JPH06280015A - Vacuum sealing device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide a vacuum sealing device which can deal with the change of sheet width and sheet thickness without exchanging parts and can stably hold the desired vacuum degree with a small vacuum pump capacity. CONSTITUTION:This device is provided with a seal block 10 arranged at a boundary part of a vacuum chamber, facing a deflector roll 8. This seal block is provided with a flexible hollow seal vessel 14 extended in the axial direction of the deflector roll apart from the surface at a slight interval, and one pair of diameter expanded members 16 whose outer periphery is brought into contact with the inner surface of the hollow seal vessel and arrange so as to be shiftable in the axial direction and the radial direction of the deflector roll. Further, the diameter expanded members 16 and the hollow seal vessel 14 are connected so as to be slidable in the axial direction with the side facing the deflector roll.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a vacuum sealing device, and more specifically, it raises the vacuum degree from the atmospheric pressure to the vacuum processing apparatus stepwise, and the vacuum degree stepwise from the vacuum processing apparatus to the atmospheric pressure. The present invention relates to a vacuum sealing device provided before and after a vacuum processing device for lowering.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Band-shaped materials such as band steel (hereinafter referred to as band materials)
In a vacuum processing apparatus (for example, a continuous vapor deposition apparatus) that continuously processes a vacuum under vacuum, a vacuum seal device is used to maintain a vacuum inside before and after the apparatus. In such a conventional vacuum sealing device, for example, as shown in FIG. 4, a vacuum sealing device 2 is provided before and after the vacuum processing device 1, and the strip 3 passes through the vacuum sealing device 2 on the upstream side to the vacuum processing device 1. It is continuously introduced, where vacuum processing (for example, vapor deposition) is performed, and then it is continuously carried out to the outside through a vacuum sealing device (not shown) on the downstream side. The vacuum seal device 2 is composed of a plurality of vacuum chambers 5 exhausted by a vacuum pump 4 and a seal roll 6 provided in close contact with the strip 1 at the boundary of the vacuum chambers 5 to seal the capacity of the vacuum pump 4. Roll 6 and strip 1
The amount of air that flows in through the gap between
It is designed to maintain the degree of vacuum. The above-mentioned vacuum seal device 2 is a so-called differential exhaust vacuum seal device, and the pressure ratio of the adjacent vacuum chambers 5 is a so-called critical pressure ratio (also called a critical pressure ratio) at which the flow velocity of the air flowing in from the gap reaches the sonic speed. Therefore, by using the vacuum pump 4 having a capacity smaller than the area of the gap × the speed of sound, for example, 760 torr (atmospheric pressure), 200 t
The degree of vacuum can be sequentially changed to orr, 50 torr, 5 torr, and 0.1 torr. The vacuum sealing device on the downstream side is the same as the above-described vacuum device on the upstream side.

[0003]

