Method for balancing pressure of feeding and discharging for coating and coating equipment using the same

Abstract

The application belongs to the technical field of plating of metal materials, and particularly relates to a pressure balance method for feeding and discharging of a coating device and a coating device using the method. The pressure balance method for feeding and discharging of the coating device comprises the following steps: S1, vacuumizing a compensation pipe, a feeding balance cavity and a discharging balance cavity; S2, balancing pressure between the compensation pipe and a loading cavity; S3, balancing pressure between the loading cavity and the feeding balance cavity in a vacuum state, and then feeding a substrate into the feeding balance cavity; S4, backfilling the loading cavity with gas, and vacuumizing the feeding balance cavity; S5, balancing pressure between the discharging balance cavity and the compensation pipe; S6, balancing pressure between the discharging balance cavity and an unloading cavity in an atmospheric pressure, and then feeding a coated substrate into the unloading cavity; S7, backfilling the unloading cavity with gas, and vacuumizing the discharging balance cavity; S8, repeating steps S2 to S7 for several times; and the amount of backfilled gas is reduced.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention belongs to the field of metal coating technology, specifically relating to coating processes, and particularly to a method for balancing feed and discharge pressures for coating and a coating device using this method. Background Technology

[0002] In coating technology, the substrate for coating generally undergoes the following processes:

[0003] 1. The substrate is fed into the loading chamber under normal pressure;

[0004] 2. After balancing the pressure between the vacuum feeding and loading chambers, the substrate is received.

[0005] 3. After evacuating the feeding balance chamber, the substrate is sent into the process chamber for coating.

[0006] 4. The coated substrate is fed into the vacuum feeding balance chamber;

[0007] 5. After balancing the pressure between the unloading chamber and the vacuum feeding balance chamber, the substrate is received.

[0008] 6. Refill the unloading cavity with gas to remove the coated substrate.

[0009] To expedite the entire process, in related technologies, a certain amount of air pressure is extracted from the loading chamber before the pressure is balanced between the loading chamber and the vacuum feeding balance chamber, and a certain amount of air pressure is also extracted from the unloading chamber before the pressure is balanced between the unloading chamber and the vacuum discharge balance chamber.

[0010] However, the above scheme requires evacuating the loading and unloading chambers using a vacuum pump; at the same time, the amount of gas required for gas backfilling of the unloading chamber is large, resulting in a long backfilling time and high cost.

[0011] Therefore, how to shorten the time and amount of gas backfilling in the unloading chamber is a technical problem that urgently needs to be solved by those skilled in the art.

[0012] It should be noted that the information disclosed in this background section is only for understanding the background technology of the present application concept, and therefore, the above description is not considered to constitute prior art information. Summary of the Invention

[0013] This disclosure provides at least one method for balancing the infeed and discharge pressures for coating and a coating apparatus using the method.

[0014] In a first aspect, embodiments of this disclosure provide a method for balancing the infeed and discharge pressures for coating, comprising the following steps: Step S1, evacuating the compensation tube, the infeed balancing chamber, and the discharge balancing chamber to a vacuum state; Step S2, after sending the substrate into the loading chamber at atmospheric pressure, balancing the pressure between the loading chamber and the compensation tube; Step S3, balancing the pressure of the loading chamber after pressure balancing again with the vacuum-state infeed balancing chamber, and then sending the substrate into the infeed balancing chamber; Step S4, backfilling the loading chamber with gas to await receiving a new substrate, and evacuating the infeed balancing chamber. The received substrate is then sent into the process chamber for coating; in step S5, the coated substrate in the process chamber is sent into the vacuum discharge balance chamber, and the discharge balance chamber is balanced with the pressure of the compensation tube; in step S6, the discharge balance chamber, after balancing the pressure, is again balanced with the unloading chamber at normal pressure, and then the coated substrate is sent into the unloading chamber; in step S7, the unloading chamber is backfilled with gas to send out the coated substrate, and the discharge balance chamber is evacuated to wait for receiving a new coated substrate; in step S8, steps S2 to S7 are repeated several times until the pressure of the compensation tube is stable.

[0015] In an optional embodiment, the method of step S8 includes: after repeating steps S2 to S7 several times, balancing the pressure of the compensation tube with the discharge balance chamber at a stable pressure, and then balancing the pressure of the discharge balance chamber with the unloading chamber again to increase the starting point of the gas backfill pressure of the unloading chamber.

