JP5764978B2 - Applicator - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention is used, for example, in the manufacturing field of color filters for color liquid crystal displays and array substrates, plasma display panels, optical filters, and the like. Specifically, a coating liquid is applied to the surface of a member to be coated such as a glass substrate. The present invention relates to an improvement of an applicator that allows air accumulated inside to be efficiently discharged to the outside.

  In the manufacturing process of color filters for color liquid crystal displays, array substrates, plasma display panels, optical filters, etc., a coating liquid, which is a liquid material, is applied to the surface of a sheet-like coated member such as a glass substrate and dried. Many processes for forming the coating film are included. In recent years, a die coater provided with an applicator (slot die) for discharging a coating liquid from a slit-like discharge port is mainly used in a coating apparatus for forming the coating film.

  When the coating liquid is applied to the surface of a sheet-like member to be coated with this die coater, air may accumulate in the internal flow path of the applicator due to foaming of the coating liquid or the like. When the air pool grows to a certain size or more, when the coating liquid is supplied to the applicator and the coating is started, the supplied coating liquid is consumed for compression of the air reservoir and is actually discharged from the applicator. Since the amount of the coating liquid is reduced, there arises a problem that the thickness of the coating start portion becomes thinner than a predetermined thickness. Also, if air accumulated in the internal flow path of the applicator is discharged from the discharge port of the applicator during application, application defects such as pinholes and vertical stripes occur on the surface of the application film, and the quality of the application film is reduced. There is also a problem that it is significantly damaged.

  In order to solve these problems, air accumulated in the internal flow path of the applicator is periodically discharged. The air discharge flow path is connected to the internal flow path of the applicator so that the air can be easily discharged. It is made in addition to. On the other hand, in the applicator that has been elongated in accordance with the recent increase in size of the glass substrate, the time required for air discharge has increased with the increase in the capacity of the internal flow path, in order to increase the operating rate of the coating apparatus There is a need for further shortening of the air discharge time. Furthermore, in order to obtain a high-quality coating film having no coating defects due to air, it has been required to discharge even a minute amount of air that is difficult to discharge in a short time.

  In order to satisfy the above complex requirements, by adding multiple air discharge paths to the internal flow path of the applicator, it is possible to discharge air from multiple locations at the same time regardless of the size of the air, and to shorten the time Proposals have been made (for example, Patent Documents 1 and 2).

JP 2008-142648 A JP 2009-178649 A

  The conventional applicators disclosed in Patent Documents 1 and 2 are an air discharge path connected to the internal flow path of the applicator, and a discharge at one end of the air discharge path for discharging the coating liquid and air to the outside of the applicator. The outlet is a pair, and the number of both is the same. Further, each of the above discharge ports is connected to an air discharge accessory part comprising a pipe for allowing the coating liquid and air to flow out and a switching valve for individually controlling the outflow / blocking of the coating liquid and air in the pipe by opening and closing operations. Thus, switching between air discharge / application is performed. That is, when the air is discharged, the switching valve is opened and the coating liquid and air are allowed to flow outside. When the coating is applied, the switching valve is closed and the coating liquid is discharged only from the discharge port of the applicator. As described above, the air discharge accessory is an essential component. Therefore, if the number of air discharge paths / discharge ports is simply increased in order to shorten the air discharge time, the air discharge ports will be attached accordingly. The number of air discharge accessory parts to be connected also increases. If the number of accessory parts for air discharge increases in this way, the installation cost increases and the configuration of the apparatus becomes very complicated, and the work for attaching / detaching the accessory parts for air discharge to the applicator is also significant. It takes labor and time. Such an increase / decrease in work time offsets the reduction in the air discharge time due to the increase in the air discharge route, or, in extreme cases, becomes much larger than the reduction in the air discharge time, There was a problem that the original purpose of shortening the coating time and extending the coating production time could not be achieved at all.

  The present invention has been made in order to solve the above problems, and the object thereof is to increase the number of air discharge paths connected to the internal flow path in order to shorten the air discharge time. By realizing a means to keep the number of outlets that discharge the air flowing out of the air discharge path outside the applicator to a minimum, the number of accessory parts for air discharge connected to the outlet is also minimized. In addition to reducing the cost, an object of the present invention is to provide an applicator excellent in productivity and coating quality by shortening the work time other than coating and increasing the coating production time.

