JPH08229489A - Thin type glass retaining device of vacuum bellows type and chemical liquid coating device using thin type glass retaining device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To form a thin film such as a uniform resist by utilizing a chemical coating device for an already known cathode ray tube or the like for a liquid crystal cathode tube panel without damaging a thin sheet such as a glass plate for a liquid crystal panel. CONSTITUTION: A plurality of vacuum suction pads divided into two units and at least two vacuum bellows 6a and 6b providing vacuum to vacuum holders 5a and 5b forming vacuum chambers independently for respective units are arranged on the bottom of a container 1 with an enlarged rectangular opening and the pressure inside the vacuum bellows 6a and 6b is reduced to suck and retain a sheet.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a holding device for forming various thin films and the like on the surface of a thin plate body, and more particularly to a process for forming a color filter on a glass substrate of a liquid crystal panel constituting a liquid crystal display device. The present invention relates to a vacuum bellows type thin glass holding device suitable for application and a chemical liquid coating treatment device using the same.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art When a thin film such as a resist is formed on the surface of a plate such as a thin glass substrate and various patterning is performed, it is necessary that the applied thin film is uniformly formed.

For example, in a panel of a liquid crystal display (liquid crystal panel), electrodes are formed on the inner surfaces of two glass substrates, or in a color liquid crystal panel, one glass substrate has three color filters and a space between the filters. In order to form the partitioning black matrix, a large number of coating operations of the resist thin film are required.

FIG. 4 is a developed perspective view for explaining an example of a liquid crystal display device to which the present invention is applied. 45 is a drive circuit board, 40 is an upper frame, 40a is a display window, and 40b is a lower frame. Nails to be fixed to the nail holders, 41 is a lower frame, 42 is a spacer, 43 is an adhesive tape for fixing the upper frame and the liquid crystal panel, 44 is an intermediate frame on which a linear backlight light source is mounted, and 46 is a drive circuit board. A cut-and-raised piece that contacts the formed ground pad, 47
Is a linear backlight light source (lamp) composed of cold cathode tubes, 47a is a lamp cover, 48 is a light guide assembly composed of a light diffusion plate, a light guide plate and a reflection plate, and 53 and 54 are below both ends of the backlight. Notch provided in part, 55, 56
Is a cutout portion provided at a position symmetrical to a line orthogonal to the central portion of the backlight, 57 and 58 are cutout portions provided in the longitudinal direction of the backlight, and 62 is a liquid crystal panel. Also,
The upper frame 40 is made of a steel plate having a thickness of 0.8 mm, for example, and the lower frame 41 is made of a steel plate or aluminum having a considerable thickness of, for example, 0.5 mm.

In the figure, the liquid crystal panel is sandwiched and fixed by an upper frame 40 and a lower frame 41 in the order shown in the figure. A linear light source (backlight) 47 composed of a cold cathode tube is installed at one end of the intermediate frame 44, and a lamp cover 47a blocks direct light toward the liquid crystal panel 62 and guides the emitted light to a light diffusion plate. The light guide assembly 48 made of a light plate is directed.

The spacer 42 is a light guide assembly 48 and a liquid crystal panel 62 which are installed in a recess formed in the intermediate frame 44.
And the display area is fixed by interposing between and.

The upper frame 40 is formed of a stainless thin plate or the like, and the lower frame 41 is formed of an aluminum thin plate or the like. At least a pair of cutouts 55 and 56 are provided at positions symmetrical to a line orthogonal to the central portion of the backlight over at least the region of the liquid crystal panel 62 in the direction orthogonal to the backlight 47 of the lower frame 41, and the backlight is provided. Immediately below the light 47, at least two cutouts 57, 58 provided in the longitudinal direction of the backlight 47.
And notches 53 and 54 provided at lower portions of both ends of the backlight 47.

Further, since the backlight 47 is driven at a high frequency, a current flows from the backlight 47 to the lower frame 41 via the floating capacitance between the lower frame 41 and the backlight 47. This current is called “leakage current”, but the amount of current that contributes to lighting of the backlight 47 is reduced by the amount of “leakage current”, resulting in a decrease in brightness.

