WO2020062836A1

WO2020062836A1 - Alignment film coating device

Info

Publication number: WO2020062836A1
Application number: PCT/CN2019/082440
Authority: WO
Inventors: 彭文贤
Original assignee: 武汉华星光电技术有限公司
Priority date: 2018-09-27
Filing date: 2019-04-12
Publication date: 2020-04-02
Also published as: CN108983502A

Abstract

Disclosed is an alignment film coating device (100), comprising: a printing assembly (130) and a base platform protection assembly (150), wherein the base platform protection assembly (150) comprises an accommodation portion (152) and a protective cover (154), wherein the accommodation portion (152) is fixedly provided on the printing assembly (130), so as to move along with the movement of the printing assembly (130); and the protective cover (154) has an unfolded state and a folded state, and the protective cover (154) moves between the unfolded state and the folded state according to the movement of the printing assembly (130).

Description

Alignment film coating device

Technical field

The present application relates to the technical field of display panel manufacturing, and in particular, to an alignment film coating device.

Background technique

In the art, an alignment solution is coated on a substrate surface by a letterpress printing method, and a solvent component is volatilized by preliminary drying to form an alignment film (PI film) on the substrate.

Specifically, the alignment film manufacturing process mainly includes: determining the coating area of the alignment liquid and the supporting plates according to the product design, and then uniformly coating a layer of the alignment liquid on the glass substrate (TFT, CF), and elevating the temperature to evaporate the solvent The alignment film is obtained after pre-baking. The manufacturing process requires uniformly coating the alignment liquid on the surface of the substrate to meet the uniformity and reliability of the film thickness required by the manufacturing process.

technical problem

However, in the actual alignment film coating process, a turbulent flow is formed in the coating space due to the movement of the printing wheel for coating the alignment liquid, so that the particles in the coating space will fall on the surface of the substrate to be coated. Therefore, the yield of the prepared alignment film is reduced.

Therefore, there is a need to provide a new alignment film coating device to overcome the above drawbacks.

Technical solutions

The purpose of the present application is to provide an alignment film coating device, which prevents the particles from falling on the substrate to be coated due to the turbulent flow caused by the movement of the printing wheel during the alignment film coating process by the arrangement of the abutment protection component. , Thereby further improving the production yield of the alignment film.

In order to achieve the above object, the present application provides an alignment film coating device having a base table for placing a substrate to be coated. The coating device includes: a printing component, the printing component is arranged on the abutment, and moves from an initial position along the at least one guide rail to an end position along the abutment for use in the An alignment liquid is coated on the surface of the substrate to be coated; and, a base protection component includes a storage portion and a protective cover; wherein the storage portion is fixedly disposed on the printing component so as to follow Moving with the movement of the printing assembly; the protective cover has an unfolded state and a folded state, and the protective cover moves between the unfolded state and the folded state according to the movement of the printing element.

In one embodiment, the protective cover is in an unfolded state when the printing component is in the initial position, and the protective cover is in a folded state when the printing component is in the end position.

In an embodiment, when the protective cover is in an unfolded state, the protective cover is above the abutment and covers the abutment; when the protective cover is in a collapsed state, the protective cover is stored in the storage Inside.

In one embodiment, the abutment protection assembly further includes a protective cover fixing device, the protective cover fixing device is fixedly disposed on an edge of the abutment; one side of the protective cover is fixed to the protective cover. The device is detachably connected, and the other side of the protective cover is fixedly connected to the receiving portion.

In one embodiment, the printing assembly includes a printing wheel and a shielding plate connected to the printing wheel, and the receiving portion of the abutment protection component is fixedly disposed on the shielding plate.

In one embodiment, a relief for printing an alignment film is mounted on an outer peripheral surface of the printing wheel.

In an embodiment, the distance between the bottom end of the storage portion and the upper surface of the base is greater than or equal to the distance between the bottom end of the shield and the upper surface of the base.

In an embodiment, the printing assembly further includes: a nozzle for introducing an alignment liquid; and a whole film wheel, which is disposed below the nozzle and tangent to the outside of the printing wheel, Configured to receive the alignment liquid from the nozzle and uniformly provide the alignment liquid to the printing wheel; and a scraper blade, which is tangent to the printing wheel and is used to smooth the alignment on the printing wheel liquid.

In an embodiment, the alignment film coating device further includes a dust suction device, and the dust suction device is fixed on the printing component to move with the movement of the printing component, and the The dust suction device is disposed below the abutment protection component.

In this application, a simple abutment protection component is provided, which can be applied to existing alignment film coating devices. In the present application, through the structural design of the abutment protection component, the protective cover of the abutment protection component can be automatically unfolded and retracted during the coating process of the abutment without requiring an additional power device.

