Coating control device, coating device, roller deformation detection device, coating method, and roller deformation detection method

Abstract

A coating control device comprises: a deformation detection unit 53 that detects deformation of a coating material supply roller 1 that rotates with a coating material supplied to the outer peripheral surface and draws out the coating material from a gap G between the coating material supply roller 1 and another member 10 facing the coating material supply roller 1; a recording unit 52 that records in advance displacement of the coating material supply roller 1 for each rotation angle theta 1; and a compensation drive unit 55 that drives the coating material supply roller 1 in a direction intersecting the rotation axis according to the rotation angle theta 1 of the coating material supply roller 1 so as to compensate for complex fluctuations in the gap G due to deformation and displacement.

Description

Coating control device, coating device, roller deformation detection device, coating method, roller deformation detection method

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a coating control device and the like.

[0002] As a processing device that performs a predetermined process on a workpiece, for example, a coating device or a coater that applies a coating with paint or the like to a sheet-like coated object or conveyed object (hereinafter also referred to as a substrate) is known. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses adjusting the thickness of a coating (24) applied to both sides of a paper sheet (12) by the distance and pressure between a roller (16) and a blade (18) sandwiching the paper sheet (12) as a substrate.

[0003] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 11-230819

[0004] In the coating device of Patent Document 1, it is necessary to control the thickness of the coating (24) applied to each surface of the paper sheet (12) under a delicate balance of the distance and pressure between the roller (16) and the blade (18). Therefore, if the control balance is disrupted even slightly, deterioration of coating quality may occur, such as one side of the coating (24) becoming thick while the other side becomes thin. Thus, conventional coating devices have problems in terms of accuracy such as the thickness of the coating.

[0005] The present disclosure has been made in view of such a situation, and an object thereof is to provide a coating control device and the like that can apply paint to a coated object with high precision.

[0006] In order to solve the above problems, a coating control device according to an aspect of the present disclosure includes a deformation detection unit that detects deformation of a paint supply roller that rotates with paint supplied to its outer peripheral surface and draws out the paint from a gap with another opposing member, a displacement recording unit that records in advance the displacement for each rotation angle of the paint supply roller, and a compensation drive unit that drives the paint supply roller in a direction intersecting the rotation axis according to the rotation angle of the paint supply roller so as to compensate for fluctuations in the composite gap due to deformation and displacement.

[0007] According to this embodiment, the paint supply roller is driven in such a way as to compensate for the combined gap fluctuations caused by deformation due to heat, etc., and displacement of the paint supply roller at each rotation angle, thereby improving the accuracy of the thickness of the paint drawn out from the gap.

[0008] Another aspect of the present disclosure is a coating control device. This device includes a deformation detection unit that detects deformation of a paint supply roller on which paint is supplied to its outer surface and rotates, drawing the paint out from the gap between it and other opposing members; a displacement recording unit that records the displacement of the paint supply roller for each rotation angle in advance; and a relative speed adjustment unit that adjusts the transport speed of the object to be coated relative to the rotation speed of the paint supply roller according to the rotation angle of the paint supply roller, in order to compensate for the combined variation due to deformation and displacement of the shape of the paint after it has been supplied by the paint supply roller and applied to the object to be coated.

[0009] A further aspect of the present disclosure is a roller deformation detection device. This device is a roller deformation detection device for detecting deformation of a first paint supply roller and a second paint supply roller that are supplied with paint on their outer surfaces and rotate, and from which paint is drawn out through a gap, and comprises: a first paint supply roller that rotates at a first speed; a paint shape measuring unit that measures the shape of the paint supplied by the second paint supply roller that rotates at a second speed different from the first speed and applied to an object to be coated; and a frequency separation unit that separates the measurement result of the shape of the paint into a first frequency component corresponding to the first speed and a second frequency component corresponding to the second speed, indirectly detects the deformation of the first paint supply roller based on the first frequency component, and indirectly detects the deformation of the second paint supply roller based on the second frequency component.

[0010] Another aspect of the present disclosure is a coating method. This method involves detecting the deformation of a paint supply roller on which paint is supplied to the outer surface and rotates, drawing the paint out from the gap between it and other opposing members; pre-recording the displacement of the paint supply roller for each rotation angle; and driving the paint supply roller in a direction intersecting the axis of rotation according to the rotation angle of the paint supply roller in order to compensate for the combined gap fluctuations due to deformation and displacement.

[0011] Another aspect of this disclosure is a coating method. This method involves detecting the deformation of a paint supply roller on which paint is supplied to the outer surface and rotates, drawing the paint out from the gap between it and other opposing members; pre-recording the displacement of the paint supply roller for each rotation angle; and adjusting the transport speed of the object to be coated relative to the rotation speed of the paint supply roller according to the rotation angle of the paint supply roller, so as to compensate for the combined variation due to deformation and displacement of the shape of the paint after it has been supplied by the paint supply roller and applied to the object to be coated.

[0012] A further aspect of this disclosure is a roller deformation detection method. This method is a roller deformation detection method for detecting deformation of a first paint supply roller and a second paint supply roller that are supplied with paint on their outer surfaces and rotate, and from which paint is drawn out through a gap, and it performs the following: measuring the shape of the paint supplied by the first paint supply roller rotating at a first speed and the second paint supply roller rotating at a second speed different from the first speed, and applying the paint to a workpiece; separating the measurement result of the shape of the paint into a first frequency component corresponding to the first speed and a second frequency component corresponding to the second speed, indirectly detecting the deformation of the first paint supply roller based on the first frequency component, and indirectly detecting the deformation of the second paint supply roller based on the second frequency component.

