Coating Equipment

Abstract

To provide an application device that applies coating liquid to a surface of an object to be coated, which can apply the coating liquid to an exact position on the surface of the object to be coated, while varying an application width by which the coating liquid is applied to the object to be coated and an application position.SOLUTION: An application device is provided with width-adjusting means 50 or the like which adjusts a width of coating liquid that is discharged from a slit-shape discharge port, in making the slit-shape discharge port 33 of a coating nozzle 30 for applying discharge coating liquid p to an object to be coated W and applying coating liquid to the surface of the object to be coated, while relatively moving the nozzle for applying and the object to be coated in a coating direction Y, which makes calculating means 62 calculate a width differential or the like between a width of coating liquid discharged from the slit-shape discharge port and a width of the coating liquid actually applied to the object to be coated, on the basis of memorizing means 60 memorizing arithmetic equations in various application condition data, and makes a control device 63 control the width-adjusting means and the like, on the basis of the calculated width differential or the like.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a coating device that discharges a coating liquid supplied into a coating liquid storage section of a coating nozzle through a slit-shaped discharge port at the tip of the coating nozzle onto a substrate, and moves the coating nozzle and the substrate relative to each other in a coating direction in which the coating liquid is applied to the substrate, thereby coating the surface of the substrate with the coating liquid. In particular, the present invention is characterized in that, when the coating width or coating position of the coating liquid applied to the substrate is changed in the coating device, the coating liquid can be applied to an accurate coating width and an accurate coating position on the substrate. [Background technology]

[0002] BACKGROUND ART Conventionally, when manufacturing semiconductor devices, liquid crystal panels, and the like, a coating liquid such as a chemical solution or paint is applied to a substrate such as glass or a film by a coating apparatus.

[0003] In recent years, "neural networks" using "weighting" and "activation functions" as shown in Patent Document 1 have been adopted as calculation formulas for automating the complex movements of such devices.

[0004] In the past, when applying chemicals or paint to a substrate in this manner, the coating was generally applied in a fixed shape such as a square or circle, but in recent years, as products have become more diverse, coating liquids are now applied in a variety of shapes to a variety of substrates.

[0005] Here, as shown in Patent Document 2, a conventional coating device uses a coating nozzle equipped with a slit-shaped discharge port, and discharges a coating liquid stored in a coating liquid storage section of the coating nozzle from the slit-shaped discharge port at the tip of the coating nozzle onto a body to be coated, while moving the coating nozzle and the body to be coated relatively in a coating direction in which the coating liquid is applied to the body to be coated, thereby coating the coating liquid onto the surface of the body to be coated.

[0006] However, although the method disclosed in Patent Document 2 can apply the coating liquid to the surface of the object to be coated in a square shape, it cannot apply the coating liquid to the surface of the object to be coated in various shapes by changing the application width or application position of the coating liquid on the object to be coated.

[0007] Patent Document 3 discloses a cylindrical coating liquid supplier having guide recesses on its outer surface in a predetermined pattern for guiding the coating liquid in a coating liquid storage section to a slit-shaped discharge outlet, the cylindrical coating liquid supplier being rotatably positioned above the slit-shaped discharge outlet; the coating liquid supplier is rotated above the slit-shaped discharge outlet, and the coating liquid in the coating liquid storage section is guided through the guide recesses to the slit-shaped discharge outlet and coated onto the surface of the object to be coated; and the width of the coating liquid to be applied to the surface of the object to be coated is changed according to the shape of the guide recesses provided in the coating liquid supplier.

[0008] Patent Document 4 also discloses a cylindrical nozzle body having a long discharge slit along the axial direction, and a cylindrical adjustment inner tube having a trapezoidal cutout hole rotatably inserted into the nozzle body, and the position of the cutout hole in the adjustment inner tube is adjusted to align with the discharge slit in the nozzle body, thereby changing the width of the coating liquid applied to the surface of the object to be coated.

[0009] Furthermore, Patent Document 5 discloses a coating device in which a coating liquid supplied into a coating liquid storage section of a coating nozzle is discharged onto a substrate through a slit-shaped discharge port at the tip of the coating nozzle, and the coating nozzle and the substrate are moved relatively in a coating direction in which the coating liquid is applied to the substrate, thereby coating the coating liquid on the surface of the substrate. The coating device is provided with width adjustment means for adjusting the width over which the coating liquid in the coating liquid storage section is applied to the substrate through the slit-shaped discharge port, and with intersecting direction movement means for moving the coating nozzle and the substrate relatively in a direction intersecting the coating direction, so that the width of the coating liquid applied to the surface of the substrate is changed by the width adjustment means, and the intersecting direction movement means changes the width of the substrate to which the coating liquid is applied by using the width adjustment means.

