KR100819863B1 - flow meter - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention is a flow rate measuring device for measuring the flow rate and the abnormality of the periodic flow of a certain amount of fluid flowing through two or more pipes, respectively mounted on the two or more pipes, the actual flow of fluid flowing through the pipe And a plurality of detection unit for detecting the actual flow rate; A plurality of timers connected to the plurality of sensing units, respectively, for measuring an actual flow period of the fluid sensed by the sensing unit; In the state of storing the reference flow period and the reference flow rate of the fluid to flow through the two or more pipes, respectively, match or disagreement by comparing it with the actual flow cycle and the actual flow rate of the fluid sensed through the respective sensing unit and timer A control unit for determining whether or not; When the control unit detects a mismatch, it provides a flow measurement device including a display unit for displaying this.

Description

Flow meter             

1 is a structural diagram briefly showing the structure of a general EBIAL device

Figure 2 is a block diagram showing a flow measuring device according to the invention in a block

Figure 3a is a plan view showing a portion of the inlet pipe of the ebal equipment to which the flow measurement device according to the present invention and the sensing unit mounted thereon

Figure 3b is a front view showing a part of the inlet pipe of the EBAL apparatus to which the flow measurement device according to the present invention is applied

Figure 4a is a graph showing an example of the reference flow period and the reference flow rate of the fluid input to the control unit of the flow measurement device according to the present invention

Figure 4b is a graph showing an example of the actual flow cycle and the actual flow of the fluid measured through the sensing unit and the timer of the flow measurement device according to the present invention

<Description of the symbols for the main parts of the drawings>

30: distribution section 32a, 32b: first and second inlet pipe

100: flow rate measuring device 102a, 102b: first and second detection unit

104a, 104b: first and second timers                 

106: control unit 108: display unit

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a flow meter, and more particularly, to a flow measuring device for measuring a flow rate of a fluid flowing in a constant amount periodically through two or more pipes and whether or not there is an abnormality of the period.

In general, the flow rate measuring device is installed in a pipe through which a fluid such as gas or liquid flows, and is widely used throughout our industry as a measuring device for detecting the flow and flow rate of a fluid.

In particular, in the manufacture of semiconductor devices and liquid crystal display devices which are rapidly developing in recent years, the role of the flow measuring device is further increased, which is due to the deposition of thin films and their thin films during the manufacturing process of these semiconductor devices or liquid crystal display devices. Many chemicals and gases are often used in processes such as patterning and cleaning, and these semiconductor devices and liquid crystal display devices require precisely controlled process conditions and environments, and various fluids used in their manufacturing processes are required. This is because precisely controlling the amount of is an important factor that greatly influences the characteristics of the finished device.

In order to implement the semiconductor device and the liquid crystal display device which is superior to the above, there is a need for an improved flow rate measuring device capable of precisely controlling the amount of fluid, and for the convenience of the following description, a liquid crystal display device using a precisely controlled fluid. As an example of the manufacturing equipment of the EB (edge bead removal) will be described.

In general, a manufacturing process of a liquid crystal display device involves depositing a thin film on a liquid crystal display substrate (hereinafter referred to as a substrate) several times, and applying a photoresist to the upper portion thereof to expose and develop a latent image. In this case, the patterning process includes a patterning process for implementing a thin film under the same shape. In this case, a spin coating method is generally used to spread the photoresist evenly over the entire surface of the substrate.

However, in the case of spreading the photoresist on the surface of the substrate by using the spin coating method, the spread of the photoresist is not limited to only the patterning area, but frequently occurs to the unnecessary area such as the edge part or the back surface. The unnecessarily spread photoresist layer hardens into a solid material called a bead, causing various problems.

In other words, these beads must be removed because they act as particles that break up in a subsequent process and cause contamination of the equipment or the substrate, or because they impair the flatness of the substrate. It is the EBIAL equipment to carry out.

Referring to FIG. 1, which is a schematic view of an LCD device for a general liquid crystal display device, the processor 20 includes a chuck 22 therein on which an upper surface of the substrate 1 is mounted. A dispensing unit 30 having first and second inlet pipes 32a and 32b introduced into the processing unit 20, and a storage device 40 storing chemicals supplied into the dispensing unit 30. have.

In this case, the chemicals stored in the storage device 40 are washing solvents such as thinners that can dissolve and remove unnecessary beads, which are unnecessary photoresists, and the distribution unit 30 receives the cleaning solvents. And by distributing and applying the second inlet pipes 32a and 32b to the processing unit 20. On the other hand, the chuck 22 mounted in the processing unit 20 and on which the substrate 1 is mounted on the upper surface thereof is generally configured to be rotatable, as shown in the drawing. In this case, the chuck 22 is branched from the distribution unit 30 described above. 20) The first and second inlet pipes 32a and 32b introduced into each other include two nozzles spaced up and down so as to be opposed to each other in an extended state to two opposite edge portions of the substrate 1 facing each other. The first and second injectors 36 and 38 are provided at their ends, respectively, so that it is possible to inject the cleaning solvent above and below the edge portions of the substrate 1 facing each other.

