temperature of the disk substrate at a wind speed of 1 to 10 m / s to rapidly increase the temperature of these disk substrates. A heat treatment apparatus for a disk substrate.

In claim 3 or claim 4,
The constant temperature holding unit holds the temperature of the disk substrate heated by the temperature raising unit in an atmosphere in a temperature range from 50 ° C. to a temperature lower than a softening temperature of the disk substrate. Heat treatment equipment for disk substrates.

In any one of Claim 3 thru | or 5,
The cooling unit sprays a gas having a temperature of about room temperature or less to the disk substrate transferred from the constant temperature holding unit at a wind speed of 1 to 10 m / s, and rapidly reduces the temperature of the disk substrate. Disk substrate heat treatment equipment.

In any one of Claims 3 thru | or 6,
Both or one of the temperature raising part and the cooling part is provided with a gas blowing hole made of a slit having a length that is long in the conveying direction of the disk substrate, a width shorter than this, and a width smaller than the diameter of the disk substrate,
The gas blowing hole is disposed at a position facing the maximum diameter portion of the disk substrate in one of the four walls along the conveying direction of the disk substrate,
A gas discharge hole is provided in an opposite wall of the walls in which the gas blowing hole is formed,
A heat treatment apparatus for a disk substrate characterized by the above.

In any one of Claims 3 thru | or 7,
The constant temperature holding unit includes a gas supply unit including a plurality of holes provided in one of four walls along the conveying direction of the disk substrate,
A gas discharge part is provided on the opposing wall among the walls in which the gas supply part is formed,
The disk substrate heat treatment apparatus, wherein the gas supply unit is provided with gas adjusting means for adjusting the size of the plurality of holes.

In any one of Claims 3 thru | or 8,
A disk substrate heat treatment apparatus, wherein a plurality of the disk substrates are arranged and transported in parallel with each other at a predetermined interval.

A temperature increase in which three regions are partitioned by a shielding wall having a circular opening having a diameter larger than the diameter of the disk substrate, and the temperature is rapidly increased by blowing heated gas onto the disk substrate. A heat treatment chamber comprising: a constant temperature holding unit that holds the elevated temperature of the disk substrate and the disk substrate for a predetermined time; and a cooling unit that rapidly reduces the temperature of the disk substrate;
A transport mechanism for sequentially transporting the plurality of disk substrates in a state of being parallel to each other at a certain interval;
With
The transport mechanism has three or more transfer shafts having a groove formed in a spiral shape at a constant pitch over a certain length or the entire length;
A driving device for rotating these transfer shafts;
A pair of support members for respectively supporting both ends of the transfer shaft so that the transfer shaft can rotate;
Consists of
The heat treatment apparatus for a disk substrate, wherein the support member is an empty portion where a portion corresponding to a central hole of the disk substrate transferred to three or more transfer shafts is opened.

A temperature increase in which three regions are partitioned by a shielding wall having a circular opening having a diameter larger than the diameter of the disk substrate, and the temperature is rapidly increased by blowing heated gas onto the disk substrate. A heat treatment chamber comprising: a constant temperature holding unit that holds the elevated temperature of the disk substrate and the disk substrate for a predetermined time; and a cooling unit that rapidly reduces the temperature of the disk substrate;
A transport mechanism for sequentially transporting the plurality of disk substrates in a state of being parallel to each other at a certain interval;
With
The transport mechanism has three or more transfer shafts having a groove formed in a spiral shape at a constant pitch over a certain length or the entire length;
A driving device for rotating these transfer shafts;
A pair of support members for respectively supporting both ends of the transfer shaft so that the transfer shaft can rotate;
Consists of
A linear drive device is provided between the support member and the base member that supports the support member,
The disk substrate heat treatment apparatus characterized in that the support member can move in accordance with expansion and contraction due to temperature change of the transfer shaft.