Beneficial effect

The alignment film coating device described in this application can prevent particles from falling off the substrate to be coated due to turbulence caused by the movement of the printing wheel during the alignment film coating process, thereby improving the yield of the alignment film process.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In order to explain the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application more clearly, the drawings used in the description of the embodiments are briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings in the following description are just some embodiments of the application. For those skilled in the art, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without paying creative labor.

1 is a front view of a printing assembly of an alignment film coating apparatus according to an embodiment of the present application when it is in an initial position;

FIG. 2 is a top view of an alignment film coating device in the process of applying an alignment liquid according to an embodiment of the present application; FIG.

FIG. 3 is a schematic structural diagram when the printing component of the alignment film coating apparatus according to an embodiment of the present application is at an end position; and

FIG. 4 is a schematic structural diagram of a storage portion and a protective cover of the alignment film coating device according to an embodiment of the present application.

Embodiments of the invention

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail. Examples of the embodiments are shown in the drawings, wherein the same or similar reference numerals represent the same or similar elements or elements having the same or similar functions throughout. The embodiments described below with reference to the drawings are exemplary and are only used to explain the present invention, but should not be construed as limiting the present invention.

In the present invention, unless specifically stated and defined otherwise, the "first" or "down" of the second feature may include the first and second features in direct contact, and may also include the first and second features. Not directly, but through another characteristic contact between them. Moreover, the first feature is "above", "above", and "above" the second feature, including that the first feature is directly above and obliquely above the second feature, or merely indicates that the first feature is higher in level than the second feature. The first feature is “below”, “below”, and “below” of the second feature, including the fact that the first feature is directly below and obliquely below the second feature, or merely indicates that the first feature is less horizontal than the second feature.

The following disclosure provides many different implementations or examples for implementing different structures of the present invention. To simplify the disclosure of the present invention, the components and settings of specific examples are described below. Of course, they are merely examples and are not intended to limit the invention. Furthermore, the present invention may repeat reference numerals and / or reference letters in different examples, and such repetition is for the purpose of simplicity and clarity, and does not itself indicate the relationship between the various embodiments and / or settings discussed. In addition, the present invention provides examples of various specific processes and materials, but those of ordinary skill in the art may be aware of the application of other processes and / or the use of other materials.

In order to avoid that the alignment film coating device described in the present application cannot be clearly displayed due to unnecessary details, only the main components related to the present application are shown in the drawings. Those skilled in the art can understand that even if omitted in the drawings, the alignment film coating device described in this application also includes other structures such as a frame, a driving frame structure, and the connection between the entire film wheel and the frame. The conventional structure such as a structure, a connection structure between a printing wheel and a frame, a device for storing an alignment liquid, a pump body for driving the alignment liquid to the nozzle, and the like.

Referring to FIG. 1, this embodiment provides an alignment film coating device 100 having a base 110 for placing a substrate 200 to be coated. The alignment film coating apparatus 100 includes a printing component 130 and a base protection component 150.

Preferably, the alignment film coating device 100 further includes a dust suction device 170, and the dust suction device 170 is fixed on the printing unit 130 to move with the movement of the printing unit 130, and The dust suction device 170 is located below the abutment protection assembly 150. The dust suction device 170 is used to clean the base 110 after the alignment liquid is applied.

The structure and moving track of the printing assembly 130 are described in detail below with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3.

Referring to FIG. 1, the printing assembly 130 includes: a nozzle 132, a whole film wheel 134, a printing wheel 136, and a doctor blade 138. The nozzle 132 is used to introduce the alignment liquid, or is used to inject the alignment liquid. The whole film round 134 is disposed below the nozzle 132 and is tangent to the outside of the printing wheel 136, and is configured to receive an alignment liquid from the nozzle 132 and uniformly provide the alignment liquid to the printing wheel 136. A relief film 300 for alignment film printing is mounted on an outer peripheral surface of the printing wheel 136. The scraper 138 is tangent to the printing wheel 136 and is used to smooth the alignment liquid on the printing wheel 136 and the relief plate 300.

In order to prevent the alignment liquid from being sprayed during the coating process, a shield 190 connected to the printing wheel is provided on the outer periphery of the printing assembly 130.

1 and FIG. 3, FIG. 1 is a front view of the printing assembly 130 in an initial position, and FIG. 3 is a front view of the printing assembly 130 in an end position. With reference to FIG. 1 to FIG. 3, the printing assembly 130 is moved from the initial position shown in FIG. 1 along a guide rail 400 in FIG. 2 and above the base 110 along the coating direction indicated by the arrow. Move to the end position shown in FIG. 3 to apply an alignment liquid on the surface of the substrate 200 to be coated.

