KR101779209B1 - Method of manufacturing gas barrier film - Google Patents

Abstract

A gas barrier film of cut sheet shape is produced by cutting a long gas barrier film without breaking the gas barrier film.
(Solution) A long gas barrier film is cut in the width direction, then both end portions in the width direction are cut, and cutting is performed without holding one of the gas barrier films in the direction orthogonal to the cutting line , Or a point-contact cutting means.

Description

METHOD OF MANUFACTURING GAS BARRIER FILM FIELD OF THE INVENTION [0001]

The present invention relates to a method for producing a gas barrier film which cuts a long gas barrier film to produce a cut gas barrier film.

A packaging material used for packaging parts such as optical elements, display devices such as a liquid crystal display and an organic EL display, semiconductor devices, thin film solar cells, and other parts requiring moisture-proof property, food, medical products and electronic parts A gas barrier film (gas barrier film) that forms gas barrier property is formed (formed) on a plastic film (support) such as a polyethylene terephthalate (PET) film or the like.

As a gas barrier film formed on a gas barrier film, a film made of various inorganic compounds (inorganic materials) such as silicon nitride, silicon oxide, and aluminum oxide is known.

Here, as described in Patent Document 1, these gas barrier films have low strength and are easily broken by contact. In addition, when the gas barrier film has a thickness exceeding 300 nm, the gas barrier film is generally thin because it becomes hard and cracks or the like occur well.

As a method capable of producing such a gas barrier film with good production efficiency, there has been proposed a method in which a supply roll made by winding a long support (web-shaped support (substrate / base material) Called roll-to-roll method in which a film is formed on one support and the support on which the film formation is completed is again wound in a roll form.

In this film formation by roll-to-roll, a long support is passed from the supply roll to the take-up roll through a predetermined path passing through the deposition chamber for film formation on the support, The film is continuously formed on the support conveyed in the film formation chamber while synchronizing the delivery of the support from the support roll and the winding of the support on which the film formation by the winding roll is completed.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 3-108531

The gas barrier film is often used as a cut sheet of a predetermined size. Therefore, the gas barrier film having the gas barrier film formed by roll-to-roll needs to be cut (cut) into a cut sheet of a predetermined size.

As a method of forming a long sheet material into a cut sheet of a predetermined size, a cut sheet having a desired size and a desired shape can be obtained in one step, So-called punching (using a blade) is preferably used.

As described above, since the gas barrier film is a film made of an inorganic compound, it is a relatively hard and fragile film. Further, as described in Patent Document 1, when the gas barrier film is thickened, flexibility is lost and more easily cracked.

In addition, even if the thickness of the gas barrier film is made thicker, the improvement of the gas barrier performance can not be expected. This is because the gas barrier performance is determined by the denseness of the molecules forming the film. Therefore, after the film formation of a certain number or more, the properties in the thickness direction are not changed. However, if the thickness of the gas barrier film is increased, the porosity of the inorganic substance with respect to the disturbance such as a foreign substance mixed at the time of film formation is improved. However, in this case, the ease of cracking becomes dominant, and as a result, the performance is degraded. Therefore, as described above, the gas barrier film formed on the gas barrier film is generally a thin film.

When the elongated gas barrier film having such a gas barrier film is cut into a cut sheet having a predetermined shape by punching or the like, gold or cracks are generated in the gas barrier film by the force applied at the time of cutting, and the gas barrier film is broken . As a result, the gas barrier performance is remarkably deteriorated.

In addition, the breakage of the gas barrier film is not a problem that occurs only in the peripheral portion directly contacting the die or the pressing portion. That is, when the gas barrier film is cut into a cut sheet having a predetermined shape by punching or the like, the problem is that the force propagates like a vibration even at a portion far from the cut portion and does not contact the die, It turned out.

In addition, as described in Patent Document 1, when the gas barrier film is brought into contact with the gas barrier film in various processes from the completion of cutting to the formation of a cut sheet, the gas barrier film is easily broken, .

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to solve the problems of the prior art described above, and to provide a gas barrier film of a predetermined size / shape and cutting a long gas barrier film formed by forming a gas barrier film on a support It is another object of the present invention to provide a method for producing a gas barrier film which can stably produce a cut sheet-like gas barrier film having desired gas barrier properties by suppressing breakage of the gas barrier film caused by cutting or contact .

In order to achieve the above object, a method for producing a gas barrier film of the present invention is a method for producing a gas barrier film comprising the steps of withdrawing a long gas barrier film from a film roll formed by winding a long gas barrier film formed by forming a gas barrier film on a support, The longitudinal gas barrier film is cut in the transverse direction orthogonal to the longitudinal direction, and thereafter the transverse gas barrier film is cut at both ends in the transverse direction, Is cut in the lengthwise direction of the long gas barrier film, and the gas barrier film is cut into a cut sheet in the predetermined size, and the gas barrier film is cut by one of the gas barrier films Or by cutting means for making point contact with the gas barrier film The present invention also provides a method for producing a gas barrier film.

