Electron beam irradiation system and treatment object transport device

The electron beam irradiation system addresses heat issues in bearings and rotating bodies by using a heat suppression member and cooling unit, ensuring device performance and quality without increasing size.

JP7827338B1Active Publication Date: 2026-03-10NHV CORP
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Patent Information

Authority / Receiving Office
JP · JP
Patent Type
Patents
Current Assignee / Owner
Filing Date
2025-02-26
Publication Date
2026-03-10

AI Technical Summary

Technical Problem

Electron beams reflected by a beam catcher in an electron beam processing apparatus cause heat generation in bearings, leading to potential damage and interference with the normal rotation of pulleys, which affects the quality of processed wires, and relocating the beam catcher increases device size and cost.

Method used

An electron beam irradiation system with a heat generation suppression member and cooling unit, including a cover and internal cooling mechanism, is applied to bearings and rotating bodies to manage heat without increasing device size.

Benefits of technology

The system effectively suppresses heat generation in bearings and rotating bodies, maintaining device performance and quality without enlarging the device.

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Abstract

An electron beam irradiation system and a workpiece transport device are provided that can suppress a temperature rise in a heat generation suppression target without increasing the size of the device. [Solution] An electron beam irradiation system (1) processes a linear workpiece (2) by irradiating the workpiece (2) with an electron beam from an electron beam irradiation device (3) while the workpiece is transported by a workpiece transport device (4). The workpiece transport device (4) is equipped with a bearing heat generation suppression member (23) as a bearing heat generation suppression member (22) that rotatably supports the shaft portions of a pair of rotors (7). The bearing heat generation suppression member (23) has a cover (24) that covers at least a portion of the bearing, and a cooling unit (25) that is arranged inside the cover (24) and cools the surrounding area.
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Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to an electron beam irradiation system and a treatment object transport device. [Background technology]

[0002] As disclosed in Patent Document 1, there is a well-known electron beam processing apparatus that performs a desired processing on a workpiece, such as an electric wire coated with a synthetic resin or the like, by irradiating the workpiece with an electron beam while the workpiece is being rotated and traveling around a pair of pulleys in a capstan device. The pulley group has a rotating shaft that is installed across multiple pulleys and is rotatably supported via bearings on the top base of a base frame. When the electron beam is irradiated onto the workpiece, any electron beam that passes between the electric wires without hitting the workpiece is captured by a beam catcher disposed between the pair of pulleys. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2012-78261 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, the electron beam that passes through the wires is not entirely absorbed by the beam catcher; a certain amount is reflected by the beam catcher and emitted into the surrounding area as scattered electrons. When these scattered electrons reach the bearings, the energy of the electrons is consumed by the bearings, causing them to heat up. This can have an adverse effect on the lifespan of the bearings and can interfere with the normal rotation of the pulleys, affecting the quality of the wires.

[0005] To solve this problem, it is conceivable to place the main body of the transport device, such as the beam catcher, away from directly below the electric wire, but this approach would lead to an increase in the size of the transport device, which in turn could lead to an increase in the installation space for the transport device and an increase in the cost of the device.

[0006] An object of the present disclosure is to provide an electron beam irradiation system and a workpiece transport device that can suppress a temperature rise in a heat generation suppression target without increasing the size of the device. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] [1] The electron beam irradiation system that solves the above problem is a system that processes a linear workpiece by irradiating the workpiece with an electron beam from an electron beam irradiation device while transporting the workpiece using a workpiece transport device, wherein the workpiece transport device is equipped with a heat generation suppression member having a cover that covers at least a portion of the heat generation suppression target, and a cooling unit that is arranged inside the cover and cools the surrounding area, and the heat generation suppression member is provided on at least one of a pair of rotating bodies that serve as the heat generation suppression target and transport the wrapped workpiece by rotation, and bearings that serve as the heat generation suppression target and rotatably support the shaft portions of the pair of rotating bodies.

[0008] According to this configuration, a heat generation suppression member having a cooling portion inside a cover is provided on at least one of a bearing and a rotating body as a heat generation suppression target. Therefore, even if the heat generation suppression target may generate heat due to, for example, electron beams scattered around the beam catcher when processing a workpiece with electron beams irradiated from an electron beam irradiation device, a temperature rise in the heat generation suppression target can be suppressed by simply covering the heat generation suppression target with a cover having a cooling portion inside. This makes it possible to suppress a temperature rise in the heat generation suppression target without increasing the size of the device.

