A continuous-scale fabrication system and method for flexible sensors

Abstract

This invention provides a continuous large-scale fabrication system for flexible sensors. Along the travel direction of the flexible substrate, a substrate support release mechanism, an automatic spraying mechanism, a gasket release mechanism, a merging mechanism, and a finished product winding mechanism are sequentially arranged. The substrate support release mechanism consists of two parts, each used to release two flexible substrates. The automatic spraying mechanism includes two parts, each positioned above the two flexible substrates to spray a conductive solution onto them. Below the automatic spraying mechanism is a temperature-controlled heating platform to attach conductive material to the flexible substrates. The gasket release mechanism releases a gasket that is bonded to the flexible substrate. The merging mechanism merges the flexible substrate with the conductive material and the flexible substrate with the conductive material and gasket attached, with the conductive solution facing each other, to form the flexible sensor. The finished product winding mechanism winds up the flexible sensor merged by the merging mechanism. This invention also provides a method for continuous large-scale fabrication of flexible sensors.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention belongs to the field of sensors, specifically relating to a continuous large-scale fabrication system and method for flexible sensors. Background Technology

[0002] In today's digital and intelligent era, touch positioning sensors, as an important human-computer interaction technology, have been widely used in smartphones, tablets, smart homes, and industrial automation. Traditional touch positioning sensors are usually made of rigid materials, such as glass or plastic, which limits their application on flexible, curved, or curved surfaces.

[0003] To overcome the limitations of traditional touch positioning sensors, flexible electronics technology has made significant progress in recent years. Flexible touch positioning sensors have attracted much attention due to their advantages such as being lightweight, thin, flexible, and wearable. However, most of the flexible touch positioning sensors currently available on the market are manufactured manually or in small batches, lacking efficient, continuous, and large-scale fabrication methods. Summary of the Invention

[0004] The technical problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide a continuous large-scale fabrication system and method for flexible sensors, which can automatically fabricate flexible sensors on a continuous large scale, with small footprint, simple and convenient operation, and high production efficiency.

[0005] To address the aforementioned technical problems, this invention provides a continuous large-scale fabrication system for flexible sensors. Along the travel direction of the flexible substrate, a substrate support release mechanism, an automatic spraying mechanism, a gasket release mechanism, a merging mechanism, and a finished product winding mechanism are sequentially arranged. The substrate support release mechanism is divided into two parts, each used to release two flexible substrates. The automatic spraying mechanism includes two parts, each positioned above the two flexible substrates to spray a conductive solution onto them. Below the automatic spraying mechanism is a temperature-controlled heating platform to attach conductive material to the flexible substrates.

[0006] The gasket release mechanism releases the gasket and combines it with the flexible substrate; the merging mechanism merges the flexible substrate with conductive material attached thereto and the flexible substrate with conductive material and gasket attached thereto in a face-to-face manner to form the flexible sensor; the finished product winding mechanism winds up the flexible sensor merged by the merging mechanism.

[0007] In some embodiments, the automatic spraying mechanism includes a spraying bracket, a spray gun, and a slide. The slide is vertically arranged, the spraying bracket is connected to the slide, the spraying bracket fixes the spray gun, and the slide slides up and down along the vertical direction of the spray to control the distance between the nozzle of the spray gun and the flexible substrate.

[0008] In some embodiments, the spraying pressure of the airbrush ranges from 0.1 to 0.3 MPa, and the distance between the nozzle and the flexible substrate is 20 to 50 mm.

[0009] In some embodiments, the temperature-controlled heating platform includes a temperature controller, a temperature sensor, and a heating plate. The flexible substrate is disposed above the heating plate. The temperature sensor transmits the temperature of the heating plate to the temperature controller, and the temperature controller controls the temperature of the heating plate.

[0010] In some embodiments, the heating temperature range of the heating plate is 20-100°C.

