WO2013005687A1

WO2013005687A1 - Method for manufacturing optical sheet

Info

Publication number: WO2013005687A1
Application number: PCT/JP2012/066767
Authority: WO
Inventors: 裕之熊澤; 憲久寺西; 浩史沢崎
Original assignee: 住友化学株式会社
Priority date: 2011-07-05
Filing date: 2012-06-29
Publication date: 2013-01-10
Also published as: JP2013016398A; KR20140049549A; CN103649622A

Abstract

Provided are a method for manufacturing an optical sheet and an optical sheet manufacturing device, which can achieve quality improvement in an optical sheet by minimizing the occurrence of streaks on a printing surface when printing a dot pattern on the rear surface of the optical sheet. Ink (54) is sprayed from a nozzle (51) onto an original plate (60) for a light guide plate. At this point, warpage is removed by applying suction to and adsorbing the non print surface of the original plate (60) and a gap distance (D) that is a distance between the nozzle (51) and the original plate (60) is adjusted to be 2.8 mm or less, then the dot pattern is printed by spraying the ink.

Description

Manufacturing method of optical sheet

The present invention relates to an optical sheet, a method for manufacturing the optical sheet, a manufacturing apparatus, a surface light source device using the optical sheet, and a transmissive image display device.

As a backlight used as a surface light source device of a liquid crystal display (transmission type image display device), a so-called direct type or an edge light type is known. Among these, the direct type surface light source device arranges light sources such as cold cathode tubes and LEDs on the back side of the light guide plate, and emits light incident from the back side of the light guide plate to the front side.

One edge light type surface light source device arranges light sources such as cold-cathode tubes and LEDs on the side surface of a light guide plate which is a transparent plate, and emits light incident from the side surface of the light guide plate to the front side. As a conventional backlight, a direct type surface light source device is often used from the viewpoint of increasing the luminance. However, in recent years, the use of thin and high-brightness LED light sources has increased, and the use ratio of edge light type surface light source devices has increased with the thinning of liquid crystal displays.

In the light guide plate in such an edge light type surface light source device, by performing dot printing on the back surface, light incident from the side surface is diffusely reflected on the back surface and emitted from the front surface. As a method of performing dot printing on the back surface of the light guide plate, a method by screen printing is known (for example, see Patent Document 1). However, when performing dot printing by screen printing, it is necessary to prepare individual plates for each pattern. For this reason, the screen printing has a problem that the degree of freedom is low.

On the other hand, dot pattern printing using inkjet is known as a method other than screen printing (see, for example, Patent Document 2). By using an ink jet, it is not necessary to prepare a large number of plates, so that the degree of freedom can be increased so as to cope with diversification of printing patterns.

JP 7-49421 A JP 2006-136867 A

Incidentally, in recent years, a surface light source device using this type of light guide plate has been required to have high accuracy, for example, 150 dpi or more.

In recent years, liquid crystal display devices have been applied to televisions and the like, and the light guide plate tends to be increased in size and thickness. In manufacturing the light guide plate, it is ideal that the light guide plate original plate has a plate shape without warping. However, in actuality, warpage or deflection occurs due to moisture absorption or uneven heating during storage. With the increase in size and thickness of the light guide plate, it is assumed that the influence of such warpage becomes significant.

However, for the light guide plate disclosed in Patent Document 2, the demand for high definition and the demand for improving warpage of the light guide plate original plate were not high. For this reason, in the light guide plate using the dot pattern printing disclosed in Patent Document 2, when the dot pattern printing is performed, streaks appear on the printed surface due to the non-uniform distance between dots and the disorder of the dot shape. I could see. If streaks appear on the printing surface in this way, there is a problem that the quality of a liquid crystal display using an optical sheet is deteriorated.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide an optical sheet that can improve the quality of a product using the optical sheet by suppressing the generation of streaks on the printed surface when dot pattern printing is performed on the back surface of the optical sheet. To provide a manufacturing method and a manufacturing apparatus.

The present invention is an optical sheet that emits light incident from a light incident surface from a light emitting surface that intersects the light incident surface, and dots are formed by ejecting ink from nozzles onto the back surface of the original plate of the optical sheet. A method of manufacturing an optical sheet on which a pattern is printed, wherein the non-printed surface of the original plate is sucked and absorbed to eliminate warpage of the original plate, the distance between the nozzle and the original plate is adjusted to 2.8 mm or less, and the ink is Spray to print a dot pattern.

