Vacuum buffer chamber and double-line vacuum coating system

Abstract

The invention discloses a vacuum buffer chamber and a double-line vacuum coating system.The vacuum buffer chamber comprises a front wall plate and a rear wall plate, and a partition assembly for dividing the inner space of the vacuum buffer chamber into a first buffer cavity and a second buffer cavity is arranged between the front wall plate and the rear wall plate; the partition assembly comprises a first partition plate and a second partition plate which are oppositely arranged, a gap communicated with the atmosphere is formed between the first partition plate and the second partition plate, and a reinforcing piece extending between the first partition plate and the second partition plate is arranged in the gap. The vacuum buffer chamber is divided into the two buffer cavities through the partition assembly of the hollow structure, effective volume reduction of the two buffer cavities can be achieved, and therefore the vacuumizing efficiency and the production efficiency of vacuum coating can be improved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application relates to the technical field of vacuum coating equipment, and particularly to a vacuum buffer chamber and a dual-line vacuum coating system. Background Art

[0002] The vacuum buffer chamber is usually located between the feeding side and the discharging side of the workpiece and the coating chamber, and has the functions of isolating the atmosphere, optimizing the vacuum environment of the coating chamber, and improving the coating efficiency. It is a key unit of the vacuum coating system.

[0003] For a dual-line vacuum coating system, the vacuum buffer chamber is usually partitioned by a partition into a first buffer chamber and a second buffer chamber. During operation, both buffer chambers need to be evacuated, which involves a large amount of work, and the evacuation efficiency directly affects the production efficiency. To improve the evacuation efficiency, the prior art mainly installs filling blocks in the vacuum buffer chamber to achieve the purpose of volume reduction. However, this method has problems such as cumbersome installation of the filling blocks, limited volume reduction effect, and high filling costs. Summary of the Invention

[0004] In view of the problems in the prior art, the present application provides a vacuum buffer chamber capable of rapid evacuation and a dual-line vacuum coating system including the vacuum buffer chamber.

[0005] The vacuum buffer chamber includes a front wall plate and a rear wall plate. A partition component is provided between the front wall plate and the rear wall plate to divide the internal space of the vacuum buffer chamber into a first buffer chamber and a second buffer chamber. A first inlet is provided on the front wall plate where the first buffer chamber is located, and a first outlet is provided on the rear wall plate where the first buffer chamber is located. A first passage for the workpiece to pass through is formed between the first inlet and the first outlet. A second inlet is provided on the front wall plate where the second buffer chamber is located, and a second outlet is provided on the rear wall plate where the second buffer chamber is located. A second passage for the workpiece to pass through is formed between the second inlet and the second outlet. The partition component includes a first partition and a second partition arranged opposite to each other. There is a space communicating with the atmosphere between the first partition and the second partition, and a reinforcing member extending between the first partition and the second partition is provided in the space.

[0006] The following also provides several optional ways, which are not additional limitations to the above overall solution, but are only further supplements or optimizations. Without technical or logical contradictions, each optional way can be combined with the above overall solution alone, or multiple optional ways can be combined with each other.

[0007] Optionally, the first partition includes a first main body portion and two first end portions. The two first end portions are respectively connected to the front wall plate and the rear wall plate, and the first main body portion protrudes towards the first buffer chamber relative to the two first end portions.

[0008] Optionally, the second partition includes a second main body portion and two second end portions. The two second end portions are respectively connected to the front wall plate and the rear wall plate, and the second main body portion protrudes towards the second buffer cavity relative to the two second end portions.

[0009] Optionally, the reinforcing member includes a transverse reinforcing plate and a longitudinal reinforcing plate. The transverse reinforcing plate and / or the longitudinal reinforcing plate are provided with clamping protrusions, and the first partition and / or the second partition are provided with slots adapted to the clamping protrusions.

[0010] Optionally, a first air extraction pipe is provided in the space formed by the first end portion and the front wall plate and the space formed by the first end portion and the rear wall plate; A second air extraction pipe is provided in the space formed by the second end portion and the front wall plate and the space formed by the second end portion and the rear wall plate.

