TWI439377B - Ink jet coating apparatus and method - Google Patents

Description

Inkjet coating device and method

The present invention relates to a material coating using a liquid-jet method for a smooth member, and more particularly to an ink-jet coating apparatus and method for stably coating a material having an ultraviolet curing (hereinafter also referred to as UV curing) effect.

In the case of the ink jet method, it is a method of discharging a small amount of ink droplets with high precision from an inkjet coating head using a bubble or a piezoelectric element as a coating head. An apparatus for applying an ink droplet to a target member based on the high-precision discharge of the ink droplet is an inkjet coating device. In recent years, an apparatus for achieving high-precision coating of ink has been attracting attention, and it is not limited to printing on paper, and it is possible to explore the possibility of application in all industrial fields, and it has also been put to practical use.

In the nozzle vacuum suction means, a technique of covering the inside of the coating head by a coating means and setting the inside of the coating head to an appropriate negative pressure to remove the air bubbles inside the coating head to achieve a state in which the ink can be stably discharged is proposed (for example, Refer to Patent Document 1).

For the correspondence of the type of the ink having the UV hardening effect (the ink of the UV curable coating material, hereinafter referred to as the UV curable coating material), in order to prevent the ink from hardening before it is shot, and to be irradiated It is known that a coating head, a UV light source, and a cover plate covering each of the UV light sources, which are mounted on a mounting frame that moves in the main scanning direction, are known (for example, see Patent Document 2).

The side surface of the cover plate extends further downward than the lower surface of the coating head and is disposed between the coating head and the UV light source, and a flange extending toward the ballistic path is provided in the lower end of the side surface of the cover plate.

According to this configuration, the ultraviolet ray from the UV light source is shielded by the side surface of the cover, whereby the ultraviolet ray does not reach the track of the ink droplet of the coating head and the UV-curable coating material discharged from the coating head, and the recording medium is used. The reflected ultraviolet light is shielded at the flange so that the reflected ultraviolet light does not reach the head and the ballistics.

In this way, it is possible to reduce the incidence of the active light rays of the ballistics of the ink droplets of the UV-curable coating material discharged from the coating head to the recording medium by the shielding member, thereby reducing the ink droplets discharged from the coating head. Before being shot on a recording medium, it is exposed to active light and hardens, and can record high-quality images.

Moreover, since such a shielding member is provided, the active light source can be further disposed close to the coating head, and the ink droplets of the UV-curable coating material can be quickly exposed to the active light emitted from the active light source after being irradiated, so The ink droplets quickly harden after being incident on the recording medium. For this reason, it is possible to make the ink droplets not to spread over the recording medium more than necessary, and it is not permeable.

Further, since the shield member can prevent the active light source emitted from the active light source from entering the ballistic base point of the ink droplet of the UV-curable coating material, it is possible to suppress the ink droplet of the UV-curable coating material present in the ink discharge port of the coating head. Viscosity, or hardening, can prevent the discharge of the ink droplets after a long period of time.

(previous technical literature)

[Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2008-272996

[Patent Document 2] Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2004-314304

In the application of the UV-curable coating material for inkjet coating, as a state in which the hardening can be considered, it is exemplified by the accumulation in the pre-discharging stage in the coating head, and the discharge from the coating head to the discharge before reaching the target substrate. The stage (corresponding to the stage of moving along the "ballistics" in the above-mentioned Patent Document 2) and the three stages of the stage after the discharged UV-curable coating material reaches the target substrate. In the two stages of the former, it is preferable that the UV-curable coating material is not hardened, and it is preferable that the liquid droplets of the final UV-curable coating material reach the substrate at the stage of the final curing.

However, it is desirable that the UV-curable coating material does not harden, not only in the interior of the coating head but also in the discharge from the coating head. In the inside of the coating head, although the UV-curable coating material is filled, since it is continuously applied by repeated coating, the problem of gradually mixing bubbles inside the coating head occurs over time, and therefore the correspondence with this problem is also solved.

When a bubble is generated inside the coating head, in order to discharge the UV-curable coating material, it is intended to extrude the UV-curable coating material by piezoelectric or the like in each nozzle, but to form only the compressed air bubbles. It is necessary to remove bubbles from the coating head in order to prevent stable discharge of the UV curable coating material. In the case where the UV-curable coating material in the coating head is completely consumed, or when it is necessary to replace the coating head with a different coating material due to the replacement of the paragraph, it is necessary to fill the coating material while not allowing the bubbles to be mixed. .

When the air bubbles that have been mixed are removed, or when the coating material is filled in the coating head while suppressing the mixing of the air bubbles, vacuum suction is performed by using a nozzle vacuum suction means, and suction is performed from the nozzle discharge port.

