JPH052506B2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] [Industrial application field]

The present invention includes a plate cylinder on which a plate having a printing pattern formed at a predetermined position is wrapped around the circumferential surface, and a printing material is placed below the plate cylinder and slides in synchronization with the rotation of the plate cylinder. The present invention relates to a thin film forming apparatus having a stage capable of performing a printing process, and particularly relates to a thin film forming apparatus that can simplify the alignment operation between the printing pattern of the printing plate and the printing pattern of the printing material when replacing the printing plate wound around the printing cylinder. It is.

[Prior art]

The applicant has already filed a patent application (patent application) for an invention relating to a thin film forming apparatus for forming various thin films by printing, such as thin films such as liquid crystal alignment films and photoresist films, seals for liquid crystal encapsulation, and insulating coatings for semiconductor elements. (Sho 61-46806). The thin film forming apparatus in this previously filed invention comprises: an intaglio roll having a large number of ink cells arranged in a predetermined printing pattern on its surface and rotatably supported; The printing roll has a convex part that contacts the intaglio roll and transfers ink in ink cells arranged in a predetermined pattern on the surface of the intaglio roll to the convex part, and below the printing roll, a printing material is placed. It is equipped with a surface plate on which it is placed and slides in synchronization with the rotation of the intaglio roll and printing roll. The printing material is placed on the surface plate and comes into contact with the printing roll while sliding with the surface plate, and printing is performed by transferring the ink transferred to the convex portion of the printing roll to the printing material. It is done. In the case of this invention, a letterpress plate is used as the plate, but if printing is performed directly on the printing material from an intaglio roll having a large number of ink cells arranged in a predetermined printing pattern on its surface, for example, the intaglio roll may also be used (Japanese Patent Application No. 309368/1983). In reality, a letterpress or intaglio plate is wound around a drum-shaped plate cylinder, and each time the plate is replaced, the letterpress or intaglio plate is attached to and removed from the plate cylinder.

[Problems to be solved by the invention]

When replacing the plate in the thin film forming device configured as described above, it is necessary to make sure that the printing pattern on the plate and the printing pattern on the printing material do not deviate each time a new plate is wound around the plate cylinder. It is necessary to perform an adjustment operation to align the positions with each other, and this adjustment operation has conventionally been performed as described below. In other words, normally a rectangular or square plate is wrapped around a plate cylinder, but there are three reference pins protruding from the surface (periphery) of the plate cylinder that contact the edges of two adjacent sides of the plate and determine the position of the plate. The plate is positioned on the circumferential surface of the plate cylinder by bringing its two edges into contact with the side surfaces of the reference pin. On the other hand, the printing material is placed on a surface plate that has positioning pins that are movable in the vertical direction of the printing material. Place it on the surface plate and perform test printing several times, and after each test print, check the "misalignment" between the printing pattern on the plate and the printing pattern on the printing material, and correct the position of the positioning pin. The above adjustment operation was performed by a trial and error method. Therefore, with the conventional technology, it takes approximately 30 minutes to change the plate and complete the alignment between the plate and the printing material, which is one of the causes of a significant decrease in the workability of thin film formation. Ta. The present invention has been devised in view of the problems of the prior art as described above and to effectively solve these problems. Therefore, the purpose is to simplify the adjustment operation for positioning the printed pattern on the plate and the printed material on the substrate when changing the plate, and to provide a thin film forming device that can shorten the time required for this operation. It is about providing.

[Means to solve the problem]