[0016] In one optional embodiment, step S7 includes: releasing the negative pressure in the unloading chamber by backfilling the unloading chamber with nitrogen gas to deliver the coated substrate; and restoring the discharge balance chamber to a vacuum state by using a vacuum pump to wait for receiving a new coated substrate.

[0017] In one optional embodiment, step S2 includes: opening the corresponding valve of the loading cavity; sending the substrate into the loading cavity and then closing the corresponding valve; opening the first angle valve between the compensation pipe and the loading cavity to allow the high-pressure gas in the loading cavity to flow into the low-pressure compensation pipe to balance the pressure; and closing the first angle valve after the loading cavity and the compensation pipe have balanced the pressure.

[0018] In one optional embodiment, the method of step S5 includes: opening the corresponding valve of the discharge balance chamber; sending the coated substrate in the process chamber into the discharge balance chamber and then closing the corresponding valve; opening the second angle valve between the compensation pipe and the discharge balance chamber to allow the high-pressure gas in the compensation pipe to flow into the low-pressure discharge balance chamber to balance the pressure; and closing the second angle valve after the discharge balance chamber and the compensation pipe have balanced the pressure.

[0019] Secondly, embodiments of this disclosure also provide a coating apparatus employing a pressure balancing method for coating feed, comprising: a coating zone separated by corresponding valves to form a plurality of chambers, including: a loading chamber, a feed balancing chamber, a discharge balancing chamber, and an unloading chamber; a compensation pipe connected to the loading chamber and the discharge balancing chamber respectively; a vacuum pump; and a control module configured to control the vacuum pump to evacuate the feed balancing chamber, the discharge balancing chamber, and the compensation pipe to a vacuum state; wherein, after the loading chamber receives the substrate, the loading chamber first balances the pressure with the compensation pipe and then balances the pressure with the feed balancing chamber; and after the discharge balancing chamber receives the coated substrate, the discharge balancing chamber first balances the pressure with the compensation pipe and then balances the pressure with the unloading chamber.

[0020] In one optional embodiment, the coating equipment further includes a backfill pump, which is connected to the loading chamber and the unloading chamber respectively, and is electrically connected to the control module; wherein the control module is further configured to control the backfill pump to backfill nitrogen gas into the loading chamber and the unloading chamber to relieve the negative pressure.

[0021] In one optional embodiment, the compensation pipe is connected to the loading chamber via a first pipe, and a first angle valve is provided on the first pipe; the compensation pipe is connected to the discharge balance chamber via a second pipe, and a second angle valve is provided on the second pipe.

[0022] In one optional embodiment, the loading chamber is connected to the feeding balance chamber via a third pipe, and a feeding balance valve is provided on the third pipe; and the discharge balance chamber is connected to the unloading chamber via a fourth pipe, and a discharge balance valve is provided on the fourth pipe.

[0023] In one optional embodiment, the coating area further includes a process chamber; the process chamber is located between the feed balance chamber and the discharge balance chamber to receive the substrate after coating and then send it out.

[0024] The beneficial effects of this invention are as follows: In this coating material infeed and discharge pressure balancing method, after the substrate enters the loading chamber, the pressure of the atmospheric pressure loading chamber is balanced with that of the vacuum compensation tube, allowing the high-pressure gas in the loading chamber to flow into the low-pressure compensation tube. This replaces the operation of using a vacuum pump to extract a certain pressure from the loading chamber in the prior art. Not only is a vacuum pump unnecessary, but the high pressure flows to the low pressure faster. After this operation, the compensation tube is no longer in a vacuum state, but has a certain pressure. When the substrate enters the discharge balancing chamber, the pressure of the compensation tube, which is no longer in a vacuum state, is balanced with that of the vacuum discharge balancing chamber, allowing the high-pressure gas in the compensation tube to flow into the discharge balancing chamber. Subsequently, the discharge balancing chamber, which is no longer in a vacuum state, is balanced with the atmospheric pressure unloading chamber. At this time, the pressure in the unloading chamber is higher than that after the operation using the prior art, so less nitrogen is used when nitrogen is backfilled into the unloading chamber.

[0025] Other features and advantages of the invention will be set forth in the description which follows, and will be apparent in part from the description, or may be learned by practicing the invention. The objects and other advantages of the invention are realized and obtained in accordance with the structures particularly pointed out in the description, claims and drawings.

