JP6322527B2 - Printing apparatus, printing method, and carrier used in the printing apparatus - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a printing technique for printing a pattern layer patterned in a desired pattern on a substrate, and a carrier used in the printing technique.

  Electronics such as semiconductor wafers, glass substrates for liquid crystal display devices, glass substrates for plasma displays, glass or ceramic substrates for magnetic or optical disks, glass substrates for organic EL, glass substrates or silicon substrates for solar cells, other flexible substrates and printed boards In order to form a pattern layer on a substrate for equipment, a printing technique using a carrier such as a blanket has been proposed (for example, Patent Document 1).

  In this printing technique, the ink layer on the blanket is patterned by pressing and contacting a blanket coated with ink with a pattern opposite to the pattern to be formed on the substrate, that is, a letterpress having a reverse pattern. A pattern layer having a reverse pattern is formed on the blanket (first transfer step). Then, the pattern layer is transferred to the substrate by pressing the blanket against the substrate and bringing it into contact (second transfer step).

JP 2008-311463 A

  As described above, in the printing technique using the blanket, since the blanket is pressed against the plate or the substrate, it is difficult to completely prevent the image transferred in each transfer process from being distorted. In addition, since the two transfer processes are sequentially performed, it is desired to form a pattern with a small amount of distortion on the substrate in consideration of this point.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and after patterning a coating layer carried on a carrier such as a blanket with a plate and transferring the pattern layer onto the carrier, the pattern layer is transferred to the substrate. An object of the printing technique is to suppress the amount of distortion of a pattern layer printed on a substrate.

  According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a printing apparatus, in which a carrier and a plate carrying a coating layer are partially adhered to each other via a coating layer to form a first adhesion portion, and then the first adhesion portion is formed. The first transfer means for patterning the coating layer with the plate by extending in the first direction to transfer the pattern layer onto the support, and the support and the substrate onto which the pattern layer has been transferred by the first transfer means The second transfer means for transferring the pattern layer to the substrate by expanding the second contact portion in the second direction after forming the second contact portion by closely contacting with the pattern layer, and the pattern layer is transferred. Before the transfer of the pattern layer onto the substrate by the second transfer unit, the direction information related to the first direction is acquired, and the second direction is determined based on the direction information. Control means for controlling There.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a carrier used in the printing apparatus, wherein carrier individual information related to direction information is provided.

  Furthermore, a third aspect of the present invention is a printing method, wherein the first contact portion is formed after the carrier and the plate carrying the coating layer are partially brought into close contact with each other through the coating layer to form the first contact portion. A first transfer step of patterning the coating layer with the plate by expanding the portion in the first direction to transfer the pattern layer onto the carrier, and peeling to peel off the carrier and the plate that are in close contact with each other through the coating layer After the step and the peeling step, the carrier to which the pattern layer is transferred and the substrate are partially adhered to each other through the pattern layer to form the second adhesion portion, and then the second adhesion portion is expanded in the second direction. And a second transfer step of transferring the pattern layer to the substrate. Before the second transfer step, the direction information related to the first direction is acquired, and the second direction is determined based on the direction information. It is said.

  According to the present invention, the coating layer carried on the carrier is patterned by a plate and the pattern layer is transferred onto the carrier, and the transfer process for transferring the pattern layer onto the substrate is partially performed. After forming a close contact portion, the contact portion is expanded. When such a transfer process is performed, the distortion of the pattern layer is closely related to the extension direction in both transfer processes, that is, the first direction and the second direction, and as described in detail later, It can be suppressed by controlling the two directions, and a good pattern layer can be printed on the substrate.

It is a figure which shows typically the mechanism of distortion generation of a printing pattern in a printing apparatus, and distortion suppression. It is a figure which shows typically the mechanism of distortion generation of a printing pattern in a printing apparatus, and distortion suppression. It is a figure which shows an example of the printing system equipped with 1st Embodiment of the printing apparatus concerning this invention. FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating a control system of the printing system illustrated in FIG. 3. It is a perspective view which shows an example of the coating device with which the printing system shown in FIG. 3 was equipped. It is a figure which shows typically the positional relationship of a blanket, an application layer, a plate, a board | substrate, and an effective area | region. It is a perspective view which shows an example of the transfer apparatus with which the printing system shown in FIG. 3 was equipped. It is a perspective view which shows the structure of a lower stage block. It is a figure which shows the structure of a raising / lowering hand unit. It is a figure which shows the structure of a transfer roller unit. It is a figure which shows the structure of an upper stage assembly. It is a figure which shows typically the positional relationship of each part of an apparatus in each step of a process. It is a figure which shows typically the positional relationship of each part of an apparatus in each step of a process. It is a figure which shows typically the positional relationship of each part of an apparatus in each step of a process. It is a figure which shows typically the positional relationship of each part of an apparatus in each step of a process. It is a figure which shows typically the positional relationship of each part of an apparatus in each step of a process. It is a figure which shows typically the positional relationship of each part of an apparatus in each step of a process. It is a figure which shows typically the positional relationship of each part of an apparatus in each step of a process. It is a perspective view which shows an example of the peeling apparatus with which the printing system shown in FIG. 3 was equipped. It is a perspective view which shows the main structures of a peeling apparatus. It is a side view which shows the structure of an initial stage peeling unit, and the positional relationship of each part. It is a figure which shows the positional relationship of each part in each step in peeling processing. It is a figure which shows the positional relationship of each part in each step in peeling processing. It is a side view which shows the outline of the washing | cleaning apparatus which wash | cleans the transfer plate used for ink removal. It is a figure which shows typically the printing operation performed with the printing system of FIG. It is a figure which shows typically the printing operation performed with the printing system of FIG. It is a flowchart of the patterning process performed in 1st Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the individual information of a blanket. It is a flowchart of the board | substrate transfer process performed in 1st Embodiment. It is a schematic diagram for demonstrating the improved version used by 2nd Embodiment of the printing apparatus concerning this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the printing system equipped with 2nd Embodiment of the printing apparatus concerning this invention. FIG. 32 is a flowchart showing an operation of the patterning transfer apparatus incorporated in the printing system shown in FIG. 31. It is a figure which shows the comparative example of the improved version which can be used with the printing apparatus concerning this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the printing system equipped with 3rd Embodiment of the printing apparatus concerning this invention. It is a figure which shows typically the printing operation by the printing apparatus shown in FIG.

<A. Basic Principle of Invention>
In a printing apparatus that prints a pattern layer having a desired pattern on a substrate using a carrier such as a blanket and a plate on which a reverse pattern is formed in advance, two types of transfer processes are sequentially performed as described above. More specifically, the printing apparatus performs the operations shown in FIGS.

  FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 are diagrams schematically showing a mechanism of distortion generation and distortion suppression of a printing pattern in a printing apparatus. The upper row in each of the columns (a) to (d) in these drawings schematically shows the transfer and peeling operations performed during the printing process, and the lower row shows the upper surface of the blanket BL used as the carrier, the plate PP, and the substrate. The lower surface of SB is typically shown. In order to explain the contents of the printing process and the distortion of the pattern image that occurs during the process, as shown in FIG. 1A, a pattern in which the reference marks RM are two-dimensionally arranged in a lattice pattern is provided on the lower surface of the plate PP. The pattern composed of the plurality of reference marks RM corresponds to the reverse pattern of the pattern to be printed on the substrate SB. A dotted line in the drawing is an imaginary line indicating a distance between adjacent reference marks RM.

  In this printing apparatus, a blanket BL carrying a coating layer CL formed by coating a coating material such as ink on one main surface and a plate PP on which a reverse pattern of the pattern is formed in advance are carried into a transfer device. In this transfer device, the blanket BL and the plate PP are arranged apart from each other in the vertical direction Z so that the upper surface of the blanket BL and the lower surface of the plate PP face each other (FIG. 1A). Then, after the blanket BL and the plate PP are partially brought into close contact with each other through the coating layer CL to form the contact portion AP1 locally, the contact portion AP1 is expanded in the W direction to thereby apply the coating layer CL by the plate PP. Then, the pattern layer is transferred onto the blanket BL (FIG. 5B). This transfer process corresponds to an example of the “first transfer process” of the present invention. In order to clearly distinguish this transfer process from the subsequent transfer process, the patterning process is referred to as “patterning process”. The transfer device for performing the above is appropriately referred to as a “patterning transfer device”. Further, as described above, the transfer roller 641 of the patterning transfer device is used for the partial formation of the contact portion AP1 and the extension in the W direction, and the configuration and operation will be described in detail in a later embodiment.

  In this patterning process, as described above, because the partial formation of the adhesion part AP1 and the W-direction expansion are performed, the blanket BL is deformed from the normal state before the patterning process (one-dot chain line in FIG. 5B), An image distorted with respect to the reverse pattern of the plate PP is formed on the coating layer CL on the blanket BL. In addition, this distortion is greatly influenced by the extending direction of the contact portion AP1, more specifically, the moving direction of the transfer roller 641.

  When the patterning process is completed, the adhesion body BP formed by closely adhering the blanket BL and the plate PP is conveyed from the patterning transfer device to the peeling device ((c) in the figure). Then, the blanket BL and the plate PP are peeled and separated from each other by the peeling device, and the blanket BL returns to the original normal state as shown in FIG. 4D, but the pattern layer PL transferred to the blanket BL is applied to the pattern layer PL. The included pattern image is distorted. In the figure, reference numeral RP indicates a reverse image of each reference mark RM.

  The blanket BL after the patterning process (first transfer process) is carried into another transfer device. Further, the substrate SB is carried into the transfer device. In this transfer apparatus, the blanket BL and the substrate SB are arranged apart from each other in the vertical direction Z so that the upper surface of the blanket BL and the lower surface of the substrate SB face each other (FIG. 2A). Then, in the same manner as the patterning process (first transfer step), the blanket BL and the substrate SB are partially brought into close contact with each other via the pattern layer PL to form the close contact portion AP2, and then the close contact portion AP2 is expanded in the W direction. As a result, the pattern layer PL is transferred to the substrate SB (FIG. 5B). This transfer process corresponds to an example of the “second transfer process” of the present invention. In order to clearly distinguish this transfer process from the previous transfer process (patterning process), it is referred to as a “substrate transfer process”. In addition, a transfer device for performing the substrate transfer process is appropriately referred to as a “substrate transfer device”.

  In this substrate transfer process as well, in the same manner as in the patterning process, the blanket BL is deformed from the normal state before the substrate transfer process by partially forming the contact portion AP2 and extending in the W direction, thereby forming the pattern layer PL on the blanket BL. An image distorted with respect to the pattern is transferred to the lower surface of the substrate SB.

  When the substrate transfer process is completed, the adhesion body BS formed by closely adhering the blanket BL and the substrate SB is conveyed from the substrate transfer device to the peeling device ((c) in the figure). Then, the blanket BL and the substrate SB are peeled and separated from each other by the peeling device, and the blanket BL returns to the original normal state as shown in FIG. Here, it should be noted that when the direction of expansion of the contact portion AP2 in the substrate transfer process, more specifically, the direction of movement of the transfer roller 641 in the substrate transfer device is the same as that in the patterning transfer device, the substrate The blanket BL in the transfer process is distorted similarly to the patterning process, and the distortion is offset. Of course, when the extending direction of the contact portion AP1 in the patterning transfer device and the extension direction of the contact portion AP2 in the substrate transfer device are different from each other, the above-described distortion canceling effect cannot be obtained. A relatively large strain remains.

  Therefore, in the printing apparatus that transfers the pattern layer PL to the substrate SB after forming the pattern layer PL on the blanket BL by the patterning process, the pattern printed on the substrate SB is controlled by controlling the extension direction of the contact portion AP2. The amount of distortion of the layer PL can be suppressed. That is, the expansion direction (corresponding to the “first direction” of the present invention) of the contact portion AP1 in the patterning transfer apparatus is grasped, and the extension direction of the contact portion AP2 in the substrate transfer apparatus (“ By controlling (corresponding to the “second direction”), a good pattern can be printed on the substrate SB. This is a finding found by the inventor of the present application, and in the present invention, the following configuration is made based on this finding, thereby enabling a good printing process.

<First Embodiment>
Next, an example of a printing system incorporating the first embodiment of the printing apparatus according to the present invention will be described to describe the first embodiment of the printing apparatus in detail. In this printing system, (1) a coating process for forming a coating layer on the blanket BL with a coating material such as ink, and (2) a desired pattern layer is transferred to the substrate by performing a patterning process and a substrate transfer process in this order. (3) A removal process is performed to remove residual ink from the blanket used to transfer the pattern layer to the substrate.

  The blanket BL handled in the first embodiment and the embodiments described later is a plate-like body in which a thin elastic layer made of silicon rubber is formed on the surface of a glass plate or a transparent resin plate, and carries a coating layer and a pattern layer. Further, the removal process in this printing system performs an operation similar to the transfer operation and the peeling operation to move the adhered matter to which the blanket BL adheres to the removal transfer plate TP, thereby removing the adhered matter from the blanket. Perform removal. Therefore, the transfer plate TP handled in the first embodiment and the embodiment described later is a glass plate having the same plane size as the blanket BL, and the surface tension of the transfer plate TP is lower than the surface tension of the surface of the blanket BL. It has higher wettability than the surface of the blanket BL. In order to clarify the state of attachment of the attached matter, the blanket BL in a state where the attached matter is attached to the surface of the elastic layer is referred to as “Blanket BLi”, while the attached matter is removed by the removing device. The blanket BL thus made is referred to as “Blanket BL0”. As for the transfer plate TP, similarly to the blanket BL, the transfer plate in a state where the adhering matter is attached is referred to as “transfer plate TPi”, while the transfer plate where the adhering matter is not attached is referred to as “ This is referred to as “transfer plate TP0”.

  Hereinafter, with reference to FIG. 3 to FIG. 29, the configuration of each unit will be described in detail after describing the schematic configuration of the system and the layout of the configuration of an example of the printing system.

<< Configuration and layout of printing system >>
FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a printing system equipped with the first embodiment of the printing apparatus according to the present invention. FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a control system of the printing system shown in FIG. The printing system 100A includes a coating apparatus 800 for performing the coating process, a transfer apparatus (patterning transfer apparatus) 202 for performing a patterning process among the printing processes, and a blanket BL and a plate PP after the patterning process. A peeling device 302 that peels the blanket BL and the substrate SB after the substrate transfer process, and a peeling device 303 that peels the blanket BL and the substrate SB after the substrate transfer process. , A transfer device 204 and a peeling device 304 for performing the removal process.