The thin film forming apparatus according to the present invention has the following configuration in order to solve the problems of the prior art and achieve the objective. That is, it has a plate cylinder around which a plate on which a printing pattern is formed is wound, and a stage on which a printing material is placed on the plate surface, and these plates and stages synchronize with each other to satisfy a rolling relationship. In a thin film forming apparatus configured to be relatively movable, the printing pattern on the plate is formed in a constant positional relationship with respect to the positioning mark displayed on the plate, and is projected onto the circumferential surface of the plate cylinder. In order to fixedly determine the position of the printing pattern with respect to the plate cylinder, a fixed positioning means is provided which engages with a reference shape part which is a positioning reference part of the plate in order to determine the position at which the plate is wound, and the plate surface of the stage is A movable positioning means is provided which protrudes from the surface of the stage and determines the placement position of the printing material in a variably adjustable manner when the edges of the printing material come into contact with it, and the movable positioning means can be removably placed on the plate surface of the stage, and a plate-shaped jig having an edge having the same shape as the edge portion of the printing medium that contacts the positioning means, the jig being positioned at a position spaced a predetermined distance outward from the edge in a predetermined direction; , an ear portion having a through hole having the same shape as the positioning mark of the plate is formed, and the stage on which the jig is placed in contact with the movable positioning means moves relative to the plate cylinder, An optical sensor is provided to detect when the through hole of the jig has come to a position overlapping the positioning mark.

[Effect]

According to the thin film forming apparatus of the present invention, the plate is wound and fixed around the plate cylinder using, for example, a magnet while the edge as the reference shape portion is in contact with the fixed positioning means provided on the plate cylinder. . Alternatively, holes may be provided at predetermined locations on the plate as reference shape portions, and these holes may be inserted into pin-shaped fixed positioning means and mechanically fixed using metal fittings or the like. On the other hand, the jig is placed on the board surface of the stage with its edge abutting the movable positioning means. In this state, the plate cylinder rotates, and the stage and plate cylinder move relative to each other in synchronization with the rotation. Regarding this relative movement, for example, the stage may be slid to a position where the plate cylinder is rotating at a fixed position. When the plate cylinder rotates and the stage and plate cylinder move relative to each other, if the position of the plate and the jig are combined, the positioning mark on the plate and the through hole of the jig will overlap, and this overlap will be detected by an optical sensor. Can be detected. In other words, the edge of the jig and the edge of the printing material have the same contour, and the through hole formed at a position separated by a predetermined distance in a predetermined direction from the edge of the jig is formed on the edge of the printing material. It also exists at a position separated by a predetermined distance in a predetermined direction from the print pattern previously formed on the print pattern. However, if the positional relationship between the positioning mark on the plate and the printing pattern and the positional relationship between the through hole on the jig and the printing pattern on the printing medium are set to be equal, By fixing the movable positioning means on the plate surface of the stage at a position where it abuts the edge of the jig at the position where the through hole is aligned with the positioning mark, the printing pattern of the plate and the printing material can be adjusted with one positioning operation. It is possible to perform alignment with the printed pattern. In addition, in the above explanation, an example was given in which the stage is applied to a thin film forming apparatus in which the stage slides in synchronization with the rotation of the plate cylinder, but the stage is fixed and the stage moves while the plate cylinder rotates. Thin film forming device that moves upward (Utility Model No. 58-170864
The same applies to (No.).

【Effect of the invention】

As is clear from the above description, the present invention provides the following excellent effects. That is, the printing pattern on the plate and the printing pattern on the printing medium can be aligned in one alignment operation, and the time required for this operation can be shortened.

