JP2006085835A - Method and apparatus for manufacturing transparent layer of optical information recording medium - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a method and an apparatus for manufacturing a transparent layer of an optical information recording medium, which can prevent the generation of stick slip, even when the conveyance path length of a base is varied. <P>SOLUTION: In the method and the apparatus for manufacturing the transparent layer for the optical information recording medium, in which the base 1 to be the base member film is conveyed for forming a hard coat layer on the base, when a hard coat composition is applied by bringing an application member 13 into contact with the base while conveying the base, pass rollers 11 and 12 disposed at the upstream side and the downstream side of the application member with respect to the conveyance direction of the base can be freely rotated in accordance with the conveyed base. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for producing a transparent layer for an optical information recording medium, and specifically, a production method for forming a base film used for a transparent layer of an optical information recording medium by applying a hard coat layer. And a manufacturing apparatus.

  Currently, in order to support the recording of digital high-vision TV broadcasts, research on optical information recording media that enable higher-density recording than high-density optical information recording media (DVD) is underway. And optical disk systems using high NA (Numerical Aperture) pickups have been developed.

  As such an optical disk system, for example, there is a next-generation optical disk standard called a blue-ray disk. A blue ray disc is an optical information recording medium having a recording layer on a substrate and a transparent layer on the laser incident side of the recording layer. For example, as shown in Patent Document 1 below, the transparent layer is formed by applying a hard coat layer for preventing scratches to the surface of a light transmission layer made of polycarbonate.

  As a method for forming the transparent layer, for example, an ultraviolet curable material for forming a hard coat layer on a base by an application member while a polycarbonate base used as a base film of the transparent layer is conveyed by a driving roller. There is a method in which a composition is applied, dried, and then cured by ultraviolet irradiation.

FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining a conventional coating process in the case of forming a transparent layer.
As shown in FIG. 4, the conventional application member 103 can be a bar coder type, and can press (wrap) the bar-shaped application nozzle 104 to the base B to be conveyed during application, Other than during application, the application member 103 is retracted, and the application nozzle 104 moves to a position P that is separated from the base B. Drive rollers 101 and 102 are provided on the upstream side and the downstream side of the coating nozzle 104 in the transport direction of the base B. These drive rollers 101 and 102 are driven by the drive unit 105 so as to rotate at a constant speed in the direction in which the base B is sent out in the transport direction during application.

JP 2000-67468 A

  By the way, in the coating method in which the coating nozzle 104 is wrapped on the base B at the time of coating as described above, the length of the path along which the base B is transported when the coating nozzle 104 is wrapped on the base B (hereinafter referred to as transport). Change in the path length), the friction state changes at the contact portions between the drive rollers 101 and 102 and the base B, stick-slip occurs, and the base B cannot be smoothly conveyed. There was room for improvement in that B would buckle.

  Further, since the surface of the polycarbonate is very smooth, there is room for improvement in that stick slip is likely to occur on the surfaces of the drive rollers 101 and 102 due to the length of the transport path of the base B.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a transparent layer manufacturing method and manufacturing apparatus for an optical information recording medium that can prevent stick slip from occurring even when the transport path length of the base changes. Is to provide.

  The above object of the present invention is a method for producing a transparent layer for an optical information recording medium, in which a base serving as a base film is transported and a hard coat layer is formed on the base. When applying the composition constituting the hard coat layer by bringing an application member into contact with a base, pass rollers arranged on the upstream side and the downstream side of the application member in the conveyance direction of the base are conveyed. It is achieved by a method for producing a transparent layer for an optical information recording medium, characterized in that it can rotate according to a base.

  Another object of the present invention is an apparatus for producing a transparent layer for an optical information recording medium, which transports a base serving as a base film and forms a hard coat layer on the base, wherein the base is transported. A coating member that contacts the base and coats the composition constituting the hard coat layer in a state, and rotates according to the transport of the base on the upstream side and the downstream side of the coating member in the transport direction of the base This is achieved by an apparatus for producing a transparent layer for an optical information recording medium, characterized in that a free pass roller is provided.