  The transfer device 202 and the peeling device 302 are arranged in the X direction to form a first device row AL1 for patterning processing. The transfer device 203 and the peeling device 303 are arranged in the Y direction to form a second device row AL2 for transfer processing. Furthermore, the transfer device 204, the peeling device 304, and the coating device 800 are arranged in the X direction to form a third device row AL3 for removal processing and coating processing. As shown in FIG. 3, the first device row AL1 and the third device row AL3 are arranged in parallel while being separated in the Y direction, and (+ X) of the first device row AL1 and the third device row AL3. The second device row AL2 is disposed on the direction side, and the blanket BL can be circulated and conveyed along the annular blanket conveyance path PTB.

  A plate cleaning device 720 for cleaning the plate PP is disposed on the (+ Y) direction side of the first device row AL1 (= transfer device 202 + peeling device 302), and is used for the patterning process along the annular plate transport path PTP. The plate PP to be transported is freely transportable. Note that “PPi” and “PP0” in FIG. 3 indicate plates before and after being transported to the plate cleaning device 720, and the plate PPi means a plate that is used for patterning and has ink attached to the surface. The plate PP0 means a plate that is cleaned by the plate cleaning device 720 and reused for the patterning process.

  Further, on the (−Y) direction side of the third apparatus row AL3 (= transfer apparatus 204 + peeling apparatus 304 + coating apparatus 800), a transfer plate cleaning apparatus 730 for cleaning the transfer plate TP is arranged, and an annular transfer plate conveyance is performed. The transfer plate TP used for the removal process can be conveyed along the path PTT.

  A broken line PTS in FIG. 3 indicates a path for transporting the substrate SB in order to perform transfer processing by the second apparatus row AL2 (= transfer apparatus 203 + peeling apparatus 303), that is, a substrate transport path.

  In the printing system 100A, a transport device 401 is provided to transport the blanket BL, the plate PP, the substrate SB, and the transfer plate TP. The transfer device 401 includes a plurality of transfer units 402, a plurality of blanket transfer units 403, a plurality of transfer plate transfer units 404, a plurality of plate transfer units 405, and a plurality of substrate transfer units 406, and a blanket transfer path PTB, They are arranged on the plate transport path PTP, the transfer plate transport path PTT, and the substrate transport path PTS.

  In this printing system 100A, the surface of the blanket BL (one main surface of the blanket BL on which a coating layer or a pattern layer is formed and residual ink adheres after the transfer process) is always vertically upward, that is, in the (+ Z) direction. Receive various treatments. Therefore, in the path portion that overlaps at least the blanket transport path PTB among the transport paths PTP, PTT, and PTS other than the blanket transport path PTB, the plate PP, the substrate SB, and the transfer plate TP are in contact with the blanket BL while the main surface is vertically downward, That is, it is conveyed in a state directed in the (−Z) direction. Therefore, in the printing system 100A, a part of the transport unit 402 that transports the plate PP, the substrate SB, and the transfer plate TP is equipped with a reversing mechanism that reverses the hand (not shown), and the plate PP, the substrate SB, The main surface of the transfer plate TP can be reversed. Therefore, in FIG. 3, the transport unit 402 having the reversing mechanism is marked with a double circle, while the transport unit 402 having no reversing mechanism is marked with a circle to distinguish them.

  Each unit of the printing system 100A laid out as described above is controlled by the control device 500. As shown in FIG. 4, the control device 500 includes a CPU 501 that controls the operation of the entire system, a motor control unit 502 that controls a motor provided in each device, and a valve that controls control valves provided in each device. A control unit 503, a negative pressure supply unit 504 that generates a negative pressure to be supplied to each device, an image processing unit 505 that performs image processing on an image captured by the camera, and a gas such as dry air or inert gas The gas supply part 506 to supply and the memory | storage part 507 which memorize | stores the individual information (FIG. 28) of blanket BL in a table format so that it may mention later are provided. Here, each part of the system is directly controlled by the control device 500, but it may be configured such that each device is controlled by an individual control device and the host computer controls each control device by communication. Needless to say.

  Next, each device constituting the printing system 100A will be described.

<< Applicator >>
FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing an example of a coating apparatus equipped in the printing system shown in FIG. The coating apparatus 800 includes a blanket holder 810 for sucking and holding the blanket BL. The blanket holding portion 810 is provided with a plurality of lift pins (not shown) at appropriate intervals. These lift pins support the blanket BL from below when the blanket BL is carried in and out, and lift the blanket BL upward from the surface of the blanket holder 810.

  Above the blanket holder 810, a carriage 820 is provided that extends substantially horizontally from both sides of the blanket holder 810. The carriage 820 includes a nozzle support part 840 for supporting the slit nozzle 830 and a pair of left and right lifting mechanisms 850 for supporting both ends of the nozzle support part 840. In addition, a pair of travel rails 860 extending in parallel to the substantially horizontal direction are disposed at both ends of the blanket holding portion 810. These travel rails 860 reciprocate the carriage 820 in the Y direction shown in FIG. 5 by guiding both ends of the carriage 820.

  A pair of linear motors 870 each provided with a stator 871 and a mover 872 are disposed on both sides of the blanket holder 810 and the carriage 820 along the edge sides on both sides of the blanket holder 810. In addition, a pair of linear encoders 880 each having a scale portion and a detector are fixed to both sides of the blanket holding portion 810 and the carriage 820. The linear encoder 880 detects the position of the carriage 820.

  In the coating apparatus 800 configured as described above, ink is continuously ejected from the slit nozzle 830 while the carriage 820 moves forward in the Y direction, and ink is supplied to the surface of the blanket BL to form a coating layer. In this embodiment, the X-direction width of the ink discharge port of the slit nozzle 830 is set to be shorter than the width of the blanket BL and longer than the width of the pattern layer, and the coating apparatus 800 is shown in FIG. The coating layer is applied in the positional relationship shown.

  FIG. 6 is a diagram schematically showing a positional relationship among a blanket, a coating layer, a plate, a substrate, and an effective area. The coating apparatus 800 forms the coating layer CL on the surface of the blanket BL so that the positional relationship shown in FIG. 6 is obtained. That is, in the blanket BL, the coating layer CL is applied to the central portion, but the peripheral portion is a blank portion where no ink is applied, and the central portion and the peripheral portion are the “supporting region” and “non-covering” of the present invention, respectively. This corresponds to the “supporting region”. Further, as shown in FIG. 6, a unique blanket identification number NB for individually identifying the blanket BL is assigned to an area of 1 to 2 [mm] from the edge in the blank portion at the manufacturing stage of the blanket BL. Yes. Note that the symbol “AR” in the figure indicates an effective area where the pattern layer obtained by patterning the coating layer CL with the plate PP is effectively transferred to the substrate SB and functions as a device. In this embodiment, the effective area AR is narrower than the coating layer CL, and a frame-shaped area (hereinafter referred to as “residual area”) RR excluding the effective area AR from the coating layer CL by performing a transfer process and a peeling process is a blanket. It remains on the surface of BL. The reason for providing the residual region RR in this manner is that it is practically difficult to apply the entire coating layer CL with a uniform film thickness. That is, the pattern layer is formed using only the central region of the coating layer CL having a uniform film thickness. As a result, a good pattern layer can be formed, and the pattern layer can be satisfactorily formed on the substrate SB.

<< Transfer device >>
In the printing system 100A, three types of transfer devices 202, 203, and 204 are provided and function as a patterning transfer device, a substrate transfer device, and a removal transfer device, respectively, but these basically have the same configuration. doing. Therefore, the transfer device 203 will be described, and the description of the transfer devices 202 and 204 will be omitted.

  FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing an example of a transfer device equipped in the printing system shown in FIG. In the figure, the state where the external cover is removed is shown to show the internal configuration of the apparatus. In the transfer device 203, the substrate SB and the blanket BL are carried in and out along the Y-axis direction.

  The transfer device 203 has a structure in which the upper stage block 4 and the lower stage block 6 are attached to the main frame 2. In FIG. 7, in order to clearly show the distinction between the blocks, the upper stage block 4 is provided with coarse pitch dots, and the lower stage block 6 is provided with finer pitch dots.

  The transfer device 203 brings the blanket BL and the substrate SB into close contact with each other by bringing the blanket BL held by the lower stage block 6 and the substrate SB held by the upper stage block 4 into contact with each other. An apparatus for transferring a layer to a substrate SB.

  The lower stage block 6 of the transfer device 203 is supported by the base frame 21 of the main frame 2. On the other hand, the upper stage block 4 is attached to a pair of upper stage support frames 22 and 23 that are erected from the base frame 21 and extend in the Y direction so as to sandwich the lower stage block 6 from the X direction.

  Further, a pre-alignment camera for detecting the positions of the substrate SB and the blanket BL carried into the apparatus is attached to the main frame 2. More specifically, three substrate pre-alignment cameras 241, 242, and 243 for detecting the edge of the substrate SB carried into the apparatus along the Y-axis direction at three different positions are provided on the upper stage support frame 22. , 23 are respectively attached to booms erected. Similarly, three blanket pre-alignment cameras 244, 245 and 246 for detecting the edge of the blanket BL carried into the apparatus along the Y-axis direction at three different positions are provided from the upper stage support frames 22 and 23. Each is attached to a standing boom. In FIG. 7, one blanket pre-alignment camera 246 located behind the upper stage block 4 does not appear.

  FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing the structure of the lower stage block. In the lower stage block 6, pillars 602 are erected in the vertical axis direction (Z direction) at four corners of a plate-shaped alignment stage 601 with an opening at the center, and the stage support plate 603 is supported by these pillars 602. Has been. Although not shown, at the bottom of the alignment stage 601, there are three degrees of freedom in the rotation direction (hereinafter referred to as “θ direction”), the X direction and the Y direction about the rotation axis extending in the vertical axis direction Z. An alignment stage support mechanism (not shown) such as a cross roller bearing having a degree is provided, and the alignment stage 601 is attached to the base frame 21 via the alignment stage support mechanism. Therefore, the alignment stage 601 can move in a predetermined range in the X direction, the Y direction, and the θ direction with respect to the base frame 21 by the operation of the alignment stage support mechanism.

  An annular rectangular lower stage 61 having an upper surface substantially coincident with a horizontal plane and having an opening window 611 formed at the center is disposed above the stage support plate 603. A blanket BL is placed on the upper surface of the lower stage 61, and the lower stage 61 holds it.

  The opening size of the opening window 611 needs to be larger than the planar size of the central effective area AR (see FIG. 6) that effectively functions as the pattern formation area in the surface area of the blanket BL. That is, when the blanket BL is placed on the lower stage 61, the entire area corresponding to the effective area AR of the lower surface of the blanket BL faces the opening window 611, and the lower part of the effective area AR is completely open. There is a need. The coating layer made of the pattern forming material is formed so as to cover at least the entire effective area AR.

  The upper surface 61a of the lower stage 61 is provided with a plurality of grooves 612 along the peripheral edges of the opening window 611. Each groove 612 is connected to a negative pressure supply unit of the control device 500 via a control valve (not shown). 504 is connected. Each groove 612 is disposed in a region having a planar size smaller than the planar size of the blanket BL. Then, as indicated by the alternate long and short dash line in the figure, the blanket BL is placed on the lower stage 61 so as to cover all the grooves 612. In order to enable this, a stopper member 613 for restricting the position of the blanket BL is appropriately disposed on the lower stage upper surface 61a.

  By supplying negative pressure to each groove 612, each groove 612 functions as a vacuum suction groove, and thus the four sides of the peripheral portion of the blanket BL are sucked and held on the upper surface 61a of the lower stage 61. By configuring the vacuum suction groove with a plurality of independent grooves 612, even if a vacuum break occurs in some of the grooves for some reason, the suction of the blanket BL by other grooves is maintained, so that the blanket BL can be securely attached. Can be held. Further, the blanket BL can be adsorbed with a stronger adsorbing force than when a single groove is provided.

  Below the opening window 611 of the lower stage 61, there are provided lifting hand units 62 and 63 for moving the blanket BL up and down in the Z-axis direction, and a transfer roller unit 64 that abuts and pushes up the blanket BL from below. Yes.

  FIG. 9 shows the structure of the lifting hand unit. Since the structures of the two lifting hand units 62 and 63 are the same, the structure of one lifting hand unit 62 will be described here. The elevating hand unit 62 has two support columns 621 and 622 erected in the Z direction from the base frame 21, and a plate-like slide base 623 can move up and down with respect to these support columns 621 and 622. It is attached. More specifically, guide rails 6211 and 6221 extending in the vertical axis direction (Z direction) are attached to the two support columns 621 and 622, respectively, on the back surface of the slide base 623, that is, on the (+ Y) side main surface. The attached slider (not shown) is slidably attached to the guide rails 6211 and 6221. Then, for example, an elevating mechanism 624 including an appropriate drive mechanism such as a motor and a ball screw mechanism moves the slide base 623 up and down in accordance with a control command from the control device 500.

  A plurality (four in this example) of hands 625 are attached to the slide base 623 so as to be movable up and down. The structure of each hand 625 is basically the same except that the shape of the base portion differs depending on the arrangement position. Each hand 625 is attached to a slider 627 slidably engaged with a guide rail 626 attached along the vertical axis direction (Z direction) to the front surface of the slide base 623, that is, the (−Y) side main surface. It is fixed. The slider 627 is connected to an elevating mechanism 628 having an appropriate drive mechanism such as a rodless cylinder attached to the back surface of the slide base 623, and moves up and down with respect to the slide base 623 by the operation of the elevating mechanism 628. To do. Each hand 625 is provided with an independent lifting mechanism 628, and each hand 625 can be moved up and down individually.

  That is, in the elevating hand unit 62, the elevating mechanism 624 moves the slide base 623 up and down to integrally move the hands 625 up and down, and the elevating mechanisms 628 operate independently to allow the hands 625 to move up and down. Can be raised and lowered individually.

  The upper surface 625a of the hand 625 is finished in an elongated flat surface with the Y direction as the longitudinal direction, and the upper surface 625a can be brought into contact with the lower surface of the blanket BL to support the blanket BL. The upper surface 625a is provided with an adsorption hole 625b that communicates with a negative pressure supply unit 504 provided in the control device 500 via a pipe and a control valve (not shown). As a result, negative pressure from the negative pressure supply unit 504 is supplied to the suction hole 625b as necessary, and the blanket BL can be sucked and held on the upper surface 625a of the hand 625. Therefore, it is possible to prevent slipping when the hand 625 supports the blanket BL.

  In addition, an appropriate gas, for example, dry air or inert gas, is supplied to the adsorption hole 625b from a gas supply unit 506 of the control device 500 as necessary via a pipe and a control valve (not shown). That is, the negative pressure from the negative pressure supply unit 504 and the gas from the gas supply unit 506 are selectively supplied to the suction hole 625b by opening and closing each control valve controlled by the control device 500.