[0011] Optionally, it includes a first side plate and a second side plate arranged oppositely. The first side plate is provided with a first maintenance opening and a first door plate for closing the first maintenance opening, and the first door plate protrudes towards the first buffer cavity; The second side plate is provided with a second maintenance opening and a second door plate for closing the second maintenance opening, and the second door plate protrudes towards the second buffer cavity.

[0012] The present application provides a double-line vacuum coating system having a feeding side and a discharging side, and the vacuum buffer chamber as described above is provided on the feeding side.

[0013] Optionally, the vacuum buffer chamber is provided on the discharging side.

[0014] Optionally, the vacuum buffer chamber includes a first vacuum buffer chamber provided on the feeding side and a second vacuum buffer chamber provided on the discharging side. The double-line vacuum coating system includes a first vacuum buffer chamber, a heating chamber, a coating chamber, and a second vacuum buffer chamber arranged in sequence.

[0015] Optionally, a deceleration chamber for slowing down the movement of the workpiece is provided between the heating chamber and the coating chamber; an acceleration chamber for accelerating the movement of the workpiece is provided between the coating chamber and the second vacuum buffer chamber.

[0016] Compared with the prior art, the present application uses a partition component with a hollow structure to divide the vacuum buffer chamber into two buffer cavities, which can effectively reduce the volume of the two buffer cavities, thereby facilitating the improvement of the vacuum pumping efficiency. Moreover, the structure is simple, which can effectively reduce the complexity and cost of equipment manufacturing. Description of the Drawings Figure 1 It is a schematic structural diagram of the vacuum buffer chamber in an embodiment; Figure 2Schematic structural diagram of a separation component in an embodiment; Figure 3 Exploded view of the separation component; Figure 4 Assembly diagram of a reinforcing member and a second partition board in an embodiment; Figure 5 Partial structural diagram of a vacuum buffer chamber in an embodiment; Figure 6 Schematic diagram of a dual-line vacuum coating system in an embodiment; Figure 7 Schematic diagram of a dual-line vacuum coating system in another embodiment.

[0017] Explanation of the reference numerals in the figures is as follows: 100, vacuum buffer chamber; 110, front wall panel; 111, first inlet; 112, second inlet; 120, rear wall panel; 121, first outlet; 122, second outlet; 130, first buffer cavity; 140, second buffer cavity; 150, separation component; 151, first partition board; 1511, first main body part; 1512, first end part; 152, second partition board; 1521, second main body part; 1522, second end part; 1523, slot; 153, interval; 154, reinforcing member; 1541, transverse reinforcing plate; 1542, longitudinal reinforcing plate; 1543, clamping projection; 160, first extraction pipe; 170, second extraction pipe; 180, first side plate; 181, first door panel; 190, second side plate; 191, second door panel; 200, dual-line vacuum coating system; 201, feeding side; 202, first vacuum buffer chamber; 203, heating chamber; 204, deceleration chamber; 205, coating chamber; 2051, first coating chamber; 2052, second coating chamber; 206, acceleration chamber; 207, transition chamber; 208, second vacuum buffer chamber; 209, valve; 210, discharging side; 300, workpiece holder. Detailed implementation manners

[0018] Next, the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application will be clearly and completely described in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in the embodiments of the present application. Obviously, the described embodiments are only a part of the embodiments of the present application, rather than all the embodiments. Based on the embodiments in the present application, all other embodiments obtained by those of ordinary skill in the art without creative efforts shall fall within the protection scope of the present application.

[0019] It should be noted that when a component is referred to as being "connected" to another component, it can be directly connected to the other component or there may also be an intermediate component. When a component is considered to be "disposed on" another component, it can be directly disposed on the other component or there may be an intermediate component at the same time.

[0020] Unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this application belongs. The terms used in the specification of this application are for the purpose of describing specific embodiments only and are not intended to limit this application. The term "and / or" as used herein includes any and all combinations of one or more of the related listed items.

