JP3199516B2 - Ion plating apparatus having a rotating mechanism for workpiece - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an ion plating apparatus capable of uniformly modifying the outer peripheral surface by irradiating ions while rotating an object to be processed.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As an arc ion plating apparatus for coating a thin film having characteristics such as corrosion resistance and abrasion resistance on the surface of a shaft-shaped workpiece such as a drill or a pin at one time,
6 and 7 are shown. In this apparatus, a plurality of conveying rollers 2 are arranged in tandem in a coating chamber 1 to which a vacuum evacuation means is connected, and a carrier frame 3 is mounted thereon, and a large number of workpieces are placed on the carrier frame 3. There is provided a holding table 5 for supporting the stand 4 in an upright state. Two rollers 7 and 8 are attached to the roller shaft 6 of the transport roller 2 in the coating chamber 1, and are rotatably supported by airtightly penetrating the side wall 9 of the coating chamber 1. It is connected to a driving means such as a motor via the motor. Further, targets (evaporation sources) 14 for performing arc ion plating are arranged on both side surfaces of the holding table 5, and anodes (not shown) are provided near each of the targets 14. The target 14 and the anode are connected via an arc power supply, and these members constitute ion irradiation means. In addition, a negative bias voltage is applied to the coating chamber 1 to the workpiece 4 via the transport roller 2, the carrier frame 3, and the holding table 5.

The carrier frame 3 includes a target 1
Transport rollers 2 so that the ions radiated from the side 4 to the object to be processed can evenly hit the object 4 supported on the holding table 5.
Reciprocating along the transport direction around the target 14 by the forward and reverse rotations of. Thereby, a large number of workpieces 4
In contrast, the desired thin film can be coated at a time.

[0004]

However, in the conventional ion plating apparatus , in order to uniformly coat the outer peripheral surface of the object to be treated, the ion-deposited ions are so deposited as to be able to wrap around the object to be treated. There is a problem that it is necessary to increase the support interval of the processed material, and it is not possible to increase the number of processes per process.

[0005] The present invention is made in view of the above problems
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a highly productive ion plating apparatus capable of performing uniform coating on the outer peripheral surface of the object to be processed even if the support interval of the object to be processed is reduced.

[0006]

According to the present invention, there is provided an ion plating apparatus comprising: a coating chamber having ion irradiation means; an area for supporting an object to be processed in the coating chamber and forming ions irradiated from the ion irradiation means; And a carrier frame for reciprocating the workpiece, a rotating table for supporting a large number of workpieces on the carrier frame, and a rotating mechanism for rotating the rotating table by moving the carrier frame. Was provided.

Further , the ion plating apparatus of the present invention
The rotating mechanism is fixed to the rotating table side
And rotate integrally around the same axis as the rotary table
A friction wheel and the carrier frame on the coating chamber side.
Is provided along the moving direction of the friction
It comes into contact with the peripheral surface in a pressed state and the frictional force rotates the friction wheel.
And a pressing member to be rotated.

Further, the ion plating apparatus of the present invention
The rotating mechanism is fixed to the rotating table side
And rotate integrally around the same axis as the rotary table
A gear-shaped rotating wheel and the carrier on the coating chamber side.
Provided along the moving direction of the frame,
Interfering part that rotates the rotating wheel by interfering with the teeth of the rotating wheel
It consisted of materials.

Further , the ion plating apparatus of the present invention
The rotating mechanism is fixed to the rotating table side
And rotate integrally around the same axis as the rotary table
A friction wheel and the carrier frame on the coating chamber side.
Is provided along the moving direction of the
Abut the friction wheel from the surface side
Consists of a rail that rotates a friction wheel by frictional force
did.

[0010]

When the carrier frame reciprocates, the rotary table is rotated via the rotating mechanism according to the movement of the carrier frame. Thus, a large number of workpieces supported by the rotary table are simultaneously rotated by the rotation of the table. Therefore, the surface of each object to be processed on the rotary table is sequentially exposed to the ion irradiation means side in accordance with the movement of the carrier frame. Therefore, a uniform coating can be performed on the outer peripheral surface of the object to be processed irrespective of the support interval of the object to be processed.

