Electron beam irradiation system and workpiece transport device

Abstract

The present invention provides an electron beam irradiation system and a workpiece transport device that can suppress the temperature rise of the target material without increasing the size of the device. [Solution] The electron beam irradiation system 1 processes a linear workpiece 2 by irradiating it with an electron beam from the electron beam irradiation device 3 while the workpiece transport device 4 transports the workpiece 2. The workpiece transport device 4 is equipped with a bearing heat suppression member 23 as a bearing heat suppression member 22 that rotatably supports the shaft portions of a pair of rotating bodies 7. The bearing heat suppression member 23 has a cover 24 that covers at least a part of the bearing and a cooling part 25 that is disposed inside the cover 24 and cools the surrounding area.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present disclosure relates to an electron beam irradiation system and a workpiece conveying device. BACKGROUND ART

[0002] Conventionally, as disclosed in Patent Document 1, an electron beam processing apparatus is known that performs a target treatment on a workpiece by winding the workpiece, such as an electric wire coated with a synthetic resin or the like, around a pair of pulley groups of a capstan device and irradiating an electron beam onto the workpiece while rotating and moving the workpiece. In the pulley groups, a rotating shaft laid across a plurality of pulleys is rotatably supported on a platform of a base frame via bearings. When an electron beam is irradiated onto the workpiece, electron beams that pass between the electric wires without striking the workpiece are captured by a beam catcher disposed between the pair of pulley groups. PRIOR ART DOCUMENT PATENT DOCUMENT

[0003] Patent Document 1 Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2012-78261 SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED BY THE INVENTION

[0004] Incidentally, not all electron beams that pass between the electric wires are absorbed by the beam catcher; a certain amount is reflected by the beam catcher and radiated to the surroundings as scattered electrons. When these scattered electrons reach the bearings, the energy of the electrons is consumed in the bearings, causing the bearings to generate heat. Therefore, there has been a possibility that the service life of the bearings is affected, or the normal rotation of the pulley groups is impeded, thereby affecting the quality of the electric wire.

[0005] To solve this problem, one possible solution is to position the main body of the conveying device, such as a beam catcher, away from directly beneath the power lines. However, this measure would lead to an increase in the size of the conveying device, potentially resulting in a larger installation space and higher device costs.

[0006] The purpose of this disclosure is to provide an electron beam irradiation system and a workpiece transport device that can suppress the temperature rise of the heat-generating target without increasing the size of the device. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] [1] An electron beam irradiation system for solving the above problem is a system for processing a linear workpiece by irradiating it with an electron beam from an electron beam irradiation device while transporting the workpiece by a workpiece transport device, wherein the workpiece transport device includes a heat suppression member having a cover that covers at least a part of the heat suppression target and a cooling unit disposed inside the cover and cooling the surrounding area, and the heat suppression member is provided on at least one of a pair of rotating bodies that transport the wrapped workpiece by rotation as the heat suppression target and a bearing that rotatably supports the shaft portion of the pair of rotating bodies as the heat suppression target.

[0008] In this configuration, a heat-suppressing member having a cooling section inside a cover is provided on the heat-suppressing target, which is at least one of the bearing and the rotating body. Therefore, when processing a workpiece with an electron beam irradiated from an electron beam irradiation device, even if the heat-suppressing target may heat up due to the electron beam scattered around the beam catcher, for example, the simple structure of covering the heat-suppressing target with a cover having a cooling section inside suppresses the temperature rise of the heat-suppressing target. Thus, it is possible to suppress the temperature rise of the heat-suppressing target without increasing the size of the device.

[0009] [2] In the electron beam irradiation system described in [1] above, the cooling section is a cooling water pipe through which cooling water that absorbs ambient heat flows. With this configuration, it is possible to efficiently suppress the temperature rise of the heat-generating target by using cooling water with a high cooling effect.

[0010] [3] In the electron beam irradiation system described in [1] or [2] above, the heat suppression member is a bearing heat suppression member for suppressing heat generation of the bearing, the cover of the bearing heat suppression member has a plurality of wall portions that cover the bearing, and the cooling portion is arranged on one of the plurality of wall portions that faces the beam catcher of the workpiece transport device. With this configuration, since the heat suppression member is a bearing heat suppression member, it is possible to suppress heat generation of the bearing by this bearing heat suppression member. In addition, since the cooling portion of the bearing heat suppression member is arranged between the beam catcher and the bearing, it is possible to efficiently absorb scattered electrons reflected by the beam catcher, for example, in the cooling portion. Therefore, it contributes even more to suppressing heat generation of the bearing.

