JP2003265992A - Film forming apparatus, head cleaning method, device manufacturing apparatus and device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a means for cleaning each head of a film forming apparatus by which the quantity of waste produced as the result of the cleaning is decreased. <P>SOLUTION: A wiping unit 70 is provided with an endless belt-like wiping sheet 75 which is circulated to wipe and clean each nozzle surface 53a. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2003,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

The present invention relates to a film forming apparatus having a plurality of heads, a head cleaning method for cleaning each head, a device manufacturing apparatus for manufacturing a device, the film forming apparatus or the film forming apparatus. And devices manufactured by In particular, the present invention relates to a film forming apparatus, a head cleaning method, a device manufacturing apparatus, and a device manufactured by these, which can reduce the amount of waste generated as a result of cleaning each head.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, with the development of various electronic devices such as computers and portable information devices, the demand and application range of liquid crystal devices, especially color liquid crystal devices, have been increasing. In this type of liquid crystal device, a color filter substrate for colorizing a display image is used. And
In the manufacture of this color filter substrate, there is an ink jet method as a method for forming R (red), G (green), and B (blue) filter elements in a predetermined pattern on the substrate.

As a device using this ink jet system, an ink jet device having a plurality of ink jet heads for ejecting ink droplets is being developed. Each ink jet head includes an ink chamber for temporarily storing ink supplied from the outside, a pressure generating element (for example, a piezo element) as a driving source for ejecting a predetermined amount of ink in the ink chamber, and an ink chamber from the ink chamber. And a nozzle surface on which a nozzle for ejecting the ink droplet is formed. These inkjet heads are arranged at equal pitch intervals to form a head group, and eject the ink droplets while scanning the head group in one direction (for example, the X direction) with respect to the substrate. By going
R, G, and B inks can be supplied onto the substrate. On the other hand, the position adjustment of the substrate in the Y direction intersecting the one direction is performed on the mounting table side on which the substrate is mounted.

[0004]

By the way, as a substrate (color filter substrate, etc.) to be manufactured, its resolution tends to be higher and its pattern tends to be further miniaturized. Due to this background, each inkjet head
It is necessary to supply R, G, and B ink droplets to a predetermined position on the substrate very accurately and cleanly in a predetermined area. Naturally, each inkjet head must eject a predetermined amount of ink droplets straight toward a desired point on the substrate, but if residual ink adheres to each nozzle surface, this may have an adverse effect. is there. This residual ink is a part of the ink droplets ejected from each nozzle and remains on the nozzle surface, but it is difficult to completely avoid the generation of this residual ink because of the use of ink. Is.

As a solution to such a problem, there is a method of dealing with it by providing a cleaning mechanism for wiping off all the residual ink adhering to the nozzle surface. As a cleaning mechanism in this case, for example, a cleaning mechanism is being developed in which a roller having a wide cleaning cloth wound around each nozzle surface is pressed against the nozzle surface, and each nozzle surface is wiped and cleaned while the cleaning cloth is being fed out. . In this cleaning mechanism, the cleaning cloth (wiping sheet) after cleaning each nozzle surface becomes waste, but in consideration of reduction of running cost, it is required to make an effort to reduce such waste as much as possible. It will be.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and it is an object of the present invention to provide means for reducing the amount of waste generated as a result of cleaning each head of a film forming apparatus.

[0007]

The present invention adopts the following means in order to solve the above problems. [1] In a film forming apparatus including a plurality of heads that eject droplets and a head cleaning mechanism that cleans the nozzle surfaces of these heads, the head cleaning mechanism rotates while wiping the nozzle surfaces. A film forming apparatus comprising an endless belt-shaped wiping sheet. According to the film forming apparatus described in [1], the wiping sheet is rotated and pressed against each nozzle surface to wipe off the residual ink adhering to each nozzle surface. The wiping sheet at the time of cleaning each nozzle surface is configured as an endless belt and circulates while drawing an endless track, so that the wiping sheet is not wasted after being used once.

[2] The film forming apparatus according to the above [1], wherein the head cleaning mechanism is further provided with a cleaning liquid supply section for supplying a cleaning liquid to the wiping sheet. apparatus. According to the film forming apparatus of [2], for example, when a dry wiping sheet is pressed against the nozzle surface (in the case of a dry type), the ink in the head may be applied to the nozzle surface depending on the viscosity of the ink used There is a risk that it will be pulled out more. On the other hand, as in the present invention, the cleaning surface of the wiping sheet is previously wetted with the cleaning liquid from the cleaning liquid supply unit (wet).
As a result, it is possible to reliably wipe off the ink adhering to each nozzle surface without excessively extracting the ink from the inside of the head.

[3] The film forming apparatus as described in [2] above, wherein the cleaning liquid is the same solvent as the solvent contained in the liquid forming the droplets.
According to the film forming apparatus described in [3], even the ink having almost no volatility can be surely wiped off, and ink remains on each nozzle surface.

[4] In the film forming apparatus according to any one of [1] to [3], the head cleaning mechanism cleans a portion of the wiping sheet after the nozzle surfaces have been wiped. A film forming apparatus, further comprising a cleaning unit. According to the film forming apparatus of [4], the ink on each nozzle surface is wiped off by circulating the wiping sheet. The portion of the wiping sheet to which the ink has adhered by wiping each nozzle surface in this manner is washed by the washing section, so that the attached ink is washed off. Then, the portion of the wiping sheet washed in this way is continuously sent out to each nozzle surface in order to wipe the nozzle surface again.

[5] A head cleaning method for cleaning a plurality of heads for ejecting droplets, characterized in that the nozzle surface of each head is wiped with an endless belt-shaped wiping sheet. According to the head cleaning method described in [5], the residual ink adhering to each nozzle surface is wiped off by pressing the nozzle surface while rotating the wiping sheet. Since the wiping sheet at the time of cleaning each nozzle surface circulates while drawing an endless track, it is not wastefully discarded after being used once.

[6] The head cleaning method according to the above [5], characterized in that a cleaning liquid is supplied to the wiping sheet to moisten it and then the nozzle surfaces are wiped. According to the head cleaning method of [6], for example, when a dry wiping sheet is pressed against the nozzle surface (in the case of a dry type), the ink in the head may be applied to the nozzle surface depending on the viscosity of the ink used. There is a risk that it will be pulled out more. On the other hand, as in the present invention, the cleaning surface of the wiping sheet is previously wetted with a cleaning liquid (wet method).
This makes it possible to reliably wipe off the ink adhering to each nozzle surface without extracting excess ink from the inside of the head.

[7] The head cleaning method according to the above [6], wherein the cleaning liquid is the same solvent as the solvent contained in the ink. According to the head cleaning method described in [7], even the ink having almost no volatility can be reliably wiped off, and ink remains on each nozzle surface.

[8] In the head cleaning method according to any one of the above [5] to [7], after cleaning the portion of the wiping sheet after the nozzle surfaces have been wiped, the wiping sheet is again cleaned. A head cleaning method characterized in that it is sent to the nozzle surface. According to the head cleaning method described in [8], the ink on each nozzle surface is wiped off by circulating the wiping sheet. The portion of the wiping sheet to which the ink has adhered by wiping each nozzle surface in this way is washed to wash off the adhered ink. Then, the portion of the wiping sheet washed in this way is continuously sent out to each nozzle surface in order to wipe the nozzle surface again.