In the suction operation, a part of the UV-curable coating material is usually scattered and adhered to the inner wall surface of the vacuum suction means of the nozzle or the vacuum piping. On the other hand, in the coating head, a UV light source is provided, and the UV light hardens the UV-curable coating material adhering to the inner wall surface or the vacuum piping. In addition, in order to prevent the vacuum suction means of the nozzle and the coating processing time from being lowered, when it is placed close to the stage of the film or the like to be coated, the UV light source passes through the vicinity in the irradiation state, and UV The light hardens the UV-curable coating material adhering to the inner wall surface of the vacuum suction means of the nozzle or the vacuum piping. Therefore, clogging occurs in the piping of the vacuum suction means of the nozzle, and suction failure of the coating head of the UV-curable coating material occurs. Then, the air bubbles in the coating head are mixed, which causes a problem that the quality of the manufactured product is lowered in accordance with the occurrence of the discharge failure.

The object of the present invention is to solve the problem by providing a coating treatment time which does not reduce the coating treatment time, and which can be surely ejected (coated) from the nozzle hole of the inkjet coating head to improve the coating target. Coating quality inkjet coating apparatus and method.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention is characterized in that: a roll-shaped film is taken up and conveyed to a top-side guide roller; an adsorption stage for adsorbing and holding a film which is taken up; and a liquid is applied to the surface of the film which is adsorbed and held on the adsorption stage. a coating head of a UV-curable coating material; a stent structure capable of moving the coating head at a position above the film and in a plane of the XY axis; a Z-axis driving means capable of moving the coating head up and down; and integrating with the coating head An inkjet coating device comprising an ultraviolet light source that moves in the XYZ-axis direction is characterized in that it is provided at a position outside the range of the transport film, and has a suction port that is lowered by contact with the coating head moved to the position, and is sucked from the suction port. A vacuum suction means for sucking the nozzle of the coating head; and a light shielding means for shielding the ultraviolet light from entering the vacuum suction means from the ultraviolet light source, and arranging the shielding of the ultraviolet light by the vacuum suction means and the release of the shielding.

Further, in the present invention, the roll-shaped film is taken up by the upstream side guide roller and conveyed, and the film which is taken up by the adsorption stage is sucked and held, and the liquid-cured UV hardening is applied to the surface of the film which is adsorbed and held on the adsorption stage by the coating head. The coating material can move the coating head in the upper position of the film and in the plane of the XY axis by the bracket structure, and the coating head can be moved up and down by the Z-axis driving means, and the ultraviolet light source and the coating head can be integrated in the XYZ axis. An inkjet coating method for moving in a direction, wherein the vacuum suction means is disposed at a position outside the range of the conveyed film, and is brought into contact with the suction port by lowering the coating head moved to the position, from the coating head The nozzle is suctioned, and the light shielding means shields the entrance of the ultraviolet light inside the vacuum suction means from the ultraviolet light source, and the shielding of the ultraviolet light and the release of the shadow can be selected.

According to the present invention, it is possible to prevent the curing of the UV-curable coating material adhering to the inside of the vacuum suction means of the nozzle, to achieve stable vacuum suction from the UV-curable coating material of the nozzle, and to improve the coating quality.

(to implement the form of the invention)

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described using the drawings.

Further, in the embodiment described below, an electrode material is coated on the solar cell film to which a non-antimony-based semiconductor material (for example, a CIGS film) is applied by an inkjet method, or an example of the application target. The insulating material is formed by forming a film such as an electrode or an insulating film. Further, the CIGS film is a semiconductor material film composed of Cu (copper), In (indium), Ga (gallium), and Se (selenium), and "CIGS" is the first letter of the materials.

In the film formation of the insulating film, a liquid (UV curable coating material) of a UV curable resin is filled as a coating material into a coating head, and is discharged and applied. In general, the UV curable resin is a monomer or an oligomer, and is composed of a photocuring initiator and an additive. When receiving irradiation with UV light, the photohardening starter is converted from a monomer (liquid) state to a polymer (solid) state in a short time according to photopolymerization.

Fig. 1 is a perspective view showing a schematic configuration of a first embodiment of an inkjet coating apparatus and method according to the present invention. 1 is a laminated film for solar cells (hereinafter referred to as a film), 2 is a roll-out side film roll, 3 is a take-up side film roll, 4, 5 are guide rolls, and 6, 7 are lift guide rolls, 8, 9 For the adsorption rod, 10 is an adsorption stage, 11 is a roll-out side shaft, 12 is a take-up side shaft motor, 13 and 14 are film pressing rods, 15 is a coating head, 16 is a coiling portion, and 17 is a coating portion. 18 is a take-up portion, 19 is a photographing camera, 20 is a UV light source, 21 is a vacuum suction portion, 22 is a UV shutter, and 23 is a cylinder.

