TWI667111B - Optical film manufacturing method and manufacturing device - Google Patents

Abstract

A method and a manufacturing apparatus for producing a film sheet (optical film) having a functional portion with high precision can be produced from a long strip film. In the method for producing an optical film of the present invention, the strip-shaped film having two or more in the width direction and two or more in the longitudinal direction is fed in a predetermined length direction. One of the width directions of the strip film is sequentially cut to the other side; when the strip film is cut, the position of the detected portion is detected, and the position of the detected portion is detected as a reference to perform the positioning of the cut line A film sheet having the detected portion to be detected is obtained in one piece.

Description

Optical film manufacturing method and manufacturing device Field of invention

The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for producing an optical film.

Background of the invention

It is known that various types of optical films such as a polarizing film and a retardation film are used in an image display device such as a liquid crystal display device, and the image display device is provided with a desired image by providing such an optical film. Like display features. In the production of an optical film, a long film formed of a predetermined resin material is usually produced, and a film sheet having a predetermined product shape is punched out using a punching device (for example, Patent Document 1).

In order to use the optical film or the like, a functional portion such as a alignment mark may be provided at a specific position on the surface of the optical film. With the high functionality of image display devices in recent years, the functional portion of the optical film is required to be accurately arranged to prevent staggering.

Advanced technical literature Patent literature

Patent Document 1 Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. Hei 11-231129

Summary of invention

The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and a main object of the invention is to provide a method and a manufacturing apparatus for producing a film sheet (optical film) in which a functional portion is disposed with high precision from a long strip film.

The method for producing an optical film according to the present invention comprises: feeding a strip-shaped film having two or more in the width direction and two or more detecting portions in the longitudinal direction, and feeding a pitch in each predetermined length direction from the tape One of the width directions of the film is cut in the other direction; when the strip film is cut, the position of the detected portion is detected, and the position of the detected portion is detected as a reference, and the cutting line is positioned. A film sheet having the detected portion to be detected is obtained one sheet at a time.

In the first embodiment, the position of the detected portion is detected using a camera.

In one embodiment, the one-side end edge in the width direction of the strip-shaped film is detected in the width direction before the strip-shaped film is cut; and the cutting mechanism is taken from the strip when the strip-shaped film is cut out One of the width directions of the film moves to the other side; the direction of movement of the cutting mechanism is determined based on the detected one side end.

According to another layout of the present invention, an apparatus for manufacturing an optical film is provided. The optical film manufacturing apparatus includes: a transport mechanism that transports a strip-shaped film at a predetermined longitudinal direction feeding pitch; a detecting mechanism that detects a detected portion of the strip-shaped film; and a cutting mechanism from a width direction of the strip-shaped film It One of them moves to the other side, and the position of the cut line is determined based on the detected position of the detected portion.

In one embodiment, the detecting means further detects a one-side end in the width direction of the strip-shaped film, and determines a moving direction of the cutting mechanism based on the detected one-side end.

According to the present invention, the position of the detected portion is detected by the functional portion as the detected portion, and the position of the detected portion is detected based on the position of the detected portion, whereby the positional accuracy of the detected portion (functional portion) can be obtained. Optical film.

10‧‧‧film film

11‧‧‧Detected Department (Functional Department)

12‧‧‧Cut line

20‧‧‧cutting mechanism (punching knife)

30‧‧‧Test institutions

40‧‧‧ Track

100‧‧‧Strip film

X, Y‧‧ direction

[Fig. 1] (a), (a'), and (b) to (d) are schematic views showing a method of producing an optical film according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[Fig. 2] (a) to (c) are schematic plan views for explaining an example of an arrangement pattern of a detected portion according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Form for implementing the invention

Figs. 1(a), (a') and (b) to (d) are schematic views showing a method of producing an optical film according to an embodiment of the present invention. In the manufacturing method of the present invention, the strip-shaped film 100 having two or more in the width direction and two or more of the detected portions 11 in the longitudinal direction is fed in a predetermined length direction from the strip shape. One of the width directions of the film 100 is cut in order from the other side; when the strip film 100 is cut, the position of the detected portion 11 is detected (Fig. 1 (a)), and the position of the detected portion 11 is detected as Benchmark The position of the cut line (Fig. 1 (b)) is obtained, and the film sheet 10 having the detected portion 11 to be detected is obtained one by one.

