CN112281135A

CN112281135A - Continuous coating equipment and continuous coating method

Info

Publication number: CN112281135A
Application number: CN202011218185.5A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 宗坚
Original assignee: Jiangsu Favored Nanotechnology Co Ltd
Current assignee: Jiangsu Favored Nanotechnology Co Ltd
Priority date: 2020-11-04
Filing date: 2020-11-04
Publication date: 2021-01-29

Abstract

The invention provides a continuous coating device and a continuous coating method, wherein the continuous coating device comprises an auxiliary cavity and a working cavity, a sample can be directly transported to the working cavity from the auxiliary cavity by pre-vacuumizing the auxiliary cavity, and the working cavity can be maintained at a preset vacuum degree because the working cavity does not need to be communicated with the external environment, so that the whole coating process is continuous.

Description

Continuous coating equipment and continuous coating method

Technical Field

The invention relates to the technical field of vacuum coating equipment, in particular to continuous coating equipment and a continuous coating method.

Background

Current vacuum coating equipment typically consists of a vacuum chamber and associated pumping and feeding systems, in which the sample to be treated is placed for subsequent processing. And the processed sample leaves the vacuum cavity, and then the next batch of samples to be processed is placed into the vacuum cavity, so that the processing of multiple batches of samples to be coated is completed.

The vacuum coating technology has a high requirement on the vacuum degree, which means that after a sample to be treated enters the vacuum cavity, the vacuum cavity needs to be vacuumized for a certain time, and after the treated sample leaves the vacuum cavity, the vacuum cavity needs to be vacuumized again to achieve the vacuum degree required by vacuum coating.

In addition, a rotating frame is generally arranged in the vacuum coating equipment to drive the sample to move, the moving rotating frame is favorable for stirring the raw material gas in the vacuum cavity to enable the gas in the vacuum cavity to be uniformly distributed on one hand, and drives the sample to move to enable the sample to be uniformly contacted with the gas in the vacuum cavity to enable the coating to be uniform on the other hand. However, when a single cavity causes a sample to enter and exit, the door needs to be opened and closed, so that the air pressure in the vacuum cavity rises, on one hand, the processing time of the vacuum coating equipment is prolonged, the production efficiency is reduced, on the other hand, the difference of the sample is possibly increased, and the quality of the final product is not facilitated. In detail, in a single coating process, most of the time is for waiting for the vacuum degree of the vacuum chamber of the vacuum coating apparatus to reach a preset value, the real coating time is short, and the distribution of the plasma in the vacuum chamber is not uniform, which affects the quality of the samples of the same batch.

Disclosure of Invention

An advantage of the present invention is to provide a continuous coating apparatus and a continuous coating method, in which the continuous coating apparatus can save time for vacuuming, thereby improving production efficiency.

Another advantage of the present invention is to provide a continuous coating apparatus and a continuous coating method, in which the continuous coating apparatus includes a working chamber and at least one auxiliary chamber may be formed, wherein the auxiliary chamber may be previously evacuated to reduce a time waiting for evacuation of the working chamber, wherein a sample may be placed in the auxiliary chamber and then transferred to the working chamber.

Another advantage of the present invention is to provide a continuous plating apparatus and a continuous plating method, wherein the number of the auxiliary chambers may be two, one is a front chamber and the other is a rear chamber, the front chamber is used for placing a sample to be processed and is controlled to a predetermined vacuum degree, so that the sample placed in the front chamber can be rapidly transferred to the working chamber, and the rear chamber is controlled to a predetermined vacuum degree for placing a sample after plating, so that the vacuum degree in the working chamber does not need to fluctuate greatly, thereby saving the control time for changing the vacuum degree of the working chamber.

Another advantage of the present invention is to provide a continuous coating apparatus and a continuous coating method, in which the number of the auxiliary chambers is at least two, and the positions of the front chamber and the rear chamber can be interchanged, thereby facilitating the continuous operation of the continuous coating apparatus.

Another advantage of the present invention is to provide a continuous plating apparatus and a continuous plating method, wherein the continuous plating apparatus provides a buffer chamber, wherein the working chamber is disposed in the buffer chamber, and the buffer chamber can provide a buffer for the working chamber and the outside.

According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a continuous coating apparatus adapted to coat a sample to be coated with a film, wherein the continuous coating apparatus comprises:

a discharge device;

a feeding device;

a vacuum-pumping device;

a working chamber, wherein the working chamber has a working chamber; and

at least one auxiliary chamber, wherein the auxiliary chamber is capable of forming an auxiliary chamber for transferring a sample, wherein the discharge device is configured to discharge electricity to the working chamber of the working chamber, wherein the feeding device is configured to feed the working chamber of the working chamber, and the working chamber and the auxiliary chamber are controllably connected to the vacuum pumping device by vacuum degree, wherein each of the auxiliary chamber and the working chamber has a closed state and a communication state therebetween and is operably configured to switch between the closed state and the communication state, and the communication state is a state in which sample transfer between the auxiliary chamber and the working chamber is capable of being performed and is kept closed from the outside, and the closed state is a state in which the auxiliary chamber and the working chamber are kept independent from each other, and wherein in the closed state, the auxiliary cavity is vacuumized in advance to be communicated with the working cavity to prepare for transferring the sample to be coated, and the auxiliary cavity is vacuumized in advance to be communicated with the working cavity to prepare for receiving the sample from the working cavity, so that the vacuum degree of the working cavity can be controlled within a preset range when the working cavity is changed between the closed state and the communicated state, and the working cavity can continuously work.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the working chamber has an inlet and an outlet, wherein the number of the auxiliary chambers is two, one of the auxiliary chambers is disposed at the inlet of the working chamber, the other auxiliary chamber is disposed at the outlet of the working chamber, before the sample in the working chamber is coated, the auxiliary chamber loaded with the sample to be coated at the inlet of the working chamber and the auxiliary chamber disposed at the outlet of the working chamber are respectively evacuated to a predetermined range, after the sample in the working chamber is coated, the two auxiliary chambers are respectively changed to the communicating state, so that the sample in the working chamber is transferred to the auxiliary chamber at the outlet, the sample in the auxiliary chamber at the inlet position is transferred to the working chamber to be continuously coated.

