JP6674774B2 - Film transport device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention is a film that continuously or intermittently feeds out a film and continuously or intermittently winds the film while performing a surface treatment such as a film forming process, a heating process, and a plasma process on the running film. It relates to a transport device.

  Conventionally, while winding a long base film continuously or intermittently fed from an unwinding roller around a cooling roller, an evaporating substance from an evaporation source disposed opposite to the cooling roller is placed on the base film. 2. Description of the Related Art There is known a winding type vacuum evaporation apparatus in which a base film after evaporation is wound up by a winding roller.

  In this type of roll-to-roll vacuum evaporation apparatus, a base film is transported while being guided by a plurality of guide rollers provided on a transport path. A conventional guide roller has a cylindrical roll surface, and guides the transport of the base film by supporting one surface of the base film with the roll surface.

  However, depending on the type of the base film and / or the vapor deposition material, the film formation form, the use conditions of the apparatus, and the like, it may not be preferable to bring the processing region of the base film into contact with the roll surface of the guide roller. For example, when the roll surface of the guide roller comes into contact with the processing area of the base film, a minute flaw is formed on the film forming portion.

  In order to solve such a problem, a method has been proposed in which an auxiliary roller having a pressing portion is provided so as to face a guide roller (for example, see Patent Document 2). In the method described in Patent Literature 2, both end edges, which are non-use areas of the base film, are supported by guides, thereby preventing the processing area of the base film from contacting the roll surface of the guide roller.

Japanese Patent No. 3795518 Japanese Patent No. 5024972

  However, according to the method described in Patent Document 2, shrinkage in the width direction of the base film due to tension acting on the base film during traveling cannot be sufficiently suppressed. This causes wrinkles in the base film. The occurrence of such wrinkles causes abnormal winding and hinders stable running of the base film. Also, the wrinkled portion is easily affected by heat, and may damage the base film by heat. In order to suppress such damage due to heat, the film formation rate and the processing power must be reduced, which affects the productivity.

  In view of the circumstances as described above, an object of the present invention is to provide a film transport device capable of suppressing the generation of wrinkles of a running film while protecting a processing area of the film.

In order to achieve the above object, a film transport device according to one embodiment of the present invention includes an unwind roller that unwinds a film, a wind roller that winds the film unwound from the unwind roller, a processing unit, It comprises a first guide roller and a second guide roller.
The processing unit is disposed on a transport path of the film, and performs a predetermined surface treatment on a processing surface of the film.
The first guide roller is disposed between the unwind roller and the processing unit, and supports both side edges of the processing surface.
The second guide roller is disposed between the unwinding roller and the first guide roller, and at least one between the first guide roller and the processing unit, Supports the non-treated surface opposite the treated surface.
At least one of the first guide roller and the second guide roller has a widening structure that converts a tension acting on the film into a tensile stress along a width direction of the film.

  In the film transport device, at least one of the first guide roller and the second guide roller has the widening structure, so that wrinkles on the film are suppressed and the film is continuously transferred to the processing unit. Can be transported. Thereby, the thermal damage of the film in the processing section can be reduced while protecting the processing surface of the film. Further, since stable running property of the film is ensured, it is possible to effectively suppress, for example, abnormal winding of the winding roller.

  As one embodiment, the first guide roller has a cylindrical roll surface facing the processing surface with a gap therebetween, and a pair of support rollers provided on the roll surface and supporting both side edges of the processing surface. It may have a guide part.

In this case, the pair of guide portions may be made of an elastic material capable of being deformed in a direction away from each other under a tension acting on the film.
Alternatively, the peripheral surfaces of the pair of guide portions may be formed of a tapered surface that is inclined upward toward the side edge of the film.
Alternatively, the film transport device may further include an auxiliary roller that is disposed to face the first guide roller and contacts the first guide roller with the film interposed therebetween.
Thereby, wrinkles can be suppressed by the film widening action while protecting the film formation region of the film.

  As the widening structure of the second guide roller, for example, the second roller may be configured by an expansion roller.

Meanwhile, the film transport device may further include a third guide roller and a fourth guide roller.
The third guide roller is disposed between the processing unit and the winding roller, and supports both side edges of the processing surface.
The fourth guide roller is disposed between the processing unit and the third guide roller and at least one between the third guide roller and the take-up roller, and is provided on the non-processing surface. I support.
At least one of the third guide roller and the fourth guide roller has a widening structure for converting a tension acting on the film into a tensile stress along a width direction of the film.
This makes it possible to secure a stable running property of the film while protecting the treated surface of the film that has been subjected to the surface treatment, so that abnormal winding by the winding roller can be effectively suppressed.

The film transport device may further include a sensor unit and an adjustment mechanism.
The sensor unit has a head portion disposed to face at least one of the processing surface and the non-processing surface, and detects a distance between the head portion and the film.
The adjustment mechanism adjusts the width of the film being widened by the first guide roller or the second guide roller, or the transport tension of the film, based on the output of the sensor unit.

  The head unit may include a plurality of sensor heads arranged in a width direction of the film.

  The processing unit may include a main roller that supports the non-processing surface of the film, and a film forming unit that is disposed to face the main roller and that forms the processing surface of the film.

  As described above, according to the present invention, wrinkling of a running film can be suppressed while protecting the processing area of the film.