[0010] However, as shown in Patent Documents 3 and 4, when the width of the coating liquid applied to the surface of the object to be coated is changed while the coating nozzle and the object to be coated are moved relatively in the coating direction in which the coating liquid is applied to the object to be coated, or when the width of the coating liquid applied to the surface of the object to be coated is changed or the widthwise position of the object to be coated to which the coating liquid is applied is changed as shown in Patent Document 4, there is a problem that when these changes or modifications are made, the coating liquid supplied from the slit-shaped discharge port of the coating nozzle to the surface of the object to be coated is dragged along by the coating liquid that has already been applied to the surface of the object to be coated, making it impossible to accurately apply the coating liquid to the desired predetermined position.

[0011] Another problem is that the degree of this effect varies depending on the distance between the slit-shaped discharge opening of the coating nozzle and the surface of the object to be coated, the viscosity of the coating liquid, the rate of change or modification of the viscosity, and other factors. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0012] [Patent Document 1] Special Publication No. 2021-532432 [Patent Document 2] Patent No. 6326315 [Patent Document 3] Patent No. 6847560 [Patent Document 4] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 10-192762 [Patent Document 5] Patent No. 7266957 DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0013] The present invention aims to solve the above-mentioned problems in a coating device in which a coating liquid supplied into a coating liquid storage section of a coating nozzle is discharged onto a body to be coated through a slit-shaped discharge port at the tip of the coating nozzle, and the coating nozzle and the body to be coated are moved relatively in a coating direction in which the coating liquid is applied to the surface of the body to be coated.

[0014] That is, in the present invention, when applying a coating liquid to the surface of a workpiece using the above-mentioned coating device, when the coating width or coating position of the coating liquid on the workpiece is changed, the object is to ensure that the coating liquid is applied to the workpiece with an accurate coating width and that the coating liquid is applied accurately to the desired coating position on the workpiece. [Means for solving the problem]

[0015] In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, in a first coating device according to the present invention, a coating liquid supplied into a coating liquid storage section of a coating nozzle is discharged onto a substrate through a slit-shaped discharge port at the tip of the coating nozzle, and the coating nozzle and the substrate are moved relatively in a coating direction in which the coating liquid is applied to the substrate, thereby coating the coating liquid on the surface of the substrate. The coating device is provided with a width adjustment means for adjusting the width of the coating liquid in the coating liquid storage section that is discharged through the slit-shaped discharge port, and when the width adjustment means changes the width of the coating liquid to be applied to the substrate, a calculation means calculates a width difference between the width of the coating liquid adjusted by the width adjustment means and discharged from the slit-shaped discharge port and the width of the coating liquid actually applied to the substrate, based on a storage means that stores an arithmetic formula for various coating condition data, and a control device controls the width adjustment means based on the width difference calculated by the calculation means, thereby adjusting the width of the coating liquid to be discharged through the slit-shaped discharge port.

[0016] In addition, in a second coating device according to the present invention, in order to solve the above-mentioned problems, a coating liquid supplied into a coating liquid storage section of a coating nozzle is discharged onto a surface of the object through a slit-shaped discharge port at the tip of the coating nozzle, and the coating nozzle and the object are moved relatively in a coating direction in which the coating liquid is applied to the surface of the object, the coating device is provided with intersecting direction movement means for relatively moving the coating nozzle and the object in a direction intersecting the coating direction, and the intersecting direction movement means moves the coating nozzle and the object relatively in a direction intersecting the coating direction. and moving the position of the coating liquid to be applied to the object in a direction intersecting the coating direction, a calculation means calculates a position difference between the position to which the coating nozzle and the object are relatively moved in a direction intersecting the coating direction by the intersecting direction movement means and the position to which the coating liquid is actually moved to the object, based on a storage means that stores calculation formulas for various coating condition data, and a control device controls the intersecting direction movement means based on the position difference calculated by the calculation means, thereby adjusting the position to which the coating nozzle and the object are relatively moved in a direction intersecting the coating direction.

