JPH1190298A - Die coater - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To further reduce defects of coating by appropriately and promptly setting a gap between a lip for discharging a coating material and a metal web in a die coater for effecting continuous coating application operation on a surface of the metal web while the metal web is being conveyed. SOLUTION: A die coater includes dies 6 having a tip provided on a front end, a backup roll W supporting a metal web W from a rear side, a horizontal movement mechanism for the dies 6 and a controller for controlling the horizontal movement mechanism, and a backup roll detecting means S1 are installed at a side opposite to the lip with respect to the backup roll 2 and a thickness detecting means S2 is arranged at an upstream side of conveyance direction of the backup roll 2. The controller sets gap W between the lip and the metal web W at a specified clearance on the basis of position data of the backup roll 2 and thickness data of the metal web W.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a die coater, and more particularly, to a die coater for continuously coating a surface of a metal web while conveying the metal web. The present invention relates to a die coater which can be set with high accuracy and speed and can further reduce coating defects.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A die coater is a device for continuously coating a web surface. The die has a slot for discharging paint in a horizontal direction and a lip forming a slot opening at a front edge. And a backup roll that is arranged to face the web and supports the web being transported from the back, and discharges paint from the lip while transporting the web to apply the web on the backup roll.

[0003] The present applicant has previously filed a patent application for a novel technique relating to the above-described die coater, mainly as a die coater for continuously coating a metal web. For example, a die coater provided with a die whose coating width can be easily adjusted without disassembling the die (JP-A-6-198240), and a die coater capable of easily changing the paint without disassembling the die Die coater (JP-A-6-47334).

On the other hand, Japanese Patent Publication No. 5-69592 discloses that
A die coater (coater gap control device) has been proposed in which a gap between a lip (tip of a coater head) and a surface of a web (treatment material) is appropriately maintained to form a coating film having a uniform thickness. Such an apparatus measures the distance from the lip to the surface of the web on the backup roll using a non-contact type distance meter (sensor) attached to the die side, and controls the movement of the die to obtain the thickness of the web. This is a device that adjusts the gap between the lip and the web at a constant interval according to the fluctuation.

[0005]

Problems to be Solved by the Invention
In the apparatus described in Japanese Patent No. 69592, a sensor is installed near the lip, and it is difficult to accurately detect the distance to the web from dirt on the sensor due to the scattering of paint. The reality is that gaps cannot be set appropriately. As a result, the lip of the die may come into contact with the web and damage the lip or the web.

[0006] In the above-mentioned die coater,
Normally, since the die is minutely moved by a single drive mechanism, the gap between the lip and the web cannot be quickly set, especially when the amount of die movement is large, such as at the start of a coating operation. There is a problem that a lot of webs are generated.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and has as its object to provide a die coater for continuously coating a surface of a metal web while conveying the metal web. It is an object of the present invention to provide a die coater capable of setting the gap with higher precision. Another object of the present invention is to provide a die coater capable of setting the gap between the lip and the metal web more quickly.

[0008]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, a die coater of the present invention is a die coater for continuously coating a surface of a metal web while conveying the metal web. A die formed and provided with a lip at its leading edge to form the opening of the slot, a backup roll disposed substantially opposite the lip and supporting a metal web being transported from the back, and A backup roll detection that includes a horizontal movement mechanism to be moved and a control device that controls the operation of the horizontal movement mechanism, and detects a surface position of the backup roll on the side opposite to the lip with respect to the backup roll. Means are arranged, and on the upstream side in the transport direction of the backup roll, the thickness of the metal web supplied to the backup roll is detected. The thickness detection means to be disposed, the control device, based on the data of the position detected by the backup roll detection means and the data of the thickness detected by the thickness detection means, to horizontally move the die, It has a function of setting a gap between the lip and the metal web at a predetermined interval.

That is, in the above-mentioned die coater, the backup roll detecting means is arranged on the side opposite to the lip with respect to the backup roll, and detects the surface position of the rotating backup roll without being affected by paint. The thickness detecting means is arranged upstream of the backup roll in the transport direction, and detects the thickness of the metal web being transported without being affected by the paint. Then, the control device for horizontally moving the die raises the position of the die so that the gap between the lip and the metal web is at a predetermined interval based on the data on the position and the data on the thickness detected by the respective detecting means. Specify the accuracy.

