KR101020676B1 - Apparatus for cleaning a substrate - Google Patents

Abstract

The substrate cleaning apparatus includes a cleaning container for forming a cleaning space, a transfer unit for transferring the substrate in a first horizontal direction in the cleaning container, a brush unit for brushing the substrate in the cleaning container, and a cleaning liquid in a mist form in the cleaning container. And a cleaning liquid spray nozzle which is formed and sprayed onto the brushed substrate, wherein the brush unit includes a brush shaft having a cylindrical shape, a tension shaft provided to penetrate the brush shaft, and both ends of the brush shaft, respectively, the tension shaft and the screw. And a tension adjusting nut that is coupled and increases tension applied to the tension shaft through tightening of the screw coupling, and a substrate cleaning brush disposed on an outer circumferential surface of the shaft. Therefore, the area of the substrate cleaning facility can be reduced.

Description

Apparatus for cleaning a substrate

The present invention relates to a substrate cleaning apparatus, and more particularly, to an apparatus for cleaning the substrate to remove impurities on the substrate in the manufacture of a flat panel display device.

In general, certain processing processes may be performed on large area substrates, such as glass substrates, in the manufacture of flat panel display devices. For example, unit processes such as an etching process, a strip process, a cleaning process, a drying process, and the like may be performed on the substrate, and the apparatus for performing the unit processes is generally performed while moving the substrate in an inline manner. Can be.

In particular, the apparatus for performing the cleaning process may transfer the substrate in the horizontal direction by using a plurality of rollers, it is possible to supply the cleaning liquid onto the substrate. For example, the cleaning apparatus may include a plurality of brushes for brushing the substrate to remove impurities on the substrate, a shower nozzle for supplying a cleaning liquid onto the brushes, and a high pressure onto the substrate first cleaned by the brushes. It may include an air jet nozzle for removing the cleaning liquid on the substrate and the air injection nozzle for secondary cleaning the substrate by spraying the air of the.

The air atomizing nozzle may include a pipe pipe having a space in which the cleaning liquid and air are mixed, and a plurality of nozzles formed through the pipe pipe and spraying the cleaning liquid in the form of a mist. However, since the cleaning liquid and the air are mixed in the space in the pipe piping, the concentration of the cleaning liquid is not uniform in the airflow injected onto the substrate, and the force applied on the substrate may not be constant. As a result, even when the distance between the air atomizing nozzle and the substrate is kept constant, it is difficult to achieve uniform cleaning, and the cleaning because the amount of cleaning liquid and air required to obtain the desired cleaning effect is relatively large. The cost of carrying out the process can be increased.

In addition, the brush units also have the disadvantage of using a plurality of brush units in order to obtain the desired cleaning effect due to bending, etc., which causes the size of the cleaning equipment to increase.

Therefore, one problem to be solved by the embodiment of the present invention is to provide a substrate cleaning apparatus that can reduce the size of the substrate cleaning equipment, the amount of the cleaning liquid used.

In order to achieve the above object of the present invention, a substrate cleaning apparatus according to the present invention includes a cleaning container for forming a cleaning space, a transfer unit for transporting a substrate in a first horizontal direction within the cleaning container, and within the cleaning container. A brush unit for brushing the substrate, and a cleaning liquid spray nozzle configured to spray the cleaning liquid into the brushed substrate by forming a cleaning liquid in the cleaning container in a mist form, wherein the brush unit includes a brush shaft having a cylindrical shape, and the brush; A tension adjusting nut provided to penetrate the shaft, and provided at both ends of the brush shaft to be screw-coupled with the tension shaft, and a tension adjusting nut for increasing tension applied to the tension shaft through tightening of the screw coupling; It includes a substrate cleaning brush disposed on the outer peripheral surface of the shaft And a gong.

According to one embodiment, disposed on both ends of the brush shaft, it may include a plurality of first bearings rotatably supporting the brush shaft.

In another embodiment, the brush shaft may include a plurality of second bearings interposed between the tension shaft and the brush shaft to support the tension shaft and the brush shaft.

According to another embodiment, the cleaning liquid sprayed from the cleaning liquid spray nozzle is sprayed onto the substrate through a slit formed by a pair of plates, the air for forming the cleaning liquid in the form of a mist (mist) is It may be fed into the slit through one of the plates.