The object of the present invention is achieved by the means described below.
The applicator according to the present invention includes a supply port for supplying a coating liquid, a manifold for widening the coating liquid supplied from the supply port in the longitudinal direction, and a discharge port extending in the longitudinal direction for discharging the coating liquid. An applicator having a slit communicating with the manifold and the discharge port, and further, a plurality of vent ports for allowing the coating liquid and air existing in the manifold to flow out of the manifold, a vent path connected to the vent port, and outflow from the vent port A discharge port for discharging the coating liquid and air to be discharged to the outside of the applicator, the vent path being located inside the applicator, and the number of the discharge ports being smaller than the number of the vent ports Is provided.

According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the applicator is further seen contains a merging part in which a plurality of the vent path merge, a discharge path connecting the discharge port and the merging portion, and the merging unit And the discharge path is located inside the applicator .

  According to the applicator according to the present invention, the coating liquid flowing out from the vent path and the number of vent paths that are the air discharge path connected to the vent port through which the coating liquid and air flow out from the internal flow path of the applicator, and Since the number of outlets for discharging air to the outside of the applicator can be reduced to a minimum, an air discharge accessory is connected to the outlet to periodically discharge the applicator. The number is small and can be minimized. As a result, the cost can be reduced by installing the air discharge accessory part, and the connection time of the air discharge accessory part is shortened with a simple device configuration. In addition, the number of vents and the number of vent paths connected to them can be increased while keeping the number of outlets for discharging coating liquid and air to the outside of the applicator small and minimal. Even if the air is miniaturized, it is possible to significantly reduce the discharge time and discharge the air. As a result, if the applicator of the present invention is applied to coating production, the time required for air discharge and related work is greatly shortened, and particularly the coating production time when using a very large substrate is greatly increased. It is possible to carry out coating production with extremely high productivity and high quality coating film.

It is a schematic perspective view which disassembles and shows the slot die 101 which is an applicator which concerns on this invention to each structural member. 3 is a schematic perspective view of a rear lip 103. FIG. 4 is a schematic perspective view showing a coating liquid flow at the time of coating in a flow path provided in the rear lip 103. FIG. FIG. 3 is a schematic perspective view showing a coating liquid flow when air is discharged through a flow path provided in a rear lip 103. 4 is a schematic perspective view showing an air discharge state in a flow path provided in the rear lip 103. FIG. It is a schematic perspective view of the rear lip 203 which shows the flow path provided in the inside of the slot die 201 which is another applicator which concerns on this invention. It is a schematic perspective view which disassembles and shows the slot die 301 which is another applicator which concerns on this invention to each structural member.

  Hereinafter, an example of a preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. 1 is a schematic perspective view showing a slot die 101, which is an applicator according to the present invention, disassembled into components, FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view of a rear lip 103, and FIG. 3 is a flow path provided in the rear lip 103. 4 is a schematic perspective view showing the flow of the coating liquid during coating, FIG. 4 is a schematic perspective view showing the flow of the coating liquid when air is discharged through the flow path provided in the rear lip 103, and FIG. 5 is a flow chart provided in the rear lip 103. It is a schematic perspective view which shows the air discharge condition.

  First, referring to FIG. 1, a slot die 101 as an applicator is formed by superimposing a front lip 102, a shim 104, and a rear lip 103 extending in the longitudinal direction indicated by double arrows and integrally connecting them with a plurality of connecting bolts 105. It consists of Inside the slot die 101, a manifold 106 for widening the coating liquid in the longitudinal direction, that is, the coating width direction is a surface facing the front lip 102 of the rear lip 103 as one of the internal channels of the slot die 101. Like the front lip 102 and the rear lip 103, it is formed on the inner surface and extends in the longitudinal direction. The rear lip 103 is also provided with a supply port 116 for supplying the coating liquid from the outside to the manifold 106 and a supply path 119 that communicates with the manifold 106. An air discharge accessory component 130 is connected to the outer surface of the rear lip 103 opposite to the surface facing the front lip 102. A slit 107, which is a gap equal to the thickness of the shim 104, is formed between the front lip 102 and the rear lip 103 below the manifold 106 so as to communicate with the manifold 106. The slit 107 also extends in the longitudinal direction. The lower end of the slit 107 is opened, and this opening becomes a slit-like discharge port 108 for discharging the coating liquid. A supply path 119, a manifold 106, and a slit 107, which are flow paths through which the coating liquid flows during application, are defined as internal flow paths.

