Coater having substrate cleaning device and coating deposition methods employing such coater
First Claim
1. A method of processing a sheet-like glass substrate, the sheet-like glass substrate having a top major surface and an opposite, bottom major surface, the method comprising:
- a) providing a coater adapted for applying coating onto the substrate, the coater comprising a substrate support defining a path of substrate travel extending through the coater, a downward coating apparatus positioned above the path of substrate travel, and an ion gun positioned beneath the path of substrate travel, wherein the ion gun is at a location further along the path of substrate travel than the downward coating apparatus;
b) conveying the substrate along the path of substrate travel;
c) operating the downward coating apparatus to coat the top major surface of the substrate; and
d) operating the ion gun to emit an ion beam toward the bottom major surface of the substrate, said operation of the ion gun being performed to treat the bottom major surface of the substrate as the substrate travels the path of substrate travel so that the entire bottom major surface of the substrate will have been treated once travel of the substrate past the ion gun is complete to remove any oversprayed coating that was inadvertently deposited upon marginal portions of the bottom major surface of the substrate during said operation of the downward coating apparatus.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
A coater having a substrate cleaning device is disclosed. Also disclosed are methods of processing substrates in a coater equipped with a substrate cleaning device. The substrate cleaning device comprises an ion gun (i.e., an ion source) that is positioned beneath a path of substrate travel (e.g., beneath a substrate support) extending through the coater and that is adapted for treating a bottom major surface of a substrate. Certain embodiments involve an upward coating apparatus that is further along the path of substrate travel than the substrate cleaning device. In some embodiments of this nature, the upward coating apparatus is configured for depositing a photocatalytic coating upwardly onto the bottom major surface of the substrate. Certain embodiments of the invention involve a downward coating apparatus, wherein the substrate cleaning device is further along the path of substrate travel than the downward coating apparatus. Some embodiments of this nature also involve an upward coating apparatus that is further along the path of substrate travel than the substrate cleaning device.
52 Citations
50 Claims
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1. A method of processing a sheet-like glass substrate, the sheet-like glass substrate having a top major surface and an opposite, bottom major surface, the method comprising:
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a) providing a coater adapted for applying coating onto the substrate, the coater comprising a substrate support defining a path of substrate travel extending through the coater, a downward coating apparatus positioned above the path of substrate travel, and an ion gun positioned beneath the path of substrate travel, wherein the ion gun is at a location further along the path of substrate travel than the downward coating apparatus; b) conveying the substrate along the path of substrate travel; c) operating the downward coating apparatus to coat the top major surface of the substrate; and d) operating the ion gun to emit an ion beam toward the bottom major surface of the substrate, said operation of the ion gun being performed to treat the bottom major surface of the substrate as the substrate travels the path of substrate travel so that the entire bottom major surface of the substrate will have been treated once travel of the substrate past the ion gun is complete to remove any oversprayed coating that was inadvertently deposited upon marginal portions of the bottom major surface of the substrate during said operation of the downward coating apparatus. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23)
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24. A method of processing a sheet-like glass substrate, the sheet-like glass substrate having a top major surface and an opposite, bottom major surface, the method comprising:
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a) providing a coater adapted for applying coating onto the substrate, the coater comprising a substrate support defining a path of substrate travel extending through the coater, wherein an ion gun is positioned beneath the path of substrate travel, and wherein an upward coating apparatus is positioned beneath the path of substrate travel at a location further along the path of substrate travel than the ion gun; b) conveying the substrate along the path of substrate travel; c) operating the ion gun to emit an ion beam toward the bottom major surface of the substrate, the ion beam comprising accelerated ions that strike the bottom major surface of the substrate as the substrate travels the path of substrate travel so that the entire bottom major surface of the substrate will have been treated once travel of the substrate past the ion gun is complete; and d) operating the upward coating apparatus to deposit a photocatalytic coating on the bottom major surface of the substrate. - View Dependent Claims (25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32)
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33. A method of processing a sheet-like substrate, the method comprising:
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a) providing a coater adapted for applying coating onto the substrate, the coater comprising a substrate support defining a path of substrate travel extending through the coater, a downward coating apparatus positioned above the path of substrate travel, an ion gun positioned beneath the path of substrate travel, wherein the ion gun is at a location further along the path of substrate travel than the downward coating apparatus, and an upward coating apparatus positioned beneath the path of substrate travel at a location farther along the path of substrate travel than the ion gun, the method comprising; b) conveying the substrate along the path of substrate travel; c) operating the downward coating apparatus to coat a top major surface of the substrate; d) operating the ion gun to emit an ion beam toward a bottom major surface of the substrate, said operation of the ion gun being performed to remove from the bottom major surface of the substrate any oversprayed coating that was inadvertently deposited upon marginal portions of the bottom major surface of the substrate during said operation of the downward coating apparatus; and e) operating the upward coating apparatus to coat the bottom major surface of the substrate after said operation of said ion gun has removed any oversprayed coating from the bottom major surface of the substrate, wherein said operation of the upward coating apparatus is performed after all other coating of the substrate in the coater has been performed. - View Dependent Claims (34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41)
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42. A method of processing a sheet-like substrate, the method comprising:
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a) providing a coater adapted for applying coating onto the substrate, the coater comprising a substrate support defining a path of substrate travel extending through the coater, wherein an ion gun is positioned beneath the path of substrate travel, and wherein an upward coating apparatus is positioned beneath the path of substrate travel at a location further along the path of substrate travel than the ion gun; b) conveying the substrate along the path of substrate travel; c) operating the ion gun to emit an ion beam toward a bottom major surface of the substrate, the ion beam comprising accelerated ions that strike the bottom major surface of the substrate; and d) operating the upward coating apparatus to deposit a photocatalytic coating on the bottom major surface of the substrate, wherein said operation of the upward coating apparatus to apply the photocatalytic coating is performed after all other coating of the substrate in the coater has been performed. - View Dependent Claims (43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50)
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Specification