Drying equipment

Abstract

This easily prevents the coating film from bulging at the edges and becoming thicker than the central part when drying the coating liquid applied to the substrate. [Solution] In a drying apparatus in which a heating member 30 equipped with a planar heating device H is placed above a substrate 1 coated with a coating liquid 1a, and the heating device is brought close to the substrate to heat and dry the coating liquid applied to the substrate, a plurality of set members 20 for setting the coated substrate are provided on a support base 10 that supports the coated substrate, each set member is provided with a support part 21 for supporting the substrate and a stopper part 22 that protrudes above the substrate set from the support part, and the heating member is brought close to the substrate set on the set member and the heating member is brought into contact with the stopper part to adjust the gap δ between the coating liquid applied to the substrate and the heating device.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a drying device for drying a coating liquid applied on a substrate to form a coating film. In particular, when drying the coating liquid applied on the substrate to form a coating film, it is characterized in that it can easily prevent the coating film at the peripheral portion from swelling and the film thickness at the peripheral portion from becoming thicker than the film thickness at the central portion.

Background Art

[0002] Conventionally, a coating liquid applied on a substrate has been dried by a drying device to form a coating film on the substrate.

[0003] Here, when drying the coating liquid applied on the substrate as described above, conventionally, generally, a substrate coated with the coating liquid is supported by a plurality of rod-shaped members, while a heating device in a planar shape is attached to a lifting heating member, and the heating member is lowered to bring the heating device close to the substrate supported by the rod-shaped members, and the coating liquid applied on the substrate is heated and dried by the heating device.

[0004] Here, when the lifting member is lowered as described above to bring the heating device close to the substrate supported by the rod-shaped members and heat and dry the coating liquid applied on the substrate, evaporation of the solvent in the coating liquid applied on the substrate occurs not only on the upper surface of the coating liquid applied on the substrate but also at the peripheral portion, and the coating liquid at the central portion is dragged to the peripheral portion and dried, resulting in a state where the peripheral portion of the coating film obtained by drying the coating liquid applied on the substrate swells, and there are problems such as a reduction in the area that can be effectively used as a product within the substrate and a decrease in the yield.

[0005] Furthermore, in order to reduce the evaporation of solvent from the periphery of the coating liquid applied to the substrate, it is conceivable to bring the heating device closer to the coating liquid applied to the substrate in order to reduce the gap between the heating device and the coating liquid applied to the substrate. However, it was extremely difficult to lower the heating element without the heating device coming into contact with the coating liquid applied to the substrate.

[0006] Furthermore, in order to prevent the peripheral edges of the coating film obtained by drying the coating liquid applied to the substrate as described above from becoming raised, Patent Document 1 proposes a vacuum drying apparatus for drying a substrate coated with a coating liquid under reduced pressure, comprising: an airtight container with a substrate mounting section for placing the substrate inside; a rectifier plate that faces the surface of the substrate placed on the substrate mounting section via a gap and is provided to exhaust the gas in the gap outward, and is approximately the same size as or larger than the substrate; a substrate temperature adjustment means provided in the substrate mounting section for adjusting the temperature of the substrate; and a vacuum exhaust means for reducing the pressure inside the airtight container.

[0007] Furthermore, Patent Document 2 proposes a vacuum drying apparatus comprising a chamber for housing a substrate including an upper surface to which a coating liquid film containing a solvent is applied and a lower surface having a lower peripheral edge opposite to the liquid peripheral edge of the coating liquid film, a vacuum exhaust unit for evacuating the inside of the chamber under reduced pressure, and a vaporization promoting unit for promoting the vaporization of the solvent from the coating liquid film, wherein the vaporization promoting unit is a contact heating unit heated to a higher temperature than the inside of the chamber, and the contact heating unit has a contact end positioned opposite to the lower peripheral edge, and the contact end of the contact heating unit contacts the lower peripheral edge to heat the liquid peripheral edge, thereby promoting the vaporization of the solvent from the liquid peripheral edge.

[0008] Furthermore, Patent Document 3 proposes a device comprising: a heating unit that heats the entire circumference of the peripheral edge of a coating liquid film applied to a substrate; a rise measuring sensor that measures the rise at the peripheral edge; a surface tension control unit that controls the surface tension of the coating liquid film at the peripheral edge; and a control unit that controls the surface tension control unit. The control unit controls the heating of the entire circumference of the peripheral edge by the heating unit while measuring the rise at the peripheral edge with the rise measuring sensor, thereby reducing the surface tension over the entire circumference of the peripheral edge.

