JP5172756B2 - Coating device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a coating apparatus, and more particularly, to a coating apparatus for discharging and applying a fluid material in a liquid column state from a nozzle to a substrate to be coated.

  In the manufacture of an organic EL display device of an active matrix driving system using a polymer organic EL material, a TFT (Thin Film Transistor) circuit is formed on a glass substrate, an ITO (Indium Tin Oxide) electrode serving as an anode, Formation of partition walls, application of a fluid material containing a hole transport material, formation of a hole transport layer by heat treatment, application of a fluid material containing an organic EL material, formation of an organic EL layer by heat treatment, formation of a cathode, In addition, sealing by forming an insulating film is sequentially performed.

  As one of apparatuses for applying a fluid material used for manufacturing an organic EL display device to a substrate, there is a so-called “nozzle printing” apparatus. This nozzle printing device flows vertically to the substrate by feeding the stage on which the substrate is installed at a constant pitch in a predetermined direction while reciprocating the nozzle that discharges the fluid material in a liquid column state vertically downward. The material is applied.

  More specifically, for example, a flowable material (which may be the same type or different) containing an organic EL material is discharged from a plurality of nozzles of the nozzle printing apparatus, and the application region on the substrate It is applied to a plurality of grooves between partition walls formed in advance.

  For example, as described in Patent Document 1, in a conventional nozzle printing apparatus, a substrate to be coated placed on a stage of the apparatus moves integrally with a stage that supports the substrate. Mechanisms have been used.

  However, as the desired product increases in size, the size of the substrate handled in the manufacturing process also increases. Increasing the size of the substrate to be handled also requires an increase in the mechanism for pitch-feeding the stage and transporting the substrate in the manufacturing apparatus, and the increase in energy consumption and cost for driving the mechanism is a problem. Become. In a conventional nozzle printing apparatus, for example, when a 1 m square substrate is handled, the moving body (stage) of the apparatus for transporting the substrate at a predetermined pitch is about 700 kilograms (Kg). On the other hand, if a 2 m square substrate is handled according to the specifications, the apparatus needs to move about 2 tons of moving bodies.

  In a situation involving such a problem relating to upsizing, in an apparatus used in the manufacturing process of a flat panel display or a solar cell, the substrate is placed on a stage in order to transport the substrate to be processed as in the past. Attempts have been made to reduce manufacturing costs or energy consumption by using a mechanism that supports the substrate in a non-contact manner by using the floating force of the pressurized fluid instead of moving.

JP 2007-152164 A

  However, in the nozzle printing apparatus, when the above-described mechanism for supporting the substrate in a non-contact manner using a pressurized fluid is used, because of the feature of the nozzle printing apparatus that continuously discharges a fluid material. However, there are many problems in its use.

  In a nozzle printing apparatus, a nozzle that forms a liquid column (for example, one having a shape of a straight bar) in a vertically downward direction is reciprocated in a horizontal direction while continuously discharging a fluid material. Therefore, when applying the flowable material to the substrate, when the nozzle that moves relative to the substrate moves out of the range of the substrate, the flowable material that is not used for the application of the substrate is recovered. Liquid receiver is required. Because of its role, the liquid receiving portion needs to be positioned directly below the nozzle that has moved out of the range of the substrate to be coated. Furthermore, it is necessary to perform various adjustment processes in the apparatus for the purpose of maintaining a desired coating process, and in that case, it is necessary to discharge a fluid material separately from the normal coating process on the substrate to be coated. . That is, when moving the nozzle that discharges the fluid material without a substrate to a predetermined position, when performing various adjustments such as nozzle alignment with respect to the substrate or pitch adjustment between nozzles, or the nozzle Even when maintenance work such as cleaning is performed, a liquid receiver corresponding to the position of the nozzle in those processes is required.

  Therefore, in the configuration of the nozzle printing apparatus so far, when a non-contact supporting apparatus as described above is introduced in the manner used in other manufacturing apparatuses, the flowable material is applied from the nozzle. The discontinuous part by the said liquid receiving part will exist in the position which has. In order to ensure the coating accuracy, it is necessary to stabilize the height of the substrate at the position where the flowable material is applied from the nozzle, and thus it is difficult to dispose the support device.

  Further, when the end portion in the traveling direction of the substrate to be transported is an application site of the flowable material, the substrate is cantilevered by positioning the end portion on the discontinuous portion. Since the fluid material is received from the nozzle in a state, the behavior of the substrate to be coated may become unstable.

  In addition, in the coating process using the nozzle printing apparatus, a desired coating row in a stripe shape in one substrate (for example, a coating row along a groove pattern between partition walls provided in advance on the substrate can be cited. , But not limited to these), there are at least two directions in which the substrate is transported in the coating process. That is, in the application by the nozzle printing apparatus, a plurality of application target areas may be provided on one application target substrate, and the application target substrate is changed according to the positional relationship between the arrangement of the application target area and the application column. The transport direction needs to be changed as appropriate. In the case of a substrate to be coated having two sides with different lengths, the transport direction to be changed is a direction in which the longitudinal direction of the substrate to be coated itself is parallel to the direction in which the substrate is transported or At least two types of directions that are perpendicular to the direction of conveyance are envisaged. Therefore, the width of the non-contact support device required for supporting the substrate and the width required for the liquid receiving portion provided as described above vary depending on the posture of the substrate held during the transportation. To do. And the size or arrangement | positioning of a required liquid receiving part will change with the change of the width | variety.

  Therefore, even when a non-contact support device is used, there is a need for a device that can perform coating with a nozzle printing device with a desired mode and accuracy.

  Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a coating apparatus capable of stable coating by a nozzle printing method while using a non-contact support device.

  In order to achieve the above object, the present invention employs the following configuration.

  A first invention is a coating apparatus for applying a flowable material to a substrate, and includes a nozzle, one or more liquid receivers, one or more movable levitation support units, a nozzle moving mechanism, A coating device including a moving mechanism and a control unit is provided. Here, the nozzle discharges the fluid material in a liquid column state in the form of a straight bar vertically downward. The one or more liquid receivers receive the fluid material discharged from the nozzle. One or a plurality of movable levitating support units support the above-mentioned substrate in a non-contact manner. The nozzle moving mechanism reciprocates the nozzle in a predetermined direction within a virtual horizontal plane above the substrate. The relative movement mechanism relatively moves at least one of the nozzle and the substrate in a direction parallel to the virtual horizontal plane and different from the reciprocating direction. Then, the control unit controls the arrangement of the movable levitating support unit and the liquid receiving unit, and is set to either the presence / absence of the substrate relatively moved by the above-described relative movement mechanism or the length of the substrate in the reciprocating direction. Accordingly, the movable levitating support unit is moved and arranged.

  In a second aspect based on the first aspect, the liquid receiving section includes a movable liquid receiving section, and the control section includes presence / absence of a substrate relatively moved by a relative movement mechanism and reciprocal movement of the substrate. A coating apparatus is provided in which the movable levitation support unit and / or the movable liquid receiving portion are moved and arranged in accordance with one of the lengths in the direction.

  According to a third aspect, in the second aspect, the control unit is configured such that at least a part of the movable levitation support unit is directly below the nozzle when the nozzle discharges a fluid material to the application target region of the substrate. There is provided a coating apparatus in which a movable levitation support unit and / or a movable liquid receiving portion are moved and arranged so as to support the substrate at a position according to the length of the substrate.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the second aspect or the third aspect, the control unit is configured such that at least a part of the liquid receiving unit corresponds to the case where the above-described nozzle discharges a fluid material outside the range of the substrate. Provided is a coating apparatus in which a movable levitating support unit and / or a movable liquid receiving portion are moved and arranged according to the length of a substrate so as to be arranged immediately below a nozzle.

  In a fifth aspect based on any one of the second aspect, the third aspect, or the fourth aspect, the control unit is configured such that the nozzle flows while the movable levitating support unit does not support the substrate. The movable floating support unit and / or the movable liquid receiving unit are moved and arranged so that at least a part of the liquid receiving unit is arranged in all the regions immediately below the nozzle when the functional material is discharged. A coating apparatus is provided.

  In a sixth aspect based on the second aspect, the control portion is a position where at least one of the movable liquid receiving portions is retracted with respect to a region directly below the nozzle when the nozzle reciprocates. A coating apparatus is provided in which any one of the movable levitation support units is disposed to move the movable levitation support unit and the movable liquid receiver.

  In a seventh aspect based on the second aspect, the control unit is a position where at least one of the movable levitation support units is retracted with respect to an area directly below the nozzle when the nozzle reciprocates. An applicator is provided in which any one of the movable liquid receiving portions is disposed to move the movable floating support unit and the movable liquid receiving portion.

  In an eighth aspect based on the seventh aspect, the control unit moves the movable levitating support unit and the movable liquid receiving unit together in a horizontal direction perpendicular to the direction in which the nozzle reciprocates. A coating apparatus is provided in which one of the movable liquid receiving portions is disposed at a position where at least one of the movable levitating support units is retracted.

  In a ninth aspect based on the seventh aspect, the control unit moves the movable levitating support unit in a horizontal direction perpendicular to the direction in which the nozzle reciprocates, and moves the movable liquid receiving portion in the vertical direction. Thus, a coating apparatus is provided in which one of the movable liquid receiving portions is disposed at a position where at least one of the movable levitating support units is retracted.

  According to a tenth aspect, in the seventh aspect, the control unit rotates the movable levitation support unit about the vertical direction as the rotation axis, and moves the movable liquid receiving unit in the vertical direction, thereby moving the levitation support unit. There is provided a coating apparatus in which at least one of the movable liquid receiving portions is disposed at a position where at least one of them is rotated and moved away.

  In an eleventh aspect based on the second aspect, at least one of the movable levitating support units is arranged in a region directly below the nozzle when the nozzle moves back and forth, and the longitudinal direction thereof is Provided is a coating apparatus which is arranged so as to be parallel to the direction of reciprocation of a nozzle.

  In a twelfth aspect based on the second aspect, in the second aspect, when the relatively moved substrate exists, the control unit determines whether the longitudinal direction of the substrate is parallel to the reciprocating direction of the nozzle. According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a coating apparatus in which the movable levitation support unit and the movable liquid receiving portion are moved and arranged depending on whether they are vertical.