  When the gas from the gas supply unit 506 is supplied to the adsorption hole 625b, a small amount of gas is discharged from the adsorption hole 625b. Thereby, a minute gap is formed between the lower surface of the blanket BL and the upper surface 625a of the hand, and the hand 625 is in a state of being separated from the lower surface of the blanket BL while supporting the blanket BL from below. Therefore, the blanket BL can be moved in the horizontal direction without being rubbed against each hand 625 while the blanket BL is supported by each hand 625. In addition, you may provide a gas discharge hole in the hand upper surface 625a separately from the adsorption hole 625b.

  Returning to FIG. 8, in the lower stage block 6, the lifting hand units 62 and 63 having the above-described configuration are arranged to face each other in the Y direction with the hand 625 facing inward. In the state where each hand 625 is lowered most, the upper surface 625a of the hand is located below the lower stage upper surface 61a, that is, a position that is largely retracted in the (−Z) direction. On the other hand, in the state where each hand 625 is raised most, the tip of each hand 625 protrudes upward from the opening window 611 of the lower stage 61, and the hand upper surface 625a is above the lower stage upper surface 61a, that is, in the (+ Z) direction. To the position protruding.

  Further, when viewed from above, a certain distance is provided between the tips of the hands 625 facing each other of the elevating hand units 62 and 63 so that they do not come into contact with each other. Further, as will be described next, the transfer roller unit 64 moves in the X direction using this gap.

  FIG. 10 shows the structure of the transfer roller unit. The transfer roller unit 64 includes a transfer roller 641 that is a cylindrical roller member extending in the Y direction, and a support frame that extends in the Y direction along the lower side of the transfer roller 641 and rotatably supports the transfer roller 641 at both ends thereof. 642 and an elevating mechanism 644 that has an appropriate drive mechanism and moves the support frame 642 up and down in the Z direction. The transfer roller 641 is not connected to a rotation drive mechanism and rotates freely. Further, the support frame 642 is provided with a backup roller 643 that comes into contact with the surface of the transfer roller 641 from below to prevent the transfer roller 641 from bending.

  The length of the transfer roller 641 in the Y direction is shorter than the length of the four sides of the opening window 611 of the lower stage 61 along the Y direction, that is, the opening dimension of the opening window 611 in the Y direction, and will be described later. It is longer than the length along the Y direction of the substrate SB when held on the upper stage. Since the effective area AR effective as a pattern formation area in the blanket BL is naturally equal to or shorter than the length of the substrate SB, the transfer roller 641 is longer than the effective area AR in the Y direction.

  The elevating mechanism 644 includes a base portion 644a and support legs 644b extending upward from the base portion 644a and connected to the vicinity of the center of the support frame 642 in the Y direction. The support leg 644b can move up and down with respect to the base portion 644a by an appropriate drive mechanism such as a motor or a cylinder. The base portion 644a is slidably attached to a guide rail 646 extending in the X direction, and is further coupled to a moving mechanism 647 having an appropriate driving mechanism such as a motor and a ball screw mechanism. . The guide rail 646 is attached to the upper surface of the lower frame 645 that extends in the X direction and is fixed to the base frame 21. By operating the moving mechanism 647, the transfer roller 641, the support frame 642, and the lifting mechanism 644 integrally travel in the X direction.

  As will be described in detail later, in this transfer device 203, the transfer roller 641 is brought into contact with the blanket BL held on the lower stage 61 and the blanket BL is partially pushed up to be held on the upper stage and close to the blanket BL. The blanket BL is brought into contact with the substrate SB arranged oppositely.

  The elevating mechanism 644 travels through a gap formed by the hands 625 facing each other of the elevating hand units 62 and 63. Each hand 625 has an upper surface 625 a that can be retracted in the (−Z) direction from the lower surface of the support frame 642 of the transfer roller unit 64 to the lower side. Therefore, when the elevating mechanism 644 runs in this state, the support frame 642 of the transfer roller unit 64 passes over the upper surface 625a of each hand 625, and the transfer roller unit 64 and the hand 625 are prevented from colliding. .

  Next, the structure of the upper stage block 4 will be described. As shown in FIG. 7, the upper stage block 4 includes an upper stage assembly 40 that is a structure extending in the X direction, and upper stage support frames 22 and 23, respectively. A pair of support columns 45 and 46 for supporting each of them, and an elevating mechanism 47 that includes an appropriate drive mechanism such as a motor and a ball screw mechanism and moves the entire upper stage assembly 40 up and down in the Z direction.

  FIG. 11 shows the structure of the upper stage assembly. The upper stage assembly 40 includes an upper stage 41 holding the substrate SB on the lower surface, a reinforcing frame 42 provided on the upper stage 41, and a beam-like structure coupled to the reinforcing frame 42 and extending horizontally along the X direction. A body 43 and an upper suction unit 44 mounted on the upper stage 41 are provided. As shown in FIG. 11, the upper stage assembly 40 has substantially symmetric shapes with respect to the XZ plane and the XZ plane including the center on the outer shape.

  The upper stage 41 is a flat plate member that is slightly smaller than the plane size of the substrate SB to be held, and the lower surface 41a held in a horizontal posture is a holding plane that holds the substrate SB in contact therewith. Since the holding plane is required to have a high degree of flatness, quartz glass or a stainless steel plate is suitable as the material. The holding plane is provided with a through hole for mounting a suction pad of the upper suction unit 44 described later.

  The reinforcing frame 42 is composed of a combination of reinforcing ribs extending in the Z direction on the upper surface of the upper stage 41. As shown in the drawing, the upper stage 41 is prevented from being bent and its lower surface (holding plane) 41a In order to maintain the flatness, a plurality of reinforcing ribs 421 parallel to the XZ plane and a plurality of reinforcing ribs 422 parallel to the XZ plane are appropriately combined. The reinforcing ribs 421 and 422 can be made of, for example, a metal plate.

  Further, the beam-like structure 43 is a structure formed by combining a plurality of metal plates and having a longitudinal direction in the X direction, and both ends thereof are supported by the support columns 45 and 46 so as to be vertically movable. Yes. Specifically, guide rails 451 and 461 extending in the Z direction are provided on the support columns 45 and 46, respectively, and a slider (not shown) is attached to the (+ Y) side main surface of the beam-like structure 43 facing the support pillars 45 and 46, respectively. These are slidably engaged. As shown in FIG. 7, the beam-like structure 43 and the support column 46 are connected by an elevating mechanism 47, and the elevating mechanism 47 operates to keep the beam-like structure 43 in a horizontal posture. Move in the vertical axis direction (Z direction). Since the upper stage 41 is integrally coupled to the beam-like structure 43 via the reinforcing frame 42, the upper stage 41 moves up and down with the holding plane 41 a kept horizontal by the operation of the elevating mechanism 47.

  The structures of the reinforcing frame 42 and the beam-like structure 43 are not limited to those illustrated. Here, a necessary strength is obtained by combining a plate-like member parallel to the XZ plane and a plate-like member parallel to the XZ plane, but a sheet metal, an angle member, or the like may be appropriately combined with other shapes. The reason for this structure is to make the upper stage assembly 40 lightweight. In order to reduce the deflection of each part, it is conceivable to increase the thickness of the upper stage 41 or to use the beam-like structure 43 as a solid body, but if so, the mass of the entire upper stage assembly 40 will increase.

  When the weight of the structure disposed on the upper part of the apparatus increases, a mechanism for supporting and moving the structure requires further strength and durability, and the entire apparatus becomes very large and heavy. It is more realistic to reduce the weight of the entire structure while obtaining the required strength by combining plate materials and the like.

  A pair of upper suction units 44 are mounted on the upper stage 41 surrounded by the reinforcing frame 42. A state where one upper suction unit 44 is taken out is shown in the upper part of FIG. In the upper suction unit 44, for example, rubber suction pads 443 are attached to lower ends of a plurality of pipes 442 extending downward from the support frame 441, respectively. The upper end side of each pipe 442 is connected to a negative pressure supply unit 504 of the control device 500 through a pipe and a control valve (not shown). The support frame 441 has a shape that does not interfere with the ribs 421 and 422 constituting the reinforcing frame 42.

  The support frame 441 is supported so as to be movable in the vertical axis direction with respect to the base plate 446 via a pair of sliders 444 and a pair of guide rails 445 engaged therewith. Further, the base plate 446 and the support frame 441 are coupled by an elevating mechanism 447 having an appropriate driving mechanism such as a motor and a ball screw mechanism. By the operation of the lifting mechanism 447, the support frame 441 moves up and down with respect to the base plate 446, and the pipe 442 and the suction pad 443 move up and down integrally therewith.

  The upper suction unit 44 is attached to the upper stage 41 by fixing the base plate 446 to the upper stage 41. In this state, the lower end of each pipe 442 and the suction pad 443 are inserted through through holes (not shown) provided in the upper stage 41. Then, by the operation of the elevating mechanism 447, the suction pad 443 has the lower surface discharged to the lower side of the lower surface (holding plane) 41a of the upper stage 41 and the lower surface inside the through hole of the upper stage 41 (upper). It moves up and down with the retracted position. Further, when the lower surface of the suction pad 443 is positioned at substantially the same height as the holding plane 41a of the upper stage 41, the upper stage 41 and the suction pad 443 can cooperate to hold the substrate SB on the holding plane 41a. it can.

  Returning to FIG. 7, the upper stage assembly 40 configured as described above is provided on the base plate 481. More specifically, the support columns 45 and 46 are respectively erected on the base plate 481, and the upper stage assembly 40 is attached to the support columns 45 and 46 so as to be movable up and down. The base plate 481 is attached to the upper stage support frames 22 and 23, and is supported by an upper stage block support mechanism 482 including an appropriate movable mechanism such as a cross roller bearing.

  Therefore, the entire upper stage assembly 40 can be moved horizontally with respect to the main frame 2. Specifically, the base plate 481 moves horizontally in the horizontal plane, that is, the XY plane by the operation of the upper stage block support mechanism 482. A pair of base plates 481 provided corresponding to the support pillars 45 and 46 can move independently of each other, and the upper stage assembly 40 moves with respect to the main frame 2 in accordance with these movements. It is possible to move in a predetermined range in the direction, the Y direction, and the θ direction.

  Next, transfer processing in the transfer device 203 configured as described above will be described. In this transfer process, the substrate SB held on the upper stage 41 and the blanket BL held on the lower stage 61 are arranged close to each other with a minute gap therebetween. Then, the transfer roller 641 contacts the lower surface of the blanket BL and moves along the lower surface of the blanket BL while locally pushing up the blanket BL. The pushed blanket BL first locally contacts the substrate SB, and the contact portion gradually expands as the roller moves, and finally contacts the entire substrate SB. As a result, the blanket BL and the substrate SB are brought into close contact with each other, and the pattern layer on the blanket BL is transferred to the substrate SB.

  12 to 18 are diagrams schematically showing the positional relationship of each part of the apparatus at each stage of processing. Hereinafter, the operation of each unit in the transfer process will be described with reference to FIGS. In addition, in order to show the relationship between the respective units at each stage of the process in an easy-to-understand manner, a configuration that is not directly related to the process at the stage or a reference numeral to be attached thereto may be omitted.

  In this transfer processing, the substrate SB is first carried along the substrate transfer path PTS in FIG. 3 to the initialized transfer device 203 and set on the upper stage 41. Next, the blanket BL carrying the pattern layer patterned by the plate PP is carried along the blanket conveyance path PTB in FIG. 3 and set on the lower stage 61. The substrate SB is loaded with the transfer surface receiving the pattern layer transferred downward, and the blanket BL is loaded with the pattern layer facing upward.

  FIG. 12 shows a process until the substrate SB is carried into the apparatus and set on the upper stage 41. As shown in FIG. 12A, in the initial state, the upper stage 41 is retracted upward and the distance from the lower stage 61 is increased, and a wide processing space SP is formed between both stages. Each hand 625 is retracted below the upper surface of the lower stage 61. The transfer roller 641 is the position closest to the (−X) direction among the positions facing the opening window 611 of the lower stage 61, and the position retracted below the upper surface of the lower stage 61 in the vertical axis direction (Z direction). It is in. Each control valve connected to the negative pressure supply unit 504 is closed.

  In this state, from the (−Y) direction to the (+ Y) direction, the substrate SB placed on the substrate hand HS of the transport unit 402 is carried into the processing space SP after its thickness is measured in advance. The At this time, since the hand 625 and the transfer roller 641 are retracted downward, the carrying-in operation can be facilitated. When the substrate SB is positioned at a predetermined position, the upper stage 41 is lowered as indicated by an arrow.

  When the upper stage 41 is lowered to a predetermined position close to the substrate SB, the suction pad 443 provided on the upper stage 41 is below the lower surface of the upper stage 41, that is, the holding plane 41a, as shown in FIG. Until it comes into contact with the upper surface of the substrate SB. When the control valve connected to the suction pad 443 is opened, the upper surface of the substrate SB is sucked by the suction pad 443 and the substrate SB is held. Then, the substrate SB is lifted from the substrate hand HS by raising the suction pad 443 while continuing the suction. At this point, the substrate hand HS moves out of the apparatus.

  Finally, as shown in FIG. 12C, the lower surface of the suction pad 443 rises to a position that is the same height as or slightly higher than the holding plane 41a, so that the upper surface of the substrate SB becomes higher than that of the upper stage 41. It is held in close contact with the holding plane 41a. A configuration may be employed in which suction grooves or suction holes are provided on the lower surface of the upper stage 41, and the substrate SB is sucked by these. In this way, the holding of the substrate SB is completed.

  13 and 14 show a process from the loading of the substrate SB until the blanket BL is loaded and held on the lower stage 61. FIG. When the holding of the substrate SB by the upper stage 41 is completed, as shown in FIG. 13A, the upper stage 41 is raised to form a wide processing space SP again, and each hand 625 is moved from the upper surface 61 a of the lower stage 61. Also raise to the top. At this time, the upper surfaces 625a of the hands 625 are all set to the same height.

  In this state, as shown in FIG. 13B, it is accepted that the blanket BL having the pattern layer PL formed on the upper surface is placed on the blanket hand HB of the transport unit 402 and carried into the processing space SP. The thickness of the blanket BL is measured prior to loading. The blanket hand HB is preferably of the fork type having fingers extending in the Y direction so that the blanket hand HB can enter through the gap without interfering with the hand 625.

