JPS6249169B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a method for attaching film sheets cut from a continuous photosensitive dry film to a panel and a laminator for use therein.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Laminators for cutting continuous photosensitive dry film into sheets and press-bonding them onto panels such as glass-epoxy copper-clad laminates have been known in the art. A conventional method in which a continuous film is sequentially crimped onto multiple panels transported by a transport device such as a roller conveyor to form a connected panel, and the films are then cut to separate the panels. This process not only requires time and effort such as finishing work, but also causes waste of expensive film. In order to solve this problem, an improved laminator has been proposed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 14876/1983. In this laminator, a tacking member operates to tack the leading edge of a continuous film to the front end of a panel being conveyed by a belt conveyor, and then a pair of crimping members are used to attach the film to the panel. Once the panel and the temporarily attached film have passed between the rolls for a predetermined length, the operation of the pressure roll and belt conveyor is stopped. After stopping, the cutter cuts the continuous film into sheets of predetermined length, and the crimp roll is turned on again to deposit the remainder of the film onto the panel. Therefore, the film is attached in a state where it is cut into sheets of a size corresponding to each panel, so there is no need to cut the film during finishing work, and no film is wasted.

However, in this improved laminator, the crimping roll is temporarily stopped on the panel during the film crimping process, and then restarted after cutting the film to complete the crimping process.
Regarding the state of film adhesion on the panel, a band-shaped heterogeneous portion is formed only at the location where the pressure roll stops.
Therefore, uniform high quality cannot be obtained in each individual panel.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a film adhesion method and a laminator for use in the method, which can provide uniform high quality on each individual panel without requiring the labor of finishing work or wasting expensive film. .

In order to achieve the above object, according to the first invention of the present application, the step of transporting a panel to a continuous film tacking station of a laminator, and the step of conveying a panel to a continuous film tacking station of a laminator; a step of tacking the leading edge of the film; a step of continuously attaching the continuous film to the tacking panel; and a step of cutting the continuous film to correspond to the length of the panel to form a film sheet. forming a continuous film, the cutting of the continuous film comprising:
In the step of continuously applying the film to the panel, the application is performed by running a cutter along the length of the film at a speed substantially equal to the longitudinal travel speed of the film before application. A method for applying a film sheet to a panel is provided, characterized in that it is carried out with said cutter without interruption.

Further, in order to achieve the above object, according to a second invention of the present application, in a laminator for attaching a film sheet cut from a continuous photosensitive dry film to a panel, the laminator body includes a conveying device for conveying the panel, and a continuous film tacking station positioned in a conveying path of the conveying device and to which the continuous film is supplied; , a block member attached to the support member so as to be able to approach and move away from the continuous film tacking station in a direction along the direction in which the continuous film is supplied to the tacking station; a tacking member for tacking the leading end of the continuous film to the front end of the panel, the tacking member being attached to the block member so as to be movable toward and away from the panel in the station; a pair of upper and lower pressure rolls for attaching the continuous film temporarily attached to the front end to the panel;
a cutter attached to the block member for cutting the continuous film being attached to the panel by the pressure roll to form the film sheet, the block member cutting the continuous film before being attached to the panel; A laminator is provided that is movable relative to the continuous film tacking station at a speed substantially equal to the rate at which films are fed to the tacking station.

Furthermore, in order to similarly achieve the above object, according to a third invention of the present application, a laminator for attaching a film sheet cut from a continuous photosensitive dry film to a panel includes a laminator main body, and a front and rear part of the laminator main body. a conveying device for conveying the panel; further, the laminator main body is a tacking member for tacking the leading end of the continuous film to the front end of the panel; a tacking member that is movable toward and away from the panel in a continuous film tacking station of the laminator, which is positioned in the continuous film tacking station to which the continuous film is supplied; a pair of upper and lower pressure rolls for adhering the continuous film to the panel; and a cutter for cutting the continuous film attached to the panel by the pressure roll to form the film sheet. , the cutter is movable at a speed substantially equal to the longitudinal travel speed of the continuous film before deposition.

The laminator described in the above-mentioned Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 52-14876 has a laminator that cuts a continuous film that is attached to the middle of a panel into sheets.
Previously, the crimping roll had to be stopped once on the panel, but according to the present invention, the running film can be cut horizontally to the correct size without interrupting the film adhesion work by the crimping roll. Therefore, non-uniformity of the film adhesion surface caused by the stoppage of the pressure roll is eliminated.

