JPH069844U - Substrate transfer stage and roll coater using the same - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Abstract] [Purpose] A substrate is carried in by a substrate carry-in device, receives and supports a substrate, and prevents the occurrence of positional deviation due to the lowering of the substrate support member until the substrate is held by suction on the stage. A substrate mounting stage 22 on which a rectangular substrate is mounted and suction holes for sucking and holding by vacuum suction are dispersedly formed is provided so as to be movable in the horizontal direction, and the substrate mounting stage 2 is also provided.
2, a substrate supporting member 24 is provided so as to be able to move in and out of the substrate mounting surface, and further, a vacuum suction hole 30 that is opened at the front end side of the substrate supporting member 24 and suction-holds a rectangular substrate by vacuum suction. Is provided, and the substrate support member 24 is displaced in the retracted state while the rectangular substrate is held by vacuum suction.

Description

[Detailed description of the device]

[0001]

[Industrial applications]

 The present invention is applicable, for example, to coating a surface of a substrate such as a glass substrate for a liquid crystal display device with a coating liquid such as a photoresist liquid, a polyimide resin, or a color filter material, or to perform alignment film printing. For use, a substrate mounting stage that mounts a substrate and holds the substrate by vacuum suction is provided so as to be movable in the horizontal direction, and the substrate mounting stage can be moved in and out of the substrate mounting surface. The present invention relates to a substrate transfer stage provided with a substrate support member and a roll coater using the stage.

[0002]

[Prior art]

 As a roll coater using the substrate transfer stage as described above, a roll coater shown in the schematic cross-sectional view of FIG. 12 is conventionally known.

According to this conventional example, a coating rubber roll 01 and a metal doctor 02, which have grooves formed on the peripheral surface with a fine pitch, are rotatably arranged side by side around a horizontal axis, and The outer peripheral surface of the coating rubber roll 01 and the outer peripheral surface of the metal doctor 02 are brought close to each other with a predetermined gap, and the gap can be adjusted by displacing the metal doctor 02 in the horizontal direction. The coating liquid storage part 03 is formed by the outer peripheral surface of the metal doctor 02, and the above-mentioned gap is adjusted according to the viscosity of the coating liquid stored therein. In the figure, reference numeral 04 indicates a coating liquid supply nozzle.

A substrate transfer roller 06 and a backup roll 07 for horizontally transferring the substrate 05 are provided below the coating rubber roll 01, and the surface of the substrate 05 that is horizontally transferred is synchronized with the backup roll 07. The coating liquid is applied by the coating rubber roll 01 while rotating the roller.

By the way, in the above-described conventional example, for example, the coating liquid is applied to a predetermined region shorter than the length of the substrate 05 in the transport direction, and the coating liquid is applied only to a predetermined region on the substrate 05. However, there is a problem that when the coating rubber roll 01 is applied to the substrate 05 conveyed by the substrate conveying roller 06, a positional deviation occurs.

Therefore, in order to prevent such a positional deviation of the substrate 05 during transportation, it is possible to move the substrate 05 to and from the substrate mounting stage that holds the substrate 05 by vacuum suction. There is a substrate transfer stage that is made of metal and provided with columnar support pins, and moves the substrate transfer stage back and forth in the horizontal direction to transfer the substrate 05 while holding it by vacuum suction. Proposed.

According to this proposed technique, the support pin is positioned at the substrate transfer start position in a protruding state, the substrate 05 sucked and held by the substrate transfer device is loaded therein, and the substrate transfer device is moved downward. The substrate 05 is evacuated to the side away from the mounting stage, the substrate 05 is mounted on the support pins, and then the support pins are lowered to mount the substrate 05 on the substrate mounting stage and hold it by suction.

[0008]

[Problems to be solved by the device]

 However, since the above-mentioned support pin is made of metal and has a cylindrical shape, it is lowered after receiving the substrate 05 from the substrate carry-in device and is held on the support pin until it is sucked and held on the substrate mounting stage. However, there was a problem that the substrate 05 slips and the position is displaced.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and the substrate transfer stage according to the first aspect of the present invention receives and supports a substrate loaded by a substrate loading device, and mounts the substrate. The purpose of the present invention is to prevent the occurrence of displacement due to the lowering of the substrate supporting member until the substrate is sucked and held on the mounting stage, and the substrate transfer stage of the invention according to claim 2 can prevent the displacement. The roll coater according to the third aspect of the present invention is intended to provide a coating solution that can be well coated at a predetermined position on a substrate.

