JPH04251781A - Method for making insulating pattern - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To eliminate irregularity on a surface of a pattern and improve durability by manufacturing an insulating pattern electrochemically when printing is to be performed by using an ink whose adhesive property changes by application of voltage. CONSTITUTION:An insulating mask 3 is formed on a surface of a conductive material 4 consisting of an insulating material such as high polymer filled with a conductive donor material such as carbon black, which is electrolyzed as an anode in an electrolytic solution 2. As a result, the conductive donor material in a conductive part 8 is eliminated electrochemically so as to make the conductive part 8 to be an insulating part. Then, the mask 3 is removed so as to make an insulating pattern on the surface of the conductive material 4.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

0001

[Industrial Application Field] The present invention relates to a method for creating an insulating pattern, which is suitable for use when forming an image using ink whose adhesion changes by applying a voltage. In other words, there are almost no irregularities on the surface.
The present invention relates to a method for creating an insulating pattern having a smooth surface.

0002

[Prior Art] Conventionally, printers using various recording methods, such as laser beam printers, inkjet printers, thermal transfer printers, wire dot printers, and daisy foil printers, have been known as recording peripheral devices for computers and other devices. It is being

The present applicant has also previously proposed a recording method in which pattern-like adhesiveness is chemically imparted to ink and recording is performed by utilizing the difference between the adhesiveness and non-adhesiveness of this ink (Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. No. 63-30279).

However, the above-mentioned recording method may not be suitable for large-volume printing due to cost and other reasons.

[0005] The present applicant has proposed a new printing method that solves the above problems and can be connected to various devices such as computers.
He proposed a printing method (Japanese Patent Application No. 12617/1983) in which printing is performed by applying a voltage to ink to change the adhesion of the ink.

In this printing method, a conductive rubber material is generally used as an ink carrier, and a voltage is applied between the conductive rubber and the conductive plate to cause electrolysis, thereby reducing the adhesion of the ink. This changes the image pattern to form an image pattern. In this case, a plate with an insulating pattern formed on the surface of a conductive material is required.

[0007] Conventionally, a method for creating a plate consisting of an insulating pattern on the surface of a metal or a transparent conductive material such as ITO or SnO2 involves depositing an insulating material such as SiO2 or polyimide on the surface of these conductive materials. Methods of vapor deposition or coating in a pattern are known. However, these methods have the disadvantage that since the insulating material is layered on the surface of the conductive material, the surface becomes uneven and the insulating material peels off when mechanical effects such as friction are applied to the surface. there were.

[0008]

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned circumstances, and its purpose is to have a smooth surface without unevenness, and a surface that is not susceptible to mechanical effects such as friction. It is an object of the present invention to provide a method for creating an insulating pattern that is durable against the conventional methods.

[0009]

[Means for Solving the Problems] In order to achieve the above object, the present invention applies electricity to only a selected area of the surface of a conductive material made by dispersing a conductivity imparting material in an insulating material as an anode. By performing electrolysis, an insulating region is formed on the surface of the conductive material, and by anodizing the conductive material, the conductivity imparting material is electrochemically removed from the conductive material. The conductivity-imparting material is metal powder or carbon black, and the surface of the conductive material is formed by dispersing the conductivity-imparting material in an insulating material, and the surface of the conductive material is coated with an insulating polymer material to form a non-conductive material in a predetermined pattern. After forming a conductive part on the surface of the conductive material into an insulating part by performing electrolysis using the conductive material on which the non-conductive part is formed as an anode, the coated insulating polymer The invention will now be described in detail with reference to the drawings, which include removing material.

In the present invention, first, a non-conductive portion is formed on the surface of a conductive material made by dispersing a conductivity-imparting material in an insulating material.

[0011] As an insulating material, the volume resistivity is 107
Polymer materials and ceramics with a resistance of Ωcm or more are preferred, such as silicone rubber, ethylene propylene rubber (E
PDM), styrene rubber (SBR), nitrile rubber (N
BR), rubber materials such as fluororubber and natural rubber, polyethylene terephthalate, polycarbonate, polyimide,
Examples include, but are not limited to, resin compounds such as polystyrene.

The conductivity-imparting material has a volume resistivity of 1
Powder having a resistance of 0 Ωcm or less is preferable. This powder has an average particle size of 50 μm or less, preferably 10 μm or less, particularly preferably 1 μm or less.

[0013] Specific examples include metal powders such as silver, copper, iron, and nickel, carbon black, graphite, etc., but are not limited to these.

