KR20130066893A

KR20130066893A - Air knife

Info

Publication number: KR20130066893A
Application number: KR1020110133642A
Authority: KR
Inventors: 김용욱
Original assignee: 동우 화인켐 주식회사
Priority date: 2011-12-13
Filing date: 2011-12-13
Publication date: 2013-06-21

Abstract

An air knife is disclosed. Air knife according to an embodiment of the present invention, the pipe; A slot hole formed in the longitudinal direction of the pipe and discharging the fluid introduced into the pipe; And at least one slot gap fixture coupled to the pipe to pressurize the pipe.

Description

Air knife {AIR KNIFE}

Embodiments of the present invention relate to a drying technique, and more particularly to an air knife.

In general, sheet-like members, such as various substrates or films used in semiconductor wafers, photo masks, flat panel display devices, etc., clean the surfaces contaminated with dust, organic matter, foreign matters, etc. through a series of processing steps. Such a washing process includes a washing step of supplying a cleaning liquid to the surface of the sheet-like member to wash the sheet-like member, and a drying step of removing deionized water from the surface of the sheet-like member after the washing step.

In general, in the drying process, deionized water deposited on the surface of the sheet-like member is removed by using an air knife installed in the drying chamber. Specifically, the fluid is sprayed through the air knife onto the surface of the sheet-like member being transferred to push out the deionized water present on the surface of the sheet-like member out of the sheet-like member to remove the deionized water.

However, the conventional air knife has a problem in that the structure of the air knife is complicated, so that the manufacturing process according to processing and assembly takes a long time and a lot of manufacturing cost is consumed. In addition, the conventional air knife sprays the fluid through a plurality of discharge ports spaced apart from each other. In this case, the fluid is not uniformly sprayed to all the areas in front of the air knife, and thus, on the sheet-shaped member at a position corresponding to the vicinity of the boundary of each discharge port. There is a problem that stains occur.

An embodiment of the present invention is to provide an air knife that can prevent the occurrence of stains on the sheet-like member.

1. An air knife according to an embodiment of the present invention, a pipe; A slot hole formed in a length direction of the upper pipe and discharging the fluid introduced into the upper pipe; And at least one slot gap fixer coupled to the pipe to pressurize the pipe.

2. In 1, the upper slot gap fixing portion is composed of a clamp open on one side, it is coupled to the upper pipe so that the open portion of the upper clamp is located in the upper slot hole.

3. In 1, the upper slot gap fixing part comprises a first tightening member for adjusting the pressure applied to the upper pipe.

4. In 1, the air knife comprises: a fluid supply pipe connected to both ends of the pipe and receiving fluid from the outside; A sealing member interposed between the upper pipe and the fluid supply pipe; And a pipe coupling part for coupling the pipe and the fluid supply pipe.

5. In 4, the pipe coupling portion includes a second tightening member for adjusting the degree of coupling of the pipe and the fluid supply pipe.

6. In 1, the air knife further includes a pipe moving part installed at both ends of the pipe to move the pipe.

According to the embodiment of the present invention, since the fluid is discharged through the slot holes continuously formed in the longitudinal direction of the pipe, the fluid can be uniformly discharged to the area in front of the pipe to prevent staining on the surface of the object to be dried. Can be. Then, since only the slot hole is formed in the longitudinal direction of the pipe, the air knife can be manufactured quickly and easily. In addition, since only the pipe needs to be rotated, the direction of the fluid discharged through the slot hole can be easily adjusted.

1 is an exploded perspective view of an air knife according to an embodiment of the present invention.
2 is a perspective view of an air knife according to an embodiment of the present invention.
3 is a view showing a state of performing a drying process using an air knife according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Hereinafter, a specific embodiment of the air knife of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3. However, this is an exemplary embodiment only and the present invention is not limited thereto.

In the following description, a detailed description of known functions and configurations incorporated herein will be omitted when it may make the subject matter of the present invention rather unclear. The following terms are defined in consideration of the functions of the present invention, and may be changed according to the intention or custom of the user, the operator, and the like. Therefore, the definition should be based on the contents throughout this specification.

The technical idea of the present invention is determined by the claims, and the following embodiments are merely a means for efficiently describing the technical idea of the present invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the present invention belongs.

1 is an exploded perspective view of an air knife according to an embodiment of the present invention, Figure 2 is a perspective view of an air knife according to an embodiment of the present invention.

