KR101083619B1 - Pre-discharge apparatus and pre-discharge process - Google Patents

Abstract

assignment

Provided are a preliminary ejection apparatus and a preliminary ejection method which are excellent in the maintenance property on a preliminary ejection surface.

Solution

It is a preliminary discharge apparatus provided with the preliminary discharge plate 80 which has the preliminary discharge surface 81 by which a liquid body is apply | coated in the preliminary discharge operation in a coating device.

The preliminary discharge plate 80 includes a plate member 83 and a base member 83 including the preliminary discharge surface 81, and the plate member 83 and the base member 80 are detachably joined to each other.

Preliminary ejection surface, preliminary ejection device, preliminary ejection method

Description

Pre-discharge device and pre-discharge method {PRE-DISCHARGE APPARATUS AND PRE-DISCHARGE PROCESS}

The present invention relates to a preliminary ejection apparatus and a preliminary ejection method.

This application claims priority based on Japanese Patent Application No. 2007-313326 for which it applied to Japan on December 4, 2007, and uses the content here.

Fine patterns, such as a wiring pattern and an electrode pattern, are formed on the glass substrate which comprises display panels, such as a liquid crystal display. In general, such a pattern is formed by a technique such as photolithography. In the photolithography method, a step of forming a resist film on a glass substrate, a step of pattern exposing the resist film, and a step of developing the resist film thereafter are performed.

A coating film for applying a resist (liquid) or the like onto a substrate to be coated by moving the coating head and the substrate to be coated with the slit-shaped openings to be orthogonal to the longitudinal direction of the coating head opening as a device for applying a resist film onto the substrate. Forming apparatus is known (for example, refer patent document 1).

[Patent Document 1] Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2005-109153

 By the way, in such a coating film forming apparatus, in order to acquire uniformity of a coating film, it is preferable to implement nozzle tip management, such as the preliminary discharge operation | movement before resist coating, for example. In such a preliminary ejection operation, in order to continuously obtain a stable nozzle tip, it is preferable to perform the cleaning process of the preliminary ejection surface after the resist coating and the periodic maintenance process. However, since the nozzle tip management has not been carried out in the above-mentioned prior art, the cleaning property and the maintenance property of the preliminary discharge surface were not considered.

This invention is made | formed in view of such a situation, and an object of this invention is to provide the preliminary discharge apparatus and the preliminary discharge method which are excellent in the maintenance property in a preliminary discharge surface.

In order to solve the said subject, the preliminary ejection apparatus of this invention is a preliminary ejection apparatus provided with the preliminary ejection plate which has a preliminary ejection surface in which the liquid body is apply | coated in the preliminary ejection operation | movement in a coating apparatus, The said preliminary ejection plate is A plate member and a base member including the preliminary discharge surface are provided, and the plate member and the base member are detachably joined.

According to the preliminary ejection apparatus of the present invention, maintenance of the preliminary ejection surface can be performed, for example, by separating the plate member from the base member. Therefore, it becomes excellent in the maintenance property in a spare discharge surface. By using such a preliminary ejection apparatus, the preliminary ejection surface can always be maintained in a good state, and a high uniformity coating film can be formed by performing the preliminary ejection operation satisfactorily.

Moreover, in the said preliminary discharge apparatus, it is preferable that the said plate member and the said base member are joined by vacuum suction.

According to this constitution, by releasing the adsorption, the plate member and the base member can be easily attached and detached, and the maintenance property of the preliminary ejection surface can be improved. In addition, since the plate-like members can be joined without using an adhesive layer or the like, the bonding surface is flattened to obtain high adhesiveness.

Moreover, it is more preferable that the vacuum groove which makes the inside into a vacuum state and joins the said plate-shaped member and the said base member by vacuum adsorption is formed in at least one of the joining surfaces in the said plate-shaped member and the said base member. .

In this way, each member can be joined together by vacuum suction simply and reliably by the vacuum groove formed in the joining surface of the said plate-shaped member and the said base member.

Moreover, in the said preliminary discharge apparatus, at least one of the said joining surface in the said plate-shaped member and the said base member is a waste liquid used at the time of the washing process of the said plate-shaped member of the said preliminary discharge plate from the bonding interface of the said plate-shaped member. It is preferable to provide the discharge groove which is recoverable when it penetrates inside the outer side of the said vacuum groove in the state seen from the plane. In addition, the vacuum groove is preferably formed on the side where the waste liquid is recovered.

According to this structure, the waste liquid (washing liquid and liquid body) on the preliminary discharge surface at the time of a washing process, for example, returned to the side part from the preliminary discharge surface, and penetrated into the inside of the preliminary discharge plate from the joining interface of the plate-shaped member. Even in this case, it can be recovered to the discharge groove. Therefore, it can prevent that the problem that adhesiveness falls by entering waste liquid in a vacuum groove arises.

Moreover, in the said preliminary discharge apparatus, it is preferable that the said vacuum groove and the said discharge groove are formed in the same side of the joining surface in the said plate member and the said base member.

According to this structure, the joining surface in one of a plate-shaped member and a base member can be made into a plane, and the structure of this member can be simplified.

Here, in the said preliminary discharge apparatus, it is preferable that the said vacuum groove and the said discharge groove are formed in the said joining surface in the said base member.

In this way, since the said plate member in the uppermost layer which comprises the said preliminary discharge surface is comprised by one sheet, the processing cost of the plate member which comprises a preliminary discharge surface can be suppressed.

Moreover, in the said preliminary discharge apparatus, it is preferable that the width | variety and depth of the said discharge groove | channel are set to 1 mm or more and 5 mm or less, and it is more preferable to set it to 2 mm or more and 4 mm or less.

In this way, the waste liquid as described above can be discharged well.

Moreover, in the said preliminary discharge apparatus, the said vacuum groove has the main part extended along the one direction of the said joining surface in the said plate member and the said base member, and the direction which cross | intersects the extending direction of the main part. It is preferable to include the branch-shaped part which extends along.

 According to this structure, a vacuum groove is arrange | positioned in the wide area | region with respect to a joining surface, and the joining reliability between members can be improved more.

Moreover, in the said preliminary discharge apparatus, it is preferable that the thickness of the said plate-shaped member is set to 0.1 mm or more and 5 mm or less, and it is more preferable to set it to 2 mm or more and 4 mm or less.

If the thickness of the plate-like member on the uppermost layer forming the preliminary ejection surface is smaller than 0.1 mm, the workability of the member is poor and a problem arises in durability. Moreover, when the thickness in a plate-shaped member becomes larger than 5 mm, maintenance property will worsen because a member becomes too heavy and handling becomes difficult. Therefore, high cleaning property and maintenance property can be obtained by providing the plate-shaped member prescribed | regulated by this invention.

Moreover, in the said preliminary discharge apparatus, it is preferable that any of stone, stainless steel, and glass is used as a formation material of the said plate-shaped member.

When such a material is used, small planar roughness can be obtained and it is excellent in washability, and it is optimal as a material which comprises a preliminary discharge surface.

The preliminary discharging method of the present invention is a preliminary discharging method prior to the coating operation in the coating apparatus, wherein the preliminary soil formed by detachably joining a plate member and a base member including a preliminary discharging surface to which a liquid body is applied during the preliminary discharging process is detachably joined. For publication, applying the liquid body, washing the liquid body applied on the preliminary ejection surface, and separating the plate member from the base member to perform maintenance of the preliminary ejection surface. Characterized in that it comprises a step.

According to the preliminary ejection method of the present invention, maintenance of the preliminary ejection surface can be performed by separating only the plate-shaped member from the base member. Therefore, the maintenance property in a preliminary discharge surface can be improved. By using such a preliminary ejection apparatus, the preliminary ejection surface can always be maintained in a good state, and a high uniformity coating film can be formed by performing the preliminary ejection operation satisfactorily.

According to the present invention, since the plate member is detachably formed from the base member, high maintenance of the preliminary ejection surface can be obtained.

EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION Hereinafter, embodiment of this invention is described based on drawing. In the following description, one embodiment of the preliminary ejection apparatus of the present invention will be described with reference to the coating apparatus provided with the preliminary ejection apparatus.