According to one embodiment of the invention, the working chamber has an inlet and an outlet, wherein the number of auxiliary chambers is two and is implemented as a first auxiliary chamber and a second auxiliary chamber, respectively, wherein the first auxiliary chamber has a first auxiliary chamber and is communicably connected to the working chamber of the working chamber, said second auxiliary chamber having a second auxiliary chamber and being communicably connected to said working chamber of said working chamber, wherein said first auxiliary chamber is shiftable between communicating with said working chamber via said inlet communicating with said working chamber and communicating with said working chamber via said outlet communicating with said working chamber, the second auxiliary chamber is shiftable between communicating with the working chamber via the inlet communicating with the working chamber and communicating with the working chamber via the outlet communicating with the working chamber.

According to an embodiment of the invention, the continuous coating device further comprises a coating chamber, wherein the coating chamber comprises at least two movable partition plates and a coating surrounding wall, wherein the working chamber is formed between the movable partition plates, and the auxiliary chamber is formed between the movable partition plates and the coating surrounding wall.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the continuous plating apparatus further comprises a buffer chamber, wherein the buffer chamber has a buffer chamber, the working chamber is disposed in the buffer chamber of the buffer chamber, and the auxiliary chamber is communicably connected to the buffer chamber.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the continuous coating apparatus further comprises a loading device, wherein the loading device is adapted to load the sample to be coated, the auxiliary chamber is communicated with the buffer chamber, the loading device is adapted to move from the auxiliary chamber of the auxiliary chamber to the buffer chamber of the buffer chamber, and then the loading device is adapted to move from the buffer chamber of the buffer chamber to the working chamber of the working chamber.

According to an embodiment of the invention, the buffer chamber is communicably connected to the feeding device, which is adapted to feed the buffer chamber such that a supply of material is available both inside and outside the working chamber.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the continuous plating apparatus further comprises at least one loading device, wherein the loading device comprises a moving unit and a rotating stand, wherein the rotating stand is driveable to be movably supported on the moving unit, wherein the sample is adapted to be mounted on the rotating stand and move along with the rotating stand.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the continuous plating apparatus further comprises a guide rail, wherein the guide rail is disposed between the auxiliary chamber and the working chamber to guide the loading device to move between the auxiliary chamber and the working chamber.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the number of the loading devices is at least two, wherein the rotating frames of the loading devices are rotatably and independently accommodated in the working chambers of the working chamber body, and the sample arranged on any one of the rotating frames can be transferred to the auxiliary chamber body after being coated.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a continuous coating method, wherein the continuous coating method comprises the steps of:

coating a film on a sample in a working cavity which is sealed and maintained at a preset vacuum degree;

pre-vacuumizing an auxiliary cavity loaded with a sample to be coated before coating the sample; and

after the sample in the working cavity is coated, transferring the sample in the auxiliary cavity to the working cavity and transferring the coated sample in the working cavity to another auxiliary cavity which is vacuumized in advance, wherein the working cavity is opened to be communicated with the auxiliary cavity and is always kept closed with the outside in the transferring process, so that the working cavity can be continuously coated.

According to one embodiment of the invention, in the above method, the number of the auxiliary chambers is two, one for loading a new sample and the other for receiving a sample from the working chamber.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the continuous plating method further includes the steps of:

moving the auxiliary chamber for carrying the sample from the working chamber to an entrance position of the working chamber, wherein the auxiliary chamber for carrying the sample from the working chamber is loaded with a new sample to be coated while unloading the coated sample.

moving the auxiliary chamber for transferring the sample to the working chamber to an exit position of the working chamber, wherein the sample in the auxiliary chamber for transferring the sample to the working chamber has been transferred.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, in the above method, before the auxiliary chamber communicates with the working chamber, the auxiliary chamber communicates with a buffer chamber enclosed therein, wherein the working chamber is accommodated in the buffer chamber.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, in the above method, the sample from the auxiliary chamber is transferred to the buffer chamber by a movable loading device and the sample temporarily stored in the buffer chamber to the working chamber is completely coated, wherein the buffer chamber is kept closed from the outside while communicating with the auxiliary chamber.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, in the above method, the sample from the auxiliary chamber is transferred to the buffer chamber by a movable loading device and the buffer chamber and the working chamber are together fed with raw material through a feeding device to maintain the balance of the concentration of the raw material inside and outside the working chamber, wherein the buffer chamber is kept closed from the outside while communicating with the auxiliary chamber.

According to an embodiment of the invention, in the above method, the auxiliary chamber and the working chamber are formed by movement of a movable partition of a coating chamber relative to a coating enclosure wall, so that the working chamber and the auxiliary chamber can be adjusted.

Drawings

FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a continuous plating apparatus according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2A is a schematic view of the continuous coating apparatus according to the above preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2B is a schematic view of the continuous coating apparatus according to the above preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2C is a schematic view of the continuous coating apparatus according to the above preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a schematic view of the continuous plating apparatus according to another preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4A is a schematic view of the continuous coating apparatus according to the above preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4B is a schematic view of the continuous coating apparatus according to the above preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4C is a schematic view of the continuous coating apparatus according to the above preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a schematic view of the continuous plating apparatus according to another preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6A is a schematic view of the continuous coating apparatus according to the above preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6B is a schematic view of the continuous coating apparatus according to the above preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6C is a schematic view of the continuous coating apparatus according to the above preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a schematic view of the continuous plating apparatus according to another preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8A is a schematic view of the continuous coating apparatus according to the above preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8B is a schematic view of the continuous coating apparatus according to the above preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a schematic view of the continuous plating apparatus according to another preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10A is a schematic view of the continuous coating apparatus according to the above preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10B is a schematic view of the continuous coating apparatus according to the above preferred embodiment of the present invention.

