Double-sided double-flattening-roller suspension type vacuum coating winding machine

Abstract

The invention relates to the field of vacuum coating, in particular to a double-sided double-flattening-roller suspension type vacuum coating winding machine which comprises an unwinding unit, a coating unit and a winding unit. The coating unit is provided with a front flattening roller and a rear flattening roller which are arranged at an interval, a suspension coating area is formed between the two flattening rollers, and the suspension coating area is correspondingly provided with an evaporation source; the coating unit is further provided with a cooling assembly and an atmosphere isolation structure, and the winding machines are symmetrically arranged to achieve the back-and-forth coating and double-face coating functions. The design limitation of a traditional single cooling roller and a small-span suspension area is broken through, through the large-span suspension coating area and the symmetrical layout, the functions of double-face coating and back-and-forth thick film coating are achieved, the problems that an existing device is poor in film layer uniformity, low in efficiency and incapable of achieving double-face coating of different materials are solved, and the high-speed coating requirement of a flexible base material is met.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of vacuum coating, and in particular to a double-sided, double-flattening roller suspension vacuum coating winding machine. Background Technology

[0002] In the field of vacuum coating, especially in the coating processing of flexible substrates (such as lithium battery separators and polymer films), traditional single-cooling-roller coating machines are the mainstream equipment. Their structure mainly includes an unwinding roller, a transition roller, a cooling roller, a rewinding roller, and an evaporation source. The film passes through the evaporation zone wrapped around the single cooling roller with an arc surface. However, this type of equipment has the following problems:

[0003] 1. Poor film uniformity, uneven distance between the film and the evaporation source leads to film thickness fluctuations of more than ±15%, and CPP films are prone to bright and dark stripes (plating voids).

[0004] 2. Limited efficiency: The deposition rate is typically ≤500 Å / s with a single evaporation source layout, and insufficient cooling leads to a shrinkage rate exceeding 3% when the film temperature is >60℃;

[0005] 3. Speed ​​bottleneck: It is difficult to exceed 800 m / min for coating speed, otherwise defects such as cracking and edge curling are easily caused.

[0006] To address the above issues, several improvement plans have emerged in the industry:

[0007] One is the dual cooling roller suspension design (such as CN201372309Y), which forms a suspension zone by parallel dual cooling rollers, allowing the film to spread flat through the evaporation zone to improve uniformity. However, the span of the suspension zone is only 20–80 mm, which can only accommodate a single row of evaporation sources, and the film thickness and efficiency are still limited.

[0008] Second, there are air-bearing flattening rollers (such as CN221268818U), which prevent the electrode sheets from flipping by tilting the airflow, but do not solve the core problem of insufficient span of the suspension zone;

[0009] Third, existing roller suspension structures (such as CN214004773U) cannot meet the requirements of thick film deposition and double-sided deposition of different materials, making it difficult to adapt to the special processing requirements of fields such as new energy batteries. Summary of the Invention

[0010] Based on this, it is necessary to provide a double-sided double-flattening roller suspended vacuum coating winding machine to address the above-mentioned technical problems. This machine breaks through the design limitations of traditional single cooling rollers and small-span suspended zones. Through a large-span suspended coating zone and symmetrical layout, it achieves double-sided coating and reciprocating thick film coating functions. This solves the problems of poor film uniformity, low efficiency, and inability to coat different materials on both sides of existing equipment, and is suitable for the high-speed coating needs of flexible substrates.

[0011] This invention provides a double-sided double-flattening roller suspended vacuum coating winding machine, including an unwinding unit, a coating unit and a winding unit;

[0012] The coating unit is provided with a front flattening roller and a rear flattening roller arranged at intervals, and a suspended coating area is formed between the two flattening rollers. An evaporation source is correspondingly configured in the suspended coating area.

[0013] The coating unit is also equipped with a cooling component and an atmosphere isolation structure, and the winding machine is symmetrically arranged to achieve reciprocating coating and double-sided coating functions.