The coating apparatus 1 is a coating apparatus which apply | coats a resist on the glass substrate used for a liquid crystal panel etc., as shown in FIG. 11, for example, pre-discharges a resist on a preliminary discharge surface, and this preliminary discharge surface It is to enable a good cleaning of. The preliminary ejection surface cleaning unit (cleaning apparatus) shown in FIG. 4 is used at the time of preliminary ejection of such a resist, and the washing | cleaning of a preliminary ejection surface.

The coating device 1 uses the board | substrate conveyance part 2, the application | coating part 3, and the management part 4 as main components, and floats and conveys a board | substrate by the board | substrate conveyance part 2, and apply | coats 3 The resist is applied onto this substrate by the control panel, and the state of the coating unit 3 is managed by the management unit 4.

(Management)

 First, the structure of the management part 4 is demonstrated with reference to FIGS. 11-15.

The management part 4 is a site | part which manages the nozzle 32 so that the discharge amount of the resist (liquid body) discharged to the board | substrate S may become constant, The coating part 3 so that it may overlap with the board | substrate conveyance part 2 in plan view. It is formed in the -X direction side (upstream side of a board | substrate conveyance direction) with respect to. This management part 4 is the preliminary discharge mechanism (preliminary discharge device) 42, the dip tank 41, the nozzle cleaning device 43, and the accommodating part 44 which accommodates these in accordance with one Embodiment of this invention. (Refer FIG. 14) and the holding member 45 (refer FIG. 13) holding this accommodating part 44. FIG. The holding member 45 is connected to the moving mechanism 45a. By this moving mechanism 45a, the housing part 44 is movable in the X direction.

The preliminary ejection mechanism 42, the dip tank 41, and the nozzle cleaning device 43 are arranged in this order on the -X direction side. Each dimension in the Y direction of these preliminary ejection mechanisms 42, the dip jaw 41, and the nozzle cleaning device 43 is smaller than the distance between the support column members 31a of the door-shaped frame 31 provided in the application part 3. It is made small and the said door-shaped frame 31 is accessible over each site | part (refer FIG. 12).

The dip tank 41 is a liquid tank in which a solvent such as thinner is stored. The nozzle cleaning device 43 is a device for rinsing and cleaning the peripheral area of the opening portion 32a of the nozzle 32 provided in the application portion 3.

EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION Hereinafter, the structure of the preliminary discharge mechanism 42 which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention is demonstrated in detail, referring drawings. 1 is a diagram for explaining a schematic configuration of the preliminary ejection mechanism 42.

As shown in FIG. 1, the preliminary ejection mechanism 42 is used for the preliminary ejection operation of the nozzle 32 (coating part 3), and the preliminary ejection unit 103 for performing preliminary ejection of a resist, and The preliminary discharge surface cleaning unit (cleaning apparatus) 100 which wash | cleans the preliminary discharge surface 81 is provided.

The preliminary ejection unit 103 is provided with a preliminary ejection plate (preliminary ejection plate) 80 having a preliminary ejection surface 81 to which a resist is applied in the preliminary ejection operation in the coating device 1.

Here, the structure of the preliminary discharge plate 80 is demonstrated, referring drawings. 2 shows a schematic view of the preliminary discharge plate. As shown in FIG. 2, the preliminary discharge plate 80 according to the present embodiment is detachably joined to the base member 82 and the plate member 83 by vacuum suction. Specifically, the inside of the base member 82 is provided with a groove for vacuum adsorption by connecting a vacuum pump or the like, and an elastic material such as rubber is formed along the outer circumference. That is, the base member 82 is adsorbed by the plate member 83 in some surface.

These base member 82 and the plate-shaped member 83 are each comprised from the plate-shaped member of rectangular shape, when viewed in plan, and one surface in the plate-shaped member 83 (opposite side of the joint surface with the base member 82). This preliminary discharge surface 81 is constituted. In addition, the longitudinal direction of the preliminary discharge plate 80 (base member 82 and plate member 83) coincides with the longitudinal direction of the nozzle.

The thickness of the preliminary ejection plate 80 is set to a desired value. In addition, the thickness of the plate-shaped member 83 which comprises the preliminary discharge surface 81 is important at the point mentioned later. When the thickness of the plate-shaped member 83 is smaller than 0.1 mm, the workability of a member will worsen and a problem will arise in durability. Moreover, when the thickness of the plate-shaped member 83 is larger than 5 mm, the member will become too heavy, and handling will become difficult, and maintenance property will worsen.

Therefore, in this embodiment, it is preferable to set the thickness of the plate member 83 including the preliminary discharge surface 81 to 0.1 mm or more and 5 mm or less, and to make the thickness of the plate member 83 into such a range. The cleaning property and the maintenance property on the preliminary discharge surface 81 are excellent. As for the thickness of the plate-shaped member 83, it is more preferable to set to 2 mm or more and 4 mm or less. Specifically, in the present embodiment, a thickness of 3 mm was used as the plate member 83.

It is preferable to use any of stone, stainless steel (SUS), and glass as a constituent material in the base member 82 and the plate member 83 constituting the preliminary discharge plate 80. Since such a material can obtain a small plane roughness, it is excellent in washability and is optimal as a material which comprises the preliminary discharge surface 81.

The plate member made of stone is inferior in planar roughness but is excellent in plan view. Moreover, although the plate-shaped member which consists of glass becomes expensive in order to obtain a flatness, since it is small in weight compared with a stone, it is excellent in maintenance property. Here, maintenance property means workability performed by humans, such as replacement workability of the plate-shaped member 83 when the preliminary discharge surface 81 deteriorates.

Moreover, stainless steel (SUS) is superior to stone and glass in plan view and maintenance property. Therefore, as the constituent material of the plate member 83 constituting the preliminary ejection surface 81, it is particularly preferable to use stainless steel (SUS), and thus, the preliminary ejection surface 81 is constituted using stainless steel (SUS). By this, high cleaning property and maintenance property can be obtained. In addition, stainless steel (SUS) also has advantages such as easy workability or poor damage.

3A is a plan view seen from the preliminary ejection surface 81 side in the preliminary ejection plate 80, and FIG. 3B corresponds to a cross-sectional configuration diagram in the preliminary ejection plate 80. In addition, illustration of the plate-shaped member 83 is abbreviate | omitted in FIG. 3A for simplicity.

As shown to FIG. 3A, the inside is in a vacuum state at the joining surface 82a with the plate member 83 in the base member 82, and the base member 82 and the plate member 83 are subjected to vacuum suction. The vacuum groove 84 to bond by this is formed.

Moreover, the vacuum groove 84 is formed in the state closed in the surface (bonding surface 82a) in the base member 82, and the vacuum groove 84 is the base member 82 and the plate-shaped member 83. When is attached, it forms a closed space. And the vacuum groove 84 is connected to the vacuum pump etc. which are not shown in figure, for example, and the base member 82 and the plate-shaped member 83 are easily removable by switching ON / OFF of a pump. The pressure at the time of adsorption is about -70 KPa.

Therefore, according to this structure, the maintenance property in the preliminary discharge surface 81 improved as mentioned later.

In addition, since the base member 82 and the plate member 83 can be bonded to each other without using an adhesive layer or the like by vacuum adsorption, the bonding surface is flattened and high adhesion can be obtained.

The vacuum groove 84 is a main portion 84a extending along the long side direction (one direction) of the base member 82 as shown in FIG. 3A, and a direction intersecting the extending direction of the main portion 84a (this embodiment). The form is comprised including the branch part 84b extended along the short side direction of the base member 82). Thereby, the vacuum groove 84 is arrange | positioned in the wide area | region with respect to the bonding surface 82a of the base member 82, and the joining reliability of the base member 82 and the plate-shaped member 83 can be improved more. .

By the way, after performing preliminary discharge of the resist on the preliminary ejection surface 81, the preliminary ejection surface cleaning unit 100 performs washing | cleaning process of the preliminary ejection surface 81 by the below-mentioned. In this cleaning process, the cleaning liquid is supplied onto the preliminary discharge surface 81. Then, a part of the waste liquid composed of the cleaning liquid and the resist supplied on the preliminary ejection surface 81 is formed along the side surface of the plate member 83 (preliminary ejection plate 80) from the preliminary ejection surface 81. There is a possibility of reaching the bonding interface between the 82 and the plate-like member 83. In particular, since the base member 82 and the plate member 83 are vacuum-adsorbed as described above, the waste liquid (mixed liquid of the resist and the cleaning liquid) is drawn from the bonding interface into the preliminary discharge plate 80. There is concern about quality.

