JPH07117700B2 - Coating device - Google Patents

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a coating apparatus, and more particularly to a coating apparatus including an optical displacement sensor that measures a gap between a photographic photosensitive material support and an air bag roll.

[Prior Art] As a coating device for coating a coating solution on a photographic light-sensitive material support, as described in, for example, JP-A-51-38737, a gas of a predetermined pressure is applied to the photographic light-sensitive material support from an air bag roll. There is a method in which a bead of a coating solution is formed on the surface of a support for a photographic light-sensitive material while applying a bead of the coating solution to the surface of a support for a photographic light-sensitive material while applying a bead of the coating solution.

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 to facilitate the formation of the bead of the coating liquid, when the gap between the side wall of the negative pressure chamber and the photographic material support 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] Due to these reasons, when the traveling support for photographic light-sensitive material changes, coating unevenness may occur. This coating unevenness causes coating with a uniform film thickness as in a photographic light-sensitive material. Is required, it is not preferable because it induces sensitivity fluctuations. 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.

Therefore, the inventors of the present invention have made diligent studies to prevent the occurrence of coating unevenness, and as a result, by measuring the gap between the air bag roll and the photographic light-sensitive material support, fluctuations in the running state of the photographic light-sensitive material support If it is possible to accurately determine the above, it becomes possible to control so as to prevent the fluctuation of the support for photographic light-sensitive material with this measurement information, and to further understand the cause of fluctuation of the support for photographic light-sensitive material by analyzing the measurement information. It was found that it is possible to effectively deal with the occurrence of coating unevenness, and the product management becomes reliable and the occurrence of defective products can be prevented in advance.

The gap between the support for the photographic light-sensitive material and the air bag roll is measured by an optical displacement sensor. In this case, since the optical displacement sensor is provided in the air bag roll,
It is easy to irradiate the support for photographic light-sensitive material with light and measure the gap between the support for photographic light-sensitive material and the air bag roll from the reflected light. In addition, it is preferable because it is possible to secure a space for disposing the optical displacement sensor and to perform measurement at a portion where the bead of the coating liquid is formed, which improves the measurement accuracy.

However, air of a predetermined pressure for causing the support for photographic light-sensitive material to float and run from the airbag roll is supplied into the airbag roll, and an optical displacement sensor is built in the airbag roll. As a result, if the air pressure leaks unnecessarily, the control of the air pressure becomes complicated, and the fluctuation of the support for the photographic light-sensitive material becomes large, causing problems such as uneven coating.

The present invention has been made in view of the above point, and prevents the air pressure in the air bag roll from decreasing due to the provision of the optical displacement sensor, and to provide a coating device capable of stably running a support for a photographic light-sensitive material. It is intended to be provided.

[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 that supports and applies a coating liquid to the support for photographic light-sensitive material, the support for photographic light-sensitive material is irradiated with light to the support for photographic light-sensitive material through a prism in the airbag roll. An optical displacement sensor for measuring a gap with an air bag roll is provided, and the prism is provided in the air bag roll so as to be opposed to the support for the photographic light-sensitive material and hermetically sealed,
It is characterized in that the optical displacement sensor is hermetically held on the airbag roll.

[Operation] In the present invention, an optical displacement sensor is provided in the air bag roll, and the optical displacement sensor irradiates the photographic light-sensitive material support with light through a prism, and the reflected light is used for photographic light-sensitive material. The gap between the support and the airbag roll is measured.

Thus, the optical displacement sensor is provided in the airbag roll, but the prism is provided in the airbag roll so as to be opposed to the support for the photographic photosensitive material and hermetically sealed, and the optical displacement sensor is provided in the airbag roll. It is kept airtight.

That is, by providing the optical displacement sensor with a prism, the total reflection of the prism can be used to store the light projecting and receiving light in the same prism, and it is easy to secure the optical path, and the surface area can be reduced to reduce the mounting area. It is easy to secure the airtight roll and the airtightness of the airbag roll and the optical displacement sensor can be improved. Therefore, even if the air bag roll is provided with an optical displacement sensor, it is possible to prevent leakage of air pressure that causes the photographic photosensitive material support to travel in a non-contact state, suppress fluctuations of the photographic photosensitive material support, and ensure stable running. It will be possible.

