JPH06134977A - Positioning apparatus and printing apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide a printing apparatus, which can determine a position highly accurately without requiring long time for adjustment, has the high productivity and can perform the printing highly accurately on a glass substrate. CONSTITUTION:A positioning apparatus 30 picks up the image of a reference part 31a of a body to be positioned 31, which is fixed on a surface plate 32 for a substrate through cameras 34 and 35 for the substrate. The relative deviation between the image information and otherwise obtained image information for comparison is obtained with an image processing device 39. The surface plate 32 for the substrate for minimizing the deviation is driven into the arbitrary direction with a driving mechanism 33, and the position is adjusted. The angular deviation between a reference line 48 determined for the cameras 34 and 35 for the substrate and the reference part 31a of the body 31 is corrected with angle driving mechanisms 56 and 57, which are provided in the cameras 34 and 35 for the substrate. Adjusting work for the long time is not required, and the high accurate positioning can be performed.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a positioning device and a printing device used for positioning a glass substrate which constitutes a color filter for liquid crystal, for example, when performing offset printing on the glass substrate.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art First, a conventional printing apparatus for performing offset printing on a glass substrate to form a liquid crystal color filter will be described with reference to FIG.

In FIG. 5, 11 is a glass substrate, and this glass substrate 11 is placed and fixed on a surface plate 12 for the substrate. Then, as shown in FIG. 6, two cross-shaped alignment marks 13 are formed on the upper surface of the glass substrate 11, and the alignment marks 13 are formed above the alignment marks 13 so as to image the alignment marks 13, respectively. Cameras 14 and 15 as image pickup devices are arranged opposite to each other.

The image information picked up by these cameras 14 and 15 is stored in the corresponding image memories 16 and 17, and the CPU 23 connected to these image memories 16 and 17 via the bus 18 also passes the bus 18. It is output to the image processing device 19 and the monitor 20 which are connected. Further, the image processing device 19
Calculates the coordinate position of the alignment mark 13 from the image information. Further, the monitor 20 displays the alignment mark 13 as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8.

On the other hand, the surface plate 12 for the substrate is driven by the drive mechanism 21 in an arbitrary direction along the upper surface of the surface plate 12 for the substrate, that is,
It is configured to be movable with respect to two linear directions of an X direction and a Y direction which are orthogonal to each other, and a rotation direction which is a θ direction with a vertical axis perpendicular to the upper surface of the surface plate 12 for the substrate as a rotation axis. , The position of each direction can be adjusted.
The drive amount and direction of the drive mechanism 21 are controlled by the XYθ drive controller 22. This XYθ drive control unit 22
Controls the drive mechanism 21 to move the glass substrate 11 to a predetermined position based on the coordinate position of the alignment mark 13 calculated by the image processing device 19. The XYθ drive control unit 22, the image memories 16 and 17, the image processing device 19, and the monitor 20 are connected to the CPU 23 for overall control via the bus 18, and are centrally controlled by the CPU 23 according to a predetermined program.

[0006] Further, 25 is a printing plate, and this printing plate 25
Are mounted and fixed on the platen plate 26 for position adjustment. On the other hand, 27 is a printing drum, and this printing drum 27 applies the ink applied to the printing plate 25 fixed on the platen 26 for the plate to the glass substrate 11 fixed on the platen 12 for the substrate. Transfer to the top and perform offset printing.

Next, the operation will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.

In the above structure, when offset printing is performed on the glass substrate 11, first, the alignment mark 13 of the glass substrate 11 placed on the surface plate 12 for the substrate is used.
Is imaged by a camera 14 having an illumination mechanism for an object to be imaged attached to the front end which is an imaging device, the captured image is displayed on a monitor 20, and the θ axis adjustment (step 1) of the camera 14 is performed. Make an eye contact. That is, as shown in FIG. 8, the operator manually sets the angle of the camera 14 so that the horizontal direction of the cross-shaped cursor line 28 provided on the camera 14 and the horizontal direction of the alignment mark 13 coincide with each other. The position of the cross-shaped cursor line 28 and the alignment mark 13 are adjusted by alignment until the angle shift, that is, the tilt, disappears. Further, this operation is similarly performed for the other camera 15.

Next, the printing plate 25 is fixed on the platen plate 26 (step 2), and the glass substrate 11 on the substrate platen 12 is positioned and fixed (step 3). That is,
As shown in FIG. 7, the XYθ drive control unit 22 controls the drive mechanism 21 by the coordinate position data from the image processing device 19 so that the alignment mark 13 and the cursor line 28 coincide with each other, and the glass substrate 11 is moved. Position and fix as described above.

