Electron beam irradiation system and workpiece conveyance device

Abstract

An electron beam irradiation system (1) processes a linear workpiece (2) by irradiating the workpiece (2) with an electron beam from an electron beam irradiation device (3) while conveying the workpiece (2) by a workpiece conveyance device (4). The workpiece conveyance device (4) is provided with a heat generation suppression member (23) for a bearing as a heat generation suppression member (22) for a bearing which rotatably supports shaft parts of a pair of rotating bodies (7). The heat generation suppression member (23) for a bearing has: a cover (24) for covering at least a portion of the bearing; and a cooling unit (25) which is disposed inside the cover (24) and cools the surroundings.

Description

Electron beam irradiation system and workpiece conveying device

[0001] The present disclosure relates to an electron beam irradiation system and a workpiece conveying device.

[0002] Conventionally, as disclosed in Patent Document 1, an electron beam processing apparatus that performs a target process on a workpiece by winding the workpiece, such as an electric wire coated with a synthetic resin, around a pair of pulley groups of a capstan apparatus and irradiating an electron beam while rotating the workpiece is well known. In the pulley groups, a rotating shaft spanned across a plurality of pulleys is rotatably supported on the platform of a base frame via bearings. When the electron beam is irradiated onto the workpiece, the electron beams that pass between the electric wires without striking the workpiece are captured by a beam catcher disposed between the pair of pulley groups.

[0003] Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2012-78261

[0004] Incidentally, not all electron beams that pass between the electric wires are absorbed by the beam catcher; a certain amount is reflected by the beam catcher and radiated to the surroundings as scattered electrons. When these scattered electrons reach a bearing, the energy of the electrons is consumed by the bearing, causing the bearing to generate heat. Therefore, there have been cases where this affects the service life of the bearing, or inhibits normal rotation of the pulley groups, thereby affecting the quality of the electric wire.

[0005] In order to solve this problem, for example, it is conceivable to dispose the main body portion of the conveying device such as the beam catcher away from directly below the electric wires. However, when this countermeasure is adopted, the size of the conveying device is increased, which in turn may lead to an increase in the installation space of the conveying device and an increase in device cost.

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

[0007] [1] An electron beam irradiation system for solving the above problem is a system for processing a linear workpiece by irradiating it with an electron beam from an electron beam irradiation device while transporting the workpiece by a workpiece transport device, wherein the workpiece transport device includes a heat suppression member having a cover that covers at least a part of the heat suppression target and a cooling unit disposed inside the cover and cooling the surrounding area, and the heat suppression member is provided on at least one of a pair of rotating bodies that transport the wrapped workpiece by rotation as the heat suppression target and a bearing that rotatably supports the shaft portion of the pair of rotating bodies as the heat suppression target.

[0008] In this configuration, a heat-suppressing member having a cooling section inside a cover is provided on the heat-suppressing target, which is at least one of the bearing and the rotating body. Therefore, when processing a workpiece with an electron beam irradiated from an electron beam irradiation device, even if the heat-suppressing target may heat up due to the electron beam scattered around the beam catcher, for example, the simple structure of covering the heat-suppressing target with a cover having a cooling section inside suppresses the temperature rise of the heat-suppressing target. Thus, it is possible to suppress the temperature rise of the heat-suppressing target without increasing the size of the device.

[0009] [2] In the electron beam irradiation system described in [1] above, the workpiece transport device further comprises a beam catcher that captures the electron beam that has passed through the gap between adjacent workpieces, and the heat generation suppression member is provided at a distance from the beam catcher.

[0010] [3] In the electron beam irradiation system described in [1] or [2] above, the cooling unit is a cooling water pipe through which cooling water that absorbs ambient heat flows. With this configuration, it is possible to efficiently suppress the temperature rise of the heat-generating target by using cooling water with a high cooling effect.

[0011] [4] In the electron beam irradiation system described in [2] above, the heat suppression member is a bearing heat suppression member for suppressing heat generation of the bearing, the cover of the bearing heat suppression member has a plurality of wall portions that cover the bearing, and the cooling portion is arranged on one of the plurality of wall portions that faces the beam catcher of the workpiece transport device. With this configuration, since the heat suppression member is a bearing heat suppression member, it is possible to suppress heat generation of the bearing by this bearing heat suppression member. In addition, since the cooling portion of the bearing heat suppression member is arranged between the beam catcher and the bearing, it is possible to efficiently absorb scattered electrons reflected by the beam catcher, for example, in the cooling portion. Therefore, it contributes even more to suppressing heat generation of the bearing.

