KR101820880B1 - 3d shape glass decoration method using preforming film - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a 3D shape glass decorating method using film preforming. According to an embodiment of the present invention, the 3D shape glass decorating method using the film preforming comprises: a step of preparing a thermal transfer film in which a release film, a thermal transfer ink layer, and a heat-resistant protective film are upwardly and downwardly laminated; a step of preforming the thermal transfer film as a set shape; a step of performing side-cutting for the preformed thermal transfer film to a set size; a step of adsorbing the thermal transfer film and glass respectively on a vacuum lapping jig, and touching the thermal transfer ink layer to the glass after alignment adjustment; a step of removing bubbles of the thermal transfer ink layer; a step of thermally transferring the thermal transfer ink layer in which the bubbles are removed in the glass; a step of removing the release film after cooling the glass in which the thermal transfer ink layer is thermally transferred; and a step of curing the thermal transfer ink layer, which is thermally transferred, in the glass. The present invention provides excellent surface leveling.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD [0001] The present invention relates to a 3D shape glass decorating method using film preforming,

Embodiments of the present invention relate to a method of decorating a three-dimensional shaped glass using film preforming.

With the development of wireless communication technology, mobile phones have become smaller and complicated, and accordingly, not only electrical characteristics but also mechanical characteristics are required to have high reliability.

Mobile devices such as electronic devices, especially smart phones, are being developed at a high speed. Portability is one of the most important features in such mobile devices, and efforts to pursue miniaturization, lightweight, slimmer, etc. are continuing. In addition, the functions of smart phones are becoming more diverse than the functions inherent in mobile phones. With the diversification of these functions, the IT technology integrated in the smart phone itself is complex and the product unit price is high .

Conventionally, a display window (hereinafter referred to as window) applied to a mobile phone is made of synthetic resin material (e.g., acrylic resin) which is inexpensive and easy to manufacture.

However, in the case of synthetic resin, since it is vulnerable to heat and scratches, has a poor transmittance, and increases the luminance when the luminance is increased for a clear screen, recently, a window of a mobile device such as a smart phone, Is used.

As a result, attention has been paid to effects of forming various appearance aesthetics that can be realized through a glass in an electronic device using a glass, and a decorative member for a glass (or a "deco film" It is true.

As a concrete example, there is a growing interest in development of a decorative member for a glass which can form an appearance aesthetic that emphasizes metal texture and / or three-dimensional shape through a glass.

In the conventional glass decorating method, a thermal transfer method is used. As is well known, the conventional thermal transfer method can be applied to a flat glass by a method of pressing using a roller, but it is difficult to apply to a three-dimensional glass.

In addition, when the conventional thermal transfer method is used, some of the 2 Bended shapes can be realized. However, there is a problem in that the ink transfer on the edge surface is not smooth, and the roller is rotated, There is a possibility that the film and the ink are deformed, and there is a problem that the dimensional accuracy is lowered and the shape is distorted.

Particularly, according to the conventional thermal transfer method, since the roller moves only in one direction, there is a problem that thermal transfer is impossible in a product having a three-dimensional shape (specifically, four-side bent or pocket shaped).

In addition, there is a difficulty in aligning the position between the thermal transfer film and the glass, and there is a limitation in the removal of air bubbles on the transfer surface.

Further, according to the conventional thermal transfer method, since the high pressure and heat are directly applied to the film, there is a problem that surface leveling or foreign matter of the portion to which the pressure is applied is exposed.

A prior art related to the present invention is Korean Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 10-2013-0012474 (published on March 23, 2013), which discloses a method of manufacturing a decorative film for glass attachment.

It is an object of the present invention to precisely align the glass and the film by pre-forming and then vacuum-aligning the thermoelectric converting film in the same shape as the inner shape of the three-dimensional shaped glass, And to provide a method of decorating a three-dimensional shape glass using film preforming excellent in realizing a three-dimensional shape.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a method of decorating a three-dimensional shape glass using film pre-forming, which is capable of completely removing bubbles and does not need to apply high pressure during transfer, .

