Vacuum buffer chamber and double-line vacuum coating system

Abstract

The application 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. A separation assembly is arranged between the front wall plate and the rear wall plate, and separates the internal space of the vacuum buffer chamber into a first buffer cavity and a second buffer cavity. The separation assembly comprises a first partition plate and a second partition plate arranged oppositely. The first partition plate and the second partition plate have a space communicating with the atmosphere. A reinforcing piece extending between the first partition plate and the second partition plate is arranged in the space. The hollow structure of the separation assembly is used to separate the vacuum buffer chamber into two buffer cavities, so that the capacity of the two buffer cavities can be effectively reduced, and the vacuum pumping efficiency and the production efficiency of the vacuum coating can be improved.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present application relates to the technical field of vacuum coating equipment, in particular to a vacuum buffer chamber and a double-line vacuum coating system. BACKGROUND

[0002] The vacuum buffer chamber is usually located between the feeding side and 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, and is a key unit of the vacuum coating system.

[0003] For a double-line vacuum coating system, the vacuum buffer chamber is usually divided into a first buffer cavity and a second buffer cavity by a partition plate, and both buffer chambers need to be vacuumed during work, which is labor-intensive, and the vacuuming efficiency directly affects the production efficiency. In order to improve the vacuuming efficiency, the prior art mainly installs a filling block in the vacuum buffer chamber to achieve the purpose of reducing the volume. However, this method has the problems of complicated installation of the filling block, limited volume reduction effect and high filling cost. SUMMARY

[0004] In view of the problems of the prior art, the present application provides a vacuum buffer chamber capable of rapid vacuuming and a double-line vacuum coating system comprising the same.

[0005] The vacuum buffer chamber comprises a front wall plate and a rear wall plate, a partition assembly is arranged between the front wall plate and the rear wall plate to divide the internal space of the vacuum buffer chamber into a first buffer cavity and a second buffer cavity; the front wall plate where the first buffer cavity is located is provided with a first inlet, and the rear wall plate where the first buffer cavity is located is provided with a first outlet, and the first inlet and the first outlet form a first channel for the workpiece to pass through; the front wall plate where the second buffer cavity is located is provided with a second inlet, and the rear wall plate where the second buffer cavity is located is provided with a second outlet, and the second inlet and the second outlet form a second channel for the workpiece to pass through; the partition assembly comprises a first partition plate and a second partition plate arranged oppositely, and has a gap 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 gap.

[0006] The following also provides several optional modes, but not as an additional limitation to the above general scheme, just a further supplement or preferred, without technical or logical contradiction, each optional mode can be combined with the above general scheme, and can also be combined between multiple optional modes.

[0007] Optionally, the first partition plate comprises a first main body portion and two first end portions, and the two first end portions are connected to the front wall plate and the rear wall plate respectively, and the first main body portion is protruded towards the first buffer cavity relative to the two first end portions.

[0008] Optionally, the second partition plate comprises a second main part and two second end parts, the two second end parts are connected to the front wall plate and the rear wall plate respectively, and the second main part is protruded to the second buffer cavity relative to the two second end parts.

[0009] Optionally, the reinforcing member comprises a transverse reinforcing plate and a longitudinal reinforcing plate, the transverse reinforcing plate and / or the longitudinal reinforcing plate is provided with a clamping protrusion, and the first partition plate and / or the second partition plate is provided with a slot matched with the clamping protrusion.

[0010] Optionally, the space surrounded by the first end part and the front wall plate, and the space surrounded by the first end part and the rear wall plate are provided with a first air exhaust pipe.

[0011] The space surrounded by the second end part and the front wall plate, and the space surrounded by the second end part and the rear wall plate are provided with a second air exhaust pipe.

[0012] Optionally, the first side plate and the second side plate are oppositely arranged, the first side plate is provided with a first access hole and a first door plate closing the first access hole, and the first door plate is protruded to the first buffer cavity.

[0013] The second side plate is provided with a second access hole and a second door plate closing the second access hole, and the second door plate is protruded to the second buffer cavity.

[0014] The application provides a double-line vacuum coating system, which has a feeding side and a discharging side, and the feeding side is provided with the vacuum buffer chamber.

[0015] Optionally, the discharging side is provided with the vacuum buffer chamber.

[0016] Optionally, the vacuum buffer chamber comprises 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 comprises the first vacuum buffer chamber, a heating chamber, a coating chamber and the second vacuum buffer chamber arranged in sequence.