In general, when forming a low-definition dot pattern, even when the distance between the nozzle and the original plate is long, streaks (a phenomenon in which printed dots are formed in a straight line) hardly occur in the print pattern. In order to avoid contact with the original plate, a large gap distance was used. However, when a high-definition dot pattern is formed, if the gap distance is large, streaks may occur in the printed pattern, which causes a problem that the quality of the product is deteriorated. In this regard, in the method of manufacturing an optical sheet according to the present invention, when performing dot pattern printing, the non-printing surface of the original plate is sucked and adsorbed to eliminate warpage, and the distance between the nozzle and the original plate is 2.8 mm or less. Has been adjusted. Since the distance between the nozzle and the original plate is adjusted to 2.8 mm or less by removing the warp by sucking and adsorbing the non-printed surface of the original plate, streaks are generated on the printing surface of the dot pattern printing on the optical sheet. Can be suppressed. Therefore, the quality of products using the optical sheet can be improved. A more preferable distance between the nozzle and the original plate when performing dot pattern printing is 1.8 mm or less, and a more preferable range is 1.0 mm or less.

Here, the distance between the nozzle and the original plate when printing the dot pattern can be adjusted to 2.8 mm or less.

An original plate used for an optical sheet such as a light guide plate is rarely completely flat and often slightly warps. If the distance between the inkjet nozzle and the original plate becomes too long due to the influence of the warpage, there is a concern about the generation of streaks on the printing surface. In this regard, when performing dot pattern printing, the non-printed surface of the original plate is sucked and adsorbed to eliminate warpage, and the distance between the nozzle and the original plate is adjusted to 2.8 mm or less, thereby generating streaks on the printed surface. Can be more reliably suppressed. As a result, the quality of the product using the optical sheet can be further improved.

Furthermore, the thickness of the original plate may be 4.5 mm or less.

Thus, the thickness of the original plate is preferably adjusted to 4.5 mm or less. Further, it is more preferable that the thickness of the original plate is adjusted to 2.0 mm or less.

Also, when printing the dot pattern, the original plate is placed on the table, and the distance between the nozzle and the table is 2.8 mm or less plus the thickness of the original plate. Can do.

Thus, by taking into account the thickness of the original plate, the distance between the nozzle and the original plate can be managed by the distance between the table on which the original plate is placed and the nozzle.

An optical sheet manufactured by an optical sheet manufacturing method may be used, or a surface light source device including a light source disposed on the side of the light incident surface of the optical sheet. Furthermore, a transmissive image display device is provided that includes the surface light source device, is disposed to face the light emitting surface of the optical sheet, and includes a transmissive image display unit that displays the image by being irradiated with the light emitted from the light source. You can also.

The present invention is an optical sheet that emits light incident from a light incident surface from a light emitting surface that intersects the light incident surface, and dots are formed by ejecting ink from nozzles onto the back surface of the original plate of the optical sheet. An apparatus for producing an optical sheet on which a pattern is printed, wherein the non-printed surface of the original plate is sucked and adsorbed to eliminate warpage of the original plate, and the distance between the nozzle and the table on which the original plate is placed is 2.8 mm. An apparatus for manufacturing an optical sheet is provided that prints a dot pattern by adjusting the thickness to be equal to or less than the distance obtained by adding the thickness of the original plate to ink.

According to the method and apparatus for manufacturing an optical sheet according to the present invention, when dot pattern printing is performed on the back surface of the optical sheet, the quality of products using the optical sheet is improved by suppressing the generation of streaks on the printing surface. Can be achieved.

It is a decomposition side sectional view showing typically the transmission type image display device using the light guide plate concerning an embodiment. It is a top view which shows typically the transmissive image display apparatus using the light-guide plate which concerns on embodiment. It is a perspective view which shows the light-guide plate manufacturing apparatus which concerns on embodiment. It is a side view which shows typically the relationship between the inkjet nozzle at the time of performing dot pattern printing, and the original plate of a light-guide plate. It is a top view which shows the conveyance belt which mounts a light-guide plate when dot pattern printing is performed. (A) (b) is a figure which shows the other arrangement pattern of a printing dot.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Note that, in each embodiment, the same elements are denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant description may be omitted. For the convenience of illustration, the dimensional ratios in the drawings do not necessarily match those described.