After that, test printing is performed using the printing drum 27 (step 4). That is, the ink on the printing plate 25 is transferred to the surface of the printing drum 27, transferred onto the glass substrate 11, and the offset printing trial printing is performed, and the printing pattern on the trial printed glass substrate 11 is illustrated. Observe with a microscope (step 5). Then, as a result of this observation, when the printing plate 25 and the glass substrate 11 are not in a predetermined positional relationship, the printing plate 25 and the glass substrate 11
The position of the printing plate 25 is adjusted so that 11 has a predetermined positional relationship (step 6), and the process returns to step 4 to perform the trial printing again. The test printing and the measurement work of the print pattern by the microscope are repeated several times until a predetermined positional relationship is obtained. The production cannot be started unless the adjustment by the trial printing is completed.

[0011]

As described above, in the conventional apparatus, it takes a lot of time for the adjustment by the test printing, and there is a problem in the accuracy because the work is performed by the operator's alignment. There is.

An object of the present invention is to provide a positioning device which can perform highly accurate positioning without requiring much time for adjustment, and by using this positioning device, productivity is high and glass is used. An object of the present invention is to provide a printing device that can perform printing on a substrate with high accuracy.

[0013]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a positioning device which mounts and fixes a flat plate-shaped object to be positioned, and is positionally adjustable in an arbitrary direction along the upper surface of the object. A surface plate, a camera fixed on the surface plate for capturing a reference portion of the object, and a relative deviation between image information of the reference portion captured by the camera and comparative image information. An image processing device for detecting and an adjustment control unit for driving the surface plate in the arbitrary direction to adjust the position and minimize the deviation obtained by the image processing device.

The positioning device according to a second aspect is the first aspect.
In the positioning device described above, the image processing device has a function of detecting an angular deviation between a reference line defined in the camera and a reference portion of the object, and the camera includes an angle drive mechanism for changing the angle of the image pickup screen. And a camera angle control unit for controlling the angle drive mechanism that minimizes the angular deviation detected by the image processing apparatus.

Further, according to a third aspect of the present invention, in a printing apparatus, a platen plate for mounting and fixing a printing plate and a platen plate for mounting and fixing a glass substrate, and the platen and substrate for the plate are provided. A drive mechanism which is provided on either one of the press plates and displaces the corresponding press plate in any direction along the upper surface thereof, and the printing applied to the printing plate fixed to the plate plate. A printing drum for printing the printing ink on a glass substrate fixed on the platen for the substrate, and a plate for imaging a reference portion of the printing plate fixed on the platen for the plate A camera for the substrate, which captures a reference portion of the glass substrate fixed on the surface plate for the camera and the substrate, and both image information captured by the camera for the plate and the camera for the substrate are mutually exchanged. An image that compares and obtains the relative deviation of these image information And management apparatus, is obtained by including a corresponding drives platen to said arbitrary direction position adjustment by adjusting controller to minimize the deviation determined by the image processing apparatus by the drive mechanism.

[0016]

In the positioning device according to the first aspect of the present invention, the reference part of the object to be positioned fixed on the surface plate is imaged by the camera, and the relative image information and the separately obtained comparative image information. Since the deviation is obtained and the surface plate that minimizes this deviation is driven in any direction to adjust the position, the conventional adjustment work for a long time is not required, and highly accurate positioning can be performed.

A positioning device according to a second aspect of the present invention is provided in a camera for detecting an angular deviation between a reference line defined by an image pickup device and a reference portion of an object, and minimizing the detected angular deviation. Since the angle of the image pickup screen is changed by the angle drive mechanism, the adjustment of the θ direction of the camera can be easily and accurately performed without the conventional alignment.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, the printing apparatus compares the image information captured by the plate camera and the image information captured by the board camera with each other, detects a relative shift between the image information, and detects the shift. Since the surface plate for the substrate to be minimized is driven in any direction to adjust the position, the conventional test printing is not required, the position adjustment is easy, and highly accurate printing can be performed.

[0019]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

First, the portion of the positioning device 30 will be described with reference to FIG.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 31 is a glass substrate of a flat object to be positioned. Further, 32 is a surface plate for the substrate, and the surface plate 32 for the substrate mounts and fixes the glass substrate 31, and the position is adjusted by the drive mechanism 33 in an arbitrary direction along the upper surface of the glass substrate 31. It is configured to be possible.