[0021] To meet the requirements of the coating process, a vacuum coating system usually has multiple functional chambers, including a vacuum buffer chamber and a coating chamber. During continuous coating, the coating chamber needs to be maintained in a certain vacuum state. The vacuum buffer chamber is located between the external environment (atmosphere) and the coating chamber and serves as a buffer and transition. Before the workpiece is transferred into the coating chamber, the vacuum buffer chamber needs to be evacuated to prevent the direct entry of external air into the coating chamber and maintain the vacuum environment in the coating chamber; when the workpiece is taken out, the vacuum buffer chamber also serves as a buffer and transition to prevent the influx of external air and damage the vacuum state in the coating chamber.

[0022] The double-line vacuum coating system includes a parallel first coating production line and a second coating production line. Each functional chamber is divided into two sub-chambers corresponding to the first coating production line and the second coating production line, enabling double-sided coating of workpieces or simultaneous processing of two workpieces, thereby improving the coating production capacity and efficiency of the entire system.

[0023] See Figure 1 , the vacuum buffer chamber 100 of this application includes a front wall plate 110, a rear wall plate 120, and a partition component 150. The partition component 150 is disposed between the front wall plate 110 and the rear wall plate 120 and divides the internal space of the vacuum buffer chamber 100 into two sub-chambers, namely a first buffer chamber 130 and a second buffer chamber 140. To facilitate the workpiece carrier 300 to carry the workpiece in and out of each buffer chamber, the front wall plate 110 where the first buffer chamber 130 is located is provided with a first inlet 111, and the rear wall plate 120 where the first buffer chamber 130 is located is provided with a first outlet 121. A first passage for the workpiece to pass through is formed between the first inlet 111 and the first outlet 121; similarly, the front wall plate 110 where the second buffer chamber 140 is located is provided with a second inlet 112, and the rear wall plate 120 where the second buffer chamber 140 is located is provided with a second outlet 122. A second passage for the workpiece to pass through is formed between the second inlet 112 and the second outlet 122.

[0024] From the perspective of the coating process, the evacuation efficiency of each buffer chamber directly affects the production efficiency of coating. Different from the prior art method of filling the vacuum buffer chamber 100 with filling blocks, the partition assembly 150 of this application includes a first partition plate 151 and a second partition plate 152 arranged opposite to each other. There is a space 153 communicating with the atmosphere between the two partition plates, that is, the partition assembly 150 is a hollow structure. While partitioning the vacuum buffer chamber 100, it reduces the volume of the first buffer chamber 130 and the second buffer chamber 140, effectively reducing the evacuation space of the two buffer chambers. During operation, only the two buffer chambers with reduced volume need to be evacuated, so the evacuation efficiency can be significantly improved. In addition, since the partition assembly 150 communicates with the atmosphere, in order to prevent the partition assembly 150 from deforming during the evacuation process, a reinforcing member 154 extending between the first partition plate 151 and the second partition plate 152 is provided in the space 153, which can enhance the compressive capacity of the partition assembly 150.

[0025] Regarding the specific structure of the partition assembly 150, refer to Figure 1 , 2 In the embodiment shown, the first partition plate 151 includes a first main body portion 1511 and two first end portions 1512. Among them, the two first end portions 1512 are respectively connected to the front wall plate 110 and the rear wall plate 120, and the first main body portion 1511 protrudes toward the first buffer chamber 130 relative to the two first end portions 1512, so as to achieve the purpose of reducing the volume of the first buffer chamber 130.

[0026] Similarly, the second partition plate 152 includes a second main body portion 1521 and two second end portions 1522. The two second end portions 1522 are respectively connected to the front wall plate 110 and the rear wall plate 120, and the second main body portion 1521 protrudes toward the second buffer chamber 140 relative to the two second end portions 1522, so as to achieve the purpose of reducing the volume of the second buffer chamber 140.

[0027] Among them, the first partition plate 151 and the second partition plate 152 are sheet metal parts and are integrally formed U-shaped structures with high mechanical strength, which can play a good partitioning role. The vacuum buffer chamber 100 includes a top wall plate and a bottom wall plate. The top and bottom ends of the first partition plate 151 and the second partition plate 152 are respectively welded to the top wall plate and the bottom wall plate, and the first partition plate 151 and the second partition plate 152 are respectively welded to the front wall plate 110 and the rear wall plate 120 along the upper and lower ends.