The backlight 47 generates heat when it is turned on for a long time, and the temperature in the vicinity of the backlight 47 rises with respect to the outside air. Therefore, if no measures are taken,
The heat in the vicinity of the backlight 47 directly affects the liquid crystal panel 62, and the temperature distribution of the liquid crystal panel cannot be made uniform. Therefore, in the above-described embodiment, the cutout portions 57 and 58 are provided to prevent the deterioration of the brightness due to the "leakage current" and to make the temperature distribution of the liquid crystal panel uniform, thereby preventing the occurrence of display unevenness. Further, the cutouts 57 and 58 can prevent the brightness from being lowered due to the thermal diffusion of the backlight.

FIG. 5 is a partially broken schematic view for explaining an example of a filter side glass substrate of a liquid crystal panel constituting a color liquid crystal display device, in which 62a is a glass substrate, 64 is an alignment film, 65 is a smooth layer, and 66. Is a light-shielding film (black matrix), 67R is a red filter, 67G is a green filter, 67
B is a blue filter, and 68 is an electrode.

As shown in the figure, red, green, and blue color filters 67R, 67G, 67B on the glass substrate 62a,
Also, a black matrix 66 is provided between the filters to perform multicolor display.

The color filters 67R, 67G,
67B, the smoothing layer 65 formed on the black matrix 66 is made of an insulating material for reducing the influence of the unevenness of the filter. An electrode 68 and an alignment film 65 are formed on this.

Various methods such as a printing method and a vapor deposition method are known as a method for forming the color filter or the black matrix, but the method using the patterning of the pigment resist thin film is often adopted because of the manufacturing cost. There is.

Conventionally, a thin film such as this resist is generally applied by a so-called rod coating method. For example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2-2
A pigment resist solution is applied from the lower surface of a glass substrate that is horizontally conveyed by using a rod (hereinafter referred to as a roll bar) wound with a wire as disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 58081 or Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 4-270346. By using the rod coating method, a uniform resist coating film is formed on a large number of glass substrates that are continuously transported.

In the pigment resist coating apparatus for color filters by the rod coating method of this type, the resist solution stored in the resist tray is pumped up by the roll bar arranged therein, and the upper side of the glass substrate passing over the roll bar. From the nip roller against the roll bar,
The resist solution pumped up by the roll bar is brought into contact with the substrate, and the excess resist solution is scraped off and uniformly coated on the substrate.

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram for explaining resist coating by the rod coating method, in which 62a is a glass substrate,
70 is a nip roller, 71 is a roll bar, 72 is a roll bar holding member, 73 is a resist tray, and 74 is a resist solution.

In the figure, the glass substrate 62a is carried into the gap between the nip roller 70 and the roll bar 71, and the resist solution 74 pumped up from the tray 73 by the rotation of the roll bar 71 is applied.

The nip roller 70 is a roll bar holding member 7.
2 is rotatably supported, and the resist solution 74 is drawn from the pan 73 and brought into contact with the back surface of the glass substrate 62a to apply the resist solution 74, and the excess resist solution adhering to the back surface is scraped off to a desired thickness. It is configured to apply the resist solution.

[0019]

The above-mentioned rod coating method, which is often used for coating resists or the like, is one in which both edges of a thin glass substrate are held and conveyed horizontally, so that the glass substrate bends under its own weight. And collide with a roll bar installed in the resist coating area, or the resist solution after coating is unevenly distributed on the glass substrate.

Therefore, it is necessary to provide special means such as a highly accurate posture control means for correcting the above-mentioned deflection to the glass substrate transport mechanism and the resist coating mechanism, which makes the apparatus complicated and expensive.

By the way, conventionally, as a means for forming a uniform coating of a chemical liquid such as a resist on the surface of a plate, there has been known one using the above-mentioned spin coating method. In particular, the coating device used for forming the fluorescent film on the inner surface of the panel of the cathode ray tube can form a highly accurate and uniform thin film. It is possible to apply this to the resist coating on the glass substrate of the liquid crystal panel, but the panel of the cathode ray tube has the shape of a container having a curved resist coating surface, and the resist solution is coated on the inner surface of the panel having such a shape. Cannot be used as it is as a coating device for a flat glass substrate.

For example, in the case of forming a color filter on a glass substrate of a liquid crystal panel, the surface of a thin glass substrate is washed with water, a resist solution is poured into it, shaken off, dried, and then exposed, developed, etched, etc. Patterning process is performed to form a desired color filter or the like. Particularly, in the above etching step, it is also necessary to immerse the glass substrate in an etching solution.