In the method for producing a gas barrier film of the present invention, in the case where the point-contacting cutting means is not used, the cutting in the width direction is performed on the downstream side in the drawing direction of the long gas barrier film It is preferable that the gas barrier film of the cut sheet is cut without holding the gas barrier film of the gas barrier film in the widthwise direction, It is preferable to carry out the operation without maintaining the area.

It is preferable that the cutting in the width direction is carried out while the long gas barrier film is transported in the longitudinal direction.

 At this time, the cutting in the width direction is performed by using a rotating body having a rotating shaft extending in the width direction, and a cutting means fixed to the circumferential surface in the rotation of the rotating body and having a cutting blade extending in the width direction And it is preferable that the rotation of the rotating body and the conveyance of the long gas barrier film are synchronized.

The means for transporting the long gas barrier film disposed between the film roll and the widthwise cutting means may be such that on the gas barrier film side only the portion to be cut at both ends in the width direction .

At this time, the conveying means is a pair of rollers for nip and conveying the elongate gas barrier film, wherein the rollers on the gas barrier film side are arranged so that the portions other than the abutting portions abut against the cut portions Stage) is formed.

It is also possible to cut the end portion in the width direction by a slitter which cuts the gas barrier film in the thickness direction by sandwiching the gas barrier film by two circular rotary blades or one circular rotary blade and a blade base, Are cut by sandwiching them in the thickness direction at the same time.

Alternatively, both end portions in the width direction may be cut by a guillotine cutter without holding the region to be the cut sheet-like gas barrier film.

It is preferable that the gas barrier film is in contact with only the portion of the gas barrier film that is cut at both ends in the width direction of the gas barrier film with respect to the support until the cutting of both ends in the width direction is completed.

At this time, it is preferable that the notification of the long gas barrier film to the device for cutting in the width direction is carried out in contact with the widthwise end region to be cut later.

In the method for producing a gas barrier film of the present invention having the above-described constitution, when the gas barrier film is cut (cut) into a cut sheet shape of a predetermined size, one of the gas barrier films The gas barrier film is cut into a free shape without holding the side of the gas barrier film with the cutting line therebetween. That is, one side of the gas barrier film is set at the free end (open state) with the cut line interposed therebetween, and the gas barrier film is cut. Or the gas barrier film is cut by a cutting means which makes point contact with the cut portion, such as a slitter using a circular rotary blade.

Therefore, in the production method of the present invention, extra force can be prevented from being applied to the gas barrier film at the time of cutting, and breakage of the gas barrier film resulting from the cutting can be preferably suppressed.

In addition, not only when the gas barrier film is cut as described above but also when various members such as a conveying roller, a hand of a worker or the like touches the gas barrier film, the gas barrier film also generates gold, In many cases.

Here, in general, in the vicinity of the end portion in the width direction (direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction) of the long gas barrier film, the gas barrier film is not adequately formed in many cases. For this reason, it is preferable that the end region is cut as a product. When the width of the long gas barrier film does not coincide with the size of the intended cut sheet in one direction, it is necessary to cut not only the cut end but also the end portion so as to have a predetermined size.

Accordingly, in the production method of the present invention, first, the elongated gas barrier film is cut in the width direction to obtain a short gas barrier film. Thereafter, both end portions in the width direction (in the state where the gas barrier film is long Both end portions in the width direction) are cut.

Therefore, according to the present invention, until the sheet is cut to a predetermined size, a portion which does not become a product at the end portion in the width direction is used to convey the gas barrier film by the conveying roller, Operation or handling can be performed. That is, according to the present invention, it is possible to avoid contact with the product area of the gas barrier film.

Therefore, according to the manufacturing method of the present invention, it is possible to preferably prevent damage to the gas barrier film due to contact of various members or contact of an operation source.

Therefore, according to the production method of the present invention, it is possible to stably produce a cut sheet-like gas barrier film having a desired gas barrier property suppressed from deterioration of gas barrier property due to damage of the gas barrier film.

1 (A) to 1 (C) are diagrams conceptually showing an example of a gas barrier film usable in the method for producing a gas barrier film of the present invention.
2 (A) and 2 (B) are conceptual diagrams for explaining the method for producing the gas barrier film of the present invention.
3 (A) and 3 (B) are conceptual diagrams for explaining a method for producing a gas barrier film of the present invention.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Hereinafter, a method for producing a gas barrier film of the present invention will be described in detail based on preferred embodiments shown in the accompanying drawings.

A method of producing a gas barrier film of the present invention is to cut a long gas barrier film (web-shaped gas barrier film) to produce a cut sheet-shaped gas barrier film of a predetermined size.

In the production method of the present invention, the long gas barrier film which can be used is not particularly limited, and as schematically shown in Fig. 1 (A), on the surface of the long support Z, a gas barrier film 12 ) Can be used as the gas barrier film.

