An air suspension platform and air suspension guide rail conveying device based on 3D metal printing

Abstract

The present invention discloses an air suspension platform and an air suspension guide rail conveying device based on 3D metal printing, which relates to the technical field of inkjet printing of OLED display panels. The air suspension platform includes an upper top plate, a lower mounting plate, and a throttle arranged between the upper top plate and the lower mounting plate, wherein the upper top plate is provided with air holes, the lower mounting plate is provided with guide grooves, the throttle is provided with a vertically arranged serrated flow channel, the upper end of the serrated flow channel is connected to the air holes, and the lower end of the serrated flow channel is connected to the guide groove; the throttle is made by 3D metal printing. The air suspension platform can make the micro-flow field flow only in the same vertical direction, reduce the occurrence of air flow turbulence, and greatly increase the stability of substrate suspension; at the same time, it can greatly shorten the distance between the air holes, make the air holes more compactly arranged, further increase the stability of substrate suspension, and improve the accuracy of substrate suspension height.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the technical field of inkjet printing of OLED display panels, and in particular to an air suspension platform and an air suspension guide rail conveying device based on 3D metal printing. Background Art

[0002] Inkjet printing technology is widely used in OLED display panels. OLED inkjet printing is a technology that drips ink droplets into the pixel grooves of the substrate from top to bottom, and uses a series of back-end processes such as vacuum decompression and drying to make high-resolution display panels. During the inkjet printing process of the display panel, the position accuracy between the nozzle and the substrate (i.e., the display panel) is extremely high, usually at the micron level. During the inkjet printing process, the position of the nozzle is fixed, and printing is performed by moving the substrate. Therefore, there are high requirements for the position accuracy and posture control of the substrate movement. In the prior art, air flotation conveying technology is usually used to transport the substrate, which not only has high movement accuracy, but also can effectively avoid scratches on the substrate.

[0003] At present, the air flotation conveying technology mainly uses an air suspension platform to suspend the substrate. The performance of the air suspension platform based on the principle of small hole throttling is closely related to the aperture size, hole spacing arrangement and throttle structure of the positive / negative pressure air holes. The throttle is a core component, and its structure and arrangement will directly affect the aperture size and hole spacing. Figure 1-Figure 2 In the prior art air suspension platform, the arrangement of positive / negative pressure air holes is limited by manufacturing technology, so the throttle holes inside the throttle can only be arranged horizontally on both sides, resulting in a large distance h2 between the air holes, which cannot be further reduced, and thus the stability of the substrate suspension and the control of the suspension height accuracy cannot be further improved; in addition, the air flow flows upward after lateral circulation, which will cause a certain degree of turbulence in the micro-flow field, and will also affect the stability of the substrate suspension and the suspension height accuracy. Summary of the invention

[0004] The purpose of the present invention is to overcome the above-mentioned problems and provide an air suspension platform based on 3D metal printing, which can make the microflow field flow only in the same vertical direction, reduce the occurrence of air flow turbulence, and greatly increase the stability of substrate suspension; at the same time, it can greatly shorten the distance between pores, make the pore arrangement more compact, further increase the stability of substrate suspension, and improve the suspension height accuracy of the substrate.

[0005] Another object of the present invention is to provide an air suspension guide rail conveying device.

[0006] The purpose of the present invention is achieved through the following technical solutions:

[0007] A 3D metal printing-based air suspension platform comprises an upper top plate, a lower mounting plate and a throttle arranged between the upper top plate and the lower mounting plate, wherein the upper top plate is provided with an air hole, the lower mounting plate is provided with a guide groove, the throttle is provided with a vertically arranged serrated flow channel, the upper end of the serrated flow channel is connected to the air hole, and the lower end of the serrated flow channel is connected to the guide groove; the throttle is made by 3D metal printing.

[0008] The working principle of the above-mentioned air suspension platform based on 3D metal printing is:

[0009] The pores are divided into positive-pressure pores and negative-pressure pores. When working, the positive-pressure airflow can enter the serrated flow channel of the corresponding throttle above through the guide groove on the lower mounting plate. The positive-pressure airflow produces a uniform and stable micro-flow field through the throttling effect of the throttle, and finally flows out through the positive-pressure pores on the upper top plate; the negative-pressure airflow produces negative pressure in the guide groove, the serrated flow channel and the negative-pressure pores. Through the combined effect of the positive and negative pressures of the positive and negative pressure pores, a "force" is generated to stably suspend the substrate (i.e., the display panel).

[0010] In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, there are multiple throttles, which are distributed in an array between the upper top plate and the lower mounting plate. By providing multiple throttles, the size of each throttle can be appropriately reduced, thereby facilitating 3D metal printing of the throttle.