In the above die coater, in order to more quickly set the gap between the lip and the metal web, the horizontal movement mechanism of the die requires a distance of -100 from the lip to a vertical tangent to the die side of the backup roll surface. ~ 1
A horizontal coarse movement mechanism for moving in a range of 500 mm;
It is preferable to provide a horizontal fine movement mechanism for moving in the range of 01 to 5 mm.

[0011]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of a die coater according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a side view showing an arrangement of main members in a die coater according to the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a front view showing the structure of the die from the lip side.

The die coater according to the present invention, as shown in FIG.
This is a device for continuously coating the surface of a metal web (W) while conveying it, and is configured using a frame (1) formed in a substantially box shape. The illustrated device comprises a lip (64) in which a slot (64) for paint discharge (see FIG. 2) is formed in the horizontal direction and defines an opening in the slot (64) at the leading edge.
c) A die (6) provided with (see FIG. 2) and a backup roll (2) arranged substantially opposite to the lip (64c) and supporting the metal web (W) being transported from the back.
A horizontal movement mechanism for horizontally moving the die (6), and a control device for controlling the operation of the horizontal movement mechanism.

In the present invention, examples of the metal web (W) include thin plates of aluminum, stainless steel, steel, plated steel, and the like.
It is about 1 mm. On the other hand, examples of the paint include a clear paint containing a fluorine resin or a polyester resin as a component, a metallic paint containing an aluminum powder or a brass powder as a metallic pigment, and an acrylic resin or an alkyd resin as a vehicle resin component. .

As shown in FIG. 1, the die (6) has a die body (6a) for substantially forming a paint flow path and a wide support block (6b) for supporting the die body from the rear end face. ). The die body (6a) is composed of upper and lower molds (61, 61) as shown in FIG.
A manifold (63) is formed inside the die body (6a) along the longitudinal direction. Further, between the upper and lower molds (61, 61), that is, the upper and lower molds (61, 6).
Between the separation surfaces on the front side of 1), a manifold (63)
The die (6a) has a slot (64) continuous with the die body (6a). The front edge of the die projects from the front side of the die body (6a). (64c) is provided.

In the die body (6a), FIG.
As shown in (1), a pair of thin deckles (93) are interposed in the slots (64) in a liquid-tight state in order to adjust the coating width. Each deckle (93) has a manifold (6
3) Each of the deckle shafts (92) is provided at a distal end of a pipe-shaped deckle shaft (92) inserted from an opening at both ends.
The inside of the manifold (63) is configured to be movable by a moving mechanism (97) including a motor and a ball screw supported on the side. The movement of the deckle shaft (92) changes the distance between the deckles (93) and adjusts the coating width.

The paint used for the coating is applied from the base end side of each deckle shaft (92) to the die body through a space in the deckle shaft (92) (hereinafter referred to as a paint flow path). It is supplied to the manifold (63) of (6a). Then, the ink is discharged from the lip (64c) through the slot (64) whose width is defined by each deckle (93). The supply amount and the supply pressure of the paint are determined according to the gap distance of the slot (64), the coating width, the coating speed, and the like. In the above-mentioned die body (6a), a flow-blocking pig is inserted into the paint flow path of the deckle shaft (92) in a liquid-tight and slidable manner, so that the paint flow of any of the deckle shafts (92) is made. A mechanism for changing the paint (color change) by selectively blocking the road may be provided.

As the backup roll (2) in FIG. 1 for supporting the metal web (W), a metal roll having a higher hardness than the metal web (W) is usually used.
The backup roll (2) also functions as a transport roll of a transport line for the metal web (W), and is horizontally supported on the upper portion of the frame (1). Moreover, the backup roll (2) and the lip (64c) of the die body (6a) are arranged in parallel and in parallel.

The axial length of the backup roll (2) is set longer than the width of the metal web (W). The diameter of the backup roll (2) is set based on the material and thickness of the metal web (W), the viscosity of the paint, and the like. Such a diameter has such a curvature that the applied paint does not flow and is large enough to support the metal web (W).
It is about 200 to 1000 mm. Metal web (W)
The pass line is a line wound from substantially below to substantially above the backup roll (2) in order to enhance the adhesion of the paint applied to the surface thereof.

In the lower part of the frame (1) below the backup roll (2), an upstream tension roll (3) for defining a feed angle of the metal web (W) to the backup roll is horizontally supported. Supported. As the upstream tension roll (3), a metal roll having a higher hardness than the metal web (W) is used similarly to the backup roll (2). The diameter of the upstream tension roll (3) is 2 times the diameter of the backup roll (2).
It is set to about 0 to 100%. The first function of the upstream tension roll (3) is to shape the side edge of the metal web (W) transferred to the backup roll (2) and to prevent the metal web (W) from lifting, and ,
The second function is a function of defining a feeding angle of the metal web (W) to the backup roll (2) and preventing air from being entrained during coating.