[0012] [5] In the electron beam irradiation system described in [4] above, the cooling unit is positioned opposite two or more of the multiple wall sections. This configuration makes it possible to widen the cooling range of the cooling unit, which further contributes to suppressing heat generation in the bearing.

[0013] [6] In the electron beam irradiation system described in [4] or [5] above, each of the pair of rotating bodies has a first winding portion and a second winding portion by being divided in the middle of the axial direction, and the bearings are arranged at both ends of the shaft portion and between the first winding portion and the second winding portion, and are covered by the bearing heat suppression member. With this configuration, even if bearings are provided not only at both ends of the shaft portion of the rotating body but also in the middle of the shaft portion, it is possible to suppress the heat generation of each bearing by providing a bearing heat suppression member for each bearing.

[0014] [7] In the electron beam irradiation system described in any of [1] to [6] above, the heat generation suppression member is a heat generation suppression member for a rotating body provided on at least one of the pair of rotating bodies, the workpiece is stretched across the pair of rotating bodies in a figure-eight shape so as to have a cross-shaped intersection between the pair of rotating bodies, and the heat generation suppression member for a rotating body is positioned in the space formed between the pair of rotating bodies and the intersection. With this configuration, since the heat generation suppression member is a heat generation suppression member for a rotating body, it is possible to suppress the heat generation of the rotating body by this heat generation suppression member for a rotating body. Furthermore, the heat generation suppression member for a rotating body is positioned to effectively utilize the intersection that occurs in the workpiece stretched across the rotating bodies in a figure-eight shape. Therefore, even if a heat generation suppression member for a rotating body is provided, the device does not become larger.

[0015] [8] A workpiece transport device that solves the above problem is a device that transports a linear workpiece while irradiating it with an electron beam from an electron beam irradiation device, and comprises a heat suppression member having a cover that covers at least a part of the heat suppression target and a cooling unit disposed inside the cover and cooling the surrounding area, wherein the heat suppression member is provided on at least one of a pair of rotating bodies that transport the wrapped workpiece by rotation as the heat suppression target and a bearing that rotatably supports the shaft portion of the pair of rotating bodies as the heat suppression target. With this configuration, the same operation and effect as in [1] above can be obtained.

[0016] [9] The workpiece transport device described in [8] above further comprises a beam catcher for capturing the electron beam that has passed through the gap between adjacent workpieces, and the heat generation suppression member is provided at a distance from the beam catcher.

[0017] This disclosure makes it possible to suppress the temperature rise of the heat-generating target without increasing the size of the device.

[0018] This is a perspective view showing the configuration of the electron beam irradiation system according to the first embodiment. This is a perspective view showing the configuration of the rotating body. This is an exploded perspective view showing the configuration of the bearing unit. This is a perspective view showing the appearance of the heat-reducing member for the bearing. This is a perspective view showing the appearance of the heat-reducing member for the bearing. This is a cross-sectional view showing the structure of the heat-reducing member for the bearing. This is a cross-sectional view showing the structure of the heat-reducing member for the bearing. This is a perspective view showing the configuration of the electron beam irradiation system according to the second embodiment. This is an explanatory diagram showing the structure of the heat-reducing member for the rotating body.

[0019] (First Embodiment) The first embodiment of the present disclosure will be described below. (Electron Beam Irradiation System 1) As shown in Figure 1, the electron beam irradiation system 1 comprises an electron beam irradiation device 3 that irradiates a linear workpiece 2 with an electron beam, and a workpiece transport device 4 that transports the workpiece 2 while it is being irradiated with an electron beam. The electron beam irradiation system 1 performs processing on the workpiece 2 by irradiating the workpiece 2 with an electron beam from the electron beam irradiation device 3 while transporting the workpiece 2 which is wrapped around the workpiece transport device 4.

[0020] The object to be processed 2 is, for example, an electric wire whose surface is coated with synthetic resin or the like. The processing using the electron beam irradiation system 1 is a crosslinking treatment that improves various properties such as heat resistance and thermal shrinkage by irradiating polymer materials such as electric wire coating materials and tubes with an electron beam. Tubes are used, for example, as cover members for electric wire joints. The processing using the electron beam irradiation system 1 may also be, for example, a curing treatment for coatings or a sterilization treatment for medical products.

