KR19980038356A - Heat treatment device with sublimation measures - Google Patents

Abstract

Purpose: To prevent sublimation itself with a simple device.

Composition: A clean oven is a device that circulates and supplies hot air to a work such as an LCD panel stacked in a plurality of lifting gondola installed in the inner tank 2 by means of a heater and a circulation ventilator installed in the air conditioning unit 22. As an air intake unit 81b having an intake portion 81b, a heater 84, a heating air inlet 83b, and the like, an exhaust device 9 having a pipe or an exhaust fan 93 or the like is provided. .

Effect: The heating air is introduced to an upstream position of the heater of the air conditioning unit 22, and the exhaust fan 93 exhausts the air passing through the work, thereby exhausting the sublimation gas generated in the work by ventilation. The concentration of the cargo gas can be lowered to prevent crystal growth of the sublimate, discharged in the form of fine particles, and the deposition and deposition of the sublimate in the interior and the like can be prevented.

Description

Heat treatment device with sublimation measures

1 is a perspective view showing a schematic configuration of a clean oven to which the present invention is applied;

2 is a cross-sectional view of a portion of the outside air suction heating device of the clean oven;

3 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the portion of the apparatus for suction suction;

4 is a longitudinal sectional view of the clean oven;

5 is a perspective view showing another example of a clean oven to which the present invention is applied;

6 is a perspective view showing another example of a clean oven to which the present invention is applied;

Figure 7 is a perspective view showing another example of a clean oven to which the present invention is applied.

* Explanation of symbols for main parts of the drawings

8: outside air suction heating device (heating air introduction means)

9: exhaust device (air exhaust means) 11: outside air inlet (cooling means)

12 filter 85 air introduction pipe

92: connection tube (air discharge tube) W: workpiece, LCD panel (object)

[Industrial use]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention [0001] The present invention relates to a heat treatment apparatus for circulating heated air to pass through a workpiece, and particularly to counteract sublimation generated during heat treatment.

[Prior art]

In the heat treatment apparatus, a photolithography technique using a photoresist is used in the manufacturing process, for example, such as an LCD panel, so that the sublimable component contained in the photoresist vaporizes by heating to a high temperature during the heat treatment to re-solidify and surround it. There is a heat treatment of an object in which adhesion to is problematic. As a countermeasure against this problem, a device has been conventionally used to draw out a generated sublimate into a duct or the like, or to provide a trap in a heat treatment device to intentionally solidify the sublimation in this part.

However, the apparatus for drawing out the sublimate could not completely prevent solidification and adhesion of the sublimate. In addition, even in the apparatus using the trap, there is a problem that the sublimation cannot be completely removed and the handling and maintenance are cumbersome.

[Problem to Solve Invention]

This invention solves the said problem in the prior art, and makes it a subject to provide the heat processing apparatus which is easy to handle and maintain, and can prevent generation | occurrence | production and solidification of a sublimation completely.

[Means for solving the problem]

The present invention is a heat treatment apparatus for heat-treating the object by circulating the air heated by the heater to pass through the object in order to solve the above problems, the outside air is heated through the object And a heated air introduction means for introducing the air to the upstream position of the air, and an air discharge means for discharging a portion of the air passing through the object.

The invention of claim 2, wherein the upstream position is the heater inlet side position, and the temperature of the heating air introduced into the heating air introduction means is a temperature close to or less than an air temperature heated and circulated in the heater. It is characterized by.

The invention of claim 3 is in addition to the features of the invention of claim 1, wherein the heated air introduction means comprises an air introduction pipe, and the air discharge means is an air discharge pipe, and air flowing through the air discharge pipe and air flowing through the air introduction pipe. It characterized in that it has an air discharge pipe formed to enable heat exchange.

In addition to the features of the invention of claim 1, the invention of claim 4 is characterized by having cooling means for cooling the air discharged to the air discharge means and a filter for passing the cooled air.