In the present invention, a conductive material is obtained by mixing the above-mentioned insulating material and conductivity imparting material in a predetermined ratio. As for the mixing method, if the insulating material is a rubber material or thermoplastic resin, the conductivity-imparting material is kneaded and uniformly dispersed in a heated molten state, or it is dissolved in an appropriate solvent and the conductivity-imparting material is dispersed. It is possible to use a method such as Furthermore, when the insulating material is a thermosetting resin, a method can be used in which a conductivity imparting material is dispersed in a monomer or oligomer and then polymerized.

[0015] The mixing ratio of the insulating material and the conductivity imparting material is 1 to 500w of the conductivity imparting material to the insulating material.
t%, preferably 5 to 200 wt%, and it is preferable to mix the conductive material so that the volume resistivity of the conductive material thus produced is 102 Ωcm or less. The obtained conductive material can be formed into a sheet, film, or the like and used, if necessary.

In the present invention, a desired portion of the surface of the conductive material thus obtained is treated by electrolysis, and the conductivity imparting material dispersed in the insulating material is electrochemically removed. A desired insulating pattern is formed on the surface of a conductive material using a method of forming a desired insulating pattern on the surface of a conductive material. Although its mechanism of action is not necessarily clear, it is thought to be due to anodic oxidation.

FIG. 1 shows one embodiment of forming an insulating pattern by the method for forming an insulating pattern of the present invention. In the figure, 1 is a container, the inside of which is filled with an electrolytic solution 2. A conductive material 4 having a non-conductive portion 3' covered with a mask 3 whose surface is patterned with an insulating resin is immersed in the electrolytic solution 2, and constitutes an anode. A counter electrode (cathode) 5 is immersed in the electrolytic solution 2 and is connected to the conductive material 4 via a power source 6 and an ammeter 7.

[0018] Thereby, a voltage is applied to both poles to perform electrolysis. In this case, the conductive portion 8 on the surface of the conductive material 4 serving as the anode, which is not insulated by the mask 3, is not insulated by the mask 3, so a current flows, and therefore only the conductive portion 8 participates in electrolysis. That is, the conductivity imparting material of the conductive portion 8 on the surface of the conductive material 4 is removed by anodic oxidation, the conductivity of the conductive portion 8 is lost, and as a result, the current value of electrolysis decreases. When the current became sufficiently small, the electrolysis was stopped, the conductive material 4 was taken out from the electrolytic solution 2, and the mask 3 was peeled off, forming the mask 3 as shown in FIG. An insulating pattern 11 is obtained, which is made up of a conductive portion 9 remaining without being removed and an insulating portion 10 formed by electrolyzing the conductive portion 8 on which the mask 3 is not formed.

It is preferable to set the current value (current density) at the time of electrolysis to a relatively small value because this will reduce the damage to the conductive material and the temperature rise. Moreover, peeling of the mask is less likely to occur, which is preferable. Specifically, it is preferably 0.1 A/cm2 or less, more preferably 0.05 A/cm2 or less.

[0020]

【Example】

Hereinafter, the present invention will be explained in more detail with reference to Examples. Example 1 As a conductive material, as shown in FIG. 3, a conductive polycarbonate film (Macrohole KL3-1009, thickness 40 μm, containing carbon black as a conductivity imparting agent, volume resistivity 6.8×10 −1 Ωcm, Bayer Co., Ltd.) was used as a conductive material. company)
21, polyvinyl butyral resin (S-LEX B
, BL-2, manufactured by Sekisui Chemical Co., Ltd.) in a mixed solvent of ethanol/5% butanol was applied by screen printing and dried by heating to form polyvinyl butyral resin as shown in the figure. pattern 2
2, the surface of the conductive polycarbonate was masked. Polycarbonate film 21 with a mask formed in this way
was electrolyzed using the apparatus shown in FIG. That is, a conductive polycarbonate film 21 with a mask formed thereon is covered with Teflon tape (insulating pressure-sensitive adhesive tape) 2 on the outer peripheral surface of a metal roller 23 that is rotated by a motor (not shown).
It was pasted using 4. To ensure electrical continuity between the metal roller 23 and the conductive polycarbonate film 21, and to prevent direct contact between the metal roller 23 and the electrolyte 2, Teflon tape is also applied to unnecessary parts and both ends of the surface of the metal roller 23. (not shown).

[0021] As the electrolytic solution 2, 10 wt% LiBF
4 An aqueous solution was used, and a 100 μm thick copper plate was used as the counter electrode 5. Moreover, the rotation speed of the motor was 200 rpm. When electrolysis was carried out at a constant voltage of 5 V DC using the conductive polycarbonate film 21 as an anode and the copper plate (counter electrode 5) as a cathode, pattern 2 of polyvinyl butyral was obtained.
In No. 2, generation of oxygen gas was observed from the conductive portion 8 of the polycarbonate film 21 which was not masked. After about 100 clones were energized, the current value became almost zero.

