Drying apparatus and drying method thereof

Abstract

The application 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 flow guide cone. The box body is provided with a drying cavity and an air exhaust port. The air exhaust port is arranged at the top of the box body and is communicated with the drying cavity. The air exhaust port is used for connecting an air exhaust device. The heating table is arranged at the bottom of the drying cavity and 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 is provided with a conical surface. The top of the conical surface is arranged opposite to the heating table. The conical surface is used for guiding solvent vapor generated by the heating of the solvent in the workpiece to the air exhaust port. The risk of local turbulent flow and vortex flow of the solvent vapor in the flowing process can be reduced. The solvent vapor can be uniformly and stably distributed in the form of a streamline above the workpiece, so that the solvent vapor can be smoothly discharged. Therefore, the uniformity of the drying of the workpiece can be improved, and 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 boiling point of the solvent 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 gas in the cavity 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-mentioned 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 used to connect the air extraction equipment. 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 extraction ports is plural, and the plurality of air extraction 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 extraction port, the air extraction port is arranged at the top of the box body and communicates with the drying cavity, and the air extraction port is used to connect an air extraction equipment; 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 extraction 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.

[0015] The drying method comprises the following steps: 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 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 extraction equipment to stop extracting air.

[0016] 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

[0017] 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.

[0018] Figure 1 The structural schematic diagram of an embodiment of the drying device provided by the present application is shown in the figure.

[0019] 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.

[0020] Explanation of reference numerals:

[0021] 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;

[0022] 20, workpiece.

[0023] 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

[0024] The technical schemes in the embodiments of the present application will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. 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 are within the scope of protection of the present application.

[0025] 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.

[0026] Furthermore, if the embodiments of this invention involve descriptions such as "first" or "second," these descriptions are for descriptive purposes only and should not be construed as indicating or implying their relative importance or implicitly specifying the number of technical features indicated. Thus, a feature defined with "first" or "second" may explicitly or implicitly include at least one of those features. Additionally, the use of "and / or" or "and / or" throughout the text includes three parallel solutions. For example, "A and / or B" includes solution A, solution B, or a solution where both A and B are satisfied simultaneously. Furthermore, the technical solutions of the various embodiments can be combined with each other, but this must be based on the ability of those skilled in the art to implement them. When the combination of technical solutions is contradictory or impossible to implement, it should be considered that such a combination of technical solutions does not exist and is not within the scope of protection claimed by this invention.

[0027] The present invention proposes a drying device 10.

[0028] Reference Figure 1 As shown, in one embodiment of the present invention, the drying device 10 includes a housing 1, a heating platform 2, and a guide cone 3. The housing 1 has a drying chamber 11 and an exhaust port 12. The exhaust port 12 is located at the top of the housing 1 and communicates with the drying chamber 11. The exhaust port 12 is used to connect to an exhaust device. The heating platform 2 is located at the bottom of the drying chamber 11 and is used to support and heat the workpiece 20 to be dried. The guide cone 3 is located at the top of the drying chamber 11 and has a conical surface 31. The apex of the conical surface 31 is opposite to the heating platform 2. The conical surface 31 is used to guide the solvent vapor generated by the solvent in the workpiece 20 when heated to the exhaust port 12.

[0029] It should be noted that the evacuation port 12 can be connected to a vacuum pump or other evacuation equipment to evacuate air from the drying chamber 11, thereby reducing the air pressure inside the drying chamber 11. This reduces the boiling point of the solvent in the workpiece 20 and lowers the heating temperature of the heating platform 2, preventing thermal damage to the workpiece 20 and thus improving the reliability of the finished workpiece 20. In addition, when the heating platform 2 heats the workpiece 20, the solvent in the workpiece 20 evaporates to produce solvent vapor. When evacuating the drying chamber 11, the solvent vapor can be extracted along with the workpiece 20, preventing the solvent vapor from accumulating and becoming saturated inside the drying chamber 11. This facilitates the smooth evaporation of the solvent in the workpiece 20 and improves drying efficiency.