Embodiment of the Invention

Figure 1 shows an example of the overall configuration of the heat treatment apparatus to which the present invention is applied, Figures 2 and 3 show an example of the structure of the heating air inlet. 4 shows an example of the cross-sectional structure of such a heat treatment apparatus.

First, the structure of the main body portion of the heat treatment apparatus will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 4.

The clean oven, which is a heat treatment device, is a device that heat-treats air heated by a heater to pass through a work (W) composed of a liquid crystal glass substrate loaded and supported in multiple stages as an object to be treated, and heat-insulates the work (W). ), An inner tank (2) consisting of a heat treatment unit 21, an air conditioning unit 22, and a duct unit 23 surrounded by a heat insulating wall, a machine room 3 adjacent to the inner tank 2, and a work (W). A high-performance filter (7) installed in the gondola (4), the heater (5) installed in the air conditioning unit (22), the blower (6) for circulating the heated air as a short arrow, the duct unit (23) It is installed in the machine room 3, and the gondola 4 is rolled up and rolled up together with the lifting and lowering of the gondola elevating drive section 4a and the gondola 4, which are supported and guided to move up and down indicated by a long arrow. Or a sheet-like sealing member 4b for sealing the opening O between the inner tank 2 and the machine room 3, and the like. It is.

In the heat-treatment part 21 to which the gondola moves up and down, the work inlet and the outlet which are not shown are provided in order to carry in and carry out the workpiece | work W one by one in the heat insulation wall of the both sides perpendicular to the ground in FIG. The air conditioning section 22 is provided with an exhaust port 22a and an inlet port 22b. The inside of the machine room 3 is suitably ventilated by the fan which is not shown in figure.

Next, the sublimation countermeasure part which comprises an accessory part of a heat processing apparatus is demonstrated with reference to FIGS. The sublimation countermeasure portion is provided with an outside air suction heating device 8 as heating air introduction means and an exhaust device 9 as air discharge means.

The outside air suction heating apparatus 8 includes an intake casing 81 having an intake port 81b provided with a wire mesh 81a, an intake nozzle 82 having a shutter 82a installed therein, and a heating chamber 83a successively. Is constituted by a heat insulating casing 83 provided to form a heating chamber 83, a heater 84 installed in the heating chamber 83a, and the heating chamber 83a includes an air outlet 83b of the heat insulating casing 83 and the inlet 22b. It is attached to the main body heat insulating wall (1) of the clean oven through one end of the heat insulating casing to communicate with the air conditioning chamber (22) through. Fig. 1 shows the external air suction heating apparatus 8 in a state of being attached to the clean oven with a solid line display at a position away from the clean oven, and indicated by a dashed two-dot line. As shown in the drawing, such an outside air suction device is of a very simple structure. In addition, if necessary, the intake nozzle 82 may be a fan for external air press-fit.

The heater 84 is a sheath heater with a resistor having self-temperature control, and as described later, in the case of a circulating air temperature of about 230 ° C., the temperature is lower than this and close to this, for example, 200 ° C. to 220 ° C. It is preferable to generate heat to a degree. However, instead of such a heater, a normal electric heater that detects the temperature of the heating air and controls the heater output may be used. It is also possible to use a heater that turns on / off in conjunction with the exhaust device without controlling the temperature.

The air heated by the outside air suction heating apparatus 8 becomes the air for ventilation for lowering the sublimation gas concentration which generate | occur | produces in the workpiece | work W as mentioned later. Therefore, this air may be introduced at an upstream side of the circulating air passing through the work W. In this example, as shown in FIG. 4, the air is introduced upstream of the heater 5. Since the heater 5 is usually temperature-controlled at a temperature suitable to, for example, 230 ° C. as a work process, when the air outlet 83b is connected and the ventilation air is introduced beforehand, the air is also heated by the heater 5 together with the circulating air. This eliminates the need to accurately control the temperature of the introduced air. In addition, since the outlet air of the heater 5 contains air for ventilation to be temperature-controlled air, the temperature of the heater 5 becomes a desired temperature in a precise and uniform state. As a result, the temperature distribution in a tank can be kept favorable.