In the present invention, "adhesion" includes various forms of adhesion such as thermocompression bonding, compression bonding without using heat, and bonding using an adhesive. Also "panel"
are made of glass-epoxy copper-clad laminates, steel sheets, and other materials depending on the application.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, which illustrate preferred embodiments of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 1, the laminator according to the present invention includes a laminator main body 1, an entrance roller conveyor 3 and an exit roller conveyor 4, which serve as conveying devices for conveying panels 2 before and after the main body 1. I'm here. Since the film is normally required to be attached to both the upper and lower surfaces of the panel 2, the laminator main body 1 has a structure that is vertically symmetrical with respect to the transport path of the panel 2. Therefore, in the following description, only one (upper) structure will be described in detail.

The detailed structure of the laminator main body 1 is shown in FIGS. 2 to 5. The laminator main body 1 is
It has side plate-like support members 5 (only one is shown) on both sides. Between the support members 5 on both sides, a film supply roll 7 on which a continuous film 6 is wound;
A winding roll 9 is mounted for winding up the protective film 8 covering the film 6 when the film is supplied. Guide rail 1 fixed to each support member 5
0, a plate-shaped block member 11 is attached so as to be slidable up and down. Each block member 1
1 is a chain wheel 12 provided on each support member 5;
It is connected via a coupling member 14 to a chain 13 stretched around the . Therefore, by driving the chain 13, each block member 11 is positioned in the conveyance path between the inlet roller conveyor 3 and the outlet roller conveyor 4, and the continuous film temporary where the film 6 is supplied is positioned. It can move towards and away from the attachment station 15 along the longitudinal direction of the film 6. A cam groove 16 is provided in the lower part of each block member 11, and a temporary attachment member 17 is attached laterally so as to be movable along the cam groove 16. The temporary attachment member 17 is connected at both ends to a piston cylinder mechanism 18 attached to each block member 11, and is driven by the piston cylinder mechanism 18. Furthermore, racks 19 are formed at both ends of the temporary attachment member 17 so as to extend upwardly, and the racks 19 have two ends connected to each other by a pinion shaft 20 supported between the block members 11 on both sides. They are respectively engaged with pinions 21. Therefore, the pinion cylinder mechanism 18 on both sides
By simultaneously operating the temporary attachment member 17
can be moved up and down equally left and right by the synchronized action of a pair of pinion rack mechanisms on both sides of the pinion shaft 20. Further, the pinion shaft 20 serves as a pivot when the temporary attachment member 17 moves along the cam mechanisms 16 on both sides. In this way, the temporary attachment member 1
7 is due to the operation of the pinion cylinder mechanism 18,
It can move toward and away from the panel 2 that has been conveyed to the web tacking station 15.

The tacking member 17 has the role of guiding the continuous film, and performs tacking work while adsorbing the film as will be described later. Therefore, a plurality of rows of vacuum suction holes 22 are provided on the suction guide surface of the tacking member 17 along the width direction of the film. Each hole 22 communicates with a vacuum generator (not shown). Each hole 22 is controlled by a valve so that it can be selectively operated for each row, and the valve is opened or closed depending on the width of the film to be applied.

A bracket 23 is provided at the bottom of each block member 11.
A cutter 27 held by a cutter holder 26 is mounted on a guide bar 24 and a rack 25 extending between the brackets 23 on both sides. The cutter 27 has the shape of a rotating round blade, and is rotated by a single motor attached to the cutter holder 26. Tore to tore to cutter 27
When the pinion attached to the motor rotates and engages with the rack 25, the cutter holder 26 moves along the guide bar 24 in the width direction of the continuous film, thereby cutting the continuous film. Note that a separate motor may be used to move the cutter 27 laterally. When cutting the film, the cutter 27 moves along a lateral groove 29 provided in a cutter guide 28 whose ends are fixedly supported by the lower ends of each block member 11.

Similar to the temporary attachment member 17, the film guide surface of the cutter guide 28 is also provided with holes 28' for vacuum suction along the film width direction, and each hole can be operated selectively according to the film width. Valve controlled. It is also possible to use a piston-cylinder mechanism instead of a motor as the driving means, and to rotate the cutter 27 and move it laterally using a pinion rack mechanism.

