Coating device

Abstract

The present invention provides a coating device that can coat a film forming liquid with high accuracy at a coating width below the thickness of a non-circular workpiece on the outer peripheral end surface of the workpiece. The coating device includes a rotation mechanism portion 20 and a coating mechanism portion 30. The rotation mechanism portion 20 is configured to rotate the workpiece 2 and a profiling die 22 having the same shape as the outer shape of the workpiece 2 in synchronization at the center of the same rotation axis. The coating mechanism portion 30 includes a press roller 31 that can rotate in synchronization with the profiling die 22 in a state of being pressed against the outer peripheral end surface 22a of the profiling die 22, a coating portion 32 including a coating roller 33 that coats the film forming liquid 3 on the outer peripheral end surface 2a of the workpiece 2 in a state of being pressed against the outer peripheral end surface 2a of the workpiece 2 while rotating in synchronization with the workpiece 2, and a rotation transmission mechanism 40 that rotates the press roller 31 and the coating roller 33 having the same outer diameter in synchronization.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to a coating apparatus, and more specifically, to a coating apparatus capable of applying a film-forming liquid to the outer peripheral end face of workpieces of various shapes, such as non-circular lenses. Background Technology

[0002] In the manufacturing process of optical devices such as cameras and microscopes, there is a process of applying an anti-reflective coating (such as a black coating) to the outer periphery of the lens to prevent the incident light from reflecting off the lens surface and outer peripheral surface, thus avoiding phenomena such as light spots and ghosting. This coating process is also known as the ink coating process.

[0003] Because the lenses used in the optical equipment come in various sizes and shapes, the ink coating process is not easily automated. In addition, because the ink coating process requires high coating accuracy, it is often done manually by skilled workers using tools such as pens and brushes, which makes it difficult to improve work efficiency.

[0004] In view of this issue, for example, there are coating apparatuses disclosed in Patent Documents 1 and 2 to achieve the above-mentioned coating process in an efficient manner.

[0005] The coating apparatus described in Patent Document 1 is configured to apply a coating material such as ink to the outer peripheral surface of a disc-shaped roller, transfer the coating material applied to the roller to the outer peripheral surface of a disc-shaped transfer roller, and then apply the coating material transferred to the transfer roller to the outer peripheral surface of a lens.

[0006] However, the coating apparatus of the roller transfer method described in Patent Document 1 has the problem that it cannot apply the coating material to the entire periphery in one process for optical elements such as small-sized lenses that are not circular.

[0007] Therefore, to solve the problem, in the coating apparatus described in Patent Document 2, a cam with the same shape as the outer diameter of the small-sized lens is fixed on the adsorption cylinder holding the small-sized lens. A coating chip made of porous material is provided on the outer periphery of the small-sized lens, and a cam follower is provided at the position abutting against the cam. Moreover, the cam follower is mounted on a lower sliding table pressed by a lower spring via a cam base, and an upper sliding table pressed by an upper spring is provided on the lower sliding table. The coating chip is mounted on the upper sliding table via a chip holder.

[0008] According to the coating apparatus described in Patent Document 2, the cam, the cam follower, the lower sliding table, and the lower spring can synchronize with the rotation of the small-sized lens and adjust the distance from the coating chip to the lens coating surface, enabling automated coating on the outer peripheral surface of the non-circular small-sized lens.

[0009] The technical problem that the invention aims to solve

[0010] In recent years, in addition to optical lenses such as those used in cameras and microscopes, there has been a desire to develop devices that can precisely coat the outer peripheral surface of non-circular thin lenses, such as so-called smart glass (glasses-type wearable devices), which can display various information on the lens portion.

[0011] For example, imagine using the coating apparatus described in Patent Document 2 to coat the light-shielding material on the outer peripheral end face of the thin lens. The coating apparatus described in Patent Document 2 is a coating chip formed of porous material that is pressed onto the outer peripheral surface of the thin lens to coat the light-shielding material.

[0012] When using the coating apparatus described in Patent Document 2, since the coating chip formed of porous material is pressed onto the outer peripheral surface of the thin lens, not only the outer peripheral end face of the thin lens but also the outer peripheral edge is coated with the light-shielding material. As a result, the light-shielding material cannot be coated with high precision only on the outer peripheral end face of the thin lens, in other words, it cannot be coated with a coating width less than the lens thickness.

[0013] Patent documents

[0014] Patent document 1: Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 6-142577

[0015] Patent document 2, Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 11-156260 Summary of the Invention

[0016] The methods and effects of solving the problem

[0017] The present invention was made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and the object is to provide a coating apparatus that can apply a film-forming liquid with high precision only on the outer peripheral end face of the workpiece, even when the workpiece to be coated is a non-circular thin lens or the like, in accordance with the shape of the workpiece.

[0018] In order to achieve the above objectives, the coating apparatus (1) of the present invention is characterized in that the coating apparatus includes a rotating mechanism for rotating a workpiece and a coating mechanism for applying a film-forming liquid to the outer peripheral end face of the workpiece rotated by the rotating mechanism.

[0019] The rotating mechanism is configured such that the workpiece and a copying mold with a shape roughly the same as the workpiece can rotate synchronously at the same rotation axis center.

[0020] The coating mechanism includes:

[0021] The pressing roller is capable of rotating together with the contour mold while being pressed against its outer peripheral end face.

[0022] The coating section includes a coating roller that, while being pressed against the outer peripheral end face of the workpiece, applies the film-forming liquid to the outer peripheral end face of the workpiece while rotating together with the workpiece.

[0023] A rotary transmission mechanism that causes the pressing roller and the coating roller, which have approximately the same outer diameter, to rotate synchronously.

[0024] According to the above-described coating apparatus (1), the rotating mechanism enables the workpiece and the copying mold, which have approximately the same shape, to rotate synchronously at the same rotation axis center. Furthermore, with the pressing roller pressing against the outer peripheral end face of the copying mold and the coating roller pressing against the outer peripheral end face of the workpiece, the rotating transmission mechanism allows the pressing roller and the coating roller, which have approximately the same outer diameter, to rotate synchronously. Therefore, the rotational movements of the copying mold and the pressing roller, as well as the rotational movements of the workpiece and the coating roller, can be synchronized.

[0025] Furthermore, by setting the contour mold, the coating roller can be rotated and brought into contact with the outer peripheral end face of the workpiece in accordance with the shape of the workpiece (in other words, regardless of the shape of the workpiece), thereby enabling the film-forming liquid to be applied with high precision from the coating roller to the outer peripheral end face of the workpiece with a coating width less than the thickness of the workpiece.

[0026] In addition, even if the workpiece is thin and prone to damage such as cracks or fissures, the pressure exerted by the coating roller on the outer peripheral end face of the workpiece is limited by the mold, thus preventing damage to the workpiece.

[0027] Furthermore, the coating apparatus (2) of the present invention is characterized in that, in the above-mentioned coating apparatus (1), the coating mechanism is provided with a contouring position adjustment mechanism, which can adjust the position of the pressing roller in sync with the change in distance from the rotation center of the contouring mold to the contact point between the contouring mold and the pressing roller as the contouring mold rotates, so as to make it imitate the outer peripheral end face of the contouring mold.

[0028] According to the above-described coating device (2), even if the distance from the rotation center of the copying mold to the contact point between the copying mold and the pressing roller changes with the rotation of the copying mold (for example, when the workpiece and the copying mold are not circular), the copying position adjustment mechanism can make the pressing roller rotate while pressing against the outer peripheral end face of the copying mold, and adjust the position of the pressing roller in sync with the change of the distance.

[0029] In addition, in sync with this action, in order to make the coating roller rotate while it is pressed against the outer peripheral end face of the workpiece, the position of the coating roller is also correctly adjusted in sync with the change in distance.

[0030] Therefore, not only when the workpiece is circular, but also when the workpiece is non-circular, the film-forming liquid can be applied with high precision to the outer peripheral end face of the workpiece with a coating width less than the thickness of the workpiece.

[0031] Furthermore, the coating apparatus (3) of the present invention is characterized in that, in the above-mentioned coating apparatus (2), the conformal position adjustment mechanism comprises:

[0032] A moving mechanism that enables the pressing roller, the coating part, and the mounting parts of the rotary transfer mechanism, which are mounted thereon in an operable manner, to move in a first direction along a straight line connecting the rotation center of the mold and the rotation center of the pressing roller.

[0033] The pressing adjustment part is capable of pressing and adjusting the mounting component installed on the moving mechanism in the first direction.

[0034] According to the above-described coating device (3), the mounting component is configured to be movable in the first direction via the moving mechanism. In addition, the mounting component mounted on the moving mechanism is configured to be press-adjustable in the first direction via the pressing adjustment part.

[0035] Therefore, with the pressing roller, the coating section, and the rotary transmission mechanism integrated, and the pressing roller pressing against the contour mold to mimic the outer peripheral shape of the mold, the mounting component can be moved in the first direction. This prevents misalignment of the rotation axes of the pressing roller and the coating roller during the coating operation, further improving the accuracy of pressing the coating roller onto the workpiece to mimic its outer peripheral shape.

[0036] Furthermore, the coating apparatus (4) of the present invention is characterized in that, in any of the coating apparatuses described in (1) to (3) above,

[0037] The coating mechanism includes a coating roller pressing part that adjusts the force by which the coating roller presses the coating roller onto the outer peripheral end face of the workpiece.

[0038] According to the above-mentioned coating device (4), the force of the coating roller pressing the outer peripheral end face of the workpiece can be appropriately adjusted by the coating roller pressing part, and the film forming liquid can be applied to the outer peripheral end face of the workpiece with a certain pressing force.

[0039] Furthermore, the coating apparatus (5) of the present invention is characterized in that, in the above-mentioned coating apparatus (4), the coating roller pressing part is configured to include an elastic member, and the elastic member is configured to have a variable force along a second direction of a straight line connecting the rotation center of the workpiece and the rotation center of the coating roller.

[0040] According to the above-described coating apparatus (5), the elastic member allows adjustment so that the pressing pressure of the coating roller relative to the workpiece is less than the pressing pressure of the pressing roller relative to the mold. Therefore, with the coating roller gently pressed against the outer peripheral end face of the workpiece, the film-forming liquid can be applied to the outer peripheral end face of the workpiece with high precision, achieving the desired coating width and thickness. Furthermore, it improves the effect of preventing damage to the workpiece.

[0041] Furthermore, the coating apparatus (6) of the present invention is characterized in that, in any of the coating apparatuses described in (1) to (5) above, the rotary transmission mechanism comprises:

[0042] The first transmission mechanism that transmits the rotation of the pressing roller,

[0043] A second transmission mechanism that transmits rotation from the first transmission mechanism.

[0044] The rotation from the second transmission mechanism is transmitted to the third transmission mechanism of the coating roller;

[0045] The first transmission mechanism includes a first rotation transmission part that rotates together with the rotation axis of the pressing roller;

[0046] The second transmission mechanism includes a second rotary transmission part that rotates synchronously with the first rotary transmission part and is mounted on one end side, and a third rotary transmission part that rotates synchronously with the second rotary transmission part and is mounted on the other end side, and a first rotary transmission shaft.

[0047] The third transfer mechanism comprises a fourth rotary transfer unit mounted on the rotary shaft of the coating roller and rotating synchronously with the third rotary transfer unit, and a swing arm that supports the rotary shaft of the coating roller in a manner that allows the coating roller to swing around the first rotary transfer shaft.

[0048] According to the above-mentioned coating device (6), the rotation of the pressing roller is synchronously transmitted to the coating roller by the first rotation transmission part, the second rotation transmission part, the first rotation transmission shaft, the third rotation transmission part and the fourth rotation transmission part, and the coating roller is supported by the swing arm in a swinging manner with the first rotation transmission shaft as the center.

[0049] The configuration involves the synchronous transmission of rotation of the pressing roller to the coating roller, and allows for easy adjustment of the pressing pressure of the coating roller on the outer peripheral end face of the workpiece.

[0050] Furthermore, the coating apparatus (7) of the present invention is characterized in that, in any one of the coating apparatuses described in (1) to (6) above, the coating section comprises:

[0051] Liquid supply unit: It supplies the film-forming liquid to the outer peripheral end face of the coating roller.

[0052] The liquid scraping section has a coating groove for forming a coating width less than the thickness of the workpiece, and is configured to abut against the outer peripheral end face of the coating roller.

[0053] According to the above-described coating apparatus (7), the film-forming liquid is supplied from the liquid supply unit to the outer peripheral end face of the coating roller. As the coating roller rotates, the liquid scraping unit scrapes the portion of the film-forming liquid other than the coating groove portion, and the linear film-forming liquid in the shape of the coating groove is precisely coated on the outer peripheral end face of the coating roller.

[0054] Therefore, while the outer peripheral end face of the coating roller coated with the linear film-forming liquid is pressed against the outer peripheral end face of the workpiece, the linear film-forming liquid is transferred to the outer peripheral end face of the workpiece by rotating the workpiece and the coating roller in the belt rotation direction.

[0055] Since the coating groove is shaped to form a coating width below the workpiece thickness, the film-forming liquid can be applied with high precision to the outer peripheral end face of the workpiece with a coating width below the workpiece thickness.

[0056] Furthermore, the coating apparatus (8) of the present invention is characterized in that, in any of the coating apparatuses described in (1) to (7) above, the rotating mechanism includes:

[0057] The holding part that holds the workpiece

[0058] The copying mold is mounted on a copying mold mounting part in a manner that allows it to be installed and removed.

[0059] According to the above-described coating apparatus (8), the workpiece is held on the holding portion, and the contouring mold can be mounted on the contouring mold mounting portion in a way that allows for installation and removal. Therefore, the workpiece can be easily replaced, and contouring molds with approximately the same shape as the workpieces can be installed corresponding to the type of workpiece. Thus, a single apparatus can be used to repeatedly coat the outer peripheral surfaces of various workpieces of different shapes, achieving a highly versatile apparatus.

[0060] Furthermore, the coating apparatus (9) of the present invention is characterized in that, in the above-mentioned coating apparatus (8), the rotating mechanism includes:

[0061] The first rotating shaft connecting the retaining part and the contour mold mounting part, and

[0062] A second rotating shaft is connected to the first rotating shaft on the same axis and is configured to be rotatable by a rotational driving force from the drive unit;

[0063] An attraction path for adsorbing and holding the workpiece is formed on the holding part, the first rotating shaft, and the second rotating shaft.

[0064] According to the above-described coating apparatus (9), since the rotating mechanism is configured such that the first rotating shaft and the second rotating shaft are connected on the same shaft, the mold can be easily installed and removed from the mold mounting part. In addition, since the suction path is formed, the workpiece can be adsorbed and held on the holding part, and the workpiece can be easily installed and removed.

[0065] In addition, the coating apparatus (10) of the present invention is characterized in that, in any of the coating apparatuses (1) to (9) above, the outer circumferential length of the pressing roller is longer than the outer circumferential length of the contour mold.

[0066] According to the above-described coating apparatus (10), since the outer circumference of the pressing roller is longer than the outer circumference of the contouring mold, even if the contouring mold rotates once, the pressing roller rotates less than once. Therefore, during the period when the pressing roller rotates once, in other words, during the period when the coating roller rotates once, a coating film forming liquid can be applied to the entire circumference of the outer circumference end face of the workpiece.