[0030] It is understandable that the apex of the conical surface 31 of the guide cone 3 is set opposite to the heating table 2. That is, the guide cone 3 is inverted. When the solvent vapor generated by the solvent in the workpiece 20 is heated and flows upward, the conical surface 31 can guide the solvent vapor so that the solvent vapor flows towards the exhaust port 12 along the generatrix direction of the conical surface 31. By guiding the solvent vapor, the risk of local turbulence and eddies generated during the flow of the solvent vapor can be reduced. This is conducive to the formation of a stable and uniform streamline distribution of the solvent vapor above the workpiece 20, so that the solvent vapor can be discharged smoothly. This is conducive to improving the uniformity of drying of the workpiece 20, and thus improving the finished product quality of the workpiece 20.

[0031] Among them, the workpiece 20 can be an inkjet-printed OLED substrate, battery electrode, etc., the drying chamber 11 can be a cylindrical chamber, a rectangular chamber, etc., and the material of the box 1 can be stainless steel, aluminum alloy, etc., which helps to ensure the structural strength of the box 1 and prevents the box 1 from deforming when the drying chamber 11 is evacuated.

[0032] In the technical solution of the present invention, the guide cone 3 in the drying device 10 has a conical surface 31. The apex of the conical surface 31 is arranged opposite to the heating table 2. The conical surface 31 is used to guide the solvent vapor generated by the solvent in the workpiece 20 when heated to the exhaust port 12, thereby reducing the risk of local turbulence and eddies generated by the solvent vapor during the flow process. This is conducive to the formation of a stable and uniform streamline distribution of the solvent vapor above the workpiece 20, so that the solvent vapor can be discharged smoothly. This is beneficial to improving the uniformity of drying of the workpiece 20, and thus improving the finished product quality of the workpiece 20.

[0033] In an embodiment of the present invention, the extended surface of the conical surface 31 intersects the axis of the exhaust port 12 at a point, and the point is located inside the drying chamber 11. It can be understood that when the solvent vapor generated by the solvent in the workpiece 20 is heated and flows upward, the conical surface 31 can accurately guide the solvent vapor to the axial position of the exhaust port 12, so that the exhaust port 12 can smoothly extract the solvent vapor. This helps to ensure that the solvent vapor is discharged quickly, prevents the solvent vapor from accumulating or condensing inside the drying chamber 11, and helps to improve the drying rate and drying uniformity.

[0034] In an embodiment of the present invention, reference is made to Figure 1 As shown, the drying device 10 also includes a guide vane 4 and a driving member 5. The guide vane 4 is rotatably connected to the edge of the conical surface 31. The rotation axis of the guide vane 4 is parallel to the axis of the guide cone 3. The driving member 5 is used to drive the guide vane 4 to rotate. It can be understood that the guide vane 4 can further guide the solvent vapor. By driving the guide vane 4 to rotate through the driving member 5, the flow direction and flow rate of the solvent vapor can be further finely adjusted, which is beneficial to improving the drying rate and drying uniformity.

[0035] Among them, the angle adjustment accuracy of the drive component 5 is ±1°, and the automatic adjustment response time is ≤0.001 seconds, which is conducive to fine and rapid adjustment of the flow direction and flow rate of solvent vapor, and to improving the drying rate and drying uniformity.

[0036] In some embodiments, the guide vane 4 can be hinged to the edge of the conical surface 31 via a rotary hinge. The driving member 5 can be a telescopic rod, with both ends of the driving member 5 hinged to the guide vane 4 and the guide cone 3, respectively. By extending and shortening the driving member 5, the guide vane 4 can be driven to rotate around the rotation axis, thereby adjusting the rotation angle of the guide vane 4 and thus adjusting the flow direction and flow rate of the solvent vapor flowing through the guide vane 4. The overall structure is simple and easy to implement.

[0037] In other embodiments, the driving component 5 may include a stepper motor, a reducer, and a position feedback sensor. The stepper motor is located on the guide cone 3 and is driven by the reducer. The output shaft of the reducer is driven by the guide vane 4. The rotation of the output shaft of the reducer can drive the guide vane 4 to rotate around the rotation axis, thereby adjusting the rotation angle of the guide vane 4 and thus adjusting the flow direction and velocity of the solvent vapor flowing through the guide vane 4. The position feedback sensor is used to obtain the rotation angle of the guide vane 4. The rotation angle of the guide vane 4 can be precisely adjusted by adjusting the motor, which is beneficial for accurately adjusting the flow direction and velocity of the solvent vapor.

[0038] In an embodiment of the present invention, 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.

[0039] It is understandable that when θ > 45°, the rotation angle of the guide vane 4 is large, the opening angle of the guide vane 4 is large, the flow velocity of the solvent vapor is fast when it flows through the guide vane 4, and it is easy to generate turbulence in the drying chamber 11, which affects the flow of solvent vapor to the exhaust port 12.

