JP5643690B2 - Coating apparatus and coating method - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a coating apparatus including a slit nozzle that discharges a coating liquid onto a substrate and a coating method performed by the coating apparatus.

A substrate for performing photoelectric conversion is used in the solar cell panel, and this substrate is manufactured through a step of applying a predetermined coating solution to a glass substrate to form a coating film.
In order to form this coating film, it is possible to use a coating apparatus provided with a slit nozzle in which a long hole in the width direction and a long slit in the width direction communicating with the hole are formed, and supplied to the hole By discharging the applied coating solution through the slit, a coating film is formed on the glass substrate by the coating solution.

  In addition, a coating apparatus is known in which the slit nozzle is provided with discharge width changing means for changing the discharge width of the coating liquid from the slit. The discharge width changing means has a seal body provided in the hole and a thin plate-like spacer provided in the slit, and the seal body has a seal surface in contact with the inner wall surface of the hole, In this hole, the coating liquid is prevented from leaking outside in the width direction from the seal body. The spacer is set to a thickness that is equal to or slightly smaller than the slit gap, and restricts the coating liquid from flowing further outward in the width direction in the slit. The discharge width is defined by the spacer, and the discharge width can be changed by moving the spacer in the width direction together with the seal body.

As such a discharge width change means, there exists a thing of patent document 1, for example, and as shown to the schematic of Fig.6 (a), this discharge width change means is long in the width direction in a slit nozzle. A seal member 91 provided in the hole 90 and a thin plate-like spacer 93 provided in the slit 92 are provided.
As another discharge width changing means, there is one disclosed in Patent Document 2, and as shown in the schematic view of FIG. 6B, a strip-shaped metal foil is wound around the outer periphery of the cylindrical base 94. A main body 95 having a first portion 95a and a thin second portion 95b disposed in the slit 92, and a C-shaped packing 96 externally mounted on a cylindrical base 94 through the first portion 95a.

JP-A-4-222660 JP-A-6-114317

In the configuration described in Patent Document 1, the seal member 91 and the spacer 93 are arranged adjacent to each other with different positions in the width direction. That is, the water stop line of the seal member 91 and the water stop line of the spacer 93 are not continuous in the same cross section. For this reason, there is a possibility that the coating liquid leaks at the boundary portion 99 between the seal member 91 and the spacer 93.
In Patent Document 2, a slit portion 97 that is long in the width direction is formed in the C-shaped packing 96, and the C-shaped packing 96 forms a base end portion (hem) of the second portion 95 b in the slit portion 97. It is the structure which pinches | interposes. In order to prevent liquid leakage between the slit portion 97 and the base end portion of the second portion 95b, it is necessary to make sure that the two portions are in close contact with each other without any gap. However, the C-shaped packing 96 and the main body portion 95 are integrated. When the slit nozzle is moved back and forth in the width direction, in the slit portion 97 having low torsional rigidity in the C-shaped packing 96, the outer peripheral end portion 98b is turned from the inner peripheral end portion 98a, and a gap is generated. Cause the coating liquid to leak.
As described above, the conventional discharge width changing means has a problem that the performance of preventing the leakage of the coating liquid in the slit nozzle is low.

  Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a coating apparatus having a configuration with high performance for preventing leakage of coating liquid in a slit nozzle and a coating method performed by the coating apparatus.

  The present invention provides a slit nozzle in which a long hole in the width direction and a long slit in the width direction communicating with the hole are formed, and the coating liquid supplied to the hole is discharged through the slit, and the hole and the slit. And a discharge width changing means that changes the discharge width of the coating liquid from the slit by moving in the width direction, and the discharge width changing means includes an O-shaped elastic member that contacts the inner wall surface of the hole. A seal body section that divides the hole into a coating liquid side and a width direction outside thereof, and restricts the coating liquid from flowing out in the width direction within the slit, and is harder than the elastic member and It has a thin plate-like spacer in which an edge part bites into a part of the outer periphery of the elastic member.

  According to the present invention, the O-shaped elastic member of the seal body and the spacer with the edge portion biting into a part of the outer periphery of the elastic member allow the slit to pass through the inner wall surface of the hole. A water stop line continuous to the other surface is formed in the same cross section. With this continuous water stop line, it is possible to enhance the performance of preventing the leakage of the coating liquid at the slit nozzle. And since the part where the edge part of the spacer bites is limited to the local range in the radial direction of the elastic member, the elastic member does not turn over when the seal body moves forward and backward, and the performance of preventing liquid leakage is maintained. Is possible.