[0014] In one embodiment, the distance between the front flattening roller and the rear flattening roller is 300 to 500 mm, and the lower common tangents of the front flattening roller and the rear flattening roller are horizontally arranged.

[0015] In one embodiment, both the front flattening roller and the rear flattening roller are active flattening rollers, and the roller surface is provided with antistatic elastic flattening ribs, the included angle of which is 90° to 180°.

[0016] In one embodiment, the cooling assembly includes cooling rollers disposed on the front and rear sides of the suspended coating area, the cooling rollers being used to reduce the temperature of the substrate before and after coating, thereby reducing thermal deformation.

[0017] In one embodiment, the evaporation source is a set of independently arranged structures that can coat different materials on the front and back of the substrate respectively.

[0018] In one embodiment, the atmosphere isolation structure is an independent vacuum space, which can meet the atmosphere isolation requirements between the working vacuum level of the target material and the working vacuum level of evaporation.

[0019] In one embodiment, the unwinding unit includes an air-expanding unwinding roller, an unwinding flattening roller, and an unwinding tension roller, wherein the unwinding tension roller is controlled in a closed loop to ensure stable unwinding tension.

[0020] In one embodiment, the winding unit includes an air-expanding winding roller and a winding tracking frame, wherein the winding tracking frame can automatically rotate as the winding diameter changes and maintains a 5mm gap with the winding shaft.

[0021] In one embodiment, the coating unit is further provided with a water-cooled anti-fouling baffle with a water-cooled interlayer, and the evaporation coating area is provided with an independent water-cooled space.

[0022] In one embodiment, the device further includes a film thickness detection component, an electrostatic eliminator, and at least four rotating observation windows. The film thickness detection component is used to adjust the coating uniformity, and the electrostatic eliminator is used to remove static electricity generated during the coating process.

[0023] The aforementioned double-sided, double-flattening roller suspended vacuum coating winding machine releases a flexible substrate from the unwinding unit. After being flattened by a front flattening roller, the substrate enters the suspended coating zone between the two flattening rollers. An evaporation source coats the substrate surface with the target material. A cooling component cools the substrate before and after coating, while an atmosphere isolation structure maintains the vacuum environment required for coating. The symmetrical layout of the winding machine allows the substrate to pass back and forth through the coating zone, and it is compatible with simultaneous front and back-side coating processes. This design overcomes the limitations of traditional single cooling rollers and small-span suspended zones. Through a large-span suspended coating zone and a symmetrical layout, it achieves double-sided coating and reciprocating thick film coating, solving the problems of poor film uniformity, low efficiency, and inability to coat different materials on both sides of existing equipment. It is suitable for the high-speed coating requirements of flexible substrates. Attached Figure Description

[0024] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in this invention or the prior art, the drawings used in the description of the embodiments or the prior art will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are some embodiments of this invention. For those skilled in the art, other drawings can be obtained from these drawings without creative effort.

[0025] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the double-sided double-flattening roller suspended vacuum coating winding machine provided by the present invention.

[0026] Figure label:

[0027] 110. Air-expanded unwinding roll; 120. Unwinding and flattening roll; 130. Unwinding tension roll; 210. Air-expanded take-up roll; 220. Take-up tracking frame; 311. Front flattening roll; 312. Rear flattening roll; 320. Cooling assembly; 330. Atmosphere isolation structure; 340. Water-cooled anti-fouling baffle; 350. Independent water-cooling space; 400. Evaporation source; 500. Film thickness detection assembly; 600. Static electricity eliminator; 700. Rotating observation window; 800. Low-temperature trap. Detailed Implementation

[0028] To make the objectives, technical solutions, and advantages of the embodiments of the present invention clearer, the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some embodiments of the present invention, not all embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art without creative effort are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0029] The following is combined Figure 1 This invention describes a double-sided, double-flattening roller suspension vacuum coating winding machine.