[0010]

[Means for Solving the Problems]

 In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the substrate transfer stage of the invention according to claim 1 is provided with a substrate mounting stage for mounting a substrate and holding the substrate by vacuum suction so that the substrate can be moved in the horizontal direction. In a substrate transfer stage in which a substrate supporting member is provided on the mounting stage so as to be able to move in and out of the substrate mounting surface, a vacuum suction hole that is opened at the front end side of the substrate supporting member and suction-holds the substrate by vacuum suction Is provided and configured.

In order to achieve the above object, the substrate transfer stage of the invention according to claim 2 forms the tip of the substrate support member according to claim 1 with a resin having a large friction coefficient. .

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the roll coater of the invention according to claim 3 uses the substrate transfer stage according to claim 1 or 2, and on the substrate transfer stage, An applicator roll for applying a coating liquid is provided so as to be able to move up and down relative to the substrate suction-held on the substrate mounting stage, and a coating liquid storage unit for supplying the coating liquid to the applicator roll is provided.

[0013]

[Action]

 According to the structure of the substrate transfer stage of the invention according to claim 1, the substrate carried in by the substrate carry-in device is received by the substrate support member and sucked and held by the vacuum suction, and then descends in that state and onto the substrate mounting stage. The substrate can be placed on and held by suction by vacuum suction.

With the structure of the substrate transfer stage according to the second aspect of the present invention, the substrate can be sucked and held by vacuum suction while the substrate is prevented from sliding on the substrate supporting member.

According to the configuration of the roll coater of the third aspect of the present invention, the relative elevation with the applicator roll is performed with respect to the substrate that is mounted and adsorbed and held on the substrate mounting stage without causing displacement. Thus, the coating liquid can be applied to a predetermined area.

[0016]

【Example】

 Next, an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is an overall side view showing an embodiment of a substrate transfer stage and a roll coater using the same according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is an overall plan view thereof, and FIG. 3 is an enlarged side view of essential parts. A substrate transfer stage 2 is provided on the upper part of the base 1 so as to be capable of reciprocating in the horizontal direction, and the base 1 can be vertically swung around a horizontal first axis P1 on the lower side of the substrate transfer direction. Is provided with a support frame 3, and the support frame 3 is provided with an upper support frame 4 that is vertically swingable around a second axis P2 in the horizontal direction at a position close to the first axis P1. There is.

In the upper support frame 4, a metal roll 5 made of a metal having a smooth peripheral surface and a metal doctor 7 having a peripheral surface formed in a substantially arc shape by the step portions 6 and 6 for shearing the coating liquid are arranged in the horizontal direction. Are arranged side by side so as to be rotatable around the axis.

The outer peripheral surface of the metal roll 5 and the outer peripheral surface of the metal doctor 7 are brought into close contact with each other through a predetermined gap, and the gap can be adjusted by displacing the metal doctor 7 in the horizontal direction. The outer peripheral surface of 5 and the outer peripheral surface of the metal doctor 7 form a coating liquid storage portion 8 and are configured to adjust the above-mentioned gap according to the viscosity of the coating liquid stored therein. There is. In the figure, 9 indicates the coating liquid supply nozzle.

A scraper 10 and a tray 11 are provided on the lateral side of the metal roll 5, and the residual coating liquid remaining on the outer peripheral surface of the metal roll 5 and the coating liquid not applied to the rectangular substrate W are provided. Is configured to recover.

An applicator roll 12 made of rubber having a smooth peripheral surface and elasticity is attached rotatably around a horizontal axis at a position on the upper side of the support frame 3 in the substrate transport direction, with respect to the metal roll 5. The coating liquid supplied to the coating liquid storage unit 8 from the coating liquid storage unit 8 is transferred to the applicator roll 12 by rotating in the same direction so that the rotation direction is reversed in the vicinity of the metal roll 5. Is configured to.