Only one guide rail 400 is shown in FIG. 2 (located at the upper position in the figure and indicated by a dashed line), but those skilled in the art should know that a guide rail should also be provided symmetrically at the lower position in the figure, which is omitted here for clarity only. purpose. In addition, the guide rail may have other structures and settings known in the art, and is not limited to those shown in FIG. 2.

The structure and moving track of the abutment protection assembly 150 are described in detail below with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3.

Referring to FIG. 1, the abutment protection assembly 150 includes a receiving portion 152, a protection cover 154, and a protection cover fixing device 156. The storage portion 152 is fixed on the shielding plate 190 outside the printing unit 130, so that the storage portion 152 moves with the movement of the printing unit 130. The distance between the bottom end of the storage portion 152 and the upper surface of the base 110 is greater than or equal to the distance between the bottom end of the shielding plate 190 and the upper surface of the base 110. As shown in FIG. 1, the protective cover fixing device 156 is fixedly disposed on an edge of the base 110; one side of the protective cover 154 (the right side in FIG. 1) and the protective cover fixing device 156 are available. The detachable connection, the other side (left side in FIG. 1) of the protective cover 154 is fixedly connected to the storage portion 152.

1 and FIG. 3, the protective cover 154 has an unfolded state and a closed state. FIG. 1 shows the protective cover 154 in the unfolded state, and FIG. 3 shows the protected 154 in the unfolded state. Protective cover 154. As shown in FIG. 1, the protective cover 154 in the expanded state is located above the base 110 and covers almost the entire base 110; as shown in FIG. 3, the protective cover 154 in the folded state is stored. In the storage portion 152.

As shown in FIG. 1 to FIG. 3, since the storage portion 152 is fixedly disposed on the shielding plate 190 outside the printing component 130, the storage portion 152 can move with the movement of the printing component 130. . At the same time, since both ends of the protective cover 154 are respectively fixed to the accommodating portion 152 and the protective cover fixing device 156, the printing assembly 130 is shown from the initial position shown in FIG. 1 along the arrow When the coating direction moves, the protective cover 154 can be gradually stored in the storage portion 152; and finally, when the printing assembly 130 reaches the end position shown in FIG. 3, the protective cover 154 is almost completely Stored in the storage portion 152.

As an example of the storage portion 152 and the protective cover 154, the storage portion 152 and the protective cover 154 may have a structure as shown in FIG. 4. As shown in FIG. 4, the protective cover 154 is retractable, and it has an automatic retractable function. In this embodiment, the protective cover 154 can be bent to achieve a telescopic function, and one side (left side in the figure) of the protective cover 154 is fixed in the storage portion 152 and the other side (in the figure) (Right side) is fixed to the protective cover fixing device 156. Therefore, during the movement of the storage portion 152 from the left side to the right side in FIG. 4, the protective cover 154 is compressed (here, automatically folded) and stored in the storage portion 152. In addition, when the storage portion 152 is moved from the right side to the left side in FIG. 4, since the protective cover 154 is fixed to the protective cover fixing device 156, the protective cover 154 is extended and is received from the storage Part 152 is pulled out.

When the substrate to be coated 200 is coated by using the alignment film coating apparatus 100 according to this embodiment, the printing assembly 130 is first located at an initial position shown in FIG. 1. At this time, the protective cover 154 is at The expanded state covers the abutment 110.

Next, as shown in FIG. 2, the printing assembly 130 moves along the guide rail 400 in the coating direction indicated by the arrow, and applies an alignment liquid on the surface of the substrate 200 to be coated. A part of the protective cover 154 is stored in the storage portion 152 as the printing assembly 130 moves, but a part of the protective cover 154 remains covered with the base 110, so that the uncoated substrate 200 is not coated. The alignment liquid region 201 remains under the protective cover 154 and is protected by the protective cover 154, while the coated alignment liquid region 202 of the substrate to be coated 200 does not need to be located in the protective cover 154 anymore. Down, but can be exposed to the outside. It can be seen that the protective cover 154 in this application can ensure that particles generated by turbulence during the movement of the printing assembly 130 will not fall into the uncoated alignment liquid region 201 of the substrate to be coated 200 on.

Finally, as shown in FIG. 3, after the coating process is completed, the printing assembly 130 moves to the end position. At this time, the protective cover 154 is in a folded state and is stored in the storage portion 152.

It can be understood that when the printing assembly 130 is moved from the end position shown in FIG. 3 to the starting position shown in FIG. 1, that is, the resetting process of the printing assembly 130 is because the protective cover 154 is connected to Between the protective cover fixing device 156 and the accommodating portion 152, the protective cover 154 can be gradually moved from the folded state to the unfolded state to cover the base 110 again.