According to another embodiment, the cleaning liquid supply line for supplying the cleaning liquid is connected to the central portion of one of the plates and the air supply line for supplying the air is the cleaning liquid centered around the portion connected to the cleaning liquid supply line It may be connected to a portion opposite to the nozzle end to be sprayed.

According to another embodiment, one of the plates is formed with a protrusion, the other of the plates is formed with a recess into which the protrusion is inserted, the slit can extend between the protrusion and the recess have.

According to another embodiment, the protrusion and the recess may be disposed between the central portion of the plates and the nozzle end.

According to another embodiment, the slit may have a first width of a portion at which the cleaning liquid is injected and a second width of a portion at which the cleaning liquid and the air are mixed, and the second width may be greater than the first width. .

According to another embodiment, the width of the slit in which the cleaning liquid is injected is characterized in that 0.05 to 0.1mm.

The substrate cleaning apparatus according to the present invention configured as described above is configured to form a tensile force therein to reduce the warpage of the brush unit, thereby reducing the number of brush units compared to the prior art, thereby reducing the area of the substrate cleaning facility. . In addition, by using a cleaning liquid injection nozzle that can reduce the consumption of the cleaning liquid, through this, it is possible to reduce the consumption of the cleaning liquid and at the same time reduce the area of the cleaning equipment by simplifying the cleaning liquid supply lines. In addition, the area of the cleaning equipment can be reduced by placing the brush unit and the cleaning liquid injection unit in a single container.

Hereinafter, a substrate cleaning apparatus according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

As the inventive concept allows for various changes and numerous embodiments, particular embodiments will be illustrated in the drawings and described in detail in the text. However, this is not intended to limit the present invention to the specific disclosed form, it should be understood to include all modifications, equivalents, and substitutes included in the spirit and scope of the present invention. Like reference numerals are used for like elements in describing each drawing. In the accompanying drawings, the dimensions of the structures are enlarged to illustrate the invention, and are actually shown in a smaller scale than the actual dimensions in order to explain the schematic configuration. The terms first, second, etc. may be used to describe various components, but the components should not be limited by the terms. The terms are used only for the purpose of distinguishing one component from another. For example, without departing from the scope of the present invention, the first component may be referred to as the second component, and similarly, the second component may also be referred to as the first component.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular example embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the present invention. Singular expressions include plural expressions unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. In this application, the terms "comprise" or "have" are intended to indicate that there is a feature, number, step, action, component, part, or combination thereof described on the specification, and one or more other features. It is to be understood that the present invention does not exclude the possibility of the presence or the addition of numbers, steps, operations, components, parts, or combinations thereof.

On the other hand, unless otherwise defined, all terms used herein, including technical or scientific terms, have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art. Terms such as those defined in the commonly used dictionaries should be construed as having meanings consistent with the meanings in the context of the related art and shall not be construed in ideal or excessively formal meanings unless expressly defined in this application. Do not.

Example

1 is a schematic view showing a substrate cleaning apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 1, the substrate cleaning apparatus 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention may be used for a cleaning process on a flat substrate G such as a glass substrate.

The substrate cleaning apparatus 10 may include a cleaning unit divided by the cleaning container 100 and a drying unit divided by the drying container 200. In addition, although not shown, the loading unit for loading and waiting the substrate G, which is located at the front of the cleaning unit and transferred from the external substrate transfer device, and the substrate G which has been cleaned at the rear end of the drying unit, is frozen. It may include an unloading unit for loading and waiting.

Units for cleaning the substrate G are provided in the cleaning container 100. For example, the transfer unit 110 for transferring the substrate G in the first horizontal direction in the cleaning container 100 and the brush units 120 for brushing the substrate G for the first cleaning. ), A cleaning liquid spray nozzle 130 for forming a cleaning liquid into a mist form, and then spraying the first cleaned substrate G to the second cleaning, and shower nozzles for spraying the necessary cleaning during the process to the substrate G. 140 may be included. Here, the transfer unit 110, the brush units 120, the cleaning liquid injection nozzle 130, and the shower nozzles 140 are provided in the same cleaning container 100. This means that the processes are all performed in the cleaning container 100. That is, all of the members are disposed in a single cleaning container 100 to clean the substrate G. In addition, the inside of the cleaning container 100 includes a first air knife 150 for injecting air to the substrate (G) in order to remove foreign matter that may remain on the substrate (G) that is introduced into the container. can do.