A pair of pressure rolls 30 for pressure-bonding the film to the panel 2 are provided above and below the conveyance path of the panel 2. At least one of the pair of pressure rolls 30, for example, the upper pressure roll 30,
As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, it is rotatably supported at the lower end of a slide base 32 that is engaged with piston cylinder mechanisms 31 provided on the left and right support members 5, respectively. Due to the operation of the piston cylinder mechanism 31, the slide base 32 slides up and down along a guide 33 attached to the support member 5.
The upper pressure roll 30 moves up and down depending on the thickness of the panel 2. Each slide base 32 has an opening 34.
A rack 3 is provided on the side edge of the opening 34.
5 is formed. Pinion 3 for rack 35
6 is engaged, and the pinions 36 on both the left and right sides are
They are connected to each other by a pinion shaft 37 that extends laterally through the support member 5. Therefore, the upper pressure bonding roll 30 is moved up and down equally on the left and right sides, so that a uniform pressure is always applied to the panel 2. Further, as shown in FIG. 7, the engagement point between the rack 35 and the pinion 36 is located within a plane defined by the central axis of each pressure roll 30,
The slide base 32 is prevented from tilting.

As shown in FIGS. 2 to 5, a film guide 38 for guiding the film extends in the lateral direction at a position adjacent to the front of the pressure roll 30. As shown in FIGS.
Similar to the temporary attachment member 17 and the cutter guide 28, the guide surface of the film guide 38 also has holes 3 for vacuum suction.
9 are provided in multiple rows along the width direction of the film,
Valves are controlled so that each row can be operated selectively.

The laminator according to the invention operates as follows.

The panel 2, which has been preheated by a heater to improve thermocompression adhesion, is conveyed to the laminator main body 1 by the entrance roller conveyor 3. When the sensor 40a detects the tip of the panel 2, the signal causes the drive roller 41a to 41g transports the panel 2 until its front end is in the position of the continuous film tacking station 15, where it is deactivated. However, among the sensors 40b to 40f, if there is a sensor 40c that does not detect the panel in the middle, as shown in FIG.
Only the drive rollers 41a and 41b on the downstream side of c stop, and the drive rollers 41c to 41 on the upstream side stop.
g remains driven. The succeeding panel 2' is therefore transported even while the preceding panel 2 is at rest. When the sensor 40c detects the tip of the panel 2', the drive rollers 41c to 41g are also stopped to avoid collision between the panels. By operating the drive rollers individually in this way and shortening the distance between the stopped preceding panel and the following panel, waiting time can be greatly reduced. Therefore, it is particularly effective in improving productivity when the length of panels to be processed is not constant.

When the panel 2 is stopped with its front end positioned on the continuous film tacking station 15, the fifth
The tacking member 17, which was in the position shown in the figure, is moved in a direction approaching the panel 2 by the operation of the piston cylinder device 18 while adsorbing the continuous film 6, and presses the leading end of the film 6 against the front end of the panel 2. (See Figure 3). During this temporary attachment, the hole 28' of the cutter guide 28 and the hole 39 of the film guide 38 are all kept inactive.

After the temporary attachment is completed, the temporary attachment member 17 is returned to the original retracted position. At the same time, the chain 13 is driven and the entire block member 11 is moved away from the continuous film tacking station 15 (see FIG. 4). Next, drive rollers 41a to 41
g is activated, and the continuous film 6 begins to be thermocompressed onto the panel 2 by the pressure roll 30.

The film crimping work progresses as the panel 2 is transported, and when the sensor 40a detects the rear end of the panel 2, the chain 13 is driven by the signal, and the entire block member 11 is brought close to the continuous film tacking station 15, and at the same time The cutter 27 rotates and moves in the width direction of the film 6 to cut the film. At this time, block member 1
The moving speed of the film 6 is made to be substantially equal to the traveling speed of the film 6 before attachment. cutter 27
Since it is attached to the block member 11, it moves toward the continuous film tacking station 15 together with the block member. Therefore,
During this close movement, there is no substantial relative speed between the tacking 6 before adhesion and the cutter 27 in the film running direction, and if the cutter 27 is moved in the lateral direction, that is, in the film width direction, the continuous film 6 can be removed. It is cut horizontally into rectangular film sheets. The cutting position of the film 6 and thus the length of the film sheet corresponds to the point in time when the blocking member 11 starts its approaching movement. By controlling and processing the signal of the sensor 40a so that the block member 11 starts moving toward the panel 2 after a certain period of time from when the sensor 40a senses the rear end of the panel 2 and issues a signal, the length of the film sheet can be adjusted to the length of the panel 2. If you match the length of the film, you can use the film without wasting it. The cutter 27 only needs to complete the cutting operation while the block member 11 is moving toward the block member 11, and the cutting speed can be set arbitrarily.