[0021] The electron beam irradiation device 3 generates thermionic electrons in the filament within the vacuum chamber by passing an electric current through the filament placed in the vacuum chamber and heating the filament. The electron beam irradiation device 3 processes the workpiece 2 by irradiating the outside of the vacuum chamber with these thermionic electrons as an electron beam. The electron beam scanning method of the electron beam irradiation device 3 may be an area beam type having multiple filaments necessary for the irradiation width, or it may be a scan type in which an electron beam extracted from a single filament, accelerated, and expanded to the required irradiation width by a scanning coil.

[0022] (Processing Material Conveyor Device 4) As shown in Figure 1, the processing material conveyor device 4 includes a device frame 6 that constitutes the frame of the processing material conveyor device 4. The processing material conveyor device 4 includes a pair of rotating bodies 7 that are rotatably supported with respect to the device frame 6. The pair of rotating bodies 7 are wrapped around the processing material 2 and convey the processing material 2 by rotation during electron beam irradiation. In this way, the processing material conveyor device 4 is a device, a so-called capstan device, that irradiates the processing material 2 with an electron beam as uniformly as possible by wrapping a linear processing material 2 in a cross shape around the pair of rotating bodies 7 and conveying the processing material 2 by the rotation of the pair of rotating bodies 7 during electron beam irradiation.

[0023] The pair of rotating bodies 7 are designated as the first rotating body 8 and the second rotating body 9. In the case of a vertical configuration where the pair of rotating bodies 7 are arranged vertically, the first rotating body 8 is located on the lower side and the second rotating body 9 is located on the upper side.

[0024] (Rotating body 7) As shown in Figure 2, each of the pair of rotating bodies 7 has a shaft portion 10 located at the center of the rotating body 7, and a winding portion 11 that is integrally rotatably attached to the shaft portion 10 for winding a linear workpiece 2. The winding portion 11 has a first winding portion 11a located on one side of the shaft portion 10, with the shaft portion 10 having a boundary near the center of the shaft portion 10, and a second winding portion 11b located on the other side of the shaft portion 10. The rotating body 7 may be a pulley type with multiple pulley pieces arranged in the axial direction (Y-axis direction in Figure 2), or it may be a drum type composed of a single member.

[0025] As shown in Figure 1, the workpiece 2 includes a group of wires wound around the first winding portion 11a of the first rotating body 8 and the first winding portion 11a of the second rotating body 9, and a group of wires wound around the second winding portion 11b of the first rotating body 8 and the second winding portion 11b of the second rotating body 9. In this example, the workpiece 2 is stretched across the first rotating body 8 and the second rotating body 9 in a figure-eight shape. Therefore, the workpiece 2 is wound around the first rotating body 8 and the second rotating body 9 such that there is a cross-shaped intersection 12 between them.

[0026] (Beam catcher 14) As shown in Figure 1, the workpiece transport device 4 is equipped with a beam catcher 14 that captures electron beams passing through the gaps between adjacent workpieces 2. The beam catcher 14 has, for example, a plurality of pipes 15 arranged along the height direction (Z-axis direction in Figure 1) of the device frame 6. Cooling water is supplied inside these pipes 15 to suppress the heat generation of the pipes 15. When an electron beam is irradiated and the kinetic energy of the electron beam is converted into thermal energy, the beam catcher 14 suppresses the heat generation by using the cooling water flowing inside the pipes 15.

[0027] The pipes 15 are arranged such that, for example, both sides are inclined symmetrically with the center of the pipe arrangement direction as the apex. That is, the pipes 15 are arranged to follow the workpiece 2 that is wound in a figure-eight shape around a pair of rotating bodies 7. As a result, the pipes 15 are positioned in close proximity to the workpiece 2 that is wound in a figure-eight shape around a pair of rotating bodies 7. Therefore, the electron beam is kept from coming into contact with the air as little as possible, thus suppressing ozone generation and energy loss.