[9] A device manufacturing apparatus including the film forming apparatus according to any one of the above [1] to [4]. According to the device manufacturing apparatus of [9],
Since the amount of waste generated as a result of cleaning each head of the film forming apparatus can be reduced, the device manufacturing apparatus can reduce the running cost.

[10] A device manufactured by the film forming apparatus according to the above [9]. This [1
According to the device described in [0], since the amount of waste generated as a result of cleaning each head of the film forming apparatus can be reduced, the device can be reduced in running cost.

[0017]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings, but it goes without saying that the present invention is not limited to this.

In the following description, first, referring to FIG.
~ The device manufacturing apparatus and device example of the present embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 4, and then the film forming apparatus and head cleaning method provided in the device manufacturing apparatus with reference to Figs. 5 to 18. Shall be explained.

[Description of Device Manufacturing Apparatus and Device]
First, the device manufacturing apparatus of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. It should be noted that FIG. 1 is a plan view showing the arrangement of each component in the device manufacturing apparatus. As shown in FIG. 1, the device manufacturing apparatus according to the present embodiment has a wafer supply unit 1 that accommodates a substrate (a glass substrate; hereinafter referred to as a wafer Wf) to be processed, and is transferred from the wafer supply unit 1. Wafer rotator 2 that determines the drawing direction of the wafer Wf
An inkjet device 3 that is a film forming device that forms an R (red) filter element on the wafer Wf transferred from the wafer rotating unit 2, and the inkjet device 3
A baking oven 4 for drying the wafer Wf transferred from
Robots 5a and 5b that perform transfer work of the wafer Wf between these devices, an intermediate transfer unit 6 that determines the cooling and drawing direction before the wafer Wf transferred from the baking furnace 4 is sent to the next process, The wafer Wf transferred from the intermediate transfer section 6
In contrast, an inkjet device 7 that is a film forming device that forms a G (green) filter element, a baking furnace 8 that dries the wafer Wf transferred from the inkjet device 7, and a wafer Wf between these devices. Robots 9a and 9b that perform the transfer work, an intermediate transfer unit 10 that determines the cooling and drawing directions before the wafer Wf transferred from the baking furnace 8 is sent to the next process, and transfer from the intermediate transfer unit 10 An inkjet device 11 that is a film forming device that forms a B (blue) filter element on the wafer Wf that has been subjected to the baking, a baking furnace 12 that dries the wafer Wf transferred from the inkjet device 11, and a device between these devices. Robots 13a and 13b for transferring the wafer Wf of the wafer and the baking furnace 1
The wafer rotator 14 determines the storage direction of the wafer Wf transferred from No. 2 and the wafer keeper 15 that stores the wafer Wf transferred from the wafer rotator 14.

The number of wafer supply units 1 is, for example, 20 per unit.
It is provided with two magazine loaders 1a and 1b having an elevator mechanism for accommodating one wafer Wf in the vertical direction,
The wafers Wf can be sequentially supplied. The wafer rotating unit 2 moves the wafer Wf to the ink jet device 3
Is used to determine the drawing direction in which the drawing is to be performed and to perform temporary positioning before transferring to the inkjet device 3, and the two wafer rotary stages 2a and 2b are used to perform 90 degrees around the vertical axis. The wafer Wf is rotatably held at a precise pitch interval.

The details of the ink jet devices 3, 7, and 11 will be described later, and the description thereof will be omitted here. The baking furnace 4 has, for example, 120
Wafer W transferred from inkjet device 3 by placing wafer Wf in a heating environment of ℃ or less for 5 minutes
The red ink of f is dried, which makes it possible to prevent inconveniences such as the red ink being scattered during the movement of the wafer Wf.

The robots 5a and 5b are equipped with an arm (not shown) capable of extending and rotating around the base, and the wafer Wf is attached to the tip of the arm by a vacuum suction pad. By sucking and holding, the transfer work of the wafer Wf between the respective devices can be smoothly and efficiently performed.

The intermediate transfer section 6 cools the heated wafer Wf transferred from the baking furnace 4 by the robot 5b before sending it to the next process, and a cooler 6a after cooling.
On the other hand, the wafer rotary table 6 is used to determine the drawing direction in which the inkjet device 7 should perform the drawing, and to perform temporary positioning before transferring to the inkjet device 7.
b, and a buffer 6c arranged between the cooler 6a and the wafer turntable 6b to absorb a processing speed difference between the inkjet devices 3 and 7. The wafer turntable 6b is capable of rotating the wafer Wf at a pitch of 90 degrees or a pitch of 180 degrees around the vertical axis.

In the ink jet device 3 for forming the red filter element and the ink jet device 7 for forming the green filter element, the time required for the above-mentioned drying and the respective ink jet heads (the ink jet devices 3, 7, 11 of Since the time required for the cleaning work (described later in the description) is different, as a result, a difference occurs in processing speed between the inkjet devices 3 and 7. The buffer 6c is provided to absorb this difference in processing speed, and is capable of temporarily temporarily placing a plurality of wafers Wf on an elevator stock table.

The bake oven 10 is a heating oven having the same structure as the bake oven 6 and has been transferred from the ink jet device 7 by placing the wafer Wf in a heating environment of 120 ° C. or less for 5 minutes. The green ink on the wafer Wf is dried.
It is possible to prevent inconveniences such as the scattering of green ink during the movement of the.

The robots 9a and 9b are the same as the robot 5 described above.
A wafer having a structure similar to that of a and 5b, equipped with an arm (not shown) capable of extending and rotating around a base, and a vacuum suction pad equipped at the tip of the arm. By sucking and holding Wf, the transfer operation of the wafer Wf between the respective devices can be performed smoothly and efficiently.

The intermediate transfer section 10 has the same structure as the intermediate transfer section 6, and the baking furnace 8 is operated by the robot 9b.
The cooling device 10a that cools the heated wafer Wf transferred from the above before sending it to the next process, and the drawing direction determination as to which direction the inkjet device 11 draws the wafer Wf after cooling, and Wafer turntable 1 for temporary positioning before transferring to the inkjet device 11
0b and a buffer 10c arranged between the cooler 10a and the wafer turntable 10b to absorb a difference in processing speed between the inkjet devices 7 and 11. The wafer turntable 10b moves 90 degrees around the vertical axis.
The wafer Wf can be rotated at a pitch of 180 degrees or a pitch of 180 degrees.

The wafer rotator 14 can be rotationally positioned so that each of the wafers Wf after the R, G, B patterns are formed by the ink jet devices 3, 7, 11 is oriented in a fixed direction. There is. That is, the wafer rotator 14 includes two wafer rotators 14a and 14b so that the wafer Wf can be rotatably held at 90-degree pitch intervals around the vertical axis. The wafer accommodating portion 15 is a completed wafer Wf (color filter substrate) transferred from the wafer rotating portion 14.
Two magazine unloaders 15 provided with an elevator mechanism for accommodating, for example, 20 sheets each in the vertical direction.
It has a and 15b and can accommodate the wafers Wf in sequence.

A series of flow of the manufacturing process of the color filter substrate including the RGB pattern forming process by the device manufacturing apparatus of the present embodiment described above will be described below with reference to FIGS. 2A to 2F are views showing a series of color filter substrate manufacturing steps including an RGB pattern forming step by the device manufacturing apparatus, and FIGS.
The flow of manufacturing is shown in this order. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of an RGB pattern formed by each inkjet device of the device manufacturing apparatus, (a) is a perspective view showing a stripe type, and (b) is a partially enlarged view showing a mosaic type. , (C) are partially enlarged views showing a delta type.

