JP4035947B2 - Substrate dryer - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an apparatus for drying, for example, a liquid crystal substrate having a quadrangular shape.
[0002]
[Prior art]
As a thin plate substrate, for example, there is a glass substrate that constitutes a liquid crystal panel. For example, a TFT type liquid crystal panel is constituted by two substrates including a TFT substrate and a color filter. In manufacturing this TFT substrate, a TFT element is formed on the substrate surface by sequentially performing processes such as film formation, resist film formation, exposure, development, etching, and resist film peeling. In these processes, The cleaning is repeatedly performed before and after the treatment, and the substrate is dried after the substrate is cleaned. On the other hand, the color filter is manufactured by a photolithography method or the like, and the substrate is appropriately cleaned and dried between the previous process and the process. Further, cleaning and drying are also performed when a predetermined treatment is performed on a liquid crystal panel other than the TFT type, and other substrates made of rectangular glass, resin, or the like.
[0003]
There are various known drying methods performed after cleaning the substrate, but when performing cleaning and drying continuously during conveyance on the line in processing or processing, that is, when performing inline processing, an air knife is used. It is common to perform drying using the effect. Drying with this air knife is performed as follows.
[0004]
An injection region is set by spraying pressurized air at a predetermined position of a conveying means composed of a roller, a belt, or the like that conveys the substrate horizontally or slightly inclined in a direction (left-right direction) perpendicular to the conveying direction. The An air knife nozzle having a nozzle opening composed of a long and narrow slit-like passage is disposed in the air ejection region so as to face the surface of the substrate. From this air knife nozzle, high pressure clean air is blown over the entire length in the direction perpendicular to the substrate transport direction, so that liquid droplets and liquid films adhering to the substrate surface are separated from the substrate surface. As dried.
[0005]
Here, the air injection angle by the air knife nozzle is a predetermined angle with respect to the substrate on the transport means in the direction opposite to the transport direction, that is, toward the rear side of the transport direction, and the nozzle opening of the air knife nozzle In close proximity to the substrate surface. As a result, a thin band-shaped air is incident on the surface of the substrate from the air knife nozzle. As a result, the liquid on the surface of the substrate moves toward the rear side in the transport direction of the substrate by the pressure of the air. And are finally discharged from the edge portion of the substrate.
[0006]
In order to more smoothly and reliably remove the liquid adhering to the surface of the substrate conveyed by the conveying means, the air knife nozzle is orthogonal to the substrate conveying direction in a plane parallel to the substrate conveying surface. It is desirable to arrange it so as to be inclined at a predetermined angle with respect to the direction. As a result, the direction in which the liquid moves along the substrate surface due to the pressure of the air is not in the direction of transporting the substrate, but in an oblique direction by an amount corresponding to the tilt of the air knife nozzle. As a result, since the liquid is removed not only from the rear end portion in the substrate transport direction but also from the side portions thereof, the distance of movement of the liquid is shortened, so that it can be smoothly and rapidly removed from the substrate surface.
[0007]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
By the way, air is always ejected from the air knife nozzle, or at least air is ejected from the stage before the substrate is transported to the air ejection area where the air from the air knife nozzle is ejected. Since the air knife nozzle and the substrate have a relative angle, the air sprayed from the air knife nozzle first enters one corner of the substrate and then the air collides with the edge of the substrate. Will begin to flow along the surface. In particular, if a large amount of liquid adheres to the surface of the substrate conveyed by the conveying means, when air collides with the edge portion of the substrate, the liquid will scatter to the surroundings due to the impact. Or the like, and may adhere to the dried portion of the substrate. Moreover, the scattered liquid becomes mist and floats around, and the mist also adheres to the dried portion of the substrate. As described above, when a droplet or mist adheres to a once dried portion of the substrate surface, the substrate surface is again contaminated, causing inconveniences such as spots. In particular, when air knife nozzles are placed facing both the front and back sides of the substrate to dry both the front and back sides of the substrate, the jet air from the upper and lower air knife nozzles collides at the entry position of the substrate before the substrate enters. Since the turbulent flow is generated in this state, the degree of scattering of the liquid adhering to the substrate is further increased. Furthermore, in order to more efficiently dry the substrate, the faster the substrate is transported by the transport means, and the higher the air injection pressure, the greater the amount of liquid splashes and mist generated. Will increase.
[0008]
The present invention has been made in view of the above points. The purpose of the present invention is to dry the substrate by the air knife effect when the corner of the substrate enters the air injection region by the air knife nozzle. It is to prevent the liquid from scattering from the surface of the substrate.
