Roll exchange chamber, roll-to-roll processing system and method of continuously providing a flexible substrate
AssigneeElevated Materials US LLC
InventorsFrank Schnappenberger, Thomas Leipnitz
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A roll exchange chamber for exchanging a substrate roll is described. The roll exchange chamber includes a rotatable base construction being rotatable around a central axis. The base construction comprises a first roll holder for holding a first substrate roll, a second roll holder for holding a second substrate roll, and a wall for providing a first compartment and a second compartment in the roll exchange chamber. The wall is arranged between the first roll holder and the second roll holder. Further, a roll-to-roll processing system with a roll exchange chamber as well as a method of continuously providing a flexible substrate in a roll-to-roll processing system are described.
Claims20
A roll exchange chamber for exchanging a substrate roll, comprising:
- a rotatable base construction being rotatable around a central axis, the base construction comprising:
- a first roll holder for holding a first substrate roll;
- a second roll holder for holding a second substrate roll;
- and—a wall for providing a first compartment and a second compartment in the roll exchange chamber, the wall being arranged between the first roll holder and the second roll holder.
A roll-to-roll processing system for processing a flexible substrate, comprising:
- one or more vacuum chambers comprising at least one processing chamber having a deposition unit for depositing material on the flexible substrate;
- and
- a roll exchange chamber for exchanging a substrate roll, comprising:
- a rotatable base construction being rotatable around a central axis, the base construction comprising:
- a first roll holder for holding a first substrate roll;
- a second roll holder for holding a second substrate roll;
- and
- a wall for providing a first compartment and a second compartment in the roll exchange chamber, the wall being arranged between the first roll holder and the second roll holder.
A method of continuously providing a flexible substrate in a roll-to-roll processing system, the method comprising:
- exchanging an empty first substrate roll provided in a first compartment of a roll exchange chamber with a second substrate roll with a wound-up flexible substrate, wherein exchanging comprises rotating a rotatable base construction around a central axis such that the first substrate roll coupled with a first roll holder of the base construction is transferred to a second compartment of the roll exchange chamber and the second substrate roll coupled with a second roll holder of the base construction is transferred to the first compartment;
- and
- connecting a trailing end of a flexible substrate unwound from the first substrate roll with a leading end of the flexible substrate provided on the second substrate roll.
Method of manufacturing a coated substrate using at least one of a roll exchange chamber, a roll-to-roll
- processing system, and a method of continuously providing a flexible substrate in a roll-to-roll processing system, wherein the roll exchange chamber comprises:
- a rotatable base construction being rotatable around a central axis, the base construction comprising:
- a first roll holder for holding a first substrate roll;
- a second roll holder for holding a second substrate roll;
- and
- a wall for providing a first compartment and a second compartment in the roll exchange chamber, the wall
- being arranged between the first roll holder and the second roll holder, wherein the roll-to-roll processing system comprises:
- one or more vacuum chambers comprising at least one processing chamber having a deposition unit for depositing material on the flexible substrate;
- and
- the roll exchange chamber, and
- wherein the method comprises:
- exchanging an empty first substrate roll provided in a first compartment of a roll exchange chamber with a second substrate roll with a wound-up flexible substrate, wherein exchanging comprises rotating a rotatable base construction around a central axis such that the first substrate roll coupled with a first roll holder of the base construction is transferred to a second compartment of the roll exchange chamber
- and the second substrate roll coupled with a second roll holder of the base construction is transferred to the first compartment;
- and
- connecting a trailing end of a flexible substrate unwound from the first substrate roll with a leading end of the flexible substrate provided on the second substrate roll.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.