JP5519319B2 - Coating device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a coating apparatus, and more specifically, to a coating apparatus that applies and applies a coating liquid in a liquid column state from a nozzle onto a substrate placed on a stage.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there has been developed a coating apparatus that applies a coating liquid onto a substrate like a single stroke while discharging the coating liquid from a nozzle. For example, in an apparatus for manufacturing an organic EL display device, an organic EL material is nozzle-applied in a predetermined pattern shape on the main surface of a substrate such as a glass substrate placed on a stage. In such a coating apparatus, when the coating liquid is applied to the substrate, the coating liquid is applied to the outside of the substrate in order to collect the coating liquid applied to the outside of the substrate or the unnecessary coating liquid when the nozzle moves out of the substrate. A liquid receiving portion is provided (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

JP 2008-293704 A

  FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view of the liquid receiving portion 100 described in Patent Document 1. The liquid receiving unit 100 includes an adsorbent 101 inside the box unit 102, and the coating liquid applied from the nozzle is sucked and discharged from the suction hole 103 formed on the lower surface via the adsorbent 101.

  However, the coating liquid adsorbed on the adsorbent 101 gradually loses its fluidity as the solvent component evaporates over time, and eventually solidifies. Further, the solidification of the coating liquid inside the adsorbent 101 causes a problem that the suction hole 103 is clogged and the suction capability is lowered.

  When the coating liquid is discharged to the liquid receiving part 100 in a state where the suction capacity is reduced, the liquid coating liquid stored in the upper part of the liquid receiving part collides with the coating liquid discharged from the nozzle, so that the coating liquid is There is a possibility that the problem of scattering in the form of a mist may occur.

  Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a coating apparatus capable of reliably discharging the coating liquid discharged to the liquid receiving portion when the coating liquid is applied to a substrate and preventing the coating liquid from scattering in a mist form. It is.

  In order to achieve the above object, the present invention has the following features.

1st invention is a coating device which discharges the coating liquid of the liquid column state used as the straight-bar shape to the perpendicular | vertical downward direction on a board | substrate, and apply | coats the said coating liquid. A nozzle that discharges in a column state; a stage on which the substrate is placed; a nozzle moving mechanism that reciprocates the nozzle in a direction across the stage surface in a space on the stage; and the nozzle moving mechanism When the nozzle is moved while discharging the coating liquid from the nozzle to a position off the stage along the transverse direction, the liquid receiver receives the coating liquid discharged from the nozzle to the outside of the stage. And the liquid receiving portion is disposed at a position that is vertically downward from a tip portion of the nozzle disposed at a position off the stage, and the nozzle is disposed on an upper surface thereof. From the wetted member coating liquid is discharged, it has a box shape, and a liquid receiver main body to form a space in contact with the lower surface of the liquid contact member by supporting the liquid contact member, the liquid contact member A lid member having a slit-like opening along the moving direction of the nozzle for disposing a part of the upper surface upward, and the liquid contact member communicating with the space of the liquid receiving portion main body Suction means for sucking the coating liquid discharged on the upper surface of the liquid contact member to the lower surface of the liquid contact member, and the liquid contact member discharges the application liquid from the nozzle through the opening of the lid member. characterized in that that.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the coating apparatus according to the first aspect, the liquid receiving portion main body further includes a discharging unit that discharges the coating liquid sucked into the space by the suction unit from the liquid receiving portion main body. It is characterized by that.

A third invention is the coating apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein
The liquid receiving part exhausts the gas in the space by a plurality of exhaust parts arranged on a side surface of the liquid receiving part main body .

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the coating apparatus according to any one of the first to third aspects, the liquid contact member is formed of a porous material.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the coating apparatus according to any one of the first to third aspects, the liquid contact member is formed of a nonwoven fabric.

According to the first aspect of the invention, since the coating liquid discharged on the upper surface of the liquid contact member is sucked into the space in contact with the lower surface of the liquid contact member, the state where the upper surface of the liquid contact member is dry with a simple configuration. Can be maintained. Moreover, it becomes possible to raise the suction efficiency by a suction means by making an opening part into the minimum necessary opening.

