JP2000143052A - Supply device for film-like workpiece and supply method therefor - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To supply a workpiece in a short time and at a high speed. SOLUTION: This is a supply device 10 which supplies film-like workpiece 13 on a machining base 12 sequentially and discharges the workpiece from above the machining base after machining is completed. The film-like workpiece 13 is constituted like a long roll, the workpiece wound around a supply roll 14 is wound on the machining base 12 at a predetermined feed pitch, is moved onto the machining base, and is machined, and it is discharged from the machining base after that and is wound around a winding roll 15.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a supply device for supplying a film-shaped workpiece such as a nozzle substrate when processing a high-precision fine hole such as a nozzle hole in a nozzle substrate of an ink jet printer. And a supply method.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there has been provided a so-called ink jet printer device which discharges a required amount of ink droplets from a nozzle in accordance with a print signal at the time of printing and prints on a print medium such as paper or film. ing. Such an ink jet printer device is capable of printing on various media such as paper, film, cloth, and the like, and is rapidly becoming popular due to its small size and low cost. In recent years, ink jet printers have been required to print high-quality natural images, and reproduction of halftones has become important. Various methods have been proposed as methods for reproducing such halftones.

That is, as a first halftone reproduction method, a pulse voltage or a pulse width of a pulse current applied to a piezo element or a heating element is changed to control the size of an ink droplet to be ejected, and the diameter of a print dot is changed. Can be varied to express gradation. However, in such a first halftone reproduction method, if the pulse voltage or pulse width given to the piezo element or the heating element is too low, the ink droplets cannot be ejected, so there is a limit to the minimum droplet diameter, In particular, it is difficult to express low density.

As a second halftone reproduction method, one pixel is constituted by a matrix composed of, for example, 4 × 4 dots without changing the diameter of the print dot, and a so-called dither method is used in units of the matrix. There is a method of expressing gradation. However, in such a second halftone reproduction method, for example, the resolution when printing at the same dot density as the first halftone reproduction method is lower than the first halftone reproduction method, and Difficult to express.

Accordingly, the present inventors have proposed a third halftone reproduction method in which the density of ink droplets is changed by mixing an ink liquid and a diluting liquid at the time of discharging ink, thereby forming a dot to be printed. A method for expressing gradation by controlling the density has been proposed earlier. By applying such a third halftone reproduction method, an ink jet printer device can express rich gradation even at a low density, without deteriorating the resolution, and generating a high-quality natural image. Can be printed.

[0006]

Here, an ink jet printer apparatus to which such a third halftone reproducing method is applied is provided with an ink liquid and a diluting liquid as shown in FIGS. Substrate 3 in which a plurality of pairs of nozzle holes 3a and 3b for respectively discharging
It has. The nozzle substrate 3 is made of, for example, a polyimide-based polymer material, and when excimer laser is irradiated by the nozzle hole processing device 1, each nozzle hole is perforated by a so-called ablation method, which absorbs heat and evaporates. It is supposed to be.

Here, such a nozzle hole processing apparatus (hereinafter simply referred to as a processing apparatus) 1 includes, as shown in FIG. 7, an excimer laser oscillator 2 for emitting a laser beam L and a workpiece such as a nozzle substrate. Worktable 4 on which 3 is placed and moves
And an optical system 5 for the laser beam L, and form a pair of nozzle holes in the nozzle substrate as shown in FIG. The processing table 4 includes a moving table 4a that moves in the X direction and the Y direction.
And a jig 4b for angle adjustment installed above. The optical system 5 includes a plurality of reflection mirrors 5a and 5b for reflecting the laser beam L, and optical masks 5c and 5c.
It comprises a reflecting mirror 5d and an imaging lens 5e. The above-mentioned optical mask 5c receives the incident laser beam L
Is shaped into an arbitrary shape.