In addition, since the heater 5 is located at the suction side of the blower 6, when the air for ventilation is introduced before that, the outside air is sucked into the inlet 81b of the outside air suction heating device 8 by the suction negative pressure of the blower. Therefore, it is not necessary to install a fan in the outside air suction heating apparatus 8. However, if the temperature of the ventilation air is about the same as the temperature of the circulating air, the temperature of the heater 84 is precisely controlled, or an independent fan is installed at the position of the intake nozzle 82 of the outside air intake heating device 8 to further respond. Good hot air heating is possible, and a large amount of hot air ventilation can be performed to cope with a work in which a larger amount of sublimation is generated.

The exhaust device 9 is a device for discharging a portion of the air that has passed through the work W, and is connected to the exhaust port 22a of the air conditioning unit 22 shown in FIG. It is a very simple device comprised by the 92, the exhaust fan 93, the exhaust pipe 94, etc. The damper operated by the handle 91a is inserted in the end pipe 91. The exhaust fan 93 also varies depending on the amount of sublimation gas generated in the work W, but is about 10 to 20% of the air volume of the circulation blower 6.

In this way, when the independent exhaust fan 93 is provided to discharge the air passing through the workpiece W, the outside air suction heating device 8 sucks the air volume of the exhaust fan and almost the same amount of outside air. As a result, the high concentration of the sublimation gas immediately after occurring in the work W is always discharged by a certain amount, and the concentration of the sublimation in the inner tank 2 can be regulated to a low value with good accuracy and efficiency. However, it is also possible to provide an exhaust port in the positive pressure portion of the duct section 23 or the heat treatment section 21 to omit the exhaust fan 93, and to configure the exhaust device 9 as a damper or an exhaust pipe.

The clean oven as described above is operated as follows.

In the heat treatment system, the blower 6 and the heater 5 are operated. For example, air heated to about 230 ° C. circulates in the inner tank 2. The gondola 4 is lifted up by one step by the elevating driving section 4a. For example, if the work W is loaded at each end of the gondola 4, and this is at the lowermost position of the dashed-dotted line display in Fig. 4, the gondola rises by one step at this position to a work loading / exporting device not shown. As a result, the workpieces loaded on the gondola are entered and exited one by one at the entry / exit outlets, and the new workpieces are introduced one by one while being heat treated one by one. When the gondola ascends to the top end, it descends again to the 2-dot chain line and repeats the same operation. In this way, the workpiece is continuously heat treated one sheet per duct.

In such a heat treatment operation, the sublimation countermeasure portion is operated because the work is left at a high temperature and sublimation gas is generated from the sublimable substance contained in the photolithographic material. In this operation, the heater 84 of the outside air intake heating apparatus 8 is turned on to open the intake port 81b, the shutter 81a, and the exhaust fan 93 is started to open the damper 91a. This operation is very simple. Thereby, about 10% of air is always ventilated as a part of the air circulated by the blower 6, and the density | concentration of the sublimation gas which generate | occur | produces continuously in the inner tank 2 is suppressed to a low value. As a result, even if the sublimed gas is cooled and precipitated, crystal growth is prevented and only particles are formed, and thus it can be easily discharged out of a clean oven or a factory in which it is installed together with heat exhaust. In addition, if ventilation is always performed as described above, a stable operation state is maintained and the sublimation is surely suppressed to a low concentration. However, intermittent ventilation can be performed at appropriate intervals when the amount of sublimation is small depending on the type and size of the work. .