[0017] Optionally, a deceleration chamber is arranged between the heating chamber and the coating chamber to slow down the movement of the workpiece, and an acceleration chamber is arranged between the coating chamber and the second vacuum buffer chamber to accelerate the movement of the workpiece.

[0018] Compared with the prior art, the application divides the vacuum buffer chamber into two buffer cavities by using the hollow structure of the partition assembly, which can effectively reduce the volume of the two buffer cavities, thereby improving the vacuum efficiency, and the structure is simple, which can effectively reduce the complexity and cost of equipment manufacturing. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0019] Figure 1Fig. 2 is a schematic view of a vacuum buffer chamber according to an embodiment;

[0020] Figure 2 Fig. 3 is a schematic view of a partition assembly according to an embodiment;

[0021] Figure 3 Fig. 4 is an exploded view of the partition assembly;

[0022] Figure 4 Fig. 5 is an assembly view of a reinforcing member and a second partition plate according to an embodiment;

[0023] Figure 5 Fig. 6 is a partial view of a vacuum buffer chamber according to an embodiment;

[0024] Figure 6 Fig. 7 is a schematic view of a dual-line vacuum coating system according to an embodiment;

[0025] Figure 7 Fig. 8 is a schematic view of a dual-line vacuum coating system according to another embodiment.

[0026] The reference signs in the drawings are explained as follows:

[0027] 100, vacuum buffer chamber; 110, front wall plate; 111, first inlet; 112, second inlet; 120, rear wall plate; 121, first outlet; 122, second outlet; 130, first buffer cavity; 140, second buffer cavity; 150, partition assembly; 151, first partition plate; 1511, first main body portion; 1512, first end portion; 152, second partition plate; 1521, second main body portion; 1522, second end portion; 1523, insertion slot; 153, interval; 154, reinforcing member; 1541, transverse reinforcing plate; 1542, longitudinal reinforcing plate; 1543, clamping protrusion; 160, first evacuation pipe; 170, second evacuation pipe; 180, first side plate; 181, first door plate; 190, second side plate; 191, second door plate;

[0028] 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;

[0029] 300, workpiece holder. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0030] With reference to the drawings of the embodiments of the present application, the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application will be clearly and completely described. Obviously, the described embodiments are only a part of the embodiments of the present application, but not all the embodiments of the present application. Based on the embodiments of the present application, all the other embodiments obtained by a person of ordinary skill in the art without creative work fall within the protection scope of the present application.

[0031] It should be noted that when a component is referred to as being "connected" with another component, it can be directly connected with the other component or there can be a middle component. When a component is referred to as being "disposed on" another component, it can be directly disposed on the other component or there can be a middle component.

[0032] 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 terminology used in the description of the application herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the application. As used herein, the term "and / or" includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items.

[0033] In order to meet the requirements of the coating process, the vacuum coating system is usually provided with multiple functional chambers, including a vacuum buffer chamber and a coating chamber. In the continuous coating process, the coating chamber needs to be kept in a certain vacuum state. The vacuum buffer chamber is located between the external environment (atmosphere) and the coating chamber, and plays a buffering and transitional role. Before the workpiece is conveyed into the coating chamber, the vacuum buffer chamber needs to be evacuated to avoid the direct entry of external atmosphere into the coating chamber, so as to maintain the vacuum environment of the coating chamber. When the workpiece is taken out, the vacuum buffer chamber also plays a buffering and transitional role, avoiding the influx of external atmosphere to destroy the vacuum state in the coating chamber.

[0034] The double-line vacuum coating system includes a first coating production line and a second coating production line in parallel, and each functional chamber corresponding to the first coating production line and the second coating production line is divided into two sub-chambers, which can realize double-sided coating of the workpiece or simultaneous processing of two workpieces, thereby improving the coating productivity and efficiency of the entire system.

[0035] Referring to Figure 1The vacuum buffer chamber 100 of the present application comprises a front wall plate 110, a rear wall plate 120 and a partition assembly 150 arranged between the front wall plate 110 and the rear wall plate 120 and separating the internal space of the vacuum buffer chamber 100 into two sub-chambers, i.e. a first buffer chamber 130 and a second buffer chamber 140. In order to facilitate the workpiece carrier 300 to carry workpieces 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, and the first inlet 111 and the first outlet 121 form a first passage for the workpieces to pass through; 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, and the second inlet 112 and the second outlet 122 form a second passage for the workpieces to pass through.