[0009] [2] In the electron beam irradiation system described in [1] above, the cooling unit is a cooling water pipe through which cooling water flows to absorb ambient heat. With this configuration, it is possible to efficiently suppress the temperature rise of the heat generation suppression target by the cooling water with high cooling effect.

[0010] [3] In the electron beam irradiation system described in [1] or [2] above, the heat suppressing member is a bearing heat suppressing member that suppresses heat generation from the bearing, the cover of the bearing heat suppressing member has multiple wall portions that cover the bearing, and the cooling unit is disposed on one of the multiple wall portions that faces the beam catcher of the workpiece transport device. With this configuration, since the heat suppressing member is a bearing heat suppressing member, it is possible to suppress heat generation from the bearing by using this bearing heat suppressing member. Furthermore, since the cooling unit of the bearing heat suppressing member is disposed between the beam catcher and the bearing, it is possible for the cooling unit to efficiently absorb scattered electrons reflected by the beam catcher, for example. This further contributes to suppressing heat generation from the bearing.

[0011] [4] In the electron beam irradiation system described in [3] above, the cooling unit is disposed at a position facing two or more of the plurality of walls. This configuration allows the cooling unit to have a wide cooling range, which further contributes to suppressing heat generation in the bearing.

[0012] [5] In the electron beam irradiation system described in [3] or [4] above, each of the pair of rotating bodies has a first winding portion and a second winding portion by being divided midway in the axial direction, and the bearings are arranged at both ends of the shaft portion and between the first winding portion and the second winding portion, and are covered by the bearing heat-reducing member. With this configuration, even if bearings are provided not only at both ends of the shaft portion of the rotating body but also midway along the shaft portion, it is possible to suppress heat generation from each bearing by providing a bearing heat-reducing member for each bearing.

[0013] [6] In the electron beam irradiation system described in any one of [1] to [5] above, the heat suppressing member is a rotor heat suppressing member provided on at least one of the pair of rotors, and the workpiece is suspended in a figure-eight pattern across the pair of rotors, forming a cross-shaped intersection between the pair of rotors, and the rotor heat suppressing member is disposed in a space formed between the pair of rotors and the intersection. With this configuration, since the heat suppressing member is a rotor heat suppressing member, it is possible to suppress heat generation from the rotor. Furthermore, the rotor heat suppressing member is disposed so as to effectively utilize the intersection of the workpiece suspended in a figure-eight pattern across the rotors. Therefore, the provision of the rotor heat suppressing member does not increase the size of the device.

[0014] [7] A workpiece transport device that solves the above problem is a device that transports a linear workpiece while irradiating the workpiece with electron beams from an electron beam irradiation device, and includes a heat-generation suppression member having a cover that covers at least a portion of a heat generation suppression target and a cooling unit that is disposed inside the cover and cools the surrounding area, and the heat-generation suppression member is provided on at least one of a pair of rotors that serve as the heat generation suppression target and rotate to transport the wrapped workpiece, and bearings that rotatably support the shafts of the pair of rotors. This configuration provides the same effects and advantages as those in [1] above. [Effects of the Invention]

[0015] The present disclosure can suppress a temperature rise in a heat generation suppression target without increasing the size of the device. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0016] [Figure 1] 1 is a perspective view showing a configuration of an electron beam irradiation system according to a first embodiment. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the configuration of a rotating body. [Figure 3] FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view showing the configuration of a bearing unit. [Figure 4]FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the appearance of a heat generation suppressing member for a bearing. [Figure 5] FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the appearance of a heat generation suppressing member for a bearing. [Figure 6] FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing the structure of a heat generation suppressing member for a bearing. [Figure 7] FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing the structure of a heat generation suppressing member for a bearing. [Figure 8] FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing the configuration of an electron beam irradiation system according to a second embodiment. [Figure 9] 3A and 3B are explanatory diagrams illustrating the structure of a heat generation suppressing member for a rotating body. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0017] (First embodiment) A first embodiment of the present disclosure will be described below. (Electron beam irradiation system 1) 1, the electron beam irradiation system 1 includes an electron beam irradiation device 3 that irradiates a linear workpiece 2 with an electron beam, and a workpiece transport device 4 that transports the workpiece 2 during electron beam irradiation. The electron beam irradiation system 1 processes the workpiece 2 by irradiating it with an electron beam from the electron beam irradiation device 3 while transporting the workpiece 2 wrapped around the workpiece transport device 4.

