JPH0220430B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (a) Industrial Application Field The present invention is a thin film forming apparatus, for example, for printing thin polymer films used in electronic components onto a substrate accurately and continuously in a predetermined pattern and with a uniform film thickness. The present invention relates to a forming device.

(B) Prior Art Thin polymer films are formed in various electronic components such as insulating coatings for semiconductor devices and alignment films for liquid crystal display devices. This type of thin film is formed extremely thin (100 Å to 3000 Å) using a polymer solution with a very low concentration, and requires high dimensional accuracy.

Conventionally, as this type of thin film forming apparatus, there is one described in Japanese Utility Model Application Publication No. 170864/1986, which was proposed by the applicant of the present invention.

This conventional device includes a surface plate that fixedly supports an intaglio, an ink supply unit and a doctor that fill the intaglio with ink, a plate cylinder having a letterpress plate with a smooth top surface on its side, and a printing medium that supports the printing material. a support part, which presses the plate cylinder and the intaglio plate to transfer the ink to the surface of the letterpress plate, and then presses the plate cylinder and the surface of the printing material to form a thin film on the surface of the printing material. It was designed to do so.

(c) Problems to be Solved by the Invention According to this conventional apparatus, it is possible to print a thin film with a pattern having a uniform thickness and high dimensional accuracy using low viscosity ink (polymer solution). However, because the surface plate that supports the printing material (a thin plate such as a glass plate on which a thin film is to be formed) is fixed, it is difficult to carry and place the printing material on the surface plate due to the positional relationship with the plate cylinder. In terms of work efficiency for picking up and transporting, and for supplying ink to the intaglio plate, a so-called multi-point application method (a method in which ink is deposited dotted along one edge of the intaglio plate and then spread over the entire surface of the intaglio plate using a doctor) was adopted. Therefore, depending on the field of application, there remain problems to be solved regarding the uniformity of the ink coating layer on the surface of the intaglio plate.

The present invention was proposed in order to solve the above problems, and provides a device with high work safety that can print and form thin films with highly uniform film thickness and highly accurate pattern shapes with high efficiency. be.

(d) Means and effects for solving the problem The device of the present invention includes means for fixedly supporting the intaglio,
an ink supply means for supplying ink for forming a thin film to the intaglio plate, a carriage including a plate cylinder having a letterpress attached to its circumferential surface and a doctor, a printing medium support means for supporting the printing medium in an exchangeable manner; comprising a means for selectively reciprocating a carriage over the intaglio plate and the printing medium, the relief plate being selectively brought into contact with the surface of the intaglio plate and the surface of the printing medium, and transferred from the intaglio plate to the relief printing plate; In an apparatus that transfers ink to the surface of a printing material to form a thin film, the ink supply means has an ink discharge port that communicates with an ink supply source, and the ink discharge port is connected to the ink discharge port transversely in the reciprocating direction of the carriage. and control means for continuously discharging ink from the ink discharge port in synchronization with the forward or backward movement of the ink discharge port. .

The ink supply means moves an ink discharge port communicating with an ink supply source along one side edge of the intaglio plate in a direction transverse to the reciprocating direction of the carriage, and continuously discharges ink from the ink discharge port onto the intaglio plate. is supplied continuously in a linear manner. By moving the carriage forward over the intaglio plate, the doctor spreads the ink on the intaglio plate in a linear manner over the entire surface of the intaglio plate and coats it uniformly, and the letterpress rolls into contact with this and spreads the ink on the intaglio plate onto the letterpress surface. transfer to. Then, by moving the carriage back onto the printing material, the relief plate rolls into contact with the printing material, and the ink on the relief printing plate is transferred to the surface of the printing material, thereby forming a thin film having a uniform thickness and a desired pattern.

The substrate support means is configured to be selectively positioned at a printing position within the range of reciprocating movement of the carriage and at a predetermined position outside that range, and in the latter position the printed substrate and the new substrate are separated. Printed materials can be exchanged efficiently without fear of contamination or damage.

(e) Examples The present invention will be explained below with reference to illustrated embodiments.

1 is a housing of the device; 2 is a fixed plate that supports the intaglio plate 3; 4 is an ink supply mechanism that supplies ink (for example, a polymer solution for forming a film) to the intaglio plate 3; 5
is the carriage of the plate cylinder 6, 7 is a letterpress fixed to the circumferential surface of the plate cylinder 6, 8 is a printing medium (hereinafter referred to as work) 9
It is a movable plate that supports the

The fixed platen 2 is fixed to the upper surface of the housing 1, and the carriage 5 is moved along the guide rails 10 on both sides of the upper surface of the housing 1 between the intaglio plate 3 and the workpiece 9 on the movable platen 8 positioned at the printing position. can be moved back and forth. Reference numeral 11 denotes a motor whose rotational output is transmitted to the carriage 5 through a suitable transmission mechanism to cause it to reciprocate.

