Coater having interrupted conveyor system
First Claim
1. A coater for applying thin films onto a sheet-like substrate, the coater having a substrate transport system adapted for conveying the substrate along a path of substrate travel extending through the coater, the substrate transport system including two conveyor loops separated by an upward coating deposition gap, at least one of the conveyor loops traveling around a generally horizontal row of upper rotatable bodies which support the weight of the substrate during conveyance, and traveling around one or more underside rotatable bodies during conveyance, the one or more underside rotatable bodies being positioned below the row of upper rotatable bodies such that upper rotatable bodies at each of two ends of the row of upper rotatable bodies have a conveyor wrap of less than 180 degrees, the coater having a source of coating material adapted for delivering coating material upwardly through said gap onto a bottom major surface of the substrate as the substrate is conveyed along a desired portion of the path of substrate travel, said desired portion of the path of substrate travel extending over the upward coating deposition gap.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Methods and coaters for applying films onto a substrate (e.g., a large-area glass substrate) are disclosed. Certain embodiments involve a coater for applying thin films onto a sheet-like substrate. The coater in some embodiments has a transport system adapted for conveying the substrate along a path of substrate travel extending through the coater. The substrate transport system in certain embodiments includes an upward coating deposition gap. The coater preferably has a source of coating material adapted for delivering coating material upwardly through such gap and onto a bottom major surface of the substrate as the substrate is conveyed along a desired portion of the path of substrate travel, which portion of the path of substrate travel extends over the upward coating deposition gap.
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Citations
53 Claims
- 1. A coater for applying thin films onto a sheet-like substrate, the coater having a substrate transport system adapted for conveying the substrate along a path of substrate travel extending through the coater, the substrate transport system including two conveyor loops separated by an upward coating deposition gap, at least one of the conveyor loops traveling around a generally horizontal row of upper rotatable bodies which support the weight of the substrate during conveyance, and traveling around one or more underside rotatable bodies during conveyance, the one or more underside rotatable bodies being positioned below the row of upper rotatable bodies such that upper rotatable bodies at each of two ends of the row of upper rotatable bodies have a conveyor wrap of less than 180 degrees, the coater having a source of coating material adapted for delivering coating material upwardly through said gap onto a bottom major surface of the substrate as the substrate is conveyed along a desired portion of the path of substrate travel, said desired portion of the path of substrate travel extending over the upward coating deposition gap.
- 25. A coater for applying thin films onto two generally-opposed major surfaces of a sheet-like substrate, the coater having a substrate transport system adapted for conveying the substrate along a path of substrate travel extending through the coater, the substrate transport system including two conveyor loops separated by an upward coating deposition gap, at least one of the conveyor loops traveling around a generally horizontal row of upper rotatable bodies which support the weight of the substrate during conveyance, and traveling around one or more underside rotatable bodies during conveyance, the one or more underside rotatable bodies being positioned below the row of upper rotatable bodies such that upper rotatable bodies at each of two ends of the row of upper rotatable bodies have a conveyor wrap of less than 180 degrees, the coater having an upper source of coating material positioned above the path of substrate travel and a lower source of coating material positioned below the path of substrate travel, said upper source being adapted for delivering coating material downwardly toward the path of substrate travel, said lower source being adapted for delivering coating material upwardly through said gap toward the path of substrate travel.
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33. A coater for applying thin films onto a sheet-like substrate, the coater comprising:
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a substrate transport system adapted for conveying the substrate through the coater, the substrate transport system having a conveyor loop defining a pocket; and a source of coating material disposed at least partially within the pocket defined by the conveyor loop of the substrate transport system. - View Dependent Claims (34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50)
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- 51. A coater for applying thin films onto two generally-opposed major surfaces of a sheet-like glass substrate having a major dimension of at least 1 meter, the coater having a substrate transport system adapted for conveying the glass substrate along a path of substrate travel extending through the coater, the substrate transport system having a conveyor with an upward coating deposition gap, at least one of the conveyor loops traveling around a generally horizontal row of upper rotatable bodies which support the weight of the substrate during conveyance, and traveling around one or more underside rotatable bodies during conveyance, the one or more underside rotatable bodies being positioned below the row of upper rotatable bodies such that upper rotatable bodies at each of two ends of the row of upper rotatable bodies have a conveyor wrap of less than 180 degrees, the coater including an upper source of coating material positioned above the path of substrate travel and a lower source of coating material positioned below the path of substrate travel, said upper source being adapted for delivering coating material downwardly toward the path of substrate travel, said lower source being adapted for delivering coating material upwardly through said gap toward the path of substrate travel, wherein the upper source of coating material comprises a sputtering target, and the lower source of coating material includes a thin film deposition apparatus selected from the group consisting of a sputter deposition apparatus, an ion-assisted deposition apparatus, a chemical vapor deposition apparatus, and a vacuum evaporation apparatus.
Specification