JP3459783B2 - Offset printing equipment - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an offset printing apparatus for transferring and printing an original pattern formed on a printing plate on a printing material with a large area and with high precision.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A photolithography method is generally used as a technique for forming a pattern with high precision. However, if pattern formation is attempted in a large area, the photolithography method has a problem of high cost. on the other hand,
As a pattern forming technique, a method of forming a pattern with high accuracy in a large area by using a printing technique such as screen printing or offset printing is considered. The printing method is suitable for forming a large number of patterns on the substrate, and is more cost effective than the photolithography method. In particular, the offset printing technique is suitable for forming a thin film pattern.

A general offset printing apparatus and printing method for forming an electrode pattern, a color filter and the like in the prior art will be described. FIG. 8 shows JP-A-6-
It is a figure which shows the offset printing apparatus which performs an offset printing method in Japanese Patent No. 312499. In the figure,
Reference numeral 101 is a plate surface plate for fixing the intaglio plate 102. Again 10
Reference numeral 3 denotes a work surface plate for fixing the work 104, which is an object to be printed, and is fixedly arranged on the stage 105. The stage 105 in which the two surface plates arranged in a line are arranged.
Are slidable by a ball screw 107 connected to the stage motor 106. A blanket motor 110 is provided on one side of the blanket cylinder 108 via a transmission 109, whereby the blanket cylinder 108 is rotated. The stage motor 106 and the blanket motor 110 for running the stage 105 and rotating the blanket cylinder 108 are synchronously controlled by a controller. Also blanket body 1
08 is supported by a constant pressure device 111 which can be moved up and down by an air cylinder. Blanket body 10
When the stage 105 is moved backward, the stage 8 is raised by the elevating mechanism provided in the constant pressure device 111, so that the stage 8 does not slide in contact with the intaglio plate 102 and the work 104. Inking is performed by the dispenser device 112, and thereafter, ink filling and scraping are performed by the doctor device 113 arranged on the traveling direction side of the stage 105.
A rubber blanket is wound around the surface of the blanket cylinder 108. Reference numeral 115 denotes an alignment scope for taking in position information of the ink pattern printed on the work 104 and aligning the work 104 at a predetermined position by finely adjusting the stage 105 every time the work is exchanged.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an offset printing process. In the figure, reference numeral 102 is an intaglio, and 104 is a glass substrate to be a work, and these are arranged in series on the same plane. An ink dispenser 112 applies ink onto the intaglio plate 102 (FIG. 102A). 1
A doctor device 13 slides on the upper surface of the intaglio plate 102,
Of the applied ink, the ink other than the ink filled in the intaglio plate is scraped off (FIG. 102 (b)). Reference numeral 108 denotes a blanket cylinder, which receives the ink filled in the recesses of the intaglio plate 102 by sequentially contacting the intaglio plate 102 and the upper surface of the glass substrate 104 in rotation (FIG. 102 (c)), and the glass substrate 10
The ink is transferred onto the pattern 4 in the pattern of the intaglio plate 102 (FIG. 102 (d)).

The printing process is completed as described above. The printing ink can be appropriately selected depending on the function of the pattern to be produced. That is, an ink mainly containing Au resinate paste, which contains an organic Au metal, is used for an electrode pattern of a recording thermal head or the like, and in the case of a color filter used in a liquid crystal display device or the like, R, G, and B colors are used. An ink in which a pigment is dispersed or an ink containing an organic element is used.

[0006]

However, when a printing pattern is formed over a large area using the above-mentioned conventional offset printing apparatus, the movable table 105 on which the plate and the printing medium are arranged is set in the printing direction. It will be necessary to make it long. Therefore, not only the total length L of the printing apparatus increases, but also the traveling accuracy of the moving table 105 is easily predicted to deteriorate. In addition, as disclosed as a feature in this conventional technique, a device structure in which the support height of the blanket cylinder 108 is variable in accordance with the work height in order to keep the printing pressure constant and improve the quality of the print pattern shape. In order to move the left and right support parts of the blanket cylinder 108 at the same height at the same time, at least two pulse controllable motors are arranged on the left and right support parts respectively, or the movement of one drive motor is increased. It is necessary to have a structure in which the left and right are distributed and interlocked. Since the backlash and deformation of the movable part of the blanket cylinder 108 directly affects the deterioration of the printing position accuracy, when applied to the printing apparatus in the printing pressure region of about 1000 kgf, the moving mechanism of the support part requires rigidity and accuracy. Therefore, the device itself is inevitably increased in size.

Further, since the glass work and the plate to be printed are not economically processed, a plate thickness dimension adjusting process, for example, a polishing process for improving the parallel flatness of the plate thickness is not usually added. The shape accuracy of the glass work and the plate in the manufacturing process varies. It can be easily imagined that this variation is not constant depending on the manufacturing conditions and the like, and the amount and the tendency are different depending on the manufacturing time and the manufacturing factory.

