JP2012086532A - Printer and printing method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a printer suppressed in the displacement of printing with respect to an ink which is printed previously.SOLUTION: The printer 100 comprises: a conveyor 10 to convey a substrate s with a surface in the direction of conveyance; a printing machine 22a to print ink Ka on the surface of the substrate s conveyed by the conveyor 10; an ink measuring section 30 to measure at least a position or a height of the ink Ka printed on the surface of the substrate s; a printing machine 22b to print ink Kb on the surface of the substrate s after the measurement by the ink measuring section 30; and a correcting section 40 to correct the position of the ink Kb printed on the surface of the substrate s by the printing machine 22b before printing by the printing machine 22b on the basis of at least the position or height of the ink Ka measured by the ink measuring section 30.

Description

  The present invention relates to a printing apparatus and a printing method, and more particularly to a printing apparatus and a printing method for performing multilayer printing.

  The fine pattern is formed using, for example, a photolithography method. For example, fine wiring is formed by steps such as film formation by CVD (Chemical Vapor Deposition) or sputtering, photoresist film formation, and etching. However, in order to form a predetermined photoresist film, complicated steps such as resist coating, exposure and development are required. In addition, huge capital investment is required for apparatuses such as a film forming apparatus and an etching apparatus. For this reason, a simpler process is required.

  Screen printing and offset printing are known as methods for easily creating wiring. The screen printing method can form a film having a thickness of several μm to several tens of μm, and is used for forming an electronic circuit such as a solar cell electrode. However, the screen printing method is limited to a resolution of several tens of μm, and is not suitable for forming fine wiring beyond this. On the other hand, the offset printing method is a method of printing ink on a substrate by transferring the ink on the plate to the blanket and then transferring it to the substrate, so that finer wiring can be formed than the screen printing method. Is suitable.

  For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a printing apparatus that performs multilayer printing by an offset printing method. With such a printing apparatus, a wiring with a high aspect ratio can be manufactured.

JP 2008-168578 A

  The inventor of the present application has found that the ink may deviate from the position to be printed when the ink is printed on the substrate or when the ink is stacked. The reason is considered as follows.

  There is a tolerance of parts used in the printing apparatus, and the printing position may shift due to the influence of the tolerance. Further, it is conceivable that the printing position is shifted due to wear of parts. In addition, there are tolerances for the substrates conveyed by the conveyor. Specifically, even when a plurality of substrates having the same width, length, and height are prepared, strictly, the width, length, and height of the substrate are not constant for each substrate. For this reason, when the same printing is performed on different substrates, the printing position may change slightly for each substrate.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a printing apparatus and a printing method that suppress printing misalignment with respect to previously printed ink.

  In order to solve the above problems, a characteristic configuration of a printing apparatus according to the present invention includes: a conveyor that transports a substrate having a surface in a transport direction; and a first ink on the surface of the substrate that is transported by the conveyor. A first printing machine for printing, an ink measuring unit for measuring at least one of the position and height of the first ink printed on the surface of the substrate, and the substrate after the ink measuring unit performs measurement. Before the second printing machine performs printing based on at least one of the position and height of the first ink measured by the ink measuring unit. In addition, the second printing machine includes a first correction unit that corrects the position of the second ink to be printed on the surface of the substrate. According to the printing apparatus of the present invention, by correcting the position where the second ink should be printed based on at least one of the position and height of the first ink, it is possible to suppress the printing deviation of the second ink relative to the first ink. can do.

  According to a preferred embodiment of the printing apparatus according to the present invention, the second printing machine has a plate that is rotatably attached, and a transfer roll that is rotatably attached together with the plate, The first correction unit controls the rotational speeds of both the plate and the transfer roll based on at least one of the position and height of the first ink measured by the ink measurement unit.

  According to a preferred embodiment of the printing apparatus according to the present invention, the second printing machine has a plate that is rotatably attached, and a transfer roll that is rotatably attached together with the plate, The first correction unit controls the rotational speed of the plate based on at least one of the position and height of the first ink measured by the ink measurement unit.

  According to a preferred embodiment of the printing apparatus according to the present invention, the first correction unit is configured such that the position of the second printing machine with respect to the conveyor is based on the position of the first ink measured by the ink measurement unit. Is moved in a direction substantially perpendicular to the conveying direction.

  According to a preferred embodiment of the printing apparatus according to the present invention, the conveyor is a motor and a plurality of shafts rotated by the motor, and each of the plurality of shafts is connected via a rotation direction conversion unit. A plurality of shafts, and a gear supported on any of the plurality of shafts, the gear coupled to the second printing press, and the first correction unit includes the gear The gear is rotated based on the position of the first ink measured by the ink measuring unit.

  According to a preferred embodiment of the printing apparatus according to the present invention, the motor drives printing of the first printing machine and the second printing machine and conveyance of the conveyor.

  According to a preferred embodiment of the printing apparatus according to the present invention, the rotation direction conversion unit includes a bevel gear.

  According to a preferred embodiment of the printing device according to the present invention, the printing device measures the substrate at least one of the position and height of the substrate relative to the conveyor before the first printing machine performs printing. And the first printing machine prints on the surface of the substrate before the first printing machine performs printing based on at least one position of the board and the height measured by the board measuring unit. And a second correction unit for correcting the position of the first ink.

  According to a preferred embodiment of the printing apparatus of the present invention, a mark is formed on the surface of the substrate conveyed by the conveyor, and the substrate measuring unit measures the position of the mark on the substrate.

  According to a preferred embodiment of the printing apparatus according to the present invention, the substrate measuring unit measures an edge of the substrate.

