JP4229044B2 - Gravure printing plate, multilayer ceramic electronic component manufacturing method, and gravure printing apparatus - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a gravure printing plate, a laminate manufactured through a process of printing a conductive paste on a ceramic green sheet or carrier film using the gravure printing plate to form a graphic pattern for forming an internal electrode. The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing a ceramic electronic component and a gravure printing apparatus.

  A multilayer ceramic capacitor, which is one of the typical multilayer ceramic electronic components, includes, for example, a plurality of internal electrodes 42a and 42b stacked in a ceramic element 41 via a ceramic layer 43, as shown in FIG. Further, the internal electrodes 42a and 42b facing each other through the ceramic layer 43 are alternately drawn out to the end faces 44a and 44b on the opposite side of the ceramic element 41 and connected to the external electrodes 45a and 45b formed on the end faces. It has a structure.

  A multilayer ceramic capacitor having such a structure is usually a ceramic green sheet in which a conductive paste is printed and a ceramic green sheet having an internal electrode pattern formed on the surface is laminated, and the internal electrode pattern is not formed on both upper and lower surfaces. It is manufactured by firing a laminated body obtained by laminating sheets and press-bonding, then applying a conductive paste to both end faces of the fired laminated body (ceramic element), and baking to form a pair of external electrodes. ing.

In recent years, from the viewpoint of improving productivity and the like, a method of printing the internal electrode pattern as described above using a gravure printing method has been widely used.
In this gravure printing method, for example, as shown in FIG. 8, the ceramic green sheet 51 is passed between the gravure roll 52 and the back roll 53, and held on the print pattern 61 (FIG. 9) on the surface of the gravure roll 52. The conductive paste is transferred onto the surface of the ceramic green sheet 51, thereby printing the internal electrode pattern 54 on the ceramic green sheet 51. There is no need to intermittently convey the ceramic green sheet, and it is continuously performed. Since printing can be performed while being conveyed, it has been attracting attention in recent years.

  By the way, in the gravure printing method, as shown in FIG. 9, a print pattern (image portion) 61 having a shape corresponding to a graphic pattern (internal electrode pattern) 54 to be printed on the outer peripheral surface of a cylindrical gravure roll 52. As shown in FIG. 10, generally, a printing pattern 61 is used so that a predetermined amount of conductive paste (printing paste) can be reliably held. And a plurality of cells 63 separated by a bank 62 (Patent Document 1).

  However, when a conductive paste is printed on a ceramic green sheet using a gravure printing plate in which a printing pattern is configured from a plurality of rectangular cells arranged in a matrix as in Patent Document 1, 11, the side edge 71a along the printing direction of the graphic pattern 71 formed by printing (the direction indicated by the arrow A in FIG. 11) has an uneven shape, and the desired shape (the side edge has linearity). There is a problem that it is impossible to form a graphic pattern having a shape of

  Specifically, the central portion of each cell 63 has a large transfer amount of the print paste. From the portion with the large transfer amount, the print paste is outside the outline of the cell (the outline of the cell constituting the peripheral portion of the print pattern). It protrudes and the linearity of the peripheral part of a figure pattern falls.

  Further, when the viscosity of the printing paste is high (a general gravure printing paste is about 0.01 to 0.1 Pa · S, whereas a conductive paste for forming an electrode of an electronic component is usually 1 to 100 Pa · S. However, the leveling and wetting spreadability is poor, so the printing paste cannot be spread to the outside of the outline of the bank constituting the cell, and as a result, the peripheral edge of the graphic pattern is thick. A part will be formed, and it will become impossible to obtain a graphic pattern excellent in smoothness and uniformity in thickness.

In addition, when the smoothness of the surface of the internal electrode pattern is impaired, unevenness (bleeding of the outline) occurs in the peripheral portion of the internal electrode, thereby causing variation in capacity and the side surface of the ceramic laminate and the peripheral portion of the internal electrode. There is a problem in that the quality (deterioration) and the defect rate increase due to the small distance (gap).
JP-A-6-316174

The present invention solves the above-mentioned problems, and is excellent in linearity of the contour line of a graphic pattern formed by printing a conductive paste or a ceramic paste as a printing paste , and stringing occurs randomly. A gravure printing plate capable of forming a graphic pattern excellent in smoothness and thickness uniformity, a method of manufacturing a multilayer ceramic electronic component using the same, and a gravure printing apparatus The purpose is to provide.