The same applies to the blanket plate thickness. In particular, it has been confirmed that a blanket has a thickness distribution depending on the method of winding it around the blanket cylinder.

In view of the above problems of the prior art, an object of the present invention is to enable highly accurate printing by an economical method regardless of the dimensional variations of the intaglio plate, the material to be printed, and the blanket. Is to

[0010]

To achieve this object, in the present invention, in order to improve the quality of the print pattern shape, the shape accuracy of a glass work or a printing plate as a material to be printed particularly in a large area printing and the blanket is realized a structure that allows the printing of constant sign pressure value by stage inclination Kino correction for rolling components perpendicular to each setting thickness print progress direction by measurement.

That is, the present invention comprises a blanket cylinder that is rotatably supported, and a table that is movable relative to the blanket cylinder at a certain distance and on which a printing plate and an object to be printed are fixed. By moving the table relative to the blanket cylinder in the printing direction, the ink filled in the printing plate on the table is received by the blanket wound on the blanket cylinder and the received ink is transferred on the table. In the offset printing apparatus for transferring to the substrate of, the means for measuring the position of the surface of the blanket, means for measuring the position of the surface of the printing plate or the substrate on the table, based on these measurement results, In order to adjust the plate pressure or printing pressure at the time of receiving or transferring the ink, the printing plate or the material to be printed on the table ; And a slope correction means to correct the tilt-out. Here, the tilt correction means is connected to the table.
Interspersed with the printing plate or substrate fixed on
The lower plate-like member and the upper plate-like member above it,
For the side plate member and the upper plate member, the upper plate member is the lower plate.
It is possible to rotate in the rolling direction with respect to the printing direction on the member
It is in contact with the entire plate surface via the curved surface so that
Printing by swinging the upper plate member on the plate member
The inclination in the direction perpendicular to the direction is corrected. You
That is, the upper and lower two plate-shaped members contact and swing with a large arc R
It has a swivel structure that makes it possible. This offset
The printing device may further include the printing plate or the substrate to be printed.
The tilt correction means is positioned on the upper plate member.
The printing plate or substrate in the
It has an abutting member for abutting in an angular direction. this
The abutting member is a member other than the upper plate-shaped member of the inclination correcting means.
It is fixed to the part.

In the present invention, preferably the blank
Position of the surface of the ket and the printing plate or cover on the table.
Based on the measurement result of the position of the surface of the printed matter,
Adjust the printing pressure or printing pressure upon acceptance or transfer.
The height of the printing plate or substrate on the table.
Correcting height correcting means is further provided. In this configuration, when the ink is received or transferred, the inclination and height of the printing plate or the printing material are adjusted so that the blanket comes into contact with the printing plate or the printing material on the table with a constant and uniform printing pressure or printing pressure. Will be corrected. That is, it is a factor related to the elimination of the parallelism difference between the contact portions at the time of printing due to the shape accuracy of the printed material in the left-right direction (rolling) with respect to the printing progress direction and the blanket setting thickness, and the generation of printing pressure. The inclination and height of the printing plate or the printing material are corrected in order to keep the amount of pushing in a certain vertical direction (pitching) constant. These corrections are pre-printed measuring unit thus obtained in the measurement of the surface position due to the process, setting has been fixed to the blanket thickness and table the printing material and printing plate height accuracy printing direction (pitching)
And the value measured separately in the direction (rolling) orthogonal to this can be used.

According to this, high-precision printing can be performed by an economical method regardless of dimensional variations in the intaglio plate, the object to be printed, and the blanket.

[0014]

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the table is such that the printing plate and the printing material are fixed at the same position, the printing plate is fixed when the ink is received, and the printing material is fixed when the ink is transferred. It is fixed. According to this, since the traveling relating to the printing process of the printing plate and the printing material is performed by using one table, the same traveling is realized with respect to the blanket, and the relative positional accuracy of the printing pattern with respect to the original pattern is improved. Stable and highly accurate.

Further, a doctor blade for filling ink into the printing plate on the table by relative movement with the table is provided, and the inclination correcting means corrects the inclination of each of the printing plate and the printing object on the table. The correction value is also reflected in the installation angle of the doctor blade so that the doctor blade is set parallel to the printing plate on the table.

[0016]

Further, the height correction means has a lower plate-shaped member and an upper plate-shaped member above the table, which is interposed between the table and a printing plate or a material to be printed fixed thereon. Both the plate-shaped member and the upper plate-shaped member have wedge-shaped cross sections and are in contact with each other over the entire plate surface, whereby movement of the lower plate-shaped member in the direction along the table surface is prevented. The tilt correction means is provided on the height correction means, and the table is used to correct the tilt of the printing plate or the object to be printed. It is fixed on the means.

Further, the printing plate or the substrate for fixing by suction on the upper plate-like member of the inclination correcting means printing plates or the substrate after positioning abutted against the <br/> member butting the Is attached to the upper plate member of the inclination correcting means .