[0028] (Bearing Unit 16) As shown in Figure 2, the shaft portion 10 of the first rotating body 8 is supported by the device frame 6 via a bearing unit 16 that allows the shaft portion 10 to rotate smoothly. The bearing unit 16 includes a first bearing unit 16a that rotatably supports one end of the shaft portion 10, a second bearing unit 16b that rotatably supports the other end of the shaft portion 10, and a third bearing unit 16c that rotatably supports the shaft portion 10 between the first winding portion 11a and the second winding portion 11b. These bearing units 16 are mounted on a seat portion 17 formed on the device frame 6. Although not shown in the figures, the shaft portion 10 of the second rotating body 9 is also rotatably supported by the device frame 6 in a similar structure to the shaft portion 10 of the first rotating body 8.

[0029] (Bearing 18) As shown in Figure 3, the bearing unit 16 includes a bearing 18 that allows the shaft portion 10 to rotate smoothly relative to it, a lower bearing housing 19 that houses the lower part of the bearing 18, and an upper bearing housing 20 that houses the upper part of the bearing 18. The bearing 18 is, for example, a radial bearing. The radial bearing may be either a ball bearing or a roller bearing. The upper bearing housing 20 is fixed to the lower bearing housing 19 by fastening members such as bolts (not shown) so as to sandwich the bearing 18 between the upper bearing housing 20 and the lower bearing housing 19. The lower bearing housing 19 is fixed to the seat portion 17 by fastening members such as bolts (not shown).

[0030] (Heat-Suppressing Member 22) As shown in Figure 1, the electron beam irradiation system 1 is equipped with a heat-suppressing member 22 that suppresses heat generation caused by electrons scattered when they hit the beam catcher 14 from the electron beam irradiated from the electron beam irradiation device 3. As shown in Figure 1, the heat-suppressing member 22 is provided at a distance from the beam catcher 14. In this example, the heat-suppressing member 22 is a bearing heat-suppressing member 23 that suppresses heat generation in the bearing 18. The bearing heat-suppressing member 23 is provided at a total of six locations: both ends of the first rotating body 8, between the first winding portion 11a and the second winding portion 11b of the first rotating body 8, both ends of the second rotating body 9, and between the first winding portion 11a and the second winding portion 11b of the second rotating body 9.

[0031] As shown in Figures 4 and 5, the heat suppression member 22 (bearing heat suppression member 23) has a cover 24 that covers at least a part of the heat to be suppressed, and a cooling unit 25 that is disposed inside the cover 24 and cools the surrounding area. In this example, the heat to be suppressed is at least the bearing 18, and specifically the bearing unit 16.

[0032] The cover 24 is formed in the shape of a bottomless box with an open bottom. The cover 24 has a plurality of wall portions 26 that cover the bearing 18. In this example, the wall portions 26 include an upper wall portion 26a that covers the bearing 18 from above, a first side wall portion 26b positioned on the front, a second side wall portion 26c facing the first side wall portion 26b, a third side wall portion 26d located on one side in the width direction of the cover 24 (Y-axis direction in Figure 4), and a fourth side wall portion 26e located on the other side in the width direction of the cover 24. The cover 24 has slits 27 in the third side wall portion 26d and the fourth side wall portion 26e to avoid interference with the shaft portion 10. In this example, these slits 27 have different shapes on the left and right sides to correspond to the outer shape of the bearing unit 16, but they may be the same shape. The cover 24 is made of metal, for example.

[0033] The bearing heat suppression member 23 is attached to a seat portion 17 that supports the lower bearing housing 19 in the device frame 6. Preferably, the bearing heat suppression member 23 is detachable from the seat portion 17. This detachable structure may be a known structure using fastening members such as bolts. However, the bearing heat suppression member 23 is not limited to a detachable structure; it may also be a non-detachable structure.

[0034] (Cooling section 25) As shown in Figures 4 and 5, the cooling section 25 is a cooling water pipe 29 through which cooling water that absorbs heat from the surroundings flows. In this example, the cooling water pipe 29 has a pipe body 30 which is the main part of the cooling function, an inlet 31 which is the inlet of cold water into the pipe body 30, and an outlet 32 ​​which is the outlet of cold water from the pipe body 30. The cooling water pipe 29 cools the surroundings with circulating cooling water that flows in from the inlet 31 and is discharged from the outlet 32.