In the present invention, dot pattern printing is mainly characteristic in a method of manufacturing a light guide plate which is an optical sheet in a surface light source device used in a transmissive image display device such as a liquid crystal display device. In the present embodiment, first, the structure of a liquid crystal display device including a light guide plate will be described, and then dot pattern printing in the method of manufacturing the light guide plate will be described.

FIG. 1 is an exploded side sectional view schematically showing a liquid crystal display using the light guide plate according to the first embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a rear view thereof. As shown in FIG. 1, a liquid crystal display device 1 that is a transmissive image display device includes a transmissive image display unit 10 and a surface light source device 20. The surface light source device 20 is disposed on the back side of the transmissive image display unit 10 and emits light from the back side of the transmissive image display unit 10. In the following description, as shown in FIG. 1, the arrangement direction of the surface light source device 20 and the transmissive image display unit 10 is referred to as a Z direction (plate thickness direction), which is two directions orthogonal to the Z direction and orthogonal to each other. The two directions are referred to as the X direction and the Y direction.

The transmissive image display unit 10 includes a liquid crystal cell 11 and a linearly polarizing plate 12, and the linearly polarizing plate 12 is disposed on both sides of the liquid crystal cell 11. As the liquid crystal cell 11 and the linear polarizing plate 12, those used in known liquid crystal display devices can be used. Examples of the liquid crystal cell 11 include known liquid crystal cells such as a TFT type and an STN type.

The surface light source device 20 includes a light guide plate 30 that is an optical sheet and an LED light source 22. The light guide plate 30 is formed of a translucent resin that transmits light and has a plate shape. The translucent resin is a resin that transmits light. The light guide plate 30 may be a sheet or a film. Moreover, it is preferable that the thickness T of the light-guide plate 30 is 1.0 mm or more and 4.5 mm or less.

The light guide plate 30 includes a plate-like member made of a translucent resin. The refractive index of the translucent resin is, for example, in the range of 1.49 to 1.59. As the translucent resin used for the light guide plate 30, methacrylic resin is mainly used. As the resin used for the light guide plate 30, other resins may be used, or styrene resins may be used. As the translucent resin, an acrylic resin, a styrene resin, a polycarbonate resin, a cyclic olefin resin, an MS resin (a copolymer of acrylic and styrene), or the like can be used. Furthermore, additives such as a light diffusing agent, an ultraviolet absorber, a heat stabilizer, and a photopolymerization stabilizer can be added to the light guide plate 30.

Further, the light guide plate 30 has a rectangular parallelepiped shape and includes a front surface 31 and a rear surface 32 which are a pair of main surfaces facing each other in the Z-axis direction (thickness direction) as shown in FIG. The light guide plate 30 includes a pair of side surfaces 33 facing in the X-axis direction and a pair of side surfaces 34 facing in the Y-axis direction. The front surface 31 and the back surface 32 are formed in a direction intersecting with the side surfaces 33 and 34, more specifically, in a direction orthogonal to the side surfaces 33 and 34. The front surface 31, the rear surface 32, and the side surfaces 33 and 34 are all rectangular.

Of these, the surface 31 can be a flat surface or a surface provided with irregularities. When the surface 31 is provided with irregularities, for example, a plurality of protrusions that protrude in the Z-axis direction and whose longitudinal direction extends along the X-axis direction can be arranged in parallel with each other while being separated in the Y-axis direction. . The shape of the ridge portion can be a shape in which the surface is a prism shape, and the cross-sectional shape when the ridge portion is cut in a direction orthogonal to the longitudinal direction is a semicircular shape or a semi-elliptical shape It can be. Moreover, it is preferable that the protrusions have the same cross-sectional shape when cut in a direction orthogonal to the longitudinal direction. Note that the direction in which the protrusions extend is preferably parallel to the incident direction when light emitted from the light source enters from the side surface of the light guide plate.