During the film cutting operation, the film crimping operation by the crimping roll 30 continues without interruption, and after cutting the film, the film sheet is completely crimped onto the panel 2, and the tacking member 17 is used to attach the continuous film to the subsequent panel 2'. In preparation for the tacking operation, the leading edge of the continuous film is held by suction (see Fig. 5). The same operation is then repeated for subsequent panels.

The tacking position and cutting position of the film must be strictly controlled in relation to the conveyance of the panel by the entrance roller conveyor 3. Therefore, a rotary encoder 42 that receives signals from sensors attached to each drive roller may be used.

As described above, according to the present invention, since the film sheet is attached to each panel while being cut according to its length, there is no need for finishing work or waste of expensive film. Also,
Since the pressure roll is not stopped on the panel during film compression, uniform high quality can be obtained for each panel.

In the present invention, the cutter may be any known cutting tool other than a rotary round blade. Further, other known drive means may be used instead of the piston cylinder mechanism or chain mechanism.

For example, as a mechanism for moving the block member 11 toward and away from the continuous film tacking station 15 of the laminator, in addition to the chain mechanism in the above-described embodiment, a rack and a mechanism as shown in FIG. 8 or 9 can be used. A mechanism using a pinion can also be used. In the mechanism shown in FIG. 8, the pinion 4 attached to the fixed support member
3 is rotated by the motor through the clutch and brake system, the blocking members 11, 11' with racks 44, 44' at their ends which engage the pinion 43 are moved against the continuous film tacking station 15. You can move towards or away from the target. Sprocket 45 attached to fixed support member
The shaft 46 is rotationally driven by a chain 47. Since the shaft 46 is connected to a sprocket of a similar rack and pinion mechanism on the opposite side, the opposite block members also have a synchronous movement towards and away from each other. The mechanism shown in Figure 9 consists of two pinions 4 attached to a fixed support member.
8, 48', the block member 1 is provided with respective engaging racks 49, 49' at its ends.
1 and 11' are moved toward and away from each other. Pinion 48' is rotated by a motor through a clutch and brake system, causing pinion 48 to rotate through chain 50. Since the shaft 51 of the pinion 48 is connected to a pinion of a similar rack and pinion mechanism on the opposite side,
The block member on the opposite side also performs a synchronous movement toward and away from the block member.

Further, the piston cylinder mechanism 18 for moving the temporary attachment member 17 may be provided in a pair on both sides as in the above-described embodiment, or may be provided in only one on one side or in the center.

When attaching film to both sides of a panel, each member of the laminator body is installed in pairs vertically symmetrically with respect to the panel conveyance path, but when attaching film to only one side of the panel, it can be installed on either side. .

Further, the laminator main body may be configured so that the entire laminator main body can be pulled out laterally using a slide rail, which is convenient for maintenance.