Next, the conductive polycarbonate film after electrolysis was immersed in ethanol to dissolve and remove the polyvinyl butyral resin. The surface resistance on the obtained polycarbonate film was measured using a surface resistance meter (Lor
esta APMCP-7400, manufactured by Mitsubishi Yuka Co., Ltd.), it was 107 Ω/□ or more in the part that was not masked with polyvinyl butyral (insulating part 10), and 250 Ω/□ in the masked part, indicating that it was conductive. The insulating portion 10 could be formed on the surface of the material 21. Further, no clear unevenness was observed on the surfaces of the energized portion (insulating portion) and the non-energized portion (conductive portion 9). Example 2 As shown in FIG. 6, polyvinyl butyral resin was printed and coated on a copper plate 31 with a thickness of 100 μm in the same manner as in Example 1.
A pattern 22 was created on the surface of the copper plate 31. Next, Figure 5
A pair of metal rollers 23 and a rubber roller (
A copper plate 31 with a pattern 22 formed thereon and the conductive polycarbonate film 21 used in Example 1 were pasted on the respective surfaces of the rubber part) 32 and brought into contact with each other at a nip of 2 mm. At this time, electrical continuity was established between the copper plate 31 and the central axis of the rubber roller using a conductive tape. In addition, 32' is a rubber roller 32
This is the metal shaft part.

Next, between this pair of rollers, a high viscosity electrolyte 34 having the following composition: water/glycerin (1/1) 100 parts LiB
F4
3-part polyvinylpyrrolidone
23 parts were added, and while rotating the rollers, a DC voltage of 10 V was applied between a pair of rollers (the conductive polycarbonate 21 on the metal roller was used as an anode) to perform electrolysis. At this time, the diameters and rotational speeds of the metal and rubber rollers were set so that the pattern 22 on the copper plate always came into contact with the same part of the surface of the conductive polycarbonate 21. Electricity was applied until the electrolytic current value became almost zero (approximately 200C)
.

After removing the conductive polycarbonate 21 from the metal roller and washing the highly viscous electrolyte with water, the surface resistance of the conductive polycarbonate 21 was measured in the same manner as in Example 1, and it was found that the non-energized portion was 25.
A surface resistance value of 0 Ω/□ was obtained, and a surface resistance value of 10 7 Ω/□ was obtained in the energized portion. Further, as in Example 1, the surface was smooth between the above-mentioned portions, and no difference in unevenness was observed.

[0025]

Effects of the Invention The present invention electrochemically removes the conductivity-imparting material from the surface of a conductive material made by dispersing the conductivity-imparting material in an insulating material with good selectivity, thereby forming an insulating pattern on the surface of the conductive material. Compared to conventional methods in which insulation patterns are coated with polymers, the surface has no unevenness and is highly durable against mechanical effects such as friction on the surface. There is.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing an insulating pattern created according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing a mask pattern used in one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing an electrolyzer used in one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram showing an electrolyzer used in another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram showing a mask pattern used in another embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Container 2 Electrolyte 3 Mask 3' Non-conductive part 4 Conductive material 5 Counter electrode 6 Power supply 7 Ammeter 8 Conductive part 9 Conductive part 10 Insulating part 11 Insulating pattern 21 Conductive polycarbonate film 22
Pattern 23 Metal roller 24 Teflon tape 31 Copper plate 32 Rubber roller 32' Metal shaft 33 Metal roller 34 High viscosity electrolyte

Claims (4)

[Claims] [Claim 1] Electricity is applied to only a selected area of the surface of a conductive material obtained by dispersing a conductivity-imparting material in an insulating material as an anode, and electrolysis is performed on the surface of the conductive material. 1. A method for creating an insulating pattern characterized by forming a conductive region. 2. The method for forming an insulating pattern according to claim 1, wherein the conductivity imparting material is electrochemically removed from the conductive material by anodizing the conductive material. 3. The method for creating an insulating pattern according to claim 1, wherein the conductivity-imparting material is metal powder or carbon black. 4. A surface of a conductive material obtained by dispersing a conductivity-imparting material in an insulating material is coated with an insulating polymer material to form a non-conductive part in a predetermined pattern, and then the non-conductive part is A claim characterized in that the conductive portion on the surface of the conductive material is formed into an insulating portion by electrolysis using the conductive material formed with the conductive material as an anode, and then the covered insulating polymer material is removed. Item 1. The method for creating an insulating pattern according to item 1.