Drying equipment

Abstract

To provide a drying device capable of preventing a substrate from being broken even when a tension applied to the substrate is smaller than that during normal conveyance.SOLUTION: A drying device is installed on a conveying path where a substrate is conveyed by roll-to-roll under a predetermined tension, and the drying device is used for drying a coating film applied to the substrate while the substrate is conveyed. The drying device includes: a drying nozzle that blows air from below and above the substrate to float the substrate and dry the coating film applied to the substrate; an edge nip part which grips at least a pair of edges of the substrate in a width direction and defines the conveying path for the edges, within the floating area where the substrate is floated up by the drying nozzle; and a support member provided below or above the substrate in the floating area and contacting a predetermined surface of the substrate whose tension applied while being floated by the drying nozzle is less than the predetermined tension.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a drying apparatus that dries a coating film formed on a sheet-like base material while conveying the base material.

Background Art

[0002] Conventionally, in the manufacturing process of an electrode plate for a lithium-ion battery, a slurry of an electrode material containing an active material, a binder, a conductive aid, and a solvent is applied to a sheet-like base material conveyed by a roll-to-roll type conveying apparatus to form a coating film, and the formed coating film is dried by a drying apparatus.

[0003] A general roll-to-roll type conveying apparatus has an unwinding roll that unwinds the base material, a winding roll that winds up the base material, and conveying rolls through which the base material unwound from the unwinding roll passes until it is wound up by the winding roll (for example, Patent Document 1 below). And the conveying apparatus conveys while applying a predetermined tension to the base material with the unwinding roll, the winding roll, and the conveying rolls.

[0004] A conventional drying apparatus is provided on the conveyance path of the base material by the conveyance apparatus, and has a housing portion through which the base material passes and nozzles provided in the housing portion (for example, Patent Document 2 below). And the drying apparatus blows gas from the blowout ports of the nozzles onto the base material, raises the temperature inside the housing portion by the gas blown from the nozzles to dry the coating film on the base material, and at the same time, floats the base material by the wind pressure of the gas.

[0005] Also, in the drying apparatus, once the apparatus stops, it takes time to restore the temperature inside the housing portion to the temperature required to dry the coating film formed on the base material. Therefore, when performing maintenance for a relatively short time such as switching the winding roll that winds up the base material of the conveying apparatus to another winding roll, even when the coating film is not dried, it is common not to stop the apparatus in order to maintain the temperature inside the housing portion. That is, gas is continuously blown from the nozzles onto the base material to keep the base material floating. [Prior art documents] [Patent Documents]

[0006] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2012-097917 [Patent Document 2] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2014-173803 [Overview of the project] [Problems that the invention aims to solve]

[0007] However, with the drying apparatus described above, there were cases where the substrate would break. Specifically, when performing relatively short maintenance on peripheral equipment of the drying apparatus, even when the coating film is not being dried, the drying apparatus continues to levitate the substrate by blowing gas from nozzles onto it in order to maintain the temperature inside the housing. Furthermore, when performing maintenance such as switching winding rolls, the tension applied to the substrate is at least less than during normal transport. As a result, the substrate vibrates considerably due to the gas blown from the nozzles, and in some cases the substrate comes into contact with components inside the housing, such as the nozzles, causing it to break.

[0008] In response to this, it is conceivable to suppress vibration of the substrate by clamping a pair of edges in the width direction of the substrate with rollers or the like. However, the portion of the substrate where the edges are clamped by rollers or the like is subjected to a load due to the vibration of the substrate, and there is a possibility that this load will accumulate and cause the edges of the substrate to break.

