Coating applicator and coating method

Abstract

To provide a coating applicator which can apply a coating liquid to a base material while preventing air bubbles from occurring between the base material and the coating liquid, and to provide a coating method.SOLUTION: A coating applicator EA includes: coating liquid housing means 10 which houses a coating liquid CL; coating means 20 which feeds a base material BS along an outer peripheral surface of a roller 22 facing the coating liquid housing means 10 and applies the coating liquid CL in the coating liquid housing means 10 to a surface to be coated BS1 of the base material BS; and air bubble entry prevention means 30 which prevents air bubbles from entering a space between the base material BS entering along the outer peripheral surface of the roller 22 and the coating liquid CL in the coating liquid housing means 10.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a coating apparatus and a coating method. [Background technology]

[0002] BACKGROUND ART There is known a coating device that delivers a substrate along the outer peripheral surface of a roller facing a coating liquid storage means and applies a coating liquid from the coating liquid storage means to the substrate (see, for example, Patent Document 1). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 5-49996 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] In the coating device, as shown in Figure 4, a wedge-shaped gap WG occurs between the coating liquid CL and the incoming substrate BS near the substrate-facing edge EP of the coating liquid storage means, and air bubbles GB can enter between the substrate BS and the coating liquid CL through this gap WG, resulting in the formation of air bubbles GB between the substrate BS and the coating liquid CL. In the coating device (applicator) described in Patent Document 1, a bubble removal section is formed in the adhesive supply container (coating liquid storage means) to remove such bubbles, but this does not prevent bubbles from forming between the coated object (substrate) and the adhesive (coating liquid).

[0005] An object of the present invention is to provide a coating apparatus and a coating method that can apply a coating liquid to a substrate while suppressing the generation of bubbles between the substrate and the coating liquid. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] A coating device according to one aspect of the present invention comprises a coating liquid storage means for storing a coating liquid, a coating means for feeding a substrate along the outer peripheral surface of a roller facing the coating liquid storage means and applying the coating liquid in the coating liquid storage means to the surface of the substrate to be coated, and an air bubble prevention means for preventing air bubbles from entering between the substrate entering along the outer peripheral surface of the roller and the coating liquid in the coating liquid storage means.

[0007] In the coating device according to one aspect of the present invention, the air bubble prevention means may include a pre-coating means that is arranged upstream of the coating liquid storage means in the feeding direction of the substrate.

[0008] In a coating device according to one aspect of the present invention, the coating liquid storage means may include a substrate-facing edge portion that faces the substrate entering along the outer peripheral surface of the roller, and the air bubble prevention means may include an air bubble prevention roller that is arranged in a gap between the substrate-facing edge portion of the coating liquid storage means and the substrate, and a driving device that rotates the air bubble prevention roller in the same direction as the rotational direction of the roller of the coating means.

[0009] In a coating device according to one aspect of the present invention, the coating liquid storage means includes a substrate-facing edge portion that faces the substrate entering along the outer peripheral surface of the roller, and the substrate-facing edge portion is formed so that the gap between the coating liquid storage means and the substrate becomes larger from the upstream side to the downstream side in the direction of feeding of the substrate, so that the coating liquid in the coating liquid storage means flows into the gap between the coating liquid storage means and the substrate, and the air bubble intrusion prevention means may be constituted by the substrate-facing edge portion.

[0010] A coating method according to one aspect of the present invention includes a coating liquid storage step of storing a coating liquid in a coating liquid storage means, a coating step of unrolling a substrate along the outer peripheral surface of a roller facing the coating liquid storage means and applying the coating liquid in the coating liquid storage means to the surface of the substrate to be coated, and an air bubble prevention step of preventing air bubbles from entering between the substrate entering along the outer peripheral surface of the roller and the coating liquid in the coating liquid storage means. [Effects of the Invention]

[0011] According to the present invention, air bubbles are prevented from entering between the substrate entering along the outer peripheral surface of the roller and the coating liquid in the coating liquid storage means, so that the coating liquid can be applied to the substrate while suppressing the generation of air bubbles between the substrate and the coating liquid. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0012] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is an explanatory view of a coating device according to a first embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] FIG. 4 is an explanatory view of a coating device according to a second embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 3] FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram of a coating device according to a third embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 4] 10A and 10B are diagrams showing examples of defects in a conventional coating device. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0013] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In this embodiment, the X-axis, Y-axis, and Z-axis are orthogonal to each other, and the X-axis and Y-axis are axes within a predetermined plane, and the Z-axis is an axis orthogonal to the predetermined plane. Furthermore, in this embodiment, when viewed from the front direction of Fig. 1 parallel to the Y-axis, "up" is the direction of the arrow on the Z-axis, "down" is the opposite direction, "left" is the direction of the arrow on the X-axis, "right" is the opposite direction, "front" is the direction toward the front in Fig. 1 parallel to the Y-axis, and "rear" is the opposite direction. Furthermore, in the second and subsequent embodiments, components having the same configuration and functions as those of the embodiments already described will be given the same numbers as those in those embodiments or will not be shown in the illustrations, and their descriptions will be simplified or omitted.

