Fully automated high-throughput preparation device for flexible and printed electronic inks and devices

Abstract

The present invention belongs to the fields of mechanical automation, advanced material creation and emerging electronic technology, and relates to a fully automatic high-throughput preparation device for flexible and printed electronic ink and devices, including a first operating platform, a second operating platform and a third operating platform; the first operating platform is provided with a raw material placement area and a first material transfer device; the second operating platform is provided with a second material transfer device, a raw material input device, an electronic ink reaction device, and a storage device; the third operating platform is provided with a third material transfer device, an electronic ink printer, and a fully automatic high-throughput preparation device for mechanical arm devices. The present invention realizes high-throughput preparation of flexible and printed electronic functional inks, and realizes high-precision control of ink printing; realizes intelligent assembly of devices in 3D space, establishes a high-performance and high-precision cross-scale manufacturing method, provides devices for flexible and printed electronics from "ink sample preparation" to "device batch manufacturing", and opens up the automation and digitization of the entire process of flexible electronic product production.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention belongs to the fields of mechanical automation, advanced material creation and emerging electronic technology, and relates to a fully automatic high-throughput preparation device for flexible and printed electronic ink and devices. Background Art

[0002] Printed circuit boards (PCBs) are an indispensable part of integrated circuits, but their process is complicated and produces a lot of pollution. Flexible and printed electronics technology is a new integrated circuit preparation technology that breaks the traditional manufacturing process.

[0003] Flexible and printed electronics can be summarized as emerging electronic technologies that make electronic devices made of organic / inorganic materials on flexible / ductile plastic or thin metal substrates. With its unique flexibility / ductility and efficient, low-cost manufacturing process, it has broad application prospects in the fields of information, energy, medical care, and national defense, such as flexible and printed electronic displays, organic light-emitting diodes OLED, printed RFID, thin-film solar panels, and electronic surface patches (Skin Patches). Like traditional IC technology, manufacturing processes and equipment are also the main driving force for the development of flexible and printed electronic technology. The technical level indicators of flexible and printed electronics manufacturing include chip feature size and substrate area size. The key is how to manufacture flexible and printed electronic devices with smaller feature sizes on larger substrates at a lower cost.

[0004] Currently, there is no solution for fully automated high-throughput production equipment for flexible and printed electronics. Summary of the invention

[0005] The present invention proposes a fully automatic high-throughput preparation device for flexible and printed electronic inks and devices, which can quickly screen ink formulas with carbon nanotubes, graphene, black phosphorus, nanogold, nanosilver and other materials with good electrical properties and semiconductor oxides such as zinc oxide as the core, and print circuits on various substrates in combination with the proposed automated printing system. This device can significantly shorten the research and development cycle of flexible and printed electronic core inks and devices, reduce their application difficulty and implementation cost, fill the gap in my country's key technologies in flexible and printed electronics, and promote the high-quality development of the electronic information industry.

[0006] The technical solution of the present invention to solve the above problems is: a fully automatic high-throughput preparation device for flexible and printed electronic inks and devices, which is special in that:

[0007] comprising a first operating platform, a second operating platform and a third operating platform;

[0008] The first operating platform is provided with a raw material placement area and a first material transfer device;

[0009] The second operating platform is provided with a second material transfer device, a raw material input device, an electronic ink reaction device, and a storage device;

[0010] The third operating platform is provided with a third material transfer device and a printer.

[0011] Furthermore, a plurality of raw material boxes are placed in the raw material placement area, and the raw material boxes are used to store raw materials for making electronic ink.

[0012] In the present invention, the first material transfer device transfers the raw material box from the first operating platform to the second operating platform, the second material transfer device is used to extract various raw materials according to components and proportions, and put the raw materials into the raw material input device, the raw material input device transmits the raw materials to the electronic ink reaction device, and after the electronic ink is produced after the reaction in the electronic ink reaction device, the electronic ink is input into the storage device for storage, and the printer uses the electronic ink to realize the printing function of flexible and printed electronic devices.

[0013] Furthermore, the raw material input device includes a plurality of injection tubes, and the bottom of each injection tube is connected to the electronic ink reaction device through a pipeline.

