JP2010241069A - Offset printing method and press - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve printing accuracy by uniformalizing respective contact pressure for executing the transferring of ink by bringing a blanket roll in contact with a plate and for executing the re-transferring by bringing the blanket roll in contact with a printing object under the respective predetermined contact pressures. <P>SOLUTION: An offset printing press includes: a plate table 4 and a substrate table 6 provided runnably along guide rails 2 provided on a trestle 1. A transfer mechanism part 9 comprising a blanket roll 10, actuators 13 for rising and fall the blanket roll 10, height sensors 14 of the blanket roll 10, and pressure sensors 15 for detecting the contact pressure of the blanket roll 10 against a plate 3 and a substrate 5 is provided at a place corresponding to the longitudinal intermediate parts of guide rails 2. A controller is installed for controlling the actuators 13 so as to bring the contact pressures being detected by the pressure sensors 15 on the contact of the blanket roll 10 with the plate 3 and the substrate 5 into a predetermined value. The contact pressure at the transferring from the plate 3 to the blanket roll 10 and the contact pressure at the re-transferring from the blanket roll 10 to the substrate 5 are respectively made uniform in order to make the amounts of deformation of its contact portions with the plate 3 and with the substrate 5 uniform and, at the same time, make the peripheral speeds thereof equal thereto. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&amp;INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an offset printing method and apparatus used for performing fine printing on a printing object with high printing accuracy, as in the case of forming an electrode pattern on a substrate by printing.

  In recent years, as a method of forming an electrode pattern (conductive pattern) such as a liquid crystal display on a required substrate, a printing technique using a conductive paste as a printing ink instead of fine processing such as etching of a metal vapor deposition film, for example, A technique for printing and forming an electrode pattern on a substrate using an intaglio offset printing technique has been proposed (see, for example, Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2).

  When the electrode pattern of the liquid crystal display or the like is formed on the substrate, an electrode width as fine as about 10 μm may be required, for example. Furthermore, a plurality of electrode patterns may be formed on the substrate in a superimposed manner. In this case, the electrode pattern is overprinted by replacing the plate, but the electrode pattern may be destroyed if the printing position is shifted. Therefore, the accuracy varies slightly depending on the object, but in a fine electrode pattern in which the electrode width is about 10 μm, it may be necessary to suppress the overlay deviation to several μm. Therefore, printing of the electrode pattern on the substrate requires higher printing accuracy than normal intaglio offset printing for printing characters and images on paper or the like.

  Conventionally, as one of the methods proposed for improving the printing accuracy of intaglio offset printing, an offset printing machine is provided with a moving table on which an intaglio and a work to be printed are held, and a moving table above the moving table. An arranged transfer blanket roll (rolling blanket), a driving mechanism for independently driving the moving table and the blanket roll, and a numerical control for independently controlling the driving mechanisms for the moving table and the blanket roll. As a configuration comprising a controller, the movement of the moving table holding the intaglio and the workpiece and the rotation of the blanket roll are independently operated, and the peripheral speed of the blanket roll is finely adjusted manually by the operator. Transfer from the intaglio to the blanket roll (acceptance) and blanket There is a method to improve the accuracy of the re-transferred (printed) to the work from a roll (e.g., see Patent Document 3).

  As another method for increasing the printing accuracy of offset printing, a roller having a cylindrical contact portion (a blanket roll) and a flat plate-like body are supported and contacted with the cylindrical contact portion. A main body having a planar abutting portion, and the roller and the plate-like body are relatively translated while the cylindrical abutting portion abuts against the planar abutting portion. In a printing machine that transfers ink between a plate (master plate) as a plate and a substrate (work plate) to be printed, between the cylindrical contact portion and the planar contact portion It has been proposed to provide a printing press having a contact force adjusting means for adjusting the contact force.

  According to a printing press having such a configuration, when the contact force is adjusted by adjusting the contact force between the cylindrical contact portion and the planar contact portion by the contact force adjusting means, the contact of the cylindrical contact portion is changed. By changing the degree of deformation of the portion so as to follow the planar shape of the flat contact portion, the radius of curvature of the contact portion of this cylindrical contact portion changes, and the apparent diameter increases or decreases. Since the rotation angle of the roller can be changed even when the translational movement amount is, the angular position of the roller with respect to the plate or substrate as a plate-like body supported by the main body, that is, the printing position Can be performed with high accuracy (see, for example, Patent Document 4).

Japanese Patent No. 2797567 Japanese Patent No. 3904433 JP 2000-272079 A JP 2006-142664 A

  However, the blanket roll used in offset printing is formed of a material having a required elasticity, such as a required rubber, on the surface of the peripheral wall. The contact portion becomes distorted along the surface of the plate or the substrate. For this reason, when the ink is transferred from the plate to the blanket roll, and when the ink is retransferred from the blanket roll to the substrate, the contact pressure of the plate and the blanket roll (printing pressure), and There is a concern that it may change depending on the contact pressure (printing pressure) between the blanket roll and the substrate. Therefore, for example, when a fine electrode pattern is printed, there is a concern that the thickness of the electrode printed as a thin line may not be constant.

  Further, when the blanket roll is pressed against the plate or the substrate to be printed by applying a required pressure, the contact portion of the blanket roll with the plate or the substrate becomes distorted along the surface of the plate or the substrate. The actual condition is that the roll diameter changes at the contact portion, and the peripheral speed of the blanket roll changes as the roll diameter changes.

  On the other hand, since it is difficult to manufacture all the substrates to be printed with the same thickness dimension, the thickness dimension of the individual substrates varies somewhat.

  Further, even among a plurality of plates used for overprinting, there may be some variation in thickness dimension between individual plates.

  Therefore, due to variations in the thickness dimension of the individual substrates to be printed, when a difference occurs in the contact pressure with the blanket roll for each substrate, even if the same plate is used, There is a concern that the thickness of the electrode as a thin line of the electrode pattern printed on each substrate may not be uniform, or that the printed pattern printed on each substrate is not always constant and the reproducibility may be reduced.

  Furthermore, when a difference occurs in the contact pressure with the blanket roll for each of the plates due to the variation in the thickness of the plurality of plates used for performing the overprinting, the plurality of plates is placed on one substrate. There is a concern that the thickness of the electrode as a fine line of the electrode pattern formed by the overprinting used may not be uniform, or an overlay shift may occur.

  In addition, since the plate is gradually worn out (consumed) when used for printing, it may be necessary to replace it every required number of printings and printing times. In this case, the plate before the replacement and a new one after the replacement If there is a variation in thickness between the plate and the plate, there is a risk of a difference in contact pressure with the blanket roll. In this case as well, the electrode as a fine line of the electrode pattern printed on the substrate before and after the plate is replaced There is a concern that the reproducibility may not be obtained due to a change in the thickness of the paper or a change in the print pattern printed on the substrate.

  Therefore, when high printing accuracy is required to form a fine print pattern such as the electrode pattern, the contact pressure between the plate and the blanket roll or the contact pressure between the blanket roll and each substrate is changed. Also caused by slight changes in the thickness of the fine line to be printed due to the change in the printing position, or a shift in the printing position due to a change in the peripheral speed accompanying a slight change in the roll diameter of the blanket roll. There is a concern that it may become an obstacle to achieving the required printing accuracy.

  In addition, although the idea of adjusting the circumferential speed of the blanket roll is shown in the method shown in the above-mentioned Patent Document 3, it is necessary to manually adjust the circumferential speed of the blanket roll, and an appropriate blanket roll Since the operator visually determines whether or not the peripheral speed is obtained from the printing result, there is a problem that quantitative evaluation is difficult.

  In Patent Document 4, the contact force (contact pressure) between the cylindrical contact portion of the roller (blanket roll) and the flat contact portion provided on the main body that supports the plate or the substrate is adjusted. Although the idea of registering the printing position with high accuracy is shown, there is no idea of making the contact pressure of the roller to the plate constant and the contact pressure of the roller to each substrate whose thickness dimension is not necessarily constant. Not shown. For this reason, the technique disclosed in Patent Document 4 cannot eliminate the possibility of the difference in contact pressure between the roller plate and the substrate as described above. In addition, when the roller contacts the plate or the substrate, a difference in contact pressure occurs, resulting in a difference in the amount of change in the roller diameter of the contact portion of the roller with respect to the plate or each substrate. It cannot solve the problem that the printing accuracy and reproducibility with respect to each substrate decrease due to the change in speed. Furthermore, by operating the contact force (contact pressure) with the flat contact part provided on the main body that supports the plate or the substrate in order to register the printing position, the printing pattern by offset printing is made uniform. It is not appropriate for the original purpose of making it.

  Therefore, the present invention provides a high reproduction of a print pattern with a uniform thin line thickness and no blurring or blurring for each print target even if the print target does not necessarily have a constant thickness dimension as in the above substrate. Printing can improve printing accuracy, and when multiple plates used for overprinting do not necessarily have a constant thickness dimension, or between plates before and after replacement at the time of plate replacement Can be printed with high reproducibility and high printing accuracy, even when the thickness of the electrode pattern is not necessarily constant, so that the electrode pattern Offset printing that enables high-precision printing such as that described above with high accuracy and suppresses misalignment on the micrometer order even when overprinting. It is intended to provide a method and apparatus.