In the above-described vacuum seal device, since the strip width and the strip thickness of the strip material 3 to be vacuum-processed are variously changed, the vacuum seal device 2 has the maximum dimension of the strip material 3 to be vacuum-processed. Positioned to fit. For this reason, particularly when processing the strip material 3 having a small strip width and strip thickness, the gap between the seal roll 6 and the strip material 3 becomes large, and the capacity of the vacuum pump 4 for maintaining the degree of vacuum is considerably increased in advance. There was a problem that needed to be done. Further, this causes a problem that the running cost of the vacuum sealing device also increases. In order to solve such a problem, conventionally, for example, JP-A-64-42578 (hereinafter referred to as prior art), JP-S62-28869 (the same),
Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 4-259375 (the same), etc. have been proposed. In the vacuum seal device of the prior art, a large diameter portion is formed at one end of the seal portion where the strip materials of a pair of seal rolls arranged to face each other are in rolling contact, and the large diameter portion of one seal roll and the seal of the other seal roll are sealed. And a band member is inserted through the opening so as to press-contact each sealing portion, and the width of the opening is changed by sliding the seal roll in the axial direction. To accommodate changes in board width. However, in such an apparatus, in order to cope with a change in plate thickness, it is necessary to prepare and selectively use a plurality of seal rolls having different large diameter portions, which requires equipment cost,
Moreover, there was a problem that it took time to exchange. In the vacuum sealing device of the prior art, a plate width adjusting plate is inserted between the side parts of the seal part where the strip materials of a pair of seal rolls arranged to face each other are in rolling contact, and the plate width adjusting plate is moved to adjust the plate width. I was adapting to the change. However, in such an apparatus, it is necessary to change not only the gap between the seal rolls but also the thickness of the plate thickness adjusting plate in order to deal with the change of the plate thickness, which makes it difficult to cope with the change of the plate thickness. There was a point.
In the vacuum seal device of the prior art, a seal block body facing the deflector roll is provided, the seal block body is composed of a plurality of divided seal blocks arranged in the axial direction of the deflector roll, and each divided seal block is formed into a deflector roll. On the other hand, it was provided so as to be able to adjust the position independently of each other so as to respond to changes in the plate width and plate thickness. However, in such a device, since a gap is provided in the division surface of the division seal block so that the positions of the plurality of division seal blocks can be adjusted independently, gas leaks from this gap and the capacity of the vacuum pump cannot be sufficiently reduced. There was a problem. In particular, when performing vacuum processing on a large number of plate materials having different plate widths, there is a problem in that the number of divided surfaces of the divided seal block is large and gas leakage from the entire divided surfaces becomes large.

The present invention was created to solve the above-mentioned various problems. That is, an object of the present invention is to provide a vacuum seal device capable of coping with changes in plate width and plate thickness without replacing parts, and capable of stably holding a desired degree of vacuum with a small vacuum pump capacity. is there.

[0005]

According to the present invention, a plurality of vacuum chambers evacuated by a vacuum pump, a plurality of cylindrical deflector rolls provided at the boundary between the vacuum chambers and wound with a strip material, In a vacuum sealing device provided with a seal block provided at a boundary portion of the vacuum chamber facing the deflector roll, the seal block extends in the axial direction of the deflector roll with a slight distance from the surface of the deflector roll. A flexible hollow seal container and a pair of diameter-expanding members whose outer periphery is in close contact with the inner surface of the hollow seal container and which is movable in the axial direction and the radial direction of the deflector roll. There is provided a vacuum seal device, wherein the diameter member and the hollow seal container are axially slidably connected to each other on a side facing the deflector roll. According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the seal block further comprises a pair of outer shape-retaining plates and a pair of inner shape-retaining plates, each outer periphery of which is in close contact with the inner surface of the hollow seal container. The plate is positioned at both ends of the hollow seal container, and sandwiches both ends of the hollow seal container between the side walls of the vacuum chamber,
The inner shape holding plate is provided so as to be movable in the axial direction of the deflector roll, and the diameter expanding member is connected to the inner shape holding plate so as to be movable in the radial direction. Also,
An eccentric shaft that extends in the axial direction of the deflector roll and is rotatably provided around a shaft center in the seal container and that has an eccentric portion in the center is further provided. In order to move, the diameter expanding member has a through hole that fits into the eccentric portion, and further, a cylinder body is pivotally attached to one of the diameter expanding members and a rod tip is pivotally attached to the other of the diameter expanding member. It is preferable that the pair of diameter-expanding members are moved in mutually opposite axial directions.