So, in this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 3, the base member 82 collect | recovers when the said waste liquid penetrates into the inside of the preliminary discharge plate 80 from the joining interface of the base member 82 and the plate-shaped member 83. FIG. The discharge groove 85 which makes it possible is provided.

As shown in FIG. 3A, the discharge groove 85 is formed outside the vacuum groove 84. Specifically, the discharge groove 85 penetrates through a side portion corresponding to one long side (upper side in the figure) of the preliminary discharge plate 80 and one short side of the preliminary discharge plate 80 (right side in the figure). Two short sides extending along the side, and extending along the other long side of the preliminary discharge plate 80 (lower side in the figure) and penetrating the other short sides of the preliminary discharge plate 80 (left side in the figure) It includes two long sides formed by, and these short sides and long sides are formed to intersect. Moreover, the bottom part of the said short side part and long side part is made into the inclined surface which has a fall toward the exterior, and the waste liquid containing the washing | cleaning liquid and resist contained in the discharge groove 85 is discharged | emitted outside. Moreover, it is preferable that the said long side part is formed in the side to which waste liquid is collect | recovered in the washing | cleaning process mentioned later.

The width and depth of the discharge groove 85 are preferably set to 1 mm or more and 5 mm or less, more preferably 2 mm or more and 4 mm or less, and particularly preferably 3 mm. In addition, in this embodiment, the width | variety and depth of the discharge | emission groove 85 were set to 3 mm. The discharge groove 85 set to such a width and depth can perform discharge | emission of waste liquid as mentioned above well.

By forming such a discharge groove 85, the waste liquid that has penetrated the interior of the preliminary discharge plate 80 from the joining interface of the base member 82 and the plate member 83 can be reliably recovered, and the vacuum groove 84 can be recovered. It can prevent that the problem that adhesiveness falls by entering a washing | cleaning liquid arises.

In this embodiment, as shown to FIG. 3B, the vacuum groove 84 and the discharge groove 85 are formed in the joining surface 82a side of the base member 82, respectively. Thereby, the structure of the plate-shaped member 83 can be simplified. In addition, since the plate-shaped member 83 which has the preliminary discharge surface 81 is comprised by one board, the processing cost of the plate-shaped member 83 can be suppressed.

(Spare discharge surface cleaning unit)

The preliminary ejection surface cleaning unit 100 has a squeegee 110 which slides on the preliminary ejection surface 81 to scrape the resist by moving the resist on the preliminary ejection surface 81 to which the resist is applied. .

Hereinafter, the schematic structure of the preliminary discharge surface cleaning unit 100 is demonstrated, referring drawings.

4 shows a schematic view of the preliminary ejection surface cleaning unit 100 provided in the preliminary ejection mechanism 42. 4 shows a state where the preliminary ejection surface cleaning unit 100 is disposed on the preliminary ejection surface 81.

As shown in FIG. 4, the preliminary ejection surface cleaning unit 100 supports the squeegee head portion 105, the squeegee head portion 105, and supports the squeegee head portion 105 as the preliminary ejection surface 81. The arm part 101 which makes it possible to move with respect to is provided. Moreover, even if it is made to form the drying part (drying mechanism) which blows air (gas) toward the preliminary discharge surface 81, and the suction part (suction mechanism) which sucks the liquid body which remain | survives in the said preliminary discharge surface 81, do.

The squeegee head portion 105 slides on at least one discharge port (sometimes called an injection port) 102 for discharging a cleaning liquid to the preliminary discharge surface 81 and a preliminary discharge surface 81 coated with a resist. Three squeegee 110 which scrapes out the cleaning liquid, and a control unit 140 for controlling the discharge amount of the cleaning liquid discharged from the respective discharge ports 102.

In order to make the following description easy to understand, it is called the 1st squeegee 110a, the 2nd squeegee 110b, and the finishing squeegee 110c in order with respect to the said squeegee 110 from the sliding direction side.

These squeegees 110 (110a, 110b, 110c) are composed of a rectangular plate-like member in plan view, and as a constituent material thereof, if the resist applied on the preliminary ejection surface 81 can be scraped out, various It can employ | adopt and the polyester is used, for example in this embodiment. The length of the squeegee 110 is set to be equal to or larger than the width of the preliminary ejection surface 81, whereby the squeegee 110 can scrape off the resist applied on the preliminary ejection surface 81.

In addition, the squeegee 110 is preferably mounted on the squeegee head portion 105 in a state inclined 15 ° or more and 50 ° or less with respect to the preliminary discharge surface 81 (more preferably in a state inclined 45 °). By setting it in the angular range, high cleaning property is obtained by the squeegee 110 sliding on the preliminary ejection surface 81. Specifically, in this embodiment, the inclination angle was 45 degrees. In this embodiment, it has the side squeegee 110d for scraping off the resist which flowed to the side of a preliminary discharge plate, and a washing | cleaning liquid at the end of the squeegee head part 105. As shown in FIG. Here, the squeegee 110d for the side is formed in an approximately L shape when viewed in plan, and slides on the preliminary ejection surface 81 with the movement of the squeegee head portion 105, and the preliminary ejection plate ( 81 is also made to slide on the side surface. Thereby, the resist and the washing | cleaning liquid adhering to the side surface of the preliminary discharge plate 81 can be removed favorably.

As shown in FIG. 1, the preliminary ejection surface cleaning unit 100 can move on the preliminary ejection surface 81, and the squeegee 110 held by the squeegee head portion 105 is on the preliminary ejection surface 81. It is supposed to slide. 5 shows a mounting state of the squeegee 110 in the squeegee head portion 105. The squeegee 110 shown in the figure is a contact end with respect to the preliminary discharge surface 81.

As shown in FIG. 5, the squeegee 110 is supported by the squeegee head portion 105 in an attitude in which the longitudinal direction of the contact end with the preliminary ejection surface 81 is obliquely directed with respect to the sliding direction of the squeegee 110. Specifically, the intersection angle between the longitudinal direction of the contact end and the sliding direction of the squeegee 110 is preferably 85 ° or less (in this embodiment, set to 80 °). Therefore, each squeegee 110 is arrange | positioned in the sliding direction in the posture which is substantially parallel to each other.

As shown in FIG. 4, the squeegee head portion 105 is provided with a void 107 formed between the first squeegee 110a, the second squeegee 110b, and the finished squeegee 110c. In addition, the squeegee head portion 105 is provided with air supply pipes 106a, 106b, 106c in communication with the voids 107 and to which air supply means (pump) not shown is connected at one end.

As shown in FIG. 6, the said air supply pipe 106a is formed along the longitudinal direction of the squeegee head part 105, In this embodiment, ten holes arrange | positioned at equal intervals are formed, for example, Air is supplied from a hole. The same applies to the air supply pipes 106b and 106c. The hole injects air in a purge shape against the squeegee. In addition, the said hole number is not limited to this, It can change suitably. Moreover, the washing | cleaning liquid supply means 106 is provided in the side part (right side in the figure) of the squeegee head part 105. As shown in FIG. The cleaning liquid supply means 106, for example, sucks the cleaning liquid from a cleaning liquid tank (not shown) filled with a cleaning liquid such as thinner and the like, and the longitudinal direction of the squeegees 110a, 110b, and 110c (arrow A direction in the drawing). The cleaning liquid is supplied along Specifically, in the present embodiment, among the squeegee 110, the first injection port 102a, the second injection port 102b, and the first one correspond to the first squeegee 110a, the second squeegee 110b, and the finishing squeegee 110c. Ten injection nozzles 102c are formed, respectively.

Therefore, the cleaning liquid flowing along the longitudinal direction of the squeegee 110a, 110b, 110c by injecting air from each injection port 102 via the air supply pipes 106a, 106b, 106c by the air supply means (pump). It is supplied (discharged) on the preliminary discharge surface 81 along the surface of the squeegee 110 in the sliding direction side.

In this embodiment, the said 1st-3rd injection ports 102a, 102b, and 102c are arrange | positioned at equal intervals, respectively, and by this, the cleaning liquid can be arrange | positioned uniformly on the surface of the sliding direction side of the squeegee 110. In addition, the air injected from each injection hole 102 is integrated as cleaning liquids along the surface of the squeegee 110 at positions corresponding to the adjacent injection holes 102 reach the tip of the squeegee 110 as shown in FIG. 7. Is set to be. Thus, the cleaning liquid flows to push the resist out of the injection port.

