JP6975313B2 - Temperature control device and method - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a temperature adjusting device and a method for adjusting the temperature of a film.

In the process of manufacturing a film, the temperature of the film is often adjusted in order to cause the film to exhibit various functions. For example, in the method for producing a film of Patent Document 1, a first coating film formed by applying a first coating film on a long film substrate is dried and then cooled, and then the first coating film is applied onto the first coating film. The second coating film formed by applying the second coating liquid is dried and then cooled. In the cooling, the film base material is guided to the cooling zone separated from the external space, and the inside of the cooling zone is set to a predetermined temperature, and this temperature is adjusted according to the film to be manufactured. A suction table and a plurality of rollers are provided in the cooling zone, and the film is conveyed in a state where the film is wound around the individual rollers by suction of the suction table.

Further, for example, in Patent Document 2, a drying facility that suppresses meandering of a film is provided for the purpose of making the dried state of the coating film formed on a long film substrate uniform and preventing defects in the coating film. Have been described. This drying facility has a plurality of rollers for transporting the film, and blows a drying gas toward the film between the rollers. The temperature of such a drying gas is also usually adjusted according to the film to be produced.

When the temperature of such a film is adjusted by producing a film in which an optical film containing a liquid crystal compound and / or a dye is overlapped with an alignment film, the function of the obtained optical film is a coating liquid forming the optical film. It is especially important because it depends on the temperature control of the formed coating film.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2004-344693 Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2013-092326

However, in the method of Patent Document 1, when the temperature of the cooling zone is set too low, the film guided to the cooling zone shrinks, and this shrinkage causes deformation. Therefore, the lower limit of the temperature of the cooling zone is limited. In a state where the temperature of the cooling zone is limited, the transport path must be lengthened and / or the transport speed must be reduced as the degree of change (lowering width) of the film temperature is desired to be larger. Similarly, when the method of Patent Document 1 is used for heating the film, if the temperature of the heating zone is too high, the film guided to the heating zone expands and deforms. Therefore, when the upper limit of the temperature of the heating zone is limited and the degree of change (increase width) of the temperature of the film is desired to be large, the transport path must be lengthened and / or the transport speed must be reduced as described above.

Further, the method of Patent Document 2 has a certain effect from the viewpoint of temperature control when the film is heated, but when it is used for cooling the film, the temperature lowering rate is small and it is desired to improve the cooling efficiency. Is done.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a temperature adjusting device and a temperature adjusting method for more efficiently changing the temperature of the film while suppressing the deformation of the film.

In order to achieve the above object, the temperature adjusting device of the present invention includes two rollers, a pair of windshield members, and a suction unit, and adjusts the temperature of a long film being conveyed. The two rollers are arranged with a gap in the film transport direction. The length of the two rollers in the axial direction is larger than the width of the film, and the temperature of the peripheral surface is adjusted. The pair of windshield members are in an upright posture with respect to the peripheral surface of the roller end portion outside the transport path in the axial direction of the two rollers, and are provided on the same side as the two rollers with respect to the transport path. The suction unit sucks the gas between the pair of wind shield members and between the two rollers to keep the pressure between the two rollers within the range of −20 kPa or more and -1 kPa or less.

It is preferable that the peripheral surfaces of the two rollers are adjusted to different temperatures from each other, and it is more preferable that the temperature of the peripheral surface of the other downstream side of the two rollers on the upstream side in the transport direction is lowered. ..

The temperature control device preferably includes a box having the pair of windshield members. The box is provided on the same side as the two rollers with respect to the transport path, and the transport path side is opened. The box partitions the space between the pair of windshield members and between the two rollers from the external space. The suction unit is connected to the box and sucks the gas inside the box.

It is preferable that the windshield member projects toward the transport path side between the two rollers rather than the line segment connecting the centers of the circular cross sections of the two rollers.

It is preferable that the windshield member is provided so as to be freely displaceable in each axial direction of the two rollers.

It is preferable that the temperature control device further includes a blower unit. The blower is arranged on the opposite side of the two rollers with respect to the transport path, and the gas is sent out from the outlet facing at least one of the two rollers. The blower unit preferably has a gas temperature control mechanism that controls the temperature of the gas to be sent.

The diameter of the two rollers is preferably in the range of 80 mm or more and 600 mm or less.