  When the blanket hand HB is lowered after entering or the hand 625 is raised, the upper surface 625a of the hand 625 comes into contact with the lower surface of the blanket BL. Thereafter, as shown in FIG. Is supported by By supplying a negative pressure to the suction hole 625b (FIG. 9) provided in the hand 625, the support can be made more reliable. Thus, the blanket BL is transferred from the blanket hand HB to the hand 625, and the blanket hand HB can be discharged out of the apparatus.

  After that, as shown in FIG. 14A, the hand 625 is lowered while keeping the height of the upper surface 625a of each hand 625, and finally the upper surface 625a of the hand is set to the same height as the upper surface 61a of the lower stage 61. . As a result, the peripheral portions of the four sides of the blanket BL abut against the upper surface 61 a of the lower stage 61.

  At this time, as shown in FIG. 14B, a negative pressure is supplied to the vacuum suction groove 612 provided on the lower stage upper surface 61a to suck and hold the blanket BL. Accordingly, the suction with the hand 625 is released. As a result, the blanket BL is in a state in which the peripheral portions of the four sides are sucked and held by the lower stage 61. In FIG. 14B, the blanket BL and the hand 625 are separated to clearly indicate that the suction holding by the hand 625 has been released, but in actuality, the lower surface of the blanket BL is in contact with the upper surface 625a of the hand. Is maintained.

  If the hand 625 is separated in this state, it is considered that the blanket BL is bent downward at its center by its own weight, and has a convex shape as a whole. By maintaining the hand 625 at the same height as the lower stage upper surface 61a, it is possible to suppress the bending and maintain the blanket BL in a planar state. In this way, the blanket BL is held by the lower stage 61 by suction and the central portion is supplementarily supported by the hand 625, and the holding of the blanket BL is completed.

  The order of loading the substrate SB and the blanket BL may be reversed. However, when the substrate SB is loaded after the blanket BL is loaded, there is a possibility that foreign matters may fall on the blanket BL when the substrate SB is loaded, thereby contaminating the pattern layer PL or generating defects. By setting the blanket BL on the lower stage 61 after setting the substrate SB on the upper stage 41 as described above, such a problem can be avoided in advance.

  When the substrate SB and the blanket BL are set on the upper and lower stages in this way, the substrate SB and the blanket BL are subsequently pre-aligned. Further, the gap adjustment is performed so that both face each other with a preset gap therebetween.

  FIG. 15 is a diagram illustrating a process of gap adjustment processing and alignment processing. Among these, the precision alignment process shown in FIG. 15C is executed only by the transfer device 203 and is not executed by the other transfer devices 202 and 204. This is because the accuracy of forming the pattern layer on the coating layer and the accuracy of transferring the transfer plate TP to the blanket BL are lower than the accuracy of transferring the pattern layer to the substrate SB.

  As described above, the substrate SB and the blanket BL are carried in from an external device. However, positional displacement may occur during the delivery. The pre-alignment process is a process for roughly positioning each of the substrate SB held on the upper stage 41 and the blanket BL held on the lower stage 61 at a position suitable for the subsequent process.

  FIG. 15A is a side view schematically showing the arrangement of a configuration for executing pre-alignment. As described above, in this embodiment, a total of six pre-alignment cameras 241 to 246 are provided in the upper part of the apparatus. Among these, the three cameras 241 to 243 are substrate pre-alignment cameras for detecting the outer edge of the substrate SB held on the upper stage 41. The other three cameras 244 to 246 are blanket pre-alignment cameras for detecting the outer edge of the blanket BL. Here, the pre-alignment cameras 241 to 243 are referred to as “substrate pre-alignment cameras” for the sake of convenience, but these can be used for both the alignment of the substrate SB and the alignment of the substrate SB. The processing contents are also the same.

  As shown in FIGS. 7 and 15A, the substrate pre-alignment cameras 241 and 242 are installed at substantially the same position in the X direction and different positions in the Y direction. ) Each side edge is imaged from above. Since the upper stage 41 is formed in a plane size slightly smaller than the substrate SB, the (−X) side outer edge portion of the substrate SB (or substrate SB) extending to the outside of the end portion of the upper stage 41 is imaged from above. be able to. Further, although not shown in the figure, another substrate pre-alignment camera 243 is provided on the front side of FIG. 15A, and the camera 243 is (−) of the substrate SB (or substrate SB). Y) Take an image of the side outer edge from above.

  On the other hand, the blanket pre-alignment cameras 244 and 246 are installed in substantially the same position in the X direction and different positions in the Y direction, and the (+ X) side outer edge portion of the blanket BL placed on the lower stage 61. Are imaged from above. Further, another blanket pre-alignment camera 245 is provided on the front side of FIG. 15A, and the camera 245 images the outer edge of the blanket BL on the (−Y) side from above. In the present embodiment, the pre-alignment camera 244 images a unique blanket identification number NB assigned to an area outside the coating layer CL or the pattern layer PL for each blanket BL, and the image processing unit 505 analyzes the image. The blanket BL placed on the lower stage 61 can be specified.

  The positions of the substrate SB and the blanket BL are grasped from the imaging results obtained by these pre-alignment cameras 241 to 246, respectively. Then, the upper stage block support mechanism 482 and the alignment stage support mechanism are actuated as necessary, so that the substrate SB and the blanket BL are respectively positioned at preset target positions. Further, as described above, it is possible to grasp the blanket identification number from the imaging result by the pre-alignment camera 244.

  When the blanket BL is moved horizontally together with the lower stage 61, it is preferable that the upper surface 625a of each hand 625 and the lower surface of the blanket BL are slightly separated from each other as shown in FIG. For this purpose, the gas supplied from the gas supply unit 506 can be discharged from the suction hole 625b of the hand 625. The same applies to the precision alignment process described later.

  In addition, for a thin or large substrate SB that is likely to be bent, the substrate SB may be subjected to processing with a plate-like support member in contact with the back surface, for example, in order to facilitate handling. In such a case, even if the support member is larger than the substrate SB, for example, the support member is made of a transparent material, or a partially transparent window or through hole is provided in the support member. If the position of the outer edge portion is set to be easy to detect, pre-alignment processing similar to the above can be performed.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 15B, the upper stage 41 that holds the substrate SB is lowered with respect to the lower stage 61 that holds the blanket BL, and a gap G between the substrate SB and the blanket BL is determined in advance. To the set value. At this time, the thicknesses of the substrate SB and the blanket BL measured in advance are taken into consideration. That is, the distance between the upper stage 41 and the lower stage 61 is adjusted so that the gap between the two becomes a predetermined value in consideration of the thicknesses of the substrate SB and the blanket BL. The gap value G here can be set to about 300 μm, for example.

  Regarding the thicknesses of the substrate SB and the blanket BL, there are individual differences due to dimensional variations in manufacturing, and even for the same component, for example, a change in thickness due to swelling is conceivable. Further, the gap G may be defined between the lower surface of the substrate SB and the upper surface of the blanket BL, and between the lower surface of the substrate SB and the upper surface of the pattern layer PL of the pattern forming material carried on the blanket BL. May be defined between. As long as the thickness of the pattern layer PL is strictly controlled in the coating stage, it is technically equivalent.

  When the substrate SB and the blanket BL are thus arranged to face each other with the gap G interposed therebetween, the substrate SB and the blanket BL are brought into close contact by causing the transfer roller 641 to run in the X direction while contacting the lower surface of the blanket BL. Let Thereby, the pattern layer PL on the blanket BL is transferred to the substrate SB.

  FIG. 16 shows the process of transfer processing. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 16A, the transfer roller 641 is raised to a position directly below the blanket BL, and the center line of the transfer roller 641 is substantially the same as the end of the substrate SB in the X direction. Alternatively, the transfer roller 641 is disposed at a position slightly deviated in the (−X) direction. In this state, as shown in FIG. 16B, the transfer roller 641 is further raised and brought into contact with the lower surface of the blanket BL, and the blanket BL at the contacted position is locally pushed up. Thereby, the blanket BL (more precisely, the pattern layer PL carried by the blanket BL) is pressed against the lower surface of the substrate SB with a predetermined pressing force. Since the transfer roller 641 is longer than the substrate SB (and the effective region AR) in the Y direction, an elongated region along the Y direction from one end to the other end in the Y direction on the lower surface of the substrate SB contacts the blanket BL. In this way, the blanket BL and the substrate SB are partially in close contact with each other via the pattern layer PL, so that the contact portion AP2 is locally formed.

  Thus, the lifting mechanism 644 travels in the (+ X) direction while the transfer roller 641 presses the blanket BL, thereby moving the push-up position of the blanket BL in the (+ X) direction. In order to prevent the hand 625 from coming into contact with the transfer roller 641 at this time, as shown in FIG. The upper surface 625a is retracted downward until it is positioned lower than the lower surface of the support frame 642.

  Since the suction by the hand 625 has already been released, the blanket BL is not lowered downward as the hand 625 is lowered. Further, by appropriately managing the timing of starting the descent in synchronization with the travel of the transfer roller 641, it is possible to prevent the blanket BL that has lost support by the hand 625 from drooping downward due to its own weight.

  FIG. 17 shows the running process of the transfer roller 641. Since the substrate SB and the blanket BL that have been in contact with each other are maintained in close contact via the pattern layer PL, as shown in FIG. 17A, the substrate SB and the blanket BL are moved along with the travel of the transfer roller 641. The area where the two are in close contact gradually expands in the (+ X) direction. At this time, as shown in the figure, the hand 625 is sequentially lowered as the transfer roller 641 approaches.

  Finally, as shown in FIG. 17B, all the hands 625 descend, and the transfer roller 641 reaches the (+ X) side end below the lower stage 61. At this time, the transfer roller 641 has reached a position substantially directly below or slightly to the (+ X) side of the end of the (+ X) side of the substrate SB, and the entire lower surface of the substrate SB is on the pattern layer PL on the blanket BL. Abutted.

  While the transfer roller 641 travels while maintaining a constant height, the area of the area pressed by the transfer roller 641 on the lower surface of the blanket BL is constant. Therefore, when the lifting mechanism 644 applies a constant load and presses the transfer roller 641 against the blanket BL, the substrate SB and the blanket BL are pressed against each other with a constant pressing force with the pattern layer PL of the pattern forming material interposed therebetween. Will be. Thereby, the pattern transfer from the substrate SB to the blanket BL can be performed satisfactorily.

  In transferring the pattern layer PL, it is ideal that the entire surface area of the substrate SB can be effectively used, but the peripheral portion of the substrate SB cannot be effectively used due to scratches, contact with a hand during transportation, or the like. An area inevitably arises. As shown in FIG. 17B, when the central portion excluding the end region of the substrate SB is defined as the effective region AR, the pressing force and traveling speed of the transfer roller 641 may be constant at least within the effective region AR. desirable. For this purpose, the length of the transfer roller 641 in the Y direction needs to be longer than the length of the effective area AR in the same direction. In the X direction, the transfer roller 641 starts traveling from a position on the (−X) side of the end of the effective area AR in the (−X) direction, and reaches at least the end of the effective area AR in the (+ X) direction. Until then, it is desirable to maintain a constant speed. The surface area of the blanket BL facing the effective area AR of the substrate SB becomes the effective area AR on the blanket BL side.

  When the transfer roller 641 reaches the end on the (+ X) side in this way, the transfer roller 641 stops traveling and the transfer roller 641 is retracted downward as shown in FIG. Thereby, the transfer roller 641 is separated from the lower surface of the blanket BL, and the transfer process is completed.

  When the transfer process is thus completed, the close contact body between the substrate SB and the blanket BL is carried out. FIG. 18 shows the process of carrying out the plate and blanket. First, as shown in FIG. 18A, each hand 625 that has been lowered during the transfer process is raised again to position the upper surface 625 a at the same height as the upper surface 61 a of the lower stage 61. In this state, the suction of the substrate SB by the suction pad 443 of the upper stage 41 is released. Accordingly, the holding of the substrate SB by the upper stage 41 is released, and a close contact body in which the substrate SB and the blanket BL are integrated through the pattern layer PL of the pattern forming material is left on the lower stage 61. The center part of the contact body is supported by the hand 625.

  Subsequently, as shown in FIG. 18B, the upper stage 41 is raised to form a wide processing space SP, the suction by the groove 612 of the lower stage 61 is released, and the hand 625 is further raised to lower the lower stage. Move upward from 61. At this time, it is preferable that the contact body is sucked and held by the hand 625.

  This makes it possible to access from the outside. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 18 (c), the blanket BL with the substrate SB in close contact is received by receiving the blanket hand HB of the transport unit 402 from the outside and performing the reverse operation to that during loading. To the peeling device 303. Then, if the substrate SB is peeled from the blanket BL by the peeling device 303, a pattern layer is formed on the substrate SB.

<< Peeling device >>
In the printing system 100A, three types of peeling devices 302, 303, and 304 are provided, which basically have the same configuration. Therefore, the peeling device 303 will be described, and the description of the peeling devices 302 and 304 will be omitted.

  FIG. 19 is a perspective view showing an example of a peeling device equipped in the printing system shown in FIG. The peeling device 303 is a device for peeling the close contact body that is carried in with the main surfaces in close contact with each other. The peeling device 303 has a structure in which the stage block 3 and the upper suction block 5 are respectively fixed on the main frame 11 attached to the housing. In FIG. 19, the housing is not shown to show the internal structure of the apparatus.

  The stage block 3 has a stage 30 for placing a close contact body (hereinafter referred to as “work”) in which the substrate SB and the blanket BL are in close contact with each other. The horizontal stage part 31 which became and the taper stage part 32 where the upper surface became a plane which has the inclination of several degrees (for example, about 2 degree | times) with respect to a horizontal surface are provided. An initial peeling unit 33 is provided near the end of the stage 30 on the taper stage portion 32 side, that is, on the (−X) side. A roller unit 34 is provided so as to straddle the horizontal stage portion 31.

  On the other hand, the upper suction block 5 is erected from the main frame 11 and has a support frame 50 provided so as to cover the upper part of the stage block 3, a first suction unit 51 attached to the support frame 50, and a second An adsorption unit 52, a third adsorption unit 53, and a fourth adsorption unit 54 are provided. These adsorption units 51 to 54 are arranged in order in the (+ X) direction.

  FIG. 20 is a perspective view showing the main configuration of the peeling apparatus. More specifically, FIG. 20 shows the structure of the stage 30, the roller unit 34, and the second suction unit 52 among the components of the peeling device 303. The stage 30 includes a horizontal stage portion 31 whose upper surface 310 is a substantially horizontal surface and a tapered stage portion 32 whose upper surface 320 is a tapered surface. The upper surface 310 of the horizontal stage unit 31 has a plane size that is slightly larger than the plane size of the workpiece to be placed.

