WO2014010434A1

WO2014010434A1 - Method for forming film on spherical body

Info

Publication number: WO2014010434A1
Application number: PCT/JP2013/067713
Authority: WO
Inventors: 幸男岩本
Original assignee: 株式会社メイハン
Priority date: 2012-07-13
Filing date: 2013-06-27
Publication date: 2014-01-16
Also published as: JP5749223B2; JP2014018257A

Abstract

[Problem] To provide a method or the like for forming a spherical body such as a golf ball or the like in which the film thickness of an outer cover layer for emitting iridescent light can be formed as thin as possible when the outermost cover layer is to be formed on the surface. [Solution] An electron beam is emitted onto silicon dioxide to form a first film having a low refractive index on the lower surface of a golf ball (7) mounted on a rail (3). The golf ball (7) is moved to a contact member (6) and made to rotate, and an electron beam is emitted again onto a different surface to form the first film on the entire surface. Next, an electron beam is emitted into a crucible (52) containing titanium oxide, and a second film having a high refractive index is similarly formed on the lower surface. The golf ball (7) is moved to the contact member (6) and made to rotate, and an electron beam is emitted again onto a different surface to form the second film on the entire surface.

Description

Method for forming spherical film

The present invention relates to a film forming method in which a film emitting rainbow light can be formed on the surface of a spherical body such as a golf ball.

In recent years, various techniques have been proposed in which the surface of a golf ball is given rainbow light to enhance fashionability.

For example, in Patent Document 1 below, an outermost cover layer that emits rainbow light is formed on the outer side of a cover layer of a golf ball, and as the outermost cover layer, aluminum, nickel, stainless steel, iron, copper , Powder that improves the reflection performance by mirroring metal such as silver, powder that emits rainbow color light by depositing fine grooves on transparent resin film such as polyester resin, or multi-layer resin film of iris color A technique is disclosed in which a glittering additive in which a powder such as the above is arranged is kneaded and coated on the surface of a golf ball with an injection molding machine to form an outermost cover layer.

JP 2001-87423 A (12th paragraph etc.)

However, when the outermost cover layer is formed by such a method to emit iridescent light, the following problems occur.

That is, when the outermost cover layer is formed by the injection molding machine as described above, the outermost cover layer is peeled off unless the thickness is increased because the inner cover layer is independent. For this reason, in Patent Document 1, the thickness is set to 0.5 to 3.0 mm. However, when such a process is performed on a commercially available ball, the outer dimensions do not fall within the standard range.

Further, when an outermost cover layer is formed on a golf ball with such an injection molding machine, the golf ball must be placed in a state of floating in a mold in the injection molding machine. It is very difficult to place the golf ball, and even if the golf ball is placed in the mold, if the center position is shifted, the thickness of the outermost cover layer is changed.

Furthermore, when the outermost cover layer is formed by injection molding, only materials that can be used for injection molding can be used as the material, and there is a problem that the range of selection of materials becomes extremely narrow.

Therefore, the present invention has been made paying attention to the above problems, and when forming an outermost cover layer that emits rainbow light on the surface, the film thickness can be made as thin as possible to achieve high brightness and visibility. An object is to provide a method for forming an excellent spherical body such as a golf ball.

That is, in order to solve the above problems, the present invention forms a first film having a low refractive index on the surface of a spherical body by irradiating the first evaporation material with an electron beam, and the first film is formed. And a step of irradiating the second evaporation material with an electron beam to form a second coating having a higher refractive index than the first coating on the outer surface of the first coating. It is to be formed.

In this way, the first film and the second film can be formed very thin by the electron beam, and a film having iridescent light can be formed in a state close to the standard size of a commercially available spherical body. In addition, since the film is thin, it does not affect the ballistic distance, and the film is formed by high-temperature heat deposition using an electron beam. Therefore, the film is formed of various materials such as refractory metals, oxides, compounds, and sublimation substances. Will be able to. In addition, by forming a film that emits rainbow-colored light in this way, it is possible to improve the brightness by increasing the reflection and improve the visibility, and when a metal material is used as the second film, the friction coefficient is increased. Will be able to.

Further, in such an invention, the spherical body is placed on the mounting member in a stationary state, and the electron beam is irradiated to the first evaporation material in that state, and the orientation of the spherical body is sequentially changed again in the stationary state. The first evaporation material is irradiated with an electron beam to form a first film having a low refractive index on the entire surface. Similarly, the second evaporating material is irradiated with an electron beam, and the direction of the spherical body is sequentially changed to again irradiate the second evaporating material with an electron beam in a stationary state to form a second film having a high refractive index on the entire surface. Form.

