JPH07117697B2 - Coating device - Google Patents

Description

Description: TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a coating device, and more particularly to a coating device for coating a coating liquid on a support for a photographic light-sensitive material that runs in a non-contact state.

[Prior Art] As such a coating device, as described in, for example, JP-A-51-38737, a gas of a predetermined pressure is jetted from an air bag roll to a surface of a support for a photographic light-sensitive material so that the gas is levitated. There is one in which a coating solution is applied to the surface of a support for photographic light-sensitive material while running in this state.

In this case, the gap (floating amount) between the air bag roll and the photographic light-sensitive material support may change due to tension fluctuations while the photographic light-sensitive material support is running. Further, in the case where the negative pressure chamber is provided for facilitating the formation of the beat of the coating liquid, when the gap between the side wall of the negative pressure chamber and the support for the photographic material changes, the pressure in the negative pressure chamber is affected. The air pressure difference between the upper surface side and the lower surface side of the bead may change, and the gap (floating amount) between the air bag roll and the photographic light-sensitive material support may change.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] When the gap (floating amount) between the airbag roll and the support for photographic light-sensitive material changes in this way, beads of the coating liquid are formed on the surface of the support for photographic light-sensitive material. Since the distance between the coater and the air bag roll is constant, and the thickness of the support for photographic light-sensitive material is constant, if the gap (floating amount) between the air-back roll and the photographic light-sensitive material support fluctuates, coating Unevenness occurs.

This coating unevenness is not preferable because it causes sensitivity fluctuations and the like in the case where coating of a uniform film thickness is required as in a photographic light-sensitive material. Particularly in the case of silver halide light-sensitive materials, it is required to apply uniformly with a film thickness of several tens of microns, so high productivity is required and stable and uniform application is required. Moreover, defective products are distributed to users. It is required to prevent this.

In order to prevent this coating unevenness, it is necessary to directly measure the thickness of the coating liquid pool at the portion where the coating liquid is supplied to the support for photographic light-sensitive material, that is, at the bead forming portion of the coating liquid. By the way, it is difficult to measure the thickness of the coating liquid pool, but the gap (floating amount) between the airbag roll and the support for the photographic light-sensitive material, which causes the coating unevenness, is measured to eliminate fluctuation. It has been found that it is possible to prevent coating unevenness by controlling in this way, but in this case, it does not adversely affect the transport of the support for photographic light-sensitive material in the bead forming part of the coating liquid, Care must be taken to measure the gap between the support and the airbag roll to keep the gap constant.

The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and measures the gap between the air bag roll and the support for photographic light-sensitive material without adversely affecting the conveyance of the support for photographic light-sensitive material at the bead forming portion of the coating liquid. Therefore, it is possible to accurately know the variation in the running state of the support for photographic light-sensitive material, prevent the variation of the support for photographic light-sensitive material with this measurement information, and effectively deal with the occurrence of coating unevenness. At the same time, it is an object of the present invention to provide a coating device that can ensure product management and prevent the occurrence of defective products.

[Means for Solving the Problems] In order to solve the above problems, the present invention injects gas from an air bag roll to a running photographic light-sensitive material support to bring the photographic light-sensitive material support into a non-contact state. In a coating device for supporting and forming a bead of a coating solution on the surface of a support for a photographic light-sensitive material to apply the light, the support for the photographic light-sensitive material is irradiated with light, and the support for the photographic light-sensitive material is obtained from the reflected light. An optical displacement sensor for measuring the gap between the body and the airbag roll is provided, and the optical displacement sensor is disposed inside the airbag roll, and the gap between the support for the photographic light-sensitive material and the airbag roll is described above. It is characterized in that it is provided with a control means that enables measurement in the vicinity of the bead forming portion of the coating liquid and that keeps the gap between the photographic photosensitive material support and the air bag roll constant from the measured value.

[Operation] In the present invention, a gas having a predetermined pressure is jetted from the air bag roll to the running photographic light-sensitive material support to support the photographic light-sensitive material support in a non-contact state. Apply the coating liquid on the surface, in the vicinity of the bead forming portion of the coating liquid at the time of this coating, irradiating light to the photographic photosensitive material support by an optical displacement sensor arranged inside the airbag roll, The gap between the support for the photographic material and the air bag roll is measured from the reflected light.

Accurately control the running state of the photographic photosensitive material support running from this measurement, further know the cause of fluctuation of the photographic photosensitive material support from the analysis of the measurement information, and Control to keep the gap constant,
It prevents the occurrence of coating unevenness that occurs when the coating liquid is applied.