1 and 2, the air knife 100 includes a pipe 102, a slot hole 104, a slot gap fixing part 106, a pipe coupling part 108, a fluid supply pipe 110, and a pipe. The moving part 112 is included.

Pipe 102 is a portion corresponding to the body of the air knife 100. Pipe 102 is formed in a hollow (hollow) form that is empty to allow the fluid to move. In this case, the fluid may be supplied into the pipe 102 through both ends of the pipe 102. Although the pipe 102 is illustrated here in the form of a circular column, the pipe 102 is not limited thereto and may be formed in various shapes (for example, a polygonal column).

The pipe 102 may be made of a material such as steel, sus, and aluminum, for example. However, the present invention is not limited thereto and may be made of various materials. The pipe 102 can set the inner diameter, outer diameter, and length of the pipe 102 appropriately according to the flow rate, temperature, pressure, and installation space of the fluid used. In addition, the surface of the pipe 102 may be painted, polished, pickled, or coated depending on the use environment and the state of the pipe 102.

The slot hole 104 serves as a discharge port through which fluid supplied through both ends of the pipe 102 is injected to the outside. The slot hole 104 is formed to have a predetermined length and width in the longitudinal direction of the pipe 102. At this time, the length and width of the slot hole 104 can be set according to the discharge speed of the working fluid and the length of the drying target. The slot hole 104 may be formed, for example, by processing with a milling machine having a cutting tool having the same width as that of the slot hole 104.

Since the slot hole 104 is formed continuously in the longitudinal direction of the pipe 102, when the fluid is discharged through the slot hole 104, the fluid can be uniformly discharged to all areas in front of the pipe 102. do. In this case, the entire deionized water on the surface of the drying target can be evenly pushed out, whereby staining can be prevented from occurring on the surface of the drying target.

The slot gap fixing 106 is coupled to the pipe 102 and serves to apply a constant pressure to the pipe 102. In this case, the deformation of the pipe 102 and the width of the slot hole 104 can be prevented.

In detail, when the slot hole 104 is formed in the pipe 102 in the longitudinal direction, the pipe 102 may deform over time. As the fluid is discharged at a constant speed and pressure through the slot hole 104, the width of the slot hole 104 may be widened. At this time, if a certain pressure is applied to the pipe 102 through the slot gap fixing part 106, the deformation of the pipe 102 and the width of the slot hole 104 may be prevented from spreading.

The slot gap fixing part 106 may be formed of, for example, a clamp of a C shape having one side open. In this case, when the slot gap fixing part 106 is coupled to the pipe 102, when the open portion of the slot gap fixing part 106 is positioned in the slot hole 104, the slot gap fixing part 106 is connected to the pipe 102. Coupling to the 102 does not interfere with the fluid discharged through the slot hole 104.

The slot gap fixing part 106 may be formed with a first tightening member 121 that adjusts the pressure applied to the pipe 102. In this case, after the slot gap fixing part 106 is coupled to the pipe 102, the pressure applied to the pipe 102 may be adjusted by rotating the first tightening member 121 clockwise or counterclockwise.

Here, the two slot gap fixing portion 106 is shown as being coupled to the pipe 102, but is not limited thereto, the material of the pipe 102, the length and width of the slot hole 104, the discharge rate of the fluid And the number of slot gap fixing parts 106 may be variously adjusted according to pressure and the like.

The pipe coupling portion 108 couples the pipe 102 and the fluid supply pipe 110. In this case, the sealing member 123 may be interposed between the pipe 102 and the fluid supply pipe 110. In this case, it is possible to prevent the fluid from flowing out between the pipe 102 and the fluid supply pipe 110.

The pipe coupling part 108 may be formed in a circular clamp shape surrounding the pipe 102 and the fluid supply pipe 110. The second fastening member 125 may be formed in the pipe coupling portion 108. In this case, after the end of the pipe 102 and the end of the fluid supply pipe 110 are in contact with each other, the pipe coupling portion 108 is fastened to the pipe 102 and the fluid supply pipe 110, and then When the two fastening members 125 are turned in a predetermined direction (eg, clockwise direction), the pipe 102 and the fluid supply pipe 110 can be firmly coupled to each other.

With the pipe 102 and the fluid supply pipe 110 firmly coupled, the second tightening member 125 is slightly turned in the opposite direction (for example, counterclockwise) so that the pipe 102 can be rotated. do. In this case, since the slot hole 104 also rotates together with the pipe 102, the direction in which the fluid is discharged can be freely adjusted. At this time, since only the pipe 102 needs to be rotated in a desired direction, the direction in which the fluid is discharged can be easily adjusted.

