Coating system and coating layer forming method

Abstract

The purpose of the present invention is to provide a coating system capable of improving efficiency while reducing contamination and damage risks of a substrate in a series of processing steps in which an easily damaged substrate such as a glass substrate is taken out from a storage part, a coating liquid is applied on an end surface of the substrate and cured, and then the substrate is stored in the storage part. This coating system (10) comprises: a coating device (11) that applies a coating liquid on at least an end surface of a substrate (1); a curing device (40) that cures the coating liquid applied on the substrate (1); and a transfer device (60) having a transfer hand (61) for holding the substrate (1). The transfer device (60) is configured to: transfer the substrate (1) from a storage part (70) for the substrate (1) to the coating device (11) by means of the transfer hand (61); transfers, to the curing device (40), the substrate (1) on which the coating liquid is applied by the coating device (11); and transfer, to the storage part (70), the substrate (1) on which the coating liquid has been cured by the curing device (40).

Description

Coating System and Method for Forming a Coating Layer

[0001] The present invention relates to a coating system and a method for forming a coating layer. More specifically, the present invention relates to a coating system and a method for forming a coating layer that are suitable for applying a coating liquid to at least an end face of a thin substrate such as a glass substrate, curing the coating liquid, and forming a coating layer.

[0002] As an example of a substrate for mounting electronic components, printed wiring boards using glass epoxy materials, composite materials, paper phenolic materials, etc. are widely used. When these printed wiring boards are subjected to cutting, fine dust composed of epoxy resin or glass fibers, etc. is generated at the cut portion. Such fine dust causes contact failure of the substrate circuit and deterioration of quality. Therefore, it is preferable to remove the dust generated during cutting of the substrate during the manufacture of the printed wiring board. Also, even if the dust is once removed from the end face of the cut portion of the printed wiring board, the end face portion of the printed wiring board is fragile, so there is a risk that the end face portion will collapse and further dust will be generated during subsequent substrate manufacturing processes such as an etching process.

[0003] Therefore, the applicant of the present application previously proposed a coating apparatus and a coating method capable of preventing the collapse of the end face portion by applying a film-forming liquid to the end face of the substrate to form a film (Patent Document 1 below).

[0004] Furthermore, in recent years, in order to cope with the thinning and miniaturization of various electronic devices, the demand for thin copper-clad laminated substrates (also referred to as package substrates) having a thickness of about several tens of μm to several hundreds of μm has been increasing. For such thin substrates, it is not easy to apply the film-forming liquid only to the end face of the substrate, and a form in which the film-forming liquid is applied, for example, in a frame shape to the peripheral portion including the end face of the substrate is considered desirable.

[0005] Therefore, the applicant of the present application previously proposed a coating apparatus and a coating method capable of preventing the collapse of the end face portion, etc. by applying a film-forming liquid in a frame shape to the peripheral portion including the end face of the substrate to form a film (Patent Document 2 below).

[0006] Furthermore, the applicant has also proposed a coating apparatus that can precisely control the upper and lower coating widths of the film-forming liquid applied to the peripheral edge of the substrate, including the end face of the substrate, and that can reliably form a thin coating film of uniform thickness on the peripheral edge of the substrate (see Patent Document 3 below).

[0007] Furthermore, the applicant has previously proposed a drying apparatus capable of efficiently drying multiple substrates at once, each having a liquid agent applied to its edge or periphery using the above-described coating apparatus; a light irradiation apparatus capable of irradiating the edge or periphery of the substrate with light to cure and dry the liquid agent; and a coating system equipped with these (see Patent Document 4 below).

[0008] [Problems the Invention Aims to Solve] In recent years, with the increasing performance of electronic devices, there has been a growing demand for higher density wiring substrates that constitute semiconductor devices. Conventionally, organic materials such as glass epoxy resin have been used as substrate materials for semiconductor package substrates, but in recent years, with the advancement of glass drilling technology, glass materials, i.e., electronic circuit boards using glass substrates, have attracted attention as next-generation semiconductor package substrates. The above-mentioned glass substrates have a small coefficient of linear thermal expansion (CTE) and excellent flatness, heat resistance, and signal transmission characteristics, but for example, a full-panel size glass substrate has a large area of ​​about 500 mm square and a thin shape of about 0.2 mm to 1 mm or less, so it is prone to damage such as cracks, breaks, and chips in the manufacturing process of circuit boards such as package substrates, and there has been a problem that the yield tends to decrease due to such damage.

[0009] Therefore, the applicant of this case considered that by forming a coating film on at least the edge surface of the glass substrate using the technology described in Patent Documents 1 to 4 above, the effect of preventing damage to the glass substrate in subsequent substrate manufacturing processes could be enhanced, and commenced investigations. The coating apparatus and coating systems described in Patent Documents 1 to 4 above used roller conveyors for loading and unloading substrates into and out of the apparatus, and for transporting substrates between apparatuses within the system. When the glass substrate was transported by the roller conveyor, the substrate surface of the glass substrate came into contact with the rollers of the roller conveyor, and frictional force was generated on the substrate surface due to the rotation of the rollers. Furthermore, there was a risk of contamination and damage to the substrate even within the coating system.

[0010] International Publication No. 2010 / 137418, International Publication No. 2016 / 072250, Japanese Patent Publication No. 2022-99172, Japanese Patent Publication No. 2017-201219 Means for solving the problem and their effects

[0011] The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and aims to provide a coating system and a coating layer formation method that can improve the efficiency of a series of processing steps, while reducing the risk of contamination and damage to the substrate in a series of processing steps, in which a thin substrate, such as a glass substrate, which is prone to cracks and breaks and is also prone to minute scratches on the substrate surface, is removed from a storage unit, a coating liquid is applied to at least the edge surface of the substrate and cured, and then stored in the storage unit.

[0012] To achieve the above objective, the coating system (1) according to the present invention is a coating system comprising: a coating device for applying a coating liquid to at least the end face of a substrate; a curing device for curing the coating liquid applied to the substrate; and a transfer device equipped with a transfer hand for holding the substrate, wherein the transfer device is configured to transfer the substrate from the substrate storage section to the coating device using the transfer hand, transfer the substrate coated with the coating liquid by the coating device to the curing device, and transfer the substrate cured with the coating liquid by the curing device to the storage section.

[0013] According to the above coating system (1), the system includes a coating device, a curing device, and a transfer device, wherein the transfer device is configured to transfer the substrate from the storage section to the coating device by the transfer hand, transfer the substrate coated with the coating liquid in the coating device to the curing device, and transfer the substrate cured with the coating liquid in the curing device to the storage section. As a result, the risk of contamination and damage to the substrate in a series of processing steps, such as applying the coating liquid to at least the edge surface of a substrate like a glass substrate which is prone to cracks and fractures and is susceptible to minute scratches on the substrate surface, can be reduced while efficiently performing a series of processing steps.

[0014] Furthermore, the coating system (2) according to the present invention is characterized in that, in the coating system (1) above, the transfer device comprises a multi-axis robot section to which the transfer hand is attached, and a horizontal movement section that moves the multi-axis robot section in the horizontal direction, and the substrate is held in a non-contact manner by the transfer hand.

[0015] According to the coating system (2) described above, since the transfer device comprises the multi-axis robot section and the horizontal movement section, the transfer operation of the substrate between the coating device, the curing device and the storage section can be performed in a space-saving and more efficient manner. Furthermore, since the substrate is held in contact with the transfer hand, the effect of reducing the risk of contamination or damage to the substrate during the transfer operation can be further enhanced.

[0016] Furthermore, the coating system (3) according to the present invention is characterized in that, in the coating system (1) or (2) above, the coating apparatus comprises a coating stage unit on which the substrate is held, one or more coating units arranged around the coating stage unit, and a moving unit for moving the coating units, the coating stage unit comprises a coating table having an insertion / removal section into which at least a part of the transfer hand can be inserted and removed, and the coating table and the transfer hand are configured to be able to move up and down relative to each other.

[0017] According to the coating system (3) described above, the coating apparatus comprises a coating stage unit, a coating unit, and a moving unit, the coating stage unit comprises a coating table equipped with an insertion / removal section, and the coating table and the transfer hand are configured to be able to move up and down relative to each other. Therefore, when transferring the substrate held by the transfer hand to the coating table, or when transferring the substrate held by the coating table to the transfer hand, the risk of contamination or damage to the substrate can be reduced, and the transfer operation of the substrate can be performed efficiently. In this case, the transfer hand may be configured to move up and down relative to the coating table, or the coating table may be configured to move up and down relative to the transfer hand, or the coating table and the transfer hand may be configured to move up and down relative to each other.

[0018] Furthermore, the coating system (4) according to the present invention is characterized in that, in the coating system (3) above, the coating stage unit is equipped with a coating table lifting mechanism that raises and lowers the coating table between the substrate transfer position and the coating position.

[0019] According to the coating system (4) described above, when transferring the substrate held by the transfer hand to the coating table, the coating table is moved to the substrate transfer position by the coating table lifting mechanism. Then, the transfer hand holding the substrate is inserted into the insertion / removal section of the coating table, and after transferring the substrate from the transfer hand to the coating table, the transfer hand is removed from the insertion / removal section, thereby allowing the substrate to be transferred from the transfer hand to the coating table without damaging it. Also, when transferring the substrate held by the coating table to the transfer hand, the coating table is moved to the substrate transfer position by the coating table lifting mechanism. Then, the transfer hand is inserted into the insertion / removal section of the coating table holding the substrate, and after transferring the substrate from the coating table to the transfer hand, the transfer hand is removed from the insertion / removal section, thereby allowing the substrate to be transferred from the coating table to the transfer hand without damaging it.

[0020] Furthermore, the coating system (5) according to the present invention is characterized in that, in the coating system (3) or (4) above, the coating unit comprises a coating roller that contacts or approaches the end face of the substrate, and a liquid discharge unit that discharges the coating liquid onto the outer circumferential surface of the coating roller, and is configured such that the coating liquid is discharged from the liquid discharge unit onto the outer circumferential surface of the coating roller while the coating roller is rotated in the opposite direction to the direction of movement of the coating unit.

[0021] According to the above coating system (5), the coating liquid discharged from the liquid discharge unit to the coating roller is applied to at least the end face of the substrate at a point rearward in the direction of movement of the coating unit, relative to the contact point or proximity point between the coating roller and the substrate. With this configuration, the coating liquid that has been transferred and applied from the coating roller to the substrate is applied without being pressed by the coating roller. Therefore, by adjusting conditions such as the amount of coating liquid discharged from the liquid discharge unit to the coating roller, the film thickness of the coating liquid applied to at least the end face of the substrate can be adjusted.

[0022] Furthermore, the coating system (6) according to the present invention is characterized in that, in any of the coating systems (1) to (5) above, the curing apparatus comprises a curing stage unit on which the substrate is held, and one or more irradiation units disposed around the curing stage unit for irradiating at least the end face of the substrate with active energy rays, the curing stage unit comprises a curing table having an insertion / removal section into which at least a part of the transfer hand can be inserted and removed, and the curing table and the transfer hand are configured to be able to move up and down relative to each other.

[0023] According to the coating system (6) described above, the curing apparatus comprises the curing stage unit and the irradiation unit, the curing stage unit comprises the curing table with the insertion / removal section, and the curing table and the transfer hand are configured to be able to move up and down relative to each other. Therefore, when transferring the substrate held by the transfer hand to the curing table, or when transferring the substrate held by the curing table to the transfer hand, the risk of contamination or damage to the substrate can be reduced, and the transfer operation of the substrate can be performed efficiently. In this case, the transfer hand may be configured to move up and down relative to the curing table, or the curing table may be configured to move up and down relative to the transfer hand, or the curing table and the transfer hand may be configured to move up and down relative to each other.

[0024] Furthermore, the coating system (7) according to the present invention is characterized in that, in the coating system (6) above, the curing stage unit is equipped with a curing table lifting mechanism that raises and lowers the curing table between the substrate transfer position and the curing position.