[0013] Furthermore, any combination of the above components, as well as any representations thereof converted into methods, apparatus, systems, recording media, computer programs, etc., are also included in this disclosure.

[0014] According to this disclosure, paint can be applied to the object to be coated with high precision.

[0015] A schematic diagram of a conveying device for transporting objects. A schematic diagram of the main parts of a coating device. A schematic functional block diagram of a compensation device. A schematic diagram of an example of individual detection of deformation of each paint supply roller by a frequency separation unit.

[0016] The following describes in detail the forms for implementing this disclosure (hereinafter also referred to as embodiments) with reference to the drawings. In the description and / or drawings, identical or equivalent components, members, processes, etc., are denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant descriptions are omitted. The scale and shape of the illustrated parts are set for convenience to simplify the description and are not to be interpreted restrictively unless otherwise specified. The embodiments are illustrative and do not limit the scope of this disclosure in any way. Not all features or combinations thereof presented in the embodiments are necessarily essential to this disclosure. For convenience, embodiments are presented by breaking them down into components for each function and / or group of functions that realize them. However, one component in an embodiment may actually be realized by a combination of multiple components as separate entities, and multiple components in an embodiment may actually be realized by a single component as a whole. Furthermore, multiple embodiments and modifications may be disclosed in parallel, and any components of each embodiment and / or modification may be combined in any manner as long as they do not interfere with each other's functions.

[0017] Figure 1 schematically shows a coating apparatus 2 as a conveying device that conveys the object to be coated 3. In this embodiment, a roll-to-roll coating apparatus 2 is described that conveys a planar substrate as the object to be coated 3 in the conveying direction (from the uppermost unwinding roll 25 to the lowermost winding roll 26). The coating apparatus 2 or coater applies a coating to the conveyed object to be coated 3.

[0018] The coating apparatus 2 includes a conveying section that conveys the object to be coated 3 in the conveying direction using a number of conveying rollers. The conveying rollers include a drive roller that is rotationally driven by a motor, a driven roller that sandwiches the object to be coated 3 between itself and the drive roller and rotates in conjunction with the drive roller, a number of guide rollers arranged on the conveying path of the object to be coated 3 to guide the object to be coated 3, dancer rollers that constitute a dancer 24, an unwinding roll 25 that is rotationally driven by a motor to unwind the object to be coated 3 along the conveying direction, and a winding roll 26 that is rotationally driven by a motor to wind up the object to be coated 3. Figure 1 shows a simplified example of the conveying roller configuration, and in the actual coating apparatus 2, any number and type of rollers can be provided in any arrangement on the conveying path between the unwinding roll 25 and the winding roll 26.

[0019] Each pair of rollers, consisting of a drive roller and a driven roller, transports the material to be coated 3, which is sandwiched between them, in the transport direction. Each drive roller is rotationally driven by its corresponding motor. Each driven roller rotates in conjunction with its corresponding drive roller, in the opposite direction to the drive roller, at substantially the same speed.

[0020] In the illustrated example, the paint supply roller 10, coating roller 1, and transport roller 30 are a group of rollers attached to a coating processing unit that applies a coating treatment to an object to be coated 3 moving in the transport direction. Details of the coating processing unit that applies a coating to the object to be coated 3 will be described later. By attaching a group of rollers driven by a motor to such a coating processing unit, the transport speed and other parameters when the object to be coated 3 is coated can be adjusted with high precision.

[0021] The dancer 24 is provided to apply appropriate tension to each part of the object to be coated 3. The dancer 24 includes a dancer roller positioned away from the transport path of the object to be coated 3. The dancer roller is biased or pressurized in a direction away from the transport path of the object to be coated 3 by a thrust-adding device (not shown), such as an air cylinder. When the thrust from the thrust-adding device is substantially constant, the dancer roller applies substantially constant tension to the object to be coated 3 corresponding to that thrust. Note that the thrust from the thrust-adding device may be variable, and the dancer roller may apply variable tension to the object to be coated 3 corresponding to that thrust.

[0022] An unwinding roll 25, located at the starting point of the object to be coated 3 and / or the coating device 2, unwinds the object to be coated 3 along the conveying direction. A winding roll 26, located at the ending point of the object to be coated 3 and / or the coating device 2, winds up the object to be coated 3.

[0023] In the coating apparatus 2 described above, each motor that rotates each roller is controlled so that the transport speed of the material to be coated 3 at the position of each roller (i.e., the rotational speed of each roller) is set to a predetermined value.

[0024] A transport control device or coating control device (not shown) controls the transport or coating operation of the coating device 2 as described above. For example, the coating control device adaptively controls the motors, dancers 24, etc. in each part of the coating device 2 based on various measurement data obtained through sensors that measure the rotation of each motor and each roller, and other arbitrary sensors, as well as various setting data (including preset default setting data, manual setting data set by the user, and automatic setting data set automatically by the computer).

[0025] Figure 2 schematically shows the main part (coating processing section) of a coating apparatus 2, which is an example of a processing apparatus that performs a predetermined process on a conveyed object or a coated object 3. Examples of the coated object 3 include paper, cloth, film, foil, rubber, flexible substrates, and sheet-like or planar materials such as base members and work-in-progress products of current collectors described later. In the example of this embodiment, in the manufacture of sheet-like, film-like, or foil-like current collectors or current collector foils used in batteries, etc., the base member or work-in-progress product (hereinafter collectively referred to as a current collector for convenience) with some constituent layers formed on the base member constitutes the sheet-like coated object 3 (substrate). This coated object 3 is conveyed along the conveying direction T, and paint 4 is applied to its surface by a coating roller 1 (described later).