[0018] The object 2 to be treated is, for example, an electric wire whose surface is coated with a synthetic resin or the like. The processing performed by the electron beam irradiation system 1 is, for example, a cross-linking process that improves various properties such as heat resistance and heat shrinkability by irradiating a polymer material such as an electric wire coating material or a tube with an electron beam. The tube is used, for example, as a cover member for an electric wire joint. The processing performed by the electron beam irradiation system 1 may also be, for example, a curing process for a coating or the like, or a sterilization process for medical products.

[0019] The electron beam irradiation device 3 generates thermoelectrons in a filament disposed in a vacuum chamber by passing an electric current through the filament to heat the filament. The electron beam irradiation device 3 processes the workpiece 2 by irradiating the thermoelectrons as an electron beam outside the vacuum chamber. The electron beam scanning method of the electron beam irradiation device 3 may be an area beam type having multiple filaments required for the irradiation width, or a scan type in which an electron beam extracted from a single filament and accelerated is expanded to the required irradiation width by a scanning coil.

[0020] (Workpiece transport device 4) As shown in FIG. 1 , the workpiece transport device 4 includes an apparatus frame 6 that constitutes the frame of the workpiece transport device 4. The workpiece transport device 4 includes a pair of rotors 7 that are rotatably supported relative to the apparatus frame 6. The workpiece 2 is wound around the pair of rotors 7, and transports the workpiece 2 by rotating during electron beam irradiation. In this way, the workpiece transport device 4 is a device, a so-called capstan device, that wraps the linear workpiece 2 crosswise around the pair of rotors 7 and transports the workpiece 2 by rotating the pair of rotors 7 during electron beam irradiation, thereby irradiating the electron beam as uniformly as possible on the workpiece 2.

[0021] One of the pair of rotating bodies 7 is a first rotating body 8 and the other is a second rotating body 9. In the case of a vertical type in which the pair of rotating bodies 7 are arranged vertically, the first rotating body 8 is located on the lower side and the second rotating body 9 is located on the upper side.

[0022] (Rotating body 7) As shown in Fig. 2, each of the pair of rotors 7 has a shaft portion 10 disposed at the center of the rotor 7 and a winding portion 11 attached to the shaft portion 10 so as to be integrally rotatable with the shaft portion 10 for winding the linear workpiece 2 around it. The winding portion 11 has a first winding portion 11a disposed on one side of the shaft portion 10 and a second winding portion 11b disposed on the other side of the shaft portion 10, with the vicinity of the center of the shaft portion 10 as the boundary. The rotor 7 may be a pulley type having multiple pulley pieces arranged in the axial direction (the Y-axis direction in Fig. 2), or may be a drum type formed from a single member.

[0023] 1, the workpiece 2 includes a group of wires wound around the first winding portion 11a of the first rotating body 8 and the first winding portion 11a of the second rotating body 9, and a group of wires wound around the second winding portion 11b of the first rotating body 8 and the second winding portion 11b of the second rotating body 9. In this example, the workpiece 2 is hung between the first rotating body 8 and the second rotating body 9 in a figure-eight shape. Therefore, the workpiece 2 is wound around the first rotating body 8 and the second rotating body 9 so as to have a cross-shaped intersection 12 between the first rotating body 8 and the second rotating body 9.

[0024] (Beam Catcher 14) As shown in Fig. 1, the workpiece transport device 4 is equipped with a beam catcher 14 that captures the electron beam that has passed through the gap between adjacent workpieces 2. The beam catcher 14 has, for example, a plurality of pipes 15 arranged along the height direction of the device frame 6 (the Z-axis direction in Fig. 1). Cooling water is supplied inside these pipes 15 to suppress heat generation in the pipes 15. When the electron beam is irradiated and the kinetic energy of the electron beam is converted into thermal energy, the beam catcher 14 suppresses heat generation by the cooling water flowing inside the pipes 15.

[0025] The pipes 15 are arranged, for example, so that both sides are inclined symmetrically with the center of the arrangement direction of the pipes 15 as the apex. That is, the pipes 15 are arranged so as to follow the workpieces 2 wound in a figure-eight shape around the pair of rotors 7. As a result, the pipes 15 are arranged close to the workpieces 2 wound in a figure-eight shape around the pair of rotors 7. This minimizes contact of the electron beam with the air, thereby suppressing ozone generation and energy loss.

