JPH088104Y2 - Intaglio roll with groove for thin film formation - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the device] [Industrial applications]

The present invention relates to an intaglio roll in which a thin portion for removing residual ink is formed on the surface of a plate cylinder in order to always form a thin film with ink having a predetermined density. The grooved intaglio roll for thin film formation according to the present invention is mainly used for inks that have a high hygroscopicity or inks that use volatile solvents, especially inks that are easily adversely affected to the environment of the outside air, and have functions such as a liquid crystal alignment film. It is suitable for use in a thin film forming apparatus for forming a conductive thin film.

[Prior art]

The applicant has applied for a thin film forming apparatus for forming a functional thin film such as a liquid crystal alignment film (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 62-202736).
issue). This thin film forming apparatus has the following configuration. That is, an intaglio roll having a large number of ink cells on the plate cylinder surface and rotatably supported, a doctor for filling the ink cells of the intaglio roll with ink supplied in each printing cycle, and a desired pattern shape A printing roll having a convex portion formed on the surface of the plate cylinder and rotatably supported below the intaglio roll, and receiving ink in the ink cells of the intaglio roll to the convex portion and transferring it to a substrate to be printed, It is provided with a surface plate that slides in synchronization with the rotation of the intaglio roll and the printing roll. The material to be printed is placed on the surface plate and slides along with the surface plate. By the way, in order to form a functional thin film such as a liquid crystal alignment film, an ink such as an ink having a high hygroscopic property or an ink using a volatile solvent, which is likely to have a bad influence on the environment of the outside air, is mainly used. Therefore, the following ink supply method is adopted in this thin film forming apparatus. That is, an appropriate amount of ink is dripped from the nozzle of the ink supply unit installed as close to the surface of the intaglio roll.
Next, as the intaglio roll rotates, the ink supplied to the surface of the intaglio roll is filled in the ink cells of the intaglio roll with a doctor, and the excess ink is scraped off. Such a process is repeated every printing cycle.

[Problems to be solved by the device]

However, such a conventional ink supply method has the following problems. In other words, the excess ink scraped off by the doctor remains as residual ink in the space formed by the intaglio roll and the doctor, the so-called ink pool. The residual ink that has been retained may absorb moisture as it comes into contact with the outside air,
The solvent volatilizes. As a result, the residual ink has a changed solid content concentration and is carried over to the next printing step. This residual ink is mixed with newly supplied ink in the next printing process. Therefore, the concentration of the solid content of the ink is different for each cycle of printing on the printing material. The printed material after printing is heated to disperse the solvent in the ink and only the solid content remains to form a thin film. Then, the film thickness of this thin film is determined only by this solid content. Therefore, since the solid content of the ink is not constant in the conventional ink supply method as described above, the thickness of the thin film thus formed is not constant throughout the entire printed matter. The liquid crystal alignment film formed by this thin film forming apparatus has a great influence on its quality even if there is a slight difference in film thickness. It is required.

[Means for Solving the Problems]

Therefore, in the present invention, the residual ink in the ink pool is removed every printing cycle, and in order to always use the ink with a predetermined solid content concentration for printing, the plate cylinder of the intaglio roll for thin film formation is used. The above problems are solved by providing a continuous groove portion from one edge of the surface to the other edge in a portion which is not used for printing. First, a grooved intaglio roll for forming a thin film of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of a grooved intaglio roll for forming a thin film of the present invention. Reference numeral 1 is an intaglio roll, 2 is a groove portion, 3 is a doctor, 4 is a pattern portion, and 5 is an ink supply portion. It should be noted that the drawings are exaggerated by ignoring the relative dimensional relationships of the components for the sake of clarity. The intaglio roll 1 is, for example, a drum core having a plating layer formed on the surface of the drum, and has a pattern portion 4 composed of a large number of ink cells on the surface of the drum. The groove 2 is formed by utilizing a portion of the plate cylinder surface of the intaglio roll 1 that is not used for printing, and is continuously formed from one edge of the intaglio roll 1 to the other edge. Various shapes can be considered as follows. As one aspect, it is conceivable that the groove 2 is linear. In this case, by forming the intaglio roll 1 so as to have an angle with respect to the generatrix, the efficiency of removing the residual ink can be increased. Alternatively, as another aspect,
It is also conceivable that the shape of the groove 2 is V-shaped. In this case, it is possible to shorten the removal path of the residual ink to shorten the removal time and to widen the pattern formable area for printing on the intaglio roll plate surface. The groove 2 is formed so that the residual ink can be most easily removed depending on the size of the roll, the rotation speed, and the like. The width and depth of the groove 2 are appropriately adjusted depending on the concentration and viscosity of the solid content of the ink used at that time so as not to adversely affect printing.

[Action]

Ink is supplied to the ink reservoir, the intaglio roll rotates, and the excess ink is scraped off by the doctor and remains as residual ink. As the rotation progresses and the doctor reaches the groove of the plate cylinder surface of the intaglio roll, the residual ink in the ink pool falls into the groove. By the time the doctor has finished passing through the groove, the residual ink drops into the groove one after another and is removed. After that, new ink is supplied to the ink reservoir, and printing can be performed with the ink having a predetermined solid content concentration that is not affected by the residual ink. The grooved intaglio roll for forming a thin film of the present invention can be widely used not only in the above-mentioned thin film forming apparatus but also in a clavier printing apparatus equipped with an intaglio roll and a doctor to exert its effect.

[Effect of device]

Since the grooved intaglio roll for forming a thin film of the present invention has a continuous groove from the one edge to the other edge of the plate cylinder surface that is not used for printing, the remaining ink is used for one cycle of printing. Every time the intaglio roll is cleanly removed from the edge of the plate cylinder surface to the edge. Therefore, when this grooved intaglio roll is used in a thin film forming apparatus, a thin film can always be formed with ink having a predetermined solid content concentration for each printing cycle, so that a constant film thickness can always be obtained. it can.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of a grooved intaglio roll for thin film formation according to the present invention. 1 ... intaglio roll, 2 ... groove part, 3 ... doctor, 4 ...
… Pattern part, 5 …… Ink supply part.

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] 1. A grooved intaglio roll for forming a thin film, wherein a continuous groove portion is formed in a portion which is not used for printing from one edge of the plate cylinder surface to the other edge.