JPH06349059A - Apparatus for production of magnetic recording medium - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To facilitate the limitation of a driving device in a vacuum by including a detector of an optical type and a driving device by magnetic force in a meandering controller. CONSTITUTION:A magnetic metal 10 is melted by receiving the irradiation of an electron beam and is kept evaporated when the magnetic metal 10 is irradiated with the electron beam by an electron gun 11. A tape 5 which is delivered from a feed roll 6 and enters the evaporation range thereof rotates circumferentially on a cooling can while receiving the vapor deposition within a vapor deposition atmosphere to which oxygen is supplied by a gaseous oxygen supplying pipe 19. A diagonal magnetic layer is formed on the tape during this time. The signal of the detector 30 is sent to the controller 32 when the detector 30 detects the positional deviation of the side of the tape 5. The controller 32 sends this signal to the driving device, which in turns moves the substrate 34 in the direction crossing the tape 5, thereby correcting the positional deviation of the tape 5.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a vapor deposition type magnetic recording medium manufacturing apparatus, and more particularly to a meandering suppressing apparatus provided in a roll system (traveling apparatus) thereof.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A vapor deposition tape, which is one of vapor deposition type magnetic recording media, is a tape made by adhering a vapor of a ferromagnetic material such as iron, nickel or cobalt to a film base surface. The vapor-deposited tape produced in this way does not require the binder required for a coating-type tape, so that a thin magnetic layer can be formed with a high degree of filling, improving the high frequency characteristics and reducing the tape thinness. Stylization can be achieved.

As an example of a conventional vapor deposition tape manufacturing apparatus,
There is one shown in FIG. This apparatus includes a vacuum container 1, a traveling device 2, an evaporation source 3, and an electron beam generator 4
Includes and. A traveling device 2 for traveling a series of synthetic resin tapes 5 is arranged in the vacuum container 1. The traveling device 2 includes a feed roll 6 that constitutes a roll system, a winding roll 7, and a cylindrical cooling can 8. The evaporation source 3 is a crucible 9 disposed below the tape 5.
And a magnetic metal 10 housed in the crucible 9. The electron beam generator 4 is a crucible magnetic metal 1
An electron gun 11 for irradiating 0 with an electron beam is provided.

Magnetic metal tape 5 evaporating from the crucible 9
A shield plate 24 for determining the incident angle with respect to is disposed below the cooling can 8. In addition, above the shielding plate 24, the partition member 21 is horizontally disposed in proximity to the cooling can 8 by dividing the inside of the vacuum container into two.

In the vapor deposition tape manufacturing apparatus configured as described above, the electron beam is emitted from the magnetic metal 10 by the electron gun 11.
When irradiated toward, the magnetic metal 10 is irradiated with the electron beam, melts, and continues to evaporate. The tape 5 delivered from the feed roll 6 and entering the evaporation region is rotated in the circumferential direction on the cooling can while being vapor-deposited in the vapor-deposition atmosphere, during which a magnetic layer is formed on the tape and further wound. It is wound by the take-up roll 7.

In the above-mentioned roll system, when the tape is meandered, the tape wound by the take-up roll is wrinkled, which results in rolling over.

Therefore, in order to eliminate such a problem, a meandering suppressing device is used. A conventional meandering suppression device includes a detector that detects a side end portion of a tape and a drive device that corrects a positional deviation of the tape. The detector is of the type that ejects air to detect the tape side edge by detecting the change in pressure, and the drive device is a roll on which the tape travels and a hydraulic pressure connected to drive this roll. It consists of a cylinder.

[0008]

Since the above-mentioned conventional meandering suppressing device is provided with a detector for ejecting air,
The degree of vacuum in the vacuum container cannot be obtained. Further, in the above-described conventional meandering suppression device, since the drive device is composed of a hydraulic cylinder having a sliding portion, oil leakage from the sliding portion occurs in a vacuum and control is difficult.

Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a novel apparatus for manufacturing a magnetic recording medium which solves the problems of the prior art.

[0010]

A magnetic recording medium manufacturing apparatus according to the present invention comprises a vacuum container, a traveling device for traveling a series of materials to be vapor-deposited disposed in the vacuum container, and a device below the material to be vapor-deposited. The traveling device includes an evaporation source arranged to accommodate a magnetic material, and an electron beam generator for irradiating the magnetic material of the evaporation source with an electron beam. In the apparatus for manufacturing a magnetic recording medium, the meandering suppressing device includes an optical detector, a driving device, and a controller, and the optical detector detects a side end portion of the material to be vapor-deposited. The driving device has a roll on which the material to be vapor-deposited, a support that supports the roll, and a material to be vapor-deposited that supports and guides the support by magnetic force. The coil means configured to drive in a direction transverse to the The control device inputs a signal from the optical detector, and when the input signal is a signal indicating a positional deviation of the deposition material side end portion, the coil means is arranged to correct the deviation. It is characterized in that a signal for controlling operation is output.