The temperature adjustment method of the present invention is a temperature adjustment method in which a long film is conveyed in the longitudinal direction to adjust the temperature, and the film is guided to two rollers whose peripheral surface temperature is adjusted to guide the film to the peripheral surface of each roller. Wrap the film around. The two rollers are arranged with a gap in the transport direction of the film, the length in the axial direction is larger than the width of the film, and the temperature of the peripheral surface is adjusted. A pair of windshield members provided on the same side as the two rollers with respect to the peripheral surface of the roller end, which is outside the film transport path in the axial direction of the two rollers. The film is wound around the peripheral surface of the rollers by sucking the gas between the two rollers so that the pressure between the two rollers is within the range of −20 kPa or more and -1 kPa or less.

According to the present invention, the temperature of the film can be changed more efficiently while the deformation of the film is suppressed.

It is a schematic diagram of the film manufacturing apparatus which carried out this invention. It is a schematic perspective view of a cooling device. It is a schematic side view of a cooling device. It is a schematic plan view of a cooling device. It is explanatory drawing of the windshield which is another embodiment. It is a schematic perspective view of the cooling device provided with a cover plate. It is a schematic perspective view of the cooling device provided with another cover plate.

In FIG. 1, in the film manufacturing equipment 10, the feeding unit 13, the coating device 14, the drying device 15, the cooling device 16, and the winding unit 17 are sequentially arranged from the upstream side in the transport direction Dc of the film base material 18. Be prepared. The feeding portion 13 continuously feeds the long film base material 18 from the base material roll 21 wound in a coil shape.

The film substrate 18 is a flexible support. The film base material 18 of this example has a width of 1200 mm and a length of 4000 m, but the width and length of the film base material 18 are not limited to this example. The length is within the range of 10 m or more and 10000 m or less.

The material of the film substrate 18 is a polymer, for example, cellulose acylate (eg, cellulose triacetate, cellulose diacetate, cellulose acetate propionate, etc.), polyester (eg, polyethylene terephthalate, polyethylene-2,6-naphthalate, etc.). , Polyvinyl chloride, polyvinylidene chloride, polycarbonate, polyimide, polyamide and the like. Further, the film base material 18 may have a multi-layer structure. As the film base material 18 having a multi-layer structure, for example, a film base material 18 provided with a photoalignment film containing a compound oriented by photoisomerization by light irradiation on a film base material of a polymer as described above. Can be mentioned.

The coating device 14 coats one surface of the film base material 18 with a functional material to form a functional coating film such as a magnetic coating film, a photosensitive coating film, or an optical functional coating film. As described above, when the film substrate 18 has a multi-layer structure including a photoalignment film, the optically functional coating film contains, for example, a liquid crystal compound (liquid crystal polymer and / or liquid crystal monomer). Can be mentioned. The drying device 15 dries the coating film.

The cooling device 16 is an example of a temperature adjusting device, and in this example, the film 22 which is a laminated structure of a coating film and a film base material 18 is cooled. The cooling device 16 includes rollers 25a to 25c, a suction table 26, a blower unit 27, and a chamber 28. The chamber 28 includes a temperature controller (not shown), and the internal temperature is regulated by the temperature controller. While passing through the chamber 28, the film 22 is cooled and fed to the take-up section 17. When the rollers 25a to 25c are not distinguished in the following description, they are referred to as rollers 25. The details of the cooling device 16 will be described later with reference to another drawing. Further, since the film 22 includes the film base material 18, the reference numeral Dc is attached to the transport direction of the film 22 in the same direction as the transport direction of the film base material 18.

The winding unit 17 is provided with a motor 31 and a motor control unit 32. The motor 31 is connected to the take-up shaft 17a on which the film 22 is taken up, and is driven and controlled by the motor control unit 32 to rotate the take-up shaft 17a. Then, as the winding shaft 17a rotates, the film base material 18 is conveyed from the feeding portion 13 toward the winding portion 17, and the film 22 is wound into a coil.

Further, a motor for rotating the winding shaft 13a around which the base material roll 21 is wound may be provided in the feeding portion 13, and this motor may also be driven and controlled by the motor control unit 32 in the same manner as the motor 31. Further, since the film manufacturing equipment 10 is provided with a plurality of rollers 25a to 25c, 33 for guiding the transfer of the film base material 18, a motor for rotating these rollers 25a to 25c, 33 is provided to control the motor. The drive may be controlled by the unit 32. The film manufacturing equipment provided with the cooling device 16 is not limited to the film manufacturing equipment 10 of this example.

The cooling device 16 shown in FIG. 2 cools the long film 22 being conveyed in the longitudinal direction. In FIG. 2, the blower unit 27 is not shown. The cooling device 16 includes rollers 25a to 25c, a windshield 36 as a pair of plate-shaped windshield members, and a suction unit 37. Although the number of rollers 25 is shown in FIG. 3 as three, the number of rollers 25 may be at least two, that is, two or four or more.

