Powder coating apparatus having pumping port

Abstract

The present invention provides a powder coating apparatus comprising: a chamber unit; a reactor that is rotationally accommodated inside the chamber unit; a rotation unit that controls rotation of the reactor; a gas supply unit that provides a process gas into the reactor; a heater unit that is installed around the reactor; a vacuum exhaust unit that is connected to the chamber unit; a pumping port that is positioned between the reactor and the vacuum exhaust unit to control a gas flow inside the reactor; and a driving unit that moves the pumping port forward or backward toward the reactor, and thus, the powder coating apparatus induces a process gas flow inside the reactor to be maintained uniformly, thereby controlling a reaction inside the reactor to be uniformly performed.

Description

Powder coating device with pumping port

[0001] The present invention relates to a powder coating device having a pumping port provided at the rear end of a reactor to smoothly control the exhaust flow of the reactor.

[0002] To form a thin film by coating powder, such as cathode active material powder for lithium secondary batteries, vapor deposition methods such as CVD (Chemical Vapor Deposition) or atomic layer deposition (ALD) are generally used. Among them, ALD is a method that evenly deposits a thin film on the surface by loading powder (base material) into a rotating reactor.

[0003] However, in conventional powder coating devices, the flow of gas is formed differently depending on the distance between the gas inside the reactor and the vacuum pumping means, and accordingly, it is difficult to uniformly deposit a thin film.

[0004] The present invention has been proposed to overcome the above-mentioned shortcomings, and the purpose of the present invention is to provide a powder coating device that can control the flow of process gas to be formed uniformly inside the reactor by providing a pumping port of a specific structure at the rear end of the reactor.

[0005] The purpose of the present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned purpose, and should be understood to include all purposes that can be inferred from the composition of the invention described in the detailed description or claims of the present invention, or all purposes that can be achieved by the description or technical idea of ​​the present invention.

[0006] In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a powder coating device having a pumping port including a chamber unit; a reactor rotatably accommodated inside the chamber unit; a rotation unit controlling rotation of the reactor; a gas supply unit for supplying process gas into the reactor; a heater unit installed around the reactor; a vacuum exhaust unit connected to the chamber unit; a pumping port positioned between the reactor and the vacuum exhaust unit to control a gas flow within the reactor; and a driving unit for moving the pumping port forward toward the reactor or backward from the reactor.

[0007] According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the pumping port includes a port portion, a baffle, and an exhaust port, and the port portion has a shape and an area of ​​a surface facing the rear end of the reactor that correspond to the shape and area of ​​the rear end of the reactor, and the shape of the port portion is such that the area of ​​a cross-section parallel to the rear end of the reactor decreases as it moves away from the rear end of the reactor, and the shape of the cross-section is circular or polygonal, and the baffle is a plate member having the same shape as the cross-section of the port portion and having a plurality of holes formed therein, and the exhaust port is characterized in that it is connected to a predetermined point of the port portion.

[0008] According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the plurality of holes formed in the baffle may be a plurality of circular holes, a plurality of polygonal holes, or a plurality of slits forming layers.

[0009] According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the baffle can be fixed to a baffle support installed in the port portion.

[0010]

[0011] *Meanwhile, according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the pumping port moves forward toward the reactor and performs pumping in a state close to the reactor, thereby forming a uniform fluid flow inside the reactor.

[0012] In addition, the pumping port moves backward from the reactor and performs pumping while being separated from the reactor, thereby forming a rapid vacuum environment throughout the interior of the chamber unit, and the exhaust port provided in the pumping port can be installed to communicate with the vacuum exhaust unit when the pumping port is in a state of being close to the reactor.

[0013] According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the driving unit may include a connecting portion connected to the pumping port, an actuator for reciprocatingly moving the connecting portion, and a fixing portion installed on the outer wall of the chamber unit to support the actuator.

[0014] According to the powder coating device of the present invention, a pumping port is provided at the rear end of the reactor to control the flow of process gas to be formed uniformly inside the reactor, thereby enabling the deposition of a uniform thin film.