  In order to solve the above-described problem, the present invention provides a plate in which a blanket roll that is moved up and down by an elevating actuator is held on a plate table that runs on a guide rail provided on a pedestal. The blanket roll is brought into contact with the printing object held on the printing object table running on the guide rail from above, and the transfer from the plate to the blanket roll and the blanket roll. In the offset printing method in which retransfer from the printing target to the printing target is performed, the contact pressure while the blanket roll is in contact with the plate held on the plate table, and the blanket roll is held on the printing target table. So that the contact pressure during contact with the object to be printed is kept constant at a predetermined value. Serial and offset printing method so as to control the lift of the blanket roll by elevating actuator.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, a blanket roll that is moved up and down by a lifting actuator is brought into contact with a plate held on a plate table that runs on a guide rail provided on a gantry from above, and then the blanket The roll is brought into contact with the printing target held on the printing target table running on the guide rail from above, so that the transfer from the plate to the blanket roll and the retransfer from the blanket roll to the printing target are performed. In the offset printing method to do so, after controlling the raising and lowering of the blanket roll by the elevator actuator so that the contact pressure when the blanket roll starts to contact the plate held on the plate table becomes a predetermined value, The blanket roll is positioned on the plate table above the blanket roll. It is held constant while in contact with the held plate, and the contact pressure when the blanket roll starts to contact the printing object held on the printing object table is set to a predetermined value. After controlling the raising / lowering of the blanket roll by the raising / lowering actuator, the height position of the blanket roll is held constant while the blanket roll is in contact with the printing object held on the printing object table. The offset printing method is used.

  Further, according to claim 3, a plate table and a printing target table that run on a guide rail provided on a gantry are provided, the plate held on the plate table, and the printing target held on the printing target table. In the offset printing apparatus, the blanket roll that is lifted and lowered by the lifting actuator is sequentially contacted from above, so that the transfer from the plate to the blanket roll and the retransfer from the blanket roll to the printing object are performed. A pressure sensor for detecting contact pressure with respect to the printing plate and the printing plate of the blanket roll that is raised and lowered by the raising and lowering actuator; and further, during transfer between the blanket roll and the printing plate; and the blanket roll and the above While performing retransfer with the printing object, Force is the contact pressure is to offset printing apparatus having provided comprising configure the controller having the function of giving instructions to the lift actuator to be held constant at a predetermined value.

  Further, according to claim 4, a plate table and a printing target table that run on a guide rail provided on a gantry, and a plate held on the plate table and a printing held on the printing target table are provided. In an offset printing apparatus in which a blanket roll that is moved up and down by an elevating actuator is brought into contact with an object sequentially from above, so that transfer from the plate to the blanket roll and retransfer from the blanket roll to the printing object are performed. A height sensor that detects a height position of the blanket roll that is moved up and down by the lifting actuator, and a pressure sensor that detects a contact pressure of the blanket roll with respect to the plate and a printing target, and further includes the blanket roll and the plate. Input from the pressure sensor when starting transfer between A command is given to the actuator for raising and lowering so that the contact pressure becomes a predetermined value, and the contact pressure input from the pressure sensor becomes a predetermined value while transferring between the blanket roll and the plate. A function of giving a command to the lifting actuator based on an input from the height sensor so that the height position of the blanket roll is maintained, and retransfer is started between the blanket roll and the printing object. The pressure sensor gives a command to the lifting actuator so that the contact pressure input from the pressure sensor becomes a predetermined value and performs retransfer between the blanket roll and the printing object. Based on the input from the height sensor, the height position of the blanket roll is maintained when the input contact pressure reaches a predetermined value. An offset printing device having a structure comprising a controller having a function of providing an instruction to the lift actuator.

  Further, in the above configuration, the contact pressure input from the pressure sensor is predetermined during the transfer between the blanket roll and the plate and the transfer between the blanket roll and the printing object. When giving an instruction to the lifting and lowering actuator based on the input from the height sensor so that the height position of the blanket roll when the value is reached, when the blanket roll is eccentric, Based on the amount of eccentricity of the blanket roll, the height of the blanket roll should be corrected.

According to the present invention, the following excellent effects are exhibited.
(1) A blanket roll that is moved up and down by a lifting actuator is brought into contact with a plate held on a plate table that runs on a guide rail provided on a gantry from above, and then the blanket roll is placed on the guide rail. In the offset printing method of causing the printing object held on the printing object table running through the above to contact the printing object from above, so that the transfer from the plate to the blanket roll and the retransfer from the blanket roll to the printing object are performed. The contact pressure while the blanket roll is in contact with the plate held on the plate table and the contact pressure while the blanket roll is in contact with the print target held on the print target table are respectively predetermined values. The blanket roll is lifted by the lifting actuator so that it is held constant. An offset printing method for controlling the descending, and a plate table and a printing target table that run on a guide rail provided on a frame, the plate held on the plate table, and held on the printing target table Offset printing is performed so that a blanket roll that is lifted and lowered by a lifting actuator is sequentially brought into contact with the print target from above, so that the transfer from the plate to the blanket roll and the retransfer from the blanket roll to the print target are performed. In the apparatus, the apparatus includes a pressure sensor for detecting a contact pressure of the blanket roll that is lifted and lowered by the lift actuator with respect to the plate and a printing object, and further, during transfer between the blanket roll and the plate, and the blanket During retransfer between the roll and the printing target, Since the offset printing apparatus has a configuration having a controller having a function of giving a command to the lifting actuator so that the contact pressure input from the pressure sensor is kept constant at a predetermined value, the blanket roll The contact pressure when transferring the ink by contacting the plate and the contact pressure when performing retransfer by contacting the blanket roll with the printing object can be made uniform at a predetermined contact pressure, respectively. The deformation amount of the contact portion when the blanket roll is brought into contact with the plate and the deformation amount of the contact portion when the blanket roll is brought into contact with the printing target can be made uniform. Therefore, the thickness of the fine line to be printed can be made uniform, the peripheral speed of the blanket roll when transferring from the plate to the blanket roll, and when transferring the ink from the blanket roll to the printing object again. The peripheral speed of the blanket roll can be made uniform, and the reproducibility of the printing pattern printed from the plate to the printing object via the blanket roll can be improved. Therefore, a fine print pattern such as an electrode pattern can be accurately printed on a print target.
(2) Therefore, even if there is a variation in the thickness dimension of the printing target held on the printing target table, it is possible to prevent the possibility that the contact pressure and the peripheral speed of the blanket roll will vary when retransfer is performed for each printing target. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the possibility of variations in printing accuracy and reproducibility for each printing target.
(3) In addition, even if there are variations in the thickness of the multiple plates for overprinting, and the plate before and after replacement, the blanket roll contact pressure and circumferential Since it is possible to prevent the possibility of variations in speed, it is possible to prevent the possibility of variations in printing accuracy and reproducibility due to variations in the thickness dimension of the plate.
(4) Furthermore, since accurate and highly reproducible printing can be performed on the print target, even when a fine print pattern such as an electrode pattern is overprinted on the print target, The overlay deviation can be suppressed, and an advantageous configuration for suppressing the overlay deviation to the micrometer order can be obtained.
(5) A blanket roll that is moved up and down by a lifting actuator is brought into contact with a plate held on a plate table that runs on a guide rail provided on a gantry from above, and then the blanket roll is placed on the guide rail. In the offset printing method of causing the printing object held on the printing object table running through the above to contact the printing object from above, so that the transfer from the plate to the blanket roll and the retransfer from the blanket roll to the printing object are performed. The height of the blanket roll is controlled by controlling the elevation of the blanket roll by the lifting actuator so that the contact pressure when the blanket roll starts to contact the plate held on the plate table becomes a predetermined value. The blanket roll contacts the plate held on the plate table. In addition, the blanket roll is lifted by the lifting actuator so that the contact pressure when the blanket roll starts to contact the printing object held on the printing object table becomes a predetermined value. An offset printing method for controlling the elevation of the blanket roll so that the height position of the blanket roll is kept constant while the blanket roll is in contact with the printing object held on the printing object table, and a frame A plate table and a printing target table that run on a guide rail provided above, and a plate held on the plate table and a blanket roll that is lifted and lowered by a lifting actuator on the printing target held on the printing target table. By sequentially contacting from above, transfer from the above plate to the blanket roll and bra In an offset printing apparatus configured to perform re-transfer from a ket roll to a printing object, a height sensor that detects a height position of the blanket roll that is lifted and lowered by the lift actuator, the plate and printing of the blanket roll A pressure sensor for detecting a contact pressure with respect to an object, and the lifting actuator so that a contact pressure input from the pressure sensor becomes a predetermined value when transfer is started between the blanket roll and the plate. During the transfer between the blanket roll and the plate, the height position of the blanket roll when the contact pressure input from the pressure sensor becomes a predetermined value is maintained. A function of giving a command to the lifting actuator based on an input from the height sensor, and When the re-transfer is started between the blanket roll and the printing object, a command is given to the lifting actuator so that the contact pressure input from the pressure sensor becomes a predetermined value, and the blanket roll and the printing object Based on the input from the height sensor, the height position of the blanket roll is maintained when the contact pressure input from the pressure sensor reaches a predetermined value. By using an offset printing apparatus having a controller having a function of giving a command to the lifting actuator, the contact pressure is once controlled to a predetermined contact pressure by bringing the blanket roll into contact with the plate or the printing object. After that, the height of the blanket roll at the time when the contact pressure of the blanket roll is set to the predetermined contact pressure. By holding the position, the deformation amount of the contact portion when the blanket roll is brought into contact with the plate and the deformation amount of the contact portion when the blanket roll is brought into contact with the printing target are made uniform on the plate or the printing target, respectively. Can be contacted. Therefore, the same effects as the above (1), (2), (3), and (4) can be obtained.
(6) While the controller performs transfer between the blanket roll and the plate and between the blanket roll and the printing target, the contact pressure input from the pressure sensor becomes a predetermined value. If the blanket roll is decentered when giving a command to the lifting actuator based on the input from the height sensor so that the height position of the blanket roll is maintained, the blanket roll Based on the amount of eccentricity of the blanket roll, the blanket roll has a function of correcting the height position where the blanket roll should be held. The amount of deformation of the part in contact with the object is determined by bringing the blanket roll into contact with the plate or the object to be printed, It is possible to perform the transfer and re-transfer between the plate and printed while maintaining the amount of deformation in a state of controlled pressure. Therefore, even if the blanket roll is eccentric as described above, the printing accuracy can be increased.