[0067] Furthermore, the coating apparatus (11) of the present invention is characterized in that, in any of the coating apparatuses described in (1) to (5) above, the rotary transmission mechanism comprises:

[0068] The fourth transmission mechanism has a fifth rotary transmission part with an outer diameter approximately the same as that of the coating roller, which enables the fifth rotary transmission part and the coating roller to rotate synchronously around the same rotation axis center.

[0069] The fifth transmission mechanism enables the pressing roller and the fifth rotary transmission unit to rotate synchronously.

[0070] According to the above-described coating apparatus (11), the pressing roller and the fifth rotational transmission unit rotate synchronously via the fifth transmission mechanism, and the rotation of the fifth rotational transmission unit is synchronously transmitted to the coating roller via the fourth transmission mechanism. Therefore, the pressing roller and the coating roller can be reliably rotated synchronously via the fifth transmission mechanism and the fourth transmission mechanism. Therefore, the rotational movement of the contouring mold that rotates together with the pressing roller and the rotational movement of the workpiece that rotates together with the coating roller can also be synchronized.

[0071] Furthermore, the coating apparatus (12) of the present invention is characterized in that, in the above-mentioned coating apparatus (11), the fifth transfer mechanism comprises:

[0072] The sixth rotary transmission unit is capable of rotating together with the pressing roller.

[0073] The seventh rotary transmission unit has approximately the same outer diameter as the sixth rotary transmission unit and is capable of rotating together with the fifth rotary transmission unit.

[0074] The second rotary transmission shaft enables the sixth and seventh rotary transmission units to rotate synchronously.

[0075] According to the above-described coating apparatus (12), the 6th and 7th rotary transmission units rotate synchronously via the 2nd rotary transmission shaft, thereby causing the pressing roller and the 5th rotary transmission unit to rotate synchronously. The rotation of the 5th rotary transmission unit is synchronously transmitted to the coating roller via the 4th transmission mechanism. Therefore, the pressing roller and the coating roller can be synchronously rotated with high precision using a simple structure.

[0076] Furthermore, the coating apparatus (13) of the present invention is characterized in that, in the above-mentioned coating apparatus (12), the second rotary transmission shaft is configured as a flexible shaft or as a universal joint.

[0077] According to the above-described coating apparatus (13), since the second rotary transmission shaft is configured to include a flexible shaft or a universal joint, even if there is some deviation (eccentricity) in the rotation axis direction of the pressing roller and the coating roller during the coating operation, the pressing roller and the coating roller can be rotated synchronously with high precision while absorbing the deviation.

[0078] Furthermore, the coating apparatus (14) of the present invention is characterized in that, in the above-mentioned coating apparatus (12) or (13), the rotary transmission mechanism includes an eighth rotary transmission unit that rotates together with the sixth rotary transmission unit and a drive unit that drives the eighth rotary transmission unit to rotate.

[0079] According to the above-described coating apparatus (14), the eighth rotary transmission unit is driven to rotate by the drive unit, and the rotational force of the eighth rotary transmission unit is transmitted to the pressing roller via the sixth rotary transmission unit. Furthermore, the rotational force of the eighth rotary transmission unit is transmitted to the fifth rotary transmission unit via the sixth rotary transmission unit, the second rotary transmission shaft, and the seventh rotary transmission unit, and then transmitted from the fifth rotary transmission unit to the coating roller via the fourth transmission mechanism.

[0080] Therefore, the rotational driving force of the drive unit is transmitted to the pressing roller and the coating roller, enabling the pressing roller and the coating roller to rotate synchronously with high precision.

[0081] Furthermore, the coating apparatus (15) of the present invention is characterized in that, in the above-mentioned coating apparatus (14), teeth capable of interlocking are formed on the outer peripheral surfaces of the contour mold, the pressing roller, the fifth rotary transmission part, the sixth rotary transmission part, the seventh rotary transmission part and the eighth rotary transmission part.

[0082] According to the above-mentioned coating device (15), since the outer peripheral surfaces of the contour mold, the pressing roller, the fifth rotational transmission part, the sixth rotational transmission part, the seventh rotational transmission part and the eighth rotational transmission part are formed with interlocking teeth, the deviation of the synchronization time can be reduced and the synchronization accuracy can be improved.

[0083] Furthermore, the coating apparatus (16) of the present invention is characterized in that, in the above-mentioned coating apparatus (11), the fifth transfer mechanism comprises:

[0084] A sixth rotational transmission unit capable of rotating together with the pressing roller,

[0085] A seventh rotary transmission unit has an outer diameter approximately the same as the sixth rotary transmission unit and is capable of rotating together with the fifth rotary transmission unit.

[0086] The first driving unit that drives the sixth rotation transmission unit to rotate.

[0087] The second drive unit drives the rotation of the seventh rotation transmission unit.

[0088] According to the above-described coating apparatus (16), the rotational driving force of the first drive unit is transmitted to the pressing roller via the sixth rotational transmission unit, and the rotational driving force of the second drive unit is transmitted to the fifth rotational transmission unit via the seventh rotational transmission unit. The rotation of the fifth rotational transmission unit is synchronously transmitted to the coating roller via the fourth transmission mechanism. Therefore, by synchronizing the rotational drives of the first drive unit and the second drive unit, the pressing roller and the coating roller can be synchronized with high precision.

[0089] Furthermore, the coating apparatus (17) of the present invention is characterized in that, in the above-mentioned coating apparatus (16), interlocking teeth are formed on the outer peripheral surfaces of the contour mold, the pressing roller, the fifth rotational transmission part, the sixth rotational transmission part and the seventh rotational transmission part.

[0090] According to the above-mentioned coating device (17), since the outer peripheral surfaces of the contour mold, the pressing roller, the fifth rotation transmission part, the sixth rotation transmission part and the seventh rotation transmission part are formed with teeth that can mesh with each other, the deviation of the synchronization time can be reduced and the synchronization accuracy can be improved.

[0091] Furthermore, the coating apparatus (18) of the present invention is characterized in that, in the above-mentioned coating apparatus (11), the fifth transfer mechanism comprises:

[0092] The sixth rotary transmission unit is capable of rotating together with the pressing roller.

[0093] The seventh rotary transmission unit has approximately the same outer diameter as the sixth rotary transmission unit and is capable of rotating together with the fifth rotary transmission unit.

[0094] The eighth rotary transmission unit is capable of rotating together with the sixth rotary transmission unit.

[0095] The first driving unit drives the eighth rotation transmission unit to rotate.

[0096] The ninth rotary transmission unit is capable of rotating together with the seventh rotary transmission unit.

[0097] The second driving unit drives the ninth rotation transmission unit to rotate.

[0098] According to the above-described coating apparatus (18), the rotational driving force of the first drive unit is transmitted to the pressing roller via the eighth and sixth rotational transmission units, and the rotational driving force of the second drive unit is transmitted to the fifth rotational transmission unit via the ninth and seventh rotational transmission units. The rotation of the fifth rotational transmission unit is synchronously transmitted to the coating roller via the fourth transmission mechanism. Therefore, by synchronizing the rotational drives of the first and second drive units, the pressing roller and the coating roller can be synchronized with high precision.

[0099] Furthermore, the coating apparatus (19) of the present invention is characterized in that, in the above-mentioned coating apparatus (18), teeth capable of interlocking are formed on the outer peripheral surfaces of the contour mold, the pressing roller, the fifth rotary transmission part, the sixth rotary transmission part, the seventh rotary transmission part, the eighth rotary transmission part and the ninth rotary transmission part.

[0100] According to the above-mentioned coating device (19), since the outer peripheral surfaces of the contour mold, the pressing roller, the fifth rotational transmission part, the sixth rotational transmission part, the seventh rotational transmission part, the eighth rotational transmission part and the ninth rotational transmission part are formed with interlocking teeth, the deviation of the synchronization time can be reduced and the synchronization accuracy can be improved.

[0101] Furthermore, the coating apparatus (20) of the present invention is characterized in that, in any of the coating apparatuses described in (1) to (5) above, the rotary transmission mechanism comprises:

[0102] The first drive unit is capable of driving the pressing roller to rotate.

[0103] The second drive unit is capable of driving the coating roller to rotate.

[0104] According to the coating apparatus (20) described above, the rotational driving force of the first drive unit is transmitted to the pressing roller, and the rotational driving force of the second drive unit is transmitted to the coating roller. Therefore, by synchronizing the rotational drives of the first drive unit and the second drive unit, the pressing roller and the coating roller can be reliably rotated synchronously. Therefore, the rotational movement of the contour mold that rotates together with the pressing roller and the rotational movement of the workpiece that rotates together with the coating roller can also be synchronized.

[0105] Furthermore, the coating apparatus (21) of the present invention is characterized in that, in any of the coating apparatuses (11) to (20) described above, the outer periphery of the contour mold has a curved portion, and the radius of the pressing roller is set to be less than or equal to the minimum radius of curvature of the curved portion of the contour mold.

[0106] According to the above-described coating apparatus (21), since the radius of the pressing roller is set to be less than or equal to the minimum radius of curvature of the curved portion of the contouring mold, even if the contouring mold has a shape with multiple curved portions of different degrees of curvature, the pressing roller can press against all of the curved portions of the contouring mold to perform contouring with high precision. Therefore, by using the coating roller having an outer diameter approximately the same as the pressing roller, the film-forming liquid can be applied with high precision to the outer peripheral end face of the workpiece that has a shape approximately the same as the contouring mold (i.e., has multiple curved portions of different degrees of curvature).

[0107] Furthermore, the coating apparatus (22) of the present invention is characterized in that, in the above-mentioned coating apparatus (21), a pressing roller guide is installed on the mold, and the pressing roller guide is configured to guide the pressing roller along the curve of the mold.

[0108] According to the coating apparatus (22) described above, since it has the pressing roller guide, even if the curved portion of the mold has a large degree of curvature, it can be reliably guided along the curved portion of the mold while the pressing roller is pressed against the curved portion. Therefore, even if the workpiece has a curved portion with a large degree of curvature, the coating roller can be used to apply the film-forming liquid to the outer peripheral end face of the workpiece with high precision.

[0109] Furthermore, the coating apparatus (23) of the present invention is characterized in that, in any of the coating apparatuses described in (11) to (22) above, the rotating mechanism includes:

[0110] A holding part that holds the workpiece.

[0111] The third rotating shaft has a retaining part mounting part at one end for mounting the retaining part, and a copying mold mounting part at the other end for mounting the copying mold.

[0112] A support portion that supports the third rotating shaft in a manner that allows it to rotate freely;

[0113] An attraction path is formed on the holding part and the third rotating shaft to allow the workpiece to be adsorbed and held in the holding part.

[0114] According to the above-described coating apparatus (23), since the third rotating shaft is supported on the support portion in a rotatable manner, and the retaining portion mounting portion is provided at one end of the third rotating shaft, and the contour mold mounting portion is provided at the other end, the retaining portion and the contour mold can be easily installed and removed. Furthermore, since the suction path is formed, the workpiece can be adsorbed and held on the retaining portion, making it easy to install and remove the workpiece.

[0115] Furthermore, the coating apparatus (24) of the present invention is characterized in that, in any of the coating apparatuses described in (11) to (23) above, the thickness of the outer peripheral end face of the coating roller is less than or equal to the thickness of the outer peripheral end face of the workpiece.

[0116] The coating section includes:

[0117] The liquid supply unit supplies the film-forming liquid to the outer peripheral end face of the coating roller.

[0118] A liquid extension portion is provided in a manner that allows it to abut against the outer peripheral end face of the coating roller.

[0119] The liquid scraping section is provided in such a way that it can abut against the outer peripheral edge of the coating roller.

[0120] According to the above-described coating apparatus (24), by including the liquid supply section, the liquid spreading section, and the liquid scraping section, the film-forming liquid can be prevented from protruding from the outer peripheral end face of the coating roller, and instead adhered to the outer peripheral end face while spreading the film-forming liquid. Furthermore, since the thickness of the outer peripheral end face of the coating roller is less than or equal to the thickness of the outer peripheral end face of the workpiece, coating can be performed while aesthetically transferring the film from the outer peripheral end face of the coating roller to the outer peripheral end face of the workpiece.

[0121] Furthermore, the coating apparatus (25) of the present invention is characterized in that, in the above-mentioned coating apparatus (24), the liquid extension portion has a plurality of microgrooves formed in the rotation direction of the coating roller on the surface that abuts against the outer peripheral end face of the coating roller.

[0122] According to the above-described coating apparatus (25), since the liquid spreading portion has the plurality of microgrooves on the surface that abuts against the outer peripheral end face of the coating roller, the film can be spread thinly and evenly while adhering to the outer peripheral end face of the coating roller. This also allows for a more aesthetically pleasing coating process on the outer peripheral end face of the workpiece. Attached Figure Description

[0123] Figure 1 This is a plan view showing the main structural components of the coating apparatus according to embodiment (1) of the present invention.

[0124] Figure 2 yes Figure 1 A cross-sectional view of the main part along line II-II.

[0125] Figure 3 yes Figure 1 A cross-sectional view of the main part along line III-III.

[0126] Figure 4 The diagrams represent an instance of the workpiece. (a) is a plan view, and (b) is a cross-sectional view along line bb in (a).

[0127] Figure 5 The diagram shows an example of a copying mold. (a) is a plan view, and (b) is a cross-sectional view along line bb in (a).

[0128] Figure 6 (a) to (c) are schematic diagrams illustrating the action of the contour mold and the pressing roller in the coating operation of the coating apparatus according to embodiment (1).

[0129] Figure 7 (a) to (d) are schematic diagrams illustrating the operation of the workpiece and the coating roller in the coating action of the coating apparatus according to embodiment (1).

[0130] Figure 8 This is a plan view showing the main structural components of the coating apparatus involved in embodiment (2).

[0131] Figure 9 yes Figure 8 A cross-sectional view of the main part along line IX-IX.

[0132] Figure 10 It is a cross-sectional view of the main part along the IX-IX line during the coating process.

[0133] Figure 11 yes Figure 10 A cross-sectional view of the main part along line XI-XI.

[0134] Figure 12 yes Figure 10 A cross-sectional view of the main part along line XII-XII.

[0135] Figure 13 yes Figure 10 A cross-sectional view of the main part along line XIII-XIII.

[0136] Figure 14 The diagrams represent an instance of the workpiece. (a) is a plan view, and (b) is a cross-sectional view along line bb in (a).

[0137] Figure 15 The diagram shows an example of a copying mold. (a) is a plan view, and (b) is a cross-sectional view along line bb in (a).

[0138] Figure 16 (a) to (c) are schematic diagrams illustrating the action of the contour mold and the pressing roller in the coating action of the coating apparatus according to embodiment (2).

[0139] Figure 17 (a) to (e) are schematic diagrams illustrating the operation of the workpiece and the coating roller in the coating action of the coating apparatus according to embodiment (2).

[0140] Figure 18 This is a cross-sectional view showing the main structural components of a coating apparatus according to another embodiment.

[0141] Figure 19 This is a cross-sectional view showing the main structural components of a coating apparatus according to another embodiment. Detailed Implementation

[0142] Hereinafter, embodiments of the coating apparatus of the present invention will be described based on the accompanying drawings. Furthermore, the embodiments described below represent preferred examples of the present invention and impose various technically preferred limitations, but the scope of the present invention is not limited to these methods unless specifically stated in the following description.

[0143] Figure 1 This is a plan view showing the structure of the main parts of the coating apparatus according to embodiment (1) of the present invention. Figure 2 It is a general representation Figure 1 A cross-sectional view of the main part of the section along line II-II. Figure 3 It is a general representation Figure 1 A cross-sectional view of the main portion of the section along line III-III. Additionally, in Figure 2 , 3 For ease of illustration, the shading representing the cross-section has been omitted.

