TW201302437A - In-line apparatus for extrusion molding and pattern forming - Google Patents

Abstract

Disclosed herein is an in-line apparatus for extrusion molding and pattern forming. The in-line apparatus for extrusion molding and pattern forming may form a pattern on a base light guide plate made of a resin material and subjected to primary cooling through an extruder (including a T-die and a polishing roll (calendar roll)), and may cut the light guide plate to a predetermined size after patterning, so that the light guide plate can be manufactured through extrusion molding, pattern transfer, and cutting in a single in-line system, thereby reducing process time of the light guide plate.

Description

Coaxial injection device for extrusion molding and patterning

The present invention relates to a coaxial in-line device for extrusion molding and patterning, and more particularly to a pattern that can be formed on a light guiding substrate made of a resin material and performs main cooling via an extruder. And a coaxial injection device capable of cutting the light guide plate to a predetermined size after the pattern transfer, such that the light guide plate can be manufactured by extrusion molding, pattern transfer and cutting in a single coaxial injection system, thereby reducing the light guide plate Process time.

In general, optical sheets such as light guides, optical films, and the like are widely used to allow a light source such as a backlight unit to efficiently emit light.

For example, the light guide plate is a basic component of a liquid crystal display (LCD) to ensure uniform illumination and brightness of the backlight unit, and when collecting light in one direction, without optical loss, The light emitted from the side light source to the front side can be evenly dispersed. Therefore, the light guide plate is formed by an optical pattern of a micron order.

Such a light guide plate is usually produced by extrusion molding or injection molding.

In a conventional extrusion forming process, a resin material is extruded by an extruder to manufacture a light guiding substrate having a certain area, which is sequentially cut into a predetermined size, and then the cut surface is polished to form a mirror surface, and the optical resin pattern is printed. On the light emitting surface. Alternatively, the pattern may be formed thereon by injection molding by means of different molds.

However, since the conventional extrusion forming process has to fabricate the light guide plate via the extruder, the pattern is formed via the individual pattern forming means, thus having the problem of adding additional fabrication procedures and process time.

Moreover, in the conventional extrusion forming process, the pattern is formed on the hardened light guiding substrate, so it is more difficult to transfer the fine pattern onto the light guiding substrate, and the pattern transfer rate is lowered and the design freedom is limited. degree.

The present invention contemplates solving the above problems, and provides a coaxial injection type device for extrusion molding and patterning, which can be made of a resin material and passed through an extruder (including a T-die and a polishing roller (calender roller)) Forming a pattern on the light-guide substrate that performs main cooling, and cutting the light-guiding substrate to a preset size after the pattern transfer, such that the light guide plate can be manufactured by extrusion molding, pattern transfer, and cutting in a single coaxial injection system. This reduces the process time of the light guide plate.

According to the viewpoint of the present invention, a coaxial injection type apparatus for extrusion molding and patterning includes: an extruder that ejects a resin material to manufacture a light guiding substrate; a preheating unit that heats the light guiding substrate; and a patterning unit, It transfers a pattern to the heated light guiding substrate; a cooling unit that cools the light guiding substrate having the pattern thereon; and a cutting unit that cuts the light guiding plate removed from the cooling unit to a predetermined size.

The preset unit may include a plurality of heating blocks and a heating controller that can individually control each of the heating blocks.

A plurality of heating blocks may be alternately arranged in the TD direction. Since the heating blocks are alternately disposed, the heating area is increased and the non-heating area is removed, so that the light guide plate can be uniformly preheated.

In order to improve the uniformity of heating by increasing the number of heating blocks per zone, a plurality of heating blocks can be placed on a plurality of stages.

The heating block controller controls the heating block to heat the light guide plate to a preset temperature ranging from 150 to 230 °C.

The patterning unit may include upper and lower rollers that are separated from each other, and at least one of the upper and lower rollers includes a pattern formed directly on the surface of the roller or an imprinter having a pattern to be transferred to the light guiding substrate. The patterning unit can pressurize the light guiding substrate up to 20 tons on the right side and the left side, respectively, and heat the light guide plate to a preset temperature ranging from 100 to 200 °C.