[0028] To improve the vacuum pumping efficiency, both the first buffer chamber 130 and the second buffer chamber 140 are equipped with vacuum pumping devices. To avoid interfering with the entry and exit of workpieces, in the first buffer chamber 130, the space enclosed by the first end portion 1512 and the front wall plate 110, and the space enclosed by the first end portion 1512 and the rear wall plate 120 are both provided with the first air extraction pipes 160; in the second buffer chamber 140, the space enclosed by the second end portion 1522 and the front wall plate 110, and the space enclosed by the second end portion 1522 and the rear wall plate 120 are both provided with the second air extraction pipes 170, see Figure 5 .

[0029] Regarding the specific structure of the reinforcing member 154, in one embodiment, the reinforcing member 154 includes a transverse reinforcing plate 1541 and a longitudinal reinforcing plate 1542. Since the assembly space within the partitioning assembly 150 is limited, to facilitate the installation of the reinforcing member 154, the transverse reinforcing plate 1541 and / or the longitudinal reinforcing plate 1542 are provided with clamping protrusions 1543, and the first partition plate 151 and / or the second partition plate 152 are provided with slots 1523 that cooperate with the clamping protrusions 1543.

[0030] Specifically refer to Figure 3 , 4 , the transverse reinforcing plate 1541 and the longitudinal reinforcing plate 1542 are respectively provided with multiple pieces, and the transverse reinforcing plate 1541 and the longitudinal reinforcing plate 1542 are perpendicularly intertwined to form a grid structure, which is beneficial to further improving the compressive strength. Among them, the extension contour of the transverse reinforcing plate 1541 is adapted to the extension contours of the first partition plate 151 and the second partition plate 152, so that during assembly, the transverse reinforcing plate 1541 can well abut against the first partition plate 151 and the second partition plate 152; multiple clamping protrusions 1543 are provided on the longitudinal reinforcing plate 1542, and slots 1523 are provided on the first main body portion 1511 and the second main body portion 1521.

[0031] In one embodiment, only one side of each longitudinal reinforcing plate 1542 corresponding to the second partition plate 152 is provided with multiple clamping protrusions 1543. The sides of the transverse reinforcing plate 1541 and the longitudinal reinforcing plate 1542 corresponding to the first partition plate 151 are welded and fixed to the first partition plate 151. After the clamping protrusions 1543 and the slots 1523 are fitted, they are sealed by welding to prevent vacuum leakage in each buffer chamber.

[0032] To further fix the reinforcing member 154, both ends of the transverse reinforcing plate 1541 in the length direction are fixedly connected to the front wall plate 110 and the rear wall plate 120, both ends of the longitudinal reinforcing plate 1542 in the length direction are fixedly connected to the top wall plate and the bottom wall plate, and both ends in the width direction extend between the first partition plate 151 and the second partition plate 152.

[0033] See Figure 1In the illustrated embodiment, the vacuum buffer chamber 100 includes a first side plate 180 and a second side plate 190 arranged opposite to each other, wherein the first side plate 180 is provided with a first inspection port and a first door plate 181 for closing the first inspection port, and the first door plate 181 protrudes toward the first buffer cavity 130, thereby further reducing the space of the first buffer cavity 130. Similarly, the second side plate 190 is provided with a second inspection port and a second door plate 191 for closing the second inspection port, and the second door plate 191 protrudes toward the buffer cavity, thereby further reducing the space of the second buffer cavity 140.

[0034] Furthermore, the protrusion of the first door panel 181 corresponds to the protrusion of the first partition plate 151, and the protrusion of the second door panel 191 corresponds to the protrusion of the second partition plate 152. The door panel design structure of the present application combined with the structure of the partition assembly 150 can significantly reduce the space of each buffer cavity, thereby improving the vacuum efficiency.

