JPH0475778B2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Industrial Application Field] The present invention relates to a plasma processing apparatus for sheet-like materials,
Specifically, a drum-shaped first discharge electrode and a second discharge electrode facing the first discharge electrode are provided in a vacuum container, the inside of the vacuum container is maintained in a plasma atmosphere, and the first discharge electrode is The present invention relates to an apparatus that performs low-temperature plasma treatment on a sheet-like material along the outer peripheral surface of an electrode between the first and second discharge electrodes.

[Conventional technology]

In recent years, plasma treatment has attracted attention as a treatment method for improving the chemical, physical, mechanical, optical or electrical properties or surface structure of sheet materials such as plastic films and fabrics. In other words, plasma treatment can improve the adhesion, friction properties, texture, gloss or color fastness of sheet materials, or improve the antistatic, surface hardening, roughening, anti-blocking, or darkening of dyed materials. It is known that it is possible to

By the way, a drum-shaped discharge electrode and a plurality of rod-shaped electrodes facing the drum-shaped discharge electrode are provided in a vacuum container, and a sheet-like material is placed along the outer circumferential surface of the drum-shaped discharge electrode. Apparatuses for performing low-temperature plasma treatment on sheet materials by generating plasma discharge between a rod-shaped electrode and a drum-shaped discharge electrode are disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-open Nos. 57-18737 and 57-195750.
It is publicly known from publications such as No. 57-195751 and No. 61-228028.

[Problem that the invention seeks to solve]

However, in conventional plasma devices of this type,
Not only the drum-shaped first discharge electrode but also the second rod-shaped discharge electrode facing the first discharge electrode penetrate through one side wall of the vacuum container and are supported at one end. be. That is, if we look at the second rod-shaped discharge electrode that is the object of the present invention,
(1) The rod-shaped electrode is passed through the vacuum container, and the outside air is sealed at the penetration part with an O-ring made of electrically insulating material, but the input to the rod-shaped electrode is If the size is increased, local light emission and instantaneous abnormal arc discharge occur in the seal portion, making the discharge unstable and making continuous operation impossible, making it impossible to apply large amounts of power. 2)
In addition, for example, a length of 2 m is necessary for industrialization equipment.
A rod-shaped electrode that reaches up to 100 mm is quite heavy, and if you try to support it on one side, its diameter will become large, and the insulator must be made accordingly, making the entire device large and expensive. (3)Also, even if you try to reduce the pitch and increase the number of rods in order to increase the input power from the rod-shaped electrode, it is not possible to increase the number of rods very much due to the above-mentioned structure. Because it is held, the end on the unheld side may sag over time, resulting in uneven quality of the product.

This invention was made in view of the above-mentioned conventional problems, and it reduces the occurrence of local light emission and instantaneous abnormal arc discharge, stabilizes discharge, enables long-term continuous operation, increases input power, and An object of the present invention is to provide a plasma processing apparatus for sheet-like materials that has a large processing capacity.

[Means for solving problems]

In order to achieve the above object, the sheet material plasma processing apparatus of the present invention includes a drum-shaped first discharge electrode along which the sheet material is placed along the outer peripheral surface, and a second discharge electrode opposite to the first discharge electrode. In a plasma processing apparatus for a sheet-like material in which a discharge electrode is provided inside a vacuum container, the second discharge electrode is arranged such that the plurality of rod electrodes constituting it are parallel to each other and the first drum-shaped electrode is Basically, it is constructed in a cage-shaped structure that is held together by holding members at both ends so as to line up on the circumferential surface of a virtual cylinder that covers the circumferential surface, and is held in a vacuum container via an insulating material. The device is equipped with a cooling means through which a cooling medium passes through the cage-shaped second electrode.

[Effect]

According to this invention, a plurality of rod electrodes are held together by a holding member and are held in a vacuum container, so that (1) there is no longer a structure in which the rod electrodes penetrate the vacuum container; Therefore, the discharge becomes unstable due to local light emission or instantaneous abnormal arc discharge at the penetration part, and continuous operation with large electric power is possible. (2) Multiple Since the rod electrode is held at both ends, the diameter of the rod electrode can be made small, which reduces device manufacturing costs. (3) The pitch of the rod electrode can be reduced. The number of rod electrodes can be dramatically increased, and the input power from the rod electrodes can therefore be dramatically increased. (4) The rod electrode is fixed at both ends with holding members. Because the position does not change over time,
There is no unevenness in the quality of the product.Furthermore, since the cage-shaped discharge electrode has a structure in which the rod electrode that constitutes it is cooled using a refrigerant, (5) the surface temperature of the rod electrode can be reduced. It is possible to keep the temperature constant and uniform, so there is no local temperature rise, that is, the sheet material being processed is not heated abnormally and its quality is not altered, and the temperature remains stable for a long time. It is capable of plasma treatment.