[0014] [First embodiment] 1, the coating apparatus EA includes a coating liquid storage means 10 that stores a coating liquid CL, a coating means 20 that feeds a substrate BS along the outer peripheral surface of a roller 22 facing the coating liquid storage means 10 and applies the coating liquid CL in the coating liquid storage means 10 to a coating surface BS1 of the substrate BS, and an air bubble prevention means 30 that prevents air bubbles from entering between the substrate BS that advances along the outer peripheral surface of the roller 22 and the coating liquid CL in the coating liquid storage means 10. The coating apparatus EA is a so-called knife coater. Furthermore, the coating surface BS1 of the substrate BS has irregularities BS2 formed thereon.

[0015] The coating liquid storage means 10 has a side portion 11, a bottom portion 12, and a substrate-facing edge portion 13 that faces the substrate BS entering along the outer peripheral surface of the roller 22, and is roughly box-shaped with an opening from the substrate-facing edge portion 13 to the top portion. The substrate-facing edge 13 is formed by the tip end portion of the bottom surface portion 12, and faces the portion of the substrate BS that is along the outer circumferential surface of the roller 22. The substrate BS that has been looped around the roller 22 enters a contact start position CP with the coating liquid CL in the coating liquid storage means 10 from the outside of the bottom surface portion 12 while facing the substrate-facing edge 13.

[0016] The coating means 20 includes a rotary motor 21 as a driving device, a roller 22 supported on the output shaft 21A of the rotary motor 21, and a knife section 23 having a knife edge 23A for measuring the coating liquid CL to be applied to the coating surface BS1. The roller 22 is disposed opposite the substrate-facing edge 13 of the coating liquid storage means 10, and pays out the wrapped substrate BS so that it comes into contact with the coating liquid CL in the coating liquid storage means 10. The roller 22 may also be called a coating roller, coating roll, backup roller, or backup roll. The knife portion 23 has a shape in which the outer peripheral surface of a cylindrical member is cut out so as to have a knife edge 23A.

[0017] The air bubble prevention means 30 includes a pre-application means 31 arranged upstream of the coating liquid storage means 10 in the feeding direction of the substrate BS. The pre-application means 31 includes a rotary motor 31A as a driving device, and a pre-application roller 31D supported by an output shaft 31B of the rotary motor 31A and used to pre-apply the coating liquid CL in the liquid receiving pan 31C to the coating surface BS1 of the substrate BS.

[0018] The operation of the coating apparatus EA will now be described. First, an operator places a substrate BS in the coating apparatus EA as shown in Fig. 1, and then the operator or a coating liquid injection means, such as a coating liquid storage tank or a coating liquid injection pipe, stores the coating liquid CL in the coating liquid storage means 10 and the liquid receiving pan 31C. Next, when the operator inputs a signal to start automatic operation via an operation means (not shown), such as an operation panel or a personal computer, the coating means 20 and the air bubble entrapment prevention means 30 drive the rotary motors 21 and 31A, which rotate the roller 22 to unwind the substrate BS and rotate the pre-coating roller 31D in the same direction as the rotation of the roller 22. As a result, the coating liquid CL in the liquid receiving pan 31C is pre-coated onto the coating surface BS1 of the substrate BS by the pre-coating roller 31D, and then the coating liquid CL in the coating liquid storage means 10 is measured by the knife unit 23 and applied to the coating surface BS1 at a predetermined thickness. In this way, by pre-applying the coating liquid CL to the coating surface BS1 of the substrate BS using the pre-application means 31, it is possible to prevent air bubbles from entering between the substrate BS and the coating liquid CL through the gap GP between the substrate-facing edge 13 of the coating liquid storage means 10 and the substrate BS.

[0019] According to the above-described embodiment, air bubbles are prevented from entering between the substrate BS entering along the outer peripheral surface of the roller 22 and the coating liquid CL in the coating liquid storage means 10, so that the coating liquid CL can be applied to the substrate BS while suppressing the formation of air bubbles between the substrate BS and the coating liquid CL.

[0020] Furthermore, since the pre-application roller 31D is rotated in the same direction as the rotation direction of the roller 22, the coating liquid CL can be pre-applied to the surface BS1 to be coated of the substrate BS from the direction opposite to the direction in which the substrate BS enters, thereby preventing air bubbles from getting between the substrate BS and the coating liquid CL during pre-application.

[0021] [Second embodiment] In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2, the configuration of the air bubble entrapment prevention means 30A is different from that of the first embodiment.

