WO2023190220A1

WO2023190220A1 - Drying device

Info

Publication number: WO2023190220A1
Application number: PCT/JP2023/011952
Authority: WO
Inventors: 徹中塩屋; 和夫野村; 敦渡邉
Original assignee: 東レエンジニアリング株式会社
Priority date: 2022-03-28
Filing date: 2023-03-24
Publication date: 2023-10-05
Also published as: JP2023145188A

Abstract

The purpose of the present invention is to provide a drying device that is capable of preventing a break in a base material even if tension applied to the base material is less than that during normal transfer. Specifically, provided is a drying device that is provided on a transfer path in which a base material is transferred roll-to-roll with a prescribed tension applied thereto, and that dries a coating film applied to the base material while the base material is transferred, said drying device comprising: a drying nozzle that blows a gas from below and above the base material, lifts the base material, and dries the coating film applied to the base material; an edge nip part that, in a lifting region in which the base material is lifted by the drying nozzle, grasps at least the vicinity of the pair of edges of the base material in the width direction and defines the transfer path of the edges; and a support member that is provided below or above the base material in the lifting region and contacts a prescribed surface of the base material where the tension applied in a state of being lifted by the drying nozzle is smaller than the prescribed tension.

Description

drying equipment

The present invention relates to a drying device that dries a coating film formed on a sheet-like base material while conveying the same.

Conventionally, in the manufacturing process of electrode plates for lithium-ion batteries, active materials, binders, conductive aids, and solvents are added to a sheet-like base material that is transported by a roll-to-roll transport device. There is a step of applying a slurry of the electrode material contained therein to form a coating film, and drying the formed coating film using a drying device.

A typical roll-to-roll type conveying device has an unwinding roll that unwinds the base material, a take-up roll that winds up the base material, and a take-up roll that winds up the base material unwound from the unwind roll. (For example, Patent Document 1 below). In the conveyance device, the unwinding roll, the take-up roll, and the conveyance roll convey the base material while applying a predetermined tension to the base material.

A conventional drying device includes a casing section that is provided on the transport path of the base material by the transport device and through which the base material passes, and a nozzle that is provided inside the casing section (for example, as disclosed in the following patent document). 2). Then, the drying device blows gas from the nozzle outlet to the substrate, and the gas blown from the nozzle increases the temperature inside the casing to dry the coating film on the substrate, and at the same time, the air pressure of the gas blows the substrate. It's levitating.

Furthermore, in a drying device, once the device is stopped, it takes time to restore the temperature inside the casing to the temperature required to dry the coating film formed on the base material. Therefore, when performing maintenance for a relatively short period of time, such as switching the take-up roll that winds up the base material of the conveyance device to another take-up roll, the temperature inside the casing must be It is common practice not to stop the equipment in order to maintain the That is, the base material is kept floating by spraying gas from the nozzle onto the base material.

Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2012-097917 Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2014-173803

However, in the drying apparatus as described above, the base material may break. Specifically, when performing maintenance for a relatively short period of time on the peripheral equipment of the drying equipment, the drying equipment releases gas from the nozzle in order to maintain the temperature inside the casing even when the paint film is not drying. It continues to levitate the base material by spraying it onto the base material. When performing maintenance such as switching the take-up rolls, at least the tension applied to the base material becomes smaller than during normal conveyance. As a result, the base material vibrates greatly due to the gas blown by the nozzle, and the base material comes into contact with a member inside the housing such as the nozzle, and may break.

On the other hand, it is conceivable to suppress the vibration of the base material by sandwiching a pair of edges in the width direction of the base material with rollers or the like. However, a load due to the vibration of the base material is applied to the portion where the edge of the base material is held between rollers or the like, and this load may accumulate and cause the edge of the base material to break.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a drying device that can prevent breakage of a base material even if the tension applied to the base material becomes smaller than during normal transportation. It is an object.