  In order to solve the above-described problems, a characteristic configuration of the printing method according to the present invention includes a step of printing a first ink on a surface of a substrate conveyed in a conveyance direction by a conveyor, and printing on the surface of the substrate. And measuring at least one of the position and height of the first ink, and the second ink to be printed on the surface of the substrate based on the measured position and height of the first ink. And a step of printing the second ink on the surface of the substrate after the correction is performed. According to the printing method of the present invention, the printing displacement of the second ink with respect to the first ink is suppressed by correcting the position where the second ink is to be printed based on at least one of the position and height of the first ink. can do.

  According to a preferred embodiment of the printing method according to the present invention, the step of printing the second ink includes a step of rotating a printing plate and a transfer roll, respectively, and the step of correcting includes measuring the measured value. Controlling the rotational speed of at least the plate of the plate and the transfer roll based on at least one of the position and height of the first ink.

  According to a preferred embodiment of the printing method of the present invention, in the correcting step, based on the measured position of the first ink, the printing position of the second ink is set with respect to the transport direction. Moving in a substantially orthogonal direction.

  According to a preferred embodiment of the printing method of the present invention, the printing method comprises measuring at least one of the position and height of the substrate relative to the conveyor before printing the first ink; Correcting the position of the first ink to be printed on the surface of the substrate before the first ink is printed based on at least one of the measured position and height of the substrate. To do.

  According to a preferred embodiment of the printing method of the present invention, the position of the mark formed on the surface of the substrate is measured in the step of measuring at least one of the position and height of the substrate.

  According to a preferred embodiment of the printing method of the present invention, the edge of the substrate is measured in the step of measuring at least one of the position and height of the substrate.

(A) is a schematic diagram which shows the printing apparatus which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention, (b) is a typical top view of the printing apparatus of this embodiment. (A)-(d) is a schematic diagram for demonstrating the manufacturing method of the printing apparatus of this embodiment. It is a schematic diagram of the modification of the printing apparatus which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a schematic diagram of the printing machine in the printing apparatus which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a schematic diagram of the printed matter printed by the printing apparatus which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a typical top view of the solar panel printed by the printer concerning Embodiment 1 of the present invention. FIG. 7 is a schematic view of a cross section taken along line 7-7 ′ of the solar panel shown in FIG. 6. It is a typical top view of a solar cell module provided with the solar panel shown in FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a printing apparatus according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. It is a schematic diagram of the printed matter printed by the printing apparatus of this embodiment. (A) is a schematic diagram of the printing apparatus which concerns on Embodiment 2 of this invention, (b) is a typical top view of the printing apparatus of this embodiment. It is a schematic diagram of the printing apparatus which concerns on Embodiment 3 of this invention. (A) And (b) is a schematic diagram of the printed matter printed by the printing apparatus of this embodiment.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment relating to a printing apparatus and a printing method of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. However, the present invention is not intended to be limited to the following embodiments, and includes a configuration equivalent to this configuration.

(Embodiment 1)
A printing apparatus according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.
FIG. 1A shows a schematic diagram of the printing apparatus 100 of the present embodiment, and FIG. 1B shows a schematic top view of the printing apparatus 100 of the present embodiment. The printing apparatus 100 can perform multi-layer printing.
The printing apparatus 100 includes a conveyor 10 that conveys a substrate s and a printing unit 20. The conveyor 10 transports the substrate s in the transport direction x direction. Here, the substrates s having substantially the same size excluding tolerances are transported. In FIG. 1, the x direction and the z direction are shown, and the y direction is a normal direction of the paper surface. The surface of the conveyor 10 and the lower surface of the substrate s are parallel to the xy plane.

  The printing unit 20 has a plurality of printing machines 22. The number of printers 22 corresponds to the number of times of printing. Here, the printing unit 20 includes a printing machine 22a that prints the ink Ka and a printing machine 22b that prints the ink Kb. For example, the inks Ka and Kb have a vehicle containing a resin and a solvent. The inks Ka and Kb may be the same or different. In this specification, the printers 22a and 22b may be referred to as a first printer 22a and a second printer 22b, respectively, and the inks Ka and Kb may be referred to as a first ink Ka and a second ink Kb, respectively. is there.

  The printing apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment further includes an ink measurement unit 30 and a correction unit 40. The ink measuring unit 30 measures at least one of the position and the height of the ink Ka printed on the substrate s after the first printing machine 22a performs printing. For example, the ink measuring unit 30 is disposed between the printing machines 22a and 22b.

  The ink measuring unit 30 includes an imaging unit. The imaging unit is, for example, a CCD camera. When the CCD camera takes an image in parallel with the normal direction of the main surface of the conveyor 10, the CCD camera can measure the position of the edge of the ink Ka on the xy plane. Alternatively, when the CCD camera captures an image with respect to the normal direction of the main surface of the conveyor 10, the CCD camera measures the height (z direction) of the ink Ka in addition to the position of the edge of the ink Ka on the xy plane. it can. Alternatively, the measurement unit 30 may measure the position and height of the ink Ka using a laser displacement meter provided with a CCD camera. In the present specification, the ink measuring unit 30 may be simply referred to as the measuring unit 30.

  The correction unit 40 corrects the position of the ink Kb to be printed on the surface of the substrate s by the printing machine 22b based on at least one of the position and height of the ink Ka measured by the measurement unit 30. The correction unit 40 is, for example, a computer. The printer 22b prints the ink Kb at the corrected position. Here, the ink Kb is stacked on the ink Ka.

