JP3757402B2 - Vacuum seal device - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
[Industrial application fields]
The present invention relates to a vacuum sealing device, and more specifically, in order to stepwise increase the vacuum level from atmospheric pressure to the vacuum processing device, and to decrease the vacuum level stepwise from the vacuum processing device to atmospheric pressure. The present invention relates to a vacuum seal device provided at the front and rear.
[0002]
[Prior art]
In an apparatus (for example, a continuous vacuum vapor deposition apparatus) that continuously processes a strip such as a steel plate under a vacuum, a vacuum seal apparatus is used for maintaining the inside in a vacuum before and after the apparatus. This vacuum sealing device is roughly classified into a pinch roll method and a bridal method.
[0003]
FIG. 4A is a schematic diagram of a conventional pinch roll type vacuum seal device, in which a plurality of vacuum chambers 5 evacuated by a vacuum pump 4 and the strip 3 are close to the boundary between the vacuum chambers 5. A plurality of pairs of seal rolls 6 are provided, and the capacity of the vacuum pump 4 is made larger than the amount of air flowing in from the gap between the seal roll 6 and the strip 3 to maintain the vacuum degree of the vacuum chamber 5. It has become. In this figure, 1 is a vacuum processing apparatus and 2 is a vacuum sealing apparatus.
[0004]
The above-described vacuum seal device is a so-called differential exhaust vacuum seal device, and the pressure ratio between adjacent vacuum chambers is higher than the so-called critical pressure ratio (also called the coastal pressure ratio) at which the flow velocity of air flowing in through the gap reaches the sonic velocity. Therefore, by using a vacuum pump that is set to be small and has a capacity larger than the area of the gap × the speed of sound, the degree of vacuum can be sequentially increased to, for example, 760 torr (atmospheric pressure), 200 torr, 50 torr, 5 torr, and 0.1 torr. The downstream side vacuum seal device is the same as the upstream side vacuum seal device described above.
[0005]
Since the plate width and thickness of the strip to be vacuum processed vary variously, the vacuum seal device is positioned to match the maximum size of the strip. For this reason, in the pinch roll type vacuum seal apparatus, particularly when processing a strip having a small plate width and thickness, the gap between the seal roll 6 and the strip 3 becomes large, and a vacuum for maintaining the degree of vacuum is obtained. There was a problem that the capacity of the pump 4 had to be considerably increased in advance. For this reason, there is a problem that the running cost of the vacuum sealing device increases.
[0006]
In order to solve the problems of the pinch roll method, a bridal vacuum seal device has been devised. FIG. 4B is a schematic diagram of a conventional bridal type vacuum seal device, in which a plurality of vacuum chambers 5 evacuated by a vacuum pump 4 and a plurality of strips 3 wound around a boundary portion of the vacuum chamber 5 are wound. A cylindrical deflector roll 7 and a seal block 8 provided at the boundary of the vacuum chamber 5 so as to face the deflector roll 7, and the capacity of the vacuum pump 4 is determined by the amount of air flowing from the gap of the deflector roll 7. The degree of vacuum of the vacuum chamber 5 is maintained. In this figure, 9 is another seal block, and the gap with the deflector roll 7 is set to the minimum.
[0007]
This bridal system is also a kind of differential exhaust vacuum seal device, but the deflector roll 7 and the strip 3 are always in close contact with each other and there is almost no gap even if the strip width and thickness of the strip 3 are variously changed. In addition, since the seal block 8 is also configured to be close to the band member 3, the capacity of the vacuum pump can be significantly reduced as compared with the pinch roll method, and the running cost is also low. In addition, this bridal type vacuum seal device has the advantage that the horizontal interval of the vacuum chamber can be shortened and the overall length of the device can be shortened because the strip 3 is meandered up and down to pass through. As a mechanism for bringing the seal block 8 close to the strip 3, JP-A-6-280015, JP-A-6-256946, JP-A-6-293968 and the like have already been filed.
[0008]
FIG. 5 shows an example of a continuous vacuum vapor deposition apparatus using such a bridal vacuum seal apparatus, which is composed of an inlet side and an outlet side vacuum seal apparatus, a preheating chamber, a film formation chamber, and the like. The steel sheet (strip) that has been unwound from the inside is passed through a vacuum with an inlet side vacuum seal device, preheated in a preheating chamber, and then formed into a film in the film formation chamber. It is taken out to atmospheric pressure with a device and taken up with a recoiler. In the film formation chamber, for example, an electron beam is emitted by an electron gun, the direction of the electron beam is bent by a magnetic field and applied to the crucible, the vapor deposition material is heated and evaporated, and the evaporated metal is solidified on the surface of the steel sheet. Can be continuously formed.
[0009]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
As described above, the bridal vacuum seal device has the deflector roll and the strip always in close contact with each other even if the strip width and thickness of the strip change variously, and there is almost no gap, and the seal block is also a strip. Therefore, the capacity of the vacuum pump can be greatly reduced as compared with the pinch roll method, and the running cost is also low.
[0010]
However, since the strip is in close contact with the surface of the deflector roll, there is a problem that plastic deformation easily occurs when the strip is thick. That is, assuming that the thickness of the strip is t and the diameter of the deflector roll is D, when the strip is in close contact with the surface of the deflector roll, a strain of ε = 2t / D is generated in the strip. In order to make this strain in a range not causing plastic deformation (for example, 0.5% or less), it is necessary to increase the diameter of the deflector roll. For example, when t = 20 mm, the diameter becomes D = 2 × 20 / 0.005 = 8000 mm or more, and there is a problem that the total length and the total height of the vacuum seal device become very large.
[0011]
The present invention has been made to solve such problems. That is, the object of the present invention is to allow the strip to pass through without plastic deformation even when the strip is thick, to stably maintain the desired degree of vacuum with a small vacuum pump capacity, and to compare the overall length and overall height. An object of the present invention is to provide a vacuum seal device that can be made small.
[0012]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
The vacuum sealing device of the present invention includes a plurality of cylindrical guide rolls that guide a continuous strip with a radius of curvature that does not cause plastic deformation, and a vacuum passage plate that hermetically surrounds the guide roller and the strip along the strip. A plurality of seal blocks that are disposed in the vacuum passage plate so as to face each guide roll and have gaps through which the strip material passes between the guide rolls and divided by the guide roller and the seal block. Each of the vacuum passages is evacuated.
[0013]
With this configuration, the strip material is guided by a plurality of cylindrical guide rolls with a radius of curvature that does not cause plastic deformation, so even if the strip material is thick, the strip material can be guided with a relatively thin guide roll with a large curvature radius. The strip can be passed through without plastic deformation. Further, since the inside of the vacuum passage divided by the guide roller and the seal block is exhausted, so-called differential exhaust vacuum sealing can be performed. Moreover, even if the strip width and thickness of the strip are variously changed, the guide roll and the strip are always in close contact, there is almost no gap, and the seal block is also configured to be close to the strip, so it is small. A desired vacuum degree can be stably maintained by the vacuum pump capacity. Furthermore, since the vacuum passage plate airtightly surrounds the guide roller and the strip along the strip, and a plurality of vacuum chambers are formed along the strip, the overall length and the overall height of the vacuum seal device should be relatively small. Can do.
[0014]
According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the radius of curvature that does not cause plastic deformation is at least 200 times the thickness of the strip. With this configuration, when the thickness of the strip is t and the radius of curvature of the strip guided by the plurality of guide rolls is R, the strip has ε = t / R when passing the strip. Strain occurs, but by setting R ≧ 200t, this strain becomes ε ≦ 1/200 = 0.005, which suppresses the strain to 0.5% or less and prevents plastic deformation in the case of a normal steel plate. it can.
[0015]
Furthermore, it is preferable that the seal block is composed of a plurality of seal pieces arranged in close contact with each other in the width direction of the strip material, and each seal piece is provided so that a gap between the strip material and the guide roll can be adjusted. . With this configuration, the gap between the strip and the seal block can be adjusted, and the inflow air between the divided vacuum passages can be adjusted to be small.
[0016]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In each drawing, common parts are denoted by the same reference numerals.
FIG. 1 is an overall configuration diagram of a vacuum seal device according to the present invention. In this figure, the vacuum seal device 10 of the present invention includes a plurality of cylindrical guide rolls 12, vacuum passage plates 14, and a plurality of seal blocks 16.
[0017]
The plurality of cylindrical guide rolls 12 guide the continuous strip 3 with a radius of curvature R that does not cause plastic deformation. The radius of curvature R is preferably 200 times or more the plate thickness t of the strip 3. With this configuration, when the strip 3 is passed through, a strain of ε = t / R is generated in the strip 3, and by setting R ≧ 200t, ε ≦ 1/200 = 0. 005, the strain can be suppressed to 0.5% or less, and plastic deformation can be prevented in the case of a normal steel plate.
[0018]
The vacuum passage 14 encloses the guide roller 12 and the strip 3 in an airtight manner along the strip. Further, the guide roller 12 is supported in the vacuum passage 14 and the gap between the portions not supporting the strip 3 is set to a minimum (for example, 0.3 to 0.5 mm). The amount of bypass gas that leaks along the strip 3 on the opposite side (supporting portion) of 3 is minimized.
[0019]
FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the seal portion of FIG. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the seal block 16 is disposed in the vacuum passage plate 14 so as to face each guide roll 12, and a gap through which the strip 3 passes is formed between the seal block 16 and the guide roll 12. is doing. Further, as shown in FIG. 2, each seal block 16 includes a plurality of seal pieces 16 a arranged in close contact with each other in the width direction of the strip 3, and each seal piece 16 a is a gap between the strip 3 and the guide roll 12. It is attached so that it can be adjusted. This adjustment can be performed by a suitable driving means such as a feed screw, a linear motion cylinder, or the like. With this configuration, the gap between the strip 3 and the seal block 16 can be adjusted, and the inflow air between the divided vacuum passages 14 can be adjusted to be small. Each seal piece 16 a is inserted into a recess provided in the vacuum passage plate 14 so as to be extendable and contractible, so that the amount of bypass gas leaking along the strip 3 is minimized.
[0020]
Further, as shown in FIG. 1, the vacuum seal device 10 of the present invention includes a plurality of vacuum pumps 4, and each of the inside of the vacuum passage plate path 14 divided by the guide roller 12 and the seal block 16 (that is, the seal portion). It is designed to exhaust. With this configuration, the so-called differential evacuation vacuum seal can be performed by exhausting the inside of the vacuum passage 14 (vacuum chamber) divided by the guide roller 12 and the seal block 16.
[0021]
FIG. 3 is an overall configuration diagram of vacuum processing equipment in which the above-described vacuum sealing device 10 of the present invention is installed before and after the vacuum processing chamber 1 (for example, a vacuum film forming chamber). In this figure, the steel plate (strip 3) passes through the vacuum sealing device 10 and the vacuum processing chamber 1 in the order of air → vacuum → air (air to air). The operation of the present invention described above with reference to FIG. 3 will be described below.
[0022]
The steel plate (strip 3) unwound from the uncoiler passes through a pretreatment line (not shown) (leveler, shear, welder, looper, washing tank, etc.) and is introduced into the upstream side vacuum seal device 10. The introduced steel plate 3 is passed through the vacuum processing chamber 1 (vacuum chamber) by a plurality of cylindrical roll guides 12. At this time, the gap between the steel plate 3 and the seal block 16 is adjusted by appropriately moving the seal block 16 that can automatically adjust the gap to move from the vacuum chamber (between the seal portion and the seal portion) to the vacuum chamber. Minimize incoming air. The pressure in each vacuum chamber becomes, for example, 100, 10, 1, 0.1, 0.01, 0.001, 0.0001 torr in order, and the pressure is finally reduced to the degree of vacuum required in the vacuum processing chamber 1. In addition, the steel plate 3 that is restrained by the guide roll 12 and passed through the vacuum seal device 10 has a radius of curvature R of R ≧ 200 t so that the steel plate does not undergo plastic deformation.
[0023]
With this configuration, the total length of the vacuum seal device 10 is about 4R. For example, when t = 20 mm, D = 200 × 20 × 4 = 16000 mm (16 m). In FIG. Compared with the case where the roll 7 is used, the length can be reduced to about 1/2 to 1/3.
[0024]
In addition, this invention is not limited to embodiment mentioned above, Of course, it can change variously in the range which does not deviate from the summary of this invention. For example, in the vacuum environment (vacuum processing chamber) formed by the present invention, various vacuum processes such as vacuum heating, vacuum deposition, ioprating, and CVD can be performed. Moreover, the optimal structure (the number of vacuum chambers, the capacity | capacitance of a vacuum pump, the dimension of a guide roll, the quantity, the curvature of a steel plate, etc.) of a vacuum seal apparatus can be variously changed according to the steel plate to process.
[0025]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, the vacuum seal device of the present invention has the following advantages.
(1) Not only thin plates, but also thick plates have good sealing performance (minimized inflow of air) at the seal part (consisting of a seal block and guide roll), so the capacity of the vacuum pump used This is extremely advantageous in terms of equipment costs and running costs.
{Circle around (2)} In the case of a thick plate as well as a thin plate, the steel plate can be passed without plastic deformation.
{Circle around (3)} Because of the bridle method, the line length is shorter than when a vacuum chamber is provided in a straight line, and in this respect also, the equipment cost and running cost are advantageous.
[0026]
Therefore, the vacuum sealing device of the present invention can pass the strip without causing plastic deformation even when the strip is thick, can stably maintain a desired degree of vacuum with a small vacuum pump capacity, and has a total length and height. Has an excellent effect such as being relatively small.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is an overall configuration diagram of a vacuum seal device according to the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the seal portion of FIG.
FIG. 3 is an overall configuration diagram of a vacuum processing facility using the vacuum seal device of the present invention.
FIG. 4 is a schematic view of a conventional vacuum seal device.
FIG. 5 is a configuration diagram of a conventional continuous vacuum deposition apparatus.
[Explanation of symbols]
1 Vacuum processing equipment (vacuum chamber)
2 Vacuum sealing device 3 Band 4 Vacuum pump 5 Vacuum chamber 6 Seal roll 7 Deflector roll 8 Seal block 9 Another seal block 10 Vacuum seal device 12 Guide roll 14 Vacuum passage 16 Seal block 16a Seal piece

Claims (3)

A cylindrical guide roll that guides a continuous strip with a radius of curvature that does not cause plastic deformation, a vacuum passage plate that hermetically surrounds the guide roller and the strip along the strip, and a vacuum passage that faces each guide roll. A seal block that is disposed in the plate path and has a gap through which the strip material passes between the guide rolls and exhausts the vacuum plate path divided by the guide roller and the seal block. A vacuum seal device. The vacuum sealing device according to claim 1, wherein a radius of curvature that does not cause plastic deformation is 200 times or more a plate thickness of the strip. The seal block is composed of a plurality of seal pieces arranged in close contact with each other in the width direction of the strip material, and each seal piece is provided so that a gap between the strip material and the guide roll can be adjusted. The vacuum seal device according to claim 2.

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