Further , as a rotating mechanism, a friction wheel and a friction wheel
By configuring with a pressing member that abuts in the pressed state,
Stepless and smooth friction wheel rotation is possible and uniform
This makes it possible to obtain a highly deposited film. And rotation
As a mechanism, it interferes with a gear-shaped rotating wheel and teeth of the rotating wheel.
As described above, the friction member
It is necessary to provide a means for pressing the pressing member against the car
And the structure can be simplified.

Further, as a rotating mechanism, a friction wheel and the friction
A rail that comes into contact with the scraper by lifting it to the lower side
By using the weight of the friction wheel,
To obtain the frictional force between the wheel and the friction wheel.
Simplifies the structure compared to the case with the above-mentioned pressing member.
And provided with a gear-shaped rotating wheel and an interference member
Smooth rotation of friction wheels is possible without any step compared to the case
Becomes

[0013]

1 and 2 show a main part of an arc type ion plating apparatus having an object rotating mechanism according to a first embodiment, which has the same function as the conventional apparatus shown in FIGS. 6 and 7. FIG. Are denoted by the same reference numerals. It is needless to say that the present embodiment is also provided with an ion irradiation means as in the conventional case. It is sufficient if the ion irradiation means is provided on one side with respect to the transport direction of the carrier frame. However, the ion irradiation means may be provided on both sides in order to further improve the productivity.

As in the prior art, the carrier frame 3 is mounted on a plurality of transport rollers 2 arranged in tandem,
The carrier frame 3 is provided with a plurality of rotary tables 16 arranged in cascade in the transport direction. The rotary table 1
Reference numeral 6 denotes a support table 17 for supporting the workpiece 4 in two upper and lower stages.
, And each support base 17 is mounted concentrically on a table shaft 18. A disc-shaped friction wheel 19 is fixed below the table shaft 18, and a lower end of the table shaft 18 penetrates a bearing portion 21 of the carrier frame 3 and is rotatably slidably fitted therein. The lower surface of the boss portion of the friction wheel 19 is in contact with the upper surface of the portion 21. A plurality of holding holes are formed in the upper surface of the support base 17, and the workpiece 4 is inserted into the holding holes and mounted. The holding holes are preferably provided so that the objects to be processed do not overlap in the diameter direction.

Meanwhile, the side wall 9 the inner surface of coating chamber 1, in contact with a pressed state on the outer circumferential surface of the friction wheel 19 presses
A plurality of members 23 are arranged in a row via a support frame 24, and the friction wheel 19 and the pressing member 23 constitute a rotation mechanism. The range in which the pressing members 23 are arranged extends over a range in which the rotary table 16 is to be rotated within the moving range of the carrier frame 3. The pressing member 23 includes a cylinder member 25 attached to a support frame 24, a spring 26 inserted inside the cylinder member 25,
The contact member 27 is in contact with the outer peripheral surface of the friction wheel 19. The piston shaft 28 supporting the contact member 27 is inserted into the cylinder member 25 so as to be able to move back and forth.
The spring 26 in the housing 5 is housed so as to urge the friction wheel 19 by contracting by the pressing margin S. The contact member 27 extends in the moving direction of the carrier frame 3 so that a slight gap is formed between the adjacent members, so that the friction wheel 19 moves in accordance with the movement of the carrier frame 3. 27 continuously. At this time, since the front surface of the end portion of the contact member 27 is a tapered surface, the friction wheel 19 can be smoothly guided to the adjacent contact member 27.

According to the above configuration, the contact member 27 urged toward the friction wheel 19 by the reciprocating motion of the carrier frame 3.
And the friction wheel 19 rotates forward and reverse due to the frictional force generated in the circumferential direction of the friction wheel 19. Friction wheel 19
The table shaft 18 provided at the center of the friction wheel 19 rotates in accordance with the rotation of the
Also rotate. For this reason, each processing object 4 on the support 17 is
According to the movement of the carrier frame 3, the surface can be sequentially exposed in the ion irradiation direction of the ion irradiation means provided on the side wall 9 of the coating chamber 1, and a uniform coating is formed on the outer peripheral surface of the workpiece 4. Done.