[0026] To make the above-mentioned objects, features and advantages of the present invention more apparent and understandable, preferred embodiments are described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Attached Figure Description

[0027] To more clearly illustrate the specific embodiments of the present invention or the technical solutions in the prior art, the drawings used in the description of the specific embodiments or the prior art will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are some embodiments of the present invention. For those skilled in the art, other drawings can be obtained from these drawings without creative effort.

[0028] Figure 1 A flowchart of a method for balancing the infeed and discharge pressures for coating is provided in an embodiment of this disclosure;

[0029] Figure 2 This is a structural block diagram of a coating apparatus provided in an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0030] In the picture:

[0031] Coating area 1, gate valve 11, loading chamber 12, feeding balance chamber 13, discharging balance chamber 14, unloading chamber 15, process chamber 16;

[0032] Compensation tube 2;

[0033] Vacuum pump 3;

[0034] Backfill pump 4;

[0035] First pipe 51, second pipe 52, third pipe 53, fourth pipe 54;

[0036] First angle valve 61, second angle valve 62, feed balance valve 63, discharge balance valve 64. Detailed Implementation

[0037] To make the objectives, technical solutions, and advantages of the embodiments of the present invention clearer, the technical solutions of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some embodiments of the present invention, not all embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art without creative effort are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0038] It should be noted that similar reference numerals and letters in the following figures indicate similar items; therefore, once an item is defined in one figure, it does not need to be further defined and explained in subsequent figures. Furthermore, in the figures, the thickness of parts may be exaggerated or reduced for the purpose of effectively depicting the technical content.

[0039] The following detailed description of some embodiments of the present invention is provided in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. Unless otherwise specified, the following embodiments and features can be combined with each other.

[0040] like Figure 1 As shown, at least one embodiment provides a method for balancing the infeed and discharge pressures for coating, which includes the following steps:

[0041] Step S1: Evacuate the compensation tube 2, the feed balance chamber 13, and the discharge balance chamber 14 to a vacuum state;

[0042] Step S2: After the substrate is sent into the atmospheric pressure loading chamber 12, the pressure of the loading chamber 12 and the compensation tube 2 are balanced.

[0043] Step S3: After balancing the pressure, the loading cavity 12 is once again balanced with the vacuum-state feeding balance cavity 13, and then the substrate is sent into the feeding balance cavity 13.

[0044] Step S4: Gas backfilling is performed on the loading cavity 12 to prepare for receiving a new substrate, and the received substrate is sent into the process cavity 16 for coating after the feeding balance cavity 13 is evacuated.

[0045] Step S5: After the coated substrate in the process chamber 16 is sent into the vacuum discharge balance chamber 14, the pressure of the discharge balance chamber 14 and the compensation tube 2 is balanced.

[0046] Step S6: The discharge balancing chamber 14, after balancing the pressure, is once again balanced with the unloading chamber 15 under normal pressure, and then the coated substrate is sent into the unloading chamber 15.

[0047] Step S7: Gas backfilling is performed on the unloading chamber 15 to send out the coated substrate, and the discharge balance chamber 14 is evacuated and then waited to receive a new coated substrate.

[0048] Step S8: Repeat steps S2 to S7 several times until the pressure in compensation tube 2 stabilizes.

[0049] In this embodiment, step S1 is the initialization operation of the equipment. After the substrate enters the loading chamber 12, the pressure of the atmospheric pressure loading chamber 12 is balanced with that of the vacuum compensation tube 2, so that the high-pressure gas in the loading chamber 12 flows into the low-pressure compensation tube 2. This replaces the operation of using a vacuum pump to extract a certain pressure from the loading chamber in the prior art. Not only is a vacuum pump not needed, but the gas moves from high pressure to low pressure faster. After this operation, the compensation tube 2 is no longer in a vacuum state, but has a certain pressure. When the substrate enters the discharge balance chamber 14, the pressure of the no longer vacuum state compensation tube 2 is balanced with that of the vacuum state discharge balance chamber 14, so that the high-pressure gas in the compensation tube 2 flows into the low-pressure discharge balance chamber 14. Then, the no longer vacuum state discharge balance chamber 14 is balanced with that of the atmospheric pressure unloading chamber 15. At this time, the pressure of the unloading chamber is higher than that after the operation using the prior art, so less nitrogen is used when nitrogen is backfilled into the unloading chamber 15.