  Further, according to the second aspect, the sucked coating liquid can be discharged by another discharging means.

Further, according to the third aspect, the space of the liquid receiving portion main body can be kept uniformly at a negative pressure .

  According to the fourth and fifth inventions, the liquid contact member can be formed of a porous material or a non-woven fabric to form a liquid receiving portion that efficiently absorbs liquid and gas with a simple configuration. It becomes possible.

It is a top view of a coating device. It is a front view of a coating device. It is a perspective view which shows the outline | summary of a liquid receiving part. It is sectional drawing which shows the AA cross section of FIG. It is a schematic diagram which shows the relationship between a liquid receiving part, a stage, and a board | substrate. It is a perspective view which shows the liquid receiving part concerning other embodiment. It is sectional drawing which shows the liquid receiving part concerning other embodiment. It is sectional drawing which shows the liquid receiving part concerning other embodiment. It is sectional drawing which shows the conventional liquid receiving part.

  Hereinafter, the coating apparatus 1 which concerns on embodiment of this invention is demonstrated, referring drawings. In order to make the description more specific, the following description will be given using an example in which the coating apparatus is applied to a coating apparatus that manufactures an organic EL display device that uses an organic EL material, a hole transport material, or the like as a coating liquid. . The coating device 1 is for manufacturing an organic EL display device by applying an organic EL material, a hole transport material, or the like in a predetermined pattern shape on a glass substrate placed on a stage.

  FIG. 1 is a plan view showing a schematic configuration of a main part of the coating apparatus 1. FIG. 2 is a front view of the coating apparatus 1. Note that the coating apparatus 1 uses a plurality of coating liquids such as an organic EL material and a hole transport material as described above, and the organic EL material will be described as a coating liquid as a representative thereof.

  In FIG. 1, the coating apparatus 1 generally includes a substrate mounting device 2, a liquid receiving unit 3, and an organic EL coating mechanism 5.

  The substrate mounting apparatus 2 includes a stage 21, a turning unit 22, a parallel movement table 23, a guide receiving unit 24, and a guide member 25.

  The stage 21 places a substrate P such as a glass substrate to be coated on the upper surface of the stage. The lower part of the stage 21 is supported by the turning unit 22, and the stage 21 is configured to be rotatable in the θ direction shown in the figure by the turning operation of the turning unit 22.

  In addition, a heating mechanism for preheating the substrate P coated with the organic EL material on the stage surface, a suction mechanism for the substrate P, a delivery pin mechanism, and the like are provided inside the stage 21.

  A guide member 25 extends in the Y-axis direction in the drawing and is fixed horizontally so as to pass under the organic EL coating mechanism 5. A guide receiving portion 24 that abuts on the guide member 25 and slides on the guide member 25 is fixed to the lower surface of the translation table 23.

  In addition, the swivel unit 22 is fixed on the upper surface of the translation table 23. Accordingly, the parallel movement table 23 can be moved in the Y-axis direction along the guide member 25 by receiving a driving force from, for example, a linear motor (not shown), and the stage 21 supported by the turning unit 22 can be moved. Horizontal movement is also possible.

  The liquid receiving part 3 includes a liquid receiving part 3L and a liquid receiving part 3R in the left-right direction (X direction) with respect to the substrate, and details will be described later.

  The organic EL coating mechanism 5 includes a nozzle moving mechanism unit 51 and a nozzle unit 50.

  The nozzle moving mechanism 51 has a guide member 511 extending in the X-axis direction in the figure, and moves the nozzle unit 50 in the X-axis direction in the figure along the guide member 511. The nozzle unit 50 holds a plurality of nozzles 52 (three nozzles 52a, 52b, and 52c in FIG. 1) that discharge organic EL materials of any one color of red, green, and blue in parallel. To do.

  To each of the nozzles 52a to 52c, an organic EL material of any one color of red, green, and blue is supplied from a supply unit (not shown). Thus, although the organic EL material of the same color is discharged from the plurality of nozzles 52, an example in which the red organic EL material is discharged from the three nozzles 52a to 52c will be used for specific description.

