JP2023041509A - Dryer - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a dryer which can convey a substrate in a stable state when drying a coating film formed on the substrate.SOLUTION: A dryer 2 which dries a coating film applied onto a substrate W while conveying the substrate W in a predetermined direction includes a drying nozzle 22 which floats the substrate W by spraying gas toward the substrate W and, at the same time, dries the coating film and a touch member 24 which is brought into contact with the substrate W in a floating area as an area in which the substrate W gets to a floating state by means of the drying nozzle 22. Therein, the coating film is formed partially in a width direction of the substrate W, and the touch member 24 is brought into contact with the substrate W in a non-coating part H as a portion on which the coating film is not formed.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a drying apparatus that dries a coating film formed on a sheet-like substrate while conveying the substrate.

Conventionally, in the production process of electrode plates for lithium-ion batteries, an electrode material containing an active material, a binder, a conductive aid, and a solvent is applied to a sheet-like base material that is transported by roll-to-roll. There is a step of applying a slurry to form a coating film and drying the formed coating film with a drying device.

In the drying apparatus disclosed in Patent Document 1, the coating film is dried by blowing gas onto the base material to heat the coating film. An outline of this drying apparatus is shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 9A, the drying device 90 has a housing portion 91 and a nozzle 92 provided inside the housing portion 91, and blows gas from an outlet 93 of the nozzle 92 to the substrate W. spraying. In particular, when the coating film is formed on both sides of the base material W, the coating film cannot be touched until drying of the coating film is completed. Therefore, the coating film on the substrate W is dried by the gas blown from the nozzle 92, and the substrate W is floated by the air pressure of the gas.

JP 2014-173803 A

However, in the drying apparatus as described in Patent Document 1, there are cases where the substrate cannot be conveyed in a stable state when drying the coating film formed on the substrate. Specifically, since it is necessary to levitate the base material W by the gas blown from the nozzle 92, the nozzle 92 must blow out the gas with a relatively large air volume. it becomes difficult to maintain If the airflow balance is disturbed, the substrate W may vibrate. In particular, as shown in FIG. 9B, when a plurality of coated portions T are arranged in the width direction of the base material W with the non-coated portions H interposed therebetween, that is, when the coating film is formed in a stripe shape, the coating film is formed as shown in FIG. ), the deformation due to the air pressure blown from the nozzle 92 concentrates on the non-coating portion H, which promotes the vibration of the base material W. FIG. As a result, as shown in FIG. 10(b), the entire base material W is transported over a predetermined transport line indicated by a chain double-dashed line in the drawing. Due to the vibration of the entire base material W in this manner, the base material W may come into contact with the members inside the drying device 90 such as the nozzle 92 and may be damaged.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a drying apparatus capable of conveying a substrate in a stable state when drying a coating film formed on the substrate. .

The drying apparatus of the present invention for solving the above problems is a drying apparatus that dries a coating film applied to a substrate while conveying the substrate in a predetermined direction. A drying nozzle that floats the material and dries the coating film, and a touch member that contacts the substrate in a floating region, which is a region where the substrate is floated by the drying nozzle. In the width direction of the substrate, A coating film is partially formed, and the touch member is characterized in that the non-coating portion, which is a portion where the coating film is not formed, is in contact with the substrate.

According to the drying apparatus, the touch member is provided, and the touch member contacts the non-coated portion of the base material, thereby suppressing the vibration of the base material due to the gas blown from the drying nozzle without damaging the coating film. Therefore, the substrate can be stably conveyed within the drying apparatus.

In addition, the drying nozzle has a lower nozzle for blowing gas from below the base material and an upper nozzle for blowing gas from above the base material. By arranging the nozzles, it is preferable that the carrier line of the base material is formed so as to undulate vertically in the carrier direction in the floating region.

According to this configuration, the substrate can be accurately transported in a predetermined direction in a levitated state.

Moreover, the touch member may have a curved surface portion having a curved surface that is curved so as to be convex toward the base material.

According to this configuration, dust generation on the touch member can be reduced.

Also, the touch member may be a roller.

With this configuration, it is possible to prevent rubbing between the touch member and the base material.

Moreover, it is preferable that the coating film is formed in a stripe shape in the width direction of the base material, and the non-coating portion is provided between the coating films.