[0144] The coating apparatus 10 is capable of coating the outer peripheral end face 2a of the workpiece 2. Figure 2 The coating apparatus 10 is an apparatus for precisely applying film-forming liquid 3 only to the outer peripheral end face 2a of a workpiece 2. The coating apparatus 10 includes a rotation mechanism 20 for rotating a workpiece 2 and a coating mechanism 30 for applying film-forming liquid 3 to the outer peripheral end face 2a of the workpiece 2, which is rotated by the rotation mechanism 20. The rotation mechanism 20 and the coating mechanism 30 are mounted on a support table 11.

[0145] In this embodiment, it is envisioned that the workpiece 2 to be coated is a non-circular thin lens for smart glass, but the type, shape, size, etc. of the workpiece 2 are not limited to this. The workpiece 2 to which the coating is applied can include various components in the shape of thin plates such as glass, lenses, mirrors, thin films, resins such as plastics, metals, or electronic circuit boards, regardless of whether they are circular or non-circular.

[0146] The rotating mechanism 20 includes a holding part 21 for holding the workpiece 2 and a copying mold mounting part 23 on which a copying mold 22 with the same shape as the workpiece 2 is mounted. It is configured such that the workpiece 2 held on the holding part 21 and the copying mold 22 mounted on the copying mold mounting part 23 can rotate synchronously at the center of the same rotating axis (A axis).

[0147] The rotating mechanism 20 comprises a first rotating shaft 24 connecting the retaining part 21 and the mold mounting part 23, and a second rotating shaft 25 coaxially (A-axis) connected to the first rotating shaft 24 and rotatable via a rotational driving force from the drive unit 27. The drive unit 27 is, for example, a high-precision rotary motor such as a servo motor, and the rotational driving force of the drive unit 27 is transmitted to the second rotating shaft 25 via a pulley mechanism 27a. The second rotating shaft 25 is mounted on a bearing such as a ball bearing. Furthermore, the drive unit 27 can control the rotation of the second rotating shaft 25 at a fixed speed, or it can control the rotation speed by varying it in accordance with the shape of the mold 22.

[0148] Furthermore, suction paths 26 are formed on the holding section 21, the first rotating shaft 24, and the second rotating shaft 25 to hold the workpiece 2 in the holding section 21. A vacuum device (not shown), such as a vacuum pump or ejector, is connected to the lower end of the second rotating shaft 25, enabling suction operations. Therefore, the holding section 21 functions as a worktable for holding the workpiece 2. Additionally, using an industrial robot (not shown) or similar tool, the workpiece 2 is precisely positioned on top of the holding section 21, overlapping with the contour mold 22 when viewed from above.

[0149] The copying mold 22 is configured to be mounted and detached from the copying mold mounting portion 23. In this embodiment, the second rotating shaft 25 is inserted into the rotation center portion of the copying mold 22. The copying mold 22 is, for example, made of metal and shaped to have the same shape as the workpiece 2.

[0150] The coating mechanism 30 includes a pressing roller 31 ( Figure 2 , Figure 3 ), including coating section 32 with coating roller 33, and rotary transmission mechanism 40 ( Figure 2 , Figure 3It consists of a contouring position adjustment mechanism 50 and a coating roller pressing part 60.

[0151] When the pressing roller 31 is pressing against the outer peripheral end face 22a of the contour mold 22, it is supported on the pressing roller rotation shaft 41a so that it can rotate at the center of the B-axis in accordance with the rotation of the contour mold 22 via the rotation mechanism 20. The pressing roller 31 is, for example, made of metal, has a specified hardness, and its outer peripheral surface has a specified surface roughness, so that it can rotate due to the rotation of the contour mold 22.

[0152] When the coating roller 33 is pressed against the outer peripheral end face 2a of the workpiece 2, it is supported by the coating roller rotation shaft 43a, thereby enabling it to apply the film forming liquid 3 with a coating width less than or equal to the thickness of the workpiece 2 while rotating around the center of the D axis. The coating roller 33 may be made of metal, or it may be made of other hard components.

[0153] The pressing roller 31 and the coating roller 33 are both circular in plan view and have the same outer diameter. Furthermore, the outer diameter of the pressing roller 31 is preferably designed so that its outer circumference is longer than that of the contour mold 22. With this configuration, during one rotation of the coating roller 33, which has the same outer diameter as the pressing roller 31, a coating film 3 can be formed around the entire circumference of the outer peripheral end face 2a of the workpiece 2.

[0154] Additionally, the coating section 32 includes a liquid supply section 34, a liquid scraping section 35, and a liquid receiving section 36 disposed near the outer peripheral surface of the coating roller 33. Figure 2 , Figure 3 ).

[0155] The liquid supply unit 34 is composed of a mechanism that supplies the film forming liquid 3 to the outer peripheral end face 33a of the coating roller 33, or a mechanism that includes, for example, a nozzle part that sprays the film forming liquid 3 supplied by the liquid holding part (not shown) to the outer peripheral end face 33a.

[0156] The liquid scraping section 35 is equipped with a coating groove 35a for forming a coating width less than or equal to the thickness of the workpiece 2. Figure 3 The coating roller 33 is equipped with a scraper (scraper) and other mechanisms, including a scraper blade that is positioned to abut against the outer peripheral end face 33a of the coating roller 33. Excess film-forming liquid 3 scraped by the liquid scraping part 35 is collected in the liquid receiving part 36. Furthermore, the arrangement sequence of the liquid supply part 34 and the liquid scraping part 35 is designed to correspond to the rotation direction of the coating roller 33, so that the film-forming liquid 3 supplied from the liquid supply part 34 to the outer peripheral end face 33a of the coating roller 33 is scraped by the liquid scraping part 35.

[0157] The rotary transfer mechanism 40 includes a mechanism for synchronously transferring the rotation of the pressing roller 31 to the coating roller 33. The rotary transfer mechanism 40 preferably includes a first transfer mechanism 41 for transferring the rotation of the pressing roller 31. Figure 2 , Figure 3 It is configured to transmit the rotation from the first transmission mechanism 41 to the second transmission mechanism 42 and the third transmission mechanism 43 to transmit the rotation from the second transmission mechanism 42 to the coating roller 33.

[0158] The first transmission mechanism 41 comprises a pressing roller rotating shaft 41a that rotates together with the pressing roller 31 and a first gear 41b mounted on the pressing roller rotating shaft 41a. The pressing roller rotating shaft 41a is mounted on a bearing such as a ball bearing.

[0159] The second transmission mechanism 42 comprises a rotary transmission shaft (first rotary transmission shaft) 42a arranged in the vertical direction, a second gear 42b installed on the lower end side (one end side) of the rotary transmission shaft 42a, and a third gear 42c installed on the upper end side (the other end side) of the rotary transmission shaft 42a.

[0160] The second gear 42b meshes with the first gear 41b, thus enabling it to rotate synchronously with the first gear 41b (driving rotation). The third gear 42c is mounted on the rotation transmission shaft 42a and can rotate synchronously with the second gear 42b. The rotation transmission shaft 42a is mounted on a bearing such as a ball bearing.

[0161] The third transmission mechanism 43 comprises a coating roller rotating shaft 43a that rotates together with the coating roller 33, a fourth gear 43b mounted on the coating roller rotating shaft 43a, and a swing arm 43c that supports the coating roller rotating shaft 43a so as to allow the coating roller 33 to swing around the rotating transmission shaft 42a. The fourth gear 43b meshes with the third gear 42c, thereby enabling it to rotate synchronously with the third gear 42c (rotation with rotation). The coating roller rotating shaft 43a is mounted on a bearing such as a ball bearing. In addition to being composed of a single rotating transmission shaft 42a, the rotating shaft portion of the swing arm 43c can also be composed of other rotating shafts, dividing the rotating transmission shaft 42a into two rotating shafts that rotate coaxially.

[0162] In this embodiment, the first gear 41b and the second gear 42b are examples of the first and second rotation transmission units, and the third gear 42c and the fourth gear 43b are examples of the third and fourth rotation transmission units. Furthermore, from the viewpoint of improving the accuracy of synchronous rotation, the first gear 41b, the second gear 42b, the third gear 42c, and the fourth gear 43b are preferably gears with extremely small backlash (the clearance between the tooth surfaces during gear meshing), and more preferably gears with no backlash.

[0163] In another configuration, the first gear 41b and the second gear 42b can be constructed using a mechanism employing toothed pulleys and toothed belts. Similarly, the third gear 42c and the fourth gear 43b can also be constructed using a mechanism employing toothed pulleys and toothed belts. In this case, it is preferable to use toothed pulleys and toothed belts with the smallest possible backlash, and more preferably, toothed pulleys and toothed belts with no backlash.

[0164] The contouring position adjustment mechanism 50 is generated by the rotation of the contouring mold 22, extending from the rotation center (A-axis) of the contouring mold 22 to the contact point E between the contouring mold 22 and the pressing roller 31. Figure 6 The distance AE is synchronized, and the position of the pressing roller 31 is adjusted so that it imitates the mechanism of the outer peripheral end face 22a of the mold 22.

[0165] In this embodiment, the contour position adjustment mechanism 50 includes a moving mechanism 51 and a mounting component pressing part 52.

[0166] The moving mechanism 51 is a mounting component 44 that enables the pressing roller 31, the coating section 32, and the rotary transmission mechanism 40 to be mounted in an operable manner, so that they can move along the rotation center (A-axis) connecting the contour mold 22 and the rotation center (B-axis) of the pressing roller 31. Figure 2 , Figure 3 The straight line AB( Figure 6 The mechanism that moves in the first direction D1.

[0167] In this embodiment, the moving mechanism 51 comprises two direct-acting guide mechanisms arranged on the support platform 11 at predetermined intervals.

[0168] The two direct-acting guide mechanisms constituting the moving mechanism 51 each have a guide rail 51a disposed on the first direction D1 and a slider 51b that moves on the guide rail 51a, and a base portion of the mounting component 44 is mounted on the slider 51b.

[0169] The pressing part 52 of the mounting component adjusts the pressing force so that the mounting component 44 mounted on the moving mechanism 51 can reciprocate in the first direction D1. In this embodiment, the pressing part 52 of the mounting component is configured as a cylinder disposed on the support platform 11, the piston rod 52a of the cylinder is disposed toward the first direction D1, and the front end of the piston rod 52a is mounted on the base of the mounting component 44.

[0170] By using a cylinder as the mounting component pressing part 52, a structure is formed that applies pressure to the pressing roller 31 in accordance with the change in the distance between the A-axis and the B-axis caused by the rotation of the copying mold 22, so that the force when it imitates the outer peripheral end face 22a of the copying mold 22 can be mitigated or easily absorbed. This allows for a smoother pressing operation on the pressing roller 31 to imitate the outer peripheral shape of the copying mold 22.

[0171] The coating roller pressing part 60 is a component that can adjust the force that presses the coating roller 33 onto the outer peripheral end face 2a of the workpiece 2.

[0172] In this embodiment, the coating roller pressing part 60 is disposed on the side of the swing arm part 43c opposite to the side where the rotating mechanism part 20 is disposed. The coating roller pressing part 60 is configured to include an elastic member 61 and a mounting member 62 on which the elastic member 61 is mounted, wherein the elastic member 61 is positioned in a second direction D2 along the straight line AD connecting the rotation center (A-axis) of the workpiece 2 and the rotation center (D-axis) of the coating roller 33. Figure 2 The mounting component 62 is mounted on the upper part of the mounting component 44, and the elastic component 61 is composed of a compression coil spring, but it can be composed of various spring components such as leaf springs, or other elastomers such as air springs and rubber.

[0173] Next, the operation of applying film-forming liquid 3 to the outer peripheral end face 2a of workpiece 2 using the coating apparatus 10 according to embodiment (1) will be described.

[0174] Figure 4 Figure 2 shows an example of workpiece 2. (a) is a plan view, and (b) is a cross-sectional view along line bb in (a). Workpiece 2 is a glass lens used in smart glass, for example, composed of a non-circular lens with a width W of approximately 50-60 mm, a width VW of approximately 30-50 mm, and a thickness t of approximately 0.5 mm-1 mm. In the example, workpiece 2 has an approximately elliptical shape, but it could also be an approximately inverted trapezoidal shape or an approximately square shape, etc.

[0175] Figure 5 The figures show an example of the contour mold 22. (a) is a plan view, and (b) is a cross-sectional view along line bb in (a).

[0176] The copying mold 22 has the same shape as the workpiece 2. An insertion hole 22b for inserting the second rotating shaft 25 of the rotating mechanism 20 is formed in the center of the copying mold 22. In addition, mounting holes 22c for fasteners such as bolts are formed around the insertion hole 22b. The copying mold 22 can be installed and removed from the copying mold mounting part 23 by using the above-mentioned fasteners.

[0177] The copying mold 22 is prepared according to the type (shape) of the workpiece 2. The copying mold 22 is preferably formed from a metal part, and the copying mold 22 has a specified hardness and a specified surface roughness on its outer peripheral surface, so that the pressing roller 31 can be rotated without positional displacement (slippage). The thickness of the copying mold 22 is preferably the same as the thickness of the pressing roller 31.

[0178] First, when the coating operation begins, the workpiece 2 is placed on the holding part 21 of the coating apparatus 10. The workpiece 2 is placed on the holding part 21, for example, by a robot, and held in a state where it is held by the holding part 21. At this time, the rotation center of the workpiece 2 is aligned with the rotation center of the copying mold 22 (the rotation center of the first rotation axis 24 and the rotation center of the second rotation axis 25 (A-axis)), and the orientation of the workpiece 2 is aligned with the orientation of the copying mold 22 (when viewed from above, the workpiece 2 and the outer periphery of the copying mold 22 are completely overlapped). The workpiece 2 is then placed on the holding part 21.

[0179] in addition, Figures 1-3 This indicates the state during the coating process. When installing and removing the workpiece 2, the contouring mold 22 and the pressing roller 31 are moved away from the specified distance (e.g., about 10mm), which drives the contouring position adjustment mechanism 50 to move the mounting component 44 back to the specified position.

[0180] The workpiece 2 is placed at a predetermined position on the holding part 21. Then, the moving mechanism 51 constituting the contouring position adjustment mechanism 50 and the mounting component pressing part 52 are driven to move the mounting component 44 so that the pressing roller 31 is pressed on the contouring mold 22.

[0181] When the pressing roller 31 presses on the copying mold 22, the drive unit 27 of the rotating mechanism 20 is then driven. Through the rotational driving force of the drive unit 27, the second rotating shaft 25 and the first rotating shaft 24 are driven to rotate at a predetermined speed, and the copying mold 22 and the workpiece 2 begin to rotate synchronously.

[0182] When the copying mold 22 begins to rotate, the pressing roller 31, which is pressed against the copying mold 22, begins to rotate relative to the copying mold 22 in the rotational direction. Moreover, the rotation of the pressing roller 31 is transmitted to the coating roller 33 by the rotation transmission mechanism 40 (i.e., the pressing roller rotation shaft 41a, the first gear 41b, the second gear 42b, the rotation transmission shaft 42a, the third gear 42c, the fourth gear 43b, and the coating roller rotation shaft 43a), and the coating roller 33 begins to rotate synchronously with the pressing roller 31.

