JP2005169356A - Air knife drying device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To reduce mist sticking amount to a work in an air knife drying device wherein air is jetted from an air knife unit to the work moving in an air knife tank, while air in the air knife tank is discharged to the outside of the tank by a discharge unit. <P>SOLUTION: This air knife drying device is provided with a first upper air knife unit 20 and a first lower air knife unit 25 disposed at the upper and lower parts of a moving passage 60 respectively at an inlet 10a side in the air knife tank 10; a second upper air knife unit 40 and a second lower air knife unit 45 disposed at the upper and lower parts of the moving passage 60 respectively at an outlet 10b side; and the discharge unit 30 disposed near to the inlet 10a side of the first lower air knife unit 25. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to an air knife drying apparatus that dries an electronic circuit board after, for example, a wet etching process by ejecting air from an air knife unit, and particularly relates to measures for suppressing adhesion of mist.

  For example, in a wet etching apparatus used in a wet etching process of a substrate such as a TFT substrate of a liquid crystal display device, an air knife that dries the washed substrate after the etching process in preparation for a subsequent process such as dry etching. For example, when the next process is a dry etching process, a cleaning liquid is brought into the vacuum chamber of the dry etching apparatus to cause contamination or a defect such as a defective film residue. It is made not to do.

  As a conventional air knife drying apparatus, a plurality of rollers 141 are provided along a moving path from the inlet 100a to the outlet 100b in the air knife tank 100 as in Conventional Example 1 schematically shown in the longitudinal side view of FIG. Air knife units 110 and 115 for ejecting a gas such as air, respectively, and exhaust units 120 and 125 for sucking and exhausting the gas in the vicinity of the upper and lower sides of the moving path with respect to the substrate 130 moved by the roller conveyor 140 having Are arranged close to each other, and the washing liquid adhering to the surface of the substrate 130 is strongly removed by the synergistic action of the jet power of the air knife units 110 and 115 and the suction force of the exhaust units 120 and 125. At the same time, the exhaust unit 120, 125 is used to immediately discharge the air knife tank 100 (eg, In Patent Document 1) is known.

Further, as described in Patent Document 2, as schematically shown in the same longitudinal side view of FIG. 4, air knife units are respectively provided above and below the moving path on the outlet 200b side (left side of the figure) in the air knife tank 200. While 210 and 215 are disposed, the suction port 220a of the exhaust unit 220 is disposed on the bottom surface of the air knife tank 200 on the inlet 200a side (the right side in the figure), whereby the inlet 200a from the outlet 200b side into the air knife tank 200 is disposed. An air flow toward the bottom of the side is formed, and the water washing liquid removed from the substrate surface by the jet output of the air knife units 210 and 215 is discharged while suppressing the mist from rising to the upper space in the air knife tank 200. There is also one (conventional example 2).
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 7-35478 (second page, FIG. 2) Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2000-230783 (page 4, FIG. 2)

  However, in the case of Conventional Example 1 (see FIG. 3), turbulence is likely to occur in a space region other than the space regions between the air knife units 110 and 115 and the exhaust units 120 and 125, and mists are generated by this turbulence. Since it floats, there is a drawback that the amount of mist attached to the substrate 130 is large.

  On the other hand, in the case of the conventional example 2 (see FIG. 4), since it is removed on the outlet 200b side in the air knife tank 200, a lot of mist is likely to be generated on the outlet 200b side. There is a drawback that the amount of mist attached increases.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and its main purpose is to eject a gas such as air from an air knife unit to a work such as an electronic circuit board that has been washed in water and moves in an air knife tank. On the other hand, in the air knife drying apparatus in which the gas in the air knife tank is exhausted by the exhaust unit, the arrangement of the air knife unit and the exhaust unit is reviewed to reduce the amount of mist attached to the workpiece.

  In order to achieve the above object, in the present invention, the air knife unit is arranged above and below the moving path on the outlet side in the air knife tank, and the air knife unit is arranged above and below the moving path on the inlet side in the air knife tank, An exhaust unit is arranged in the vicinity of the air knife unit at the lower part on the inlet side.