[0009]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
To achieve the above object, the present invention is, while conveyed in an inclined horizontal or a predetermined angle by the transporting means of the substrate of the thin plate,及beauty the entire length of the direction perpendicular to the substrate conveying direction from the air knife nozzle In addition, the substrate drying is performed by spraying pressurized air in a slit shape so as to form an acute angle toward the rear side in the substrate transport direction , and peeling off the liquid adhering to the substrate surface. In the apparatus, the air knife nozzle is disposed so as to be inclined at a predetermined angle with respect to a direction orthogonal to the transport direction in a plane parallel to the transport surface of the substrate, and is an air injection region by the air knife nozzle. and Ri Oh outer substrate transfer region by the conveying means, moreover in a position close to the side of the substrate, toward the air injected from the air knife nozzle in the conveying plane direction of the substrate That it has a configuration to place a guide for rectifying plate as it is an its features.
[0010]
Here, the rectifying plate disposed on the side of the substrate is disposed so as to include the close position of the corner where the air first enters from the air knife nozzle toward the substrate. Most effective in prevention. When only the surface of the substrate is dried, the air knife nozzle may be disposed, for example, at the upper position of the substrate. However, when both the front and back surfaces of the substrate are dried, the air knife nozzle sandwiches the transport surface of the substrate. It is configured so as to be provided at positions on both upper and lower sides. In order to more reliably guide the air to the substrate surface by the current plate, this current plate is made as close as possible to the substrate conveyed by the conveying means. In addition, the surface of the substrate to be dried and the surface of the rectifying plate are arranged to be substantially the same surface. Therefore, particularly when the upper and lower air knife nozzles are used to dry both the front and back surfaces of the substrate, the thickness of the current plate does not substantially match the thickness of the substrate, and the current plate is positioned at the same height as the substrate. It is more desirable to arrange in the above.
[0011]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Needless to say, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described below.
[0012]
First, FIG. 1 shows a schematic configuration of a substrate drying process. In the figure, S is a substrate, 1 is a liquid draining stage, and 2 is a drying stage. The substrate S is cleaned in the previous step, for example, by shower cleaning or the like, and is transferred to the drying stage 2 after reducing the amount of the adhered liquid on the surface as much as possible in the liquid draining stage 1.
[0013]
The liquid draining stage 1 and the drying stage 2 are each defined by a housing, and a partition wall 3 is provided between the stages 1 and 2. The liquid draining stage 1 is provided with a carrying-in part 1a for the substrate S, the drying stage 2 is provided with a carrying-out part 2a for the substrate S, and the partition 3 is formed with a narrow opening 3a that constitutes the traveling path of the substrate S. Has been. In the liquid draining stage 1, pure water supply means 4 is installed, and the entire surface of the substrate S is held wet by the pure water dropped by the pure water supply means 4. Further, an air knife drying device 5 is provided in the drying stage 2 so as to sandwich the substrate S therebetween. The drying stage 2 is in a positive pressure state so that mist of the cleaning liquid does not enter, and the liquid draining stage 1 is in a negative pressure state. For this purpose, an atmospheric pressure device 6 is installed on the drying stage 2, and an exhaust unit 7 is mounted on the liquid draining stage 1. Furthermore, a drainage unit 8 is provided at the lower part of the liquid draining stage 1.
[0014]
Here, the substrate S is composed of, for example, a rectangular thin glass substrate, and the substrate S is substantially horizontally or slightly left and right from the previous process, through the liquid draining stage 1 and the drying stage 2 to the subsequent process. It is conveyed in an inclined state. Therefore, in order to transport the substrate S, the conveyor means 10 as the transport means shown in FIG. 2 is provided. The conveyor means 10 is composed of, for example, a roller conveyor. The conveyor means 10 is composed of a rotating shaft 11 provided with a predetermined pitch interval and a plurality of rollers 12 mounted in the longitudinal direction thereof, and rollers 12a at both ends. , 12a are provided with a flange 13 continuously. The substrate S is positioned so that its long side is in contact with both flanges 13 and 13, and the substrate S is conveyed in the direction of the arrow in FIG. For this purpose, a gear 14 is connected to one end of each rotary shaft 11, and the gears 14 of each rotary shaft 11 are sequentially engaged via a transmission gear 15. When the gear 14 is rotationally driven, all the rotating shafts 11 are rotated and the substrate S is transported.