The vacuum suction holes provided in the tacking member, cutter guide, and film guide may be operated by separate vacuum generators, but preferably all the holes are operated by a single vacuum generator. It is assumed that the device is connected to a device (for example, a vacuum pump). Vacuum suction holes in each of the tacking member, cutter guide, and film guide are communicated with branch pipes in one or more rows along the film width direction, and each branch pipe has an opening/closing hole. A valve is provided. In addition, each branch pipe is combined into one main pipe for each member of the temporary attachment member, cutter guide, and film guide,
Each of the main pipes is also provided with an on-off valve. During film tacking, the on-off valves of these main conduits communicating with the cutter guide and the film guide are closed so that vacuum suction is performed only on the tacking member. Each main line can be connected directly or combined into one main line to a single vacuum generator.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a schematic side view showing an embodiment of a laminator according to the present invention. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the structure of the laminator main body in one embodiment of the laminator according to the present invention, with some parts omitted. 3 to 5 are schematic side views for explaining the operation of an embodiment of the laminator according to the present invention, with some parts omitted. 6 and 7 are a front view and a side view showing a pressure roll portion in an embodiment of the laminator according to the present invention. FIGS. 8 and 9 are schematic side views showing modified examples of the block member driving system, respectively. 1: Laminator body, 2, 2': Panel, 3:
Entrance side roller conveyor (conveyance device), 4: Exit side roller conveyor (conveyance device), 5: Support member,
6: Film, 11: Block member, 12: Chain wheel (chain mechanism), 13: Chain (chain mechanism), 15: Continuous film temporary attachment station, 17: Temporary attachment member, 18: Piston cylinder mechanism, 19: Rack, 20: Pinion shaft, 2
1: pinion, 22: hole, 27: cutter, 3
0: Pressure roll, 35: Rack, 36: Pinion, 37: Pinion shaft.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A step of transporting the panel to a continuous film tacking station of a laminator, and a step of tacking the leading end of a continuous photosensitive dry film to the front end of the panel at the continuous film tacking station. The method includes the steps of continuously attaching the continuous film to the tack-attached panel, and cutting the continuous film to correspond to the length of the panel to form a film sheet. , the cutting of the continuous film is performed by moving the cutter along the longitudinal direction of the film at a speed substantially equal to the longitudinal running speed of the film before application, in the step of successively applying the film to the panel. A method for attaching a film sheet to a panel, characterized in that the cutter performs the attachment while traveling along the direction without interrupting the attachment. 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the cutter cuts the continuous film by moving in the width direction of the film. 3 In a laminator for attaching a film sheet cut from a continuous photosensitive dry film to a panel, a laminator body, a conveying device for conveying the panel before and after the laminator body, and a conveying path of the conveying device a continuous film tacking station positioned at and to which the continuous film is supplied; a block member attached to the support member so as to be movable toward and away from the panel in the continuous film tacking station; and a block member attached to the block member so as to be movable toward and away from the panel in the continuous film tacking station. a tacking member for temporarily attaching the leading end of the continuous film to the front end of the panel; and a top and bottom member for attaching the continuous film, whose leading end is tacking to the front end of the panel, to the panel. a pair of crimping rolls; and a cutter attached to the block member for cutting the continuous film adhered to the panel by the crimping rolls to form the film sheet; . A laminator, wherein the laminator is movable in close proximity to the continuous film tacking station at a speed substantially equal to the speed at which the continuous film is fed to the tacking station before being attached. 4. A patent claim characterized in that the cutter has a rotating round blade, and the rotating round blade is rotated and moved in the width direction of the continuous film by a single drive motor. range 3rd
The laminator described in section. 5. The temporary attachment member is attached to the block member via a piston cylinder mechanism and a pair of racks and pinions provided on both sides,
5. The laminator according to claim 3, wherein the pair of pinions are connected to each other by a common pinion shaft. 6. The laminator according to any one of claims 3 to 5, wherein the block member is attached to the support member via a chain mechanism. 7 At least one of the pair of pressure rolls is
It is attached to the support member via a pair of racks and pinions provided on both sides and a pair of piston cylinder mechanisms also provided on both sides, and the pair of pinions are connected to each other by a common pinion shaft. A laminator according to any one of claims 3 to 6, characterized in that: 8. The tacking member is capable of guiding the continuous film while adsorbing it, and has a plurality of rows of vacuum suction holes along the width direction of the continuous film on the surface that adsorbs and guides the continuous film, 8. The laminator according to claim 3, wherein the holes are selectively operable for each row depending on the width of the continuous film. 9. The conveyance device has an entrance-side roller conveyor and an exit-side roller conveyor of the laminator main body, and each roller of the entrance-side roller conveyor is individually operable. The laminator according to any one of the ranges 3 to 8. 10. The laminator according to any one of claims 3 to 9, characterized in that the laminator main body can be pulled out in the lateral direction as a whole. 11. A laminator for attaching a film sheet cut from a continuous photosensitive dry film to a panel, including a laminator main body, and a transport device for transporting the panel before and after the laminator main body, further comprising: , a temporary attachment member for temporarily attaching the leading end of the continuous film to the front end of the panel, the continuous film of the laminator being positioned in the conveyance path of the conveyance device and to which the continuous film is supplied; a tacking member that can approach and move away from the panel in a tacking station;
a pair of upper and lower crimping rolls for adhering the continuous film, the tip of which is temporarily attached to the front end of the panel, to the panel; and a pair of upper and lower crimping rolls for cutting the continuous film while it is being attached to the panel by the crimping rolls. a cutter for forming the film sheet, the cutter being movable at a speed substantially equal to the longitudinal travel speed of the continuous film before deposition.