In the illustrated example, a ball screw 11a is rotated by the rotational output of the motor 11, and a nut 11b screwed thereto is rotated.
movement of the carriage 5 through the bracket 11c.
It has come to be transmitted to

The movable platen 8 is located between the printing position where the workpiece 9 is rolled by the relief plate 7 of the plate cylinder 6 (shown by a chain line in FIG. 1 and the solid line in FIGS. Workpiece replacement position (solid line in Figure 1, Figure 2, Figure 3)
(indicated by a dashed line in the figure).

A cylinder 12 drives the movable platen 8, and its piston rod 12a is connected to the movable platen 8. The cylinder 12 is actuated by a compressed air supply source (not shown) via a switching valve mechanism (not shown) to reciprocate the piston rod 12a. 13 is a guide rail.

The movable platen 8 used has a configuration that allows the workpiece 9 to be placed on its surface, picked up from the surface, and positioned accurately on the surface, but a specific example of a movable platen with such a configuration is provided separately. Application is pending.

14 is a rack attached to the upper surface of the side portion 1a of the housing 1, and 15 is a pinion fixed to one end of the rotating shaft 16 of the plate cylinder 6, which meshes with the rack 14 and rotates as the carriage 5 moves. , rotates the plate cylinder 6 (and therefore the relief plate 7).

17 is a bearing block that supports the rotating shaft 16 of the plate cylinder 6 near both ends, 18 is a support frame that supports the bearing block 17 in a vertically movable manner and constitutes a part of the carriage 5, and 19 is a drive that moves the bearing block vertically. A device (for example a solenoid or an air cylinder) is used to actuate this device 19 to displace the bearing block 17 upwards and release the plate cylinder 6.
The surface of the upper relief plate 7 is displaced above the upper surfaces of the intaglio plate 3 and the workpiece 9 so that they do not come into contact with each other. At this time, the pinion 15 does not completely disengage from the mesh with the rack 14. When the device 19 is operated in the opposite direction, the bearing block 17 is displaced downward, the pinion 15 and the rack 14 are completely engaged, and the surface of the relief plate 7 is connected to the intaglio plate 3 and the workpiece 9.
lowers to a position where it touches the surface of the

In the illustrated example, the ink supply mechanism 4 onto the intaglio plate 3 includes a guide rod 20 that is arranged along the front side (on the movable platen 8 side) of the fixed platen 2 that supports the intaglio plate 3 and extends in the width direction of the housing 1; 20, an ink supply head 22 supported by the block 21, a moving means 23 for moving the movable block 21, and a tube 2 for supplying ink to the nozzles 24 of the supply head 22.
5, the tube 25 is connected to a suitable ink storage tank 26, and the head 22 is provided with a supply control valve (not shown).

The moving means 23 includes a motor 27 and a pair of pulleys 28
and a belt 29 that is wound around these pulleys, and the belt 29 is fixed to the movable block 21. 30 is a micro switch that controls the movement of the movable block at both ends of the guide rod 20; 31;
is the control circuit.

The ink supply mechanism 4 is mounted such that the highest portion of the head 22 is located below the rotating shaft 16 of the plate cylinder 6 and the support shaft 33 of the doctor 32. This arrangement allows moving the movable block 21 and thus the ink supply head 22 to either end of the guide rod 20 so that the head 22 is in contact with the end face of the plate cylinder 6 and the end of the doctor 32 and the carriage 5. If the carriage 5 is positioned between the ink supply mechanism 4 and the side wall of the ink plate 3, the carriage 5 can be moved beyond the ink supply mechanism 4 to the intaglio plate 3 without being obstructed by the supply head 22.
and the workpiece 9.

When supplying ink to the intaglio plate, the motor 27 is energized to move the movable block 21 and therefore the head 22 from one end of the guide rod 20 to the other, while opening the control valve in the head 22 to supply ink from the nozzle 24. When the ink is ejected, the ink forms a continuous line (indicated by 34 in FIG. 4) along one edge of the intaglio plate 3.
attached to.

Movable block 2 reaches the other end of guide rod 20
1 actuates the microswitch 30 to close the control valve and stop the motor 27 to hold the supply head 22 in that position.