[0026] When the object to be coated 3 is a current collector, the paint 4 is, for example, a conductive material such as graphite or metal that forms an electrode layer or electrode foil as a coating or film 41 on the surface of the object to be coated 3. Note that the conductive material may also be included in the base member or work-in-progress of the current collector as the object to be coated 3 (for example, one with other electrode layers already formed). Thus, in the example of this embodiment, a conductive material is included in at least one of the paint 4 and the object to be coated 3. However, the coating apparatus according to this disclosure is effective regardless of the constituent materials of the paint 4 and / or the object to be coated 3. That is, the paint 4 and / or the object to be coated 3 may be composed of a non-conductive material (or an insulating material).

[0027] The coating apparatus 2 comprises a coating roller 1, a paint supply roller 10, and a transport roller 30. These multiple rollers 1, 10, and 30 are each substantially cylindrical in shape and are rotatably mounted around a rotation axis which is their respective central axis. Preferably, the direction of the rotation axes (axial direction) of the multiple rollers 1, 10, and 30 are substantially parallel to each other and horizontal.

[0028] Furthermore, the vertical positions of the central axes of the multiple rollers 1, 10, and 30 are, for example, substantially equal to each other. In this case, the multiple rollers 1, 10, and 30 are arranged in a substantially straight line along the horizontal direction (left-right direction in Figure 2), as schematically shown in Figure 2. However, the multiple rollers 1, 10, and 30 do not have to be arranged in a straight line; for example, the central axis of the conveying roller 30 may be located below or above the central axes of the coating roller 1 and the paint supply roller 10.

[0029] As schematically shown in Figure 2, the paint supply roller 10 and the coating roller 1 rotate in opposite directions, drawing the paint 4 downward through the gap or slit G between the two rollers 10 and 1. In the example in Figure 2, the paint 4 is stored in a space partitioned by a pair of front and rear walls 42, between the upper right portion of the left paint supply roller 10 and the upper left portion of the right coating roller 1. This space has a funnel-shaped cross-section perpendicular to the axial direction, and a slit G, which is the outlet or discharge port for the paint 4, is formed at its narrowed lower end. Furthermore, the cross-sections of the pair of walls 42 perpendicular to the axial direction are also funnel-shaped to prevent the paint 4 from leaking out in front of or behind this paint reservoir (the space with a funnel-shaped cross-section).

[0030] In the example shown in Figure 2, the paint supply roller 10 is rotated clockwise by a rotational drive unit such as a motor (not shown) while maintaining liquid-tight contact with the lower left curved portion of a pair of walls 42 located at its front and rear ends. Similarly, the coating roller 1 in the example shown in Figure 2 is rotated counterclockwise by a rotational drive unit such as a motor (not shown) while maintaining liquid-tight contact with the lower right curved portion of a pair of walls 42 located at its front and rear ends. In this way, the paint 4 accumulated in the aforementioned funnel-shaped space is lowered by the pair of rollers 10 and 1 rotating downwards on both sides and drawn out downwards through the gap G located at the bottom of the space.

[0031] The paint 4 that exits downward through the gap G is held by the outer surface of the coating roller 1 and moves toward the point opposite to the transport roller 30. A sheet-like material to be coated 3 is wrapped around the outer surface of the transport roller 30, and the paint 4 is applied or transferred from the outer surface of the coating roller 1 to the surface or outer surface of the material to be coated 3 to form a coating film 41. In this way, the coating roller 1 rotates with the paint 4 supplied to its outer surface, and applies the paint 4 to the material to be coated 3 facing at least one point on the outer surface (the right end in Figure 2). When transferring the paint 4 to the material to be coated 3, it is preferable that the coating roller 1, which is the source of the transfer, and the transport roller 30, on which the material to be coated 3 is wrapped, rotate in opposite directions, as schematically shown in Figure 2. In the example in Figure 2, the coating roller 1 is driven to rotate counterclockwise, and the transport roller 30 is driven to rotate clockwise by a rotation drive unit such as a motor (not shown). In this case, the object to be coated 3, which is conveyed along the conveying direction T by the conveying roller 30, is conveyed in substantially the same direction as the coating roller 1 (upward in the example of Figure 2) at a location opposite the coating roller 1.

[0032] As described above, each roller 10, 1, and 30 can be rotationally driven, and their respective rotational speeds and torques can be set independently of each other as desired to achieve the desired coating process. For example, the rotational speed of coating roller 1 may be set to be greater than that of paint supply roller 10. By creating such a difference in rotational speed, the paint 4 is more likely to adhere to coating roller 1, which rotates relatively faster. Furthermore, to prevent the paint 4 that has leaked out of the gap G from adhering to the outer surface of paint supply roller 10 (i.e., to make it relatively easier for it to adhere to the outer surface of coating roller 1), a material with relatively low adhesion to paint 4 may be selected for the surface of paint supply roller 10, or the paint supply roller 10 may be subjected to a surface treatment that prevents the paint 4 from adhering.

[0033] Furthermore, the balance between the relative speed or rotational speed of the coating roller 1 and the conveying roller 30, which are directly involved in the transfer of the paint 4, is preferably adaptively controlled, as described later, in order to form the coating film 41 on the object to be coated 3 to a desired thickness and width.