[0006]

According to the above-mentioned structure of the present invention, the seal block has a flexible hollow seal container extending in the axial direction at a slight distance from the surface of the deflector roll, and an outer periphery on the inner surface of the hollow seal container. Are in close contact with each other and a pair of expanding members provided so as to be movable in the axial direction and the radial direction of the deflector roll, so that the expanding member and the hollow seal container can slide in the axial direction on the side facing the deflector roll. Since they are connected, by moving the pair of diameter-expanding members in the axial direction and the radial direction in response to changes in the plate width and plate thickness, the flexible hollow of the portion sandwiched by the pair of diameter-expanding members. By moving the seal container in the radial direction, the gap between the deflector roll and the seal block can be adjusted to the minimum, and the gap can be maintained to the minimum gap without replacement of parts. Further, according to the configuration of the present invention, since each component of the seal block is contained in the flexible hollow seal container,
Even if the expanding member moves in the axial direction and the radial direction, gas leakage from the gap between the components can be prevented by the flexible hollow seal container, and the desired vacuum degree can be stabilized with a small vacuum pump capacity. Can be held.

[0007]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT A preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. In the drawings, common parts are designated by the same reference numerals and used. FIG. 1 is an overall side view of a vacuum sealing device according to the present invention. In this figure, a vacuum seal device according to the present invention is provided with a plurality of vacuum chambers 5 respectively evacuated by a plurality of vacuum pumps 4 and a plurality of cylindrical deflectors around the boundary of the vacuum chambers 5 around which a strip 3 is wound. The roll 8 and a seal block 10 facing the deflector roll 8 and provided at the boundary of the vacuum chamber 5 are provided. This vacuum seal device 2 is a so-called differential exhaust vacuum seal device, and the pressure ratio (outlet pressure / inlet pressure) of the adjacent vacuum chambers 5 is the so-called critical pressure ratio (where the flow velocity of the air flowing in from the gap reaches the sonic velocity). Also called critical pressure ratio)
Smaller than, for example, 760 torr (atmospheric pressure), 200 torr, 50 torr, 5 torr,
The degree of vacuum is gradually changed to 0.1 torr. The plurality of deflector rolls 8 are alternately arranged in the vertical direction, and the strip 3 is wound around each deflector roll 8 in a meandering manner and introduced into the vacuum processing apparatus 1 or carried out from the vacuum processing apparatus 1. As a result, the strip 3 is guided in close contact with the deflector roll 8, and the strip 3 can always be stably held at the same position. The strip material 3 carried out from the vacuum processing apparatus 1 is carried out to the outside through a vacuum sealing device (not shown) provided on the opposite side as the vacuum sealing device 2. Further, another seal block 11 is provided on the side opposite to the seal block 10 so as to oppose the deflector roll 8. This seal block 11 opposes only the surface on which the strip 3 is not wrapped, and has an arc surface slightly spaced from the surface of the seal block 11 so as to minimize gas leakage. Has become.

FIG. 2 is a partial sectional view taken along the line AA of FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is a partial sectional view taken along the line BB of FIG. In FIG. 2, the deflector roll 8 is rotatably and airtightly attached to the side wall 5a of the vacuum chamber by a bearing 12 and a seal 13. One end of the central axis of the deflector roll 8 is connected to a driving device (not shown), and the strip 3 is wound around and introduced into the vacuum processing apparatus 1 or carried out from the vacuum processing apparatus 1. In addition, the deflector roll 8 may not simply be connected to the drive device but may simply idle. A seal 9 provided between the outer surface of the deflector roll 8 and the side wall 5a of the vacuum chamber prevents gas from leaking from the end of the deflector roll 8. Furthermore, in this figure, the seal block 10 is slightly spaced from the surface of the deflector roll 8 and is disposed in the deflector roll 8.
Of the flexible hollow seal container 14 extending in the axial direction and a pair of expanding members 16 provided so as to be movable in the axial direction and the radial direction of the deflector roll 8 (hereinafter, simply referred to as the axial direction or the radial direction). It has and.