[0022] The air bubble prevention means 30A includes an air bubble prevention roller 32 arranged in the gap GP between the substrate-facing edge 13 of the coating liquid storage means 10 and the substrate BS, and a rotary motor 33 as a driving device that rotates the air bubble prevention roller 32 in the same direction as the rotation direction of the roller 22 of the coating means 20. The air bubble prevention roller 32 extends parallel to the roller 22 and is disposed in the gap GP between the substrate-facing edge 13 and the substrate BS so as to face the roller 22 with the substrate BS therebetween.

[0023] In this embodiment, when an operator inputs a signal to start automatic operation via the operating means, the coating means 20 and the air bubble prevention means 30A drive the rotary motors 21 and 33, rotating the roller 22 to unwind the substrate BS and rotating the air bubble prevention roller 32 in the same direction as the rotation of the roller 22. As shown in FIG. 2 , the coating liquid CL in the coating liquid storage means 10 is moved toward the gap GP along the coating surface BS1 of the substrate BS by the air bubble prevention roller 32. This prevents a wedge-shaped gap from forming between the coating liquid CL and the incoming substrate BS near the substrate-facing edge 13 of the coating liquid storage means 10. This prevents air bubbles from entering between the substrate BS and the coating liquid CL, and allows the coating liquid CL to be applied to the coating surface BS1 of the substrate BS with a predetermined thickness. Therefore, the coating liquid CL can be applied to the substrate BS while suppressing the formation of air bubbles between the substrate BS and the coating liquid CL.

[0024] [Third embodiment] In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 3, the configurations of the substrate-facing edge portion 13B of the coating liquid containing means 10 and the air bubble entrapment prevention means 30B are different from those of the first embodiment.

[0025] The substrate-facing edge 13B is formed so that the gap GP between the substrate BS and the edge 13B increases from the upstream side to the downstream side in the payout direction of the substrate BS, so that the coating liquid CL in the coating liquid storage means 10 flows into the gap GP. In the present embodiment, the tip surface of the substrate-facing edge 13B is an inclined surface that is inclined so that the gap GP increases from the upstream side to the downstream side in the payout direction of the substrate BS.

[0026] The air bubble entrapment prevention means 30B is constituted by the substrate-facing edge portion 13B, and the substrate-facing edge portion 13 also serves as the air bubble entrapment prevention means 30B.

[0027] In the present embodiment, substrate-facing edge 13B constituting air bubble intrusion prevention means 30B is formed so that the gap GP between it and substrate BS increases from the upstream side to the downstream side in the payout direction of substrate BS, allowing coating liquid CL in coating liquid storage means 10 to flow into gap GP and preventing the formation of a wedge-shaped gap between coating liquid CL and the incoming substrate BS in the vicinity of substrate-facing edge 13B. This prevents air bubbles from entering between the substrate BS and the coating liquid CL in coating liquid storage means 10, allowing the coating liquid CL to be applied to substrate BS while suppressing the formation of air bubbles between the substrate BS and coating liquid CL.

[0028] Furthermore, since the air bubble entrapment prevention means 30B is constituted by the substrate-facing edge portion 13B of the coating liquid containing means 10, there is no need to provide an additional structure for the air bubble entrapment prevention means 30B, and the device structure can be simplified.

[0029] As described above, the best configurations, methods, and the like for implementing the present invention have been disclosed in the above description, but the present invention is not limited thereto. That is, although the present invention has been particularly illustrated and described mainly with reference to specific embodiments, those skilled in the art can make various modifications to the above-described embodiments in terms of shape, material, quantity, and other detailed configurations without departing from the scope of the technical idea and purpose of the present invention. Furthermore, the above-disclosed descriptions limiting the shape, material, and the like are provided as examples to facilitate understanding of the present invention and are not intended to limit the present invention. Therefore, descriptions using names of components that are free from some or all of the limitations on shape, material, and the like are included in the present invention. Furthermore, the means and steps in the present invention are not limited in any way as long as they can perform the operations, functions, or steps described for those means and steps, and are in no way limited to the components and steps of just one embodiment shown in the above embodiment.

[0030] The coating liquid storage means 10 may be any means capable of storing the coating liquid CL and configured so that the coating liquid CL is applied to the coating surface BS1 of the substrate BS that is unrolled along the outer peripheral surface of the roller 22 facing the coating liquid storage means 10; for example, the bottom surface portion 12 may be horizontal, or the bottom surface portion 12 may be inclined.

[0031] The application means 20 may have, for example, a knife portion 23 shaped like a blade, the tip of which is a knife edge 23A, or the knife portion 23 may have only one knife edge 23A, or the knife portion 23 may have multiple knife edges 23A.