To solve the above problems, the drying device of the present invention is installed on a conveyance path that conveys a base material by applying a predetermined tension by roll-to-roll, and the drying device is installed on a conveyance path that conveys a base material while applying a predetermined tension to the base material. A drying device for drying a film, comprising a drying nozzle that blows gas from below and above a base material to levitate the base material and dry a coating film applied to the base material, and a drying nozzle that levitates the base material by the drying nozzle. An edge nip portion that grips at least the vicinity of a pair of edges in the width direction of the base material and defines a conveyance path for the edges in a floating region that is a region where and a support member that contacts a predetermined surface of the base material, the tension applied by the drying nozzle in a floating state being smaller than the predetermined tension.

According to the above-mentioned drying device, the support member is provided, and the predetermined surface of the base material, which is vibrated by the gas blown from the drying nozzle due to the reduced tension applied to the support member, comes into contact with the support member. Vibration can be suppressed. This can prevent the base material from coming into contact with members in the drying device, such as the drying nozzle, and breaking. In addition, since the vibration of the base material can be suppressed, the load applied to the edge of the base material gripped by the edge nip can be suppressed, and it is possible to prevent the edge of the base material from breaking due to load accumulation. I can do it. Therefore, even if the tension applied to the base material becomes smaller than during normal transportation, it is possible to prevent the base material from breaking.

Further, the support member moving means may be provided to move the support member, and the support member moving means may be configured to move the support member so as to approach and move away from the base material from below or above.

According to this configuration, since the support member can be pressed against the base material from below or above, vibration of the base material can be further suppressed.

Further, the support member moving means may be configured to move the support member so as to press it against the base material when the transport of the base material is stopped, and to move the support member so as not to contact the base material when transporting the base material.

According to this configuration, since the support member is pressed against the base material when the conveyance of the base material is stopped, it is possible to suppress the vibration of the base material, and it is possible to suppress the accumulation of load on the same part of the base material. can. Furthermore, since the support member does not come into contact with the base material during conveyance of the base material, the support member does not interfere with conveyance of the base material.

Further, the edge nip portion includes a plurality of nip rolls that sandwich the vicinity of the edge of the base material, and the support member is arranged in the vicinity of the nip roll upstream or downstream of each of the nip rolls in the conveyance path of the base material. The support member may be a roller formed in a crown shape that extends in the width direction of the base material and whose diameter gradually increases from the edge to the center of the base material. .

According to this configuration, the base material can be stretched in the width direction in the vicinity of the nip rolls upstream or downstream of each nip roll in the conveyance path of the base material, so that misalignment of the edge of the base material gripped by the edge nip section can be prevented. It can be prevented.

Further, the drying nozzle includes a lower nozzle that sprays gas from below the substrate, and an upper nozzle that sprays gas from above the substrate, and the support member is connected to the lower nozzle or the upper nozzle. It is also possible to have a configuration in which they are arranged to face each other with the base material in between.

According to this configuration, the support member comes into contact with the part of the base material that is most affected by the gas blown by the drying nozzle, so that vibration of the base material can be further suppressed.

Furthermore, the edge nip portion may be configured to grip the vicinity of the edge of the base material when the base material is being conveyed, but not to grip the vicinity of the edge of the base material when the conveyance of the base material is stopped.

According to this configuration, since the edge nip portion grips the edge of the base material during conveyance of the base material, it is possible to prevent the base material from shifting its position. Further, since the edge nip portion does not grip the edge of the base material when the base material is stopped being conveyed, it is possible to suppress the load applied to the edge of the base material caused by vibration of the base material.

According to the drying device of the present invention, it is possible to prevent the substrate from breaking even if the tension applied to the substrate becomes smaller than during normal transportation.

1 is a diagram schematically showing a coating device equipped with a drying device in an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining a drying device in an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining a drying device in an embodiment of the present invention.