In order to solve the above problems, the gravure printing plate of the present invention (Claim 1)
A gravure printing plate for printing on an object to be printed such that a conductive paste or a ceramic paste has a predetermined graphic pattern by a gravure printing method,
A print pattern corresponding to the graphic pattern to be printed is formed on the outer peripheral surface of the cylindrical gravure roll,
A plurality of printing direction banks arranged substantially parallel to each other along a substantially printing direction, an opening region extending in the printing direction, sandwiched between the printing direction banks adjacent to each other, and the printing pattern An opening region formed between a side edge portion substantially along the printing direction and a printing direction bank closest to the side edge portion among the plurality of printing direction banks, with a predetermined interval in the printing direction. A partition for printing paste reservoir for partitioning , and at least one portion of the bank for printing paste reservoir is formed with a notch that allows flow of the printing paste in the printing direction , and
Each printing paste reservoir bank that partitions an opening area formed between a side edge portion of the printing pattern along a substantially printing direction and a printing direction bank closest to the side edge at a predetermined interval in the printing direction. A bank-corresponding area at the side edge along the printing direction of the print pattern, corresponding to the area between the banks, has a concave shape narrower than other areas.

Further, the gravure printing plate according to claim 2 is the configuration of the gravure printing plate according to claim 1 ,
(a) In the case where the notch is formed in a bank for storing a printing paste reservoir disposed in an opening region sandwiched between the printing direction banks adjacent to each other, there is no notch In addition, the bank for storing the printing paste is in a position corresponding to the bank side contact portion where the bank for storing the printing paste reservoir in one of the printing direction banks and is adjacent in the opening region. When looking at the bank for storing printing paste, it is formed at a position corresponding to the bank side contact portion on the bank side opposite to the printing direction,
(b) A printing paste reservoir in which the cutout portion is disposed in an opening region formed between a side edge portion substantially along the printing direction of the printing pattern and a printing direction bank closest to the side edge portion. In the case where the bank is formed on the bank, the printing paste reservoir bank is formed at a position corresponding to the side edge side abutting portion that comes into contact with the side edge when there is no notch. It is characterized by being.

Further, gravure printing plate according to claim 3, wherein the gravure printing plate of a configuration of claim 1 or 2, wherein the printing paste reservoir for bank in the formed cut-out of width, bank for reservoir the printing paste It is characterized by being more than the width of.

Moreover, the gravure printing plate of Claim 4 WHEREIN: The structure of the gravure printing plate in any one of Claims 1-3 WHEREIN: The opening area | region extended in the printing direction pinched | interposed into the said printing direction bank adjacent to each other. The opening area formed between the side edge portion substantially along the printing direction of the printing pattern and the outermost printing direction bank is arranged at a predetermined interval in the printing direction rather than the arrangement pitch of the printing paste reservoir banks to be partitioned. It is characterized in that the arrangement pitch of the bank for storing printing paste is reduced.

Moreover, the manufacturing method of the multilayer ceramic electronic component of the present invention (Claim 5 ) uses a gravure printing plate according to any one of Claims 1 to 4 to apply a conductive paste on a ceramic green sheet or a carrier film. It is characterized by including a step of printing and forming a graphic pattern for forming internal electrodes.

The gravure printing apparatus of the present invention (claim 6 )
A gravure printing plate according to any one of claims 1 to 4 ,
Paste supplying means for supplying a conductive paste or a ceramic paste as a printing paste to a gravure printing plate;
Scraping means for scraping off excess printing paste on the gravure printing plate;
A transfer section for transferring a printing paste filled in a printing pattern of a gravure printing plate to a printing medium;
And a conveying unit that conveys the printing medium to the transfer unit.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the gravure printing plate of the present invention (Claim 1) is formed on a substrate by using a gravure printing method so that a conductive paste or a ceramic paste becomes a predetermined graphic pattern as a printing paste. In a gravure printing plate for printing, a print pattern corresponding to a graphic pattern to be printed is formed on the outer peripheral surface of a cylindrical gravure roll, and the print patterns are substantially parallel to each other along a substantially printing direction. Close to the plurality of arranged printing direction banks, the opening area extending in the printing direction sandwiched between the printing direction banks adjacent to each other, and the side edge portion substantially along the printing direction of the printing pattern, and the side edge portion The opening area formed between the printing direction bank and the printing paste reservoir bank that partitions the printing direction at a predetermined interval, and has a mark. Between each printing paste reservoir bank that partitions the opening area formed between the side edge portion substantially along the printing direction of the pattern and the printing direction bank closest to the side edge at a predetermined interval in the printing direction. The printing direction bank and the printing paste reservoir that constitute the printing paste by making the corresponding area between the banks at the side edges along the printing direction of the printing pattern into a concave shape narrower than other areas. Even if the printing paste protrudes outside the outline of the cell from the area where the cell transfer amount formed by the bank is large (the center area of each cell), the linearity of the peripheral edge of the graphic pattern is reduced. Can be prevented, and a graphic pattern with high shape accuracy can be formed.