[0034] Similarly, the balance of rotational speeds between the paint supply roller 10 and the coating roller 1, as well as the size of the gap G between them, can affect the thickness of the paint 4 supplied onto the coating roller 1 and ultimately transferred to the object to be coated 3 as a coating film 41. Therefore, it is preferable to control these adaptively, as will be described later. Here, the coating roller 1, which is responsible for applying the paint 4 to the object to be coated 3, also functions as a paint supply roller that supplies paint 4 of a desired thickness through the gap G with the paint supply roller 10. In this context, the coating roller 1 is also referred to as the first paint supply roller 1, and the paint supply roller 10 is also referred to as the second paint supply roller 10. The first paint supply roller 1 and the second paint supply roller 10 face each other across the gap G.

[0035] Alternatively, instead of the rotatable second paint supply roller 10, a fixed, immovable cylindrical member or other wall-like member may be provided. In this case, paint 4 is accumulated between the wall-like member and the coating roller 1, which serves as the first paint supply roller, and the paint 4 is drawn onto the coating roller 1 from the gap G located at the end of the paint reservoir.

[0036] In the example shown in Figure 2, the paint 4 is supplied to the object to be coated 3 on the conveyor roller 30 by two paint supply rollers 10, 1. However, three or more paint supply rollers may be provided in series between the paint reservoir or paint supply source and the object to be coated 3. In this case, the last paint supply roller also serves as a coating roller that applies the paint 4 to the object to be coated 3, similar to the coating roller 1 shown in Figure 2. The two paint supply rollers at the front draw the paint 4 from the paint reservoir through a gap similar to the gap G shown in Figure 2. When N paint supply rollers (where N is any natural number greater than or equal to 2) are provided in series, the paint 4 passes through N-1 gaps between rollers before reaching the object to be coated 3. As will be described later, by appropriately controlling each gap between rollers, the paint 4 can be formed to a desired thickness.

[0037] Next, we will describe the compensation device 5, which compensates for the displacement and / or deformation of the first paint supply roller 1 and / or the second paint supply roller 10 as described later, and the deformation detection unit 53 (roller deformation detection device), which may be configured as part of the compensation device 5.

[0038] Figure 3 is a schematic functional block diagram of the compensation device 5 according to this embodiment. The compensation device 5 mainly comprises a rotation angle acquisition unit 51, a recording unit 52, a deformation detection unit 53, a compensation amount calculation unit 54, a compensation drive unit 55, and a relative speed adjustment unit 56. Some of these functional blocks may be omitted as long as the compensation device 5 and / or the deformation detection unit 53 (roller deformation detection device) can realize at least some of the operations and / or effects described below. For example, only one of the compensation drive unit 55 and the relative speed adjustment unit 56 may be provided. These functional blocks may be realized by the cooperation of hardware resources such as the central processing unit, memory, input devices, output devices, and peripheral devices connected to the computer, and software that runs using them. Regardless of the type or location of the computer, each of the above functional blocks may be realized with the hardware resources of a single computer, or it may be realized by combining hardware resources distributed across multiple computers.

[0039] The rotation angle acquisition unit 51 acquires the rotation angle or rotation position of the first paint supply roller 1 and / or the second paint supply roller 10. For example, the rotation angle acquisition unit 51 may acquire the first rotation angle θ1 of the first paint supply roller 1 from a first encoder E1 attached to the first motor M1 that rotates the first paint supply roller 1. Similarly, the rotation angle acquisition unit 51 may acquire the second rotation angle θ2 of the second paint supply roller 10 from a second encoder E2 attached to the second motor M2 that rotates the second paint supply roller 10. The first rotation angle θ1 and the second rotation angle θ2 are collectively referred to as the rotation angle θ.

[0040] The recording unit 52, acting as a displacement recording unit, pre-records the displacement of the first paint supply roller 1 and / or the second paint supply roller 10 for each rotation angle θ. For example, the recording unit 52 may pre-record the first displacement X1 of the first paint supply roller 1 corresponding to the first rotation angle θ1 of the first paint supply roller 1 acquired by the rotation angle acquisition unit 51. The first displacement X1 may be expressed as a deviation from a reference position of a point on the outer circumferential surface of the first paint supply roller 1 that constitutes the gap G with the second paint supply roller 10 (the leftmost point in Figure 3). Alternatively, the first displacement X1 may be expressed as a deviation from a reference position of the center O1, assuming that the axial shape of the first paint supply roller 1 is a perfect circle.

[0041] In ideal conditions, the first displacement X1 of the first paint supply roller 1 is zero regardless of the value of the first rotation angle θ1. However, in reality, due to manufacturing errors, installation errors, etc., of the first paint supply roller 1, the first displacement X1 may fluctuate according to the first rotation angle θ1. The recording unit 52, acting as a displacement recording unit, pre-records the first displacement X1 as a function of the first rotation angle θ1 in the form of a table or graph (typically a nonlinear curve graph). For example, under standard conditions (in other words, under conditions where the deformation of the first paint supply roller 1, described later, can be ignored), the first paint supply roller 1 is rotated (i.e., the first rotation angle θ1 is changed), and the result of positioning a point on the outer surface of the first paint supply roller 1 facing the gap G using the first laser displacement meter L1, described later, is recorded in the recording unit 52 as the first displacement X1 for each first rotation angle θ1.

[0042] Similarly, the recording unit 52 may pre-record the second displacement X2 of the second paint supply roller 10, corresponding to the second rotation angle θ2 of the second paint supply roller 10 acquired by the rotation angle acquisition unit 51. The second displacement X2 may be expressed as a deviation from a reference position of a point on the outer circumferential surface of the second paint supply roller 10 that constitutes the gap G with the first paint supply roller 1 (the rightmost point in Figure 3), as schematically shown in Figure 3. Alternatively, the second displacement X2 may be expressed as a deviation from the reference position of the center O2, assuming that the axial shape of the second paint supply roller 10 is a perfect circle.