When the coating film is formed in stripes in this way, the vibration of the substrate may become particularly large, but the vibration can be suppressed by the touch member.

Further, in the drying nozzle, it is preferable that the wind pressure at the position facing the non-coating portion is lower than the wind pressure at the position facing the coating film.

According to this configuration, deformation of the non-coated portion can be suppressed without hindering drying of the coating film by the gas, so vibration of the base material can be further suppressed.

Moreover, it may be configured to have an edge guide portion that contacts the vicinity of the edge of the base material in the floating region and defines the conveying path of the edge.

According to this configuration, since the conveying position of the end portion of the base material is fixed, the vibration of the base material can be further reduced.

According to the drying apparatus of the present invention, it becomes possible to convey the substrate in a stable state when drying the coating film formed on the substrate.

It is a schematic diagram showing a coating device provided with a drying device. It is an example of a substrate on which a coating film is formed. It is a schematic diagram showing a drying device in a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing one embodiment of a touch member in the drying apparatus of the present invention; FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram showing another embodiment of the touch member in the drying apparatus of the present invention; FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram showing another embodiment of the touch member in the drying apparatus of the present invention; It is the schematic which shows the drying apparatus in 2nd embodiment of this invention. It is the schematic which shows the drying apparatus in 3rd embodiment of this invention. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a conventional drying device; FIG. FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing a transport state of a substrate in a conventional drying device;

[First embodiment]
A drying apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the following description, the three axes of the orthogonal coordinate system are X, Y, and Z, the main horizontal direction in which the substrate is conveyed in the drying apparatus is the X-axis direction, and the direction perpendicular to the X-axis direction is Y. A direction perpendicular to the XY plane (that is, a vertical direction) is referred to as a Z-axis direction.

FIG. 1 is a diagram schematically showing a coating device 1 equipped with a drying device 2 according to the first embodiment.

The coating apparatus 1 includes a transport mechanism 11 that transports a sheet-like substrate W, and a first coating mechanism 12 that applies a coating liquid to a predetermined surface of the substrate W to form a coating film (see FIG. 2). , and a second coating mechanism 13 for coating the back surface of a predetermined surface of the base material W with the coating liquid to form a coating film. The drying device 2 is arranged on the transport path of the substrate W by the transport mechanism 11 . Note that the predetermined surface of the substrate W in the present embodiment is the surface on which the coating film is formed by the first coating mechanism 12, and the back surface of the substrate W is the surface opposite to the predetermined surface. 2 is the surface on which the coating film is formed by the coating mechanism 13 of 2. Hereinafter, the predetermined surface of the base material W is also referred to as the front surface, and the opposite surface is also referred to as the back surface of the base material W.

The coating apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment forms coating films on both surfaces of a base material W transported by a transport mechanism 11 by means of a first coating mechanism 12 and a second coating mechanism 13, and these coating films are dried by a drying device 2. Allow to dry.

The base material W in the present embodiment is a metal foil that serves as a battery electrode plate of a lithium ion battery, and aluminum foil or the like is used when forming a positive electrode, and copper foil or the like is used when forming a negative electrode. The base material W has a belt-like (sheet-like) shape that is long in one direction, and is conveyed in the longitudinal direction by the conveying mechanism 11 so as to pass through each part constituting the coating apparatus 1 .

The coating liquid in the present embodiment is, for example, a slurry containing an active material, a binder, a conductive aid, and a solvent, and is used as a material for electrode plates of lithium ion batteries (so-called electrode material). A coating film is formed on the base material W by applying this coating liquid to the base material W. FIG.

The transport mechanism 11 in this embodiment is for transporting the base material W by so-called roll-to-roll transport. As shown in FIG. 1, the transport mechanism 11 includes an unwinding roll 11a for unwinding the base material W, a winding roll 11b for winding the base material W, and a winding roll for winding the base material W unwound from the unwinding roll 11a. It has a transport roll 11c through which the base material W is wound up by the roll 11b, and a backup roll 11d that guides the base material W to a position where the coating liquid is applied by the first coating mechanism 12, which will be described later. Each roll of the conveying mechanism 11 is formed in a columnar shape and rotates about the central axis of the column.

