JP2009045865A - Fine printing apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a fine printing apparatus in which drying of ink is controlled, thereby acceptance/transition of ink is ensured to a substrate to be printed, and ideal printing environment can be offered. <P>SOLUTION: The fine printing apparatus includes an atmosphere control means which controls atmosphere condition of circumference of a printing roll, controls atmosphere of circumference of the printing roll, thereby controls the surface viscosity of ink received by the printing roll, and thereby raises a transition rate of ink to the substrate. Moreover, the apparatus makes solvent absorbed by an elastomer rolled around the printing roll vaporize and raises the transition rate of ink to the substrate. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a fine printing apparatus that ensures acceptance transfer of ink by controlling the atmosphere around a printing roll.

In fine printing that requires high accuracy, it is very important to control stable printing, that is, drying of ink and paste, because the printing quality is directly linked to the quality of the final product.
Conventionally, in order to prevent ink from drying in a printing apparatus, for example, disclosed techniques of the following patent documents have been proposed.
As shown in FIG. 7, the disclosed technique of Patent Document 1 has a main roll 30 in which fine irregularities are formed on the surface and arranged in contact with the plate cylinder 29, and an auxiliary arranged in contact with the main roll 30. In a printing apparatus that performs printing by supplying ink between the roll 31 and transferring the ink accumulated in the recesses on the surface of the main roll to the plate cylinder 29, the dilute supply roll 32 that contacts the main roll 30 or the auxiliary roll 31 is used. The dilute solution is replenished so as to form a dilute solution film on the surface of the replenishment roll 32, and the dilute solution film is mixed with the ink by the contact rotation of the dilute solution replenishment roll 32 and the main roll 30, whereby To prevent ink drying.
That is, in order to adjust the ink supply amount from the main roll 30 to the plate cylinder 29, when the peripheral speeds of the main roll 30 and the auxiliary roll 31 are relatively changed and the ink squeezing is strengthened, the temperature of the roll surface rises. The water evaporation of the ink is promoted, and the density and viscosity of the ink are increased, which causes color spots on the printing surface. Therefore, Patent Document 1 provides an ink drying prevention method and apparatus capable of preventing an increase in the concentration and viscosity of the ink by supplying water to the ink as necessary.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 07-089052

  However, in the ink drying prevention apparatus of this Patent Document 1, in order to replenish moisture to the ink as necessary, a replenishment roll 32 and a diluting liquid for forming a coating film of the diluting liquid on the surface of the replenishing roll 32 are provided. You must prepare. For this reason, the structure around the replenishing roll 32 is complicated, and strict control of the water content is required, making it difficult to realize stable printing. In addition, there is a problem that it does not correspond to the ink for which drying is promoted.

  The present invention has been made in view of such problems, and in fine printing that requires high precision, by controlling the atmosphere around the printing roll, the drying of the ink is controlled in a simple manner. The purpose is to ensure the acceptance transfer of ink and realize stable printing corresponding to various types of ink.

  In order to achieve the above object, an invention according to claim 1 is a fine printing apparatus for receiving ink from an ink supply roll for supplying ink and transferring the ink to a printing material in an ink supply roll. And an atmosphere control means for controlling the atmosphere conditions around the printing roll.

  The invention according to claim 2 is characterized in that, in the invention according to claim 1, the atmosphere condition controlled by the atmosphere control means is temperature.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, the atmospheric condition controlled by the atmospheric control means is a pressure.

  The invention according to claim 4 is the invention according to claim 1, wherein the atmosphere condition controlled by the atmosphere control means is a kind of gas.

  The invention according to claim 5 is the invention according to claim 4, characterized in that the kind of the gas is a reducing gas for preventing oxidation.

  The invention according to claim 6 is the invention according to claim 5, wherein the reducing gas is an inert gas.

  The invention according to claim 7 is the invention according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the atmosphere control means is a blower fan and an exhaust fan that ventilate the periphery of the printing roll. To do.

  The invention according to claim 8 is the invention according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein there is a gap between the surface of the ink supply roll and the cover surrounding the surface of the ink supply roll, and the gap And a mechanism for supplying ink to the ink supply roll.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, it is possible to perform printing on an object to be printed in an optimum environment by providing the atmosphere control means for controlling the atmosphere conditions around the printing roll. That is, high-precision printing is required for fine printing, but according to the present invention, the ink transfer rate with respect to the printing material can be improved by controlling the surface viscosity of the ink received by the printing roll. it can. Further, by vaporizing the solvent absorbed by the elastomer wound on the printing roll, the ink transfer rate can be improved with respect to the printing material.