〔Example〕

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

In FIG. 1 showing an embodiment of the present invention, a vacuum container 1 includes a drum-shaped drum electrode (first discharge electrode) 2 and a number of rod electrodes 3 ₁ , 3 ₂ facing the drum electrode 2. , . . . 3 _o cage-shaped electrodes (second discharge electrodes) 3 are installed in parallel. An AC power source 4 is connected between these two discharge electrodes 2 and 3.
, the transformer 5 and both discharge electrodes 2 and 3
A voltage is applied via an electric circuit 6 connecting the two.

The vacuum container 1 is made of stainless steel and includes a gas container 7 filled with plasma processing gas and an inlet pipe 8 thereof.
Further, the inside of the vacuum container 1 is kept filled with extremely low pressure plasma processing gas by a vacuum exhaust device 9 and its exhaust pipe 10 for evacuating the inside of the vacuum container 1. Inside the vacuum vessel 1, an unwinding machine 11 and a winding machine 13 are installed on the left and right sides of both the discharge electrodes, respectively. A is a sheet-like material, which is guided by a guide roll 12 from an unwinding machine 11 and is rolled along the outer peripheral surface of the drum electrode 2 which is being rotationally driven.
It is wound up by a winding machine 13. In other words, the unwinding machine 11
The sheet-like material A is continuously subjected to low-temperature plasma treatment on a drum electrode 2 in a vacuum container 1 held in a plasma atmosphere, and then wound up by a winding machine 13.

In FIG. 2, the cylindrical portion 2c of the drum electrode 2 is
It is fixed to a rotating shaft 15 via a flat insulating member 14 . The internal space 2d of the drum electrode 2 is
It is completely sealed off from the internal space 1a of the vacuum container 1 and the atmosphere by the insulating member 14, rubber rings 16, 17, and the like.

The rotating shaft 15 is driven by a motor (not shown) provided outside the vacuum container 1, and has bearing portions 18 and 19 at a penetrating portion 15a penetrating the vacuum container 1 and a left end portion 15b, respectively. Via bearings 18a and 19a,
It is pivotally supported by the vacuum container 1. In other words, the rotation axis 1
5 penetrates the drum electrode 2, and this drum electrode 2
It protrudes from insulating members 14, 14 constituting both side wall portions of, and is pivotally supported at the protruding portions on both sides. Reference numeral 18b denotes a mechanical seal, which is provided on the bearing portion 18 and seals the internal space 1 of the vacuum container 1.
a is sealed from the atmosphere.

The rotating shaft 15 is provided with a long hole 15g, a pipe 15h is inserted into the long hole 15g, and cooling passages 20 and 21 through which a cooling medium flows are provided inside and outside the pipe 15h. 22 is a short pipe (piping material) made of an insulator such as rubber, which connects the cooling passages 20 and 21 to the water jacket 2.
It is connected to a.

In this embodiment, a slip ring 23 is provided inside the vacuum container 1, and this slip ring 23 is provided inside the vacuum container 1.
3 is connected to the side surface 2e of the drum electrode 2 via the conducting wire 24.
connected to a part of

One side of the electrical circuit 6 is inserted into the vacuum container 1 via an introduction terminal 6a that insulates the vacuum container 1 from the electrical circuit 6, and a squirrel cage electrode 3 consisting of rod electrodes 3 ₁ , 3 ₂ , ..., 3 _o . It is connected to the. That is, the vacuum container 1 is electrically insulated from the electric circuit 6 and is maintained in a grounded state. Note that the electric circuit 6 and both discharge electrodes 2 and 3 are kept ungrounded and strictly insulated from the vacuum vessel 1.