However, like a glass substrate used for a liquid crystal panel, when a flat and thin plate is spun to form a thin resist coating film and the above other chemical treatment is performed,
In a conventional spin coater for a cathode ray tube panel, there is damage or loss due to rotation, and cracks occur due to temperature changes depending on the method of fixing and supporting the plate body. Can't store chemicals.

The object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems of the prior art, and to use a known chemical liquid coating device for a cathode ray tube panel without damaging a thin plate such as a glass substrate for a liquid crystal panel and to achieve a uniform coating. It is an object of the present invention to provide a vacuum bellows type thin glass holding device and a coating treatment device capable of forming a thin film such as a resist.

[0025]

In order to achieve the above object, according to the present invention, the back surface of a thin glass substrate is vacuum-sucked and supported by a plurality of small suction pads, and the suction force of the suction pads is maintained for a certain period of time. In order to achieve this, a vacuum piping system is constructed in which a suction pad and a vacuum bellows are connected to each other via a vacuum holder, and the vacuum bellows has a structure in which it is always stretched with a constant force by a tension spring or the like.

Further, in order to increase the reliability against leakage in the vacuum piping system, the vacuum holder to the vacuum bellows are divided into two systems, and the glass substrate itself is immersed in the chemical solution for a certain period of time so that the liquid is stored. A glass substrate can be attached near the bottom surface of an easy mortar-shaped container.
Then, by using the above structure with a carrier head for coating a cathode ray tube with a chemical liquid, it is possible to effectively use the existing equipment.

That is, according to the first aspect of the present invention, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a rectangular bottom surface 1a and an enlarged rectangular opening 1b that gradually rises and rises in a mortar shape from the bottom surface 1a. A container 1 having a suction opening formed at a predetermined height toward the enlarged rectangular opening 1b at the bottom 1a inside the container, and a vacuum connection port penetrating to the outside of the bottom. A plurality of vacuum suction pads 3 and at least two vacuum holders 5a and 5b for dividing the plurality of vacuum connection holes 3a into at least two groups to form independent vacuum chambers for each group; Vacuum holder 5a,
5b to connect one end to each of the flexible tubes 7a and 7b to supply a vacuum, and at least two flexible tubes 7a and 7b that communicate with the other ends to form a vacuum in the vacuum holders 5a and 5b. Vacuum bellows 6a, 6b and the vacuum bellows 6a, 6
From tension springs 8a and 8b for decompressing the inside of the vacuum bellows 6a and 6b by simultaneously pulling the other ends of b, and a handle 9 that pulls the tension springs 8a and 8b and holds the pulled state. In addition, after the plate body is placed on the plurality of vacuum suction pads 3, the handle body 9 is pulled to perform suction holding of the plate body.

The container can be made of a metal material such as a stainless steel plate or a reinforced plastic, and a reinforcing plate 4 having an appropriate thickness is fixed to the bottom 1a of the container to firmly hold the vacuum suction pad 3. In addition, the distortion of the entire holding device during the spin operation may be prevented.

The second aspect of the present invention is, as shown in FIG. 2, a carrier which is mounted and fixed on a rotary shaft 11 and can be tilted from the horizontal position to a predetermined angle together with the rotary shaft. Head 10, holding members 13a and 13b installed on the carrier head 10, and holding members 13a and 13a,
The holding member drive mechanism 14 for driving the holding member 13b to the holding position and the releasing position, and the mounting tables 15a, 15b for mounting the vacuum bellows type thin plate holding device according to claim 1 on the carrier head 10. Is characterized by.

Although the present invention is suitable for coating a resist on a glass substrate for a liquid crystal panel, the present invention is not limited to this and can be applied to the treatment of similar thin plates.

[0031]

In each of the configurations of the present invention, a thin plate body such as a glass substrate for a liquid crystal panel is sucked and held by a plurality of small vacuum suction pads to prevent the plate body from falling off when it is spun. And the damage is avoided.

Further, since the vacuum suction pad is held by suction even if it is a thin plate, it is possible to avoid stress cracking due to thermal expansion.

Furthermore, by holding the plate body at a constant height with the vacuum suction pad, the influence of heat when using a metal material for the container is small, and as a result, the surface temperature of the plate body is kept constant,
Generation of cracks due to thermal stress can be avoided.

By dividing the vacuum system from the vacuum holder to the vacuum bellows into a plurality of parts, even if a vacuum leak occurs in one, all the vacuum suction pads do not lose their suction power at once and the plate You can prevent your body from falling out.