[0015] The effects of the present invention are not limited to the effects described above, and should be understood to include all effects that can be inferred from the detailed description of the present invention or the composition of the invention described in the claims.

[0016] FIG. 1 is an external perspective view of a powder coating device according to one embodiment of the present invention.

[0017] Figure 2 is a perspective view of Figure 1 with the chamber unit removed.

[0018] Figure 3 is a side perspective view of Figure 1.

[0019] Figure 4 is a detailed partial view centered on the pumping port in Figure 3.

[0020] Figure 5 is an exploded perspective view of the pumping port of Figure 4.

[0021] Figures 6 (a) and (b) are operation state diagrams of the pumping port of Figure 5. Figure 6 (a) shows the initial vacuum state, and Figure 6 (b) shows the position of the pumping port during the reaction process of the reactor.

[0022] Figure 7 is a schematic diagram showing the uniform flow of process gas inside a reactor in a powder coating device equipped with a pumping port of the present invention.

[0023] <Explanation of symbols>

[0024] 100: Powder coating device

[0025] 10: Chamber unit 20: Reactor

[0026] 22: Lead mesh filter 23: Trailing mesh filter

[0027] 30: Rotation unit 40: Gas supply unit

[0028] 50: Heater unit 51: Upper heater

[0029] 52: Lower heater 60: Vacuum exhaust unit

[0030] 110: Pumping port 111: Port section

[0031] 112: Exhaust port 113: Slit

[0032] 114: Exhaust pipe 115: Baffle

[0033] 116: Baffle support 120: Drive unit

[0034] 121: Connector 122: Actuator

[0035] 123: Fixed part 124: Piston

[0036] 125: Bellows

[0037] The embodiments of the present invention are provided to more clearly explain the present invention to those skilled in the art. The following embodiments may be modified in various different forms, and the scope of the present invention is not limited to the following embodiments. Rather, the embodiments are provided to more faithfully and clearly explain the present disclosure and to clearly convey the technical concept of the present invention to those skilled in the art. In addition, it should be noted that, where possible, identical components are represented by the same reference numerals throughout the drawings. In addition, the size and shape of devices in the drawings may be exaggerated for convenience and clarity of explanation.

[0038] Hereinafter, a specific embodiment of a device according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the attached drawings.

[0039] The present invention is characterized in that a pumping port is provided at the rear end of a reactor of a powder coating device so that the air flow inside the reactor is preferably controlled to be uniform, thereby enabling the coating process to be carried out efficiently.

[0040] Referring to FIGS. 1 to 4, the powder coating device (100) according to the present invention is characterized by including a chamber unit (10), a reactor (20) rotatably accommodated inside the chamber unit (10), a rotation unit (30) for controlling the rotation of the reactor (20), a gas supply unit (40) for providing a process gas into the reactor (20), a heater unit (50) installed around the reactor (20) for providing a temperature required for the process, a vacuum exhaust unit (60) for creating a vacuum state inside the chamber unit (10) or exhausting the process gas from the chamber unit (10), and a pumping port (110).

[0041] According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the chamber unit (10) accommodates a reactor (20) and a part of a rotation unit (30), and the interior of the reactor (20) can be created in a vacuum state or an atmosphere close to a vacuum for a deposition reaction of powder (not shown) by a vacuum exhaust unit (60).

[0042] According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, a gas supply unit (40) is arranged in the chamber unit (10), and process gas required for the process is supplied into the interior of the reactor (20) from the gas supply unit (40) under the control of an external controller (not shown).

[0043] The above process gas may be composed of a first gas, a second gas, and a third gas in the present invention.

[0044] In the present invention, the first gas is a gas containing a precursor, which is a material for a coating layer deposited on the surface of a particle, which is a coating target object. The precursor that will form the coating layer is not particularly limited in type as long as it is a substance that can react and be adsorbed on the surface of the coating target object, and depending on the type of the coating target object, for example, BDEAS, BTBAS, CCTBA, Cp-Hf, Cp-Zr, DIPAS, HCDS, TMA, TDMAT, TBTDET, Tris-DMAS, TiCl4, Ru(EtCp)2, etc., can be applicable, and can form a stable coating film by reacting with the second gas, which will be described later.