  That is, the print pattern corresponding to the area between each print paste reservoir bank disposed in the opening area formed between the side edge of the print pattern and the bank in the printing direction closest to the side edge. Even if the paste extends beyond the side edge of the print pattern beyond the side edge of the print pattern by making the area corresponding to the bank of the side edge a concave shape narrower than other areas It is possible to keep the linearity of the side edge portion of the graphic pattern formed by printing the printing paste suppressed by preventing the printing paste from protruding so as to impair the linearity of the side edge portion. .

In addition, a notch that allows the printing paste to flow in the printing direction is formed in at least one location of the printing paste reservoir, so that the printing paste flows reliably in the printing direction through the notch. Therefore, after supplying the printing paste to the printing pattern of the gravure roll, when scraping off the excess printing paste with the blade, it becomes possible to prevent the printing paste from remaining in a large amount in the cell and printing. Sometimes, the printing paste flows reliably in the printing direction through the notch, so it is possible to suppress and prevent the printing paste from protruding from the side edge of the printing pattern to the outside of the outline. It becomes possible to more reliably prevent the edge linearity from being lowered. In addition, since the printing paste flows reliably in the printing direction through the notch, it is possible to prevent the smoothness of the surface of the graphic pattern (printed coating film) from being deteriorated.

  That is, the printing direction bank continuously formed in the printing direction can make it difficult for the stringing of the printing paste to occur in the direction other than the printing direction, and can prevent the overlapping of the stringing. As a result, it is possible to suppress irregularities on the surface of the graphic pattern (printed coating film) formed by printing the printing paste, and to form a graphic pattern with excellent surface smoothness and thickness uniformity. It becomes possible.

Further, as in the gravure printing plate of claim 2 , (a) the notch is formed in a printing paste reservoir bank disposed in an opening region sandwiched between adjacent printing direction banks. In some cases, when there is no cutout, the bank for printing paste reservoir is a position corresponding to the bank-side abutting portion where the bank for printing paste reservoir will be in contact with one bank for printing paste reservoir. And when the adjacent banks for storing the printing paste in the opening region are formed at positions corresponding to the bank-side contact portions on the bank sides opposite to each other in the printing direction, and (b) a notch The printing paste reservoir bank disposed in the opening region formed between the side edge portion substantially along the printing direction of the printing pattern and the printing direction bank closest to the side edge portion. In some cases, cut When there is no notch, the printing paste reservoir bank is formed at a position corresponding to the side edge side abutting part that abuts on the side edge part, so that the graphic pattern It is possible to further improve the linearity of the contour and the smoothness of the surface.

Further, as in the gravure printing plate according to claim 3 , the width of the notch formed in the bank for storing the printing paste is set to be equal to or larger than the width of the bank for storing the printing paste, so that the printing paste from the notch In the case where the viscosity of the printing paste is high (for example, conductive for forming an internal electrode pattern of an electronic component). The surface smoothness is also improved in the case of printing an adhesive paste.

Further, as in the case of the gravure printing plate according to claim 4 , the printing pattern is more substantially printed than the pitch of the printing paste reservoir bank sandwiched between the printing direction banks adjacent to each other and extending in the printing direction. The printing paste is reduced by reducing the pitch of the printing paste reservoir bank that partitions the opening area formed between the side edge portion along the direction and the outermost printing direction bank at a predetermined interval in the printing direction. It becomes possible to further improve the linearity of the side edge portion of the graphic pattern formed by printing.

Moreover, the manufacturing method of the multilayer ceramic electronic component of the present invention (Claim 5 ) uses a gravure printing plate according to any one of Claims 1 to 4 to apply a conductive paste on a ceramic green sheet or a carrier film. Since it has a process of printing and forming a graphic pattern for forming internal electrodes, it is possible to efficiently produce highly reliable multilayer ceramic electronic components with internal electrodes with uniform thickness and high shape accuracy. Is possible.

