JP2005059348A - Flatbed printing machine for organic EL light emitting layer formation - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an organic EL light emitting layer forming flat bed printing capable of printing on a substrate as a flat plate quickly and accurately without using a large amount of ink. Provide a machine.
An organic EL light emitting layer forming flat table printing machine 10 includes a substrate mounting table 13 on which a substrate 32 is mounted, a plate mounting table 12 on which a flat plate 31 is mounted, a frame 11, and an ink for applying ink. A supply device 19 and a carriage 21 that runs on the gantry 11 are provided. The carriage 21 has a transfer roller 23 and a doctor 22 that scrapes off the ink on the flat plate 31. An ink pan 15 for collecting the ink scraped off by the doctor 22 is provided between the substrate mounting table 13 and the plate mounting table 12 on the gantry 11.
[Selection] Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a flatbed printing machine for forming a light emitting layer of a polymer organic EL display on a substrate by printing ink obtained by dissolving a polymer organic material in a solvent on a flat substrate.

As a method for accurately forming a polymer thin film on a substrate, there is known a method of printing an ink obtained by dissolving a polymer organic material in a solvent on a substrate using a printing machine (Non-patent Document 1, Patent Document 1).
Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 58-170864 “All about organic EL” by Koji Koji

  The printing machine disclosed in Non-Patent Document 1 is a gravure printing machine that transfers ink on a gravure plate to a substrate by passing the substrate between a cylindrical gravure plate and a cylindrical impression cylinder. . However, in such a rotary printing press, the printing medium is warped when it passes between the plate and the impression cylinder. Therefore, the printing machine disclosed in Non-Patent Document 1 cannot be used for a substrate made of glass or the like that cannot be bent, or a substrate on which a transparent electrode or the like whose characteristics can be destroyed by bending is formed.

  On the other hand, a flatbed printing machine is generally used as a method for printing ink on a flat substrate, and the flatbed printing machine includes a flatbed offset printing machine and a flatbed flexo printing machine.

  The flat table offset printing machine kneads ink with a plurality of kneading rollers before supplying the ink to the plate. However, when an ink containing a high molecular weight organic material is kneaded with a kneading roller, there arises a problem that the light emitting characteristics of the organic material are impaired while being kneaded between the kneading rollers. In addition, a part of the solvent that dissolves the high molecular organic substance is easily dried, and the ink dries while being kneaded by the kneading roller, which causes a problem that the ink cannot be transferred to the substrate.

  The flat bed flexo printing machine supplies ink to an anilox roll, receives the ink from the anilox roll on the convex portion of the flexographic plate, and transfers the ink received on the convex portion of the flexographic plate to the substrate. However, a large amount of ink is required to soak the ink into the cylindrical anilox roll. Therefore, it is not suitable for printing using an expensive ink like an ink containing a high molecular organic substance.

  The printing machine disclosed in Patent Document 1 is a type of flat bed flexo printing machine in which an intaglio is first filled with ink, and the filled ink is received by a roll-shaped relief and transferred to a flat substrate. . In this case, since the intaglio is not a roll but a flat plate, a large amount of ink is not required. However, the ink filling into the intaglio and the receiving of the ink from the intaglio by the relief and the transfer to the substrate are separate processes. Therefore, when a solvent that dissolves the high molecular organic substance is easily dried, there arises a problem that the ink dries on the intaglio or letterpress. Also, the disclosed printing press does not have a special mechanism for registration. Therefore, the disclosed printing press is not suitable for forming a light emitting layer of an organic EL display that is required to print a high-definition print pattern with high accuracy.

  The present invention has been made in consideration of such points, and prints an ink composed of a solvent in which a high-molecular-weight organic substance is dissolved quickly and accurately on a flat substrate without requiring a large amount of ink. Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a flatbed printing press for forming an organic EL light emitting layer capable of forming a polymer organic EL light emitting layer on a substrate.

  The present invention includes a substrate mounting table for mounting a substrate, a plate mounting table for mounting a flat plate, a platform for holding the substrate mounting table and the plate mounting table, an ink supply device for applying ink, A carriage having a transfer roller and a doctor that scrapes the ink on the plate-like plate while traveling on the gantry, and having the ink scraped off by the doctor between the substrate platform on the gantry and the plate platform. The flatbed printing press for forming an organic EL light emitting layer is provided with an ink pan to be collected.

  The present invention is the flat printing press for forming an organic EL light emitting layer, wherein the flat plate is a gravure plate or an anilox plate.