The wafer Wf used for manufacturing is, for example, a rectangular thin plate-shaped transparent substrate, and has both a proper mechanical strength and a high light-transmitting property. As the wafer Wf, for example, a transparent glass substrate, an acrylic glass, a plastic substrate, a plastic film, a surface-treated product thereof, or the like is preferably used. It should be noted that a plurality of color filter areas are formed in a matrix in advance on the wafer Wf in a step prior to the RGB pattern forming step from the viewpoint of improving productivity, and these color filter areas are formed after the RGB pattern forming step. By cutting in the process, it is used as a color filter substrate suitable for a liquid crystal device.

As shown in FIG. 3, in each color filter area, R (red) ink, G (green) ink and B (blue) ink are supplied from respective ink jet heads 53, which will be described later, and predetermined. It is designed to be formed in a pattern. As the formation pattern, in addition to the stripe type shown in FIG. 3A, there are a mosaic type shown in FIG. 3B and a delta type shown in FIG. 3C. Regarding, there is no particular limitation.

First, in the black matrix forming step which is the previous step, as shown in FIG. 2A, one surface of the transparent wafer Wf (the surface which is the base of the color filter substrate).
In contrast, a resin (preferably black) that does not transmit light is
By a method such as spin coating, a predetermined thickness (for example, 2
.about..mu.m) and then the black matrix b, ... Is formed in a matrix by a method such as a photolithography method. The minimum display element surrounded by the black matrix b, ... Is a so-called filter element (reference numeral e, ...)
The width in the axial direction is 30 μm, and the length in the Y-axis direction is 10 μm.
The window has a size of about 0 μm. After forming the black matrix b, ..., Heat is applied by a heater (not shown) to bake the resin on the wafer Wf.

The wafer Wf on which the black matrix b has been formed in this way is housed in each of the magazine loaders 1a and 1b of the wafer supply unit 1 shown in FIG. 1, and the RGB pattern forming process is subsequently performed. That is, first, the robot 5a sucks and holds the wafer Wf housed in one of the magazine loaders 1a and 1b, and then mounts it on one of the wafer turntables 2a and 2b. Place. Then, the wafer turntables 2a, 2
In step b, the drawing direction and the positioning are performed as a pre-preparation for supplying the red ink droplet.

After that, the robot 5a again sucks and holds the wafer Wf on each of the wafer turntables 2a and 2b, and transfers it to the ink jet device 3 this time. In this ink jet device 3, as shown in FIG. 2B, the filter element e at a predetermined position for forming a predetermined pattern,
The red ink droplet R is supplied to the inside. The amount of each ink drop R at this time is a sufficient amount in consideration of the volume reduction amount of the ink drop R in the heating process. The details of the supply of the ink droplet R by the inkjet device 3 will be described later.

The wafer Wf after all the predetermined filter elements e, ... Are filled with the red ink R in this way is dried at a predetermined temperature (for example, about 70 ° C.). At this time, when the solvent of the ink droplet R evaporates, the volume of the ink droplet R decreases as shown in FIG. 2C. Therefore, when the volume reduction is severe, a sufficient ink film thickness for the color filter substrate is obtained. Until this is done, the work of supplying the ink drops R and the work of drying are repeated. By this process,
The solvent of the ink droplet R evaporates, and finally only the solid content of the ink droplet R remains and forms a film.

The drying operation in the red pattern forming step is performed by the baking furnace 4 shown in FIG. Since the wafer Wf after the drying operation is in the heated state, it is transferred to the cooler 6a and cooled by the robot 5b shown in the figure. The cooled wafer Wf is temporarily stored in the buffer 6c, time-adjusted, and then transferred to the wafer rotary table 6b, and its drawing direction and positioning are performed as a preliminary preparation for supplying green ink droplets. Is done. Then, the robot 9a moves the wafer turntable 6b.
After sucking and holding the upper wafer Wf, it is transferred to the inkjet device 7 this time.

In this ink jet device 7, as shown in FIG.
As shown in (b), a green ink drop G is supplied into the filter elements e, ... At predetermined positions for forming a predetermined pattern. The amount of each ink droplet G at this time is
It is a sufficient amount in consideration of the volume reduction amount of the ink droplet G in the heating process.

The wafer Wf after all the predetermined filter elements e, ... Are filled with the green ink G in this way is dried at a predetermined temperature (for example, about 70 ° C.). At this time, when the solvent of the ink droplet G evaporates, the volume of the ink droplet G decreases as shown in FIG. 2C. Therefore, when the volume reduction is large, a sufficient ink film thickness for the color filter substrate is obtained. Until this is done, the work of supplying the ink droplet G and the work of drying are repeated. By this process,
The solvent of the ink droplet G evaporates, and finally only the solid content of the ink droplet G remains and forms a film.

The drying operation in the green pattern forming step is performed by the baking oven 8 shown in FIG. Since the wafer Wf after the drying operation is in the heated state, it is transferred to the cooler 10a and cooled by the robot 9b shown in the figure. The cooled wafer Wf is temporarily stored in the buffer 10c, time-adjusted, and then transferred to the wafer rotary table 10b, and its drawing direction and positioning are performed as a preliminary preparation for supplying blue ink droplets. Is done. Then, the robot 13a sucks and holds the wafer Wf on the wafer turntable 10b, and then transfers the wafer Wf to the inkjet device 11.

In this ink jet device 11, FIG.
As shown in (b), a blue ink drop B is supplied into the filter elements e, ... At predetermined positions for forming a predetermined pattern. The amount of each ink droplet B at this time is
It is a sufficient amount in consideration of the volume reduction amount of the ink droplet B in the heating process. In addition, this inkjet device 1
Details of the supply of the ink droplet B by No. 1 will be described later.

In this way, the wafer Wf after all the predetermined filter elements e, ... Are filled with the blue ink B has a predetermined temperature (for example, about 70 ° C.) as shown in FIG. 2C. ) Is dried. At this time, ink droplet B
When the solvent evaporates, the volume of the ink droplet B is reduced. Therefore, when the volume is drastically reduced, the supply operation of the ink droplet B and the drying operation are repeated until a sufficient ink film thickness for the color filter is obtained. . By this treatment, the solvent of the ink droplet B evaporates, and finally only the solid content of the ink droplet B remains and forms a film.

The drying operation in the blue pattern forming step is performed by the baking oven 12 shown in FIG. Then, the wafer Wf after the drying work is transferred by the robot 13b to one of the wafer turntables 14a and 14b, and then rotationally positioned so as to face a certain direction. The wafer Wf after rotational positioning is accommodated in either one of the magazine unloaders 15a and 15b by the robot 13b.

With the above, the RGB pattern forming process is completed. Then, subsequently, the post-process shown in FIG. That is, in the protective film forming step shown in FIG. 2D, heating is performed at a predetermined temperature for a predetermined time in order to completely dry the ink droplets R, G, and B. When the drying is completed, the protective film c is formed for the purpose of surface protection and surface flattening of the wafer Wf on which the ink film is formed. A method such as a spin coating method, a roll coating method, or a ripping method can be adopted for forming the protective film c.