According to this embodiment, since the side surface of the drum electrode 2 is covered with the insulating member 14, unnecessary plasma discharge to the side surface 2e is prevented. Furthermore, this prevents the temperature from rising in the vicinity of both side surfaces 2e of the drum electrode 2, so that the entire surface of the sheet-like material can be uniformly plasma-treated.

Furthermore, since the water jacket 2a communicates with the cooling passages 20 and 21 via the short tube 22 made of an insulator, the current flowing from the drum electrode 2 to the rotating shaft 15 through the cooling medium becomes small.
5 from the drum electrode 2 more strictly.

In addition, since the drum electrode 2 is assembled in the atmosphere, the internal space 2d of the drum electrode 2 is filled with the atmosphere and is not a plasma atmosphere, so local light emission does not occur in the internal space 2d and plasma discharge stabilizes.

A large number of rod electrodes 3 ₁ , 3 ₂ , , 3 _o facing the drum electrode 2 (first discharge electrode) have both ends 3
a is fixed to a pair of support members 25, and these support members 25 are supported by the vacuum container via an insulator 28. A discharge electrode 3 (second discharge electrode) with a cage-shaped structure consisting of a large number of rod electrodes 3 ₁ , 3 ₂ , ..., 3 _o
This is further explained in FIG. 3, where the cage electrode 3 is fixed by supporting members 25 ₁ , 25 ₂ so that a large number of rod electrodes 3 ₁ , 3 ₂ , ..., 3 _o are arranged at approximately equal pitches. The supporting members 25 ₁ , 25 ₂ are connected to the vacuum vessel 1 via the insulator 28 using supporting brackets 26 ₁ , 26 ₂ .
I try to keep it that way.

It is more preferable that the pitches of the rod electrodes 3 ₁ , 3 ₂ , ..., 3 _o are evenly spaced, but if manufacturing costs are also taken into account, in practice the pitch variation of at least 50% is the average of the rod electrodes. Preferably, the diameter is three times or less the outer diameter.

The supporting members 25 ₁ , 25 ₂ for arranging and fixing the rod electrodes 3 ₁ , 3 ₂ , ..., 3 _o on the circumferential surface of the virtual cylinder are divided into two parts or Of course, it is also possible to divide it further.

27 ₁ and 27 ₂ in FIGS. 1 and 3 indicate a refrigerant supply port and a refrigerant discharge port, respectively. That is,
The illustrated example shows a diagram in which the entire squirrel cage electrode 3 can be cooled with a cooling medium, and rod electrodes 3 ₁ , 3
₂ ,..., 3 _o are provided with a refrigerant passage through which a cooling medium passes, and the supporting member 25 is connected to the rod electrode 3.
A refrigerant passage is provided for supplying and discharging refrigerant to ₁ , ₃₂ ,..., _3o . In addition, the refrigerant supply ports 27 ₁ and 27 ₂ are each 30 mm
If it is connected to the refrigerant supply/drainage pipe via an insulated short pipe (not shown) made of the above-mentioned insulating material, local light emission,
The occurrence of instantaneous abnormal arc discharge can be greatly reduced compared to the case where the short insulated tube is not used.

FIGS. 4 and 5 show more detailed embodiments of the squirrel cage electrode 3 equipped with a cooling means. FIG. 4 is a front view of the squirrel cage electrode 3, and FIG. 5 is a side view thereof.
In this embodiment, refrigerant passages 3 ₁ a, 3 ₂ a,
The refrigerant passages of the rod electrodes 3 ₁ , 3 ₂ , ..., 3 _o provided with ..., 3 _o a are also the refrigerant passages 25 ₁ a, 25 ₂ a
The rod electrodes are welded and fixed in a cage shape so as to follow the refrigerant passages of the support member provided with the rod electrodes, and the refrigerant passages of each of the rod electrodes arranged in parallel are successively connected in series.
A refrigerant passage in the support member is partitioned by a partition plate 29.

6 and 7 are views of other embodiments of the squirrel cage electrode 3 equipped with cooling means, in which FIG. 6 is a front view of the cage electrode, and FIG. 7 is a side view of the same. In this embodiment, the partition plate 29 in the case of the previous embodiment is
In this example, the refrigerant passage of one support member serves as a common inlet side cooling passage for the refrigerant passages of each rod electrode, and the refrigerant passage of the other support member serves as a common inlet side cooling path of the refrigerant passage of each rod electrode. This serves as a common outlet side cooling path.

