JP2007075724A - Coating method and coater - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a coating method and a coater capable of easily forming a coating film of a stripe-shaped pattern on a long plate substrate and easily changing a stripe-shaped patten shape. <P>SOLUTION: A stripe-shaped primary film is formed on the outer peripheral surface of an applicator roll by supplying a coating liquid onto the outer peripheral surface of the applicator roll and scraping part of the coating liquid by intermittent blade. The stripe-shaped coating film is formed on the substrate by extending the stripe-shaped primary film onto the long plate substrate or by transcription. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a coating method and a coating apparatus for performing strip-shaped coating on a long substrate.

  Stripe coating, which applies a coating solution on a long base material so as to form an uncoated part in the transport direction of the base material, is an organic EL material used for battery material electrode formation, display and illumination. It is possible to efficiently form a coating film on the electrode.

  Various coating methods and coating apparatuses for performing the stripe coating are known, and among these, stripe coating with a die coater is well known.

  Coating by a die coater is widely used as a coating method that can be applied with a thin film and high accuracy. Application by the die coater is a method in which a manifold and a slit are provided inside the die, and the application liquid supplied to the manifold is applied to the substrate by discharging through the slit. When stripe coating is performed using this method, one or a plurality of coating width adjustment plates in the form of a film are sandwiched in the slits of the die, the slits are closed, and the coating liquid is discharged from an area where there is no slit coating width adjustment plate, Coating is performed on the substrate (see, for example, Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2).

  However, in the stripe coating by the die coater as in Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2, when changing the pattern shape of the stripe, it is replaced with a die prepared in advance to another stripe pattern shape, or the die is disassembled. Thus, it takes a lot of labor and time to reset the coating width adjusting plate.

Also, depending on the substrate, the transport position may fluctuate, but in order to adjust the die position accordingly, a complicated mechanism and control are required, which complicates the coating apparatus and causes an increase in cost. .
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 5-84459 Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-2223012

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and provides a coating method and a coating apparatus capable of easily forming a stripe-shaped pattern coating film on a long substrate and easily changing the stripe-shaped pattern shape. The purpose is to provide.

The above object can be achieved by the following constitution.
(1) In an application method in which a coating liquid is supplied to the outer peripheral surface of an applicator roll to form a primary film, and the primary film is applied to the base material supported by a backup roll by stretching or transferring.
A coating method comprising: forming a primary film on the outer peripheral surface of the applicator roll in a stripe shape, and applying the stretched primary film to the substrate by stretching or transferring.
(2) The coating method according to (1), wherein the stripe shape of the primary film formed in the stripe shape is variable on the outer peripheral surface of the applicator roll.
(3) In a coating apparatus that applies a coating liquid to the outer peripheral surface of an applicator roll to form a primary film, and stretches or transfers the primary film to a substrate supported by a backup roll.
An applicator comprising at least one blade capable of intermittently contacting the outer peripheral surface of the applicator roll in the applicator roll surface length direction, which is the axial length of the outer peripheral surface of the applicator roll. .
(4) The coating apparatus according to (3), wherein there is a gap between the outer peripheral surface of the applicator roll and the coating surface of the base material supported by the backup roll.
(5) The coating apparatus according to (3) or (4), wherein the blade is movable in the applicator roll surface length direction.
(6) It has a position detecting means for detecting the base material transport position in the length direction of the applicator roll surface immediately before the coating device and a position adjusting means for adjusting the position of the blade, and according to the base material transport position, The coating apparatus according to any one of (3) to (5), wherein the position of the blade is adjusted.

  With the above-described configuration, a coating film having a stripe shape pattern can be easily formed on the substrate with a coating device having a simple configuration, and the stripe shape pattern can be easily changed.

  Moreover, even when the stripe pattern formed on the base material is various, the stripe pattern can be easily changed, so that efficient production can be performed.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings, but the present invention is not limited thereto.

  1 and 2 are a schematic cross-sectional view and a schematic perspective view of a roll coating apparatus according to the present embodiment.

  The base material 1 which forms a coating film is supported by the backup roll 2, and is conveyed in the arrow a direction. The applicator roll 3 that forms the primary film is rotated in the direction of arrow c by a driving means (not shown). The coating film of the substrate 1 is formed by stretching or transferring the primary film formed on the applicator roll 3 to the substrate 1.

The coating liquid pan 4 stores the coating liquid 21 and supplies the coating liquid to the applicator roll 3 partially immersed in the coating liquid 21.
The supply of the coating liquid 21 to the coating liquid pan 4 is performed by feeding the coating liquid supplied to the coating liquid tank 11 by the supply pump P. Further, the coating liquid 21 overflowing from the predetermined liquid level of the coating liquid pan 4 is returned to the coating liquid tank 11 through the overflow tray 5.