In the subsequent transparent electrode forming step shown in FIG. 2E, the transparent electrode t is formed so as to cover the entire surface of the protective film c by using a recipe such as a sputtering method or a vacuum adsorption method. In the subsequent patterning step shown in FIG. 2F, the transparent electrode t is
It is patterned as a pixel electrode. It should be noted that the liquid crystal device is configured as an active matrix type, and T is used for driving the liquid crystal.
This patterning is not necessary when using FT (Thin Film Transistor) or the like.

By the respective manufacturing steps described above, FIG.
The color filter substrate CK shown in is manufactured. And
The color filter substrate CK and a counter substrate (not shown) are arranged so as to face each other, and the liquid crystal device is manufactured, so that, for example, the notebook computer 20 shown in FIG.
(Device) will be manufactured. A notebook computer 20 shown in FIG. 1 includes a housing 21, the liquid crystal device (see reference numeral 22) housed in the housing 21, a keyboard 23 as an input unit, a display information output source (not shown), and a display. It is configured to include various circuits such as an information processing circuit and a clock generation circuit, and a display signal generation unit including a power supply circuit that supplies electric power to these circuits. In the liquid crystal device 22,
For example, the display signal generated by the display signal generation unit is supplied based on the information input from the keyboard 23, and a display image is formed.

Color filter substrate CK according to the present embodiment
The device equipped with is not limited to the notebook computer 20, but a mobile phone, an electronic notebook, a pager, a P
OS terminal, IC card, mini disk player, liquid crystal projector, engineering workstation (E
WS), word processor, television, viewfinder type or monitor direct view type video recorder, electronic desk calculator, car navigation device, device equipped with a touch panel, clock, game machine, and various other electronic devices.

[Description of Inkjet Device and Head Cleaning Method] Next, with reference to FIGS. 5 to 18, a detailed description will be given of each of the inkjet devices 3, 7, and 11 provided in the device manufacturing apparatus. And Since the inkjet devices 3, 7 and 11 have the same structure, the inkjet device 3 will be described below, and the other inkjet devices 7 and 11 are the same and the description thereof will be omitted. To do.

As shown in FIGS. 5 to 7, the ink jet device 3 of the present embodiment has an ink jet unit 30, a cap unit 60, and its main components.
A wiping unit 70 (head cleaning mechanism), a weight measuring unit 90 (omitted in FIG. 5), and a dot dropout detection unit 100 (omitted in FIG. 5) are provided. In addition,
FIG. 5 is a schematic configuration diagram showing main components of the inkjet apparatus. Further, FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a part of the inkjet device, and is a side view seen from an arrow A in FIG. 1. Further, FIG. 7 is a diagram showing the ink jet device and is a plan view seen from an arrow B in FIG. 6.

(1) Description of Inkjet Unit 30 The inkjet unit 30 is a unit that supplies the ink droplet R to the inkjet head 53 and ejects it toward the wafer Wf. As shown in FIG. 5, in the inkjet unit 30, first, an inert gas g such as nitrogen gas is supplied to the air filter 31 to remove impurities contained in the inert gas g, and then further. The mist contained in the inert gas g is removed by passing through the mist separator 32. The inert gas g after removing the mist is branched into two systems, a system for pressure-feeding ink and a system for pressure-feeding cleaning liquid. Depending on the work content, one of these systems can be used to feed the pressure of ink / cleaning liquid described below. It can be switched by the switching valve 35.

That is, when a system for pressure-feeding ink is selected, the inert gas g passing through the mist separator 32 is selected.
Is supplied to the ink pressure feed pressure adjusting valve 33, where it is appropriately adjusted in pressure, passes through the ink side residual pressure exhaust valve 34, the ink / cleaning liquid pressure feed pressure switching valve 35 and the air filter 36, and After the supply pressure is checked by the active gas pressure detection sensor 37, it is supplied into the ink pressure supply tank 38.

On the other hand, when a system for pumping the cleaning liquid is selected, the inert gas g passing through the mist separator 32 is
It is supplied to the cleaning liquid pressure feed pressure adjusting valve 39, where the pressure is adjusted appropriately, and then passes through the cleaning liquid side residual pressure exhaust valve 40, the ink / cleaning liquid pressure feed pressure switching valve 35, and the air filter 71, and further, an inert gas. After the supply pressure is checked by the pressure detection sensor 72, the pressure is supplied into the cleaning liquid pressure feed tank 73. The continuation of the flow in this system will be described later in the description of the wiping unit 70 (head cleaning mechanism).

The ink in the deaeration ink bottle 41 is replenished in the ink pressure feed tank 38 by the ink pressure feed pump 42, and the presence or absence of the ink is confirmed by the ink presence / absence detection load sensor 45. It is designed to detect loads. Therefore, when the remaining amount of ink in the ink pressure feed tank 38 falls below a predetermined level, the ink presence / absence load detection sensor 45 detects this and activates the ink pressure feed pump 42 to replenish the ink until reaching the predetermined level. Is being done. Reference numeral 43 is an air filter mounted on the degassing ink bottle 41, and reference numeral 44 is a tank exhaust pressure valve.

When the inert gas g is supplied into the ink pressure-feeding tank 38, the internal pressure of the ink is increased and the liquid surface of the ink is pushed down. After being pressure-measured by, the liquid passes through the fluid pressure ON / OFF switching valve 47 and is further pressure-fed to the sub tank 48. Reference numeral 49 indicates a flow path ground joint for releasing static electricity.

The sub tank 48 is provided with an air filter 50, a sub tank upper limit detection sensor 51, and an ink level control detection sensor 52. The sub-tank upper limit detection sensor 51 is a detection sensor for stopping the ink supply to the sub-tank 48 when the ink level in the sub-tank 48 exceeds a predetermined level. The ink level control detection sensor 52 includes a plurality of inkjet heads 53 (see FIG. 6 for the arrangement thereof).
In FIG. 5, the inkjet head 53 is described as a single unit for the sake of description), the head value head of the ink surface in the sub tank 48 for each nozzle surface 53a is within a predetermined range (for example, 25 mm ± 0.5 mm). It is a detection sensor for adjusting.

The ink supplied from the sub tank 48 is supplied to the ink jet head 53 after passing through the head bubble removing valve 54. Reference numeral 55 indicates a flow path ground joint for releasing static electricity. The head bubble elimination valve 54 closes the upstream flow path of the inkjet head 53 to increase the suction flow rate when the ink in the inkjet head 53 is sucked by the cap unit 60 described later, and the bubble in the inkjet head 53 is increased. Is designed to be able to exhaust quickly.

Details of each ink jet head 53 will be described below with reference to FIGS. FIG. 8 is a plan view showing the nozzle head unit of the inkjet device. Further, FIG. 9 is a side view of the nozzle head unit as seen from an arrow C in FIG. In addition, FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a mechanism for ejecting ink of an inkjet head included in the nozzle head unit. 11A and 11B are views showing a part of the inkjet head, in which FIG. 11A is a view seen from the side facing the nozzle surface, and FIG. 11B is a sectional view taken along line DD of FIG. 12A and 12B are views for explaining the inkjet head, FIG. 12A is an explanatory view showing a scanning direction, and FIG. 12B is an explanatory view showing a change of a nozzle pitch.

As shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, each ink jet head 53 of the present embodiment has a first head row 121A in which six ink jet heads 53 are arranged in a row so as to obliquely overlap each other.
The head unit 120 is configured by fixing the second head row 121B and the second head row 121B to the head holding plate 122. First head row 121A and second head row 121B
Are parallel to each other, and the axes c1 and c2 are arranged so as to intersect the feeding direction of the wiping sheet 75 (arrow S direction in FIG. 8) described later.