[0032] The air bubble prevention means 30 may be constituted by a spraying means such as a spray pipe or nozzle that sprays the coating liquid CL onto the coating surface BS1 of the substrate BS upstream of the coating liquid storage means 10 in the direction of feeding of the substrate BS, or a pre-application means 31 that applies the coating liquid CL to the coating surface BS1 upstream of the coating liquid storage means 10 in the direction of feeding of the substrate BS. The air bubble prevention means 30A may be such that part or all of the air bubble prevention roller 32 is positioned in the gap GP between the substrate-facing edge 13 and the substrate BS, or the air bubble prevention roller 32 may be positioned closer to the substrate-facing edge 13 and inside the substrate-facing edge 13, or a coating liquid movement promoting portion such as a blade or a protrusion may be provided on the outer peripheral surface of the air bubble prevention roller 32. The air bubble prevention means 30B may have, for example, a curved or bent tip surface of the substrate-facing edge 13B, as long as the substrate-facing edge 13B is formed so that the gap GP increases from the upstream side to the downstream side in the feed direction of the substrate BS.

[0033] The coating apparatus EA may be configured to use a combination of any two or more of the air bubble prevention means 30, 30A, and 30B. For example, the coating apparatus EA may be configured to include the air bubble prevention means 30A and 30B, and to cause the coating liquid CL to flow into the gap GP between the substrate BS and the substrate-facing edge portion 13B that constitutes the air bubble prevention means 30B, by the air bubble prevention roller 32 of the air bubble prevention means 30A.

[0034] The material, type, variety, shape, etc. of the substrate BS and the material, type, variety, composition, etc. of the coating liquid CL are not particularly limited. For example, the substrate BS may be made of paper, laminated paper, plastic, cellulose, rubber, etc., and the coating surface BS1 may not have the irregularities BS2 formed thereon, and may be a single layer or multiple layers. The coating liquid CL may be, for example, an adhesive, a pressure-sensitive adhesive, or a release agent.

[0035] The driving equipment in the above embodiments may be electric equipment such as rotary motors, linear motors, single-axis robots, so-called articulated robots with joints on two or three or more axes, actuators such as air cylinders, hydraulic cylinders, rodless cylinders and rotary cylinders, which may be used alone, or may be a direct or indirect combination of such electric equipment and actuators, or may be electric equipment, actuators, etc. that are capable of torque control, speed control, etc. for the output parts of such electric equipment, actuators, etc., or may not be capable of torque control, speed control, etc.

[0036] In the above-described embodiment, when a rotating member such as a roller is used, the surface of the rotating member or the rotating member itself may be made of a deformable material such as rubber or resin, or the surface of the rotating member or the rotating member itself may be made of a non-deformable material. [Explanation of symbols]

[0037] EA... Coating equipment 10... Coating liquid containing means 13, 13B...substrate facing edge portion 20...Application means 22...Laura 30, 30A, 30B...Measures to prevent air bubbles from entering 31...Pre-application means 32...Air bubble prevention roller 33...Rotation motor (drive device) BS…Base material BS1...Surface to be coated CL…Coating liquid GP…gap

Claims

1. a coating liquid containing means for containing a coating liquid; a coating means for feeding a substrate along an outer peripheral surface of a roller facing the coating liquid storage means and applying the coating liquid in the coating liquid storage means to a surface to be coated of the substrate; a coating device comprising an air bubble prevention means for preventing air bubbles from entering between the substrate entering along the outer peripheral surface of the roller and the coating liquid in the coating liquid storage means.

2. 2. The coating apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the air bubble prevention means comprises a pre-coating means disposed upstream of the coating liquid storage means in the feeding direction of the substrate.

3. the coating liquid containing means includes a substrate-facing edge portion that faces the substrate entering along the outer circumferential surface of the roller, The coating device according to claim 1, characterized in that the air bubble prevention means comprises an air bubble prevention roller arranged in the gap between the substrate-facing edge of the coating liquid storage means and the substrate, and a driving device that rotates the air bubble prevention roller in the same direction as the rotation direction of the roller of the coating means.

4. the coating liquid containing means includes a substrate-facing edge portion that faces the substrate entering along the outer circumferential surface of the roller, the substrate-facing edge portion is formed such that the gap between the substrate and the edge portion increases from the upstream side to the downstream side in the feeding direction of the substrate, so that the coating liquid in the coating liquid storage means flows into the gap between the substrate and the edge portion, 2. The coating device according to claim 1, wherein the bubble prevention means is formed by the edge portion facing the substrate.

5. a coating liquid containing step of containing the coating liquid in a coating liquid containing means; a coating step of feeding a substrate along an outer peripheral surface of a roller facing the coating liquid storage means and coating the coating liquid in the coating liquid storage means onto a surface of the substrate to be coated; and performing an air bubble prevention step of preventing air bubbles from entering between the substrate approaching along the outer peripheral surface of the roller and the coating liquid in the coating liquid storage means.

Images