Specifically, as the support Z (substrate (substrate) in the form of a web), various known ones used as a support for the gas barrier film can be used.

Specific examples thereof include polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polyethylene naphthalate (PEN), polyethylene, polypropylene, polystyrene, polyamide, polyvinyl chloride, polycarbonate, polyacrylonitrile, polyimide, polyacrylate, polymethacrylate (Polymeric material) is exemplified as a preferable example of the support Z.

In addition, the support Z includes a protective layer, an adhesive layer, a light reflection layer, an antireflection layer, a light shielding layer, a planarization layer, a buffer layer, a stress (stress) And a layer (film) for obtaining various functions such as a relaxation layer may be formed.

The gas barrier film 12 is not particularly limited, and various known films that exhibit gas barrier properties (water vapor barrier properties) can be used.

Specifically, metal oxides such as aluminum oxide, magnesium oxide, tantalum oxide, zirconium oxide, titanium oxide, and indium tin oxide (ITO); Metal nitrides such as aluminum nitride; Metal carbides such as aluminum carbide; Silicon oxides such as silicon oxide, silicon oxynitride, silicon oxycarbide, and silicon oxynitride; Silicon nitride such as silicon nitride, silicon nitride carbide; Silicon carbide such as silicon carbide; Their hydrides; A mixture of two or more kinds thereof, and a film containing an inorganic compound, such as hydrogen-containing water, are preferably exemplified.

Such a gas barrier film 12 may be formed by a known method such as plasma CVD or sputtering.

In the present invention, the gas barrier film is not limited to a single-layer film of a layer made of an inorganic compound which exhibits gas barrier properties like the gas barrier film 12 shown in Fig. 1 (A) A gas barrier film having a structure can be used.

As an example, a structure in which a plurality of inorganic layers, such as silicon nitride, silicon oxide, and aluminum oxide, which exhibits gas barrier properties, as shown in the gas barrier film 12 shown in Fig. 1A, may be laminated. A gas barrier film formed by combining the inorganic layer described in Patent Document 1 described above and a layer (organic layer) composed of an organic compound can also be used. Specifically, the gas barrier film 12b in which the organic layer 14 and the inorganic layer 16 shown in Fig. 1 (B) are alternately laminated is preferably exemplified.

In the gas barrier film 12b in which the organic layer 14 and the inorganic layer 16 are alternately stacked, the organic layer 14 is not particularly limited and a film made of various organic materials can be used.

Specific examples of the resin include acrylic resin, methacrylic resin, methacrylic acid-maleic acid copolymer, polystyrene, transparent fluororesin, polyimide, fluorinated polyimide, polyamide, polyamideimide, polyetherimide, cellulose acylate, Polyurethane, polyether ether ketone, polycarbonate, alicyclic polyolefin, polyarylate, polyether sulfone, polysulfone, fluorene ring modified polycarbonate, alicyclic modified polycarbonate, fluorene ring modified polyester, acryloyl compound, etc. Of a thermoplastic resin, or a film of a polysiloxane or other organic silicon compound is preferably exemplified.

Among them, the organic layer 14 composed of a polymeric compound of a cationically polymerizable compound having a radical polymerizing compound and / or an ether group in a functional group is preferable from the viewpoints of smoothness and heat resistance effective for gas barrier property, / Or an acrylic resin or a methacrylic resin containing a polymer of a methacrylate monomer as a main component is preferably exemplified.

The organic layer 14 may be formed by a coating method or a known method such as flash deposition.

In the manufacturing method of the present invention, the gas barrier film formed by alternately forming the organic layer 14 and the inorganic layer 16 is formed by the "organic layer 14 / inorganic layer 16 ) / The organic layer 14 ". For example, the gas barrier film may be a gas barrier film having one organic layer and one inorganic layer, or a five-layer structure (" organic layer 14 / inorganic layer 16 / organic layer 14 Or the gas barrier film 12c of the inorganic layer 16 / inorganic layer 16 / organic layer 14).

The organic layer 14 basically smoothes the film formation surface of the inorganic layer 16 that exhibits gas barrier properties so that the inorganic layer 16 can exhibit sufficient gas barrier properties.

When the organic layer 14 is provided on the uppermost layer (surface), the protective layer is formed.

As will be described in detail later, the production method of the present invention is to produce a gas barrier film of a cut sheet shape of a predetermined size by cutting (cutting) a long gas barrier film. In the present invention, by cutting by a predetermined method to be described later, the inorganic barrier layer 16 (inorganic barrier layer 16) which exhibits gas barrier properties in the case of stacking the gas barrier film (organic layer 14 / inorganic layer 16) ) To prevent the gas barrier film from being broken by this force.

Here, in the manufacturing method of the present invention, in the case where the gas barrier film has the organic layer 14, the organic layer 14 has, in addition to the above action, a buffer layer for buffering the force applied to the inorganic layer 16 by cutting. As shown in Fig.