  When the substrate P is placed on the stage 21 via the delivery pin mechanism, the substrate P is sucked and fixed, and the parallel movement table 23 moves to the lower side of the organic EL coating mechanism 5, the substrate P becomes red organic. This is the position where the application of the EL material is received from the nozzles 52a to 52c. Then, a control unit (not shown) controls the nozzle moving mechanism 51 so as to reciprocate the nozzle unit 50 in the X-axis direction, and moves the stage 21 by a predetermined pitch in the Y-axis direction every linear movement. The parallel movement table 23 is controlled to discharge the organic EL material at a predetermined flow rate from the nozzles 52a to 52c.

  In addition, at the discharge positions in the X-axis direction of the nozzles 52a to 52c, in both side spaces deviating from the substrate P placed on the stage 21, a liquid receiving portion 3L that receives the organic EL material discharged out of the substrate P and Each of the 3Rs is fixed. The nozzle moving mechanism 51 is arranged outside the other side of the substrate P across the substrate P from the upper space of the liquid receiving portion 3 (for example, the liquid receiving portion 3L) disposed outside the one side of the substrate P. The nozzle unit 50 is reciprocated to the upper space of the liquid receiver 3 (for example, the liquid receiver 3R) provided.

  The parallel movement table 23 has a predetermined pitch (for example, nozzle pitch) in a predetermined direction (Y-axis direction in the drawing) perpendicular to the nozzle reciprocating direction when the nozzle unit 50 is disposed in the upper space of the liquid receiving unit 3. Stage 21). Simultaneously with the operation of the nozzle moving mechanism 51 and the parallel moving table 23, the organic EL material is ejected from the nozzles 52a to 52c in a liquid column state, whereby the red organic EL material is formed in a stripe shape formed on the substrate P. A so-called stripe arrangement arranged for each groove is formed on the substrate P.

  The nozzle unit 50 holds the nozzles 52a to 52c separated by a predetermined pitch in the Y-axis direction. Further, the pitch of each nozzle in the Y-axis direction can be individually adjusted according to the pattern to be applied on the substrate.

  Next, the liquid receiver 3 will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4. FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the structure of the liquid receiver 3. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the liquid receiver 3 taken along the line AA in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 3, the liquid receiving part 3 includes a box part 31, a lid part 32, a porous material 33, an exhaust part 34, and an exhaust part 35.
The box portion 31 has a horizontally long box shape extending in the X-axis direction, and is fixed so that the positional relationship with the nozzle moving mechanism portion 51 is always fixed. A slit-like opening is formed in the X-axis direction on the upper surface of the box portion 31 by the lid portion 32. In addition, the porous material 33 is disposed in the opening in a state of being opened upward. The width of the opening portion of the lid portion 32 has a width for applying all the organic EL material discharged in a liquid column state from the nozzles 52a to 52c.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the interior of the liquid receiving portion 3 includes an internal space L surrounded by a box portion 31, a porous material 33, and a lid portion 32. The exhaust portion 34 communicates with the side surface of the internal space L, and the discharge portion 35 communicates with the lower portion of the internal space L.

  As described above, when the organic EL material is applied to the substrate P, the nozzles 52a to 52c are scanned and moved above the liquid receiving portion 3 while discharging the organic EL material (coating liquid). At this time, the liquid receiving part 3 is arrange | positioned in the position where the nozzles 52a-52c and the porous material 33 oppose. Therefore, the coating liquid discharged from the nozzles 52 a to 52 c comes into contact with the upper surface of the porous material 33. That is, the porous material 33 becomes a liquid contact member.

  The lower surface of the porous material 33 is in contact with the internal space L of the box portion 31 and is maintained at a negative pressure by the communicating exhaust portion 34. Therefore, the coating liquid adhering to the upper surface of the porous material 33 passes through the space inside the porous material 33, is sucked toward the internal space L, and drops into the box portion 31. The coating liquid dropped into the box unit 31 is discharged from the discharge unit 35 and connected to a drain tank (not shown).

  Inside the liquid receiving part 3, the exhaust part 34 is connected to a relatively high position of the internal space L. Therefore, the coating liquid dropped into the internal space L is discharged from the discharge portion 35 communicated with the lower portion of the box portion 31 without flowing into the exhaust portion 34.

