WO2007117049A1

WO2007117049A1 - Display windows and coating devices thereof

Info

Publication number: WO2007117049A1
Application number: PCT/KR2006/001345
Authority: WO
Inventors: Chong Yong Lee; Sang Sik Yoon; Yun Kyung Kim
Original assignee: Sunjin Electronics Co., Ltd.
Priority date: 2006-04-12
Filing date: 2006-04-12
Publication date: 2007-10-18

Abstract

The present invention provides a display window having a first coating layer and a second coating layer having different physical properties on respective surfaces thereof, the first coating layer formed on one surface of a display window and having one or more characteristics selected from a surface rigidity enhancing function, an anti-glare function, a non-pollutive property, a non-printable property, and combinations thereof, and the second coating layer formed on the other surface of a display window having one or more characteristics selected from a printable property, an anti-static property, and combinations thereof. The present invention provides a device for forming a coating layer on a display window. According to the present invention, since the display window has coating layers having different physical properties on respective surfaces thereof, the display window can have a variety of functions.

Description

DISPLAY WINDOWS AND COATING DEVICES THEREOF

Technical Field

The present invention relates in general to display windows and coating devices for fabricating the same, and, more particularly, to a display window to be installed on the inner surface and/or the outer surface of a cover of a portable terminal and having a structure in which respective coating layers on respective surfaces of the display window have different physical properties, and a device for forming a coating layer for the same.

Background Art

Generally, a portable terminal has a variety of functions and shapes to provide users with a variety of services. For example, a portable terminal has a display unit for displaying information, such as signal transmission/reception status, time, data, etc., on the inner and/or the outer surface of a cover thereof.

Such a display unit is very susceptible to external impact. Accordingly, a display window, such as a portable terminal window, is generally provided on a display screen of a display unit in order to protect the display unit, and the display window is made of an acryl sheet. The display window is made of synthetic resin such as acryl, so that it has low rigidity.

Accordingly, it is easily scratched when external impact is applied thereto.

In order to solve this problem, that is, in order to enhance the surface rigidity of the display window, nowadays the display window, made of synthetic resin such as acryl, is generally coated with a coating layer made of ultraviolet protection material or silicon. The coating layer is formed by applying a coating liquid onto the surface of the display window through a variety of coating methods. Among them, a spray coating method forms a coating layer by spraying a coating liquid onto an object to be coated, a dip coating method forms a coating layer by dipping an object to be coated into a coating liquid, and a flow coating method pours a coating liquid on the top end of a vertically oriented object, so that the coating liquid flows downward over the surface of the object to be coated.

Particularly, the coating layer made through any of the above described methods undergoes a deposition and/or a printing process before being used.

However, the conventional coating methods have the following disadvantages. First, since the coating layer formed through the conventional methods is not even or uniform, the surface of the coating layer is rough, thereby causing visual distortion. Second, the conventional coating methods are difficult to form coating layers having different physical properties on the front and the rear surface of a display window, respectively, so that the front coating layer and the rear coating layer have different functions. Third, the coating layers cannot be formed after printing. Fourth, in the case of the spray coating method, it is difficult to form a high quality coating layer because a coating liquid can be applied on unwanted portions.

Recently, the portable terminal windows have been required to have a variety of functions including scratch resistance, printability, non-printability, anti-static and anti-glare functions, and/or an anti-pollutive characteristic. In order to satisfy such functions, the front surface and the rear surface of the portable terminal window must be coated with respective coating layers having different physical properties.

However, in the case of the dip coating method, the coating is performed by dipping an object into a coating liquid, as shown in FIG. 1, therefore coating layers 54 formed on the front surface and the rear surface of an object have the same physical properties. On the other hand, although the flow coating method can be used to form coating layers having different physical properties on the front surface and the rear surface of an object by pouring different coating liquids over the front surface and the rear surface of the object, this method has disadvantages in that the coating process is complicated and the coating liquids, once used, cannot be reused because the different coating liquids mix at the bottom of the object to be coated. Accordingly, the coating cost is increased. The dip coating method has a further disadvantage in that the thickness difference between an upper end and a lower end of an object to be coated is large, and, in addition, it is impossible to form coating layers having different physical properties on respective surfaces of an object to be coated.