[0050] In some embodiments, the method of step S8 includes: after repeating steps S2 to S7 several times, making the compensation pipe 2 pressure balanced with the discharge balance chamber 14 at a stable pressure, and then making the discharge balance chamber 14 pressure balanced with the unloading chamber 15 again to increase the gas backfill pressure starting point of the unloading chamber 15.

[0051] In this embodiment, during the first cycle, the compensation tube 2 is evacuated. As the compensation tube 2 balances the pressure between the atmospheric pressure loading chamber 12 and the vacuum discharge balance chamber 14 multiple times, it will gradually reach a stable pressure and balance the pressure with the discharge balance chamber 14.

[0052] In one embodiment, the loading chamber 12, the feed balancing chamber 13, the discharge balancing chamber 14, the unloading chamber 15, and the compensation pipe 2 have the same volume. The pressure of the loading chamber 12 and the unloading chamber 15 at atmospheric pressure is 100 kPa, as shown in the table below:

[0053]

[0054] In the comparative example of the prior art, the loading chamber 12, the feeding balance chamber 13, the discharging balance chamber 14, and the unloading chamber 15 have the same volume. The pressure of the loading chamber 12 and the unloading chamber 15 at atmospheric pressure is 100 kPa. The unloading operation process is as follows: first, the unloading chamber 15 at 100 kPa is evacuated to 60 kPa, and then the unloading chamber 15 at 60 kPa is pressure balanced with the vacuum discharging balance chamber 14 to obtain the unloading chamber 15 at 30 kPa. After the unloading chamber 15 receives the coated substrate, the unloading chamber 15 at 30 kPa is backfilled with nitrogen until the negative pressure is released.

[0055] As can be seen from the comparison with the prior art in the table above, in this embodiment, the unloading chamber 15 can be stably filled with nitrogen at 66.66 kPa during multiple cycles; while in the prior art, the unloading chamber needs to be filled with nitrogen starting from 30 kPa. The comparison clearly shows that the amount of nitrogen required for backfilling in this embodiment is significantly reduced.

[0056] In some embodiments, step S7 includes: releasing the coated substrate by backfilling nitrogen into the unloading chamber to relieve the negative pressure in the unloading chamber; and restoring the discharge balance chamber to a vacuum state by using a vacuum pump to receive a new coated substrate.

[0057] In this embodiment, as shown in the table above, the unloading chamber only needs to be backfilled with nitrogen starting from 66666.68 Pa. However, in the prior art, a certain pressure is first extracted from the unloading chamber and then pressure is balanced with the discharge balance chamber. For example, the unloading chamber is extracted from 100 kPa to 60 kPa, and then the 60 kPa unloading chamber is pressure balanced with the vacuum discharge balance chamber to obtain an unloading chamber of 30 kPa. In this case, the nitrogen backfilling needs to start from 30 kPa.

[0058] In some embodiments, step S2 includes: opening the corresponding valve of the loading cavity; sending the substrate into the loading cavity and then closing the corresponding valve; opening the corresponding angle valve between the compensation tube and the loading cavity to allow high-pressure gas in the loading cavity to flow into the low-pressure compensation tube to balance the pressure; and closing the corresponding angle valve after the loading cavity and the compensation tube have balanced the pressure.

[0059] In some embodiments, step S5 includes: opening the corresponding valve of the discharge balance chamber; sending the coated substrate in the process chamber into the discharge balance chamber and then closing the corresponding valve; opening the corresponding angle valve between the compensation tube and the discharge balance chamber to allow the high-pressure gas in the compensation tube to flow into the low-pressure discharge balance chamber to balance the pressure; and closing the corresponding angle valve after the discharge balance chamber and the compensation tube have balanced the pressure.

[0060] like Figure 2 As shown, at least one embodiment also provides a coating apparatus using a pressure balancing method for coating feed, comprising: a coating zone 1, separated by corresponding valves 11 to form a plurality of chambers, including: a loading chamber 12, a feed balancing chamber 13, a discharge balancing chamber 14, and an unloading chamber 15; a compensation pipe 2, connected to the loading chamber 12 and the discharge balancing chamber 14 respectively; and a vacuum pump 3, electrically connected to a control module, the control module being configured to control the vacuum pump 3 to evacuate the feed balancing chamber 13, the discharge balancing chamber 14, and the compensation pipe 2 to a vacuum state; wherein, after the loading chamber 12 receives the substrate, the loading chamber 12 first balances the pressure with the compensation pipe 2, and then balances the pressure with the feed balancing chamber 13; and after the discharge balancing chamber 14 receives the coated substrate, the discharge balancing chamber 14 first balances the pressure with the compensation pipe 2, and then balances the pressure with the unloading chamber 15.

