JPH0244854B2 - SHIITOJOBUTSUNOPURAZUMASHORISOCHI - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a plasma processing apparatus for sheet-like materials such as fabrics and films. More specifically, the present invention relates to an apparatus for batch-type plasma treatment of sheet materials such as fabrics and films.

[Conventional technology]

In recent years, plasma processing technology for imparting various properties to sheet-like materials such as fabrics and films has developed dramatically, and its applications are also expanding significantly.

For example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-open Nos. 57-18737 and 58-120859 disclose apparatuses for continuously plasma-treating sheet materials such as fabrics and plastic films.

However, in a continuous plasma processing apparatus, in order to evacuate the plasma processing chamber or fill it with a desired gas, it is necessary to hermetically seal the inlet and the outlet with a seal roll. This seal roll strongly compresses a sheet-like object such as a cloth, and there is a possibility that it may be damaged or deformed. Furthermore, if the fabric is thick, it is difficult to maintain airtightness using the seal roll. Furthermore, in the case of a fabric with a coarse weave structure that has not been treated with a resin treatment to prevent shedding, the seal roll may cause shedding, which may deteriorate its appearance and performance and cause it to lose its commercial value.

In general, continuous plasma processing equipment has the advantage of being able to process large amounts of sheet-like materials at low cost, but when used for high-mix, low-volume production, production efficiency decreases and production costs increase. There is.

In order to overcome the drawbacks of the continuous plasma processing apparatus described above, a batch type plasma processing apparatus can be used. However, batch-type plasma processing apparatuses have a disadvantage in that the inside of the apparatus is once opened to the atmosphere when switching between batches, and therefore it requires a process and time to adjust the inside of the apparatus to the processing conditions again. Furthermore, when the apparatus is opened to the atmosphere, moisture enters the apparatus and is adsorbed on the inner walls of the apparatus, which has the disadvantage that it takes a long time to adjust the inside of the apparatus to the processing conditions.

Therefore, there has been a strong desire for a batch-type plasma processing apparatus that eliminates the above-mentioned drawbacks.

[Problem that the invention seeks to solve]

The present invention solves the drawbacks of conventional batch type plasma processing apparatuses, namely, the complexity of work and the large time loss during batch changeover.

[Means and actions for solving problems]

The plasma processing apparatus for sheet-like materials of the present invention comprises: 1
It has a built-in plasma generating device consisting of rotatable drum-shaped negative electrodes and a plurality of positive electrodes arranged opposite to the circumferential surface thereof, and is equipped with a gas inlet and an airtight opening/closing device, respectively. A plasma processing chamber having a sheet-like article inlet and a sheet-like article outlet, and a sheet-like article dispensing device that is disposed upstream of the plasma processing chamber, has a built-in sheet-like article feeder, and is equipped with an airtight opening/closing device. a sheet-like material delivery chamber having an outlet, and located downstream of the plasma processing chamber,
a sheet winder having a built-in sheet winder and a sheet feed inlet equipped with an airtight opening/closing device; and a gas discharge device, the plasma processing chamber and the sheet Between the sheet-like material delivery chamber and the sheet-like material delivery port of the plasma processing chamber,
a sheet-like material delivery port of the sheet-like material delivery chamber;
A first connection chamber is formed that airtightly surrounds the plasma processing chamber and the sheet-like material delivery chamber and connects the plasma processing chamber and the sheet-like material delivery chamber in a detachable and airtight manner. A space between the plasma processing chamber and the sheet-like material winding chamber airtightly surrounds the sheet-like material feeding port of the plasma processing chamber and the sheet-like material feeding port of the sheet-like material winding chamber. The device is characterized in that a second connecting chamber is formed which connects the chamber removably and airtightly.

The apparatus of the present invention will be explained below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is an explanatory cross-sectional view showing one embodiment of the plasma processing apparatus of the present invention. This plasma processing apparatus includes a sheet delivery chamber 1a, a first connection chamber 2a, a plasma processing chamber 5, which are airtightly connected to each other.
It is composed of a second connection chamber 2b and a sheet winder 1b.