[0009] This invention was made in view of the above problems, and aims to provide a drying apparatus that can prevent the substrate from breaking even if the tension applied to the substrate is less than during normal transport. [Means for solving the problem]

[0010] The present invention, which solves the above problems, is a drying apparatus provided on a transport path that transports a substrate by roll-to-roll with a predetermined tension applied to it, and dries a coating applied to the substrate while transporting the substrate, and is characterized by comprising: a drying nozzle that blows gas from below and above the substrate to levitate the substrate and dry the coating applied to the substrate; an edge nip portion that grips the vicinity of at least a pair of edges in the width direction of the substrate within a levitation region which is the region in which the substrate is in a levitation state due to the drying nozzle, and defines the transport path of said edges; and a support member provided below or above the substrate within the levitation region, which contacts a predetermined surface of the substrate where the tension applied in the levitated state by the drying nozzle is less than the predetermined tension.

[0011] According to the above drying apparatus, a support member is provided, and a predetermined surface of the substrate vibrating due to the gas blown from the drying nozzle comes into contact with the support member when the tension applied to it is reduced, thereby suppressing the vibration of the substrate. This prevents the substrate from breaking due to contact with components inside the drying apparatus, such as the drying nozzle. Furthermore, because the vibration of the substrate can be suppressed, the load on the edge of the substrate gripped by the edge nip can be reduced, preventing the load from accumulating and causing the edge of the substrate to break. Therefore, even if the tension applied to the substrate is less than during normal transport, the substrate can be prevented from breaking.

[0012] Furthermore, the system may also include a support member moving means for moving the support member, and the support member moving means may be configured to move the support member closer to and further away from the base material from below or above.

[0013] With this configuration, the support member can be pressed against the substrate from below or above, thereby further suppressing vibrations of the substrate.

[0014] Furthermore, the support member moving means may be configured to move the support member so as to press it against the substrate when the substrate is stopped being transported, and to move the support member so as not to come into contact with the substrate when the substrate is being transported.

[0015] With this configuration, the support member is pressed against the substrate when the substrate is stopped being transported, which suppresses vibration of the substrate and prevents the accumulation of load on the same part of the substrate. In addition, since the support member does not come into contact with the substrate during transport, the support member does not obstruct the transport of the substrate.

[0016] Furthermore, the edge nip portion may have a plurality of nip rolls that grip the vicinity of the edge of the base material, and the support member may be positioned in the vicinity of each nip roll upstream or downstream of each nip roll in the conveying path of the base material, and the support member may be configured as a roller that extends in the width direction of the base material and is formed in a crown shape in which the diameter gradually increases from the edge of the base material toward the center.

[0017] With this configuration, the substrate can be stretched in the width direction near each nip roll upstream or downstream of each nip roll in the substrate transport path, thereby preventing misalignment of the edges of the substrate gripped by the edge nip.

[0018] Furthermore, the drying nozzle may have a lower nozzle that blows gas from below the substrate and an upper nozzle that blows gas from above the substrate, and the support member may be configured to face either the lower nozzle or the upper nozzle with the substrate in between.

[0019] With this configuration, the support member comes into contact with the part of the substrate that is most affected by the gas sprayed by the drying nozzle, thus further suppressing vibrations of the substrate.

[0020] Further, the edge nip portion may be configured to grip near the edge of the base material when the base material is being conveyed and not to grip near the edge of the base material when the conveyance of the base material stops.

[0021] According to this configuration, since the edge nip portion grips the edge of the base material during conveyance of the base material, it is possible to prevent the base material from being displaced. Further, since the edge nip portion does not grip the edge of the base material when the conveyance of the base material stops, it is possible to suppress the load applied to the edge of the base material caused by vibration of the base material.

Advantages of the Invention

[0022] According to the drying device of the present invention, even if the tension applied to the base material is smaller than during normal conveyance, it is possible to prevent the base material from breaking.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0023] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a diagram schematically showing a coating device 1 provided with a drying device 2 in the present embodiment. FIGS. 2 and 3 are diagrams for explaining the drying device 2 in the present embodiment, FIG. 2(a) shows a view seen from the surface side of the base material W, and FIGS. 2(b) and 3 are side cross-sectional views of the housing 21. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining the drying device 2 in the present embodiment. [Figure 3] FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining the drying device 2 in the present embodiment.

Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

[0024] A drying device in an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the following description, the three axes of the orthogonal coordinate system are denoted as X, Y, and Z, the horizontal direction is expressed as the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction, and the direction perpendicular to the XY plane (that is, the vertical direction) is expressed as the Z-axis direction.

[0025] FIG. 1 is a diagram schematically showing a coating device 1 provided with a drying device 2 in the present embodiment. FIGS. 2 and 3 are diagrams for explaining the drying device 2 in the present embodiment, FIG. 2(a) shows a view seen from the surface side of the base material W, and FIGS. 2(b) and 3 are side cross-sectional views of the housing 21.

[0026] The coating apparatus 1 equipped with the drying apparatus 2 of the present invention includes, as shown in Figure 1, a transport mechanism 11 for transporting a sheet-shaped substrate W, a first coating mechanism 12 for applying a coating liquid to a predetermined surface of the substrate W to form a coating film M (see Figure 2(a)), and a second coating mechanism 13 for applying a coating liquid to the back surface of a predetermined surface of the substrate W to form a coating film M. The drying apparatus 2 is also positioned on the transport path of the substrate W by the transport mechanism 11.

[0027] In this embodiment, the predetermined surface of the substrate W refers to the surface of the substrate W, and the back surface of the predetermined surface of the substrate W refers to the back surface of the substrate W. Here, the surface of the substrate W is the surface on which the coating film M is formed by the first coating mechanism 12 described later, and the back surface of the substrate W is the surface on which the coating film M is formed by the second coating mechanism 13 described later. Hereafter, the predetermined surface of the substrate W will be referred to as the surface of the substrate W, and the back surface of the predetermined surface of the substrate W will be referred to as the back surface of the substrate W.

[0028] In this embodiment, the coating apparatus 1 forms a coating film M on both sides of the substrate W, which is transported by the transport mechanism 11, using the first coating mechanism 12 and the second coating mechanism 13, and then dries these coating films M using the drying apparatus 2.

[0029] In this embodiment, the substrate W is a metal foil that serves as an electrode plate for a lithium-ion battery. When it constitutes the positive electrode, aluminum foil or the like is used, and when it constitutes the negative electrode, copper foil or the like is used. This substrate W is a long, strip-shaped sheet and is transported by the transport mechanism 11 through each part of the coating apparatus 1.

[0030] In this embodiment, the coating liquid is, for example, a slurry containing an active material, a binder, a conductive additive, and a solvent, and is used as a material for the electrode plates of a lithium-ion battery (so-called electrode material). By applying this coating liquid to a substrate W, a coating film M is formed.

[0031] The transport mechanism 11 in this embodiment is for transporting the substrate W. As shown in Figure 1, the transport mechanism 11 includes an unwinding roll 11a for unwinding the substrate W, a winding roll 11b for winding the substrate W, a transport roll 11c on which the substrate W, unwinded from the unwinding roll 11a, passes before being wound onto the winding roll 11b, and a coating roll 11d for guiding the substrate W to the position where the coating liquid will be applied by the first coating mechanism 12, which will be described later. Each of the rolls in this transport mechanism 11 is formed in a cylindrical shape and rotates around the central axis of the cylinder as the axis of rotation.

[0032] The unwinding roll 11a is driven and controlled by a control unit (not shown) to unwind the base material W at a predetermined speed. The control unit is, for example, composed of a general-purpose computer device. Similarly, the winding roll 11b is driven and controlled by the control unit to wind the base material W while applying a predetermined tension to it. The tension referred to here is the tension in the transport direction of the base material W (the X-axis direction in Figure 1).

[0033] As shown in Figure 1, multiple conveying rolls 11c are provided, and they are arranged so that the substrate W passes through each part of the coating apparatus 1. Some or all of these multiple conveying rolls 11c are driven and controlled by the control unit, similar to the unwinding roll 11a and the winding roll 11b, and convey the substrate W while applying a predetermined tension to it.