[0030] In one embodiment, a double-sided double-flattening roller suspended vacuum coating winding machine includes an unwinding unit, a coating unit, and a winding unit; the coating unit is provided with a front flattening roller 311 and a rear flattening roller 312 arranged at intervals, and a suspended coating area is formed between the two flattening rollers, with an evaporation source 400 correspondingly configured in the suspended coating area; the coating unit is also provided with a cooling component 320 and an atmosphere isolation structure 330, and the winding machine is symmetrically arranged to realize reciprocating coating and double-sided coating functions.

[0031] The aforementioned double-sided, double-flattening roller suspended vacuum coating winding machine releases a flexible substrate from the unwinding unit. After being flattened by the front flattening roller 311, the substrate enters the suspended coating zone between the two flattening rollers. The evaporation source 400 coats the substrate surface with the target material. The cooling component 320 cools the substrate before and after coating, while the atmosphere isolation structure 330 maintains the vacuum environment required for coating. The symmetrical layout of the winding machine allows the substrate to pass back and forth through the coating zone, and it is also suitable for processing flows that allow simultaneous coating on both sides. It breaks through the design limitations of traditional single cooling rollers and small-span suspended zones. Through a large-span suspended coating zone and a symmetrical layout, it achieves double-sided coating and reciprocating thick film coating functions, solving the problems of poor film uniformity, low efficiency, and inability to coat different materials on both sides of existing equipment, and adapting to the high-speed coating requirements of flexible substrates.

[0032] In one embodiment, the distance between the front flattening roller 311 and the rear flattening roller 312 is 300 to 500 mm, and the lower common tangents of the front flattening roller 311 and the rear flattening roller 312 are arranged horizontally.

[0033] Specifically, the distance between the front flattening roller 311 and the rear flattening roller 312 is set to 300 to 500 mm, and the lower common tangent is arranged horizontally, so that the substrate is laid flat in a horizontal state and passes through the suspended coating area, ensuring that the distance between each area of ​​the substrate and the evaporation source 400 is consistent.

[0034] The large-span design can accommodate multiple evaporation sources 400, and the horizontal tangent layout avoids uneven film thickness caused by substrate tilt. Compared with existing equipment with a span of 20–80 mm, the film thickness fluctuation is significantly reduced, while providing ample installation space for double-sided deposition of different materials.

[0035] In one embodiment, both the front flattening roller 311 and the rear flattening roller 312 are active flattening rollers, and the roller surface is provided with antistatic elastic flattening ribs, with the included angle of the flattening ribs being 90° to 180°.

[0036] Specifically, the front flattening roller 311 and the rear flattening roller 312 adopt an active driving method, and with the anti-static elastic flattening ribs with an angle of 90° to 180° on the roller surface, the initial stress of the substrate is eliminated while driving the substrate forward, and the static electricity adsorption of impurities is avoided.

[0037] Active drive ensures stable substrate tension, flattening ribs effectively prevent film wrinkling and edge curling, and anti-static design reduces the impact of impurity adsorption on coating quality, solving the problem of film deformation during high-speed coating.

[0038] In one embodiment, the cooling assembly 320 includes cooling rollers respectively disposed on the front and rear sides of the suspended coating area. The cooling rollers are used to reduce the temperature of the substrate before and after coating and reduce thermal deformation.

[0039] Specifically, the cooling rollers of the cooling component 320 are respectively set on the front and rear sides of the suspended coating area to pre-cool the substrate before it enters the coating area and dissipate heat in time after coating to avoid thermal deformation of the substrate due to high temperature.

[0040] It can effectively reduce the temperature of the substrate before and after coating, control the shrinkage rate to within 3%, break through the speed bottleneck caused by insufficient cooling of existing equipment, support the increase of coating speed, and reduce the impact of thermal deformation on film adhesion.

[0041] In one embodiment, the evaporation source 400 is a set of independently arranged structures that can coat different materials on the front and back of the substrate respectively.