  Next, the flow path formed in the rear lip 103, that is, the provided flow path will be described in detail with reference to FIG. In FIG. 2, the longitudinal direction is indicated by a double arrow. First, in order to discharge air accumulated in the manifold 106, a vent port 109 and a vent path 113 connected to the vent port 109 are provided at an upper central portion in the longitudinal direction of the manifold 106. On the other hand, a vent port 110, a vent port 111, and vent paths 114, 115 connected to the vent port 110 and the vent port 111, respectively, are provided at both upper ends of the manifold 106 in the longitudinal direction. Vent paths 113, 114, and 115, which are air discharge paths of the slot die 101 through which the coating liquid and air flow out, are merged at a merge section 112 provided at the upper center in the longitudinal direction of the manifold 106 and collected into one path. . Further, the merge portion 112 is connected to a discharge path 118 extending toward the outside of the rear lip 103 (the direction opposite to the surface of the rear lip 103 facing the front lip 102). One end of the discharge path 118 that extends outward from the rear lip 103 opens at the outer surface of the rear lip 103 to form a discharge port 117. From the outlet 117, the coating liquid and air that have flowed out of the flow path provided inside the slot die 101 are discharged to the outside of the slot die 101. Further, a drain pipe 131 and an air operation valve 132 which is a switching valve for controlling the outflow / blocking of the coating liquid and air in the drain pipe 131 are connected to the outlet 117 via a flange (not shown). The air operated valve 132 is also connected to a compressed air pipe 133 that supplies compressed air for applying a pilot pressure necessary for the opening / closing operation. The drainage pipe 131, the air operation valve 132, the compressed air pipe 133, and the flange (not shown) constitute an air discharge accessory part 130.

  Next, the flow of the coating liquid 122 in the flow path provided inside the slot die 101 during coating will be described with reference to FIG. At the time of application, the air operation valve 132 connected to the drainage pipe 131 on the outer surface side of the rear lip 103 is closed to block outflow of the application liquid. In this embodiment, the so-called “normally closed” air-operated valve 132 is used. When the pilot pressure is applied, the air-operated valve 132 is switched from “closed” to “open”. 133 is not supplied with compressed air.

  Now, in a state where the flow path provided in the lip 103 (the flow path provided inside the slot die 101) is filled with the coating liquid, the coating liquid 122 is supplied from a coating liquid supply device (not shown) from the supply port 116 to the supply path 119. After passing through the slot die 101, the coating liquid 122 once flows into the manifold 106, and then spreads in the manifold 106 from the center to both ends in the longitudinal direction, and from the vent port 109 to the vent path 113. Branches to the coating liquid 122B flowing into the. The coating liquid 122 </ b> A widened on both sides in the longitudinal direction in the manifold 106 is discharged from the discharge port 108 as it is through the slit 107. On the other hand, the coating liquid 122B that flows into the vent path 113 branches to the vent paths 114 and 115 via the junction 112, passes through the vent ports 110 and 111, and flows again into the manifold 106 again. It becomes. The coating liquid 122C that re-flows into the manifold 106 is then discharged from the discharge port 108 through the slit 107 at both ends in the longitudinal direction. All the coating liquid ejected from the ejection port 108 is applied onto a member to be coated installed under the ejection port 108 to form a coating film. In the flow of the coating liquid 122 described above, the coating liquid 122A widened in the longitudinal direction in the manifold 106 and the coating liquid 122C re-entering the manifold 106 through the vent paths 113, 114, 115 are It will merge at both ends in the longitudinal direction. At this time, the coating liquid 122C that re-flows into the manifold 106 from the vent ports 110 and 111 at both ends in the longitudinal direction is further pushed to both ends by the coating liquid 122A that is widened on both sides in the longitudinal direction in the manifold 106, thereby It is discharged only within a range of about 1 mm from both ends of 108. Therefore, even when a coating defect called a vertical stripe occurs in the coating film due to the merging of the coating liquid 122, it occurs only at an end portion that is not a product, and does not affect the quality of the coating film that is a product.

