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WO-2026094245-A1 - HEAT TREATMENT DEVICE

WO2026094245A1WO 2026094245 A1WO2026094245 A1WO 2026094245A1WO-2026094245-A1

Abstract

A heat treatment device (1) comprises a chamber (2) that accommodates a glass substrate (3), a heater (4) that is at least partially positioned inside the chamber (2), a heater tube (5) that covers the heater (4) but has both ends outside the chamber (2), a ladder member (6) that supports the glass substrate (3) inside the chamber (2), a positioning pin (7) that is provided to the heater tube (5) and positions the ladder member (6) with respect to the heater tube (5), and a position adjustment mechanism (8) that is provided to at least one end of the heater tube (5) and adjusts the relative positions of the chamber (2) and the heater tube (5) in the axial direction of the heater tube (5).

Inventors

  • TANAKA, TOHRU
  • TSUDA, Takayoshi
  • SUZUKI, NOBUHIKO

Assignees

  • シャープディスプレイテクノロジー株式会社

Dates

Publication Date
20260507
Application Date
20241101

Claims (10)

  1. A chamber for housing the object to be heat-treated, A heater located at least partially inside the chamber, A heater tube that covers the heater and has both ends located outside the chamber, A support member for supporting the object to be heat-treated within the chamber, A positioning member provided on the heater tube for positioning the support member relative to the heater tube, A heat treatment apparatus comprising a position adjustment mechanism provided at at least one end of the heater tube for adjusting the relative position between the chamber and the heater tube in the axial direction of the heater tube.
  2. The position adjustment mechanism is A fixing member fixed to the outer wall of the chamber, A movable member fixed to the end of the heater tube and movable relative to the fixing member, The heat treatment apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising an adjusting member for adjusting the positional relationship of the movable member with respect to the fixed member.
  3. The heat treatment apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the adjusting member is capable of adjusting the range in which the movable member can move relative to the fixed member.
  4. The heat treatment apparatus according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the adjusting member includes a set screw that screws into the movable member and whose tip abuts against the fixed member.
  5. The position adjustment mechanism is The heat treatment apparatus according to any one of claims 2 to 4, further comprising an expansion member located between the fixed member and the movable member, which generates a force in a direction that widens the distance between the fixed member and the movable member.
  6. The heat treatment apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the expansion member includes a bellows.
  7. The system comprises at least two sets of the heater and the heater tube, The heat treatment apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the support member is provided spanning at least two of the heater tubes.
  8. The heat treatment apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the support member comprises a plurality of elongated members that straddle the at least two heater tubes.
  9. Two of the positioning members are provided for each heater tube. The heat treatment apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the support member is placed between the two positioning members.
  10. The heat treatment apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the position adjustment mechanism is provided at both ends of the heater tube.

Description

Heat treatment equipment This disclosure relates to a heat treatment apparatus equipped with a chamber for housing a heat treatment object. A heat treatment apparatus is known that comprises a chamber for housing a substrate, a heater located at least partially within the chamber, and a heater tube covering the heater with both ends located outside the chamber (Patent Document 1). This heater tube is firmly fixed to the outer wall of the chamber by a housing. This is a perspective view showing the internal configuration of the heat treatment apparatus according to the embodiment.This is a top view of the heat treatment apparatus shown above.This is a front view of the heat treatment apparatus described above.This is a cross-sectional view of a heater, heater tube, and related components provided in the heat treatment apparatus described above.This is a cross-sectional view of the main parts of the heater, heater tube, and related components.This is a cross-sectional view of the position adjustment mechanism provided in the heat treatment apparatus described above.This is a front view of the position adjustment mechanism described above.This is a cross-sectional view of a position adjustment mechanism relating to a comparative example. Figure 1 is a perspective view showing the internal configuration of the heat treatment apparatus 1 according to an embodiment. Figure 2 is a top view of the heat treatment apparatus 1. Figure 3 is a front view of the heat treatment apparatus 1. Figure 4 is a cross-sectional view of the heater 4, heater tube 5, and related components provided in the heat treatment apparatus 1. Figure 5 is a cross-sectional view of the main parts of the heater 4, heater tube 5, and related components. Figure 6 is a cross-sectional view of the position adjustment mechanism 8 provided in the heat treatment apparatus 1. Figure 7 is a front view of the position adjustment mechanism 8. As shown in Figures 1 to 7, the heat treatment apparatus 1 comprises a chamber 2 for housing a glass substrate 3 (to be heat treated), a rod-shaped heater 4 with at least a portion located inside the chamber 2, a heater tube 5 covering the heater 4 with both ends located outside the chamber 2, a ladder member 6 (support member, elongated member) for supporting the glass substrate 3 inside the chamber 2, a positioning pin 7 (positioning member) provided on the heater tube 5 for positioning the ladder member 6 relative to the heater tube 5, and a position adjustment mechanism 8 provided on at least one of the ends of the heater tube 5 for adjusting the relative position between the chamber 2 and the heater tube 5 in the axial direction of the heater tube 5. Preferably, the position adjustment mechanism 8 is provided on both ends of the heater tube 5. Figure 1 omits the chamber 2 for ease of understanding. The configurations shown in Figures 1, 2, and 4 illustrate an example in which the position adjustment mechanism 8 is provided at both ends of the heater tube 5. The glass substrate 3 is coated with, for example, PI (Polyimide). The heat treatment apparatus 1 may be a heater device for heating the PI-coated glass substrate 3 to form a PI film. The PI film serves as the base for an OLED (Organic Light Emitting Diode) substrate. For example, as shown in Figure 1, a pair of heaters 4 and a pair of heater tubes 5 can be provided on a single glass substrate 3. Therefore, the relative position between the chamber 2 and the heater tubes 5 can be adjusted using four position adjustment mechanisms 8 provided at each end of the two heater tubes 5 on a single glass substrate 3. The heater tube 5 is made of, for example, quartz. The glass substrate 3 coated with PI is always transported by the robot to the same position on the ladder member 6. The ladder member 6 has multiple glass support pins 26 for supporting the glass substrate 3, as shown in Figure 4, for example. As shown in Figures 4 to 7, the position adjustment mechanism 8 comprises a disc-shaped housing 9 (fixed member) fixed to the outer wall of the chamber 2, a disc-shaped housing cover 10 (movable member) fixed to the end of the heater tube 5 and movable relative to the housing 9, and a plurality of set screws 11 (adjustment members) for adjusting the positional relationship of the housing cover 10 with respect to the housing 9. The set screws 11 can adjust the range in which the housing cover 10 can move relative to the housing 9. As shown in Figures 5 and 6, the set screws 11 are screwed into the housing cover 10, and the tips of the set screws 11 abut against the housing 9. As shown in Figures 5 and 6, the position adjustment mechanism 8 is located between the housing 9 and the housing cover 10 and further includes a bellows 12 (expansion member) that generates a force in a direction that widens the gap between the housing 9 and the housing cover 10. As shown in Figure 1, the heat treatment apparatus 1 comprises at least two sets of heaters 4 and heater tubes 5. Th