It is a schematic side view which shows one Embodiment of the offset printing method and apparatus of this invention. FIG. 2 is an enlarged cutaway side view showing a transfer mechanism portion in the offset printing apparatus of FIG. 1. It is an AA direction arrow line view of FIG. It is a schematic diagram which shows the control structure of the controller with which the offset printing apparatus of FIG. 1 is equipped. It is a control block diagram in the case of performing the height position control of the blanket roll by the controller of the offset printing apparatus of FIG. It is a control block diagram in the case of performing contact pressure constant control of the blanket roll by the controller of the offset printing apparatus of FIG. 1A and 1B show a transfer operation procedure of a transfer mechanism section when offset printing is performed by the offset printing apparatus of FIG. 1, (A) shows an initial state before transfer, and (B) shows rotation of a blanket roll and travel of a plate table. (C) is a schematic diagram showing a state in which the blanket roll is brought into contact with the plate, respectively, in a state in which they are started synchronously. FIG. 7 shows an operation subsequent to FIG. 7C of the transfer operation procedure in the transfer mechanism section of the offset printing apparatus of FIG. 1, wherein (a) shows a state in which the contact pressure with the blanket roll plate is controlled to a predetermined pressure ( (B) is a schematic diagram showing a state in which the contact pressure for the range of the blanket roll is maintained at a predetermined pressure. FIG. 9 shows the operation following FIG. 8 (b) of the transfer operation procedure in the transfer mechanism section of the offset printing apparatus of FIG. 1, where (a) shows the state in which the blanket roll is raised to the retracted height position, and (b) shows It is a schematic diagram showing the state of the end of transfer. FIG. 2 shows an inking device of the offset printing apparatus of FIG. 1, (a) is a schematic side view showing a state before inking to the plate, and (b) is a state where an ink pushing blade and an ink scraping blade are brought into contact with the plate. FIG. 3C is a schematic side view showing a state where inking is started, and FIG. 4C is an enlarged side view showing an ink pushing portion rate and an ink scraping blade portion. FIG. 2 shows an inking device of the offset printing apparatus of FIG. 1, wherein (a) is a schematic diagram showing a state in which a plate table holding a plate after being subjected to ink transfer to a blanket roll is run to a plate table standby area. Side view (b) is a schematic side view showing a state in which the ink reservoir on the plate is returned to the end side closer to the other end in the longitudinal direction of the guide rail of the plate by the ink return blade. FIG. 10 is a control block diagram illustrating a roll height position holding control for holding the height position when the pressure control of the blanket roll is completed by the controller of the offset printing apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention. It is a figure which shows the transfer operation | movement in the case of performing roll height position holding | maintenance control of FIG.

  Hereinafter, embodiments for carrying out the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  FIGS. 1 to 11 (a) and 11 (b) show an embodiment of the offset printing method and apparatus of the present invention, which are as follows.

  That is, a guide rail 2 extending in one direction (X-axis direction), for example, a set of two guide rails 2 is provided on the upper side of the horizontal base 1, and a plate 3 such as an intaglio is provided on the upper surface of the guide rail 2. One side of the guide rail 2 in the longitudinal direction (left side in FIG. 1) is a plate table 4 that is attached to and held on the upper surface and a substrate table 6 that is a table to be printed that is attached and held on the upper surface. Each of the tables 4 and 6 is attached along the guide rail 2 independently by a separate drive device 7 such as a linear motor. Be able to move (run). Further, the plate table 4 and the substrate table 6 are positioned along the longitudinal direction of each guide rail 2 by the common linear scale 8 provided in parallel with the guide rail 2 on the gantry 1, that is, in the X-axis direction. It is possible to detect the absolute position in the X-axis direction with reference to the required point.

  At a position corresponding to the longitudinal direction intermediate portion of the guide rail 2 on the gantry 1, it is disposed above the guide rail 2 so as to extend in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the guide rail 2 (Y-axis direction). A blanket roll 10 that can be rotationally driven by a drive motor 11, an encoder 12 for detecting the rotational speed and circumferential angle of the blanket roll 10, and the blanket roll 10 is moved up and down to The retreat height position (retreat position) Ha in which the lower end portion of the peripheral wall surface is disposed at a position higher than the upper surfaces of the plate table 4 and the substrate table 6 and the lower end portion of the peripheral wall surface of the blanket roll 10 are each of the above. To move between the contact height position (contact position) Hb arranged at a height corresponding to the upper surface of the tables 4 and 6 The raising / lowering actuator 13, the height sensor 14 for detecting the height position of the blanket roll 10, and the raising / lowering actuator 13 are lowered to the contact height position (contact position) Hb and arranged below the contact height position (contact position) Hb. And a pressure sensor 15 for detecting a contact pressure when the plate 3 held on the plate table 4 in the state of contact and the substrate 5 held on the substrate table 6 are pressed and pressed downward. A transfer mechanism unit 9 is provided.

  Furthermore, a plate table standby area 16 for moving the plate table 4 to the one end in the longitudinal direction of the guide rail 2 to stand by at a position corresponding to the one end in the longitudinal direction of the guide rail 2 on the gantry 1 is provided. An inking device 17 for inking the plate 3 held on the upper surface of the plate table 4 is provided between the plate table standby area 16 on the gantry 1 and the transfer mechanism unit 9.

  At a position corresponding to the other end portion of the guide rail 2 in the longitudinal direction on the gantry 1, the substrate table 6 is moved to the other end portion in the longitudinal direction of the guide rail 2, and the upper surface of the substrate table 6 is waited. A substrate installation area 18 is provided for attaching the substrate 5 for newly performing the printing process and removing the substrate 5 after the printing process.

  Further, detection signals of the positions of the plate table 4 and the substrate table 6 in the longitudinal direction of the guide table 2 inputted from the linear scale 8, the encoder 12, the height sensor 14, and the pressure sensor 15 of the transfer mechanism 9. On the basis of signals inputted from the controller, a controller for giving commands to the individual driving devices 7 of the plate table 4 and the substrate table 6 and the driving motor 11 and the lifting actuator 13 of the blanket roll 10 of the transfer mechanism section 9 ( The controller 19 is provided to constitute the offset printing apparatus of the present invention.

  More specifically, as shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the transfer mechanism 9 has a required interval in the longitudinal direction (X-axis direction) of the guide rail 2 on both outer sides of the longitudinal intermediate portion of the guide rail 2. The support member 21 having a required height dimension provided two by two, and the top portions of the support member members 21 are arranged so as to cross over the required dimension of the intermediate portion in the longitudinal direction of the guide rail 2. A gate-shaped frame 20 composed of a beam member 22 that is arranged between the two column members 21 that are arranged along the X-axis direction on the outside of the guide rail 2 in the frame 20. Both end portions of a roll housing 24, in which the rotary shafts 23 at both ends of the blanket roll 10 are rotatably held via bearings 25, can be moved vertically through linear guides 26 extending in the vertical direction. It is marked.

  Further, two locations in the roll housing 24 that are spaced apart from each other in the axial direction of the blanket roll 10, for example, two locations that substantially correspond to both ends in the axial direction of the blanket roll 10, and corresponding to the respective locations. The lifting actuator 13 and the pressure sensor 15 are connected in series between the two required beam members 22 of the frame 20.

