Drying device

Abstract

To provide a drying device equipped with curling prevention means which is easy to fabricate with a simple configuration, having the curling prevention performance thereof being easily enhanced by only arranging, adjusting and fixing the same.SOLUTION: The drying device comprises curling prevention means 5 configured to include a long band plate 6 short in the width direction and long in the length direction of a substrate 2 present in a drying chamber 3, the band plate being arranged on the lower or the upper part of an edge in the crosswise direction of the substrate 2 at a height allowing the band plate to abut on or approach to the edge in the crosswise direction of the substrate 2.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a drying device that is provided in a coating device configured to transport a film-shaped object to be coated (substrate) to a nozzle section that ejects a coating liquid from, for example, a slit-shaped tip outlet hole, thereby forming a thin film on the surface, and relates to a drying device that transports and passes the film-shaped substrate after coating through a drying chamber section that is configured to be heated by hot air or a heater, thereby drying the coating film on the substrate surface. [Background technology]

[0002] The drying device provided in the coating device transports and passes through the film-like substrate having its surface coated with the coating liquid by the coating device and discharged from the coating device, and dries the coating film on the substrate surface, for example, by hot air or heater heating.

[0003] Such a drying device is configured to comprise a drying chamber consisting of multiple main body sections arranged side by side on the left and right, through which a film-like substrate is transported and passed via transport inlet / outlet sections provided on the left and right, and the opposing transport inlet / outlet sections of these main body sections are connected so as to communicate with each other to form a long drying chamber length. Within each main body section that constitutes this drying chamber, for example, a number of support rollers are arranged side by side in the horizontal direction, and the film-like substrate is passed over these support rollers. While the film-like substrate is picked up and transported horizontally, the coated surface (coating film) of the substrate is dried using hot air from the hot air blowing section or heat from the heater section, or hot air blowing sections are provided above and below, and the substrate is transported and passed without contact, drying the coated surface (coating film) using a floating drying method.

[0004] When a substrate having such a coating applied thereon is dried, the ends in the width direction of the substrate may curl upward (the ends may be curved and deformed upward), for example.

[0005] For example, electrode films for lithium-ion batteries are formed by applying an electrode film to the top surface of a substrate such as aluminum or copper foil and drying it. When this electrode film is dried, the binder in the electrode film (the substance that adheres the electrode film to the substrate) contracts, causing the widthwise ends of the substrate to curl upward (the ends are curved upward and lifted). When the substrate is wound up on a roll with the widthwise ends curled, this can cause problems such as folding of the substrate or cracks at the ends of the electrode film.

[0006] In order to suppress this curling phenomenon, measures have been taken such as making the electrode film thinner to reduce the contraction force, making the substrate thicker to increase its rigidity, or slowing down the drying speed to prevent the occurrence of sudden stress differences.

[0007] However, such curl suppression measures are not easy to implement because they require significant changes in manufacturing conditions, and are also associated with high costs and reduced productivity, making them impractical in some cases.

[0008] Therefore, in order to solve these problems, the applicant has developed a drying device equipped with a Coanda nozzle type curl prevention device (curl suppression means) in which a Coanda nozzle section, which creates a Coanda action by blowing warm air in a specified direction to draw the substrate downward, is positioned not only for drawing the substrate into contact with the support roller, but also at the widthwise ends of the substrate, creating a Coanda action that gently draws the widthwise ends of the substrate downward, thereby suppressing the curling phenomenon by this substrate drawing-in force. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0009] [Patent Document 1] JP 2020-118363 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0010] However, this requires the arrangement of a large number of Coanda nozzles, and the need to adjust the pulling force due to the Coanda effect, which may be impractical in terms of cost, productivity, etc.