The problems to be solved by the present invention are not limited to the above-mentioned problem (s), and other problems not mentioned here will be clearly understood by those skilled in the art from the following description.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of manufacturing a thermal transfer recording, comprising: (a) preparing a thermal transfer film in which a release film, a thermal transfer ink layer, (b) pre-forming the thermal transfer film into a predetermined shape; (c) side-cutting the preformed thermal transfer film to a set size; (d) adsorbing each of the thermal transfer film and the glass on a vacuum lapping jig, aligning the thermal transfer ink layer with the glass after aligning each other; (e) removing bubbles of the thermal transfer ink layer; (f) thermally transferring the bubble-free thermal transfer ink layer to the glass; (g) cooling the glass to which the thermal transfer ink layer is thermally transferred, and then removing the release film; And (h) curing the thermally transferred ink layer thermally transferred to the glass. The method for decorating a three-dimensional shaped glass using the film preforming is provided.

In the step (a), the release film may be made of heat-resistant PET material, and the heat-resistant protective film may be made of PET or PE material.

In the step (b), the thermal transfer film may be preformed corresponding to the inner shape of the transfer target glass.

The preforming apparatus may further include a preforming device disposed at a lower portion of the thermal transfer film and corresponding to an end surface of the glass, wherein the preforming device is a preforming device for vertically pushing and driving the thermal transfer film therebetween in the step (b) And a preforming upper body disposed on the thermal transfer film and having a protruding portion protruding toward the groove portion.

In the step (c), the side edge of the thermal transfer film that is out of the glass inside range may be removed corresponding to the inner shape of the transfer target glass.

In the step (c), a side cutter may be used which is driven laterally toward the side end of the thermal transfer film.

In the step (d), the vacuum joining support may include: an upper body of a vacuum lapping jig disposed at an upper part to vacuum-adsorb the thermal transfer film; a vacuum lapping jig lower part placed under the glass to vacuum- And a heater for heating the glass to a set temperature may be incorporated in the lower body of the vacuum lapping jig.

The step (d) includes the steps of: (d-1) removing the heat-resistant protective film from the thermal transfer film fixed to the upper body of the vacuum jig by vacuum suction; (d-2) adjusting the alignment between the thermal transfer film from which the heat-resistant protective film is removed and the glass using a vision camera or a micrometer; (d-3) heating the glass placed on the lower body of the vacuum joint jig to a set temperature by driving the heater; And (d-4) lowering the upper body of the vacuum lapping jig to contact the thermal transfer film having the thermal transfer ink layer laminated on the glass.

In the step (d-3), the heating temperature of the glass is preferably 50 to 80 ° C.

In the step (e), bubbles in the thermal ink layer adhering to the glass may be removed using an autoclave device. Preferably, the degassing operation can be carried out at a pressure of 15 kg or more and a temperature of about 65 ° C to 80 ° C for about 15 to 20 minutes or more.

In the step (f), the glass having the thermal transfer ink layer sandwiched thereon is placed on an upper portion of the glass fixing jig, and the thermal compression pad heated to a set temperature is pressed on the release film to remove the thermal transfer ink Layer can be thermally transferred to the glass. The temperature, pressure and time at this time can be appropriately selected.

In the step (h), the curing may be carried out at 150 to 180 ° C for 20 to 30 minutes using a box oven.

According to the present invention, it is possible to precisely align the glass and the film by pre-forming and then vacuum-joining the thermoelectric converting film in the same shape as the inner shape of the three-dimensional shaped glass, And it is advantageous in realizing a three-dimensional solid shape.

In addition, according to the present invention, it is possible to completely remove bubbles in ink, and there is no need to apply a high pressure when transferring the ink, so that damage to glass and film is small and surface leveling is excellent.

The above and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will be more apparent from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which: FIG.

FIG. 1 is a flowchart briefly showing a method for decorating a three-dimensional shape glass using film preforming according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIGS. 2 to 9 are process diagrams of steps included in a method of decorating a three-dimensional shape glass using film preforming according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

It is to be understood that the present invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments, but may be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein. Rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, It is provided to inform.

FIG. 1 is a flowchart schematically illustrating a method of decorating a three-dimensional shape glass using film preforming according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIGS. 2 to 9 are views showing a three- These are the process diagrams of the steps involved in the method of decorating the shape glass.

Referring to FIG. 1, a method for decorating a three-dimensional shape glass using film preforming according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a thermal transfer film preparing step S110, a preforming step S120, a side cutting step S130, A bubble removing step S150, a transferring step S160, a cooling and film removing step S170, and a curing step S180.

Hereinafter, each step will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 2 to 9. FIG.

The thermal transfer film preparation step (S110)

This step corresponds to the step of preparing a thermal transfer film in which a release film, a thermal transfer ink layer, and a heat-resistant protective film are laminated on top and bottom.