  Hereinafter, printing by the printing apparatus 100 of the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 2 shows that only one substrate s is transported to the conveyor 10, the conveyor 10 may transport a plurality of substrates s at the same time. As shown in FIG. 2A, the substrate s is placed on the conveyor 10, and the conveyor 10 conveys the substrate s. As shown in FIG. 2B, when the substrate s conveyed by the conveyor 10 reaches below the printing machine 22a, the printing machine 22a prints the ink Ka on the substrate s. As shown in FIG. 2C, after the printing machine 22a performs printing, the measurement unit 30 measures at least one of the position and height of the ink Ka printed on the substrate s. Thereafter, the correction unit 40 corrects the printing press 22b based on at least one of the position and height of the ink Ka measured by the measurement unit 30. For example, the position of the printing machine 22b with respect to the conveyor 10 may be corrected, or the printing timing of the printing machine 22b may be corrected. Alternatively, the position of the printing machine 22b relative to the conveyor 10 may be corrected and the printing timing of the printing machine 22b may be corrected.

  As shown in FIG. 2D, when the substrate s reaches below the printer 22b, the printer 22b prints the ink Kb on the substrate s. As described above, in the printing apparatus 100, by measuring at least one of the position and height of the ink Ka printed by the printing machine 22a and correcting the printing machine 22b to be printed next, the ink Kb with respect to the ink Ka is corrected. Printing misalignment can be suppressed. Further, according to the printing apparatus 100, even if the printing of the printing machine 22a is slightly deviated from the setting, the printing machine 22b can print the ink Kb with respect to the ink Ka as set.

  In general, the inks Ka and Kb are heated after printing. For this reason, the printing apparatus 100 may include a heating device 110 as shown in FIG. By evaporating the solvent by heating or natural drying, the inks Ka and Kb are changed into the printing layers Ea and Eb, respectively.

  Hereinafter, the configuration of the printing machine 22b will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 4 shows a schematic diagram of the printing machine 22b. The printing machine 22b includes an ink tray 221, an ink supply roll 222, an intaglio roll 223, a transfer roll 224, a scraper 225, and a cleaning roll 226. The intaglio roll 223 is also called a plate, and the transfer roll 224 is also called a blanket. The ink supply roll 222, the intaglio roll 223, and the transfer roll 224 are each rotatably attached.

  For example, the transfer roll 224 rotates as the intaglio roll 223 rotates. The surface of the intaglio roll 223 is treated with metal plating. The transfer roll 224 is formed from a rubber material. For this reason, both friction coefficients are comparatively low. Here, the intaglio roll 223 and the transfer roll 224 have different diameters, but the intaglio roll 223 and the transfer roll 224 may have substantially the same diameter.

  In this printing machine 22b, the ink Kb in the ink tray 221 moves from the ink supply roll 222 to the peripheral surface of the intaglio roll 223, and further moves to the peripheral surface of the transfer roll 224, and below the transfer roll 224. It is transferred to the surface of the substrate s that passes sequentially. Such printing is also called offset printing.

  This will be specifically described below. The ink tray 221 contains ink Kb to be printed on the substrate s. When the ink Kb in the ink tray 221 decreases, the ink Kb is replenished in the ink tray 221 by a lower pump (not shown). The ink tray 221 is positioned closer to the lower part of the printing machine 22b.

  The lower part of the ink supply roll 222 is immersed in the ink Kb in the ink tray 221, and the ink supply roll 222 rotates while being immersed in the ink Kb in the ink tray 221. The ink Kb adhering to the ink supply roll 222 is transferred to the intaglio roll 223. A scraper 225 is provided in the vicinity of the intaglio roll 223. The scraper 225 removes excess ink Kb adhering to the intaglio roll 223 before the intaglio roll 223 comes out of the ink Kb in the ink tray 221 and contacts the transfer roll 224.

  A concave portion is provided on the surface of the intaglio roll 223, and the concave portion corresponds to a line, a figure, a pattern, or the like printed on the substrate s. For example, the outer diameter of the intaglio roll 223 is 100 mm and the width is 145 mm.

  The ink Kb adhering to the concave portion of the intaglio roll 223 adheres to the transfer roll 224. The transfer roll 224 rotates while being in contact with the peripheral surface of the intaglio roll 223, and presses the surface of the substrate s passing below to transfer the ink Kb to the substrate s. The transfer roll 224 is formed of a material having good peelability so that the ink Kb can be transferred smoothly and reliably from the transfer roll 224 to the surface of the substrate s. For example, the transfer roll 224 is formed from a kind of silicon rubber. The transfer roll 224 has an outer diameter of 200 mm and a width of 135 mm. The ink Kb is transferred corresponding to the concave portion of the intaglio roll 223. For example, when the printing layer Eb having a width of 30 μm is formed, the width of the corresponding concave portion of the intaglio roll 223 is 30 μm.

  A cleaning roll 226 is provided in the vicinity of the transfer roll 224. The excess ink Kb adhering to the transfer roll 224 is removed by the cleaning roll 226.

  Although not shown here, the printing machine 22a has the same configuration as the printing machine 22b described above. As described above, the printing apparatus 100 prints the inks Ka and Kb by offset printing.

  In the printing apparatus 100 of the present embodiment, when the correction unit 40 shifts the printing position of the ink Kb in the transport direction (x direction), for example, the rotational speeds of both the intaglio roll 223 and the transfer roll 224 of the printing machine 22b are controlled. .

  Alternatively, for example, the rotational speed of the intaglio roll 223 may be controlled without controlling the rotational speed of the transfer roll 224 of the printing machine 22b. When there is time until the next printing, the intaglio roll is moved in a state where at least one of the intaglio roll 223 and the transfer roll 224 is separated so that the mutual rotation of the intaglio roll 223 and the transfer roll 224 is not affected. The rotation speed of 223 may be changed.

