JPH06115051A - Film thickness control device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide a device capable of controlling the film thickness of a fluid by expanding or contracting the displacement of a solid-state actuator. CONSTITUTION:The displacement of a piezoelectric actuator 13 is expanded by a displacement expanding and contracting mechanism 15 consisting of two wedge-shaped movable blocks 16, 17 and a film thickness control blade 2 is displaced on the basis of the expanded displacement to control the gap between the film thickness control blade 2 and a rotary roller 1.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a film thickness control device. More specifically, the present invention relates to a film thickness control device that controls the film thickness of a fluid supplied to the outer peripheral surface of a rotating roller by a solid actuator.

[0002]

[Background Art and Problems] FIG. 3 shows a conventional film thickness controller C.
FIG. In this film thickness control device C,
The film thickness control blade 32 and the piezoelectric actuator 33 are mounted on the support 34, and the edge portion 32 a of the film thickness control blade 32 faces the outer peripheral surface of the rotary roller 31 and is provided at the rear end of the film thickness control blade 32. The tip of the piezoelectric actuator 33 is in contact. The tip of a zero-point adjusting screw 35 screwed into the support 34 is brought into contact with the rear end of the piezoelectric actuator 33, and the film thickness control blade 32 and the piezoelectric actuator 33 are connected to the zero-point adjusting screw 35 by a spring 36.
Biased to the side. A fixed blade 37 is provided immediately upstream of the film thickness control blade 32 so as to face the rotary roller 31, and an ink bottle 39 is formed by the fixed blade 37 and side plates 38 and 38 provided at both ends thereof. ing.

However, by applying a voltage to the piezoelectric actuator 33 to extend the piezoelectric actuator 33, the film thickness control blade 32 is displaced, and the edge portion 32a of the film thickness control blade 32 and the gap g of the rotary roller 31 are separated. Can be controlled. Further, when ink is put in the ink fountain 39 and the rotary roller 31 is rotated in the direction of arrow A, the rotary roller 31 has a film thickness corresponding to the edge portion 32a of the film thickness control blade 32 and the gap g of the rotary roller 31. Ink can be supplied to the outer peripheral surface.

However, such a film thickness control device C
In this case, since the film thickness control blade 32 is directly displaced by the piezoelectric actuator 33, the control range of the ink film thickness is limited to the stroke range of the piezoelectric actuator 33, and is larger than the stroke range of the piezoelectric actuator 33, for example. The ink film thickness could not be controlled within the range.

Therefore, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the displacement of the piezoelectric actuator 49 is enlarged by the displacement enlargement mechanism 43, and the film thickness control blade 42 is displaced by the enlarged displacement of the piezoelectric actuator 49. D was proposed. In the film thickness control device D, the film thickness control blade 42 having a triangular prism shape is attached to the tip end portion (displacement output part) 45 of the lever 44 of the displacement magnifying mechanism 43, and the top of the film thickness control blade 42 is attached. The corner portion faces the surface of the rotating roller 41. The base end portion of the lever 44 is integrally attached to a substantially L-shaped base 48 via a thin hinge spring 47, and the displacement input portion 46 formed near the base end portion of the lever 44 and the end portion of the base 48. A piezoelectric actuator 49 is inserted between the two.

However, when a voltage is applied to the piezoelectric actuator 49 to extend the piezoelectric actuator 49, as shown in FIG. 5, the displacement input portion 46 of the lever 44 and the end portion of the base 48 are pushed apart and thinned. The hinge spring 47 is elastically deformed, and the piezoelectric actuator 49 is displaced by the lever 44.
The output is enlarged at the tip end portion 45 and becomes a large displacement. At this time, the film thickness control blade 42 attached to the tip end portion 45 of the lever 44 is also displaced, the gap g between the film thickness control blade 42 and the rotating roller 41 is controlled, and the film thickness t of the ink i on the rotating roller 1 is controlled. Is controlled. Therefore, the film thickness of the ink i can be controlled within the stroke range of the piezoelectric actuator 49.

However, such a film thickness control device D
In this case, if the thickness of the thin hinge spring 47 is reduced in order to make the operation of the lever 44 smooth and to obtain the required displacement at the tip end portion 45 of the lever 44, the spring rigidity becomes weak and the external force ( For example, the reaction force of ink i)
When the pressure is applied, there is a problem that the tip end portion 45 of the lever 44 easily moves, and the film thickness t of the ink i easily fluctuates.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned drawbacks of the conventional example, and an object thereof is to increase or decrease the displacement of the solid actuator to control the film thickness of the fluid. Another object of the present invention is to provide a film thickness control device capable of stably controlling the film thickness of a fluid.

[0009]

In the film thickness control apparatus of the present invention, a film thickness control blade is arranged on the outer peripheral surface of a rotating roller so as to face it, and the gap between the outer peripheral surface of the rotating roller and the film thickness control blade is adjusted. In the film thickness control device for controlling the film thickness of the fluid supplied to the outer peripheral surface of the rotary roller by the above, a retractable solid actuator and a displacement enlargement / reduction mechanism constituted by a plurality of wedge-shaped movable blocks are provided. The displacement enlargement / reduction mechanism enlarges or reduces the displacement of the solid state actuator, and the film thickness control blade is displaced by the displacement of the enlarged or reduced solid state actuator.