A drying device in an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the following explanation, the three axes of the orthogonal coordinate system are X, Y, and Z, the horizontal direction is expressed as the X-axis direction, and the Y-axis direction, and the direction perpendicular to the XY plane (that is, the vertical direction) is expressed as the Z-axis. Expressed as direction.

FIG. 1 is a diagram schematically showing a coating device 1 equipped with a drying device 2 in this embodiment. 2 and 3 are diagrams for explaining the drying device 2 in this embodiment, in which FIG. 2(a) shows a diagram seen from the surface side of the base material W, and FIG. 2(b) and FIG. 2 is a side sectional view of the housing 21. FIG.

As shown in FIG. 1, a coating device 1 equipped with a drying device 2 of the present invention includes a conveyance mechanism 11 for conveying a sheet-like base material W, and a coating film M for applying a coating liquid to a predetermined surface of the base material W. (See FIG. 2(a)) It has a first coating mechanism 12 for forming a coating film M, and a second coating mechanism 13 for coating a coating liquid on the back side of a predetermined surface of the base material W to form a coating film M. are doing. Further, the drying device 2 is arranged on the conveyance path of the base material W by the conveyance mechanism 11.

Note that the predetermined surface of the base material W in this embodiment refers to the front surface of the base material W, and the back surface of the predetermined surface of the base material W refers to the back surface of the base material W. Here, the front surface of the base material W is the surface on which the coating film M is formed by the first coating mechanism 12 described later, and the back surface of the base material W is the surface on which the coating film M is formed by the second coating mechanism 13 described later. This is the surface on which is formed. Hereinafter, the predetermined surface of the base material W will be referred to as the front surface of the base material W, and the back surface of the predetermined surface of the base material W will be referred to as the back surface of the base material W.

The coating device 1 in this embodiment forms a coating film M on both sides of a base material W transported by a transportation mechanism 11 using a first coating mechanism 12 and a second coating mechanism 13, and then applies the coating film M to a drying device. Dry by step 2.

The base material W in this embodiment is a metal foil that serves as a battery electrode plate of a lithium ion battery, and aluminum foil or the like is used when forming a positive electrode, and copper foil or the like is used when forming a negative electrode. This base material W is a belt-shaped sheet that is long in one direction, and is transported by a transport mechanism 11 so as to pass through each part of the coating device 1 .

The coating liquid in this embodiment is, for example, a slurry containing an active material, a binder, a conductive aid, and a solvent, and is used as a material for a battery electrode plate (so-called electrode material) of a lithium ion battery. By applying this coating liquid to the base material W, a coating film M is formed.

The transport mechanism 11 in this embodiment is for transporting the base material W. As shown in FIG. 1, the conveyance mechanism 11 includes an unwinding roll 11a that unwinds the base material W, a winding roll 11b that winds up the base material W, and a winding roll 11b that winds the base material W unwound from the unwinding roll 11a. It has a transport roll 11c that the base material W passes through before being wound up on the roll 11b, and a coating roll 11d that guides the base material W to a position where a coating liquid is applied by a first coating mechanism 12, which will be described later. Each roll included in the transport mechanism 11 is formed into a columnar shape, and rotates about the central axis of the column as a rotation axis.

The rotation of the unwinding roll 11a is controlled by a control unit (not shown), and unwinds the base material W at a predetermined speed. The control unit is configured by, for example, a general-purpose computer device. Further, the rotation of the take-up roll 11b is driven and controlled by the control unit similarly to the unwind roll 11a, and winds up the base material W while applying a predetermined tension to the base material W. Note that the tension here refers to the tension in the transport direction of the base material W (X-axis direction in FIG. 1).

A plurality of transport rolls 11c are provided as shown in FIG. 1, and are arranged so that the base material W passes through each part of the coating apparatus 1. Some or all of the transport rolls 11c among the plurality of transport rolls 11c are driven and controlled to rotate by a control unit in the same manner as the unwinding roll 11a and the take-up roll 11b, and apply a predetermined tension to the base material W. While transporting the base material W.