[0025] According to the coating system (7) described above, when transferring the substrate held by the transfer hand to the curing table, the curing table is moved to the substrate transfer position by the curing table lifting mechanism. Then, the transfer hand holding the substrate is inserted into the insertion / removal section of the curing table, and after transferring the substrate from the transfer hand to the curing table, the transfer hand is removed from the insertion / removal section, thereby allowing the substrate to be transferred from the transfer hand to the curing table without damaging it. Also, when transferring the substrate held by the curing table to the transfer hand, the curing table is moved to the substrate transfer position by the curing table lifting mechanism. Then, the transfer hand is inserted into the insertion / removal section of the curing table holding the substrate, and after transferring the substrate from the curing table to the transfer hand, the transfer hand is removed from the insertion / removal section, thereby allowing the substrate to be transferred from the curing table to the transfer hand without damaging it.

[0026] Furthermore, the coating system (8) according to the present invention further comprises a plasma irradiation device for irradiating at least the end face of the substrate with plasma in the coating system (1) or (2), wherein the plasma irradiation device is incorporated into the coating device, and the transfer device is configured such that, instead of transferring the substrate to the curing device after the coating device has applied the coating liquid, the substrate is transferred to the curing device after the plasma has been irradiated with plasma by the plasma irradiation device.

[0027] According to the coating system (8) described above, the transfer device is configured to transfer the substrate, to the curing device, after the plasma irradiation device has irradiated the substrate with plasma and the coating liquid has been applied to the substrate with the coating device. Therefore, it is possible to irradiate at least the edge face of the substrate with plasma to modify its surface and increase its cleanliness, and then apply the coating liquid and cure it, thereby increasing the adhesion of the coating liquid to at least the edge face of the substrate and forming a more uniform and highly adhesive coating layer. Furthermore, since the plasma irradiation device is incorporated into the coating device, the series of processing steps can be carried out efficiently while reducing the risk of contamination or damage to the substrate during the series of processing steps of irradiating with plasma and then applying and curing the coating liquid.

[0028] Furthermore, the coating system (9) according to the present invention is characterized in that, in the coating system (8) above, the coating apparatus comprises a coating stage unit on which the substrate is held, one or more coating units arranged around the coating stage unit, and a moving unit for moving the coating units, the coating stage unit comprises a coating table having an insertion / removal section into which at least a part of the transfer hand can be inserted and removed, the coating table and the transfer hand are configured to be able to move up and down relative to each other, and the plasma irradiation apparatus comprises one or more plasma irradiation units for irradiating at least the end face of the substrate with the plasma, and the plasma irradiation unit is attached to the coating unit or the moving unit.

[0029] The coating system (9) described above can achieve the same effects as the coating system (3) described above. Furthermore, since the plasma irradiation unit constituting the plasma irradiation device is attached to the coating unit or the mobile unit, the plasma can be irradiated while the plasma irradiation unit is moved by the mobile unit, and the coating liquid can be applied while the coating unit is moved by the mobile unit. Moreover, by attaching the plasma irradiation unit to the coating unit or the mobile unit, a compact unit configuration can be achieved.

[0030] Furthermore, the coating system (10) according to the present invention is characterized in that, in any of the above coating systems (1) to (7), it further comprises a plasma irradiation device for irradiating at least the end face of the substrate with plasma, and the transfer device is configured such that, instead of transferring the substrate from the substrate storage section to the coating device by the transfer hand, the transfer hand transfers the substrate from the substrate storage section to the plasma irradiation device, and the substrate irradiated with plasma by the plasma irradiation device is then transferred to the coating device.

[0031] According to the above coating system (10), the system further includes the plasma irradiation device, and the transfer device is configured to transfer the substrate from the storage section to the plasma irradiation device by the transfer hand, transfer the substrate irradiated with plasma by the plasma irradiation device to the coating device, transfer the substrate coated with the coating liquid by the coating device to the curing device, and transfer the substrate cured with the coating liquid by the curing device to the storage section. Therefore, a series of processing steps, from irradiating with plasma to applying and curing the coating liquid, can be performed efficiently. In addition, by irradiating at least the edge face of the substrate with plasma, the adhesion of the coating liquid to at least the edge face of the substrate can be increased, making it possible to form a more uniform and highly adhesive coating layer.

[0032] Furthermore, the coating system (11) according to the present invention is characterized in that, in the coating system (10) above, the plasma irradiation device comprises an irradiation stage unit on which the substrate is held, and one or more plasma irradiation units disposed around the irradiation stage unit for irradiating at least the end face of the substrate with the plasma, the irradiation stage unit comprises an irradiation table having an insertion / removal portion into which at least a part of the transfer hand can be inserted and removed, and the irradiation table and the transfer hand are configured to be able to move up and down relative to each other.

[0033] According to the coating system (11) described above, the plasma irradiation device comprises the irradiation stage unit and the plasma irradiation unit, the irradiation stage unit comprises the irradiation table equipped with the insertion / removal section, and the irradiation table and the transfer hand are configured to be able to move up and down relative to each other. Therefore, when transferring the substrate held by the transfer hand to the irradiation table, or when transferring the substrate held by the irradiation table to the transfer hand, the risk of contamination or damage to the substrate can be reduced, and the substrate transfer operation can be performed efficiently. In this case, the transfer hand may be configured to move up and down relative to the irradiation table, or the irradiation table may be configured to move up and down relative to the transfer hand, or the irradiation table and the transfer hand may be configured to move up and down relative to each other.

[0034] Furthermore, the coating system (12) according to the present invention is characterized in that, in the coating system (11), the irradiation stage unit is equipped with an irradiation table lifting mechanism that raises and lowers the irradiation table between the substrate transfer position and the plasma irradiation position.

[0035] According to the coating system (12) described above, when transferring the substrate held by the transfer hand to the irradiation table, the irradiation table is moved to the substrate transfer position by the irradiation table lifting mechanism. Then, the transfer hand holding the substrate is inserted into the insertion / removal section of the irradiation table, and after transferring the substrate from the transfer hand to the irradiation table, the transfer hand is removed from the insertion / removal section, thereby allowing the substrate to be transferred from the transfer hand to the irradiation table without damaging it. Also, when transferring the substrate held by the irradiation table to the transfer hand, the irradiation table is moved to the substrate transfer position by the irradiation table lifting mechanism. Then, the transfer hand is inserted into the insertion / removal section of the irradiation table holding the substrate, and after transferring the substrate from the irradiation table to the transfer hand, the transfer hand is removed from the insertion / removal section, thereby allowing the substrate to be transferred from the irradiation table to the transfer hand without damaging it.

[0036] Furthermore, the coating system (13) according to the present invention further comprises a plasma irradiation device for irradiating at least the end face of the substrate with plasma in any of the above coating systems (1) to (7), wherein the plasma irradiation device is incorporated into the curing device, and the transfer device is configured such that, instead of transferring the substrate from the substrate storage section to the coating device by the transfer hand, the transfer hand transfers the substrate from the substrate storage section to the curing device, and the substrate, which has been irradiated with plasma by the plasma irradiation device incorporated into the curing device, is transferred to the coating device.

[0037] According to the above coating system (13), the same effects as the above coating system (10) can be achieved, namely, the adhesion of the coating liquid to at least the edge face of the substrate can be improved, thereby forming a more uniform and highly adhesive coating layer. Furthermore, since the plasma irradiation device is incorporated into the curing device, the above coating system can be made more space-saving.

[0038] Furthermore, the coating system (14) according to the present invention is characterized in that, in the coating system (13) above, the curing apparatus comprises a curing stage unit on which the substrate is held, and one or more irradiation units disposed around the curing stage unit for irradiating at least the end face of the substrate with active energy rays, the curing stage unit comprises a curing table having an insertion / removal section into which at least a part of the transfer hand can be inserted and removed, the curing table and the transfer hand are configured to be able to move up and down relative to each other, and the plasma irradiation apparatus comprises one or more plasma irradiation units for irradiating at least the end face of the substrate with the plasma, and the plasma irradiation units are disposed around the curing stage unit.

[0039] The coating system (14) described above can achieve the same effects as the coating system (6) described above. Furthermore, since the plasma irradiation unit constituting the plasma irradiation device is arranged around the curing stage unit, the plasma can be efficiently irradiated to at least the end face of the substrate held on the curing table. Moreover, by mounting the irradiation unit and the plasma irradiation unit around the curing stage unit, a compact unit configuration can be achieved.

[0040] Furthermore, the coating layer formation method (1) according to the present invention is a coating layer formation method for forming a coating layer by applying a coating liquid to at least the end face of a substrate, and is characterized by comprising the steps of: taking out the substrate from the substrate storage section using a transfer device equipped with a transfer hand and transferring it to a coating device for applying the coating liquid to the substrate; applying the coating liquid to at least the end face of the substrate transferred to the coating device; transferring the substrate to which the coating liquid has been applied from the coating device to a curing device for forming the coating layer using the transfer hand; curing the coating liquid applied to the substrate transferred to the curing device to form the coating layer; and transferring the substrate to which the coating layer has been formed from the curing device to the storage section using the transfer hand.

[0041] According to the above-described coating layer formation method (1), the substrate is transferred from the storage unit to the coating device by the transfer hand, the substrate coated with the coating liquid in the coating device is transferred to the curing device, and the substrate cured with the coating liquid in the curing device is transferred back to the storage unit. As a result, the risk of contamination and damage to the substrate is reduced during the series of processing steps in which the coating liquid is applied to at least the edge surface of a substrate such as a glass substrate, which is prone to cracks and fractures, and is also prone to minute scratches on the substrate surface, and then cured, while the series of processing steps can be carried out efficiently.

[0042] Furthermore, the coating layer formation method (2) according to the present invention is characterized in that, in the coating layer formation method (1) described above, instead of the step of applying the coating liquid to at least the end face of the substrate transferred to the coating apparatus, the method includes the step of irradiating at least the end face of the substrate transferred to the coating apparatus with plasma using a plasma irradiation device incorporated in the coating apparatus, and then applying the coating liquid.

[0043] According to the above coating layer forming method (2), after irradiating the plasma, a series of processing steps of applying and curing the coating liquid can be efficiently performed. Further, by irradiating the plasma onto at least the end face of the substrate with the plasma irradiation device incorporated in the coating device, the surface thereof is modified and the cleanliness is enhanced, and then it becomes possible to apply and cure the coating liquid, thereby enhancing the adhesion of the coating liquid to at least the end face of the substrate and forming a more uniform and highly adhesive coating layer.

[0044] Further, the coating layer forming method (3) according to the present invention is the coating layer forming method (1), in which, instead of the step of taking out the substrate from the storage section of the substrate using a transfer device equipped with the transfer hand and transferring the substrate to a coating device for applying the coating liquid to the substrate, using a transfer device equipped with the transfer hand, taking out the substrate from the storage section of the substrate and transferring the substrate to a plasma irradiation device for irradiating the substrate with plasma, a step of irradiating the plasma onto at least the end face of the substrate transferred to the plasma irradiation device, and a step of transferring the substrate irradiated with the plasma from the plasma irradiation device to a coating device for applying the coating liquid to the substrate using the transfer hand.

[0045] According to the above coating layer forming method (3), the substrate is transferred from the storage section to the plasma irradiation device by the transfer hand, the substrate irradiated with the plasma by the plasma irradiation device is transferred to the coating device, the substrate coated with the coating liquid by the coating device is transferred to the curing device, and the substrate on which the coating liquid is cured by the curing device is transferred to the storage section. Therefore, after irradiating the plasma, a series of processing steps of applying and curing the coating liquid can be efficiently performed. Further, by irradiating the plasma onto at least the end face of the substrate, the adhesion of the coating liquid to at least the end face of the substrate can be enhanced, and a more uniform and highly adhesive coating layer can be formed.

[0046] Further, the coating layer forming method (4) according to the present invention is the coating layer forming method (1), instead of the step of taking out the substrate from the storage unit of the substrate and transferring it to a coating device for applying the coating liquid to the substrate using a transfer device equipped with the transfer hand, a step of taking out the substrate from the storage unit of the substrate using a transfer device equipped with the transfer hand and transferring it to the curing device incorporated with a plasma irradiation device for irradiating the substrate with plasma; a step of irradiating the plasma on at least an end face of the substrate transferred to the curing device with the plasma irradiation device; a step of transferring the substrate irradiated with the plasma from the curing device to a coating device for applying the coating liquid to the substrate using the transfer hand; and is characterized by including the above steps.