A substrate loading device 13 is provided on one side of both ends of the rectangular substrate W in the transport direction of the base 1, and a substrate unloading device 14 is provided on the other side. Each of the substrate carry-in device 13 and the substrate carry-out device 14 holds the rectangular substrate W and conveys it, and the rectangular substrate W by vacuum suction. It is composed of a substrate suction arm 16 that is movable in the direction of movement and can be moved up and down.

Each of the substrate transport rollers 15 is provided with a collar 17 for restricting the width of the rectangular substrate W in the direction orthogonal to the transport direction, and on the other hand, in the substrate loading device 13, a stopper is provided at the rear end in the transport direction. 18 is provided, the rectangular substrate W transported by the substrate transport rollers 15 ... Is maintained in a predetermined posture at the rear end in the transport direction, and the rectangular substrate W is suction-held by the substrate suction arm 16. It is configured to be lifted up and loaded into the substrate transfer stage 2.

The substrate transfer stage 2 is provided with a substrate mounting stage 22 movably in a horizontal direction by a pair of guides 19 and 19 and a screw shaft 21 driven and rotated by a servo motor 20 having a zero detector. As shown in the plan view of FIG. 4 and the cross-sectional view of FIG. 5 (cross-sectional view taken along the line AA in FIG. 4), the substrate mounting stage 22 has minute suction holes 23 dispersedly formed on the entire surface. In the state of being arranged in two rows parallel to the substrate transfer direction, cylindrical shaft-shaped substrate support members 24 ... Are provided so as to be able to move in and out of the substrate mounting surface by elevating.

Below the substrate mounting stage 22, a side view of FIG. 6 (a sectional view taken along the line BB of FIG. 4) and a sectional view of FIG. 7 (a sectional view taken along the line CC of FIG. 5) are shown. As shown, two hollow pipes 25, 25 are provided so as to be able to move up and down. The four substrate supporting members 24 are integrally attached to the hollow pipes 25, 25 so as to communicate with each other, and both longitudinal ends of the hollow pipes 25, 25 are interlockingly connected to the crank arm 26. An air cylinder 27 is interlocked with the crank arm 26, and the expansion and contraction of the air cylinder 27 causes the substrate support member 24 to project from the substrate placement surface to receive the rectangular substrate W and a substrate receiving position and a substrate placement position. It is configured to be retreated from the surface and to be displaced over a non-acting position where the rectangular substrate W is not operated.

As shown in FIG. 7, the substrate supporting member 24 is made of a resin material having a large coefficient of friction such as Teflon (trademark of Dupont), polypropylene, polyethylene, high density polyethylene, or rubber at the tip of the hollow tube 28. A molded tubular body 29 is attached, and a vacuum suction hole 30 is formed at the tip of the tubular body 29 so as to be continuous with the hollow tube 28. The substrate transfer stage of the invention according to claim 1 may be configured by only the hollow tube 28 without the cylindrical body 29.

The inner space of both hollow pipes 25, 25 is partitioned by a partition plate (not shown), and a vacuum suction tube 31 (see FIG. 1) is provided on each of both longitudinal ends thereof. It is connected.

On the other hand, as shown in the pneumatic circuit diagram of FIG. 8, the suction holes 23 formed in the substrate mounting stage 22 are small suction holes 23S for the small rectangular substrate W and large suction holes for the large rectangular substrate W 2. The small area suction hole 23S, the large area suction hole 23L, and the vacuum suction hole 30 are respectively connected to the vacuum pump 32 through an electromagnetic valve V. It is configured so that each suction operation can be controlled separately.

As shown in the block diagram of FIG. 9, for a capacitance type arm that is attached to a predetermined position of the substrate suction arm 16 of the substrate carry-in device 13 and detects that the rectangular substrate W is suction-held. A sensor 33a, a capacitance type stage sensor 33b attached to a predetermined position of the substrate mounting stage 22 for detecting that the rectangular substrate W is adsorbed and held, and a zero point detector rotary attached to the servomotor 20.・ Each encoder 34 is connected to the micro computer 35, and the servo motor 20, air cylinder 27, and support frame 3 are moved up and down by the microcomputer 35 to displace the applicator roll 12 between the application position and the non-application position. A roll elevating motor 36 is connected.