[0040] In this embodiment, θ is within the range of 0° to 45°. The rotation angle of the guide vane 4 is moderate, and the opening angle of the guide vane 4 is moderate. This can appropriately increase the flow rate of solvent vapor when it flows through the vane, while reducing the risk of turbulence in the drying chamber 11, so that the solvent vapor can flow smoothly to the exhaust port 12, which is beneficial to improving the drying efficiency.

[0041] In an embodiment of the present invention, reference is made to Figure 1 As shown, there are multiple guide vanes 4. For example, the number of guide vanes 4 can be 4, 6, 7, 8, etc. Multiple guide vanes 4 are evenly spaced around the axis of the guide cone 3, which is beneficial to further improve the drying uniformity of the workpiece 20.

[0042] It is understandable that by adjusting the rotation angle of each guide vane 4, the airflow path and velocity from different areas (e.g., center and edge) of the workpiece 20 to the guide cone 3 can be precisely controlled, thereby achieving regional dynamic balance control of the airflow on the entire surface of the workpiece 20, which is beneficial to further improve the drying uniformity of the workpiece 20.

[0043] In an embodiment of the present invention, the drying device 10 further includes a plurality of concentration sensors, each of which corresponds to a plurality of guide vanes 4. Each concentration sensor is located on a corresponding guide vane 4 and is used to detect the concentration of solvent volatilized from the workpiece 20 when heated.

[0044] Understandably, each guide vane 4 is equipped with a concentration sensor, which can detect the concentration of 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 sensor, which is not limited here. The concentration signal detected by the concentration sensor can be transmitted to the control system, and the control system can control the drive component 5 to drive the rotation angle of the guide vane 4 according to the concentration signal.

[0045] For example, when the concentration sensor at a certain guide vane 4 detects that the solvent vapor concentration is higher than the set threshold, the control system can control the drive component 5 to drive the guide vane 4 to rotate, thereby increasing the rotation angle, increasing the solvent vapor flow rate in that area, and accelerating the discharge of solvent vapor. Conversely, when the solvent vapor concentration is lower than the set threshold, the control system can control the drive component 5 to drive the guide vane 4 to rotate, thereby decreasing the rotation angle and reducing the solvent vapor flow rate, thus ensuring that the drying effect of each area is consistent, improving the uniformity of drying of workpiece 20, and improving the finished product quality of workpiece 20.

[0046] In this embodiment, based on drying requirements and airflow distribution, the control system can automatically control the 4-angle of each guide vane to achieve rapid and efficient adaptive adjustment. It can also set preset modes to adapt to different OLED panel specifications and film layer designs.

[0047] In an embodiment of the present invention, reference is made to Figure 1 As shown, the drying device 10 also includes a rectifier plate 6, which is located between the guide cone 3 and the heating platform 2. The rectifier plate 6 has multiple guide holes extending in the vertical direction, and the multiple guide holes are evenly spaced.

[0048] It is understandable that when the drying chamber 11 is evacuated, the solvent vapor generated by the evaporation of the solvent in the workpiece 20 can flow evenly to multiple guide holes, so as to adjust the turbulent solvent vapor flow into a uniform columnar flow, achieve preliminary uniform airflow, reduce the risk of eddy phenomenon caused by the turbulent solvent vapor flow directly impacting the guide cone 3, and enable the rectified airflow to flow orderly along the surface of the guide cone 3, which is beneficial to improving the guiding efficiency and drying uniformity.

[0049] The rectifier plate 6 can be constructed as a honeycomb metal plate, a porous ceramic plate, a microporous metal mesh structure, etc. The diameter and number of the guide holes can be designed according to actual needs. For example, for workpiece 20 that is prone to generating a large amount of steam, a larger diameter or a larger number of guide holes can be designed. For workpiece 20 that requires high-precision drying, a dense, uniform, and large number of holes can be arranged.

[0050] In an embodiment of the present invention, the heating platform 2 is vertically connected to the bottom of the drying chamber 11. It is understood that by adjusting the lifting height of the heating platform 2, the distance between the heating platform 2 and the rectifier plate 6 can be adjusted to accommodate workpieces 20 of different heights, which is beneficial to improving the versatility of the drying device 10.