The O-shaped elastic member is preferably made of sponge rubber that is deformed along the shape of the edge portion with the edge portion of the spacer biting in.
In this case, the portion of the elastic member that the edge of the spacer bites into (the biting portion) follows the shape of the edge and is easily recessed and deformed, so the edge and the elastic member (the biting portion) It is difficult to form a gap in the coating liquid, and it is possible to easily prevent the coating liquid from leaking from the boundary portion between the spacer and the elastic member. Thereby, it becomes easy to improve the performance of preventing liquid leakage with a simple configuration.

Moreover, it is preferable that the said seal main-body part has a diameter-expansion member which switches the diameter expansion of the said O-shaped elastic member, and cancellation | release of diameter expansion.
In this case, the contact surface pressure between the inner wall surface of the hole and the elastic member can be secured in a state where the diameter of the O-shaped elastic member is expanded by the diameter expanding member, and the performance of preventing liquid leakage can be improved. it can. In a state where the diameter expansion of the elastic member is released, the force with which the outer periphery of the elastic member contacts the inner peripheral wall of the hole can be weakened, the contact resistance is reduced, and the seal main body portion having this elastic member is removed from the hole. This makes it easy to move forward and backward.

In addition, the diameter-expanding member can be brought into contact with and separated from the O-shaped elastic member in the width direction, and enters the inner periphery of the elastic member when approaching the elastic member. It is preferable to have a taper outer peripheral surface that expands the diameter.
In this case, the elastic member can be enlarged by the tapered outer peripheral surface by bringing the diameter-expanding member closer to the elastic member, and the elastic restoring force of the elastic member can be obtained by separating the diameter-expanding member from the elastic member. Thus, the diameter expansion can be canceled. As a result, the performance of preventing liquid leakage can be expressed with good reproducibility.

The discharge width changing means has a shaft that can move back and forth in the width direction in the hole, and the seal main body portion holds the spacer and moves in the width direction with respect to the shaft. It is preferable to have an annular piston which is limited and is fitted over the shaft with a gap.
In this case, since the movement of the piston in the width direction with respect to the shaft is restricted, the piston can be moved forward and backward along the hole by moving the shaft forward and backward, and this piston holds the spacer. Therefore, the spacer can be moved forward and backward along the slit together with the piston. That is, it becomes possible to perform the discharge width changing operation performed by moving the spacer in the width direction using the shaft.
Since the annular piston is fitted with a gap on the shaft, the shaft moves further in the circumferential direction even if the shaft is not exactly aligned with the slit center plane. Even if the piston moves forward and backward, the self-standing posture of the piston and the spacer is not affected, and it is possible to prevent the spacer from coming into strong contact with the slit and the performance of preventing both from being damaged and leaking. As a result, even when the slit nozzle has a long shaft advance / retreat distance and a large change amount of the discharge width, it is possible to easily improve the performance of preventing liquid leakage.

  In addition, the piston preferably has a positioning portion for positioning concentrically with the hole at a part of the center in the width direction on the outer peripheral side. In this case, a spacer held by the piston is provided. The spacer can be positioned with respect to the direction in which the coating liquid flows to easily improve the liquid leakage prevention performance of the spacer.

The present invention is also a coating method in which a coating film made of a coating solution is formed on a substrate by the coating apparatus, and the seal body portion and the spacer which the discharge width changing means has in the width direction dimension of the coating film. It is specified by adjusting the position.
ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, application | coating of a coating liquid with a slit nozzle with the high performance which prevents the leakage of a coating liquid is attained, and the coating film of a desired width | variety can be formed in a board | substrate.

  According to the present invention, a continuous water stop line from one surface of the slit to the other surface of the slit through the inner wall surface of the hole is formed in the same cross section, so that liquid leakage in the slit nozzle is caused by the continuous water stop line. It is possible to improve the performance of preventing

It is the schematic which shows one Embodiment of the coating device of this invention. It is sectional drawing which looked at the slit nozzle from the front. It is sectional drawing which expanded and showed the lower part of the slit nozzle seen in the width direction. It is a front view of the application width change means installed in the slit nozzle. It is an exploded view of a coating width changing means. It is explanatory drawing of the conventional coating device.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a schematic view showing an embodiment of the coating apparatus of the present invention. The coating apparatus includes a base 1, a guide member 2 provided on the base 1, a stage 3 that can be moved in the front-rear direction by the guide member 2 and on which a substrate W can be placed, and the stage 3 is moved in the front-rear direction. And a drive unit 4 to be moved. The coating apparatus includes a slit nozzle 10 that discharges and applies a coating liquid onto the substrate W on the stage 3. The substrate W is a rectangular sheet member, and is a glass substrate for a solar cell panel in the present embodiment.