  Next, with reference to FIG. 4, a situation where the coating liquid 122 flows through the flow path provided inside the slot die 101 when air is discharged from the inside of the slot die 101 to the outside will be described. When air is discharged, compressed air is supplied to the compressed air pipe 133 to apply a pilot pressure to open the air operation valve 132 so that the coating liquid flows out through the drain pipe 131. The air operation valve 132 is set as described above, and the application liquid 122 is supplied from an application liquid supply device (not shown) to the manifold 106 through the supply path 119 from the supply port 116 in a state where the application liquid is filled in the flow path provided in the lip 103. Supply. The supplied coating liquid 122 branches into a coating liquid 122A that is widened on both sides in the longitudinal direction within the manifold 106 and a coating liquid 122B that flows into the vent path 113 from the vent port 109 as in the case of coating. The coating liquid 122A that is widened in both sides in the longitudinal direction in the manifold 106 is further applied through the slit 107 to the coating liquid 122E that is discharged from the discharge port 108, and the coating liquid that flows from the vent ports 110 and 111 into the vent paths 114 and 115. Branch to 122D. Furthermore, the coating liquid 122B that flows into the vent path 113 and the coating liquid 122D that flows into the vent paths 114 and 115 merge at the junction 112, and flow out of the drain pipe 131 from the discharge port 117 via the discharge path 118. Then, it is discharged outside the slot die 101. If the coating liquid 122B flowing into the vent path 113 and the coating liquid 122D flowing into the vent paths 114 and 115 contain air, the air can be discharged to the outside of the slot die 101 along with the flow of the coating liquid. . Also, the large air that spreads across the vent passages 113, 114, and 115 is pushed out by the coating liquid flowing out of the vent passages 113, 114, and 115 and is discharged to the outside of the slot die 101. The coating liquid discharged to the outside of the slot die 101 is collected in a drain tank (not shown) connected to the drain pipe 131.

  Next, with reference to FIG. 5, the action of discharging the accumulated air 123 accumulated inside the slot die 101 to the outside of the slot die 101 will be described in detail.

  When the slot die 101 is filled with the coating liquid 122 and coating is performed for a long time, air is gradually accumulated in the central portion in the longitudinal direction of the manifold 106 to form a pooled air 123 (state shown in FIG. 5A). In this state, the application is temporarily interrupted, and first, compressed air is supplied to the compressed air pipe 133 to apply a pilot pressure to open the air operated valve 132 so that the coating liquid and air can flow out through the drain pipe 131.

  Subsequently, when a coating liquid supply device (not shown) is operated to cause the coating liquid 122 to flow into the manifold 106 from the supply port 116 via the supply path 119, the coating liquid 122 is widened in both sides of the longitudinal direction in the manifold 106. It branches into 122A and the coating liquid 122B flowing into the vent path 113 from the vent port 109. As the coating liquid 122 branches, the accumulated air 123 is also separated. That is, a part of the accumulated air 123 is swept away from the central portion toward the both ends in the longitudinal direction by the coating liquid 122A that is widened in the longitudinal direction on both sides in the manifold 106, and the vent path 114 from the vent ports 110 and 111. , 115 flows into the air 125, 126. The remaining portion of the accumulated air 123 after the airs 125 and 126 are separated becomes the air 124 flowing into the vent path 113 from the vent port 109 by the coating liquid 122B flowing into the vent path 113 (see FIG. 5B). State).

  When the coating liquid 122 is further continuously supplied from the supply port 116, the airs 125 and 126 move toward the merging portion 112 through the vent paths 114 and 115 by the coating liquid 122 </ b> A widened in the longitudinal direction in the manifold 106. In parallel with this, the coating liquid 122B flowing into the vent path 113 causes the air 124 to move along the vent path 113 toward the merging portion 112, and merges with the airs 125 and 126 at the merging portion 112 (FIG. 5C). ) State).