[0011] The present invention has been made to solve such problems, and aims to provide a drying device with excellent practicality, which has a curl suppression means that is simple in structure and easy to manufacture, and whose curl suppression performance can be improved simply by adjusting and fixing the position. [Means for solving the problem]

[0012] The gist of the present invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0013] The present invention relates to a drying device in which a film-like substrate 2, which has been coated with a coating liquid by a coating device 1 and is delivered from the coating device 1, is transported and passed through a drying chamber 3, and a hot air delivery section 4 for delivering hot air for drying the coating liquid coated on the substrate 2, or a heater section for drying the substrate, is provided within the drying chamber 3, and a curl suppression means 5 for suppressing the widthwise end of the film-like substrate 2 transported and passing through the drying chamber 3 from curling upward or downward is provided. The curl suppression means 5 is configured such that a long strip plate section 6 that is short in the width direction of the substrate 2 and long in the length direction is arranged above or below the widthwise end of the substrate 2 in the drying chamber 3, at a height where it abuts against or is close to the widthwise end of the substrate 2, and when the coating liquid is applied and the substrate 2 is dried in the drying chamber 3 and the widthwise end of the substrate 2 curls upward or downward, the widthwise end of the substrate 2 is transported in abutment and sliding manner, thereby suppressing curling.

[0014] The curl suppression means 5 relates to the drying device described in claim 1, characterized in that it is provided with a support base portion 7 which positions the long strip portion 6 above or below the widthwise end portion of the substrate 2 in the drying chamber portion 3 at a height such that it abuts or is close to the widthwise end portion of the substrate 2, and this support base portion 7 is provided with a long strip portion adjustment and fixing mechanism which adjusts and fixes the arrangement position of the long strip portion 6.

[0015] The curl suppression means 5 relates to the drying device described in claim 1, characterized in that the long strip portion 6 is positioned above and below the widthwise end portion of the substrate 2 in the drying chamber portion 3, and each of the long strip portion 6 is positioned at a height such that it abuts or is close to the widthwise end portion of the substrate 2.

[0016] The drying device according to claim 1, further characterized in that at least the substrate contact sliding surface of the long strip portion 6 with which the substrate 2 comes into contact is provided with a protective coating. Effect of the Invention

[0017] Since the present invention is configured as described above, it provides a drying device with extremely excellent practicality, which has curl suppression means that is simple in structure and easy to manufacture, and whose curl suppression performance can be improved simply by adjusting and fixing the position. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0018] [Figure 1] FIG. 2 is a side view for explaining the schematic configuration of the present embodiment. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is an enlarged explanatory side view of a main portion of the present embodiment. [Diagram 3] FIG. 2 is an enlarged explanatory plan view of a main portion of the present embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0019] A preferred embodiment of the present invention will be briefly described below with reference to the drawings to illustrate the operation of the present invention.

[0020] For example, a film-like substrate 2 that has been coated by a coating device 1 is conveyed through a drying chamber 3, whereby the coating film formed on the surface is dried.

[0021] That is, for example, when the substrate 2 with a coating on its upper surface is taken up and transported through the drying chamber 3, the coating film on the upper surface is dried by the hot air blown out from the hot air blowing section 4 provided in the drying chamber 3 or by the heat of the heater section.

[0022] For example, when drying a substrate 2 having such a coating film applied thereon, a phenomenon may occur in which the widthwise ends of the substrate 2 (both left and right ends in the widthwise direction) curl upward and inward (the ends are curved and deformed upward and inward).

[0023] For example, the electrode film of a lithium-ion battery is formed by applying an electrode film to the upper surface of a substrate 2 such as aluminum or copper foil and drying it. When this electrode film is dried, the binder in the electrode film (a substance that adheres the electrode film to the substrate) contracts, causing the widthwise ends (both left and right ends) of the substrate 2 to curl upward (they curve upward and deform, and the ends lift inward). If the substrate 2 is wound up on a roll with the widthwise ends in this curled state, this may cause problems such as folding of the substrate 2 or cracks at the ends of the electrode film.

[0024] In this regard, the present invention is provided with a curl suppression means 5 for suppressing the widthwise end portion of the film-like substrate 2 passing through the drying chamber 3 from curling upward or downward, and this curl suppression means 5 is composed of a long strip plate portion 6 which is short in the width direction of the substrate 2 and long in the length direction, and this long strip plate portion 6 is arranged above or below the widthwise end portion of the substrate 2 in the drying chamber 3, at a height where it abuts or is close to the widthwise end portion of the substrate 2.

[0025] Therefore, when the coating liquid is applied and dried in the drying chamber 3, causing the widthwise end of the substrate 2 to curl upward or downward, the widthwise end of the substrate 2 comes into contact with and slides against the long strip plate section 6, thereby preventing the curling.