[0036] From the coating process, the vacuuming efficiency of each buffer chamber directly affects the production efficiency of coating. Unlike the prior art of filling the vacuum buffer chamber 100 with filler blocks, the partition assembly 150 of the present application comprises a first partition plate 151 and a second partition plate 152 arranged oppositely, and has a space 153 communicating with the atmosphere between the two partition plates, i.e. the partition assembly 150 is a hollow structure, which separates the vacuum buffer chamber 100 while reducing the volume of the first buffer chamber 130 and the second buffer chamber 140, effectively reducing the vacuuming space of the two buffer chambers. In operation, only the two reduced-volume buffer chambers need to be vacuumed, thus significantly improving the vacuuming efficiency. In addition, since the partition assembly 150 is in communication with the atmosphere, in order to avoid deformation of the partition assembly 150 during vacuuming, a reinforcing member 154 extending between the first partition plate 151 and the second partition plate 152 is arranged in the space 153, which can improve the pressure resistance of the partition assembly 150.

[0037] As for the specific structure of the partition assembly 150, referring to the embodiment shown in Figure 1 , 2 The first partition plate 151 comprises a first main body portion 1511 and two first end portions 1512, wherein the two first end portions 1512 are connected to the front wall plate 110 and the rear wall plate 120 respectively, and the first main body portion 1511 protrudes towards the first buffer chamber 130 relative to the two first end portions 1512, thereby achieving the purpose of reducing the volume of the first buffer chamber 130.

[0038] Similarly, the second partition plate 152 comprises a second main body portion 1521 and two second end portions 1522, wherein the two second end portions 1522 are connected to the front wall plate 110 and the rear wall plate 120 respectively, and the second main body portion 1521 protrudes towards the second buffer chamber 140 relative to the two second end portions 1522, thereby achieving the purpose of reducing the volume of the second buffer chamber 140.

[0039] The first partition plate 151 and the second partition plate 152 are sheet metal parts and are integrally formed in a U-shaped structure, have high mechanical strength and can play a good partitioning role. The vacuum buffer chamber 100 comprises a top wall plate and a bottom wall plate, and the top end and the bottom end of the first partition plate 151 and the second partition plate 152 are welded to the top wall plate and the bottom wall plate, respectively. The first partition plate 151 and the second partition plate 152 are welded to the front wall plate 110 and the rear wall plate 120 along the upper and lower ends, respectively.

[0040] To improve the vacuumizing efficiency, the first buffer cavity 130 and the second buffer cavity 140 are both provided with a vacuumizing device. To avoid interference with the workpiece, in the first buffer cavity 130, the space surrounded by the first end portion 1512 and the front wall plate 110 and the space surrounded by the first end portion 1512 and the rear wall plate 120 are both provided with a first air exhaust pipe 160. In the second buffer cavity 140, the space surrounded by the second end portion 1522 and the front wall plate 110 and the space surrounded by the second end portion 1522 and the rear wall plate 120 are both provided with a second air exhaust pipe 170, as shown in Figure 5 .

[0041] As to the specific structure of the reinforcing member 154, in an embodiment, the reinforcing member 154 comprises a transverse reinforcing plate 1541 and a longitudinal reinforcing plate 1542. Since the assembly space in the partition 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 a clamping protrusion 1543, and the first partition plate 151 and / or the second partition plate 152 are provided with a slot 1523 matched with the clamping protrusion 1543.

[0042] Specifically referring to Figure 3 、 4 , the transverse reinforcing plate 1541 and the longitudinal reinforcing plate 1542 are both provided with multiple pieces, and the transverse reinforcing plate 1541 and the longitudinal reinforcing plate 1542 are vertically interwoven to form a grid structure, which is beneficial to further improve the compressive strength. The extension profile of the transverse reinforcing plate 1541 is adapted to the extension profile of the first partition plate 151 and the second partition plate 152, so that the transverse reinforcing plate 1541 can abut against the first partition plate 151 and the second partition plate 152 during assembly. The longitudinal reinforcing plate 1542 is provided with multiple clamping protrusions 1543, and the first main body portion 1511 and the second main body portion 1521 are provided with slots 1523.