Detailed Description

The following description is presented to disclose the invention so as to enable any person skilled in the art to practice the invention. The preferred embodiments in the following description are given by way of example only, and other obvious variations will occur to those skilled in the art. The basic principles of the invention, as defined in the following description, may be applied to other embodiments, variations, modifications, equivalents, and other technical solutions without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

It will be understood by those skilled in the art that in the present disclosure, the terms "longitudinal," "lateral," "upper," "lower," "front," "rear," "left," "right," "vertical," "horizontal," "top," "bottom," "inner," "outer," and the like are used in an orientation or positional relationship indicated in the drawings for ease of description and simplicity of description, and do not indicate or imply that the referenced devices or components must be in a particular orientation, constructed and operated in a particular orientation, and thus the above terms are not to be construed as limiting the present invention.

It is understood that the terms "a" and "an" should be interpreted as meaning that a number of one element or element is one in one embodiment, while a number of other elements is one in another embodiment, and the terms "a" and "an" should not be interpreted as limiting the number.

Referring to fig. 1 to 2C, a continuous plating apparatus 1 according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention is illustrated.

The continuous coating equipment 1 can form at least two cavities, wherein one cavity is a working cavity 100 and is used for coating the surface of a sample to be coated, and at least one cavity is an auxiliary cavity 200, wherein the auxiliary cavity 200 is used for saving the time for waiting for the vacuum degree of the working cavity 100 to be controlled at a preset value.

In detail, the continuous coating apparatus 1 may include a working chamber 10, at least one auxiliary chamber 20, a feeding device 30, a discharging device 40, and a vacuum pumping device 50, wherein the working chamber 10 may form the working chamber 100, the auxiliary chamber 20 may form the auxiliary chamber 200, the feeding device 30 is configured to transport raw materials to the working chamber 100 of the working chamber 10, and the discharging device 40 is configured to discharge electricity to the working chamber 100 of the working chamber 10 to provide a satisfactory environment, so that at least a portion of the raw materials react to generate plasma, thereby depositing a coating layer on a surface of a sample to be coated. The vacuum pumping device 50 is configured to control a vacuum degree of the working chamber 100 of the working chamber 10, and may increase the vacuum degree of the working chamber 100 or decrease the vacuum degree of the working chamber 100.

It is understood that the vacuum pumping means 50 can control not only the vacuum degree of the working chamber 100 of the working chamber body 10 but also the vacuum degree of the auxiliary chamber 200 of the auxiliary chamber body 20.

The vacuum pumping device 50 may control the vacuum degrees of the working chamber 100 of the working chamber 10 and the auxiliary chamber 200 of the auxiliary chamber 20 at the same time, or may control the vacuum degrees of the working chamber 100 of the working chamber 10 and the auxiliary chamber 200 of the auxiliary chamber 20 respectively. The vacuum pumping device 50 includes at least one pumping unit 51, wherein the number of the pumping units 51 may be one, and the vacuum degrees of the working chamber 100 of the working chamber 10 and the auxiliary chamber 200 of the auxiliary chamber 20 may be respectively controlled by the same pumping unit 51. The number of the pumping units 51 may be two or more, one pumping unit 51 may control the vacuum degree of the working chamber 100 of the working chamber 10, and the other pumping units 51 may control the vacuum degree of the auxiliary chamber 200 of the auxiliary chamber 20. It is understood that, when the number of the auxiliary chambers 200 of the auxiliary chamber 20 is two or more, the control may be simultaneously performed by one pumping unit 51 or the auxiliary chamber 200 of each of the auxiliary chambers 20 may be provided with one pumping unit 51.

Further, the air pumping unit 51 may further comprise a primary air pumping module 511 and a secondary air pumping module 512, wherein the primary air pumping module 511 may comprise a high-speed mechanical pump, a roots pump, a cylinder and a solenoid valve controlled backing valve, and the secondary air pumping module 512 may comprise at least one high-vacuum air pump. When the vacuum degree of the working chamber 100 of the working chamber 10 or the auxiliary chamber 200 of the auxiliary chamber 20 is controlled, the primary air-extracting module 511 may be started to extract air until the vacuum degree reaches a preset value, and then the secondary air-extracting module 512 is started to extract air until the required vacuum degree is reached. The recovery process of the working chamber 100 of the working chamber 10 or the auxiliary chamber 200 of the auxiliary chamber 20 is to start a control valve equipped on the device, so as to introduce air or shielding gas to raise the air pressure of the working chamber 100 or the auxiliary chamber 200.

Further, the continuous coating equipment 1 further comprises a loading device 60, wherein the loading device 60 can be installed in the working chamber 10 and is used for carrying the sample to be coated, so that the sample to be coated is kept at a certain position.

The loading device 60 is rotatably mounted to the working chamber 10 relative to the working chamber 10, and when the loading device 60 moves, the sample to be coated on the loading device 60 also moves relative to the working chamber 10 along with the loading device 60. In detail, after the raw material enters the working chamber 100 of the working chamber 10 through the feeding device 30, the raw material is not uniformly distributed in the working chamber 100 for various reasons, which may result in poor final coating effect, and the thickness of the film formed on the surface of the sample to be coated at different positions of the loading device 60 may be different, that is, the thickness of the film on the surface of the sample to be coated in the same batch is difficult to ensure. If the loading device 60 rotates and drives the sample to be coated to move together, on one hand, the concentration of the raw material in the working chamber 100 of the working chamber 10 can be distributed more uniformly, and on the other hand, the sample to be coated can contact with the raw material at multiple positions to facilitate uniformity.

