JP5916144B2 - Roll printing apparatus and roll printing method using the same - Google Patents

Description

This application claims the benefit of the filing date of Korean Patent Application No. 10-2013-0011668 filed with the Korean Patent Office on February 1, 2013, the entire contents of which are included in this specification.
The present invention relates to a roll printing apparatus and a roll printing method using the roll printing apparatus, and more particularly, to maintain tension on a printing film by using one or more suction rolls, A roll printing apparatus capable of improving printing quality and printing accuracy by removing contaminants from the film to be printed by using a cleaning module that discharges and inhales contaminants, and uses the same. The present invention relates to a roll printing method.

  A roll printing apparatus and a roll printing method using the roll printing apparatus according to the present invention are applied to a roll-to-roll reverse offset printing of a metal mesh for a touch panel. Can do.

  In general, a fine pattern used in a semiconductor circuit element and a display device such as an LCD or PDP is formed by photolithography using a photoresist, and is generally performed at a coating, exposure, development, cleaning, or curing stage. It is manufactured through.

  However, although photolithography has the advantage that a desired pattern can be precisely obtained, it has to go through a multi-step process, and there are various ways to maximize the effect of the photoresist. There are disadvantages in that a material is used and a large amount of photoresist is consumed in a process such as coating.

  Recently, in order to overcome such disadvantages of photolithography, a technique for obtaining a fine pattern by a roll printing method has been proposed and researched / developed.

  The roll printing apparatus and method for pattern formation can be applied in various ways, and only R (Red), G (Green), and B (Blue) colors and BM (Black Matrix) patterns, which are components of the color filter. Instead, it can be applied over a wide range such as TFT (Thin Film Transistor) and PDP (Plasma Display Panel) electrode formation patterns and barrier rib pattern transfer.

  In general, such a general roll printing apparatus has a coater, a printing roll, a printing roll driving device, a cliché, or a driving device for substrate stage and stage alignment as the most basic components. A cliche and / or pipe cleaning device, a drying device for absorbing the solvent absorbed by the blanket and drying the blanket, various sensor devices, and the like can be additionally provided.

  On the other hand, various methods are being researched and developed in order to improve the precision and print quality of the print pattern formed by the roll-to-roll printing apparatus and method. Among them, in order to improve the precision and print quality of the print pattern, the tension of the printing film must be maintained properly, and contaminants such as dust and impurities must be removed from the printing film. Is an essential element.

  However, in the roll printing apparatus and method using the roll-to-roll method of the metal mesh for touch panels, there is an apparatus and method that can effectively remove contaminants existing on the metal mesh while maintaining the tension of the metal mesh appropriately. There is no problem.

Republic of Korea Published Patent No. 2012-0140280 Published patent 2011-051782

  The present invention relates to a roll printing apparatus and method using a roll-to-roll method of a metal mesh for a touch panel, and by effectively removing contaminants present on the metal mesh while maintaining the tension of the metal mesh appropriately, An object of the present invention is to propose an apparatus and a method capable of improving printing accuracy by improving printing accuracy.

  In order to solve the problems as described above, the present invention provides a printing film providing unit and a printing film collecting unit capable of continuously providing a printing film; between the providing unit and the collecting unit. A printing film support section for supporting the printing film; a printing roll for transferring a printed pattern onto the printing film on the support section; and between the providing section and the supporting section and between the supporting section and the collecting section. A roll printing apparatus is provided that includes one or more suction rolls that are provided to any one or more in between to maintain tension on the printed film.

  The upper side of the suction roll where the printing film is located preferably further includes a cleaning module capable of removing contaminants from the printing film, and the cleaning module discharges air to pollute the substances. It is more preferable to remove contaminants from the film to be printed by an inhalation method.

  In addition, it is preferable that the said suction roll is equipped with the form which has two or more vacuum piping in both ends, and it is more preferable that the said suction roll is equipped with a double jacket form.

  Further, it is preferable that the printing film providing unit is an unwinder, the printing film collecting unit is a winding unit, and the printing film is either horizontal or vertical. More preferably, it moves in one or more directions.

  Moreover, it is preferable that the advancing direction of the said to-be-printed film and the rotation direction of the said printing roll are parallel.

  In addition, it is preferable that the said to-be-printed film support part is a roll form.

  Further, the roll printing apparatus is preferably used for reverse offset printing.

  Moreover, it is preferable that the said to-be-printed film is a metal mesh (metal mesh).

  In addition, it is preferable that a floating roll is additionally provided between the support unit and the collection unit in order to adjust a traveling direction of the printing film.