[Examples] The coating apparatus of the present invention will be described below based on specific examples shown in the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a coating apparatus of the present invention.

In the figure, reference numeral 1 is a support for a photographic light-sensitive material, which is a support on which a coating liquid is applied, and is conveyed at high speed via an air bag roll 2. This airbag roll 2 has a jet hole 2d
The air of a predetermined pressure in the air bag roll 2 is blown from the ejection holes 2d onto the support 1 for photographic light-sensitive material so as to support the support 1 for photographic light-sensitive material in a non-contact state. ing.

A coating liquid supply device 3 is located close to the airbag roll 2, and coating liquids of different types are supplied to the liquid supply passages 4a and 4b by driving the flow rate pumps 5a and 5b. In this embodiment, two types of coating liquids are supplied, but one or more types may be used. Above the liquid supply paths 4a, 4b are narrow vertical slits 6a,
6b is formed, and the coating liquid passes through the slits 6a and 6b and flows out onto the slide surface 7 of the coating liquid supply device 3. The slide surface 7 is inclined toward the direction of the air bag roll 2, and the coating liquid that has flowed out forms a layer and flows down.
The bead 8 of the coating liquid is formed between the lower end of the slide surface 7 and the support 1 for photographic light-sensitive material.

A pressure adjusting box 9 is provided on the lower surface side of the bead 8, and the lower surface side air pressure is reduced by the pressure adjusting box 9 to press the bead 8 from the upper side to the lower side to ensure the application.

Although various solutions are used as the coating solution, particularly a hydrophilic colloid solution which is a photographic light-sensitive material, a hydrophilic binder such as gelatin or polyvinyl alcohol, and a viscosity of 4
Suitable for low viscosity coating compositions of -40 cp. Further, the coating liquid containing the volatile solvent can suppress evaporation on the slide surface by the positive pressure.

As the support for a photographic light-sensitive material coated with the hydrophilic colloid solution as described above, a support for a photographic light-sensitive material such as a plastic film such as polyethylene terephthalate, triacetyl cellulose, polypropylene, or paper is used.

A back layer 10 is formed on the side of the air bag roll 2 of the support 1 for photographic light-sensitive material, and the silver halide photographic light-sensitive material is formed on both sides of the support 1 for photographic light-sensitive material coated with the coating solution. The material may be applied.

An optical displacement sensor 11 is provided inside the airbag roll 2, and the support 1 for the photosensitive material and the airbag roll 2 are provided.
The gap L between and is measured near the portion where the bead 8 of the coating liquid is formed.

The optical displacement sensor 11 is constructed as shown in FIGS. 2 to 6. That is, the support cylinder 12 of the optical displacement sensor 11 is mounted on the airbag roll 2 in the direction orthogonal to the axial direction, and the tip portion 12a of the support cylinder 12 is located on the support side 2a of the airbag roll 2 for the photographic material. Abut the inner surface,
A cap 13 is screwed onto the rear end 12b.

The flange portion 13a of the cap 13 is applied to the side 2b of the airbag roll 2 opposite to the side of the support 1 for photographic light-sensitive material via an elastic body 14 made of, for example, rubber. As shown in FIG. 4, this cap 13 has a positioning screw 16 inserted into a flange portion 13a of the cap 13 through a plate 15 and screwed to the airbag roll 2. Further, a leaf spring is provided between the positioning screws 16. Tightening screw 18 is inserted through 17,
The fastening screw 18 is fastened and fixed to the airbag roll 2.

The leaf spring 17 has a pair of bent legs 17a, and when the tightening screw 18 is tightened while the legs 17a are in contact with the plate 15, the leaf spring 17 is bent and an urging force is applied.

A predetermined gap S is formed between the flange portion 13a of the cap 13 and the outer surface of the airbag roll 2 in a tightened state by the elastic body 14, and the leaf spring 17 always supports the photographic material. The support cylinder 12 biased toward the body 1 is allowed to move. These are optical displacement sensors 11
Of the air bag roll 2 is movably pressed and held in accordance with the deformation of the support side 2a for the photographic photosensitive material of the airbag 2.

Therefore, when the coating liquid is applied to the support 1 for photographic photosensitive material by the coating liquid supply device 3, if the side 2a of the photographic photosensitive material support 2a of the air bag roll 2 is deformed due to the temperature of the coating liquid, this deformation Following this, the support cylinder 12 of the optical displacement sensor 11 is moved. Therefore, the measurement surface of the air bag roll 2 and the measurement surface of the optical displacement sensor 11 are prevented from being displaced from each other, and the accuracy of measuring the gap between the photographic photosensitive material support 1 and the air bag roll 2 is improved.