The meandering suppressing device included in the present manufacturing apparatus includes an optical detector, a magnetic device, that is, a driving device including a coil device, and a control device for controlling the operation of the coil device.

In order to suppress the meandering of the material to be vapor-deposited, it is desirable that the side edges of the material to be vapor-deposited are always aligned. If the side edge is not aligned, that is, if there is a positional deviation, the material to be vapor-deposited may meander.

The optical detector provided in the meandering suppressing device is
The positional deviation of the end of the material to be vapor-deposited is detected, and this detection signal is sent to the control device. The control device outputs a signal to the coil means so as to correct the deviation based on the input signal. The coil means acts to drive the support in a direction that traverses the material to be deposited.

[0014]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an apparatus for manufacturing a magnetic recording medium according to the present invention. In FIG. 1, the same reference numerals as those in FIG. 4 denote the same parts. This device includes a vacuum container 1, a traveling device 2, an evaporation source 3, and an electron beam generator 4. The vacuum container 1 is connected to a vacuum pump 16, and a traveling device 2 for traveling a series of materials to be vapor-deposited, that is, a synthetic resin tape 5, is arranged in the vacuum container 16. The traveling device 2 includes a feed roll 6, a take-up roll 7, a cooling can 8, and a meandering suppressing device 12 described later. The cooling can 8 has a hollow cylindrical shape,
The tape 5 comes into contact with the outer peripheral surface of the tape 5 and rotates as the tape 5 travels. Refrigerant flows inside the cooling can, thereby cooling the tape 5. The evaporation source 3 is composed of a crucible 9 arranged below the synthetic resin tape 5 and at a position closer to the right side of the drawing than immediately below the cooling can 8. The crucible 9 is magnetic in a recess formed on the upper surface thereof. It contains a metal 10. The electron beam generator 4 includes an electron gun 11, which emits an electron beam and irradiates the magnetic metal 10 of the crucible 9 with the electron beam.

A shielding plate 24 is disposed below the cooling can 8 and close to the cooling can, and its tip is located slightly above the lowermost end of the cooling can.

The oxidizing gas supply device 20 includes an oxygen gas supply source 18, an introduction pipe 14 connected to the oxygen gas supply source 18,
It comprises a flow rate control valve 13 arranged in the introduction pipe 14 and an oxygen gas supply pipe 19 connected to the introduction pipe 14.

The flow control valve 13 is adapted to adjust the amount of oxygen gas flowing through the introduction pipe 14 in response to an output signal from a controller (not shown). Further, the oxygen gas supply pipe 19 has its tip 19a at substantially the same position as the tip of the shielding plate 24 in the circumferential direction of the cooling can 8 so as to supply oxygen gas into the vapor of the magnetic metal 10. The oxygen gas from the supply pipe 19 is blown out so as to diffuse into the vapor of the magnetic metal, and this oxygen gas is combined with a part of the vapor of the magnetic metal and mixed with the atoms of the magnetic metal at a constant ratio to form a tape surface. Then, a magnetic layer composed of columnar crystal grains containing non-magnetic atoms, that is, oxygen atoms, is formed. The oxygen atoms act to adjust the magnetic characteristics of the magnetic layer, that is, to increase the coercive force of the magnetic layer.

Further, part of the oxygen gas blown from the tip 19a of the oxygen gas supply pipe is combined with the vapor-deposited magnetic element in the magnetic layer to form a protective film made of oxide on the magnetic layer. This protective film functions as a protective layer for the magnetic layer, and this protective layer can improve the durability and corrosion resistance of the vapor deposition tape.

The meandering suppressing device 12 shown schematically in FIG.
They are arranged near the tape 5 near the feed roll 6 and near the take-up roll 7, respectively. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the meandering suppressing device 12 includes an optical detector 30, a driving device 31, and a control device 32.

The optical detector 30 is arranged so that the side end portion of the tape 5 is detected so that the side end portion of the tape 5 can be detected.
It has a and a light receiving portion 30b. The light from the light transmitting unit 30a is received by the light receiving unit 30b, but the side end of the tape 5 is placed in the path of this light, and the movement of this side end changes the luminous flux to the light receiving unit 30b. By measuring this change instead of the photocurrent, the amount of displacement of the side end portion, that is, the deviation can be known.