[0017] Furthermore, in order to solve the above-mentioned problems, a third coating device according to the present invention is a coating device which coats the surface of a substrate by discharging a coating liquid supplied into a coating liquid storage section of a coating nozzle through a slit-shaped discharge port at the tip of the coating nozzle and relatively moving the coating nozzle and the substrate in a coating direction in which the coating liquid is applied to the substrate, the coating device comprising: a width adjusting means which adjusts the width of the coating liquid in the coating liquid storage section which is discharged through the slit-shaped discharge port; and a cross-direction moving means which relatively moves the coating nozzle and the substrate in a direction intersecting the coating direction, the width adjusting means changing the width of the coating liquid to be applied to the substrate; and the cross-direction moving means relatively moves the coating nozzle and the substrate in a direction intersecting the coating direction, thereby adjusting the position of the coating liquid to be applied to the substrate in a direction intersecting the coating direction. When moving the nozzle, a calculation means calculates a width difference between the width of the coating liquid adjusted by the width adjustment means and discharged from the slit-shaped discharge port and the width of the coating liquid actually applied to the object to be coated, based on a storage means that stores an arithmetic formula for various coating condition data, and a position difference between a position to which the coating nozzle and the object to be coated are moved relatively in a direction intersecting the coating direction by the intersecting direction movement means and a position to which the coating liquid is actually applied to the object to be coated is moved, and a control device controls the width adjustment means based on the width difference calculated by the calculation means to adjust the width of the coating liquid discharged through the slit-shaped discharge port, and a position difference calculated by the calculation means to adjust the position to which the coating nozzle and the object to be coated are moved relatively in a direction intersecting the coating direction.

[0018] In the first to third coating devices according to the present invention, when the width of the coating liquid to be applied to the object to be coated is changed by the width adjusting means, or when the intersecting direction moving means relatively moves the coating nozzle and the object to be coated in a direction intersecting the coating direction to move the position of the coating liquid to be applied to the object to be coated in a direction intersecting the coating direction, a calculation means calculates a width difference between the width of the coating liquid adjusted by the width adjusting means and discharged from the slit-shaped discharge port and the width of the coating liquid actually applied to the object to be coated, based on storage means that stores arithmetic expressions for various coating condition data, and A calculation means calculates the position difference between the position to which the coating nozzle and the object to be coated are moved relatively in a direction intersecting the coating direction by the means and the position to which the coating liquid is actually moved to the object to be coated, and based on the calculated width difference, the control device controls the width adjustment means to adjust the width of the coating liquid discharged through the slit-shaped discharge outlet, i.e., the width of the slit of the slit-shaped discharge outlet, and based on the calculated position difference, the control device controls the intersecting direction movement means to adjust the position to which the coating nozzle and the object to be coated are moved relatively in a direction intersecting the coating direction. [Effects of the Invention]

[0019] In the first to third coating devices according to the present invention, when changing the width of the coating liquid to be applied to the surface of the workpiece or moving the position at which the coating liquid is applied to the surface of the workpiece in a direction intersecting the coating direction, a calculation means calculates, based on a storage means that stores arithmetic equations for various coating condition data as described above, a width difference between the width of the coating liquid adjusted by the width adjustment means and discharged from the slit-shaped discharge port and the width of the coating liquid actually applied to the workpiece, and a calculation means calculates a position difference between the position to which the coating nozzle and the workpiece are moved relatively in a direction intersecting the coating direction by the intersecting direction movement means and the position to which the coating liquid is actually applied to the workpiece, and a control device controls the width adjustment means based on the calculated width difference to adjust the width of the coating liquid discharged through the slit-shaped discharge port, and a control device controls the intersecting direction movement means based on the calculated position difference to adjust the position to which the coating nozzle and the workpiece are moved relatively in a direction intersecting the coating direction.