FIG. 1 is a schematic vertical sectional view showing a configuration of a vapor deposition device provided with a film transport device according to one embodiment of the present invention. It is a schematic diagram of the principal part of the above-mentioned vapor deposition device. It is a schematic sectional drawing of the vapor deposition apparatus which concerns on a comparative example. It is a schematic diagram explaining composition and operation of a guide roller concerning a comparative example. It is a principal part sectional view explaining an example of 1 composition of a guide roller which has a widening structure applicable to the 1st guide roller and the 3rd guide roller in the above-mentioned vapor deposition device, and its operation. FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view of a main part illustrating another configuration example of a guide roller having a widened structure applicable to the first guide roller and the third guide roller and an operation thereof. It is a principal part sectional drawing explaining an example of a structure of the guide roller which has a widening structure applicable to the 2nd guide roller and the 4th guide roller in the said vapor deposition apparatus, and its effect | action. FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view of a main part illustrating another configuration example of a guide roller having a widened structure applicable to the second guide roller and the fourth guide roller and the operation thereof. It is a schematic structure figure showing the film conveyance device concerning a 2nd embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a main part of a combination example of a guide roller and an auxiliary roller in the film transport device. It is the schematic which shows the example of a structure of the sensor unit in the said film conveyance apparatus. It is a figure showing the modification of the composition of the above-mentioned 1st and 3rd guide rollers. FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating a configuration example of a slip sheet mechanism applied to the film transport device.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

<First embodiment>
FIG. 1 is a schematic vertical sectional view showing the configuration of a roll-to-roll vacuum evaporation apparatus (hereinafter, referred to as an evaporation apparatus) provided with a film transport apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
In the drawings, the X axis, the Y axis, and the Z axis indicate three mutually orthogonal directions. In the present embodiment, the X axis and the Y axis indicate the horizontal direction, and the Z axis indicates the height direction. I have.

[Overall configuration of evaporation apparatus]
The vapor deposition device 1 includes an unwind roller 2, a take-up roller 3, a main roller 4, a film forming unit 6, and a vacuum chamber 7 that houses these. The vapor deposition device 1 is disposed to face the main roller 4 while winding a long base film (hereinafter, referred to as a film F) continuously or intermittently fed from the unwind roller 2 around the main roller 4. The evaporation material from the film forming unit 6 is deposited on the film F, and the film F after the deposition is wound up by the winding roller 3.

  The vacuum chamber 7 has a closed structure and is connected to a vacuum pump P via an exhaust line L. Thus, the inside of the vacuum chamber 7 can be evacuated or maintained in a predetermined reduced-pressure atmosphere.

  The vacuum chamber 7 has a partition plate 8 inside. The partition plate 8 is disposed substantially at the center of the vacuum chamber 7 in the Z-axis direction, and has an opening of a predetermined size. The periphery of the opening faces the outer peripheral surface of the main roller 4 with a predetermined gap. The inside of the vacuum chamber 7 is partitioned by a partition plate 8 into a transfer chamber 9 above the partition plate 8 in the Z-axis direction and a film forming chamber 10 below the partition plate 8 in the Z-axis direction.

  An exhaust line L is connected to the film forming chamber 10. Therefore, when the inside of the vacuum chamber 7 is evacuated, first, the inside of the film forming chamber 10 is evacuated. On the other hand, since there is a predetermined gap between the partition plate 8 and the main roller 4 as described above, the inside of the transfer chamber 9 is also exhausted through this gap. This causes a pressure difference between the film forming chamber 10 and the transfer chamber 9. This pressure difference can prevent the vapor flow of the evaporation material from the film forming unit 6 from entering the transfer chamber 9.

  In the present embodiment, the exhaust line L is connected only to the film forming chamber 10. However, by connecting another exhaust line to the transfer chamber 9, the transfer chamber 9 and the film forming chamber 10 can be connected simultaneously or independently. May be exhausted.

  The unwinding roller 2, the winding roller 3, the main roller 4, and the guide rollers 5A to 5H constitute a film transport mechanism 50 (film transport device). The unwind roller 2, the take-up roller 3, and the main roller 4 each include a rotation drive unit (not shown) and are configured to be rotatable about an axis parallel to the X axis.

  The unwind roller 2 and the take-up roller 3 are arranged in the transfer chamber 9 and are configured to be rotatable at predetermined speeds in the directions (clockwise) indicated by arrows in FIG. The direction of rotation of the unwind roller 2 is not limited to this, and may be any direction as long as the film F can be unwound toward the main roller 4. Similarly, the rotation direction of the winding roller 3 is not limited to the clockwise direction, and may be any direction as long as the film F can be wound from the main roller 4.

  The main roller 4 is disposed between the unwind roller 2 and the take-up roller 3 in the transport path of the film F. Specifically, at least a part of the lower portion of the main roller 4 in the Z-axis direction is arranged at a position facing the film forming chamber 10 through an opening provided in the partition plate 8.

  The main roller 4 is configured to be rotatable at a predetermined speed clockwise by a rotation drive unit, similarly to the unwind roller 2 and the take-up roller 3. Further, the main roller 4 is formed of a metal material such as iron or stainless steel in a cylindrical shape, and includes a cooling medium or heating medium circulation mechanism (not shown) therein. Thus, the film on the main roller 4 can be cooled or heated to a predetermined temperature. The size of the main roller 4 is not particularly limited, but typically, the length in the axial direction (axial length) is equal to or longer than the width of the film F.

  The guide rollers 5A, 5B, 5C, and 5D are arranged between the unwind roller 2 and the main roller 4 in the transport path of the film F, and guide the traveling of the film F. The guide rollers 5E, 5F, 5G, and 5H are disposed between the take-up roller 3 and the main roller 4 in the transport path of the film F, and guide the traveling of the film F. Details of each of the guide rollers 5A to 5H will be described later.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the film forming unit 6 is disposed in the film forming chamber 10, and has an evaporation source 61 and a deposition prevention plate 62.