[0026] (Bearing unit 16) As shown in FIG. 2, the shaft 10 of the first rotating body 8 is supported on the device frame 6 via a bearing unit 16 that allows the shaft 10 to rotate smoothly. The bearing unit 16 includes a first bearing unit 16a that rotatably supports one end of the shaft 10, a second bearing unit 16b that rotatably supports the other end of the shaft 10, and a third bearing unit 16c that rotatably supports the shaft 10 between the first winding portion 11a and the second winding portion 11b. These bearing units 16 are placed on a seat 17 formed on the device frame 6. Although not shown, the shaft 10 of the second rotating body 9 is also rotatably supported on the device frame 6 by a structure similar to that of the shaft 10 of the first rotating body 8.

[0027] (Bearing 18) As shown in FIG. 3, the bearing unit 16 has a bearing 18 that allows the shaft portion 10 to rotate smoothly relative to one another, a lower bearing housing 19 that houses the lower side of the bearing 18, and an upper bearing housing 20 that houses the upper side of the bearing 18. The bearing 18 is, for example, a radial bearing. The radial bearing may be either a ball bearing or a roller bearing. The upper bearing housing 20 is fixed to the lower bearing housing 19 by fastening members (not shown) such as bolts so that the bearing 18 is sandwiched between the upper bearing housing 20 and the lower bearing housing 19. The lower bearing housing 19 is fixed to the seat portion 17 by fastening members (not shown) such as bolts.

[0028] (heat suppression member 22) 1, the electron beam irradiation system 1 includes a heat generation suppressing member 22 that suppresses heat generation caused by electrons that strike the beam catcher 14 and are scattered among the electron beams irradiated from the electron beam irradiation device 3. In this example, the heat generation suppressing member 22 is a bearing heat generation suppressing member 23 that suppresses heat generation from the bearing 18. The bearing heat generation suppressing members 23 are provided at a total of six locations: at both ends of the first rotating body 8, between the first winding portion 11 a and the second winding portion 11 b of the first rotating body 8, and at both ends of the second rotating body 9, between the first winding portion 11 a and the second winding portion 11 b of the second rotating body 9.

[0029] 4 and 5, the heat generation suppression member 22 (bearing heat generation suppression member 23) has a cover 24 that covers at least a portion of the target for heat generation suppression, and a cooling unit 25 that is disposed inside the cover 24 and cools the surrounding area. The target for heat generation suppression in this example is at least the bearing 18, and more specifically, the bearing unit 16.

[0030] The cover 24 is formed in a bottomless box shape with an open bottom. The cover 24 has multiple wall portions 26 that cover the bearing 18. In this example, the wall portions 26 include an upper wall portion 26a that covers the bearing 18 from above, a first side wall portion 26b disposed on the front side, a second side wall portion 26c facing the first side wall portion 26b, a third side wall portion 26d located on one side of the width direction of the cover 24 (the Y-axis direction in FIG. 4), and a fourth side wall portion 26e located on the other side of the width direction of the cover 24. The cover 24 has slits 27 in the third side wall portion 26d and the fourth side wall portion 26e to avoid interference with the shaft portion 10. In this example, the slits 27 have different shapes on the left and right sides to correspond to the outer shape of the bearing unit 16, but they may have the same shape. The cover 24 is made of, for example, metal.

[0031] The bearing heat suppressing member 23 is attached to the seat 17 that supports the lower bearing housing 19 in the device frame 6. The bearing heat suppressing member 23 is preferably detachable from the seat 17. This detachable structure may be, for example, a known structure using fastening members such as bolts. Note that the bearing heat suppressing member 23 is not limited to a detachable structure, and may also be an undetachable structure.

[0032] (Cooling section 25) 4 and 5, the cooling unit 25 is a cooling water pipe 29 through which cooling water flows to absorb ambient heat. In this example, the cooling water pipe 29 has a pipe main body 30 which is the main part of the cooling function, an inlet portion 31 which is an inlet for cold water to the pipe main body 30, and an outlet portion 32 which is an outlet for cold water from the pipe main body 30. The cooling water pipe 29 cools the surroundings with circulating cooling water which flows in from the inlet portion 31 and is discharged from the outlet portion 32.