The sheet-like material delivery chamber 1a has a built-in sheet-like material delivery device 1c and a sheet-like material delivery port 1d. This sheet-like material outlet 1d is equipped with a first airtight opening/closing device 4a that can hermetically close and open it. Furthermore, wheels 14 are attached to the bottom of the sheet-like material delivery chamber 1a, allowing movement of the sheet-like material delivery chamber 1a.

The sheet winder 1b has a built-in sheet winder 1e and a sheet feed inlet 1f. This sheet-like material inlet 1f is equipped with a fourth airtight opening/closing device 4b capable of airtightly closing and opening it. Furthermore, wheels 14 are attached to the bottom of the sheet-like material winding chamber 1b, allowing movement of the sheet-like material winding chamber 1b.

The plasma processing chamber 5 includes a rotatable drum-shaped negative electrode 7 and a plurality of positive electrodes 6 arranged opposite to the peripheral surface thereof, and communicates with an inert gas supply pipe 15. It has an inert gas inlet 16 and an exhaust port 18 communicating with an exhaust pipe 17. The plasma processing chamber 5 also includes a sheet feeding port 5a provided opposite to the sheet feeding port 1d of the sheet feeding chamber 1a, and a sheet feeding port 5a of the sheet winding chamber 1b. A sheet-like material outlet 5b is provided opposite to 1f.

The sheet material inlet 5a is provided with a second airtight opening/closing device 4c that can hermetically close and open the sheet material inlet 5a, and the sheet material inlet 5b is provided with a second airtight opening/closing device 4c that can hermetically close and open the sheet material inlet 5a. A first connecting chamber 2a is provided between the plasma processing chamber 5 and the sheet-like material delivery chamber 1a, which is provided with a third airtight opening/closing device 4d that can be opened. In this first connection chamber 2a, from the sheet-like material delivery side side of the sheet-like material delivery chamber 1a, the sheet-like material delivery port 1 is
A first half-body 20 extends out to airtightly enclose the sheet material inlet d, and a second half body 20 extends out from the side of the sheet material inlet side of the plasma processing chamber 5 to airtightly surround the sheet material inlet. 21 is growing. The first and second half bodies are airtightly and removably connected via packing 3 at their respective front end surfaces, thereby forming an airtight first connection chamber 2a.

A second connection chamber 2b is provided between the plasma chamber 5 and the sheet-like material winding chamber 1b. In this second connection chamber, a third half-body 22 extends from the side surface of the sheet-like material delivery side of the plasma processing chamber, airtightly surrounding the sheet-like material delivery port, and also extends from the side surface of the sheet-like material delivery side of the plasma processing chamber. A fourth half-body 23 extends from the side surface of the chamber 1b on the sheet-like material inlet side, airtightly surrounding the sheet-like material inlet. These third and fourth half bodies are airtightly and removably connected via packing 3 at their respective distal end surfaces to form a second connection chamber 2b.

The first and second connection chambers may each be formed of one body. In this case, in the first connection chamber, one end of the body is airtightly fixed to the side of the sheet-like material delivery chamber or the plasma processing chamber, and the other end is fixed to the side surface of the sheet-like material delivery chamber or the sheet-like material delivery chamber. It may be connected airtightly and removably to the side surface of the chamber. Further, the second connection chamber is also similar to the first connection chamber.

There is no particular limitation on the structure of the first to fourth airtight opening/closing devices as long as they can airtightly close and open the corresponding outlet or inlet, but they are easy to operate. It is preferable that the function is reliable.

An example of an airtight opening/closing device that can be used in the present invention will be explained with reference to FIGS. 2 to 4.

For example, in the case of an airtight opening/closing device for a plasma processing chamber, the side surface where the sheet-like material inlet 5a is formed is provided with an elastic material (rubber or elastic synthetic resin) packing 11 that surrounds the inlet 5a and has a smooth surface. is attached. This pack king 1
A tilted guide support plate 8 is arranged opposite to 1,
A vertically movable sealing plate 9 is arranged between the packing 11 and the guide support plate 8. An elastic packing 8a made of elastic synthetic resin or rubber and having a smooth surface is adhered to the surface of the guide support plate 8 that is in contact with the seal plate 9. The seal plate 9 has a width larger than the inlet of the sheet-like material, and
It has a vertical surface 9a in contact with 1 and an inclined surface 9b in contact with guide support plate 8, and can be vertically displaced by its support rod 10. Moreover, at the lower end of the seal plate 9,
A tip packing 9c made of elastic synthetic resin or rubber is attached.