  The taper stage unit 32 is provided in close contact with the (−X) side end of the horizontal stage unit 31, and the upper surface 320 thereof is the same height as the upper surface 310 of the horizontal stage unit 31 at a portion in contact with the horizontal stage unit 31. While located at (Z-direction position), it is retracted downward, that is, in the (−Z) direction as it moves away from the horizontal stage portion 31 in the (−X) direction. Accordingly, in the entire stage 30, the horizontal surface of the upper surface 310 of the horizontal stage portion 31 and the tapered surface of the upper surface 320 of the tapered stage portion 32 are continuous, and the ridge line portion E to which they are connected has a linear shape extending in the Y direction. ing.

  In addition, lattice-shaped grooves are formed on the upper surface 310 of the horizontal stage portion 31. More specifically, a grid-like groove 311 is provided at the center of the upper surface 310 of the horizontal stage portion 31 and one of the rectangles on the tapered stage portion 32 side is surrounded so as to surround the region where the groove 311 is formed. A groove 312 is provided on the peripheral edge of the upper surface 310 of the horizontal stage portion 31 so as to have a substantially U shape excluding the side. These grooves 311, 312 are connected to a negative pressure supply unit 504 (FIG. 4) via a control valve, and suction grooves that suck and hold a workpiece placed on the stage 30 when negative pressure is supplied. As a function. The two types of grooves 311 and 312 are not connected on the stage, and are connected to the negative pressure supply unit 504 through independent control valves. Therefore, in addition to adsorption using both grooves, Adsorption using only grooves is also possible.

  A roller unit 34 is provided so as to straddle the stage 30 configured in this manner. Specifically, a pair of guide rails 351 and 352 extend in the Y direction along both ends in the Y direction of the horizontal stage portion 31, and these guide rails 351 and 352 are fixed to the main frame 11. ing. A roller unit 34 is slidably attached to the guide rails 351 and 352.

  The roller unit 34 includes sliders 341 and 342 slidably engaged with the guide rails 351 and 352, respectively, and extends in the Y direction across the upper part of the stage 30 so as to connect the sliders 341 and 342. The lower angle 343 is provided. An upper angle 345 is attached to the lower angle 343 via an appropriate lifting mechanism 344 so as to be movable up and down. A columnar peeling roller 340 extending in the Y direction is attached to the upper angle 345 in a freely rotatable manner.

  When the upper angle 345 is lowered downward, that is, in the (−Z) direction by the lifting mechanism 344, the lower surface of the peeling roller 340 comes into contact with the upper surface of the work placed on the stage 30. On the other hand, in a state where the upper angle 345 is positioned upward, that is, in a position in the (+ Z) direction by the lifting mechanism 344, the peeling roller 340 is separated from the upper surface of the workpiece. A backup roller 346 for suppressing the bending of the peeling roller 340 is rotatably attached to the upper angle 345, and a rib for preventing the upper angle 345 itself from being bent is appropriately provided. The peeling roller 340 and the backup roller 346 do not have a drive source, and these rotate freely.

  The roller unit 34 is movable in the Y direction by a motor 353 attached to the main frame 11. More specifically, the lower angle 343 is connected to, for example, a ball screw mechanism 354 as a conversion mechanism that converts the rotational motion of the motor 353 into linear motion. When the motor 353 rotates, the lower angle 343 is guided to the guide rails 351, 351. The roller unit 34 moves in the Y direction by moving along the 352 in the Y direction. The movable range of the peeling roller 340 accompanying the movement of the roller unit 34 is as follows: (−X) direction to the vicinity of the (−X) side end portion of the horizontal stage portion 31, (+ X) direction of the horizontal stage portion 31 ( The position is set to the outside of the + X) side end, that is, the position further advanced to the (+ X) side.

  Next, the configuration of the second adsorption unit 52 will be described. The first to fourth adsorption units 51 to 54 all have the same structure, and here, the structure of the second adsorption unit 52 will be described as a representative. The second suction unit 52 includes a beam member 521 that extends in the Y direction and is fixed to the support frame 50. The beam member 521 has a pair of vertically downwards, that is, a (−Z) direction. The column members 522 and 523 are attached at different positions in the Y direction. A plate member 524 is attached to the column members 522 and 523 via a guide rail that is hidden in the drawing so as to be lifted and lowered. The plate member 524 is lifted and lowered by a lifting mechanism 525 including a motor and a conversion mechanism (for example, a ball screw mechanism). Driven.

  A bar-shaped pad support member 526 extending in the Y direction is attached to the lower portion of the plate member 524, and a plurality of suction pads 527 are arranged at equal intervals in the Y direction on the lower surface of the pad support member 526. Although FIG. 20 shows a state in which the second suction unit 52 is moved upward from the actual position, when the plate member 524 is moved downward by the lifting mechanism 525, the suction pad 527 is moved to the horizontal stage portion 31. It can be lowered to a position very close to the upper surface 310, and comes into contact with the upper surface of the workpiece when the workpiece is placed on the stage 30. A negative pressure from the negative pressure supply unit 504 is applied to each suction pad 527, and the upper surface of the work is sucked and held.

  FIG. 21 is a side view showing the structure of the initial peeling unit and the positional relationship of each part. First, the structure of the initial peeling unit 33 will be described with reference to FIGS. 19 and 21. The initial peeling unit 33 has a bar-shaped pressing member 331 extending in the Y direction above the taper stage portion 32, and the pressing member 331 is supported by a support arm 332. The support arm 332 is attached to the column member 334 via a guide rail 333 extending in the vertical axis direction so as to freely move up and down, and the support arm 332 moves up and down with respect to the column member 334 by the operation of the lifting mechanism 335. . The column member 334 is supported by a base portion 336 attached to the main frame 11, but the position adjustment mechanism 337 can adjust the position in the Y direction of the column member 334 on the base portion 336 within a predetermined range. .

  A workpiece WK (= substrate SB + blanket BL) as an object to be peeled is placed on the stage 30 constituted by the horizontal stage portion 31 and the taper stage portion 32.

  In the work WK, the blanket BL has a larger planar size than the substrate SB, and the substrate SB is in close contact with the substantially central portion of the blanket BL. The work WK is placed on the stage 30 with the blanket BL down and the substrate SB up. At this time, as shown in FIG. 21, the (−X) side end portion of the substrate SB of the workpiece WK is substantially above the ridge line portion E at the boundary between the horizontal stage portion 31 and the taper stage portion 32, more specifically, the ridge line portion. The workpiece WK is placed on the stage 30 so that the position slightly shifts to the (−X) side from E. Therefore, the blanket BL outside the substrate SB in the (−X) direction is disposed so as to protrude onto the taper stage portion 32, and a gap is generated between the lower surface of the blanket BL and the upper surface 320 of the taper stage portion 32. . An angle θ formed by the lower surface of the blanket BL and the upper surface 320 of the taper stage portion 32 is about the same number of degrees (2 degrees in this embodiment) as the taper angle of the taper stage portion 32.

  The horizontal stage portion 31 is provided with suction grooves 311 and 312 to hold the lower surface of the blanket BL by suction. Among them, the suction groove 311 sucks the lower surface of the blanket BL that hits the lower part of the substrate SB, while the suction groove 312 sucks the lower surface of the blanket BL outside the substrate SB. The suction grooves 311 and 312 can independently turn on and off the suction, and the two types of suction grooves 311 and 312 can be used together to strongly suck the blanket BL. On the other hand, by performing suction using only the outer suction groove 312 and not performing suction on the central portion of the blanket BL where the pattern is effectively formed, a pattern resulting from the deflection of the blanket BL due to suction. Can prevent damage. As described above, by independently controlling the negative pressure supply to the suction groove 311 at the center and the suction groove 312 at the peripheral edge, it is possible to switch the suction holding mode of the blanket BL according to the purpose. Yes.

  Thus, the first to fourth suction units 51 to 54 and the peeling roller 340 of the roller unit 34 are arranged above the work WK sucked and held on the stage 30. As described above, a plurality of suction pads 527 are arranged in the Y direction below the second suction unit 52. More specifically, the suction pad 527 is integrally formed of a material having flexibility and elasticity, such as rubber or silicon resin, and the lower surface thereof contacts the upper surface of the work WK (more specifically, the upper surface of the substrate SB). It has an adsorbing portion 527a that contacts and adsorbs it, and a bellows portion 527b that has elasticity in the vertical direction (Z direction). The suction pads provided in the other suction units 51, 53 and 54 have the same structure, but in the following, the suction pads provided in these suction units 51, 53 and 54 will be denoted by reference numerals 517, 537 and 547, respectively. To distinguish each other.

  The first suction unit 51 is provided above the (−X) side end of the horizontal stage unit 31 and sucks the upper surface of the (−X) side end of the substrate SB when it is lowered. On the other hand, the fourth suction unit 54 is provided above the (+ X) side end of the substrate SB placed on the stage 30 and sucks the upper surface of the (+ X) side end of the substrate SB when lowered. The second suction unit 52 and the third suction unit 53 are appropriately distributed between them, and for example, the suction pads 517 to 547 can be arranged at substantially equal intervals in the Y direction. Between these adsorption units 51 to 54, movement in the vertical direction and on / off of adsorption can be performed independently of each other.

  The peeling roller 340 moves in the vertical direction to move toward and away from the substrate SB, and moves in the Y direction to move horizontally along the substrate SB. In the state where the peeling roller 340 is lowered, it moves horizontally while abutting on the upper surface of the substrate SB and rolling. The position of the peeling roller 340 when moved to the most (−X) side is a position closest to the (+ X) side of the suction pad 517 of the first suction unit 51. In order to enable the arrangement in such a proximity position, the first suction unit 51 has the same structure as the second suction unit 52 shown in FIG. The fourth suction units 52 to 54 are attached to the support frame 50 in the opposite direction.

  The initial peeling unit 33 has its Y-direction position adjusted so that the pressing member 331 is positioned above the blanket BL protruding above the taper stage portion 32. Then, when the support arm 332 is lowered, the lower end of the pressing member 331 is lowered and presses the upper surface of the blanket BL. At this time, the tip of the pressing member 331 is formed of an elastic member so that the pressing member 331 does not damage the blanket BL.

  Next, the peeling operation by the peeling device 303 configured as described above will be described with reference to FIGS. 22 and 23 are diagrams showing the positional relationship of each part at each stage during the peeling process, and schematically show the progress of the process. This peeling process is performed by the CPU 501 executing a processing program stored in advance to control each unit.

  First, when the workpiece WK is loaded at the above position on the stage 30 by the transfer unit 402 disposed between the transfer device 203 and the peeling device 303, the device is initialized and each part of the device is set to a predetermined initial state. The In the initial state, the work WK is sucked and held by one or both of the suction grooves 311 and 312, and the suction member 331 of the initial peeling unit 33, the peeling roller 340 of the roller unit 34, and the first to fourth suction units 51 to 54 are sucked. All of the pads 517 to 547 are separated from the work WK. Further, the peeling roller 340 is at a position closest to the (−X) side in the movable range.

  From this state, the first suction unit 51 and the peeling roller 340 are lowered and brought into contact with the upper surface of the workpiece WK, respectively. At this time, as shown in FIG. 22A, the suction pad 517 of the first suction unit 51 sucks the upper surface of the (−X) side end of the substrate SB, and the peeling roller 340 is positioned adjacent to the (+ X) side. In contact with the upper surface of the substrate SB. In FIG. 22A, the downward arrow attached in the vicinity of the pressing member 331 means that the pressing member 331 moves in the direction of the arrow in the subsequent process from the state shown in the drawing. The same applies to the following drawings.

  Next, the initial peeling unit 33 is operated, the pressing member 331 is lowered, and the end of the blanket BL is pressed. The end portion of the blanket BL protrudes above the taper stage portion 32, and there is a gap between the lower surface thereof and the upper surface 320 of the taper stage portion 32. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 22B, when the pressing member 331 presses the end of the blanket BL downward, the end of the blanket BL is bent downward along the tapered surface of the taper stage portion 32. As a result, the end of the substrate SB sucked and held by the first suction unit 51 and the blanket BL are separated from each other and peeling is started. The pressing member 331 is formed in a bar shape extending in the Y direction, and the length in the Y direction is set longer than that of the blanket BL. Therefore, the contact area where the pressing member 331 contacts the blanket BL extends linearly from the (+ Y) side end of the blanket BL to the (−Y) side end. By doing so, the blanket BL can be bent into a columnar shape, and the boundary line between the peeling region where the substrate SB and the blanket BL have already peeled and the unpeeled region that has not yet peeled (hereinafter referred to as “peeling boundary”). Line)) can be made straight.

  From this state, the first suction unit 51 starts to rise, and the peeling roller 340 is moved in the (+ X) direction in synchronization with this. Specifically, the movement of the peeling roller 340 is started at the timing when the peeling boundary line that moves in the (+ X) direction due to the rising of the first suction unit 51 reaches just below the peeling roller 340. As a result, the area where the peeling roller 340 contacts the substrate SB moves in the (+ X) direction. Thereafter, the first suction unit 51 moves upward, that is, in the (+ Z) direction, and the peeling roller 340 moves at a constant speed in the (+ X) direction.

  As shown in FIG. 22C, the first suction unit 51 that holds the end portion of the substrate SB is raised, whereby the substrate SB is pulled up, and the separation from the blanket BL proceeds in the (+ X) direction. Since the peeling roller 340 is in contact, the peeling does not proceed beyond the contact area by the peeling roller 340. By moving the peeling roller 340 in the (+ X) direction at a constant speed while being in contact with the substrate SB, the progressing speed of the peeling can be kept constant. That is, the separation boundary line is a straight line along the roller extending direction, that is, the Y direction, and proceeds in the (+ X) direction at a constant speed. Thereby, the damage of the pattern resulting from the stress concentration by the fluctuation | variation of the advancing speed of peeling can be prevented reliably.

  Subsequently, the value of an internal control parameter N for the following processing is set to 2. Then, the process waits for the peeling roller 340 to pass through the Nth suction position. The Nth suction position is a position directly below the Nth suction unit (N = 1 to 4) on the upper surface of the substrate SB, and is a position where the Nth suction unit receives the suction.

  Since N = 2 here, the process waits until the peeling roller 340 passes through the second suction position, that is, the position immediately below the second suction unit 52. When the peeling roller 340 passes through the second suction position, the second suction unit 52 starts to descend, and the substrate SB is captured by the suction pad 527 of the second suction unit 52.