[0033] The piping main body 30 is formed in a shape that is disposed across the inner surface of the upper wall portion 26a and the inner surface of the first side wall portion 26b of the cover 24. In this way, the cooling unit 25 is disposed at a position facing two or more of the multiple wall portions 26. Note that the cooling unit 25 is preferably disposed on at least the wall portion 26 facing the beam catcher 14, among the multiple wall portions 26 of the cover 24. Specifically, in the case of the bearing heat generation suppression member 23 attached to the first rotating body 8, it is preferably disposed on the inner surface of the upper wall portion 26a facing the beam catcher 14.

[0034] 6 and 7, the cooling section 25 is disposed so as to be in contact with the inner surface of the cover 24 (wall section 26), thereby forming a predetermined gap between the cooling section 25 and the bearing unit 16. This prevents heat from the bearing unit 16 from being directly transferred to the cooling section 25. The cooling water piping 29 is exposed to the outside of the cover 24 from an opening 33 (see FIG. 7) formed through the second side wall section 26c of the cover 24. The cooling water piping 29 receives cooling water supplied from the outside and supplies it to the piping main body 30 via an inlet section 31.

[0035] (Operation of the first embodiment) Next, the operation of the electron beam irradiation system 1 and the workpiece transport device 4 of this embodiment will be described.

[0036] As shown in Figure 7, when the electron beam irradiation device 3 irradiates the workpiece 2 with an electron beam to process the workpiece 2, some electron beams pass through the gap between adjacent workpieces 2. These electron beams are captured by the beam catcher 14 located on the back side of the workpiece 2. However, some of the electron beams are reflected by the beam catcher 14 and spread around as scattered electrons. If these scattered electrons reach the bearing 18, the bearing 18 will consume energy, which may cause the bearing 18 to heat up.

[0037] If the bearings 18 generate heat, the grease in the bearings 18 may evaporate, hindering the smooth rotation of the pair of rotating bodies 7. If the smooth rotation of the rotating bodies 7 is hindered, the quality of the processed object 2 will be affected. Therefore, it is necessary to suppress the heat generation of the bearings 18.

[0038] In this example, as shown in Figures 6 and 7, a bearing heat generation suppressing member 23 is attached to the workpiece transport device 4 so as to cover the bearing 18 (bearing unit 16). This bearing heat generation suppressing member 23 is provided with a cooling section 25 (cooling water piping 29) that cools the surrounding area. Therefore, the bearing 18 is constantly cooled by this cooling section 25. Therefore, even if the bearing 18 may generate heat due to scattered electrons from the beam catcher 14, the bearing 18 is cooled by the bearing heat generation suppressing member 23, so the bearing 18 does not become excessively hot. This makes it possible to reduce the likelihood of deterioration of the bearing 18 due to heat generation.

[0039] Furthermore, bearing heat suppressing member 23 has a structure in which bearing 18 (bearing unit 16) is simply covered by cover 24 with cooling section 25 provided inside. Therefore, bearing heat suppressing member 23, which is not a large-scale part, can suppress heat generation from bearing 18. Therefore, it is possible to suppress heat generation from bearing 18 without increasing the size of the device.

[0040] Furthermore, in the case of the bearing heat generation suppression member 23 attached to the first rotor 8, the cooling unit 25 is disposed on the inner surface of the upper wall portion 26a, which faces the beam catcher 14, among the multiple wall portions 26 of the cover 24. This makes it possible to dispose the cooling unit 25 between the beam catcher 14 and the bearing 18 (bearing unit 16), allowing the cooling unit 25 to absorb scattered electrons on the path leading to the bearing 18. Therefore, in the first rotor 8, the bearing heat generation suppression member 23 makes it possible to efficiently suppress heat generation in the bearing 18.

[0041] (Effects of the first embodiment) According to the configuration of this embodiment, the following effects can be obtained. (1.1) The electron beam irradiation system 1 processes a linear workpiece 2 by irradiating the workpiece 2 with an electron beam from an electron beam irradiation device 3 while the workpiece 2 is transported by a workpiece transport device 4. The workpiece transport device 4 is equipped with a bearing heat-generation suppression member 23 as a heat-generation suppression member 22 for a bearing 18, which is a target for heat generation suppression. The bearing heat-generation suppression member 23 has a cover 24 that covers at least a portion of the bearing 18, and a cooling unit 25 that is disposed inside the cover 24 and cools the surrounding area.