  The present invention is a flatbed printing press for forming an organic EL light emitting layer, characterized in that one end side of a flat plate is extended to the top of an ink pan and is bent downward on the ink pan.

  The present invention is the flat printing press for forming an organic EL light emitting layer, wherein the doctor provided on the carriage can be moved up and down in the carriage.

  In the present invention, a registration mark forming portion is provided on the flat plate, and a registration device for reading the registration mark on the substrate printed by the registration mark forming portion and aligning the substrate is provided on the gantry. This is a flat printer for forming an organic EL light emitting layer.

  The present invention is a flatbed printing press for forming an organic EL light emitting layer, characterized in that a moving mechanism is provided between the substrate mounting table and the gantry to move the substrate mounting table in the horizontal direction to align the substrate. is there.

  The present invention is the flat printing press for forming an organic EL light emitting layer, in which, when an anilox plate is used as the flat plate, a relief flexo plate is used as the transfer roller.

  According to the present invention, ink composed of a solvent in which a high molecular organic substance is dissolved can be quickly and accurately printed on a flat substrate without requiring a large amount of ink. Thereby, a polymer organic EL light emitting layer can be formed on the substrate.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. 1 to 4 are views showing an embodiment of a flatbed printing machine 10 for forming an organic EL light emitting layer according to the present invention.

  Among these, FIG. 1 is a side view showing a flatbed printing machine 10 for forming an organic EL light emitting layer, FIG. 2 is a side view showing a usage state of the flatbed printing machine 10 for forming an organic EL light emitting layer, and FIG. FIG. 4 is a plan view showing the positioning operation of the EL light emitting layer forming flat table printer 10, and FIG. 4 is a plan view showing the operation of the organic EL light emitting layer forming flat table printer 10 using three colors of ink.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the organic EL light-emitting layer forming flat table printing machine 10 includes a substrate mounting table 13 on which a substrate 32 is mounted, a plate mounting table 12 on which a flat plate 31 is mounted, a substrate mounting table 13 and a plate. A gantry 11 that holds the mounting table 12, an ink supply device 19 that applies ink to the flat plate 31, and a carriage 21 that runs on the gantry 11 are provided. In the carriage 21, a transfer roller 23 and a doctor 22 that scrapes off the ink on the flat plate 31 are provided.

  In such an organic EL light emitting layer forming flat table printing machine 10, first, ink is applied to the flat plate 31 placed on the plate placing table 12 by the ink supply device 19. Next, when the carriage 21 is run on the gantry 11, the ink on the flat plate 31 is stretched over the entire surface of the plate 31 by the doctor 22, and excess ink is scraped off. At the same time, the transfer roller 23 receives ink from the flat plate 31. When the carriage 21 passes over the substrate mounting table 13, the ink received by the transfer roller 23 is transferred to the substrate 32 on the substrate mounting table 13.

  Here, the ink used in the present embodiment is obtained by dissolving a polymer organic material in a solvent. Then, by printing this ink on the substrate 32, an organic EL light emitting layer can be formed on the substrate 32.

  By the way, the plate mounting table 12 and the substrate mounting table 13 are held on the frame 11, and an ink pan 15 is provided between the plate mounting table 12 and the substrate mounting table 13 on the frame 11.

  As described above, the plate 31 having a flat plate shape is placed and fixed on the upper surface of the plate placing table 12. One end of the plate 31 fixed on the plate mounting table 12 extends to the ink pan 15 disposed adjacent to the plate mounting table 12, and is bent downward on the ink pan 15.

  The flat plate 31 is a gravure plate, and a pattern (printing pattern) is formed on the surface of the plate 31, and ink is filled in the pattern. In addition, a registration mark forming portion 31a serving as a reference for registration is provided on the surface of the plate 31 (FIG. 3A).

  On the other hand, as described above, the substrate 32 is mounted on the upper surface of the substrate mounting table 13 and fixed. Between the substrate mounting table 13 and the gantry 11, a moving mechanism 14 for moving the substrate mounting table 13 in the horizontal direction and aligning the substrate 32 is provided. By this moving mechanism 14, the substrate mounting table 13 is arranged. Can move in the horizontal direction and the traveling direction of the carriage 21 in a horizontal plane. In the present embodiment, the substrate 32 is made of a glass plate.

  The ink supply device 19 stores ink obtained by dissolving the above-described polymer organic material in a solvent, and applies this ink to the plate plate 31 in desired amounts. Further, the ink supply device 19 can move up and down, and can move in the direction of approaching and separating from the plate 31 on the plate mounting table 12.