  In particular, the floating roll is more preferably configured such that air flows into the interior of the floating roll and is discharged to the outside of the floating roll in order to prevent the film to be printed from coming into contact with the floating roll.

  In order to solve the above-described problems, another object of the present invention is to provide a roll printing method using the above-described roll printing apparatus.

  In particular, the present invention uses a) a printing film providing unit and a printing film collecting unit capable of providing a printing film continuously or intermittently, and the printing film is supported by the printing film support unit. B) using one or more suction rolls to maintain tension on the printed film; c) using a cleaning module to remove contaminants on the printed film on the upper side of the suction roll. And d) transferring the printed pattern coated on the printing roll to the printing film on the support, and providing a roll printing method.

  Moreover, it is preferable to further include the step of adjusting the advancing direction of the to-be-printed film to which the printed material pattern was transcribe | transferred using the floating roll.

  In the step b), one or more suction rolls are provided between any one of the providing unit and the supporting unit and between the supporting unit and the collecting unit, and the printing film is provided. It is preferable to maintain the tension.

  In the step c), it is preferable that the cleaning module removes contaminants from the printing film by discharging air and sucking contaminants.

  Further, in the step e), the floating roll prevents the printing film from coming into contact with the floating roll by air flowing into the inside and being discharged outside, and the traveling direction of the printing film It is preferable to adjust so that is in the vertical or horizontal direction.

  Here, it is preferable that the film to be printed is a metal mesh, and the roll printing method is a reverse offset printing method.

  According to the present invention, the tension of the printing film can be appropriately maintained and controlled by positioning the suction roll at the front end portion and / or the rear end portion of the pattern printing process. When removing contaminants such as impurities and impurities, the contact adhesion can be improved.

  In particular, even when the cleaning module removes contaminants from the printing film by discharging air and sucking in contaminants, the suction roll provides adhesion to the printing film, so the printing film is cleaned. The effect that it can prevent inhalation and movement by the module occurs.

  In addition, by providing a floating roll at the rear end of the pattern printing process, the traveling direction of the printing film can be adjusted and controlled in the desired direction (existing traveling direction) without contacting the printing film. The effect that it is possible to occur.

  As described above, the above-described effects can improve the printing quality as a whole by improving the printing quality.

  Furthermore, the roll printing apparatus and the roll printing method using the roll printing apparatus according to the present invention can be effectively applied to a roll-to-roll reverse offset printing method of a metal mesh for a touch panel.

(A) It is a figure which shows schematically the roll printing apparatus which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. (B) It is a figure which shows schematically the roll printing apparatus which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the cross section of the suction roll 50a used with a roll printing apparatus. (A) It is a figure which shows schematically the roll printing apparatus which concerns on other embodiment of this invention. (B) It is a figure which shows schematically the roll printing apparatus which concerns on other embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows roughly the cross section of the floating roll 70 used with a roll printing apparatus.

  DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of a roll printing apparatus and a roll printing method using the roll printing apparatus according to an embodiment of the invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. In this process, the thicknesses of the lines and the sizes of the components shown in the drawings may be exaggerated for clarity and convenience of explanation. Moreover, the term mentioned later is the term defined in consideration of the function in this invention, and this may differ according to a user's or an operator's intention or practice. Therefore, definitions for such terms must be written based on the content throughout this specification.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram schematically illustrating a roll printing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a view showing a cross section of the suction roll 50a used in the roll printing apparatus.

  1 and 2, a roll printing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a printing film providing unit 10, a printing film collecting unit 20, a printing film support unit 30, a printing roll 40, and an inhalation. Rolls 50a and 50b can be included. A cleaning module 60 may be further included.

  On the other hand, the roll printing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a feeder that controls the drive and position of the printing film providing unit 10 and the printing film collecting unit 20 and various types so that intermittent continuous printing is possible. It may further include components such as a control unit and a position control unit (for example, EPC) that adjusts the winding position of the printing film collecting unit 20, but unless it falls under the core technical element of the invention, Detailed description is omitted.

  The to-be-printed film provision part 10 and the to-be-printed film collection | recovery part 20 perform the role which provides a to-be-printed film (F) continuously so that a to-be-printed film advances to one direction.

  At this time, the printing film providing unit 10 may be an unwinder and the printing film collecting unit 20 may be a winding unit, but the printing film (F) is continuously provided. Note that the configuration is not particularly limited as long as it can be configured.

  Moreover, the advancing direction of a to-be-printed film (F) can be two types of directions, a horizontal direction or a perpendicular direction, as shown to Fig.1 (a), (b).