In this embodiment, the loading device 60 may include a rotating frame 61 and at least one carrier 62, wherein the rotating frame 61 is detachably mounted to the work chamber 10 and is driven to be rotatably mounted to the work chamber 10. The stage 62 is mounted to the rotating frame 61 and is used for carrying a sample to be coated. It should be noted that the stage 62 may be rotatably mounted on the rotating frame 61, and the stage 62 may be rotatably mounted on the rotating frame 61. That is, the carrier 62 can not only rotate, but also revolve around the rotation axis of the rotating frame 61, thereby being beneficial to obtaining a product with uniform coating.

Further, at least a portion of the loading device 60 is replaceably mounted to the working chamber 10, so that a previous batch of samples to be coated can be quickly placed at a desired position after the previous batch of samples to be coated is coated. Alternatively, the stage 62 of the loading device 60 may be replaceably mounted to the rotating frame 61, so that the sample of the current lot that is completely coated can be quickly replaced with the stage 62 loaded with the sample to be coated of the next lot, or the entire loading device 60 may be replaceably mounted to the rotating frame 61, so that the sample of the current lot that is completely coated can be quickly replaced with the loading device 60 loaded with the sample to be coated of the next lot.

In the present embodiment, the whole loading device 60 is replaced by an example, and it can be understood by those skilled in the art that the manner of replacing the samples of the previous lot and the next lot is not limited thereto.

The loading device 60 may further include a moving unit 63, wherein the moving unit 63 is installed at a bottom end of the rotating frame 61, and the moving unit 63 can move the rotating frame 61 or the carrying platform 62. The moving unit 63 may be a roller, a crawler, or a robot leg.

The continuous coating apparatus 1 may further include a guide 90, wherein the guide 90 may extend between the auxiliary chamber 20 and the working chamber 10 to guide the loading device 60 to move between the auxiliary chamber 20 and the working chamber 10.

The loading device 60 can be actively moved between the auxiliary chamber 20 and the working chamber 10, or passively moved between the auxiliary chamber 20 and the working chamber 10. For example, the operator may manipulate the moving path of the loading device 60, or the loading device 60 may automatically move based on the surrounding environment.

After the sample carried by the loading device 60 in the continuous coating apparatus 1 has been coated, the loading device 60 located in the working chamber 10 can be moved to the auxiliary chamber 20 by the moving unit 63, the vacuum degrees of the auxiliary chamber 20 and the working chamber 10 are similar, for example, the air pressures of the auxiliary chamber 20 and the working chamber 10 are the same, or the air pressure in the auxiliary chamber 20 is smaller than the air pressure in the working chamber 10, so that the gas in the auxiliary chamber 20 does not enter the working chamber 10, thereby avoiding affecting the working chamber 10. And the other loading device 60 loaded with the sample to be coated can enter the working chamber 100 of the working chamber 10 through the other auxiliary chamber 200 for coating of the next batch.

In other words, in the present embodiment, the number of the auxiliary cavities 20 is two, one auxiliary cavity 20 is a front cavity, the other auxiliary cavity 20 is a rear cavity, the loading device 60 enters the auxiliary cavity 20 at the front, the auxiliary cavity 20 at the front is vacuumized to a preset value, then the auxiliary cavity at the front is communicated with the working cavity 10 at the front, since the air pressure of the auxiliary cavity 20 and the working cavity 10 is similar or the air pressure of the auxiliary cavity 20 is smaller than the air pressure of the working cavity 10, the communication of the auxiliary chamber 20 upstream to the working chamber 10 does not have an excessive effect on the working chamber 10, the loading device 60 can be moved from the auxiliary chamber 200 of the auxiliary chamber body 20, which is in front, to the working chamber 100 of the working chamber body 10.

It will be understood that the loading device 60 can be automatically introduced into the working chamber 10 from the auxiliary chamber 20, or passively introduced into the working chamber 10 from the auxiliary chamber 20. The loading device 60 may be an electric cart which enters the working chamber 10 from the auxiliary chamber 20 along a predetermined path, or the loading device 60 may be operated by a relevant person to enter the working chamber 10 from the auxiliary chamber 20. Of course, the loading device 60 can be moved in other manners, for example, the loading device 60 can be a mechanical moving device, which can be driven by other mechanical devices to move between the auxiliary chamber 20 and the working chamber 10. It will be understood by those skilled in the art that the manner of transferring the loading device 60 between the auxiliary chamber 20 and the working chamber 10 may be varied and is not limited to the above illustrations.

Further, after the loading device 60 from the front auxiliary chamber 20 is moved to the working chamber 10 and moved to a suitable position of the working chamber 10, the loading device 60 may be driven to rotate around a fixed axis, for example, the rotating frame 61 may rotate. The feeding device 30, the vacuum pumping device 50 and the discharging device 40 can cooperate with each other to provide a suitable plasma coating environment in the working chamber 100 of the working chamber 10, so as to form a film layer with a suitable thickness on the surface of the sample to be coated of the loading device 60. During this process, the space between the auxiliary chamber 20 and the working chamber 10 remains closed, and the auxiliary chamber 200 of the auxiliary chamber 20 is again a separate part.

After the coating of the working chamber 10 is finished, the rear auxiliary chamber 20, which is originally independent from the working chamber 10, is communicated with the working chamber 100 of the working chamber 10, so that the loading device 60 loaded with the coated sample can move from the working chamber 100 to the auxiliary chamber 200 of the rear auxiliary chamber 20. After the loading device 60 has completely entered the auxiliary chamber 20, the rear auxiliary chamber 20 and the working chamber 10 remain closed again. In this process, another loading device 60 loaded with a sample to be coated can enter the working chamber 100 of the working chamber 10.