As shown in FIG. 1, the coating roll 11d is arranged to face a first coating mechanism 12, which will be described later. Therefore, the base material W can be transported while maintaining a constant distance from the first coating mechanism 12.

With these configurations, the transport mechanism 11 can transport the base material W at a predetermined speed while applying a predetermined tension to the base material W.

The first coating mechanism 12 in this embodiment is for coating the surface of the substrate W being transported with a coating liquid to form a coating film M in a striped shape. Forming the coating film M in a striped shape means that the base material W has a plurality of coating parts on which the coating film M is formed, and a coating film M is formed between the plurality of coating parts, as shown in FIG. 2(a). The coating film M is formed in the width direction of the base material W so as to have a non-coated area. In this embodiment, the first coating mechanism 12 is a slit die that applies a slurry of electrode material. It may also be compatible with a coating method for commercial use or gravure coating (the same applies to the second coating mechanism 13 described later).

The first application mechanism 12 is formed long along the width direction of the base material W (Y-axis direction in FIG. 1). Here, the coating roll 11d described above is arranged at a predetermined interval with respect to the first coating mechanism 12 so that the rotation axis direction of the coating roll 11d and the width direction of the first coating mechanism 12 are parallel to each other. has been done.

The first coating mechanism 12 is connected to a supply path 18 as shown in FIG. 1, and includes a manifold 14 which is a space that is long in the width direction and stores the coating liquid, and a slit 15 that is wide in the width direction and connected to the manifold 14. The opening has the same length as the slit 15 in the width direction, and has a discharge port 16 for discharging the coating liquid. Thereby, the coating liquid stored in the manifold 14 is discharged onto the base material W from the discharge port 16 via the slit 15. Further, the discharge port 16 faces the coating roll 11d with the base material W interposed therebetween. That is, the discharge port 16 faces the base material W on the surface side of the base material W. Thereby, the coating liquid can be applied to the base material W while keeping the distance between the discharge port 16 and the base material W constant.

The first coating mechanism 12 is further provided with a shim plate (not shown) for forming the coating film M formed on the base material W into a striped shape. The shim plate has, for example, a substantially comb shape, and is arranged to divide the slit 15 in the width direction. When the coating liquid is applied with the slit 15 divided in the width direction by the shim plate, the coating liquid is applied from the part where the shim plate is not present, and the coating liquid is not applied from the part where the shim plate is present. That is, the coating film M can be formed into stripes. Note that by changing the shape of this shim plate, the width of the coating film M can be adjusted.

The supply path 18 connects the manifold 14 and the tank 17 in which the coating liquid is stored. Then, the coating liquid is supplied from the tank 17 to the manifold 14 via the supply path 18 by a pump (not shown).

The coating film M can be formed in stripes on the surface of the base material W by the first coating mechanism 12 having these configurations.

The second coating mechanism 13 in this embodiment is for coating the back surface of the substrate W being transported with a coating liquid to form a coating film M in a striped shape. The second coating mechanism 13 has the same configuration as the first coating mechanism 12 described above, as shown in FIG. It is arranged facing the base material W.

The second coating mechanism 13 is supplied with the coating liquid from the tank 17 through the supply path 18 and a pump (not shown), and applies the supplied coating liquid to the back surface of the base material W. Thereby, a striped coating film M can be formed on the back surface of the base material W. Note that the supply path 18 and tank 17 for supplying the coating liquid to the second coating mechanism 13 are separate from each other in this embodiment. It was established in Further, the width of the coating film M formed on the back surface of the substrate W by the second coating mechanism 13 is preferably the same as the width of the coating film M formed on the surface of the substrate W by the first coating mechanism 12. .

The coating film M can be formed in stripes on both sides of the base material W by the first coating mechanism 12 and the second coating mechanism 13.