Therefore, the optical film manufacturing apparatus using the optical film manufacturing method of the present invention includes: a transport mechanism that transports a strip-shaped film at a predetermined longitudinal direction feed pitch (hereinafter, simply referred to as a feed pitch); and a detecting mechanism that detects the The strip film has the detected portion; the cutting mechanism. Preferably, the cutting mechanism moves from one of the width directions of the strip-shaped film to the other, and the positioning of the cutting line is performed based on the detected position of the detected portion. Fig. 1 (a') is a schematic cross-sectional view showing an example of a detecting mechanism and a cutting mechanism. In this example, a rectangular cutting knife (for example, a Thomson knife) is used as the cutting mechanism 20. In addition, a camera is used as the detecting mechanism 30. In the first embodiment, the detecting mechanism 30 and the cutting mechanism 20 are integrally formed as shown in the example, and are provided so as to be movable along the rail 40. In another embodiment, the detecting mechanism and the cutting mechanism are separately provided. The detecting mechanism is fixed in such a manner that the detected portion can be detected in a predetermined area of the strip film, and the cutting mechanism is movably disposed.

In the manufacturing method of the present invention, the strip-shaped film 100 having two or more detected portions 11 in the width direction and two or more detected portions 11 in the longitudinal direction is used for each feed pitch. One of the width directions of the strip-shaped film 100 is cut toward the other side (the example shown in Fig. 1 is from the left side to the right side of the paper sheet), and the film sheet 10 having the detected portion 11 is obtained one by one. Incidentally, although the present specification makes the longitudinal direction correspond to the direction of the conveyance direction Y of the strip-shaped film, it is not limited to the case of being parallel to the conveyance direction Y, but means that the conveyance direction Y is more than -45° less than the reference. 45° direction. In addition, the width direction means a direction of -45 to 45 degrees with respect to the direction X orthogonal to the conveyance direction Y.

The above strip film is, for example, a long optical film having an optical axis. The film sheet obtained by the present invention is suitably used as an optical film product for use in an image display device, for example. The optical film having an optical axis specifically includes a retardation film, a polarizing film, and the like.

In the film sheet 10, the detected portion 11 is a portion (functional portion) that exhibits a predetermined function. In other words, in the present invention, the function portion is used as the detected portion, and the cut line is determined based on the function portion. According to the present invention, since the cutting position is determined when the position of the detected portion is detected, a film sheet having a high positional accuracy of the detected portion (functional portion) can be obtained. Further, even in the case where the interval between the portions to be detected on the strip-shaped film is uneven, or in the case where the strip-shaped film is meandered, a film sheet having a positional accuracy of the detected portion can be obtained. On the other hand, the conventional method of cutting a plurality of film sheets at the same time cannot adjust the cutting position in response to the difference in the interval between the functional portions, the state of the strip-shaped film such as the meandering of the strip film, and the positional accuracy of the detected portion cannot be obtained. Good film film. The detected portion (functional portion) is, for example, a non-polarizing portion of a polarizing element having a non-polarizing portion (that is, a portion exposing a function of allowing all of the polarizing components to penetrate). Another example of the detected portion (function portion) is a correction mark or the like.

The detected portion 11 is a portion that can be distinguished from a portion other than the detected portion 11 of the strip-shaped film 100. The detected portion 11 is preferably different in appearance from portions other than the detected portion 11. In the first embodiment, the detected portion 11 is a portion having a light transmittance different from that of the detected portion. In addition, in other implementations In the state, the detected portion 11 has a hue and/or a darkness different from the portion other than the detected portion. Incidentally, in FIG. 1, the difference in appearance is not shown for the sake of easy viewing, and instead, the shape of the detected portion 11 is displayed in a solid line.

Fig. 2 (a) is a schematic plan view showing an example of the arrangement pattern of the detected portion 11 of the strip-shaped film 100, and Fig. 2 (b) is a schematic plan view showing an example of the arrangement pattern of the detected portion 11, and Fig. 2 (Fig. 2 (Fig. 2) c) is a schematic plan view illustrating another example of the arrangement pattern of the detected portion 11. The detected portion 11 can be arbitrarily arranged in accordance with the use of the film sheet or the like. The detected portion 11 is preferably arranged on the straight line in the width direction (Fig. 2(a)). Further, the direction in which the detected portions 11 are arranged with respect to the end sides in the width direction of the strip-shaped film 100 may be any appropriate angle. That is, the direction in which the detected portions are arranged may be orthogonal to the direction of the edge in the width direction of the strip film 100 (Fig. 2(a)), or may be non-orthogonal (Fig. 2(b)). Further, the distance between the detected portions 11 may be the same in the width direction and the longitudinal direction (Fig. 2(a)), or may be different (Fig. 2(c)). According to the present invention, it is possible to obtain a film sheet having a high precision position of the detected portion in accordance with the arrangement pattern of each of the various detected portions. Further, even if it is an irregular arrangement pattern as shown in Fig. 2(c), a film sheet having a positional accuracy of the detected portion can be obtained.