  In a thirteenth aspect based on the twelfth aspect, the movable levitating support unit includes a long-axis movable levitating support unit and a short-axis movable levitating support unit, and the movable liquid receiver is movable along the long axis. Provided is a coating apparatus including a liquid receiver and a short-axis movable liquid receiver. Here, the long-axis movable levitating support unit has a total length corresponding to the length in the longitudinal direction of the substrate. The short-axis movable levitation support unit has a total length corresponding to the length of the substrate in the short direction. Furthermore, the long-axis movable liquid receiving part has an overall length corresponding to the length in the longitudinal direction of the substrate, and the short-axis movable liquid receiving part is changed from the total length of the long-axis movable floating support unit to the entire length of the short-axis movable floating support unit. The total length substantially corresponds to the length obtained by subtracting. The above-described liquid receiver includes fixed liquid receivers fixed to both ends via a gap corresponding to the length in the longitudinal direction of the substrate. When the substrate is relatively moved by the relative movement mechanism while maintaining the posture so that the longitudinal direction of the substrate is parallel to the direction of the reciprocating movement of the nozzle, the control unit moves the long-axis movable levitation support unit to the fixed liquid. It arrange | positions in the clearance gap between receiving parts. When the substrate is relatively moved by the relative movement mechanism while maintaining the posture such that the short side direction of the substrate is parallel to the reciprocating direction of the nozzle, the control unit is configured to move the short-axis movable levitating support unit. And the short-axis movable liquid receiving part are arranged adjacent to each other in the gap between the fixed liquid receiving parts. Further, the control unit arranges the long-axis movable liquid receiving part in the gap of the fixed liquid receiving part when the above-mentioned nozzle discharges the flowable material in a state where the movable levitating support unit does not support the substrate.

  A fourteenth invention provides a coating apparatus according to any of the first to thirteenth inventions, comprising a plurality of nozzles.

  The fifteenth aspect of the present invention further includes a pitch adjustment mechanism that adjusts the pitch between the plurality of nozzles, and the controller receives the above-described liquid receiving unit in all regions that are directly below the nozzles when the pitch adjustment is performed. There is provided a coating apparatus in which at least a movable levitating support unit is moved and disposed so that at least a part of the coating is disposed.

  By adopting the above-described configuration, the present invention solves the problems in the above-described conventional coating apparatus. In particular, a coating apparatus capable of stable coating by using a nozzle printing method while using a non-contact support apparatus is provided. The coating apparatus can flexibly correspond to the direction of substrate transport and can be arranged and adjusted in various ways. Provide appropriately. Exemplary effects of the present invention are listed below.

  According to the first to fifth, eleventh, or twelfth inventions described above, it is possible to support a substrate to be coated in a non-contact manner by a pressurized fluid in a nozzle printing apparatus, while reducing manufacturing cost or energy consumption. The flowable material can be applied to a stable substrate.

  According to the sixth to tenth inventions, the floating support unit or the liquid receiving unit required in the coating process is positioned at the position where each of the liquid receiving unit or the floating support unit is retracted. Further, it becomes possible to provide a smoother and more stable application.

  According to the fourteenth aspect, a plurality of application rows can be formed simultaneously.

  According to the fifteenth aspect, the nozzle pitch can be adjusted smoothly.

  The present invention will be described with reference to the drawings illustrated below. However, these elements are not necessarily drawn to scale. Further, the following drawings are for illustration, and the technical scope according to the present invention should not be construed as being limited by the description.

The top view of the coating device concerning one embodiment of the present invention. The front view of the coating device which is one embodiment in this invention Schematic of arrangement | positioning of the floating support unit and liquid receiving part in the coating device which is one embodiment in this invention. Schematic of arrangement of a floating support unit and a liquid receiving part in a coating apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention The perspective view seen from the X-axis direction which shows arrangement | positioning of the floating support unit and liquid receiving part in the coating device (corresponding to FIG. 4) which is one embodiment of the present invention Schematic of arrangement | positioning of the floating support unit and liquid receiving part in the coating device which is another embodiment in this invention. The perspective view seen from the X-axis direction which shows arrangement | positioning of the floating support unit and the liquid receiving part in the coating device (corresponding to FIG. 6) which is one embodiment of the present invention

  Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in more detail.

(Basic configuration of the apparatus of the present invention)
The present invention relates to an application device (nozzle printing device) for applying a fluid material to a substrate. The coating apparatus of the present invention generally supports a “nozzle” that discharges a fluid material vertically downward in a liquid column state (“liquid column”), one or more “liquid receivers”, and a substrate to be coated. A plurality of movable “floating support units” for moving the nozzle, a “nozzle moving mechanism” for reciprocating the nozzle in a virtual horizontal plane, and a substrate to be coated in a predetermined horizontal direction parallel to the virtual horizontal plane. The apparatus includes a “substrate moving mechanism” and a “control unit” that controls the operation of the coating apparatus.

  In the above-described apparatus, the control unit controls the relative positions of the components, the operation timing, and the like so as to obtain a sufficient arrangement for obtaining a desired application result. Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

(First embodiment)
In one embodiment, the present invention is a coating apparatus 1 for coating a flowable material on a substrate. FIG. 1 is a plan view of a coating apparatus according to this embodiment, and FIG. 2 is a front view of the coating apparatus 1. The coating apparatus 1 shown in this figure is an apparatus that applies a fluid material (for example, a coating liquid containing an organic EL material) to a substrate to be coated 109 (for example, a glass substrate). In FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, exemplary positions of the substrate to be coated 109 during the coating process by the coating apparatus 1 are indicated by two-dot chain lines.

(Nozzle reciprocation and substrate movement)
The coating apparatus 1 in the present embodiment has a plurality of nozzles 117. The nozzle 117 in the coating apparatus 1 has a function of discharging a fluid material in the coating process. The plurality of nozzles 117 in the coating apparatus 1 constitutes a coating head 114 together with a holding member (not shown) for holding them. The reciprocating motion of the plurality of nozzles 117 is achieved by reciprocating the coating head 114 in which these nozzles 117 and the holding member are integrated in a predetermined horizontal direction.

  The “main scanning direction” or “nozzle reciprocating direction” in the coating apparatus 1 means that when the coating apparatus 1 captures one nozzle, a plurality of arbitrary nozzles, or the entire coating head to which those nozzles are fixed. In addition, the nozzle is reciprocated along a predetermined axis. Each direction of three orthogonal axes (X axis, Y axis, and Z axis) in FIGS. 1 and 2 is as shown in the lower left of each figure. The coating head 114 indicated by a solid line in FIG. 1 can reciprocate by the head moving mechanism 115 in the X-axis direction (“main scanning direction” or “nozzle reciprocating direction”). That is, the coating head 114 in which a plurality of nozzles 117 are integrated and the head moving mechanism 115 that horizontally moves the application head 114 in the X-axis direction are “nozzle moving mechanisms” for moving the nozzle 117 back and forth. In other words, the nozzle 117 that discharges the fluid material vertically downward in a liquid column state is reciprocated along a predetermined direction (X-axis direction) in a virtual horizontal plane perpendicular to the liquid column by the nozzle moving mechanism. It is. The operation of the nozzle moving mechanism (for example, the moving speed of the coating head 114) is managed in order to obtain a desired coating result by a control unit (not shown).

  The positions (114a, 114b) exemplified by the two-dot chain line in FIG. 1 are examples of positions that are taken when the coating head 114 reciprocates in the X-axis direction during the coating process. As can be understood from the exemplified path of the reciprocating movement of the coating head 114, the reciprocating path of the coating head 114 (that is, the nozzle 117 integrated with the reciprocating path) is directly below (illustrated in the vertical direction). In the Z-axis, when the vertical downward direction is the negative Z-axis direction, the substrate to be coated 109 or the liquid receiving part 116aS or 116b supported by the floating support unit 112aS is viewed in the “Z-axis negative direction” as viewed from the coating head 114). Is positioned.

  In the coating process of the coating apparatus 1, the lower main surface (lower surface) of the substrate to be coated 109 is supported in a non-contact manner by the levitating support unit so that the main surface is horizontal. Then, the substrate to be coated 109 is transported in a horizontal direction (“Y-axis direction”) substantially perpendicular to the “main scanning direction” in the coating apparatus 1. The direction in which the substrate to be coated 109 is conveyed is the “sub-scanning direction” in the coating apparatus 1. The movement of the substrate to be coated 109 in the sub-scanning direction is achieved by a substrate moving mechanism described later.

  The above-mentioned “main scanning direction” is a direction parallel to the X axis according to the coordinate system in FIGS. Further, the nozzle 117 discharges the fluid material in the “vertically downward direction” (Z-axis negative direction in the coordinate system of the figure). That is, the fluid material is ejected vertically downward (Z-axis negative direction) from the nozzle 117 integrated with the coating head 114 reciprocating along the X-axis. By applying a liquid column (not shown) of a fluid material extending vertically downward from the nozzle 117, the coating of the substrate to be coated 109 positioned directly below the nozzle 117 (“Z-axis negative direction” as viewed from the nozzle 117). Is achieved. While this coating is performed, the floating support units 112aS, 112aL, 112a, and 112b support the entire substrate 109 to be coated in a non-contact manner.

  In the coating head 114 shown in FIG. 1, a plurality of nozzles 117 are arranged substantially linearly with respect to the X-axis direction (that is, “main scanning direction”) in FIG. 1 and in the Y-axis direction ( That is, they are arranged slightly shifted in the “sub-scanning direction”). The distance in the sub-scanning direction between the two adjacent nozzles 117 is adjusted by a pitch adjustment mechanism (not shown) so as to correspond to the width of the application row to be formed on the application target region of the application substrate 109. . The coating apparatus 1 is provided with an optical system that observes the trajectory of the coating row drawn by the flowable material discharged from the plurality of nozzles 117. According to the observation result, the distance in the sub-scanning direction between the plurality of nozzles is adjusted by the pitch adjustment mechanism under the control of the control unit.

