JP2012183455A - Film cleaning device and film cleaning method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a film cleaning device having high foreign matter removal capability for removing foreign matter adhering to a long film while carrying the film at high speed.SOLUTION: This film cleaning device includes: a carrying roller 21 carrying the film; film contact rollers A bringing the film into contact with the carrying roller; a foreign matter removal belt carrying the film while bringing the film into contact with the carrying roller, and transferring and holding the foreign matter adhering to the film surface; support rollers A supporting the foreign matter removal belt such that the foreign matter removal belt is wound around the carrying roller; a pressing roller A pressing the foreign matter removal belt onto the carrying roller; an adhesion roller transferring and holding the foreign matter transferred to the foreign matter removal belt; support rollers B supporting the foreign matter removal belt such that the foreign matter removal belt is wound around the adhesion roller; a pressing roller B pressing the foreign matter removal belt onto the adhesion roller; and strong adhesion rollers transferring and holding the foreign matter transferred to the adhesion roller.

Description

  The present invention relates to a cleaning apparatus and method for removing foreign matter adhering to a flexible film such as an optical functional film.

  Various film members such as a polarizing film, a retardation film, and an antireflection film are used in liquid crystal display devices for liquid crystal televisions and plasma televisions.

  Conventionally, various types of printing, coating, photolithographic processes, etc. are performed during winding after unwinding from a roll of a long flexible substrate such as plastic film, paper, metal foil, etc. Techniques for surface treatment have been widely used in general. Therefore, a flexible and long medium to be handled is referred to as a web, and a technique for unwinding and transporting the web and finally winding it through the processing steps is known as a web handling technique.

  In recent years, particularly in the production of optical films such as optical functional films, the web handling technology has been utilized to enable mass and inexpensive production. In mass production, there are foreign matter defects adhering to the raw material of the optical film itself and foreign matter defects occurring during the manufacturing process, and various methods for cleaning and removing foreign matter have been proposed.

  FIG. 1 is a view showing a cross section of an antireflection film that is applied to the outermost surface of a display screen of a display device such as a liquid crystal display as an example of an optical functional film. The antireflection film is manufactured by coating a transparent film with an antireflection material in order to protect the display screen from scratches, and to prevent antifouling, antistatic, and reflection.

  In the production process of the antireflection film, coating and drying are performed one or more times on the roll-like long belt-like light-transmitting film to form an optical film. The antireflection film shown in FIG. 1 includes a film substrate 1, a hard coat layer 2, and an antireflection layer 3.

  The film is used in the form of a sheet obtained by cutting a long film into an appropriate width. On the other hand, in the film manufacturing process, if foreign matter such as dust or dust is present, the liquid crystal display device becomes a defective product. In particular, dust generation when machining such as cutting a long film is a cause of occurrence of foreign matter defects. For this reason, in a film manufacturing process, it is common that the cleaning apparatus for removing the foreign material which exists on the film surface after processes, such as a cutting | disconnection, is arrange | positioned.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a cleaning device that removes foreign matter using an adhesive roller is known as a cleaning device that removes foreign matter and the like present on the film surface (Patent Document 1).

  In this known cleaning apparatus, as shown in FIG. 2, the sheet-like film 4 conveyed in the direction of the arrow 6 by the conveying belt 5 is brought into contact with the first adhesive rollers 10-1 and 11-1, and from the film. After removing the foreign matter, it is carried out in the direction of arrow 7. And it installs so that the 2nd rollers 10-2 and 11-2 with stronger adhesive force than the 1st adhesive roller may contact, and the foreign material which the 1st adhesive roller removed using the strength of adhesive force is 1st. 2 to remove the foreign matter adhering to the film 4.

JP 2008-168188 A

  In the cleaning device that removes foreign matter by utilizing the difference in adhesive strength as described above, the adhesive roller contact force with the sheet-like member cannot be set strongly, so the cleaning performance of the adhesive roller is low and removal There is a problem that the foreign matter that has not been left remains on the surface of the sheet-like member as it is. Moreover, when the adhesive roller cannot remove the foreign matter removed from the film by the adhesive roller, the cleaning roller may come into contact with the film while the foreign matter remains, thereby causing defects such as dents.

