JP2008018329A - Cleaning device - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention provides a cleaning device capable of preventing reattachment of particles, and a cleaning device provided with a suction nozzle for liquid sprayed from a cleaning tool, capable of stable operation even when the flow rate of cleaning liquid increases. I will provide a.
A cleaning apparatus includes a cleaning tool 3 for removing a particle 5 on a surface of a glass substrate 2, a separation plate 6 for separating a liquid 4 supplied from the cleaning tool 3 up and down, and a transport roller 2. I have.
[Selection] Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a cleaning apparatus used for removing contaminants such as fine particles on a substrate surface in a manufacturing process of a display panel such as a liquid crystal display panel and a plasma display panel, or a semiconductor.

  Conventionally, for example, in a glass substrate cleaning process used in a liquid crystal display panel, a wet cleaning apparatus using a liquid such as water is used to remove contaminants such as fine particles adhering to the surface (hereinafter referred to as particles). It is used.

  3A and 3B show a glass substrate cleaning method using a conventional cleaning apparatus, in which FIG. 3A is a side view and FIG. 3B is a plan view. As shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B, the glass substrate is cleaned by moving a liquid such as water using the cleaning tool 103 while moving the glass substrate 101 in the direction of arrow C by the transport roller 102. The particles 105 are separated from the surface of the glass substrate 101 by spraying the surface of the glass substrate 101 and bringing the tip of the brush into contact with the surface of the glass substrate 101. The particles 105 detached from the surface of the glass substrate 101 are removed from the end of the glass substrate 101 together with the liquid 104 to the outside of the substrate.

  In addition, as a wet cleaning apparatus, there is provided a cleaning nozzle in which an introduction port for introducing a cleaning liquid, an injection port for injecting the introduced cleaning liquid onto an object to be cleaned, and a discharge port for collecting the injected cleaning liquid are integrally formed. A wet cleaning apparatus is known (for example, see Patent Document 1). Further, as such a cleaning nozzle, a suction nozzle having a tip disposed with a slight gap from the surface of the glass substrate in order to suck the cleaning liquid on the surface after cleaning with the cleaning liquid is known (for example, Patent Document 2). reference).

JP-A-10-163153 (0029, FIG. 1) JP 2001-170578 A (Claim 1, FIG. 1)

  When the glass substrate 101 is washed with the apparatus shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B, the particles 105 detached from the surface of the glass substrate 101 may reattach to the surface of the glass substrate 101. Therefore, there is a problem that the particles 105 cannot be completely removed from the surface of the glass substrate 101.

  That is, as shown in FIG. 3B, the pressure and flow rate of the liquid 104 ejected from the cleaning tool 103 gradually decrease on the glass substrate 101. As a result, the particles 105 are once detached from the surface of the glass substrate 101 by the liquid 104 ejected from the nozzle or the like of the cleaning tool 103, but often reattached near the end of the glass substrate 101. In particular, with the recent increase in size of liquid crystal display panels, the distance until particles detached by the cleaning tool 103 reach the outside of the surface of the glass substrate 101 in the cleaning process of the glass substrate or the like has become longer. The particles 105 are easily reattached near the end of the substrate 101.

  On the other hand, in the apparatus provided with the suction nozzle described in Patent Documents 1 and 2 and the like, the liquid ejected from the cleaning tool can be collected on the substrate, so that it is possible to prevent reattachment of the particles to the glass substrate surface. . However, in the case of an apparatus equipped with such a suction nozzle, if the flow rate of the liquid to be supplied increases, it becomes difficult to balance ejection and suction, which makes it difficult to perform stable cleaning. It was. In particular, when the size of the glass substrate is increased, it is necessary to increase the amount of liquid to be ejected, and this problem becomes significant.

  In view of the above situation, the problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide a cleaning device that can prevent reattachment of particles, and in a cleaning device that includes a suction nozzle for liquid sprayed from a cleaning tool, the flow rate of cleaning liquid is An object of the present invention is to provide a cleaning apparatus capable of stable operation even when the number is increased.