According to the processing apparatus 1 having such a configuration, when processing the nozzle holes in the nozzle substrate shown in FIG.
The nozzle substrate 3 which is a workpiece is set on the processing table 4, and the laser beam L from the excimer laser oscillator 2 is predetermined by the optical mask 5c while moving the nozzle substrate 3 in the horizontal direction by the moving table 4a. It is shaped into a shape and formed into an image at a predetermined position on the nozzle substrate 3. This allows
A large number of first circular holes 3a are sequentially processed in parallel, and then the nozzle substrate 3 is rotated and angle-adjusted by an angle adjusting jig 4b, and the nozzle substrate 3 is moved in the horizontal direction again. By shaping the laser beam L from the excimer laser oscillator 2 into a predetermined shape using the optical mask 5c and forming an image at a predetermined position on the nozzle substrate 3, the second fine hole 3b is formed in the first circular shape. A large number of pieces are sequentially processed in parallel so as to form a pair adjacent to the hole 3a.

However, in the processing apparatus 1 having such a configuration, as shown in FIG. 6, with respect to a pair of nozzle holes 3a and 3b formed in the nozzle substrate 3, a first circular hole 3a and a second circular hole 3a are formed. In order to secure the accuracy a ± 1 μm or less required for the interval between the fine holes 3b, it is necessary to hold the position of the nozzle substrate 3 as a workpiece with high accuracy. For example, if the position of the nozzle substrate 3 changes by 1 μm in the direction of the space between the two holes 3a and 3b, the space between the two holes 3a and 3b becomes 1 / cos θ (for example, about 1.
2 μm). Therefore, in order to hold the position of the nozzle substrate 3 with high precision, the angle adjusting jig 4 is required.
It is necessary to control the rotation runout of b and the positioning of the moving table 4a with high precision, and a high technology is required for manufacturing and assembling the angle adjusting jig 4b and the moving table 4a. Further, since all the nozzle holes 3a and 3b are processed by one laser beam L, the processing time becomes longer, and the productivity is lowered.

[0010] On the other hand, there has been proposed a processing apparatus in which two nozzle beams 3a and 3b are simultaneously processed by using two laser beams. Such a processing apparatus is configured, for example, as shown in FIG. FIG.
In the processing device 6, a half mirror 5f is provided instead of the reflection mirror 5a in the processing device 1 of FIG. 7, and in the optical path transmitted through the half mirror 5f,
It includes reflecting mirrors 5g and 5h, a second optical mask 5i, reflecting mirrors 5j and 5k, and a second imaging lens 51, which are sequentially arranged. Instead of the tool 4b, a holding table 4c for fixing and holding the workpiece 3 is provided.

The half mirror 5f reflects a part of the laser beam L from the excimer laser oscillator 2 and transmits a part thereof. The second optical mask 5 i is provided with a plurality of second fine-shaped holes 3 of the nozzle substrate 3.
It is configured to shape the laser beam corresponding to b. In this case, the first optical mask 5c is configured to shape the laser beam corresponding to the plurality of first circular holes 3a of the nozzle substrate 3.

According to the processing apparatus 6 having such a configuration, when processing the nozzle holes in the nozzle substrate shown in FIG.
The nozzle substrate 3 as the workpiece is moved to the holding table 4c of the processing table 4.
The laser beam L from the excimer laser oscillator 2 is split on the half mirror 5f, is shaped into a predetermined shape by the optical masks 5c and 5i, and is imaged at a predetermined position on the nozzle substrate 3. A plurality of first circular holes 3a and a pair of second fine-shaped holes 3b are simultaneously formed. As a result, the holes 3a and 3b constituting the nozzle hole 3 are processed with high precision and in a short time.

In the processing apparatus 6 described above, the nozzle substrate 3 as a workpiece is supplied to the holding table 4c of the processing table 4 as shown in FIG. In FIG. 9, the nozzle substrate 3 as a workpiece is
Are manually arranged in the vicinity of the processing table 4 in a state of being arranged on the tray 7. Then, the nozzle substrate 3 which is a workpiece disposed in the tray 7 is transferred one by one onto the holding table 4c of the processing table 4 by a pick-and-place mechanism or a robot hand (not shown). In this case, the nozzle substrate 3 is horizontally held with good flatness on the holding table 4c by vacuum suction, a mechanical clamp, or the like.