The surface 31 functions as a surface that can emit planar light. The front surface 31 is disposed on the transmissive image display unit 10 side, and the back surface 32 is disposed on the opposite side of the transmissive image display unit 10. Various films 41 are disposed between the light guide plate 30 and the transmissive image display unit 10 on the front side of the light guide plate 30. Furthermore, a reflection sheet 42 that reflects the light in the light guide plate 30 toward the front surface 31 is disposed at a position facing the back surface 32. Examples of the various films 41 include a diffusion film, a prism film, and a brightness enhancement film.

The LED light source 22 is disposed on the side of the light guide plate 30 and facing the side surface 33 of the light guide plate 30 extending in the Y-axis direction. The side surface 33 of the light guide plate 30 serves as an incident surface on which light emitted from the LED light source 22 is incident. The plurality of LED light sources 22 are discretely arranged along the longitudinal direction (Y-axis direction) of the side surface 33. Light incident from the side surface 33 of the light guide plate 30 exits from the surface 31. The surface of the light guide plate 30 serves as an emission surface that emits light incident from the side surface 33.

The arrangement interval of the LED light sources 22 is normally 5 mm to 20 mm. The LED light source 22 is disposed along the side surface 33 facing the Y axis. Instead of this aspect, the light guide plate 30 may be disposed along each of the four sides, or may be disposed along the side surfaces 34 facing each other with the X axis interposed therebetween. Or you may arrange | position along any one side of the side surfaces 33 and 34. FIG. Further, the light source is not limited to the LED light source, but may be other light sources. Furthermore, as a light source, the structure by which linear light sources, such as a cold cathode tube, are arrange | positioned may be sufficient.

The LED light source 22 is composed of, for example, a white LED, and a plurality of LEDs are arranged in one place to constitute one light source unit. Further, as one light source unit, LEDs of three colors of red, green, and blue may be arranged close to each other. Here, when light source units having a plurality of LEDs are discretely arranged along the arrangement direction described above, it is preferable that the LEDs of different colors be arranged as close as possible.

As the LED light source, those having various light emission distributions can be used, but the luminous intensity in the normal direction (X-axis direction) of the LED light source is maximum, and the half-value width of the luminous intensity distribution is 40 degrees or more and 80 degrees or less. Those having a certain light emission distribution are preferred. Specific examples of the LED light source type include a Lambertian type, a shell type, and a side emission type.

The size when the light guide plate 30 is viewed in plan is set so as to match the screen size of the target transmissive image display unit 10. Specifically, the length of two orthogonal sides is usually 250 mm × 440 mm or more (diagonal length L is 506 mm or more). Furthermore, a large size of 500 mm × 800 mm or more (diagonal length L is 943 mm or more) may be used. Or although the planar view shape of the light-guide plate 30 is made into the rectangle, it can also be set as other shapes, such as a square. In addition, the thickness T of the original plate (translucent resin sheet) of the light guide plate 30 may be 4.5 mm or less, for example, 2.0 mm or 1.0 mm.

Here, the rectangle of 250 mm × 440 mm or more means a rectangle having one side of 250 mm or more and the other side of 440 mm or more. Moreover, the rectangle of 500 mm × 800 mm or more means a rectangle having one side of 500 mm or more and the other side of 800 mm or more.

Further, the original plate 60 of the light guide plate 30 may satisfy the following formula (1).

However, L is the length (mm) of the diagonal of the original plate, and T is the thickness (mm) of the original plate. The length L of the diagonal line is 500 mm or more.

Furthermore, a plurality of printing dots 35 are formed on the back surface 32 of the light guide plate 30. The printing dots 35 are formed by dot pattern printing using an ink jet. The print dots 35 are formed such that the diameter closer to the LED light source 22 on the back surface 32 is smaller, and the diameter gradually increases as the distance from the LED light source 22 increases.

In addition to the form shown in FIG. 2, for example, as shown in FIG. 6A, the printing dots 35 have a plurality of printing dots 35 having substantially the same size on the back side of the light guide plate 30. It can also be set as the aspect arrange | positioned by grid | lattice form. When the printing dots 35 are arranged in a lattice pattern, a square lattice, a triangular lattice, a cubic lattice, a hexagonal lattice, a grid lattice, or the like can be used. Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 6B, a plurality of printing dots 35 having substantially the same size may be randomly arranged. In addition, the size of the printing dots 35 can be appropriately changed in these modes.