[0026] Therefore, the curl suppression means 5 has a simple structure and is easy to manufacture, and by simply adjusting and fixing the long strip plate portion 6 of the curl suppression means 5 so that it is at a specified position and height within the drying chamber 3, the curl suppression performance can be improved, making it a drying device with extremely excellent practicality. EXAMPLES

[0027] A specific embodiment of the present invention will now be described with reference to the drawings.

[0028] In this embodiment, the present invention is applied to a drying device provided in a coating device 1 in which a film-like object to be coated (substrate 2) is pulled out from a take-up roll 8 and transported via an opposing support roller 10 that faces a nozzle section 9 of the coating device 1, a coating liquid is ejected from an ejection hole at the tip of the nozzle section 9 to coat one side (top surface) of the film-like substrate 2 supported by the opposing support roller 10, and the coated film-like substrate 2 is then transported horizontally through a drying chamber section 3 of the drying device to be dried and wound up around a recovery roll 11.

[0029] That is, the drying device in this embodiment is provided downstream of the film coating device 1 which is configured to coat the upper surface of the substrate 2 with the coating liquid in the form of a film by transporting the film-like substrate 2 facing the nozzle portion 9 toward the nozzle portion 9 while ejecting the coating liquid from the tip discharge hole of the nozzle portion 9, and is configured to transport and dry the film-like substrate 2 which has been coated on its upper surface by the coating device 1.

[0030] Specifically, although not shown, the drying chamber 3 is configured with multiple main body sections arranged side by side on the left and right, through which the film-like substrate 2 is transported and passed via left and right transport entrances and exits, and within this drying chamber 3, a number of support rollers 12 are provided at intervals to support the substrate 2, and hot air blowing sections 4 and heater sections are provided above and below the substrate 2 that is transported while supported by these support rollers 12 to dry it.

[0031] Specifically, a large number of support rollers 12 are horizontally arranged in parallel within the drying chamber 3, the film-like substrate 2 is passed over these support rollers 12, and while this film-like substrate 2 is taken up and transported horizontally, the coated surface (coating film) on the upper surface of this substrate 2 is dried by hot air from the hot air blowing unit 4 and heat from the heater unit. Note that it is also possible to provide hot air blowing units above and below and transport the substrate without contacting it while drying the coated surface (coating film) by a floating drying method.

[0032] In this embodiment, a hot air blowing section 4 is provided between each support roller 12 in the drying chamber 3. As in the drying device of the configuration shown in the prior patent document developed by the applicant, this hot air blowing section 4 is provided with a Coanda nozzle section 13 that produces a Coanda effect, that is, a force that blows hot air in a predetermined direction to pull the substrate 2 downward, thereby pressing the substrate 2 against the support roller 12 and causing it to abut.

[0033] Furthermore, when drying the substrate 2 having such a coating film applied thereon, a phenomenon may occur in which both left and right ends of the widthwise ends of the substrate 2 curl upward (the left and right ends curve and deform upward and inward). In this embodiment, however, the substrate 2 is configured to include a curl suppression means 5 that presses down and suppresses the widthwise ends of the film-like substrate 2 passing through the drying chamber 3 from curling upward.

[0034] Specifically, the curl suppression means 5 in this embodiment consists of a long, horizontal band-like plate portion 6 that is short in the width direction of the substrate 2 and long in the length direction, and this long band portion 6 is positioned above both left and right ends of the width direction ends of the substrate 2 in the drying chamber 3, at a height where it abuts or is close to the width direction ends of the substrate 2, and is configured to come into contact and slide while being transported if there is even the slightest attempt to curl, thereby pressing down both left and right ends of the substrate 2 and suppressing curling.

[0035] In other words, when the coating liquid is applied and dried in the drying chamber section 3, causing the widthwise end section of the substrate 2 to curl upward, the widthwise end section of the substrate 2 comes into contact with and slides against the long strip plate section 6, thereby suppressing curling.

[0036] To explain further, the curl suppression means 5 in this embodiment is configured such that the long strip plate portion 6 in the form of a horizontal long plate is arranged at the upper and lower sides of both sides of the widthwise end portion of the substrate 2 in the drying chamber portion 3, i.e., at both the left and right ends, and the upper and lower long strip plate portions 6 at both the left and right ends are arranged at a height close to the widthwise end portion of the substrate 2.