In the above-mentioned structure, the inclination correction means is operated based on the result of measuring the surface position of the blanket set on the blanket cylinder and the surface position of the printing plate or the printing object fixed and fixed on the inclination correction means. By swinging the side plate member in the rolling direction, the surface position of the printing plate or printing material on the correction means is adjusted to be parallel to the surface of the blanket set on the blanket cylinder. Further, based on the result of the measurement, by moving the lower plate-shaped member of the height correction means in the direction along the table surface and vertically moving the upper plate-shaped member thereof, the printing plate on the inclination correction means or The surface position of the material to be printed is controlled to a height at which a predetermined plate pressure or printing pressure can be obtained. The height correction by the height correction means is sequentially performed during the receiving or transferring process.

[0020]

1 is a perspective view showing an offset printing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. In the figure, 1 is a main body base, and two linear guides 3 are attached in parallel to the left and right. A moving table 4 is fixed on a moving block of the linear guide 3, and the moving table 4 can be moved forward and backward by a ball screw 6 which is rotationally driven by a drive motor 5 at the rear of the device. Reference numeral 7 is a rack gear fixedly attached to the left and right of the upper surface of the moving table 4. Reference numeral 8 denotes a cylindrical blanket cylinder, and a blanket 10 is fixedly arranged on the outer periphery of the blanket cylinder 8 in a state in which a blanket tension mechanism applies a desired tension. Both ends of the blanket cylinder 8 are supported by bearings 12, and the bearings 12 are fixed by gate-shaped columns 11 rising from the main body base 1. The blanket cylinder 8 is controlled and driven by a drive motor 26 and a speed reducer 27 so as to rotate in the forward and reverse directions.
The drive motor 26 and the speed reducer 27 are fixed to the side surface of the gate-shaped column 11. Gears 13 are fixed to the left and right ends of the blanket cylinder 8 so that they can be engaged with the rack gear 7, respectively. The plate 16 and the work 18 which are positioned and fixed on the moving table 4.
The outer dimension length of is set to the minimum length at which the gear 13 and the rack gear 7 mesh and move.

As shown in FIG. 2, the traveling of the moving table 4 and the rotation of the blanket cylinder 8 are controlled by the controller 30. However, the contact between the plate and the blanket 10 and the work and the blanket 10 in the printing range is caused by the gear 13
And the rack gear 7 are engaged with each other.
The meshing between the gear 13 and the rack gear 7 is limited only to the printing range of the entire stroke of the moving table 4, and when the moving table 4 is located at any other position, the blanket cylinder 8 can be freely moved. It is possible to control the rotation.

In this synchronized meshing operation, first, as shown in FIG. 3, the blanket cylinder 8 is angularly controlled to the meshing initial position, stopped, and made to stand by. The moving table 4 is moved forward there, and the front end of the rack gear 7 is moved to the gear 13
When it reaches the meshing position with, stop it. This state is the initial state of meshing. Next, the gear 13 of the blanket cylinder 8 is rotated by the drive motor 26 and the speed reducer 27 in a direction in which the gear 13 is pressed against the advancing surface 31 of the rack gear 7 of the moving table 4 (a direction opposite to the forward direction 32 of the moving table 4). give θ. After that, the controller 30 controls and drives so that the forward movement amount X1 of the moving table 4 and the rotational movement amount X2 of the blanket cylinder 8 become the same until the end of the printing range, that is, the end of the meshing of the rack gear 7. The control is performed by, for example, semi-closed control that makes the difference between the target movement command value and the rotation amount of the drive motor zero. By pressing the displacement amount Δθ, backlash that occurs when the gear 13 and the rack gear 7 are engaged with each other is prevented. At this time, the change in the drive current value of the drive motor 26 that occurs when the gear 13 is offset by the amount of Δθ is monitored and controlled so as to fall within the specified range.

Returning to FIG. 1, reference numeral 20 denotes a plate / work supply area provided at the front end of the moving table 4 for traveling, which is an area for supplying a plate and a work. Reference numeral 21 denotes an inking / doctoring area, which is installed between the supply area 20 and the blanket cylinder 8. 22 is a dispenser for supplying printing ink onto the plate, and 23 is a doctor for filling the printing pattern of the plate with ink by pressing and sliding a thin metal plate against the plate. Reference numeral 24 is a plate and work discharge area. Each time the printing process of one work is completed, the plate and the work are discharged in the plate / work discharge area 24, the movable table 4 is returned to the front end of the traveling, and the next plate and the work are supplied. A stage 40 is provided on the moving table 4 and on which the plate and the work are fixed.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing the structure of the stage 40. As shown in the figure, the stage 40 has a swivel structure stage lower plate member 61 and a swivel structure stage upper plate member 60 on which the upper plate member 60 is printed on the lower plate member 61. The entire plate surface is in contact with the swivel mating surface 63 so as to be rotatable in the rolling direction.
An inclination correction unit that corrects the inclination in the direction perpendicular to the printing direction by swinging the upper plate member 60 on the lower plate member 61 is configured. Ie up and down 2
A swivel structure stage portion 40a is configured in which the plate members 60 and 61 are capable of contact rocking with a large arc R.