Further, the microcomputer 35 is connected to a region setting device 37 that sets a coating region for the rectangular substrate W based on the length of the rectangular substrate W from the upstream side in the transport direction.

The microcomputer 35 is provided with a substrate supporting operation discriminating means 38, a counter 39 and an area discriminating means 40.

In the substrate supporting operation determining means 38, the air cylinder 27 is operated to raise the substrate supporting members 24, ... To the substrate receiving position in accordance with the fact that the rectangular substrate W is adsorbed and held by the arm sensor 33a. It is supposed to do.

The counter 39 detects the fact that the rectangular substrate W is adsorbed and held on the substrate mounting stage 22 by the stage sensor 33 b, and the number of pulses output from the rotary encoder 34 with the time point as a zero point. Is designed to measure.

The area determination means 40 compares the area set by the area setting device 37 with the number of pulses measured by the counter 39 to determine the coating start position and the coating end position for the rectangular substrate W. The roll elevating motor 36 is operated to apply the coating liquid to a predetermined area, and the servo motor 20 is operated to reciprocate the substrate mounting stage 22.

With the above configuration, the substrate mounting stage 13 for sucking and holding the rectangular substrate W by vacuum suction is reciprocated between the starting position and the ending position in the horizontal direction, and the outer peripheral surface of the applicator roll 12 is mounted on the substrate. While pressing against the surface of the rectangular substrate W on the stage 13, at the pressing position, it is rotated so that the rotation direction is opposite to the moving direction of the rectangular substrate W, and the coating applied to the outer peripheral surface of the applicator roll 12 is applied. The liquid is applied to a predetermined area on the surface of the rectangular substrate W. Next, the applying operation will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 10 and the operation explanatory diagram of FIG. 11.

First, the substrate support member 24 is moved up in response to the detection of the adsorption and holding of the rectangular substrate W on the substrate adsorption arm 16 by the arm sensor 33a (S1), and then the predetermined valve V To start sucking from the vacuum suction holes 30 ... (S2), and the square substrate W is loaded onto the substrate support member 24 by the substrate suction arm 16 as shown in FIGS. And hold it by adsorption (S3).

After that, as shown in FIG. 11C, the substrate suction arm 16 is retracted, the predetermined valve V is opened, and suction from the suction holes 23 ... Is started (S4). After that, as shown in FIG. 11 (d), the substrate support member 24 is lowered (S5), and it is detected by the stage sensor 33b that the rectangular substrate W is adsorbed and held by the substrate mounting stage 22. Accordingly, the rotation of the metal roll 5 and the applicator roll 12 is started to supply the coating liquid (S6), and at the same time, the movement of the substrate mounting stage 22 is started (S7).

Next, the area determination means 40 determines whether or not the coating start position has been reached (S8), and when the coating start position is reached, the roll elevating motor 36 is operated to lower the applicator roll 12 (S9). Thereafter, the area discriminating means 40 discriminates whether or not the application end position has been reached (S10), and the roll elevating motor 36 is operated to raise the applicator roll 12 at the application end position (S11). The applicator roll 12 is pressed only on a desired region in the transport direction with respect to the rectangular substrate W suction-held on the substrate mounting stage 13, and the coating liquid is applied to the surface of the rectangular substrate W.

Thereafter, as the rectangular substrate W is transported to the substrate unloading position, the movement of the substrate mounting stage 22 is stopped (S12), and the valve V is closed to close the suction holes 23 ... and the vacuum suction holes. Suction from 30 is stopped (S13), and the substrate support member 24 is raised to separate the rectangular substrate W from the substrate mounting stage 22 (S14).

Next, the substrate suction arm 16 of the substrate carry-out device 14 is inserted below the rectangular substrate W and lifted and carried out (S15). After that, it is determined whether or not it is a continuous process (S16), and the continuous process is performed. If there is, the process proceeds to step S2, the substrate mounting stage 22 is returned to the substrate loading position, and the above operation is repeated. On the other hand, if it is not a continuous process, the process proceeds to step S17, where the metal roll 5 and the applicator roll are used. The rotation of 12 is stopped (S17), and the process ends. In this embodiment, the suction holes 23 provided on the substrate mounting stage 22 are divided into small suction holes 23S and large suction holes 23L as shown in FIG. The suction operation of the vacuum suction holes 30 formed in the substrate support member 24 is controlled separately according to the size of the substrate, while the suction operation is controlled separately. I can't. Therefore, in the case of a small area substrate, the substrate supporting member 24 on which the substrate is not mounted may be covered with a cap or replaced with a conventional one having no vacuum suction hole.