  Furthermore, as the production amount of optical functional films including the antireflection film increases, there is an increasing demand for high-speed processing in cleaning apparatuses. That is, it is required to further increase the processing speed per unit time by further increasing the traveling speed of the film to be cleaned. However, in the conventional cleaning device, when the traveling speed of the film is increased, the contact time between the film and the adhesive roller is shortened, and a foreign matter to be removed by the adhesive roller is not removed.

  The above cleaning device is a device for cleaning a sheet-like film. In addition to cutting a long film into a sheet shape, a long film 8 is generally manufactured as shown in FIG. At the final stage of the process, the end portions 12-1 and 12-2 on the two sides orthogonal to the winding direction are cut. Even in this case, dust generated by cutting is a cause of foreign object defects.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a film cleaning apparatus and a film cleaning method having a high foreign matter removing capability for removing foreign matters attached to a long film while conveying the film at a high speed.

The invention according to claim 1 of the present invention is a film cleaning device for removing foreign matter adhering to the surface of a long film,
A transport roller for transporting the film;
A film contact roller A for bringing the film into contact with the transport roller;
A foreign matter removal belt that transports the film while bringing the film into contact with the transport roller, and transfers and holds the foreign matter attached to the film surface;
A support roller A for supporting the foreign matter removal belt so as to be wound around the transport roller;
A pressing roller A that presses the foreign matter removing belt against the conveying roller;
An adhesive roller that transfers and holds the foreign matter transferred to the foreign matter removal belt;
A support roller B for supporting the foreign matter removal belt so as to be wound around the adhesive roller;
A pressing roller B that presses the foreign matter removing belt against the adhesive roller;
A film cleaning apparatus comprising: a strong adhesion roller that transfers and holds the foreign matter transferred to the adhesion roller.

  The invention according to claim 2 of the present invention is characterized in that the foreign matter removing belt, the adhesive roller, and the strong adhesive roller have higher adhesive strength in the order of the foreign matter removing belt, the adhesive roller, and the strong adhesive roller. This is a film cleaning apparatus.

  The invention according to claim 3 of the present invention is characterized in that the adhesive layer of the foreign matter removing belt is made of a material having adhesiveness of urethane, nitrile, butyl, or EPDM. It is a film cleaning apparatus of description.

  The invention according to claim 4 of the present invention is the film cleaning according to claim 1, wherein the adhesive roller can be washed away with water, a solvent, and a detergent, and further has characteristics of charging treatment, low dust generation, and low elution. Device.

  The invention according to claim 5 of the present invention is the film cleaning apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of strong adhesive rollers are installed and can be replaced.

  The invention according to claim 6 of the present invention is the film cleaning device according to claim 1, wherein the tension of the foreign matter removing belt is maintained by controlling the peripheral speeds of the transport roller and the adhesive roller, respectively.

  The invention according to claim 7 of the present invention is characterized in that the support roller A is moved by a rotating mechanism and the length of contact between the film and the foreign matter removing belt is adjusted. It is.

  The invention according to claim 8 of the present invention is the film cleaning apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the pressing roller A moves in a direction away from the transport roller while the cleaning operation is stopped.

The invention according to claim 9 of the present invention is a film cleaning method for removing foreign matter adhering to the surface of a long film,
A transport roller for transporting the film;
A film contact roller A for bringing the film into contact with the transport roller;
A foreign matter removal belt that transports the film while bringing the film into contact with the transport roller, and transfers and holds the foreign matter attached to the film surface;
A support roller A for supporting the foreign matter removal belt so as to be wound around the transport roller;
A pressing roller A that presses the foreign matter removing belt against the conveying roller;
An adhesive roller that transfers and holds the foreign matter transferred to the foreign matter removal belt;
A support roller B for supporting the foreign matter removal belt so as to be wound around the adhesive roller;
A pressing roller B that presses the foreign matter removing belt against the adhesive roller;
This is a film cleaning method for cleaning both surfaces of a film using a film cleaning device provided with a strong adhesive roller for transferring and holding foreign matter transferred to the adhesive roller.