The drying device 2 in this embodiment is for drying the coating film M formed on both sides of the base material W by the first coating mechanism 12 and the second coating mechanism 13. As shown in FIG. 1, FIG. 2(a), and FIG. 2(b), the drying device 2 is provided with a first coating mechanism 12 and a second coating mechanism 13 on the conveyance path of the base material W by the conveyance mechanism 11. is also provided on the downstream side, and has a housing section 21, a drying nozzle 22, an edge nip section 23, a support member 26, and a support member moving means (not shown).

The housing section 21 is a box that is elongated in the transport direction of the base material W, and has a space inside the box through which the base material W passes, and an entrance and an entrance for the base material W to enter and exit this space. It has an exit. Then, the base material W on which the coating film M is formed is transported by the transport mechanism 11 so as to pass through the inside of the casing section 21 .

Note that the above-mentioned transport roll 11c is not arranged inside the casing 21. In particular, when the coating film M is formed on both sides of the base material W as in this embodiment, the base material W cannot be touched until the coating film M is dried. Therefore, inside the housing section 21, the base material W is transported in a floating state except for at least both ends in the width direction. On the other hand, in the present embodiment, a predetermined tension is applied to the base material W by the conveyance roll 11c disposed on the upstream side and the conveyance roll 11c disposed on the downstream side of the casing part 21, and/or as described below. The drying nozzle 22 blows hot air from the back side of the base material W to give a lifting force to the base material W, and the transport mechanism 11 transports the base material W to pass through the inside of the casing section 21. ing.

The drying nozzle 22 is for heating the coating film M by blowing hot air onto the base material W. This drying nozzle 22 is formed long in the width direction of the base material W, and has an opening (not shown) that blows out hot air to a portion facing the front or back surface of the base material W.

The drying nozzle 22 includes a lower nozzle 22a that is disposed below the base material W in the casing 21 and blows hot air onto the back surface of the base material W, and a lower nozzle 22a that is disposed above the base material W in the casing 21. There is an upper nozzle 22b that blows hot air onto the surface of the base material W, and these lower nozzles 22a and upper nozzles 22b are arranged alternately in the conveyance direction of the base material W. Therefore, the base material W is conveyed in a substantially straight direction in a state where a lifting force is applied to the base material W and the base material W is floated. By conveying the base material W substantially linearly in this manner, it is possible to accurately convey the base material W in a predetermined direction even when the base material W is in a floating state.

The edge nip section 23 grips the vicinity of a pair of edges in the width direction of the base material W in a floating region where the base material W is floated by the drying nozzle 22, and maintains a conveyance path of the edge of the base material W. It is a type of guiding part for defining the This edge nip portion 23 is composed of a plurality of nip rolls 24 as shown in FIGS. 2(a) and 2(b). In addition, in the following description, the edge of the base material W is called the width direction edge part of the base material W.

The nip roll 24 has a rotating shaft 25, as shown in FIGS. 2(a) and 2(b), and is formed in a roller-like shape that rotates around the rotating shaft 25. The outer peripheral surface of the nip roll 24 comes into contact with both ends of the base material W, so that the nip roll 24 rotates due to the frictional force with the base material W transported by the transport mechanism 11.

As shown in FIGS. 2(a) and 2(b), this nip roll 24 faces both ends in the width direction of each base material W on the front surface side and the back surface side of the base material W, and It is placed in a position where it can be inserted from the front and back sides. This is referred to as a set of nip rolls 24. A plurality of sets of nip rolls 24 are arranged within the housing 21 so as to be arranged between the lower nozzle 22a and the upper nozzle 22b in the conveyance direction of the base material W. With these nip rolls 24 sandwiching both ends of the base material W in the width direction, the coating film M is dried by the drying nozzle 22 while the base material W is transported by the transport mechanism 11. Thereby, when drying the coating film M, it is possible to prevent the base material W from shifting its position.

The support member 26 is a member for suppressing the vibration of the base material W floating within the housing part 21, and in this embodiment, as shown in FIG. They are provided at positions facing the nozzle 22a with the base material W in between, and at positions facing the upper nozzle 22b with the base material W in between.

