Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.

Tadaomi Amano

Akira Okuda

Shigeru Namiki

Hatsuhiko Shibasaki

Katsuyuki Kita

More than two pressure reducing chambers 6 to 9 are located on both the upstream and the downstream of vacuum processing housings 11 and 12. Each of the pressure reducing chambers 6 to 9 includes a film conveying means 30, a vacuum exhausting means, and a gate valve 20 provided with a resilient member for closely holding down the running film 1 to seal off the vacuum state of a belt-like passage of the gate valve 20. As the pressure reducing chambers 6 to 9 are protected with their specific gate valve belt-like passage arrangement from reduction of the vacuum state and located respectively on the upstream and downstream sides of the vacuum processing units 11 and 12, the vacuum state in the continuous vacuum processing apparatus will be maintained to a desired level. While the running film 1 is being conveyed, the gate valves 20 at the first and second stages are actuated alternately for opening and closing after vacuum evacuation.

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Osakashi, Japan

Tadaomi Amano