It is worth mentioning that, for the working chamber 10, it originally takes a long time to vacuumize to a required value, and because the front auxiliary chamber 20 and the rear auxiliary chamber 20 are provided, the working chamber 10 does not need to take much time to vacuumize in the process of the sample entering and exiting the working chamber 10.

When the sample in the working chamber 10 needs to be taken out and a new sample to be plated is put in again, because the vacuum degree of the working chamber 10 is similar to the vacuum degree of the front auxiliary chamber 20 or the rear auxiliary chamber 20, the fluctuation of the vacuum degree of the working chamber 100 of the working chamber 10 is small, and the readjustment or slight adjustment is not needed.

In the case of the auxiliary chamber 20, whether the auxiliary chamber 20 is disposed in front or the auxiliary chamber 20 is disposed in back, when the sample enters the auxiliary chamber 20 in front or just before the sample enters the auxiliary chamber 20 in back, the auxiliary chamber 20 needs to be evacuated so as not to cause excessive influence on the working chamber 10 when communicating with the working chamber 10.

In other words, each auxiliary chamber 20 and the working chamber 10 have a closed state and a communication state between them, and are operable to be switched between the closed state and the communication state, in which the auxiliary chamber 20 and the working chamber 10 can be transferred and kept closed from the outside, and in the closed state, the auxiliary chamber 20 and the working chamber 10 are kept independent, wherein in the closed state, at least one auxiliary chamber 20 with an uncoated sample placed therein is evacuated in advance to prepare for being communicated with the working chamber 10 for transferring the sample to be coated, and at least one auxiliary chamber 20 is evacuated in advance to prepare for being communicated with the working chamber 10 for receiving the sample from the working chamber 10, so that the vacuum degree of the working chamber 10 can be controlled to be within a preset range when being switched between the closed state and the communication state So that the working chamber 10 can be operated continuously.

In this embodiment, the two auxiliary chambers 20 may be respectively disposed at the same side of the working chamber 10, or may be respectively disposed at two sides of the working chamber 10, and the shape of the working chamber 10 may be a cube, or may be a cylindrical structure, so that when the rotating frame 61 of the loading device 60 is cylindrical, the gas around the loading device 60 disposed at the central axis position of the working chamber 10 may be distributed more uniformly.

The working chamber 10 may be formed with at least one opening, for example two openings, one opening being used to communicate the working chamber 10 with the auxiliary chamber 20 located in front, and the other opening being used to communicate the working chamber 10 with the auxiliary chamber 20 located behind. Both said openings may be closed or opened, respectively, so that said working chamber 10 and said auxiliary chamber 20 are independent from each other or communicate with each other. In other words, the working chamber 10 may be formed with one inlet 101 and one outlet 102, and the inlet 101 and the outlet 102 may be different openings.

It should be noted that the number of the auxiliary cavities 20 may be two or one, and the same auxiliary cavity 20 may be used as the front auxiliary cavity 20 for transferring the sample to be plated to the working cavity 10, or used as the rear auxiliary cavity 20 for transferring the sample that is plated from the working cavity 10.

For example, a new sample to be coated is placed in the working chamber 10, and then coating is started, in the process, the auxiliary chamber 200 of the auxiliary chamber 20 is communicated with the outside, so that the new sample to be coated outside is transferred to the auxiliary chamber 200 of the auxiliary chamber 20, and then the auxiliary chamber 200 of the auxiliary chamber 20 is vacuumized. After the coating process in the working chamber 10 is finished, the coated sample may be transferred to the auxiliary chamber 20, and then a new sample to be coated in the auxiliary chamber 20 may be transferred to the working chamber 10. In other words, the auxiliary chamber 200 of the auxiliary chamber 20 can be configured to accommodate at least two batches of samples to be coated.

Referring to fig. 3 to 4C, the continuous plating apparatus 1 according to another preferred embodiment of the present invention is illustrated.

In this embodiment, the continuous plating apparatus 1 includes the working chamber 10, two auxiliary chambers 20, the feeding device 30, the discharging device 40, the vacuum-pumping device 50, and the loading device 60, wherein the loading device 60 is driven to be rotatably mounted to the working chamber 10.

The auxiliary chamber 20 is movably arranged with respect to the working chamber 10, in particular, the positions of the two auxiliary chambers 20 are interchangeable.

The two auxiliary chambers 20 are respectively referred to as a first auxiliary chamber 20A and a second auxiliary chamber 20B, wherein the first auxiliary chamber 20A and the second auxiliary chamber 20B are respectively conductively connected to the working chamber 10.

During the process of evacuating the working chamber 100 of the working chamber 10 to a desired vacuum state, the first auxiliary chamber 20A may be transferred into the sample to be coated and also evacuated to a desired value. When the vacuum degrees of the working chamber 100 of the working chamber 10 and the auxiliary chamber 200 of the first auxiliary chamber 20A respectively reach the requirements, the working chamber 100 of the working chamber 10 may be communicated with the first auxiliary chamber 20A, so that the sample to be plated in the first auxiliary chamber 20A may be transferred to the working chamber 100. During this process, the second auxiliary chamber 20B can be placed with a new sample to be coated and evacuated, so that after the working chamber 10 has finished coating the samples of the first batch, the samples of the second batch can be transferred to the working chamber 10.

The empty first auxiliary chamber 20A with the first batch of samples removed can be moved to the position of the removal opening of the working chamber 10 for receiving the first batch of samples from the working chamber 10 after coating.