  Alternatively, the correction unit 40 may control the rotational speed of at least the intaglio roll 223 of the intaglio roll 223 and the transfer roll 22 of the printing machine 22b according to the height of the ink Ka. Of course, the correction unit 40 may control the rotational speeds of the intaglio roll 223 and the transfer roll 224 of the printing machine 22b according to both the displacement distance and the height of the ink Ka.

  Further, in the printing apparatus 100 of the present embodiment, when the correction unit 40 shifts the position of the ink Kb in a direction (y direction) orthogonal to the transport direction, the position of the printing machine 22b is moved.

  In this way, the printing press 22b corrects the position where the ink Kb is to be printed, so that printing misalignment can be suppressed. As a result, the printing layers Ea and Eb printed on the different substrates s can be controlled in the z direction (high (Size) can be controlled.

  Further, by stacking the printing layers Ea and Eb, a printed matter E having a desired size (for example, an aspect ratio) can be formed even when the viscosity of each of the printing layers Ea and Eb is low. For example, the printed material E having an aspect ratio of 0.6 can be formed by using, as the ink Kb, the same ink as the ink Ka in which the aspect ratio of the printed layer Ea is 0.3.

  In the above description, the inks Ka and Kb have a vehicle containing a resin and a solvent, but the inks Ka and Kb may further contain a conductive material. For example, the inks Ka and Kb may include the same conductive material or different conductive materials.

  The conductive material is a simple substance or a mixture of silver, copper, gold, carbon, cobalt, titanium, nickel, aluminum or the like. The resin is also called a binder resin. Examples of the resin include a thermosetting resin such as a polyester-melamine resin, an ultraviolet curable resin such as an acrylic resin, and a thermoplastic resin such as a polyester resin. For example, the solvent is a low-temperature volatile solvent that volatilizes at room temperature. Specifically, for example, the solvent is ketone, toluene or terpinol. The inks Ka and Kb have moderate thixotropy. When the conductive layers Ea and Eb are formed by firing the inks Ka and Kb, the heating temperature is, for example, 500 ° C. or higher and 850 ° C. or lower.

  In the above-described printing machine 22b, when transferring the ink Kb by exchanging the transfer roll 224, it takes a while until the adhesion state of the ink Kb on the replaced transfer roll 224 is stabilized. Generally, test printing is performed for a while. As described above, the transfer roll 224 is formed of a rubber-based material, and when the transfer roll 224 starts to be used, the ink Kb is repelled relatively strongly and the wettability is low, but when the transfer roll 224 is used for a long time, Improves wettability and stabilizes.

  In general, the ink Kb adheres to the same position of the transfer roll 224 of the printing machine 22b. However, if the rotational speed of only the intaglio roll 223 is controlled, the ink Kb adheres to a different position of the transfer roll 224. In comparison with the previous control, the ink Kb adhesion state changes. For this reason, when the ink Kb contains a conductive material (for example, silver) and a solvent, both the intaglio roll 223 and the transfer roll 224 of the printing machine 22b change when the correction unit 40 changes the printing timing of the ink Kb. It is preferable to control the rotation speed.

  FIG. 5 shows a stacked structure W in which the conductive layers Ea and Eb are stacked. Here, the substrate s is an insulating substrate.

  For example, the conductive layers Ea and Eb each contain silver. Alternatively, the conductive layer Ea may contain silver and the conductive layer Eb may contain copper. The conductive material of the ink Ka is selected according to the material that forms the surface sa of the substrate s. For example, when the surface sa is formed of silicon, contact resistance can be suppressed by using silver as the conductive material of the ink Ka. Typically, a metal material having a low resistivity is used as the conductive material of the inks Ka and Kb.

  Such printed matter E is suitably used as an electrode. Even if the width of the electrode E is relatively small, the cross-sectional area can be increased and low resistance can be realized. When the conductive layer Eb is different from the conductive material of the conductive layer Ea, the conductive material of the conductive layer Eb can be selected without being substantially affected by the surface sa of the substrate s, and the design of the electrode E The degree of freedom can be improved. Moreover, in the electrode E, the conductive layer Ea containing silver and the conductive layer Eb containing copper are laminated, and the amount of expensive silver used can be reduced while suppressing a decrease in the resistance of the electrode E itself. .

  The electrode E is suitably used for a panel. The panel is, for example, a solar panel.

  Hereinafter, the panel p will be described with reference to FIGS. 6 and 7. FIG. 6 shows a schematic diagram of the light receiving surface of the panel p. The electrode E has a bus bar electrode E1 and a finger electrode E2, and the bus bar electrode E1 is electrically connected to the finger electrode E2. The electrode E is also called a collector electrode. Finger electrodes E2 extend from one bus bar electrode E1, and the finger electrodes E2 are typically arranged at a constant pitch. In general, the width of the finger electrode E2 is smaller than the width of the bus bar electrode E1. FIG. 7 is a cross section taken along the line 7-7 'of FIG.

  For example, the panel p has a rectangular shape with a main surface length and width of 170 mm. Further, for example, the width of the bus bar electrode E1 is 2 mm or more and 3 mm or less, and the width of the finger electrode E2 is 15 μm or more and 70 μm. The pitch of the finger electrodes E2 (that is, the distance between the center of a certain finger electrode E2 and the center of the finger electrode E2 adjacent thereto) is 2 mm. If the pitch of the finger electrodes E2 is too large, the carriers generated in the substrate s do not reach the finger electrodes E2 sufficiently, so that the current cannot be taken out efficiently. On the other hand, if the pitch of the finger electrodes E2 is too small, the number of finger electrodes E2 increases and the opening area decreases.