In the above, since the air of the outside air suction heating device 8 is heated to about 200 ° C. to 220 ° C., even if it is introduced into the tank, the circulating air is not cooled to generate, attach or deposit the sublimation. Moreover, the temperature distribution in a tank can be kept favorable by introduction of heating air. In the case of the present embodiment, since the heated air is introduced upstream of the heater 5, the air is also heated in the heater 5 together with the circulating air, so that the temperature inside the bath is not affected at all even when the outside air is introduced. In addition, since the amount of sublimation gas generated varies depending on the size and type of the work, the handle 91a of the damper is adjusted to reduce the amount of outside air introduced according to the exhaust amount within the range where sublimation does not occur or attach. It is preferable.

FIG. 5 shows an example in which the outlet 83b of the main body portion of the outside air intake heating apparatus 8 is opened upward, and a communication tube 84 for communicating this with the air conditioning unit 22 of the oven is provided. In this case, the outlet 83b-1 is provided at the center position in the width direction of the air conditioning section 22, whereby supplementary air for ventilation can be introduced. As a result, the flow of circulating air can be improved and the air suction force of the outside air suction heating device 8 can be increased. In addition, the apparatus like FIG. 1 and FIG. 5 is a powerful apparatus when the workpiece | work W is large and a lot of sublimation generate | occur | produces.

6 shows another example of the sublimation countermeasure portion.

In this example, the outside air suction heating device 8 includes an air introduction pipe 85 and an air introduction box 86, and the connection pipe 92 of the exhaust device 9 includes air flowing therein and an air introduction pipe 85. The air flowing through the inside of the cylinder is formed to be capable of heat exchange. That is, both tubes 85 and 92 are laid so as to be in contact with each other, and both tubes are integrally covered with the heat insulating material 87. In this way, the heating air for ventilation can be sent by using an arrangement, and energy saving can be aimed at preventing sublimation and adhesion. Such a device is suitable for a small heat treatment apparatus. In addition, the tube 85 and the tube 92 may be formed by a double tube. In this case, the heat exchange performance between both pipes can be improved.

7 shows another example of the cargo handling apparatus.

In this example, the outside air suction heating device 8 and the exhaust device 9 are added to the outside air inlet 11 as cooling means for cooling the air exhausted to the exhaust device, and the cartridge type filter 12 for passing the cooled air. Sublimation separator 10 provided with a. The outside air suction heating device 8 and the sublimation separator 10 are disposed on the clean oven, and each air outlet and inlet 83b ', 13 is provided with an inlet port 22b' and an exhaust port 22a of the air conditioning unit 22. Communicate with '). In addition, in the drawing, the outside air suction heating device 8, the sublimation separating device 10, and the filter 12 are shown separately at each device position.

According to the sublimation countermeasure device of this example, the concentration of the sublimation gas can be regulated by the outside air suction heating device 8 to prevent generation and adhesion in the tank of the sublime, and at the same time, the outside air inlet 11 also on the exhaust side. The outside air is introduced into the air and mixed with the exhaust gas, the exhaust gas is cooled to actively precipitate the sublimate, and this can be removed by the filter 12. As a result, generation | occurrence | production of a sublimation can be prevented more reliably. In particular, when the exhaust pipe 94 is laid long, precipitation and deposition in the pipe or the outlet through spontaneous cooling of the sublimated gas in the pipe can be prevented.

In addition, in the above, the heat treatment apparatus is an example of a gondola lifting type, but the present invention is, of course, applied to various heat treatment devices, such as a pitch lifting transfer device, a batch type device. Moreover, although the case where the to-be-processed object was an LCD panel was demonstrated, this invention can be effectively applied also to any other to-be-processed object which generate | occur | produces a sublimation with electrical and electronic products.

