JP5492633B2 - Inkjet coating apparatus and method - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to the application of a material by an ink jet method to a smooth member, and more particularly to an ink jet application apparatus and method for stably applying a material having an ultraviolet curing (hereinafter also referred to as UV curing) action.

  The ink jet method is a method for ejecting a small amount of ink droplets with high accuracy from an ink jet coating head using bubbles or piezoelectric elements as a coating head. An ink jet coating apparatus is a device that applies a process for applying ink droplets to a target member by highly accurate ejection of the ink droplets. In recent years, it has been attracting attention as a device that can realize high-definition ink application, and its applicability is being explored not only for printing on paper but also in all industrial fields, and some have already been put into practical use. .

  As for the nozzle vacuum suction means, the application head is covered and the inside of the application head is set to an appropriate negative pressure by the suction means, thereby removing bubbles inside the application head so that ink can be stably ejected. A technique has been proposed (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

  In order to cope with the type of ink liquid having UV curing action (ink liquid of UV curable coating material; hereinafter referred to as UV curable coating material), the ink liquid is not cured before landing, but is quickly cured after landing. In addition, a technique is known that includes a coating head attached to a carriage that moves in the main scanning direction, a UV light source, and a cover that covers each UV light source (see, for example, Patent Document 2).

  The side surface of the cover extends further downward from the lower surface of the coating head and is disposed between the coating head and the UV light source, and a flange extending toward the trajectory is provided at the lower end of the side surface of the cover. ing.

  According to such a configuration, the ultraviolet rays from the UV light source are shielded by the side surface of the cover, whereby the ultraviolet rays do not reach the trajectory of the ink droplets of the UV curable coating material ejected from the coating head and the coating head, and the recording medium The reflected ultraviolet rays are shielded by the collar, and the reflected ultraviolet rays do not reach the head and the trajectory.

  Thereby, since the incident of the active light to the trajectory of the ink droplet of the UV curable coating material from the time when the ink is ejected by the head to the landing on the recording medium can be reduced by the shielding member, this ink droplet ejected from the head Before landing on the recording medium, the risk of curing by exposure to actinic rays can be reduced, and high-quality images can be recorded.

  Further, since such a shielding member is provided, the actinic ray source can be set closer to the head, and the ink droplets of the UV curable coating material are activated immediately after landing on the recording medium. The ink droplets can be exposed to actinic rays emitted from a light source, and thus such ink droplets are cured rapidly after landing on the recording medium. For this reason, it is possible to prevent such ink droplets from spreading more than necessary on the recording medium and from bleeding.

  Further, since the shielding member can prevent the actinic rays emitted from the actinic ray source from entering the base of the trajectory of the ink droplet of the UV curable coating material, the UV curable coating material existing at the ink discharge port of the coating head It is possible to prevent the ink liquid from being thickened or cured, and to prevent the ink liquid from being discharged over a long period of time.

JP 2008-272996 A JP 2004-314304 A

Up to now, in the application of UV curable coating materials used for ink jet coating, the state before discharge stored in the coating head and the state of being discharged from the coating head and reaching the target substrate are taken into consideration as to whether curing is possible or not. 3 of a stage during ejection (a stage corresponding to movement along the “ballistic trajectory” in Patent Document 2) and a stage after the ejected UV curable coating material reaches the target substrate. Cite two stages. In two stages of the former, it is better that UV-curable coating material is not cured, in the last stage of droplets of UV-curable coating material reaches the substrate, but it is better to immediately cured.

  However, it is not only the inside of the coating head and during ejection from the coating head that the UV curable coating material is desired not to be cured. The inside of the coating head is filled with a UV curable coating material. However, by repeating the coating continuously, there is a problem that bubbles gradually mix inside the coating head as time passes. It is also necessary to deal with such problems.

  Once the bubbles are generated inside the coating head, the intention to push the UV curable coating material by piezo or the like in each nozzle in order to discharge the UV curable coating material is to compress only the bubbles. In order to prevent the stable discharge of the UV curable coating material, it is necessary to remove bubbles from the coating head. In addition, when all UV curable coating material in the coating head is consumed, or when it is necessary to replace the coating head with a different coating material by changing the setup, etc., the coating material is filled while eliminating air bubbles. It is necessary to let

  A method of sucking from the nozzle discharge port by vacuum suction using the nozzle vacuum suction means when removing the already mixed bubbles or filling the coating material into the coating head while suppressing the mixing of bubbles. Is used.