In the same figure, the X-axis direction space along the longitudinal direction (moving direction) of the film 1 is divided into the winding portion 16, the coating portion 17, and the winding portion 18, and the winding portion 16 is used for winding out. The roll-out side film roll 2 or the upper flow guide roll 4, the lift guide roll 6, and the suction rod 8 which are rotationally driven by the side shaft motor 11 are arranged in the X-axis direction in this order, and in the winding portion 18, the downstream side The adsorption rod 9 or the elevation guide roller 7, the guide roller 5, and the take-up side film cylinder 3 are arranged in the X-axis direction in this order. Further, in the coating portion 17, a suction stage 10, a coating head 15, and film pressing levers 13, 14 are provided. In the adsorption rods 8 and 9 or the adsorption stage 10, although not shown, the vacuum pump is used as a vacuum source, and the film 1 is suction-fixed or fixed by a vacuum valve.

In the unwinding portion 16, the film 1 to which the coating portion 17 is applied as an electrode material or an insulating material is wound in a roll shape on the winding-out film roll 2. Further, the film 1 is taken up from the take-up film roll 2 through the coating portion 17, and is wound around the take-up film roll 3 at the take-up portion 18. Here, the longitudinal direction (moving direction) of the film 1 is the X-axis direction, the width direction is the Y-axis direction, and the direction perpendicular to the surface is the Z-axis direction.

In the coating portion 17, the film 1 is fixed to the adsorption stage 10 by vacuum suction. Further, a plurality of (here, four) ink jet type coating heads 15 are provided. Each of the coating heads 15 can be individually changed in height by a Z-axis driving means (not shown). Further, the coating head 15 is integrally formed with the imaging camera 19 or the UV light source 20, and is movable in the X-axis direction by an X-axis driving means (not shown).

Further, the number of the coating heads 15 integrated with the photographing camera 19 or the UV light source 20 is four, but it may be one. It is also possible to use a plurality of other than four. The reason is to set a plurality of numbers in order to increase the processing speed.

In the outer side of the platform 10, a vacuum suction portion 21 in the nozzle thereof is suctioned for each of the coating heads 15. Further, in each of the vacuum suction portions 21, a UV shutter 22 that can freely reciprocate (slide) by the air cylinder 23 is provided. The UV shutter 22 is a cover of the suction port of the vacuum suction unit 21, and when the vacuum suctions the nozzle of the coating head 15, the UV shutter 22 is separated from the suction port of the vacuum suction portion 21 by the air cylinder 23. When the suction port is opened, when the vacuum suction coating head 15 is not in the nozzle, the UV shutter 22 is moved by the air cylinder 23 to cover the suction port of the vacuum suction portion 21, and the suction port is closed.

Fig. 2 is a top view showing a schematic configuration of the first embodiment shown in Fig. 1. 24 is the X-axis driving means, 25 is the Z-axis driving means, 26 is the Y-axis driving means, 27 is the bracket, 28a, 28b is the Y-axis platform, 29 is the vacuum pump, 30 is the vacuum valve, 31 is the pressurized gas source, 32 In the valve unit, reference numeral 33 denotes a vacuum piping, and reference numeral 34 denotes a piping. The same reference numerals are attached to the same portions as those in the first embodiment, and the overlapping description will be omitted.

In the same figure, the four coating heads 15 are arranged along the X-axis direction, that is, the longitudinal direction of the film 1, and the entire arrangement of the coating heads 15 is held, and in the state of crossing the film 1, two Ys are placed. The shaft platforms 28a, 28b are disposed in parallel with each other in the Y-axis direction. A bracket 27 is disposed across the Y-axis platforms 28a, 28b and parallel to the X-axis. Four coating heads 15 are attached to the side surface of the holder 27 in the longitudinal direction thereof. The bracket 27 is movable in the Y-axis direction on the Y-axis stages 28a and 28b by a driving means (not shown) such as a servo motor or a linear motor. Thereby, the Y-axis platforms 28a and 28b and the bracket 27 are the Y-axis driving means 26 that the coating head 15 moves in the Y-axis direction.

Further, each of the coating heads 15 is provided with an X-axis driving means 24 that moves in the X-axis direction along the holder 27, and a Z along the side surface of the holder 27 in the vertical direction (Z-axis direction perpendicular to the paper surface). The shaft drive means 25.

In this manner, each of the coating heads 15 is moved in the X and Y-axis directions parallel to the surface of the film 1 by the X-axis driving means 24 and the Y-axis driving means 26, and is perpendicular to the surface of the thin 1 by the Z-axis driving means 25. Move in the Z axis direction.

Each of the vacuum suction portions 21 is connected to a vacuum pipe 33, and the vacuum pipes 33 are connected to the vacuum pump 29 via a vacuum valve 30. When the vacuum pump 29 is operated and the vacuum valve 30 is opened in this state, suction is performed by each vacuum suction portion 21.