As shown in FIG. 10, each ink jet head 53 is, for example, a head using a piezo element (piezoelectric element), and a plurality of nozzles 53c are formed on the nozzle surface 53a of the main body 53b. . Then, for each of these nozzles 53c, the piezo element 53d
Is provided. This piezo element 53d is used for the nozzle 5
3c and the ink chamber 53e, the applied voltage Vh is applied to expand and contract in the direction of the arrow P to pressurize the inside of the ink chamber 53e to eject a predetermined amount of ink droplet R from each nozzle 53c. It is designed to be discharged.

As shown in FIGS. 11A and 11B, a plurality of rows (two rows in this embodiment) of grooves 53a1 and 53a2 are formed in parallel on the nozzle surface 53a of each ink jet head 53. And further, these grooves 53a1,
The nozzles 53c are bored inside the 53a2 at equal pitch intervals. As described above, the inkjet heads 53 are arranged so as to be diagonally overlapped with each other. As shown in FIG. 12A, this is because the ink droplet R is passed over the wafer Wf while passing through each inkjet head 53.
12B, by inclining each inkjet head 53 at an appropriate angle with respect to the scanning direction (traveling direction) as shown in FIG. 12B, it is apparent according to the pixel pitch p1 of the color filter substrate to be manufactured. This is because the nozzle spacing p2 of 1 is matched.

(2) Description of Cap Unit 60 Following the ink jet unit 30 described above, the cap unit 60 will be described below. The cap unit 60 shown in FIG. 5 includes an ink suction pump including a plurality of caps 61 (see FIG. 6 and FIG. 7 for the arrangement thereof) which are pressed against the nozzle surfaces 53a of the respective inkjet heads 53 from directly below. The ink waste liquid can be sucked into the ink waste liquid tank 65 by using the suction force of 62. The reference numeral 63 is
A valve provided in the vicinity of the cap 61 for the purpose of shortening the time for maintaining the pressure balance (= atmospheric pressure) between each inkjet head 53 and the suction side when sucking the ink in each inkjet head 53, Reference numeral 64 is an ink suction pressure detection sensor for detecting a suction abnormality.

The ink waste liquid tank 65 is provided with a waste liquid tank upper limit detection sensor 66, and when it is detected that the liquid level in the ink waste liquid tank 65 exceeds a predetermined level, the ink waste liquid pump 67 is activated. The waste liquid can be transferred to the ink waste liquid bottle 68 by starting up.
According to the cap unit 60, a negative pressure is applied to the nozzles of the inkjet heads 53 before the ejection of the ink droplets R from the inkjet heads 53 to fill the nozzle surface 53a with ink, and Each inkjet head 5 to remove clogging
Nozzle No. 3 may be applied with a negative pressure to suck the nozzles, or the nozzle surface 53 may be covered with a cap 61 to keep the ink in the nozzles moisturized so as to prevent the ink in each nozzle from drying during standby. You can do it.

(3) Description of Wiping Unit 70 Following the cap unit 60 described above, FIGS.
The wiping unit 70 is described with reference to FIGS.
(Head cleaning mechanism) will be described below. Note that FIG.
FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a wiping sheet circulation unit of the wiping unit 70. FIG. 14 is a view showing the wiping sheet circulating unit, which is a vertical cross-sectional view seen from a cross section perpendicular to the axes of the unwinding roller and the winding roller. Further, FIG. 15 is a perspective view showing a roller unit of the wiping unit 70. Also,
FIG. 16 is a vertical cross-sectional view of the roller unit seen from a cross section perpendicular to the axis of the roller. In addition, FIG. 17 is a plan view for explaining cleaning of each nozzle surface by the wiping unit 70. 18A and 18B are side views for explaining cleaning of each nozzle surface by the wiping unit 70. FIG. 18A shows a state before pressing the wiping sheet against the nozzle surface, and FIG. 18B shows a pressing state. Shows.

The wiping unit 70 cleans each nozzle surface 53a of each of the ink jet heads 53 periodically or at any time, and as shown in FIG. 5, a wiping sheet 75 for wiping each nozzle surface 53a,
A roller 76 that presses the wiping sheet 75 toward each nozzle surface 53a, a cleaning liquid supply unit 77 that sprays and supplies a cleaning liquid onto the wiping sheet 75, and a wiping sheet 75 that is unwound and supplied toward each nozzle surface 53a. The winding roller 7 and the winding roller 7 that winds the wiping sheet 75 after wiping the nozzle surfaces 53a and circulates the winding sheet 75 again toward the winding roller 78.
9, an electric motor 153 for driving the winding roller 79 to rotate, a wiping sheet cleaning tank 300 for cleaning the portion of the wiping sheet 75 returned to the winding roller 79 by cleaning with a cleaning liquid, and the wiping sheet cleaning tank 30.
The wiping sheet cleaning nozzle 301 is configured to spray a cleaning liquid onto the wiping sheet 75 toward 0 to forcibly remove dirt from the wiping sheet 75.

The wiping sheet 75 is made of, for example, 100% polyester woven cloth, and as shown in the figure, the unwinding roller 78, the roller 76, and the winding roller 78.
It is in the shape of an endless belt that is wound around and circulated. Further, the roller 76 is a rubber roller, and has elasticity that repels a pressing force applied to the peripheral surface thereof.

According to the wiping unit 70, the wiping sheet 75 fed from the unwinding roller 78 is circulated and supplied toward each nozzle surface 53a and pressed by the roller 76, whereby the wiping sheet 75 is cleaned cleanly. A surface can be constantly supplied to each nozzle surface 53a. Moreover, the wiping sheet 7 is pressed by the pressing force of the roller 76.
Since 5 is pressed against each nozzle surface 53a, the cleaning surface can be reliably applied to each nozzle surface 53a.

As shown in FIGS. 13 and 14, the unwinding roller 78 and the winding roller 79 are rotatable about their respective axes, and are in a roller casing 151.
It is fixed to the wiping sheet 7 by rotating the take-up roller 79.
5 can be unrolled. here,
The take-up roller 79 is rotationally driven by the take-up roller 7
This is performed by driving a pulley 79b coaxially attached to the end portion of the rotating shaft 79a of No. 9 by an electric motor 153 via a belt 152.

The guide roller 154 shown in the figure is for correctly guiding the flow of the wiping sheet 75, and the tachometer 155 (encoder) provided at the end thereof detects the rotation speed of the guide roller 154. By doing so, the feeding speed of the wiping sheet 75 can be detected.

The wiping sheet cleaning nozzle 301 sprays a cleaning liquid onto the portion of the wiping sheet 75 that has entered the wiping sheet cleaning tank 300 to forcibly wash it off, and the wiping sheet cleaning nozzle 301 is provided with a pipe having a plurality of nozzle holes 301a. It is configured. The cleaning liquid is supplied to the wiping sheet cleaning nozzle 301 from the cleaning liquid pressure feed tank 73 as shown in FIG. That is, the cleaning liquid pressure-fed from the cleaning liquid pressure-feeding tank 73 is the nozzle unit 1 of the cleaning liquid supply unit 77.
71 (described later) and the wiping sheet cleaning nozzle 301 are distributed and supplied. The wiping sheet cleaning tank 300 is a container that stores a certain amount of cleaning liquid. The portion of the wiping sheet 75 that has been cleaned by the wiping sheet cleaning nozzle 301 is dipped in the cleaning liquid inside to further ensure that the wiping sheet 75 is clean. It can be washed off.