  According to the film cleaning device and the film cleaning method of the present invention, the foreign matter removing ability is improved as compared with the conventional device, and the foreign matter can be reliably removed even when the film is conveyed at high speed. As a result, the yield rate of products can be improved.

  In addition, the efficiency of the film cleaning operation can be improved, and the foreign matter removing belt and the adhesive roller can be reused. As a result, the film cleaning cost can be suppressed.

The figure which shows the cross section of the antireflection film which is an example of an optical functional film. Known cleaning device. The figure for demonstrating cut | disconnecting the edge part of 2 sides orthogonal to a winding direction in the final stage of the manufacturing process of a long film. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The structure schematic diagram which shows an example of the film cleaning apparatus which concerns on this invention. The figure which shows rotating the support roller A which concerns on this invention. The figure which shows that the pressing roller A which concerns on this invention has the mechanism to move. The figure which showed the method of cleaning both surfaces of a film with the film cleaning apparatus which concerns on this invention.

  Embodiments for carrying out the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 4 is a schematic configuration diagram showing an example of a film cleaning apparatus according to the present invention. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a film cleaning device for explaining the case of cleaning one side of the film for convenience. The film cleaning apparatus 100 contacts the film 20 with the transport roller 21 that transports the film 20 in the direction of the arrow 30, the film contact rollers A 22-1 and 22-2 that contact the film 20 with the transport roller 21, and the transport roller 21. The foreign matter removal belt 23 that removes and holds the foreign matter attached to the film surface, the support rollers A24-1 and 24-2 that support the foreign matter removal belt 23 so as to be wound around the delivery roller 21, and the foreign matter removal. A pressing roller A25 that presses the belt 23 against the transport roller 21, an adhesive roller 26 that transfers and holds the foreign matter transferred to the foreign matter removal belt 23 while moving the foreign matter removal belt 23 in the direction of the arrow 31, and a foreign matter removal belt. Support roller B2 for supporting the belt 23 around the adhesive roller 26 -1 and 27-2, a pressing roller B28 that presses the foreign matter removing belt 23 against the adhesive roller 26, strong adhesive rollers 29-1 and 29-2 that transfer and hold the foreign matter transferred to the adhesive roller 26, and conveyance A drive control unit (not shown) that drives the roller 21 and the adhesive roller 26.

  The film 20 is first inserted between the support roller A 24-1 and the transport roller 21, bonded to the foreign matter removal belt 23, and transported in the direction indicated by the arrow 30.

  The transport roller 21 is pressed by the presser roller A25. As a result, the adhesion between the film 20 and the foreign matter removal belt 23 is improved, and the foreign matter attached to the film 20 is easily transferred to the foreign matter removal belt 23, thereby increasing the removal rate. It is a mechanism.

  Further, the film 20 bonded to the foreign matter removing belt 23 is conveyed to the support roller A 24-2. Thereafter, the leading end in the transport direction of the film 20 is peeled off from the foreign matter removing belt and wound up by a winding roller (not shown) via the film contact roller A22-2.

  The foreign matter removal belt 23 to which foreign matter has been transferred from the film is then conveyed to the adhesive roller 26 via the support roller B27-1, and the foreign matter held by the foreign matter removal belt 23 is transferred to the adhesive roller 26. In this case, the foreign matter removal belt 23 is pressed by the pressing roller B28 that presses against the adhesive roller 26. As a result, the adhesion between the foreign matter removal belt 23 and the adhesive roller 26 is improved, and the foreign matter that has been transferred to the foreign matter removal belt 23. Can be easily transferred to the adhesive roller 26.

  The adhesive roller 26 is arranged so that the strong adhesion rollers 29-1 and 29-2 that transfer and hold the transferred foreign matter are in contact therewith, and the foreign matter transferred to the adhesion roller 26 is strongly adhesive rollers 29-1 and 29-. Re-transferred to 2.

  The foreign matter removing belt 23, the adhesive roller 26, and the strong adhesive rollers 29-1, 29-2 should increase the adhesive strength in the order of the foreign matter removing belt 23, the adhesive roller 26, and the strong adhesive roller 29-1 (29-2). Thus, the foreign matter adhering to the film 20 can be finally transferred to the strong adhesion rollers 29-1 and 29-2.