The roller 25 is for cooling the film 22. The rollers 25a to 25c are arranged below the transport path PF (see FIG. 4) of the film 22 and support the film 22 from below. However, the rollers 25a to 25c may be arranged on the upper side of the transport path PF (see FIG. 4) of the film 22. The rollers 25 are arranged in the order of the rollers 25a, the rollers 25b, and the rollers 25c from the upstream side in the transport direction Dc with a gap between them. The shafts 25s of the rollers 25 are arranged in a state parallel to each other and arranged in the horizontal direction. The outer diameters R25 (see FIG. 3) of each of the rollers 25a to 25c are constant in the axial direction, and the outer diameters R25 of the rollers 25a to 25c are equal to each other. Therefore, the rollers 25a to 25c are arranged side by side in the transport direction Dc, and the transport path PF (see FIG. 4) is formed horizontally.

The roller 25 has a length L25 in the axial direction larger than the width W22 of the long film 22, whereby the roller 25 reliably contacts the film 22 at approximately the center in the axial direction. Therefore, the end portion (hereinafter referred to as the roller end portion) 25e (see FIG. 4) outside the transport path PF in the axial direction of the roller 25 is exposed.

The roller 25 includes a temperature control unit 38, and the temperature of the peripheral surface 25p is controlled by the temperature control unit 38. The temperature of the film 22 is lowered by the contact with the peripheral surface 25p. In this example, a flow path of a heat transfer medium (for example, water, an aqueous ethylene glycol solution, or a heat transfer oil) is formed inside the roller 25, and the temperature control unit 38 adjusts the temperature of the heat transfer medium. The temperature of the peripheral surface of the roller 25 is adjusted by circulating the heat transfer medium between the flow path in the roller 25 and the temperature control unit 38. However, the method for adjusting the temperature of the peripheral surface of the roller 25 is not limited to this, and various known methods may be used.

The roller 25 may be a so-called driven roller that rotates in the circumferential direction by contact with the film 22 during transportation, but is preferably a drive roller that is rotationally driven, and is also used as a drive roller in this example. As described above, the roller 25 may have a transport function for transporting the film 22 in addition to the temperature adjusting function for adjusting the temperature of the film 22. Specifically, the roller 25 has a rotation control unit 39 connected to the shaft 25s, is driven and controlled by the rotation control unit 39, and rotates in the circumferential direction. As a result, the film 22 wound around the peripheral surface 25p as described later is conveyed to the downstream side while maintaining the contact area with the peripheral surface 25p more reliably.

The windshield 36 and the suction portion 37 are for increasing the contact area of the film 22 with respect to the peripheral surfaces 25p of the horizontally arranged rollers 25a to 25c. Specifically, the purpose is to increase the contact area by reducing the pressure in the space on the same side as the roller 25 with respect to the transport path PF. Each of the pair of windshields 36 is in an upright posture with respect to the peripheral surface 25p of the roller end portion 25e, and is provided below the transport path PF. When the rollers 25 are provided on the upper side of the transport path PF, the pair of windshields 36 are also provided on the upper side of the transport path PF. When the windshield 36 is arranged below the transport path PF, it may protrude above the transport path PF as shown in FIG. Further, when the windshield 36 is arranged on the upper side of the transport path PF, it may protrude below the transport path PF. The windbreak member is not limited to the plate-shaped windshield 36, and may be, for example, a block shape.

The windbreak plate 36 is formed with an insertion opening 41 through which each of the rollers 25a to 25c is inserted, and the insertion opening 41 is formed in an open arc shape at the upper edge of the windshield 36. Therefore, the windshield 36 has a shape protruding upward between the rollers 25a and 25b, between the rollers 25b and 25c, on the upstream side of the roller 25a, and on the downstream side of the roller 25c. ing. As a result, the pair of windbreak plates 36 form a space partitioned from the outer external space in the axial direction on the lower side of the transport path PF. In the case of the windshield arranged on the upper side of the transport path PF, the insertion opening 41 may be formed in an open arc shape at the lower edge of the windshield 36. As described above, in the case of the windbreak plate arranged on the upper side of the transport path PF, the configuration is the same as that of the windshield 36 except that the shape and arrangement are symmetrical with respect to the windshield 36 and the transport path. Abbreviate.

The pair of windbreak plates 36 constitutes the bottom plate 42, the pair of partition plates 43, and the suction table 26. The bottom plate 42 is formed in a rectangular shape, and its axial length is substantially the same as the length L25 of the roller 25. In the transport direction Dc, the bottom plate 42 is from the upstream side of the roller 25a located at the uppermost stream of the roller 25. It extends to the downstream side of the roller 25c located at the most downstream side. As a result, the bottom plate 42 forms a space separated from the lower external space in the vertical direction on the lower side of the transport path PF.