[0047] According to the coating layer forming method (4), the substrate is transferred from the storage unit to the curing device by the transfer hand, and the substrate irradiated with the plasma by the plasma irradiation device incorporated in the curing device is transferred to the coating device, and the substrate coated with the coating liquid by the coating device is transferred to the curing device, and the substrate on which the coating liquid is cured by the curing device is transferred to the storage unit. Therefore, a series of processing steps of applying and curing the coating liquid after irradiating the plasma can be efficiently performed. Further, by irradiating the plasma on at least an end face of the substrate, the adhesion of the coating liquid to at least the end face of the substrate can be enhanced, and a more uniform and highly adhesive coating layer can be formed.

[0048] Furthermore, the coating layer formation method (5) according to the present invention is a method in which, in any of the above coating layer formation methods (1) to (4), the coating step is to apply the coating liquid to at least the end face of the substrate by rotating the coating roller while keeping the coating roller in contact with or in close proximity to at least the end face of the substrate, discharging the coating liquid from the liquid discharge unit to the outer surface of the coating roller, while maintaining a predetermined positional relationship between the end face of the substrate and the liquid discharge unit, and moving the coating roller relative to the substrate, wherein the coating liquid is discharged from the liquid discharge unit to the outer surface of the coating roller while rotating the coating roller in the opposite direction to the direction in which the coating roller moves relative to the substrate.

[0049] According to the above coating layer forming method (5), the coating liquid is discharged from the liquid discharge unit onto the outer surface of the coating roller, and then transferred and applied from the outer surface of the coating roller to the end surface of the substrate. Therefore, compared to a method in which the coating liquid is directly discharged from the liquid discharge unit onto the end surface of the substrate, the coating liquid can be applied to the end surface of the substrate with greater precision. Furthermore, the coating liquid discharged from the liquid discharge unit onto the coating roller is applied to the end surface of the substrate at a point behind the contact point or proximity point between the coating roller and the substrate, relative to the direction of movement of the coating unit. With this configuration, the coating liquid that has been transferred and applied from the coating roller to the substrate is applied without being pressed by the coating roller. Therefore, by adjusting the amount of coating liquid discharged from the liquid discharge unit onto the coating roller, it is possible to adjust the film thickness of the coating liquid applied to the end surface of the substrate.

[0050] This is a schematic perspective view showing the overall configuration of a coating system according to an embodiment of the present invention. This is a plan view of the main part in Figure 1. This is a cross-sectional view of the main part taken along line III-III in Figure 2. This is a schematic perspective view showing the state in which the transfer hand of the transfer device has been moved to the position of the coating table of the coating device in the coating system shown in Figure 1. This is a plan view of the main part in Figure 4. This is a schematic perspective view showing the state in which the transfer hand of the transfer device has been moved to the position of the curing table of the curing device in the coating system shown in Figure 1. This is a plan view of the main part in Figure 6. This is a side view showing an example of the main part configuration of a coating unit constituting the coating device of the coating system. This is a flowchart for explaining a method of forming a coating layer using the coating system according to an embodiment. This is a diagram for explaining an example of the coating liquid application operation to a substrate by the coating device of the coating system. This is a diagram for explaining the light irradiation operation to a substrate by the curing device of the coating system. (a) to (d) are cross-sectional views of a substrate on which a coating layer has been formed. (a) and (b) are cross-sectional views of a substrate on which a coating layer has not been formed. This is a plan view of the main part showing the overall configuration of a coating system according to another embodiment. This is a cross-sectional view of the main part taken along line XV-XV in Figure 14. This is a flowchart for explaining a method of forming a coating layer using the coating system according to another embodiment. These figures illustrate the plasma irradiation operation on a substrate by a plasma irradiation device in a coating system. The first is a side view of the main components showing an example of a device configuration in which the plasma irradiation device is integrated into a curing device. The second is a top view of the main components showing an example of a device configuration in which the plasma irradiation device is integrated into a coating device.

[0051] Hereinafter, embodiments of the coating system and coating layer formation method according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The embodiments described below are preferred specific examples of the present invention and are subject to various technically preferred limitations. However, the scope of the present invention is not limited to these embodiments unless otherwise stated in the following description.

[0052] Figure 1 is a schematic perspective view showing the overall configuration of a coating system according to an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 2 is a plan view of the main part in Figure 1, and Figure 3 is a cross-sectional view of the main part taken along line III-III in Figure 2. The coating system 10 comprises a coating device 11 for applying a coating liquid to at least the end face of a substrate 1, a curing device 40 for curing the coating liquid applied to the substrate 1, and a transfer device 60 equipped with a transfer hand 61 for holding the substrate 1.

[0053] The coating system 10 is configured such that the transfer device 60 transfers the substrate 1 from the substrate 1 storage section 70 to the coating device 11 using a transfer hand 61, transfers the substrate 1 coated with the coating liquid in the coating device 11 to the curing device 40, and transfers the substrate 1 cured with the coating liquid in the curing device 40 back to the storage section 70. The coating system 10 also includes a control panel 80 which contains control equipment for controlling the operation of the coating device 11, the curing device 40, and the transfer device 60.

[0054] In Figures 1 and 2, the substrate 1 is shown being held on the transfer hand 61 of the transfer device 60, the coating table 13 of the coating device 11, and the curing table 42 of the curing device 40, respectively, to indicate where the substrate 1 is held. However, the coating system 10 is basically a system that processes substrates 1 one at a time. That is, the coating system 10 takes out only one substrate 1 from the storage unit 70, performs the coating process in the coating device 11 and the curing process in the curing device 40, stores it in the storage unit 70, and then moves on to processing the next substrate 1.

[0055] The substrate 1 to be coated is, for example, an electronic circuit board. In particular, this coating system 10 targets electronic circuit boards made of glass materials, such as glass substrates and glass circuit boards using a glass substrate as a core (also called glass core substrates), but substrates made of other constituent materials can also be coated. Furthermore, the size of the substrate 1 is not particularly limited. For example, rectangular substrates of 300 mm square or larger, 400 mm square or larger, 500 mm square or larger, or 600 mm square or larger can be coated. The coating system 10 illustrated in Figure 1, for example, targets a rectangular substrate of approximately 500 mm square with a thickness of 0.1 mm to several mm.

[0056] The coating liquid applied to the substrate 1 is a liquid agent for forming a thin coating layer on at least the edge surface of the substrate 1, for example, with a cured film thickness of about 10 μm to 200 μm, and is composed of one or more resin components. This coating liquid is used to reinforce the edge surface of the substrate 1 with the cured coating layer, preventing damage such as cracks, fractures, and chips, improving the handling of the substrate 1 in subsequent processes, and improving the yield of the substrate 1 in the substrate manufacturing process, in other words, reducing the occurrence of defective products.

[0057] The transfer device 60 comprises a multi-axis robot section 62 to which a transfer hand 61 is attached, and a horizontal movement section 63 that moves the multi-axis robot section 62 horizontally (in the X-axis direction in Figure 1), and is configured so that the substrate 1 is held in contact with the transfer hand 61. The horizontal movement section 63 is attached to a frame 64 of the transfer device 60. Panels are provided on the outer surface of the frame 64.

[0058] The transfer hand 61 is equipped with a comb-shaped fork portion 61a with multiple branches at its tip, and a non-contact chuck such as a Bernoulli chuck is attached to the fork portion 61a, enabling it to hold the substrate in a non-contact state with respect to the substrate surface. Note that the above non-contact state also includes a state in which there is slight contact with the end face or peripheral edge of the substrate 1. The transfer hand 61 is configured to hold rectangular substrates with dimensions of, for example, 300 mm square or larger, 400 mm square or larger, 500 mm square or larger, or 600 mm square or larger.

[0059] As illustrated in Figure 1, the multi-axis robot section 62 is composed of, for example, a cylindrical coordinate robot having arm movement in a cylindrical coordinate system (R, θ, Z). The horizontal movement section 63 is attached to the frame 64 of the transfer device 60 and comprises two linear guides 63a arranged parallel to each other in the X-axis direction, and a sliding table 63b slidably attached to these two linear guides 63a, with the multi-axis robot section 62 mounted on the sliding table 63b. The linear guides 63a are composed of, for example, single-axis robots.

[0060] Figure 4 is a schematic perspective view showing the coating system 10 shown in Figure 1 with the transfer hand 61 of the transfer device 60 moved to the position of the coating table 13 of the coating device 11, and Figure 5 is a plan view of the main part in Figure 4. Note that in Figures 4 and 5, the substrate 1 transferred to the coating table 13 is omitted. Figure 6 is a schematic perspective view showing the coating system 10 shown in Figure 1 with the transfer hand 61 of the transfer device 60 moved to the position of the curing table 42 of the curing device 40, and Figure 7 is a plan view of the main part in Figure 6. Note that in Figures 6 and 7, the substrate 1 transferred to the curing table 42 is omitted.

[0061] The coating apparatus 11 comprises a coating stage unit 12 on which the substrate 1 is held, four coating units 20 arranged around the coating stage unit 12, and a moving unit 30 that moves each coating unit 20 along each side of the substrate 1. The coating stage unit 12 and the four moving units 30 are mounted on a frame 33 of the coating apparatus 11, and the four coating units 20 are each mounted on the moving units 30. Note that in Figures 1 to 3, the coating units 20 are partially omitted from the description. Panels are provided on the outer surface of the frame 33.

[0062] The coating apparatus 11 is configured so that at least the edges of all four sides of the substrate 1 are coated simultaneously and in parallel by four coating units 20. In another configuration example, all four sides of the substrate 1 may be coated sequentially by one coating unit 20, and the coating apparatus 11 only needs to be equipped with at least one coating unit 20.

[0063] The coating stage unit 12 comprises a coating table 13 and a coating table lifting mechanism 14. The coating table 13 has a rectangular shape in plan view with a smaller area than the substrate 1, and its table surface is provided with an insertion / removal section 13a (see Figures 3 to 7) from which at least the tip portion, i.e., the fork portion 61a, of the transfer hand 61 can be inserted and removed. The insertion / removal section 13a has a space that allows the fork portion 61a of the transfer hand 61 to be positioned below the table surface, and the fork portion 61a can be moved up and down relative to the table surface. The coating table 13 may also be equipped with a suction mechanism or a non-contact chuck (not shown) for holding the substrate 1. The coating table lifting mechanism 14 includes an electrically operated lifting device that can raise and lower the coating table 13 between the transfer position and the coating position of the substrate 1.

[0064] The coating unit 20 may be a contact-type coating unit that applies the coating liquid while in contact with at least the end face of the substrate 1, or it may be a non-contact-type coating unit that applies the coating liquid without in contact with the end face of the substrate 1.

[0065] If the coating unit 20 is a contact-type coating unit, for example, one with the configuration shown in Figure 8 can be used. Figure 8 is a side view showing an example of the main components of the coating unit 20 that constitutes the coating apparatus 11. The coating unit 20 is composed of a coating roller 21 that contacts or is close to the end face 1a of the substrate 1 (see Figure 8), a drive unit 22 that rotates the coating roller 21, and a liquid discharge unit 23 that discharges the coating liquid 2 onto the outer circumferential surface of the coating roller 21.

[0066] The coating roller 21 is a roughly disc-shaped resin roller mounted on the roller mounting shaft 21a. The coating roller 21 is preferably small in diameter in order to quickly transfer the coating liquid 2 (see Figure 8) discharged from the liquid discharge section 23 to the outer surface of the coating roller 21 onto at least the end face 1a of the substrate 1. Furthermore, the thickness (height) of the outer surface of the coating roller 21 is preferably designed to be approximately the same thickness as the substrate 1, or slightly thicker than the substrate 1. Note that the material of the coating roller 21 is not limited to resin; it may also be made of rubber, sponge, metal, etc.