  At this time, the traveling direction of the printing film can be adjusted according to the position of the printing film providing unit 10 and the printing film collecting unit 20 and the arrangement of additional parts of the roll printing apparatus. A guide roll (not shown) may be used to adjust the traveling direction of the printing film (F). However, even in such a case, it should be noted that the traveling direction of the area before the print pattern of the film to be printed (F) is transferred or the area after the print pattern is transferred is not limited.

  Here, the printing film (F) is provided continuously or intermittently by driving of the printing film providing unit 10 and the printing film collecting unit 20, and the printed material pattern to be printed is effectively transferred. Note that the material and the thickness are not particularly limited.

  However, in the roll printing apparatus which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention, it is preferable that the metal mesh (metal mesh) for touchscreens is utilized as a to-be-printed film (F).

  The to-be-printed film support unit 30 plays a role of supporting the to-be-printed film (F) between the to-be-printed film providing unit 10 and the to-be-printed film collecting unit 20.

  It is preferable that such a to-be-printed film support part 30 is a roll form.

  In particular, the printing film support unit 30 serves as a supporting unit for the printing film (F) so that a printing roll 40 to be described later transfers a printed material pattern to the printing film (F).

  In this case, it is preferable that the drive speed of the roller which is the to-be-printed film support part 30 is synchronized with the drive speed of the printing roll 40 which transfers a printed material pattern. That is, it is preferable that the linear velocity driven by the printing film support section 30 and the linear velocity driven by the printing roll 40 coincide. With such a configuration, a more precise pattern can be transferred.

  At this time, it should be noted that the printing film providing unit 10 and the printing film collecting unit 20 described above do not stop driving while the printed material pattern is transferred onto the printing film (F).

  The printing roll 40 plays a role of transferring the printed material pattern to the printing film (F) on the printing film support 30.

  At this time, the printed material was applied to the printing roll 40 by a coating unit (not shown), and a part of the printed material was removed by a cliché (not shown) provided on a cliche mounting stage (not shown). Thereafter, the remaining printed pattern is transferred onto the printing film (F) positioned on the printing film support 30.

  Although not shown in the drawing, the printing roll 40 has a point where a printed material is applied to the printing roll 40 by a coating unit, a point where a printed material pattern is formed on the printing roll 40 by a cliché, and a film to be printed (F Note that it is configured to be able to move freely between points where the printed product pattern is transferred.

  In such a process, the printing roll 40 is configured so that the traveling direction of the printing film (F) driven by the printing film providing unit 10 and the printing film collecting unit 20 is parallel to the rotation direction of the printing roll 40. Composed.

  As described above, the roll printing apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention is preferably for reverse offset printing.

  The suction rolls 50a and 50b are provided between the printing film providing unit 10 and the printing film support unit 30 (that is, the front end of the pattern printing process) and / or the printing film support unit 30 and the printing film collection unit 20 ( That is, it is provided to any one or more of the rear end portions of the pattern printing process) and serves to maintain the tension in the print target film (F).

  Specifically, the suction rolls 50a and 50b not only suck the printed film (F) using a vacuum and smoothly transfer it in the traveling direction, but also the front and rear ends of the suction rolls 50a and 50b. It plays the role of maintaining and controlling the tension properly.

  In particular, according to the suction rolls 50a and 50b, the front / rear end tensions of the suction rolls can be driven differently, and further, slip does not occur due to a change in tension or a change in transfer speed. The advantage that the generation of scratches on the surface of the printing film (F) can be suppressed occurs.

  FIG. 2 schematically shows a cross section of such a suction roll, and the suction roll has two or more vacuum pipes 51a and 52a at both ends. A vacuum is induced from a vacuum device (not shown) connected to 52a, and the film to be printed (F) is brought into close contact with each other through the piping portion 54 and the vacuum hole 53 so as to maintain the tension. Moreover, in one Embodiment of this invention, it is preferable that a suction roll is provided with a double jacket form.

  However, in one embodiment of the present invention, the suction rolls 50a and 50b are shown as a form having two or more vacuum pipes and a double jacket, but the tension of the film to be printed (F) is appropriately set. It should be noted that various forms of suction rolls can be used without being limited to the above-described forms as long as they can be maintained to maintain the accuracy of the degree of vacuum.

  On the other hand, in the present specification, it is shown that the suction rolls 50a and 50b are respectively positioned at the front end and / or the rear end of the pattern printing process. Note that it may be located only in the section.