Further, as height correction means, there is a wedge lower plate 42 and a wedge upper plate 41 thereon, both of which are wedge-shaped in cross section and are in contact with each other over the entire plate surface, Thereby, the movement of the wedge lower plate 42 in the direction along the surface of the moving table 4 is converted into the movement of the wedge upper plate 41 in the height direction to correct the height. The swivel structure stage portion 40a is provided on the wedge upper plate 41,
The plate and the work are held on the upper plate member 60. The wedge upper plate 41 is the moving table 4
A guide post 47 fixed on the upper side is guided so as to be vertically movable. By moving the wedge lower plate 42 in the printing direction by the drive motor 43 via the ball screw 44, the wedge upper plate 41 can be moved up and down.

Further, in order to position the plate and the work on the upper plate member 60 of the swivel structure stage, there is provided an abutting member 19 for abutting the plate and the work in the printing direction and the direction perpendicular thereto.
Further, the upper plate member 60 is provided with a suction hole for sucking and fixing the plate or the work on the upper plate member 60 after abutting against this and positioning.
The butting member 19 is fixed to the wedge upper plate 41.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a structure for measuring the thickness of the blanket 10, that is, the surface position with the rotation axis of the blanket cylinder 8 as a reference. In the figure, 51 is a blanket setting height measuring device (blanket thickness measuring device) for measuring the setting height of the blanket, 52
Is a uniaxial stage that movably supports the measuring device 51 in a direction parallel to the rotation axis of the blanket cylinder 8. The uniaxial stage 52 is fixed to the member passed between the two columns 11. By moving the blanket setting height measuring device 51 on the uniaxial stage 52, it becomes possible to measure the setting height, that is, the surface position of the blanket 10 in the entire lateral direction of the blanket 10 (direction of the rotation axis of the blanket cylinder 8). There is. To move the measurement position in the printing direction, when the gear 13 and the rack gear 7 are in a disengaged positional relationship, the blanket cylinder 8
May be rotated by the drive motor 26.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a structure for measuring the height of the surface of the plate and the work, that is, the surface position (height and inclination). In the figure, 50 is a plate / work surface height measuring device for measuring the height of the surface of the plate and the work,
The four corners of the plate 16 and the work 18 fixed on the moving table 4 located in the supply area 20 are arranged so that they can be measured. In addition, plate / work surface height measuring device 50
Is held by a uniaxial stage that can move in a direction perpendicular to the printing direction, so that the entire area in the lateral direction of the plate 16 and the work 18 can be measured, and the measurement position in the printing direction can be changed. It may be performed by running.

FIG. 6 is a conceptual diagram sequentially showing a continuous printing process by the offset printing apparatus. 1 that are the same as those in FIG. 1 indicate the same elements. When printing, please refer to FIG.
As shown by the broken line in FIG.
Is located in the supply area 20 at the front end of travel. At this time,
The height of the stage 40 is adjusted to the receiving process plate pressure setting height before correction by moving the wedge lower plate 42 back and forth by the drive motor 43 to move the wedge upper plate 41 up and down. When the moving table 4 is at this position, the thickness of the blanket 10 is measured by the measuring device 51. The measurement items at this time are the thickness difference in the width direction of the blanket 10 (= rolling adjustment angle θ (blanket)) and the thickness difference in the winding direction of the blanket 10 (= pitching adjustment angle α (blanket)). The value obtained by the measurement of
Feedback is made when the position of 0 is corrected. In parallel with this measurement, the plate 16 is placed on the suction surface of the upper surface of the stage 40 located in the supply area 20, and the pusher is used to push X against the positioning abutting member 19 serving as a reference on the moving table 4,
It is placed by pressing in the order of the Y direction, adsorbed and fixed. Next, regarding the shape of the plate 16, the thickness difference (= rolling adjustment angle θ) in the direction perpendicular to the printing direction is measured by the measuring device 50.
(Plate)) and the thickness difference in the printing direction (= pitching adjustment angle α (plate)).

Next, the measured value θ (blanket) and θ
Based on the (plate), the swing angle θ for operating and adjusting the upper plate member 60 of the swivel stage is set so that (θ (blanket) −θ (plate)) = ± 0 °, and the plate 16 is set. The position of the stage 40 in the rolling direction is adjusted. At this time, the suction fixing the plate 16 in advance is destroyed and the positioning of the plate 16 is released so that the adjustment is not hindered by the contact with the butting and positioning member 19. This rolling swing adjustment amount θ is also reflected on the installation angle of the doctor 23 in the doctoring process performed later. That is, the swing adjustment of the doctor 23 is also performed so as to be parallel to the upper surface of the plate 16 on the stage 40.