[0043] The recording unit 52 as the displacement recording unit records in advance the second displacement X2 as a function of the second rotation angle θ2 in the form of a table or a graph (typically, a non-linear curved graph). For example, in a standard environment (in other words, in an environment where the deformation of the second paint supply roller 10 described later can be ignored), while rotating the second paint supply roller 10 (that is, while changing the second rotation angle θ2), the result of positioning the points on the outer peripheral surface of the second paint supply roller 10 facing the gap G by the second laser displacement meter L2 or the like described later is recorded in the recording unit 52 as the second displacement X2 for each second rotation angle θ2. Note that the first displacement X1 and the second displacement X2 are collectively referred to as the displacement X.

[0044] The recording unit 52 as described above converts the rotation angle θ acquired by the rotation angle acquisition unit 51 into the displacement X based on a pre-recorded conversion table and provides it to the compensation amount calculation unit 54 described later.

[0045] The deformation detection unit 53 detects the deformation of the first paint supply roller 1 and / or the second paint supply roller 10. The deformation of the first paint supply roller 1 and / or the second paint supply roller 10 is generated, for example, by heat. Specifically, the heat from the paint 4 which may be at a high temperature, the frictional heat when mixing the paint 4 by rotation or when pulling it out from the narrow gap G, the heat generated by the first motor M1 and / or the second motor M2, etc., and the heat due to the outside air temperature of the installation environment, etc. can cause the first paint supply roller 1 and / or the second paint supply roller 10 to deform. Also, the first paint supply roller 1 and / or the second paint supply roller 10 can be deformed by other arbitrary factors, for example, mechanical wear and damage.

[0046] Such a deformation of the first paint supply roller 1 and / or the second paint supply roller 10 causes fluctuations in the gap G which is the source of the paint 4 supply, ultimately resulting in undesirable deformation of the paint film 41 applied onto the object to be coated 3. Therefore, the deformation detection unit 53 may indirectly detect the deformation of the first paint supply roller 1 and / or the second paint supply roller 10 through measuring the shape of the paint 4 (i.e., the paint film 41) after being supplied by the first paint supply roller 1 and the second paint supply roller 10 and applied to the object to be coated 3.

[0047] Specifically, as schematically shown in FIG. 3, a sensor S based on any principle such as a camera for measuring the shape of the paint film 41 such as its thickness (film thickness) and width is used. The deformation detection unit 53 may compare the shape (film thickness, etc.) of the paint film 41 measured through the sensor S with the reference shape (reference film thickness, etc.) of the paint film 41 which may be commanded by the paint shape command unit 533, and detect the deformation of the paint film 41 as the deviation therebetween. This function is schematically illustrated as the paint shape measurement unit 531 which is a sub-block of the deformation detection unit 53. Further, the deformation detection unit 53 converts the deformation of the paint film 41 detected through the paint shape measurement unit 531 into fluctuations in the gap G which is its source, and thus into the deformation of the first paint supply roller 1 and / or the second paint supply roller 10. Note that part or all of this conversion may be borne by the compensation amount calculation unit 54 described later.

[0048] As described above, the first rotational speed of the coating roller 1 as the first paint supply roller may be set to be higher than the second rotational speed of the second paint supply roller 10. Thus, when the rotational speeds of the first paint supply roller 1 and the second paint supply roller 10 are significantly different, the frequency separation unit 532 which is a sub-block of the deformation detection unit 53 can individually detect the respective deformations of the first paint supply roller 1 and the second paint supply roller 10.

[0049] Figure 4 schematically shows an example of individual detection of deformation of each paint supply roller by the frequency separation unit 532. In this figure, "Roller 1" represents the first paint supply roller 1, and "Roller 2" represents the second paint supply roller 10. Figure 4A shows an example of the time-dependent variation in the film thickness of the paint film 41 measured by the sensor S or the paint shape measuring unit 531. In this example, the film thickness fluctuates irregularly because both roller 1 and roller 2 are deformed.

[0050] The frequency separation unit 532 separates the measurement result of the shape of the coating film 41 (paint 4) as shown in Figure 4A into a first frequency component (roller 1 component) corresponding to the first speed of the first paint supply roller 1 and a second frequency component (roller 2 component) corresponding to the second speed of the second paint supply roller 10, using Fourier transform or the like. Figure 4B schematically shows the roller 1 component and roller 2 component separated by the frequency separation unit 532 in the same time domain as Figure 4A. As illustrated in Figure 4B, the roller 1 component and roller 2 component appear as periodic waveforms with different periods. The relatively short period of the roller 1 component corresponds to the relatively large first speed of the first paint supply roller 1, and the relatively long period of the roller 2 component corresponds to the relatively small second speed of the second paint supply roller 10.

[0051] The fluctuations in each period of the roller 1 component represent the effect of the deformation of the first paint supply roller 1 on the film thickness of the paint film 41 during one rotation of the first paint supply roller 1 (i.e., while the first rotation angle θ1 changes from 0° to 360°). This can also be interpreted as the effect of the deformation of the first paint supply roller 1 on the gap G, which is the source of the paint 4, at each value of the first rotation angle θ1. In this way, the frequency separation unit 532 visualizes the effect of the deformation of the first paint supply roller 1 at each first rotation angle θ1 (i.e., the deformation at each point on the outer surface of the first paint supply roller 1) on the gap G and / or film thickness. While the aforementioned recording unit 52 pre-records the displacement of the first paint supply roller 1 at each first rotation angle θ1 (the fluctuation on the gap G when there is no deformation of the first paint supply roller 1), the frequency separation unit 532 detects the fluctuations that the deformation of the first paint supply roller 1 at each first rotation angle θ1 has on the gap G.