The drive device 31 supports a roll 33 on which the tape 5 travels, a support rotatably supporting the roll 33 via a support base 36, that is, a substrate 34, and a magnetic force to support the substrate 34. It comprises coil means 35 arranged to guide and drive the tape 5 transversely. The substrate 34 has a rectangular plate shape, and has coils on the upper and lower surfaces at both ends in the longitudinal direction. Also, coils are provided on both side surfaces. A substrate case 37 is arranged so as to surround these coils carried by the substrate 34. This board case 37 is
The coils are provided at positions facing the respective coils provided on the substrate 34. The coil means 35 constituted by these coils can support, guide, and drive the substrate 34 by magnetic force without using a sliding portion. That is, the support guide of the substrate 34 is magnetically levitated, and
4 can be driven by a linear motor. The pair of coils C and D on the lower side of the substrate constitute a levitation coil that levitates the substrate 34, and the pair of coils E and F on the upper side of the substrate apply repulsive force to the levitation of the substrate 34.
A coil for repulsion that balances the substrate 34 to a predetermined position is formed, and the pair of coils A and B on the side of the substrate form a linear motor as a coil for driving and guiding. The linear motor can obtain its driving force by utilizing the moving magnetic field. For example, by applying a three-phase alternating current to the coil on the substrate case 37 side, a moving magnetic field is generated, whereby the substrate 34 can move in a straight line across the tape 5.

The controller 32 inputs a signal from the optical detector 30, and when the input signal is a signal indicating a positional deviation of the end portion on the tape 5 side, the coil means is arranged to correct this deviation. That is, the pair of coils A and B forming the linear motor are operated and controlled. Control device 32
Is a pair of coils A and B for moving the substrate 34 in a predetermined direction based on an amount (displacement amount) indicating the positional deviation of the side end sent from the detector 30 so as to reduce this amount to zero.
Output a signal to.

In the apparatus of the present invention having such a structure, when the electron beam is directed toward the magnetic metal 10 by the electron gun 11, the magnetic metal 10 is irradiated with the electron beam to melt and continue to evaporate. The tape 5 delivered from the feed roll 6 and entering the evaporation region rotates in the circumferential direction on the cooling can while receiving vapor deposition in the vapor deposition atmosphere in which oxygen is supplied by the oxygen gas supply pipe 19, and in the meantime. An orthorhombic magnetic layer is formed on the tape. Furthermore, this tape 5
An oxide film is formed as a protective layer on the orthorhombic magnetic layer by oxygen supplied at the end of the vapor deposition atmosphere, and is wound by the winding roll 7.

When the detector 30 detects the positional deviation of the end portion on the tape 5 side, the signal is sent to the control device 32, and the control device 32 sends a signal for correcting the positional deviation to the drive device based on this signal, and drives it. The device operates in response to this, and the substrate 3
4 is moved in a direction across tape 5 by a predetermined amount, and tape 5
Correct the misalignment of.

[0026]

Since the meandering suppressing device provided in the magnetic recording medium manufacturing apparatus of the present invention includes an optical detector and a drive device by magnetic force, a conventional air jet detector and a hydraulic cylinder are used. Compared to a meandering suppression device equipped with a drive unit, without changing the degree of vacuum in the vacuum container,
In addition, the drive device can be easily controlled in a vacuum.

The present meandering suppressing device can detect the positional deviation of the material to be vaporized which may cause the material to be vaporized and correct it, so that the material to be vaporized can always run in a straight line. As a result, the magnetic recording medium wound by the winding roll does not cause wrinkle shift, and a magnetic recording medium having no winding droop can be obtained. Also, stable film formation is possible,
Productivity is also improved.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of an apparatus for manufacturing a vapor-deposited magnetic recording medium according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a meandering suppression device provided in the manufacturing apparatus shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a side view in which a part of the meandering suppressing device is omitted.

FIG. 4 is a configuration diagram showing an example of a conventional vapor deposition tape manufacturing apparatus.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Vacuum container 2 Traveling device 3 Evaporation source 4 Electron beam generator 5 Tape (material to be deposited) 8 Cooling can 10 Magnetic metal 12 Meandering suppression device 30 Optical detector 31 Drive device 32 Control device 33 Roll 34 Substrate 35 Coil means

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A vacuum container, a traveling device disposed in the vacuum container for traveling a series of materials to be vapor-deposited, an evaporation source disposed below the material to be vapor-deposited for accommodating a magnetic material, and the evaporation source. An electron beam generator for irradiating the magnetic material with an electron beam, wherein the running device comprises a meandering suppressing device for suppressing meandering of the material to be vapor-deposited, wherein the meandering suppressing device is provided. Includes an optical detector, a drive unit, and a control unit, the optical detector has a light transmitting unit and a light receiving unit arranged to detect the side end of the material to be vapor deposited, The driving device is composed of a roll on which the material to be vapor-deposited travels, a support for supporting the roll, and a coil means configured to support and guide the support by magnetic force to drive the material to be vapor-deposited in a direction across the material. , The controller controls the signal from the optical detector When the input signal is a signal indicating the positional deviation of the end of the material to be vapor-deposited, a signal for controlling the operation of the coil means to correct the deviation is output. Manufacturing equipment.