When the strip-shaped film 100 is cut out, the position of the detected portion 11 is detected as shown in Fig. 1(a), and then the position of the detected portion 11 is detected based on the position of the detected portion 11 as shown in Fig. 1(b). The positioning of the cut line 12 is performed. More specifically, the positioning of the cut line 12 may be based on the detected position of the detected portion 11 and control the position of a specific portion of the shape specified by the cut line 12. The orientation of the planar shape defined by the line 12 is cut and drawn. Regarding a specific portion of the shape defined by the cutting line 12, it may be any portion of the shape, for example, a center of gravity, a vertex, a point on the side, or the like of the shape. After the positioning of the cutting line 12 is performed, the strip-shaped film 100 is cut out, and the film sheet 10 having the detected portion 11 to be detected is obtained one by one. The shape of the film sheet 10 is defined by the cut line 12. The shape of the film sheet 10 may be any suitable shape. For example, it is a rectangle, a square, a polygon, a circle, an ellipse, or the like.

In the first embodiment, the position of the detected portion 11 is detected using a camera.

Regarding the cutting mechanism at the time of cutting the strip-shaped film 100, any suitable cutting mechanism can be employed. In the first embodiment, as shown in Fig. 1, the punching blade 20 corresponding to the shape of the film sheet 10 is used, and the strip-shaped film 100 is cut out. For example, when a Thomson knife-like punching blade 20 is used as the cutting mechanism, the positioning of the cutting line 12 is to detect the position of the detected portion 11, and to detect the position of the detecting portion 11 as a reference to control the punching. The position of a specific portion of the planar shape defined by the blade 20 (for example, the center of gravity, the apex of the shape, a point on the side, etc.) and the orientation of the planar shape defined by the punching blade 20 (that is, relative to the conveying direction Y, relative to The angle of the direction X in which the conveying direction is orthogonal). After the positioning of the cutting line 12 is performed, the punching blade 20 is moved upward or downward toward the strip-shaped film 100, and the strip-shaped film 100 is punched to obtain the film sheet 10.

Regarding the other example of the above-described cutting mechanism, it is conventionally performed by laser light irradiation, cutting by a drill, and cutting by a drill. Work, trimming machine processing, waterjet processing, etc.

In the first embodiment, when the strip-shaped film 100 is cut in the width direction, the cutting mechanism 20 is moved from one of the width directions of the strip-shaped film 100 to the other. By the above operation, after one film piece is punched out, the cutting mechanism is moved in the width direction, and the next film piece is cut by the same operation as the above operation (Figs. 1 (b) to (d)). The movement of the cutting mechanism 20 is preferably a linear movement. The moving direction of the cutting mechanism 20 can be set to an arbitrary appropriate direction in accordance with the arrangement of the detecting unit 11. The moving direction of the cutting mechanism 20 is preferably 90° ± 45° with respect to the direction of the one-side end of the width direction of the strip film 100, more preferably 90° ± 30°, still more preferably 90° ± 15°.

In the first embodiment, before the strip-shaped film 100 is cut in the width direction, the one-side end of the strip-shaped film 100 in the width direction is detected to detect the one-side end (more specifically, the one-side end). The direction of the cutting mechanism 20 is determined based on the direction. The direction of movement of the cutting mechanism is determined based on the end of the strip-shaped film in the width direction, and even when the strip-shaped film is meandered, a film sheet having a positional accuracy of the detected portion (that is, a functional portion) can be obtained.

As for the detection of the one-side end of the strip-shaped film 100 in the width direction, a detecting means for detecting the detected portion 11 or another detecting means different from the detecting means for detecting the detected portion 11 may be used. That is, the manufacturing apparatus of the present invention may include one or more detection mechanisms.