[0011] [4] In the electron beam irradiation system described in [3] above, the cooling unit is positioned opposite two or more of the multiple wall sections. This configuration makes it possible to widen the cooling range of the cooling unit, which further contributes to suppressing heat generation in the bearing.

[0012] [5] In the electron beam irradiation system described in [3] or [4] above, each of the pair of rotating bodies has a first winding portion and a second winding portion by being divided in the middle of the axial direction, and the bearings are arranged at both ends of the shaft portion and between the first winding portion and the second winding portion, and are covered by the bearing heat suppression member. With this configuration, even if bearings are provided not only at both ends of the shaft portion of the rotating body but also in the middle of the shaft portion, it is possible to suppress the heat generation of each bearing by providing a bearing heat suppression member for each bearing.

[0013] [6] In the electron beam irradiation system described in any of [1] to [5] above, the heat-suppressing member is a heat-suppressing member for a rotating body provided on at least one of the pair of rotating bodies, the workpiece is stretched across the pair of rotating bodies in a figure-eight shape so as to have a cross-shaped intersection between the pair of rotating bodies, and the heat-suppressing member for a rotating body is positioned in the space formed between the pair of rotating bodies and the intersection. With this configuration, since the heat-suppressing member is a heat-suppressing member for a rotating body, it is possible to suppress the heat generation of the rotating bodies by this heat-suppressing member for a rotating body. Furthermore, the heat-suppressing member for a rotating body is positioned to effectively utilize the intersection that occurs in the workpiece stretched across the rotating bodies in a figure-eight shape. Therefore, even if a heat-suppressing member for a rotating body is provided, the device does not become larger.

[0014] [7] A workpiece transport device that solves the above problem is a device that transports a workpiece while irradiating it with an electron beam from an electron beam irradiation device, and comprises a heat suppression member having a cover that covers at least a part of the heat suppression target and a cooling unit disposed inside the cover and cooling the surrounding area, wherein the heat suppression member is provided on at least one of a pair of rotating bodies which are the heat suppression targets that transport the wrapped workpiece by rotation and a bearing which is the heat suppression target that rotatably supports the shaft portion of the pair of rotating bodies. With this configuration, the same operation and effect as in [1] above can be obtained. [Effects of the Invention]

[0015] This disclosure makes it possible to suppress the temperature rise of the heat-generating target without increasing the size of the device. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0016] [Figure 1] This is a perspective view showing the configuration of the electron beam irradiation system according to the first embodiment. [Figure 2] This is a perspective view showing the structure of a rotating body. [Figure 3] This is an exploded perspective view showing the configuration of the bearing unit. [Figure 4]It is a perspective view showing the appearance of a heat generation suppressing member for a bearing. [Figure 5] It is a perspective view showing the appearance of a heat generation suppressing member for a bearing. [Figure 6] It is a cross-sectional view showing the structure of a heat generation suppressing member for a bearing. [Figure 7] It is a cross-sectional view showing the structure of a heat generation suppressing member for a bearing. [Figure 8] It is a perspective view showing the configuration of an electron beam irradiation system according to a second embodiment. [Figure 9] It is an explanatory diagram showing the structure of a heat generation suppressing member for a rotating body. MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

[0017] (First Embodiment) Hereinafter, a first embodiment of the present disclosure will be described. (Electron Beam Irradiation System 1) As shown in FIG. 1, the electron beam irradiation system 1 includes: an electron beam irradiation device 3 that irradiates an electron beam onto a linear workpiece 2; and a workpiece conveying device 4 that conveys the workpiece 2 during electron beam irradiation. The electron beam irradiation system 1 processes the workpiece 2 by irradiating the electron beam from the electron beam irradiation device 3 onto the workpiece 2 while conveying the workpiece 2 wound around the workpiece conveying device 4.