Therefore, when the cleaning solvent stored in the storage device 40 is supplied to the distribution unit 30, it is the first and second injectors installed at their ends via the first and second inlet pipe (32a, 32b), respectively ( By spraying through 36 and 38, the beads existing on the upper and lower surfaces of the two edge portions facing each other of the substrate 1 are removed. After the removal of the beads attached to the two edge portions of the substrate 1 facing each other through this process, the chuck 22 is rotated so that the upper and lower surfaces of the two other edge portions of the substrate 1 are respectively first and lower. Positioning and cleaning between the second injection device (36, 38).

At this time, since the substrate 1 for a liquid crystal display device has a longer rectangular shape, the first and second injectors 36 and 38 are configured to move a predetermined length in the horizontal direction. Is common.

In removing beads at the edge of the substrate 1 using the general IV equipment as described above, after cleaning one of the two opposite edge portions, the chuck 22 is cleaned for the other two edge portions. During the rotation, the cleaning solvent is not injected from the first and second injectors 36 and 38, and thus, the supply cycle of the chemicals supplied through the first and second inlet pipes 32a and 32b, that is, the cleaning solvent. Will be at regular intervals.

Therefore, in order to correctly control the cleaning solvent flowing into the processing unit 20 of such a general IV device, the amount of fluid passing through the first and second inlet pipes 32a and 32b is measured, respectively, There is a need for a flow rate measuring device having a function to detect whether the fluid flows through a predetermined period through each, currently there is no flow measuring device having such a function.

Therefore, the present invention has a purpose to provide a flow measuring device that meets the above requirements, and furthermore, by using a fluid that flows a certain amount periodically through two or more tubes as well as the above-described IBAL device. We want to provide a liquid flow control device that can be extended to other equipment.                         

That is, an object of the present invention is to provide a flow rate measuring device capable of measuring the flow rate of the fluid periodically flowing a constant amount through two or more pipes and the presence or absence of the cycle.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention is a flow rate measuring device for measuring the flow rate of the fluid and the periodicity of the periodic flow of a certain amount through two or more pipes, each of which is mounted to the two or more pipes, A plurality of detectors configured to sense an actual flow of a fluid flowing therein and an actual flow rate; A plurality of timers connected to the plurality of sensing units, respectively, for measuring an actual flow period of the fluid sensed by each sensing unit; In the state where the reference flow period and the reference flow rate of the fluid to flow through the two or more pipes are respectively stored, they are compared or matched with the actual flow rate and the actual flow period of the fluid sensed through the respective sensing unit and timer. A controller for determining a mismatch; Provided is a liquid flow rate measuring device including a display unit for displaying when the discrepancy is determined by the control unit.

At this time, each of the detection unit, and a position (float) to move up and down in accordance with the height of the fluid flowing therein in a state fixed in one point of each tube; Including a light emitting element and a light receiving element positioned to face each other with the respective buoys interposed therebetween, detecting the amount of fluid and the flow of the fluid through the relative height of the buoy blocking the light traveling from the light emitting element to the light receiving element. It features.                     

In addition, the display unit and a buzzer; Including a light emitting device, characterized in that it displays whether there is a discrepancy judged by the control unit, and wherein the flow rate measuring device, the processing unit including a chuck on which the substrate is seated, and the first and second introduced into the processing unit Measuring the amount of fluid passing through the first and second inlet pipe of the edge bead (EBR) equipment including a distribution unit including an inlet tube and a storage device for supplying chemicals into the distribution unit It is characterized in that applied to the flow rate measuring device characterized in that.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

The flow rate measuring device according to the present invention is characterized by measuring the presence or absence of abnormal flow rate and period of the fluid flowing a certain amount periodically through two or more pipes, as one of the applications of the present invention is a typical IBAL device as an example As will be described below, in particular, the present invention can be installed without any modification in the general EBIAL device, which will be described with reference to FIG.

The flow rate measuring device according to the present invention has a predetermined position (K) of the first and second inlet pipes (32a, 32b) branching from the distribution unit 30 of the general EBI device and introduced into the processing unit 20, respectively. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a flow measuring device according to the present invention, which is mounted on the first and second inlet pipes 32a and 32b, respectively, to determine whether there is an actual flow of the fluid flowing therethrough and First and second detectors 102a and 102b for detecting an actual flow rate, and first and second detectors 102a and 102b, respectively, connected to the first and second detectors 102a and 102b to measure an actual flow period of a fluid they detect; In the state where the reference flow period and the reference flow rate of the fluid to be flowed through the second timers 104a and 104b and the aforementioned first and second inlet pipes 32a and 32b are input, respectively, the first and second flow rates are input. Of the fluid measured by the detectors 102a and 102b and the first and second timers 104a and 104b. And a flow period and the control unit 106 compares the actual flow rate to determine whether its match or mismatch, and a display 108 which displays the information when it is determined in an emergency mismatch control unit 106.