[0045] In the present invention, the second gas is a gas formed as a reactant that is injected after the first gas is adsorbed on the particle surface of the coating target object, such as powder, and any remaining first gas is completely removed by the third gas, which will be described later. The second gas is a substance that reacts to form a stable coating film by binding to the film formed on the particle surface of the coating target object due to the first gas. The specific type of substance forming the second gas may vary depending on the type of precursor forming the first gas. The second gas may mainly be formed of O2, H2, H2O, O3, and in addition, any substance that can form a stable coating film on the particle surface of the coating target object, such as N2, NH3, H2S, etc., may be included here.

[0046] In the present invention, the third gas is a gas that does not chemically react with the powder, the first gas, and the second gas, and is injected for the purpose of removing gases of other components other than the gases to be injected that are necessary for the reaction of each step. An inert gas such as nitrogen (N2) or argon (Ar) can be used as the third gas. The third gas particularly functions to remove the first gas remaining after the first gas is injected and a film is formed on the particle surface of the coating target, thereby allowing the second gas to be injected after the first gas is removed, thereby preventing the second gas from unnecessarily reacting with the first gas at a location other than the particle surface. In addition, after the coating layer is formed following the injection of the second gas, the third gas is injected to remove the remaining second gas.

[0047] According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the gas supply unit (40) may be one used in a known deposition module, such as CVD, ALD, sputter, etc. In Fig. 3, the direction of inflow of the process gas is indicated by an arrow.

[0048] According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the chamber unit (10) may further include a heater unit (50) installed at the upper and lower portions of the reactor (20), for example, as shown in FIG. 3. The heater unit (50) may be installed at a position close to the reactor (20). Although FIG. 3 illustrates that the heater unit (50) is disposed at the upper and lower portions of the reactor (20), the arrangement is not necessarily limited to that of FIG. 3, and the specific position of the heater unit (50) is not particularly limited as long as it can supply thermal energy to the reactor (20). Here, the heater unit (50) functions to increase the temperature of the reactor (20) to a temperature required for the process when powder coating is performed on the reactor (20). This heater unit (50) may be controlled by a separate heater control means (not shown).

[0049] According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, a front mesh filter (22) having a size of 0.5 to 3.0 um can be attached to the front end of the reactor (20), and a rear mesh filter (23) having a size of 3.0 to 5.0 um can be attached to the longitudinal discharge portion of the reactor (20), so that the phenomenon of internal powder leaking out to the outside due to the pressure of the gas when the pulse and process gas are supplied inside the reactor (20) can be prevented by these mesh filters (22, 23).

[0050] According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the powder coating device (100) of the present invention is characterized in that a pumping port (110) is provided at the rear end of the reactor (20) inside the chamber unit (10). In addition, a driving unit (120) for moving the pumping port (110) back and forth may be provided at the rear end of the reactor (20) of the chamber unit (10), as described below.

[0051] FIG. 4, which is illustrated as an example of the present invention, is a partial configuration diagram centered on the main parts of the powder coating device according to the present invention, which are the pumping port (110) and the driving unit (120), and FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view of the pumping port (110) of FIG. 4.

[0052] Referring to the drawing, the powder coating device (100) of the present invention includes a pumping port (110) positioned between a reactor (20) and a vacuum exhaust unit (60) and a driving unit (120) that moves the pumping port (110) in a horizontal direction as seen from FIG. 4. That is, the driving unit (120) can move the pumping port (110) forward toward the reactor (20) or backward from the reactor (20). Here, the pumping port (110) controls the gas flow within the reactor (20).

[0053] According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the pumping port (110) may be formed to correspond to the cross-section of the rear end of the reactor (20), and a baffle (115) formed between the rear end of the reactor (20) and the port (111) and having a plurality of slits (113) may be combined.

[0054] There is no particular limitation on the shape of the port portion (111), and the shape of the port portion (111) may be such that process gas can be guided to the exhaust pipe (114) connected to the port portion. For example, the shape of the port portion (111) may be such that the vertical cross-sectional area decreases as it moves away from the rear end of the reactor (20). At this time, the shape of the vertical cross-section may be formed in various shapes, such as a circle or a polygon.