[0020] As a result, in the first to third coating devices according to the present invention, even when the width of the coating liquid to be applied to the surface of the object to be coated is changed or the position at which the coating liquid is applied to the surface of the object to be coated is changed in a direction intersecting the coating direction, it is possible to apply the coating liquid to the object to an accurate coating width and to apply the coating liquid to an accurate coating position on the object to be coated. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0021] [Figure 1] 1 is a schematic plan view illustrating an example of using a coating device according to an embodiment of the present invention; [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a schematic front view illustrating an example of use of the coating device according to the embodiment. [Figure 3] In the coating device according to the embodiment, a coating liquid supply body is rotatably arranged so as to be positioned above a slit-shaped discharge outlet within a coating liquid storage section of a coating nozzle through which a coating liquid is supplied, where (A) is a schematic cross-sectional explanatory diagram in the longitudinal direction of the coating nozzle, and (B) is a schematic cross-sectional explanatory diagram in a direction intersecting the longitudinal direction of the coating nozzle. [Figure 4] In the coating device according to the embodiment, a guide recess having a planar shape of an approximately triangular shape is provided on the outer peripheral surface of a coating liquid supply body that is rotatably arranged within a coating liquid storage section of a coating nozzle through which a coating liquid is supplied, where (A) is a schematic front view of the coating liquid supply body provided with a guide recess, and (B) is a developed view of the outer peripheral surface of the coating liquid supply body provided with a guide recess. [Figure 5] In the coating device according to the embodiment, (A) to (C) are schematic cross-sectional explanatory diagrams showing the state of the coating liquid supplied from the slit-shaped discharge port to the surface of the object to be coated when the width of the guide recess in the coating liquid supply body located above the slit-shaped discharge port is changed, where (A) shows the state immediately after coating begins, (B) shows the state in which the coating liquid is being dragged as the width of the guide recess widens, and (C) shows the state in which the coating liquid is being dragged as the width of the guide recess narrows. [Figure 6] FIG. 1 is a schematic plan view illustrating a state in which, in the coating device according to the embodiment described above, when the width of the coating liquid discharged from the slit-shaped outlet is changed by the width adjustment means, the width of the slit is changed by the control device while the coating nozzle is moved in the Y direction, and the width of the coating liquid discharged from the slit-shaped outlet is controlled, so that the coating liquid is applied to the surface of the object to the desired width; the solid line indicates the position of the edge of the desired coating liquid, the dotted line indicates the position of the edge of the width of the slit-shaped outlet, and the hatched area indicates the coating liquid that is actually applied. [Figure 7] In the coating device according to the above embodiment, (A) to (C) are schematic cross-sectional explanatory diagrams showing the state of the coating liquid supplied from the slit-shaped discharge port to the surface of the workpiece when the coating nozzle is moved in the width direction of the workpiece, which intersects with the coating direction, to move the position of the coating liquid to be applied to the workpiece. (A) shows the state immediately after coating begins, (B) shows the state in which the coating liquid is being dragged as the coating nozzle moves in the X1 direction, and (C) shows the state in which the coating liquid is being dragged as the coating nozzle moves in the X2 direction. [Figure 8]In the coating device according to the above embodiment, when the coating nozzle is moved in the width direction of the workpiece, which intersects with the coating direction, by the intersecting direction movement means, to move the position of the coating liquid to be applied to the workpiece, the width of the slit-shaped discharge outlet is kept constant while the control device controls the widthwise movement position at which the coating liquid is discharged from the slit-shaped discharge outlet onto the workpiece, and the coating liquid is applied to the desired position on the surface of the workpiece. This is a schematic plan view explanatory diagram showing the state in which the coating nozzle is moved in the Y direction while the width of the slit-shaped discharge outlet is kept constant, and the coating liquid is applied to the desired position on the surface of the workpiece, in which the solid line indicates the position of the edge of the desired coating liquid, the dotted line indicates the position of the edge of the width of the slit-shaped discharge outlet, and the hatched area indicates the coating liquid that is actually applied. [Figure 9] In the coating device according to the above embodiment, when applying the coating liquid to the surface of the object W, the width of the coating liquid to be applied to the surface of the object is changed and the position in the width direction of the coating liquid to be applied to the object is changed. While moving the coating nozzle in the Y direction, the control device controls the width of the coating liquid discharged from the slit-shaped discharge port so that the coating liquid is applied to the surface of the object W to the desired width, and the control device controls the widthwise movement position at which the coating liquid is discharged from the slit-shaped discharge port onto the object to be coated, so that the coating liquid is applied to the desired position on the surface of the object W. The solid line indicates the position of the edge of the desired coating liquid, the dotted line indicates the position of the edge of the width of the slit-shaped discharge port, and the hatched area indicates the coating liquid that is actually applied. BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

[0022] The coating device according to the embodiment of the present invention will be specifically described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Note that the coating device according to the present invention is not limited to the embodiment shown below, and can be appropriately modified and implemented within the scope of the invention.

[0023] In the coating device of this embodiment, as shown in Figures 1 and 2, the workpiece W is placed on a fixed table 10, and running rails 11 are laid on both sides of the width direction X of the workpiece W, along the longitudinal direction of the workpiece W, which is the coating direction Y in which the coating liquid p is applied to the workpiece W. A gate-shaped running carriage 20, which has a beam 22 stretched between a pair of supports 21, is set on the running rails 11 on both sides, and a coating nozzle 30 is attached to the running carriage 20. The running carriage 20 runs along the running rails 11 in the coating direction Y, which is the longitudinal direction of the workpiece W, so that the coating nozzle 30 moves in the coating direction Y, which is the longitudinal direction of the workpiece W.

[0024] In the coating device of this embodiment, the coating nozzle 30 is moved in the width direction X of the workpiece W, which intersects with the coating direction Y, by a transverse direction movement means (transverse direction movement control device) 40, and the position of the coating liquid p to be applied to the workpiece W is moved in the width direction X, which intersects with the coating direction Y. As shown in Figures 1 and 2, the coating nozzle 30 is movably held on a guide rail 23 provided below a beam 22 of the traveling carriage 20 by a holding member 43, and the traveling carriage 20 is provided with a motor 41 and a long male screw 42, the male screw 42 is inserted into a screw block 43a of the holding member 43, and the male screw 42 is rotated by the motor 41 to move the coating nozzle 30 in the width direction X of the workpiece W, which intersects with the coating direction Y, via the screw block 43a.