  The intaglio roll 223 in the printing machines 22a and 22b described above corresponds to both the bus bar electrode E1 and the finger electrode E2, and the printing unit 20 has conductivity corresponding to the electrode E including the bus bar electrode E1 and the finger electrode E2. Ink may be printed at once. Alternatively, the printing unit 20 may form one of the bus bar electrode E1 and the finger electrode E2 first and the other later. For example, the intaglio roll 223 in the printing machine 22a corresponds to the finger electrode E2, and after the printing unit 22a prints the conductive ink corresponding to the finger electrode E2, the printing machine 22b performs the conductive ink corresponding to the bus bar electrode E1. May be printed.

  FIG. 7 shows a side view of the panel p. The panel p further includes an electrode Eu provided on the back surface sb as well as the electrode E provided on the front surface sa of the substrate s. Typically, the electrode Eu is provided so as to cover the entire back surface sb of the substrate s. For example, the electrode Eu is made of aluminum.

In addition, when the panel p is used as a solar panel, the board | substrate s has a photoelectric converting layer. For example, the substrate s is a silicon substrate, and the substrate s has a p-type silicon layer and an n-type silicon layer. Specifically, the photoelectric conversion layer may include amorphous silicon, or the photoelectric conversion layer may include crystalline silicon. For example, the photoelectric conversion layer may include single crystal silicon, polycrystalline silicon, or microcrystalline silicon. Alternatively, the photoelectric conversion layer may include an inorganic compound material, or may include InGaAs, GaAs, chalcopyrite, Cu ₂ ZnSnS ₄ , CdTe—CdS. Alternatively, the photoelectric conversion layer may contain an organic compound. Further, when the panel p is used as a solar panel, a plurality of panels p may be arranged together.

  FIG. 8 shows a solar cell module M in which the panels p are arranged. In the solar cell module M, panels p are arranged in a matrix of a plurality of rows and a plurality of columns, and the panels p are connected to each other in series or in parallel.

  In the above description, the panel p is a solar panel, but the present invention is not limited to this. The panel p may be a touch panel or a radio wave prevention panel. In the above description, the printed material E is a collector electrode, but the present invention is not limited to this. The printed matter E may be a part of the wiring, and the printed matter E is suitably used as a conductive laminated structure.

  Hereinafter, an example of the printing apparatus 100 will be described with reference to FIG. The conveyor 10 has a toothed belt 10a and a sprocket 10b. The toothed belt 10a is also called a cogged belt. In addition, when producing a solar panel, the length of the x direction of the conveyor 10 is 5 m, and the length of the y direction is 1 m, for example.

  Here, the shaft Ha is connected to the motor M, and the rotation of the motor M is transmitted to the shaft Ha. The shaft Ha is connected to the shaft Hb via the rotation direction changing portion Bg, and the shaft Hb is connected to the shaft Hx via the rotation direction changing portion Bg. For this reason, the shafts Ha, Hb, and Hx rotate with the rotation of the motor M, respectively. The shaft Hb is also called an idle shaft, and the shaft Hx is also called a conveyor shaft. The rotation direction converter Bg is, for example, a bevel gear. Here, printing of the printing machine 22a and the printing machine 22b and conveyance of the conveyor 10 are driven by the motor M.

  Although not shown here, the printing machines 22a and 22b are suspended from the LM guide. The printing machines 22a and 22b have the same configuration as the printing machine 22b described above with reference to FIG. 4, and the intaglio roll 223 and the transfer roll 224 are shafts connected from the shaft Hx via the bevel gear Bg. Rotate with. For this reason, printing and conveyance of the printing apparatus 100 are synchronized in a state where correction is not performed. Moreover, the sprocket of the conveyor 10 rotates with the shaft Hb.

For example, when the ratio of the diameter of the sprocket to the diameter of the intaglio roll 223 is set to an integer, the conveyance of the substrate and the printing can be easily synchronized. For example, the ratio of the diameter of the sprocket to the diameter of the intaglio roll 223 is 2: 1. Alternatively, this ratio may be 1: 1.
Thus, when carrying out the synchronization of conveyance and printing mechanically, it is not necessary to adjust fundamentally except for correction | amendment of the below-mentioned printing machine 22b, Therefore A synchronization of conveyance and printing can be performed simply. .

  After the printing machine 22a prints the ink Ka, the measuring unit 30 measures the ink Ka. The luminance of the image measured by the measurement unit 30 is binarized, and thereby the edge (and height if necessary) of the ink Ka is confirmed. The measurement unit 30 images the substrate s that is transported to the conveyor 10 at a predetermined interval.

  The conveyance speed and printing cycle of the substrate s can be adjusted by changing the rotation of the motor M. For example, the substrate s is conveyed below the measuring unit 30 every second.

  When taking an edge with ink Ka as a reference, the measurement unit 30 obtains a time at which the edge passes a predetermined point (for example, a point immediately below the measurement unit 30). In order for the correction unit 40 to print properly on the substrate s conveyed below the measurement unit 30 in the state where the printing machine 22b is currently set, when this edge passes a predetermined point The distance of misalignment is specified from the difference between the actual passage time and the required time. Furthermore, when considering the height of the ink Ka, the measurement unit 30 measures this height. The correction unit 40 specifies the timing necessary to appropriately perform printing on the ink Ka at this height.