[0011] In some embodiments, the finished product winding mechanism includes a speed reduction drive, a finished product support base, and a finished product winding roller. The finished product winding roller is disposed on the finished product support base and is connected to the speed reduction drive. The speed reduction drive drives the finished product winding roller to rotate, thereby driving the flexible substrate to move forward and winding up the finished product that has been combined by the merging mechanism.

[0012] In some embodiments, the conductive solution may be a multi-walled carbon nanotube solution, a single-walled carbon nanotube solution, a conductive ink, a graphene solution, or a metal nanoparticle solution.

[0013] In some embodiments, the base support release mechanism includes a base support roller and a base support seat, the base support roller being disposed on the base support seat, and the flexible base being wound around the base support roller.

[0014] In some embodiments, the gasket release mechanism includes a gasket support roller and a gasket support base, the gasket support roller being disposed on the gasket support base, and the gasket being wound around the gasket support roller.

[0015] To address the aforementioned technical problems, this invention also provides a method for the continuous large-scale fabrication of flexible sensors, employing the continuous large-scale fabrication system for flexible sensors described above, and comprising the following steps:

[0016] Step 1: Prepare the conductive solution;

[0017] Step 2: Install the rolled flexible substrate into the substrate support release mechanism, and guide it sequentially through the temperature-controlled heating platform, the gasket release mechanism, the merging mechanism, and the finished product winding mechanism; place the conductive solution device into the automatic spraying mechanism; pre-attach one end of the gasket to one of the flexible substrates;

[0018] Step 3: Open the finished product winding mechanism to drive the flexible substrate forward. After the flexible substrate has stabilized, open the automatic spraying mechanism to spray the conductive solution described in Step 1 onto the surface of the flexible substrate.

[0019] The temperature-controlled heating platform heats the flexible substrate, causing conductive material to adhere to the flexible substrate; the flexible substrate with the conductive material attached is then combined with the gasket via the gasket release mechanism.

[0020] A flexible substrate combined with a gasket and another flexible substrate with an attached conductive material are joined face-to-face by the merging mechanism to form a finished flexible sensor; the finished product winding mechanism winds up the finished flexible sensor.

[0021] Compared with the prior art, the beneficial effects of this invention are as follows:

[0022] 1. The preparation system and method of the present invention, by setting up a substrate support release mechanism, an automatic spraying mechanism, a gasket release mechanism, a merging mechanism, and a finished product winding mechanism, allows the flexible substrate to pass through the above mechanisms in sequence. The automatic spraying mechanism sprays conductive solution, the gasket release mechanism adds gaskets, the merging mechanism merges the flexible substrate with attached conductive material to form a finished flexible sensor, and the finished product winding mechanism collects the finished product. This achieves continuous large-scale preparation of flexible sensors, with a small footprint and simple and convenient operation.

[0023] 2. The preparation system of the present invention is driven by a speed reduction drive, and the production process does not require manual intervention. It can realize fully automatic continuous large-scale production, improve the degree of automation and greatly improve production efficiency.

[0024] 3. The fabrication system of the present invention can also be customized to produce flexible sensors of different specifications and shapes according to different needs. Attached Figure Description

[0025] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the continuous mass production system for the flexible sensor of the present invention.

[0026] Figure label:

[0027] 1. Base support release mechanism; 11. Base support roller; 12. Base support seat; 2. Automatic spraying mechanism; 21. Spraying bracket; 22. Airbrush; 23. Slide table; 3. Temperature-controlled heating platform; 4. Gasket release mechanism; 41. Gasket support roller; 42. Gasket support seat; 5. Merging mechanism; 6. Finished product winding mechanism; 61. Finished product winding roller; 62. Gear motor; 63. Finished product support seat. Detailed Implementation

[0028] To make the objectives, technical solutions, and advantages of this invention clearer, the invention will be further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and embodiments. It should be understood that the specific embodiments described herein are merely illustrative of the invention and are not intended to limit the invention. Rather, the invention encompasses any substitutions, modifications, equivalent methods, and solutions made within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the claims.

