JP5122840B2 - Heat treatment equipment - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a heat treatment apparatus.

  Conventionally, a sealed multi-stage heat treatment apparatus 80 as shown in FIG. 8 is known as a heat treatment apparatus used for baking and drying glass substrates for flat panel displays (LCD, PDP, organic EL, etc.) (for example, , See Patent Document 1).

  Generally, in such a heat treatment apparatus 80, a far-infrared heater 82 is disposed in a heating chamber 81 formed inside the heat treatment apparatus 80. The substrate 83 is heated.

  The far-infrared heater 82 is configured by sandwiching a heating element that generates heat by energization between insulators such as mica and a thick metal heating plate 84 (thickness of about 3 to 10 mm) formed of aluminum. doing.

Therefore, the metal heat plate 84 can be stored with a relatively large amount of heat, and the amount of far infrared rays emitted from the far infrared radiation surface of the far infrared heater 82 to the object to be processed is substantially uniform. It is also possible to play a role of buffering temperature fluctuations in the furnace atmosphere.
JP 2004-144337 A

  However, in the heat treatment apparatus provided with the above-described conventional infrared heater including a metal hot plate, the infrared heater is provided with a thick metal plate, so that the weight is large and the strength of the heat treatment apparatus is maintained. Needed many metal aggregates.

  In addition, when the temperature of the heating element of the infrared heater is changed, the temperature change is buffered by the amount of heat held by the metal hot plate, so that there is a problem that it is not responsive when adjusting the temperature of the furnace atmosphere. It was.

  In addition, since the metal aggregate used for improving the strength of the heat treatment apparatus also has a calorific value, the sensitive temperature operation in the furnace is made more difficult.

  In particular, when maintaining the heat treatment equipment by returning the furnace temperature to room temperature, most of the maintenance time is spent on leaving the metal hot plate or metal aggregate to reach room temperature. Increased downtime hinders productivity improvement.

  The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, has a good responsiveness to temperature control, and can shorten the startup and shutdown time of the heat treatment apparatus, A heat treatment apparatus capable of reducing the weight of the apparatus is provided.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, in the heat treatment apparatus according to the present invention, in the heat treatment apparatus for heating an object to be processed by a heater apparatus disposed in the furnace body, the heater apparatus is a polyimide system having a thickness of 0.01 to 1 mm. A heater body is formed by sandwiching a heating element formed of metal foil in a sandwich shape with a thin film-like sheet body formed of heat resistant resin , and the heater body is sandwiched between two substantially rectangular frame bodies It is formed without having a metal heat plate as a mechanism to retain heat while reducing weight , and further reduces the amount of retained heat by reducing the metal material as a strength member required to support the heater device The response to temperature control has been improved .

In addition, a heater device capable of generating heat by energization inside the furnace body is arranged in multiple stages with a predetermined interval, and a heating chamber sandwiched vertically by the heater apparatus is formed in multiple stages, on the front part of the furnace body Is a heat treatment apparatus for heating a plurality of glass substrates by opening a position corresponding to each heating chamber to form a substrate storage port, and inserting a glass substrate into the heating chamber from the outside of the furnace via the substrate storage port. In the heating chamber, a plurality of pillars having a substantially U-shaped cross-sectional view are arranged in the front-rear direction of the furnace body, and a conical support material is provided at a predetermined interval on the upper surface of the pillars. A plurality of glass substrates can be supported from below, and the heater device is a thin film sheet formed of a polyimide heat-resistant resin having a thickness of 0.01 to 1 mm, and is formed of a metal foil. The heater body is formed by sandwiching the generated heating element in a sandwich shape. The heater main body is formed without having a metal heat plate as a mechanism for holding the amount of heat while reducing the weight by sandwiching the main body between two substantially rectangular frames, and supporting the heater disposed inside the furnace body The frame of each heater device was placed on the member, and the amount of heat retained was reduced by reducing the metal material as a strength member required to support the heater device, thereby improving the responsiveness to temperature control .
In addition, a heater device capable of generating heat by energization inside the furnace body is arranged in multiple stages with a predetermined interval, and a heating chamber sandwiched vertically by the heater apparatus is formed in multiple stages, on the front part of the furnace body Is a heat treatment apparatus for heating a plurality of glass substrates by opening a position corresponding to each heating chamber to form a substrate storage port, and inserting a glass substrate into the heating chamber from the outside of the furnace via the substrate storage port. In the heating chamber, a plurality of pillars having a substantially U-shaped cross-sectional view are arranged in the front-rear direction of the furnace body, and a conical support material is provided at a predetermined interval on the upper surface of the pillars. A plurality of glass substrates can be supported from below, and the heater device is a thin film sheet formed of a polyimide heat-resistant resin having a thickness of 0.01 to 1 mm, and is formed of a metal foil. The heater body is formed by sandwiching the generated heating element in a sandwich shape. Over data main body are those formed by sandwiching two substantially rectangular-shaped frame body, on a heater supporting member which is disposed inside the furnace body was placed by placing a frame of each heating device.
Further, the present invention is also characterized in that a temperature control unit is provided that controls the energization of the heater device to adjust the temperature of the furnace atmosphere.