[0035] In addition, the first exhaust pipe 160 is also provided in the space enclosed by the two ends of the first side plate 180, the front wall plate 110 and the rear wall plate 120, so as to improve the vacuuming efficiency of the first buffer chamber 130; the second exhaust pipe 170 is also provided in the space enclosed by the two ends of the second side plate 190, the front wall plate 110 and the rear wall plate 120, so as to improve the vacuuming efficiency of the second buffer chamber 140, see Figure 5 .

[0036] See also Figure 6 In the illustrated embodiment, a dual-line vacuum coating system 200 is provided. Specifically, a first vacuum buffer chamber 202 is provided at the feeding side 201 of the dual-line vacuum coating system 200. The first vacuum buffer chamber 202 is the structure shown in the vacuum buffer chamber 100 of the present application. Before feeding into the coating chamber 205, based on the optimized design of the vacuum buffer chamber 100 of the present application, rapid vacuuming can be achieved to improve work efficiency.

[0037] Furthermore, the discharge side 210 of the dual-line vacuum coating system 200 is provided with a second vacuum buffer chamber 208, and the second vacuum buffer chamber 208 is the structure shown in the vacuum buffer chamber 100 of the present application. After the coating is completed, the second vacuum buffer chamber 208 is broken and the material is discharged. After the material is discharged, based on the optimized design of the vacuum buffer chamber 100 of the present application, the second vacuum buffer chamber 208 can be quickly evacuated to ensure continuous coating, and the working efficiency of the entire production line is high.

[0038] For further information, see Figure 7In another embodiment shown, the double-line vacuum coating system 200 includes a first vacuum buffer chamber 202, a heating chamber 203, a coating chamber 205, and a second vacuum buffer chamber 208 arranged in sequence. During the coating process, the workpiece passes through the first vacuum buffer chamber 202 and the heating chamber 203 in sequence, then enters the coating chamber 205 for coating, and after the coating is completed, it is discharged through the second vacuum buffer chamber 208. Multiple coating chambers 205 can be provided to meet the coating process requirements. For example, a first coating chamber 2051 and a second coating chamber 2052 are provided.

[0039] Generally, the speed of transferring the workpiece from the heating chamber 203 to the coating chamber 205 is relatively fast to prevent dust particles in the heating chamber 203 from entering the coating chamber 205. Therefore, a deceleration chamber 204 is provided between the heating chamber 203 and the coating chamber 205 to control the workpiece to decelerate to the speed required for coating, and the deceleration chamber 204 can also play a further role in separation and buffering, which is beneficial to maintaining the vacuum degree and cleanliness of the coating chamber 205.

[0040] After the coating is completed, in order to achieve rapid discharging, an acceleration chamber 206 is provided between the coating chamber 205 and the second vacuum buffer chamber 208. Further, a transition chamber 207 is provided between the acceleration chamber 206 and the second vacuum buffer chamber 208. The transition chamber 207 plays a role in separation and buffering, and can better maintain the vacuum degree and cleanliness of the coating chamber 205.

[0041] The above-mentioned first vacuum buffer chamber 202, heating chamber 203, deceleration chamber 204, coating chamber 205, acceleration chamber 206, transition chamber 207, and second vacuum buffer chamber 208 are hermetically connected in sequence, and valves 209 are provided at the feeding side 201 of the first vacuum buffer chamber 202, the connection between the first vacuum buffer chamber 202 and the heating chamber 203, the connection between the heating chamber 203 and the deceleration chamber 204, the connection between the acceleration chamber 206 and the transition chamber 207, the connection between the transition chamber 207 and the second vacuum buffer chamber 208, and the discharging side 210 of the second vacuum buffer chamber 208.

[0042] Based on the structure of the vacuum buffer chamber 100, the double-line vacuum coating system 200 of the present application can improve the vacuum pumping efficiency during the coating process, and improve the coating efficiency and production capacity.

[0043] The technical features of the above-mentioned embodiments can be combined arbitrarily. For the sake of brevity of description, not all possible combinations of the technical features in the above-mentioned embodiments are described. However, as long as there is no contradiction in the combination of these technical features, it should be considered as the scope described in this specification. When the technical features in different embodiments are shown in the same drawing, it can be regarded that the drawing also discloses the combination examples of the respective embodiments involved.