  In this suction operation, a part of the UV curable coating material usually scatters and adheres to the inner wall surface of the vacuum suction means of the nozzle or the vacuum pipe. On the other hand, the coating head is provided with a UV light source, and the UV light cures the UV curable coating material adhering to the inner wall surface or the vacuum pipe. Furthermore, in order to prevent the vacuum suction means of the nozzle and the coating processing time from being lowered, when the UV light source passes through the vicinity in the irradiation state when it is installed at a position close to the table for fixing the film to be coated, etc. UV light will harden the UV curable coating material adhering to the inner wall surface of the vacuum suction means of the nozzle and the vacuum pipe. For this reason, clogging occurs in the piping of the vacuum suction means of the nozzle, resulting in poor suction of the UV curable coating material to the coating head. As a result, there is a problem that bubbles are mixed into the coating head, and the quality of a product to be manufactured is deteriorated due to the occurrence of ejection failure.

  The object of the present invention is to eliminate such problems and reliably inject (apply) a UV curable coating material from a nozzle hole of an ink jet coating head without reducing the coating processing time, so that the coating quality to the coating target is improved. It is an object of the present invention to provide an ink jet coating apparatus and method capable of enhancing the above.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides an upstream guide roll for unwinding and transporting a roll film, an adsorption table for adsorbing and holding the unwound film, and adsorbing and holding on the adsorption table. Further, a coating head for coating a liquid UV curable coating material on the surface of the film, a gantry structure that allows the coating head to move within the plane of the XY axis at a position above the film, and vertical movement of the coating head In an ink jet coating apparatus comprising a Z-axis driving means that enables movement and an ultraviolet light source that is movable in the X, Y, and Z directions integrally with the coating head, the film is disposed outside the range for transporting the film, has aspirate port moved coating head is contacted lowered, the vacuum suction means for sucking the nozzles of the coating head from suction pull port, the ultraviolet rays into the interior of the vacuum suction means Comprising a light shielding means for shielding incident UV light from a source, wherein the light shielding means is a fixed shielding plate, selectably the release of the ultraviolet light shielding and the shielding in the vacuum suction means The vacuum suction means includes a first position where the lower surface of the light shielding plate on the film side is removed by a linear drive means, a second position below the lower surface of the light shielding plate, and the film. And reciprocating so as to be positionable at three positions including a third position off the lower surface of the light shielding plate on the opposite side .

Also, the present invention unwinds and conveys a roll film with an upstream guide roll, sucks and holds the film unwound on a suction table, and sucks and holds the film on the suction table with a coating head. A liquid UV curable coating material is applied to the surface of the film, the gantry structure enables the coating head to move in the plane of the XY axis at a position above the film, and the Z-axis driving means moves the coating head up and down. In the inkjet coating method in which the ultraviolet light source is movable in the XYZ axial directions integrally with the coating head, the light shielding means is a fixed light shielding plate, and ultraviolet light from the ultraviolet light source to the inside of the vacuum suction means shields the incident, can choose to cancel the shielding and the shielding of the ultraviolet light, vacuum suction means is disposed in a first position outside the range for conveying the film, the Contacting the suction port by lowering the coating head which has moved to the first position by the suction from the nozzle of the coating head, the linear equation driving means, and the first position, under a lower surface of the light shielding plate The second position and the third position where the lower surface of the light shielding plate opposite to the film is removed are reciprocally moved so as to be positionable .

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, hardening of the UV curable coating material adhering to the inside of the vacuum suction means of a nozzle can be prevented, the stable vacuum suction of the UV curable coating material from a nozzle is attained, and coating quality improves.

1 is a perspective view showing a schematic configuration of a first embodiment of an inkjet coating apparatus and method according to the present invention. It is a top view which shows schematic structure of 1st Embodiment shown in FIG. It is a perspective view which expands and shows the part of one coating head in FIG. 1, FIG. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the control part of the inkjet application | coating which has the function of UV shielding of the vacuum suction part in FIG. It is a flowchart of an example of the operation | movement of the vacuum suction of the vacuum suction part shown in FIG. It is a perspective view which shows schematic structure of the principal part of 2nd Embodiment of the inkjet coating apparatus and method by this invention.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  In the embodiment described below, as an example of the application target, an electrode material or an insulating material is applied to a solar cell film on which a non-silicon-based semiconductor material (for example, a CIGS thin film) is applied by an inkjet application head. By coating, a film such as an electrode or an insulating film is formed. The CIGS thin film is a thin film of a semiconductor material made of Cu (copper), In (indium), Ga (gallium), and Se (selenium), and “CIGS” is an arrangement of initials of these materials. .