[0183] In addition, in sync with the rotation of the coating roller 33, a predetermined amount of film-forming liquid 3 is supplied from the liquid supply section 34 of the coating section 32 to the outer peripheral end face 33a of the coating roller 33. The supplied film-forming liquid 3 is scraped by the liquid scraping section 35, and the film-forming liquid 3 is applied in a linear pattern (coating width, coating thickness) on the outer peripheral end face 33a of the coating roller 33. Then, as the coating roller 33 rotates, the film-forming liquid 3 is applied to the outer peripheral end face 2a of the workpiece 2.

[0184] Figure 6 This is a schematic diagram illustrating the movement of the contour mold 22 and the pressing roller 31 during the coating action of the coating device 10.

[0185] Figure 6 (a) indicates a situation where the pressing roller 31 is pressed against the copying mold 22, and the copying mold 22 rotates to the left by the rotational power from the drive unit 27, and the pressing roller 31 is rotated (to the right) along with the rotation of the copying mold 22.

[0186] Figure 6 (b) indicates that the contour mold 22 is from Figure 6 (a) is the state when rotated 90 degrees to the left.

[0187] Figure 6 (c) indicates that the contouring mold 22 is from Figure 6 (b) The state when the state is further rotated 90 degrees to the left.

[0188] In addition, Figure 6 In the plan view, the direction of rotation indicated by the arrow is one example; it could also be a configuration that rotates it in the opposite direction to the arrow shown in the diagram.

[0189] Figure 7 This is a schematic diagram illustrating the action of the workpiece 2 and the coating roller 33 during the coating operation of the coating device 10.

[0190] Figure 7(a) indicates that when the coating roller 33 is pressed on the workpiece 2, the workpiece 2 rotates to the left by the rotational power from the drive unit 27, and the coating roller 33 rotates synchronously with the rotation of the pressing roller 31 transmitted by the rotational transmission mechanism 40 (rotates to the right), and at the same time, a liquid film 3 is formed on the outer peripheral end face 2a of the workpiece 2.

[0191] Figure 7 (b) indicates that workpiece 2 is from Figure 7 (a) is the state when rotated 90 degrees to the left.

[0192] Figure 7 (c) indicates that workpiece 2 is from Figure 7 (b) The state when the state is further rotated 90 degrees to the left.

[0193] Figure 7 (d) indicates from Figure 7 (c) shows the side views of the workpiece 2 and the coating roller 33 as seen from the X and Y directions.

[0194] in addition, Figure 7 (a) indicates that Figure 6 The states shown in (a) at the same time are similar. Figure 7 (b) indicates that... Figure 6 (b) shows the state at the same time. Figure 7 (c) indicates that... Figure 6 The state at the same time as shown in (c).

[0195] like Figure 6 , Figure 7 As shown, with the rotation drive of the rotating mechanism 20, the contour mold 22 and the workpiece 2 rotate synchronously.

[0196] like Figure 6 As shown, since the contouring mold 22 is not circular, the distances AE, AE', and AE” from the rotation center (A-axis) of the contouring mold 22 to the contact points E, E', and E” between the contouring mold 22 and the pressing roller 31 change as the contouring mold 22 rotates.

[0197] exist Figure 6 (b) is the state when the distance is AE', and the distance AE' is greater than... Figure 6 (a) shows a short distance AE. Furthermore, in sync with the change in distance AE from distance AE to distance AE' as the copying mold 22 rotates, the position of the mounting component 44 is adjusted by the copying position adjustment mechanism 50 so that the position of the rotation center (B axis) of the pressing roller 31 moves from B to B'.

[0198] In addition, Figure 6 (c) is the state of distance AE", distance AE" is greater than Figure 6 (b) shows the distance AE'. Furthermore, in sync with the change from distance AE' to distance AE” as the copying mold 22 rotates, the position of the mounting component 44 is adjusted by the copying position adjustment mechanism 50 so that the position of the rotation center (B axis) of the pressing roller 31 moves from B' to B”.

[0199] In this way, the position of the pressing roller 31 is adjusted by the contouring position adjustment mechanism 50 in sync with the distance AE from the rotation center (A axis) of the contouring mold 22 to the contact point E between the contouring mold 22 and the pressing roller 31, which changes as the contouring mold 22 rotates, so that the pressing roller 31 imitates the outer peripheral end face 22a of the contouring mold 22.

[0200] Furthermore, the copying mold 22 and the workpiece 2 are arranged such that their rotation centers are located on the same axis (A axis), and their outer circumferences overlap when viewed from above. In addition, the pressing roller 31 and the coating roller 33 are coaxially arranged (B axis, D axis) on the mounting component 44 whose position is adjusted by the copying position adjustment mechanism 50.

[0201] therefore, Figure 7 The movements of the workpiece 2 and the coating roller 33 shown are basically the same as... Figure 6 The contour mold 22 and the pressing roller 31 move in sync.

[0202] That is, in sync with the change in distance AF from the rotation center (A-axis) of workpiece 2 to the contact point F between workpiece 2 and coating roller 33 caused by the rotation of workpiece 2, the position of coating roller 33 (position of rotation center (D-axis)) is adjusted by contour position adjustment mechanism 50 so that coating roller 33 imitates the outer peripheral end face 2a of workpiece 2.

[0203] Furthermore, during the operation of the workpiece 2 and the coating roller 33, the force that presses the coating roller 33 onto the outer peripheral end face 2a of the workpiece 2 can be adjusted by the elastic member 61 of the coating roller pressing part 60.

[0204] That is, the pressing roller 31 and the coating roller 33 are basically coaxial (B-axis and D-axis) mounted on the mounting component 44, and the coating roller 33 is supported by the swing arm 43c in a way that it can swing around the rotation transmission shaft 42a. However, since the third gear 42c mounted on the rotation transmission shaft 42a meshes with the fourth gear 43b mounted on the coating roller rotation shaft 43a, the swing range (angle) of the coating roller 33 is limited to a small range.

[0205] Because the swing arm 43c is supported by the elastic component 61 in the second direction D2 ( Figure 2The coating roller 33 is pressed on the outer peripheral end face 2a of the workpiece 2 with a variable force, so the pressing force when the coating roller 33 is pressed on the outer peripheral end face 2a of the workpiece 2 is mitigated or absorbed by the elastic component 61.

[0206] Therefore, the coating roller 33 can be pressed against the outer peripheral end face 2a of the workpiece 2 with a force weaker than that of the pressing roller 31 being pressed against the outer peripheral end face 22a of the mold 22 to form the coating liquid 3.

[0207] In addition, such as Figure 7 As shown in (d), the film-forming liquid 3 supplied to the outer peripheral end face 33a of the coating roller 33, in addition to forming the coating tank 35a, Figure 3 Except for the portion of the coating, the liquid is scraped by the liquid scraping part 35 and coated into a line with a shape (coating width, coating thickness) of coating groove 35a.

[0208] The coating width t1 of the film-forming liquid 3, which is applied in a linear pattern, is less than or equal to the thickness t of the workpiece 2. Furthermore, the coating thickness of the film-forming liquid 3, for example, if it is a light-blocking material, is designed to be less than tens of μm to determine the dimensions of the coating tank 35a. The shape of the coating tank 35a is determined based on the type and thickness of the workpiece 2, the type of film-forming liquid 3, etc. Additionally, in Figure 7 In (d), an example of a configuration is shown where the thickness of the coating roller 33 is greater than the thickness t of the workpiece 2. However, in other configuration examples, the thickness of the coating roller 33 may be the thickness of the coating width t1, which is less than or equal to the thickness t of the workpiece 2.

[0209] Furthermore, the outer peripheral end face 33a of the coating roller 33 coated with the linear film-forming liquid 3 is pressed onto the outer peripheral end face 2a of the workpiece 2 while rotating. As a result, the film-forming liquid 3 is transferred from the coating roller 33 to the outer peripheral end face 2a of the workpiece 2 with a coating width of less than or equal to the thickness t of the workpiece 2 and with a predetermined coating thickness.

[0210] According to the coating apparatus 10 of the above embodiment (1), the rotating mechanism 20 enables the workpiece 2 held on the holding part 21 and the mold 22 mounted on the mold mounting part 23 to rotate synchronously at the center of the same rotating axis (A-axis). Furthermore, the coating mechanism 30 enables the pressing roller 31 to rotate as the mold 22 rotates while the pressing roller 31 is pressed against it, and this rotation is synchronously transmitted to the coating roller 33 via the rotating transmission mechanism 40. Therefore, the coating roller 33 rotates synchronously with the pressing roller 31, and is pressed against the outer peripheral end face 2a of the workpiece 2, which rotates synchronously with the mold 22. In this state, the film-forming liquid 3 is applied from the coating roller 33 to the outer peripheral end face 2a of the workpiece 2 with a coating width less than or equal to the thickness of the workpiece 2.

[0211] Furthermore, even if the distance AE from the rotation center (A-axis) of the copying mold 22 to the contact point E between the copying mold 22 and the pressing roller 31 changes with the rotation of the non-circular copying mold 22, the position of the pressing roller 31 can be adjusted synchronously with the change of the distance AE by the copying position adjustment mechanism 50, so that the pressing roller 31 rotates while being pressed on the outer peripheral end face 22a of the copying mold 22, and the force of pressing the coating roller 33 on the outer peripheral end face 2a of the workpiece 2 can be adjusted by the coating roller pressing part 60.

[0212] Therefore, not only when the workpiece 2 is circular, but also when the workpiece 2 is non-circular, the film forming liquid 3 can be applied to the outer peripheral end face 2a of the workpiece 2 with high precision with a coating width of less than or equal to the thickness t of the workpiece 2.

[0213] Furthermore, according to the coating apparatus 10, the contour position adjustment mechanism 50 is composed of a moving mechanism 51 and a mounting member pressing part 52. The mounting member 44 can move along the first direction D1 via the moving mechanism 51. In addition, the mounting member 44 mounted on the moving mechanism 51 can be pressed and adjusted in the first direction D1 via the mounting member pressing part 52.

[0214] Therefore, with the pressing roller 31, the coating section 32, and the rotation transmission mechanism 40 integrated, and with the pressing roller 31 able to press against the contour mold 22 by mimicking its outer peripheral shape, the mounting component 44 can be moved in the first direction D1. This prevents misalignment of the rotation axes (B-axis and D-axis) of the pressing roller 31 and the coating roller 33 during the coating operation, further improving the accuracy of the action of pressing the coating roller 33 against the workpiece 2 by mimicking its outer peripheral end face 2a.

[0215] Furthermore, according to the coating apparatus 10, since the coating roller pressing part 60 has an elastic member 61, it is possible to adjust the pressure of the coating roller 33 on the workpiece 2 by means of the elastic member 61 so that the pressing pressure of the pressing roller 31 on the mold 22 is smaller (relaxing or absorbing the pressing pressure). Therefore, with the coating roller 33 gently pressed on the outer peripheral end face 2a of the workpiece 2, the film forming liquid 3 can be applied to the outer peripheral end face 2a of the workpiece 2 with high precision and the desired coating width and coating thickness.

[0216] Furthermore, according to the coating apparatus 10, the rotation of the pressing roller 31 is synchronously transmitted to the coating roller 33 via the first gear 41b, the second gear 42b, the rotation transmission shaft 42a, the third gear 42c, and the fourth gear 43b constituting the rotation transmission mechanism 40. The coating roller 33 is axially supported in a manner that allows it to swing about the rotation transmission shaft 42a via the swing arm 43c. Based on this configuration, the synchronous transmission of the rotation of the pressing roller 31 to the coating roller 33 enables easy adjustment of the force applied by pressing the coating roller 33 onto the outer peripheral end face 2a of the workpiece 2.

[0217] Furthermore, according to the coating apparatus 10, since the coating section 32 is equipped with a liquid supply section 34 and a liquid scraping section 35, the film forming liquid 3 is supplied from the liquid supply section 34 to the outer peripheral end face 33a of the coating roller 33. As the coating roller 33 rotates, the portion of the film forming liquid 3 except for the portion of the coating groove 35a is scraped by the liquid scraping section 35, and the linear film forming liquid 3 in the shape of the coating groove 35a formed on the outer peripheral end face 33a of the coating roller 33 is coated with high precision.

[0218] Therefore, when the outer peripheral end face 33a of the coating roller 33 coated with the linear film-forming liquid 3 is pressed onto the outer peripheral end face 2a of the workpiece 2, by rotating the workpiece 2 and the coating roller 33 in the direction of rotation, the linear film-forming liquid 3 is transferred from the coating roller 33 to the outer peripheral end face 2a of the workpiece 2, thereby allowing the film-forming liquid 3 to be coated on the outer peripheral end face 2a of the workpiece 2 with a coating width less than the thickness of the workpiece 2 with high precision.

[0219] Furthermore, according to the coating apparatus 10, since the rotating mechanism 20 is configured such that the first rotating shaft 24 and the second rotating shaft 25 are connected on the same axis (A axis), the copying mold 22 can be easily mounted on the copying mold mounting part 23. In addition, since the suction path 26 is formed, the workpiece 2 can be adsorbed and held on the holding part 21.

[0220] Furthermore, according to the coating apparatus 10, since the pressing roller 31 and the coating roller 33 have the same outer diameter shape, the rotation cycle of the pressing roller 31 and the coating roller 33, which rotate with the mold 22 and the workpiece 2, can be synchronized, and the coating roller 33 can coat the outer peripheral end face 2a of the workpiece 2 with high precision.

[0221] Furthermore, according to the coating apparatus 10, since the outer periphery of the pressing roller 31 is longer than that of the contouring mold 22, even if the contouring mold 22 rotates once, the pressing roller 31 rotates less than once. Therefore, during the rotation of the pressing roller 31, the film forming liquid 3 can be applied to the outer periphery end face 2a of the workpiece 2.

[0222] Furthermore, since the coating apparatus 10 has a structure that allows the contour mold 22 to be mounted and removed from the contour mold mounting part 23, contour molds 22 with the same shape as the workpieces 2 can be mounted according to the type of workpiece 2. With a single apparatus, coating can be applied to the outer peripheral surfaces of various workpieces with different shapes, achieving a highly versatile apparatus.

[0223] In addition, the coating device 10 involved in the above embodiment (1) is a structure in which the rotational transmission force of the drive unit 27 is transmitted to the second rotating shaft 25 through the pulley mechanism 27a, but the driving method of the drive unit 27 is not limited to this method.

[0224] In other embodiments, the rotational force of the drive unit 27 can be transmitted to the rotational transmission shaft 42a of the rotational transmission mechanism 40 via a pulley mechanism or gears. Alternatively, the second gear 42b and the third gear 42c can be connected without the rotational transmission shaft 42a, and the rotational shafts of the second gear 42b and the third gear 42c can be driven and controlled to rotate synchronously by their respective drive units 27.

[0225] Figure 8 This is a plan view showing the main components of the coating apparatus involved in embodiment (2).

[0226] Figure 9 yes Figure 8 A cross-sectional view of the main part along line IX-IX. Figure 10 It is a cross-sectional view of the main part along the IX-IX line during the coating process. Figure 11 yes Figure 10 A cross-sectional view of the main part along line XI-XI. Figure 12 yes Figure 10 A cross-sectional view of the main part along line XII-XII. Figure 13 yes Figure 10 A cross-sectional view of the main portion along line XIII-XIII. Additionally, in Figures 9-13 For ease of illustration, the shading representing the cross-section has been omitted. Additionally, in... Figure 8 The description of the workpiece is omitted. Additionally, for those with... Figures 1-3 The components of the coating apparatus 10 shown have the same function and are marked with the same symbols, so their descriptions are omitted here.