[0029] In this invention, the terms "first," "second," and "third," etc., are used only to distinguish similar objects and are not necessarily used to describe a specific order or sequence, nor should they be construed as indicating or implying relative importance. The use of terms such as "upper" and "lower" in the description to indicate orientation or positional relationships is based on the orientation or positional relationships shown in the accompanying drawings and is only for the convenience of describing the invention, not to indicate or imply that the device referred to must have a specific orientation, or be constructed and operated in a specific orientation; therefore, it should not be construed as a limitation on the scope of protection of this invention. Furthermore, to provide the public with a better understanding of this invention, certain specific details are described in detail in the following detailed description of the invention. Those skilled in the art can fully understand this invention even without these detailed descriptions.

[0030] Furthermore, in the description of this application, unless otherwise stated, "multiple" means two or more. "And / or" describes the relationship between related objects, indicating that three relationships can exist. For example, A and / or B can represent: A alone, A and B simultaneously, or B alone. The character " / " generally indicates that the preceding and following related objects have an "or" relationship.

[0031] The present invention will be further described below with reference to the accompanying drawings and specific embodiments, but this is not intended to limit the present invention.

[0032] Reference Figure 1 This embodiment provides a continuous large-scale manufacturing system for flexible sensors, wherein a substrate support release mechanism 1, an automatic spraying mechanism 2, a gasket release mechanism 4, a merging mechanism 5, a finished product winding mechanism 6, and a finished product winding mechanism are arranged sequentially along the travel direction of the flexible substrate.

[0033] Specifically, the left and right base support release mechanisms 1 are used to release two flexible bases respectively; the base support release mechanism includes a base support roller 11 and a base support seat 12, the base support roller 11 is disposed on the base support seat 12, and the two flexible bases are respectively wound on the two base support rollers 11.

[0034] The automatic spraying mechanism includes two units, each disposed above two flexible substrates for spraying conductive solution onto the two flexible substrates. The automatic spraying mechanism 2 includes a spraying bracket 21, a spray pen 22, and a slide 23. The slide 23 is vertically arranged, and the spraying bracket 21 is connected to the slide 23. The spraying bracket 21 fixes the spray pen 22, and the slide 23 slides up and down along the vertical direction of the spray to control the distance between the nozzle of the spray pen 22 and the flexible substrate.

[0035] Excessive spraying pressure can cause conductive solution to splash, while insufficient spraying pressure results in poor spraying effect. Conversely, excessively high nozzle-to-flexible substrate distances can lead to misalignment and spillage of conductive solution, while insufficient distances can result in uneven and incomplete spraying. Therefore, in order to accurately and uniformly spray the conductive solution onto the flexible substrate, in this embodiment, the spraying pressure range of the airbrush is 0.1-0.3 MPa, and the distance between the nozzle and the flexible substrate is 20-50 mm.

[0036] Below the automatic spraying mechanism 2, a temperature-controlled heating platform 3 is provided to attach conductive material to the flexible substrate. The temperature-controlled heating platform 3 includes a temperature controller, a temperature sensor, and a heating plate. The flexible substrate is located above the heating plate. The temperature sensor transmits the temperature of the heating plate to the temperature controller. The temperature controller controls the temperature of the heating plate to 20-100°C to heat and dry the flexible substrate coated with conductive solution, thereby attaching the conductive material to the flexible substrate.

[0037] The gasket release mechanism 4 includes a gasket support roller 41 and a gasket support seat 42. The gasket support roller 41 is disposed on the gasket support seat 42, the gasket is wound around the gasket support roller 41, and one end of the gasket is attached to the flexible substrate.

[0038] The merging mechanism 5 merges one flexible substrate with conductive material attached and another flexible substrate with conductive material and a gasket attached in a face-to-face manner to form the flexible sensor. The finished product winding mechanism winds up the flexible sensor merged by the merging mechanism. The merging mechanism 5 uses a commercially available strip drawing machine. The finished product winding mechanism 6 includes a reduction drive motor 62, a finished product support base 63, and a finished product winding roller 61. The finished product winding roller 61 is located on the finished product support base 63 and is connected to the reduction motor 62. The reduction motor 62 drives the finished product winding roller 61 to rotate, thereby driving the flexible substrate forward and winding up the finished product merged by the merging mechanism 5.