[0034] As shown in Figure 1, the coating roll 11d is positioned opposite the first coating mechanism 12, which will be described later. Therefore, the substrate W can be transported while maintaining a constant distance from the first coating mechanism 12.

[0035] With these configurations, the transport mechanism 11 can transport the substrate W at a predetermined speed while applying a predetermined tension to the substrate W.

[0036] The first coating mechanism 12 in this embodiment is for applying a coating liquid to the surface of a transported substrate W to form a coating film M in a striped pattern. Forming a coating film M in a striped pattern means that, as shown in Figure 2(a), the substrate W has a plurality of coated areas on which the coating film M is formed, and uncoated areas between the plurality of coated areas on which the coating film M is not formed, with the coating film M formed in the width direction of the substrate W. In this embodiment, the first coating mechanism 12 is described as a slit die for applying a slurry of electrode material, but the first coating mechanism 12 is not limited to a slit die, and may be, for example, compatible with coating methods for inkjet coating or gravure coating (the same applies to the second coating mechanism 13 described later).

[0037] The first coating mechanism 12 is formed to be long along the width direction (Y-axis direction in Figure 1) of the substrate W. Here, the aforementioned coating roll 11d is positioned at a predetermined distance from the first coating mechanism 12 such that the rotation axis direction of the coating roll 11d is parallel to the width direction of the first coating mechanism 12.

[0038] Furthermore, as shown in Figure 1, the first coating mechanism 12 is connected to the supply passage 18 and consists of a manifold 14, which is a space for storing coating liquid that is long in the width direction, a slit 15 that is wide in the width direction and connected to the manifold 14, and a discharge port 16 that opens to the same length as the slit 15 in the width direction and discharges the coating liquid. As a result, the coating liquid stored in the manifold 14 is discharged from the discharge port 16 to the substrate W via the slit 15. The discharge port 16 is opposite the coating roll 11d with the substrate W in between. That is, the discharge port 16 is opposite the substrate W on the surface side of the substrate W. As a result, the coating liquid can be applied to the substrate W while maintaining a constant distance between the discharge port 16 and the substrate W.

[0039] Furthermore, the first coating mechanism 12 is provided with a shim plate (not shown) for forming a striped coating film M on the substrate W. The shim plate has, for example, a roughly comb-like shape and is arranged to divide the slit 15 in the width direction. When the coating liquid is applied with the slit 15 divided in the width direction by this shim plate, the coating liquid is applied from the parts without the shim plate and not applied from the parts with the shim plate. In other words, the coating film M can be formed in a striped pattern. The width of the coating film M can be adjusted by changing the shape of this shim plate.

[0040] The supply channel 18 connects the manifold 14 to the tank 17 where the coating liquid is stored. A pump (not shown) then supplies the coating liquid from the tank 17 to the manifold 14 via the supply channel 18.

[0041] The first coating mechanism 12 having these components can form a striped coating film M on the surface of the substrate W.

[0042] The second coating mechanism 13 in this embodiment is for applying a coating liquid to the back surface of the transported substrate W to form a coating film M in a striped pattern. As shown in Figure 1, the second coating mechanism 13 has the same configuration as the first coating mechanism 12 described above, and the discharge port 16 of the second coating mechanism 13 is positioned on the back side of the substrate W, facing the substrate W.

[0043] The second coating mechanism 13 receives coating liquid from a tank 17 via a supply passage 18 and a pump (not shown), and applies this supplied coating liquid to the back surface of the substrate W. This allows a striped coating film M to be formed on the back surface of the substrate W. In this embodiment, the supply passage 18 and tank 17 for supplying the coating liquid to the second coating mechanism 13 are separate from the supply passage 18 and tank 17 for supplying the coating liquid to the first coating mechanism 12. Furthermore, the width of the coating film M formed on the back surface of the substrate W by the second coating mechanism 13 is preferably the same as the width of the coating film M formed on the surface of the substrate W by the first coating mechanism 12.

[0044] These first coating mechanism 12 and second coating mechanism 13 can form a striped coating film M on both sides of the substrate W.