[0018] The workpiece 2 is, for example, an electric wire whose surface is coated with a synthetic resin or the like. The processing performed by the electron beam irradiation system 1 is, for example, a crosslinking treatment that improves various properties such as heat resistance and heat shrinkability by irradiating an electron beam to a polymer material such as an electric wire coating material or a tube. The tube is used, for example, as a cover member for an electric wire joint. Further, the processing performed by the electron beam irradiation system 1 may be, for example, a curing treatment for a coating film, a sterilization treatment for medical products, or the like.

[0019] The electron beam irradiation device 3 generates thermionic electrons in the filament within the vacuum chamber by passing an electric current through the filament placed in the vacuum chamber and heating the filament. The electron beam irradiation device 3 processes the workpiece 2 by irradiating the outside of the vacuum chamber with these thermionic electrons as an electron beam. The electron beam scanning method of the electron beam irradiation device 3 may be an area beam type having multiple filaments necessary for the irradiation width, or it may be a scan type in which an electron beam extracted from a single filament, accelerated, and expanded to the required irradiation width by a scanning coil.

[0020] (Processing material transport device 4) As shown in Figure 1, the material handling device 4 includes a device frame 6 that constitutes the frame of the material handling device 4. The material handling device 4 includes a pair of rotating bodies 7 that are rotatably supported with respect to the device frame 6. The material to be handled 2 is wrapped around the pair of rotating bodies 7, and the material to be handled 2 is transported by rotation during electron beam irradiation. In this way, the material handling device 4 is a so-called capstan device that irradiates the material to be handled 2 with an electron beam as uniformly as possible by wrapping a linear material to be handled 2 in a crisscross manner around the pair of rotating bodies 7 and transporting the material to be handled 2 by the rotation of the pair of rotating bodies 7 during electron beam irradiation.

[0021] The pair of rotating bodies 7 are designated as the first rotating body 8 and the second rotating body 9. In the case of a vertical configuration where the pair of rotating bodies 7 are arranged vertically, the first rotating body 8 is located on the lower side and the second rotating body 9 is located on the upper side.

[0022] (Rotating body 7) As shown in Figure 2, each of the pair of rotating bodies 7 has a shaft portion 10 positioned at the center of the rotating body 7, and a winding portion 11 that is integrally rotatably attached to the shaft portion 10 for winding a linear workpiece 2. The winding portion 11 has a first winding portion 11a positioned on one side of the shaft portion 10, with the shaft portion 10 being separated by a boundary near the center of the shaft portion 10, and a second winding portion 11b positioned on the other side of the shaft portion 10. The rotating body 7 may be a pulley type with multiple pulley pieces arranged in the axial direction (Y-axis direction in Figure 2), or it may be a drum type composed of a single member.

[0023] As shown in Figure 1, the workpiece 2 includes a group of wires wound around the first winding portion 11a of the first rotating body 8 and the first winding portion 11a of the second rotating body 9, and a group of wires wound around the second winding portion 11b of the first rotating body 8 and the second winding portion 11b of the second rotating body 9. In this example, the workpiece 2 is stretched across the first rotating body 8 and the second rotating body 9 in a figure-eight shape. Therefore, the workpiece 2 is wound around the first rotating body 8 and the second rotating body 9 such that there is a cross-shaped intersection 12 between them.

[0024] (Beam catcher 14) As shown in Figure 1, the workpiece transport device 4 is equipped with a beam catcher 14 that captures electron beams passing through the gaps between adjacent workpieces 2. The beam catcher 14 has, for example, a plurality of pipes 15 arranged along the height direction (Z-axis direction in Figure 1) of the device frame 6. Cooling water is supplied inside these pipes 15 to suppress the heat generation of the pipes 15. When the electron beam is irradiated and the kinetic energy of the electron beam is converted into thermal energy, the cooling water flowing inside the pipes 15 keeps the heat generation of the beam catcher 14 to a minimum.

[0025] The pipes 15 are arranged such that, for example, both sides are inclined symmetrically with the center of the pipes 15 in the direction of arrangement as the apex. That is, the pipes 15 are arranged to follow the workpiece 2 that is wound in a figure-eight shape around a pair of rotating bodies 7. As a result, the pipes 15 are positioned in close proximity to the workpiece 2 that is wound in a figure-eight shape around a pair of rotating bodies 7. Therefore, the electron beam is kept from coming into contact with the air as little as possible, thus suppressing ozone generation and energy loss.