[0039] Among them, the geared motor 7 adopts a JGB37-520 DC geared motor with a power of 5W. Before deceleration, the speed of the geared motor is 6000rpm / min, and the reduction ratio of the reducer is 6.3-810. The outer diameter of the base support roller 11, the pad support roller 41 and the finished winding roller 61 is 6.5mm. The nozzle diameter of the spray gun 22 is 0.3mm. The power of the temperature-controlled heating platform is 550W. The thickness of the pad is 0.2-0.5mm.

[0040] The specific implementation method is as follows:

[0041] Step 1: Prepare a multi-walled carbon nanotube solution:

[0042] A multi-walled carbon nanotube dispersion and deionized water were mixed at a volume ratio of 1:1 to obtain a conductive solution with a carbon nanotube mass ratio of 5%. Centrifuge tubes containing the conductive solution were then placed in a CNC ultrasonic cleaner and ultrasonically treated for 30 minutes. As a simple alternative to this embodiment, the conductive solution can also be a single-walled carbon nanotube solution, conductive ink, graphene solution, or metal nanoparticle solution.

[0043] Step 2: Preparation of the preparation apparatus:

[0044] The rolled base material polyester film is mounted onto the base support roller 11, the polyester film is guided onto the finished winding roller 61, and the gasket is pre-guided onto the polyester film.

[0045] The multi-walled carbon nanotube solution prepared in step 1 is loaded into a container connected to the spray gun 22. The spraying pressure of the spray gun 22 is set to 0.15 MPa, and the distance between the nozzle of the spray gun 22 and the polyester film is 40 mm.

[0046] The temperature of the temperature-controlled heating platform is set to 80℃, the reduction ratio of the reducer is set to 30, and the motor speed after reduction is 200rpm / min.

[0047] Step 3: Fabrication of Flexible Touch Positioning Sensor

[0048] First, turn on the control switch of the temperature-controlled heating platform 3. After heating to the set temperature, turn on the reduction motor 7. After the polyester film runs stably, turn on the spray gun 22 switch. The multi-walled carbon nanotube solution prepared in step 1 is sprayed onto the surface of the polyester film. The temperature-controlled heating platform 3 promotes the adhesion of multi-walled carbon nanotubes to the surface of the polyester film.

[0049] The polyester film with attached multi-walled carbon nanotubes is fitted with a gasket, which is then added to the polyester film via a gasket release mechanism 4.

[0050] Next, the polyester film with multi-walled carbon nanotubes attached to the upper layer is combined with the polyester film with multi-walled carbon nanotubes and a gasket attached to the lower layer through the merging mechanism 5, and the prepared flexible touch positioning sensor is collected onto the finished winding roller 61.

[0051] Through these steps, the polyester film rolls are transferred from the base support roller 11 to the finished take-up roller 61 (from one roll to another), and in the process, operations such as spraying, heating, and attaching pads are performed to obtain a flexible touch positioning sensor.

[0052] After preparation, first turn off the inkjet switch, then turn off the motor and the temperature control heating platform 3 in sequence, remove the flexible touch positioning sensor on the finished product take-up roller 61, and clean the inkjet.

[0053] The aqueous dispersion of multi-walled carbon nanotubes is TNWDM-M8, the slurry medium is deionized water, the carbon nanotube content is 10wt%, the outer diameter of the multi-walled carbon nanotubes is 30-80nm, and the purity is 98%.