Here, generally, excimer laser processing is performed by:
Since the processing cost with respect to time is relatively high as compared with other processing methods, it is necessary to shorten the supply time of the nozzle substrate 3 which is the workpiece. However, such a supply of the nozzle substrate 3 is performed, for example, by chucking the thin film-shaped nozzle substrate 3 having a thickness of 1 mm or less while horizontally holding the nozzle substrate 3 from the tray 7 onto the holding table 4c, and holding after processing. It is necessary to surely convey the sheet from the table 4c to the tray 7, and it is difficult to supply the sheet at high speed in a short time.

In view of the above, it is an object of the present invention to provide an apparatus and a method for supplying a film-shaped workpiece, which can supply the workpiece in a short time and at a high speed.

[0016]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a supply roll for winding and holding a film-shaped workpiece in a roll shape, and a processing roll for processing the film-shaped workpiece. And a means for sequentially feeding the workpiece wound on the supply roll onto the processing table at a predetermined feed pitch, and after being moved to the processing table and processed, This is achieved by a film-like workpiece supply device including a winding roll that winds a workpiece discharged from a processing table.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the film-shaped workpiece is formed in a long roll shape, and the processing areas are arranged in the longitudinal direction. By sending out at the pitch, the processing area is sequentially moved on the processing table. And
After the work is processed on the worktable, the work is discharged from the worktable by being wound on a take-up roll. Therefore, the film-shaped workpiece is supplied reliably and at high speed in a short time while maintaining flatness.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, when the workpiece moved onto the processing table is vacuum-sucked on the processing table and the flatness during processing is maintained, Thus, the flatness of the processing area of the workpiece is reliably maintained, so that accurate processing is performed.

According to the configuration of the second aspect, since there is a means for maintaining the flatness at the time of processing the workpiece moved onto the processing table, particularly accurate processing is performed.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, when the processing area of the workpiece is rectangular and its long side is arranged in the width direction of the roll, the feeding direction of the workpiece is changed. Since they coincide with the short side direction of the area, the feed pitch is shortened, and the supply time of the workpiece is shortened.

According to the configuration of claim 4, the processing table is
Regarding the feed direction of the workpiece, the size is selected to be able to accommodate one processing area, and when the feed pitch of the film-shaped workpiece is one processing area pitch, The processing areas are sequentially supplied to the processing table one by one, and processing is performed.

According to the configuration of claim 5, the processing table is
Regarding the feed direction of the workpiece, it is provided with a plurality of processing areas, and the feed pitch of the film-shaped workpiece is a plurality of processing area pitches corresponding to the size of this processing table. In a single supply, a plurality of processing areas of a workpiece are supplied onto a processing table, and the processing of the plurality of processing areas is performed simultaneously or sequentially.
Therefore, the supply time of the workpiece as a whole is reduced.

According to the construction of claim 6, the film-shaped workpiece is moved in the transverse direction with respect to the feed direction.
When one processing area is provided, the processing areas of the workpiece are sequentially supplied to the processing table one by one, and the processing is performed.

According to the configuration of claim 7, the film-shaped workpiece is moved in a direction transverse to the feeding direction.
When a plurality of processing areas are provided, the plurality of processing areas of the workpiece are supplied on the processing table by one supply, and the processing of the plurality of processing areas is performed simultaneously or sequentially. Will be. In this case, since the feed pitch of the workpiece is one pitch of the processing area, the feed time is also shortened. Therefore, the supply time of the workpiece as a whole is further reduced.

Further, according to the present invention, a film-shaped workpiece formed in a long roll shape and wound on a supply roll is placed on a worktable at a predetermined feed pitch. And a discharge step of winding the film-shaped workpiece processed on the processing table onto a take-up roll, and providing the film-shaped workpiece on the processing table. This is achieved by a method of supplying a film-shaped workpiece in which the processing areas are sequentially supplied, and after the processing is completed, the workpiece is discharged from the processing table.