[0045] The drying apparatus 2 in this embodiment is for drying the coating film M formed on both sides of the substrate W by the first coating mechanism 12 and the second coating mechanism 13. As shown in Figures 1, 2(a), and 2(b), the drying apparatus 2 is provided downstream of the first coating mechanism 12 and the second coating mechanism 13 on the transport path of the substrate W by the transport mechanism 11, and includes a housing portion 21, a drying nozzle 22, an edge nip portion 23, a support member 26, and a support member moving means (not shown).

[0046] The housing 21 is a box-shaped structure that is elongated in the direction of transport of the substrate W. Inside this box-shaped structure is a space through which the substrate W passes, and an entrance and an exit for the substrate W to enter and exit this space. The substrate W on which the coating film M is formed is transported by the transport mechanism 11 so as to pass through the housing 21.

[0047] Furthermore, the aforementioned transport rolls 11c are not located inside the housing 21. In particular, when a coating film M is formed on both sides of the substrate W, as in this embodiment, the substrate W cannot be touched until the coating film M is dry. Therefore, inside the housing 21, the substrate W is transported in a suspended state except for at least both ends in the width direction. In contrast, in this embodiment, the substrate W is subjected to a predetermined tension by transport rolls 11c located upstream and downstream of the housing 21, and / or lift is applied to the substrate W by blowing hot air from the back side of the substrate W using a drying nozzle 22 (described later), and the substrate W is transported by the transport mechanism 11 and passes through the housing 21.

[0048] The drying nozzle 22 is used to heat the coating film M by blowing hot air onto the substrate W. The drying nozzle 22 is formed to be long in the width direction of the substrate W and has an opening (not shown) that blows hot air onto the surface or back surface of the substrate W.

[0049] The drying nozzle 22 consists of a lower nozzle 22a positioned below the substrate W within the housing 21 to blow hot air onto the back surface of the substrate W, and an upper nozzle 22b positioned above the substrate W within the housing 21 to blow hot air onto the surface of the substrate W. These lower nozzle 22a and upper nozzle 22b are arranged alternately in the direction of transport of the substrate W. As a result, when the substrate W is lifted and floated, the substrate W is transported in a substantially linear direction. By transporting the substrate W in a substantially linear direction in this way, the substrate W can be accurately transported in a predetermined direction even when it is floating.

[0050] The edge nip section 23 is a type of guide that grips the vicinity of a pair of edges in the width direction of the substrate W within the floating region, which is the region in which the substrate W floats due to the drying nozzle 22, and defines the transport path of the edges of the substrate W. As shown in Figures 2(a) and 2(b), this edge nip section 23 is composed of a plurality of nip rolls 24. In the following description, the edges of the substrate W will be referred to as the widthwise ends of the substrate W.

[0051] As shown in Figures 2(a) and 2(b), the nip roll 24 has a rotating shaft 25 and is formed in a roller shape that rotates around this shaft. The outer surface of the nip roll 24 comes into contact with both ends of the base material W, and the nip roll 24 rotates due to the frictional force with the base material W being conveyed by the conveying mechanism 11.

[0052] As shown in Figures 2(a) and 2(b), the nip rolls 24 are positioned to face both ends in the width direction of the substrate W on the front and back sides, and to grip the substrate W from both sides. This constitutes one set of nip rolls 24. Multiple sets of these nip rolls 24 are arranged within the housing 21 so as to be positioned between the lower nozzle 22a and the upper nozzle 22b in the conveying direction of the substrate W. With these nip rolls 24 gripping both ends in the width direction of the substrate W, the substrate W is conveyed by the conveying mechanism 11 while the coating film M is dried by the drying nozzle 22. This prevents the substrate W from shifting position during the drying of the coating film M.

[0053] The support members 26 are members for suppressing vibrations of the substrate W that floats within the housing 21. In this embodiment, as shown in Figure 2(b), they are provided at positions facing the lower nozzle 22a and the substrate W, and at positions facing the upper nozzle 22b and the substrate W, within the floating region of the substrate W.