  According to the present invention, even when the coating member is brought into contact with the transported base at the time of coating and the transport path length of the base is changed, the pass roller supporting the transported base is a free roller, so that it is transported. The pass roller freely rotates following the speed of the base. For this reason, stick slip does not occur due to a change in the contact pressure between the base and the pass roller, and it is possible to prevent the base from buckling at a portion where the base contacts the pass roller.

  In the transparent layer manufacturing method and manufacturing apparatus, the pass roller is preferably a free roller. Alternatively, it is preferable that the pass roller includes a drive shaft that rotationally drives the pass roller, and is connected to the drive shaft by a slip joint so as to be relatively rotatable with respect to the rotation direction of the drive shaft.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, even if the conveyance path length of a base changes, the manufacturing method and manufacturing apparatus of the transparent layer for optical information recording media which can prevent that a stick slip arises can be provided.

  The optical information recording medium referred to in the present invention is an information recording medium capable of reproducing an information signal by optical means. The optical information recording medium of the present invention basically comprises a substrate, a recording layer, and a transparent layer. Further, in the optical information recording medium, these constituent elements may be interchanged or combined with each other within a range not hindering the content of the invention. In an optical information recording medium, it is necessary that at least one of these components be present, but each may be present in a plurality of layers, and each layer is composed of a plurality of layers having different compositions and properties. May be. In addition to the above layers, the optical information recording medium may be provided with an antistatic layer, a lubricating layer, a protective layer, a reflective layer, and the like. Further, label printing may be performed on the opposite side of the substrate from the recording layer.

  The optical information recording medium has, for example, a disk shape, and dimensions such as a diameter are not limited. The optical information recording medium may be configured to be housed and held in a cartridge housing.

  The transparent layer has a function of guiding light irradiated for recording / reproduction to the recording layer, and also has a function of protecting the recording layer chemically and mechanically. In the present invention, “transparent” means that the light transmittance is 70% or more, preferably 85% or more with respect to the wavelength of light of an optical means used for recording and reproduction (for example, 600 nm to 800 nm or 350 nm to 450 nm). means. The cover layer has a transmittance of 90% to 92%.

  The transparent layer has a base film (translucent film), a hard coat layer for preventing scratches is provided on the surface, and appropriately includes an adhesive layer and an antifouling layer. be able to. As the base film, for example, polycarbonate, triacetyl cellulose (TAC), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polyethylene naphthalate (PEN), polyimide, or polyamide can be used.

The hard coat layer is formed by applying and drying an ultraviolet curable composition that is cured by irradiation with active energy rays, preferably ultraviolet rays, on the substrate film, and then curing the composition by irradiation with ultraviolet rays.
In the ultraviolet curable composition, a compound containing two or more ethylenically unsaturated groups in the same molecule which is polymerized or cross-linked by ultraviolet irradiation and cured is preferably used.

  The thickness of the hard coat layer is preferably 1.0 μm to 10.0 μm, more preferably 2.0 μm to 6.0 μm, and particularly preferably 2.5 μm to 5.0 μm.

  The pencil hardness of the hard coat layer is preferably B or more, and more preferably H or more. The pencil hardness here refers to a pencil whose scratches are not recognized at a load of 9.8 N according to the pencil hardness evaluation method specified by JIS-K-5400 using a test pencil specified by JIS-S-6006. It can be determined as hardness.

Hereinafter, a transparent layer manufacturing method and manufacturing apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining the configuration of a manufacturing apparatus for manufacturing a transparent layer for an optical information recording medium according to the present invention.
As shown in FIG. 1, the transparent layer manufacturing apparatus 10 includes a base fabric (bulk) 1 formed by winding a base B made of polycarbonate, and a winding roll 6 that winds and holds the base B. In this configuration, the base B is conveyed by being sent from the base material 1 to the take-up roll 6. The thickness of the base B is 80 μm to 100 μm.