In this way, since the electron beam is irradiated while being placed on the mounting member in a stationary state, a film can be reliably formed on the surface facing the irradiation direction.

Furthermore, when changing the orientation of the spherical body, the abutting member is brought into contact with the surface side of the spherical body different from the film formed by the electron beam irradiation, thereby changing the direction for forming the film on the spherical body. Make it changeable.

In this way, the contact member is brought into contact with a surface different from the surface immediately after the film is formed to change the direction of the surface, so that the film immediately after the film is formed can be easily damaged without being damaged. The orientation of the spherical surface can be changed by the configuration.

In addition, the mounting member is composed of a rail on which a spherical body is rotatably mounted, and revolves while the spherical body is mounted on the rail.

If it does in this way, a film can be formed in the middle of putting and revolving a plurality of spherical bodies on a rail, and the direction of a surface can be changed by rolling a spherical body on a rail. It becomes like this.

According to the present invention, the first evaporation material is irradiated with an electron beam to form a first film having a low refractive index on the surface of the spherical body, and after the first film is formed, the second evaporation material is applied to the second evaporation material. And a step of forming a second film having a higher refractive index than that of the first film on the outer surface of the first film by irradiating an electron beam, and forming a film on the surface of the spherical body. The first film and the second film can be formed very thin by the beam, and a film having iridescent light can be formed in a state close to the standard dimension of a commercially available spherical body. In addition, since the film is formed by high-temperature heating vapor deposition using an electron beam, the film can be formed from various materials such as refractory metals, oxides, compounds, and sublimation substances.

The figure which shows the film formation apparatus in one embodiment of this invention The perspective view which shows the rail and support member in the same form The figure which shows the state which rotated the golf ball with the rotation means in the same form The figure which shows the EB irradiation means in the same form

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

The spherical film forming method in this embodiment is such that a first film having a low refractive index and a second film having a high refractive index can be formed on the surface of the golf ball 7. The coating can be formed by electron beam evaporation. The coating formed in this manner allows rainbow-colored light to be emitted by interference between the light reflected on the surface of the second coating and the light reflected on the interface between the first coating and the second coating. Is. A manufacturing apparatus for manufacturing such a golf ball 7 will be described below.

As shown in FIG. 1, the golf ball 7 manufacturing apparatus includes a rail 3 for placing the golf ball 7 in a cylindrical vacuum chamber 2 and a revolving means for revolving the rail 3. 4 and a rotating means (abutting member 6) for rotating the golf ball 7 placed on the rail 3 is provided. Then, the golf ball 7 is positioned above the crucible 52 constituting the EB irradiation means 5, the evaporation material in the crucible 52 is evaporated by the electron beam irradiated from the electron gun 51, and the lower surface of the golf ball 7 is caused by the evaporation flow. A film formed by vapor deposition can be formed on the side. Then, the golf ball 7 is brought into contact with the contact member 6 while the rail 3 on which the golf ball 7 is placed is revolved, and the direction thereof is changed so that a film is sequentially formed on the entire surface of the golf ball 7. Is.

As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, the rail 3 used in this manufacturing apparatus is configured by a pair of ring-shaped members supported by a support member 31, and between the ring-shaped members. A golf ball 7 is placed thereon. The rail 3 is supported by a support member 31 provided on the outer lower side thereof, and is rotated by holding the support member 31 on a guide member 32 provided on the inner wall surface of the vacuum chamber 2 and sliding it. It is like that. The rail 3 configured in this manner is configured such that the golf ball 7 can be disposed at an arbitrary position, and the rail 3 is stopped by dimples formed on the surface of the golf ball 7. Yes.

The revolution means 4 for rotating the rail 3 rotates the support member 31 to rotate the rail 3 supported by the support member 31, thereby causing the golf ball 7 to revolve. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 1, the revolution means 4 allows the rotating shaft 42 to pass through a motor 41 provided outside the top of the vacuum chamber 2 and extends the arm 43 in the radial direction therefrom. The support member 31 is rotated via the arm 43 and the connection rod 44 by connecting and rotating the connection rod 44 from the tip portion toward the support member 31.

On the other hand, the rotation means can change the direction of the surface facing the EB irradiation means 5 described later by rolling the golf ball 7 placed on the rail 3, and in this embodiment, The contact member 6 contacts the golf ball 7 placed on the rail 3. The contact member 6 is made of a relatively soft material that comes into contact with the upper surface side of the golf ball, or a flexible member, and as shown in FIG. The golf ball 7 that has revolved is brought into contact with the golf ball 7 to be rotated on the rail 3. Thus, even when the golf ball 7 is rotated by the contact member 6, the golf ball 7 is immediately stopped by the dimples formed on the surface thereof.