[0061] In some embodiments, the coating apparatus further includes a backfill pump 4, which is connected to the loading chamber 12 and the unloading chamber 15 respectively, and is electrically connected to the control module. The control module is configured to control the backfill pump 4 to backfill nitrogen into the loading chamber 12 and the unloading chamber 15 to relieve the negative pressure.

[0062] In some embodiments, the compensation pipe 2 is connected to the loading chamber 12 via the first pipe 51, and a first angle valve 61 is provided on the first pipe 51; the compensation pipe 2 is connected to the discharge balance chamber 14 via the second pipe 72, and a second angle valve 62 is provided on the second pipe 72.

[0063] In this embodiment, when the loading chamber 12 needs to balance the pressure with the compensation pipe 2, the first angle valve 61 is opened, and the first angle valve 61 is closed after the pressure balance is completed; the same applies to the discharge balance chamber 14.

[0064] In some embodiments, the loading chamber 12 is connected to the feeding balance chamber 13 via a third pipe 53, and a feeding balance valve 63 is provided on the third pipe 53; and the discharge balance chamber 14 is connected to the unloading chamber 15 via a fourth pipe 54, and a discharge balance valve 64 is provided on the fourth pipe 54.

[0065] In this embodiment, when the loading chamber 12 needs to perform pressure balance with the feeding balance chamber 13, the feeding balance valve 63 is opened, and the feeding balance valve 63 is closed after the pressure balance is completed; the same applies to the discharge balance chamber 14.

[0066] In some embodiments, the coating area 1 further includes a process cavity 16; the process cavity 16 is located between the feed balance cavity 13 and the discharge balance cavity 14 to receive the substrate after coating and then send it out.

[0067] For the method of balancing the infeed and discharge pressures for coating, please refer to the relevant discussion in the above embodiments, which will not be repeated here.

[0068] In this embodiment, the infeed and discharge pressure balancing method for coating involves balancing the pressure of the loading chamber (at normal pressure) with that of the vacuum compensation tube after the substrate enters the loading chamber. This allows the high-pressure gas in the loading chamber to flow into the low-pressure compensation tube, replacing the existing method of using a vacuum pump to extract a certain pressure from the loading chamber. This method eliminates the need for a vacuum pump and allows the high-pressure gas to flow into the low-pressure chamber more quickly. After this operation, the compensation tube is no longer in a vacuum state but has a certain pressure. When the substrate enters the discharge balancing chamber, the compensation tube (which is no longer in a vacuum state) is balanced with the discharge balancing chamber (which is in a vacuum state), allowing the high-pressure gas in the compensation tube to flow into the discharge balancing chamber. Subsequently, the discharge balancing chamber (which is no longer in a vacuum state) is balanced with the unloading chamber (which is at normal pressure). The pressure in the unloading chamber is higher than that after the operation using the existing method, so less nitrogen is used when backfilling the unloading chamber with nitrogen.

[0069] In this document, when it is said that the first component is located on the second component, this can mean that the first component can be directly formed on the second component, or that the third component can be inserted between the first component and the second component.

[0070] In this document, when an element or layer is referred to as “located,” “joined to,” “connected to,” “attached to,” or “coupled to” another element or layer, it may be directly located, joined, connected, attached to, or coupled to the other element or layer, or there may be intermediate elements or layers present. Conversely, when an element is referred to as “directly on another element or layer,” “directly joined to,” “directly connected to,” “directly attached to,” or “directly coupled to” another element or layer, there may be no intermediate elements or layers present. Other terms used to describe relationships between elements should be interpreted in a similar manner (e.g., “between” versus “directly between,” “adjacent” versus “directly adjacent,” etc.). As used herein, the term “and / or” includes any and all combinations of one or more of the related listed items.

[0071] In this document, exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. As used herein, expressions such as “at least one of…” modify the entire list of elements when following a list of elements, rather than individual elements in the list. For example, the expression “at least one of a, b, and c” should be understood to include only a, only b, only c, both a and b, both a and c, both b and c, or all of a, b, and c.