[0035] The piping body 30 is formed in a shape that extends across the inner surface of the upper wall portion 26a and the inner surface of the first side wall portion 26b of the cover 24. In this way, the cooling portion 25 is positioned opposite two or more of the multiple wall portions 26. It is preferable that the cooling portion 25 be positioned on at least one of the multiple wall portions 26 of the cover 24 that faces the beam catcher 14. Specifically, in the case of the bearing heat suppression member 23 attached to the first rotating body 8, it is preferable that it be positioned on the inner surface of the upper wall portion 26a that faces the beam catcher 14.

[0036] As shown in Figures 6 and 7, the cooling section 25 is positioned to contact the inner surface of the cover 24 (wall portion 26), thereby creating a predetermined gap between it and the bearing unit 16. This prevents heat from the bearing unit 16 from being directly transferred to the cooling section 25. The cooling water piping 29 is exposed to the outside of the cover 24 through an opening 33 (see Figure 7) that penetrates the second side wall portion 26c of the cover 24. Cooling water supplied from the outside is supplied to the piping body 30 via the inlet portion 31 of the cooling water piping 29.

[0037] (Operation of the First Embodiment) Next, the operation of the electron beam irradiation system 1 and the workpiece transport device 4 of this embodiment will be described.

[0038] As shown in Figure 7, when the electron beam irradiation device 3 irradiates the workpiece 2 with an electron beam to process the workpiece 2, some electron beams pass through the gaps between adjacent workpieces 2. These electron beams are captured by the beam catcher 14 located on the back side of the workpiece 2. However, some of the electron beams are reflected by the beam catcher 14 and spread out into the surroundings as scattered electrons. When these scattered electrons reach the bearing 18, the bearing 18 consumes energy, which may cause the bearing 18 to heat up.

[0039] When the bearing 18 generates heat, the grease in the bearing 18 may evaporate, which can impede the smooth rotation of the pair of rotating bodies 7. If the smooth rotation of the rotating bodies 7 is hindered, it will affect the quality of the workpiece 2 after processing. Therefore, it is necessary to suppress the heat generation of the bearing 18.

[0040] In this example, as shown in Figures 6 and 7, a bearing heat suppression member 23 is attached to the workpiece transport device 4 so as to cover the bearing 18 (bearing unit 16). This bearing heat suppression member 23 is provided with a cooling section 25 (cooling water pipe 29) that cools the surrounding area. Therefore, the bearing 18 is constantly cooled by this cooling section 25. Consequently, even if the bearing 18 may generate heat due to scattered electrons from the beam catcher 14, the bearing 18 is cooled by the bearing heat suppression member 23, preventing the bearing 18 from becoming excessively hot. Thus, it is possible to make it less likely for the bearing 18 to deteriorate due to heat generation.

[0041] Furthermore, the bearing heat suppression member 23 has a structure that simply covers the bearing 18 (bearing unit 16) with a cover 24 that has a cooling section 25 inside. Therefore, it is possible to suppress the heat generation of the bearing 18 with the bearing heat suppression member 23, which is not a large component. Thus, it is possible to suppress the heat generation of the bearing 18 without increasing the size of the device.

[0042] Furthermore, in the case of the bearing heat suppression member 23 attached to the first rotating body 8, the cooling section 25 is positioned on the inner surface of the upper wall portion 26a of the cover 24 that faces the beam catcher 14. Therefore, it is possible to position the cooling section 25 between the beam catcher 14 and the bearing 18 (bearing unit 16), so that scattered electrons can be absorbed by the cooling section 25 on the path to the bearing 18. Thus, in the first rotating body 8, the bearing heat suppression member 23 makes it possible to efficiently suppress the heat generated by the bearing 18.

[0043] (Effect of the First Embodiment) According to the configuration of the present embodiment, the following effects can be obtained. (1.1) The electron beam irradiation system 1 processes a linear workpiece 2 by irradiating the workpiece 2 with an electron beam from an electron beam irradiation device 3 while conveying the linear workpiece 2 by a workpiece conveying device 4. The workpiece conveying device 4 includes a heat generation suppressing member for a bearing 23 as a heat generation suppressing member 22 for a bearing 18 which is a heat generation suppression target. The heat generation suppressing member for a bearing 23 comprises a cover 24 that covers at least a part of the bearing 18, and a cooling unit 25 disposed inside the cover 24 and cooling the surroundings.

