Drying device and drying method thereof

Abstract

The invention discloses a drying device and a drying method thereof, and relates to the technical field of drying devices.The drying device comprises a box body, a heating table and a diversion cone, the box body is provided with a drying cavity and an extraction opening, the extraction opening is formed in the top of the box body and communicates with the drying cavity, the extraction opening is used for being connected with extraction equipment, the heating table is arranged at the bottom of the drying cavity, and the diversion cone is arranged on the heating table. The heating table is used for bearing and heating a workpiece to be dried, the flow guide cone is arranged at the top of the drying cavity and provided with a conical surface, the vertex of the conical surface is opposite to the heating table, and the conical surface is used for guiding solvent steam generated by heating a solvent in the workpiece to the extraction opening; by means of the technical scheme, the risk that turbulent flow and vortex are locally generated in the flowing process of solvent steam can be reduced, stable and uniform streamline distribution of the solvent steam above a workpiece is facilitated, the solvent steam can be discharged smoothly, the drying uniformity of the workpiece can be improved, and then the finished product quality of the workpiece can be improved.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present application relates to the technical field of drying device, in particular to a drying device and a drying method thereof. BACKGROUND

[0002] In the process of inkjet printing OLED, the organic ink usually contains a mixed solvent system with high and low boiling points. After printing, the solvent needs to be removed through a drying process to form a uniform and dense organic functional layer.

[0003] In the related art, the solvent boiling point is reduced by reducing the environmental pressure through vacuum drying technology, which can achieve rapid drying at a relatively low temperature and avoid thermal damage. Specifically, a single air outlet is arranged on one side of the vacuum cavity, and the cavity gas is directly extracted by a vacuum pump. It is easy to form a gas flow dead angle in the area far from the air outlet, which leads to uneven gas flow on the surface of the workpiece, reducing the uniformity of the workpiece drying. SUMMARY

[0004] The main purpose of the present application is to provide a drying device and a drying method thereof, which aims to improve the drying uniformity of the workpiece.

[0005] To achieve the above purpose, the drying device comprises a box body, a heating table and a flow guide cone. The box body has a drying cavity and an air outlet. The air outlet is arranged on the top of the box body and communicates with the drying cavity. The air outlet is connected to an air extraction device. The heating table is arranged at the bottom of the drying cavity. The heating table is used to carry and heat the workpiece to be dried. The flow guide cone is arranged at the top of the drying cavity. The flow guide cone has a conical surface. The apex of the conical surface is arranged opposite to the heating table. The conical surface is used to guide the solvent vapor generated by the heating of the solvent in the workpiece to the air outlet.

[0006] In an embodiment, the drying device further comprises a flow guide vane. The flow guide vane is rotatably connected with the edge of the conical surface. The rotation axis of the flow guide vane is parallel to the axis of the flow guide cone. The driving member is used to drive the rotation of the flow guide vane.

[0007] In an embodiment, the rotation angle of the flow guide vane is θ, and the θ satisfies the relationship: 0°≤θ≤45°.

[0008] In an embodiment, the number of flow guide vanes is multiple. The multiple flow guide vanes are uniformly spaced around the axis of the flow guide cone.

[0009] In an embodiment, the drying device further comprises multiple concentration sensors. The multiple concentration sensors correspond to the multiple flow guide vanes one by one. Each concentration sensor is arranged on the corresponding flow guide vane. The concentration sensor is used to detect the concentration of the solvent vapor.

[0010] In an embodiment, the drying device further comprises a rectifying plate, which is arranged between the flow guide cone and the heating table, and which is provided with a plurality of flow guide holes extending in the up-down direction, and the plurality of flow guide holes are uniformly spaced.

[0011] In an embodiment, the heating table is connected to the bottom of the drying cavity in a liftable manner.

[0012] In an embodiment, the number of the air suction ports is multiple, and the multiple air suction ports are uniformly spaced around the axis of the flow guide cone.

[0013] In an embodiment, the flow guide cone is configured as a hollow structure.