  Further, as the height sensor 14 of the blanket roll 10, for example, a height sensor 14 such as a linear scale in the vertical direction is used, and a column member 21 corresponding to a required portion at both ends of the roll housing 24 and the frame 20. The height of the blanket roll 10 held on the roll housing 24 indirectly by detecting the vertical position of the roll housing 24 by the height sensors 14. The position can be detected. Accordingly, the blanket roll 10 is moved up and down along the linear guide 26 integrally with the roll housing 24 by the synchronized driving of the lifting and lowering actuators 13, and the blanket roll 10 is moved to the height. The sensor can be arranged at the predetermined retreat height position Ha or the contact height position Hb detected by the sensor 14. Therefore, in the state where the blanket roll 10 is pulled up to the retreat height position Ha, the plate table 4 and the substrate table 6 that move along the guide rail 2 are moved below the blanket roll 10 without interfering with the blanket roll 10. It can be passed. In addition, with the plate table 4 and the substrate table 6 disposed just below the blanket roll 10, the blanket roll 10 is lowered to the contact height position Hb integrally with the roll housing 24 by the lift actuators 13. Thus, the peripheral wall surface of the blanket roll 10 can be pressed against the plate 3 held on the upper surface of the plate table 4 or the substrate 5 held on the upper surface of the substrate table 6 from above. At this time, each pressure sensor 15 provided in series with each of the lifting / lowering actuators 13 causes the lifting / lowering actuators 13 to integrally react with the roll housing 24 as a reaction force to force the blanket roll 10 downward. The blanket roll 10 contacts the plate 3 on the plate table 4 or the substrate 5 on the substrate table 6. It is to be able to detect the pressure.

  On one side of the roll housing 24, the drive motor 11 is attached inward and is rotatably held on a rotary shaft 23 on one side of the blanket roll 10 that is rotatably held by a bearing 25 on one side in the longitudinal direction of the roll housing 24. An output shaft (not shown) of the drive motor 11 is connected so that the blanket roll 10 can be rotationally driven by the operation of the drive motor 11. Furthermore, the encoder 12 is attached to an output shaft (not shown) of the drive motor 11, whereby the blanket roll when the encoder 12 rotates and drives the blanket roll 10 by the operation of the drive motor 11. The rotational speed of the blanket roll 10 and the rotational angle of the blanket roll 10 (an angular attitude with respect to one place in the circumferential direction) can be detected.

  The controller 19, as shown in FIG. 4, shows the plate table based on the individual table position detection signals S1 of the plate table 4 and the substrate table 6 inputted from the linear scale 8 provided on the gantry 1. 4 and the table drive control part 19a which gave instruction | command to the separate drive device 7 of the board | substrate table 6, and enabled it to control the position of each said table 4 and 6, a moving direction (traveling direction), and a moving speed (traveling speed). The detection signal S2 of the height position of the blanket roll 10 input from each height sensor 14 in the transfer mechanism section 9 and the plate 3 and the substrate 5 of the blanket roll 10 input from each pressure sensor 15 Based on the contact pressure detection signal S 3, a command is given to each lifting / lowering actuator 13 of the blanket roll 10 to increase the height of the blanket roll 10. The position and the roll position control / pressure control unit 19b which can control the contact pressure of the blanket roll 10 with respect to the plate 3 and the substrate 5 and the encoder 12 attached to the drive motor 11 of the blanket roll 10 are input. Based on the detection signal of the rotation speed and rotation angle of the blanket roll 10 to be applied, a command is given to the drive motor 11 of the blanket roll 10 so that the rotation speed and rotation angle of the blanket roll 10 can be controlled. And the roll position control / pressure control unit 19b and the roll rotation control unit 19c can be controlled synchronously with the table travel control unit 19a.

  Furthermore, the controller 19 has, as its control function, a roll height position control function for arranging the blanket roll 10 at either the retreat height position Ha or the contact height position Hb as necessary, and When transfer (acceptance) is performed by bringing the blanket roll 10 into contact with the plate 3, the contact pressure of the blanket roll 10 with respect to the plate 3 is made constant, and the blanket roll 10 is brought into contact with the substrate 5 to perform retransfer (printing). ) Is provided with a function of performing constant contact pressure control for making the contact pressure of the blanket roll 10 with respect to the substrate 5 constant.

  Specifically, the roll height position control function by the controller 19 is as shown in a control block diagram in FIG. 5 (for convenience of illustration, the frame 20 of the transfer mechanism section 9 and the roll housing 24 of the blanket roll 10). Are omitted, and the shape and arrangement of the drive motor 11, the encoder 12, the lifting actuator 13, the linear scale 14 as the height sensor, and the pressure sensor 15 attached to the blanket roll 10 have been changed. The description of the control system of the lifting actuator 13 on one side of the blanket roll 10 is omitted. The same applies to FIGS. 6 and 12), the plate by the linear scale 8 on the gantry 1 (see FIGS. 2 and 4). A table position detection signal S1 relating to the position of the table 4 in the X-axis direction and the position of the substrate table 6 in the X-axis direction is When the force is applied, each table position detection signal S1 is subjected to table function processing 27 using a predetermined table function that has been set in advance, whereby the blanket roll 10 is retracted height position Ha or contact height position Hb. And the target height h of the retracted height position Ha or the contact height position Hb is output. Then, the subtractor 28 causes the height target value h and the transfer to be transferred. The blanket roll 10 based on the detection signal inputted from the height sensor 14 of the mechanism unit 9 is inputted with the current height value h1 of the blanket roll 10, and the height deviation Δh of the current height value h1 with respect to the height target value h is obtained. After that, the drive command C1 obtained by performing the feedback process 29 based on the feedback control theory such as PID control in order to make the height deviation Δh zero is obtained as the blanket. It is to give to the lifting actuator 13 of the trawl 10. Thus, by operating the lifting / lowering actuator 13 based on the drive command C1, the blanket roll 10 is moved to the plate 3 or the plate table 4 or the substrate table 6 according to the position of the plate table 4 or the substrate table 6 in the X-axis direction as described later. When making contact with the substrate 5 in order to transfer ink, the blanket roll 10 can be placed at the contact height position Hb, and at other times, the blanket roll 10 can be placed at the retreat height position Ha. It is like that.

  Further, the control function of the contact pressure constant of the blanket roll 10 by the controller 19 is shown in FIG.

  That is, when the ink is transferred (received) from the plate 3 to the blanket roll 10, it is necessary to adsorb the ink inked on the plate 3 to the surface of the blanket roll 10, while the blanket roll 10 is a printing target. When the ink is transferred again to the substrate 5, the ink adsorbed on the surface of the blanket roll 10 needs to be separated from the surface of the blanket roll 10 and adsorbed on the surface of the substrate 5. For this reason, the transfer characteristics of the ink from the plate 3 to the blanket roll 10 and the transfer characteristics of the ink from the blanket roll 10 to the substrate 5 may not necessarily be the same, and in order to improve the transfer performance in the entire offset printing The contact pressure desired when the blanket roll 10 is brought into contact with the plate 3 and the contact pressure desired when the blanket roll 10 is brought into contact with the substrate 5 may not necessarily be the same.

  In view of this point, when the contact pressure constant control of the blanket roll 10 is performed, depending on whether the target to be brought into contact with the blanket roll 10 in the pressure determination block 30 is the plate 3 or the substrate 5 in advance. A desired target value p for a certain contact pressure is individually set, and the pressure target value p and the plate table 4 of the blanket roll 10 input from the pressure sensor 15 of the transfer mechanism unit 9 are set. The current value p1 of the contact pressure with respect to the held plate 3 or the substrate 5 held on the substrate table 6 is input to the subtractor 31, and the pressure deviation Δp of the current contact pressure value p1 with respect to the pressure target value p is obtained. The drive command C2 obtained by performing the feedback process 32 based on the feedback control theory such as PID control in order to make the pressure deviation Δp zero is obtained as described above. The blanket roll 10 can be applied to the lifting / lowering actuator 13. As a result, the blanket roll is moved when ink is transferred between the blanket roll 10 and the plate 3 or the substrate 5, as will be described later, by operating the lifting / lowering actuator 13 based on the drive command C2. 10 can be brought into contact with the plate 3 and the substrate 5 at a constant contact pressure corresponding to the desired pressure target value p.

  At this time, in the state in which both end portions in the axial direction of the blanket roll 10 are urged downward by the two lifting actuators 13 provided substantially corresponding to both end portions in the axial direction of the blanket roll 10, The blanket roll can be obtained by monitoring the current contact pressure value p1 with a pressure sensor 15 provided for each actuator 13 and individually controlling the two lifting actuators 13 in the same processing procedure as described above. The pressure in the contact surface with respect to the plate 3 or the substrate 5 can be made uniform.

  As described above, the controller 19 having the height position control function of the blanket roll 10 and the constant contact pressure control function performs the offset printing from the plate 3 in the transfer mechanism section 9 when performing offset printing by the offset printing apparatus of the present invention. The procedure of the transfer operation when the ink is transferred (accepted) to the blanket roll 10 is the procedure shown in FIGS. 7 (A), (B), (C) to FIG. 9 (A), (B). . The rotation direction of the blanket roll 10 at the time of transfer is clockwise in the figure, and the transfer travel direction of the plate table 4 is from the other end in the longitudinal direction of the guide rail 2 toward one end (leftward in the figure). ).