[0011] Preferably, each of the throttles is provided with a plurality of serrated channels, the number of the serrated channels is the same as the number of the pores, and the serrated channels and the pores are arranged in a one-to-one correspondence; the number of the guide grooves is multiple, and one guide groove is arranged in correspondence with a plurality of serrated channels. In the above structure, by setting a plurality of serrated channels, a more uniform and stable micro-flow field can be generated after the airflow passes through the throttle, and a plurality of pores can allow the substrate to be stably suspended through the combined action of positive pressure and negative pressure; a guide groove is arranged in correspondence with a plurality of serrated channels, that is, a guide groove is connected with a plurality of serrated channels, and the number of guide grooves can be reduced, which is convenient for processing the guide grooves.

[0012] Preferably, an upper port is provided at the upper end of the serrated flow channel, and a lower port is provided at the lower end of the serrated flow channel, and the upper port and the lower port are both arranged vertically. In the above structure, a throttle is used which is made by 3D metal printing and the serrated flow channel is arranged vertically. The orientation of the serrated flow channel is consistent with the orientation of the pores, which avoids the phenomenon of flow field turbulence as much as possible, greatly increases the uniformity of the micro-flow field, and thus improves the final accuracy and stability of the air suspension platform; the use of a vertically oriented serrated flow channel can save space for lateral arrangement, making the arrangement between pores more uniform and compact, thereby improving the uniformity of the micro-flow field.

[0013] Preferably, a plurality of fine-tuning support seats are provided at the lower end of the lower mounting plate. By providing the fine-tuning support seats, the lower mounting plate can be provided with mounting support, and the height of the fine-tuning support seats can be adjusted, thereby adjusting the height of the lower mounting plate, and further ensuring the levelness of the lower mounting plate.

[0014] An air suspension rail conveying device includes an air suspension rail mechanism for suspending a substrate, a fine-tuning mechanism for adsorbing the substrate and adjusting the movement posture of the substrate, and an air floating drive mechanism for driving the fine-tuning mechanism to move so as to drive the movement of the substrate; wherein the air suspension rail mechanism is composed of a plurality of the air suspension platforms. In the above structure, the air suspension rail mechanism allows the substrate to suspend above the air suspension rail mechanism through the combined action of positive pressure and negative pressure, the fine-tuning mechanism can vacuum adsorb the suspended substrate, adjust the movement posture of the substrate, and control the six-degree-of-freedom accuracy of the substrate; the air floating drive mechanism can drive the fine-tuning mechanism to move, and then drive the substrate to move above the air suspension rail mechanism, so that the substrate moves precisely along the direction of the air suspension rail mechanism.

[0015] Preferably, the air suspension rail conveying device also includes an installation area for installing the air suspension rail mechanism, and the installation area includes a core working area located in the middle and conveying areas arranged on both sides of the core working area; the arrangement density of the air holes in the air suspension platform located in the core working area is greater than the arrangement density of the air holes in the air suspension platform located in the conveying area. In the above structure, the air suspension platform in the core working area has a large arrangement density of air holes, a larger number of air holes, and the positive pressure air holes and the negative pressure air holes are arranged at intervals, so that the flying height of the substrate can be controlled more accurately; the air suspension platform in the conveying area only plays a conveying role, and its air hole arrangement density is small, the number of air holes is smaller, and it is relatively loose, and no negative pressure control is required, which can save costs.

[0016] Preferably, the air-floating drive mechanism includes a base, an air-floating slide slidably arranged on the base, and a vertical lifting mechanism arranged on the side of the air-floating slide; the fine-tuning mechanism is installed on the vertical lifting mechanism. In the above structure, the base and the air-floating slide constitute the main moving part, the air-floating slide can move on the base, thereby driving the vertical lifting mechanism to move, thereby driving the fine-tuning mechanism to move, and finally realizing the movement of the substrate above the air-floating guide rail mechanism; the vertical lifting mechanism can realize the vertical movement of the fine-tuning mechanism, thereby realizing the fine-tuning of the substrate and maintaining the accuracy of the vertical height of the substrate.

[0017] Compared with the prior art, the present invention has the following beneficial effects:

[0018] 1. The air suspension platform in the present invention is made into a throttle by 3D metal printing, which gets rid of the limitations of traditional machining processes and can manufacture a throttle with a serrated flow channel. The serrated flow channel is arranged vertically, so that the microflow field only flows vertically in the same direction, reducing the occurrence of air flow turbulence and greatly increasing the uniformity of the microflow field, thereby improving the stability of substrate suspension and the accuracy of suspension height.