[0014] The present application also provides a drying method of a drying device, which comprises a box body, a heating table, a flow guide cone and a flow guide blade, the box body has a drying cavity and an air suction port, the air suction port is arranged at the top of the box body and communicates with the drying cavity, and the air suction port is used to connect an air suction device; the heating table is arranged at the bottom of the drying cavity, and is used to carry and heat a workpiece to be dried; the flow guide cone is arranged at the top of the drying cavity, and has a conical surface, the apex of the conical surface is arranged opposite to the heating table, and the conical surface is used to guide solvent vapor generated by heating of the solvent in the workpiece to the air suction port; the flow guide blade is rotatably connected to the edge of the conical surface, the rotation axis of the flow guide blade is parallel to the axis of the flow guide cone, and the driving member is used to drive the flow guide blade to rotate. The drying method comprises the following steps: controlling the heating table to heat the workpiece to be dried and controlling the air suction device to suction air from the drying cavity, and acquiring a solvent vapor concentration parameter flowing through the flow guide blade; when the solvent vapor concentration is greater than a first preset concentration threshold, controlling the driving member to drive the flow guide blade to rotate to a first preset angle; when the solvent vapor concentration is between a second preset concentration threshold and the first preset concentration threshold, controlling the driving member to drive the flow guide blade to rotate to a second preset angle, the second preset angle is smaller than the first preset angle, and the second preset concentration threshold is smaller than the first preset concentration threshold; and when the solvent vapor concentration is smaller than the second preset concentration threshold, controlling the heating table to stop heating the workpiece and controlling the air suction device to stop suction.

[0015] In the technical scheme of the present application, the flow guide cone in the drying device has a conical surface, the apex of the conical surface is arranged opposite to the heating table, and the conical surface is used to guide the solvent vapor generated by the solvent in the workpiece under heating to the air exhaust port, thereby reducing the risk of local turbulent flow and vortex flow of the solvent vapor during flow, and facilitating the formation of stable and uniform streamline distribution of the solvent vapor above the workpiece, so as to facilitate the smooth discharge of the solvent vapor, thereby facilitating the improvement of the uniformity of the workpiece drying, and further facilitating the improvement of the finished product quality of the workpiece. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0016] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical schemes in the embodiments of the present application or the prior art, the drawings needed to be used in the embodiments or the prior art description will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings in the following description are only some embodiments of the present application, and other drawings can also be obtained according to the structures shown in the drawings without creative labor for those skilled in the art.

[0017] Figure 1 The structural schematic diagram of an embodiment of the drying device provided by the present application is shown in the figure. Figure 2 The structural schematic diagram of an embodiment of the drying device provided by the present application is shown in the figure. Figure 1 The flow schematic diagram of the drying device is shown in the figure.

[0018] Explanation of reference numerals: 10, drying device; 1, box body; 11, drying cavity; 12, air exhaust port; 2, heating table; 3, flow guide cone; 31, conical surface; 4, flow guide blade; 5, driving member; 6, rectifier plate; 20, workpiece.

[0019] The implementation, functional features and advantages of the present application will be further described with reference to the embodiments and the accompanying drawings. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0020] The technical schemes in the embodiments of the present application will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the drawings in the embodiments of the present application. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some embodiments of the present application, not all embodiments. Based on the embodiments in the present application, all other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art without creative labor belong to the scope of protection of the present application.

[0021] It should be noted that if the present application embodiments involve directional indications (such as up, down, left, right, front, back, etc.), the directional indications are only used to explain the relative position relationship, movement condition, etc. between the components in a certain posture, and if the certain posture changes, the directional indications also change accordingly.

[0022] In addition, if the description of "first", "second" and the like is involved in the embodiments of the present application, the description of "first", "second" and the like is only for the purpose of description, and cannot be understood as indicating or implying the relative importance of the indicated technical features or implicitly indicating the number of the indicated technical features. Therefore, the features limited by "first", "second" can be explicitly or implicitly included at least one of the features. In addition, if "and / or" or "and / or" appears throughout the text, it means that the three parallel schemes are included, for example, "A and / or B" includes A scheme, or B scheme, or A and B scheme. In addition, the technical solutions of each embodiment can be combined with each other, but it must be based on the realization of the ordinary skilled in the art, when the combination of technical solutions appears contradictory or unachievable, it should be considered that the combination of technical solutions does not exist, and is not within the protection scope required by the present application.