The substrate transfer stage according to the present invention is not limited to the roll coater of the above-described embodiment, but may be a roll coater of various configurations such as a type roll coater configured to supply the coating liquid by a gravure metal roll. Applicable.

The present invention is not limited to the rectangular substrate W as described above, but can be applied to substrates of various shapes.

According to the present invention, the applicator roll 12 is moved up and down to switch between the state of applying the coating liquid and the state of not applying the coating liquid to the rectangular substrate W. It may be done.

[0044]

[Effect of device]

 As described above, according to the substrate transfer stage of the invention according to claim 1, the substrate supporting member is provided between the time when the substrate is loaded by the substrate loading device and the time when the substrate is loaded on the substrate loading stage. Since the substrate is suction-held by vacuum suction, it is possible to favorably prevent the occurrence of displacement during the lowering operation of the substrate support member.

According to the substrate transfer stage of the second aspect of the present invention, since the tip of the substrate supporting member is made of resin having a large friction coefficient, it is possible to satisfactorily prevent unexpected slippage when the substrate supporting member receives the substrate. As a result, it is possible to better prevent the occurrence of misalignment due to the substrate support member.

According to the configuration of the roll coater of the third aspect of the present invention, the applicator roll is provided on the surface of the substrate that is mounted and adsorbed and held on the substrate mounting stage without causing displacement. Since the coating liquid is applied, the coating liquid can be reliably and satisfactorily applied to a predetermined area of the substrate.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an overall side view showing an embodiment of a substrate transfer stage and a roll coater using the same according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an overall plan view.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged side view of a main part.

FIG. 4 is a plan view of a substrate mounting stage.

5 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line AA of FIG.

6 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line BB of FIG.

7 is a cross-sectional view taken along line CC of FIG.

FIG. 8 is a pneumatic circuit diagram.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart.

FIG. 11 is an operation explanatory diagram.

FIG. 12 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing a conventional example.

[Explanation of symbols]

 8 ... Coating liquid storage part 12 ... Applicator roll 22 ... Substrate mounting stage 24 ... Substrate support member 30 ... Vacuum suction hole W ... Square substrate

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁵ Identification number Reference number within the agency FI Technical display location H01L 21/027 21/68 N 8418-4M (72) Creator Hiroo Nakamura 480 Takamiyacho, Hikone, Shiga Prefecture Address 1 Dainippon Screen Mfg. Co., Ltd. Hikone District Office (72) Inventor Seiji Taketo 1 480 Takamiya-cho, Hikone City, Shiga Prefecture Dainippon Screen Mfg. Co., Ltd. Hikone District Office (72) Inventor Eiichi Wada Shiga Prefecture 1 480, Takamiya-cho, Hikone-shi, Dainippon Screen Mfg. Co., Ltd. in Hikone area, business office (72) Inventor Ozaki, 1 person, 480, Takamiya-cho, Hikone-shi, Shiga Dai Nippon Screen Mfg. Co., Ltd. in Hikone area

Claims (3)

[Scope of utility model registration request] 1. A substrate mounting stage on which a substrate is mounted and suction-held by vacuum suction is provided so as to be movable in the horizontal direction, and the substrate mounting stage is capable of moving in and out of the substrate mounting surface. A substrate transfer stage provided with a substrate support member, wherein the substrate support member is provided with a vacuum suction hole which is opened at a front end side and sucks and holds the substrate by vacuum suction. 2. A substrate transfer stage in which the front end of the substrate support member according to claim 1 is formed of a resin having a large friction coefficient. 3. An applicator roll for applying a coating liquid on the substrate transfer stage according to claim 1 or 2 such that the applicator roll can be moved up and down relatively to the substrate suction-held on the substrate mounting stage, and the applicator roll. A roll coater provided with a coating liquid reservoir for supplying the coating liquid to the.