The fluid supply pipe 110 serves to supply fluid to the pipe 102. Fluid supply pipe 110 may be coupled to both ends of the pipe (102). At this time, one side of each fluid supply pipe 110 is connected to a fluid supply (not shown), the other side of each fluid supply pipe 110 is connected to the pipe 102. When the fluid supply pipe 110 is coupled to both ends of the pipe 102, the fluid is supplied from both sides of the pipe 102, so that the fluid can be uniformly discharged through the slot hole 104.

The pipe moving part 112 is installed in the fluid supply pipe 110 respectively coupled to both ends of the pipe 102 to move the pipe 102 forward or backward. In this case, the distance between the pipe 102 and the drying object can be adjusted. The pipe moving part 112 includes an LM guide 131, an LM block 133, a first coupling member 135, and a second coupling member 137.

Here, the LM guide 131 is installed on the fixing bracket 150. The fixing bracket 150 is installed in the drying chamber to fix the air knife 100. The LM block 133 engages with the LM guide 131 and moves forward or backward along the LM guide 131. The first coupling member 135 and the second coupling member 137 couple the LM block 133 with the fluid supply pipe 110.

Although the pipe moving part 112 is illustrated here as being installed in the fluid supply pipe 110, the present invention is not limited thereto, and the pipe moving part 112 may be installed at both ends of the pipe 102.

According to the exemplary embodiment of the present invention, since the fluid is discharged through the slot holes 104 continuously formed in the longitudinal direction of the pipe 102, the fluid can be uniformly discharged to the area in front of the pipe 102, and the drying target It is possible to prevent the occurrence of stains on the surface of the.

In addition, since the slot hole 104 needs to be formed in the longitudinal direction of the pipe 102, the air knife 100 can be manufactured quickly and easily. In addition, since only the pipe 102 needs to be rotated, the direction of the fluid discharged through the slot hole 104 can be easily adjusted.

3 is a view showing a state of performing a drying process using an air knife according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 3, the sheet member 160 moves in a predetermined direction through a moving means such as a conveyor belt (not shown). At this time, the air knife 100 discharges the fluid onto the sheet-like member 160 to push the contaminants (for example, deionized water, etc.) on the surface of the sheet-like member 160 out of the sheet-like member 160.

Here, since the fluid is discharged through the slot hole 104 formed in the longitudinal direction of the pipe 102, the air knife 100 can uniformly discharge the fluid to all the areas in front of the pipe 102. When the length of the slot hole 104 is formed to have a length corresponding to the width of the sheet member 160, staining occurs on the surface of the sheet member 160 because the entire contaminant on the sheet member 160 can be evenly pushed out. Can be prevented.

While the present invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to exemplary embodiments thereof, it is clearly understood that the same is by way of illustration and example only and is not to be taken by way of limitation, I will understand. Therefore, the scope of the present invention should not be limited to the above-described embodiments, but should be determined by equivalents to the appended claims, as well as the appended claims.

102 pipe 104 slot hole
106: slot gap fixing portion 108: pipe coupling portion
110: fluid supply pipe 112: pipe moving part
121: first tightening member 123: sealing member
125: second tightening member 131: LM guide
133: LM block 135: first engagement member
137: second coupling member 150: fixing bracket

Claims

pipe;
A slot hole formed in the longitudinal direction of the pipe and discharging the fluid introduced into the pipe; And
And at least one slot gap fixation coupled to the pipe to pressurize the pipe.

The method of claim 1,
The slot gap fixing part,
One side is made of an open clamp, coupled to the pipe so that the open portion of the clamp is located in the slot hole, air knife.

The method of claim 1,
The slot gap fixing part,
And a first tightening member for adjusting a pressure applied to the pipe.

The method of claim 1,
The air knife,
Fluid supply pipes connected to both ends of the pipe and supplied with fluid from the outside;
A sealing member interposed between the pipe and the fluid supply pipe; And
The air knife further comprises a pipe coupling for coupling the pipe and the fluid supply pipe.

5. The method of claim 4,
The pipe coupling portion,
An air knife comprising a second tightening member for adjusting the degree of engagement of the pipe and the fluid supply pipe.

The method of claim 1,
The air knife,
And a pipe moving part installed at both ends of the pipe to move the pipe.