[0009] However, all of the aforementioned Patent Documents 1 to 3 require the installation of various devices such as special heating devices, control devices, and sensors, which increases costs, and controlling these devices is also difficult. Furthermore, when the coating liquid applied to the substrate is dried to form a coating film, it is difficult to easily prevent the coating film from rising at the edges, resulting in the film thickness at the edges becoming thicker than the film thickness in the center. [Prior art documents] [Patent Documents]

[0010] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2003-269859 [Patent Document 2] Patent No. 6907280 [Patent Document 3] Patent No. 6967637 [Disclosure of the Invention] [Problems that the invention aims to solve]

[0011] The present invention aims to solve the aforementioned problems in a drying apparatus that dries a coating liquid applied to a substrate to form a coating film.

[0012] In other words, the present invention aims to easily prevent the coating film from rising at the periphery and becoming thicker at the periphery than at the center when drying a coating liquid applied to a substrate in a drying apparatus as described above to form a coating film. [Means for solving the problem]

[0013] In the drying apparatus according to the present invention, in order to solve the above-mentioned problems, a heating member equipped with a planar heating device is placed above a substrate coated with a coating liquid, and the heating device on the heating member is brought close to the substrate to heat and dry the coating liquid applied to the substrate. In this drying apparatus, a plurality of set members are provided on a support base that supports the substrate coated with the coating liquid, and each set member is provided with a support portion that supports the substrate coated with the coating liquid and a stopper portion that protrudes above the substrate coated with the coating liquid from the support portion, and the heating member is brought close to the substrate set on the set member and the heating member is brought into contact with the stopper portion to adjust the gap between the coating liquid applied to the substrate and the heating device. As a result, the heating member can be positioned while maintaining a small gap so as not to touch the substrate.

[0014] In the drying apparatus according to the present invention, a plurality of set members are provided on a support base that supports a substrate coated with a coating liquid, and the substrate is supported by a support portion in each set member. The heating member is brought close to the substrate set in the set member, and the heating member is brought into contact with a stopper portion that protrudes above the substrate set from the support portion in the set member. By adjusting the gap between the coating liquid applied to the substrate and the heating device, the heating member can be lowered so that it does not come into contact with the coating liquid applied to the substrate, thereby easily narrowing the gap between the coating liquid applied to the substrate and the heating device.

[0015] Furthermore, in the drying apparatus according to the present invention, if support pins for supporting the substrate are provided in the support portion of the set member, the contact area between the coating liquid and the coated substrate can be reduced, which reduces unevenness in the coating film when the coating liquid applied to the substrate is heated and dried, and maintains the quality of the substrate by reducing deterioration of the contact surface.

[0016] Furthermore, in the drying apparatus according to the present invention, when adjusting the gap between the coating liquid applied to the substrate and the heating device by bringing the heating member into contact with the stopper portion, the stopper portion of the set member can be brought into contact with the lower surface of the heating device, which is a planar surface provided on the heating member, or with a stopper portion located at the same height as the lower surface of the heating device.

[0017] Furthermore, the drying apparatus according to the present invention can be provided with a height adjustment means for adjusting the height of the stopper portion in the set member. In this way, even when the thickness of the substrate or the thickness of the coating applied to the substrate differs, the heating member can be lowered and brought into contact with the stopper portion so as not to come into contact with the coating applied to the substrate, thereby easily adjusting the gap between the coating applied to the substrate and the heating apparatus.

[0018] Furthermore, in the drying apparatus according to the present invention, the planar heating device is provided on the ceiling of the heating member, and side walls are provided extending downward from the periphery of the ceiling, with the lower end of the side walls in contact with the support base, thereby sealing the inside of the heating member. The inside of the heating member is then depressurized to heat and dry the coating liquid applied to the substrate. In this way, the coating liquid applied to the substrate set inside the heating member is quickly heated and dried.

[0019] Furthermore, in the drying apparatus according to the present invention, when sealing the heating member by bringing the lower end of the side wall into contact with the support base as described above, a sealing member can be provided on the support base that contacts the lower end of the side wall, which is provided extending downward from around the ceiling of the heating member, to seal the lower end of the side wall and the support base.