[0015]
The substrate S that has passed through the liquid draining stage 1 moves from the opening of the partition wall 3 to the drying stage 2 and is dried using an air knife drying device 5 provided on the drying stage 2. As is apparent from FIGS. 3 and 4, the air knife drying device 5 includes an air knife nozzle 20, and the air knife nozzle 20 includes a long and thin casing 21, and pressurized air is contained in the casing 21. A pressurized air chamber 22 into which is introduced is formed. An air outflow passage 23 is formed in the side surface of the casing 21, and the tip of the air outflow passage 23 is a narrow slit-shaped nozzle port 24. The air outflow passage 23 has a passage length necessary for rectification so as to form a thin line when air is ejected from the nozzle port 24. Further, one or a plurality of air supply pipes 25 for supplying pressurized air into the pressurized air chamber 22 are connected to the casing 21.
[0016]
The air knife nozzle 20 having the above configuration is arranged in the drying stage 2 so as to sandwich the transport path of the substrate S composed of the conveyor means 10. Therefore, when the upper air knife nozzle is 20U, the lower air knife nozzle is 20L, the nozzle ports thereof are 24U, 24L, the surface side of the substrate S is SU, and the back side is SL, the air knife nozzle 20U. And 20L are spaced apart from the front and back surfaces SU and SL of the substrate S by an equal distance, and are located on a plane parallel to the surfaces SU and SL. Further, the depression angle of the air ejected from the nozzle opening 24U in the air knife nozzle 20U is the same as the elevation angle of the nozzle opening 24L of the air knife nozzle 20L, and is predetermined toward the rear side in the conveying direction of the substrate S by the conveyor means 10. It is arranged to have an angle of. In addition, the air knife nozzles 20U and 20L are not arranged in a direction orthogonal to the transport direction of the substrate S, but are inclined at a predetermined angle θ in the plane described above. Further, the nozzle openings 24U, 24L of the air knife nozzles 20U, 20L extend over the entire length in the direction intersecting the transport direction with respect to the surface of the substrate S transported on the conveyor means 10.
[0017]
With the configuration as described above, the substrate S transported by the conveyor means 10 first enters the area where air is blown from the air knife nozzles 20U and 20L, that is, the air injection area, as shown in FIG. After the corner corner Ca has entered the air ejection area, it enters the air ejection area from the front end La side, and when the corner corner Cb reaches the air ejection area, the width direction of the substrate S Air will reach the entire length. Further, when the corner portion Cc of the substrate S passes through the air injection region, the rear end portion Lb sequentially disengages from the air injection region, and the corner portion Cd passes through the air injection region, the drying process of the substrate S is completed. To do.
[0018]
Therefore, in the air injection region, the rectifying plate 30 is fixed at a position outside the region where the substrate S is conveyed by the conveyor means 10 and parallel to the side portion Lc between the corners Ca-Cc of the substrate S. Is arranged. The rectifying plate 30 is a position that does not interfere with the conveyance of the substrate S, and is a position that is very close to the side portion Lc of the substrate S, that is, a position that does not contact the flange portion 13 of the roller 12a in the conveyor means 10, The gap 13 is fixedly disposed at an appropriate position so that a gap is not substantially generated. Here, the rectifying plate 30 is a rectangular thin plate in the illustrated case, and the thickness dimension thereof is substantially the same as the thickness of the substrate S, and the height is substantially the same as the transport surface of the substrate S. Placed in position. Accordingly, both the front and back surfaces of the current plate 30 are substantially the same height as the surfaces SU and SL of the substrate S. The rectifying plate 30 includes an air injection region, that is, an intersection position of air injected from the nozzle ports 24U and 24L of the air knife nozzles 20U and 20L, and has a predetermined length before and after that, particularly in the rear side in the transport direction of the substrate S. It is just extended. The shape of the rectifying plate does not necessarily have to be a quadrangle, and may be an arbitrary shape including a triangle, a rhombus, and a circle.
[0019]
The present invention is configured as described above. Next, the operation thereof will be described. The substrate S is cleaned by various methods such as roll brush cleaning, shower cleaning, ultrasonic cleaning, etc. in the previous process, and then transferred to the conveyor means 10 and sent into the liquid draining stage 1 to drop pure water. The excess cleaning solution is removed while keeping both front and back surfaces wet. Then, the substrate S after passing through the liquid draining stage 1 moves from the opening 3 a of the partition wall 3 to the drying stage 2.
[0020]
In the drying stage 2, air knife nozzles 20U and 20L are arranged above and below the transfer surface of the substrate S by the conveyor means 10, and air is constantly ejected from these air knife nozzles 20U and 20L. Therefore, the air jetted from the upper and lower air knife nozzles 20U and 20L intersects at the position indicated by PL in FIG. Here, at the position (A) in FIG. 5, as shown in FIG. 6, the air jetted from the nozzle ports 24U and 24L collides at the intersecting position of the two air knife nozzles 20U and 20L, resulting in a turbulent state. . However, at the position (b) in FIG. 5, the rectifying plate 30 is disposed at the crossing position of the two airs. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 7, the air ejected from the nozzle openings 24 </ b> U and 24 </ b> L The air is guided by the surface of the rectifying plate 30 and flows in a rectified state.
