Coating device

Abstract

To provide a coating device which cleanly applies a coating liquid to a base material transported substantially horizontally while avoiding dripping even if the base material is an elongated or sheet-like thin film base material.SOLUTION: A coating device is provided with a pair of bases 10, 20 which are crimped to form a manifold 15 for accumulating a coating liquid stored in a storage part temporarily and a slot 23 for applying the coating liquid in the manifold 15 to a base material 40. An angle formed between a slot outlet serving as a coating liquid discharge port in the slot 23 and the base material ranges 15 to 45°.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a coating device, and more particularly to a coating device suitable for ejecting a coating liquid from a slit-shaped slot and forming a uniform thin coating film on a thin, long or sheet-like substrate. [Background technology]

[0002] In conventional technology, when forming a thin film on a flexible film, the coating liquid is ejected from the side or from below upward at the slot outlet to transfer the coating liquid to the film. When forming a coated product on a sheet of substrate, such as an A4 size sheet, in the production or development stage, the substrate, such as a plate or film, is placed on a horizontal table and the coating liquid is applied to the substrate.

[0003] However, in order to apply a coating liquid to a substrate placed on a horizontal surface, the coating liquid must be supplied from above, and it is not possible to transfer the coating liquid to a film by ejecting the coating liquid from the slot outlet onto the side or onto a substrate below. For this reason, coating devices that supply the coating liquid from above have been proposed in the past.

[0004] For example, in the coating devices proposed in Patent Documents 1 and 2, in which the coating liquid is supplied from above, problems arise in that the coating liquid unintentionally flows downward due to gravity, or bubbles accumulate in the manifold and are not removed, resulting in the formation of streaks in the coating liquid on the substrate. Figure 3 shows such a conventional coating device, which has a manifold 1 that temporarily accumulates the coating liquid stored in a storage section, and a vertical slot 3 that applies the coating liquid L in this manifold 1 to the substrate 2. However, problems arise in that the coating liquid L unintentionally flows downward due to gravity, or bubbles accumulate in the manifold 1 and are not removed, resulting in the formation of streaks in the coating liquid L on the substrate 2.

[0005] Patent Document 3 proposes a method of coating from the side, but this method makes it impossible to coat sheet-like substrates. Furthermore, Patent Document 4 proposes a method of coating from below, but this method does not make it impossible to coat sheet-like substrates, but it makes workability extremely poor. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0006] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-230361 [Patent Document 2] Patent No. 4724561 [Patent Document 3] Patent No. 7331300 [Patent Document 4] Patent No. 6386882 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0007] As described above, unless the coating liquid is applied to the thin film substrate in a sheet conveyed horizontally while avoiding dripping, it is not possible to efficiently coat the substrate in a sheet.

[0008] The present invention aims to overcome the above-mentioned problems and to provide a coating device that can effectively apply a coating liquid to a substrate, even if it is a long or sheet-like thin-film substrate, while avoiding dripping when the substrate is transported almost horizontally. [Means for solving the problem]

[0009] To solve the above-mentioned problems, the coating device of the present invention has a conveying device that conveys a substrate within an angle range of −10° to +10° relative to the horizontal direction and applies a coating liquid to a thin, long, or sheet-like substrate being conveyed in a longitudinal direction, and is characterized by having a pair of bases that are pressed against each other to form a manifold that temporarily accumulates the coating liquid stored in a reservoir and a slot that applies the coating liquid from the manifold to the substrate, and an angle of 15 to 45° between the substrate and a slot outlet that serves as an outlet for the coating liquid in the slot. This configuration allows the coating liquid to be discharged without coming into contact with air and without dripping onto the substrate from the slot due to gravity, thereby allowing the coating liquid to be effectively applied to the substrate.

[0010] Another coating device of the present invention is characterized in that the horizontal length of the slot outlet is 0.5 to 2.0 mm. With this configuration, a certain degree of length can be ensured at the slot outlet, and the coating liquid can be stably supplied from the slot onto the substrate.

[0011] According to yet another coating device of the present invention, the gap between the two substrates in the slot is 0.1 to 1.0 mm. With this configuration, the coating liquid can be effectively applied onto the substrate through the minute gap.

[0012] According to yet another coating device of the present invention, a gap adjustment table is provided that can adjust the gap between the two substrates at the slot outlet. With this configuration, the gap adjustment table can adjust the gap between the two substrates to an appropriate gap for the outflow of the coating liquid.

[0013] According to yet another coating device of the present invention, the specific gravity of the members constituting the manifold and the slot is equal to or less than 3. With this configuration, it is possible to improve coating accuracy by reducing the weight without using materials with a high specific gravity.

[0014] According to yet another coating device of the present invention, the manifold and the members constituting the slot are made of a metal mainly made of aluminum, and with this configuration, the coating accuracy can be improved by using the metal mainly made of aluminum. [Effects of the Invention]

[0015] According to the coating device of the present invention, it is possible to effectively apply a coating liquid onto a long or sheet-like thin film substrate that is transported substantially horizontally while avoiding dripping. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0016] [Figure 1] 1 is a schematic side view showing an embodiment of a coating device according to the present invention; [Figure 2] 1 is a schematic side view showing another embodiment of a coating device according to the present invention; [Figure 3] Schematic side view showing a conventional coating device DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0017] Hereinafter, the present invention will be described with reference to embodiments shown in the drawings.

[0018] 1 shows an embodiment of a coating device according to the present invention, and the coating device of this embodiment has a pair of bases 10 and 20, each of which is rectangular in plan view and made of, for example, aluminum with a specific gravity of 3 or less. The planar shapes of both bases 10 and 20 are formed to be the same shape.