[0042] According to this configuration, the bearing 18, which is the target for heat generation suppression, is provided with a heat generation suppression member 22 (bearing heat generation suppression member 23) having a cooling unit 25 inside a cover 24. Therefore, even if the bearing 18 may generate heat due to, for example, electron beams scattered around the beam catcher 14 when processing the workpiece 2 with electron beams irradiated from the electron beam irradiation device 3, the temperature rise of the bearing 18 is suppressed by the simple structure of simply covering the bearing 18 with the cover 24 having the cooling unit 25 inside. Therefore, the temperature rise of the bearing 18 can be suppressed without increasing the size of the device.

[0043] (1.2) The cooling unit 25 is a cooling water pipe 29 through which cooling water that absorbs ambient heat flows. With this configuration, the cooling water has a high cooling effect, making it possible to efficiently suppress the temperature rise of the bearing 18.

[0044] (1.3) The cover 24 of the bearing heat suppressing member 23 has multiple wall sections 26 that cover the bearing 18. The cooling section 25 is disposed on one of the multiple wall sections 26 (upper wall section 26a) that faces the beam catcher 14 of the workpiece transport device 4. With this configuration, the cooling section 25 of the bearing heat suppressing member 23 is disposed between the beam catcher 14 and the bearing 18, so that the cooling section 25 can efficiently absorb, for example, scattered electrons reflected by the beam catcher 14. This further contributes to suppressing heat generation in the bearing 18.

[0045] (1.4) The cooling portion 25 is disposed at a position facing two or more of the plurality of wall portions 26. This configuration allows the cooling range of the cooling portion 25 to be wide, which further contributes to suppressing heat generation in the bearing 18.

[0046] (1.5) Each of the pair of rotating bodies 7 is divided midway in the axial direction to form a first winding portion 11a and a second winding portion 11b. The bearings 18 are disposed at both ends of the shaft portion 10 and between the first winding portion 11a and the second winding portion 11b, and are covered by a bearing heat generation suppressing member 23. With this configuration, even if the rotating bodies 7 have a structure in which bearings 18 are provided not only at both ends of the shaft portion 10 but also midway along the shaft portion 10, providing each bearing 18 with a bearing heat generation suppressing member 23 can suppress heat generation in each bearing 18.

[0047] (Second embodiment) Next, a second embodiment will be described. The second embodiment is an example in which a heat-generating suppressing member 22 is provided in addition to the heat-generating suppressing member 23 for bearing described in the first embodiment. Therefore, the same parts as those in the first embodiment are given the same reference numerals and their explanations are omitted, and only the different parts will be described in detail.

[0048] (heat suppression member for rotating body 36) 8 and 9 , the electron beam irradiation system 1 (workpiece transport device 4) includes a rotator heat generation suppressing member 36 provided on at least one (in this example, both) of the pair of rotators 7 as the heat generation suppressing member 22. The rotator heat generation suppressing member 36 includes a first rotator heat generation suppressing member 36a disposed opposite the first rotator 8 and a second rotator heat generation suppressing member 36b disposed opposite the second rotator 9. In this way, the target of heat generation suppression in this example is the rotators 7, specifically the first rotator 8 and the second rotator 9.

[0049] Like the bearing heat generation suppressing member 23, the rotating body heat generation suppressing member 36 has a cover 37 and a cooling unit 38. The cover 37 is formed in a rectangular parallelepiped shape that is long along the width direction of the device frame 6 (the Y-axis direction in FIG. 8 ). At least one of the longitudinal ends of the cover 37 is fixed to the device frame 6. The cooling unit 38 is, for example, a substantially U-shaped pipe through which cooling water flows. The pipe of the cooling unit 38 is drawn out to the outside at the connection part between the device frame 6 and the cover 37, and the cooling water flows in and out from this pipe.

[0050] 9 , the heat generation suppressing member 36 for the rotor is disposed in a space 39 formed between the pair of rotors 7 and the intersection 12 of the workpiece 2. The first rotor heat generation suppressing member 36a is disposed in a first space 39a formed between the first rotor 8 and the intersection 12. Therefore, the first rotor heat generation suppressing member 36a is disposed on the path of scattered electrons traveling from the beam catcher 14 to the first rotor 8, specifically, between the first rotor 8 and the beam catcher 14.