[0025] In the coating device of this embodiment, the beam 22 can be moved up and down by a lifting mechanism (not shown) provided on the support 21.

[0026] In the coating device of this embodiment, as shown in Figures 3(A) and (B), a coating liquid supply pipe 34 is provided to supply the coating liquid p to the coating nozzle 30, and an opening / closing valve 35 provided on this coating liquid supply pipe 34 is opened to supply the coating liquid p into the coating liquid storage section 32 of the coating nozzle 30, and the coating liquid p supplied into this coating liquid storage section 32 is applied to the coated object W through a slit-shaped discharge outlet 33 at the tip of the coating nozzle 30.

[0027] In addition, in the coating device of this embodiment, the coating liquid p supplied into the coating liquid storage section 32 of the coating nozzle 30 is discharged from the slit-shaped discharge outlet 33 onto the coated body W by the width adjustment means (width adjustment control device) 50, and the width of the coating on the surface of the coated body W is adjusted by using a cylindrical coating liquid supply body 51 having a guide recess 51a with a roughly triangular planar shape provided on its outer surface, as shown in Figures 4(A) and (B).

[0028] 3(A) and 3(B), the coating liquid supplier 51 is rotatably provided in the coating liquid storage section 32 so as to be positioned above the slit-shaped discharge outlet 33, a rotation shaft 51b of the coating liquid supplier 51 extends laterally from the coating nozzle 30, and the coating liquid supplier 51 is rotated by a rotation device 52 via the rotation shaft 51b to change the width of a guide recess 51a provided on the outer peripheral surface of the coating liquid supplier 51 that is guided above the slit-shaped discharge outlet 33, thereby changing the width of the coating liquid p that is supplied into the coating liquid storage section 32 and guided through the guide recess 51a to the slit-shaped discharge outlet 33. In this embodiment, the cylindrical coating liquid supplier 51 is provided with a guide recess 51a that has a substantially triangular planar shape on its outer peripheral surface, but the shape of the guide recess 51a is not particularly limited and may be various shapes such as an ellipse or a trapezoid.

[0029] In the coating device of this embodiment, when various coating conditions are changed, such as the viscosity of the coating liquid p, the distance d between the slit-shaped discharge outlet 33 of the coating nozzle 30 and the surface of the workpiece W, the speed at which the cross-direction moving means 40 moves the coating nozzle 30 in the width direction X of the workpiece W that intersects with the coating direction Y, and the speed at which the width of the coating liquid p discharged from the slit-shaped discharge outlet 33 of the coating nozzle 30 onto the workpiece W is changed by the width adjustment means 50, data for an arithmetic formula for how the state of the coating liquid p actually applied to the surface of the workpiece W (the position of the edge of the coating liquid in the width direction) changes is stored in the memory means 60 shown in Figures 1 and 2.

[0030] In the coating device of this embodiment, when the coating liquid p is discharged from the slit-shaped discharge port 33 of the coating nozzle 30 onto the surface of the coating object W, various coating condition data such as the viscosity of the coating liquid p are input to the calculation means 62 by the input means 61, as shown in Figures 1 and 2, and based on the input coating condition data, the calculation means 62 calculates the state (slip) of the coating liquid p discharged from the slit-shaped discharge port 33 of the coating nozzle 30 from the data of the arithmetic formula stored in the storage means 60. The difference between the state of the coating liquid p actually applied to the surface of the workpiece W (the position of the edge of the width of the slit-shaped discharge outlet) and the state of the coating liquid p actually applied to the surface of the workpiece W (the position of the edge of the desired coating liquid) is calculated, and based on the difference thus calculated by the calculation means 62 (by subtracting the difference), the control device 63 controls the width adjustment means 50 to control the width of the coating liquid p discharged through the slit-shaped discharge outlet 33, and also controls the intersecting direction movement means 40 to control the speed at which the coating nozzle 30 is moved in the width direction of the workpiece W that intersects with the coating direction Y.