The unwinding roll 11a is controlled to rotate by a control unit (not shown), and unwinds the base material W at a predetermined speed. The control unit is configured by, for example, a general-purpose computer device. The take-up roll 11b is rotationally controlled by the control unit in the same manner as the unwind roll 11a, and winds the base material W while applying a predetermined tension to the base material W. As shown in FIG. In addition, the tension|tensile_strength here is the tension|tensile_strength of the conveyance direction of the base material W. FIG.

A plurality of transport rolls 11c are provided as shown in FIG. Some or all of the transport rolls 11c among the plurality of transport rolls 11c are rotationally controlled by the control unit in the same manner as the unwind roll 11a and the winding roll 11b, and apply a predetermined tension to the base material W. The substrate W is conveyed while

As shown in FIG. 1, the backup roll 11d is arranged so as to face a first coating mechanism 12, which will be described later. Therefore, the substrate W can be transported while keeping a constant distance from the first coating mechanism 12 .

With these configurations, the transport mechanism 11 transports the base material W at a predetermined speed while applying a predetermined tension to the base material W. As shown in FIG.

The first coating mechanism 12 in the present embodiment is for coating a coating liquid on the surface of the substrate W being transported to form a coating film in stripes. Forming a coating film in a stripe shape means that a plurality of coating portions T in which a coating film is formed in the width direction of the base material W as shown in FIGS. The coating film is formed so that the substrate W has a non-coating portion H where the coating film is not formed. Although FIG. 2A shows an example in which the coating portions T having the same width are formed at the same positions on both sides of the base material W, the positions and widths of the coating portions T are not necessarily the same on both sides of the base material W. It doesn't matter if it's not.

Here, in the present embodiment, an example in which the first coating mechanism 12 is a slit die for coating the electrode material slurry will be described, but the first coating mechanism 12 is not limited to the slit die. It may correspond to a coating method for coating or gravure coating. The same applies to the second coating mechanism 13, which will be described later.

The first coating mechanism 12 is formed long along the width direction of the substrate W (the Y-axis direction in FIG. 1). Here, the backup roll 11d described above is arranged at a predetermined distance from the first coating mechanism 12 so that the rotation axis direction of the backup roll 11d and the width direction of the first coating mechanism 12 are parallel. It is

The first coating mechanism 12 is connected to a supply path (not shown) and includes a manifold 14 that is a space that is long in the width direction and stores the coating liquid, a slit 15 that is wide in the width direction and is connected to the manifold 14, and a slit 15 that is wide in the width direction. It is composed of a discharge port 16 that opens with the same length as the slit 15 and discharges the coating liquid. As a result, the coating liquid stored in the manifold 14 is ejected onto the substrate W from the ejection port 16 via the slit 15 . Further, the discharge port 16 faces the backup roll 11d with the substrate W interposed therebetween. That is, the ejection port 16 faces the substrate W on the surface side of the substrate W. As shown in FIG. As a result, the coating liquid can be applied to the surface side of the base material W while maintaining a constant distance between the discharge port 16 and the base material W.

The first coating mechanism 12 is further provided with a shim plate (not shown) for forming the coating film on the base material W in a striped pattern. The shim plate has, for example, a substantially comb shape and is arranged to divide the slit 15 in the width direction. When the coating liquid is applied while the slit 15 is divided in the width direction by the shim plate, the coating liquid is applied from the portion without the shim plate and is not applied from the portion with the shim plate. That is, the coating film can be formed in stripes. By changing the shape of the shim plate, the width of the coating film can be adjusted. That is, the widths of the applied portion T and the non-applied portion H can be adjusted.

A coating film can be formed on the surface of the substrate W in a striped pattern by the first coating mechanism 12 having these configurations.

The second coating mechanism 13 in this embodiment is for coating the back surface of the substrate W to be conveyed with the coating liquid to form a striped coating film. The second coating mechanism 13 has the same configuration as the first coating mechanism 12 described above, as shown in FIG. It is arranged so as to face the base material W.

The second coating mechanism 13 is supplied with a coating liquid from a supply path (not shown), and coats the back surface of the substrate W with the coating liquid thus supplied. Thereby, a stripe-shaped coating film can be formed on the back surface of the base material W. As shown in FIG.

The first coating mechanism 12 and the second coating mechanism 13 can form coating films on both sides of the base material W in stripes.

Although FIG. 2A shows an example in which the coating portions T having the same width are formed at the same positions on both sides of the base material W, the positions and widths of the coating portions T are not necessarily the same on both sides of the base material W. It doesn't matter if it's not.