  When the transfer operation from the plate 3 to the blanket roll 10 is performed, as shown in FIG. 7A, the blanket roll is previously used by using the height position control function of the blanket roll 10 shown in FIG. 10 is arranged at the retreat height position Ha. At this time, the rotation of the blanket roll 10 is stopped. Further, in the state where the inking by the inking device 17 is performed on the plate 3 held on the plate table 4 in advance, the plate table 4 is required in the transfer traveling direction from a position directly below the blanket roll 10. It is arranged at a transfer start position X0 set in advance on the upstream side of the dimension and temporarily stopped. In the figure, the table position is determined with reference to an end portion (right end portion in the figure) near the other end of the plate table 4 in the longitudinal direction of the guide rail 2.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 7B, the blanket roll 10 is rotated by the operation of the drive motor 11 while being placed at the retracted height position Ha, and stopped at the transfer start position Xa. The plate table 4 is started to travel in the transfer traveling direction by the operation of the driving device (see FIG. 2) 7. In this case, the blanket roll 10 is deformed into a contact portion with the plate 3 by pressing the blanket roll 10 against the plate 3 at a predetermined contact pressure set in advance by performing constant contact pressure control as will be described later. The rotational speed of the blanket roll 10 and the traveling speed of the plate table 4 so that the peripheral speed based on the roll diameter of the deformed portion of the blanket roll 10 when Set to. Furthermore, the plate in which the blanket roll 10 is held on the plate table 4 in the next step based on the roll diameter of the portion that deforms when the blanket roll 10 is brought into contact with the plate 3 at the required contact pressure. Phase synchronization control is performed so that the circumferential position of the blanket roll 10 starting from the position to be brought into contact in the transfer start state when the transfer is started by contacting the plate 3 and the X-axis direction position of the plate table 4 coincide with each other. It shall be like that.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 7C, when the plate table 4 traveling in the transfer traveling direction reaches the roller contact position X1 that has entered the required amount just below the blanket roll 10, the controller 19 Using the height position control function of the blanket roll 10 shown in FIG. 5, a drive command C1 for height control is given to each lifting actuator 13, and the blanket roll 10 is placed on the outer peripheral surface of the blanket roll 10. The lower end portion is lowered to a contact height position Hb set in advance so as to come into contact with the plate 3 held on the plate table 4. Note that when the inking device 17 is inking the plate 3 held on the plate table 4 as will be described later, the guide 3 of the plate 3 near the one end in the longitudinal direction thereof. Since the ink reservoir is formed, the contact position of the blanket roll 10 with respect to the plate 3 is set so that the blanket roll 10 does not contact the ink reservoir.

  When the peripheral wall surface of the blanket roll 10 is brought into contact with the plate 3 on the plate table 4 as described above, each pressure sensor provided in series with each lifting / lowering actuator 13 of the blanket roll 10 by the transfer mechanism unit 9. 15, the current pressure value p <b> 1 of the contact pressure with respect to the plate 3 of the blanket roll 10 is detected.

  When the detection signal of the current pressure value p1 of the contact pressure with respect to the plate 3 of the blanket roll 10 arranged at the contact height position Hb from each pressure sensor 15 is input to the controller 19, By switching from the height position control function of the blanket roll 10 shown in FIG. 5 to the constant contact pressure control function shown in FIG. 6, the drive command C2 for pressure control is given to each lifting / lowering actuator 13 of the blanket roll 10. Thus, the current pressure value p1 of the contact pressure with respect to the plate 3 of the blanket roll 10 detected by the pressure sensor 15 is constant at a preset target pressure value p of the contact pressure as shown in FIG. It is made to hold so that it becomes. At this time, the rotational speed of the blanket roll 10 and the moving speed of the plate 3 due to the travel of the plate table 4 are synchronized with each other until the contact pressure of the blanket roll 10 with respect to the plate 3 becomes a stable value. Both may be decelerated while maintaining the above.

  Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 8 (b), while the rotating blanket roll 10 is in contact with the plate 3 on the traveling plate table 4 and performs transfer, the controller 19 causes the pressure sensors 15 to move. The lifting / lowering actuators 13 of the blanket rolls 10 are controlled so that the current pressure value p1 of the contact pressure with respect to the plate 3 of the blanket roll 10 detected by the above is kept constant at the target value p of the predetermined contact pressure. (See FIG. 6). As a result, in the blanket roll 10, the amount of deformation occurring at the contact portion with the plate 3 is maintained at a certain amount.

  Thereafter, after the transfer from the blanket roll 10 to the plate 3 is completed, the plate table 4 is set before completely passing through the position immediately below the blanket roll 10, as shown in FIG. When the roller separation position X2 is reached, while the rotation of the blanket roll 10 and the travel of the plate table 4 are continued, the controller 19 performs each elevation by the blanket roll height position control function shown in FIG. A drive command C1 for height control is given to the actuator 13 to raise the blanket roll 10 to the retreat height position Ha. Note that after the blanket roll 10 is raised and separated from the plate 3 as described above, the synchronous control of the rotational speed of the blanket roll 10 and the traveling speed of the plate table 4 may be canceled.

  Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 9 (b), when the plate table 4 travels to the transfer end position X3, the controller 19 stops the rotation of the blanket roll 10 raised to the retreat height position Ha, The initial state similar to that shown in FIG.

  The transfer mechanism 9 performs the transfer (acceptance) of ink from the plate 3 to the blanket roll 10 according to the procedure shown in FIGS. 7 (a), (b), (c) to FIGS. 9 (a), (b). Then, when retransferring (printing) the ink from the blanket roll 10 to the substrate 5 to be printed, the substrate holding the substrate 5 to be printed instead of the plate table 4 holding the plate 3 By using the table 6, the controller 19 causes the controller 19 to perform the transfer operation in the same procedure as shown in FIGS. 7 (a), (b), (c) to FIGS. The ink can be retransferred (printed) from 10 to the substrate 5.

  When the blanket roll 10 is brought into contact with the substrate 5 at a constant contact pressure by the contact pressure constant control function shown in FIG. 6 of the controller 19 in the same manner as shown in FIGS. As described above, in the pressure determination block 30, the pressure target value p of the contact pressure when the blanket roll 10 is brought into contact with the substrate 5, and the pressure target value of the contact pressure when the blanket roll 10 is brought into contact with the plate 3 are set. Due to the fact that it is set separately from p, the blanket roll 10 when the blanket roll 10 is brought into contact with the substrate 5 at a constant contact pressure controlled so as to be the predetermined pressure target value p. The deformation amount of the contact portion does not necessarily match the deformation amount of the contact portion when the blanket roll 10 is brought into contact with the plate 3.

  Therefore, when performing retransfer (printing) of ink from the blanket roll 10 to the substrate 5, a difference in deformation amount of the blanket roll 10 caused by a difference in contact pressure between the plate 3 and the substrate 5 is measured in advance. In consideration of changes in the peripheral speed due to the difference in the deformation amount, the blanket roll 10 is controlled at a predetermined contact pressure set in advance by performing constant contact pressure control from FIG. 7 (b) to FIG. 9 (b). The blanket so that the peripheral speed based on the roll diameter of the deformed portion when the contact portion with the substrate 5 of the blanket roll 10 is deformed when the substrate table 5 is brought into contact with the traveling speed of the substrate table 6 is the same. It is assumed that the rotational speed of the roll 10 and the traveling speed of the substrate table 6 are corrected and set. Thus, when the blanket roll 10 comes into contact with the substrate 5 held on the substrate table 6, the constant contact pressure control is performed in the same manner as shown in FIGS. Even when the thickness dimension changes for each substrate 5, the pressure when the blanket roll 10 is in contact with each substrate 5 is made uniform. Therefore, since the deformation amount of the contact portion when the blanket roll 10 contacts each substrate 5 becomes the same every time, the reproducibility of the print pattern retransferred from the blanket roll 10 to each substrate 5 can be improved. Even if the printed pattern printed on each substrate 5 has fine lines like a fine electrode pattern, the fine lines can be printed with uniform thickness and high reproducibility.