[0026] (Bearing unit 16) As shown in Figure 2, the shaft portion 10 of the first rotating body 8 is supported on the device frame 6 via a bearing unit 16 that allows the shaft portion 10 to rotate smoothly. The bearing unit 16 includes a first bearing unit 16a that rotatably supports one end of the shaft portion 10, a second bearing unit 16b that rotatably supports the other end of the shaft portion 10, and a third bearing unit 16c that rotatably supports the shaft portion 10 between the first winding portion 11a and the second winding portion 11b. These bearing units 16 are mounted on a seat portion 17 formed on the device frame 6. Although not shown in the figure, the shaft portion 10 of the second rotating body 9 is also rotatably supported on the device frame 6 by a structure similar to that of the shaft portion 10 of the first rotating body 8.

[0027] (Bearing 18) As shown in Figure 3, the bearing unit 16 includes a bearing 18 that allows the shaft portion 10 to rotate smoothly relative to it, a lower bearing housing 19 that houses the lower part of the bearing 18, and an upper bearing housing 20 that houses the upper part of the bearing 18. The bearing 18 is, for example, a radial bearing. The radial bearing may be either a ball bearing or a roller bearing. The upper bearing housing 20 is fixed to the lower bearing housing 19 by fastening members (not shown) such as bolts, so as to sandwich the bearing 18 between the upper and lower bearing housings 19. The lower bearing housing 19 is fixed to the seat portion 17 by fastening members (not shown) such as bolts.

[0028] (Heat-suppressing member 22) As shown in Figure 1, the electron beam irradiation system 1 includes a heat-suppressing member 22 that suppresses heat generation caused by electrons scattered by the beam catcher 14 from the electron beam irradiated from the electron beam irradiation device 3. In this example, the heat-suppressing member 22 is a bearing heat-suppressing member 23 that suppresses heat generation in the bearing 18. The bearing heat-suppressing member 23 is provided at a total of six locations: both ends of the first rotating body 8, between the first winding portion 11a and the second winding portion 11b of the first rotating body 8, both ends of the second rotating body 9, and between the first winding portion 11a and the second winding portion 11b of the second rotating body 9.

[0029] As shown in Figures 4 and 5, the heat suppression member 22 (bearing heat suppression member 23) has a cover 24 that covers at least a part of the heat to be suppressed, and a cooling unit 25 that is disposed inside the cover 24 and cools the surrounding area. In this example, the heat to be suppressed is at least the bearing 18, specifically the bearing unit 16.

[0030] The cover 24 is formed in the shape of a bottomless box with an open bottom. The cover 24 has a plurality of wall portions 26 that cover the bearing 18. In this example, the wall portions 26 include an upper wall portion 26a that covers the bearing 18 from above, a first side wall portion 26b positioned on the front, a second side wall portion 26c opposite the first side wall portion 26b, a third side wall portion 26d located on one side in the width direction of the cover 24 (Y-axis direction in Figure 4), and a fourth side wall portion 26e located on the other side in the width direction of the cover 24. The cover 24 has slits 27 in the third side wall portion 26d and the fourth side wall portion 26e to avoid interference with the shaft portion 10. In this example, these slits 27 have different shapes on the left and right sides to correspond to the outer shape of the bearing unit 16, but they may be the same shape. The cover 24 is made of metal, for example.

[0031] The bearing heat suppression member 23 is attached to a seat portion 17 that supports the lower bearing housing 19 in the device frame 6. Preferably, the bearing heat suppression member 23 is detachable from the seat portion 17. This detachable structure may be a known structure using fastening members such as bolts. However, the bearing heat suppression member 23 is not limited to a detachable structure; it may also be a non-detachable structure.

[0032] (Cooling section 25) As shown in Figures 4 and 5, the cooling section 25 is a cooling water pipe 29 through which cooling water that absorbs heat from the surroundings flows. In this example, the cooling water pipe 29 has a pipe body 30 which is the main part of the cooling function, an inlet 31 which is the inlet of chilled water into the pipe body 30, and an outlet 32 ​​which is the outlet of chilled water from the pipe body 30. The cooling water pipe 29 cools the surroundings with circulating cooling water that flows in from the inlet 31 and is discharged from the outlet 32.