Therefore, by using a long gas barrier film having a gas barrier film in which the inorganic layer 16 and the organic layer 14 are combined, the effect of preventing the destruction of the gas barrier film according to the present invention and the effect of increasing the buffer effect It is possible to prevent destruction of the gas barrier film (the inorganic layer 16) due to the cutting, more preferably, to obtain preferable results. This effect is particularly remarkable when a gas barrier film formed by alternately laminating the organic layer 14 and the inorganic layer 16 shown in Fig. 1 (B) or (C) is used.

In the case where the organic layer 14 is provided on the uppermost layer, since the flatness of the surface is excellent, good adhesion with the conveying means such as the nip roller can be ensured and, for example, , It is possible to stably carry only the non-product area of the end portion of the gas barrier film with a small amount of maintenance margin.

In the production method of the present invention, when a long gas barrier film has a gas barrier film formed by alternately laminating the organic layer 14 and the inorganic layer 16, as shown in FIGS. 1B and 1C, It is preferable that the lowermost layer and the uppermost layer (the layer formed on the surface of the support Z and the layer on the side opposite to the support Z) are the organic layer 14, as shown in Fig.

It is preferable that the lowest organic layer 14 is thicker than the uppermost organic layer 14 and the uppermost organic layer 14 is thicker than the inorganic layer 16. [ 1 (C), in the case of a gas barrier film having a layer structure of five or more layers, the intermediate organic layer 14 (the organic layer 14 other than the lowermost layer and the uppermost layer) Is preferably not more than the thickness of the lowermost organic layer 14 and more preferably not less than the thickness of the organic layer 14 of the uppermost layer 14. [

The thickness of the uppermost organic layer 14 is 80 to 1000 nm, the thickness of the other organic layer 14 is 500 to 3000 nm, and the thickness of the inorganic layer 16 is not particularly limited. The film thickness is preferably 15 to 100 nm.

With the above configuration, more preferable gas barrier properties can be obtained, transparency of the gas barrier film can be ensured, and the effect of preventing the inorganic layer 16 from being broken by cutting with the organic layer 14 described above is preferable It is possible to obtain favorable results.

Particularly, if the inorganic layer 16 becomes too thick, breakage tends to occur at the time of cutting. Therefore, by setting the film thickness within the above range, it is possible to more preferably prevent destruction of the inorganic layer 16 due to cutting, Results can be obtained.

In the method for producing a gas barrier film of the present invention, a gas barrier film is drawn out from a film roll formed by winding such a long gas barrier film in a roll form, cut (cut) Barrier film.

Specifically, a long gas barrier film is taken out from the film roll, and is first cut in the width direction (direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction (drawing direction) of the long gas barrier film) to form a cut- The gas barrier film is a short-length gas barrier film. In the manufacturing method of the present invention, thereafter, both end portions in the width direction of the gas barrier film are cut in the longitudinal direction, and both end portions in the width direction are cut out to form cut sheet- Barrier film.

It is also a matter of course that in the cutting in the longitudinal direction of both end portions in the width direction after being made into a gas barrier film which is cut off by cutting in the width direction, the width direction and the longitudinal direction are, (Hereinafter simply referred to as " width direction " and " length direction ").

An example of cutting in the width direction is conceptually shown in Figs. 2A and 2B.

In this example, the film roll 20 is first wound by two conveying roller pairs 24 by winding a long gas barrier film L (hereinafter referred to as a long film L for convenience) The long film L is taken out.

The drawn long film L is transported in the longitudinal direction (= pull-out direction) indicated by an arrow (a) in the drawing by the pair of transport rollers 24 while the rotary cutter 28 (omitted in Fig. In the width direction. By this cutting in the width direction, a gas barrier film S (hereinafter, referred to as a short film S) which is a cut-off piece according to the length of the cut sheet to be produced is used.

In the example shown in Fig. 2, a long film L (not shown) is cut before the cutting in the downstream direction of the rotary cutter 28 (= downstream in the drawing direction of the long film L) (The short film S which is the base film) is not disposed. That is, the downstream side of the cutting line by the rotary cutter 28 is a free end.

Therefore, the short film S produced by cutting the long film L in the width direction is guided by the slidable guide 30 (not shown in FIG. 2 (B)) and falls, As shown in Fig.

It is preferable that the notification of the long film L to the cutting apparatus in the width direction is made in contact with the non-product region at the end in the width direction to be cut later.

In the example shown in Fig. 2, the rotary cutter 28 has a blade 28b extending in the width direction on the circumferential surface of a cylindrical rotary body 28a having a rotation axis (center line) coinciding with the width direction Known rotary cutter. Reference numeral 32 in Fig. 2A denotes a support base (lower blade / blade support).

The rotary cutter 28 synchronizes with the conveyance of the long film L (matching the rotation speed of the front end of the blade 28b with the conveying speed of the long film L) in the same manner as the known rotary cutter, L in the transport direction (the direction of arrow (b)), thereby cutting the long film L conveyed in the longitudinal direction in the width direction.