The spray coating method has an advantage in that it can form coating layers having different physical properties on respective surfaces of an object to be coated by spraying different coating liquids on respective sides of the object. However, the spray coating method has a disadvantage in that particles are undesirably generated during coating because the sprayed coating liquid can be applied to the surface other than the spot where the coating liquid is to be applied or is applied to the rear surface of an object to be coated, so that the quality of the coating layer formed through the spray coating method is deteriorated .

Accordingly, the inventors of the present invention have researched the formation of a uniform coating layer on the surface of an object such as a display window. As a result, the inventors have finalized the development of a method of forming a uniform coating layer based on the concept that uniform coating layers can be formed on the respective surfaces of an object through the steps of installing an object to be coated on a spinning device that can be spun at high speed, supplying a coating liquid on the surface of the object, spinning the spinning device on which the object is disposed, and repeating the above-described procedure.

Disclosure of the Invention Accordingly, the present invention has been made keeping in mind the above problems occurring in the prior art, and an object of the present invention is to provide a display window having coating layers on respective surfaces thereof, with the display window being installed on the inner and/or the outer surface of a portable terminal. Another object of the present invention is to provide a method of forming coating layers on an object that is a display window installed on the inner surface and/or the outer surface of a portable terminal, comprising the steps of supplying a coating liquid on the surface of an object to be coated, forming a coating layer having a desired thickness by spinning the object, drying the coating layer, and forming a coating on an opposite surface of the object by repeating the step of supplying the coating liquid through the step of drying the coating layer.

Brief Description of the Drawings

FIG. 1 is a view illustrating an object having surfaces on which respective coating layers are formed, according to the related art;

FIG. 2 is a flow chart showing a coating method according to the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a schematic view illustrating a coating device according to the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view illustrating a coating unit according to the present invention;

FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view illustrating a coating means according to the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a view illustrating a method for forming a coating layer using the coating means according to the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a view illustrating a method for forming a coating layer using the coating means according to another embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 8 is a view of an object having coating layers on respective surfaces thereof, according to the present invention; and

FIG. 9 is a view illustrating an object having coating layers on respective surfaces thereof, according to another embodiment of the present invention.

Best Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a display window having a first coating layer having at least one function selected from a rigidity-enhancing function, an anti-glare function, non-pollutive function, and a non-printable property and a second coating layer having at least one function selected from a printable property and an anti-static function, the first coating layer and the second coating layer having different physical properties.

According to a further aspect of the present invention, there is provided a coating device for forming a coating layer of a display window, comprising a first loading unit having one or more carriers for mounting an object thereon and transferring the object to a first coating unit, the first coating unit having one or more means installed near the first loading unit for coating the object transferred by the carrier of the first loading unit, a first receiving unit installed near the first coating unit for receiving the object and mounting the object thereon, a first drying unit for drying the object mounted on the first receiving unit, a first turning unit installed near the first drying unit for turning the dried object upside down, and a second loading unit, a second receiving unit, and a second drying unit having the same functions as the first loading unit, the first receiving unit and the first drying unit, respectively.

According to a still further aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of forming a coating layer of a display window, comprising the steps of disposing an object on a spinning plate, supplying a coating liquid on one surface of the object disposed on the spinning plate, forming a coating layer on the surface of the object by spinning the spinning plate, drying the object on which Hie coating layer is formed, turning the object upside down, and repeating the steps of supplying, forming and drying, thereby forming a coating layer on the other surface of the object.

The display window according to the present invention can be used as a screen protection window in electronic appliances such as a video cassette recorder (VCR), a digital video disc player (DVD player), a set-top box, a refrigerator, a microwave oven, an audio device, a washing machine, an air conditioner, a home gaming device, a camcorder, a printer, an oven, a copier, an MP3 player, an electric rice-cooker, a remote control, etc. and in communication devices such as a cellular phone, a wireless phone, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a desktop computer, a notebook computer, a fax machine, etc.

The object may be an object used to prepare a display window, and it can more preferably be a display window to be installed on the inner surface and/or the outer surface of a portable terminal. Still more preferably, the object may be a flat sheet such as an acryl sheet, a polycarbonate sheet, an acryl-styrene sheet, and or any sheet that can act as a display window together with a coating layer formed on the surface thereof for performing one or more functions selected from a rigidity-enhancing function, a printable property, a non-printable property, an anti-static function, an anti-glare function, a non-pollutive property, etc. The sheet can be manufactured through an extrusion method, a casting method and an injection molding method.

