Rotating Patterned Coating Feeder for Uniform, Low-Waste Coverage
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing coating technologies face challenges in applying coating liquids uniformly and efficiently to surfaces without thickness variations, leading to waste and increased costs, particularly when dealing with expensive coating materials and complex shapes.
Innovation Solution
A coating apparatus with a slit-shaped discharge port and a rotatable coating liquid feeder featuring a coating liquid holding recess and a partition member that divides the discharge port into multiple parts, allowing precise application of coating liquid to match the shape of the holding recess, ensuring uniform thickness and accurate coverage.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If a spin coater is used to apply coating liquid to a circular coated object, then the coating liquid can be applied over the surface by centrifugal force, but the coating liquid is centrifugally flung away from the coated object resulting in waste
Solution Approach 1:
The discharge port is divided into multiple discharge holes arranged in a circular pattern, allowing the coating liquid to be applied in segments that form a complete circle on the coated object, preventing material waste while maintaining efficient application speed
Solution Approach 2:
The coating application transitions from a radial centrifugal pattern to a circular pattern where the discharge holes are arranged circumferentially, enabling the coating liquid to be deposited precisely on the surface without being flung away
2Manufacturing precision
If the coating liquid feeding nozzle is gradually moved from the center to the outer peripheral side to spirally apply coating liquid, then the coating liquid can be applied to the circular surface, but it takes a long time resulting in poor productivity
Solution Approach 1:
The discharge port is segmented into multiple discharge holes that are simultaneously active, allowing the coating liquid to be applied to the entire circular surface at once rather than moving gradually from center to periphery, thus reducing application time while maintaining uniformity
Solution Approach 2:
Multiple discharge holes operate simultaneously and continuously to cover the entire coated object surface, eliminating the interruptions and time consumption associated with gradual movement from center to periphery
3Device complexity
If a single slit-shaped discharge port is used, then the structure is simple, but it is difficult to apply the coating liquid in a uniform thickness to the surface of the coated object
Solution Approach 1:
The single discharge port is segmented into multiple discharge holes arranged in a circle, which allows the coating liquid to be distributed uniformly across the coated object surface, achieving uniform thickness without complicating the overall structure
Solution Approach 2:
Each discharge hole is positioned at a specific location around the circumference, with the discharge amount controlled by the nozzle's rotational position, allowing localized precise control of coating thickness at different radial positions
Data Source
AI summary
Provided is a coating apparatus where a coated object W is moved relative to an application nozzle 10 located above the coated object, and a coating liquid P is applied to a surface of the coated object via a slit-shaped discharge port 12 at a distal end of the application nozzle. In a coating liquid reservoir 11 storing the coating liquid therein, a coating liquid feeder 14 formed with a coating liquid holding recess 14a in a predetermined pattern shape is rotatably disposed at place above the slit-shaped discharge port. A partition member 13 for dividing the slit-shaped discharge port into plural discharge parts 12a along the longitudinal direction of the slit-shaped discharge port is disposed in the slit-shaped discharge port. The coating liquid feeder 14 is rotated to apply the coating liquid to the surface of the coated object via the discharge parts at places corresponding to the coating liquid holding recess.