Then, the unwinding roller 78 described above is used.
, Take-up roller 79, and roller casing 151
, Wiping sheet 75, electric motor 153, guide roller 154, and tachometer 155 (encoder)
The wiping sheet cleaning unit 300 is provided with the wiping sheet cleaning tank 300 and the wiping sheet cleaning nozzle 301.

As shown in FIGS. 15 and 16, the roller 7
Numeral 6 is fixed to the roller casing 161 in a state of being rotatable about its axis, and is rotationally driven in synchronization with the feeding speed of the wiping sheet 75 fed from the wiping sheet circulation unit 150. ing. Here, the rotation driving of the roller 76 is performed by the roller 76.
Attached to the end of the rotary shaft 76a of the
6b is driven by the electric motor 163 via the belt 162.

The nozzle unit 171 of the cleaning liquid supply unit 77 is arranged and fixed adjacent to the roller 76. The nozzle unit 171 has a plurality of nozzle holes 1 parallel to the axis of the roller 76 and along the longitudinal direction thereof.
71a is a rod-shaped pipe that is formed in an upward direction, and an appropriate amount of cleaning liquid is sprayed from the back surface side to the wiping sheet 75 passing directly above it to clean the nozzle surface 53a. The surface can be moistened immediately before.

The reason why the wiping sheet 75 is pre-moistened by the cleaning liquid supply unit 77 in this manner is that the nozzle surface 53 is wiped off more cleanly due to the cleaning effect of the cleaning liquid, but in addition to this, there are also the following reasons. is doing. That is, for example, when a dry wiping sheet 75 is pressed against each nozzle surface 53a (in the case of a dry type), suction of the wiping sheet 75 causes ink in each inkjet head 53 to be drawn out to the nozzle surface 53a side. There is a fear. On the other hand, as in the present embodiment, the cleaning surface of the wiping sheet 75 is previously wetted with the cleaning liquid from the cleaning liquid supply unit 77 (wet).
By doing so, it is possible to reliably prevent each of the nozzle surfaces 53a from being drawn out of the inside of the inkjet head 53 without excess ink.
You will be able to wipe off the attached ink.

A roller unit 160 is constituted by the roller 76, the roller casing 161, the electric motor 163, and the cleaning liquid supply section 77 described above. The wiping unit 70 including the roller unit 160 has a common mount 200 as shown in FIG.
It is installed and fixed integrally on the top, and is movable relative to the base 201 in the left-right direction on the paper surface of FIG.

As shown in FIG. 17, the wiping sheet 7
5 and the roller 76, the relative width dimensions W1 and W2 between the wiping sheet 75 and the roller 76 and the respective nozzle surfaces 53a are set to be equal to or more than the total width dimension W3 formed by all the respective nozzle surfaces 53a. ing. Similarly, the total width dimension W4 formed by each nozzle hole 171a of the nozzle unit 171 is also longer than the total width dimension W3. With this configuration, there is no nozzle surface 53a that deviates from the cleaning surface range of the wiping sheet 75, the pressing range of the roller 76, or the cleaning liquid application range from the nozzle unit 171, so that all the nozzle surfaces 53a can be reliably removed. You will be able to wipe it off.

By the way, the pressing pressure of the wiping sheet 75 against each nozzle surface 53a is set to be a predetermined pressure within the range of 100 to 1000 gf. this is,
By maintaining the pressing pressure appropriately, the wiping sheet 75 is pressed too strongly to damage each nozzle surface 53a, or the pressing force is too weak to each nozzle surface 5a.
This is to prevent the ink adhered to 3a from remaining without being wiped off. More specifically, the predetermined pressure is 1
If it is less than 00 gf, the pressing force may be too weak and the ink adhering to each nozzle surface 53a may remain without being wiped off. If the predetermined pressure is more than 1000 gf, the nozzle surface 53a may be pressed too strongly and each nozzle surface 53a may be pressed. Since there is a risk of damage, the specified pressure is 100-1000g.
It is set so that it falls within the range of f. This predetermined pressure is more preferably set according to the material of the wiping sheet and the hardness of the roller 76. For example, when polyester is used as the wiping sheet 75 and a rubber member having a hardness of about 20 to 70 degrees is used as the roller 76, it is preferable that the pressure be set to a predetermined pressure within the range of 200 to 400 gf.

When setting the pressing pressure, there is a method of directly measuring the pressing pressure, but in this embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 18 (a) and 18 (b), the wiping sheet 7 is used.
The displacement amount (crush amount) of the wiping sheet 75 and the roller 76 may be set to a predetermined dimension when the roller 76 is pressed against the respective nozzle surfaces 53a via 5. More specifically, an appropriate range of the displacement amount is defined according to the material and thickness of the wiping sheet 75 and the hardness of the roller 76. For example, when a sheet of polyester fiber having a thickness of 0.6 mm is used as the wiping sheet 75 and rubber having a hardness of 30 to 60 degrees is used as the roller 76, the nozzle surface 53a and the wiping sheet 7 are used.
5 and the position of the rotary shaft of the roller 76 in a state where the roller 76 is in contact with the position of the rotary shaft after pressing are set so as to be in the range of 0.1 to 1 mm in the pressing direction.

That is, before the pressing shown in FIG. 18A, the roller unit 160 is located at a position distant from each ink jet head 53, and the vertical height of the upper surface (cleaning surface) of the wiping sheet 75 at that time. Sa H1
And When the vertical height of the nozzle surface 53a of each inkjet head 53 is H2, H2-H
1 is set to fall within the range of 0.1 to 1 mm. As a result, as shown in FIG. 18B, the roller 7 of the roller unit 160 is used for head cleaning.
When 6 is horizontally moved by a roller unit drive mechanism (not shown) so as to be directly below the nozzle unit 120, the wiping sheet 75 and the roller 76 are fixed to the nozzles of the inkjet heads 53. Surface 5
It is deformed by being pushed downward by 3a. When this deformation amount is G, the deformation amount G is set to fall within the range of 0.1 to 1 mm.

When the displacement G is less than 0.1 mm, it is judged that the pressing pressure by the wiping sheet 75 is insufficient, and conversely, when it exceeds 1 mm, the pressing by the wiping sheet 75 is performed. You will be able to judge that the pressure is too strong. Therefore, by keeping the displacement amount G within 0.1 to 1 mm, the pressing pressure of the wiping sheet 75 is kept within the predetermined pressure without directly measuring the pressing pressure applied to each nozzle surface 53a. It can be easily set.

As described above, the present wiping unit 70 employs a structure including the wiping sheet 75 in the form of an endless belt that rotates while wiping each nozzle surface 53a. Sheet 7
A particular feature is that a head cleaning method in which 5 is circulated and supplied to each nozzle surface 53a is adopted. That is, according to this wiping sheet 75, when cleaning each nozzle surface 53a, the nozzle surface 53a circulates while drawing an endless track, so that it is not wastefully discarded after being used once. ing.