[0020] Furthermore, when sealing the lower end of the side wall by bringing it into contact with the support base as described above, the support portion of the set member can be held by an expandable / contractable member that expands and contracts in the vertical direction. In this way, when the heating member is brought close to the substrate set in the set member as described above, and the heating member is brought into contact with a stopper portion that protrudes above the substrate set from the support portion to adjust the gap between the coating liquid applied to the substrate and the heating device, the heating member is then lowered further, causing the expandable / contractable member to contract, so that the lower end of the side wall comes into contact with the support base, and the gap between the coating liquid applied to the substrate and the heating device is adjusted, making it easy to seal the lower end of the side wall by bringing it into contact with the support base. [Effects of the Invention]

[0021] In the drying apparatus of the present invention, a plurality of set members are provided on a support base that supports a substrate coated with a coating liquid as described above, and the substrate is supported by a support portion of each set member. The heating member is brought close to the substrate set on the set member, and the heating member is brought into contact with a stopper portion that protrudes above the substrate set from the support portion of the set member, thereby adjusting the gap between the coating liquid applied to the substrate and the heating device. As a result, the heating member can be lowered to narrow the gap between the coating liquid applied to the substrate and the heating device, so that the heating device does not come into contact with the coating liquid applied to the substrate.

[0022] As a result, in the drying device of the present invention, when drying the coating liquid applied on the substrate to form a coating film, it becomes possible to easily prevent the coating film at the peripheral portion from swelling and the film thickness at the peripheral portion from becoming thicker than the film thickness at the central portion.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0023] [Figure 1] In the drying device according to an embodiment of the present invention, a setting member is provided on a support base, and a substrate coated with a coating liquid is placed and set on a support pin provided on a support portion of the setting member. It is a cross-sectional explanatory view showing a state in which the position of the upper end of the stopper portion in the setting member is made higher than the position of the coating liquid applied to the substrate placed on the support pin. [Figure 2] It is a schematic plan view showing a state in which a substrate coated with a coating liquid is set on a support base by a plurality of setting members provided on the support base in the drying device according to the above embodiment. [Figure 3] In the drying device according to the above embodiment, a heating device in a planar shape is provided on the ceiling portion, and a heating member provided with side wall portions directed downward from the periphery of the ceiling portion is disposed so as to cover the substrate set on the support base by the setting member. It is a cross-sectional explanatory view showing the state. [Figure 4] In the drying device according to the above embodiment, it is a cross-sectional explanatory view showing a state in which the heating member is lowered and the heating device provided on the ceiling portion of the heating member is brought into contact with the stopper portion provided on the setting member. [Figure 5] In the drying device according to the above embodiment, from the state in which the heating device provided on the ceiling portion of the heating member is brought into contact with the stopper portion provided on the setting member, the heating member is further lowered, and the lower end of the side wall portion provided downward from the periphery of the ceiling portion is pressed against the sealing member provided on the support base to show a state in which the inside of the heating member is sealed. It is a cross-sectional explanatory view. [Figure 6]This is a cross-sectional explanatory diagram showing a modified example 1 of the drying apparatus according to the above embodiment, in which a stopper portion is provided on the ceiling of the heating member at the same height as the lower surface of the planar heating device, and the stopper portion provided on the ceiling of the heating member is brought into contact with a stopper portion provided on the set member. [Figure 7] This is a cross-sectional explanatory diagram showing a modified example 2 of the drying apparatus according to the above embodiment, in which, when the thickness of the substrate coated with the coating liquid increases, a spacer is provided in the stopper portion of the set member, and the position of the upper end of the stopper portion is raised higher than the position of the coating liquid applied to the substrate placed on the support pin. [Figure 8] This is a cross-sectional explanatory diagram showing the state in which, in the modified example 2 described above, the heating device provided on the ceiling of the heating member is brought into contact with the stopper provided on the set member, and then the heating member is further lowered, and the lower end of the side wall portion provided downward from around the ceiling is pressed against the sealing member provided on the support base, thereby sealing the inside of the heating member. [Best Mode for Carrying Out the Invention]

[0024] Hereinafter, a drying apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention will be specifically described with reference to the attached drawings. It should be noted that the drying apparatus according to the present invention is not limited to those shown in the embodiments below, and can be modified as appropriate without altering the essence of the invention.

[0025] In the drying apparatus of this embodiment, as a setting member 20 for setting the substrate 1 coated with the coating liquid 1a onto the support base 10, as shown in Figure 1, a support pin 21a is provided on a support part 21 that supports the substrate 1 coated with the coating liquid 1a, and the substrate 1 is supported on this support pin 21a. In addition, a stopper part 22 is provided at the end of the support part 21 so as to protrude above the substrate 1 coated with the coating liquid 1a.