  The invention according to claim 2 is the invention according to claim 1, wherein the atmosphere condition controlled by the atmosphere control means is temperature, whereby the temperature around the printing roll or ink supply roll can be controlled, An appropriate printing environment can be provided for the substrate.

  The invention according to claim 3 is the invention according to claim 1, wherein the atmospheric condition controlled by the atmosphere control means is pressure, whereby the pressure around the printing roll or the ink supply roll can be controlled, An appropriate printing environment can be provided for the substrate.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, the atmospheric condition controlled by the atmospheric control means is a type of gas, thereby controlling the type of gas around the printing roll or ink supply roll. And an appropriate printing environment can be provided for the substrate.

  The invention according to claim 5 is the invention according to claim 4, wherein the kind of gas is a reducing gas for preventing oxidation. The method can provide a good printing environment without oxidizing the ink.

  According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the invention of the fifth aspect, the reducing gas is an inert gas, so that the ink is oxidized by a simple method for a substrate to be prevented from being oxidized. It is possible to provide a good printing environment without causing it to occur.

  According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, in the invention according to any one of the first to sixth aspects, the atmosphere control means includes a blower fan and an exhaust fan that ventilate the periphery of the printing roll, thereby performing printing. The atmosphere around the roll can be freely controlled, and an optimal printing environment can be provided. That is, by controlling the pressure, temperature or type of gas on the surface of the printing roll, or by applying a positive or negative pressure locally, the surface viscosity of the ink received by the printing roll is controlled and applied to the substrate. Ink transfer rate can be improved. Further, by vaporizing the solvent absorbed by the elastomer wound on the printing roll, the ink transfer rate can be improved with respect to the printing material, and an ideal printing environment can be provided. In addition, by performing appropriate drying ventilation on the substrate to be dried, it is possible to accelerate the drying of the ink and increase the surface viscosity of the ink to increase the ink transfer to the substrate. The rate can be increased and an ideal printing environment can be provided.

  The invention according to claim 8 is the invention according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the atmosphere control means surrounds the surface of the ink supply roll with a gap between the surface of the ink supply roll. A cover and a mechanism for supplying ink to the ink supply roll from the gap are provided. As described above, the mechanism prevents the ink from contacting the air as much as possible, can supply an appropriate amount of ink, and can prevent the ink from drying. That is, the ink on the surface of the ink supply roll dries during printing, and the viscosity of the ink does not increase, so that the ink can be transferred stably and quantitatively to the letterpress or blanket attached to the printing roll. Further, the cover prevents the supplied ink from being exposed to the air as much as possible, and can surely prevent the ink from drying on the surface of the ink supply roll, thereby providing an ideal printing environment.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
The fine printing apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment is widely applicable from a research apparatus to a production apparatus. The semiconductor pattern is directly printed on a wafer, the electrode is printed on a glass substrate with a conductive paste, and the printed board is printed. It can be used for direct printing and direct printing of white light emitting diodes.

FIG. 1 shows an atmosphere control means (A) provided on a printing roll 4 such as a letterpress roll, which will be described later, and an ink supply roll 3 such as an anilox roll or a gravure roll, which will be described later, in the fine printing apparatus of the present embodiment. It is a front view which shows the state which installed the ink drying suppression means (B) with which it was equipped.
FIG. 2 shows a state in which the atmosphere control means (A) provided on the printing roll 4 and the ink drying suppression means (B) provided on the ink supply roll 3 are removed in the fine printing apparatus according to the present embodiment. Is a front view showing a drying unit III as an option.
As shown in FIG. 2, the fine printing apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment is divided into a printing unit I, a winder unit II, and a drying unit III.
The printing unit I includes a substrate table 2, an ink supply roll 3, a printing roll 4, an impression cylinder 5, a pinch roll 6, and a doctor blade 7.
The substrate table 2 is provided horizontally at the center height of the fine printing apparatus 1.
The ink supply roll 3 is a roll for transferring controlled ink to the printing roll, is cylindrical, extends in the width direction (perpendicular to the paper surface) of the fine printing apparatus 1, and is relative to the substrate table 2. It is supported so that it can rotate horizontally, and an elastomer is wound around its circumference.
The printing roll 4 is a roll for transferring ink to a printing material, has the same diameter as the ink supply roll 3, extends in the width direction of the fine printing apparatus 1, and supplies ink horizontally to the substrate table 2. The roller 3 is rotatably supported at a slightly lower position, and a part of the right circumferential surface is in contact with the ink supply roll 3. Estramer is wound around the circumference.
The impression cylinder 5 has a columnar shape with the same length as the ink supply roll 3 and a small diameter, extends in the width direction of the fine printing apparatus 1, is horizontal to the substrate table 2, and is near the left side of the printing roll 4. The printing roll 4 is supported so as to be rotatable slightly above.
The pinch roll 6 is a cylindrical shape having the same length as the ink supply roll 3 and a considerably smaller diameter than the impression cylinder 5, extends in the width direction of the fine printing apparatus 1, and is parallel to the substrate table 2. A part of the circumferential surface on the right side is in contact with the impression cylinder 5.
The doctor blade 7 scrapes off the ink on the surface of the ink supply roll 3 when the cutting edge comes into contact with the upper surface of the ink supply roll 3 and the ink supply roll 3 rotates forward or backward.

