Coating device for applying viscous coating material to coated object, and coating method for applying viscous coating material to coated object

Abstract

To provide a coating device for applying a viscous coating material to a coated object and a coating method for applying a viscous coating material to a coated object that can suppress variations in a contact area between the viscous coating material and the coated object due to the temperature in the time of pressing especially when the viscous coating material is pressed with a constant force.SOLUTION: A viscous coating material applied by a coating device according to the present disclosure is deformed by being pressed by a pressing member after being applied to a coated object. The coating device according to the present disclosure includes a thermometer, a coating width calculation unit, a coating control unit, and a coating unit. In the coating device according to the present disclosure, the thermometer measures at least one of the temperatures of the surrounding environment, the viscous coating material, and the coated object. The coating width calculation unit determines the coating width of the viscous coating material according to the measured temperature and outputs the determined coating width to the coating control unit.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a coating device for applying a viscous coating material to a substrate, and a coating method for applying a viscous coating material to a substrate. [Background technology]

[0002] It has been considered to keep the amount of coating material constant by carrying out control based on various parameters when applying the coating material to a substrate.

[0003] For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a coating device that includes a coating unit that applies a coating liquid containing a solidifying component and forms a coating film by solidifying the applied coating liquid, a measuring unit that measures the mass flow rate of the coating liquid supplied to the coating unit, and a control unit that stores a reference value for the mass flow rate calculated from a predetermined formula and changes the mass flow rate of the coating liquid based on the reference value and the measurement results of the measuring unit.

[0004] Patent Document 2 discloses a coating device that maintains a controlled quantity within a target range even in the presence of external factors such as the temperature of the working space.

[0005] Patent Document 3 discloses a method for controlling the amount of a viscous coating material applied, characterized in that when a viscous coating material is pressure-fed by a pressure-fed device and discharged from the tip of a nozzle to be applied to a substrate, the viscosity of the viscous coating material is measured in the vicinity of the nozzle, and the amount of the viscous coating material applied is controlled based on the measured viscosity. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0006] [Patent Document 1] JP 2016-203050 A [Patent Document 2] Patent Publication No. 2022-137290 [Patent Document 3] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 7-096240 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0007] Incidentally, when a viscous coating material is applied to an object to be coated and then this viscous coating material is pressed with a constant force to cause deformation, there is a risk that the contact area will vary depending on the temperature at the time of pressing.

[0008] Specifically, for example, in order to cool a battery pack, a viscous thermal conductive material is sometimes used that is placed between a battery pack and a cooler and transfers the heat of the battery pack to the cooler. When assembling this viscous thermal conductive material between the battery pack and the cooler, a method may be adopted in which the viscous thermal conductive material is applied to the cooler, and then a pressure load due to the weight of the battery pack is applied to spread the viscous thermal conductive material, thereby bringing the battery pack and the cooler into close contact via the viscous thermal conductive material. Since the thermal conductivity performance of the viscous thermal conductive material is affected by the thickness of the viscous thermal conductive material when a pressure load is applied, and the contact area between the viscous thermal conductive material and the battery pack and the cooler, it is necessary to suppress the variation in the thickness and contact area when applying the viscous thermal conductive material. However, since the viscosity of the viscous thermal conductive material changes with temperature, when the viscous thermal conductive material is pressed with a certain force, there is a risk that the contact area will vary depending on the temperature at the time of pressing.

[0009] The present disclosure has an object to provide a coating device for applying a viscous coating material to a substrate, and a coating method for applying a viscous coating material to a substrate, and in particular a coating device and coating method that can suppress variations in the contact area between the viscous coating material and the substrate due to the temperature at the time of pressing the viscous coating material with a constant force. [Means for solving the problem]