[0023] The present application provides a drying device 10.

[0024] Referring to Figure 1 As shown in the present application, the drying device 10 includes a box body 1, a heating table 2 and a flow guide cone 3, the box body 1 has a drying cavity 11 and an exhaust port 12, the exhaust port 12 is opened at the top of the box body 1 and communicates with the drying cavity 11, the exhaust port 12 is used to connect the exhaust equipment, the heating table 2 is arranged at the bottom of the drying cavity 11, the heating table 2 is used to carry and heat the workpiece 20 to be dried, the flow guide cone 3 is arranged at the top of the drying cavity 11, the flow guide cone 3 has a conical surface 31, the vertex of the conical surface 31 is arranged opposite to the heating table 2, and the conical surface 31 is used to guide the solvent vapor generated by the solvent in the workpiece 20 to the exhaust port 12.

[0025] It should be noted that the exhaust port 12 can be connected to the vacuum pump and other exhaust equipment to exhaust the drying cavity 11, reduce the air pressure in the drying cavity 11, thereby reducing the boiling point of the solvent in the workpiece 20, reducing the heating temperature of the heating table 2, avoiding the thermal damage of the workpiece 20, thereby improving the reliability of the workpiece 20, in addition, when the heating table 2 heats the workpiece 20, the solvent in the workpiece 20 is evaporated to generate solvent vapor, and the solvent vapor is exhausted together when the drying cavity 11 is exhausted, avoiding the accumulation of solvent vapor in the drying cavity 11, so as to facilitate the evaporation of the solvent in the workpiece 20, and improve the drying efficiency.

[0026] It can be understood that the vertex of the conical surface 31 of the flow guide cone 3 is arranged opposite to the heating table 2, that is, the flow guide cone 3 is inverted, and when the solvent vapor generated by the solvent in the workpiece 20 flowing upward is guided by the conical surface 31, the solvent vapor flows along the generatrix direction of the conical surface 31 to the air outlet 12, and the solvent vapor is guided to reduce the risk of local turbulent flow and vortex flow during the flow of the solvent vapor, which is beneficial to the stable and uniform flow line distribution of the solvent vapor above the workpiece 20, so as to facilitate the smooth exhaust of the solvent vapor, thereby improving the uniformity of the drying of the workpiece 20, and further improving the finished product quality of the workpiece 20.

[0027] Wherein, the workpiece 20 can be an inkjet printed OLED substrate, a battery pole piece, etc., the drying cavity 11 can be a cylindrical cavity, a rectangular cavity, etc., and the material of the box body 1 can be stainless steel, aluminum alloy, etc., which is beneficial to guarantee the structural strength of the box body 1, and prevent the box body 1 from deforming when the drying cavity 11 is pumped.

[0028] In the technical scheme of the present application, the flow guide cone 3 in the drying device 10 has a conical surface 31, the vertex of the conical surface 31 is arranged opposite to the heating table 2, and the conical surface 31 is used to guide the solvent vapor generated by the solvent in the workpiece 20 to the air outlet 12, thereby reducing the risk of local turbulent flow and vortex flow during the flow of the solvent vapor, which is beneficial to the stable and uniform flow line distribution of the solvent vapor above the workpiece 20, so as to facilitate the smooth exhaust of the solvent vapor, thereby improving the uniformity of the drying of the workpiece 20, and further improving the finished product quality of the workpiece 20.

[0029] In the embodiment of the present application, the extension surface of the conical surface 31 intersects with the axis of the air outlet 12 at an intersection point, and the intersection point is located in the drying cavity 11, it can be understood that when the solvent vapor generated by the solvent in the workpiece 20 flows upward, the conical surface 31 can accurately guide the solvent vapor to the axis position of the air outlet 12, so as to facilitate the air outlet 12 to smoothly exhaust the solvent vapor, which is beneficial to ensure that the solvent vapor is quickly exhausted, prevent the solvent vapor from accumulating or condensing inside the drying cavity 11, and improve the drying rate and drying uniformity.