  Specifically, an air knife tank having an inlet and an outlet, a moving means for moving a work along a moving path from the inlet to the outlet in the air knife tank, and the movement on the inlet side in the air knife tank A first upper air knife unit that is disposed above the path and jets gas toward the inlet side obliquely downward with respect to the workpiece on the movement path; and below the movement path on the inlet side in the air knife tank And a first lower air knife unit that ejects gas toward the inlet side obliquely downward with respect to the workpiece on the moving path. A second upper air knife unit that is provided above the moving path on the outlet side in the air knife tank, and ejects gas toward the inlet side obliquely downward with respect to the workpiece on the moving path; A second lower air knife unit which is disposed below the moving path on the outlet side in the air knife tank and which jets gas toward the inlet side obliquely upward toward the workpiece on the moving path. . And it shall be equipped with the exhaust unit which is arrange | positioned in the vicinity of the said 1st lower air knife unit and the said entrance side rather than this 1st lower air knife unit, and attracts | sucks and exhausts the gas in the said air knife tank. .

  In the above-described configuration, the amount of ejection per unit time of the first upper air knife unit and the second upper air knife unit is determined as the amount per unit time of the first lower air knife unit and the second lower air knife unit, respectively. The amount of exhaust per unit time of the exhaust unit may be set to be larger than each ejection amount, or the first upper air knife unit, the first lower air knife unit, the second upper air knife unit, and the second It can be made larger than the total ejection amount per unit time of the lower air knife unit.

  In the present invention, the “air knife unit” ejects not only “air” but also “general gas”.

  According to the present invention, most of the liquid can be removed from the workpiece on the inlet side in the air knife tank by the synergistic action of the jet power of the first air knife unit and the suction force of the exhaust unit. The amount of mist generated on the side can be reduced, and the turbulent flow is suppressed by forming an air flow from the outlet side to the lower side of the inlet side by the jet output of the second air knife unit and the suction force of the exhaust unit. Therefore, the floating of the mist can be suppressed, and as a result, the amount of the mist attached to the workpiece on the outlet side can be reduced.

  1 and 2 are a longitudinal side view and a longitudinal plan view, respectively, schematically showing the overall configuration of an air knife drying apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. The air knife drying apparatus includes a TFT substrate of a liquid crystal display device, and the like. Embedded in the carry-out side of the wet etching apparatus used in the etching process of the electronic circuit board, and after being etched in the main body of the wet etching apparatus, the washing liquid is removed from the board that has been washed with the washing liquid in the washing apparatus. Used to remove and dry the substrate.

  The air knife drying apparatus includes an air knife tank 10 having a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape. The opposite side walls (the left and right side walls in FIGS. 1 and 2) of the air knife tank 10 are respectively provided with an inlet 10a for introducing the substrate 70 into the air knife tank 10 and the substrate 70 from the air knife tank 10. An outlet 10b for leading is provided.

  In the air knife tank 10, they are arranged in parallel with each other at a predetermined interval in the moving direction from the inlet 10a to the outlet 10b (the left direction in FIGS. 1 and 2; the direction indicated by the white arrow in each drawing). A roller conveyor 50 as a moving means having a plurality of rollers 51 arranged is provided. The substrate 70 introduced from the inlet 10a is moved toward the outlet 10b by the roller conveyor 50. Here, a moving path 60 of the substrate 70 is formed by the plurality of rollers 51 of the roller conveyor 50.

  A first upper air knife unit 20 is provided above the moving path 60 on the inlet 10a side in the air knife tank 10 (upper right side in FIG. 1). The first upper air knife unit 20 is disposed in an inclined manner with respect to a direction (vertical direction in FIG. 2) perpendicular to the moving path 60 in a horizontal plane, and has a narrow slit-like jet outlet 20a for jetting air. Have. The width dimension of the jet outlet 20a (the length dimension of the slit) is slightly larger than the width dimension (vertical dimension of FIG. 2) of the substrate 70 on the moving path 60, and the jet outlet 20a is the inlet 10a. It is directed to the side obliquely downward (right diagonally downward in FIG. 1).