  In forming the insulating film, a liquid of UV curable resin (UV curable coating material) is filled in the coating head as a coating material, and this is discharged and applied. The UV curable resin is generally composed of monomers, oligomers, photocuring initiators and additives. When irradiated with UV light, this photocuring initiator is converted from a monomer (liquid) state to a polymer (solid) state in a short time by a photopolymerization reaction.

  FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a schematic configuration in a first embodiment of an ink jet coating apparatus and method according to the present invention, wherein 1 is a laminated film for solar cells (hereinafter simply referred to as a film), and 2 is an unwinding side film. Rolls, 3 is a take-up film roll, 4 and 5 are guide rolls, 6 and 7 are elevating guide rolls, 8 and 9 are suction bars, 10 is a suction table, 11 is an unwinding side shaft motor, and 12 is a take-up side Axis motor, 13 and 14 are film press bars, 15 is a coating head, 16 is an unwinding section, 17 is a coating section, 18 is a winding section, 19 is an imaging camera, 20 is a UV light source, 21 is a vacuum suction section, 22 Is a UV shutter, and 23 is an air cylinder.

  In the drawing, the space in the X-axis direction along the longitudinal direction (movement direction) of the film 1 is divided into an unwinding portion 16, an application portion 17, and a winding portion 18. The unwinding side film roll 2, which is rotationally driven by the side shaft motor 11, the upstream side guide roll 4, the lifting guide roll 6, and the suction bar 8 are sequentially arranged in the X-axis direction. A suction bar 9 on the downstream side, a lifting guide roll 7, a guide roll 5, and a take-up film roll 3 are sequentially arranged in the X-axis direction. The application unit 17 is provided with a suction table 10, an application head 15, and film pressing bars 13 and 14. Although not shown, the suction bars 8 and 9 and the suction table 10 use the vacuum pump as a vacuum source to suck and fix the film 1 by a vacuum valve.

  In the unwinding part 16, the film 1 used as the application | coating object of an electrode material or an insulating material by the application part 17 is wound around the unwinding side film roll 2 at roll shape. The film 1 is unwound from the unwinding film roll 2, passes through the coating unit 17, and is wound on the winding side film roll 3 by the winding unit 18. Here, the length direction (movement direction) of the film 1 is the X-axis direction, the width direction is the Y-axis direction, and the direction perpendicular to the surface is the Z-axis direction.

  In the application unit 17, the position of the film 1 is fixed on the suction table 10 by vacuum suction. A plurality (four in this case) of ink jet type coating heads 15 are provided, and the height of each coating head 15 can be individually changed by a Z-axis driving unit (not shown). The coating head 15 is configured integrally with the imaging camera 19 and the UV light source 20, and is configured to be movable in the X-axis direction by an X-axis driving unit (not shown).

  Here, four coating heads 15 integrated with the imaging camera 19 and the UV light source 20 are provided here, but may be one, or a plurality other than four. However, in order to improve the processing speed, a plurality of them are provided.

  In addition, a vacuum suction unit 21 that sucks the inside of the nozzle for each coating head 15 is provided on the outside of the table 10, and each vacuum suction unit 21 is reciprocated (slided) by an air cylinder 23. A possible UV shutter 22 is provided. The UV shutter 22 is a lid of the suction port of the vacuum suction unit 21, and when the inside of the nozzle of the coating head 15 is vacuum suctioned, the UV shutter 22 is moved by the air cylinder 23 to the suction port of the vacuum suction unit 21. When the suction port is opened and the nozzle of the coating head 15 is not vacuum-sucked, the UV shutter 22 is moved by the air cylinder 23 to be covered by the suction port of the vacuum suction unit 21, and the suction port is closed. .

  2 is a top view showing a schematic configuration of the first embodiment shown in FIG. 1, wherein 24 is an X-axis drive means, 25 is a Z-axis drive means, 26 is a Y-axis drive means, 27 is a gantry, 28a, 28b is a Y-axis stage, 29 is a vacuum pump, 30 is a vacuum valve, 31 is a pressurized air source, 32 is a valve unit, 33 is a vacuum pipe, 34 is a pipe, and parts corresponding to FIG. In addition, overlapping explanation is omitted.

  In the figure, four coating heads 15 are arranged along the X-axis direction, that is, along the longitudinal direction of the film 1, sandwiching the entire array of these coating heads 15 and straddling the film 1, two Y The axis stages 28a and 28b are provided in parallel to each other in the Y axis direction, and the gantry 27 is provided in parallel to the Y axis on these Y axis stages 28a and 28b across the Y axis stages 28a and 28b. Four coating heads 15 are attached to the side surface of the gantry 27 in the longitudinal direction. The gantry 27 can be moved in the Y-axis direction on the Y-axis stages 28a and 28b by a drive means (not shown) such as a servo motor or a linear motor. Thus, the Y-axis stages 28a and 28b and the gantry 27 are separated from each other. The Y-axis driving means 26 for moving the coating head 15 in the Y-axis direction is provided.

