JP2002023343A - Method for producing mask with heat transfer printer - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a method for producing a mask with a heat transfer printer by which a mask can easily be produced even by an average man by printing and forming a mask pattern by the heat transfer of ink on an ink ribbon to the top of a film sheet comprising paper for OHP(overhead projector) or the like with a commercially available heat transfer printer. SOLUTION: In the method for producing a mask, an ink film 11a comprising ink opaque to UV formed on an ink ribbon 11 is heat-transferred to the top of a film sheet P as a substrate comprising a UV transmissive material with a heat transfer printer to print and form a mask pattern 12 of the desired shape.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing a mask using a thermal transfer printer, and more particularly to a method for manufacturing a mask using a thermal transfer printer capable of manufacturing a mask by thermally transferring ink on an ink ribbon.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A conventional mask manufacturing method will be described with reference to FIG. 5. First, in a first step, a metal film 22 made of Cr or the like is formed on a substrate 21 made of transparent glass.
Next, in a second step, a photosensitive resist solution is applied on the metal film 22 to form a resist film 23. Next, in a third step, the resist film 23 is irradiated with an electron beam L from the top of the resist film 23 according to a desired wiring pattern (not shown) formed on a printed board (not shown), for example. Exposure is performed to form a photosensitive resist film 23a. Then the fourth
In the process, a portion of the resist film 2 not irradiated with the electron beam L
3 is peeled off using a peeling solution and removed.

In the fourth step, the resist film 23 other than the photosensitive resist film 23a is peeled off, so that the metal film 22 other than the portion covered with the photosensitive resist film 23a is exposed. Next, in a fifth step, the metal film 2 having an exposed surface other than the portion covered with the photosensitive resist film 23a is removed by a process such as etching to remove the substrate 21 other than the portion covered with the photosensitive resist film 23a. Expose. Thus, a mask pattern 22a having the same shape as the photosensitive resist film 23a and made of the metal film 22 is formed below the photosensitive resist film 23a. Next, in a sixth step, when the photosensitive resist film 23a is removed, a mask pattern 22a made of the metal film 22 is formed.
Are exposed, and a mask 24 having a mask pattern 22a having a desired shape can be manufactured. A desired wiring pattern (not shown) can be formed on, for example, a printed board (not shown) by using the mask 24 manufactured by such a manufacturing method.

[0004]

However, a mask manufactured by the above-described conventional mask manufacturing method has a problem that it takes a long delivery time due to many manufacturing steps. Also, the conventional mask manufacturing method requires a dedicated mask manufacturing apparatus, and it was difficult to manufacture without a specialized company,
The cost of the mask manufactured by the conventional method has increased. Further, the mask manufactured by the conventional method is difficult to handle because the substrate is made of glass, which may cause problems such as cracks during handling or storage.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems, and has been developed using a commercially available thermal transfer printer.
An object of the present invention is to provide a mask manufacturing method using a thermal transfer printer, which can be easily manufactured by ordinary people by thermally transferring the ink of an ink ribbon onto a film sheet made of P paper or the like to print and form a mask pattern. It is the purpose.

[0006]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a mask manufacturing method using a thermal transfer printer according to the present invention. A thermal transfer of the ink film formed on the ink ribbon to print and form a mask pattern of a desired shape.

As a second means for solving the above-mentioned problems, the ink film is made of an ink which is impermeable to ultraviolet rays.

[0008] As a third means for solving the above-mentioned problems, the substrate is made of an insulating and transparent film sheet, and the mask pattern is printed and formed on the film sheet.

[0009]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A mask manufacturing method using a thermal transfer printer according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. First, FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a main part of a printing means of a thermal transfer printer according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a view for explaining a procedure for forming a mask pattern on a film sheet according to the present invention, and FIG. FIG. 4 is a view for explaining another embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 4 is an enlarged view of a main part of a mask pattern according to the present invention.