Subsequently, the dot pattern printing in the method for manufacturing the light guide plate 30 will be described. Dot pattern printing is performed using inkjet. When performing dot pattern printing using an inkjet, ink is ejected from an inkjet nozzle to the original plate for manufacturing the light guide plate 30 to print the dot pattern.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the light guide plate manufacturing apparatus according to the embodiment. When performing dot pattern printing, a light guide plate manufacturing apparatus (optical sheet manufacturing apparatus) 200 as shown in FIG. 3 is used. The light guide plate manufacturing apparatus 200 shown in FIG. 3 includes a transport means 70 for transporting a translucent resin sheet 60 (original plate of the light guide plate 30) and an inkjet head 50. In addition, the manufacturing apparatus 200 includes a UV lamp and an inspection apparatus (not shown) on the downstream side of the inkjet head 50 in the moving direction A of the original plate 60.

The conveying means 70 includes a conveying belt 71 on which the translucent resin sheet 60 is placed and conveyed, a pair of conveying rollers 72 for moving the conveying belt 71 (only one is shown in FIG. 3), and conveying A suction box 73 for sucking the translucent resin sheet 60 placed on the belt 71 is provided.

The transport belt 71 is stretched across a pair of transport rollers 72 and extends in the horizontal direction (A direction in the figure). The drive-side transport roller 72 is rotationally driven by a motor (not shown) to move the transport belt 71. The printing surface 60a of the original plate 60 is directed upward, and a non-printing surface 60b (see FIG. 4) opposite to the printing surface 60a is disposed in contact with the transport belt (table) 71.

The suction box 73 has a box shape and is disposed between the

conveyor belts

71 and 71 spaced apart in the vertical direction. A plurality of suction boxes 73 are arranged along the movement direction A. The suction box 73 is connected to an evacuation unit such as a vacuum pump, for example, so that the inside of the box can be decompressed.

FIG. 4 is a side view schematically showing the relationship between an inkjet nozzle and a light guide plate when performing dot pattern printing. The inkjet head 50 is provided with a plurality of inkjet nozzles 51. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a conveyance belt on which a light guide plate is placed when dot pattern printing is performed. The suction box 73 has a top plate 73a on which the transport belt 71 is placed. The outer surface of the top plate 73a forms a flat surface and forms a surface on which the conveyor belt 71 slides. Then, the translucent resin sheet 60 is placed on the transport belt 71. That is, the conveyance belt 71 functions as a table on which the original plate 60 is placed.

The top plate 73a and the conveyor belt 71 of the suction box 73 are provided with a plurality of

openings

73b and 71a. The distance between the

openings

73b and 71a is, for example, about 5 cm. The shapes of the

openings

73b and 71a may be other than circular. When the conveyor belt 71 is disposed at a predetermined position, the opening 71a of the conveyor belt 71 and the opening 73b of the top plate 73a coincide. When the vacuum pump unit is operated to reduce the pressure in the suction box 73, the non-printing surface 60b of the conveyed original plate 60 is adsorbed on the conveyance belt 71, and warpage is eliminated. The distance between the conveyance belt 71 (table) on which the original plate 60 is placed and the inkjet nozzle 51 is adjusted to be equal to or less than the distance obtained by adding the thickness T of the original plate 60 to 2.8 mm.

In addition, in the light-guide plate manufacturing apparatus 200, the original plate 60 can be conveyed continuously or intermittently. Further, the table on which the original plate 60 is placed is not limited to the transport belt 71, but may be other transport trays. Further, the light guide plate manufacturing apparatus 200 may be configured not to include a conveying unit. The original plate 60 may be placed on the table, and the non-printing surface 60b of the original plate 60 may be sucked and adsorbed to eliminate the warp of the original plate 60.

When the light guide plate 30 is manufactured, first, a liquid repellent treatment may be performed on the surface of the original plate 60 to be the back surface (32) of the original plate 60 (the translucent resin sheet included in the light guide plate 30).

The degree of the liquid repellent treatment is such that the contact angle when a water droplet is dropped on the surface of the liquid-repellent original plate 60 is 80 to 130 degrees, preferably 85 to 120 degrees, more preferably 90 to 110 degrees. is there. By setting the contact angle to 80 degrees or more, the reflection dots (printing dots) 35 and 35 can be prevented from being connected to each other, and the reflection dots 35 can be provided more densely. Furthermore, by setting the contact angle to 130 degrees or less, it is possible to keep the adhesion between the reflective dots 35 and the original plate 60 high.