  The evaporation source 61 is disposed directly below the main roller 4 in the Z-axis direction. Although not shown, the evaporation source 61 includes a round crucible as a container for holding the evaporation material, and an induction coil surrounding the outer periphery of the crucible. The induction coil is electrically connected to an AC power supply (not shown) installed outside the vacuum chamber 7. The evaporation source 61 generates vapor of an evaporation material to be deposited on the film formation surface (processing surface) of the film F by an induction heating method. However, the invention is not limited thereto, and the evaporation material may be heated by a resistance heating method, electron beam heating, or the like.

  The evaporation material is not particularly limited. For example, besides simple metal elements such as Al, Co, Cu, Ni, and Ti, two or more metals such as Al-Zn and Fe-Co, multi-component alloys, SiOx, and AlOx Or an organic material such as The number of evaporation sources 61 is not limited to one, and a plurality of evaporation sources may be provided.

  The deposition prevention plate 62 has an opening 621 and is disposed between the main roller 4 and the evaporation source 61. Further, the attachment-preventing plate 62 is connected to the inner wall of the vacuum chamber 7 via a support (not shown) to prevent the evaporation material from adhering to the inner wall of the vacuum chamber 7. The material forming the deposition-preventing plate 62 is not particularly limited, and a metal material such as stainless steel or copper is typically applied.

  FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing the relationship between the main roller 4 and the deposition-preventing plate 62 as viewed from the transport direction of the film F. The opening 621 is a rectangular through-hole provided substantially at the center of the attachment-preventing plate 62, and is arranged to face the outer peripheral surface of the main roller 4. The size and shape of the opening 621 are not particularly limited, and can be appropriately set according to the distance to the evaporation source 61, the distance to the film F, and the like. In the present embodiment, the opening 621 functions as a mask that defines a film formation region of the film F. By providing the mask, the deposition film Fm is formed only in the film formation region of the film F as shown in FIG.

  The film F is made of a long plastic film cut to a predetermined width, for example, an OPP (biaxially oriented polypropylene) film, a CPP (unaxially oriented polypropylene) film, a PET (polyethylene terephthalate) film, a PI (polyimide) film , PEN (polyethylene naphthalate) film and the like are used. The film F may be a metal foil such as a stainless steel, a copper foil, and an iron plate, or may be a woven fabric, a glass film, or the like.

  The thickness of the film F is not particularly limited, and is, for example, about 5 μm to 100 μm. Further, the width and length of the film F are not particularly limited, and can be appropriately selected depending on the application. Typically, a long film of 1000 m or more is used as the film F.

  In the present embodiment, the film F has both side edges of the film formation surface, that is, both end portions in the film width direction are non-film formation regions, or the film F is formed over the entire film formation surface. Even if it is used, one whose both side edges are unused areas is used. In order to make both side edges of the film formation surface non-film formation regions, for example, a mask for limiting the film formation region may be provided between the main roller 4 and the evaporation source 61. As shown in FIG. 2, the mask may be constituted by a deposition-preventing plate 62 having an opening 621, or a mask material separately disposed between the deposition-preventing plate 62 and the main roller 4 may be used. Good.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the vapor deposition apparatus 1 further includes a controller 11 installed outside the vacuum chamber 7. The controller 11 is configured by, for example, a computer including a CPU (Central Processing Unit) and a memory, and controls the respective units of the vapor deposition apparatus 1 in an integrated manner. The controller 11 performs, for example, control of the operation of the vacuum pump P, rotational drive and position control of each roller, control of the amount of evaporation of the evaporation material in the evaporation source 61, and the like.

[Film transport mechanism]
Subsequently, details of the film transport mechanism 50 will be described.

(background)
The film transport mechanism 50 has a plurality of guide rollers 5A to 5H. The film F unwound from the unwind roller 2 passes through a predetermined gap formed between the main roller 4 and the partition plate 8 while being guided by a plurality of guide rollers 5A to 5D, and passes through a predetermined gap. It is wound around the peripheral surface of the main roller 4 at the holding angle. The inner surface (non-film-formed surface or non-processed surface) of the film F that is in contact with the outer peripheral surface of the main roller 4 is cooled by the main roller 4 to a predetermined temperature or lower or heated to a predetermined temperature or higher. The film F wound around the main roller 4 is conveyed clockwise by the rotation of the main roller 4, and in the conveyance process, the film of the evaporating material is deposited on the film formation area of the film F by the film forming unit 6. (See FIG. 2). The formed film F is taken up by the take-up roller 3 via the guide rollers 5E to 5H.

  In the film transport mechanism 50, the main roller 4 and the evaporation source 61 (the film forming unit 6) installed on the film transport path each correspond to a processing unit that performs a predetermined surface treatment on the processing surface of the film F. The processing section is not limited to the film formation processing section, but may be used instead of or in addition to this, such as ion beam or electron beam for heating and degassing / removing water, cleaning the surface of the film F, and modifying the surface. Various surface treatment units such as a charged beam irradiation process, an oil masking process, and a static elimination process using plasma can be applied. For example, the charged beam irradiation processing unit can be installed between the guide roller 5A and the guide roller 5B, and the ion bombardment mechanism for static elimination processing is installed between the main roller 4 and the guide roller 5E. Can be.