Further, the wiping unit 70 includes:
As described above, the configuration / method is adopted in which the cleaning liquid is sprayed and supplied from the cleaning liquid supply unit 77 to the wiping sheet 75 facing each nozzle surface 53a, and the nozzle surface 53a is wiped after being pre-wetted. That is, for example, when a dry wiping sheet 75 is pressed against each nozzle surface 53a (in the case of a dry type), the ink in the inkjet head 53 may be drawn to the nozzle surface 53a excessively depending on the viscosity of the ink used. There is. On the other hand, as in the present invention, the cleaning surface of the wiping sheet 75 is previously moistened with the cleaning liquid from the cleaning liquid supply unit 77 (wet process), so that the ink is not extracted from the inside of the inkjet head 53. In addition, the adhered ink on each nozzle surface 53a can be reliably wiped off. The role of pre-moistening the wiping sheet 75 is fulfilled by the wiping sheet cleaning tank 300.
Although it is possible to provide the cleaning liquid supply part 77 on the side and omit the cleaning liquid supply part 77, it is preferable to wet the cleaning liquid supply part 77 immediately before reaching each nozzle surface 53a as in the present embodiment because a more reliable effect can be obtained.

Further, the wiping unit 70 is jetted by the cleaning liquid supply unit 77 to wipe the wiping sheet 75.
The cleaning liquid that moistens the ink employs the same solvent as the solvent contained in the ink droplets R ejected from each inkjet head 53 (for example, [please inform us]). As a result, even if the ink droplet R is ink that is almost non-volatile,
It can be surely wiped off, and no ink remains on each nozzle surface 53a.

Further, the wiping unit 70 serves as a cleaning unit for cleaning a dirty portion of the wiping sheet 75 after wiping each nozzle surface 53a, and the wiping sheet cleaning tank 300 in which the cleaning liquid is stored and the wiping sheet cleaning. A nozzle 301 is provided, and the dirty portion is washed off by the washing section and then sent out to the roller 76 again for circulation. That is, as shown in FIG.
The portion of the wiping sheet 75 after being unwound from the unwinding roller 78 to wipe and stain each nozzle surface 53a is
First, the cleaning liquid is sprayed from the wiping sheet cleaning nozzle 301 to forcibly wash off the dirt, and further, when passing through the cleaning liquid in the wiping sheet cleaning tank 300, further cleaning is performed. Then, the wiping sheet 75 thus cleaned is folded back by the unwinding roller 78 and fed again to the cleaning of each nozzle surface 53a. Therefore, the wiping sheet 75 having a clean cleaning surface is always sent to each nozzle surface 53a, so that each nozzle surface 53a is surely cleaned.

(4) Description of Weight Measuring Unit 90 Following the wiping unit 70 described above, the weight measuring unit 90 will be described below with reference to FIG.
The weight measuring unit 90 is for measuring and managing the weight of each ink droplet R ejected from each nozzle of each inkjet head 53. For example,
After receiving 2000 drops of ink drops R from each inkjet head 53 for the purpose of weighing,
By dividing the weight of 0 ink drop R by the number 2000, the weight per ink drop R is accurately measured. The weight measurement result of the ink droplet R is
It is used to optimally control the amount of ink droplets R ejected from each inkjet head 53.

(5) Description of Missing Dot Detecting Unit 100 Subsequently, the missing dot detecting unit 100 will be described below. This missing dot detection unit 10 shown in FIG.
0 is for checking the clogging of each nozzle of each nozzle unit 53, and after moving each inkjet head 53 to this upper position, laser light from a laser device (not shown) provided therein is Inspecting is performed by ejecting ink from each inkjet head 53 so as to be blocked. Then, if the laser light is not blocked even though the ejection instruction is given, it is determined that the nozzle may be clogged and the ink is not ejected, and there is a risk of missing dots in the manufactured product. Inkjet head 53 that is a problem due to the cap unit 60
The nozzle is sucked and the clogging is removed.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and various changes can be made without departing from the scope of the claims. For example, in the above embodiment, first, R (red) Perform pattern formation, then G (green)
However, the pattern formation of B (blue) is performed at the end, and the pattern formation of B (blue) is not limited to this, and the pattern formation may be performed in another order as necessary.

The device manufacturing apparatus of the present invention is not limited to the manufacture of color filters for liquid crystal display devices, but can be applied to EL (electroluminescence) display devices, for example. EL
A display device has a structure in which a thin film containing a fluorescent inorganic and organic compound is sandwiched between a cathode and an anode, and electrons and holes are injected into the thin film to recombine to generate excitons ( An element that emits light by utilizing the emission of light (fluorescence / phosphorescence) when the exciton is deactivated. Among the fluorescent materials used for such EL display devices, the materials exhibiting the respective red, green and blue emission colors, that is, the material for forming the light emitting layer and the material for forming the hole injecting / electron transporting layer are used as inks, and each of the present invention By patterning on an element substrate such as a TFT using the device manufacturing apparatus described in (1), a self-luminous full-color EL device can be manufactured. Such a EL device is included in the scope of the device in the present invention. In this case, for example, as in the case of the black matrix of the color filter described above, partition walls for partitioning each pixel are formed using a resin resist, and then discharged droplets are easily attached to the surface of the lower layer. In addition, in order to prevent the ejected droplets of the partition walls from being repelled and mixed with the droplets of the adjacent compartments, the surface of the substrate such as plasma, UV treatment, coupling, etc., as a pre-process of ejecting the droplets. Perform processing.
Thereafter, it is manufactured through a first film forming step of supplying a material for forming a hole injecting / electron transporting layer as droplets to form a film, and a second film forming step of similarly forming a light emitting layer. . The EL device manufactured in this way can be applied to the low information field such as pictures, characters, labels, etc.
It can also be used as a light source having a line / plane shape. In addition, passively driven display elements and TFTs
It is possible to obtain a full-color display device having high brightness and excellent responsiveness by using active elements such as the above for driving. Further, when a metal material or an insulating material is provided to the film forming apparatus of the present invention, direct fine patterning of metal wiring, an insulating film or the like becomes possible, and it can be applied to the production of a novel high-performance device. It should be noted that in the above-described embodiment, the ejected material ejected from the ink jet head is referred to as an “ink” and the “ink jet head” for convenience, and the ejected material ejected from the ink jet head is described as an ink. The material is not limited to the above, and may be any material that can be ejected as droplets from the head, and may include various materials such as the above-mentioned EL device material, metal material, insulating material, or semiconductor material. Needless to say. Further, in the above embodiment, the ink jet head using the piezoelectric element has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this, and an ink jet head in which bubbles are generated in the liquid by the heating element and droplets are ejected by this pressure may be used. It is possible. Furthermore, not only these inkjet heads but also a dispenser can be used as a means for discharging a fixed amount of liquid droplets. In the ink jet devices 3, 7, and 11 and the head cleaning method according to the present embodiment, the wiping unit 70 includes the nozzle surfaces 53.
An endless belt-shaped wiping sheet 75 that rotates while wiping a is provided, and a configuration / method for cleaning each nozzle surface 53a while circulating the wiping sheet 75 is adopted.
According to this, the wiping sheet 75 when cleaning each nozzle surface 53a draws an endless track, and each wiping sheet 75
Since 3a is repeatedly cleaned, it will not be wastefully discarded after being used once. Therefore, when cleaning each inkjet head 53, the amount of waste generated as a result can be reduced.