  Each coating head 15 is moved in the X-axis direction along the gantry 27 and in the vertical direction (Z-axis direction perpendicular to the paper surface) along the side surface of the gantry 27. Z-axis driving means 25 is provided.

  Thus, each coating head 15 is moved in the X and Y axis directions parallel to the surface of the film 1 by the X-axis driving means 24 and the Y-axis driving means 26, and is applied to the surface of the film 1 by the Z-axis driving means 25. Move in the vertical Z-axis direction.

  Each vacuum suction section 21 is connected to a vacuum pipe 33, and these vacuum pipes 33 are connected to a vacuum pump 29 via a vacuum valve 30. When the vacuum pump 29 is activated and the vacuum valve 30 is opened in such a state, suction is performed in each vacuum suction section 21.

Each air cylinder 23 is connected to a pipe 34, and these pipes 34 are connected to a pressurized air source 31 as a cylinder driving unit via a valve unit 32. Normally, the UV shutter 22 is normally positioned on the vacuum suction unit 21 so as to block the suction port of the vacuum suction unit 21 with a spring or the like. The air source 31 is operated and the valve unit 32 is opened, whereby the air cylinder 23 is operated and the UV shutter 22 is moved and detached from the vacuum suction part 21. Thereby, the suction port of this vacuum suction part 21 is opened. At the same time, the vacuum pump 29 is operated to open the vacuum valve 30, and suction is performed by the vacuum suction unit 21. When this suction is finished and the valve unit 32 is closed and the pressurized air source 31 stops operating, the operation of the air cylinder 23 also stops, and the UV shutter 22 moves onto the vacuum suction unit 21 by the action of a spring or the like, The suction port of the vacuum suction unit 21 is closed.

  As described above, while the ink jet coating head 15 is moved on the film 1 in the X and Y axis directions by the X axis driving means 24 and the Y axis driving means 26, the liquid electrode material, the insulating material, etc. These are collectively referred to as “coating material”), whereby the coating material is applied onto the film 1 to form an electrode or an insulating film.

  In this embodiment, a UV curable coating material, that is, a UV curable coating material is used as the coating material. Next, handling of the UV curable coating material will be described.

1 and 2, when application of the coating material in a predetermined application target area of the film 1 is completed in the application unit 17, the film 1 is unwound from the unwinding side film roll 2, and the winding side film roll 3, the film 1 is wound up, and coating of the coating material is repeated on the continuous film 1 in the coating unit 17. The film 1 is conveyed from the unwinding side film roll 2 side to the winding side film roll 3 side so that the next application target area of the film 1 can be arranged at a position where the coating material 17 can apply the coating material. At this time, the film 1 unwound from the unwinding-side film roll 2 that is rotationally driven by the unwinding-side shaft motor 11 at the unwinding portion 16 is supported by the guide roller 4 and the lifting guide roller 6. At this time, the lifting guide roller 6 is raised to a position higher than the suction surface of the suction table 10, and the film 1 is supported by the lifting guide roller 7 and the guide roller 5 in the winding unit 18 and is on the winding side. The film is wound around the film roll 3, and at this time, the lifting guide roller 7 is raised to a position higher than the suction surface of the suction table 10. Thereby, in the application part 17, the film 1 is lifted and moves in the X-axis direction without contacting the suction bars 8, 9 and the suction table 10.

  Thus, when the film 1 is transferred from the unwinding part 16 side to the winding part 18 side, the film 1 is lifted by the lifting guide rollers 6 and 7, and the film 1 comes into contact with the suction table 10. The film 1 is conveyed without being scratched on the back surface of the film 1.

  As described above, when the film 1 is conveyed by the lifting guide rollers 6 and 7 without being in contact with the suction bars 8 and 9 and the suction table 10, and the next application target area of the film 1 reaches the application unit 17, The conveyance is finished, and the coating portion 17 in this coating target area is positioned in the X-axis direction (this positioning is first performed by monitoring the winding amount of the winding-side film roll 3), and the position is roughly adjusted. .

  At this time, the winding side shaft motor 12 is braked so that the winding portion 18 side of the film 1 is fixed, and at the same time, the winding side shaft motor 11 rotates in the direction opposite to the unwinding rotation direction of the film 1. A state in which a torque is applied in the direction and a certain tension is applied to the film 1 is set.

