JP2000241246A - Film forming device, and device and method for liquid colorimetry - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To enable easy incorporation in various systems for colored liquid, to improve the precision of film thickness control, and to measure optical characteristics of the colored liquid in real time. SOLUTION: Print ink (i) is introduced through an inflow hole 3 into the space surrounded with a bottom member 2 which holds a 1st plane member 1, a side wall member 5, and an up/down moving holder 10 which holds a 2nd plane member 9 and then a drive part 8 lowers the up/down moving holder 10 intermittently at intervals of a specific driving quantity to put the 2nd plane member 9 close to the 1st plane member 1 from above; while the print ink (i) is jetted from a jet hole 4 corresponding to how close the 2nd plane member 9 is put, the 2nd plane member 9 is put close to the 1st plane member 1 and the gap between the 1st plane member 1 and 2nd plane member 9 is filled with the print ink (i) to form a thin film of colored liquid (print ink (i)) which has varied in film thickness intermittently.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a film forming apparatus, a liquid color measuring apparatus and a liquid color measuring method for measuring the optical characteristics of a coloring liquid such as ink, and more particularly, to improving the precision of controlling the film thickness. The present invention relates to an obtained film forming apparatus, a liquid colorimetric device, and a liquid colorimetric method.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In general, in the field of handling colored liquids such as paints, inks, plastics, etc., CCM (com) is used to obtain a desired color mixing ratio based on the spectral characteristics of these colored liquids.
putercolor matching) is widely known.

In this CCM, it is important to accurately measure the optical properties of the colored liquid during production, preparation, or supply to the printing press. Here, as the optical characteristics, those that basically use the spectral transmittance, the spectral reflectance, or both are generally used. In such a CCM, a color is measured (colorimetrically measured) by executing arithmetic processing by a predetermined algorithm based on the obtained optical characteristic data.

As a method for measuring optical characteristics of this type, there is a method using a liquid colorimeter for irradiating a colored liquid with light and spectrally analyzing transmitted light or reflected light.

For example, in a liquid colorimeter disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Hei 8-94441, the thickness of a colored liquid film (about 10 μm thick) is controlled by controlling the position of a liquid tank lid.
The colored liquid collected from the ink pan is manually stored in a colorimetric cell that can be adjusted up and down in micron units.

Thereafter, the colorimetric cell is irradiated with light for analysis, and the transmitted light of the colorimetric cell is analyzed by spectral analysis means to measure the optical characteristics of the colored liquid. After the measurement is completed, the liquid is discharged and washed, so that a new liquid can be measured. It is said that the supply and discharge of the new liquid is preferably continued for a certain period of time until the influence of the solvent used for cleaning is eliminated.

[0007]

However, such a liquid colorimeter has a structure in which a colored liquid collected from an ink pan is manually stored in a colorimetric cell and colorimetrically measured, so that the production of a colored liquid is performed. Or, it is difficult to incorporate it into a preparation system or an ink supply system of a printing press.

[0008] The liquid is discharged and washed for each measurement. When a new liquid is supplied and discharged for a certain period of time, depending on the duration of the supply and discharge, coloring during production, preparation or printing is performed. It has become difficult to measure the color change of a liquid in real time.

[0009] Further, the thickness of the liquid film is controlled by controlling the position of the liquid tank lid in units of 1 micron, but when the thickness of the liquid film is extremely thin, the coloring fluid is solidified. An error may occur in the control of the film thickness by interposing a solid or mixed dust.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and has as its object to provide a film forming apparatus which can be easily incorporated into various systems for colored liquids and can improve the accuracy of film thickness control. .

[0011] Further, a film forming apparatus capable of forming a color liquid to be measured in an extremely thin desired film thickness and capable of easily and efficiently measuring optical characteristics (particularly, spectral transmittance) of the thin film. It is an object to provide a liquid color measuring device and a liquid color measuring method.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a liquid colorimetric device and a liquid colorimetric method capable of measuring the optical characteristics of a colored liquid in real time.

[0013]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a film forming apparatus for forming a colored liquid in the form of a film, wherein the holding member holds a transparent first flat member substantially at the center. A liquid holder that stands on the periphery of the holding member and has a side wall member on which the inflow port and the discharge port of the coloring liquid are formed; a fixed bracket fixed to the side wall member; and a fixed bracket provided on the fixed bracket. A drive unit having a drive shaft that is movable up and down in the vertical direction, and connected to the drive shaft, the peripheral portion is slidable in the vertical direction along the inner peripheral portion of the side wall member, and substantially at the center. A film forming apparatus comprising: a vertically moving holder that holds a transparent second planar member substantially parallel to the first planar member while facing the first planar member.