  By the way, the blanket roll 10 may have a shaft center that does not always completely coincide with the shafts of the rotary shafts 23 at both ends due to the manufacturing accuracy and the like. Although the circumferential position may be uneven due to the rotation angle due to the eccentricity, the controller 19 is configured to control the contact pressure of the blanket roll 10 against the plate 3 or the substrate 5 to be constant. Even if the blanket roll 10 is eccentric as described above, the deformation amount of the contact portion of the blanket roll 10 with respect to the plate 3 or the substrate 5 can be made uniform. However, even if the constant contact pressure control is performed, it cannot be prevented that the peripheral speed changes due to the rotation angle of the blanket roll 10 due to the eccentricity. Therefore, when the blanket roll 10 is eccentric, the peripheral speed of the blanket roll 10 is obtained by multiplying the rotation angle by the distance from the shaft center to the plate 3 or the substrate 5, that is, the rotation radius. Then, in a state where a substrate for inspection (not shown) having a known thickness is held on the substrate table 6 in advance, the contact pressure at the time of transfer from the plate 3 and the contact pressure at the time of retransfer to the substrate 5 are constant. While performing the control, the blanket roll 10 is rotated and brought into contact with the inspection substrate, and the change in the height position of the blanket roll 10 detected by the linear scale 14 as a height sensor at that time is changed to the blanket roll 10. And the difference between the recorded height position of the blanket roll 10 and the known height of the inspection substrate is obtained. , It is possible to obtain the rotation radius of the contact portion by the contact pressure at the time of re-transfer to the contact pressure and the substrate 5 at the time of transfer from the plate 3 at the time when the blanket roll 10 is certain rotational angles.

  Therefore, by creating a correction table in which the rotation radius is recorded for each rotation angle of the blanket roll 10, a command is sent to the drive motor 11 of the blanket roll 10 based on the correction table for the eccentric blanket roll 10. It is only necessary that the peripheral speed of the blanket roll 10 can be made constant by applying correction that appropriately changes the rotational speed of the drive motor 11 according to the rotation angle of the blanket roll 10.

  Alternatively, the rotational speed of the drive motor 11 is made constant, and the travel speed of the plate table 4 and the substrate table 6 is corrected according to the change in the peripheral speed of the eccentric blanket roll 10, thereby the peripheral speed of the blanket roll 10. The speed and the moving speed of the plate 3 on the plate table 4 and the substrate 5 on the substrate table 6 may be synchronized.

  In addition, you may make it respond | correspond to secular changes, such as abrasion of the blanket roll 10, by measuring and updating the rotation radius data of the eccentric blanket roll 10 regularly.

  As shown in FIGS. 1, 10 (a), (b), and (c) and FIGS. 11 (a), (b), the inking device 17 is moved from the upper surface of the plate table 4 that moves along the guide rail 2. An ink return blade 33, an ink push-in blade 34, and an ink scraping blade 35 are provided in order from the one end side in the longitudinal direction of the guide rail 2 at a retreat height position slightly above, and each of the blades 33, 34, 35 is provided with an actuator (not shown) for individually lowering 35 to a position where the lower end of the plate 35 is in contact with the plate 3 held by the plate table 4.

  The ink return blade 33 is inclined so that the lower end side is located closer to one end in the longitudinal direction of the guide rail 2 than the upper end side.

  The ink pushing blade 34 and the ink scraping blade 35 are both inclined so that the lower end side is positioned closer to the other end in the longitudinal direction of the guide rail 2 than the upper end side. Further, the ink pushing blade 34 This is set so that the inclination angle from the horizontal plane is smaller than that of the ink scraping blade 35. Thus, even when a highly viscous ink such as a conductive paste is used as the ink, by using the ink pushing blade 34 in which the inclination angle from the horizontal plane is set to be relatively small, the plate 3 can be applied to the plate 3. The ink filling property can be improved. When the ink is pushed into the plate 3 by the ink pushing blade 34 once, the excess ink rising from the plate 3 after passing through the ink pushing blade 34 is horizontal. The ink 3 is scraped by the ink scraping blade 35, which is set to have a higher inclination angle and the scraping performance is improved, so that an appropriate amount of ink can be inked into the plate 3. . Therefore, when inking the plate by the inking device 17, as shown in FIG. 10 (a), the plate 3 is placed on the upper surface of the plate table 4 arranged in the plate table waiting area 16 of the gantry 1. In the state where the required amount of ink reservoir 36, for example, an ink such as a conductive paste, is placed as the ink reservoir 36 near the end near the other end of the guide rail 2 on the surface of the plate 3, FIG. ) When the plate table 4 is moved along the guide rail 2 to the other end in the longitudinal direction of the guide rail 2 and moved to the transfer mechanism 9 side through the inking device 17 as shown by a two-dot chain line in FIG. First, the ink pushing blade 34 is lowered to a position in contact with the plate 3 immediately before the end of the plate 3 near the other end of the guide rail 2 reaches just below, and then As shown in FIG. 10 (b), the ink scraping blade 35 is lowered to a position in contact with the plate 3 immediately before the end near the other end of the guide rail 2 in the plate 3 reaches just below, As shown in FIG. 10 (c), the ink in the ink reservoir 36 placed near the edge near the other end of the guide rail 2 on the surface of the plate 3 is transferred to the other end side in the longitudinal direction of the guide rail 2 of the plate table 4. Is pushed into the plate 3 by the ink pushing blade 34 that slides relatively on the surface of the plate 3 in accordance with the movement of the ink, and then relatively slides on the surface of the plate 3 in the same manner as the ink pushing blade 34. The ink is pushed into the plate 3 by the scraping blade 35 to ink the plate 3, and the inked plate 3 is transferred to the plate table 4. It is to be able to send to the transfer mechanism 9 side by the.

  The ink pushing blade 34 and the ink scraping blade 35 are separated from the plate 3 and pulled up to the retracted position immediately before the end near the one end of the guide rail 2 in the plate 3 passes underneath, so that the plate 3 As shown in FIG. 11 (a), the ink inking blade 34 formed on one end side in the longitudinal direction of the guide rail 2 of the ink pushing blade 34 and the ink scraping blade 35 to be slid with respect to the ink scraping blade 35 is The plate table 4 holding the plate 3 on which the ink reservoir 36 is placed in this state is arranged so that it can be collected near the edge near the one end of the guide rail 2 on the surface of the plate 3 after passing through the transfer mechanism section 9. The ink can be transferred from the plate 3 to the blanket roll 10 as described above.

  Thereafter, the plate table 4 holding the plate 3 after being transferred to the blanket roll 10 is moved from the transfer mechanism 9 side to the one end in the longitudinal direction of the guide rail 2 and the plate is passed through the inking device 17. When returning to the table standby area 16, as shown in FIG. 11B, the ink return blade 33 arranged at the retracted position is moved to one end in the longitudinal direction of the guide rail 2 as the plate table 4 moves. Down to a position in contact with the surface of the plate 3 that moves to the surface of the plate 3 and relatively slides from the vicinity of the edge near the one end of the guide rail 2 to the vicinity of the edge near the other end of the guide rail 2, The ink reservoir 3 gathered in the vicinity of the edge near the one end of the guide rail 2 on the surface of the plate 3 by the ink pushing blade 34 and the ink scraping blade 35. And back to the vicinity of the guide rail 2 near the other end edge sides of the surface of said plate 3, it is to be able to the same initial state as shown in FIG. 10 (b).

  Further, in the offset printing apparatus of the present invention shown in FIG. 1, the plate table 4 and the substrate table 6 are arranged on the upper side in the direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the guide rail 2 (X-axis direction) and the longitudinal direction of the guide rail 2. As a configuration comprising alignment stages 4a and 6a capable of horizontal movement in the (Y-axis direction) and rotation of the yaw angle (θ) with respect to the longitudinal direction of the guide rail 2, each of the alignment stages 4a and 6a is provided. The plate 3 and the substrate 5 to be printed can be respectively attached to the upper surface portion.

  Further, in the longitudinal direction of the gantry 1, the transfer mechanism unit 9, the plate table standby area 16, the inking device 17, and the substrate installation area 18, for example, required portions that do not interfere with the transfer mechanism unit 9 and the substrate installation area 18. An alignment area 37 is provided between the plate 3 and the plate 3 held on the alignment stage 4a of the plate table 4 and the substrate 5 held on the alignment stage 6a of the substrate table 6 in the alignment area 37. Using a common alignment sensor 38, the sensor feedback alignment correction can be performed for the relative positions with respect to the corresponding tables 4 and 6, respectively.

  Specifically, the alignment area 37 is provided with a support frame 39 that allows the plate table 4 and the substrate table 6 to pass below, and a pair of the plate table 4 and the substrate table 6 on the support frame 39. The precision camera 38 as the alignment sensor 38 is provided downward at two locations corresponding to the corners or four locations corresponding to the four corners. Accordingly, when initial alignment is performed on the plate 3 held on the plate table 4, an alignment marker (not shown) is pointed in advance on the diagonal or the four corners of the plate 3 to be used. The plate table 4 to which the plate 3 is attached is moved to the alignment area 37 and stopped at a predetermined alignment position preset in the alignment area 37. In this state, each precision camera 38 on the support frame 39 is stopped. To detect the alignment marker (not shown) at the diagonal or the four corners of the plate 3, and horizontally move the alignment stage 4a of the plate table 4 in the XY direction so that the alignment markers are in a predetermined arrangement. By performing the position correction by rotation, the relative position of the plate 3 with respect to the plate table 4 is always the same arrangement. It is to be able to.