  On the other hand, the film formation region of the film F may not be able to contact the roll surface of the guide roller depending on the type of the film F or the film formation material, the film formation form, the use conditions of the apparatus, and the like. This is because if the roll surface of the guide roller comes into contact with the film formation region of the film F, a problem such as minute scratches on the film formation portion is caused.

  In this case, a method of guiding the running of the film F by guide rollers 5A, 5B, 5D, 5E, 5G, and 5H that support only the non-film-forming surface of the film F as in the vapor deposition device 2 shown in FIG. Conceivable. However, in this method, it is not possible to secure a sufficient contact angle (holding angle) between the film F and the guide rollers 5B, 5D, 5E, 5G, and thus it is not possible to secure a stable running property of the film F. In addition, since the arrangement position of the guide rollers is limited, restrictions on the configuration of the apparatus are increased.

  Therefore, there is a method in which a guide roller that contacts the film forming surface of the film F is configured as shown in FIG. 4A. The guide roller 29 shown in FIG. 4A is provided with a pair of annular guide portions 29b formed on a cylindrical roll surface 29a so as to be spaced apart from each other so as to support both side edges of the film F. Each guide portion 29b supports both side edges of the film F which is a non-film formation area or a non-use area, and avoids contact between the film formation area Fc of the film F and the roll surface 29a.

  However, since the film F is long and transported in a state in which tension is applied, the central portion of the film F is bent, and as shown in FIG. It may come into contact with the surface 29a. Further, the stable guiding function of the film F cannot be achieved, and the running path of the film F is disturbed, which may hinder the winding of the film F by the winding roller 3.

  On the other hand, a pair of guide rollers 29b is provided with a pair of auxiliary rollers opposed to each other with the film F interposed therebetween, and the auxiliary rollers press both side edges of the film F toward the guide portions 29b. There is a way to suppress. However, even in this method, it is not possible to sufficiently suppress the deflection at the center of the film due to the effect of the tension of the film.

  Furthermore, since there is a heat balance due to processes such as a heating process, a cooling process, a discharge process, and a film forming process, the temperature of the film changes according to the running position. For this reason, unless tension or a component force is applied in the width direction perpendicular to the running direction of the film, wrinkles or the like are generated in the film, which may damage the film or the film formation layer. In this case, when the guide roller has a stepped structure as shown in FIG. 4A, stress is generated in the film between a portion that contacts the guide roller and a portion that does not contact the guide roller, so that damage to the film becomes more serious. . In particular, in the case of a film having a thickness of 50 μm or less, the occurrence of wrinkles and the damage caused thereby are more remarkable.

  Therefore, in the present embodiment, in order to solve the above-described problem, the film transport mechanism 50 is configured as follows.

(Basic configuration)
As shown in FIG. 1, the film transport mechanism 50 of the present embodiment has a first guide roller 51 and a second guide roller 52. The first guide roller 51 is disposed between the unwinding roller 2 and the main roller 4 (processing unit), and supports both side edges of the film-forming surface (processing surface) of the film F. On the other hand, the second guide roller 52 is disposed between the unwinding roller 2 and the first guide roller 51 and at least one between the first guide roller 51 and the main roller 4, and the film F The non-film-forming surface (non-processed surface) opposite to the film-forming surface is supported.

  In the present embodiment, the first guide roller 51 is applied to the guide roller 5C, and the second guide roller 52 is a guide roller 5B immediately upstream of the guide roller 5C and a guide roller immediately downstream of the guide roller 5C. This is applied to each of the rollers 5D (see FIG. 1).

  In this embodiment, at least one of the first guide roller 51 and the second guide roller 52 has a widening structure that converts the tension acting on the film F into a tensile stress along the width direction of the film F.

  In the present embodiment, since the first guide rollers 51 that support both side edges of the film-forming surface of the film F are provided between the unwind roller 2 and the main roller 4, the film F is stable. It is possible to protect the film-forming surface (film-forming region) of the film F while ensuring the traveling property. In addition, since at least one of the first and second guide rollers 51 and 52 has a structure for widening the film F, the film F fed from the unwind roller 2 can be removed from the main roller 4 while suppressing wrinkles. Can be transported to Thereby, wrinkling of the film F on the main roller 4 is suppressed as much as possible, adhesion between the non-film-formed surface of the film F and the main roller 4 is ensured, and thermal damage to the film during the film-forming process is reduced. Can be reduced.

  Furthermore, the film transport mechanism 50 of the present embodiment further includes a third guide roller 53 and a fourth guide roller 54, as shown in FIG. The third guide roller 53 is disposed between the main roller 4 and the take-up roller 3 and supports both side edges of the film F on which the film is formed. On the other hand, the fourth guide roller 54 is disposed between the main roller 4 and the third guide roller 53 and at least one between the third guide roller 53 and the take-up roller 3, and the film F Is supported.

  In the present embodiment, the third guide roller 53 is applied to the guide roller 5F, and the fourth guide roller 54 is a guide roller 5E immediately upstream of the guide roller 5F and a guide roller immediately downstream of the guide roller 5F. This is applied to each of the rollers 5G (see FIG. 1).

  At least one of the third guide roller 53 and the fourth guide roller 54 has a widening structure that converts a tension acting on the film into a tensile stress along the width direction of the film.