[0014] Furthermore, the electronic ink reaction device comprises a reaction furnace and a carbon dioxide gas cylinder;

[0015] The reactor includes a sealed chamber, which is provided with an inlet and an outlet. A heating device is provided in the reactor. The inlet of the sealed chamber is connected to an injection pipe through a first safety valve, and the outlet of the carbon dioxide cylinder is connected to the inlet of the sealed chamber through a second safety valve. A branch is provided between the second safety valve and the inlet of the sealed chamber, and the branch is connected to the outlet of the sealed chamber through a third safety valve. The outlet of the sealed chamber is also connected to the inlet of a storage device through a fourth safety valve.

[0016] A closed system is formed in the sealed cavity, carbon dioxide is introduced to increase the internal pressure, and the temperature is controlled by a heating device, so that the raw materials in the sealed cavity undergo a high-temperature and high-pressure supercritical reaction to form nano-electronic ink.

[0017] Furthermore, the above-mentioned reactor is also provided with a pressure monitoring device and a temperature monitoring device.

[0018] Furthermore, the storage device is a U-shaped container, and the two ends of the U-shaped container are respectively an electronic ink inlet and an electronic ink outlet, and the electronic ink outlet is connected to the printer through a pipeline. The electronic ink prepared by the reactor is sprayed into the electronic ink inlet of the U-shaped container under the pressure inside the reactor, so that the electronic ink at the bottom of the U-shaped container shakes, preventing the electronic ink from being stratified or precipitated, and keeping it in a stable state.

[0019] Furthermore, a vibration motor is provided at the bottom of the storage device, and the vibration motor vibrates the storage device to prevent the electronic ink from being delaminated or precipitated, thereby keeping the electronic ink in a stable state.

[0020] Furthermore, the second material transfer device includes a three-axis mechanism and a material extraction device arranged on the three-axis mechanism, and the material extraction device is used to extract and transfer the material in the second operation area;

[0021] The three-axis mechanism comprises an x-direction motion mechanism, a y-direction motion mechanism and a z-direction motion mechanism. The z-direction motion mechanism comprises a fixed plate, and the material extraction device is arranged on the fixed plate.

[0022] Furthermore, there are at least two material extraction devices, which include a moving rod, a moving cylinder and a pipette gun. The moving rod and the moving cylinder are fixed on a fixed plate. The moving cylinder drives the moving rod to move up and down, and the pipette gun is arranged at the end of the moving rod.

[0023] Furthermore, the above-mentioned pipette guns are connected through their corresponding micro pumps respectively.

[0024] Furthermore, the first material transfer device and the third material transfer device are both SCARA robots.

[0025] Furthermore, the second operating platform also includes a monitoring device, which is disposed at the bottom of the storage device and includes a camera.

[0026] Furthermore, it also includes a lighting device, which is arranged on the upper part of the storage device.

[0027] Furthermore, the above-mentioned third operating platform is equipped with an etcher, a puncher, a mounter and a reflow soldering machine, and the third material transfer device gradually transfers the printed flexible and printed electronic devices to the etcher, the puncher, the mounter and the reflow soldering machine, and finally realizes the preparation of flexible and printed electronic devices.

[0028] Furthermore, it also includes a host computer, which controls the first material transfer device, the second material transfer device, the third material transfer device, and the printer to perform actions; the host computer is connected to the monitoring device to obtain image information collected by the monitoring device; the host computer obtains pressure and temperature data of the pressure monitoring device and the temperature monitoring device on the electronic ink reaction device.

[0029] Advantages of the present invention:

[0030] The fully automatic high-throughput preparation device for flexible and printed electronic inks and devices of the present invention can realize high-throughput preparation of flexible and printed electronic functional inks and high-precision control of ink printing; it can realize intelligent assembly in 3D space, establish a high-performance and high-precision cross-scale manufacturing method, and serve the development of functional integrated device preparation such as smart labels, flexible displays, wearable flexible electronics with flexible and printed electronics as the main body, provide a device for flexible and printed electronics from "ink sample preparation" to "device batch manufacturing", and open up the automation and digitization of the entire production process of flexible electronic products. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0031] Figure 1 The overall structure schematic diagram of the fully automatic high-throughput preparation device for flexible and printed electronic ink and devices of the present invention;

[0032] Figure 2 for Figure 1 Rear view of

[0033] Figure 3 for Figure 1 A top view of

[0034] Figure 4 It is a schematic diagram of the connection between the reaction furnace and the storage device in the present invention;

[0035] Figure 5 A schematic diagram of the connection between the raw material input device, the electronic ink reaction device, and the storage device;

[0036] Figure 6 for Figure 1 Structural diagram of the material extraction device.