  As described above, the carriage 21 that moves along the gantry 11 is disposed on the gantry 11, and the doctor 22 and the transfer roller 23 are provided in the carriage 21.

  In this case, the carriage 21 can move forward to the left side of FIG. 1 and can move backward to the right side of FIG. The gantry 11 is provided with a speed changing mechanism, and when the carriage 21 moves forward or backward on each position on the gantry 11, the moving speed of the carriage 21 can be changed to a desired speed.

  The doctor 22 is disposed in front of the transfer roller 23 (left side in FIG. 1) in the direction in which the carriage 21 advances. The doctor 22 is connected to an elevating mechanism 25 provided in the carriage 21. The lifting mechanism 25 can lift and lower the doctor 22 within the carriage 21 in accordance with the position of the carriage 21 on the gantry 11.

  The transfer roller 23 receives ink filled on the plate 31 and transfers the ink to the substrate 32. Therefore, the transfer roller 23 has a cylindrical shape and is rotatably held in the carriage 21. A rubber roll 24 is wound around the outer peripheral surface of the transfer roller 23. The material of the rubber roll 24 is made of rubber or a synthetic resin that does not swell with ink made of a solvent and hardly absorbs or dries the ink made of the solvent. Similarly to the doctor 22, the transfer roller 23 can also be moved up and down in the carriage 21.

  As shown in FIG. 3B, a registration device 35 is detachably provided on the substrate mounting table 13 of the gantry 11. The registration device 35 has a gate shape and has a marker 36 on the upper surface thereof. The marker 36 can be moved on the upper surface of the registration device 35. A camera or a microscope can be attached to the upper surface of the registration device 35. Therefore, when a camera or a microscope is attached to the upper surface of the registration device 35, the marker 36 can be accurately positioned on the upper surface of the registration device 35.

  Next, the operation of the present embodiment having such a configuration will be described.

  First, as shown in FIG. 3A, a flat plate 31 having a register mark forming portion 31 a in addition to a pattern is fixed on the plate mounting table 12. In this case, as shown in FIG. 1, one end of the plate 31 extends to the ink pan 15 and is bent downward on the ink pan 15. On the other hand, a substrate (reference substrate) 33 made of a film or the like and serving as a reference for positioning printing is placed on the substrate mounting table 13 and fixed.

  In this state, the ink supply device 19 is lowered and placed on the plate 31, and a predetermined amount of ink is applied to the plate 31 from the ink supply device 19. Thereafter, the ink supply device 19 is raised and separated from the plate 31.

  Next, the carriage 21 advances to the left in FIG. Since the ink supply device 19 has already been raised as described above, the ink supply device 19 does not hinder the carriage 21 from moving forward. At this time, the traveling speed of the carriage 21 is adjusted to, for example, 50 m / min using a speed changing mechanism. Further, the doctor 22 and the transfer roller 23 in the carriage 21 are disposed at a lowered position.

  As shown in FIG. 2A, when the carriage 21 moves forward on the plate 31, the doctor 22 extends the ink on the plate 31 over the entire area of the plate 31 and moves it to the register mark forming portion 31 a and the pattern portion on the plate 31. The ink is filled and the excess ink on the plate 31 is scraped off. At this time, since one end side of the plate 31 extends to the top of the ink pan 15 and is bent downward on the ink pan 15, the doctor 22 moving forward at a constant height enters the ink pan 15. By the way, it moves away from the plate 31 smoothly, and the tip of the doctor 22 is not chipped or cracked.

  On the other hand, the excess ink that has been scraped to the upper side of the ink pan 15 by the doctor 22 falls on the ink pan 15 by passing over the plate 31 bent downward by its own weight. As described above, when ink is applied to the plate-shaped plate 31 from the ink supply device 19 and the ink is spread over the entire region of the plate 31 by the doctor 22 as in the present invention, the ink supply device 19 applies the roll-shaped plate 31 to the roll-shaped plate 31. Therefore, the amount of ink used can be reduced as compared with the case of supplying ink.

  After the carriage 21 moves forward on the gantry 11 and the doctor 22 supplies ink to the pattern of the plate 31, the transfer roller 23 held behind the doctor 22 in the carriage 21 is placed on a rubber roll 24 wound around the outer surface thereof. Ink is received from the plate 31. Thus, the ink supplied to the plate 31 is received by the rubber roll 24 immediately after that. Therefore, even if a solvent that dissolves the high molecular organic substance is easily dried, a large amount of ink does not dry on the plate 31.