  In the film transport mechanism 50 of the present embodiment, between the main roller 4 and the take-up roller 3, the third guide roller 53 that supports both side edges of the film-forming surface of the film F is included. It is possible to protect the film-forming surface (film-forming region) of the film F on which the film has been formed, while ensuring stable running of the film F. Further, since at least one of the third and fourth guide rollers 53 and 54 has a structure for widening the film F, the film F formed on the main roller 4 is wound up while suppressing wrinkles. It can be transported to the roller 3. Thereby, the winding abnormality of the film F by the winding roller 3 can be prevented.

(Widening structure)
Various configurations can be adopted as the widening structure of the guide roller that applies a tensile force to the film in the width direction. Hereinafter, some configuration examples of the widening structure applicable to the first to fourth guide rollers will be described.

(Application example 1)
5A and 5B are cross-sectional views of a main part showing an example of a guide roller having a widened structure applicable to the first guide roller 51 and the third guide roller 53.

  The guide roller 151 shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B has a cylindrical roll surface 510 and a pair of guide portions 520 provided at both ends of the roll surface 510. The pair of guide portions 520 are formed by annular roller components made of an elastic material such as rubber or elastomer, and each inner peripheral surface 523 is fixed to the roll surface 510. The pair of guide portions 520 have a first end 521 facing each other and a second end 522 opposite to the first end 521. Further, the pair of guide portions 520 have outer peripheral surfaces 524 that support both side edges of the film F, and the width dimension of the outer peripheral surface 524 along the film width direction is equal to the width of the non-film-forming region of the film F. Or smaller. The outer peripheral surface 524 is provided with a single or a plurality of annular grooves 526 over the entire circumference to facilitate deformation of the outer peripheral surface 524.

  The first end 521 of each guide portion 520 is formed of a tapered surface inclined at a predetermined angle with respect to the roll surface 510. In the present embodiment, the first end portion 521 is formed of a truncated conical peripheral surface concentric with the center axis C of the roll surface 510, and the first end portions 521 of each guide portion 520 approach each other. It is formed so that the outer diameter decreases in the direction.

  On the other hand, the second end 522 of each guide portion 520 has a mortar-shaped recess 525 (indicated only in the right recess in FIGS. 5A and 5B) having an axial end of the roll surface 510 as a bottom surface. . The concave portion 525 is concentric with the central axis C of the roll surface 510, and has a cross-sectional shape of an isosceles trapezoid. The recess 525 has a minimum diameter D1 on the bottom side and a maximum diameter D2 on the opening side. The minimum diameter D1 of the concave portion 525 is equal to the diameter of the inner peripheral surface 523 of the guide portion 520, and the maximum diameter D2 is equal to the diameter of the outer peripheral surface 524 of the guide portion 520.

  During the transport of the film F, the tension T1 of the film F acts on the guide roller 151 in the direction indicated by the arrow in FIG. 5A. A pair of guide portions 520 supporting both side edges of the film formation surface of the film F are pressed toward the roll surface 510 and locally elastically deform. At this time, since each second end portion 522 has a concave portion 525, the pair of guide portions 520 are deformed in a direction away from each other, and the deformation of the guide portions 520 causes the film F to move in a direction indicated by an arrow in FIG. 5B. Is generated. As described above, the pair of guide portions 520 functions as a guide surface that supports the film F and converts tension acting on the film F into tensile stress along the width direction of the film F. Accordingly, it is possible to prevent wrinkles from being formed on the film F on the guide roller 151 and to maintain the non-contact state between the film formation region of the film F and the roll surface 510 to protect the film formation region. become.

(Application example 2)
6A and 6B are cross-sectional views of a main part showing another configuration example of a guide roller having a widened structure applicable to the first guide roller 51 and the third guide roller 53.

  The guide roller 152 shown in FIGS. 6A and 6B has a cylindrical roll surface 510 and a pair of guide portions 530 provided at both ends of the roll surface 510. The pair of guide portions 530 are formed of a high-rigidity annular roller component made of a metal material or the like, and are fixed to both ends of the roll surface 510. The pair of guide portions 530 have outer peripheral surfaces 531 that support both side edges of the film F, and these outer peripheral surfaces 531 are each formed of a tapered surface that is inclined upward toward the side edge of the film F.

  During the transport of the film F, the tension T1 of the film F acts on the guide roller 152 in the direction indicated by the arrow in FIG. 6A. Since the outer peripheral surfaces 531 of the pair of guide portions 530 are formed of the above-described tapered surfaces, the tension T1 is converted into a tensile stress T2 that widens the film F in the width direction. Thus, the pair of guide portions 530 functions as a guide surface that supports the film F and converts the tension acting on the film F into a tensile stress along the width direction of the film F. Thereby, the same operation and effect as in Application Example 1 can be obtained.

(Application example 3)
On the other hand, FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of a configuration of a guide roller having a widened structure applicable to the second guide roller 52 and the fourth guide roller 54.

  The guide roller 153 illustrated in FIG. 7 is configured by a concave roller configured such that the roll diameter continuously increases from the center toward both ends. The guide roller 153 of this type applies a tensile stress T2 to the film F in the direction of widening while traveling while supporting the entire area of the non-film-forming surface of the film F while rotating around the axis. Thereby, the occurrence of wrinkles on the film F is prevented.

(Application example 4)
FIG. 8 is a diagram showing another configuration example of a guide roller having a widening structure applicable to the second guide roller 52 and the fourth guide roller 54.

  The guide roller 154 illustrated in FIG. 8 is configured by a banana roller or an expander roller that is curved so as to protrude downstream in the traveling direction of the film F. Also in the guide roller having such a configuration, the function of widening the film F can be obtained as in the case of the third application example.