Further, in the ink jet devices 3, 7, 11 and the head cleaning method of this embodiment, the wiping unit 70 is further provided with the cleaning liquid supply section 77 for supplying the cleaning liquid to the wiping sheet 75. did. According to this, it is possible to reliably wipe off the ink adhering to each nozzle surface 53a without extracting excess ink from the inside of each inkjet head 53. This makes it possible to reduce the running cost.

Further, in the ink jet devices 3, 7, 11 and the head cleaning method of this embodiment, the same solvent as the solvent contained in the ink is used as the cleaning liquid. According to this, even if the ink is almost non-volatile, it can be surely wiped off. Therefore, it is possible to surely reduce the risk that the ink remains on the nozzle surfaces 53a without being wiped off and the quality of the manufactured device such as the color filter substrate is adversely affected.

Further, in the ink jet devices 3, 7, 11 and the head cleaning method of the present embodiment, the wiping unit 70 is provided with the above-mentioned cleaning section (W) for cleaning the portion of the wiping sheet 75 after wiping each nozzle surface 53a. The wiping sheet cleaning tank 30 in which the cleaning liquid is stored
0 and the wiping sheet cleaning nozzle 301), and each nozzle surface 53a of the wiping sheet 75.
After cleaning the part after wiping the
The configuration / method for sending to a. According to this
Since the cleaning surface of the wiping sheet 75 which is clean and has no ink adhered to it can be continuously fed toward each nozzle surface 53a, the nozzle surface 53a
It is possible to surely clean the ink without causing the ink residue.

Further, the device manufacturing apparatus of this embodiment is
A device is manufactured by a manufacturing process including the inkjet devices 3, 7, and 11 and the head cleaning method. According to this configuration, when cleaning the inkjet heads 53 of the inkjet devices 3, 7, and 11, the amount of waste generated as a result can be reduced, so that the device manufacturing device can be environmentally friendly. Further, it becomes possible to provide a device manufacturing apparatus capable of reducing the running cost.

Further, the device of this embodiment employs a structure manufactured by a manufacturing process including the above-mentioned ink jet apparatuses 3, 7, 11 and the head cleaning method. According to this configuration, the inkjet devices 3, 7,
When cleaning the inkjet heads 53 of 11,
Since the amount of waste generated as a result can be reduced, the device can be made environmentally friendly. Further, since the device manufacturing apparatus used for manufacturing the device can reduce the running cost, it becomes possible to make the device inexpensive.

[0092]

According to the film forming apparatus of the present invention, the head cleaning mechanism is provided with an endless belt-like wiping sheet that rotates while wiping each nozzle surface. According to this configuration, the wiping sheet when cleaning each nozzle surface is configured as an endless belt and circulates while drawing an endless track, so that it can be wastefully discarded after only one use. There is no. Therefore, when cleaning the heads of the film forming apparatus, it is possible to reduce the amount of waste generated as a result.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an embodiment of a device manufacturing apparatus including an inkjet device of the present invention, and is a plan view showing the arrangement of each component in the device manufacturing apparatus.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a series of color filter substrate manufacturing steps including an RGB pattern forming step by the device manufacturing apparatus, showing a flow of manufacturing in the order of (a) to (f).

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of an RGB pattern formed by each inkjet device of the device manufacturing apparatus,
(A) is a perspective view showing a stripe type, (b) is a partially enlarged view showing a mosaic type, and (c) is a partially enlarged view showing a delta type.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a notebook computer which is an example of a device manufactured by using the liquid crystal display device manufactured by the device manufacturing apparatus.

FIG. 5 is a schematic configuration diagram showing main components of an inkjet device of the device manufacturing apparatus.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a part of the ink jet device and is a side view seen from an arrow A in FIG. 1.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing the inkjet apparatus, and is a plan view seen from an arrow B in FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is a plan view showing a nozzle head unit of the inkjet apparatus.

9 is a side view of the nozzle head unit as seen from an arrow C in FIG.

FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a mechanism for ejecting ink of an inkjet head included in the nozzle head unit.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a part of the inkjet head, in which (a) is a diagram viewed from the side facing the nozzle surface;
(B) is a DD sectional view of (a).

12A and 12B are diagrams illustrating the inkjet head, wherein FIG. 12A is an explanatory diagram showing a scanning direction, and FIG. 12B is an explanatory diagram showing a change in nozzle pitch.

FIG. 13 is a perspective view showing a wiping sheet circulating unit of the wiping unit of the inkjet device.

FIG. 14 is a view showing the wiping sheet circulation unit, and is a vertical cross-sectional view seen from a cross section perpendicular to the axis of the unwinding roller and the winding roller.

FIG. 15 is a perspective view showing a roller unit of the wiping unit.

FIG. 16 is a vertical cross-sectional view of the roller unit seen from a cross section perpendicular to the axis of the roller.

FIG. 17 is a plan view illustrating cleaning of each nozzle surface by the wiping unit.

FIG. 18 is a side view for explaining cleaning of each nozzle surface by the wiping unit, FIG. 18A shows a state before pressing the wiping sheet against the nozzle surface,
(B) shows the pressed state.

[Explanation of symbols]

3, 7, 11 ... Inkjet device (film forming device) 20: Notebook computer (device) 53 ... Inkjet head (head) 53a: Nozzle surface 70: Wiping unit (head cleaning mechanism) 75: Wiping sheet 76 ... Laura 77 ... Cleaning liquid supply unit 301 ... Wiping sheet cleaning tank (cleaning unit) 301 ... Wiping sheet cleaning nozzle (cleaning unit) CK: Color filter substrate (substrate) R ... Ink

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification code FI theme code (reference) H05B 33/14 B41J 3/04 101Z // G02F 1/1335 505 102H F term (reference) 2C056 EA16 FB01 JB02 JB05 JB15 2H048 BA02 BA64 BB02 BB42 2H091 FA04Y FC12 FC29 GA01 GA13 LA30 3K007 AB18 BA06 DB03 FA01 4D073 AA09 BB03 CC09 CC20

Claims (10)

[Claims] 1. A film forming apparatus comprising a plurality of heads for ejecting liquid droplets and a head cleaning mechanism for cleaning the nozzle surfaces of these heads, wherein the head cleaning mechanism wipes each nozzle surface. A film forming apparatus comprising a rotating endless belt-shaped wiping sheet. 2. The film forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the head cleaning mechanism is further provided with a cleaning liquid supply unit that supplies a cleaning liquid to the wiping sheet. . 3. The film forming apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the cleaning liquid is composed of the same solvent as the solvent contained in the liquid forming the droplets. 4. The film forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the head cleaning mechanism includes a cleaning unit that cleans a portion of the wiping sheet after the nozzle surfaces have been wiped. The film-forming apparatus is further provided. 5. A head cleaning method for cleaning a plurality of heads for ejecting droplets, wherein the nozzle surface of each head is wiped with an endless belt-shaped wiping sheet. 6. The head cleaning method according to claim 5, wherein a cleaning liquid is supplied to the wiping sheet to moisten it, and then each nozzle surface is wiped. 7. The head cleaning method according to claim 6, wherein the cleaning liquid is the same solvent as the solvent contained in the ink. 8. The head cleaning method according to claim 5, wherein the portion of the wiping sheet after wiping each nozzle surface is cleaned, and then the wiping sheet is re-applied to each nozzle surface. A head cleaning method characterized by sending out. 9. A device manufacturing apparatus comprising the film forming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4. 10. A device manufactured by the film forming apparatus according to claim 9.