When a first batch of samples is transferred from the working chamber 10 to the first auxiliary chamber 20A, a second batch of samples in the second auxiliary chamber 20B can be transferred to the working chamber 10, and the empty second auxiliary chamber 20B can be moved to the position of the extraction opening of the working chamber 10 for receiving a coated second batch of samples from the working chamber 10. After the first batch of samples in the first auxiliary chamber 20A is taken out from the first auxiliary chamber 20A and then transferred to a predetermined position, the first auxiliary chamber 20A can be replaced with a new sample to be coated. The above steps are then repeated.

The present embodiment is different from the above embodiments in that the positions of the first auxiliary cavity 20A and the second auxiliary cavity 20B are interchangeable. This approach has its unique advantages. In detail, in the working process of the continuous coating apparatus 1, the time-consuming process mainly includes the time required for vacuumizing to a preset value after the first auxiliary chamber 20A, the second auxiliary chamber 20B or the working chamber 10 is communicated with the normal pressure environment.

If the first auxiliary chamber 20A, the working chamber 10 and the second auxiliary chamber 20B are fixedly arranged, that is, the first auxiliary chamber 20A corresponds to the inlet 101 of the working chamber 10, and the second auxiliary chamber 20B is aligned with the outlet 102 of the working chamber 10, then a new sample to be plated can be reloaded after the sample to be plated in the first auxiliary chamber 20A is taken away. If the coating time of the working chamber 10 is short, the working chamber 10 may wait for a period of time before being able to receive a new sample to be coated. In the present embodiment, since the first auxiliary chamber 20A, the second auxiliary chamber 20B and the working chamber 10 are movably disposed, the time of the working chamber 10 waiting for putting a new sample to be plated can be saved.

In the present embodiment, the number of the auxiliary cavities 20 is two, and it is understood that the number of the auxiliary cavities 20 may also be multiple, for example, three auxiliary cavities are illustrated, and the first auxiliary cavity 20A, the second auxiliary cavity 20B and the third auxiliary cavity 20, when the first auxiliary cavity 20A is communicated with the working cavity 10 to transfer a new sample to be plated to the working cavity 10, the second auxiliary cavity 20B may be used to place a new sample to be plated, so as to transfer the new sample to be plated to the working cavity 10 before the next plating starts. The third auxiliary chamber 20 can be used as the auxiliary chamber 20 arranged at the rear. The first auxiliary chamber 20A, the second auxiliary chamber 20B and the third auxiliary chamber 20 may be used as the front chamber or the rear chamber of the working chamber 10.

Referring to fig. 5 to 6C, the continuous plating apparatus 1 according to another preferred embodiment of the present invention is illustrated.

In this embodiment, the continuous coating apparatus 1 may include the working chamber 10, at least one auxiliary chamber 20, the feeding device 30, the discharging device 40, and the vacuum-pumping device 50. The number of working chambers 10 is one and the number of auxiliary chambers 20 is two.

The auxiliary chamber 20 is configured to be variable in size to assist in changing the vacuum degree of the auxiliary chamber 20 by controlling the size of the auxiliary chamber 20.

In detail, the continuous plating apparatus 1 may include a plating chamber 70, wherein the plating chamber 70 includes at least two movable partitions 71 and a plating enclosure wall 72, wherein the working chamber 100 of the working chamber 10 is formed between the movable partitions 71, and the auxiliary chamber 200 of the auxiliary chamber 20 may be formed between the movable partitions 71 and the plating enclosure wall 72.

The auxiliary chamber 200 of the auxiliary chamber 20 may be formed by a positional change between the movable partition 71 and the coating surrounding wall 72. The coating chamber 70 may have at least two states, one state is that the coating chamber 70 is used as the working chamber 10, the other state is that the coating chamber 70 is the working chamber 10, and the other state is that the coating chamber 70 is used as the working chamber 10 and the auxiliary chamber 20 respectively, the working chamber 100 is located between the movable partition plates 71, and the auxiliary chamber 200 is located between the movable partition plates 71 and the coating surrounding wall 72. The number of the auxiliary chambers 200 is two, and may be formed at both sides of the working chamber 10, respectively.

When a sample to be coated needs to be transported to the coating chamber 70 for coating, the inlet of the coating chamber 70 is opened, the sample to be coated is transported to the auxiliary chamber 20 until the vacuum degree in the auxiliary chamber 20 is controlled to a preset range, and then the auxiliary chamber 20 and the working chamber 10 are communicated, so that the sample to be coated in the auxiliary chamber 20 is transported to the working chamber 10.

When the coated sample needs to be transferred to leave the coating chamber 70, another auxiliary chamber 20 is pre-vacuumized to a predetermined range, and then the auxiliary chamber 20 and the working chamber 10 are communicated so that the coated sample is transferred to the auxiliary chamber 20, and the auxiliary chamber 200 of the auxiliary chamber 20 is communicably connected to the outlet of the coating chamber 70 so that the coated sample can leave the coating chamber 70 through the outlet of the coating chamber 70.

It should be noted that, after the sample to be coated is located in the working chamber 10, the size of the working chamber 100 can be changed by the movement of the movable partition 71, so that on one hand, an operator can adjust the distance between the sample to be coated and the working chamber 10 to control the distribution of the raw materials, and on the other hand, enough space can be left for the movement of the loading device 60.

Referring to fig. 6A to 6C, when a sample to be coated is transported to the working chamber 100, the auxiliary chamber 200 may communicate with the working chamber 100, so that a coating environment is provided throughout the coating chamber 700. When the coating of the sample is completed, the auxiliary chamber 200 may be changed to a closed state again, and a new sample may be re-evacuated after entering the auxiliary chamber 200 to communicate with the working chamber 100 in a subsequent step.

Referring to fig. 7 to 8B, the continuous plating apparatus 1 according to another preferred embodiment of the present invention is illustrated.