  In order to solve such a problem, the cleaning apparatus of the present invention includes a cleaning tool for supplying a liquid to a surface to be cleaned on a surface to be cleaned, and a liquid supplied to the surface to be cleaned by vertically separating the liquid. The gist is to include a separation plate for flowing to the side of the object to be cleaned.

  Further, the cleaning apparatus includes a suction nozzle for sucking the liquid supplied from the cleaning tool, and the suction nozzle is configured to suck the liquid between the separation plate and the surface to be cleaned. be able to.

  In the cleaning apparatus, the separation plate is preferably attached so that the liquid flowing above the separation plate is larger than the liquid flowing below the separation plate. Moreover, in the said washing | cleaning apparatus, the cross-sectional shape of a separation plate can be formed in a wedge shape, and a baffle plate can be provided on a separation plate.

  The cleaning apparatus of the present invention can prevent re-adhesion of particles by providing a separation plate for separating the liquid supplied to the surface to be cleaned up and down and flowing it to the side of the object to be cleaned.

  Further, in the cleaning device of the present invention, when the suction nozzle is provided, it is only necessary to suck the liquid on the lower side of the separation plate with the suction nozzle, so that the amount of liquid sucked by the suction nozzle can be reduced, Even if the amount of liquid supply increases, it is easy to balance the supply and suction of the liquid, and stable cleaning can be performed. In particular, even when the substrate is enlarged, the amount of liquid supply can be increased, and the enlarged substrate can be stably cleaned.

  Further, in the cleaning apparatus of the present invention, when the separation plate is attached so that the liquid flowing above the separation plate is larger than the liquid flowing below the separation plate, the liquid containing particles that may reattach to the substrate Therefore, it is possible to further improve the effect of preventing the reattachment of the particles.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows an example of the cleaning apparatus of the present invention, in which (a) is a side view and (b) is a plan view. The cleaning apparatus shown in FIG. 1 separates the cleaning tool 3 for separating the surface particles 5 serving as the surface to be cleaned of the glass substrate 1 as the object to be cleaned, and the liquid 4 supplied from the cleaning tool 3 up and down. The separating plate 6 for flowing the glass substrate 1 to the left and right sides of the glass substrate 1 and a conveying device for conveying the glass substrate 1 such as the conveying roller 2 in a predetermined direction.

  The cleaning tool 3 only needs to include at least a device capable of ejecting the liquid 4 to the glass substrate 1. As the liquid 4 used for the cleaning tool 3, a processing liquid such as a cleaning liquid or a rinsing liquid is used. Examples of these treatment liquids include ultrapure water, electrolytic ion water, ozone water, and hydrogen water. As the cleaning tool 3, for example, a scrub cleaning device, a low pressure shower cleaning device, a high pressure cleaning device, an ultrasonic cleaning device or the like is used.

  The scrub cleaning device can press a physical contact means such as a disc brush or roll brush, or a physical contact means such as a sponge against the surface to be cleaned such as a glass substrate, and can spray a liquid such as a cleaning agent or water. It is the device formed in.

  The high-pressure cleaning device is a device that jets cleaning liquid from the nozzle tip to the surface to be cleaned at a high pressure, for example, at a pressure of 1 MPa or more, and detaches particles and the like adhering to the surface to be cleaned by the collision force and shearing force of the jet. It is.

  Examples of the ultrasonic cleaning device include a slit-type megasonic shower device.

  The cleaning tool 3 may be any one of the above devices or a combination of a plurality of them. The cleaning tool 3 may be a known cleaning tool other than the above.

  In the cleaning apparatus of the present invention, the separation plate 6 is provided on the rear side with respect to the cleaning tool 3 in the traveling direction in which the glass substrate 1 is conveyed. As shown in FIG. 1B, the separation plate 6 has a width (the length in the direction orthogonal to the conveyance direction of the glass substrate 1) that is at least larger than the width of the glass substrate 1. The liquid 41 on the upper side of the separation plate 6 after being separated by the separation plate 6 can be reliably flowed to both the left and right sides of the glass substrate 1 and removed from the surface.