Further, although not shown, a downstream tension roll for defining a take-off angle of the metal web (W) from the backup roll (2) is provided above the frame (1) above the backup roll (2). It is supported horizontally. As the downstream tension roll, a metal roll having a higher hardness than the metal web (W) is used similarly to the backup roll (2). The diameter of the downstream side tension roll is 20 to the diameter of the backup roll (2).
It is set to about 100%. The first function of the downstream tension roll is a function of preventing the metal web (W) from lifting up on the backup roll (2), similarly to the upstream tension roll (3), and the second function is a backup function. Metal web (W) from roll (2)
This function regulates the take-off angle of the paint and regulates the flow of the paint immediately after coating.

In the die coater of the present invention, the horizontal moving mechanism adjusts the gap between the lip (64c) and the backup roll (2), that is, the separation distance between the lip (64c) and the metal web (W) with higher accuracy. It is provided in order to. Further, in the die coater according to the present invention, in order to quickly adjust the gap, the horizontal movement mechanism includes a horizontal coarse movement mechanism that adjusts the die (6) in a large range and a horizontal fine movement mechanism that adjusts the die (6) in a minute range. Preferably, it is constituted. Then, by using such a horizontal movement mechanism, the retreat operation of the die (6) for avoiding the connection portion of the metal web (W) and the operation of avoiding foreign matter adhering to the surface of the metal web (W) can be performed quickly. You can do it.

The horizontal coarse movement mechanism is configured as a movement mechanism of the movement base (7). Specifically, die base (8)
In addition, the moving base (7) on which the die (6) is mounted is mounted via a linear guide (12) on a horizontal frame (11) extended from the frame (1). The movable base (7) is moved together with the die base (8) and the die (6) by the back-up roll (2) by the reciprocation of the cylinder device (73) (only the rod is shown in the drawing) attached to the horizontal frame (11). ) Can be moved at a relatively high speed and in a predetermined range in the direction of approaching / separating from).

The range of movement of the die (6) by the horizontal coarse movement mechanism is such that the separation distance from the lip (46c) to the vertical tangent to the surface of the backup roll (2) on the die (6) side is -10.
The range is 0 to 1500 mm. The negative separation distance refers to a state in which the tip of the lip (64c) is located closer to the backup roll than the above tangent to the surface of the backup roll (2), and may be set in a coating operation by offset. Such a moving range may be such that the adjustment range of the separation distance from the lip (64c) to the tangent to the surface of the backup roll (2) is at least the above range.

Furthermore, the horizontal coarse movement mechanism preferably has a function of moving the die (6) at a speed of 5 to 50 cm / sec. Therefore, considering the total weight of the die (6), the die base (8) and the moving base (7), a cylinder device having an output capable of moving these members at the above speed is selected as the cylinder device (73). Is done.

The horizontal fine movement mechanism is configured as a mechanism for moving the die (6) on the die base (8). Specifically, the die body (6a) and the support block (6b) of the die (6) each have a common die base (8).
It is mounted on the upper side via a linear guide (82). The die (6) is movable in the direction of approaching and separating from the backup roll (2) by the reciprocation of the cylinder device (83) attached to the die base (8).

Further, the first half of the die base (8) on the side of the backup roll (2) has a tower structure in which a support (80) is erected upward, and the die body (6a) of the die (6).
Is placed in a state inserted inside the column (80). Moreover, the side surface of the column (80) located on the opposite side to the backup roll (2) is
It is formed on an inclined surface inclined to the side. A cotter (8) having one side surface formed at the same inclination angle as the above-mentioned inclined surface
5) is inserted between the column (80) and the wide support block (6b).

The cotter (85) is suspended by a screw bar (86) extending vertically downward from a horizontal beam (81) at the upper end of the column (80) of the die base (8). The screw bar (86) is rotated by a servomotor attached to the beam (81), and the cotter (85) is raised and lowered by the rotation of the screw bar (86). That is, the die (6) is connected to the cylinder device (8
3) By the retreat, the die base (8) is pressed toward the column (80) side via the cotter (85), and the most advanced position on the die base (8) is defined. Backup roll (2)
It is configured to be movable in the direction of approaching / separating with respect to at a speed of 0.01 to 0.1 mm / min in a range of 0.001 to 5 mm.

