KR101641285B1

KR101641285B1 - Apparatus for coating conductive film

Info

Publication number: KR101641285B1
Application number: KR1020150168950A
Authority: KR
Inventors: 이승현; 최영만; 장윤석; 권신; 강동우; 이택민
Original assignee: 한국기계연구원
Priority date: 2015-11-30
Filing date: 2015-11-30
Publication date: 2016-07-20

Abstract

An embodiment of the present invention relates to a conductive film application apparatus in which a space inside a chamber is divided into a plurality of separate regions by partition walls, and ambient gas is able to be controlled for each of the regions. According to an embodiment of the present invention, provided is the conductive film application apparatus which applies a conductive film on a flexible substrate using a roll-to-roll method, comprising: a chamber filled with inert gas; partition walls which divide a space inside the chamber into a plurality of regions; a feed roll disposed in a first region, unwinding a roll-shaped flexible substrate; a first substrate coating device disposed in a second region, coating the flexible substrate transferred from the feed roll with a catalyst solution; a second substrate coating device disposed in a third region, coating a catalyst coating layer of the flexible substrate with metal precursor ink to form a conductive film; a take-up roll disposed in a fourth region, withdrawing the flexible substrate on which the conductive film is formed, and winding the flexible substrate in the form of a roll; a first blocking unit disposed in the partition wall between the first region and the second region, including a through hole through which the flexible substrate is able to pass; a second blocking unit disposed in the partition wall between the second region and the third region, including a through hole through which the flexible substrate is able to pass; and a third blocking unit disposed in the partition wall between the third region and the fourth region, including a through hole through which the flexible substrate is able to pass.

Description

[0001] Apparatus for coating conductive film [0002]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a conductive film coating apparatus, and more particularly, to a conductive film coating apparatus capable of dividing a space in a chamber into a plurality of separate spaces by barrier ribs and controlling atmosphere gas in each of the spaces.

Generally, in order to form a conductive metal film, a conductive metal is coated on a flexible substrate. Such a coating process may be carried out in such a manner that a coating liquid is applied to the surface of a coating target by using coating methods such as roll coating, spray coating, slot die coating, flow coating and dip coating, and the coating liquid on the surface of the coating target is dried and cooled It proceeds.

Figure 1 schematically depicts a conventional conductive metal film coating apparatus using a roll-to-roll transfer method and a dip coating method. This coating apparatus has a supply roll (UWR), a catalyst environment chamber (2), a conductive metal film electrode formation chamber (3), a cleaning chamber (4) and a recovery roll (WR). A supply roll (UWR) is disposed in the first drying chamber (1) and a recovery roll (WR) is disposed in the second drying chamber (5). The catalytic environmental chamber 2 uses a chemical wet process to coat the surface of the flexible substrate S with a catalyst solution so as to form an aluminum film electrode at a low temperature. The conductive metal film electrode forming chamber 3 forms an aluminum film electrode on the flexible substrate S supplied from the catalytic environment chamber 2 and surface-treated. Various components such as the supply roll, the recovery roll, the catalyst environment chamber, and the film electrode formation chamber are disposed in the atmosphere control chamber 8 which is shielded from the outside to form an inert gas atmosphere, and the atmosphere is controlled.

However, according to this prior art, since the various components of the coating apparatus are controlled in the atmospheric gas in one atmosphere chamber 8, when the flexible substrate roll is replaced, (8) is released and external air is introduced. After completion of the operation such as replacing the flexible substrate roll and repairing the failure, the chamber 8 is flipped and the entire inside of the chamber 8 is again made to have an inert gas atmosphere of the target concentration level and then the coating operation is started.

Therefore, in the prior art structure, since the atmospheric gas must be controlled in units of the entire chamber 8, it takes much time for the roll replacement and maintenance work, and the coating apparatus can not be operated efficiently. Furthermore, since external air is repeatedly introduced into the chamber every time the roll replacement or maintenance work is performed, it is difficult to control and maintain the gas atmosphere in the chamber in an atmosphere suitable for the coating operation, Lt; / RTI >

Patent Document 1: Korean Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2015-0117924 (published on October 21, 2015)

According to an embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a conductive film coating apparatus capable of dividing a space in a chamber into a plurality of separated zones by barrier ribs and controlling atmosphere gas for each zone.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a conductive film coating apparatus comprising a first coating unit of a dip coating type and a second coating unit of microgravity disposed above the first coating unit.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a drying unit for drying a coated flexible substrate, wherein hot air is discharged from a central slot and air is sucked into a slot adjacent to an inlet and an outlet of the flexible substrate, A conductive film is formed.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, there is provided an apparatus for coating a conductive film on a flexible substrate in a roll-to-roll manner, comprising: a chamber filled with an inert gas; A partition wall dividing the space in the chamber into a plurality of sections; A supply roll disposed in a first region of said zone and for delivering a flexible substrate in the form of a roll; A first substrate coating device disposed in a second zone of the zone and coating a catalyst solution on the flexible substrate transferred from the feed roll; A second substrate coating device disposed in a third zone of the zone, the second substrate coating device coating the metal precursor ink on the catalyst coat layer of the flexible substrate to form a conductive film; A recovery roll disposed in a fourth zone of the zone for recovering a flexible substrate on which the conductive film is formed and winding the same in a roll form; A first blocking unit disposed in the partition between the first zone and the second zone and including a through hole through which the flexible substrate can pass; A second blocking unit disposed in the partition between the second zone and the third zone and including a through hole through which the flexible substrate can pass; And a third shielding unit disposed on the partition between the third and fourth zones and including a through hole through which the flexible substrate can pass.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the space in the chamber is divided into a plurality of divided zones by the partition walls and the atmospheric gas is controlled for each zone, thereby shortening the gas filling time in replacing the rolls or maintenance work, There is an advantage that the atmosphere can be efficiently managed.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a conductive film coating apparatus including a first coating unit of a dip coating type and a second coating unit of a microgravure type disposed above the first coating unit, There is an advantage that the coating solution can be sufficiently and uniformly applied to the outer surface.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a drying unit for drying a coated flexible substrate, in which hot air is discharged from a central slot, and air is sucked into a slot adjacent to an inlet and an outlet of the flexible substrate to prevent hot air from flowing out to the outside of the drying unit So that there is an advantage that the thermal energy is concentrated and used, and the diffusion of contaminants generated during the drying of the substrate is prevented.