The object may have coating layers on respective surfaces thereof, the coating layers having one or more functions including a rigidity-enhancing function, a printable property, a non-printable property, an anti-static function, an anti-glare function and a non-pollutive property. The physical properties of the coating layers are determined according to the physical properties of the coating liquids used for forming the coating layers.

Here, since the printable property and the non-printable property cannot be provided to the same coating layer formed on one surface of an object, the coating layer on one surface of an object may have the printable property, and the other coating layer on the other surface of the object may have the non-printable property. According to one embodiment of the present invention, the object may have a deposition layer and/or a printed layer on which letters or diagrams are printed, and a coating layer having physical properties unlike those of the deposition layer and/or the printed layer may be formed on the deposition layer and/or the printed layer. This coating layer protects the printed letters or diagrams. According to another embodiment of the present invention, the object may have a first coating layer on one surface thereof, the first coating layer having one or more functions selected from a rigidity enhancing function, a fingerprint prevention function, a non-pollutive property and a non- printable property, and may have a second coating layer on the opposite surface thereof, the second coating layer having one or more functions selected from among a printable property and an antistatic function.

According to a further embodiment of the present invention, the object may have a coating layer on a surface thereof, the coating layer having one or more functions selected from a surface rigidity enhancing function, a printable property, and an anti-static function, and may have a protection film on the coating layer. The coating liquid may be used to provide a variety of physical properties to the object by forming a coating layer on the surface of the object. Accordingly, any coating liquid that can satisfy the desired properties of the object may be usable, but a coating liquid widely used in the art is preferably used. More preferably, a UV curable coating liquid, an acryl coating liquid, an acryl- urethane coating liquid, a silicon coating liquid, a silicon hard coating liquid, an acryl-urethane dispersion coating liquid, and combinations thereof may be used.

The coating liquid can be supplied onto the object disposed on a spinning plate of a coating unit, by using a coating liquid supplying means such as a dispenser, the dispenser being installed to be separated from the spinning plate by a predetermined distance, and the coating liquid being supplied from one end of the dispenser to the surface of the object. In the case in which a coating liquid is supplied to the surface of the object using the dispenser, the formation of a coating layer may not depend on the size and the shape of the object, but may depend on the spinning speed of the spinning plate. Accordingly, if the size and the shape of the object vary, it is not easy to form a coating layer that covers the entire surface of an object, from the center to the outer edge of the object, by supplying a coating liquid to an object using a dispenser and spinning the object.

Accordingly, the coating unit according to the present invention may comprise a slit coating means instead of the dispenser, in order to overcome the problem described above. The slit coating means is designed to match the shape and the size of the object to be coated, and is installed so as to be separated from the object by a predetermined distance, so that a coating liquid is ejected through the slit coating means to the object to be applied to a predetermined thickness. Accordingly, the coating liquid is uniformly dispersed over the entire surface of the object, so that a coating layer having a uniform thickness can be formed on the entire surface of the object.

The slit coating means is installed above the object and it is separated from the object by a predetermined height The slit coating means can be linearly movable over the object in backward, forward, leftward and righrward directions. The coating unit may further comprise a coating liquid supply means for supplying a coating liquid to the slit coating means, so that the coating liquid is ejected onto the surface of the object. The slit coating means can be any conventional means that is widely used in the art, as long as it can perform the above-mentioned function.

The slit coating means is a coating technology for applying a coating liquid uniformly onto the surface of an object, and this technology is generally used in semiconductor device manufacturing processes. The method of supplying a coating liquid to the surface of an object using a dispenser requires an additional, subsequent process such as a spinning process after the coating liquid is supplied.

However, the method using the slit coating means does not require a subsequent process because a coating layer having uniform thickness can be formed on the surface of an object, so that the coating layer can be formed through a single process, that is, the coating liquid supplying process. However, an additional subsequent process can be used if needed.

In particular, in the case that an object to be coated has an irregular shape, it is difficult to form a coating layer through a spin coating method alone. In this case, the coating layer can be formed by slit-coating a coating liquid supplied on the surface of an object using a slit coating means, and then performing a spin coating process. Here, the word "coating film" means a coating liquid supplied on the surface of an object, and the work "coating layer" means a layer formed by drying the coating film.