Next, the structure of the arm part 101 which supports the squeegee head part 105 is demonstrated. As shown in FIG. 4, the arm part 101 mainly consists of metal plates, such as stainless steel (SUS), and the cross roller bearing (swing mechanism) 150 which supports the said squeegee head part 105 is formed. It is. The cross roller bearing 150 is arranged so that the rollers are orthogonally arranged between the inner ring and the outer ring, and can support the squeegee head portion 105 so as to swing freely. The swing mechanism is not limited to the cross roller bearing 150. For example, the swing mechanism may be any type of bearing mechanism that allows the squeegee head portion 105 to swing in a predetermined direction (the longitudinal direction of the squeegee 110). Can be used.

8 is an enlarged view showing the peripheral structure of the arm portion 101.

As shown in FIG. 8, the opening part 108 is formed in the arm part 101, and the cross roller bearing 150 is inserted in this opening part 108, and the lower surface of the arm part 101 (preliminary discharge surface 81) is shown. It is in the state which escaped to the upper surface side from the surface) side facing ().

The cross roller bearing 150 is supported by the shaft portion 152 fixedly arranged on the upper surface side of the arm portion 101. Therefore, the cross roller bearing 150 can rotate along the shaft portion 152 and freely swing with respect to the arm portion 101.

The mounting plate 151 for attaching the squeegee head portion 105 is formed in the cross roller bearing 150. The squeegee head portion 105 is fixed to the mounting plate 151 arranged on the lower surface side of the arm portion 101 by a bolt (not shown). Therefore, the squeegee head portion 105 is formed so as to swing freely by the cross roller bearing 150.

This configuration allows the squeegee 110 to be reliably brought into contact with the preliminary discharge surface 81 by rotating (swinging) the squeegee head portion 105 so as to be able to slide satisfactorily.

At this time, a part of the waste liquid on the preliminary ejection surface 81 may penetrate into the bonding interface of the preliminary ejection plate 80 including the preliminary ejection surface 81, but according to the present embodiment, the ejection groove 85 By this means, the waste liquid that has entered the bonding interface can be discharged to the outside.

(Spare discharge unit)

Next, the structure of the said preliminary discharge unit 103 is demonstrated. 9 shows a schematic configuration of the preliminary discharge unit 103, FIG. 9A is a plan view, and FIG. 9B is a side view.

9A and B, the preliminary ejection unit 103 has a preliminary ejection plate 80 having a preliminary ejection surface 81 to which a resist is applied by a preliminary ejection operation of the nozzle 32 (coating unit 3). ) As a main body, and the preliminary ejection plate 80 is held so that the preliminary ejection surface 81 is horizontal. Then, the squeegee 110 of the preliminary ejection surface cleaning unit 100 slides on the preliminary ejection surface 81.

In the present embodiment, as described above, the preliminary ejection surface cleaning unit 100 holds the squeegee 110 in a posture inclined obliquely with respect to the sliding direction in the longitudinal direction of the contact end with the preliminary ejection surface 81 ( 5). Therefore, when the squeegee 110 slides on the preliminary ejection surface 81 to which the resist is applied, the resist scraped off by the squeegee 110 is rearward in the sliding direction in the longitudinal direction of the squeegee 110 (FIG. 9A). Are generally pushed out. The preliminary discharge unit 103 according to the present embodiment includes a side discharge portion 93 for discharging the resist flowing out to the side end side of the squeegee 110 by the sliding operation of the squeegee 110. This side discharge part 93 has the slit-shaped side groove part 93a extended in the sliding direction of the squeegee 110, and is formed in the side of the preliminary discharge plate 80. As shown in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 9B, the side discharge part 93 is provided with the drain pan which abbreviate | omits illustration of recovering a resist. The said side groove part 93a is comprised by arrange | positioning along the sliding direction of the squeegee 110 the four area | region which has the inclined surface 93b which descend | falls toward the said drain pan. By this structure, the side discharge part 93 makes it easy to flow the waste liquid containing the resist discharged | emitted to the side groove part 93a to the drain pan side along the inclined surface 93b, and to discharge | emit favorable to the outside It is supposed to be.

Moreover, the preliminary discharge unit 103 is provided with the standby part 91 which mounts the preliminary discharge surface cleaning unit 100 in the side (rear of the sliding direction) of the preliminary discharge surface 81. The standby part 91 is a member which makes the preliminary discharge surface cleaning unit 100 hold | maintain, while the resist is preliminarily discharged from the nozzle 32 on the preliminary discharge surface 81. Specifically, in this embodiment, the standby part 91 is formed in the sliding direction back of the squeegee 110, and the preliminary discharge cleaning unit 100 is preliminary by the standby part 91 at the time of the washing | cleaning of the preliminary discharge surface 81. FIG. It is possible to move to the discharge surface 81 in a short time.

The standby part 91 has the mounting surface 91a which mounts the said preliminary discharge surface washing unit 100 (refer FIG. 1). The mounting surface 91a is made to hold the preliminary ejection surface cleaning unit 100 at, for example, a position equal to or lower than the preliminary ejection surface 81. In particular, the preliminary ejection cleaning unit 100 is placed at a position lower than the preliminary ejection surface 81 so that the mounting surface 91a moves on the preliminary ejection surface 81 and accompanies the preliminary ejection surface 81. Interference of the preliminary discharge surface cleaning unit 100 can be prevented.

In the standby part 91, after the preliminary discharge surface 81 is cleaned, the resist attached to the squeegee 110 is removed. Specifically, the cleaning solution is sucked and dried by air while supplying the cleaning solution to the side surfaces of the squeegees 110a, 110b, and 110c from the cleaning solution supply means. As a result, the squeegee can be maintained satisfactorily and the cleaning quality on the preliminary discharge surface 81 is stabilized. Moreover, the suction part 95 which sucks the waste liquid at the time of wash | cleaning the said squeegee 110 is formed in the standby part 91. As shown in FIG.

(Application device)

Next, the coating device 1 provided with the preliminary discharge apparatus which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention is demonstrated with reference to drawings. FIG. 10 is a drawing of the coating device 1, FIG. 11 is a front view of the coating device 1, FIG. 12 is a plan view of the coating device 1, and FIG. 13 is a side view of the coating device 1. This coating device 1 is provided with a preliminary ejection mechanism (preliminary ejection apparatus) 42.

As shown in FIGS. 10-13, the coating device 1 makes the board | substrate conveyance part 2, the application | coating part 3, and the said management part 4 the main components, The resist is applied onto the substrate by the applicator 3 while the substrate is floated and conveyed, and the state of the applicator 3 is managed by the manager 4.

(Substrate conveying part)

Next, the structure of the board | substrate conveyance part 2 is demonstrated.

The board | substrate conveyance part 2 has the board | substrate carrying in area 20, the coating process area | region 21, the board | substrate carrying out area | region 22, the conveyance mechanism 23, and the frame part 24 which supports these. In this board | substrate conveyance part 2, the board | substrate S is conveyed by the conveyance mechanism 23 to the board | substrate carrying in area 20, the coating process area | region 21, and the board | substrate carrying out area 22 in order. The board | substrate loading area | region 20, the coating process area | region 21, and the board | substrate carrying out area | region 22 are arrange | positioned in this order from the upstream to the downstream side of a board | substrate conveyance direction. The conveyance mechanism 23 is formed in one side of each of these portions so as to span each portion of the substrate loading region 20, the coating treatment region 21, and the substrate carrying region 22.

Hereinafter, in describing the configuration of the coating device 1, the directions in the drawings will be described using an XYZ coordinate system for the sake of simplicity. As a longitudinal direction of the board | substrate conveyance part 2, the conveyance direction of a board | substrate is described with an X direction. In the plan view, the direction orthogonal to the X direction (substrate conveyance direction) is described as the Y direction. The direction perpendicular to the plane including the X direction axis and the Y direction axis is referred to as the Z direction. In addition, each of the X direction, the Y direction, and the Z direction is assumed to be the + direction and the direction opposite to the arrow direction in the arrow direction in the drawing, respectively.

The board | substrate loading area | region 20 is a site | part which carries in the board | substrate S conveyed from the exterior of the apparatus, and has the carry-in side stage 25 and the lift mechanism 26. As shown in FIG.