[0019] The base 10 has a trapezoidal cross section, with a flat upper base surface 12 and a flat lower base surface 13 connected by a vertical surface 14 that intersects at right angles. A manifold 15 having a semicircular cross section, i.e., a linear groove shape, is formed on the upper base surface 12. A coating liquid metered by a metering device (not shown) is supplied to this manifold 15. When supplying the coating liquid, the coating liquid is prevented from coming into contact with air to prevent deterioration of the coating liquid supplied from the metering device to the manifold 15. The metering device, which pre-meters the coating liquid, is located upstream of the manifold 15 in the direction of flow of the coating liquid. Since it is a common device used in this type of coating device, it is not shown in the drawings.

[0020] An upper surface 16, which is on the opposite side of the manifold 15 from the upper base surface 12, is formed as a flat surface that is 0.5 mm lower than the upper base surface 12. A flat inclined surface 17 is connected to the tip of the upper surface 16. In this embodiment, the angle of the inclined surface 17 with respect to the lower base surface 13 is 34°, and as a result, a pointed edge 18 is formed between the inclined surface 17 and the lower base surface 13.

[0021] The base 20 facing the base 10 has a lower surface 21 that is in close contact with the upper bottom surface 13 of the base 10, and this lower surface 21 passes through the manifold 15 of the base 10 and extends forward from the upper surface 16 of the base 10 by a length less than 1 mm. A flat inclined surface 22 is formed at the tip of the lower surface 21 of the base 20, facing the inclined surface 17 of the base 10 with a small gap therebetween. The inclined surfaces 17, 22 are parallel to each other with a small gap therebetween to form a slot 23 for discharging the coating liquid. Furthermore, a main slot 23B is positioned at an angle to the horizontal slot 23A extending horizontally on the manifold 15 side, and is much longer (more than 90% of the total length) than the horizontal slot 23A.

[0022] The base 20 has a vertical surface 24 that stands upright from the lower edge of its inclined surface 22. A gap adjustment base 30, which is a gap adjustment member for adjusting the opening of the slot 23, is disposed adjacent to the vertical surface 24 of the base 20. The gap adjustment base 30 has the same width as the bases 10, 20, and both side edges of the bases 10, 20 and the gap adjustment base 30 are covered by protective walls (not shown).

[0023] The gap adjustment base 30 has a horizontal trapezoidal shape, and a vertical surface 31, which forms the lower base, can be moved up and down by a driving means (not shown) along the vertical surface 24 of the base 20. An inclined surface 32, which faces diagonally upward at an angle of approximately 30° from the lower edge, is connected to the lower edge of the vertical surface 31 of the gap adjustment base 30. Therefore, a pointed edge 33 is formed between the vertical surface 31 and the inclined surface 32.

[0024] The substrate 40 to which the coating liquid is applied may be a long film wound in a roll and unwound, or may be a sheet of film, such as A4 size.

[0025] Next, the operation of this embodiment having the above-described configuration will be described.

[0026] First, the position of the gap adjustment table 30 is set so that the gap between the pointed edge 33 of the gap adjustment table 30 and the substrate 40 matches the thickness of the coating liquid to be formed on the substrate 40. Then, the manifold 15 is filled with the coating liquid L. After ensuring that no air remains in the manifold 15, the substrate 40 is moved while the manifold 15 is replenished with the coating liquid L, and the coating liquid L is applied onto the substrate 40 from the tip of the slot 23.

[0027] According to this embodiment, the coating liquid L is applied onto the substrate 40 from the manifold 15 formed concavely on the upper bottom surface 12 of the base 10 through the horizontal slot 23A and the inclined main slot 23B connected to this horizontal slot 23A, thereby enabling coating with a good coating liquid without leakage of the coating liquid L or uneven coating.

[0028] Figure 2 shows a second embodiment of the present invention. The difference from Figure 1 is that the width of the coating liquid flow path of the main slot 23B, which is arranged at an angle and is the main part of the slot 23, gradually increases toward the downstream side. Also, instead of the pointed edge 18 shown in Figure 1, a notch 19 is formed.

[0029] According to this configuration, clogging of the main slot 23B with the coating liquid L is less likely to occur. The thickness of the coating liquid L on the substrate 40 can be adjusted by the gap adjusting table 30.

[0030] The present invention is not limited to the above-described two embodiments, and various modifications are possible. [Explanation of symbols]

[0031] 10 Foundation 15 Manifold 18 Apical edge 20 Foundation 23 slots 30 Gap adjustment table 33 Apical edge 40 Base material

Claims

1. A coating device having a conveying device that conveys a substrate within a range of −10° to +10° with respect to a horizontal direction, and that applies a coating liquid to a thin-film, long or sheet-like substrate being conveyed in a longitudinal direction, A coating device comprising a pair of bases that are pressed against each other to form a manifold that temporarily accumulates the coating liquid stored in a storage section and a slot that coats the substrate with the coating liquid in the manifold, and wherein an angle between the substrate and a slot outlet that serves as an outlet for the coating liquid in the slot is set to 15 to 45 degrees.

2. 2. The coating device according to claim 1, wherein the horizontal length of the slot outlet is 0.5 to 2.0 mm.

3. 2. The coating device according to claim 1, wherein the gap between the two bases in the slot is 0.1 to 1.0 mm.

4. 2. The coating device according to claim 1, further comprising a gap adjustment table that adjusts the gap between the two substrates at the slot outlet.

5. 2. The coating device according to claim 1, wherein the specific gravity of the material of each of the base members is 3 or less.

6. 6. The coating device according to claim 5, wherein the material of the members constituting each of the bases is made of a metal mainly containing aluminum.

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