(Nozzle cleaning means)
As described above, the nozzle 117 in the coating apparatus 1 has a function of discharging a fluid material in the coating process. Accordingly, the nozzle 117 may be contaminated in the form of adhesion of a fluid material that is discharged in the coating process. Therefore, the coating apparatus 1 includes nozzle cleaning means 119 (corresponding to 419 and 619 in other embodiments described later) for cleaning the fluid material attached to the nozzles as necessary. In the first embodiment, the nozzle cleaning unit 119 is under the control of the control unit so that the nozzle 117 is appropriately cleaned at a predetermined position in the coating apparatus 1 as required for cleaning. Yes. Moreover, the nozzle cleaning means also includes a configuration that can change the relative position of the coating device internal structure such as a liquid receiving portion as required (see FIG. 3C described later). A person skilled in the art can select the necessary nozzle cleaning means in view of the characteristics of the flowable material used.

(Floating support unit)
The above-described levitation support unit is a non-contact support device that supports the substrate to be coated 109 in a non-contact state. These floating support units have a function of supporting the substrate in a non-contact manner so that the posture of the substrate to be coated 109 is maintained in a predetermined horizontal direction during the coating process using the coating apparatus 1. This non-contact support device includes a fluid ejection part. The fluid ejecting portion is formed of, for example, a porous material, and ejects a pressurized fluid (for example, air, nitrogen gas, etc.) and sprays the pressurized fluid onto the lower surface of the substrate to be coated 109, so that the main surface The substrate is levitated in such a posture that is horizontal (ie, a levitating force is generated in the “Z-axis positive direction” as seen from the levitating support unit).

  Further, the non-contact support device includes a fluid ejection part (hereinafter referred to as “ejection part”) and a fluid suction part (hereinafter referred to as “suction part”) that sucks the surrounding fluid by evacuation. In such a non-contact support device having such a jet part and a suction part, as described above, the jet part and the suction part are opposed to the lower surface of the substrate to be coated 109 whose posture is horizontal, The substrate can be supported in a non-contact manner with a constant flying height.

  With reference to FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, the levitating support unit in this embodiment is demonstrated. In the present embodiment, the levitation support unit 112a, 112aL, 112aS, or 112b has a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape. These levitation support units are disposed on a substrate rotation mechanism 110 having a function as a pedestal. Of these levitation support units, the levitation support unit 112b is fixed on the substrate rotation mechanism 110 ("fixed levitation support unit"). The fixed levitation support unit 112b has a plurality of longitudinal axes in the Y-axis direction, and is arranged on the substrate rotation mechanism 110 at regular intervals.

  The “substrate rotation mechanism” is used to fix the floating support unit for supporting the substrate to be coated while maintaining the desired posture (for example, the posture for making the substrate horizontal) or It is a structure having a function as a pedestal for movably installing. And this structure which is a partial mechanism of the coating device of the present invention includes a position adjustment between the partial mechanism of the coating device 1 such as a levitation support unit provided thereon and another partial mechanism, and a substrate to be coated, In order to adjust the position, a mechanism that rotates around a predetermined axis or a mechanism that changes the height is provided. However, when such a rotational movement or the like is not desired, it is not always necessary to provide the function, and in some cases, it may have only the function as the pedestal described above.

  The levitation support unit 112a, 112aL or 112aS installed in the substrate rotation mechanism so as to be movable to the coating apparatus 1 is a “movable levitation support unit”. The movable levitation support unit 112a is located on both sides of a plurality of fixed levitation support units 112b arranged in parallel, and a plurality of guide rails 111 extend in the Y-axis direction below the movable levitation support unit 112a. It is provided as follows. That is, the movable levitating support unit 112 a is arranged so that its longitudinal axis extends in parallel with the guide rail 111. The movable levitating support units 112a can move along the guide rails 111 described above.

  The movable levitating support unit 112a has an appropriate drive mechanism (not shown) for moving the unit along the guide rail 111. As can be understood from FIG. 1, the movable levitation support units 112aL and 112aS in the coating apparatus 1 have their longitudinal axes extending in a horizontal direction perpendicular to the guide rail 111 (that is, a direction parallel to the “main scanning direction”). Placed in. The detailed layout, movement mode, and the like of the movable levitating support unit in these coating apparatuses 1 will be described later.

(Liquid receiving part)
The coating apparatus 1 of the present invention has a plurality of “liquid receiving portions”. The function of the liquid receiving unit is that the fluid material discharged from the nozzle 117 to the outside of the substrate to be coated 109 or the fluidity discharged from the nozzle 117 in a state where the substrate to be coated 109 is not supported on the floating support unit. It is to accept the material. In addition, these liquid receiving portions can take any shape as long as they are appropriate for receiving the fluid material discharged from the nozzle 117, but in this embodiment, when viewed from the Z-axis direction, The shape of the liquid receiving part is also substantially rectangular.

  A part of the liquid receiving unit described above can be changed in relative position with respect to a path along which the nozzle 117 reciprocates in the coating apparatus 1 according to the necessity of the coating process. Hereinafter, the liquid receiver that can change the relative position is particularly referred to as a “movable liquid receiver”. In the first embodiment, the movable liquid receiver is shown as 116aL or 116aS as shown in FIGS. The details of the distinction of the reference numeral 116aL or 116aS representing the “movable liquid receiving portion” will be described later in this specification. On the other hand, the liquid receiving part that does not change the relative position is referred to as a “fixed liquid receiving part”, and in the first embodiment, a reference numeral 116b is given to the fixed liquid receiving part. The change in the position of the movable liquid receiving unit is managed by the control unit of the coating apparatus 1 in the same manner as the change in the position of the movable levitating support unit described above.

  When the flowable material is applied to the substrate to be coated 109 using the coating apparatus 1, when the nozzle 117 of the apparatus moves outside the range to be coated (that is, outside the substrate to be coated 109), The liquid receiving part 116aL or 116aS or 116b collects the fluid material discharged outside the range. The control unit of the coating apparatus 1 performs the reciprocating movement (“main scanning direction” movement) of the coating head 114 and the horizontal movement (“sub-scanning direction” movement) of the substrate to be coated 109 under certain conditions. A desired application to the application substrate 109 is achieved. When the nozzle 117 that reciprocates in the coating process moves out of the range to be coated, or when the substrate 109 to be coated is not supported on the floating support unit, the liquid receiving unit It arrange | positions so that the fluid material discharged from 117 can be collect | recovered. And in order to achieve the arrangement position, it moves as needed under management by the above-mentioned control part of movable liquid receiving part 116aL or 116aS. In addition, the detailed layout of this movable liquid receiving part, the mode of movement, etc. are mentioned later.

(Substrate moving mechanism)
The substrate to be coated 109 to be coated by the coating apparatus 1 is supported in a non-contact manner by any of the above-described floating support units, so that the posture is maintained with a certain flying height on the floating support unit. A mechanism for horizontally moving the supported substrate 109 to be coated in a predetermined direction (“sub-scanning direction”) is a “substrate movement mechanism” (not shown) in the coating apparatus 1. This substrate moving mechanism horizontally moves the substrate to be coated 109 in the coating apparatus 1 in a horizontal direction substantially perpendicular to the main scanning direction in which the nozzle 117 reciprocates. The moving speed, moving direction, moving timing, and the like are managed by the control unit of the coating apparatus 1. The substrate moving mechanism includes a means for appropriately holding the substrate to be coated 109 in a desired posture and a drive unit that moves the means holding the substrate to be coated 109 in a predetermined direction. The vertical position (height) of the means for holding in the coating apparatus 1 is such that the substrate to be coated 109 transported in the sub-scanning direction can move stably while maintaining the above-mentioned flying height. In consideration of the flow rate of the pressurized fluid of the unit 112a, 112aL, 112aS or 112b, the distance between the nozzle 117 and the substrate to be coated 109, etc., the height can be adjusted to an appropriate height.

(Control unit of coating device)
The components of the coating apparatus 1 are electrically connected as necessary, and are controlled so that a predetermined operation is performed by the control unit of the coating apparatus. The control unit of the coating apparatus 1 has a function of controlling the operation of each component in order for the coating apparatus 1 to obtain a desired coating result. The control unit in the coating apparatus 1 of the present invention includes a CPU that performs various arithmetic processes, a storage area for programs to be executed, a RAM that is a work area for arithmetic processes, a ROM that stores basic programs, A fixed disk for storing information, a display for displaying various types of information to the user of the apparatus, and an input unit such as a keyboard or a mouse are connected. The functions of the application of the present invention, the movement of the movable levitating support unit 112a and the movable liquid receiving portion 116a in conjunction with the application, and the driving of the accessory device associated therewith are performed by the CPU of the control unit performing arithmetic processing according to a program. Realized. In the present embodiment, these functions are realized by one computer, but may be realized by a plurality of computers. The function can also be partially realized with manual control by the user.

(Basic operation in the coating process of the coating device)
In the coating apparatus 1 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the coating head 114 continuously discharges the fluid material from the plurality of nozzles 117 by the head moving mechanism 115 in a state where the plurality of nozzles are fixed to the holding member. Each time the coating head 114 is moved in the main scanning direction and the coating head 114 is moved once in the main scanning direction, the substrate moving mechanism 109 causes the substrate to be coated 109 to have a predetermined pitch in the sub scanning direction (for example, the Y axis positive direction). Move with. The flowable material is applied to the upper surface of the substrate to be coated 109 in a stripe pattern by repeatedly moving the nozzles 117 in the main scanning direction and the sub-scanning direction with respect to the substrate to be coated 109. In the coating apparatus 1, each of the head moving mechanism 115 and the substrate moving mechanism is a nozzle scanning mechanism that moves the plurality of nozzles 117 together with the holding member relative to the substrate to be coated 109 in the main scanning direction and the sub-scanning direction. .

(Position control of floating support unit and liquid receiver)
The change in the arrangement of the movable levitating support units 112a, 112aL or 112aS and the movable liquid receiver 116aL or 116aS is managed by the control unit of the coating apparatus 1. The arrangement is determined so as to satisfy the following requirements. First, when the reciprocating nozzle 117 discharges the flowable material to the application target region of the substrate to be coated 109, a position (specifically, directly below the nozzle 117 and near the lower surface of the substrate to be coated 109). The movable floating support unit and the movable liquid receiving portion are arranged such that at least a part of the movable floating support unit 112aL or 112aS is arranged at a position lower than the lower surface of the substrate 109 to be coated by the above-mentioned floating amount). Is done. In addition, when the nozzle 117 discharges a fluid material outside the range of the substrate to be coated 109, either the movable liquid receiving portion 116 a or the fixed liquid receiving portion 116 b is disposed immediately below the nozzle 117. Thus, arrangement | positioning of the above-mentioned movable floating support unit and a movable liquid receiving part is performed.