[0037] Wherein: 1. first operating platform, 11. raw material placement area, 12. first material transfer device, 13. raw material box,

[0038] 2. second operating platform, 21. second material transfer device, 211. moving rod, 212. moving cylinder, 213. pipetting gun;

[0039] 22. raw material input device, 23. electronic ink reaction device, 24. storage device, 241. electronic ink inlet, 242. electronic ink outlet;

[0040] 25. Injection pipe,

[0041] 26. Reactor, 260. Temperature monitoring device, 261. Sealed chamber, 262. Heating device, 263. First safety valve, 264. Second safety valve, 265. Third safety valve, 266. Inlet of sealed chamber, 267. Outlet of sealed chamber, 268. Fourth safety valve, 269. Pressure monitoring device, 27. Carbon dioxide cylinder; 28. Camera;

[0042] 3. The third operating platform, 31. The third material transfer device, 32. The printer, 33. The etching machine, 34. The punching machine, 35. The placement machine, 36. The reflow soldering machine. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0043] In order to make the purpose, technical solutions and advantages of the embodiments of the present invention clearer, the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below in conjunction with the drawings in the embodiments of the present invention. Obviously, the described embodiments are part of the embodiments of the present invention, not all of the embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field without creative work are within the scope of protection of the present invention. Therefore, the following detailed description of the embodiments of the present invention provided in the drawings is not intended to limit the scope of the invention claimed for protection, but merely represents selected embodiments of the present invention.

[0044] See also Figure 1-Figure 2 A fully automatic high-throughput preparation device for flexible and printed electronic ink and devices includes a first operating platform 1, a second operating platform 2 and a third operating platform 3; the first operating platform 1 is provided with a raw material placement area 11 and a first material transfer device 12; the second operating platform 2 is provided with a second material transfer device 21, a raw material input device 22, an electronic ink reaction device 23, and a storage device 24; the third operating platform 3 is provided with a third material transfer device 31 and a printer 32. The first material transfer device 12 transfers the raw materials in the raw material placement area 11 from the first operating platform 1 to the second operating platform 2, the second material transfer device 21 is used to extract various raw materials according to components and proportions, and put the raw materials into the raw material input device 22, the raw material input device 22 transfers the raw materials to the electronic ink reaction device 23, after the electronic ink is reacted in the electronic ink reaction device 23 to form the electronic ink, the electronic ink is input into the storage device 24 for storage, and the printer 32 uses the electronic ink to realize the printing function of the flexible and printed electronic devices.

[0045] As a preferred embodiment of the present invention, see Figure 1 The raw material placement area 11 contains a plurality of raw material boxes 13 and a pipetting head storage area. The raw material boxes 13 are used to store raw materials for making electronic ink, and the pipetting head storage area is used to store pipetting heads.

[0046] As a preferred embodiment of the present invention, see Figure 1 , Figure 4 and Figure 5 The raw material input device 22 includes eight injection pipes 25, and the bottom of each injection pipe 25 is connected to the electronic ink reaction device 23 through a pipeline.

[0047] See also Figure 4and Figure 5 As a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the electronic ink reaction device 23 includes a reaction furnace 26 and a carbon dioxide cylinder 27 .

[0048] The reaction furnace 26 includes a sealed chamber 261, and an inlet and an outlet are provided at the upper part of both sides of the sealed chamber 261. A heating device 262 is provided in the reaction furnace 26. The inlet 266 of the sealed chamber is connected to the injection pipe 25 through the first safety valve 263. The outlet of the carbon dioxide gas cylinder 27 is connected to the inlet 266 of the sealed chamber through the second safety valve 264. A branch is provided between the second safety valve 264 and the inlet 266 of the sealed chamber. The branch is connected to the outlet 267 of the sealed chamber through the third safety valve 265. The outlet 267 of the sealed chamber is also connected to the inlet of the storage device 24 through the fourth safety valve 268. A closed system is formed in the sealed chamber 261, and carbon dioxide is introduced to increase the internal pressure. The heating device 262 controls its temperature, and the raw materials in the sealed chamber 261 are subjected to a high-temperature and high-pressure supercritical reaction to form nano-electronic ink. The reaction furnace 26 is also provided with a pressure monitoring device 269 and a temperature monitoring device 260 for acquiring pressure and temperature data in the closed chamber 261 .