Reference numerals 34 and 35 are image pickup elements, for example, C
A camera for a board using a CD, a camera for these boards
An illumination mechanism for the imaging target is attached to the tip end portions of 34 and 35, and a reference portion of the glass substrate 31 fixed on the surface plate 32 for the substrate, for example, both corner portions 31a and 31b of the upper edge is imaged. . That is, these board-use cameras 34 and 35 illuminate the imaging target portion by an illumination mechanism (not shown) provided at the tip end, and the reflected light from this imaging target portion is imaged by the CCD of the board cameras 34 and 35. , Get image information.

The image information of the two corner portions 31a and 31b, which serve as a reference and are picked up by the cameras 34 and 35 for the substrates, are stored in the corresponding image memories 36 and 37.
An image processing device 39 connected to 6, 37 via a bus 38 compares the image information with the separately obtained comparative image information. Also,
The image processing device 39 calculates the relative positional displacement amount between the captured image information and the comparative image information.

To the bus 38, the same monitor as the monitor 20 of the conventional example shown in FIG. 5 is connected, and the image memory 36,
37 image information may be displayed. Monitor 20 in this case
The image displayed in is only for reference to the operator.

Further, 42 is an adjustment control unit, which is
The reference numeral 42 designates a substrate surface plate 32 for minimizing the deviation obtained by the image processing device 39, and the drive mechanism 33 drives the substrate surface plate 32.
In any direction along the upper surface of X, that is, at right angles to each other
Direction and Y direction, and position adjustment is performed by driving in two rotation directions which are the θ direction with the vertical axis perpendicular to the upper surface of the surface plate 32 for the substrate being the rotation axis. Therefore, the surface plate 32 for the substrate can be adjusted in position in each direction. The drive mechanism 33 receives the data regarding the drive amount and the direction from the adjustment control unit 42 having the control function for the XYθ directions, thereby driving the surface plate 32 for the substrate by a predetermined amount in the corresponding direction, and the image processing apparatus. Adjust the position to minimize the deviation found by 39.

Here, the separately obtained comparative image information means image information captured by plate cameras 51 and 52 such as CCDs and stored in corresponding image memories 53 and 54. Each of these plate cameras 51 and 52 also has an illumination mechanism for the image pickup object attached to the tip end thereof, and serves as a reference portion of the printing plate 45 mounted and fixed on the platen plate 46, for example, alignment. The part where the mark 49 is formed is imaged.

Since the apparatus shown in FIG. 1 is a printing apparatus, it has a printing drum 47 for offset printing and is mounted on a printing plate 45 fixed on a platen plate 46 for printing. The applied ink is transferred onto a glass substrate 31 placed and fixed on a surface plate 32 for the substrate, and offset printing is performed. That is, this printing drum 47
In FIG. 2 showing the relationship between the surface plates 46 and 32, the plate surface plate 46 and the substrate surface plate 32 are mounted on the feed stage 61 which is movable in the left-right direction with a space therebetween. There is.

A printing ink 63 is applied by a doctor 62 to the printing plate 45 on the platen plate 46.
In addition, the print drum 47 includes a cylinder 47a and a blanket.
It is composed of 47b and the platen 4 by the feed stage 61.
By moving 6 and 32 laterally, the printing ink 63 applied to the printing plate 45 on the platen plate 46 is transferred onto the blanket 47b, and the printing ink 63 on the blanket 47b is transferred. Is transferred onto the glass substrate 31 on the surface plate 32 for substrate, and offset printing is performed.

Returning to FIG. 1, the image processing device 39, as described above, has the above-mentioned both corner portions 31a, which serve as the reference of the glass substrate 31,
Although it has a function of obtaining the difference between the image information of 31b and the separately obtained comparative image information, in addition to this, as shown in FIG. 3, the reference line defined by the board cameras 34 and 35, that is, It also has a function of calculating a difference in relative inclination between the cursor line 48 and the imaged glass substrate 31, that is, a deviation θ 1 on the angle θ from the corner portion 31a by image processing. Which of these functions is executed is determined by a command from the CPU 43 connected to the bus 38.