[0054] Furthermore, as shown in Figure 2(a), the support member 26 extends in the width direction of the base material W and is formed in a crown shape in which the diameter gradually increases from both ends in the width direction of the base material W toward the center. This support member 26 is formed to be large enough to contact the entire width direction of the base material W when pressed against it by the support member moving means described later. In addition, as shown in Figures 2(a) and 2(b), the support member 26 in this embodiment has a rotation axis 27 parallel to the width direction of the base material W. The support member 26 rotates around the rotation axis 27 due to the frictional force between it and the base material W as the base material W is transported. This support member 26 is moved by the support member moving means described later and pressed against the base material W from above and below, respectively.

[0055] The support member moving means moves each support member 26 at least upward and downward (in the Z-axis direction in Figure 3), thereby bringing each support member 26 closer to and further away from the base material W. This support member moving means is driven by, for example, a motor and is driven and controlled by the control unit described above. By moving the support members 26, the support member moving means presses the support members 26 against the surface and back surface of the base material W from above and below, respectively, as shown in Figure 3.

[0056] Here, the support member moving means moves each support member 26 and presses it against the base material W, as shown in Figure 3, when the tension applied to the base material W by the transport mechanism 11 falls below a predetermined tension. Here, "when the tension applied to the base material W by the transport mechanism 11 falls below a predetermined tension" means, for example, when the transport of the base material W by the transport mechanism 11 is stopped, or when the tension applied to the base material W is at least less than during normal transport. At this time, the drying nozzle 22 continues to blow hot air onto the base material W to keep it floating.

[0057] Then, when the transport mechanism 11 applies a predetermined tension to the base material W again and transports the base material W, the support member moving means moves the support member 26 away from the base material W so that it does not come into contact with the base material W, as shown in Figure 2(b). In other words, during normal transport of the base material W by the transport mechanism 11, the support member 26 does not come into contact with the base material W.

[0058] Thus, according to the drying apparatus 2 in the above embodiment, even if the tension applied to the substrate W is less than during normal transport, it is possible to prevent the substrate W from breaking.

[0059] Let me explain in detail. In the coating apparatus 1, the tension applied to the substrate W by the transport mechanism 11 may be less than during normal transport. For example, when transporting the substrate W is stopped for maintenance, such as when switching the winding roll 11b to the new winding roll 11e shown in Figure 1, the tension applied to the substrate W becomes less than during normal transport. Even when performing such maintenance, the drying apparatus 2 continues to blow hot air from the nozzle 22 onto the substrate W in order to maintain the temperature inside the housing 21. In other words, the substrate W is floating inside the housing 21.

[0060] In this case, because the tension applied to the substrate W is less than during normal transport, the hot air blown by the drying nozzle 22 causes the substrate W to vibrate significantly in the direction of the hot air blowing (the Z-axis direction in Figure 2(b)). As a result, the substrate W may come into contact with components inside the housing 21, such as the nozzle 22, and may break.

[0061] Furthermore, vibrations of the substrate W could place a load on the portion of the substrate W gripped by the edge nip portion 23, and this load could accumulate, potentially causing the end of the substrate W to break. In particular, vibrations of the substrate W could easily cause a load to be placed on the area near the end of the substrate W due to contact with the edge of the nip roll 24, making it more prone to breaking at this point.

[0062] In contrast, the drying apparatus 2 in this embodiment has a support member 26 and a support member moving means, and when the tension applied to the substrate W becomes smaller than during normal transport, the support member moving means presses the support member 26 against the substrate W.

[0063] As a result, the floating substrate W can be supported by the support member 26, thereby suppressing vibration of the substrate W. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the substrate W from coming into contact with and breaking components inside the housing 21, such as the drying nozzle 22. In addition, because vibration of the substrate W is suppressed, it is possible to prevent the accumulation of load on the portion of the substrate W gripped by the edge nip portion 23, thereby preventing the substrate W from breaking. Consequently, even if the tension applied to the substrate W is smaller than during normal transport, it is possible to prevent the substrate W from breaking.

