Reduced-pressure drying apparatus

• US 7,493,705 B2
• Filed: 07/19/2006
• Issued: 02/24/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 08/01/2005
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation (Seiko Group)
• Original Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation (Seiko Group)
• Inventors: Gomi, Kazuhiro
• Primary Examiner(s): GRAVINI, STEPHEN MICHAEL
• Application Number:
  US11/458,500
• Publication Number:
  US 20070022626A1
• Time in Patent Office: 951 Days
• Field of Search: 344/06, 34/77, 34/78, 34/80
• US Class Current: 34/78
• CPC Class Codes: F26B 5/04 by evaporation or sublimation of moisture under reduced pressure, e.g. in a vacuum F26B11/049 and F26B17/128 take precedence

Abstract

A reduced-pressure drying apparatus for drying a solvent in a liquid under a reduced pressure by evaporation of the solvent, includes a chamber including a first chamber and a second chamber, the first chamber accommodating work to which a liquid containing a film forming material is applied, the second chamber being coupled to the first chamber through a communicating part; a depressurizing unit depressurizing at least the second chamber; a communicating valve opening and closing the communicating part; and a control unit controlling a reduced pressure state at least of the second chamber by driving the depressurizing unit, the control unit also controlling an opening and closing state of the communicating part by driving the communicating valve.

Claims

1. A reduced-pressure drying apparatus for drying a solvent in a liquid under a reduced pressure by evaporation of the solvent, comprising:

a chamber including a first chamber and a second chamber, the first chamber accommodating work to which a liquid containing a film forming material is applied, the second chamber being coupled to the first chamber through a communicating part;

a depressurizing unit depressurizing at least the second chamber;

a communicating valve opening and closing the communicating part;

a control unit controlling a reduced pressure state at least of the second chamber by driving the depressurizing unit, the control unit also controlling an opening and closing state of the communicating part by driving the communicating valve;

an introducing valve introducing an inactive gas at least into the first chamber from outside, wherein the control unit drives the introducing valve to introduce the inactive gas into the first chamber in the case where vapor of the solvent diffused in the first chamber is exhausted; and

a rectifying plate provided in the first chamber, the rectifying plate having a plurality of venting holes for rectifying a flow of the introduced inactive gas from the work toward the communicating part.

2. The reduced-pressure drying apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

a pressure gauge measuring a reduced pressure state at least of the first chamber,

wherein the control unit drives the communicating valve to communicate the first chamber with the second chamber, the control unit drives the depressurizing unit so that the first chamber and the second chamber are depressurized till a pressure value detected by the pressure gauge reaches a prescribed operational pressure, the control unit then drives the communicating valve to close the communicating part so that the first chamber is air-tightly closed, the control unit drives the communicating valve again to communicate the first chamber with the second chamber if the pressure value of the first chamber detected by the pressure gauge reaches a predetermined pressure value, and the control unit then drives the depressurizing unit to exhaust vapor of the solvent that is diffused in the first chamber and the second chamber.

3. The reduced-pressure drying apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the predetermined pressure value is a sum of the prescribed operational pressure and a vapor pressure at which a certain amount of the solvent is evaporated in the air-tightly closed first chamber, and the control unit make the depressurizing unit exhaust the vapor of the solvent diffused in the first chamber and the second chamber under a pressure whose value is larger than the predetermined pressure value.

4. The reduced-pressure drying apparatus according to claim 2, wherein a viscosity of the liquid is increased as the solvent evaporates from the liquid, the prescribed operational pressure is a pressure at which the viscosity of the liquid reaches just before a degree where the viscosity will affect a shape of the film, and the predetermined pressure value is a sum of the prescribed operational pressure and a saturated vapor pressure of the solvent evaporated in the air-tightly closed first chamber.

5. The reduced-pressure drying apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the control unit makes the depressurizing unit depressurize the second chamber that is separated from the first chamber to a pressure lower than the prescribed operational pressure before the control unit drives the communicating valve to communicate the first chamber with the second chamber and the vapor of the solvent diffused in the chamber is exhausted by the depressurizing unit.

6. The reduced-pressure drying apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the control unit repeats control operation that starts from depressurization of the first chamber and the second chamber by the depressurizing unit and ends at exhaustion of the solvent vapor diffused in the first chamber and the second chamber.

7. The reduced-pressure drying apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

a pressure gauge measuring a reduced pressure state at least of the second chamber,

wherein the control unit drives the communicating valve to close the first chamber air-tightly, the control unit subsequently drives the depressurizing unit so that the air-tightly closed second chamber is depressurized till a pressure value detected by the pressure gauge reaches the prescribed operational pressure, the control unit then drives the communicating valve and releases the communicating part so as to communicate the first chamber with the second chamber, and the control unit makes the depressurizing unit exhaust vapor of the solvent diffused in the first chamber and the second chamber.

8. The reduced-pressure drying apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the prescribed operational pressure is higher than a vapor pressure of the solvent in the liquid.

9. The reduced-pressure drying apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a capacity of the second chamber is larger than a capacity of the first chamber.

10. The reduced-pressure drying apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

an adjuster adjusting a capacity ratio between the first chamber and the second chamber.

11. The reduced-pressure drying apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the chamber has a partition wall that divides the chamber into the first chamber and the second chamber, and the adjuster is a transportation device that moves the partition wall so as to change the capacity ratio between the first chamber and the second chamber.

12. The reduced-pressure drying apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the second chamber is divided into a plurality of rooms, each room communicates with other room through a communicating valve, and the adjuster includes the communicating valve and a controller that drives the communicating valve so as to change the number of the rooms in the second chamber.