[0021]
The board | substrate S is conveyed by the conveyor means 10, and progresses to an air injection area | region. Since the air knife nozzles 20U and 20L are inclined at a predetermined angle θ with respect to the direction orthogonal to the transport direction of the substrate S, the air injection region is inclined with respect to the substrate S. Ca enters the air injection region. At this time, since the air sprayed from the air knife nozzles 20U and 20L is blown to the corner corner Ca of the substrate S from diagonally forward, the flow of air that has climbed over from the current plate 30 to the corner corner Ca. Will come to reach. Since the air flows in a state in which the air is almost rectified in the direction along both the front and back surfaces of the substrate S by the rectifying plate 30, even if a large amount of liquid adheres to the front surface or the back surface of the substrate S, Even if the air is transported at a high speed and the air injection pressure is increased, the high-pressure air does not collide with the corner corner portion Ca of the substrate S to cause the liquid to scatter to the surroundings or generate mist.
[0022]
In addition, after the corner corner portion Ca of the substrate S has entered in this way, the front end portion La of the substrate S sequentially enters the air injection region, but the air is obliquely directed to the front end portion La. I will get on. Therefore, until just before riding on the front end portion La of the substrate S, even if the air from the nozzle ports 24U and 24L of the air knife nozzles 20U and 20L positioned above and below intersects each other, the substrate is already in a turbulent state. Since the air flow is formed along both the front and back surfaces of S and the removal of the liquid has already progressed, the liquid itself adhering to the substrate S is reduced. For this reason, even if it is in a somewhat turbulent state when air enters the substrate S, there is no possibility that the liquid scatters or mist is generated.
[0023]
From the above, when the substrate S is dried by the air knife effect so that the liquid is peeled from both the front and back surfaces, the liquid is scattered from the substrate S by the action of air, and the substrate S after the drying is finished. The droplets do not adhere to the surface. Moreover, generation | occurrence | production of the mist by scattering of a liquid can be suppressed to the minimum. As a result, it is possible to dry the substrate S by the air knife effect with extremely high accuracy and high speed.
[0024]
【The invention's effect】
Since the present invention is configured as described above, when the substrate is dried by the air knife effect, it is possible to prevent the liquid from the substrate surface from scattering when the corners of the substrate enter the air injection region by the air knife nozzle. The effect of.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram showing a substrate drying mechanism.
FIG. 2 is a plan view of the substrate drying apparatus.
FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of an air knife nozzle.
FIG. 4 is an external perspective view of an air knife nozzle.
FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing the state of air injection onto the surface of the substrate.
6 is an explanatory view showing the action of the jet air from the upper and lower air knife nozzles at the position (A) in FIG.
7 is an explanatory diagram showing the action of the jet air from the upper and lower air knife nozzles at the position (b) in FIG.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Liquid cutting stage 2 Drying stage 3 Bulkhead 5 Air knife drying apparatus 10 Conveying means 20 Air knife nozzle 21 Casing 22 Pressurization chamber 23 Air outflow passage 24 Nozzle port 30 Current plate S Substrate

Claims (4)

During the transport of the substrate of the thin plate in a state of being horizontal or inclined at a predetermined angle by the transporting means, an acute angle toward the rear side of the及beauty, and the substrate transfer direction in the entire length of the direction perpendicular to the substrate conveying direction from the air knife nozzle In the substrate drying apparatus that dries the liquid that adheres to the substrate surface by spraying the pressurized air in a slit shape,
The air knife nozzle is disposed so as to be inclined at a predetermined angle with respect to a direction orthogonal to the transport direction in a plane parallel to the transport surface of the substrate,
Wherein an air injection area by an air knife nozzle, and Ri outer der substrate transfer region by the conveying means, moreover in a position close to the side of the substrate, conveys the air injected from the air knife nozzle of said substrate A substrate drying apparatus characterized in that a rectifying plate is disposed so as to be directed in a plane direction. The rectifying plate arranged on the side portion of the substrate is arranged to include a proximity position of a corner portion where air first enters from the air knife nozzle toward the substrate. The substrate drying apparatus according to claim 1. 3. The substrate drying apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the air knife nozzle is provided at positions on both upper and lower sides across the transport surface of the substrate by the transport means. The thickness of the current plate is substantially the same as the thickness of the substrate, and the current plate is arranged at the same height as the substrate . The board | substrate drying apparatus as described in any one of.

Images