After the rolling adjustment is completed, the plate 16 is again pressed against the positioning abutting member 19 in the X and Y directions by a pusher, arranged, adsorbed and fixed. Then, again, the heights of the four corners of the plate 16 are measured by the surface height measuring device 50, and the blanket thickness measurement value θ
Confirm that the value is the same as (blanket).

Thereafter, the plate 16 is moved to the inking / doctoring area 21. The moving table 4 is stopped at the inking / doctoring area 21, and the dispenser 2
The ink 25 is supplied onto the plate 16 by the method 2. Next, as shown in FIG. 6A, the doctor 23 is slid by moving the moving table 4 forward while pressing the doctor 23 against the upper surface of the plate 16 to fill the original pattern on the plate 16 with ink. At the same time, the ink on the non-original pattern part is scraped off. This completes inking and doctoring on the plate 16.

Next, a receiving process is performed. That is, first,
By driving the driving motor 5 and the ball screw 6, the moving table 4 is advanced and stopped until the front end of the rack gear 7 on the upper surface of the moving table 4 meshes with the gears 13 at both ends of the blanket cylinder 8. From this position, the blanket cylinder 8 and the moving table 4 are controlled so as to remove the backlash generated between the gear 13 and the rack gear 7, and the gear 1
3 and the rack gear 7 are engaged and moved. As a result, the blanket 10 rotates in contact with the upper surface of the plate 16, and the ink filled in the original pattern on the plate 16 is received on the surface of the blanket 10. The pressure applied to the blanket 10 by the plate 16 at this time, that is, the plate pressure, is the thickness difference in the winding direction of the blanket 10 (= pitching adjustment angle α (blanket)) and the thickness difference in the printing direction (= pitching) obtained by the above-described measurement. Correct with the adjustment angle α (plate). That is, the pitching adjustment amount α is set to be (α (blanket) −α (plate)) = ± 0 ° so that a constant printing pressure is generated during the traveling of the receiving process, and only this adjustment amount α is set. The upper surface of the stage 40 is moved up and down by sliding the lower plate 42 of the wedge structure stage 40. When the moving table 4 is moved to the end position of the meshing of the gear 13 and the rack gear 7 after finishing the printing range, the moving table 4 is stopped there, and the operation control for removing the backlash is released.

After that, the movable table 4 is advanced to the discharge area 24 at the rear end of the traveling, and at that position, the plate 16 is removed as shown in FIG. 6B, and the movable table 4 is moved without contacting the blanket 10. Retreat to the front end.

When the moving table 4 is located at the front end of the traveling stage, the stage 40 moves the wedge lower plate 42 back and forth by the drive motor 43 to move the wedge upper plate 41 up and down to set the transfer process plate pressure before correction. Adjusted to height. At the timing when the moving table 4 is located at this position, that is, in the supply area 20, the new work 18 is placed on the suction surface of the upper surface of the stage 40 by pushing the positioning abutting member 19 in order in the X and Y directions by the pusher, and suction is performed. And fix it. Next, for the shape of the new work 18, the thickness difference (= rolling adjustment angle θ (work)) and the thickness difference (= pitching adjustment angle α (work)) in the printing direction are measured by the measuring device 50. To do. This measured value θ (workpiece)
And a known θ (blanket) measured before performing doctoring and a swing angle θ for adjusting the swivel structure stage upper side plate member 60 by operating (θ
(Blanket) −θ (work)) = ± 0 °, and the rolling direction of the stage 40 on which the plate is arranged is adjusted. At this time, it is necessary to break the suction fixing the plate 16 in advance and release the positioning so that the adjustment is not hindered by the contact between the plate 16 and the abutment positioning member 19.

After the adjustment in the rolling direction is completed, the work 18 is again pressed against the positioning abutting member 19 on the moving table 4 by the pusher in the X and Y directions, arranged, and fixed by suction. Then, the heights of the four corners of the work 18 are measured again by the surface height measuring device 50 of the work 18, and it is confirmed that the height is equal to the blanket thickness measurement value θ (blanket).

Next, the transfer step is performed. That is, first,
As shown in FIG. 6C, the moving table 4 is moved forward by driving the driving motor 5 and the ball screw 6, and when the front end of the rack gear 7 reaches a position where it meshes with the gears 13 at both ends of the blanket cylinder 8, it is stopped. . From this position, the blanket cylinder 8 and the moving table 4 are meshed and moved while controlling so as to remove the backlash generated between the gear 13 and the rack gear 7. The work 18 sequentially contacts the surface of the blanket 10 as the meshing movement progresses.
As a result, the ink received on the blanket 10 is transferred to the upper surface of the work 18. At this time, the pressure applied to the blanket 10 by the work 18 is the thickness difference in the blanket winding direction (= pitching adjustment angle α (blanket)) and the thickness difference in the printing direction (= pitching adjustment angle) obtained by the above-described measurement. Correction is made based on α (work). That is, the pitching adjustment amount α is set to (α
(Blanket) -α (work)) = ± 0 °, and the wedge structure stage 40 is adjusted by this adjustment amount α.
By sliding the lower plate 42 of the stage 4
0 Raise and lower the upper surface. In this way, the original pattern on the upper surface of the plate 16 can be formed as a printing pattern on the work 18 via the blanket 10.