[0055] The shape of the baffle (115) to be described later may be identical to the vertical cross-sectional shape of the port portion (111). That is, the shape of the baffle (115) may be identical to any one of the shapes of the vertical cross-section of the port portion (111) whose cross-sectional area decreases according to the distance from the reactor (20). However, in Fig. 5, the shape of the baffle (115) is illustrated as a circular plate member, but it is not necessarily limited to being circular.

[0056] According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the shape of the port portion (111) may be a truncated cone shape as shown in FIG. 5. However, the truncated cone shape in the present invention is not necessarily limited to a cone shape, and the cross-section may be formed in a square or polygonal shape rather than a circle.

[0057] According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the pumping port (110) includes an exhaust port (112) formed at a predetermined portion of the port portion (111), and an exhaust pipe (114) is fixedly connected to the exhaust port (112). In FIGS. 4 and 5, the exhaust port (112) is illustrated as being formed at the lower portion of the port portion (111), but the position of the exhaust port (112) is not necessarily limited to the position of FIGS. 4 and 5. The exhaust pipe (114) of the pumping port (110) may be connected to a vacuum exhaust unit (60).

[0058] According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the baffle (115) may be formed with at least one hole in various shapes. These holes enable more precise control of the fluid flow.

[0059] Here, the holes may be formed in various shapes and forms that can precisely control the flow of the process gas, such as a plurality of holes of the same size, a plurality of holes of different sizes, holes formed with a uniform density over the entire position of the baffle (115), holes formed with different densities depending on the position of the baffle (115), holes formed in a geometric pattern, and a form in which a plurality of slits (113) are layered as shown in FIG. 5. That is, the holes may be formed in various shapes and forms that can precisely control the flow of the process gas according to various process conditions. For example, with reference to FIG. 5, the width of the upper slit (113) may be formed to be larger than the width of the lower slit (113).

[0060] Through this, as in Fig. 5, when the exhaust pipe (114) is formed at the bottom, the density of the process gas can be uniformly formed even in the upper part of the reactor (20), where the density through which the process gas passes may be relatively low. Alternatively, considering the length and width of the slit formed in the baffle (115), the cross-sectional area of ​​the slit, which is determined by the length and width, can be formed to increase from the bottom to the top of the baffle (115). Alternatively, for example, the width of the slit (113) may be formed to be the same overall but with different lengths, or the length may be the same overall but with different widths, or the width and length may be formed differently for each slit, so that the flow of the process gas can be precisely controlled depending on the position of the exhaust pipe (114).

[0061] That is, the optimal slit shape can be designed by considering various factors such as the length and width of the slit, the distance from the slit to the exhaust pipe, etc. In addition, as mentioned above, the position of the exhaust pipe (114) is not necessarily limited to the positions of FIGS. 4 and 5, so the hole formed in the baffle (115) depending on the position of the exhaust pipe (113) is not limited to the shape of the slit (113) of FIG. 5, and its shape, position, and number can be formed in various ways.

[0062] In this way, according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, during the process of the reactor (20), when the process gas is continuously discharged while passing through the slit (113), the process gas flow inside the reactor (20) is induced to be uniform throughout, and thus, uniformity of product quality can be achieved through uniformity of the process reaction.

[0063] According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the baffle (115) can be fixed to the port portion (111) by a baffle support (116). The baffle support (116) can be a plurality of pin members.

[0064] For example, one side of the four pin members, i.e., the rear end of the baffle support (116), is coupled to the inner side of the port portion (111), i.e., the surface facing the baffle (115), and the front end of the baffle support (116) can fix the baffle (115).

[0065] According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the pumping port (110) is connected to a driving unit (120) and can be reciprocated in a horizontal direction, i.e., along the longitudinal direction of the reactor (20) with reference to FIG. 6. That is, the pumping port (110) can be moved forward toward the reactor (20) or backward from the reactor by the driving unit (120).