  As shown in FIG. 22D, since the peeling roller 340 has already passed, the substrate SB is peeled from the blanket BL and lifted upward at a position directly below the second suction unit 52. By approaching the substrate SB while applying a negative pressure to the suction pad 527 made of an elastic member having elasticity, the substrate SB is captured when the lower surface of the suction pad 527 comes into contact with the upper surface of the substrate SB. Can be adsorbed. After the suction pad 527 is lowered to a predetermined position, the substrate SB pulled up may be waited. In any case, it is possible to prevent suction failure by providing the suction pad with flexibility.

  After the adsorption of the substrate SB is started, the movement of the second adsorption unit 52 is turned up. As a result, as shown in FIG. 23A, the peeling speed is still controlled by the peeling roller 340, and the main body for lifting the substrate SB for peeling is changed from the first suction unit 51 to the second suction unit 52. Taken over. Further, the substrate SB after separation is switched from holding by only the first suction unit 51 to holding by the first suction unit 51 and the second suction unit 52, and the number of holding points increases. In addition, when each adsorption | suction unit 51-54 raises, the relative position in the Z direction between each adsorption | suction unit 51-54 is maintained so that the attitude | position of the board | substrate SB after peeling becomes a substantially plane.

  Subsequently, 1 is added to the value of the control parameter N, and the process is a loop process that returns to step S107 until the parameter N becomes 4. Therefore, in the next loop, when the peeling roller 340 passes through the third suction position immediately below the third suction unit 53, the lowering of the third suction unit 53 is started. As shown in FIG. The main body for lifting the substrate SB moves from the second suction unit 52 to the third suction unit 53. Further, in the next loop, after the peeling roller 340 passes through the fourth suction position, the fourth suction unit 54 descends and pulls up the substrate SB. By changing the upper limit value of N in step S110, it is possible to cope with a case where the number of suction units is different from the above.

  Thus, by pulling up the substrate SB by the fourth suction unit 54, the entire substrate SB is pulled away from the blanket BL as shown in FIG. Therefore, after raising the fourth suction unit 54, the peeling roller 340 is moved to the (+ X) side from the stage 30 to stop the movement. And as shown in FIG.23 (d), after raising all the adsorption | suction units 51-54 to the same height, it stops. Further, the pressing member 331 of the initial peeling unit 33 is separated from the blanket BL and moved to a retracted position above the upper surface of the blanket BL and at the (−X) side end of the (−X) side end of the blanket BL (step S114). ). Thereafter, the suction holding of the blanket BL by the suction groove is released, and the separated substrate SB and the blanket BL are carried out of the apparatus, whereby the peeling process is completed.

  The suction units 51 to 54 have the same height by holding the substrate SB after separation and the blanket BL in parallel so that the hand for dispensing hand inserted by an external robot or operator can be accessed. This is to facilitate the delivery of the blanket BL and the substrate SB.

<< Cleaning device >>
In the printing system 100A, a plate cleaning device 720 is provided to clean and reuse the plate PPi used for the patterning process, and the transfer plate TPi used for removing residual ink from the blanket BL is cleaned. A transfer plate cleaning device 730 is provided for reuse. These have the same configuration as the cleaning apparatus described in JP-A-9-155306 and JP-A-2006-41439. Therefore, the cleaning device 730 will be described, and the description of the cleaning device 720 will be omitted.

  FIG. 24 is a side view schematically showing a cleaning device for cleaning the transfer plate used for ink removal. In the cleaning device 730, the internal space of the cleaning housing 731 is partitioned into three processing spaces by two partition walls. Each partition is formed with an opening so that the transfer plate TP can pass in a posture inclined with respect to a horizontal plane (XY plane). A plurality of inclined rollers 732 are arranged in the X direction at predetermined intervals so as to pass through the processing spaces while passing through the openings, and the transfer plate TP moves through the three processing spaces by roller conveyance (roller conveyance). It is possible to move in order.

  In these treatment spaces, a pre-wet part 733, a chemical solution treatment part 734, and a rinse part 735 are provided. Among these, the pre-wet part 733 located on the most upstream side in the transfer direction of the transfer plate TPi supplies water or a predetermined chemical solution from the shower nozzle 7331 to the transfer plate TPi to pre-wet the transfer plate TPi. Further, the chemical solution processing unit 734 adjacent to the (+ X) direction side of the pre-wet unit 733 supplies a cleaning chemical solution from the two-fluid nozzle 7341 to the transfer plate TPi that has passed through the pre-wet unit 733 to perform the cleaning process. Apply. Further, the rinsing unit 735 adjacent to the (+ X) direction side of the chemical solution processing unit 734 supplies a rinsing solution such as water from the shower nozzle 7351 to the transfer plate TPi that has passed through the chemical solution processing unit 734 for cleaning. Rinse the chemical solution. In addition, since the transfer plate TPi is inclined with respect to the horizontal plane during conveyance, the liquid supplied to the transfer plate TPi flows down downward in the gravitational direction as needed. In this way, the transfer plate TPi is subjected to wet cleaning to remove the residual ink transferred to the transfer plate TPi and reused as the transfer plate TP0. In order to forcibly dry the transfer plate TP0, a drying unit may be provided on the (+ X) direction side of the rinse unit 735.

<< Printer Operation >>
In the printing system 100A configured as described above, in both the patterning transfer device 202 and the substrate transfer device 203, the transfer roller 641 is rotatably provided around the rotation axis, and the plate PP or The blanket BL is pressed against the plate PP and the substrate SB from the opposite side (−Z direction side) of the substrate SB to form a close contact portion, and reciprocates in a direction perpendicular to the rotation axis. In the printing system 100A, as shown in FIG. 3, the transfer devices 202 and 203 are arranged in a positional relationship rotated 90 ° relative to each other. Accordingly, the transfer roller 641 moves in the pattern transfer device 202 in the Y direction, whereas the transfer roller 641 moves in the substrate transfer device 203 in the X direction. This corresponds to the direction W (see FIGS. 1 and 2). Therefore, in the following description, the movement direction of the transfer roller 641 in the transfer devices 202 and 203 (hereinafter referred to as “roller movement direction”) will be unified as “W direction”.

  In both the patterning transfer device 202 and the substrate transfer device 203, as described above, when the transfer roller 641 moves in the (+ W) direction or the (−W) direction, the partial formation of the contact portion is performed. And W direction expansion is performed. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 25, a transfer step by the (+ W) direction movement (hereinafter referred to as “outward movement”) of the transfer roller 641 and a (−W) direction movement (hereinafter referred to as “return path movement”) of the transfer roller 641. The printing process can be efficiently performed by alternately executing the transfer process for each printing process. Of the W direction, the (+ W) direction is referred to as the “forward direction” and the (−W) direction is referred to as the “return direction”.

  FIG. 25 is a diagram schematically showing a normal state of the printing operation executed by the printing system of FIG. In the printing system 100A, the printing process for the Nth sheet is executed as follows. That is, when the blanket BL carrying the coating layer CL and the plate PP having a reversal pattern (not shown) are loaded into the patterning transfer device 202, the blanket BL is positioned immediately below the (−W) side end of the plate PP. The transfer roller 641 that has been moved up and pushes the blanket BL locally upward. As a result, the blanket BL and the plate PP are partially adhered to each other via the coating layer CL on the (−W) direction side of the plate PP, thereby forming an adhesion site AP1. Subsequently, the transfer roller 641 moves in the (+ W) direction while the contact portion AP1 is formed, so that the contact portion AP1 is expanded in the (+ W) direction side. Then, the transfer roller 641 moves to a position directly below the (+ W) side end of the plate PP, and further descends to complete the patterning process. The operation of transferring the pattern layer PL to the blanket BL while setting the roller movement direction to the forward direction (+ W) corresponds to an example of the “first forward transfer mode” of the present invention.

  When the first forward transfer mode of the patterning process is completed, a contact body (work) formed by closely attaching the blanket BL and the plate PP to each other is conveyed from the patterning transfer device 202 to the peeling device 302, and the blanket BL and the plate PP are transferred. Are separated from each other. Among them, the used plate PP (PPi) is transported to the cleaning device 720 and subjected to reuse after being subjected to a cleaning process. On the other hand, the blanket BL is carried into the substrate transfer device 203 while carrying the pattern layer PL. Further, in the substrate transfer device 203, the substrate SB is carried in before and after the blanket BL is carried in.

  When the carry-in of the blanket BL and the substrate SB is completed in this way, the transfer roller 641 located at the position immediately below the (−W) side end of the substrate SB rises to push the blanket BL locally upward. As a result, the blanket BL and the substrate SB are in close contact with each other via the pattern layer PL on the (−W) direction side of the substrate SB, so that the adhesion part AP2 is locally formed. Subsequently, the transfer roller 641 moves in the (+ W) direction while the contact portion AP2 is formed, so that the contact portion AP2 is expanded in the (+ W) direction side. Then, the transfer roller 641 moves to a position directly below the (+ W) side end of the substrate SB, and further descends to complete the substrate transfer process. The operation of transferring the pattern layer PL to the substrate SB while setting the roller movement direction to the forward direction (+ W) corresponds to an example of the “second forward transfer mode” of the present invention.

  When the second forward transfer mode of the substrate transfer process is completed, an adhesion body (work) formed by closely attaching the blanket BL and the substrate SB to each other is conveyed from the substrate transfer device 203 to the peeling device 303, and the blanket BL and the substrate SB are transferred. And are separated from each other. In this way, the printing process for the Nth sheet is completed. In the printing system 100A, the printing process for the Nth sheet is in progress, for example, when the conveyance of the adhesion body (workpiece) from the patterning transfer apparatus 202 to the peeling apparatus 302 is completed ( The printing process for the (N + 1) th sheet is started.

  In the (N + 1) -th printing process, the same operation as the N-th printing process is executed except that the roller moving direction is reversed. That is, when the blanket BL and the plate PP are carried into the patterning transfer device 202, the transfer roller 641 positioned immediately below the (+ W) side end of the plate PP is moved upward to bring the blanket BL locally upward. Push up. As a result, the blanket BL and the plate PP are partially adhered to each other on the (+ W) direction side of the plate PP via the coating layer CL, thereby forming an adhesion site AP1. Subsequently, the transfer roller 641 moves in the (−W) direction while the contact portion AP1 is formed, so that the contact portion AP1 is expanded in the (−W) direction side. Then, the transfer roller 641 moves to a position directly below the (−W) side end of the plate PP, and further descends to complete the patterning process. The operation of transferring the pattern layer PL to the blanket BL while setting the roller movement direction to the backward direction (-W) corresponds to an example of the “first backward transfer mode” of the present invention.

  When the first return transfer mode of the patterning process is completed, an adhesion body (work) formed by closely adhering the blanket BL and the plate PP is conveyed from the patterning transfer device 202 to the peeling device 302, and the blanket BL and the plate PP are transferred. Are separated from each other. Among them, the blanket BL is carried into the substrate transfer device 203 while carrying the pattern layer PL. In the substrate transfer device 203, the substrate SB is loaded before and after the blanket BL is loaded. When the carry-in of the blanket BL and the substrate SB is completed in this way, the transfer roller 641 located at the position immediately below the (+ W) side end of the substrate SB rises and pushes the blanket BL locally upward. As a result, the blanket BL and the substrate SB are in close contact with each other via the pattern layer PL on the (+ W) direction side of the substrate SB, and the adhesion site AP2 is locally formed. Subsequently, the transfer roller 641 moves in the (−W) direction while the contact portion AP2 is formed, so that the contact portion AP2 is expanded in the (−W) direction side. Then, the transfer roller 641 moves to a position immediately below the (−W) side end of the substrate SB, and further descends to complete the substrate transfer process. The operation of transferring the pattern layer PL to the substrate SB while setting the roller moving direction to the backward direction (-W) corresponds to an example of the “second backward transfer mode” of the present invention.

  When the second return transfer mode of the substrate transfer process is completed, an adhesion body (work) formed by closely attaching the blanket BL and the substrate SB to each other is conveyed from the substrate transfer device 203 to the peeling device 303, and the blanket BL and the substrate SB are transferred. And are separated from each other.

  As described above, the printing process can be efficiently performed by alternately repeating the printing process in the first forward transfer mode and the second forward transfer mode and the printing process in the second backward transfer mode and the second backward transfer mode. Yes (highly efficient printing process). In addition, in each printing process, the expansion direction W (the roller moving direction in the substrate transfer device 203) of the contact portion AP2 in the substrate transfer process is the same as that in the patterning transfer device 202. Distortion occurring in each process is canceled (distortion canceling effect). As a result, a good pattern can be efficiently printed on the substrate SB.

  Here, if the printing system 100A is temporarily stopped due to processing interruption or occurrence of a defect during normal operation and then the processing is resumed, the position of the transfer roller 641 may deviate from the standby position in normal operation. For example, as shown in the middle part of FIG. 26, when the blanket BL is carried into the substrate transfer device 203 after the patterning processing of the first forward transfer mode is executed in the printing process of the Nth sheet, the transfer roller 641 is moved to the substrate. It stands by at a position directly below the (+ W) side end of SB, and the substrate transfer process cannot be executed in the second forward transfer mode.

  Therefore, in the present embodiment, the control device 500 controls the patterning transfer device 202 and the substrate transfer device 203 in the following manner according to a program stored in advance, thereby transferring the pattern layer PL onto the substrate SB. Then, direction information related to the extension direction W of the contact portion AP1 in the patterning transfer device 202 is acquired, and the extension direction W of the contact portion AP2 in the substrate transfer device 203 is controlled based on the direction information. The operations of the patterning transfer device 202 and the substrate transfer device 203 in the first embodiment will be described below with reference to FIGS.

  FIG. 27 is a flowchart of the patterning process executed in the first embodiment, and FIG. 28 is a diagram showing blanket individual information. The main operation of the patterning process executed by the patterning transfer device 202 is the formation and expansion of the above-mentioned contact portion AP1, but in this embodiment, before performing this, the patterning transfer device for blanket BL and plate PP is executed. When the carry-in to 202 is completed (“YES” in step S101), the pre-alignment camera 244 images and detects the blanket identification number NB given to the blanket BL (step S102). As described above, in the present embodiment, the pre-alignment camera 244 of the patterning transfer device 202 corresponds to an example of the “first carrier detection unit” of the present invention.