Further, a connector 20 for connecting the wiring 19 is fastened to the cap 13 with a screw 21.

Inside the support cylinder 12 of the optical displacement sensor 11, a light source side unit 22 is provided on a support body 24 via a bracket 23. The light source side unit 22 has a semiconductor laser 25, a light projecting lens 26,
The slit 27 is built in. The wavelength of the semiconductor laser 25 is, for example, 780 nm, and the amount of light is adjusted so as not to affect the coating liquid applied to the support 1 for photographic light-sensitive materials. The light from the semiconductor laser 25 is emitted from the projection lens 26,
Through the slit 27, it is incident on a prism 28 which constitutes an incident part, and from this prism 28 is further incident on the measurement surface of the support 1 for photographic light-sensitive material, and the reflected light reflected here is again transmitted through the prism 28. It is converged by the light receiving lens 29 and input to the position detection sensor 30.

The prism 28 is thin and has a large planar shape, and a holder 31 is closely engaged with the prism 28. The large diameter portion 31b of the holder 31 is an O ring 32 on the support cylinder 12, and the small diameter portion 31a is an O ring on the support side 2a of the airbag roll 2 for the photographic material.
Sealed and supported by 33, ensuring airtightness.

Therefore, the optical displacement sensor is provided inside the airbag roll 2.
Even if 11 is provided, even if the high-pressure air in the air bag roll 2 invades from between the tip portion 12a of the support tube 12 and the support side 2a of the air bag roll 2 for the photographic material, the holder of the prism 28
Since the airtightness is ensured by 31, the leak is prevented from leaking into the opening 2c of the airbag roll 2 and the inside of the support cylinder 12.

The support 24 is fixed to a prism 28 and a holder 31, and a receiving portion 24a of the support 24 has a flange 34a as shown in FIG.
The fixed bar 34 having the above is screwed. This fixed bar 34
Are supported by being inserted into the support plate 35, and the rotation of the fixing bar 34 tightens and fixes the both in the proximity direction. Further, printed wiring boards 36 and 37 provided with a drive circuit and a control circuit for the semiconductor laser 25 and the position detection sensor 30 are attached to the support 24.

The position detection sensor 30 is supported by the sensor holder 38, the output state at the position of the light incident on the position detection sensor 30 is detected by the position detection circuit 39, and the detection signal is input to the CRT 40 and displayed. The waveform displayed on the CRT 40 is shown in FIG.
A plurality of optical displacement sensors 11 are arranged depending on the length of the air bag roll 2, and five are arranged in this embodiment.
7A to 7E show the arrangement positions. further,
The a to e represent the gap between the air bag roll 2 and the support 1 for the photographic material, that is, the bead gap.
The amplitude at e indicates the fluctuation amount of the support 1 for photographic light-sensitive material.

In FIG. 2, when the support 1 for photographic light-sensitive material is separated from the left side, that is, the air bag roll 2, the incident position of the reflected light on the position detection sensor 30 moves downward. Also,
If the support 1 for the photographic light-sensitive material moves to the right and is close to the airbag roll 2, the incident position of the reflected light on the position detection sensor 30 moves to the upper side. Depending on the change of the support 1 for photographic light-sensitive material, the amount of change of the support 1 for photographic light-sensitive material is displayed in the vertical direction in a to e of FIG. 7, and in this embodiment, b, d. The fluctuation of the support 1 for the photographic light-sensitive material at the positions e, e is large.

As this position detection sensor 30, a semiconductor position detection element (PS
Although D) is used, it may be composed of, for example, a solid-state imaging device (CCD). Further, the position detecting sensor 30 can be moved by a position adjusting mechanism 41 in accordance with the detection position of the support 1 for photographic light-sensitive material so that the measuring range can be adjusted.

The cam plate 42 that constitutes the position adjusting mechanism 41 is a support member.
It is rotatably supported by a receiving portion 24a of 24 via a support pin 43. A notch 42a is formed in the cam plate 42, and a pin 44 fixed to the sensor holder 38 is engaged with the notch 42a. Therefore, the position detection sensor 30
Is horizontally slid by the operation of the cam plate 42, and the movement of the cam plate 42 is caused by the movement of the pair of operation bars 45, 46.
Done by. One end of the operation bar 45, 46 is the support 2
The four support portions 24b are inserted and abutted on the cam plate 42 at symmetrical positions with the support pin 43 interposed therebetween, and the other end is inserted into the support plate 35. When one of the operation levers 45, 46, for example, the right side is pushed, the cam plate 42 rotates to the left side, and when the left side is pushed, the cam plate 42 rotates to the right side and interlocks with the cam plate 42. Position sensor
30 is moved and the measurement position is adjusted.