The driving means may include a stepping motor or a servo motor. Further, the driving means may be driven by a pulse signal, and a minimum driving distance may be set to 0.1 μm / pulse or less. The first and second planar members may be made of quartz glass, BK7 glass, or sapphire glass. Further, the fixing bracket may include a position sensor for detecting a position of a rising limit of the vertically moving holder from a viewpoint of improving operability.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a liquid colorimetric apparatus using the film forming apparatus according to the first aspect, wherein the liquid colorimetric apparatus is disposed below the first plane member and the second plane member. A light-receiving element that receives transmitted light transmitted from the second plane member through the first plane member when light is introduced from above, and a light-receiving element that is disposed on a side of the light-receiving element and performs spectral measurement of the transmitted light. Measuring means for controlling the driving means, moving the vertical moving holder downward by a predetermined moving amount, controlling the spectroscopic measuring means to obtain a measurement result, and controlling the movement Each measurement result obtained for each movement by the means indicates history data storage means stored in combination with measurement history data which can be converted to the thickness of the colored liquid, and indicates the maximum light intensity of transmitted light by the light receiving element. Lower limit position detected Then, referring to the history data storage means, back-calculates the measurement history data corresponding to the predetermined film thickness based on the movement amount, reads out the same set of measurement results as the measurement history data, and stores the measurement results. And a measurement result storage unit for performing the measurement.

Further, according to a third aspect of the present invention, in the liquid color measurement device according to the second aspect, when the light receiving element detects the maximum light intensity, the movement control means controls the lower part of the vertical movement holder. Is a liquid colorimeter that stops moving to

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a liquid colorimeter for measuring the color of a colored liquid, wherein the first and second transparent colorimeters are disposed substantially parallel to each other to face each other and sandwich the colored liquid. The interval between the two flat members is intermittently moved with respect to the two flat members, and at a plurality of mutually different intervals, light is incident from one flat member side and transmitted light emitted from the other flat member side. Measuring means for measuring the spectral transmittance, and each measurement result obtained for each movement by the measuring means, history data storage means stored in combination with measurement history data that can be converted to the film thickness of the colored liquid, When the lower limit position indicating the maximum light intensity of the transmitted light is detected by the measuring unit, the history data storage unit is referred to, and the measurement history data corresponding to the predetermined film thickness is calculated backward based on the moving amount, Same as the measurement history data A liquid colorimetric device having a set of measurement results reads the measuring result storage means for storing the measurement results.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the liquid colorimetric apparatus according to the fourth aspect, when the measuring means detects the maximum light intensity, the movement of the interval between the two flat members is stopped. This is a liquid color measurement device.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a liquid color measuring method for measuring the color of a colored liquid.
The coloring liquid is introduced into a measuring cell including a liquid holder having a planar member at the bottom and a transparent second planar member disposed above and parallel to the first planar member so as to be substantially parallel to the first planar member. A liquid introducing step of, when the colored liquid is introduced at the latest, a light irradiating step of irradiating the colored liquid filling a gap between the second planar member and the first planar member with light, During the irradiation, a member moving step of intermittently moving the second plane member downward by a predetermined movement amount and discharging the coloring liquid from the liquid holder in accordance with the movement amount; A spectral measurement step of spectrally measuring transmitted light transmitted through the colored liquid for each movement of the colored liquid and storing the spectral measurement result in combination with measurement history data that can be converted to a film thickness of the colored liquid; Each time the member moves, the transmitted light A light intensity measuring step of measuring light intensity, and when the light intensity is saturated without increasing even when the second plane member is moved, measurement history data corresponding to a predetermined film thickness is determined based on the amount of movement. A liquid crystal colorimetry method comprising a step of back-calculating, reading out the same set of spectral measurement results as the measurement history data, and storing the spectral measurement results.

Further, according to a seventh aspect of the present invention, there is provided a liquid color measuring method for measuring the color of a colored liquid, wherein the transparent first liquid is disposed substantially parallel to each other so as to face the colored liquid.
And a moving step of intermittently moving an interval between the two planar members with respect to the second planar member, and at a plurality of mutually different intervals between the two planar members, light is incident from one planar member side and the other. A measuring step of measuring the spectral transmittance of the transmitted light emitted from the flat member side, and each measurement result obtained for each movement in the measuring step is combined with measurement history data that can be converted to a film thickness of the colored liquid. A history data storage step in which the lower limit position indicating the maximum light intensity of the transmitted light is detected in the measurement step, the history data storage means is referred to, and a predetermined film thickness is determined based on the movement amount. And a measurement result storing step of reading out the same set of measurement results as the measurement history data and storing the measurement results.