[0052] Similarly, the fluctuations in each period of the two roller components represent the effect of the deformation of the second paint supply roller 10 on the film thickness of the paint film 41 during one rotation of the second paint supply roller 10 (i.e., while the second rotation angle θ2 changes from 0° to 360°). This can also be interpreted as the effect of the deformation of the second paint supply roller 10 on the gap G, which is the source of the paint 4, at each value of the second rotation angle θ2. In this way, the frequency separation unit 532 visualizes the effect of the deformation of the second paint supply roller 10 at each second rotation angle θ2 (i.e., the deformation at each point on the outer surface of the second paint supply roller 10) on the gap G and / or film thickness. While the aforementioned recording unit 52 pre-records the displacement of the second paint supply roller 10 at each second rotation angle θ2 (the fluctuations affecting the gap G when there is no deformation of the second paint supply roller 10), the frequency separation unit 532 detects the fluctuations affecting the gap G due to the deformation of the second paint supply roller 10 at each second rotation angle θ2.

[0053] As described above, the frequency separation unit 532 indirectly detects the deformation of the first paint supply roller 1 (or the fluctuations it has on the gap G) based on the first frequency component (roller 1 component), and indirectly detects the deformation of the second paint supply roller 10 (or the fluctuations it has on the gap G) based on the second frequency component (roller 2 component).

[0054] In the above example, the deformation detection unit 53 detected the deformation of the first paint supply roller 1 and / or the second paint supply roller 10 based on the measurement of the film thickness of the paint film 41 by the sensor S. However, the deformation of the first paint supply roller 1 and / or the second paint supply roller 10 may be detected through other measuring means. For example, a displacement meter or positioning meter such as a first laser displacement meter L1 that can directly measure the deformation of the first paint supply roller 1 using laser light, or a second laser displacement meter L2 that can directly measure the deformation of the second paint supply roller 10 using laser light may be used. It is preferable that the deformation measurement results from such a displacement meter or positioning meter are recorded in association with the measurement results of the first rotation angle θ1 and the second rotation angle θ2 by the first encoder E1 and the second encoder E2.

[0055] Furthermore, the deformation detection unit 53 may utilize a first temperature sensor T1 for measuring the temperature of the first paint supply roller 1 and / or a second temperature sensor T2 for measuring the temperature of the second paint supply roller 10 in order to detect thermal deformation of the first paint supply roller 1 and / or the second paint supply roller 10. Specifically, the deformation detection unit 53 can estimate the deformation of each roller from the measured roller temperature or ambient temperature based on the material (e.g., coefficient of thermal expansion) and shape of the first paint supply roller 1 and / or the second paint supply roller 10.

[0056] The compensation amount calculation unit 54 calculates a compensation amount to compensate for the complex fluctuations in gap G, film thickness, etc., caused by the deformation (preferably per rotation angle θ) of the first paint supply roller 1 and / or the second paint supply roller 10 detected by the deformation detection unit 53 and the displacement of the first paint supply roller 1 and / or the second paint supply roller 10 per rotation angle θ, which has been previously recorded by the recording unit 52.

[0057] The compensation amount may be, for example, a compensation amount for the gap G. In this case, the recording unit 52 provides the displacement, which is the change in the gap G for each rotation angle θ when there is no deformation in the first paint supply roller 1 and / or the second paint supply roller 10, and the deformation detection unit 53 provides the change in the gap G for each rotation angle θ due to the deformation detected for the first paint supply roller 1 and / or the second paint supply roller 10. Therefore, the compensation amount calculation unit 54 calculates a compensation amount for each rotation angle θ that cancels out the sum of these two types of gap G changes.

[0058] In this case, the compensation drive unit 55 drives the first paint supply roller 1 and / or the second paint supply roller 10 in a direction intersecting the rotation axis (such as the first displacement X1 and / or second displacement X2 described above, in the horizontal and / or vertical directions in the plane of the paper in Figure 3) based on the compensation amount for each rotation angle θ calculated by the compensation amount calculation unit 54 using the compensation drive motor MC. As a result of this compensation drive of the first paint supply roller 1 and / or the second paint supply roller 10, the gap G from which the paint 4 is drawn is maintained within a desired range, and the thickness of the coating film 41 applied to the object to be coated 3 is also maintained within a desired range.

[0059] However, there is a discrepancy between the timing of the compensation drive by the compensation drive unit 55 or the compensation drive motor MC and the timing of the deformation detection by the deformation detection unit 53 or the sensor S, etc., which forms the basis of the compensation amount. To eliminate the effects of such a time difference, for example, it is preferable that the compensation amount based on the deformation detected by the deformation detection unit 53 at a certain rotation angle θ is applied by the compensation drive unit 55 or the compensation drive motor MC at the timing when the paint supply roller to be compensated reaches that rotation angle θ.

[0060] As previously described with respect to the frequency separation unit 532, the deformation of the first paint supply roller 1 at each first rotation angle θ1 and the deformation of the second paint supply roller 10 at each second rotation angle θ2 can be detected independently of each other. Therefore, in the calculation of the compensation amount in the compensation amount calculation unit 54, the compensation amount for the first paint supply roller 1 and the compensation amount for the second paint supply roller 10 can be calculated independently of each other. For example, if at a certain timing when compensatory drive is to be performed the first rotation angle θ1 is 30° and the second angle θ2 is 200°, the compensation amount calculation unit 54 can independently calculate the compensation amount for the first rotation angle θ1 of 30° and the compensation amount for the second rotation angle θ2 of 200°. When the first paint supply roller 1 and the second paint supply roller 10 rotate at different rotational speeds or rotational speeds, their respective rotation angles θ1 and θ2 advance at different paces, so being able to independently calculate the compensation amount for each roller in this way is extremely advantageous.