In this embodiment, by configuring the brush unit 120 to increase the tensile force to reduce the area of the cleaning equipment, it is possible to install a smaller number of brush units 120 than the prior art by reducing the bending. In addition, the efficiency of the cleaning liquid injection nozzle 130 is increased to reduce the amount of cleaning liquid compared to the conventional. The brush unit 120 and the cleaning liquid injection nozzle 130 will be more clearly described below.

In the drying container 200, a drying process of the substrate G, which has been cleaned, is performed. That is, the cleaning liquid or the foreign matter remaining on the substrate G is blown out using air. To this end, a second air knife 210 for injecting a dry gas into the substrate G is provided in the drying container 200.

Hereinafter, the brush unit 120 featured in the present embodiment will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating the brush unit illustrated in FIG. 1.

Referring to FIG. 2, the brush unit 130 includes a brush shaft 121 having a cylindrical shape, a tension shaft 122 provided to penetrate the brush shaft 121, and both ends of the brush shaft 121. And a tension adjusting nut 123 disposed at and screwed to the brush shaft 121 and a brush 124 disposed on an outer circumferential surface of the brush shaft 121.

In addition, the brush unit 130 has first bearings 125 at both ends of the brush shaft 121. The first bearings 125 rotatably support the brush shaft 121 to allow brushing of the substrate G. FIG. Accordingly, the first bearing 125 may be installed in a housing (not shown) that supports the brush unit 130 when the brush unit 130 is fixed in the process container 100 at a predetermined position. .

The tension shaft 122 has a diameter smaller than the inner diameter of the brush shaft 121 to penetrate the brush shaft 121. In addition, the tension shaft 122 has a length longer than the length of the brush shaft 121 so that both ends thereof protrude from both ends of the brush shaft 121 when penetrating the brush shaft 121. And, both ends of the tension shaft 122 is formed with a screw thread for screwing the tension adjustment nut 123.

As mentioned above, the tension adjusting nut 123 is fastened to both ends of the tension shaft 122 which are disposed to penetrate the brush shaft 121. In particular, the tension adjusting nut 123 is formed to have a diameter at least larger than the inner diameter of the brush shaft 121 to prevent entering into the cylinder of the brush shaft 121. In the drawing, a diameter larger than the outer diameter of the brush shaft 121 is expressed. As such, the tension adjustment nut 123 needs a configuration that can be fixed to the end of the brush shaft 121. Therefore, it is not necessary to necessarily have a diameter larger than the inner diameter of the brush shaft 121. For example, the inner diameter of the brush shaft 121 may be provided with a locking step of the tension adjustment nut 123.

Meanwhile, the inner side of the brush shaft 121 has second bearings 126 interposed between the tension shaft 122 and the brush shaft 122. The second bearings 126 are preferably tightly sandwiched between the tension shaft 122 and the brush shaft 122, and the reason will be apparent from the following description.

The tension adjusting nut 123 serves to increase the tensile force applied to the inner shaft 122 by tightening the screw coupling in a state supported at both end sides of the brush shaft 121. That is, as the tension adjusting nuts 123 are tightened to the center portion of the tension shaft 122, the tension shaft 122 will be pulled from both sides. Accordingly, the tension shaft 122 acts to straighten the force, the second bearing 126 acts as a support shaft between the tension shaft 122 and the brush shaft 121 to the brush shaft ( The deflection of 121) is suppressed. That is, when the deflection of the brush shaft 121 occurs, the deflection may be suppressed by tightening the tension control nut 123.

By using a brush that can be restrained fluidly of the brush unit 120 as described above, even if the number of the brush unit 120 is configured as compared to the conventional will be able to maintain the same cleaning power. Therefore, the number of brush units 120 may be reduced, and ultimately, the area of the substrate cleaning facility may be reduced.

FIG. 3 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing the cleaning liquid jet nozzle shown in FIG. 1, and FIG. 4 is a schematic side view showing the cleaning liquid jet nozzle shown in FIG. 3.