[0051] The heating platform 2 can be vertically connected to the bottom of the drying chamber 11 via a cylinder, or it can be vertically connected to the bottom of the drying chamber 11 via a telescopic rod.

[0052] In an embodiment of the present invention, reference is made to Figure 1 As shown, there are multiple air extraction ports 12, which are evenly spaced around the axis of the guide cone 3. It can be understood that the multiple evenly spaced air extraction ports 12 can uniformly extract the solvent vapor guided by the guide cone 3, reducing the risk of local turbulence and eddies in the flow of solvent vapor. This is conducive to the formation of a stable and uniform streamline distribution of solvent vapor above the workpiece 20, so that the solvent vapor can be discharged smoothly. This is beneficial to improving the uniformity of drying of the workpiece 20, and thus improving the finished product quality of the workpiece 20.

[0053] In this embodiment, the axis of the guide cone 3 coincides with the center line of the top of the drying chamber 11. The guide cone 3 can be made of high-temperature resistant stainless steel. Multiple air extraction ports 12 are evenly spaced around the axis of the guide cone 3. The guide cone 3 actively gathers and guides the upward-flowing solvent vapor, which can smoothly and evenly guide the solvent vapor to the axis of the multiple air extraction ports 12, avoiding disorderly diffusion of airflow and eliminating turbulence and eddies caused by the cavity wall and corners of the drying chamber 11.

[0054] In some embodiments, multiple air extraction ports 12 can be connected to an air extraction device through the same air collection pipe, and the air extraction device can simultaneously extract air from the drying chamber 11 through the air collection pipe, which reduces costs.

[0055] In other embodiments, each air extraction port 12 can be connected to an independent air extraction device, and the air extraction rate of each air extraction device can be adjusted individually to balance the airflow distribution in the cavity, which is conducive to achieving a uniform airflow field, thereby improving the uniformity of drying of the workpiece 20.

[0056] In an embodiment of the present invention, the guide cone 3 is constructed as a hollow structure, which can reduce the weight of the guide cone 3, reduce the structural strength requirements of the top of the housing 1, and reduce the amount of material used to manufacture the guide cone 3, thereby helping to reduce the production cost of the guide cone 3.

[0057] In embodiments of the present invention, the heating platform 2 can be an electric heating platform, and the heating platform 2 can also have a heat exchange channel for the flow of the heating medium. The heat exchange channel can be constructed as a serpentine channel, which is beneficial to increasing the heat exchange area between the heating platform 2 and the workpiece 20, and is beneficial to uniformly heating the workpiece 20. The heating temperature of the heating platform 2 is within the range of 30℃ to 300℃, with a control accuracy of ±2℃, and the temperature deviation for heating uniformity is ≤±3℃, achieving gradual evaporation of the solvent from the workpiece 20.

[0058] In an embodiment of the present invention, multiple temperature sensors and flow rate sensors are provided inside the drying chamber 11 and / or on the guide vanes 4, which can monitor the temperature and airflow rate in real time during the drying process, provide feedback and control basis for the control system, and achieve adaptive adjustment through PID closed-loop control.

[0059] In the technical solution of this application, multiple parameters such as the angle of the guide vane 4, the heating temperature of the heating stage 2, and the pressure inside the drying chamber 11 are independently adjustable. Multiple sensors are integrated to realize real-time monitoring of process parameters. The process parameters can be automatically adjusted according to the drying effect to achieve adaptive control. Different guide vanes 4 can be adjusted independently to achieve regional airflow control. During the drying process, the rotation angle of the guide vane 4 can be adjusted in real time to adapt to the needs of different drying stages and achieve dynamic adjustment. It can effectively control the direction, speed and distribution of airflow inside the drying chamber 11 and avoid phenomena such as flow deviation, swirling and drying dead angles. The guide cone 3 converges the air extraction path, and the guide vane 4 provides airflow deflection capability, which can achieve dynamic balance of air pressure in multiple regions. With the help of the rectifier plate 6, the gas flow line above the workpiece 20 is stable and uniform, which significantly improves the drying uniformity and reduces the defect rate of the workpiece 20 after drying (such as coffee rings, edge ink accumulation, center collapse, etc.). It can effectively improve the yield and device consistency. The applicable range of OLED ink systems in this embodiment is expanded from 60% to 90%, which can adapt to different OLED substrate sizes and film thickness requirements. The drying device 10 has high process adaptability.