[0061] As described above, when compensation amounts are calculated for each of the first paint supply roller 1 and the second paint supply roller 10, they may be applied to each of the compensation drive motors MC that may be provided for each roller. In this case, both the first paint supply roller 1 and the second paint supply roller 10 are compensated and driven by their respective compensation amounts by their respective compensation drive motors MC. On the other hand, even when compensation amounts are calculated for each of the first paint supply roller 1 and the second paint supply roller 10, the compensation drive motor MC to which they are applied may be provided for only one of the first paint supply roller 1 and the second paint supply roller 10. Such an integrated compensation drive motor MC unifies the compensation amounts for each of the first paint supply roller 1 and the second paint supply roller 10 to the compensation amount for the paint supply roller on which the compensation drive motor MC is provided (for example, by swapping the signs of the compensation amounts for the other paint supply roller), sums them up, and compensates and drives that paint supply roller.

[0062] The type of compensating drive motor MC is arbitrary, but for precision applications where control of a gap G on the order of μm is required, piezoelectric elements are considered preferable. Alternatively, depending on the required precision and cost, any type of motor or an electrically driven mechanical ball screw may be used as the compensating drive motor MC.

[0063] The compensation amount calculated by the compensation amount calculation unit 54 may be, for example, a compensation amount for the relative speed of the transport roller 30 and the coating roller 1. In this case, the relative speed adjustment unit 56 adjusts the relative speed of the transport roller 30 and the coating roller 1 (i.e., the transport speed of the object to be coated 3 relative to the rotation speed of the coating roller 1) according to the rotation angle θ of the first paint supply roller 1 and / or the second paint supply roller 10, so as to compensate for the combined fluctuations due to deformation (deformation detection unit 53) and displacement (recording unit 52) ​​of the shape of the paint 4 (coating film 41) after it has been supplied by the first paint supply roller 1 and the second paint supply roller 10 and applied to the object to be coated 3.

[0064] The relative speed adjustment unit 56 may apply the compensation amount only to the first motor M1 that rotates the coating roller 1, or to the transport motor M0 that rotates the transport roller 30, or it may divide the compensation amount and apply it to both the first motor M1 and the transport motor M0. As a result of such relative speed compensation of the first motor M1 and / or the transport motor M0, the thickness of the coating film 41 applied to the object to be coated 3 is maintained within a desired range.

[0065] However, there is a discrepancy between the timing of relative speed compensation by the relative speed adjustment unit 56 and the timing of deformation detection by the deformation detection unit 53 or sensor S, etc., which forms the basis of the compensation amount. To eliminate the effects of such a time difference, for example, it is preferable that the compensation amount based on the deformation detected by the deformation detection unit 53 at a certain rotation angle θ is applied by the relative speed adjustment unit 56 at the timing when the paint 4 that has passed through the gap G between the first paint supply roller 1 and the second paint supply roller 10 at that rotation angle θ (i.e., the paint 4 affected by the deformation) reaches the coating position between the first paint supply roller 1 and the transport roller 30. In this case as well, as described above, the advantage of being able to calculate the compensation amount for the first paint supply roller 1 and the compensation amount for the second paint supply roller 10 independently in the calculation of the compensation amount in the compensation amount calculation unit 54 can be enjoyed.

[0066] As a variation of the above embodiment, the deformation of the first paint supply roller 1 and / or the second paint supply roller 10 for each rotation angle θ detected by the deformation detection unit 53, and the compensation amount for each rotation angle θ of the first paint supply roller 1 and / or the second paint supply roller 10 calculated by the compensation amount calculation unit 54, may be recorded in the recording unit 52. By utilizing the information centrally recorded in the recording unit 52 in this way, it becomes unnecessary to keep the deformation detection unit 53 and the compensation amount calculation unit 54 running at all times. For example, by storing the measured values ​​from various sensors such as sensor S, temperature sensors T1 and T2, and laser displacement meters L1 and L2, and the compensation amounts calculated by the compensation amount calculation unit 54 for each rotation angle θ1 and θ2 of the first paint supply roller 1 and the second paint supply roller 10 in the recording unit 52 in the form of a table, processing by the deformation detection unit 53 and the compensation amount calculation unit 54 can be omitted for the range covered by the table.

[0067] The present disclosure has been described above based on embodiments. Various modifications are possible for each component and each combination of processes in the exemplary embodiments, and it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that such modifications are included within the scope of the present disclosure.

[0068] The configuration, operation, and function of each device and method described in the embodiments can be realized by hardware resources or software resources, or by the cooperation of hardware resources and software resources. Hardware resources include, for example, processors, ROMs, RAMs, and various integrated circuits. Software resources include, for example, operating systems and application programs.

[0069] This disclosure relates to a coating control device, etc.

[0070] 1. First paint supply roller (coating roller), 2. Coating device, 3. Object to be coated, 4. Paint, 5. Compensation device, 10. Second paint supply roller, 30. Conveyor roller, 41. Paint film, 51. Rotation angle acquisition unit, 52. Recording unit, 53. Deformation detection unit, 54. Compensation amount calculation unit, 55. Compensation drive unit, 56. Relative speed adjustment unit, 531. Paint shape measurement unit, 532. Frequency separation unit.