[0051] Further, the second rotor heat generation suppressing member 36b is disposed in a second space 39b formed between the second rotor 9 and the intersection 12. Therefore, the second rotor heat generation suppressing member 36b is disposed on the path of scattered electrons traveling from the beam catcher 14 to the second rotor 9, specifically, between the second rotor 9 and the beam catcher 14.

[0052] (Operation of the second embodiment) 9, the rotor 7 is cooled by a rotor heat suppressing member 36 arranged near the rotor 7. Specifically, the first rotor heat suppressing member 36a suppresses heat generation from the first rotor 8, and the second rotor heat suppressing member 36b suppresses heat generation from the second rotor 9. Therefore, even if the rotor 7 may be heated by scattered electrons from the beam catcher 14, the rotor 7 does not generate excessive heat. This makes it less likely that the quality of the workpiece 2 wrapped around the rotor 7 will be affected.

[0053] Furthermore, the rotor heat suppressing member 36 has a structure in which a cover 37 having a cooling section 38 provided therein simply covers a portion of the rotor 7. Therefore, the rotor heat suppressing member 36, which is not a large component, can suppress the heat generation of the rotor 7. This makes it possible to suppress the heat generation of the rotor 7 without increasing the size of the device.

[0054] (Effects of the second embodiment) According to the configuration of this embodiment, in addition to the effects described in the first embodiment, the following effects can be obtained.

[0055] (2.1) The heat suppressing member 22 is a heat suppressing member 36 for a rotor that is provided on at least one (in this example, both) of the pair of rotors 7. Therefore, the heat generation of the rotor 7 can be suppressed by this heat suppressing member 36 for a rotor.

[0056] (2.2) The workpiece 2 is suspended between the pair of rotors 7 in a figure-eight pattern, forming a cross-shaped intersection 12 between the pair of rotors 7. The rotor heat suppressing member 36 is disposed in the space 39 formed between the pair of rotors 7 and the intersection 12. With this configuration, the rotor heat suppressing member 36 is disposed to effectively utilize the intersection 12 that occurs in the workpiece 2 suspended between the rotors 7 in a figure-eight pattern. Therefore, even if the rotor heat suppressing member 36 is provided, the device does not become larger.

[0057] (Other embodiments) This embodiment can be modified as follows: This embodiment and the following modifications can be combined and implemented within the scope of technical compatibility.

[0058] In the first embodiment, the bearing heat generation suppressing member 23 provided on the bearing 18 of the first rotor 8 and the bearing heat generation suppressing member 23 provided on the bearing 18 of the second rotor 9 may have different shapes. For example, the bearing heat generation suppressing member 23 provided on the bearing 18 of the second rotor 9 may have a shape in which a cooling water pipe 29 is arranged between the beam catcher 14 and the bearing 18 so as to have the same function as the bearing heat generation suppressing member 23 provided on the bearing 18 of the first rotor 8. In this way, the bearing heat generation suppressing member 23 provided on the bearing 18 of the first rotor 8 and the bearing heat generation suppressing member 23 provided on the bearing 18 of the second rotor 9 may have shapes symmetrical in the vertical direction.

[0059] In the first embodiment, the cooling unit 25 may have the cooling water pipe 29 in direct contact with the bearing 18 (bearing unit 16). In the second embodiment, the heat generation suppressing member 36 for a rotor is not limited to being disposed in the space 39 created by the intersecting shape of the workpieces 2, but may be disposed outside this space 39.

[0060] In the second embodiment, the electron beam irradiation system 1 is not limited to having both the heat generation suppression member for bearing 23 and the heat generation suppression member for rotating body 36, and may be configured to have, for example, only the heat generation suppression member for rotating body 36.

[0061] In each embodiment, the shape of the covers 24, 37 is not limited to a square shape, and may be, for example, a hemispherical shape or a shape having a partially curved surface. In each embodiment, the piping of the cooling units 25, 38 may be formed in a shape that is alternately bent left and right, that is, in a zigzag shape.

[0062] In each embodiment, the piping shape of the cooling units 25, 38 can be appropriately changed to various shapes according to the required wiring route. In each embodiment, the cooling sections 25, 38 may be arranged on only one surface of the plurality of wall sections 26, or may be arranged on the entire surfaces of the plurality of wall sections 26.