The winder unit II includes a support plate 8, a winder roll (winding roll) 9, a rewinder roll (winding roll) 10, and a guide roll 11.
The support plate 8 is fixed perpendicularly to the substrate table 2 of the fine printing apparatus 1 at the rear part (the back side of the drawing) of the fine printing apparatus 1 with a desired distance from the left part of the pinch roll 6. .
The winder roll 9 is provided below the support plate 8 so as to extend vertically in the width direction of the fine printing apparatus 1 and to be rotatable with respect to the support plate 8.
The rewinder roll 10 is provided above the support plate 8 so as to be perpendicular to the support plate 8 and to be rotatable so as to extend in the width direction of the fine printing apparatus 1.
The pair of guide rolls 11 are fixed vertically to the support plate 8 so as to extend in the width direction of the fine printing apparatus 1 at two points on the left and right above the rewinder roll 10.
By providing such a winder unit II, it is possible to efficiently transfer ink to the printing material 15 by roll-to-roll as will be described later.

The drying unit III can be attached as an option, and includes a support plate 12 and guide rolls 13 and 14.
The support plate 12 is adjacent to the left side of the support plate 8 of the winder unit II and is fixed perpendicular to the installation surface.
The plurality of guide rolls 13 are provided perpendicular to the fixing plate 12 so as to extend in the width direction of the fine printing apparatus 1, and from above to below in the upper right portion and the left portion of the fixing plate 12. They are arranged at a desired interval so as to draw a gentle curve.
The plurality of guide rolls 14 are provided perpendicular to the fixed plate 12 so as to extend in the width direction of the fine printing apparatus 1, and a plurality of guide rolls 14 are arranged in the upper position and the lower position on the right side of the fixed plate 12. It is installed.
By providing such a drying unit III as an option, it is possible to quickly dry the ink transferred to the substrate as described later, and to improve the efficiency of the operation.

In the fine printing apparatus 1 configured as described above, a method for installing the printing material 15 that is a film of polyimide or the like will be described.
A hole provided at the center of a printed material 15 (hereinafter referred to as a film 15) wound in a roll shape such as a film 15 is inserted into a winder roll 9 provided below the support plate 8 of the winder unit II. The film 15 is rotatably supported.
Next, the end portion of the film 15 is pulled out, passed along the circumferential surface of the upper part of the pinch roll 6, passed between the impression cylinder 5 and the pinch roll 6, and along the circumferential surface of the impression cylinder 5. Pulling out above the impression cylinder 5 and applying tension so that the film 15 does not loosen above the guide roll 11 above the support plate 8, from above the curved guide roll 13 of the drying unit III toward below. Along the left part of each guide roll 13.
When the film 15 reaches the lowermost guide roll 13 on the left side of the fixed plate 12, the film 15 is alternately placed on the right and left guide rolls 14 of the fixed plate 12, and the film 15 is on the rightmost guide roll. When it reaches 14, it is wound around the rewinder roll 10 above the winder unit II.
As a result, the film 15 can be continuously fed to the printing unit I and passed through the drying unit III and taken up.

Hereinafter, the basic operation of the fine printing apparatus 1 provided with the film 15 as described above will be described.
While supplying ink to the ink supply roll 3 with a T die 25 (see FIG. 6) described later, the ink supply roll 3 is rotated counterclockwise, and at the same time, the printing roll 4 adjacent to the ink supply roll 3 is rotated clockwise. Then, the ink of the ink supply roll 3 is transferred to the printing roll 4.
The ink on the printing roll 4 is transferred to the film 15 by contacting the printing roll 4 while rotating the impression cylinder 5 around which the film 15 is wound on the right side of the circumferential surface. At this time, the pinch roll 6 rotates clockwise while contacting the film 15 so that the film 15 along the impression cylinder 5 does not loosen. In this way, the film 15 is continuously fed from the winder roll 9 of the film 15 provided in the lower part of the winder unit II to the impression cylinder 5 of the printing unit I.
Further, the film 15 to which the ink has been transferred moves from the upper part of the impression cylinder 5 along the guide roll 11 of the winder unit II, and further moves along the guide rolls 13 and 14 of the drying unit III. After being sufficiently dried, it is finally wound around the rewinder roll 10 of the winder unit II.