[0031] In the coating apparatus of this embodiment, when the width of the coating liquid p to be applied to the surface of the workpiece W is changed by rotating the coating liquid supplier 51 using the width adjusting means 50 to change the width of the guide recess 51a provided on the outer peripheral surface of the coating liquid supplier 51 located above the slit-shaped discharge outlet 33, as shown in FIG. 5(A), the width of the guide recess 51a located above the slit-shaped discharge outlet 33 is set to a predetermined width, and the coating liquid supplier 51 is rotated to widen the width of the guide recess 51a located above the slit-shaped discharge outlet 33 as shown in FIG. 5(B), thereby increasing the width of the coating liquid p to be applied to the surface of the workpiece W. As a result, the increase in the width of the coating liquid p to be applied to the surface of the workpiece W is delayed relative to the increase in the width of the guide recess 51a located above the slit-shaped discharge outlet 33, and as shown in Figure 5(C), when the width of the guide recess 51a located above the slit-shaped discharge outlet 33 is reduced to reduce the width of the coating liquid p to be applied to the surface of the workpiece W, the coating liquid p discharged from the slit-shaped discharge outlet 33 is similarly dragged by the coating liquid p that has already been applied to the surface of the workpiece W, and the decrease in the width of the coating liquid p to be applied to the surface of the workpiece W is delayed relative to the decrease in the width of the guide recess 51a located above the slit-shaped discharge outlet 33.

[0032] Therefore, in the coating device of this embodiment, when the width of the coating liquid p to be applied to the surface of the workpiece W is changed and the coating liquid p is applied to the surface of the workpiece W in the desired pattern shown by the solid line in Figure 6, various coating conditions when actually applying the coating liquid p to the surface of the workpiece W, such as the viscosity of the coating liquid p, the distance d between the slit-shaped discharge outlet 33 of the coating nozzle 30 and the surface of the workpiece W, the speed at which the width adjustment means 50 changes the width of the coating liquid p discharged from the slit-shaped discharge outlet 33 of the coating nozzle 30 onto the workpiece W, and the speed at which the coating nozzle 30 is moved in the coating direction Y, are input to the calculation means 62 by the input means 61, and based on the input coating conditions, the calculation means 62 calculates, from the arithmetic formula data stored in the memory means 60, the width difference between the width of the coating liquid p adjusted by the width adjustment means 50 and discharged from the slit-shaped discharge outlet 33 and the width of the coating liquid p actually applied to the surface of the workpiece W.

[0033] Then, based on the width difference calculated by the calculation means 62, the control device 63 controls the width adjustment means 50 to adjust the width of the coating liquid p discharged through the slit-shaped discharge port 33 as shown by the dashed line in Fig. 6, so that the coating liquid p is applied to the surface of the workpiece W with a desired width. As a result, the coating liquid actually applied will be as shown by the hatching in Fig. 6, and can be made to match the desired position shown by the solid line.

[0034] In the coating device of this embodiment, when the cross-direction movement means 40 rotates the male screw 42 with the motor 41, and moves the coating nozzle 30 via the screw block 43a in the width direction X of the workpiece W, which intersects with the coating direction Y, to move the position of the coating liquid p to be applied to the workpiece W in the width direction X, which intersects with the coating direction Y, as shown in FIG. 7(A), the coating nozzle 30 is moved from the state in which it is positioned in the center of the width direction X of the workpiece W to one direction X1 in the width direction X of the workpiece W, as shown in FIG. 7(B), to move the position of the coating liquid p to be applied to the surface of the workpiece W in one direction X1 in the width direction X of the workpiece W, the coating liquid p discharged from the slit-shaped discharge port 33 is dragged (pulled) by the coating liquid p already applied to the surface of the workpiece W, so that the position of the coating liquid p in one direction X1 in the width direction X of the workpiece W lags behind the position of the coating nozzle 30 in the one direction X1 in the width direction X. On the other hand, as shown in Figure 7(C), when the coating nozzle 30, which has been moved in one direction X1 in the width direction X of the workpiece W, is moved in the opposite direction X2 in the width direction X of the workpiece W so as to return the coating nozzle 30 to the center of the width direction X of the workpiece W, and the position of the coating liquid p to be applied to the surface of the workpiece W is moved in the opposite direction X2 in the width direction X of the workpiece W, similarly, the coating liquid p discharged from the slit-shaped discharge outlet 33 is dragged by the coating liquid p that has already been applied to the surface of the workpiece W, so that the position of the coating liquid p to be applied to the surface of the workpiece W in the opposite direction X2 in the width direction X lags behind the moved position of the coating nozzle 30 in the opposite direction X2 in the width direction X.

[0035] Therefore, in the coating device of this embodiment, when the position of the coating liquid p to be applied to the workpiece W is moved in the width direction X intersecting with the coating direction Y, and the coating nozzle is moved in the Y direction while the width of the slit-shaped discharge opening is kept constant and the coating liquid p is applied to the surface of the workpiece W in the desired pattern shown by the solid line in FIG. 8, various coating conditions when actually applying the coating liquid p to the surface of the workpiece W, such as the viscosity of the coating liquid p, the distance d between the slit-shaped discharge opening 33 of the coating nozzle 30 and the surface of the workpiece W, and the width of the coating liquid p applied by the intersecting direction moving means 40 are taken into consideration. The application conditions, such as the speed at which the application nozzle 30 is moved in the width direction X of the workpiece W and the speed at which the application nozzle 30 is moved in the application direction Y, are input to the calculation means 62 by the input means 61, and based on the input application conditions, the calculation means 62 calculates, from the data of the calculation formulas for various application conditions stored in the storage means 60, the position difference between the position to which the application nozzle 30 is moved in the width direction X of the workpiece W by the cross-direction moving means 40 and the movement position of the coating liquid p actually applied to the surface of the workpiece W.