[0026]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, a preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. still,
Since the embodiments described below are preferred specific examples of the present invention, various technically preferred limitations are added.
The scope of the present invention is not limited to these embodiments unless otherwise specified in the following description.

FIG. 1 shows a first embodiment of a supply device for a processing device for processing a nozzle hole of a nozzle substrate of an ink jet printer device to which the present invention is applied.
The supply device 10 in FIG. 1 can be incorporated in a part of the processing device 6 described in FIG. For this reason, the description of the entire processing apparatus is common to that of FIG. In FIG. 1, a supply device 10 is incorporated into a processing table 12 provided on a base 11 of the processing device 6 in FIG. 6, and a film-shaped workpiece formed in a long roll shape. And a winding roll 15 for winding the processed nozzle substrate 12.

The processing table 12 includes a moving table 12a that moves in the X and Y directions and a holding table 12b installed on the moving table 12a. The holding table 12b is a flat surface whose upper surface is horizontally finished with high accuracy. As a means for holding the flatness of the supplied nozzle substrate 12, for example, a large number of nozzle substrates 12 are provided on the holding table 12 so that the nozzle substrate 12 can be suction-held by vacuum suction or the like while holding the flatness of 2 μm or less. Are formed, and the vacuum suction means 37 is connected.

The nozzle substrate 13 is made of a thin film having a thickness of 1 mm or less, for example, made of a polyimide polymer material, and has a processing area 13a (in FIG. 1, a dotted line in FIG. 1) that should become an individual nozzle substrate after processing. Are formed in a line in the longitudinal direction (Y direction in the figure). In this case, the processing area 13a has a rectangular shape and is disposed such that the long side thereof is located in the width direction.

The supply roll 14 has the long nozzle substrate 13 wound thereon, and serves as a feed driving means for feeding the nozzle substrate 13 at a predetermined feed pitch, that is, one pitch of the processing area 13a. The feed motor 31 is connected. The take-up roll 15 is configured to take up the nozzle substrate 13 so as to discharge a processing area 13a processed by the processing table 12.

The supply device 10 includes, for example, a part of the control device of the processing device described with reference to FIG. The control unit 32 includes a feed motor 31 for the take-up roll 15, a vacuum suction unit 37 serving as a suction holding unit for the holding table 12 b, and a laser oscillator 33.
(Excimer laser oscillator 2). As a result, as described later, the control unit 32 accurately drills necessary holes in the nozzle substrate as a workpiece in a predetermined order.

The supply device 10 according to the present embodiment is configured as described above. When a nozzle hole is formed in each processing area 13a of the nozzle substrate 13, as shown in FIG. The wound supply roll 14 and the empty take-up roll 15 are set on the processing table 12 of the processing apparatus. Then, as shown in the flowchart of FIG.
First, in the supply step of step ST1, the motor 31 is driven by the instruction of the control unit 32 to send out the nozzle substrate 13 from the supply roll 14 by one pitch of the processing area 13a. Thereby, the new processing area 13a is moved onto the holding table 12b of the processing table 12.

Next, in the holding step of step ST2, the control unit 32 drives the vacuum suction means 37, and the processing area 13a is suction-held while holding the flatness on the holding table 12b. Next, the control unit 32 drives the laser oscillator 33 and irradiates the laser beam L (see FIG. 1) with a processing device (not shown) in the processing step of step ST3, so that a plurality of nozzle holes are simultaneously formed. Laser processing will be performed. Then, after the laser processing of the nozzle hole is completed, in a discharge step of step ST4, the winding roll 15 winds the nozzle substrate 13, and the processing area 13a in which the nozzle hole has been processed by the laser processing becomes 12 is discharged from the holding table 12b. By repeating the above steps ST1 to ST4 in this manner, each processing area 13 on the nozzle substrate 13 is processed.
The processing of a is performed sequentially.