[0044] The above-described embodiments merely represent several implementation manners of the present application. The description thereof is relatively specific and detailed, but it should not be construed as a limitation on the patent scope of the present application. It should be noted that for those of ordinary skill in the art, without departing from the concept of the present application, several modifications and improvements can still be made, and these all fall within the protection scope of the present application. Therefore, the protection scope of the present application shall be subject to the appended claims.

Claims

1. Vacuum buffer chamber, characterized in that, It includes a front wall panel and a rear wall panel, and a partition component is arranged between the front wall panel and the rear wall panel to divide the internal space of the vacuum buffer chamber into a first buffer cavity and a second buffer cavity; a first inlet is formed in the front wall panel where the first buffer cavity is located, a first outlet is formed in the rear wall panel where the first buffer cavity is located, and a first passage for the workpiece to pass through is formed between the first inlet and the first outlet; a second inlet is formed in the front wall panel where the second buffer cavity is located, a second outlet is formed in the rear wall panel where the second buffer cavity is located, and a second passage for the workpiece to pass through is formed between the second inlet and the second outlet; the partition component includes a first partition plate and a second partition plate arranged oppositely, there is a space communicating with the atmosphere between the first partition plate and the second partition plate, and a reinforcing member extending between the first partition plate and the second partition plate is arranged in the space.

2. The vacuum buffer chamber according to claim 1, characterized in that, The first partition plate includes a first main body portion and two first end portions, the two first end portions are respectively connected to the front wall panel and the rear wall panel, and the first main body portion protrudes towards the first buffer cavity relative to the two first end portions.

3. The vacuum buffer chamber according to claim 2, characterized in that, The second partition plate includes a second main body portion and two second end portions, the two second end portions are respectively connected to the front wall panel and the rear wall panel, and the second main body portion protrudes towards the second buffer cavity relative to the two second end portions.

4. The vacuum buffer chamber according to claim 1, wherein, The reinforcing member includes a transverse reinforcing plate and a longitudinal reinforcing plate, the transverse reinforcing plate and / or the longitudinal reinforcing plate are provided with clamping protrusions, and the first partition plate and / or the second partition plate are provided with slots cooperating with the clamping protrusions.

5. The vacuum buffer chamber according to claim 3, characterized in that, First air extraction pipes are arranged in the spaces formed by the first end portions and the front wall panel and the spaces formed by the first end portions and the rear wall panel. Second air extraction pipes are arranged in the spaces formed by the second end portions and the front wall panel and the spaces formed by the second end portions and the rear wall panel.

6. The vacuum buffer chamber according to claim 1, wherein It includes a first side plate and a second side plate arranged oppositely, a first inspection opening is formed in the first side plate and a first door panel for closing the first inspection opening is arranged, and the first door panel protrudes towards the first buffer cavity. A second inspection opening is formed in the second side plate and a second door panel for closing the second inspection opening is arranged, and the second door panel protrudes towards the second buffer cavity.

7. Double-line vacuum coating system, characterized in that, It has a feeding side and a discharging side, and the feeding side is provided with a vacuum buffer chamber as described in any one of claims 1 to 6.

8. The double-line vacuum coating system according to claim 7, characterized in that, The discharging side is provided with a vacuum buffer chamber as described in any one of claims 1 to 6.

9. The dual-line vacuum coating system according to claim 8, wherein, The vacuum buffer chamber includes a first vacuum buffer chamber arranged on the feeding side and a second vacuum buffer chamber arranged on the discharging side, and the double-line vacuum coating system includes a first vacuum buffer chamber, a heating chamber, a coating chamber and a second vacuum buffer chamber arranged in sequence.

10. The double-line vacuum coating system according to claim 9, characterized in that, A deceleration chamber for slowing down the movement of the workpiece is arranged between the heating chamber and the coating chamber; an acceleration chamber for accelerating the movement of the workpiece is arranged between the coating chamber and the second vacuum buffer chamber.

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