2, a thermal transfer film 100 in which a release film 110, a thermal transfer ink layer 120, and a heat-resistant protective film 130 are stacked on top and bottom can be prepared .

Preferably, in this thermal transfer film 100, the release film 110 may be made of heat-resistant PET material, and the heat-resistant protective film 130 may be made of PET or PE material.

In the preforming step S120,

This step corresponds to a preforming step of preforming the thermal transfer film prepared in the previous step into a set shape. Here, the term " setting shape " refers to a shape corresponding to an inner shape of a product to be transferred, that is, a glass 10 (see Fig. 5), and does not necessarily have to conform to the illustrated form.

Referring to FIG. 3, which is a cross-sectional view showing the process of this step, the thermal transfer film 100 prepared in the previous step can be preformed into a set shape.

Referring to FIG. 3A, in this step, a preforming apparatus 200 for vertically pressing and driving the thermal transfer film 100 may be used.

The preforming apparatus 200 may include a preforming upper body 210 and a preforming lower body 220. The upper body 210 and the lower body 220 may be provided with heat A heating device must be included.

Concretely, the preforming lower body 220 may be provided at a lower portion of the thermal transfer film 100 and have a groove corresponding to the inner cross-sectional shape of the glass 10 (see FIG. 5). In addition, the preforming upper body 210 may be formed on the thermal transfer film 100 so as to have a protrusion protruding toward the groove.

3 (b), the preforming upper body 210 presses the upper surface of the thermal transfer film 100 to form the preforming upper body 210 and the preforming lower body 220 The thermal transfer film 100 can be preformed into a predetermined shape.

When this preforming step is performed, a separate guide pin (not shown) or the like may be used to fix the position of the thermal transfer film 100.

In the side cutting step (S130)

This step is a side cutting step, which corresponds to the step of side-cutting the pre-formed thermal transfer film to the set size in the previous step.

Referring to FIG. 4 as a sectional view showing the process of this step, the preformed thermal transfer film 100 in the previous step can be side-cut to a set size.

Here, the term 'side cutting' refers to an operation of cutting and removing the side end portions (that is, both end portions) of the preformed thermal transfer film 100 corresponding to the inner shape of the transfer target glass.

That is, the pre-formed thermal transfer film 100 is removed from both sides of the glass 10 (see Fig. 5) in such a manner as to correspond to the inner shape of the transfer target glass 10 .

As a specific example, in this step, the side cutter 300 shown in Fig. 3 (a) can be used. The side cutter 300 is a cutting means for horizontally moving left and right toward the side end portion 100 'of the thermal transfer film 100. The side cutter 300 is a cutting means for horizontally moving left and right sides of the thermal transfer film 100, The end 100 'is removed.

Referring to FIG. 3 (b), the cross-sectional shape of the thermal transfer film 100 that has been cut to a size corresponding to the inner shape of the glass 10 (see FIG. 5) and the unnecessary side end portion 100 ' .

In step S140,

The present invention relates to a bonding step of bonding a thermally transferred film and a glass to be transferred to a vacuum lapping jig in a previous step after preforming and then thermally transferring the thermal transfer film laminated with a thermally- This corresponds to the contacting step.

Referring to FIG. 5, the preformed and side-cut thermal transfer film 100 and the glass 10 are respectively adsorbed to the vacuum lapping jig 400. As shown in FIG.

Here, the vacuum lapping jig 400 may include a vacuum lapping jig upper body 410 and a vacuum lapping jig lower body 420.

The vacuum lap jig upper body 410 may be disposed at an upper portion thereof and configured to vacuum-adsorb the thermal transfer film 100. In addition, the vacuum lapping jig lower body 420 may be disposed at a lower portion thereof to mount the glass 10 and vacuum adsorb it.

Preferably, the vacuum lap jig lower body 420 is provided with a heater, through which the glass 10 can be heated to a set temperature.

This step may further include the following detailed steps.

5, a step of removing the heat-resistant protective film 130 formed on the lower portion of the thermal transfer film 100, which is vacuum-chucked and fixed to the upper body 410 of the vacuum joint jig, is performed .

Next, after the heat-resistant protective film 130 is removed, the alignment between the thermal transfer film 100 and the glass 10 can be adjusted by using a vision camera or a micrometer. In contrast to the vision camera, It may be used.