  With such an arrangement, when the fluid material discharged from the nozzle 117 is actually applied to the substrate to be coated 109 located immediately below the nozzle 117, The movable levitation support unit 112aS or 112aL is positioned in the vicinity immediately below the application site. Since at least a part of the movable levitation support unit 112aL or 112aS is positioned in the vicinity of the substrate 109 to which the fluid material is discharged and applied from the nozzle 117, the fluid material is ejected from the nozzle 117. At the time of coating, the movable levitating support unit supports the substrate to be coated 109 just below the portion to be coated. For this reason, the behavior of the substrate 109 to be coated is stabilized at a portion immediately below the nozzle, which is important for ensuring coating accuracy, and stable coating is achieved. Further, even if the nozzle 117 that continuously discharges the fluid material moves outside the range where the substrate to be coated 109 exists, either the movable liquid receiving part 116aS or the fixed liquid receiving part 116b is present there. Since it is arranged, the discharged flowable material is appropriately received by the liquid receiving portion.

  Therefore, the unstable behavior of the substrate around the liquid receiving portion, which has been a problem in the conventional nozzle printing device using the non-contact support device, is avoided.

  Actually, in order to satisfy the above-described conditions, the coating apparatus 1 in the present embodiment has a movable levitating support unit 112aL, as shown in FIGS. 3 (a), 3 (b), and 3 (c). 112aS and 112a and movable liquid receiving part 116aS and 116aL have the structure which can switch three basic arrangements. Each basic arrangement is switched by the control unit of the coating apparatus 1 according to the method of application, the type of each adjustment accompanying application, the direction in which the substrate to be coated 109 is conveyed, and the like.

  3 (a), 3 (b), and 3 (c), when a part of the configuration of the coating apparatus 1 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 is omitted and observed from the positive direction of the Z axis. It is the figure which showed arrangement | positioning of movable floating support unit 112aL, 112aS, 112a, fixed floating support unit 112b, movable liquid receiving part 116aL, 116aS, and fixed liquid receiving part 116b. The coating head 114 including the nozzle 117 and integrated therewith is a reciprocating path AA (indicated by a dotted line) extending in the X-axis direction shown in each of FIGS. 3 (a), 3 (b) and 3 (c). A reciprocating movement is made in the space above the movable levitating support unit 112aL or 112aS, the movable liquid receiving part 116aL or 116aS, or the fixed liquid receiving part 116b along the axis (in the main scanning direction) shown in the figure.

  As can be understood from FIGS. 1 and 3, a plurality of fixed levitation support units 112b are provided so that their longitudinal axes are directed in the Y-axis direction, and are parallel to each other at a predetermined interval on the substrate rotation mechanism 110. Are arranged as follows. In the coating apparatus 1 shown in FIG. 1 or FIG. 3, three fixed levitation support units 112b are arranged in parallel at a constant interval on the Y axis positive direction side from the reciprocation path AA of the coating head 114. On the other hand, The three fixed levitation support units 112b are also arranged in parallel at the same interval as described above on the Y axis negative direction side as seen from the reciprocation path AA of 114. Further, four movable levitating support units 112a are arranged along with guide rails 111 on both sides of three fixed levitating support units 112b arranged in parallel on the Y axis positive direction side. Also, four movable levitating support units 112a are arranged along with the guide rails 111 on both sides of the three fixed levitating support units 112b arranged side by side in the negative Y-axis direction.

  As described above, the three fixed levitation support units 112b are arranged on each of the Y axis positive direction side and the Y axis negative direction side so as to sandwich the reciprocation path AA. As can be understood from FIGS. 1 and 3, (A) two movable members having different lengths extending in the “main scanning direction” are provided between the levitation support units arranged along the Y-axis direction. A floating support unit (hereinafter, sometimes described separately from the long-axis movable floating support unit 112aL and the short-axis movable floating support unit 112aS), and (B) different lengths extending in the “main scanning direction” Two movable liquid receivers (hereinafter, sometimes described separately from the long-axis movable liquid receiver 116aL and the short-axis movable liquid receiver 116aS) are arranged. (A) movable levitating support units 112aL and 112aS, (B) movable liquid receiving portions 116aL and 112aS, and a group of the eight movable levitating units 112a described above (hereinafter referred to as a partial structure in the coating apparatus 1 in this specification). 3 (a), 3 (b), and 3 (c) are shown in FIG. 3 (a), FIG. 3 (b), and FIG. 3 (c). Such a change in arrangement between arrangements is achieved.

  Furthermore, in the present embodiment, the long-axis movable levitation support unit 112aL of (A) described above has substantially the same length in the main scanning direction as the long-axis movable liquid receiver 116aL of (B) described above, and extends in the X-axis direction. On the other hand, the long-axis movable liquid receiving portion 116aL is arranged in parallel so as to be on the Y-axis positive direction side at the same position. Between the long-axis movable levitation support unit 112aL and the long-axis movable liquid receiver 116aL arranged in parallel, the short-axis movable levitation support unit 112aS of (A) and the short-axis movable liquid receiver 116aS of (B) are provided. The lengths in the main scanning direction of the adjacent short axis movable levitating support unit 112aS and the short axis movable liquid receiving portion 116aS, which are arranged adjacent to each other on a substantially straight line, are the long axis movable levitating support unit 112aL and the long axis movable It is almost the same as the liquid receiving part 116aL. The details of the arrangement shown in FIGS. 3A, 3B, and 3C will be described below.

(Horizontal placement)
FIG. 3A shows the movable levitation support units 112a, 112aL, 112S and the fixed levitation support unit when coating is performed in a direction in which the longitudinal direction of the substrate 109 to be coated is parallel to the main scanning direction of the coating apparatus 1. An arrangement ("horizontal coating arrangement") of 112b, movable liquid receiving portions 116aS and 116aL, and fixed liquid receiving portion 116b is shown. Only the movable set 100 is extracted and shown on the right side of the paper surface of FIG. As can be understood from FIG. 3A, a long-axis movable levitation support unit 112aL extending in the main scanning direction is disposed below the substrate 109 to be coated, which is directly below the reciprocation path AA along which the nozzle 117 reciprocates. ing. Further, even immediately below the reciprocation path AA, fixed liquid receiving portions 116b are respectively fixed at both ends outside the range of the substrate to be coated 109.

  With the arrangement shown in FIG. 3A, the substrate moving mechanism is moved each time the coating head 114, to which the plurality of nozzles 117 for continuously discharging the flowable material are fixed, is moved once along the main scanning direction. As a result, the substrate to be coated 109 moves at a predetermined pitch in the sub-scanning direction (for example, the Y-axis positive direction). Here, “moving along the main scanning direction” of “once” means that the coating head 114 positioned outside the one range of the substrate to be coated 109 is along the reciprocating movement path AA while being coated. Is moved until it goes out of the other range of the substrate 109 to be coated. When such a movement is performed under the arrangement as shown in FIG. 3A, the portion of the substrate to be coated 109 to which the fluid material discharged from the nozzle 117 is applied is a long-axis movable levitating support. It is stably supported by the unit 112aL. Further, at both end positions outside the range of the substrate to be coated 109, it is ensured that the fixed liquid receiving portions 116b are respectively arranged on the reciprocating movement path AA, and the floating support unit and the substrate to be covered are discharged by the fluid material to be discharged. Contamination of the coated substrate 109 is avoided.

(Vertical painting arrangement)
FIG. 3B shows the movable levitation support unit 112a, 112aL or 112S, fixed levitation when the coating process is performed on the substrate 109 in a posture in which the longitudinal direction of the substrate to be coated 109 faces the sub-scanning direction of the coating apparatus 1. The arrangement of the support unit 112b, the movable liquid receiving part 116aS, and the fixed liquid receiving part 116b ("vertical coating arrangement") is shown. Only the movable set 100 is extracted and shown on the right side of the paper surface of FIG.

  When the arrangement of FIG. 3A is compared with the arrangement of FIG. 3B, in FIG. 3B, the short axis movable levitation support unit 112aS adjacent to the reciprocation path AA of the coating head 114 is directly below. It is understood that the difference is that the short-axis movable liquid receiving portion 116aS is disposed. Similarly to the arrangement of FIG. 3A, the fixing liquid receiving portions 116b are fixedly provided at both ends outside the range of the substrate to be coated 109 even immediately under the reciprocation path AA. When the application apparatus 1 switches from the arrangement shown in FIG. 3A to the arrangement shown in FIG. 3B, the movable set 100 is displayed as a whole in the Y-axis negative direction (arrow ToB in FIG. 3A). As a result of the movement in the direction indicated in FIG.

  In the arrangement of FIG. 3B achieved by the movement as described above, the short-axis movable levitating support unit 112aS is arranged below the substrate 109 to be coated, which is directly below the reciprocating movement path AA in which the nozzle 117 reciprocates. Has been. Further, even immediately under the reciprocation path AA, the movable liquid receiving portion that is interrupted by the above movement is located at one end (in the positive X-axis direction in FIG. 3B) outside the range of the substrate 109 to be coated. A fixing liquid receiving portion 116b is fixedly provided with 116aS interposed therebetween. Further, a fixing liquid receiving portion 116b is fixedly provided at the other end (outside of the X-axis in FIG. 3B) outside the range of the substrate 109 to be coated.

  Under this arrangement of the coating apparatus 1, as in the “horizontal coating arrangement” of FIG. 3A, a plurality of nozzles 117 for continuously discharging a fluid material are fixed in the main scanning direction of the application head 114. Each time the movement along the line is performed once, the substrate to be coated 109 is moved at a predetermined pitch in the sub-scanning direction (for example, the positive direction of the Y axis) by the substrate moving mechanism. Even in this “vertical coating arrangement”, a portion of the substrate to be coated 109 to which the fluid material discharged from the nozzle 117 is applied is stably supported by the long-axis movable levitation support unit 112aS. And in the position of the both ends which become out of the range of the to-be-coated substrate 109, since the fixed liquid receiving part 116b and the movable liquid receiving part 116aS are arranged on the reciprocating movement path AA, the liquid material to be applied is applied. Contamination of the apparatus 1 or the substrate to be coated 109 is avoided.