  A first lower air knife unit 25 is provided below the moving path 60 on the inlet 10a side in the air knife tank 10 (lower right side in FIG. 1). The first lower air knife unit 25 is arranged so as to be inclined by the same angle as that of the first upper air knife unit 20 with respect to the horizontal direction perpendicular to the moving path 60 so as to overlap the first upper air knife unit 20 in the vertical direction. And a narrow slit-like jet outlet 25a for jetting air. The width dimension (the dimension in the length direction of the slit) of the spout 25a is substantially the same as the spout 20a of the first upper air knife unit 20. However, the jet outlet 25a is directed obliquely upward on the inlet 10a side (upward diagonally to the right in FIG. 1). On the other hand, air is blown on the lower surface.

  On the other hand, a second upper air knife unit 40 is provided above the moving path 60 on the outlet 10b side in the air knife tank 10 (upper left side in FIG. 1). The second upper air knife unit 40 is disposed at an angle substantially the same as that of the first upper air knife unit 20 with respect to a direction (vertical direction in the figure) perpendicular to the moving path 60 in the horizontal plane. Has a narrow slit-like jet outlet 40a. The width dimension of the spout 40a (the dimension in the length direction of the slit) is slightly larger than the width dimension of the substrate 70 on the moving path 60, and the spout 40a is a spout of the first upper air knife unit 20. Similarly to the case of 20a, it is directed obliquely downward on the inlet 10a side (downward diagonally to the right in FIG. 1).

  A second lower air knife unit 45 is provided below the moving path 60 on the outlet 10b side in the air knife tank 10 (lower left side in FIG. 1). The second lower air knife unit 45 is disposed so as to be inclined by the same angle as that of the second upper air knife unit 40 with respect to the horizontal direction orthogonal to the moving path 60 so as to overlap the second upper air knife unit 40 in the vertical direction. And a narrow slit-like jet outlet 45a for jetting air. The width dimension of the ejection port 45a (the dimension in the length direction of the slit) is substantially the same as that of the ejection port 40a of the second upper air knife unit 40. Further, as with the case of the jet outlet 25a of the first lower air knife unit 25, the jet outlet 45a is directed obliquely upward on the inlet 10a side (upper right diagonal in FIG. 1). Air is blown to the lower surface of the same portion of the substrate 70 to which the air jetted from the outlet 40a is blown.

  Then, in the vicinity of the first lower air knife unit 25 and at a position closer to the inlet 10a than the first lower air knife unit 25 (on the right side in FIG. 1), the air in the air knife tank 10 is sucked and exhausted. A unit 30 is provided. The exhaust unit 30 is disposed substantially parallel to the first lower air knife unit 25 on substantially the same horizontal plane, and has a suction port 30a having a slit shape wider than the jet outlet 25a of the first lower air knife unit 25. Have. The suction port 30a has substantially the same width dimension (slit length dimension) as that of the jet port 25a of the first lower air knife unit 25, but the suction port 30a is a jet of the first lower air knife unit 25. Unlike the case of the outlet 25a, the outlet 10b is directed obliquely upward. The exhaust unit 30 is arranged with the suction port 25a close to the moving path 60 (for example, about several cm to 10 cm) so that air around the substrate 70 on the moving path 60 can be positively sucked. ing. In addition, the space | interval dimension between the jet nozzles 20a, 25a, 40a, 45a of each air knife unit 20, 25, 40, 45 and the corresponding surface of the board | substrate 70 on the movement path 60 is set to about several mm. ing.