  The adhesive layer of the foreign matter removing belt 23 is made of an adhesive material such as urethane, nitrile, butyl, or EPDM, and the adhesive roller 26 can be washed away with water, a solvent, or a detergent. The adhesive roller 26 can be reused by cleaning the adhesive roller 26 without selecting the material having characteristics such as low elution and accumulating the foreign material on the foreign material removal belt 23.

  In this way, the foreign matter adhering to the film 20 is removed by repeating the transfer to the foreign matter removing belt 23, the adhesive roller 26, and the strong adhesive rollers 29-1 and 29-2. Although two strong adhesion rollers 29-1 and 29-2 are exemplified, the number is not limited to this, and the number of the strong adhesion rollers may be appropriately selected.

  The foreign matter transferred from the foreign matter removal belt 23 by the adhesive roller 26 is retransferred by the strong adhesive roller installed, and when some dirt adheres to the strong adhesive roller, one of the strong adhesive rollers is removed and washed. . After the cleaning, the strong adhesive roller is attached to the film cleaning device again. In addition, it is good also as a system which peels off the tape in which the foreign material accumulated instead of washing | cleaning as a roll-shaped thing which wound the strong adhesive tape around the strong adhesive tape.

  In addition, when two strong adhesive rollers are installed, for example, the roller to be in contact with the adhesive roller is alternately selected, and one can be periodically replaced by a mechanism without stopping the apparatus, and cleaning is performed by external setup. It may be reattached. As a result, the operating rate of the apparatus can be increased without stopping the cleaning apparatus.

  Moreover, it has a drive control part which can control the circumferential speed of the conveyance roller 21 and the adhesion roller 26, respectively, for example, by making the circumferential speed of the adhesion roller 26 slightly faster than the circumferential speed of the conveyance roller 21, The tension of the foreign matter removing belt 23 can be maintained.

  The support rollers A24-1 and 24-2 can be rotated in the direction indicated by the arrow 32 as shown in FIG. By moving in the direction shown by the arrow 32, the contact length between the film 20 and the foreign matter removing belt 21 can be shortened as compared with the case of FIG. Thus, by rotating the support rollers A24-1 and 24-2, the length of contact between the film 20 and the foreign matter removing belt 21 can be adjusted, and various foreign matters can be removed.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 6, the pressing roller A <b> 25 has a mechanism that moves in the direction indicated by the arrow 33. While the cleaning operation is stopped, for example, the pressing roller A25 is moved away from the transport roller 21 as indicated by an arrow 33 (in this case, the support rollers A24-1 and 24-2 are indicated by an arrow 32). The foreign matter removing belt 23 can be released from the state in which it is pressed against the conveying roller 21. At this time, the rotation of the adhesive roller 26 may be stopped or may be rotated in the direction indicated by the arrow 34.

  The film cleaning apparatus according to the present invention shown in FIG. 4 is a film cleaning apparatus for explaining the case where one side of the film is cleaned for convenience. FIG. 7 shows the film cleaning apparatus according to the present invention shown in FIG. It is the figure which used and showed the method of cleaning both surfaces of a film.

  FIG. 7A shows a case where both surfaces of the film are cleaned using the film cleaning apparatus 100 shown in FIG. 4 and the film cleaning apparatus 101 provided downstream in the film transport direction. In this case, the film cleaning apparatus 101 has a configuration in which the film cleaning apparatus 100 is inverted.

  FIG. 7B shows a case where two film cleaning apparatuses 100 shown in FIG. 4 are arranged in the film transport direction. In this case, both sides of the film can be cleaned by providing the film reversing mechanism 102 between the two film cleaning devices 100.

  As described above, according to the film cleaning device and the film cleaning method of the present invention, the foreign matter removing ability is improved as compared with the conventional device, and the foreign matter can be reliably removed even when the film is conveyed at high speed. Become. As a result, the yield rate of products can be improved.