Here, in the example shown in Fig. 2, as an example, the elongated gas barrier film L is taken out and transported with the gas barrier film upward in the figure.

As described above, the long film L is pulled out from the film roll 20 by two conveying roller pairs 24, and is cut while being conveyed in the longitudinal direction. In the pair of conveying rollers 24, the roller 24b abutting on the lower supporting member Z is a typical cylindrical roller. On the other hand, the roller abutting the upper gas barrier film in the drawing of the pair of conveying rollers 24 has a diameter that is larger than the diameter of the other region (central region) Formed roller 24a.

The rollers 24a provided with the step contact only the laterally cut regions of both end portions in the width direction of the elongate film L at the later end portions in the width direction. That is, the roller 24a formed with the step contacts only the non-product area of the long film L.

In the gas barrier film, the gas barrier film 12 and the inorganic layer 16 that exhibits gas barrier properties in the stacked gas barrier film are thin and tough. Therefore, when a member such as a conveying roller pair directly comes into contact with the gas barrier film, the gas barrier film (inorganic layer 16) in that portion often generates gold or cracks. In addition, it is also not preferable to unnecessarily contact the product area of the gas barrier film, which is one factor in manufacturing an unsuitable product.

On the contrary, as in the example shown in the drawing, the rollers abutting the gas barrier film are formed as the rollers 24 and abut only on the non-product areas to be cut thereafter, so that breakage or damage of the gas barrier film So that it is possible to stably produce an appropriate product.

As described above, in the production method of the present invention, when the long film L is cut in the width direction, then both end portions in the width direction are cut. An example thereof is conceptually shown in Figs. 3 (A) and 3 (B).

In this example, both ends in the width direction of the short film S are cut in the longitudinal direction (direction of arrow (a)) by the slitter 40, and a gas barrier film C ) (Hereinafter, referred to as product film (C) for convenience).

As shown in Fig. 3, the slitter 40 is disposed at a cutting position shown by a broken line in the drawing, and the short film S having a widthwise rotation axis (i.e., rotating in the longitudinal direction) (The upper blade and the lower blade) sandwiched between two circular (disc-shaped) rotary blades 40a (upper blade and lower blade) Lt; / RTI > In the illustrated example, as a preferred embodiment, a slitter 40 positioned at the same position in the longitudinal direction is disposed at a cut position at both ends in the width direction of the short film S, Both ends are cut at the same time.

The cutting with the slitter 40 may be performed by moving the slitter 40, by carrying the short film S, or by moving the slitter 40 relative to each other. The transportation of the short film S to the slitter 40 and the transportation of the short film S for cutting by the slitter are carried out by contacting the both ends in the width direction to be cut by the slitter 40 .

Here, in the manufacturing method of the present invention, the gas barrier film on one side orthogonal to the cutting line, that is, the gas barrier film on the one side across the cutting line is not held, The film is cut. Alternatively, in the manufacturing method of the present invention, the gas barrier film in the width direction and the longitudinal direction is cut by a cutting means that makes point contact with the gas barrier film.

Specifically, the widthwise cutting of the long film L is performed by cutting the gas barrier film on the downstream side in the drawing direction of the long film L from the cutting position without pressing the gas barrier film, And cutting is performed by a cutting means.

In the illustrated example, when the long film L is cut in the width direction, the gas barrier film that is cut off on the downstream side (the right side in the figure) than the cutting position indicated by the one-dot chain line in Fig. 2B, The long roll film L is cut by the rotary cutter 28 without forming the portion to be the roll S, In other words, in the illustrated example, the width direction cutting is performed in a state in which the portion that becomes the short film S is free (in the state of being a free end).

Cutting of both end portions in the width direction of the short film S is performed by cutting the film opposite to the end portion to be cut, that is, the region to be the product film C (in a free state) Cutting is performed by a cutting means that makes point contact with the film.

In the illustrated example, the both ends of the short film S are cut in the longitudinal direction by the slitter 40 having two rotary blades 40a which make point contact with the short film S, Product film (C).

In the present invention, after the long film (L) is cut in the width direction to form a short film (S), both ends in the width direction of the short film (S) are cut in the longitudinal direction, (C) which is a gas barrier film of the product.

The production method according to the present invention has such a constitution that when the long film L is cut to produce a cut sheet product film C of a predetermined size (predetermined shape), the destruction of the gas barrier film is preferable This makes it possible to stably produce a gas barrier film exhibiting a predetermined gas barrier property.

A cut sheet having a desired size and shape can be obtained in a single step when a film material of a cut sheet shape (hereinafter, simply referred to as a cut sheet) having a predetermined size cut out from four sides by cutting a long film object is obtained, So-called punching, in which cutting is performed using a frame-shaped blade corresponding to the four sides of the cut sheet, is generally used.