[0033] The piping body 30 is formed in a shape that extends across the inner surface of the upper wall portion 26a and the inner surface of the first side wall portion 26b of the cover 24. In this way, the cooling portion 25 is positioned opposite two or more of the multiple wall portions 26. It is preferable that the cooling portion 25 be positioned on at least one of the multiple wall portions 26 of the cover 24 that faces the beam catcher 14. Specifically, in the case of the bearing heat suppression member 23 attached to the first rotating body 8, it is preferable that it be positioned on the inner surface of the upper wall portion 26a that faces the beam catcher 14.

[0034] As shown in Figures 6 and 7, the cooling section 25 is positioned to contact the inner surface of the cover 24 (wall portion 26), thereby creating a predetermined gap between it and the bearing unit 16. This prevents heat from the bearing unit 16 from being directly transferred to the cooling section 25. The cooling water piping 29 is exposed to the outside of the cover 24 through an opening 33 (see Figure 7) that penetrates the second side wall portion 26c of the cover 24. Cooling water supplied from the outside is supplied to the piping body 30 via the inlet 31 of the cooling water piping 29.

[0035] (Operation of the first embodiment) Next, the operation of the electron beam irradiation system 1 and the workpiece transport device 4 of this embodiment will be described.

[0036] As shown in Figure 7, when the electron beam irradiation device 3 irradiates the workpiece 2 with an electron beam to process the workpiece 2, some electron beams pass through the gaps between adjacent workpieces 2. These electron beams are captured by the beam catcher 14 located on the back side of the workpiece 2. However, some of the electron beams are reflected by the beam catcher 14 and spread out into the surroundings as scattered electrons. When these scattered electrons reach the bearing 18, the bearing 18 consumes energy, which may cause the bearing 18 to heat up.

[0037] When bearing 18 generates heat, the grease in bearing 18 may evaporate, hindering the smooth rotation of the pair of rotating bodies 7. If the smooth rotation of the rotating bodies 7 is impaired, it will affect the quality of the workpiece 2 after processing. Therefore, it is necessary to suppress the heat generation of bearing 18.

[0038] In this example, as shown in Figures 6 and 7, a bearing heat suppression member 23 is attached to the workpiece transport device 4 so as to cover the bearing 18 (bearing unit 16). This bearing heat suppression member 23 is provided with a cooling section 25 (cooling water pipe 29) that cools the surrounding area. Therefore, the bearing 18 is constantly cooled by this cooling section 25. Consequently, even if the bearing 18 may generate heat due to scattered electrons from the beam catcher 14, the bearing 18 is cooled by the bearing heat suppression member 23, preventing the bearing 18 from becoming excessively hot. Thus, it is possible to make it less likely for the bearing 18 to deteriorate due to heat generation.

[0039] Furthermore, the bearing heat suppression member 23 has a structure that simply covers the bearing 18 (bearing unit 16) with a cover 24 that has a cooling section 25 inside. Therefore, it is possible to suppress the heat generation of the bearing 18 with the bearing heat suppression member 23, which is not a large component. Thus, it is possible to suppress the heat generation of the bearing 18 without increasing the size of the device.

[0040] Furthermore, in the case of the bearing heat suppression member 23 attached to the first rotating body 8, the cooling section 25 is positioned on the inner surface of the upper wall portion 26a of the cover 24 that faces the beam catcher 14. Therefore, it is possible to position the cooling section 25 between the beam catcher 14 and the bearing 18 (bearing unit 16), so that scattered electrons can be absorbed by the cooling section 25 on the path to the bearing 18. Thus, in the first rotating body 8, the bearing heat suppression member 23 makes it possible to efficiently suppress the heat generated by the bearing 18.

[0041] (Effects of the first embodiment) According to the configuration of this embodiment, the following effects can be obtained. (1.1) The electron beam irradiation system 1 processes the workpiece 2 by irradiating it with an electron beam from the electron beam irradiation device 3 while the linear workpiece 2 is being transported by the workpiece transport device 4. The workpiece transport device 4 is equipped with a bearing heat suppression member 23 as a heat suppression member 22 for the bearing 18, which is the target of heat suppression. The bearing heat suppression member 23 has a cover 24 that covers at least a part of the bearing 18 and a cooling part 25 that is arranged inside the cover 24 and cools the surrounding area.

