Manufacturing facility and method of manufacturing

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9610602-B2
Application number	US-201314376955-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Feb 6, 2013
Priority date	Feb 7, 2012
Publication date	Apr 4, 2017
Grant date	Apr 4, 2017

Abstract

A manufacturing facility is provided for manufacturing a product on a foil (FO). The manufacturing facility comprises a deposition zone ( 10 ) formed by a clean room wherein at least a first and a second deposition facility ( 21, 22 ) are arranged for depositing a layer of a material on the foil. The manufacturing facility further comprises at least one processing facility ( 31 ) for processing the deposited layer, said processing facility being arranged outside said deposition zone and comprising a processing trajectory with a first path ( 31 a ) away from said deposition zone, towards a turning facility ( 41 ) and with a second path ( 31 b ) from said turning facility back towards said deposition zone.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A manufacturing facility for manufacturing a product on a foil, the manufacturing facility comprising a deposition zone wherein a first deposition facility is arranged for depositing a layer of a material on the foil, the manufacturing facility further comprising at least one processing facility for processing the deposited layer, said at least one processing facility being arranged outside said deposition zone and comprising a processing trajectory with a first path in a first direction away from said deposition zone, towards a turn, and away from the turn towards a second path back towards said deposition zone, the manufacturing facility configured for redirecting the foil within the deposition zone wherein the deposition zone is a clean room having an exit and an entry, wherein said first path leads in a first direction away from said exit and said second path leads back towards said entry,
wherein at least one second deposition facility is arranged in the deposition zone, the foil being guided along said first and said at least a second deposition facility via the at least one processing facility, and
wherein the processing trajectory is enclosed by a housing, arranged in a processing room, the processing room having a clean room classification that is at least 10 times higher than that of the clean room.

2. The manufacturing facility according to claim 1 , wherein said redirecting of the foil within said deposition zone is towards an input of the at least one second deposition facility.

3. The manufacturing facility according to claim 1 , wherein the deposition zone comprises a first sub-zone wherein the first and the at least one second deposition facility are arranged and a second sub-zone is configured for said redirecting of the foil within said deposition zone, the second sub-zone being disjunct from the first sub-zone.

4. The manufacturing facility according to claim 1 , comprising at least three deposition facilities that are mutually arranged in-line.

5. The manufacturing facility according to claim 1 , wherein the first and the second path of the at least one processing facility are arranged parallel to each other at a distance of at most twenty times a width of the foil.

6. The manufacturing facility according to claim 1 , wherein said turn comprises a first and a second guidance bar for the foil, each having a direction that is oblique with respect to the first direction and the first and the second guidance bars being arranged transverse with respect to each other.

7. The manufacturing facility according to claim 1 , wherein said turn and said processing facility share a common housing.

8. The manufacturing facility according to claim 1 , comprising an alignment facility that is integrated with said turn and/or is configured for said redirecting of the foil within said deposition zone.

9. The manufacturing facility according to claim 1 , wherein the first deposition facility and/or the at least one second deposition facility are selected from the group consisting of a printing facility and a coating facility.

10. The manufacturing facility according to claim 1 , wherein the at least one processing facility is selected from the group consisting of a drying facility, a sintering facility, an annealing facility, a curing facility, a fusing facility, and an ablation facility.

11. The manufacturing facility according to claim 1 , wherein one or more of the first and the at least one second deposition facility comprises in addition to a deposition unit for depositing a layer on the foil, one or more of an unwind unit, a first cleaning and/or alignment unit, a first alignment unit, a post cure, an inspection unit, a second cleaning and/or alignment unit and a winding unit.

12. The manufacturing facility according to claim 1 , wherein said processing trajectory is arranged in a processing room, and wherein the area of the clean room is at most one third of the total area occupied by the clean room and the processing room.

13. The manufacturing facility according to claim 1 , wherein said turn comprises air flotation bearings.

14. A method for manufacturing a product on a foil, comprising the steps of
in a deposition zone being a clean room depositing a first layer on the foil with a first deposition step,
guiding the foil with said first layer outside the deposition zone along a first path in a first direction away from said deposition zone and turning back along a second path towards said deposition zone, while processing said first layer along the first and/or the second path, wherein the first path and the second path are enclosed by a housing, arranged in a processing room, the processing room having a clean room classification that is at least 10 times higher than that of the clean room, and
depositing a second layer on the foil with a second deposition step after return to the deposition zone.

15. The manufacturing facility according to claim 5 , wherein the distance is at most ten times the width of the foil.

Assignees

• Nederlandse Organisatie Voor Toegepast-Natuurwetenschappelijk Onderzoek Tno

Inventors

• De Vries Ike Gerke
• Andriessen Hieronymus Antonius Josephus Maria
• Langen Arjan

Classifications

• H10P72/0462

  characterised by the construction of the processing chambers, e.g. modular processing chambers · CPC title

• H10P72/0456 Primary

  in-line arrangement · CPC title

• B05C9/14

  the auxiliary operation involving heating {or cooling} · CPC title

• B05B13/0221 Primary

  characterised by the means for moving or conveying the objects or other work, e.g. conveyor belts (B05B13/0207 takes precedence; conveyors in general B65G) · CPC title

• B05D1/38

  with intermediate treatment (intermediate treatment per se B05D3/00) · CPC title