First, the printing means S, which is a main part of the thermal transfer printer according to the present invention, will be described with reference to FIG. 1. The printing means S is conveyed upward from a sheet feeding unit (not shown) at the bottom in the figure. A transparent film sheet P such as, for example, an OHP sheet, which is a substrate made of a material that transmits ultraviolet light, is provided. Further, the printing means S is provided with a horizontally long platen 1 formed to be longer than the width dimension of the film sheet P. The platen 1 has an elastic member 3 such as rubber attached to a holder 2 made of a flat metal plate, and the surface of the elastic member 3 is formed flat to provide a printing surface 3a.

Also, below the platen 1 shown in FIG.
A paper feed roller 4 made of rotatable rubber or the like is
a are attached at predetermined intervals. A rotatable pressure roller 5 is independently pressed against the plurality of paper feed rollers 4, and when the paper feed roller 4 rotates, the pressure roller 5 rotates following the rotation. Then, the film sheet P conveyed from a sheet feeding unit (not shown) below the drawing is pressed and held by the feed roller 4 and the pressing roller 5, and this film sheet P
Is transported in the direction of arrow E, and can be transported between the platen 1 and a thermal head 9 described later.

A carriage 6 reciprocally movable along the longitudinal direction of the platen 1 is provided on a side facing the platen 1.
Are arranged. The carriage 6 is supported by a rod-shaped guide shaft 7 and has an appropriate drive belt 8 wound around a pair of drive pulleys (not shown). The driving belt 8 is driven by rotating the driving pulley, and the carriage 6 reciprocates along the longitudinal direction of the platen 1. A flat cassette mounting surface 6a is formed on the upper surface of the carriage 6, and a pair of rotatable bobbins 6b, 6b are located above the center of the cassette mounting surface 6a at predetermined intervals. The protrusion is formed.

A thermal head 9 is mounted on the carriage 6 on the side facing the printing surface 2 of the platen 1 so that the thermal head 9 can be pressed down against the elastic member 2 of the platen 1. A plurality of heating elements (not shown) are formed near the right end of the thermal head 9 shown in FIG. The plurality of heating elements are based on print information from a control unit (not shown).
It is possible to selectively generate heat.

The thermal head 9 can be brought into contact with and separated from the platen 1, that is, can be moved up and down. When the thermal head 9 is moved down, it can be pressed against the printing surface 3a of the platen 1. Has become.
A ribbon cassette 10 can be mounted on the cassette mounting surface 6a of the carriage 6. The ribbon cassette 10 has a pair of hole-shaped reels 10a with which a pair of bobbins 6b, 6b of the carriage 6 can be engaged. , 10a,
The ink ribbon 1 is attached to the pair of reels 10a and 10a.
1 is wound.

On the side of the ink ribbon 11 facing the platen 1 (the outer surface shown in FIG. 1), an ink film 11a of a predetermined thickness coated with an ink that is impermeable to ultraviolet light that cannot transmit ultraviolet light. Are formed. The ink film 11a may be a material that is impermeable to ultraviolet rays, such as a black ink or a metallic ink on which an aluminum film is deposited.

The left and right ends of the platen 1, the paper feed roller 4, the pressure roller 5, the guide shaft 7, and the like are attached to a pair of frames (not shown).
A thermal transfer printer according to the present invention is configured. In the printing operation on the film sheet P by such a thermal transfer printer, first, the film sheet P stored in the paper supply unit (not shown) is transported in the direction of arrow E by a paper supply roller (not shown). . Then, the front end of the film sheet P is pressed and held between the paper feed roller 4 and the pressure roller 5, and is conveyed between the thermal head 9 in the head-up state and the platen 1 by rotating the paper feed roller 4. Is done.