After passing through the meshing movement region, the moving table 4 is advanced to the discharge area 24 at the rear end of traveling and stopped. As shown in FIG. 6D, after removing the work 18 at that position, the movable table 4 is retracted to the front end of the traveling without contacting and sliding with the blanket 10.

The printing process for one work is completed by the above process. Further, the work is replaced with a new work in the supply area 20 for each printing process. Continuous printing is performed by repeating the above steps. During this period, the height of the stage 40 that determines the plate pressure and the stage 4 that determines the printing pressure
The height of 0 is α (blanket), α (plate), which is measured in advance by the drive motor 43 in the receiving or transferring process.
Based on the three data of α (work), the blanket is sequentially corrected during contact with the plate or the work. Further, since the external dimensions of the plate 16 and the workpiece 18 which are arranged and fixed on the stage 40 with the positioning abutting member 19 as a reference are the same, the plate 1 with the positioning abutting member 19 as a reference is used.
Printing is performed with the outer shapes and positions of the contact surfaces of the workpiece 6 and the workpiece 18 with respect to the blanket 10 being the same.

The features of this embodiment will be described in detail below. In the present embodiment, as described above, the plate 16 and the work 18 are
Since the movement related to the printing process of (1) is shared by one moving table 4, ink reception and ink transfer are performed and printed under the same conditions. Therefore, the relative position accuracy of the print pattern can be improved. Then, in such an offset printing apparatus, the thickness distribution after setting the blanket is calculated by measuring the thickness difference in the blanket width direction (= rolling adjustment angle θ (blanket)) and the thickness difference in the blanket winding direction (= pitching adjustment angle α (blanket)). ) And grasp the surface height distribution of the plate and the work, and the thickness difference (= rolling adjustment angle θ (plate), θ (work)) and the thickness difference in the printing direction (= Pitching adjustment angles α (plate) and α (work) are respectively received by a measuring device as a parameter and measured prior to the transfer process, and the position of the stage 40 is determined based on the measured values.
Before the acceptance and transfer process, the inclination θ in the swinging direction and the height α in the printing direction are corrected so that proper plate pressure and printing pressure are applied during the contact of the blanket with the plate and the work. The feature is that

The stage 4 in the rolling direction, which is orthogonal to the printing direction, is used to make the plate pressure and the printing pressure proper at this time.
The θ correction means for correcting the inclination of 0 is, as shown in FIG.
The stage part 40a for arranging and fixing the plate and the work has a swivel structure in which the upper and lower swivel stage parts 60 and 61 can contact and oscillate with two large circular arcs R. ing. That is, the swivel mating surface 63 is in contact with the entire surface, so that the stage surface of the stage 40 can be operated as a rigid structure that is not deformed by a large printing pressure. Also, the swivel structure stage upper side plate portion 60
Has an area equal to or larger than the shape dimensions of the plate 16 and the work 18, and is provided with a suction hole for sucking and fixing the plate 16 and the work 18. The tilt θ in the swinging direction is adjusted by moving the swivel structure stage upper side plate portion 60 to the swivel mating surface 6 by a not-illustrated pulse-controlled drive motor or the like.
This is done by moving along the circular arc R of 3.

The height α in the pitching direction of the printing direction
7, the upper and lower wedge upper plate 41 and the wedge lower plate 42 which are located below the swivel structure stage portion 40a for correcting the inclination θ in the rolling direction and load the same as shown in FIG. It is composed of a wedge structure. That is, the wedge mating surface 46, which is the surface where these two plates come into contact, is in contact with each other over the entire surface, and thus the wedge mating surface 46 having a rigid structure that is not deformed by a large printing pressure is used. It is characterized by sliding. The wedge lower plate 42 is a ball screw 4 connected to a drive motor 43.
4 is engaged with and is moved forward and backward by the rotation of the drive motor 43 which is pulse-controlled, for example. This movement is converted into an elevating operation of the wedge upper plate 41 at a movement ratio according to the set gradient amount of the wedge mating surface 46. At this time, since the wedge upper plate 41 is vertically guided by the guide post 47 without rattling, the wedge upper plate 4
The swivel structure stage portion 40a, which is arranged so as to be stacked on top of 1, is also guided up and down without play.

Swivel Structure Stage Upper Plate Part 6
At 0, there is arranged a suction hole 45 which is suction-fixed by a suction force that does not cause displacement due to contact resistance when receiving or transferring a plate or work, and switching between suction and reverse injection is performed by control not shown. The abutment positioning member 19 for abutting and positioning the plate 16 and the work 18 in the print advancing direction and the direction perpendicular thereto is also characterized by being installed outside the swivel structure stage portion 40a.