One of the pair of partition plates 43 is provided on the upstream side of the roller 25a and the other on the downstream side of the roller 25c in an upright posture with respect to the transport path PF, and each extends in the axial direction. As a result, the pair of partition plates 43 form a space on the lower side of the transport path PF that is partitioned from the external space upstream of the roller 25a and the external space downstream of the roller 25c in the transport direction Dc. There is. The suction table 26 is formed as a box whose upper side is open by the windbreak plate 36, the bottom plate 42, and the partition plate 43, and is between one and the other of the pair of windbreak plates 36 and by a roller. The space between the 25a and the roller 25b and the space between the roller 25b and the roller 25c are separated from the external space. As a result, the suction table 26 cooperates with the roller 25 inserted through the insertion opening 41 to form a decompression space under the transport path PF where the pressure is reduced by the gas suction of the suction unit 37. When the windshield 36 is provided on the upper side of the transport path PF, the suction table 26 is also arranged on the upper side of the transport path PF.

The suction unit 37 is in a state where the film 22 is wound around the roller 25, between one and the other of the pair of windshields 36, between the rollers 25a and the rollers 25b, and between the rollers 25b and the rollers 25c. It is for sucking gas from the space. The suction unit 37 of this example is connected to the suction table 26 and sucks the gas inside the suction table 26. As a result, the suction unit 37 keeps the pressure inside the suction table 26 within the range of −20 kPa or more and -1 kPa or less. This pressure is a so-called gauge pressure when the atmospheric pressure is 0 Pa, and is a static pressure.

By setting the pressure inside the suction table 26 to -1 kPa or less, the film 22 is surely wound around the roller 25. By this winding, the peripheral surface 25p and the film 22 are in surface contact with each other, so that the film 22 is efficiently cooled. Further, according to this method, the roller 25 comes into contact with only one film surface of the film 22, and the other film surface is in a non-contact state, so that the other film surface is prevented from being scratched. By setting the pressure inside the suction table 26 to -20 kPa or more, the film 22 does not bend in a V shape between the rollers 25a and the rollers 25b and between the rollers 25b and the rollers 25c, and the film 22 has a downwardly convex curved surface. It is transported in the state of. The pressure inside the suction table 26 is more preferably in the range of −15 kPa or more and −2 kPa or less, and further preferably in the range of −10 kPa or more and -3 kPa or less.

In this example, the suction portion 37 is connected to the partition plate 43 on the downstream side in the transport direction Dc among the pair of partition plates 43. However, the connection position of the suction portion 37 with respect to the suction table 26 is not limited to this, and may be connected to any of the partition plate 43 on the upstream side, the bottom plate 42, and the windshield plate 36.

Since the suction portion 37 is for winding the film 22 around the peripheral surface 25p, it is between one and the other of the pair of windshields 36, between the rollers 25a and the rollers 25b, and the rollers 25b. The gas in the space between the roller 25c and the roller 25c may be sucked. As a result, the space between the roller 25a and the roller 25b and the space between the roller 25b and the roller 25c are set to a pressure (static pressure) within the range of −20 kPa or more and -1 kPa or less. However, it is more preferable to use the suction table 26 as in this example from the viewpoint of forming a reduced pressure space under static pressure.

The temperature of the peripheral surface 25p is preferably adjusted to different temperatures from the viewpoint of efficiently lowering the temperature of the film 22 and further suppressing the shrinkage of the film 22. More specifically, in this example of cooling the film 22, it is preferable to adjust the peripheral surface 25p to a lower temperature in the order of the roller 25a, the roller 25b, and the roller 25c toward the downstream in the transport direction Dc. .. As described above, it is preferable that any two peripheral surfaces 25p of the rollers 25 are lower on the downstream side than on the upstream side. The temperature difference between the peripheral surfaces 25p of the 22 adjacent rollers 25 in the transport direction Dc is preferably suppressed to 20 ° C. at the maximum, whereby the shrinkage of the film 22 is further suppressed. The temperature difference between the peripheral surfaces 25p of the two adjacent rollers 25 in the transport direction Dc is more preferably within 20 ° C, still more preferably within 10 ° C.