1 is a view for explaining a conventional conductive film coating apparatus,
2 is a block diagram of a conductive film coating apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention;
3 is a block diagram of a substrate coating apparatus according to one embodiment,
4 is a view for explaining a coating unit and a drying unit according to an embodiment,
5 is a view for explaining the coating state of the flexible substrate before and after passing through the second coating unit,
Figure 6 is a block diagram of a gas purification system according to one embodiment;
7 is a perspective view of an open state of a blocking unit according to an embodiment,
8 is a front view and a side sectional view of an open state of a shielding unit according to an embodiment,
9 is a perspective view of a cut-off state of a cut-off unit according to an embodiment,
10 is a front view and a side sectional view of a cutoff state of a cutoff unit according to an embodiment,
11 is a block diagram of a conductive film coating apparatus showing an atmospheric gas supply port and a discharge port according to an embodiment,
12 is a flow diagram of an exemplary method of controlling ambient gas supply of a conductive film coating apparatus in accordance with one embodiment.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The above and other objects, features, and advantages of the present invention will become more readily apparent from the following description of preferred embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described herein but may be embodied in other forms. Rather, the embodiments disclosed herein are provided so that the disclosure can be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art.

Where the terms first, second, etc. are used herein to describe components, these components should not be limited by such terms. These terms have only been used to distinguish one component from another. The embodiments described and exemplified herein also include their complementary embodiments.

In the present specification, the singular form includes plural forms unless otherwise specified in the specification. The terms "comprise" and / or "comprising" used in the specification do not exclude the presence or addition of one or more other elements.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In describing the specific embodiments below, various specific details have been set forth in order to explain the invention in greater detail and to assist in understanding it. However, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the present invention may be understood by those skilled in the art without departing from such specific details. In some cases, it should be mentioned in advance that it is common knowledge in describing an invention that parts not significantly related to the invention are not described in order to avoid confusion in explaining the present invention.

2 is a block diagram of a conductive film coating apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The conductive film coating apparatus according to the illustrated embodiment comprises a chamber 10, a plurality of partitions 11 provided in the chamber, and a supply roll (not shown) disposed in each of a plurality of sections delimited by the partitions 11 20, a first substrate coating apparatus 30, a second substrate coating apparatus 40, a recovery roll 50, and a plurality of storage tanks 70, 80 for storing a coating solution.

The chamber 10 provides an enclosed space that is shielded from the outside to create an atmosphere suitable for conductive film coating and to prevent contaminants generated during coating from diffusing to the outside. In one embodiment, the chamber 10 may be filled with an inert gas, such as argon gas.

A partition wall 11 indicated by a one-dot chain line in Fig. 1 divides the space in the chamber into a plurality of sections. In the illustrated embodiment, the chamber 10 is divided into eight zones S1 to S8 by a plurality of partitions 11. As shown in Fig. In one embodiment, a partition wall 11 may be provided inside the chamber 10 to form a chamber having a plurality of chambers. In an alternative embodiment, a chamber may be formed for each chamber S1-S8, And then the chamber 10 may be formed by combining these.

The zones S1 to S6 are separated from each other by the partition 11 and the gas between the two zones can communicate with each other through the interception unit 15 provided on the partition 11. [ In the illustrated embodiment, between the first zone S1 and the second zone S2, between the second zone S2 and the third zone S3, between the third zone S3 and the fourth zone S4, A blocking unit 15 is provided between the fourth zone S4 and the fifth zone S5 and between the fifth zone S5 and the sixth zone S6.

The blocking unit 15 has a through hole through which the flexible substrate 21 can pass and can seal off the flow of gas between the two spaces by sealing the through hole as necessary. An exemplary configuration of the blocking unit 15 will be described later with reference to Figs. 7 to 10.

The feed roll 20 is disposed in the first zone S1. The supply roll 20 unwinds the roll-shaped flexible substrate 21 and transfers it to the substrate coating apparatuses 30 and 40. In one embodiment, the flexible substrate 1 may comprise one of paper, a polymer sheet, a fiber, a flexible glass, and a fabric, but is not limited thereto and may be suitable for a roll- Which can be rolled and rolled.

In the illustrated embodiment, the feed roll 20 includes a blocking unit 15 between the first zone S1 and the second zone S2 and a blocking unit 15 between the second zone S2 and the third zone S3 15 to be transported to the first substrate coating apparatus 30. At this time, it can be guided and transported by one or more guide rollers 17.

The first substrate coating apparatus 30 disposed in the third zone S3 coats the catalyst solution on the flexible substrate 21 conveyed in the feed roll 20.

At this time, the kind of the catalyst used in the catalyst solution may vary depending on the component (for example, a metal component) to be coated on the flexible substrate 1 in the second substrate coating apparatus 40. For example, in the case of aluminum (Al) coating in the post-treatment process, the catalyst may be titanium isopropoxide (Ti (Oi-Pr) 4), titanium chloride (TiCl4), platinum Catalyst, a nickel (Ni) catalyst, a manganese (Mn) catalyst, a zinc (Zn) catalyst or a combination thereof.

The catalyst coated flexible substrate is passed through the interruption unit 15 between the third zone S3 and the fourth zone S4 and is transferred to the second substrate coating apparatus 40 disposed in the fourth zone S4 . The second substrate coating apparatus 40 forms a conductive film by coating the metal precursor ink on the catalyst coating layer of the flexible substrate.

The first substrate coating apparatus 30 and the second substrate coating apparatus 40 may have the same structure. In the illustrated embodiment, each of the first and second substrate coating apparatuses 30, 40 includes a first coating unit, a second coating unit, and a drying unit. The first and second substrate coating apparatuses 30 and 40 will be described later with reference to FIGS. 3 to 6. FIG.

The flexible substrate 21 on which the conductive film is formed in the second substrate coating apparatus 40 of the fourth zone S1 passes through the fifth zone S5 and one or more barrier units 15 to the sixth zone S6 Lt; / RTI > At this time, it can be guided and transported by one or more guide rollers 17. The recovery roll 50 disposed in the sixth zone S6 recovers the flexible substrate and winds it in the form of a roll so that the conductive film is coated on the flexible substrate in accordance with the roll- Can be formed.