Further, the support member 26 is formed in a crown shape that extends in the width direction of the base material W and gradually increases in diameter from both ends of the base material W in the width direction toward the center, as shown in FIG. has been done. This support member 26 is formed in a size that allows it to come into contact with the entire width direction of the base material W when it is pressed against the base material W by a support member moving means to be described later. Further, the support member 26 in this embodiment has a rotation axis 27 parallel to the width direction of the base material W, as shown in FIGS. 2(a) and 2(b). The support member 26 rotates around the rotating shaft 27 as the base material W is transported due to the frictional force between the support member 26 and the base material W. This support member 26 is moved by a support member moving means to be described later, and is pressed against the base material W from above and below the base material W, respectively.

The support member moving means is for moving each support member 26 at least upward and downward (in the Z-axis direction in FIG. 3) to bring each support member 26 closer to and away from the base material W. This support member moving means uses, for example, a motor as a drive source, and is driven and controlled by the aforementioned control section. Then, by moving the support member 26, the support member moving means presses the support member 26 against each of the front and back surfaces of the base material W from above and below the base material W, respectively, as shown in FIG.

Here, when the tension applied to the base material W by the transport mechanism 11 becomes smaller than a predetermined tension, the support member moving means moves each support member 26 to remove the base material as shown in FIG. Press it against W. Here, when the tension applied to the base material W by the transport mechanism 11 becomes smaller than a predetermined tension, for example, when the transport of the base material W by the transport mechanism 11 is stopped, at least the base material W This is when the tension applied to the material becomes smaller than during normal transportation. Note that at this time, the drying nozzle 22 continues to blow hot air onto the base material W to levitate the base material W.

Then, when the support member moving means conveys the base material W by applying a predetermined tension to the base material W again by the conveyance mechanism 11, the support member 26 contacts the base material W as shown in FIG. The support member 26 is moved and separated from the base material W so that it does not occur. That is, when the base material W is normally transported by the transport mechanism 11, the support member 26 does not come into contact with the base material W.

As described above, according to the drying device 2 in the above embodiment, even if the tension applied to the base material W becomes smaller than that during normal transportation, it is possible to prevent the base material W from breaking.

Let me explain in detail. In the coating device 1, the tension applied to the base material W by the transport mechanism 11 may be smaller than that during normal transport. For example, when the take-up roll 11b is replaced by a new take-up roll 11e shown in FIG. Become. Even when such maintenance is performed, the drying device 2 continues to blow hot air onto the base material W from the nozzle 22 in order to maintain the temperature inside the housing section 21. That is, the base material W is floating within the housing section 21.

Here, since the tension applied to the base material W is smaller than that during normal conveyance, the hot air blown by the drying nozzle 22 causes The material W vibrates greatly. As a result, the base material W may come into contact with members inside the casing 21, such as the nozzle 22, and break.

In addition, the vibration of the base material W places a load on the portion of the base material W that is gripped by the edge nip portion 23, and this load accumulates and there is a possibility that the end portion of the base material W breaks. In particular, due to the vibration of the base material W, the vicinity of the end of the base material W comes into contact with the edge of the nip roll 24, which makes it easy to apply a load, making it easy to break at this portion.

On the other hand, the drying device 2 in this embodiment has a support member 26 and a support member moving means, and when the tension applied to the base material W becomes smaller than that during normal conveyance, the support member is moved. The support member 26 is pressed against the base material W by means.

Thereby, the floating base material W can be supported by the support member 26, so vibration of the base material W can be suppressed. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the base material W from coming into contact with members inside the housing section 21 such as the drying nozzle 22 and breaking. Furthermore, since the vibration of the base material W can be suppressed, it is possible to suppress the accumulation of load on the portion of the base material W that is gripped by the edge nip portion 23, thereby preventing the base material W from breaking. I can do it. Therefore, even if the tension applied to the base material W becomes smaller than during normal transportation, the base material W can be prevented from breaking.