  Thereby, even if the conveyance of the film 1 is finished, the film 1 is held in a state where a tension is applied in the longitudinal direction (that is, the X-axis direction in which the film 1 is conveyed). There is no slack. In this state, in the coating unit 17, the film 1 is sucked and held on the suction table 10 by the suction bars 8 and 9 that suck and hold the lower surface of the film 1.

  FIG. 3 is an enlarged perspective view showing a portion of one coating head 15 in FIGS. 1 and 2, wherein 35 is a UV curable coating material, and 36 is UV light, corresponding to FIGS. The same reference numerals are given to the parts to be repeated, and the duplicate description will be omitted.

  In the drawing, about 250 nozzle holes (not shown) facing the film 1 are provided on the lower surface of the coating head 15, and droplets of the coating material 35 are pushed out by piezo driving in each nozzle hole. Then, it is ejected onto the film 1 in the form of dots. UV light sources 20 are installed before and after the coating head 15 (in the Y-axis direction), and UV light 36 is irradiated onto the film 1 from the lower surface of each UV light source 20.

The coating head 15 can be moved in the Z-axis direction (height direction) by the Z-axis driving means 25 together with the imaging camera 19 and the UV light source 20 which is an ultraviolet light source. All of the constituent means capable of moving in the Z-axis direction are attached to the X-axis drive means 24. Furthermore, a plurality of X-axis drive means 24 are attached to the gantry 27 of the Y-axis drive means 26 forming a common gantry structure. All the coating heads 15 can be moved in the XY axis plane. Thereby, as described in FIG. 2, the nozzle of the coating head 15 moves in the XY axis plane, further moves in the Z axis direction, and individually injects the coating material 35. It is possible to finely apply the coating material 35 in any pattern on the coating surface.

  Here, if air bubbles are mixed into the inside of the coating head 15, the coating material is poorly injected and coated, which is a serious problem. For this reason, it is necessary to avoid mixing bubbles into the inside of the coating head 15 as much as possible. There are roughly two phenomena that may cause bubbles to be mixed into the coating head 15. First, the UV curable coating material is newly filled into the coating head 15 due to the consumption of the coating material. Second, minute bubbles are generated inside the coating head 15 by continuous coating for a long time. Is the case.

  In order to prevent air bubbles from entering the inside of the coating head 15, it is effective to vacuum the inside of the coating head 15 from the nozzle side. In order to perform vacuum suction in a short time, the arrangement of each application head 15 is matched with the arrangement of the corresponding vacuum suction section 21, and each application is performed by the X-axis drive means 24 and the Y-axis drive means 26 (FIG. 2). The head 15 is simultaneously moved until the nozzle is positioned above the corresponding vacuum suction unit 21, and then the coating head 15 is lowered by the Z-axis driving means 25 so that the tip of the nozzle is in the suction port of the vacuum suction unit 21. In this state, the vacuum suction unit 21 performs vacuum suction of the respective coating heads 15 simultaneously from the nozzle outlet.

  When application of the coating material 35 in the predetermined application target area of the film 1 is completed in the application unit 17, the unwinding of the film 1 from the unwinding side film roll 2 (FIGS. 1 and 2) and the winding side film roll 3. The film 1 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 is wound, and the coating operation is repeated by the coating head 15 on the successive films 1 by the coating head 15.

  When the vacuum suction unit 21 performs vacuum suction of the coating head 15 from the nozzle of the coating head 15, a part of the UV curable coating material inside the coating head 15 may be scattered. The amount of deposits of the UV curable coating material gradually increases on the inner wall surface and the inner surface of the vacuum pipe 33. On the other hand, after the normal application, the UV light source 20 irradiates the UV light 36 on the side of the application head 15, so that the UV curable coating material starts to cure by adhering to the inside of the vacuum suction portion 21. For this reason, there arises a problem that a vacuum suction passage such as the vacuum pipe 33 is blocked.

  As a countermeasure against this, a method has been proposed in the past in which the vacuum suction unit is installed at a position far away from the UV light source. However, it takes a lot of time to move the coating head to the vacuum suction unit. I will invite you. As another proposal, there is also proposed a pressure filling method in which a pressure system is added to the material supply system of the coating head instead of vacuum suction. However, this requires an extra space and a switching valve. As a result, the injection state that requires high precision is adversely affected and high quality coating becomes difficult.

  In order to solve the above problems, the first embodiment is a vacuum suction function by curing the coating material 35 in the vacuum suction section 21 provided to prevent bubbles from entering the coating head 15. In order to prevent this deterioration, the vacuum shutter 21 is provided with a UV shutter 22.