Moreover, the gravure printing apparatus of this invention (Claim 6 ) supplies a conductive paste or a ceramic paste as a printing paste to the gravure printing plate according to any one of Claims 1 to 4 and the gravure printing plate. A paste supplying means, a scraping means for scraping off excess printing paste on the gravure printing plate, a transfer portion for transferring the printing paste filled in the printing pattern of the gravure printing plate to a printing medium, and a transfer portion A gravure printing device is used to print a printing paste to efficiently form a figure pattern with excellent shape accuracy and uniform thickness. It becomes possible. Note that this gravure printing apparatus can efficiently form an internal electrode pattern with high shape accuracy and uniform thickness, for example, by printing a conductive paste on a ceramic green sheet (printed body). .

In the gravure printing apparatus of the present invention, as a means for supplying a conductive paste or ceramic paste that is a printing paste , the gravure roll is immersed in a paste tank in which the printing paste is stored, or on the surface of the gravure roll. It is possible to use ones having various configurations such as a one in which a printing paste is poured.
Further, as a scraping means for scraping off excess printing paste on the gravure printing plate, a rubber blade or the like is exemplified, but other configurations can also be used.
In addition, as a configuration of the transfer unit that transfers the printing paste filled in the printing pattern of the gravure printing plate to the printing body, the printing body (for example, a ceramic green sheet) is pressed against the gravure roll by the impression cylinder. However, the specific configuration of the transfer portion is not limited to this, and other configurations are possible.
In addition, as a conveying means for conveying the printing medium to the transfer section, a printing medium (for example, a ceramic green sheet held on a carrier film) is wound and conveyed by a winding roller, or a belt Although the thing using a conveyor etc. is illustrated, it is also possible to set it as another structure.

  The features of the present invention will be described in more detail below with reference to examples of the present invention.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a gravure printing plate according to one embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a gravure printing apparatus provided with the gravure printing plate.

  The gravure printing apparatus 10 using the gravure printing plate of the present invention is a gravure printing apparatus used for printing a conductive paste for forming an internal electrode pattern on a ceramic green sheet in a manufacturing process of a multilayer ceramic capacitor, As shown in FIG. 2, a gravure roll (gravure printing plate) 1 having a plurality of printing patterns P on its surface, a paste tank 3 for storing a conductive paste 2, and an excessive conductive paste 2 attached to the gravure roll 1. There are provided conveying means such as a scraping means (blade) (for example, a doctor blade) 4, a back roll (impression cylinder) 5, and a take-up roller (not shown) for conveying the ceramic green sheet 6. In addition, the part which transfers the electroconductive paste 2 to the ceramic green sheet 6 by pressing the ceramic green sheet 6 against the gravure roll 1 by the back roll (impression cylinder) becomes a transfer part in the gravure printing apparatus of the present invention.

  Then, the ceramic green sheet 6 is passed between the gravure roll 1 and the back roll 5, and the conductive paste 2 held on the printing pattern P on the surface of the gravure roll 1 is transferred to the surface of the ceramic green sheet 6. Thus, the internal electrode pattern 7 can be printed on the ceramic green sheet 6.

The supply of the conductive paste 2 to the gravure roll 1 is performed by immersing the gravure roll 1 in the conductive paste 2 stored in the paste tank 3 as described above. In addition, the mechanism (not shown) which immerses the said paste tank 3 and the gravure roll 1 comprises the paste supply means in the gravure printing apparatus of this invention.
However, the method of supplying the conductive paste 2 to the gravure roll 1 is not limited to this, and a method of pouring the conductive paste 2 on the surface of the gravure roll 1 can also be adopted.

  In addition, a multilayer ceramic capacitor is manufactured by laminating and press-bonding the ceramic green sheet on which the internal electrode pattern 7 is printed as described above, firing, and forming external electrodes. It is also possible to print a conductive paste on the carrier film and transfer it to a ceramic green sheet to form an internal electrode pattern.

  The gravure printing plate used in this gravure printing apparatus is formed by disposing a plurality of printing patterns P on the outer peripheral surface of the cylindrical gravure roll 1.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the printing pattern P is formed on a plurality of printing direction banks 13 arranged substantially parallel to each other along a substantially printing direction (direction indicated by an arrow A) and printing direction banks 13 adjacent to each other. A sandwich 23 for printing paste reservoir 23 (23a) that partitions the opening region 14 (14a) extending in the printing direction at a predetermined interval, and a side edge portion Ps along the printing direction of the printing pattern P. And an opening region 14 (14b) formed between the plurality of printing direction banks 13 and the printing direction bank 13 (113) closest to the side edge portion Ps is partitioned at a predetermined interval in the printing direction. The printing paste reservoir bank 23 (23b) is provided, and is formed between the side edge portion Ps substantially along the printing direction of the printing pattern P and the printing direction bank 13 (113) closest to the side edge portion Ps. Opening area 4 (14b) between the banks of the side edge portion Ps along the approximate printing direction A of the printing pattern P, corresponding to the area between the printing paste reservoir banks 23 (23b) that divides 4 (14b) at a predetermined interval in the printing direction. The corresponding region Pc1 has a concave shape narrower than other regions.