Then, the drive device 19 is actuated to lift the plate cylinder 6 (letter plate 7), and the motor 11 is energized to move the carriage 5 toward the intaglio plate 3. The tip of the doctor 32 at the forward end of the carriage 5 is connected to the cylinder 32.
The ink 34 is lowered by the operation of step a, and the ink 34, which has been applied linearly to the front edge of the intaglio plate 3 as described above, is uniformly spread over the entire surface of the intaglio plate 3. When the plate cylinder 6 (letter plate 7) reaches the opposite edge of the intaglio plate 3, the motor 1
1 is deenergized, and then the drive device 19 is operated in the opposite direction to lower the bearing block 17 and therefore the rotating shaft 16 of the plate cylinder so that the pinion 15 is fully engaged with the rack 14, and the motor 11 is reversed to move the carriage. When the plate cylinder 6 and the letterpress plate 7 are rotated by the engagement between the pinion 15 and the rack 14, the letterpress plate 7 rolls into contact with the surface of the intaglio plate 3, which is evenly coated with ink, and the ink on the intaglio plate is transferred to the letterpress plate. 7. Transfer evenly onto the surface. On the other hand, the cylinder 12 is actuated to move the movable platen 8, which has already been advanced to the workpiece placement position (the chain line position in Figures 2 and 3) and on which the workpiece 9 is placed, to the printing position (Figures 2 and 3). (solid line position). When the carriage 5 returns from above the intaglio plate 3 to the movable platen 8, the letterpress plate 7 rolls into contact with the surface of the workpiece 9 and transfers and coats the ink from the letterpress plate 7 onto the surface of the workpiece 9 to form a film of desired thickness and pattern. Print and form.

Then, the drive device 19 is actuated to lift up the bearing block 17, thus the rotary shaft 16, the plate cylinder 6 and the letterpress 7, and the cylinder 12 is actuated to move the movable platen 8 from the printing position to the workpiece exchange position (second position).
, the printed workpiece 9 is transferred from the movable platen to the carry-out section 41 by an appropriate workpiece transfer device 40, and a new workpiece is transferred from the carry-in section 42 to the movable platen. 8 Place it on top. It goes without saying that this workpiece replacement should be performed without contaminating or damaging the workpiece surface, but the applicant has separately proposed a device that efficiently and automatically accomplishes this.

To summarize the above operations, apply ink in a line on the intaglio plate 3→carriage 5
onto the forward intaglio plate 3 (spread the ink onto the intaglio plate)
→ Movable platen 8 (workpiece 9) to the forward printing position → Carriage (letterpress) from above the intaglio plate to the backward movable platen (workpiece) (Ink on the intaglio plate transfers to the letterpress plate, ink transfers to the work surface on the letterpress plate) → Movable The board (workpiece) returns to the double-movement workpiece replacement position (workpiece replacement), and the above operations are repeated thereafter, but these operations can be performed automatically by the control circuit 31 according to a preset program.

(E) Effect As described above, according to the present invention, ink is applied to the intaglio plate in a continuous line rather than in a multi-dot manner, and is spread and applied, resulting in a highly uniform film thickness and high precision on the work surface. It is possible to form a thin film with a pattern of
In addition, since the surface plate that supports the workpiece is configured to be movable between the printing position and the workpiece replacement position, the workpiece replacement position can be placed in a position that is not obstructed by other movable parts of the device, and therefore the workpiece can be replaced easily. Replacement can be carried out efficiently and safely without the risk of contamination or damage.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Fig. 1 is a perspective view schematically showing an embodiment of the present invention, Fig. 2 is a plan view, Fig. 3 is a partially cutaway elevational view, and Fig. 4 is a perspective view showing an example of an ink supply mechanism. It is a diagram. 2... fixed plate, 3... intaglio, 4... ink supply mechanism,
5...Carriage, 6...Print cylinder, 7...Letterpress, 9...Work.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A carriage comprising a means for fixedly supporting an intaglio plate, an ink supply means for supplying ink for forming a thin film to the intaglio plate, a plate cylinder having a letterpress plate attached to its circumferential surface, and a doctor; comprising means for supporting a printing medium for exchangeably supporting the printing medium; and means for selectively reciprocating the carriage between the intaglio plate and the printing medium; In the apparatus, the ink supply means is an ink discharger connected to an ink supply source, and the ink transferred from the intaglio plate to the letterpress plate is transferred to the surface of the printing medium to form a thin film. an outlet; means for reciprocating the ink discharge port along one side edge of the intaglio plate across the direction of reciprocating movement of the carriage; A thin film forming apparatus comprising: a control means for continuously discharging ink from a discharge port; 2. A means for fixedly supporting an intaglio plate, an ink supply means for supplying ink for forming a thin film to the intaglio plate, a carriage equipped with a plate cylinder having a letterpress attached to its circumferential surface and a doctor, and supporting a printing medium in an exchangeable manner. means for selectively reciprocating the carriage over the intaglio plate and the printing medium, and selectively rolling the relief plate onto the surface of the intaglio plate and the surface of the printing medium. , wherein the ink transferred from the intaglio to the letterpress is transferred to the surface of the printing material to form a thin film, wherein the ink supply means includes an ink discharge port communicating with an ink supply source; and the ink discharge port. means for reciprocating the reciprocating movement of the ink cartridge along one side edge of the intaglio plate across the reciprocating direction of the carriage; and a control means for discharging the printing material, and displacing the printing material support means between a printing position within a reciprocating range of the carriage and a printing material replacement position outside the reciprocating range of the carriage. 1. A thin film forming apparatus characterized in that it is configured to enable.