[0026] Here, when setting the substrate 1 coated with the coating liquid 1a onto the support base 10, the substrate 1 coated with the coating liquid 1a is supported by support pins 21a provided on the support portion 21 of the setting member 20. This is to minimize the contact area between the substrate 1 coated with the coating liquid 1a and the support pins 21a, thereby minimizing unevenness in the coating film when the coating liquid 1a applied to the substrate 1 is heated and dried, and to maintain the quality of the substrate by minimizing deterioration of the contact surface.

[0027] Furthermore, when providing the stopper portion 22 at the end of the support portion 21 as described above, a mounting hole 22c is provided from a counterbore portion 22b provided on the upper surface 22a of the stopper portion 22 so as to penetrate through to the mounting screw hole 21b provided in the support portion 21, and the mounting screw 23 is screwed into the mounting screw hole 21b in the support portion 21 through the mounting hole 22c from the counterbore portion 22b, so that the screw head 23a of the mounting screw 23 does not protrude from the upper surface 22a of the stopper portion 22.

[0028] Furthermore, in order to make the stopper portion 22 provided at the end of the support portion 21 protrude above the substrate 1 to which the coating liquid 1a has been applied, as described above, the height h of the stopper portion 22 that protrudes above the support portion 21 is made greater than the sum of the height h1 of the support pin 21a provided on the support portion 21, the thickness t1 of the substrate 1 supported by the support pin 21a, and the thickness t2 of the coating liquid 1a applied to the substrate 1 (h1+t1+t2). Thus, the height h of the stopper portion 22 that protrudes above the support portion 21 is made higher by a gap δ[=h-(h1+t1+t2)] than the sum of the height h1 of the support pin 21a and the thickness t2 of the coating liquid 1a applied to the substrate 1 supported by the support pin 21a.

[0029] Furthermore, the set member 20 is provided with a base portion 24 that is placed on the support base 10, and a guide rod 25 extending downward from the support portion 21 is inserted into a guide hole 26 provided in the base portion 24. A spring-type expandable member 27 is provided on the outer circumference of the guide rod 25 between the support portion 21 and the base portion 24, and the expansion and contraction of the expandable member 27 biases the support portion 21 holding the substrate 1 coated with the coating liquid 1a upward, allowing it to move in the vertical direction.

[0030] In this drying apparatus, when setting the rectangular substrate 1 coated with the coating liquid 1a onto the support base 10 using the setting members 20, for example, as shown in Figure 2, one setting member 20 is placed in the center of each of the short sides of the rectangular substrate 1, and a pair of setting members 20 are placed on each of the long sides of the rectangular substrate 1 with a required interval between them, so that a total of six setting members 20 are used to set the substrate 1 onto the support base 10. The number of setting members 20 used to set the substrate 1 coated with the coating liquid 1a onto the support base 10 is not particularly limited and can be changed according to the size and shape of the substrate 1 coated with the coating liquid 1a.

[0031] Furthermore, in the drying apparatus of this embodiment, a rectangular substrate 1 coated with the coating liquid 1a is supported by a plurality of set members 20 on a support base 10, and a rectangular annular sealing groove 11 is provided around the base, and a sealing member 12 such as an O-ring is provided inside this sealing groove 11.

[0032] In this embodiment of the drying apparatus, when heating and drying the coating liquid 1a applied to the substrate 1, as shown in Figure 3, a heating member 30 with a planar heating device H on the ceiling portion 31 is positioned above the substrate 1 supported by the support portion 21 of the set member 20, and the heating member 30 is lowered to bring the planar heating device H closer to the coating liquid 1a applied to the substrate 1.

[0033] Then, as described above, when the heating member 30 is lowered, the planar heating device H provided on the ceiling portion 31 of the heating member 30 is guided to a position close to the substrate 1 supported by the support pin 21a provided on the support portion 21 of the set member 20, and as shown in Figure 4, the planar heating device H comes into contact with the upper surface 22a of the stopper portion 22 provided on the set member 20 and is positioned.

[0034] Here, in the state where the heating device H is in contact with the upper surface 22a of the stopper portion 22 provided on the set member 20 as described above, the height h of the stopper portion 22 that protrudes above the support portion 21 as described above is larger than the gap δ [=h-(h1+t1+t2)] than the sum of the height h1 of the support pin 21a provided on the support portion 21, the thickness t1 of the substrate 1 supported by the support pin 21a, and the thickness t2 of the coating liquid 1a applied to the substrate 1. As a result, the planar heating device H provided on the ceiling portion 31 of the heating member 30 and the coating liquid 1a applied to the substrate 1 are positioned through the gap δ.