The EB irradiation means 5 irradiates the golf ball 7 with an evaporative flow so that a film can be formed on the lower surface side of the golf ball 7. As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. And a plurality of crucibles 52 provided adjacent thereto. The crucible 52 is provided below the gap of the rail 3 so that a film can be formed on the lower surface side of the golf ball 7 sandwiched between the rails 3. Here, two kinds of materials are used as the evaporation material, and for example, silicon dioxide for forming a film having a relatively low refractive index is used as the first evaporation material. In addition, titanium dioxide having a higher refractive index than this is used as the second evaporation material. These evaporating materials are put in independent crucibles 52, and by rotating each crucible 52, a material to be irradiated with an electron beam can be selected. That is, when forming the first film using the first evaporation material, the crucible 52 containing the first evaporation material is positioned at the irradiation position of the electron beam, while when forming the second film, The crucible 52 is rotated to position the crucible 52 into which the second evaporation material is placed at the electron beam irradiation position. Thus, by replacing the crucible 52, two types of coatings can be formed while the vacuum chamber 2 is closed and the golf ball 7 is placed on the rail 3.

Next, a method of forming a film emitting rainbow light on the surface of the golf ball 7 using the film forming apparatus 1 configured as described above will be described.

First, when forming a film that emits rainbow light on the surface of the golf ball 7, the golf ball 7 to be processed is placed on the rail 3 at regular intervals. At this time, the distance between the respective golf balls 7 is set so as not to contact the adjacent golf balls 7 when the golf balls 7 are rotated by the contact members 6. A plurality of golf balls 7 are arranged at such positions, and a first evaporation material (silicon dioxide) and a second evaporation material (titanium dioxide) are placed in each crucible 52, respectively. Then, the crucible 52 containing the first evaporating material is positioned at the electron beam irradiation position.

Then, after placing the golf ball 7 and the evaporation material in this way, the door of the vacuum chamber 2 is closed and the air is evacuated by a vacuum pump. Then, in a state of high vacuum (4 × 10 ⁻⁵ TORR is desirable), an electron beam is irradiated from the electron gun 51 toward the first evaporation material. Then, the first evaporating material evaporates at a high temperature by the electron beam and is emitted upward as an evaporating flow from the first evaporating material to form a film on the lower surface side of the golf ball 7 placed on the rail 3. At this time, the rail 3 is rotated by the revolution means 4 so that the thickness of the film can be set by the rotation speed. Then, after a film is formed on the lower surface side of the golf ball 7, the rail 3 is rotated (the golf ball 7 is revolved), and the contact member 6 is brought into contact with the upper surface side of the golf ball 7 on which no vapor deposition is performed. Then, the golf ball 7 rotates on the rail 3, and the surface different from the previously deposited surface becomes the lower surface and revolves up to the crucible 52 again. Then, in the same manner, a new lower surface is vapor-deposited, and this is repeated to form a first film on the entire surface. At this time, the portion in contact with the rail 3 is not deposited, but the upper portion slightly away from the rail 3 can be deposited by the deposition flow that wraps around from the rail 3 and repeats revolution and rotation. As a result, a film can be formed on the entire surface. At this time, the inside of the vacuum chamber 2 may be ionized to be highly active particles with an RF power source, so that the adhesion is improved. However, in this case, since the power source of the electron gun is also an RF power source, abnormal discharge may occur, and it is preferable to block the vicinity of the electron gun with a shield or a shutter.

Next, after forming the first film in this manner, the crucible 52 is rotated in a state where the vacuum chamber 2 is evacuated, and the second evaporation material is positioned at the irradiation position of the electron beam.

Then, similarly, the second evaporating material that has become high temperature by the electron beam irradiation is released as an evaporating flow, and a film is formed on the lower surface side of the golf ball 7 placed on the rail 3. Also at this time, the rail 3 is rotated by the revolution means 4 so that the thickness of the coating can be set by the rotation speed. Then, after a film is formed on the lower surface side of the golf ball 7, the rail 3 is rotated (the golf ball 7 is revolved), and the contact member 6 is brought into contact with the upper surface side of the golf ball 7 on which no vapor deposition is performed. Then, the golf ball 7 rotates on the rail 3, the different surface becomes the lower surface and is stationary, and revolves on the crucible 52 and is deposited again. Thereafter, the same operation is repeated to form a second film on the entire surface. At this time, preferably, the first coating has a thickness of 200 to 600 Å, and the second coating has a thickness of 600 to 1000 Å. By depositing these first and second films without returning them to the atmosphere, a highly adherent thin film can be formed even at the time of impact.