According to the study by the inventor of the present invention, when the gas barrier film formed by forming the gas barrier film on the surface of the support Z is cut by punching, the gas barrier film (the laminate type (The inorganic layer 16 exhibiting gas barrier properties), cracks or cracks are generated, and the gas barrier film is destroyed. The gold or the crack is formed not only in the vicinity of the cut portion but also in the vicinity of the center of the gas barrier film of the cut sheet shape.

The inventors of the present invention have examined in detail the cause of the destruction of the gas barrier film. As a result, it was found that the main cause is that force is applied to the gas barrier film (inorganic layer 16) at the time of cutting, and this force is propagated in a direction orthogonal to the cutting direction, thereby destroying the gas barrier film .

As a result of further studies on a method for preventing breakage of the gas barrier film at the time of cutting, it has been found that, by cutting the gas barrier film on one side orthogonal to the cutting line, I found out that I can prevent destruction. In other words, it has been found that breaking of the gas barrier film due to cutting can be prevented by cutting at least one side in the direction orthogonal to the cutting line as a free end (open end). It has also been found that the breakage of the gas barrier film due to cutting can be prevented even by using a cutting means for cutting the gas barrier film in point contact with the slitter 40.

The inventor of the present invention has conducted studies and experiments on the cutting process of the gas barrier film. As a result, it has been found that there is a phenomenon that not only the cut surface but also the inner product portion is broken when cut. The reason is that the inorganic film (inorganic layer 16) forming the gas barrier film is not chemically bonded such as an organic film but bonded to each other only by a force between molecules. That is, the bonding of the inorganic film is continuous or dashed with the sparse portion as a starting point when a constant force is applied (propagated) to the inside of the film as compared with the organic film, It is easy to destroy radio waves. Therefore, it is presumed that when a very large force is applied to the cut surface as in the cutting, and the force is applied to the whole of the film surface, it is transmitted to the weak portion (as if gold is going to be broken).

In order to prevent the breakage of the gas barrier film in consideration of the characteristics of the inorganic film, the present inventors have found that when cutting the gas barrier film having the gas barrier film formed on the support Z, I think it is important That is, by cutting the gas barrier film to be cut at one end without pressing the gas barrier film to be cut, the force applied to the gas barrier film at the time of cutting, that is, the stress to be pressed, It is possible to prevent the gas barrier film from being destroyed by preventing the unnecessary force from being applied to the gas barrier film by reducing the elongation force by forming the free end and moving the entire film.

In addition, in the case of using the point contact cutting means, since the force applied to one point is dispersed throughout the gas barrier film, it is also possible to prevent the force that destroys the gas barrier film at the time of cutting from being applied .

Therefore, according to the present invention in which cutting is performed without pressing the gas barrier film on one side orthogonal to the cutting line, destruction of the gas barrier film due to cutting can be preferably prevented.

Here, in the case of cutting the elongated film-like material in the width direction and the longitudinal direction to form a cut sheet, it is preferable to first cut the end portion in the longitudinal direction in consideration of the handling and simplification of the process, It is common to perform cutting in the width direction.

That is, by performing the cutting in the width direction at last, the film material can be handled as one object until the end. For example, in the example shown in Fig. 2, by disposing the slitter 40 shown in Fig. 3 between the pair of conveying rollers 24, the cutting in the width direction end portion in the longitudinal direction and the cutting in the width direction are continuously By doing so, it is possible to make a long sheet of film material into a cut sheet.

By the way, in the gas barrier film formed by forming the gas barrier film on the surface of the support, cutting is performed in this order to produce a cut sheet product film (C). After cutting both ends in the width direction, It is necessary for a member such as a transport roller to contact a region of the gas barrier film to be a product for cutting in the width direction. Further, even when work by the operator, such as a notifying operation or a transporting operation, is required between the cutting in the width direction end portion in the longitudinal direction and the cutting in the width direction, it is also necessary to contact the area to be a product.

As described above, the gas barrier film (inorganic layer 16 in the case of stacked type) is thin and tough. Therefore, when a local force is applied to the contacted portion, gold or cracks are generated in the gas barrier film, and the gas barrier film is destroyed.

On the other hand, in the manufacturing method of the present invention, by cutting the width direction first and then cutting both ends in the width direction, it is possible to leave the non-product area until just before becoming the product film (C) have.

Thus, by using the rollers or the like provided with the steps shown in Fig. 2, it is possible to prevent the product film C from coming into contact with the product area, Can be performed. Therefore, it is possible to reliably carry out operations such as transporting the long film (L) and cutting the long film (L) in the width direction, while preventing damage to the gas barrier film in the product area. Further, even when the operator needs to contact the gas barrier film for notification, transportation, or the like, the work can be performed by contacting the non-product area at both ends in the width direction, It is possible to prevent the gas barrier film from being damaged.

Therefore, the long film L is cut in the width direction, then both end portions in the width direction are cut, and the cut is performed without pressing the gas barrier film, or cut by the cutting means by the point contact According to the present invention, it is possible to stably produce a gas barrier film of a predetermined size (predetermined shape) that significantly suppresses the breakage of the gas barrier film and exhibits a predetermined gas barrier property.