[0054] The embodiments described above are merely one preferred embodiment of the present invention. Ordinary variations and substitutions made by those skilled in the art within the scope of the present invention should be included within the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A continuous-scale fabrication system for flexible sensors, characterized in that, Along the travel direction of the flexible substrate, a substrate support release mechanism, an automatic spraying mechanism, a gasket release mechanism, a merging mechanism, and a finished product winding mechanism are arranged sequentially. The substrate support release mechanism is divided into two parts, each used to release two flexible substrates. The automatic spraying mechanism includes two parts, each located above the two flexible substrates, for spraying conductive solution onto the two flexible substrates. Below the automatic spraying mechanism, a temperature-controlled heating platform is provided to attach conductive material to the flexible substrate. The gasket release mechanism releases the gasket and combines it with the flexible substrate; the merging mechanism merges the flexible substrate with conductive material attached and the flexible substrate with conductive material and gasket attached in a face-to-face manner to form the flexible sensor; the finished product winding mechanism winds up the flexible sensor merged by the merging mechanism; the automatic spraying mechanism includes a spraying bracket, a spray gun, and a slide table, the slide table is vertically arranged, the spraying bracket is connected to the slide table, the spraying bracket fixes the spray gun, and the slide table slides up and down along the vertical direction to control the distance between the nozzle of the spray gun and the flexible substrate; the gasket release mechanism includes a gasket support roller and a gasket support seat, the gasket support roller is disposed on the gasket support seat, and the gasket is wound around the gasket support roller.

2. The continuous mass production system for flexible sensors according to claim 1, characterized in that, The spraying pressure range of the spray gun is 0.1-0.3MPa, and the distance between the nozzle and the flexible substrate is 20-50mm.

3. The continuous mass production system for flexible sensors according to claim 1, characterized in that, The temperature-controlled heating platform includes a temperature controller, a temperature sensor, and a heating plate. The flexible substrate is disposed above the heating plate. The temperature sensor transmits the temperature of the heating plate to the temperature controller, and the temperature controller controls the temperature of the heating plate.

4. The continuous mass production system for flexible sensors according to claim 3, characterized in that, The heating temperature range of the heating plate is 20-100℃.

5. The continuous mass production system for flexible sensors according to claim 1, characterized in that, The finished product winding mechanism includes a speed reduction drive, a finished product support base, and a finished product winding roller. The finished product winding roller is located on the finished product support base and is connected to the speed reduction drive. The speed reduction drive drives the finished product winding roller to rotate, thereby driving the flexible substrate to move forward and winding up the finished product that has been combined by the merging mechanism.

6. The continuous mass production system for flexible sensors according to claim 1, characterized in that, The conductive solution is a multi-walled carbon nanotube solution, a single-walled carbon nanotube solution, a graphene solution, or a metal nanoparticle solution.

7. The continuous mass production system for flexible sensors according to claim 1, characterized in that, The base support release mechanism includes a base support roller and a base support seat. The base support roller is disposed on the base support seat, and the flexible base is wound around the base support roller.

8. A method for the continuous large-scale fabrication of a flexible sensor, employing the continuous large-scale fabrication system for flexible sensors as described in any one of claims 1-7, characterized in that, Includes the following steps: Step 1: Prepare the conductive solution; Step 2: Install the rolled flexible substrate onto the substrate support release mechanism, and guide it sequentially through the temperature-controlled heating platform, the gasket release mechanism, the merging mechanism, and the finished product winding mechanism; load the conductive solution into the automatic spraying mechanism; pre-attach one end of the gasket to one of the flexible substrates; Step 3: Open the finished product winding mechanism to drive the flexible substrate forward, and open the automatic spraying mechanism to spray the conductive solution described in Step 1 onto the surface of the flexible substrate; The temperature-controlled heating platform heats the flexible substrate, causing conductive material to adhere to the flexible substrate; the flexible substrate with the conductive material attached is then combined with the gasket via the gasket release mechanism. A flexible substrate combined with a gasket and another flexible substrate with an attached conductive material are joined face-to-face by the merging mechanism to form a finished flexible sensor; the finished product winding mechanism winds up the finished flexible sensor.

Images