The seventh zone S7 comprises at least one first storage tank 70 for storing the catalyst solution and the eighth zone S8 comprises at least one second storage tank 80 for storing the metal precursor ink.

The first storage tank 70 is adjacent to the third zone S3 through the partition 11 and is connected to the first substrate coating apparatus (not shown) by one or more connection tubes 77, 30). &Lt; / RTI > In one embodiment, one of the first storage tanks 70 is a tank for supplying the catalyst solution, and supplies the catalyst solution to the catalyst solution reservoir of the first substrate coating apparatus 30 via the connection pipe 77 . The other one of the first storage tanks 70 is a catalyst solution recovery tank. For example, the catalyst solution in the catalyst solution storage tank of the first substrate coating apparatus 30 can be recovered through the connection pipe 78.

Valves 71 and 72 are provided in the respective connecting pipes 77 and 78 so that the connecting pipes 77 and 78 can be opened or closed as necessary. In one embodiment, when replacing the tank for supplying the catalyst solution, the following operation can be performed: First, the valve 71 is closed and the valve 72 is opened, so that the first substrate coating apparatus 30 The catalyst solution stored in the catalyst solution storage tank is recovered into the catalyst solution recovery tank of the first storage tank 70. After the recovery, the valve 72 is closed, and the replaced new catalyst solution supply tank is connected to the connection pipe 77. Thereafter, the valve 71 is opened and the catalyst solution is supplied to the catalyst solution storage tank of the first substrate coating apparatus 30 and stored. In order to perform such a replacement operation, the operator merely needs to open the inlet port of the seventh zone S7 and the seventh zone S7 is separated from the other zones by the partition 11, The replacement operation can be performed without affecting or affecting the operation.

Similarly, the second storage tank 80 is adjacent to the fourth zone S4 through the partition 11, and the second storage tank 80 is connected to the second substrate < RTI ID = 0.0 > coating < / RTI & Is connected to the metal precursor ink reservoir of the apparatus (40). In one embodiment, one of the second storage tanks 80 is a supply tank, and supplies the metal precursor ink to the metal precursor ink reservoir of the second substrate coating apparatus 40, for example, via the connection pipe 87 . The other one of the second storage tanks 80 is a recovery tank. For example, the metal precursor ink of the metal precursor ink reservoir of the second substrate coating apparatus 40 may be recovered through the connection pipe 88.

Valves 81 and 82 are provided on each of the connecting pipes 87 and 88 so that the connecting pipes 87 and 88 can be opened or closed as required. As described above with respect to the first storage tank 70, it is possible to perform the operation of replacing the supply tank similarly to the above with respect to the second tank 80 as well.

Each of the first to eighth zones S8 to S8 includes a supply port (not shown) for supplying an inert gas into each space in the respective zones and a discharge port (not shown) for discharging the inert gas to the outside of the zone . According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the inert gas supply amount through the supply port of each zone and the discharge amount through the exhaust port can be independently controlled. Accordingly, the inert gas concentration in each of the zones can be set differently and adjusted. For example, the inert gas concentration in the third and fourth zones S3 and S4, in which the first and second substrate coating devices 30 and 40 are located, And the inert gas concentration in the seventh and eighth zones S7 and S8 in which the storage tanks 70 and 80 are disposed can be controlled to a relatively low level. Therefore, from the viewpoint of the entire conductive film coating apparatus, It has the advantage of being able to concentrate resources and energy efficiently. Independent control of the inert gas atmosphere for each zone will be described later with reference to FIGS. 11 and 12. FIG.

On the other hand, in the embodiment shown in Fig. 2, the chamber 10 is divided into eight zones S1 to S8. However, in one alternative embodiment, for example, 20 are disposed in the second zone S2 and the collection roll 50 is disposed in the fifth zone S5 and the first zone S1 and the sixth zone S6 may be omitted. In this way, the number of zones constituting the chamber 10 can be varied according to the specific embodiment, and the arrangement relationship between the supply roll 20 and the recovery roll 50 and the first and second substrate coating apparatuses 30, Will vary.

Now, an exemplary configuration of the first substrate coating apparatus 30 and the second substrate coating apparatus 40 will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 to 6. FIG. In the illustrated embodiment, the first substrate coating apparatus 30 coating the catalyst solution and the second substrate coating apparatus 40 coating the metal precursor ink have the same configuration. 3 to 6 illustrate the second substrate coating apparatus 40 as an example for convenience of explanation. However, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the technical constructions described with reference to FIGS. 30 may be applied equally or similarly.

3 is a block diagram of a second substrate coating apparatus 40 according to one embodiment.

Referring to the drawings, a second substrate coating apparatus 40 according to an embodiment includes a first coating unit 410, a second coating unit 420, and a drying unit 430. The first coating unit 420 is a device for coating the metal precursor ink on the flexible substrate 21 transferred from the front end (for example, the first substrate coating apparatus 30).

In the illustrated embodiment, the first coating unit 410 coats the flexible substrate with a metal precursor ink by a dip coating method. To this end, the first coating unit 10 comprises a reservoir 411 for storing metal precursor inks and may include one or more guide rollers 401, 402 for guiding the path of the flexible substrate.

The metal precursor ink may include a metal precursor and a solvent, and may further include a solution stabilizer if necessary. In one embodiment, the metal of the metal precursor may be aluminum. In an alternative embodiment, the metal of the metal precursor is selected from the group consisting of Al, Li, Na, K, Rb, Cs, Ber, Mg, Calcium (Ca), or a combination thereof. The metal precursor may be, for example, a metal hydride, a complex of a metal hydride and an ether or amine-based material, or a combination thereof.

Examples of the solvent of the metal precursor ink include water, tetrahydrofuran (THF), alcohol solvent, ether solvent, sulfide solvent, toluene solvent, xylene Based solvent, benzene-based solvent, alkane-based solvent, oxane-based solvent, amine-based solvent, polyol-based solvent or a combination thereof.

In addition, it will be understood that the composition of the metal precursor ink may vary depending on the specific embodiment to which the present invention is applied. However, in the following drawings and embodiments of the present invention, it is assumed that aluminum precursor ink is coated for convenience of explanation.