  The applicator roll 3 rotating in the direction of the arrow c is supplied with the coating liquid 21 from the coating liquid pan 4, and the primary film 22 is once formed in the entire width of the outer peripheral surface of the applicator roll 3.

  In the example shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the supply of the coating liquid 21 to the applicator roll 3 is a pan feed method in which the coating liquid 21 is supplied from the coating liquid pan 4 to the applicator roll 3 as described above. Various methods such as a die feed method described later can be used.

  Next, the primary film 22 of the full width formed on the outer peripheral surface of the applicator roll 3 is formed on the outer peripheral surface of the applicator roll 3 corresponding to an uncoated portion having a desired stripe shape at the position where the blade 6 is disposed. By bringing the blade 6 into contact with the part, the coating liquid in the part in contact with the blade 6 is scraped off. As a result, a stripe-shaped primary film 23 is formed on the applicator roll 3.

  The blade 6 is composed of one or more blades that can intermittently contact the outer peripheral surface of the applicator roll, and is attached to a fixing member. The blade 6 may be a combination of a plurality of blades, or may be a comb-shaped integral. In the case of a combination of a plurality of blades as described above, it is possible to easily change individual stripe widths.

  In the example shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the blade 6 is assembled to the blade support member 6A and attached to the fixing member 6B. The attachment can be performed by a known method such as screwing or clamping. The blade 6 and the blade support member 6A can be moved in the arrow X direction manually or by a moving means (not shown).

  As described above, since the blade 6 is easy to attach and detach, and can be easily exchanged and moved in the direction of the arrow X, the stripe shape of the stripe-shaped primary film 23 and the stripe position can be easily changed. The movement of the blade 6 in the direction of the arrow X is easy to stripe when a stripe pattern is formed on the substrate 1 and the product is cut in accordance with the pattern and the product is multi-faceted. Although it is desirable to change the pattern, it is effective in such a case.

  The primary film 23 formed on the applicator roll 3 is transferred to the base material 1 at a coating position where the applicator roll 3 and the base material 1 supported by the backup roll 2 are close to or in contact with each other. The coating film is formed.

  For the applicator roll 3 and the backup roll 2, a rigid metal roll, a rubber roll wound around an elastic body, or the like is used. The transfer of the primary film was supported by the applicator roll 3 and the backup roll 2 by using a rubber roll as the backup roll 2 and transferring the coating liquid by nipping the applicator roll 3 (hereinafter also referred to as a nip method). The base material 1 includes a system having a predetermined gap and transferring the coating liquid while maintaining a non-contact state (hereinafter also referred to as a gap system).

  A strip-shaped coating film with practically no problem can be obtained even with the nip method, but the coating component may slightly adhere to the uncoated part or the substrate may be slightly scratched. The gap method is preferred for products that greatly contribute to the function and performance of the part.

  In the case of the gap method, the coating liquid transported as the primary film 23 fills the gap and serves as a bridge of the coating liquid to the base material. In the case of the gap method, by reducing the peripheral speed of the applicator roll 3, less coating liquid is transported into the gap and thin film coating is possible. In thin film coating, the applicator roll peripheral speed is generally slower than the substrate conveyance speed, and almost all of the coating liquid transported by the applicator roll is transferred to the substrate, and the applicator roll surface after passing through the gap. Almost no coating liquid is present.

  In this way, if the substrate supported by the applicator roll and the backup roll is in a non-contact state, the substrate uncoated portion corresponding to the uncoated portion on the applicator roll eliminates the adhesion of the coating liquid. be able to.

  In the transport of the base material 3, the transport position may vary depending on the base material, which causes problems such as the stripe position fluctuating or the stripe shape not being linear, resulting in a highly accurate pattern shape. May be a problem if required. In such a case, it is preferable to adjust the position of the primary film 23 on the applicator roll 3 in accordance with the substrate transport position.

  In the present embodiment, an edge position detector 12 that detects the position of the edge of the substrate 1 is provided immediately before coating, and the blade 6 and the blade support member 6A are moved by the moving means (not shown) based on the detection signal. By moving in the direction, the position of the primary film 23 on the applicator roll 3 is adjusted in accordance with the substrate conveyance position. As a result, a stable stripe shape can be formed on the substrate 1 even if the substrate conveyance position varies.

  The present invention is not limited to the above-described roll coating apparatus. For example, as shown in FIG. 3, a metalling roll 51 that adjusts the thickness by scraping off a part of the primary film formed on the applicator roll 3. It can also be applied to a coating apparatus in which

  In the coating apparatus shown in FIG. 3, the supply of the coating liquid 21 to the applicator roll 3 is performed by a die feed system that is supplied from the die coater 55.