[0019] 2. The air suspension platform in the present invention has a vertical arrangement of serrated flow channels. Compared with the horizontal arrangement in the prior art, the present invention can greatly reduce the distance between the air holes, making the air hole arrangement more compact, further increasing the stability of the substrate suspension, and improving the suspension height accuracy of the substrate. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0020] Figure 1 Schematic diagram of the internal airflow direction of the throttle based on traditional machining technology.

[0021] Figure 2 Schematic diagram of pore arrangement based on traditional machining process.

[0022] Figure 3 It is a schematic diagram of an explosion of an air suspension platform based on 3D metal printing in the present invention.

[0023] Figure 4 It is a schematic diagram of the internal airflow direction of the throttle in the present invention.

[0024] Figure 5 Schematic diagram of pore arrangement in the present invention.

[0025] Figure 6 It is a schematic diagram of the three-dimensional structure of an air suspension guide rail conveying device in the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0026] In order to enable those skilled in the art to better understand the technical solution of the present invention, the present invention is further described below in conjunction with embodiments and drawings, but the embodiments of the present invention are not limited thereto.

[0027] Example 1

[0028] See also Figure 3-Figure 5 The present embodiment discloses an air suspension platform 8 based on 3D metal printing, comprising an upper top plate 9, a lower mounting plate 11 and a throttle 10 arranged between the upper top plate 9 and the lower mounting plate 11, wherein the upper top plate 9 is provided with an air hole, the lower mounting plate 11 is provided with a guide groove, the throttle 10 is provided with a vertically arranged serrated flow channel 13, the upper end of the serrated flow channel 13 is connected to the air hole, and the lower end of the serrated flow channel 13 is connected to the guide groove; the throttle 10 is made by 3D metal printing.

[0029] See also Figure 1-Figure 2 In the throttle 10 manufactured by the traditional machining method, the flow channel can only be arranged horizontally, but because the final air hole is in the vertical direction, the air flow will inevitably bend during the circulation process, which will inevitably cause flow field turbulence.

[0030] See also Figure 3-Figure 5 and Figure 6 The present embodiment provides an air suspension platform 8 with a more compact arrangement of pores and a more uniform and stable microflow field. The throttle 10 is made by 3D metal printing, which gets rid of the limitations of traditional machining processes and can manufacture a throttle 10 with a serrated flow channel 13. The serrated flow channel 13 is arranged vertically, so that the microflow field only flows vertically in the same direction, reducing the occurrence of air flow turbulence, greatly increasing the uniformity of the microflow field, thereby improving the stability of the suspension of the substrate 6 and the accuracy of the suspension height. At the same time, the distance h1 between the pores can be greatly reduced, making the pore arrangement more compact, further increasing the stability of the suspension of the substrate 6, and improving the accuracy of the suspension height of the substrate 6.

[0031] See also Figure 3-Figure 5 The number of the throttles 10 is multiple, and the multiple throttles 10 are distributed in an array between the upper top plate 9 and the lower mounting plate 11. By providing multiple throttles 10, the size of each throttle 10 can be appropriately reduced, thereby facilitating the throttle 10 to perform 3D metal printing.

[0032] See also Figure 3-Figure 5 , each of the throttles 10 is provided with a plurality of serrated channels 13, the number of the serrated channels 13 is the same as the number of the pores, and the serrated channels 13 are arranged one by one with the pores; the number of the guide grooves is multiple, and one guide groove is arranged corresponding to a plurality of serrated channels 13. In the above structure, by setting a plurality of serrated channels 13, a more uniform and stable micro-flow field can be generated after the airflow passes through the throttle 10, and a plurality of pores can allow the substrate 6 to be stably suspended through the combined action of positive pressure and negative pressure; the guide groove is a common guide groove, which is arranged vertically (i.e., vertically), and one guide groove is arranged corresponding to a plurality of serrated channels 13, i.e., one guide groove is connected to a plurality of serrated channels 13, and the number of guide grooves can be reduced, which is convenient for processing the guide grooves.

[0033] See also Figure 3-Figure 5 The air holes are divided into positive pressure air holes and negative pressure air holes. Correspondingly, the serrated flow channel 13 is also divided into a positive pressure serrated flow channel and a negative pressure serrated flow channel, and the guide groove is divided into a positive pressure guide groove and a negative pressure guide groove; the positive pressure air holes, the positive pressure serrated flow channels and the positive pressure guide grooves are interconnected, and the negative pressure air holes, the negative pressure serrated flow channels and the negative pressure guide grooves are interconnected.