The guide member 2 is a guide for guiding the stage 3 in the front-rear direction, and the drive unit 4 moves the stage 3 in the front-rear direction. The drive unit 4 has, for example, a ball screw mechanism that is rotated by a servo motor (not shown), and the movement of the stage 3 in the front-rear direction and its movement position can be controlled by this ball screw mechanism.
The stage 3 can place the substrate W on the upper surface thereof, and can hold (fix) the substrate W by, for example, air suction force or electrostatic force.
The base 1 is provided with a slit nozzle column (not shown), and the slit nozzle 10 is fixed to the column.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the slit nozzle 10 as viewed from the front. FIG. 3 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the lower portion of the slit nozzle 10 as viewed in the width direction. 1 to 3, the slit nozzle 10 is made of metal, and has a main body block 14, a front lip 12, and a rear lip 13 that are long in the block-like width direction. It is arranged with a gap in the direction and is integrated with the main body block 14. A long hole (manifold) 15 in the width direction is formed in the main body block 14, and this hole 15 communicates with a long slit 16 formed between the lips 12 and 13. The longitudinal direction of the slit 16 coincides with the width direction of the coating apparatus, and the direction orthogonal to the width direction is the front-rear direction.
In the present embodiment (see FIG. 1), by assembling the first main body block 14a integrated with the front lip 12 and the second main body block 14b integrated with the rear lip 13, the hole (manifold) 15 and the slit 16 are assembled. Is formed. The main body block 14 includes a first main body block 14a and a second main body block 14b.

In FIG. 1, the coating apparatus further includes a tank 5 storing the coating liquid L, a pump unit 6 having a pump and a valve, and a pipe 7 through which the coating liquid L flows, and the pump unit 6 is driven. Thus, the coating liquid L in the tank 5 can be supplied to the hole 15 of the slit nozzle 10 through the pipe 7. Then, the coating liquid L supplied to the hole 15 is discharged through the slit 16 and applied onto the substrate W. That is, the slit 16 becomes the discharge port 11 from which the coating liquid L is discharged.
As described above, the slit nozzle 10 has the discharge port 11 formed of the slit 16, and the coating liquid L can be discharged and applied to the substrate W from the discharge port 11. The coating liquid L continuously discharged from the discharge port 11 is discharged in the form of a strip that is long in the width direction. At the same time, the stage 3 holding the substrate W is moved rearward by the driving unit 4, thereby A coating film S is formed on the substrate W by the coating liquid L. In addition, the dimension of the width direction of the coating film S is called the application width B.

In addition, as shown in FIG. 2, this coating apparatus is provided in the hole 15 and the slit 16 of the slit nozzle 10 and changes the discharge width D of the coating liquid from the slit 16 by moving in the width direction. A width changing means 9 is provided. FIG. 4 is a front view of the coating width changing means 9 installed in the slit nozzle 10, and FIG. 5 is an exploded view of the coating width changing means 9. The discharge width changing means 9 is provided on both sides of the slit nozzle 10 in the width direction. FIGS. 4 and 5 show the application width changing means 9 provided on one side (left side) in FIG. ing.
The discharge width changing means 9 has a seal body 18 provided in the hole 15 and a spacer 17 provided in the slit 16. In addition, the coating liquid L supplied from the pump unit 6 shown in FIG. 1 is supplied between the seal body portions 18 on both sides in the width direction. 3 is a sectional view of V ₃ arrow in FIG.

  Further, in FIG. 4, the discharge width changing means 9 has a shaft 40 that can move back and forth in the width direction in the hole 15, and the seal body 18 is attached to the shaft 40. Since the seal body 18 and the spacer 17 are integrated, the spacer 17 and the seal body 18 can be displaced in the width direction by moving the shaft 40 forward and backward in the width direction. The shaft 40 is a linear member, and has an end portion having a flange portion 40a that expands radially outward, and a screw 40b is formed in the middle portion.