[0030] In the embodiment of the present application, referring to Figure 1 It is shown that the drying device 10 further comprises a flow guide blade 4 and a driving member 5, the flow guide blade 4 is rotatably connected with the edge of the conical surface 31, the rotation axis of the flow guide blade 4 is parallel to the axis of the flow guide cone 3, and the driving member 5 is used to drive the flow guide blade 4 to rotate, it can be understood that the flow guide blade 4 can further guide the solvent vapor, and the driving member 5 drives the flow guide blade 4 to rotate, which can further finely adjust the flow direction and flow rate of the solvent vapor, and is beneficial to improve the drying rate and drying uniformity.

[0031] The angle adjustment accuracy of the driving member 5 is ±1°, the automatic adjustment response time is less than or equal to 0.001 second, which is beneficial to finely and quickly adjust the flow direction and flow rate of the solvent vapor, and is beneficial to improve the drying rate and drying uniformity.

[0032] In some embodiments, the guide vane 4 can be hinged to the edge of the conical surface 31 through a rotary hinge, and the driving member 5 can be a telescopic rod, two ends of the driving member 5 are respectively hinged to the guide vane 4 and the guide cone 3, and the guide vane 4 can be rotated around the rotation axis by the extension and shortening of the driving member 5, so as to adjust the rotation angle of the guide vane 4, and further adjust the flow direction and flow rate of the solvent vapor flowing through the guide vane 4, and the overall structure is simple and easy to realize.

[0033] In other embodiments, the driving member 5 can include a stepper motor, a speed reducer and a position feedback sensor, the stepper motor is arranged on the guide cone 3, the stepper motor is in transmission connection with the speed reducer, the output shaft of the speed reducer is in transmission connection with the guide vane 4, and the rotation of the output shaft of the speed reducer can drive the guide vane 4 to rotate around the rotation axis, so as to adjust the rotation angle of the guide vane 4, and further adjust the flow direction and flow rate of the solvent vapor flowing through the guide vane 4, and the position feedback sensor is used to obtain the rotation angle of the guide vane 4, and the rotation angle of the guide vane 4 can be accurately adjusted by the motor adjustment mode, which is beneficial to accurately adjust the flow direction and flow rate of the solvent vapor.

[0034] In the embodiments of the present application, the rotation angle of the guide vane 4 is θ, and θ satisfies the relationship: 0°≤θ≤45°, for example, θ can be 0°, 20°, 45°, etc.

[0035] It can be understood that when θ>45°, the rotation angle of the guide vane 4 is larger, the opening angle of the guide vane 4 is larger, and the flow rate of the solvent vapor flowing through the guide vane 4 is faster, which is easy to produce turbulent flow in the drying cavity 11, affecting the flow direction of the solvent vapor to the suction port 12.

[0036] In the present embodiment, θ is in the range of 0°-45°, the rotation angle of the guide vane 4 is moderate, and the opening angle of the guide vane 4 is moderate, which can appropriately increase the flow rate of the solvent vapor flowing through the vane while reducing the risk of turbulent flow of the solvent vapor in the drying cavity 11, so as to facilitate the solvent vapor to flow to the suction port 12 smoothly, and is beneficial to improve the drying efficiency.

[0037] In the embodiments of the present application, referring to FIG. 1, Figure 1 It can be understood that when θ>45°, the rotation angle of the guide vane 4 is larger, the opening angle of the guide vane 4 is larger, and the flow rate of the solvent vapor flowing through the guide vane 4 is faster, which is easy to produce turbulent flow in the drying cavity 11, affecting the flow direction of the solvent vapor to the suction port 12.

[0038] It can be understood that by adjusting the rotation angle of each guide vane 4, the airflow path and flow rate from different areas (for example, the center, the edge) of the workpiece 20 to the guide cone 3 can be finely controlled, the airflow on the surface of the entire workpiece 20 is dynamically balanced and controlled in different areas, and the drying uniformity of the workpiece 20 is further improved.

[0039] In the embodiment of the present application, the drying device 10 further comprises a plurality of concentration sensors, which correspond one-to-one to the plurality of guide vanes 4. Each concentration sensor is arranged on the corresponding guide vane 4, and is used to detect the concentration of the solvent volatilized by the workpiece 20.