3 and 4, the seal plate 9 is connected to the support rod 10.
If the sheet-like material inlet is pulled upward by the lever and locked (by hook locking, screw locking, etc.) to the side surface of the plasma processing chamber using a locking device 10a as shown in FIG. 5a is opened, and the sheet-like material is passed through the inlet 5 along the advancing path 13.
can pass through a.

Remove the seal plate 9 and the locking device of the support rod 10,
When the seal plate 9 is lowered while aligning the vertical surface 9a of the seal plate with the packing 11, the tip packing 9c reaches and comes into close contact with the floor (bottom) surface of the first connection chamber 2a, and the inclined surface 9b is Guide support plate 8
The sealing plate 9 reaches the packing 8a and comes into close contact with the packing 8a, and in this position, the sealing plate 9 is supported by the guide support plate 8. At this time, the sheet material inlet 5a is hermetically closed by the seal plate 9.

The process of subjecting a sheet-like material to plasma treatment using the apparatus of the present invention is carried out as follows.

The sheet material 24 is attached to the sheet material delivery machine 1c of the sheet material delivery chamber 1a, the lead-in/out sheet is connected to the tip of the sheet material 24, and the leading end is passed through the open sheet material delivery port 1d into the atmosphere. and then close the airtight opening/closing device. Then, the sealing plate 8 hermetically closes the sheet material inlet 1d while its tip packing presses the lead-out/input sheet to the floor surface.

Inside the plasma processing chamber 5, an input/output sheet is arranged along the sheet-like material progressing path, and the sheet-like material is transported with its leading end protruding from the sheet-like material inlet 5a and outlet 5b. The inlet 5a and outlet 5b are hermetically closed.

Sheet-like material winding machine 1e in sheet-like material winding chamber 1b
One end of the lead-in/out sheet is attached to the sheet, and with the other end exposed to the atmosphere through the sheet material inlet 1f, the inlet 1f is hermetically closed.

Each chamber is evacuated by a vacuum pump (not shown) via an exhaust pipe 17 from each sealed exhaust port 18 of the sheet-like material delivery chamber 1a, plasma processing chamber 5, and sheet-like material winding chamber 1b. and maintain the specified degree of vacuum. Next, the tips of the inlet and output sheets that are exposed to the atmosphere from each chamber are connected (stitched), and the sheet-like material delivery chamber 1a is connected to the plasma processing chamber 5, and the plasma processing chamber 5 is connected to the sheet-like material take-up chamber 1b. , are connected by connecting the half bodies 20 to 21 and 22 to 23 to form a first connection chamber 2a and a second connection chamber 2b, respectively. This connection operation and the evacuation operation may be performed in parallel.

Next, the insides of the first and second connecting chambers 2a and 2b are evacuated. Alternatively, after the above connection operation is performed, each chamber may be evacuated.

When the atmospheric pressure in each chamber reaches a predetermined degree of vacuum, each inlet or outlet is opened by each airtight opening/closing device, and an inert gas introduction pipe 15 and an inlet 16 are introduced from an inert gas supply source (not shown). Inert gas is introduced into the plasma processing chamber through the plasma processing chamber, the sheet-like material feeder 1c and the winder 1e are driven, and the cathode 6,
7, a voltage is applied to generate plasma, and the sheet-like material 24 is subjected to plasma treatment while being advanced.

Once the plasma treatment of the sheet-like material 24 is completed, as described above, the operation of the apparatus is stopped and each sheet-like material inlet and outlet are airtightly closed, leaving the inlet and output sheets in each chamber. , the atmosphere is introduced into each chamber, and the processed sheet material is taken out from the sheet material winding chamber 1b to complete the processing of one batch. During batch switching, the sealed plasma processing chamber can be maintained in a desired state while being isolated from the atmosphere.