[0036] Then, based on the position difference calculated by the calculation means 62, the control device 63 controls the intersecting direction movement means 40 to adjust the movement position of the slit-shaped discharge outlet 33 of the coating nozzle 30 as shown by the dashed line in Fig. 8 so that the coating fluid p is applied to the surface of the workpiece W at a desired position in the width direction X. As a result, the coating fluid actually applied will be as shown by the hatching in Fig. 8, and can be made to match the desired position shown by the solid line.

[0037] Furthermore, in the coating device of this embodiment, as described above, the width of the guide recess 51a provided on the outer peripheral surface of the coating liquid supplier 51 located above the slit-shaped discharge outlet 33 is changed by the width adjustment means 50, thereby changing the width of the coating liquid p to be applied to the surface of the workpiece W, and the intersecting direction movement means 40 is used to move the coating nozzle 30 in the width direction X of the workpiece W that intersects with the coating direction Y, and while moving the coating nozzle in the Y direction, the position of the coating liquid p to be applied to the workpiece W is moved in the width direction X that intersects with the coating direction Y. In this case, due to the above-described action, the width of the coating liquid p discharged from the slit-shaped discharge outlet 33 of the coating nozzle 30 will differ from the width of the coating liquid p actually applied to the surface of the workpiece W, and the position of the slit-shaped discharge outlet 33 of the coating nozzle 30 moved in the width direction X of the workpiece W will differ from the position of the coating liquid p applied to the surface of the workpiece W.

[0038] Therefore, in the coating device of this embodiment, when the width of the coating liquid p to be applied to the surface of the workpiece W is changed as described above and the position of the coating liquid p to be applied to the workpiece W is changed in the width direction X, and the coating liquid p is applied to the surface of the workpiece W in the desired pattern shown by the solid line in FIG. 9, various coating conditions when actually applying the coating liquid p to the surface of the workpiece W, such as the viscosity of the coating liquid p, the distance d between the slit-shaped discharge opening 33 of the coating nozzle 30 and the surface of the workpiece W, the speed at which the width of the coating liquid p to be discharged from the slit-shaped discharge opening 33 of the coating nozzle 30 onto the workpiece W is changed by the width adjustment means 50, and the position of the coating nozzle 30 relative to the workpiece W by the cross-direction movement means 40, are taken into consideration. Coating conditions such as the speed at which the coating nozzle 30 is moved in the width direction X and the speed at which the coating nozzle 30 is moved in the coating direction Y are input to the calculation means 62 by the input means 61, and based on the input coating conditions, the calculation means 62 calculates, from the data of the arithmetic formulas for various coating conditions stored in the storage means 60, the width difference between the width of the coating liquid p adjusted by the width adjustment means 50 and discharged from the slit-shaped discharge outlet 33 and the width of the coating liquid p actually applied to the surface of the workpiece W, and the position difference between the position to which the coating nozzle 30 is moved in the width direction X of the workpiece W by the intersecting direction movement means 40 and the movement position of the coating liquid p actually applied to the surface of the workpiece W.

[0039] Then, based on the width difference calculated by the calculation means 62, the control device 63 controls the width adjustment means 50, and based on the calculated position difference, the control device 63 controls the intersecting direction movement means 40 to adjust the width and movement position of the slit-shaped discharge outlet 33 in the coating nozzle 30 as shown by the dashed lines in Fig. 9, so that the coating fluid p is applied to the surface of the workpiece W with the desired width and at the desired position in the width direction X. As a result, the coating fluid actually applied will be as shown by the hatching in Fig. 9, and can be made to match the desired position shown by the solid lines.

[0040] The calculation formula used here may be a neural network using "weighting" or "activation function" as described in Patent Document 1.

[0041] Furthermore, here, the width difference and position difference are calculated using an arithmetic formula using the calculation means 62, but when the same coating liquid p is repeatedly applied in the same pattern to multiple identical coated objects W on a production line or the like, the following procedure can also be used.