Referring again to FIG. 2, the second coating unit 420 is disposed at the rear end of the first coating unit 410 on the movement path of the flexible substrate 21. Specifically, the second coating unit 420 may be disposed above the first coating unit 410. Since the flexible substrate 21 discharged from the first coating unit 410 is lifted up without a separate guide roller and supplied to the second coating unit 420, the flexible substrate path is changed by the guide roller, It is possible to prevent the flexible substrate from being damaged or the coating solution being unevenly distributed by pressing the substrate.

The second coating unit 420 may gravurely coat the metal precursor ink on the flexible substrate 21. The metal precursor ink at this time may be the same component as the metal precursor ink in the first coating unit 410 or may be a different component.

In one embodiment, the second coating unit 420 comprises a pair of microgravure coating rolls 421 and is arranged to pass the flexible substrate 21 between the pair of coating rolls 421. Accordingly, the pair of coating rolls 421 preferably have a function of squeezing the flexible substrate 21 and coating the metal precursor solution on the surface of the flexible substrate.

That is, when both the coating rolls 421 press the flexible substrate 21 when the flexible substrate 21 passes between the pair of coating rolls 421, a part of the metal precursor ink that has been on the surface of the flexible substrate 21, And a part thereof is removed from the surface so that the ink solution as a whole is uniformly dispersed in the interior of the flexible substrate and is distributed in a relatively uniform thickness on the surface of the flexible substrate. At the same time, the pair of coating rolls 421 again coat the surface of the flexible substrate 21 in a microgravure manner, so that the ink solution is further uniformly coated on the surface of the flexible substrate.

The drying unit 430 is disposed at the rear end of the second coating unit 420 and dries the flexible substrate discharged through the second coating unit 420. In one embodiment, the drying unit 430 is disposed above the second coating unit 420 and no separate guide roller is disposed between the drying unit 430 and the second coating unit 420. Accordingly, the flexible substrate having passed through the second coating unit 420 is lifted upward without being pressed by the guide roller, and can be supplied directly to the drying unit 430 and dried. An exemplary configuration of the drying unit 430 will be described later.

4 is a view for explaining a coating unit and a drying unit according to an embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a view for explaining a second coating unit and a drying unit according to one embodiment, and more specifically shows an exemplary configuration of the second coating unit 420 and the drying unit 430 in FIG.

Referring to the drawings, the second coating unit 420 is disposed on the guide roller 401 of the first coating unit 410, and the drying unit 430 is disposed on the upper side of the second coating unit 420 . Accordingly, the flexible substrate 21 discharged from the first coating unit 410 can be conveyed in a straight line without being folded or bent right and left, and can pass through the second coating unit 420 and the drying unit 430.

The second coating unit 420 may gravurely coat the metal precursor ink on the flexible substrate 21. In the illustrated embodiment, the second coating unit 420 includes a pair of gravure coating rolls 421, a pair of dispensers 423, and a pair of doctor blades 425.

In one embodiment, the coating roll 421 is a microgravure coating roll. The microgravure coating is made by reducing the roll size in accordance with the high speed coating, and a cell for pattern printing is formed on the surface of the coating roll 421 at a negative angle. The pattern formed on each surface of the pair of coating rolls 421 may be the same or different depending on the embodiment.

The pair of coating rolls 421 are spaced apart from each other by a predetermined distance. This predetermined interval is preferably such that the flexible substrate can pass between the coating rolls 421 while being subjected to a constant pressure, and this gap may vary depending on the material used as the flexible substrate in the specific embodiment.

Each of the pair of dispensers 423 is disposed on top of each coating roll 421 to supply metal precursor ink to each coating roll 421. A pair of doctor blades 425 are disposed one by one on each coating roll 421 to remove the metal precursor ink on the surface of each coating roll 421.

The flexible substrate 21 to be printed is configured to pass between the pair of coating rolls 421. The metal precursor ink supplied from the dispenser 23 is filled in the intaglio cells on the surface of the coating roll 421 and the doctor blade 425 removes the metal precursor ink on the surface of the coating roll 21. When the flexible substrate 21 passes between the pair of coating rolls 421, the coating rolls 421 are opposed to each other and rotate while being in close contact with a predetermined pressure, so that the ink filled in the cells of the coating roll 421 is flexible And transferred onto both sides of the substrate and printed.

At this time, according to one embodiment, each of the pair of coating rolls 421 can rotate in the direction opposite to the moving direction of the flexible substrate 21. 4, the left coating roll 421 of FIG. 4 rotates clockwise and the right coating roll 421 rotates counterclockwise when the flexible substrate 21 moves from below to above.

FIG. 5 schematically shows a cross-section of a flexible substrate coated with ink to illustrate the coating state of the flexible substrate before and after passage of the second coating unit.

Fig. 5 (a) schematically shows a cross-section of the flexible substrate 21 at the point (a) in Fig. The point (a) is a state before the flexible substrate 21 is first coated in the first coating unit 410 and then in the second coating unit 420, and a part of the metal precursor ink is transferred to the inside of the flexible substrate And the coating solution is irregularly coated on the surface of the flexible substrate.

FIG. 5 (b) is a schematic cross-sectional view of the flexible substrate at the point (b) in FIG. 4, that is, at the point where the flexible substrate is pressed by the pair of coating rollers 421. As the coating roll 421 squeezes the flexible substrate in both directions when the flexible substrate passes between the pair of coating rolls 421 spaced at a predetermined interval, a part of the ink solution in the flexible substrate is discharged to the outside, Which is relatively uniform. Then, a part of the ink solution applied on the surface of the flexible substrate is removed by pressing to make the application layer relatively thin and constant.

When the flexible substrate passes through the pair of coating rolls 421, the coating roll 421 also prints the metal precursor ink solution on both sides of the flexible substrate in a microgravure manner. Thus, when the flexible substrate has completely passed through the coating roll 421 (for example, at the point (c) in FIG. 4), the cross-section of the flexible substrate can have a shape as shown in FIG. 5 (c). That is, as shown in the figure, the ink solution may be printed on both surfaces of the flexible substrate to form a uniform and uniform coating layer on the surface of the flexible substrate.