[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. The air bag roll 2 has an injection hole 2a.
The air of a predetermined pressure in the air bag roll 2 is blown from the injection holes 2a onto the photographic photosensitive material support 1 so as to support the photographic photosensitive material support 1 in a non-contact state. There is.

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.
Is applied to the support 1 for photographic light-sensitive material from the lower end thereof, and a 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 hydrophilic colloid solutions which are photographic light-sensitive materials are hydrophilic binders such as gelatin and polyvinyl alcohol, and are suitable for low-viscosity coating compositions having a viscosity of 4 to 40 cp. Is. 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. A tightening screw 18 is inserted through 17 and is fastened and fixed to the airbag roll 2 by this tightening screw 18.

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. 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 The support cylinder 12 of the optical displacement sensor 11 can be moved by following the above. Furthermore, the cap 13 has a connector for connecting the wiring 19.
20 is fastened with screws 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 holder 31 is sealed and supported by the O-rings 32 and 33 on the support side 12a of the photographic photosensitive material of the support cylinder 12 and the air bag roll 2 to ensure airtightness.

In this way, the prism 28 and the holder 31 are brought into close contact with each other with a wide adhesive area, and the tip side 31a of the holder 31 is O-ringed to the opening 2c of the side 2a of the photographic photosensitive material support of the airbag roll 2.
The rear end side 31b is airtightly fitted to the support cylinder 12 via the O-ring 32. Therefore,
Even when the optical displacement sensor 11 is provided inside the air bag roll 2, the high-pressure air in the air bag roll 2 enters from between the tip portion 12a of the support tube 12 and the side 2a of the air bag roll 2 for the photographic material. However, since the airtightness is ensured by the holder 31 of the prism 28, it is prevented that the air leaks into the opening 2c of the airbag roll 2 and the inside of the support cylinder 12.
Therefore, the air pressure inside the air bag roll 2 is maintained at a predetermined value, and the photographic photosensitive material support 1 can be stably held in a non-contact state.

The support 2 is fixed to a holder 31 of a prism 28, 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.

Further, if the support 1 for photographic photosensitive material moves to the right and approaches the airbag roll 2, the position detection sensor 30
The incident position of the reflected light on is moved upward. 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
Each of the four support portions 24b penetrates the cam plate 42 and contacts the symmetrical positions of the cam plate 42 with the support pin 43 interposed therebetween, and the other end portion 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.

EFFECTS OF THE INVENTION As described above, according to the present invention, an optical displacement sensor irradiates a photographic light-sensitive material support with light through a prism, and from the reflected light, a photographic light-sensitive material support and an air bag roll are formed. The optical displacement sensor is provided in the air bag roll, and the air bag roll is provided with a prism facing the support for the photographic light-sensitive material in a sealed manner. Is kept airtight on the airbag roll.

In this way, by providing the optical displacement sensor with a prism, the total reflection of the prism can be used to store the light projecting and receiving light in the same prism, making it easy to secure the optical path and reducing the surface area. It is easy to secure the area, and the airtightness between the airbag roll and the optical displacement sensor can be improved.

Therefore, even if the air bag roll is equipped with an optical displacement sensor, it is possible to prevent leakage of air pressure that causes the photographic photosensitive material support to travel in a non-contact state, suppress fluctuations in the photographic photosensitive material support, and ensure stable running. It is possible.

[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 photographic light-sensitive material, 2 is an air bag roll, 3 is a coating liquid supply device, 8 is a bead, 9 is a pressure adjustment box, 11 is an optical displacement sensor, 28 is a prism, 31 is a holder. is there.

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Tomohide Mizukoshi No. 1 Sakura-cho, Hino City, Tokyo Konica Co., Ltd. (56) References JP-A-57-63164 (JP, A) JP-A-62-163773 (JP) , A) JP-A 53-130061 (JP, A) JP-A 60-158456 (JP, A) JP-A 62-95527 (JP, A)

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A jet of gas is jetted from an air bag roll to 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 photographic light-sensitive material support. In the coating apparatus, in the air bag roll, an optical displacement sensor for irradiating light to the photographic light-sensitive material support through a prism to measure a gap between the photographic light-sensitive material support and the air-back roll, A coating apparatus, wherein the prism is provided on the airbag roll so as to be opposed to the support for photographic light-sensitive material and hermetically sealed, and the optical displacement sensor is hermetically held on the airbag roll.