[0064] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the support member moving means moves the support member 26 to press it against the base material W when the transport mechanism 11 stops transporting the base material W, and moves the support member 26 away from the base material W so that it does not come into contact with the base material W when the transport mechanism 11 transports the base material W. Therefore, when the transport of the base material W stops, vibration of the base material W can be suppressed, and the accumulation of load on the same part of the base material W can be suppressed. In addition, since the support member 26 does not come into contact with the base material W when the base material W is being transported, the transport mechanism 11 can transport the base material W without being hindered by the support member 26.

[0065] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the support member 26 is positioned opposite the lower nozzle 22a and the substrate W, and opposite the upper nozzle 22b and the substrate W. Therefore, the support member 26 can be pressed against the part of the substrate W that is most affected by the hot air blown by the drying nozzle 22. As a result, vibration of the substrate W can be further suppressed.

[0066] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the support member 26 extends in the width direction of the base material W and is formed in a crown shape in which the diameter gradually increases from both ends in the width direction of the base material toward the center. Therefore, when the support member 26 is pressed against the base material W, the base material W is stretched to conform to the shape of the support member 26. This allows the base material W to be stretched in the width direction and to be made taut in the width direction. Since the support member 26 is positioned upstream or downstream of each pair of nip rolls 24, the base material W, which is taut in the width direction, is conveyed to the edge nip section 23. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the gripping position of the base material W by the edge nip section 23 from shifting.

[0067] Furthermore, since the support member 26 has a rotating shaft 27 and is rotatable, the support member moving means can press the support member 26 against the base material W even when the transport of the base material W has not completely stopped. In other words, even when the tension of the base material W is lower than during normal transport, other than when the transport of the base material W has stopped, the support member 26 can be pressed against the base material W to suppress vibration of the base material W.

[0068] Furthermore, the drying apparatus 2 in this embodiment is further equipped with a nip roll moving mechanism (not shown) that moves each nip roll 24 at least upward and downward (in the Z-axis direction in Figure 3). This nip roll moving mechanism switches between gripping and releasing the substrate W by the nip rolls 24 by moving each nip roll 24. The nip roll moving mechanism is driven by, for example, a motor and is driven and controlled by the control unit described above.

[0069] Here, the nip roll moving means moves each nip roll 24 to release the gripping of the base material W when the tension applied to the base material W by the conveying mechanism 11 becomes less than a predetermined tension. The nip roll moving means releases the gripping of the base material W by each nip roll 24 after the support member 26 has come into contact with the base material W.

[0070] Then, when the nip roll moving means applies a predetermined tension to the base material W again by the conveying mechanism 11 and conveys the base material W, it moves each nip roll 24 to grip the base material W. The support member moving means separates the support member 26 from the base material W after the base material W has been gripped by each nip roll 24 by the nip roll moving means.

[0071] As a result, the edge nip portion 23 grips both ends of the base material W in the width direction when the base material W is being transported, thus preventing the base material W from shifting position. Furthermore, since the edge nip portion 23 does not grip both ends of the base material W in the width direction when the transport of the base material W stops, the load on both ends of the base material W in the width direction can be suppressed.

[0072] Furthermore, when the edge nip portion 23 is not gripping both ends of the base material W in the width direction, the support member 26 can keep the base material W wrinkle-free and taut in the width direction, thus preventing the base material W from shifting position when the edge nip portion 23 grips both ends of the base material W in the width direction again.

[0073] Although embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail above with reference to the drawings, the configurations and combinations thereof in each embodiment are merely examples, and additions, omissions, substitutions, and other modifications to the configurations are possible without departing from the spirit of the present invention. For example, in the above embodiment, an example was described in which the drying apparatus 2 is equipped with a support member moving means and moves the support member 26 to press it against the substrate W, but a configuration without a support member moving means is also possible.