【Example】

A preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2. FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a schematic configuration of essential parts of an embodiment of a thin film forming apparatus according to the present invention. FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing a state in which the jig shown in FIG. 1 is removed from the stage and the printing material is placed on the stage. In the figure, numeral 1 is a plate cylinder, which is rotatably supported by a fixed side portion such as a frame (not shown). A plate 2 such as a resin letterpress plate is wrapped around the circumferential surface of the plate cylinder 1.
Reference pins 4 ₁ , as fixed positioning means are brought into contact with the edges 3 ₁ , 3 ₂ of the plate 2 in order to determine the position of the plate 2 .
4 ₂ and 4 ₃ are provided at three protruding locations on the circumferential surface of the plate cylinder 1. The plate 2 is formed into a rectangular or square shape, and a printing pattern ₅₁ is formed at a predetermined position approximately in the center thereof. Further, on the margin part 6, cross-shaped positioning marks 11 ₁ , 11 ₂ , 11 ₃ are made of lines 5 mm square and 0.2 mm thick.
are displayed in three places. Print pattern 5 ₁ is
These positioning marks 11 ₁ , 11 ₂ , 11 ₃ are formed at positions spaced apart from each other by a distance A in the vertical direction and a distance _B in the _horizontal direction. 11 ₃ and the printed pattern 5 ₁ are in the same positional relationship. On the other hand, below the plate cylinder 1, a stage 12 is provided which slides in synchronization with the rotation of the plate cylinder 1. A printing material 7 such as a glass substrate is placed on this stage 12, and the plate 2 is moved by sliding in synchronization with the rotation of the plate cylinder 1.
The printing medium 7 is configured to be in contact with the printing medium 7.
The stage 12 also has edges 8 1 , 8 ₁ of the printing medium 7 that slightly protrude upward with respect to the board surface.
Three movable pins 13 ₁ , 13 ₂ , and 13 ₃ are provided as movable positioning means that 8 ₂ comes into contact with.
The movable pins 13 ₁ , 13 ₂ , 13 ₃ are connected to a micrometer (not shown) or the like, and are configured to allow fine adjustment movement in the vertical and lateral directions of the stage 12 . This apparatus also includes a jig for aligning the position of the printing pattern 5 2 on the printing medium 7 with the position of the printing pattern 5 ₁ on the plate 2 with respect to the plate 2 wound around the plate cylinder ₁ as described above. 9 is provided to be detachably attached to the stage 12. That is, this jig is placed on the stage 12 when positioning the plate 2 and the printing material 7, and is removed when printing is actually performed. This jig 9
are formed into a plate shape, and the edges 8 ₁ , 8 ₂ of the printing medium 7
Similarly, the three movable pins 13 ₁ , 13 ₂ , 13
Edges 10 on two sides perpendicular to each other to abut on _{3
1,102 .} This jig 9 has through holes ₁₄ 1 having the same shape as the above-mentioned positioning marks _{11 1 ,} 11 ₂ , 11 ₃ at positions separated by a predetermined distance from the respective edges 10 ₁ , 10 2 in the vertical and horizontal directions. ，
14 ₂ , 14 ₃ and ear parts 15 ₁ , 15 ₂ ,
15 ₃ is formed. The through holes 14 ₁ and 14 ₂ are spaced apart from the edge 10 ₁ by a distance a ₁ in the longitudinal direction,
The through hole 14 ₃ is spaced laterally from the edge 10 ₂ by a distance b ₁ . Note that these through holes 14 ₁ , 14 ₂ , 14
₃ is 5 mm square and 0.3 mm wide. Therefore, when the through holes 14 ₁ , 14 ₂ , 14 ₃ and the positioning marks 11 ₁ , 11 ₂ , 11 ₃ overlap each other, the gap between them is 0.05 mm. Further, the print pattern 5 ₂ of the printing medium 7 is spaced from the respective edges 8 ₁ , 8 ₂ by a distance a ₂ in the vertical direction and by a distance b ₂ in the horizontal direction. That is, the dimensions of a ₁ and b ₁ are set so that the relationships A= _{a 1} +a 2 and B=b ₁ +b ₂ are satisfied. Directly below the plate cylinder 1 and further below the stage 12, an optical sensor 16 is provided, and each positioning mark 11 ₁ , 11 ₂ , 11 ₃ and each through hole 14 ₁ ,
The overlap with 14 ₂ and 14 ₃ is this optical sensor 16
Detected by. When replacing plate 2, first replace the reference pins 4 ₁ , 4
The plate ₂ is wound around the plate cylinder 1 in such a manner that the edges 3 ₁ and 3 ₂ of the plate 2 are brought into contact with the edges 3 1 and 3 2 of the plate 2 and 4 ₃ . Next, the movable pins 13 ₁ , 13 ₂ , 13 ₃ of the stage 12
is made movable, the jig 9 is placed at an appropriate position on the board surface, and the stage 12 is slid. At this time, the plate cylinder 1 rotates in synchronization with the movement of the stage 12. Positioning mark 11 ₁ ,
When the positioning marks 11 ₂ , 11 ₃ are directly above the optical sensor 16, the positioning marks 11 ₁ , 11 ₂ , 11 ₃ are placed directly above the optical sensor 16 through the through holes 14 ₁ , 14 ₂ , 14 ₃ .
Move the jig 9 on the board to a position where it can be seen through. At this position, the movable pins 13 ₁ , 13 ₂ , 13 ₃ are brought into contact with the edges 10 ₁ , 10 ₂ of the jig 9 to fix them, and the jig 9 is removed from the board surface. The movable pins 13 ₁ , 13 ₂ , positioned in this way
If the edges 8 ₁ and 8 ₂ of the printing medium 7 are brought into contact with the plate 13 ₃ and placed on the board surface, the printing pattern 5 ₂ of the printing medium 7 will match the printing pattern 5 ₁ of the plate 2 .