The board cameras 34 and 35 have angle drive mechanisms 56 and 57 for changing the angle θ of the image pickup screen by a rotation mechanism such as a stepping motor. A camera angle control unit 58 is provided for these angle drive mechanisms 56 and 57, and this camera angle control unit 58 adjusts the deviation θ 1 on the angle θ detected by the image processing device 39 via the bus 38. Angle drive mechanism 5 to minimize this deviation θ1.
The rotation mechanism units 6 and 57 are rotated in a predetermined direction by a predetermined amount to control the imaging screen angle θ of the board cameras 34 and 35.

The CPU 43 controls the entire apparatus in accordance with a predetermined program, such as data transmission / reception between each unit via the bus 38 and control of operation timing of each unit.

Next, the operation of the apparatus shown in FIG. 1 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. The apparatus of FIG. 1 shows a case where the apparatus is applied to an offset printing apparatus for a liquid crystal color filter.

First, the glass substrate 31, which is the object to be positioned and is the object to be printed on the positioning device 30, is placed and fixed on the surface plate 32 for the substrate by a substrate supply unit (not shown). In this state, the two corner portions 31a, 31b serving as the reference of the glass substrate 31 are imaged by the substrate cameras 34, 35. The captured image information is stored in the image memories 36 and 37, and in the image processing device 39, the cursor lines 48 of the substrate cameras 34 and 35 and the both-sided corner portions 31a and 31 serving as the reference of the glass substrate 31.
A deviation θ1 from the angle θ with respect to b is calculated for each of the two corner portions 31a and 31b. This deviation θ1 is input to the camera angle control unit 58, and the angle driving mechanisms 56 and 57 provided for the respective camera 34 and 35 for each board capture the images of the board cameras 34 and 35 to minimize the deviation θ1. The screen angle θ is controlled with high accuracy. That is, the θ axis of the camera is adjusted (step 1
1).

After this θ-axis adjustment, the printing plate 45 is fixed on the corresponding platen plate 46 (step 12), and the platen plate 32 for the substrate is fixed.
Along with the glass substrate 31 fixed on the top (step 13), a reference portion is imaged by a corresponding camera and recognition is performed (step 14).

Here, an alignment mark 49 is formed in advance on a reference portion of the printing plate 45, and the alignment mark 49 is imaged by the plate cameras 51 and 52, and the image information of the image is taken. Corresponding image memory 53,
Store in 54. Then, by the image processing device 39, the image information of the both corner portions 31a and 31b serving as the reference of the glass substrate 31 stored in the image memories 36 and 37 and the image memories 53 and 54.
The alignment mark 49 of the printing plate 45, which is the comparative image information stored in the above, is compared, and the relative positional deviation amount between the imaged image information and the comparative image information is calculated (step 15).

Further, the adjustment control unit 42 is the image processing apparatus.
The relative positional deviation amount obtained by 39 is input, and in order to minimize the positional deviation amount, the surface plate 32 for the substrate, which is movable in each direction of XYθ, is driven in any direction by the drive mechanism 33. Adjust the position (step 16). As a result, the printing plate 45
The relative displacement between the glass substrate 31 and the glass substrate 31 is corrected with high accuracy.

After that, the feed stage shown in FIG. 2 is moved in the lateral direction in the figure to transfer the printing ink 63 on the printing plate 45 onto the blanket 47b of the printing drum 47, and further the blanket 47b. Offset ink is transferred by transferring the above ink onto the glass substrate 31. In this case, since the relative positional relationship between the printing plate 45 and the glass substrate 31 is positioned with high accuracy by the adjustment control unit 42, good offset printing can be performed without causing print misalignment.

In the above embodiment, the surface plate 32 for the glass substrate 31 is used.
Is configured to be movable in each direction of XYθ by the drive mechanism 33. The surface plate 32 for this substrate is fixed, and the surface plate 46 on the printing plate 45 side is provided with the same drive mechanism as the drive mechanism 33. The platen plate 46 for this plate is configured to be movable in each direction of XYθ, and the platen plate for plates is minimized in order to minimize the amount of relative displacement between the platen plates 32 and 46 obtained by the image processing device 39. The position may be adjusted by driving 46 in any direction by a drive mechanism. That is, the positioning device 30 may be configured on the surface plate 46 side of the printing plate 45.

Further, in the above embodiment, the glass substrate 31 is not provided with the alignment mark, and the reference portion is
Although both corners of the upper edge of the glass substrate 31 are imaged, an alignment mark may be provided to image this. However, when the alignment mark is not provided as in the above-described embodiment, the alignment mark forming step can be omitted, which is advantageous in terms of production efficiency and production cost. Further, for the glass substrate 31 and the printing plate 45, two cameras 34 and 35 for the substrate and a camera for the plate, respectively.
Although 51 and 52 are provided, both corners 31a of the glass substrate 31,
The number of cameras may be one each as long as it is a camera that can image 31b or two alignment marks 49.

Further, in the above embodiment, the printing process is postponed, but it goes without saying that a processing process other than printing may be used. Further, although the glass substrate 31 is illustrated as the object to be positioned by the positioning device 30, it can be similarly applied to positioning of a printed circuit board, a wafer, or the like.

[0041]

According to the positioning device of the first aspect,
A reference portion of the object to be positioned, which is fixed on the surface plate, is imaged by a camera, the relative deviation between the image information and the comparative image information obtained separately is calculated, and the deviation is minimized. Since the board is driven in any direction to adjust the position, the conventional adjustment work for a long time is not necessary, and highly accurate positioning can be performed.

According to the positioning device of the second aspect, a camera for detecting the angular deviation between the reference line defined by the image pickup device and the reference portion of the object and minimizing the detected angular deviation. Since the angle of the image pickup screen is changed by the angle driving mechanism provided in the camera, the θ direction of the camera can be easily adjusted with high accuracy without the conventional alignment.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the image information captured by the plate camera and the image information captured by the substrate camera are compared with each other to detect a relative shift between the image information. Since the surface plate for the substrate that minimizes the displacement is driven in any direction to adjust the position, the conventional test printing is not required, the position adjustment is easy, and highly accurate printing can be performed.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of a printing apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a front view showing a relationship between a printing platen, a glass platen and a printing drum.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram for explaining deviation detection in the θ axis direction in the image processing apparatus of the above.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of the above printing apparatus.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a conventional printing device.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an alignment mark on the same glass substrate.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a display state of a monitor in the same printing apparatus.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing another display state on the same monitor.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of the above printing apparatus.

[Explanation of symbols]

 31 Glass substrate as an object to be positioned 31a Reference area 32 Substrate surface plate 33 Drive mechanism 34, 35 Substrate camera 39 Image processing device 42 Adjustment controller 45 Printing plate 46 Plate plate 47 Printing Drum 48 Camera reference line 51, 52 Camera for plate 56, 57 Angle drive mechanism 58 Camera angle control unit

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── --- Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Hitoshi Tsuchiya 8 Shinsugita-cho, Isogo-ku, Yokohama-shi, Kanagawa, Ltd. Toshiba Industrial Research Institute (72) Inventor, Kayori 7-1, Nisshin-cho, Kawasaki-ku, Kawasaki-shi, Kanagawa Toshiba Electronics Engineering Co., Ltd.

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A surface plate configured to mount and fix a flat plate-shaped object to be positioned and to adjust the position in an arbitrary direction along the upper surface of the object, and to be fixed on the surface plate. A camera for imaging a reference portion of the object; an image processing device for detecting a relative deviation between the image information of the reference portion and comparative image information captured by the camera; And a position adjustment device that adjusts the position of the image processing device to adjust the position to minimize the deviation obtained by the image processing device. 2. The image processing apparatus has a function of detecting an angular deviation between a reference line defined in the camera and a reference portion of the object, and the camera has an angle drive mechanism for changing an angle of an image pickup screen. The positioning device according to claim 1, further comprising: a camera angle control unit that controls the angle drive mechanism that minimizes an angular deviation detected by the image processing device. 3. A plate surface plate for mounting and fixing a printing plate and a plate surface plate for mounting and fixing a glass substrate, and one of the plate surface plate and the plate surface plate. A drive mechanism which is provided and displaces a corresponding surface plate in an arbitrary direction along the upper surface thereof, and printing ink applied to the printing plate fixed to the plate surface plate is applied to the plate surface plate for the substrate. A printing drum for printing on a glass substrate fixed on the plate, a plate camera for picking up a reference portion of the printing plate fixed on the plate for the plate, and a plate for the plate The camera for the substrate, which captures the reference portion of the glass substrate fixed to, and the image information captured by the camera for the plate and the camera for the substrate are compared with each other, and the relative information of these image information is compared. An image processing device that obtains a deviation, and the drive mechanism Printing apparatus, wherein a surface plate to respond to and a adjustment control unit that minimizes the deviation obtained by the arbitrary direction and position adjustment by driving the image processing apparatus.