By maintaining a state in which the vacuum bellows is stretched by a tension spring with a constant force, it is possible to constantly generate a negative pressure in the vacuum piping system, so that a vacuum is generated in the vacuum pump or joint parts. Equipment for equipment is not required, and the equipment cost is greatly reduced.

Furthermore, the container is shaped like a mortar,
In addition, by holding the plate body at a position close to the bottom surface, an appropriate amount of the chemical liquid can be stored in the container, and the surface of the plate body can be dipped for a treatment such as an etching treatment.

An existing resist coating device for a cathode ray tube panel can be used as a mechanism for spinning the container, and the effective use of existing equipment is effective in reducing the cost of manufacturing equipment.

[0038]

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a sectional view for explaining the structure of one embodiment of the vacuum bellows type plate holding device according to the present invention, and FIG.
1 is a bottom view of the vacuum bellows type plate holding device shown in FIG. 1, in which 1 is a mortar-shaped container with a bottom made of stainless steel, 1 a is its rectangular bottom, 1 b is an enlarged rectangular opening, 2 Is a glass substrate for a liquid crystal panel, 3 is a vacuum suction pad, 3a is a lock nut for fixing the vacuum suction pad to the bottom of the container, 3b is a vacuum connection port, 4 is a reinforcing plate, 5a,
5b is a vacuum holder, 6a and 6b are vacuum bellows, 7
a and 7b are flexible tubes, 8a and 8b are tension springs, 9 is a handle, and 9a is a handle stopper.

In FIGS. 1 and 2, a reinforcing plate 4 is laid and fixed to the bottom 1a of the container 1 to prevent deformation due to external force or heating and to increase the strength of the bottom surface. In order to mount and support the glass substrate 2 at a position of a predetermined height based on the upper surface of the reinforcing plate 4, a plurality of vacuum suction pads 3
Is provided.

The vacuum suction pad 3 is preferably arranged so as to hold the glass substrate 2 in a well-balanced manner outside the resist pattern forming region, and holds the glass substrate 2 flexibly. By mounting and holding the glass substrate 2 in this manner, it is possible to avoid the influence of external force and internal stress due to heating, and prevent falling, damage, and cracking.

The plurality of vacuum suction pads 3 are arranged such that the suction ports thereof are aligned and exposed above the container 1 on a common surface, and the vacuum suction pads 3 penetrate the reinforcing plate 4 and the bottom portion 1a and are fixed by the lock nuts 3a. The vacuum connection port 3b is open to the vacuum holders 5a and 5b at the portion exposed from the bottom 1a.

In this embodiment, the vacuum suction pads 3 are attached to two sets of three, six sets in total, and each set is arranged so that the vacuum is supplied from the vacuum holders 5a and 5b independently. ing.

The vacuum holders 5a and 5b are connected to independent vacuum bellows 6a and 6b via flexible tubes 7a and 7b, respectively.

The vacuum bellows 6a and 6b are airtight except for one end communicating with the flexible tubes 7a and 7b, and tension springs 8a and 8b are connected to the other ends, respectively.

The tension springs 8a and 8b are constructed so as to be commonly pulled by the handle 9 in the direction of arrow A,
The pulled handle 9 is held by the handle stopper 9a.

By pulling the handle 9 as described above, the pressure inside the vacuum bellows 6a and 6b is reduced, and the vacuum holder 5a is evacuated through the flexible tubes 7a and 7b.
And apply a negative pressure to 5b. In addition, this negative pressure is called a vacuum here.

This negative pressure serves as a force for sucking and holding the glass substrate placed on the vacuum suction pad 3.

As described above, according to this embodiment, the vacuum holders 5a and 5b independently generate a negative pressure, and each set of the vacuum suction pads 3 connected to the vacuum holders 5a and 5b provides an independent vacuum suction force. Even if a vacuum leak occurs in one vacuum piping system, adsorption is maintained in the other vacuum piping system.

In this state, a resist solution having a uniform film thickness can be formed by injecting a resist solution into the glass substrate and spinning it.

FIG. 3 shows a chemical liquid coating apparatus 1 according to the present invention.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating an embodiment, 10 is a coater carrier head using a coater that coats a resist or the like on a cathode ray tube panel, 11 is a coater carrier head rotating shaft, 1
2 is a chemical liquid dispenser such as a resist, 13a, 13b
Is a holding member, 14 is a holding member driving mechanism, 15a, 15b
Is a mounting table, and the same reference numerals as those in FIGS. 1 and 2 correspond to the same portions.