  The porous material 33 used in this embodiment is formed by sintering a resin such as polyethylene. Depending on the liquid to be applied, the resin material can be appropriately selected. As an example, Sunfine (registered trademark of Asahi Kasei Chemicals Corporation) or the like is used. In general, a porous material is formed by sintering a powder of resin or the like, and irregular voids are three-dimensionally formed inside. Therefore, fluid such as gas or liquid can be passed.

  Two exhaust parts 34 are formed on the (−Y) side surface of the box part 31. Therefore, it is possible to keep the internal space L of the box part 31 uniformly at a negative pressure. In the present embodiment, two exhaust parts 34 are formed on the side surface on the (−Y) side. However, depending on the length of the box part 31 in the X direction and the required negative pressure, the mounting position and number of the exhaust parts 34 are appropriately determined. It is possible to select.

  Further, since the internal space L that is in contact with the lower surface of the porous material 33 has a negative pressure, the coating liquid in contact with the upper surface is rapidly sucked into the lower surface together with the surrounding gas. Therefore, the coating liquid is not always present near the upper surface of the porous material 33 and is in a dry state.

   As described above, when the coating apparatus 1 applies the coating liquid to the entire surface of the substrate, the coating liquid is discharged to the liquid receiving unit 3 many times by the nozzles 52a to 52c that move by scanning. At this time, if the coating liquid remains in the liquid receiving portion 3, the coating liquid discharged in a straight bar shape collides with the remaining coating liquid to generate mist-like liquid droplets. The generated mist-like droplets are scattered on the substrate by the air flow generated by the scanning movement of the nozzle unit 50.

  However, according to the coating apparatus 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention, the upper surface of the porous material 33 to which the coating liquid discharged from the nozzles 52a to 52c contacts is always in a dry state. It is possible to prevent generation of mist-like droplets.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the upper end surface of the liquid receiving portion 3 is fixed so as to have substantially the same height as the upper surface of the stage 21 (see height c in FIG. 5). The side surface on the stage 21 side of the liquid receiving portion 3 is fixedly provided with a predetermined gap in the vicinity of the stage 21. The liquid receiving unit 3 partially overlaps the substrate P placed so that a part thereof protrudes from the side surface of the stage 21 in the illustrated (+ X) direction (see length a in FIG. 5). (See overlap length b in FIG. 4).

  By disposing the liquid receiving part 3 with respect to the substrate P as described above, the coating liquid ejected while the nozzles 52a to 52c scan and move above the substrate P is surely the substrate P and the liquid receiving part 3. It is discharged only on the top.

  As described above, in the coating apparatus 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention, the porous material 33 is disposed on the upper portion of the liquid receiving portion 3, and the coating liquid discharged on the upper surface of the porous material 33 is always Since it is sucked toward the internal space L, it is possible to prevent the generation of mist-like droplets, but this is not limited to the above configuration, and may be configured by other embodiments.

  For example, FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing a liquid receiving part 41 according to another embodiment of the present invention. The liquid receiving part 41 includes an exhaust part 42 in the (+ X) direction of the box part 31. Thus, the structure of the exhaust part can be simplified. Further, the exhaust air volume can be ensured by using exhaust from the side as in the above-described embodiment.

  Moreover, FIG. 7 is sectional drawing which shows the liquid receiving part 44 concerning other embodiment of this invention. In the liquid receiving portion 44, the porous material 45 is disposed so as to be inclined with respect to the horizontal direction. A space L is formed by the porous material 45 arranged in an inclined manner. By arranging in this way, the liquid receiving portion 44 can be formed in a compact manner.

  In the above-described embodiment, the porous material 33 (porous material 45) is used as the liquid contact member that contacts the coating liquid discharged from the nozzles 52a to 52c in the liquid receiving portion 3 (liquid receiving portions 41 and 44). However, it is not limited to these. For example, any material having a gap that allows gas to pass along with the liquid, such as a nonwoven fabric, a cotton-like body, a woven fabric, or a mesh-like thin plate, can be used as the liquid contact member.