  After merging, the air 124, 125, and 126 are pushed further downstream by the coating liquid 122 that is continuously supplied from the supply port 116, flow out of the drainage pipe 131 from the discharge port 117 through the discharge path 118, and the slot die 101. It is discharged outside. That is, the accumulated air 123 accumulated inside the slot die 101 is discharged to the outside of the slot die 101.

  Here, in order to minimize the discharge time until the accumulated air 123 is discharged from the inside of the slot die 101 to the outside of the slot die 101, it is possible to allow the air at each vent port to merge at the merge portion almost simultaneously. preferable. For this purpose, the flow rate of the coating liquid is determined for each vent path so that the flow time of the coating liquid from the vent port in the vent path to the junction is substantially the same regardless of the vent path. It is preferable to define the shape of the vent path so that the Specifically, there are n vent paths 1, 2,. . . , N from the vent port to the junction, L1, L2,. . . , Ln, each vent path 1, 2,. . . , N, the flow rate of the coating solution is V1, V2,. . . , Vn, since the flow time of the coating liquid from the vent port to the confluence on the vent path is set to the same time t0 regardless of which vent path is passed, t0 = L1 / V1 = L2 / V2 =. . . = Ln / Vn. Each vent path 1, 2,. . . , N is a coating liquid having a viscosity η, and the speeds V1, V2,. . . , Pressure loss ΔP1, ΔP2,. . . , ΔPn are ΔP1 = η × V1 × f1, ΔP2 = η × V2 × f2,. . . , ΔPn = η × Vn × fn. Where f1, f2,. . . , Fn are the vent paths 1, 2,. . . , N is a shape factor determined from the shape of n. Each vent path 1, 2,. . . , N form a parallel flow path in the section from the vent port to the confluence, so that each vent path 1, 2,. . . , N at pressure losses ΔP1, ΔP2,. . . , ΔPn are equal, so that V1 × f1 = V2 × f2 =. . . = Vn × fn. Shape factors f1, f2,. . . , Fn so that each vent path 1, 2,. . . If the shape of n, that is, the cross-sectional shape and length are determined, the air in each vent port can be merged at the merge portion almost simultaneously.

  In practical terms, taking the slot die 101 having three vent ports and vent paths as an example, the vent paths 114 and 115 at both ends in the longitudinal direction are symmetrical, and the junction points 112 from the vent ports 110 and 111 are symmetrical. When the cross-sectional area of the vent passages 114 and 115 having a longer length is larger by 30 times or more than the cross-sectional area of the vent passage 113 having a shorter length from the vent port 109 to the merging point 112, FIG. As shown, the air 124, 125, 126 flowing out from the vent ports 109, 110, 111 can reach the merging portion 112 almost simultaneously, so it is preferable to have such a shape. The cross-sectional shape of the vent path or vent port may be any shape such as a polygon such as a triangle or a quadrangle, a circle, or a semicircle as long as it has a shape factor that satisfies the above conditions.

  In the state shown in FIG. 5A, when the accumulated air 123 is large and a part of the accumulated air 123 has already entered the vent path 113 from the vent port 109, the accumulated air 123 is supplied when the coating liquid 122 is supplied from the supply port 116. Is pushed, and a part of the air 123 is cut off by the vent port 109 to become small bubbles, and even if there is no coating liquid 122B flowing into the vent path 113, the inside of the vent path 113 is lifted by buoyancy. Since the rising speed also depends on the cross-sectional shape of the vent path, it is preferable to determine the cross-sectional shape, length, and the like of the vent path in the same manner as the air moves by the flow of the coating liquid.

  In the above embodiment, the supply port 116, the discharge port 117, and the junction portion 112 are provided in the center in the longitudinal direction of the slot die 101, and the vent path 114 and the vent path 115 are formed symmetrically. It is not limited. That is, the vent path 114 and the vent path 115 may be formed asymmetrically by providing the supply port 116, the discharge port 117, and the merging portion 112 other than the center in the longitudinal direction of the slot die 101.

  The positions of the vent ports 109, 110, and 111 are not limited, but in order to make it easy for the air accumulated in the manifold 106 to flow out, both ends in the longitudinal direction of the manifold 106 are likely to gather air due to the flow of the coating liquid widening the manifold 106. It is preferable to provide it at a position where air easily collects, such as the upper portion of the manifold 106 in the direction of gravity of the manifold 106 where air tends to gather due to air buoyancy.