Examples of the liquid repellent treatment include treatment using a surface modifier as a liquid repellent treatment, treatment with various energy rays, treatment by chemical adsorption, treatment by graft polymerization on the material surface, and the like.

The treatment using the surface modifier is a treatment for forming a liquid repellent layer with a small amount of the surface modifier added on the surface of the original plate 60. Examples of the surface modifier as the liquid repellent treatment agent are vinyl polymers having a perfluoroalkyl group (Rf group) in the side chain, Rf group-containing silicone, and the like. The liquid repellent layer can be formed by a method in which a surface modifier is soaked into a paper cloth or the like and applied to the surface, or the surface modifier is sprayed on the surface by spraying or ink jet printing.

The treatment with various energy rays is a treatment for imparting liquid repellency to the surface with energy rays. Examples of energy rays are plasma, electron beam, ion beam and the like. Examples of liquid repellent treatment using plasma treatment are: surface roughening by plasma etching, then forming, for example, a liquid repellent monomolecular film on the roughened surface, surface by fluorine-based gas plasma These include fluorination, formation of a film composed of a liquid repellent compound on the surface by plasma CVD, formation of a liquid repellent thin film on the surface by plasma polymerization, and the like.

Examples of treatment by surface roughening include imparting irregularities to the surface of the original plate 60 by hot pressing, etching with chemicals, blasting, and the like.

In the treatment by chemical adsorption, it is preferable to modify the end of the adsorbed molecule with fluorine. In particular, the CF3 group is preferred as the terminal substituent from the viewpoint of liquid repellency.

Among the examples of such treatment, the fluorination of the surface by fluorine-based gas plasma is preferable because it can be easily and uniformly performed.

The conveyor belt 71 can be moved in the horizontal direction indicated by an arrow A by a motor (not shown). The ink 54 ejected from the inkjet nozzle 51 is made of an ultraviolet curable resin, and after having landed on the original plate 60, gradually expands into a circular shape. Furthermore, the light guide plate manufacturing apparatus 200 includes an ultraviolet irradiation device (not shown). A pigment may be added to the ink, or it may not be added.

The pigment is preferably at least one of calcium carbonate particles, barium sulfate particles and titanium dioxide particles. The cumulative 50% particle diameter D50 of each of the calcium carbonate particles, barium sulfate particles and titanium dioxide particles is 50 to 3000 nm, more preferably 100 to 1500 nm, still more preferably 300 to 600 nm. Calcium carbonate particles, barium sulfate particles, and titanium dioxide particles having an accumulated 50% particle diameter D50 in the range of 50 to 3000 nm can be obtained by appropriately selecting from commercially available products based on the particle size distribution. The content ratio of the pigment in the ink is usually about 0.5 to 15.0% by mass based on the total mass of the ink. An ink using a pigment which is at least one of calcium carbonate particles, barium sulfate particles and titanium dioxide particles is an ink using an inorganic substance.

The photopolymerizable component has a photopolymerizable functional group such as a vinyl group, and is preferably composed of a photopolymerizable monomer and / or a photopolymerizable oligomer having no hydroxyl group. The content ratio of the photopolymerizable monomer having no hydroxyl group is preferably 65 to 75% by mass based on the total mass of the ink. The content of the photopolymerizable oligomer having no hydroxyl group is preferably 10 to 20% by mass based on the total mass of the ink.

Examples of the photopolymerizable monomer having no hydroxyl group include 1,4-butanediol diacrylate (for example, SR213 manufactured by Sartomer Japan, Inc.), 1,6-hexanediol diacrylate (for example, Sartomer Japan ( SR238F), 1,3-butylene diacrylate (for example, Sartomer Japan, SR212), 1,9-nonanediol diacrylate (for example, Shin-Nakamura Chemical Co., Ltd., A- NOD-N) and propoxylated (2) neopentyl glycol diacrylate (for example, SR9003 manufactured by Sartomer Japan, Inc.).