[0034] See also Figure 3-Figure 5 In this embodiment, the number of pores may be 96, 8 rows in total, 12 in each row, the number of throttles 10 is 16, the number of sawtooth channels 13 in each throttle 10 is 6, and the 6 sawtooth channels 13 are divided into 2 rows; the number of guide grooves is 32, 8 rows in total, 4 in each row, and one guide groove is connected to a row of sawtooth channels 13 in each throttle 10. In another embodiment, the number of guide grooves may be the same as the number of sawtooth channels 13, and they are arranged in a one-to-one correspondence.

[0035] See also Figure 3-Figure 5 , an upper port is provided at the upper end of the serrated channel 13, a lower port is provided at the lower end of the serrated channel 13, the upper port and the lower port are both vertical holes, and the upper port and the lower port are both vertically arranged. In the above structure, a throttle 10 is used which is made by 3D metal printing and the serrated channel 13 is arranged vertically. The orientation of the serrated channel 13 is consistent with the orientation of the pores, which avoids the occurrence of flow field turbulence as much as possible, greatly increases the uniformity of the micro-flow field, and thus improves the final accuracy and stability of the air suspension platform 8; the use of a vertically oriented serrated channel 13 can save space for lateral arrangement, making the arrangement between pores more uniform and compact, thereby improving the uniformity of the micro-flow field.

[0036] See also Figure 3-Figure 5 The lower end of the lower mounting plate 11 is provided with a plurality of fine-tuning support seats 12. By providing the fine-tuning support seats 12, the lower mounting plate 11 can be provided with installation support, and the height of the fine-tuning support seats 12 can be adjusted, thereby adjusting the height of the lower mounting plate 11, and further ensuring the level of the lower mounting plate 11.

[0037] See also Figure 3 , the number of the fine-tuning support seats 12 is 4.

[0038] See also Figure 3-Figure 5 and Figure 6 The working principle of the above-mentioned air suspension platform 8 based on 3D metal printing is:

[0039] During operation, the external positive pressure and negative pressure can be connected to the lower mounting plate 11 and enter the guide groove. The positive pressure airflow can enter the serrated flow channel 13 of the corresponding throttle 10 above through the guide groove on the lower mounting plate 11. The positive pressure airflow produces a uniform and stable micro-flow field through the throttling effect of the throttle 10, and finally flows out through the positive pressure air holes on the upper top plate 9; the negative pressure airflow produces a negative pressure effect in the guide groove, the serrated flow channel 13 and the negative pressure air holes. Through the combined effect of the positive and negative pressures of the positive and negative pressure air holes, a "force" is generated to stably suspend the substrate 6 (i.e., the display panel).

[0040] Example 2

[0041] See also Figure 6 This embodiment discloses an air suspension rail conveying device, including an air suspension rail mechanism 7 for suspending a substrate 6, a fine-tuning mechanism 5 for adsorbing the substrate 6 and adjusting the motion posture of the substrate 6, and an air floating drive mechanism 1 for driving the fine-tuning mechanism 5 to move so as to drive the substrate 6 to move; wherein, the air suspension rail mechanism 7 is composed of a plurality of air suspension platforms 8 as described in Example 1. In the above structure, the air suspension rail mechanism 7 allows the substrate 6 to suspend above the air suspension rail mechanism 7 through the combined action of positive pressure and negative pressure, the fine-tuning mechanism 5 can vacuum adsorb the suspended substrate 6, and adjust the motion posture of the substrate 6 to control the six-degree-of-freedom accuracy of the substrate 6; the air floating drive mechanism 1 can drive the fine-tuning mechanism 5 to move, and then drive the substrate 6 to move above the air suspension rail mechanism 7, so that the substrate 6 makes precise movements along the direction of the air suspension rail mechanism 7.

[0042] See also Figure 6 The air suspension rail conveying device also includes an installation area for installing the air suspension rail mechanism 7, and the installation area includes a core working area in the middle and a conveying area arranged on both sides of the core working area; the arrangement density of the air holes in the air suspension platform 8 located in the core working area is greater than the arrangement density of the air holes in the air suspension platform 8 located in the conveying area. In the above structure, the air suspension platform 8 in the core working area has a large arrangement density of air holes, a larger number of air holes, and the positive pressure air holes and the negative pressure air holes are arranged at intervals, so that the flying height of the substrate 6 can be controlled more accurately; the air suspension platform 8 in the conveying area only plays a conveying role, and its air hole arrangement density is small, the number of air holes is smaller, and it is relatively loose, and no negative pressure control is required, which can save costs.