3 and 4, the spray nozzle 130 may include a pair of plates 132 and 134 extending in a direction perpendicular to the transport direction of the substrate G. Referring to FIGS. For example, the spray nozzle 130 may include a first plate 132 and a second plate 134, and the cleaning solution may be disposed between the first plate 110 and the second plate 120. Slits 136 may be formed to spray onto the substrate G.

In addition, although not shown in detail, a sealing member 131 between the first plate 132 and the second plate 132 to prevent the cleaning liquid from leaking through the upper and both sides of the cleaning liquid injection nozzle 130. ) May be intervened.

The cleaning solution supply unit 138 for supplying the cleaning solution may be connected to the central portion of the first plate 132 by the cleaning solution supply line 138a. The cleaning solution supply line 138a may be connected to the slit 136 through the first plate 132. For example, as shown, a plurality of cleaning solution supply lines 138a may be connected to central portions of the first plate 132. In addition, an air supply unit 139 for supplying air to the injection nozzle 130 may be provided at an air supply line 139a at a portion facing the nozzle end to which the cleaning liquid is injected, centered on a portion to which the cleaning liquid supply line 138a is connected. ) Can be connected. The air supply line 139a may be connected to the slit 136 through the first plate 132. For example, as illustrated, a plurality of air supply lines 139a may be connected to upper portions of the first plate 132.

A recessed portion 132a may be formed in an inner surface portion of the first plate 132 defining the slit 136, and a recessed portion 132a may be formed in the inner surface portion of the second plate 134 defining the slit 136. A protrusion 134a inserted into the recess 132a may be formed. The concave portion 132a and the protrusion 134a may extend in the extending direction of the injection nozzle 130. The recess 132a and the protrusion 134a may be provided to uniformly spray the cleaning solution.

The slit 136 may extend upward from the lower portions of the first and second plates 132 and 134 via the recess 132a and the protrusion 134a. In particular, the concave portion 132a and the protrusion 134a may be located below a portion to which the cleaning liquid supply lines 138a are connected. That is, the recess 132a and the protrusion 134a may be disposed between the central portion of the first and second plates 132 and 134 and the nozzle end.

That is, the slit 136 includes a first slit 136a to which the air supply line 139a is connected, a second slit 136b to which the cleaning liquid supply line 138a is connected, and the concave portion 132a and a protrusion. A third slit 136c between 134a and a fourth slit 136d between lower portions of the first plate 132 and the second plate 134 may be included.

The cleaning liquid and air may be mixed in the second slit 136b. Here, the first slit 136a, the third slit 136c, and the fourth slit 136d may have a first width, and the second slit 136b may have a second width. At this time, the second width is preferably larger than the first width. For example, the first width may be about 0.05 to 0.1 mm, and the second width may be about 0.1 to 1.0 mm.

That is, the cleaning liquid and air may be mixed in the second slit 136b, and a cleaning mist may be formed by the pressure of the cleaning liquid and the pressure of the air, and the cleaning mist may be formed in the third slit 136c. ) And the fourth slit 136d may be uniformly sprayed onto the substrate G.

As described above, since the three semens supplied from the plurality of cleaning liquid supply lines 138a are mixed with the air supplied from the plurality of air supply lines 139a in the second slit 136b, the conventional pipe The cleaning mist may be formed more uniformly than the cleaning mist formed in the pipe, and the cleaning mist may be formed through the third slit 136c between the recess 132a and the protrusion 134a. Since it is sprayed onto the substrate (G) through a) may be provided a more uniform cleaning mist on the substrate (G).

In addition, since the space of the second slit 136b is relatively smaller than that of the conventional pipe piping, the pressure of the cleaning liquid and the air pressure supplied to the injection nozzle 130 may be lower than in the related art. Therefore, since a pump having a smaller capacity can be used than in the prior art, the size of the substrate drying apparatus G can be reduced and the manufacturing cost of the substrate drying apparatus G can be reduced.

In addition, since more uniform cleaning mist and air may be injected onto the substrate G, the amount of the cleaning liquid and air required to obtain the same cleaning effect as compared to the conventional air atomizing nozzle may be reduced.

On the other hand, although not shown, by using the brush unit 120 and the cleaning liquid injection nozzle 130 as described above, it is possible to reduce the number of conventional dash installation, and the amount of the cleaning liquid can also be reduced. Therefore, it will be possible to reduce the number of tanks and pumps for the supply of the cleaning liquid than conventional. It will also be apparent that it is also possible to simplify their supply lines by reducing the number of tanks and pumps.