[0035] With the heating device H in contact with the upper surface 22a of the stopper portion 22 provided on the set member 20, when the heating member 30 is lowered further, the planar heating device H provided on the ceiling portion 31 of the heating member 30 and the coating liquid 1a applied to the substrate 1 are separated by a gap δ, and the support portion 21 of the set member 20 is pushed downward by the heating member 30 via the stopper portion 22, causing the telescopic member 27 provided on the outer circumference of the guide rod 25 extending downward from the support portion 21 to contract, and the stopper portion 22 and the support portion 21 to descend together with the guide rod 25.

[0036] In this way, the heating member 30 is lowered further, and as shown in Figure 5, the lower end 32a of the side wall portion 32 extending downward from the periphery of the ceiling portion 31 is brought into contact with the sealing member 12 provided in the square annular sealing groove 11 in the periphery of the support base 10 and pressed against it, thereby covering the heating member 30 with the substrate 1 coated with the coating liquid 1a on the support base 10 and sealing the inside of the heating member 30.

[0037] Then, with the heating element 30 sealed in this manner, the gas (in this case, air) inside the heating element 30 is sucked out by a suction device (not shown), and with the pressure inside the heating element 30 reduced, the coating liquid 1a applied to the substrate 1 is heated and dried by a planar heating device H provided on the ceiling portion 31 of the heating element 30.

[0038] In this embodiment of the drying apparatus, the heating device H provided on the heating member 30 is in contact with the stopper portion 22 provided on the set member 20, as described above, so that the heating device H does not come into contact with the coating liquid 1a applied to the substrate 1. Therefore, the heating member 30 can be easily lowered to narrow the gap δ between the heating device H and the coating liquid 1a applied to the substrate 1. The coating liquid 1a applied to the substrate 1 can be heated and dried by the heating device H at a close position to form a coating film, and it is easy to prevent the coating film from bulging at the dried periphery.

[0039] In this embodiment of the drying apparatus, when the heating member 30 is lowered as described above to bring the planar heating device H closer to the coating liquid 1a applied to the substrate 1, the planar heating device H is brought into contact with the stopper portion 22 provided on the set member 20. However, for example, as shown in the modified example in Figure 6, a stopper portion 33 is provided on the top portion 31 of the heating member 30 at the same height as the lower surface of the planar heating device H, close to the heating device H. Then, the heating member 30 is lowered as described above, and the stopper portion 33, which is at the same height as the lower surface of the heating device H, is brought into contact with the upper surface 22a of the stopper portion 22 provided on the set member 20 to position the heating device H.

[0040] Even in this case, as in the above embodiment, the planar heating device H provided on the ceiling portion 31 of the heating member 30 is at the same height as the stopper portion 22. Therefore, the planar heating device H provided on the ceiling portion 31 of the heating member 30 and the coating liquid 1a applied to the substrate 1 are maintained with the same gap δ in between. By covering the heating member 30 with the substrate 1 on which the coating liquid 1a is applied, and sealing the inside of the heating member 30, the coating liquid 1a applied to the substrate 1 can be heated and dried by the planar heating device H provided on the ceiling portion 31 of the heating member 30 while the inside of the heating member 30 is under reduced pressure, making it easy to prevent the coating film from rising at the dried periphery.

[0041] Furthermore, in the drying apparatus of the above embodiment, as shown in the modified examples in Figures 7 and 8, when a substrate 1 with a thickness of (t1+ta) is used instead of the substrate 1 with a thickness of t1, a stopper portion 22 is provided at the end of the support portion 21 that supports the substrate 1 coated with the coating liquid 1a in the set member 20, so as to protrude above the substrate 1 coated with the coating liquid 1a, and a spacer 28 with a thickness of ta is provided between the support portion 21 and the stopper portion 22 as a height adjustment means for adjusting the height of the stopper portion 22.

[0042] Here, by providing a spacer 28 with thickness ta between the support portion 21 and the stopper portion 22 in this manner, the height of the stopper portion 22 that protrudes upward from the support portion 21 increases by the amount of the increase in the thickness of the substrate 1, ta, due to the spacer 28 of thickness ta.