[0044] According to this configuration, the bearing 18 which is a heat generation suppression target is provided with the heat generation suppressing member 22 (the heat generation suppressing member for a bearing 23) having the cooling unit 25 inside the cover 24. Therefore, when processing the workpiece 2 with the electron beam emitted from the electron beam irradiation device 3, even if the bearing 18 may generate heat due to, for example, electron beams scattered around the beam catcher 14, the temperature rise of the bearing 18 is suppressed by the simple structure of simply covering the bearing 18 with the cover 24 having the cooling unit 25 inside. Therefore, the temperature rise of the bearing 18 can be suppressed without increasing the size of the device.

[0045] (1.2) The cooling unit 25 is a cooling water pipe 29 through which cooling water that absorbs surrounding heat flows. According to this configuration, the temperature rise of the bearing 18 can be efficiently suppressed by the cooling water having a high cooling effect.

[0046] (1.3) The cover 24 of the heat generation suppressing member for a bearing 23 has a plurality of wall portions 26 covering the bearing 18. The cooling unit 25 is disposed on one of the plurality of wall portions that faces the beam catcher 14 of the workpiece conveying device 4 (upper wall portion 26a). According to this configuration, since the cooling unit 25 of the heat generation suppressing member for a bearing 23 is disposed between the beam catcher 14 and the bearing 18, for example, scattered electrons reflected by the beam catcher 14 can be efficiently absorbed by the cooling unit 25. Therefore, it further contributes to suppressing heat generation of the bearing 18.

[0047] (1.4) The cooling section 25 is disposed at a position facing two or more of the plurality of wall sections 26. According to this configuration, a wider cooling range can be secured by the cooling section 25, which further contributes to suppressing heat generation of the bearing 18.

[0048] (1.5) Each of the pair of rotating bodies 7 has a first winding section 11a and a second winding section 11b by being divided midway in the axial direction. The bearings 18 are disposed at both ends of the shaft section 10, disposed between the first winding section 11a and the second winding section 11b, and covered by the bearing heat generation suppressing member 23. According to this configuration, even in a structure where the bearings 18 are provided not only at both ends of the shaft section 10 of the rotating body 7 but also midway along the shaft section 10, heat generation of each bearing 18 can be suppressed by providing the bearing heat generation suppressing member 23 for each bearing 18.

[0049] (Second Embodiment) Next, a second embodiment will be described. The second embodiment is an example in which a heat generation suppressing member 22 different from the bearing heat generation suppressing member 23 described in the first embodiment is provided. Therefore, the same reference numerals are given to the same parts as those in the first embodiment, the description thereof is omitted, and only different parts will be described in detail.

[0050] (Rotating body heat generation suppressing member 36) As shown in FIG. 8 and FIG. 9, the electron beam irradiation system 1 (workpiece conveying device 4) includes, as the heat generation suppressing member 22, a rotating body heat generation suppressing member 36 provided on at least one (both in this example) of the pair of rotating bodies 7. The rotating body heat generation suppressing member 36 includes a first rotating body heat generation suppressing member 36a disposed to face the first rotating body 8, and a second rotating body heat generation suppressing member 36b disposed to face the second rotating body 9. As described above, the heat generation suppression target in this example is the rotating body 7, specifically the first rotating body 8 and the second rotating body 9.

[0051] The heat-suppressing member 36 for rotating bodies, like the heat-suppressing member 23 for bearings, has a cover 37 and a cooling section 38. The cover 37 is formed in a long rectangular parallelepiped shape along the width direction (Y-axis direction in Figure 8) of the device frame 6. At least one end of the cover 37 in the longitudinal direction is fixed to the device frame 6. The cooling section 38 is, for example, a roughly U-shaped pipe through which cooling water flows. At the connection point between the device frame 6 and the cover 37, the pipe is drawn out to the outside, and cooling water flows in and out from there.

[0052] As shown in Figure 9, the heat-suppressing member 36 for the rotating body is positioned in the space 39 formed between the pair of rotating bodies 7 and the intersection 12 of the workpiece 2. The first heat-suppressing member 36a for the rotating body is positioned in the first space 39a formed between the first rotating body 8 and the intersection 12. Therefore, the first heat-suppressing member 36a for the rotating body is positioned on the path of scattered electrons from the beam catcher 14 toward the first rotating body 8, specifically between the first rotating body 8 and the beam catcher 14.