FIG. 8 shows the squirrel cage electrode 3 equipped with cooling means.
This is a partially enlarged cross-sectional view of a connecting portion between the support member 25 and each rod electrode _3X , which corresponds to FIG. 7 and is still another embodiment. In this embodiment, an orifice 30 is arranged in _the refrigerant passage ₃ This is an example of how the system is supplied.

That is, in this invention, the drum-shaped first
A second electrode consisting of a plurality of rod electrodes facing the discharge electrode of
As explained in the previous embodiment, the discharge electrode has a structure in which the plurality of rod electrodes are held together on a support member, so there is no structure in which the rod electrode penetrates the vacuum container, and therefore, the structure in which the rod electrode penetrates the vacuum container is eliminated. In addition, it is possible to fundamentally solve the problem of unstable discharge in some cases, and it is also possible to make the rod electrodes smaller in diameter and the pitch. Since a large number of electrodes can be arranged around the drum-shaped first discharge electrode, it is possible to apply large input power and perform plasma processing efficiently. By keeping the surface temperature constant and uniform, stable continuous processing is possible for a longer period of time, and this invention greatly improves the practicality of industrial plasma processing equipment. It is something to do.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As explained above, according to the present invention, it is possible to prevent power wastage in a plasma processing apparatus for sheet-shaped materials that consumes a large amount of power, and also prevent abnormal arc discharge and stabilize discharge, so that the processing apparatus The input power is increased to obtain a large throughput per device, that is, an industrial throughput, and continuous operation of the device becomes possible.

Although the explanation so far has been given as an example of the batch device shown in FIG. Although not disposed in the vacuum vessel 1 and not shown in the drawings, it goes without saying that the present invention is also applied to continuous devices disposed before and after the preliminary vacuum provided before and after the vacuum vessel 1.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram showing an example of this explanation;
Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of Fig. 1, Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the squirrel cage electrode, Fig. 4 is a partially cut front view of the squirrel cage electrode equipped with cooling means, and Fig. 5 is a partial view of the squirrel cage electrode. FIG. 6 is a partially cut-away front view of a squirrel-cage electrode equipped with another cooling means;
FIG. 7 is a partially cutaway side view, and FIG. 8 is a partially sectional view of the squirrel cage electrode showing still another cooling means. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1... Vacuum vessel, 1a... Inner space, 2... First discharge electrode (drum electrode), 2a... Cooling passage (water jacket), 2b... Side wall portion, 2c... Cylindrical portion, 2d... Internal space, 2e... Side part, 3...
2nd discharge electrode (rod electrode), 3a...refrigerant passage,
6... Electric circuit, 7... Gas supply source (gas container),
14... Insulating member, 15... Rotating shaft, 15a, 1
5b...Protruding part (penetration part, left end part), 20, 21
... Cooling passage, 22 ... Piping material (short pipe), 25
... Support member, 25a ... Refrigerant passage, 26 ... Refrigerant supply/discharge port, 27 ... Support bracket, 28 ...
Insulator, 29...refrigerant passage partition plate, 30...refrigerant orifice, A...sheet-like material.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A seal that includes a drum-shaped first discharge electrode with a sheet-like material along its outer circumferential surface, and a second discharge electrode that faces the first discharge electrode inside a vacuum container. In the plasma processing apparatus for a shaped object, the second
The discharge electrodes are held together by a holding member at both ends thereof so that the plurality of rod electrodes constituting the electrodes are parallel to each other and lined up on a virtual cylindrical circumferential surface that covers the circumferential surface of the first drum-shaped electrode. What is claimed is: 1. A plasma processing apparatus for sheet-like materials, characterized in that the apparatus has a cage-like structure and is held in a vacuum container via an insulating material. 2. The rod electrode constituting the cage-shaped structure has a refrigerant passage therein through which a cooling medium passes, and the support member constitutes a cooling path that sequentially connects the refrigerant passages of the rod electrode in series. A plasma processing apparatus for sheet-like materials according to claim 1. 3. The rod electrode constituting the cage-shaped structure has a refrigerant passage therein through which a cooling medium passes, and the support member has a cooling path connecting each inlet side and each outlet side of the refrigerant passage of the rod electrode in parallel. A plasma processing apparatus for sheet-like materials according to claim 1, characterized in that: