JPH04319548A - Method and apparatus for producing optical recording medium - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To decrease the chances of dust sticking in respective stages and to enhance reliability and productivity by executing the operations from molding of a resin sheet to the cutting to recording media with a continuous integral production process. CONSTITUTION:A molten resin is extruded in a band shape by a T die 12 when pellets to be used as a substrate base material are charged from a hopper 11. This molten resin sheet is pressed by rollers 2, 3 and rugged preformats are formed. A recording layer material is applied on this preformat forming surface by a coater 5. A recording assist layer material is then applied thereon by a coater 7 for the recording assist layer. A protective member, i.e., protective sheet 9, is sent from a roll shape feeder 10 and is stuck to the sheet by press contact rollers 13, 13'. The sheet provided with the protective member is then separated to the discrete optical recording media 15 by a cutting machine 14.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

0001

[Industrial Application Field] The present invention relates to an optical recording medium in which a concavo-convex pattern such as a track groove or an address is formed on a substrate, a recording layer is formed on the substrate, and a protective layer is formed on the same. The present invention relates to a manufacturing method and a manufacturing device.

0002

[Prior Art] Conventionally, in order to manufacture optical recording media such as optical disks and optical cards, in order to form tracks and addresses, an injection device, a compression device, a photocuring method using a photopolymer, or a thermosetting method is used. Casting molding using resin has been used. Further, the recording layer is formed by film formation using vacuum deposition or sputtering, or by using a spinner for coating type recording media. In addition, bonding of protective members and coating of a protective film have been used to form the protective member. These techniques have been selectively used depending on the required recording medium.

[0003] However, in the conventional individual technology selection for each process as described above, there is no consistency in the process, so a stocker is provided to connect the processes, and it is often necessary to hold the material in this stocker for a long time. Therefore, there were drawbacks such as poor productivity and reduced reliability due to dust adhesion and contamination.

[0004] Particularly in substrate molding by injection, which has been most commonly practiced in the past, each substrate is molded by injection, so it is necessary to process each substrate one by one in subsequent steps. For example, when forming a recording material, in the case of an inorganic recording medium, each sheet is attached to a sample stage of a sputtering device or a vapor deposition device, and when a recording film is formed, it is removed one by one and stored in a stocker. Even with coated organic recording media, it is necessary to repeat the process one by one using a spinner, making the process complicated and long. This is extremely disadvantageous in optical recording, where even the attachment of minute dust affects the reliability. As a countermeasure to this problem, attempts have been made to manufacture in extremely clean rooms and to avoid manual labor by humans, which can easily introduce dust, and to automate the process using automatic hands, etc. However, these methods have the disadvantage of increasing equipment costs. was. A similar problem also occurs in the process of providing a protective member.

Since the surface of the recording medium is recorded and read using a semiconductor laser spot narrowed down to about 1 μm, the time and spatial distance required to protect the recording surface must be the minimum necessary.

On the other hand, as a conventional method for manufacturing continuous optical recording media, Japanese Patent Publication No. 63-31847 discloses that a UV-curable resin layer is provided on a base film, and signals are transferred and cured using a stamper to form a continuous flexible disk. A method of manufacturing is disclosed. However, in this method, the base film is wound into a roll and this is fed into the device, but when manufacturing and winding the base film,
There was a problem in that dust easily adhered to the surface of the substrate, and dust entered the inside of the manufactured disk. Furthermore, in order to remove dust on the surface of the substrate, for example, solvent cleaning or the like is required, which requires a solvent cleaning process and a drying process, which has the disadvantage of complicating the process and increasing costs.

Furthermore, in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 62-71040, a radiation-curable resin is coated on a synthetic polymer long film base, and after exposure or electron beam irradiation is performed and development, an organic dye is formed as a main component. A method of continuously forming an optical recording layer and continuously forming an optical recording medium is disclosed.

However, this method requires development, which complicates the process, and when an organic dye recording layer is subsequently formed, there is a possibility that the developer may have an adverse effect on the formation of the recording layer.

Specifically, if the developer remains on the recording layer formation surface, for example between the grooves, when the recording layer is applied there, the concentration of the coating solution changes in that area, making it difficult to control the thickness of the recording layer. There is a risk that the dissolved radiation-curable resin may deteriorate the organic dye in the recording layer.

On the other hand, currently used write-once optical recording media, for example optical discs, generally have a hollow structure, but it is complicated and difficult to bond them together by inserting a spacer between the inner and outer peripheral substrates. is low, so it is not a method suitable for mass production. Furthermore, from the viewpoint of portability, storage, etc., it is desirable that the thickness of the optical recording medium be as thin as possible, and it is preferable to adopt a close-contact structure. Optical cards are likely to be handled while being bent, so they need to have a tight-contact structure. However, due to light irradiation, pits are formed in the recording layer.
A recording type recording medium with a close contact structure has a problem in that deformation of the recording layer during recording is suppressed, resulting in an extremely low recording sensitivity.

[0011] For example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 58-96593,
JP-A-58-203095, JP-A-60-197956
In 1987, a technology was developed to prevent a decrease in recording sensitivity by providing a layer made of polyurethane, silicone, etc. on the recording layer. A technique has been proposed to prevent a decrease in recording sensitivity by providing a thermoplastic soft layer made of resin, polyvinyl butyral resin, or the like. However, in this case as well, as described above, if the recording medium is processed one by one for production, the process becomes complicated and at the same time, it is extremely disadvantageous in terms of reliability due to the adhesion of dust.

0012

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] The present invention has been made to solve these conventional problems, and has the same high sensitivity as a hollow structure, excellent mass productivity, low cost, and reliability. It is an object of the present invention to provide a method and apparatus for manufacturing an optical recording medium that can produce an optical recording medium such as an optical disk or an optical card.

[0013]

[Means for Solving the Problems] A method for manufacturing an optical recording medium according to the first invention of the present application involves melting and extruding a resin to form a molten resin sheet, and placing the resin sheet on the resin sheet before the resin sheet is cured. A recording layer capable of recording information by irradiation with light is formed by coating on the uneven preformat forming surface of the resin sheet on which the uneven preformat is formed, and a recording layer is formed on the recording forming surface. A recording auxiliary layer is formed by coating to absorb surface deformation of the recording auxiliary layer, a protective member is formed on the surface of the recording auxiliary layer, and the resin sheet on which the recording auxiliary layer and the protective member are formed is separated into individual recording layers. It is characterized in that the entire process of cutting into media is performed continuously.

[0014] The method for manufacturing an optical recording medium according to the second invention includes melting and extruding a resin to form a molten resin sheet;
A photo-curable resin is applied onto the resin sheet, and the resin sheet is pressed with a roller having a concave-convex preformat pattern and irradiated with light to transfer the concave-convex preformat to the coating film of the photocurable resin. A recording layer capable of recording information by light irradiation is formed by coating on the uneven preformat forming surface of the formed resin sheet, and a recording auxiliary layer for absorbing surface deformation of the recording layer is formed on the recording forming surface. Forming by coating, forming a protective member on the surface of the recording auxiliary layer, and further performing the entire process of cutting the resin sheet on which the recording auxiliary layer and the protective member are formed into individual recording media. It is characterized by

[0015] In addition to the manufacturing method of the first invention and the manufacturing method of the second invention, it is also slightly different from these, in that the process up to the step of forming the protective member is carried out continuously during the entire process,
Methods (third and fourth inventions) characterized in that only the step of cutting the next resin sheet is performed intermittently are also added.

[0016]Furthermore, the optical recording medium manufacturing apparatus according to claims 8 to 11 regarding the apparatus is constituted by each means corresponding to each step of the optical recording medium manufacturing method according to claims 1 to 4 regarding the method, respectively. , and has characteristics commensurate with the characteristics of the manufacturing method.

The present invention will be explained in detail below using the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an apparatus showing an embodiment of the invention according to claims 1, 3, 8 and 10. Pellets serving as a substrate material are fed into an extruder (hereinafter abbreviated as Ruder) 1 from a hopper 11 . A T-die 12 connected to the ruler extrudes the melted resin in a band shape. The resin is guided between the gap between roller 2 and roller 3 close to the discharge port of the T-die, and the surface of roller 3 is transferred. In this embodiment, the surface of the roller 3 is provided with an uneven pattern for tracks and addresses. The roller 4 is a roller for transferring the mirror surface on the back side. When the sheet is transferred to the roller 4, a concave-convex preformat, that is, a concave-convex pattern for tracks and addresses, is transferred to the bottom surface of the sheet 16.

Here, the molten resin sheet extruded from the T-die 12 is pressed between the rollers 2 and 3 to form an uneven preformat or a mirror surface on the surface. This is preferable in that it performs accurate transfer. Therefore, the distance between the T-die 12 and the pressing point between the rollers 2 and 3 is preferably 50 cm or less, particularly 20 cm or less, and the temperature of the surrounding atmosphere therebetween is preferably 60° C. or higher.

Although the thickness of the resin sheet of this embodiment can be varied by changing the distance between the rollers 2 and 3, there is almost no distortion inside the resin sheet, and the uneven preformat The thickness of the resin sheet is set to 0.2 mm to 2.0 mm, especially 0.2 mm, in order to have good transferability.
It is preferable to set it as 3 mm - 1.5 mm. If it is less than 0.2 mm, the cooling of the resin sheet will be too fast and transfer will not be carried out sufficiently, and if it is more than 2.0 mm, distortion will easily occur in the sheet.

Further, the rollers 2, 3, and 4, which determine the thickness of the sheet, are set to be as parallel as possible to prevent uneven thickness of the sheet, which causes recording/reproducing errors. Specifically, when the angle formed by each axis of the roller is θ, tanθ=5×10−3 or less, particularly 1×10−3
It is preferable that it is below. Further, it is preferable that the extrusion speed of the resin sheet and the circumferential speed of the stamper roller 3 and the mirror rollers 2 and 4 are set to be equal.

That is, since stress such as stretching is not applied to the resin sheet, it is possible to obtain a resin sheet with excellent optical properties and no birefringence.

In the method for producing an optical recording medium of the present invention, the stamper roller 3 with the concave-convex preformat pattern is pasted on a mirror-polished nickel stamper used in the production of conventional substrates for optical recording media;
It can be created by forming a concavo-convex preformat pattern on the roller base material directly or after providing the pattern formation layer on the roller base material using photolithography technology.

Next, if the speed at which the resin is extruded is too slow, the resin sheet will harden before being shaped, resulting in poor mass production, and if it is too fast, the transfer of the uneven preformat signal will become unstable. 0.3m/min~4m/min,
Particularly preferred is 1 m/min to 3 m/min.

Next, a coater 5 is shown that applies a recording layer material to this preformat forming surface. Various printing methods are used for coating, and the simplest method is as shown in the figure, in which a recording material dye is dissolved in a predetermined solvent in an ink reservoir 5' and ink is supplied to the sheet surface via a roller 5. . At this time, it is preferable to apply the recording layer from the bottom of the resin sheet. In principle, coating on the upper surface side is possible if the manufacturing environment is completely clean, but in practice it is impossible to completely eliminate dust. Therefore, bottom surface application is extremely effective from the viewpoint of dust prevention.

Next, the coated surface is passed through a tunnel drying oven 6 to remove the solvent, and then a recording auxiliary layer material is applied by a recording auxiliary layer coater 7. Various printing methods are used for coating, and the simplest method is to ink the ink reservoir 7' with a rubber-like elastomer polymer that will become the material of the recording auxiliary layer after curing, such as ultraviolet curable silicone rubber, thermosetting silicone rubber, urethane rubber, etc. Butadiene rubber, fluororubber, etc. are dissolved in a solvent depending on the case, stored as ink, and supplied onto the sheet recording layer via a coater, that is, a gravure roller 7. Furthermore, since silicone rubber generally does not necessarily have strong adhesion to resin or dye layers, it is preferable to apply it only to the recording area where the preformat is formed.

[0027] The recording auxiliary layer is coated separately by the above-mentioned direct gravure method (disclosed in JP-A-63-304446).
However, offset gravure, or general printing such as intermittent printing, screen printing, pad printing, etc. (not shown) is preferably used. Next, the surface coated with the recording auxiliary layer is cured through a curing device 8. The curing device 8 serves as an ultraviolet ray irradiator when the recording auxiliary layer material is an ultraviolet curing type, and a heating furnace when it is a thermosetting type. When the ink is diluted with a solvent, a drying oven is provided before the curing device 8.

Next, the protective member 9 is formed. As the protective member, there are two methods: (1) laminating a protective substrate or film directly on the recording auxiliary layer, and (2) forming a hard coat material made of a hard organic material on the recording auxiliary layer.

In FIG. 1, a protective member, that is, a protective sheet 9 is fed from a roll feeder 10, and the protective members are bonded together by pressure rollers 13 and 13'.

This can be applied to the above-mentioned direct bonding. For bonding, the substrate and the protective member may be directly welded using an adhesive, an adhesive tape, an ultrasonic welder, or a heat press. Preferably, a film coated with a hot melt adhesive is laminated using a hot roll.

In the case of (2), a protective film is formed by coating urethane acrylate, epoxy acrylate, silicone hard coating agent, etc. on the recording auxiliary layer by a general printing method and curing the coating.

Next, the sheet provided with the protective member is cut into a cutting machine 1.
4 into individual optical recording media 15. The separated optical recording medium 15 is conveyed by a conveyor belt 17. Further, the remaining material 18 after cutting the optical recording medium is stored on a drum 19.
It is wound up. For cutting, male/female die punching using a hydraulic press, laser cutting, or the like is used.

In this embodiment, since the resin sheet is processed in a continuous state, the resin sheet itself moves until the cutting step, and therefore, the resin sheet is transported only by relatively simple feeding using rolls.

A mechanism for automatically performing alignment in the process of punching out the optical recording medium is provided as necessary.

In the punching process, precision is particularly required for disks, and the inner or outer periphery is detected by detecting the reflected light of a laser spot, or by reading groups on the board or separately provided markers with a CCD to detect position signals. Then, move the punching press. In order to perform these alignment mechanisms with the necessary degree of freedom, the sheet is fed with a certain amount of "sag". Further, in the case where the coating surface is provided on the underside of the sheet as shown in FIG. A roller is used that holds the sheet edge so that it does not come into contact with the sheet.

By the way, the cutting of the information recording medium that is performed first in the process shown in FIG. In order to improve accuracy, it is preferable that the resin sheet is stopped. On the other hand, during melt extrusion of the resin sheet, formation of the uneven preformat, and formation of the recording layer, defects such as uneven thickness of the resin sheet, occurrence of distortion within the resin sheet, poor transfer of the uneven preformat, and uneven coating of the recording layer are caused. In order to prevent this, it is preferable that the resin sheet be formed and transported at a constant speed.

Therefore, in this embodiment, in order to continuously carry out the process of feeding a continuous sheet and the cutting process of stopping the resin sheet, it is preferable to provide a mechanism for slackening the resin sheet before the cutting process. preferable.

In FIG. 1, the roller 2 of the slackening mechanism 20
By moving the position 1 up and down, the intermittent feeding of the cutting process and the continuous conveyance from the resin extrusion process to the protective member lamination process can be connected, and both processes can be performed continuously.

Furthermore, in addition to the process shown in FIG. 1, a process of neutralizing static electricity and removing dust may be inserted as appropriate in order to prevent dust from adhering to the resin sheet on which the uneven preformat is formed. It is preferable to cover the area from the melt extrusion part to the step of forming the protective member with a clean tunnel in order to prevent dust from adhering.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of an apparatus showing a second embodiment. As in FIG. 1, pellets serving as a substrate material are fed into the router 1 from the hopper 11. A T-die 12 connected to the ruler extrudes the melted resin in a band shape. The resin is guided between the gap between the rollers 2 and 3 near the discharge port of the T-die, and the mirror-surfaced roller 3 forms the resin sheet 16.
A mirror surface is transferred to the lower surface of the resin sheet, and then the mirror surface is transferred to the other surface of the resin sheet by a mirror roller 4, thereby forming a flat sheet. This resin sheet 16 is coated with a photocurable resin 23 by a coater 22, then pressed against a stamper roll 24 having an uneven preformat pattern on its surface, and the pressed portion is irradiated with an ultraviolet lamp 25 to form a photocurable resin coating. A concavo-convex preformat pattern for track grooves and address bits is transferred.

The light source intensity and irradiation distance of the ultraviolet light source 25 used in this embodiment are determined by the curing speed of the photocuring resin used and the moving speed of the resin sheet, but the light source intensity is
0W/cm~160W/cm, irradiation distance is 5cm~20
cm is preferred.

The subsequent steps are as shown in FIG. 1, in which a recording material is coated and dried, a recording auxiliary layer is formed, a protective material is provided, and then the recording medium is cut into individual recording media.

The members and conditions used in the present invention will be described below.

The resin used as the substrate material of the present invention is preferably a thermoplastic resin that has a high transmittance for recording/reproducing light, such as acrylic resin, polyester resin, polycarbonate resin, vinyl resin, etc. Examples include resins, polysulfone resins, polyolefin resins, cellulose derivatives, and the like.

When the organic dye used in the optical recording layer is near the wavelength of the light used, for example, when the wavelength of the reproducing laser beam is 650 nm or more, especially 700 to 900 nm, the reflectance of the bits, etc., which is the recording part, and the It is preferable that the dye has a large difference from that of the recording part, and in order to record, it is necessary that the dye has an absorption maximum near the wavelength of the recording laser beam. Further, it is preferable that the energy required to cause a change in reflectance by irradiation with an energy beam is small. Furthermore, it is preferable that the reflectance of the recorded portion (bits, etc.) and the unrecorded portion is not easily changed by the energy beam of the reproduction light.

[0046] Such dyes must be selected appropriately depending on the wavelength of the laser beam used, and examples include cyanine,
Including merocyanine, triphenylmethane, naphthoquinone, xanthene, squalium, azulene, methine and pyrylium, azo, stilbene phthalocyanine direct dyes, azo, anthraquinone, triphenylmethane, xanthene, azine acid dye, cyanine, azo , azine, triphenylmethane, azulene, methine,
Pyrylium-based basic dyes, azo, anthraquinone, xanthene, triphenylmethane-based mordants, acidic mordant dyes, anthraquinones, indigoid-based vat dyes azo, anthraquinone, phthalocyanine, triphenylmethane-based oil-soluble dyes, sulfur dyes, and dithiol-based metal complexes.

[0047] These dyes may also be mixed with a stabilizer. As the stabilizer, various metal chelate compounds, especially Zn, Cu, Ni, Cr, Co, Mn,
Polydentate ligands with central metals such as Pd and Zr, such as N4,
In addition to those consisting of tetradentate ligands such as N2O2, N2S2S4, O2S2, O4, etc. or combinations thereof, various aromatic amines and diamines, nitrogen-containing aromatics and their onium salts, such as aminium salts, diimonium salts, pyridinium Examples include salts, imidazolinium salts, quinolium salts, and the like. Furthermore, pyrylium salts, which are oxygen-containing aromatic salts, are also used. Moreover, a combination of two or more of these stabilizers can also be used.

The above-mentioned various stabilizers are selected in consideration of the compatibility between the above-mentioned organic dye and the solvent used. Further, the amount of the stabilizer added to the organic dye is preferably 1 wt% to 50 wt%, particularly 10 wt% to 30 wt%, which results in less decrease in sensitivity and is highly effective as a stabilizer.

[0049] The solvent used to dissolve the above-mentioned organic dye and stabilizer is preferably one that does not attack the resin sheet, such as diacetone alcohol, cellosolve, 1-methoxy-2-propanol, tetrafluorinated propanol, It is also possible to use pentafluorinated propanol or a mixed solvent obtained by adding a small amount of a halogen-based solvent to the above-mentioned solvents.

The thickness of the recording layer is preferably about 0.01 μm to 20 μm, and furthermore, it has sufficient light absorption for the recording laser beam to thermally deform the recording layer and sufficient light reflection for the reproduction laser beam. If it is possible to stably form a thin film having
It is better to be as thin as possible.

The recording auxiliary layer is made of a rubber-like elastic polymer that does not suppress deformation of the surface of the recording layer due to the formation of pits in the recording layer during recording. Examples of the recording auxiliary layer material include silicone rubber, urethane rubber, ethylene propylene rubber, isobutylene rubber, isoprene rubber, butadiene rubber, styrene-butadiene rubber, chloroprene rubber, fluororubber, and natural rubber. Preferably, silicone rubber is preferred because it is stable against heat during recording, does not consume recording energy as latent heat of fusion, and can form uniform and well-ordered pits with approximately the same energy as a hollow structure.

The thickness of the recording auxiliary layer is preferably 3 μm or more in order to prevent a decrease in sensitivity due to the influence of a hard protective member.

As the photocurable resin in the present invention, prepolymers, oligomers, and monomers having unsaturated bonds in the molecule can be used. For example, one or more types of unsaturated polyesters, acrylates such as epoxy acrylate, urethane acrylate, and polyether acrylate, and methacrylates such as epoxy methacrylate, urethane methacrylate, polyether methacrylate, and polyester methacrylate, and an unsaturated bond in the molecule. For example, a mixture of a photopolymerizable monomer having a polyfunctional monomer such as dicyclopentenyl acrylate, 1,3-butanediol acrylate, polyethylene glycol diacrylate, or pentaerythritol triacrylate, and a halogenated acetophenone as a polymerization initiator. , benzophenone, benzoin, benzoin ether, Michler's ketone, benzyl, benzyl dimethyl ketal, tetramethylthiuram monosulfide, thioxanthone, and other radical-generating compounds that are easily peeled from the stamper in the cured state and have good matching with the recording layer. That's fine. The coating thickness of the photocurable resin layer is between 0.1 μm and 50 μm, and the molding is performed so that no bubbles are mixed in.

The sheet-like optical recording medium manufactured in this manner is then cut or punched into a shape corresponding to the concave-convex preformat signal of an optical disk, optical card, or the like.

Further, the pattern of the concavo-convex preformat formed on the roller of the present invention has a width of, for example, 0.
5 μm to 2 μm, pitch 1.0 μm to 5 μm spiral, concentric or parallel tracking group for optical disks and optical cards, width 2 μm to 5 μm, pitch 8 μm to 15
This is a pattern of a spiral, concentric circle, or parallel tracking group for an optical disk or optical card on the order of μm.

In practice, it is possible to add labels, print lot numbers, and store the product in a case during or after these steps. Feedback based on various inspection processes and inspection results is also provided as necessary. For example, optical inspections include birefringence, media coating film transmittance, reflectance, defect inspection for scratches and dirt, sheet thickness, measurements to determine the quality of formed grooves, and measurements to determine the quality of disk card performance. Evaluation etc. can be provided during or after the process.

[0057]

EXAMPLES The present invention will be explained in more detail using Examples below.

Example 1 (Invention of Claims 1, 3, 8 and 10) As a material for the resin sheet, an average molecular weight of 35,000 was used.
using polycarbonate, the extrusion width was 200 mm, the gap between rollers 2 and 3 and between rollers 3 and 4 was 1.2 mm,
The extrusion speed was 3 m/min using the apparatus shown in Fig. 1 to a thickness of 1.
A 2 mm uneven preformat was transferred to a resin sheet.

[0059] The radius of the roller 3 when transferred is 29~
3. A spiral tracking group concavo-convex pattern with a pitch of 1.6 μm and a spiral concavo-convex pattern and address pits are formed between 43 mm and the width of the concave portion when transferred is 0.1 mm and the groove depth is 900 Å. A Ni stamper for a 5-inch optical disk is attached with epoxy adhesive.

Next, the recording layer was coated using a roll coater at a rate of 3 m/min over the entire surface of the resin sheet on which the uneven pattern was formed. The recording layer coating solution used was a polymethine dye (trade name: IR-820, manufactured by Nippon Kayaku Co., Ltd.) dissolved in diacetone alcohol at a concentration of 2 wt %.

[0061] For drying the recording layer, the temperature of 0.05°C was heated to 30°C.
Dry air that has passed through a 2 μm air filter is flowed from the opposite direction of the flow of the sheet into a 3 m long tunnel at a rate of 1 m/min to 5 m/min to create a laminar flow.
The recording layer thickness was 900 ű50 Å.

Next, to apply the recording auxiliary layer, photocurable silicone rubber (TUV6000 manufactured by Toshiba Silicon Co., Ltd.) was applied using offset gravure in a radius of 28 to 44 mm so as to cover the recording area of each disk on the sheet substrate. The film was then irradiated with ultraviolet rays to form a recording auxiliary layer with a thickness of 5 μm.

Next, as a protective member, a photocurable urethane acrylate (HRA-5000 manufactured by Mitsubishi Rayon) was coated on the entire surface using a roll coater, and ultraviolet rays were irradiated to give a film thickness of 100.
A protective member layer with a thickness of μm was formed.

For cutting, the track guide groove is read by a laser and punched out using a male/female die of a press.

In this example, an optical disk was formed at 4 pieces/m and cut at 12 pieces/m. The cutting process was performed by continuous movement at a rate of 3 m/mm up to the attachment of the protective layer, but now the cutting process is performed intermittently.

Although this cutting can be done in a sufficiently short time, since the sheet is not fed continuously, a mechanism is provided to "sag" the sheet between forming the protective member and cutting to enable this feeding. Ta.

Example 2 (Invention of Claims 2, 4, 9 and 11) Polycarbonate pellets with an average molecular weight of 25,000 were used as the resin sheet material, and the extrusion width was 200 mm.
, roll gap 0.4mm, extrusion speed 3m/mi
The resin sheet is molded in step n. Coater 22 shown in FIG.
An ultraviolet curing resin 23 was applied to a thickness of 20 μm. Urethane acrylate (STH-401 manufactured by Dainippon Ink) was used as the ultraviolet curing resin. Stamper roll 24
A stamper with tracks used for optical cards and grooves for preformatting is pasted on the top. As for the uneven shape, linear guide grooves are formed as track grooves, with a pitch of 12 μm and a groove width of 2.0 μm.
5 μm and depth is 3000 Å. The surface on which this pattern is formed is approximately 850mm x 300mm, and the overall size is 85mm.
900mm x 6 to cover 0mm x 540mm card shape
00mm.

The stamper roll 24 having such a concavo-convex preformat pattern is pressed against the ultraviolet curing resin-coated surface of the resin sheet 16, and an ultraviolet lamp with an intensity of 100 W/cm is irradiated from a distance of 50 mm from the other side of the resin sheet. The uneven preformat was transferred and fixed onto the resin sheet.

Next, the recording layer was coated using a roll coater at a rate of 3 m/min over the entire surface of the resin sheet on which the uneven pattern was formed. The recording layer coating solution used was a polymethine dye (trade name: IR-820, manufactured by Nippon Kayaku Co., Ltd.) dissolved in diacetone alcohol at a concentration of 2 wt %.

For drying the recording layer, the temperature was set to 0.05°C at a temperature of 30°C.
Dry air passed through a 2 μm air filter was flowed from the opposite direction to the flow of the sheet into a 3 m long tunnel at a rate of about 1 m/min to 5 m/min to create a laminar flow.

Next, an addition-type thermosetting silicone rubber (TSE-3033 manufactured by Toshiba Silicone) was coated as a recording auxiliary layer on the recording area on the sheet substrate by offset gravure, and processed through a curing oven at 120°C to obtain a film thickness of 10 μm.
It was used as a recording auxiliary layer.

[0072] Next, as a protective member, a 0.25 mm thick
Polycarbonate sheets are laminated with a resin sheet via a film-like hot-melt adhesive, and heated pressure rollers 13, 13' are passed through the sheet to reduce the total thickness to 0.
．． It was set to 7 mm. This was punched out using a press cutting machine to read a cutting marker provided in advance (formed at the same time as the uneven pattern was formed) to form an optical card.