Further, in the present embodiment, the support member moving means moves the support member 26 and presses it against the base material W when the transport mechanism 11 stops transporting the base material W, and transports the base material W by the transport mechanism 11. The support member 26 is moved and separated from the base material W so that the support member 26 does not come into contact with the base material W when doing so. Therefore, when the transport of the base material W is stopped, the vibration of the base material W can be suppressed, and the accumulation of load on the same part of the base material W can be suppressed. Furthermore, since the support member 26 does not come into contact with the base material W when transporting the base material W, the transport mechanism 11 can transport the base material W without being hindered by the support member 26.

Furthermore, in this embodiment, the support member 26 is disposed at a position facing the lower nozzle 22a with the base material W in between, and at a position facing the upper nozzle 22b with the base material W in between, so that the drying nozzle The support member 26 can be pressed against a portion of the base material W that is most affected by the hot air blown by the support member 22 . Therefore, vibration of the base material W can be further suppressed.

Furthermore, in the present embodiment, the support member 26 is formed in a crown shape that extends in the width direction of the base material W and gradually increases in diameter from both ends of the base material in the width direction toward the center. When this support member 26 is pressed against the base material W, the base material W is stretched following the shape of the support member 26. Thereby, the base material W can be stretched in the width direction, and the base material W can be stretched in the width direction. Since the support member 26 is disposed upstream or downstream of each pair of nip rolls 24, the base material W stretched in the width direction is conveyed to the edge nip section 23. . Therefore, it is possible to prevent the edge nip portion 23 from shifting its gripping position on the base material W.

In addition, since the support member 26 has the rotation shaft 27 and is rotatable, even if the conveyance of the base material W has not completely stopped, the support member moving means moves the support member 26 to the base material. It can be pressed against W. That is, even when the tension of the base material W is smaller than when the base material W is conveyed normally, other than when the conveyance of the base material W is stopped, the support member 26 is pressed against the base material W to prevent vibration of the base material W. can be suppressed.

Note that the drying device 2 in this embodiment further includes a nip roll moving means (not shown) that moves each nip roll 24 at least upward and downward (in the Z-axis direction in FIG. 3). This nip roll moving means switches between nipping and releasing the nipping of the base material W by the nip rolls 24 by moving each nip roll 24. Note that the nip roll moving means uses, for example, a motor as a drive source, and is driven and controlled by the control section described above.

Here, the nip roll moving means moves each nip roll 24 to release the nipping of the base material W when the tension applied to the base material W by the transport mechanism 11 becomes smaller than a predetermined tension. Note that the nip roll moving means releases the nipping of the base material W by each nip roll 24 after the support member 26 comes into contact with the base material W.

Then, the nip roll moving means moves each nip roll 24 to nip the base material W when the transport mechanism 11 applies a predetermined tension to the base material W again and transports the base material W. Note that the support member moving means separates the support member 26 from the base material W after the base material W is held between the respective nip rolls 24 by the nip roll moving means.

Thereby, since the edge nip portion 23 grips both ends of the base material W in the width direction when the base material W is transported, it is possible to prevent the base material W from shifting its position. Further, since the edge nip portion 23 does not grip both ends of the base material W in the width direction when the transport of the base material W is stopped, the load applied to both ends of the base material W in the width direction can be suppressed.

Furthermore, when the edge nip section 23 is not gripping both ends of the base material W in the width direction, the support member 26 allows the base material W to be stretched in the width direction without wrinkles. When gripping both ends of the base material W in the width direction again, it is possible to prevent the base material W from shifting its position.

The embodiments of the present invention have been described above in detail with reference to the drawings, but the configurations and combinations thereof in each embodiment are merely examples, and additions, omissions, etc. of configurations may be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention. Substitutions and other changes are possible. For example, in the embodiment described above, an example has been described in which the drying device 2 includes the support member moving means and moves the support member 26 to press it against the base material W, but it may be configured without the support member moving means.