[0067] The drive unit 22 is composed of a rotary motor, such as a small servo motor, and the rotational force of the rotary motor is transmitted to the coating roller 21 via the roller mounting shaft 21a. Therefore, the coating roller 21 is configured to rotate around the roller mounting shaft 21a (Z-axis) by the drive unit 22.

[0068] The liquid dispensing unit 23 is comprised of a dispenser with the function of dispensing a fixed amount of coating liquid 2. The liquid dispensing unit 23 includes a pneumatic dispenser valve 24 having a liquid injection unit 24a into which the coating liquid 2 is injected and an air supply unit 24b into which air is supplied, a dispensing nozzle 25 attached to the tip of the dispenser valve 24, and a valve controller (not shown) that controls the operation of the dispenser valve 24. The valve controller may be configured to be mounted on the control panel 80.

[0069] One end of an air-pressure-feed syringe 24c filled with coating liquid 2 is attached to the liquid injection section 24a, and the other end of the syringe 24c is connected to the valve controller via an air tube 24d. The valve controller has a function to control the amount of coating liquid 2 supplied from the syringe 24c to the dispenser valve 24 by air pressure.

[0070] One end of an air tube 24e is attached to the air supply unit 24b, and the other end of the air tube 24e is connected to the valve controller. The valve controller has a function to control the amount of coating liquid 2 discharged from the discharge nozzle 25 of the dispenser valve 24 by air pressure.

[0071] The discharge nozzle 25 is composed of a needle nozzle with a thin needle shape. The discharge nozzle 25 is positioned diagonally upward with respect to the outer surface of the coating roller 21. Therefore, the dispenser valve 24 is positioned above the coating roller 21. The nozzle opening 25a at the tip of the discharge nozzle 25 is positioned to contact or be close to the outer surface of the coating roller 21, so that the coating liquid 2 is discharged from the nozzle opening 25a onto the outer surface of the coating roller 21. Note that the discharge method of the liquid discharge unit 23 is not limited to a pneumatic method such as the dispenser valve 24, but may be other discharge methods.

[0072] Furthermore, the coating unit 20 includes a mounting member 27 to which the coating roller 21, drive unit 22, and liquid discharge unit 23 described above are attached, and a support unit 28 that supports the mounting member 27 so that it can move (slide) in a predetermined horizontal direction (direction of arrow A).

[0073] The mounting member 27 includes a shaft support portion 27a that supports the roller mounting shaft 21a in a rotatable state, a mounting piece portion 27b for mounting the drive unit 22 coaxially with the roller mounting shaft 21a, a support piece portion 27c that supports the liquid discharge unit 23 in a predetermined inclined position, and a mounting portion 27d that is inverted L-shaped in side view to which these are attached. With this structure, the coating roller 21, the drive unit 22, and the liquid discharge unit 23 are attached to the mounting member 27 and integrated together.

[0074] The support portion 28 is composed of a linear motion rail 28a arranged horizontally, a linear motion block 28b slidably attached to the linear motion rail 28a, support pieces 28c and 28d that support both sides of the linear motion rail 28a, and a base portion 28e that supports the support pieces 28c and 28d. The base portion 28e of the support portion 28 is attached to the unit mounting portion 26, and the linear motion block 28b is attached to the upper part of the mounting portion 27d. Therefore, the mounting member 27 is configured to be movable together with the linear motion block 28b in the direction of arrangement of the linear motion rail 28a.

[0075] Furthermore, the support portion 28 may also include a relief mechanism portion 29. The relief mechanism portion 29 is a mechanism for moving the mounting member 27 out of the way in the horizontal direction (direction of arrow A) when an external force is applied to the coating roller 21, for example, when the coating roller 21 is pressed against the end face 1a of the substrate 1.

[0076] The relief mechanism 29 is composed of elastic members 29a provided on both the left and right sides of the mounting portion 27d, with one end of the elastic member 29a attached to the support piece portion 28c and the other end of the elastic member 29a attached to the mounting portion 27d. The elastic member 29a is composed of, for example, a tension spring.

[0077] The relief mechanism 29, which includes the elastic member 29a, allows the coating roller 21 to be in contact with or close to the end face 1a of the substrate 1 without cracking or other damage when an external force is applied to the coating roller 21, for example, when the coating roller 21 is pressed against the end face 1a of the substrate 1.

[0078] Furthermore, non-contact coating units can be those that include, for example, a jet-type dispenser such as an air-type or piezo-type dispenser. In cases where the coating liquid 2 has high viscosity, a jet-type dispenser may be preferable.

[0079] Each mobile unit 30 is arranged to surround the coating table 13 and is composed of, for example, a Cartesian robot, and includes a first linear motion mechanism 31 and a second linear motion mechanism 32 attached to the first linear motion mechanism 31.

[0080] The first linear motion mechanism 31 is a device for moving the coating unit 20 along the edges of the substrate 1, and is configured, for example, to include a single-axis cylinder (single-axis robot) arranged parallel to each edge of the coating table 13, and a slider that slides along the single-axis cylinder.

[0081] The second linear motion mechanism 32 is a device for moving the coating unit 20 in a direction perpendicular to the edge of the substrate 1, and is composed of a single-axis cylinder (single-axis robot) attached to the slider of the first linear motion mechanism 31, and a slider that slides along the single-axis cylinder.

[0082] The curing apparatus 40 comprises a curing stage unit 41 that holds the substrate 1, and a UV irradiation unit 50 disposed around the curing stage unit 41 that irradiates at least the end faces of the substrate 1 with active energy rays, such as ultraviolet light. The curing stage unit 41 and the UV irradiation unit 50 are mounted on a stand 44 of the curing apparatus 40. A panel is provided on the outer circumferential surface of the stand 44. The active energy rays may be other active energy rays besides ultraviolet light, such as electron beams or visible light.

[0083] The curing stage unit 41 comprises a curing table 42 and a curing table lifting mechanism 43. The curing table 42 has a rectangular shape in plan view with a smaller area than the substrate 1, and its table surface is provided with an insertion / removal section 42a (see Figures 3 to 7) into which at least the tip portion, i.e., the fork portion 61a, of the transfer hand 61 can be inserted and removed. The insertion / removal section 42a has a space that allows the fork portion 61a of the transfer hand 61 to be positioned below the table surface, and the fork portion 61a can be moved up and down relative to the table surface. The curing table 42 may also be equipped with a suction mechanism or a non-contact chuck (not shown) for holding the substrate 1. The curing table lifting mechanism 43 includes an electrically operated lifting device that can raise and lower the curing table 42 between the transfer position and the curing position (in other words, the light irradiation position) of the substrate 1.

[0084] The UV irradiation unit 50 comprises a pair of first UV irradiation units 50a and 50b and a pair of second UV irradiation units 50c and 50d, which are arranged opposite each other at different heights around the lifting space of the curing table 42.

[0085] The first UV irradiation unit pair 50a, 50b is arranged in a direction parallel to the transport direction (Y-axis direction) of the substrate 1 by the transfer hand 61. The first UV irradiation unit pair 50a, 50b is equipped with UV irradiation sections 50aa, 50ba (see Figures 2, 5, 7) in which a number of ultraviolet irradiation lamps (e.g., LED lamps) are arranged in a row, and is configured to allow control of switching between irradiation states (ON, OFF). The UV irradiation sections 50aa, 50ba of the first UV irradiation unit pair 50a, 50b can be positioned facing each other on the end faces of the substrate 1.

[0086] The second UV irradiation unit pair 50c, 50d is arranged in a direction perpendicular to the transport direction of the substrate 1 by the transfer hand 61 (X-axis direction). The second UV irradiation unit pair 50c, 50d is equipped with UV irradiation sections 50ca, 50da (see Figures 2, 5, 7) in which a large number of ultraviolet irradiation lamps are arranged in a row, and is configured to allow control of switching the irradiation state (ON, OFF), etc. The UV irradiation sections 50ca, 50da of the second UV irradiation unit pair 50c, 50d can be positioned facing the end face of the substrate 1. The ultraviolet irradiation lamps used are LEDs that emit ultraviolet light in a wavelength range effective for curing the coating liquid, for example, in the long wavelength range of 320 to 400 nm.

[0087] The curing apparatus 40 may be equipped with a rotation mechanism (not shown) that rotates the UV irradiation unit 50 by a predetermined angle (for example, 180 degrees) so that the light irradiation surface of the UV irradiation unit 50 is in close proximity to the upper surface, end surface, and lower surface of the peripheral edge of the substrate 1. In this case, the rotation mechanism may include, for example, a first rotation mechanism pair that rotates a first UV irradiation unit pair 50a, 50b around an axis along the edge of the curing table 42, and a second rotation mechanism pair (not shown) that rotates a second UV irradiation unit pair 50c, 50d around an axis along the edge of the curing table 42.

[0088] The storage unit 70 is composed of a magazine rack capable of storing multiple circuit boards. In Figure 1, four storage units 70 are arranged next to the curing device 40, with a window 65 provided on the side panel of the curing device 40 and an opening 71 on the side of the storage unit 70 (see Figure 1) facing each other. The control panel 80 is composed of a control device that includes one or more control devices, input devices, output devices, etc., which control the operation of each part of the coating device 11, curing device 40, and transfer device 60, and is connected by communication lines (not shown).

[0089] Next, a method for forming a coating layer using the coating system 10 according to the embodiment will be described based on the flowchart shown in Figure 9. The operation of the transfer device 60, coating device 11, and curing device 40, which constitute the coating system 10, is controlled based on control commands from the control panel 80.

[0090] In step S1, the substrate 1 is transferred from the storage unit 70 to the coating device 11. Specifically, the transfer hand 61 is inserted into the storage unit 70 by the operation of the multi-axis robot unit 62 and the horizontal movement unit 63 of the transfer device 60, and the substrate 1 is removed with the transfer hand 61. Then, the multi-axis robot unit 62 rotates the orientation of the transfer hand 61 by 180 degrees and adjusts the height of the transfer hand 61 to the height of the coating table 13. The horizontal movement unit 63 also moves the multi-axis robot unit 62 in the X-axis direction so that the fork portion 61a of the transfer hand 61 faces the insertion / removal portion 13a of the coating table 13. After that, the multi-axis robot unit 62 moves the transfer hand 61 horizontally in the Y-axis direction so that the fork portion 61a is inserted into the insertion / removal portion 13a of the coating table 13. At this time, the fork portion 61a is positioned above the table surface of the coating table 13.

[0091] Subsequently, the multi-axis robot unit 62 lowers the transfer hand 61, positioning the fork portion 61a below the table surface, thereby transferring the substrate 1 from the fork portion 61a of the transfer hand 61 to the table surface of the coating table 13. Then, the multi-axis robot unit 62 moves the transfer hand 61 horizontally in the Y-axis direction, retracting the transfer hand 61 from the coating device 11. In the coating device 11, before the fork portion 61a is inserted into the insertion / removal portion 13a of the coating table 13, the coating table lifting mechanism 14 moves (raises) the coating table 13 to the transfer position.

[0092] In step S2, a coating liquid is applied to at least one end face of the substrate 1 that has been transferred to the coating apparatus 11. In the coating process using the coating apparatus 11, the four sides of the substrate 1 are coated simultaneously and in parallel by four coating units 20.

[0093] The movement of the four coating units 20 in this coating process will be explained using Figure 10. Figure 10 is a diagram illustrating the coating liquid 2 application operation of the coating apparatus 11 to the substrate 1, and shows the movement of the coating rollers 21 and liquid discharge units 23 of each coating unit 20 relative to the substrate 1. Figure 10 illustrates a state in which the coating rollers 21 of each coating unit 20 are moved in a counterclockwise direction along the end faces 1a of the substrate 1 with respect to the four sides of the substrate 1.