By thus arranging the second coating unit 420 above the first coating unit 410 and allowing the flexible substrate to pass between the pair of coating rolls 421 in the second coating unit 420, The coating unit 420 compresses and further coats the flexible substrate so that the ink solution can be more uniformly and uniformly coated on the inside and the surface of the flexible substrate.

Further, in the case of using a flexible substrate having a relatively good liquid absorption rate, such as cloth or fiber, if the dip coating is performed in the first coating unit 410, the flexible substrate absorbs excess ink solution unnecessarily, There is a problem that takes a long time. In order to avoid this problem, for example, only roll coating may be performed instead of dip coating, but in this case, the problem that the ink is not sufficiently absorbed into the flexible substrate occurs.

However, according to the above-described embodiment of the present invention, it is possible to sufficiently fill the coating solution into the flexible substrate by dip coating in the first coating unit 410 and to remove unnecessary excess ink in the flexible substrate in the second coating unit By uniformly applying the ink again to the outer surface, it is possible to perform a sufficient uniform coating inside and outside the flexible substrate.

Referring again to FIG. 4, in the embodiment of FIG. 4, each of the pair of coating rolls 421 is described as rotating in the direction opposite to the moving direction of the flexible substrate 21. In an alternative embodiment, however, each of the pair of coating rolls may rotate in the same direction as the direction of movement of the flexible substrate. That is, when the flexible substrate 21 moves from the lower side to the upper side, the left coating roll 421 of FIG. 4 rotates counterclockwise and the right coating roll 421 rotates clockwise.

In FIG. 4, the flexible substrate 21 having passed through the second coating unit 420 is lifted up and supplied to the drying unit 430. In one embodiment, the flexible substrate discharged from the second coating unit 420 may be moved upward without being fed through a separate guide roller and supplied to the drying unit 430.

In the illustrated embodiment, the drying unit 430 is a hot air dryer that blows a high temperature inert gas onto a flexible substrate to dry the flexible substrate. In one embodiment, a high temperature argon gas may be used as the hot gas.

The drying unit 430 includes a drying unit chamber 431 and a pair of heating portions 435 disposed in the chamber 431. The flexible substrate 21 is introduced into the drying unit chamber 431 through an inlet 432 formed at one side of the chamber 431 and dried and discharged to the outside through an outlet 433 formed at the other side of the chamber 431. In the illustrated embodiment, the inlet 432 is formed in the lower part of the drying unit chamber 431 and the outlet 433 is formed in the upper part of the chamber 431.

Each of the pair of heating portions 435 is disposed on the left and right sides of the movement path of the flexible substrate 21 in the drying unit chamber 431, respectively. The heating portion 435 may be implemented by a heating means such as a heating coil or infrared irradiation means which is heated, for example, by electricity.

The drying unit chamber 431 includes a blowing port 436 and an air inlet 437. In the illustrated embodiment, the heating portion 435 is disposed at the end of the air outlet 436, so that the inert gas supplied from the outside is discharged from the air outlet 436 and supplied to the heating portion 435, The inert gas is heated in the heating part 435 and then sprayed toward the flexible substrate 21 to dry the flexible substrate 21.

The inert gas dried on the flexible substrate is discharged to the outside of the drying unit chamber 431 through the air inlet 437. The suction port 437 is arranged adjacent to each of the inlet 432 and the outlet 433 of the chamber 431 and sucks the gas in the drying unit chamber 431. The intake port 437 is disposed as close as possible to the inlet port 432 and the outlet port 433 so that the gas in the chamber 431 is sucked into the inlet port 437 without escaping to the inlet port 432 and the outlet port 433 desirable. Especially, it is important to prevent harmful substances such as a large amount of solvent from being discharged during the drying process of the flexible substrate. It is important to prevent such substances from leaking out of the drying unit chamber 431 through the inlet 432 and the outlet 433.

For example, the chamber 431 may be maintained at a negative pressure. For this purpose, for example, the amount of intake air and the amount of exhaust can be adjusted so that the amount of gas sucked in the intake port 437 is larger than the amount of gas discharged from the fan port 436.

On the other hand, the gas discharged from the inlet 437 of the drying unit chamber 431 contains an inert gas such as argon as a main component, and mixed with surplus solvent, various particles, and dust generated when the substrate is dried. Herein, the excess solvent is, for example, a solvent of a coating solution such as a metal precursor ink or a catalyst solution, which is volatilized, and various particles include components that are not reacted with the catalyst, for example, in a coating solution. For example, the aluminum precursor is oxidized without reacting with the catalyst to produce particles such as aluminum oxide (Al 2 O 3).

According to one embodiment, the gas containing such impurities and harmful substances may be purified in a gas purification system (not shown) without being discharged to the outside, and then supplied to the drying unit 430 to be used for drying the flexible substrate.

Figure 6 is a block diagram of an exemplary configuration of a gas purification system according to one embodiment. In the illustrated embodiment, this gas purification system may include an intake duct 471, an exhaust duct 472, a dust removal 440, a solvent removal 450, and a filter 460.

The intake duct 471 is connected to the intake port 437 of the drying unit 430 and transfers the gas sucked from the drying unit chamber 431 to the dust removing unit 440. For this gas flow, a driving means such as a pump is required on the gas flow path, but the illustration is omitted for convenience of explanation.

In the illustrated embodiment, the dust removing unit 440 includes a container for containing the liquid 441, and the end of the intake duct 471 is immersed in the liquid 441. As the gas transferred from the intake duct 471 passes through the liquid 441, solid components such as various particles and dust are dissolved or precipitated in the liquid, and only the gas component is discharged to the outside of the dust removing unit 440 through the piping.

The gas that has passed through the dust removing unit 440 is transferred to the solvent removing unit 450. In one embodiment, the solvent remover 450 may include a heat exchanger 451 to effect heat exchange between the argon gas containing solvent and the cold refrigerant. In the heat exchanger 451 of the illustrated embodiment, a pipe through which cold refrigerant flows is configured to surround a pipe through which the argon gas flows, so that when the argon gas containing the solvent passes through the heat exchanger 451, The condensed solvent is trapped in the lower vessel 453 and removed.

In an alternative embodiment, solvent removal 450 may comprise an adsorbent layer comprised of carbon or zeolite, etc., and as the gas passes through this adsorbent layer, the solvent may be adsorbed to the adsorbent surface to remove solvent in the gas . Other types of solvent removal structures may be applied, and the present invention is not limited to any specific method.