  When initial alignment is performed on the substrate 5 held on the substrate table 6, an alignment marker (not shown) is pointed in advance on the diagonal or four corners of the substrate 5 to be used, and a new one is installed in the substrate installation area 18. The substrate table 6 on which the substrate 5 to be printed is attached is moved to the alignment area 37 and stopped at the predetermined alignment position. In this state, the substrate 5 is moved by the precision cameras 38 on the support frame 39. Alignment markers (not shown) at the diagonal or four corners are detected, and position correction is performed by horizontal movement and rotation of the alignment stage 6a of the substrate table 6 in the XY direction so that the alignment markers are in a predetermined arrangement. By performing the above, the relative position of the substrate 5 with respect to the substrate table 6 can always be the same. It is Kill way. Therefore, the relative arrangement of the substrate 5 on the substrate table 6 that has been initially aligned in the alignment area 37 with respect to the position of the plate 3 on the plate table 4 in the state in which the initial alignment has been achieved in the alignment area 37. Can always be arranged in the same manner.

  In addition, in the case of performing overprinting on the substrate 5 to be printed held by the substrate table 6, there is strict reproducibility with respect to the arrangement of the first layer print pattern for each substrate 5 to be printed. If not particularly required and prevention of misalignment of the printed pattern is more important, instead of pointing the alignment marker to the diagonal or four corners of the substrate 5 in advance, the first time with respect to the substrate 5 When printing, the alignment marker may be pointed by printing. Therefore, in this case, it is not necessary to align the substrate 5 before performing the first printing on the substrate 5 held on the substrate table 6.

  As indicated by a two-dot chain line in FIG. 4, the controller 19 is provided with a blade lifting control unit 19d, and each blade 33, 34, 35 by an actuator (not shown) in the inking device 17 (FIGS. 1 and 10). (A) (b) (c) and FIG. 11 (a) (b)), and the controller 19 is provided with an alignment stage control unit 19e so that the alignment area 37 Detection of alignment markers (not shown) of the plate 3 and the substrate 5 by the precision camera 38 (see FIG. 1), position correction of the plate 3 by control of the alignment stage 4a of the plate table 4 based on the detected alignment markers, and the substrate table The position of the substrate 5 may be corrected by controlling the alignment stage 6a. In this case, the blade control unit 19d and the alignment stage control unit 19e may perform synchronous control with the table travel control unit 19a.

  Further, since the plate table 4 and the substrate table 6 are provided with alignment stages 4a and 6a, respectively, when the blanket roll 10 is eccentric, the rotation of the drive motor 11 of the blanket roll 10 as described above. Instead of correcting the speed or correcting the traveling speed of the plate table 4 or the substrate table 6, the rotation angle of the blanket roll 10 and the traveling position of the plate table 4 or the substrate table 6 are synchronized, The shift in the X direction of the alignment stage 4a of the plate table 4 or the alignment stage 6a of the substrate table 6 is determined by shifting the circumferential position of the blanket roll 10 resulting from the eccentricity and the traveling position of the plate table 4 or the substrate table 6. You may make it compensate by.

  According to the offset printing apparatus of the present invention having the above configuration, the transfer mechanism unit 9 can make the contact pressure constant when the ink is transferred by bringing the blanket roll 10 into contact with the plate 3, Even when a different plate 3 is used for overprinting or when the plate 3 is replaced, the amount of deformation when the blanket roll 10 contacts the plate 3 can be made uniform. The degree of ink application when the ink is transferred from the blanket roll 10 to the blanket roll 10 can be made uniform every time.

  In addition, since the transfer mechanism unit 9 can uniformly control the pressure when the re-transfer is performed with the blanket roll 10 in contact with the substrate 5 to be printed, the blanket roll 10 The amount of deformation of the contact portion when the ink is brought into contact with each substrate 5 can be made the same every time, and the degree of ink attachment when the ink is retransferred from the blanket roll 10 to the substrate 5 can be made uniform every time. it can.

  Therefore, even when the electrodes are formed with fine lines like a fine electrode pattern, it is possible to prevent the possibility that the thickness of the electrodes printed as thin lines for each substrate 5 changes, Electrodes can be printed on each substrate 5 with a uniform thickness.

  Moreover, even if the thickness dimension of the substrate 5 to be printed varies, the deformation amount of the contact portion of the blanket roll 10 in contact with each substrate 5 can be made uniform, and the ink is reapplied from the blanket roll 10 to each substrate 5. The possibility that the peripheral speed of the blanket roll 10 varies during transfer can be prevented, and the peripheral speed of the blanket roll 10 and the moving speed of the substrate 5 held on the substrate stage 6 can be synchronized. It is possible to prevent the possibility of variations in printing accuracy and reproducibility every time.

  Similarly, even if there is a variation in the thickness dimension of each plate 3 for overprinting, or when the plate 3 is replaced, there is a variation in the thickness dimension between the plate 3 before replacement and the plate 3 after replacement. The amount of deformation of the contact portion of the blanket roll 10 in contact with each plate 3 can be made uniform, and the risk that the peripheral speed of the blanket roll 10 varies when the ink is transferred from these plates 3 to the blanket roll 10 can be prevented beforehand. Since the peripheral speed of the blanket roll 10 and the moving speed of the plate 3 held on the plate table 4 can be synchronized, a fine print pattern such as an electrode pattern is printed on the substrate 5 accurately and with high reproducibility. In addition, even when a fine print pattern such as an electrode pattern is overprinted on the substrate 5, overlay deviation can be suppressed. For suppressing Wasezure the micrometer order can be advantageous configuration.

  Furthermore, in the common alignment area 37, the relative position of the plate 3 held on the plate table 4 with respect to the plate table 4 matches the relative position of the substrate 5 held on the substrate table 6 with respect to the substrate table 6. Therefore, the plate 3 and the substrate 5 respectively held by the plate table 4 and the substrate table 6 traveling along the same guide rail 2 are arranged at the same angle along the guide rail 2. Since it can be moved along the same locus, it is possible to further improve the reproducibility when the printed pattern formed on the plate 3 is printed on the substrate 5.

  Next, FIGS. 12 and 13 show another embodiment of the present invention. In the same configuration as shown in FIGS. 1 to 11 (a) and (b), the controller 19 and FIG. In addition to the roll height position control function of the blanket roll 10 as shown in the figure and the contact pressure constant control function of the blanket roll 10 as shown in the control block diagram in FIG. 6, as shown in the control block diagram in FIG. A roll height position holding control function for holding the height position when the contact pressure constant control for the plate 3 or the substrate 5 of the blanket roll 10 based on the contact pressure constant control function is completed is provided.

  Specifically, the roll height position holding function by the controller 19 is a constant contact pressure with respect to the plate 3 and the substrate 5 of the blanket roll 10 based on the constant contact pressure control function shown in FIG. The predetermined contact pressure height position Hc, which is the height position of the blanket roll 10 detected by the height sensor 14 of the transfer mechanism unit 9 when the control is completed, is set as a roll height holding target value h0, and the subtractor 40 receives the above-mentioned value. The roll height holding target value h0 and the current height value h1 of the blanket roll 10 based on the detection signal input from the height sensor 14 after completion of the contact pressure constant control are input, and the current height value h1 is set. A height deviation Δh with respect to the roll height holding target value h0 is obtained, and then, based on a feedback control theory such as PID control in order to make the height deviation Δh zero. The drive command C3 obtained by performing the feedback process 41 is given to the lifting / lowering actuator 13 of the blanket roll 10. Thereby, after the blanket roll 10 is once brought into contact with the plate 3 or the substrate 5 with a predetermined contact pressure by performing the above contact pressure constant control, the height position of the blanket roll 10 is kept constant, If the blanket roll 10 is brought into contact with the plate 3 or the substrate 5 at the predetermined contact pressure, the deformation amount of the contact portion is kept constant, and there is a possibility that a change in peripheral speed due to a change in the roll diameter may occur. It can be prevented beforehand.

  Further, in the controller 19 according to the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 12, even if the blanket roll 10 is eccentric due to manufacturing accuracy or the like, the blanket roll 10 is moved when the constant contact pressure control is completed. The detection signal r of the encoder 12 attached to the drive motor 11 of the blanket roll 10 in order to keep the deformation amount of the contact portion constant when contacting the plate 3 or the substrate 5 with a predetermined contact pressure. Based on the above, the table function processing 42 based on the correction table obtained by measuring in advance the rotational angle and the circumferential position non-uniformity of the blanket roll 10, the circumferential position according to the rotational angle of the blanket roll 10 The eccentricity correction value r1 is obtained, and is increased by the other subtractor 43 with respect to the roll height holding target value h0 when the contact pressure constant control is completed. In order to make the height deviation Δh zero after obtaining the height deviation Δh of the height current value h1 with respect to the roll height holding target value h0 ′ after the correction after preliminarily correcting with the eccentricity correction value r1. The feedback command 41 is performed to obtain the drive command C3.