  In this embodiment, the bank-to-bank corresponding region Pc2 corresponding to the region between the printing direction banks 13 of the edge portion Pe on the printing end side is also provided with a concave shape narrower than other regions.

  Each of the printing paste reservoir banks 23 (23a, 23b) is formed with a notch 33 that allows the printing paste to flow in the printing direction.

  Further, the cutout portion 33a of the printing paste reservoir bank 23 (23a) disposed in the opening region 14a sandwiched between the adjacent printing direction banks 13 among the cutout portions 33 does not have the cutout portion. In this case, the bank 23 (23a) for storing the printing paste reservoir is in a position corresponding to the bank side contact portion where the bank 13 for printing paste reservoir 13 of the printing direction bank 13 constituting the opening area 14a is to be abutted. In addition, when the adjacent printing paste reservoir bank 23 (23a) in the opening region 14a is viewed, the bank is formed at a position corresponding to the bank side contact portion on the bank side opposite to the printing direction.

  Further, in the cutout portion 33, an opening region 14 (formed between the side edge portion Ps substantially along the printing direction of the printing pattern P and the printing direction bank 13 (113) closest to the side edge portion Ps. 14b), the cutout portion 33 (33b) formed in the printing paste reservoir bank 23 (23b) is arranged so that the printing paste reservoir bank 23 (23b) It is formed at a position corresponding to the side edge side contact portion that comes into contact with the edge portion Ps.

  Further, a bank 23b for storing a printing paste is disposed in an opening region 14b formed between a side edge portion Ps substantially along the printing direction of the printing pattern P and a printing direction bank 113 closest to the side edge portion Ps. Is wider than the width of the printing paste reservoir bank 23a disposed in the opening region 14a sandwiched between the adjacent printing direction banks 13, and in the vicinity of the side edge of the printing pattern P, the opening The ratio of the planar area of the region (concave portion) 14b to the unit area of the print pattern P is set to be smaller than that of the central portion of the print pattern P.

Further, in the vicinity of the edge portion Pf on the printing start side, the arrangement pitch of the printing paste reservoir banks 23a and 23b is reduced.
By these treatments, it is possible to reliably prevent the graphic pattern formed on the substrate from becoming a so-called saddle shape (a shape in which the thickness of the central portion is thin and the thickness of the peripheral portion is thick). It becomes possible to form reliably.
Further, in the gravure printing plate of Example 1, the width H1 (FIG. 3) of the notch 33 (33a, 33b) formed in the printing paste reservoir bank 23 (23a, 23b) is the printing paste reservoir. It is comprised so that it may become the value more than the width | variety H2 (FIG. 3) of the bank 23 (23a, 23b).

In addition, the conditions of each part of the above-mentioned printing pattern P are as follows.
Print direction bank width: 5μm
Width of bank 23a for storing printing paste: 5μm
Width of bank 23b for storing printing paste: 20μm
Width of notch provided on printing paste reservoir bank: 20 to 40 μm
Print direction bank spacing G: 130 μm
Arrangement pitch p1 for printing paste reservoir p1: 120 μm
Opening area (recess) depth: 23 μm (cell center)
Depth of constriction of concave shape at side edge of printed pattern: 15 μm
Depth of constricted portion of concave portion at end edge on printing end (Pe side in FIG. 1): 25 μm

  Using the gravure printing apparatus 10 provided with the gravure printing plate (gravure roll) 1 having the gravure printing plate formed on the outer peripheral surface as described above, the ceramic green sheet 6 is replaced with the gravure roll 1 and the back roll 5 as shown in FIG. , And the conductive paste 2 held on the printed pattern P on the surface of the gravure roll 1 is transferred to the surface of the ceramic green sheet 6, thereby forming the ceramic paste on the ceramic green sheet 6 as shown in FIG. It becomes possible to print the internal electrode pattern 7 having excellent contour linearity.

  Further, in this gravure printing plate, as shown in FIG. 1, the arrangement pitch of the printing paste reservoir banks 23 (23a, 23b) in the vicinity of the edge portion Pf on the printing start side is reduced. It becomes possible to improve the linearity of the edge part Pf on the printing start side orthogonal to the side edge part Ps, and it becomes possible to improve the linearity of the outline as a whole.

