Reverse Offset Printing for Patterned Substrates
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Solution Overview
Problem
The existing methods for producing patterned substrates, such as touch panel Bezel patterns, face inefficiencies due to high costs and damage risks when using large substrates, and reduced efficiency in mass production when using small substrates, particularly with tempered glass which is difficult to cut and process.
Innovation Solution
A method and apparatus utilizing a reverse offset printing process that involves disposing substrates and a printing plate with engraved pattern units on separate stages, applying ink to a printing roll, and transferring patterns to multiple substrates in one process, allowing for efficient and precise pattern formation on both large and small substrates without the need for post-pattern cutting.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If photolithography method is used to form Bezel patterns on tempered glass, then uniform and precise patterns are obtained, but manufacturing cost increases due to multiple processes (coating-exposure-development-sintering)
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts and eliminates unnecessary process steps from the traditional photolithography method. By using direct printing technology, it removes the coating, exposure, and development steps, keeping only the essential pattern formation step, thereby reducing manufacturing cost while maintaining pattern precision.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the complex chemical and physical processes of photolithography (coating, exposure, development, sintering) with a direct printing mechanism that deposits material only where needed, substituting multiple sequential operations with a single streamlined process.
2Productivity
If large-size tempered glass substrates are used for mass production, then production capacity increases, but it becomes impossible to cut the glass into desired sizes and shapes after patterning
Solution Approach 1:
The patent performs the cutting action before the patterning process. By pre-cutting the tempered glass substrates to desired sizes and shapes before applying the Bezel pattern, it enables both mass production on large substrates and subsequent customization without compromising either productivity or manufacturing flexibility.
3Productivity
If screen printing method is used to form Bezel patterns, then patterns are formed at fast speed, but pattern thickness becomes 5 μm or more with poor thickness uniformity
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies material only where needed through precise printing control, depositing ink or paste selectively at the pattern locations rather than applying a uniform layer across the entire substrate. This localized deposition achieves both fast formation speed and excellent thickness uniformity by controlling material placement at the micro-scale.
Data Source
AI summary
Provided are a method for producing two or more patterned substrates, which has a simple process and is efficient, and an apparatus for producing two or more patterned substrates.