JP3851370B2 - Substrate drainer - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a substrate liquid draining apparatus that targets a glass substrate, a semiconductor wafer substrate, or the like for a liquid crystal display, for example, and jets gas toward the surface of the substrate to which a processing liquid is attached.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Conventionally, when manufacturing a liquid crystal display, for example, so-called wet surface treatment is performed in which various treatment liquids are sequentially supplied to the surface of a plate-like glass substrate. In this wet surface treatment, after the surface of the glass substrate is washed, chemical treatment such as development, etching, and film peeling is performed, and water washing with pure water is performed for each chemical treatment. The treatment liquid used for the water washing adheres to the substrate surface on the substrate subjected to the water washing treatment, but this adhesion liquid needs to be removed for each water washing treatment step. Conventionally, as a liquid draining device used for that purpose, as shown in FIG. 8, for example, as shown in FIG. 8, with respect to a transport mechanism in which transport rollers 51,. An air knife 52 having a slit-like injection port 52a extending in the width direction is angle θ with respect to a direction orthogonal to the conveyance direction in plan view so that one end of the injection port 52a is shifted to the downstream side in the conveyance direction from the other end. A gas is ejected from the ejection port 52a of the air knife 52 toward the surface of the substrate 53 conveyed in a horizontal state, and the treatment liquid adhering to the substrate 53 is pushed to the corner 53a by this jet and blown off. Such a device is known (see, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 7-302779).
[0003]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, in the above-mentioned conventional one, the processing liquid pushed away to the corner portion 53a of the substrate 53 adheres to the front and back surfaces and the substrate end surface of the substrate constituting the corner portion 53a, but the end surface portion of the substrate is jetted by an air knife. Because it is difficult to be blown away by the jet flow, it may not be able to be completely blown off by the jet. At that time, the treatment liquid remaining in the form of water droplets may cause stains on the substrate surface, causing substrate contamination, or drying and causing the substrate surface to dry. There arises a problem that the solid matter remaining on the surface causes the generation of particles. As a countermeasure for this, an air knife 52 is additionally provided on the downstream side of the air knife 52 in the transport direction, and a two-stage structure is adopted. And the amount of gas used doubles and the manufacturing cost increases. In addition, it is difficult to uniformly adjust the flow rate of the jets over the entire lengths of the injection ports 52a and 52a of the air knives 52 and 52. Further, in recent years, the substrate to be processed has been increased in size, and the air knife itself has also increased in size, which is becoming an increasingly disadvantageous condition. Further, there is a problem that even if the air knife is provided in two stages, water droplets at the corners of the substrate cannot be removed sufficiently.
[0004]
The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and by applying a gas spot flow to the treatment liquid remaining in the corners, the apparatus can be compactly accommodated, and the amount of gas used and production can be achieved. An object of the present invention is to provide a substrate draining device that can minimize the increase in cost, facilitate adjustment work, and completely blow off the processing liquid adhering to the substrate.
[0005]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a substrate draining apparatus in which a gas is ejected from a slit-shaped ejection port of an air knife toward a surface of a rectangular substrate transported in a horizontal state. Inclined with respect to a direction orthogonal to the transport direction in plan view so that one end of the mouth is shifted to the downstream side in the transport direction from the other end, and at the downstream side of the one end of the injection port is a rear portion in the transport direction . Te, a spot injection means for injecting a gas of interest flow toward the corners of the substrate of the upper Symbol one end provided, said air knife has a length which extends over the entire width of the substrate It is characterized by being.
[0006]
According to the present invention, most of the processing liquid on the substrate is drained by the jet jetted from the jet port of the air knife, the processing liquid adhering to the end face of the substrate is washed away to the corner, and then from the spot jetting means. The treatment liquid remaining in the corners is completely blown off by the sprayed gas spot flow. In this case, the apparatus is more compact than a two-stage air knife, the amount of gas used is small, the manufacturing cost is low, and the flow rate adjustment of the spot injection means is easy.
[0007]
According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, the spray port of the spot spraying means is formed in a slit shape, and the spot spraying means is provided so as to be inclined in the same direction as the air knife in plan view. It is characterized by that. According to the present invention, since the jet flow from the spot injection means is a uniform flow having a certain width, the processing liquid remaining in the corner is reliably blown off.
[0008]
According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first or second aspect of the invention, the air knife is provided so as to be inclined in a side view so that the jet flow from the injection port is directed to the upstream side in the transport direction from directly below. It is characterized by this. According to this invention, since the jet flow injected from the injection port of the air knife is directed to the upstream side in the transport direction, the processing liquid adhering to the substrate is surely pushed away to the corner portion.
[0009]
According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the first to third aspects of the present invention, a pair of the air knife and the spot ejecting means are provided above and below the conveying surface. According to the present invention, the processing liquid adhering to both the upper surface and the lower surface of the substrate is completely blown off.