The cooling unit may include a plurality of coolers located on the upper and lower sides and separated from each other, and respectively cooling the upper side and the lower side of the light guide plate.

Further, a plurality of coolers may be alternately disposed laterally alternately on a plurality of stages to adjust the curvature of the light guide plate formed by extrusion molding, and to improve the pattern transfer rate by individually controlling the exhaust rate.

Here, each of the coolers may use an automatic damping system to partially adjust the exhaust rate, and the cold light or room temperature air generated from the nitrogen cooling device may be used to cool the light guide plate. The cooling unit may include a filter to remove contaminants in the air when exhausting.

As such, the coaxial ejection device for the extrusion molding and patterning according to the embodiment can perform the extrusion forming, the pattern transfer, and the cutting of the light guiding substrate via the coaxial injection process, thereby greatly reducing the processing time. Improve process efficiency.

Further, in this apparatus, the pattern is transferred to the light guiding substrate, which performs main cooling via an extruder (including a T-die and a polishing roll (calender roll), and is preheated by the preheating unit, thereby improving Transfer rate, productivity and product reliability. Furthermore, the system according to the embodiment allows the pattern to be continuously transferred to the light guiding substrate without cutting the light guiding substrate, thereby greatly improving the elasticity of the optical pattern design.

Moreover, the device allows continuous pattern transfer, thereby making the manufacture of large light guides more convenient.

Exemplary embodiments of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Figure 1 is a block diagram of an in-line system for extrusion molding in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 1 , a coaxial injection device for extrusion molding and patterning according to this embodiment may include an extruder 10 (including a T-die and a polishing roller) that ejects a resin material to manufacture a light guiding substrate; a preheating unit 20 that heats the light guiding substrate that is removed from the extruder 10 and is subjected to main cooling; a patterning unit 30 that transfers a pattern to the surface of the heated light guiding substrate; and a cooling unit 40 that is cooled to have a pattern a light guiding substrate thereon; and a cutting unit 50 that cuts the light guide plate removed from the cooling unit 40 to a predetermined size.

The system according to this embodiment may include, for example, a guide roller to convey the light guide substrate from the extruder 10 to the cutting unit 50.

The extruder 10 is a device for ejecting a fluid resin material to form a light guiding substrate. Here, examples of the resin material include polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA), polycarbonate (PC), polystyrene (PS), and methyl methacrylate-styrene. , MS) and so on.

Since the extruding machine 10 is generally used to manufacture a light guide plate by extrusion molding, the details of its components and operations will not be mentioned here.

Although this embodiment is described with a light guide plate, it should be understood that the present invention can be applied not only to a light guide plate but also to any product such as an optical sheet, optical which can be used as an optical element. Membrane and the like. Here, the term "pattern" refers to any fine structure including corrugations, dots, Prisms or Micro Lenses, etc., which can form various shapes on the surface of the sheet.

Figures 2a-2c show the preheating unit of the apparatus of Fig. 1, wherein Fig. 2a is a plan view of the preheating unit, and Figs. 2b and 2c are side views of the preheating unit.

Referring to Figures 2a-2c, the preheating unit 20 preheats the extruded light guide substrate prior to pattern transfer to increase the pattern transfer rate.

In particular, during the transition of the pattern onto the light guiding substrate via the patterning unit 30, the light guiding substrate is suddenly pressed by the heating roller, and the surface temperature of the light guiding substrate suddenly rises, resulting in the hardened state of the light guiding substrate. It becomes a softened state, and thus the light guiding substrate is easily subjected to deformation by bending, wavering or other expansion. The preheating unit 20 is for compensating for such deformation of the light guiding substrate.

Further, when the hardened light guiding substrate is subjected to pattern transfer, the pattern transfer rate is adversely affected by the change or bending of the thickness of the light guiding substrate. Therefore, the preheating unit 20 is also used to make the light guiding substrate highly elastic to improve the pattern transfer rate.

The preheating unit 20 can include a plurality of heating blocks 210 and a heating controller that individually controls the heating blocks 210.