[0094] At this time, the orientation of the liquid discharge unit 23 (i.e., the dispenser valve 24 and discharge nozzle 25) is maintained at a certain angle (a predetermined angle or normal direction) with respect to the tangent line passing through the contact point between the substrate 1 and the coating roller 21, that is, the relative position between the end face of the substrate 1 and the liquid discharge unit 23 is maintained in a predetermined positional relationship. For example, as shown in Figure 10, the orientation of the discharge nozzle 25 is maintained in a positional relationship where it is tilted in the opposite direction (counterclockwise) from the normal direction to the rotation direction (clockwise direction) of the coating roller 21. By arranging the discharge nozzle 25 in this manner, it is possible to prevent the coating liquid 2 discharged from the discharge nozzle 25 from crawling up into the discharge nozzle 25, thereby suppressing variations in the discharge amount and improving discharge stability.

[0095] In parallel with the movement control of the entire coating unit 20 by the moving unit 30, a fixed amount of coating liquid 2 is dispensed from the discharge nozzle 25 of the dispenser valve 24, and the coating roller 21 is controlled to rotate at a constant speed in a clockwise direction (i.e., in the opposite direction to the direction of movement of the coating unit 20). Therefore, as shown in Figure 10, the coating liquid 2 dispensed from the discharge nozzle 25 to the coating roller 21 is transferred and applied to the end face 1a of the substrate 1 behind the contact point between the coating roller 21 and the substrate 1 (behind the direction of movement of the coating unit 20).

[0096] Therefore, the coating liquid 2, after being transferred and applied from the coating roller 21 to the substrate 1, is applied without being pressed by the coating roller 21. Consequently, by adjusting the amount of coating liquid 2 discharged from the discharge nozzle 25 of the liquid discharge unit 23 to the outer surface of the coating roller 21, it becomes possible to easily control the film thickness of the coating liquid 2 applied to the end face 1a of the substrate 1, thereby improving the accuracy of adjusting the film thickness of the coating liquid 2. Note that the rotation direction of the coating roller 21 is not limited to the opposite direction to the movement direction of the coating unit 20, and depending on the type and size of the substrate 1 or the coating conditions, it may be rotated in the same forward direction as the movement direction of the coating unit 20.

[0097] In this way, the control panel 80 controls the operation of rotating the coating roller 21, the operation of dispensing a fixed amount of coating liquid 2 onto the outer surface of the coating roller 21, and the operation of moving the coating unit 20 with the moving unit 30 during the coating operation. When the coating device 11 has finished coating one side of the substrate 1 with the coating roller 21 of each coating unit 20, the moving unit 30 moves each coating unit 20 back to its initial position, and the coating table lifting mechanism 14 moves the coating table 13 from the coating position to the height of the transfer position.

[0098] When applying the coating liquid 2 to all four sides of the substrate 1 with a single coating unit 20, the coating unit 20 can be configured to rotate (swivel) the entire unit while moving the coating roller 21 along the end face 1a of the substrate 1, thereby maintaining the orientation of the liquid discharge unit 23 relative to the end face 1a of the substrate 1 in the same position.

[0099] In step S3, the substrate 1 coated with the coating liquid 2 is transferred from the coating device 11 to the curing device 40. Specifically, the multi-axis robot unit 62 moves the transfer hand 61, which was retracted from the coating device 11 in step S1, horizontally in the Y-axis direction, and inserts the fork portion 61a into the insertion / removal portion 13a of the coating table 13. At this time, the fork portion 61a is positioned below the table surface of the coating table 13.

[0100] Subsequently, the multi-axis robot unit 62 operates to raise the transfer hand 61, positioning the fork portion 61a above the table surface, thereby transferring the substrate 1 from the table surface of the coating table 13 to the fork portion 61a of the transfer hand 61. Then, the multi-axis robot unit 62 operates to move the transfer hand 61 horizontally in the Y-axis direction, retracting the transfer hand 61 holding the substrate 1 from inside the coating device 11. In the curing device 40, before the fork portion 61a is inserted into the insertion / removal portion 13a of the coating table 13, the curing table lifting mechanism 43 moves (lifts) the curing table 42 to the transfer position.

[0101] Subsequently, the horizontal movement unit 63 moves the multi-axis robot unit 62 in the X-axis direction, moving the fork portion 61a of the transfer hand 61 to a position facing the insertion / removal portion 42a of the curing table 42 of the curing device 40. Then, the multi-axis robot unit 62 moves the transfer hand 61 horizontally in the Y-axis direction, inserting the fork portion 61a into the insertion / removal portion 42a of the curing table 42. At this time, the fork portion 61a is positioned above the table surface of the curing table 42.

[0102] Subsequently, the multi-axis robot unit 62 lowers the transfer hand 61, positioning the fork portion 61a below the table surface, thereby transferring the substrate 1 from the fork portion 61a of the transfer hand 61 to the table surface of the curing table 42. After that, the multi-axis robot unit 62 moves the transfer hand 61 horizontally in the Y-axis direction, retracting the transfer hand 61 from inside the curing apparatus 40.

[0103] In step S4, the curing apparatus 40 cures the coating liquid 2 applied to the substrate 1 to form a coating layer 3. The light irradiation operation of the UV irradiation unit 50 in this coating layer 3 formation process will be explained with reference to Figure 11.

[0104] Figure 11 is a diagram illustrating the light irradiation operation of the curing device 40 of the coating system 10 onto the substrate 1. First, the curing table 42, which is at the height of the transfer position, is moved (lowered) to the height of the first UV irradiation unit pair 50a, 50b by the operation of the curing table lifting mechanism 43. At this time, the light irradiation surfaces of the UV irradiation sections 50aa, 50ba of the first UV irradiation unit pair 50a, 50b and the two end faces 1a of the substrate 1 parallel to the Y-axis direction are in close proximity and facing each other. From this state, control is started to irradiate ultraviolet light (UV light) from the UV irradiation sections 50aa, 50ba of the first UV irradiation unit pair 50a, 50b, and ultraviolet irradiation is performed toward the two end faces 1a of the substrate 1 parallel to the Y-axis direction to cure the coating liquid 2. After a predetermined irradiation time, when the coating liquid 2 applied to the end faces 1a of two sides parallel to the Y-axis direction of the substrate 1 is photocured and a coating layer 3 is formed, the ultraviolet irradiation operation by the first UV irradiation unit pair 50a and 50b is stopped.

[0105] Subsequently, the curing table 42, located at the height of the first UV irradiation unit pair 50a and 50b, is moved (lowered) to the height of the second UV irradiation unit pair 50c and 50d by the operation of the curing table lifting mechanism 43. Note that in Figure 11, the second UV irradiation unit 50d, which is opposite the second UV irradiation unit 50c, is not shown. At this time, the light irradiation surfaces of the UV irradiation sections 50ca and 50da of the second UV irradiation unit pair 50c and 50d are in close proximity to the two end faces 1a of the substrate 1 that are parallel to the X-axis direction. From this state, control is started to irradiate ultraviolet light (UV light) from the UV irradiation sections 50ca and 50da of the second UV irradiation unit pair 50c and 50d, and ultraviolet irradiation is performed toward the two end faces 1a of the substrate 1 that are parallel to the X-axis direction to cure the coating liquid 2. After a predetermined irradiation time, when the coating liquid 2 applied to the end faces 1a of the two sides parallel to the X-axis direction of the substrate 1 is photocured and a coating layer 3 is formed, the ultraviolet irradiation operation by the second UV irradiation unit pair 50c and 50d is stopped. Subsequently, the curing table 42, which is at the height of the second UV irradiation unit pair 50c and 50d, is moved (raised) to the height of the transfer position by the operation of the curing table lifting mechanism 43.

[0106] In step S5, the substrate 1 on which the coating layer 3 (see Figure 11) has been formed is transferred from the curing apparatus 40 to the storage unit 70. Specifically, the multi-axis robot unit 62 moves the transfer hand 61, which had been retracted from the curing apparatus 40 in step S3, horizontally in the Y-axis direction, and inserts the fork portion 61a into the insertion / removal portion 42a of the curing table 42. At this time, the fork portion 61a is positioned below the table surface of the curing table 42.

[0107] Subsequently, the multi-axis robot unit 62 raises the transfer hand 61, positioning the fork portion 61a above the table surface, thereby transferring the substrate 1 from the table surface of the curing table 42 to the fork portion 61a of the transfer hand 61. Then, the multi-axis robot unit 62 moves the transfer hand 61 horizontally in the Y-axis direction, retracting the transfer hand 61, which is holding the substrate 1, from inside the curing apparatus 40.

[0108] Then, the multi-axis robot unit 62 reverses the orientation of the transfer hand 61 by 180 degrees and moves the height of the transfer hand 61 to the height position where the substrate 1 is stored in the storage unit 70. In addition, the horizontal movement unit 63 moves the multi-axis robot unit 62 in the X-axis direction so that the fork portion 61a of the transfer hand 61 is in a position opposite the storage unit 70 where the substrate 1 is stored.

[0109] Subsequently, the multi-axis robot unit 62 moves the transfer hand 61 horizontally in the Y-axis direction, inserting the fork portion 61a into the storage portion 70, and transferring the substrate 1 from the fork portion 61a of the transfer hand 61 to the magazine (not shown) in the storage portion 70. Then, the multi-axis robot unit 62 moves the transfer hand 61 horizontally in the Y-axis direction, retracting the transfer hand 61 from the storage portion 70, thus completing the processing for one substrate 1.

[0110] Figure 12 is an example of a cross-sectional view of a substrate 1 on which a coating layer 3 is formed. Figure 13 is an example of a cross-sectional view of a substrate 1 on which no coating layer is formed. Figure 12(a) shows a configuration in which the substrate 1 is, for example, a rectangular (full panel size) glass substrate with a thickness of 0.1 mm to 1.5 mm and a side length of approximately 500 mm, and the coating layer 3 is formed on the end face 1a of the glass substrate. The coating layer 3 makes it possible to prevent the occurrence of damaged parts 4 such as cracks, fractures, and chips caused by vibrations and shocks in post-processing steps such as manufacturing package substrates, as shown in Figure 13(a).

[0111] Figures 12(b) to (d) show a configuration in which the substrate 1 is a glass core substrate, that is, a substrate in which insulating layers (build-up layers) 1c are formed on the upper and lower surfaces of the glass substrate, and a coating layer 3 is formed on at least the end face 1a of the glass core substrate. The size of the glass core substrate includes the full panel size, quarter sizes obtained by dividing it into four parts, and even smaller pieces of several tens of millimeters square. The shape of the end face 1a can be (b) a shape in which the glass substrate protrudes, (c) a flat shape, or (d) a shape in which the insulating layer protrudes, but it is possible to form the coating layer 3 regardless of the shape of the end face. The coating layer 3 makes it possible to prevent the occurrence of damage parts 4 such as cracks, fractures, chips, and back cracks caused by vibration or shock in post-processing steps such as manufacturing package substrates, as shown in Figure 13(b).

[0112] The coating system 10 according to the above embodiment includes a coating device 11, a curing device 40, and a transfer device 60. The transfer device 60 is configured to transfer the substrate 1 from the storage unit 70 to the coating device 11 using a transfer hand 61, transfer the substrate 1 coated with the coating liquid 2 in the coating device 11 to the curing device 40, and transfer the substrate 1 with the coating layer 3 formed in the curing device 40 back to the storage unit 70. Therefore, the risk of contamination and damage to the substrate 1 in a series of processing steps, such as applying the coating liquid 2 to at least the edge face 1a of a substrate 1, such as a glass substrate, which is prone to cracks, chips, and other damage, and is also prone to minute scratches on the substrate surface, can be reduced, while the series of processing steps can be performed efficiently. Furthermore, the substrate 1 with the coating layer 3 formed on it has increased strength on its outer periphery, which can reliably reduce yield deterioration due to damage, warping, etc. in subsequent processes, and can improve the production efficiency of the substrate.

[0113] Furthermore, since the coating system 10 includes a transfer device 60 with a multi-axis robot section 62 and a horizontal movement section 63, the transfer operation of the substrate 1 between the coating device 11, the curing device 40, and the storage section 70 can be performed in a space-saving and more efficient manner. In addition, since the substrate 1 is held by the transfer hand 61 without contact, the effect of reducing the risk of contamination or damage to the substrate 1 during the transfer operation can be further enhanced.