  The correcting unit 40 corrects the position where the ink Kb of the printing machine 22b is to be printed according to the distance of the positional deviation. Specifically, when the position of the ink Kb is changed in the x direction, the rotational speeds of the intaglio roll 223 and the transfer roll 224 of the printing machine 22b are controlled. This control is performed using a commercially available phase device. Alternatively, the correction unit 40 may control the rotation speeds of the intaglio roll 223 and the transfer roll 224 of the printing machine 22b according to the height of the ink Ka. Of course, the correction unit 40 may control the rotational speeds of the intaglio roll 223 and the transfer roll 224 of the printing machine 22b according to both the displacement distance and the height of the ink Ka.

  Further, when the position of the ink Kb is changed in the y direction, the printing machine 22b is connected to a gear (screw) sc whose rotation is controlled by the phase device, and rotates the screw a predetermined number of times in a predetermined direction. The printer 22b is moved in the y direction.

  For example, when the correction is not performed, the printing accuracy in the x direction is ± 250 to 350 nm and the printing accuracy in the y direction is ± 30 to 40 μm. However, by performing the correction, the printing accuracy in the x direction is ± 50. Printing accuracy of ˜60 nm and y direction can be reduced to ± 10 μm.

  In addition, you may shift the position of the conveyor 10 whole by providing a phase apparatus in the conveyance direction of the conveyor 10. FIG.

  In the printing apparatus 100 with reference to FIG. 9, printing and conveyance are mechanically synchronized, but the present invention is not limited to this. Printing and transport may be synchronized using a servo system.

  In the above description, the width of the print layer Eb is equal to the width of the print layer Ea in at least a part of the region, and the print layer Eb is laminated with the print layer Ea. However, the present invention is not limited to this. The width of the print layer Eb may be different from the width of the print layer Ea.

  FIG. 10 shows a schematic diagram of the laminated structure w ′. In the stacked structure w ′, the printing layer Eb is provided so as to cover the printing layer Ea, and the width of the printing layer Eb is larger than the width of the printing layer Ea. For example, the printed layer Ea may be used as at least one of an electrode finger electrode and a bus bar electrode of a solar panel. Moreover, when producing a solar panel, it is preferable that the printing layer Eb prevents at least one part oxidation of the conductive layer Ea. For example, when the conductive layer Ea contains silver as a main component, deterioration over time may occur. However, by providing the printing layer Eb as an antioxidant layer, the deterioration can be suppressed. As described above, in the stacked structure w ′, deterioration of characteristics can be suppressed by preventing oxidation of at least a part of the conductive layer Ea by the antioxidant layer Eb.

  For example, the antioxidant layer Eb may be formed from a transparent conductive material. Specifically, the transparent conductive material is indium tin oxide (ITO). Alternatively, the transparent conductive material may be zinc oxide or tin oxide. The antioxidant layer Ec may include a transparent material that is not conductive. Alternatively, the antioxidant layer Ec may include a conductive material that is not transparent.

  In addition, when using printing layer Ea as an electrode of a solar panel, it is preferable that antioxidant layer Eb contains a transparent conductive material, and can increase the pitch of the conductive layer Ea by this. In the stacked structure w ′, the antioxidant layer Eb covers the conductive layer Ea. In the case where the antioxidant layer Eb has conductivity, the generated carriers can be taken out as a current if the carriers generated in the substrate s reach not only the conductive layer Ea but also the antioxidant layer Eb. For this reason, the number of conductive layers Ea can be reduced, the cost can be reduced, and the opening area can be increased. Such a laminated structure w ′ is preferably manufactured using the printing apparatus 100.

  In this case, the printing machine 22b is configured as follows. Hereinafter, the configuration of the printing machine 22b will be described with reference to FIG. In the printing machine 22b, the ink tray 221 contains ink Kb. Here, the ink Kb has particulate ITO and a vehicle, and the vehicle includes a resin and a solvent. The ink Kb is transferred onto the substrate s corresponding to the concave portions of the intaglio roll 223.

  In the above description, the printing unit 20 performs printing so that the ink Kb overlaps the ink Ka, but the present invention is not limited to this. The printing unit 20 may perform printing so that the ink Kb does not overlap the ink Ka.

  Further, in the above description, the substrates s having substantially the same size except for tolerances are transported to the conveyor, but the present invention is not limited to this. Substrate sizes other than tolerances may be different. The printing apparatus 100 can print the printed matter E on which printing deviation is suppressed without being influenced by the size of the three-dimensional shape structure.

(Embodiment 2)
In the above description, the printing press has been corrected based on at least one of the position and height of previously printed ink, but the present invention is not limited to this.
Hereinafter, a printing apparatus according to the second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 11A shows a schematic diagram of the printing apparatus 100A of the present embodiment, and FIG. 11B shows a schematic top view of the printing apparatus 100A.

  The printing apparatus 100A includes a substrate measuring unit 30A that measures at least one of the position and height of the substrate s before the printing machine 22a performs printing, and the printing machine 22a based on at least one of the position and height of the substrate s. Has the same configuration as that of the printing apparatus 100 described above except that it includes a correction unit 40A that corrects the position of the ink Ka to be printed on the surface of the substrate s, and redundant description is omitted to avoid redundancy. To do. In this specification, the correction units 40 and 40A may be referred to as a first correction unit and a second correction unit, respectively, and the substrate measurement unit 30A may be simply referred to as a measurement unit 30A.

  The board measuring unit 30A measures at least one of the position and the height of the board s before the printing machine 22a performs printing. For example, the measurement unit 30A is arranged in front of the printing machine 22a, and the measurement unit 30A determines at least one of the position and height of the substrate s on which the substrate s is placed on the conveyor 10 and conveys the conveyor 10. taking measurement. For example, a mark may be formed in advance on the surface of the substrate s, and the measurement unit 30A may measure the position of the mark formed on the surface of the substrate s. Alternatively, the measurement unit 30A may measure the edge of the substrate s.