[0060] In this embodiment, the flow-rectifying structure combining the guide cone 3 and the guide vane 4 enables precise guidance and control of airflow. Local airflow optimization is achieved through independent adjustment of multiple guide vanes 4, realizing the concept of regional airflow control. A multi-parameter collaborative adjustment mechanism is established, with parameters such as temperature, pressure, and airflow angle being collaboratively optimized. Real-time monitoring and adaptive control are integrated to improve process stability and reproducibility. This approach is applicable to various OLED manufacturing processes and has promising prospects for industrial application.

[0061] Reference Figure 2 As shown, the present invention also proposes a drying method for a drying device. The specific structure of the drying device is as described in the above embodiments. Since this drying method adopts all the technical solutions of all the above embodiments, it has at least all the beneficial effects brought about by the technical solutions of the above embodiments, which will not be repeated here. The drying method includes the following steps:

[0062] Step S1: Control the heating table to heat the workpiece to be dried and control the air extraction device to extract air from the drying chamber, and obtain the solvent vapor concentration parameters flowing through the guide vanes.

[0063] The heating platform 2, the vacuum pump, and the concentration sensor are all connected to the control system. The control system controls the heating platform 2 to heat the workpiece 20 to be dried, controls the vacuum pump to evacuate the drying chamber 11, and the concentration sensor acquires the solvent vapor concentration parameters flowing through the guide vanes 4 and sends the parameters to the control system.

[0064] Step S2: When the solvent vapor concentration is greater than the first preset concentration threshold, control the drive unit to drive the guide vanes to rotate to the first preset angle.

[0065] The first preset angle can be 35°, and the first preset concentration threshold can be 0.1ppm. When the solvent vapor concentration is greater than the first preset concentration threshold, the solvent vapor concentration flowing through the guide vane 4 is larger. The control system controls the drive component 5 to drive the guide vane 4 to rotate to the first preset angle to increase the flow rate of the solvent vapor so that the solvent vapor can be discharged quickly.

[0066] Step S3: When the solvent vapor concentration is between the second preset concentration threshold and the first preset concentration threshold, control the drive to drive the guide vane to rotate to the second preset angle, the second preset angle is less than the first preset angle, and the second preset concentration threshold is less than the first preset concentration threshold.

[0067] The second preset angle can be 10°, and the second preset concentration threshold can be 0.01ppm. 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 drive component 5 to drive the guide vane 4 to rotate to the first preset angle 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 for fine drying.

[0068] Step S4: When the solvent vapor concentration is less than the second preset concentration threshold, control the heating table to stop heating the workpiece and control the vacuuming equipment to stop vacuuming.

[0069] When the solvent vapor concentration is less than the second preset concentration threshold, the solvent vapor concentration flowing through the guide vane 4 is relatively small. The control system determines that the drying process is complete and controls the heating table 2 to stop heating and the extraction equipment to stop extraction.

[0070] In other embodiments of the present invention, the drying method of the drying apparatus includes the following steps:

[0071] Step S11: Preparation phase.

[0072] The operator places the workpiece 20 on the heating stage 2 inside the drying chamber 11. The workpiece 20 can be a G6 generation (1500mm×1850mm) glass substrate (OLED substrate) with an RGB organic light-emitting layer printed by inkjet printing. The operator selects or inputs a preset process program for this substrate size and ink system in the control system.

[0073] Step S12: Heating and vacuuming.

[0074] When the door of the drying chamber 11 is closed, the system starts to operate, and the heating stage 2 heats the substrate to the target temperature (e.g., 160°C, with a temperature control accuracy of ±1°C). At the same time, the vacuum equipment starts to evacuate the drying chamber 11 through the vacuum port 12 at the top of the drying chamber 11, causing the pressure inside the drying chamber 11 to drop rapidly.

[0075] Step S13: Airflow shaping and dynamic adjustment.

[0076] As the solvent vapor in the drying chamber 11 moves upward, the guide cone 3 at the top actively guides the solvent vapor to the axis of the extraction port 12.

[0077] In the initial stage of drying, the solvent evaporates rapidly. Based on the feedback from the flow rate sensor, the control system controls the drive component 5 to open the guide vane 4 to a larger angle (e.g., 35°) to ensure exhaust efficiency. At the same time, the control system will fine-tune the rotation angle of the guide vane 4 corresponding to the edge area of ​​the workpiece 20, slightly reducing its opening to compensate for the usually excessively fast flow rate in the edge area.