As shown in FIG. 3, the hollow seal container 14
Has a substantially rectangular hollow cross section having an arc surface 14a facing the deflector roll 8, and the opposite surface of the arc surface 14a has an upper lid 5b on the vacuum chamber 5 so that the hollow seal container 14 can be partially moved up and down. From the proper distance.
Further, both side surfaces of the hollow seal container 14 are connected to the upper lid 5 of the vacuum chamber 5.
The side plate 5c extending downward from b is slidably in contact with the side plate 5c in the vertical direction. Further, the diameter-expanding member 16 has its outer periphery in close contact with the inner surface of the hollow seal container 14, and the diameter-expanding member 16 and the hollow seal container 14 are opposed to the deflector roll 8 by, for example, a dovetail groove 16a so as to be axial Is slidably connected to. With such a configuration, the pair of diameter-expanding members 16 are moved in the axial direction and the radial direction in accordance with the changes in the plate width and the plate thickness of the strip 3 to thereby move the pair of diameter-expanding members 16.
The flexible hollow seal container 14 in the portion sandwiched between the two is moved in the radial direction, and the deflector roll 8 and the seal block 10 are moved.
The gap between and can be adjusted to a minimum, and can be kept in the minimum gap without replacement of parts.

2 and 3, the seal block 1
0 further includes an eccentric shaft 17 extending in the axial direction of the deflector roll 8. The eccentric shaft 17 is composed of a central eccentric part 17a and concentric parts 17b on both sides of the eccentric part 17a. The eccentric shaft 17 is rotatably mounted in the seal container 14 about the axis of the concentric part 17b. The amount of eccentricity e between the eccentric portion 17a and the concentric portion 17b is preferably at least ½ of the distance required to move the diameter expansion member 16 in the radial direction. The expanding member 16 is
It has a rectangular through hole and a sliding plate 16b (FIG. 3) having a smaller width than the through hole whose upper and lower surfaces slide in the through hole. The sliding plate 16b is a through hole that fits with the eccentric portion 17a. have. With such a configuration, the eccentric shaft 17 is rotated from the outside to move the diametrical expansion member 16 in the radial direction (vertical direction in the drawing).
The distance can be moved twice as much as the eccentric amount e. Further, the seal block 10 includes a hydraulic cylinder 18, the cylinder body thereof is pivotally attached to one of the diameter expanding members 16, and the rod tip of the hydraulic cylinder 18 is pivotally attached to the other of the diameter expanding member 16. By operating the hydraulic cylinder 18 via a pipe (not shown), the pair of diameter-expanding members 16 can be moved in the axially opposite directions in response to changes in the plate width and plate thickness of the strip 3.

The seal block 10 further includes a pair of outer shape retaining plates 20 and a pair of inner shape retaining plates 22 each having an outer periphery in close contact with the inner surface of the hollow seal container 14. The outer shape holding plates 20 are positioned at both ends of the hollow seal container 14, and sandwich the both ends of the hollow seal container 14 between the outer shape holding plate 20 and the side wall 5 a of the vacuum chamber 5. The inner shape retaining plate 22 has a hole that fits into the concentric portion 17b of the eccentric shaft 17, and is provided so as to be movable in the axial direction of the deflector roll 8. Further, the diameter expanding member 16 is connected to the inner shape retaining plate 22 so as to be movable in the radial direction, for example, by means of a dovetail groove (not shown) extending in the radial direction. With this configuration, the inner shape retaining plate 22 can move in the axial direction together with the diameter expanding member 16. Further, the outer shape retaining plate 20 and the inner shape retaining plate 22 do not move in the radial direction, and the diameter expanding member 1
Since only 6 moves in the radial direction, the outer shape holding plate 20
The inner shape holding plate 22 can hold the cross-sectional shape of the flexible hollow seal container 14 other than the portion sandwiched by the diameter expanding member 16, and the arc surface other than the portion sandwiched by the diameter expanding member 16. 14a can be held at an appropriate distance from the surface of the deflector roll 8. The flexible hollow seal container 14 is a component of the seal block 10 described above.
It covers all 6, 18, 20, 22, etc. The hollow seal container 14 is made of rubber or plastic having a low gas permeability. Thereby, even if the diameter expansion member 16 moves in the axial direction and the radial direction, it is possible to prevent the gas from leaking through the gap between the respective components by the flexible hollow seal container, and a desired vacuum pump capacity can be obtained. The degree of vacuum can be stably maintained.