[0042] In this configuration, the bearing 18, which is the target of heat suppression, is provided with a heat suppression member 22 (heat suppression member 23 for bearings) having a cooling section 25 inside the cover 24. Therefore, when processing the workpiece 2 with electron beams irradiated from the electron beam irradiation device 3, even if the bearing 18 may heat up due to electron beams scattered around the beam catcher 14, for example, the simple structure of covering the bearing 18 with a cover 24 having a cooling section 25 inside suppresses the temperature rise of the bearing 18. Thus, the temperature rise of the bearing 18 can be suppressed without increasing the size of the device.

[0043] (1.2) The cooling section 25 is a cooling water pipe 29 through which cooling water that absorbs heat from the surroundings flows. With this configuration, the temperature rise of the bearing 18 can be efficiently suppressed by the cooling water with a high cooling effect.

[0044] (1.3) The cover 24 of the bearing heat suppression member 23 has a plurality of wall portions 26 that cover the bearing 18. The cooling portion 25 is located on the wall portion 26 that faces the beam catcher 14 of the workpiece transport device 4 (upper wall portion 26a). With this configuration, the cooling portion 25 of the bearing heat suppression member 23 is located between the beam catcher 14 and the bearing 18, so that scattered electrons reflected by the beam catcher 14 can be efficiently absorbed by the cooling portion 25, for example. This further contributes to suppressing heat generation in the bearing 18.

[0045] (1.4) The cooling unit 25 is positioned opposite two or more of the multiple wall sections 26. This configuration allows for a wider cooling area by the cooling unit 25, which further contributes to suppressing heat generation in the bearing 18.

[0046] (1.5) Each of the pair of rotating bodies 7 has a first winding portion 11a and a second winding portion 11b by being divided in the middle of the axial direction. Bearings 18 are arranged at both ends of the shaft portion 10 and between the first winding portion 11a and the second winding portion 11b, and are covered by bearing heat suppression members 23. With this configuration, even if bearings 18 are provided not only at both ends of the shaft portion 10 of the rotating body 7 but also in the middle of the shaft portion 10, the heat generated by each bearing 18 can be suppressed by providing each bearing 18 with a bearing heat suppression member 23.

[0047] (Second Embodiment) Next, a second embodiment will be described. The second embodiment is an example in which a heat-suppressing member 22 different from the bearing heat-suppressing member 23 described in the first embodiment is provided. Therefore, the same reference numerals are used for parts that are the same as in the first embodiment and their descriptions are omitted, and only the different parts will be described in detail.

[0048] (Heat-suppressing member 36 for rotating body) As shown in Figures 8 and 9, the electron beam irradiation system 1 (workpiece transport device 4) includes a heat-suppressing member 22, which is provided on at least one (in this example, both) of the pair of rotating bodies 7, and includes a heat-suppressing member 36 for rotating bodies. The heat-suppressing member 36 for rotating bodies includes a first heat-suppressing member 36a positioned opposite the first rotating body 8, and a second heat-suppressing member 36b positioned opposite the second rotating body 9. Thus, the heat-suppressing target in this example is the rotating bodies 7, specifically the first rotating body 8 and the second rotating body 9.

[0049] The heat-suppressing member 36 for rotating bodies, like the heat-suppressing member 23 for bearings, has a cover 37 and a cooling section 38. The cover 37 is formed in a long rectangular parallelepiped shape along the width direction (Y-axis direction in Figure 8) of the device frame 6. At least one of the longitudinal ends of the cover 37 is fixed to the device frame 6. The cooling section 38 is, for example, a roughly U-shaped pipe through which cooling water flows. At the connection point between the device frame 6 and the cover 37, the pipe of the cooling section 38 is drawn out to the outside, and cooling water flows in and out from there.

[0050] As shown in Figure 9, the heat-suppressing member 36 for the rotating body is positioned in the space 39 formed between the pair of rotating bodies 7 and the intersection 12 of the workpiece 2. The first heat-suppressing member 36a for the rotating body is positioned in the first space 39a created between the first rotating body 8 and the intersection 12. Therefore, the first heat-suppressing member 36a for the rotating body is positioned on the path of scattered electrons from the beam catcher 14 toward the first rotating body 8, specifically between the first rotating body 8 and the beam catcher 14.