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing the schematic configuration of the main parts of an embodiment of the thin film forming apparatus according to the present invention, and FIG.
The figure is a schematic diagram showing a state in which the jig in FIG. 1 is removed from the stage and the printing material is placed on the stage. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1... Plate cylinder, 2... Plate, 3 ₁ , 3 ₂ ... Edge as standard shape part of plate, 4 ₁ , 4 ₂ , 4 ₃ ... Reference pin as fixed positioning means, 5 ₁ ... Plate Printing pattern of 5 ₂ ...Printing pattern of printing material,
6...Margin section, 7...Printing material, 8 ₁ , 8 ₂ ...
...Edge of printing material, 9...Jig, 10 ₁ , 10 ₂
...Jig edge, 11 ₁ , 11 ₂ , 11 ₃ ... Positioning mark, 12 ... Stage, 13 ₁ , 13
₂ , 13 ₃ ... Movable pin as movable positioning means, 14 ₁ , 14 ₂ , 14 ₃ ... Through hole, 15 ₁ , 15
₂ , 15 ₃ ...Ear portion, 16...Optical sensor.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1 It has a plate cylinder 1 around which a plate 2 on which a printing pattern 5 ₁ is formed is wound, and a stage 12 on which a printing medium 7 is placed on the plate surface. In a thin film forming apparatus configured to be movable relative to a stage 12 so as to satisfy a rolling relationship in synchronization with each other, positioning marks 11 ₁ , 11 2 displaying a printing pattern 5 ₁ of the plate 2 on the plate 2 are _provided . , 11 ₃ , protrudes onto the circumferential surface of the plate cylinder 1 , and is wound around the plate 2 in order to fixedly determine the position of the printing pattern 5 ₁ with respect to the plate cylinder 1 . In order to determine the position, a reference shape portion 3 which is a positioning reference portion of the plate 2 is used.
Fixed positioning means 4 ₁ , 4 ₂ , 4 ₃ engaged with ₁ , 3 ₂
movable positioning means 13 ₁ , which protrudes with respect to the surface of the stage 12 and is brought into contact with the edges 8 ₁ , 8 ₂ of the printing medium 7 to variably adjust the placement position of the printing medium 7; The _movable positioning _means 13 ₁ , 13 ₂ , 13 ₃ are provided and can be removably placed on the board surface of the stage 12.
The jig 9 includes a plate-like jig 9 having edges 10 ₁ , 10 _{2 having the same shape as the edges 8 1 , 8 2 of} the printing medium 7 which come into contact with the edges 10 ₁ , 8 2 of the printing medium ₇ .
Positioning marks _{11 1 ,}
Through holes 14 ₁ , 14 ₂ , 14 ₃ having the same shape as 11 ₂ , 11 ₃
Ear portions 15 ₁ , 15 ₂ , 15 ₃ are formed, and the jig 9 is connected to the movable positioning means 13 ₁ , 1
The stage 1 is placed in contact with 3 ₂ , 13 ₃
2 moves relative to the plate cylinder 1, and detects that the through holes 14 ₁ , 14 ₂ , 14 ₃ of the jig 9 have come to a position where they overlap the positioning marks 11 ₁ , 11 ₂ , 11 ₃ . A thin film forming apparatus comprising an optical sensor 16.