  In FIG. 3, the supply of the coating liquid 21 to the die coater 55 is performed by feeding the coating liquid charged in the coating liquid tank 11 with the supply pump P. The applicator roll 3 rotating in the direction of the arrow c is supplied with the coating liquid 21 from the die coater 55, and a primary film is once formed on the entire width of the outer peripheral surface of the applicator roll 3.

  Next, the primary film of the full width formed on the outer peripheral surface of the applicator roll 3 is applied to a portion of the outer peripheral surface of the applicator roll 3 corresponding to an uncoated portion having a desired stripe shape at the position where the blade 6 is disposed. By contacting the blade 6, the coating liquid at the portion where the blade 6 is in contact is scraped off. As a result, a striped primary film is formed on the applicator roll 3. A part of the stripe-shaped primary film is scraped off by a metalling roll 51 rotating in the direction of arrow d to form a stripe-shaped primary film 23 having a desired thickness, which is applied to the substrate 1. The coating liquid adhering to the metering roll 51 is removed from the outer peripheral surface of the metalling roll 51 by the removal blade 52. The coating solution scraped off by the blade 6 and the removal blade 52 is returned to the coating solution tank 11 via the coating solution receiving tray 53. The specifications of the blade 6 and the transfer to the substrate 1 are the same as those of the coating apparatus shown in FIGS.

With the above-described configuration, it is possible to easily form a coating film having a stripe shape pattern on a base material with a coating device having a simple configuration, and to easily change the stripe shape pattern. In addition, when a stripe pattern is formed on a substrate and cut into a pattern to make a multi-sided product, there are many product sizes, but it is efficient because the stripe pattern can be easily changed. Production can be done. Furthermore, when an organic layer is applied on an electrode substrate such as an illumination or display using organic EL (electroluminescence), it is necessary to expose a part of the underlying electrode surface to provide a contact, and there are various product sizes. Therefore, efficient production is possible by applying the present invention.
<Example>
Using the coating apparatus shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, coating was performed with the following specifications.
1. Base material: width 500 mm, thickness 100 μm, made of polyethylene terephthalate 2. Substrate conveyance speed: 10 m / min Coating liquid: viscosity 1 mPa · s, surface tension 250 μN / cm, organic solvent polymer liquid 4. Gap between the applicator roll and the substrate supported by the backup roll: 100 μm
5. The peripheral speed of the applicator roll: 5 m / min In the above, the pattern of the uncoated part 10mm and the coated part 50mm was repeated in the base-material width direction, and the application part of 8 surfaces was created. A stripe-shaped coating film having a wet film thickness of 20 μm before drying of the coating film with no adhesion of coating film components to the uncoated portion of the substrate and no damage to the substrate was obtained.

1 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a roll coating apparatus according to the present invention. 1 is a schematic perspective view of a roll coating apparatus according to the present invention. It is a cross-sectional schematic diagram which shows another form of the roll coating device which concerns on this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Substrate 2 Backup roll 3 Applicator roll 4 Coating liquid pan 5 Overflow pan 6 Blade 6A Blade support member 6B Fixing member 11 Coating liquid tank 12 Edge position detector 21 Coating liquid 22 Primary film of full width 23 Striped primary film 24 Striped coating film 51 Metalling roll 52 Removal blade 53 Coating liquid tray 55 Die coater P Supply pump

Claims (6)

In a coating method in which a coating liquid is supplied to the outer peripheral surface of the applicator roll to form a primary film, and the primary film is stretched or transferred to a substrate supported by a backup roll.
A coating method comprising: forming a primary film on the outer peripheral surface of the applicator roll in a stripe shape, and applying the stretched primary film to the substrate by stretching or transferring. The coating method according to claim 1, wherein the stripe shape of the primary film formed in the stripe shape is variable on the outer peripheral surface of the applicator roll. In a coating apparatus that applies a coating liquid by supplying a coating liquid to the outer peripheral surface of an applicator roll, and stretching or transferring the primary film to a substrate supported by a backup roll.
An applicator comprising at least one blade capable of intermittently contacting the outer peripheral surface of the applicator roll in the applicator roll surface length direction, which is the axial length of the outer peripheral surface of the applicator roll. . The coating apparatus according to claim 3, wherein a gap is formed between an outer peripheral surface of the applicator roll and a coating surface of a base material supported by the backup roll. The coating device according to claim 3 or 4, wherein the blade is movable in the longitudinal direction of the applicator roll. Position detecting means for detecting the substrate transport position in the longitudinal direction of the applicator roll surface immediately before the coating device and position adjusting means for adjusting the position of the blade, and in accordance with the substrate transport position, The coating apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the position is adjusted.

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