Accordingly, the coating unit according to the present invention may have a dispenser and a spinning device for supplying a coating liquid onto the surface of an object using a dispenser and spinning the object on which the coating liquid is supplied, but the coating unit may have a slit instead of the dispenser for slit-coating a coating liquid supplied on the surface of an object and may have a spinning device for spinning the object, thereby forming a coating layer.

Here, the coating unit may be a spin coating device or a slit-spin coating device. The word "slit-spin coating" is a method for forming a coating layer by performing the steps of slit-coating a coating liquid supplied on the surface of an object and then spinning the object. The spinning plate provides a place where an object to be coated can be disposed. Since the spinning plate is spun in the state in which the object is fixed on the spinning plate, the object can be spun along with the spinning plate. A spin motor is installed to be coupled to the center of the lower surface of the spinning plate in order to spin the spinning plate.

The coating liquid is supplied on the surface of an object, and is dispersed over the entire surface of the object due to centrifugal force generated as the spinning plate is spun, so that a coating layer can be formed. The thickness of the coating layer depends on the speed at which the spinning plate is spun and the viscosity of the coating liquid. In the case that the coating liquid has a high viscosity, for example 500 to lOOOcps at 25 ^°Cthe spinning plate preferably rotates at 100 to 5,000 rpm. If the viscosity is 700 to 800cps, the spinning speed may be 10,000rpm or faster. Furthermore, the spinning speed of the spinning plate can be decreased or increased stepwise according to the shape of the object. Since the coating layer has a thickness in the range from 1 to 100 micrometers, and more preferably in the range from 2 to 30 micrometers, the spinning time may preferably be in the range from 1 to 60 seconds, depending on the spinning speed.

The physical properties of the coating layer may vary according to the spinning speed of the object, the viscosity of the coating liquid, the time for drying the coating film, the amount of ultraviolet rays irradiated for curing the coating film, the process cleanliness, the hot air drying temperature, and the infrared ray irradiation drying temperature.

Since the coating device according to the present invention must be operated in a clean space, the display window coating device may be disposed in a casing separated from the external air, so that the coating device can be kept in a clean space.

Hereinafter, a display window and a coating device for forming a coating layer for a display window according to the embodiments of the present invention will be described below. The following description is provided to promote a good understanding of the present invention but is not to be construed to limit the scope of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a flow chart showing a coating method according to the present invention. FIG.

3 is a schematic view illustrating a coating device according to the present invention. FIG. 4 is a perspective view illustrating a coating unit according to the present invention. FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view illustrating a coating means according to the present invention. FIG. 6 is a view illustrating a method for forming a coating layer using the coating means according to the present invention. FIG. 7 is a view illustrating a method for forming a coating layer using the coating means according to another embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 8 is a view of an object having coating layers on respective surfaces thereof, according to the present invention. FIG. 9 is a view illustrating an object having coating layers on respective surfaces thereof, according to another embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 2 through FIG. 9, the device for forming a coating layer for a display window comprises a first coaling part, a second coating part and a switching part 38 for turning over an object to be coated. The first coating unit comprises a loading unit 10 for aligning an object 40 to be coated, a coating unit 12 for receiving the object 40 aligned by the loading unit 10, supplying a coating liquid to the object 40, and spinning the object 40, thereby forming a coating film on the surface of the object 40, and a drying unit 14 for drying the object 40 having the coating film thereon, thereby forming a coating layer. The second coating part has the same structure and configuration as the first coating part. The first coating part is connected to the second coating part via the switching part 38.

Accordingly, the coating device according to the present invention comprises the first coating part including the loading unit 10, the coating unit 12, and the drying unit 14, the second coating part, and the switching part 38.

Hereinafter, the coating device for forming a coating layer for a display window, according to the present invention, will be described in more detail.

The coating device comprises the loading unit 10 having a carrier 20 for mounting the object

40 thereon and transferring the object 40 to the coating unit 12. The coating device further comprises the coating unit 12 installed near the loading unit 10 having one or more coating means 16 for coating the object 40 transferred by the carrier 20 of the loading unit 10 through a spinning coating process or a slit-spin-coating process. The coating device still further comprises one or more receiving means 22 installed near the coating unit 12 for receiving the object coated by the coating unit 12 and mounting the coated object 40 thereon, the drying unit 14 for drying the object 40 disposed on the receiving means 22, the switching part 38 installed near the drying unit 14 for changing the position of the rear surface and the front surface of the object 40, a loading unit 10, a coating unit 12, a receiving unit 22, and a drying unit 14.