The spacer 17 is a thin plate member provided in the slit 16 (see FIG. 3), and is slightly thinner than the width (dimension in the front-rear direction) of the slit 16. The spacer 17 is made of a member harder than elastic members 41 and 42 described later, and is made of metal in the present embodiment, and can be made of, for example, stainless steel. The spacer 17 can restrict the coating liquid from flowing further outward in the width direction in the slit 16. In particular, in this embodiment, the total of two gaps (gaps on both sides) between the slit 16 and both side surfaces of the spacer 17 is set to 1 μm to 10 μm. Leaking to the outside in the width direction from 17 can be prevented.
For this reason, the spacer 17 defines the width direction dimension (discharge width D) of the discharge port 11 which is the width at which the coating liquid is discharged, and by moving the spacer 17 in the width direction, The width direction dimension (discharge width D) can be changed. That is, the width direction dimension of the discharge port 11 means a width dimension that allows the application liquid L to be discharged, and by changing the discharge width D, the application width B by the application liquid can be changed. With this spacer 17 (application width changing means 9), the application width B can be changed to various values without replacing the slit nozzle 10. In addition, the width direction dimension of the spacer 17 in the slit 16 can be determined as appropriate in consideration of the liquid leakage prevention performance, the resistance during forward / backward movement, ease of handling, and the like. In this embodiment, the width direction dimension of the spacer 17 is set to 50 mm. In the present embodiment, the spacer 17 is composed of a single thin plate member, but a plurality of thin plate members may be used in an overlapping manner.

  The seal body 18 has an O-shaped (annular) first elastic member 41 that contacts the inner wall surface 15 a of the hole 15. In this embodiment, the seal body 18 further includes an O-shaped member that contacts the inner wall surface 15 a of the hole 15. Shaped second elastic member 42, annular (cylindrical) piston 43, annular first diameter-expanding member 44, annular first ring member 45, annular second diameter-expanding member 46 A second ring member 47 that is annular, and a cylindrical sleeve member 48.

  The sleeve member 48 is formed with a female screw 48a that is screwed into the screw 40b of the shaft 40. The sleeve member 48 is turned in one direction to be screwed into the shaft 40 (screwed to the right in FIG. 4). The elastic members 41, 42, the piston 43, etc. can be tightened in the width direction between the sleeve member 48 and the flange portion 40a of the shaft 40 (this is hereinafter referred to as a tightening operation). The elastic members 41 and 42, the piston 43, and the like are in a state where movement in the width direction is restricted with respect to the shaft 40 (this state is referred to as a tightened state). By moving the shaft 40 in the width direction in this state, the piston 43 and the spacer 17 held by the piston 43 can be moved in the width direction.

  On the other hand, when the sleeve member 48 is rotated in the other direction, the tightening can be released (this state is referred to as an untightened state), and the elastic members 41, 42, the piston 43, and the like have a predetermined movement in the width direction. It becomes an allowable state in the range. That is, the movement in the width direction is limited within a predetermined range. In this untightened state, the diameter-expanding members 44 and 46 can be separated from each other in the width direction with respect to the O-shaped elastic members 41 and 42. The diameter members 44 and 46 are close to the O-shaped elastic members 41 and 42 in the width direction. That is, the diameter-expanding members 44 and 46 can contact and separate in the width direction with respect to the elastic members 41 and 42.

  The piston 43 fixes the spacer 17, and the piston 43 and the spacer 17 move as a unit. Further, as described above, the piston 43 is in a state in which movement in the width direction is restricted or restricted with respect to the shaft 40. However, since the piston 43 is attached to the shaft 40 with a gap therebetween, Even if it exists, it becomes possible for the piston 43 to rotate in the circumferential direction. That is, the inner diameter of the piston 43 is set larger than the outer diameter of the shaft portion of the shaft 40 on which the piston 43 is fitted. The dimension in the width direction of the piston 43 is smaller than the dimension in the width direction of the spacer 17, and the spacer 17 protrudes on both sides in the width direction from the piston 43. The spacer 17 slightly protrudes from the slit 16 toward the center side of the hole 15 at a portion protruding to both sides in the width direction from the piston 43. For this reason, as will be described later, the end edge portion 57 of the spacer 17 can contact the outer circumferences of the first elastic member 41 and the second elastic member 42 provided on both sides of the piston 43 in the width direction.