[0114] Furthermore, according to the coating system 10, the coating apparatus 11 comprises a coating stage unit 12, a coating unit 20, and a moving unit 30, and the coating stage unit 12 comprises a coating table 13 with an insertion / removal section 13a and a coating table lifting mechanism 14. Therefore, when transferring the substrate 1 held by the transfer hand 61 to the coating table 13 of the coating apparatus 11, and when transferring the substrate 1 held on the coating table 13 to the transfer hand 61, the risk of contamination or damage to the substrate 1 can be reduced, and the transfer operation of the substrate 1 can be performed efficiently.

[0115] Furthermore, according to the coating system 10, the curing device 40 comprises a curing stage unit 41 and a UV irradiation unit 50, and the curing stage unit 41 comprises a curing table 42 with an insertion / removal section 42a and a curing table lifting mechanism 43. Therefore, when transferring the substrate 1 held by the transfer hand 61 to the curing table 42 of the curing device 40, and when transferring the substrate 1 held on the curing table 42 to the transfer hand 61, the risk of contamination or damage to the substrate 1 can be reduced, and the transfer operation of the substrate 1 can be performed efficiently.

[0116] Furthermore, with the coating apparatus 11, the dispenser valve 24 controls the discharge operation of the coating liquid 2 from the discharge nozzle 25 to the outer surface of the coating roller 21, making it possible to discharge a fixed amount of coating liquid 2 from the discharge nozzle 25 to the outer surface of the coating roller 21. With this configuration, the coating liquid 2 discharged from the discharge nozzle 25 to the outer surface of the coating roller 21 does not drip from the coating roller 21, and the coating liquid 2 can be applied to the end face 1a of the substrate 1 from the outer surface of the coating roller 21 with a uniform thickness. Maintenance of the apparatus is also made easier.

[0117] Furthermore, in the coating apparatus 11, the liquid discharge section 23 is configured to include a dispenser valve 24, in other words, a metering valve type dispenser, and the discharge nozzle 25 is configured to be a needle nozzle. With this configuration, it is possible to discharge a small amount of coating liquid 2 from the needle nozzle to the outer surface of the coating roller 21. Therefore, it is possible to apply the coating liquid 2 from the coating roller 21 to the end face 1a of the substrate 1 in a thin and uniform thickness.

[0118] Furthermore, in the coating apparatus 11, the coating liquid 2 discharged from the liquid discharge section 23 to the coating roller 21 is applied to the end face 1a of the substrate 1 at a point behind the contact point (or proximity point) between the coating roller 21 and the substrate 1, relative to the direction of movement of the coating unit 20. With this configuration, as shown in Figure 10, the coating liquid 2 can be applied to the substrate 1 without being pressed by the coating roller 21 after it has been transferred and applied from the coating roller 21. Therefore, by adjusting the amount of coating liquid 2 discharged from the liquid discharge section 23 to the outer surface of the coating roller 21, it is possible to adjust the film thickness of the coating liquid 2 applied to the end face 1a of the substrate 1.

[0119] Furthermore, in the coating apparatus 11, since the coating unit 20 is equipped with a relief mechanism 29, when the coating roller 21 is brought into contact with the substrate 1 and an external force is applied to the coating roller 21 from the horizontal direction, the relief mechanism 29 causes the mounting member 27 to move horizontally, and the elastic member 29a absorbs the external force. With this configuration, the pressing force when the coating roller 21 contacts the substrate 1 can be reduced, and the substrate 1 can be protected from damage such as chipping.

[0120] In the above embodiment, the curing device 40 was configured to include a UV irradiation unit 50 and to cure the coating liquid 2 by irradiation with active energy rays such as ultraviolet light. However, in another embodiment, the curing device 40 may be configured to cure the coating liquid 2 by heat, for example, by including a drying device. Also, in the above embodiment, the transfer device 60 is configured to include a multi-axis robot unit 62 and one transfer hand 61. However, in another embodiment, the transfer device 60 may be configured to include two or more multi-axis robot units 62 and transfer hands 61. Furthermore, the multi-axis robot unit 62 is not limited to a cylindrical coordinate robot, but can also be composed of other multi-axis robots such as a horizontal articulated robot.

[0121] Furthermore, in the above embodiment, the coating stage unit 12 of the coating apparatus 11 is equipped with a coating table lifting mechanism 14, and the coating table 13 is configured to be able to move up and down. However, in another embodiment, the coating stage unit 12 may not be equipped with a coating table lifting mechanism 14, that is, the coating table 13 may be fixed. In this case, the transfer operation of the substrate 1 between the coating table 13 and the transfer hand 61 is performed by the lifting and lowering operation of the fork portion 61a of the transfer hand 61.

[0122] Furthermore, in the above embodiment, the curing stage unit 41 of the curing apparatus 40 is equipped with a curing table lifting mechanism 43, and the curing table 42 is configured to be able to move up and down. However, in another embodiment, the curing stage unit 41 may not be equipped with a curing table lifting mechanism 43, that is, the curing table 42 may be fixed. In this case, the transfer operation of the substrate 1 between the curing table 42 and the transfer hand 61 is performed by the lifting and lowering operation of the fork portion 61a of the transfer hand 61. In addition, at least one of the UV irradiation unit 50, that is, the first UV irradiation unit pair 50a, 50b and the second UV irradiation unit pair 50c, 50d, may be configured to be able to move up and down.

[0123] Figure 14 is a plan view of the main components showing the overall configuration of a coating system according to another embodiment. Figure 15 is a cross-sectional view of the main components taken along the line XV-XV in Figure 14. However, since the coating system 10A according to another embodiment has substantially the same configuration as the coating system 10 described above, except for the addition of a plasma irradiation device 90, the same reference numerals are used for components other than the additionally equipped plasma irradiation device 90, and their descriptions are omitted here.

[0124] The coating system 10A comprises a coating device 11, a curing device 40, and a transfer device 60, and further includes a plasma irradiation device 90. The operation of each of these devices is controlled based on control commands from the control panel 80 shown in Figure 1.

[0125] The coating system 10A is configured such that the transfer device 60 transfers the substrate 1 from the substrate 1 storage section 70 to the plasma irradiation device 90 using a transfer hand 61, transfers the substrate 1 that has been irradiated with plasma in the plasma irradiation device 90 to the coating device 11, transfers the substrate 1 that has been coated with coating liquid in the coating device 11 to the curing device 40, and transfers the substrate 1 that has been cured with coating liquid in the curing device 40 back to the storage section 70.

[0126] The plasma irradiation apparatus 90 comprises an irradiation stage unit 91 on which the substrate 1 is held, and a plasma irradiation unit 95 disposed around the irradiation stage unit 91 for irradiating at least the end face of the substrate 1 with plasma, for example, atmospheric pressure plasma usable under normal pressure. The plasma irradiation apparatus 90 also includes a gas supply system, a high-frequency power supply, and a control device (not shown). The irradiation stage unit 91 and the plasma irradiation unit 95 are mounted on a frame 94 of the plasma irradiation apparatus 90. Panels are also provided on the outer circumferential surface of the frame 94. The atmospheric pressure plasma may be a gas-irradiated plasma or a discharge-processed plasma, and is preferably a non-equilibrium plasma.

[0127] The irradiation stage unit 91 comprises an irradiation table 92 and an irradiation table lifting mechanism 93. The irradiation table 92 has a rectangular shape in plan view with a smaller area than the substrate 1, and its table surface is provided with an insertion / removal section 92a (see Figure 15) from which at least the tip portion, i.e., the fork portion 61a, of the transfer hand 61 can be inserted and removed. The insertion / removal section 92a has a space that allows the fork portion 61a of the transfer hand 61 to be positioned below the table surface, and the fork portion 61a can be moved up and down relative to the table surface. The irradiation table 92 may also be equipped with a suction mechanism or a non-contact chuck (not shown) for holding the substrate 1. The irradiation table lifting mechanism 93 includes an electrically operated lifting device that can raise and lower the irradiation table 92 between the transfer position of the substrate 1 and the plasma irradiation position.

[0128] The plasma irradiation unit 95 comprises a pair of first plasma irradiation units 95a and 95b and a pair of second plasma irradiation units 95c and 95d, which are arranged opposite each other at different heights around the lifting space of the irradiation table 92.

[0129] The first plasma irradiation unit pair 95a, 95b is arranged in a direction parallel to the transport direction (Y-axis direction) of the substrate 1 by the transfer hand 61. The first plasma irradiation unit pair 95a, 95b includes, for example, slit-shaped plasma irradiation sections 95aa, 95ba (see Figures 14 and 15), and is configured to allow control of switching between plasma irradiation states (ON and OFF). The plasma irradiation sections 95aa, 95ba of the first plasma irradiation unit pair 95a, 95b can be positioned facing each other on the end faces of the substrate 1.

[0130] The second plasma irradiation unit pair 95c, 95d is arranged in a direction perpendicular to the transport direction of the substrate 1 by the transfer hand 61 (X-axis direction). The second plasma irradiation unit pair 95c, 95d is equipped with, for example, slit-shaped plasma irradiation sections 95ca, 95da (see Figures 14 and 15), and is configured to allow control of switching between plasma irradiation states (ON, OFF). The plasma irradiation sections 95ca, 95da of the second plasma irradiation unit pair 95c, 95d can be positioned facing each other on the end face of the substrate 1.

[0131] For the plasma irradiation unit 95, it is preferable to use, for example, one or more atmospheric pressure plasma irradiation units. Such atmospheric pressure plasma irradiation units can be remote, spot, or direct type units. More specifically, it is possible to configure the system using plasma irradiation units such as dielectric barrier discharge (DBD), atmospheric pressure plasma jet (APPJ), inductively coupled plasma (ICP), piezoelectric direct discharge (PDD), or microwave discharge.

[0132] For example, a DBD-type atmospheric pressure plasma irradiation unit is configured to irradiate at least the edge surface of the substrate 1 (for example, only the edge surface, or the edge surface and the outer peripheral edge) with plasma by applying a predetermined voltage between metal electrodes facing each other with a dielectric and space between them, introducing a process gas such as oxygen into the generated plasma, and releasing the plasma-generated gas from an emission unit. The shape of the emission unit is preferably, for example, a slit shape or a nozzle shape. A pair of first plasma irradiation units 95a and 95b and a pair of second plasma irradiation units 95c and 95d, each having such a configuration, are arranged facing the edge surfaces of the four sides of the substrate 1. In addition to the configuration in which the plasma irradiation units 95 are arranged facing the edge surfaces of the four sides of the substrate 1, a configuration in which one or more plasma irradiation units 95 are moved along the edge surface of the substrate 1 is also possible.

[0133] Furthermore, the plasma irradiation device 90 may be equipped with a rotation mechanism (not shown) that rotates the plasma irradiation unit 95 by a predetermined angle (for example, 180 degrees) so that the plasma irradiation surface of the plasma irradiation unit 95 is in close proximity to the upper surface, end surface, and lower surface of the peripheral edge of the substrate 1. In this case, the rotation mechanism may include, for example, a third rotation mechanism pair that rotates the first plasma irradiation unit pair 95a, 95b around an axis along the edge of the irradiation table 92, and a fourth rotation mechanism pair (not shown) that rotates the second plasma irradiation unit pair 95c, 95d around an axis along the edge of the irradiation table 92.

[0134] Next, a method for forming a coating layer using a coating system 10A according to another embodiment will be described based on the flowchart shown in Figure 16. The operation of the transfer device 60, plasma irradiation device 90, coating device 11, and curing device 40, which constitute the coating system 10A, is controlled based on control commands from the control panel 80. Furthermore, the processing content of steps S14 to S17 in the flowchart shown in Figure 16 is the same as the processing content of steps S2 to S5 in the flowchart shown in Figure 9, so their explanation will be omitted here.