[0040] It can be understood that one concentration sensor is arranged on each guide vane 4 to detect the concentration of the solvent vapor flowing through the guide vane 4 in real time. The concentration sensor can be an infrared sensor, a semiconductor sensor or other types of gas concentration detection sensors, which are not limited herein. The concentration signal detected by the concentration sensor can be transmitted to the control system, and the control system can control the driving member 5 to drive the rotation angle of the guide vane 4 according to the concentration signal.

[0041] For example, when the concentration sensor at a certain guide vane 4 detects that the concentration of the solvent vapor is higher than the set threshold, the control system can control the driving member 5 to drive the guide vane 4 to rotate to increase the rotation angle, increase the flow rate of the solvent vapor in this area, and accelerate the exhaust of the solvent vapor. Conversely, when the concentration of the solvent vapor is lower than the set threshold, the control system can control the driving member 5 to drive the guide vane 4 to rotate to reduce the rotation angle and reduce the flow rate of the solvent vapor, so as to ensure that the drying effect of each area is consistent, improve the uniformity of the workpiece 20 drying, and improve the quality of the finished product of the workpiece 20.

[0042] In the present embodiment, based on the drying requirements and the airflow distribution, the control system can automatically control the angle of each guide vane 4 to achieve rapid and efficient self-adaptive adjustment, and a preset mode can also be set to adapt to different OLED panel specifications and film layer designs.

[0043] In the embodiment of the present application, as shown in Figure 1 The drying device 10 further comprises a rectifier plate 6 arranged between the guide cone 3 and the heating table 2. The rectifier plate 6 is provided with a plurality of guide holes extending in the upward and downward directions, and the plurality of guide holes are uniformly and spacedly arranged.

[0044] It can be understood that when the drying cavity 11 is pumped, the solvent vapor generated by the evaporation of the solvent in the workpiece 20 can uniformly flow to the plurality of flow guide holes to adjust the turbulent solvent vapor flow to a uniform columnar flow, realize a preliminary uniform airflow, can reduce the risk of vortex phenomenon caused by the direct impact of turbulent solvent vapor flow on the flow guide cone 3, can make the rectified airflow orderly flow along the surface of the flow guide cone 3, which is beneficial to improve the flow efficiency and drying uniformity.

[0045] Among them, the rectifier plate 6 can be configured as a honeycomb metal plate, a porous ceramic plate, a microporous metal mesh structure, etc., the diameter and number of the flow guide holes can be designed according to actual needs, for example, for the workpiece 20 that is easy to produce a large amount of vapor, a larger diameter or a larger number of flow guide holes can be designed, and for the workpiece 20 that requires high-precision drying, dense, uniform, and multiple numbers of holes can be arranged.

[0046] In the embodiment of the present application, the heating table 2 is connected to the bottom of the drying cavity 11 in a lifting manner, and it can be understood that by adjusting the lifting height of the heating table 2, the distance between the heating table 2 and the rectifier plate 6 can be adjusted to adapt to workpieces 20 of different heights, which is beneficial to improve the versatility of the drying device 10.

[0047] Among them, the heating table 2 can be connected to the bottom of the drying cavity 11 in a lifting manner through a gas cylinder, and the heating table 2 can also be connected to the bottom of the drying cavity 11 in a lifting manner through a telescopic rod.

[0048] In the embodiment of the present application, referring to Figure 1 As shown in the figure, the number of the suction ports 12 is multiple, and the multiple suction ports 12 are uniformly and spacedly arranged around the axis of the flow guide cone 3, it can be understood that the multiple uniformly and spacedly arranged suction ports 12 can uniformly extract the solvent vapor guided by the flow guide cone 3, reducing the risk of local turbulence and vortex in the flow process of the solvent vapor, which is beneficial to form a stable and uniform flow line distribution of the solvent vapor above the workpiece 20, so as to facilitate the smooth exhaust of the solvent vapor, thereby improving the uniformity of the drying of the workpiece 20, and further improving the finished product quality of the workpiece 20.

[0049] In the present embodiment, the axis of the flow guide cone 3 coincides with the center line of the top of the drying cavity 11, the material of the flow guide cone 3 can be high-temperature-resistant stainless steel, and the multiple suction ports 12 are uniformly and spacedly arranged around the axis of the flow guide cone 3. The flow guide cone 3 actively converges and guides the upward flowing solvent vapor, which can stably and uniformly guide the solvent vapor to the axis of the multiple suction ports 12, avoiding disordered diffusion of the airflow, and eliminating turbulence and vortex caused by the cavity wall and corners of the drying cavity 11.