  In FIG. 5, the first elastic member 41 is made of an annular sponge rubber, and is interposed between the first diameter-expanding member 44 and the first ring member 45. The second elastic member 42 is made of an annular sponge rubber and is interposed between the second diameter-expanding member 46 and the second ring member 47. The first elastic member 41 and the second elastic member 42 are the same, and are each in an untightened state, and the outer diameter thereof is slightly smaller (or substantially the same) as the inner diameter of the hole 15 (inner wall surface 15a). is there). According to the tightening operation, the diameter-expanding member 44 (46) expands the diameter of the elastic member 41 (42) by compressing the elastic member 41 (42) in the width direction between the ring member 45 (47). Can be made.

  The first diameter-expanding member 44 has a tapered outer peripheral surface 44a on the first elastic member 41 side, and the outer diameter of the end portion on the small diameter side of the tapered outer peripheral surface 44a in the untightened state is that of the elastic member 41. The outer diameter of the large diameter side end is smaller than the inner diameter, and is set larger than the inner diameter of the elastic member 41. For this reason, when the taper outer peripheral surface 44a is brought close to the elastic member 41 by the tightening operation by the sleeve member 48 to be in the tightened state, the taper outer peripheral surface 44a is inserted into the inner periphery of the elastic member 41 and the elastic member 41 is elastic. The member 41 can be elastically deformed and expanded in diameter.

A tapered inner peripheral surface 45a is formed on the first ring member 45 on the first diameter-expanding member 44 side. The tapered inner peripheral surface 45a is inserted into the tapered outer peripheral surface 44a, and the tapered outer peripheral surface 44a. The elastic member 41 can be sandwiched between the two. The first diameter-expanding member 44 and the first ring member 45 are members that are harder than the elastic member 41, and are made of, for example, metal.
According to the first diameter-expanding member 44 and the first ring member 45, the elastic member 41 can be elastically expanded in the tightened state, and the outer diameter of the expanded elastic member 41 is a hole. Assuming that there is no 15, the inner diameter of the hole 15 (inner wall surface 15a) can be larger. For this reason, the outer peripheral surface of the elastic member 41 present in the hole 15 is in close contact with the inner wall surface 15a with a crush margin, and leakage of the coating liquid can be prevented.

  The configurations and functions of the second diameter-expanding member 46, the second elastic member 42, and the second ring member 47 are the same as those of the first diameter-expanding member 44, the first elastic member 41, and the first ring member 45. Therefore, although the details are omitted here, the second elastic member 42 has a sealing function (preventing leakage of the coating liquid L) by the first elastic member 41 and a posture maintaining function (piston 43) of the seal body 18. And prevention of contact of the inner wall surface 15a of the hole 15).

  As described above, in the tightened state, the elastic members 41 and 42 can be expanded to prevent leakage of the coating liquid, and the seal body 18 has the hole 15 on the coating liquid side (filled with the coating liquid). Side) and its outer side in the width direction (atmosphere side). And if it switches to the said non-tightening state, the diameter expansion of the elastic members 41 and 42 can be cancelled | released. That is, the diameter-expanding members 44 and 46 (and the ring members 45 and 47) can be switched by switching the diameter-expansion and the diameter-releasing of the O-shaped elastic members 41 and 42.

  The spacer 17 having a thin plate shape is made of metal, whereas the elastic members 41 and 42 are sponge rubber. Thus, since the spacer 17 is harder than the elastic members 41 and 42, in the tightened state, as shown in FIG. 3, the end edge portion 57 of the spacer 17 tends to expand in the hole 15. The elastic member 41 (42) is in a state of being bitten into a part 58 of the outer periphery of the elastic member 41 (42). And this biting state has arisen over the full length direction of the elastic member 41 (42).