The photopolymerizable oligomer having no hydroxyl group preferably contains an aliphatic urethane (meth) acrylate (for example, CN985B88, CN991 manufactured by Sartomer Japan, Inc.). The aliphatic urethane (meth) acrylate is a photopolymerizable oligomer having a polyurethane oligomer chain formed from an aliphatic polyisocyanate and an aliphatic polyol, and an acrylate group or a methacrylate group bonded thereto. The glass transition temperature of the aliphatic urethane (meth) acrylate is preferably 40 ° C. or higher.

The photopolymerization initiator can be appropriately selected from those usually used in the field of ultraviolet curable resins. The content of the photopolymerization initiator in the ink is usually about 0.5 to 10.0% by mass.

The inkjet ink may contain components other than the pigment, the photopolymerizable component, and the photopolymerization initiator without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

When performing dot pattern printing, first, the non-printing surface 60b of the original plate 60 is sucked and adsorbed to eliminate warpage, and a predetermined amount of ink 54 is ejected from the inkjet nozzle 51 to the original plate 60 to generate the dot pattern printing unit 55. To do. Thereafter, the table 52 is moved by the motor to convey the original plate 53 until the dot pattern printing unit 55 comes to the position where the ultraviolet irradiation device is provided. Then, by irradiating the dot pattern printing unit 55 on the original plate 53 with ultraviolet rays by an ultraviolet irradiation device, the ink is cured and the printing dots 35 shown in FIG. 2 are generated.

Here, in this embodiment, when the ink 54 is ejected from the inkjet nozzle 51, the distance between the inkjet nozzle 51 and the original plate 53 is set to 2 by sucking and adsorbing the non-printing surface 60 b of the original plate 60 to eliminate warpage. .8mm is set. When forming a low-definition dot pattern, even when the distance D (hereinafter referred to as “gap distance”) D between the inkjet nozzle 51 and the original plate 53 is large, streaks are hardly generated in the print pattern. In order to avoid contact with the original plate 53, the gap distance D was made large.

However, when a high-definition dot pattern is formed, if the gap distance D is large, streaks may occur in the printed pattern, and this streak degrades product quality. In this regard, here, the distance between the inkjet nozzle 51 and the original plate 60 when performing dot pattern printing is adjusted to 2.8 mm. By adjusting the distance between the inkjet nozzle 51 and the original plate 60 to 2.8 mm, it is possible to suppress the occurrence of streaks on the printing surface of the dot pattern printing applied to the light guide plate 30. Accordingly, the quality of the surface light source device 20 and the liquid crystal display device 1 using the light guide plate 30 can be improved.

The gap distance D for suppressing the occurrence of streaks on the printing surface of the dot pattern printing applied to the light guide plate 30 is 2.8 mm or less. Furthermore, by setting the gap distance D to 1.8 mm or less, the generation of streaks can be more suitably suppressed. The gap distance D is preferably small, but the lower limit of the gap distance D can be set to a size that can avoid contact between the inkjet nozzle 51 and the original plate 53 when performing dot pattern printing. . Specifically, the gap distance D can be set to 0.4 mm or more, or 0.5 mm or more. From these viewpoints, the gap distance needs to be 0.4 mm or more and 2.8 mm or less, preferably 0.5 mm or more and 1.8 mm or less, and 0.5 mm or more and 1.0 mm or less. Is more preferable.

(Example)
Hereinafter, an experiment was conducted on the occurrence of streaks on the printing surface of the optical sheet. In this experiment, a plurality of optical sheets were manufactured by appropriately changing the gap distance D, and the occurrence of streaks was visually evaluated for these optical sheets. The set gap distance D was 0.5 mm, 1.3 mm, 2.3 mm, 4.0 mm, and 9.0 mm.

Also, as a common condition, a 40-inch panel was used as the original plate (optical sheet). The ink used had an ink viscosity of 18.6 mPa · s and an ink liquid amount of 30 pL. Furthermore, the dot diameter in the dot pattern was about 130 μm. Further, the scanning (conveyance) speed when conveying the original plate was 400 mm / s, and the resolution was 150 dpi. In addition, ultraviolet irradiation was performed 1.5 seconds after the ink landed on the original plate. The UV integrated light quantity at the time of ultraviolet irradiation was 0.25 J / cm2.