As described above, the substrate cleaning apparatus according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention is provided with a tension shaft so as to penetrate the brush shaft in which the brush is installed, which is capable of forming a tensile force therein to reduce the bending of the brush unit. And it is possible to suppress the bending of the brush unit by increasing the tension force of the tension shaft through screw tightening at both ends of the tension shaft, it will be possible to reduce the number of brush units compared to the prior art without deteriorating the cleaning power. This can reduce the area of the substrate cleaning facility.

In addition, by using a cleaning liquid injection nozzle that can reduce the consumption of the cleaning liquid, it is possible to reduce the consumption of the cleaning liquid and at the same time reduce the area of the cleaning equipment by simplifying the cleaning liquid supply lines.

In addition, by reducing the number of brush units and the amount of cleaning liquid consumed by the cleaning liquid injection nozzle, it is possible to reduce the tanks and pumps required for supplying the cleaning liquid, thereby reducing costs and reducing their supply lines. This will reduce the area of cleaning equipment.

While the foregoing has been described with reference to preferred embodiments of the present invention, those skilled in the art will be able to variously modify and change the present invention without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the claims below. It will be appreciated.

1 is a schematic view showing a substrate cleaning apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating the brush unit illustrated in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a schematic cross-sectional view illustrating the cleaning liquid spray nozzle shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a schematic side view illustrating the cleaning liquid spray nozzle shown in FIG. 3.

Explanation of symbols on the main parts of the drawings

10 substrate cleaning device 100 cleaning container

110: transfer unit 120: brush unit

121: brush shaft 122: tension shaft

123: tension adjustment nut 124: brush

125: first bearing 126: second bearing

130: cleaning liquid injection nozzle 132: first plate

134: second plate 136: slit

138: cleaning liquid supply part 139: air supply part

140: shower nozzle 150: first air knife

200: drying container 210: first air knife

Claims (9)

A cleaning container for forming a cleaning space; A transfer unit for transferring a substrate in a first horizontal direction in the cleaning vessel; A brush unit for brushing the substrate in the cleaning container; And A cleaning liquid spray nozzle which forms a cleaning liquid in a mist form in the cleaning container and sprays the cleaning liquid onto the brushed substrate; The brush unit A brush shaft having a cylindrical shape; A tension shaft provided to penetrate the brush shaft; Tension tension nuts which are respectively provided at both ends of the brush shaft and screw-coupled with the tension shaft, and increase tension force applied to the tension shaft by tightening the screw coupling; And And a substrate cleaning brush disposed on an outer circumferential surface of the brush shaft. The substrate cleaning apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a plurality of first bearings disposed at both ends of the brush shaft and rotatably supporting the brush shaft. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a plurality of second bearings interposed between the tension shaft and the brush shaft inside the brush shaft to support the tension shaft and the brush shaft. The cleaning liquid of claim 1, wherein the cleaning liquid injected from the cleaning liquid injection nozzle is injected onto the substrate through a slit formed by a pair of plates, and air for forming the cleaning liquid into a mist form is formed on the plate. Substrate cleaning apparatus characterized in that it is supplied into the slit through one of the. The cleaning liquid supply line of claim 4, wherein the cleaning liquid supply line for supplying the cleaning liquid is connected to a central portion of one of the plates, and the air supply line for supplying the air is formed around the portion where the cleaning liquid supply line is connected. A substrate cleaning apparatus, characterized in that connected to a portion opposite to the nozzle end to be injected. The method of claim 5, wherein one of the plates is formed with a protrusion, the other one of the plates is formed with a recess into which the protrusion is inserted, the slit extends between the protrusion and the recess A substrate cleaning device. The substrate cleaning apparatus of claim 6, wherein the protrusion and the recess are disposed between a central portion of the plates and the nozzle end. The method of claim 5, wherein the slit has a first width of the portion in which the cleaning liquid is injected and a second width of the portion in which the cleaning liquid and the air is mixed, the second width is larger than the first width Substrate cleaning apparatus. The substrate cleaning apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the width of the slit to which the cleaning liquid is injected is 0.05 to 0.1 mm.

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