[0051] Furthermore, the heat-suppressing member 36b for the second rotating body is positioned in the second space 39b created between the second rotating body 9 and the intersection 12. Therefore, the heat-suppressing member 36b for the second rotating body is positioned on the path of scattered electrons from the beam catcher 14 toward the second rotating body 9, specifically between the second rotating body 9 and the beam catcher 14.

[0052] (Operation of the second embodiment) As shown in Figure 9, the rotating body 7 is cooled by the heat-reducing member 36 for the rotating body, which is positioned near the rotating body 7. Specifically, the first heat-reducing member 36a for the rotating body suppresses heat generation in the first rotating body 8, and the second heat-reducing member 36b for the rotating body suppresses heat generation in the second rotating body 9. Therefore, even if the rotating body 7 may generate heat due to scattered electrons from the beam catcher 14, the rotating body 7 will not generate excessive heat. As a result, the quality of the workpiece 2 wrapped around the rotating body 7 is less likely to be affected.

[0053] Furthermore, the heat-suppressing member 36 for the rotating body has a structure in which a cover 37 with a cooling section 38 inside simply covers a part of the rotating body 7. Therefore, it is possible to keep the heat generation of the rotating body 7 low with the heat-suppressing member 36 for the rotating body, which is not a large component. Thus, it is possible to suppress the heat generation of the rotating body 7 without increasing the size of the device.

[0054] (Effects of the second embodiment) According to the configuration of this embodiment, in addition to the effects described in the first embodiment, the following effects can be obtained.

[0055] (2.1) The heat generation suppression member 22 is a heat generation suppression member 36 for rotating bodies provided on at least one (in this example, both) of the pair of rotating bodies 7. Therefore, the heat generation of the rotating bodies 7 can be suppressed by this heat generation suppression member 36 for rotating bodies.

[0056] (2.2) The workpiece 2 is stretched across a pair of rotating bodies 7 in a figure-eight shape, thereby having a cross-shaped intersection 12 between the pair of rotating bodies 7. The heat-suppressing member 36 for the rotating bodies is positioned in the space 39 formed between the pair of rotating bodies 7 and the intersection 12. With this configuration, the heat-suppressing member 36 for the rotating bodies is positioned by effectively utilizing the intersection 12 that occurs in the workpiece 2 stretched across the rotating bodies 7 in a figure-eight shape. Therefore, even with the heat-suppressing member 36 for the rotating bodies, the device does not become larger.

[0057] (Other embodiments) This embodiment can be implemented with the following modifications. This embodiment and the following modifications can be combined with each other to the extent that they do not contradict each other technically.

[0058] In the first embodiment, the heat-reducing bearing member 23 provided on the bearing 18 of the first rotating body 8 and the heat-reducing bearing member 23 provided on the bearing 18 of the second rotating body 9 may have different shapes. For example, the heat-reducing bearing member 23 provided on the bearing 18 of the second rotating body 9 may have a shape in which a cooling water pipe 29 is arranged between the beam catcher 14 and the bearing 18 so as to have the same function as the heat-reducing bearing member 23 provided on the bearing 18 of the first rotating body 8. Thus, the heat-reducing bearing member 23 provided on the bearing 18 of the first rotating body 8 and the heat-reducing bearing member 23 provided on the bearing 18 of the second rotating body 9 may have vertically symmetrical shapes.

[0059] In the first embodiment, the cooling unit 25 may have the cooling water piping 29 in direct contact with the bearing 18 (bearing unit 16). In the second embodiment, the heat-suppressing member 36 for the rotating body is not limited to being placed in the space 39 created by arranging the workpiece 2 in an intersecting manner, but may also be placed outside of this space 39.

[0060] In the second embodiment, the electron beam irradiation system 1 is not limited to having both the bearing heat suppression member 23 and the rotating body heat suppression member 36, but may also have, for example, a configuration having only the rotating body heat suppression member 36.

[0061] In each embodiment, the shape of the covers 24 and 37 is not limited to a rectangular shape, but may be, for example, hemispherical or have a curved surface in part. In each embodiment, the piping of the cooling sections 25 and 38 may be formed in a shape that is alternately bent to the left and right, a so-called zigzag shape.