[0050] In some embodiments, the multiple suction ports 12 can be communicated with the air pumping device through the same gas collecting pipeline, and the air pumping device can simultaneously pump air from the drying cavity 11 through the gas collecting pipeline, which is low in cost.

[0051] In some other embodiments, each of the suction ports 12 can be connected to an independent suction device, and the suction rate of each of the suction devices can be adjusted independently to balance the airflow distribution in the chamber, so as to facilitate the realization of uniform airflow field, thereby facilitating the improvement of the uniformity of the drying of the workpiece 20.

[0052] In the embodiments of the present application, the flow guide cone 3 is configured as a hollow structure, which can reduce the weight of the flow guide cone 3, reduce the requirement for the structural strength of the top of the box 1, and further reduce the manufacturing material of the flow guide cone 3, thereby facilitating the reduction of the production cost of the flow guide cone 3.

[0053] In the embodiments of the present application, the heating table 2 can be an electric heating table, and the heating table 2 can be internally provided with a heat exchange channel for circulating a heating medium. The heat exchange channel can be configured as a serpentine channel, which is beneficial to improve the heat exchange area between the heating table 2 and the workpiece 20, and is beneficial to uniformly heat the workpiece 20. The heating temperature of the heating table 2 is in the range of 30℃-300℃, the control accuracy is ±2℃, the heating uniformity temperature deviation is ≤±3℃, and the solvent of the workpiece 20 is gradually volatilized.

[0054] In the embodiments of the present application, a plurality of temperature sensors and flow rate sensors are arranged inside the drying chamber 11 and / or on the flow guide vanes 4, which can monitor the temperature and airflow rate in real time during the drying process, provide feedback control basis for the control system, realize PID closed-loop control, and achieve self-adaptive adjustment.

[0055] In the technical solution of the present application, the angle of the flow guide vane 4, the heating temperature of the heating table 2, and the pressure in the drying chamber 11 are independently adjustable, a plurality of sensors are integrated, real-time monitoring of process parameters is realized, process parameters can be automatically adjusted according to the drying effect, self-adaptive control is realized, different flow guide vanes 4 can be independently adjusted, regional airflow control is realized, the rotation angle of the flow guide vane 4 can be adjusted in real time during the drying process, the requirements of different drying stages are met, dynamic adjustment is realized, the direction, speed and distribution of the airflow in the drying chamber 11 can be effectively controlled, the phenomena of deflection, rotation and drying dead angle are avoided, the flow guide cone 3 converges the suction path, the flow guide vane 4 provides airflow deflection capability, multi-region air pressure dynamic balance can be realized, the flow straightener 6 can realize stable and uniform gas flow lines above the workpiece 20, which significantly improves the drying uniformity and reduces the defect rate (such as coffee ring, edge ink accumulation, center collapse, etc.) of the workpiece 20 after drying, and effectively improves the yield and device consistency. The present embodiment is applicable to the OLED ink system range from 60% to 90%, can adapt to different OLED substrate sizes and film thickness requirements, and has high process adaptability.

[0056] In the embodiment, the fairing structure combining the flow cone 3 and the guide vane 4 realizes accurate guidance and control of the airflow, local airflow optimization is realized by independent adjustment of multiple guide vanes 4, the concept of regional airflow control is realized, a multi-parameter collaborative adjustment mechanism is established, parameters such as temperature, pressure, and airflow angle are collaboratively optimized, real-time monitoring and adaptive control are integrated, process stability and reproducibility are improved, it is suitable for various OLED manufacturing processes, and has good industrial application prospects.

[0057] Referring to Figure 2 The application also provides a drying method of the drying device, and the specific structure of the drying device is referred to the above embodiments. Since the drying method adopts all the technical solutions of the above embodiments, it at least has all the beneficial effects brought by the technical solutions of the above embodiments, which will not be repeated here. The drying method comprises the following steps: Step S1: controlling the heating table to heat the workpiece to be dried and controlling the air extraction equipment to extract air from the drying cavity, and obtaining the solvent vapor concentration parameter flowing through the guide vane.