(Arrangement used for various adjustments)
In the coating apparatus 1 using the nozzle printing method, it is necessary to discharge a fluid material from the nozzle 117 in addition to the operation of actually coating the substrate 109 to be coated. At the time of the discharge, a liquid receiving portion is required in all the regions immediately below the nozzle 117.

  When the arrangement of FIG. 3C and the arrangement of FIG. 3B are compared, the long-axis movable liquid receiver is received over the entire area immediately below the reciprocation path AA of the coating head 114 in the arrangement of FIG. It is understood that the arrangement of FIG. 3C is different from that of FIG. 3B in that the portion 116aL and the fixative receiving portion 116b are arranged. In the coating apparatus 1, when switching from the arrangement of FIG. 3B to the arrangement of FIG. 3C, the movable set 100 is displayed as a whole by the arrow ToC in the Y-axis direction (FIG. 3B). As a result of the movement in the direction), the arrangement as shown in FIG.

  The coating apparatus 1 further includes a mechanism for performing detection, adjustment, operation check, and the like of the position of its constituent elements in order to perform a coating process with a desired accuracy. Some of these mechanisms are shown in FIG. The arrangement shown in c) is required. Furthermore, when an abnormality is detected in the course of processing by these mechanisms, the component (for example, nozzle) is further inspected, and processing such as cleaning, replacement, or adjustment is performed as necessary. A mechanism for the purpose is further provided in the device. As can be understood from FIG. 3C, a part of the fixed liquid receiving part 116 b is allowed to be temporarily and partially changed in order to use the nozzle cleaning means 119.

  Examples of the mechanism for adjusting the components in the coating apparatus 1 include a pitch adjusting mechanism. For example, the pitch of the nozzles 117 is made equal to several times (for example, three times) the pitch between the partition walls formed in advance in the main scanning direction on the application target region of the substrate to be coated 109. Further, even when there is no such groove, the pitch of the nozzles 117 is similarly adjusted so as to correspond to the desired interval between the stripe-shaped coating rows. Such adjustment is performed by the pitch adjustment mechanism. Since the fluid material is also discharged from the nozzle 117 at the time of adjustment, a liquid receiving portion is required in all the regions immediately below the nozzle 117 at the time of adjusting the pitch.

  The coating apparatus 1 includes an optical system (not shown) for observing the trajectory of the coating row drawn by the flowable material discharged from the plurality of nozzles 117, and a nozzle for adjusting the positions of the plurality of nozzles 117 in the sub-scanning direction. A pitch adjusting mechanism (not shown) is further provided, and these configurations are also controlled by the control unit. In the coating apparatus 1 having the arrangement as shown in FIG. 3C, when the coating head 114 is driven as necessary and the fluid material is ejected from the nozzle 117, the result is ejected from the nozzle 117. The applied row is observed by the optical system described above. According to the observation result, the distance in the sub-scanning direction between the plurality of nozzles 117 is adjusted under the control of the control unit. The nozzle pitch adjusting mechanism of the coating apparatus 1 is installed, for example, in the vicinity of the position 114b of the coating head 114 indicated by a two-dot chain line in FIG.

(Second Embodiment)
2nd Embodiment of this invention is a modification in the coating device of 1st Embodiment regarding arrangement | positioning of a liquid receiving part and a floating support unit. The apparatus according to the second embodiment has a basic configuration such as a coating head in the coating process of the coating apparatus 1 and its basic operation in common with the coating apparatus according to the first embodiment. The configurations and arrangement of the “support unit” and “liquid receiving part” and the manner of movement are different.

  Actually, the coating apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment includes floating support units 412aL, 412aS, 412b and a liquid receiving unit 416aL as shown in FIGS. 4 (a), 4 (b), and 4 (c). It has a configuration in which three basic arrangements relating to 416aS and 416b can be switched. In the following description, in the coating apparatus according to the second embodiment, the components provided in common with the coating apparatus according to the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals as those in the first embodiment (for example, the nozzle 117. ).

  Each of the basic arrangements shown in FIG. 4A, FIG. 4B, and FIG. 4C depends on the method of application, the type of each adjustment associated with application, the direction in which the substrate to be coated 409 is conveyed, and the like. Switching is performed by the control unit of the coating apparatus 1. Similar to the first embodiment, the application head 114 including the nozzle 117 and integrated with the nozzle 117 extends in the X-axis direction shown in each of FIGS. 4A, 4B, and 4C. It reciprocates along an axis (main scanning direction) indicated by a reciprocating movement path AA (illustrated by a dotted line). 5 (a), FIG. 5 (b), and FIG. 5 (c) are shown in FIG. 4 (a), FIG. 4 (b), and FIG. 4 (c), respectively, when observed from the positive direction of the X axis. It is a perspective view corresponding to the embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 5, the nozzle cleaning means 419 is not shown.

  In the second embodiment, the components used in the three basic arrangements related to the floating support unit and the liquid receiver are the three floating support units 412aL, 412aS or 412b and the liquid receivers 416aS, 416aL and 416b. Of the three levitation support units in total, one is a fixed levitation support unit 412b that does not change the relative position of the nozzle 117 with respect to the reciprocating movement path AA, and the other two are reciprocating in the three basic arrangements described above. These are movable levitating support units 412aL and 412aS that change the relative position with respect to the movement path AA. On the other hand, two of the four liquid receivers described above are fixed liquid receivers 416b that do not change the relative position of the nozzle 117 with respect to the reciprocating path AA, and the remaining two are the three liquid receivers described above. The movable liquid receiving portions 416aS and 416aL change the relative position with respect to the reciprocating path AA in the basic arrangement.

  The above-described fixed levitation support unit 412b is arranged in parallel on the Y axis negative direction side along the reciprocating movement path AA when viewed from the path. The two movable levitation support units 412aL and 412aS are arranged in parallel on the Y axis positive direction side of the fixed levitation support unit 412b. Details of the arrangement will be described later.

(Horizontal placement)
4 (a) and 5 (a) illustrate the floating support unit 412aL when coating is performed on the substrate in such a direction that the longitudinal direction of the substrate to be coated 409 is parallel to the main scanning direction of the coating apparatus 1. The arrangement of 412aS and 412b and the liquid receiving portions 416aL, 416aS and 416b ("horizontal coating arrangement") is shown.

  As understood from FIGS. 4A and 5A, the X-axis direction of the fixed levitation support unit 412b fixed along the path on the Y-axis negative direction side when viewed from the reciprocating path AA. The length of the side extending in the direction corresponds to the length of the side of the substrate to be coated 409 in the longitudinal direction.

  The two movable levitating support units 412aL and 412aS arranged in parallel along the Y-axis positive direction as viewed from the reciprocating path AA have the same length in the Y-axis direction in the arranged state. . On the other hand, regarding the length of the side in the X-axis direction, the movable levitation support unit 412aL on the X-axis negative direction side has a longer side in the X-axis direction than the movable levitation support unit 412aS on the X-axis positive direction side. The total length of the sides extending in the X-axis direction of the two movable levitating support units 412aL and 412aS arranged side by side in the X-axis direction corresponds to the length of the side in the longitudinal direction of the substrate 409 to be coated. To do.

  A part of the movable levitating support units 412aL and 412aS arranged in parallel is located below the reciprocating movement path AA. As a result, the lower part of the substrate to be coated 409 located immediately below the reciprocating path AA is all supported by the movable levitation support units 412aL and 412aS. Further, a fixed liquid receiving portion 416b is fixedly provided at a position directly below the reciprocating movement path AA and outside the range of the substrate to be coated 409.

  Under such an arrangement, similarly to the first embodiment, the movement along the main scanning direction of the coating head 114 to which the plurality of nozzles 117 for continuously discharging the fluid material is fixed is performed once. Every time, the substrate to be coated 409 is moved at a predetermined pitch in the sub-scanning direction (for example, the positive direction of the Y axis) by the substrate moving mechanism. When such movement is performed under the arrangement as shown in FIG. 4A, the portion of the substrate 409 to which the fluid material discharged from the nozzle 117 is applied is the movable levitating support unit 412aL. And 412aS. In addition, at a position outside the range of the substrate to be coated 409, the liquid receiving portion 416b is disposed on the reciprocating movement path, thereby preventing the floating support unit from being contaminated by the discharged fluid material. ing.

(Vertical painting arrangement)
4 (b) and 5 (b) show the floating support unit when the coating process is performed on the substrate in a direction in which the longitudinal direction of the substrate to be coated 409 is perpendicular to the main scanning direction of the coating apparatus 1. The arrangement of the liquid receiver (“vertical coating arrangement”) is shown.

  Here, the difference between the “vertical painting arrangement” and the “horizontal painting arrangement” shown in FIG. 4A will be described. The transition from “horizontal painting arrangement” to “vertical painting arrangement” is performed as follows. First, of the two movable levitating support units 412aL and 412aS arranged so as to face the lower surface of the substrate 409 to be coated in the arrangement shown in FIG. 4A, the movable levitating support unit 412aS on the X axis positive direction side. However, while retracting away from the reciprocation path AA in the sub-scanning direction, the movable liquid receiving portion 416aS provided at the bottom of the retracted movable floating support unit 412aS is substantially the same as the fixed floating support unit 412b. It rises to a height (in the Z-axis direction) (see FIG. 4B). Although not shown in FIG. 4, the retraction of the floating support unit and the movement of the liquid receiving unit in the height direction are performed by an appropriate drive mechanism under the control of the control unit. As shown in FIG. 4B, the length of the side in the X-axis direction of the remaining movable levitating support unit 412aL that has not been retracted is the length in the X-axis direction of the substrate to be coated 409 conveyed in this arrangement. It is almost equal to the length. The state of retraction of the movable levitation support unit 412aS as described above can be clearly understood by referring to FIG. 5B (corresponding to FIG. 4B).