(Operation of film transport mechanism)
In the film transport mechanism 50 of the present embodiment configured as described above, as shown in FIG. 1, the guide roller 5C is constituted by the first guide roller 51, and the guide rollers immediately upstream and downstream thereof are provided. Since 5B and 5D are constituted by the second guide rollers 52, the film F unwound from the unwinding roller 2 via the guide roller 5A is widened while protecting its film-forming surface (film-forming region). The sheet is conveyed to the main roller 4 under the action. Therefore, since the film F can be brought into close contact with the peripheral surface of the main roller 4 without causing wrinkles in the film F, it is possible to form the film F while suppressing thermal damage to the film F.

  Further, in the film transport mechanism 50 of the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, the guide roller 5F is constituted by a third guide roller 53, and the guide rollers 5E and 5G immediately upstream and downstream of the third guide roller 53 are provided. 4, the film F formed on the main roller 4 is protected by the film forming surface (film forming area) and is subjected to the widening action while passing through the guide roller 5H. And is taken up by the take-up roller 3. Therefore, the film F can be transported to the winding roller 3 without causing wrinkles in the film F, so that abnormal winding of the film F can be prevented.

  In addition, according to the present embodiment, wrinkles of the film F can be suppressed during the film transport, so that the irradiation of the film F with a charged beam, the charge elimination, and the like can be appropriately performed.

  Further, according to the present embodiment, since the contact portion between the guide rollers 5C and 5F and the film F is limited to a part (side edges) of the film F, when the film F separates from the guide rollers 5C and 5F. Can be suppressed, and thereby more stable film running properties can be realized. Further, since it is possible to minimize the contact of the film with the guide rollers 5C and 5F and at the same time, it is possible to prevent exfoliation and electrification, the adhesion of particles to the film F is suppressed, and the yield of the process can be dramatically improved.

  Here, in the present embodiment, both of the guide rollers 5B and 5D are constituted by the second guide rollers 52 having the widening function, but at least one of the guide rollers 5A, 5B and 5D has the second widening function having the widening function. And the guide rollers 5A, 5B, and 5D may be formed of ordinary guide rollers having no widening function. Alternatively, when any one of the guide rollers 5A, 5B, and 5D is configured by a second guide roller having a widening function, the guide roller 5C that supports the film forming surface of the film F may not have the widening function. Good.

  That is, when the distance between the guide rollers is equal to or less than a predetermined value, when the thickness (rigidity) of the film F is equal to or more than a predetermined value, or when the transport speed of the film F is equal to or more than a predetermined value, the film F is transported by one guide roller. Is effectively applied to the film on other guide rollers. Therefore, a guide roller that gives the film F a widening action can be arbitrarily selected depending on the installation interval of the guide rolls, the thickness (rigidity) of the film F, the transport speed, and the like. This can be similarly applied to the guide rollers 5E to 5H located between the main roller 4 and the take-up roller 3.

<Second embodiment>
Subsequently, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described.

  FIG. 9 is a schematic configuration diagram showing a film transport device according to the second embodiment of the present invention. Hereinafter, configurations different from the first embodiment will be mainly described, and configurations similar to those of the first embodiment will be denoted by similar reference numerals, and description thereof will be omitted or simplified.

  The film transport device 150 of the present embodiment is used, for example, as a film transport mechanism in a roll-to-roll vacuum vapor deposition device as described in the first embodiment. As in the first embodiment, the film transport device 150 includes an unwind roller 2, a take-up roller 3, a main roller 4, and a plurality of guide rollers 15A to 15H. The guide rollers 15A, 15B, 15D, 15E, 15G and 15H and the main roller 4 respectively support the non-film-forming surface of the film F, and the guide rollers 15C and 15F respectively support the film-forming surface of the film F.

  In the film transport device 150 of the present embodiment, the guide rollers 15C and 15F are configured by first and third guide rollers that support both side edges of the film formation surface of the film F. On the other hand, at least one of the guide rollers 15A, 15B, 15D, 15E, 15G, and 15H is composed of, for example, second and fourth guide rollers having a function of widening the film F as shown in FIGS. You.

  The film transport device 150 of the present embodiment further includes auxiliary rollers 25C and 25F, as shown in FIG. The auxiliary rollers 25C and 25F are arranged to face the guide rollers 15C and 15F (first guide roller and third guide roller), respectively, and are configured to contact the guide rollers 15C and 15F with the film F interposed therebetween. You.

FIGS. 10A and 10B are cross-sectional views of relevant parts showing an example of a combination of the guide roller 15C and the auxiliary roller 25C.
Note that these configuration examples can be similarly applied to the combination of the guide roller 15F and the auxiliary roller 25F, and thus the following description will focus on the example of the combination of the guide roller 15C and the auxiliary roller 25C.

In the configuration example shown in FIGS. 10A and 10B, the guide roller 151 shown in FIG. 5 is employed as the guide roller 15C.
The auxiliary roller 25C shown in FIG. 10A includes a guide roller 250 having a cylindrical roll surface 251 and a pair of annular guide portions 252 provided at both ends in the axial direction of the roll surface 251. The outer peripheral surface of each guide part 252 is formed in a cylindrical shape, and supports both side edges of the non-film-forming surface (the upper surface in the figure) of the film F.
On the other hand, the auxiliary roller 25C illustrated in FIG. 10B is configured by a guide roller having the same configuration as the guide roller 151 that configures the auxiliary roller 15C, and supports both side edges of the non-film-forming surface (upper surface in the figure) of the film F.