[0058] The heating table 2, the air extraction equipment, and the concentration sensor are all in communication connection with the control system. The control system controls the heating table 2 to heat the workpiece 20 to be dried. The control system controls the air extraction equipment to extract air from the drying cavity 11. The concentration sensor obtains the solvent vapor concentration parameter flowing through the guide vane 4 and sends the parameter to the control system.

[0059] Step S2: when the solvent vapor concentration is greater than a first preset concentration threshold, controlling the driving member to drive the guide vane to rotate to a first preset angle.

[0060] The first preset angle can be 35°, the first preset concentration threshold can be 0.1 ppm, and when the solvent vapor concentration is greater than the first preset concentration threshold, the solvent vapor concentration flowing through the guide vane 4 is relatively large. The control system controls the driving member 5 to drive the guide vane 4 to rotate to the first preset angle, so as to increase the flow rate of the solvent vapor, so as to facilitate the rapid exhaust of the solvent vapor.

[0061] Step S3: when the solvent vapor concentration is between a second preset concentration threshold and the first preset concentration threshold, controlling the driving member to drive the guide vane to rotate to a second preset angle, the second preset angle being smaller than the first preset angle, and the second preset concentration threshold being smaller than the first preset concentration threshold.

[0062] The second preset angle can be 10°, and the second preset concentration threshold can be 0.01 ppm. When the solvent vapor concentration is between the second preset concentration threshold and the first preset concentration threshold, the solvent vapor concentration flowing through the guide vane 4 is moderate, the control system controls the driving member 5 to drive the guide vane 4 to rotate to the first preset angle, so as to reduce the flow rate of the solvent vapor, so as to maintain a constant and low gas flow rate on the surface of the workpiece 20, and fine drying is performed.

[0063] Step S4: When the solvent vapor concentration is less than the second preset concentration threshold, the control system controls the heating table to stop heating the workpiece and controls the air extraction device to stop air extraction.

[0064] When the solvent vapor concentration is less than the second preset concentration threshold, the solvent vapor concentration flowing through the guide vane 4 is small, the control system judges that the drying process is completed, and the control system controls the heating table 2 to stop heating and controls the air extraction device to stop air extraction.

[0065] In some other embodiments of the present application, the drying method of the drying device comprises the following steps: Step S11: preparation stage.

[0066] The operator places the workpiece 20 on the heating table 2 in the drying cavity 11. The workpiece 20 can be a G6 generation (1500mmx1850mm) glass substrate (OLED substrate) on which an RGB organic light-emitting layer is printed by inkjet printing. The preset process program for this substrate size and ink system is selected or input in the control system.

[0067] Step S12: heating and vacuumizing.

[0068] The cavity door of the drying cavity 11 is closed, and the system starts to operate. The heating table 2 heats the substrate to a target temperature (for example, 160℃, with a temperature control accuracy of ±1℃). At the same time, the air extraction device starts to extract air from the drying cavity 11 through the air extraction port 12 at the top of the drying cavity 11, so that the pressure in the drying cavity 11 rapidly decreases.

[0069] Step S13: air flow shaping and dynamic adjustment.

[0070] As the solvent vapor in the drying cavity 11 moves upward, the guide cone 3 at the top actively guides the solvent vapor to the axis of the air extraction port 12.

[0071] In the initial stage of drying, the solvent volatilizes violently. The control system controls the driving member 5 to drive the guide vane 4 to open a larger angle (for example, 35°) according to the feedback of the flow rate sensor, so as to ensure the exhaust efficiency. At the same time, the control system slightly adjusts the rotation angle of the guide vane 4 corresponding to the edge region of the workpiece 20, and slightly reduces the opening degree, so as to compensate for the usually too fast flow rate of the edge region.

[0072] In the middle of the drying process, the solvent evaporation rate slows down, and the controller determines and controls all the guide vanes 4 to reduce the opening angle (for example, to 10°) simultaneously according to the reading of the concentration sensor, so as to maintain a constant and low gas flow rate on the surface of the workpiece 20 for fine drying.