Next, the operation of the air knife drying device configured as described above will be described. Note that the ejection amounts per unit time of the first upper air knife unit 20 and the second upper air knife unit 40 are set larger than the ejection amounts per unit time of the first lower air knife unit 25 and the second lower air knife unit 45. (For example, each ejection amount of the lower air knife units 25 and 45 is 0.8 m ³ / min, whereas each ejection amount of the upper air knife units 20 and 40 is 1 m ³ / min), and the exhaust unit The suction amount per unit time of 30 is set larger than the total ejection amount per unit time of the first upper air knife unit 20 and the first lower air knife unit 25 and the second upper air knife unit 40 and the second lower air knife unit 45 ( for example, the total ejection amount of the air knife units 20,25,40,45 is 3.6 m ³ / While it is in, the suction amount of the exhaust unit 30 is assumed to be 10m ³ / min).

  After the substrate 70 that has been etched in the etching apparatus main body and then washed in the water washing apparatus using the washing liquid is introduced from the inlet 10a into the air knife tank 10 of the air knife drying apparatus, the substrate 70 is moved along the moving path 60. The roller conveyor 50 moves toward the outlet 10b.

  Air is ejected from the first upper air knife unit 20 obliquely downward toward the inlet 10a toward the upper surface of the substrate 70. On the other hand, air is ejected from the first lower air knife unit 25 toward the inlet 10a side obliquely upward toward the lower surface of the substrate 70. At this time, since the ejection amount of the first upper air knife unit 20 is larger than the ejection amount of the first lower air knife unit 25, the substrate 70 does not float from the roller conveyor 50.

  Further, the washing liquid adhering to the substrate 70 is blown away by the air ejected from the first upper air knife unit 20 and the first lower air knife unit 25, respectively, while being sucked together with the air into the exhaust unit 30, thereby the substrate. 70 is removed. That is, since the first upper air knife unit 20 and the first lower air knife unit 25 and the exhaust unit 30 are close to each other, the cleaning liquid on the substrate 70 contains the jet output of the air knife units 20 and 25 and the exhaust unit 30. The suction force acts in a concentrated manner and is strongly removed by the synergistic effect of both.

  Further, the washing liquid on the upper surface of the substrate 70 passes through a gap between the substrate 70 and the side wall of the air knife tank 10, and the washing liquid on the lower surface of the substrate 70 is the shortest between the suction port 30 a of the exhaust unit 30. The air is sucked into the exhaust unit 30 at a distance and quickly discharged from the air knife tank 10.

  As the substrate 70 moves, the space area where air is ejected by the first upper air knife unit 20 and the first lower air knife unit 25 and the space area where air is sucked by the exhaust unit 30 move. By sequentially shifting in the direction opposite to the direction (the right direction in FIGS. 1 and 2), most of the cleaning liquid on the substrate 70 is removed.

  When the above-described substrate 70 reaches the outlet 10b side in the air knife tank 10, this time, air is jetted from the second upper air knife unit 40 toward the inlet 10a side obliquely downward toward the upper surface of the substrate 70. The air is jetted from the second lower air knife unit 45 toward the inlet 10a side obliquely upward toward the lower surface of the substrate 70. Also at this time, since the ejection amount of the second upper air knife unit 40 is larger than the ejection amount of the second lower air knife unit 45, the substrate 70 does not float from the roller conveyor 50.

  Further, the washing liquid still remaining on the upper surface of the substrate 70 is blown off by the air blown from the second upper air knife unit 40 and removed from the substrate 70, while still remaining on the lower surface of the substrate 70. The washing liquid is blown off by the air ejected from the second lower air knife unit 45 and removed from the substrate 70.

  Further, the remaining washing liquid adhering to the upper surface of the substrate 70 passes through a gap between the substrate 70 and the side wall of the air knife tank 10 and also remains on the lower surface of the substrate 70. Are sucked into the exhaust unit 30 at the shortest distance from the suction port 30a of the exhaust unit 30 and quickly discharged from the air knife tank 10.

  At this time, since the second upper air knife unit 40 and the second lower air knife unit 45 and the exhaust unit 30 are separated from each other, the washing liquid on the upper surface of the substrate 70 mainly passes through the upper space in the air knife tank 10. Further, the washing liquid on the lower surface of the substrate 70 flows toward the exhaust unit 30 below the inlet 10a side mainly through the lower space in the air knife tank 10, respectively. Due to these airflows, the mist generated on the outlet 10b side in the air knife tank 10 is smoothly discharged without floating.