That is, in FIG. 3, the conveyed film 1 is positioned and fixed by the suction table 10, but the vacuum suction unit 21 is installed in the vicinity of the suction table 10 and at an outer position that is perpendicular to the transport direction. . On the upper surface of the vacuum suction unit 21, vacuum suction is performed through a vacuum pipe 33 connected to a vacuum pump 29. On the upper surface of the openable vacuum suction section 21, the UV shutter 22 can be slid by being driven by an air cylinder 23 for driving the shutter in a direction perpendicular to the transport direction of the film 1 from the outside of the vacuum suction section 21. Here, although the drive source of the UV shutter 22 is an air cylinder, it may be moved by a linear motion such as another motor or solenoid.

  FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an ink jet coating control unit having a UV light shielding function of the vacuum suction unit 21 in FIG. 1, where 24 hx is an X axis driver, 24 hy is a Y axis driver, 24 hz is a Z axis driver, 37 is a control unit, 37a is a microcomputer, 37b is an external interface, 37c is a coating head controller, 37d is an image processing controller, 37e is a motor controller, 37f is a data communication bus, 38 is a USB memory, 39 is a hard disk, and 40 is a monitor. , 41 is a keyboard, and 42 is a regulator.

  In the figure, the control unit 37 comprises a microcomputer 37a, an external interface 37b, a coating head controller 37c, an image processing controller 37d, and a motor controller 37e connected to the microcomputer 37a via a data communication bus 37f. These control each unit connected thereto under the control of the microcomputer 37a. Further, a USB memory 38 and a hard disk 39 as an external memory of the microcomputer 37a, a monitor 40 as a data output unit, and a keyboard 41 as an operation unit are connected to the external interface 37b.

  The external interface 37b is connected to an air drive device such as the air cylinder 23, the unwinding-side shaft motor 11, the winding-side shaft motor 12, and other roll motors, and the microcomputer 37a is connected to control the microcomputer 37a. In addition, these are driven and controlled, and a vacuum pump 29 serving as a vacuum source when the film 1 is vacuum-sucked by the suction bars 8 and 9 and the suction table 10 and a vacuum valve unit 30 for switching from the vacuum pump 29 are connected. These are driven and controlled under the control of the computer 37a, and the ON / OFF of the pressurized air source 31 and the valve unit 32 and the ON / OFF of the irradiation of the regulator 42 and the UV light source 20 are similarly controlled by the microcomputer 37a. These are controlled under control.

  The application head controller 37c controls whether or not the application material 35 (FIG. 3) is ejected from the ejection port of each nozzle of the application head 15 under the control of the microcomputer 37a.

  The image processing controller 37d calculates the position in the visual field of the imaging camera 19 by image processing under the control of the microcomputer 37a and images the scribe and positioning marks applied to the film 1.

The motor controller 37e controls the X-axis driver 24hx and the Z-axis drive means 25 (see FIG. 2) for driving the X-axis drive motor of the X-axis drive means 24 (FIG. 2) to which the coating head 15 is attached under the control of the microcomputer 37a. 2) Drive control of the Z-axis driver 25hz for driving the Z-axis drive motor of 2), and drive control of the Y-axis driver 26hy for driving the linear motor of the Y-axis drive means 26 or the drive motor.

  The movement control in the XY-axis direction of the coating head 15 that moves integrally with the UV light source 20 is performed by the microcomputer 37a via the motor controller 37e, and the current position of the UV light source 20 and the next destination position are grasped. Yes. Furthermore, from the management of the operation sequence, the microcomputer 37a also knows the timing of irradiation and non-irradiation of the UV light source 20.

  In this embodiment, the sliding UV shutter 22 and the shutter driving air cylinder 23 serving as a driving source thereof are individually installed for each coating head 15. The UV shutter 22 and the air cylinder 23 for driving the shutter may be installed.

  The operation differs depending on whether the vacuum suction of the coating head 15 is rare or frequent in the vacuum suction unit 21. In the rare use of vacuum suction of the coating head 15 by the vacuum suction part 21, the UV shutter 22 usually covers the upper part of the vacuum suction part 21 and shields the inside of the vacuum suction part 21, and UV is emitted only when necessary. The shutter 22 is opened and the suction port of the vacuum suction unit 21 is opened. A specific example of this vacuum suction operation will be described below with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.

  When the coating in all the coating areas is not completed (steps 110 and 120), there are three types of timing at which the UV shutter 22 needs to be opened and the coating head 15 needs to be vacuum-sucked. When filling the coating head 15 with a material or the like ("Y" in step 130), when the time stopped at the same position is longer than the set time ("Y" in step 140), and in manual operation This is when the coating head 15 is vacuumed (“Y” in step 150). If none of these is selected, the operations of “N” in steps 110 and 120, “N” in 130, “N” in 140, and “N” in 150 are repeated to apply the UV curable coating material, The vacuum suction of the coating head 15 is not performed.