[Effects of the Invention]

According to the present invention as described above, in the invention of claim 1, the outside air is heated by the heating air introduction means, introduced to the upstream side of the air passing through the object, and the air discharge means passes the object to be processed. By discharging a part of the air, a part of the air flowing through the object can be vented to discharge the sublimated gas generated from the object when heat treated at a high temperature, and the concentration in the heat treatment apparatus can be lowered. As a result, the growth of the sublimed crystal which precipitates when the sublimate gas is cooled is prevented, and the sublimate is present in the particulate state, which is easily discharged out of the factory or the like where a heat treatment apparatus or a heat treatment apparatus is installed by the air discharge means. can do.

On the other hand, since the outside air to be sucked in is heated, even when it is introduced into the circulation system of the heat treatment air, the circulating air is cooled to generate a sublimate, and it is not adhered and deposited inside the apparatus. In addition, the temperature distribution in the heat treatment apparatus can be maintained by introduction of the heated air. In this case, when the heated air is introduced upstream of the heater of the circulating air for heat treatment, the air is reheated by the heater so that the temperature distribution in the heat treatment apparatus is further improved.

Moreover, since the heating air introduction means and the air discharge means are usually constituted by a heater, a fan, a duct or the like, their structure is simple and the handling is very easy. In addition, since the solidification and generation of the sublimation can be prevented by both means, the heat treatment chamber, the machine room, and the object to be processed of the heat treatment apparatus are carried in, unlike the method of agglomeration of the generated sublimate into a trap in the heat treatment apparatus absorbed by the duct. Substrate generation and attachment at the portion of the object to be loaded / exported, such as an opening for carrying out, a robot, and an exhaust duct or around its exit can be completely prevented. Thus, the invention of claim 1 can provide a simple and fundamental countermeasure for solving the sublimation problem. As a result, the cleanliness of the heat treatment apparatus can be maintained, and the quality of the product to be processed can be maintained and improved.

In the invention of claim 2, since the position at which the heating air is introduced into the heating air introduction means is the inlet side air position of the circulating air heater, it is not possible to control the circulating air and the inlet air at the desired circulating air temperature in the heater. It becomes possible. In this case, the controllability of the heater outlet temperature is improved because the temperature of the heated air introduced into the heated air introduction means is set at or below the temperature of the air circulated by heating with the heater and close to the temperature. As a result, it is possible to precisely and uniformly control the circulating air at a desired temperature, to maintain a good temperature distribution in the heat treatment apparatus, and to effectively prevent temperature confusion due to external air introduction.

In the invention of claim 3, in addition to the features of the invention of claim 1, the air flowing through them between the air introduction pipe of the heating air introduction means and the air discharge pipe of the air discharge means forms both means so as to mutually exchange heat. The flowing air receives the heat of the high temperature air for heat treatment flowing through the discharge pipe, rises in temperature, and becomes heated air and is introduced into the heat treatment apparatus. As a result, energy saving can be attained in the prevention of generation and adhesion of the sublimation using the arrangement.

In the invention of claim 4, in addition to the features of the invention of claim 1, a cooling means for cooling the air discharged to the air discharge means and a filter for passing the cooled air are provided, whereby the sublimation in the discharged air can be removed. Sublimation in the exhaust pipe, around the exhaust port, and the like can be prevented even more completely.

Claims (4)

A heat treatment apparatus for circulating air heated by a heater so as to pass a workpiece, wherein the heat treatment apparatus heat-treats the workpiece, wherein the heated air introduction means introduces heat into an upstream position of the air passing through the workpiece; And an air discharge means for discharging a portion of the air that has passed through the object. 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the upstream position is an inlet side position of the heater, and the temperature of the heating air introduced into the heating air introduction unit is equal to or less than the temperature of the air heated and circulated to the heater. Heat treatment apparatus. 2. The heating air introducing means according to claim 1, wherein the heating air introducing means includes an air introducing pipe, and the air exhausting means has an air exhaust pipe in which air flowing through the air discharge pipe and air flowing through the air introducing pipe are heat exchanged. Heat treatment apparatus, characterized in that. The heat treatment apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: cooling means for cooling the air discharged to the air discharge means, and a filter for passing the cooled air.