According to the above construction, the swivel stage upper plate member 60 of the stage portion 40a is moved along the arc R of the swivel mating surface 63 by an inclination set based on the measured inclination θ in the rolling direction. When adjusting the inclination of the direction, since the swivel structure stage upper plate member 60 and the swivel structure stage lower plate member 61 are in contact with each other on the swivel mating surface 63, the stage portion 40a is deformed even in a large printing pressure region. Without setting, there is an effect of having reproducibility in setting accuracy.

When the wedge lower plate 42 of the stage 40 is moved back and forth to move the wedge upper plate 41 to a height set based on the measured pitching direction adjustment amount α, the wedge upper plate 41 and the wedge upper plate 41 are moved. Lower plate 42 has wedge mating surface 46
In this case, since the entire surface is in contact with the stage 40, the stage 40 is not deformed even in a large printing pressure region, and there is an effect that the height setting accuracy has reproducibility.

Further, since the plate and work abutment positioning member 19 is installed in a portion other than the swivel upper plate 61, the abutment surface of the abutment positioning member 19 to the plate or work is corrected even during the correction operation. There is no rubbing between them, and there is an effect that problems such as cracking and chipping do not occur.

The difference from the conventional example shown in FIG. 8 will be described. The blanket cylinder 1 according to the height of the work is used in order to make the printing pattern shape high in quality by keeping the printing pressure constant in the conventional example.
In order to move the left and right support parts of the blanket cylinder 108 at the same height at the same time, at least two pulse controllable motors are arranged on the left and right support parts, respectively. Or, it is necessary to have a structure in which the movement of one drive motor is distributed to the left and right to be interlocked. On the other hand, in the present embodiment, the blanket cylinder 8 is rotatably held by the columns 11 via bearings and the stage 40 for placing the plate and the work is moved up and down by one drive motor 43. Since a complicated mechanism for distributing and interlocking with each other is not required, the device configuration becomes simple.

Regarding the rigidity with respect to the printing pressure, according to the conventional example, the backlash or deformation of the movable portion of the blanket cylinder 108 directly affects the deterioration of the printing position accuracy.
When applied to a printing apparatus in a printing pressure area of about 1000 kgf, rigidity and precision are required for the moving mechanism of the support portion of the blanket cylinder 108, and the apparatus itself is inevitably increased in size. The air cylinder used for the actuator for raising and lowering has a characteristic of compressibility, which means that it is difficult to make the printing pressure constant because of the control followability. Further, when the thickness of the blanket set on the blanket cylinder 108 and the shape of the plate or the work are tilted, the blanket cylinder is adjusted to swing with respect to the stage height while maintaining high rigidity and good control followability. It is difficult to tilt. On the other hand, according to the present embodiment, since the stage having the swivel structure and the wedge structure as described above is used, it is also advantageous in terms of rigidity with respect to printing pressure and control followability.

[0049]

As described above, according to the present invention, the plate pressure or printing pressure is kept constant irrespective of the blanket thickness distribution occurring during blanket setting and the thickness distribution due to the material shape accuracy of the printing plate or the printing material. In order to improve the quality of the printing pattern, the inclination of the printing plate or substrate is set with respect to the surface of the blanket set on the rotatably supported blanket cylinder.
Preferably, the height can be further corrected so that the parallelism between the two in contact at the time of printing and adjustment to a desired plate pressure or printing pressure can be performed.

The inclination is corrected by a swivel structure in which the upper and lower two plate-like members are entirely in contact with a large R surface on the stage itself on which the printing plate or the object to be printed is arranged. Further, the height is corrected as described above. Since the upper and lower wedge-shaped plate-shaped members on which the swivel structure is loaded are in full contact with each other, the inclination and height can be set with high accuracy even when the plate is used and printing pressure is high. Can be realized.

Further, since the contact movement in the printing process is also used for the movement of one table, only one means for correcting the inclination and the height is required, and it is possible to avoid an increase in the size of the apparatus structure. It becomes possible to form a pattern over a large area with high precision. Therefore, it is possible to realize an apparatus that forms an image with high definition and large area.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an offset printing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing a configuration for controlling traveling of a moving table and rotation of a blanket cylinder in the apparatus of FIG.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory view showing a meshing state of gears in the apparatus of FIG.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a configuration for measuring a blanket setting height in the apparatus of FIG.

5 is a perspective view showing a configuration for measuring the plate / work surface height in the apparatus of FIG. 1. FIG.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a printing process by the apparatus of FIG.

7 is a perspective view showing a printing pressure adjusting mechanism in the apparatus of FIG.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing a conventional offset printing apparatus.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a conventional offset printing process.