  For example, as shown in FIG. 8 as the liquid receiving portion 46, a large number of slit-like members 47 may be used instead of the porous material as the liquid contact member that contacts the coating liquid. The slit-shaped member 47 is configured so that the liquid can easily flow downward from the gap by passing gas through the gap inclined in the oblique direction. Here, as the slit-like member 47, a metal plate such as stainless steel, a resin material such as PTFE (polytetrafluoroethylene), or the like can be used.

  Moreover, although the structure which forms a space | gap was described as the space L which contact | connects the lower surface of a liquid-contacting member, it does not restrict to this. For example, a low-density cotton-like member, a plurality of columnar members, or the like that does not generate much pressure loss as in the space L may be disposed in the space L.

  In the above-described embodiment, the red organic EL material of red, green, and blue is applied to the substrate P by a set of three nozzles 52a to 52c. It may be a material, and can also be used for application of a hole transport layer material.

  Further, red, green, and blue organic EL materials may be discharged from the nozzles 52a to 52c, respectively. In this case, a so-called stripe arrangement arranged in the order of red, green, and blue is formed in one coating process.

  In the above-described embodiment, the organic EL material is poured into each groove of the substrate P by a set of three nozzles 52a to 52c. However, this number is not limited to three, but one. Even more, it may be applied by a larger number of nozzles. By increasing the number of nozzles, the number of coatings that can be applied by one scanning movement increases, so that the processing time can be shortened.

  In the above-described embodiment, the manufacturing apparatus of an organic EL display device using an organic EL material or a hole transport material as a coating liquid has been described as an example. However, the present invention can also be applied to other coating apparatuses. . For example, the present invention can be applied to an apparatus for applying a fluorescent material used to manufacture a resist solution, a SOG (Spin On Glass) solution, or a PDP (plasma display panel). Further, the present invention can also be applied to an apparatus for applying a color material used for manufacturing a color filter configured in a liquid crystal cell in order to perform color display on a liquid crystal color display. Furthermore, when manufacturing the solar panel used for photovoltaic power generation, it can apply also to the apparatus which performs an application | coating process.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Substrate processing apparatus 2 Substrate mounting apparatus 3 Liquid receiving part 5 Organic EL application mechanism 21 Stage 31 Box part 32 Cover part 33 Porous material 34 Exhaust part 35 Discharge part 50 Nozzle unit 51 Nozzle moving mechanism 52a-52c Nozzle

Claims (5)

A coating apparatus that applies a coating liquid by discharging a coating liquid in a liquid column state in a vertically downward direction onto a substrate,
A nozzle that discharges the coating liquid from the tip in the liquid column state;
A stage for placing the substrate on its upper surface;
A nozzle moving mechanism for reciprocally moving the nozzle in a direction across the stage surface in the space on the stage;
When the nozzle moving mechanism moves the nozzle while discharging the coating liquid from the nozzle to a position off the stage along the transverse direction, the coating liquid discharged from the nozzle to the outside of the stage A liquid receiving part for receiving,
The liquid receiver is
A liquid contact member that is disposed at a position that is vertically downward from a tip portion of the nozzle disposed at a position off the stage, and that discharges the coating liquid from the nozzle to the upper surface thereof;
A liquid receiving part body having a box shape and forming a space in contact with the lower surface of the liquid contact member by supporting the liquid contact member;
A lid member having a slit-like opening along the moving direction of the nozzle for disposing a part of the upper surface of the liquid contact member upward;
A suction means that communicates with the space of the liquid receiving portion main body and sucks the coating liquid discharged on the upper surface of the liquid contact member to the lower surface of the liquid contact member ;
The liquid contact member discharges the coating liquid from the nozzle via the opening of the lid member . In the coating device described in Claim 1,
The liquid receiving unit main body further includes a discharging unit that discharges the coating liquid sucked into the space by the suction unit from the liquid receiving unit main body. In the coating device according to claim 1 or 2,
The liquid receiving unit exhausts the gas in the space by a plurality of exhaust units arranged on a side surface of the liquid receiving unit main body . In the coating device described in any one of Claims 1-3,
The liquid contact member is formed of a porous material. In the coating device described in any one of Claims 1-3,
The liquid-applying member is formed of a non-woven fabric.

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