  In addition, when forming the printing pattern P of this invention by the etching method, if the side edge used as the side edge part Ps is etched too much, the effect which makes the side edge part Ps of the printing pattern P constricted concave shape will reduce ( That is, since the concavity-shaped concave portion of the side edge is etched and the side edge approaches a linear shape), it is necessary to pay attention in the manufacturing process.

  Further, on the convex portion of the side edge portion of the graphic pattern due to bleeding and sagging of the printing paste at the time of making the plate and printing with the original plate not provided with the concave portion constricted on the side edge portion Ps of the printing pattern P The desired gravure printing plate can be efficiently produced by feeding back the amount of protrusion and the shape thereof to the original plate and performing the plate making correction.

FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining the flow of the printing paste (conductive paste) when the printing paste is printed using the gravure printing plate according to the embodiment of the present invention.
As shown in FIG. 3, when the printing paste reservoir bank 23 (23 a, 23 b) is formed with notches 33 (33 a, 33 b) that allow the conductive paste 2 to flow in the printing direction, The conductive paste 2 flows through the opening region 14 (14a, 14b) in the printing direction through the notch 33 (33a, 33b) through the path indicated by the arrow Y, so that the contour from the side edge of the print pattern It is possible to suppress and prevent the printing paste from protruding outside, and it is possible to more reliably prevent the linearity of the side edge of the graphic pattern from being lowered. In addition, since the printing paste flows reliably in the printing direction through the notch, it is possible to prevent the stringing from occurring randomly and to prevent the surface of the graphic pattern (printed coating film) from being lowered. become.

In addition, using the gravure printing plate of Example 1 shown in FIG. 1 and the conventional gravure printing plate shown in FIG.
Viscosity of conductive paste: 20Pa · S
Printing speed: 15m / min
The conductive paste 2 was printed under the above conditions, and the size of the unevenness at the side edge of the formed graphic pattern was examined. The results are shown in Table 1.

  As shown in Table 1, when the conventional gravure printing plate is used, the size of the irregularities is as large as about 60 μm at maximum, whereas when the gravure printing plate of Example 1 is used, It was confirmed that the size of the unevenness can be reduced to about 10 μm at the maximum, that is, the linearity is improved.

  FIG. 5 is a view showing a gravure printing plate according to another embodiment (Example 2) of the present invention. In this gravure printing plate, the printing pattern P has a larger pitch than the arrangement pitch p1 of the printing paste reservoir bank 23a which is sandwiched between the printing direction banks 13 adjacent to each other and which partitions the opening area 14 (14a) extending in the printing direction. Printing paste for partitioning the opening region 14 (14b) formed between the side edge portion Ps substantially along the printing direction and the printing direction bank 13 (113) closest to the side edge portion Ps at a predetermined interval in the printing direction. The arrangement pitch p2 of the reservoir bank 23b is configured to be smaller.

Specifically, in Example 2, the arrangement pitch p2 of the printing paste reservoir bank 23b is set to ½ of the arrangement pitch p1 of the printing paste reservoir bank 23a. Usually, the arrangement pitch p2 of the printing paste reservoir bank 23b is preferably in the range of 2/3 to 1/3 of the arrangement pitch p1 of the printing paste reservoir bank 23a.
Moreover, in the gravure printing plate of this example, the thickness of the printing direction bank and the printing paste was the same.

  Since other configurations are the same as those in FIG. 1, the description thereof is omitted to avoid duplication. In FIG. 5, the parts denoted by the same reference numerals as those in FIG. 1 indicate the same or corresponding parts.

The conditions of each part of the print pattern P of Example 2 are as follows.
Print direction bank width: 5μm
Width of printing direction bank and bank for storing printing paste: 5 to 20 μm
Width of notch provided on printing paste reservoir bank: 20 to 40 μm
Print direction bank spacing G: 130 μm
Arrangement pitch p1: 120 μm at the center of the printing pattern
Arrangement pitch p2 for printing paste reservoir at side edge: 60μm
Opening area (recess) depth: 23 μm (cell center)
Depth of constriction in the concave shape at the side edge of the printed pattern: 8 μm
Depth of constricted portion of concave portion at end edge on printing end (Pe side in FIG. 5): 25 μm

  In the gravure printing plate of Example 2, the arrangement pitch p2 of the printing paste reservoir bank 23b is set to be ½ of the arrangement pitch p1 of the printing paste reservoir bank 23a. By reducing the width of the conductive paste that protrudes from the side edge, it is possible to suppress the occurrence of irregularities on the side edge of the graphic pattern formed by printing the printing paste, and to reduce the variation Thus, the linearity of the contour of the graphic pattern can be further improved.