  Thereafter, the carriage 21 passes over the ink pan 15 and moves on the substrate mounting table 13. During this time, the doctor 22 moves away from the plate 31 and then moves up in the carriage 21 by an elevating mechanism 25 provided in the carriage 21. As a result, the doctor 22 does not come into contact with the corners on the gantry 11, and the chipping or cracking of the doctor 22 tip can be prevented.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 2B, the transfer roller 23 held in the carriage 21 transfers the ink received from the plate 31 to the reference substrate 33 when the carriage 21 advances on the substrate mounting table 13. The In this case, the registration mark 33 a corresponding to the registration mark forming portion 31 a of the plate 31 is transferred to the reference substrate 33. The traveling speed of the carriage 21 when moving forward on the substrate platform 13 is adjusted to, for example, 5 m / min using a speed changing mechanism. In this way, while the carriage advances from the right end to the left end of the gantry, ink is supplied to the plate 31, ink is received from the plate 31 to the transfer roller 23, and ink is transferred from the transfer roller 23 to the reference substrate 33. A series of printing processes are completed. Therefore, printing can be performed efficiently, and at the same time, drying of the ink during the printing process can be minimized.

  After the carriage 21 has advanced to the left end in FIG. 1 and the transfer to the reference substrate 33 has been completed, the transfer roller 23 ascends in the carriage 21 as well as the doctor 22. Then, with the doctor 22 and the transfer roller 23 raised in the carriage 21, the carriage 21 moves back to the initial position. At this time, the traveling speed of the carriage 21 is adjusted to, for example, 30 m / min using a speed conversion mechanism.

  As described above, by using the speed conversion mechanism provided on the gantry 11 and appropriately adjusting the forward and backward speeds of the carriage 21 according to the position of the carriage 21, the ink drying amount can be reduced and printing can be efficiently performed. can do.

  Next, the substrate 32 is positioned after the next time using the reference substrate 33 on the substrate mounting table 13. First, as shown in FIG. 3B, the registration device 35 is attached on the gantry 11. As described above, the registration mark 33 a corresponding to the registration mark forming portion 31 a of the plate 31 is printed on the reference substrate 33. Then, the marker 36 on the upper surface of the registration device 35 is aligned with the center of the registration mark 33 a transferred onto the reference substrate 33. At this time, if necessary, a microscope or a camera is attached to the upper surface of the registration device 35, and alignment between the marker 36 and the registration mark 33a is performed with high accuracy.

  After the alignment by the marker 36 of the registration device 35 is completed, the reference substrate 33 is removed from the substrate mounting table 13 and a new substrate 32 provided with a registration mark 32 a in advance is fixed on the substrate mounting table 13. Next, the substrate mounting table 13 is moved using the moving mechanism 14 on the gantry 11, and the position of the substrate 32 is adjusted so that the position of the marker 36 on the upper surface of the registration device 35 and the registration mark 32 a of the substrate 32 coincide with each other. To do. After the positioning of the substrate 32 is completed in this way, the registration device 35 is removed from the gantry 11.

  As in the case of printing on the reference substrate 33, the ink is applied from the ink supply device 19 to the plate 31, and the carriage 21 is advanced on the frame 11, thereby printing the pattern on the plate 31 on the substrate 32. . Since the substrate 32 on the substrate mounting table 13 is accurately positioned with respect to the plate 31 on the plate mounting table 12, it is possible to print a picture with high accuracy using the registration mark 32a on the substrate 32 as a reference. At this time, the examination mark corresponding to the registration mark forming portion 31a of the plate 31 is printed over the registration mark 32a on the substrate 32.

  When a full-color display is manufactured from the substrate 32, it is necessary to print three colors of RGB ink on the substrate 32. In this case, after printing one color ink, the other mechanisms can be printed with high accuracy by shifting the substrate 32 by a certain amount in the width direction using the moving mechanism 14 of the gantry 11 (FIG. 4).

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, while the carriage 21 moves from one end to the other end on the gantry 11, ink is supplied to the plate 31, and ink is received and transferred from the plate 31 to the transfer roller 23. A series of printing steps from the transfer of the ink from the roller 23 to the substrates 32 and 33 is completed. Further, by appropriately adjusting the advance speed of the carriage 21 using the speed changing mechanism, it is possible to quickly print the ink made of the solvent in which the high molecular organic material is dissolved on the substrate 32. Thereby, even if the solvent which is easy to dry is used, the dry amount of ink can be suppressed to a small amount.