[0073] Although this cutting can be done in a sufficiently short time, since the sheet is not fed continuously, a mechanism is provided to "sag" the sheet to enable this feeding between the formation of the protective member and the cutting. Ta.

[0074]

[Effects of the Invention] As explained above, the present invention has the following advantages: (1) Since the molding of the resin sheet, the shaping of the concavo-convex preformat, the formation of the recording layer, the recording auxiliary layer, the protective member, and the cutting are performed in a continuous process, This reduces the chance of dust adhering to the recording medium due to cutting and cleaning during each process, which can cause errors when recording and reproducing information on the recording medium, resulting in highly reliable, highly productive, and highly sensitive optical recording media. Since the process is continuous, the required clean room volume is smaller.
In addition, it becomes extremely easy to create a clean tunnel on a continuous line, and furthermore, it becomes possible to reduce the number of clean room facilities. In addition, since there is no cutting in each process, there is no need for an automatic hand for loading and unloading the stocker, reducing equipment costs.■ Since the entire process is produced using a coating type process that does not use a vacuum line at all, Reduced equipment costs and high productivity make it possible to lower the price of optical media. ■ The process of applying liquid is performed from the bottom side of the resin sheet, preventing dust from adhering to it, making it a highly reliable optical recording medium. It has remarkable effects such as being able to obtain.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a first embodiment of the optical recording medium manufacturing method and manufacturing apparatus of the present invention, in which a concavo-convex preformat is transferred before a resin sheet is cured.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing a second embodiment of the method and apparatus for manufacturing an optical recording medium of the present invention, in which a photocurable resin is applied to a resin sheet and then a concavo-convex preformat is transferred. shows.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Extruder 2, 3, 4 Roller 5 Recording layer coater 5', 7' Ink reservoir 6 Tunnel drying oven 7 Recording auxiliary layer coater 8 Curing device 9 Protective member 10 Protective member feeder 11 Hopper 12 T-die 13, 13' Pressure roller 14 Cutting machine 15 Optical recording medium 16 Sheet substrate 17 Conveyor belt 18 Remaining material 19 Drum 20 Sagging mechanism 21 Roller 22 Coater 23 for UV curing resin 24 UV curing resin 24 Stamper roll 25 UV light source

Claims (12)