  If any of these three conditions is satisfied, first, the UV shutter 22 is moved to open the suction port of the vacuum suction unit 21 (step 160), and nothing is above the suction port of the vacuum suction unit 21. Make sure there is no optical shielding. Next, the application head 15 is moved to a position above the vacuum suction unit 21 by the X-axis drive unit 24 and the Y-axis drive unit 26 (FIG. 2), and it is confirmed that the suction port of the vacuum suction unit 21 has been opened. Then, the coating head 15 is lowered by the Z-axis driving means 25 (FIG. 2) (step 170). Next, the vacuum pump 29 (FIG. 2) is driven, and the coating head 15 pressed against the suction port on the upper surface of the vacuum suction unit 21 is vacuum-sucked from the discharge port of the nozzle to degas the inside of the coating head 15. (Step 180). When the defoaming is completed, the coating head 15 is raised by the Z-axis drive means 25 (FIG. 2), and the coating head 15 is moved to the next operation target position on the suction table 10 side (step 190). Finally, after confirming the rising of the coating head 15, the vacuum suction unit is optically controlled so that the UV shutter 22 closes the suction port of the vacuum suction unit 21 and the UV light 36 is not irradiated inside the vacuum suction unit 21. The suction port 21 is shielded (step 200).

On the other hand, in the method of vacuum suction of the coating head 15 by the vacuum suction unit 21, when the coating head 15 integrated with the UV light source 20 enters the certain range from the vacuum suction unit 21, the UV shutter 22 slides and moves. The suction port of the vacuum suction unit 21 is closed, the inside of the vacuum suction unit 21 is optically shielded, and the UV shutter 22 is opened when it is out of range, and steps 160 and 200 in FIG. Although different from the opening / closing timing of the UV shutter 22, other individual operations are the same as those in FIG.

  FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing a schematic configuration of a main part of the second embodiment of the ink jet coating apparatus and method according to the present invention, in which 43 is a vacuum suction unit, 44 is an air cylinder for driving the vacuum suction unit, and 45 is The portions corresponding to those in FIG. 3 are the same as those in FIG.

  In the second embodiment, in order to remove bubbles inside the coating head 15, the UV curable coating material scattered by the suction inside the coating head 15 without being exposed to the vacuum suction portion is exposed to UV light. It is to prevent.

  In the second embodiment, as shown in FIG. 6, the vacuum suction portion 43 can be reciprocated (slided) in the Y-axis direction which is the width direction of the film 1 by the air cylinder 44 for driving the vacuum suction portion. The UV light shielding plate 45 is provided at a position where it is separated from the suction table 10 by a predetermined distance in the Y-axis direction. The other configuration is the same as that of the first embodiment shown in FIG.

  In such a configuration, when the vacuum suction unit 43 is not normally used, the vacuum suction unit 43 is under the UV light shielding plate 45 and the suction port is closed by the UV light shielding plate 45. Is required, the vacuum suction part 43 is slid from the lower position of the UV light shielding plate 45 by the air cylinder 44 and pushed out to the film 1 side. As a result, the suction port on the upper surface of the vacuum suction unit 43 is opened, and vacuum suction in the coating head 15 can be performed by moving the coating head 15 to the vacuum suction unit 43 and pressing it against the suction port. . When this suction is completed, the vacuum suction part 43 is slid in the direction away from the suction table 10 by the air cylinder 44 for driving the suction part and is drawn into the lower side of the UV light shielding plate 52a. Thereby, the vacuum suction part 43 can be in a light shielding state from the UV light 36.

  Thus, also in the second embodiment, the UV curable coating material sucked into the vacuum suction portion 43 by the irradiation of the UV light 36 to the vacuum suction portion 43 is cured as in the first embodiment. The material can be applied to the film 1 with the coating head 15 in a good state.

  Here, by the air cylinder 44 for driving the vacuum suction unit, the vacuum suction unit 43 can perform vacuum suction of the first position below the UV light shielding plate 52a and the application head 15 on the suction table 10 side. The third position further away from the suction table 10 from the lower position of the UV light shielding plate 45 as required (for example, by the operation of the operator). It can also be made to be able to be moved. In this third position, the vacuum suction part 43 is detached from the UV light shielding plate 45 and the suction port of the vacuum suction part 43 is opened, but is sufficiently away from the coating head 15 and accordingly from the UV light source 20. Therefore, the UV light 36 is not irradiated from the UV light source 20 to the suction port of the vacuum suction unit 43. Therefore, by positioning the vacuum suction portion 43 at the third position, the UV light 36 is hardly received, and the vacuum suction portion 21 can be cleaned in the operating state during the coating operation. Stable coating can be realized without lowering.