In this application, a simple abutment protection component is provided, which can be applied to existing alignment film coating devices. Through the structural design of the abutment protection component, the protective cover of the abutment protection component can be automatically unfolded and retracted during the coating process of the abutment without requiring an additional power device. Therefore, the alignment film coating device described in this application can prevent particles from falling off the substrate to be coated due to turbulence caused by the movement of the printing wheel during the alignment film coating process, thereby improving the yield of the alignment film process.

The present application has been described by the foregoing related embodiments, but the above embodiments are merely examples for implementing the present application. It must be noted that the disclosed embodiments do not limit the scope of the application. On the contrary, modifications and equal settings included in the spirit and scope of the claims are all included in the scope of the present application.

Industrial applicability

The subject matter of this application can be manufactured and used in industry, and has industrial applicability.

Claims

An alignment film coating device has a base for placing a substrate to be coated, wherein the alignment film coating device includes:

A printing assembly is located above the base and can be moved from an initial position along the at least one guide rail to an end position along the at least one guide rail for coating the surface of the substrate to be coated. Alignment fluid; and,

An abutment protection component, the abutment protection component includes:

A storage portion, the storage portion is fixed on the printing component and can move with the movement of the printing component

A protective cover having an unfolded state and a folded state; and

A protective cover fixing device, the protective cover fixing device is fixedly disposed on an edge of the base;

among them,

The protective cover can move between the unfolded state and the closed state as the printing assembly moves;

When the printing component is in the initial position, the protective cover is in the unfolded state so as to be above the abutment and cover the abutment; when the printing component is in the end position, the protective cover In the folded state to be stored in the storage portion; and,

One side of the protective cover is detachably connected to the protective cover fixing device, and the other side of the protective cover is fixedly connected to the storage portion.
The alignment film coating device according to claim 1, wherein the printing assembly includes a printing wheel and a shield connected to the printing wheel, and the storage portion of the abutment protection assembly is fixed to the shield. On the board.
The alignment film coating device according to claim 2, wherein a distance between a bottom end of the storage portion and an upper surface of the base is greater than or equal to a distance between the bottom end of the shutter and the upper surface of the base. Distance.
The alignment film coating device according to claim 1, wherein the alignment film coating device further comprises a dust suction device, the dust suction device is fixedly disposed on the printing component, and can follow the printing component. And move, and the dust suction device is disposed below the abutment protection component.
An alignment film coating device has a base for placing a substrate to be coated, wherein the alignment film coating device includes:

A printing assembly is located above the base and can be moved from an initial position along the at least one guide rail to an end position along the at least one guide rail for coating the surface of the substrate to be coated. Alignment fluid; and,

A base protection component, the base protection component includes a storage portion and a protective cover; wherein,

The storage portion is fixed on the printing component and can move with the movement of the printing component;

The protective cover has a deployed state and a collapsed state, and the protective cover can move between the expanded state and the collapsed state as the printing assembly moves.
The alignment film coating device according to claim 5, wherein the protective cover is in an unfolded state when the printing component is in the initial position, and the protective cover is in the when the printing component is in the end position. Collapsed state.
The apparatus for coating an alignment film according to claim 5, wherein when the protective cover is in an unfolded state, the protective cover is located above the base and covers the base; when the protective cover is in a closed state, The protective cover is stored in the storage portion.
The apparatus for coating an alignment film according to claim 5, wherein the abutment protection component further comprises a hood fixing device, and the hood fixing device is fixedly disposed on an edge of the abutment.
The alignment film coating device according to claim 8, wherein one side of the protective cover is detachably connected to the protective cover fixing device, and the other side of the protective cover is fixedly connected to the storage unit.
The apparatus for coating an alignment film according to claim 5, wherein the printing assembly includes a printing wheel and a shield connected to the printing wheel, and the receiving portion of the abutment protection assembly is fixed to the receiving part. Siding.
The alignment film coating device according to claim 10, wherein a distance between a bottom end of the storage portion and an upper surface of the base is greater than or equal to a distance between the bottom end of the shutter and the upper surface of the base. Distance.
The apparatus for coating an alignment film according to claim 10, wherein the printing assembly further comprises:

A nozzle for introducing an alignment liquid;

A whole film wheel, which is arranged below the nozzle and is tangent to the outside of the printing wheel, the whole film wheel is used for receiving alignment liquid from the nozzle and uniformly providing the alignment to the printing wheel Liquid; and,

A scraper is arranged tangentially to the printing wheel, and is used to smooth the alignment liquid on the printing wheel.
The alignment film coating apparatus according to claim 10, wherein a relief film for alignment film printing is mounted on an outer peripheral surface of the printing wheel.
The alignment film coating device according to claim 5, wherein the alignment film coating device further comprises a dust suction device, the dust suction device is fixedly disposed on the printing component, and can follow the printing component. And move, and the dust suction device is disposed below the abutment protection component.