[0053] Furthermore, the heat-suppressing member 36b for the second rotating body is positioned in the second space 39b created between the second rotating body 9 and the intersection 12. Therefore, the heat-suppressing member 36b for the second rotating body is positioned on the path of scattered electrons from the beam catcher 14 toward the second rotating body 9, specifically between the second rotating body 9 and the beam catcher 14.

[0054] (Operation of the second embodiment) As shown in Figure 9, the rotating body 7 is cooled by the heat-suppressing member 36 for the rotating body, which is positioned near the rotating body 7. Specifically, the heat generation of the first rotating body 8 is suppressed by the first heat-suppressing member 36a for the rotating body, and the heat generation of the second rotating body 9 is suppressed by the second heat-suppressing member 36b for the rotating body. Therefore, even if the rotating body 7 may generate heat due to scattered electrons from the beam catcher 14, the rotating body 7 will not generate excessive heat. As a result, the quality of the workpiece 2 wrapped around the rotating body 7 is less likely to be affected.

[0055] Furthermore, the heat-suppressing member 36 for the rotating body has a structure in which a part of the rotating body 7 is simply covered by a cover 37 with a cooling section 38 inside. Therefore, it is possible to keep the heat generation of the rotating body 7 low with the heat-suppressing member 36 for the rotating body, which is not a large component. Thus, it is possible to suppress the heat generation of the rotating body 7 without increasing the size of the device.

[0056] (Effects of the second embodiment) According to the configuration of this embodiment, in addition to the effects described in the first embodiment, the following effects can be obtained.

[0057] (2.1) The heat generation suppression member 22 is a heat generation suppression member 36 for rotating bodies provided on at least one (in this example, both) of the pair of rotating bodies 7. Therefore, the heat generation of the rotating bodies 7 can be suppressed by this heat generation suppression member 36 for rotating bodies.

[0058] (2.2) The workpiece 2 is stretched across a pair of rotating bodies 7 in a figure-eight shape, thereby having a cross-shaped intersection 12 between the pair of rotating bodies 7. The heat-suppressing member 36 for the rotating bodies is positioned in the space 39 formed between the pair of rotating bodies 7 and the intersection 12. With this configuration, the heat-suppressing member 36 for the rotating bodies is positioned by effectively utilizing the intersection 12 that occurs in the workpiece 2 stretched across the rotating bodies 7 in a figure-eight shape. Therefore, even with the heat-suppressing member 36 for the rotating bodies provided, the device does not become larger.

[0059] (Other Embodiments) This embodiment can be implemented with modifications as follows. This embodiment and the following modifications can be combined with each other to the extent that they do not contradict each other technically.

[0060] In the first embodiment, the heat-suppressing bearing member 23 provided on the bearing 18 of the first rotating body 8 and the heat-suppressing bearing member 23 provided on the bearing 18 of the second rotating body 9 may have different shapes. For example, the heat-suppressing bearing member 23 provided on the bearing 18 of the second rotating body 9 may have a shape in which a cooling water pipe 29 is arranged between the beam catcher 14 and the bearing 18 so as to have the same function as the heat-suppressing bearing member 23 provided on the bearing 18 of the first rotating body 8. Thus, the heat-suppressing bearing member 23 provided on the bearing 18 of the first rotating body 8 and the heat-suppressing bearing member 23 provided on the bearing 18 of the second rotating body 9 may have vertically symmetrical shapes.

[0061] - In the first embodiment, the cooling unit 25 may have the cooling water pipe 29 in direct contact with the bearing 18 (bearing unit 16). - In the second embodiment, the heat generation suppression member 36 for the rotating body is not limited to being placed in the space 39 created by crossing the workpiece 2, but may also be placed outside this space 39.

[0062] In the second embodiment, the electron beam irradiation system 1 is not limited to having both the bearing heat suppression member 23 and the rotating body heat suppression member 36, but may also have, for example, a configuration having only the rotating body heat suppression member 36.

[0063] - In each embodiment, the shape of the covers 24 and 37 is not limited to a rectangular shape, but may be, for example, hemispherical or have a curved surface in part. - In each embodiment, the piping of the cooling sections 25 and 38 may be formed in a shape that is alternately bent to the left and right, a so-called zigzag shape.

[0064] - In each embodiment, the piping shape of the cooling units 25 and 38 can be appropriately changed to various shapes along the required routing path. - In each embodiment, the cooling units 25 and 38 may be arranged on only one side of the plurality of wall sections 26, or on the entire surface of the plurality of wall sections 26.