The carrying-in side stage 25 is formed in the upper part of the frame part 24, and is a rectangular plate-shaped member when it sees from the plane which consists of stainless steel (SUS) etc., for example. This carry-in side stage 25 has a length in the X direction. As shown in FIG. 12, the air intake hole 25a and the lift pin projection hole 25b are each provided in the carry-in side stage 25, respectively. These air blowing holes 25a and the lifting pin projection holes 25b are formed to penetrate the carrying-in side stage 25.

The air blowing hole 25a is a hole for blowing air onto the stage surface 25c of the carry-in stage 25, for example, seen in plan from the plane of the carry-in stage 25 where the substrate S passes. When arranged in a matrix form. An air supply source (not shown) is connected to this air blowing hole 25a. In this carrying-in side stage 25, the board | substrate S can be made to float to + Z direction by the air blown out from the air blowing hole 25a.

The lifting pin projection holes 25b are formed in a region into which the substrate S is loaded in the carry-in stage 25. This lifting pin projection hole 25b is configured such that air supplied to the stage surface 25c does not leak out from this hole.

As shown in FIG. 12, 25 d of alignment apparatuses are formed in the both ends of the Y direction among this carry-in stage 25. As shown in FIG. This alignment apparatus 25d is an apparatus which matches the position of the board | substrate S carried in the carrying-in side stage 25. As shown in FIG. Each alignment device 25d has a long hole and a positioning member (not shown) formed in the long hole, and is arranged to mechanically sandwich the substrate carried in the loading stage 25 from both sides.

The lift mechanism 26 is formed in the position corresponding to the board | substrate loading position on the back surface side of the carry-in side stage 25 (refer FIG. 11). This lift mechanism 26 has a lifting member 26a and a plurality of lifting pins 26b. The lifting member 26a is connected to a drive mechanism (not shown), and the lifting member 26a moves in the Z direction by the drive of the drive mechanism. The plurality of lifting pins 26b are vertically formed from the upper surface of the lifting member 26a toward the carry-in stage 25. Each elevating pin 26b is arrange | positioned in the position which overlaps with the said elevating pin outgoing hole 25b, respectively when planarly viewed. As the elevating member 26a moves in the Z direction, each elevating pin 26b is projected from the elevating pin recessed hole 25b onto the stage surface 25c. The edge part of the + Z direction of each lifting pin 26b is formed so that the position on a Z direction may be aligned, respectively, and the board | substrate S conveyed from the exterior of an apparatus can be maintained in a horizontal state.

The application | coating process area | region 21 is a site | part in which application | coating of a resist is performed, The process stage 27 which floats and supports the board | substrate S is formed.

The processing stage 27 is a rectangular plate-like member when the stage surface 27c is covered with, for example, a light absorbing material composed mainly of hard alumite, and is formed on the side of the loading side stage 25 in the + X direction. have. In the part covered with the light absorbing material in the processing stage 27, reflection of light such as laser light is suppressed. In the processing stage 27, the Y direction is the length. The dimension in the Y direction of the processing stage 27 is substantially the same as the dimension in the Y direction of the carry-in side stage 25. As shown in FIG. 12, the processing stage 27 includes a plurality of air blowing holes 27a for blowing air on the stage surface 27c, and a plurality of air suction holes for sucking air on the stage surface 27c. 27b) is formed. These air blowing holes 27a and air suction holes 27b are formed to penetrate through the processing stage 27.

In the processing stage 27, the pitch of the air blowing holes 27a is narrower than the pitch of the air blowing holes 25a formed in the carry-in stage 25, and the air blow holes 27a are smaller than the carry-in stages 25. It is densely formed. For this reason, in this processing stage 27, the floating amount of a board | substrate can be adjusted with high precision compared with another stage, and the floating amount of a board | substrate is 0 or more and 100 micrometers or less, for example, so that it may become 0 or more and 50 micrometers or less. You can control it.

The board | substrate carrying out area | region 22 is a site | part which carries out the board | substrate S to which the resist was apply | coated to the exterior of the apparatus, and has the carrying-out stage 28 and the lift mechanism 29 (refer FIG. 11). This carrying-out stage 28 is formed in the + X direction side with respect to the process stage 27, and is comprised by the material and the dimension substantially the same as the carrying-in side stage 25 formed in the board | substrate carrying-in area 20. FIG. As shown in FIG. 12, the air blowing hole 28a and the lifting pin dropping-out hole 28b are formed in the carrying out side stage 28 as shown in FIG. The lift mechanism 29 is formed in the position corresponding to a board | substrate carrying out position on the back surface side of the carrying-out stage 28 (refer FIG. 11). The elevating member 29a and the elevating pin 29b of the lift mechanism 29 have the same configuration as each part of the lift mechanism 26 formed in the substrate loading area 20. The lift mechanism 29 can lift the board | substrate S by the lifting pin 29b for sending and receiving the board | substrate S, when carrying out the board | substrate S on the carrying-out stage 28 to an external apparatus. It is.

As shown to FIG. 12 and FIG. 13, the conveyance mechanism 23 has the conveyer 23a, the vacuum pad 23b, and the rail 23c. The conveyer 23a has a structure in which a linear motor is formed, for example, and the conveyer 23a can move on the rail 23c by driving the linear motor. This conveyer 23a is arrange | positioned so that the predetermined part 23d may overlap with the edge part of the board | substrate S at the -Y direction when it sees in plan view. The part 23d which overlaps with this board | substrate S is formed in the position lower than the height position of the back surface of the board | substrate at the time of making the board | substrate S float.

The vacuum pad 23b is arranged in multiple numbers in the part 23d which overlaps with the said board | substrate S among the conveyers 23a. This vacuum pad 23b has the adsorption surface which vacuum-adsorbs the board | substrate S, and is arrange | positioned so that this adsorption surface may face upward. The vacuum pad 23b can hold | maintain this board | substrate S by the adsorption surface attracting the back surface edge part of the board | substrate S. As shown in FIG. Each vacuum pad 23b is able to adjust the height position from the upper surface of the conveyer 23a, for example, to raise or lower the height position of the vacuum pad 23b according to the floating amount of the board | substrate S. It is. As shown in FIG. 12, the rail 23c extends over each stage to the side of the carry-in stage 25, the process stage 27, and the carry-out stage 28, and by sliding this rail 23c, The carrier 23a can be moved along each of these stages.

(Application department)

Next, the structure of the application part 3 is demonstrated.

The application part 3 is a part which apply | coats a resist on the board | substrate S, and has the sentence frame 31 and the nozzle 32, as shown to FIG.

As shown in FIG. 12 and FIG. 13, the sentence frame 31 has the support pillar member 31a and the bridge | crosslinking member 31b, and is formed so that the process stage 27 may span the Y direction. The support column member 31a is formed in the Y direction side of the process stage 27 one by one, and each support column member 31a is supported by the both side surfaces of the frame part 24 in the Y direction side, respectively. Each support pillar member 31a is formed so that the height position of the upper end part is aligned. The bridge | crosslinking member 31b is bridge | crosslinked between the upper end parts of each support pillar member 31a, and it is possible to raise / lower this support pillar member 31a.

This door-shaped frame 31 is connected to the moving mechanism 31c, and can move to an X direction. This moving mechanism 31c allows the door frame 31 to move between the management part 4. That is, the nozzle 32 formed in the door frame 31 is able to move between the management part 4.

As shown in FIGS. 11-13, the nozzle 32 is comprised in the elongate shape whose one direction is length, and is formed in the surface on the side of the cross-linking member 31b of the sentence frame 31 at the -Z direction side. At the tip of the nozzle 32 in the -Z direction, a slit-shaped opening 32a is formed along its longitudinal direction, and a resist is discharged from the opening 32a. The nozzle 32 is arranged such that the longitudinal direction of the opening portion 32a is parallel to the Y direction, and the opening portion 32a faces the processing stage 27. The dimension of the longitudinal direction of the opening part 32a is smaller than the dimension of the Y direction of the board | substrate S to be conveyed, and the resist is not apply | coated to the peripheral area of the board | substrate S. FIG. Inside the nozzle 32, a flow path (not shown) for flowing a resist through the opening 32a is formed, and a resist supply source (not shown) is connected to the flow path. This resist supply source has a pump which is not shown, for example, and resist is discharged from the opening part 32a by pushing a resist into the opening part 32a with this pump. The crosslinking member 31a is provided with a moving mechanism not shown, and the nozzle 32 held by the crosslinking member 31b can move in the Z direction by the moving mechanism. On the lower surface of the crosslinked member 31b of the door-shaped frame 31, the distance in the Z direction between the opening 32a of the nozzle 32, that is, the front end of the nozzle 32 and the opposing surface opposite to the nozzle opening 32a. It is equipped with a sensor 33 for measuring.