[0049] See also Figure 4 and Figure 5 As a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the storage device 24 is a U-shaped container, and the two ends of the U-shaped container are respectively an electronic ink inlet 241 and an electronic ink outlet 242, and the electronic ink outlet 242 is connected to the printer 32 through a pipeline. The electronic ink prepared by the reaction furnace 26 is sprayed into the electronic ink inlet of the U-shaped container under the pressure inside the reaction furnace 26, so that the electronic ink at the bottom of the U-shaped container shakes, preventing the electronic ink from being stratified or precipitated, and keeping it in a stable state.

[0050] As a preferred embodiment of the present invention, a vibration motor is provided at the bottom of the storage device 24 , and the vibration motor vibrates the storage device 24 .

[0051] As a preferred embodiment of the present invention, see Figure 2 and Figure 6The second material transfer device 21 includes a three-axis mechanism and a material extraction device arranged on the three-axis mechanism, and the material extraction device is used to extract and transfer the material in the second operation area. The number of the material extraction devices is at least two, and the material extraction device includes a moving rod 211, a moving cylinder 212 and a pipette 213. The moving rod 211 and the moving cylinder 212 are fixed on a fixed plate, and the moving cylinder 212 drives the moving rod 211 to move up and down. The pipette 213 is arranged at the end of the moving rod 211. The pipette 213 is connected through its corresponding micro pump. The three-axis mechanism adopts any mechanism in the prior art that can realize x-direction movement, y-direction movement and z-direction movement. The z-direction movement mechanism includes a fixed plate, and the material extraction device is arranged on the fixed plate. According to needs, the unused pipette can be moved up by the moving cylinder 212 to avoid the unused pipette from interfering with the experiment when the pipette moves left and right. When multiple pipettes are needed, the pipette 213 is moved down by the moving cylinder 212.

[0052] As a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the first material transfer device 12 and the third material transfer device 31 are both SCARA robots, and claws are provided at the ends of the SCARA robot arms for grabbing materials.

[0053] See also Figure 2 The second operating platform 2 also includes a monitoring device and a lighting device. The monitoring device is arranged at the lower part of the storage device 24. The monitoring device includes a camera 28 for monitoring the operation process and results on the second operating platform. The lighting device is a shadowless lamp, which is arranged at the upper part of the storage device 24. The monitoring device also includes a motion device, which includes a transverse moving mechanism and a longitudinal moving mechanism. The longitudinal moving mechanism is arranged on the bottom plate, and the transverse moving mechanism is arranged on the longitudinal moving mechanism. The longitudinal moving mechanism includes a second cylinder, and the transverse moving mechanism includes a motor. The motor drives the synchronous belt to rotate, the synchronous belt drives the camera to move, and the second cylinder drives the transverse moving mechanism to move forward and backward. The camera 28 uses a 500w color camera, and the lens is a fixed-focus lens. The focal length will not change with the change of image brightness to ensure the comparability between images, and an anti-distortion lens is configured at the same time.

[0054] As a preferred embodiment of the present invention, a fully automatic high-throughput preparation device for flexible and printed electronic inks and devices of the present invention also includes a control system, which is a host computer. The third operating platform 3 is provided with an etching machine 33, a punching machine 34, a placement machine 35 and a reflow soldering machine 36. The third material transfer device 31 gradually transfers the printed flexible and printed electronic devices to the etching machine 33, the punching machine 34, the placement machine 35 and the reflow soldering machine 36, and finally realizes the preparation of flexible and printed electronic devices.

[0055] The host computer controls the first material transfer device 12, the second material transfer device 21, the third material transfer device 31, and the printer 32 to operate; the host computer is connected to the monitoring device to obtain image information collected by the monitoring device; the host computer obtains the pressure and temperature data of the pressure monitoring device 269 and the temperature monitoring device 260 on the electronic ink reaction device 23.