[0065] In each embodiment, the cooling units 25 and 38 are not limited to piping, but may also be fans that cool the heat-generating object by blowing air. Thus, the cooling method is not limited to water cooling, but may also be air cooling.

[0066] - In each embodiment, the workpiece conveying device 4 is not limited to a vertical orientation in which the pair of rotating bodies 7 are aligned vertically, but may also be horizontal orientation in which the pair of rotating bodies 7 are aligned horizontally. - In each embodiment, the heat generation suppression member 22 is not limited to being provided on both the rotating body 7 and the bearing 18, but may be provided on at least one of them.

[0067] - In each embodiment, the bearing 18 is not limited to a radial bearing, but may also be a sliding bearing or a thrust bearing, for example. - In each embodiment, each of the pair of rotating bodies 7 may have a shape having only one winding portion 11.

[0068] In each embodiment, the Disclosure has been described in accordance with the examples, but is not limited to the structures of these embodiments and includes various modifications and variations within the equivalence range. The Disclosure also includes various combinations and forms, as well as combinations and forms of one, more, or fewer of these elements.

[0069] 1... Electron beam irradiation system 2... Workpiece 3... Electron beam irradiation device 4... Workpiece transport device 7... Rotating body 10... Shaft section 11... Winding section 11a... First winding section 11b... Second winding section 12... Intersection section 14... Beam catcher 18... Bearing 22... Heat suppression member 23... Heat suppression member for bearing 24... Cover 25... Cooling section 26... Wall section 29... Cooling water piping 36... Heat suppression member for rotating body 37... Cover 38... Cooling section 39... Space

Claims

1. An electron beam irradiation system for processing a linear workpiece by irradiating it with an electron beam from an electron beam irradiation device while transporting the workpiece by a workpiece transport device, wherein the workpiece transport device comprises a heat suppression member having a cover that covers at least a portion of the heat suppression target and a cooling unit disposed inside the cover and cooling the surrounding area, and the heat suppression member is provided on at least one of a pair of rotating bodies that transport the wrapped workpiece by rotation as the heat suppression target and a bearing that rotatably supports the shaft portion of the pair of rotating bodies as the heat suppression target.

2. The electron beam irradiation system according to claim 1, wherein the workpiece transport device further comprises a beam catcher for capturing the electron beam that has passed through the gap between adjacent workpieces, and the heat generation suppression member is provided at a distance from the beam catcher.

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

4. The electron beam irradiation system according to claim 2, wherein the heat generation suppression member is a bearing heat generation suppression member for suppressing heat generation of the bearing, the cover of the bearing heat generation suppression member has a plurality of wall portions that cover the bearing, and the cooling portion is arranged among the plurality of wall portions that face the beam catcher of the workpiece conveying device.

5. The electron beam irradiation system according to claim 4, wherein the cooling unit is positioned opposite two or more of the plurality of wall portions.

6. The electron beam irradiation system according to claim 4 or 5, wherein each of the pair of rotating bodies has a first winding portion and a second winding portion by being divided in the middle of the axial direction, and the bearings are arranged at both ends of the shaft portion and between the first winding portion and the second winding portion, and are covered by the bearing heat suppression member.

7. The electron beam irradiation system according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the heat-suppressing member is a heat-suppressing member for a rotating body provided on at least one of the pair of rotating bodies, the workpiece to be treated is stretched across the pair of rotating bodies in a figure-eight shape, thereby having a cross-shaped intersection between the pair of rotating bodies, and the heat-suppressing member for a rotating body is arranged in the space formed between the pair of rotating bodies and the intersection.

8. A workpiece transport device that transports a linear workpiece while irradiating it with an electron beam from an electron beam irradiation device, comprising a heat suppression member having a cover that covers at least a portion of the heat suppression target and a cooling unit disposed inside the cover and cooling the surrounding area, wherein the heat suppression member is provided on at least one of a pair of rotating bodies that transport the wrapped workpiece by rotation and which serve as the heat suppression target, and a bearing that serves as the heat suppression target and which rotatably supports the shaft portion of the pair of rotating bodies.

9. The workpiece conveying device further comprises a beam catcher for capturing the electron beam that has passed through the gap between adjacent workpieces, and the heat generation suppression member is provided at a distance from the beam catcher, as described in claim 8.

Images