[Explanation of symbols]

1: body base, 4: moving table, 5: motor for driving moving table, 7: rack gear, 8: blanket cylinder,
10: blanket, 13: gear, 16: plate, 18: work, 19: positioning abutting member, 22: dispenser, 23: doctor, 26: blanket cylinder drive motor,
30: control device, 40: stage, 40a: swivel structure stage part, 41: wedge upper plate, 42: wedge lower plate, 43: drive motor, 45: suction hole,
50: Plate / work surface height measuring instrument, 51: Blanket setting height measuring instrument, 52: 1-axis stage, 53:
Uniaxial stage, 60: swivel structure stage upper plate member, 61: swivel structure stage lower plate member, 63: swivel mating surface.

Continuation of the front page (56) Reference JP-A-6-91853 (JP, A) JP-A-9-286094 (JP, A) JP-A2-178046 (JP, A) JP-A-9-70947 (JP , A) JP-A-63-102938 (JP, A) JP-A-4-299144 (JP, A) JP-A-53-63113 (JP, A) Actual Kaihei 4-33541 (JP, U) JP-B 59-16434 (JP, B1) (58) Fields investigated (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) B41F 3/20 B41F 3/46 B41F 17/14 B41F 15/08 303 B41F 15/18-15/26

Claims (7)

(57) [Claims] 1. A blanket cylinder including a rotatably supported blanket cylinder and a table, which is movable relative to the blanket cylinder and is fixed to the printing plate and an object to be printed, to the blanket cylinder. By moving the table in the printing direction relative to the table, the ink filled in the printing plate on the table is received by the blanket wound on the blanket cylinder and the received ink is printed on the table. In the offset printing apparatus for transferring to, the means for measuring the position of the surface of the blanket, the means for measuring the position of the surface of the printing plate or the object to be printed on the table, and based on these measurement results, acceptance of the ink or to adjust the plate pressure or printing pressure during transition, correct complement <br/> a-out printing or of the substrate inclination on said table ; And a tilt correction hands stage that, it said inclination correcting means is fixed thereon and the table
The lower plate-like member or the lower plate-like member that is interposed between the printing plate and the substrate.
And an upper plate-shaped member above the lower plate-shaped member and
How to print the upper plate-shaped member with the upper plate-shaped member on the lower plate-shaped member
The curved surface so that it can be rotated in the rolling direction.
Is in contact with the entire plate surface via the upper plate on the lower plate member.
By swinging the plate member, the direction perpendicular to the printing direction
It is intended to perform the inclination correction, further the printing plate or
Or the object to be printed on the upper plate-like member of the inclination correcting means.
In order to position in
Use an abutting member that abuts the printed material, other than the upper plate member.
An offset printing device characterized in that it is fixedly installed on the part . 2. The table is such that the printing plate and the printing object are fixed at the same position, the printing plate is fixed when the ink is received, and the printing object is fixed when the ink is transferred. The offset printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the offset printing apparatus is a printing apparatus. 3. A doctor blade for filling ink into a printing plate on the table by relative movement with respect to the table, wherein the inclination correcting means corrects the inclination of each of the printing plate and the substrate to be printed on the table. Is what
3. The offset printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the correction value is also reflected on an installation angle of the doctor blade so that the doctor blade is set parallel to the printing plate on the table. . 4. The position of the surface of the blanket and the te
Of the position of the surface of the printing plate or substrate on the cable
Plate upon receipt or transfer of the ink based on the results
The printing plate on the table is adjusted to adjust the printing pressure or printing pressure.
Or a height correction means for correcting the height of the substrate.
It is provided with any one of Claims 1-3 characterized by the above-mentioned.
The offset printing apparatus described . 5. The height correction means has a lower plate-shaped member and an upper plate-shaped member above the table, which is interposed between the table and a printing plate or an object to be printed, which is fixed on the table, and the lower plate. Both the plate-shaped member and the upper plate-shaped member have wedge-shaped cross sections and are in contact with each other over the entire plate surface, whereby movement of the lower plate-shaped member in the direction along the table surface is prevented. The offset printing apparatus according to claim 4 , wherein the offset printing apparatus is for converting the movement in the height direction to correct the height. 6. The height correction means includes a lower plate-shaped member and an upper plate-shaped member above the table, which is interposed between the table and a printing plate or a material to be printed fixed thereon. Both the plate-shaped member and the upper plate-shaped member have wedge-shaped cross sections and are in contact with each other over the entire plate surface, whereby movement of the lower plate-shaped member in the direction along the table surface is prevented. The height is corrected by converting it into a movement in the height direction, the inclination correcting means is provided on the height correcting means, and the table is the printing plate or the printing object. The offset printing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the offset printing apparatus is fixed on the skew correction unit. 7. adsorbs the printing plate or the substrate after positioning abutted on the printing plate or the substrate the butting the <br/> member on the upper plate-like member of the inclination correcting means fixing The offset printing apparatus according to claim 6, wherein a suction hole for causing the tilt correction unit is provided in the upper plate-shaped member.