  With this arrangement of the coating apparatus 1, every time the coating head 114, to which the plurality of nozzles 117 for continuously discharging the flowable material are fixed, is moved once along the main scanning direction, the substrate moving mechanism The substrate to be coated 409 moves at a predetermined pitch in the sub-scanning direction (Y-axis positive direction). In the case of “vertical coating arrangement”, a portion of the substrate 409 to which the fluid material discharged from the nozzle 117 is applied is stably supported by the movable levitating support unit 412aL. Further, at the position outside the range of the substrate, the liquid receiving portion 416aS or 416b is disposed under the reciprocating path AA, so that the floating support unit is prevented from being contaminated by the fluid material to be discharged. The

(Arrangement used for various adjustments)
The arrangement shown in FIG. 4C is used for adjusting the positional relationship between the plurality of nozzles 117 and the substrate to be coated 409, the pitch distance between the plurality of nozzles 117, and the like, and the floating support units 412aL, 412aS, and 412b. The arrangement | positioning of receiving part 416aL, 416aS, 416b is shown. In this arrangement, similarly to the levitating support unit 412aS retracted in FIG. 4B, another movable levitating support unit 412aL is also retracted in the positive direction of the Y axis and is positioned below the retracted unit. The liquid receiving part 416aL is also achieved by ascending to substantially the same height as the levitating support unit. This point can be understood more clearly by comparing FIG. 5 (c) and FIG. 5 (b).

  FIG. 5C is a perspective view showing the positional relationship between the levitation support unit and the liquid receiver, corresponding to the case where the coating apparatus 1 shown in FIG. 4C is observed from the X axis positive direction side. . 5B, when compared with the arrangement of FIG. 5A, the movable levitation support unit 412aS out of the two movable levitation support units in the coating apparatus 1 is separated from the reciprocation path AA in the sub-scanning direction. It was different in the point of evacuation. Similarly, in FIG. 5C, when compared with the arrangement of FIG. 5B, the movable levitating support unit 412a different from the retracted unit is separated from the reciprocation path AA in the sub-scanning direction. Is different in that it is moving. Then, along with the retraction, the movable liquid receiving portion 416aL provided under the retreated movable levitating support unit 412aL rises to almost the same height as the fixed levitating support unit 412b. As a result, an arrangement is obtained in which the entire region immediately below the reciprocating movement path AA is occupied by the movable liquid receiving portions 416aL and 416aS and the fixed liquid receiving portion 416b. By being able to take such an arrangement, the coating apparatus 1 can have the same function as that obtained by the arrangement of FIG. 3C in the first embodiment.

(Third embodiment)
3rd Embodiment of this invention is a modification in the coating device of 1st Embodiment regarding arrangement | positioning of a liquid receiving part and a floating support unit. The apparatus in the third embodiment has a basic configuration such as a coating head in the coating process of the coating apparatus 1 and a basic operation in common with the first embodiment, but the “floating support unit”. The configuration and arrangement of the “liquid receiving part” and the manner of movement are different.

  Actually, the coating apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment has movable floating support units 612a1, 612a2, 612a3 and a liquid receiving unit 616aL as shown in FIGS. 6 (a), 6 (b) and 6 (c). , 616aS, 616b can be switched between three basic arrangements. In the following description, in the coating apparatus according to the third embodiment, the components provided in common with the coating apparatus according to the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals as those in the first embodiment (for example, 117 for the nozzle). ).

  Each basic arrangement shown in FIG. 6A, FIG. 6B, and FIG. 6C depends on the method of application, the type of each adjustment accompanying application, the direction in which the substrate to be coated 609 is conveyed, and the like. Switching is performed by the control unit of the coating apparatus 1. Similar to the first embodiment, the application head 114 including the nozzle 117 and integrated therewith extends in the X-axis direction shown in each of FIGS. 6A, 6B, and 6C. It reciprocates along an axis (main scanning direction) indicated by a reciprocating movement path AA (illustrated by a dotted line). 7 (a), 7 (b), and 7 (c) are shown in FIGS. 6 (a), 6 (b), and 6 (c), respectively, when observed from the positive direction of the X axis. It is a perspective view corresponding to the embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 7, the nozzle cleaning means 619 is not shown.

  In the third embodiment, the components used in the three basic arrangements related to the floating support unit and the liquid receiver are the floating support units 612a1, 612a2, 612a3, 612b and the liquid receivers 616aS, 616aL, 616b. One of the levitation support units is a fixed levitation support unit 612b that does not change the relative position of the nozzle 117 with respect to the reciprocation path AA, and the remaining three are relative to the reciprocation path AA in the three basic arrangements described above. A movable levitation support unit 612a1, 612a2 or 612a3 whose position is changed. On the other hand, two of the liquid receivers described above are fixed liquid receivers 616b that do not change the relative position of the nozzle 117 with respect to the reciprocating path AA, and the remaining two are reciprocatingly moved in the three basic arrangements described above. The movable liquid receiving portions 616aS and 616aL change the relative position with respect to the path AA.

  The above-described fixed levitation support unit 612b is provided on the Y axis positive direction side as viewed from the reciprocating movement path AA. The three movable levitation support units 612a1, 612a2, and 612a3 are arranged side by side on the Y axis negative direction side of the fixed levitation support unit 612b. Further, all the movable levitation support units are arranged so that the longitudinal axis thereof is parallel to the Y axis. Details of the arrangement will be described later.

  Similar to the first embodiment, the determination of the arrangement of the above-described floating support unit and the liquid receiving unit is performed so as to satisfy the following requirements. That is, when the reciprocating nozzle 117 forms a liquid column with respect to the application target region of the substrate 609 to be applied, the levitation support is performed so that the levitation support units 612a1, 612a2, and 612a3 are directly below the nozzle 117. The unit 612a and the liquid receiving part 616b are arranged. In addition, when the nozzle 117 forms a liquid column outside the range of the substrate, the arrangement is performed such that one of the liquid receiving portions 616aS, 616aL, and 616b is directly below the nozzle.

(Horizontal placement)
FIG. 6A shows the floating support units 612a1, 612a2, 612a3 and the liquid receiver when coating is performed on the substrate 609 in such a direction that the longitudinal direction of the substrate 609 is parallel to the main scanning direction of the coating apparatus 1. The arrangement of the units 616aS, 616aL, and 616b (“horizontal coating arrangement”) is shown.

  As understood from FIGS. 6 (a) and 7 (a), the fixed levitation support unit arranged on the Y axis positive direction side of the reciprocating movement path AA so that the longitudinal direction thereof is parallel to the reciprocating movement path AA. The length in the longitudinal direction of 612b is a length substantially corresponding to the length in the longitudinal direction of the substrate to be coated 609 to be conveyed.

  Directly below the reciprocation path AA, the three movable levitation support units 612a1, 612a2, 612a3 are connected to the fixed levitation unit 612b so that their longitudinal directions are perpendicular to the direction of the reciprocation path AA (main scanning direction). Along the Y-axis negative direction side. In addition, movable levitating support units 612a1, 612a2, and 612a3 are disposed at least at a part of the lower portion of the substrate to be coated 609 that is directly below the reciprocation path AA of the nozzle 117. Further, the fixed liquid receiving portion 616b is positioned directly under the reciprocating movement path AA and outside the range of the substrate to be coated 409.

  Under such an arrangement, similarly to the first embodiment, the movement along the main scanning direction of the coating head 114 to which the plurality of nozzles 117 for continuously discharging the fluid material is fixed is performed once. Every time, the substrate movement mechanism 609 moves the substrate to be coated 609 at a predetermined pitch in the sub-scanning direction (for example, the Y-axis positive direction). When such movement is performed under the arrangement as shown in FIG. 6A, the portion of the substrate to be coated 609 to which the fluid material discharged from the nozzle 117 is applied is the movable levitation support unit 612a1. , 612a2 and 612a3 are stably supported. And in the position outside the range of the said to-be-coated substrate 609, the liquid support part 616b is arrange | positioned on the said reciprocating movement path | route, and it is avoided that a floating support unit is contaminated by the fluid material discharged. ing.

  In the embodiment shown in FIG. 6A, the levitation support units 612a1, 612a2, and 612a3 are arranged only in the main part of the reciprocating path, not in the entire range immediately below the reciprocating path AA of the nozzle. In this way, by adjusting the relative positions of the levitation support units 612a1, 612a2, 612a3, the reciprocating movement path AA of the nozzle, and the substrate to be coated 609, only a part of the entire range directly below the reciprocating movement path AA is levitated. It is possible to achieve stable application by supporting the support unit. That is, since at least a part of the movable levitation support units 612a1, 612a2, and 612a3 is positioned in the vicinity immediately below the substrate 609 to which the fluid material is discharged and applied from the nozzle 117, the nozzle 117 When the fluid material is applied, the movable levitation support units 612a1, 612a2, 612a3 and the fixed levitation support unit 612b positioned in the vicinity of the part to be applied support the substrate 609 to be coated. For this reason, the behavior of the substrate to be coated 609 is stabilized at a portion immediately below the nozzle, which is important for ensuring coating accuracy, and stable coating is achieved. Further, even if the nozzle 117 that continuously discharges the fluid material moves out of the range where the substrate to be coated 609 exists, any of the liquid receiving portions 616aS, 616aL, and 616b is arranged there. Therefore, the discharged fluid material is appropriately received by the liquid receiving portion.

(Vertical painting arrangement)
FIG. 6B and FIG. 7B show the floating support unit when performing the coating process on the substrate in a direction in which the longitudinal direction of the substrate to be coated 609 is perpendicular to the main scanning direction of the coating apparatus 1. The arrangement of the liquid receiver (“vertical coating arrangement”) is shown.

  Here, the difference between the “vertical painting arrangement” and the “horizontal painting arrangement” shown in FIG. 6A will be described. The transition from “horizontal painting arrangement” to “vertical painting arrangement” is performed as follows. First, one of the levitating support units (612a1 in the case of the embodiment) arranged so as to face the lower surface of the substrate in the horizontal coating arrangement is arranged around the rotation axis parallel to the Z axis of the fixed levitating support unit 612b. It rotates while maintaining the same height as the height (At this time, it may move temporarily in the horizontal direction in order to secure a space to rotate as necessary). Although not shown in FIG. 6, a suitable drive for achieving this rotational movement is attached to the above-described levitation support unit, which movement is achieved. After the levitation support unit 612a1 moves, the movable liquid receiving portion 616aS positioned below the position where the movable levitation support unit is rotated and retracted is almost the same height (in the Z-axis direction) as the fixed levitation support unit 612b. By raising, the arrangement of FIG. 6B is achieved. As a result of the operation of the coating apparatus 1, the floating support units 612a2 and 612a3 are disposed immediately below the reciprocation path AA of the coating head 114 that reciprocates in the coating process, as in the “horizontal coating arrangement”. The liquid receiving portion 616aS or 616b is arranged at a position outside the substrate region and immediately below the nozzle movement path. As in the case of “horizontal coating arrangement”, stable application is achieved.