(Operation) Therefore, the invention corresponding to claim 1 employs the above-described means, so that a holding member for holding the first flat member, a side wall member, and a vertically moving holder for holding the second flat member. After the colored liquid is introduced from the inflow port into the space surrounded by, the driving means intermittently lowers the vertical moving holder at every predetermined drive amount, and lowers the second plane member from the first position. The gap between the first and second flat members is filled with the colored liquid while the colored liquid is discharged from the discharge port in accordance with the degree of the approach, thereby intermittently intermittently. Since a thin film of the colored liquid having a changed thickness is formed, it can be easily incorporated into various systems of the colored liquid. In addition, since the first flat member protrudes from the surface of the holding member, the inflow of solids and dust is prevented. Blocks the protruding end of the first flat member Therefore, unlike the conventional case, even when the liquid film is extremely thin, solid matter and dust are not interposed between the first and second planar members, so that the accuracy of film thickness control is improved. be able to.

Further, since the coloring liquid to be measured can be formed to a very thin desired film thickness, the optical characteristics (particularly, spectral transmittance) of the coloring liquid at the time of a desired thin film can be easily obtained by combining with a measuring device. Measurement can be performed accurately and efficiently.

The invention according to claims 2 and 4 is arranged below the first plane member, and when the light is introduced into the second plane member from above, the first plane member is moved from the second plane member. A light-receiving element for receiving the transmitted light transmitted therethrough, a spectrometric measuring means for spectrally measuring the transmitted light, which is disposed on a side of the light-receiving element, and a driving means for controlling the vertical moving holder downward by a predetermined moving amount A movement control means for controlling the spectroscopic measurement means for each movement to obtain a measurement result, and each measurement result obtained for each movement by the movement control means is combined with measurement history data which can be converted into a thickness of a colored liquid. Providing history data storage means to be stored, the measurement result storage means, when the lower limit position indicating the maximum light intensity of the transmitted light is detected by the light receiving element,
Reference is made to the history data storage means, the measurement history data corresponding to the predetermined film thickness is calculated backward based on the movement amount, the same set of measurement results as the measurement history data is read out, and the measurement results are stored. In addition to the action corresponding to 1, the optical characteristics of the colored liquid can be measured in real time by incorporating it into various systems of the colored liquid.

Further, the invention according to claims 3 and 5 is:
When the light receiving element detects the maximum light intensity, the downward movement of the vertical movement holder by the movement control means is stopped.
The action corresponding to claim 6 can be easily and reliably achieved.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the liquid introducing step, the liquid holder having the transparent first flat member at the bottom is opposed to the first flat member substantially parallel to the first flat member. The colored liquid is introduced into the measuring cell including the disposed transparent second planar member, and when the colored liquid is introduced at the latest by the light irradiation step, the second planar member and the first
The colored liquid that fills the gap between the flat member and the flat member is irradiated with light. In the member moving step, the second flat member is intermittently moved downward by a predetermined moving amount during the light irradiation, and the moving amount is reduced. Correspondingly, the colored liquid is discharged from the liquid holder, and the transmitted light transmitted through the colored liquid is spectrally measured every time the second planar member is moved by the spectral measurement step, and the result of the spectral measurement is converted into the thickness of the colored liquid. Store in combination with possible measurement history data,
By the light intensity measuring step, the light intensity of the transmitted light is measured every time the second plane member moves, and when the light intensity does not increase even if the second plane member is moved by the measurement result storing step, the light intensity is saturated.
Based on the movement amount, the measurement history data corresponding to the predetermined film thickness is calculated backward, the same set of spectral measurement results as the measurement history data is read out, and this spectral measurement result is stored. In addition to being able to be incorporated, the contact between the second planar member and the first planar member is detected based on the saturation of the light intensity, and the measurement showing the spectroscopic measurement result of the desired film thickness from the state of the contacted film thickness of zero. The structure for back-calculating the history data from the movement amount can improve the accuracy of the film thickness control, and can measure the optical characteristics of the coloring liquid in real time.

[0026]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS One embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a cross-sectional configuration of a liquid colorimeter using a film forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

This film forming apparatus is provided on a bottom member 2 which holds a transparent first flat member 1 protruding from the surface at a substantially central portion, and stands upright around the bottom member 2. A liquid holder 6 including a side wall member 5 having a discharge port 4 formed thereon, a fixed bracket 7 fixed to the side wall member 5, and a drive unit provided on the fixed bracket 7 and having a drive shaft 8 a that can move up and down in the vertical direction. And a transparent second planar member 9 connected to the drive shaft 8a, the periphery of which is slidable in the vertical direction along the inner periphery of the side wall member 5, and protrudes from the surface at a substantially central portion. And a vertically moving holder 10 that holds the first and second flat members substantially parallel to the first flat member 1 while facing the first flat member 1.