Claims

1. A coating control device comprising: a deformation detection unit that detects deformation of a paint supply roller that is supplied with paint to its outer surface and rotates, drawing the paint out from the gap between it and other opposing members; a displacement recording unit that pre-records the displacement of the paint supply roller for each rotation angle; and a compensation drive unit that drives the paint supply roller in a direction intersecting the rotation axis according to the rotation angle of the paint supply roller in order to compensate for the combined fluctuation of the gap caused by the deformation and displacement.

2. The coating control device according to claim 1, wherein the paint supply roller comprises a first paint supply roller and a second paint supply roller facing each other across the gap, the deformation detection unit detects the deformation of at least one of the first paint supply roller and the second paint supply roller, the displacement recording unit pre-records the displacement for each rotation angle of at least one of the first paint supply roller and the second paint supply roller, and the compensation drive unit drives at least one of the first paint supply roller and the second paint supply roller in a direction intersecting the rotation axis to compensate for the combined fluctuation of the gap due to the deformation and displacement.

3. The coating control device according to claim 2, wherein the deformation detection unit detects the deformation of both the first paint supply roller and the second paint supply roller, the displacement recording unit pre-records the displacement of both the first paint supply roller and the second paint supply roller for each rotation angle, and the compensation drive unit drives at least one of the first paint supply roller and the second paint supply roller in a direction intersecting the rotation axis according to the rotation angles of both the first paint supply roller and the second paint supply roller to compensate for the combined fluctuation of the gap due to the deformation and displacement.

4. The coating control device according to claim 2, wherein the compensation drive unit drives only one of the first paint supply roller and the second paint supply roller in a direction intersecting the rotation axis in order to compensate for the combined fluctuation of the gap due to the deformation and displacement.

5. The coating control device according to any one of claims 2 to 4, wherein the deformation detection unit indirectly detects deformation of the paint supply roller by measuring the shape of the paint after it has been supplied by the paint supply roller and applied to the object to be coated.

6. The coating control device according to claim 5, wherein the first paint supply roller and the second paint supply roller rotate at different first and second speeds, respectively, the deformation detection unit separates the measurement result of the shape of the paint into a first frequency component corresponding to the first speed and a second frequency component corresponding to the second speed, detects deformation of the first paint supply roller based on the first frequency component, and detects deformation of the second paint supply roller based on the second frequency component.

7. The coating control device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the deformation detection unit detects deformation of the paint supply roller due to heat.

8. The coating control device according to claim 7, wherein the deformation detection unit is a temperature sensor for measuring the temperature of the paint supply roller.

9. A coating control device comprising: a deformation detection unit that detects deformation of a paint supply roller that is supplied with paint to its outer surface and rotates, drawing the paint out from the gap between it and other opposing members; a displacement recording unit that pre-records the displacement of the paint supply roller for each rotation angle; and a relative speed adjustment unit that adjusts the transport speed of the object to be coated relative to the rotation speed of the paint supply roller according to the rotation angle, in order to compensate for the combined variation in the shape of the paint after it has been supplied by the paint supply roller and applied to the object to be coated due to the deformation and the displacement.

10. A coating apparatus comprising: a conveying unit for conveying an object to be coated; and a coating control device according to any one of claims 1 to 4 for controlling the application of paint to the object to be coated, wherein the coating apparatus applies the paint to the object to be coated.

11. A roller deformation detection device for detecting deformation of a first paint supply roller and a second paint supply roller that supply paint to their outer surfaces and rotate, and pull the paint out from the gap therebetween, comprising: a first paint supply roller that rotates at a first speed; a paint shape measuring unit that measures the shape of the paint supplied by the second paint supply roller that rotates at a second speed different from the first speed and applied to an object to be coated; and a frequency separation unit that separates the measurement result of the shape of the paint into a first frequency component corresponding to the first speed and a second frequency component corresponding to the second speed, indirectly detects the deformation of the first paint supply roller based on the first frequency component, and indirectly detects the deformation of the second paint supply roller based on the second frequency component.

12. A coating method comprising: detecting the deformation of a paint supply roller that is supplied with paint to its outer surface and rotates, drawing the paint out from the gap between it and other opposing members; pre-recording the displacement of the paint supply roller for each rotation angle; and driving the paint supply roller in a direction intersecting the rotation axis according to the rotation angle of the paint supply roller in order to compensate for the combined fluctuation of the gap caused by the deformation and displacement.

13. A coating method comprising: detecting the deformation of a paint supply roller that is supplied with paint to its outer surface and rotates, drawing the paint out from the gap between it and other opposing members; pre-recording the displacement of the paint supply roller for each rotation angle; and adjusting the transport speed of the object to be coated relative to the rotation speed of the paint supply roller according to the rotation angle, so as to compensate for the combined variation in the shape of the paint after it has been supplied by the paint supply roller and applied to the object to be coated due to the deformation and displacement.

14. A roller deformation detection method for detecting deformation of a first paint supply roller and a second paint supply roller that supply paint to their outer surfaces and rotate, and draw the paint out from the gap between them, the method comprising: measuring the shape of the paint supplied by the first paint supply roller rotating at a first speed and the second paint supply roller rotating at a second speed different from the first speed, and after the paint has been applied to an object to be coated; and separating the measurement result of the shape of the paint into a first frequency component corresponding to the first speed and a second frequency component corresponding to the second speed, indirectly detecting the deformation of the first paint supply roller based on the first frequency component, and indirectly detecting the deformation of the second paint supply roller based on the second frequency component.

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