[0042] Specifically, multiple evaporation sources are independently arranged, each corresponding to the front and back of the substrate. Different coating materials can be selected according to processing requirements to achieve a processing flow of simultaneously coating different materials on the front and back.

[0043] It can meet the special needs of fields such as new energy batteries (e.g., one side is copper plated and the other side is aluminum plated), and can complete double-sided heterogeneous coating without secondary clamping, which greatly improves processing efficiency and overcomes the defect of existing equipment that cannot plate different materials on both sides.

[0044] In one embodiment, the atmosphere isolation structure 330 is an independent vacuum space, which can meet the atmosphere isolation requirements between the working vacuum level of the target material and the working vacuum level of evaporation.

[0045] Specifically, the atmosphere isolation structure 330 adopts an independent vacuum space design, which can adjust the working vacuum degree of the target material (e.g., 2.0E-1pa) and the working vacuum degree of evaporation (e.g., 8.0E-3pa) to achieve atmosphere isolation at different process stages.

[0046] It can adapt to different vacuum requirements of target sputtering and evaporation coating, avoid mutual interference of atmospheres, improve film adhesion and purity, and solve the problem of poor process adaptability caused by the single vacuum level of existing equipment.

[0047] In one embodiment, the unwinding unit includes an air-expanding unwinding roller 110, an unwinding flattening roller 120, and an unwinding tension roller 130, wherein the unwinding tension roller 130 is controlled in a closed loop to ensure stable unwinding tension.

[0048] Specifically, the air-expanding unwinding roller 110 facilitates the loading and unloading of substrates, the unwinding and flattening roller 120 pre-eliminates substrate wrinkles, and the unwinding tension roller 130 adopts closed-loop control to adjust the unwinding tension in real time, ensuring stable tension during the release of the substrate.

[0049] The small fluctuation in unwinding tension ensures a smooth and wrinkle-free substrate, laying the foundation for uniform coating in subsequent processes. The air-expansion design improves loading and unloading efficiency, making it suitable for large-scale production needs.

[0050] In one embodiment, the winding unit includes an air-expanding winding roller 210 and a winding tracking frame 220. The winding tracking frame 220 can automatically rotate as the winding diameter changes and maintains a 5mm gap with the winding shaft.

[0051] Specifically, the air-expanding take-up roller 210 facilitates the loading and unloading of finished film, and the take-up tracking frame 220 automatically rotates as the take-up roll diameter increases, always maintaining a 5mm gap with the take-up shaft to ensure uniform substrate tension during the take-up process.

[0052] The high degree of flatness during winding prevents wrinkles and fraying of the finished film. The air-expansion design simplifies the operation process, and the adaptive adjustment of the tracking frame adapts to the winding requirements of different roll diameters, improving the yield rate.

[0053] In one embodiment, the coating unit is further provided with a water-cooled anti-fouling baffle 340 with a water-cooled interlayer, and the evaporation coating area is provided with an independent water-cooled space 350.

[0054] Specifically, the water-cooled anti-fouling baffle 340 with water-cooled interlayer blocks the high-temperature radiation and impurity splashes from the evaporation source 400, and the independent water-cooled space 350 in the evaporation coating area reduces the temperature impact of surrounding components and reduces pollution.

[0055] It can prevent high temperature damage to equipment components, reduce film defects caused by impurities, extend equipment service life, maintain the stability of the coating environment, and improve film quality.

[0056] In one embodiment, the vacuum coating winding machine further includes a film thickness detection component 500, an electrostatic eliminator 600, and at least four rotating observation windows 700. The film thickness detection component 500 is used to adjust the coating uniformity, and the electrostatic eliminator 600 is used to remove static electricity generated during the coating process.

[0057] Specifically, the film thickness detection component 500 monitors the film thickness in real time and provides feedback to adjust the parameters of the evaporation source 400 to ensure coating uniformity; the static eliminator 600 removes static electricity generated on the substrate surface due to coating; and at least four rotating observation windows 700 facilitate operators to monitor the status of each process stage.