〔effect〕

The apparatus of the present invention facilitates the batch switching operation and greatly reduces the time required for it, especially the time required to exhaust air from each room, improving work efficiency.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory cross-sectional view of one embodiment of the plasma processing apparatus of the present invention, and FIG. 3 is a side sectional explanatory view showing the open position of the sealing switchgear shown in FIG. 2, and FIG. 4 is a side cross-sectional view showing the airtight closing position of the sealing switchgear shown in FIGS. 2 and 3. It is a cross-sectional explanatory view. 1a... Sheet-like material delivery chamber, 1b... Sheet-like material winding chamber, 1c... Sheet-like material delivery machine, 1d...
Sheet material delivery port, 1e... Sheet material winder,
1f... Sheet material inlet, 2a... First connection chamber, 2b... Second connection chamber, 3... Packing, 4
a, 4b, 4c, 4d... airtight switchgear, 5...
Plasma processing chamber, 5a...Sheet material inlet, 5
b...Sheet-shaped material delivery port, 6...Positive electrode, 7...
Cathode, 8... Guide support plate, 8a... Packing, 9... Seal plate, 9a... Vertical surface, 9b...
Inclined surface, 9c...Tip packing, 10...Support rod, 10a...Support rod locking device, 11...Packing, 13...Sheet-like object advancing path, 14...Wheel, 15...Gas introduction pipe, 16...Gas inlet,
17...Exhaust pipe, 18...Exhaust port, 20, 21,
22, 23...half body, 24...sheet-like material.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A built-in plasma generating device consisting of one rotatable drum-shaped negative electrode and a plurality of positive electrodes arranged opposite to the peripheral surface thereof, and an inert gas inlet. a plasma processing chamber having a sheet-like material inlet and a sheet-like material outlet, each equipped with an airtight opening/closing device; a sheet-like material delivery chamber having a sheet-like material delivery port equipped with an opening/closing device; and a sheet-like material disposed downstream of the plasma processing chamber, incorporating a sheet-like material winding machine, and equipped with an airtight opening/closing device. It has a sheet-like material take-up chamber having an inlet, and a gas exhaust device, and a sheet-like material inlet of the plasma processing chamber and a gas discharge device are provided between the plasma processing chamber and the sheet-like material delivery chamber. , a first connection chamber is formed that airtightly surrounds the sheet-like material delivery port of the sheet-like material delivery chamber and connects the plasma processing chamber and the sheet-like material delivery chamber in a detachable and airtight manner. and a sheet-like material inlet of the plasma processing chamber and a sheet-like material inlet of the sheet-like material winding chamber are provided between the plasma processing chamber and the sheet-like material winding chamber. A sheet-like article, characterized in that a second connecting chamber is formed that airtightly surrounds the plasma processing chamber and the sheet-like article winding chamber in a detachable and airtight manner. plasma processing equipment. 2. The first connecting chamber extends from a side surface of the sheet-like material delivery side of the sheet-like material delivery chamber, surrounding the sheet-like material delivery port, and the sheet-like material of the plasma processing chamber. A second half-body extends from the side surface on the material feeding side to surround the sheet-shaped material feeding port, and is detachably and airtightly connected at their tip surfaces. An apparatus according to claim 1. 3. A third half-body in which the second connecting chamber extends from a side surface of the sheet-like material delivery side of the plasma processing chamber, surrounding the sheet-like material delivery port, and a sheet in the sheet-like material winding chamber. A third half-body extends from the side surface on the sheet-like material inlet side, surrounding the sheet-like material inlet, and is removably and airtightly connected at their tip surfaces. , the apparatus according to claim 1. 4. A patent claim in which the gas evacuation device is an exhaust pump independently connected to each of the sheet-like material delivery chamber, the first connection chamber, the plasma processing chamber, the second connection chamber, and the sheet-like material winding chamber. The device according to item 1. 5 Provided at each of the sheet-like material inlet and sheet-like material outlet of the plasma processing chamber, the sheet-like material outlet of the sheet-like material delivery chamber, and the sheet-like material inlet of the sheet-like material winding chamber. The airtight opening/closing device includes a sealing plate that can be vertically displaced along a wall surface around each opening, and guiding the sealing plate to a position where the opening is airtightly closed and holding the sealing plate at that position, The method according to claim 1, further comprising a guide holding plate for guiding the opening to the opening position.