  In the present embodiment, the case of printing on the film 15 has been described. However, according to the fine printing apparatus in the present embodiment, fine printing can be performed on glass, a silicon wafer, a sheet film, or the like. In this case, it is possible to perform printing by placing glass, a silicon wafer, or a sheet film on the substrate table 2 and moving the substrate table 2 in the horizontal direction. For example, wiring can be directly printed on a silicon wafer.

Since the compatibility of the printing roll 4, the ink, and the printing material 15 in the acceptance transfer is various, the control of the atmosphere around the printing roll 4 is important. Therefore, the atmosphere control means (A) provided in the printing roll 4 in the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS.
3 to 5 show the atmosphere control means (A) in the printing roll 4.
As shown in FIGS. 3 to 5, the atmosphere control means installed on the printing roll 4 includes a pair of blower fans 16 and an exhaust fan 17, and the blower fan 16 and the exhaust fan 17 have pipes 18 and 19, respectively. Via the air duct 21 and the exhaust duct 22 provided above the printing roll 4. A blower passage 23 and an exhaust passage 24 are connected to the blower duct 21 and the exhaust duct 22 so as to be perpendicular to the vicinity of the circumferential surface of the printing roll 4.
With such a configuration, air can be blown from the blower fan 16 to the vicinity of the circumferential surface of the printing roll 4 through the pipe 18, the blower duct 21, and the blower passage 23.
Further, the exhaust fan 17 can exhaust air from the vicinity of the circumferential surface of the printing roll 4 through the pipe 19, the exhaust duct 22 and the exhaust passage 24.
The blower fan 16 includes a filter 20 and cleans the gas sent to the printing roll 4.
The blower fan 16, the exhaust fan 17, the blower duct 21, and the exhaust duct 22 are fixedly supported by a fan mounting arm at the rear part of the printing roll 4.
Further, the wind pressure, air volume and temperature of the gas supplied and exhausted by the blower fan 16 and the exhaust fan 17 can be set to arbitrary wind pressure, air volume and temperature by the rotation control and temperature management unit of the blower. It is also possible to control the ink transfer rate in the substrate 15.
Further, when it is desired to prevent oxidation of the ink depending on the printing material, a reducing gas (for example, an inert gas such as nitrogen, helium, neon, argon, krypton, xenon, or radon) is blown from the blower fan 16. Therefore, oxidation prevention can be realized.
In this manner, the air pressure, temperature, or type of gas on the surface of the printing roll 4 is controlled by the blower fan 16 and the exhaust fan 17, or a positive pressure or a negative pressure is locally applied, and is wound around the printing roll 4. By vaporizing the solvent absorbed by the elastomer, the ink transfer rate can be improved with respect to the printing material.
Further, depending on the material of the printing material, the printing roll 4 may have a higher ink transfer rate with respect to the printing material when the drying of the ink is promoted to slightly increase the surface viscosity of the ink. Therefore, the air blowing fan 16 and the exhaust fan 17 can provide an optimal printing environment by performing dry ventilation having a desired wind pressure, temperature, or gas type over the entire width of the circumferential surface of the printing roll 4. it can.

Next, the ink drying inhibiting means (B) provided on the ink supply roll 3 in the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 6 (a) and 6 (b).
The ink drying suppression means (B) in the ink supply roll 3 is provided together with the atmosphere control means (A) in the printing roll 4.
6A is an enlarged view of a portion (B) in FIG. 1, and FIG. 6B is a side sectional view of FIG. 6A.
As shown in FIG. 6A, in the present embodiment, a T die 25 is used as a mechanism for supplying ink. That is, a T-die 25 having a thin V-shaped tip is installed in the vicinity of the uppermost portion of the circumferential surface of the ink supply roll 3 so that the ink supply path faces vertically downward. An appropriate amount of ink is supplied to the circumferential surface of the ink supply roll 3 without any spots.
Thus, by supplying ink from the vicinity to the circumferential surface of the ink supply roll 3, the ink is prevented from coming into contact with the air as much as possible, and the ink viscosity is suppressed by suppressing the drying of the ink. Can be prevented from becoming high.
In addition, about the quantity of the ink to supply, it can adjust to a desired quantity suitably.
In the present embodiment, the ink is supplied to the ink supply roll 3 by the T die 25. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the ink can be supplied by a syringe pump or a doctor chamber. is there.