[0043] See also Figure 6 The number of the air suspension platforms 8 is 10, which are divided into two rows, each row is composed of 5 air suspension platforms 8 spliced ​​front and back, and one air suspension platform 8 in the middle of each row is arranged in the core working area, and the rest are arranged in the conveying area. The number of air holes of the air suspension platform 8 located in the conveying area is consistent with the number of air holes in Example 1; the number of air holes of the air suspension platform 8 located in the core working area is relatively large, and each air suspension platform 8 has 8 rows of air holes, with 23 holes in each row.

[0044] See also Figure 6The air-floating drive mechanism 1 includes a base 2, an air-floating slide 3 slidably arranged on the base 2, and a vertical lifting mechanism 4 (also referred to as a Z-axis lifting mechanism) arranged on the side of the air-floating slide 3; the fine-tuning mechanism 5 is installed on the vertical lifting mechanism 4. In the above structure, the base 2 and the air-floating slide 3 constitute the main moving part. The air-floating slide 3 can move on the base 2, thereby driving the vertical lifting mechanism 4 to move, thereby driving the fine-tuning mechanism 5 to move, and finally realizing the movement of the substrate 6 above the air-floating guide rail mechanism 7; the vertical lifting mechanism 4 can realize the vertical movement of the fine-tuning mechanism 5, thereby realizing the fine-tuning of the substrate 6 and maintaining the vertical height accuracy of the substrate 6.

[0045] See also Figure 6 , the base 2 is a marble base.

[0046] See also Figure 6 The air suspension guide rail conveying device in this embodiment is different from the traditional substrate 6 stage-type moving mechanism. The use of the air suspension guide rail conveying device can greatly reduce the weight of the entire substrate 6 moving mechanism while maintaining the original substrate 6 movement and positioning accuracy, which has certain research prospects and advantages.

[0047] The above is a preferred embodiment of the present invention, but the embodiment of the present invention is not limited to the above content. Any other changes, modifications, substitutions, combinations, and simplifications made without departing from the spirit and principles of the present invention should be equivalent replacement methods and are included in the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. An air suspension rail conveying device, characterized in that: It includes an air suspension rail mechanism for suspending the substrate, a fine-tuning mechanism for adsorbing the substrate and adjusting the movement posture of the substrate, and an air floating driving mechanism for driving the fine-tuning mechanism to move so as to drive the substrate to move; wherein the air suspension rail mechanism is composed of a plurality of air suspension platforms; The air suspension platform comprises an upper top plate, a lower mounting plate and a throttle arranged between the upper top plate and the lower mounting plate, wherein the upper top plate is provided with an air hole, the lower mounting plate is provided with a guide groove, the throttle is provided with a vertically arranged serrated flow channel, the upper end of the serrated flow channel is communicated with the air hole, and the lower end of the serrated flow channel is communicated with the guide groove; the throttle is made by 3D metal printing; The air suspension rail conveying device also includes an installation area for installing the air suspension rail mechanism, and the installation area includes a core working area located in the middle and conveying areas arranged on both sides of the core working area; the arrangement density of the air holes in the air suspension platform located in the core working area is greater than the arrangement density of the air holes in the air suspension platform located in the conveying area; The air holes are divided into positive pressure air holes and negative pressure air holes. The positive pressure air holes and negative pressure air holes in the air suspension platform in the core working area are arranged at intervals; the air holes in the air suspension platform in the conveying area do not need negative pressure control.

2. The air suspension guide rail conveying device according to claim 1, characterized in that: There are multiple throttles, and the multiple throttles are distributed in an array between the upper top plate and the lower mounting plate.

3. The air suspension guide rail conveying device according to claim 2, characterized in that: Each of the throttles is provided with a plurality of serrated flow channels, the number of the serrated flow channels is the same as the number of the pores, and the serrated flow channels and the pores are arranged in a one-to-one correspondence; the number of the guide grooves is multiple, and one guide groove and a plurality of serrated flow channels are arranged in correspondence with each other.

4. The air suspension guide rail conveying device according to claim 2, characterized in that: An upper port is arranged at the upper end of the sawtooth flow channel, and a lower port is arranged at the lower end of the sawtooth flow channel. Both the upper port and the lower port are arranged vertically.

5. The air suspension guide rail conveying device according to claim 1, characterized in that: A plurality of fine-tuning support seats are arranged at the lower end of the lower mounting plate.

6. The air suspension guide rail conveying device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The air-floating driving mechanism comprises a base, an air-floating slide slidably arranged on the base, and a vertical lifting mechanism arranged on the side of the air-floating slide; the fine-tuning mechanism is installed on the vertical lifting mechanism.

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