[0056] The implementation process of the present invention is:

[0057] A plurality of raw material boxes 13 and pipetting heads are placed in the raw material placement area 11 . Various raw materials for preparing electronic ink are placed in the raw material boxes 13 . The first material transfer device 12 transfers the raw material boxes 13 to the second operating platform 2 .

[0058] The pipette gun of the second material transfer device 21 is used to extract various raw materials according to the components and proportions, and transfer the raw materials to the electronic ink reaction device 23 through the eight injection pipes 25 of the raw material input device 22 by their own weight. The eight injection pipes 25 are all provided with control valves to realize the on and off of each pipeline. After the raw materials are injected according to the ratio, the control valve on the injection pipe 25 is closed, the second safety valve 264 and the third safety valve 265 are opened, and the fourth safety valve 268 is closed. High-pressure carbon dioxide is injected into the closed chamber 261 to increase the pressure, and the heating device 262 is started to increase its temperature, and nano electronic ink is formed through high-temperature and high-pressure supercritical reaction.

[0059] Then, the third safety valve 265 is closed and the fourth safety valve 268 is opened. The electronic ink prepared in the reactor 26 is sprayed into the electronic ink inlet of the U-shaped container under the pressure inside it, causing the electronic ink at the bottom of the U-shaped container to shake, preventing the electronic ink from stratification or precipitation, and keeping it in a stable state.

[0060] The electronic ink in the U-shaped container flows into the printer 32 by gravity, and the flexible and printed electronic devices are printed through the built-in nozzles of different types. After printing, the third material transfer device 31 sends the printed flexible and printed electronic devices to the etching machine 33, punching machine 34, mounting machine 35 and reflow soldering machine 36 according to the program to achieve etching, punching, mounting and welding, and finally realize high-throughput automated preparation of flexible and printed electronic devices. The third material transfer device 31 stacks the prepared flexible and printed electronic devices.

[0061] During the whole process, the host computer is used to obtain monitoring data from the temperature monitoring device, pressure monitoring device, camera, etc., and the SCARA robot, the second material transfer device, various safety valves, printers, etchers, punchers, placement machines, and reflow soldering machines are controlled according to the monitoring data.

[0062] The present invention adopts a SCARA robot to replace operators to perform material extraction and sample preparation, which greatly reduces the labor intensity of operators, saves time, and can improve the accuracy of experiments; the present invention can use a host computer to control various motion mechanisms and monitoring mechanisms to avoid operators from being injured during the experiment; the present invention uses a device to perform high-throughput (i.e., a large number of repeated operations in a short period of time) experiments, thereby saving costs and time; the present invention can also realize high-throughput automated preparation of flexible and printed electronic devices through the free combination of various partition modules.

[0063] The above descriptions are merely embodiments of the present invention and are not intended to limit the protection scope of the present invention. Any equivalent structure or equivalent process transformation made using the contents of the present invention specification and drawings, or directly or indirectly applied in other related system fields, are also included in the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A fully automatic high-throughput preparation device for flexible and printed electronic inks and devices, characterized in that: It comprises a first operating platform (1), a second operating platform (2) and a third operating platform (3); The first operating platform (1) is provided with a raw material placement area (11) and a first material transfer device (12); The second operating platform (2) is provided with a second material transfer device (21), a raw material input device (22), an electronic ink reaction device (23), and a storage device (24); A third material transfer device (31) and a printer (32) are provided on the third operating platform (3); The first material transfer device (12) transfers the raw materials in the raw material placement area (11) from the first operating platform (1) to the second operating platform (2); the second material transfer device (21) is used to extract various raw materials according to components and proportions, and put the raw materials into the raw material input device (22); the raw material input device (22) transfers the raw materials to the electronic ink reaction device (23); after the electronic ink is produced after the reaction in the electronic ink reaction device (23), the electronic ink is input into the storage device (24) for storage; and the printer (32) uses the electronic ink to realize the printing function of flexible and printed electronic devices; The electronic ink reaction device (23) comprises a reaction furnace (26) and a carbon dioxide gas cylinder (27); The reaction furnace (26) comprises a sealed chamber (261), the sealed chamber (261) is provided with an inlet and an outlet, a heating device (262) is provided in the reaction furnace (26), the inlet (266) of the sealed chamber is connected to the injection pipe (25) through a first safety valve (263), the outlet of the carbon dioxide gas cylinder (27) is connected to the inlet (266) of the sealed chamber through a second safety valve (264), a branch is provided between the second safety valve (264) and the inlet (266) of the sealed chamber, the branch is connected to the outlet (267) of the sealed chamber through a third safety valve (265), and the outlet (267) of the sealed chamber is also connected to the inlet of the storage device (24) through a fourth safety valve (268); The second material transfer device (21) comprises a three-axis mechanism and a material extraction device arranged on the three-axis mechanism, wherein the material extraction device is used to extract and transfer the material in the second operation area; The number of the material extraction devices is at least two, and the material extraction devices comprise a moving rod (211), a moving cylinder (212) and a liquid transfer gun (213). The moving rod (211) and the moving cylinder (212) are fixed on a fixed plate, the moving cylinder (212) drives the moving rod (211) to move up and down, and the liquid transfer gun (213) is arranged at the end of the moving rod (211).