In the present invention, the cutting in the width direction and the cutting in the both ends in the width direction may be carried out in the same manner as the ordinary cutting (cutting step) of the gas barrier film except for the above conditions.

The present invention is not limited to the use of the rotary cutter 28 to cut in the width direction and to cut both ends in the width direction by using the slitter 40. [ The slitter for performing the cutting by the point contact is not limited to the shear type slitter 40 using the two rotary blades 40a but may be a circular rotary blade on the upper side (gas barrier film side) It is preferable to use a press-type slitter which sandwiches the short film S in the thickness direction with the aid of a blade support of the presser foot.

In the manufacturing method of the present invention, for example, cutting in the width direction of the long film L may be performed by a so-called guillotine cutter without pressing the downstream side of the cut line. Alternatively, the long roll of film L may be cut in the width direction by using a disc-shaped rotary blade in point contact with the long film L.

However, in this case, it is necessary to stop the conveyance and cut the long film L. That is, it is necessary to intermittently convey the long film L. Therefore, there is a possibility that the cut length of the short film S is easily caused, and furthermore, carrying / stopping is repeated to increase the burden on the long film L (gas barrier film), possibly damaging the gas barrier film . Further, by carrying out the intermittent transportation, the production efficiency is significantly lowered.

Therefore, it is preferable to use a cutting means capable of cutting the long film L while conveying the long film L, like the rotary cutter 28 shown in the drawing, for cutting the long film L in the width direction.

Further, the present invention is not limited to cutting both ends in the width direction at the same time by using two slitters 40 arranged at the same position in the longitudinal direction corresponding to both ends. For example, both end portions in the width direction may be cut by a slitter so that the end portions in the width direction are sequentially cut one by one to form a product film (C). In this case, the arrangement positions of the two slitters may be shifted in the longitudinal direction, and the end portions may be cut continuously one by one, or the end portions in the width direction may be cut by one slit by one slit.

Alternatively, both end portions in the width direction may be cut one by one using a guillotine cutter to form a product film (C). The product film C may also be formed by transporting the short film S in the width direction and sequentially cutting the end portions in the width direction by a rotary cutter. In cutting both ends in the width direction, different cutting means may be used, such as cutting one end with a guillotine cutter and cutting the other end with a slitter.

At this time, the short film S is cut without pressing the side to be a product.

That is, in the manufacturing method of the present invention, in the case where it is necessary for the operator or the apparatus to contact the short film S in order to prevent the destruction of the gas barrier film which becomes the product in any case, In the widthwise direction, but does not come into contact with the area to be cut.

Although the present invention has been described in detail with reference to the process for producing the gas barrier film of the present invention, the present invention is not limited to the above-described example, and various improvements and modifications may be made without departing from the gist of the present invention Of course it is.

For example, in Fig. 2, the conveying of the long film L may be carried out by using a pair of conveying rollers using a roller provided with an end, and using a clip for gripping the cut portion at both ends in the width direction. Alternatively, sprocket holes may be formed in the cut portions at both end portions in the width direction of the long film L and the sprocket gears may be used to engage the long film L with the sprocket holes.

The cut sheet-like gas barrier film produced by the present invention is not limited to a rectangular shape such as a square or a rectangle, but may be formed by cutting a long sheet-like material such as a curved side, And various shapes in which both end portions in the width direction are cut in the longitudinal direction can be used.

Example

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to specific examples of the present invention.

[Example 1]

A film roll 20 was prepared by winding a long film (L) having a width of 1000 mm in a roll shape and having a three-layered gas barrier film 12b shown in Fig. 1 (B).

As the support Z, a PET film having a thickness of 100 占 퐉 was used.

The organic layer 14 was prepared by preparing a coating in which an acrylate monomer and a photopolymerization initiator were dissolved in an organic solvent, coating the coating with a die coater, drying the coating, and curing the coating film with ultraviolet rays. The film thickness of the organic layer 14 of the lowermost layer (the surface of the support (Z)) was 1000 nm, and the film thickness of the uppermost organic layer was 500 nm.

The inorganic layer 16 was an aluminum oxide layer having a thickness of 50 nm formed by reactive sputtering.

The film formation of each layer was carried out by a roll-to-roll process in which a long film was fed out from a roll wound in a roll form, film formation was carried out while conveying in the longitudinal direction, .

The formation of the organic layers 14 of two layers was carried out by the same apparatus.

Such a film roll 20 was first cut by a widthwise cutting apparatus using a rotary cutter 28 shown in Fig. 2 to obtain a short film S having a length of 500 mm (width 1000 mm).

In this cutting apparatus, there is no member which contacts the long film L before cut (the cut short film C to be cut) downstream of the cutting position by the rotary cutter 28 as described above.

Subsequently, both end portions in the width direction of the short film S were cut by a slitter 40 shown in Fig. 3 to produce a frame-shaped gas barrier film of 500 x 600 mm.