(Arrangement used for various adjustments)
The arrangement of FIG. 6C shows the arrangement of the floating support unit and the liquid receiving portion when adjusting the positional relationship between the nozzle and the substrate to be coated. The same movement as that of the movable levitation support unit 612a1 retracted while rotating in FIG. 6B is performed in the movable levitation support units 612a2 and 612a3, and thereafter, as in the case of FIG. The liquid receiving portion 616aL located in the position ascends to the same height (in the Z-axis direction) as the fixed levitation support unit 612b along the Z-axis. As a result, an arrangement can be obtained in which the liquid receiving portions 616a and 616b all occupy the area immediately below the reciprocating movement path AA. By being able to take such an arrangement, the coating apparatus 1 can have the same function as that obtained by the arrangement of FIG. 3C in the first embodiment.

(Definition of terms, etc.)
In addition to the above description, definitions of terms used in the present specification or matters accompanying the definitions are listed below.

(Floating support unit)
As used herein, the “floating support unit” is a non-contact support device that supports the substrate in a non-contact manner so that the posture of the substrate to be coated is maintained in a predetermined direction in the coating apparatus of the present invention. . The non-contact support device used in the present invention sucks the surrounding fluid by evacuating together with the fluid ejecting portion that floats the substrate to be coated by ejecting pressurized fluid onto the main surface of the substrate to be coated. A fluid suction part may be provided. The fluid ejecting portion may be formed of a porous material in order to eject the fluid from the upper surface, or may be formed of a plate-like material provided with openings on the upper surface with a predetermined density. The outer shape of the entire non-contact support device may be a shape (for example, a rectangular parallelepiped shape) that can be incorporated in a predetermined place in the coating apparatus of the present invention. In addition, the non-contact support apparatus used with the coating device of this invention may be a non-contact support apparatus which is not equipped with a fluid suction part as needed.

  Further, the length, width, depth, etc. of one floating support unit used in the coating apparatus of the present invention is the size of the substrate to be supported or the entire nozzle printing apparatus to which the floating support unit is to be incorporated. The size can be determined as appropriate based on the description of the present specification in consideration of the size or the peripheral equipment attached to the apparatus. Therefore, the total number of floating support units to be used in the coating apparatus of the present invention is not limited to the number shown in the specific embodiment described above. If the size of one levitation support unit is changed, the total number or configuration of the levitation support units required to obtain a desired application result (for example, which unit should be fixed or movable) Are also changed). However, based on the description herein, those skilled in the art can configure a floating support unit for a coating apparatus having the features of the present invention exemplified by the above-described specific embodiments of the present invention. Furthermore, even if the levitation support unit of the present invention normally exhibits a function as a single unit, it is possible to attach, detach, separate, etc. a partial structure in the structure according to its use. The configuration can be changed as appropriate in relation to other components in the apparatus.

  In addition, when implementing the coating device of this invention, the non-contact support apparatus marketed may be used. When such a non-contact support device is used in the coating device of the present invention, a person skilled in the art, based on the description of the present specification, has an appropriate specification, configuration, and arrangement including a flying height, a consumption flow rate, a shape, and the like. The support device can be used by selecting. In the case of using the above-described support device for the coating apparatus of the present invention, those skilled in the art can also use a commercially available non-contact support device.

(Liquid receiving part)
The “liquid receiver” used in the coating apparatus of the present invention is a fluid material discharged from the nozzle to the outside of the substrate to be coated or a flow discharged from the nozzle in a state where the substrate to be coated is not supported by the floating support unit. Accept sex material. If it has this function and the desired application result is achieved, the specific shape, number, arrangement, movable or fixed setting method, etc. of the liquid receiving part are those shown in the above-described embodiment. It is not limited to. In this regard, as with the above-described floating support unit, the liquid receiving portion for the coating apparatus having the characteristics of the present invention exemplified by the above-described specific embodiment of the present invention based on the description of this specification. Can be appropriately configured by those skilled in the art.

  For example, the following modifications can be considered for the method of setting the movable or fixed in the liquid receiver. In the second or third embodiment, a part of the liquid receiving part is a movable liquid receiving part. Here, the movable liquid receiver is configured to move up to the same level as the surrounding floating support unit that supports the substrate to be coated, ascending in the height direction (Z-axis direction) as necessary. In a modification, the movable liquid receiving part may be fixed without changing the position in the height direction. In other words, the distance between the liquid receiving portion and the nozzle existing at a position lower than the surrounding floating support unit can appropriately receive the coating liquid without causing the rolling of the fluid material discharged from the nozzle. If so, the liquid receiver itself does not need to be movable, is fixed at a position lower than the surrounding levitation support unit, and a desired application can be achieved only by movement of the levitation support unit.

(Relative movement mechanism)
In the embodiment described above, every time the coating head 114 (nozzle 117) linearly moves in the X-axis direction (main scanning direction), the substrate to be coated supported by the floating support unit is moved in the Y-axis direction (sub-scanning) by the substrate moving mechanism. The relative positional relationship between the coating head 114 and the substrate to be coated with respect to the Y-axis direction is changed by moving a predetermined pitch in the direction), but the configuration of the present invention is not limited to this.

  In the present invention, as described above, the nozzle 117 is reciprocated by a nozzle moving mechanism in a predetermined direction in a virtual horizontal plane above the substrate to be coated. In this case, when the relative positional relationship is changed, at least one of the nozzle 117 and the substrate to be coated can be moved relatively in a direction parallel to the virtual horizontal plane and different from the reciprocating direction. It is sufficient if the present invention has a configuration that can be performed ("relative movement mechanism"). For example, in addition to the configuration used in the first embodiment or the like, every time the coating head 114 moves linearly in the X-axis direction, the coating head 114 is moved by a predetermined pitch in the Y-axis direction. The relative positional relationship between the substrate and the substrate to be coated in the Y-axis direction may be changed. In this case, the present invention is achieved by relatively moving other configurations such as the liquid receiving portion as necessary.

(Drive mechanism, etc.)
In the coating apparatus 1 of the present invention, the relative position between the components is changed by a drive mechanism for driving the operation of each component, and an auxiliary member (guide rail, sliding aid) for moving or driving the component. Any member can be used as long as the driving of the member can be achieved with a desired accuracy. Selection of the specific means can be appropriately determined by those skilled in the art based on the description of the present specification.

(Flowable material)
As used herein, the “flowable material” is a material that is applied to an object to be coated in the nozzle printing apparatus of the present invention, and is discharged vertically from the nozzle of the apparatus. The liquid column is applied to the object to be coated. Examples of the fluid material used in the present invention include, but are not limited to, a coating liquid containing a pixel forming material (for example, an organic EL material) and a solvent (for example, mesitylene) for various flat display devices. Not.

  In the above-described embodiment, an example in which the coating apparatus 1 applies a fluid material containing an organic EL material to a substrate to be applied is used. Needless to say, when the organic EL material forms a light emitting layer, a flowable material including a red light emitting polymer organic EL material, a green light emitting polymer organic EL material, and a blue light emitting polymer organic EL material can be applied. . Further, the coating apparatus of the present invention has fluidity including other organic EL materials such as a hole transport layer material, a hole injection layer material, an electron transport layer material, and an electron injection layer material in addition to the organic light emitting layer material. It can also be used when applying materials.

  Specifically, in the case where the coating apparatus 1 in the above-described embodiment applies a fluid material including a red-light-emitting polymer organic EL material among red, green, and blue light emission, this coating process is performed by organic EL. This is an intermediate process for manufacturing a device. When manufacturing an organic EL device, a hole injection layer material coating, a hole transport material (for example, PEDOT) coating, a red light emitting organic EL material coating, a green light emitting organic EL material coating, a blue light emitting organic EL material coating There are coating processes such as application of an electron transport material and coating of an electron injection layer material, and the coating apparatus of the present invention can be used in any coating process.

  In the above-described embodiment, the application apparatus that applies a fluid material including an organic EL material is described as an example. However, the present invention can be applied to other application apparatuses. For example, the present invention can be applied to an apparatus for applying a fluorescent material used to manufacture a resist solution, an SOG (Spin On Glass) solution, or a PDP (plasma display panel). Further, the present invention can also be applied to an apparatus for applying a color material used for manufacturing a color filter configured in a liquid crystal cell in order to perform color display on a liquid crystal color display.

(Other)
Throughout this specification, it should be understood that the singular forms also include the plural concept unless specifically stated otherwise. Thus, it should be understood that singular articles or adjectives (eg, “a”, “an”, “the”, etc., in the English language) also include the plural concept unless otherwise stated. is there. In addition, it is to be understood that the terms used in the present specification are used in the meaning normally used in the art unless otherwise specified. Thus, unless defined otherwise, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this invention belongs. In case of conflict, the present specification, including definitions, will control.