Further , a friction wheel 19 and a pressing state on the friction wheel 19 are provided.
The rotation mechanism is constituted by the pressing member 23 abutting in a state.
The support table 17 of the rotary table 16 can be steplessly moved
Can be rotated smoothly, uniform
A deposited film can be obtained. 3 and 4
Shows a second embodiment, a large number of needle member 30 to the outer peripheral surface instead of the friction wheel 19 in this example are implanted at equal intervals
A gear-shaped rotating wheel 31 is fixed to the table shaft 18. On the other hand, a plurality of interference members 32 are arranged in the vicinity of the side portion of the carrier frame 3 for interfering with the needle member (teeth of the rotating wheel 31) 30 and rotating the rotating wheel 31 by moving the carrier frame 3. Each interference member 32 is supported by an elastic member 33 and attached to the lower wall 10 of the coating chamber 1 via an insulating member 34 such as an insulator. The reason why the elastic member 33 is provided is that when the interference member 32 and the needle member 30 interfere with each other at a certain angle, the rotating wheel 31 does not rotate but the ends of the two members abut to push the interference member 32 down. However, by providing the elastic member 33, the interference member 32 can be easily released from the needle member 30, and no excessive force acts on the needle member 30 and the insulating member 34, and these members are damaged. Can be prevented.

In the present embodiment, the first
The pressing member 23 is pressed against the friction wheel 19 as in the embodiment.
Means (spring 26, cylinder member 25, etc.)
Although it is not necessary, the structure can be simplified,
The back between the needle member 30 of the rotating wheel 31 and the interference member 32
Because the rush makes it a little difficult to rotate smoothly,
In this regard, the first embodiment is more advantageous.
You.

FIG. 5 shows a third embodiment. In this embodiment, an inverted conical tapered peripheral surface 36 is formed on the lower surface of the friction wheel 19, while the support arm extends from the side wall 9 of the coating chamber 1. A rail 38 extends through a range 37 through which the turntable 16 is rotated. The rail 3
Reference numeral 8 is arranged so as to abut the tapered peripheral surface 36 so as to lift the table shaft 18 and the support base 17. The upper surface of the end of the rail 38 is the carrier frame 3.
Is preferably formed on the taper surface so that the taper peripheral surface 36 can easily ride on the end of the rail by the movement.

In this embodiment, the frictional force acting on the friction wheel 19 is generated when the resultant force of the weight of the friction wheel 19, the table shaft 18, the support 17 and the workpiece 4 acts on the rail 38. Therefore, when rotating the turntable 16,
The gravitational force does not act on the carrier frame 3, and only the own weight of the carrier frame 3 acts on the transport roller 2. For this reason, if the carrier frame 3 is lightweight, the frictional force generated between the bottom surface of the leg of the carrier frame 3 and the roller (when the contact surface is a circumferential surface) becomes small, causing a slip and causing the carrier frame 3 to slip. Smooth movement becomes difficult. In such a case, as shown in FIG. 5, a gear 40 is formed on the outer peripheral surface of one of the rollers 8 of the transport roller 2, and a rack 4 meshing with the gear 40 is formed on the bottom surface of the leg of the carrier frame 3.
1 may be formed.

In this embodiment, the same as in the first embodiment
The distance between the friction wheel 19 and the rail 38 is different from that of the second embodiment.
Stepless and smooth rotation of the support base 17 due to the frictional force of
Is obtained and a uniform deposited film can be formed.
The pressing member 23 of the first embodiment
It is necessary to provide a means for pressing against the friction wheel 19 as in
The simplification of the structure can be achieved because of the absence.

In the present invention, vacuuming, coating,
Of course, the present invention can be applied to a batch-type apparatus in which all processes such as cooling are performed in one chamber (coating chamber). However, a dedicated chamber is provided for each process, and these chambers are connected via a vacuum gate valve, and a carrier frame is provided. Can be applied to a coating chamber of an in-line type apparatus that performs a continuous treatment by sequentially feeding the same.