(Operation of Coating Device)

Next, operation | movement of the coating device 1 comprised as mentioned above is demonstrated.

15-18 is a top view which shows the operation process of the coating device 1. With reference to each drawing, the operation | movement which apply | coats a resist to the board | substrate S is demonstrated. In this operation, the board | substrate S is carried in the board | substrate carrying-in area | region 20, the resist is apply | coated in the coating process area | region 21, floating this board | substrate S, and is conveyed, and the board | substrate S which apply | coated this resist was carried out. Is carried out from the substrate carrying-out area 22. 15-18, only the outline of the sentence frame 31 (support pillar member 31a and bridge | crosslinking member 31b) was shown with the broken line, and the structure of the nozzle 32 and the processing stage 27 was made easy to distinguish. The detailed operation in each part is described below.

Before carrying a board | substrate into the board | substrate loading area 20, the coating device 1 is made to stand by. Specifically, the conveyer 23a is arranged on the −Y direction side of the substrate loading position of the carry-in stage 25, and the carry position is aligned with the floating height position of the substrate while bringing in the height position of the vacuum pad 23b. Air from the air blowing hole 25a of the side stage 25, the air blowing hole 27a of the processing stage 27, the air suction hole 27b, and the air blowing hole 28a of the carrying out side stage 28, respectively. Is blown off or sucked, and air is supplied so that a board | substrate may float on the surface of each stage.

In this state, when the board | substrate S is conveyed to the board | substrate carrying-in position shown in FIG. 15 by the conveyance arm etc. which are not shown in figure, for example, the said lifting member 26a is moved to + Z direction, and the lifting pin 26b is carried out. Project from the lifting pin projection hole 25b to the stage surface 25c. And the board | substrate S is lifted up by the lifting pin 26b, and this board | substrate S is received. In addition, the positioning member (not shown) projects from the elongated hole of the alignment device 25d onto the stage surface 25c.

After receiving the board | substrate S, the lifting member 26a is lowered and the lifting pin 26b is accommodated in the lifting pin projection hole 25b. At this time, since the layer of air is formed in the stage surface 25c, the board | substrate S is hold | maintained in the floating state with respect to the stage surface 25c by this air. When the board | substrate S reaches the surface of an air layer, the carrier of the board | substrate S is aligned by the said alignment member of the alignment apparatus 25d, and the conveyance machine arrange | positioned at the -Y direction side of a board | substrate loading position ( The vacuum pad 23b of 23a) is vacuum-suctioned to the edge part at the side of -Y direction of the board | substrate S. FIG. The state to which the edge part at the side of -Y direction of the board | substrate S was adsorbed is shown in FIG. After the -Y direction side edge part of the board | substrate S is attracted by the vacuum pad 23b, the conveyer 23a is moved along the rail 23c. Since the board | substrate S is in the floating state, even if the drive force of the conveyer 23a is made relatively small, the board | substrate S will move smoothly along the rail 23c.

When the conveyance direction front end of the board | substrate S reaches the position of the opening part 32a of the nozzle 32, as shown in FIG. 16, a resist is discharged toward the board | substrate S from the opening part 32a of the nozzle 32. As shown in FIG. do. Discharge of a resist is performed, fixing the position of the nozzle 32, conveying the board | substrate S by the conveyer 23a. With the movement of the board | substrate S, the resist film is apply | coated on the board | substrate S as shown in FIG. The resistive film R is formed in the predetermined area | region of the board | substrate S by the board | substrate S passing under the opening part 32a which discharges a resist.

The board | substrate S in which the resist film R was formed is conveyed to the carrying out side stage 28 by the conveyer 23a. In the carrying-out stage 28, in the state which floated with respect to the stage surface 28c, the board | substrate S is conveyed to the board | substrate carrying out position shown in FIG.

When the substrate S reaches the substrate unloading position, the suction of the vacuum pad 23b is released, and the lifting member 29a of the lift mechanism 29 is moved in the + Z direction. Then, the lifting pin 29b protrudes from the lifting pin projection hole 28b to the back surface of the substrate S, and the substrate S is lifted by the lifting pin 29b. In this state, the external conveyance arm (not shown) formed in the + X direction side of the carry-out stage 28 approaches the carry-out stage 28, for example, and receives the board | substrate S. FIG. After passing the board | substrate S to the said conveyance arm, the conveyer 23a is returned to the board | substrate carrying-in position of the loading side stage 25 again, and it waits until the next board | substrate S is conveyed.

The application part 3 manages the state of the nozzle 32 in the management part 4, until the next board | substrate S is conveyed. As shown in FIG. 19, after moving the sentence frame 31 to the position of the management part 4, the position of the sentence frame 31 is adjusted (moved and dropped), and the nozzle 32 is moved to the nozzle cleaning apparatus 43. As shown in FIG. It approaches, and the nozzle 32 is wash | cleaned by this nozzle cleaning apparatus 43 (refer FIG. 14). The frequency at which the nozzle 32 is cleaned may be appropriately set by the user, and may be cleaned for each substrate S, or may be cleaned at several ratios for several sheets.

In addition, when resist coating is not performed for a long time, the nozzle 32 is arrange | positioned in the dip tank 41, and the nozzle 32 is exposed by exposing the solvent (thinner) stored in this dip tank 41 to a vapor atmosphere. Prevent drying.

After the nozzle 32 is cleaned, the application part 3 is brought close to the preliminary ejection mechanism 42, and preliminary ejection processing for maintaining the ejection state of the nozzle 32 is performed. This preliminary ejection process is performed by using the preliminary ejection mechanism (preliminary ejection apparatus) 42. In the preliminary ejection mechanism 42, when preliminary ejection of the resist is made on the preliminary ejection surface 81, the preliminary ejection surface cleaning unit 100 performs the cleaning process of the preliminary ejection surface 81.

(Preliminary Discharge Operation)

Hereinafter, the operation method of the preliminary discharge mechanism 42 will be described with reference to the drawings.

After applying a resist on the preliminary ejection surface 81, the squeegee 110 of the preliminary ejection surface cleaning unit 100 mounted on the standby section 91 is disposed at the height of the preliminary ejection surface 81. As a result, the preliminary ejection surface cleaning unit 100 is disposed at the cleaning start position on the preliminary ejection surface 81 (see FIG. 1).

Subsequently, by moving the preliminary ejection surface cleaning unit 100 via the arm part 101, the plurality of squeegees 110 are slid onto the preliminary ejection surface 81 and applied onto the preliminary ejection surface 81. The resist is scraped off (see FIGS. 1 and 9).

At this time, the preliminary discharge surface cleaning unit 100 supplies the cleaning liquid from the cleaning liquid supply means with respect to the longitudinal direction of the squeegee 110, and supplies air from the injection port 102, thereby providing the squeegee 110 with the sliding direction side. Supply cleaning liquid to the cotton. This cleaning liquid (for example, thinner) can dilute the resist applied on the preliminary ejection surface 81, thereby improving the removability of the resist from the preliminary ejection surface 81. In this way, the resist can be satisfactorily scraped from the preliminary ejection surface 81 by the squeegee 110 sliding on the preliminary ejection surface 81 supplied with the cleaning liquid.

Specifically, the preliminary ejection surface cleaning unit 100 supplies the cleaning liquid on the preliminary ejection surface 81 on the front side in the sliding direction of the first squeegee 110a, and the diluted resist is applied by the first squeegee 110a. Scrape off

Therefore, the rough cleaning process of the preliminary discharge surface 81 can be performed with the 1st squeegee 110a.

The preliminary ejection surface cleaning unit 100 supplies a cleaning liquid to the front of the sliding direction of the second squeegee 110b on the preliminary ejection surface 81 through which the first squeegee 110a has passed, and supplies the diluted resist to the second squeegee. It scrapes off by 110b. Therefore, this washing | cleaning process of the preliminary discharge surface 81 can be performed with the 2nd squeegee 110b.