As described above, according to the embodiment, the step of irradiating the silicon dioxide with the electron beam to form the first film having a low refractive index on the lower surface of the golf ball 7, the titanium dioxide is irradiated with the electron beam, And forming the coating of the golf ball 7 on the outer surface of the first coating by forming a second coating having a higher refractive index than that of the first coating. The film can be formed thin, and a film having rainbow light can be formed in a state close to the standard size of the commercially available golf ball 7. That is, the low-refractive index coating and the high-refractive index coating can interfere with each reflected light, and the golf ball 7 can be provided with iridescent light. In addition, since the film is formed by high-temperature heating vapor deposition using an electron beam, an extremely thin film can be formed using a material such as silicon dioxide or titanium dioxide.

Further, the golf ball 7 on the rail 3 is revolved in a stationary state, and the first film and the second film are formed in the course of passing over the crucible 52, so that the film can be changed by changing the revolution speed. The thickness of the can be changed freely.

Further, when the direction of the vapor deposition surface of the golf ball 7 is changed, the contact member 6 is brought into contact with a surface side different from the direction in which the evaporating flow was irradiated immediately before, thereby changing the direction of the golf ball 7. Therefore, the direction of the surface of the golf ball 7 can be changed with a simple configuration without damaging the film immediately after it is formed.

In addition, since the crucible 52 containing the first evaporation material and the second evaporation material is replaced with the golf ball 7 placed on the rail 3, different refractions are maintained while the vacuum chamber 2 is kept in vacuum. A film having a rate can be formed.

Note that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and can be implemented in various modes.

For example, in the above embodiment, the ring-shaped rail 3 is used as the mounting member, but the present invention is not limited to the ring-shaped one. Moreover, as a mounting member other than the rail 3, a plurality of needle-like members may be erected and the golf ball 7 may be mounted thereon. In addition, when the rail 3 is used, there exists an advantage that the quantity which can mount the golf ball 7 can be increased by adding another rail 3 inside or further outside.

In the above embodiment, the golf ball 7 is revolved and rotated to form a film on a different surface side. However, the rail 3 and the EB irradiation means 5 are relatively moved in a linear direction, and thereafter The film may be formed on the entire surface by changing the surface to be deposited.

Furthermore, in the above embodiment, the first film and the second film are formed, but a film added to this may be formed.

In addition, the inside of the vacuum may be ionized to generate plasma (RF), and these excited particles may be deposited to improve the adhesion performance.

In the above embodiment, the golf ball has been described as an example. However, the present invention can be applied to a table tennis ball, a gate ball, and the like.

The friction coefficient was measured under the same conditions for a sample A with a 20 μm ionomer coat applied to a PC plate and a sample B with a 3000 to 3500 Å thin oxide film on the PC plate under the same conditions. The result was obtained.

Sample A 0.25N R9 mm (stainless): Maximum friction measurement value = 0.059 μm

Sample B 0.25N R9mm (stainless): Maximum value of friction measurement = 0.362 μm

From this, it was judged that the friction of sample B was about 6 times stronger, and it was possible to obtain the result that the golf ball is likely to be spun.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Film formation apparatus 2 ... Vacuum chamber 3 ... Rail (mounting member)
31 ... support member 32 ... guide member 4 ... revolving means 41 ... motor 42 ... rotating shaft 43 ... arm 44 ... connecting rod 5 ... EB irradiation means 51 ... -Electron gun 52 ... crucible 6 ... contact member (spinning means)
7. Golf ball

Claims

Irradiating the first evaporation material with an electron beam to form a first film having a low refractive index on the surface of the spherical body;
Irradiating the second evaporation material with an electron beam to form a second coating having a higher refractive index than the first coating on the outer surface of the first coating;
A method for forming a spherical film.
Placing the spherical body on the placement member in a stationary state; and
With respect to the spherical body placed on the mounting member, the first evaporation material is irradiated with an electron beam, and the orientation of the spherical body is changed and placed on the mounting member again in a stationary state. Forming a low refractive index first coating on the entire surface by irradiating with an electron beam;
The spherical body on which the first film is formed is placed on the mounting member in a stationary state, and the second evaporation material is irradiated with an electron beam, and the orientation of the spherical body is changed to rest on the mounting member again. Placing the second evaporation material on the entire surface by irradiating the second evaporation material with an electron beam, and forming a second film having a higher refractive index than the first film;
A method for forming a spherical film.
The step of changing the direction of the spherical body is such that the direction of the spherical body is changed by bringing a contact member into contact with a surface of the spherical body different from the irradiation direction of the evaporating flow by the electron beam. Item 3. A method for forming a spherical film according to Item 2.
The above-described mounting member is constituted by a rail on which a spherical body is rotatably mounted, and revolves in a state where the spherical body is mounted on the rail. 2. A method for forming a spherical film according to claim 1.