  Further, in the gravure printing plate of Example 2, as shown in FIG. 5, the arrangement pitch of the printing paste reservoir banks 23 (23a, 23b) in the vicinity of the edge portion Pf on the printing start side is set to other values. Since it is smaller than the region, it is possible to improve the linearity of the edge portion Pf on the printing start side orthogonal to the side edge portion Ps, and to improve the linearity of the contour as a whole. Become.

Since the arrangement pitch of the printing paste reservoir banks 23 (23b) at the side edges is narrower than that at the center of the printing pattern P, the transfer amount of the conductive paste at the side edges Ps can be reduced and applied. It is possible to reduce the thickness, and it is possible to reliably prevent the figure pattern from becoming a so-called saddle shape (a shape in which the thickness of the central part is thin and the thickness of the peripheral part is thick), thereby ensuring a uniform graphic pattern. Can be formed.
In addition, it is desirable to adjust the arrangement pitch of the printing paste reservoir bank at the side edge portion in a timely manner. In that case, it is desirable to adjust the distance between the side edge and the printing direction bank closest to the side edge.

In addition, FIG. 6 is a figure which shows the flow of the printing paste (electrically conductive paste) in the case of printing a printing paste using the gravure printing plate concerning Example 2 of this invention.
As shown in FIG. 6, in the case where the cutout portion 33 (33a, 33b) allowing the flow of the conductive paste 2 in the printing direction is formed on the printing paste reservoir bank 23 (23a, 23b), The conductive paste 2 flows through the opening region 14 (14a, 14b) in the printing direction through the notch 33 (33a, 33b) through the path indicated by the arrow Y, so that the contour from the side edge of the print pattern It is possible to suppress and prevent the printing paste from protruding outside, and it is possible to more reliably prevent the linearity of the side edge of the graphic pattern from being lowered. In addition, since the printing paste flows reliably in the printing direction through the notch, it is possible to prevent the smoothness of the surface of the graphic pattern (printed coating film) from being deteriorated.

In addition, using the gravure printing plate of Example 2 shown in FIG. 5 and the conventional gravure printing plate shown in FIG.
Viscosity of conductive paste: 20Pa · S
Printing speed: 15m / min
The conductive paste 2 was printed under the above conditions, and the size of the unevenness at the side edge of the formed graphic pattern was examined. The results are shown in Table 2.

  As shown in Table 2, when the conventional gravure printing plate is used, the size of the irregularities is as large as about 60 μm at maximum, whereas when the gravure printing plate of Example 2 is used, It was confirmed that the size of the unevenness can be reduced to about 5 μm at the maximum, that is, the linearity is improved.

  In the above embodiment, the gravure printing plate used when printing the internal electrode pattern for the multilayer ceramic capacitor has been described as an example. However, the present invention is used in manufacturing various electronic components other than the multilayer ceramic capacitor. The present invention can be applied when printing the electrode pattern.

Further, gravure printing plate of the present invention is not limited to the case of printing a conductive paste, it is possible to apply to the case of printing ceramic Kupesuto, when forming a ceramic green sheet by printing a ceramic paste It is also possible to apply it.

  In other respects, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and the specific shape and arrangement of the printing pattern bank, the graphic pattern, and the printing paste bank that constitutes the printing pattern. Multilayer ceramic electronic component manufactured through the process of printing a conductive paste on a ceramic green sheet or carrier film using the gravure printing plate of the present invention and forming a graphic pattern for forming internal electrodes Various applications and modifications can be made within the scope of the invention.

As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to obtain a graphic pattern having excellent contour linearity and uniform thickness by gravure printing without incurring an increase in cost.
Therefore, the present invention relates to a multilayer ceramic capacitor manufactured through a process of forming a graphic pattern for forming an internal electrode by printing a conductive paste on a field such as a gravure printing apparatus or a ceramic green sheet or a carrier film. It can be widely used in the manufacturing process of such multilayer ceramic electronic components.

It is a figure which shows the plate for gravure printing concerning one Example (Example 1) of this invention. It is a figure which shows schematic structure of the gravure printing apparatus provided with the plate for gravure printing concerning one Example of this invention. It is a figure explaining the flow of the printing paste (conductive paste) at the time of printing printing paste (conductive paste) using the gravure printing plate concerning one Example of this invention. It is a figure which shows the figure pattern formed by printing printing paste (electroconductive paste) using the gravure printing plate concerning one Example of this invention. It is a figure which shows the gravure printing plate concerning other Example (Example 2) of this invention. It is a figure explaining the flow of the printing paste (conductive paste) at the time of printing printing paste (conductive paste) using the gravure printing plate concerning Example 2 of this invention. It is sectional drawing which shows the structure of a multilayer ceramic capacitor. It is a figure explaining the outline | summary of the gravure printing method. It is a perspective view which shows the gravure roll provided with the printing pattern (image line part) on the surface. It is a figure which shows the structure of the conventional gravure printing plate. It is a figure which shows the figure pattern with an unevenness | corrugation in the outline formed by printing using the conventional gravure printing plate.