[0012]

As described above, according to the present invention, the seal block has a flexible hollow seal container extending in the axial direction at a slight distance from the surface of the deflector roll, and the hollow seal container is provided. The outer circumference is in close contact with the inner surface and a pair of expanding members provided so as to be movable in the axial direction and the radial direction of the deflector roll are provided, and the expanding member and the hollow seal container slide in the axial direction on the side facing the deflector roll. Since they are movably connected, by moving the pair of diameter-expanding members in the axial direction and the radial direction in response to changes in the plate width and the plate thickness, the portion sandwiched between the pair of diameter-expanding members is flexible. The flexible hollow seal container moves in the radial direction, the gap between the deflector roll and the seal block can be adjusted to a minimum, and the gap can be maintained to a minimum gap without replacement of parts. Further, according to the configuration of the present invention, since each component of the seal block is contained in the flexible hollow seal container, even if the expanding member moves in the axial direction and the radial direction, Leakage of gas from the gap can be prevented by the flexible hollow seal container, and a desired vacuum degree can be stably maintained with a small vacuum pump capacity.

Therefore, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide a vacuum seal device capable of coping with changes in plate width and plate thickness without replacement of parts, and stably maintaining a desired degree of vacuum with a small vacuum pump capacity. You can

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an overall side view of a vacuum sealing device according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a partial cross-sectional view taken along the line AA of FIG.

3 is a partial cross-sectional view taken along the line BB of FIG.

FIG. 4 is an overall configuration diagram of a conventional vacuum sealing device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Vacuum processing apparatus 2 Vacuum sealing apparatus 3 Band material 4 Vacuum pump 5 Vacuum chamber 6 Seal roll 8 Deflector roll 9 Seal 10 Seal block 11 Another seal block 12 Bearing 13 Seal 14 Hollow seal container 14a Arc surface 16 Expanding member 17 Eccentricity Shaft 17a Eccentric part 17b Concentric part 18 Hydraulic cylinder 20 Outer shape retaining plate 22 Inner shape retaining plate e Eccentric amount

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A plurality of vacuum chambers evacuated by a vacuum pump, a plurality of cylindrical deflector rolls provided at the boundary between the vacuum chambers and wound with a strip material, and a boundary between the vacuum chambers facing the deflector rolls. In a vacuum sealing device comprising: a seal block provided in a portion, the seal block is a flexible hollow seal container extending in the axial direction of the deflector roll at a slight distance from the surface of the deflector roll; An outer periphery is in close contact with the inner surface of the hollow seal container, and a pair of expanding members provided so as to be movable in the axial direction and the radial direction of the deflector roll, the expanding member and the hollow seal container are deflector rolls. A vacuum seal device, wherein the vacuum seal device is connected slidably in the axial direction on the side facing the. 2. The seal block further comprises a pair of outer shape retaining plates and a pair of inner shape retaining plates, each outer periphery of which is in close contact with the inner surface of the hollow seal container, wherein the outer shape retaining plate is the hollow Positioned at both ends of the seal container, and sandwiching both ends of the hollow seal container with the side wall of the vacuum chamber, the inner shape retaining plate is provided movably in the axial direction of the deflector roll, The vacuum sealing device according to claim 1, wherein the diameter expanding member is connected to the inner shape retaining plate so as to be movable in the radial direction. 3. An eccentric shaft extending in the axial direction of the deflector roll, rotatably provided around a shaft center in the seal container, and having an eccentric portion at the center, wherein the eccentric shaft rotates to expand the eccentric shaft. The diametrical expansion member has a through hole that fits with the eccentric portion so as to move the diametrical member in the radial direction, and the cylinder body is pivotally attached to one of the diametrical expansion members.
The vacuum seal device according to claim 1, further comprising a hydraulic cylinder having a rod tip pivotally attached thereto, whereby the pair of diameter-expanding members are moved in mutually opposite axial directions.