In the free state, the elastic members 41 and 42 are sponge rubber having an outer peripheral surface made of a continuous annular surface without a dent. The elastic members 41 and 42 have edge portions 57 of the spacer 17 on the elastic members 41 and 42. In the state where the bite is bitten, the biting part (the part 58) is deformed into a concave shape having a rectangular cross section along the shape of the edge 57. Such deformation can occur because the elastic members 41 and 42 are sponge rubber and easily follow the cross-sectional change. The hardness of the sponge rubber is preferably in the range of 20 to 50 in terms of Asker C hardness as defined by the Japan Rubber Association Standard (SRIS0101). If the hardness is too small, it is difficult to prevent the coating liquid from leaking when the diameter is increased, and if it is too large, it is difficult to follow the change in the cross section.
Further, the dimension at which the edge 57 of the spacer 17 bites, that is, the distance H from the edge 57 of the spacer 17 to the entrance of the slit 16 (boundary with the hole 15) shown in FIG. It is preferably determined in consideration of the followability and durability of the cross-sectional change and positioning accuracy (dimension tolerance of the distance H) to be described later of the spacer 17. In the present embodiment, it is set within a range of 0.2 mm to 1 mm. Has been.
Moreover, it is preferable that the thickness of the sponge rubber in the width direction is set within a range of 2 mm to 5 mm. If the thickness is too thin, it is difficult to sufficiently develop the sealing function. If the thickness is too thick, contact resistance with the inner wall surface 15a of the hole 15 is large in the tightened state, which is necessary for moving the shaft 40 in the width direction. Power is excessive. Furthermore, the radial thickness of the elastic members 41 and 42 is set to a range that is sufficiently large with respect to the distance H and that the inner diameter of the hole 15 does not become too large, and is in the range of 5 mm to 10 mm. It is preferable.
In this embodiment, in order to prevent liquid leakage, the elastic members 41 and 42 are porous sponge rubber due to closed cells. However, if the bubbles are fine enough to prevent liquid penetration in the sponge rubber alone, the elastic members 41 and 42 are independent. It does not have to be air bubbles. As the material of the sponge rubber, silicon rubber, EPDM rubber, and fluorine rubber are suitable from the viewpoint of solvent resistance.

As described above, according to the coating apparatus according to the present embodiment, the elastic member 41 (42) and the spacer 17 in which the end edge portion 57 bites into a part 58 of the outer periphery of the elastic member 41 (42) are shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 4, a water stop line (two in FIG. 4) continues from one surface 61 of the slit 16 to the other surface 62 of the slit 16 through the entire circumference of the inner wall surface 15a of the hole 15 (excluding the slit 16 portion). A line indicated by a chain line) is formed in the same cross section. In the slit 16, the spacer 17 can prevent the ingress of the coating liquid even in the region on the coating liquid side from the water stop line, and the discharge width D is defined by the side edge 59 of the spacer 17.
The continuous water stop line can prevent the coating liquid from leaking from the slit nozzle 10, and in the present embodiment, since the elastic member 41 (42) is made of sponge rubber, the elastic member 41 (42) Of these, the portion (the portion 58) into which the edge portion 57 of the spacer 17 bites is recessed following the shape of the edge portion 57 and easily deformed. For this reason, it is hard to produce a clearance gap between the edge part 57 and an elastic member (the said part 58), and it can prevent that the coating liquid L leaks from the boundary part of the elastic member 41 (42) and the spacer 17. FIG. . Further, according to the present embodiment, the function of preventing liquid leakage can be realized with a simple configuration.
In the present embodiment, the elastic member 41 (42) is made of sponge rubber, but it is also possible to substitute soft rubber that has the same function as sponge rubber.

  A method for mounting the discharge width changing means 9 (the spacer 17 and the seal main body 18) according to the embodiment on the slit nozzle 10 using the shaft 40 will be described. As shown in FIG. 1, in the slit nozzle 10, the holes 15 and the slits 16 are straight lines having the same cross-sectional shape in the width direction at least in the range in which the discharge width changing means 9 moves forward and backward. The slit nozzle 10 has an opening with the same cross-sectional shape on the end face in the width direction.

  First, as shown in FIG. 5, the shaft 40 is provided with the diameter-expanding members 44 and 46, the elastic members 41 and 42, the ring members 45 and 47, the piston 43 to which the spacer 17 is fixed, and the sleeve member 48. The sleeve member 48 is externally fitted, and a part of the sleeve member 48 is screwed to the shaft 40 to be in an untightened state. In this state, the spacer 17 and the elastic member 41 are inserted into the hole 15 and the slit 16 from the end surface in the width direction of the slit nozzle 10.

  At the start of the insertion, the piston 43 that is integral with the spacer 17 is attached to the shaft 40 with a sufficient gap therebetween, so that the piston 43 is not restrained by the shaft 40. For this reason, even if the shaft 40 is inserted with a behavior such as twisting and swinging, this behavior does not affect the posture of the piston 43 and the spacer 17, and the spacer 17 strongly contacts the slit 16. Scratches can be prevented. The clearance is set to a clearance that allows the shaft 40 to behave, and the inner diameter of the piston 43 is set to achieve this.