[0135] In step S11, the substrate 1 is transferred from the storage unit 70 to the plasma irradiation device 90. Specifically, the transfer hand 61 is inserted into the storage unit 70 by the operation of the multi-axis robot unit 62 and the horizontal movement unit 63 of the transfer device 60, and the substrate 1 is removed with the transfer hand 61. Then, the multi-axis robot unit 62 rotates the orientation of the transfer hand 61 by 180 degrees and adjusts the height of the transfer hand 61 to the height of the irradiation table 92. The horizontal movement unit 63 moves the multi-axis robot unit 62 in the X-axis direction so that the fork portion 61a of the transfer hand 61 faces the insertion / removal portion 92a of the irradiation table 92. After that, the multi-axis robot unit 62 moves the transfer hand 61 horizontally in the Y-axis direction so that the fork portion 61a is inserted into the insertion / removal portion 92a of the irradiation table 92. At this time, the fork portion 61a is positioned above the table surface of the irradiation table 92.

[0136] Subsequently, the multi-axis robot unit 62 lowers the transfer hand 61, positioning the fork portion 61a below the table surface, thereby transferring the substrate 1 from the fork portion 61a of the transfer hand 61 to the table surface of the irradiation table 92. Then, the multi-axis robot unit 62 moves the transfer hand 61 horizontally in the Y-axis direction, retracting the transfer hand 61 from the plasma irradiation device 90. In the plasma irradiation device 90, before the fork portion 61a is inserted into the insertion / removal portion 92a of the irradiation table 92, the irradiation table lifting mechanism 93 moves (raises) the irradiation table 92 to the transfer position.

[0137] In step S12, the plasma irradiation apparatus 90 performs a step of irradiating at least the edge face of the substrate 1 with plasma. The plasma irradiation operation of the plasma irradiation unit 95 in this plasma irradiation step will be explained with reference to Figure 17.

[0138] Figure 17 is a diagram illustrating the plasma irradiation operation on the substrate 1 by the plasma irradiation device 90 of the coating system 10A. First, the irradiation table 92, which is at the height of the transfer position, is moved (lowered) to the height of the first plasma irradiation unit pair 95a, 95b by the operation of the irradiation table lifting mechanism 93. At this time, the plasma irradiation surfaces of the plasma irradiation sections 95aa, 95ba of the first plasma irradiation unit pair 95a, 95b and the two end faces 1a of the substrate 1 parallel to the Y-axis direction are in close proximity and facing each other. From this state, control is started to irradiate plasma from the plasma irradiation sections 95aa, 95ba of the first plasma irradiation unit pair 95a, 95b, and plasma irradiation is performed toward the two end faces 1a of the substrate 1 parallel to the Y-axis direction. After plasma irradiation is performed for a predetermined time, the plasma irradiation operation by the first plasma irradiation unit pair 95a, 95b is stopped.

[0139] Subsequently, the irradiation table 92, located at the height of the first plasma irradiation unit pair 95a and 95b, is moved (lowered) to the height of the second plasma irradiation unit pair 95c and 95d by the operation of the irradiation table lifting mechanism 93. Note that in Figure 17, the second plasma irradiation unit pair 95d, located opposite the second plasma irradiation unit pair 95c, is not shown. At this time, the plasma irradiation surfaces of the plasma irradiation sections 95ca and 95da of the second plasma irradiation unit pair 95c and 95d are in close proximity to the two end faces 1a of the substrate 1 that are parallel to the X-axis direction. From this state, control is started to irradiate plasma from the plasma irradiation sections 95ca and 95da of the second plasma irradiation unit pair 95c and 95d, and plasma irradiation is performed toward the two end faces 1a of the substrate 1 that are parallel to the X-axis direction. After plasma irradiation is performed for a predetermined time, the plasma irradiation operation by the second plasma irradiation unit pair 95c and 95d is stopped. Subsequently, the irradiation table 92 located at the height of the second plasma irradiation unit pair 95c and 95d is moved (raised) to the height of the transfer position by the operation of the irradiation table lifting mechanism 93.

[0140] In step S13, the substrate 1 that has been irradiated with plasma is transferred from the plasma irradiation device 90 to the coating device 11. Specifically, the multi-axis robot unit 62 moves the transfer hand 61, which had been retracted from the plasma irradiation device 90 in step S11, horizontally in the Y-axis direction, and inserts the fork portion 61a into the insertion / removal portion 92a of the irradiation table 92. At this time, the fork portion 61a is positioned below the table surface of the irradiation table 92.

[0141] Subsequently, the multi-axis robot unit 62 raises the transfer hand 61, positioning the fork portion 61a above the table surface, thereby transferring the substrate 1 from the table surface of the irradiation table 92 to the fork portion 61a of the transfer hand 61. Then, the multi-axis robot unit 62 moves the transfer hand 61 horizontally in the Y-axis direction, retracting the transfer hand 61 holding the substrate 1 from inside the plasma irradiation device 90. In the coating device 11, before the fork portion 61a is inserted into the insertion / removal portion 92a of the irradiation table 92, the coating table lifting mechanism 14 moves (lifts) the coating table 13 to the transfer position.

[0142] Subsequently, the horizontal movement unit 63 moves the multi-axis robot unit 62 in the X-axis direction, moving the fork portion 61a of the transfer hand 61 to a position facing the insertion / removal portion 13a of the coating table 13 of the coating device 11. Then, the multi-axis robot unit 62 moves the transfer hand 61 horizontally in the Y-axis direction, inserting the fork portion 61a into the insertion / removal portion 13a of the coating table 13. At this time, the fork portion 61a is positioned above the table surface of the coating table 13.

[0143] Subsequently, the multi-axis robot unit 62 lowers the transfer hand 61, positioning the fork portion 61a below the table surface, thereby transferring the substrate 1 from the fork portion 61a of the transfer hand 61 to the table surface of the coating table 13. After that, the multi-axis robot unit 62 moves the transfer hand 61 horizontally in the Y-axis direction, retracting the transfer hand 61 from inside the coating device 11.

[0144] In step S14, the coating liquid is applied to at least one end face of the substrate 1 that has been transferred to the coating device 11, and the process proceeds to step S15. In the next step S15, the substrate 1 coated with the coating liquid 2 is transferred from the coating device 11 to the curing device 40, and then in step S16, the coating liquid 2 applied to the substrate 1 is cured in the curing device 40 to form a coating layer 3. In the next step S17, the substrate 1 with the coating layer 3 formed on it is transferred from the curing device 40 to the storage unit 70.

[0145] According to the coating system 10A of the other embodiment described above, the system further includes a plasma irradiation device 90, and the transfer device 60 is configured to transfer the substrate 1 from the storage unit 70 to the plasma irradiation device 90 by a transfer hand 61, transfer the substrate 1 that has been irradiated with plasma by the plasma irradiation device 90 to the coating device 11, transfer the substrate 1 that has been coated with coating liquid by the coating device 11 to the curing device 40, and transfer the substrate 1 with the coating layer 3 formed on it by the curing device 40 back to the storage unit 70.

[0146] Therefore, the risk of contamination and damage to the substrate 1 during a series of processing steps, such as irradiating plasma onto at least the edge face 1a of a substrate 1, such as a glass substrate, which is prone to cracks and fractures and easily scratched, and applying and curing a coating liquid, can be reduced while efficiently performing the series of processing steps. Furthermore, by irradiating plasma onto at least the edge face 1a of the substrate 1 to modify its surface (surface hydrophilization, surface activation, etc.) and increase its cleanliness before applying and curing the coating liquid, the adhesion of the coating liquid can be improved, forming a more uniform and highly adhesive coating layer 3. As a result, the substrate 1 on which the coating layer 3 is formed has increased strength at the outer edge, which can reliably reduce yield deterioration due to damage in subsequent processes and improve the production efficiency of the substrate.

[0147] Furthermore, according to the coating system 10A, the plasma irradiation device 90 comprises an irradiation stage unit 91 and a plasma irradiation unit 95, and the irradiation stage unit 91 comprises an irradiation table 92 with an insertion / removal section 92a and an irradiation table lifting mechanism 93. Therefore, when transferring the substrate 1 held by the transfer hand 61 to the irradiation table 92, and when transferring the substrate 1 held by the irradiation table 92 to the transfer hand 61, the risk of contamination or damage to the substrate 1 can be reduced, and the transfer operation of the substrate 1 can be performed efficiently.

[0148] In the above embodiment, the irradiation stage unit 91 of the plasma irradiation device 90 is equipped with an irradiation table lifting mechanism 93, and the irradiation table 92 is configured to be able to move up and down. However, in another embodiment, the irradiation stage unit 91 may not be equipped with an irradiation table lifting mechanism 93, that is, the irradiation table 92 may be fixed. In this case, the transfer operation of the substrate 1 between the irradiation table 92 and the transfer hand 61 is performed by the lifting and lowering operation of the fork portion 61a of the transfer hand 61. Furthermore, at least one of the plasma irradiation unit 95, that is, the first plasma irradiation unit pair 95a, 95b and the second plasma irradiation unit pair 95c, 95d, may be configured to be able to move up and down.

[0149] Furthermore, in the coating system 10A described above, the plasma irradiation device 90, the coating device 11, and the curing device 40 are arranged in a horizontal line in the X-axis direction, but the arrangement of these devices is not limited to this. For example, in a coating system according to yet another embodiment, the plasma irradiation device may be incorporated into the curing device, that is, the curing device and the plasma irradiation device may be combined into a composite device.

[0150] Figure 18 is a side view of the main components showing an example of a device configuration in which a plasma irradiation device is incorporated into a curing device. The modified curing device 40A has a configuration in which the plasma irradiation unit 95 (first plasma irradiation unit pair 95a, 95b, and second plasma irradiation unit pair 95c, 95d) of the plasma irradiation device 90 described above is incorporated into the configuration of the curing device 40 described above. The curing stage unit 41 is configured to be used in both the plasma irradiation process and the UV irradiation process. Alternatively, the UV irradiation unit 50 and the plasma irradiation unit 95 may be integrated into a single unit that can switch between plasma irradiation and UV irradiation.

[0151] In a coating system equipped with a curing device 40A, the substrate 1 is transferred from the storage unit 70 to the curing device 40A by a transfer hand 61, the substrate 1 irradiated with plasma by a plasma irradiation device 90 incorporated in the curing device 40A is transferred to the coating device 11, the substrate 1 coated with coating liquid 2 in the coating device 11 is transferred to the curing device 40A, and the substrate 1 cured with coating liquid 2 in the curing device 40A is transferred back to the storage unit 70. By using such a curing device 40A, it is possible to reduce the space and cost of the coating system with a plasma irradiation function.

[0152] Furthermore, in another embodiment of the coating system, the plasma irradiation device may be incorporated into the coating device, that is, the coating device and the plasma irradiation device may be combined into a composite device configuration.

[0153] Figure 19 is a plan view of the main components showing an example of a device configuration in which a plasma irradiation device is incorporated into a coating device, and shows a scene in which plasma is irradiated toward the end face 1a of the substrate 1. The modified coating device 11A has a configuration in which the plasma irradiation unit 95 of the plasma irradiation device 90 (first plasma irradiation unit pair 95a, 95b, and second plasma irradiation unit pair 95c, 95d) is incorporated into the configuration of the coating device 11 described above. In this configuration example, in order to make the plasma irradiation unit 95 a compact unit, it is preferable to apply a spot type, for example, an atmospheric pressure plasma jet type unit.

[0154] The plasma irradiation unit 95 shown in Figure 19 is integrated with the coating unit 20. For example, the plasma irradiation unit 95 is attached to the mounting member 27 (see Figure 8) of the coating unit 20. Therefore, the plasma irradiation unit 95 can be moved in the XY axis direction together with the coating unit 20 by the moving unit 30 (Figure 2). In addition, in the coating apparatus 11A, the coating stage unit 12 (see Figure 3) and the moving unit 30 are shared between the plasma irradiation process and the coating process.

[0155] Therefore, in the plasma irradiation process, the plasma irradiation unit 95 can be moved along the end face 1a of the substrate 1 while irradiating the end face 1a of the substrate 1 with plasma. In the coating process, as shown in Figure 10, the coating unit 20 can be moved along the end face 1a of the substrate 1 while applying the coating liquid 2 to the end face 1a of the substrate 1 with the coating unit 20. In yet another configuration example, the plasma irradiation unit 95 and the coating unit 20 may not be integrated, but rather mounted separately on the moving unit 30.