[0010]

In the film thickness control apparatus of the present invention, the displacement of the solid actuator is enlarged or reduced by a displacement enlargement / reduction mechanism utilizing a wedge, and the film thickness control blade is adjusted by the enlarged or reduced displacement of the solid actuator. To drive. Therefore, it is possible to increase or decrease the displacement of the solid actuator to control the ink film thickness. For example, by controlling the ink film thickness in a range larger than the stroke range of the solid actuator, or by reducing the displacement of the solid actuator, The film thickness of can be precisely controlled.

Further, since the displacement enlarging / reducing mechanism utilizing the wedge is composed of a rigid body such as a movable block and has no elastic deformation element, an external force acts on the film thickness control blade connected to the displacement output section. Even if the film thickness control blade is not displaced, the film thickness of the fluid does not change. Therefore, the film thickness of the fluid can be controlled stably.

[0012]

1 is a sectional view showing the structure of a film thickness control apparatus A according to an embodiment of the present invention. In this film thickness control device A, the film thickness control blade 2 is inserted into the through hole 3 a of the support body 3, and the base end of the film thickness control blade 2 is connected to the output shaft 20 of the displacement generator 10. The edge portion 2a at the tip of the film thickness control blade 2 faces the outer peripheral surface of the rotary roller 1.

A fixed blade 4 is provided on the upper surface of the support 3.
Is provided, and the edge portion 4 at the tip of the fixed blade 4 is provided.
a is opposed to the rotary roller 1 immediately upstream of the edge portion 2a of the film thickness control blade 2. Side plates 5 and 5 (front side not shown) are provided at both ends of the fixed blade 4,
An ink bottle 6 is formed by the outer peripheral surface of the rotary roller 1, the fixed blade 4, and the side plates 5 and 5 at both ends thereof.

The displacement generator 10 to which the film thickness control blade 2 is connected has a displacement enlarging / reducing mechanism 15 consisting of a piezoelectric actuator 13 and two movable blocks 16 and 17 in a frame-shaped or box-shaped guide block 11. The sliding plates 18a, 18b, 18c for reducing the coefficient of friction between the movable blocks 16 and 17 are housed.

Generally speaking, the displacement enlarging / reducing mechanism 15 sequentially transfers displacements to a plurality of wedge-shaped movable blocks, and adjacent movable blocks are guided so as to be displaced in a direction substantially perpendicular to each other. Or the position is restricted. In addition, adjacent movable blocks are brought into contact with each other by directly or through friction reducing means,
The displacements are transmitted to each other through this inclined surface. Then, the ratio of the displacement amounts of the adjacent movable blocks is
Since the inclination angle is determined by the inclination angle of the inclined surface, the initial displacement can be enlarged or reduced and output by appropriately designing the inclination angle.

Explaining in accordance with the embodiment, the first movable block 16 is housed in the guide block 11 so as to be smoothly displaced in the X1-X2 direction in FIG. Side and guide block 1
A sliding plate 18a is sandwiched between the inner surface of the sliding member 1 and the inner surface of the sliding member 1.
In addition, the side surface of the first movable block 16 (the surface facing the side surface sandwiching the sliding plate 18 a) is a guide block 11.
The first movable block 16 is slidably brought into contact with the guide 21 fixed to the first movable block 16, and is movable only in the X1-X2 directions.

The actuator housing hole 11 is formed in the inner wall of the guide block 3 facing the end surface of the first movable block 16.
a is recessed, the rear end of the piezoelectric actuator 13 is inserted into the actuator housing hole 11a, and the end of the zero point adjusting screw 12 screwed from the outside of the guide block 11 is in contact with the end surface of the piezoelectric actuator 13. There is.

A cap 14 having, for example, a semi-cylindrical projection 14a is attached to the tip of the piezoelectric actuator 13 protruding from the actuator insertion hole 11a, and the projection 14a of the cap 14 is provided on the first movable block 16. It is inserted in the V groove 16b formed on the end face.

Further, the second movable block 17 is housed in the guide block 11 so as to be smoothly displaced in the Y1-Y2 direction in FIG. 1, so that the end face of the second movable block 17 and the guide block 3 are arranged. The sliding plate 18c is also sandwiched between the inner surface and the inner surface. Further, the two movable blocks 16 and 17 are adjacent to each other so that the inclined surfaces 16a and 17a face each other, and a sliding plate 18b is interposed between the inclined surfaces 16a and 17a.

The sliding plates 18a, 18 shown in the figure
b and 18c, for example, like a sliding plate 18a shown in FIG. 2, a needle roller 24 is rotatably fitted in a hole 23 of a flat cage 22 so that a plurality of needle rollers 24 roll together. It was made to move. Sliding plates 18a, 18b,
18c may have a structure other than this, and for example, a fluororesin-based sheet such as polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) having high wear resistance and a small friction coefficient may be used.