[Claims] 1. Molten resin is extruded to form a molten resin sheet, and before the resin sheet is cured, a concave-convex preformat is transferred onto the resin sheet, and the concave-convex preformat is formed on the resin sheet. A recording layer capable of recording information by light irradiation is formed on the preformat formation surface by coating, a recording auxiliary layer for absorbing surface deformation of the recording layer is formed on the recording formation surface by coating, and the recording auxiliary layer is formed on the preformat formation surface by coating. A method for producing an optical recording medium, in which a protective member is formed on a layer surface, and the resin sheet on which the recording auxiliary layer and the protective member are formed is further cut into individual recording media, in which all steps are performed continuously. A method for manufacturing an optical recording medium characterized by: 2. Molten resin is extruded to form a molten resin sheet, a photocurable resin is applied onto the resin sheet, and the resin sheet is pressed with a roller having an uneven preformat pattern and irradiated with light to form a molten resin sheet. The uneven preformat is transferred to a coating film of a photocurable resin, and a recording layer that can record information by light irradiation is formed by coating on the uneven preformat forming surface of the resin sheet on which the uneven preformat is formed, and the recording layer is formed by coating. A recording auxiliary layer for absorbing surface deformation of the recording layer is formed on the formation surface by coating, a protective member is formed on the recording auxiliary layer surface, and the recording auxiliary layer and the protective member are formed on the recording auxiliary layer. 1. A method for manufacturing an optical recording medium in which a resin sheet is cut into individual recording media, characterized in that all steps are performed continuously. 3. Molten resin and extrude to form a molten resin sheet, and before the resin sheet hardens, transfer a concave-convex preformat onto the resin sheet, thereby forming a concavo-convex preformat on the resin sheet formed with the concave-convex preformat. A recording layer capable of recording information by light irradiation is formed on the preformat formation surface by coating, a recording auxiliary layer for absorbing surface deformation of the recording layer is formed on the recording formation surface by coating, and the recording auxiliary layer is formed on the preformat formation surface by coating. A method for producing an optical recording medium, in which a protective member is formed on the layer surface, and the resin sheet on which the recording auxiliary layer and the protective member are formed is cut into individual recording media, including the step of forming the protective member. A method for manufacturing an optical recording medium, characterized in that the step of cutting a resin sheet is performed continuously and the step of cutting a resin sheet is performed intermittently. 4. Molten resin is extruded to form a molten resin sheet, a photocurable resin is applied onto the resin sheet, and the resin sheet is pressed with a roller having a concave-convex preformat pattern and irradiated with light to form a molten resin sheet. The uneven preformat is transferred to a coating film of a photocurable resin, and a recording layer that can record information by light irradiation is formed by coating on the uneven preformat forming surface of the resin sheet on which the uneven preformat is formed, and the recording layer is formed by coating. A recording auxiliary layer for absorbing surface deformation of the recording layer is formed on the formation surface by coating, a protective member is formed on the recording auxiliary layer surface, and the recording auxiliary layer and the protective member are formed on the recording auxiliary layer. An optical recording medium characterized in that a method for manufacturing an optical recording medium in which a resin sheet is cut into individual recording media is performed continuously up to the step of forming a protective member, and the step of cutting the resin sheet is performed intermittently. manufacturing method. 5. The recording auxiliary layer according to claim 1, wherein the recording auxiliary layer is formed by coating on the recording area of the resin sheet having the uneven preformat, and is not formed on the edge of the resin sheet. A method for manufacturing an optical recording medium according to any one of the items. 6. The method for manufacturing an optical recording medium according to claim 1, wherein the recording auxiliary layer is made of a polymeric material having rubber-like elasticity. 7. The method for manufacturing an optical recording medium according to claim 1, wherein the recording auxiliary layer is made of silicone rubber. 8. Means for melting and extruding a resin to form a molten resin sheet, and means for transferring a concave-convex preformat onto the resin sheet before the resin sheet is cured.
Means for forming by coating a recording layer capable of recording information by light irradiation on a concave-convex preformat forming surface of a resin sheet on which a concavo-convex preformat is formed, and a means for absorbing surface deformation of the recording layer on the recording forming surface. means for forming a recording auxiliary layer by coating; means for forming a protective member on the surface of the recording auxiliary layer; and cutting the resin sheet on which the recording auxiliary layer and the protective member are formed into individual recording media. 1. An optical recording medium manufacturing apparatus comprising: an optical recording medium manufacturing apparatus, characterized in that all the means can be operated continuously. 9. A means for melting and extruding a resin to form a molten resin sheet, a means for applying a photocurable resin onto the resin sheet, and a means for pressing the resin sheet with a roller having a concave-convex preformat pattern and irradiating it with light. means for transferring the concave-convex preformat to the coating film of the photocurable resin, and a recording layer capable of recording information by light irradiation is applied to the concave-convex preformat-formed surface of the resin sheet on which the concave-convex preformat is formed. means for forming a recording auxiliary layer on the recording formation surface by coating to absorb surface deformation of the recording layer; means for forming a protective member on the recording auxiliary layer surface; An optical recording medium manufacturing apparatus comprising means for cutting the resin sheet on which an auxiliary layer and a protective member are formed into individual recording media, characterized in that all means are operated continuously. Media manufacturing equipment. 10. A means for melting and extruding a resin to form a molten resin sheet, a means for transferring a concave-convex preformat onto the resin sheet before the resin sheet is cured, and a resin on which the concave-convex preformat is formed. Means for forming a recording layer capable of recording information by light irradiation on an uneven preformat forming surface of a sheet by coating, and coating a recording auxiliary layer for absorbing surface deformation of the recording layer on the recording forming surface. an optical recording medium comprising: a means for forming a protective member on the surface of the recording auxiliary layer; and a means for cutting the resin sheet on which the recording auxiliary layer and the protective member are formed into individual recording media. A manufacturing device for an optical recording medium, characterized in that in the manufacturing device, the means for forming the protective member can be operated continuously, and the means for cutting the resin sheet can be operated intermittently. . 11. Means for melting and extruding a resin to form a molten resin sheet, means for applying a photocurable resin onto the resin sheet, and pressing and light irradiation of the resin sheet with a roller having a concave-convex preformat pattern. means for transferring the concave-convex preformat to the coating film of the photocurable resin, and a recording layer capable of recording information by light irradiation is applied to the concave-convex preformat-formed surface of the resin sheet on which the concave-convex preformat is formed. means for forming a recording auxiliary layer on the recording formation surface by coating to absorb surface deformation of the recording layer; means for forming a protective member on the recording auxiliary layer surface; In an optical recording medium manufacturing apparatus having means for cutting the resin sheet on which the recording auxiliary layer and the protective member are formed into individual recording media, the apparatus up to the means for forming the protective member can be operated continuously. An apparatus for manufacturing an optical recording medium, characterized in that a means for cutting a resin sheet can be operated intermittently. 12. The optical recording medium manufacturing apparatus according to claim 8, further comprising means for slackening the resin sheet before the means for cutting the resin sheet into individual recording media.