  Next, a slot die 201, which is another applicator according to the present invention, will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 6 is a schematic perspective view of the rear lip 203 showing the flow path provided inside the slot die 201.

  The slot die 201 has the same configuration as the slot die 101 except for the rear lip 203. Referring to FIG. 6, the rear lip 203 is provided with a manifold 206 having a mountain-shaped ridge line at the top in the direction of gravity. The continuous ridgeline of the manifold 206 has five top portions, and vent ports 209, 210, 211, 212, and 213 are provided at the top portions. Vent paths 216, 217, and 218 are connected to the vent ports 209, 210, and 211, respectively. One end of each of the vent paths 216, 217, and 218 joins at the junction 214 and is aggregated into one path, and is further connected to the discharge path 225 that continues to the outlet 223 at the junction 214. On the other hand, vent paths 219 and 220 are similarly connected to and connected to the vent ports 212 and 213, and one end of them is merged at the junction 215 and aggregated into one path, and further connected to the discharge port 224 at the junction 215. It is connected to the discharge path 226. The discharge outlets 223 and 224 are connected to air discharge accessory parts not shown separately in the same manner as the slot die 101. Further, the coating liquid 227 is supplied from the supply port 222 through the supply path 233 to the manifold 206 and is discharged from the discharge port 208 through the slit 207 at the time of coating. In the flow path formed in the rear lip 203 of the slot die 201, the air flowing into or generated in the manifold 206 ascends toward the tops of the continuous ridgelines of the manifold 206 due to buoyancy. Therefore, air is accumulated at the tops of the continuous mountain-shaped ridge lines of the manifold 206 to become air 228, 229, 230, 231, 232. When the air discharge accessory is set so that the coating liquid can flow out from the discharge ports 223 and 224 in this state, and the coating liquid 227 is supplied from the supply port 222, the air 228, 229, and 230 are supplied to the vent ports 209, 210, and 211. To the outlet 223 and then discharged to the outside of the slot die 201. In parallel with this, the airs 231 and 232 also flow out from the vent ports 212 and 213 to the discharge port 224 and are discharged to the outside of the slot die 201. The discharge of the air accumulated inside the slot die 201 to the outside through the two channels provided inside the slot die 201 causes the coating liquid 227 supplied from the supply port 222 to diverge. 228, 229, 230, 231 and 232 are pushed outwards. The slot die 201 can be reduced from the five vent paths 217, 218, 219, 220, and 221 to the two outlets 223 and 224 by adopting a configuration having the merging portions 214 and 215. As a result, the number of accessory components for air discharge connected to the discharge ports 223 and 224 can be reduced to two, and the device configuration can be greatly simplified as compared with the conventional device configuration having the same number of discharge ports as the vent ports. Furthermore, the installation time of the air discharge accessory can be greatly shortened. As described above, in the applicator according to the present invention, by providing the vent ports or the number of outlets smaller than the number of vent paths, the above-mentioned remarkable effect is exhibited. The number of outlets may be any value, but more preferably the number of outlets provided is 1.

Here, as with the slot die 101, the air 228, 229, and 230 in the vent ports 209, 210, and 211 can be merged at the merging portion 214 almost simultaneously. It is preferable that certain air 231 and 232 merge at the merge portion 215 almost simultaneously.
For this purpose, the flow rate of the coating liquid is determined for each vent path so that the flow time of the coating liquid from the vent port in the vent path to the confluence is substantially the same regardless of the vent path. It is preferable to define the shape of the vent path so that the

  As for the vent paths 219 and 220, if the lengths from the vent ports 212 and 213 to the merging portion 215 are the same, the air 212 and 213 collected in the vent ports 231 and 232 is made to have the same cross-sectional shape. At the same time, the merging portions 215 can be merged.