[0227] The coating apparatus 10A is capable of coating workpiece 2B ( Figure 9 , 10 An apparatus for precisely coating the film-forming liquid 3 onto the outer peripheral end face 2a of (12, 13) only on the outer peripheral end face 2a.

[0228] The coating apparatus 10A includes a rotation mechanism 20A for rotating a workpiece 2B and a coating mechanism 30A for applying a film-forming liquid 3 to the outer peripheral end face 2a of the workpiece 2 rotated by the rotation mechanism 20A.

[0229] like Figure 9 , 10 As shown, the rotating mechanism 20A is configured to enable the workpiece 2B and the contour mold 22A, which has a shape that is approximately the same as that of the workpiece 2B, to rotate synchronously at the center of the same rotating axis (A axis).

[0230] The rotating mechanism 20A includes a holding part 21A for holding the workpiece 2B, a third rotating shaft 28, and a housing part 29. The housing part 29 is provided with a bearing such as a ball bearing that supports the third rotating shaft 28 in a manner that allows it to rotate freely.

[0231] like Figure 9 , 10 As shown, the coating mechanism 30A comprises a pressing roller 31A, a coating section 32A including a coating roller 33A, and a rotary transmission mechanism 70. The coating mechanism 30A also includes a contouring position adjustment mechanism 50A. Figure 8 , 9 ) and coating roller pressing part 60A ( Figure 8 It is constituted by ).

[0232] like Figure 8 , 9 As shown, a cantilever-shaped bracket (support member) 12 is fixed on the support platform 11A of the coating apparatus 10A. A rotating mechanism 20A is mounted on one side of one end (front end) of the arm 12a of the bracket 12. A coating mechanism 30A is mounted on one side of the other end of the arm 12a of the bracket 12 via a first sliding part 13 and a longitudinally elongated rectangular first mounting plate 14.

[0233] The first sliding part 13 enables the coating mechanism part 30A to reciprocate in the extension direction (horizontal direction) of the arm part 12a, and is configured, for example, by a linear guide mechanism including a linear guide 13a and a slider 13b. A first mounting plate 14 is mounted on the slider 13b, and the coating mechanism part 30A is mounted on the first mounting plate 14.

[0234] Additionally, a second mounting plate 15 is installed on one side of the arm 12a of the bracket 12, on the other side, and a cylinder 16 is mounted on the second mounting plate 15. The rod 16a of the cylinder 16 can reciprocate horizontally toward the other end of the arm 12a. The cylinder 16 is adjusted by a control unit (not shown) to control the forward and backward movement of the rod 16a.

[0235] The front end of the rod 16a of the cylinder 16 is mounted on one end of the L-shaped connector 18 via a connector 17. Furthermore, the connector 17 is preferably a floating connector capable of absorbing eccentricity or angular deviation.

[0236] The other end of the L-shaped connector 18 is mounted on the first mounting plate 14. According to the above structure, by controlling the reciprocating motion of the rod 16a of the cylinder 16, the coating mechanism 30A mounted on the first mounting plate 14 can reciprocate in the horizontal direction along the linear guide 13a.

[0237] Thus, in the coating apparatus 10A according to embodiment (2), the contouring position adjustment mechanism 50A is configured to include a cylinder 16 and a first sliding part 13. The contouring position adjustment mechanism 50A is adjusted along with the contouring mold 22A as it rotates, from the rotation center (A-axis) of the contouring mold 22A to the contact point E between the contouring mold 22A and the pressing roller 31A. Figure 16 The change is synchronized, and the position of the coating mechanism 30A, including the pressing roller 31A, is in the third direction D3. Figure 8 Adjust the pressure roller 31A to mimic the outer peripheral end face 22a of the mold 22A.

[0238] The first sliding part 13 is an example of a moving mechanism, and the cylinder 16 is an example of a pressing adjustment part.

[0239] The first sliding part 13 is a first mounting plate 14 on which the pressing roller 31A, the coating part 32A, and the rotary transmission mechanism 70 are mounted in an actuating manner, along the rotation center (A-axis) connecting the contour mold 22A and the rotation center (B-axis) of the pressing roller 31A. Figure 9 , Figure 10 The mechanism that moves in the third direction D3 of the straight line.

[0240] Because the pressing adjustment section includes a cylinder 16, it is configured to correspond to the distance between the A-axis and B-axis, which changes as the copying mold 22A rotates. This allows the force exerted when the pressing roller imitates the outer peripheral end face 22a of the copying mold 22A during pressing to be easily mitigated or absorbed. As a result, the pressing action of the pressing roller 31A, which imitates the outer peripheral shape of the copying mold 22A, can be performed more smoothly.

[0241] like Figure 9 , 10 As shown, on the third rotating shaft 28 constituting the rotating mechanism 20A, a retaining part mounting part 28a is provided at one end, which can mount the retaining part 21A, and a copying mold mounting part 28b is provided at the other end, which can mount the copying mold 22A.

[0242] A suction path 26 is formed on the holding part 21A and the third rotating shaft 28 to hold the workpiece 2B on the holding part 21A. A vacuum device such as a vacuum pump or ejector (not shown) is connected to the lower end of the third rotating shaft 28 by means of a pipe joint, which can perform suction operation.

[0243] Therefore, the holding part 21A functions as a worktable for adsorbing and holding the workpiece 2B, and adsorption grooves are radially formed on it. In addition, using an industrial robot such as an unshown manipulator, the workpiece 2B is positioned with high precision on the holding part 21A, and when viewed from above, it overlaps with the orientation of the contour mold 22A.

[0244] like Figure 9 , 10 As shown, the contouring mold 22A is configured to be mounted and removed from the contouring mold mounting portion 28b. A hole for inserting and mounting the third rotating shaft 28 is formed at the rotation center of the contouring mold 22A. The contouring mold 22A is formed from a hard material such as metal into a shape that is approximately the same as the outline of the workpiece 2B. Tiny teeth are formed on the outer peripheral surface of the contouring mold 22A, which mesh with the tiny teeth formed on the outer peripheral surface of the pressing roller 31A (described later). The shape formed by connecting the tooth pitch points of these teeth is the same as the outline of the workpiece 2B. In addition, a pressing roller guide portion 22d is mounted on the contouring mold 22A to guide the pressing roller 31A along its outer peripheral curve.

[0245] like Figure 9 , 10 As shown, the pressing roller 31A constituting the coating mechanism 30A is structured such that, when pressed on the outer peripheral end face 22a of the contour mold 22A, it can rotate together with the contour mold 22A (it can rotate in the direction of rotation), can rotate at the center of the B axis, and is integrated with the roller shaft 31b.

[0246] The outer peripheral surface of the pressing roller 31A has tiny teeth that mesh with tiny teeth formed on the outer peripheral surface of the mold 22A, thus the pressing roller 31A functions as a small-diameter gear. The pressing roller 31A and the roller shaft 31b are made of metal, for example, but may also be made of other hard materials.

[0247] like Figure 9 , 10 As shown, a housing portion 37 is mounted on the lower end of the first mounting plate 14, and the roller shaft 31b is mounted on a bearing provided on the housing portion 37 in a rotatable manner. Additionally, a small-diameter bearing 31c is mounted on the upper end of the pressing roller 31A. The small-diameter bearing 31c, having an outer diameter slightly larger than the outer diameter of the pressing roller 31A, is used to allow the pressing roller guide portion 22d of the contour mold 22A to pass through.

[0248] like Figure 9 , 10 As shown, the coating roller 33A is used to coat the outer peripheral end face 2a of the workpiece 2B with a film forming liquid 3 while being pressed against the outer peripheral end face 2a of the workpiece 2B and rotating together with the workpiece 2B in the direction of rotation. It is an integral structure with the roller shaft 33b.

[0249] The thickness of the outer peripheral end face 33a of the coating roller 33A is designed to be less than or equal to the thickness of the outer peripheral end face 2a of the workpiece 2B, and more preferably less than the thickness of the outer peripheral end face 2a. The workpiece 2B is thin-shaped, and the thickness of its outer peripheral end face 2a is, for example, 0.2 mm to 1 mm. Alternatively, the workpiece 2B may have a thickness of 1 mm or more. The coating roller 33A and the roller shaft 33b are, for example, made of metal, but may also be made of other hard materials.

[0250] The coating roller 33A and the pressing roller 31A have approximately the same outer diameter. More specifically, the pitch circle (reference circle) of the coating roller 33A and the pressing roller 31A have the same outer diameter.

[0251] The radius of the pressing roller 31A is preferably set below the minimum radius of curvature in the curved portion of the outer periphery of the contour mold 22A. Furthermore, since the pressing roller 31A and the coating roller 33A have approximately the same outer diameter, the radius of the coating roller 33A is also set below the minimum radius of curvature in the curved portion of the outer periphery of the workpiece 2B.

[0252] Depending on the configuration involved, even if the mold 22A has a complex shape with curved sections of varying curvature, the pressing roller 31A can accurately mimic the entire outer periphery of the outer peripheral end face 22a of the mold 22A.

[0253] Furthermore, since the pressing roller 31A and the coating roller 33A have approximately the same outer diameter, and the contouring mold 22A and the workpiece 2B have approximately the same shape, even if the workpiece 2B has a complex shape with curved sections of varying curvature, the coating roller 33A can precisely coat the entire outer periphery of the outer peripheral end face 2a of the workpiece 2B.

[0254] like Figure 9 , 10 As shown, the rotary transfer mechanism 70 has a mechanism for synchronizing the rotation of the pressing roller 31A and the coating roller 33A (at this time, they rotate in the same rotational direction and at the same rotational speed). The rotary transfer mechanism 70 is configured including a fourth transfer mechanism 71 and a fifth transfer mechanism 72.

[0255] The fourth transmission mechanism 71 is composed of a rotation transmission shaft 71a with the same rotation axis as the roller shaft 33b of the coating roller 33A and a fifth gear (fifth rotation transmission part) 71b integrally provided on the lower end side (one end side) of the rotation transmission shaft 71a, which enables the fifth gear 71b and the coating roller 33A to rotate synchronously at the center of the same rotation axis.

[0256] At the upper end of the first mounting plate 14, a housing portion 76 is mounted via a second sliding portion 77 that can slide in the horizontal direction. A rotation transmission shaft 71a is mounted on a bearing provided on the housing portion 76 in a rotatable manner, and a roller shaft 33b is mounted on its upper end side (the other end side).

[0257] The fifth gear 71b has a small tooth profile that meshes with the small tooth profile formed on the outer peripheral surface of the seventh gear 72b described later, and the fifth gear 71b functions as a small diameter gear.

[0258] The fifth gear 71b has approximately the same outer diameter as the coating roller 33A. More specifically, the pitch circles (reference circles) of the coating roller 33A and the fifth gear 71b have the same outer diameter.

[0259] The fifth transmission mechanism 72 is disposed between the housing portion 37 and the housing portion 76, and has a mechanism for synchronizing the rotation of the pressing roller 31A and the fifth gear 71b (at this time, they rotate in the same direction and at the same speed).

[0260] The fifth transmission mechanism 72 is composed of a sixth gear (sixth rotary transmission unit) 72a, a seventh gear (seventh rotary transmission unit) 72b, and a rotary transmission shaft (second rotary transmission shaft) 72c.

[0261] The sixth gear 72a is configured to rotate together with the pressing roller 31A (rotating in the direction of rotation). The outer peripheral surface of the sixth gear 72a has micro-tooth profiles that mesh with micro-tooth profiles formed on the outer peripheral surface of the pressing roller 31A, and the sixth gear 72a functions as a large-diameter gear.

[0262] The 7th gear 72b has approximately the same outer diameter as the 6th gear 72a, i.e., the same pitch circle (reference circle) outer diameter, and is configured to rotate together with the 5th gear 71b (rotatable in the direction of rotation). The outer circumferential surface of the 7th gear 72b has micro-tooth profiles that mesh with the micro-tooth profiles formed on the outer circumferential surface of the 5th gear 71b, and the 7th gear 72b functions as a large-diameter gear.

[0263] The sixth gear 72a and the seventh gear 72b are connected in a synchronously rotatable manner via a rotary transmission shaft 72c. The rotary transmission shaft 72c is configured to include a flexible shaft portion 72d having flexibility to absorb shaft eccentricity. Alternatively, instead of this flexible shaft portion 72d, it may be configured to include a shaft portion containing a free joint (also known as a universal joint).

[0264] The lower end (one end) of the rotary transmission shaft 72c is rotatably mounted on a bearing provided on the housing 37, and the upper end (the other end) is rotatably mounted on a bearing provided on the housing 76.

[0265] Furthermore, the rotary transmission mechanism 70 includes an eighth gear (eighth rotary transmission unit) 73 that can rotate together with the sixth gear 72a (rotate in the direction of rotation) and a drive motor (drive unit) 74 that drives the eighth gear 73 to rotate. The drive motor 74 is mounted on a motor mounting plate 75, and the rotation shaft 74a of the drive motor 74 is mounted on the eighth gear 73. The drive motor 74 is, for example, a high-precision rotary motor such as a servo motor.

[0266] On the outer peripheral surface of the 8th gear 73, there are micro-tooth profiles that mesh with the micro-tooth profiles formed on the outer peripheral surface of the 6th gear 72a.

[0267] When the drive motor 74's rotating shaft 74a rotates, the 8th gear 73 rotates, and its rotational force is transmitted to the pressing roller 31A via the 6th gear 72a, causing the pressing roller 31A to rotate. Simultaneously, the rotational force of the 8th gear 73 is transmitted to the 5th gear 71b via the 6th gear 72a, the rotational transmission shaft 72c, and the 7th gear 72b, causing the 5th gear 71b and the coating roller 33A to rotate synchronously. Thus, the rotational transmission mechanism 70 is configured to cause the pressing roller 31A and the coating roller 33A to rotate synchronously.

[0268] Then, the rotational force of the pressing roller 31A is transmitted to the contour mold 22A and the third rotating shaft 28, and the contour mold 22A and the workpiece 2B rotate synchronously. Then, the coating roller 33A, which rotates synchronously with the pressing roller 31A, coats the outer peripheral end face 2a of the workpiece 2B to form a liquid film 3.

[0269] Furthermore, the minute teeth formed on the outer peripheral surfaces of the 8th gear 73, the 6th gear 72a, the pressing roller 31A, the 7th gear 72b, and the 5th gear 71b are of the same shape. The shape of these teeth is, for example, parallel teeth, with a module size of, for example, 0.1 to 0.8, preferably 0.2 to 0.4, and a pressure angle of, for example, 20 degrees, but not limited thereto.

[0270] like Figure 9 , 10As shown, the coating section 32A includes a liquid supply section 34A that supplies film-forming liquid 3 to the outer peripheral end face 33a of the coating roller 33A, a rod-type coating machine 35A that is configured to abut against the outer peripheral end face 33a of the coating roller 33A, and a rod-type coating machine 35A that can abut against the outer peripheral edge 33c of the coating roller 33A. Figure 17 It is constructed by a scraper 35B arranged in an abutting manner. A liquid receiving part 36A is provided on the roller shaft 33b to receive excess film forming liquid 3 hanging down from the coating roller 33A.

[0271] The liquid supply unit 34A is composed of a coating base 34a disposed on the housing 76, a coating pad 34b disposed on the coating base 34a, and a coating block 34c disposed on the coating pad 34b.