[0010] The present inventors have found that the above problems can be solved by the following means. <Aspect 1> A coating device for applying a viscous coating material to a substrate, comprising: The viscous coating material is applied to the substrate and then is pressed and deformed by a pressing member, The coating device includes a thermometer, a coating width calculation unit, a coating control unit, and a coating unit, The thermometer measures at least one temperature of the surrounding environment, the viscous coating material, and the substrate; the coating width calculation unit determines a coating width of the viscous coating material in accordance with the temperature, and outputs the determined coating width to the coating control unit; the coating control unit controls the coating unit so as to coat the viscous coating material in the coating width; and The coating unit applies the viscous coating material to the substrate under the control of the coating control unit. Coating equipment. <Aspect 2> The coating device according to aspect 1, wherein the coating width calculation unit calculates the viscosity of the viscous coating material when the viscous coating material is pressed and deformed by the pressing member based on the temperature and an approximation equation showing the relationship between the shear rate and viscosity of the viscous coating material, and determines a coating width of the viscous coating material depending on the viscosity. <Aspect 3> 3. The coating device according to claim 1, wherein the pressing member presses and deforms the viscous coating material by its own weight. <Aspect 4> A coating apparatus according to any one of aspects 1 to 3, wherein the viscous coating material is a non-Newtonian fluid. <Aspect 5> The viscous coating material is a viscous heat conductive material, The object to be coated is a cooler, and The pressing member is a battery pack, and the pressing member presses and deforms the viscous coating material by its own weight. The coating apparatus according to any one of aspects 1 to 4. <Aspect 6> A coating method for applying a viscous coating material to a substrate, comprising: The viscous coating material is applied to the substrate and then deformed by being pressed by a pressing member; and A coating method comprising the steps of: Measuring at least one temperature of the surrounding environment, the viscous coating material, and the substrate; Determining a coating width of the viscous coating material according to the temperature; and The viscous coating material is applied to the substrate at the coating width. Aspect 7 Applying the viscous coating material to the substrate by the method according to claim 6; and The pressing member presses and deforms the viscous coating material by its own weight. A method for applying and deforming a viscous coating material. Effect of the Invention

[0011] The present disclosure can provide a coating device for applying a viscous coating material to a substrate, and a coating method for applying a viscous coating material to a substrate, and in particular a coating device and coating method that can suppress variations in the contact area between the viscous coating material and the substrate due to the temperature at the time of pressing the viscous coating material with a constant force. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0012] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a coating device of the present disclosure. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a graph showing the relationship between shear rate and viscosity when BETATECH 2029 is used as the viscous coating material at 20° C. [Diagram 3] FIG. 3 is a graph showing the relationship between the coating width and contact area of ​​the viscous coating material at each temperature. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0013] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail. Note that the present disclosure is not limited to the following embodiments, and various modifications can be made within the scope of the present disclosure.

[0014] <Coating device for applying viscous coating material to a substrate> The coating device of the present disclosure is a coating device for applying a viscous coating material to a substrate. The viscous coating material applied by the coating device of the present disclosure is applied to the substrate, and then is pressed and deformed by a pressing member. The coating device of the present disclosure also includes a thermometer, a coating width calculation unit, a coating control unit, and a coating unit. In the coating device of the present disclosure, the thermometer measures at least one of the temperatures of the surrounding environment, the viscous coating material, and the substrate, the coating width calculation unit determines the coating width of the viscous coating material according to the measured temperature and outputs the determined coating width to the coating control unit, the coating control unit controls the coating unit so as to apply the viscous coating material at the determined coating width, and the coating unit applies the viscous coating material to the substrate based on the control by the coating control unit.

[0015] The present inventors considered that the viscosity of the viscous coating material changes depending on at least one of the temperatures of the surrounding environment, the viscous coating material, and the coated object, and that the pressability of the viscous coating material changes accordingly, resulting in variation in the contact area between the viscous coating material and the coated object after pressing.

[0016] In response to this, the present inventors have discovered that by measuring at least one of the temperatures of the surrounding environment, the viscous coating material, and the object to be coated, which affect the viscosity of the viscous coating material, and determining the coating width of the viscous coating material according to that temperature, it is possible to reduce variations in the contact area between the viscous coating material and the object to be coated that occur due to the temperature at the time of pressing when the viscous coating material is pressed with a constant force.

[0017] The coating device disclosed herein is a coating device for applying a viscous coating material to a substrate, and after the viscous coating material has been applied to the substrate, the viscous coating material is pressed and deformed by a pressing member.

[0018] The viscous coating material is not particularly limited as long as it is a viscous material, but may be a non-Newtonian fluid. Examples of the non-Newtonian fluid include a Bingham fluid, a pseudoplastic fluid, and a dilatant fluid, and the Bingham fluid or the pseudoplastic fluid is preferable.

[0019] The viscous coating material may be, for example, a viscous thermally conductive material. The viscous thermally conductive material may be a composition containing a thermoplastic resin and a thermally conductive component. The types of the thermoplastic resin and the thermally conductive component are not particularly limited. The applied viscous thermally conductive agent can be used to cool the battery pack.

[0020] The object to be coated is not particularly limited, but for example, when the coating device of the present disclosure is used to coat a viscous thermally conductive material used for cooling a battery pack, the object to be coated may be a cooler.

[0021] The pressing member is not particularly limited, but for example, when the coating device of the present disclosure is used to coat a viscous thermally conductive material for cooling a battery pack, the pressing member may be the battery pack.