  In addition, the efficiency of the film cleaning work can be improved by replacing the strong adhesive roller even during the film cleaning work, and it can be reused by washing the foreign matter removal belt and the adhesive roller. The cleaning cost can be reduced.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Film base material 2 ... Hard-coat layer 3 ... Antireflection layer 4 ... Sheet-like film 5 ... Conveying belt 6 ... The direction where a sheet-like film is conveyed is shown Arrow 7... Arrow 8 indicating the direction of carrying out the sheet-like film 8... Elongated films 10-1, 11-1... First adhesive rollers 10-2, 11-2. The second rollers 12-1, 12-2, which have stronger adhesive strength than the adhesive rollers of No. 2, end portions 20 on the two sides orthogonal to the film winding direction, the film 21, and the transport roller 22-1. 22-2 ... Film contact roller A
23 ... Foreign matter removing belts 24-1, 24-2 ... support roller A
25 ... Presser roller A
26: Adhesive rollers 27-1, 27-2: Support roller B
28 ... Pressing roller B
29-1, 29-2 ... Strong adhesion roller 30 ... Arrow 31 indicating the direction in which the film is conveyed ... Arrow 32 indicating the moving direction of the foreign matter removal belt ... The support roller A rotates. An arrow 33 indicating a direction. An arrow 34 indicating a direction in which the pressing roller A is separated from the transport roller. An arrow 100 indicating a rotation direction of the adhesive roller. A film cleaning device 101. Device 102 in which film cleaning device 100 is inverted by provided film cleaning device 102... Film reversing mechanism

Claims (9)

A film cleaning device that removes foreign matter adhering to the surface of a long film,
A transport roller for transporting the film;
A film contact roller A for bringing the film into contact with the transport roller;
A foreign matter removal belt that transports the film while bringing the film into contact with the transport roller, and transfers and holds the foreign matter attached to the film surface;
A support roller A for supporting the foreign matter removal belt so as to be wound around the transport roller;
A pressing roller A that presses the foreign matter removing belt against the conveying roller;
An adhesive roller that transfers and holds the foreign matter transferred to the foreign matter removal belt;
A support roller B for supporting the foreign matter removal belt so as to be wound around the adhesive roller;
A pressing roller B that presses the foreign matter removing belt against the adhesive roller;
A film cleaning apparatus, comprising: a strong adhesive roller that transfers and holds the foreign matter transferred to the adhesive roller.   The film cleaning apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the foreign matter removing belt, the adhesive roller, and the strong adhesive roller have higher adhesive strength in the order of the foreign matter removing belt, the adhesive roller, and the strong adhesive roller.   The film cleaning apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the adhesive layer of the foreign matter removing belt is made of a material having adhesiveness of urethane, nitrile, butyl, or EPDM.   2. The film cleaning apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the adhesive roller can be washed away with water, a solvent, and a detergent, and further has characteristics of charging treatment, low dust generation, and low elution.   The film cleaning apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of strong adhesive rollers are installed and exchangeable.   2. The film cleaning apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the tension of the foreign matter removing belt is maintained by controlling the peripheral speeds of the conveying roller and the adhesive roller, respectively.   The film cleaning apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the support roller A is moved by a rotating mechanism, and a length of contact between the film and the foreign matter removing belt is adjusted.   The film cleaning apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the pressing roller A moves in a direction away from the transport roller while the cleaning operation is stopped. A film cleaning method for removing foreign substances adhering to the surface of a long film,
A transport roller for transporting the film;
A film contact roller A for bringing the film into contact with the transport roller;
A foreign matter removal belt that transports the film while bringing the film into contact with the transport roller, and transfers and holds the foreign matter attached to the film surface;
A support roller A for supporting the foreign matter removal belt so as to be wound around the transport roller;
A pressing roller A that presses the foreign matter removing belt against the conveying roller;
An adhesive roller that transfers and holds the foreign matter transferred to the foreign matter removal belt;
A support roller B for supporting the foreign matter removal belt so as to be wound around the adhesive roller;
A pressing roller B that presses the foreign matter removing belt against the adhesive roller;
A film cleaning method for cleaning both surfaces of a film by using a film cleaning device provided with a strong adhesive roller for transferring and holding a foreign substance transferred to the adhesive roller.

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