[0272] The coating base portion 34a has a rounded quadrilateral reservoir 34aa and a tapered front end portion 34ab. The front end of the tapered front end portion 34ab is formed into an arc shape that is approximately the same as the outer peripheral end face 33a of the coating roller 33A.

[0273] The coating pad 34b is formed of a thin plate with a thickness smaller than that of the coating roller 33A, such as Figure 13 As shown, a slot 34ba with the same shape as the liquid reservoir 34aa is formed in the approximately central part, and a slit hole 34bb with a tapering front end is provided extending from the slot 34ba. The front end of the slit hole 34bb is formed into an arc shape that can abut against the outer peripheral end face 33a of the coating roller 33A.

[0274] The coating block 34c has a cylindrical portion 34ca with the same shape as the liquid reservoir 34aa and a tapered front end portion 34cb in the approximately central part.

[0275] The tapered front end portion 34cb of the coating block 34c has approximately the same shape as the tapered front end portion 34ab of the coating base portion 34a. By clamping the coating pad 34b between the coating base portion 34a and the coating block 34c, a liquid flow path 34d is formed in the slit orifice 34bb portion. Figure 10 , 13 ).

[0276] like Figure 13 As shown, a rod applicator 35A is provided at the front opening of the liquid flow path 34d of the liquid supply section 34A. On the front surface of the rod applicator 35A, that is, the surface that abuts against the outer peripheral end face 33a of the applicator roller 33A, a plurality of micro-grooves are formed along the rotation direction of the applicator roller 33A.

[0277] The spacing between the microgrooves is designed to be, for example, 0.05 mm to 0.2 mm, more preferably about 0.1 mm. The rod coating machine 35A is a component used to scrape excess film-forming liquid 3 from the film-forming liquid 3 applied to the outer peripheral end face 33a of the coating roller 33A and stretch it into a thin film, and is an example of a liquid stretching section.

[0278] Furthermore, scrapers 35B are respectively provided at the front ends of the tapering portion 34ab of the coating base portion 34a and the tapering portion 34cb of the coating block 34c. Figure 17 As shown, each scraper 35B is formed into an arc shape with the same outer peripheral shape as the coating roller 33A, and its front end is configured to abut against the outer peripheral edges 33c of the upper and lower surfaces of the coating roller 33A. In other words, it is a configuration in which the outer peripheral edges of the coating roller 33A are sandwiched between two scrapers 35B. The scrapers 35B are components used to scrape off the film-forming liquid 3 adhering to the outer peripheral edges 33c of the coating roller 33A, and are an example of a liquid scraping unit.

[0279] like Figure 8 As shown, a second sliding portion 77 is provided between the housing portion 76, on which the coating portion 32A is mounted, and the first mounting plate 14. Furthermore, an elastic member 61A and a mounting member 62A mounted on one end of the elastic member 61A are installed between the housing portion 76 and the first mounting plate 14. The elastic member 61A is positioned in a fourth direction D4 ( ) along a straight line connecting the rotation center (A-axis) of the workpiece 2B and the rotation center (D-axis) of the coating roller 33A. Figure 8 The coating roller pressing part 60A is configured to have a variable force. It is composed of an elastic member 61A and a mounting member 62A. The coating roller pressing part 60A allows for fine adjustment of the force applied to the coating roller 33A on the outer peripheral end face 2a of the workpiece 2B.

[0280] Next, the operation of applying film-forming liquid 3 to the outer peripheral end face 2a of workpiece 2B using the coating apparatus 10A according to embodiment (2) will be described.

[0281] Figure 14 The diagram shows an example of workpiece 2B. (a) is a plan view, and (b) is a cross-sectional view along line bb in (a).

[0282] Workpiece 2B is, for example, a lens used in smart glass, specifically a non-circular lens with a width and height of approximately 40-60 mm and a thickness t of approximately 0.2-1 mm on its outer peripheral end face 2a. In this case, workpiece 2B has a rounded triangular shape with a large curvature curve (curved corner). However, the shape of workpiece 2B is not limited to this; it can also be a rounded inverted trapezoidal shape, a rounded rectangular shape, a rounded convex shape, or other elliptical shapes, etc.

[0283] Figure 15 The figure shows an example of a copying mold 22A. (a) is a plan view, and (b) is a cross-sectional view along line bb in (a).

[0284] The copying mold 22A has a shape that is substantially the same as that of the workpiece 2B. An insertion hole 22b is formed in the center of the copying mold 22A for inserting into the third rotating shaft 28 of the mounting rotating mechanism 20A. Furthermore, mounting holes 22c for fasteners such as bolts are formed around the insertion hole 22b. Using these fasteners, the copying mold 22A can be installed and removed from the copying mold mounting portion 28b. Additionally, a pressing roller guide portion 22d is installed at the rounded corner of the copying mold 22A.

[0285] The contouring die 22A is prepared according to each type (shape) of the workpiece 2B. The contouring die 22A has teeth formed on its outer peripheral surface, which mesh with teeth formed on the outer peripheral surface of the pressing roller 31A, enabling rotation. The shape of these teeth is the same as that formed on the pressing roller 31A, for example, they are parallel teeth, with a module angle of, for example, 0.1 to 0.8, preferably 0.2 to 0.4, and a pressure angle of, for example, 20 degrees, but not limited thereto. The contouring die 22A is preferably formed from a metal part, but may also be formed from other hard parts.

[0286] First, when the coating process begins, the workpiece 2B is placed on the holding part 21A of the coating apparatus 10A. For example, a robot is used to place the workpiece 2B on top of the holding part 21A, holding it in a state where it is held by the holding part 21A. At this time, the workpiece 2B is placed on the holding part 21A such that the rotation center of the workpiece 2B is aligned with the rotation center of the copying mold 22A (the rotation center of the third rotation axis 28 (A-axis)), and the direction of the workpiece 2B is aligned with the direction of the copying mold 22A (when viewed from above, the outer periphery of the workpiece 2B and the copying mold 22A are completely overlapped).

[0287] Additionally, during the installation and removal of workpiece 2B, such as Figure 9 As shown, the cylinder 16 drives the contouring position adjustment mechanism 50A by moving the contouring mold 22A and the pressing roller 31A away from a predetermined distance, thereby enabling the coating mechanism 30A to retract to a predetermined position.

[0288] When the workpiece 2B is set at a predetermined position on the holding part 21A, the cylinder 16 constituting the contouring position adjustment mechanism 50A is then driven to move the coating mechanism part 30A, so that the pressing roller 31A is pressed on the contouring mold 22A.

[0289] When the pressing roller 31A presses against the mold 22A, the drive motor 74 of the coating mechanism 30A is then activated. Driven by the rotational force of the drive motor 74, the eighth gear 73 begins to rotate at a predetermined speed. Simultaneously, the sixth gear 72a, which meshes with the eighth gear 73, rotates in the belt rotation direction, causing the pressing roller 31A, which meshes with the sixth gear 72a, to begin rotating in the belt rotation direction.

[0290] Furthermore, when the sixth gear 72a rotates, the seventh gear 72b, connected to the sixth gear 72a via the rotation transmission shaft 72c, rotates in the same direction as the sixth gear 72a, and the fifth gear 71b, which meshes with the seventh gear 72b, begins to rotate in the driving direction. Also, the coating roller 33A, connected to the fifth gear 71b via the rotation transmission shaft 71a, begins to rotate in the same direction as the fifth gear 71b.

[0291] Thus, the pressing roller 31A and the coating roller 33A rotate synchronously through the transmission of rotational driving force from the drive motor 74.

[0292] Furthermore, when the pressing roller 31A and the coating roller 33A begin to rotate, the contour mold 22A, which is engaged with the teeth of the pressing roller 31A, begins to rotate in the direction of rotation. Synchronously with this rotation, the workpiece 2B, which is held on the holding part 21A by the third rotating shaft 28, rotates.

[0293] While the coating roller 33A rotates, the film forming liquid 3 begins to be supplied from the liquid supply section 34A of the coating section 32A to the outer peripheral end face 33a of the coating roller 33A. The excess portion of the supplied film forming liquid 3 is scraped off by the bar coater 35A and the scraper 35B, and the film forming liquid 3 is only coated (adhered) in a line on the outer peripheral end face 33a of the coating roller 33A.

[0294] Then, the film-forming liquid 3 applied on the outer peripheral end face 33a of the coating roller 33A is transferred and applied to the outer peripheral end face 2a of the workpiece 2B, which is being pressed against the outer peripheral end face 33a of the coating roller 33A and is rotating in the direction of rotation.

[0295] Figure 16 This is a schematic diagram illustrating the operation of the contour mold 22A, the pressing roller 31A, the sixth gear 72a, and the eighth gear 73 during the coating action of the coating device 10A.

[0296] exist Figure 16In (a), it is shown that when the pressing roller 31A is pressed on the contour mold 22A, the eighth gear 73 rotates to the right by the rotational power from the drive motor 74, the sixth gear 72a rotates to the left along with the rotation of the eighth gear 73, the pressing roller 31A rotates to the right along with the rotation of the sixth gear 72a, and the contour mold 22A rotates to the left along with the rotation of the pressing roller 31A.

[0297] Figure 16 (b) Displaying the contour mold 22A from Figure 16 (a) is the state when rotated approximately 60 degrees to the left.

[0298] exist Figure 16 (b) is not illustrated; press the roller guide 22d ( Figure 15 Located on the pressing roller 31A (small diameter bearing 31c) Figure 10 By pressing the roller guide 22d, the position of the pressing roller 31A at the curved corner of the contour mold 22A is restricted (to prevent positional displacement).

[0299] As the contouring mold 22A rotates to the left, the curved corner (rounded corner) of the contouring mold 22A approaches the pressing roller 31A. A leftward pressing force is applied from the contouring mold 22A towards the pressing roller 31A, which is then controlled by the contouring position adjustment mechanism 50A. Figure 8 , 9 Press the roller 31A, the sixth gear 72a and the eighth gear 73 (i.e. the coating mechanism 30A) to move to the left to adjust the contour position.

[0300] Figure 16 (c) indicates that the contouring mold 22A originates from... Figure 16 (b) The state when rotated 60 degrees to the left.

[0301] As the contouring mold 22A rotates further to the left, the curved corner of the contouring mold 22A moves away from the pressing roller 31A, and is then moved by the contouring position adjustment mechanism 50A. Figure 8 , 9 The pressing roller 31A applies a rightward pressing force to the contouring mold 22A, causing the pressing roller 31A, the sixth gear 72a, and the eighth gear 73 (i.e., the coating mechanism 30A) to move to the right to adjust the contouring position.

[0302] In addition, Figure 16 In the plan view, the direction of rotation indicated by the arrow is one example, but it can also be a configuration that rotates it in the opposite direction to the arrow shown in the figure.

[0303] Figure 17This is a schematic diagram illustrating the operation of workpiece 2B, coating roller 33A, fifth gear 71b, and seventh gear 72b during the coating process of coating apparatus 10A. Additionally, Figure 17 (a) indicates that Figure 16 The state shown in (a) is the same as the state at the same time. Figure 17 (b) indicates that... Figure 16 (b) shows the state at the same time. Figure 17 (c) indicates that... Figure 16 (c) shows the state at the same time.

[0304] Figure 17 (a) indicates the situation where the coating roller 33A is pressed against the workpiece 2B, and a film forming liquid 3 is applied to the outer peripheral end face 2a of the workpiece 2B.

[0305] That is, the 7th gear 72b and the 6th gear 72a connected to it via the rotation transmission shaft 72c rotate in the same direction (left rotation), and the 5th gear 71b rotates along with the rotation of the 7th gear 72b (right rotation). The coating roller 33A connected to the 5th gear 71b via the rotation transmission shaft 71a rotates in the same direction as the 5th gear 71b (right rotation) while coating the outer peripheral end face 2a of the workpiece 2B with the film forming liquid 3.

[0306] Figure 17 (b) indicates that workpiece 2B is from Figure 17 (a) is the state when rotated 60 degrees to the left.

[0307] As workpiece 2B rotates to the left, the curved corner (rounded corner) of workpiece 2B approaches the coating roller 33A. A leftward pressing force is applied from workpiece 2B towards the coating roller 33A, which is controlled by the contouring position adjustment mechanism 50A. Figure 8 , 9 The coating roller 33A, the fifth gear 71b, and the seventh gear 72b (i.e., the coating mechanism 30A) move to the left to adjust the contour position. Simultaneously, the coating roller pressing part 60A (located on the coating section 32A)... Figure 8 The coating section 32A of the coating roller 33A is finely adjusted relative to the workpiece 2B in terms of the pressing pressure.

[0308] Figure 17 (c) indicates that workpiece 2B is from Figure 17 (b) The state when rotated 60 degrees to the left.

[0309] As workpiece 2B rotates further to the left, the curved corner of workpiece 2B moves away from the coating roller 33A, and is adjusted by the contour position adjustment mechanism 50A. Figure 8 , 9A pressing force is applied to the workpiece 2B from the coating roller 33A in the right direction. The coating roller 33A, the 5th gear 71b, and the 7th gear 72b (i.e., the coating mechanism 30A) move to the right to adjust their contouring position. Simultaneously, the pressing part 60A of the coating roller, which is located on the coating section 32A,... Figure 8 The coating section 32A of the coating roller 33A is finely adjusted relative to the workpiece 2B in terms of the pressing pressure.

[0310] Figure 17 (d) indicates from Figure 17 (c) shows the side view of the coating roller 33A as observed in the direction of arrow X. Figure 17 (e) is to zoom in on the display from Figure 17 (c) shows the side view of workpiece 2B as seen from the direction of arrow Y.

[0311] The film-forming liquid 3 applied to the outer peripheral end face 33a of the coating roller 33A is applied only to the outer peripheral end face 2a of the workpiece 2B.

[0312] like Figure 16 , Figure 17 As shown, the pressing roller 31A and the coating roller 33A rotate synchronously as the drive motor 74 installed on the coating mechanism 30A rotates.

[0313] like Figure 16 As shown, since the copying mold 22A is not circular, the distances AE, AE', and AE” between the rotation center (A-axis) of the copying mold 22A and the contact points E, E', and E” between the copying mold and the pressing roller 31A change as the copying mold 22A rotates.

[0314] exist Figure 16 (b) is the state when the distance is AE', and the distance AE' is greater than... Figure 16 (a) shows the distance AE. Then, synchronized with the change from distance AE to distance AE' as the copying mold 22A rotates, the copying position adjustment mechanism 50A ( Figure 8 , 9 Adjust the position of the coating mechanism 30A so that the position of the rotation center (B axis) of the pressing roller 31A moves from B to B'.

[0315] In addition, Figure 16 (c) is the state of distance AE", distance AE" is greater than Figure 16 (b) The distance AE' in the state shown is short. Then, in sync with the change from distance AE' to distance AE” as the contouring mold 22A rotates, the position of the coating mechanism 30A is adjusted by the contouring position adjustment mechanism 50A, so that the position of the rotation center (B axis) of the pressing roller 31A moves from B' to B”.

[0316] In this way, the position of the pressing roller 31A is adjusted by the contouring position adjustment mechanism 50A in sync with the change of the distance AE from the rotation center (A axis) of the contouring mold 22A to the contact point E between the contouring mold 22A and the pressing roller 31A as the contouring mold 22A rotates, so that the pressing roller 31A imitates the shape of the outer peripheral end face 22a of the contouring mold 22A.