[0022] The pressing member may press the viscous coating material by its own weight. For example, when the coating device of the present disclosure is used to apply a viscous thermal conductive material for cooling a battery pack, pressing the viscous coating material by the weight of the battery pack, which is the pressing member, i.e., not applying pressure to the battery pack, is preferable from the viewpoint of preventing damage to the battery pack.

[0023] A schematic diagram of the coating device of the present disclosure is shown in Figure 1. As shown in Figure 1, the coating device of the present disclosure includes a thermometer, a coating width calculation unit, a coating control unit, and a coating unit, and may optionally include a material extrusion pump.

[0024] <Thermometer> The thermometer provided in the coating device of the present disclosure measures at least one of the temperatures of the surrounding environment, the viscous coating material, and the substrate. Specific examples of this temperature include at least one of the temperatures of the surrounding environment, the viscous coating material, and the substrate when the viscous coating material is applied to the substrate and then pressed by the pressing member. Note that in FIG. 1, the thermometer is shown as measuring the outside air temperature, i.e., the temperature of the surrounding environment, for illustrative purposes.

[0025] The thermometer is not particularly limited as long as it can measure the above temperature.

[0026] <Coating width calculation unit> The coating width calculation unit provided in the coating device of the present disclosure determines the coating width of the viscous coating material in accordance with the temperature measured by the thermometer, and outputs the determined coating width to the coating control unit.

[0027] The method for determining the coating width of the viscous coating material in accordance with the temperature measured by the thermometer is not particularly limited as long as it determines the coating width of the viscous coating material based on information input from the thermometer to a coating width calculation unit.

[0028] For example, the coating width calculation unit may calculate the viscosity of the viscous coating material when it is pressed and deformed by a pressing member based on the temperature measured by a thermometer and an approximation equation showing the relationship between the shear rate and viscosity of the viscous coating material, and determine the coating width of the viscous coating material according to the calculated viscosity.

[0029] When the viscous coating material is a non-Newtonian fluid, the above approximation can be obtained using the Carreau-Yasuda equation (1) for non-Newtonian fluids.

[0030]

number

[0031] Here, the viscosity of the viscous coating material depends on the temperature, so this approximation formula changes depending on the temperature. Also, the relationship between shear rate and viscosity shows different behavior depending on the type of viscous coating material. For example, Figure 2 is a graph showing the approximation formula when BETATECH 2029 is used as the viscous coating material at 20°C.

[0032] From the approximation formula thus obtained, the viscosity of the viscous coating material at a given temperature can be calculated. Here, the shear rate of the viscous coating material is determined by the pressing speed of the pressing member. Therefore, the shear rate is determined according to the pressing speed of the pressing member, and the viscosity of the viscous coating material at a given temperature can be calculated from the approximation formula above.

[0033] There is no particular limitation on the method for determining the coating width of the viscous coating material depending on the viscosity of the viscous coating material. For example, the coating width can be determined from the following formula (2).

[0034]

number

[0035] In this formula, the viscosity of the viscous coating material can be a value calculated at a predetermined temperature, and the pressing stress and pressing speed of the pressing member, as well as the coating length of the viscous coating material and the thickness of the viscous coating material after pressing can be any value determined. For example, when the coating device of the present disclosure is used to coat a viscous thermally conductive material used for cooling a battery pack, the pressing stress and pressing speed are determined by the pressing member, i.e., the weight of the battery pack, and the coating length of the viscous coating material and the thickness of the viscous coating material after pressing can be determined so as to provide a contact area and thickness at which the thermally conductive material exhibits desired properties.

[0036] In FIG. 1, the information input to the coating width calculation unit is exemplified by the thickness of the viscous coating material, the pressing speed of the pressing member, the pressing pressure of the pressing member, the viscosity of the viscous coating material, and the temperature. However, when determining the coating width based on the above formula (2), information regarding the coating length of the viscous coating material can be further input.

[0037] The coating width calculation unit outputs the determined coating width to the coating control unit.

[0038] <Coating control unit> The coating control unit provided in the coating device of the present disclosure controls the coating unit so as to apply the viscous coating material to the coating width determined by the coating width calculation unit.

[0039] The coating control unit may control the coating width of the viscous coating material as well as the coating speed and coating pattern.

[0040] <Coating unit> The coating unit provided in the coating device of the present disclosure applies a viscous coating material to a substrate under the control of the coating control unit.

[0041] The coating unit may be a nozzle, and is shown in Figure 1 as a coating nozzle. Also, as shown in Figure 1, the coating unit may include a pump for extruding the viscous coating material.

[0042] <<Coating method for applying a viscous coating material to a substrate>> In the disclosed method for applying a viscous coating material to a substrate, the viscous coating material is applied to the substrate and then pressed and deformed by a pressing member. The disclosed method also includes measuring at least one temperature of the surrounding environment, the viscous coating material, and the substrate, determining a coating width of the viscous coating material according to the measured temperature, and applying the viscous coating material to the substrate at the determined coating width.