Further, in the die coater of the present invention, since the opposite coating is switched between the opposite coating and the opposite coating, FIG.
As shown in (1), the die (6) may be configured to be able to move up and down. Specifically, the die (6) is mounted on the die base (8) and mounted together with the die base on the moving base (7). The moving base (7) is configured by standing up a frame (71) substantially vertically on the front edge of a horizontal flat base,
The die base (8) is attached to a linear guide (72) provided vertically along the framework (71). That is, the die base (8) is configured to be able to move up and down together with the die (6) by expansion and contraction of a rod of a jack (84) provided on the bottom surface side of the die base (8). The jack (84), the cylinder device (83), and the cylinder device (73) are controlled by a separately provided control device such as a program controller.

By the way, the thickness of the metal web greatly varies depending not only on the precision in manufacturing but also on the temperature change of the web itself. In addition, the gap between the die lip and the metal web is greatly changed not only by the thickness of the metal web but also by the change of the backup roll. That is,
The backup roll expands or contracts depending on the environmental temperature and the temperature of the conveyed metal web. as a result,
When the gap is narrow, the paint drips and the coating film becomes thin. Conversely, when the gap is wide, the coating pressure is insufficient and coating unevenness or coating breakage occurs.

Therefore, in the present invention, the lip (64
Since the gap between c) and the metal web (W) is set with high accuracy, there is no malfunction due to paint, and the thickness fluctuation of the metal web (W) and the fluctuation of the backup roll (2) are detected respectively. The position of the die (6) is controlled.

That is, in the die coater of the present invention, in order to obtain accurate control data for positioning the die (6), the lip (64) is attached to the backup roll (2).
On the side opposite to c), a sensor (S1) as backup roll detecting means for detecting the surface position of the backup roll (2) is arranged, and on the upstream side in the transport direction of the backup roll (2), a backup roll (2) is provided. ) Is provided with a sensor (S2) as a thickness detecting means for detecting the thickness of the metal web (W) supplied to the metal web (W). The controller moves the die (6) horizontally based on the data on the position detected by the sensor (S1) and the data on the thickness detected by the sensor (S2), and moves the lip (64c) and the metal. It has a function of setting the gap of the web (W) at a predetermined interval.

The sensor (S1) and the sensor (S
2) In order to detect distance more precisely, usually,
A photoelectric sensor of a type that emits a laser toward an object to be detected and detects a distance based on its reflection intensity is used.
The sensor (S2) is configured by arranging a pair of sensors of the same type above and below the metal web (W) in order to prevent erroneous recognition due to shaking during running of the metal web (W). It is made to detect. That is, in the detection by the sensor (S2), the position change due to the swing of the metal web (W) is complemented by the calculation in the control device based on the signal of the distance from each sensor to the metal web (W). Is determined.

In the die coater of the present invention, as shown in FIG. 1, a metal web (W) is sequentially wound around an upstream tension roll (3), a backup roll (2), and a downstream tension roll (not shown). By turning, a pass line is formed. In the case of a coating operation using an opposite, the die (6) that can move up and down is positioned such that the discharge direction of the coating material from the lip (64c) is substantially along the horizontal diameter of the backup roll (2). In the case of operation, the discharge direction of the paint from the lip (64c) is located out of the horizontal diameter of the backup roll (2). The die body (6a) is a metal web (W) conveyed on the backup roll (2) at a constant speed.
Is applied from the lip (64c) at a constant flow rate.

When the coating is started, the horizontal movement mechanism of the die (6) horizontally moves the die (6) based on the detection signals of the sensors (S1) and (S2). that time,
Sensor (S1) as backup roll detection means
Lip (64) against the backup roll (2)
Since it is arranged on the opposite side to c) and detects the surface position of the backup roll (2) without being affected by paint, displacement of the backup roll (2) due to a temperature change or the like can be reliably detected. Further, the sensor (S2) as the thickness detecting means is arranged on the upstream side in the transport direction of the backup roll (2), and detects the thickness of the metal web (W) without being affected by the paint. The thickness fluctuation of the metal web (W) due to a temperature change or the like can be reliably detected. Then, the control device described above uses these sensors (S
The die (6) is horizontally moved based on the position data and the thickness data detected by (1, S2), and the position of the die (6) is defined with high accuracy.

That is, in the die coater of the present invention, the position of the backup roll (2) and the thickness of the metal web (W) can be detected without being affected by the paint, and based on the detected accurate data. Since the control device controls the position of the die (6), the gap between the lip (64c) and the metal web (W) can be eliminated without malfunction due to expansion / contraction of the backup roll (2) or fluctuation of the thickness of the web itself. Can be set appropriately.