The preheating unit 20 may include a plurality of heating blocks 210 for uniformly heating the light guiding substrate, wherein the heating blocks 210 are alternately arranged laterally (perpendicular to the moving direction of the light guiding plate) as shown in FIGS. 2a-2c.

The plurality of heating blocks 210 can be implemented in the form of direct heating using a ceramic heater or an infrared (IR) heater that emits infrared light from the coil.

In Figures 2a-2c, the illustrated device comprises 15 columns of heating blocks 210 arranged in the MD direction, with each column having 6 heating blocks 210 in a TD direction setting. However, it should be understood here that the number and arrangement of the heating blocks 210 can be varied as desired.

When a plurality of heating blocks 210 are evenly spaced at equal intervals, a non-heating region is formed between the heating blocks 210. Therefore, in order to achieve uniform heating of the light guiding substrate, the heating blocks 210 are preferably alternately disposed laterally.

In addition, as shown in FIGS. 2a-2c, the preheating unit 20 is constituted by a multi-stage preheating zone to increase the number of the heating blocks 210 in each zone, thereby making all areas of the light guiding substrate more uniform. Heating.

Furthermore, since the light guide substrate made of a plastic material may be melted when heated to a temperature of 230 ° C or higher, the heating temperature of the preheating unit 20 is set to be lower than 230 ° C, and preferably 100 to 230 ° C (optimally 150 to 230 ° C).

The patterning unit 30 is a device for transferring a pattern to the surface of the light guiding substrate. The patterning unit 30 is provided with an upper roller and a lower roller on its upper side and lower side, respectively, and when the light guiding substrate passes between the upper and lower rollers, heats and presses the light guiding substrate to transfer the pattern to the surface thereof.

At least one of the upper roller and the lower roller may include a pattern formed on the surface of the roller or a stamp having a pattern.

Further, each of the rollers can be heated by a heating fluid circulating in the drum, and can be coupled to a device that maintains a constant pressure so that the rollers can pressurize the light guiding substrate with a fixed pressure.

The patterning unit 30 can pressurize the light guiding substrate up to 20 tons on its right and left sides, respectively, and can heat the light guiding substrate to a preset temperature ranging from 100 to 200 °C.

3a-3c are schematic views of a cooling unit of a device in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. Here, Fig. 3a is a plan view of the cooling unit, and Figs. 3b and 3c are side views of the cooling unit.

The cooling unit 40 is for improving the pattern transfer rate and adjusting the curvature of the light guide plate by adjusting the lateral direction (TD direction) of the light guide plate patterned thereon and the cooling rate of the upper and lower surfaces.

When the light guide plate is exposed to room temperature without being cut after the process of pattern transfer, the light guide plate is easily subjected to deformation, for example, when the softened light guide plate is hardened, lateral contraction or reverse bending is caused.

Therefore, when the heated light guide plate passes through a certain cooling area after the pattern is transferred to the light guide plate, the light can be exhausted on the light guide plate to adjust the pressure of the lower left and right sides of the light guide plate, thereby providing the desired bending. The shape of the light guide plate.

The cooling unit 40 may be composed of a plurality of coolers located on the upper and lower sides and separated from each other, and respectively cools the upper side and the lower side of the light guiding substrate. Furthermore, the coolers located on the upper and lower sides may be alternately disposed in a plurality of stages in a TD direction, as shown in FIG. 3a, and may be configured to partially adjust the exhaust rate by an automatic damping system. .

The cooling unit 40 may use cold air generated from a nitrogen gas cooling device or cold air at room temperature when cooling the light guide plate.

Here, when the cooling unit 40 discharges the contaminated air, the surface of the light guide plate may be contaminated accordingly. Therefore, the cooling unit 40 may further include the filter 430 to remove contaminants in the air when exhausting.

Although the cooling air blower 410 discharges the same amount of air to each of the cooling blocks 420 via the connecting pipe, each cooling block 420 may still include an exhaust controller (not shown) for adjustment The size of the nozzle toward the opening of the light guide plate is controlled to control the exhaust rate.