The blanket identification number NB is a unique number assigned to each blanket BL, and it is possible to specify individual information of the blanket BL that is the object of patterning processing. More specifically, as shown in FIG. 28, the blanket identification number NB of the blanket BL is the following information:
Roller moving direction: Moving direction of the transfer roller 641 when patterning is performed on the blanket BL,
-Number of uses: Number of times printing has been performed using the blanket BL,
・ Defect rate: Percentage of defects that occurred during the printing process using the blanket BL,
・ Blanket production date: Date of production of the blanket BL,
-Production lot number: Number that identifies the lot that produced the blanket BL,
Blanket plate thickness: a value measured by a thickness meter (not shown) during the printing process, and a value that fluctuates due to swelling of the elastic layer (silicon rubber) constituting the blanket BL,
Is stored in the storage unit 507 in a table format associated with the. Of the items constituting the individual information table of the blanket BL consisting of these pieces of information, “Blanket Identification Number”, “Blanket Production Date”, and “Production Lot Number” are fixed information determined at the production stage of each blanket BL, “Roller moving direction” is information that is rewritten when the formation and expansion of the contact portion AP1 is completed, and “number of times of use”, “defective rate”, and “blanket thickness” are information that is updated every time printing processing is completed. It is.

  In the next step S103, the formation and expansion of the contact part AP1 described above are executed. The expansion direction of the contact portion AP1 at that time is acquired as the roller movement direction in the patterning transfer device 202 (step S104), and this is associated with the blanket identification number NB of the blanket BL in the “roller movement direction” in the individual information table. "Is rewritten (step S105).

  FIG. 29 is a flowchart of the substrate transfer process executed in the first embodiment. In this substrate transfer process, when the loading of the blanket BL and the substrate SB into the substrate transfer device 203 is completed (“YES” in step S111), the blanket identification number NB given to the blanket BL is imaged by the pre-alignment camera 244. This is detected (step S112). As described above, in this embodiment, the pre-alignment camera 244 of the substrate transfer device 203 corresponds to an example of the “second carrier detection unit” of the present invention.

  Next, whether the roller movement direction corresponding to the blanket identification number NB, that is, the expansion direction when the patterning process is performed on the blanket BL, is the (+ W) direction or the (−W) direction. Obtained from the information table (step S113). Further, the standby position of the transfer roller 641 in the substrate transfer device 203 is acquired (step S114). Based on these pieces of information, it is determined whether or not the transfer roller 641 can be immediately moved in the roller movement direction acquired in step S113 (step S115). For example, in the case shown in the column “Nth sheet” in FIG. 26, the roller movement direction in the patterning process is the (+ W) direction, and the patterned blanket BL is carried into the substrate transfer device 203. At this point, the transfer roller 641 of the substrate transfer device 203 is waiting at a position immediately below the (+ W) side end of the substrate SB. Therefore, the transfer device for substrate 203 cannot move the transfer roller 641 in the (+ W) direction, and performs a so-called second forward transfer mode in which the transfer roller 641 is moved in the (+ W) direction to perform substrate transfer processing. It is not possible. In such a case, “NO” is determined in step S115, and the transfer roller 641 is moved to the opposite standby position, that is, the position immediately below the (−W) side end of the substrate SB as shown in FIG. Positioning is performed (step S116). Subsequently, the transfer roller 641 is raised to form the contact portion AP2, and the transfer roller 641 starts moving in the same direction as the roller movement direction in the patterning process (step S117), and the contact portion AP2 is expanded. Substrate transfer processing is performed.

  If “YES” is determined in step S115, the process proceeds to step S117 without executing step S116. For example, as shown in the column “Nth sheet” in FIG. 25, the roller movement direction in the patterning process is the (+ W) direction. In the substrate transfer device 203, the transfer roller 641 is (−W) of the substrate SB. ) Stand by at the position directly below the side edge. Therefore, the transfer roller 641 is immediately raised by the substrate transfer device 203 to form the contact portion AP2, and the transfer roller 641 is moved in the (+ W) direction as it is to expand the contact portion AP2 to perform the substrate transfer process.

  As described above, in the first embodiment of the present invention, the control device 500 acquires the roller moving direction in the patterning transfer device 202 as direction information related to the expansion direction of the contact portion AP1, and based on the information, the substrate is acquired. The expansion direction of the contact portion AP2 in the transfer device 203 is controlled. Therefore, regardless of the standby position of the transfer roller 641 at the time when the substrate SB and the blanket BL are carried into the substrate transfer device 203, the extension directions of the contact portions AP1 and AP2 can always be matched, and patterning processing and The distortion generated in the substrate transfer process is offset and a good pattern can be printed on the substrate SB.

  In the above-described embodiment, a unique blanket identification number NB is assigned to each blanket BL, and the roller moving direction in the patterning process is managed in the individual information table so as to be associated therewith. Then, before performing the substrate transfer process, the roller moving direction is acquired from the individual information table based on the blanket identification number NB, and the extending direction of the contact portion AP2 is controlled. Therefore, the control can be performed with high accuracy.

  Further, the individual information table employed in the present embodiment includes the number of times of use, the defect rate, the blanket manufacturing date, the manufacturing lot number, and the blanket plate thickness in addition to the roller moving direction. Thus, it is possible to accurately grasp the reuse status of the blanket BL and the degree of deterioration associated with the reuse. Therefore, based on these, each blanket BL can be discarded at an appropriate time, and a new blanket BL can be put into the printing system 100A. Further, the blanket plate thickness is used for gap adjustment in the transfer process.

  In the above-described embodiment, in the patterning transfer device 202 and the substrate transfer device 203, the transfer roller 641 reciprocates in the roller movement direction W, and transfer processing can be performed in each of the forward movement and the backward movement. ing. For this reason, as shown in FIG. 25, when the transfer roller 641 is moved forward and the transfer process is performed, the preparation of the transfer roller 641 for the backward movement is already completed, and it is not necessary to perform the roller preparation movement operation. It is possible to move. The same applies to the point after moving back. As a result, the time loss associated with the roller preparation movement operation can be suppressed and the printing process can be performed efficiently, and the mass productivity can be improved.

Second Embodiment
In the first embodiment, the roller movement directions in the patterning transfer device 202 and the substrate transfer device 203 are aligned to cancel out the distortion generated during each transfer process. It is difficult to completely eliminate the machine difference. When the distribution of the force with which the transfer roller 641 presses the blanket BL against the plate PP or the substrate SB is observed, there is a slight difference between the two transfer devices 202 and 203, and the uneven profile formed on the surface of the transfer roller 641. May be different. Due to these factors, the deformation mode and deformation amount of the blanket BL when the transfer roller 641 abuts are different, and the printed pattern image may be distorted. Therefore, in order to improve the printing accuracy, the distortion amount of the pattern image generated by the printing process is measured, and the newly improved plate (hereinafter referred to as “improved version”) is fed back to the plate PP. It is preferable to manufacture and perform patterning using the improved version. Hereinafter, a second embodiment of the present invention based on this technical idea will be described with reference to FIGS.

  FIG. 30 is a schematic diagram for explaining an improved version used in the second embodiment of the printing apparatus according to the present invention. In the first embodiment, printing processing (first forward transfer mode + second forward transfer mode) in which the roller movement direction is set to the forward direction (+ W) and printing in which the roller movement direction is set to the return direction (-W). The process (first return transfer mode + second return transfer mode) is repeated alternately. Therefore, in both the patterning transfer device 202 and the substrate transfer device 203, a movement mode in which the transfer roller 641 is moved in the forward direction (hereinafter referred to as “A movement mode”) and a movement mode in which the transfer roller 641 is moved in the backward direction (hereinafter, “ B movement mode ”).

  For example, as shown in FIG. 30, when the transfer roller 641 is moved in the A movement mode while using the plate PP in which the reference marks RM are regularly formed in a lattice shape, it is included in the pattern layer PL printed on the substrate SB for the reason described above. The reverse pattern RP of the reference mark RM to be printed is printed with a slight distortion. Here, a calibration plate (not shown) having the same or different regular pattern as the reference mark RM is prepared, and pattern printing is performed on the substrate SB in the A movement mode using the calibration plate. After that, by observing the pattern printed on the substrate SB, the amount of distortion associated with the printing process in the A movement mode can be measured. A plate adapted to execute the first forward transfer mode and the second forward transfer mode by correcting the formation position of the reverse pattern on the plate PP in consideration of the distortion amount and manufacturing the improved plate PPa. Is obtained. Then, when the printing process is performed by moving the transfer roller 641 in the A movement mode using the improved A moving mode PPa manufactured in this way, a pattern without distortion can be printed on the substrate SB.

  Further, the improved version PPb for the B movement mode can be produced in the same manner as the improved version PPa for the A movement mode. That is, the amount of distortion associated with the printing process in the B movement mode is measured by observing the pattern printed on the substrate SB after performing the pattern printing on the substrate SB in the B movement mode while using the calibration plate. Can do. A plate adapted to execute the first return transfer mode and the second return transfer mode by correcting the formation position of the reverse pattern on the plate PP in consideration of the distortion amount and manufacturing the improved plate PPb. Is obtained. Then, by using the improved version PPb for the B movement mode thus manufactured and moving the transfer roller 641 in the B movement mode and performing the printing process, a pattern without distortion can be printed on the substrate SB.

  Next, a printing apparatus that continuously performs a printing process using the above-mentioned improved version PPa for the A movement mode and the improved version PPb for the B movement mode will be described with reference to FIGS.

  FIG. 31 is a diagram showing an example of a printing system equipped with the second embodiment of the printing apparatus according to the present invention. In the first embodiment of the printing apparatus described above, the printing process is performed using the same plate PP in both the A movement mode and the B movement mode. In contrast, in the second embodiment of the present invention, the plate to be used is switched between the improved versions PPa and PPb in accordance with the switching between the A movement mode and the B movement mode. More specifically, as shown in FIG. 31, the same number of improved plates PPa and PPb are manufactured as the plates used for the patterning process, and the improved plates PPa and PPb alternate along the plate transport path PTP. It is configured to be carried into the patterning transfer device 202. The printing system 100B shown in the figure is configured such that a total of six sheets are circulated and conveyed along the plate conveyance path PTP in the order of improved versions PPa, PPb, PPa, PPb, PPa, and PPb. Since two types of improved versions PPa and PPb are used in this way, as shown in FIG. 30, in order to determine whether the version carried into the patterning transfer apparatus 202 is the improved version PPa or PPb. Plate identification marks Ma and Mb are respectively formed on the upper surface side of the improved versions PPa and PPb when the improved version is manufactured, and function as plate individual information for specifying the improved version. The types of the plate identification marks Ma and Mb are arbitrary. For example, the number of etching grooves may be different between the plate identification marks Ma and Mb during plate manufacture.

  FIG. 32 is a flowchart showing the operation of the patterning transfer apparatus incorporated in the printing system shown in FIG. In the second embodiment, when the carry-in of the blanket BL and the improved version PPa (or PPb) to the patterning transfer device 202 is completed (“YES” in step S201), the pre-alignment camera 244 is similar to the first embodiment. Thus, the blanket identification number NB attached to the blanket BL is imaged and detected. Further, the pre-alignment camera 241 captures and detects the plate identification mark Ma (Mb) formed on the upper surface edge of the improved version PPa (PPb) (step S202). Thus, in this embodiment, the pre-alignment camera 244 of the patterning transfer apparatus 202 corresponds to an example of the “first carrier detection unit” of the present invention, and the pre-alignment camera 241 of the “plate detection unit” of the present invention. It corresponds to an example.

  Based on the plate identification mark Ma (Mb) detected in this manner, a direction in which the transfer roller 641 of the patterning transfer device 202 is moved, that is, a roller moving direction is determined (step S203). More specifically, when the plate identification mark Ma is detected, it is determined that the A movement mode improved version PPa is set in the patterning transfer device 202, and the (+ W) direction is determined as the roller movement direction. On the other hand, when the plate identification mark Mb is detected, it is determined that the B movement mode improved version PPb is set in the patterning transfer device 202, and the (−W) direction is determined as the roller moving direction. Further, the standby position of the transfer roller 641 in the patterning transfer device 202 is acquired (step S204). Based on these pieces of information, it is determined whether or not the transfer roller 641 can be immediately moved in the roller movement direction determined in step S203 (step S205). This is the same as the operation (step S115) performed in the substrate transfer process of the first embodiment. When “NO” is determined in step S205, the transfer roller 641 is moved to the standby position opposite to the current standby position. After positioning (step S206), the process proceeds to step S207. On the other hand, if “YES” is determined in the step S205, the process proceeds to the step S207 without performing the step S206.

  In step S207, a patterning process using the improved version PPa (PPb) is started. That is, the transfer roller 641 is raised to form the contact portion AP1, and the transfer roller 641 is further moved in the roller moving direction determined in step S203 to expand the contact portion AP1. When the transfer roller 641 moves to a position immediately below the end of the improved version in the roller movement direction, the transfer roller 641 descends and stands by. When the patterning process is completed in this way (“YES” in step S208), the roller movement direction in the patterning process is associated with the blanket identification number NB of the blanket BL and the “roller movement direction” in the individual information table is rewritten (step). S209).

  When the patterning process is completed, as in the first embodiment, an adhesion body (work) formed by closely adhering the blanket BL and the improved version PPa (PPb) is conveyed from the patterning transfer device 202 to the peeling device 302. The blanket BL and the improved version PPa (PPb) are peeled and separated from each other. The blanket BL is carried into the substrate transfer device 203 while carrying the pattern layer PL. In the substrate transfer apparatus 203, the substrate SB is carried in before and after the blanket BL is carried in, and the pattern layer carried on the blanket BL by performing the substrate transfer process shown in FIG. 29 as in the first embodiment. PL is transferred to the substrate SB. Further, following the substrate transfer process, a contact body (work) formed by closely contacting the blanket BL and the substrate SB is conveyed from the substrate transfer device 203 to the peeling device 303, and the blanket BL and the substrate SB are peeled off. Separated from each other. In this way, the printing process using one of the two improved versions PPa and PPb, for example, the improved version PPa is completed, but the printing system 100B is in the middle of the printing process, for example, from the patterning transfer device 202 to the peeling device 302. When the conveyance of the contact body (work) is completed, the other improved version PPb is carried into the patterning transfer device 202, and the patterning process using the improved version PPb is started.

  As described above, according to the second embodiment, not only the same effects as the first embodiment can be basically obtained, but also printing is performed using the improved versions PPa and PPb. In addition, the accuracy of the pattern printed on the substrate SB can be further increased.

  Further, since the improved versions PPa and PPb are limited to two types, the following effects can be obtained. In the second embodiment, the roller movement mode is limited to the A movement mode and the B movement mode, but there are a C movement mode and a D movement mode as shown in FIG. This C movement mode is a movement mode in which the transfer roller 641 is moved in the forward path and the backward path by the patterning transfer device 202 and the substrate transfer device 203, respectively. The D movement mode is a movement mode in which the transfer roller 641 is moved in the backward path and the forward path by the patterning transfer device 202 and the substrate transfer device 203, respectively. Also in these movement modes, the above-described technical idea, that is, a technique of producing an improved plate by feeding back the distortion amount to the plate PP, and performing a printing process using the improved plate may be used. In this case, it is necessary to manufacture a total of four types of improved versions: an improved version for the A movement mode, an improved version for the B movement mode, an improved version for the C movement mode, and an improved version for the D movement mode, resulting in an increase in running cost. I will. Furthermore, as in the first and second embodiments, in order to eliminate the roller preparation movement operation and improve the efficiency of printing processing, the number of types of improved plates is doubled so that they are circulated and conveyed along the plate conveyance path PTP. The number of improved versions to be increased increases, the printing system becomes larger, and the footprint increases. On the other hand, in the second embodiment in which the improved version is limited to two types, the above problem can be suppressed, which is preferable.