Further, a pipe 34 is connected to each of the cylinders 23, and these pipes 34 are connected to a pressurized gas source 31 as a cylinder drive unit via a valve unit 32. In general, the UV shutter 22 is placed on the vacuum suction portion 21 by means of a spring or the like to block the suction port of the vacuum suction portion 21. When the inside of the nozzle of the coating head 15 is sucked, the pressurized gas source 31 is operated while the valve unit 32 is opened. Thereby, the cylinder 23 is operated to move the UV shutter 22 apart from the vacuum suction portion 21. Further, the suction port of the vacuum suction portion 21 is opened. At the same time, the vacuum pump 29 is operated to open the vacuum valve 30, and suction is performed by the vacuum suction unit 21. When the suction is completed and the valve unit 32 is stopped to stop the operation of the pressurized gas source 31, the operation of the cylinder 23 is also stopped, and the UV shutter 22 is moved to the vacuum suction portion 21 by the action of a spring or the like, and the vacuum suction portion 21 is closed. Suction port.

As described above, the ink jet type coating head 15 is moved in the X and Y axis directions on the film 1 by the X-axis driving means 24 or the Y-axis driving means 26, and the electrode is ejected from the nozzle provided in the head portion 15. A material, an insulating material, or the like (hereinafter, collectively referred to as "coating material"), and a coating material is applied onto the film 1 to form an electrode or an insulating film.

In this embodiment, a UV-curable coating material, that is, a UV-curable coating material is used as the coating material, and the treatment of the UV-curing coating material will be described.

In the first and second drawings, when the application of the coating material in the specific application target region of the film 1 is completed by the application portion 17, the film 1 is taken up from the winding-out film roll 2. Further, the film 1 is wound around the take-up side film roll 3, and the coated material is applied over the continuous film 1 by the coating portion 17. The film 1 is conveyed from the winding-out film roll 2 side to the take-up side film roll 3 side so that the coating target region of the film 1 is located at a position where the coating material can be applied by the coating portion 17. At this time, in the unwinding portion 16, the film 1 unwound from the take-up side film roll 2 that is rotationally driven by the take-up side shaft motor 11 is supported by the guide roll 4 and the lift guide roll 6. The lifting guide roller 6 is raised to a position higher than the suction surface of the adsorption stage 10, and in the winding portion 18, the film 1 is supported by the lifting guide roller 7 and the guiding roller 5 and wound up to the winding. Side film roll 3. At this time, the elevation guide roller 7 is raised to a position higher than the adsorption surface of the adsorption stage 10. Thereby, in the coating portion 17, the film 1 is lifted up, and is moved in the X-axis direction without being in contact with the adsorption rods 8, 9 or the adsorption stage 10.

In this manner, when the film 1 is transferred from the take-up portion 16 to the take-up portion 18, the film 1 is lifted by the lift guide rollers 6, 7. Since the film 1 is conveyed without being in contact with the adsorption stage 10, it is possible to prevent scratches on the inner surface of the film 1.

In this manner, when the film 1 is conveyed in a state where the lifting guide rolls 6 and 7 are not in contact with the adsorption rods 8, 9 or the adsorption stage 10, and the next application target area of the film 1 reaches the coating portion 17, The conveyance of the film 1 is completed. The X-axis direction positioning of the application portion 17 in the application target region is performed (the positioning is performed by first monitoring the take-up amount of the take-up side film roll 3), and the position is roughly adjusted.

At this time, a braking force is generated in the winding side shaft motor 12, and the winding portion 18 side of the film 1 is in a fixed state. At the same time, the unwinding side shaft motor 11 is in a state in which the load torque is reversed in the rotational direction of the winding direction of the film 1, and a state in which a certain tension is applied to the film 1 is formed.

Thereby, even if the conveyance of the film 1 is completed, the film 1 maintains a state in which tension occurs in the longitudinal direction (that is, the X-axis direction in which it is conveyed), and the film 1 does not become slack. In this state, the coating unit 17 adsorbs and holds the film 1 on the adsorption stage 10 by the adsorption rods 8 and 9 on the lower surface of the adsorption holding film 1.

Fig. 3 is a perspective view showing a portion of the coating head 15 shown in Figs. 1 and 2, 35 is a UV-curable coating material, 36 is UV light, and the portions corresponding to the first and second figures are The same symbols are attached and overlapping descriptions are omitted.

In the same figure, 250 nozzle holes (not shown) facing the film 1 are provided on the lower surface of the coating head 15. The droplets of the coating material 35 are extruded by piezoelectric driving in each nozzle hole, and are ejected onto the film 1 in a dot shape. In the front and rear (Y-axis direction) of the coating head 15, a UV light source 20 is provided, and the UV light 36 is irradiated on the film 1 from the lower surface of each UV light source 20.