[0010]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
FIG. 1 is a partially cutaway perspective view showing an embodiment of a liquid draining device 1 for a substrate B according to the present invention. In the figure, reference numeral 2 denotes a box-shaped liquid draining tank. A substrate receiving port 3 is opened on a side plate of the liquid draining tank 2, and the inside of the liquid draining tank 2 is adjacent via the substrate receiving port 3. It communicates with the inside of the water washing apparatus 4. Inside the liquid draining tank 2, a transport mechanism 5 for the substrate B is provided. The transport mechanism 5 includes transport rollers 6, which are axially supported in the transport direction, and a drive mechanism 7 that rotates the transport rollers 6,... The substrate B is received at the substrate receiving port 3, and is transported in a horizontal state along the transport surface P virtually set on the transport rollers 6,... And sent to the next process. 8 is a drain pan.
[0011]
Reference numerals 11 and 12 denote air knives provided above and below the conveyance surface P, and have slit-shaped injection ports 11a and 12a extending substantially in the width direction of the conveyance surface P and facing the conveyance surface P. As shown in FIG. 2, these air knives 11 and 12 have an angle θ <b> 1 with respect to a direction orthogonal to the transport direction in a plan view so that one end of each of the ejection ports 11 a and 12 a is shifted to the downstream side in the transport direction from the other end. It is provided only with an inclination. The angle θ1 is preferably about 45 degrees, but is set to about 7 degrees for the purpose of securing workability of peripheral members such as the transport roller 6, but is not limited thereto. The air knives 11 and 12 are connected to a clean air source 14 via an air conduit 13 so that high-pressure air supplied from the clean air source 14 is jetted from the jet ports 11a and 12a toward the transport surface P. I have to. Reference numeral 15 denotes a flow rate adjusting control valve provided in the air pipe 13. Further, the gas supplied from the clean air source 14 is not limited to clean air, and an inert gas such as N 2 gas may be used.
[0012]
Spot injection means 21 and 22 are provided on the downstream side of the end of the air knife injection ports 11a and 12a that are shifted toward the downstream side in the transport direction. The spot ejecting means 21 and 22 have substantially the same structure as the air knives 11 and 12, and have slit-shaped ejection ports 21a and 22a extending in the width direction of the transport surface P and facing the transport surface P. ing. As shown in FIG. 2, these spot ejection means 21 and 22 are angled with respect to a direction orthogonal to the transport direction in plan view so that one end of the ejection ports 21a and 22a is shifted to the downstream side in the transport direction from the other end. Inclined by θ2. The angle θ2 is set to about 10 degrees in the present embodiment, but is not limited to this. The spot injection means 21 and 22 are connected to the clean air source 14 via the air pipe 13 and spot the high-pressure air supplied from the clean air source 14 toward the conveyance surface P from the injection ports 21a and 22a. It is made to jet in a stream.
[0013]
As shown in FIG. 3, the air knives 11 and 12 and the spot spraying means 21 and 22 are all viewed from the side so that the jets from the spray ports 11a and 12a and 21a and 22a are directed to the upstream side in the transport direction rather than directly below. Are inclined by angles φ1 and φ2, respectively. The angles φ1 and φ2 are set equal to about 30 degrees in the present embodiment, but are not limited to this and may not be matched. The respective angles φ1 and φ2 are set to required angles in consideration of the type of processing liquid, the injection liquid pressure, the injection air pressure, the conveyance speed, and the like.
[0014]
In the above embodiment, when the substrate B is carried in from the rinsing apparatus 4 as shown in FIG. 2, the treatment liquid L such as pure water adheres to the surface in the form of water droplets, but this substrate B is further conveyed downstream. Then, most of the processing liquid L on the substrate B is removed by the jets ejected from the ejection ports 11a and 12a of the air knives 11 and 12, and the processing liquid L at the edge of the substrate is pushed away to the corner b ( The state of FIG. Next, the treatment liquid L remaining in the form of water droplets at the corners b is completely blown off by the spot flow of air ejected from the ejection ports 21a and 22a of the spot ejection means 21 and 22 (state of FIG. 5), whereby the substrate B does not cause stains due to the residual liquid. In that case, as compared with a two-stage air knife, only the spot injection means 21 and 22 smaller than the air knives 11 and 12 are provided. The amount of use is small, the manufacturing cost is low, and the flow rate adjustment of the spot injection means 21 and 22 becomes easy, so that it does not take time and effort.
[0015]
Further, since the injection ports 21a and 22a of the spot injection means 21 and 22 are formed in a slit shape and are inclined by the angle θ2 in the same direction as the air knives 11 and 12 in a plan view, the spot injection means 21 and 22 Is a uniform flow having a certain width, so that the processing liquid L remaining on the corners b of the substrate B can be surely blown off.