And a cleaning liquid is supplied to the sliding direction front of the finishing squeegee 110c in the preliminary discharge surface 81 which the 2nd squeegee 110b passed, and the diluted resist is scraped off by the finishing squeegee 110c.

The preliminary ejection surface cleaning unit 100 slides the squeegee 110d (see FIG. 4) on the preliminary ejection surface 81 through which the finishing squeegee 110c has passed. Thereby, the residue (washing liquid and resist) of the washing | cleaning process in the 1st squeegee 110a, the 2nd squeegee 110b, and the finishing squeegee 110c can be scraped off, and high cleaning property can be obtained. In addition, the resist and the cleaning liquid attached to the side surface of the preliminary discharge plate 80 can be removed satisfactorily.

These squeegees 110 (110a, 110b, 110c) have a squeegee head portion in a posture in which the longitudinal direction of the contact end with the preliminary discharge surface 81 is obliquely directed with respect to the sliding direction of the squeegee 110 as shown in FIG. 105). Therefore, as shown in FIG. 9A, the resist scraped off by the squeegee 110 is pushed backward in the sliding direction in the longitudinal direction of the squeegee 110 and accommodated in the side discharge part 93, and the side discharge part ( The resist can be satisfactorily discharged to a drain pan (not shown) formed in 93).

In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2, the preliminary discharge plate 80 is comprised by joining the base member 82 and the plate-shaped member 83, and the plate-shaped member 83 which comprises the preliminary discharge surface 81 is comprised. Is composed of stainless steel (SUS). The preliminary discharge surface 81 composed of such stainless steel (SUS) is excellent in plan view and maintenance property, and high cleaning property can be obtained.

In addition, at the time of the washing process of the preliminary ejection surface 81, a part of the waste liquid moves from the preliminary ejection surface 81 along the side surface of the plate member 83 (preliminary ejection plate 80) to the base member 82 and the platelike member. There exists a possibility that it may enter inside the preliminary discharge plate 80 from the bonding interface of 83. So, in this embodiment, when waste liquid intrudes inside by the discharge groove 85 (refer FIG. 3) formed in the joining interface (side to which waste liquid is collect | recovered) of the base member 82 and the plate-shaped member 83, Also, it can collect reliably and it can prevent that the adhesiveness between the members which comprise the preliminary discharge plate 80 falls by the waste liquid entering into the vacuum groove 84.

When the preliminary ejection surface cleaning unit 100 reaches the front of the preliminary ejection plate 80, the cleaning process of the preliminary ejection surface 81 is completed (see FIG. 1).

After completion of the cleaning process, the preliminary ejection mechanism 42 mounts the preliminary ejection surface cleaning unit 100 on the standby part 91. By the above process, the washing | cleaning process of the preliminary discharge surface 81 in the preliminary discharge surface cleaning unit 100 is complete | finished. In addition, you may perform the cleaning process of the squeegee 110 as needed with respect to the preliminary discharge surface cleaning unit 100 mounted in the mounting part 91a. As a result, the squeegee can be maintained in a good state, and the cleaning quality on the preliminary discharge surface can be stabilized.

By the way, the squeegee 110 slides on the preliminary ejection surface 81, and abrasion occurs over time. As for the preliminary discharge surface cleaning unit 100 which concerns on this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 8, the squeegee head part 105 which hold | maintains the squeegee 110 is made into the longitudinal direction of the squeegee 110 by the cross roller bearing 150. As shown in FIG. It is made to swing freely.

Therefore, even when abrasion occurs in the squeegee 110, since the squeegee 110 follows the preliminary ejection surface 81 and moves, the squeegee 110 can be satisfactorily slid with respect to the preliminary ejection surface 81. . In this way, the squeegee 110 is always in contact with the preliminary ejection surface 81 in a constant state, so that the preliminary ejection surface cleaning unit 100 can obtain stable detergency.

(Maintenance processing of spare discharge surface)

Similarly to the squeegee 110, the preliminary ejection surface 81 also generates wear over time. In such a case, the maintenance process of the preliminary discharge surface 81 is performed. The preliminary ejection plate 80 which concerns on this embodiment is comprised by joining the base member 82 and the plate-shaped member 83 by vacuum suction. Therefore, the plate-like member 83 including the preliminary discharge surface 81 is detachable from the base member 82.

In order to separate the plate-shaped member 83 and the base member 82, as shown in FIG. 20A, for example, the preliminary discharge plate 80 is made into the OFF state from ON state to the OFF-shown vacuum pump. Thereby, as shown to FIG. 20B, the plate member 83 can be easily isolate | separated from the base member 82. FIG.

Thus, the maintenance process of the preliminary discharge surface 81 can be performed by isolate | separating only the plate-shaped member 83 from the preliminary discharge plate 80. FIG. At this time, since the plate-shaped member 83 is comprised from stainless steel (SUS), favorable maintenance property can be acquired from the point which is easy to handle.

Thus, after the cleaning process of the preliminary discharge surface 81 by the preliminary discharge surface cleaning unit 100 is complete | finished, when the next board | substrate S is conveyed, as shown in FIG. 21, the nozzle ( 32) is moved to a predetermined position. In this manner, by repeatedly performing the coating operation and the preliminary ejecting operation of applying the resist to the substrate S, the resist film R of good quality is formed on the substrate S. FIG.

As described above, even in the case of cleaning the preliminary ejection surface 81, the cleaning liquid is supplied to the sliding front of the squeegee 110 and a plurality of squeegees 110 are provided on the preliminary ejection surface 81. ), The preliminary discharge surface 81 can be satisfactorily cleaned. That is, in the preliminary ejection apparatus used for the preliminary ejection operation in the coating apparatus, good cleaning can be performed even in the configuration using the preliminary ejection surface 81 instead of the conventional priming roller.

The technical scope of the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and modifications can be appropriately added without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

For example, the base member 82 may be comprised by joining a plurality of plate-like members, and the vacuum groove 84 and the discharge groove 85 may be formed in each joining surface.

Moreover, in the said embodiment, although the vacuum groove 84 and the discharge groove 85 were formed in the base member 82 side, you may be set as the structure which forms either one in the plate-shaped member 83 side. In addition, the vacuum groove 84 and the discharge groove 85 may be formed in both the base member 82 and the plate member 83.

Moreover, in the said embodiment, although ten 1st injection port 102a and the 2nd injection port 102b were formed, respectively, this invention is not limited to this. For example, the number of the first injection holes 102a corresponding to the first squeegee 110a at the head of the sliding direction is larger than the number of the second injection holes 102b corresponding to the second squeegee 110b at the rear of the sliding direction. In this way, the amount of the cleaning liquid used can be suppressed by suppressing the amount of the cleaning liquid discharged from the rear side of the sliding direction in which the amount of the resist is small while improving the cleaning property at the leading side of the sliding direction in which a large number of resists are attached.

In the above embodiment, the three squeegees 110 were attached to the squeegee head portion 105 in a state inclined at 45 ° with respect to the preliminary discharge surface 81, but the three squeegees 110a, 110b, and 110c were mounted. ), The mounting angles may be different in the range of 15 ° to 50 °.

For example, the finishing squeegee which performs the finishing process by setting the mounting angle of the 1st squeegee 110a of the sliding side leading side which requires high washing | cleaning to the vicinity of 45 degrees with which the contact resistance with respect to the preliminary discharge surface 81 becomes large. The mounting angle of the 110c may be set near 20 ° at which the contact resistance with respect to the preliminary ejection surface 81 becomes small.

Moreover, in the said embodiment, although the preliminary discharge surface cleaning unit 100 moved on the preliminary discharge plate 80, it was set as the structure which slides the squeegee 110 on the preliminary discharge surface 81, It is not limited to this. For example, the squeegee 110 may be slid on the preliminary ejection surface 81 by moving the preliminary ejection plate 80 with respect to the preliminary ejection surface cleaning unit 100. That is, as long as the squeegee 110 can be relatively moved with respect to the preliminary discharge surface 81, various things can be employ | adopted.

In addition, in this embodiment, the washing | cleaning process of the preliminary discharge washing | cleaning unit 100 is performed by the standby part 91. FIG. Therefore, after moving the preliminary discharge cleaning unit 100 to the right end part (refer FIG. 9) in the said embodiment, the washing process on the preliminary discharge surface 81 is performed in the process of returning to the mounting part 91. FIG. You may do so. In this case, it goes without saying that the mounting angle of the squeegee is opposite to the above embodiment.