The coating head 15 is formed so as to be movable in the Z-axis direction (height direction) by the Z-axis driving means 25 together with the UV light source 20 that captures the camera 19 and the light source of the ultraviolet light. The constituent means for performing the movement operation in the Z-axis direction is integrally attached to the X-axis driving means 24. Further, a plurality of X-axis driving means 24 are attached to the holder 27 of the Y-axis driving means 26 constituting the common holder structure. In the XY axis plane, all of the coating heads 15 can be moved. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 2, the nozzle of the coating head 15 is moved in the XY-axis plane, and the movement in the Z-axis direction is further performed, and the coating material 35 is ejected, respectively, in the film 1 The coated surface is precisely coated with the coating material 35 using all the patterns.

Among them, when bubbles are mixed into the inside of the coating head 15, the coating of the coating material is poorly coated, causing a great problem. For this reason, it is necessary to avoid the incorporation of air bubbles inside the coating head 15 as much as possible. There are roughly two phenomena in the phenomenon that there is a possibility that air bubbles are mixed inside the coating head 15. First, the first type is a case where the coating head 15 is refilled with the UV curable coating material due to the consumption of the coating material. The second type is a case where fine bubbles are generated inside the coating head 15 due to continuous application for a long period of time.

In order to prevent the incorporation of air bubbles inside the coating head 15, it is effective to vacuum-inject the inside of the coating head 15 from the nozzle side. In order to perform vacuum suction for a short period of time, the arrangement of the respective coating heads 15 is also matched with the arrangement of the corresponding vacuum suction portions 21, and the respective coating heads 15 are simultaneously used by the X-axis driving means 24 and the Y-axis driving means 26 (Fig. 2). The movement is made such that the nozzle is located above the corresponding vacuum suction portion 21. Next, each of the coating heads 15 is lowered by the Z-axis driving means 25 so that the tip end of the nozzle enters the suction port of the vacuum suction portion 21. In this state, vacuum suction of each of the coating heads 15 is simultaneously performed from the discharge port of the nozzle in the vacuum suction portion 21.

When the application of the coating material 35 in the specific target region of the film 1 is completed by the application portion 17, the film 1 is unwound from the take-up film roll 2 (Figs. 1 and 2) and the film roll 3 is taken up ( The film 1 of the first and second drawings is taken up, and the coating head 15 is used for the continuous film 1 and the coating operation is repeated by the coating portion 17.

When vacuum suction is performed from the coating head 15 of the nozzle of the coating head 15 by the vacuum suction portion 21, a part of the UV-curable coating material inside the coating head 15 is scattered, and the vacuum suction portion 21 is present. The inner wall surface or the inner surface of the vacuum pipe 33 gradually increases the amount of adhering matter of the UV curable coating material. On the other hand, after the usual coating, since the UV light 36 is irradiated from the UV light source 20 beside the coating head 15, in this state, the UV-curable coating material adhering to the vacuum suction portion 21 starts to harden. For this reason, there is a problem that the passage of vacuum suction such as the vacuum piping 33 is blocked.

In view of this countermeasure, although a method of providing the vacuum suction portion at a position away from the UV light source has been proposed in the past, it has a problem that the processing time of the coating head reaches the vacuum suction portion is large, resulting in a problem that the processing rhythm is lowered. Further, although it is proposed that a pressurization filling method in which a pressurizing system is added to the material supply system of the coating head is not a vacuum suction, other proposals are made, but in this case, there is a need for extra space, and since replacement occurs depending on The pressure fluctuation of the valve adversely affects the injection state requiring precision, and it is difficult to achieve high-quality coating.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, the first embodiment is intended to prevent the vacuum suction function from being reduced by the curing of the coating material 35, and the UV shutter 22 is added to the vacuum suction unit 21.

In other words, in the third embodiment, the film 1 to be conveyed is positioned and fixed by the suction stage 10, but the vacuum suction unit 21 is provided in the vicinity of the adsorption stage 10 and at an outer position in a direction perpendicular to the conveyance direction. The film 1 is vacuum-sucked through the vacuum piping 33 connected to the vacuum pump 29 on the upper surface of the vacuum suction unit 21. The air cylinder 23 for driving the shutter is driven on the upper surface of the openable vacuum suction portion 21 from the outer side of the vacuum suction portion 21 in a direction perpendicular to the direction in which the film 1 is conveyed, so that the UV shutter 22 can be Glide movement. Here, although the cylinder is used as the driving source of the UV shutter 22, it is also possible to form a movement based on linear motion such as another motor or a solenoid.

Fig. 4 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a control unit for inkjet coating of a UV shading function having a vacuum suction portion 21 in Fig. 1, 24hx is an X-axis driver, 24hy is a Y-axis driver, and 24hz is a Z-axis driver. 37 is the control unit, 37a is the microcomputer, 37b is the external interface, 37c is the coating head controller, 37d is the image processing controller, 37e is the motor controller, 37f is the data communication bus, 38 is the USB memory, 39 is the hard Disc, 40 for the screen, 41 for the keyboard, 42 for the regulator.