[0042] The first workpiece is coated with a dummy coating without considering the width difference and position difference, and the difference between the edge position of the coated portion in an image of that pattern is imaged and the edge position of the coated portion in an image of the desired pattern is recognized by image recognition, which can read the width difference and position difference dimensions. In this way, complex calculation formulas and huge amounts of data for calculating the width difference and position difference are not required. [Explanation of symbols]

[0043] 10: Fixed table 11: Running rail 20: Traveling cart 21: Strut 22: Beam 23: Guide rail 30: Application nozzle 32: Coating fluid storage section 33: Slit-shaped outlet 34: Coating liquid supply pipe 35: Opening and closing valve 40: Cross direction movement means (cross direction movement control device) 41: Motor 42: Male thread 43: Holding member 43a: Screw block 50: Width adjusting means (width direction control device) 51: Coating liquid supply body 51a: Guide recess 51b: Rotating shaft 52: Rotating device 60: Storage means (storage means for arithmetic expressions) 61: Input means (means for inputting application conditions) 62: Calculation method 63: Control device W: Coating object X: Width direction X1: One direction X2: Opposite direction Y: Application direction d: Distance between the slit-shaped outlet and the surface of the object to be coated p: Coating liquid

Claims

1. 1. A coating device that applies the coating liquid to a surface of a substrate by discharging a coating liquid supplied into a coating liquid storage section of a coating nozzle through a slit-shaped discharge port at the tip of the coating nozzle and moving the coating nozzle and the substrate relatively in a coating direction in which the coating liquid is applied to the substrate, the coating device comprising: a width adjustment means for adjusting the width of the coating liquid in the coating liquid storage section that is discharged through the slit-shaped discharge port; and, when changing the width of the coating liquid to be applied to the substrate by the width adjustment means, a calculation means calculates, based on storage means that stores arithmetic equations for various coating condition data, a width difference between the width of the coating liquid adjusted by the width adjustment means and discharged from the slit-shaped discharge port and the width of the coating liquid actually applied to the substrate, and a control device controls the width adjustment means based on the width difference calculated by the calculation means, thereby adjusting the width of the coating liquid to be discharged through the slit-shaped discharge port.

2. In a coating device in which a coating liquid supplied into a coating liquid storage section of a coating nozzle is discharged onto a surface of the object through a slit-shaped discharge port at the tip of the coating nozzle, and the coating nozzle and the object are moved relatively in a coating direction in which the coating liquid is applied to the object, the coating device is provided with a cross-direction moving means for moving the coating nozzle and the object relatively in a direction crossing the coating direction, and the cross-direction moving means moves the coating nozzle and the object relatively in a direction crossing the coating direction, thereby changing the position of the coating liquid to be applied to the object. A coating device characterized in that, when moving in a direction intersecting the coating direction, a calculation means calculates, based on a memory means that stores calculation formulas for various coating condition data, a position difference between the position to which the coating nozzle and the object to be coated are moved relatively in a direction intersecting the coating direction by the intersecting direction movement means and the position to which the coating liquid is actually moved to the object to be coated, and based on the position difference calculated by the calculation means, a control device controls the intersecting direction movement means to adjust the position to which the coating nozzle and the object to be coated are moved relatively in a direction intersecting the coating direction.

3. In a coating device for applying the coating liquid to a surface of a substrate by discharging the coating liquid supplied into a coating liquid storage section of a coating nozzle through a slit-shaped discharge port at the tip of the coating nozzle and relatively moving the coating nozzle and the substrate in a coating direction in which the coating liquid is applied to the substrate, the device is provided with width adjusting means for adjusting the width of the coating liquid in the coating liquid storage section that is discharged through the slit-shaped discharge port, and intersecting direction moving means for relatively moving the coating nozzle and the substrate in a direction intersecting the coating direction, and the width of the coating liquid to be applied to the substrate is changed by the width adjusting means, and the intersecting direction moving means relatively moves the coating nozzle and the substrate in a direction intersecting the coating direction, thereby moving the position of the coating liquid to be applied to the substrate in a direction intersecting the coating direction, and a calculation means for calculating a width difference between the width of the coating liquid adjusted by the width adjustment means and discharged from the slit-shaped discharge port and the width of the coating liquid actually applied to the object to be coated, based on a storage means having an arithmetic formula stored therein; and a calculation means for calculating a position difference between a position to which the coating nozzle and the object to be coated are moved relatively in a direction intersecting the coating direction by the intersecting direction movement means, and a position to which the coating liquid is actually moved to the object to be coated; a control device for controlling the width adjustment means based on the width difference calculated by the calculation means, thereby adjusting the width of the coating liquid discharged through the slit-shaped discharge port; and a control device for controlling the intersecting direction movement means based on the position difference calculated by the calculation means, thereby adjusting the position to which the coating nozzle and the object to be coated are moved relatively in a direction intersecting the coating direction.

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