In the said embodiment, although the conveyance mechanism 23 was arrange | positioned in the -Y direction side of each stage about the whole structure of the coating device 1, it is not limited to this. For example, the structure which arrange | positions the conveyance mechanism 23 to the + Y direction side of each stage may be sufficient. 22, the said conveyance mechanism 23 (transfer machine 23a, vacuum pad 23b, rail 23c) is arrange | positioned at the -Y direction side of each stage, and this conveyance mechanism ( The conveyance mechanism 53 (conveyor 53a, the vacuum pad 53b, the rail 53c) of the same structure as 23 is arrange | positioned, and the different board | substrate is conveyed by the conveyance mechanism 23 and the conveyance mechanism 53. You may configure so that it is possible. For example, as shown to the same figure, the conveyance mechanism 23 is made to convey the board | substrate S1, and the conveyance mechanism 53 is made to convey the board | substrate S2. In this case, since the board | substrate can be conveyed alternately by the conveyance mechanism 23 and the conveyance mechanism 53, throughput will improve. Moreover, when conveying the board | substrate which has an area about half of said board | substrate S, S1, S2, the board | substrate is hold | maintained one by one by the conveyance mechanism 23 and the conveyance mechanism 53, and conveyance is carried out, for example. By moving the mechanism 23 and the conveyance mechanism 53 side by side in the + X direction, two substrates can be simultaneously conveyed. Such a configuration can improve the throughput.

In the said embodiment, although the application part 3 was moved to the position of the management part 4, and the nozzle 32 was made to approach the nozzle cleaning apparatus 43 etc., it is not limited to these, For example, a management part ( Even if it is the structure which moves 4) to the position of the application part 3, and makes the nozzle cleaning apparatus 43 etc. approach the nozzle 32, application of this invention is possible.

In the said embodiment, although it was set as the structure which is a coating apparatus which apply | coats a resist on a glass substrate, it is not limited to this, For example, even if a to-be-coated substrate may be a metal piece, even if a coating liquid (liquid body) is SOG (silica system liquid), Can be applied.

Moreover, in the said embodiment, although it set as the structure which the slit-shaped opening part 32a is formed in the nozzle 32, it is not limited to this, For example, even if it is a roll type nozzle, an inkjet type nozzle, and a spray type nozzle, application of this invention is applicable. Is possible.

Moreover, in the said embodiment, although the coating apparatus 1 was set as the floating conveyance type which floats and conveys a board | substrate, it is not limited to this, For example, even if it is a coating apparatus which has other conveyance forms, such as roller conveyance, it is an application of this invention. Is possible.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS It is a figure for demonstrating schematic structure of the preliminary discharge mechanism which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic view of a preliminary ejection plate provided in the preliminary ejection mechanism of FIG. 1.

3A is a plan view of the preliminary ejection plate provided in the preliminary ejection mechanism of FIG. 1 seen from the preliminary ejection surface side.

It is a figure corresponding to the cross-sectional block diagram in the preliminary discharge plate with which the preliminary discharge mechanism of FIG. 1 was equipped.

4 is a schematic configuration diagram of a preliminary ejection surface cleaning unit provided in the preliminary ejection mechanism of FIG. 1.

FIG. 5 is a simplified diagram illustrating a mounting state of a squeegee in the squeegee head portion of the preliminary ejection surface cleaning unit of FIG. 4.

6 is a schematic view of the front structure of the squeegee head portion of the preliminary ejection surface cleaning unit of FIG. 4.

7 is a view showing a state of the cleaning liquid discharged from the discharge port provided in the squeegee head.

8 is an enlarged view showing a peripheral configuration of an arm portion supporting a squeegee head portion.

9A is a plan view showing a schematic configuration of a preliminary ejection unit provided in the preliminary ejection mechanism of FIG. 1.

9B is a side view illustrating a schematic configuration of a preliminary ejection unit provided in the preliminary ejection mechanism of FIG. 1.

It is a perspective view of the coating device with a preliminary discharge apparatus which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention.

FIG. 11 is a front view of the coating device of FIG. 10. FIG.

12 is a plan view of the coating apparatus of FIG. 10.

FIG. 13 is a side view of the application device of FIG. 10. FIG.

It is a figure which shows schematic structure of the management part with which the coating device of FIG. 10 was equipped.

It is a top view which shows the operation process of the coating device with a preliminary discharge apparatus which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention.

FIG. 16 is a plan view illustrating an operation process following FIG. 15.

17 is a plan view illustrating an operation process following FIG. 16.

18 is a plan view illustrating an operation process following FIG. 17.

FIG. 19 is a view for explaining the operation of the coating unit included in the coating apparatus of FIG. 10.

It is a figure for demonstrating the maintenance process of the preliminary discharge surface of the preliminary discharge plate with which the preliminary discharge mechanism which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention was equipped.

It is a figure for demonstrating the maintenance process of the preliminary discharge surface of the preliminary discharge plate with which the preliminary discharge mechanism which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention was equipped.

FIG. 21 is a view for explaining the operation of the coating unit included in the coating apparatus of FIG. 10.

It is a figure which shows the modified example of the coating apparatus with which the preliminary discharge apparatus which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention was equipped.

Explanation of the sign

R… Resist film

One … Applicator

42. Spare discharge mechanism (preliminary discharge device)

80... Spare discharge plate (spare discharge plate)

81... Spare discharge surface

82... Base member

82a... Joint surface

83... Plate member

84. Vacuum groove

85... Exhaust groove

86. Suction

100... Spare discharge surface cleaning unit (cleaning device)

102. Outlet

102a... 1st discharge port (discharge port)

102b... 2nd outlet (discharge outlet)

110. Squeegee

110a... First squeegee (squeegee)

110b... 2nd squeegee (squeegee)

110c... Finishing Squeegee (Squeegee)

140. Control

Claims (11)

A preliminary ejection apparatus comprising a preliminary ejection plate having a preliminary ejection surface to which a liquid body is applied in a preliminary ejection operation for maintaining the ejection state of the nozzle in the applicator, The preliminary ejection plate includes a plate member and a base member including the preliminary ejection surface, and the plate member and the base member are detachably joined to each other. The method of claim 1, And said plate member and said base member are joined by vacuum suction. The method of claim 2, In at least one of the joining surfaces in the said plate member and the said base member, the inside becomes a vacuum state and the vacuum groove which joins the said plate member and the said base member by vacuum suction is formed, The preliminary discharge characterized by the above-mentioned. Device. The method of claim 3, wherein At least one of the said joining surface in the said plate member and the said base member is collect | recoverable when the waste liquid used at the time of the washing process of the said plate member penetrates into the inside of the said preliminary discharge plate from the bonding interface of the said plate member. A preliminary discharge device, characterized in that the discharge groove is provided on the outside of the vacuum groove in a plan view. The method of claim 4, wherein The said vacuum groove and the said discharge groove are formed in the same side of the joining surface in the said plate member and the said base member, The preliminary discharge apparatus characterized by the above-mentioned. The method of claim 5, And the vacuum groove and the discharge groove are formed in the joining surface of the base member. The method of claim 4, wherein A preliminary discharge device, characterized in that the width and depth of the discharge groove is set to 1 mm or more and 5 mm or less. The method of claim 3, wherein The vacuum groove includes a main portion extending along one direction of the joining surface in the plate member and the base member, and a branch portion extending along a direction crossing the extension direction of the main portion. A preliminary ejection apparatus characterized by the above-mentioned. The method of claim 1, The thickness of the said plate-shaped member is set to 0.1 mm or more and 5 mm or less, The preliminary discharge apparatus characterized by the above-mentioned. The method of claim 1, A preliminary ejection apparatus characterized in that any one of stone, stainless, and glass is used as a material for forming the plate member. As a preliminary ejection method prior to the application | coating operation | movement in a coating device, Applying the liquid to a preliminary ejection plate on which a plate-like member including a preliminary ejection surface to which a liquid is applied during the preliminary ejection process and a base member are detachably joined; Washing the liquid applied on the preliminary ejection surface; And separating the plate member from the base member and maintaining the preliminary ejection surface.

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