In the first aspect of the present invention, the heater device is a thin sheet-like sheet formed of a polyimide heat-resistant resin having a thickness of 0.01 to 1 mm, and the heating element formed of metal foil is sandwiched. It is formed without having a metal hot plate as a mechanism for holding the amount of heat while reducing the weight by sandwiching the heater body with two substantially rectangular frames by sandwiching the heater body . Furthermore, by reducing the amount of heat held by reducing the metal material as the strength member required to support the heater device, the responsiveness to temperature control has been improved , so that the responsiveness of temperature control can be improved, and the device It is possible to reduce the total amount of heat held and shorten the start-up time and the fall time of the heat treatment apparatus, thereby improving the production efficiency of the object to be processed.

  Further, since the weight of the heater can be reduced, the number of reinforcing members required for the heat treatment apparatus can be reduced, and the heat treatment apparatus can be reduced in weight.

Further, in the present invention described in claim 2, a heater apparatus that can generate heat by energization inside the furnace body is arranged in multiple stages with a predetermined interval, and a heating chamber sandwiched vertically by the heater apparatus is provided in multiple stages. In the front part of the furnace body, a position corresponding to each heating chamber is opened to form a substrate storage port, and a glass substrate is inserted into the heating chamber from the outside of the furnace through the substrate storage port. A heat treatment apparatus for heating a plurality of glass substrates, wherein a plurality of substantially U-shaped pillars in cross-sectional view are arranged in the heating chamber in the front-rear direction of the furnace body, A plurality of support members are arranged at predetermined intervals so that the glass substrate can be supported from below, and the heater device is a thin film formed of a polyimide heat-resistant resin having a thickness of 0.01 to 1 mm. Sheet-like sheet body, sandwiching a heating element made of metal foil The heater body is formed, and the heater body is formed without having a metal heat plate as a mechanism for holding the amount of heat while reducing the weight by sandwiching the heater body with two substantially rectangular frames. Responsiveness to temperature control by reducing the amount of heat held by placing the frame of each heater device on the heater support member arranged inside and reducing the metal material as the strength member required to support the heater device. The temperature control responsiveness can be improved, and the heat generation rate of the heat treatment equipment can be shortened by reducing the amount of heat held by the entire equipment, and the production efficiency of the workpiece can be reduced. Can be improved.
According to the third aspect of the present invention, there are provided a plurality of heating chambers which are arranged in a plurality of stages with a predetermined interval between the heater devices which are capable of generating heat by energization inside the furnace body and are sandwiched vertically by the heater devices. In the front part of the furnace body, a position corresponding to each heating chamber is opened to form a substrate storage port, and a glass substrate is inserted into the heating chamber from the outside of the furnace through the substrate storage port. A heat treatment apparatus for heating a plurality of glass substrates, wherein a plurality of substantially U-shaped pillars in cross-sectional view are arranged in the heating chamber in the front-rear direction of the furnace body, A plurality of support members are arranged at predetermined intervals so that the glass substrate can be supported from below, and the heater device is a thin film formed of a polyimide heat-resistant resin having a thickness of 0.01 to 1 mm. Sheet-like sheet body, sandwiching a heating element made of metal foil The heater body is formed by sandwiching the heater body between two substantially rectangular frames, and the frame of each heater device is placed on the heater support member disposed inside the furnace body. Because it is placed and arranged, the responsiveness of temperature control can be improved, and the heat quantity of the entire device is reduced to shorten the start-up time and fall time of the heat treatment equipment, and manufacture of the workpiece Efficiency can be improved.
In the present invention described in claim 4, since the temperature control unit for adjusting the temperature of the atmosphere in the furnace by controlling the energization of the heater device is provided, the amount of heat possessed by the heat treatment device is reduced. However, stable temperature control can be performed.