Here, the first and second plane members 1 and 9 are
It is formed of a transparent material such as quartz glass, BK7 glass or sapphire glass. In addition, since the first and second planar members 1 and 9 are in contact with each other, it is preferable that the first and second planar members 1 and 9 be made of a material having a sufficient hardness in addition to a transparent property. Is desirable.

The first flat member 1, the bottom member 2, the side wall member 5, the second flat member 9, and the vertically movable holder 10 are provided with a fluororesin thin film (cell for measurement) on the surface of the internal space (cell for measurement) in contact with the colored liquid. (A thickness of several nm to several tens of nm) (not shown).

The first and second flat members 1 and 9 are arranged to face each other, and a gap is formed between the two flat members 1 and 9 to fill the coloring liquid (printing ink i) and form a thin film. Has become. The value of this gap is, for example, several microns to
It is between several tens of microns, and the value becomes smaller as the concealing property (light-shielding property) of the coloring liquid is higher. For example, in the case of ordinary gravure ink, an appropriate interval can be found at about 5 to 20 microns. it is conceivable that.

The inflow port 3 and the discharge port 4 are each provided with a side wall member 5.
Are formed so as to communicate the inner peripheral portion and the outer peripheral portion thereof, and are opposed to each other via an optical axis. One end of a first conduit 11a for introducing, for example, a printing ink i as a coloring liquid is connected to the inflow port 3. First conduit 11a
Is connected to an ink pan 12a containing a printing ink i, for example, as a coloring liquid supply source. Further, a pump 13 for forcibly flowing the printing ink i from the ink pan 12a to the inflow port 3 is connected in the middle of the first conduit 11a.

On the other hand, the discharge port 4 is connected to one end of the second conduit 11b. The other end of the second conduit 11b communicates with the waste liquid ink pan 12b.

In the present invention, the colored liquid is formed in a very thin film suitable for measurement. For this reason, although it depends on the viscosity of the colored liquid, if the gap filled with the colored liquid is initially held at a value suitable for measurement, it will be difficult to allow the colored liquid to subsequently flow into the gap. Therefore, when the gap is filled with the coloring liquid, it is important to make the gap wide in advance, and to narrow the gap after the coloring liquid flows. For example,
In the case of ordinary gravure ink, it is possible to easily flow the ink by leaving a gap of about 1 mm in advance.

The fixed bracket 7 has a position sensor 14 for detecting the vertically movable holder 10 located at the ascending limit and sending it to a computer described later. The position of the position sensor 14 is not limited to the fixed bracket 7 but may be appropriately set on the liquid holder 6 or the like.

The driving unit 8 is controlled by a computer described later.
The vertically movable holder 10 is held so as to be movable in a vertical direction. Specifically, a stepping motor or a servomotor can be used. From, it is preferable to have a high-resolution operation control and stop accuracy, specifically,
Driven by pulse signal, minimum drive distance is 0.1μm
/ Pulse or less is desirable.

Next, the configuration of a liquid colorimeter using such a film forming apparatus will be described. This liquid color measurement device
First and second light source sections 21 and 2 arranged in parallel with each other and configured to introduce light into second planar member 9 of the film forming apparatus from above.
2, the first light source unit 21 is disposed below the first flat member 1 so as to face the first light source unit 21, and when the first light source unit 21 generates light, the first flat member 1 is moved from the second flat member 9 to the first flat member 1. A light receiving element for receiving the transmitted light; and a second light source section disposed on a side of the light receiving element opposite to the second light source section.
2, when the light is generated, a spectrophotometer 24 for spectrally analyzing transmitted light transmitted from the second flat member 9 to the first flat member 1, and an element holder 25 for holding the light receiving element 23 and the spectrophotometer. While controlling the driving unit 8,
And a computer 27 for processing data obtained from the spectrophotometer 24 using the log file 26.

As the first and second light source sections 21 and 22, halogen lamps for generating white light are used, but they may be replaced by tungsten lamps or xenon lamps having a comparatively wide emission wavelength range, or by ultra-high pressure. A mercury lamp may be used.

The light receiving element 23 is for detecting the highest saturated light intensity when the first and second planar members 1 and 9 come into contact with each other. Has a function of transmitting the light intensity of the transmitted light transmitted through the first plane member 1 to the computer 27.

The spectrophotometer 24 is controlled by a computer 27 to measure the spectral transmittance of light transmitted through the colored liquid in the gap between the first and second flat members 1 and 9 and to calculate the colorimetric result. 27. Here, as an example, a visible light region of about 400 nm to 700 nm is set to 20 nm.
The spectral transmittance is measured at intervals.