[0078] As the drying process progresses, the solvent evaporation rate slows down. Based on the readings from the concentration sensor, the controller determines and controls all guide vanes 4 to simultaneously reduce their opening angle (e.g., adjust to 10°) to maintain a constant, low gas flow rate on the surface of the workpiece 20 for fine drying.

[0079] Throughout the process, after the airflow is initially conditioned by the guide vanes 4, it passes upward through the honeycomb structure rectifier plate 6, forming a uniform laminar flow that stably sweeps over the surface of the workpiece 20, carrying away solvent molecules.

[0080] Step S14: Drying complete.

[0081] When the concentration sensor detects that the residual solvent concentration is lower than the preset threshold (e.g., 0.01 ppm), the control system determines that the drying process is complete. The control system then controls the heating platform 2 to stop heating and the vacuum equipment to stop vacuuming, and slowly breaks the vacuum. The operator then takes out the uniformly dried and defect-free workpiece 20.

[0082] In the technical solution of this application, through the innovative airflow shaping component (guide cone 3 + guide vane 4) and intelligent closed-loop control system, the drying device 10 realizes intelligent and precise control of the entire drying process, ensuring that the airflow forms a stable and uniform streamline distribution above the OLED substrate, which is conducive to improving the uniformity, density and yield of film drying, and finally obtaining a high-quality organic functional film layer suitable for the manufacture of high-end OLED display panels.

[0083] The above description is merely an exemplary embodiment of the present invention and does not limit the patent scope of the present invention. Any equivalent structural transformations made using the contents of the present invention's specification and drawings under the technical concept of the present invention, or direct / indirect applications in other related technical fields, are included within the patent protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A drying method for a drying apparatus, characterized in that, The drying device includes: The box has a drying chamber and an air extraction port. The air extraction port is located at the top of the box and communicates with the drying chamber. The air extraction port is used to connect to an air extraction device. A heating platform is located at the bottom of the drying chamber and is used to support and heat the workpiece to be dried. A flow guide cone, disposed at the top of the drying chamber, has a conical surface, the apex of which is opposite to the heating platform. The conical surface is used to guide solvent vapor generated by heating the solvent in the workpiece to the exhaust port; and... The guide vane and the drive component are provided, wherein the guide vane is rotatably connected to the edge of the conical surface, the rotation axis of the guide vane is parallel to the axis of the guide cone, and the drive component is used to drive the guide vane to rotate. The drying method includes: The heating table is controlled to heat the workpiece to be dried, and the air extraction device is controlled to extract air from the drying chamber, and the solvent vapor concentration parameter flowing through the guide vanes is obtained. When the solvent vapor concentration is greater than a first preset concentration threshold, the driving component is controlled to drive the guide vane to rotate to a first preset angle; When the solvent vapor concentration is between a second preset concentration threshold and a first preset concentration threshold, the driving component is controlled to drive the guide vane to rotate to a second preset angle, where the second preset angle is less than the first preset angle and the second preset concentration threshold is less than the first preset threshold. When the solvent vapor concentration is less than the second preset concentration threshold, the heating table is controlled to stop heating the workpiece and the vacuuming device is controlled to stop vacuuming.

2. The drying method of the drying apparatus as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The rotation angle of the guide vane is θ, and θ satisfies the relationship: 0°≤θ≤45°.

3. The drying method of the drying apparatus as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The number of guide vanes is multiple, and the multiple guide vanes are evenly spaced around the axis of the guide cone.

4. The drying method of the drying apparatus as described in claim 3, characterized in that, The drying device also includes multiple concentration sensors, each of which corresponds to one of the multiple guide vanes. Each concentration sensor is located on a corresponding guide vane and is used to detect the concentration of the solvent vapor.

5. The drying method of the drying apparatus as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The drying device also includes a rectifier plate, which is disposed between the guide cone and the heating platform. The rectifier plate has a plurality of guide holes extending in the vertical direction, and the plurality of guide holes are evenly spaced.

6. The drying method of the drying apparatus as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The heating platform is vertically and retractably connected to the bottom of the drying chamber.

7. The drying method of the drying apparatus as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The number of air extraction ports is multiple, and the multiple air extraction ports are evenly spaced around the axis of the guide cone.

8. The drying method of the drying apparatus as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The guide cone has a hollow structure.

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