Explanation of symbols

1 Gravure roll (gravure printing plate)
2 conductive paste 3 paste tank 4 scraping means (blade, doctor blade)
5 Back roll (impression cylinder)
6 Ceramic green sheet 7 Internal electrode pattern 10 Gravure printing device 13 Printing direction bank 14, 14a, 14b Opening area 23, 23a, 23b Printing paste reservoir bank 33, 33a, 33b Notch 113 Printing direction closest to side edge Bank A Printing direction G Printing direction Bank spacing H1 Notch width H2 Printing paste reservoir bank width P Print pattern p1, p2 Printing paste reservoir bank pitch Pc1 Bank spacing area Pc2 Bank spacing area Pe Print end side edge Pf Print start side edge Ps Side edge Y Print (conductive) paste path

Claims (6)

A gravure printing plate for printing on an object to be printed such that a conductive paste or a ceramic paste has a predetermined graphic pattern by a gravure printing method,
A print pattern corresponding to the graphic pattern to be printed is formed on the outer peripheral surface of the cylindrical gravure roll,
A plurality of printing direction banks arranged substantially parallel to each other along a substantially printing direction, an opening region extending in the printing direction, sandwiched between the printing direction banks adjacent to each other, and the printing pattern An opening region formed between a side edge portion substantially along the printing direction and a printing direction bank closest to the side edge portion among the plurality of printing direction banks, with a predetermined interval in the printing direction. A partition for printing paste reservoir for partitioning , and at least one portion of the bank for printing paste reservoir is formed with a notch that allows flow of the printing paste in the printing direction, and
Each printing paste reservoir bank that partitions an opening area formed between a side edge portion of the printing pattern along a substantially printing direction and a printing direction bank closest to the side edge at a predetermined interval in the printing direction. A gravure printing plate characterized in that a bank-corresponding area at the side edge along the substantially printing direction of the printing pattern, corresponding to the area between, is a concave shape narrower than other areas. (a) In the case where the notch is formed in a bank for storing a printing paste reservoir disposed in an opening region sandwiched between the printing direction banks adjacent to each other, there is no notch In addition, the bank for storing the printing paste is in a position corresponding to the bank side contact portion where the bank for storing the printing paste reservoir in one of the printing direction banks and is adjacent in the opening region. When looking at the bank for storing printing paste, it is formed at a position corresponding to the bank side contact portion on the bank side opposite to the printing direction,
(b) A printing paste reservoir in which the cutout portion is disposed in an opening region formed between a side edge portion substantially along the printing direction of the printing pattern and a printing direction bank closest to the side edge portion. In the case where the bank is formed on the bank, the printing paste reservoir bank is formed at a position corresponding to the side edge side abutting portion that comes into contact with the side edge when there is no notch. The gravure printing plate according to claim 1, wherein the gravure printing plate is used. 3. The gravure printing plate according to claim 1, wherein a width of the notch formed in the printing paste reservoir bank is equal to or greater than a width of the printing paste reservoir bank. The side edge of the print pattern along the printing direction and the outermost printing direction bank, rather than the pitch of the printing paste reservoir banks sandwiched between the printing direction banks adjacent to each other and partitioning the opening area extending in the printing direction. The gravure printing according to any one of claims 1 to 3 , wherein an arrangement pitch of a bank for storing a printing paste is divided to partition an opening region formed between the printing region and the printing region at a predetermined interval. Edition. Using the gravure printing plate according to any one of claims 1 to 4 , the method includes a step of printing a conductive paste on a ceramic green sheet or a carrier film to form a graphic pattern for forming an internal electrode. A method for producing a multilayer ceramic electronic component. A gravure printing plate according to any one of claims 1 to 4 ,
Paste supplying means for supplying a conductive paste or a ceramic paste as a printing paste to a gravure printing plate;
Scraping means for scraping off excess printing paste on the gravure printing plate;
A transfer section for transferring a printing paste filled in a printing pattern of a gravure printing plate to a printing medium;
A gravure printing apparatus comprising: a conveying unit that conveys a printing medium to the transfer unit.

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