  The auxiliary roller 25C is pressed by the guide roller 15C via a biasing mechanism (not shown). As a result, both side edges of the film F are conveyed while being sandwiched between the guide roller 15C and the auxiliary roller 25C. As a result, the pair of guide portions 520 of the guide roller 15C is elastically deformed in a direction away from each other, so that a widening action of the film F is obtained, thereby preventing the film F from wrinkling. The film F can be transported without bringing the film formation surface (the lower surface in the figure) into contact with the roll surface 510 of the guide roller 15C.

  In the configuration example shown in FIG. 10A, the guide roller 15 </ b> C of the guide roller 15 </ b> C and the auxiliary roller 25 </ b> C is provided with the function of widening the film F. However, the present invention is not limited to this. Good. FIG. 10C shows an example of the configuration.

  The width of the film F can be adjusted by the pressing force of the auxiliary roller 25C against the guide roller 15C. The pressing force of the auxiliary roller 25C on the guide roller 15C may be configured to be adjustable by an external control command (for example, a control command from the controller 11 (see FIG. 1)). In this case, the flatness (deflection) of the film F is detected by a sensor unit arranged at an appropriate position on the transport path of the film F, and the controller 11 adjusts the pressing force of the auxiliary roller 25C based on the detected output. It may be configured as follows. The position of the sensor unit may be any one or more positions indicated by, for example, S1 to S6 in FIG.

  11A and 11B are schematic diagrams illustrating a configuration example of the sensor unit.

  As shown in FIG. 11A, the sensor unit 16 has a head unit 161 arranged to face one of the film forming surface and the non-film forming surface of the film F. Detect the distance between them. In the present embodiment, the head section 161 has a plurality of sensor heads 162 arranged along the width direction of the film F. Each of the plurality of sensor heads 162 is configured to be able to detect a distance between the film head F and the sensor head 162.

  The method for detecting the distance is not particularly limited, and for example, an optical distance measuring technique can be used. When a metal film is previously provided on the film F or when a metal film is formed in the film forming unit 6 (see FIG. 1), an eddy current method is used in addition to or instead of the optical method. Or a capacitance-based distance measurement technique.

  The sensor unit 16 detects the occurrence of wrinkles on the film F based on the outputs of the plurality of sensor heads 162. That is, when a distribution occurs in the relative distance between the head unit 161 and the film F, the sensor unit 16 detects the distribution as occurrence of wrinkles in the film F.

  Note that the sensor unit 16 may be arranged to face both surfaces of the film F as shown in FIG. 11B. Thereby, the occurrence of wrinkles in the film F can be detected with higher sensitivity.

  The plurality of sensor heads 162 are connected to the controller 11 via the wiring 163. The controller 11 detects the presence or absence of wrinkles on the film F based on the output from each sensor head 162 of the sensor unit 16, and adjusts the width of the film F or the transport tension of the film F as necessary.

  As a method or an adjustment mechanism for adjusting the amount of widening or the transport tension of the film F, for example, the rotation speed of the unwind roller 2, the take-up roller 3, or the main roller 4 may be controlled, or the guide roller 15C, 15F may be controlled. The pressing force of the auxiliary rollers 25C and 25F may be adjusted. Alternatively, at least one of the guide rollers 15A to 15H may be constituted by a drive roller having a rotation drive source, and the tension of the film F may be adjusted by controlling the rotation speed of the guide roller. Further, a part of the guide rollers 15A to 15H may be constituted by dancer rollers for adjusting the tension, and the positions of the dancer rollers may be variably adjusted.

  Note that the sensor unit 16 and the adjustment mechanism described above can be similarly applied to the film transport mechanism 50 described in the first embodiment.

  According to the present embodiment, it is possible to obtain the same operational effects as those of the first embodiment. In particular, according to the present embodiment, the presence or absence of wrinkles of the film F can be detected at an appropriate position on the film transport path by the sensor unit 16, and thus the film unit has a film transport tension or widening function. It is possible to optimize the film widening amount on the guide rollers (for example, the guide rollers 15C and 15F). As a result, the occurrence of wrinkles on the film F can be prevented beforehand, so that a stable running property of the film F is ensured, an appropriate surface treatment for the film F is realized, and an abnormal winding of the film F is prevented. can do.

  Further, since the stress acting on the film F can be controlled by detecting the surface position of the film F and adjusting the transport tension of the film F, uneven distribution of the film stress in the subsequent process and defects due to the stress history are reduced. can do.

  Therefore, due to these effects, a film with a fine processing on the base film, a film with an undercoat on the base film, and a top film in the vacuum on the base film, which will be required for high-performance films such as flexible devices in the future. In processing such as a coated film and a film double-sided process, yield and productivity can be improved.

  As described above, the embodiments of the present invention have been described. However, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and it is needless to say that various changes can be made.

  For example, in the above embodiment, as the guide rollers 5C, 5F, 15C, and 15F that support the film-forming surface of the film F, a guide roller that has a pair of guide portions that support both side edges of the film F is used. When transporting a film having an unused area other than the side edges, a guide roller 35 schematically shown in FIGS. 12A and 12B may be used.

  The guide roller 35 shown in FIGS. 12A and 12B is arranged between a cylindrical roll surface 351, a pair of annular guide portions 352 provided at both axial ends of the roll surface 351, and between the pair of guide portions 352. And one or more auxiliary guide portions 353. The auxiliary guide portion 353 is formed of an annular body having the same diameter as the guide portion 352, and is provided at an appropriate position on the roll surface 351. Specifically, the auxiliary guide portion 353 is disposed at a position facing an unused area other than both side edges of the film formation surface of the film F.