In this case, the first and second detectors 102a and 102b are mounted on the first and second inlet pipes 32a and 32b, respectively, to sense the actual flow of the fluid flowing therein and the amount thereof. In this case, since the first sensing unit 102a and the second sensing unit 102b are made of the same elements, the first sensing unit 102a is mounted on the first inlet pipe 32a for convenience of description. Referring to FIG. 3A, which is a plan view of FIG. 3, the same applies to the second inlet pipe 32b and the second sensing unit 102b mounted thereto.

The first sensing unit 102a according to the present invention includes a light emitting device 110a and a light receiving device 110b spaced apart from each other with one point of the first inflow pipe 32a interposed therebetween. According to the height of the fluid in a state where the position is fixed within the point of the first inflow pipe 32a positioned between the element 110a and the light receiving element 110b so as not to be floated by the fluid flowing therethrough. Buoys moving up and down are provided.

That is, referring to FIG. 3B, which is a front view showing one point of the first inflow pipe in the S direction, the buoy 112 has the fluid L in a state where the position thereof is fixed inside the first inflow pipe 32a. It is installed to float along the upper surface of the first inlet pipe (32a) has a relatively high position when a large amount of fluid flows, while a smaller amount of fluid flows in a lower position than this do. Accordingly, by installing the light emitting device 110a and the light receiving device 110b which are installed to face each other with the buoy 112 therebetween, the buoy for blocking the light traveling from the light emitting device 110a to the light receiving device 110b ( By detecting the relative height of 112, the amount of fluid and its presence can be measured. To this end, a method of determining a height of a buoy to which relatively little light is applied may be used in the light receiving surface of the light receiving element 110b including a plurality of cell receiving elements that are connected to each other.

In this case, it is preferable that the first inflow pipe 32a is made of a transparent or translucent material so that the relative height of the buoy 112 installed therein can be identified from the outside. As shown in FIG. 1, one point of the first inflow pipe 32a may be connected to the viewer 114 of the annular body made of a transparent material.

Also, although not shown in the drawings, a general float-type level meter may be used as the first and second sensing units 102a and 102b.

The operation of the flow rate measuring device according to the present invention having such a configuration will be described with reference to FIGS. 2, 3A, and 3B. First, a user may refer to a reference flow cycle of a fluid flowing through the first and second inlet pipes 32a and 32b. And reference flow rates are respectively input to the control unit 106, where reference flow cycles and reference flow rates refer to periodic times during which flow rates flow along the respective inlet pipes 32a and 32b and when Flow rate, which is the value that can be obtained through experimental value.

The reference flow period and the reference flow rate of the fluid flowing through the first and second inlet pipes 32a and 32b of the EBIAL device have a period M1 and a predetermined amount A for each time T1, as shown in FIG. 4A. Assume that T2 is the amount of fluid supplied and no liquid is supplied.

As such, when the input of the reference flow period and the reference flow rate to the control unit 106 is completed, the EBI device is operated to proceed with the corresponding process. The first and second inlet pipes 32a and 32b are driven by the operation of the EBI device. ) A certain amount of fluid flows periodically.

In this case, since the first and second inlet pipes 32a and 32b are equipped with the first and second detectors 102a and 102b and the first and second timers 104a and 104b, respectively, the actual flow cycle of the fluid. And the flow rate is measured, as described above, each inlet pipe (32a, 32b) is provided with a buoy 112, the height of which varies depending on the amount of fluid, bar fluid does not flow, i.e. In the case of not operating, the buoy 112 located at the bottom is floated upward with a height proportional to the amount during the flow time of the fluid, and if the fluid does not flow again, the operation of dropping to the bottom is periodically repeated.

Since the height change of the buoy 112 can be detected through the light emitting device 110a and the light receiving device 110b spaced apart from each other, the flow rate of the liquid flowing through the respective inlet pipes 32a and 32b through this. The time when the buoy 112 rises from the bottom to the top and falls back to the bottom, that is, the actual flow period of the fluid is determined by the first and second timers connected to the first and second sensing units 102a and 102b, respectively. Measurements are made through 104a and 104b, and the periods and flow rates measured through the respective sensing units 102a and 102b and the timers 104a and 104b represent the time during which the actual fluid flows and the amount flowing at the time. This is the actual flow cycle and actual flow of the fluid.