  Next, a slot die 301 which is still another applicator according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 7 is a schematic perspective view showing the slot die 301 in an exploded manner. The slot die 301 is overlapped with the joining member 321 on the outer surface of the rear lip 303 (the surface opposite to the surface facing the front lip 302) and fastened with a connecting bolt 305, and the vent die extends across the joining member 321 and the rear lip 303. 313, 314, and 315 are provided, and a confluence portion 312 where the vent passages 313, 314, and 315 merge, a discharge port 317, and a discharge passage 318 that connects the confluence portion 312 and the discharge port 317 are provided in the confluence member 321. Except that the air discharge accessory component 130 is connected to the discharge port 317 serving as the outlet of the junction member 321, it is exactly the same as the slot die 101. Therefore, if the coating liquid is supplied to the supply port 316 provided in the rear lip 303, the air accumulated in the manifold 306, which is the internal flow path of the slot die 301, is vented to the vent port 309 by exactly the same action as the slot die 101. , 310, 311 to the discharge port 317 can be discharged to the outside of the slot die 301. Furthermore, since there can be one outlet for three vent paths, the equipment configuration can be greatly simplified compared to the conventional equipment configuration with the same number of outlets as the vent ports, and additional components for air discharge The mounting time can be greatly reduced. Thus, even if a vent path for discharging air and a flow path after the merging portion are provided on a member different from the member having the supply port for supplying the coating liquid, the member constitutes the applicator. And if it is a member contained in an applicator, the effect | action and effect of this invention are exhibited similarly. That is, even if it has a configuration like the slot die 301, there is no change in the essential elements of the present invention in which a path for exhausting air and its junction are provided inside the applicator.

  The coating solution applicable to the applicator of the present invention has a viscosity of 1 to 1000 mPaS, more preferably 1 to 100 mPaS, and preferably a Newtonian from the viewpoint of applicability, but it is a thixotropic coating solution. May be. In particular, it is effective when applying a coating solution using a highly volatile solvent or one in which dissolved air is easily foamed, for example, PGMEA, butyl acetate, ethyl lactate or the like. Examples of coating solutions that can be specifically applied include a black matrix for a color filter, a coating solution for forming RGB color pixels, a resist solution, an overcoat material, a column forming material, and a positive resist for a TFT array substrate. .

  The present invention can be used in the manufacturing field of color filters for color liquid crystal displays, array substrates, plasma display panels, optical filters, and the like.

101 Slot die (applicator)
102 Front lip 103 Rear lip 104 Shim 105 Connecting bolt 106 Manifold 107 Slit 108 Discharge port 109, 110, 111 Vent port 112 Merging portion 113, 114, 115 Vent path 116 Supply port 117 Discharge port 118 Discharge path 119 Supply channel 122 Coating liquid 122A Coating liquid 122B widened on both sides in the longitudinal direction in the manifold 106 Coating liquid 122C flowing into the vent path 113 Coating liquid 122D flowing again into the manifold 106 Coating liquid 122E flowing into the vent paths 114 and 115 Ejected from the discharge port 108 Coating liquid 123 Accumulated air 124, 125, 126 Air 130 Ancillary parts 131 for discharging air Draining pipe 132 Air operated valve 133 Pressure air piping 201 Slot die (another applicator)
203 Rear lip 206 Manifold 207 Slit 208 Discharge port 209, 210, 211, 212, 213 Vent port 214, 215 Junction part 216, 217, 218, 219, 220 Vent route 222 Supply port 223, 224 Discharge port 225, 226 Discharge route 227 Coating liquid 228, 229, 230, 231, 232 Air 233 Supply path 301 Coating device (further coating device)
302 Front lip 303 Rear lip 305 Connection bolt 306 Manifolds 309, 310, 311 Vent port 312 Merged portion 313, 314, 315 Vent route 316 Supply port 317 Discharge port 318 Discharge route 321 Merge member

Claims (2)

Supply port through which the coating liquid is supplied, a manifold for widening the coating liquid supplied from the supply port in the longitudinal direction, a discharge port extending in the longitudinal direction for discharging the coating liquid, and the manifold and the discharge port communicate with each other A plurality of vent ports for allowing the coating liquid and air existing in the manifold to flow out of the manifold, a vent path connected thereto, and the coating liquid and air flowing out of the vent port. The vent path is located inside the applicator, and the number of the discharge ports is smaller than the number of the vent ports. Applicator. Further, a merging portion in which a plurality of the vent path merge, a discharge path connecting the discharge port and the merging section, only contains and said merging portion and said discharge path is located inside of the applicator The applicator according to claim 1, characterized in that:

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