The loading unit 10 is provided to easily transfer the object 40 to the spinning or the slit-spin coating means 16 of the coating unit 12, and has a line provided with a plurality of carriers 20, the number of carriers being the same as the number of spinning or slit-spin coating means 16. The line may be constituted by a plurality of transportation means (not shown) such as a conveyer belt, the number of transportation means being the same as the number of carriers. The carriers 20 are installed at the respective top ends of the transportation means, so that the carriers 20 move when the transportation means move. In this instance, the object 40 is disposed on the upper end of the carrier 20 and is transferred by the movement of the carrier 20 to the coating unit 12 having the spin coating means 16.

The coating unit 12 has one or more coating means 16 for coating the object 40, transferred from the loading unit 10, through a spin coating method or a slit-spin coating method. In this instance, any spin coating unit or any slit-spin coating unit commonly used in the art may be employed. According to one embodiment of the present invention, the coating unit 12 comprises a spinning plate 30, on which the object 40 is disposed, a spinning motor 32 installed to be coupled to the spinning plate 30 for spinning the spinning plate 30, a dispenser 42 installed above the spinning plate 30 for supplying a coating liquid to the object 40 disposed on the spinning plate 30, a housing 28 installed to cover the spinning plate 30, an opening 18 formed at an upper end portion of the housing 28 so that the object 40 can be placed on the spinning plate 30 therethrough, and a suction hole 34 for discharging the coating liquid from the object 40.

The slit-spin coating means 16 has almost the same construction as the spinning coating means, except for the dispenser 42. The slit-spin coating means 16 includes a slit coating means 44 instead of the dispenser 42. The slit coating means 44 supplies the coating liquid to the surface of the object 40 and slit coats the supplied coating liquid.

The slit coating means 44 is an element for distributing the coating liquid in a uniform thickness over the entire surface of the object 40. The slit coating means 44 is installed above the surface of the object 40 and is separated from the surface of the object 40 by a predetermined height. The slit coating means 44 moves back and forth or left and right in a straight line motion pattern in order to distribute the coating liquid supplied onto the surface of the object of a uniform thickness over the entire surface of the object 40. The slit coating means 44 may be any slit coating means that can perform the above-mentioned function, and may be any slit coating means commonly used by people skilled in the art.

Particularly, the coating means 16 can coat the surface of the object 40 after supplying a coating liquid on the surface of the object 40 using the dispenser. The coating means 16 can comprise the slit coating means 44 that can slit coat the coating liquid according to the shape of the display window.

The suction hole 34 is connected to a suction pipe 36 so that air is suctioned from the spinning coating means 16. The object 40 transferred from the loading unit 10 and disposed on the upper end of the carrier 20 of the loading unit 10 can be moved onto the spinning plate 30 of the coating means 16 using an additional means such as a robot arm or a nipper (not shown).

The receiving means 22 is installed near the coating unit 12, receives the object 40 coated by the coating means 16, and provides a place to keep the coated object 40 before transferring it to the drying unit 14. The receiving means 22 is selected from any means commonly used in the art. The object 40 can be transferred from the coating means 16 to the receiving means 22 using a robot arm or nippers.

The drying unit 14 serves to dry the object 40 disposed on the receiving means 22. The drying unit 14 can be selected from any drying unit used commonly in the art, but a unit using a hot air drying method and an infrared ray and/or ultraviolet ray curing method may be preferably used. The drying unit 14 may comprise a plurality of drying means including a first drying means

24 and a second drying means 26 which are separately disposed in different compartments. The first drying means 24 can perform a hot air drying process, an infrared drying process, or a combination thereof, and the second drying means 26 can perform ultraviolet ray curing.

The switching part 38 serves to switch the orientation of the object 40 passing out of the drying unit 14 of the first coating part. That is, the switching part 38 turns over the object 40 whose one surface is coated, so that the coated surface and the non-coated surface of the object are switched. The object 40 whose orientation is switched to the opposite direction is introduced into a loading unit 10 of the second coating part, and is then sequentially passed through a coating unit 12 installed to be connected to the loading unit 10, and a drying unit 14 of the second coating part, so that coating layers are formed on respective surfaces of the object 40.

