JPH047014B2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Industrial Application Field] The present invention relates to a film traveling device in a thin film forming apparatus, etc. that continuously forms a magnetic thin film, etc. on the surface of a polymer film, etc. in the manufacturing process of magnetic tapes, etc. It is.

[Conventional technology]

When forming a magnetic film for magnetic recording or a non-magnetic film for packaging or the like on the surface of a polymer film or the like, means such as vacuum evaporation or sputtering are often used. In this means, when the polymer film, etc. is a long-wound one and a thin film is continuously formed on it, a film running device is required to make the polymer film, etc. run continuously and stably. be.

Conventionally, there have been devices of this type as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5. In the first conventional example shown in FIG. 4, 1 is a can made of a metallic cylinder;
A driven nip roller 2 made of a cylindrical rubber material is used to roll the polymer film 3 around the can 1 more than halfway around the can 1.
The portion from the start of winding to the end of winding on the can 1 is brought into contact with the circumferential surface of the can 1, so that the film can run without slipping on the circumferential surface of the can 1. 5 is a vapor deposition crucible when this apparatus is a vacuum evaporation apparatus, and is a sputter target when this apparatus is a sputtering apparatus.

In a second conventional example shown in FIG. 5, an intermediate roller 6 is used in place of the nip roller 2.
The difference from the first conventional example is that since the intermediate roller 6 is located away from the can 1, heat is not directly conducted from the can 1. Therefore, even if the can 1 is heated to a high temperature, the temperature of the intermediate roller 6 will not rise significantly. Further, the rotational speed and direction of the can 1 and the intermediate roller 6 are regulated by gears (not shown) so that the circumferential speeds and moving directions of their contact surfaces coincide, and a motor (not shown) controls them. By driving the can 1, the polymer film 3 wrapped around the can 1 is made to run at a predetermined speed without slipping. However, for reasons explained later,
The winding circumferential speed of the can 1 and the feeding circumferential speed of the intermediate roller 6 do not precisely match.

[Problem that the invention seeks to solve]

In the film transport device of a conventional thin film forming apparatus, etc., the nip roller 2 is made of a rubber-based material, and therefore, due to the properties of the rubber-based material, it is necessary to limit the upper limit of the operating temperature of the nip roller 2 to a low value. However, in perpendicular magnetic recording media such as Co-Cr, when forming a thin film, the temperature of Can 1 is
It is necessary to heat it to over 100℃. In addition, even if the film is a non-magnetic film, if the adhesive strength of the thin film to the polymer film 3 is to be increased,
-Like Cr, it is also necessary to increase the temperature of the can 1.

In addition, if you ignore the upper limit of the operating temperature of the Nitsu Pro roller 2 made of the above-mentioned rubber material and heat it to 100℃ or more,
In addition to deforming the nip roller 2, this also generates special gas, which deteriorates the characteristics of the magnetic film.

In addition, in order to increase the upper limit of the operating temperature of the nip roller 2, when the nip roller 2 is made of a highly heat-resistant metal material, the metal material has poor elasticity compared to the rubber-based material described above, so the above-mentioned metal When it comes into contact with the can 1 made of aluminum with the polymer film 3 interposed therebetween, elastic adhesion cannot be obtained. Therefore, stable and continuous film running with high precision cannot be expected, and the nip roller 2 and can 1 made of the metal materials cannot absorb the effects of slight dimensional errors and poor surface finish, As a result, the can 1, the nip roller 2, and the polymer film 3 damage each other.

As described above, although the nip roller 2 is required to have both elasticity and heat resistance, it has the disadvantage that it is difficult to select a material that can satisfy these requirements.

Furthermore, the diameter D1 of the can 1 described above is approximately 50 cm, and the diameter D2 of the intermediate roller 6 is approximately 10 cm. In order to completely match the ratio of the number of teeth of the gear to the ratio of the diameters D1 and D2 described above, it is necessary to precisely finish and maintain D1 and D2 in micron units. This is not possible due to circumferential surface polishing, thermal expansion, etc. Therefore, in the device of the second conventional example, there is a slight difference in the film feeding speed between the can 1 and the intermediate roller 6, and this speed difference is caused by the state of the circumferential surfaces of the can 1 and the intermediate roller 6. It can always fluctuate slightly depending on the situation. Therefore, the polymer film 3 and the film-forming surface constantly undergo slight expansion and contraction as the film travels, thereby generating wrinkles. In particular, when magnetic films are formed on both sides of the polymer film 3, the wrinkles become noticeable.

As described above, the above-mentioned can 1 and intermediate roller 6 had the drawback that high-precision finishing was required in terms of diameter dimension and circumferential surface polishing.The present invention was made in order to eliminate the above-mentioned drawbacks. A film used in a thin film forming apparatus, etc., in which a metal material with high heat resistance can be used as a material for the nip roller 2 by having a structure in which only the roller surfaces near both ends of the nip roller 2 are in contact with the polymer film 3. The purpose is to provide traveling equipment.

[Means for solving problems]

In order to solve this problem, the present invention reduces the diameter of the auxiliary roller made of a heat-resistant material such as metal in areas other than the vicinity of both ends in the axial direction, and the roller surface formed only in the vicinity of both ends allows the polymer film to be The film comes into contact with the main roller that runs around the film, causing the film to travel.