  Further, the length of the separation plate 6 (the length in the transport direction of the glass substrate 1) is not particularly limited, but is, for example, 5 to 20% of the width of the separation plate 6. A preferable width of the separating plate 6 is the width of the glass substrate 1 +10 mm or more. Further, the length of the separation plate 6 is determined in consideration of the amount of the spray liquid, restrictions such as interference with the front and rear cleaning tools, and minimization of the apparatus length (which leads to reduction of the apparatus cost and the amount of exhaust gas used). There is a need to. When the length of the separation plate 6 is short, a turbulent flow 43 of the liquid 41 is generated on the separation plate 6 as shown in FIGS. In this case, as shown in FIGS. 4 (c) and 4 (d), a rectifying plate 8 may be provided on the separation plate 6.

  The thickness of the separation plate 6 is preferably 1 mm or more because turbulent flow generated at the end of the separation plate 6 during liquid flow separation can be prevented. The distance between the glass substrate 1 and the separation plate 6 is preferably uniform, and the separation plate 6 preferably has a thickness and shape that does not cause “deflection”. When the separation plate 6 is thick, a turbulent flow 43 as shown in FIG. In general, a material capable of reducing the thickness is expensive or difficult to process. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 5B, the cross-sectional shape of the separation plate 6 'is a "wedge type". This can prevent the occurrence of turbulent flow during liquid flow separation. As shown in the figure, the inclination angle θ of the tip of the wedge-shaped separation plate 6 ′ is preferably 10 degrees or less. The material of the separation plate 6 is preferably selected from cleaning device constituent materials such as SUS and PVC because deterioration and dust generation due to the processing liquid do not occur. The separation plate 6 is preferably provided at a distance of 20 to 100 mm from the position of the cleaning tool 3.

  The conveying device used in the cleaning device of the present invention is not limited to the conveying roller 2, and a known device can be used. Moreover, the cleaning apparatus of this invention should just be comprised so that the glass substrate 1 may move relatively with respect to the cleaning tool 3 and the separating plate 6, and the cleaning tool 3 and the separating plate 6 side is with respect to the glass substrate 1. You may form so that it may move.

  As shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B, the liquids 41 and 42 containing the particles 5 detached from the surface of the glass substrate 1 flow down from both edges in the width direction of the glass substrate 1 to the outside of the surface of the glass substrate 1. Removed. The flow rate and pressure of the liquid 4 are highest near the spray nozzle of the cleaning tool 3 and decrease as the distance from the cleaning tool 3 at the rear in the transport direction is increased. As the flow velocity and pressure of the liquid 4 become smaller, the possibility that the particles 5 will reattach becomes higher.

  In the cleaning device of the present invention, the flow of the liquid is separated vertically in the vicinity of the spray nozzle of the cleaning tool 3 having a high flow velocity and pressure by providing the separation plate 6. 41 is removed out of the surface of the glass substrate 1 without touching the surface of the glass substrate 1. As a result, the particles 5 present in the liquid 41 contained above the separation plate 6 can be reliably prevented from reattaching to the substrate. The only particles 5 that may be reattached to the glass substrate 1 are the particles 5 contained in the liquid 42 below the separation plate 6. That is, even if the injection amount of the liquid 4 is the same, the amount of particles 5 that may reattach to the glass substrate 1 can be greatly reduced.

  Therefore, the separation plate 6 is arranged such that the liquid 41 flowing on the upper side of the separation plate 6 is larger than the liquid 42 flowing on the lower side of the separation plate 6 between the separation plate 6 and the glass substrate 1. preferable. To arrange in this way, the position of the separation plate 6 is to be installed as close to the surface of the glass substrate 1 as possible. If the separation plate 6 is too close to the surface of the glass substrate 1, the separation plate 6 may come into contact with the glass substrate 1 depending on the conveyance accuracy of the glass substrate 1. It is preferable to provide at an appropriate position according to the supply amount and the conveyance accuracy of the glass substrate 1.