  The present invention relates to a heat treatment apparatus for heating an object to be processed by a heater disposed inside a furnace body, wherein the heater is a thin film sheet having a thickness of 0.01 to 1 mm, and a heating element is sandwiched between the heaters. doing.

  The sheet body may be a metal, but is preferably formed of a non-conductive heat-resistant resin.

  For example, when the sheet body is made of metal, the sheet body should not come into contact with the heating element that generates heat when energized to cause a short circuit. In order to prevent a short circuit, a gap may be provided between the heating element and the sheet body. Moreover, you may make it form the film which consists of nonconductors in the surface of the sheet | seat body which a heat generating body contacts.

  For example, when the sheet body is formed of a heat resistant resin, a polyimide heat resistant resin can be suitably used. In particular, polyimide resin does not generate polymerized siloxane by alternately bonding silicon (Si) and oxygen (O) when a film heater is heated. Can be prevented.

  The thickness of the sheet is preferably from 0.01 to 1 mm, more preferably from 0.03 to 0.8 mm. If the thickness of the sheet body is less than 0.01 mm, the strength of the heater decreases, which is not preferable. On the other hand, if the thickness of the sheet body exceeds 1 mm, the amount of heat held by the heater increases, which is not preferable because the responsiveness of temperature control decreases. By setting the thickness of the sheet body to 0.01 to 1 mm, preferably 0.03 to 0.8 mm, the amount of heat retained by the heater can be kept moderate without lowering the strength of the heater.

  The metal material constituting the heating element is not particularly limited, but a metal having a high metal resistance per unit length is preferable as long as it generates heat when energized. For example, a metal foil made of stainless steel, iron-chromium aluminum, or nickel alloy can be used.

  By the way, in the heat treatment apparatus 80 provided with the conventional far-infrared heater 82, the metal heating plate 84 (so-called hot plate) of the far-infrared heater 82 holds the amount of heat so as to equalize the temperature and make the glass substrate 83 uniform. Was supposed to be heated.

  That is, conventionally, in order to keep the temperature in the heating chamber constant with high accuracy, the temperature in the heating chamber is buffered by the amount of heat held by the metal hot plate 84 to ensure the accuracy of temperature control.

  Therefore, even if a glass substrate at room temperature is inserted into the heating chamber 81 of the heat treatment apparatus 80 that has been heated to a certain temperature in advance, the amount of heat can be taken from the metal hot plate 84, and temperature fluctuations in the heating chamber 81 can be reduced. I was able to reduce it.

  However, in the heat treatment apparatus according to the present invention, the heater is formed of a thin film sheet body and the heating element is sandwiched between the heaters, and the heater surface is provided with a mechanism for holding the amount of heat like a metal hot plate 84. Not.

  Therefore, in the heat treatment apparatus according to the present invention, when controlling the ON / OFF of the film heater by the temperature control unit provided in the heat treatment apparatus, the temperature control unit in accordance with the heating chamber temperature rather than the temperature control in the conventional far infrared heater 82. And sensitive control.

  In other words, by reducing the amount of heat held by the heater, it is possible to perform sharp temperature control, and ensure the stability of the temperature in the heating chamber and the accuracy of temperature control.

  Therefore, even if the metal hot plate 84 is not provided, the effect of buffering the heat radiated by the metal hot plate 84 can be exhibited.