  The manufacturing apparatus 10 includes a coating unit 2, a pull roll 3, a drying unit 4, and an ultraviolet irradiation unit 5 in order along the transport direction of the base B.

  The application unit 2 is provided with an application member 13 connected to an application liquid supply unit (not shown). The application member 13 attaches the application liquid supplied from the application liquid supply unit to the application rod 14 that functions as an application nozzle, rotates the application rod 14, and presses the application rod 14 against the surface of the base B. In this configuration, the coating liquid is applied. The application unit 2 of the present embodiment is configured to wrap the application rod 14 on the base B in a state where the base B is not supported by a backup roller or the like. On the other hand, in a mechanism that supports the base B with a backup roller, such as a slide coater or a curtain coater, the transport path length of the base B hardly changes. For this reason, this invention can acquire a remarkable effect especially in the manufacturing apparatus which has the application part 2 of the structure which wraps the application rod 14 on the base B in the state which is not supported by the backup roller etc.

  The application member 13 is a movable member so that it can be arbitrarily set to a position where the application rod 14 is pressed against the base B (a position where the application rod 14 is wrapped) and a position where the application rod 14 is separated from the base B. In the manufacturing apparatus 10 of the present embodiment, the application member 13 is moved during application to a position where the application rod 14 is pressed against the base B, and the application rod 14 is separated from the base B except during application. It is the structure to do.

  In this embodiment, as an example of the coating solution, a solvent such as isopropyl alcohol (IPA), methyl ethyl ketone (MEK), methyl ethyl butyl ketone (MIBK), Si particles, an ultraviolet curable resin, and a polymerization initiator are used. A composition consisting of

  The pull roll 3 is a roll that is rotationally driven at the time of application and serves as a reference for the transport speed of the base B when the base B is transported in contact with the base B on its peripheral surface. The pull roll 3 is controlled by a pull roll control unit (not shown) and transports the base B at a constant speed. The pull roll 3 may have a configuration in which a groove is provided on the surface in order to secure a holding force with respect to the base B, or a configuration in which the base B is sucked and held by sucking air.

  The drying unit 4 is configured to dry the coating liquid applied to the base B while transporting the base B.

  The ultraviolet irradiation unit 5 is configured to irradiate the surface of the base B on which the coating liquid is applied with ultraviolet rays and cure the coating layer while the base B is being conveyed. Here, the ultraviolet irradiation unit 5 may be configured to irradiate light of active energy other than ultraviolet rays as long as the coating liquid can be cured.

Next, the configuration of the application unit will be described. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating the configuration of the application unit in the present embodiment.
As shown in FIG. 2, a pass roller 11 is provided on the upstream side of the application member 13 in the transport direction of the base B, and a pass roller 12 is provided on the downstream side of the application member 13.

The pass rollers 11 and 12 are configured to be rotatable in accordance with the transported base B at the time of application. In the present embodiment, these pass rollers 11 and 12 are free rollers that are not connected to a drive system such as a drive shaft or a drive motor.
In this embodiment, the coating member 13 is moved up and down to wrap the base B, but the pass rollers 11 and 12 may be moved up and down to wrap the base B.

  Even when the coating path length of the base B changes as a result of the coating member 13 coming into contact with the transported base B during application, the pass rollers 11 and 12 that support the transported base B are free rollers. The pass rollers 11 and 12 can freely rotate so as to follow the speed of the base B. For this reason, stick slip does not occur due to a change in the contact pressure between the base B and the pass rollers 11 and 12, and the base B is prevented from buckling at a portion where it contacts the pass rollers 11 and 12. be able to.