[0317] Then, the rotation centers of the copying mold 22A and the workpiece 2B are located on the same axis (A axis), and their outer circumferences overlap when viewed from above. In addition, the pressing roller 31A and the coating roller 33A are arranged on the coating mechanism 30A, which is positioned by the copying position adjustment mechanism 50A.

[0318] therefore, Figure 17 The movements of the workpiece 2B and the coating roller 33A shown are basically the same as... Figure 16 The motion of the contour mold 22A and the pressing roller 31A shown is synchronized.

[0319] That is, in sync with the change in distance AF from the rotation center (A axis) of workpiece 2B to the contact point F between workpiece 2B and coating roller 33A, the position of coating roller 33A (position of rotation center (D axis)) is adjusted by contouring position adjustment mechanism 50A so as to mimic the outer peripheral end face 33a of coating roller 33A.

[0320] Furthermore, during the operation of workpiece 2B and coating roller 33A, the coating roller pressing part 60A can be used to press the workpiece 2B. Figure 8 The elastic component 61A adjusts the force by which the coating roller 33A presses against the outer peripheral end face 2a of the workpiece 2B.

[0321] That is, on the coating mechanism 30A, the pressing roller 31A and the coating roller 33A are basically arranged coaxially (on the B axis and the D axis), but the coating part 32A, including the coating roller 33A, is arranged so as to be able to slide in the linear direction connecting the A axis and the D axis via the second sliding part 77. In addition, the rotation transmission shaft 72c has a flexible shaft part 72d. Figure 9 , 10 However, the sliding range (distance) of the coating roller 33A is limited to a very small range (less than a few mm).

[0322] Because the coating part 32A is coated by the elastic member 61A in the fourth direction D4 ( Figure 8 The coating roller 33A presses on the outer peripheral end face 2a of the workpiece 2B with a variable force, so the pressing force when the coating roller 33A presses on the outer peripheral end face 2a of the workpiece 2B can be mitigated or absorbed by the elastic component 61A.

[0323] Therefore, the coating roller 33A can be pressed onto the outer peripheral end face 2a of the workpiece 2B with a force weaker than that of the pressing roller 31A pressing onto the outer peripheral end face 22a of the mold 22A, so as to form a coating film liquid 3.

[0324] In addition, such as Figure 17 As shown in (d), the film-forming liquid supplied to the outer peripheral end face 33a of the coating roller 33A is scraped off by the bar coater 35A and the scraper 35B, so that it is stretched into a thin film only on the outer peripheral end face 33a.

[0325] The thickness of the outer peripheral end face 33a of the coating roller 33A is less than or equal to the thickness t of the workpiece 2B, therefore the coating width t1 of the film-forming liquid 3 is less than or equal to the thickness t of the workpiece 2B. Furthermore, the coating thickness of the film-forming liquid 3, for example, if it is a light-shielding material, is designed to be less than tens of μm to shape the microgrooves of the bar coater 35A.

[0326] Then, the outer peripheral end face 33a portion of the coating roller 33A coated with film-forming liquid 3 is pressed onto the outer peripheral end face 2a of the workpiece 2B while rotating, thereby transferring and coating the film-forming liquid 3 from the coating roller 33A to the outer peripheral end face 2a of the workpiece 2B with a coating width less than or equal to the thickness t of the workpiece 2B and with a specified coating thickness.

[0327] According to the coating apparatus 10A of the above embodiment (2), the workpiece 2B and the copying mold 22A, which have approximately the same shape, can rotate synchronously at the same center of rotation axis (A-axis) via the rotation mechanism 20A. Furthermore, via the coating mechanism 30A, with the pressing roller 31A pressing on the outer peripheral end face 22a of the copying mold 22A and the coating roller 33A pressing on the outer peripheral end face 2a of the workpiece 2B, the pressing roller 31A and the coating roller 33A can rotate synchronously via the rotation transmission mechanism 70. Therefore, the rotational movement of the copying mold 22A, which rotates together with the pressing roller 31A, and the rotational movement of the workpiece 2B, which rotates together with the coating roller 33A, can be synchronized.

[0328] Furthermore, even the distance AE from the rotation center (A-axis) of the copying mold 22A to the contact point E between the copying mold 22A and the pressing roller 31A ( Figure 16 As the non-circular contouring mold 22A rotates, the contouring position adjustment mechanism 50A allows the pressing roller 31A to rotate while pressing against the outer peripheral end face 22a of the contouring mold 22A, thus accurately adjusting the position of the pressing roller 31A in sync with the change in distance AE. Simultaneously, the coating roller 33A rotates while pressing against the outer peripheral end face 2a of the workpiece 2B, also accurately adjusting its position in sync with the change in distance AE.

[0329] Therefore, by setting a contour mold 22A with a shape that is approximately the same as the outline of the workpiece 2B, the film forming liquid 3 can be applied with high precision only on the outer peripheral end face 2a of the workpiece 2B, i.e., with a coating width less than the thickness of the workpiece 2B, depending on the shape of the workpiece 2B (in other words, regardless of the shape of the workpiece 2B).

[0330] In addition, even if the workpiece 2B is thin and prone to damage such as cracks or fissures, by setting the contour mold 22A, the pressure of the coating roller 33A on the outer peripheral end face 2a of the workpiece 2B is limited, thus preventing damage to the workpiece 2B.

[0331] Furthermore, according to the coating apparatus 10A, the contouring position adjustment mechanism 50A is composed of a first sliding part 13 and a cylinder 16. The first mounting plate 14, on which the coating mechanism 30A is mounted, can move in the third direction D3 via the first sliding part 13. Additionally, the first mounting plate 14 mounted on the first sliding part 13 and the coating mechanism 30A can be pressed and adjusted in the third direction D3 via the cylinder 16.

[0332] Therefore, with the pressing roller 31A, the coating section 32A, and the rotation transmission mechanism 70 integrated, and with the pressing roller 31A pressed onto the contour mold 22A in a manner that mimics the outer peripheral shape of the contour mold 22A, the first mounting plate 14 can move in the third direction D3. This prevents misalignment of the rotation axes (B-axis and D-axis) of the pressing roller 31A and the coating roller 33A during the coating operation, and improves the accuracy of pressing the coating roller 33A onto the workpiece 2B so that the coating roller 33A mimics the movement of the outer peripheral end face 2a of the workpiece 2B.

[0333] Furthermore, according to the coating apparatus 10A, since the coating roller pressing part 60A is configured with an elastic member 61A and a second sliding part 77, the force pressing the coating roller 33A onto the outer peripheral end face 2a of the workpiece 2B can be appropriately adjusted by the elastic member 61A and the second sliding part 77. For example, the pressing force can be adjusted (softened or absorbed) so that the pressing force of the coating roller 33A on the workpiece 2B is less than the pressing force of the pressing roller 31A on the mold 22A. Therefore, with the coating roller 33A gently pressed onto the outer peripheral end face 2a of the workpiece 2B, the film forming liquid 3 can be applied to the outer peripheral end face 2a of the workpiece 2B with high precision and the desired coating width or coating thickness. In addition, the damage prevention effect on the workpiece 2B can also be improved.

[0334] In addition, according to the coating apparatus 10A, the pressing roller 31A and the fifth gear 71b rotate synchronously through the fifth transmission mechanism 72, and the rotation of the fifth gear 71b is synchronously transmitted to the coating roller 33A through the fourth transmission mechanism 71.

[0335] Therefore, the pressing roller 31A and the coating roller 33A can be rotated synchronously via the fifth transmission mechanism 72 and the fourth transmission mechanism 71. This improves the synchronization accuracy of the rotational movements of the contour mold 22A (which rotates with the pressing roller 31A) and the workpiece 2B (which rotates with the coating roller 33A). Furthermore, the spacing between the pressing roller 31A and the coating roller 33A can be adjusted via the fifth transmission mechanism 72 and the fourth transmission mechanism 71.

[0336] Furthermore, according to the coating apparatus 10A, the sixth gear 72a and the seventh gear 72b rotate synchronously via the rotation transmission shaft 72c. The pressing roller 31A, which meshes with the sixth gear 72a, and the fifth gear 71b, which meshes with the seventh gear 72b, rotate synchronously. The rotation of the fifth gear 71b is synchronously transmitted to the coating roller 33A via the rotation transmission shaft 71a. Therefore, the pressing roller 31A and the coating roller 33A can rotate synchronously with a simple structure.

[0337] Furthermore, according to the coating apparatus 10A, since the rotary transmission shaft 72c is configured to include a flexible shaft portion 72d, even if there is some axial offset (eccentricity) between the rotation center (B axis) of the pressing roller 31A and the rotation center (D axis) of the coating roller 33A, the pressing roller 31A and the coating roller 33A can be rotated synchronously with high precision while absorbing the offset.

[0338] Furthermore, according to the coating apparatus 10A, the 8th gear 73 is driven to rotate by the drive motor 74, and the rotational force of the 8th gear 73 is transmitted to the pressing roller 31A via the 6th gear 72a. The rotational force of the 8th gear 73 is then transmitted to the 5th gear 71b via the 6th gear 72a, the rotational transmission shaft 72c, and the 7th gear 72b, and further transmitted from the 5th gear 71b to the coating roller 33A via the rotational transmission shaft 71a. Therefore, the rotational driving force of the drive motor 74 is transmitted to both the pressing roller 31A and the coating roller 33A, enabling high-precision synchronous rotation of both rollers.

[0339] Furthermore, according to the coating apparatus 10A, since tiny teeth capable of meshing with each other are formed on the outer peripheral surfaces of the contour mold 22A, the pressing roller 31A, the sixth gear 72a, the eighth gear 73, the seventh gear 72b, and the fifth gear 71b, the deviation in the synchronization timing of the rotational motion can be reduced, and the synchronization accuracy can be improved.

[0340] Furthermore, according to the coating apparatus 10A, since the radius of the pressing roller 31A is set below the minimum radius of curvature in the curved portion (rounded corner portion) of the contouring mold 22A, even if the contouring mold 22A has a shape with multiple curved portions having different curvatures, contouring can be performed with good accuracy while the pressing roller 31A is pressed on all the curved portions of the contouring mold 22A. Therefore, by using the coating roller 33A having an outer diameter approximately the same as the pressing roller 31A, the film-forming liquid 3 can be applied with high precision to the outer peripheral end face 2a of the workpiece 2B having an outer shape approximately the same as the contouring mold 22A (i.e., having multiple curved portions with different curvatures).

[0341] Furthermore, according to the coating apparatus 10A, by providing a pressing roller guide 22d on the contouring mold 22A, even if the curved portion (rounded corner, etc.) of the contouring mold 22A has a large degree of curvature (small radius of curvature), it is possible to reliably guide the mold along the curved portion when the pressing roller 31A is pressed against it. Therefore, even if the workpiece 2B has a curved portion with a large degree of curvature, the coating roller 33A can precisely coat the film-forming liquid 3 onto the outer peripheral end face 2a of the workpiece 2B.

[0342] Furthermore, according to the coating apparatus 10A, since the third rotating shaft 28 is supported on the housing portion 29 in a rotatable manner, a holding portion mounting portion 28a is provided at one end of the third rotating shaft 28, and a mold mounting portion 28b is provided at the other end, thus the holding portion 21A and the mold 22A can be easily installed and removed. Additionally, since an attraction path 26 is formed on the third rotating shaft 28 and the holding portion 21A, the workpiece 2B can be adsorbed and held on the holding portion 21A, making it easy to install and remove the workpiece 2B.

[0343] Furthermore, according to the coating apparatus 10A, since it includes a liquid supply unit 34A, a bar coater 35A, and a scraper 35B, the film-forming liquid 3 will not protrude from the outer peripheral end face 33a of the coating roller 33A, allowing the film-forming liquid 3 to adhere only to its outer peripheral end face 33a. Moreover, since the thickness of the outer peripheral end face 33a of the coating roller 33A is less than the thickness of the outer peripheral end face 2a of the workpiece 2B, coating can be performed while the film-forming liquid 3 is neatly transferred from the outer peripheral end face 33a of the coating roller 33A onto the outer peripheral end face 2a of the workpiece 2B.

[0344] Furthermore, according to the coating apparatus 10A, the bar coater 35A has multiple microgrooves on the surface that abuts against the outer peripheral end face 33a of the coating roller 33A, so that the film-forming liquid 3 can be extended and adhered thinly and uniformly on the outer peripheral end face 33a of the coating roller 33A, and the film-forming liquid 3 can be uniformly coated on the outer peripheral end face 2a of the thin plate-shaped workpiece 2B from the coating roller 33A.

[0345] Figure 18 This is a cross-sectional view showing the main structural components of the coating apparatus 10B according to another embodiment. Additionally, in Figure 18 In the diagram, the shading lines representing the cross-sections have been omitted for clarity. Additionally, for sections with... Figures 8-10 The components of the coating apparatus 10A shown have the same function and are marked with the same symbols, so their descriptions are omitted here.

[0346] Another embodiment of the coating apparatus 10B differs from the coating apparatus 10A described above in that it has a structure that constitutes the rotary transmission mechanism 70A of the coating mechanism section 30B.

[0347] In the coating apparatus 10B, the fifth transmission mechanism 72A constituting the rotary transmission mechanism 70A has a sixth gear 72a that can rotate together with the pressing roller 31A, a seventh gear 72b that has a similar outer diameter to the sixth gear 72a and can rotate together with the fifth gear 71b, a first drive motor 74A that drives the sixth gear 72a to rotate, and a second drive motor 74B that drives the seventh gear 72b to rotate.

[0348] The sixth gear 72a is mounted on the sixth gear shaft 72e, which is rotatably supported on the housing portion 37. The seventh gear 72b is mounted on the seventh gear shaft 72f, which is rotatably supported on the housing portion 76.

[0349] In addition, two motor mounting plates 75 are installed on the first mounting plate 14, with the first drive motor 74A installed on the lower motor mounting plate 75 and the second drive motor 74B installed on the upper motor mounting plate 75.

[0350] That is, in the coating apparatus 10B, as in the fifth transmission mechanism 72 of the coating apparatus 10A according to embodiment (2), the rotation transmission shaft 72c connecting the sixth gear 72a and the seventh gear 72b is not provided. Instead, the rotation speed of the rotation shaft 74a of the first drive motor 74A and the second drive motor 74B is controlled synchronously to synchronize the rotation of the sixth gear 72a and the seventh gear 72b.

[0351] According to the coating apparatus 10B, the rotational driving force of the first drive motor 74A is transmitted to the pressing roller 31A via the sixth gear 72a, and the rotational driving force of the second drive motor 74B is transmitted to the fifth gear 71b via the seventh gear 72b. The rotation of the fifth gear 71b is synchronously transmitted to the coating roller 33A via the fourth transmission mechanism 71. Therefore, by synchronizing the rotational drives of the first drive motor 74A and the second drive motor 74B, the pressing roller 31A and the coating roller 33A can be synchronized with high precision.

[0352] Figure 19 This is a cross-sectional view showing the main structural components of the coating apparatus 10C according to another embodiment. Additionally, in Figure 19 In the diagram, the shading representing the cross-section has been omitted for clarity. Additionally, for sections with... Figures 8-10 The components of the coating apparatus 10A shown have the same function and are marked with the same symbols, so their descriptions are omitted here.

[0353] Another embodiment of the coating apparatus 10C differs from the coating apparatus 10A described above in that it has a rotating transmission mechanism 70B that constitutes the coating mechanism section 30C.