[0043] In an embodiment, only one side of each longitudinal reinforcing plate 1542 corresponding to the second partition plate 152 is provided with multiple clamping protrusions 1543, and one side of the transverse reinforcing plate 1541 and the longitudinal reinforcing plate 1542 corresponding to the first partition plate 151 is welded to the first partition plate 151. The clamping protrusion 1543 and the slot 1523 are matched and sealed by welding to prevent vacuum leakage of each buffer cavity.

[0044] To further fix the reinforcing member 154, the transverse reinforcing plate 1541 is fixedly connected to the front wall plate 110 and the rear wall plate 120 at both ends in the length direction, and the longitudinal reinforcing plate 1542 is fixedly connected to the top wall plate and the bottom wall plate at both ends in the length direction and extends between the first partition plate 151 and the second partition plate 152 in the width direction.

[0045] Referring to Figure 1 In the embodiment shown, the vacuum buffer chamber 100 comprises oppositely arranged first and second side plates 180 and 190, wherein the first side plate 180 is provided with a first access opening and a first door plate 181 closing the first access opening, and the first door plate 181 protrudes towards 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 access opening and a second door plate 191 closing the second access opening, and the second door plate 191 protrudes towards the buffer cavity, thereby further reducing the space of the second buffer cavity 140.

[0046] Further, the protrusion of the first door plate 181 corresponds to the protrusion of the first partition plate 151, and the protrusion of the second door plate 191 corresponds to the protrusion of the second partition plate 152. The door plate design structure of the present application in combination with the structure of the partition assembly 150 can significantly reduce the space of each buffer cavity, thereby improving the vacuum pumping efficiency.

[0047] In addition, the first side plate 180 is also provided with a first air exhaust pipe 160 in the space surrounded by the front wall plate 110 and the rear wall plate 120 at both ends, which can improve the vacuum pumping efficiency of the first buffer cavity 130; the second side plate 190 is also provided with a second air exhaust pipe 170 in the space surrounded by the front wall plate 110 and the rear wall plate 120 at both ends, which can improve the vacuum pumping efficiency of the second buffer cavity 140, see Figure 5 .

[0048] Referring to Figure 6 In the embodiment shown, a double-line vacuum coating system 200 is provided, and specifically, the feeding side 201 of the double-line vacuum coating system 200 is provided with a first vacuum buffer chamber 202, which is of 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 vacuum pumping can be achieved, thereby improving the working efficiency.

[0049] Further, the discharging side 210 of the double-line vacuum coating system 200 is provided with a second vacuum buffer chamber 208, which is of the structure shown in the vacuum buffer chamber 100 of the present application. After coating is completed, the second vacuum buffer chamber 208 is broken and discharged. After discharging, based on the optimized design of the vacuum buffer chamber 100 of the present application, the second vacuum buffer chamber 208 can be rapidly pumped, thereby ensuring continuous coating and improving the working efficiency of the entire production line.

[0050] Further, referring to Figure 7 In another embodiment shown, the double-line vacuum coating system 200 comprises 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, the workpiece is discharged through the second vacuum buffer chamber 208. The coating chamber 205 can be provided with multiple coating chambers to meet the requirements of the coating process, for example, a first coating chamber 2051 and a second coating chamber 2052.

[0051] Generally, the workpiece is transmitted from the heating chamber 203 to the coating chamber 205 at a relatively high speed to avoid the dust particles in the heating chamber 203 from entering the coating chamber 205. Therefore, a deceleration chamber 204 is arranged between the heating chamber 203 and the coating chamber 205 to control the deceleration of the workpiece to the required speed for coating, and the deceleration chamber 204 also has the functions of further separation and buffering, which is beneficial to maintaining the vacuum degree and cleanliness of the coating chamber 205.

[0052] After the coating is completed, an acceleration chamber 206 is arranged between the coating chamber 205 and the second vacuum buffer chamber 208 to achieve rapid discharge. Further, a transition chamber 207 is arranged between the acceleration chamber 206 and the second vacuum buffer chamber 208, which has the functions of separation and buffering, and can better maintain the vacuum degree and cleanliness of the coating chamber 205.

[0053] 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 sequentially sealed and connected, and the inlet 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 outlet side 210 of the second vacuum buffer chamber 208 are all provided with valves 209.

[0054] The double-line vacuum coating system 200 of the present application is based on the structure of the vacuum buffer chamber 100, which can improve the vacuum pumping efficiency, coating efficiency and production capacity during the coating process.