[Comparative Example 1]

The rotary cutter 28 and the slitter 40 were used and a rectangular gas barrier film of 500 x 600 mm was produced by punching using a frame-shaped cutting blade of 500 x 600 mm.

[Comparative Example 2]

In the apparatus shown in Fig. 2, the slitter 40 is disposed between the pair of conveying rollers 24, first both end portions in the width direction are cut, and thereafter, the rotary cutter 28 cuts the widthwise direction To prepare a rectangular gas barrier film of 500 x 600 mm.

The rollers provided with the ends of the pair of conveying rollers 24 on the downstream side adjusted the position of the large diameter portion in the width direction so that the long film after cutting the both end portions in the width direction can be properly conveyed.

The vapor permeability [g / (m2 · day)] of the gas barrier film in the form of a three-cut sheet thus produced was measured by the calcium corrosion method (the method described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2005-283561) .

As a result, the gas barrier properties of Example 1 were 9.2 x 10 ^{< -5} > On the other hand, Comparative Example 1 is 3.2 × 10 ^-3, Comparative Example 2 1.2 × 10 ^{- 3,} the both embodiments the gas barrier property significantly lower than 1.

It is considered that the gas barrier film of Comparative Example 1 had the gas barrier film 12b (the inorganic layer 16) broken as described above and the gas barrier property deteriorated at the time of cutting by punching. In the gas barrier film of Comparative Example 2, the gas barrier film 12b at the end portion in the width direction was destroyed and the gas barrier property was evaluated to be excellent when transported by the pair of conveying rollers 24 disposed downstream of the slitter 40 .

On the other hand, in Example 1 according to the production method of the present invention, it is considered that the gas barrier film 12b preferably exhibited gas barrier properties inherently possessed by preventing the breakage of the gas barrier film during cutting or transportation .

From the above results, the effect of the present invention is apparent.

The gas barrier film produced by the roll-to-roll method in which high productivity is obtained is used for cutting the gas barrier film of the shape according to the application.

12, 12b, 12c: gas barrier film
14: Organic layer
16: inorganic layer
20: Film roll
24: conveying roller pair
24a: Roller formed by steps
28: Rotary cutter
30: Guide
32: Support
40: Slitter

Claims (11)

When a gas barrier film of cut sheet shape having a predetermined size is produced by withdrawing and cutting the elongated gas barrier film from a film roll formed by winding a long gas barrier film formed by forming a gas barrier film on a support, ,
The long gas barrier film is cut in the width direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction and then both ends in the width direction are cut in the longitudinal direction of the long gas barrier film, Shaped gas barrier film, and further,
The gas barrier film may be cut without holding one of the gas barrier films in the direction perpendicular to the cut line or by cutting means that makes point contact with the gas barrier film,
The longitudinally extending gas barrier film conveying means disposed between the film roll and the widthwise cutting means abuts only the portion where the widthwise opposite ends of the gas barrier film are cut with respect to the support body By weight based on the total weight of the gas barrier film. The method according to claim 1,
In the case where the point-contacting cutting means is not used, the cutting in the width direction is carried out without holding the gas barrier film on the downstream side in the drawing direction of the elongated gas barrier film, Gt; 3. The method according to claim 1 or 2,
Wherein the cutting at both end portions in the width direction is performed without holding the region to be the cut sheet-like gas barrier film when the point contact cutting means is not used. 3. The method according to claim 1 or 2,
Wherein the cutting in the width direction is carried out while the long gas barrier film is transported in the longitudinal direction. 5. The method of claim 4,
And a cutting means fixed to a circumferential surface in rotation of the rotating body and having a cutting blade extending in the width direction, Wherein the rotation of the rotating body and the transportation of the long gas barrier film are performed in synchronism with each other. delete 3. The method according to claim 1 or 2,
Wherein the conveying means is a pair of rollers for nip and conveying the elongate gas barrier film and wherein the rollers on the side of the gas barrier film are formed so that the portions other than the abutting portions come in contact with the cut portions, Wherein the gas barrier film is a roller formed with a gas barrier film. 3. The method according to claim 1 or 2,
The cutting at the end in the width direction is carried out by a slitter that cuts the gas barrier film by sandwiching the gas barrier film at the same time in the thickness direction by two circular rotary blades or by using a circular rotary blade and a blade base, Wherein the gas barrier film is cut by sandwiching it in the direction of the slit. The method of claim 3,
Wherein the cutting at both end portions in the width direction is carried out by one end portion with a guillotine cutter without holding the region to be the cut sheet-like gas barrier film. 3. The method according to claim 1 or 2,
Wherein the gas barrier film is in contact only with a portion of the gas barrier film that is cut at both ends in the width direction of the gas barrier film with respect to the support until the cutting of both ends in the width direction is completed. 11. The method of claim 10,
Wherein a long gas barrier film of the device for cutting in the width direction is notified (passed through) by contact with a widthwise end region to be cut later.

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