The coating layers formed on respective surfaces of the object 40 may have different physical properties according to the coating liquids used to form the coating layers.

The above described coating device must be disposed and operated in a clean space, so that each unit of the coating device is disposed in a separate casing and is not exposed to external air. Hereinafter, a method of forming a coating layer for a display window, using the above described coating device, will be described.

An object 40 which has undergone a cleaning process in order to eliminate contaminants attached to the surface of the object 40 is disposed on the upper end of a carrier 20 connected to a transportation means such as a conveyer belt, and the carrier 20 is then transferred to a coating unit 12 by driving the transportation means.

In this instance, the object 40 disposed on the carrier 20 can be transferred to a spinning coating means 16 using a robot arm or nippers.

The object 40 transferred to the coating unit 12 is placed on the surface of a spinning plate 30 installed in a coating means 16 for performing a spin coating process or a slit-spin coaling process, and a coating liquid is supplied onto the surface of the object 40 using a dispenser 42, or is supplied and dispersed on the surface of the object using a slit coating means 44 such that the coating liquid on the object 40 has a predetermined thickness.

The coating liquid may be any coating liquid commonly used in the art, and may be preferably a UV coating liquid, an acryl coating liquid, an acrylurethane coating liquid, a silicon liquid, a silicon hard coating liquid, an acrylurethane dispersion coating liquid, or mixtures thereof. More preferably, the coating liquid may be a UV coating liquid or a silicon hard coating liquid.

Next, the spinning plate 30 is spun at a speed from 100 to 10,000 rpm for 1 to 60 seconds using a spinning motor 32 installed under the spinning plate 30 on which the object 40 supplied with the coating liquid is disposed, thereby forming a coating layer having a thickness of 1 to 100 micrometers on the surface of the object 40.

The spinning speed of the spinning motor 32 can be controlled by a control means (not shown) connected to the spinning motor 32, and the coating liquid is uniformly distributed on the entire surface of the object 40 by the centrifugal force, thereby forming a coating layer. The coating liquid distributed toward the edge of the object 40 by the centrifugal force is gathered at the lower end of the spinning plate 30, or is suctioned into a suction hole 34 provided at one side of the coating means 16, thereby being discharged outside.

The thickness of the coating layer is determined according to the spinning speed of the spinning plate 30 and the spinning time and viscosity of the coating liquid. Accordingly, the desired thickness of the coating layer can be realized by adjusting physical conditions such as the spinning time and the viscosity of the coating liquid.

The object 40, one surface of which is coated with a coating layer, is then transferred to the receiving unit 22 installed near the coating unit 12.

The object 40 disposed on the spin coating means or the slit-spin coating means 16 of the coating unit 12 can be transferred to the receiving unit 22 using a robot arm or nippers. The receiving means 22 may be a base having a plate shape, or may be a support, and serves to mount the coated object 40 thereon and transport the coated object 40 to the drying unit 14. The receiving means 22 is selected from means commonly used in the art for the above-described purpose.

The object 40 on the receiving unit 22 is transferred to the drying unit 14, and then the coating layer on the object 40 is dried through hot air drying, infrared ray drying or UV curing. The hot air drying, the infrared ray drying and the UV curing are general drying methods used in the art, and the drying step of the method according to the present invention may adopt any drying method as long as it can dry the coating layer on the object 40. However, the hot air drying is preferably performed at a temperature in the range from 20 to 100 ^°Cand more preferably in the range from 30 to 80 ^°C. The UV ray curing is performed at a light intensity in the range from 100 to 1500 mJ/cuf, and more preferably in the range from 200 to 1300 mJ/cnf.

Next, the object 40 having the coating layer is transferred to the switching part 38 by a transferring means such as a conveyer belt, and the orientation of the object 40 is switched to the opposite direction. That is, the orientation of the coated surface and the non-coated surface of the object 40 is reversed. Next, the object 40 is disposed on the upper end of a carrier 20 connected to the transferring means, such as a conveyer belt, and is then transferred to a coating unit 12 by driving tihe transferring means. The object 40 then sequentially undergoes a coating process and a drying process, thereby forming coating layers on respective surfaces of the object 40.