[0072] The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing specific exemplary configurations only and is not intended to be limiting. As used herein, the singular articles “a,” “an,” and “the” may also be intended to include plural forms unless otherwise clearly stated herein. The terms “comprising,” “including,” and “having” are inclusive and thus specify the presence of features, steps, operations, elements, and / or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, steps, operations, elements, components, and / or combinations thereof. The method steps, processes, and operations described herein should not be construed as requiring them to be performed in the specific order discussed or shown, unless specifically identified as such. Additional or alternative steps may be employed.

[0073] As used herein, the phrases “in one embodiment,” “according to one embodiment,” “in some embodiments,” etc., generally refer to the fact that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic following the phrase can be included in at least one embodiment of this disclosure. Therefore, a particular feature, structure, or characteristic can be included in more than one embodiment of this disclosure, such that these phrases do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment. As used herein, the terms “example,” “exemplary,” etc., are used to “serve as an example, instance, or illustration.” Any implementation, aspect, or design described herein as “example” or “exemplary” is not necessarily to be construed as preferred or superior to other implementations, aspects, or designs. Rather, the use of the terms “example,” “exemplary,” etc., is intended to present concepts in a specific manner.

[0074] In the description of the embodiments of the present invention, unless otherwise explicitly specified and limited, the terms "installation," "connection," and "linking" should be interpreted broadly. For example, they can refer to a fixed connection, a detachable connection, or an integral connection; they can refer to a mechanical connection or an electrical connection; they can refer to a direct connection or an indirect connection through an intermediate medium; and they can refer to the internal connection of two components. Those skilled in the art can understand the specific meaning of the above terms in the present invention based on the specific circumstances.

[0075] In the description of this invention, it should be noted that the terms "center," "upper," "lower," "left," "right," "vertical," "horizontal," "inner," and "outer," etc., indicating orientation or positional relationships, are based on the orientation or positional relationships shown in the accompanying drawings and are only for the convenience of describing the invention and simplifying the description, and do not indicate or imply that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, or be constructed and operated in a specific orientation, and therefore should not be construed as a limitation of the invention. Furthermore, terms such as "first," "second," and other numerical terms used herein do not imply order or sequence unless expressly indicated herein. Therefore, without departing from the teachings of the exemplary embodiments, the first element, component, region, layer, or segment discussed above may be referred to as a second element, component, region, layer, or segment.

[0076] Spatially relative terms, such as “inside,” “outside,” “below,” “below,” “down,” “above,” “up,” etc., may be used herein to describe the relationship between one element or feature illustrated in the figures and another element or feature. In addition to the orientations depicted in the figures, spatially relative terms may be intended to cover different orientations of the device in use or operation. For example, if the device in the figure is flipped, an element described as “below” or “below” other elements or features would be oriented as “above” other elements or features. Thus, the example term “below” can cover both above and below orientations. The device may be oriented in other ways (rotated 90 degrees or in other orientations), and the spatially relative descriptors used herein are interpreted accordingly.

[0077] In the above discussion, unless otherwise stated, when used to describe numerical values, the terms “about,” “approximately,” “basically,” etc., indicate a change of + / - 10% in that value.

[0078] Based on the above-described preferred embodiments of the present invention, and through the foregoing description, those skilled in the art can make various changes and modifications without departing from the inventive concept. The technical scope of this invention is not limited to the contents of the specification, but must be determined according to the scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A method for balancing the infeed and discharge pressures for coating, characterized in that, Includes the following steps: Step S1: Evacuate the compensation tube (2), the feed balance chamber (13), and the discharge balance chamber (14) to a vacuum state; Step S2: After the substrate is sent into the loading chamber (12) under normal pressure, the pressure of the loading chamber (12) and the compensation tube (2) is balanced. Step S3: The loading chamber (12) after balancing the pressure is balanced again with the feed balancing chamber (13) under vacuum, and then the substrate is sent into the feed balancing chamber (13). Step S4: Gas backfilling is performed on the loading cavity (12) to wait for receiving a new substrate, and the received substrate is sent into the process cavity (16) for coating after the feed balance cavity (13) is evacuated. Step S5: After sending the coated substrate in the process chamber (16) into the vacuum discharge balance chamber (14), the discharge balance chamber (14) and the compensation tube (2) are balanced in pressure. Step S6: The discharge balance chamber (14) after balancing pressure is balanced with the unloading chamber (15) under normal pressure again, and then the coated substrate is sent into the unloading chamber (15). Step S7: Gas backfilling is performed on the unloading chamber (15) to send out the coated substrate, and the discharge balance chamber (14) is evacuated and then waited to receive a new coated substrate. Step S8, repeat steps S2 to S7 several times until the pressure of the compensation tube (2) is stable.