Specifically, the support member 26 may be placed at a position where it can come into contact with a predetermined surface of the base material W in a vibrated state due to the tension of the base material W becoming smaller than during normal transportation. Thereby, the support member 26 comes into contact with the base material W when the tension of the base material W becomes smaller than that during normal transportation, so that vibration of the base material W can be suppressed. Note that the larger the contact area between the support member 26 and the base material W, the greater the effect of suppressing the vibration of the base material W by the support member 26 can be obtained, so the position of the support member 26 is adjusted so that the contact area is optimal. It is preferable to consider.

Further, in the above embodiment, an example is described in which the support member 26 is formed in a crown shape having a size that allows contact with the entire width direction of the base material W when the support member 26 is pressed against the base material W by the support member moving means. However, it is not limited to this. For example, the support member 26 may have any shape as long as it comes into contact with the vicinity of the center portion of the base material W in the width direction at least when pressed against the base material W. Further, the support member 26 may be longer than the nip roll 24 in the width direction of the base material W and has a larger contact area when contacting the base material W.

Further, the shape of the support member 26 does not have to be the above-mentioned crown shape, and it does not have to have the rotating shaft 27.

Further, in the above embodiment, an example was described in which the support member 26 is arranged to face each drying nozzle 22 with the base material W in between, but it They may be arranged to face each other with the material W in between.

Further, the support member 26 does not have to be arranged to face each of the upper nozzle 22b and the lower nozzle 22a with the base material W in between. In this case, the support member 26 may be located upstream or downstream of each set of nip rolls 24 at least within the floating region.

1 Coating device 11 Conveying mechanism 11a Unwinding roll 11b Take-up roll 11c Conveying roll 11d Coating roll 11e Take-up roll 12 First coating mechanism 13 Second coating mechanism 14 Manifold 15 Slit 16 Discharge port 17 Tank 18 Supply path 2 Drying Apparatus 21 Housing part 22 Drying nozzle 22a Lower nozzle 22b Upper nozzle 23 Edge nip part 24 Nip roll 25 Rotating shaft 26 Support member 27 Rotating shaft W Base material M Coating film

Claims

A drying device that is installed on a conveyance path that conveys a base material by applying a predetermined tension by roll-to-roll, and dries a coating film applied to the base material while conveying the base material,
a drying nozzle that sprays gas from below and above the base material to levitate the base material and dry the coating film applied to the base material;
an edge nip portion that grips at least the vicinity of a pair of edges in the width direction of the base material in a floating region where the base material is floated by the drying nozzle, and defines a conveyance path of the edges;
a support member that is provided below or above the base material in the floating region and contacts a predetermined surface of the base material whose tension applied in the floating state by the drying nozzle is smaller than the predetermined tension; A drying device comprising:
Support member moving means for moving the support member,
2. The drying device according to claim 1, wherein the support member moving means moves the support member toward and away from the base material from below or above.
The support member moving means moves the support member so as to press against the base material when the base material is stopped being transported, and moves the support member so as not to contact the base material when the base material is transported. 2. The drying device according to 2.
The edge nip section has a plurality of nip rolls that sandwich the vicinity of the edge of the base material,
The support member is arranged to be located near the nip roll upstream or downstream of each of the nip rolls in the conveyance path of the base material,
The support member is a roller formed in a crown shape that extends in the width direction of the base material and whose diameter gradually increases from the edge to the center of the base material. 3. The drying device according to any one of 3.
The drying nozzle includes a lower nozzle that sprays gas from below the substrate, and an upper nozzle that sprays gas from above the substrate,
The drying apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the support member is arranged to face the lower nozzle or the upper nozzle with the base material in between.
The edge nip portion grips the vicinity of the edge of the base material when conveying the base material, and does not grip the vicinity of the edge of the base material when the conveyance of the base material is stopped. drying equipment.