Therefore, the nozzle substrate 13 which is a film-shaped workpiece is formed in a long roll shape, and the processing areas 13a are arranged in the longitudinal direction. By being sent at the pitch, the processing area 13a is sequentially moved onto the processing table 12. Then, after the workpiece is processed on the processing table, the workpiece is wound up by the winding roll 15 and is discharged from the processing table. In this case, each processing area 13a of the nozzle substrate 13 which is a workpiece is sequentially supplied while being kept flat while being sent out from the supply roll 14 and taken up by the take-up roll 15, so that the processing table 12 is held. By being suction-held on the table 12b, the flatness at the time of processing is also reliably held. Therefore, even if the nozzle substrate 13 is in the form of a thin film, it can maintain good flatness,
The supply is performed in a short time and at a high speed, and the supply time is greatly reduced.

FIG. 3 shows a second embodiment of a supply device for a processing device for processing a nozzle hole of a nozzle substrate of an ink jet printer device to which the present invention is applied.
3, in the supply device 20, the same components as those of the supply device 10 shown in FIG. 1 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description of the overlapping components will be omitted, and only different points will be described. This supply device 2
0 has a different configuration from the first embodiment in the following points. That is, in the supply device 20, the nozzle substrate 21 has three processing areas 21a in the width direction.
The processing table 12 has a holding table 12c large enough to accommodate a total of 9 processing areas, three in the longitudinal direction and the width direction.
The moving table 12a has an X-axis motor 12d and a Y-axis motor 12e for driving in the X and Y directions, respectively.
It has. The X-axis motor 12d and the Y-axis motor 12e as the movement adjusting means are connected to the control unit 32.

According to the processing apparatus 20 having such a configuration,
When processing a nozzle hole for each processing area 21a of the nozzle substrate 21, as shown in FIG. 3, the supply roll 14 around which the nozzle substrate 21 is wound and the empty take-up roll 15,
It is set on the processing table 12 of the processing apparatus. Then, as shown in the flowchart of FIG. 4, the control unit 32 sends out the nozzle substrate 21 from the supply roll 14 by three pitches of the processing area 21a in the supply step of step ST11. As a result, the nine new processing areas 21a are moved to the holding table 12c of the processing table 12.

Next, in the holding step of step ST12,
The control unit 32 uses the vacuum suction means 37 to
The upper nozzle substrate 21 is sucked, and the respective processing areas 21
is held by suction while holding the flatness on the holding table 12c. Subsequently, in the processing step of step ST13, a laser beam L (see FIG. 1) is irradiated by the laser oscillator 33 of the processing apparatus in accordance with an instruction of the control unit 32, so that one processing area 21a is The number of nozzle holes will be simultaneously laser-processed. Here, the moving table 12a is appropriately moved in the X direction and the Y direction by the X-axis motor 12d and the Y-axis motor 12e in accordance with an instruction from the control unit 32, thereby obtaining nine processing areas 21.
The nozzle holes are sequentially processed for a.

After the laser processing of the nozzle holes of all the processing areas 21a is completed, the take-up roll 15 takes up the nozzle substrate 21 in the discharge step of step ST14, and the nozzle holes are processed by the laser processing. The processed area 21a is discharged from the holding table 12c of the processing table 12. Thus, each of the above steps ST11
By repeating steps ST14 to ST14, the processing of each processing area 21a on the nozzle substrate 21 is sequentially performed.

In this case, the nozzle substrate 21 as a workpiece is
The processing areas 21a are sequentially supplied while being kept flat by the feeding from the supply roll 14 and the winding by the winding roll 15, and the holding table 1 of the processing table 12
By holding by suction on 2c, the flatness at the time of processing is also reliably held. Therefore, even if the nozzle substrate 21 is in the form of a thin film, the nozzle substrate 21 is supplied in a short time and at high speed while maintaining good flatness, and the supply time is greatly reduced. Further, nine feeding areas 21a are moved onto the holding table 12c of the processing table 12 by one feed, so that the supply time of the nozzle substrate 21 as a whole is shortened, and productivity is further improved. It will be further improved.