[0062] In each embodiment, the piping shapes of the cooling sections 25 and 38 can be appropriately changed to various shapes along the required routing path. In each embodiment, the cooling units 25 and 38 may be arranged on only one side of the plurality of wall portions 26, or they may be arranged on the entire surface of the plurality of wall portions 26.

[0063] In each embodiment, the cooling units 25 and 38 are not limited to piping, but may also be fans that cool the heat-generating object by blowing air. Thus, the cooling method is not limited to water cooling, but may also be air cooling.

[0064] In each embodiment, the material handling device 4 is not limited to a vertical orientation in which the pair of rotating bodies 7 are aligned vertically, but may also be in a horizontal orientation in which the pair of rotating bodies 7 are aligned horizontally. In each embodiment, the heat-suppressing member 22 is not limited to being provided on both the rotating body 7 and the bearing 18, but may be provided on at least one of them.

[0065] In each embodiment, the bearing 18 is not limited to a radial bearing, but may also be a sliding bearing or a thrust bearing, for example. In each embodiment, each of the pair of rotating bodies 7 may have a shape that includes only one winding portion 11.

[0066] • In each embodiment, the Disclosure has been described in accordance with the examples, but is not limited to the structures of these embodiments and includes various modifications and variations within the equivalence range. The Disclosure also includes various combinations and forms, as well as combinations and forms of one, more, or fewer of these elements. [Explanation of symbols]

[0067] 1…Electron beam irradiation system 2…Item to be processed 3...Electron beam irradiation device 4. Processing material conveying device 7…Rotational body 10... Shaft 11...winding section 11a...Volume 1 Section 11b...Volume 2, Part 12... Intersection 14... Beam Catcher 18…Bearings 22…Heat-reducing component 23…Heat suppression component for bearings 24...cover 25…Cooling section 26...Wall part 29…Cooling water piping 36…Heat-reducing component for rotating bodies 37...cover 38…Cooling section 39…Space

Claims

1. An electron beam irradiation system that processes a linear workpiece by irradiating it with an electron beam from an electron beam irradiation device while transporting the workpiece using a workpiece transport device, The aforementioned material handling device includes a heat-suppressing member having a cover that covers at least a portion of the material to be suppressed, and a cooling unit that is disposed inside the cover and cools the surrounding area. An electron beam irradiation system wherein the heat-suppressing member is provided on at least one of a pair of rotating bodies, which are the heat-suppressing targets for conveying the wrapped workpiece by rotation, and a bearing, which is the heat-suppressing target for rotatably supporting the shaft portion of the pair of rotating bodies.

2. The electron beam irradiation system according to claim 1, wherein the cooling section is a cooling water pipe through which cooling water that absorbs heat from the surroundings flows.

3. The heat generation suppression member is a bearing heat generation suppression member that suppresses heat generation in the bearing, The cover of the bearing heat suppression member has a plurality of wall portions that cover the bearing, The electron beam irradiation system according to claim 1, wherein the cooling unit is located among the plurality of wall sections that face the beam catcher of the material handling device.

4. The electron beam irradiation system according to claim 3, wherein the cooling unit is positioned opposite two or more of the plurality of wall portions.

5. Each of the pair of rotating bodies has a first winding portion and a second winding portion by being divided in the middle of the axial direction. The electron beam irradiation system according to claim 3, wherein the bearings are arranged at both ends of the shaft portion and between the first winding portion and the second winding portion, and are covered by the bearing heat suppression member.

6. The heat generation suppression member is a heat generation suppression member for a rotating body provided on at least one of the pair of rotating bodies, The object to be processed is stretched across the pair of rotating bodies in a figure-eight pattern, so that it has a cross-shaped intersection between the pair of rotating bodies. The electron beam irradiation system according to claim 1, wherein the heat-suppressing member for the rotating body is disposed in the space formed between the pair of rotating bodies and the intersection.

7. A workpiece transport device that transports a linear workpiece while irradiating it with an electron beam from an electron beam irradiation device, The heat suppression member comprises a cover that covers at least a portion of the object to be suppressed, and a cooling unit that is disposed inside the cover and cools the surrounding area. A workpiece conveying device wherein the heat-suppressing member is provided on at least one of a pair of rotating bodies, which are the targets of heat suppression for conveying the workpiece wrapped around it by rotation, and a bearing, which is the target of heat suppression for rotatably supporting the shaft portion of the pair of rotating bodies.

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