[0058] Film thickness detection and static elimination design further improve coating uniformity and purity, while the observation window enables visual monitoring of the process;

[0059] In addition, the winding machine also includes a cryogenic trap 800, which is used to purify the vacuum environment and accelerate the pumping, thereby improving the pumping efficiency and vacuum purity.

[0060] The technical features of the above embodiments can be combined in any way. For the sake of brevity, not all possible combinations of the technical features in the above embodiments are described. However, as long as there is no contradiction in the combination of these technical features, they should be considered to be within the scope of this specification.

[0061] The embodiments described above are merely illustrative of several implementations of the present invention, and while the descriptions are specific and detailed, they should not be construed as limiting the scope of the invention. It should be noted that those skilled in the art can make various modifications and improvements without departing from the concept of the present invention, and these modifications and improvements all fall within the scope of protection of the present invention. Therefore, the scope of protection of the present invention should be determined by the appended claims.

Claims

1. A double-sided, double-flattening roller suspended vacuum coating winding machine, characterized in that, It includes an unwinding unit, a coating unit, and a rewinding unit; The coating unit is provided with a front flattening roller and a rear flattening roller arranged at intervals, and a suspended coating area is formed between the two flattening rollers. An evaporation source is correspondingly configured in the suspended coating area. The coating unit is also equipped with a cooling component and an atmosphere isolation structure, and the winding machine is symmetrically arranged to achieve reciprocating coating and double-sided coating functions.

2. The double-sided double-flattening roller suspension vacuum coating winding machine according to claim 1, characterized in that, The distance between the front flattening roller and the rear flattening roller is 300 to 500 mm, and the lower common tangents of the front flattening roller and the rear flattening roller are set horizontally.

3. The double-sided double-flattening roller suspension vacuum coating winding machine according to claim 2, characterized in that, Both the front flattening roller and the rear flattening roller are active flattening rollers, and the roller surface is provided with antistatic elastic flattening ribs, the included angle of which is 90° to 180°.

4. The double-sided double-flattening roller suspension vacuum coating winding machine according to claim 3, characterized in that, The cooling assembly includes cooling rollers respectively disposed on the front and rear sides of the suspended coating area. The cooling rollers are used to reduce the temperature of the substrate before and after coating and reduce thermal deformation.

5. The double-sided double-flattening roller suspension vacuum coating winding machine according to claim 4, characterized in that, The evaporation source consists of multiple independently arranged structures, which can respectively coat the front and back sides of the substrate with different materials.

6. The double-sided double-flattening roller suspension vacuum coating winding machine according to claim 5, characterized in that, The atmosphere isolation structure is an independent vacuum space, which can meet the atmosphere isolation requirements of the target working vacuum and the evaporation working vacuum.

7. The double-sided double-flattening roller suspension vacuum coating winding machine according to claim 6, characterized in that, The unwinding unit includes an air-expanding unwinding roller, an unwinding flattening roller, and an unwinding tension roller. The unwinding tension roller is controlled in a closed loop to ensure stable unwinding tension.

8. The double-sided double-flattening roller suspension vacuum coating winding machine according to claim 7, characterized in that, The winding unit includes an air-expanding winding roller and a winding tracking frame. The winding tracking frame can automatically rotate according to the winding diameter and maintain a 5mm gap with the winding shaft.

9. The double-sided double-flattening roller suspension vacuum coating winding machine according to claim 8, characterized in that, The coating unit is also equipped with a water-cooled anti-fouling baffle with a water-cooled interlayer, and the evaporation coating area has an independent water-cooled space.

10. The double-sided double-flattening roller suspension vacuum coating winding machine according to claim 9, characterized in that, It also includes a film thickness detection component, an electrostatic eliminator, and at least four rotating observation windows. The film thickness detection component is used to adjust the coating uniformity, and the electrostatic eliminator is used to remove static electricity generated during the coating process.

Images