In the illustrated embodiment, the gas purification system may optionally further include a filter 460. The solvent-removed argon gas is transferred to the filter 460, and the filter 460 finally filters the impurities such as dust. The filtered gas is supplied to the drying unit 30 through the exhaust duct 472. The exhaust duct 472 is connected to the blowing port 436 so that the purified inert gas can be supplied again to the drying unit chamber 431 through the exhaust duct 472 and the blowing port 436.

By using the drying unit of Fig. 4 and the gas purification system of Fig. 6 as described above, the following technical effect is obtained.

First, energy can be efficiently used by concentrating thermal energy.

Conventionally, when a flexible substrate is heated by blowing hot air toward a flexible substrate or irradiating infrared rays, heat energy is not concentrated only on the flexible substrate, but ambient air is heated to raise the temperature outside the drying unit. As a result, 2 coating units 410 and 420 and the drying unit 430 is unnecessarily elevated, so that there is a problem that heat energy can not be efficiently used.

4, the heating unit 435 is disposed immediately adjacent to the flexible substrate 21 to be dried and the end of the air outlet 436 is connected to the heating unit 435, The gas used for drying is immediately recovered to the refining system (FIG. 6) through the intake port 437, so that the heated gas It is possible to restrict the moving path of the drying unit 430 into the drying unit 430 and prevent the heat energy from being unnecessarily dispersed outside the drying unit chamber 431. [

Second, the diffusion of contaminants in the apparatus can be prevented.

When the coating solution coated on the flexible substrate is dried, contaminants (gas and solid components) such as surplus solvent, various particles such as aluminum oxide and dust are generated and mixed into the atmosphere gas in the drying unit 430. However, in the conventional substrate coating apparatus, the drying unit itself does not have a structure for directly absorbing and removing such contaminants, and the gas purification unit is arranged in units of the chamber 10. Therefore, in this conventional structure, the contaminants generated in the drying unit 430 may diffuse to other apparatus parts in the chamber 10, which may adversely affect the life of the apparatus. Particularly, contaminants reaching the coating units 410 and 420 And the coating quality may be deteriorated due to the influence thereof.

However, according to the drying unit and the gas purification system according to the present invention, since the gas used for drying the flexible substrate is immediately sucked and purified through the inlet 437, various contaminants such as solvents generated during the drying of the substrate are diffused And to prevent contamination of other device configurations, such as the first and second coating units 410, 420 in the chamber of the flexible substrate coating apparatus.

As described above, the second substrate coating apparatus 40 has been described with reference to Figs. 3 to 6, and the first substrate coating apparatus 30 is also similar in configuration and function to the second substrate coating apparatus 40). However, the second substrate coating apparatus 40 functions to coat the metal precursor ink on the flexible substrate, whereas the first substrate coating apparatus 30 differs in coating the catalyst solution on the flexible substrate.

Now, an exemplary configuration of the blocking unit 15 will be described with reference to FIGS. 7 to 10. FIG.

Fig. 7 is a perspective view of an open state of the shielding unit according to one embodiment, and Fig. 8 is a front view and a side sectional view of the open state of the shielding unit, respectively.

Referring to the drawings, the blocking unit 15 includes a frame 150 surrounding a through hole through which the flexible substrate passes, and sealing means provided inside the frame 150 to seal the through-hole. The outer periphery of the frame 150 is engaged with the partition 11 and is engaged with the partition 11. [ In one embodiment, the frame 150 may be formed of an elastic material.

In one embodiment, the sealing means for sealing the through-hole may be implemented with a pair of pneumatic expansion tubes 151. The pneumatic expansion tube 151 is installed on the inner surface of the frame 150. In the illustrated embodiment, the pneumatic expansion tube 151 is installed on each of the first inner side surface and the second inner side surface of the frame 151 facing opposite sides of the flexible substrate 21 through which the through hole is passed . The pneumatic expansion tube 151 is formed of an elastic material having an inner space and expandable by pneumatic pressure. And further includes an injection pipe 153 for supplying air pressure to the pneumatic expansion tube 151 as shown in Fig. 8 (b). The injection tube 153 may be connected to the pneumatic expansion tube 151 through the inside of the frame 150 as shown.

7 and 8 show a state in which the interrupting unit is opened, that is, the state before the pneumatic pressure is injected into the pneumatic expansion tube 151. In this state, the flexible substrate 21 is moved in one section To another neighboring zone, and gas between the two zones can also communicate with each other through this through-hole.

9 and 10 show a state in which the pneumatic tube is injected into the pneumatic expansion tube 151 to seal the through-hole. Fig. 9 is a perspective view of the pneumatic expansion tube 151 in a cutaway state. Fig. 10 is a front view and a side sectional view.

The transfer of the flexible substrate 21 is first stopped to seal the through-hole. Pneumatic expansion tubes 151 are pushed into the pair of pneumatic expansion tubes 151 through the injection tube 153 in the state where the movement of the flexible substrate 21 is stopped and the pneumatic expansion tubes 151 are expanded toward the flexible substrate 21 So as to contact both surfaces of the flexible substrate. Thus, as shown in the figure, the space between the pair of pneumatic expansion tubes 151 and the flexible substrate 21 interposed therebetween can be completely sealed.

Since the through-hole is sealed in the blocking state of the blocking unit 15 provided between the two zones, the gas flow can be blocked between the two zones. It is possible to independently control the atmospheric gases of the respective zones S1 to S6 in the chamber 10 because the gas flow between the zones can be blocked by the operation of the interruption unit 15. [

Hereinafter, independent control of the inert gas atmosphere will be described with reference to FIGS. 11 and 12. FIG.

11 is a block diagram of a conductive film coating apparatus showing an atmospheric gas supply port and a discharge port according to an embodiment. The conductive film coating apparatus shown in Fig. 11 is the same as the apparatus of Fig. 2, and further shows a supply port for supplying an inert gas into the chamber 10 and an outlet for discharging the gas to the outside of the chamber 10. Therefore, the configuration of the chamber 10 and the partition 11, the cutoff unit 15, the supply roll 20, the first substrate coating apparatus 30, the second substrate coating apparatus 40, the recovery roll 50, 1 storage tank 70, and second storage tank 80 are the same as those of FIG. 2, and therefore, description thereof is omitted.