[Effect]

In a device in which a polymer film or the like is sandwiched between a rotating main roller and a sub-roller and the film is made to run, when both of the rollers described above are made of a material such as a metal with low elasticity and high rigidity, the polymer film described above is Although scratches and the like occur in the portions of the film etc. that are in contact with the roller surface of the sub-roller, scratches and the like do not occur in the portions that are not in contact with the sub-roller.

〔Example〕

1 to 3 are views showing embodiments of the present invention, in which FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the first embodiment, FIG. 2 is a plan view of main parts of the second embodiment, and FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the first embodiment. FIG. 3 is a plan view of the main parts of the third embodiment.

Components having the same effect are given the same reference numerals throughout each figure.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 2a is a nip roller made of metal such as stainless steel or aluminum that can freely rotate.The nip roller 2a leaves only the peripheral surface near both ends in the axial direction as a roller surface 4a, and the majority of the area near the center. The diameter is made thinner than the roller surface 4a, so that only the shaft remains. Therefore, the roller surface 4a comes into pressure contact with only the vicinity of both sides of the polymer film 3 in the width direction, and the can 1
The above-mentioned polymer film 3 is sandwiched between the two and is made to continuously travel precisely and stably.

FIG. 2 shows a second embodiment, and is a plan view showing a drum-shaped nip roller 2b as an application example of the nip roller 2a. The nip roller 2b is characterized by the shape of the portions other than the roller surface 4b, and may be formed into an appropriate shape depending on the convenience of machine tools such as lathes and polishers.

FIG. 3 is a plan view of a third embodiment, showing a nip roller 2c as an application example of the nip roller 2b. The nip roller 2c has a roller surface 4
c forms a conical surface, and the roller surface 4c has a shape that converges at a small angle θ from both extreme ends in the axial direction of the nip roller 2c toward the center. That is, the diameter of the roller 4c is gradually reduced from the extreme ends in the axial direction of the roller 2c toward the center.

Further, the roller surfaces 4a and 4b may be formed into conical surfaces having the small angle θ (not shown).

Further, the nip rollers 2a, 2b, 2c mentioned above are made of metal such as stainless steel or aluminum.
By coating the roller surfaces 4a, 4b, 4c of c with a heat-resistant polymer film such as polyimide (not shown), the roller surfaces 4a, 4c made of the metal described above,
In addition to preventing damage to the polymer film 3 from the metal rollers 4b and 4c, it also prevents slipping between the roller surfaces 4a, 4b, 4c and the polymer film 3, allowing the film to run precisely and stably. urge

As described above, in the present invention, only the roller surfaces near both ends in the axial direction of the nip rollers 2a, 2b, 2c contact near both sides of the polymer film 3 in the width direction. The occurrence of troubles such as the above-mentioned scratches can be limited to only the surface. Therefore, by cutting off the vicinity of both sides of the polymer film 3, most of the remaining part can be made into a complete product.

It should be noted that, of the sub-roller made of a heat-resistant material such as metal, which is the gist of the present invention, the polymer film, etc. can be pressed against the main roller using only the roller surfaces near both ends of the sub-roller in the axial direction. All such configurations are included in the present invention. Further, the number of the above-mentioned sub rollers is not limited to two. Furthermore, ceramic may be used as the heat-resistant material for the sub-roller.

〔Effect of the invention〕

The present invention is a film running device for a thin film forming apparatus or the like that applies a magnetic film or the like to a long-wound polymer film or the like by means such as vacuum deposition or sputtering, and includes a main roller and a sub-roller. The auxiliary roller is brought into contact with the polymer film, etc. that is wrapped around the main roller, so that the polymer film, etc. is caused to run continuously and stably.
In a film traveling device in a thin film forming device or the like, the sub roller is made of a heat-resistant material such as metal,
The diameter of the auxiliary roller near the center in the axial direction is made smaller than the diameter near both ends in the axial direction, so that only the roller surface near both ends contacts the polymer film, etc. near both sides in the axial direction. Therefore, it is possible to form a thin film over most of the polymer film without causing wrinkles, scratches, etc., without having to completely match the rotational peripheral speeds of the main roller and the sub roller in micron units.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

1 to 3 are views showing embodiments of the present invention, in which FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the first embodiment, FIG. 2 is a plan view of main parts of the second embodiment, and FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a plan view of main parts of a third embodiment. FIGS. 4 and 5 are perspective views showing first and second conventional examples, respectively. 1: can, 2, 2a, 2b, 2c: nip roller, 3: polymer film, 4, 4a, 4c: roller surface, 5: deposition crucible or target, 6: intermediate roller, D1: diameter of can 1, D2: Diameter of intermediate roller 6.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A film traveling device in a thin film forming apparatus, etc. that applies a magnetic film, etc. to a long-wound polymer film, etc. by means such as vacuum deposition or sputtering, and comprises a main roller and a sub-roller. In a film running device for a thin film forming apparatus or the like, the sub roller is brought into contact with the polymer film, etc. that is passed around the main roller, and the polymer film, etc. is made to run continuously and stably. The roller is made of a heat-resistant material such as metal, and the diameter of the auxiliary roller near the center in the axial direction is smaller than the diameter near both ends in the axial direction, so that the polymer film is formed only on the roller surface near the both ends. 1. A film transport device for a thin film forming apparatus, etc., characterized in that the film travel device is adapted to abut near both sides in the axial direction of the film. 2. A film transport device in a thin film forming apparatus or the like according to claim 1, characterized in that a heat-resistant polymer film is formed on the roller surface of the auxiliary roller.