Although the film 22 is cooled in this example, the cooling device 16 can also be used as a heating device for heating the film 22. When used as a heating device, it is preferable to adjust the temperature of the peripheral surface 25 to a higher temperature toward the downstream in the transport direction Dc. As described above, it is preferable that any two peripheral surfaces 25p of the rollers 25 are higher on the downstream side than on the upstream side. As a result, the temperature of the film 22 can be efficiently raised while the expansion of the film 22 is further suppressed. The temperature difference between the peripheral surfaces 25p of the two adjacent rollers 25 in the transport direction Dc is preferably suppressed to 20 ° C. at the maximum, whereby the expansion of the film 22 is further suppressed. The temperature difference between the peripheral surfaces 25p of the two adjacent rollers 25 in the transport direction Dc is more preferably within 10 ° C, still more preferably within 5 ° C.

In this example, the pressure in the suction table 26 is detected by the pressure detector 46 provided in the suction table 26 as shown in FIG. In FIG. 3, only one of the pair of windshields 36 on the depth side of the paper surface is shown, and the other side on the front side of the paper surface is not shown. In this example, the pressure detector 46 is provided between the roller 25a and the roller 25B and between the roller 25b and the roller 25c, respectively, but the number and position of the pressure detector 46 are limited to this example. No. The pressure detector 46 may be a commercially available product as long as static pressure is required, and in this example as well, a commercially available manostar gauge manufactured by Yamamoto Electric Mfg. Co., Ltd. is used.

The outer shape R25 of the roller 25 is preferably in the range of 80 mm or more and 600 mm or less. When the outer diameter R25 is 80 mm or more, the contact time between the roller 25 and the film 22 is longer than when it is less than 80 mm, and the temperature is adjusted more efficiently. When the outer diameter R25 is 600 mm or less, the surface pressure is higher than when it is larger than 600 mm, the radius of curvature is smaller and the buckling stress is increased, so that the film 22 is less likely to wrinkle. ..

The distance D1 between the rollers 25 (hereinafter referred to as the distance between the rollers) is preferably at least 50 mm. When the distance D1 between the rollers is 50 mm or more, the film 22 is more reliably wound by each roller 25 than when it is smaller than 50 mm, and the V-shaped bending of the film 22 is more reliable between the rollers. Be prevented. The distance D1 between rollers is more preferably in the range of 50 mm or more and 1000 mm or less, and further preferably in the range of 50 mm or more and 200 mm or less.

The gap between the roller 25 and the roller 25 in the insertion opening 41, that is, the gap CL1 between the roller 25 and the windshield 36 is preferably in the range of 0.2 mm or more and 2 mm or less. Since the gap CL1 is 0.2 mm, the contact between the roller 25 and the windshield 36 during the transportation of the film 22 is surely prevented as compared with the case where the gap CL1 is less than 0.2 mm. Further, since the gap CL1 is 2 mm or less, it is easier to keep the pressure inside the suction table 26 within the range of −20 kPa or more and -1 kPa or less as compared with the case where the gap CL1 is larger than 2 mm. As a result, the contact area of the film 22 with respect to the roller 25 is easily kept constant, and a constant temperature history is given to the long film 22 in the longitudinal direction.

The winding angle (hereinafter referred to as a lap angle) θ of the film 22 wound by gas suction in the suction table 26 with respect to the roller 25 is preferably at least 10 °. Since the lap angle θ is 10 ° or more, the contact area of the film 22 with respect to the peripheral surface 25p is larger than that in the case where the lap angle θ is less than 10 °, so that the film 22 is cooled more efficiently. The lap angle θ is more preferably 30 ° or more.

It is preferable that the windshield 36 projects more than the line segment LS connecting the shafts 25s between the rollers 25a and the rollers 25b and between the rollers 25b and the rollers 25c. That is, it is preferable that the upper end 36U of the windshield 36 between the rollers protrudes above the line segment LS. As a result, the inside of the suction table 26 is more reliably held at a predetermined pressure. In this example, the upper end 36U protrudes above the line segment LS also on the upstream side of the roller 25a and the downstream side of the roller 25c, whereby the inside of the suction table 26 is more reliably held at a predetermined pressure. Has been done. It is more preferable that the windshield 36 protrudes above the transport path (a straight line connecting the upper ends of the rollers 25), and this is also the case in this example.

The blower portion 27 includes a duct 51, a blower 52, and a gas temperature control mechanism 53, and is arranged on the upper side of the transport path PF. However, all the arrangements of the blower portions 27 do not have to be on the upper side of the transport path PF, and at least the duct 51 may be on the upper side of the transport path PF. Further, when the windshield 36 is arranged on the upper side of the transport path PF, at least the duct 51 of the blower portion 27 is arranged on the lower side of the transport path PF. In this way, at least the duct 51 of the blower portion 27 is arranged on the opposite side of the roller 25 with respect to the transport path PF. The blower 52 sends a gas such as air to the duct 51. The temperature of the gas to be sent is adjusted by the gas temperature adjusting mechanism 53. On the lower surface of the duct 51, a plurality of nozzles 56 extending in the depth direction of the paper surface of FIG. 3 are provided in a state of being lined up along the transport direction Dc. Each nozzle 56 is formed with a delivery port 56a for delivering gas, and the delivery port 56a is a slit-shaped opening extending in the depth direction of the paper surface in FIG.

The nozzles 56 are arranged on all the rollers 25, so that the outlet 56a faces the peripheral surface 25p of all the rollers 25. Gas is sent out from the delivery port 56a toward the film 22 on the roller 25. By this ventilation, the film 22 is more reliably adhered to the peripheral surface 25p, and the film 22 is cooled more efficiently. The nozzle 56 may be arranged on at least one roller 25. That is, the delivery port 56a may face at least one roller 25. However, as in this example, it is preferable to arrange the rollers 25 on all the rollers 25 from the viewpoint of improving the efficiency of cooling.

For the gas delivery from the delivery port 56a, it is preferable that the wind pressure (dynamic pressure) at the peripheral surface 25p is 5 kPa or more. This wind pressure may be obtained in advance by arranging a pressure detector (not shown) on the peripheral surface 25p and using this pressure detector before transporting the film 22. When the wind pressure is 5 kPa or more, the gas is more reliably removed from between the peripheral surface 25p and the film 22 as compared with the case where the wind pressure is less than 5 kPa, and the film 22 is more closely attached to the peripheral surface 25p.

In this example, the outlet 56a is formed in the nozzle 56, but the formation of the outlet 56a is not limited to this embodiment. For example, the delivery port 56a may be formed on the lower surface of the duct 51 without the nozzle 56.

The gas from the delivery port 56a is temperature-controlled by the gas temperature control mechanism 53, and in this example of cooling the film 22, the gas temperature control mechanism 53 cools the gas. The gas cools the film 22 from the other film surface on the opposite side of the one that comes into contact with the roller 25. As described above, in addition to the contact cooling performed by the roller 25, the non-contact cooling by the gas is performed, so that the film 22 is cooled more efficiently. When the cooling device 16 is used as a heating device for heating the film 22, the gas temperature adjusting mechanism 53 heats the gas.

As shown in FIG. 4, as described above, the windshield 36 is arranged in an upright posture with respect to the peripheral surface 25p of the roller end portion 25e. It is preferable that the windshield 36 is freely displaceable in the axial direction on the bottom plate 42. For example, in this example, the bottom plate 42 is provided with a rail (not shown) extending in the axial direction, and the windshield 36 is movable on this rail. The windshield 36 includes a shift mechanism 61, which moves in the axial direction. However, the method of moving the windshield 36 is not limited to this, and any method may be used as long as it is movable in the axial direction.

It is preferable that the windshield 36 is moved in the axial direction to set the distance from the edge PFe in the axial direction of the transport path PF according to the width of the film 22 to be manufactured. The distance D2 between the edge PFe and the windshield 36 is preferably in the range of 0.2 mm or more and 2 mm or less, whereby the gap CL2 between the film 22 to be conveyed and the windshield 36 is 0.2 mm. It becomes 2 mm or less. Since the gap CL2 is 0.2 mm, the contact between the film 22 and the windshield 36 during transportation is surely prevented as compared with the case where the gap CL2 is less than 0.2 mm. Further, since the gap CL2 is 2 mm or less, it is easier to keep the pressure inside the suction table 26 within the range of −20 kPa or more and -1 kPa or less as compared with the case where the gap CL2 is larger than 2 mm. As a result, the contact area of the film 22 with respect to the roller 25 is easily kept constant, and a constant temperature history is given to the long film 22 in the longitudinal direction.

The position of the edge in the width direction of the film 22 being conveyed may be detected, and the position of the windshield 36 in the axial direction may be changed based on the detection result.

The windbreak plate 36 has an insertion opening 41 open at the upper portion, but the windshield is not limited to this. For example, in the windshield 66 shown in FIG. 5, the insertion opening 67 is formed in a circular shape and is not open to the upper portion. The insertion opening 67 may be such a through hole as long as it can rotate so that the roller 25 is inserted.