FIG. 3 shows the drying device 2 in this embodiment. Fig.3 (a) is front sectional drawing of the drying apparatus 2, FIG.3(b) is AA arrow directional view in Fig.3 (a).

The drying device 2 is a so-called drying oven, and dries the coating films formed on both surfaces of the substrate W by the first coating mechanism 12 and the second coating mechanism 13 by volatilizing the solvent contained in the coating films. As shown in FIG. 1, the drying device 2 is provided downstream of the first coating mechanism 12 and the second coating mechanism 13 on the transport path of the base material W by the transport mechanism 11, and includes a housing part 21, A drying nozzle 22 is provided inside the housing 21 and blows a gas onto the substrate W. The gas from the drying nozzle 22 dries the coating film on the substrate W and floats the substrate W. As shown in FIG. That is, a floatation area, which is an area in which the base material W floats, is formed in the housing part 21 . If the gas blown from the drying nozzle 22 is hot air, the heat can further accelerate the volatilization of the solvent in the coating film, which is preferable.

A touch member 24 is further provided in the housing part 21 to contact the base material W floating on a predetermined transport line of the base material W in the floating area.

The housing part 21 is a box elongated in the direction in which the base material W is conveyed, and is an internal space of the box body and includes a space surrounding the passing base material W and a space through which the base material W enters and exits. has an inlet and an outlet for Then, the substrate W on which the coating film is formed is transported by the transport mechanism 11 so as to pass through the inside of the housing portion 21 . In addition, by surrounding the base material W with the housing part 21, the heat for drying the coating film on the base material W is suppressed from escaping to the outside, and the drying nozzle necessary for floating the base material W is provided. Decrease the amount of air from 22.

The drying nozzle 22 has a structure for blowing gas in a predetermined direction, and blows the gas toward the substrate W. As shown in FIG. The drying nozzle 22 includes a lower nozzle 22a which is installed below the base material W in the housing part 21 and has a blowout port 23 for blowing gas to the upper surface, and a lower nozzle 22a which is installed above the base material W within the housing part 21. In this embodiment, the lower nozzles 22a and the upper nozzles 22b are arranged alternately in the direction in which the substrate W is conveyed.

The drying nozzle 22 has one cavity (not shown) inside, and gas is supplied to this cavity from a supply source (not shown). The blowout port 23 is a slit-like opening extending in the width direction (Y-axis direction) of the base material W as shown in FIG. 3B, and communicates with this cavity. As a result, the gas supplied from the supply source is blown out from the blowout port 23 through the hollow portion with a substantially uniform wind pressure. With this configuration, the lower nozzle 22a blows gas toward the substrate W from below the substrate W, and the upper nozzle 22b blows gas toward the substrate W from above. These gases volatilize the solvent in the coating films formed on both surfaces of the base material W and dry the coating films. Moreover, in order to prevent the gas emitted from the blowing port 23 from accumulating in the vicinity of the drying nozzle 22, a suction port 231 for recovering the gas may be appropriately provided.

Here, the above-described transport roll 11c is not arranged inside the housing portion 21 . In particular, when coating films are formed on both sides of the substrate W as in the present embodiment, the coating films cannot be touched until drying of the coating films is completed. Therefore, it is preferable that the base material W is conveyed in a non-contact state in the housing part 21 except for at least both ends in the width direction. On the other hand, in the present embodiment, a predetermined tension is applied to the substrate W by the transport roll 11c arranged on the upstream side and the transport roll 11c arranged on the downstream side of the housing portion 21, and at the same time, A gas is blown from below the substrate W by the nozzle 22a. The base material W is conveyed by the conveying mechanism 11 and passes through the housing part 21 while being given a lift force by the wind pressure of the gas. That is, the gas blown from the drying nozzle 22 dries the coating film and at the same time floats the substrate W.

Further, in the present embodiment, the lower nozzles 22a and the upper nozzles 22b are alternately arranged in the conveying direction of the substrate W as described above. The substrate W sprayed with the gas from these drying nozzles 22 forms a transport line in the floatation area in the housing 21 that undulates vertically in the transport direction, as shown in FIG. 3(a). The base material W conveyed in this way floats in the housing part 21 and macroscopically advances in a linear direction (X-axis direction) as indicated by a two-dot chain line in FIG. 3(a). By conveying the substrate W substantially linearly in this way, even if the substrate W is in a levitated form, it can be accurately conveyed in a predetermined direction. Here, the air volume from the lower nozzle 22a and the air volume from the upper nozzle 22b are not necessarily the same, and for example, the air volume from the lower nozzle 22a may be larger.