If coating liquids used in the two coating steps have different physical properties, as shown in FIG. 8 and FIG. 9, a first coating layer 46 and a second coating layer 48 having different physical properties can be formed on respective surfaces of lhe object 40. The first and second coating layers

46 and 48 can be formed after a printable layer 50, in which letters or diagrams are printed, or a deposition layer 50 is formed on the object 40.

Although the preferred embodiments of the present invention have been disclosed for illustrative purposes, those skilled in the art will appreciate that various modifications, additions and substitutions are possible, without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention as disclosed in the accompanying claims.

Industrial Applicability As described above, according to the present invention, a display window having a variety of functions can be realized by forming coating layers having different physical properties on respective surfaces of an object to be used as a display window.

Furthermore, the method according to the present invention can form uniform coating layers on respective surfaces of a display window without causing particle failures, and can enable the manufacturing of many display windows at one time. That is, the method can realize mass production of the display windows. In addition, the method can form coating layers having different physical properties on respective surfaces of a display window, and can form coating layers on a deposition layer and/or a printed layer.

Claims

1. A display window having coating layers having different physical properties on respective surfaces thereof, comprising: a first coating layer formed on one surface of a display window and having one or more characteristics selected from a surface rigidity enhancing function, an anti-glare function, a non-pollutive property, a non-printable property and combinations thereof; and a second coating layer formed on the other surface of a display window having one or more characteristics selected from a printable property, an anti-static function, and combinations thereof.

2. The display window according to claim 1 , wherein the display window is manufactured by extruding, casting or injection molding an acryl sheet, a polycarbonate sheet, or an acryl-styrene sheet.

3. The display window according to claim 1, wherein a coating liquid for forming the coating layers may be selected from a group consisting of a UV curable coating liquid, an acryl coating liquid, an acryl urethane coating liquid, a silicon coating liquid, an acryl urethane dispersion coating liquid, and mixtures thereof.

4. A coating device for forming a coating layer on a display window, comprising: a first coating part including a loading unit having one or more carriers for mounting an object thereon and transferring the object to a coating unit, a coating unit having one or more coating means for coating the object transferred by the carrier of the loading unit, one or more receiving units installed near the coating unit for receiving the coated object from the coating unit, a drying unit for drying the coated object; a switching part installed next to the drying unit of the first coating part for switching the orientation of a coated and dried surface and a non-coated surface of the object to opposite directions; a second coating part including a loading unit, a coating unit, a receiving unit and a drying unit for performing functions identical to the functions of the loading unit, the coating unit, the receiving unit and the drying unit of the first coating part

5. The coating device according to claim 4, wherein the coating means comprises: a spinning plate for mounting the object thereon; a spinning motor connected to the spinning plate for spinning the spinning plate; a dispenser disposed away from the spinning plate by a predetermined distance above the spinning plate for supplying a coating liquid to the object disposed on the spinning plate; a housing installed to be separated from, and to cover, the spinning plate; an opening formed at an upper end portion of the housing so that the object can be introduced into the housing to be placed on the spinning plate therethrough; and a suction hole installed near the spinning plate for discharging the coating liquid flowing down from the spinning plate.

6. The coating device according to claim 4, wherein the coating means comprises: a spinning plate for mounting the object thereon; a spinning motor connected to the spinning plate for spinning the spinning plate; a slit coating means for slit coating a coating liquid supplied onto the object disposed on the spinning plate; a housing installed to be separated from, and to cover, the spinning plate; an opening formed at an upper end portion of the housing so that the object can be introduced into the housing onto the spinning plate therethrough; and a suction hole installed near the spinning plate for discharging the coating liquid flowing down from the spinning plate.

7. The display window according to claim 4, wherein the drying unit comprises a first drying means for drying the object using hot air, infrared rays or combinations thereof, and a second drying means for drying the object using UV rays.

8. A coating method for forming a coating layer on each of the opposite surfaces of an object using the coating device claimed in any one of claims 4 to 7.

9. The coating method according to claim 8, wherein the object is manufactured by extruding, casting or injection molding an acryl sheet, a polycarbonate sheet, or an acryl-styrene sheet.

10. The coating method according to claim 8, wherein the object has a printed layer, on which letters and diagrams are printed, and a deposition layer on a surface thereof.