The position detecting sensor 30 is fixed by a position regulating bar 47, one end of the position regulating bar 47 is inserted into a support portion (not shown) of the support 24, and the other end is screwed to the support plate 35. When the tool is rotated from the end side, the tip presses the sensor holder 38 to regulate the position.

In this way, the gap L between the photographic photosensitive material support 1 and the air bag roll 2 is measured while the photographic photosensitive material support 1 is running, and as shown in FIG.
Of the photographic light-sensitive material and the variation of the photographic light-sensitive material support 1 can be easily and accurately known.

Therefore, the support 1 for the photographic light-sensitive material shown in this CRT40
By analyzing the fluctuation of the
It is possible to know the cause of the fluctuation of the pressure fluctuation, for example, the fluctuation of the tension or the fluctuation of the speed, and the difference in the air pressure between the upper surface side and the lower surface side of the bead. Therefore, it is possible to take measures depending on these causes. For example, when the tension changes, the winding pressure of the support for the photographic light-sensitive material is adjusted. In the case of a cause such as a difference in air pressure between the upper surface side and the lower surface side of the bead, it is possible to take measures such as keeping the pressure always constant, so that the stable travel of the support 1 for photographic light-sensitive material can be achieved. It will be possible.

[Advantages of the Invention] As described above, the present invention is an optical displacement method in which a support for a photographic light-sensitive material is irradiated with light and the gap between the support for a photographic light-sensitive material and an air bag roll is measured from the reflected light. The sensor is placed inside the air bag roll, and the optical displacement sensor makes it possible to measure the gap between the support for the photographic photosensitive material and the air bag roll near the bead forming part of the coating liquid. Since the control means is provided to keep the gap between the air bag roll and the air bag roll constant, it does not adversely affect the conveyance of the photographic light sensitive material support in the bead forming portion of the coating liquid, and the air back roll and the photographic light sensitive material By measuring the gap between the supports, the variation in the running state of the support for the photographic light-sensitive material can be accurately known, and the measurement information can be used to prevent the variation in the support for the photographic light-sensitive material to prevent uneven coating. It is possible to effectively deal with the occurrence of the above, and it is possible to ensure product management and prevent the occurrence of defective products.

[Brief description of drawings]

1 is a schematic view of a coating apparatus of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of an optical displacement sensor, FIG. 3 is a vertical cross-sectional view of an optical displacement sensor, and FIG. 4 is a side view of an optical displacement sensor. FIG. 5 is a partial perspective view showing a mounting state of the cap, and FIG. 6 is a perspective view of FIG.
VI-VI sectional view, FIG. 7 is a diagram showing measured waveforms. In the figure, reference numeral 1 is a support for a photographic light-sensitive material, 2 is an airbag roll, 3 is a coating liquid supply device, 9 is a pressure adjustment box, and 11
Is an optical displacement sensor.

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Tomohide Mizukoshi No. 1 Sakura-cho, Hino City, Tokyo Konica Co., Ltd. (56) References JP-A-53-130061 (JP, A) JP-A-60-158456 (JP) , A) Japanese Patent Publication 6-9670 (JP, B2) Japanese Patent Publication No. 49-17853 (JP, B2) Japanese Publication No. 3-78614 (JP, B2) Japanese Publication No. 3-75227 (JP, B2)

Claims (1)

[Claims] Claims: 1. A gas is jetted from an airbag roll onto a running photographic light-sensitive material support to support the photographic light-sensitive material support in a non-contact state, and a coating solution is applied to the surface of the photographic light-sensitive material support. In a coating device that forms and coats beads,
The support for photographic light-sensitive material is irradiated with light, and an optical displacement sensor for measuring the gap between the support for photographic light-sensitive material and the air bag roll from the reflected light is provided, and the optical displacement sensor is the air bag. It is placed inside a roll and makes it possible to measure the gap between the support for photographic light-sensitive material and the air bag roll in the vicinity of the bead forming portion of the coating liquid. A coating apparatus comprising a control means for keeping a gap between the back roll and the back roll constant.