[0354] In the coating apparatus 10C, the fifth transmission mechanism 72B constituting the rotary transmission mechanism 70B includes a sixth gear 72a that can rotate with the pressing roller 31A, a seventh gear 72b that has an outer diameter approximately the same as the sixth gear 72a and can rotate with the fifth gear 71b, an eighth gear 73 that can rotate with the sixth gear 72a, a first drive motor 74A that drives the eighth gear 73 to rotate, a ninth gear (ninth rotary transmission unit) 78 that can rotate with the seventh gear 72b, and a second drive motor 74B that drives the ninth gear 78 to rotate.

[0355] The sixth gear 72a is mounted on the sixth gear shaft 72e, which is rotatably supported on the housing portion 37. The seventh gear 72b is mounted on the seventh gear shaft 72f, which is rotatably supported on the housing portion 76.

[0356] In addition, two motor mounting plates 75 are installed on the first mounting plate 14, with the first drive motor 74A installed on the lower motor mounting plate 75 and the second drive motor 74B installed on the upper motor mounting plate 75.

[0357] That is, in the coating apparatus 10C, as in the fifth transmission mechanism 72 of the coating apparatus 10A according to embodiment (2), the rotation transmission shaft 72c connecting the sixth gear 72a and the seventh gear 72b is not provided. Instead, the rotation speeds of the rotation shafts 74a of the first drive motor 74A and the second drive motor 74B are synchronously controlled so that the rotation of the eighth gear 83 and the sixth gear 72a is synchronized with the rotation of the ninth gear 78 and the seventh gear 72b.

[0358] According to the coating apparatus 10C, the rotational driving force of the first drive motor 74A is transmitted to the pressing roller 31A via the eighth gear 73 and the sixth gear 72a, and the rotational driving force of the second drive motor 74B is transmitted to the fifth gear 71b via the ninth gear 78 and the seventh gear 72b. The rotation of the fifth gear 71b is synchronously transmitted to the coating roller 33A via the fourth transmission mechanism 71. Therefore, by synchronizing the rotational drives of the first drive motor 74A and the second drive motor 74B, the pressing roller 31A and the coating roller 33A can be synchronized with high precision.

[0359] In another embodiment of the coating apparatus, the first drive motor 74A drives the roller shaft 31b or the pressing roller 31A to rotate, and the second drive motor 74B drives the rotation transmission shaft 71a or the fifth gear 71b of the fourth transmission mechanism 71 to rotate. Alternatively, a structure can be adopted in which the pressing roller 31A and the coating roller 33A rotate synchronously.

[0360] Industrial utilization potential

[0361] This invention can be widely applied in the fields of electronic devices such as smart glass, thin lenses used in AR or VR goggles, smartphones and other portable information terminals, smartwatches, and other wearable terminals, as well as thin displays and cover lenses (covering glass).

[0362] symbol

[0363] 2.2B workpiece

[0364] 2a Outer peripheral end face

[0365] 3. Film-forming liquid

[0366] 10, 10A, 10B, 10C Coating Devices

[0367] 11, 11A support platform

[0368] 12 brackets

[0369] 12a wrist

[0370] 13 First sliding part

[0371] 13a linear guide

[0372] 13b slider

[0373] 14 First mounting plate

[0374] 15 Second mounting plate

[0375] 16 cylinders

[0376] 16a rod

[0377] 17 connector

[0378] 18L type connector

[0379] 20, 20A Rotary Mechanism

[0380] 21, 21A Holding Section

[0381] 22, 22A Profiling Mold

[0382] 22a outer peripheral end face

[0383] 22b insertion hole

[0384] 22c mounting hole

[0385] 22d Press Roller Guide

[0386] 23. Profiling Mold Installation Section

[0387] 24 First Rotation Axis

[0388] 25 Second Rotation Axis

[0389] 26 Attraction Paths

[0390] 27 Drive Unit

[0391] 27a Pulley Mechanism

[0392] 28 Third Rotation Axis

[0393] 28a Retention Section Installation Section

[0394] 28b Profiling Mold Installation Section

[0395] 29. Shell section

[0396] 30, 30A, 30B, 30C Coating Unit

[0397] 31, 31A Pressing Roller

[0398] 31b roller shaft

[0399] 31c small diameter bearing

[0400] 32, 32A Coating Section

[0401] 33, 33A Coating Roller

[0402] 33a outer peripheral end face

[0403] 33b roller shaft

[0404] 33c peripheral edge

[0405] 34, 34A Liquid Supply Section

[0406] 34a Coating base

[0407] 34aa storage tank

[0408] 34ab front end tapering shape

[0409] 34b coated pad

[0410] 34ba slot

[0411] 34bb slit hole

[0412] 34c coating block

[0413] 34ca cylindrical part

[0414] 34cb front end tapering shape

[0415] 34d fluid flow path

[0416] 35 Liquid scraping section

[0417] 35A Rod Applicator (Liquid Spreading Section)

[0418] 35B scraper (liquid scraping section)

[0419] 35a Coating Tank

[0420] 36, 36A Liquid Receiving Section

[0421] 37 Casing Section

[0422] 40 Rotary Transmission Mechanism

[0423] 41 First transmission mechanism

[0424] 41a Pressing roller rotating shaft

[0425] 41b First gear (first rotary transmission unit)

[0426] 42 Second transmission mechanism

[0427] 42a Rotary transmission shaft (first rotary transmission shaft)

[0428] 42b Second gear (second rotational transmission unit)

[0429] 42c Third gear (third rotational transmission unit)

[0430] 43 Third transmission mechanism

[0431] 43a Coating Roller Rotating Shaft

[0432] 43b Fourth gear (fourth rotary transmission unit)

[0433] 43c swing arm

[0434] 44 Mounting Components

[0435] 50, 50A contour position adjustment mechanism

[0436] 51 Mobile Agency

[0437] 51a guide rail

[0438] 51b slider

[0439] 52 Mounting component pressing part

[0440] 60, 60A Coating Roller Pressing Section

[0441] 61, 61A elastic components

[0442] 62, 62A mounting components

[0443] 70, 70A, 70B Rotary Transmission Mechanisms

[0444] 71 Fourth Transmission Mechanism

[0445] 71a Rotary Transmission Shaft

[0446] 71b Fifth gear (Fifth rotary transmission unit)

[0447] 72, 72A, 72B Fifth Transmission Mechanism

[0448] 72a 6th gear (6th rotational transmission unit)

[0449] 72b 7th gear (7th rotational transmission unit)

[0450] 72c Rotary Transmission Shaft (Second Rotary Transmission Shaft)

[0451] 72d flexible shaft

[0452] 72e 6th gear shaft

[0453] 72f 7th gear shaft

[0454] 73. 8th Gear (8th Rotation Transmission Unit)

[0455] 74 Drive Motor (Drive Unit)

[0456] 74A First Drive Motor (First Drive Unit)

[0457] 74B Second Drive Motor (Second Drive Unit)

[0458] 74a Rotary Axis

[0459] 75 motor mounting plate

[0460] 76 Casing Section

[0461] 77 Second sliding part

[0462] 78. 9th gear (9th rotary transmission part)

[0463] D1 Direction 1

[0464] D2, direction 2

[0465] D3 3rd direction

[0466] D4, direction 4

Claims

1. A coating apparatus, characterized in that, The coating apparatus includes a rotation mechanism for rotating a workpiece and a coating mechanism for applying a film-forming liquid to the outer peripheral end face of the workpiece rotated by the rotation mechanism. The rotating mechanism is configured such that the workpiece and the contour mold with a shape roughly the same as the workpiece can rotate synchronously at the same rotation axis center. The coating mechanism includes: The pressing roller, while being pressed against the outer peripheral end face of the contour mold, is driven to rotate by the rotational force of the contour mold. The coating section includes a coating roller that, while being pressed against the outer peripheral end face of the workpiece, applies the film-forming liquid to the outer peripheral end face of the workpiece while rotating together with the workpiece. A rotary transmission mechanism that causes the pressing roller and the coating roller, which have approximately the same outer diameter, to rotate synchronously.

2. The coating apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that, The coating mechanism includes a contouring position adjustment mechanism. This mechanism can adjust the position of the pressing roller in sync with the change in distance from the center of rotation of the contouring mold to the contact point between the contouring mold and the pressing roller as the contouring mold rotates, so that the pressing roller mimics the outer peripheral end face of the contouring mold.

3. The coating apparatus according to claim 2, characterized in that, The contouring position adjustment mechanism comprises: A moving mechanism that enables the pressing roller, the coating section, and the mounting component on which the rotary transfer mechanism is mounted in an operable manner to move in a first direction along a straight line connecting the rotation center of the mold and the rotation center of the pressing roller; The pressing adjustment unit is capable of pressing and adjusting the mounting component installed on the moving mechanism in the first direction.

4. The coating apparatus according to claim 2, characterized in that, The coating mechanism includes a coating roller pressing part that adjusts the force by which the coating roller presses against the outer peripheral end face of the workpiece.

5. The coating apparatus according to claim 4, characterized in that, The coating roller pressing part includes an elastic member configured to exert a variable force in a second direction along a straight line connecting the rotation center of the workpiece and the rotation center of the coating roller.

6. The coating apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that, The rotary transmission mechanism includes: The first transmission mechanism that transmits the rotation of the pressing roller, A second transmission mechanism transmits the rotation from the first transmission mechanism. The rotation from the second transfer mechanism is transmitted to the third transfer mechanism of the coating roller; The first transmission mechanism includes a first rotational transmission part that rotates together with the rotational axis of the pressing roller; The second transmission mechanism includes a second rotary transmission part that rotates synchronously with the first rotary transmission part and is mounted on one end side, and a first rotary transmission shaft that rotates synchronously with the second rotary transmission part and is mounted on the other end side; The third transfer mechanism comprises a fourth rotary transfer unit mounted on the rotary shaft of the coating roller and rotating synchronously with the third rotary transfer unit, and a swing arm that supports the rotary shaft of the coating roller in a manner that allows the coating roller to swing about the first rotary transfer shaft.

7. The coating apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that, The coating section includes: The liquid supply unit supplies the film-forming liquid to the outer peripheral end face of the coating roller. The liquid scraping section is equipped with a coating groove for forming a coating width less than the thickness of the workpiece, and is configured to abut against the outer peripheral end face of the coating roller.

8. The coating apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that, The rotating mechanism includes a holding part for holding the workpiece and a copying mold mounting part for mounting the copying mold thereon in a manner that allows it to be installed and removed.

9. The coating apparatus according to claim 8, characterized in that, The rotating mechanism includes a first rotating shaft connecting the holding part and the mold mounting part, and a second rotating shaft connected on the same shaft as the first rotating shaft and configured to be rotatable by a rotating driving force from the driving part; An attraction path for adsorbing and holding the workpiece is formed on the holding part, the first rotating shaft, and the second rotating shaft.

10. The coating apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that, The outer circumference of the pressing roller is longer than the outer circumference of the contour mold.

11. The coating apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that, The rotary transmission mechanism includes: The fourth transmission mechanism includes a fifth rotary transmission part with an outer diameter approximately the same as that of the coating roller, which enables the fifth rotary transmission part and the coating roller to rotate synchronously at the same rotation axis center. The fifth transmission mechanism enables the pressing roller and the fifth rotary transmission unit to rotate synchronously.

12. The coating apparatus according to claim 11, characterized in that, The fifth transmission machine The structure includes: The sixth rotary transmission unit is capable of rotating together with the pressing roller. The seventh rotary transmission unit has approximately the same outer diameter as the sixth rotary transmission unit and is capable of rotating together with the fifth rotary transmission unit. The second rotary transmission shaft enables the sixth and seventh rotary transmission units to rotate synchronously.

13. The coating apparatus according to claim 12, characterized in that, The second rotary transmission shaft may be configured as a flexible shaft or as a universal joint.

14. The coating apparatus according to claim 12, characterized in that, The rotary transmission mechanism includes an eighth rotary transmission unit capable of rotating together with the sixth rotary transmission unit and a drive unit for driving the eighth rotary transmission unit to rotate.

15. The coating apparatus according to claim 14, characterized in that, The outer peripheral surfaces of the contour mold, the pressing roller, the fifth rotational transmission part, the sixth rotational transmission part, the seventh rotational transmission part, and the eighth rotational transmission part are formed with interlocking teeth.

16. The coating apparatus according to claim 11, characterized in that, The fifth transmission mechanism includes: A sixth rotational transmission unit capable of rotating together with the pressing roller. A seventh rotary transmission unit, having approximately the same outer diameter as the sixth rotary transmission unit, is capable of rotating together with the fifth rotary transmission unit. The first driving unit that drives the sixth rotation transmission unit to rotate. The second drive unit drives the rotation of the seventh rotation transmission unit.

17. The coating apparatus according to claim 16, characterized in that, The outer peripheral surfaces of the contour mold, the pressing roller, the fifth rotational transmission part, the sixth rotational transmission part, and the seventh rotational transmission part are formed with interlocking teeth.

18. The coating apparatus according to claim 11, characterized in that, The fifth transmission mechanism includes: The sixth rotary transmission unit is capable of rotating together with the pressing roller. The seventh rotary transmission unit has approximately the same outer diameter as the sixth rotary transmission unit and is capable of rotating together with the fifth rotary transmission unit. The eighth rotary transmission unit is capable of rotating together with the sixth rotary transmission unit. The first driving unit drives the eighth rotation transmission unit to rotate. The 9th rotary transmission unit is capable of rotating together with the 7th rotary transmission unit. The second driving unit drives the ninth rotation transmission unit to rotate.

19. The coating apparatus according to claim 18, characterized in that, The outer peripheral surfaces of the contour mold, the pressing roller, the 5th rotational transmission part, the 6th rotational transmission part, the 7th rotational transmission part, the 8th rotational transmission part, and the 9th rotational transmission part are formed with interlocking teeth.

20. The coating apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that, The rotary transmission mechanism includes: The first drive unit drives the pressing roller to rotate. The second drive unit drives the coating roller to rotate.

21. The coating apparatus according to claim 11, characterized in that, The contouring mold has a curved outer periphery, and the radius of the pressing roller is set to be below the smallest radius of curvature of the curved portion of the contouring mold.

22. The coating apparatus according to claim 21, characterized in that, A pressing roller guide is installed on the mold, and the pressing roller guide is configured to guide the pressing roller along the curve of the mold.

23. The coating apparatus according to claim 11, characterized in that, The rotating mechanism includes: A holding part that holds the workpiece. The third rotating shaft has a retaining part mounting part at one end for mounting the retaining part, and a copying mold mounting part at the other end for mounting the copying mold. A support portion that supports the third rotating shaft in a manner that allows it to rotate freely; An attraction path is formed on the holding part and the third rotating shaft to attract and hold the workpiece on the holding part.

24. The coating apparatus according to claim 11, characterized in that, The thickness of the outer peripheral end face of the coating roller is less than or equal to the thickness of the outer peripheral end face of the workpiece. The coating section includes: The liquid supply unit supplies the film-forming liquid to the outer peripheral end face of the coating roller. A liquid extension portion is provided in a manner that allows it to abut against the outer peripheral end face of the coating roller. The liquid scraping section is provided in such a way that it can abut against the outer peripheral edge of the coating roller.

25. The coating apparatus according to claim 24, characterized in that, The liquid extension portion has a plurality of microgrooves formed in the rotation direction of the coating roller on the surface that abuts against the outer peripheral end face of the coating roller.

Images