  As mentioned above, although this invention has been illustrated using embodiment of this invention, this invention should not be limited and limited to this embodiment. It is understood that the scope of the present invention should be construed only by the claims. Moreover, it is understood that those skilled in the art can implement an equivalent range from the description of the specific embodiments of the present invention based on the description of the present invention and the common general technical knowledge. Patents, patent applications, and documents cited herein should be incorporated by reference in their entirety, as if the contents themselves were specifically described herein. Understood.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Coating apparatus 109,409,609 Substrate to be coated 100 Movable set 110 Substrate rotation mechanism 111 Guide rail 112a Movable levitating support unit 112aL Long axis movable levitating support unit 112aS Short axis movable levitating support unit 112b Fixed levitating support unit 114 Coating head 115 Head Moving mechanism 116aL Long axis movable liquid receiving part 116aS Short axis movable liquid receiving part 116b Fixed liquid receiving part 117 Nozzle 119, 419, 619 Nozzle cleaning means 412aL, 412aS Movable floating support unit (second embodiment)
412b Fixed levitating support unit (second embodiment)
416aL, 416aS Movable liquid receiver (second embodiment)
416b Fixing liquid receiver (second embodiment)
612a1, 612a2, 612a3 movable levitating support unit (third embodiment)
612b Fixed levitation support unit (third embodiment)
616aL, 616aS Movable liquid receiver (third embodiment)
616b Fixing liquid receiver (third embodiment)

Claims (13)

An application device for applying a flowable material to a substrate,
A nozzle that discharges the flowable material in the form of a liquid column in the form of a straight bar vertically downward;
One or more liquid receivers for receiving the flowable material discharged by the nozzle;
One or more movable levitating support units for supporting the substrate in a non-contact manner;
A nozzle moving mechanism for reciprocating the nozzle in a predetermined direction in a virtual horizontal plane above the substrate;
A relative movement mechanism that moves at least one of the nozzle and the substrate in parallel with the virtual horizontal plane and in a direction different from the direction of the reciprocating movement;
A control unit for controlling the arrangement of the movable floating support unit and the liquid receiving unit,
The liquid receiver includes a movable liquid receiver,
Wherein, depending on the length relative to the direction of the reciprocating movement of the presence or the substrate of the substrate to be relatively moved by the relative movement mechanism, the movable floating support unit does not support the substrate state When the nozzle discharges a fluid material, at least a part of the liquid receiving portion is arranged in all the regions that are directly below the nozzle.
The coating apparatus which moves and arrange | positions the said movable floating support unit or the said movable liquid receiving part, or both . The control unit is configured so that, when the nozzle discharges a flowable material to the application target region of the substrate, at least a part of the movable levitation support unit supports the substrate at a position directly below the nozzle. The coating apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the movable levitation support unit and / or the movable liquid receiving portion are moved and arranged according to the length of the substrate. The control unit is configured to adjust the length of the substrate so that at least a part of the liquid receiving unit is disposed at a position immediately below the nozzle when the nozzle discharges a fluid material outside the range of the substrate. the placing movable floating support unit or by moving the movable liquid receiving portion, or both, depending on the coating apparatus according to claim 1 or 2. An application device for applying a flowable material to a substrate,
A nozzle that discharges the flowable material in the form of a liquid column in the form of a straight bar vertically downward;
One or more liquid receivers for receiving the flowable material discharged by the nozzle;
One or more movable levitating support units for supporting the substrate in a non-contact manner;
A nozzle moving mechanism for reciprocating the nozzle in a predetermined direction in a virtual horizontal plane above the substrate;
A relative movement mechanism that moves at least one of the nozzle and the substrate in parallel with the virtual horizontal plane and in a direction different from the direction of the reciprocating movement;
A control unit for controlling the arrangement of the movable levitating support unit and the liquid receiving unit;
With
The liquid receiver includes a movable liquid receiver,
The control unit determines whether the nozzle is moved directly under the nozzle when the nozzle is reciprocated according to the presence / absence of the substrate relatively moved by the relative movement mechanism or the length of the substrate with respect to the reciprocation direction. The movable levitation support unit and the movable liquid receiver are moved by disposing one of the movable levitation support units at a position where at least one of the movable liquid receivers is retracted with respect to the region. arranged to, coated fabric device. An application device for applying a flowable material to a substrate,
A nozzle that discharges the flowable material in the form of a liquid column in the form of a straight bar vertically downward;
One or more liquid receivers for receiving the flowable material discharged by the nozzle;
One or more movable levitating support units for supporting the substrate in a non-contact manner;
A nozzle moving mechanism for reciprocating the nozzle in a predetermined direction in a virtual horizontal plane above the substrate;
A relative movement mechanism that moves at least one of the nozzle and the substrate in parallel with the virtual horizontal plane and in a direction different from the direction of the reciprocating movement;
A control unit for controlling the arrangement of the movable levitating support unit and the liquid receiving unit;
With
The liquid receiver includes a movable liquid receiver,
The control unit determines whether the nozzle is moved directly under the nozzle when the nozzle is reciprocated according to the presence / absence of the substrate relatively moved by the relative movement mechanism or the length of the substrate with respect to the reciprocation direction. The movable levitation support unit and the movable liquid receiver are moved by disposing one of the movable liquid receivers at a position where at least one of the movable levitation support units is retracted with respect to the region. arranged to, coated fabric device. The control unit moves at least one of the movable levitating support units by moving the movable levitating support unit and the movable liquid receiving portion together in a horizontal direction perpendicular to a direction in which the nozzle reciprocates. The coating apparatus according to claim 5 , wherein any one of the movable liquid receiving portions is disposed at the position where the movement is performed. The control unit moves the movable levitating support unit in a horizontal direction perpendicular to a direction in which the nozzle reciprocates, and moves the movable liquid receiving unit in a vertical direction, thereby moving the movable levitating support unit out of the movable levitating support units. The coating apparatus according to claim 5 , wherein any one of the movable liquid receiving portions is disposed at a position where at least one of the movable liquid receiving portions is retracted. The control unit rotates and moves the movable levitating support unit with the vertical direction as a rotation axis, and moves the movable liquid receiving unit in the vertical direction, whereby at least one of the movable levitating support units rotates and moves. The coating apparatus according to claim 5 , wherein any one of the movable liquid receiving portions is disposed at a retracted position. An application device for applying a flowable material to a substrate,
A nozzle that discharges the flowable material in the form of a liquid column in the form of a straight bar vertically downward;
One or more liquid receivers for receiving the flowable material discharged by the nozzle;
One or more movable levitating support units for supporting the substrate in a non-contact manner;
A nozzle moving mechanism for reciprocating the nozzle in a predetermined direction in a virtual horizontal plane above the substrate;
A relative movement mechanism that moves at least one of the nozzle and the substrate in parallel with the virtual horizontal plane and in a direction different from the direction of the reciprocating movement;
A control unit for controlling the arrangement of the movable levitating support unit and the liquid receiving unit;
With
The liquid receiver includes a movable liquid receiver,
The control unit, according to the presence or absence of the substrate relatively moved by the relative movement mechanism or the length of the substrate in the reciprocating direction,
The movable levitating support unit or the movable liquid receiving part or both are moved and arranged,
At least one of the movable levitating support units is arranged in a region directly below the nozzle when the nozzle reciprocates, so that its longitudinal direction is parallel to the reciprocating direction of the nozzle. disposed is Ru, the coating fabric device. An application device for applying a flowable material to a substrate,
A nozzle that discharges the flowable material in the form of a liquid column in the form of a straight bar vertically downward;
One or more liquid receivers for receiving the flowable material discharged by the nozzle;
One or more movable levitating support units for supporting the substrate in a non-contact manner;
A nozzle moving mechanism for reciprocating the nozzle in a predetermined direction in a virtual horizontal plane above the substrate;
A relative movement mechanism that moves at least one of the nozzle and the substrate in parallel with the virtual horizontal plane and in a direction different from the direction of the reciprocating movement;
A control unit for controlling the arrangement of the movable levitating support unit and the liquid receiving unit;
With
The liquid receiver includes a movable liquid receiver,
When there is the relatively moved substrate, the control unit determines whether the longitudinal direction of the substrate is parallel or perpendicular to the reciprocating direction of the nozzle. place the supporting unit and the movable liquid receiving moved, coated fabric device. The movable levitation support unit includes a long-axis movable levitation support unit and a short-axis movable levitation support unit;
The movable liquid receiver includes a long-axis movable liquid receiver and a short-axis movable liquid receiver.
The long-axis movable levitation support unit has a total length corresponding to the length in the longitudinal direction of the substrate,
The short-axis movable levitating support unit has a total length corresponding to the length in the short direction of the substrate,
The long-axis movable liquid receiver has a total length corresponding to the length in the longitudinal direction of the substrate,
The short-axis movable liquid receiver has a total length substantially corresponding to a length obtained by subtracting the total length of the short-axis movable levitation support unit from the total length of the long-axis movable levitation support unit;
The liquid receiver includes a fixed liquid receiver fixed to both ends via a gap corresponding to a length in the longitudinal direction of the substrate,
When the substrate is relatively moved by a relative movement mechanism while maintaining a posture such that the longitudinal direction of the substrate is parallel to the reciprocating direction of the nozzle, the long-axis movable levitating support unit In the gap of the fixative receiving part,
When the substrate is relatively moved by a relative movement mechanism while maintaining a posture such that the short direction of the substrate is parallel to the reciprocating direction of the nozzle, the control unit supports the short-axis movable levitating support. A unit and the short-axis movable liquid receiving part are arranged adjacent to each other in the gap of the fixed liquid receiving part,
When the nozzle discharges a flowable material in a state where the movable levitation support unit does not support the substrate, the control unit arranges the long-axis movable liquid receiver in the gap of the fixed liquid receiver. The coating device according to claim 10 . To plurality chromatic said nozzle, the coating apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 11. An application device for applying a flowable material to a substrate,
A nozzle that discharges the flowable material in the form of a liquid column in the form of a straight bar vertically downward;
One or more liquid receivers for receiving the flowable material discharged by the nozzle;
One or more movable levitating support units for supporting the substrate in a non-contact manner;
A nozzle moving mechanism for reciprocating the nozzle in a predetermined direction in a virtual horizontal plane above the substrate;
A relative movement mechanism that moves at least one of the nozzle and the substrate in parallel with the virtual horizontal plane and in a direction different from the direction of the reciprocating movement;
A control unit for controlling the arrangement of the movable levitating support unit and the liquid receiving unit;
With
The control unit includes presence / absence of a substrate relatively moved by the relative movement mechanism and
Depending on one of the lengths of the substrate relative to the reciprocating direction,
Moving and placing the movable levitating support unit;
Here, a plurality of the nozzles are provided,
The coating device includes:
A pitch adjusting mechanism for adjusting the pitch between the plurality of nozzles;
The control unit moves and arranges at least the movable levitation support unit so that at least a part of the liquid receiving unit is arranged in all regions that are directly below the nozzles when the pitch adjustment is performed. , coating fabric equipment.

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