Further, even when the piston 43 and the spacer 17 are completely inserted into the hole 15 and the slit 16, similarly, the behavior of the shaft 40 does not affect the posture of the piston 43 and the spacer 17. Further, since this insertion is in the non-tightened state, the elastic member 41 (42) is not expanded in diameter, and the outer periphery thereof does not come into strong contact with the inner wall surface 15a of the hole 15. For this reason, the contact resistance is reduced, and the work of moving the seal body 18 along the hole 15 is facilitated. In order to perform the insertion operation of the discharge width changing means 9 described above more smoothly, the slit nozzle 10 has an insertion guide surface (such as an opening guide surface that enlarges the opening area of the hole 15 and the slit 16 in the end surface in the width direction). For example, chamfering) may be provided.
As described above, the smooth insertion operation of the piston 43 integral with the spacer 17 can be performed, and in particular, the thin spacer 17 can be prevented from being bent or scratched.

When the spacer 17 and the seal main body 18 reach desired positions, the sleeve member 48 is further screwed into the shaft 40 to be in the tightened state. In this state, the elastic member 41 (42) is compressed in the width direction between the diameter-expanding member 44 (46) and the ring members 45, 47, and the elastic member is cooperated with the tapered outer peripheral surface 44a (46a). 41 (42) is expanded. Thereby, the contact surface pressure between the inner wall surface 15a of the hole 15 and the elastic member 41 (42) can be sufficiently secured, and the leakage of the coating liquid can be prevented.
In this state, the coating operation is executed. That is, in the coating method in which the coating film S by the coating liquid is formed on the substrate W by the coating apparatus according to the embodiment (see FIG. 1), the width direction dimension of the coating film S is the seal body that the discharge width changing means 9 has. It is defined by the position adjustment between the portion 18 and the spacer 17. In the present embodiment, the seal main body 18 and the spacer 17 are integrated, and the seal main body 18 is attached to the shaft 40. Therefore, by moving the shaft 40 forward and backward in the width direction, The spacer 17 and the seal body 18 can be displaced (position adjustment) in the width direction.

  In the present embodiment, the piston 43 can be made of a member harder than the elastic member 41 (42), for example, metal (stainless steel), and the outer diameter thereof is the inner diameter of the hole 15 (inner wall surface 15a). Small enough than. Therefore, a positioning member 49 is attached to the outer peripheral side of the piston 43. This member 49 is provided as a state wound around the piston 43 over almost the entire circumference except for the slit 16 side, and the outer diameter thereof is larger than the maximum outer diameter of the piston 43, and is between the inner wall surface 15a of the hole 15. In order to form a predetermined slight gap, the hole 15 is attached so as to be slightly smaller than the inner diameter of the hole 15. This slight gap ensures that the piston 43 moves in the width direction and that the spacer 17 is self-supporting in the slit 16. The piston 43 is aligned concentrically with the hole 15 within this slight gap, and the spacer 17 fixed to the piston 43 is positioned in the slit 16 with respect to the flow direction of the coating liquid. In other words, the piston 43 is attached to the shaft 40 with a sufficient gap, and the position of the piston 43 holding the spacer 17 is unstable in the radial direction. It is possible to stabilize (position) within the range. Moreover, since the member 49 is not provided over the entire circumference and is provided only at a part of the center of the piston 43 in the width direction, the smooth insertion operation of the piston 43 and the spacer 17 as described above can be performed. There is no hindrance. In addition, the size of the slight gap between the member 49 and the inner wall surface 15a of the hole 15 is set to be sufficiently small with respect to the distance H described above in consideration of the variation in the shape of the hole 15. Specifically, it is preferably set in the range of 0.05 mm to 0.5 mm. The positioning member 49 can be made of, for example, resin (made of fluororesin) to protect the inner wall surface 15a (scratch prevention), and a commercially available wear ring can be applied. When the piston 43 is not made of metal as in the present embodiment and is made of, for example, a resin that does not damage the inner wall surface 15 a of the hole 15, the outer periphery of the piston 43 is not configured to attach the positioning member 49. It is also possible to employ a configuration in which a positioning portion is provided by processing.