Next, a second embodiment of the method and apparatus for producing a transparent layer of an optical information recording medium according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the embodiments described below, members having the same configuration / action as those already described are denoted by the same or corresponding reference numerals in the drawings, and description thereof is simplified or omitted.
FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating the configuration of the pass roller in the transparent layer manufacturing apparatus of the present embodiment.
As shown in FIG. 3, the pass roller 11 (or 12) includes a drive shaft 21 that rotationally drives the pass roller 11 (12) in the direction of arrow K in the figure, and the drive shaft 21 rotates in the direction indicated by arrow D in the figure. On the other hand, the drive shaft 21 is connected by a slip joint 22 so as to be relatively rotatable. That is, in this embodiment, at a time other than the time of application and at the start of application, the pass roller 11 (12) is driven at a speed substantially equal to the rotational speed of the drive shaft 21 via the slip joint 22 by the driving force of the drive shaft 21. It is the structure rotated by.
The configuration of the sliding joint 22 is not limited to the configuration of the present embodiment, and a configuration that uses friction, a configuration that uses fluid resistance, a configuration that uses magnetic force, or the like is appropriately selected.

  According to the present embodiment, when the transport path length of the base B changes during application, the slip joint 22 rotates in the direction of arrow F so as to be displaced relative to the drive shaft 21 in the rotation direction, whereby the pass roller 11. The rotational speed of (12) is allowed to change, and can rotate freely without being constrained by the rotational speed of the drive shaft 21. For this reason, stick slip does not occur due to a change in the contact pressure between the base B and the pass rollers 11 and 12, and the base B is prevented from buckling at a portion where it contacts the pass rollers 11 and 12. be able to.

In addition, this invention is not limited to embodiment mentioned above, A suitable deformation | transformation, improvement, etc. are possible.
For example, one of the upstream side roller and the downstream side pass roller of the application member may be the free roller, and the other may be connected to the drive shaft via the sliding joint.

It is a figure explaining the structure of the manufacturing apparatus which manufactures the transparent layer for optical information recording media based on this invention. It is a figure explaining the structure of the application part in 1st Embodiment. It is a figure explaining the structure of the pass roller in the manufacturing apparatus of the transparent layer of 2nd Embodiment. It is a figure explaining the conventional application | coating process in the case of forming a transparent layer.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Base raw material 2 Application | coating part 3 Pull roller 4 Drying part 5 Ultraviolet irradiation part 6 Winding roll 10 Manufacturing apparatus 11 (12 of transparent layer for optical information recording media) Pass roller 13 Application | coating member

Claims (6)

A method for producing a transparent layer for an optical information recording medium, comprising transporting a base to be a base film and forming a hard coat layer on the base,
When the composition constituting the hard coat layer is applied by bringing the coating member into contact with the base while transporting the base,
A method for producing a transparent layer for an optical information recording medium, wherein pass rollers disposed upstream and downstream of the coating member in the transport direction of the base are rotatable according to the transported base.   The method for producing a transparent layer for an optical information recording medium according to claim 1, wherein the pass roller is a free roller.   The pass roller includes a drive shaft that rotationally drives the pass roller, and is connected to the drive shaft by a slip joint so as to be rotatable relative to the rotation direction of the drive shaft. 2. A method for producing a transparent layer for an optical information recording medium according to 1. An apparatus for producing a transparent layer for an optical information recording medium, which transports a base to be a base film and forms a hard coat layer on the base,
In a state where the base is transported, the base member is brought into contact with the base, and an application member for applying the composition constituting the hard coat layer is provided,
An apparatus for producing a transparent layer for an optical information recording medium, wherein pass rollers that are rotatable in accordance with the transport of the base are provided on the upstream side and the downstream side of the coating member in the transport direction of the base.   The apparatus for producing a transparent layer for an optical information recording medium according to claim 4, wherein the pass roller is a free roller.   The pass roller includes a drive shaft that rotationally drives the pass roller, and is connected to the drive shaft by a slip joint so as to be relatively rotatable with respect to the rotation direction of the drive shaft. 4. An apparatus for producing a transparent layer for an optical information recording medium according to 4.

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