In the same figure, the control unit 37 is composed of a microcomputer 37a, an external interface 37b connected thereto via a data communication bus 37f, a coating head controller 37c, an image processing controller 37d, and a motor controller 37e. Each component of the control unit 37 is controlled based on the control of the microcomputer 37a. Further, a USB memory 38 or a hard disk 39 as an external memory of the microcomputer 37a, a screen 40 as a data output unit, and a keyboard 41 as an operation unit are connected to the external interface 37b.

Further, the external interface 37b is connected to a gas driving device such as the air cylinder 23, the winding-out motor 11 or the winding-side motor 12, the other roller motor, and the microcomputer 37a, and is controlled by the control of the microcomputer 37a as a base drive, and is connected thereto. The vacuum pump 29, which is a vacuum source when the film 1 is vacuum-adsorbed by the adsorption rods 8, 9 or the adsorption stage 10, or the vacuum valve unit 30 which is switched after, is driven and controlled based on the control of the microcomputer 37a. Further, the ON/OFF of the pressurized gas source 31 or the valve unit 32, the ON/OFF of the regulator 42 and the UV light source 20 are also controlled based on the control of the microcomputer 37a.

Based on the control of the microcomputer 37a, the coating head controller 37c controls the presence or absence or the time of discharge from the coating material 35 (Fig. 3) of each nozzle discharge port of the coating head 15.

The image processing controller 37d is based on the control of the microcomputer 37a, and photographs the division or positioning mark applied to the film 1, and calculates the position in the field of view of the imaging camera 19 by image processing.

The motor controller 37e drives the X-axis drive 24hx that controls the X-axis drive motor of the drive X-axis drive means 24 (Fig. 2) to which the coating head 15 is mounted, or drives the Z-axis drive means, based on the control of the microcomputer 37a. 25 (Fig. 2) Z-axis drive motor 25hz of the Z-axis drive motor. Further, a linear motor for driving the Y-axis driving means 26 or a Y-axis driver 26hy for driving the motor is driven.

The movement control of the coating head 15 that moves integrally with the UV light source 20 in the XY-axis direction is performed by the motor controller 37e by the microcomputer 37a, and the current position and the next movement position of the UV light source 20 are grasped. Further, from the management of the operation program, the time point of the irradiation and non-irradiation of the UV light source 20 can be grasped in the microcomputer 37a.

Further, in this embodiment, the sliding UV shutter 22 and the cylinder 23 for driving the shutter as the driving source are separately provided in each of the coating heads 15, but a plurality of UV shutters are collectively provided in the plurality of coating heads 15. 22 and the cylinder 23 for driving the shutter can also be used.

The method of the operation differs depending on whether the vacuum suction of the coating head 15 by the vacuum suction portion 21 is scarce or the frequency is frequently performed. In the method of using the vacuum suction portion 21 to evacuate the coating head 15 in a vacuum, the UV shutter 22 is usually provided to cover the upper portion of the vacuum suction portion 21 and shield the inside of the vacuum suction portion 21, and only necessary The UV shutter 22 is opened at a time point to open the suction port of the vacuum suction portion 21. Hereinafter, a specific example of the operation of the vacuum suction will be described using a flowchart shown in FIG.

In the case where the coating of all the application regions is not completed (steps 110 and 120), there are three types of time points at which the UV shutter 22 must be opened to perform vacuum suction of the coating head 15. The first is the case where the material of the coating head 15 is filled with each of the UV curable coating materials or the like ("Y" in the step 130). The second is when the time at which the same position has been stopped is equal to or longer than the set time ("Y" in step 140). The third is to vacuum the coating head 15 by manual operation ("Y" in step 150). At any one of these points, the operation of the UV curing type coating material is performed by repeating the operations of "N" of 130, 120, "N" of 130, "N" of 140, and "N" of 150, Moreover, vacuum suction of the coating head 15 is not performed.

In the case where any of the three conditions is satisfied, first, the UV shutter 22 is moved to open the suction port of the vacuum suction portion 21 (step 160), and there is no optical property above the suction port of the vacuum suction portion 21. The state of the shelter. Then, the coating head 15 is moved to the upper position of the vacuum suction portion 21 by the X-axis driving means 24 or the Y-axis driving means 26 (second drawing), and after the opening of the suction opening of the vacuum suction portion 21 is confirmed, according to Z The shaft driving means 25 (Fig. 2) lowers the coating head 15 (step 170). Further, the vacuum pump 29 (second drawing) is driven, and the coating head 15 that is pressed against the suction port on the upper surface of the vacuum suction portion 21 is vacuum-sucked from the discharge port of the nozzle to perform defoaming in the coating head 15. (Step 180). When the defoaming is completed, the coating head 15 is raised by the Z-axis driving means 25 (Fig. 2), and the coating head 15 is moved toward the next movement target position on the suction stage 10 side (step 190). Finally, after confirming the rise of the coating head 15, the vacuum suction portion 21 is optically shielded so that the UV light 36 is not irradiated to the inside of the vacuum suction portion 21 by closing the suction port of the vacuum suction portion 21 by the UV shutter 22. The suction port (step 200).