[0073] During the whole process, the airflow is preliminarily arranged by the guide vanes 4, then passes through the straightening plates 6 of the honeycomb structure to form a uniform laminar flow, which stably sweeps across the surface of the workpiece 20 and carries away solvent molecules.

[0074] Step S14: drying is completed.

[0075] When the concentration sensor detects that the residual solvent concentration is lower than the preset threshold (for example, 0.01 ppm), the control system determines that the drying process is completed, the control system controls the heating table 2 to stop heating and controls the air extraction device to stop air extraction, and slowly breaks the vacuum, and the operator takes out the workpiece 20 which is uniformly dried and has no defects.

[0076] In the technical solution of the present application, through the innovative airflow shaping assembly (guide cone 3 + guide vane 4) and the intelligent closed-loop control system, the drying device 10 realizes intelligent and fine control of the whole drying process, ensures that the airflow forms a stable and uniform flow line distribution above the OLED substrate, thereby facilitating the improvement of the uniformity, compactness and yield of the film layer drying, and finally obtaining a high-quality organic functional film layer, which is suitable for the manufacturing of high-end OLED display panels.

[0077] The above only describes exemplary embodiments of the present application, and does not limit the patent scope of the present application, and any equivalent structural transformation made according to the technical concept of the present application, or direct / indirect application in other related technical fields is included in the patent protection scope of the present application.

Claims

1. A drying apparatus, characterized by, The drying device comprises: a box body having a drying cavity and a suction port, the suction port being arranged on the top of the box body and communicating with the drying cavity, and the suction port being used to connect a suction device; a heating table arranged at the bottom of the drying cavity, the heating table being used to support and heat a workpiece to be dried; and a flow guide cone arranged at the top of the drying cavity, the flow guide cone having a conical surface, the apex of the conical surface being arranged opposite to the heating table, and the conical surface being used to guide solvent vapor generated by the heating of the solvent in the workpiece to the suction port.

2. The drying apparatus of claim 1, wherein The drying device further comprises flow guide blades and a driving member, the flow guide blades being rotatably connected to the edge of the conical surface, the rotation axis of the flow guide blades being parallel to the axis of the flow guide cone, and the driving member being used to drive the rotation of the flow guide blades.

3. The drying apparatus of claim 2, wherein The rotation angle of the flow guide blades is θ, and the θ satisfies the relationship: 0°≤θ≤45°.

4. The drying apparatus of claim 2, wherein The number of the flow guide blades is multiple, and the multiple flow guide blades are uniformly arranged around the axis of the flow guide cone.

5. The drying apparatus of claim 4, wherein The drying device further comprises multiple concentration sensors, the multiple concentration sensors corresponding to the multiple flow guide blades one by one, each concentration sensor being arranged on the corresponding flow guide blade, and the concentration sensor being used to detect the concentration of the solvent vapor.

6. The drying apparatus of claim 1, wherein The drying device further comprises a rectifier plate arranged between the flow guide cone and the heating table, the rectifier plate being provided with multiple flow guide holes extending in the up-down direction, and the multiple flow guide holes being uniformly arranged.

7. The drying apparatus of claim 1, wherein The heating table is connected to the bottom of the drying cavity in a liftable manner.

8. The drying apparatus of claim 1, wherein The number of the suction ports is multiple, and the multiple suction ports are uniformly arranged around the axis of the flow guide cone.

9. The drying apparatus of claim 1, wherein The flow guide cone is configured as a hollow structure.

10. A drying method of a drying apparatus, characterized by, The drying device is the drying device according to any one of claims 2 to 5, and the drying method comprises: controlling the heating table to heat the workpiece to be dried and controlling the suction device to suction the drying cavity, and obtaining a solvent vapor concentration parameter flowing through the flow guide blades; when the solvent vapor concentration is greater than a first preset concentration threshold, controlling the driving member to drive the flow guide blades to rotate to a first preset angle; when the solvent vapor concentration is between a second preset concentration threshold and the first preset concentration threshold, controlling the driving member to drive the flow guide blades to rotate to a second preset angle, the second preset angle being smaller than the first preset angle, and the second preset concentration threshold being smaller than the first preset concentration threshold; when the solvent vapor concentration is smaller than the second preset concentration threshold, controlling the heating table to stop heating the workpiece and controlling the suction device to stop suction.

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