2. The fully automatic high-throughput preparation device for flexible and printed electronic inks and devices according to claim 1, characterized in that: A plurality of raw material boxes (13) are placed in the raw material placement area (11), and the raw material boxes (13) are used to store raw materials for making electronic ink.

3. The fully automatic high-throughput preparation device for flexible and printed electronic inks and devices according to claim 2, characterized in that: The raw material input device (22) comprises a plurality of injection tubes (25), and the bottom of each injection tube (25) is connected to the electronic ink reaction device (23) through a pipeline.

4. The fully automatic high-throughput preparation device for flexible and printed electronic inks and devices according to claim 3, characterized in that: The reaction furnace (26) is also provided with a pressure monitoring device (269) and a temperature monitoring device (260).

5. The fully automatic high-throughput preparation device for flexible and printed electronic inks and devices according to claim 4, characterized in that: The storage device (24) is a U-shaped container, and the two ends of the U-shaped container are respectively an electronic ink inlet (241) and an electronic ink outlet (242), and the electronic ink outlet (242) is connected to the printer (32) through a pipeline.

6. The fully automatic high-throughput preparation device for flexible and printed electronic inks and devices according to claim 5, characterized in that: A vibration motor is provided at the bottom of the storage device (24), and the vibration motor vibrates the storage device (24).

7. The fully automatic high-throughput preparation device for flexible and printed electronic inks and devices according to claim 6, characterized in that: The pipette guns (213) are connected via their corresponding micro pumps.

8. The fully automatic high-throughput preparation device for flexible and printed electronic inks and devices according to claim 7, characterized in that: The first material transfer device (12) and the third material transfer device (31) are both SCARA robots.

9. The fully automatic high-throughput preparation device for flexible and printed electronic inks and devices according to claim 8, characterized in that: The second operating platform (2) also includes a monitoring device, which is arranged at the bottom of the storage device (24) and includes a camera (28).

10. The fully automatic high-throughput preparation device for flexible and printed electronic inks and devices according to claim 9, characterized in that: It also comprises a lighting device, which is arranged on the upper part of the storage device (24).

11. The fully automatic high-throughput preparation device for flexible and printed electronic inks and devices according to claim 10, characterized in that: The third operating platform (3) is provided with an etching machine (33), a punching machine (34), a chip mounter (35) and a reflow soldering machine (36); the third material transfer device (31) gradually transfers the printed flexible and printed electronic devices to the etching machine (33), the punching machine (34), the chip mounter (35) and the reflow soldering machine (36), thereby finally realizing the preparation of the flexible and printed electronic devices.

12. The fully automatic high-throughput preparation device for flexible and printed electronic inks and devices according to claim 11, characterized in that: The device also includes a host computer, which controls the first material transfer device (12), the second material transfer device (21), the third material transfer device (31), and the printer (32) to operate; the host computer is connected to the monitoring device to obtain image information collected by the monitoring device; and the host computer obtains pressure and temperature data of the pressure monitoring device (269) and the temperature monitoring device (260) on the electronic ink reaction device (23).

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