  With such a configuration, the roll printing apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention can appropriately maintain and control the tension of the film to be printed (F) and can be covered by the cleaning module 60 as described later. When removing contaminants such as dust and impurities on the printing film (F), the contact adhesion of the printing film (F) can be improved.

  The cleaning module 60 serves to remove contaminants from the printing film (F) on the upper side of the suction rolls 50a and 50b where the printing film (F) is located.

  Such a cleaning module 60 discharges air toward the printing film (F) so that contaminants such as dust and impurities located above the printing film (F) are suspended by the discharged air. After induction, it will be driven by the method of inhaling pollutants.

  At this time, if the cleaning module 60 sucks contaminants, generally, the printing film (F) positioned on the suction rolls 50a and 50b cannot be moved appropriately. It will move along the 60 side.

  However, in the present invention, as described above, since the suction rolls 50a and 50b provide the printing film (F) with an adhesion force by suction, the printing film (F) is sucked by the cleaning module 60. It becomes possible to prevent moving.

  Here, the suction input of the cleaning module 60 and the suction inputs of the suction rolls 50a and 50b preferably correspond to each other so that the film to be printed (F) is smoothly transferred in the traveling direction.

  With such a configuration, according to the roll printing apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention, since the suction rolls 50a and 50b provide adhesion to the print film (F), the print film (F) Inhalation and movement by the cleaning module 60 can be prevented, thereby enabling the cleaning module 60 to more effectively remove contaminants on the printing film (F), and as a result, It is possible to improve the print quality by preventing contamination of the print surface.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram schematically illustrating a roll printing apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a view schematically showing a cross section of the floating roll 70 used in the roll printing apparatus.

  3 and 4, the roll printing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention may further include a floating roll 70 in addition to the above-described components. Hereinafter, description of the same components will be omitted, and only the floating roll 70 which is an added component will be described specifically.

  The floating roll 70 is positioned between the printing film support unit 30 and the printing film collection unit 20 (that is, the rear end portion of the pattern printing process), and adjusts the traveling direction of the printing film (F). .

  Specifically, such a floating roll 70 performs the role of transporting (or transporting) the film to be printed (F) by a non-contact method using compressed air flowing from the outside.

  In particular, according to such a floating roll 70, since the film to be printed (F) and the roll are not in contact with each other, generation of scratches on the surface of the film to be printed (F) can be suppressed, and the film to be printed (F) Since there is no friction between the rolls, it is possible to transfer even with low tension, no stress is applied to the film to be printed (F), and further, the film to be printed (F) can be moved in the existing traveling direction. Will occur.

  FIG. 4 schematically shows a cross section of such a floating roll 70. The floating roll 70 has a form in which pipes are connected to both ends, and compressed air connected to such pipes. Compressed air flows from the supply device (not shown) into the inside and is discharged to the outside of the floating roll 70.

  However, in one embodiment of the present invention, the floating roll 70 is shown as being connected to two pipes. However, as long as the traveling direction of the film to be printed (F) can be adjusted without contact, the above-mentioned is described above. It should be noted that various forms of floating rolls can be used without being limited to the above forms.

  With such a configuration, according to the roll printing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, the direction in which the printing film (F) travels is desired (for example, existing) without contacting the printing film (F). (Advancing direction) can be adjusted and controlled.

  Moreover, roll printing can be performed using the roll printing apparatus according to the present invention. In this case, a roll printing method according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described as follows.

  The printing film (F) is provided to the printing film support unit 30.

  At this time, the printing film providing unit 10 and the printing film collecting unit 20 that can continuously or intermittently provide the printing film (F) are provided to the printing film support unit 30. become.

  Here, the film to be printed (F) is a metal mesh for a touch panel, and the roll printing method according to an embodiment of the present invention is preferably a reverse offset printing method.

  Next, tension is maintained on the printing film (F) using one or more suction rolls 50a and 50b. At this time, the suction rolls 50a and 50b are disposed between the printing film providing unit 10 and the printing film support unit 30 (that is, the front end of the pattern printing process) and / or the printing film support unit 30 and the printing film collection. It is provided to any one or more of the portions 20 (that is, the rear end portion of the pattern printing process).

  Next, the cleaning module 60 is used to remove contaminants from the suction roll on the upper side of the suction roll. At this time, the cleaning module 60 discharges air toward the film to be printed (F), and contaminants such as dust and impurities located above the film to be printed (F) are floated by the discharged air. Note that it is driven by a method of inhaling pollutants after induction, but is not necessarily limited to this.

  Then, the printed material pattern coated on the printing roll 40 is transferred to the printing film (F) on the printing film support 30.