The log file 26 is, as shown in FIG. 2A, a set of the measurement history data 26a indicating the first to n-th measurement orders and the spectral transmittance 26b. As shown in (2), the measurement history data 26a is converted in a direction in which it returns in time so that the film thickness increases from zero gap.

For example, the n-th measurement history data 26a is converted to the zeroth time (gap is zero), the (n-1) th measurement history data 26a is converted to the first time,...
The first measurement history data 26a is converted to the (n-1) th measurement history data 26c, and the respective spectral transmittance measurement history data 26c is converted.
Is associated with.

That is, in the log file 26, at the time of back calculation, a value obtained by dividing a desired film thickness by one movement amount becomes a value indicated by the converted measurement history data 26c, and the same set of spectral transmittance as this value 26b is the spectral transmittance at the desired film thickness.

The computer 27 has a function of regulating the upper limit position of the vertical moving holder 10 based on the detection result of the position sensor 14, and controls the driving unit 8 to move the vertical moving holder 10 downward by a predetermined moving amount. The function of controlling the spectrophotometer 24 to obtain the measurement results and the measurement results obtained every movement of the up-and-down moving holder 10 are combined with the measurement history data which can be converted into the thickness of the colored liquid to the log file 26. When the lower limit position indicating the maximum light intensity of the transmitted light is detected by the light receiving element 23, the log file 26 is referred to, and the measurement history data 26c corresponding to the predetermined film thickness is determined based on the movement amount. It has a function of performing back calculation, reading out the same set of spectral measurement results (spectral transmittance 26b) as the measurement history data 26c, and storing the measurement results on a hard disk or the like (not shown).

Next, the operation of such a film forming apparatus and a liquid color measuring method using the liquid color measuring apparatus will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. Now, the vertical moving holder 10
Is in a state of being raised to such an extent that it is not regulated by the position sensor 14 (ST1). Here, the driving of the pump 13 causes the printing ink i in the ink pan 12a to flow into the film forming apparatus through the inflow port 3 (ST2; liquid introduction step). When the inside of the film forming apparatus is filled with the printing ink i, the pump 13 is stopped to stop the inflow of the printing ink i (ST3).

When the printing ink i is introduced, light is emitted from the first and second light source units 21 and 22 to the printing ink i that fills the gap between the second plane member 9 and the first plane member 1. (ST4; light irradiation step).

During the light irradiation, the computer 27 controls the driving unit 8 every time spectrometry is performed to move the second plane member 9 downward by a predetermined movement amount (ST5; member moving step),
The printing ink i is discharged from the discharge port 4 of the liquid holder 6 in accordance with the movement amount. Thereby, in the film forming apparatus, the second
Between the planar member 9 and the first planar member 1, a thin film of the printing ink i whose thickness is reduced intermittently is formed for each spectral measurement. Here, the spectroscopic measurement will be described. In the liquid colorimeter using the film forming apparatus, the light generated by the first light source unit 21 is incident on the light receiving element 23 as transmitted light transmitted through the second plane member 9, the printing ink i and the first plane member 1. The light generated by the second light source unit 22 is incident on the spectrophotometer 24 as transmitted light transmitted through the second plane member 9, the printing ink i, and the first plane member 1.

The light intensity of the transmitted light increases as the second plane member 9 approaches the first plane member 1 (due to the decrease in the thickness of the printing ink i due to the decrease in the gap), and the first and second plane members 9 increase. When the two planar members 1 and 9 come into contact with each other, the light intensity becomes maximum and saturated. The light receiving element 23 measures the light intensity of the transmitted light every time the second plane member 9 moves (ST6: light intensity measuring step), and sends the measurement result to the computer 27. Computer 27
Determines whether or not the current light intensity has increased compared to the previous light intensity (ST7). When it is determined that the light intensity has increased, the spectrophotometer 24 starts spectral measurement.

That is, the computer 27 operates as the second plane member 9.
For each movement, the transmitted light transmitted through the printing ink i is spectrally measured by the spectrophotometer 24 (ST8: spectral measuring step),
This spectral measurement result is combined with the measurement history data 26a that can be converted to the film thickness of the printing ink i, stored in the log file 26 as shown in FIG. 2A (ST9; spectral measurement step), and returns to step ST5.

On the other hand, as a result of step ST7, when it is determined that the light intensity does not increase even if the second flat member 9 is lowered and the light intensity is saturated, the second flat member 9 comes into contact with the first flat member 1. As shown in FIG. 2B, the computer 27 converts the measurement history data 26a into a direction in which it returns in time.