  FIG. 2 shows another example of the cleaning apparatus of the present invention, in which (a) is a side view and (b) is a plan view. In the cleaning apparatus shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B, the suction nozzle 7 for sucking the liquid 4 supplied from the cleaning tool 3 to the surface of the glass substrate 1 It is provided so as to be located on the rear side in the traveling direction. The suction nozzle 7 is configured to suck only the liquid 42 between the lower side of the separation plate 6 and the surface of the glass substrate 1, and the liquid 41 on the upper side of the separation plate 6 is disposed on the side of the glass substrate 1. The suction nozzle 7 and the separation plate 6 are integrally formed so as to be removed from the direction.

  As the suction nozzle 7, for example, a known suction nozzle device described in JP-A-10-163153, JP-A-2001-170578, or the like can be used.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 (a) and 2 (b), when the separation plate 6 is provided in the cleaning apparatus having the suction nozzle 7, the liquid 4 on the surface of the glass substrate 1 is separated vertically from the separation plate 6 as a boundary. Since only the liquid 42 flowing below the separation plate 6 is sucked by the suction nozzle 7, the amount of liquid sucked by the suction nozzle 7 can be reduced. Since the amount of liquid sucked by the suction nozzle 7 is small, it is easy to balance the amount of liquid ejected (supplied) from the cleaning tool 3 and the amount of suction even when the amount of liquid 4 supplied increases. , Stable cleaning can be performed. In particular, even when the glass substrate 1 is enlarged, the supply amount of the liquid 4 can be increased, and the enlarged glass substrate 1 can be stably cleaned.

  In the above embodiment, the glass substrate 1 is used as the object to be cleaned. However, the object to be cleaned is not limited to the glass substrate. It can be cleaned as a cleaning surface.

  The cleaning apparatus of the present invention can be optimally used for cleaning using a brush, high-pressure cleaning, etc., or cleaning relatively large dust.

An example of the washing | cleaning apparatus of this invention is shown, (a) is a side view, (b) is a top view. The other example of the washing | cleaning apparatus of this invention is shown, (a) is a side view, (b) is a top view. The washing | cleaning method of the glass substrate using the conventional wet-cleaning apparatus is shown, (a) is a side view, (b) is a top view. The flow of the liquid on a separating plate when a separating plate length is short with respect to the supplied liquid quantity is shown, (a) is a side view without a baffle plate, (b) is a plane of (a) It is a figure, (c) is a side view with a baffle plate, (d) is a top view of (c). The flow of the liquid at the end of the plate when the separation plate is thick is shown, (a) is a cross-sectional view when the plate thickness is constant, (b) is a cross-sectional view when the shape of the plate end is a wedge shape It is.

Explanation of symbols

1 Glass substrate 2 Transport roller 3 Cleaning tool 4 Liquid 5 Particle 6 Separation plate 6 'Separation plate 7 Suction nozzle 8 Rectification plate θ Tilt angle

Claims (5)

  A cleaning tool for supplying a liquid to a surface to be cleaned on a surface to be cleaned, and a separation plate for separating the liquid supplied to the surface to be cleaned up and down and flowing to the side of the object to be cleaned. Characteristic cleaning device.   A suction nozzle for sucking the liquid supplied from the cleaning tool is provided, and the suction nozzle is formed so as to suck the liquid between the separation plate and the surface to be cleaned. The cleaning apparatus according to claim 1.   The cleaning apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the separation plate is attached so that a liquid flowing above the separation plate is larger than a liquid flowing below the separation plate.   The cleaning apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the separation plate has a wedge shape in cross section. The washing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a current plate is provided on the separation plate.

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