Referring to the drawings, the chamber 10 is divided into first to eighth zones S1 to S8 by partition walls 11, and each of the first to eighth zones S8 to S8 is divided into an inert gas At least one supply port (I1 to I8) for supplying the inert gas to the inside space of each zone, and an outlet port (O1 to O8) for discharging the inert gas to the outside of the zone.

In one preferred embodiment, the conductive film coating apparatus of the present invention can independently control the amount of inert gas supplied through the supply ports I1 to I8 of each zone and the discharge amount through the outlets O1 to O8 of the respective zones . For this purpose, the conductive film coating apparatus is provided with, for example, a pump for supplying gas to each of the supply ports, a sensor for measuring the gas concentration or pressure of each zone, and a sensor for measuring the gas concentration or pressure of each zone, As shown in FIG.

In this manner, the gas flow between the zones S1 to S8 in the chamber 10 can be blocked by the interruption unit 15 as well as the atmosphere gas in each zone can be independently controlled, The inert gas concentration can be set and controlled differently for each zone in various situations, such as coating operation, replacement of flexible substrate rolls, and maintenance of the apparatus.

In one example, when all of the blocking units 15 are in an open state and the conductive film coating apparatus is normally performing a coating operation, a third zone S3, in which the first and second substrate coating apparatuses 30, Inert gas is supplied into the chamber 10 from the supply ports I3 and I4 in the fourth zone S4 and the first zone S1 in which the supply roll 20 and the recovery roll 50 are disposed, The inert gas can be controlled to be discharged to the outside through the outlets O1 and O6 in the sixth zone S6.

In this case, since a gas flow is generated in the third and fourth zones S3 and S4 in which the inert gas moves toward the first and sixth zones S1 and S6, the gas flow in the third and fourth zones S3 and S4 The inert gas concentration can be maintained at a high level and the inert gas concentration in the seventh and eighth zones S7 and S8 can be maintained at a relatively low level. Generally, the concentration level of the inert gas must be high during the substrate coating process, and the gas concentration level of the supply roll 20 or the recovery roll 50 may be relatively small. Therefore, the gas supply amount / discharge amount By controlling the gas flow in the chamber 10, it is possible to efficiently use the less inert gas in the required area by focusing on the whole area of the conductive film coating apparatus.

As another example of independently controlling the inert gas concentration for each zone, FIG. 12 shows an exemplary method of controlling the gas atmosphere in the chamber during maintenance work of the apparatus, for example, replacing a flexible substrate roll or replacing parts.

Referring to the drawing, first, at step S10, the feeding of the flexible substrate is stopped and all the blocking units 15 of the conductive film coating apparatus are switched to the closed state. That is, pneumatic pressure is injected into the pneumatic expansion tube 151 of each blocking unit 15 to seal the through-hole. Thus, all the spaces in the chamber 10 are sealed, and each sealed space can maintain the atmosphere of the current inert gas as it is.

Subsequently, at step S20, operations such as replacing the flexible substrate roll, replacing parts in the apparatus or maintenance are performed as necessary. For example, the rolls can be replaced or parts can be replaced through one or more inlets 19 provided on the outer wall of the chamber 10. Although not shown in FIG. 2 or FIG. 11, one or more opening and closing doors may be provided for each of the zones S1 to S8 for this replacement operation.

At this time, the area where the replacement or maintenance work is performed is an inert gas atmosphere because the outside and the air are communicated by the opening of the inlet opening (19) or the opening / closing door, Can be maintained.

When the replacement or maintenance work is completed, the atmosphere of the work area is recharged to the concentration level of the predetermined inert gas in step S30. That is, an inert gas such as argon is supplied through the gas supply port of the corresponding zone and charged to a predetermined concentration level. At this time, since the other remaining regions are maintained in the gas atmosphere, it is not necessary to charge them separately, so that the charging time in this step S30 can be shortened.

When the gas atmosphere in the work area is adjusted to a predetermined concentration level, the cutoff unit 15 is operated to switch to the open state in step S40. The pneumatic pressure that has been filled in the pneumatic expansion tube 151 can be discharged to the outside through the injection pipe 153. The blocking unit 15 is opened again as shown in Fig. 7 or 8, The sealing is released.

Then, the flexible substrate is transported again, the coating process of the flexible substrate is resumed, and the gas atmosphere in the chamber is controlled according to a predetermined gas atmosphere concentration control method in step S50. 12, the inert gas is supplied through the supply ports of the third and fourth zones S3 and S4 in which the first and second substrate coating apparatuses 30 and 40 are disposed , The inert gas is discharged to the outside of the chamber through the outlets of the first and sixth zones (S1, S6), thereby maintaining the gas atmosphere of the substrate coating process at a relatively high concentration level, Can be maintained at a relatively low concentration level.

Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described with reference to the drawings, various modifications may be made in addition to those described above. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made in the present invention without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention. Therefore, the scope of the present invention should not be limited by the described embodiments, but should be determined by the scope of the appended claims, as well as the appended claims.

10: chamber
11:
15:
20: Supply roll
21: flexible substrate
30: first substrate coating apparatus
40: Second substrate coating apparatus
50: Recovery roll
70: First storage tank
80: Second storage tank

Claims

An apparatus for coating a conductive film on a flexible substrate by a roll-to-roll method,
A chamber (10) filled with an inert gas;
A partition wall (11) dividing the space in the chamber into a plurality of sections;
A supply roll (20) disposed in a first region of said zone and for delivering a flexible substrate in the form of a roll;
A first substrate coating device (30) disposed in a second zone of said zone and coating a catalyst solution on a flexible substrate transferred from said feed roll;
A second substrate coating device (40) disposed in a third zone of the zone, the second substrate coating device (40) coating the metal precursor ink on the catalyst coating layer of the flexible substrate to form a conductive film;
A recovery roll (50) disposed in a fourth zone of the zone, for recovering the flexible substrate on which the conductive film is formed and winding the same in a roll form;
A first blocking unit disposed in the partition between the first zone and the second zone and including a through hole through which the flexible substrate can pass;
A second blocking unit disposed in the partition between the second zone and the third zone and including a through hole through which the flexible substrate can pass; And
And a third shielding unit disposed in the partition between the third and fourth zones and including a through hole through which the flexible substrate can pass,
Wherein each of the first to third blocking units comprises:
A frame 150 formed of an elastic material surrounding the through-hole; And
And a pair of pneumatic expansion tubes (151) installed on the first and second surfaces of the frame, respectively facing opposite sides of the flexible substrate, each of which can be inflated toward the flexible substrate by air pressure, respectively By weight.