The touch member 24 is a member that contacts the substrate W on a predetermined transport line of the floating substrate W shown in FIG. located in between. Also, as shown in FIG. 3B, the touch member 24 is in contact with the non-coated portion H of the base material W and does not come into contact with the coating film.

Further, in the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4A, the touch member 24 has a roller-like form that rotates around a rotation shaft 24a, and the outer peripheral surface of the touch member 24 is in contact with the non-coated portion H of the base material W. do. Then, due to the frictional force with the base material W, it rotates as the base material W is conveyed. The rotating shaft 24 a is parallel to the width direction (Y-axis direction) of the base material W, and is supported by a supporting member 25 fixed to the housing portion 21 . A plurality of touch members 24 are provided so as to contact each non-application portion H, and each touch member 24 is independently supported by a support member 25 as shown in FIG. 4(b). Since each touch member 24 is independently supported in this manner, it is possible to provide a difference in height between each touch member 24 according to the ideal conveying shape of the base material W. FIG. At least the outer peripheral surface of the touch member 24 is preferably made of a heat-resistant and soft material, and in this embodiment, it is made of a ceramic material, a plastic material such as MC nylon, or the like.

Here, in the present embodiment, as described above, the rotation axis 24a of the touch member 24 is parallel to the width direction (Y-axis direction) of the base material W, but this need not necessarily be the case. For example, if the rotation shafts 24a of a pair of touch members 24 arranged in the width direction are inclined to form a substantially V shape extending the substrate W toward both widthwise ends, the substrate W will have A force can be generated that reduces the deflection in the width direction.

Effects obtained by having the touch member 24 in the drying device 2 according to the present invention will be described below.

In the embodiment in which the substrate W is levitated by blowing gas from the drying nozzle 22 onto the substrate W, if the touch member 24 were not provided, the flow rate of the gas blown from the drying nozzle 22 would be disturbed. The base material W may vibrate in the gas blowing direction (Z-axis direction) due to changes in wind pressure applied to the base material W, or the like. In particular, when the coating film is formed in a striped pattern on the substrate W as shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, the non-coated portion H is thinner and lighter than the coated portion T, and thus easily deformed by wind pressure. . Therefore, the deformation of the base material W due to the wind pressure of the gas concentrates on the non-applied portion H, and as a result, the non-applied portion H flutters. This local deformation in the base material W promotes the vibration of the base material W, and there is a risk that the entire base material W will vibrate with a large amplitude.

On the other hand, in order to suppress the substrate W from vibrating due to the touch member 24 coming into contact with the substrate W on the predetermined transportation line, the transportation state of the substrate W is maintained on the predetermined transportation line. Therefore, the base material W stably floats and is conveyed within the housing part 21 . In addition, since the touch member 24 contacts the non-coated portion H, it is possible to prevent damage to the coating film caused by contact between the touch member 24 and the coating film before the completion of drying.

In addition, since the touch member 24 is roller-shaped and rotates, it is possible to prevent the touch member 24 from rubbing against the base material W, thereby preventing the base material W from being damaged.

Here, the greater the contact area between the touch member 24 and the substrate W, the greater the effect of preventing the vibration of the substrate W by the touch member 24 . On the other hand, if the contact area between the touch member 24 and the base material W is too large, rubbing will occur between them. Therefore, it is preferable to consider the position of the touch member 24 so as to obtain the optimum contact area.

A touch member 24 in another embodiment is shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 5(a), the touch member 24 in this embodiment has a roller-like shape that rotates about a rotating shaft 24a as in the above embodiment. On the other hand, in this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 5(b), a plurality of touch members 24 have a common rotating shaft 24a, and these touch members 24 rotate synchronously. By sharing the rotating shaft 24a of the plurality of touch members 24 in this manner, the configuration of the device can be simplified.