Next, the computer 27 converts the converted measurement history data 2 corresponding to the predetermined film thickness based on the amount of one movement.
The value of 6c is back calculated (ST10; measurement result storage step).

For example, when the predetermined film thickness is 2 μm and the amount of one movement is 0.1 μm, the corresponding value of the converted measurement history data 26 c is 2 μm / 0.1 μm = 2
Obtained as 0. The value “20” of the measurement history data 26c indicates that the measurement 20 times before the contact with the film thickness of 0 μm is the measurement when the film thickness is 2 μm.

The computer 27 reads out the same set of spectral transmittances 26b as the measurement history data 26c obtained in this way, stores the spectral transmittances 26b (ST11: measurement result storage step), and ends the processing.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the film forming method includes the bottom member 2 for holding the first flat member 1,
The printing ink i enters the space surrounded by the vertical moving holder 10 holding the side wall member 5 and the second flat member 9 from the inflow port 3.
After that, the driving unit 8 intermittently lowers the vertical moving holder 10 at every predetermined drive amount to bring the second plane member 9 closer to the first plane member 1 from above, and the driving unit 8 corresponds to the degree of this approach. By filling the gap between the first planar member 1 and the second planar member 9 with the printing ink i while discharging the printing ink from the discharge port 4, the thin film of the colored liquid having the film thickness changed intermittently. Is formed, it can be easily incorporated into various systems of the colored liquid, and since the first flat member 1 protrudes from the surface of the bottom member 2, the inflow of solids, dust and the like can be prevented.
Since it is blocked by the protruding end of the flat member 1, unlike the conventional case, even if the liquid film is extremely thin, solids and dust can be sandwiched between the first and second flat members 1, 9. Therefore, the accuracy of film thickness control can be improved.

Also, since the color liquid to be measured can be formed to a very thin desired film thickness, the optical characteristics (particularly, spectral transmittance) of the colored liquid at the time of a desired thin film can be easily achieved by combining with the measuring device. Measurement can be performed accurately and efficiently.

Further, since the driving section 8 includes a stepping motor or a servomotor, the effects of the present embodiment can be easily and reliably achieved. Further, the driving section 8 is driven by a pulse signal, and the minimum driving distance is set to be equal to 0.
When it is 1 μm / pulse or less, the effects of the present embodiment can be more easily and reliably achieved.

Further, the ink pan 1 is
Since the printing ink i of 2a can be automatically supplied to the film forming apparatus, it is possible to perform colorimetry on the site side without the need for manual operation, and since the manual operation is unnecessary, the colorimetry of the printing ink i can be stably performed with high accuracy. Can be done

Since the first and second planar members 1 and 9 are made of quartz glass, BK7 glass or sapphire glass, the effects of the present embodiment can be easily and reliably achieved. Further, since the fixed bracket 7 is provided with the position sensor 14 for detecting the position of the vertical movement holder 10 at the upper limit, operability can be improved. Also, the first flat member 1, the bottom member 2, the side wall member 5,
Since the second flat member 9 and the vertically movable holder 10 are provided with a water-repellent layer made of a fluororesin thin film on the surface in contact with the printing ink i, when measuring a colored liquid of a different color, the measurement is different from the conventional method. Washing for each color can be facilitated.

As the liquid colorimetric method, a light receiving element 23 for receiving the transmitted light transmitted from the second plane member 9 through the first plane member 1 and a light receiving element 2 by the film forming method described above.
Spectrophotometer 24 for spectroscopically measuring transmitted light on the side of 3
The calculator 27 controls the driving unit 8 and controls the spectrophotometer 24 every time the vertically moving holder 10 is moved downward by a predetermined movement amount to obtain the measurement results. When the measurement result and the measurement history data 26a that can be converted to the film thickness of the colored liquid are combined and stored in the log file 26, and the light receiving element 23 detects the lower limit position indicating the maximum light intensity of the transmitted light (second When the light intensity does not increase even if the plane member 9 is moved and the light intensity is saturated), the measurement history data 26c corresponding to the predetermined film thickness is calculated back based on the movement amount with reference to the log file 26, and the measurement history is calculated. In this method, the same set of spectral transmittances 26b as the data 26c is read out and the spectral transmittances are stored.

Accordingly, it can be easily incorporated into various systems of the colored liquid, and the contact between the second plane member 9 and the first plane member 1 is detected based on the saturation of the light intensity. With a structure in which measurement history data 26c indicating a spectroscopic measurement result of a desired film thickness is calculated from a movement amount from a zero state,
The accuracy of controlling the film thickness can be improved, and the optical characteristics of the coloring liquid can be measured in real time.