A cover member may be provided on the opposite side of the transport path PF from the roller 25 to more reliably increase the contact area of the film 22 with respect to the roller 25. The plurality of cover plates 71 shown in FIG. 6 are examples of cover members. The cover plate 71 is arranged above the transport path PF. The cover plate 71 is provided in an upright posture with respect to the windbreak plate 36, and projects from the windshield 36 toward the transport path PF to cover the end portion of the transport path PF in the axial direction of the roller 25. There is. A plurality of cover plates 71 are arranged side by side in the transport direction Dc at each of one end and the other end. As a result, the open area on the opposite side of the roller 25 and the windshield 36 with respect to the transport path PF is narrowed, and the above-mentioned decompression space is decompressed more reliably. As a result, the contact area of the film 22 with respect to the roller 25 is more reliably increased.

The length of the cover plate 71 in the axial direction of the roller 25 is preferably such that the side end portion of the long film 22 passing through is covered by about 10 mm or more. In this example, four cover plates 71 are provided at each end of the transport path PF in the axial direction, but the number of cover plates 71 at each end of the transport path PF is not limited to this. The number may be 3 or more, or 5 or more. Further, the length of the cover plate 71 in the transport direction Dc is not particularly limited.

The cover plate 76 shown in FIG. 7 is also an example of the cover member. Like the cover member 71, the cover member 76 is also provided in an upright posture with respect to the windbreak plate 36, and projects from the windshield 36 toward the transport path PF, so that the transport path in the axial direction of the roller 25 is also provided. It covers the end of the PF. The cover member 76 extends in the transport direction Dc, and one cover member 76 is arranged at one end and the other end of the roller 25 in the axial direction. As a result, as in the case of using the cover member 71, the open area on the opposite side of the roller 25 and the windshield 36 with respect to the transport path PF is narrowed, and the above-mentioned decompression space is decompressed more reliably. As a result, the contact area of the film 22 with respect to the roller 25 is more reliably increased.

[Example 1] to [Example 6]
A film having a thickness of 80 μm, in which a liquid crystal compound was applied to one surface of a TAC (triaethyl cellulose, cellulose triacetate) film, was prepared as the film 22 to be temperature-controlled. The film 22 was heated by heating and then cooled by the cooling device 16. While passing through the cooling device 16, the tension per 1 m in width with respect to the film 22 was 150 N / m, and the transport speed of the film 22 was 20 m / min. The distance D1 between the rollers was set to 50 mm, and the gap CL1 was set to 1 mm.

The temperature of the film 22 at the upstream end (inlet) of the cooling device 16 is shown in the "inlet film temperature" column of Table 1, and the temperatures of the peripheral surfaces 25p of the rollers 25a to 25c are "roller 25a" and "roller 25b". In each "temperature" column of the "roller 25c", the outer diameter R25 of the roller 25 is described in the "outer diameter" column, and the pressure inside the suction table 26 is described in the "suction pressure" column. When the blower unit 27 is used, the gas sent out from the blower outlet 56a is air, and the wind pressure on the peripheral surface 25p is described in the “wind pressure” column of Table 1. When the blower unit 27 is not used, “None” is described in the “Wind pressure” column of Table 1. For the wind pressure when the blower unit 27 is used, an air pipe for measurement is installed at a position separated by the same distance from the blowout port 56a to the peripheral surface 25p, and through this, Mano manufactured by Yamamoto Electric Mfg. Co., Ltd. Measured with a star gauge.

The cooling efficiency of the film 22 and the occurrence of wrinkles as deformation were evaluated by the following evaluation methods and criteria. The evaluation results are shown in Table 1.
1. 1. Cooling efficiency The temperature T1 (unit: ° C) of the film 22 at the inlet of the cooling device 16 and the temperature T2 (unit: ° C) of the film 22 at the outlet are measured by the radiation thermometer FT-H20 of KEYENCE CORPORATION. The cooling efficiency (unit: ° C./m) was calculated by the formula of. When the cooling device 16 is used as a heating device for heating the film 22, the heating efficiency can be obtained by changing T1-T2 in the following calculation formula to T2-T1. Here, the sum of the inter-roller distances D1 between all the rollers (between the rollers 25a and 25b and between the rollers 25b and 25c in this example) is D1T (unit: mm), and the sum of the distances D1 is defined as the outside of all rollers. When the sum of the diameters R25 is R25T (unit is mm), the length of the cooling device 16 (indicated in the "cooling device length" column of Table 1, the unit is mm) is defined as a value calculated by D1T + R25T. ..
Cooling efficiency = (T1-T2) / Length of cooling device [m]

The cooling efficiency was evaluated according to the following criteria. AA, A and B pass, and C fails.
AA: It was 200 ° C./m or higher.
A: It was 150 ° C./m or more and less than 200 ° C./m.
B: It was 50 ° C./m or more and less than 150 ° C./m.
C: It was less than 50 ° C./m.