[0016]
Further, since the air knives 11 and 12 are inclined so that the jet flow from the injection ports 11a and 12a is directed to the upstream side in the transport direction from directly below, the air knives 11 and 12 are injected from the injection ports 11a and 12a of the air knives 11 and 12. The jet is directed upstream in the transport direction, and the processing liquid L adhering to the substrate B can be surely pushed away to the corner b of the substrate B.
[0017]
Further, since the air knives 11 and 12 and the spot ejecting means 21 and 22 are provided in pairs on the upper and lower sides of the transport surface P, the processing liquid L adhering to both the upper surface and the lower surface of the substrate B is completely removed at once. Can be blown away.
[0018]
In the above embodiment, the spot injection means 21 and 22 have substantially the same structure as the air knives 11 and 12 having the slit-like injection ports 21a and 22a. However, as shown in FIG. The spot ejecting means 21 ′ may be constituted by a capillary tube facing P. Further, as shown in FIG. 7, the spot ejecting means 21 ″ may be configured by arranging a plurality of tubes with openings 21 ″ a facing the transport surface P. In the case of using the spot injection means 21 ″, the required injection area can be easily set by setting the number of tubes to an appropriate number.
[0019]
In the said embodiment, although air was supplied to the air knives 11 and 12 and the spot injection means 21 and 22, this invention can be used also about what supplied the other gas. Moreover, in the said embodiment, although the spot injection means 21 and 22 were inclined by angle (phi) 2 by side view, since the spot injection means 21 and 22 blow off the process liquid L which remains in the corner | angular part b by a spot flow, The ejection units 21 and 22 may be provided perpendicular to the transport surface P.
[0020]
Moreover, in the said embodiment, although the case where the processing liquid of the board | substrate surface which was washed with the water washing apparatus was removed was described, it uses as a liquid draining apparatus after chemical | medical solution processes, such as image development, etching, peeling, instead of a water washing apparatus. You can also.
[0021]
【The invention's effect】
According to the first aspect of the present invention, the treatment liquid adhering to the substrate is pushed to the corner by the jet of the air knife, and the spot flow of the spot spraying means is jetted to the corner, so the air knife has two stages. The equipment can be made more compact than the above, the amount of gas used can be reduced, the manufacturing cost can be reduced, and the flow rate can be adjusted easily. It is possible to surely prevent the residual liquid from appearing on the surface.
[0022]
According to the second aspect of the present invention, the processing liquid remaining in the corners can be reliably blown off by a uniform jet having a certain width.
[0023]
According to the third aspect of the invention, since the jet of the air knife is directed to the upstream side in the transport direction, the processing liquid adhering to the substrate can be surely pushed to the corner portion, and the residual processing liquid by the spot flow can be removed. Blowing off can be performed reliably.
[0024]
According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, both the treatment liquid adhering to both the upper surface and the lower surface of the substrate can be completely blown off.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a partially cutaway perspective view showing an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a plan view of a main part of the embodiment.
3 is a view taken in the direction of the arrow X in FIG. 2;
FIG. 4 is a view corresponding to FIG. 2R> 2 when the substrate passes in the vicinity of the air knife.
FIG. 5 is a view corresponding to FIG. 2 when the substrate passes in the vicinity of the spot ejecting means.
FIG. 6 is a view corresponding to FIG. 2 showing another embodiment.
FIG. 7 is a view corresponding to FIG. 2 showing still another embodiment.
FIG. 8 is a view corresponding to FIG. 2 for explaining a conventional example.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Liquid cutting device B Board | substrate b Corner | angular part 5 Conveyance mechanism P Conveyance surface 11 Air knife 11a Injecting port 12 Air knife 12a Injecting port 21 Spot injecting unit 21a Injecting port 22 Spot injecting unit 22a Injecting port

Claims (4)

In the liquid draining apparatus for the substrate, which is configured to inject gas from the slit-shaped injection port of the air knife toward the surface of the square substrate conveyed in a horizontal state,
The air knife is provided so as to be inclined with respect to the direction orthogonal to the transport direction in a plan view so that one end of the ejection port is shifted to the downstream side in the transport direction from the other end,
At the downstream side of the injection port at one end, a rear in the conveying direction, provided with spots injection means for injecting a gas of interest flow toward the corners of the substrate of the upper Symbol one end,
The above-mentioned air knife has a length dimension that extends over the entire length in the width direction of the substrate.   2. The substrate draining apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the spray port of the spot spray means is formed in a slit shape, and the spot spray means is provided inclined in substantially the same direction as the air knife in plan view.   The substrate liquid draining apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the air knife is provided so as to be inclined in a side view so that the jet flow from the injection port is directed to the upstream side in the transport direction from directly below.   The substrate liquid draining apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein a pair of air knives and spot spraying means are respectively provided above and below the transport surface.

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