In the above embodiment, in the supply device 10 shown in FIG. 1, the processing areas 13a are arranged in a line, and in the supply device 20 shown in FIG.
Although 1a is arranged in three rows, it is not limited to this, and it is clear that two or four or more processing areas may be arranged in the width direction. Further, in the supply device 10 shown in FIG.
The machining area 13a is sent out one pitch at a time.
In the supply device 20 shown in FIG. 5, the processing area 21a is sent out every three pitches. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and it may be sent out every two pitches or at a pitch of four or more pitches. It is clear. In this case, the size of the holding table of the processing table needs to be selected according to the number of processing areas in the width direction and the feed pitch.

In the above-described embodiment, a supply device for a processing device for processing a pair of nozzle holes of a nozzle substrate of an ink-jet printer device has been described. It is clear that the present invention can be applied to a supply device for supplying the workpiece.

[0042]

As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide an apparatus and a method for supplying a film-shaped workpiece, which can supply the workpiece in a short time and at a high speed. it can.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view showing a first embodiment of a supply device according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing an operation of the supply device of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a schematic perspective view showing a second embodiment of the supply device according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of the supply device of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a schematic perspective view showing an example of a nozzle substrate of the ink jet printer.

6A is an enlarged sectional view showing a nozzle hole provided in the nozzle substrate of FIG. 5, and FIG.

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram illustrating a configuration of an example of a processing device for processing a nozzle hole in a nozzle substrate of an ink jet printer device.

FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of another example of a processing device for processing a nozzle hole in a nozzle substrate of an ink jet printer device.

9 is a schematic view showing an example in which a nozzle substrate as a workpiece is supplied to a holding table of a processing table in the processing apparatus of FIG. 8;

[Explanation of symbols]

10: supply device, 11: base of processing device, 1
2 ... working table, 12a ... moving table, 12b,
12c: holding table, 12d, 12e: motor, 1
3 ... nozzle substrate (workpiece), 13a ... processing area, 14 ... supply roll, 15 ... take-up roll,
20: supply device, 21: nozzle substrate, 21a
・ ・ Processing area.

 ────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuing from the front page (72) Inventor Yuichi Takai 6-35 Kita Shinagawa, Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo Sony Corporation F-term (reference) 2C057 AF93 AG12 AP02 AP13 AP23 AQ03 BA03 3F105 AA04 AB04 CA02 CB01 4E068 AF00 CA14 CB05 CE04 CE09 CE11 DA00 DA14 DB07

Claims (8)

[Claims] 1. A supply roll for winding and holding a film-shaped workpiece in a roll shape, a processing table for processing the film-shaped workpiece, and a workpiece wound on the supply roll. Means for sequentially feeding the workpiece onto the processing table at a predetermined feed pitch, and a winding roll for winding the workpiece discharged from the processing table after being moved on the processing table and processed. A supply device for a film-shaped workpiece, comprising: 2. The supply device according to claim 1, further comprising a unit for maintaining a flatness of the workpiece moved on the processing table when the workpiece is processed. 3. The supply device according to claim 1, wherein a processing area of the workpiece is rectangular, and a long side thereof is arranged in a width direction of the roll. 4. The processing table is selected to have a size capable of accommodating one processing area with respect to a feeding direction of the workpiece, and a feed pitch of the film-shaped workpiece is equal to one processing area pitch. The supply device according to claim 1, wherein 5. The processing table has a plurality of processing areas in a feeding direction of the workpiece, and a feeding pitch of the film-shaped workpiece corresponds to a size of the processing table. 2. The supply device according to claim 1, wherein the supply device has a plurality of processing area pitches. 6. The supply device according to claim 1, wherein the film-shaped workpiece has one processing area in a direction transverse to the feeding direction. 7. The supply device according to claim 1, wherein the workpiece in the form of a film has a plurality of processing areas in a direction transverse to a feed direction thereof. 8. A supply step of feeding a film-shaped workpiece formed into a long roll shape and wound on a supply roll onto a processing table at a predetermined feed pitch, and processing on the processing table. And a discharge step of winding a film-shaped workpiece on a take-up roll. The processing area of the film-shaped workpiece is sequentially supplied to a processing table, and after the processing is completed. And discharging the workpiece from a processing table.