The continuous coating apparatus 1 may include the working chamber 10, at least one auxiliary chamber 20, the feeding device 30, the discharging device 40, the vacuum-pumping device 50, and the loading device 60.

In this embodiment, the continuous coating apparatus 1 further includes a buffer chamber 80, wherein the buffer chamber 80 has a buffer chamber 800, and the working chamber 10 can be accommodated in the buffer chamber 800.

The buffer chamber 80 has an inlet and an outlet, and the inlet and the outlet of the buffer chamber 80 may be the same opening or different openings. In this embodiment, the inlet and the outlet of the buffer chamber 80 are different openings.

When a batch of samples to be coated is placed in the working chamber 10 for coating, the next batch of samples to be coated can be transferred to one of the auxiliary chambers 20. The auxiliary chamber 20 loaded with the sample to be coated may be vacuumized and then communicated with the buffer chamber 800 of the buffer chamber 80, so that the sample to be coated is transported out of the working chamber 100.

After the coating of the sample to be coated in the working cavity 10 is finished, the sample to be coated outside the working cavity 10 can be transferred into the working cavity 10 to replace the sample of the previous batch.

It should be noted that the feeding device 30 can also feed the buffer chamber 800 of the buffer chamber 80, so that it is not necessary to wait for the material concentration to reach a certain value too long after the working chamber 100 is opened and then closed again. In other words, due to the existence of the buffer chamber 80, the concentration of the raw material inside and outside the working chamber 10 can be maintained within a certain range, so as to facilitate coating on the surface of the sample to be coated.

Further, the sample that is originally located in the working chamber 10 and has been coated with the film can be transported to leave the working chamber 10 through an outlet of the working chamber 10, and can be transported to the outside after being transferred through the buffer chamber 80.

It should be noted that the buffer chamber 80 not only can buffer the coating material, but also can provide a buffer effect in providing a vacuum environment. The loading device 60 from the auxiliary chamber 20 can be transported to the buffer chamber 80, then the buffer chamber 80 is returned to the closed state, and the empty auxiliary chamber 20 can be re-loaded and vacuumized to transport a new sample to the buffer chamber 80. After the working chamber 10 finishes coating the sample, the working chamber 10 may be switched to an open state in a vacuum environment provided by the buffer chamber 80, so that the sample to be coated is transferred into the working chamber 10 to be coated. Of course, it is understood that the sample may not stay in the buffer chamber 80, but directly enter the working chamber 10 that is opened.

Referring to fig. 9 to 10B, the continuous plating apparatus 1 according to another preferred embodiment of the present invention is illustrated.

In this embodiment, the loading device 60 is provided in plural numbers, and is respectively installed at each position of the working chamber 100 of the working chamber 10. The loading means 60 are arranged independently of each other and may be of different types for placing different batches or different types of samples.

After the sample disposed on one of the loading devices 60 is coated, the sample can be transferred to one of the auxiliary chambers 20, and a new sample can be moved into the working chamber 10.

In detail, three

loading devices

60A, 60B, 60C may be arranged inside the working chamber 10. After the coating of the sample on the loading device 60A is completed, the working chamber 100 is opened to allow the loading device 60A to move to one of the auxiliary chambers 20A with the coated sample, and in the process, the working chamber 10 remains coated with the coating of the loading device 60B and the loading device 60C. In addition, another auxiliary chamber 20 can transfer a new sample to be coated to the working chamber 10.

If the samples on the loading devices 60B and 60C in the working chamber 10 are coated at the same time, the samples can be transferred by the two

auxiliary chambers

20B and 20C, respectively.

It can be understood that the buffer chamber 80 in the previous embodiment can be disposed in front of the working chamber 10 to reduce the influence of the opening and closing of the working chamber 10 on the coating environment, thereby facilitating the continuity of the whole coating process.

It should be noted that although the

loading devices

60A, 60B and 60C are placed in the working chamber 10 together, the

loading devices

60A, 60B and 60C are independent from each other, and when the working chamber 10 is communicated with the auxiliary chamber 20, the distribution of the raw material in the working chamber 10 can be kept uniform and stable by the control of the feeding device 30, so that the loading devices 60B and 60C which do not need to be transferred can still keep rotating for the sample during the transfer of the loading device 60A, so that the sample can be coated continuously. It is understood that the operator may also choose to temporarily stop the feeding or discharging, so as to start the coating after the working chamber 10 is returned to the closed state.

conveying the sample to the working cavity 10 for film coating;

pre-vacuumizing the auxiliary cavity 20 loaded with the sample to be coated before coating the sample; and

the auxiliary cavity 20 is communicated with the working cavity 100 to transfer the sample to be coated.

coating a film on the sample in the working cavity 10;

before the sample is coated, pre-vacuumizing the auxiliary cavity 20 loaded with the sample to be coated; and

the auxiliary chamber 20 and the working chamber 10 are communicated to transfer the next batch of samples to the working chamber 10, so that the working chamber 10 can be coated continuously.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, in the pre-vacuum step, an empty auxiliary chamber 20 is pre-vacuum-pumped for transferring the coated sample from the working chamber 10 in the subsequent step.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, in the communicating step, the coated sample from the working chamber 10 is transferred to the auxiliary chamber 20 previously loaded with the sample.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, in the above method, the number of the auxiliary chambers 20 is two, one is used for loading a new sample, and the other is used for receiving a sample which is coated from the working chamber 10.

According to an embodiment of the invention, further comprising the steps of: and the other auxiliary chamber 20 is communicated with the outlet of the working chamber 10 to transfer the coated sample from the working chamber 10.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, in the above method, before the auxiliary chamber 10 and the working chamber 20 are communicated, the auxiliary chamber 10 is communicated with the buffer chamber 80, wherein the working chamber 10 is accommodated in the buffer chamber 80.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, in the above method, the auxiliary chamber 200 is formed by the movement of the movable partition 71 of the coating chamber 70 relative to the coating surrounding wall 72.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, in the above method, a plurality of loading devices 60 loaded with samples are accommodated in the working chamber 20 and can be independently taken out from the working chamber 20 without interfering with other loading devices 60.