2. 2. The occurrence of wrinkles The film 22 being conveyed in the cooling device 16 was visually observed and evaluated according to the following evaluation criteria. A and B pass, and C fails.
A: No wrinkles were found.
B: Wrinkles were observed, but they were weak and had no problem.
C: Strong wrinkles were observed.

[Comparative Example 1] to [Comparative Example 2]
The temperature of the film 22 at the inlet of the cooling device 16, the temperature of the peripheral surface 25p of each roller 25a to 25c, the length of the cooling device 16, the pressure inside the suction table 26, and the peripheral surface 25p of the gas sent out from the outlet 56a. The wind pressure in Table 1 was set to the conditions shown in Table 1. Other conditions are the same as in the examples.

The cooling efficiency and wrinkle generation status were evaluated by the same method and criteria as in the examples. The evaluation results are shown in Table 1.

10 Film manufacturing equipment 13 Feeding part 13a Winding shaft 14 Coating device 15 Drying device 16 Cooling device 17 Winding part 17a Winding shaft 18 Film base material 21 Base material roll 22 Film 25a to 25c Roller 25e Roller end 25p Peripheral surface 25s shaft 26 Suction table 27 Blower 28 Chamber 31 Motor 32 Motor control 33 Roller 36, 66 Windshield 36U Upper end 37 Suction 38 Temperature control 39 Rotation control 41, 67 Insertion opening 42 Bottom plate 43 Partition plate 46 Pressure detector 51 Duct 52 Blower 53 Gas temperature control mechanism 56 Nozzle 56a Outlet 61 Shift mechanism 71,76 Cover plate CL1, CL2 Gap D1 Roller distance D2 Distance Dc Transport direction L25 Length LS Line segment PF Transport path PFe Edge edge R25 Outer diameter W22 Width θ lap angle

Claims (9)

In a temperature control device that controls the temperature of a long film being transported,
Two rollers arranged with a gap in the transport direction of the film, the length in the axial direction is larger than the width of the film, and the temperature of the peripheral surface is adjusted.
A pair of the two rollers having an upright posture with respect to the peripheral surface outside the transport path in the axial direction and inside the roller end, and provided on the same side as the two rollers with respect to the transport path. Windshield and
A suction unit that keeps the pressure between the two rollers within the range of -20 kPa or more and -1 kPa or less by sucking the gas between the pair of wind shield members and between the two rollers.
Have ,
The windshield member is a temperature control device that projects between the two rollers toward the transport path side from a line segment connecting the centers of the two rollers having a circular cross section. The temperature control device according to claim 1, wherein the peripheral surfaces of the two rollers are adjusted to different temperatures. The temperature control device according to claim 2, wherein the temperature of the peripheral surface of the other of the two rollers on the downstream side of the upstream side of the two rollers in the transport direction is lowered. It has the pair of windshield members, is provided on the same side as the two rollers with respect to the transport path, the transport path side is opened, and the space between the pair of wind shield members and between the two rollers is external. With a box that separates it from the space
The temperature control device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the suction unit is connected to the box and sucks the gas inside the box. The temperature adjusting device according to any one of claims 1 to 4 , wherein the windshield member is provided so as to be displaceable in each axial direction of the two rollers. Wherein arranged on the opposite side of the two rollers in the conveyance path, according to any one of claims 1 to 5 comprising a blower for delivering the gas from the outlet facing the at least one of the two rollers Temperature control device. The temperature adjusting device according to claim 6 , wherein the blowing unit has a gas temperature adjusting mechanism for adjusting the temperature of the gas to be sent. The temperature control device according to any one of claims 1 to 7 , wherein the diameters of the two rollers are in the range of 80 mm or more and 600 mm or less. In a temperature adjustment method that adjusts the temperature while transporting a long film in the longitudinal direction,
The film is guided to two rollers which are arranged with a gap in the transport direction of the film, whose length in the axial direction is larger than the width of the film, and the temperature of the peripheral surface is adjusted.
The two rollers are in an upright posture with respect to the peripheral surface outside the film transport path and inside the roller end in the axial direction, and are provided on the same side as the two rollers with respect to the transport path. is Rutotomoni, wherein between the two rollers, between a pair of air shield member projecting above the two circular cross section between the centers connecting it conveying path than the line of the roller and the two rollers A temperature adjusting method in which the film is wound around the peripheral surface by sucking a gas between the two rollers so that the pressure between the two rollers is within the range of −20 kPa or more and -1 kPa or less.

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