At this time, the control unit (not shown) includes a CAD
A wiring pattern of a desired shape designed by AM or the like is converted into data and read as print information. Next, the thermal head 9 is lowered, the ink ribbon 11 and the film sheet P are pressed against the platen 1, and a plurality of heating elements (not shown) are selectively heated based on the print information, and the carriage 6 is moved. Is moved along the longitudinal direction of the platen 1 so that the film sheet P
The ink film 11a of the ink ribbon 11 is thermally transferred thereon,
A mask pattern 12 having a desired shape can be formed by printing. Mask 1 on which mask pattern 12 is formed
3 is formed in a shape as shown in FIG. 4, for example, and a plurality of mask patterns 1 having such a shape are shown.
2 is formed in a shape corresponding to a plurality of wiring patterns (not shown) connected to a plurality of heating elements (not shown) of the thermal head 9, for example.

As shown in FIG. 2, the mask manufacturing method using the thermal transfer printer of the present invention uses a commercially available thermal transfer printer and a film sheet P to convert the ink film 11a of the ink ribbon 11 into a film sheet. A mask can be made only by the first step of thermal transfer to P. Therefore, the mask can be easily manufactured in a short time, and a low-cost mask can be manufactured.

Further, in the embodiment of the present invention, as shown in FIG. 2, a positive type in which the ink film 11a of the ink ribbon 11 is thermally transferred by being superimposed on a mask pattern 12 having the same shape as a wiring pattern (not shown). As another embodiment, as shown in FIG. 3, the mask pattern 22 exposes the transparent film sheet P without thermally transferring the ink film 11a, and
A negative type in which the ink film 11a is thermally transferred to a portion other than 2 may be used.

That is, in the method of manufacturing a mask using a thermal transfer printer of the present invention, an ink film 11a formed on an ink ribbon 11 is thermally transferred onto a film sheet P, which is a substrate made of a material that transmits ultraviolet light, using a thermal transfer printer. do it,
The mask pattern 12 (or 22) having a desired shape is formed.

[0021]

As described above, in the method of manufacturing a mask using a thermal transfer printer according to the present invention, the ink of the ink ribbon is thermally transferred onto a substrate made of a material which transmits ultraviolet light by using the thermal transfer printer. Since the mask pattern having the above-mentioned pattern is formed by printing, a mask can be formed only by thermally transferring the ink film of the ink ribbon to a film sheet which is a material that transmits ultraviolet light, using a commercially available thermal transfer printer. Therefore, it is possible to provide a mask manufacturing method using a thermal transfer printer which can easily manufacture a mask in a short time and can manufacture a low-cost mask.

Further, the ink of the ink ribbon is:
Since it is made of an ink that is impermeable to ultraviolet light, it is possible to reliably block light from an exposure lamp when manufacturing a mask. Therefore, for example, a contour of a wiring pattern of a mask manufactured by the manufacturing method of the present invention can be formed sharply and with high precision.

Further, since the substrate is formed of a transparent film sheet and the mask pattern is formed by printing on the film sheet, an inexpensive film sheet such as a commercially available OHP paper can be used for the substrate. A low-cost and easy-to-handle mask can be manufactured.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a main part of a printing unit of a thermal transfer printer according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a procedure for forming a mask pattern on a substrate according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged view of a main part of a mask pattern according to the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating steps of a conventional mask manufacturing method.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Platen 2 Holder 3 Elastic member 3a Printing surface 4 Paper feed roller 4a Rotating shaft 5 Pressure contact roller 6 Carriage 6a Cassette mounting surface 6b Bobbin 7 Guide shaft 8 Drive belt 9 Thermal head 9a Heating element 10 Ribbon cassette 10a Reel 11 Ink ribbon 11a Ink Film 12 mask pattern 13 mask

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. On a substrate made of a material that transmits ultraviolet light,
A mask manufacturing method using a thermal transfer printer, wherein a thermal transfer printer is used to thermally transfer an ink film formed on an ink ribbon to print and form a mask pattern having a desired shape. 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the ink film is made of an ink that is impermeable to ultraviolet light. 3. A mask manufacturing method using a thermal transfer printer according to claim 1, wherein said substrate is made of a transparent film sheet, and said mask pattern is printed on said film sheet. Method.