The method according to claim 1,
Wherein each of the first to third blocking units includes a sealing means for sealing the through-hole,
Wherein when the through-hole is sealed by the sealing means in a state where the feeding of the flexible substrate is stopped, the flow of gas through the through-hole is cut off.

delete

The method according to claim 1,
The pair of pneumatic expansion tubes expand toward the flexible substrate when the pneumatic pressure is injected into the pair of pneumatic expansion tubes while the feeding of the flexible substrate is stopped, Wherein the flexible film is sealed between the flexible substrates.

An apparatus for coating a conductive film on a flexible substrate by a roll-to-roll method,
A chamber (10) filled with an inert gas;
A partition wall (11) dividing the space in the chamber into a plurality of sections;
A supply roll (20) disposed in a first region of said zone and for delivering a flexible substrate in the form of a roll;
A first substrate coating device (30) disposed in a second zone of said zone and coating a catalyst solution on a flexible substrate transferred from said feed roll;
A second substrate coating device (40) disposed in a third zone of the zone, the second substrate coating device (40) coating the metal precursor ink on the catalyst coating layer of the flexible substrate to form a conductive film;
A recovery roll (50) disposed in a fourth zone of the zone, for recovering the flexible substrate on which the conductive film is formed and winding the same in a roll form;
A first blocking unit disposed in the partition between the first zone and the second zone and including a through hole through which the flexible substrate can pass;
A second blocking unit disposed in the partition between the second zone and the third zone and including a through hole through which the flexible substrate can pass; And
And a third shielding unit disposed in the partition between the third and fourth zones and including a through hole through which the flexible substrate can pass,
Wherein each of the first to fourth zones comprises:
A supply port for supplying an inert gas into the space inside the compartment; And
And an outlet for discharging the inert gas to the outside of the zone,
Wherein inert gas is supplied into the chamber from the supply ports of the second and third zones when the flexible substrate is being conveyed while the through-holes of the first to third blocking units are being opened, and the first and fourth And is discharged to the outside of the chamber through an outlet of the chamber.

6. The method of claim 5,
The supply amount and the discharge amount of the inert gas through the respective supply ports and discharge ports of the first to fourth zones are independently controlled to set the inert gas concentration in the first to fourth zones to be different for each zone Wherein the conductive film is a conductive film.

delete

The method according to claim 1,
At least one first storage tank disposed in a fifth zone of the plurality of zones, the at least one first storage tank storing a catalyst solution;
A first connection pipe passing through the partition between the second zone and the fifth zone to connect the catalyst solution reservoir of the first substrate coating apparatus and the first storage tank;
At least one second storage tank disposed in a sixth zone of the plurality of zones, the at least one second storage tank storing metal precursor ink; And
And a second connection pipe passing through the partition between the third zone and the sixth zone to connect the metal precursor ink reservoir of the second substrate coating apparatus to the second storage tank. Coating apparatus.

The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the first substrate coating apparatus comprises:
A first coating unit coating the catalyst solution on the flexible substrate transferred from the supply roll in a dip coating manner;
A second coating unit disposed at a rear end of the first coating unit and gravure-coating the catalyst solution on the flexible substrate; And
And a drying unit disposed at a rear end of the second coating unit and drying the flexible substrate.

An apparatus for coating a conductive film on a flexible substrate by a roll-to-roll method,
A chamber (10) filled with an inert gas;
A partition wall (11) dividing the space in the chamber into a plurality of sections;
A supply roll (20) disposed in a first region of said zone and for delivering a flexible substrate in the form of a roll;
A first substrate coating device (30) disposed in a second zone of said zone and coating a catalyst solution on a flexible substrate transferred from said feed roll;
A second substrate coating device (40) disposed in a third zone of the zone, the second substrate coating device (40) coating the metal precursor ink on the catalyst coating layer of the flexible substrate to form a conductive film;
A recovery roll (50) disposed in a fourth zone of the zone, for recovering the flexible substrate on which the conductive film is formed and winding the same in a roll form;
A first blocking unit disposed in the partition between the first zone and the second zone and including a through hole through which the flexible substrate can pass;
A second blocking unit disposed in the partition between the second zone and the third zone and including a through hole through which the flexible substrate can pass; And
And a third shielding unit disposed in the partition between the third and fourth zones and including a through hole through which the flexible substrate can pass,
Wherein the second substrate coating apparatus comprises:
A first coating unit coating a metal precursor ink on a flexible substrate transferred from the supply roll in a dip coating manner;
A second coating unit disposed at a rear end of the first coating unit and gravurely coating a metal precursor ink on the flexible substrate; And
And a drying unit disposed at a rear end of the second coating unit and drying the flexible substrate.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the second coating unit comprises:
A pair of microgravure coating rolls, in which a pattern to be printed on each surface is formed with engraved cells;
A dispenser for supplying metal precursor ink to each coating roll at the top of each coating roll; And
And a doctor blade for removing the metal precursor ink on the surfaces of the respective coating rolls,
Wherein the flexible substrate discharged from the first coating unit passes between the pair of coating rolls of the second coating unit.

12. The method of claim 11,
Wherein each of the pair of coating rolls is rotated in a direction opposite to a conveying direction of the flexible substrate.

11. The apparatus of claim 10,
A drying unit chamber having an inlet through which the flexible substrate passed through the second coating unit flows and an outlet through which the flexible substrate is discharged; And
And a heating unit disposed in the drying unit chamber and heating the inert gas supplied from outside the drying unit chamber.

14. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the drying unit chamber comprises:
A blowing port for discharging the inert gas toward the heating unit; And
And an intake port disposed adjacent to each of the inlet and the outlet of the chamber for sucking gas in the drying unit chamber,
And an inert gas heated in the heating unit is injected toward the flexible substrate.