[0055] The technical features of the above-mentioned embodiments can be combined arbitrarily. In order to make the description simple, all possible combinations of the technical features in the above-mentioned embodiments are not described, however, as long as the combinations of the technical features do not exist contradictory, they should be considered as the scope disclosed in the present specification. When the technical features in different embodiments are embodied in the same figure, it can be considered that the figure also discloses the combination of the embodiments involved.

[0056] The above-described embodiments are merely illustrative of several embodiments of the present application, which are described in more detail and in a specific manner, but should not be construed as limiting the scope of the patent of the present application. It should be noted that, for those of ordinary skill in the art, several modifications and improvements can be made without departing from the concept of the present application, and these all belong to the protection scope of the present application. Therefore, the protection scope of the present application should be subject to the appended claims.

Claims

1. Vacuum buffer chamber, characterized in that The vacuum buffer chamber comprises a front wall plate and a rear wall plate, a separation assembly is arranged between the front wall plate and the rear wall plate to separate the internal space of the vacuum buffer chamber into a first buffer cavity and a second buffer cavity; the front wall plate where the first buffer cavity is located is provided with a first inlet, the rear wall plate where the first buffer cavity is located is provided with a first outlet, and the first inlet and the first outlet form a first channel for the workpiece to pass through; the front wall plate where the second buffer cavity is located is provided with a second inlet, the rear wall plate where the second buffer cavity is located is provided with a second outlet, and the second inlet and the second outlet form a second channel for the workpiece to pass through; the separation assembly comprises a first partition plate and a second partition plate arranged oppositely, and a gap in communication with the atmosphere is arranged 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 gap; The vacuum buffer chamber comprises a top wall plate and a bottom wall plate, and the top end and the bottom end of the first partition plate and the second partition plate are welded to the top wall plate and the bottom wall plate respectively, and the two ends of the first partition plate and the second partition plate are welded to the front wall plate and the rear wall plate respectively; The reinforcing member comprises a transverse reinforcing plate and a longitudinal reinforcing plate, the two ends of the transverse reinforcing plate in the length direction are fixedly connected to the front wall plate and the rear wall plate, and the two ends of the longitudinal reinforcing plate in the length direction are fixedly connected to the top wall plate and the bottom wall plate, and the two ends in the width direction extend between the first partition plate and the second partition plate; The transverse reinforcing plate and / or the longitudinal reinforcing plate are provided with a clamping protrusion, and the first partition plate and / or the second partition plate are provided with a slot matched with the clamping protrusion.

2. Vacuum buffer chamber according to claim 1, characterized in that The first partition plate comprises a first main body part and two first end parts, and the two first end parts are connected to the front wall plate and the rear wall plate respectively, and the first main body part protrudes towards the first buffer cavity relative to the two first end parts.

3. Vacuum buffer chamber according to claim 2, characterized in that The second partition plate comprises a second main body part and two second end parts, and the two second end parts are connected to the front wall plate and the rear wall plate respectively, and the second main body part protrudes towards the second buffer cavity relative to the two second end parts.

4. The vacuum buffer chamber according to claim 3, characterized in that The space surrounded by the first end part and the front wall plate and the space surrounded by the first end part and the rear wall plate are both provided with a first air extraction pipe; The space surrounded by the second end part and the front wall plate and the space surrounded by the second end part and the rear wall plate are both provided with a second air extraction pipe.

5. The vacuum buffer chamber of claim 1, wherein, The first side plate is provided with a first maintenance opening and a first door plate 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 closing the second maintenance opening, and the second door plate protrudes towards the second buffer cavity.

6. A dual-line vacuum coating system, characterized in that The vacuum buffer chamber has a feeding side and a discharging side, and the feeding side is provided with the vacuum buffer chamber according to any one of claims 1-5.

7. The dual-line vacuum coating system of claim 6, wherein, The discharging side is provided with the vacuum buffer chamber according to any one of claims 1-5.

8. The dual-line vacuum coating system of claim 7, wherein, The vacuum buffer chamber comprises a first vacuum buffer chamber arranged at the feeding side and a second vacuum buffer chamber arranged at the discharging side, and the double-line vacuum coating system comprises the first vacuum buffer chamber, a heating chamber, a coating chamber and the second vacuum buffer chamber arranged in sequence.

9. The dual-line vacuum coating system of claim 8, wherein, A deceleration chamber for decelerating the workpiece is arranged between the heating chamber and the coating chamber; and an acceleration chamber for accelerating the workpiece is arranged between the coating chamber and the second vacuum buffer chamber.

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