  The correction unit 40A corrects the printing machine 22a based on at least one of the position and height of the substrate s measured by the measurement unit 30A. For example, the position of the printing machine 22a with respect to the conveyor 10 may be corrected, or the printing timing of the printing machine 22a may be corrected. Alternatively, the position of the printing machine 22a relative to the conveyor 10 may be corrected and the printing timing of the printing machine 22a may be corrected. For example, when the printing machine 22a has the configuration shown in FIG. 4, the printing machine 22a may be corrected in the same manner as the printing machine 22b described above.

  Thus, the position of the ink Ka to be printed on the surface of the substrate s by the printer 22a is corrected, and the printer 22a prints the ink Ka at the corrected position. Subsequent printing is performed in the same manner as the printing apparatus 100 described above. Note that the correction units 40A and 40 may be embodied by a single computer.

  As described above, in the printing apparatus 100 </ b> A, by measuring at least one of the position and height of the substrate s and correcting the printer 22 a, the printing deviation of the ink Ka printed by the printer 22 a on the substrate s. Can be suppressed.

(Embodiment 3)
In the above description, the printed matter E has a two-layer structure, and the printing apparatuses 100 and 100A have the two printing machines 22a and 22b. However, the present invention is not limited to this. The printed material E has a laminated structure of three or more layers, and the printing apparatus may have three or more printing machines. Hereinafter, a printing apparatus according to the third embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 12 shows a schematic diagram of a printing apparatus 100B of the present embodiment.

  The printing apparatus 100B is the above-described printing apparatus except that the printing unit 20 includes the printing machine 22c in addition to the printing machines 22a and 22b, and includes the ink measurement units 30a and 30b and the correction units 40a and 40b. The configuration is the same as that of 100, and redundant description is omitted to avoid redundancy.

  The printing unit 20 has a plurality of printing machines 22. The number of printing machines 22 corresponds to the number of printings. Here, the printing unit 20 includes a printing machine 22c that prints the ink Kc in addition to a printing machine 22a that prints the ink Ka and a printing machine 22b that prints the ink Kb. The inks Ka, Kb, and Kc may be the same or any of them may be different.

  The printing apparatus 100B of the present embodiment includes ink measurement units 30a and 30b and correction units 40a and 40b.

  The ink measuring unit 30a measures at least one of the position and height of the ink Ka printed on the substrate s after the printing machine 22a performs printing. For example, the ink measuring unit 30a is disposed between the printing machines 22a and 22b. The correction unit 40a corrects the position of the ink Kb to be printed on the surface of the substrate s by the printing machine 22b based on at least one of the position and height of the ink Ka measured by the measurement unit 30a. For example, the position of the printing machine 22b with respect to the conveyor 10 may be corrected, or the printing timing of the printing machine 22b may be corrected. Alternatively, the position of the printing machine 22b relative to the conveyor 10 may be corrected and the printing timing of the printing machine 22b may be corrected. Thereafter, the printer 22b prints the ink Kb at the corrected position.

  The ink measuring unit 30b measures at least one of the position and height of the ink Kb printed on the substrate s after the printing machine 22b performs printing. For example, the ink measuring unit 30b is disposed between the printing machines 22b and 22c. The correction unit 40b corrects the position of the ink Kc to be printed on the surface of the substrate s by the printing machine 22c based on at least one of the position and height of the ink Kb measured by the measurement unit 30b. For example, the position of the printing machine 22c with respect to the conveyor 10 may be corrected, or the printing timing of the printing machine 22c may be corrected. Alternatively, the position of the printing machine 22c relative to the conveyor 10 may be corrected and the printing timing of the printing machine 22c may be corrected. The printer 22c prints the ink Kc at the corrected position.

  As described above, in the printing apparatus 100B, at least one of the position and height of the ink Ka printed by the printing machine 22a is measured to correct the printing machine 22b to be printed next, and further printed by the printing machine 22b. By measuring at least one of the position and height of the ink Kb and correcting the printing machine 22c to be printed next, it is possible to suppress printing misalignment of the inks Ka, Kb, and Kc.

  Here, the printing unit 20 of the printing apparatus 100B includes the three printing machines 22a, 22b, and 22c, but the present invention is not limited to this. The printing unit 20 may include four or more printing machines 22, and the ink measurement unit 30 and the correction unit 40 may also include three or more. Alternatively, the correction units 40a and 40b may be realized by a single computer.

  Further, the printing apparatus 100B may further include the board measurement unit 30A and the correction unit 40A described above with reference to FIG.

  FIG. 13A shows a schematic diagram of the laminated structure wa. In the stacked structure wa, the print layers Ea, Eb, and Ec are stacked. In at least some of the regions, the widths of the print layers Ea, Eb, and Ec are substantially equal. For example, when the stacked structure wa is used as an electronic circuit, a wiring having a small width and a low resistance can be realized by stacking conductive layers as the printed layers Ea, Eb, and Ec.

  In FIG. 13A, the widths of the print layers Ea, Eb, and Ec are almost the same, but the present invention is not limited to this. The widths of the print layers Ea, Eb, and Ec may not be constant. The widths of the print layers Ea, Eb, Ec may be Ea> Eb> Ec. FIG. 13B is a schematic diagram of the stacked structure wa ′. In the stacked structure wa ′, the print layer Ec is provided so as to cover the print layers Ea and Eb, and the width of the print layer Ec is larger than the width of the print layers Ea and Eb.