2. The method for balancing the infeed and discharge pressures for coating as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The method in step S8 includes: After repeating steps S2 to S7 several times, the compensation pipe (2) is pressure balanced with the discharge balance chamber (14) at a stable pressure. Then, the discharge balance chamber (14) is pressure balanced with the unloading chamber (15) again to increase the gas backfill pressure starting point of the unloading chamber (15).

3. The method for balancing the infeed and discharge pressures for coating as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The method in step S7 includes: The negative pressure in the unloading chamber (15) is released by backfilling it with nitrogen gas, so that the coated substrate can be delivered; and The vacuum pump (3) restores the discharge balance chamber (14) to a vacuum state in preparation for receiving new coated substrates.

4. The method for balancing the infeed and discharge pressures for coating as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The method in step S2 includes: Open the corresponding valve (11) of the loading chamber (12); After the substrate is sent into the loading cavity (12), the corresponding gate valve (11) is closed. Open the first angle valve (61) between the compensation pipe (2) and the loading chamber (12) to allow the high-pressure gas in the loading chamber (12) to flow into the low-pressure compensation pipe (2) to balance the pressure; After the loading chamber (12) and the compensation pipe (2) balance the pressure, the first angle valve (61) is closed.

5. The method for balancing the infeed and discharge pressures for coating as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The method in step S5 includes: Open the corresponding valve (11) of the discharge balance chamber (14); After the coated substrate in the process chamber (16) is sent into the discharge balance chamber (14), the corresponding gate valve (11) is closed. Open the second angle valve (62) between the compensation pipe (2) and the discharge balance chamber (14) to allow the high-pressure gas in the compensation pipe (2) to flow into the low-pressure discharge balance chamber (14) to balance the pressure; After the discharge balance chamber (14) and the compensation pipe (2) balance the pressure, the second angle valve (62) is closed.

6. A coating apparatus employing the infeed / outfeed pressure balancing method for coating as described in claim 1, characterized in that, include: The coating area (1) is separated by corresponding valves (11) to form several chambers, including: loading chamber (12), feeding balance chamber (13), discharging balance chamber (14), and unloading chamber (15). The compensation pipe (2) is connected to the loading chamber (12) and the discharge balance chamber (14) respectively; Vacuum pump (3); and The control module is configured to control the vacuum pump (3) to evacuate the feed balance chamber (13), the discharge balance chamber (14), and the compensation pipe (2) to a vacuum state; In this process, after the loading cavity (12) receives the substrate, the loading cavity (12) first balances the pressure with the compensation tube (2), and then balances the pressure with the feed balancing cavity (13); and After receiving the coated substrate in the discharge balance chamber (14), the discharge balance chamber (14) first balances the pressure with the compensation tube (2), and then balances the pressure with the unloading chamber (15).

7. The coating equipment as described in claim 6, characterized in that, Also includes: The backfill pump (4) is connected to the loading chamber (12) and the unloading chamber (15) respectively, and is electrically connected to the control module; The control module is also configured to control the backfill pump (4) to backfill nitrogen into the loading chamber (12) and the unloading chamber (15) to relieve the negative pressure.

8. The coating equipment as described in claim 7, characterized in that, The compensation pipe (2) is connected to the loading cavity (12) through the first pipe (51), and a first angle valve (61) is provided on the first pipe (51). The compensation pipe (2) is connected to the discharge balance chamber (14) through the second pipe (52), and a second angle valve (62) is provided on the second pipe (52).

9. The coating equipment as described in claim 8, characterized in that, The loading chamber (12) and the feeding balance chamber (13) are connected by a third pipe (53), and a feeding balance valve (63) is provided on the third pipe (53); and The discharge balance chamber (14) and the unloading chamber (15) are connected by a fourth pipe (54), and a discharge balance valve (64) is provided on the fourth pipe (54).

10. The coating equipment as described in claim 6, characterized in that, The coating area (1) further includes: a process cavity (16). The process chamber (16) is located between the feed balance chamber (13) and the discharge balance chamber (14) to receive the substrate after it has been coated and then sent out.

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