  Thus, in the second embodiment, the A movement mode improved version PPa and the B movement mode improved version PPb correspond to the “first version” and the “second version” of the present invention, respectively.

  In the second embodiment described above, the improved version for the A moving mode and the improved version for the B moving mode are selected from the four types of improved versions. As in the first and second embodiments, In order to eliminate the roller preparation movement operation and improve the efficiency of the printing process, instead of the improved version for the A moving mode and the improved version for the B moving mode, two types of improved version for the C moving mode and improved version for the D moving mode And print processing may be performed in the same manner as in the second embodiment. In this case, the improved version for the C movement mode and the improved version for the D movement mode function as the “third version” and the “fourth version” of the present invention, respectively.

<Third Embodiment>
FIG. 34 is a diagram showing an example of a printing system equipped with the third embodiment of the printing apparatus according to the present invention. FIG. 35 is a diagram schematically showing a printing operation by the printing apparatus shown in FIG. The third embodiment is greatly different from the printing apparatuses (= transfer devices 202, 203 + peeling devices 302, 303) according to the first and second embodiments, in that the number of transfer devices for substrates and the number of stripping devices are different. It is the number and layout. In addition, since it is fundamentally the same about other points, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected about the same structure and description is abbreviate | omitted.

  In the third embodiment, in the printing system 100 </ b> C, two substrate transfer devices 203 a and 203 b are provided for one patterning transfer device 202. This is because in the substrate transfer process, it is necessary to perform a precise alignment operation, but not in the patterning process or the substrate peeling process, and the tact time of the substrate transfer process is longer than that in the patterning process or the peeling process. Further, the peeling process is simpler than the patterning process and the substrate peeling process, and the time required for the peeling process is shorter than that of the patterning process. Therefore, one peeling process is performed for the three transfer devices 202, 203a, and 203b. A device 305 is arranged. The substrate transfer devices 203a and 203b have the same configuration as the transfer device 203 adopted in the first embodiment, and the peeling device 305 has the same configuration as the peeling devices 302 and 303 adopted in the first embodiment. doing.

In the printing system 100C, the above apparatuses 202, 203a, 203b, and 305 constitute a printing apparatus.
Blanket carry-in part 407 has a function of receiving a blanket BL carrying a coating layer from a coating device (not shown) and receiving it in a printing device,
Blanket carry-out section 408 has a function of receiving a blanket BL that has been printed and sending it to a transfer device for removal (not shown) provided outside the printing apparatus.
・ Version delivery unit 405,
-Substrate delivery unit 406,
As shown in FIG. 34, these components 407, 202, 405, 203a, 406, 203b, 408, 305 are annularly arranged. In addition, a transfer device 409 such as a transfer robot is disposed in the center of the transfer unit so that the blanket BL, the plate PP, the substrate SB, and the contact body (= workpiece) can be transferred.

  In the printing system 100 </ b> C configured as described above, as shown in FIG. 35, the transport device 409 receives the blanket BL carrying the coating layer from the blanket carry-in section 407 and carries it into the patterning transfer device 202. Further, at the timing before and after the carrying-in operation of the blanket BL, the transport device 409 receives the plate PP from the plate delivery unit 405 and carries it into the patterning transfer device 202. The patterning transfer device 202 that has received the blanket BL and the plate PP in this way performs the same patterning process as in the first embodiment.

  After the patterning process, the conveyance device 409 conveys the adhesion body formed by the patterning process from the patterning transfer device 202 to the peeling device 305, and the peeling device 305 peels and separates the plate PP and the blanket BL. Then, the transport device 409 returns the separated used plate PP to the plate delivery unit 405. Before and after that, the transport device 409 receives the blanket BL from the peeling device 305 and then transports it to one of the two substrate transfer devices 203a and 203b. For example, when the substrate transfer device 203a is executing the substrate transfer process, but the substrate transfer device 203b is waiting for the substrate transfer process, the transfer device 409 uses the substrate transfer device as the transfer destination of the blanket BL. The transfer device 203b is selected and conveyed to the substrate transfer device 203b. Further, at the timing before and after the transfer operation of the blanket BL, the transfer device 409 receives the substrate SB from the substrate transfer unit 406 and carries it into the substrate transfer device 203b. The transfer device 203b that has received the blanket BL and the substrate SB performs the same substrate transfer process as in the first embodiment.

  When the substrate transfer processing in one of the substrate transfer devices 203a and 203b, for example, the substrate transfer device 203a is completed, the transport device 409 takes out the adhesion body from the substrate transfer device 203a, transports it to the peeling device 305, and peels it off. The substrate SB and the blanket BL are peeled and separated by the apparatus 305. Then, the transfer device 409 transfers the separated substrate SB and blanket BL to the substrate transfer unit 406 and the blanket carry-out unit 408, respectively.

  As described above, in the third embodiment, the transport device 409 randomly accesses the device units 407, 202, 405, 203a, 406, 203b, 408, and 305 to perform the printing process while transporting the blanket BL and the like in the transport order. Run.

  As described above, also in the third embodiment, as in the first embodiment, the expansion directions of the contact portions AP1 and AP2 can always be matched, and distortions generated in the patterning process and the substrate transfer process are offset. A good pattern can be printed on the substrate SB. Of course, the patterning process and the substrate transfer process executed in the third embodiment may be performed in the same manner as in the second embodiment, and in this case, the accuracy of the print pattern can be further increased.

  Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 34, the third embodiment employs a so-called cluster arrangement in which processing devices such as a patterning transfer device 202, substrate transfer devices 203a and 203b, and a peeling device 305 are arranged around a transport device 409. Therefore, the number of transport robots can be reduced as compared with the printing systems 100A and 100B. Further, it is possible to easily control (or schedule) the operation of each element provided in the printing system 100C.

<Others>
In the above embodiment, the patterning transfer device 202 corresponds to an example of the “first transfer unit” of the present invention, and the substrate transfer devices 203, 203 a, and 203 b correspond to an example of the “second transfer unit” of the present invention. doing. Further, the conveying devices 401 and 409 correspond to an example of “conveying means” of the present invention. Further, the control device 500 corresponds to an example of the “control unit” of the present invention.

  Further, the transfer roller 641 and the contact portion AP1 in the patterning transfer device 202 correspond to examples of the “first transfer roller” and the “first contact portion” of the present invention, respectively, and the substrate transfer devices 203, 203a, and 203b. The transfer roller 641 and the contact portion AP2 correspond to examples of the “second transfer roller” and the “second contact portion” of the present invention, respectively.

  The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications other than those described above can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention. For example, the number of transfer devices and peeling devices for performing the printing process is not limited to those shown in the above embodiment.

  In the above-described embodiment, the contact portions AP1 and AP2 are formed and expanded by the transfer roller 641, but may be performed by pressing other members, for example, as described in JP2013-111907A. As shown, the control may be performed by controlling the pressurized air.

  In the above embodiment, the pre-alignment camera 244 is used as the “first carrier detection unit” or “second carrier detection unit” of the present invention to simplify the apparatus configuration. A dedicated camera for imaging the blanket identification number NB may be provided. In the second embodiment, the pre-alignment camera 241 is used as the “plate detecting means” of the present invention to simplify the apparatus configuration. However, the pre-alignment camera 241 is dedicated to image the plate identification mark attached to the improved version. A camera or the like may be provided.

  In the above embodiment, the blanket identification number NB is attached to the blanket BL. However, in addition to the number, an identifier such as a character or a symbol is attached to each blanket BL, and this is used as the “supporting body individual information” of the present invention. It may be used. This is a version identification mark, and any identifier may be used as the “version individual information” of the present invention.

  Furthermore, in the above embodiment, the roller movement direction, which is an example of the “direction information” of the present invention, is acquired based on the blanket identification number NB. However, the method of acquiring the roller movement direction is not limited to this.

  The present invention can be suitably applied to a printing technique for printing a pattern layer patterned into a desired pattern on a substrate and a carrier generally used for the printing technique.

100A, 100B, 100C ... Printing system 202, 305 ... Patterning transfer device (first transfer means)
203, 203a, 203b... Substrate transfer device (second transfer means)
241 ... Pre-alignment camera (plate detection means)
244 ... Pre-alignment camera (first carrier detection means, second carrier detection means)
401, 409 ... Conveying device (conveying means)
500... Control device (control means)
Reference numeral 507: Storage unit 641: Transfer roller AP1: (first) contact part AP2 ... (second) contact part BL: blanket CL: coating layer PL: pattern layer Ma, Mb: plate identification mark NB: blanket identification number PP, PP0 , PPi ... edition PPa ... A modified version for moving mode (first edition)
Improved version for PPb ... B movement mode (2nd version)
SB ... Substrate W ... Roller moving direction (direction information)

Claims (14)

After the carrier and the plate carrying the coating layer are partially adhered to each other through the coating layer to form the first adhesion portion, the first adhesion portion is expanded in the first direction to thereby expand the first adhesion portion. First transfer means for patterning the coating layer to transfer the pattern layer onto the carrier;
After the carrier onto which the pattern layer has been transferred by the first transfer means and the substrate are partially brought into close contact with each other through the pattern layer to form a second close contact portion, the second close contact portion is moved in the second direction. A second transfer means for transferring the pattern layer to the substrate by extending to
Transport means for transporting the carrier onto which the pattern layer has been transferred to the second transfer means;
Control means for acquiring direction information related to the first direction before the transfer of the pattern layer to the substrate by the second transfer means, and controlling the second direction based on the direction information. Characteristic printing device. The printing apparatus according to claim 1,
The control unit is a printing apparatus that acquires the direction information based on carrier individual information that identifies the carrier. The printing apparatus according to claim 2,
First carrier detection means for detecting carrier individual information of the carrier to which the pattern layer is transferred by the first transfer means;
A second carrier detection means for detecting carrier individual information of the carrier carried by the conveyance means to the second transfer means;
The control means includes
A storage unit that stores the carrier individual information detected by the first carrier detection unit in association with the direction information;
A printing apparatus that reads and acquires direction information corresponding to the carrier individual information from the storage unit when the carrier individual information is detected by the second carrier detector. The printing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
The control unit is a printing apparatus that causes the second direction to coincide with the first direction. The printing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
The first transfer means presses a first transfer roller provided rotatably around a rotation axis against the carrier from the opposite side of the plate to form the first contact portion while forming the first contact portion. The first transfer roller is reciprocated in the roller movement direction orthogonal to the rotation axis,
A first forward transfer mode for transferring the pattern layer by moving the forward direction in the roller movement direction as the first direction, and a first mode for transferring the pattern layer by moving the backward direction as the first direction. A printing apparatus that executes by switching between the one-return transfer mode. The printing apparatus according to claim 5,
The second transfer means presses a second transfer roller, which is rotatably provided around a rotation axis parallel to the roller moving direction, against the carrier from the opposite side of the substrate to the second carrier. The second transfer roller is reciprocated in the roller moving direction while forming a close contact portion,
A second forward transfer mode for transferring the pattern layer by moving the forward direction in the roller movement direction as the second direction, and a second transfer mode for transferring the pattern layer by moving the backward direction as the second direction. A printing apparatus that executes switching between the two-return transfer modes. The printing apparatus according to claim 6,
The control means includes
When transferring the pattern layer from the carrier onto which the pattern layer has been transferred in the first forward transfer mode to the substrate, the forward direction of the roller movement direction is set to the second direction, and the second transfer means And executing the second forward transfer mode in
When transferring the pattern layer from the carrier onto which the pattern layer has been transferred in the first return transfer mode to the substrate, the return direction of the roller movement direction is set to the second direction and the second transfer means A printing apparatus for executing the second backward transfer mode in FIG. The printing apparatus according to claim 7, wherein
A first plate adapted to execute the first forward transfer mode and the second forward transfer mode, and a second plate adapted to execute the first backward transfer mode and the second backward transfer mode. Selectively conveyed to the first transfer means;
When the first plate is used as the plate, the first transfer unit executes the first forward transfer mode, and the second transfer unit executes the second forward transfer mode,
When the second plate is used as the plate, the first transfer unit executes the first return transfer mode, and the second transfer unit executes the second return transfer mode. The printing apparatus according to claim 8, wherein
A plate detecting unit for detecting plate individual information for specifying a plate conveyed to the first transfer unit;
A printing apparatus that switches use of the first and second plates based on the individual plate information detected by the plate detecting means. The printing apparatus according to claim 6,
A third plate adapted to execute the first forward transfer mode and the second backward transfer mode, and a fourth plate adapted to execute the second backward transfer mode and the second forward transfer mode. Selectively conveyed to the first transfer means as the plate;
When the third plate is used as the plate, the first transfer means executes the first forward transfer mode, and the second transfer means executes the second backward transfer mode,
When the fourth plate is used as the plate, the first transfer unit executes the first backward transfer mode, and the second transfer unit executes the second forward transfer mode. The printing apparatus according to claim 10,
A plate detecting unit for detecting plate individual information for specifying a plate conveyed to the first transfer unit;
A printing apparatus that switches use of the third version and the fourth version based on the individual piece information detected by the version detection unit. A carrier used in the printing apparatus according to claim 1,
A carrier individual information related to the direction information is provided. The carrier according to claim 12, wherein
Having a carrying region carrying the coating layer and a non-carrying region not carrying the coating layer;
The carrier individual information is a carrier provided in the non-carrying region. After the carrier and the plate carrying the coating layer are partially adhered to each other through the coating layer to form the first adhesion portion, the first adhesion portion is expanded in the first direction to thereby expand the first adhesion portion. A first transfer step of patterning the coating layer to transfer the pattern layer onto the carrier;
A peeling step of peeling the carrier and the plate that are in close contact with each other through the coating layer;
After the peeling step, the carrier to which the pattern layer is transferred and the substrate are partially brought into close contact with each other through the pattern layer to form a second close contact portion, and then the second close contact portion is set in the second direction. A second transfer step of transferring the pattern layer to the substrate by expanding,
Before the second transfer step, direction information related to the first direction is acquired, and the second direction is determined based on the direction information.

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