After the strip film 100 is cut in one of the width directions, the strip film 100 is subjected to a predetermined feed pitch, and the next The column performs a cut operation in one of the width directions. The slitting operation in one of the width directions and the conveyance of the pitch of the strip-shaped film 100 after the operation are performed as one cycle, and by repeating the predetermined number of times, a plurality of film sheets can be obtained from the long strip-shaped film 100. 10. The feed pitch can be set in accordance with the interval in the longitudinal direction of the detecting portion 11. For example, when the arrangement of the detected portions in the longitudinal direction is parallel to the conveyance direction Y, the feed pitch is preferably the same length as the longitudinal direction of the detected portion 11.

In the first embodiment, the strip-shaped film is a long-length polarizing element which is long and has a non-polarizing portion which is disposed at a predetermined interval in the longitudinal direction and the width direction. In the long polarizing element, a portion other than the non-polarizing portion (hereinafter referred to as a polarizing portion) penetrates the specific polarized light, and the non-polarizing portion penetrates all of the polarizing components. Such a long polarizing element is suitable for use as a material of an image display device having a camera portion. More specifically, the polarizing element cut out from the long polarizing element having the non-polarizing portion is used, and the position of the non-polarizing portion is aligned with the position of the camera portion to constitute an image display device, whereby camera performance can be obtained. An image display device that is excellent and can be multifunctional and highly functional. According to the manufacturing method of the present invention, the long polarizing element having the non-polarizing portion is cut out, and the position of the non-polarizing portion can be accurately set in alignment with the position of the camera portion of the image display device. Further, generally, the absorption axis of the polarizing portion of the long polarizing element is formed in a direction parallel to the end in the width direction or a direction orthogonal to the end in the width direction, and therefore, the non-polarizing portion can be appropriately disposed (for example) In other words, as shown in FIG. 2(b), the moving direction of the cutting mechanism relative to the conveying direction of the long polarizing element is adjusted, and the cut polarizing element is precisely controlled. Absorb the direction of the axis. In addition, the direction deviation of the absorption axes of the respective polarizing elements can be remarkably suppressed.

In the first embodiment, the non-polarizing portion is a decolorizing portion formed by decolorizing a predetermined portion of the polarizing element intermediate portion. The bleaching portion can be formed by, for example, laser irradiation or chemical treatment such as acid treatment, alkali treatment, or a combination thereof. In another embodiment, the non-polarizing portion is a through hole (typically a through hole through which the polarizing element penetrates in the thickness direction). The through holes may be formed by, for example, mechanical punching (for example, punching, engraving knife punching, computer drawing, water jetting) or removal of a predetermined portion of the polarizing element intermediate (for example, laser ablation or chemical dissolution).

The non-polarizing portion can be visually distinguished from a portion other than the non-polarizing portion based on the color tone and/or the light transmittance, and can be detected by the detecting means. Therefore, in the manufacturing method of the present invention, the non-polarizing portion functions as the above-described detected portion 11.

Industrial utilization

The production method of the present invention is suitably used when producing an optical film such as a retardation film or a polarizing element film. In particular, it is suitable for use in manufacturing a polarizing element provided in a camera-attached image display device (liquid crystal display device, organic EL device) such as a mobile phone such as a smart phone.

Claims (5)

A method for producing an optical film comprising: feeding a strip-shaped film having two or more in the width direction and two or more detected portions in a longitudinal direction, and feeding a pitch in each predetermined length direction from the strip shape One of the width directions of the film is sequentially cut to the other side; when the strip film is cut, the position of the detected portion is detected, and the position of the detected portion is detected as a reference to perform the positioning of the cut line. A film sheet having the detected portion to be detected is obtained in one piece, and the strip film is a long polarizing element, and the detected portion is a non-polarizing portion. A method of producing an optical film according to claim 1, wherein a camera is used to detect the position of the detected portion. The method for producing an optical film according to claim 1 or 2, comprising: detecting a one-side end edge in a width direction of the strip-shaped film before cutting the strip-shaped film in a width direction; and cutting the strip-shaped film The cutting mechanism is moved from one of the width directions of the strip film to the other; and the moving direction of the cutting mechanism is determined based on the detected one side end. An apparatus for manufacturing an optical film, comprising: a transport mechanism for transporting a strip-shaped film at a feed pitch in a predetermined length direction; The detecting means detects the detected portion of the strip-shaped film; the cutting mechanism moves from one of the width directions of the strip-shaped film to the other, and cuts the line based on the detected position of the detected portion The strip film is a long polarizing element, and the detected portion is a non-polarizing portion. The apparatus for manufacturing an optical film according to claim 4, wherein the detecting means further detects a one-side end edge in a width direction of the strip-shaped film, and determines a moving direction of the cutting mechanism based on the detected one-side end side.