  In addition, since the thick metal hot plate 84 is not provided on the heater surface, the heater weight can be greatly reduced (for example, reduced to about 1/100 compared to conventional far-infrared heaters). Since the strength of the heat treatment apparatus can be reduced, the amount of metal aggregate used in the heat treatment apparatus can be reduced.

  In addition, by reducing the amount of metal material used, the amount of heat held by the entire heat treatment apparatus when the workpiece is heated can be reduced, so that responsiveness in temperature control in the heating chamber can be improved.

  Hereinafter, the heat treatment apparatus according to the present embodiment will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1: has shown front sectional drawing of the heat processing apparatus A for glass substrates as one Embodiment.

  As shown in the figure, this glass substrate heat treatment apparatus A includes a furnace body 1 formed in a box shape, and a heat insulating material (not shown) or a heater is attached to the inner peripheral surface of the furnace body 1. Insulates heat dissipation and supplements the amount of heat.

  In the furnace body 1, heating chambers 3 to be described later are formed in multiple stages, and a substrate storage port 4 is formed in the front surface portion 20 of the furnace body 1 by opening positions corresponding to the heating chambers 3. Each glass substrate is inserted into the heating chamber 3 from the outside of the furnace via the substrate storage port 4 so that the plurality of glass substrates can be heated to about 200 to 300 ° C.

  Further, shaft support plates 23 and 23 are erected on the right side surface portion 21 and the left side surface portion 22 of the furnace body 1, and the pivot 6 is placed between the shaft support plates 23 and 23 in the left-right direction of the furnace body 1. It is horizontal.

  An opening / closing lid 5 having a substantially rectangular shape in front view that opens and closes the substrate storage opening 4 is pivotally supported on the pivot 6 and can be opened and closed in the vertical direction. The open / close lid 5 has a larger area in front view than that of the substrate storage opening 4.

  Next, the internal structure of the glass substrate heat treatment apparatus A according to this embodiment will be described.

  2 is a diagram schematically showing a cross section in the right side view, and FIG. 3 is a view of the vicinity of the substrate storage opening 4 in the front view of the glass substrate heat treatment apparatus A as seen from the YY cross section shown in FIG. It is the figure which showed the cross section typically, and FIG. 4 has shown the mode that the heating chamber 3 was seen from the upper part from the XX cross section shown in FIG.

  As comprehensively shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, the inside of the glass substrate heat treatment apparatus A is arranged in multiple stages (eight stages in this embodiment) with heater devices 32 that can generate heat by energization with a predetermined interval. doing.

  A space sandwiched between the heater devices 32 is defined as a heating chamber 3. That is, seven stages of the heating chamber 3 are formed in the heat treatment apparatus A for glass substrate in the present embodiment.

  The heater device 3 will be described in detail later. The heater device 3 is formed so as to be able to radiate heat from both the upper and lower surfaces, and the glass substrate G accommodated in the heating chambers 3 on both the upper and lower sides can be heated by one heater device 32. it can.

  That is, paying attention to each heating chamber 3, as shown in FIG. 2B, the heating chamber 3 is a heater device 32 disposed on the upper surface side with respect to the glass substrate G housed in the heating chamber 3. The heater device 32 disposed on the lower surface side can be heated from both sides.

  Further, in the vicinity of the substrate storage opening 4 of each heating chamber 3, front columns 7 having both ends fixed to the right side portion 21 and the left side portion 22 of the furnace body 1 are fixed in the left-right width direction.

  In addition, in the heating chamber 3, as shown in FIG. 3, a plurality of pillars 30 having a substantially U-shaped cross-sectional view in the front-rear direction (the insertion direction of the glass substrate G) of the furnace body 1 (in this embodiment). 4).

  The strut 30 has one end fixed to the front strut 7 and the other end fixed to the back plate 2 that forms the back of the furnace body 1, so that it can withstand the weight of the glass substrate G stored in each heating chamber 3. Is prepared.

  A plurality of conical support members 12 that support the glass substrate G from below are arranged on the upper surface of the support column 30 at a predetermined interval. By supporting the glass substrate G in a small area, Heating unevenness is prevented.