It will be appreciated by persons skilled in the art that the embodiments of the invention described above and shown in the drawings are given by way of example only and are not limiting of the invention. The objects of the invention have been fully and effectively accomplished. The functional and structural principles of the present invention have been shown and described in the examples, and any variations or modifications of the embodiments of the present invention may be made without departing from the principles.

Claims

1. A continuous coating apparatus suitable for coating a sample to be coated, comprising:

a discharge device;

a feeding device;

a vacuum-pumping device;

a working chamber, wherein the working chamber has a working chamber; and

2. The continuous plating apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said working chamber has an inlet and an outlet, wherein the number of said auxiliary chambers is two, one of said auxiliary chambers is provided at said inlet position of said working chamber, the other of said auxiliary chambers is provided at said outlet position of said working chamber, said auxiliary chamber loaded with the sample to be plated which is provided at said inlet position of said working chamber and said auxiliary chamber provided at said outlet position of said working chamber are respectively evacuated to a predetermined range before the sample in said working chamber is completely plated, after the sample in said working chamber is completely plated, both of said auxiliary chambers are respectively changed to said communicating state so that the sample in said working chamber is transferred to said auxiliary chamber at said outlet position, the sample in the auxiliary chamber at the inlet position is transferred to the working chamber to be continuously coated.

3. The continuous plating apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the working chamber has an inlet and an outlet, wherein the number of auxiliary chambers is two and is implemented as a first auxiliary chamber and a second auxiliary chamber, respectively, wherein the first auxiliary chamber has a first auxiliary chamber and is communicably connected to the working chamber of the working chamber, said second auxiliary chamber having a second auxiliary chamber and being communicably connected to said working chamber of said working chamber, wherein said first auxiliary chamber is shiftable between communicating with said working chamber via said inlet communicating with said working chamber and communicating with said working chamber via said outlet communicating with said working chamber, the second auxiliary chamber is shiftable between communicating with the working chamber via the inlet communicating with the working chamber and communicating with the working chamber via the outlet communicating with the working chamber.

4. The continuous plating apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the continuous plating apparatus further comprises a plating chamber, wherein the plating chamber comprises at least two movable partitions and a plating enclosure wall, wherein the working chamber is formed between the movable partitions, and the auxiliary chamber is formed between the movable partitions and the plating enclosure wall.

5. The continuous plating apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the continuous plating apparatus further comprises a buffer chamber, wherein the buffer chamber has a buffer chamber, the working chamber is disposed in the buffer chamber of the buffer chamber, and the auxiliary chamber is communicably connected to the buffer chamber.

6. The continuous coating apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the continuous coating device further comprises a loading device, wherein the loading device is adapted to load the sample to be coated, the auxiliary chamber is communicated with the buffer chamber, the loading device is adapted to move from the auxiliary chamber of the auxiliary chamber to the buffer chamber of the buffer chamber, and then the loading device is adapted to move from the buffer chamber of the buffer chamber to the working chamber of the working chamber.

7. The continuous coating device according to claim 6, wherein the buffer chamber is communicably connected to the feeding device adapted to feed the buffer chamber to enable a supply of raw material to be available both inside and outside the working chamber.

8. The continuous plating apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein said continuous plating device further comprises at least one loading means, wherein said loading means comprises a moving unit and a turret, wherein said turret is drivable to be movably supported by said moving unit, wherein said specimen is adapted to be mounted to said turret and to move together with said turret.

9. The continuous coating apparatus of claim 8, wherein the continuous coating device further comprises a guide rail, wherein the guide rail is disposed between the auxiliary chamber and the working chamber to guide the loading device to move between the auxiliary chamber and the working chamber.

10. The continuous plating device according to claim 8, wherein the number of the loading devices is at least two, wherein the rotating frame of the loading device is rotatably and independently accommodated in the working chamber of the working chamber body, and the sample set on any one of the rotating frames can be transferred to the auxiliary chamber body after being plated.

11. A continuous coating method is characterized by comprising the following steps:

12. The continuous plating method according to claim 11, wherein the number of the auxiliary chambers is two in the method, one for loading a new sample and the other for receiving a sample from the working chamber.

13. The continuous plating method according to claim 12, wherein the continuous plating method further comprises the steps of:

14. The continuous plating method according to claim 12, wherein the continuous plating method further comprises the steps of:

15. The continuous plating method according to claim 11, wherein in the method, the auxiliary chamber is communicated with a buffer chamber before the auxiliary chamber is communicated with the working chamber, wherein the working chamber is accommodated in the buffer chamber.

16. The continuous plating method according to claim 15, wherein in the method, the sample from the auxiliary chamber is transferred to the buffer chamber by a movable loading device and the sample temporarily stored in the buffer chamber to the working chamber is completely plated, wherein the buffer chamber is kept closed from the outside while communicating with the auxiliary chamber.

17. The continuous plating method according to claim 15, wherein in the method, the sample from the auxiliary chamber is transferred to the buffer chamber by a movable loading device and the buffer chamber and the working chamber are fed with raw materials through a feeding device to maintain the concentration balance between the raw materials inside and outside the working chamber, wherein the buffer chamber is kept closed from the outside while communicating with the auxiliary chamber.

18. The continuous plating method according to claim 11, wherein in the above method, the auxiliary chamber and the working chamber are formed by movement of a movable partition of a plating chamber relative to a plating enclosure wall so that the working chamber and the auxiliary chamber can be adjusted.