As a result, when the gap distance D was 0.5 mm, 1.3 mm, and 2.3 mm, almost no streak was observed. Further, when the gap distance D was 5.0 mm, the inks in the adjacent dots adhered to each other, resulting in the generation of lines in a line shape. Furthermore, when the gap distance D was 9.0 mm, the ink was scattered to the non-printing area, resulting in large streaks.

When the printed surface of the light guide plate was visually observed, almost no streaks were observed at a gap distance D of 2.3 mm, but streaks were clearly seen at 4.0 mm. However, when the gap distance D was about 2.8 mm, almost no streaks were observed. It is thought that streaks are not seen. In addition, when the gap distance D was 1.3 mm, streaks were hardly seen. From this result, it is considered that when the gap distance is D, streaks cannot be seen almost completely. Therefore, the gap distance D of the present invention is defined as 2.8 mm, and the more preferable gap distance D is defined as 1.8 mm.

The optical sheet manufacturing method, optical sheet, and optical sheet manufacturing apparatus of the present invention can suppress the occurrence of streaks on the printed surface when dot pattern printing is performed on the back surface of the optical sheet. ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the quality improvement of the product (A surface light source device and a transmissive image display apparatus) using an optical sheet can be aimed at.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Liquid crystal display device, 10 ... Transmission type image display part, 11 ... Liquid crystal cell, 12 ... Linearly polarizing plate, 20 ... Surface light source device, 22 ... LED light source, 30 ... Light guide plate, 31 ... Front surface, 32 ... Back surface, 33 , 34 ... side face, 35 ... printed dots, 41 ... various films, 42 ... reflective sheet, 50 ... inkjet head, 51 ... inkjet nozzle, 52 ... table, 53 ... original plate, 54 ... ink, 55 ... dot pattern printing section, 60 ... Original plate (translucent resin sheet), 60a ... printing surface, 60b ... non-printing surface, 70 ... conveying means, 71 ... conveying belt, 71a ... opening, 72 ... conveying roller, 73 ... suction box, 73a ... top plate 73b: opening, 200: light guide plate manufacturing apparatus (optical seed manufacturing apparatus), D: gap distance, L: length of diagonal of original plate, T: length of diagonal of original plate, A: movement of original plate Direction.

Claims

An optical sheet that emits light incident from a light incident surface from a light emitting surface that intersects the light incident surface, and a dot pattern is formed by ejecting ink from an inkjet nozzle to the back surface of the original plate of the optical sheet. A method for producing the printed optical sheet,
The non-printing surface of the original plate is sucked and adsorbed to eliminate warpage of the original plate,
The distance between the nozzle and the original plate is adjusted to 2.8 mm or less,
An optical sheet manufacturing method for printing the dot pattern by ejecting the ink.
The method for producing an optical sheet according to claim 1, wherein the thickness of the original plate is 4.5 mm or less.
The method for producing an optical sheet according to claim 1 or 2, wherein a length L of a diagonal line of the original plate is 500 mm or more.
The method for producing an optical sheet according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the diagonal length L and thickness T of the original plate satisfy the following formula (1).

However, L is the length (mm) of the diagonal of the original plate, and T is the thickness (mm) of the original plate.
When printing the dot pattern, the original plate is placed on a table,
The method for producing an optical sheet according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein a distance between the nozzle and the table is equal to or less than a distance obtained by adding a thickness of the original plate to 2.8 mm.
An optical sheet manufactured by the method for manufacturing an optical sheet according to any one of claims 1 to 5.
The optical sheet according to claim 6,
A surface light source device comprising: a light source disposed to face a light incident surface of the optical sheet.
The surface light source device according to claim 7,
A transmission-type image display device including a transmission-type image display unit that is disposed so as to face a light emission surface of the optical sheet and displays an image by being irradiated with light emitted from the light source.
An optical sheet that emits light incident from a light incident surface from a light emitting surface that intersects the light incident surface, and a dot pattern is printed by ejecting ink from a nozzle onto the back surface of the original plate of the optical sheet. An apparatus for manufacturing the optical sheet,
The non-printing surface of the original plate is sucked and sucked to eliminate warpage of the original plate, and the distance between the nozzle and the table on which the original plate is placed is equal to or less than the distance obtained by adding the thickness of the original plate to 2.8 mm Adjust to
An optical sheet manufacturing apparatus for printing the dot pattern by ejecting the ink.