  For example, when the printing layers Ea and Eb are used as at least one of the electrode finger electrode and the bus bar electrode of the solar panel, it is preferable that the printing layer Ec prevents oxidation of at least a part of the conductive layers Ea and Eb. For example, as described above, when the conductive layer Ea contains silver and the conductive layer Eb contains copper, the copper is easily oxidized, and the oxidation may increase the specific resistance value. By providing the layer Ec, oxidation can be suppressed and increase in specific resistance can be suppressed. Although silver is relatively difficult to oxidize, strictly speaking, the conductive layer Ea mainly composed of silver may deteriorate over time, but the deterioration can be suppressed by the antioxidant layer Ec. As described above, in the stacked structure wa ', deterioration of characteristics can be suppressed by preventing oxidation of at least part of the conductive layers Ea and Eb by the antioxidant layer Ec.

  For example, the antioxidant layer Ec is preferably formed from a transparent conductive material. Specifically, the transparent conductive material is indium tin oxide (ITO). Alternatively, the transparent conductive material may be zinc oxide or tin oxide. The antioxidant layer Ec may include a transparent material that is not conductive. Alternatively, the antioxidant layer Ec may include a conductive material that is not transparent.

  In addition, when using laminated structure wa 'as a solar panel, it is preferable that antioxidant layer Ec contains a transparent conductive material, and can thereby increase the pitch of conductive layers Ea and Eb. In the stacked structure wa ′, the antioxidant layer Ec covers the conductive layers Ea and Eb. In the case where the antioxidant layer Ec has conductivity, the generated carriers can be taken out as a current if the carriers generated in the substrate s reach not only the electrode Eb but also the antioxidant layer Ec. In the stacked structure wa ′, the number of the conductive layers Ea and Eb can be reduced, so that the cost can be reduced and the opening area can be increased. Such a laminated structure wa 'is preferably produced using the printing apparatus 100B.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to suppress printing misalignment with respect to previously printed ink.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Conveyor 20 Printing part 22 Printing machine 30 Ink measurement part 30A Board | substrate measurement part 40 1st correction | amendment part 40A 2nd correction | amendment part

Claims (16)

A conveyor for transporting a substrate having a surface in the transport direction;
A first printing machine for printing a first ink on the surface of the substrate conveyed by the conveyor;
An ink measuring unit that measures at least one of the position and height of the first ink printed on the surface of the substrate;
A second printing machine that prints a second ink on the surface of the substrate after the ink measurement unit performs the measurement;
Based on at least one of the position and height of the first ink measured in the ink measuring unit, the second printing machine should print on the surface of the substrate before the second printing machine performs printing. And a first correction unit that corrects the position of the second ink. The second printing machine has a plate attached rotatably, and a transfer roll attached rotatably with the plate,
The said 1st correction | amendment part controls the rotational speed of both the said plate and the said transfer roll based on at least one of the position and height of the said 1st ink measured in the said ink measurement part. The printing apparatus as described. The second printing machine has a plate attached rotatably, and a transfer roll attached rotatably with the plate,
The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first correction unit controls a rotation speed of the plate based on at least one of a position and a height of the first ink measured by the ink measurement unit.   The first correction unit moves the position of the second printing machine relative to the conveyor in a direction substantially orthogonal to the transport direction based on the position of the first ink measured by the ink measurement unit. The printing apparatus according to claim 1. The conveyor is
A motor,
A plurality of shafts rotated by the motor, wherein each of the plurality of shafts is connected via a rotation direction converter;
A gear supported on any of the plurality of shafts, the gear connected to the second printing press;
The printing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the first correction unit rotates the gear based on the position of the first ink measured by the ink measurement unit.   The printing apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the motor drives printing of the first printing machine and the second printing machine and conveyance of the conveyor.   The printing apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the rotation direction conversion unit includes a bevel gear. A substrate measuring unit that measures at least one of the position and height of the substrate relative to the conveyor before the first printing machine performs printing;
Based on the position of at least one of the substrate and the height measured by the substrate measuring unit, the first printer should print on the surface of the substrate before the first printer performs printing. The printing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a second correction unit that corrects the position of one ink. A mark is formed on the surface of the substrate conveyed by the conveyor,
The printing apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the board measurement unit measures a position of a mark on the board.   The printing apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the substrate measuring unit measures an edge of the substrate. Printing the first ink on the surface of the substrate transported in the transport direction by the conveyor;
Measuring at least one of the position and height of the first ink printed on the surface of the substrate;
Correcting the position of the second ink to be printed on the surface of the substrate based on at least one of the measured position and height of the first ink;
Printing the second ink on the surface of the substrate after the correction is performed. Printing the second ink includes rotating a printing plate and a transfer roll, respectively;
The correcting step includes a step of controlling a rotational speed of at least the plate of the plate and the transfer roll based on at least one of the measured position and height of the first ink. The printing method according to 11.   The correcting step includes a step of moving a printing position of the second ink in a direction substantially orthogonal to the transport direction based on the measured position of the first ink. Or the printing method of 12. Measuring at least one of the position and height of the substrate relative to the conveyor before printing the first ink;
Correcting the position of the first ink to be printed on the surface of the substrate before the first ink is printed based on at least one of the measured position and height of the substrate; The printing method according to claim 11, which includes the printing method.   The printing method according to claim 14, wherein the position of the mark formed on the surface of the substrate is measured in the step of measuring at least one of the position and height of the substrate. The printing method according to claim 14, wherein an edge of the substrate is measured in the step of measuring at least one of a position and a height of the substrate.

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