On the other hand, in the method of using the vacuum suction portion 21 to vacuum suction the coating head 15 frequently, when the coating head 15 integrated with the UV light source 20 enters a certain range L from the vacuum suction portion 21, the UV light is coasted. The shutter 22 closes the suction port of the vacuum suction portion 21, and optically shields the inside of the vacuum suction portion 21. On the other hand, when the coating head 15 is outside the predetermined range from the vacuum suction portion 21, the UV shutter 22 is opened. Although the step 160 of FIG. 5 differs from the on/off time point of the UV shutter 22 of step 200, the other individual actions are the same as those of FIG.

Fig. 6 is a perspective view showing a schematic configuration of a main part of a second embodiment of the inkjet coating apparatus and method according to the present invention. 43 is a vacuum suction portion, 44 is a cylinder for driving a vacuum suction portion, and 45 is a UV light shielding plate. Parts corresponding to those in FIG. 3 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and overlapping description will be omitted.

In the second embodiment, the UV curable coating material scattered to the vacuum suction portion 43 is exposed to UV light by suction inside the coating head 15 in order to remove air bubbles inside the coating head 15.

In the second embodiment, as shown in Fig. 6, the vacuum suction portion 43 is reciprocally movable (sliding) in the width direction of the film 1, that is, in the Y-axis direction, by the cylinder 44 for driving the vacuum suction portion. Moreover, the UV visor 45 is placed at a fixed position from the adsorption stage 10 at a predetermined interval in the Y-axis direction. The configuration other than these is the same as that of the first embodiment shown in Fig. 3.

In this configuration, the vacuum suction portion 43 is located on the lower side of the UV shutter 45 when it is not normally used, and the suction port is in a state of being blocked by the UV shutter 45. When the suction of the coating head 15 is necessary, the vacuum suction portion 43 is slid by the air cylinder 44 from the lower side of the UV shutter 45 and pushed out toward the film 1 side. Thereby, the suction port on the upper surface of the vacuum suction portion 43 is opened, and the vacuum suction in the coating head 15 can be performed by moving the coating head 15 to the vacuum suction portion 43 and pushing it to the suction port. When the suction is completed, the cylinder 44 for driving the suction portion slides the vacuum suction portion 43 in a direction separating from the suction table 10, and is pulled in, and enters the lower side of the UV shutter 52a. Thereby, the vacuum suction portion 43 can exhibit a light blocking state from the UV light 36.

In the same manner as in the first embodiment, the UV-curable coating material that is sucked into the vacuum suction portion 43 by the irradiation of the UV light 36 to the vacuum suction portion 43 can be suppressed. The hardening allows the coating head 15 to perform coating of the material for the film 1 in a good condition.

In the cylinder 44 for driving the vacuum suction portion, the vacuum suction portion 43 is capable of vacuum suction of the coating head 15 at a first position on the lower side of the UV shutter 52a and closer to the suction table 10 side than this. The second move between the second position. Further, if necessary (for example, according to the operation of the operator), it is also possible to move from the position on the lower side of the UV visor 45 toward the third position which is more separated from the adsorption stage 10. In the third position, the vacuum suction portion 43 is separated from the UV shutter 45, and the suction port of the vacuum suction portion 43 is in an open state. However, since the UV light source 20 provided together with the coating head 15 is sufficiently separated, the UV light 36 is not irradiated from the UV light source 20 to the suction port of the vacuum suction portion 43. In this way, by placing the vacuum suction portion 43 at the third position, the amount of light received by the UV light 36 is small, and the vacuum suction portion 21 can be cleaned in the operating state during the coating operation, thereby achieving no reduction in manufacturing. The rhythm is stably applied.

As described above, in the above-described respective embodiments, the bubble suction inside the coating head 15 to which the UV-curable coating material is applied is removed by the vacuum suction portion 21, but the light-shielding means is used when the suction is not performed. In the case where the UV curable coating material scattered by the past suction is exposed to the UV light 36, the inside of the vacuum suction portion 21 is not blocked, and a stable coating operation can be maintained.