A touch member 24 in yet another embodiment is shown in FIG. The touch member 24 in this embodiment does not have a roller shape as in the above-described embodiment, but has a curved surface bent so as to protrude toward the substrate W (non-coated portion H) as shown in FIG. 6(a). It has a curved surface portion, and the curved surface portion contacts the non-application portion H as shown in FIGS. 6(a) and 6(b). Specifically, in the present embodiment, it is a member that forms a part of the outer peripheral surface of the cylinder, and is fixed to the housing portion 21 via the support member 25 . At least the outer peripheral surface of the touch member 24 is preferably made of a heat-resistant and soft material such as a ceramic material or a plastic material such as MC nylon, as in the above embodiment.

Unlike the roller-shaped touch member 24 described above, the touch member 24 of this embodiment does not have a rotating mechanism. Therefore, since there is no sliding between the rotating shaft 24a and the support member 25 caused by the roller-shaped touch member 24, the problem of dust generation that may occur due to this sliding can be ignored.

[Second embodiment]
Next, a drying device 2 according to a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. This embodiment differs from the first embodiment in that the drying device 2 has an edge nip portion 26 .

7A and 7B are diagrams showing a drying apparatus 2 according to a second embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 7A being a front cross-sectional view, and FIG. 7B being a BB arrow view in FIG. 7A.

The drying device 2 in this embodiment has an edge nip portion 26 . The edge nip portion 26 is an embodiment of the edge guiding portion in this description, contacts the vicinity of the edge of the substrate W, and defines the conveying path of the edge of the substrate W. As shown in FIG.

The edge nip portion 26 is for nipping both ends of the base material W in the width direction as shown in FIGS. The nip roll 27 is formed in a columnar shape and rotates about the central axis of the column. Each of the nip rolls 27 faces both widthwise end portions of the base material W on the front side and the back side of the base material W, and the pair of nip rolls 27 can nip the base material W from the front side and the back side. placed in position. A plurality of pairs of these nip rolls 27 are arranged in the direction in which the substrate W is conveyed. By nipping both ends of the base material W in the width direction in the floating area in the housing part 21 by the edge nip parts 26, the coated part T and the non-coated part H of the base material W are floated, but the ends of the base material W are floated. is fixed, the vibration of the substrate W can be further reduced.

Further, of the pair of nip rolls 27, the two nip rolls 27 located on the same side of the base material W are tilted so that their rotation axes form a substantially V shape as shown in FIG. 7(a). Good. At this time, the set of nip rolls 27 is inclined so as to extend the nipped substrate W toward both ends in the width direction. Thereby, the bending of the base material W in the width direction can be reduced.

[Third Embodiment]
Next, the drying device 2, particularly the drying nozzle 22, in the third embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. This embodiment differs from the first embodiment in that the drying nozzle 22 of the drying device 2 has a blowout cover 28 .

8A and 8B are diagrams showing the drying nozzle 22 according to the third embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 8A is a schematic diagram of the drying nozzle 22 alone, and FIG. 1 is a schematic view of the state positioned within the . FIG.

The blowout cover 28 is a member that covers the surface of the drying nozzle 22 on which the blowout openings 23 are provided, and partially covers the plurality of blowout openings 23 of the drying nozzle 22 . The blowout cover 28 can be attached at any position in the arrangement direction (Y-axis direction) of the blowout ports 23 .

When the drying nozzle 22 blows out gas with the blow-out cover 28 partially covering the blow-out port 23, the wind pressure in the vicinity of the portion where the blow-out cover 28 is provided is the same as that in the vicinity of the portion where the blow-out port 23 is exposed. lower than wind pressure. That is, it is possible to provide a difference in air pressure in one drying nozzle 22 .

Such a blowout cover 28 is preferably attached at a position facing the non-application portion H in the transport path of the base material W as shown in FIG. 8(b). By doing so, the wind pressure at the position facing the non-application portion H is lower than the wind pressure at the position facing the application portion T. FIG. By making the wind pressure of the portion located in the non-coating portion H relatively low in this manner, the deformation of the non-coating portion H can be suppressed without hindering the drying of the coating film by the gas, so that the vibration of the base material W can be suppressed. can be suppressed further. Moreover, as shown in FIG. 8(b), the blow-off cover 28 may also be attached to positions facing both width direction end portions of the substrate W on which the coating film is not formed.

With the drying apparatus described above, it is possible to convey the substrate in a stable state when drying the coating film formed on the substrate.