  By using the guide rollers 35 additionally provided with the auxiliary guide portions 353 in accordance with the number and positions of the unused areas of the film F, the running stability of the film F can be further improved.

  Further, the widening structure provided to the second guide roller is not limited to the concave roller and the expander roller shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, and can be applied to all known guide rollers having a widening function. In addition, the number, configuration, arrangement, and the like of the guide rollers are not limited to the above examples, and can be set as appropriate. Similarly, the film forming unit 6 can be appropriately selected according to the type of the film forming method. For example, another film forming source such as a sputtering cathode or a CVD shower plate may be used. In addition to the film formation, other surface treatments such as etching, ion beam processing, and heat treatment as described above can be applied.

  Further, in order to transfer dust and the like to the film after film formation and prevent the film from sticking, the interleaving mechanism shown in FIG. It is valid.

  The interleaving mechanism 17 shown in FIG. 13 is arranged near the take-up roller 3 and includes a free roller that does not have its own rotation drive unit. The slip sheet S is wound around the slip sheet mechanism 17. The interleaving paper S overlaps with the non-film-formed surface of the film F after film formation and is wound by the winding roller 3 together with the film F. A protective sheet for protecting the surface of the film F is used for the slip sheet S. By interposing the slip sheet S between the films F, it is possible to prevent the particles attached to the non-film formation from being transferred to the film formation surface and to protect the film formation surface.

  The film transport device according to the present invention is widely used in roll-to-roll type processing devices such as a flexible organic EL device production device, an FCCL, a metal mesh, an ITO film production device for a touch panel, and a barrier film production device for an electronic component. Applicable. In particular, before film formation, to prevent damage to the film surface, adhesion of particles to the film surface, transfer of foreign matter adhered to the roller surface to the film, etc., and protection and transport of the film surface after film formation Therefore, the film transport technique according to the present invention becomes more important for preventing the film from being charged.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Vapor deposition apparatus 2 ... Unwind roller 3 ... Winding roller 4 ... Main roller 50,150 ... Film conveyance mechanism (film conveyance apparatus)
5A to 5H, 15A to 15H: Guide roller 6: Film forming unit 11: Controller 16: Sensor unit 17: Interleaving mechanism 25C, 25F: Auxiliary rollers 51, 151, 152 ... First guide rollers 52, 153, 154 ... Second guide roller 53, 151, 152 ... third guide roller 54, 153, 154 ... fourth guide roller 352, 520, 530 ... guide portion F ... film

Claims (9)

An unwind roller for unwinding the film,
A winding roller for winding the film fed from the unwind roller,
A processing unit that is disposed on the transport path of the film and performs a predetermined surface treatment on a processing surface of the film;
A first guide roller that is disposed between the unwind roller and the processing unit , winds the film, and supports both side edges of the processing surface;
The film is wound between the unwinding roller and the first guide roller, and at least one between the first guide roller and the processing unit, and is wound around the processing surface of the film. And a second guide roller for supporting an opposite non-processing surface,
At least one of said first guide roller and the second guide roller have a widening structure for converting the tension applied to the film in the tensile stress along the width direction of the film,
The first guide roller includes:
A cylindrical roll surface facing the processing surface with a gap,
On the roll surface, spaced from each other in the direction of the central axis of the roll face, have a, a pair of guide portions of the annular supporting the both side edge portions of the treated surface,
The pair of guide portions, the tension applied to the film, which can each of the outer peripheral surface of the pair of guide portions in contact with the treated surface is deformed so as to be separated from each other in the direction of the central axis Film transport device made of elastic material. The film transport device according to claim 1,
A film transport device further comprising: an auxiliary roller disposed to face the first guide roller and in contact with the first guide roller with the film interposed therebetween. It is a film conveyance device of Claim 2, Comprising:
The film transport device , wherein the auxiliary roller includes an extension roller . A film transport apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
The film transport device, wherein the second guide roller includes an extension roller. It is a film conveyance device as described in any one of Claims 1-4, Comprising:
A third guide roller that is disposed between the processing unit and the winding roller , winds the film, and supports both side edges of the processing surface;
It is disposed between the processing unit and the third guide roller and at least one between the third guide roller and the winding roller, and winds the film to support the non-processing surface. And a fourth guide roller, and
At least one of the third guide roller and the fourth guide roller has a widening structure for converting a tension acting on the film into a tensile stress along a width direction of the film. It is a film conveyance device of Claim 5 , Comprising:
The third guide roller,
An annular, pair of separate guide portions, which are provided apart from each other in the direction of the central axis of the roll surface of the third guide roller and support both side edges of the processing surface;
One or more auxiliary guide portions disposed between the different guide portions;
A film transport device having: The film transport device according to any one of claims 1 to 6,
In a reduced pressure atmosphere,
A sensor unit that has a head unit disposed to face at least one of the processing surface and the non-processing surface, and that detects a distance between the head unit and the film;
A film transport device further comprising: an adjusting mechanism that adjusts an amount of the film being widened by the first guide roller or the second guide roller or a transport tension of the film based on an output of the sensor unit. It is a film conveyance device of Claim 7 , Comprising:
The film transport device, wherein the head unit includes a plurality of sensor heads arranged in a width direction of the film. It is a film conveyance device as described in any one of Claims 1-8 , Comprising:
The processing unit includes:
A main roller supporting the non-processed surface of the film,
And a film forming unit that is arranged to face the main roller and that forms the processing surface of the film.

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