Therefore, the operator of the apparatus can locally bend or deform the portion where the light guide plate pattern is transferred to locally adjust the exhaust rate of each of the cooling blocks 420.

Furthermore, a plurality of cooling blocks 420 can be separately disposed on the upper and lower stages. As shown in FIGS. 3a-3c, the cooling degree of the light guide plate can be separated from the cooling areas of each of the upper and lower stages according to a plurality of lateral directions, by controlling the The exhaust rates of the cooling blocks 420 are adjusted.

That is to say, the cooling unit 40 can be operated to perform local cooling on the side or the lower side of the light guide plate in consideration of local bending or deformation of the portion where the light guide plate pattern is transferred, so that the cold air is only discharged to the light guide plate. Partially bent or deformed parts.

After passing through the cooling unit 40, the light guide plate can be cut to the desired size via the cutting unit 50, thereby providing a light guide plate having the transfer pattern thereon.

As such, the apparatus according to the embodiment allows the extrusion forming and pattern transfer to be performed via the coaxial injection process, thereby greatly reducing the process time. In particular, the device allows continuous pattern transfer, thereby making the manufacture of large light guides more convenient.

The above is intended to be illustrative only and not limiting. Any equivalent modifications or alterations to the spirit and scope of the invention are intended to be included in the scope of the appended claims.

10. . . Extruder

20. . . Preheating unit

210. . . Heating block

30. . . Patterned unit

40. . . Cooling unit

410. . . Cold air exhaust fan

420. . . Cooling block

430. . . filter

50. . . Cutting unit

1 is a block diagram of an exemplary embodiment of a coaxial injection-type device for extrusion molding according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention;
2a~2c are schematic views of a preheating unit of one of the devices of Fig. 1; and Figs. 3a-3c are schematic views of a cooling unit of the device of Fig. 1.

10. . . Extruder

20. . . Preheating unit

30. . . Patterned unit

40. . . Cooling unit

50. . . Cutting unit

Claims (10)

A coaxial in-line device for extrusion molding and patterning, comprising:
a squeezing machine, which is extruded with a resin material to manufacture a light guiding substrate;
a preheating unit for heating the light guiding substrate and comprising a plurality of heating blocks and a heating block controller for controlling the heating blocks;
a patterning unit for transferring a pattern to the heated light guiding substrate;
a cooling unit that cools the light guiding substrate having the pattern thereon; and a cutting unit that cuts the light guiding substrate removed from the cooling unit to a predetermined size.
The coaxial injection device of claim 1, wherein the plurality of heating blocks are staggered in a lateral direction. The coaxial injection device of claim 1, wherein the plurality of heating blocks are disposed on a plurality of stages to improve heating uniformity by increasing the number of the heating blocks in each area. The coaxial injection device of claim 1, wherein the heating block controller controls the heating blocks to heat the light guiding substrate to a preset temperature ranging from 150 to 230 °C. The coaxial injection device of claim 1, wherein the patterning unit comprises an upper roller and a lower roller separated from each other, and at least one of the upper roller and the lower roller comprises a surface directly formed on the roller. The upper pattern or the stamp having a pattern to be transferred to the light guiding substrate. The coaxial injection device of claim 5, wherein the patterning unit presses the light guiding substrate with a load of up to 20 tons on the right side and the left side thereof, and heats the light guiding substrate to a range of 100. Preset temperature of ~200 °C. The coaxial injection type device according to claim 1, wherein the cooling unit comprises a plurality of coolers located on the upper and lower sides and separated from each other, and respectively cooling the upper side and the lower side of the light guiding substrate. The coaxial injection type device of claim 7, wherein when cooling the light guide substrate, the coolers use cold air or room temperature air generated from a nitrogen gas cooling device. The coaxial injection device of claim 7, wherein the coolers are alternately disposed laterally on the plurality of stages, and an automatic damping system is used to partially adjust an exhaust rate. The coaxial injection device of claim 7, wherein the cooling unit further comprises a filter to remove contaminants in the air during exhaust.