[0074] Specifically, the support member 26 should be positioned so that it can contact a predetermined surface of the vibrating substrate W when the tension of the substrate W is lower than during normal transport. This way, when the tension of the substrate W is lower than during normal transport, the support member 26 comes into contact with the substrate W, thereby suppressing the vibration of the substrate W. It is preferable to consider the position of the support member 26 to achieve an optimal contact area, as a larger contact area between the support member 26 and the substrate W will result in a greater effect of suppressing the vibration of the substrate W by the support member 26.

[0075] Furthermore, in the above embodiment, an example was described in which the support member 26 is formed in a crown shape having a size that allows it to contact the entire width of the base material W when pressed against the base material W by the support member moving means, but the embodiment is not limited to this. For example, the support member 26 only needs to have a shape that contacts at least the vicinity of the center of the base material W in the width direction when pressed against the base material W. Also, the support member 26 only needs to be longer in the width direction of the base material W than the nip roll 24 and have a large contact area when in contact with the base material W.

[0076] Furthermore, the shape of the support member 26 does not have to be the crown shape described above, nor does it have to have a rotating shaft 27.

[0077] Furthermore, although the above embodiment described an example in which the support member 26 is positioned to face each drying nozzle 22 and the substrate W in between, it may also be positioned to face either the lower nozzle 22a or the upper nozzle 22b and the substrate W in between.

[0078] Furthermore, the support member 26 does not necessarily have to be positioned to face the upper nozzle 22b and the lower nozzle 22a with the base material W in between. In this case, the support member 26 is preferably positioned either upstream or downstream of each set of nip rolls 24 within the buoyancy region. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0079] 1. Coating device 11. Conveying mechanism 11a Dispensing roll 11b Winding Roll 11c Conveyor Roll 11d Coating Roll 11e Reel Roll 12. First coating mechanism 13. Second coating mechanism 14 Manifold 15 slits 16 Outlet 17 tanks 18 Supply route 2 Drying equipment 21. Enclosure 22 Drying nozzles 22a Lower nozzle 22b Upper nozzle 23 Edge Nip 24 Nip Roll 25 Rotation axis 26 Support Members 27 Rotation axis W Base material M Paint film

Claims

1. A drying apparatus provided on a transport path that transports a substrate by roll-to-roll with a predetermined tension applied to it, which dries a coating applied to the substrate while transporting the substrate, A drying nozzle that blows gas from below and above the substrate to levitate the substrate and dry the coating applied to the substrate, Within the floating region, which is the region in which the substrate is lifted by the drying nozzle, an edge nip portion is provided that grips the vicinity of at least one pair of edges in the width direction of the substrate and defines the transport path of said edges, A drying apparatus characterized by comprising: a support member provided below or above the substrate within the buoyancy region, which contacts a predetermined surface of the substrate where the tension applied while it is buoyant by the drying nozzle is less than the predetermined tension.

2. The system includes a support member moving means for moving the support member, The drying measure according to claim 1, characterized in that the support member moving means moves the support member so as to approach and move away from the substrate from below or above.

3. The drying apparatus according to claim 2, characterized in that the support member moving means moves the support member so as to press it against the substrate when the transport of the substrate is stopped, and moves the support member so as not to come into contact with the substrate when the substrate is being transported.

4. The edge nip portion has a plurality of nip rolls that grip the vicinity of the edge of the base material, The support member is positioned in the vicinity of each nip roll upstream or downstream of each nip roll in the transport path of the substrate. The drying apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the support member is a roller that extends in the width direction of the substrate and is formed in a crown shape in which the diameter gradually increases from the edge of the substrate toward the center.

5. The drying nozzle has a lower nozzle that blows gas from below the substrate and an upper nozzle that blows gas from above the substrate. The drying apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the support member is arranged to face the lower nozzle or the upper nozzle with the substrate in between.

6. The drying apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the edge nip portion grips the vicinity of the edge of the substrate when the substrate is being transported, and does not grip the vicinity of the edge of the substrate when the transport of the substrate is stopped.

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