FIG. 4B is a graph showing the actual flow period and the actual flow rate of the fluid measured through the first and second sensing units 102a and 102b and the first and second timers 104a and 104b. In the following description, assuming that t is supplied with a fluid for a time t1 and that liquid is not supplied, t2, the first and second detectors 102a and 102b and the first and second timers are thus described. The actual flow rate a and the actual period m1 measured through the 104a and 104b are transmitted to the control unit 106, which controls the reference flow period M1 and the reference flow rate inputted by the first user. It is compared with (A).

At this time, the actual flow period (m1) and the actual flow rate (a) of the fluid measured by the first and second detectors 102a and 102b and the first and second timers 104a and 104b, I) If the reference flow period (M1) and the reference flow rate (A) are entered, this means that the IBAL device is operating correctly, in other cases, that is, the actual flow period (m1) or the actual flow rate (a). If there is a difference between the reference flow period M1 or the reference flow rate A inputted to the control unit, this indicates that there is an error in the operation of the EBI device.

Therefore, the controller 106 compares the reference flow period M1 and the reference flow rate A with the actual flow period m1 and the actual flow rate a to determine whether there is a match or a mismatch, and if so, In this case, the display unit 108 displays the information so that it can be recognized by the user. Although the display unit 108 is not shown, it is preferably notified to the user by means of a warning light or a buzzer using a light emitting device. At this time, it is preferable to use both a warning light and a buzzer in order to enable effective recognition to the user.

Therefore, the user who has confirmed the abnormal operation of the equipment through the display unit 108 enables a more reliable process by taking appropriate measures.

In the above description of the ibral equipment as an example of the equipment to which the flow rate measuring apparatus 100 according to the present invention is applied, each has two sensing units 102a and 102b and two timers 104a and 104b. The invention makes it possible to measure the flow rate of the fluid flowing through a larger number of tubes and the flow cycle thereof.

That is, in other equipment having three or more tubes, each of which has a configuration in which fluid flows periodically, the liquid flow rate measurement according to the present invention for measuring the flow rate of the fluid flowing through these tubes and the presence or absence of the period thereof. The device has as many sensors and timers as there are corresponding to the number of these tubes and installs them in each tube, and inputs three or more reference flow cycles and reference flows to flow through each of these tubes, This is made possible by comparing the values with the actual flow rates and actual flow rates measured by the sensors and timers mounted on each tube.

The present invention provides a flow rate measuring device for measuring the flow rate of the fluid periodically flows through two or more pipes and whether there is an abnormality in the flow cycle, it is possible to check the flow of the fluid more reliable.

In addition, when there is an abnormality in the amount and flow cycle of the incoming fluid, the user or the manager, including the display to indicate this has the advantage that can quickly check the equipment abnormality and take action.

The advantage of the present invention is that, in recent years, as various devices and manufacturing processes are automated, a large amount of defects is more likely to occur when the amount or cycle of fluid flowing into any of the equipment is not precisely controlled. It may be usefully applied, that is, the liquid flow rate control device according to the present invention can determine the inflow period of the fluid flowing through the plurality of pipes of the other equipment and whether there is an abnormality of the flow rate, in particular in the event of such an abnormality It can be noticed to users or administrators, so it has more advanced features.

Claims (4)

It is a flow measuring instrument that measures the flow rate of the fluid flowing in a constant amount periodically through two or more pipes and whether there is an abnormality in the flow cycle. A plurality of sensing units mounted on the two or more tubes, respectively, for sensing an actual flow of the fluid flowing therethrough and the actual flow rate; A plurality of timers respectively connected to the plurality of sensing units to measure an actual flow period of the fluid; In the state of storing the reference flow period and the reference flow rate of the fluid to flow through the two or more pipes, respectively, and comparing them with the actual flow cycle and the actual flow rate of the fluid sensed through the respective sensing unit and the timer, or A controller for determining a mismatch; A display unit for displaying a mismatch when the controller determines a mismatch Flow measurement device comprising a. The method according to claim 1, Each sensing unit, A buoy which moves up and down according to the height of the fluid in a state where the position is fixed at one point of each pipe; Light emitting elements and light receiving elements which face each other with the buoy therebetween Including, the flow rate measuring device for detecting the amount of fluid and the flow through the relative height of the buoy to block the light traveling from the light emitting device to the light receiving device. The method according to claim 1, The display unit, Buzzer; Light emitting element Flow measurement device comprising a. The method according to claim 1, The flow measuring device includes a processing unit including a chuck on which a substrate is seated, a distribution unit including first and second inlet pipes introduced into the processing unit, and a storage device supplying chemicals into the distribution unit. A flow rate measuring device, characterized in that for measuring the amount of fluid passing through the first and second inlet pipe of the EBR (Edge Bead Removal) equipment.

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