  The transfer operation procedure in the case of using the controller 19 having the roll height holding control function shown in FIG. 12 is the blanket roll 10 and the plate table 4 using the roll height position control function of the controller 19 shown in FIG. 7 (a), (b), and (c), the blanket roll 10 is lowered from the retracted height position Ha to the contact height position Hb, and the peripheral wall surface of the blanket roll 10 is moved to the plate. After contacting the plate 3 on the table 4, the contact pressure with respect to the plate 3 of the blanket roll 10 detected by the pressure sensor 15 in the same manner as shown in FIG. The current pressure value p1 is set to the pressure target value p of a predetermined contact pressure set in advance, and thereafter, when the pressure constant control is performed as shown in FIG. The plate table on which the rotating blanket roll 10 travels by switching to the roll height position control function shown in FIG. 12 in which the height position of the blanket roll 10 detected by the sensor 14 is set to the roll height holding target value h0. While the plate 3 on the plate 4 is in contact with the transfer, the height position of the blanket roll 10 detected by the height sensor 14 is held at the roll height holding target value h0. The raising / lowering actuator 13 (refer FIG. 12) of each blanket roll 10 is controlled. As a result, in the blanket roll 10, the amount of deformation that occurs in the contact portion with the plate 3 is maintained at a certain amount.

  After the transfer of ink from the blanket roll 10 to the plate 3 is completed, the transfer operation may be terminated in the same manner as shown in FIGS.

  In addition, the retransfer of the ink from the blanket roll 10 to the substrate 5 is performed so that the transfer operation similar to the above is performed on the substrate table 6 holding the substrate 5 instead of the plate table 4 holding the plate 3. That's fine.

  Therefore, also in the present embodiment, as in the above embodiment, the contact pressure when the blanket roll 10 is brought into contact with the plate 3 can be made uniform, and when different plates 3 are used for overprinting, Even when the plate 3 is replaced, the amount of deformation when the blanket roll 10 contacts the plate 3 can be made uniform. Further, since the contact pressure when the blanket roll 10 is brought into contact with the substrate 5 can be made uniform, the deformation amount of the contact portion when the blanket roll 10 is brought into contact with each substrate 5 can be made the same every time.

  Therefore, even when the electrodes are formed with fine lines like a fine electrode pattern, it is possible to prevent the possibility that the thickness of the electrodes printed as thin lines for each substrate 5 changes, The electrodes can be printed on each substrate 5 with a uniform thickness, and a fine print pattern such as an electrode pattern can be printed on each substrate 5 accurately and with high reproducibility. The same effect as that of the embodiment can be obtained.

  The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment. For example, the lifting / lowering actuator 13 of the blanket roll 10 is a ball screw mechanism, and the height sensor 14 of the blanket roll 10 is a drive motor for the ball screw mechanism. The arrangement and form of the lifting / lowering actuator 13 and the height sensor 14 of the blanket roll 10 may be changed as appropriate, such as an encoder provided in the (servo motor). Further, the arrangement and type of the pressure sensor 15 may be appropriately changed as long as the pressure when the blanket roll 10 is pressed against the plate 3 or the substrate 5 to be printed can be detected by the lifting / lowering actuator 13.

  In each of the above embodiments, the plate 3 or the substrate 5 is brought into contact with the rotating shaft portion of the blanket roll 10 by the two lifting / lowering actuators 13 provided at locations corresponding to both ends of the blanket roll 10 in the axial direction. Although it has been shown that a force is applied to apply a downward force to the blanket roll 10, any part of the blanket roll 10 to which no blanket (not shown) is attached can be used. It may be changed to a location, for example, a configuration in which both end portions of the cylindrical axial center direction are pushed downward, or a blanket (not shown) mounting area in the blanket roll 10 is set as a region equal to or less than a half circumference of the roll, It is good also as a structure which pressurizes downward any part of the cylindrical surface to which the blanket is not attached.Further, the uniformity of the axial distribution of the pressure acting on the blanket roll 10 may be improved by providing three or more places for urging the blanket roll 10 downward.

  The contact pressure between the blanket roll 10 and the plate 3 and the substrate 5 is the same according to the transfer characteristics of the ink from the plate 3 to the blanket roll 10 and the transfer characteristics of the ink from the blanket roll 10 to the substrate 5 to be printed. You may make it do.

  In each of the above embodiments, when the transfer mechanism unit 9 performs a transfer operation, the end portion (the right end portion in the drawing) of the plate table 4 or the substrate table 6 near the other end in the longitudinal direction of the guide rail 2 is used as a reference. Although described as determining the table position, the reference for determining the table position of each of the tables 4 and 6 may be set at an arbitrary position of each of the tables 4 and 6.

  If the inking device 17 can perform proper inking to the plate 3 held on the plate table 4, it is shown in FIGS. Any type of inking device 17 other than the above may be used.

  Although it is desirable to provide the alignment area 37 from the viewpoint of automatic alignment, if the plate 3 held on the plate table 4 and the substrate 5 held on the substrate table 6 can be aligned by another means, The alignment area 37 may be omitted.

  The offset printing apparatus of the present invention may be applied to print on a printing target other than the substrate.

  Of course, various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the present invention.

1 stand 2 guide rail 3 plate 4 plate table 5 substrate (printing target)
6 Substrate table (table to be printed)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Blanket roll 13 Actuator for raising / lowering 14 Height sensor 15 Pressure sensor 19 Controller

Claims (5)

  A blanket roll that is moved up and down by a lifting actuator is brought into contact with a plate held on a plate table that runs on a guide rail provided on a gantry from above, and then the blanket roll runs on the guide rail. In the offset printing method in which transfer from the plate to the blanket roll and retransfer from the blanket roll to the print target are performed by contacting the print target held on the print target table from above, the blanket. The contact pressure while the roll is in contact with the plate held on the plate table and the contact pressure while the blanket roll is in contact with the printing target held on the printing target table are kept constant at a predetermined value. The blanket roll is lifted and lowered by the lift actuator Offset printing method characterized by Gosuru.   A blanket roll that is moved up and down by a lifting actuator is brought into contact with a plate held on a plate table that runs on a guide rail provided on a gantry from above, and then the blanket roll runs on the guide rail. In the offset printing method in which transfer from the plate to the blanket roll and retransfer from the blanket roll to the print target are performed by contacting the print target held on the print target table from above, the blanket. After the elevation of the blanket roll by the raising / lowering actuator is controlled so that the contact pressure when the roll starts to contact the plate held on the plate table becomes a predetermined value, the height of the blanket roll is set to the blanket. The roll is in contact with the plate held on the plate table. The blanket roll is lifted and lowered by the lifting actuator so that the contact pressure when the blanket roll starts to contact the printing target held on the printing target table becomes a predetermined value. And controlling the height of the blanket roll so that the blanket roll is held constant while the blanket roll is in contact with the printing object held on the printing object table.   A plate table and a printing target table that run on a guide rail provided on a gantry, and a plate held on the plate table, and a blanket roll that is moved up and down by a lifting actuator to the printing target held on the printing target table Of the blanket roll that is lifted and lowered by the lifting and lowering actuator in the offset printing apparatus configured to perform transfer from the plate to the blanket roll and retransfer from the blanket roll to the printing object. A pressure sensor for detecting a contact pressure with respect to the plate and the printing target, and further performing retransfer between the blanket roll and the printing plate and between the blanket roll and the printing target. The contact pressure input from the pressure sensor is In offset printing apparatus characterized by having provided comprising configure the controller having the function of giving instructions to the lift actuator to be maintained constant.   A plate table and a printing target table that run on a guide rail provided on a gantry, and a plate held on the plate table, and a blanket roll that is moved up and down by a lifting actuator to the printing target held on the printing target table Of the blanket roll that is lifted and lowered by the lifting and lowering actuator in the offset printing apparatus configured to perform transfer from the plate to the blanket roll and retransfer from the blanket roll to the printing object. A height sensor for detecting a height position, and a pressure sensor for detecting a contact pressure of the blanket roll with respect to the plate and a printing object, and further, when the transfer is started between the blanket roll and the plate. The contact pressure input from the pressure sensor becomes a predetermined value. The height position of the blanket roll when the contact pressure input from the pressure sensor becomes a predetermined value while giving a command to the lifting / lowering actuator and transferring between the blanket roll and the plate A function for giving a command to the lifting actuator based on an input from the height sensor so that the image is held, and when the re-transfer is started between the blanket roll and the printing object, the pressure sensor inputs The contact pressure input from the pressure sensor is a predetermined value while a command is given to the lifting actuator so that the contact pressure becomes a predetermined value and retransfer is performed between the blanket roll and the printing object. To the lifting actuator based on the input from the height sensor so that the height position of the blanket roll is maintained. Offset printing apparatus characterized by having provided comprising configure the controller having a function of providing a decree.   While the controller performs the transfer between the blanket roll and the plate, and during the transfer between the blanket roll and the printing object, the contact pressure input from the pressure sensor becomes a predetermined value. If the blanket roll is eccentric when a command is given to the lifting actuator based on the input from the height sensor so that the height position of the blanket roll is maintained, the amount of eccentricity of the blanket roll The offset printing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the offset printing apparatus has a function of correcting the height position where the blanket roll should be held based on the above.

Images