  As described above, the substrate 70 dried by removing the cleaning liquid in the air knife tank 10 is led out from the outlet 10b and then transferred to the next step.

  Therefore, according to the present embodiment, on the inlet 10 a side in the air knife tank 10, the synergistic action of the jetting power of the first upper and lower air knife units 20 and 25 and the suction force of the exhaust unit 30 causes the above on the substrate 70. Since most of the cleaning liquid can be removed, on the outlet 10b side in the air knife tank 10, the amount of washing water to be removed by the jet power of the second upper and lower air knife units 40, 45 is suppressed to a small amount, and the amount of mist generated In addition, turbulent flow is formed by forming an air flow from the outlet 10b side to the lower side of the inlet 10a by the jet power of the second upper and lower air knife units 40 and 45 and the suction force of the exhaust unit 30. Since the generation can be suppressed, the amount of floating mist and the floating itself can be suppressed. The kick adhesion amount of the mist to the substrate 70 can be reduced as compared with the conventional case (see FIG. 3 and FIG. 4).

  In the above embodiment, a pair of upper and lower air knife units are arranged at only two locations on the inlet side and the outlet side, respectively, but one or more air knife units are additionally arranged between them. You may make it do.

  Further, in the above embodiment, the substrate that has been incorporated in a wet etching apparatus used in a wet etching process of a substrate such as a TFT substrate of a liquid crystal display device, and has been subjected to a water washing treatment as a liquid after the etching treatment is dried. However, the present invention is incorporated in another processing apparatus or as a single apparatus by removing a predetermined liquid adhering to the work surface. The present invention can be applied to various air knife drying apparatuses that dry a workpiece.

It is a side view which shows typically the whole structure of the air knife drying apparatus which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a top view which shows typically the whole structure of an air knife drying apparatus. FIG. 2 is a view corresponding to FIG. FIG. 2 is a view corresponding to FIG. 1 schematically showing the overall configuration of an air knife drying device of Conventional Example 2.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Air knife tank 10a Inlet 10b Outlet 20 1st upper air knife unit 25 1st lower air knife unit 30 Exhaust unit 40 2nd upper air knife unit 45 2nd lower air knife unit 50 Roller conveyor (moving means)
60 travel path 70 substrate (work)

Claims (3)

An air knife tank having an inlet and an outlet;
Moving means for moving a workpiece along a moving path from the inlet to the outlet in the air knife tank;
A first upper air knife unit which is disposed above the moving path on the inlet side in the air knife tank and jets gas toward the inlet side obliquely downward with respect to the work on the moving path;
A first lower air knife unit that is disposed below the moving path on the inlet side in the air knife tank and jets gas toward the inlet side obliquely downward with respect to the workpiece on the moving path;
A second upper air knife unit that is provided above the moving path on the outlet side in the air knife tank and jets gas toward the inlet side obliquely downward with respect to the work on the moving path;
A second lower air knife unit that is arranged below the moving path on the outlet side in the air knife tank and jets gas toward the inlet side obliquely upward with respect to the work on the moving path;
An air knife comprising: an exhaust unit that is disposed near the first lower air knife unit and closer to the inlet side than the first lower air knife unit, and that sucks and exhausts the gas in the air knife tank. Drying equipment. In the air knife drying device according to claim 1,
The ejection amounts per unit time of the first upper air knife unit and the second upper air knife unit are made larger than the ejection amounts per unit time of the first lower air knife unit and the second lower air knife unit, respectively. An air knife drying device characterized by comprising: In the air knife drying device according to claim 1 or 2,
The exhaust amount per unit time of the exhaust unit is larger than the total ejection amount per unit time of the first upper air knife unit and the first lower air knife unit and the second upper air knife unit and the second lower air knife unit. An air knife drying device characterized in that

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