Moreover, since the position of the die (6) is controlled immediately at the start of coating, coating defects can be further reduced, and material loss can be reduced. That is,
In a die coater in which the horizontal movement mechanism of the die (6) is constituted by a horizontal coarse movement mechanism and a horizontal fine movement mechanism, the horizontal coarse movement mechanism includes a lip (64c) of the die (6) and a metal web ( The horizontal fine movement mechanism sets the distance between the lip (64c) and the metal web (W) in a much smaller range.

Specifically, the movement base (7) moves horizontally to a predetermined position by controlling the operation of the cylinder device (73). In addition, the die (6) is pressed toward the backup roll (2) by controlling the operation of the cylinder device (83), and the cotter (8) is pressed.
The most advanced position is defined by the vertical movement control of 5).
As a result, in the case of the coating operation using the opposite, the tip of the lip (64c) is separated from the backup roll (2) (the surface of the metal web (W)) substantially horizontally by a certain distance, for example, 0.01 to 1.0 mm. Adjusted to the state with high precision.

In the case of a coating operation using an offset,
Under the control of the jack (84), the tip of the lip (64c) is positioned so as to be lowered by about 1 to 50 mm from a position substantially along the horizontal diameter of the backup roll (2). Moreover, similarly to the above, the tip of the lip (64c) of the die (6) is separated from the surface of the metal web (W) by a fixed distance, for example, -5 to 1 mm by controlling the moving base (7) and the cotter (85). Is adjusted with high precision to

Therefore, in the die coater of the present invention having the horizontal coarse movement mechanism and the horizontal fine movement mechanism, the sensor (S1,
The control device controls the horizontal coarse movement mechanism and the horizontal fine movement mechanism based on the position data and the thickness data detected in S2), and moves the die (6) in two stages of a large movement range and a minute movement range. As a result, the distance between the lip (64c) and the surface of the metal web (W) can be adjusted more accurately and more quickly, and coating defects can be further reduced. In the die coater of the present invention, the horizontal movement mechanism of the die is not limited to a mechanism using a cylinder device or a cotter, but may employ an appropriate movement mechanism such as a mechanism operated by a servomotor via a gear.

[0040]

As described above, according to the die coater of the present invention, the position of the backup roll and the thickness of the metal web can be detected without being affected by the paint, and
Since the position of the die is controlled based on the detected position data and thickness data, the separation distance between the lip and the surface of the metal web can be adjusted with higher accuracy, and coating defects can be reduced.
When the horizontal movement mechanism of the die is constituted by a horizontal coarse movement mechanism and a horizontal fine movement mechanism for moving the die within a specific range, the separation distance between the lip and the surface of the metal web can be more precisely and more quickly. Can be adjusted, especially
Coating defects at the start of coating can be reduced, and material loss can be reduced.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side view showing an arrangement of main members in a die coater.

FIG. 2 is a front view showing the structure of the die from the lip side.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1: frame 12: linear guide 2: backup roll 6: die 6a: die body 6b: support block 64: slot 64c: lip 7: moving base 72: linear guide 8: die base 82: linear guide 84: jack 85: cotter S1 : Sensor (backup roll detecting means) S2: Sensor (thickness detecting means) W: Metal web

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A die coater for continuously coating a surface of a metal web while transporting the metal web, wherein a slot for discharging the paint is formed in a horizontal direction, and a lip is formed at a front edge thereof to form an opening of the slot. Die, a backup roll disposed substantially opposite to the lip and supporting the metal web being conveyed from the back, a horizontal moving mechanism for horizontally moving the die, and a control device for controlling the operation of the horizontal moving mechanism And, on the side opposite to the lip with respect to the backup roll, backup roll detection means for detecting the surface position of the backup roll is arranged, on the upstream side in the transport direction of the backup roll,
Thickness detection means for detecting the thickness of the metal web supplied to the backup roll is arranged, the control device,
A function of horizontally moving the die and setting a gap between the lip and the metal web at a predetermined interval based on the position data detected by the backup roll detection means and the thickness data detected by the thickness detection means. A die coater characterized by comprising: 2. A horizontal movement mechanism for moving the die in a range of -100 to 1500 mm in a separation distance from the lip to a vertical tangent to the surface of the backup roll on the die side; 2. The die coater according to claim 1, further comprising a horizontal fine movement mechanism for moving in a range.