Further, when the light receiving element 23 detects the maximum light intensity, the computer 27 controls the driving section 8 to
Since the downward movement of the vertically movable holder 10 is stopped, the effects of the present embodiment can be easily and reliably achieved.

Further, the first and second planar members 1 and 9 are brought into contact with each other, and the measurement history is traced back from the state of the contacted film thickness of zero, so that the result of the spectroscopic measurement of the desired film thickness can be obtained. Therefore, unlike the related art, even if the relative positional relationship in the colorimetric cell changes with time, no error occurs in the film thickness control, so that the reliability of the film thickness control can be improved. it can.

In addition, since the coloring liquid is the printing ink i, for example, a thin film of the printing ink that is being manufactured, adjusted, or supplied to a printing machine can be formed with high precision.

For example, the printing ink i is supplied to the ink pan 12a.
Can be automatically supplied into the film forming apparatus from the apparatus, so that the liquid colorimeter is incorporated into the printing line of the printing press to directly and in real time measure the optical characteristics of the printing ink i in the ink pan 12a. Can be.

Further, since the color change of the ink during printing can be measured in real time, real-time printing ink i can be measured.
, And centralized management of ink colors for each printing line can be realized.

Further, since the film thickness of the colored liquid can be set widely, it is possible to perform color measurement of all density colors from high density colors to low density colors. In the above embodiment, the case where the light receiving element 23 is used for detecting the light intensity of the transmitted light transmitted through the printing ink i has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the light receiving element 23 and the first light source unit 21 are omitted. However, even when the spectrophotometer 24 is used as the light receiving element 23, the present invention can be implemented in the same manner and the same effect can be obtained. Further, the light receiving element 23 and the first light source unit 21 can be omitted. Correspondingly, the configuration can be simplified.

Further, from the viewpoint of making the light uniform, on the incident optical axis between the first and second light source sections 21 and 22 and the second plane member 9 or on the first plane member 1 and the light receiving element 23 In addition, the present invention can be implemented in the same manner and have the same effect even when a well-known integrating sphere (Ulbricht sphere) is interposed on the transmission optical axis between the spectrophotometer 24 and the transmission optical axis.

The first and second planar members 1 and 9 have been described with respect to the case where the opposing surfaces are smooth. However, the present invention is not limited to this. Even if the structure is modified to have a contact surface that protrudes by the film thickness and abuts on the other flat member, in addition to obtaining the same effect by performing the present invention in the same manner, the minimum film thickness of the coloring liquid is kept constant. Value can be regulated.

The light irradiation by the first and second light source sections 21 and 22 has been described after the introduction of the printing ink i. However, the present invention is not limited to this. It goes without saying that the same effect can be obtained by implementing the present invention in the same manner.

In addition, the present invention can be variously modified and implemented without departing from the gist thereof.

[0070]

As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide a film forming apparatus which can be easily incorporated into various systems of a colored liquid and which can improve the accuracy of controlling the film thickness.

Further, a film thickness forming apparatus capable of forming a color liquid to be measured in a very thin desired film thickness and capable of easily and accurately measuring the optical characteristics (especially, spectral transmittance) of the thin film in a thin film. A liquid color measurement device and a liquid color measurement method can be provided.

Further, in addition to the above, it is possible to provide a liquid color measuring device and a liquid color measuring method capable of measuring the optical characteristics of the colored liquid in real time.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a cross-sectional configuration of a liquid colorimeter using a film forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing a schematic configuration of a log file according to the embodiment;

FIG. 3 is a flowchart for explaining the operation in the embodiment;

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... 1st plane member 2 ... Bottom member 3 ... Inflow port 4 ... Discharge port 5 ... Side wall member 6 ... Liquid holder 7 ... Fixing bracket 8 ... Drive part 8a ... Drive shaft 9 ... 2nd plane member 10 ... Vertical movement holder 11a , 11b conduit 12a, 12b ink pan 13 pump 14 position sensor 21, 22 light source unit 23 light receiving element 24 spectrophotometer 25 element holder 26 log file 26a, 26c measurement history data 26b spectral transmission Rate 27: Computer i: Printing ink

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuing on the front page (72) Inventor Takashi Inamura 1-5-1, Taito, Taito-ku, Tokyo Inside Toppan Printing Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Yoshio Koide 1-1-5-1, Taito, Taito-ku, Tokyo F-term in Toppan Printing Co., Ltd. (reference) 2G020 AA08 DA14 DA62