In the figure, the coating machine carrier head 1
0, coating machine carrier head rotating shaft 11, chemical liquid dispenser 12 such as resist, holding members 13a and 13b, holding member drive mechanism 14, and mounting tables 15a and 15b are coating machines for coating chemical liquids such as resist onto a panel of a cathode ray tube. Is used as it is, and the container 1 is formed in a funnel shape having substantially the same shape as the panel of the cathode ray tube.
Is mounted on the mounting tables 15a and 15b of the carrier head 10 of the applicator to hold the holding members 13a and 13b and the holding member drive mechanism 1
It can be detachably fixed with 4.

Therefore, according to this embodiment, as shown in FIG.
By simply manufacturing the vacuum bellows type plate holding device described with reference to FIG. 2, it is possible to configure an applicator for applying a chemical solution such as a resist to a similar plate such as a glass substrate for a liquid crystal panel.

Further, since the etching solution or the like can be stored in the vacuum bellows type plate holding device, the resist is applied by this vacuum bellows type plate holding device and the etching treatment is performed as it is without transferring the glass substrate 2. With
The used chemical liquid after processing can be discarded by inclining the rotating shaft 11 of the applicator carrier head at an angle θ.

[0055]

As described above, according to the present invention,
By holding the surface of the plate such as a thin glass plate flexibly by simple means without damaging it, it is possible to prevent the plate from falling off, breaking, or cracking. It is also possible to store, resist formation for forming a color filter on a plate body such as a glass substrate for a liquid crystal panel by using the coating machine that applies a chemical solution such as a resist to the panel of the cathode ray tube as it is, A patterning process or the like can be performed.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 shows a vacuum bellows type plate holding device according to the present invention.
It is sectional drawing explaining the structure of an Example.

FIG. 2 is a bottom view of the vacuum bellows type plate body holding device shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating one embodiment of a chemical liquid coating treatment apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a developed perspective view for explaining an example of a liquid crystal display device to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 5 is a partially cutaway schematic diagram illustrating an example of a filter-side glass substrate of a liquid crystal panel that constitutes a color liquid crystal display device.

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram illustrating resist coating by a rod coating method.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Container 1a Bottom 1b Enlarged Rectangular Opening 2 Glass Substrate 3 Vacuum Suction Pad 3a Lock Nut 3b Vacuum Connection Port 4 Reinforcing Plate 5a, 5b Vacuum Holder 6a, 6b Vacuum Bellows 7a, 7b Flexible Tube 8a, 8b Extension Spring 9 Handle 9a Handle Stop Tool 10 Coating machine carrier head 11 Coating machine carrier head rotating shaft 12 Chemical liquid dispenser 13a, 13b Holding member 14 Holding member drive mechanism 15a, 15b Mounting table.

Continuation of front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁶ Identification number Office reference number FI Technical display location G02B 1/10 G02B 5/20 101 5/20 101 1/10 Z H01L 21/027 H01L 21/30 564C

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A container having a rectangular bottom surface and an enlarged rectangular opening that gradually rises in a mortar shape and rises from the bottom surface, and a predetermined height toward the enlarged rectangular opening at the bottom of the container. A plurality of vacuum suction pads each having a suction opening facing each other and having a vacuum connection hole penetrating to the outside of the bottom, and the plurality of vacuum connection holes are divided into at least two groups, At least two independent vacuum chambers are formed for each group
A plurality of vacuum holders, a flexible tube having one end connected to each of the vacuum holders to supply a vacuum, and at least two vacuum tubes communicatingly connected to the other ends of the flexible tubes to form a vacuum in the vacuum holder. A vacuum bellows, a tension spring for decompressing the inside of the vacuum bellows by simultaneously pulling the respective other ends of the vacuum bellows, and a handle for pulling the tension spring and holding the pulled state, A vacuum bellows type thin glass holding device characterized in that the thin glass sheet is sucked and held by pulling the handle after placing the thin glass sheet on each of the vacuum suction pads. 2. A carrier head mounted on and fixed to a rotary shaft so as to be tiltable from a horizontal position together with the rotary shaft to a predetermined angle, a holding member installed on the carrier head, and a holding position for holding the holding member. And a holding member actuating mechanism which is driven to a release position, and a mounting table on which the vacuum bellows type thin glass holding device according to claim 1 is mounted on the carrier head.