Further, in the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 6A, a predetermined gap is provided from the circumferential surface of the ink supply roll 3 so as to surround the circumferential surface of the ink supply roll 3. Covers 26a, 26b and 26c are provided.
Here, the upper part of the ink supply roll 3 to which ink is supplied by the T die 25 and the vicinity in contact with the printing roll 4 are provided with a desired gap so as not to be surrounded by the covers 26a, 26b and 26c. Install.
That is, the cover 26a surrounds the upper half of the right half of the ink supply roll 3 from the lower portion, and the cover 26b is for supplying ink by the T die 25 between the upper portion of the ink supply roll 3 and the cover 26a. A portion of the ink supply roll 3 that is not in contact with the printing roll 4 at the upper left is surrounded by a gap, and the cover 26c is located at the lower left of the ink supply roll 3 that is not in contact with the printing roll 4 and the right of the ink supply roll 3. Go to the bottom.
Here, the covers 26 a and 26 c are separated for ease of assembly, and are joined to each other by overlapping the end portions at the lower right portion of the ink supply roll 3.

As shown in FIG. 6B, the covers 26 a, 26 b and 26 c are slightly longer in the axial direction than the ink supply roll 3, and at the end protruding from the ink supply roll 3, the circumferential direction The ends of the screws 27a are fixed to each other with a plurality of screws 27a provided at predetermined intervals.
Further, the covers 26a, 26b and 26c are fixedly supported by bolts 27b to a columnar cover mounting arm 28a extending in the horizontal direction with respect to the base table 2 at the center of the circumferential surface of the end portion thereof. Yes. The cover attachment arm 28a is fixed at the rear part of the fine printing apparatus 1 by a support part 28b extending vertically.
As described above, the ink supply roll 3 is surrounded by the covers 26a, 26b and 26c, so that the ink is prevented from touching the air as much as possible when the ink is supplied to the ink supply roll 3 by the T die 25. And the drying of the ink on the circumferential surface of the ink supply roll 3 can be suppressed.
In the present embodiment, it is preferable to set the distance between the circumferential surface of the ink supply roll 3 and the cover and 26a, 26b and 26c from 0.3 mm to 2.00 mm. This is because the ink supplied to the circumferential surface of the ink supply roll 3 by the T-die 25 is kept from touching the air as much as possible, and the drying degree of the ink is made appropriate without excessively suppressing the drying. is there.
However, in the present invention, the gaps between the ink supply roll 3 and the covers 26a, 26b, and 26c are not limited to the above values, and the gaps can be appropriately set according to the required degree of ink drying suppression.

  INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY The present invention can be suitably used in fine printing in which wiring is printed on a substrate to be printed that requires high accuracy, such as a silicon wafer.

In a fine printing apparatus, it is a front view which shows the atmosphere control means (A) with which the printing roll was equipped, and the ink drying suppression means (B) with which the ink supply roll was equipped. It is a front view which shows the state which removed said (A) and (B) of FIG. 1 in the fine printing apparatus. It is a figure which shows the atmosphere control means (A) in a printing roll. It is a figure which shows the fan and duct of an atmosphere suppression means (A). It is an enlarged view which shows the ventilation and exhaust state in the printing roll circumferential surface vicinity. (A) It is an enlarged view of the (B) part which shows the ink drying suppression means in an ink supply roll, (b) It is side surface sectional drawing which shows the cover attachment arm of the cover in an ink supply roll. It is a figure which shows the conventional ink drying prevention apparatus.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Fine printing apparatus 3 Ink supply roll 4 Printing roll 15 Film (printed material)
16 Blower fan 17 Exhaust fan 25 T die 26a, 26b, 26c Cover A Atmosphere control means in printing roll B Ink drying suppression means in ink supply roll

Claims (8)

An ink supply roll for supplying ink;
A printing roll for receiving ink from the ink supply roll and transferring the ink to the substrate;
A fine printing apparatus comprising: atmosphere control means for controlling an atmosphere condition around the printing roll. 2. The fine printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the atmosphere condition controlled by the atmosphere control means is temperature. 2. The fine printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the atmospheric condition controlled by the atmospheric control means is pressure. The fine printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the atmosphere condition controlled by the atmosphere control unit is a kind of gas. The fine printing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the type of the gas is a reducing gas for preventing oxidation. The fine printing apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the reducing gas is an inert gas. The fine printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the atmosphere control unit includes a blower fan and an exhaust fan that ventilate the periphery of the printing roll. A cover surrounding the ink supply roll surface with a gap between the ink supply roll surface;
The fine printing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a mechanism for supplying ink from the gap to the ink supply roll.

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