[0023]

As described above, according to the ion plating apparatus of the present invention, a rotary table for supporting a large number of workpieces is provided on a carrier frame, and the rotary table is rotated by moving the carrier frame. Since the rotating mechanism is provided, it is possible to rotate the rotary table, and eventually the object supported by the rotary table, via the rotating mechanism in accordance with the reciprocating motion of the carrier frame, and sequentially expose the surface to the ion irradiation means side. Because you can
Irrespective of the support interval of the object, uniform coating can be performed on the outer peripheral surface of the object.

Further , according to the present invention, as the rotating mechanism,
A wheel and a pressing member that comes into contact with the friction wheel in a pressing state.
So that the rotary table can be smoothly rotated without any steps.
Function to obtain a uniform deposited film.
You. In the present invention, a gear-shaped rotation is used as the rotation mechanism.
It was constructed by the interference member interfering with the rotary wheel and the teeth of the rotary wheel
Thus, the structure of the rotation mechanism can be simplified.

Further, the present invention provides the above-mentioned rotating mechanism,
Contact the scraper with the lower side of the scraper by lifting it
And the rails that
To obtain the frictional force between the rail and the friction wheel
, Smooth and continuous rotation of the rotary table
Can be performed with a simple structure.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a main part of an ion plating apparatus according to a first embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along line AA of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view of a main part of an ion plating apparatus according to a second embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along line AA of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a sectional view of a main part of an ion plating apparatus according to a third embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view of an ion plating apparatus according to a conventional example.

FIG. 7 is a sectional view taken along line AA of FIG. 6;

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Coating chamber 2 Transport roller 3 Carrier frame 4 Workpiece 16 Rotary table 19 Friction wheel 23 Pressing member (Rotating mechanism with 19) 31 Rotating wheel 32 Interference member (Rotating mechanism with 31) 38 Rail (Rotating mechanism with 19) )

Claims (4)

(57) [Claims] A coating chamber (1) provided with an ion irradiation means, and an object for supporting an object to be processed in the coating chamber (1) and reciprocating a formation area of ions irradiated from the ion irradiation means. An ion plating apparatus comprising a carrier frame (3) and a carrier frame (3) for supporting an object to be processed.
Calibration rotation table (16) provided, in said rotary table (16) a rotating mechanism for rotating is provided, wherein the rotation mechanism includes a coating chamber (1) in the
The carrier frame is moved by moving the rear frame (3).
Rotating the rotary table (16) provided in the system (3).
An ion plating apparatus having an object rotating mechanism, characterized in that the ion plating apparatus is configured as described above . 2. The carrier mechanism according to claim 1, wherein the rotating mechanism includes a carrier frame.
(3) a friction wheel (19) fixed to the rotary table (16) side and integrally rotating around the same axis as the rotary table (16); and the carrier frame on the coating chamber (1) side. A pressing member (23) which is provided in plurality along the moving direction of (3) and which comes into contact with the outer peripheral surface of the friction wheel (19) in a pressed state to rotate the friction wheel (19) by the frictional force.
2. The method according to claim 1, further comprising:
An ion plating apparatus having the workpiece rotation mechanism according to item 1. 3. The carrier frame according to claim 2, wherein the rotating mechanism is a carrier frame.
(3) a gear-shaped rotating wheel (31) fixed to the rotating table (16) side and integrally rotating around the same axis as the rotating table (16); An interference member (32) that is provided in plurality along the moving direction of the carrier frame (3) and that rotates the rotating wheel (31) by interfering with the teeth (30) of the rotating wheel (31); The ion plating apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the ion plating apparatus has an object rotation mechanism. 4. The rotating mechanism includes:
6) a friction wheel (19) fixed to the side and integrally rotating around the same axis as the rotary table (16); and a moving direction of the carrier frame (3) toward the coating chamber (1). A rail (38) which is provided along and is brought into contact with the friction wheel (19) so as to lift the friction wheel (19) from the lower surface side thereof and rotates the friction wheel (19) by its frictional force. The ion plating apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the ion plating apparatus has a rotation mechanism.