[0066] According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the driving unit (120) includes a connecting portion (121) connected to the pumping port (110), an actuator (122) that reciprocates the connecting portion (121), and a fixing portion (123) that is installed on the outer wall of the chamber unit (10) and supports the actuator (122). Here, the actuator (122) is preferably a pneumatic or hydraulic cylinder equipped with a piston (124), and the connecting portion (121) of the actuator (122) can be sealed with a bellows (125).

[0067] When the pumping port (110) is positioned close to the reactor (20) by advancing toward the reactor (20) as shown in (b) of Fig. 6, it acts to concentrate the fluid inside the reactor (20) and maintains a smooth fluid flow inside the reactor (20). As a result, the fluid flowing smoothly inside the reactor (20) causes a deposition reaction to occur uniformly throughout the entire volume inside the reactor (20).

[0068] When the pumping port (110) is moved backward away from the reactor (20) as in (a) of Fig. 6, it may be advantageous when forming a vacuum throughout the interior of the chamber unit (10) (see Fig. 1) including the reactor (20). This is because, when space is secured between the pumping port (110) and the reactor (20), a vacuum environment can be effectively formed in the space outside the reactor (20).

[0069] Figure 7 is a schematic diagram showing the flow of process gas inside a reactor (20) in the powder coating device of the present invention.

[0070] As shown in Fig. 7, it shows a form in which the process gas is guided in a uniform flow when the process reaction proceeds by a plurality of slits (113) formed in the baffle (115) of the pumping port (110).

[0071] Meanwhile, the powder coating device of the present invention is optimized for the ALD method, but can also be applied to the CVD method. When the powder coating device of the present invention is applied to the ALD method, the coating gas and the coating reactant are supplied sequentially. However, when the powder coating device of the present invention is applied to the CVD method, the coating gas and the coating reactant can be supplied simultaneously.

[0072] Although the present invention has been described above as one embodiment, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various modifications and changes can be made to the present invention without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention as set forth in the claims below.

Claims

1. Chamber unit; A reactor rotatably accommodated inside the chamber unit; A rotation unit that controls the rotation of the above reactor; A gas supply unit for providing process gas into the above reactor; A heater unit installed around the above reactor; A vacuum exhaust unit connected to the above chamber unit; A pumping port positioned between the reactor and the vacuum exhaust unit to control the gas flow within the reactor; and A driving unit for moving the pumping port forward toward the reactor or backward from the reactor; A powder coating device having a pumping port including:

2. In paragraph 1, The above pumping port is, Including a port, a baffle, and an exhaust port, The shape and area of ​​the surface facing the rear end of the above port portion correspond to the shape and area of ​​the rear end of the reactor, and the shape of the port portion is such that the area of ​​the cross-section parallel to the rear end of the reactor decreases as it gets farther from the rear end of the reactor, and the shape of the cross-section is circular or polygonal. The above baffle is a plate member having the same shape as the vertical cross-sectional shape of the port portion, and a number of holes are formed therein. A powder coating device having a pumping port, characterized in that the exhaust port is formed at a predetermined point of the port portion.

3. In paragraph 2, A powder coating device having a pumping port, wherein the plurality of holes are a plurality of circular holes, a plurality of polygonal holes, or a plurality of slits forming layers.

4. In paragraph 2, A powder coating device having a pumping port, characterized in that the baffle is fixed to a baffle support installed in the port portion.

5. In paragraph 2, The pumping port moves forward toward the reactor and performs pumping in a state close to the reactor, thereby uniformly forming a fluid flow inside the reactor. The pumping port moves backward from the reactor and performs pumping while being separated from the reactor, thereby forming a rapid vacuum environment throughout the interior of the chamber unit. A powder coating device having a pumping port, characterized in that the exhaust port provided in the pumping port is installed to communicate with the vacuum exhaust unit when the pumping port is in proximity to the reactor.

6. In paragraph 1, A powder coating device having a pumping port including a connecting portion connected to the pumping port, an actuator for reciprocatingly moving the connecting portion, and a fixing portion installed on the outer wall of the chamber unit to support the actuator.

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