  In addition, by using the registration device 35 of the gantry 11 and the moving mechanism 14, it is possible to accurately print the ink made of the solvent in which the polymer organic material is dissolved on the substrate 32.

  Furthermore, by applying ink to the plate-shaped plate 31 from the ink supply device 19 and extending the ink on the plate 31, it dissolves expensive polymer organic matter as compared with the case of supplying ink to the roll-shaped plate 31. The amount of ink made from the solvent used can be reduced.

  Furthermore, the board | substrate 32 can be mounted and printed on the board | substrate mounting base 13 with flat form. For this reason, ink made of a solvent in which a high molecular organic substance is dissolved is printed on a substrate 32 made of a glass plate having rigidity or a substrate 32 on which a transparent electrode whose characteristics are destroyed by bending is formed. be able to.

  Furthermore, since one end side of the plate 31 extends to the top of the ink pan 15 and the flat plate plate 31 is bent downward on the ink pan 15, the tip of the doctor 22 is not chipped at the end portion of the plate 31. In addition, it is possible to reliably recover excess ink.

  In addition, a layer such as a low work function metal or an electrode formed on the substrate 32 of the organic EL display can be printed using this printing machine if it can be converted into an ink.

  In the present embodiment, an example in which the flat plate 31 is a gravure plate and the transfer roller 23 is wound with a rubber roll 24 is shown. However, the present invention is not limited thereto, and the flat plate 31 is an anilox plate 31. As the transfer roller 23, a relief-shaped flexographic plate may be wound.

  In the present embodiment, the forward speed of the carriage 21 on the plate mounting table 12 is 50 m / min, the forward speed of the carriage 21 on the substrate mounting table 13 is 5 m / min, and the backward speed of the carriage 21 is 30 m / min. Although an example of min is shown, the present invention is not limited to this, and the speed may be changed as appropriate using a speed changing mechanism according to the size of the pattern, the type of the pattern, and the required printing accuracy.

The side view which shows one Embodiment of the flat printer for organic electroluminescent light emitting layer formation by this invention. The side view which shows the use condition of one Embodiment of the flat printer for organic electroluminescent light emitting layer formation by this invention. The top view which shows the positioning effect | action of the flat printer for organic electroluminescent light emitting layer formation by this invention. The top view which shows an effect | action at the time of using the ink of 3 colors of the flat stand printing machine for organic EL light emitting layer formation by this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Organic EL light-emitting layer forming flat table printer 11 Base 12 Plate mounting table 13 Substrate mounting table 14 Moving mechanism 15 Ink pan 19 Ink supply device 21 Carriage 22 Doctor 23 Transfer roller 25 Lifting mechanism 31 Plate 31a Register mark forming part 32 Substrate 33 Reference Substrate 33a Registration mark 35 Registration device

Claims (7)

A substrate mounting table for mounting the substrate;
A plate mounting table on which a flat plate is mounted;
A platform for holding the substrate mounting table and the plate mounting table;
An ink supply device for applying ink;
A carriage having a transfer roller and a doctor that scrapes off the ink on the flat plate while running on the frame;
An organic EL light emitting layer forming flatbed printing machine comprising an ink pan for collecting ink scraped off by a doctor between a substrate mounting table on a gantry and a plate mounting table.   The flat plate printing press for forming an organic EL light emitting layer according to claim 1, wherein the flat plate is a gravure plate or an anilox plate.   2. The flat plate printer for forming an organic EL light emitting layer according to claim 1, wherein one end of the flat plate is extended to the top of the ink pan and is bent downward on the ink pan.   2. The flatbed printing press for forming an organic EL light emitting layer according to claim 1, wherein the doctor provided on the carriage can be moved up and down in the carriage.   The flat plate is provided with a register mark forming portion, and a registration device for reading the register mark printed on the substrate by the register mark forming portion and aligning the substrate is provided on the gantry. Item 2. A flatbed printing press for forming an organic EL light emitting layer according to Item 1.   2. A flatbed printing press for forming an organic EL light-emitting layer according to claim 1, wherein a moving mechanism is provided between the substrate mounting table and the gantry to move the substrate mounting table in the horizontal direction to align the substrate. .   3. The flat printing press for forming an organic EL light emitting layer according to claim 2, wherein when an anilox plate is used as the flat plate, a relief-type flexographic plate is used as the transfer roller.

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