1. . . Laminated film (film) for solar cells

2. . . Roll-out side film roll

3. . . Take-up side film roll

4, 5. . . Guide roller

6, 7. . . Lifting guide roller

8, 9. . . Adsorption rod

10. . . Adsorption station

11. . . Roll out side shaft motor

12. . . Winding side shaft motor

13, 14. . . Film pressing lever

15. . . Coating head

16. . . Roll out

17. . . Coating department

18. . . Coiling department

19. . . Shooting camera

20. . . UV light source

twenty one. . . Vacuum suction

twenty two. . . UV light valve

twenty three. . . cylinder

twenty four. . . X-axis drive

25. . . Z-axis drive

26. . . Y-axis drive

27. . . support

28a, 28b. . . Y-axis platform

29. . . Vacuum pump

30. . . Vacuum valve

31. . . Pressurized gas source

32. . . Valve unit

33. . . Vacuum piping

34. . . Piping

35. . . UV hardening coating material

36. . . UV light

43. . . Vacuum suction

44. . . Cylinder for vacuum suction drive

45. . . UV visor

Fig. 1 is a perspective view showing a schematic configuration of a first embodiment of an inkjet coating apparatus and method according to the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a top view showing a schematic configuration of the first embodiment shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a perspective view showing a portion of the coating head shown in the first and second figures.

Fig. 4 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a control unit for inkjet coating of a UV shading function having a vacuum suction portion in Fig. 1.

Fig. 5 is a flow chart showing a specific example of a vacuum suction operation of the vacuum suction unit shown in Fig. 3.

Fig. 6 is a perspective view showing a schematic configuration of a main part of a second embodiment of the inkjet coating apparatus and method according to the present invention.

1. . . Laminated film (film) for solar cells

10. . . Adsorption station

13. . . Film pressing lever

15. . . Coating head

19. . . Shooting camera

20. . . UV light source

twenty one. . . Vacuum suction

twenty two. . . UV light valve

twenty three. . . cylinder

twenty four. . . X-axis drive

25. . . Z-axis drive

27a. . . support

29. . . Vacuum pump

33. . . Vacuum piping

35. . . UV hardening coating material

36. . . UV light

Claims (8)

An inkjet coating device for: ejecting a roll-shaped film and transporting an upper flow side guide roller; adsorbing and holding the film suctioning table; and adsorbing and holding the film surface of the adsorption table a coating head for applying a liquid UV-curable coating material; a stent structure capable of moving the coating head at a position above the film and in a plane of the XY axis; and a Z-axis driving means capable of moving the coating head up and down; And an inkjet coating device comprising an ultraviolet light source that is movable integrally with the coating head in the XYZ-axis direction, and is characterized in that it is provided at a position outside the range in which the film is conveyed, and has a coating head that is moved to the position and lowered a vacuum suction means for sucking the nozzle of the coating head from the suction port; and a light shielding means for shielding the ultraviolet light from entering the vacuum suction means from the ultraviolet light source, and being configured to be selected The shielding of the ultraviolet light by the vacuum suction means and the release of the shielding. The inkjet coating device according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of coating heads are provided in plurality, and the vacuum suction means is provided in each of the coating heads in the same manner as the arrangement relationship of the coating heads. The inkjet coating device according to claim 1, wherein the light shielding means is reciprocally moved between a position above the vacuum suction means and a position separated from the upper surface of the vacuum suction means by a linear driving means. The inkjet coating device according to claim 1, wherein the light shielding means is a fixed light shielding plate, and the vacuum suction means is a linear driving means, and a lower surface of the light shielding plate is separated from a lower surface of the light shielding plate. Move back and forth between positions. The inkjet coating device according to claim 1, wherein the light shielding means is a fixed light shielding plate, and the vacuum suction means is a first position separated from the lower surface of the light shielding plate by a linear driving means by a linear driving means. The second position on the lower side of the lower surface of the light shielding plate and the three positions on the opposite side of the film from the third position separated from the lower surface of the light shielding plate are reciprocable. The inkjet coating device according to the first aspect of the invention, wherein the vacuum suction means normally shields the ultraviolet light from entering by the light shielding means, and when the vacuum suction means sucks the coating material discharge nozzle of the coating head, The shielding according to the aforementioned shading means is released. The inkjet coating device according to the first aspect of the invention, wherein the vacuum suction hand is configured to shield the ultraviolet light from being incident by the light shielding means, and obtain the current position information of the coating head and the distance from the vacuum suction means. When entering a predetermined range, the entrance shielding of the ultraviolet light by the light shielding means is released. An inkjet coating method in which a roll-shaped film is taken up by an upstream side guide roller and conveyed, and the film which is taken up by suction is held by a suction table, and the film is adsorbed and held on the surface of the film by the coating head. Coating a liquid UV-curable coating material by means of a stent structure, the coating head can be moved in a position above the film and in a plane of the XY axis, by Z The shaft driving means can move the coating head up and down, and the ultraviolet light source can be moved integrally with the coating head in the XYZ axis direction. The inkjet coating method is characterized in that the vacuum suction means is disposed outside the range in which the film is conveyed. Positioning, and by sucking the coating head moved to the position to make contact with the suction port, suctioning from the nozzle of the coating head, the light shielding means shielding the ultraviolet light inside the vacuum suction means from the ultraviolet light source The injection of light can select the shielding of the ultraviolet light and the release of the shadow.