Next, the glass 10 mounted on the lower vacuum body 420 can be heated to a predetermined temperature by using a heater provided in the vacuum body 420. [

The reason for heating the glass 10 is to raise the temperature of the glass 10 appropriately to improve the adhesion with the thermal ink layer 120 so that the glass 10 is bonded to the thermal ink layer 120 So that it can be done well.

Preferably, the heating temperature of the glass 10 is 50 to 80 占 폚.

If the heating temperature of the glass 10 is higher than 80 DEG C, the thermal transfer ink layer 120 may not be sufficiently bonded to the thermal transfer ink layer 120 120) is increased more than necessary.

Next, the thermal transfer ink layer 120 may be bonded to the glass 10 by lowering the upper body 410 of the vacuum joint jig, that is, through the vacuum lapping process. The form in which the thermal transfer ink layer 120 is bonded to the inside of the glass 10 can be confirmed through FIG. 5 (b).

The bubble removing step (S150)

The present invention is a bubble removing step, which corresponds to a step of removing bubbles of a thermal transfer ink layer that is bonded to a glass in a previous step.

Referring to FIG. 6, which is a cross-sectional view showing the process of this step, bubbles of the thermal transfer ink layer 120 bonded to the glass 10 can be removed.

Specifically, bubbles in the thermal ink layer 120 adhered to the glass 10 can be removed by using an autoclave device 500. The pressure, temperature, and time at this time can be appropriately selected Do. Preferably, the bubbles can be removed at a pressure of 15 kg or more and a temperature of about 65 to 80 DEG C for about 15 to 20 minutes or more.

In the transferring step S160,

This step corresponds to the step of transferring the thermally transferable ink layer from which bubbles have been removed to the glass in the previous step.

7, the glass 10 to which the thermal transfer ink layer 120 is adhered is placed on the glass fixing jig 620, and the upper part of the release film 110 is heated to a set temperature The thermal transfer ink layer 120 can be transferred to the glass 10 by pressing the heated thermocompression pad 610. The temperature, pressure and time at this time can be appropriately selected.

Thus, after the residual bubbles in the thermal transfer ink layer 120 are completely removed in the state of being bonded in the previous step, the thermal transfer ink layer 120 is transferred to the bent portion of the three-dimensional glass 10 without any defect And the product quality can be improved.

Cooling and film removal step (S170)

This step is a step of cooling and removing the film, which corresponds to the step of cooling the glass in which the thermal transfer ink layer is thermally transferred, and then removing the release film.

8, when the thermal transfer ink layer 120 is thermally transferred to the inside of the glass 10 using the thermocompression pad 610 (see FIG. 7) in the previous step, It is taken out from the glass fixing jig 620 (see Fig. 7) and cooled.

Here, 'cooling' refers to natural cooling, but is not limited thereto and other cooling means may be used.

On the other hand, once cooling is performed, the release film 110 on the thermal transfer ink layer 120 is removed as shown in FIG. As a result, only the glass 10 and the thermal transfer ink layer 120 transferred to the inside of the glass 10 remain.

In the curing step S180,

This step is a curing step, which corresponds to the step of final curing the glass to which the thermal transfer ink layer has been transferred by using a box oven apparatus or the like.

Referring to FIG. 9, the thermal transfer ink layer 120 thermally transferred to the glass 10 from which the release film 110 (see FIG. 9) has been removed in the previous step is cured.

At this time, a curing apparatus 700 such as a box oven may be used for curing, and may be provided in various forms.

In this curing step, the temperature and time can be set. As a preferable example, the curing can be performed at 150 ° C to 180 ° C for 20 to 30 minutes.

As described above, according to the structure and the function of the present invention, the thermoelectric conversion film is pre-formed in the same shape as the inner shape of the three-dimensional shape glass, and the glass and the film are precisely aligned in a vacuum- Thereby preventing deformation and distortion of the film, and is advantageous in realizing a three-dimensional solid shape.

A thermal transfer method was also used in the conventional glass decorating method. The conventional thermal transfer method can be applied to a flat glass by a method of pressing using a roller, but it is difficult to apply to a three-dimensional glass. In the case of using the conventional thermal transfer method, although a part of the 2 Bended shape can be realized, there is a problem in that the ink transfer on the edge side is not smooth, and the roller is rotated, And deformation of the ink may be caused, and there has been a problem of reduction in dimensional precision and shape distortion.

According to the present invention, such a conventional problem can be solved, and in particular, thermal transfer of the ink layer to a glass product having various three-dimensional shapes, specifically, a four-sided bent or pocket shape, etc., can be made possible.