Further, when the discharge width D is changed by moving the seal body 18 and the spacer 17 in the width direction by moving the shaft 40 in the width direction, the sleeve member 48 may be loosened to be in the untightened state. It may be in a tightened state. In this tightened state, the posture and location of the piston 43 and the spacer 17 are determined by the self-standing state of the spacer 17 in the slit 16 and the positioning member 49, and the position and inclination of the axis of the shaft 40 relative to the slit 16 are determined. Is not affected. In other words, the position and inclination of the axis of the shaft 40 are determined by the posture and position of the piston 43 and the spacer 17. Therefore, even if the shaft 40 is positioned so as to be exactly aligned with the center plane of the slit 16 and the shaft 40 is not precisely moved forward and backward, the position of the spacer 17 is not affected, and the spacer 17 does not affect the slit 16. It is possible to prevent the thin spacer 17 from being bent or scratched.
With the configuration of the coating width changing means 9 described above, the slit nozzle 10 of the present invention can improve the performance of preventing liquid leakage even if the slit nozzle 10 has a large change amount of the ejection width. Furthermore, in order to stably apply a low-viscosity coating liquid having a viscosity of 10 mPa · s or less, the slit 16 has a slit nozzle whose dimension in the front-rear direction is set to a very small value, for example, about 0.1 mm Since the thin and easily bent spacer 17 can be inserted into the slit 16 without being damaged and moved forward and backward, it is possible to improve the performance of preventing liquid leakage.

The means for moving the shaft 40 in the width direction may be manually performed by an operator, or may be automated using an actuator (not shown).
In addition, the coating apparatus of the present invention is not limited to the form shown in the drawings, and may be in another form within the scope of the present invention. The drive unit 4 of the present embodiment has been described as a mode in which the stage 3 holding the substrate W is moved forward with respect to the slit nozzle 10 in a fixed state on the base 1. The structure which moves the slit nozzle 10 with respect to the stage 3 in this may be sufficient. That is, the drive part 4 should just move the slit nozzle 10 and the board | substrate W to the front-back direction relatively.

  9: Discharge width changing means, 10: slit nozzle, 15: hole, 15a: inner wall surface, 16: slit, 17: spacer, 18: seal main body, 40: shaft, 41: first elastic member, 42: first 2, elastic member 43: piston, 44: first diameter expanding member, 44a: taper outer peripheral surface, 46: second diameter expanding member, 46a: taper outer peripheral surface, 57: edge portion, 58: one outer periphery Part

Claims (7)

A slit nozzle in which a long hole in the width direction and a long slit in the width direction communicating with the hole are formed and the coating liquid supplied to the hole is discharged through the slit;
A discharge width changing means for changing the discharge width of the coating liquid from the slit by moving in the width direction provided in the hole and the slit, and
The discharge width changing means is
A seal body having an O-shaped elastic member in contact with the inner wall surface of the hole and partitioning the hole into a coating liquid side and an outer side in the width direction;
A thin plate-like spacer that regulates the flow of the coating liquid flowing outward in the width direction in the slit, is harder than the elastic member, and has an edge portion that bites into a part of the outer periphery of the elastic member. An applicator characterized by comprising:   2. The coating apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the O-shaped elastic member is made of sponge rubber that is deformed along the shape of the end edge portion in a state where the end edge portion of the spacer is bitten.   3. The coating apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the seal main body has a diameter-expanding member that switches the diameter-expansion and the diameter-releasing of the O-shaped elastic member.   The diameter-expanding member can be contacted / separated in the width direction with respect to the O-shaped elastic member, and enters the inner periphery of the elastic member by approaching the elastic member to expand the elastic member. The coating apparatus of Claim 3 which has a taper outer peripheral surface made to diameter. The discharge width changing means has a shaft capable of moving back and forth in the width direction in the hole,
The seal main body has an annular piston that holds the spacer and is limited in movement in the width direction with respect to the shaft and is fitted to the shaft with a gap therebetween. The coating apparatus as described in any one of Claim 1 to 4.   The coating device according to claim 5, wherein the piston has a positioning portion for positioning concentrically with respect to the hole at a part of the center in the width direction on the outer peripheral side. A coating method for forming a coating film with a coating liquid on a substrate by the coating apparatus according to claim 1,
The coating method characterized in that the width direction dimension of the coating film is defined by adjusting the position of the seal main body part and the spacer of the discharge width changing means.

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