  Further, as shown in the enlarged view of FIG. 3, the heater device 32 has a sectional view substantially T constituting each heater device 32 on the heater support member 31 disposed in the furnace body 1 in the front-rear direction. A character-shaped frame 33 is placed and fixed.

  The heater support member 31 has one end fixed to the front column 7 or the front wall 8 of the furnace body 1, and the other end fixed to the back plate 2 that forms the back surface of the furnace body 1. It is possible.

  In FIG. 4, four heater devices 32 are arranged on the upper surface and the lower surface side of the heating chamber 3, respectively, but the number and arrangement positions of the heater devices 32 are not particularly limited. However, it is preferable to arrange as few heater devices 32 as possible having the area of the heat radiation surface as close as possible to the area of the glass substrate G to be heated.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the heater device 32 is formed in a substantially plate shape by attaching a heater body 34 that generates heat when energized to a frame 33 that is substantially rectangular in a front view. Heat can be applied to the workpieces on both sides.

  That is, by fitting the heater device 32 in the compartment of the heater support member 31, both the heating chamber 3 formed in the upper portion of the heater device 32 and the heating chamber 3 formed in the lower portion of the heater device 32 are heated simultaneously. To be able to.

  Further, a wiring end 35 for energizing the heater main body 34 is extended from the heater main body 34, and the wiring end 35 is connected to a power distribution cable (not shown) disposed on the heater support member 31. By connecting, the heater device 32 can generate heat.

  The current flowing through the power distribution cable is configured to be able to be turned on / off by the above-described temperature control unit, and the current can be increased or decreased in the ON state.

  FIG. 6 shows a state where the heater device 32 is disassembled. As shown in FIG. 6, the heater device 32 is formed by sandwiching the heater body 34 between the two frame bodies 33 a and 33 b.

  In addition, bolt holes 38 are formed in the four corners of the frames 33a and 33b and the four corners of the heater body 34 so that the bolts 39 are inserted to integrate the heater body 34 with the frames 33a and 33b.

  The heating element 37 is formed by etching a thin film made of stainless steel to form a linear or wavy wiring pattern, and the wiring pattern itself generates heat.

  In particular, the wiring pattern of the heating element 37 is arranged closely in order to reduce the temperature unevenness of the heater.

  The heating element 37 is formed with a temperature sensor part (not shown) formed by laminating metal materials having different temperature resistance coefficients. The temperature sensor part detects the temperature in the heating chamber 3. A detection signal is sent to the temperature control unit.

  The temperature control unit that has received the detection signal energizes the distribution cable when the temperature calculated from the detection signal is lower than a preset value set to a desired temperature, and the heater main body 34 via the wiring end 35. Heat up.

  If the temperature calculated from the detection signal is higher than a preset value set to a desired temperature, the power distribution to the distribution cable is stopped and heat generation from the heater body 34 is stopped.

  By performing such control by the temperature control unit, stable temperature control can be performed even when the retained heat amount of the glass substrate heat treatment apparatus A is reduced.

  That is, in the conventional heat treatment apparatus, the stability of the heating temperature is ensured by the amount of heat retained by the metal used in the furnace body 1, but according to the present invention, the amount of heat retained in the furnace body 1 and the heater device 32 is reduced. By reducing the temperature, control of the temperature in the heating chamber 3 can be adjusted sharply.

  Note that the wiring patterns shown in FIG. 5 and FIG. 6 are merely examples, and are not necessarily limited to meander patterns, and may be patterns that can reduce heating unevenness as much as possible to the glass substrate G as the object to be processed. It can be designed as appropriate.

  By adopting the configuration as described above, the heater device 32 can be reduced in weight and the strength members required for the heater device can be reduced, so that the overall weight of the heat treatment apparatus A can be reduced. it can.

  Moreover, since the metal material which comprises the heat processing apparatus A can be reduced, the calorie | heat amount of a heat processing apparatus can be decreased and sensitive temperature control can be performed.