[0063] In each embodiment, the cooling units 25, 38 are not limited to pipes, but may be, for example, fans that cool the heat generation suppression target by blowing air. In this way, the cooling method is not limited to water cooling, but may be air cooling.

[0064] In each embodiment, the workpiece transport device 4 is not limited to a vertical orientation in which the pair of rotors 7 are aligned vertically, but may be a horizontal orientation in which the pair of rotors 7 are aligned horizontally. In each embodiment, the heat suppressing member 22 does not necessarily have to be provided on both the rotating body 7 and the bearing 18, but may be provided on at least one of them.

[0065] In each embodiment, the bearing 18 is not limited to a radial bearing, but may be, for example, a slide bearing or a thrust bearing. In each embodiment, each of the pair of rotating bodies 7 may have only one winding portion 11 .

[0066] In each embodiment, the present disclosure has been described based on the examples, but is not limited to the structures of these examples and includes various modifications and modifications within the scope of equivalents. The present disclosure also includes various combinations and forms, and further includes combinations and forms of only one element, more elements, or fewer elements. [Explanation of symbols]

[0067] 1...Electron beam irradiation system 2...Workpiece 3...Electron beam irradiation device 4...Transport device for processed material 7...Rotating body 10...Shaft 11...Wrapping section 11a...First winding section 11b...Second winding section 12...Intersection 14...Beam catcher 18...Bearing 22...Heat suppression member 23...Heat suppression material for bearings 24...Cover 25…Cooling section 26...Wall part 29...Cooling water piping 36...Heat suppression member for rotating body 37...Cover 38…Cooling section 39…space

Claims

1. 1. An electron beam irradiation system that processes a linear workpiece by irradiating the workpiece with an electron beam from an electron beam irradiation device while transporting the workpiece by a workpiece transport device, The workpiece transport device includes a heat suppressing member including a cover that covers at least a portion of an object to be suppressed from generating heat, and a cooling unit that is disposed inside the cover and cools the surrounding area; a beam catcher that captures the electron beam that has passed through a gap between adjacent workpieces, The heat suppression member is provided on at least one of a pair of rotating bodies as the heat suppression target that transports the wrapped workpiece by rotation, and a bearing as the heat suppression target that rotatably supports the shaft portions of the pair of rotating bodies, and is provided at a distance from the beam catcher.

2. The electron beam irradiation system according to claim 1 , wherein the cooling unit is a cooling water pipe through which cooling water that absorbs ambient heat flows.

3. the heat-generating suppressing member is a heat-generating suppressing member for a bearing that suppresses heat generation from the bearing, the cover of the bearing heat suppressing member has a plurality of wall portions that cover the bearing, 2. The electron beam irradiation system according to claim 1, wherein the cooling section is disposed on one of the plurality of wall sections that faces a beam catcher of the workpiece transport device.

4. The electron beam irradiation system according to claim 3 , wherein the cooling section is disposed at a position facing two or more of the plurality of wall sections.

5. Each of the pair of rotating bodies has a first winding portion and a second winding portion by being divided midway in the axial direction, 4. The electron beam irradiation system according to claim 3, wherein the bearings are disposed on both ends of the shaft portion, between the first winding portion and the second winding portion, and are covered by the bearing heat generation suppressing member.

6. the heat suppressing member is a heat suppressing member for a rotating body provided on at least one of the pair of rotating bodies, The workpiece is suspended between the pair of rotors in a figure-eight pattern, thereby forming a cross-shaped intersection between the pair of rotors, The electron beam irradiation system according to claim 1 , wherein the heat generation suppressing member for the rotor is disposed in a space formed between the pair of rotors and the intersection.

7. A treatment object transport device that transports a treatment object while irradiating a linear treatment object with an electron beam from an electron beam irradiation device, a heat-generation suppressing member including a cover that covers at least a part of a heat generation suppression target and a cooling unit that is disposed inside the cover and cools the surrounding area; and a beam catcher that captures the electron beam that has passed through a gap between adjacent objects to be processed, The heat suppression member is provided on at least one of a pair of rotating bodies as the heat suppression target that transports the wrapped workpiece by rotation, and a bearing as the heat suppression target that rotatably supports the shaft portions of the pair of rotating bodies, and is provided at a distance from the beam catcher in a workpiece transport device.

Citation Information

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