As described above, the embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail with reference to the drawings, but the configurations and combinations thereof in each embodiment are examples, and additions, omissions, Substitutions and other modifications are possible. For example, in the above-described embodiment, an example in which striped coating films are formed on both surfaces of the substrate W has been described. A coating film may be formed on one side of the material W. That is, the coating device 1 may be configured to have either the first coating mechanism 12 or the second coating mechanism.

Further, even if the coating film is formed on both sides of the base material W, the coating film formed on the base material sent to the drying device 2 does not necessarily have to be in a wet state containing a solvent on both sides. It does not matter if the coating film on one side has already been dried.

Moreover, the coating film does not have to be striped, and may be a so-called solid coating. In this case, the touch members 24 are preferably provided so as to come into contact with portions of both ends of the substrate W where the coating film is not formed.

Further, in the above embodiment, the drying nozzle 22 is composed of the lower nozzle 22a and the upper nozzle 22b, and the example in which the gas is blown to both surfaces of the base material W to dry the coating film and float the base material W is performed. Although explained, it may be constituted by only the lower nozzle 22a.

In the above-described embodiment, from the viewpoint of facilitating position adjustment and maintenance of the touch member 24, the touch member 24 is positioned adjacent to the drying nozzle 22 (lower side) in the conveying direction of the substrate W as shown in FIG. Although it is provided in an intermediate portion between the nozzle 22a and the upper nozzle 22b), it is not limited to this, and may be provided so as to face the drying nozzle 22, for example.

In addition, in the above-described embodiment, the blow-out cover 28 is used as means for forming a difference in wind pressure in one drying nozzle 22, but the invention is not limited to this. For example, each blowout port 23 may be made independent and then connected to a different supply unit (not shown) so that the wind pressure of the gas supplied to each blowout port 23 may be adjusted.

In addition, in the above-described embodiment, an example in which both ends of the base material W are nipped by a plurality of nip rolls 27 has been described in the description of the edge guiding portion, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, rolls in contact with the front side of the base material W and rolls in contact with the back side of the base material W may be alternately arranged along the conveying direction of the base material W. These rolls contact the vicinity of the edge of the substrate W within the housing portion 21 and dry the coating film formed on the substrate W in a state in which the conveying path of the edge of the substrate W is defined. Thereby, the vibration of the base material W can be reduced. Moreover, even if the substrate W is displaced and comes off the rolls, it can be easily returned to its original position as compared with the case where the substrate W is sandwiched.

1 coating device 2 drying device 11 transport mechanism 11a unwinding roll 11b winding roll 11c transport roll 11d backup roll 12 first coating mechanism 13 second coating mechanism 14 manifold 15 slit 16 discharge port 21 casing 22 drying nozzle 22a lower nozzle 22b upper nozzle 23 blowout port 231 suction port 24 touch member 24a rotating shaft 25 support member 26 edge nip portion 27 nip roll 28 blowout cover H non-coating portion T coating portion W base material

Claims (7)

A drying device for drying a coating film applied to a substrate while conveying the substrate in a predetermined direction,
A drying nozzle that floats the substrate and dries the coating film by blowing gas toward the substrate;
a touch member that contacts the substrate in a floating region, which is a region in which the substrate floats due to the drying nozzle;
with
A drying apparatus, wherein a coating film is partially formed in a width direction of a base material, and the touch member is in contact with the base material in a non-coating part, which is a part where the coating film is not formed. The drying nozzle has a lower nozzle for blowing gas from below the base material and an upper nozzle for blowing gas from above the base material, and the lower nozzle and the upper nozzle are arranged along the conveying path of the base material. 2. The drying apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a transport line for the substrate is formed so as to undulate vertically in the transport direction in the floating area by arranging the substrates. 3. The drying apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the touch member has a curved surface portion having a curved surface that is convex toward the substrate. 3. The drying apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said touch member is a roller. 5. The drying apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the coating film is formed in stripes in the width direction of the substrate, and the non-coating portion is provided between the coating films. 6. The drying apparatus according to claim 5, wherein in said drying nozzle, the wind pressure at a position facing said non-coating portion is lower than the wind pressure at a position facing said coating film. 7. The drying apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 6, further comprising an edge guide portion that contacts the vicinity of the edge of the base material in the floating area and defines a conveying path of the edge.

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