  Finally, the description of each embodiment described above is an example of the present invention, and the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment. For this reason, it is a matter of course that various modifications can be made in accordance with the design and the like as long as they do not depart from the technical idea according to the present invention other than the embodiments described above. For example, the number of steps, the width, and the shape of the heating chamber 3 are not limited to the configuration shown in the present embodiment, and can be appropriately changed according to the properties of the object to be processed.

It is a front view of the heat processing apparatus for glass substrates which concerns on this embodiment. It is front sectional drawing of the heat processing apparatus for glass substrates which concerns on this embodiment. It is right side sectional drawing of the heat processing apparatus for glass substrates which concerns on this embodiment. It is XX sectional drawing of the heat processing apparatus for glass substrates which concerns on this embodiment. It is explanatory drawing which showed the heater apparatus of the heat processing apparatus for glass substrates which concerns on this embodiment. It is explanatory drawing which showed the heater apparatus of the heat processing apparatus for glass substrates which concerns on this embodiment. It is explanatory drawing which showed the prior art.

Explanation of symbols

1 Furnace
34 Heater body
36 Polyimide film
37 Heating element A Heat treatment device G Glass substrate

Claims (4)

In a heat treatment apparatus for heating an object to be processed by a heater apparatus disposed inside a furnace body, the heater apparatus is a thin sheet-like sheet body formed of a polyimide heat-resistant resin having a thickness of 0.01 to 1 mm. A metal heating plate as a mechanism for holding a heat quantity while holding a heater body by sandwiching a heating element formed of metal foil in a sandwich shape and sandwiching the heater body between two substantially rectangular frames. It is formed without having , and further, the amount of retained heat is reduced by reducing the metal material as a strength member required for supporting the heater device, and the responsiveness to temperature control is improved. Heat treatment equipment. Heater devices capable of generating heat by energization inside the furnace body are arranged in multiple stages with a predetermined interval, and a heating chamber sandwiched vertically by the heater apparatus is formed in multiple stages, on the front part of the furnace body, A heat treatment apparatus that heats a plurality of glass substrates by opening a position corresponding to each heating chamber to form a substrate storage port, and inserting the glass substrate into the heating chamber from outside the furnace via the substrate storage port. And
  In the heating chamber, a plurality of pillars having a substantially U-shaped cross-sectional view are arranged in the front-rear direction of the furnace body, and a plurality of conical support members are arranged on the upper surface of the pillars at predetermined intervals. The glass substrate can be supported from below,
  The heater device is a thin sheet-like sheet body formed of a polyimide heat-resistant resin having a thickness of 0.01 to 1 mm, sandwiching a heating element formed of metal foil in a sandwich shape, and forming a heater body. The heater body is formed without having a metal hot plate as a mechanism for holding the amount of heat while being reduced in weight by sandwiching the heater body between two substantially rectangular frames, and supporting the heater disposed inside the furnace body The frame of each heater device is placed on the member to reduce the amount of heat held by reducing the metal material as the strength member required to support the heater device, improving the responsiveness to temperature control Heat treatment equipment. Heater devices capable of generating heat by energization inside the furnace body are arranged in multiple stages with a predetermined interval, and a heating chamber sandwiched vertically by the heater apparatus is formed in multiple stages, on the front part of the furnace body, A heat treatment apparatus that heats a plurality of glass substrates by opening a position corresponding to each heating chamber to form a substrate storage port, and inserting the glass substrate into the heating chamber from outside the furnace via the substrate storage port. And
  In the heating chamber, a plurality of pillars having a substantially U-shaped cross-sectional view are arranged in the front-rear direction of the furnace body, and a plurality of conical support members are arranged on the upper surface of the pillars at predetermined intervals. The glass substrate can be supported from below,
  The heater device is a thin sheet-like sheet body formed of a polyimide heat-resistant resin having a thickness of 0.01 to 1 mm, sandwiching a heating element formed of metal foil in a sandwich shape, and forming a heater body. The heater body is formed by sandwiching it between two substantially rectangular frames, and the heater body frame is placed on the heater support member disposed inside the furnace body. A heat treatment apparatus characterized by   The heat treatment apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising a temperature control unit that performs energization control on the heater device to adjust a temperature of an atmosphere in the furnace.

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