  At this time, after the printed material is applied to the printing roll 40 by the coating portion and the printed material is partially removed by the cliché, the remaining printed material pattern is placed on the printed film (F) positioned on the printed film support portion 30. It will begin to transcribe.

  In addition, the roll printing method according to an embodiment of the present invention may further include a step of adjusting a traveling direction of the print-receiving film (F) to which the printed material pattern is transferred using the floating roll 70.

  In this case, the floating roll 70 prevents the printing film (F) from coming into contact with the floating roll 70 by the air flowing into the inside and being discharged outside, and the traveling direction of the printing film (F) is changed. Adjust to be vertical or horizontal.

  As described above, according to the roll printing apparatus and the roll printing method using the roll printing apparatus according to the present invention, (1) the tension of the metal mesh is appropriately maintained, and (2) the contaminants present on the metal mesh are effective. (3) A roll printing apparatus capable of improving the printing quality and improving the printing precision by effectively adjusting the traveling direction of the metal mesh on which the pattern has been printed, and a roll using the roll printing apparatus A printing method can be provided.

  Although the foregoing has been described with reference to the preferred embodiments of the present invention, those skilled in the art can use the invention without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention as set forth in the appended claims. Thus, it can be understood that the present invention can be modified and changed in various ways.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Printed film provision part 20 ... Printed film collection | recovery part 30 ... Printed film support part 40 ... Printing roll 50a, 50b ... Inhalation roll 51a, 52a ... Vacuum piping 53・ ・ ・ Vacuum hole 54 ・ ・ ・ Piping part 60 ・ ・ ・ Cleaning module 70 ・ ・ ・ Floating roll

Claims (17)

A printing film providing unit and a printing film collecting unit capable of continuously providing the printing film;
A to-be-printed film support unit for supporting the to-be-printed film between the providing unit and the collecting unit;
A printing roll for transferring a printed material pattern to the film to be printed on the support;
Provided in any one or more between the providing unit and the supporting unit and between the supporting unit and the collecting unit, the printing film is brought into close contact by suction, and the tension is maintained in the printing film. One or more suction rolls; and
Cleaning module for removing contaminants of the printing film by method of inhaling contaminants by discharging air;
Only including,
The roll printing apparatus , wherein the printing film is located between the suction roll and the cleaning module .   The roll printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the suction roll has a form having two or more vacuum pipes at both ends.   The roll printing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the suction roll has a double jacket shape.   The roll printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the printed film providing unit is an unwinder, and the printed film collecting unit is a winder.   The roll printing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the printing film moves in one or more of a horizontal direction and a vertical direction.   The roll printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a traveling direction of the film to be printed and a rotation direction of the printing roll are parallel to each other.   The roll printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the printed film support portion is in a roll form.   The roll printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the roll printing apparatus is used for reverse offset printing.   The roll printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the film to be printed is a metal mesh.   The roll printing according to claim 1, wherein a floating roll is additionally provided between the support unit and the collecting unit to adjust a traveling direction of the printing film. apparatus.   The floating roll is configured to allow air to flow inside and to be discharged outside the floating roll in order to prevent the printing film from coming into contact with the floating roll. Item 11. A roll printing apparatus according to Item 10.   A roll printing method using the roll printing apparatus according to claim 1. a) providing the printing film to the printing film support unit using the printing film providing unit and the printing film collecting unit capable of providing the printing film continuously or intermittently;
b) using one or more suction rolls to bring the printing film into close contact with each other to maintain tension on the printing film;
c) the method for sucking contaminants by discharging air by utilizing the cleaning module to remove contaminants of the printing film remove contaminants of the printing film in the upper portion of the suction roll step; and d ) Transferring the printed material pattern coated on the printing roll to the printed film on the support;
Including
The roll printing method , wherein the printing film is located between the suction roll and the cleaning module .   The roll printing method according to claim 13, further comprising the step of: e) adjusting a traveling direction of the print-receiving film onto which the printed material pattern is transferred using a floating roll.   In the step b), one or more suction rolls are provided between any one of the providing unit and the supporting unit and between the supporting unit and the collecting unit, and tension is applied to the printing film. The roll printing method according to claim 13 or 14, wherein the roll printing method is maintained.   In the step e), the floating roll prevents the printing film from coming into contact with the floating roll by allowing air to flow into the inside and then discharge to the outside. The roll printing method according to claim 14, wherein the roll printing method is adjusted so as to be in a vertical or horizontal direction. The printed film is a metal mesh,
The roll printing method according to claim 13 or 14, wherein the roll printing method is a reverse offset printing method.