[0043] <Temperature measurement process> The method of the present disclosure includes measuring at least one of the temperature of the surrounding environment, the viscous coating material, and the temperature of the substrate. To measure the temperature, the thermometer of the present disclosure can be used. For the thermometer, reference can be made to the above description of the thermometer of the present disclosure.

[0044] <Coating width determination process> The method of the present disclosure includes determining a coating width of the viscous coating material according to the temperature measured in the temperature measuring step. The coating width can be determined by using the coating width calculation unit of the present disclosure. For the coating width calculation unit, reference can be made to the above description of the coating width calculation unit of the present disclosure.

[0045] <Coating process> The method of the present disclosure includes applying a viscous coating material to a substrate with the coating width determined in the coating width determination step. The coating control unit and coating unit of the present disclosure can be used to apply the viscous coating material to the substrate with this coating width. Specifically, the coating control unit of the present disclosure can control the coating unit to apply the viscous coating material to the substrate with the determined coating width. For the coating control unit, the above description of the coating control unit of the present disclosure can be referenced, and for the coating unit, the above description of the coating unit of the present disclosure can be referenced.

[0046] <<Method of applying and deforming viscous coating material>> The disclosed method for applying and deforming a viscous coating material involves applying a viscous coating material to a substrate by the disclosed method, and then a pressing member deforms the viscous coating material by pressing it with its own weight. For example, when the disclosed method is used to apply a viscous thermal conductive material used to cool a battery pack, pressing the viscous coating material with the own weight of the battery pack, which is the pressing member, i.e., not applying pressure to the battery pack, is preferred from the viewpoint of preventing damage to the battery pack. EXAMPLES

[0047] The viscous coating material BETATECH 2029 was applied to the substrate. The coating parameters were as follows: Ambient temperature: 20℃ or 10℃ Pressing speed by pressing member: 10mm / min Pressing stress by pressing member: 0.004MPa Thickness of viscous coating material after pressing: 1mm Viscous coating length: 800mm

[0048] The viscosity of the viscous coating material at each temperature was calculated based on the approximation formula shown in Figure 2 and a similar approximation formula when the temperature was 10°C.

[0049] Figure 3 is a graph showing the relationship between the coating width and contact area of ​​a viscous coating material at each temperature. Since the viscosity of a viscous coating material depends on temperature, as shown in Figure 3, there was a difference in the relationship between the coating width and contact area at each temperature. That is, for example, when the target contact area is set to 60% or more, it was found that the coating width needs to be more than 10 mm when the ambient temperature is 20°C, and the coating width needs to be more than 14 mm when the ambient temperature is 10°C.

Claims

1. A coating device for applying a viscous coating material to a substrate, comprising: The viscous coating material is applied to the substrate and then is pressed and deformed by a pressing member, The coating device includes a thermometer, a coating width calculation unit, a coating control unit, and a coating unit, The thermometer measures at least one temperature of an ambient environment, the viscous coating material, and the object to be coated; the coating width calculation unit determines a coating width of the viscous coating material in accordance with the temperature, and outputs the determined coating width to the coating control unit; the coating control unit controls the coating unit so as to coat the viscous coating material in the coating width; and The coating unit applies the viscous coating material to the substrate under the control of the coating control unit. Coating equipment.

2. 2. The coating device according to claim 1, wherein the coating width calculation unit calculates the viscosity of the viscous coating material when the viscous coating material is pressed and deformed by the pressing member based on the temperature and an approximation equation showing the relationship between the shear rate and viscosity of the viscous coating material, and determines the coating width of the viscous coating material according to the viscosity.

3. The coating device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the pressing member presses and deforms the viscous coating material by its own weight.

4. The coating device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the viscous coating material is a non-Newtonian fluid.

5. The viscous coating material is a viscous heat conductive material, The object to be coated is a cooler, and The pressing member is a battery pack, and the pressing member presses and deforms the viscous coating material by its own weight. The coating device according to claim 1 or 2.

6. A coating method for applying a viscous coating material to a substrate, comprising: The viscous coating material is applied to the substrate and then deformed by being pressed by a pressing member; and A coating method comprising the steps of: Measuring at least one temperature of the surrounding environment, the viscous coating material, and the substrate; Determining a coating width of the viscous coating material according to the temperature; and The viscous coating material is applied to the substrate at the coating width.

7. Applying the viscous coating material to the substrate by the method according to claim 6, and The pressing member presses and deforms the viscous coating material by its own weight. A method for applying and deforming a viscous coating material.

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