[0043] Then, as in the embodiment described above, by lowering the heating member 30 so that the planar heating device H is brought closer to the coating liquid 1a applied to the substrate 1, and by bringing the planar heating device H provided on the ceiling portion 31 of the heating member 30 into contact with the upper surface 22a of the stopper portion 22 provided with the spacer 28 as described above, the planar heating device H provided on the ceiling portion 31 of the heating member 30 and the coating liquid 1a applied to the substrate 1 are positioned with a gap δ[=(h+ta)-(h1+t1+ta+t2)] between them.

[0044] Next, with the heating device H in contact with the upper surface 22a of the stopper portion 22 provided on the set member 20, the heating member 30 is lowered further, as in the embodiment described above, and the heating member 30 is placed over the support base 10 on which the substrate 1 coated with the coating liquid 1a is set, thereby sealing the inside of the heating member 30. In this state, with the pressure inside the heating member 30 reduced, the coating liquid 1a applied to the substrate 1 is heated and dried by the planar heating device H provided on the ceiling portion 31 of the heating member 30.

[0045] In this way, even when substrates 1 of different thicknesses are used, the heating member 30 can be easily lowered to narrow the gap δ between the heating device H and the coating liquid 1a applied to the substrate 1. The coating liquid 1a applied to the substrate 1 can be heated and dried by the heating device H at a close position to form a coating film, and the bulging of the coating film at the dried periphery can be easily prevented.

[0046] In the modified examples shown in Figures 7 and 8, a spacer 28 is provided between the support portion 21 and the stopper portion 22 as a height adjustment means for adjusting the height of the stopper portion 22. However, the height adjustment means for adjusting the height of the stopper portion 22 is not limited to this.

[0047] Although not shown in the diagram, for example, the stopper portion 22 can be made detachable, and the length (height) of the stopper portion 22 itself can be changed using a screw member or the like. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0048] 1: Circuit board 1a: Coating liquid 10: Support stand 11: Groove for sealing 12: Sealing material 20: Set components 21: Support part 21a: Support pin 21b: Mounting screw holes 22: Stopper part 22a:Top surface 22b: Counterbore section 22c: Mounting holes 23: Mounting screws 23a: Screw head 24: Base section 25: Guide rod 26: Guide hole 27: Expandable member 28: Spacer (height adjustment means) 30: Heating component 31: Ceiling 32: Side wall section 32a: Bottom end 33: Stopper part H: Heating device h: Height of the stopper part h1: Height of the support pin t1: Thickness of the circuit board t2: Thickness of the coating ta: Increase in substrate thickness δ: gap

Claims

1. A drying apparatus comprising a heating member equipped with a planar heating device positioned above a substrate coated with a coating liquid, and bringing the heating device on the heating member close to the substrate to heat and dry the coating liquid applied to the substrate, wherein a plurality of set members are provided on a support base that supports the substrate coated with the coating liquid, each set member is provided with a support portion for supporting the substrate coated with the coating liquid and a stopper portion that protrudes above the substrate coated with the coating liquid from the support portion, and the heating member is brought close to the substrate set on the set member and the heating member is brought into contact with the stopper portion to adjust the gap between the coating liquid applied to the substrate and the heating device.

2. A drying apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that a support pin for supporting the substrate is provided on the support portion of the set member.

3. A drying apparatus according to claim 1 or claim 2, characterized in that the stopper portion of the set member is brought into contact with the lower surface of the heating device, which is a planar heating device provided on the heating member, or with a stopper portion located at the same height as the lower surface of the heating device, in order to adjust the gap between the coating liquid applied to the substrate and the heating device.

4. A drying apparatus according to claim 1 or claim 2, characterized in that it is provided with a height adjustment means for adjusting the height of the stopper portion in the set member.

5. A drying apparatus according to claim 1 or claim 2, characterized in that the planar heating device is provided on the ceiling of the heating member, side walls are provided extending downward from the periphery of the ceiling, the lower end of the side walls is brought into contact with the support base, the inside of the heating member is sealed, and the inside of the heating member is reduced in pressure to heat and dry the coating liquid applied to the substrate.

6. A drying apparatus according to claim 5, characterized in that a sealing member is provided on the support base that contacts the lower end of a side wall portion provided downward from around the ceiling portion of the heating member, thereby sealing the lower end of the side wall portion and the support base.

7. A drying apparatus according to claim 5, characterized in that, when the lower end of the side wall portion is brought into contact with the support base and sealed, the support portion of the set member is held by an expandable / contractable member that expands and contracts in the vertical direction.

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