An output shaft 20 is provided on the side surface of the second movable block 17, and the tip end of the output shaft 20 penetrates a through hole 11b formed in the guide block 11 to form the film thickness as described above. It is connected to the rear end of the control blade 2. Further, a compression spring 19 is provided between the second movable block 17 and the inner wall of the guide block 11 so as to penetrate the output shaft 20, so that the second movable block 17 is pushed back in the Y2 direction. It has become.

However, when a voltage is applied to the piezoelectric actuator 13 to expand the piezoelectric actuator 13, the first movable block 16 is pushed by the piezoelectric actuator 13 and moves in the X1 direction, and the second movable block 17 moves. First
Is pushed by the inclined surface 16a of the movable block 16 of
Move to get out in one direction. At this time, the output shaft 20 and the film thickness control blade 2 move together with the second movable block 17 in the Y1 direction, that is, the direction of the rotating roller 1, and the gap portion 2a of the film thickness controlling blade 2 and the gap between the rotating roller 1 are narrowed. . Therefore, if the relationship between the voltage applied to the piezoelectric actuator 13 and the gap is obtained in advance, the desired gap can be obtained by applying the predetermined voltage, and thus the ink film thickness can be controlled to the desired value. You can

Also, the inclined surface 1 of the movable blocks 16 and 17
Assuming that the inclination angles of 6a and 17a are θ, the ratio of the displacement amount of the second movable block 17 to the displacement amount of the first movable block 16 is represented by cotθ, so that the inclination angle θ can be reduced by the second angle. The displacement amount of the movable block 17 can be increased. On the contrary, if the tilt angle θ is increased, the displacement amount of the second movable block 17 can be reduced. Therefore, by changing this inclination angle θ, the displacement of the first movable block 16 generated by the piezoelectric actuator 13 can be enlarged or reduced and output, and the film thickness can be changed by the enlarged or reduced displacement of the piezoelectric actuator 13. The control blade 2 can be displaced.

Moreover, according to the above structure, even if an external force (for example, a reaction force of ink) is applied to the edge portion 2a of the film thickness control blade 2, the displacement enlarging / reducing mechanism 15 can be moved by the external force itself. Since the blocks 16 and 17 are not elastically deformed, the gap between the edge portion 2a of the film thickness control blade 2 and the rotating roller 1 is not changed by an external force, and the ink film thickness on the rotating roller 1 is changed. Absent.

The film thickness control blade 2 is divided into a plurality of pieces in the width direction, the displacement generators 10 are provided in a number corresponding to the number, and each of the divided film thickness control blades 2 is divided by each displacement generator 10. If they are individually displaced, the film thickness of the ink on the rotary roller 1 can be individually controlled in the width direction.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, the output shaft 20 of the displacement generator 10 and the rear end of the film thickness control blade 2 are connected, but the present invention is not limited to such a configuration, and for example, the output shaft 20 and the film. The thickness control blade 2 is not connected but separated, and the film thickness control blade 2 is provided with a spring for the output shaft 2
It may be biased to the 0 side. Alternatively, the elastic blade is placed on the surface of the fixed blade 4 of FIG. 1, the rear end is joined to the fixed blade 4, and the front end is inserted between the rotary roller 1 and the edge 2a of the film thickness control blade 2, The gap between the elastic blade and the rotating roller 1 may be controlled by pushing the back side of the tip of the elastic blade with the edge 2a of the film thickness control blade 2.

[0027]

According to the film thickness control device of the present invention, the ink film thickness can be controlled by increasing or reducing the displacement of the solid actuator. For example, the ink film thickness can be controlled in a range larger than the stroke range of the solid actuator. The thickness of the fluid can be precisely controlled by controlling or by reducing the displacement of the solid actuator.

Further, since the displacement enlarging / reducing mechanism utilizing the wedge is made of a rigid body and does not have an elastic deformation element, the film thickness control blade connected to the displacement output section is acted upon by an external force. The thickness control blade does not displace and the fluid film thickness does not fluctuate. Therefore, the film thickness of the fluid can be controlled stably.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing the structure of a film thickness control apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view showing a needle roller with a flat cage as above.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing a configuration of a film thickness control device according to a conventional example.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing the configuration of another film thickness control device according to a conventional example.

FIG. 5 is a front view showing the displacement magnifying mechanism and the piezoelectric actuator of the same.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Rotating Roller 2 Film Thickness Control Blade 10 Displacement Generator 13 Piezoelectric Actuator 15 Displacement Enlarging / Reducing Mechanism

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A fluid supplied to the outer peripheral surface of a rotating roller by arranging a film thickness controlling blade on the outer peripheral surface of the rotating roller so as to face each other and adjusting a gap between the outer peripheral surface of the rotating roller and the film thickness controlling blade. A film thickness control device for controlling the film thickness of a solid-state actuator, comprising: an expandable / contractible solid actuator and a displacement enlargement / reduction mechanism composed of a plurality of wedge-shaped movable blocks. A film thickness control device, wherein the film thickness control blade is displaced by the displacement of the enlarged or reduced solid state actuator.