As described above, in the above embodiments, for removing the coating head 15 inside the bubbles of applying a UV-curable coating material, although the suction nozzle at the vacuum suction unit 21, using the light shielding unit when not sucked Accordingly, the UV curable coating material scattered by the past suction is extremely less exposed to the UV light 36, the inside of the vacuum suction portion 21 is not blocked, and a stable coating operation can be maintained.

1 Solar cell laminated film (film)
2 Unwinding side film roll 3 Rewinding side film roll 4,5 Guide roll 6,7 Elevating guide roll 8,9 Suction bar 10 Suction table 11 Unwinding side shaft motor 12 Unwinding side shaft motor 13,14 Film presser bar 15 Coating head 16 Unwinding unit 17 Coating unit 18 Winding unit 19 Imaging camera 20 UV light source 21 Vacuum suction unit 22 UV shutter 23 Air cylinder 24 X-axis driving unit 25 Z-axis driving unit 26 Y-axis driving unit 27 Gantry 28a, 28b Y Axis stage 29 Vacuum pump 30 Vacuum valve 31 Pressurized air source, 32 Valve unit 33 Vacuum pipe 34 Pipe 35 UV curable coating material 36 UV light 43 Vacuum suction part 44 Air cylinder 45 for driving vacuum suction part 45 UV light shielding plate

Claims (5)

An upstream guide roll for unwinding and transporting a roll-shaped film, an adsorption table for adsorbing and holding the unwound film, and a liquid UV curable coating material on the surface of the film adsorbed and held on the adsorption table A coating head for coating the coating head, a gantry structure that allows the coating head to move in the plane of the XY axes at a position above the film, a Z-axis driving unit that allows the coating head to move up and down, and the coating In an inkjet coating apparatus comprising an ultraviolet light source that is movable in the XYZ axial directions integrally with the head,
Are arranged outside the range for conveying the film has a Aspirate port on which the coating head is moved to the position to contact descends, vacuum suction means for sucking the nozzles of the coating head from suction pull port If, comprising a shielding means for shielding incident UV light from the UV light source to the interior of the vacuum suction means, the,
The light shielding means is a fixed light shielding plate, and is configured to be able to select between shielding the ultraviolet light by the vacuum suction means and releasing the shielding,
The vacuum suction means is opposite to the film by a linear drive means, a first position where the lower surface of the light shielding plate on the film side is removed, a second position below the lower surface of the light shielding plate, and the film. An ink jet coating apparatus which reciprocates so as to be positionable at three positions including a third position off the lower surface of the light shielding plate on the side. The inkjet coating apparatus according to claim 1, wherein
A plurality of the coating heads are provided,
An inkjet coating apparatus, wherein the vacuum suction means is provided for each of the coating heads in the same positional relationship with the coating head. The inkjet coating apparatus according to claim 1, wherein
It said vacuum suction means, the incidence of the UV light by the previous SL shielding means is shielded, when sucking the coating material discharge nozzle of the application head with said vacuum suction means to release the shielding by the shielding means An ink jet coating apparatus. The inkjet coating apparatus according to claim 1, wherein
Said vacuum suction means, the incidence of the UV light by the previous SL shielding means is shielded, to obtain the current position information of the coating head, when a distance between the vacuum suction means enters the range set in advance, the An inkjet coating apparatus, wherein the shielding of the incidence of the ultraviolet light by the light shielding means is released. A roll-shaped film is unwound and conveyed by an upstream guide roll, the film unwound by an adsorption table is sucked and held, and a liquid UV is applied to the surface of the film sucked and held by the suction table by a coating head. A curable coating material is applied, the coating head can be moved in the plane of the XY axis at a position above the film by a gantry structure, and the coating head can be moved up and down by a Z-axis driving means. In an inkjet coating method that is movable in the XYZ axial directions integrally with the coating head,
The light shielding means is a fixed light shielding plate, shields the incidence of ultraviolet light from the ultraviolet light source to the inside of the vacuum suction means, and can select between shielding the ultraviolet light and releasing the shielding ,
Vacuum suction means is disposed in a first position outside the range for conveying the film, said contacting to the suction port by lowering the moved coating head to the first position of the coating head The first position, the second position on the lower side of the lower surface of the light shielding plate, and the lower surface of the light shielding plate on the opposite side of the film are removed by the linear drive means by suction from the nozzle . And an ink jet coating method characterized by reciprocating so as to be positioned at three positions .

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