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. A film forming apparatus for forming a colored liquid into a film, comprising: a holding member for holding a transparent first flat member at a substantially central portion; and a standing member provided on a periphery of the holding member; A liquid holder including a side wall member having an inlet and an outlet for the colored liquid; a fixed bracket fixed to the side wall member; and a drive provided on the fixed bracket and having a drive shaft capable of moving up and down in the vertical direction. And a second planar member connected to the drive shaft, the peripheral portion of which is slidable in the vertical direction along the inner peripheral portion of the side wall member, and the transparent second planar member in the substantially central portion is attached to the first planar member. A film forming apparatus, comprising: a vertically moving holder that is held substantially parallel to the first planar member while facing the first planar member. 2. A liquid colorimeter using the film forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the liquid colorimeter is disposed below the first plane member, and when light is introduced into the second plane member from above. A light-receiving element that receives transmitted light transmitted from the second plane member through the first plane member; a spectrometer that is disposed on a side of the light-receiving element and that spectrally measures the transmitted light; Control means for controlling the spectrometry means to obtain a measurement result each time the vertical movement holder is moved downward by a predetermined movement amount; and each of the movement control means for each movement obtained by the movement control means. When the measurement result is stored in combination with the history data that can be converted into the thickness of the colored liquid and the measurement history data, and when the lower limit position indicating the maximum light intensity of the transmitted light is detected by the light receiving element, The history data storage hand And a measurement result storage unit for back-calculating the measurement history data corresponding to the predetermined film thickness based on the moving amount, reading out the same set of measurement results as the measurement history data, and storing the measurement results. A liquid colorimeter. 3. The liquid color measurement device according to claim 2, wherein when the light receiving element detects the maximum light intensity, the movement control means stops the downward movement of the vertical movement holder. Liquid colorimeter. 4. A liquid colorimeter for measuring the color of a colored liquid, wherein said two planes are disposed substantially parallel to each other and opposed to each other with transparent first and second plane members sandwiching said colored liquid. Measuring means for intermittently moving the interval between the members, at a plurality of mutually different intervals, measuring the spectral transmittance of transmitted light emitted from one flat member side and emitted from the other flat member side; A history data storage unit in which each measurement result obtained for each movement by the measurement unit is stored in combination with measurement history data that can be converted into a film thickness of the colored liquid; and a maximum light of transmitted light by the measurement unit. When the lower limit position indicating the intensity is detected, the history data storage unit is referred to, the measurement history data corresponding to the predetermined film thickness is calculated backward based on the moving amount, and the same set of measurement history data as the measurement history data is calculated. Read the result and A liquid colorimetric device comprising: a measurement result storage unit for storing a measurement result. 5. The liquid colorimeter according to claim 4, wherein when the measuring unit detects the maximum light intensity, the movement of the distance between the two flat members is stopped. apparatus. 6. A liquid color measurement method for measuring a color of a colored liquid, comprising: a liquid holder having a transparent first flat member at a bottom portion and facing the first flat member above the first flat member substantially in parallel with the first flat member. A liquid introducing step of introducing the colored liquid into a measuring cell including a transparent second planar member disposed; and when the colored liquid is introduced at the latest, the second planar member and the first planar member A light irradiating step of irradiating the colored liquid filled with a gap with light with light, and during the light irradiation, the second plane member is intermittently moved downward by a predetermined moving amount, and Correspondingly, a member moving step of discharging the colored liquid from the liquid holder, and for each movement of the second plane member, a transmitted light transmitted through the colored liquid is spectrally measured, and the spectral measurement result is obtained by measuring the color liquid. Measurement history data that can be converted to film thickness A spectral measurement step of storing in combination, a light intensity measurement step of measuring the light intensity of the transmitted light for each movement of the second plane member, and the light intensity increases even if the second plane member is moved. When saturation occurs, the measurement history data corresponding to the predetermined film thickness is calculated backward based on the movement amount, and the same set of spectral measurement results as the measurement history data is read out and the spectral measurement results are stored. A liquid colorimetric method comprising the steps of: 7. A liquid color measurement method for measuring color of a colored liquid, wherein the first and second planar members are disposed substantially parallel to each other and opposed to each other and sandwich the colored liquid. A step of intermittently moving the distance between the two plane members, and at a plurality of different distances between the two plane members, the spectral transmittance of the transmitted light emitted from one plane member and emitted from the other plane member. A measurement data measurement step of measuring each of the measurement results obtained for each movement in the measurement step, and a history data storage step of storing the measurement result data in combination with measurement history data that can be converted into a thickness of the colored liquid; When the lower limit position indicating the maximum light intensity of the transmitted light is detected, the history data storage means is referred to, the measurement history data corresponding to the predetermined film thickness is calculated backward based on the movement amount, and the measurement history is calculated. Same as data Liquid color measurement method characterized in that a set of measurement results are read and a measurement result storage step of storing the measurement results.