Further, according to the present invention, it is possible to completely remove bubbles in the ink, and there is no need to apply a high pressure at the time of transfer, so that the damage to the glass and the film is small and the surface leveling is excellent.

While the present invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to exemplary embodiments thereof, it is to be understood that the scope of the invention is not limited to the disclosed exemplary embodiments. It is obvious that a transformation can be made. Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail above, the effects of the present invention are not explicitly described and described, but it is needless to say that the effects that can be predicted by the configurations should also be recognized.

S110: Preparation of thermal transfer film
S120: Preforming step
S130: Side cutting step
S140:
S150: air bubble removal step
S160: Transfer step
S170: cooling and film removal step
S180: Curing step
10: Glass (or three-dimensional shape glass)
100: Thermal transfer film
110: release film
120: thermal transfer ink layer
130: Heat-resistant protective film
200: preforming device
210: preforming upper body
220: preforming lower body
300: Side cutter
400: vacuum lapping jig
410: vacuum lapping jig upper body
420: vacuum lapping jig lower body
500: autoclave device
610: Thermocompression pad
620: Glass fixing jig
700: Curing device

Claims (10)

(a) preparing a thermal transfer film in which a release film, a thermal transfer ink layer, and a heat-resistant protective film are stacked on top and bottom;
(b) pre-forming the thermal transfer film into a predetermined shape;
(c) side-cutting the preformed thermal transfer film to a set size;
(d) adsorbing each of the thermal transfer film and the glass on a vacuum lapping jig, aligning the thermal transfer ink layer with the glass after aligning each other;
(e) removing bubbles of the thermal transfer ink layer;
(f) thermally transferring the bubble-free thermal transfer ink layer to the glass;
(g) cooling the glass to which the thermal transfer ink layer is thermally transferred, and then removing the release film; And
(h) curing the thermal transfer ink layer thermally transferred to the glass;
A method of decorating a three-dimensional shape glass using film preforming.
The method according to claim 1,
In the step (a)
The release film is made of heat-resistant PET material,
Wherein the heat-resistant protective film is made of PET or PE material.
The method according to claim 1,
In the step (b)
Wherein the thermal transfer film is preformed corresponding to an inner shape of the transfer target glass.
The method of claim 3,
In the step (b)
A preforming device for vertically pressing and driving the thermal transfer film therebetween,
The preforming apparatus includes a preforming lower body disposed at a lower portion of the thermal transfer film and having a groove portion corresponding to an end surface of the glass, and a preforming lower body disposed at an upper portion of the thermal transfer film and protruding toward the groove portion. Method of decorating a three dimensional shape glass using film preforming including a forming body.
The method according to claim 1,
In the step (c)
Wherein the thermal transfer film
Wherein a side edge of the glass outside the glass inside range is removed corresponding to an inner shape of the glass to be transferred.
6. The method of claim 5,
In the step (c)
Wherein a side cutter is used which is driven right and left toward a side end portion of the thermal transfer film.
The method according to claim 1,
In the step (d)
The vacuum assembly includes a vacuum assembly jig upper body disposed at an upper portion to vacuum-adsorb the thermal transfer film, and a vacuum assembly jig lower body placed under the glass assembly to vacuum-adsorb the glass,
Wherein the vacuum joining jig lower body is provided with a heater for heating the glass to a set temperature.
8. The method of claim 7,
In the step (d)
(d-1) removing the heat-resistant protective film from the thermal transfer film fixed to the upper body of the vacuum jig by vacuum suction;
(d-2) adjusting the alignment between the thermal transfer film from which the heat-resistant protective film is removed and the glass using a vision camera or a micrometer;
(d-3) heating the glass placed on the lower body of the vacuum joint jig to a set temperature by driving the heater; And
(d-4) lowering the upper body of the vacuum lapping jig to contact the thermal transfer film laminated with the thermal ink layer onto the glass.
The method according to claim 1,
In the step (e)
Wherein the bubbles in the thermal ink layer adhered to the glass are removed using an autoclave device.
The method according to claim 1,
In the step (f)
The glass having the thermal transfer ink layer sandwiched thereon is placed on an upper portion of a glass fixing jig, and the thermal compression pad heated to a set temperature is pressed on the release film to heat the thermal transfer ink layer from which the bubbles have been removed, Wherein the film preforming method comprises the steps of:

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