[0037] In addition, at the upstream end of each long strip section 6, a guide curved end is provided on both the upper and lower long strip sections 6 to facilitate the paper feed setting operation of the substrate 2, i.e., to facilitate guiding and positioning the substrate 2 close together without damaging the substrate 2.

[0038] In addition, in order to provide at least as wide an area as possible for the upper long strip portion 6, the length (long length) of this upper long strip portion 6 in the longitudinal direction of the base material 2 is set to approximately the length between the support rollers 12, and this long strip portion 6 is provided between each support roller 12.

[0039] In addition, the curl suppression means 5 in this embodiment is configured to have support base portions 7 on both the left and right sides between each support roller 12 for mounting the long strip portion 6 at a predetermined position (height) adjacent to both the left and right sides of the width direction of the substrate 2, and each support base portion 7 is fixed in an upright state to the installation bottom within the drying chamber portion 3, and the arrangement position of the long strip portion 6 on this support base portion 7 is adjusted and fixed by a long strip portion adjustment and fixing mechanism.

[0040] This long strip plate adjustment and fixing mechanism is composed of a left-right position adjustment and fixing means that can slide-adjust and fix the installation bottom plate portion of the support base portion 7 in the left-right direction relative to the installation bottom, and a height adjustment and fixing means that can adjust and fix each of the upper and lower long strip plate portions 6 in the upright direction relative to the support base portion 7, making it easy to adjust and fix the left-right and height positions of each long strip plate 6.As a result, when the base material 2 curls, it is reliably pressed down on both the left and right ends of the base material 2 while being slidably transported, thereby providing good curl suppression performance.

[0041] This adjustment mechanism is configured such that, for example, a long guide hole is provided, the guide slides in the long hole direction to adjust the position, and the adjustment mechanism is secured with a screw via the long hole.

[0042] At least the substrate contact sliding surface of the long strip portion 6 with which the substrate 2 comes into contact is provided with a protective coating.

[0043] For example, a fluororesin coating is applied to the underside of the upper long strip portion 6 and the upper side of the lower long strip portion 6, so that even if the base material 2 curls and comes into contact with the long strip portion 6 of the curl suppression means 5 during sliding transport, the base material 2 can be more reliably prevented from being damaged.

[0044] Incidentally, the present invention is not limited to the present embodiment, and the specific configuration of each component can be designed as appropriate. [Explanation of symbols]

[0045] 1 Coating device 2 Base material 3 Drying room 4 Hot air outlet section 5. Curl suppression measures 6 Long strip section 7 Support part 8 Winding roll 9 Nozzle section 10 Support roller 11 Recovery Roll 12 Support roller 13 Coanda nozzle part

Claims

1. A drying device comprising: a drying chamber section through which a film-like substrate is conveyed and passed after being coated with a coating liquid by a coating device and discharged from the coating device; a hot air delivery section for delivering hot air for drying the coating liquid applied to the substrate; or a heater section for drying the substrate; A curl suppression means is provided to suppress the width direction end of the film-like substrate conveyed through the drying chamber from curling upward or downward, The curl suppression means is configured such that a long strip portion that is short in the width direction of the substrate and long in the length direction is disposed above or below an end portion of the substrate in the width direction in the drying chamber at a height that abuts against or is close to the end portion of the substrate in the width direction, A drying device characterized in that, when the coating liquid is applied to the substrate and dried in the drying chamber, causing the widthwise end portion of the substrate to curl upward or downward, the widthwise end portion of the substrate is conveyed in a sliding contact manner to suppress curling.

2. The drying device described in claim 1, characterized in that the curl suppression means is provided with a support base portion that positions the long strip portion above or below the widthwise end of the substrate in the drying chamber at a height that abuts or is close to the widthwise end of the substrate, and this support base portion is provided with a long strip portion adjustment and fixing mechanism that adjusts and fixes the arrangement position of the long strip portion.

3. The drying device described in claim 1, characterized in that the curl suppression means is configured so that the long strip portion is positioned above and below the widthwise end portion of the substrate in the drying chamber, and each of the long strip portions is positioned at a height such that it abuts or is close to the widthwise end portion of the substrate.

4. 2. The drying device according to claim 1, wherein at least a substrate-contacting sliding surface of said long strip portion with which said substrate comes into contact is provided with a protective coating.

Images