[0156] In a coating system equipped with a coating device 11A, the substrate 1 is transferred from the storage unit 70 to the coating device 11A by a transfer hand 61, plasma is irradiated by a plasma irradiation device 90 incorporated in the coating device 11A, the substrate 1 coated with the coating liquid 2 in the coating device 11A is transferred to the curing device 40, and the substrate 1 cured by the coating liquid 2 in the curing device 40 is transferred back to the storage unit 70.

[0157] By using such a coating apparatus 11A, the risk of contamination or damage to the substrate 1 during the series of processing steps, which involve irradiating with plasma, applying a coating liquid, and curing it, can be reduced while efficiently performing the series of processing steps. Furthermore, by attaching the plasma irradiation unit 95 to the coating unit 20 or the mobile unit 30, a compact unit configuration can be achieved, resulting in a space-saving and cost-effective coating system with plasma irradiation capabilities.

[0158] In the above-described embodiment, the curing apparatus 40 was configured to cure the coating liquid 2 by irradiating at least the edge face of the substrate 1 with active energy rays such as ultraviolet rays. However, the configuration of the curing apparatus is not limited to this. For example, in another embodiment, the curing apparatus may be configured with a heating unit that cures the coating liquid 2 by applying thermal energy to at least the edge face of the substrate 1. Such a heating unit may be configured with a unit that supplies convective heat such as hot air, or with a unit that supplies radiant heat. In yet another embodiment, the curing apparatus may be configured with one apparatus or separate apparatus comprising an irradiation unit that irradiates active energy rays and a heating unit that applies thermal energy.

[0159] Although embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail above, the above description is merely illustrative of the present invention. Without departing from the scope of the present invention, various improvements and modifications can be made to the configuration and arrangement of the coating devices 11, 11A, curing devices 40, 40A, transfer device 60, or plasma irradiation device 90 that constitute the coating systems 10, 10A, and to the control operation of the coating devices 11, 11A, curing devices 40, 40A, transfer device 60, or plasma irradiation device 90 by the control panel 80, and it goes without saying that these are also included in the scope of the present invention.

[0160] This invention has broad applicability in fields such as the electronic circuit board industry and the electronic equipment industry, which handle various types of substrates, including glass substrates, package substrates, metal substrates, and printed wiring boards.

[0161] 1 Substrate 1a End face 1c Insulator layer 2 Coating liquid 3 Coating layer 4 Damaged part 10, 10A Coating system 11, 11A Coating device 12 Coating stage unit 13 Coating table 13a Insertion / removal part 14 Coating table lifting mechanism 20 Coating unit 21 Coating roller 21a Roller mounting shaft 22 Drive unit 23 Liquid discharge unit 24 Dispenser valve 24a Liquid injection unit 24b Air supply unit 24c Syringe 24d, 24e Air tube 25 Discharge nozzle 25a Nozzle opening 26 Unit mounting part 27 Mounting member 27a Shaft support part 27b Mounting piece part 27c Support piece part 27d Mounting part 28 Support part 28a Linear rail 28b Linear block 28c, 28d Support piece 28e Base 29 Relief mechanism 29a Elastic member 30 Moving unit 31 First linear motion mechanism 32 Second linear motion mechanism 33 Frame 40, 40A Curing device 41 Curing stage unit 42 Curing table 42a Insertion / removal part 43 Curing table lifting mechanism 44 Frame 50 UV irradiation unit 50a, 50b First UV irradiation unit pair 50aa, 50ba UV irradiation section 50c, 50d Second UV irradiation unit pair 50ca, 50da UV irradiation section 60 Transfer device 61 Transfer hand 61a Fork section 62 Multi-axis robot section 63 Horizontal movement section 63a Linear guide 63b Sliding table 64 Frame 65 Window section 70 Storage section 71 Opening 80 Control panel 90 Plasma irradiation device 91 Irradiation stage unit 92 Irradiation table 92a Insertion / removal section 93 Irradiation table lifting mechanism 94 Stand 95 Plasma irradiation unit 95a, 95b First plasma irradiation unit pair 95aa, 95ba Plasma irradiation section 95c, 95d Second plasma irradiation unit pair 95ca, 95da Plasma irradiation section

Claims

1. A coating system comprising: a coating device for applying a coating liquid to at least one end face of a substrate; a curing device for curing the coating liquid applied to the substrate; and a transfer device equipped with a transfer hand for holding the substrate, wherein the transfer device is configured to transfer the substrate from a substrate storage section to the coating device using the transfer hand, transfer the substrate coated with the coating liquid by the coating device to the curing device, and transfer the substrate cured with the coating liquid by the curing device to the storage section.

2. The coating system according to claim 1, characterized in that the transfer device comprises a multi-axis robot section to which the transfer hand is attached, and a horizontal movement section for moving the multi-axis robot section in a horizontal direction, and the substrate is held in a non-contact manner by the transfer hand.

3. The coating apparatus comprises a coating stage unit on which the substrate is held, one or more coating units arranged around the coating stage unit, and a moving unit for moving the coating units, wherein the coating stage unit comprises a coating table having an insertion / removal section into which at least a part of the transfer hand can be inserted and removed, and the coating table and the transfer hand are configured to be able to move up and down relative to each other, as described in claim 1 or 2.

4. The coating system according to claim 3, characterized in that the coating stage unit is equipped with a coating table lifting mechanism that raises and lowers the coating table between the substrate transfer position and the coating position.

5. The coating system according to claim 3, wherein the coating unit comprises a coating roller and a liquid discharge unit for discharging the coating liquid onto the outer circumferential surface of the coating roller, and is configured to discharge the coating liquid from the liquid discharge unit onto the outer circumferential surface of the coating roller while rotating the coating roller in a direction opposite to the direction of movement of the coating unit.

6. The coating system according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the curing apparatus comprises a curing stage unit on which the substrate is held, and one or more irradiation units disposed around the curing stage unit for irradiating at least the end face of the substrate with active energy rays, the curing stage unit comprises a curing table having an insertion / removal section into which at least a part of the transfer hand can be inserted and removed, and the curing table and the transfer hand are configured to be able to move up and down relative to each other.

7. The coating system according to claim 6, characterized in that the curing stage unit is equipped with a curing table lifting mechanism that raises and lowers the curing table between the substrate transfer position and the curing position.

8. The coating system according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising a plasma irradiation device for irradiating at least one end face of the substrate with plasma, wherein the plasma irradiation device is incorporated into the coating device, and the transfer device is configured such that, instead of transferring the substrate to the curing device after the coating device has applied the coating liquid, the substrate is irradiated with plasma by the plasma irradiation device and then transferred to the curing device after the coating device has applied the coating liquid.

9. The coating system according to claim 8, wherein the coating apparatus comprises a coating stage unit on which the substrate is held, one or more coating units arranged around the coating stage unit, and a moving unit for moving the coating units, the coating stage unit comprises a coating table having an insertion / removal section into which at least a part of the transfer hand can be inserted and removed, the coating table and the transfer hand are configured to be able to move up and down relative to each other, and the plasma irradiation apparatus comprises one or more plasma irradiation units for irradiating at least the end face of the substrate with the plasma, and the plasma irradiation unit is attached to the coating unit or the moving unit.

10. The coating system according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising a plasma irradiation device for irradiating at least one end face of the substrate with plasma, wherein the transfer device is configured such that, instead of transferring the substrate from the substrate storage section to the coating device by the transfer hand, the transfer hand transfers the substrate from the substrate storage section to the plasma irradiation device, and then transfers the substrate, which has been irradiated with plasma by the plasma irradiation device, to the coating device.

11. The coating system according to claim 10, wherein the plasma irradiation apparatus comprises an irradiation stage unit on which the substrate is held, and one or more plasma irradiation units disposed around the irradiation stage unit for irradiating at least the end face of the substrate with the plasma, the irradiation stage unit comprises an irradiation table having an insertion / removal portion into which at least a part of the transfer hand can be inserted and removed, and the irradiation table and the transfer hand are configured to be able to move up and down relative to each other.

12. The coating system according to claim 11, characterized in that the irradiation stage unit is provided with an irradiation table lifting mechanism that raises and lowers the irradiation table between the substrate transfer position and the plasma irradiation position.

13. The coating system according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising a plasma irradiation device for irradiating at least one end face of the substrate with plasma, wherein the plasma irradiation device is incorporated into the curing device, and the transfer device is configured such that, instead of transferring the substrate from the substrate storage section to the coating device by the transfer hand, the transfer hand transfers the substrate from the substrate storage section to the curing device, and the substrate, which has been irradiated with plasma by the plasma irradiation device incorporated into the curing device, is transferred to the coating device.

14. The coating system according to claim 13, wherein the curing apparatus comprises a curing stage unit on which the substrate is held, and one or more irradiation units disposed around the curing stage unit for irradiating at least the end face of the substrate with active energy rays, the curing stage unit comprises a curing table having an insertion / removal section into which at least a part of the transfer hand can be inserted and removed, the curing table and the transfer hand are configured to be able to move up and down relative to each other, and the plasma irradiation apparatus comprises one or more plasma irradiation units for irradiating at least the end face of the substrate with the plasma, the plasma irradiation units are disposed around the curing stage unit.

15. A method for forming a coating layer by applying a coating liquid to at least the end face of a substrate, comprising: a step of removing the substrate from the substrate storage section using a transfer device equipped with a transfer hand, and transferring it to a coating device for applying the coating liquid to the substrate; a step of applying the coating liquid to at least the end face of the substrate transferred to the coating device; a step of transferring the substrate coated with the coating liquid from the coating device to a curing device for forming the coating layer using the transfer hand; a step of curing the coating liquid applied to the substrate transferred to the curing device to form the coating layer; and a step of transferring the substrate with the coating layer formed on it from the curing device to the storage section using the transfer hand.

16. The method for forming a coating layer according to claim 15, characterized in that, instead of the step of applying the coating liquid to at least the end face of the substrate transferred to the coating apparatus, the method includes the step of irradiating at least the end face of the substrate transferred to the coating apparatus with plasma using a plasma irradiation device incorporated in the coating apparatus, and then applying the coating liquid.

17. The method for forming a coating layer according to claim 15, characterized in that, instead of the step of removing the substrate from the substrate storage section using a transfer device equipped with the transfer hand and transferring it to a coating device for applying the coating liquid to the substrate, the method includes: removing the substrate from the substrate storage section using a transfer device equipped with the transfer hand and transferring it to a plasma irradiation device for irradiating the substrate with plasma; irradiating at least one end face of the substrate transferred to the plasma irradiation device with the plasma; and transferring the substrate irradiated with plasma from the plasma irradiation device to a coating device for applying the coating liquid to the substrate using the transfer hand.

18. The method for forming a coating layer according to claim 15, characterized in that, instead of the step of removing the substrate from the substrate storage section using a transfer device equipped with the transfer hand and transferring it to a coating device for applying the coating liquid to the substrate, the method includes: removing the substrate from the substrate storage section using a transfer device equipped with the transfer hand and transferring it to a curing device incorporating a plasma irradiation device for irradiating the substrate with plasma; irradiating at least one end face of the substrate transferred to the curing device with the plasma irradiation device; and transferring the substrate irradiated with the plasma from the curing device to a coating device for applying the coating liquid to the substrate using the transfer hand.

19. The coating step includes a step of applying the coating liquid to at least the end face of the substrate by rotating the coating roller while keeping the coating roller in contact with or in close proximity to at least the end face of the substrate, discharging the coating liquid from the liquid discharge unit to the outer surface of the coating roller, while maintaining a predetermined positional relationship between the end face of the substrate and the liquid discharge unit, and moving the coating roller relative to the substrate, wherein the coating liquid is discharged from the liquid discharge unit to the outer surface of the coating roller while rotating the coating roller in the opposite direction to the direction of movement of the coating roller relative to the substrate, characterized in that the coating liquid is discharged from the liquid discharge unit to the outer surface of the coating roller.

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